Laurel the Woodfairy

Excellent call! I'd also second the suggestions for Eos. And although it's different, if you like fresh, early-spring florals you might also like Dormouse...the peony is so clean and bright and just gorgeous in that one.

Every time I see this name, I read it as "spanakopita". *facepalm* However, the description is gorgeous and I'm thrilled to have a decant. On me, this Heroine is like O crossed with Cathedral, which is just as odd and lovely as it sounds. Sexalicious honey and spice, but then a sort of woody incensey thing. It smells like...getting naughty in a confessional booth. Oh, I am so going to hell for this review. But I'll keep the imp.

This *sounds* fantastically sexy, so I have high hopes! Hm, it reminds me of tiare flower--a sweet floral, sort of like gardenia but with an edge of vanilla and...coconut? Tropical and romantic. This will be pretty for summer.

I love all these notes, and love the concept, so I'm excited about this one! On me, this Heroine is softer, less "bold" than expected, but lovely. Creamy orchid with a touch of my beloved rose. Not quite as thrilling as expected, but pretty and definitely a keeper.

I was interested in Queen Alice as perhaps a more grownup version of Alice, which I like but find a little *too* young for me. Out of the imp, I got Alice's lovely spicy carnations and cream, with a strong floral that at first registered as rose but then morphed and developed a wine edge. I almost love this, but the drydown went a little weird--maybe it's the white amber; it smelled like the cream had gone a tad "off". Ah well.

March Hare is a fun blend--like apricots cooked in a spicy syrup to serve over pancakes, or apricot jam to put on scones. Sweeter than Depraved, since clove doesn't "dirty" it up like patchouli--I'll be wearing the Hare layered over some apricot/honey bath goodies I have for a yummy summer scent compote.

This is one of those scents that, barring any notes that really hate me, I had to have for the concept--a poem from the divine Belle of Amherst and just such an evocative title. So I'm hoping for somethng beautiful with an edge of emo to it. On me, I Died for Beauty is very soft and powdery with a touch of violet and very faint incense. It smells like a powder puff on Miss Havisham's dressing table--faded, wistful, with a lost remnant of beauty to it. I actually really like it, even though I can't imagine wearing it often. It captures a feeling so well.

I would have thought violets more suited to Ophelia's perfume than Gertie's ("from her fair and unpolluted flesh may violets spring", and all that). But I can see why other reviewers have said this is a mature woman's perfume; it does indeed suit the Queen. I love the wisteria; it's lovely and a bit sad, a musing sort of scent. This is very beautiful, although possibly not very me. A quiet, understated floral, very graceful.

I am a latecomer to the cult of Shub; it didn't jump out at me in the original Arkham run, and by the time I heard about its wonders, it was gone. But I ordered some as soon as the triumphal return of the Arkham series, and I'm so glad I did. Shub smells like gingersnaps on me! A summer version of my beloved G'bread Poppet--ginger and sugar and foody goodness, but a tad lighter than Poppet with a breath of incense. It's like hippies in the kitchen. Really yummy, sweet but not too much so.

I've been curious about Pain--whether it does hurt your nose or if, like Dirty, it smells like the *solution* to the name, so to speak. I have a headache right now, so here goes! Pain is very strong; I put on just a tiny dab on my wrist and it floated right up to my nose. It smells like an herb garden--fresh green mint and lavender and something very like chamomile; is that the pennyroyal? It softens down at once. I quite like it--not as perfume, but to clear my head. It's like a strong cup of herbal tea; it reminds me of my beloved Tension Tamer. My head actually feels a little better. Cool!

Both the description and the notes are irresistable...had to order this one. It's gorgeous on--like a version of Fae I can actually wear!!! *applause* Fae was so heartbreaking on me. Les Bijoux is softly, lusciously fruity, but with my beloved rose instead of my enemy heliotrope, and that sweet sexy kiss of honey. Yum. What a perfect, juicy summer blend.

The Lion has been on my wishlist for ages, so I finally ordered an imp. I love amber most of the time, although moreso when blended with some notes than others. Oh wow, I love this! Wonderful spices, cinnamon especially. Slightly dry, but in a really nice way, like a spice cabinet. This is Bengal's sleepy big brother, as warm and comforting as a cup of the finest chai.

I got to try Black Moon at Cielamara's--I actually have the t-shirt on order b/c I just like the artwork so much, but it might be a little odd to wear it without having even *tried* the perfume! Initially, I would have sworn it contained gardenia, but that isn't listed, so perhaps I mistook the orchid. It reminded me of a softer, "clearer" Lady of Shallott, actually--floral topnotes with fresh, clean basenotes of musk rather than aquatic. Very pretty.

I am ecstatic that my bottle of Ostara has arrived! I hope to eventually have a full set of BPAL Sabbat oils (*cough* Imbolc? *cough*), and this lovely bottle now has a place of honor between Yule and Beltane in my bottle box. It also smells fantastic on me; I wore it yesterday and got tons of compliments. On me it's a sunny floral with cool green undertones...the basenotes remind me extremely much of Mabon, although I don't know what they are; I was thinking ivy but I don't see it listed. Something fresh and green though. I don't get incense or anything heavy, thank goodness, just fresh pale flowers and greenery. I love this so much more than Eos, which had the dreaded jasmine.

Of the Stations of the Sun, the Midnight Sun appeals to me (as a concept) the most...but then, I'm a Moon person and not Sun at all. I get a very definite patchouli basenote from Khephra, along with something sweet and something herbal in the topnotes. That's the first impression. The sweet note has a light quality like...actually, like marshmallows. Maybe that's the power of suggestion from the April Fools' skin that's on the Forum today??? The herbal note is hard to pin down, but it's fairly light as well. This is becoming mostly patchouli on me--my skin always amps it--so off to swap.

Whoa, this one is unusual! The spices, which remind me strongly of Three Witches, hit the nose at exactly the same time as the patchouli and moss--my nose is going spice! murk! spice! murk! Not bad but not very "me". Definitely very wild though!

I haven't tried any of the lycanthropic blends released with the recent lunacies, so Wulric is the only Wolfman of my aquaintance. He's a strange one...topnotes very similar to Candy Butcher, what with the cocoa and vanilla, but the base notes aren't working for me; lavender and vetiver add up to a sharp herbal that is fighting the sweet foody notes on my skin. It's a cool concept, like Wulric's sweet and feral sides are battling each other, but I wouldn't wear it really.

Isaac sounds really delicious, albeit probably too masculine for me, so I'm reviewing with the idea of perhaps passing it on to a guy. Mmm, I like this one. Very warm; I get the bourbon and rum right away, and it's a slightly buttery rum but not too strong (Grog was overwhelming with that). It smells just enough like traditional men's cologne in the base notes that it would be a good intro to BPAL for a guy, but it has a nice twist to it.

I fell for Kataniya's concept, moreso than almost any other 13-in-1 scent. A feminist cyberpunk narrative and a perfume? Squee! Love you, Beth. I want to read a whole novel about Kataniya, since her description sounds like the climax of a much longer story; wonderfully evocative. If nobody has done her fanfic yet...well, get to it! And now for the perfume itself. On me, Kataniya opens with that super-clean ozone scent that one usually finds in mens' cologne--although Beth is great about divorcing it from that association. The florals remind me of Szepassony, which I probably just misspelled; I love that one so much I bought a bottle--very clean, white, cool floral, not too sweet. The ozone stays sharp and nose-twitching. I'd have to say that Szepassony is more wearable on me, but I'm very glad to have tried Kataniya.

The notes sound so nice that I'm giving Arachnina a whirl despite my crippling level of arachnophobia. I could always re-label it as the Pretty Butterfly Girl if I love it. However, that's not going to be necessary--my skin amps the patchouli all the way to Hippie Heaven. I can get just a hint of the juicy currant--a fav note of mine--and a little musk, but it's mostly head shop, alas.

The Vulture Maiden is startlingly wearable--I expected Cathedral-like incense, but this is quite soft; the floral notes round it out beautifully. However, those same florals turn cloying on me after a bit; I can see this being lovely on another girl but not so much on me.

Initially, I seem to be getting a decidely feral group of monsters--something like a lighter version of civet. The drydown is a little more incensey, but I wouldn't say it really plays nice with my chemistry.

I would describe Zarita as smelling like an evil version of Alice--like maybe if Beth got the rights to American McGee's Alice. Orange and cream, almost like a creamsickle, when first dabbed on; spicy carnation appearing later. A little too sweet for me, but I like the edge to it.

My plan is to try Faith on one wrist and Hope on the other, then layer, since they should be inseparable! Faith is quite lovely, but Hope is the one I'm really looking forward to, since I ADORE Beth's roses. I am not disappointed! Beautiful, fresh rose single-note on first application, and then suddenly that luscious vanilla-cream scent from Faith. Sugary and gorgeous, like a rose version of Pink Sugar. I love Hope! Now for layering: together, the Twins smell better than either alone, which I'm sure is the intent. I get a mental image of a light fluffy cupcake decorated with big, luscious candied roses and violets. I might go for just slightly more Hope than Faith, but I definitely like wearing them together.

Faith is a strong violet-candy scent, as expected--there's a nice vanilla-cream quality to the violet that makes it much more romantic than, say, The Raven. Violet is a note I neither love nor hate--it's nice on me when done right, and Faith is the nicest violet BPAL I've ever tried. She's a bit addictive, in fact; I keep sniffing myself.