LiberAmoris

Boy hardy, there's some strong neroli in Akuma. For the first half hour, that was all I could smell, and then the orange and raspberry emerged. There's a powdery edge to the fruit notes, which reminds me of opening those packets of Kool Aid powder as a kid, only to tug too hard and have the powder flung up into the air. Overall, Akuma goes fruit punch on me with a big spike of neroli. On my skin it never really settles into a comfortable groove and there's something about this blend that I find unsettling. I'd really love to see more blends with raspberry though!

Wow, darkness and light. Anathema pairs dark, sensual opium with ebullient, heady honeysuckle and it's a really unusual combination. The vetiver is barely there for me, lending just a smidge of green to the honeysuckle which makes it seem all the more 'alive.' The honeysuckle is the dominant note on me all the way through to almost the very end, when I'm left with a skin scent of opium. If I loved honeysuckle, I'd be even more into this one. As it is, I'll keep the imp for the springtime. I just won't be wearing it to any picnics, as this seems like a blend that would draw the bees.

Djinn was a freebie from the Lab (thanks!) and one that I probably never would have tried on my own. The firey, ashy, smoldering blends never really suit me even though I appreciate the artistry that goes into them. From Djinn I get camphor, orange, and a mix of evergreen and white woods. As it dries, the ashy note develops, and on me it borders on almost leathery for some reason. Overall, this is a very rugged and outdoorsy blend. It smells like days when farmers burn leaves in the fall---or a controlled fire set by rangers to release seeds from conifers. Again, I appreciate the evocativeness of the blend but it's not something I would wear. This goes in my pile of imps to give away for enabling purposes...

The World is so inclusive that it's really difficult to describe. There's a lot going on in here and the tumult of notes is pretty complex. But I can definitely smell vetiver, sandalwood or agarwood, and cinnamon. In some ways it reminds me of Hamadryad, but with a vetiver kick. Even though I'm not fond of vetiver, here it is absolutely lovely, even though it is a dominant note on me. The cinnamon tempers and sweetens the vetiver a bit, and the woods support it. The World is absolutely earthy and grounding, as other reviewers have mentioned. There's something expansive about the combination of notes that truly conjures up the idea of the world in all its variety. I will never need a bottle of this, as I have to be in just the right mood to wear it, but I'm definitely keeping my imp.

Mnemosyne was a generous gift from a friend, and I could not be more thrilled, as I have pined for this blend ever since I read the description. Besides being the mother of the nine muses, Mnemosyne is the inventor of words and the goddess of memory and history, and I feel a connection to her as a poet. So much of poetry is based on the idea of witness and memory---I really wanted this blend to wear when I write. First on, Mnemosyne is a blast of menthol-y eucalyptus and spearmint. It absolutely is focusing as it is so commanding. As it dries down, I smell ginger and what smells like horehound candy. There’s a note that’s akin to cola in here as well, like the most divine root beer or ginger ale. In the end, it’s a herbal ginger, delicious but not foody in the least. I do find that it is extremely clarifying and enhances my connection to the past. It makes me feel like I could stride backwards into my memories and encounter them a second time without any fear. Like history could sing through me. Sing through me Muse, and through me tell the story. All of this is to say that I love this blend. I’m so happy to have it, and I will use it gratefully.

Yum, Lump of Coal is just how everyone above has described it, an absolutely delicious hot chocolate brownie. Like Bliss to the tenth power. I'm so glad I got this one because I recommended a 'Lump of Coal' blend on the Yule suggestion thread. This smells much better than coal! I can't wait to start layering with this one.

Arcana is lavender, lemon and vanilla (?!) on me and I really enjoy the combo. I tend to reach for resiny blends, but this is herbal and lovely in the same vein as Chiroptera. Very pretty and will be gorgeous in the spring.

The reviews for Debauchery are hilarious. I thought I'd reviewed this one, but apparently not. I do recall testing it a while back, but for the purposes of science I'm testing it again. Debauchery reminds me of the film Caligula. Enough said. I get loads of Egyptian Musk but the civet definitely adds a, shall we say, biological odor? On me the civet seems to vascillate between being a little too much/oh dear what is that smell and primitively sensual. This is definitely a blend with no holds barred, as the saying goes. I'm still not sure it's for me, but it's quite a spectacle.

Envy is my new go-to blend when I'm feeling icky. There's just something so very refreshing and comforting about the lime/lavender/mint combo. It's sort of like a minty Quietude. This would be awesome in the summertime, when it's too hot and sticky to move. This might make a nice summer sleep oil...

Two, Five & Seven is one of those oils I kept meaning to order but then forgot to, kept hoping to catch up to and didn't. It's been on my wishlist forever, and today in my order I got a frimp from the generous Lab! I love love love most of the BPAL rose blends even though before I found BPAL rose was one of my least favorite notes. But Beth has completely won me over and now I love them. Two, Five & Seven smells a little like the rose from Persephone in the imp, but on my skin it's much more layered. I can really smell the different types of roses and it truly is a bouquet bursting with different varietals. It dries down to a very soft-petaled rose, and I absolutely love it. If I had a BPAL blend for the kind of tenderness and vulnerability I was able to offer to my first love, this would be it. It's absolutely unguarded. There's definitely an Edenic quality to it. Right up there with Rose Red and Persephone for 'bright' rose blends, in my book.

Mmmm. Talvikuu is like the older brother of Cold Moon on me! I'm so excited because I love Cold Moon but sometimes the berries and florals that I pick up in that blend are a little too sweet and Talvikuu is a little more wintry and dark. I definitely get the slushy/ozone/aquatic mints and florals from Cold Moon and Ice Queen, along with some dark evergreen notes. It is reminiscent of Skadi, but 'lower' somehow. Skadi has some lighter green notes that bring it up an octave and make it brighter than this. I'm enjoying this blend a great deal and can't wait to try it on my boyfriend.

Antique Lace is definitely a BPAL classic. On me it's a sweeter vanilla-ed Black Opal or less spiced Morocco---loads of musk and that mineral note that keeps the sweetness from being over the top. It's a very simple blend, and so pretty that I can imagine it being perfect year-round in almost any kind of situation. Antique Lace would be just right whether I'm at work, out with friends, watching tv...or at a monster truck show (I've never been, but I can imagine it would still be perfect at such an event). It's like the little black dress of BPAL. When I sniffed it earlier this year at a Meet and Sniff, I wasn't so impressed. But then I got an imp from a friend and was hooked. I'm so happy to have my own bottle now. This is going in a roller bottle and living in my purse so that I can apply as needed.

Hearth 2005 is really so different from its 2004 counterpart. I feel like I can detect elements from a lot of other blends in this: the butteriness of Shill, the nutty note from Miskatonic University, the creamy sweetness of Jack, and a slight corn note from Trick or Treat. All in all, it's of course its own creature---very much like toffee or pralines (as others have noted) with that pine/cedar element. Hearth would make a great room scent, but on my skin, the combination of the butter and the pine is a bit much to have so close to my person, in such a concentrated amount. I'm going to add this to my oil burner and use it there. I can't imagine a better scent to have in the air during the holidays!

If you like lilies, you've got to try Cobra Lily. It's absolutely, as other reviewers have mentioned, a heady bunch of 'em. It smells like there might be a bit of orange and a bit of dragon's blood in here to me, but the lily is really the star player and the supporting notes are subtle. I'm not so much of a lily fan, but I'm really glad I got to try this. It's one heck of an unabashed floral.

Yew-Trees goes on with a menthol-y eucalyptus-y burst for me, but that edge quickly backs down and I'm left with light pine and a sappy resin that *almost* has a dark coconut or leather vibe to it. It sounds weird, but it's really good. Because this evergreeny blend is tempered by that sap note, this is very wearable for me and much more elegant and unusual than I was expecting. For some reason I keep thinking of the blue spruce, but this is darker and greener than that, and more exotic. I'm really surprised by how much I like Yew-Trees, especially on the dry down. I'll definitely be keeping my imp to wear through the winter season.

Holy sh*t, Dee is good. It smells like a library off the wing of a great estate---vaulted ceilings, mahogany shelving with sliding ladders, an enormous fireplace with a leather wing chair, and a vast wood table piled high with cloth- and leather-bound books. With a touch of water damage or dampness on the pages. The woodsy notes make it seem as through the library has a set of double doors that lead out onto the grounds, where a copse of trees sends fresh green-laden air rifling through the pages of the books open on the table. Yum. If academics had a smell, this would be it. It's like a bookish mating cry. I don't even know if this is something I would wear often, as it is so specific and evocative for me. But I think I'll be getting a little bottle just to have, to sniff and occasionally anoint my BF with.

Lilith has been on wishlist for so long, and the lovely Lab threw in a frimp with my latest order. Straight out of the imp, it reminds me of both Nosferatu and Lady Macbeth. It has that high sweet wine note that smells a bit like nail polish remover. Once the wine note dies down a little though, I get the roses and myrrh. For some reason, this combination is working for me. It's very sexy, very take-no-prisoners. Mmmm, the days of wine of roses. But after about an hour, it's completely gone. I wish this lasted longer, but that's ok, the next time I wear it I'll just slather.

Sed Non Satiata smells like peanut butter and honey to me! I keep checking because it seems so improbable, but that's what I'm getting. There is definitely a sexy gourmand edge to it, and I can see it falling into the same kind of category as O or La Petite Mort, but the peanutty/honey combo is throwing me for a loop. Being a patchouli kind of girl, I'd love to smell more patchouli in this (patchouli haters, take heart---it's incredibly well blended!). I think a lot of people will like this, but on my skin it seems to be going in a strange direction. The drydown is much better, it's musky-sweet and pretty nice. But I don't think I can handle the 'nut phase.'

Malkuth is spicy cinnamon and strawberry on me, and reminds me a great deal of Blood Moon. I love the patchouli and what smells like sandalwood and cedar. I think I even smell a little bit of frankincense. I'll be using the bottle in my oil burner in order to be surrounded by this when I work from home.

Bess was a complete surprise for me. I was expecting a primarily rose/floral blend with rosemary and grape. But on my skin it is strong orange flower/blossom and grape with rosemary. I don't smell any rose, mint, or lemon. This doesn't happen to me very often at all, but something in the combination of these notes on my skin is making me feel...ill. I want to wait for the drydown, but I don't think I can do it. This will be one of the rare blends that I scrub off.

Yep, fresh dry tea leaves and cut lemons! Spirits of the Dead is really refreshing and I love the tartness of it. It changes very little on my skin from the in-bottle scent. Maiden and The Dormouse were kind of uneven on me, so I'm excited to find a tea blend that works with my chemistry. This is another bottle I'm happy to set aside until the spring and summer when it will be perfect.

Dreamland is like a perfect bouquet of pink creamy florals on me. Although the tuberose is really strong at first, it backs off and I get an incredibly well-blended floral that's very smooth and soothing. The skin musk makes it subtly sexy. This bottle is getting stashed away for the spring alongside Beltane and Pink Moon.

The Sleeper is a really curious blend. Frist applied, I get loads of rosemary and jasmine. The poppy and lily don't really emerge for me until after 20 minutes, and on the drydown I smell the oakmoss and something musky. And yet, it's really well blended, so only in retrospect did I realize that I was smelling all of them at once. For some reason though, a combination of notes here is smelling like a band-aid on me. It's a plastic, sterilized note that I'm guessing is just my weird skin chemistry acting out. It's a shame, because I love rosemary blends and had such high hopes for this one.

I was so hoping The Evening Star would be like a cross of Vechernyaya and Moon Rose (sans rose), and it is! All those white musks and the moonflower together---it's like moonlight on my skin. The moonflower note has been an acquired taste for me over the last year, but now I absolutely love it. The Evening Star will be one of those blends I reach for when I want something serene, ethereal, and incandescent.

Traditionally, Beaver Moon is named thus for a very obvious reason: during this time of year, beavers are hard at work building their dams and preparing for the onset of winter. Because it was too hard to resist, BPAL’s Beaver Moon is sillier, sleazier, and full of camp. This scent is of cheesecake and cupcakes, more in line with it’s cheekier connotations, and really hasn’t a damn thing to do with Luna at all! Beaver Moon is also one of my favorite Lunacies---right up there with Chaste Moon for me. It definitely is akin to Midway---in that it's a foodie blend but is surprising light, and is not cloying even though it's sweet---but it also has a wonderful graham crust and cream cheese frosting/cheesecake note, as already mentioned. Yum, yum, yum. One of my Beaver Moon bottles cracked in shipment and so there was 'Beaver all over my box' (sorry, had to say it) so I had a great opportunity to test it on my skin last night as I tried to clean everything up. It wears very true to the in-bottle scent on me, like a heavenly mating of Chaste Moon, Chimera, and Midway. Definitely on my top ten LEs ever.