BPAL update
So, there was a fairly sizeable BPAL update today. The strangest thing happened-- none of it absolutely jumped out at me. Several things picqued my interest, but I'm cautious about at least one note in each blend, which means that I'll likely wait for reviews. I suppose that's pretty good, though, considering I need to be a little more restrained with my finances for the time being, but still.
Sleepy Moon:: A nearly-narcotic blend of opiate-touched bark and blossom reflective of the bleakness and solitude of winter, the quietest point of the year : black opium poppy, bamboo pulp, ylang ylang, lavender, chamomile and white sandalwood.
Really, none of these notes jumped out at me. I feel like I would like black opium poppy, but lavender has a habit of completely taking over on me. Besides, I already have the absolute perfect sleepy blends in Somnus and Nanshe.
Berenice:: A cerebral scent, dry, and white. This is a perfume of thought, not heart, and of unforeseen pain and sudden obsession, touched with uncertain twilight and ambiguous horror. Stargazer lily, white musk, clear aloe, blonde amber and winding-cloth linen.
Were I to buy a blend from today's update, it would be this one. All of these notes work on me, and it seems like this would be surprisingly fresh. This collection is up until Beltane, though, and so I have plenty of time to wait on reviews.
Fortunato:: A deep, rich sherry encased in dusty darkness, touched by oak, and damp catacomb stone. The scent begins with a sense of drunken glee, of orange peel, bittersweet berry and rose hip, and moves inexorably towards the dread and terror expressed in black patchouli.
Orange peel is always somewhat acrid on me, and booze notes generally tend to go wrong, as well. I'm curious about the oak and catacomb stone, though. I'll wait for reviews.
Ligeia:: Jasmine, juniper berry and rose geranium.
Sounds like it would be too floral for me.
The Masque:: Bold and fiery, glowing with barbaric luster: this is the scent of the House of Prospero, the scent of hubris, mad revelry, folly and indifferent decadence, a measured passage through its lurid corridors and seven grotesque apartments. Honey and carnation, rich incense and rose accord, myrtle, red sandalwood, amber, jonquil and clove propel you through the revel, finally seating itself in the final, patchouli, tobacco and labdanum drenched darkness of the blood-tinged western chamber.
Most of these notes seemed to be a go-- I like honey, I like myrtle, I love amber and clove. I hit the brakes when I saw 'tobacco.' Tobacco goes really sour on me most of the time. Reviews, once more.
Montresor:: The black fruit and vanilla oaken notes of fine Medoc and De Grâve, but not a hint of the elusive Amontillado.
BPAL's vanilla notes can go too sweet on me. Some, like the ones I get from the more candyish blends, are absolutely rich and creamy and divine. Some, though, go incredibly synthetic and plasticky-- Morocco and Antique Lace, for instance. I've always been curious about Medoc, though, having never been fortunate enough to sample it myself as of yet. Black fruit, though. Blackberries, perhaps? This sounds interesting.
Morella:: Sage with orris, Florentine iris and a drop of civet.
Civet. Geeeesh. No.
The Pit and the Pendulum:: The depths of despair, a dark Ecclesiatical triumph: the incense of the Inquisition.
Despite my love for BPAL's incense notes (Snake Oil, Gypsy Queen), the incense-only blends haven't wowed me. I expected to love Midnight Mass, but I smelled like dust, for the most part. Chemistry, I guess.
The Premature Burial:: Oppressive darkness, expressed through black orchid and patchouli, smothered by wet soil, a coffin’s teakwood, and the funereal gloom of cypress.
I like black orchid-- it's not an overpowering floral. However, while I can appreciate Beth's utter ability to bring soil notes to life, I don't really want to smell like dirt.
The Tell-Tale Heart:: This is a swollen, pulsating, thudding scent, heavy with dread; a steady, unceasing, throbbing harbinger of retribution and doom: blood musk, cocoa, black pepper, allspice, dragon’s blood resin and vetiver.
Dragon's Blood and cocoa are notes that I do only in teeny doses. This one may not be for me.
Usher:: This is Roderick Usher: a faded genteel light musk and fougere, heightened by hectic white mint, gleaming mandarin, ethereal tea leaf and gritty blackcurrant brushed by the scent of the tarn that surrounds the House, and the gloom and decay of the walls that hold him.
Fougere generally means lavender, which makes me think of sleep. Tea leaf and blackcurrant could be really neat, though. I'll be interested to hear the reviews.
Enraged Orangutan Musk (forum-member exclusive):: You didn't think I'd really do it, didja? Five dark, aggressive, furious musks with ambergris bouquet, Malaysian rainforest plant extracts, black amber and orange peel.
This just doesn't jump out at me. Eh. Although, how cool is it that a proprietor giggles with her customers, and makes in-joke scents? We're still waiting on goalie jockstrap oil, darling!
And you know, while I'm all for gothic series, we've had a lot of them of late. I'm aching for something a little more Springlike, a little more shining and gossamer and fae. Maybe for Beltane.
However, the Chakra series is now live! I'm really tempted to dip into a decant group for imps of the full set, but I'd really like to do more research first to guage my own interest. BPAL's Ritual/Purpose oils are completely different from their perfumes, and I wouldn't want to buy a purpose oil simply due to its aromatic components. For instance, I was really interested in the Sephiroth series until I did some research, and that magical system just didn't resonate with me. But if there's one thing I have learned, it's that Beth is an incredibly learned master crafter, and her occult oils are as brilliant as they are potent.
Mars & Jupiter are both available for today, and I think I'll skip them as well. I remember that Jupiter smelled very nice, but I would never use it in ritual enough to warrant a 5ml bottle.
I need to cull my stash a little. I have too many bottles that are pretty, but not really me. The same with my imp packs. And I'm not going to buy anything that I'm not reasonably sure that I'll love for awhile. You can always sell off things that don't work for you, that's true, but I just don't have the same post office access that I used to. It makes me a little more cautious.
On the other hand, I found my Femaledictions oil stash yesterday. I need to get more Witchy Sweets, man. That stuff is orgasmic. Nobody does fall like sCara does fall.
Sleepy Moon:: A nearly-narcotic blend of opiate-touched bark and blossom reflective of the bleakness and solitude of winter, the quietest point of the year : black opium poppy, bamboo pulp, ylang ylang, lavender, chamomile and white sandalwood.
Really, none of these notes jumped out at me. I feel like I would like black opium poppy, but lavender has a habit of completely taking over on me. Besides, I already have the absolute perfect sleepy blends in Somnus and Nanshe.
Berenice:: A cerebral scent, dry, and white. This is a perfume of thought, not heart, and of unforeseen pain and sudden obsession, touched with uncertain twilight and ambiguous horror. Stargazer lily, white musk, clear aloe, blonde amber and winding-cloth linen.
Were I to buy a blend from today's update, it would be this one. All of these notes work on me, and it seems like this would be surprisingly fresh. This collection is up until Beltane, though, and so I have plenty of time to wait on reviews.
Fortunato:: A deep, rich sherry encased in dusty darkness, touched by oak, and damp catacomb stone. The scent begins with a sense of drunken glee, of orange peel, bittersweet berry and rose hip, and moves inexorably towards the dread and terror expressed in black patchouli.
Orange peel is always somewhat acrid on me, and booze notes generally tend to go wrong, as well. I'm curious about the oak and catacomb stone, though. I'll wait for reviews.
Ligeia:: Jasmine, juniper berry and rose geranium.
Sounds like it would be too floral for me.
The Masque:: Bold and fiery, glowing with barbaric luster: this is the scent of the House of Prospero, the scent of hubris, mad revelry, folly and indifferent decadence, a measured passage through its lurid corridors and seven grotesque apartments. Honey and carnation, rich incense and rose accord, myrtle, red sandalwood, amber, jonquil and clove propel you through the revel, finally seating itself in the final, patchouli, tobacco and labdanum drenched darkness of the blood-tinged western chamber.
Most of these notes seemed to be a go-- I like honey, I like myrtle, I love amber and clove. I hit the brakes when I saw 'tobacco.' Tobacco goes really sour on me most of the time. Reviews, once more.
Montresor:: The black fruit and vanilla oaken notes of fine Medoc and De Grâve, but not a hint of the elusive Amontillado.
BPAL's vanilla notes can go too sweet on me. Some, like the ones I get from the more candyish blends, are absolutely rich and creamy and divine. Some, though, go incredibly synthetic and plasticky-- Morocco and Antique Lace, for instance. I've always been curious about Medoc, though, having never been fortunate enough to sample it myself as of yet. Black fruit, though. Blackberries, perhaps? This sounds interesting.
Morella:: Sage with orris, Florentine iris and a drop of civet.
Civet. Geeeesh. No.
The Pit and the Pendulum:: The depths of despair, a dark Ecclesiatical triumph: the incense of the Inquisition.
Despite my love for BPAL's incense notes (Snake Oil, Gypsy Queen), the incense-only blends haven't wowed me. I expected to love Midnight Mass, but I smelled like dust, for the most part. Chemistry, I guess.
The Premature Burial:: Oppressive darkness, expressed through black orchid and patchouli, smothered by wet soil, a coffin’s teakwood, and the funereal gloom of cypress.
I like black orchid-- it's not an overpowering floral. However, while I can appreciate Beth's utter ability to bring soil notes to life, I don't really want to smell like dirt.
The Tell-Tale Heart:: This is a swollen, pulsating, thudding scent, heavy with dread; a steady, unceasing, throbbing harbinger of retribution and doom: blood musk, cocoa, black pepper, allspice, dragon’s blood resin and vetiver.
Dragon's Blood and cocoa are notes that I do only in teeny doses. This one may not be for me.
Usher:: This is Roderick Usher: a faded genteel light musk and fougere, heightened by hectic white mint, gleaming mandarin, ethereal tea leaf and gritty blackcurrant brushed by the scent of the tarn that surrounds the House, and the gloom and decay of the walls that hold him.
Fougere generally means lavender, which makes me think of sleep. Tea leaf and blackcurrant could be really neat, though. I'll be interested to hear the reviews.
Enraged Orangutan Musk (forum-member exclusive):: You didn't think I'd really do it, didja? Five dark, aggressive, furious musks with ambergris bouquet, Malaysian rainforest plant extracts, black amber and orange peel.
This just doesn't jump out at me. Eh. Although, how cool is it that a proprietor giggles with her customers, and makes in-joke scents? We're still waiting on goalie jockstrap oil, darling!
And you know, while I'm all for gothic series, we've had a lot of them of late. I'm aching for something a little more Springlike, a little more shining and gossamer and fae. Maybe for Beltane.
However, the Chakra series is now live! I'm really tempted to dip into a decant group for imps of the full set, but I'd really like to do more research first to guage my own interest. BPAL's Ritual/Purpose oils are completely different from their perfumes, and I wouldn't want to buy a purpose oil simply due to its aromatic components. For instance, I was really interested in the Sephiroth series until I did some research, and that magical system just didn't resonate with me. But if there's one thing I have learned, it's that Beth is an incredibly learned master crafter, and her occult oils are as brilliant as they are potent.
Mars & Jupiter are both available for today, and I think I'll skip them as well. I remember that Jupiter smelled very nice, but I would never use it in ritual enough to warrant a 5ml bottle.
I need to cull my stash a little. I have too many bottles that are pretty, but not really me. The same with my imp packs. And I'm not going to buy anything that I'm not reasonably sure that I'll love for awhile. You can always sell off things that don't work for you, that's true, but I just don't have the same post office access that I used to. It makes me a little more cautious.
On the other hand, I found my Femaledictions oil stash yesterday. I need to get more Witchy Sweets, man. That stuff is orgasmic. Nobody does fall like sCara does fall.