LiberAmoris
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Everything posted by LiberAmoris
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Anaconda can wrap me up in its death squeeze of caramel any time! Yum. Buttery, sugary, delicious caramel with a hint of Snake Oil. It makes me want dessert.
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Faiza is one that I'm glad I tried a few times, because the first time it just didn't strike me as something I needed to hang on to. But I wore it again yesterday and holy hell, this is beautiful stuff. As others have said, the gazillion notes are seamlessly blended and roll elegantly into each other like the muscles on a snake as it moves. It's just gorgeous. This is the kind of blend that I could see myself wearing with a pair of jeans and a t-shirt or a slinky dress. It's feminine without being prissy or uptight, it's sensual and warm, and I think I absolutely need to put it on my bottle list.
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The Music of Erich Zach is fascinating stuff. I have to say I have not smelled any other BPAL blend that even remotely resembles it. And it's got a strange sort of sexuality about it that's kind of messing with my head, because I keep getting whiffs of tamarind chutney from it! There's something very compelling about the mixture, something exotically foody but not sweet, something a little bit feral and dangerous, something outdoorsy and natural. It's a bizarre combo, but it's more than the sum of its parts. I probably wouldn't reach for this as a personal fragrance, but it's so amazingly evocative that I think I should probably hold onto the imp for a while. If I met a guy that smelled like this, it would be a foregone conclusion!
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Habu reminds me of fresh cut grass. There's definitely something very viridescent about it, vigorous and alive like springtime. Although I love that feeling, the bamboo note is one I'd rather have around me in the air but not on my person. It's beautiful, though. And if you enjoyed the Asian moons, this is likely to work for you. The Snake Oil comes out just a bit on the drydown---if I didn't know it was in here, I wouldn't know it's in here.
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Australian Copperhead's really such a berry blend, and the acai note is really interesting---not a sweet berry so much, but more tart. It smells like the dried goji berries I keep around for snacking. As much as I like the note, berry-prominent blends aren't usually ones that I enjoy wearing on my skin. And although the smoked vanilla and Snake Oil do emerge on the drydown to dim and darken the berryliciousness of this, it's still too much for me right now. I think I'll also be setting this one aside for a little aging, to see if that acai note can come down a little bit.
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Wowza, minty! Green Tree Viper is some seriously sinus-clearing stuff right out of the bottle. Then it's all about the bergamot and green tea. I don't really detect much Snake Oil in here, maybe just a little around the edges. Mostly it comes across as a slightly minty Earl Grey tea on my skin, with that 'green' feel from the green tea note. As others have noted, very refreshing and mind-clearing. Surprisingly wearable for me, given all the mintage in here. I think this would also be great in the oil burner on a day when I'm having difficulty concentrating.
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Now this is an aquatic I can really get into. Banded Sea Snake is like Snake Oil plus Lyonesse on me, and I could not be happier. The result is a dark aquatic with something lurking in it, like a brackish, moss-green pool teeming with naiads. I can't stop sniffing my wrists. It's a little bit hypnotic.
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Asp Viper's like a sexy almond cookie! That initial hit of almond is really strong, but it fades quickly to a warm, marzipan-ed Snake Oil with the mandarin and myrrh rounding it out. I wasn't expecting to like this as much as I do, as almond's one of those notes that kind of makes me queasy sometimes because it's so strong and sweet, but here it's perfect. A definite keeper.
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Death Adder is a true morpher on my skin. When I first put it on, I thought the vetiver was going to knock me out. It's strong, and I'm not a vetiver person. But after about ten minutes, it really backed off, and I got more black coconut (yum!) and opoponax (double yum!). At this stage, it's much more balanced and I can see myself maybe reaching for this when I want something darker and more dangerous in feel. I think it's worth aging a bit to see if the vetiver backs off a little more, but even if it doesn't, I think I might be able to wear this when I get in the right mood. It's really kind of unapologetically sexy and rough-hewn!
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King Cobra is incensey heaven. It's not showy in the bottle, but on the skin it absolutely unfolds and is maybe one of my favorite incensey BPAL blends ever. The Snake Oil is the true and recognizable base here, with the orris, frankincense, and copal rounding it out and giving it a lot more sillage. The definite and immediate association for me is church incense, although it also smells like some decidedly secular loose incense I bought on the street one time on St. Marks. I just need the tiniest bit of King Cobra to send scent absolutely everywhere in the room, it's that strong. Mmmm. Very nice.
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Western Diamondback is like the Snake Oil that tips its hat and calls you 'mam. I love the tonka here, and the leather is just perfect. When it dries down, it's just so warm and snuggly and rustic. I would love to smell this on a guy some time, but it also wears well on my skin and I can see this being a comfort scent of sorts for me.
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Saw-Scaled Viper is crazy hot stuff. Wow. Spice lovers, this is the snake for you! The first few minutes are pretty intense, but then everything starts mellowing and it's a vibrant but not incendiary mix of the ginger, cinnamon, and cassia. It's very invigorating. As this dries down, I also get a hint of the 'feral' note mentioned by others, and what's incredible is that it actually kind of smells like a real snake to me. Amazing.
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Cottonmouth is really such a gorgeous and elegant incensey floral. At first I don't smell Snake Oil per se in here, but I can feel its presence, bringing down the brightness of the florals like a wash of sepia. But a half hour later, the familiar slither emerges on my wrist. And the resulting combination smells like a bank of lilies scalloped in the kind of golden sunlight that opens things up to their fullest capacity while pressing their smells close to the ground, the kind of warmth that has weight. Definitely a keeper.
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Oooh, Boomslang! This stuff is serious business. As others have said, this is some good sh*t. It's like cocoa-rolled Snake Oil, and the teakwood gives it depth while the rice milk gives it almost a grain-like creaminess. It's exotic, it's hypnotic, and it's the kind of blend that inspires misbehavior. I may need to get a little extra of this for aging. It's that good.
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Coral Snake is all about Beth's incredible apple note. I love that note, it's so crisp and warm and juicy and lovely. So Coral Snake is right up my alley. I have a hard time picking out the Snake Oil until this begins to dry down, and then about an hour into it, there it is, and the resulting mix of apple and orange and florals with Snake Oil is pretty great. This will definitely be perfect in the autumn, it's like apple cider with spices.
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Temple Viper is making it difficult for me to concentrate at work today. It's like all the lovely churchy resins from blends I love like Cathedral and Jacob's Ladder mixed with Snake Oil, and the combo is so good. The vaulted and spiritual feel of religious incense is held in tension with the sexy earthiness of SO, and the result is a resiny cloud of happiness! Good stuff.
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Snow-Flakes really captures the nature of a snowflake---the downy, delicate, lacy, soft, ephemeral nature of a snowflake, and that kind of quiet peace. There is a definite resemblance to Snow White here, although Snow-Flakes has a (more) prominent mint note and the snow/slush notes are much stronger. The mint in Snow-Flakes is strong enough for me to taste in my mouth when I breathe it in from my skin, although it's certainly not overwhelming in the blend at all. This is a beautiful blend, and I have a feeling I'll be wearing it often in the next couple of months. I think it will also be wonderful in the summer as a cooling, refreshing scent.
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The Snow Maiden is just so pretty. It's an elegant white floral tipped with ice but with something definitely warm and glowing at the center that gives it a bit of radiance. It doesn't last very long on my skin, but I'm so happy that the ylang ylang behaves itself here (as it is not normally wont to do) that I wouldn't mind reapplying halfway through the day.
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The Winter of Our Discontent is the most surprising of the Yules I've tried so far. The first time I wore it, I was kind of overwhelmed by the layers of the blend and the fact that it stayed pretty complex through the drydown. But after a few more tries, I feel won over. First on, I get the orange, clove, smoke, and rosewood, with the balsam around the edges. The orange makes it feel high and bright, but as that evaporates, the darker notes emerge and begin to swallow things up and chuff off a kind of dimmed rosy incense. The dark musk and the myrrh make a kind of unholy and wonderful pairing, and the smoke drifts over everything the way it does for me in blends like Hexennacht or Devil's Night. This does feel like a serious blend, like something historic and grave. A great capture of the inspiration.
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Mmmmm, red musk. Red musk sends shivers down my spine in such a good way. Krampus is primarily loads of red musk, with the leather, dusty rags, and green switches in thrall. It's kind of naughty! This is the kind of scent that I really enjoy---not on me, but on someone close to me.
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... Wine grapes, myrrh, frankincense and olive leaf, and the warm scent of offertory cakes. Halôa is really yummy---it absolutely does start off with the cheesecakey goodness of Beaver Moon, and then there's a rum raisiny note that I sometimes pick up from time to time in the foody blends, plus the sexy, bitter, earthiness of the olive leaf, a slosh of wine, and those divine resins at the bottom. Foody, but very wearable because of its complexity. (Actually I think this would be amazing on my boyfriend, and I'm making a mental note to put some on him tonight when we go out.) What this really reminds me of is the Yulekake (yule cake) that my Norwegian great-grandmother used to bake every year around this time, so Halôa is a definite keeper for that scent memory alone.
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The Darkling Thrush is so lovely---as lovely as the Hardy poem and then some. It's a deceptively simple blend---the snowy slush note, a touch of ozone, and then the amber, orris, and violet. But on the skin it takes on another dimensionality---I think it must be the amber that gives it a kind of suffused glow, like a tree irradiated with backlit light. There's also something here that feels like things moving towards the center, like winter and summer converging. It's appropriate for this year, as December's been so mild here that the cherry trees are blooming because they think it's spring already.
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Upon first applying Yule, I also get a heady blast of the verbena, and it's citrussy and bright for a few minutes before the other notes come forward. Then I can smell the evergreen, mistletoe, and juniper---and those are followed by the holly berry, the rose, and the resins. After about ten minutes, it's a very complex and seasonally delightful blend, one that I might not wear often through the season as a personal fragrance, but would love to use in my oil burner to perk things up and keep the inside of the apartment festive. It's really a wonderful bouquet of winter holiday smells, and it makes me feel cozy.
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Oooh, Black Ice definitely lives up to its name. I get the ice mingled with white slush and wind and the mineral glitter of the pavement. It reminds me a smidge of Black Opal, but as an aquatic, with the tiniest breath of ozone passing through it. As a perfume, it's much more wearable than one might think---and more subtle. It has both a 'clean' vibe to it and something darker, maybe that's the vetiver that's otherwise undetectable, at least to my nose. Fascinating!
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I never got a chance to try Herr Drosselmeyer last year, so I have nothing to compare this 2006 version to, but this is nice! On the one hand it smells like cherry tobacco, and on the other, like aniseed cookies. I have nice memories of pipe tobacco since my father used to smoke occasionally when I was a child, so this is very comforting. This might not be the kind of blend I'd wear often on myself, but I think it would be lovely in my oil burner or dotted onto some of the holiday decorations I have up. It's very atmospheric.