LiberAmoris

Annabel Lee is so lovely. On me it's a haunting blend of sweet pea, peony, sage, cucumber and oakmoss, in that order of prominence. It has a sea-swept, moonlit, unfulfilled quality to it that matches its inspiration perfectly. The overall effect on me is a dreamy light floral with green, sea-brine soaked undertones. It also has the feeling of being carried on air---it feels open and drifting rather than pent up and compressed. I cannot stop sniffing myself, it's just such a pretty and sad blend. It smells like longing.

Yep, The Haunted Palace is gorgeous. Ripe redolent oranges, lush red roses, and sweet heliotrope and gardenia---with vanilla and amber and musk at the bottom. The oranges melt away over time, leaving a second skin ambery floral that is just gorgeous. I have to agree with other reviewers, this is one infectiously happy blend. Bright and flirtatious, it's a decadent tumult of good cheer in a bottle. I don't think I could be gloomy wearing this one!

The City in the Sea smells much the way I imagined it to: light violet, ozone, ivy, light sandalwood, and something green and herbal that must be the kelp. I'm not getting any mint, just the tingle of the ozone. Aquatics tend to go straight to soap on my skin, and as beautiful as this one is in the bottle, it's nowhere near as enchanting on my skin. My chemistry just robs it of its dimensionality and magic. Luckily I have other Poe blends to console me!

I love what Beth does with patchouli and Alone is no exception. Dark patchouli, sandalwood, and cardamom create an almost raisin-y note, or something deeper and richer, like date or spiced fig. The gardenia and lily of the valley (muguet) sweeten but do not come forward on my skin as prominent notes. The labdanum is very woody and almost marshy, lending it an slightly herbacous, outdoorsy feel. The result is a rich, resinous blend that has just a tracery of white florals around the edges. In my mind, it fits in the same 'family' of rich resin blends as Urd, Sin, and Snake Charmer, although it is also very unique. It does smell a bit reclusive, like the smell of a lonely cabin built under the shade of giant trees whose taproots come up through the floor boards.

Wow. In the bottle, sweet creamed corn, the real deal, off the cob. On my skin, maple-sweet corn with cinnamon. It does bear a strong resemblance to Sugar Skull. The corn note is so real it's uncanny. Once it dries down, it does smell like candy corn, small-batched in copper pots with primo ingredients. It also smells like caramel corn. Yum! I wasn't so sure about it in the beginning (I spent a couple dicey years in Iowa and now the smell of corn is not such a great association) but the end result is scrummy.

Like other reviewers, I had a reaction of "Sugar Cookie!" when I first opened Devil's Night. For me, it's a smoky gourmand blend---cool nights, bonfires, and freshly baked cookies. The musk here is delectable. I was so hoping that this one would be love at first sniff and it is. I'm glad I got ahead of myself and ordered another bottle based on my unbridaled optimism.

Decadence is an orange pomander blend that smells like the holidays to me. I got an imp of this last year as a freebie from the Lab, tried it once, wasn't crazy about it, and promptly forgot that i had it. In reorganizing the depths of my perfume stash, I came upon it, and now I love it! The almond note burns off pretty quickly on my skin and then it's just mellow orange, spiced with what smells like cinnamon and clove. It's a little like mulled wine. I think there might be a floral in here as well, as the ultimate drydown on my skin smells like a creamy little orange flower. Yum. This weather is perfect for Decadence, and it is a real treat to be out in the cool October night, catching whiffs of it spiraling around me. It's a beautiful blend.

Umbra is like Sin on me, plus vetiver. I was really hoping that this would be a blend that would have me rethinking my position on vetiver, but it just does such weird things on my skin here that I think I'll stick with my beloved Sin. Does smell a lot like Lush's Middle Earth soap, which my BF loves, so I think I will be passing this imp on for him to wear.

With Delirium, I get the rose, apple, and lemon but somewhere in the intersection of those notes I also get a very creamy note, almost milk-like. In the air around me it smells like cut apples and roses in a dairy. It sounds weird but it smells really nice! The lemon makes me feel very alert and I will keep this imp computer-side, for when I want to wear something that is smooth but will also improve my concentration.

Wow, in recent memory there is not a blend that smelled less promising in the imp than Siren. It smelled like sugars breaking down on someone's breath, or overripe fruit. But I've learned that the ones that smell best in the vial often smell vile on me, while the ones that seem less of an instant love affair often change so much on my skin that I am wooed and won by them. I applied from the imp sparingly, given the exhortations to do so in this thread (thank you). Wet, it was not good on me. It smelled the same as in the imp. But I decided to persist and wait for the drydown, or to quote Monty Python: "Wait for it!" Dry, Siren smells like the love child of March Hare, Black Phoenix, and Pele. It's a mix of apricot and cola spices with a slight incensey vibe and a tropical flair. I also detect a slight chocolate note that comes and goes. I am surprised by how much I enjoy the drydown, it's very sexy. It definitely has a decadent, vintagey kind of glamour to it---and I think it would be an absolute magnet in public, as it emanates a kind of raw sexuality and brazen confidence. I'm definitely keeping the imp, to do some controlled tests of its range and power.

A vase of tiger lilies filled with honey instead of water... It's almost as if they're drawing up the honey and trumpeting its sweetness in addition to their own. Tiger Lily is really syrupy, right on that line of being too unbearably so for me to comfortably wear. For some reason, I love the sweet foody blends but sweet florals trigger a bit of nausea. On the drydown it morphs into mostly honey on my skin, with underpinnings of lilies---like a corsage pinned on a beekeeper. Not my most favorite honey blend in the catalogue, but very nice and I imagine it could be a devastatingly sexy midsummer perfume, sure to draw the bees.

Thanatos is a tough one to describe. The closest I can come to encapsulating it is to say that it smells like someone took a bottle of Rose Cross and aged it for 100 years in a moss-lined box made of sandalwood. If that perfume was then unearthed and mixed with an equal part of amber and worn to a Black Mass, that would be Thanatos. I love the darkness and mystique of this blend but it has the kind of rose that always dries down to a dill-like smell on me. I think it might be the intersection of the rose with something else, but it's definitely going in the direction of pickle. It's a beautiful blend though, and if my skin wasn't busy messing it up, I'd be wearing it all day.

Hurricane is really evocative, so much more so than I was expecting. For me, this is the hurricane's aftermath: trees split open to expose their green heartwoods, grass bent and bracken stirred, and humid marine water in the air with that salty tang that Beth always captures so well. This is also the first blend I've tried where I actually enjoy the vetivert. I knew I'd find one eventually! Here it adds an edge that does smell like rotting, water-soaked wood. Growing up by the ocean and on various other bodies of water, I am very familiar with that scent and it feels 'right' somehow.

One of the Biblical Cities on the Plain, destroyed by God with fire and brimstone because of its people’s pride, prosperous ease, deceit, hedonism and indolence, and their callous, uncharitable hearts. A gritty, sordid and languid scent: ripe fig, date and currant with black herbs. Mmmmm, Gomorrah is light, sweet figs and black tea on me---such a great combination. I wanted to love Intrigue, but Gomorrah is much more up my alley. It smells just like blackcurrant tea, fresh from the tin. So good.

I'm so surprised by Juke Joint. Normally I can't do the alcohol notes...they make me feel kind of queasy. But I sniffed this at the NYC Meet-n-Sniff last month and promptly feel in love. And then, those prescient Labbies included an frimp of this in my latest order. I love the mint and sugar here, and the bourbon note is really warm and golden. It does go a little powdery after a while, and the mint doesn't stick around as long as I'd love it to, but the drydown is very cozy. It wears sort of like a minty Haunted on me, yum.

Les Infortunes de la Vertu, when first applied, is screaming orange blossom. When it dries a bit, it's like a sexy wrestling match between orange blossom and leather. Leather wins. I can detect the oakmoss, but I get hardly any rose, amber, or incense. I agree with QS, this would be devastating on a guy.

Mantis is a light herbal citrus --- the citrus oils evaporate quickly but while it lasts it's very nice. I wouldn't know there was patchouli in this blend if it wasn't listed. It dries down to a greenish amber, very much a second skin type of blend. It's very, very light. I detect a very slight cucumber note. This is one that I like wearing on the days where I don't feel like wearing perfume. Mantis is so light it's almost like herbs on sweet spring air. Very refreshing.

I'll concur with earlier reviewers, Penny Dreadful is reminiscent of Graveyard Dirt and Gingerbread Poppet. I also get a lemon note that no one else has mentioned...so it's probably just a phantom note created by the combination of other things. There's something very compelling about Penny Dreadful---something that reminds me a bit of the effect Nosferatu had on me. It's a lovely blend, but it feels like there's a harrowing backstory behind it, something lurking, a plotline gone awry. Like a character who fell out of her story and into another one. A character who shut a door quietly in one book...while in a separate book a door closed with no hand on it. I don't think I could wear this often, but I'll keep the imp to remember what dread smells like.

Chaos Theory CCVII: Obtained via a trade with Latzoni at the NYC Meet-n-Sniff. This smells like the husk of a coconut along with the dried meat of a coconut. There's something very natural about it and dusty, utterly unlike any other kind of coconut I've sniffed from the Lab before. Alongside that is an white floral note---gardenia perhaps, or magnolia? I can never tell the difference. This blend is very tropical and lovely. It's like a Hawaiian vacation in an imp! I'll be tucking this one away for use next summer. (Last reviewed by OriginalWacky.)

Yum, Imp is a lot like Depraved with peach instead of apricot. I also love the patchouli + fruit blends, and Beth's patchouli just rocks. The amber and musk here are so golden and warm, making this an almost gilded patchouli note. I'm keeping my imp of Imp to wear on some of these late autumn afternoons. I think it will also layer wonderfully with Jack.

Bottled happiness. Helps reverse misfortune, brings light and laughter to even the most troubled and discordant place, and aids in alleviating the stress and discontent that accompanies so many of life's daily trials. Aunt Caroline's Joy Mojo on me is a combination of the milky-white stuff in dandelion stalks and sweet-tarts candy. When first applied, there is an herbal, astringent note and then as it wears, the candy sweetness lifts above it and bubbles with happy sugar jubilance. All in all, it's way too sweet for me to wear as perfume, but I have used this with a candle to great success. There's just something about it that is cheerful and anxiety-banishing. My imp has been leaking all over the place, I like to think it's a sign of uncontainable joy.

I really wanted to love Blood Kiss, but the vetiver just makes my tummy feel weird. It does back off on the drydown, but I can't stomach (literally) the wet stage long enough to get there. Everything else about it is lovely! I particularly enjoy the musk, cherries, and clove here. I think I'll stick to Bengal for my go-to decadent honey blend.

This was a freebie from the Lab in my last order---thanks lovelies! Ingenue is totally gorgeous. The clover is really predominant for me, and it's one of my favorite notes. There's just something so perfect about the scent of clover. It's sweet but not cloying, fresh and herbal and green but not astringent. The melon rounds it out and then the floral notes support, but do not overwhelm. Violets normally overpower a blend for me, but here they are lovely, perhaps because this is violet leaf and not violet proper. In some ways Ingenue reminds me of Danube, sans grapefruit. In other ways it reminds me a bit of Pink Moon, as herongale mentions above. It's so sparkling and fresh and uncorrupted, just like an true ingenue. This is the actress arriving in Hollywood fresh off the bus from Iowa with her suitcase in her hand and nothing but $50 worth of pocket money from her parents and starry eyes. It reminds me of Lynch's film Mulholland Drive. This is one end of that sliding scale of dreams and embitterment. I hope that the recent profusion of imps means that Ingenue might come back some day.

Why it's taken me so long to try Bliss, I have no idea. I love chocolate! This is rich, heady chocolate that smells just like fresh baked brownies, as other have mentioned. It's the same cocoa I love in Velvet and now I have it all on it's own, to add a choco punch to Velvet, to blend with just about anything else foody in my BPAL stash, or to wear on its own when I need to combat a craving for something sweet. My love for Bliss is like that scene from the (old) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory film when the kids are ogling everything in the candy store. I have a 5ml and I anticipate plowing through it pretty quickly. This one will be a definite re-order.

I am really surprised by how much I like Omen. It was a freebie from the Lab---thanks y'all! And I can't believe I've never gotten around to trying it before, as I love patchouli and the Lab's patchouli blends are fab. This is definitely a forest bordering on the sea type of blend for me---mossy dirt and trees from the patchouli and juniper, and a tang from the myrrh that reminds me of sea air. There's something almost bracken-ish about it, like water on fallen, decaying leaves. When it dries down it's mostly oakmoss and cedar on my skin, but it's tremendously grounding. Very nice. Somehow it reminds me of late fall, so my imp will be perfect for the upcoming months.