I still have some imps that I haven't tried, but if I don't post this now, I'll just keep putting it off until I'm truly caught up...which never happens, does it?




TOMBSTONE -- A celebration of one of the first commercially produced perfumes of America's Old West. A rugged, warm blend of vanilla, balsam and sassafras layered over Virginia cedar. (Wanderlust)

bottle: Yeah, only barely getting any vanilla there. It's mostly woody stuff.

wet: Okay, more vanilla upon contact, that's good. Very good, actually, since I really didn't like the imp-sniff scent.

drydown: Hrm, it becomes this harsh-edged vanilla as it dries. Not dark or burnt, or anything; more green. I guess that's the woods reappearing. This certainly has vanilla, but it's also hitting me as more of a masculine scent. Frankly, it's as if vanilla took a roll in some wet dirt. It doesn't go back to that all-sassafras and wood thing from the imp, but about ten minutes in, it's headed that way.

Okay, I take back everything I said. Where this ends up is someplace I never would have guessed by the path it took to get there. It IS vanilla, and sharper than a vanilla bean type. Almost vanilla cookie-like. It takes about half an hour of kinda-icky minutes to get to this point, but once it's there, it...smells like cream soda, actually.



LOVE ME -- A commanding, dominant oil that increases sexual magnetism, creates an intense and irresistible air of attraction, and amplifies potency. (Voodoo Blends)

bottle: Definitely the herbal incense that people on the forum mentioned. Not very pleasant, imo.

wet: Okay, and now I understand where the "spicy Coca-Cola" came from. Huh.

drydown: It pretty much sticks at that spicy Coke type scent for some time, the sharp scent from sniffing the imp totally gone. Fascinating.

I'm actually not sure that I would wear it on its own, but it strikes me as a potentially good layer...er. To spice up lighter scents, I mean. Not a ton of throw off a dab, but it doesn't disappear, either. After an hour, it's sort of hanging around, I guess I'd say.



CTIII: CXCVIII (198)

bottle: ...almond?

wet: The almond amps up immediately, then...something else...rose, I think.

drydown: Yeah, that's definitely rose in there, but the almond (or whatever that is) keeps it from doing the "make eli's head go owwww" thing that rose usually does. Instead, it's a deep, slightly sweet, barely floral wonderful thing of wonderfulness. Wow, I smell GOOD. It's sort of like a deeper, kind of spicy Dana O'Shee, really.

Good throw off a single swipe. As it dries, the rose backs off even more, although the scent never loses the faint floral tinge. It starts to fade about an hour in with only a test-swipe, but more makes it stick for a good while without being overwhelming when it's first applied.



CTIII: CCCI (301)

bottle: Fruity, but sharp; sort of like apples about to turn.

wet: Same, even brighter. Sparkling juice that's headed toward fermentation. Yummy.

drydown: It picks up a more cologne-like feel after a bit, the "sharp" getting sharper (making me think there's some kind of musk in there), but it's not unpleasant...until it is. Oh yeah, there's musk in there. Well, hell.



CTIII: DCCCXLVIII (848)

bottle: Something green, slightly citrus, a tad spicy. It's light, all around, whatever's in there.

wet: More of the green, like crushed leaves. Sort of herbal, but sort of those shiny oval leaves off hedge bushes.

drydown: A sweetness comes out, and there's something kind of floral about it, now. Carnation, maybe? The citrus hint has moved on to a watered down orange. It's a lovely light scent. I'm going to have to try it with more than just a swipe to see if it stays this light-but-there, but there's no hint that this will go headachy or sneezy on me.

Over time, it settles into the citrus-spicy again, without really being either. Huh. Interesting. I don't know if it's me, but yes, it's interesting.



CTII: DXXIX (529)

bottle: Sweet fruity, but with this hint of spearmint lurking.

wet: The mint comes out a bit more, but it's still under a deep fruit. So far, yum.

drydown: In the first half hour, the mint really emerges. It's definitely a spearmint, not at all like the peppermint in Lick It or the one in Tokyo Stomp. But then it settles into a more even balance with the fruit, which isn't nearly as sweet as it started out in the bottle, and that's actually a bit of a relief, since it was justbarely this side of candy-ish. Actually, it's almost like a good pino grigio, with that same dry-but-fruity-and-bright thing going for it. Huh.

Overall this is an absolutely lovely and refreshing scent. Very much spring/summer. A small dab doesn't have much throw to it, but put on some more, and it has both good throw (not overwhelming) and amazing staying power.



PINK MOON 2007 -- A sweet and silly compliment to the first breath of Spring! Sugared carnation and phlox! (April 2007 Lunacy)

bottle: Honestly, the cutest thing ever. Oh, but you want to know about the inside, too. Okay, it's sweet and sort of floral spicy. Which I guess is the carnation, according to folks, but you know, I think the last time I sniffed a carnation was valentines day of my senior year of high school, so...

wet: A bit sweeter, and yeah, I do in fact remember that smell. Kind of wet-greeness. But here, there's also almost cotton candy in the background. Neat. So far, this is a floral I really can imagine wearing.

drydown: Not much throw to it, but it's still there. Frankly, I think I like it like that; if it had a ton of throw to it, that might be where it tipped over into "too floral," because it would constantly be reminding me that it's theretherethere. As it is, it's a warm, sweet thing that's not candy-ish at all. Crap. Unless this goes really wrong after it's completely dry, I think I want more than the dregs that are left in this sniffie-bottle.

It doesn't change much at all. If anything, it gets a bit sweeter, a bit more like cotton candy, and bloody buggering hell, I do want more. [note later: I found more, and maybe that'll be enough]



PINK MOON 2005 -- The name of this moon refers to the color of wild ground phlox, a primary component of this Lunacy Blend, which is one of the most widespread floral signposts of springtime in North America. This Lunar blend is soft with phlox, tulip, daffodil, dogwood and muscari, dusted with pink sugar and honey, and a touch of the first strawberries of the season. (April 2005 Lunacy)

bottle: Definitely sugary strawberry, but I'm not seeking insulin for sugar shock.

wet: Mmmmm. Oh dear.

drydown: After a bit, there's some of the floral that I get from the 2007 version although not the spicy carnation. It's super-faint, though. Once it's dried, it doesn't morph at all from the sweet strawberry, although it sticks around for some time. Pretty good throw, too. Don't know that I'll actively hunt down more, but it's going on my wishlist just in case.



TWEEDLEDUM -- Tweedledum and Tweedledee
Agreed to have a battle!
For Tweedledum said Tweedledee
Had spoiled his nice new rattle.
Just then flew down a monstrous crow,
As black as a tar-barrel!
Which frightened both the heroes so,
They quite forgot their quarrel.

Absurd! Green mango, fig, patchouli and green tea. (Mad Tea Party)

bottle: Fruity, sweet, but dark.

wet: Pretty much the same.

drydown: At the beginning, something peach comes out, wtf? After a bit, my only thought is that's what happens when you mix mango and fig, because it sticks there at what my mind reeeeeally wants to identify as peach. Fortunately, the patchouli doesn't seem to make an impact, although it will probably help with the staying power in the long run, I'm guessing.

And yes, over time the patchouli comes out some more. Never to an awful point, but this doesn't measure up to anything I've already got.



TWEEDLEDEE -- Ridiculous! Kumquat, white pepper, white tea and orange blossom. (Mad Tea Party)

bottle: I just realized that I have NO idea what kumquat is supposed to smell like. Oh well. So this is a really thick fruit. Syrupy, I mean.

wet: It's a little less gloppy-smelling on my skin, but while being something that I feel like I should like, it's still somehow on that edge of sickeningly sweet. Weird. This is kind of like March Hare, actually, but a crossed with those sweet white cakes from Knave of Hearts that I couldn't quite deal with.

drydown: More of the pepper comes out at the beginning of the drydown. The gloop continues to back off those, and it's getting more bright fruit-like as it goes, whew. Five minutes later, and it's a truly delicious fruit tea. Like Mighty Leaf Tea's African Nectar, actually. Huh.

Those first minutes must be gotten through, but once that happens, it's all warm fruit all the way. Thicker -- I'm fonder of the brighter fruits of Fire Pig, The Oblation, and others -- but a nice warm fruit.



KINDLY MOON -- Hide this one night thy crescent, kindly Moon;
So shall Endymion faithful prove, and rest
Loving and unawakened on the breast;
So shall no foul enchanter importune
Thy quiet course; for now the night is boon,
And through the friendly night unseen I fare,
Who dread the face of foemen unaware,
And watch of hostile spies in the bright noon.
Thou knowest, Moon, the bitter power of Love;
'Tis told how shepherd Pan found ways to move,
For little price, thy heart; and of your grace,
Sweet stars, be kind to this not alien fire,
Because on earth ye did not scorn desire,
Bethink ye, now ye hold your heavenly place.

Utterly ethereal, an exquisite expression of love: moonflower, lotus root, white gardenia, beeswax, peach blossom, blue musk, stargazer lily, golden osmanthus, ti, sandalwood, hyacinth, ylang ylang, and a touch of vanilla bean. (September 2006 Lunacy)

bottle: Oh, that's incredibly pretty. Far more fruity than flowery. But much like Fire Pig, there is no way for me to differentiate notes at this point.

wet: It's still more straight up peach than peach blossom. After a moment, some of the floral/green comes out, but it's not headachey floral, so far.

drydown: There's something almost apple-like to it after it dries a bit. Huh. Overall, though, this REALLY reminds me of Fire Pig; it's got the same gorgeous spring/summer thing going. I'm going to have to try them one on each wrist to truly separate out the differences. No idea where that touch of vanilla bean went, and I'm seriously hoping the blue musk stays wherever it is.

Okay, by the time this is fully dry, the florals are completely gone and I am in deep, deep love. Oh dear. It starts to fade after a few hours, like most lunacies on me, but I'm so willing to live with that, because in the meantime, it's a clean, light fruity scent that just floats around me.



BON VIVANT -- An effervescent blend of crystalline champagne notes and sweet strawberry. (Bewitching Brews)

bottle: Yep. Sparkly-sweet strawberries.

wet: Pretty much the same. Definitely not fresh strawberries, but not candy-like either.

drydown: After a bit, this is reminding me of something, but damn if I know what. It's still distinctly foody, and yet the sweet isn't sugary sweet, just...there. Not much throw to it. I think I prefer Pink Moon 05.



ONE TO TIE, TWO TO WIN -- Dewy grass, summer breezes, and dandelion clocks. (The Salon: Dogs Playing Poker LE April 2007)

bottle: It's dandelions and grass, holy wow.

win: Doesn't morph at all on my skin.

drydown: Good throw up front, but it fades quickly, unfortunately. While it's there, though, oh, it's like lying in a field that's just been cut on a day where the sun is baking everything and throwing the scent into the air. So, so perfect. It's the sort of scent that makes me want to seek out a scent locket.



MONSTER BAIT: BLOODY MARY -- Why waste time chanting her name in the mirror 13 times? Bedevil your next slumber party the easy way! Chunky, glistening red fruits with sweet cream accord, black clotted cherry, and powdered sugar! (2007 LE)

bottle: Dark, almost harsh cherry. And oh yeah, sweeeeeet.

wet: Some of the cream starts to come out.

drydown: I didn't jump on a bottle of this like I did Tokyo Stomp because of my worries about the sweetness. The cherry really backs off as it dries, which keeps it from being gag-me sweet, so that it is something that I can see myself wearing every once in a while. But it is on the sweeter side of things than I usually go for. It's really striking me as the better version of Knave of Hearts, frankly; where that had the super-sweet cakes on top of it, this, the sugar doesn't take over at all, just softens it.



MONSTER BAIT: VENTRILOQUIST DUMMY -- Menacing, maniacal, and slick with the one-liners … this guy does it all with a wink and a smile! Savage apricot, depraved dry woods, and psychopathic patchouli covered by a disarmingly sweet mishmosh of caramel, brown sugar, hazelnut, and butterscotch. Be warned: this oil will instigate possession in most puppets, including some marionettes and the occasional finger puppet. (2007 LE)

bottle: ::coughs and hacks:: Ho. Okay, don't put the nose THAT CLOSE to the pure oil. From a bit farther back, yeah, the sweet foodiness of the caramel, brown sugar, hazelnut, and butterscotch is what I'm getting, like what I remember getting off Spooky.

wet: Something lighter shows up, which I guess is maybe the apricot? But oh, gack, there's the patchouli, and blergh, because there are the woods, too.

drydown: SO not me. In complete opposition to the description, the sweet is covered up by the woods and patchouli, and whenever the sweet does emerge, it's the kind of sweet that's not the kind I like wearing. Overall, not painful or anything, but YETCH.



THIRTEEN (13) 2007 -- 13 is significant, whether you consider it lucky, unlucky or just plain odd. Many believe it to be unfortunate

… because there were 13 present at the Last Supper.
… Loki crashed a party of 12 at Valhalla, which ended in Baldur’s death.
… Oinomaos killed 13 of Hippodamia’s suitors before Pelops finally, in his own shady way, defeated the jealous king.
… In ancient Rome, Hecate’s witches gathered in groups of 12, the Goddess herself being the 13th in the coven.

Concern over the number thirteen echoes back beyond the Christian era. Line 13 was omitted form the Code of Hammurabi.

The shivers over Friday the 13th also have some interesting origins:

… Christ was allegedly crucified on Friday the 13th.
… On Friday, October 13, 1307, King Philip IV of France ordered the arrests of Jaques de Molay, Grand Master of the Knights Templar, and sixty of his senior knights.
… In British custom, hangings were held on Fridays, and there were 13 steps on the gallows leading to the noose.

To combat the superstition, Robert Ingersoll and the Thirteen Club held thirteen-men dinners during the 19th Century. Successful? Hardly. The number still invokes trepidation to this day. A recent whimsical little serial killer study showed that the following murderers all have names that total thirteen letters:

Theodore Bundy
Jeffrey Dahmer
Albert De Salvo
John Wayne Gacy

And, with a little stretch of the imagination, you can also fit ‘Jack the Ripper’ and ‘Charles Manson’ into that equation.

More current-era paranoia: modern schoolchildren stop their memorization of the multiplication tables at 12. There were 13 Plutonium slugs in the atomic bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki. Apollo 13 wasn’t exactly the most successful space mission. All of these are things that modern triskaidekaphobes point to when justifying their fears.

For some, 13 is an extremely fortuitous and auspicious number…

… In Jewish tradition, God has 13 Attributes of Mercy. Also, there were 13 tribes of Israel, 13 principles of Jewish faith, and 13 is considered the age of maturity.
… The ancient Egyptians believed that there were 12 stages of spiritual achievement in this lifetime, and a 13th beyond death.
… The word for thirteen, in Chinese, sounds much like the word which means “must be alive”.

Thirteen, whether you love it or loathe it, is a pretty cool number all around.

… In some theories of relativity, there are 13 dimensions.
… It is a prime number, lucky number, star number, Wilson Prime, and Fibonacci number.
… There are 13 Archimedean solids.

AND…
… There were 13 original colonies when the United States were founded.

Says a lot about the US, doesn’t it?

A base of cocoa absolute and white chocolate with thirteen baneful and beneficial bits: cardamom, fig meat, grains of paradise, rice flower, chamomile, sandalwood, catnip, clove, and a bundle of five blessed blossoms and herbs. (2007 LE)

bottle: A darker chocolate than the other two 13s; more the absolute than the white, although this is a very pale yellow oil and nothing like Boomslang. I'd swear there's something citrus in there, too, but maybe that's the chamomile herbs?

wet: Huh, the chocolate almost disappears in that first moment.

drydown: Okay, so the original 13 is a great sweet chocolate and orange on me; the second is a thick scent that just went gaggingly sweet on me; and this one... The clove appears a bit after a minute, but nothing takes over. It's far lighter and brighter than either of its predecessors. About five minutes in, the chocolate shows up again, and it's still the dark chocolate. And after the first fifteen minutes, this seems to have settled into what's actually a green scent. Okay, then. Don't get me wrong, I like it, but weird! I'm going to have to play with it a bit more to check on the throw when my nose isn't slightly stuffed up from allergies, but when I sniff my wrist, yum. It's green, with some sweetness underneath, a tang of clove, and if you paid me, I wouldn't have said this was related in any way to the previous two 13s.

Oh, ack, but then about an hour later, it switches into this gicky, harsh, almost musk-like smell. Pfeh. I'll have to decide if that one hour is worth having to reapply or go stinky.



FREAK SHOW -- A strange, disconcerting embrace… to some, alarming, and to some, intimately familiar: fig, pomegranate and cocoa bean with lemon, bergamot, vanilla, mellow honey musk, calamus and tonka. (Carnaval Noir LE)

bottle: Yum! Yes, cocoa, pomegranate, sweet citrus...yum.

wet: Mmm, some of the honey and vanilla, but still mostly how it was in the vial.

drydown: A few minutes in, and the honey really emerges, and eventually, oh yeah, it's a musk: it takes over on me. Seriously, every other note is gone or all-but-gone. Which is a pity in that I liked the original mix, but it's still a gorgeous scent, like what I'd always hoped beeswax/honeycomb notes would smell like. And since it's musk, it's got good throw on me. Okay, maybe this is one to play with in a scent locket, but for wearing the oil itself, honey musk and I can be friends.

About an hour later, the honey finally backs off and the other notes re-emerge, softer than before. It starts to fade then, but all things considered, not a bad scents at all, and refreshing it won't be too hard, since it doesn't take much to make an impact on me.



THE IDES OF MARCH 2007 -- The Ides marked an auspicious time in the Roman calendar. Depending on the month in question, the Ides fell on the thirteenth or fifteenth, and usually marked the Full Moon. As we all know, it was not an auspicious day for Julius Caesar, nor was it fortuitous for H.P. Lovecraft, who also met his maker on this infamous day. Tu quoque, Brute, fili mi! A mixture of springtime greenery and classical Roman cologne: rosemary, bergamot, lemon rind and vervain with costus, benzoin, gray amber, cardamom, white narcissus and iris. (2007 LE)

bottle: A frimp from the lovely tenebris. Pulled out my 2005 version to sniff them side by side, and the new one is a bit greener, grassy, but still with that undertone of citrus.

wet: Yes, side by side, the 2007 is definitely more about the greenery.

drydown: Continues to be almost the same, the citruses emerging more as it dries, but the 2005 version is sweeter, somehow. The new version also feels like a good gender-neutral scent, and it's just different enough that they're both worth keeping for kicks. Heh, they feel like the kind of scent that I should wear when going hiking, or otherwise out into the woods.



CENTZON TOTOCHTIN -- The Four Hundred divine rabbits of the Aztec pantheon that preside over parties and drunkenness. Bittersweet Mexican cocoa with rum, red wine, and a scent redolent of sacrificial blood. (Excolo)

bottle: Yep, boozy dark chocolate.

wet: Same, but a little smoother.

drydown: After a bit, the chocolate fades entirely and what I'm left with is a faint, dark booze. Not unpleasant, but not particularly me, either. Many thanks to 10dimensions for the frimp, though!



EUTERPE -- The Giver of Pleasure, Euterpe is the Muse of Music and Lyric Poetry. She is Delight, and her name means “Rejoicing Well”. She is credited with inventing the aulos, and is most often depicted playing that double-flute. Her scent is the joy of performing, the euphoria in song, and the passion inspired by all music: carnation and white poppy, honeysuckle, lemon, iris and white musk. (Excolo, The Muses)

bottle: Certainly floral, but much more the honeysuckle than anything else.

wet: Sharper, some of the lemon. Fingers crossed that's not the musk.

drydown: There's definitely musk in there, but as before, it being white seems to keep it from going insane on me. And something slightly spicy, which I'm guessing is the carnation. It's very much a floral scent; sweet and yellow and mostly the honeysuckle, which is a lovely memory for me. Thing is, while it's not painful or sneezy the way most florals are on me, it's just not me. Reminds me of my grandmother, actually.



For the non-BPAL folks...

I've made it up through Doctor Who 307. Stopped there, because I gather the next one is the first of another two-parter and I didn't have time to watch two more episodes. But I'm making progress! And very much enjoying this season more than I did what I saw of last season.



Loving Martha -- never more so than at the end of 303, when she sat down and said, "No" -- and apparently I'm happier with the Doctor when he's angsting. Although I hope the companion-loss issues don't go much further than they did in 307, because oh dear. Anyway, uh-oh! Mom (does she have a name?) caught up in a conspiracy to...do something that looks not-good for the Doctor!

Speaking of: I haven't seen ANY of Torchwood. Is that going to be a problem going forward?

Bit of a tangent: does Davies need to talk to Joss about father-issues? Seriously, what's going on, there?

Finally: it took me until they were down in the sewers in 304 to figure out it was her behind the shiny and the impressively natural accent, but hi, Jo! ::waves:: (I still need to watch the end of Spooks S5, oy.)