odalisque

Oh man, is there any smell in the WORLD as sexy as Beth's red musk? No, I didn't think so either. Ultimately, though, this one didn't work for me. To my nose, it went from red musk to Moroccan spices to benzoin, and those fragrances in that order seemed disjointed. I think I'm missing out on grace notes of the honey and caramel that would have tied it all together. Anyway, when it morphed to complete benzoin my brain kinda broke.

I wasn't too wowed by this, honestly. It's a very pleasant blend of frank, myrrh and other resiny scents, but it enthuses me about as much as a straight-up essential oil blend of frank & myrrh from the new age store. Which is to say, I sniff it, say "Nice" and maybe I use it to scent the house but it's not complex or "living" enough to be what I want in a perfume. When I think about it, Beth describes this as the embodiment of a cathedral, and that's what I smell -- a space, not the unfolding story of a person or an idea.

Wow, I think this may be the first time I've used the word "gorgeous" to describe a blend. Athens really is gorgeous. Wet on the skin and for 5-10 minutes, I get an unfortunate period of eau de I just spilled cheap red wine all over myself. I'm very glad I waited this out, though, because it fades and is replaced with a warm, sensuous mulled wine that doesn't smell boozy at all somehow, just luscious -- and after complete drydown I'm left with a glorious, golden, smooth, spicy myrrh and honey. OMG I was wearing this yesterday evening and kept wondering "what smells so GOOD? ... oh yeah, that's me!" Applied a little more before bed for the DH's benefit ("It makes you yummy," he pronounced) and woke up this morning to my pillow smelling like spicy myrrh. I almost ate my pillowcase for breakfast. I do believe this myrrh must also be in Crossroads -- that one dries down, on me, to a spicy smoky champa flower, and now I know the spiciness is the myrrh, presumably in the "incense" notes.

I was quite liking Alecto, but further testing was canceled because DH recoiled in horror and announced that it smelled like rotting plants. (Don't listen to him. I thought it was a really nice, soft warm woody-green scent.)

Oh my. I'm *sniff sniff* really enjoying this one. *sniff sniff* It's a light fragrance on me, and it has that elusive magical quality of seeming to belong on me, like it's coming out of my pores. In the vial: light, maybe ever so slightly sweet, like very attractive clean skin (but not a more-aggressive "clean" smell like, say, Dirty -- this is clean skin, not clean linen). Wet on the skin, the frankincense blooms a little but not loudly, there's a whisper of peach, and the honey peeks out before the red apple arrives on the scene and dominates (as much as anything can "dominate" this quiet, well-behaved bunch) for about 15 minutes. It's a very natural apple, reminding me of Red Delicious peel, appetizing but not real foody somehow. As drydown continues the apple retreats again and warm honey and resins take the center stage. They're very soft resins, and I think it's the "skin musk" that helps them seem so natural and low-key. This is an ultrasheer veil of a scent, a low-key scent that hardly registers but makes you want to nuzzle your way around in case there might be more. It's almost too low-key for me, but I'm willing to slather for this one. I think mixing with perfumer's alcohol will bring it out of its shell a little. (And doesn't alcohol do that for most of us shy people?) ETA: boy howdy, mixed with perfumer's alcohol and sprayed this low-key girl sure does leave her inhibitions behind. She leads with sweet, light white peach and just the slightest whisper of apple and rose and I finally understand what people mean when they describe Les bijoux as a "sweet and fruity scent". Dries down with more of the frank & myrrh, still a sexy clean-skin nuzzle-me scent, just with a wee bit more advertising budget.

I nominate Crossroads. I've been babbling about it constantly since I tried it yesterday. Opens with ZOMG true-to-life dirt'n'moss, and suddenly blooms into this ethereal, smoky spicy incensey sweetness. The shift between the two qualifies it for the "most bizarre" list, it broke my brain.

Wow! Wet on the skin this is OMG dirt! and moss! It's the first one of Beth's dirt-type scents I've tried so it really blew me away when I stuck my nose in my wrist and it was like sticking my nose into, well, dirt and moss. It sweetens up really really fast. The throw is ... incense? spicy? sweet, and closer up it's kind of warm nonsharp herby sweet, with more mossiness below. I can't say that I like it, but it keeps me coming back to try and figure it out. ETA: smoky! yes! that's the element I keep trying to grasp, it meshes with the moss so well. It's getting slightly more floral now, too, in a way that reminds me of The Caterpillar. This one was a total surprise. I almost didn't try it, and I think I might really like it. ETA again: sure enough, Crossroads has become a favorite. The more I wear it the more I like it, it's just so delightfully different and mysterious and intriguing (but so wearable, the spicy warm incense notes take care of that). It's very me. Completely dry, I get a spicy smoky myrrh and champa flowers, so it reminds me of nag champa -- but with a twist that to my nose makes it more sophisticated. If you have trouble getting along with the dirt/moss notes, avoid mixing Crossroads with alcohol and/or spraying it -- this makes those notes, at least for me, more shortlived but also much more aggressive for the time they last.

This one just didn't work, even though I really really wanted it to. Damned if it doesn't smell exactly like my garden: grass, nasturtium, daisy, morning glory, the tiniest whiff of rose. It's kind of like Hanging Gardens' younger, innocent country-mouse cousin, humble fresh grass, ivy and cottage flowers instead of exotic woods and blooms. And if Hanging Gardens is a lush mature summer garden bearing fruit, Garden Path is a spring garden filled with young greenery and flowers. Ultimately, though, it was just too green for me, and something in it, the ivy maybe, started to resemble the olfactory equivalent of fingernails on a chalkboard after it dried down. Disappointing but still one of the most interesting scents I've tried.

Apparently pear is one of those magical notes on me. Who knew? Not me. I never ever wore pear, voluntarily, before BPAL. Endymion is lovely. It leads with pear, juicier and sweeter than the pear in Hanging Gardens. After drydown something warm and golden backs the pear up -- bois du rose? The lily of the valley plays very nicely and stays in a supporting role and the white musk (usually a Note Of Death on me) hardly even makes an appearance, just bottoming out the blend nicely. I have Endymion inside one elbow and Hanging Gardens inside the other, for comparison, and I am enveloped in a sweet haze of pear and woods.

What a gorgeous beeswax note! On me, it definitely stars. In the imp this is a fresh lemony fragrance, which sharpens up a little more immediately on the skin. There's a short blast of something that smells like metal and oils, and then the beeswax comes out and blossoms, sweetened with the balsam of Peru and frankincense. It always has the slightest lemony tang, but dry it's really just a warm, round, luscious beeswax blend. This makes me think of a comfortable wood-paneled room lit by a fireplace and lamps. Not big and cavernous, not bright with sunlight -- a library maybe. Or a study with arcane instruments on the side table. But the smell of someplace comfortable, close and cozy, a curl-up-and-snuggle smell.

I don't get "tropical" from Hanging Gardens, but other people have described it that way. And to me the ebony (?) accord has a spicy scent to it.

I guess the soft, light floral I smell in the imp is the violet? It amps up very sweet as it dries on my skin. The clove adds a little bit of spice but mostly more sweet. There's a faint something behind it I think is the incenses, but overall it's so sweet it gives me a headache and I had to wash it off.

In the imp this was an odd (to my nose) combination of floral and pine. Almost like public bathroom dispenser soap. That intensified for a bit after I put it on my skin, and then interestingly I really *could* smell the light hardwoods, maple and birch. After that, though, the florals took over, and it was so floral it really wasn't for me. I don't see this as a fruity floral or a pink floral; to me it was white floral, but i also get a whiff of some floral accord that Eos also has. I really don't get dark, forbidding forest out of this. Maybe the edge of the woods on a sunny day with the fields full of flowers, but mostly just flowers.

Eos is so pretty! It's like she's sunnily, stunningly, smiling at me. A golden-pink, scintillating scent, mostly lilies with notes of bluebell and other flowers I can't identify. Flowers, flowers, flowers, without any greenery, woods or aquatics. I said she was pretty and I meant it, but she's kind of overbearingly pretty for me. Eos' dazzling joyful smile makes me have to squint after a bit. I can see how this would be nice in a sachet or a bath, though. ETA: after trying this in the bath, I ventured back into applying Eos on my skin and now I really like it. It's not the kind of scent I feel "at home" in, but I can see wearing it for a sunny, dressy day out where it would really shine. I think the main note I get after drydown now is the honeysuckle; at any rate it's not a note that's familiar to me, and I really enjoy it.

This perfume is an interpretation of the Hanging Gardens by night, based on further accounts of its fruit and flora: date palm, ebony, fir, pomegranate, plum, two pears, quince, fig, and grapevine with plumeria, three gardenias and dry rose. In the vial Hanging Gardens is ... round. Round and soft, and satisfying in the same way that a fig feels rich and satisfying in my mouth. But not sweet, nor dry, just very well-balanced. It sweetens up as it goes on the skin for a short time. There's a couple minutes where I can definitely pick up a coconut smell. I don't like that, so I appreciate that it fades pretty fast. Dry, the deeper notes come out. It's still well-balanced, really beautiful, lush, soft without being girly, powdery or sweet. I don't get pear, or plum or pomegranate at all from it; it ends up a wonderful floral-ed woody viny scent. I can definitely see how this is a balmy evening in the Gardens with the scent of the flowers and vines gently carried on the breeze, not the riotous perfume of the Gardens in the mid-day sun; the air is just moist enough to feel like a soothing caress on the skin. I imagine I can feel the comfort Amyitis must have felt surrounded by the air and scents that meant "home" to her. The amazing thing about this scent to me is that after the coconut stage is gone it smells like it's part of my skin; like it's coming out from the inside of me. This is the first scent that's done that for me. ETA: I really like getting to know this scent and being more familiar with the accords. In the vial and wet I can definitely find the crisp pear now. It's definitely fruity wet, I think what tripped me up was what an unbelievably dry, warm fruitiness it is. I can smell something as it dries down, behind the fruits, that must be grapevine; somehow it's green without being sharp. After that there's a spicy woody scent that has to be ebony, and I adore it. And I do believe that dry, it has the slightest bit of the same plum as Bathsheba. Completely dry I can definitely detect gardenia, the first gardenia ever that hasn't yelled CLOYING PERFUMY FLORAL! at me. I can't believe this scent has all this sweet, floral sounding stuff -- plumeria and THREE gardenias? Pomegranate, plum and pear? -- and yet somehow is such a warm, soft, well-blended creation. I think I more impressed with this than any of the blends I've tried so far.

I was just gifted with an imp of Wrath and I sniffed it before I came here and read the description, so I was highly amused to see descriptors like "peppery" and 'swirling with rage". My impression was (still is) that this is a soft scent, a warm scent, even a comforting scent. I can pick up the spicy hints of the cinnamon, but it's not foody or baking-spicy at all, more of almost a floral spiciness like carnation. (And I love me some carnation.) And under that is a deep soft warm sweetness which must be the dragon's blood and maybe the clove. (I'm reading other reviews now and YES! LILIES! It definitely reminds me of lilies!) It would all be *too* sweet and soft for me if it weren't for that wee spiciness. I would never have tried this one on my own, but I like it a lot. 30 minutes later it's dried down to ... lily. Yup, pure, soft sweet floral. Too bad, I really enjoyed it when it was more multifaceted.

This was lagniappe from the Lab and my man tried it on (cuz he liked the name ) without either of us knowing what was in it. Until I came here today I was dead sure cherry must be one of the notes, because it smelled powerfully like cherry cough syrup both in the vial and on him. We both went "Bleargh!". Swap pile for this one.

This was so pretty in the vial and immediately on that I thought I was in trouble. Sweet but not cloying, ever so slightly fruity, complex florals. I was already adding a bottle of it to my mental list, to have on hand for those super girly moments. Good thing for me it dried down smelling exactly like Burt's Bees strawberry lip gloss Swap pile.

I love, love, love The Caterpillar. It's everything I hoped it would be. In the imp, sweet thick incense. On the skin, wet: more of the same ever so briefly before a burst of vivid but not sweet or cloying florals. Mostly I smell the iris, and can pick it out very clearly, which surprises me. I can even see the iris in my mind's eye: it's a glowing purple one, not pastel, clear and vivid but not eye-popping. That's the color of the floral notes in this blend. Drying down: I keep wondering when I lit incense and didn't remember it. I totally understand the "hippie head shop" descriptions! I am not sure I want to smell like the incense I use to scent my house. Happily, though, after about 10 minutes, it mutes down to something wonderful. Something with only the barest whisper of the "heavy incense" notes and a nice whiff of the same carnation that plays so well on me in Bathsheba. Or is there also musk in this? I always thought the Bathsheba wonderfulness was mostly the musk. It's not spicy or musky or floral or woody or smoky enough to pick out any one facet, just distinctive and beautiful. It also has very nice throw. ETA: Whee! one week later, I'm at a different point in my cycle, and The Caterpillar is all "Hello CARNATION!" I like this, too. What a changer.

In the imp: Very perfum-y and nose-tickling. A very sharp but unspecific floral smell, almost synthetic-floral. Um. I was hoping to like this? Wet: Ah, there's still hope. This scent is so soft! And not soft as in powdery, although I pick up a few notes that I can see might remind someone of baby powder. (I think it might be jasmine. Is there jasmine in this one? If there is, that's the dominant note right now.) Anyway, this is soft like summer night air. I think someone reviewed it as a very comforting scent and I can see why; this is not the scent of a place that has any shadowy unfamiliar spots, only wide summer sky and openness. Drydown: Ends up being a very close-to-the-skin, soft scent. It's nice. It smells mostly of lilacs after the drydown, though, which is not what I'm looking for. Edited: Two days after my initial try-on, Veil dries down to almost straight jasmine, not lilac. I don't know if I called it wrong the first time or if it's morphed on me, but there ya go.

In the imp: Sw-sw-sw-sweeeeeeet! On, wet: Still very sweet. It smells bright golden to me -- much like the color of the oil itself is bright golden. Drydown: It mellows some, but still really really sweet, and strong. It smells extremely like my India Temple incense. (I wonder what that note is? Some kind of lotus?) I love that incense, but I love it wafting through an entire room, and I never realized till I tried Cairo how much the smoky dryness of actually burning India Temple cuts its almost glorpy sweetness. Right there on my body, and exhibiting its massive throw, and without heavier notes to bring it down a little, it's just too much for me -- kind of like being in beautiful bright streaming sunlight for too long. It might mellow itself down even further given enough time, but I just wasn't able to keep it on any longer to find out. Swap pile.

In the imp, this reminded me almost chokingly of Shalimar, which I don't like at all, so I was surprised to end up liking Bathsheba as much as I did. It was actually the only imp out of 5 in my current batch to make it to the second round, so to speak. The Shalimar-smell (the Arabian musk? I suppose?) toned down very quickly on the skin and a nice, warm, mildly spicy carnation emerged. For a short while it seemed like only carnation, then the musk returned, but it played nicely and although it still reminds me of Shalimar, I really enjoyed it and kept sniffing my wrists. Apparently carnation notes work really well on me. I never picked up anything I'd identify as plum, or fruit, at all. The color I associate this scent with is also "carnation", by which I mean that deep shade of salmony carmine that's almost red but slightly less saturated. It does have good throw and I was smelling myself as I moved my hands even after it really faded down on my wrists. I'm looking for a signature scent for daily wear, and this is not it -- it's deeper, bolder, lusher than I feel comfortable with on a daily basis. But it cries out to be used as scented body oil, after a warm bath, and be worn in a candlelit bedroom for a nice evening in. Elegant and sensual for sure. Most likely a big bottle purchase. ETA: still just loving this. Something about it feels like too "much" for everyday wear (and I'm not shy about rich scents -- my signature blend is The Caterpillar), but if I'm feeling a little carnal, this is the go-to. Happily it blends quite well with any residue of Caterpillar that might be on my skin. These days I can pick up the plum as well and I'm not a fruity scent fan, but I like the plum. It does blend surprisingly well with the carnation and musk, unless my skin is very warm like right out of a hot bath, which amps the plum to unpleasantly fruity levels. This is just such a well-balanced, warm scent.

Lagniappe from the Lab. This is a really intriguing scent in which I can't quite make out individual notes: is it fruity? floral? musky? spicy? I would describe it as "rich" and "seductive". Maybe even "velvety". It smells much on my skin as it does in the imp, but headier and heavier. Too heavy, in fact, and I believe it's the cause of my headache at present

In the imp: Wow. Is that musk? Cause, damn. It's MUSK! MUSK! MUSK! Wet: More musk. Oh, and that must be ... sandalwood? I thought it was frankincense, actually, but now I see that there isn't any frankincense in this one. Huh. It's powerful and resinous. Drydown: Oh. Oh, my. Suddenly the musk is playing nicely with a cluster of lovely floral notes. I can smell the lilies, but they're not overpowering. It's at this stage that I start sniffing my wrists compulsively, so I have a lot of impressions of the drydown and ripening. Musk with lovely floral notes changes to almost-completely rose, which changes to amber and florals with the slightest hint of lemon (ha! I thought I smelled lemon in there) and progresses to a beautiful rounded, warm, resinous blend of sandalwood and something that smells like amber. I like this one. I really like this one. It's just beautiful. And then it happens: it goes from amber to baby powder. WTF? Argh! No! How can this be happening? O turned to baby powder on me, too, and I thought amber was the culprit for sure when I sniffed my beautiful Ave Maria disappearing on me. but there's no amber mentioned in the description at all. Maybe it's the musk? That seems to be the only note they have in common. Gutted. Maybe this one would work well as a bath oil or a soap scent. I liked it a lot. ETA: the really odd thing about this? Even after all I could smell close to my skin was baby powder, i kept catching whiffs of musk as I moved around. After a bit I realized it was me, or rather, the Ave Maria -- it was throwing straight musk somehow.

Lagniappe from the Lab. I'm not a fan of sweet foody scents -- not candles, not bath/body products, not perfume -- so no surprise that I disliked it. Out of the imp, super sweet and strong. Dabbed it on my daughter's wrist and the drydown was less sweet and more rich, the vanilla notes warming up. It smells exactly like fruitcake, I'll give it that. One tiny dab from the end of the wand and everywhere she goes the house smells like we've unwrapped a holiday package.