fountaingrl

I want Ivanushka REALLY BADLY, in no small part because it has the cutest label I have ever seen. (Plus I want to smell like fur.)

I used Aunt Caroline's Money Bag and saved a TON that same day, the only day I annointed with it. It was great. I have also had some good luck with others, but I don't seem to get much from Perpetuum Bonum? Maybe I am not using it with enough regularity. I am considering a decant of Aunt Caroline's Money Draw. I wonder if I could swap for one, it is almost never up on the forum. For future TAL purchasing/my records To get in bottle: Milk and Honey, Aunt Caroline's Money Draw (prob, if decant works like Bag did!), Charisma? (if it smells better than Brass Balls, which I got rid of my bottle because it stank SO bad I could not bear it, it was nauseating to me), Crown of Success To get more decants of: Hand of Hermes, STFU, Flying Devil, Fiery Wall, Determination Conjure bag -- wish there were more reviews. Maybe prosperity one, Hand of Hermes? Wish there was a protection and uncrossing one.

Hello Witchy! You asked, so I answer! Anyhow, the "type" of books I like? 1. I was really into mysteries but it is hard to find ones that I either haven't read or that I would like. I do the patricia cornwall ones (Kay Scarpettas) and I haven't read the most recent. I have read maybe 1/3 of the Reginald Hill books, and some of the Nora Bonesteel books. 2. I am interested in reading more mysteries by someone I forgot who (ACK!) but the main character is an Irish woman lawyer in the middle ages. I know, I know, how impossible is that? 3. I liked the first Bolyn book and would read others by Phillippa Gregory. I guess now that I think of it I am a sucker for authors who have a series. 4. I loved American Gods! Am interested in other books by him but I don't know if I am so interested in the Good Omens funny ones, but I could give it a go. 5. I love books on homemaking. I try my butt off, and am not always great at this, but I enjoy trying and do love to read new tips and such. Not at this point so much the basic "organizing for dummies" books, or "Don Haslett" cleaning books, but like the ones on my amazon list, one is on kaboodle too. I also love write-in books (notebooks, registers, etc.) for organization/record keeping. 6. Self-help books on emotion and money, fear of money, prosperity etc. I suck at money. Sometimes it feels like money only comes and visits me briefly before it flies off to the pockets of more capable folks. 7. REALLY interested in books on visual journaling or ATC making. Prob visual journaling is the better of the two if possible 8. Sometimes essay books. I think Neil Gaiman has one but I forget what it is called. Also, memoirs by feisty interesting women. 9. Books (beyond the basics tho) on training/fitness/running for women (these are harder to buy for me though. Right now I am looking at ones on sports psychology, performance and the mind, 'zen' running -- tho this might be bunk, etc.) It is late, I can't think of more right now but lord, I can always find stuff in a bookstore so I am SURE it would be fine whatever I get.

Oh boy! This is one of the finest oils I have smelled yet! On me, Black Lace has the same sweetness of Snake Oil, but it is more refined somehow. It has the vanilla and the spice, but the smoke and cotton give this a greater depth and roundness if that makes any sense. Wet on the skin this is MUSK VANILLA omg! And I love it even at this stage although it could be a *wee* less sweet. I don't know if I can do something this sweet all day. On drydown the smoke aspect (incense?) warms the scent way up, and instead of crazy sweet I get smouldering deep sweet. Cognac comes on board, but not in an I-spilled-booze way. Wow, I am starting to go from "hm this is nice" to "oh YES!" After about 20 minutes, this wonder finishes its major changes, and it takes on a skin musk aspect to the sweet smokiness and cognac. It is clean but dark, sweet but deep and tangy, and I am in major love. This may jump to my top ten after a few more wears.

I hoard/utterly LOVE and have in 5ml (but if you want to swap with me, I'll likely take more!): DEATH of AUTUMN, Spirits of the Dead, Minotaur, Oisin, Gypsy Queen GC loves: Morocco, Dracul*, Great Sword of War*, Black Forest I am fascinated by in theory but have not yet tried: Brown Jenkins, Hunter Moon, Voodoo Queen, Plunder, Great Whore of Babylon, Two Monsters, Eshe, Gennivre, Wezawine/Hold, El Amor et La Muerte, Green Phoenix, Mechanical Phoenix, Ivanushka, Shivering Boy, Christmas Rose* (for sentimental reasons want bottle even unsniffed) I *DETESTED*: Storyville (earwax!), Corazon (bile), Kingsport (underside of a dock), Monsterbait: Closet (cough syrup and metal), MB: Bloody Mary (cough syrup and feet), Zarita the Doll Girl (burning Barbie doll) *eventually to be a bottle buy

This is one of the wildest oils I have ever smelled! Wet on the skin it went OMGSWEET!coconut. There was a bit of creamy egg, not in a bad way but in a custard way, but *wow* so sweet. Then a floral note popped out, and the sweetness amped but became spicy. On drydown this smells like I am wearing the last wafting bits of a very spicy, even Oriental-note, expensive perfume, but it is very barely detectable because I have just baked the most amazing egg custard ever, and am carrying it piping hot from oven to table. I realize this doesn't sound good, but it is SO GOOD. I am praying the husband doesn't deem it "too sweet" as he did with my lovely Banded Sea Snake. If Egg'd becomes an oil that acts as hubby repellant, I will just cry.

SoTD is one of my top 10 oils of all time! This scent is slightly floral and dusty when wet, and then once it heats up on my skin it gets nuanced and takes on that tea note that everyone always talks about. FINALLY an LE that behaves on me! This is even better for tea than Dorian, which on me is a happy scent but too sweet and loud. SoTD is a gentle, quiet but persistent oil, lasts much of the day on me but is never overpowering. I keep getting whiffs of it as I move around during the day and again and again I am surprised how good it smells!

Oh wow this is great stuff! I read the reviews and have been on a musk kick lately so I chased down a partial, and now I don't know whether to be thrilled or concerned as I have given myself a dragon to chase.... Wet, it is slightly sweet and has a green edge to it, it is almost tangy. But within seconds of hitting my skin it softens and rounds out and gets mellow and sweet and musky. It is so hard to explain this scent. If this scent were a "thing," it would be a completely comfortable pair of pjs or maybe the perfect pair of jeans, that are comfortable to the point of being perfect but are effortlessly sexy. This is a feel-great-and-easy scent. Now I get to pray that someday it comes back.

Oh whyyyyyy October? WHY???? I wanted this to be the lighter, airier cousin of Death of Autumn. I thought it would be even better on me, and I love October so it made up for my lunacy (Libra) not working on me. But on my skin? This oil starts out smelling scortched, and on drydown I get a mix of: just-sharpened Ticonderoga pencils, magazine-insert cologne (complete with cheap paper note), and cumin. CUMIN! I smell like a really bored admin assistant who had wendy's chili for lunch while reading Glamour and trying out the samples. POO!

I dearly love this oil. It is one of the best on me and I am so glad that it is GC! In the bottle it is a little tangy and sharp, and wet on skin it smells a bit over-vanilla, but the resins take the blend in hand upon drydown and it only gets better. I love anything with myrrh just about, so Velvet starts with a leg up from the get-go. Pair the myrrh with sandalwood, so that it mellows and softens, for smooth incense-y love. But, this is not a 'head shop' vibe here because of the cocoa and vanilla. The two sweeten up the resins, but somehow don't become too foody. I was so relieved to see that. If you are one of the people who get disappointed by most 'foody' blends, or who wish chocolate notes would work on you but they don't, try this one. On me, bpal cocoa is much better than bpal chocolate. I swapped away the Candy Butcher because it didn't do much on me, and disappeared quickly, but this one becomes deeper and rounder as it mingles with body heat, and lasts all day long on me. Highly recommended, 5 out of 5. I like this one better event than Dorian and maybe just maybe better than O.

I'm going to echo the Death of Autumn recommendation. It is a 'dark' and somewhat ominous scent, but not a 'scary' or hunted scent. It smells like wet leaves and crisp air and a fire somewhere in the background. OTOH, the only scent that I have worn thus far that has had me creeping myself out? Was the 13 from July 07. It smelled like chocolate covered iced malice. Like someone who brings poisoned brownies over in a bandana-lined basket, to welcome you to the neighborhood. I kept wanting to back away from myself. I wore it twice and got rid of it. Body chemistry is everything with BPAL tho, I read the review that has Tombstone as dry and dusty, and on me? Root Beer. Nummy nummy, like a perfume oil version of LUSH's Sonic Death Monkey. SO GOOD.

OOoooh yes! In the bottle it smells dank and kind of spooky, cold and imposing. The minute it hits the skin: BAM! Walking in a wood at twilight in fall. Dirt, wetness, leaves that are rotting. Then it dries down and it is like walking in a wood but smelling the smoke from a distant fire, and there is something sweet waaaaaay in the background. Almost like a sweet-haunt, like a shadow of sweetness that when you sniff your wrist you wonder: was it really there? Amazing, gentle, complex scent, so glad I got a bottle!

I am a Libra, I was SOOOO excited! Finally, my lunacy. And I am ok if not hooray about rose, and I am "meh" about fruit, so I steeled myself. I figured: try. Was already for rose-and-strawberry-jam mess. NOPE. All I got? Was old, musty, in the soapbox too long COAST deodorant soap. Dang chemistry! Amped the fruit in every other blend to intolerable degree, goes sweet crazy rose when there's any rose at all, and in this one NOTHING but soap???? WHY??? I can't stand it, I am going to try it again tomorrow and pray something is different.

Well, POOP!!! I love honey scents. I would roll in honey if I could get away with it. I also think that rum smells rather lovely. Theoretically this scent should have been great. I was fasincated with the idea of smelling like Buttered Rum Lifesavers. Smelling like candy FTW! But in the vial, and on my skin, Hellcat is acrid, sharp, and chemical. I get none of the rum smoothness, none of the cherry note. No rooibos. I get smoke, maybe some tobacco, and something so sharp it is like being bitten in the sinuses. It is actually "sharp" in feel to smell. Then the rum scent comes in but it is a turned rum. A rum that has been sicked back up after a bad night of Captain & Coke. To the swap pile, maybe even wrapped in plastic to prevent a molecule of this from escaping. It is noxious when combined with my skin.

Yikes! I do fine with Zombi even if it isn't really "me" -- my daughter loves it and claimed it -- but Nosferatu does some really odd things with my chemistry. In the vial it was intriguing, yummy, wine and dirt and citrus. Wet on skin: CITRUS LIKE WHOA! To the point where I smelled like a citrus cleanser, layered with dirt. I smelled like I was right in the middle of mucking out a very dirty, very dank, long-neglected crumbling home with a bucket full of lemon pine-sol in hot water. Felt like I was a Merry Maid in hell. On drydown: Ok this makes more sense. Much more wine now, and the dirt was super-strong. Lemon came under control. But the wine is amping to a crazy level. Wine does that on me, I really like the note but if it is one of the main notes in a blend it goes crazy MD 20/20 on me. I smell like I went on a cheap red wine bender and then got rolled in a park after a rainstorm. I smell dirty and drunk on overly sweet red wine. Not good. The different notes 'fight' each other, they don't meld on me. It isn't even a rotting smell. And now for the weirdness: After I washed it OFF with soap, the scent is good. I know this is odd, but what is left after I take soap and water to it the scent goes very light and it blends better. I don't think I can justify keeping it around to put it on, wash it off, and then sniff the lingering faint scent periodically though, that is a waste of oil that might be amazing on someone else. To the swaps it goes.

Once again I am blown away by Beth's artistry. Not because I love this scent -- I don't -- but because she has produced a smell so dead on to the description and goal that it is like a portrait or personality profile in a bottle. Beth, this is uncanny. The scent in the bottle is very floral. Almost sharp, almost over-sweet white floral. Wet on skin is OMGFLOWERS. But it dries down very quickly, mellows out some, softens. And it is lovely. Maybe even beautiful. But there is something about it that is a ringing "so what?" This does NOT have the soul note that most of Beth's blends do. I know that sounds all hippy-dippy, but I am sorry, something about most bpal blends have a vibe to them whether or not you like them. They feel real, they feel full and round even if the round is a big round "yuck" on some people. This blend is not round. It is pretty in a thin, generic, two-dimensional all-surface "yah it's pretty but that's all it is" scent. It's Paris Hilton's portrait, perfectly rendered in perfume form. Playful and beautiful, but disconcertingly hollow, and no depth to challenge the intellect or spirit. All quick pretty flash that at the end of the day is nothing terribly special. I am not wearing it again, and I won't be keeping my bottle, but I am amazed at how well this captures the essence of spoiled shallow debutante.

Ok, I don't know what to do with myself. Just when I think I know what will and won't work on me, Beth astounds me again! I had NEVER found a fruit blend that worked. I had enjoyed some wine notes, but the wine in Athens has crazy throw and my partner hates it. I love myrrh but it is very strong and I have a ton of myrrh blends already and a small cache of Minotaur. I had this little sniffy of Haloa. I am packaging up a package to get sent to a newbie for enabling, and right before I tuck it in I think, "oops, sniffied it but never even tried to test, let's give it a shot too." Oboy. It does NOT smell like heavy resins on me, nor does it smell like wine note even tho it has 'wine grapes.' It doesn't go fruit-barf at all. I have had no luck with most foodie scents, have swapped away all my monster baits, but THIS one? Sugar, sweet sugar and cake, and light, and almost coconut but not quite, so fresh and light and sweet, like the smell of light golden sunlight and fluffy snow. Words fail. I need a shower cuz I tested it after a run, and I am SITTING HERE STILL STINKY because I don't want to wash off the sniffy and I have sent off the imp. It took me *checks watch* oh .... thirty minutes to start hunting down a bottle? I am going to need to build the paypal big time between 'weens and yules. ETA: I 'clean-tested' obviously, before sending off the sniffy, since I was a bit icky. I love those little individually-wrapped toothpicks you can get at restaurants, I keep a couple tucked into my wallet. Does that make me an addict, to carry around testing supplies everywhere I go?

I loved the idea behind this, I bought the set (both Pruno and Privilege) within a couple of hours practically of them going up. I couldn't stop laughing about it, and I so wanted to wear it constantly so when people asked what I had on I could say "pruno!" and give the quick story about the lab and the concept. Then the bottle came. It smelled sour in the bottle to me but I know you have to test the oils on the skin. So I did. Within five minutes it smells like I have had a hard night of swilling margharitas and eating hot dogs, and then sicking them back up. Pruno goes fruit-barf, which is always a danger with fruit notes on me, but over the top there is this greasy, dank, low-rent meat smell. Lord how quick I scrubbed it off.

Oh this is wonderful! I had been afraid of the "embers" note, silly me! I loved Minotaur, and had a brief fling with Athens (but it was too sweet on final drydown). I still have a thing for Minotaur -- but my partner dislikes both Minotaur and Athens. But: Philosopher in Meditation? He LOVES. And it has the honey scent I love and a wine note like in Athens, and the incense & resin blend of Minotaur, but it is the best of both. I am going to need several bottles of this. I smell like honeyed mead and soft, expensive, ecclesiastic incense.

I get the cinnamon and the light wood note that everyone else gets, I don't really get a lot of frankincense (which is why I bought it unsniffed, as I have a strong need to smell like incense), but I get the niftiest thing after drydown finishes: Just-extinguished, lightly scented white candle. I'm sorry, but that is SO sexy and comforting at the same time. I smell like very faintly perfumed hot wax with the notes of burned wick and a wee bit of smoke on top. You know how sometimes you are burning a candle and you blow it out and then walk past the candle later and it smells even better in a way? Yes siree, I smell like *that*!

I love honey, and I love amber. I got this in a swap and thought "can't lose, this is gonna be the sex on me." And for the most part it is, I get honey and warm amber and a little floral... And then maybe 30 mins in, and lasting throughout rest of throw time, there is a slight tang/bitterness that smells all for the world like the juice from a jar of green olives. It is very faint, but it is definitely there. So annoying. The rest of the scent is so good I may keep it, especially if I can figure out if the olive part has throw or if it is only discernable if you huff my wrist. Bah, olives! Good to eat, not to smell.

This is a crazy smell that I have vacillated on....love /hate/love/hate ....finally decided on LOVE! It starts out dry and piney, and within moments on me the Dreaded Pencil Box 'o Doom comes out to play, complete with a tone of graphite that suggests scantron tests in grade school. Usually that is all she wrote for me, and I'm done. I gave up on cathedral because of the pencils, I have only ever liked Lucretia as far as anything with a wood note. Then. Then we have Shanghai Tunnel. Good lord, it becomes "lost in a hot forest with pine or sap smell somehow plus bark PLUS wet and moss, just outside the damp cave where you are sitting." How astounding. There is a rock smell, and it turns out I like to smell like rocks somewhat. Beth I love you!! More rock smells? Rock smells! Pine smells! Swoon!!!

Wow. This starts out smelling on my skin just as it does in the bottle, which NEVER happens for me. Never. It is creamy, sweet, spicy and floral. As it dries, the scent goes through a neat morph where it deepens and it takes on an almost savory-spice note, almost food (but not sweet food, like very faint pepper or paprika?) aspect. The floral gets stronger too. I like this very much. The one drawback that keeps me from sqeeling unreservedly is that it has a little soapiness to it about an hour into wear, and it doesn't stay as strong as I would like.

I can say wholeheartedly this is the most aquatic blend I have ever smelled. Unfortuantely, it has both the good aspects (salt tang, ozone, watery 'blue' feel) of an oceany blend, and also the 'ick' parts that a seaside image calls up. On me, this smells like water, and marsh/salt air, and sand, and maybe dry sea oats or waterside plants that are drying because of summer heat, but also there is a bit of brackish "underside of the dock" to this. I get a brackish, dank, almost mildewed undertone to Kingsport that turns my stomach. I swapped this away after only one try. (edited for spelling because I am undercaffeinated today)

There is something very sexy about the myrrh/honey/wine mix of Athens. I feel like I've been sexin' it up in Greece with wine and sun on my skin, just amazing.