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I liked Phantom Queen quite a bit. This is a dignified, though not stuffy, floral that I could see as being excellent bait to enable future BPAL fanatics. I really like the green earthiness added by the moss and clover. It grounds this scent, while still letting it be feminine. Phantom Queen didn't linger as long as some, but it is very nice and worth reaplying. Also I really like to incorporate this one into rituals or meditations.

I really like R'lyeh. True to previous reviews, it is a "aquatic grapefruit" smell. I like aquatics and don't mind grapefruit so this isn't a bad thing. Somehow despite the grapefruit I do get a "murky" quality to the aquatic, which surprised me. It is not so much a result of any note that I can distinguish, as a subtle coloring of the scent. It is like sunlight filtering through murky green water. So I guess what I am getting is neither here nor there. It is not the "crushing black waters" I expected from the description, nor the bright grapefruit I expected from other reviews. All and all, though, I will definately keep an imp of this on hand.

I have no idea what loganberry smells like. That having been said, vinland smells clean and fresh like the outdoors. No, not like the fabric softener, like the wind blowing across hillsides of growing things. This was very nice in the bottle and at first. After about 20 minutes it gets decidedly soapy on me though, so I am unlikely to wear it as a personal scent.

Loup Garou was beautiful in the bottle. It is green and piney, like wandering around in a virgin forest of tall evergreens that reach up straight and tall, blocking out most of the light. This would make a wonderful room scent, particularly a seasonal one for yule/christmas. This wasn't really a wearable scent for me though. I can definately see how many would call this traditionally masculine in the bottle, but my skin took it to something harsher. It almost had an underlying burnt smell. I wish I knew what was causing it, but as it wasn't really my sort of smell I am not too grief stricken.

Oh my, Desdemona is incredibly soft and feminine. It is all baby pastels, soft mint green, powder pink and soft yellow. It has beautiful soft, dew laden edges and lasts a really long time. It is still wafting after 8 hours. I wasn't really that fond of Maiden but in Desdemona I have found a carnation scent that I could love.

Samhain smells like autumn leaves, the brown crunchy ones that we would make into enormous piles before jumping in and scattering them to the far corners of the yard. When I hold my wrist up to my nose to get a closer smell, it smells slightly more foody than when I don't, although it isn't very even still. The spices are there, but like a good mulled wine you don't pick out individual notes, just a melange of spices. This is very nice and I could see how many people like it. It isn't something I am drooling over though so I will probably let this one pass on to someone who is more passionate about it.

If you don't mind aquatics then I would also recommend Tempest. Though similar to Lightning I think it is a lot clean and actually I think my review mentioned that I thought it would be a good after shower scent.

Shattered makes me cold all over. When wet the mint was fairly prominent, but eased back once it was dry. Then it was lotus's turn. This stage was almost warm for a few minutes as the bubblegum of the lotus worked itself into a nearly tuttifruiti frenzy. After this 5-10 minute stage it became absolutely beautiful. It is subdued and does not waft that much, but the fragrance is so qhite as to be almost clear. The menthol of the mint doesn't strike me as any mint in particular just a sharp cold sensation on the back of my throught like breathing in deeply on the coldest of mornings. The champagne note only adds to that feeling. Fragile, beautiful and cold this almost makes me think of ice sculptures.

Tempest is incredible clean and subtle. I could see this one being a wonderful after shower scent. It fairly reminiscent of Lightning though I couldn't tell you the difference without having both in front of me. The SO loves this one. After about 20 minutes it gets slightly soapy, which he still likes. "You smell like you just washed your hands." This is not exactly what I look for in a fragrance, but it is still very nice.

Granted I am not a huge fan of patchouli, musk or myrrh, but Lust is the closest that I have come to liking a scent with any of these. And I have no idea why. The ylang ylang makes this very sweet at first, and the myrrh and patcholi add a spiciness. Verdict: I don't really think that I would wear this, but I appreciate the chance to come to terms with several notes that I thought I could never wear.

Undertow is an amazing paradox. The mint adds a subtle edge of a cool breeze. I can definately see where ladylatemar gets her alpine image. At the same time the lotus adds a rounded almost bubblegum sweetness that seems completely in contrast to this coolness. The juniper, which can often become dominant, plays mostly a supportive role to the mint and lotus. The distinctive soft sweetness of lotus is prominant for the first 4 hours, but Undertow lingers if I put my wrist to my nose even nearly 10 hours later. Wow this lasts a long time on me, though I would reapply earlier. I tend not to be a huge fan of lotus, but I am really glad to have had the chance to try another BPAL fragrance with mint. For those who may be nervous about ordering anything with mint I suggest giving it a shot. Beth has a wonderfully subtle way with the mints, so that if you didn't know better it might never occur to you that it was there. Yet it can add another layer of complexity that is unparalled and (at least to me) unexpected.

As a tarot oil I think this does a good job representing it's card. I found it to be a scent that was quite benefitial to clarity of mind. This works for me both for meditation on the card, but also as a way to encourage this kind of energy in my day. And it just smells good! The smell of lavendar and neroli mix to make a surprisingly cutting, clean fragrance. This is higly recommended for those who like lavendar scents.

Venus is a wet leafy floral. At first it was soapy on my skin, but became less soapy over the course of 10 minutes. Then it was still very wet, like raindrops dripping from leafy boughs of heavy blooms. This reminds me a little bit of Venice. It is sad to lose this oil, but others looking for somehing similar would be recommended to try Venice.

Velvet was exactly what it should be: warm, rich, dusty and soft. It smells not just of chocolate but the almost bitter cocoa powder. The myrrh is very subtle, and even I (who can usually not wear myrrh) am enthralled by the added bitterness. The vanilla rounds this out and makes it almost edible. I really like this one for the first hour and a half, especially as a comfort scent. Afterwards the chocolate dies back to a more powdery smell. Although similar to Vice this one has a little more rich bitterness, like really expensive dark chocolate. I love them both but wouldn't in any way consider them interchangable.

For the first hour: On me Eternal is a warm blend of jasmine and gardenia. A bright white smell, it reminds me of those images of heaven with the light streaming through white fluffy clouds. I can't smell any rose, but as there is a well blended background of florals for the jasmine and gardenia. I assume that it is some where in there. Over and hour: This develops a warm creaminess that I am unsure what to ascribe to. It almost reminds me in a very mild way of Hellcat (buttercream?). Verdict: I don't really wear a lot of florals without rose, so although this is nice I don't think that I would wear it often enough to keep.

Eidolon was one of those scents that grew on me. I like lemon verbana a lot, but when I first put this on the cedar edge was a little off putting. There was also an herbal edge that seemed a little bit harsh at first. But as I wore it that herbalness filled out and softened a little bit. Although I wasn't sure if I liked it at first I found that I kept reaching to wear this one again. I will be sad to see this one go.

I am not sure how I avoided doing a review for this one. June Gloom is definately one of my favorite scents. No matter how stressed or emotionally distrought I am this always makes me feel better. The lemon verbana, which many people felt was pledge-like to me seems like the herb instead. There is a slight sweetness that goes beyond that herb, but even more than that there is that sense of comfort in being inside when the weather is fierce and stormy. I have no idea how this is accomplished in an olafactory manner, but I am thrilled to have been a participent in this LE. As it is I will buy as much of this as I can get my hands on (I am in grad school; I can use all the stress relief I can get!), but I am just glad that I had an opportunity to enjoy it. Added later: I forgot to mention how long this one lasts. I can wear it for nearly 8 hours before it fades, and in my scent locket it has lasted nearly a month and still going strong!

In the bottle this smells like air freshener. Fortunately it is not as much so on. My SO liked both Lightning and Jolly Roger, two great sea scents. Of the two though we both slightly prefered the saltier Jolly Roger though. For the first hour or so there is a distinct soapy underlying smell. I never get any ozone . Perseverence is paid off though. After that first hour the soapiness dies down for the most part, but never goes completely away. Final decision? A nice sea scent, but I still prefer Jolly Roger.

At first touch against my skin this is just almondy goodness. As always (on me) it disappears quickly though. The cinnamon comes out during dry down with a (ont overwhelming) oranginess. Wow this is sweet and yummy! Actually it made me hungry. It also cheered my up on what has been a cold wet and generally unpleasant day. It sort of reminded me of Lady Grey tea. For the first 15 minutes I found myself thinking "maybe I put on too much." It wafted up at me while I am typing. After dry down the spiciness of the cinnamon slowly morphs into a spicy & slightly fruity scent, like flavored black tea or orange-cinnamon incense. After about 30-45 minutes though I have to hold my nose to my wrist to get anything at all. I really loved this one, but just wished it lasted longer.

Wet Nine Mysteries is indeed very minty. Although applied to my wrist I can feel my breath as slightly cool from breathing in the scent. During dry down there was a short lived orange scent, not that of the fruit but rather like a chocolate orange. After dry down it is still minty, though not nearly as much as at first. It also has a substantial floral component, which comes across to me as mostly violet, although I am fairly sensitive to violet in general. I like this one, but the violets would keep me from wearing it. For now I will stick with Mad Hatter as my favorite "minty"scent.

Wet this smelled like those little rose shaped soaps you find in guest rooms and hotels. The rose is not overwhelming and is indeed part of a more diverse bouquet. Sweet flowers are tempered by an inherent soapyness on my skin. This isn't unpleasent (at least it smells clean), but not really what I am looking for. Then the myrrh comes out. At first when it is very subtle it is actually a somewhat nice darker note. Unfortunately it doesn't stay that way very long. The clean sopy floral now has a definate body odor quality. This note is just how myrrh smells on me from what I can tell (I have had similar experience with other fragrances with myrrh). This will be up for swaps to someone who can wear myrrh.

Duing dry down this is so subtle that I almost feel like I should go slather some more on. It builds though to a very Tears-like fragrance, although sweeter. Dragon's Tears definately has something in common with the elusive Tears. As I love the latter I also find myself liking the first. Not nearly as much as my SO though, who adores aquatics even more than I. He swears that he smells jasmine. In fact he claims that is the most prominent note on my skin. Final thoughts? I definately like it, but think that I like Tears a little more. The SO on the otherhand prefers this one, so I guess I will be keeping both.

A rich golden imp, Sacred Whore is a very heavy sweet floral. In fact it is so cloying sweet I am not sure if I can wear it at first. There is a dark spicy incensy note that fills out the sweetness though. Unfortunately after a few minutes the sweetness goes soapy on my skin

I am not sure what I was expecting from Masabakes. It seemed a lot more masculine on me than I expected. Myrrh always comes out strongly on me, but ther was also an undercurrent of what I thought was juniper... which is strange. In the end this was too masculine and harsh on me, although I know that is in more than part because of my chemistry.The boyfriend says I smell like "that guy" in the in coach that smells of cheap cologne trying desparately to mask 3 days of living in airports without a proper shower. Flattering huh? I am going to put this up for trade in the hope that it will suit someone else's body chemistry more.

Wet: There is definately some chocolately-ness here. It is pretty harsh though. Fortunately it goes through the dry down fast and gets to the good part. Dry: Can you say comfort food... I mean scent... The chocolate has gone to the slightly dry bittersweet of cocoa powder as opposed to a very sweet chocolate. This is a dark chocolate cake topped with fresh cherries (not the syrupy sweet ones) and powdered with cocoa powder to finish. This is just how I like my desserts, rich in flavor (scent?) and not too sweet. Final thoughts: After dry down this is wonderful. It is just the thing on a day (or week) when I am really stressed. It doesn't last quite as long as I would like though, which means reapplying a few times a day. There are definately days when it would be worth it though.