stellans

This is for the 2007 version. Imp: Green! But a light, slightly astringent green rather than the green of verdant lawns. This is a definitely herbal green scent, and one that delights the nose. Wet: Still the astringent green I smelled in the bottle gifted to me by my SpringFling Switch Witch. Dry: There is a definite softening of the astringence upon dry-down. The green smell is now a sweetly soft herb garden on my wrist. The scent locket, however, is still sharp. When I wear this again, I don't think I'll use the scent locket because I like the stages this goes through on my skin, from sharp to soft. It's a very pleasing metamorphosis. Verdict: Boy, am I glad my SW sent me this bottle! I made a big mistake in deciding not to order it, because I love it.

Imp: I acquired this imp in a lot purchase; because of the mint note listed in the lab description, I probably wouldn't have picked it out myself, though I have given other blends with mint listed a shot. Calliope was one of the successes, so I have hopes for Bess. First sniff was sharp and astringent, but with an underlying sweetness. I am not smelling any mint at all, thank goodness, nor is there any discernible lemon note, which seems to amp up on me to an unbearable level. Wet: Just as refreshing as in the imp, though the floral notes seem to be a little more prominent once it's on my skin. I like that. Maybe it's the rosemary and bergamot keeping the mint at bay! Dry: Still refreshing, but there's a lot more floral in the drydown. The rosemary is almost gone, but now there's a teeny little citrus note brightening the flowers just enough to keep the powder away. But I never have smelled rose in this blend -- the orange blossom seems to cover up any rose that might be there. The description says "five rose variants" but they weren't there for my nose. Verdict: I really like Bess, and I'm glad I bought a bottle after sniffing the imp the first time when it arrived.

Imp: sweet, yet spicy! Fortunately there's not a strong milk note, because lately that's been making me a little nauseous (blame a leaky bottle of Milk Moon). The honey and floral notes are very nice, and I do like carnation. Wet: Still sweet and spicy. So far, so good. Well, so OK anyway. Dry: Well, Alice didn't hang around very long, but she was pleasant while she was here. Still mostly sweet spice, but I never did get any rose from this blend, and I was really trying. Verdict: I have a partial bottle I bought from a forumite, and will continue to use it occasionally, but I doubt I will get any more. This is a pleasant scent, but not 'great' on me and there are far too many blends yet to try to worry about a just OK one. Actually, I like my Alice icon better than the scent, as it works with my body chemistry!

Imp: Very grapey, but there's an underlying earthiness which speaks of the patchouli and nag champa to come. I don't know what cereus smells like, but this blend is starting out really well, IMO. Wet: oh yum! On, the patchouli is more to the front with the muscadine giving a lovely smooth sweetness. I've always loved nag champa incense, so I was happy to see BPAL used it in some blends. I'm trying to get imps of them all to try out. This smells so good wet, it can only get better dry! Dry: Hardly any muscadine/grape smell left -- but the nag and patchouli (red and black) are. And they are lovely! I keep sniffing and I don't have to bury my nose in my wrist because the throw is excellent. Also, it lasts a long time so I didn't have to renew but 3 times the whole day. That, to me, is a sign that this is a keeper, and one that I want to get in a larger quantity. I also tried this in a scent locket, and the grape scent hung on throughout the day in there. Evidently my skin chemistry digs the nag-patchouli and gets rid of the grape! Verdict: Want More.

Imp: Apple! Apple with flowers! Lovely, lovely apples! My absolute favorite fruit scent, when it's done right and by right, I mean real -- no fake apple scents. Wet: Just as wonderful on me as it was in the imp. Holy FSM, how great this smells! And here I've been thinking the rose blends were the best thing about BPAL...nope, I was so wrong -- it's the apple scents! Dry: This smells just as good on the dry-down as it does wet! I love dragon's blood resin, and mixed with apple, apple blossom and hyacinth...well, it's absolutely heavenly. Believe it or not, it has almost a rose-like note... Verdict: I want a bottle, a big bottle. I want more than just one big bottle! This has lots of throw, plus it lasted for almost 4 hours without renewing. I put some in my White Rabbit scent locket, and it smelled just as good there as on my skin. This is a masterpiece of perfume-making, and an interesting thing about it is the lack of morphing (much) from imp to skin to dry. I don't how she did it, but again, Beth has created a masterpiece.

Imp: I first tried this blend quite a while back, and it was too much vanilla for me then. At the behest of a friend, I gave the Lady another chance. This time, in a decant from my aged bottle, the vanilla wasn't quite as pronounced as the first time I tried it -- the florals were more in the forefront! Yay! Wet: Just as rosy-creamy as I hoped this blend would be. I am having to really slather it on though, because it doesn't seem to have a lot of throw. Dry: Even less throw dry than wet, but the scent is still good. I'm enjoying my Sunday scent. Verdict: I'm glad I listened to my inner voice which told me not to give up on this 10ml just yet; it was definitely worth the wait. Even if I have to use more than I do with some other blends, at least it smells good now. I honestly don't know if it was even the oil's fault, but was really my body chemistry playing tricks with me again.

Imp: In the imp, much lighter than I'd expected from the name and description of notes involved. Much more floral, and no patchouli at all. But there is a deep something under the flowers...maybe that's the patchouli, or perhaps the resins. It's very nice, there under the florals -- gives them 'bottom.' Wet: Still very floral, but the patchouli/resin notes are more in evidence on my skin than in the bottle. I am already liking this bland. Dry: Yep, there's the patchouli -- but the floral notes give this blend a very pleasant sweetness. There isn't much throw, I have to put my nose right on my skin to enjoy this one. It also doesn't last very long at all. Dark Delicacies = Black Moon meets Mme Moriarty, but weaker. Verdict: I like this blend, and I'm glad I got the bottle from eBay, but I won't angst over finding more. I have both Black Moon and Mme Moriarty, and they will console me when this is gone..

Imp: Such a mixture of notes! It's really hard to separate them, but I do smell a bit of lemon (the Melissa), and the musk. It's a very bright scent, but not overpowering at all. Lemon doesn't do well on me, but since this is a lemony herb it should be ok. Wet: Still not a strong scent but you definitely know it's there. The Melissa is playing nice with my body chemistry so far, yay! I haven't sniffed Absinthe yet, but I will because others have said they like it as much as they like this. Dry: This dries down to a lovely, slightly citrus-y, honeyed musk. The vanilla note is there as well, but not too strong. The throw isn't all that strong, but it does last quite a while for such a light scent. Verdict: I love this, and I'm so glad I won the bottle from eBay. It's a 10ml, too, so it should last me a good while. I gifted my daughter with a decant, and I think she'll love it too. I think it's more of a nose delight type of scent, rather than a seductive scent. But that's ok... I don't want all my oils to be the sex-in-a-bottle type.

Imp: White florals, but there's a hint of fruit underneath...just a hint, but it's there. Wet: No fruit at all on me, it's all floral. I can pick out the Ylang-ylang, and I think the lily, but I don't know enough about the other floral notes to tell which is which. The whole is very nice, though... I like white florals because they're light and airy, at least on me. Dry: Oh, this is really lovely. The lily has amped up a bit, and now there's a teeny little note of fruit peeking out, but it's just barely there. But that's ok, because this is all about the florals to me. Verdict: This is one of the hidden gems of BPAL, and I'm thinking seriously of adding it to my "Want a Bottle" list.

Imp: Very light floral, with a tiny little lemon note -- lemon does not work well with me, so this may be a warning... Wet: on, the lemon doesn't seem to be a problem! There is a light, airy floral scent with only a hint of musk, the scent itself is barely even there. Dry: I fell asleep before this faded away, but there was nothing left when I woke up this morning, unlike some of the other lunacies (like Snow Moon) which leave enough to smell even after a night's sleep. Verdict: This is nice, and I'm glad I have it but I won't try like heck to get more, as I do with some of the other lunacies, mostly the forest-y, snowy scents. It'll stay in my nightly lunar rotation as long as it lasts, though. ETA: As this has rotated more and more, I am looking forward to it! I am getting the muskiness of this blend, as I didn't when I first tried it, and I love it. I hope I can acquire another bottle before mine runs out...

Since my first imp of the day crapped out on me early, I moved on to the decant of this, which a kind friend gave me. Imp: Very sweet vanilla. I have a bit of a bad feeling about this.. Wet: Still very, very sweet, but now I get the sense of strawberry, and plastic. Dry: ick, plastic-y, vanilla foody ickiness. I can't stand this. Verdict: I washed this off, it was giving me a headache. Thank goodness this was a gift decant and not something I bought. I am going to pass this decant along to someone else who will hopefull appreciate it, since it's not for me.

Imp: sweetly pleasant, a little plastic-y. Wet: still pleasant, still sweet, not so much with the plastics now, thankfully. Dry: This dries down a little soapy on me, and since I swapped for this imp specifically for the pomegranate note (my current obsession), it was a great disappointment that I never got any of the tartness of pomegranate I was hoping for. Verdict: Not only did I not get the pomegranate scent I wanted, the sweet pleasantness of this blend faded super fast to nothing -- and by superfast I mean less than an hour. That is probably the fastest any scent has ever disappeared from my skin ever. So, since it's pleasant, I'll keep the imp for a possible future use, maybe room scenting. But since it's fast-fading I won't buy or swap for a larger amount.

Let me just say first, for those who may not know, that rose is my all-time favorite scent, my 'signature scent,' as it were. I am slowly but surely collecting all of the BPAL rose blends, and when I was able to score a bottle of Rose Red 05 from eBay...well, picture every 'touchdown dance' you've ever seen or even heard about, and then amp them up by a factor of 10! I danced around my den like a madwoman for I don't even remember how long when I won that auction! Anyway, Red Rose is my now-favorite rose scent, and I so hope Beth will bring it back this Yule so I can stock up. It is, as others have said better than I can, the perfect dew-dropped rose scent. There's the sharp green scent from a cut stem, the softer green of the leaves, the muted scent from petals, and then -- oh, and then -- the almost heart-breakingly lovely true red rose scent, the scent of love. Till now, the closest thing I've ever smelled to an actual rose was Jean Patou's Joy. BPAL's Rose Red beats that perfume, IMO. Beats it into the ground, as if by a hail storm.

:hippie:I loves me some patchouli, so I'm all for introducing another P-lover to the BPAL goodness. But do your friend a huge favor and don't get her hooked on LEs right at the first; it's just cruel! She'll find them on her own (as I did) and scour the forums and eBay for the rarities she craves. As others have already mentioned, Anne Bonney, Depraved, Greed, Vixen and Sin, though not necessarily in that order. I find I reach for Depraved and Vixen the most; I love the sweet notes in them, though Anne Bonney is a close 3rd. You are a good friend, and your friend is lucky to have you.

When I got this imp this morning, I wasn't sure what to expect since this isn't a scent I ordered but a frimp. I put it on without reading the reviews or even looking up the notes...and from the first sniff I knew this was a good one. In the imp: fresh lavender, but not strikingly strong. I can also smell the sandalwood and maybe the nag champa, but not much else. Wet on skin: Same as in the imp, but I do think the lavender may be a bit stronger out of the imp and on my skin. Yay, lavender! Dry: Very incense-y smell, very smoky. Not a lot of the lavender left now, but the sandalwood and nag champa are still there. Lovely, lovely smell. I think this would also make a great room scent, but I like it on me too. Verdict: Definitely a keeper, and a big bottle purchase.

Oh. My. Goddess. This scent is divine! I've only had a taste of a Pomegranate Martini (my daughter ordered one when we took her out for supper last week) and I loved it, but this smells so much better than the drink tasted! I want a bottle...no, make that bottles! No kidding, this is the first blend with an ozone note that I can stand to wear, much less love enough to want more. Yay, Beth! In the imp: fruity tartness, with a tang of juniper (the gin speaks!). Wet on skin: No change from the imp scent, the pomegranate still rules with its sweet tartness. I am in love. Dry: The juniper is there, but I never got the high boozy note, nor did any ozone note cause me any problems as it has before. Even in the drydown, the tartness of the pomegranate held, with a juicy sweet tang that just made me want to slurp my wrist (but I didn't). This had a lot of throw when I wore it, and lasted a really long time. This makes it even more desirable as a bottle purchase, because I know it will last a good while for me. Verdict: Since I began sniffing, buying, and wearing BPAL blends, I've had to change a lot of my preconceptions about what I like to smell. I would have told you I was all rose, lavender, or patchouli, with some sandalwood every now and then. I would have said fruit scents were just too sweet, and probably wouldn't have even tried any. Because BPAL sells their blends in sample (imp) sizes, one can experiment a wide range of blends, trying any and everything without being out a lot of wasted money. And this is the result! I am finding more and more scents I love that I would never have tried before BPAL. Truly...thank you, Beth.

My initial reaction to Peony Moon was that it seemed somehow familiar and comforting. I couldn't quite place the reason why for quite a long time, until it suddenly hit me! Peony Moon smells just like Pond's Cold Cream! That's not a bad thing, believe me: this was what my grandmother put on her face every night for as long as I can remember. It just took a while to figure out why Peony Moon made me feel so comforted and loved, LOL! I wonder what Pond's puts in their cream that is like what is in Peony Moon? In the imp: Sweet floral with a definite green tinge. Is that the bamboo? Lovely! Wet on skin: True to smell in the imp, fresh application on my skin didn't change the green floral scent at all. This is a very light-smelling lunacy, very spring/summer-ish. Dry: Softer floral notes on drydown, and the green note has dwindled quite a bit. There's mostly only sweet florals present now, but it has been all night since it was applied, so I'm a bit surprised I can smell anything at all. It was a nice accompaniment to sleep. Verdict: I like this lunacy, but I think my one bottle will be all I want. Besides, I have a jar of Pond's cold cream in my bathroom, and that's fine with me. There are other floral lunacies I like just as much or more, not to mention what Beth will release this year.

This is a very nice Lupercalian oil, and it was a pleasure sleeping while wearing it. The notes are definitely dark, resinous, and feral, but the greenness keeps the oil fresh and wonderful. I didn't get much of a patchouli note, funnily enough, since patchouli is one of my favorite notes. I haven't been able to score any Schwarzer Mond yet, so I don't have a comparison with it. In the imp: dark, but green. This oil smells refreshing, but not cold (like Snow Moon does, to me). Wet on skin: True to the imp -- very refreshing!. Dry: The musk really comes out when this dries down, but I still don't get the patchouli note, and that's disappointing. I wanted to get patchouli. Verdict: I like this oil enough to hunt down another bottle for backup. I'm hoping as the oil ages, the patchouli will come out for me. We'll see!

I got behind with my daily reviews while I worked on getting all my reviews into my Live Journal, so instead of trying to catch up and everything being behind, I figured I'd review the current day's oil, and if I have time, do a catch-up review after. Today's oil is Delirium. Sometimes apple can be too sweet, and usually lemon isn't kind to me at all, but this imp holds a marvelous blend! In the imp: Rose is the first thing I smell, but there is definitely an underlying citrus note peeking out, though not strongly. Wet on skin: First application is true to the imp, rose with a hint of citrus -- nothing I can even definitively say is lemon (yay!). Dry: As it matures on my skin, I can smell a bit of the apple (sweet apple, not tart), and the citrus note, but rose is the top note -- like that would bother me, LOL. I love the way the lemon is tempered by both the apple and the rose. I could swear I get a hint of rose hips in this blend as well. Verdict: This made my Friday most enjoyable. I wore it in a scent locket as well as on my wrist pulsepoints, and caught whiffs of beauty all day. This goes on my Buy-a-Bottle list, definitely.

This was a very nice oil to wear Sunday, since it was for me a fairly quiet day of introspection, this was a good oil to have randomly selected for myself. In the imp: Rose, with a deeper tang which I suppose to be the incense. Wet on skin: True to the imp smell: still tangy rose. Dry: Lovely mellowed rose, with a deep underlying base. Is that the frankincense & myrrh? It's very nice. I don't really get an 'autumn leaves' feel at all from this blend. Verdict: This is a nice scent, but the imp I have (not sure which vintage, but I suspect 2006) will be sufficient. I have a number of rose-based blends already, and there's still oodles of BPAL rose stuff yet to try. edited to add: this scent really, really grew on me to the point that I hunted down a bottle so I could wear it more often. I really like the incense note, which deepens the rose in a way I haven't found anywhere else.

Again, a honey blend by Beth which is wonderful! I take back everything I ever said about honey, I swear I do. In the right hands (Beth's) it is glorious. In the imp: Honey uppermost, but I can smell other good things as well. Not patchouli, to my sorrow though. Wet on skin: True to how it smelled in the imp, though even now I still don't get any patchouli, nor any clove for that matter. Dry: OK, this is such a great scent blend! I get only the vaguest sense of patchouli and clove, yet I do know they are there because the honey and ylang-ylang have a spicy smell they don't normall have. The formula for this blend is really stunning. I love it! Verdict: I can imagine the glamorous hetairae wearing such a scent as this. My first experience with the world of the hetairae was in a novel called Glory and the Lightning, by Taylor Caldwell. This was about Pericles and his hetaira, Aspasia. It is a great book, which is still available in used book form for not much money.

After disliking Hunger Moon so much, I was a bit cautious with this one given the raves in the forum reporting this was HM's 'older brother.' Well, caution was unnecessary -- I love this Lunacy blend! In the imp: On the top is grapefruit, my favorite citrus note, and that's mostly what I smell. There may be a little sandalwood lurking underneath, but the grapefruit is pretty dominant. Wet on skin: Still mostly grapefruit, though I can smell green and vanilla a bit once the oil begins to mix on my skin. Dry: Ohhh, lovely! The grapefruit is giving way ever so gracefully to the musky vanilla woodsy notes, though still maintaining a presence. This is such a lovely mixture, and once again proves that I can wear some vanilla notes, just not all. Verdict: I am so happy I went against better judgment and bought a bottle of this Lunacy. In fact, I may have to stalk the forums/eBay for a backup bottle.

I was really hoping for another love-at-first-sniff like it was for me with Snow Moon. But, it was not to be. In the imp: hm. Not bad, not bad at all. I smell mostly florals, with a nice aquatic note, and only the barest whiff of mint, just enough to truly be 'cold.' Wet on skin: OH NO! The mint comes pushing to the forefront, I don't readily recognize the 'type' of mint, but it's definitely mint. And I'm already feeling my throat constrict and my gorge rise... Dry: Are you kidding? If I'd waited for drydown I'd be covered in my supper. Verdict: Too much mint in too much evidence. This is now on my swap page]. Dang it.

This oil was worn several days ago, but I'm just now getting around to reviewing it. I was a little nervous, given all the people who reported lemon in this blend, because lemon and I just don't get along. Well, it was lemony but since this is a 'working' oil rather than a perfume oil for me, it won't be too bad. The flower notes are quite pleasant, and I think it did what I wanted it to do. Can't beat that!

I needed Queen yesterday. I needed to be a powerful woman. In the imp: Funnily enough, I wasn\'t all that impressed at first. Queen seemed a little \'meh\' in the bottle, just not much there to my nose. Wet on skin: At first, still meh. But then things began to pick up. There was a lovely note of sweetness, floral I believe, at first. This was quickly bolstered by a strong note of something herbal, something powerfully herbal. Some before me have mentioned sage. I don\'t know for sure, as most of the sage I\'ve smelt lately was already burning and obviously I wasn\'t burning my preciouss! Dry: Somewhat less astringent in smell, but still powerfully herbal with that overlaying gentle sweetness (iron hand in the velvet glove?), this isn\'t an easy oil to wear, especially if one was only looking to smell good. This, to me, is overwhelmingly an oil for a specific purpose, as is the intent of voodoo blends. This is empowering, uplifting - it puts fire in the belly, resolve in the mind. Verdict: I only have an imp of this, but I\'m not sure I would need more at any given time, to be honest. This isn\'t the love potion, to use with whatever frequency one desires (/tongue in cheek), but for when one needs just that bit extra oomph. I want to always have an imp handy, but I think one or two imps would be all I need at once. And it worked for me yesterday. I freaking stood up for myself. Thanks, Queen. I\'m glad I have you.