LiberAmoris
-
Content Count
6,228 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Everything posted by LiberAmoris
-
Another gorgeous incense blend! This absolutely smells like dragon's blood, smoke, and metal, all with a healthy dollop of red musk. It lasts and lasts on my skin, and after just putting on a drop, my boyfriend came in and asked me if I was burning incense, so the throw is pretty good as well. The Cracked Bell is much lovelier than I thought it would be and utterly wearable!
-
Another old skool BPAL blend. I tried Port-au-Prince at the beginning of my BPAL addiction but gave my imp away and didn't get another until the Lab threw in one as a freebie (thanks!) in my last order. Wet, this is loads of almond. As it dries, it's very buttery, but that quickly morphs into the dry clovey rum blend that I have all through the drydown. It's like clove cigarettes...yum. This isn't something that I'll ever need a bottle of, but I'm hanging onto my imp for those days when I *really* want a clove cigarette. Like now.
-
Antony is so much lighter than I would have guessed from the description. On me, it's an ambery herbal blend, light on the resin and vauguely outdoorsy like the scent memory of the woods on clothes after a long walk through them. It's much prettier and softer than I would have thought from the name, and strikes me as gender-neutral, although some of my favorite BPAL blends are on the quote-unquote masculine side, for what that's worth. Antony reminds me of some of the religious blends, probably due to the frankincense. It's sort of like an outdoor church. Nice.
-
Well, I'm always looking to 'add an aura of temptation and carnal sin to my environment.' So French Love was a must-try. The Labbies threw this in as a frimp in my latest order (thank you!), and I have to say, this is a Voodoo oil that I would buy a bottle of not just for the effect, but for the scent! It smells to me like an idealized version of those iconic candy conversation hearts! It's really kinda scrummy, and my boyfriend thought it was nice too. I get dragon's blood, lilac, and the tiniest brush of ylang ylang. I think I might be wearing this on Valentine's Day, layered with Smut.
-
Black Dahlia is one of the blends that I feel a little trepidation in wearing because of the namesake. It's really a very lush magnolia and jasmine blend, though, and very pretty. It doesn't feel dark or haunted to me, just mysterious and sensual. I love magnolia, so this is a keeper for me. I can't wait to dab this on this summer and go out.
-
Budding Moon is like springtime in a bottle! It's so fresh and pretty, another green-ish moon blend. I primarily smell the Chinese Musk, the peony, and the plum blossom. The roots (lotus and ginger) seem to ground the blend and give it a feeling of things growing (and budding) as they do in the spring. The lotus root does smell a bit like orris, only maybe a little subtler. Like a traditional Chinese brush painting of a plum blossom branch. So glad that I got a bottle.
-
Khajuraho is like incense in heaven. White flowers, tuberose, and sandalwood, all sweetened with the vanilla and honey and amber. The longer this wears on my skin, the more gorgeous it becomes. Sandalwood is not always my favorite note, but it stays in check and does not take over. This is exotic and seductive, but I can also see myself reaching for it when I want something after a long and tiring day. It's very relaxing. The longer I wear it, the more the vanilla comes out. It gets lighter and lighter, like it's drifting away and taking me with it. Some combination of the notes is coming across as strawberry to me, and that's a good thing. Meditational and sensual. It's an amazing combination.
-
The Perfumed Garden is like sex on me. I know that Smut is supposed to be the down and dirty VD blend, but this is really animalistic and take-me-now. I definitely get loads of the yummy apple peel when this is wet, but soon after this is husky jasmine and fruits with musk...and lots of sex appeal. I don't want to say the "C-word" (civet) but there is definitely something primal in here that, frankly, works. Just ten minutes after applying, the jasmine submits and the musks take over. It smells a little like musky pikaki at this point, with a dusting of fruits. It kind of makes me want to tackle the first person I see and bend them to my will. Yes, I do believe that per the description, The Perfumed Garden could 'inspire sensuality and inflame passion.' Yes indeed.
-
Parlement of Foules is a pretty straightforward blend of white rose and resins on my skin. I can see how some people have mentioned that they thought this was sharp, as the resin gives the rose an edge that roses have in some of the penitential blends like Rose Cross or Kostnice. But on me, that element dissipates pretty quickly and I'm left with a rose that has a very slight leather edge (?) and beautiful resins. I think I smell frankincense and maybe myrrh. I'm glad I got a couple of bottles because this strikes me as both reverential and classically romantic. I can see myself reaching for this as a comfort scent on a day when I just want to wear something that makes me feel lovely.
-
Mmmm, honey. Luperci is much more honey-ed than I thought it would be, although duh, honey *and* beeswax. But it's not the bright sweet honey note I've found in other blends. Here's it's more about the beeswax than the honey. The patchouli is really balanced between the beeswax and the oakmoss. The juniper is similarly subdued and is really more present in the wet stage, at least on my skin. This is terrifically well-blended! On the drydown, Luperci is honey and musk and patchouli, with an almost golden, ambered halo around it. It feels a little like Sed Non Satiata meets Geek (sans leather and cinnamon) to me, with the grassy notes from The Lion. But it defies comparison. A few hours later, it's a second-skin scent that smells like honey musk and the outdoors in the best way possible. I can see this being fantastic on my boyfriend, but I will have no problem using up my bottle by myself!
-
Night's Pavilion strikes me as definitely a nighttime blend, a combination of both velvety darkness and scintillating, white stars. It smells much more complex than the four listed notes led me to believe. In the bottle, it's a peppery frankincense with just a hint of the osmanthus (which to me resembles freesia). On my skin, I smell the 'starry' notes---the white musk and the osmanthus. The frankincense doesn't overwhelm in this blend or even come across as itself. It's almost as if the frankincense lowers a veil over the florals and blurs them, tones down their strong 'white' scent, and makes them glimmer duskly. In feel, this reminds me a bit of Gypsy Queen. It doesn't smell anything like GQ, but both are mysterious, dimmed florals that are deeply sensuous. Truly beautiful and an utter surprise. I'm definitely going to pick up another bottle before the VD blends are gone.
-
Red Lantern is indeed very pretty. In the bottle it smells a lot like Elegba, but once I put it on, it’s literally an explosion of different notes. The caramel note reminds me of the caramelized edge in Miskatonic U. Just as in Misk U, it has a facet that’s almost like candle wax on my skin, in a good way. The tobacco bears a resemblance to the sexy tobacco note in Perversion, although here it’s lighter and warmer. I can’t smell any of the other listed notes, although I catch a ruddy note every once in a while that I suspect is the black currant. The drydown is really the best part of Red Lantern on me. It’s predominantly black coconut and tobacco, with that caramel rounding everything out. So lovely. There’s a tracery of what smells like beautiful florals with exotic spice that works in the very, very background, like a whisper. There's something very tropical about this to me (must be the coconut) that is making me long for warmer weather. Until then, luckily I have my bottle of Red Lantern.
-
Yay Smut! *smut*smut*smut*smut* I had prepared myself for the strong smell in the bottle that Beth mentioned, so I was really surprised when I opened Smut up and smelled...fruits dusted with sugar and steeped in some fancy liquor. It smells great in the bottle! On my skin, it's yummy dark musks and what really smells like the smoothest, most rounded patchouli, with an almost root beer or chocolate element to it. I can see the comparisons to both Sed Non Satiata and Snake Charmer. Then there's that cognac base that gives it a little kick, and a sweetness that on my skin is less like sugar and more like some glorious, heady flower that telegraphs as steady, sensual sweetness. For those people that got a peanut butter note from Sed Non Satiata (and I was one of those people), I get no peanut butter from this whatsoever. I was also concerned about the boozy notes, as the Lab's wine note has never been amenable with my chemistry---but the booze here is completely different (IMHO) and totally wonderful. After an hour, this is just the most seductive muddled musk, a tumble of gold and red and brown incensy notes like a set of twisted satin sheets. Irresistible.
-
I have been so impressed with the BPTP blends so far, and La Fée Verte is another stunner. In the bottle it's a tumult of notes, I'm not even sure I could describe what they are, as so many of the listed notes are ones that are new to me. But I can definitely smell musk, honey, and a gorgeous mix of herbal notes. It's a pale green kind of blend. On, La Fée Verte becomes a wispy (but not light), beautiful herbal/musk. The throw is incredible. The honey is subdued and serves to sweeten but does not overpower. The spices are ones I recognize from Morocco, and they are gooood. I can see the Dorian comparisons, as the musk is similar in my opinion, as is the overall feel. But I just adore the herbal notes here that really balance out the musky sweetness and make this blend sing. And bonus, La Fée Verte reminds me of the absinthe drinking scene in From Hell where Johnny Depp chases the green fairy. Mmmm, Johnny Depp.
-
Ah, Hellion. :contented sigh: If the Queen of Spades and Blood Moon tangoed just once for 'old time's sake,' Hellion would be that dance. This is like a dream team of notes for me: patchouli, plum, musk, sandalwood...yum. The narcissus here gives it a little bit of edge, but isn't prominent on my skin. It's just a gorgeous incensey blend that's so rich it's almost like wine-colored brocade. I love the plum here for the same reason I loved it in the QoS; it adds a sumptuous depth and texture. I agree with sarada, there is a resemblance to Urd here, as the combination of the patchouli with the fruit note is similar in feel. The overall effect is dark, mysterious, sexy. I'm lovin' Hellion, and if I wasn't saving my pennies after splurging hard core on the last update, I'd try to get another bottle because this is good stuff, and I think it will age nicely to boot.
-
Faustus was in-my-face frankincense for the first half hour, so intense that I was tempted to scrub it off. I enjoy frankincense, but usually like it more when it's a supporting role rather than a lead in a blend. The cinnamon was very subtle, as was the violet note. After a bit, the violet showed its face, but the frankincense was still too strong for my liking. I think I'll be putting my imp in the boy's pile of things to try. I have a feeling this would be quite nice on him.
-
Ave Maria Gratia Plena does indeed remind me of Venice, as many other reviewers have noted. Like Venice, it's an 'ensemble' floral, like a bouquet of flowers all competing for attention and prominence at once. I love the first ten minutes of this when the lemon is in the foreground. Once the citrus burns off, I'm left with jasmine and musk, like an expensive and posh soap. It's pretty, but it's not really speaking to me.
-
Mmmm, I also get marzipan from the Queen of Sheba, with a nutty undertone I recognize from Gluttony but much prefer here. Then it slides into the spices I love in Morocco plus something vaguely warm and golden---maybe the honey note which is otherwise very subtle in this blend, at least on my skin. I'm not so much a fan of the overtly almond-y blends, but this is very nice. It dries down to a skin scent that is really sensual and pretty. I'll definitely be keeping my imp.
-
Black Rose is a straightforward mix of rose, amber, and musk, absolutely as described. It does remind me of Blood Rose without the dragon's blood (as has been mentioned a couple of times already in this thread) and of Beatrice as well, for some reason. So simple and so gorgeous. It's been the rare BPAL blend with rose as a primary ingredient that I haven't gone batsh*t over. And to think when I first started wearing BPAL, I thought I didn't like rose at all! Yep, this goes on my list for a bigger bottle...once I get through some of my other rosey bottles. Though I do recall reading that rose ages particularly well....
-
Cordelia makes me kind of happy in a geeky way, because I can smell all of the listed notes, and that doesn't happen very often for me. First on, I get a blast of the lemon and green tea, with the osmanthus, wisteria, and lilac trailing behind. Then it's heavy cedar and musk, with the flowers as a delicate counterbalance. I love the lilac in this blend, but the cedar is just too strong, even after a few hours. Sadly, my skin loves to amp cedar. Cordelia is very pretty, though. I often think of her brilliant line: ...I cannot heave / my heart into my mouth.
-
Dew-covered berries and fresh green grasses with a faint breath of spring flowers. Rosalind goes on as a very astringent grassy blend, and stays that way for at least an hour before the berries begin to show. I also feel like I can smell something lemony in there, as other reviewers have noted. I don't get a lot of floral notes, they are very subdued on my skin. I love the idea of Rosalind, but my chemistry makes too much of the grass notes and they smother almost everything else. I'm a wee bit sad, because I love the character of Rosalind, and would like nothing more than to make this a signature scent.
-
Holiday Moon is exactly what I was hoping for to usher in the springtime months after a gloomy (and ongoing) winter. It's green, green, green---green tea and then the crushed smell of the interior of white wood (must be the bamboo). It reminds me of when I'd break and twist a fallen branch as a child (evidence of my scintillating childhood, yes, I played with sticks). There's that powerful smell released from the core, where there's a thin green lifeline running through the center like a green wick. Then I get a blast of ozone-rimmed citrus, lemony-bright and sparkling. I also get a green melon note, almost like honeydew, but very subdued and smooth. Lastly I smell the lunar oils, that minty, waxy almost-lily edge that I recognize. The drydown is a hazy green tea with a hint of melon and an undercurrent of that gorgeous oude base note. Holiday Moon does have similarities to both Embalming Fluid and Spirits of the Dead, as others have mentioned. But the oude and lunar oils make this one glimmer and smolder in a way that is quite unique. I only wish this one lasted longer on my skin. Oh well, just another excuse to buy one of the Lab's upcoming scent lockets.
-
Like others, I also get wintergreen and berries from The Wheel of Fortune, along with a smoky, dusty, gritty note---maybe that's the pepper that sarada mentioned? It dries down to almost a brandied berry smell on me that's quite nice. It's really quite a morpher. I never would have thought at the beginning that it could end in such a place, but I guess that would be a perfect embodiment of the card.
-
The Lovers is such a light and pretty blend. My take on what might be in here: orange blossom, bergamot, lemon verbena, lavender, and the tiniest smidge of ylang ylang? It's exceptionally fresh and almost grassy, but at the same time there is a slightly astringent herbal and light, sweet flowers that make this really balanced. I'll enjoy using up my imp this spring!
-
For some reason, I expected more spice or smoke from The Devil, but it's just as others have written: musk, civet, and florals. I also pick up on a very slight leather note, but that might just be a cross of other notes in the blend. And right in the center, I feel like there's the tiniest bit of powdery mint. The overall effect on my skin is of a sweet floral incense with a deep animalistic base. The contrast between the florals and the more agressive musk/civet is really interesting, but in the end, this is a little overwhelming for me. However, it does very appropriately capture the vibe of the Tarot card.