ChupaChup

Blood Rose had the most incredible throw and staying power on me, stronger than any other BPAL oil. Unfortunately, I hated it and it was one of those oils that you can smell for days, even after showering . Other oils that have a lot of throw on me (but not nearly as much as Blood Rose) are Jack, Sugar Cookie, Snow White, Athens, Jezebel, Hellfire and Vixen. For some reason, Samhain doesn't have much throw on me, I wish it did, but I love it anyway. It does last quite a long time, though.

I received an imp of Love Me from brownbat in a swap, thanks sweetie . This scent reminds me a lot of Serpent's Kiss, with the dragon's blood, cinnamon and vetiver. It's a little lighter on the vetiver, actually lighter on all the notes. It's a little on the musty side for my tastes.

Yes, yes, yes! Red Hot Mama let my try her Bastet and I really liked it. I was very afraid of the lotus, since that note usually goes yucky on me, but it's so lovely and golden in Bastet. In fact, after that initial cherry burst, everything about this scent is golden. I only wish it had more staying power on me. I think it's because of the amber, which I love, but amber seems to make scents evaporate on me really quickly. Definitely try this if you like either Morrocco or Queen of Sheba.

I got to try Whip thanks to the lovely Red Hot Mama . When I first started trying BPAL, I tried a lot of rose scents that didn't work on me, they went sharp. But I kept on trying and now I realize it was never the rose in those blends that was the problem, but some other note. Well, there isn't much in Whip besides Beth's beautiful whole rose (stems, leaves and petals) and it's lovely. Very close to Rose Red, just not quite as chilly. And the leather barely shows up, maybe just a hint several hours into the drydown. This one is strong with a lot of throw for the first half hour, then settles down to a quiet whisper that lasts about four hours and never goes powdery. Wonderful !

Ditto. I have several imps of Hemlock, the pale coloured ones are Hemlock but without the eucalyptus hit... the green ones have the eucalyptus. Personally I prefer the paler version and sadly my 5ml is green I still like it but... Not sure if they are just different batches or if it changes a lot as it matures. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I think it's a different batch thing. The first imp I got of Hemlock was a gimp from the lab, it was pale colored and had a lime zing to it, no strong eucalyptus hit. I got it right before the scent was released so it might have been a prototype. A few months later I ordered an imp for a friend, it was completely different smelling - was a much brighter green and MUCH stonger in the eucalyptus/pine department. Still lovely but completely different from the first imp.

I got Harlot in a swap. I was curious to see what a cinnamon and rose blend would smell like. Wow, it's fabulous in the vial and wet on my skin, but in about 30 seconds, it turns to a very soapy, powdery smell, very strange! I'll be passing this one along.

Wanton was a lovely gift from the lab, thanks guys ! I was very excited to try this blend as I have become a fan of the lab's patchouli (always thought I hated it before BPAL). I was a little disappointed not to get any patchouli from this blend, but it's lovely all the same. I can't say I get much rose either, just a very bright, sexy floral that kind of throbs. Perhaps it's the palmarosa, I'm not familiar with that note, but whatever, I really like this ! It's quite strong at first, but softens within half an hour to a light throw and stays at that level for about 4 hours until I can't detect it any more.

I ordered Glasya because I wanted to try something with civet and, from the reviews, this one didn't sound like something that caused the "cat pee" reaction on people. I was surprised at how pretty it was, I could definitely detect a tiny bit of the civet, it actually made the blend very interesting. However, it was a very heady floral, not really "me," so I passed it on. I mostly got rose and dragon's blood from this.

I received Bewitched as a generous gift from the lab. I really loved the green notes in this, the sage and green tea, but unfortunately, I'm not a fruity person and the berries were exceedingly sweet. They overwhelmed the green notes that I liked.

Wow, Delight is a really strong floral, not me at all. The frangipani and jasmine are the strongest notes on me, they are a little sour and just "off." Add the tuberose and this is one heady blend!

First I got Hunger in a swap and then I got is as a gift from the lab. The first imp had a stronger narcissus note which was very acrid on me, I didn't care for it. The second imp had a touch less narcissus and I liked it a little better. To me, it was kind of a cross between Snake Oil (the patchouli and vanilla) and Vixen (orange blossom , patchouli and vanilla). I still don't like the narcissus, but it goes away in about half an hour leaving an orange creamsicle grounded by incense. However, it's a little too similar to Snake Oil and Vixen, I like them better and I don't have to go through an unpleasant dry down with them, so I think I will swap this.

Sugar Skull has the same sweet base to me as Gluttony, although Gluttony has the hazelnut/coffee thing going on. Yup, Skadi reminds me a lot of Dublin. Snow White is a lot like single note coconut and white musk combined, but that's no help since they're discontinued

I received Fae as a generous gift from the lab . I was a little unsure of it as fruits don't usually do well on my skin. But it smelled so lovely in the vial, I had to try it on. It really isn't a sweet, juicy peach kind of smell to me, it's more like peach pie, sort of like the peach in Jack II. I really like it, except that it's so light I can hardly detect it after about half an hour. I makes me curious about other peach scents though, it seems to be a fruit that works on me.

Rose Red is another one I was lucky enough to get in a swap with aessedai . I really can't say much more than what has already been said in previous reviews of this beautiful scent. I just want to know how Beth puts that chill on the rose, I have no idea what it is, it certainly isn't mint. Wow. Absolute perfection!

I got an imp of Skadi from aessedai in a swap. I didn't order it initially because strong pine doesn't really appeal to me and berries sound too fruity. But after reading all the reviews, I was dying of curiousity. In the vial and fresh on my skin, I don't like it, the pine needle scent is too strong, a little Pinesol-y. But then the pine mellows and the berries appear, just like everyone has said, the berries aren't sweet and fruity, they are tart and spicy. There is nothing sharp about this blend, it's all round and smooth, unbelievable considering the notes in it. It's positively addicting, another work of art! I hope Beth brings it back next year.

I ordered Iambe because all of the notes have worked well for me in other blends. The inspiration, especially the "comfort, beauty and joy" part, also appealed to me. But wow, this blend did not work on me at all. It smelled very harsh in the vial, but knowing how these oils morph upon application, I had to put it on. Unfortunately, things did not get any better. Really, the only note I could recognize was the gardenia, it's the same spicy one that's in Sacred Ho'. It just kept getting more and more acrid, the notes were jumbled and muddy, and it begged to be washed off. Sorry

Oh, why did I wait so long to try Cairo? I thought I might like it because it sounded similar to Athens, which is one of my favorites, but I didn't even have it on my wishlist and just sort of ordered it on a whim. It does sort of remind me of Athens, but the honey note is very different, it's more of a waxy basenote than a sweet honey note like in Athens, and the wine in Cairo is much stronger and redder than the wine in Athens. It reminds me of the wine in Blood Rose, which I did not like, but I love it in this blend. I smell frankincense and myrrh, they are resinous and floaty at the same time. This scent is really intoxicating, strong and long-lasting. I can't stop sniffing my wrist, it is so GOOD.

My honey got King of Diamonds for Christmas. He has always liked chypre scents but when I sniffed it in the bottle, I thought it might be too musky for him. Well, it is very musky but dang it smells great on him Very fresh and clean, but sexy at the same time. Lucky for him it's a little too masculine for me, he won't have to share it !

I find that another kind of oil is good for getting perfume oil off my skin when plain dishwashing soap doesn't work. We have coconut oil and olive oil in the kitchen, so I rub some of that on, then wash with dishwashing soap. It saves my skin from harsher things, like alcohol, when I am going through a new pile of impy loveliness!

Yerevan was a surprise gift from diabolique, thanks dollface ! It smelled quite fruity in the vial, but as soon as it hit my skin, a creaminess appeared, reminding me a lot of Tzadikim Nistarim, it was very pretty. Eventually, it became more and more purple, florals joining the fruits, and became a lighter version of Venice. I'd say it's a little more fruity and less floral, however the orchid is quite apparent. Orchid is one of my favorite florals, so this blend is a real winner.

Egg Nog bears a lot of similarity to Sugar Cookie, although Sugar Cookie is a lot heavier on the nutmeg. With Egg Nog, at first I get eggy, creamy vanilla and after about five minutes, a heady shot of rum and brandy. I have a hard time detecting the spices, there is just a tiny bit of nutmeg, but the boozy quality of this makes it a real winner

Well, I ordered Hearth thinking it would be another version of Hellfire. Dumb, now that I think about it, I already love Hellfire and wouldn't want it any different! Anywho, yup, I got the strong blast of cherries at first, which is fine because I like cherry scents. After about 15 minutes, the cherries mellowed and the tobacco appeared, this was the perfect pipe tobacco scent. But Hearth didn't stop at that stage, it kept morphing until I got the same buttery pancakes that diabolique's grampa got . I never got any leather or smoke from this. Oh well, my bottle is on its way to live with someone I hope will love it .

The rosewood, chamomile and bergamot are the only notes I can really detect in Libertine. I'm not a fan of violet on my skin, but luckily it never showed up. Although I could wear this, I feel it's more of a gentleman's blend (note I said gentleman, not guy). My boy tried it and liked it but said it was too faint, so it was swapped. He's a guy.

This was lovely lagniappe (did I use that correctly, Penance?) from the lovely lab. I was expecting something dark and sinister, just based on the name, but Danse Macabre is very pretty. It reminds me a lot of Kostnice, it must be the lab's wonderful frankincense, but somehow in this blend it is creamier. I would love to smell oude by itself to know if that is what is making the blend so creamy. A very calming, restful scent, I hope I feel this peaceful when I die .

I ordered Medea for the orchid, hoping for the soft, sweet vanilla of Regan, but the orchid in this is very strong and sharp, or is made so by the other notes. With the purple fruits, it reminds me of Queen Mab, but it is much stronger and long-lasting. It's too deep and dark of a floral for my tastes but I'm sure many others will adore it.