ChupaChup
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Everything posted by ChupaChup
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On me, House of Mirrors is another clean laundry scent, along the lines of Dirty and Szpasszony. I really don't get any amber at all from this scent. It goes a tiny bit aquatic on me after the initial citrus burst wears off but all in all, it's a nice scent.
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Kunstkammer has a very sticky, sweet orange hard candy smell at first. It then develops a strange undernote that is very much like what the lunar oils do on me. The waft is nice but when I sniff my wrist it is unpleasant.
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Delirium to me is a lot like Desire Light. I love Desire and this is very similar in top notes without the depth of the teak and patchouli of Desire. I find Desire to be more exctiting but if that blend was a little too heavy for you, you might like this one. It's nice .
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Incantation is a lovely scent, very pretty, light and lemony. It confused me because it doesn't seem to fit its description at all. Beautiful for the summer.
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I'm so glad tempete talked me into trying Penny Dreadful . The idea of grave loam certainly didn't appeal to me, I haven't gotten along with any of the "dirt" scents so far. And when I put this on, the dirt jumped right out at me but I held fast and sure enough, in just a few minutes this morphed into the most lovely, deep, sexy, spicy scent. It is very reminiscent of Shub Niggurath, a real favorite of mine, but it's much less foody. There is something killer in the drydown of both Shub and Penny that makes my eyes roll back in my head, I think it's one of the aphrodisiacal spices, maybe a pepper of some sort? The dirt smell drifts in and out and suprisingly, I don't mind it at all. This is big bottle material .
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Gads, Stardust is just horrible on me . It smells like cheap hairspray at first (the Aquanet others have mentioned) and then when that burns off it smells like cheap drugstore perfume. I can't pick out any of the individual notes I thought I would like, like the white sandalwood, white musk or tobacco flower, it's all very muddy on my skin. I had to wash this one off so I can't tell you how it might have developed.
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I really didn't like Lick It the first time I tried it, the peppermint seemed to be sharpened by something like eucalyptus or pennyroyal, it was so harsh and biting. The next time I tried it, I rolled the imp first and it was much better, along the lines of what everyone else is reporting. So be sure to mix your Lick It! There is a lovely phase of vanilla sugar that comes out just before this scent disappears which is sadly takes all of 20 minutes. I'll enjoy my imp but won't be getting a bottle, Spooky lasts a lot longer on me and has the same luscious minty vanilla drydown.
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Sugar Cookie was one of my favorite scents from last year, I loved the nutmeg in it and it was quite long-lasting on me. Luckily I just got an imp of the '05 version because it is quite different. My beloved nutmeg is gone and it only lasts about half an hour on me . I hope Beth goes back to the original formula next year .
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I shouldn't be disappointed in Herr Drosselmeyer because it really does fit its description. But all the reviews that mentioned cherry tobacco got me excited and sadly I get nothing like cherry tobacco from this. On me, it's a very flat, dry scent, kind of monotonous and bitter. There is just plain cigarette tobacco (not even menthol ) and hard, dry leather. Eventually the leather takes over and even that isn't sweet. For tobacco scents, I much prefer Torture King and Hellfire.
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The Rat King is not something I would have ordered on my own based on the description but I got an imp of it as part of a decant group. It actually wasn't too bad on me for the first five minutes, I like the "dust" aspect, it's amazingly authentic. But then some strong mosses started to come out and this got too masculine for me. I did not have a problem with the musks in this though, there was nothing I would call feral about it.
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Peacock Queen is a dusty, musty, sour rose on me. It's almost like pickle juice, I wonder if it's the moss that the reviewer above mentions? I much prefer Rose Red, it's so much fresher on me.
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... This perfume is a traditional Roman Catholic sacramental incense, most often used during a Solemn Mass. Traditionally, five tears of this incense, each encased individually in wax that has been fashioned into the shape of a nail, are inserted into the paschal candle. This is, of course, represents the Five Wounds of Our Risen Savior. Symbolically, the burning of the incense signifies spiritual fervor, the fragrance itself inspires virtue, and the rising smoke carries our prayers to God. I get a very odd chemical smell from Midnight Mass in the bottle and on my skin for the first hour. I don't know how to describe it, it's something like nail polish remover but not quite. Eventually, that burns off and I get lovely incense - not smoky at all, it's unburnt incense. It seems to be mainly frankincense but it's so faint by the time that chemical smell goes away that I can't quite figure it out. This is not a keeper for me.
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Bess is not what I was expecting at all. I thought it would be more floral, with some crisp, cool herbiness but except for a single minute of rosemary when first applied, it's all grape, all the time. At first, it's very sweet like Welch's purple grape juice. Eventually the other notes tone it down a tad and it's more like the grape in Cairo, minus the honey and myrrh of that blend. I was hoping to get more of the roses, lemon peel and mint but they are pretty much absent.
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Ah, so sad . When I read the description for Sed Non Satiata, my heart skipped a beat, it sounded so perfect. And when I first opened the imp, I got excited all over again, it smells glorious. I smelled a flash of wonderful honey sweetness, musk and spices as I touched the wand to my skin and then blam.... nada. The scent just disappeared. After about 5 minutes that kind of dirt smell I associate with black patchouli (not the red that is listed) emerged, it was ok but not as glorious as the red patchouli in other BPAL blends. After waiting an hour, I got a faint sense of cognac as the patchouli disappeared. I'm afraid this is just one of those blends that's in my olfactory blind spot. It left this bunny very non satiata.
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I love Beaver Moon. On me, I don't get any cheesecake (which I wouldn't mind) or cream cheese frosting smell, it's more like an amped up Midway with more of the funnel cake and less of the grease. I get a lot of very rich vanilla, like buttercream frosting and after about an hour, I get the lovely cinnamon ala Chimera that others have noticed. This lasts a good long time on me and has decent throw. I love it when Beth does something silly like this, I hope she brings it back next year. Awesome .
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Wow, this is totally different from Hearth 2004 and so much better! Last year's version smelled like pancakes covered in maple syrup on me, it was cloying and even made this foody girl a little queasy. This year's is like sitting in front of a fireplace roasting chestnuts just as someone brings a freshly cut Christmas tree in from the cold. There is even a little smoke from the fireplace. The pine needle scent is quite strong at first but it dies down a little to let some of the buttery, sweet chestnut aroma come out. It's a very unusual scent, something I would think would smell better as a room scent than as a perfume, but the longer I have it on, the better it smells on me. This blend is so addictive I may get another bottle before the collection goes away. ETA: Well, I tried it again today and although I still really like it at first, after a couple of hours, it smells kind of funky. I think the pine note has to either stay stronger or disappear completely for me to be able to like this. I may be swapping it after all.
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Hmm, if you don't like patchouli you should probably stay away from The World. It has just about everything in it and a strong earthy component (duh) that I'm pretty sure is patchouli. Sorry, I haven't tried The Hermit so I can't help you there.
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I never got to try the '04 version but All Saints '05 is gorgeous. It reminds me a lot of The Empress but in All Saints the myrhh isn't as sharp as it is in The Empress, it's just perfect. Because of the soft resins, this is a floral blend that really works on me. Love it.
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The '04 version of Dia de los Muertos was awful on me and the '05 version, even though it's slightly different, still doesn't work. This year's version has more cactus flower as a top note, it's a lot like Santa Muerte at first. But pretty soon into the drydown it goes wonky on me like lunar oils do. I get that dirty diaper smell, I wish I knew what note/notes do that. I don't get any chocolate out of this year's like I did with the previous version, just an odd, sweet, generic "candy" smell.
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Of all the Samhain oils to be re-released this year, I think Sugar Skull it the most different. The '05 version is about one tenth the amount of burnt sugar and maple syrup smell of last year's. There is also a very nice smokey note. Unfortunately, the fruit notes are a little too prominent this year for me so it's not a keeper. I totally agree with the reviewer above who said Trick or Treat took over the spot Sugar Skull held last year.
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To me, Samhain '05 is even better than Samhain '04. It's scary at first, that burst of sharp fir needle and black patchouli, but after about only five minutes it settles down just like last year's, the good part . This year's blend seems to be a little more foody than last year's. The apple cider comes out more and there is a warm roundness to it that may be the pumpkin but it almost seems like vanilla to me. This is just great .
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The only time Trick or Treat smells like candy corn to me is in the bottle. When I first put it on my skin, it smells a lot like Sugar Skull ('04 not '05), just a little lighter. It's that burnt sugar, buttery, mapley note that is in Sugar Skull and also Gluttony. After drying down for about ten minutes, Trick or Treat begins to get a soft spiceiness to it. I can smell mostly cinnamon and a little bit of nutmeg. I really like this perfume but I'll have to see how it goes over with my boyfriend and friends. They hated Sugar Skull and Gluttony on me, I'm hoping this won't be a repeat . ETA: Had to come back to edit to point out that this compares to Sugar Skull '04 not the '05 version.
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Jazz Funeral is the second imp I've tried from my latest order, the first being The Hamptons. Wow, I really struck gold with the booze scents! If you like bourbon, this may just be the scent for you. I love how this scent unfolds, even if I don't like all the stages. It made me smile as I'm sure this is exactly what Beth intended, it's like a funeral procession that is very somber and sad at first and then ends with a big, drunken party! In the first stage, there is that moist almost rotting vegetation smell that is so evocative of New Orleans. If you've tried Bayou or Hurricane you'll know the note, I think it's the Spanish Moss. I'm not fond of this stage but since it disappears completely I'm ok that it's there. Next comes the floral stage but this is in no way a heady, over-the-top floral, the florals are muted and almost like dried flowers. Eventually the bourbon starts to rise up and eventually it takes over completely. I can't really pick out the bay rum at all, it may have been in the floral stage and I just missed it. This is one of those wild ride scents, the kind of perfume that makes BPAL what it is, an amazing experience. Great job, Beth!
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I'm really sorry to hear that about the weak oils Clover. I haven't had that experience with the bottles I've ordered, thank goodness, but if it's a known problem, I'm kind of worried about ordering big bottles in the future. I'd be afraid to "age" them the way you do, everything I've heard about essential oils says that oxygen destroys them, they might smell good faster but they would also end up going bad sooner too.
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Santa Muerte was a lovely gift from the lab in a recent order. I love it. I really don't recognize any of the notes, not even the rose, this is so different smelling. I think that tart fruity note must be the cactus but it's not an over-the-top fruitiness which would ruin this for me. It's almost like the touch of pear in Endymion. And where is the dreaded vetiver? Nowhere to be found, thank goodness. I would love to get a big bottle of this but I'm afraid, especially since it contains vetiver. that a big bottle wouldn't be as good as the imp. Somehow that ingredient always seems stronger when I get a big bottle.