feline.by.design

Thin, dark, and shadowed. A scent that offers no sustenance, comfort or satiety: lemon peel, white sage, frankincense, lavender fougere, sandalwood, vetiver and labdanum. The first sniff of the Scales makes me wonder why I didn't just get a 5 ml rather than this paltry imp, as I did with the Bow and Crown of Conquest and Death on a Pale Horse. It smells warm and cozy. I seem to smell something that smells like leather on my skin, but it might be the frankincense or sandalwood or labdanum, or a combo of the three. Or maybe it's the sage. In any case, it's stellar. I love this, I really do. It smells more masculine on me than it may on others, and my nose is definitely picking up the more "macho" notes over the lemon peel. Can't... stop... sniffing my arm... *aaaah* Well, looks like I'll have to get a bottle of this one. Thus far, the three out of the four Come and See scents I've tried so far have been eerily fantastic on me. I've got one more to try tonight and if all for work well, I'll be convinced I'm some sort of horsewoman for the apocalypse or something. Even though I can't ride a horse. A moped or scooter, maybe... In any case, the drydown for the Scales of Deprivation is excellent. It's woodsy and sexy and love. I'll wear this when I'm plotting destruction. -doreen Edited to add Lab description and that I want babies with this scent.

Uhm... *snff* I can't really smell this for some reason. When I put it on, I could smell the light floral, but I think my skin's sucked it up, or it's just incredibly light. I think I might smell honeysuckle, but I'm not too sure. I agree with ivyandpeony, as it does remind me of Eos, which is a blend I've been thinking about buying for a while because I like my imp so much. Ah, now, after about a couple minutes, I can smell it. Ghagiel definitely smells close to Eos, and I think having a bottle of this has definitely supplanted my need to get the other. The fragrance is light and very appropriate for the warm weather, as it isn't cloying. There is a heavier base note that is a bit woodsy, but not very thick at the three-minute mark. I've had it on for about ten minutes now, and it smells different enough from Eos for those who have the bottle to give it a whirl. There's a noticable sort of "skin" scent to Ghagiel, which I find interesting. I can see the comparisons to Juliet as well. The floral is definitely in the honeysuckle/jasmine family, so beware, oh Jasmine-haters! This might not be for you, but I wouldn't discourage trying a bit of it anyway. Ghagiel's a keeper, although I hadn't expected it to smell like a light spring day. "Uncontrolled energy, nihilism, narcissistic illusion?" Wow, sure smells pretty girly. I'm imagining Ghagiel in the form of a blonde maiden with a light, gauzy sundress and a straw hat, picking flowers in hell. "La-la-la, I'm a little demon, la-la-la." -doreen Edited to add: Oh, you know, Lycanthrope's right. This might just be narcissus in this fragrance.

I have found love. Love, I say. Enraged Bunny Musk smells sort of like vanilla cupcakes on my skin, and has thus far lasted five hours on my skin and it's still going strong. It's a sweet, tasty scent that isn't overly foody on me. Wet, it's a light musk melded with brushes of herbs and light florals with vanilla. Dry, it's very vanilla, reminiscent of the Antique Lace bottle I smelled at the Orlando meet n' sniff (that would be Fyre_in_Winter's bottle). I really like it when vanilla works good with me, because sometimes it gets baby powdery, but Enraged Bunny Musk doesn't get like that at all. Hoarding instincts are sprouting within me, but I'm managing to fight them off for now. Still, it's very tempting. Me encanta. Daisuki desu. -doreen

Death on a Pale Horse is one of those, like the Bow of Conquest, that I took a chance on and bought the bottle before fussing with an imp. Like the Bow of Conquest, I think I made the right decision. White musk reigns supreme on my skin when Death on a Pale Horse is wet. I love it. This is a very light unisex fragrance that smells of musk-soaked light plants. As the oil dries on my skin, the fragrance seems to get a little darker, but only a leeeettle. This... I could be way off, but this seems a little similar to the Hermit in maintaining a sort of bookish feel, but drier, dustier, and it's got more of a tang. It could also be similar to Whitechapel, though the lime isn't as prominent on me, and again, it's drier and dustier. The yuzu and lime combo makes itself more noticable after the three-minute mark, but the oil is still so well-blended it's hard to pick out notes. Your brain thinks it's picking up something, but once you think about it, the elusive scent undulates and you can't find the note you're trying to pinpoint. It seems to become more masculine-oriented once it dries down further after ten more minutes. It smells like very nice soap, which might be cause to stop reading right now, but I like soap-like, clean fragrances (see my love for Numb). Still maintaining a soft, dried herbs feel, which is very comforting. I really like this, and can see myself wearing Death on a Pale Horse ridiculously often. It's a very clean and pleasant scent. The Lab never ceases to amaze me in what wonders it puts out. -doreen

I love this! It's a cinnamon-clove spice riot! I crave cookies now... Uranus calms down a little bit after three or four minutes of wear. The cinnamon is still there, but the fragrance now is more of clove, which is really excellent and far more subtle. Oddly, I was wearing Mercury today, which is another planetary oil with cinnamon and lavendar. Although Uranus starts out very cinnamon-esque, it settles into a clove scent that makes it different, and warrants keeping the two bottles. Fans of Three Witches would love this. -doreen

The Whirler! She is the Muse of Dance and the Dramatic Chorus. She holds both a lyre and a plectrum. Terpsichore is the mother of the Sirens by Achelous, the River God. Bright, joyful and expressive, her scent is kinetically charged, graceful, and an inspiration to all dancers: vanilla and carnation with neroli, iris, stephanotis, sweet pea, apple blossom and palmarosa. Oooh. Yep, the neroli is pretty strong, but neroli isn't a very heavy note, so this is all right with me so far. Juicy-juicy! The smell of citrus is a scent that will have me interested, and so far, Terpsichore is holding my attention well. It's beginning to morph slightly now after about maybe a minute, once my skin chemistry goes, "Hey, we've got a live one," and thus begins to fiddle around with Beth's genius. Terpsichore doesn't smell as lush as earlier, getting a light powder note which is likely due to the vanilla. The light powder in turn gets a bit more momentum, and now my knee (yes, I applied this to my knee) smells like a box of fragranced chalk. I was interested in trying Terpsichore anyway, as sweet pea notes intrigue me and work well with my skin. This fragrance isn't breaking precident much, although the chalkiness of the oil on my skin after five minutes or so is a little bit of a deal breaker. A further exploration in the drydown may reveal a really wonderful stage after about thirty minutes, as Polyhymnia, so I'll have to test this again to really decide. As it stands, it's not bad, and I can already smell the oil getting out of the uberchalk stage and into a warm sweet pea stage. See? I don't think I'll be getting a bigger bottle of Terpsichore, but I might keep the imp, especially for any of my friends to see if they like it or not for informal Meet n' Sniffs. -doreen

I could have sworn I've tried this oil already, but I haven't reviewed it, so maybe I didn't? Or maybe I did, but I didn't keep track of it. Oh well. First sniff of Ouija on my skin: "Erm. No." Ouija has some sort of generic perfume smell (oh weird, opaleyes said so, too) that I really can't define as being any sort of flower note. It's more cloying than refreshing, and it doesn't strike me as something I like. It might be a rose note, as I do sense something of that ilk in the foreground, but I really can't tell. Unlike the experience of some reviewers, I don't find Ouija very light at all. It seems heavy with a mix of resin and the bittersweet florals (definitely rose now). I really can't say I'm feeling this oil. I'm pretty sure I've tried it once before, because it smells familiar. Ouija has this very cloistered feeling that seems almost oppressively rose for me. I think my last experience with Ouija might have been during my great rose-hating phase. Since then, I've managed to find some oils with rose I do like, such as Harlot, Rose Red, Bearded Lady, Love in the Asylum and Maiden. Trying on Ouija now, though, almost makes me want to take up a sign and picket roses again. I've mentioned before that there are some roses that work well on me, and others that seem to go soapy/powdery on me, and this oil experience falls into the latter category. -doreen

Ochosi is light, but there's something fruity in here that I don't know if I like. The fruit fragrance is taking over... is this the shea? It's retreated as quickly as it's come to the forefront. How strange. Anyway, Ochosi seems like a "bright herbal" fragrance now. The oil is very lush on my skin during the early moments. I can see this being a favourite of some during the summertime. When I first applied, Ochosi seemed very fruity and girly, almost, but now it's tempered into a fragrance with a light woodsy aura. I'm surprised at how much it's changed in the three minutes I've worn it thus far. Each stage is better than the last, though, and I'm quite fond of the stage where it's at now, this "sweet woods brushed with pine needles" stage. It's fairly unisex, although some may find it too masculine, and it smells very clean. As the oil sits longer, at around the ten minute mark or so the woods become blended a bit with a cream-lotion fragrance. It smells vaguely of pencil shavings, but it's ever so slight. I'll have to wear Ochosi to work or on a weekend to contemplate more about this fragrance. It's not an "OMIGOSH" scent, but I can see this growing on me. I'm okay with it overall, but the beginning few moments were a bit odd on me, plus I need to see how it works throughout a longer timeframe. Although the first ten minutes of an oil make or break it for me, I've been surprised with drydowns on some fragrances I was kind of "meh" about. -doreen

Mmmmm! Sweet peonies!! Once applied to the skin, Peony Moon transforms my wrist into a lush peony bush or tree. Oh, how wonderfully feminine and girly! There are enough green notes to prevent the oil from going overboard, but it's definitely a nice floral. I can see this being a good fragrance to wear during the summer, as well as in more professional atmospheres. :::thumbs up::: -doreen

I missed out on buying Enraged Orangutan Musk when it was on the website, but luckily, a forumite sold me her bottle. Score! I really wanted to try Enraged Orangutan Musk, and I'm not disappointed. The scent is masculine, but with my skin chemistry, it doesn't club you over the head and go *whomp!* "I am MAAAAAN!!" and beat its chest or something. It's actually kind of soft and gentle, like Mr Orangutan has a sensitive side. "Indeed, I am Enraged on the outside, but it's merely the sign of a wounded heart." Aaaah. I do get the woodsy notes, but they don't jump out at you. EOM is very well-blended; it's hard for me to really pick out notes. I just keep sniffing my skin and going "aaah." I do smell the ambergris, which is probably the most noticable note on my skin. Ambergris rules. The fragrance becomes brighter the longer I wear it, definitely trampling around in the "unisex" category. Yep, this bottle is definitely a keeper. Since we're going into summer at the moment, I'm glad EOM isn't heavy so I can wear it during the scorching heat we get down here in Orlando. Plus, the orangutan on the label looks like a cross between a citizen of Planet of the Apes and a Wookie. Way cool. -doreen

I received a frimp from the Lab of Obatala with my most recent order. Since I have an imp of it on order as well, let's see how it goes.... On my skin, the initial swabs of Obatala reveal a very sweet coconut oil, reminiscent of suntan oil known the world around. Coconut blends are kind of hit-and-miss: definite zinger with King of Spades and Snow White, but not so great with Black and Blood Pearl (and disasters with Spooky and The Star). It isn't getting better in calming down its sugary sweetness. The experiences I had with Milk Moon make me a bit apprehensive about what my experience with Obatala will be. I do get a milky hint, but it isn't turning sour or curdled on me like Milk Moon did. The high, sweet coconut note does get a bit mellower, but it's still too sweet for me to really enjoy wearing. Overall, it's a nice scent, but I don't feel like I can deal with the sugary-sweetness it doles out. Obatala isn't the one for me. -doreen

With Khephra, my initial reaction when smelling it wet in the crook of my elbow was: "Holy crap! Kalamata olives! What?!" No kidding. The vinegar tang kind of settles down, and I can smell a light, languid floral trying to nudge its way through, but something similar to oil or vetivert is strangling it. There's a slight "sweat" element to it, too. Maybe it's the sweat of people doing the bumpity-bump in the night, heh. Khephra didn't turn out to work well with my skin chem, which is strange. I have gotten this musty sweat-smell in other scents I didn't care for, like Smut, so maybe it's just my preference. In any case, I'm always glad to try something new, and sometimes it works. In this instance, it didn't. -doreen

Ah, I've wanted to try this scent, and I'm glad it was included as a frimpie in my latest order. Thanks, Labsters! The fragrance that comes to greet me upon the initial application of Polyhymnia reminds me a little of Succubus in spirit, not so much scent: a sharp citrus cutting through a darker, heavier base. The lemon note eventually droops a bit to create a more "lemon candy" scent than the initial that could easily be likened to lemon-scented cleaner. The drydown begins to make the fragrance soft, and there is a note that threatens to turn powdery, though I'm not sure which one that is. The fragrance of Polyhymnia is still lemony, but the herbal notes have tempered the once brash lemon into a ghost. The longer I wore this today on my wrists, the more interesting it became. After about five hours, on my left wrist (I reapplied on my right so that I can capture the initial scents), the oil is still fragrant if I put my nose close. It's a sweet, light wood that greets me now. I did get a little bit of the spices maewitch mentions sometime around the half-hour mark, I think. Polyhymnia intrigued me as being the melancholy muse. It's not an immediate "OMG!" fragrance for me, but some of the ones I wear frequently weren't immediate hits as well. Since the warmer weather is here to stay in Florida until at least October, I could definitely use fragrances like this. Polyhymnia is different enough from my other citrus scents to possibly warrant getting a bottle of it later. I'll have to see how often I use my imp, but to anyone else curious about trying Polyhymnia, I say, Go for it! -doreen

Bought this bottle off a forumite, as I wasn't sure if it would be something I'd care for. I'm normally not into food-based scents, but the description for this fragrance sounded too good, so I was willing to take a chance. First off, the bottle label for Monster Bait: Underbed is too cute. I love the little bug-eyed kid! You know that bed's been soiled now! Super, sooooper buttery in the bottle. The buttery note sort of dies down a little bit, and turns into uber-foody-du-jour. Thick, heavy--reminds me of the smell in your clothes after you've been hanging out too long in Denny's or IHOP. The cassia comes out to tweak my nose ("Hey!"). It's actually making me enjoy the scent more, as I like spices, and the fragrance seems less heavy, although there is a bit of thickness still lingering. Like, "Ooh, Underbed, you look like you lost weight." :::runs over to her friend::: "Mmm-hmm, honey, you know she's gonna put that weight right back on soon as she takes a bite outta that cake." I'm unsure. The beginning experience, the oil smells way too foody for me to wear. It reminded me of the butter toffee notes I've experienced in Miskatonic University that made me scream and "gaaah!" until I washed it off. I sense that scent note is still lurking in the wings, ready to let loose again. The cassia note, however, goes, "Wait, hold on, baby. We can work it out." Sure, the cassia smothers the other notes, but I think I actually like it this way a bit better. Smells like cinnamon cookies. Perhaps allowing the bottle to age a wee bit might nudge my ambivalence one way or the other. If it doesn't work out, I can always pass it on to someone else. Right now, though, I'm tempted to layer this sucker with some Sudha Segara. -doreen

I can't believe I hadn't reviewed this scent. It's the first 10 ml bottle I've ever purchased from the general catalogue that wasn't a Tarot or Illumination or the like, because I use this oil quite frequently as a sleep aid. Arcana is a wonderful herbal scent kissed with the nice lemon touch of verbena. I think my affinity for it is because it resembles some of the scents in the Somnus line. It really helps me get to sleep, and I use the bottle religiously most nights, although lately I've been trying to experiment just to see what effect other oils have. Arcana is a very unisex fragrance. My skin doesn't really do the "furniture polish" thing, but then again I don't polish furniture that often (read: never) so I don't often get that association from lemon or verbena scents. Okay! I still can't believe I didn't review this scent by the way. Seriously, I was hurting for that 10 ml, as I annihilated an imp once I found out what an awesome sleep oil this made. -doreen

My boy, totally going against any of these studies, actually gives me the most compliments when I wear Twenty-One. However, I've also seen him act rather forward when I've worn Mars and Chokmah, both of which are quite different from Twenty-One. -doreen

Finally! I review this bottle I got from the Lab months ago!! Beatrice smells like a damp garden of scents in the beginning. However, once the scent mingles with my body chemistry, it goes through a different array of moods: cloying, dusty, soapy, powdery, lush, squishy.... Rose, I smell you. I know you're there. And from what I can tell, you are the rose that tends to smell like sweaty deoderant on me. Damn. The swirl of other floral notes attempt to rescue the crook of my elbow from smelling like Teen Spirit, but alas, the armpit odour of a teenage gym class overtakes the garden, trampling on the flowers during the mile run their masculine gym teacher Ms Armstrong forces them to do. Oh, look at that, one of the real bitchy girls pushes a bespeckled girl into a thorny rosebush. Hang on, that's me. All right now. Any bottle that gives me flashbacks of much-hated PE classes is getting the boot. Sorry, Beatrice. A small anecdote: My mother's name is Beatrice, and she said her favourite class was PE. I should have known from the beginning.... -doreen

Usher started out smelling like olive oil on me. "Hmmm... hunh? What the..." This makes me do a double-sniff. Yes, when wet on my skin, Usher smells like olive oil initially. It does change, thankfully, to a very clean scent reminiscent of Saint Germain, Severin and the Dormouse all at once. It's quite a clean, green scent, which I find appealing. It can be labelled as a masculine scent, which I also find appealing. The tea is light and the citrus notes are bright. Although the citrus note is mandarin, this smells more like lemon than anything on my skin. The mint isn't too strong, which is good, as a good deal of mint fragrances make me gag unpleasantly (I think it depends a lot on which mint is being used). After about five minutes, when the drydown begins, I can faintly smell the blackcurrant, which is really what makes this scent distict from other clean men's fragrances in the BPAL line. It's like the sun is obscured by a blackcurrant cloud. Ah, quite nice. Usher is a definite keeper as we get hotter down here in Florida. My boyfriend may like this scent as well, but I don't know if I'll pick him up a bottle. I'd love for him to smell like this, though. I'm quite a fan of it on my own skin, and will use my bottle well. Yay! A winner! :::throws confetti::: -doreen

It's approaching summer here in Orlando, so I've been going through spring scents for a couple months already. Seriously, the seasons are sort of like this: Winter Spring Summer Autumn Some of my favourite picks for this series of the brief spring, aka the segue into summer, include: The Hermit (also my most favourite BPAL ever) Holiday Moon Severin (although I wear this scent regardless of season) Bernice House of Mirrors Embalming Fluid (again, a pick regardless of season for me) Twenty-One -doreen

In the bottle, I get AquaNet. This is by far the most "chemical" of all of BPAL's selections I've tried. On my skin, it smells a bit like a trashy hair salon: AquaNet mingled with nail polish and cigarettes. As the oil mingles with my skin, Stardust begins to be a bit more floral, which isn't bad, but there is a fruity element that my nose doesn't quite agree with. *gasp* STARDUST TURNS INTO GIRLYBITS ON MY SKIN!! Again, the guest reviewers: Brent and Shawn, my boyfriend and roommate, weigh in. Brent: "That smells like gardenias or something." (Note: Gardenias turn awfully sickly sweet on my skin, so I'd know if gardenias were snuck into this oil somehow.) Shawn: "That smells nice. Kind of like Sweet Tarts." So, the fruity element is evident, and despite the positive opinions, I really don't care for Stardust at all. It reminds me too much of girlybits for me to really enjoy it. The sweaty element is a bit of a turn-off for me, but I'm glad I tried it, as I was curious about this scent, after all. -doreen

Whoa! Upon applying The Pit & the Pendulum and taking a sniff, it's as if I'd stuck my head in a wooden drawer or armoire! I quite fancy it, actually, as it doesn't smell too dark or dank, just incredibly woodsy. Minutes pass, and the woods seem to get lighter, but still quite lovely. Definitely a scent that trancends gender lines, or at least I think so. But hey, my boyfriend and roommate are currently watching Danger Mouse episodes, so let's see what they have to say... Brent, the boyfriend: "That smells like those soaps from the 80s. You know, the circular ones that you squeeze." (Hunh?!) Shawn: "I don't wanna smell your arm!" (a small amount of cajoling) Shawn: snnniffff "Aw! F***, I'm glad I did that! That smells good." Well, from this escapade I've learnt that The Pit & the Pendulum is quite a nice scent. Also, my boyfriend has a weird way to interpet scents. I'm quite sure this will definitely be something in the heavy rotation, as I don't quie have anything like it. I didn't care for Cathedral personally, but I enjoy P&P. Perhaps one bottle isn't enough. -doreen

Minty rootbeer. It smelled a bit medicinal when wet, but it's drying out to smell like rootbeer with a sprig of herb, whereas to my boyfriend's nose, he smelled what he described as being "beachwood." Wait, he could have said "beechwood." I don't know how often I would wear this, as it definitely has that Pepto quality noted in other reviews. It begins to descend into a scent that has a powdery tone in the span of mere minutes. I'm glad I had an opportunity to try this out, having swapped it for an extra bottle I happened to have of The Hanged Man, but The Wheel of Fortune doesn't quite work for me as a perfume. If I need a bit of luck, I have my TAL oil of Lady Luck to use when necessary. The Wheel of Fortune isn't quite a bad scent, just not something I particularly care for. -doreen

Sleepy Moon is an oil I've tried twice so far, and last night was one of them so that I might refresh my memory. Scent-wise, I love Sleepy Moon, although I was startled by its spicy edge, which my skin amped up quite a bit. The lavender was underneath the spice, smelling clean as usual. Bamboo has become quite a favourite note for me, so its presence was appreciated. I should add my boyfriend liked this scent as well. I use BPAL oil frequently to help me sleep, with my favourite being Arcana thus far. Sleepy Moon doesn't put me to sleep as instantly as Arcana; it actually took a while for me to quiet my mind, so to speak, so that I could sleep (about 30 minutes). I had some interesting dreams, however, which was unusual, since I normally cannot remember my dreams. But, I woke this morning very tired, a little disoriented, and a little crabby because I had to wake up early. I wouldn't mind using Sleepy Moon as a sleep aid, but I think I'd better use it on the weekends, when I don't need to wake up for work. -doreen

I'm a big fan of clean, herbal scents, so please allow me to give my two scents... erm, cents. Add me to the chorus recommending Dirty. I've finally plunked down some cash to get myself a bottle of it recently (yaaay!). I'll echo some of the recommendations others have given: The Apothecary, The Dormouse, Embalming Fluid, Sudha Segara, Zephyr. I might also add I didn't find Vinland particularly soft on my skin, more berries than anything. Silk Road was also something I didn't find light, and it's actually a bit more spicy on me than sandalwoodsy. That's skin chemistry for you. She may still like them, though. One that might be a sleeper hit is my personal most fave BPAL oil ever: The Hermit. It's light, a bit herbal, very clean and absolutely stunning. It's a shame that the Lab no longer gives out imps of the Tarot, but you may be able to find someone willing to decant some for you in the Swaps area. Arcana is another fresh/herbal scent that is a catalogue one could get imps of. It's lovely; I use it as a "sleepytime oil" myself. The recently-resurrected Phobos is a lovely, refreshing scent that is great if she likes citrus scents. Also, some of the traditionally masculine scents can be very clean, depending on one's tastes: Mad Hatter, Vicomte de Valmont, Villain, Saint-Germain. Good luck. -doreen

My initial experience with Saturnalia can be summed up as follows: "Violet? Where?" I smell vetiver, yes, but this is heavier than incarnaitons. I think my imp may be a little older, but I'm not so sure, as the vetiver has a nuttier smell, like my bottle of Hurricane which had aged to smell a bit nuttier, but still good. Saturnalia smells similar, too similar, to really warrent another foray with this much vetiver. I'm not especially impressed with the woodsy fragrance of the vetiver. It's weird, as I'm a fan of vetiver so long as it's mixed in with other notes to amp of the lushness of a scent. This, though, does not tickle my pickle. Edited to add that the violet finally showed herself about ten minutes into the wear of this fragrance. The woodsier vetiver backed down a bit, but it's still a very "wet" fragrance. Although it smells nicer, Saturnalia is still not a favourite. Interesting, but not a favourite. Sorry. -doreen