dorothy humbird

ATHENS Reminded me first of Blood Kiss, and then of Hetairae. All have honey, and there are common notes of myrrh, red wine, or clove between at least two at a time. Otherwise I have no idea why I find the similarities. First on, I get mostly honey and wine grapes; myrrh must be that deep, voluptuous scent in the background. After some drydown on my skin, I keep getting wafts of a sweet honey scent sort of spiced with myrrh. The wine note isn't too sharp or too sickly sweet - it just adds an interesting dimension to the sweetness of the honey. There isn't much floral that I notice from this - at least, not enough to detract from my appreciation of the honey-myrrh vibe. I've got a little crush on Athens right now. See, I had a long-term fling with Blood Kiss, but it took me a while to realize that as much as I loved his sweeter side, I couldn't really handle the vetiver lurking underneath. Hetairae inspired a brief obsession that I soon realized was totally superficial -- after the first five minutes I realized she was WAY too high pitched (too much clove?). But I think Athens is the middle sibling here. Charming, but moderated. I'm gonna see where this crush goes.

HOLY HECKS This is... wow. Wow. Wow. So, in the bottle there's a deep, dark, devious blueberry smell lurking around, biding its time. Waiting. Plotting. Once it hits my skin, BLAMMO! Blueberry Skittles! Betcha didn't see that coming, didya, punk!?! (You totally did, though. But it's way better than you were expecting.) This period lasts, all fizzly good, for about a minute and a half, and then the red musk saunters up sweetly and gets the blueberry to calm the heck down, already. The vanilla and benzoin are there, too, just chillin', while green tea and ginger are adding a lighthearted zing to the atmosphere of the room. They have such sparkling personalities. Squash blossom is kind of an unknown quantity, hanging out in the corner, not saying too much, sipping its drink and not getting on anyone's nerves. I suspect it is the coriander that made me think "Mm, lemony!" 10 minutes into my first test. Coriander is all about the slightly feisty citrus (I have a crush on coriander because of this.) All in all, IADSCD is like a diverse group of wacko friends that somehow manages to meld together seamlessly, so you couldn't imagine them apart. And if one of them were missing, it just wouldn't be the same. Oh, also, this group of friends smells FREAKING INCREDIBLE. I await the drydown of magical vanilla-musk deliciousness. (They're like the two philosophical friends who stay well past everyone else's departure, too absorbed in discussing the literary themes in the novels of Haruki Murakami to go to bed for God's sake. It's 3 in the morning! But they just keep at it. Because they are awesome.)

Spicy cinammon over smutty, swarthy muskiness. This is smooth yet spiked. Kind of like the little horny (heh) nubs coming out of a snarky satyr's brow. There's something like patchouli underneath, too... I suspect. Maybe vetiver also? It's hard to say. If cornered in the forest by a man named Billy with suspiciously shaggy legs and some hoofy-looking footprints, given that he smelled like this (and had a killer grin) I might be powerless to resist his charms. ...but, that's an isolated scenario. For an everyday scent, I think I'd appreciate smelling something more, um... sedate.

Ughghghhgghghghgjfjfghbjgjgh oh my God, this is absolutely the worst BPAL I have ever smelled on my skin. Emanating from my arm is a miniaturized ashtray full of the world's cheapest, most disgusting cigar ash, lightly spangled with shreds of bologna. What? Yeah, that's right. Bologna. I don't think I'd want to smell this on a dude, even. Ghwghguh.

KHAJURAHO 2008 Sweet, smells like Pepto Bismol in the imp... or some other fruity medicine. On my skin the medicinal quality lessens, but now it smells kind of powdery-foody. Oddly, this reminds me of Eden, when their only common notes are honey and sandalwood... and plenty of other blends have these notes as well. This is more obviously floral, though -- I can smell the Damascus rose quite clearly. I suspect the champaca blossom might be what's giving this a bubblegum-y sweetness, but that may be pure conjecture on my part. Something is causing this blend to smell sort of waxy on my skin, or else this combination of notes just tends to remind me of candles. It's a pleasant enough smell, I suppose, but not particularly evocative of the impression I'd like to create... rather more "cozy home" than "comfortably coy coquette."

Citrusy talcum powder, but with a darker patchouli edge. It's alright for a while, and then turns into powdered sweet tarts. Not something I'll be holding on to, much less reaching for.

First reaction: Oh man, this is so good to my nose. Without looking at the notes, there's a kind of floral veil over something pretty but hippie-ish. Now that I see them... I have no idea where I'm getting the "floral" unless it's the unguents; but now that I think of it, it might be the honey, too. I don't get much caramel at all from this in the early stages. It's all honey and unguents, probably supported by the red musk (which also explains why I immediately breathed a deep sigh of contentment when putting this on.) Hrrm, now that this is drying down, I'm getting way more spiced unguents than anything else. I was hoping the caramel would come out, but alas... unguents only. There's something masculine about it at this stage that I don't think I want to pull off, regardless if I could. I mean, maybe one day if I decide to join a drag king entourage of some sort. Yup. By this point, whatever those unguents are, they are powerfully reminding me of my grandpa's cologne. Good for Roy; not so good for me. This is undoubtedly a really interesting blend, though!

First on: Sharply citrussy, with an almost grassy character. Certainly something herbal going on. Aha! Bergamot explains the citrus, and I suppose the I was reading eucalyptus as grassy. I can read this as "marine" now that I know what to epect, but man... this is really far out of my scent preferences. It is kind of foreboding, though, which is as it should be. Now that it's drying down, the notes are becoming less distinct, and the scent altogether is actually much nicer than I thought starting out. Still, not something I'd reach for much. It might be really nice on a guy. Actually... this might be kind of phenomenal on a guy. *eyes glaze over* Further into drydown this is achieving a slightly soapy quality that I also get from The Black Swan in later stages. I think the marine accord must be responsible. It's not a bad thing, though. I also suspect that the ambergris is settling in for its shift, as there's something smoother about the whole business now. Overall: not a scent I see myself wanting to wear often, but I would totally dig this on a dude.

This goes on smoothly, with a mellow sweetness that is really pleasant. I get a similar vibe from this that I do from Inez, although this has more of a floral character while Inez is a bit spicier. I can smell coconut instantly, but it's buoyed up on a drift of soft musk and the vanilla tea. The tonka and tobacco add a little bit of a smokier undercurrent, but what I noticed most this morning while it was in the drying-down stage was the lilac, with a slightly soapy tone that might be the hyssop. It's not actually soapy, though -- just has that quality, if that even makes sense. As this has dried down, I can smell the coconut-tobacco just slightly edging everything else out, but while Perversion and Red Lantern take this combination to very sultry, devious places, Ashlultum keeps it almost demure. You know this is a front, though. The lilac, as others have said, does indeed keep blowing kisses from just off-stage. Ashlultum, you're such a tease! I really like this one, although it seems to disappear on me fairly quickly. However, this light character makes it perfect for hot weather, when I don't want something clinging heavily to me all day. And if I really need it during colder months, there's always the locket.

Inez starts out fairly cedary on me, but underneath that I can smell the delicious marriage of carnation with the amber and myrrh. This works well on my skin, to be sure, and even reminds me powerfully of Morocco at times -- they have enough notes in common (carnation, red sandalwood, musk) that this shouldn't be surprising at all, but I think the myrrh and cedar notes take Inez in a slightly different direction. It's a good direction to take. By the time this dries down, everything is melded so completely that it's just a warm, slightly spicy, heavenly dose of wonderful on my skin. In fact, aside from Morocco, the other scent that Inez reminds me of is Heavenly Love and Earthly Love. Good company to keep, says I! At any rate, this dries down really close to my skin, and I don't notice much of a throw. I think I'd like to wear it when I don't want to have a strong olfactory presence, but do want to know that I'm awesome, anyway.

First on: clean, yet soft and full... classy, perfumey Dried down: oh, lovely. this doesn't smell overly metallic on me; the amber and musk provide a lovely smooth base, and I believe the floral note I smell is gardenia. However, it's so well-blended, and my skin doesn't amp anything over the rest of the notes, so that there's nothing jumping out at me. It's much, much lovelier than I was expecting, with some reviews remarking on the strong chrome note. My brain keeps saying this is somehow closer to aquatic than floral, but I have a hard time putting it in any category. As other reviewers have said, "fresh" and "luminous" sound right for this blend. I'd say this is a cousin to Anactoria (another favorite of mine), despite the fact that they have no exact notes in common. Both have a light, yet complex, refreshing feel, veiled with more ethereal (white, golden) musks and ambers. Of course I will give this a few additional test-runs, but I doubt I'll be passing The Torture Queen on.

If Retail Only is an option, I highly recommend Peacocks. "Asian pear, white musk, bamboo pulp, violet, ambergris, sugar cane, night-blooming jasmine, plum, freesia, and moss." I'm usually not a fan of strongly fruity blends, but this one is great. Like a fizzy splash of sunshine everywhere. The sugar cane is definitely a bright, syrupy element, but the whole thing keeps out of the "sickly sweet" territory with the ambergris and white musk, I think (and probably the moss, though that doesn't come out much on me). Woo, Peacocks!

Oh, deliciousness. Lady Una reminds me of Dorian, probably because of the vanilla + tea scent combination. It even manages to have the same sugar cookie vibe going on, which I decided was too much for me in Dorian (and now I am seriously reconsidering.) At any rate, it opens with a ton of berry-honey teacake on my skin, light but decadent, and completely toothsome. As it settles, I smell more berry: a deep purple blackberry scent, not especially sharp, but very juicy. However, it's enveloped in creamy vanilla, and I do think I smell a touch of those fairy spices. The last few times I wore Lady Una, it disappeared fairly quickly from my skin, so today I've got it in a scent locket as well as on my neck, the crooks of my arms, and wrists. In the locket, it's got a much berrier-er note going on, sweet with honey and musk. Ahhh. I like it in both incarnations.

Huh, I could've sworn I reviewed Harikata long ago. Well! This is a pretty floral-honey scent on my skin, sharpened by the ginger enough to be almost citrusy. It's not smoothed out all that much by the musk. It reminds me of the way honey gets crystallized after a while - this is gingered bits of crystallized honey, with osmanthus petals dusted over it. Not much change on my skin over a period of hours, and it hangs on, though not with a really strong throw. I like Harikata, but I won't be heartbroken when I use up my decant.

This is quite lovely on my skin for a half-hour or so. It is a very light, pretty, sweet scent with a soft floral feel -- nothing in this blend amps up to a screechy pitch on me, which is perfect. My nose keeps thinking this blend has similarities to Anactoria - both blends behave on my skin in a delicate, mystical sort of way. It's very apparent to me that this blend uses skin musk, and white amber, because I think there is a certain ethereal quality achieved in these lighter notes than would have been the case with red musk or dark amber, for instance. The osmanthus and plum blossom are probably what lend the overall scent a feeling of soft, wind-blown petals in late spring. I've surprised myself with how often I've wanted to wear this, but I think this time of year is perfect for it: late May, with the leaves on the trees just gaining a lush green depth, and my windows open to let the breeze flow in. My only complaints are that this doesn't last on my skin for very long, and at the later stages seems to develop a powdery soapiness that I'm not very fond of. This is what my locket was purchased for! I'll definitely be holding on to my decant, and will wear it when I want to feel floaty and slightly enigmatic.

Bilquis does all kinds of weird stuff on my skin. I cannot even properly describe what the notes smell like -- while testing, I kind of incredulously ventured, "Conditioner???" to my flatmate -- but, they are some funky shit. It starts out really noticeably almond-y, but with an odd floral-ish fruity roundness that might be dominated by the lily of the valley. Perhaps the fig leaf is also screwing around here. All I can say is that it smells like it can't decide how to behave on my skin. Weirdly sweet in an almost synthetic nature, but there's this undernote of creaminess -- which I guess is why my brain said "Conditioner!" Remember when it used to be called creme rinse? (My mom called it that, at least.) That's what this smells like on me, to my nose. Not perfume. Weird, old conditioner - so old that the label says "creme rinse." Alas, Bilquis and I are not meant to be. I'll be passing this along to someone else.

Mm, soft fur and deerskin. I definitely smell some of the tanned buckskin that I remember from my dad's hunting efforts when I was growing up. The musk works, as expected, pretty beautifully on my skin, but this is not a strong, in-your-face scent at all. The throw is minimal, but I think for some purposes, like bedtime scents, this is perfect. As this has been on my skin, the occasional whiffs I get of it remind me of Al-Azif for whatever reason - it has a similar light-golden feel, although this is softer and furrier, and without the sharpness I get from Al-Azif. The softness actually reminds me of how Dana O'Shee behaves on my skin, which is why I can see myself picking this for sleepytimes quite often. Overall: I won't be tracking down a bottle, but I'm glad I have a decant on hand.

Hoooooooly deliciousness. This is unbelievably good. I was testing this a few nights ago with about 8 other oils on my forearms, but I knew from the first 30 seconds that I applied Black Lace that it was the winner. It smells lemony when I first smear it on -- reminds me quite potently of Dorian, that same creamy lemon sweetness. But where Dorian is blatantly foody on me (I'm wearing lemon sugar cookie dough!), this is more sophisticated. Whatever smelled like lemon to me has calmed down now on my skin, and is just exhuding sweet musky vanilla loveliness. Perhaps it was the cognac? I don't get a very alcoholic smell from Black Lace at all, just fresh-yet-musky vanilla-brightness. When I was blow-drying my hair this morning, I noticed the tobacco smell amping up - possibly due to the heat of my skin, because since then I haven't noticed it much at all. Perhaps I'll avoid wearing this in the heat of the summer, then, since I prefer the scent profile as it is now. Pure amazing. Edited to fix my spellings.

Tiki King is all lemon drops and coconut on my skin at first -- this is not a sharp lemongrass lemon, nor does it smell like Lemon Pledge. It's sweet and mellow, yet bright and cheery at once. The black musk quickly drags the lemon and coconut into a shadowy corner for some inappropriate behavior, though. It's dusky and leering, the kind of bad I'm hopelessly attracted to. The ironwood isn't noticeable enough here that it's jumping out and demanding attention -- I guess black musk's pretty good at hiding his wood. :D It's just a supporting background note that establishes the tone for this... encounter. Still, after some time drying down on my skin, I keep thinking this mostly smells like naughty suntan lotion. I've never been a beach person, so I think I may have to find another home for the Tiki King to work his wiles.

I agree with cinderfallen -- in the first five minutes of application, Lunar Eclipse was quite manly. Perhaps not so intensely masculine as to take it out of the "gender neutral" realm, but if it had stayed there, it would have kept Lunar Eclipse out of the running for scents I'm likely to wear much. As it is, after the first blast of MAN-SCENT (instinct tells me this was the vetiver playing with the musk, tobacco, and lavender), it calmed down into a well-blended melange: musky, slightly sweet, smooth, not-quite-floral-or-fruity. Other comments on its being difficult to smell after a while are true for me, too... I have to get right up to my wrist to pick up on it now, and it's only been an hour and a half or so. There is a definite "dusty" quality here, but it's not something that throws itself out -- it sort of mutes the stridency of notes that might otherwise be dominant (musk, vetiver, etc.) A little while ago I was thinking, "oh, the blackened fruit gums are out now," but only 15 minutes later, they're not very noticeable. Just a sweetness (probably helped by the black currant) to add another dynamic to the fold. I'm not sure how I feel about Lunar Eclipse. It's intriguing, and a stellar blend, but not really me. I doubt I'll be reaching for it often. I do suspect, however, that it'd be divine on a man, and if I had one to test this on I'd be wild to do so. In the meantime, I might just find a better home for my little decant.

Given that Snake Charmer features Arabian musk, vanilla, amber, and black plum, I was prepared to be seduced by all manner of deliciousness - I expected the other notes to take me into untold realms of glory (spices! labdanum! ambrette! what wonders lie ahead!) When I put it on, I swore to myself it was a dead ringer for Vixen. It reminded me of Snake Oil, too. Both of those scents take a bit of time to develop to full, glowing amazingness on my skin, so I was ready to be patient. Vixen rewards me with amazing vanilla-patchouli sexiness, but Snake Oil goes to powder after a few minutes of incredible beauty on me, so I was hoping Snake Charmer would head the route of lady V. About a minute and a half past the initial dry resinous dusky smell of wet Snake Charmer on my skin, I started to smell the black plum seeping through. Looks like I'm on my way to glory! Mmm. Juicy, dark, sweet, musky deliciousness. I keep smelling references to Bathsheba (plum and musk), Mme. Moriarty, and Vixen (as well as Snake Oil, of course) - but Snake Charmer is the best parts of all of those. The headiness and sweetness of Bathsheba, the overall rich decadence of Mme. Moriarty (without, as someone upthread said, the harshness of patchouli I sometimes get from her), and the similar depth and depravity embodied by Vixen and Snake Oil. I have two qualms with Snake Charmer, though: 1) broken vial cap and 2) not enough throw! I wasn't very shy in my application of it, but whereas I'd be surrounded by cloud of amazing scent if this had been Vixen, with Snake Charmer I have to intentionally huff my decolletage if I want a boost. Still, incredible. I'm not sure I'll be going mad to track down a bottle, because so many scents approximate this well enough for my needs, but I will keep this little decant and cherish it most fervently.

I'm pleased that the jasmine in The Presence of Love behaves on my skin, because this is so lovely. Ethereal musk and the smoothness of amber round the edges of the jasmine, and the grapefruit provides just a hint of tartness. It starts out with a sharper, juicier grapefruit on my skin, with a high trill of jasmine that almost threatens to become screechy. But it doesn't. The amber and musk wrap comforting arms around it, and lull the jasmine and grapefruit into languid complacency. They're still here -- they're just drowsing in the gorgeous spring sunshine, under a blanket of amber-gold. The color of this blend reads to me like a liquid drop of sunrise - pale coral-pink, glistening and pure. I had a bodywash from BBW called Grapefruit Jasmine, and this is quite reminiscent of that -- but better. It also, oddly enough, reminds me of the smell of my Cabbage Patch doll Isabelle, from when I was a wee one. I don't mean "plastic-y"... somehow she smelled unexpectedly perfumey, and good. How weird!

I second Arylkin's statement that the heavier blends with red musk, patchouli, and so on seem to get more compliments. I've been complemented more than once, unsolicited, on Red Lantern and Mme. Moriarty -- every time, however, was in the midst of a hug. I take this to mean that even the heavier blends that I wear are undetectable outside of close range. Alas! I wish it would happen more often!

Holy. F@ck. I really wasn't expecting to be into this one, for some reason -- I had convinced myself that the "kush" could not turn out well, and it was going to smell dank and weed-y, and I'd just swap it off to some other loving BPALer. But no. No, this had to be amazing just to make it harder for me to decide which bottles I will actually purchase. The instant I put this on today, all I could think was "MUSK. SWEET SEXIN' MUSK." It envelops me with soft sensuality, and gliding over and around that are the honey and currant notes, with only a slight heaviness of the amber (usually amber is very noticeable to me in scents that include it... but here it's chillin', letting the musk cavort and gambol on my skin.) So far I do not detect a hint of dragon's blood, which is fine by me as I tend to avoid blends that feature it prominently. Entering the 5th minute of skin interaction, this still smells sweetly, lightly, refreshingly musky, with a bare softness of powder. It is, as others have said, very much a skin scent. With an hour or so of dry-down time, I think I am able to detect a little bit of the kush peeking out; it's not at all a troublesome note, though. Very well-behaved, and only adding an interesting dry-green sort of aspect to the blend. At this point I'm thinking this could work on a guy as well as a girl - there's something slightly gender-neutral about the blend - it's universally sexy-refined. The throw has quieted down a bit (when I first applied I felt like I was exuding it from my pores) but perhaps that is my nose just being used to it. At any rate, it's still EXCELLENT. I will take the next several days to decide whether I need need need it, but right now it is definitely a favorite.

Mad Kate, on me, is lots of honey and the sharp tartness of fruit (my nose says it's an apricot-peachy color, but I know it's really the red currant). The geranium lends a spicy edge, and there is that almost-gingery smell of freesia adding some sparkle. I can't pick out the thyme individually, but I think it's providing a soothing background element. Overall I get a bright, fizzy sort of feel from Kate. She's a live wire, but she's sweet about it. And she sticks around for quite a while. Mmm... I'm glad there are times when sweet floral-fruity blends actually smell good to me! Edit: To prove I can spell.