LiberAmoris

Jólasveinar's been on my most-anticipated Yule blends list, because I love all things Icelandic and the combination of notes are so unusual, pulling together so much of what I enjoy about the holiday season. Well, it's a good thing that I have Jólasveinar, because there's been no snow or slush in NYC so far this year! Wearing it, I smell that snow/slush chord that I love, plus marshy, mossy notes like oakmoss---and then a peal of little bells that must be the buttercups and orchids. At the bottom is that caramelized sugar pastry note that is so yummy. It's all so balanced and harmonized and layered that I keep catching different facets of it. Very nice.

Bitter Moon is definitely tangy on me, like ocean air mixed with grapefruit and blackberries. The lavender comes through like an herbal wash that gives the blend an interesting texture, outdoorsy and wild. And I'm grateful not to get much poppy, vetiver, or lotus root here--- just enough to keep things interesting. As it dries down, it smells more like tea, some fancy kind in a beautiful tin. It's bitter, but totally wearable. In fact, I think I'll wear this all day today.

PURPLE PHOENIX Porphyrogenitus, indeed; we worked[/i] for it! Not simply the color of royalty, purple is also the color of sorrow and mourning, reconciliation and forgiveness. A regal, majestic, and somber blend of myrrh, plum blossom, African violet, cognac, fig, orris, lilac, wisteria, black plum, and Burgundy wine grapes. Purple Phoenix is deep purpley happiness in a bottle. It's like every blue and purple note I love, all rolled together with a depth and reach that's simply wonderful. This is definitely my fave of the Phoenixes, for sure. I'm not even that much of a grape fan, but it's so well tempered here by the other notes that it wins me over. The smell of this reminds me of the second stanza of Keats' Ode to a Nightingale: ...With beaded bubbles winking at the brim, And purple-stainèd mouth; That I might drink, and leave the world unseen, And with thee fade away into the forest dim... Purple Phoenix has the same sensual, soporific feel to me, like an opiate. Lovely.

White Moon is like a half-memory of lilacs, which happily is the most prominent note for me. I get muted lilacs, purple and true, with the other notes creating a white hum in the background, like the singing of a blurry, almost glassy bar of music. It's unabashedly floral but understated and restrained. One of my bottles is going to be a gift for my mother, who also adores lilac. I hope she enjoys it as much as I do.

Love-Lies-Bleeding is like a light chocolatey floral---with a dusting of something that comes across like berries on my skin. It's such an unusual but wonderful combination, and as it dries down, it just gets better and better. It feels red and white and lush. And there's a delightful creaminess here that seems to come from the interaction of the florals and chocolate that I just can't get enough of!

Loralei is one perplexing blend. I don't smell any neroli, sandalwood or ylang ylang in here. On my skin this plays across like a salty aquatic, briny and full of sea air. It's amazing how notes interact with each other to create such an amazing effect! I'm not a huge fan of the aquatic category so I think ultimately this is one I will pass on to someone else. But I remain quite impressed by the blending artistry!

I'm a serious musk fiend, so Dragon's Musk was a must-try. And I have to say, this is very nice. I love the musks (yum yum yum) and the dragon's blood makes a nice companion. I think this would be great for a sexy, second-skin blend, or as a mixer with something that needs a little oomph.

If I had to pick just one BPAL autumnal blend for which I would forsake all others, I have to say, I think I might pick Pumpkin Queen. This is just awesome. It's like Jack perfected. The Egyptian amber, the orange peel, the fig leaf, the pumpkin---just wonderful, wonderful stuff. The ginger or cardamom makes my skin a bit irritated when I wear it on my neck, so I'll just keep it to my wrists, no problem. I am head over heels for PQ. I think I might need one more bottle before the Halloweenies disappear into the night.

All Souls is like a subtler Midnight Mass on me---plus a smidge of cake. I really like the incensey part, but the woods come forward on my skin to the point that it gets a little overwhelming. I think this would be fantastic with just a dab of Eat Me to counteract my skin's proclivity to amp woods like it's going out of style. Late in the drydown All Souls gets very dusty on my skin and dry. I'm not sure this will work on me, but I'll definitely try it again.

Punkie Night is another delightfully straightforward autumn blend, and I love the apple orchard and cider notes. The cranberry goes a bit weird when it hits my skin, so I think I might use this in the oil burner, during the Thanksgiving break, in order to get in the mood and scent the apartment with its deliciousness.

Creepy is so much fun. I smell the coconut/rum combo that I love so much in Elegba, apple, and that caramel note that is so mouthwateringly delicious. I'm particularly excited about the caramel here, because in other blends it has not been as prominent or unadulterated as it is here. Total yum. I think I can content myself with one bottle, but it will get much wear and I hope this comes back next year.

Horreur Sympathique totally exceeded my expectations. Blood musk is always so-so on me, honey can be a dealbreaker, and wine and grapes get amped to high heaven. But Horreur Sympathique is actually pretty lovely, and it's such a gorgeous late autumn kind of blend, warm and resiny and smoky. If you liked Chrysanthemum Moon, this is definitely worth a try. This is such a perfect blend for this time of year. I think I'll be wearing this one to work tomorrow.

The Song of Solomon is one of my favorite poems, so I have been waiting with bated breath for Lilium Inter Spinas. I was hoping for a lily blend that would love my skin, and I think this might work! I can smell all the notes here, but mostly the lily of the valley and green fig. The overall effect on my skin is of a very exotic, erotic lily of the valley, cross laced with the other florals, supported by the white sandalwood, and saturated with the apple blossom, which lifts this and gives it a poignancy that I always get out of that note. It's lovely and kind of sad and full of the kind of transience that I always get out of the poem. Very well done.

The Temptation is a very pretty, wistful floral. For some reason my skin is eating the notes with the exception of the peach blossom and musk, so this is mostly peach on me with just the tiniest hint of the other flowers. It's very gentle, the kind of BPAL that murmurs on my skin rather than shouts.

In our paean to all the mysteries surrounding this enigmatic number, there are thirteen lucky and unlucky components: cocoa and vanilla beans, Mysore sandalwood, star fruit, orange rind, red amber, fig leaf, mimosa, rooibos tea, bourbon geranium, rose otto, nutmeg, and lavender. Yum, this reformulated 13 rocks my socks! It's like a complicated creamsicle on me, with the chocolate and sandalwood and lavender all coming through at various moments and wafting about me. This is much better with my chemistry than the original 13, and when I wore it at work the other day everyone loved it. This 13 is sort of like Candy Butcher meets Kunstkammer meets Underpants on me, and I could not be happier.

Black Lily is such a glamorous lily---it’s like a slow pan in on a lily in film noir, set at the edge of a foyer table with a sunburst wallpaper behind it. Impeccably simple, yet complex enough to bedevil those who make the mistake of getting too close. I bought a bottle of this for one of my supervisors at work who loves lily, and she adores it.

I absolutely love Wilhelmina Murray. It's like the most heavenly and rounded tea rose on me, with subtle flashes of darkness and coy, sensual underpinnings. No one note stands out to me, but as it wafts about, I can catch strains of the dark musk, blackcurrant, myrrh and hyacinth. The dragon’s blood is very faint, serving to muddy up the blossoms a bit and add that ‘blood’ sensibility to the blend. This doesn’t last very long on me, but I’m happy to reapply through the day with something this lovely.

I had quite a jolt when I first sniffed Lucy Westerna wet--- it smells like orange rum raisins! On, the blood orange flares up and then quickly backs down. For a few moments it smells like these fluoride treatments my dentist used to give me as kid, but then it becomes a creamy floral. It’s a really interesting combo---the frankincense with the jasmine and tobacco flower makes for an exotic and unusual mix. The jasmine is pretty subdued here---I might not even know it was in here if not for the listing. The longer I wear it, the more the frankincense and tobacco flower come out, along with the white musk. I like it better with the bottom notes pulling more weight, as it dims the florals and makes for a surprisingly sexy blend. This stage is very nice, and worth waiting for.

I’m of two minds about the Brides of Dracula. Lilies are beautiful, and I always appreciate the various lily variants, but blends that highlight it as a prominent note never feel like ‘me.’ All the same, Brides is such a lovely mix of elements that give it the feel of an antique, golden perfume---something that would be popular in the 20s or 30s and sit on a glassy tray on someone’s dresser next to face powders in deco boxes and a feathered fan. Other reviewers have drawn parallels with Kali and Tiger Lily, and those are the two blends that I’m reminded of as well. But whereas after a while Kali gets a bit too strong for my tastes, and Tiger Lily knocks me over with sweetness, Brides of Dracula offers the shared notes with more subtlety, so I find myself enjoying them much more than I thought I could. I have a feeling this one will grow on me.

I really wish I was getting more notes from The Carpathian Mountains---on my skin it’s primarily spearmint and the raspberry leaf, a note I recognize from Alecto. It makes for an almost smoky spearmint, a leafy, almost bitter mint. It’s not a bad combination, but I think this might be better in my oil burner where I can appreciate the scent around me rather than on my skin. It does absolutely conjure up wind gusting down mountains, picking up the smell of trees and greenery on the way down. It’s a very fresh smell, and I think this would be great to burn when I need to concentrate.

Wow, Devil's Claw is dark, gritty, smoky, ashy, woodsy, and slightly dank. And my nose is picking up something that smells a bit like leather, too. This is a perfect embodiment of its namesake---like mysterious hellfire. The drydown is a sexy dark wood, with wisps of smoke curling about. It reminds me a bit of the drydown of Yew-Trees, but with smoke. I plan to try this out on my boyfriend at the next opportunity.

I've been really excited to try Mania, because I'd love to find a strawberry note blend that works on me, and because I red and white musks. And I do really like this. Mania's primarily a second skin blend on me. The musks are delicious and warm and the strawberry gives them a bit of freshness and sweetness, while the grapefruit lends them a bit of tang. But the fruits burn off pretty quickly on my skin, leaving just a trace of themselves amongst the yummy musks. It doesn't throw very far. It's intimate. If you're a fan of red musk, this is definitely one to try. Nothing can top Smut as my number-one red musk blend, but Mania is fun and I’ll definitely enjoy using my imp.

Slobbering Pine is really nice---pine with a bit of sweet grapefruit or some other citrus note, and maybe a touch of ozone to give it sparkle? Whatever's in here, it's a refreshing take on an evergreen, and very wearable. Because of my associations with pine trees and winter, this strikes me as a perfect blend to wear during the holidays. An hour later, Slobbering Pine smells like an evergreen-y Danube. There's a bit too much aquatic at this stage for me, but I think this will be wonderful in my oil burner. I'll save my imp for December.

Black Lotus sadly goes the way of most lotus blends on me---the dreaded bubblegum. I can smell a bit of the amber and myrrh, but it's mostly sweet pink bubblegummy lotus. On my coworker this is a lovely warm rooty floral with the resins simmering underneath, so she'll be getting my imp.

I went to a formal party tonight and I wore a black silk dress with a red mask and Blood Rose. I was introduced as the coworker who always smells good.