Vampy

Actually I love Aureus! It's one of the few that isn't very sweet on me, but the resins still give it a light drizzled sweetness. Cathedral is the same way, and a similar scent.

Okay, so most bpals are very sweet on me. This isn't actually a bad thing - I don't have a problem with sweet scents, I like them just fine. But lately I've been kind of tiring of everything smelling so sweet. I want some things that are only mildly sweet, or not sweet at all. Currently the only thing I think I have that fits the not-sweet-at-all bill is Burial, which I like, but isn't one of my faves. (Even Brimstone is a little sweet on me - yeah, it's pure gritty smoke, but it's a sweet gritty smoke.) Any recommendations?

Sweet, bright lotus and CINNAMON, with a light dusting of churchy resins. And did I mention cinnamon? Because, you know, there's cinnamon in this. Like, a lot of cinnamon. I don't get the resins as strongly as everyone else seems to be, it's just a subtle mellowness rounding out the lotus and CINNAMON. It's quite pretty, bright and soothing. I get the impression of bright golden light with little tendrils of traditional incense smoke rising up. By the way, in case I forgot to mention, there's a pretty strong cinnamon note in this.

What the hell, honey? Am I seriously the only one getting honey from this? Because I'm getting a seriously whopping dose of honey. In the vial it smelled rather like Bloodlust without the clove; then when I put it on it smelled like the lovechild of Bloodlust and Bloodkiss. There is clove, but much lighter than in Bloodlust, and a strong base of vetiver covered in dragon's blood, and a mysteriously elusive floral in there somewhere that keeps peeking out and going back into hiding. (Maybe the lotus that I've theorized is in all the Tarot blends.) And, of course, a sticky film of honey dripping over everything. Am I crazy? Am I imagining things? I swear it's there! I... I actually really like this. I am not sure how to feel about the fact that I really like this, considering the thought of wearing it as perfume disturbs me slightly. It's earthy and fiery and spicy, and has that luscious dragon's blood I love so much without the sickly floral sweetness that all the Ars Draconis blends have on me. It's a bit heavy for the warm weather, but I'm sure it'll be great for the fall and winter... if I'm not too unnerved by the concept behind it to wear it, ahaha.

Justice smells like a little bit of everything. There's a touch of woodiness and spice, a dusting of floral, a light tartness of fruit, and a crush of herbs. I smell a base of lotus - I'm beginning to think there must be lotus in all the tarot blends, because while I didn't pick the note out in all of them I've picked it out in most of them. I smell a bit of spicy lavender, and while I don't specifically smell violets, there's a powderiness that violets usually give me, so that might be what it is. I really can't pinpoint any other specific notes, just the impression of fruits, herbs, florals and woods. It's very androgynous - rather than simply unisex, it smells feminine and masculine at once. I'm surprised that there seem to be a lot of complaints about the florals giving people headaches - florals have a tendency to amp on me and make my sinuses swell shut and my head pound, but this blend remains quiet and understated and non-invasive. I like it, but I don't love it. It's... interesting, and rather calming. I get an impression of very clear bright light.

OMG. I had some sort of fit of temporary insanity and compulsively swapped for and bought three imps of this right around the same time, before I'd even smelled a single one; I was petrified after I did it that I'd end up not liking it, but fortunately my fears were dispelled. This is WONDERFUL. Just the sort of dark and incensey thing I always adore. Nag champa, patchouli, and plum - I don't really get the narcissus itself, but it's probably sweetening the plum. It's a soft brown cloud of incense powder dribbling with sticky plum - it's luscious! I'm glad I have three imps of it.

Oh dear. I didn't really have high hopes for this one to begin with, considering the floral-heavy listed notes; florals are always iffy on me. But as soon as I opened the vial, I smelled rose, and I knew it wasn't going to work. Not that it smelled bad in the vial, mind - it smelled quite pretty, green and glittering, but when I smell rose I know my skin's not going to like it. I tried it anyway. And within 10 or 15 minutes, yep, there's the old lady rose soap. At least it wasn't amped up to suffocating levels, which rose usually does on my skin - it stayed fairly light and non-invasive, so I remained blessedly headache free. The Curse of the Rose was merciful, this time.

Whoa, way too much myrrh. Or maybe it's that the particular kind of myrrh disagrees with me. Whatever it is, it's that same magenta myrrh scent that there was too much of in Priala, and it's nose-wrinkling and sneeze inducing, and kind of soapy. It smelled good for the first few minutes - the musk was stronger, and it had a really dark, sexy and smoky thing going on, but that myrrh kept amping until I couldn't take it. I like myrrh, but not when it's this strong. In the swap pile with ye!

Wow. This smells so much like tears it's startling. There's lotus and some very soft, mellow fruits and florals, I think, but the really striking thing is that saline smell of tears. It's bizarre. Pretty, but bizarre. (In the imp, I'll note, it just smelled like fruity bubblegum. I was a bit taken aback, as I was expecting something solemn, so I was rather relieved when it changed on my skin. ) It's a lovely and appropriate scent, but not very me. I'll be keeping the imp though, and wearing it when I want to evoke the relevant concepts.

Well this was a pleasant surprise. I wasn't feeling too sure about it from the reviews, and then when I received an imp, the scent on the outside of the cap was strongly unpleasant - dusty and sneezy and headachey-floral, somewhat like the drydown of the Hermit was on me. I was a little afraid to try it. But when I opened it, it smelled really different - there was a powerful fresh blast of sweet orange and dandelion - and something tangy which resembled that awful smell on the outside of the cap, only, y'know, not awful. Maybe it was the dandelion, I'm not sure. I was still a bit nervous of it, considering the possibility that it might dry down to that unpleasant scent, but it didn't. On, it smelled bright and sweet, something a bit earthy emerging beneath the orange and dandelion that I can't identify, but as others have said, is very green. I think there's also a hint of lemon, and a smooth mellow note that might be amber. For a few minutes it passes through a stage reminiscent of orange scented cleaner fluid, which is kind of disconcerting but not outright unpleasant. The scent has an almost narcotic, soothing effect on me, similar to White Light (though thankfully I like the scent far more than White Light - not fond of that one.) It's bright orange surrounded by a halo of yellow lying in a bed of green - the colors I usually associate with the card. It's very appropriate.

I'm surprised I don't see more reviews complaining (or just mentioning) this going to powder on them, because it went straight to cherry powder on both me and the boy. In the vial, it smelled like cherry cough syrup. (This didn't worry me though, as anything with a cherry note tends to smell like cough syrup in the bottle to me.) On, it immediately took on a soft powdery note that was discordant with my idea of the water element (though there was a juiciness underneath that made me suspect it wasn't meant to go powdery like that.) Cherry was dominant, and though I smelled other things, I couldn't really pick them out and name them. It had a mysterious and unexpected "hot" quality - like Ace of Wands, but not quite as extreme. The heat made my heart beat faster. Overall: smells rather like cherry scented carpet refresher powder. Eh. :\ I'm a little disappointed with this one.

If you have a respiratory allergy to pine, probably you should avoid scents with pine in the description, and the same with the other woods. You'd have to ask your doctor to be sure, but if you're allergic to the actual proteins - like say, if you waved a bunch of pine needles in your face, it would make you sneeze - then those same proteins would definately be in the scents with pine resin in them. I don't claim to have medical knowledge on this one, but if it is a food allergy - like he has to ingest it - I can't imagine that it would cause him a problem unless he drank the oil (which, I mean, would be a pretty bad idea even if he wasn't allergic. )

In the imp: Burial meets The Coiled Serpent On skin: Instantly turns to something very similar to Ace of Pentacles, but with a charred, burnt note, and instead of a mix of evergreens it's pine alone. Very pungent and long-lasting. It does sprout a few sweet flowers after a couple of hours or so - an interesting and appropriate effect. Notes: Vetiver, probably also patchouli, burned wood (I think cedar?), pine resin, light florals. It's pleasant, but like Ace of Pentacles, a bit too OMG WOODS AND DIRT for my tastes. Will probably just use on occasion for purposes of focusing on the card's concepts.

Oooh, I like this one. Lots of lavender, as others noted - though it was so startlingly different smelling when I first sniffed the imp that it took me a bit to realize that was what I was smelling. A very spicy lavender, plus a touch of something cold in my nose, but subtle enough that it's hard to pin down - I think anise or fennel, but I'm not sure. There's a sweetness suffusing it - lotus, I think. The boy said it smelled like a pleasant men's cologne - I disagreed. But then, after about 20 or 30 minutes, a woody note surfaced (couldn't determine what - sandalwood? cedar? both?), and then it did have a men's cologne sort of feel. It starts out cold and light purplish blue, and moves toward a darker purple, with that faint golden sweetness glowing through it the entire time. Like sunlight through a rain cloud. It's very soothing and head-clearing, in such a way that it would be good for both work/study or as a sleep aid.

This... is... bizarre. In the vial: Listerine breath freshening strips. On: Pepto and chalky toothpaste. After a minute or two: Not quite as bad, a touch of something fruity coming out of the mint, maaaaybe touch of lotus? Still has a pepto edge though. Between 5-10 minutes: Something... woody? Uh. That seriously was totally not there before. And I think those that noted sasparilla are probably right. Still a hint of pepto in there. It's grown very light already. 10+ minutes: Light undefinable florals, chalky mint. 20+ minutes: Barely there anymore, faint sweet chalkiness. I think there's definately some camphor in here, and some kind of mint - wintergreen is probably right - and I'm pretty sure there's lotus. I think there's some kind of woody note and some other florals and sarsaparilla. It changes every couple of minutes, the only connecting factor that chalky pepto smell. It is head clearing, but also somewhat nauseating. Er. This one is just odd. Really odd.

I'm with the girls who love the masculine scents. I adore Doc Constantine! Most of the more traditionally "feminine" scents don't work well on me - with a few notable exceptions, like Scheherezade and Fae, but most of them don't. Gender neutral and masculine all the way for me, baby. I don't get the whole not wearing something because it smells too "manly" thing. (Not that I'm criticizing anyone - if something smells discordant in conjunction with your personality, it just does, and there's nothing for it. I just don't get it, is all.) I think having a list of scents with "traditionally masculine notes" is a good idea for the poor menfolk without enough confidence in their masculinity. I mean, most guys are afraid of smelling too "girly", and BPAL is a business and all, and they want to bring in more customers. (Not to mention it makes a good reference for me, since the manly scents are more frequently the ones I like.) It could stand to be a little easier to find (and updated more often), maybe, but a special section for men's scents? Naw. I don't think that jives with Beth's vision and the purpose of her scents - excuse my presumptuousness, here, it's not like I'm privy to Beth's vision, but that's the impression I get.

Urk. :X On me this was very "perfumey" and extremely bitter and just, yuck. It smells awful and headachey in the way that department store perfumes always do to me. It leaves me wondering why it's so popular.

This gives me the same jelly-beans impression The Magician does, but where The Magician is a bag of black jelly beans with just a few orange ones left in, this is mostly orange ones with a few black ones left in. Sweet florally orange with just a hint of anise, and a very faint white musk. I find the cinnamon so many people referred to is a barely-there whisp - it's like a little thread of hot intensity in a predominantly light and watery scent. Honestly I don't think I would have picked out that note if others hadn't listed it in their reviews. It goes a bit soapy on me after the first few minutes. It's a very light-golden scent. This is pleasant smelling, but nothing really special to my nose. I don't really... get it, I don't think. The only allusion I can really draw to the card is the concept of a light and pretty surface with the heat of longing running beneath it...? Maybe? I do associate yellow and gold with the Lovers card, and this scent is a rather yellow-gold... but it just leaves me sort of... blank.

Wow, this is a bit more... something than I expected. It's pure clean fresh DIRT and crushed evergreens. Mostly pine, I think, and a very pungent, sticky pine at that. Definitely an appropriate smell - you don't get much earthier than this - but not quite what I was expecting. It's very grounding, makes you feel rooted. This is incredibly strong - and unfortunately the particular imp I have tends to dribble more out on your fingers when you close the thing up, so you end up with at least double the amount of oil you intended... It's... well, pleasant, in an unusual sort of way, but a bit too much straight up dirt and forest for my tastes as a perfume. It makes an excellent room scent, though (and it instantly obliterates and pulverizes any other unpleasant smell that might be lurking around - useful!)

To me this smells of just about pure patchouli and vetiver. Red patchouli I think, though it's possibly a blend of both red and black. It's very sharp - in fact, when I first got this a little more than 6 months ago, it was just too sharp for me, and that biting in the back of my throat made me feel a little nauseated, so I put it away for a while to see if it would mellow. I tried it again recently and discovered it had in fact mellowed - though it's still a very sharp scent, it no longer provokes that "urk" reaction in the back of my throat. It really does scream DIRT. It's very grounding and stimulating. I like patchouli and vetiver, but as a perfume this really just has too much of a pure DIRT thing going on. It isn't unpleasant smelling though, and does seem to work for its purpose - it makes me feel calm and centered and more alert - good for meditating with. When I apply it to the base of my spine, I don't know, it may just be the power of suggestion and all, but I feel a distinct warmth spreading out. I doubt I'll be buying a bottle but I'll probably be using up the imp. And trust me when I say a little goes a long way - this imp should last me a while.

Hmmmmm. I have mixed feelings about this one. Objectively it mostly falls into the realm of scents that I like, though it's a bit strong on the vanilla for my tastes. However, it strongly reminds me of this bottle of perfume oil I had as a teenager that called itself "Egyptian musk" - and thus it pulls up strong associations to it and from the time when I wore it. I don't particularly like this association with a cheap perfume oil (though this doesn't smell cheap - it's far more complex and well made, but I can't shake the association) nor do I like the associations with that time period. So I'm feeling kind of "eh" about this. I get strong bright musk and vanilla, wrapped in this spicy, clovey sort of scent - I suppose that's carnation? It's a very heavy scent (in terms of quality, not in terms of potency), but bright smelling. It gives an impression of bright white light. It's pleasant (minus my associations) and long lasting - it starts out subtle but the musk amps up on my skin after a while. It's a nice scent, but unfortunately it just brings up all sorts of memories and sensory associations that just make me feel uncomfortable. I don't think this is for me, though I will try it again at a later time to see if I feel any differently.

Huh - this scent is interesting. To me it doesn't smell like earth; it smells like water. There's a touch of earthiness - as if I'm smelling the mossy rocks and trees at the edge of the stream, but it's still mainly the stream. I suppose that possibly in creating "mutable earth," a combination of aquatic and earthy scents were used, and to my nose the aquatics are just more prominent? I don't know, but it's definately a very flowing, watery scent to me. It actually makes me kind of thirsty, like Tarot: The Moon does. It brings images of green leaves and flowing water and flowing golden hair to my mind. It's light and subtle and shifting, herbal notes and gentle florals with a touch of something woody. I can't really pick out any of the individual notes except for honeysuckle. There is a sort of mixed-fresh-vegetable air about it, though it doesn't actually smell like vegetables to me. It's very calm and solemn and lovely. It's not something that jumps out at me screaming "YOU LOVE THIS SCENT!", yet it's very... me, somehow, it's comfortable in some indescribable way. Huh. To my nose it's unisex leaning to the feminine side, though occasionally that woody note wells up and makes it a little more masculine.

Ghostly, glowing, sweet and dark: black cherry, patchouli, cassis, cardamom and verbena. Oh man. Oh man. I just got a decant of Phantom Calliope today and it is wow. This is only the second case of a perfume that's somewhat foody that doesn't set off my "blah - food," aversion. (I don't have a problem with smelling like edible things per se - it's just that why would I need a perfume that smells like, say, cookies, when I can just bake some cookies for that? Foody scents are boring scents.) Like the previous foody I've liked (Tarot: the Star), I like this one because despite smelling of edible things, it doesn't smell simply of cake or chocolate or something simple like that - it's complex and strange and interesting. (Plus it has an incensey edge, and I adore incensey perfumes.) In the bottle it was almost all cherry syrup to me - I could smell a little spice, but it was drowned beneath the syrup. Right after applying it there's an absolute explosion of cinnamon/cassia over the cherry - the BF said, "smells like Christmas!" At this point, it was nice but not particularly sensational. But after a few minutes, all the other notes start coming out - a nutty base welling up from the cardamom and a touch of dusty incense wafting from the patchouli, and the cherry mellows out into this strange, whispy specter. Somehow it really smells like the ambient scents from a fairground in late summer/early fall, earthy and spicy and something that resembles a whiff of funnel cakes. While I was initially dubious of the idea of a cherry/foodie scent being ghostly or eerie, this totally, totally is. This is bottled atmosphere. It's absolutely exquisite. (edited to add description)

To me, this smells like the TAL White Light with a bit of spice and dusty books. This is unfortunately not a particularly good thing since I don't like the smell of White Light. :\ At first it's not bad, I do get the White Light note from it but it isn't too strong (but then, White Light itself isn't too strong when I first apply it either...) But then it flares up with that sickly sweetness, just like White Light does. Sigh. I'm kind of sad, I really wanted to like this one.

If no one's noted, Tarot: Judgment smells extremely incensey (it reminds me of Scheherezade but less feminine, somewhat earthier, more patchouli.) It has, unfortunately, become my favorite bpal ever. It figures that I'd discover it after it was already discontinued.