Penance

I'd like to cast my vote in for Hexennacht, even if it does honor a non-autumnal day. Very similar to Samhain and so wonderfully "autumn" smelling.

If you ask me, Hurricane and Storm Moon couldn't be more different. Yes, they're both aquatics, but they're miles apart for me. I love Storm Moon, but Hurricane is really not my kind of scent anymore. Storm Moon (as I'm sure you know) is almost pure ozone. Very metallic and crisp smelling, like the air after a thunderstorm. To me, there's none of the "aquatic" kind of note I get from a lot of BPAL's other aquatic type scents. It's just pure, zingy ozone and that's why I love it. Hurricane is murky and smells of standing water and slightly rotting vegetation. That's not a bad thing, mind you, it's actually quite nice in its own way, but it's got none of Storm Moon's super-clean ozoney goodness. It's very much the smell of what a beach after a hurricane might smell like. They really are night and day for me, but if you like a very humid, murky kind of aquatic smell, Hurricane is definitely a good choice.

Preconceived notions: Wolf's Heart is one of a handful of voodoo blends that have been sitting around my armoire, collecting dust and waiting for the right moment to be used and it looks like Wolf's Heart is ready to be used. I don't remember a thing anyone has said about what it smells like, so this is going to be purely conjecture on my part, although I'm pretty confident in my nose lately. First sniff: Dragon's blood and jasmine? That's certainly what it smells like. It's got a strong jasmine component that's almost overtaking the dragon's blood and making it somewhat soapy and floral and very headache inducing for me (I'm sensitive to a lot of florals and soapy ones in particular). It's not what I would expect from something with a name like Wolf's Heart - I was thinking strong and fiery and powerful smelling, but I get something almost feminine and soft. Wet on skin: Whoa, jasmine! I don't particularly care for jasmine, but it looks like I'm going to have to deal with it if I intend to actually see if Wolf's Heart lives up to it's description. I put this on the back of my neck because I knew I wouldn't want to be smelling it very intensely during the day, but it's wafting around and definitely making itself known. This reminds me of one of the Tarot blends, but I'm drawing a blank on which one it is...The Tower, maybe? I can't remember, but it was something with a dragon's blood/jasmine kind of feel to it. Dry down: All I can smell is jasmine. The dragon's blood note seems to have completely disappeared, but I don't think that its being around would have actually made me really enjoy the smell of this anyway, so it's not that big of a deal. Scent wise, this is too girly and headache inducing for me, but efficacy wise it's another story. Wolf's Heart definitely works. I don't think I've ever gone into a stressful situation where I was scared half to death and come through it so well and so easily. I'm not a dominant person by nature and I tend to shrink from having to assert myself, which is where Wolf's Heart comes in for me. It seems to be giving me that extra boost of confidence and assertiveness that I need to be able to be effective as "the person in control." The bottom line: I don't care for the smell (but, then, that's true of most of the Voodoo Blends) but I love how well Wolf's Heart works. This one's a definite winner!

Oh my God, that Midway label is gorgeous! I can't wait to see the others. I have a feeling that I'll keep my bottles even if the scent doesn't like me just because they're so beautiful.

You're very welcome!

It refers to the old-style imp tags made from parchment and sinew as opposed to the new sticky tags. Try this thread for more info... Tarted and other BPAL vocabulary!

They are fairly similar. White Rabbit has some ginger, pepper and tea, but the base is that same heavy cream smell. The two really are very close, with White Rabbit being slightly more complex.

First sniff: Mmm, this is the note I loved in Chaste Moon, the creamy, buttery note that I couldn't quite pin down (it smelled like butter mints, but I wasn't sure what it was since there was no butter listed in the notes). It's heavy cream and I recognize it now in Milk Moon. I didn't expect to like this, but I ordered it after my surprise infatuation with Chaste Moon and it looks like I made a good choice. I'm not positive I'm in love with the honey note in here (I don't care for honey scents, generally speaking) but so far I like this quite a bit. Wet on skin: Now this smells more like milk rather than heavy cream. It's lost the buttery note that good cream has and smells weaker but still creamy. It actually has a bit of a powdered milk vibe to it rather than smelling like regular garden variety liquid milk. There's something else here, too, that has to be the lunar oils, even if I don't know what they are exactly. I can't even really say what they smell like aside from saying that there's more to this than milk and honey. Dry down: The heavy cream/butter note is back again and I'm loving this! This is like Chaste Moon only better, which makes me sad since I only bought one bottle thinking I wouldn't like it. The honey note doesn't even make an appearance on me once Milk Moon dries. This is pure heavy cream and it reminds me of growing up in the country and drinking warm milk fresh from the cow (hey, it may be disgusting to some people, but to me it's childhood in a bottle), complete with the layer of heavy cream floating on the top. The bottom line: Gorgeous! I didn't really expect to like this, but I'm glad I ordered this because it's love, pure and simple. I always thought I hated milky scents, but I'm really learning that I love scents with heavy cream as one of the notes.

They don't smell alike *at all* to me what notes do they share in common? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> They don't smell alike to me either, but maybe it's the honey in O? Lughnasadh smelled honey-ish to me.

Indeed and it was perfect! I'm not a floral girl. At all. But I have to say it was a wonderful choice. It really went with the whole look and feel of the wedding, so I'm definitely happy with the choice. I also dabbed on some Fiery Wall of Protection to get me through the day without anyone killing anyone else and everything went off without a hitch. The groom was going to wear Coyote but, umm...someone forgot to give it to him since she forgot it at home so he wore nothing...err, no scent I mean, not nothing although that would have been fun...

Origin: I got an imp of this from the lovely pranashakti. First sniff: Spicy and hot and...metallic smelling, somehow, pranashakti's right. This reminds me of Uranus but nowhere near as cinnamony...it's more like a resiny cousin of Uranus. This smells damn good. I'm tempted to wear this for scent alone. Wet on skin: I put this on the back of my neck (getting married and don't want it mingling with the Blue Lilac that's my main scent), so it's hard to smell, but I'm getting whiffs of something akin to The Lion mixed with something fiery and slightly metallic but also slightly resiny. It's warm and comforting, but strong and powerful at the same time. Very hard to describe, but very pretty. In terms of why I'm using this scent today, let me put it this way...there's been a lot of tension going on between my fiance's family and my family culiminating in a huge knock-down, drag-out fight between me and his mother yesterday that ended in me having a nasty asthma attack and wondering if I should call off the wedding. On top of that, my parents and his mother are polar opposites. They just clash in so many ways and I need some protection. And on top of that my sister-in-law who I've never really gotten along with is here and I need some protection from her, too. I'm in desperate need of a fiery wall of protection right about now, so I've got high hopes for this one. Dry down: Pleasantly spicy. Warm and resinous, but also spicy and metallic. It makes me feel strong and invincible, like none of the people who have been getting on my nerves can hurt me and, I can say without a moment's hesitation that this works. No fights, no hurt feelings, no awkward silences or culture clashes. Nothing. Just love and happiness from everyone. The bottom line: I couldn't be happier with the effects of this one, it's an absolute lifesaver. I'm 100% positive that this one saved my wedding day for me and my new husband.

Preconceived notions: I'm not (generally speaking) a fruity kind of girl or a floral kind of girl, but I had to try this anyway because I do love pink pepper, ginger, white tea and lighter musks. And brains. I'm reasonably fond of pineapple and kiwi as fragrances, as well, so I may very well like this. First sniff: Ooh, nowhere near as in-your-face sweet and fruity as I'd feared. There's indeed fruit in here, but there's also ginger, pepper, tea and musk (and some sort of floral - jasmine, I think). I'd envisioned (and feared) some sort of fruit punch meets aromatherapy kind of scent, the kind that says "Hey, you're a brain in a jar, but it's not so bad. Sit back, relax, have a drink and listen to some new age synthesizer music," but this is definitely not that. More subdued and quite lovely. Wet on skin: For once all the fruit disappears once this hits my skin. Suddenly it's all florals and ginger with a hint of tea and musk. I'm not sure if I'd rather smell fruity or floral, since neither one really appeals to me, but I'm thinking that in this case, I'd prefer the fruit to the florals. This isn't bad at all, it's just not something I'd normally wear. Dry down: All the florals and fruit seem to have gone MIA and I'm left with a sort of peppery, ginger/tea/white musk scent with the tiniest hint of peony. This is much better than when it was wet and it's actually what I was hoping to get out of this. All the notes I don't like have disappeared and all the ones I do like are hanging around for once, so yay! Go Brains! The bottom line: I'm pretty happy with the way this one turned out. It's definitely a morpher on me, but I'm not sure if that's skin chemistry or just the nature of Braaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiinnnnnnnsss. Sorry, can't help myself.

You're very welcome!

A bright, bittersweet scent honoring the Japanese Deity of Love and Passion. Aizen-Myoo is one of the vidyarajas, the Shingon's Radiant Kings of Wisdom. Though Aizen-Myoo possesses the lust, grace and passion of both genders, he most often appears to his followers as male. His face is screwed into a fearsome demonic mask, but this is only the wrathful, fierce countenance he places over himself to guide and empower his children. Aizen-Myoo is the patron of prostitutes, of joyous, unbridled sexuality and of all forms of erotic love and is worshipped by all those in the sex industry, musicians, and - oddly - landlords. Yuzu, kaki, and mikan with cherry blossom and black tea. Origin: Lagniappe from the Lab. Preconceived notions: Truth be told, I have no clue what kaki or mikan smell like, so I'm not sure what to expect from this. It does have black tea, though, which is one of my favorite notes. First sniff: Clean, soapy, floral and a bit fruity/citrusy all at once. The cherry blossom is pretty prominent as is the yuzu. No black tea yet, but not bad even though it's not really me. Wet on skin: The same as in the imp. Normally there's at least a small change in scents once I put them on, but not Aizen-Myoo. While this is completely opposite of the scents I normally wear and enjoy, I like this. It's unexpected smelling, somehow...relaxing and clean and ever-so-slightly fruity. Dry down: Cherry blossoms. A lot of cherry blossoms. We had cherry trees in our backyard when I was growing up and I remember the smell of those little white flowers very well. Aizen-Myoo smells innocent to me, maybe because I'm associating it with my childhood. The bottom line: I actually like this even though I normally wouldn't go for something like this if I were picking out scents to try.

Origin: Lagniappe from the Lab. Preconceived notions: I've waffled over trying La Belle au Bois Dormant since it was released (love the name, not so fond of florals), so I'm really glad I finally get to try it. Even if I hate the smell, I love it for the name alone, although it would be wonderful if I ended up loving the scent, too. First sniff: Ooh, pretty! Definitely not my normal kind of scent, but beautiful nonetheless and so perfect for a scent named after Sleeping Beauty. I smell pear (a note I'm learning to love), plumeria and a jumble of other florals. It's not too floral for me, though, which is a huge surprise and a very good thing. Wet on skin: More floral now (which isn't a surprise since my skin chemistry amps up florals_ but it still has that lovely pear note that keeps this from venturing into "flower shop" territory. There's also something in there that smells quite a bit like white musk and that gives this more depth and character. Dry down: I swear, this smells like there's white musk in here...maybe it's the "evening dew" I'm smelling. Either way, I smell white musk, a bit of pear and some sort of heady flowers that still manage not to be offensively (to my nose, I mean) floral. I actually really like this quite a bit, surprisingly. The bottom line: I really like this. It reminds me of Juliet only more "me." I may get a bottle of this.

I know some people have tried "airing" their oils. Try this thread...I know there was a discussion about it not too long ago: Aging BPAL.

I imagine they're just from different batches and you just happened to get them near the same time. Some scents seem to be prone to smelling (and sometimes looking) very different depending on the batch they came from. Of course, I could be entirely wrong, but it seems to be the most logical explanation to me. I know Morocco is one of those ones that seems to vary quite a bit and Scherezade was entirely different the last time I got it (didn't smell the same, didn't even look the same), so it's definitely not unheard of.

Try this thread: BPAL and pregnancy. It might give you some of the information you're looking for.

First sniff: Lime. Fresh-squeezed lime and maybe lavender, too. I was worried the smell of this might not appeal to me the way Somnus doesn't, but I really like this! It reminds me of a margarita, strangely enough...like lime and salt almost, but with lavender added. Wet on skin: The lime is a lot less intense now and the lavender is really coming out in full force. It's not too sharp and definitely not disagreeable smelling even though I'm not a big lavender fan. Maybe it's the power of suggestion, but I put this on and it was like all my tense muscles relaxed at once. I don't care what the reason is, I'm just glad I feel calm for the first time in far too long. Dry down: This isn't tolerable scent-wise the way Somnus is for me, it's downright beautiful. I'd wear this for the scent alone, to tell the truth, but I get the added bonus of feeling wonderful to boot. The lime has made a reappearance and is overpowering the lavender again, which is fine by me. I really like this and I think I'm going to need more. The bottom line: A winner on all fronts: looks good (love the label), smells good (never would have thought lime and lavender would go together) and works well (I feel wonderful).

Origin: I got an imp of this from Diana. Preconceived notions: I highly doubt this will work for me. At all. I didn't order it for that very reason, but because I aim to try every BPAL LE there is, I'm giving Ides a go. First sniff: Confusing smelling. One sniff I get all fragrant herbs (a good thing), the next I get citrus and florals (a bad thing). This is definitely unusual and very complex smelling to my nose. I'm not familiar with a few notes in here, so I'm wondering if I'm smelling them, but I can't say because I don't know what to sniff for. Wet on skin: Rosemary really jumps out at me as soon as I put this on, which is a good thing, but all the notes I don't really care for are making themselves known, too. Almost immediately, the florals and lemon start overpowering the rosemary and taking over the scent, which is what I had a feeling might happen. Dry down: Not a bad scent, really. It's not aggressively floral or herbal now. It's more like expensive men's cologne, the type that makes me think of fireplaces and brandy snifters. I actually rather like this one once it has a chance to dry. I might try this on the boy next. The bottom line: A rather pleasant surprise, given time to dry. I doubt I'll need more than my imp, but not bad.

Preconceived notions: I fully expect to really not like this one. I ordered it completely on a whim (and out of LE paranoia) but flowers generally aren't my thing, so I have a feeling Beltane won't like me. First sniff: That's definitely flowers, all right. I'm terrible at identifying most florals, so I'm not even going to try. All I can say is that it's soft and slightly sweet (like honeysuckle), not heady and intense or powdery. As far as florals go, this is really very pretty. Wet on skin: Now this is veering into the territory that I'm not so fond of. This was more like Pele in the bottle (soft, unoffensive florals) but now it's like a garden in full riotous bloom. It's not a bad thing, just not me. I'm sure a floral lover would adore this, though. Dry down: Pretty much the same as when it was wet. Flowers, flowers and more flowers. I swear I can even smell the pollen this is so realistic, but it's just not me. At all. I'm just not a floral kind of girl, unfortunately, so I just can't give Beltane the love it deserves. The bottom line: For someone else, this would be beautiful, I'm sure, but for me? Not so much. Beltane's finding a new home.

Thanks, shell! :D Squishy brains!

So anyone got a pic of the Brains label? I hear it's cute and brainerific! And I want to see the squishy brains, too. I can't wait for my CnS!

Preconceived notions: I have extremely high hopes or this one. It sounds absolutely perfect for me and if it doesn't work it's going to break my heart. First sniff: This is similar to Samhain only more piney and less...oppressive, maybe? Holding the bottle away from my nose, Hexennacht and Samhain are almost indistinguishable, which is fantastic since I'm mourning my poor lost Samhain bottles. This is gorgeous! Wet on skin: Lighter than in the bottle and much more smoky. This is a bonfire in the middle of a pitch black pine forest. It's clandestine but celebratory at the same time. This has all the smoke and fire I loved in Djinn, but it's more wearable and less...acrid, I suppose. It's not so much like the embers in a fireplace as it is the fire itself and the curling smoke. Dry down: A roaring bonfire made with pine needles and a hint of incense smoke. This is gorgeous, pure and simple. It's got enough pine and herbs to keep it from being overwhelmingly smoky and ashy, but not enough to take the focus away from that gorgeous bonfire smell, which is just perfect. I'm amazed by how realistic this is. Bravo, Beth! The bottom line: Everything I'd hoped for and more. This one's an instant favorite (and a lovely alternative to Samhain for days when I want a little autumn in my life).

Preconceived notions: If there wasn't any black musk in this, I'd say it sounded absolutely perfect, but black musk and I have a rocky relationship and it's not always pretty, so I'm a bit leery in spite of my love of patchouli and myrrh. First sniff: Smells earthy and powdery at the same time. The powdery bit is either the orris or the musk since the darker musks often end up smelling like baby powder to me. I'm a bit leery of this since powdery scents and I don't get along. At all. Wet on skin: Mmm, patchouli...I'm a patchouli nut (inner hippie, don't ya know?) so that's definitely a good thing. The musk is really popping up, too, though, and while it's not baby powder, it is smelling a bit too much like unwashed animal for me. I'm just not a fan of the darker musks is all. Dry down: Almost all musk on me now, which is unfortunate since I would have really preferred for the musk to take a back seat to the patchouli and myrrh. My skin chemistry amps up musk far more than I'd like, though, unfortunately. The bottom line: Dark, heavy musk and I don't get along terribly well, unfortunately, and my skin chemistry made Dance of Death into Dance of Musk. What a shame.