Monster

In the bottle: Hungry Ghost Moon? Is that you in there? *looks inside* Wet on skin: Oh I think it might be Hungry Ghost Moons twin! This is very similar. I can't pick out any specific notes. it has a very sexy, perfumy sort of scent. This is very well-blended and balanced. Dry: As this dries it continues to smell almost identical to Hungry Ghost Mon (just not as sweet and gingery). This smells fresh and clean to me, and just a bit aquatic (but not powdery as a lot of aquatic scents seem to be). Again, I can't seem to pick out one specific note, everything unites into one and it's just lovely. As a huge fan of Hungry Ghost Moon, I love this one and I'll be reaching for it often

In bottle: Wet dirt! Wet dirt! Wet dirt! Ohhhhhh! Wet on skin: Wet dirt! Fresh, loam after a summer rainfall. Oh how I love this. Graveyard Dirt is one of my all-time favorite Bpal scents and this is it's more feminine sister. Dry: The fresh dirt smell is still apparent (whew!) but now it's paired with the smell of smooshed flowers. I'm imagining flowers in a graveyard, stomped into the mud after a fresh rainfall. Yup, that's pretty much it Give me more dirt scents! I love this!

This was the first bottle I purchased of the Tiki scents, and it's still my favorite from the collection. In the bottle: Boozy fruit. Wet on skin: Yum yum yummy papaya. It's like a dripped a tropical mixed drink on my arm. Really! Dry: As this dries the gin becomes more apparent, it has sort of a pine scent, soft and just enough to give it that spiked punch sort of feel. I'm really not detecting any blueberries. I grew up with a backyard full of blueberry bushes and I guess what I'm looking for is a fresh picked blueberry scent. If there's blueberry in here it's only adding a berry was to the melange of fruit. I get sunny papaya and a dash of lemongrass. The two together almost smell like pineapple (??) Very odd...and very delicious! This is a bright, fun, summer vacation scent. It evokes images of lounging next to a pool with a little umbrella drink in hand while the sun bakes my skin. My husband LOVES this one on me. I've been wearing this a lot lately. ETA... Husband review: Wintry balsam fir mixed with a crazy Chinese booze drink....on the beaches of Phucket. Well then! http://www.bpal.org/public/style_emoticons/#EMO_DIR#/00000288.gif

This was the first of the ladies I tried and the one I was most excited about... Out of bottle: Clove! Sharp, spicy clove. Yeowza! Wet on skin: The peppery smell of carnation blossoms out of all the clove spicy goodness. There's something warm and balmy about this as well. I'm not smelling any patchouli, tea or anything else. The clove really seems to dominate over everything else. Dry: As this dries the cardamon is definitely more apparent through a very strong foreground of clove. The carnation that poked it's head out while it was wet has now faded to a very very light floral in the background (wayyyy back there, but it's there ) I'm not getting ANY patchouli at all which is sad since it's my all-time favorite note. I was skeptical at first with all of the clove but there's *just* the right amount of tea, cardamon and carnation to keep it from smelling like a craft store or a scented candle. Overall I really like this scent, it's a lot different than anything I've ever smelled. I think I need to try this one out as the weather cools down a bit. I have a feeling I'll appreciate it more this fall. Clemence isn't my favorite of the Grindhouse Ladies, but she sure does smell lovely

I was lucky enough to receive a frimp of this from a lovely forumite In the imp: Sweet resin. I smell a lot of coconut (not a tanning oil coconut, but a fresh, real coconut.) Yum! Wet on my skin: Wow! Very complex...I really can't pick out just one scent. This is really really well-blended. Dark Delicacies reminds me of a perfume my mother used to wear when I was very young. I think the name of it was Cleo (??) Dry: As this dries the floral notes become more apparent. I'm NOT someone who likes florals at all, but the smokiness of resins, the earthiness of the patchouli and the sweetness from the coconut evens it out very nicely. Everything in this blend is masterfully balanced. Someone said this reminds them of Black Pearl, I'm going to have to agree with that, except Black Pearl is a little sweeter. This blend is a lot more mature, it's something I'll want to wear at night when I dress up to go out with my friends. Overall, I love this scent. It's not something I will wear every day but I'm definitely going to be using all of my imp and perhaps a bottle of this is in my future. My only complaint...it doesn't last too long. After about an hour it had faded to almost nothing on my skin. But, while it's there, it is gorgeous!

Wow wow wow! I was so so excited to try this one, every note listed is something I absolutly love and I'm happy to say I wasn't disappointed at ALL! Out of the bottle: Sweet, fresh pine with a swirl of musk. Wet on my skin: I'm still smelling the pine, it's definitely not too sharp or masculine smelling at all. As I smeared it over my wrist I could instantly smell the honey and vanilla come through, I think they mellow out the pine just enough. Pine sometimes has a tendency to completely stomp out all other notes...not in this case. Dry: The pine steps back a bit more and allows the musk and other earthy notes to take charge. The vanilla and honey are there to keep it from smelling too masculine. Beautiful! My husband says this is one of his favorite scents on me. I dabbed some in my hair earlier and he wouldn't stop sniffing the top of my head while we were out. The Illustrated Woman definitely unique and incredible. I can't think of another Bpal blend that smells like her. I'll be grabbing another bottle of this, she's going to me my new "signature" scent.

Out of bottle: This isn't as fruity as I thought it'd be! While I DO smell fruit, it's not as juicy as you'd think, the first note I'm really getting is plum BLOSSOMS with an earthy background of patchouli. The smell of the blossoms is that dirty, sticky baby diaper smell that I associate with most floral blends. Lets hope it goes away when I apply it to my skin. On my skin wet: Ahhh there's the fruit! It's still not as juicy as I originally thought it would, instead it's just PERFECT, well-blended and compliments the other notes oh so well...and the stinky blossoms smell is gone! Whew. The patchouli completely dominates this right now. I have to say, some of my favorite Bpal blends involve some sort of fruit mixed with patchouli. Dry: Dionysia really gets better and better as it settles into my skin and dries down. The berries sweeten up a bit more while the earthiness of the patchouli, frankincense and mahogany leave a nice, warm resinous, incense-like scent dancing in the background. This is absolutly gorgeous! I can't stop sniffing my hand. If you're not a fan of fruit blends, don't let this one scare you away! The fruit scent is very subtle and only sweetens up the patchouli and wood notes. This is a sexy earthy blend you can wear without smelling like you haven't showered in a month and put something on to cover up the stench. This is the slightly less hippie-smelling cousin of Urd LOVE! Let me add this as a new favorite. I'll be wearing this one A LOT.

This one smells EXACTLY like October (yes, the month and the Bpal oil...but mostly the oil ) Beautiful! I think my husband is more obsessed with this than I am. Ha! He's been dancing around, spritzing this everywhere. He even put some on the throw pillows we have on our couch and they smell oh so delicious. The atmosphere spray is definitely high quality, it lasts quite a long time and when you spray it on fabric (just don't spray it directly on since it may stain...we've been spraying the air and then waving the pillows through the cloud of spritz). I also tried this spray while soaking in a bath full of L'Autunno bath oil and the combination of scents is lovely...seriously, go try it! This is gorgeous. I wish I could buy this scent as a candle, it would be perfect to burn this fall.

It's the middle of the summer but I had to try this and take a hot bath with my new L'Autunno bath oil. I wasn't too too thrilled with this scent out of the bottle, if you haven't tried it in the bath yet, please do, it completely changes. This has a thick molasses scent with a dash of cinnamon and a whole lot of myrrh. I've never really tried bath oils before and i really like the way it left the soft scent of the oil on my body along with a nice, smooth (not greasy) silky texture. It added *just* the right amount of moisture to my bath. Very nice!

O M G !!!!! This is incredible. L'Autunno must be tickling that spot in my brain where I've stored memories of running to the bus stop on the first day of school as a kid....with the fresh, autumn leaves crunching under my feet...or going to Halloween parties and singing songs around the bonfire...or going apple picking with my family and getting excited when my Dad picked me up to let me get the big apples from the top...or the time I bought a cinnamon scented candle that looked like a witch one Halloween when I was a kid, my mother let me fall asleep with it and when I woke up it was crumbled into my sheets..THIS is what my sheets smelled like days later! Wow! This really is autumn in a bottle. I thought Samhain was the very best Bpal Autumn scent but they have outdone themselves. Incredible! L'Autunno is warm, fall spices, with apple, a smoky undertone and every single one of your best autumn memories. I am completely in love with this one. THANK YOU BETH!

Very strong, sharp scent right out of the bottle. On my skin this has a lemony, herbal scent. It's clean, warm and definitely reminds me of laying on a sun-warmed bed of hay. If you like amber, you will LOVE this. Very nice, but as it dries down it just doesn't work with my chemistry. ETA 8/10/2009: Received a decant from someone on the forums and wanted to re-review this one... This is (as I said in my original review) clean and warm smelling. The drydown is just very "old lady like" on me...and not in a good way! I wanted so much to like this but it's just not happening. Oh well.

I was skeptical about Black Lace at first since it appeared to be the darker version of Antique Lace (which my husband says makes me smell like an old lady ><) Out of the bottle: Strong musk! On skin: The musk fades a bit and sweetens into a soft, vanilla musk with some smoky undertones..that must be the incense. The final dry down is absolutly gorgeous! Antique Lace is very feminine, mature....and definitely not in an "old lady" sort of way like Antique Lace. This scent makes me feel really sexy Verdict: One of my new favorites

I love love love this one! Very stimulating, indeed! Out of the bottle: A sharp, herbal rootbeer scent with creamy undertones. It reminds me of the all-natural rootbeer I buy at the heath food store down the street. On the skin: The rootbeer mellows a bit and turns into a sweet, creamy rootbeer float. Yum! The sassafrass/rootbeer scent is definitely still there but doesn't smell like I took a bath in A&W or anything Verdict: Sweet, soft and delicious! Great for anyone who really likes "foody" blends. On me, it lasted a god while as well. Usually most sweet scents fade quickly on me.

Good GOD!!!! After reading all of the reviews, I knew I was going to like this and had really high expectations but I didn't expect it to smell THIS GOOD!!!! Out of the bottle I smell I sweet, smoky plum with just a touch of pomegranate. On my skin, wet this is a dark, dark plum with a warm resin scent holding everything together. The pomegranate isn't apparent on me at all. As this dries the musk takes center stage and the vanilla starts to come out..but just a bit. The final dry down is a warm, resiny musk with just a hint of vanilla and the leftover sweetness from the fruit. This is absolutely incredible! The throw is amazing too. Mme Moriarty is one of those scents I instantly fell in love with, much like Snake Charmer and Urd. I will be needing at least two additional bottles of this!

First whiff out of the bottle this smells exactly like Snow White. I smell soft, sweet winter flowers and a breath of something powdery. When I put this on my skin this completely changes and doesn't remind me of Snow White anymore. It's powdery and fresh with an aquatic mint note. As it dries the delicate powdery smell comes out even more. I would categorize this as floral/aquatic...and yet it smells really lovely on me. On the final dry down it does something mysterious, it morphs back to Snow White! A really unusual and pretty blend. Definitely a keeper

Thank you to Valentina for providing me with my Underpants Out of the bottle this a soft, sweet, sugary vanilla. It reminds me of cookie dough, or something along those lines. On my skin, wet now I can smell the sandalwood. It's making the vanilla smell a little more "grown-up". I'm not getting any butter rum or saffron...this is purely a vanilla/sandalwood blend on me. As this dries the vanilla fades even more and just sort of sweetens up the sandalwood. This reminds me of some Fred Solls incense that I have, it's absolutely gorgeous! I could wear this every day and never get sick of it. The final dry down smells very similar to the Lick Me dry down, but with a hint of warm resin. I'm absolutely in love with the Underpants I wish I could get more of this! Out of all the Monster baits, this is probably the most grown-up smelling one. It starts out sweet, but on my skin smells really mature and sexy. Another win for The Lab!

Mmmm yummy! This is all creamy pumpkin out of the vial. Very very similar to Jack! On my skin the pumpkin takes a couple steps down and allows the warm, spiced apple to take center stage. This reminds me of Bath and Body Words Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin room spray (which I love love love). This isn't something I'd wear as a perfume oil, but it would make an incredible room scent. Delicious!

This is the only CN scent I wanted and didn't buy a bottle of. Thanks to a lovley ofrumite for decanting a bit for me Out of the vial this is refreshing and balmy smelling. It reminds me of a neutral, soft smelling lotion my mother used to wear when I was a kid. On my skin, wet I'm still smelling that soft, comforting lotion smell. The amber is very soft and sweet. it's a lot like the amber in The Lion, minus the spice. As this dries something citrus begins to pop it's head out and it actually begins to become a lot stronger on the dry down. This is definitely shiny and bright smelling. It's fresh, clean, and non-abrasive. Beth definitely nailed the mirror quality about this. I feel like it's reflecting and slightly distorting my own skins natural scent. This is really unique! I can definitely see why so many people love this one. I love love love amber, and I'm in LOVE with the way this smells on me. I'm just disappointed I didn't purchase a 5ml when the Carnival was in town.

Whew! Right out of the imp this is a very sharp and boozy smelling honey. It's the only note I can really pick out. Wet on my skin the honey is still very apparent but fades a bit and lets some incense smoke rise and swirl around the teeniest little bay leaf. As this dries an almost grape smelling note pops out. The honey has almost completely faded now and I'm left with just a gentle sweet memory of it. There's also something sharp in here, I'm guessing that must be the bay and laurel leaves. Very pretty! I'm not sure if it's for me (while it's wet it's almost sickeningly sweet). The dry down is really pretty though. I think I'm on the fence with this one! This is an amazingly strong blend as well. The throw is incredible.

Received as a wonderful gift during a swap from the fabulous Mr. Forspecial Plate When I opened the package the FIRST thing I smelled was Gaueko. It completely over powered everything (in a good way). The inside of the box smelled like a head shop or some really rich nag champ incense. When I looked it up, I wasn't surprised to see that nag champa was in fact in this blend Upon further reading, I saw lavender was in this as well and began to worry as lavender tends to over power many Bpal scents. Out of the vial, this smells like a balmy lavender mixed with just a hint of incense. Wet on my skin the lavender completely overpowers this blend. First sniff, wet it almost smells like an all-natural bug spray, something Burts Bees would put out. :/ And then Gaueko begins to do something magical...the lavender fades as it dries revealing the rich, heady nag champa incense smell. Mmmmmmm! And boy, is it STRONG! This reminds me of a sharper, more masculine version of Urd (which is my all-time favorite Bpal scent ). I'm not so sure I love the way this smells on me, but I think it would smell really incredible on a guy. I'll be keeping my imp to test out that theory Overall, this one gets two thumbs up from me

I'm so so glad some of the SiA scents are here to stay When SiA came out, I was a Bpal newbie and only ended up with bottles of Misk. U and Arkham Revisited. I'm so so glad I finally have a chance to sniff some Al Azif. I love incense blends so I have high hopes for this one! Out of the vial this is surprisingly light smelling! For such a resinous blend, I also expected this to be dark brown in color. Interesting There's an almost sun block/oil quality to this as I sniff this out of the imp. Wet on my skin this is super sweet and musky! I'm not smelling the maple syrup most people described, but there is something sugary sweet in this. There's only a very light incense to this right now. As this dries down it sweetens up even more (my skin tends to do that and I don't mind at all ) and the incense start to become more apparent. This is really really light on my skin as well, it's not as heavy as most incense blends tend to be. The final dry down is gorgeous, I can't stop sniffing my wrist. It's definitely a morpher on me. Overall this one was surprising! I was expecting a heavier, richer incense blend but instead this is sweet, light and musky. Rich incense or not, the surprise was a pleasant one and I'm in love with Al Azif....I only wish it lasted a bit longer on my skin.

Right out of the bottle this is all butterscotch rum! It's very similar to the buttery/rummy scent of Sugar Cookie from last years Yule scents Mmm now on my skin the apple jumps RIGHT out. This smells EXACTLY like a candy covered apple. Wow. This is incredible. I'm not smelling any coconut. The final dry down smells exactly like those candy apple Jelly Belly jelly beans. Delicious! I really hope this one makes an appearance next year because this is just incredible

Ew...Dragons Blood....I can't let this touch my skin so unfortunately I'm going to have to review it as best as I can by just sniffing it out of the imp. The color isn't bright bright red, which is good because it means that it's light on the Dragons Blood. It's more of an orange pink in color. Out of the vial I smell almost all sandalwood with a hint of dragons blood. There's an almost bubble bath scent to this one.

First whiff out of the vial is allll grapefruit This smells exactly like the rind of a fresh peeled grapefruit..one of my favorite things to eat On my skin the grapefruit starts to fade away :'( and is replaced with something that almost smells like gardenia o_O As this dries down there's a powdery/floral quality that comes out on my skin. What is happening?! :'( Noooo! I'm so disappointed. This was something I was really looking forward to. Unfortunately this blend hates my skin and smells like white florals (which I hate)

Ew The description of this made me sick. Haha. Anyway... This has an herbal/root/cedar scent right out of the vial...maybe a little sandalwood in there as well? On my skin the cedar really amps up. There's something fresh and herbal in the background as well. Eh. This is just so so. It doesn't really stand out as a really unique, incredible scent. But it is pretty.