Theravada

Woah! I smell exactly like the freshly peeled skin of a crisp, green apple! How does she do it? As lovely as this is, I really don't see myself wearing The Hesperides very often. I think this one will work much better as a linen spray or a springtime room scent. It's very fresh and inspiring, something I'd like my sheets to smell like in the mornings.

I think I prefer the Queen to the King. She has less of the animalistic musk note that I got from the King. This is such a complicated blend! Musky, resinous, sweet, fruity, and floral all at the same time. Usually blends like this don't work well for me, but the Queen is lovely. Overall I get a pleasantly tart blackberry scent mingled with a warm, sweet amber/vanilla and a dark cloud of resinous myrrh. The spicey woods come out on the drydown. Stunning. I think this would make a great perfume spray because a little goes a long way. ETA: If you can't get QoS, try Bewitched. It smells very similar to this. It has the same lovely balckberry scent, just no yummy woods or myrrh.

I 100% agree with oceandessa, but I'll put it in my own words too: I bought this from RHM's Tsunami acution. I really only got it because I wanted to buy something in order to contribute money to the fund, and I thought I'd take a chance on this even though it didn't sound very "me". Oh. My. God. This is amazing. In the bottle it's a bit sharp and uninviting, but that quickly fades once applied. This mellows into a delicious, creamy and fresh citrus scent. It also reminded me of a masculine version of Snow White. It has the same chilly feeling to it with a hint of green citrus mellowed by the smooth creamy note. It's really difficult to accurately describe this one...given the notes listed in KoD this isn't at all what I imagined it would smell like. But I'm so pleasantly surprised!! Bottom line: This is one of my all-time favorite BPAL blends and I will have to find myself a second (or third) bottle of this because I will sob like a broken-hearted child the day I run out of this perfume. (ETA: Which means if you don't want your bottle PM me and I'll buy it from you!)

I've had an imp of this for a while now but didn't review it because it really didn't make much of an impression on me at first. I think part of that was due to the fact that I was anticipating the arrival of this imp so damned much. I just love carnation, and then Beth had to go and mix it with musk and plum....*drools* Nothing could have lived up to the awesome expectations I had of this blend! Now that I've had nearly a month to make friends with this, I really do love it. It's much more subtle and innocent than I had guessed it would be. This is not a blend with agressive throw, and it makes an absolutely perfect "every day" perfume that you can wear to the office or when meeting someone new without fear of offending. I was expecting something more exotic, but that just isn't an adjective that pops into mind for this one. Carnation is one of those florals that even non-floral people can enjoy. It's soft and spicey. The plum brings a wonderful depth to the blend while the musk provides just a tiny glimmer of sexiness. Utterly beautiful, very feminine, and slightly suggestive. I look forward to having a big bottle of this!

This is almost pure cedar on me. I barely got any sage or bay, which makes me a bit sad. I adore wood scents, but cedar isn't my favorite wood note simply because it has SO many common memory associations. Everyone talked about this already above....the cedar chests and pencil shavings and hamster cages. I wish this one was a lot less cedar and a lot more bay and sage. If the three notes were more equal players, I probably would have really loved this one. I don't hate this one by any means though. I might keep this imp, but I won't order a bottle.

I really thought I'd like this one because I'm a huge fan of green and piney scents, but this just did nothing for me. This smells exactly like a fresh cut Christmas tree...but not entirely in a good way. It's very appropriately themed for a Yule blend, but I just cannot picture someone wearing this as a perfume. It just smells like a Yankee candle. Something you'd scent your livingroom with for a couple of weeks during December.

After discovering a love of Beth's pine blends, I've been on a mission to test them all. Black Forest is a lovely, dark, resinous blend. The pine smells strong in the vial, but it quickly tones down on my skin and the amber and musk take over. This reminds me of a thick forest in the morning, when the fog and haze covers all the surrounding trees before the sun has had a chance to finish warming the new day. While I really do enjoy this blend, I am not going to buy a bottle. I prefer some of the other pine mixes to this musk/amber/pine blend. It's just a bit too smokey and with the other lovely pine blends I already have competing for my attention, this one wouldn't be at the top of the list. I think it would be lovely on a man though.

Sweet shredded coconut, just a hint of white florals and something slightly cold and green....which I think might be lime. I would not at all describe this as a floral blend. It's more along the lines of a "foody" blend. This totally reminds me of a freshly baked vanilla cake with creamy, coconut icing topped with fresh shredded coconut. It's reminds me of a little girl's birthday party. With virgin pina coladas and princess costumes. I'm not sure if this my type of perfume, but it's very pretty and I think I'll be keeping my imp. Not sad about missing a big bottle though as this is just a bit too sweet for my tastes.

Does anyone else think Skadi is like Golden Priapus...but more green and with berries? Or am I just a nutter? Or both?

In the bottle: This smelled very, very strongly of cherries. Similar to Black Phoenix. I can't really smell much else at this point. On: Ok, do NOT be fooled by the cherry smell in the bottle! It fades away quickly and settles down into a subtle, sweet, and juicy background scent. It's not nearly as prominent as you would have thought from the bottle. The myrrh and clove start taking over. For the first few minutes I could have sworn there was cinnamon in the mix and it reminded me strongly of Sin. After an hour or so this mellows into a beautiful scent. The cherry works SO well with the dragon's blood and adds a darker quality that I don't usually get from straight dragon's blood. The clove and myrrh are perfect compliments. All of these elements blend together so harmoniously that no one note steals the show, yet they all remain detectable as individual notes. I can smell dragon's blood, cherry, myrrh, and clove still-even hours after I put this on. Overall this is a lovely blend. If you enjoy dark blends, dragon's blood blends, or clove, you really should try this one.

Everyone has already said it, but I just wanted to pipe up and agree that All Saint's is a rich, incensy, slightly buttery floral. I usaully consider myself a fan of incense blends, but I think I'm starting to lean away from frankincense. It's just a bit too much. And here, when it mixes with the florals, it just gives me a headache. This one is just too heavy and cloying for my tastes. I was baptized Russian Orthodox, and this really reminds me of the heavy incense that they burn in the censers at church. Which I've always hated.... Just a bit too ecclesiatical for me to handle. But if you like florals and/or frankincense and don't have creepy Orthodox church associations, this would be a good one to try!

Sandalwood, amber, and myrrh are three of my absolute favorite notes, so I was really expecting to like this one. Wow...lotus is one overwhelming floral!! In the bottle this was so sugary sweet it reminded me of candy. On, the candy scent faded with wear. But ultimately, this blend remained cloying and sweet. I never got the sandalwood or myrrh, and only a faint hint of amber. Luckily, I've already found a new home for this one. Hopefully she'll enjoy it more than I did.

Named in honor of the most notorious female pirate to ever set sail. Wicked, cruel, beautiful, intelligent, resourceful and dangerous: a true role model. A blend of Indonesian red patchouli, red sandalwood, and frankincense. A million thanks to Juliana Williamson-Page for inspiration! This isn't exactly what I was expecting, but I think that's because I really wasn't familiar with frankincense. But this is really very nice-warm, spicey, and slightly naughty! I think after I get used to the frankincese, I'm really going to love this one. It's really hard to find good blends that aren't fruity or flowery without being overly masculine.

Darn you almond, darn you!!! Oh well, swaps it is.

Black amber erupting with a dark volcanic surge of fiery dragon's blood and a burst of melati, rose geranium, mandarin and black currant. I usually adore anything with dragon's blood in it, but this one was not instant love for me. The geranium was SO sharp in the bottle that I mistakenly thought there was vetiver in this blend. Once I applied it though, the geranium calmed down and the yummy dragon's blood started taking over. There is a slight floral hint to this that is very curious but not offensive...I guess this is the jasmine. The currant is never a big player here, it just adds to the fruity, warm, red feel of the blend. After I had this on for a few hours I really started to appreciate it more. It grew on me! But I really think I'd have to be careful about when and where I wear this because it really does radiate a "rage" feeling. I was shopping at a crowded store when I was wearing this and it really wasn't the right thing to be wearing! All in all, a highly complex and curious blend that turned out to be a winner.

I love sandalwood and cedar so I was really excited to try this one, but I totally underestimated the frankincense and vetiver! Extremely heavy, thick, and overwhelming. I'm just not a fan of these really heavy scents. I can only handle frankincense and vetiver in very small doses, and as indicated by this...not together! But that's ok, because I know a Part-Time Ninja that is going to be very, very happy to give this little imp a new home

I was really excited to try this one. I adore wood notes, particularly sandalwood, and I've loved every single one of Beth's dragon's blood blends. This is exactly as good as I expected it to be! Warm, red dragon's blood and dry, white sandalwood are such perfect complements to each other. In an earlier review someone mentioned lava rocks, and that's exactly the right image to invoke here. I also think that this is a gender neutral scent that would work really, really well on a man.

I've recently developed a fierce love for Beth's wood notes and blends, so I was eager to snag an imp of this. This is really wonderful! Smooth, deep, languid wood with a slight hint of mosses and dry leaves. I'm also curious about what blends may have this as a note. The first thing that popped into my head when I opened this imp was, "Ah, Intrigue!".

I skipped the chance to order Skadi at Yule. Then I smelled Golden Priapus and decided that I love what Beth can do with pine, so then I was on a mission to track down Skadi. Skadi is actually very similar to Golden Priapus on me. But where Golden Priapus is a golden, white pine scent, Skadi is more green pine with a very light berry note. Put pine is still the strongest note in both blends and they each have a yummy hint of sweetness. Unfortunately, Skadi just about fades away entirely after an hour or two. And since it's so similar to Golden Priapus (which lasts much longer), I'm happy enough with my imp decant and won't be kicking myself for passing up the big bottle. But I can easily see why this was one of the favorites from the Yule LEs!! I just wish it had lasted longer on me.

Yesterday I fell in love with Morocco! I did get the rootbeer scent for the first few minutes, but that quickly faded. Morocco is an exotic, spiced carnation blend. Carnation is one of my favorite notes, and I love what Beth has done with it here. This is one I'm going to have to buy a botle of. I can see why Beth is so proud of this one. It's really fantastic!

In the bottle and when first applied, I absolutely loved this! I can smell the rich, juicy dragon's blood and golden, spicey notes. This is much "warmer" than I would have expected from a moon blend. Yummy! Unfortunately, after a few hours, this faded down to nothing but florals!! Where did my dragon's blood and spices go? I'm not liking this stage of the scent much at all. If this had stayed true to what it smelled like initially, it would be one of my absolute favorites. I adore dragon's blood. But I just don't like the final floral outcome on this. I'll have to try it again in a week or so to see if it behaves any differently, but I have a sinking fear that it won't. Oh Red Moon, it could have been love...

Phaedrine told me I would love this one, and she was so right! Haunted is amazing and is another proof of my theory that I enjoy less complex blends with fewer notes. This is a perfect, harmonious mix of warm, soft amber and the dark sweetness of black musk. It is very deep, melancholy, and evocative. This is the kind of scent I would enjoy wearing at night, or on a grey, rainy, foggy day like today. If you like darker scents, resins, or musks, you must try Haunted! I need a big bottle

The lab description of this one is exactly right: . In the bottle and when first applied it's a perfectly balanced mix of warm, fuzzy apricot and dark, earthy patchouli. After a couple of hours the apricot has faded and the black patchouli is in control. I'm not sure if I would wear this frequently, but this reminds me almost exaclty of one of my favorite incense blends (called 'Desert Patchouli') that I can't find anymore!! So I'm very, very happy. I will be using this in my burner all the time, and probably experimenting with making my own incense. This warm, sweet, earthy smoke blend is absolutely delicious as a room scent! Thank you, Beth!!

Sweet, tart blackberries and the soft, dry smell of grasses and heather. Very fresh and feminine. On the dry-down I do smell a hint of the "green" scent that others have been describing. Overall, this one just isn't me. It's a bit too florally and soft for my tastes. I like my perfumes on the resin/spice/wood side of the spectrum, so I think I will swap this one off to a new home. ETA: This one reminds me somewhat of Queen Gertrude.

Banshee is very strong lemon, so much so that is totally overpowers the eucaplytus and mint. It's not entirely unpleasant, but it's not a scent that I would wear. I see this more as a linen spray or a room scent, because it's fresh fresh and clean smelling. This one is also very invigorating, the kind of scent I would use as a room spray when I'm in the mood to clean or be productive. This one would have been better if the lemon wasn't quite so strong and the eucalyptus and mint were given more room to play.