Jilara

You would think this would like my Nordic bloodlines, but no. In the imp, it's berries and leaves and something sour. On me, it goes straight to cat piss with berries in the back. Drying down, it's smelly cheese or stale gym socks more than cat piss, with berries in the back. I can't take the drydown. This is the first I've gone to scrub off before 5 minutes were over. Even Highwayman stayed on me for 20 minutes before I scrubbed it off. Vinland does not like me.

In the bottle, this smelled alarmingly like cherry cough syrup. Wet, though, it morphed into slightly overcooked cherry jam. I know this scent from a time when I let it simmer a bit too long... Misgivings. Drydown: oh, wait, it's going to cherries jubilee, and the cherries are smelling fresher! Dry seems to be a combination of fresh tartarian cherries (the big juicy black ones) and cherries jubilee - the creamy cherry glaze sort of quality, with maybe a bit of red wine cooked into it. Interesting how I'm getting two separate cherry notes, here. Alas, it lasts less than two hours, though. Still, it's very nice, because I'm a cherry fiend, and happily eat my way through cherry season. This deals with some of those cravings. A definite keeper.

I could have sworn there was cardamom in here, in the wet stages. It's absolutely nose-twistingly spicey at that point, and not in a good way. It almost stuns my senses. Then it dries down and turns into cornbread with a slight nutmeg chaser. WTF?? No other spices left, after half an hour, just cornbread and nutmeg. Cornbread??? Where the heck did that come from? It's okay, but not what I'd wear. I think this decant is going to find another home.

I can testify that although the main scent I get from this is catnip, my cats are all indifferent to my wrists, and they are catnip junkies. I was almost disappointed. I wanted cats to come out of the woodwork and follow me like the Pied Piper! But back to the review... I shook the bottle, so the oil I got was only vaguely dark. (I've been reading reviews, so I was forearmed.) In the bottle and wet, it's heavy-duty dark chocolate and catnip. Strong catnip. As it dries, the chocolate notes back off and a spicy herbal comes out. There is something warm and comforting about this. It smells a lot like a warm day in the coastal chapparal, for some reason, but with a backing of hot cocoa. Dry, the chocolate fades but goes creamy. White "chocolate" aka cocoa butter dominating? Blends nicely, and I still smell catnip and something herbal, but can't identify anything as "spicy." Just intriguing. And not sweet at all. I wasn't sure if I'd like this, as I was expecting warring food notes. However, this is very complex and intriguing, and I like it a lot. Dry, it's not foody at all, even with the chocolate notes. At this point, it really defies classification. Nice.

Beckons all giant creatures from gargantuan reptiles and humongous moths! These babies are sure to crush everything from dollhouses to shopping malls! Can even be used to summon colossal robots in a pinch! A sweet and crisp vanilla mint! Woo hoo! Girl Scout cookie thin mints! Yep, it's them! In the bottle and wet, it's thin mints. There's a bread-y cookie-ish undertone in it, with chocolate and minty vanilla. I keep seeing a plastic Godzilla rampaging through scattered thin mints, with Calvin attached, and Hobbes saying "It's going to be hard to eat those later. Can I have the crumbs?" Dry, the chocolate and cookie qualities back off, though, and it becomes just minty vanilla. Wow, I love this in all its stages!

In the decant, this is just fabulous. It's like Lindt dark chocolate that's been melted with vanilla. Wet, it's still incredible, dark rich chocolate, with vanilla and a hint of spiciness. Then, after half an hour, poof. No chocolate. It's pure Snake Oil. Which is good, but I wanted chocolate, too! But then I found the restorative. I layered Candy Butcher over it. It took it back to mid-drydown, and it's still staying at that point, five hours later. Which is interesting, because Candy Butcher doesn't stay that chocolate-y that long. It's like Boomslang and Candy Butcher mutually reenforce their chocolate notes. It's interesting, because I have one pure Boomslang wrist, and one layered, and both still have a lot of throw, one with chocolate and one without.

Just got my snake decants, and this was the one I had to try first. (Okay, I sniffed Faizia the Black Mamba, but this one I tried on ME.) Oh. My. God. In the decant, it's definitely snake oil and sage. Wet, it's snake oil and SAGE. Then it dries down and gets complex. The leather note really starts to come out as it dries down, and the sage backs off a bit. And then it starts to blend... Dry, it's gorgeous, and you can't really identify many notes individually. Mainly, it's incense with a backing of sage and faint leather, and the snake oil is just part of the mix, without being able to say "hey, there's Snake Oil in here." But of course, all the notes that make Snake Oil so wonderful are there, all the same, but with so much more complexity. Intriguing, subtle, utterly captivating! Strong, but stays close to my skin. It doesn't seem masculine or rugged on me, at all. Just...wow... like it brings out my mulebrity (female equivalent term for virility). I feel dead sexy, and can't stop sniffing. Later notes: Lasts for HOURS with no noticable fading out. A friend says this really has an under-note of shed snake skin. Maybe he's just suggestable, but he says he used to keep snakes, and there is something here that nudges him to think of snake dens.

I was waiting to get my hands on this, because it sounded divine, though amber often just vanishes on me. In the bottle, it's soft amber/benzoin. Then I put it on and...ahem, I could have sworn I just put oil on my skin? Sniff, sniff. Um, hello? Oh, I am so getting a bad feeling about this... (Slathers more on.) Twenty minutes later, I am faintly smelling tonka bean. With great relief, I might add. I'm still wondering if this bottle is headed out of my hands. But then it started to bloom... It's two hours later, and this is just gorgeous, and has a fairly strong scent now. Go figure. Tonka is predominant, but the amber and benzoin are in solidly. I have no idea what rockrose smells like (though the plants grow out at the coast, here) but there's something slightly herbal in the background. This smells really good in a very unusual way, and is something that seems like it would be great around people who might react badly to perfume. It's really nice, soft and smelling of Classical Antiquity.

I misgave the lemon notes some people were getting, but on me...naah, it's a nifty little critter. In the decant, I was getting something reminiscent of candy easter eggs??? and cotton. Wet, there is that cottony smell first, then a lovely clover scent comes out. It took me back to the old Sweet Earth Clover perfume, which was my favorite in college. Drying down, there was some note that was more like the powdery lemon note in Morella that came out, but it quickly went super-subtle, and blended nicely with the musk. When it first dries, there is a powdery lemonish cotton-candy undertone, but when it's dry, it's just sweet musk with a hinting of lemon and clover. The cotton note drops out as it dries, but that's okay. It wasn't really dominant to begin with. It's definitely a Fuzzy Bunny scent.

I do well with masculine scents, and this one is no exception. Which is good, because I had a few misgivings that this might not be a scent that would work on me. But I figured I could always give it to one of the guys I know. In the bottle - mostly smokey, a hint of wood Wet: woodsmoke! with something tart and undefinable in the background. Drydown: woodsmoke and wood, and still that odd tartness, almost like grapefruit, in the background. Dry: wow, this is one I just want to keep sniffing! Woodsmoke and leather, with woodiness lurking in the background. It makes me think of camping with the Mountain Men. Definitely a keeper!

Love the jellyfish on the label! This could become a favorite. It's just right for that between-ness of early spring. I definitely get tulip in here, and daffodil. I second the thought that we need more blends with daffodil! There's almost an aquatic feel---must be those spring fish! Very light and pretty spring floral, delicate and creamy. It's one of the best florals I've tried, playing nicely with my skin chemistry and being very coy, sweet and innocent, with just a hint of warmth. Very well-blended, with no really in-your-face or dominant notes.

Queen Alice does NOT like me. And it sounded so nice... But Hymn to Proserpine didn't play nice with my chemistry, either, and people have compared Queen Alice to it. Wet, it's a disgusting cough syrup scent with hints of listerine. Dried down, the burnt applesauce is NOT playing nicely with the carnation. I swear there is a hint of cinnamon in this (from the carnation??), which is probably the best part. There is a hint of brimstone, too, which might be from sulfur in the treacle?? I was hoping for a slightly foody floral. What I'm getting is none of that, as something is souring the carnation into vinegar play-doh weirdness, overlaid with this burnt overripe apples scent, that is NOT pleasant. Later on, I really amp up a cinnamon note, which is making this at least endurable. I wanted to at least give it a chance, rather than scrubbing it off within half an hour. There's cider vinegar in the background, now. Definitely not a good one for my body chemistry, though this later stage is at least tolerable. Queen Alice is going to go reign elsewhere.

Based on the reviews, I took a chance on a bottle of the Maelstrom reissue that was on ebay. It seemed like notes that would work on me. Hmm, it's NOTHING like what I was expecting from the reviews. It's sooo much BETTER! I think I'm in love! Why do I have to fall in love with so many fragrances that are discontinued or LEs? Wet, it's soft lemon. Or lime. Something between the two. Verbena? I think the softness comes from the orris. There's also a green herbal lurking. Dried down, it's still got a top note of citrus in front, but it's given a sturdy backing of a soft muskiness (civet?) and the iris and orris, which reminds me gently of notes in my beloved Lady of Shalott. There is still that greenish herbal backing early on, but it drops out after an hour or two. I don't get anything definable as sage. This would be a glorious scent for summer. It's light and fresh, but with surprising complexity. It does tend to stay fairly close to the body, but that's fine with me.

This reminds me of Tombstone a LOT. And Tombstone is one of my favorites! But instead of the heavy cedar in Tombstone, it's a mellow pine and juniper. Instead of vanilla for backing, this has musk. It's like a lighter, more mellow answer to Tombstone, for when you don't want to be as aggressively desert-y. Tombstone is one of my favorites, and I see this one as becoming another. Much as I love Tombstone, it can be very aggressive, and this one is so soothing and charming. It also helps that it has the title of one of my father's favorite poems!

This is the first Lovecraft scent that I *haven't* liked, sigh. How can all the notes I like so much go so horribly wrong? Where's my vetiver? I can't even detect vetiver. In the imp, it's sharp and nose-twisting. Wet, it's heavy on the cedar, with a stale musty sweat quality. Then it goes to dead skin and root beer. I am not kidding. Root beer. It smells like Sarsapsarilla Risen from the Grave. Dad's Old Fashioned Root Bier, with Zombie Dad in it. It's kind of hauntingly horrible, fascinating in it's own way, but not to wear. Something in it reminds me of Kuang-Shi, maybe the way the tangerine (close to mandarin) melds with something else for that "undead" feeling. This one is just weird, at least on me. But then, that's Lovecraft, neh?

I read the Lab description of Drink Me, but purposely avoided reading any forum comments on it, because I wanted it to morph for me without outside input. I just loved the description and wanted to see if it lived up to it. I got a friend to help sniff as it shifted. I didn't sniff the imp because I wanted to see what it did on me. Wow. Oh wow. The first note was butter. Then that shifted to something cherry-fruity and---hey wait, Hawaiian punch??? I think this is what you get when cherry mixes with pineapple. It was distinctly Hawaiian punch. Then I started to get something vanilla-ish, which quickly shifted to cake. Then the turkey started to show up. I thought of the scent of a roasted turkey wing with crackly skin. I held my hand over to my friend, and he said "Mmm, turkey, and here comes the gravy!" Yes, there was something smooth and gravy-ish evolving. Then it went to caramel. My friend sniffed and said "Yams! Candied yams!" It went to something like buttered vegetables from there. We both thought of green beans. Then it went to milk and starch, slightly sour. He thought of au gratin potatos, I thought of baked potatos with sour cream. The sour cream morphed into vanilla custard for both of us. And then it turned to buttered toast. It stayed buttered toast for about ten minutes, and finally ended up as buttered popcorn. Two hours down the road, it's still buttered popcorn, sort of the scent equivalent of a buttered popcorn Jelly Belly. He thinks this scent would be a great aid for dieters. It's like having Thanksgiving in a bottle. Eat your heart out, Willie Wonka! You ain't got nuthin on the Alchemy Lab! Addenda, 3 hours after application: it's now toasted marshmallow with vanilla undertones. Beth is a witch I tell you, a witch! (Like I'm saying anything we didn't know already, huh?)

This one I LIKE. It's interesting in that wet or dry, it doesn't morph at all on me. It stays squirmy slithery aqueous goodness, start to finish. I don't get grapefruit or citrus at all, ever, at any time of month, and I've worn this a bit. Not my skin chemistry, I guess. I do get aquatics and a definite melon note. A bit of seaweed. An almost indetectable backnote of swamp water. It's definitely the smell of brackish water with squirmy things. A friend says it smells like tadpoles. Appropriate. So far, I haven't met a Lovecraft scent I haven't liked.

Wet, this is all frankincense and vetiver, and something very dusty and a little bitter that might be how the cypress and herbs morphs on my skin. At this point I wasn't sure I would like this. Just a bit overly dusty, like a bunch of old herbs in a cave in the desert, though the other notes were nice. I shouldn't have worried. It dries down to a glorious fragrance. As it dries, it sweetens, and the fig comes up to play with the frankincense and vetiver, and the dust dies out. I can smell herbs now. Bitter herbs it would seem, but I love bitter herbs. (Confusing, though. Hyssop I understand, but rosemary plus oakmoss and patchouli = bitter herbs?) I don't get the lavender at all. There is a whisper of cypress in the background, blending nicely. This is very sophisticated scent, and I like it a lot.

I got a bottle of this off ebay, and wow! Another new fave... In the bottle, I pick up apples and chrysanthemum... Wet, I get a load of apples and smoke-something that has a sulfur quality that reminds me of gunpowder smoke. There is a slightly bitter backnote that could be the chrysanthemum. Drydown, I am struck by similarities to Dragon Moon coming out. It's Dragon Moon with apples and smoke added in. Close to dry, a note like autumn leaves comes in. Dry, it's apple scented Dragon Moon, with a lurking dry grass and leaves lending a backnote. The smoke seems to have dropped out. After a couple hours, the grass and leaves have faded, to be replaced by a sweet undertone of nuts and berries, but still reminiscent of apple-y Dragon Moon.

I'm not sure what the "Hunger" is, except to make you hungry! Wet, it's very fruity, with a slight brambley note in the background. Dry, there is still that jumble of mixed fruit and sweetness dominating, with something foresty behind it, and a hint of citrus, keeping it from being all fruit salad. I don't get cold notes at all, wet or dry. This has pretty good staying power on me, which isn't usual for fruit notes.

Wow! This has got to be one of the most complex BPAL scents I've tried. It makes me feel mean. Nasty, laughing, long-fanged mean. Like I'm going to take your firstborn and laugh all the way. Oh yes, this is the one I want to wear if I'm going into a boardroom full of hostile audience, or drive through rush hour traffic on the Hollywood Freeway. <gnashes iron teeth> Um, where was I? Oh yes, complex. Wet, it's bitter herbs and dirt with a minty background. Drying down, it's dirt and moss and slushy minty winter notes, with a note of fallen fir boughs, and that odd bitter bite in the background. Dry, it's a little easier to take. Something astringent, but still slushy mint, but sweet and cookies(??!) behind the fir boughs and moss. Like the ogre children are gnoshing those stolen pastries off in the hedge. And making snarky little noises as they slap each other. I have a very love/hate relationship with this scent, sort of like how I feel about a couple Jethro Tull albums. Hmm, come to think of it, I think I'll love this scent in the same mood when I love certain Tull albums, and have ...mixed feelings about both at the same time, too. That's it, I'll think of this as my Ian Anderson scent... (I'm sure that makes no sense, but music and BPAL can be so subjective...)

A friend described this as "sitting on the porch at night, in the Deep South." Oh yes, very definitely. Wet, I'm getting something sweet and almost honeysuckle, but a note of greenness. But there's a resinous quality in the background, like old wood. That's the porch. As it dries down, it's all the scents of a night in a Southern climate, with sweet florals and a greenish note of wet vegetation, but with a backing of something vaguely like old pine planks giving an oddly familiar and comforting note. I actually was expecting something heavier and tending to be cloying, so this was a pleasant surprise, actually lighter and oddly comforting. I like this scent.

I got this as a frimp, and wanted so much to like it! I was hoping for similar to my beloved Herr Drostlemeyer. In the imp: pipe tobacco with a boozy undertone. On my skin, it instantly goes horribly wrong. It smells like toilet bowl deodorizer. Drying down, it's toilet bowl deodorizer with tobacco. My housemate swears he can smell Jolly Rancher fruit candy, at this stage. Dry it's still toilet bowl deodorizer with a bit of tobacco. I keep thinking of fresh privies, that chemical toilet smell. I scrubbed this one off. Sigh, maybe it will be better on someone else.

Ye gods, this is GOOD cucumber! It's cool, refreshing cucumber all the way. Can we have this as a soap, please? It would be glorious for summer! It stays refreshing rampant cucumber until about two hours in, then a glorious white floral note comes out and blends with the cucumber notes so beautifully I just kept sniffing it. I think I like it even better at this stage. Not just a keeper, but I suspect this one will be a bottle buy, eventually.

A bright spring flora, very definitely yellow flowers of spring. It would be delicate, if not for that strange (but not unpleasant) sticky note that adds more body. But there is enough of a green note and hinting of citrus that it keeps it from being cloying. I like this one a lot. It's definitely a spring scent, and makes you think of blooming fields of wildflowers. But sticky wildflowers.