lilirose

erraticprophet, I have a 13-year-old son who also has Asperger's and faces many of the same problems your son does. My son has taken comfort in TAL Fiery Wall of Protection. He wears it when he goes out to play with the neighbourhood kids (who tend to bully him) and it really has helped him to fit in and stand his ground. He has a problem with wearing any kind of "perfume" to school, however, so I got a packet of Fiery Wall of Protection sachet powder from Lucky Mojo and have him put a tiny pinch in the pocket of his school trousers. That's not really the "prescribed use" for the powder, but it seems to help my son and make him feel more confident. It also got him through a 14-hour plane trip with no freakouts or meltdowns (which is a huge feat, believe me!) Also, TAL's Crucible of Courage might be useful, but I haven't smelled it, so I can't really say if it's floral or not.

2007 version. This is, like everyone else says, pure rose- a very genuine, velvety red rose. On me, it's quite soft and doesn't have a lot of throw. Two hours after applying it, it's still there and still pure, but rather faint. Even so, I like it...I think I'll be trying it in my scent locket to see if I can get it to last a bit longer.

2007 version This reminds me more of a trip to the beach than anything! It has a coconutty scent that's almost identical to the Coppertone sunscreen my mom used on us when I was little. I also faintly smell almonds, and maybe a gentle touch of an aquatic note. On my skin, the flowers are...absent. It's just a light, nutty, watery scent. I like it, and am very glad to have a bottle, but in all honesty there are others I like better- I don't understand why people rave about it. But I guess I have a weird nose! Edited, April 2008: Snow White apparently just needed to age a few months. No more coconuts here...now this smells like an icy stream of melted snow coming off a glacier, with snowdrops and narcissus and other soft, delicate, early spring flowers. Simply beautiful!

2007 version! This is just absolutely luscious. Definitely OMG territory. On me, it's grapes and gorgeous frankincense with a warm "baking" smell underneath. I don't get any boozy wine smell, nor any bitterness from the myrrh- I can't really make it out other than a possible addition to the "incensey" smell. I can believe fruit and incense, but fruit, incense and the smell of cakes baking? Incredible! Excellent throw, even though I've burned my nose out a bit by sniffing nine new bottles and twenty-six different imps. This just totally rocks. I give it a 10 out of 5. One of my favourites ever.

Urgh. I must have the weirdest nose ever. In the imp, this...repelled me. It smelled like something dead. I believe in morphing, though, so I put some on anyway. At first...I was just so tempted to wash it off. It smelled dark and bitter. Like decay, death, and a bit of a metallic smell, like blood. I couldn't find anything flowery or fruity in the slightest. Drydown, it faded away to almost nothing, then the flower/fruit smell slowly rose. Four hours later, it smells mostly of plums. By the way, my husband couldn't smell any of the unpleasantness mentioned here. From beginning to end, he kept insisting it was a "light floral". I probably won't wear this again. It smells okay after a while, but I just can't get past the drydown phase.

In the imp: dragon's blood, which is what I was expecting. On skin: I smell dragon's blood and lilac, but something else that stops it being overly floral-sweet. I'm not familiar with galbanum, maybe that's it? It's a spicy, deep floral rather than a light, sweet floral. Over time, the lilac amps to cover everything else. Oddly, despite the lilac, this hits me as being the most masculine of the Ars Draconis I've tried so far. I know I have a weird nose, though, because a lot of the other scents I've reviewed and thought quite feminine seemed masculine to all the other reviewers. I like this- I like nearly everything with dragon's blood- but it's not my favourite of the Ars Draconis.

Flame-kissed, warm, smooth, and highly protective. Dragon’s blood, leather and a hint of smoke. I adore Dragon's Blood, I adore leather. I adore this scent! In the imp: leather. On skin, wet: leather and more leather. Oddly enough, when trying Whip (a rose/leather blend) a couple of weeks ago, I got no leather at all. At first, Dragon's Hide was all leather, like my ex-boyfriend's jacket that I used to love to bury my face in because I loved the smell so much. Drydown: The dragon's blood starts to rise up sweetly, along with a touch of wood smoke. It just keeps getting better and better. Six hours later: now it's mostly dragon's blood with a hint of leather. Still wonderful. I'm giving this a 5/5 and adding it to my 5ml wishlist. It's awesome just as it is, but if I layer it with one of the Yule rose scents that are on their way to me, I might even get the scent I was hoping to find in Whip. I can't wait to try it! edited to add lab description

In the imp: lemony lemon. On skin: Lemony lemony lemony lemon. Just amazingly, incredibly lemon, but real lemon, not artificial "cleaning fluid" lemon. Also quite sweet- it reminds me very much of Lemonheads candy, which was one of my favorites as a kid. Throw: Not very much, for some reason, but when you get close, watch out! Drydown: starts going soapy after a couple of hours. Damn. I really liked this until I smelled soap. I'm starting to think it's white musk that consistently turns into "soapy smell" on my skin. Verdict: About a 3/5. Would make an awesome room scent. ETA: Just re-read the description. I never knew that fear smells like lemons!

Quick summary: does it work? Like whoa. I've been "stuck" in a very serious rock-and-a-hard-place situation for some time now. I don't want to give details as it would infringe on the privacy of several other people. Just to put it into a general context- this morning there was a meeting with everyone involved that was "make or break". It could have gone two ways- either all of us could have agreed to work together as a team to overcome the problem, or (just as easily) we could have failed to come to an agreement, which would have left me with no support for my position, thus forcing me to go in a direction that I didn't want to go. Er, I guess that makes it all sound more complicated than it is, so I'll get to the point. I was really scared about this meeting and I did not expect it to go well. Shortly before leaving for the meeting, I took a moment to ground and centre, and meditate briefly on the outcome I was hoping for as I applied Road Opener to my chakras. The meeting could not have possibly gone better. As a matter of fact, the others not only agreed to work together to improve the bad situation, but also made some concessions in areas where I expected them to stand firm against me. Road Opener works, oh yes it does. As for smell? It's lovely, definitely one of my favourite TALs. When it's wet it smells very much like Blinding Glory Of Love- minty, herbal, and heady. However, it calms down to a sweet, delicious, incensey smell (though not "head-shop incense"). I'm guessing it's herbs and frankincense with a touch of rose? Whatever it is, I like it- but I'd use it again even if I hated the smell, because for intent, it's nothing short of amazing.

This one is just gorgeous. I'm fond of almondy scents, and they work well on me. Wet: This smelled strangely salty to me, like salted honey-roasted almonds. Yum. It literally made my stomach growl. Drydown: Almonds, honey, a touch of coconut, maybe butter? I can't find the fig at all. The sandalwood is just enough to give it a slight (but not overwhelming) incense smell. Still, it's pretty foody, to my nose. Dry: it's not lasting as long as I'd like. I've had it on for a couple of hours and it's quite faded. Verdict: 4/5. I tend to like really "in your face" perfumes with lots of throw, that last a long time, and this one isn't fitting that description with my skin chemistry. But I like it very, very much anyway- possibly enough to buy a 5ml and slather repeatedly during the day, or maybe should try it in a scent locket to see if it lasts longer.

In the imp- grapey-sweet. On skin- Two words: SWEET TARTS. Whoa. Since tomorrow is Halloween, it brings back memories of bags full of suagry treats, sweet tarts and Chupa Chups and Smarties (the American kind) all mixed together. Like wearing a bag of candy. I like this, but it's very strong. I over-slathered, so ended up totally overwhelmed and dizzy- almost like a sugar rush!- and had to wipe down my wrists with alcohol to damp it down a tad. Next time I'll only put on a couple of dots and it'll be lovely like that. Verdict: Definitely keeping the imp, but I have a feeling it'll last me a looong time. Might try layering it with other scents.

My heart is officially broken. I was truly expecting this to be a signature scent and I am so sad that it didn't work. In the imp it was rose and...something. Definitely rose though. I couldn't wait to try it. On my skin, wet and dry: To me it wasn't so much "rose and leather" as "rose and latex"- only the rose wasn't real, it was the artificial rose scent from the Glade solid air fresheners, the ones they sold before the plug-in kind became popular (are those even still around?). Damn body chemistry. I waited for hours, hoping it would morph into the scent I was dreaming of, but it didn't happen. Off to the swaps, I'm so sad to say.

Rose amber, calla lily, night-blooming jasmine, water lily, and white rose. Considering my username, I had no choice but to try this, and it's my favourite BPAL rose scent so far. In the imp, rosey, but very natural and soft. Wet on skin- Rose. Real rose, not air-freshener rose. Quite quiet and soft, as rose often starts on me. Dry: Continued to be rose for a couple of hours, then the jasmine and lily began to creep in slowly. The scent seemed to get stronger as the hours passed. Now, a full nine hours after applying, it's sweet, rosy floral- mostly jasmine, but clear rose, and a touch of lilies in the bright summer sun (I guess that's the amber?). I like this very much, and am just on my way to add it to my 5ml wishlist.

Deep mahogany and rich, velvety woods lacquered with sweet, black-red cherries and currant. This was a frimp from the Lab. Thank you, Lab! In the imp: cherries and more cherries. Cherry enough to make me crave pie. Mmmm, pie. On skin, wet: cherries fading slowly into...cedar? Not only cedar, but specifically cedar sawdust. This is bringing back memories of my grandpa, who was a carpenter and always carried cherry candies in the pocket of his overalls. Drydown: Goes to pure, dry cedar for a while, with no hint of anything else for a while. Then after a couple of hours, the cherries and currants came out to play again, with possibly a touch of vanilla or something creamy. A lovely scent, but unfortunately it's not really "me", despite the memories it evokes. I'd adore it on someone else, I think. 3/5. Edited to add lab description...

As everyone else says: definitely green, even with lavender (which I'd otherwise associate with, er, the colour lavender) as the strongest note. This is a lovely one to wear when I have a headachy day. It's quite soothing, despite the emotion evoked by its name. Wet, it's soft lavender made crisp with mint. Dry, it's lavender touched with bitter citrus. Completely dry, it goes a tad soapy on me, but in a very tolerable way. It's clean and green and fresh and completely inoffensive. I give it a 4/5 and probably will buy a bottle eventually.

Porphyrogenitus, indeed; we worked for it! Not simply the color of royalty, purple is also the color of sorrow and mourning, reconciliation and forgiveness. A regal, majestic, and somber blend of myrrh, plum blossom, African violet, cognac, fig, orris, lilac, wisteria, black plum, and Burgundy wine grapes. Oooooh so purpley. Unbelievable. My favourite colour, bottled! In the bottle I don't smell much but faint, sweet grapes...almost grape Kool-Aid but not quite. On skin, it's lovely purple flowers. I mostly get lilac, wisteria, and grape. It smells so purple that it makes me see purple, practically. On first application it was a bit faint so I slathered on more- I rather wish I hadn't as it's very heady, but lesson learned- I'll apply this with a light touch in future. 4/5, and glad I got my hands on a 5ml. Lovely stuff. edited to add lab description

2007 version. In the bottle, pure creamy delicious caramel. On my skin: I smell exactly like a shop we visited when we were in England two years ago- a shop that sold English-style fudge, and nothing at all besides fudge. (For you Americans, English fudge is not only chocolate- there are dozens of different flavours added to the basic. non-chocolate recipe). It's hot sugar, caramel, something rich and creamy like butter. I do love this so much, except smelling it makes me crave sweets. I don't think that will stop me from wearing it, though! 4.5/5

In terms of Twilight Alchemy Lab oils, there is one specifically for aiding peaceful sleep. It's one of the unreleased blends, available to forum members. It's called "Nocturne". There are some reviews of it available right here. There are also the BPAL Somnium blends, as well as the Panacea blend Elixir IX: TKO. I hope you find something among these that is helpful to you.

This is now, officially, one of my "OMG" BPALs. I wish I'd bought more than one bottle (yes, I know it's still available, but I'm broke). To me, it smells exactly like sitting in front of a good bonfire (one made of mostly wood, not rubbish) with a mug of hot mulled cider in one hand and a clove cigarette in the other. I don't smell any individual notes strongly other than apple, but the apple does not overwhelm everything else. Also, Beth's apple doesn't usually work well for me, but this one does. Bigtime. This scent suits me to a T, even though it's very, very different from any of my other favourites. It's one of those that make me want to inhale my whole arm, or possibly snort the bottle straight up my nose. Why has this been sitting in my box of bottles, untested, until now? I have no clue, but it's going to be a regular throughout the fall and winter. 5/5.

I really, really love vetiver. I feel like I have to disclaim every vetiver-based scent review to mention that I'm totally biased in favour of vetiver, because it's my personal "perfect single note." That makes me weird, I know- maybe it's because I'm the most earthy Taurus chick you could ever hope to meet. This doesn't smell masculine to me at all. It's sweeter than my other vetiver favourite (Sloth). It smells like a walk in a bright, grassy, damp clearing in the middle of the woods. The sandalwood is there, but it doesn't amp over the vetiver at all- they play very nicely together. I love it and think it's beautiful. 4.5/5.

I applied STFU to myself, because I was very upset about someone I cared for saying awful things about me behind my back. I applied it to my chest and arms using a motion like I was brushing something off myself. Did it work? Yes, definitely. The gossiper seems to have shut up (or at least, I haven't heard otherwise). And I feel a lot better, myself- I really don't care what she says anymore. I'm usually extremely hypersensitive to this sort of thing- it can send me into a depression that lasts for weeks- so STFU gets a 5/5 from me. As far as the scent: to me, it smells like an aquatic/ozone with just a touch of musk. It's a very clean smell, but not soapy. Of course, it's not perfume- so long as it works, I'd use it even if it smelled like sewage. But like most of Beth's scents, it's quite pleasant. I'm glad I bought it, and will buy more when I run low.

Oh Vetiver, how I love thee. This one is almost pure vetiver on me, with just a tiny touch of bitter-incensey myrrh. Vetiver and my skin get along incredibly well. Sloth smells so wonderful, I can't keep my wrist away from my nose. I've been wearing it for nearly eight hours, and it hasn't morphed, and only faded very slightly. 5/5. Definitely going on the wish list for a 5ml.

This is the most gorgeous scented oil I have ever used. It is also incredibly powerful for its intended purpose, so I wouldn't dream of wearing it as scent alone or recommending that anyone else do so- but I wish there was a non-magical BPAL that smelled like this. For intent: This oil is intensely effective. I have long-term knowledge of astral travel as a concept, but have only been able to achieve it myself twice before trying this oil. As the previous reviewer said, it loosens the astral body quickly and makes this sort of working so much easier. Warning: I would not recommend this oil for anyone unless they are properly educated about, and fully spiritually prepared for, an astral experience. It is not perfume, no matter how lovely it may smell. With that caveat, I recommend it highly for those who seek this particular path.

Used for intent, reviewed for both scent and intent. This is a very soft, sweet, gentle lavender. I used to wear pure lavender essential oil in my hair as perfume, but Peace is nowhere near as sharp and strong as pure EO. Rather, it's gentle and soothing, and seems to have some other soft, comforting scent that I can't quite identify in the blend. Intent: Nothing short of amazing (as I have found with most of the TALs). Not only did Peace make me feel calm and peaceful (after a horrible and frantic day), but it actually brought up faint emotional memories of very early childhood, of feeling warm and safe and happy in a way that I haven't felt since I was five years old or so. Highly recommended. Peace is yet another TAL that I consider indispensable.

In the imp- strong but lovely cherries On skin, wet: Cherries. almonds and vanilla On skin, dry: Patchouli, cherry, and vanilla. As usual, my skin is amping the vanilla bigtime, but not so much that the other scents are totally overpowered (yet!). I love this- it's lovely, heady and deep and sensual. I just wish that vanilla could be more subtle on my skin.