starwild

This is like pineapple upside-down cake on me. I'm not into foody scents but I do like some fruits. I got this as a frimp, and I can definitely see myself using it, though it's not a favorite. Very sweet and cheerful.

Here's a few that are not sweet on me, though ymmv: Anne Bonny A blend of Indonesian red patchouli, red sandalwood, and frankincense. Grandmother of Ghosts (Despite the floral notes, this is nothing like a floral on me) Her scent swirls with a high-pitched tumult of laurel, stargazer lily, splintered woods, peony, mandarin and white musk, and is spiked with pale pepper. Morgause A bouquet of five night-blooming flowers deepened by dusky violet, purple fruits and the barest breath of medieval incenses. The Raven Sleek, dark, and ominous. Violet and neroli mingled with iris, white sandalwood and dark musk. Darkness Bottled gloom; the essence of oblivion. Blackest opium and narcissus deepened by myrrh. Oblivion Dark musk, wood spice, labdanum, patchouli, dark African woods, and saffron. Black Dahlia Voluptuous magnolias strewn over orchid, star jasmine, black amber and smoky rose. Crossroads A chill twilit garden of blooms over dry earth and mosses, heavily laden with incense and offertory herbs. Ozymandias Dry desert air, dry and hot, passing over crumbling stone megaliths and plundered golden monuments, bearing a hint of the incense of lost Gods on its winds. Sri Lanka Indian sandalwood and cedar, and the dry incense smoke of olibanum, gum mastic, patchouli and myrrh.

Not a GC, but... *points to icon*

This is like a slightly sweeter, more mysterious and vibrant Ozymandias on me. It has that same note of pure dryness, but there's also a breath of rose to uplift it. The spices, wood, and amber are what give it the warmth and the bergamot and rose sweetens it just a bit. Don't smell the mandarin. Where Ozymandias is the smell of a desert place long-deserted, Baghdad is the scent of a desert place that's thriving and alive.

In the imp and wet, this is pure chocolate on me. Which would be nice if I liked smelling like chocolate, but sadly, I don't. Drying, it's easier to smell the notes. The vanilla and honey here just don't smell good on me, and I've discovered that I amp cherry badly. The musk, vertiver, clove and poppy try to save this blend after a while, but for the most part it's just too foody for me and the notes I do like fade quickly anyway. I get a bit of scratch-n-sniff sticker scent, too. Sorry, Blood Kiss, you and I were not meant to be buddies.

I like quite a few of the notes here, so let's see. Imp: Vaguely spicy but with cooling notes smoothing it out. Leather. Notes I don't recognize...guessing that may be the pimento and/or cypress. Wet: Whoa, this is masculine, like men's cologne. The notes seem very well-blended, giving more of an overall impression than I expected from the imp. Drying: Something dry, dark, warm and dirty. It keeps the spicy edge but isn't overpowered by it. Hmm. I may give it a go, but I think this one has an edge of something that makes it too masculine for me. It's a wonderful, beautiful smell, but I might prefer to use it as a room scent. It'd be great slathered on a guy.

Imp: Whoo, spice spice spice! That's STRONG patchouli and sandalwood. Wet: Lots of patchouli and a drop of sandalwood. Drydown: Spice-rubbed wood. This doesn't smell anything like I expected it to smell, but it's still awesome. Very distinctive and swashbuckling. A fearless scent. I'll wear this on days I need some extra oomph.

Imp: Uh-oh. Pepper is clawing at me. Wet: Slightly cherry-ish dragon's blood. Not as harsh as it seemed in the imp. Similar to Wrath and Rage, but gentler. Drydown: Cinnamon and fiery smoke with cherry-like dragon's blood. It smells like Big Red to me. A tinge of dry vertiver. ...I apparently amp cinnamon. I like this quite a bit, though I'm not sure I'll wear it often.

Incense, flowers, and a tiny hint of smokiness. A very nice blend, but nothing that screams "BUY MORE OF ME" to my nose.

Imp: Sweet flowers, tobacco, rum. Wet: Strong magnolia and just a splash of rum. Drydown: Magnolia, dirt, and...lemon. Definitely prefer this to Zombi, but I think my hormones are wreaking havoc on my chemistry right now. Will have to wait and try again later.

Bottle: Kinda like a bolder Cheshire Cat mixed with some Croquet. Wet: OH GOD GETITOFF! It's body odor. Sweaty, disgusting body odor, possibly with cat pee. This doesn't have civet in it, I know, so I have no idea where this is coming from. I washed it off FAST. Could be a hormone thing, but even if it is, I think I prefer Cheshire Cat anyway. ETA: Okay, now it's just sharp grapefruit with a breath of something underneath that, when I amped it, stank to high heaven. It's tamed down quite a bit now that I'm at a different point hormonally. I think it's the combination of the mint and chocolate with the grapefruit that set it off. Not so bad now, but definitely prefer Cheshire Cat.

Got my much-anticipated imp of this tonight, and dabbed it on my right wrist, with a teeny bit of my sniffie of Snake Charmer on the left, so this is both a review and a comparison. For the first while, the slight bitterness of the patchouli is duking it out with the creaminess of the vanilla, but holy of holies, the vanilla works on me. *faints* I can smell it trying to over-amp, but the patchouli holds it down, the red musk snarls in its face, and then the fruit notes smack it and tell it to behave, darling. It's a warm, creamy scent, but the patchouli keeps it mysterious and interesting, the musk makes it sexy and the fruit is just a sweet little tease of the unknown. In comparison, Snake Charmer lacks the fruit note but seems to have a higher spike of dry sweetness--I'd guess that's the coconut--and the vanilla seems stronger. Mme. Moriarty is more balanced and more thoroughly blended, and spicier. The Misfortune Teller is a snake nobody would wanna tangle with, and perhaps has ties to Medusa. I think I actually prefer this to Snake Charmer. It wears close to my skin. Conclusion: I want to lick myself, I smell so good. Welcome to my top ten, Mme. Moriarty. This is the third blend I've wanted...no, NEEDED...to hoard. I'll be getting multiple bottles of this before the Carnival goes away--and I bet it ages divinely.

I've barely made a dent in my bottles, as I like to switch things around and wear imps in between bottle-wearing, but good grief...I know I will go through my two bottles of I Married a Vampire From Planet X in no time. I used an imp in two days. I have never done that before. I got my first (lab fresh) 5 mls back in October and have used maaaaybe an imp's worth from each of them?

Okay, so...I'm staunchly anti-coconut and vanilla. They just don't work on me. Vanilla turns to dime store french vanilla without fail and my skin amps it until I smell like a puddle of melted ice cream. I refused to try any BPAL with vanilla, excepting Perversion which was a frimp, and which I quickly got rid of anyway. I was content in my vanilla-shunning ways and accepting of the fact that I will never be able to handle a lot of BPAL scents because of the vanilla note. Until a kind soul sent me a sniffie of Snake Charmer. The spices and amber so overwhelm the vanilla that even my horrible chemistry can't amp it. It just adds a touch of soothing warmth to what is otherwise a holy-cow-sexy blend of richness. If I could choose any scent for a revival, I do believe this one would be it. This blend, and this blend alone, is why I'm now dying to try Snake Oil, am giving Blood Kiss a go, and just got an imp of Mme. Moriarty. If Mme. Moriarty is like this but with patchouli, I will go crazy for it, but that's neither here nor there. Snake Charmer: charms even the forum vanilla hater. This is a miracle. Beth, perhaps this can make a guest appearance in the next act of CD?

Oh wow. Oh WOW. I got a decant of this from a circle on LJ and am SO GLAD I did! Imp: Clove, leather, warm amber. Wet: The same, but with the sweetness of dragon's blood coming out just a hint. For folks who don't like it, I don't think you need to be afraid of it here. It's really supporting the leather, not overwhelming it. Drydown: I do not know how this was accomplished, but this blend brings to mind exactly what it's called: a vampire from another planet. This is a warm, slightly musky, sexy vampire wearing a leather jacket. Who is glowing slightly green. This is the BPAL glow-in-the-dark vampire scent! It's as if the lab took a leathery, spicy dragon's blood scent and mixed it with the green melon and musk notes from 51, which is exactly what I was hoping for. I don't get floral from this at all. It's leather and spice with a light green aura. I'm surprised the notes work, but they do, and perfectly. When I sniff my wrist, I get more of the warm base, and the aura seems to fade in and out. Spoooooky. The dragon's blood note in this is, to me, very much like that in Red Moon, but without the heady floral notes. Final: This is in my top ten. Even my top three. I'm buying a bottle and would get two if I could afford it. When I run out of this, I'll be layering Dragon's Reverie and 51 to try and recapture it. EDIT: Okay, I bought two bottles. And I've used an entire imp in two days. ...I think I need like a dozen more bottles of this. Seriously. It's awesome. Also, this could definitely be used on men, but I am female and like powerful scents, and it works just fine on me. It's not too masculine.

This is the second-most voluptuous BPAL blend I've tried, the first being Spellbound. Blood Rose is a thick, wet, dripping red scent, decadent and powerful. This is not a scent for little girls. This is the scent of a full-blooded woman who knows her worth and demands that everyone else does, too. It's incredibly sweet, yet with a tang of sourness that makes your tongue curl. It has incredible throw on me and lasts forever. At first I didn't like this much because it seemed TOO strong for me, but we seem to be getting along fairly well these days. It's almost like candied rose. While it's not my favorite rose blend or my favorite dragon's blood blend, it does sizzle and sway and make me feel sexy and perhaps even a bit dangerous.

I got this as a frimp and seem to love it more every time I wear it. It's roses, soft and sweet but with the promise of thorns underneath. There's not much depth to it, it's simply rose-rose-rose, but it's not overpowering or sickly sweet on me either.

I forgot that I got an imp of this in my quest for all things dragon's blood, and just realized it's one of the blends that's being discontinued. Tested it tonight. The best I can describe it on my skin is scratch-and-sniff stickers that were supposed to smell like chocolate, the kind that teachers would put on the top of my papers in grade school. It's fairly mild, and definitely doesn't bring to mind rage...more what you'd use to CALM the rage. Nothing like chocolate to put you in a better mood? Might sell this one, not really my thing.

I get mostly lily from this: soft, light, Easter lilies really. It smells a bit like being in a church, and the musk is like dusty bibles or hymn books in the pews. I only get a small hint of the plum. This is a really good work blend because it has really good staying power on me, but is pleasant and not overly strong.

Just got my order! Bottle: Cold and minty and sweetly medicinal. Cough syrup? Wet: Really sweetish floral--but I can smell the mint, thyme, and musk quite clearly. I'd never smelled blue musk before, but yep, that's very blue. It's light and somehow slightly more tangy than white musk. Drydown: Sweet. Floral. Mintily cold. Unfortunately, this reminds me of soap and toothpaste. I love the label art, but will probably trade.

Frimp from the oh-so-generous lab! Wet on my skin, I get a rush of cigarette smoke that turns into dark woods with a hint of floral. Not really crazy about this one.

Frimp from the lab! Whew, how did I not try this before? It's a beautiful, herbal, fresh floral. I can definitely smell the wet dew! I do get the shampoo comparison, but man, would I love to have a shampoo smell this good. Not a bottle, but definitely will use the imp.

I...so do not get any floral from this scent. What I get is rich, dusty incense, which I suppose is the woods and perhaps the laurel? I really enjoy this blend and have been wearing it a lot as the weather has turned cooler. It's light enough not to cause problems at the office, but dark enough to suit my sensibilities. It reminds me of fallen leaves, even though I don't really have any particular reason to associate it with that. I suppose fallen leaves are appropriate, considering they represent the dying of the year.

I've had this for a while, but just now got around to trying it. It's what I'd consider one of the more perfumey, generic BPAL scents, utterly inoffensive if a bit strong. It's your basic saltwater floral, like beach-blooming flowers. Not particularly standout. I notice I've started getting a Lemon Pledge note from a lot of watery scents...Water of Notre Dame, and now this one. It's not bad, just a bit odd. It may be my skin chemistry. Not the scent I typically think of when I think of BPAL, but not bad. Just not my thing.

I have worn this to bed twice, and both times I've had awful nightmares. I seem to amp the lavender terribly as well. No more, Oneroi. I shall stick to my Zorya and Utreyenna for night smellies.