Iceblink

I've never had any trouble with blends that really *do* contain almond either. Bastet, Eclipse, Port-au-Prince...there are probably a dozen I've tried and my only problem with them is that they don't usually smell so great on me, heheh. Te Po may be the one exception but based on my other issues with cherry I'm still blaming the cherry in that one. (Tragically--I *loved* Te Po! But it just wasn't meant to be.)

Interesting--you're right; cherry and almond do smell quite similar. I've never had problems with blends where almond dominates *hugs her Dana O'Shee* so I've always thought cherry was the culprit. I haven't ever gotten a rash from Bloody Mary, though, and I did with Te Po. I just get that odd crawly-skin feeling from Mary and it goes away after a few minutes. I think my strong reaction to Te Po was compounded by the heat wave going on here when I was trying it out as I tend to get a heat rash during the first hot days of the year. Itchy!

IIRC there's cherry in Black Phoenix, and that's a note that reacts on a lot of people. If I put MB: Bloody Mary on my throat after a shower it literally makes my skin crawl for a few minutes, for example. And I got horribly itchy from Te Po!

Another oil that's so well-blended that picking out individual notes is tough. It's beautiful! Feminine, sweet, a little powdery (hello amber)...but there's no note that really jumps out at you. Just a lovely perfume, and it's also nice and light and will be gorgeous in this summer weather!

OH HI LILAC. Can you please step aside so I can smell the other notes? No really...MOVE IT!! OK fine, be that way. Ashlutum is strong lilac and the only hint of anything else I get is some musky sweetness. I'm going to guess that's the vanilla and Babylonian musk. No tobacco and it would be very welcome here to make the lilac chill out a bit. And no coconut either! As an almost straight lilac, though, this is good. I may not smell all the other notes but the lilac's not turning to powder the way it does in most BPALs, which is pretty amazing.

Mmm fruity goodness. Fruit is almost all I can smell--but there's an odd almost metallic note underneath the fruits that's keeping Dionysia from really working on me. I haven't tried many blends with mahogany in them, and I wonder if that's what's throwing this one off a bit on my skin. It's good, but not OMG great like some of the other Grindhouse ladies have been so far.

Fresh and complex. I really cannot pick out the individual notes in Aeronwen, except for the sweet orange. Beyond that it's just a beautifully blended, sensual scent. It reminds me a lot of Anactoria, but much lighter. There's a powdery note on the drydown that's very appealing. I do wish I got more of the black musk, but this is very pretty as it is anyway.

Mmm peaches and honey, delicious! The patchouli and cocoa make this very sexy and earthy so it doesn't smell like fruit salad. No ambergris to my nose, just darkly fruity goodness. I might need a bottle.

You ever just *look* at an oil, the way it looks in the vial/imp/bottle or on your finger, and know you're going to love it before you even smell it? Marianne just did that to me. She's so dark and thick and full of red musky promise and the scent doesn't disappoint! Mme. Moriarty is one of my favorites, and this is similar. I can never have enough red musk + patchouli + fruit though. Marianne smells a little more liked aged Mme. M to my nose, too, so if you don't like fresh Madame but don't want to age it, give this one a try. HUGE love!

This does smell like O and Red Lantern had sex on a teak table. That teak note is *strong* and keeps the whole blend from being sickeningly sweet and foody. There's a hint of apple blossom coming through that's light and gorgeous. Really nice! I love Red Lantern but I amp opium so much that the caramel in it doesn't last long on me so I'll wear Agrat a few times and see if she might be a nice substitute for days when I really want the caramel to kick in.

I wouldn't have thought I'd like this but I think I kind of...do?? WTF? It is what it is, patchouli and vetiver, and woods, I do believe. Very strong, very dark, very heavy. June is probably not the best time to wear it but maybe in the fall it'll be more appropriate. The vetiver's not doing that rotten smell thing on me it usually does. An interesting blend indeed.

Frankincense usually smells awful on me and in Hymn, it's making the flowers go straight to soap. I love this in the imp but my skin doesn't like it at all.

I'm mostly getting a headachey ozone from Stormhold. Where's the vetiver and moss? It sets a mood nicely of rainy, stormy weather, but too much ozone just doesn't sit well with me.

MANNY Ashtoreth! This is so so so masculine on me, and I thought it would be sweeter. But I tend to amp leather like crazy and the leather is whipping all the other notes into submission, unfortunately. There's a wee hint of flowers, and a little bit of wood, but mostly it's leather leather leather. Rats!

Whoa musky--this is really an unusual oil...it's almost sweet at the start and the musk and herbs blend so nicely. This isn't what you'd think something called Odin would smell like! Really different. The drydown is baby powder but in a good way. It's cozy. I'm glad I got to try this one.

Masculine cinnamon. I suspect the frankincense is what's making this feel so manly. Where's the violet? I like the cinnamon note but the overall effect is just too aftershavey.

Smells like Embalming Fluid, all right--lemony, fresh. Makes you wish the Lab would do cleaning products. I'd love my kitchen floor to smell like this after being cleaned!

I figured if anything could knock the evil jasmine into submission, it was pinot noir, so I took a chance on this one. And at first it was SO good...the wine smells awesome, the patchouli and myrrh give it so much depth...maybe jasmine was going to be a cheap date and be knocked out by the pinot? But NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Jasmine turns out to have quite the tolerance and now, hours later, that is mostly what I smell. Why do we always amp the notes we despise???

Wet, the moonflower is the standout in Nuit. I love moonflower though it doesn't always work on me, so I had my fingers crossed. But this dries down into musky jasmine. Rats! (Although to be fair, it's not nearly as soapy as jasmine usually turns on me--I may need to try this more extensively at some point as it smells almost...wearable, which most jasmine blends most certainly are not.)

The clove and tonka in Sybaris blend so well--it's spicy and sweet with violet on top, like a clove and violet candy. Not floral at all but richer and creamier. It has good staying power, too.

I will give Cordelia credit for containing lilac AND wisteria, yet not going powdery or soapy on me. Nice work babe! The lilac is prominent when it's wet, but on the drydown I'm getting more cedar and green tea. It's so faint though that it's hard to tell; there's no throw here. Really interesting combination of notes, though!

Oh, gorgeous BPAL violet note, how I love thee! Violet Ray starts out with a hint of mint, as in Ultraviolet, and also as in Ultraviolet, the mint fades fast. What's left is a lovely lovey violet, with some other florals in the background--I can pick out the lilac but everything else is just nicely blended and keeping this from being Single Note Violet. It's very springy and light, and not sweet like, say, Faith or Sybaris. Beautiful!

I didn't like this wet--too cologney. After a couple of hours though it's gotten better. It's warm and musky and the metallic note is coming through in a pleasant way. This was my wild-card-I-have-to-see-what-the-hell-metals-smell-like imp and I'm glad I tried it, although I don't think I'd actually wear it. A man could get away with it though.

This is so sweet! Almost like a floral candy. The honey's very strong but the greenness from the poppy note keeps this from being cloying. It's bright and cheery and happy. Nice throw, nice staying power--I love it!

Mmm, earthy. This is like violets in dirt with sweet patchouli (I think the currant is adding that sweetness?) mixed in. Kind of hippie-like and not a delicate violet at all, but nice.