Laurel the Woodfairy

HOT DAMN! I swapped for this and I'll bet the mailman wondered if he was delivering a rose garden--I could smell it through the bubble wrap and through the mailer! Roses, roses, roses. Then a strange thing happened: I put it on and my skin swallowed the roses whole. Just gulped 'em down and left only wine and resin--although those are lovely too. Ah, the rose is starting to peek back out. This is my new night-time scent! I am putting Spellbound up for swap and transferring my allegiance--I LOVE this! This reminds me of my favorite short story by Angela Carter, "Lady of the House of Love." A vampire Sleeping Beauty story. This is the scent of the roses that surround the vampire's castle: "dark, fanged roses", "almost too luxuriant, their huge congregations of plush petals somehow obscene in their excess, their whorled, tightly budded cores outrageous in their implications." That's it--sexual, decadent, vampire roses.

I got Swank in my first imps order but am just reviewing it now because I didn't get really attached to it until the temperature started climbing--it is insanely hot in the South and even my usual light florals are suddenly too much. Even Persephone--which also has lots of pomegranate--is too much. Swank, though--ah, Swank seems to be a great summer scent. I hate most fruity smells (except for fig) but pomegranate is a little more exotic, a little out of the ordinary. I don't get much "booziness" from this--just a faint sparkle, like I cut a glass of pomegrate juice with seltzer water. Very refreshing and bright--I feel like the vial should come with a little paper umbrella garnish sticking out of it!

Hilarious post, Feline! Yeah, my fiance' and I complain about how we have both failed at our mutual goal of marrying rich; we comfort ourselves with the idea that marrying cute is more noble I still think if the budget allows it would be cool to do a custom wedding-day scent, but then last night I started thinking about the elements I would want to include: a lot of peony b/c that's what my bouquet will be, honey mead b/c Brian brews his own and it will be at the reception, champagne b/c --well, obviously, and various woodsy/outdoorsy notes...and then I thought, "peony-honey-pine...that sounds... COMPLETELY DISGUSTING!!!" I'm not sure even Beth could make that work. Maybe I'll go back to sampling things that she already makes.

Definitely worth the wait. This is part of why I like imp-swapping, though--for more instant gratification! It made me so happy to know my imps were on their way the same day I PM'd their owners, and without extra work for the Lab. It's a good way to tide over all of us truly rabid BPALers! Seriously, in the instant gratification department I wish I could just fly out to the storefront--but I would probably spend every last dime I have. My dream is to someday have this beautiful tower for my altar and witchy supplies (not unlike Professor Trelawney's tower in Harry Potter...) and there would be shelf upon shelf of neatly-labeled BPAL for every possible spell need. Keep dreaming...

This imp's been passed around a lot--my fiance' ordered it and then was surprised it smelled feminine--he didn't know it's Spanish for "witch" and thought it was like "brouhaha" (sp?), i.e. the scent of a bar-fight! After I quit laughing at him I took it and tried it. It's the first one I've tried that really did remind me of colors--it seemed purple and silver. The lilac kinda blew me away, and for some reason the myrrh was very metallic on me--very strange to have metal with flowers. So that really wasn't "me" but now I've sent the witch on her way in a swap--hopefully to someone who will find it "darkly sexual" like some of you did!

On me, this was predominantly resiny incense with the rose as more of a determined undercurrent. Spellbound is a very opinionated oil: it wants me to wear it only in the evening and for special events, the posher the better. Ideally for the opera with a strapless ball gown, fancier jewels than I own, and my hair swept up on top of my head. However, it will condescend to go to the regular theater with me, or maybe even clubbing if it's Goth-clubbing (there's something a little melancholy and brooding about it). It HATES being taken on dinner dates and fights with the entree for my attention. Bleh. However, it does not mind dessert/coffee; in fact it sweetens everything rather beautifully. Overall, a sophisticated and slighty haughty oil with a very specific attitude: DIVA PERFUME! ADDED Jan. 2: Spellbound is getting a second review from me, because it was one of the first oils I ordered and I was ill-equipped to appreciate it. So I gave it a newb review that didn't mention any notes (oh the shame!) and then swapped it; it was too strange for me. I just received an imp from Minilux and am happy to say my better-educated nose now has a truer appreciation for it. Spellbound is the darkest oil I've seen yet, almost pitch black. It slithers over your pulse points and smells like Black Rose with the feeling of Haunted (although slightly different than when you layer those two); the amber and red musk keep it from being sweet--instead it is a feral rose, redolent of dark sexuality. And this time I love it! I think I didn't know what to do with a rose that wasn't sweet, until I sampled the magick Beth can do with ambers and musks. Consider me under its spell...

I admit I got the imp solely based on the name--I love the poem and the poster looks down on my bed. But I have now decided it is going to be my very first Big Bottle. It's the first one I reach for when I pick an imp each morning--I have to remind myself to try the others. On me, this didn't smell "cold" or off-putting...just softly floral, entrancing as its "faery's child" namesake. I can't pick out individual floral notes, although I can see what everyone means by "green". I got big compliments from the boy ("ooo, you smell good!"), so don't worry too much about it being an ice-queen fragrance--unless, of course, you're working the attitude to go with that! Random art-related side-note: I know several of the Pre-Raphaelites painted this subject, but to me this fragrance most resembles the Waterhouse one--the one where she's in a purple dress and she looks sweet and pleading, like she's almost sorry to captivate the knight, but goshdarnit she's just too beautiful! Oops, naughty girl! The blend smells beautiful and wistful to me, rather than cruel-spirited.

Ms. MSGirl, that's hilarious! Drunken BPAL...yeah, I found myself feeling waaay too excited about the whole thing after a little too much wine the other night. Anyway, I decided to wear Persephone yesterday for Litha...it seemed the most appropriate of my imps. I got the pomegranate all at once, up front...very, very wet-smelling. Then the rose came out and it was mostly rose, just slightly fruity. I think I liked it best wet, but would have to keep re-applying often to maintain that scent, since my skin tends to DEVOUR these oils and they fade fast on me. Overall, Persephone is lovely but I wish she hung around longer (hm, it suddenly struck me that that's pretty appropriate, given her mythology...).

I received this as one of my "bonus imps" and just got around to trying it on today. A friend told me, "You smell like bubblegum!" "Debauched bubblegum," I replied with my best naughty smirk...

*scream* I love the eyeshadows!!!! Thanks, Andrabell! That is simply perfect...I was already planning on a very shimmery, fairy-dust look, but while other glittery stuff might *look* fine, I have to admit that--as with BPAL--I always believe in the power of names. That said, I should still add Umbra to my ever-growing list of imps' ears to try (and it is getting to be a pretty lost list...) b/c the forest image is a good one. I think if we don't end up with a custom scent then the next coolest thing would be to give each attendant a different scent that seems most suited to them, so that may be ideal for one of the "manlier" men. By the way, as I type this the Groom is bottling his latest batch of home-brewed mead, just in time for *this* Midsummer, so I'm definitely getting handfasting fever, LOL! Cheers, Laurel

Ooo, excellent advice! I don't know why I didn't think of Cathedral...I have an imp of it, and it would be appropriate for our "outdoor cathedral" feel. ViolentKitten, I definitely want to try Fae, and I think Imp would be perfectly appropriate for one or two of my more impish attendants...no blushing maidens here! Paperdoll and Andrabell, that would be completely fabulous, to have our very own scent. I think what I may do is get imps of the suggested ones and see if they suit, and if none is quite right then I can add "Custom Blend" to the wedding budget and start saving... Note: after reading the reviews on Puck, I don't think I will bother with it; not a big fan of civet. Oberon and Titania, however, both sound exactly as I hoped. I love getting everyone's input on this--there seem to be so many like-minded souls on here that I may start a thread under "Randomness" for any other cool fairy-wedding suggestions that aren't necessarily scent-related. Cheers, Laurel

My fiance, Brian, and I are planning a Midsummer Night's Dream wedding--no, not this Midsummer, which would be only a week away!--it'll be a year or two off, after I finish grad school and we can save up, etc. BUT it's never too early to start planning (you should see the size of my wedding planner!) and I want to start testing scents that will help set the right mood for everyone in the wedding party (I'm thinking they would make nice little mementos). Here's the thing: it's going to be a VERY non-traditional wedding, loosely inspired by Shakespeare but encompassing all our favorite fantasy elements. All the guests will be in costume, but they get to interpret the theme as they wish--we're expecting everything from Renaissance Festival clothes to Goths, and my wedding gown is pale green rather than white, because I don't feel like a Woodfairy in white!!! Obviously I'm going to get imps of the Illyria scents that directly relate to Midsummer Night's Dream--Oberon, Titania, and Puck. I want to try Fae as a possibility for my maidens, and I already have some of La Belle Dame sans Merci ("I met a lady in the woods/ Full beautiful, a faery's child"). Is there anything else that seems especially suited to fairies or, more generally, to outdoor summer weddings? (the only explicity wedding-related scent on here seems to be Havisham, which would be very bad luck indeed!!!). The men are especially challenging--I can't see them being fairies, so they're probably wearing Druid robes, and a good Druidic scent would be ideal. Thanks!!! Cheers, Laurel