Neko

This scent must share some notes with Dissipation because it is affecting me in an extraordinarily similar, if less notable, manner. I enjoy the scent in the imp: a spicy, moderately fruity, herbal/floral fragrance. It isn't one of those "oh my gosh!" scents, but it could be considered pleasant. In the vial, Unseelie reminds me of a solid pefume I bought at a Ren Faire years ago (though I bought that mainly for its container, and less for the actual scent, which I believed smelled something like a cinnamon donut). After application to my wrists, the scent remains true to the imp for roughly five minutes, though I can immediately sense something under the jumble of aromas that doesn't sit well with my nose. After the five minutes pass I am left with an old woman's dusting powder: the heavy scent of expensive department store perfumes intertwined with the cloying, sweet scent of baby powder. I catch the faintest whiffs of what I know the blend should smell like... grasses, sweet herbs, like a field allowed to grow wild... but these are all totally and completely overpowered by the scent of old oriental perfumes and talc. This scent gives me the exact same headache that Dissipation did, only to a lesser degree. In fact, this smells almost exactly like Dissipation did to me (at least on my skin). Thus, I shall rename Unseelie Disspation Jr. and I shall put it up to swap.

Hmm... Dana O'Shee, Queen of Sheba, and O all went play doh when they were on my skin (though O was by far and away the biggest culprit). Now I know why! I was beginning to think it was the honey note.

Put baby powder (or talcum powder, or even loose makeup powder) on an oil stain to absorb it out of the fabric. I've used it on three BPAL oil stains, two of which were pretty serious. I cover the stain, leave the powder on for 24 hours, and then stick the clothing in the wash. It really works wonders!

In the bottle: Holy champagne flutes Batman! I opened this imp a good foot and a half away from me (I've had too many splashing incidents in the past), and I was immediately hit by the scent of champagne. I'm not talking a sweet little tickle, I'm talking a big fat alcoholic smack in the face. That's never happened to me with an imp before. Perhaps it is because I rarely drink, perhaps I am more sensitive to the scent of alcohol than others, but I could pick the champagne note out far sooner, and from a greater distance, than the strawberry. Sniffing the imp directly, I was reminded of some fruity alcoholic beverage... a whine cooler perhaps. On the wrists (5 min): Strawberry lip gloss, strawberry bubble gum, strawberry ring pops, strawberry shampoo, strawberry and cream candles, strawberry incense. This is a sugary sweet strawberry, that, while pleasant, certainly doesn't smell at all like the real thing to my nose. That isn't necessarily a bad thing though. I love all of the things I've listed above. The champagne note receeded at an amazing rate once the oil hit my skin (not surprised there, things always go sweet on my skin), but the vaguest remanent stays to add a tiny tart touch that tingles in my nose. I think it may be the alcholic note that is making the strawberry come across as synthetic. On the wrists (30 min): The strawberry has "cooled" some. It's less sugary sweet than before, though I would still definitely classify this as a sweet scent. I'm not sure if it's the champagne that is responsible for this, as I can't pick out the champagne scent reliably any longer. Howver, my skin has a tendency to "throw" particular scents, and I catch an occasional whiff of the champagne note in the air around me. At this point I am noticing the generic "lush bath ballistic" scent peeking through. I am trying to decide which one in particular this reminds me of, but not being extremely familiar with the ballistic line, I can't exactly say. All I know is that this is what it smelled like when I was shopping in the Lush store and was sniffying some of the bath bombs available. Overall: I like this scent, and it has its place in my repertoire of BPAL scents, but this is definitely not an everyday scent. I may or may not give it to my 11 year old sister, who I am sure would love it to death.

Just wondering if you've considered Bayou. I absolutely love it. In it I can smell deep, lush florals, soft mossy back drop, and murky aquatic undercurrents. Here is the site's description: A lazy, warm deep green scent with a thick aquatic undertone: Spanish moss, evergreen and cypress with watery blue-green notes and an eddy of hothouse flowers and swamp blooms. Don't let the wood notes fool you. This is truly a floral/mossy scent.

I have allergic reactions to the strangest things. For example, I got bumps all up and down the insides of my arms when I wore Gluttony, I got the same bumps the second time I wore Red Moon, and I've had it happen with one or two other oils (essentially at random). I also know that the one time I put a dab of Katharina on my throat, it turned into a blood red streak that my boyfriend could not stop commenting on. However, I have worn other oils with similar ingredients, and have had no problem. I am debating whether or not its simply the strength of the concentrated oil against my sensitive skin. I would get some jojoba oil to dilute the blends, but I have no larger bottles to pour a diluted mix into, and in some ways, I feel as if I'd be ruining the perfume. Blah, perhaps I should just suffer through it. It's not as if I can pinpoint specific ingredients that are causing the problem.

In the bottle: Sharp, dark, very prominent earth and wood, it almost seems as if I can smell a nutty note in there, though it isn't a sweet scent. This is definitely a powerful blend. On my skin (first five minutes): Wow, if anything, this becomes even darker when it first hits my skin. The nutty note has vanished and I am left with the strong smell of dark, heavy wood and rich soil. This scent is bitter... the particular bitterness of very old wood. It makes me feel as if I were a small child playing hide and go seek in an ancient wardrobe. This is certainly not a fresh, clean wooden smell. I also smell some earthiness, it is in the background but not at all faint. It is slightly damp, filled with old leaves and twigs, bare but ripe for growing new things. I am suddenly transported to half hidden trail in the darkest, most hidden portion of the forest. 30 min: The wooden note is becoming lighter. It smells a lot like cedar to my nose. Not quite as bright and new as the cedar in Shadow. This is the cedar of well worn furniture, or weathered floor boards. The earthy note is fading a bit now (but not much), and the scent has taken on a wooden sweetness, though I would not call this a sweet blend. This scent is very dry to my nose, and not particularly warm, like an old creeky cabin with a draft. The nutty note appears, very faintly, in the air around me from time to time, but it is difficult to pick out. 50 min: The scent smells much like it did at the half hour mark, though it has lightened considerably and become a titch sweeter. I would have never thought it would get this light based on the scent from the bottle.

Dragon's Milk took on a spicy, milky scent after a while, but when I first put it on, it was very fruity and sweet. Katharina is very very sweet, it smells like apricot candy! Dissipation went extremely sweet on me, but not in a good way...

Oh how I wanted to love this one... I really truly did. The description sounded lovely, and I was extremely excited when an imp of this arrived in a swap. I actually enjoyed the scent in the bottle. It was soft, mildly sweet, very light and comforting. I actually sniffed the bottle several different times, and each time I commented on how I hoped this would be a favorite. Yet somehow the blend wound up turning into something horrid on my skin. When mixed with my skin chemistry, Dissipation becomes extremely heavy, stereotypically perfume-ish, and overwhelmingly cloying. I feel as though I were walking through the perfume counter jungle of some major department store, a sensation that is rendering me light headed and a bit queasy. Upon first applying the perfume, I had a sneezing fit... something that commonly happens when I am assaulted by a strong alcohol based perfume. I don't smell any green notes at all, despite having a fairly good nose (which is unfortunate, as I was really looking forward to the ivy), and I would never in my life describe this as a fresh scent... the artificial perfumed sweetness of this fragrance once it hits my skin is headache inducing. When I sniff my wrists to see if I can identify any seperate notes, my nose crinkles in involuntary disgust. I am happy this isn't a particularly hot day, because the scent of this one is already too much to handle. I think it may be the wormwood my skin is disagreeing with. While I've never worn a scent with wormwood in it before, I do know that wormwood is supposed to be a rather sweet note, and my skin tends to sweeten things on its own. I could easily imagine wormwood dominating once it hit my skin, and morphing into something incredibly unpleasant. It might also be the poppy (simply because I usually associate traditional perfume scents with florals), but I wouldn't want to jump to that conclusion right away. *sniffle* I know I should try this one again later (different day, different time, different hormones), but I just don't know if I can bring myself to put this on again. I think I will have to swap it.

If you don't mind a sweet scent, Katharina was very light on me. Let me repeat, she can be extremely sweet (so if you don't like sweet blends, stay far away from this one), but she tends to fade quickly into a barely there, gentle fruity sugared scent, rather than a cloying, overpowering, headache inducing one.

In the bottle: Fruity and sweet… exceptionally sweet. It smells far more like those chewy candy fruit slices than real fruit to me, but for some reason I find myself liking it. This is a very playful blend, it reminds me of a young woman who is still a mischievous girl at heart, and I can’t help being drawn in. Upon first application (wrists): Whoa, that’s white musk alright! The white musk immediately dominates all other notes in this blend. At the moment, Katharina is smelling rich, smooth, and mild, with a touch of wide-eyed innocence. The sugary quality is still there, but it’s been tempered by the musk, and what remains isn’t nearly as fruity. This must be the soft and lovely soul… If I sniff my skin directly I can’t catch any sort of distinctly fruity note, but the air around me seems to retain some of the candied apricot scent, surrounding me in a cottony, peach colored cloud. I was happily surprised that my skin didn’t render this already sweet fragrance even sweeter (as it is wont to do). I can catch a slight hint of floral in this, but she’s hiding far behind her sister notes for now. On the skin (30 min later): Ok, the buttery orange blossom has arrived, adding it’s own slightly sweet odor to the blend, but the entire thing is fading very quickly from my skin. The pastel cloud of sugared apricot has all but disappeared, and the white musk has stepped back from the spot light in order to allow the orange blossom a last hurrah. When I sniff my wrist, my nose registers “sweet, with plush floral, and perhaps the lightest trickle of fruit.” Final Verdict: The candied apricot scent came climbing back after the first hour or so (on my wrist this time, rather than wafting through the air). The fruit is wetter now than it was before, and is currently standing arm in arm with the gentler orange blossom, giving a sassy, playful edge to the blend. In fact, the entire fragrance almost takes on a tangy note! The white musk has lost much of it’s strength since the original application, but maintains just enough presence to round out the over all effect. Katharina may not become my ultimate BPAL favorite, but I can see her holding her own in the top ten. Update to Add: While Katharina faded to a barely-there scent within the first four or five hours, she has tremendous clinging power. I woke up this morning and caught her distinct fragrance on my wrist... and this was after a shower, the application of a totally different blend, a meal, and 10 hrs sleep! Amazing!

I've read in several books that amber (the semi-precious stone) was worn by old time magical practicioners of all sorts and used in many magical workings. It is a good, strong, steady, warm stone that has long been thought to increase the potence of the magic being practiced. Here's what I've found via google: I don't know how much of this energy would be imparted to amber colored glass (as opposed to the stone itself), but I can certainly say that I wouldn't mind having bottles that could infuse my oils with these sorts of vibes. Besides, these are new, amber colored, limited edition bottles!