cuervosueno

I got this in a swap, and for some reason, was expecting the pine scent of skadi. nope, nothing like it. Bottle: When I let my friend marisa try it first, she wrinkled her nose and said ewww...fruitcake. for me it was wierdly plasticy, waxy...yeah, like a candle, but not a good smelling one. Wet: M. put it on first...oh! its nice she said. I put it on next: cloves! And indeed, I'll stick with that. That's what Yuletide smells like to me: lovely cloves. I get nothing else--no pine, no cinnamon, but the sweet spice of cloves. I was surprised when I read the description and found out it was holly berries, but I'm sure I've never smelled Holly berries, so.... Anyway, I enjoy it. I wanted the discontinued French Creole to be all about cloves, and it starts that way, but morphed into something else on me. This is more what I had in mind as a clove scent. I put it on and went to my boxing class tonight--I like to wear something that will smell good and active in that overheated gym, and I got occasional sniffs of it, so it has a throw, but not one that would overwhelm others. But it faded very fast on me--was gone in 3 hours. Still, I'm thinking it would be quite lovely layered with skadi, if you want a true pine-spice scent.

My addition to the chaste moon fest: I first smelled this at quantum spice's sniffathon, and thought, my god, a lunar blend that agrees with me. So I swapped for a botttle--thanks silvertree! and I absolutely adore the opening notes--yes, delicious buttery cream notes...like carmel corn or something. Love it! But it fairly quickly becomes more chaste--still creamy, slightly floral, and while I enjoy it, I'm more of in your face perfume kinda girl...(i'm much happer, for example with shub-niggurath which is one the other wrist...hmmm...wonder what would happen if I mix them...might try that...) So I don't know. Gotta give it a couple more wears. but its a little...well...chaste for me.

So for once I'll be brief, because Macha has said everything I'd say about this. Its ginger. Pure delicious ginger, even more gingery goodness than my beloved ginger altoids! Yes, also what I had hoped for from GP. I love this! and thank you to silvertree for giving me an imp of this in a swap...and of course I'm going to buy a 5 ml. while I can. Love it!

I decided I wanted to try this after reading the reviews, so i managed to snag an imp in a swap. Wet: interesting, but very very faint. In the bottle I smell berries, but with something else. Put it on, and I couldn't smell it all. So I put more on where I thought I'd put it. Wrote a review of Mantis. Came back to this, and wow! Now I smell it! I don't remember what Poison smells like so I can't compare it to that, but it is quite complex. I don't get many individual notes at all, though there is a green freshness that is in the background--the lime I presume. The jasmine is definately there, and it is lovely--not the jasmine incense scent I sometimes get, but pure jasmine, as if I was smelling a flower. but it is also grounded...must be the resin notes. I like it, but it is more like a commercial perfume than many BPAL scents. I don't think I'll get a bottle, but I am enjoying the imp. And I was very interested in discovering that opponax is sweet myhrr. I have not enjoyed BPAL myhrr scents, which surprised me, because I thought I loved it. I have a bottle of pure mhyrr which I got at a store in Prescott Arizona and I love it--it is like the sweet resin of a pine tree...smells just like Flagstaff in the winter. Well, now I'm thinking the myhrr I have is probably opponax, not the more acrid myhrr. Interesting! eta: ok, so I just looked up opponax online, and it asked me if I meant opoponax, which is sweet myhrr. Does anyone know if these are the same--just with variable spellings? eta again: ok, so I found a thread on opoponax, but I still don't know if they are the same....but I asked, more appropriately I think, on that thread.

I got this in a swap, put it on a couple of days ago and enjoyed its cool greenness, an am trying it again on a very hot day in the NM mts. Wet/out of vial: very green, cool green. A slight citrusy scent--grapefruity--which of course is not an actual ingredient, but is how it smells. I like the cool greenness very much, and I do see the resemblence to the Apothocary, but I like this one better. Of course it morphs, given its other notes, and in a very interesting way. the amber and pachouli come out, making this sweet and warm, and I get the way sweet (but intoxicating) note of neroli. I like the way I can smell all the notes in this. It is summery, but perhaps summer evening, so you won't mind the warm notes that come up as you wear it? I like it, but probably not enough to get a bottle, since I seem to have about a million now anyway (or so it feels )

that was a great tip, with the papertowel thing. And yes, the coffee bean trick is useful too. I'm so sorry you're not able to get a good sense of the perfumes, absinthe. especially since I sent you some of those! I'm aware of the very different scents in say, hemlock vs. malice vs. danse macabre, and so I very much hope you can get a better sense of them. Try them again. And I second everyone's comment that you can't tell until they are on the skin. My first experiences with BPAL were that some smelled so wierd in the bottle I just couldn't see liking them--but they really are different on. Last night I was going through a big solo sniffathon, trying to make some judgements on some scents, and I just lost any sense of them--in the bottle they all smelled the same, though they were wildly different. So I understand it happens. but thanks to everyone for their suggestions on differentiating scents, and good luck A.--I hope your BPAL scent experience improves!

Come to me....I've been wanting to try it for ever so long, despite the fact the reviews weren't exactly sounding like it would be my thing. but I love Beth's voodoo blends, and they almost always work. So why not? Well, I can't say I've tried it for its purpose, and frankly, I don't think I will, because I would not feel sexy wearing this--not sexy enough to be commanding and attractive. yup, its laundry soap on me. Made me sneeze a bit. I wanted to wash it off but didn't, because I thought I'd see if it morphed. it didn't on me, but thankfully faded quickly. Ok, guess it will have to leave me.....

I got this in a swap, and put it on before I went to bed. I was surprised by its lightness--I expected a darker, more woody Hermit scent--heavier on the pine I suppose, but though it is green, I don't really get pine. It is a light, slightyl herbally green--yes, with acquatic notes, and I agree that it is freshwater acquatic, not seawater. I wouldn't be surprised if there was green tea in it as someone else mentioned--it is that kind of light green note. It is very springlike in its greenness....different then I expected. I'll keep my imp because I'd like to have all the Tarot blends for reading cards, but...I don't think I'll need a big bottle. eta: a much later addition. When I tried it again, it did smell piney to me, though not in a sharp strong way like in some of the Yule blends. It was light. Very green. And then a nice sweet scent rose up--like berries. But it was as Sarada's friend described it--a light scent, as being guided through the woods at night by scent.

Lordie! What IS in this? I open the bottle and the most appalling plasticy perfumy scent wafts out, quickly doing in all the other scents I'd been experimenting with. This never happpes with BPAL--well, when it has, I usually end up liking the scent on: Iago, Loviatar, hellfire. Course, not always. I hated Zombi in and out of the bottle. But I'm game so I put it on. I smell like some evil scented plastic, but I don't wash it off yet, because what is in it? Lavender? Lotus? Huh. I only know what lotus incense is like, and its ok, if not my favorite. I don't enjoy lavender scented perfumes, though I adore the herb itself. Either way, I'm not getting those scents. Oh well. Now I'm washing it off.

Well, well, well. Here I am, ms. I-don't-like-floral-or-fruity-notes. I get and imp of Titania in a swap. Read the comparisons of it to La Belle au Bois Dormant, which I wasn't taken with (but didn't hate). On goes Titania--why not compare the two? and, wow! I like it! It does remind me of La Belle, though I'm not sure why...the pear note I suppose, but Titania is richer, greener, with a slightly bitter note that I can't identify but enjoy. It is, as so many others have noted, a dish of iced fruits....in green spring grove....scent of spring flowers blending in....Very refreshing and lovely, though I wish the fruity note would linger longer than the sweet pea, which becomes a bit too sweet. Still, I like it well enough to keep the imp.

I expected to dislike this because of the name--I hadn't read what was in it yet--which suggested to me floral. but it starts quite interesting--green, and spicy floral, like a lily. then I looked at the description: And yes, I see that. The plumeria is the spicy floral I got, and the greenness resolves into pear. I also get some rose. yes, I can smell many of the notes, and it is quite lovely, and more interesting to me than other florals...but its still a floral, and that doesn't work for me. eta: yes, yes, the comparison to titania is right one. But I like Titania's sharper richer notes better.

I got this in the Yule batch, loved it, didn't wear it much, then decided...huh...maybe I'll swap it, so decided to try it again. I so wanted it to work, both for the cause and because I adore dogs (and now...umm....have three), and because I'd thought of naming devil dog #2 Cereberus, but really, I think two syllables is as much as you should go with a dog name. So on to the scent: In the bottle/wet: I ADORE this! rum and cocoa and the slight bitterness of walnuts....I want to eat it. There is the other slightly bitter note which I associate with the juniper, which I also like, surrounded as I am here in the NM mts by juniper trees. It is glorious, and very comforting, and when I wore it (which was rarely, gloriousness aside) I usually put it on just before bed, so I fell asleep as comfortable as the fireside dog (usually with one dog curled up beside me). Alas, wearing it longer today I discover again why I stopped wearing it. Because it turns to lemon on me. I'd think I was crazy if I hadn't seen Brownbat and other's note on this. Yup, lemon. A slightly boozy, foody lemon--like a nice rum soaked lemon pound cake. Tasty, but I don't want to smell like this. Oh, how I wish it stayed in its wet beautiful scent....but it doesn't. so since I'm clearing out my stash, off it goes.

This sounded good....green, smoky, piney, incense..... But its just not striking me the way I expected it to. In the bottle it smoky, like green wood burning a distance away. Not the heavy smokiness of djinn or some of the other smoke blends, and pine isn't in your face either, like my favorite pine scents of skadi, etc. Rather it is soft, as if you're getting it on a cool spring breeze. It's also quite herbally green. Really the scents blend together in a way that makes it hard for me to pick one out. As it dries, a bit of sweetness comes in that is sort of floral to me, and it is only in this stage that I can smell a very very faint comparison to Samhain. But I like Samhain better. Its nice, but I'm not sure I'll keep it.

I like to get the sabbat oils because I like to wear them on that day and in rituals, so I took a chance on Beltane, knowing it likely wouldn't be for me. It isn't. Wet and in the bottle: very floral, and green. I can't indentify individual notes, but like others, I'm thinking flowers from bulbs that don't usually have a strong scent on their own: daffodils, iris, etc. Its a mild floral. I also get a green grassy note. It stays pretty true to to that on me, though as it fades it becomes a bit sweeter, more white floral..... Not much throw on me which is fine because I'm not crazy about it, and it lasted about 4 hours..though I took a shower at that point so who knows. Its a nice springy, subtle floral, but not my thing. Off it goes to swap or sale....

curiouser and curiouser....(can you tell I'm using the Alice in wonderland skin?) I sometimes wonder if Beth reads our reviews and laughs--I feel so unable to pick out individual notes, except for a few. And it is so interesting the way these smell so different to us all. I don't get cinnamon. Not at all. In fact, the overwhelming smell I get is the green herbal note which I'm convinced is parsley. Yes, parsley. It smells like that to me, and that's one of the herbal correspondences for this card. I do also get a warm note, but I wouldn't say cinnamon. ginger maybe? There's something slightly floral in it too, but I can't pick that note out. Interesting! And I'm so glad it didn't smell anything like I expected! edited to add: I mostly tried this ritually--annointing my cards, and also a small love spell. So I didn't really get the later dry down, and now I have, and it is lovely. A creamy floral note that I feel like I should be able to identify but can't quite. Neroli maybe? anyway, its gorgeous.

Like Sarada, I always forget there is a Justice card, confusing it with Judgement. Even though I've read and studied the Tarot for a long time, I can't remember the last time this card came up in a reading for me. So when I first got this (a freebie with my BPAL t-shirt) I thought it was Judgement. but of course its not. Perhaps fitting with my forgetting the card, I find the scent very difficult to characterize. Wet, it was green. Floral. Clean. Not compelling. On me it is like a green floral soap, one of those ones that is small and round and in guest bathrooms. Not a keeper, I'm afraid, not even for the card associations.

Tried four of my favorite piney scents the other night: Alecto and Hemlock on one side, Skadi and Dublin on the other. Yes, yes, the Skadi/Dublin comparisons are apt--which is why I was trying this. I didn't get a bottle of Skadi and have been regretting it, so I've been looking for a reg. catalogue scent that compares. And this does...but not quite enough for me. First on me it starts with the green notes of the pine, but there is also a bit of floral/herbiness that makes this more masculine than Skadi. I didn't mind this by itself, but when I could smell it with Skadi, I didn't like it so much--sort of like men's aftershave. Drydown: almost identical (one me) to Skadi. the pineapple notes people are noticing are part of the pine, I believe--if you crush ponderosa pine needles it smells exactly like Skadi (that fruit pine note). I like this phase. but then the rose comes up, and while it is really quite lovely, and not overwhelmingly floral, I'm wanting something different..... But lasting power! When I woke in the morning Alecto and Hemlock were long gone, but I could still smell both Skadi and Dublin, and Dublin was stronger and was, indeed, a lovely mix of scents. Just not Skadi

Night before last I decided to try all the woody/piney scents I had so I could decide on a favorite. Then I got a couple of imps of chesed, while my woody scents were still fresh in my mind: Cedar. Pretty much straight cedar on me--yes, the scent of a cedar chest. Its nice, but doesn't have the exceptional lasting power of some of the others I like. I'll use my imps but don't need a bottle.

this thread raises interesting questions, though for my mind most of them (serious allergy problems aside) are already answered on the lab's web page. I do think these are primarily essential oils, and I've put any number of essential oils directly on my skin without any ill-effects. I agree with the earlier poster who said it depends on how sensitive your skin is. In my case, even some of the stronger EO's like cinnamon don't bother me at all. And most BPAL scents do last quite a long time....hence the appeal in my mind. But I also agree to a certain curiosity about this--is there a carrier oil in some blends or not? I don't need to know, but am curious.

Vixen--what a surprise! I thought I didn't like florals, so even though I am obsessed with all things foxy, I didn't order this. I was sure I would dislike it. Now nearly a year and many many imps into my BPAL addiction, I decided I'd like to try it and got it in a swap. I love this! In the bottle it is acrid as people have noticed, bitter, and I didn't know what it smelled like. On, it is glorious! The neroli is sweet and lovely (and I forgot I love the scent of citrus flowers), and yet is grounded by the underlying pachouli--how I love incense scents. With a nice ginger bite--this little fox has teeth! After a couple of hours, it dries down to a sweet incense spice note....hard to pick out the individual scents, but it is glorious. and as a bonus, my latest crush loves neroli, so I made him smell it, and he didn't like it in the bottle but did on my wrist, so here's hoping it works some fox-magic on him.

I can't believe I haven't reviewed this yet! I got this as a freebie in my very first order, before all the BPAL addiction had even begun.... I love this. It doesn't remind me of anger at all, but of Christmas! What I get is strong cedar and something green and fruity with it--it smells like a fresh tree with something else, something slightly sweet, which I can't actually attribute to any of the ingredients except perhaps the raspberry leaf. its delightful! Funny thing is, on my first couple of tries, I thought no, though I did use it as a room fragrance. Then I came back to it and thought you know, I really like this. and here's another thing: before I discovered BPAL (hard to believe but there was a time before it) I was riding on the shuttle to the airport in San Francisco and this woman got on who just smelled so delicious--just like Christmas, I thought, remembering when the girls school I went to would be overwhelmed with the scent of cut greens that festooned the entryway. I wanted to ask the woman what the perfume was, but was so caught up in reverie I didn't. Now I'm pretty sure she was wearing Alecto.

White Rabbit = O for me anyway. What I get is a blast of vanilla and honey, which is lovely. yes, there is a bit of a faint tea scent, and even a bit of spice, which I like, but it is rather like O on me, and this fades quicker. Very nice, and it did make me crave a cup of milky tea, but I don't think I'll buy a bottle.

I'm so sad I'm reviewing this in the discontinueds! I ordered it a bit ago just to try it because I love the name. I wasn't sure I'd like a citrus scent, but I found it quite lovely--grapefruit, but creamy and sweet too, and it goes nicely powdery on me--the musk I suspect. its quite lovely, though today, while going through a whole pile of things to review, I discovered aizen-myoo and I actually like it better, because I like the way the citrus lasts longer in that one. Makes me think I should have tried shattered--I suspect I would have liked it too. 'course, now I'm not getting more of any of them anytime soon. Of course that happens just when I discovered them

I have yet to get to try this out for its purpose, but I got to smell out the abq. sniffathon Quantum Spice so graciously hosted, and it immediately went to my wishlist for the scent alone. Delicious! Cinnamon and almonds, that's what I got, with just a bit of resin or wood beneath it? Must have some for the scent alone, and if it works like its supposed to--and you know, most of the voodoo blends do--then its really worth it!

I haven't had a chance to use this ritually yet, but yum, it smells delicious! In the bottle--green, almost like crisp dollar bills, though perhaps that is just my wishful thinking! But then it goes to the spicy orange others noted--kind of like those clove studded christmas oranges--remember those? this smells like cloves to me, or a softer cinnamon....I think it is cinnamon because its got that slight cinnamon tingle...And yes, sweet almond... Another one that makes me want to eat my hand....