Electra

Mr. Nancy has throw for MILES. On me, anyway.

This is just plain lily on me. It's fine, but it's kind of boring (as are most lily scents, both BPAL and commercial, on my skin), and nothing to write home about. I don't get the lovely-sounding nuances that some of the previous reviewers did. It's not offensive, but I'd never reach for it.

Apparently Arrival at the Sabbath and Homage to the Devil is heavy on the caramel. (I haven't tried that one.) Tiresias has tons of caramel on me in the wet stages but dries down to an expensive woodsy tobacco. No booze, though.

Dublin is so gorgeous. I keep meaning to order a bottle and putting it off, and then every time I re-try the imp I kick myself. I like some pine scents (Wolf Moon '07 and Jolasveinar are love), but I do not like pine if it's strident (Snow Moon, I am looking at you). Dublin is a pine scent that misses smelling like a Christmas tree and instead is gentle and soft and slightly spicy and just all-around beautiful. This is what wood nymphs would smell like. (The white rose never makes itself known as an independent note. If it's there on my skin at all, it stays very much in the background. I don't know what alder leaf smells like, but I'm assuming that it may be the soft spiciness I smell mixed in with the evergreen.) This smells like a much softer, gentler version of Wolf Moon 2007. I really, really love it.

Wet: TEA TEA TEA. And some tea. Did I mention that there's tea in here? The white tea note, on my skin, is very bright and somewhat citrusy. Drydown: The tea calms down, and the carnation comes out to play. Now I'm getting basically all carnation, and it's a very real, fresh carnation (much fresher than the carnation I got in Hod). The damask rose has not showed up, thank goodness. Rose and I usually don't get along. This is nice. It's a very springy blend, and probably the nicest carnation scent I've tried from the Lab so far. I'd think about ordering a bottle if I didn't have a bottle of Pink Moon '07 on the way -- I'll have to try that first and see if it meets my carnation needs . Throw is crazy strong in the tea stage, but much more subdued and closer to the skin in the drydown.

Tiresias Bottle - I swear, I feel as though I could get drunk just from sniffing this. It is THAT thick, rich, decadent, and dark. In the bottle, it is a seamless blend of caramel and tobacco. I do not like foody scents, nor do I like sugary or super-sweet ones. Caramel would normally make me run away screaming. The tobacco grounds the caramel here and makes it sultry and gorgeous rather than edible (and thus wearable for me). It smells like an incredibly well-blended, high-class, expensive tobacco that would be smoked in a dark mysterious library with deep leather chairs and floor-to-ceiling shelves full of books that you're not allowed to read. *swoon* On, wet - more of the same, at first. On, about an hour in - straight tobacco. On, about four hours in - straight sandalwood, and very, very dry. This is my least favorite stage. On, final drydown, six to eight hours in - we're back to tobacco. I do wish that it had stayed the way it smells in the bottle, because that scent is just . If I wore a scent locket, this scent would be the perfect candidate for it. I don't, though, so I'll just deal with the not-quite-as-awesome drydown. It's a very nice tobacco scent, anyway . I just miss the depth and richness it had when it was wet. (I could do without that dry woodsy sandalwood stage.) The other notes -- black currant, patchouli, cinnamon leaf, and muguet -- never make an appearance on me, or at least, they don't make a flashy enough appearance that I'm aware of their presence. All I ever smell is tobacco, caramel, and sandalwood.

Green Tree Viper is minty but not cold at all.

Weird. This does not smell like bay rum on me at all. After the initial crazy rush of almond, it dries down to spiced cedar. Cedar always smells like pencils on me. So, I smell like spicy pencils.

I had a migraine last night (and this morning...sigh), so I decided to use my shiny new Grr FizzyBOOM before I went to sleep last night. In the bag, the Boom smelled exactly like the Grr oil (duh), and the scent was STRONG. I was pleased. The bomb is rock-hard (like a Lush bomb, rather than a crumbly Fantasy Bath bomb), and I couldn't for the life of me figure out how people are splitting them. I tried and failed, shrugged, and plunked the whole thing in my full tub. It was really fun to watch the Boom run around the tub fizzing like mad. It kept going forever! Unfortunately, I have to concur with a couple of the earlier reviewers -- I was a bit underwhelmed by the scent of the Boom once it hit the water. I couldn't smell it at all, for the most part. Every once in a while I'd get the slightest whiff of mint, but for the most part I really didn't smell much. I do have to add the caveat that I like my baths really strongly scented, but I don't think I got any aromatherapeutic benefit from my bath with this Boom, given how light the scent was once it hit the water. At any rate, it didn't ease my headache -- but I certainly didn't expect a miracle. My migraines are far too bad for that . The boom left an ick-colored ring around the tub (it foamed a bit when it fizzed up, and then the foam stayed on the sides of the tub above the waterline). It came off easily after the bath, so no real cleanup required, but it didn't look all that pretty while I was in the bath! I wouldn't have minded that or the weird color of the water if the scent had been better, but... I don't think I'll reorder this one. It just wasn't strong enough for me. I have that problem with a lot of bath products, though, so YMMV. I have three more Booms to try, and I'm very excited for those . I'm also considering using my Grr oil for bath salts. Edited because I forgot to mention that my skin was lovely and moisturized after my bath .

I'm guessing that your problem with The Lion was probably the amber. A lot of people have issues with amber going either powdery or play-doh on them. Bengal didn't work for me either (very sad -- I had such high hopes for it!). Hmm, spicy BPALs. I'm sure I'm going to repeat a lot of what's already in this thread, but here goes: If you can get your hands on any Three Witches or Three Witches Revisited (both discontinued, but you might be able to swap for some), they are pure spice blends. Eclipse and Inferno both have a lot of cinnamon in them (but also a lot of almond). Chimera has some cinnamon but was way too sweet for my taste. I got mostly myrrh from Priala, the Human Phoenix, but a lot of people are finding that blend quite spicy and sexy. Port-au-Prince is sweet and spicy -- a bit almondy-clovey-sassafrassy, if I'm remembering correctly.

Once again, I smell like pencils. *sigh* Is there cedar in this? My skin sure thinks there is. Nuts. I cannot wear cedar for the life of me.

Oh gosh, this smells awful on me. Really, just awful. Hello, jasmine. I see you still hate me. It's all jasmine on me, and that is Not Good, because it doesn't smell like jasmine but distorts into something horrid. Not a keeper.

I wish I got what everyone else is describing from this one! The throw is incense. I can't put my finger on it at the moment, but it smells JUST like at least one other BPAL blend I've tried. It's driving me crazy, actually! I wish I could figure out which blend it is. I'm having major olfactory deja vu. It's not unpleasant, but not a scent I'd reach for. When I put my wrist up to my nose, I recoil -- I get the distinct scent of something burning. It's very hot, very dry, and...well...burning! It smells like burning wood. This oil really does capture the concept of the midday sun, and would be a great working oil IMO. I don't need it for that purpose, so it isn't a keeper for me.

The BPAL blend that Cloister Graveyard in the Snow smells closest to, IMO, is Ice Queen. Luckily for me, Cloister Graveyard does not have whatever element Ice Queen had that made me physically ill (it actually made me queasy, and I had to run to wash it off ). Other reviews have compared this to Wolf Moon (2004), Nuclear Winter, and Cold Moon. I have two of those blends (and swapped Cold Moon), so I went to get them to do side-by-side sniff-tests. (I apparently like icy scents! Cloister Graveyard, unlike pretty much any BPAL blend with "snow" in the name, does not have pine or evergreen in it. Duh, look at the notes. But I'm very pleased by that. I do like some of the piney blends, but I don't always want pine -- and when I think of the scent of cold air and a snow-blanketed world, honestly, pine is not the first scent that comes to mind. This captures my mental image of it much better.) I was really surprised when I read the comparison to Nuclear Winter, but upon sniffing the bottles side-by-side, I can see it. Nuclear Winter is a bit sweeter, but they do smell fairly similar in the bottle -- a chilly, watery mint. Cloister Graveyard has more of an ozonic bite to it, and maybe a touch more musk. But I can see the comparison. The drydown (at least on me) is wildly different, though -- Cloister Graveyard doesn't morph much on me, but Nuclear Winter goes oddly gingerbread-y. It's a cool-greenness-and-warm-spices combination that reminds me a bit of Florida Water. So they don't smell alike at all on drydown on my skin, but I do see the comparison in the bottle/wet stage. As for Wolf Moon '04, I get a fair bit of fruitiness out of that, so they don't really compare to my nose. I never did get much of an icy feel from it, though it certainly is a watery/aquatic fruitiness. I always think it's so fascinating how people smell things differently . (Same deal with Cold Moon. I totally got berry Skittles from it. No fruitiness in Cloister Graveyard!) I comparison-sniffed Kumari Kandam, too, which I remembered as being similar -- same feel in the wet stages, but Kumari Kandam is much, much harsher. Cloister Graveyard is so smooth and quiet. Also, the drydown of Kumari Kandam is occasionally uncooperative on me (one day it's very nice, the next it turns into laundry detergent), whereas the drydown of Cloister Graveyard is swoon-inducingly gorgeous. This is an absolutely gorgeous, haunting blend. It's so cold, so crystalline. The mint lasts the entire time on me -- amazing, given that mint is usually so fleeting -- and I get lots and lots of white musk backing it up. The ozone fades out. The frankincense is a very quiet presence -- there's a slight incensey note under the mint hours later on drydown, *just* enough to make it interesting (and just enough that when you sniff, you think "what is that?" It doesn't scream "incense."). So beautiful. A bit unsettling, which is perfect for the painting. I love. This has cracked my top five, possibly even top two. Quick edit, 4/3/07 -- Cloister Graveyard is now tied with Whippoorwill for "Electra's favorite BPAL of all time." It's one of the most phenomenal, perfect things I've ever had the privilege to smell. It's also fast becoming my signature scent (and I have so many different perfumes that I *never* thought I would say that). It's just so, so *me*. This is everything I love in a scent, all magically condensed into a tiny bottle.

In the wet stage, there is an unsettling similarity to Cloister Graveyard in the Snow. Why unsettling? I like that blend. But part of the reason that I like it is because the blend itself IS vaguely unsettling. Anyway. I'm thinking that maybe one of the four mints in Green Tree Viper is the same mint that's in Cloister Graveyard. As it dries down, it starts to change and almost immediately becomes a much warmer blend than Cloister Graveyard. The mint was the predominant note upon first application, but has receded into the background now, though I can catch a hint of it if I put my nose right up to my wrist. I think I'm picking up on the bergamot, because I'm smelling something that's trying to be citrusy but is held in check by the other notes. Good. I'm not a fan of citrus. There's Snake Oil in this? Really? I never would have guessed. Snake Oil smells really awful on me, and this does not. I'm finding this scent very hard to describe. It's got a bit of slink to it -- appropriate for a snake. No one note stands out above the others. The blend is quite seamless, which is why I'm having a very hard time describing what I'm smelling. (The best I can do is "a mesh of bergamot and mint -- which reminds me a bit of Shattered -- over a deeper base which must be the Snake Oil, though it doesn't smell like Snake Oil to me.") I think I like it, though. It seems like a good scent for summer evenings. It stays very close to the skin. Someone would have to lean in very close to smell it. Quick edit -- and today, the drydown smells distinctly Lolita Lempicka-ish on me. Go figure. Edited 5/11/07 -- this scent has aged really nicely in the few months I've had the bottle, and I like it a lot. I get the "minty Lolita Lempicka" thing every time I wear it now -- the drydown is a strange blend of candied mint and an anise-like smell, which sounds odd but smells absolutely great. I'm contemplating a second bottle of this, which I don't do often. I still don't smell any discernable Snake Oil, FWIW.

From sniffing the oil that got on the imp label -- this is going to be too sweet for me. Wet, upon just opening the imp and 0.02 seconds after applying to my skin -- Ooh! Strong herby lavender! That's promising! Next ten seconds -- This smells like a sleep blend. A sleep blend with chocolate. Maybe I can do this after all. Next thirty seconds -- Now it's getting sweet. Uh oh. Lots of chocolate, and a buttery vanilla. Okay, here's the weird thing, though. If I put my nose to my wrists (after about two to five minutes), it smells strongly herbal. The throw, however, is ALL buttery vanilla with occasional hints of chocolate. Weird. Eventual drydown -- shea (?) with chocolate. (Except this time it's a whisper of chocolate rather than a giant heaping of hot fudge.) I actually like Wulric a lot more than I thought I would with cocoa and vanilla as the first two listed notes, but it smells too much like my sleep oils for me to wear during the day, I think. I might try the decant at night and see how I like it at bedtime.

I really, really wish that I got what everyone else gets from this. This is the Gaiman scent that I was most looking forward to, but it doesn't work on me. It's not awful, it's just nondescript. I think there might be rose in it, because I get a distinct whiff of soap/dryer sheet (which is what all varieties of rose except white do on my skin). The spices are fine, but not memorable. They don't have enough punch to overcome the soap. It's just...meh. Not objectionable at all, but not something I'd ever choose to wear. I smell like fancy guest soap. Nuts.

Mr. Jacquel doesn't like me. Wet, he smells like boiled potatoes. (Some scents do this on me -- Snake Oil, Lampades, Sin. I don't get it either.) Dry, he smells a bit like Luperci. I already have a bottle of Luperci, and that one doesn't go through a boiled potatoes stage.

Sugar Skull + lime. This is strong as hell and has throw for MILES. On the drydown it gets a bit spicy and holiday-esque. I like the drydown, but I don't like the wet stages much at all. It doesn't make me queasy like Sugar Skull did -- I think the lime cuts the gooey sweetness a bit -- but it's just too much for me. I could see myself wearing it once in a blue moon if I were in a mood (and only in cold weather), but I know I'd never wear it enough to get a bottle.

Whoa. Thalassa is amazing. It is my perfect BPAL aquatic -- finally! Hooray! I can't believe that it has both Evil Jasmine and Evil Almond in it, and I can't smell either one. It's a pure, perfect salty ocean scent, and I'm in love with it. This is what I wanted Kingsport to be, but that one was far too sweet and citrusy to smell like the ocean to me. This is fantastic. Thalassa lasts forever, and stays true on my skin. There's no morphing, for which I am profoundly grateful. This scent has my favorite art of all the CDIIIs, too .

There have been a ton of posts about the wintergreen Hamadryad phenomenon -- try running a search for "+wintergreen +Hamadryad" . There are a bunch in BPAL Chatter. It seems to have started around December 05/January 06. Someone did contact the lab about it and was told that Hamadryad has always been minty. My imp and 5 mL of Hamadryad were decidedly NOT minty (I got just about straight cinnamon), but maybe the cinnamon version was actually the anomalous batch variation. :shrug: Who knows? Some people have said that there are woods, like birch, that can smell minty -- it's possible that one of Hamadryad's "seven woods" is a minty smelling one, and that for a while that component just wasn't as strong? (Just speculating.) Here's the LJ post -- http://community.livejournal.com/alchemylab/3676914.html And here's one discussion of minty Hamadryad on the forum -- http://www.bpal.org/index.php?showtopic=16...mp;#entry477901

I did not have a clue about this, and have been using CCNow all this time because it just seemed easier. Gah, now I feel bad.

I've used Nocturne twice now and have had the same experience both times, so I think that's enough to review . Scent: Nocturne, to me, smells like a very green rose scent. I don't smell any lavender at all -- just rose, but it's a very stemmy rose rather than the traditional perfume rose. It reminds me a bit of the rose in Chuparosa. It does not go dryer sheet on me like most roses do, thank goodness. I also don't smell any jasmine, which is good, because jasmine amps and does nasty things on my skin and gives me a headache -- not conducive to sleeping! Effect: I don't think that Nocturne actually knocked me out or helped me get to sleep any faster or more easily. I didn't have trouble falling asleep, but I didn't notice that I fell asleep faster or more easily than I normally do. What I *did* notice, both times I wore Nocturne to bed, was the following: 1) I dreamed, but when I woke up I couldn't remember if I had dreamed or not. I was only able to remember that I did five or ten minutes later. I usually have a pretty high level of dream recall (even higher when I use Temple of Dreams). Nocturne seems to blot that out. 2) I woke before my alarm feeling very refreshed, and didn't hit the snooze button at all. That *never* happens, and this oil was completely worth the price just for that effect alone. I wonder if #2 has anything to do with #1? Interesting. At any rate, I do seem to get refreshing, restful sleep when I use Nocturne, even if it doesn't help me fall asleep any faster. Good stuff.

TKO doesn't put me out. At all. I'm fairly disappointed -- it's a nice blend, to be sure, and relaxing to wear at bedtime, but I've given it a good many tries and it just doesn't do anything for me. Damn. I wanted it to be the magic bullet. Quietude, while not a favorite on my skin, is very nice in the burner. I don't like TKO in the burner at all -- it takes on an odd note that's really reminiscent of Desitin diaper cream -- but Quietude is just lovely. It's very restful and soothing. Again, it doesn't actually help me fall asleep, but it does create a calm atmosphere in the bedroom. I've just gotten a bottle of TAL Nocturne, which I'm very excited to try out properly. I'll report back. So far, my favorite sleep blend is still Temple of Dreams. Editing -- I used Nocturne for the second time last night. I had the same experience both times -- it didn't help me fall asleep any faster or more easily, but 1) it blotted out any dream recall (I usually have a high level of dream recall; both nights I used Nocturne, I couldn't remember whether I had dreamed or not until five or ten minutes after I woke up) and 2) I woke before my alarm, feeling refreshed, and didn't hit the snooze button at all. That never happens. So I'd say that Nocturne was a successful experiment. Still wish I could find a blend that would knock me out, though.

At the moment, this review is just for scent (from the site description -- "Used as an anointing oil in love rituals and worn as perfume."). I will update once I've had a chance to work with the oil properly. Upon opening the bottle -- WHOAALMOND!!! Wet on my skin -- cherry. Cherry/almond? I think both might be in there. Drydown -- cherry/orange. It smells almost fizzy. Very bright and hopeful. This oil has a very different feel than Dixie Love Perfume -- that one is full-on sultry come-hither. This one is the cute girl on vacation drinking a fruity drink at the bar, and everyone wants to be with her or near her because she's just so HAPPY and positive all the time. Lasting power and throw aren't great. Reapplication would definitely be necessary for day-into-night -- I put it on around 8:30 AM, and at 2:45 PM it's pretty faint. It really is a very happy oil. It's elevating *my* mood, actually. I'm quite sunny today. And though no one's following me around declaring undying love (which would be awkward at work! ), people have been very friendly.