phantasmmysteria

In looking for the perfect blackberry scent, I managed to acquire a bottle of The Oblation. Unfortunately, it's not exactly happy with my skin chemistry. In the bottle: LAVENDER. Lots and lots of it. Wet: Lavender is RIGHT THERE in the forefront of this while wet, but very gradually something damp and green starts to shift forward. It smells like fresh leaves -- could it be the dianthus? For a while, all I get is this greenery and lavender Drydown: Here comes the blackberry. Unfortunately, it's turned quite sour with the addition of the honey. Blackberries are quite tart to begin with, but honey sadly goes even more sour on my skin, and these two scents amp together considerably. After a while, it all settles down into a slightly sweet, nondescript floral. Overall: This blend induces either unpleasantness or apathy. It's unfortunate, but I'm hoping I can find it a happy home with someone else!

I was soooo hoping for custard from this scent! If Beth ever mades a Creme Brulee scent, I will do all sorts of shameful things to ensure I can afford to buy it in gallons Egg'd Mailbox, sadly, is a pleasantly musky floral and not much else. I don't get anything foody from this blend, except maybe a bit of vanilla in the bottle. It's pretty, but just not what I was hoping for.

This is my favorite Inquisition so far! It is such an incredibly fun, giggly scent to me. In the bottle and wet, this smells like Hunch Punch! I can smell the syrupy, Kool-Aid sweetness underneath, but my nose is mostly being assaulted by the strong alcohol scent. That note (thankfully!) burns off only minutes after touching my skin, leaving behind a very fun, tart grape candy scent. It reminds me of Flinstones Vitamins, or Nerds (one of my favorite childhood candies)! This what I wanted Jailbait to be Sadly, the scent doesn't last more than a couple of hours on my skin, but that's okay. It brings out the little girl in me -- that little girl happens to be a mischevious brat, but I never said I was an angel.

Hungry Ghost Moon smells uncannily similar to HM by Hanae Mori.

I was browsing through the Bathos store the other day, and I picked up some of their Pulp soap. I'm generally not one for scents that lean toward the masculine, but this stuff smells SO GOOD. I was wondering if anyone might have some other suggestions for what would be a good fragrance to layer with it (I'm afraid I can't get to the Lab's search engine from work, sorry ). From the website, it looks like the following ingredients give the soap its scent: "cinnamon leaf essential oil, sweet orange essential oil, paprika, evening primrose oil." I think there might be more to the scent than that, however -- it smells very earthy after I get out of the bath, like there might also be some patchouli in there. If anyone has any recommendations that would be great!

AUSTRALIAN COPPERHEAD. I have tried every Snake which had notes I thought would be interesting, and after everything Copperhead was the only one I even like, let alone adore. In the interest of full discolsure, however, I don't much care for Snake Oil (new or aged) -- it simply does not suit my chemistry. The acai berry really makes Copperhead sing on my skin, though.

I am so happy to be able to try this scent (and can't wait to compare it to the new version). In the imp: Vanilla frosting. YUM. Wet: This turns quickly sharp, just like a few other foody blends (Eat Me and MB: Closet for starters). Beaver Moon is more pleasant to my nose during this phase, perhaps because it's less fruit and more sugary vanilla goodness. Dry: Tangy buttercream frosting, freshly spread on a warm vanilla cupcake. This stuff lasts ages on my skin, and it's great.

Thanks for that input! I have another question about this same bottle of Kunstkammer, which has to do with what appears to be the oils separating (the top layer is not quite as milky as the bottom layer). Is this still not something I should be concerned about? I have searched for this, but I didn't find any other mention of this occurring.

There's not a lot of lychee in BPAL blends, but it's very prominent for me in Fire Pig! Due to the number of ingredients in that blend though, YMMV.

Either I completely missed it, or no one's mentioned Morgause yet! Soooo pretty.... dark, purple incense and drying florals. I love it, but because it's a little heavy it always makes me wish for cooler weather.

Ihave a question about a bottle of Kunstkammer I obtained a few months ago. The oil was clear when I received it, but it looks quite cloudy in the bottle now. From what I can tell it smells the same, and it's been stored in a totally dark box in my bedroom. Should I be concerned?

I second that! I find golden amber to be the closest to a skin scent that you mentioned, which is what is in Aglaea (along with a nice mix of peach).

I ordered this scent on impulse, and I was fully prepared for rose hell and gardenia migraines. I experienced neither -- this scent is really beautiful. In the bottle: Sour fruit. All the fruits in this bled are right in your face. I really can't smell anything else from the vial. Dabbed on: Watch out, we've got a morpher! The fruit starts backing off immediately and the florals start to blend in with it (though the fruit stays fairly prominent upon my skin even upon drydown). As it dries I can begin to detect the warmth of the patchouli, while the pepper (and perhaps the musk) are what's giving it the dusty feel. This settles into a slightly sweet, floral, and dusty perfume... it is very evocative of dried flowers in a mausoleum. When I tried this on straight from the shipping box last night, I could not stop sniffing my wrist all through the homeowner's association meeting I went to right after (which I'm sure attracted plenty of funny looks from neighbors ). It's just so different from what I usually gravitate toward, and it thrills me that the rose in this blend is tempered by the other notes. While the fruit sticks around on me for the life of the scent, on a coworker who tried it there was significantly more pepper and patchouli -- it smelled altogether different upon her. I am very happy with this scent, and even happier that I've managed to swap for a backup bottle!

This was the first result of my ToT Inquisition orders! It's not one I was hoping for, but I was happy to take it for a test drive anyway. In the Bottle: It smells exactly like a fresh-dipped caramel apple, with the caramel being the most predominant note Wet: I dab just a bit on one hand (and believe me, a little dab'll do ya!), and instantly it's like someone took a bite out of their apple; the juices explode and the scent of red apple is right there at your nose, fresh and crisp. This phase lasts only a couple of minutes on my skin before the caramel starts revving up full throttle. Dry: Caramel SN. This stuff has incredible staying power, and just keeps amping for about an hour or so before the scent mellows to more of a brown sugar note. This stage is the prettiest to my nose, but the scent itself is not one I particularly care to wear. Overall, it's not my brand of OMGMUSTHOARD scent. But it is very fun, and very festive!

Man. Godzilla must hate me! This starts off promising -- the oil in the bottle smells like soft peppermint sticks (LOVE THOSE), but after 5 minutes on my skin I wind up smelling like every cheap French vanilla-scented candle I've ever come across. It's so sad! Ah, well. I have loads of other great vanilla scents from Beth to enjoy, so this will go off to someone who will enjoy it.

I am so happy to finally be able to try this one! I was so excited when it arrived in the mail yesterday, I didn't even sniff it in the imp -- I just slathered it on. Immediately, the blackcurrant is like WHOA. I am very much reminded of HM by Hanae Mori (as the two share blackcurrant and vanilla as notes, though I believe the similarities extend further than that). The currant slowly backs off and lends a lovely earthiness to the blend up close, but the throw is all fantastic, sugary vanilla. OMG, this is good. It's wicked good.

Bloody Mary was quite the pleasant suprise, as I anticipated it not working for me. It starts off with the same very sharp, sour, and nearly unpleasant scent that MB: Closet has upon contact (perhaps there's an alcoholic note in both, even though BM has none listed), but upon drydown the scent fades to ripe red fruits scattered over whipped cream. I get considerably less cherry than I thought, which is a bonus. It has short throw, but average wear length.

I think this is the last of the GC cocoa blends I had left to try, and so far it's the best on my skin! In the imp, the cocoa note is plain. It's the dry scent of unsweetened cocoa, and it overwhelms everything else. Once it hits my skin, the cherry comes to the forefront -- cherry notes have the tendencies to turn slightly plasticky on my skin of a moment, but the fruit and orange blossom here quickly sweeten this blend up just a touch and round out the chocolate. Despite the fruit and cocoa, this is only a slightly foody scent (along the same lines that Antique Lace might be considered gourmand). It is a highly wearable, if light, scent. It does fade very quickly, but I love huffing my wrists to catch the smell! Four imps out of five.

I passed up buying any bottles of this after hearing it was heavy on the chocolate, but I wound up swapping for a bottle of it anyway. I'm happy I did! This one really suprised me. I'm not that fond of gourmand scents, but I found this to be highly wearable. It's warm, spicey chocolate with hints of orchid and peach (which is unfortunate, as I would have loved more fruit in the mix). The honey doesn't turn sour (a feat considering my chemistry) and the blend is never overly sweet. As an aside, the Manthing smells no chocolate at all -- he says I smell like incense when I wear this. This may not be my favorite blend EVAR!, but it's great and I will wear it fairly often.

I waited to read the WC reviews to place my Singing Moon order, and I am very, very glad I did (because I got two bottles of this!). When I opened the bottle, I was suprised at how faint the smell was, but it was very pleasant. I dabbed a bit on one hand -- at the wrist, I smell the sharpness of the lavender (which softens quickly), and there's something a little bit "off" smelling... I'm not quite sure if it's the olive blossom or the musk. The throw, however... oh my Gods, this is fantastic! I am surrounded by this sweet cloud of fluff. It's warm, soft, and sweet, with the flash of florals up close -- much like a magpie's nest, its shiny bits glinting in the sunlight. Beth, I love it. I can see this going into very heavy rotation as the summer wanes.

Oh, man... this is been my first OMGGETITOFF BPAL. On my skin, this scent turns to napalm. Seriously... I get an acrid burning soapy smell that I could not wash off quickly enough. After scrubbing, I was left with something grossly sweet. It was... it was just bad.

As a fruit lover (wait... that came out wrong ), I recommend: Aglaea: Try to find an aged imp/bottle -- it's beautiful fresh, but much heavier on the peaches when it's new. The amber comes forth more as it gets older. Fire Pig: This is an interesting scent, because there's a lot going on, but it has lychee in it! teh lychee! Australian Copperhead: Mmmm, berry goodness in a bottle. Morgause: This is mainly incensy-floral, but it does have purple fruits in it. I love this one. Enraged Bunny Musk: Lemonheads! The musk keeps it from being overbearingly sweet.

Does anyone else remember the shampoo Gee, Your Hair Smells Terrific? That was its name, and that's what it did -- make your hair smell terrific. Australian Copperhead smells like that shampoo! Out of the bottle, it's very fruity -- mostly berry, but there's a hint of neroli in it. I love this phase, though it doesn't last terribly long. The acai berry leaves the party fairly quickly, and then the neroli follows (but not before flirting with the vanilla and giving her his number). During the drydown, all I get is patchouli (while I dislike patchouli, at least it's not oppressive), but later still the vanilla reappears and stays put. This is really nice! It's definitely a bright and cheery scent, but without a lot of throw -- sort of like when you have a funny thought but decide to keep it to yourself. I'm hoping that aging won't make the Snake Oil-iness come forward, but rather cause this blend to not morph so much so quickly. I think I should keep a bottle around to find out, in any case! ETA: I have now tried every Snake that remotely appealed to me, and this is the only one which has really worked. I have found that, while the berry does fade rather quickly, the vanilla in this blend stays around for a really long time. I have applied this scent in the afternoon, and the next morning (after two showers), my wrists have stilled smelled of vanilla. Now that's some staying power!

One of my favorite things to do as a wee little one was play in the laundry detergent whenever my mother was putting clothes in the washer. I loooooooved the smell of detergent, and to run my hands through the powder in the box and hear my mother mock scold me for doing so. Dragon Moon reminds me instantly of those memories, because on my skin it smells exactly like laundry detergent, which I'm thinking is probably sue to the cherry blossom. For me, this is a very positive association (though I'm sure not everyone loves that soapy smell as much as I do). It eventually does mellow out into a soft green floral, but it's those beginning stages I really like.

I wanted to come back and amend my review, because I believe I have finally come to peace with Teh Smutz. We seem to have this crazy on-again, off-again relationship... I buy a bottle, swap it off, decide that I miss it, swap for another bottle, put it away and forget about it... etc., etc. When I first tried Smut, I kept identifying the top notes as sasparilla, though I think what I'm smelling is whatever boozy note Smut contains (which, to my nose, smells much like a topnote in Eat Me -- someone mentioned amaretto?) in conjunction with the musks. For me, this unusual topnote does really quiet down with age, and the sweetness seems to as well. Try as I might, I cannot figure out what types of musk are represented in this blend, though I don't think there is any red or white (which, of course, I'm most familiar with). This has great throw, and you only need a little! I find this to be a great layering scent for kicking up another blend a notch or two.