LiberAmoris

On me, Nuclear Winter has the watery mints of Ice Queen and Cold Moon, with the addition of that grassy underlayer that Macha mentions above. I love mint, and enjoy it here, but if I had to choose just one mint blend, it would be Lick It, my new minty love. Nuclear Winter reminds me of an iceberg or a arctic landscape. It's like a cascade of glacial blues, greens and whites. Like a polar bear swim in a bottle!

I'm not the hugest fan of ylang ylang, but I thought I'd give Stardust a try anyway. It's definitely a bold blend, with strident tuberose and that ever-distinctive ylang ylang on first application. On the drydown, it's a flashback to childhood memories of raucous block parties in the late seventies/early eighties---that smell of hairspray and classic 70s perfume and cigarette smoke. I think the ylang ylang is a little too strong for my taste here, but it perfectly encapsulates the decadence of the decade. And it would definitely be a great perfume for clubbing!

I don't really have that much to add so I'll just concur with the reviewers above who said that Snow Bunny is very reminscent of Skadi. To me, it's Skadi without the 'mulling spice' notes that I get from that blend---clove and cinnamon. Snow Bunny has less 'drop' and depth to me, but is very enjoyable in a girly, lighthearted, wintry kind of way. It reminds me of the smell of walking back into a ski lodge after a morning of hitting the slopes, with the odor of snow and evergreens clinging to my parka, and then pulling off my hat and having that happy, clean, girly scent of shampoo cascade around me as my hair falls to my shoulders. And the bottle art is adorable! It matches the oil perfectly.

Lick It is the biggest surprise of the Yule blends for me so far. I ordered it because I love mint and can't resist the foodie blends. Also because when I was a kid, my brother and I had this incredible felted advent calendar in the shape of a Christmas tree with a little pocket for each day leading up to the holiday. In each pocket, my mother tucked in two miniature candy canes that we would get each night after dinner. So I have many happy memories of candy canes. I was expecting pure candy cane---strong peppermint with sweetness. But as others have described, it dries down to a Black Opal-esque musky vanilla, with just the right amount of mint to make it sparkly and mouth-watering. It's really much more versatile and wearable than I was anticipating. The mintiness makes it so perfectly seasonal and lovely at this time of year---but I think this would be equally good in the summertime because it's so very cooling and refreshing. Yup, I'll be getting another bottle of this one.

Right out of the bottle, The Peacock Queen is definitely a mature rose, more guarded and less vulnerable than Rose Red. On my skin I smell the same 'kind' of rose that I get from RR, but with a darker underpinning of oakmoss that makes the rose feel both less accessible and more refined. After about an hour, The Peacock Queen goes a little bit 'soapy' on me. It won't replace RR as my favorite rose----even so, I have to admire the skill in creating a blend that absolutely telegraphs a rarefied rose. I might try wearing a bit of this in my hair to see if works better off my skin.

When I was living in New Orleans I used to buy this incense that came in a little box with an image of the Virgin Mary on the front. It looked like peat moss and it would smolder for hours, making my apartment smell like a church at Easter. Since I left, I've been searching for this incense, or a decent replacement, to no avail. But Midnight Mass is pretty close! I definitely feel like I can pick out the traditional 'churchy' resins: frankincense and myrrh. Past that, I feel like there's perhaps a very muted rose note that's just on the periphery. On the drydown I'm picking up cedar, maybe a little sandalwood, and galbanum. It does bear a resemblance to Cathedral, although Cathedral (at least with my skin chemistry) is heavier on the wood notes and Midnight Mass is more resiny. One thing that did surprise me was that I was expecting Midnight Mass to have a 'smoky' note, like in Gyspy Queen or Hexennacht or Devil's Night. But on me it's smokeless incense, like entering a room in which incense has been burned for many years and the scent has worked its way into the walls and curtains and furniture (or pews)---so it's all around one like incense, without the smoke. I think I might have to get another bottle of this just to use in my oil burner. Between this and Jacob's Ladder I am in resin heaven.

Mmmmm, Jacob's Ladder on me is all amber and musk. It definitely is a 'lighter' scent and has very little sillage on me, but it does not disappear---it just stays very close to the skin. I love amber and here it is shown to advantage. This reminds me less of Snake Charmer and more of The Lion, which is one of my faves. Although Jacob's Ladder is not a complicated blend on my skin, it's very enjoyable, and I'm glad I have 2 bottles so I can slather away.

I went through my imps today and yeah, found an imp of Cheshire Cat that I forgot about. There's a note in this that is definitely acrid on me at first, even though it smooths out eventually. Grapefruit is always so effervescent on me, and sparkling, even though as a citrus oil it evaporates so quickly from the skin. The lavender and red currant stretch the blend in other dimensions, making it deeper and darker. The chamomile adds an herbal twist that I always find surprising. It's a tough blend to describe because it's really just so unique. Hopefully the grapefruit season will be better next year and this one can come back!

I love the idea of the graces in perfume! They remind me of a poem I love by Robert Hass called "Against Botticelli." Euphrosyne is so strong on me, though, and the jasmine and gardenia (both notes that are often overpowering enough on their own) together here create a one-two knockout floral punch. I actually don't even smell tea rose or much vanilla---it's just gardenia and jasmine. I might try this one in the oil burner. I think the combination of notes will be more nuanced when not applied to my skin.

Dirty sounded like a fun scent, but nothing up my alley. I don't really enjoy the 'clean' scents. But this smells like honeysuckle and cucumber on me, so I'm enjoying it more than I thought I would. It reminds me a little of White Rabbit and the white tea note in other blends. It's not one that I'll probably wear again, but I'm really glad I got to try it.

I was very surprised by Whip. I was expecting to be overwhelmed by the leather, but it's so subtle here that it's just at the very edges of this blend. It actually seems to make the rose seem 'fresher' or 'crisper' in some way, more defined, like outlining red in a thin line of black. It's very wearable, and I think this would even make a great work scent. Oh, I almost forgot the obligatory:

Lust smells like the love child of Urd and Blood Moon! All that wonderful red musk and patchouli with a layer of glorious myrrh---so good. I can hardly detect the ylang ylang at all. It's very dark and sensual and animalistic. This is lust, not love! Very primal.

Vixen is one foxy lady. I'm not so crazy about the orange blossom for the first hour or so, but once that calms down, it's definitely Snake Oil with a orange twist, and it is yummy! I love the Lab's patchouli, so this was kind of a no-brainer. I'm setting aside my imp for a night out when I want to exude va-va-va-voom.

Eve is a really pretty honeyed rose, but the ylang ylang is just too much for me. I can take the double ylang, but only in small doses. I really wished it worked for me though, as I like everything else about the blend. I also got a lilac note from Eve, like BlackWingedRoses above.

Loup Garou was a gift imp from the Lab, which is so great, as I've been curious about this one for a while but hadn't gotten around to it. I can see the comparisons to Mistletoe, it does smell like the needles of an evergreen if you crush them to release their oil. The eucalyptus is tremendously strong for the ten minutes or so, but it does back off and I'm left with a wonderful forest blend. I agree with previous reviewers---this is really refreshing and would be great for a headache, a hangover, or general dyspepsia. I think I'll be passing the imp on to a guy friend who loooves eucalyptus, in order to spread the BPAL love.

Gah, Blood Moon is so gorgeous! I smell sandalwood, a creamy musk like the one in Devil's Night, the spices from Bengal, a tiny bit of dragon's blood and a drop of leather. On my skin, it really does have a metallic tang---it's one of those smells that I really enjoy after having my nose lovingly re-calibrated by BPAL but struck most of my coworkers as 'unusual' and 'weird.' That's okay, it's their loss. I'm so glad that I decided to get a bottle. This only reinforces my belief that I should try every moon. And the label design is so beautiful. Nicely done, Macha!

Sugar Skull 2005 Wow, straight out of the bottle this smells like Butterscotch Schnapps. There is something in the blend that reminds me of Gluttony---not so much a nut note (that does *not* sound right!) but a wine note that I also detected in Gluttony (and disliked). On my skin, this does get closer to SS '04, becoming more of a rich carmelized sugar. The booze factor is dimmed and it becomes more mellow. Overall though, I prefer the 2004 version, even though it did have a sweet sawdust vibe to it. I kind of liked the sawdust smell! What can I say, I'm from the Pacific Northwest.

Katharina is so pretty! She's been on my wishlist forever, and the generous Lab threw her in as a freebie on my last order. I love white musk, and apricot has turned out to be a note that I find myself strangely drawn to. On my skin, it's equal parts apricot and musk until the drydown, when it becomes a fuzzy, second-skin scent. Katharina's a nice change from my vampy BPALs, and it makes a wonderful scent for work, as others have mentioned. I'm beginning to think that when I see the words 'white musk,' I should just buy a bottle straightaway, no questions asked.

I've found a new mankiller: Black Opal. I was wearing this the other night and had three (three!) men compliment me on my perfume. I asked them to describe how they thought it smelled (I always find this so utterly entertaining) and all three thought it smelled 'sweet.' Like flies to honey!

I'm going to second the vote for mint blends. When I get a migraine, I find that the smell of mint improves my breathing and reduces my nausea. I've used Cathode with good results. Of course, I also pound the pain meds!

Has No Hanna is a sweet, sensitive floral on me, reminding me of the cheery clusters of flowers in Beltane. I find it difficult to isolate any specific floral notes here, it just seems like a big vase full of 'em. Florals like this play out in my mind like sunshine, and to that end, Has No Hanna lifted my spirits. I could use some good luck, so I'll be annointing some special places in my home with this one and wearing it on days when I need the boost.

All Night Long is hard to describe, scent-wise. It kind of reminds me of Thai Peanut Sauce (yum!) and then it definitely goes through a cinnamon raisin stage (as already mentioned), and I also get that 'celery' note that I detect in some of the other voodoo blends. It does smell like there is some vetiver in here, but it doesn't bother me. The cacophony of notes might sound weird, but it all smells pretty good because the cinnamon is present at all stages, and it smooths out the other notes. As far as the voodoo properties, I did get some extra attention from my boyfriend when I wore this, maybe because he thought I smelled like a 'spicy cookie' (he thinks every BPAL smells like a spicy cookie, even the florals).

I was expecting Red Devil to be red in the imp, but instead it's a pale yellow. Scent-wise, I also get orange blossom and cinnamon, perhaps a little clove, and citrus orange. It reminds me of Decadence and Vixen. As far as its voodoo properties, this is a very warming oil and it does seem to draw people closer. No crazy sexual escapades to report here, but very satisfying nonetheless.

I really liked Hetairie in the imp, but on my skin the ylang ylang is absolutely broadcast above all other notes. I get a fleeting mint-like note as well, so perhaps my sense of smell is totally off. The honey is so yummy that I'll test this one again before giving up. Until the ylang ylang cuts in, Hetairie is lovely.

Nyarlathotep is a smoky coastal darkness to me---all that 'clean' ozone with the dark incense notes give the brain a paradox to sort through. Some of the smoke notes remind me of the smoke in Devil's Night somehow. On the drydown this is almost unmitigated ozone on my skin. I wish the incense stuck around a little longer. If I could get my boyfriend to wear BPAL more than once or twice a year, this would be on the list.