Browneyes

Thank you for the frimpage! Imp: I *finally* understand why lots of people go "almond or cherry" when describing notes. I've always thought, huh? those two things smell nothing alike. But when I opened the imp, I could have *sworn* there was almond in this, and then I read the notes description and saw that it was cherry! So my very first impression when sniffing the imp was: fruity AMARETTO! Wet: The scent immediately goes softer once hitting my skin, and is not the sharp, almost boozy scent that I get from the imp. Dry: The woody note from Intrigue is now recognizable - in fact this reminds me alot of Intrigue, but minus the cocoa, and a little less like "pencil" than Intrigue was on my skin. Probably won't use it much... It's not awful, but I don't think it works well enough on me.

Scent-wise this is a tangy/sour herbal lavender smell, as others have mentioned. I like it alot, but I think I prefer the smell of Temple of Dreams, which is less sharp somehow. As to the effects, I didn't really notice anything. It might have been soothing, but I did not experience the "out within 5 minutes" kind of sleep. So perhaps I need the stronger stuff, like TKO

Scent-wise I get a herbal lavender/rosemary/lemongrass from this. I like it alot, but I guess you have to like lavender to appreciate the smell of this The scent is soothing, but as to the effects, I honestly didn't notice any different in my sleep pattern or dreaming. I prefer this scent to Somnus, but as for the effects I might need something stronger. Bring on the TKO!!

This was one of the Snakes that I was really excited about! So glad to get to try a decant! Imp: CASSIA/CINNAMON helloooo! Wet: Still lots and lots of real cinnamon, as if you were grating a piece of cinnamon bark onto your porridge or something. The colour association with this phase of the scnet is definately RED, although, thankfully, my skin has not reacted to this! Yay! Dry: Now I get more ginger, and it's kind of similar to the ginger in Shub. The SO base also emerges slightly. The throw is spicy and sinus-clearing for about an hour-1½, and then the scent fades... I really like it, and will test again to see if I can make it last longer or something... As far as ginger smells go, I do prefer my beloved Shub though. Saw-Scaled Viper is more like cinnamon-ginger candy, whereas Shub is ginger cake/cookie. And I seem to prefer baked goods to candy, when it comes to foodiness. Will be testing some more, and considering a bottle... It could age really well... We'll see

Of the 6 Snakes that I am sampling at the moment, this was the one I was most sceptical about (on the basis of the previous reviews). Having little or no previous experience with the notes in this, I was ready for anything. Now the inexperience makes me wonder if this is how it's supposed to smell, or if it's just not working right on me? The review: Imp: Sweet sweet sweet smell... Wet: Sweet, soapy? floral, incency? Dry: This is like a piece of edible incense, or incense that smells like candy. An occult candyshop Not really me. After a while the edible incense phase fades out and I get sharp/sour floral. Then hours later (and several handwashes), I get something that seems like the usual SO base, but modified. Anyways, I don't think this works on me, although I am willing to try it again, perhaps in a scent locket.

Was looking forward to trying my first apple blend, and the apple in Coral Snake is indeed lovely Imp: Predominantly apple, but with something headier, thicker lurking in the background Wet: Oooh granny smith apple, right in front of me! Amazing! Dry: The slightly spicy sweet SO base emerges, along with heady florals. The florals are not "tropical" and not sharp on me, which is a plus It all combines together very nicely, although I get no citrus fruit whatsoever. I can see this aging quite nicely. BUT: First the apple and then the whole scent seemed to vanish extremely quickly. Granted I was also trying other Snakes at the same time, but I could still smell the others, but not so much this one. So I will have to test if I can get more lasting power out of it, or else wear it in my scent locket. Maybe a bottle.

This was one of the Snakes I was looking forward to trying the most. I am going to have to test it a bit more to consider if I need a bottle, because Habu is kind of pushing this one off the spot of "ideal fresh summer-scent SO variant" - I am on a budget you see The review: Imp: Green, light minty-ness. Not as sharp and strong as I was expecting from reading the previous reviews Wet: The green tea note emerges, and I recognise it as the same green tea note in Embalming Fluid (although not quite as strong, and of course, there is no citrus/aloe in this) Dry: A very faint vanilla is evidence of the SO base. I wonder if it will come out more with aging? I also got a faint plasticy/fake twinge, which aging might cure. Will continue testing in any case Throw was lovely though, quite tingly. The tingly, minty throw lasted for about 1½ hour, then the scent kind of faded.

Yum yum. This is such a gorgeous blend for vetiver lovers (like me), but haters should still give it a try, since the vetiver is not overpowering. Imp: the woody earthy vetiver, unsweetened coconut, a hint of floral Wet: Oh WOW! the SO base immediately emerges, and everything just blends together beautifully, seamlessly. Dry: to me, this is like a more sophisticated and grown-up SO. It's smoky, earthy, spicy, sweet, sexy = all at once. Only problem is that I found a slight twinge of play-dough in the SO base scent, but I think aging will cure that (or perhaps it's ttotm) Bottle!

Habu is the surprise hit for me! I'm so glad I got to try a decant of this, and I think I will get a bottle Imp: Fruity? Kind of like apple/citrus (although not as much like apple as Coral Snake) Wet: Oh wow. Fresh green wood sap. Like a juicy tree. Having never tried the lab bamboo note before I am utterly impressed. This is very evocative indeed. Dry: The subtle SO base emerges, and to me, this is the Snake (of the 6 that I have tried so far) that is most like SO, only a lighter, greener version of it. The faint SO scent lingers for hours and hours afterwards, whilst the initial bamboo wood smell fades after about 2 hours.

For a light tropical floral with a hint of fruitiness - you could try Vasakasajja For a dark and green tropical floral - try Dark Delicacies (I like this one better!) ETA: Oh yeah, there's also the GC: Eden - coconut, fig, honey

I thought I'd just add that Nyarlathotep and R'lyeh are quite nice citrusy aquatics.

Imp: cinnamon candy or cinnamon scratch n' snif sticker! Wet: (oops that was a proper generous dab...) slight tingly feeling, no redness though. The scent warms up and is not so "artificial" smelling anymore. The honeysuckle emerges, or at least something that has a definate honey-ish quality. It's quite nice combined with the cinnamon. Dry: Ha! Oh play-doh scent how I loathe thee it's not soo bad, but it's still there. Maybe it will go away or I will get used to it like I did with Snake Oil. Hm. ETA: the play-dough did disappear significantly apon the drydown, and this it the scent that has wafted the most on me in my BPAL experience! It was a nice smell, but I'm not sure I will wear this much, as it didn't feel like me.

Imp: the Lab's aquatic, salt water, ozone smell Wet: the same, but it deepens a bit Dry: the "grapefruit" note that everyone has mentioned definately emerges on me too as well as something incensy/resinous (??), adding a sweetness and depth to the scent. It's green, watery, ozoney, citrusy at the same time. Observation: Comparing this one to Nyarlathotep is interesting. N is even more green (in a cucumber-y kind of way) compared to this one, which is more fruity. Neither of them seem very dark and foreboding to me though, but are rather pleasant variations on the light, fresh, aquatic, good-for-the-summer-heat kind of scents I will keep my imps of both!

Rose Red 2005 decant Imp: Sharp green rose with an almost fruity edge Wet: The green stems of the freshly cut rose. Entering a florist to buy a single red rose in february. Dry: Sweet red rose. In full bloom. Freshly cut. It is beautiful. Strong. Plenty of throw too. I can't describe it better than some of the above reviewers have already. Suffice to say that this is incredibly evocative, and just plain lovely. I am happy to have bought this imp from a lovely forumite and if Beth ever re-releases this, I will be so there! (Observation: Could it be that it is the same rose as in Zombi? Or perhaps there is a slight touch of the dirt note in this, without it being too strong, because Zombi was really wonky on me.)

Wow. Bottle: aquatic, dark, green, slightly sharp Wet: same kind of damp, dark, tropical forest-like quality Dry: wow this seems to morph alot on my skin. It develops a lovely smokiness (ETA: the patchouli and resins I presume), a hint of fruitiness, whilst still maintaining that myserious luscious quality. The florals are there, but they are not cloying - I do not have enough experience to point out specifically which ones they are, but if this is orchid then omg It strikes me as somewhat gender neutral-ish, although definatly sexy for a woman to wear on a date for example. I'm SO happy I went ahead and ordered a bottle of this while I was slightly tipsy (and btw fast shipping! I ordered on the 17th and it arrived today in Denmark!) I'm gonna go smother myself in my arm now. ETA: having now tried Mme Moriarty, I can only agree to the comparisons. DD is like Mme minus the Snake Oil aspects of it (which to/on me are: grittiness and rich vanilla) *plus* night-blooming heady florals and a whiff of coconut.

Imp: tropical floral, and some fruit I can't quite place... Wet: still tropical floral fruitiness Dry: musk and tonka are now faintly in the background, grounding the scent, but it remains a light tropical fruity-floral. It's really pretty but I will have to test it out a bit more to decide whether or not I need a bottle. It's probably a really good summer fragrance

Thank you! Wow they are cute!!

14 reviews and still no pic of the Fire Pig!?!? Come On people!!!

A powerful aid in finding the strength, drive and determination to complete projects. Battles frustration and sloth, and rejuvenates your work ethic. I have serious procrastination issues when it comes to my studies, even though they interest me, and lately these tendencies of mine have been getting worse (ironically at a time when I need to be more focused than ever). Use: I anointed my computer with two tiny drops of this, and I applied some on my hands, rubbing them and inhaling the scent, and then I thought: smell goood and applied it on my neck too. (Forest informed me in an email that these uses (+ candle and difuser uses) would be fine with Determination) Smell: This smells WONDERFUL to/on me. Some people really disklike vetiver, but I am beginning to think I like it quite alot!! Generally speaking this scent is woody and herbal, but with warming incense notes, and it is somehow confidently spicy also. With regard to specific notes, I get vetiver and musk. I don't think I can identify the rest, because my nose just isn't that good yet, plus this is seamlessly blended. I honestly think I could wear this every day as a perfume. Intent: I still need to try it out more, and I will return to add more to this review, but so far, I am so so happy that I got this! It seems like it is giving me that extra shove to get my *ss into gear and get moving! I have organised my thoughts again, after a long period of inactivity, and am making some progress. (after just one hour of wearing)

Thanks! I love the EGM label! I can't really tell what is on the Mama Ji though. Anyone got the Fire Pig?

(it's so funny to see the different takes on this blend scent-wise crazy skin chemistry!) I don't particularly enjoy the scent of this actually. It's not unpleasant, but it wafts like mad, and the scent is bitter, herbal, and persistent on me. In fact, I think this is the BPAL blend that throws the most and lasts the longest on me ever (well out of the 41 I have tried so far lol). And I'm not one to throw and amp scents very much, so that's saying something. But - hehe - I did not get this for the scent, I obviously got this impie for it's intent. I'm not very studied in terms of vodoo work, but I went with my intuition and put a bit on my head, throat and "heart" whilst getting dressed in the morning. I figured those were the points to use. Overall I must say I did maybe experience some hightened levels of confidence, but I had also put on make-up etc. to go to class today, so I'm not sure if it was just due to Queen. I met a person in my class who always makes me feel somewhat inferior (I think his way of getting past his own insecurities is making others feel they are not "good enough" somehow, at least that is my interpretation of his vibes, although I don't think he does it intentionally, because he can also be quite nice). I can't say Queen helped me feel hard and cool like a block of ice in the situation where I had to deal with this guy today, but who knows, perhaps it did have some effect in the sense that I could have left class feeling worse, or perhaps his perception of me was "better" than I imagine, which obviously I'll never find out... =) (in any case I should probably not care what he thinks, something I am working on) [ETA: Come to think of it, he did actually compliment my looks but we do also have - ahem - a slight history] In conclusion: Maybe this blend is (even) more effective when it is used in a specific ritual aiming to transform the feminine sexual energy into power in a specific situation? I just put some on and went out after all. (I did think with intent on the purpose of the blend while I was applying, but I did not do a ritual with specific results in mind) - So there you have it. I guess I'll save it for when I really need it or something. (/whew. end lengthy review post)

hehe

Thanks but I was looking for the Carousel labels - the new Neil Gaiman series. And as far as I understood no one has posted any pictures of those yet. But thanks anyways

Ahh ok. Silly me I just assumed that with a couple of reviews already up, someone would have the bottles already. I really look forward to seeing the label artwork though!!

I would love to see pics of the Carousel blends!! Anyone?