for_the_nonce

Yes! Aries bottle pics, anyone? And Roux-ga-Roux...

Shadow Witch Orchid is similar to Vasakasajja when wet, but the tropical-ness dries down to a more typical, slightly dusty floral. It's a very pretty orchid scent. Also, I just discovered that Black Forest smells almost identical to Wolf Moon '07, but is slightly less... well, blue in feeling. While I prefer Wolf Moon slightly, Black Forest seems to have more lasting power.

Dark, smokey, but almost foody. The cinnamon is barely there. Hm... I like this one, but it's a very autumnal scent to me, so I don't think I'll be wearing it in the next few months. It reminds me a little of the Winter of our Discontent, but I like it much better. This is one that's good enough to keep and imp around, but probably not good enough to buy a bottle.

First and foremost, I can smell the blackberry. However, it doesn't overpower the other notes- the honey and carnation are right beside it. Luckily, the lavender is more of an afterthought, though I usually amp it. This is a very unique blend- it's both sweet and fruity, as well as spicy and herbal. Overall, it's very beautiful and feminine. I'm definitely going to get a bottle before it goes away.

I've tried the more traditional sleep oils, but lavender tends to keep me awake; it's just too strong and sometimes gives me asthma. So... I second that. Opium scents are also good for sleep- I like Languor, in particular. I also find Wolf Moon '07 to be very comforting/sleep inducing. Just my $0.02.

On me, this is a deep, perfumed honey with a touch of jasmine. Jasmine usually makes me feel nauseous, but in this blend, it's actually quite tame! This is sophisticated and just a tiny bit sweet- not at all cloying. I can see why people shell out the big bucks. But! It smells even better on my roommate. On her, it blossomed into this rich honey scent with hella throw; the perfumy-ness was only present up close. I may have to give her my imp. *smells wrist* Okay, maybe half of the imp... But in all seriousness, I'm completely floored by this blend. Honey is usually way too sweet on me and jasmine is just awful, but Honey Moon is a lovely honey that is neither too sweet nor too bitter.

I just got an imp of Honey Moon, but I haven't tried it yet. However, it smells so wonderful on my roomate that I can understand why people shell out so much money for it! However, O went horribly wrong on me and I'm afraid Honey Moon will do the same. So it's sitting in my box... looking at me...

lol! That's exactly what I thought when I saw those pics! I *love* all the new bottles.

This smelled like sweaty blackberries on me, I kid you not. I'm not sure where the sweat note is coming from, but it was pungent. The blackberry part is quite nice, but I can't get past the sweaty smell. Also, I didn't get any florals. *shrug* This one just wasn't meant for me.

In the bottle: frighteningly pungent and sweet. Wet: Yum! My fears were unfounded! This was a very subtle scent; I can smell grapes, myrrh, and wine. The notes blend wonderfully and none overpower the others. Dry: Um, where'd you go, Purple Phoenix? This was so very shortlived on me, which is a real shame because it was so lovely.

No kidding! Czernnobog (or however it's spelled ) has been mentioned here quite a few times, but it was quite sweet and light on me. The darkest I've tried is probably Lenore. Most things turn sweet on me, but this one didn't.

Wet: Vibrant, dewy, red roses. Lovely. Dry: The roses fade more and more as this dries, and the hazelnut takes center stage. I can still smell the rose in the background, though. On me, there wasn't anything 'mysterious' about this blend. It was a beautiful, clean rose scent with a side of hazelnut; very unique. However, I must say that this is the first rose blend that has actually worked on my skin (I've tried ten or so), and I am in love with it.

At first, this didn't smell too bad. I could smell all three floral notes in it quite distinctly. But after sitting on my skin for about a minute, it went absolutely rancid. I kept waiting on it to dry and hoping it would become nicer but everytime I sniffed my wrist, I recoiled in horror. I finally had to just wash it off. This is the first bpal I've tried with jasmine in it, so I think that's the problem note (especially since I like lavendar and honeysuckle). So, word to the wise, avoid this one if you don't like jasmine! However, if you're a jasmine fan, this might be for you.

Wet: straight-up maraschino cherries! Dry: the maraschino cherry scent is fading quickly, giving way to what smells like a wood table. On old, unfinished wood table that has soaked up some cherry juice and possibly some cinammon over the years. This isn't bad, but it's not as good dry as wet. Even dry-er: almost entirely woody, with nary a hint of cherry and cinammon. Oh, maraschino cherry, why have you forsaken me? Overall: meh, not terrible, but not me at all. Maybe in a scent locket...

Apples, a smidge of apple cider, and sugar cane. I it. However, the longer I wear it, the more pronounced the sugar cane becomes. Eventually, that's all I can smell. But since this doesn't happen for a few hours, I can still wear it happily.

Someone frimped me with this wayyyy back in the days when I was new to bpal... okay, maybe that was only two months ago but who's counting? Anywho! To my newbie-nose, it smelled absolutely rancid in the vial, thus it sat untouched in my box for two months. However, today I finally worked up the nerve to try it. And it's suprisingly... nice. And quite sweet. I don't smell any musk or vetiver. The sweetness is almost eucalyptus-like, with perhaps a bit of violet? I'm guessing this is the mullein. Overall, I like this blend, although it doesn't smell at all like I expected it to. However, it's not very 'me' and is kinda faint, so I won't be buying a bottle.

I didn't know that's how Cicero's name was transcribed in Greek. That kinda makes me wonder how the Catholic Church decided that c's could be soft, or even pronounced like the double c (che) in Italian. Unfortunately, classical Latin is so embedded in my brain that I pronounce Caesar as kai-sar... oops. Anyway! I'm always interested to see who pronounces their Latin classically and who pronounces it the Catholic way. Oh, I forgot to add that g's are hard in classical Latin, but can be pronounced like j's in Church Latin. I can't really think of a bpal that applies to, but store it away for future reference.

Eucalyptus and dry dirt. This is a very dry, unsweet scent. I don't smell any Juniper. However, it's very realistic, yet inoffensive. I like this one. It layers nicely with Absinthe, btw, which gives it just a touch of sweetness. The lasting power and throw are both pretty good too.

Fall under the spell of our Green Fairy! An intoxicating blend containing wormwood essence, light mints, cardamom, anise, hyssop, and the barest hint of lemon. I could barely bring myself to put this on. In the vial, it smelled nauseating and alcoholic. On, however, it was strong lemon with something sharp (the anise, maybe?). I really like this. It's a very clean scent, but unlike other clean scents I've tried. This one's got bite. However, it only lasted for 30 minutes. I may wear this again (and by wear, I do mean slather), but I won't invest in a bottle, because it just doesn't last long enough.

A wee bit off topic, but that reminds me of Austin. Guadalupe is pronounced Gwad-a-loop, instead of the Spanish way. When I first moved down there, I was convinced I would pronounce it correctly, but that didn't last long, because people would give me the strangest looks! Back on topic: how do you guys pronounce the latin names (like Sol Invictus)? I pronounce my 'v's like 'w's, but I know alot of people use Church latin (i.e. where 'v's are like English 'v's and the 'c's are hard, etc). Just curious!

grass + powdered sugar. so far, its lasted for 5 hours and is still going pretty strong. it gets a little musky as it dries down. when i first put this on, i liked the scent, but didn't think it was something i really wanted to wear as perfume. however, by the end of the night, i had decided that i needed a bottle. as for the efficacy, well, it seemed to make me feel a bit calmer, but i would wear this just for its scent. its... comforting more than calming, i guess, in much the same way as sudha segara. sweet, but not foody.

unfortunately, this was way too sweet for me. basically, super-sweet honey. sweet enough to make your teeth hurt. i didn't get any amber or vanilla. this one's just not for me.

I was wary of mint for some reason; this scent kinda made me wonder why. It's a very soft mint; not too abrasive or strong. It's also a little bit aquatic. I like the scent of this one, but it doesn't have much throw. Maybe my skin chemistry's wonky lately, because I've tried about 5 scents in the past two days that have had no throw or staying power.

Daffodils poking their heads out of slushy, melting snow. Snow Maiden is a really pretty soft floral, but it faded very quickly. I couldn't even smell it with my nose pressed up against my wrist after about an hour. I like the scent alot, but I think I'll have to swap it because it just fades so quickly on me.

Wet: clean, warm citrus. I don't get much of the notes besides mandarin. Dry: I get a little more tea, but its still mostly citrus. It gets a bit soapy when it dries too. This is a very clean, simple scent on me. However, its *very* nice and I could see wearing alot in summer. Its not masculine at all to me; I think a man or a woman could wear it. However, it doesn't have much thow and isn't long lasting, but citrus scents usually aren't on me. And by not long lasting, I mean its fading as I write this review. Hmm.. maybe if I slather? I got a bottle of this for my father for Christmas, but I don't know if I can give it up, even with the low thow and quick fading.