all the muck that's fit to rake

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 23:02:21 GMT

I forgot how good it feels to open a priority mail box from BPAL and unwrap the bubble wrap from a multitude of bottles... and 15 frimps...

So the majority of the scents probably aren't gonna work... but you know what, spending that $100 was worth it just to find one, I can always resell!

Mother Shub's Spiced Lait de Chevre
Goat's milk egg nog with coffee liqueur and spices imported from the Crimson Desert
In bottle: Egg Nog Latte-esque, I think
Skin: Warm, smooth milky spicy scent, exactly what is expected! Most of the egg nog type scents are short wear and heavy throw for me, but this one seems to be clinging really close to the skin like Marshmallow Poof does, I'm hoping it has long wear! Really light and pretty! I love it!
Drydown: very DRY sweet smell, like something dusted in sugar... if I recall correctly something a little like Sugar Skull? Either way, totally awesome. 20 mins later: and it's totally cotton candy. YUM!

Mother Shub's Fancy Pfefferneusse
Sugar-sprinkled pepper nuts with a bit of cinnamon, a bit of clove, a little cardamom, and a hint of nutmeg.
In bottle: I was expecting Lait de Chevre to have the sickenenly sweet, dare I say STATE FAIR DAIRY QUEEN twinge to it, but this one actually does. Definitely heavy on the cardamom and "pepper nuts" I suppose
Skin: Not as bad as I afeareded... definitely spicy, definitely wintry, a very "holiday" scent if you will. I suspect it will also be nice in the fall as the weather is cooling down. The spices all blend together nicely so you can't really pick one out, which is good. There is a subtle masculinity to this one which I like a lot. Definitely unisex, which I like a lot! 20 mins later: almost gone! bah!

Milk Chocolate, Coconut, Cardamom, Rum, and Ginger Truffle
No explanation needed!
In bottle: Whooooa hello old nasty Milk Moon! The bottle tells me these spices would have been much better suited to "dark chocolate"
Skin: Not much difference. Frankly smells like something I would not like to eat. Maybe too much weird stuff together? As it dries it has the faintest memory of Candy Butcher, but it's not worthwhile enough in comparison to all my other chocolate scents. 20 mins later: even nastier, buh-bye!

Womb Furie
Snake Oil and three types of honey.
In bottle: Oh yes, Snake Oil that someone has turned into a cupcake, perhaps?
Skin: For me, a wearable Snake Oil. How exciting! Orgasms here I come? Yes indeed! 20 mins later: powdery pleasant, this might need a bit of aging.

Sleipnir
Confections spun of hazelnuts, honey, elderberries, and bilberries with a dusting of hay and a bit of carrot.
In bottle: Num nums for sure! Sweet but not too sweet, warm, inviting, if I breathe deep I get the hay, but otherwise just a well rounded scent
Skin: Summer/autumn scent. All I see is sunshine in a field of tall dry grasses. Weird, good, I have to say I think Beth is definitely getting better at the whole blending aspect of this. There is no one note that sticks out. Or else my sniffer is just out of practice! Either way, great scent! 20 mins later: Light, faint, warm, a great skin smell!

Aatos Polemoio
Cedar, black currant, and saffron
In bottle: This scent just called to me, not quite sure why, probably because I've had both good and bad luck with all of these but somehow hoped they'd be good together. They are. The sickly sweet of the currant is completely balanced out by the cedar. I'm not sure if I'm smelling any saffron but this is an awesome scent.
Skin: Definitely on the masculine side of unisex, though it's supposed to be a male scent I suppose, I think I could certainly wear this. Woodsy and sweet, mellow, close to the skin again. Reminds me of Hearth, I think? I just might suggest my boyfriend wear this... that is of course only if he wants me nuzzling his neck every chance I get. 20 mins later: almost gone, poo!

Diable en Boite
redwood, bitter clove, tonka, hemp accord, and tobacco with peach blossom, black currant, and red musk
In bottle: I have to agree with the strangely sinister, unnerving part of the description. In the bottle it is KA-POW whack you upside the head with... hemp, I'm guessing? Doesn't smell like any of the other notes listed, that's for sure. Kind of the smell when you peel apart a slender, fresh, green branch from a tree. Herbal. A deeper sniff brings out some very sweet peach and black currant. And the clove. Crazy!
Skin: Same as bottle. I'd say this is more for a man. It has a very CLEAN smell, like some sort of soap.
Update: WOW drydown is crazy sweet! Get past the intial tree-split-open and it's all clove, tonka, currant, musk... I could actually wear this! I'm so surprised and excited! 20 mins later: back to hemp-split-open-tree-ness. with sweetness. still totally wearable.

So... success!

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 02:55:26 GMT

My mom got me a new digital piano for my birthday/christmas last week, and after more than a year of not having access to a piano, I've decided somehow that it's a good idea to start working on the hardest piece I've ever tried, in the middle of the busiest time at work (50+ hours this week), while I'm sick. And even through all of the smacking myself in the head, stomping my feet, humming, singing (shouting?), and throwing of the sheet music to the ground, it is still actually helping to relieve my stress.

http://server3.pianosociety.com/protected/beethoven-13-1-pascale.mp3

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 02:50:28 GMT

I realize my last entry involved being "stressed" and yet I don't think I quite understood the meaning of the word then... maybe now that I am going to go cry myself to sleep at the prospect of another day, let alone another week, at work...

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 01:36:31 GMT

stress stress stress stress

Thu, 21 May 2009 00:28:03 GMT

I haven't done this in a long time, and it's probably a bad idea to do it now, since I'm just getting over the swine and my nose is all stuffed up and snotty, but I got BPALZ in the mail today and I just have to do some reviewing. So here goes, kids. I may do it again in a week or so if necessary but I think my sniffer will do enough justice to get the idea.

Velvet Clown. Rum-soaked cotton candy, boot-stomped licorice whips and circus peanuts, scorched marshmallows, a dribble of corn whiskey, cigar smoke, and greasepaint.
Bottle: Strong, alcohol, like something dried on the counter that I was drinking the night before (wonder why I know what THAT smells like... lol)
Skin: A little licorice, not nearly like Humbug. A little sweet marshmallowy. Kind of a vague general sweet + dirty/greasy/oily/chemically smell. Perhaps my nose isn't as able as I was hoping...
I am liking this though. It's suitably sweet with just enough "other stuff" going on that it's kind of the perfect me scent. The cotton candy comes out in the end, very Midway-esque, but it still kind of smells like I rolled around in carnival ride lubrication a week ago.. hello.

Velvet Unicorn. Spun sugar, sparkling rainbow candies, strawberries, merangue, and cherry fluff.
Imp: This is so fucking sweet and sugary and sparkly and rainbow I can't even believe it. Sugar Skull + Strawberry Moon + a giant fucking unicorn. I'm not even going to try this on the skin because it is what it is. It probably has its applications, but not on me anymore.

Velvet Nudie. Skin musk and flowering sugar cane.
Imp: Lemon! This is not what I was expecting it to be. At first I was like "this isn't what I thought Beth's 'skin musk' is and then I realized it smelled lemonicious and now that's all I smell. Not going to try this one on right now because I don't think I can handle it. It's all lemons with a little bit of powder and flowers in the background.

Velvet Panther. Dark musk, star anise, agarwood, styrax, vetiver, gaiacwood, King mandarin, violet leaf, and black vanilla.
Imp: Musk, vetiver, something woody
Skin: The sweetness of the anise comes out a little, without being "anisey." It's still a little woodier than I would like, but it's smokier than I expected. I think I could wear the crap outta this one.
Dry: A little bit of something gross, probably the violet leaf. Smells warm, I'll give it that. Definitely a summery dark scent.

Velvet Tiki. Gold-washed frangipani, vanilla flower, vanilla bean, coconut, hibiscus, papaya, pineapple, bouganvilla, passion fruit, and three orchids.
Imp: Sweet, smells like all of those tiki LE's from way back when (the tropical drinks or whatever?) Too predictable to try on the skin. A lot of pineapple though.

Velvet Pink Kitty. Pink rock candy, strawberry cream, and splashes of gin, vermouth, and grenadine.
Imp: Definitely alocholic... reminds me of, what was it, Swank? the one that's a cosmopolitan or something?
Also not going to try it on. What you see is what you get.

Velvet Tiger. Spiced Satsuma orange, tangerine, rich amber, black licorice, teak, cinnamon, and vetiver.
Imp: Whoa, vetiver, up my ass!
Skin: Cooling off to kind of an amber tea almost. The cinnamon isn't the burny stuff, it just kind of augments the teak and makes it warmer and woodier. I'm getting almost no orange or licorice as individual notes but I suspect they're the ones making it into a tea-like fragrance. It's warm and friendly and spicy in a chai kind of way. I like this! And quite honestly, to sound like my usual self, I think it would smell nice of a guy! Mmm, yeah. We'll try this one on the manz. (He took over my Frederic and wears it every day, btw. That's pretty good, right?!)

Velvet Dogs Playing Poker. Smooth wood, sweet pipe smoke, tonka, and Irish coffee.
Imp: Hmm, Misk U and Pinched with Four Aces gone wrong. Powdery and fake?
Skin: Easily forgotten? A little bit woody, a little bit pipey, a little bit... nothing? It's crap, I tell you.

Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Whiffs of cinnamon bark, almond, and spikenard surround a perfect fruit, whose scent is akin to a tamarind, with the grace of a fine grape, as warm and rich as a fresh fig, glistening red like pomegranate seeds, and as crisp as an apple.
Imp: Complicatedism! Something different with each new breath.
Skin: A background of almond, with various fruits on top. All around very complex but still very simple. It's earthy and woody and warm. Ends in apple.

Velvet Clown now smells of awesome and cements my need to purchase it. Velvet Tiger is less interesting as it gets more and more tea-like. One must have ain't bad.

Thu, 14 May 2009 23:14:45 GMT

Tue, 12 May 2009 11:43:34 GMT

I had a terrible nightmare last night. It wasn't the kind where you're about to die, or someone important is about to die. It wasn't scary, I wasn't being attacked, I wasn't in pain. It was stressful. It was a bad dream about bad things that stress me out in real life. It's really a shame when you can't even escape the stress and anxiety while sleeping :(

A little fucked up?

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 02:16:48 GMT

So here I am, looking up foods and coming up with creative/interesting/tasty dishes I can make for Mike, who is allergic to pretty much everything on earth...

while he has his weekly chinese food date with the married girl who lives next door.

Granted, I was invited, and in the process of getting ready I fell asleep while waiting for his call because I didn't get any sleep last night, so I missed his call and woke up after they were already done, but I know I would have felt uncomfortable there anyway. He was telling me how she was having drinks with her gf, and her husband showed up at the same restaurant with his friend to have dinner, and so she and the gf LEFT so that she could come home and have dinner with my boyfriend. Does this not strike anyone as weird?

And I must say, it peeves me that he could sit there and tell me the whole story of her life since Christmas (her parents came to visit for 4 days, one day later she went to Missouri to visit this person and this person, and now she's been home for 3 days and she's leaving again on Saturday for such and such place) and yet I doubt he has any clue who the people were that I went to South Carolina to see for 5 days.

The only fight we ever have is about how I read too much into things and over-analyze everything and assume everything has a hidden meaning. Because according to him, there is NEVER a hidden meaning; everything is at face value. But you know what, I don't think that's an excuse for him to do and say things that any NORMAL person would read into. Because, frankly, people do read into things. Otherwise there would never be a fucking misunderstanding in the world.

We are just such very different people, in so many ways.

Update?

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 01:17:29 GMT

BPAL! (or BPTP, as it were)

Summer Summoning Spectacular - Scorched baseball fields, black glots of incense, spilled coffee, and pancake residue.

Bottle: All I'm getting is a sweet incense.

Wet: This one is hard to figure out. The scorched baseball fields are definitely there, but in the background-- it's much like One to Tie Two to Win with the grassiness and Scarecrow, but not nearly as painful or strong as either of them are.

Drydown: The coffee is slowly coming out. I'm not really getting any pancake residue, but there is a certain lingering sweetness that it must be. Definitely a little too grassy for me, but otherwise quite an interesting scent!

Dry: it totally smells like a "residue" on me. It's like I'm wearing a grassy/herbal perfume, but I ate pancakes with maple syrup and haven't washed my hands, haha!

Pancake Breakfast - Buttermilk pancakes with boysenberry syrup and goat butter!

Bottle: Boysenberry! To the extreme!

Drydown: It smells like the blackberry syrup I used to put on my pancakes

Dry: a little bit of the plasticky smell that I actually like. I think that's supposed to be the pancakes, because I also smell it in the bottle now, so it's not a chemistry morph deal. But it's good. Will be wearing this one for shizzle!

Humbug - Vanilla licorice.

Bottle: Smells pretty much like an open bottle of anisette. Licorice, straightforward.

Drydown: The vanilla slooooowly starts to creep out and it's very very pretty. I mentioned the idea of the scent to Mike and he he was like hrmmm I'd have to smell that, and so I had him sniff it on me about 3 hours after application and it was like mmmm LOOOOOOVE. It's neat because while it does smell like *vanilla* and *licorice* ... it doesn't smell like I'm covered in vanilla and licorice. It just smells sweet and smooth and warm and really sexy. The waft is STRONG though. I can smell the open bottle 3 feet away!

Bah Humbug Atmospheric Spray - Cedar wood, dry stout, twigs, boot leather, vanilla-infused benzoin, patchouli, and coal dust.

I held off on testing this one because in the bottle, all I could smell was alcohol. I sniff tested the bottle again today and caught a little bit of the cedar and leather and maybe vanilla and was like hmmm it's not all patchouli. So I spritzed it on my sweater. The alcohol is still VERY strong until it finally burns off, but once it does, it is very woody. Lots of twigs and cedar. I can't really smell any patchouli, and that's a good thing, but this really is just a "wood sticks" scent with maybe a little tiny bit of that vanilla-benzoin. It's pretty, but I don't think it's something I want my house to smell like. Though, as weird as it sounds, it is kind of a "clean" smell. I dunno. I may try to trade it or my L'Autunno spray for Goblin of Yuletide Present (clove-spiked dried oranges, dusted with ginger and cinnamon.) which of course sounds like sex!

So I'm considering ordering the chocolate box. I mean, why the hell not, right? Oh because I shouldn't spend all my money on BPAL? hahah. I have to get a bottle each of Morocco, Antique Lace, and Belle Vinu for my mom, and now I think I might have to get Khrysee too for her (because how could it go wrong?) I also kind of want to snag another bottle of Beaverversary for myself.

Other scents that I want to try:

413 U.S. 15 / MILLER VS CALIFORNIA
Leather, cognac, fig, ripe berry, and cream, stuffed into a plain brown paper bag.
I imagine the leather, cognac, and berry to be lovely. Fig is hit or miss with me, as is cream, and who knows about the brown paper bag? Lol. Either way, something interesting to be sure.

MANNERS AMONG MEN AND WOMEN IN THE RED LIGHT DISTRICT
Sake, apricot, and blonde wood.
I'm a big fan of March Hare, so I'm curious about the apricot in this one. However, I'm less inclined now since I just realized only after copy+pasting the notes that it's "sake" and not "sage." Haha, how smart am I!

MAKHANITIS
Black plum, burgundy wine, sandalwood, and champaca.
The sandalwood scares me but the burgundy wine does not! After all, you never really know when a scent will be "the one!"

And oh hay Dana, I have four days off this week because I have to use up my leftover vacation from last year-- any chance for some hang-out-age, maybe Tuesday or something?

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 00:09:14 GMT

Dear "Muslim" women at Target tonight,

It's so cute how you choose to wear your hijab in public solely for the reactions of people who are surprised to see such a thing, and the possible retort you could have at any reaction that you find inappropriate. I know you wore it only for this "shock value" and not for true religious belief because you had your midriff and pierced navels exposed. This is also why I laughed at you from the other end of the aisle, just in case you were wondering.

Love and Kisses,
Leah

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 23:45:33 GMT

I'm pretty miffed-- I just now found out about the Yule update, and only because I looked in the wanted section of the forum and saw people asking for the Bat's Day scent by name, and I was wondering how they knew...

I got the annoucement email for Puddin's post about ebay, and I got the Brick and Mortar annoucement, but not the update one! GRR! And as such it looks like I missed out on 2sisters' circle. I always use her! WAHH.

I'm in my apartment, btw. I have too much BPAL. I'm going to go through it tonight and make up a giant lot to just sell on ebay. I'm tired of all these imps floating around.

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 01:18:59 GMT

You know what? Snowflakes isn't that bad. I turned my empty upside down and rubbed the residue on my wrist, and I kinda like it. It's a clean, natural, unscented kind of scent... but still has a scent to it, almost like the lightest possible vanilla. It just makes my skin smell like nice-smelling skin. I think it might have its applications-- like work, or a funeral. LOL

I might try to hunt down an imp of the stuff to see if it really is like this. It shouldn't be too difficult!

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 23:17:46 GMT

Signed my lease! Aka my life away!

As I am VERY tempted to move to California lately. I am trying to plan a quick trip out there with Megan for late October. John has been all over me lately to come out there and live/work with him and marry him. Oi, LOL.

And yeah, if anybody has anything they don't want/need in their home anymore, I am in serious need of furnishings and stuff. And like I already requested of teitei, art is always most appreciated.

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 00:48:42 GMT

Hey Dana!
If I buy you a canvas will you paint me something pretty for my new apartment?

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 01:39:53 GMT

I could goth up my new apartment like woah... Black Spiderweb Headboard

It's not fair to say we wasted time, in my view we just used it all up.

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 01:15:39 GMT

Just starting with whatever I pull out first:

Fearful Pleasure Dried orange peels floating in simmering cider, roasted apples, smoldering firewood, chimney smoke, sassafras beer, warm hawthorn wood, and oakmoss.
Imp: Generic candle store autumn, a few individual notes are distinguishable-- apple, sassafras, wood
Skin: A jumbly mush of autumn potpourri. At least it's really good, expensive potpourri, lol. Definitely something that would be lovely in an oil burner, I'm sure.

The Goblin Rider Wind-whipped, chilly night air, oppressive black pine, globs of dark opopponax and bleak cedar, and distant unreachable church incense.
Imp: Pitchy pine! Dark, heavy, completely as expected. It's a lot nicer than most other blends like this though, I'm actually tempted to try it on.
Skin: I'm surprised how much I like this-- the pine is NOT oppressive in this blend, haha. The cedar is coming out nicely, the incense is distant but slightly reachable, and the chilly night air is apparent.
Dry: Uh oh, here comes sister opopponax! At least I think that's what this medicinal funk is. And brother pine is making his debut... it's SO piney it's almost peppery. Heavy, thick, yuck.
ETA: Five minutes later and this is almost completely gone!

Brom Bones The butchest, manliest of musks covered in well-worn leather.
Imp: Leather sex! ALMOST Dead Man's Hand. (But with musk added!)
Skin: A little bit of that soapiness that comes with Western Diamondback. But still very true to what it's supposed to be. And the musk actually makes it smoother and cleaner and warmer, a lot more wearable than just a plain leather scent. And when I inhale really deeply it's almost sweet. Unless that's just my skin =PP Must to be tried on a man, for shizzle!
ETA: Ok, really, definitely will be hot sex on a man, I swear.

The Shattered Pumpkin Soil-covered crushed pumpkin, water-weeds, saddle-leather, and pine pitch
Imp: Woah, overload. First it smells dirty/soily. Then it smells like something sweet is dirty. Then it's like oh hai I'm also wet as well as dirty and sweet.
Skin: DIRTY PUMPKIN. Really it is. Well maybe not so much a pumpkin, because pumpkins don't really smell that great, so it's a pumpkin pie that someone smashed in the dirt. The pine is very faintly there, like you just happened to smash it near a pine tree. I'm not getting any leather, and it's no wonder considering all that's going on here. Another man tester, I reckon. Though it really is too dirty to be practical I think. It's not Gnome wet soily, it's dry dusty dirt earth.
ETA: Calms down a lot. Possibly something I might even wear.

Hellhound on my Trail Bay rum, bourbon vanilla, galangal, hyssop, High John the Conqueror root, tobacco, life everlasting, and brimstone
Imp: very alcohol, witch-hazely. Upon closer sniff I realize it actually is BPAL.

A Blade of Grass Autumn leaves scattered among blades of grass
Imp: GROSS grass. Not fresh cut, it's hard to explain. I would say "that's grass" if I smelled it without knowing, and yet it doesn't really smell like what grass smells like... or does it? This is just weird.

Graveyard Dirt pure graveyard dust, spattered with grave loam and dusted lightly with tombstone moss
Imp: I don't know if this is supposed to be the same as the original or a reformulation, but I am hooked. It takes a good 2 seconds to actually get into my nose, in a very strange way. Simply the perfect dirt scent, I'd say. Definitely has some mossy, loamy-ness to it, rather than soil or dryness.

Chant D'Automne dried leaves, charred wood, blood musk, amber, khus, and nicotiana blossom
Imp: yeah, I need to stop trying these. I can't describe it other than yuck, sorry.

John Barleycorn Barley, beer, blood, and whiskey
Imp: Surprisingly sweet. None of the individual notes are identifiable, and I would never guess that these are the notes, but yeah, it's just right. Weird, again. I'm not trying this on right now but I think it would do well with a man's chemistry.

To Autumn mist-swirled, moss-covered bark and dry red leaves, apple pulp and knotty galangal, with poppy juice and nutmeat
Imp: Wow! A very herbal, mossy, tree-infused apple. Almost eucalyptus-y. Finally an apple that is NOT potpourri/autumn/spice at all!
Skin: Oh hai where did you go!? This is kind of really nice. Dry leaves and apples.

Meditation in Autumn old wood, burnt brown sandalwood, and twisted vines
Imp: Oh please god NO. Is this what burnt sandalwood smells like? GET IT OUT.

Pumpkin II with black musk, leather accord, tonka, teak, orange wood, and opopponax
Imp: Oh just WEIRD. I think that's the tonka and the orange coming out, I really have no clue though.
Skin: Pumpkin and vanilla bean (that would be the tonka). Leather is just barely there but awesome. I'm loving this!

Pumpkin III with pink grapefruit, lemon verbena, yuzu, lime, parsley, and mint
Imp: Better than I anticipated! Very citrus and parsley, smells like a totally great sauce/dressing.
Skin: The pumpkin emerges. Out comes dandelion (what?Lol). Lemon verbena comes out to play. The party is ruined. I mean, it's a nicer sweeter lemon than normal, but it's still an overall FAIL when you get an F+.

So it looks like I had no luck with this chunk of Halloweenies (but it's not fair because Dana got all the good ones!) but I'll be sniffing the other ones sometime this weekend. Otherwise I guess it's a good thing I don't like any of these except Pumpkin II, which has potential for a bottle.

And... is it weird that I had to stop listening to music to do this because I couldn't concentrate? LOL

ETA: I'm thinking 2 bottles of Pumpkin II might be warranted.

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 23:07:36 GMT

Panera Bread got rid of the Portabella Mozzarella panini.

I'm livid.

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 13:26:00 GMT

I have this very plain, painted white bookshelf at my dad's house. It's in great condition and I'd like to use it for my new place (whenever it is that I move, lol) but it's just so boring and white and dull-- I want to paint it or decoupage it or something but I don't know what to do. I'm concerned about just painting it because the white paint on it is kind of a slick texture, so I wonder if it wouldn't just peel off it. I want to do something easy that doesn't require sanding or priming or shit, but I still want it to look nice. Give me your suggestions! And if you live nearby, you're welcome to actually do it yourself if you're feeling creatively inclined! Lol.

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 22:01:42 GMT

Just because everyone loves the ocean--!

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 03:36:18 GMT

Congrats me, I just bought a new car.

Writing a $6000 check hurts.

Just because...

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 04:02:51 GMT

I've made a decision.

The Return of the King is my least favorite of the trilogy. It's just much too much, in every freaking way.

Why is this?

Simple.

The parts of a story are of course-- Exposition. Rising Action. Climax. Falling Action. Denouement.

Even if we are being stingy, The Return of the King has at least denouement, falling action, and climax. I'd say it also has a good bit of the rising action. That's just too freaking much. Whereas The Fellowship of the Ring just has exposition and rising action, and The Two Towers really is just rising action.

Maybe that's why my favorite is The Two Towers (most of the time). It is the most interesting and complex of the stories, and the one with the least sense of a beginning at the beginning, and closure at the end. It's the darkest of the films, not to be my typical "omg-i-like-dark-movies!" self, but it's pretty much true. The music is also my very favorite of the films, with its very open-ended and non-resolute themes. That air of suspense is throughout the movie, rather that just at the end of FOTR and the beginning of ROTK. I love everything about The Two Towers, I really could watch that movie an unlimited amount of times.

I did say most of the time though, and that's because FOTR does hold a special place in my heart. It has SO MUCH exposition that it really is a lot of character development too. Character development = love. And it's nice to go back to the days when Aragorn was Strider, when gollum was just a dark figure, when Legolas and Gimli were totally not cool with each other. It just makes the changes that happen throughout the movies that much more poignant.

So yeah, that's just my decision about these things.

Snow. Glass. Apples

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 01:15:48 GMT

Snow. Glass. Apples.

Apple apple. Clean, crisp. Definitely winter apple, not fall or summer or spring. A very perfume scent. Definitely something department store to it. Sexy vampire? Meh, not so much. It's too light and white in color. Actually, kind of reminds me of Snowflakes now that I think about it. Not that it actually smells like it, it just made me think of it, haha.

I don't need to keep this one.

Quite a bit of staying power though. I put it in my anti-elbow about 4 hours ago, and slathered L'Autunno bath oil all over my arms about an hour after, right before I went out, and now I'm back home and my anti still smells of snow glass while the rest of my arm is all myrrhy.

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 15:08:08 GMT

I WILL go to Ren Faire this year, dammit. And it will be awesome.

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:25:44 GMT

L'Autunno

Perfume (Hawthorn, fig, myrrh, carnation, toasted almond, red and green apple, patchouli, wood smoke, and Indian musk)

In the bottle: Hello, apple! Cool, crisp, clean and green. With deeper sniff, something spicy comes in, like the apples were roasted/baked but not in a pie or anything, maybe just on their own.

Wet skin: Musky, spicy, dirty apple. In a good way! This is a great counterpart to Creepy. Whereas Creepy is OMG SWEET SUGAR RAWRR, this is mmm muted spicy warm yummmm.

Drying skin: Smells uncomfortably like Yankee Candle/Potpourri.

Dry: The smoke finally came out, but it still is way too reminiscent of a generic "autumn" scented product. I really don't think I'll be wearing this :/

Bath Oil (Sage, myrrh, patchouli, molasses, sweetgrass, cedar, and cinnamon sugar)

In the bottle: Cinnamon sugar, molasses, and sweetgrass! Lovely!

In the bath: Still very sweet with a very very growing herbal warmth (from the sage/myrrh/patch)

Residue on skin: Lasts 4frz! And it's STRONG myrrh. At least, I think that's what it is, because it's not anything else in there. And yeah, it's got that church incensey feel to it. I'll be using this again for sure, but I have to be in the right mood. Tempting to just use it as a perfume, as I suspected.

Atmospheric/Linen Spray (Fig leaf, patchouli, black tea, and bonfire smoke)

In the bottle: Patchouli and smoke

On the curtains: Definitely has that patchouli dirt smell. I don't think I want my atmosphere or linen to smell like that.

In conclusion, I am most satisfied by the bath oil, and may be seeking more in the future! Yay

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 21:04:37 GMT

The ones I tried on my skin:

Knucklebones - Black musk, bay rum, lime fougere, orange blossom water, gin, and tobacco.
Hot! Immediately I get the citrus of the lime and the orange blossom. Ooo! That's what it is. It's Airborne! The little tablet that you fizz in water. Knucklebones even has the fizzy quality. Of all things to like, Airborne certainly isn't one of them, and yet I LOVE this scent! Mm, I really need to try this one on a man. The musk and tobacco come out on my skin. I'm surprised there's no metal note in this, but I suppose it's the tartness of the lime that's making this almost metallic. Definitely needs to be sampled on a man. WTB penis!

Torture Queen - White amber, vanilla musk, white tea, ambergris, gardenia, and chrome.
Immediately I'm hit with lightness. Kind of has that commercial Vanilla Musk quality, but not as bad of course. My skin ate it immediately.

Blockhead - Rusted metal, leather, and a pop of pink bubblegum.
Oh Beth, you've gone and done it now. In the imp, it's entirely pink bubblegum. On the skin, it's gum, with that metallic tang, almost like the taste of blood. I can detect the faintest hint of leather. This scent is ridiculous. As it dries, the bubblegum goes almost completely away, and it's this leathery, musky, dark scent. Really nice! Reminds me of Exclamation Noir. And I hate to say it, but I'd also love to try this on a man. As long as the gum goes away on him too, lol.

Illustrated Woman - Skin musk, smoky vanilla, pine pitch, patchouli, Indian resins, golden honey, and tobacco.
In the imp, I can pick out the pine and the skin musk. It reminds me of Hexxenacht. The vanilla and honey come out like CRAZY on my skin, and it's this glorious combination of sweet and musky spice. Seriously, this one's going into the maybe pile for a bottle. I'm very surprised at this transformation. I detect little to no patchouli. I can smell the tobacco, but it's not awful! In fact, it works nicely! This is what Red Lantern almost was. She just keeps getting sweeter and sweeter! Maybe I will wear this to work tomorrow to see how it morphs.

The ones I will try later (and ETA to this):

Chapel - Black incense, bitter wine, brimstone, and blood.
Woah, this smells like some sort of liqueur. I am knocked back like I just opened a bottle of some VERY old stale alcohol in the back of my grandmother's liquor cabinet. And then the wine comes forward, and it smells a little bit like Madrid, but definitely not as sweet.

Inez - Golden amber, vanilla musk, myrrh, cedar, canation, and red sandalwood.
Warm! This one is autumn, for sure.

Agrat-Bat-Mahlaht - Amber, cream accord, white honey, apple blossom, skin musk, caramel, and teak.
There's that good ol BPAL cream note, smelling like rotten milk! State Fair Dairy Queen anyone?

Eisheth Zenunim - Honey, ambergris, neroli, white peach, patchouli, and cocoa absolute.
I sniffed this without looking at the notes, and it was inexplicable. I really had no idea what to say. Now having looked at the notes, I still have absolutely nothing to say. I have never smelled anything like this before.

Aeronwen - Fig, dark myrrh, amber, redwood, nutmeg, tarragon, black musk, and sweet orange.
I can smell mostly tarragon, nutmeg, orange, and redwood. This is very complex and really quite lovely.

Ashlultum - Babylonian musk, vanilla tea, tonka, tobacco, coconut, hyssop, and lilac.
Oh damn you lilac. This was soooo good until I sniffed a little harder and the lilac was like "oh hellllls no, this is a FLORAL blend now!" Wtf flower.

Pickled Imp - Cinnamon, clove, vanilla, pine sap.
That is ALL pine sap. I refuse to belive Beth put anything else in there.

Hand of Glory - Beeswax, dry leather, black pepper, saltpeter, nutmeg, Mysore sandalwood, oak bark.
So cool! This is the smell of a burning candle! Not a scented candle, not a candle once it's blown out. This is the candle, on fire. Too cool for school!

The Grand Inquisitor's Heretic's Fork - Coppery dried blood, metal, vetiver, and bonfire smoke.
Vetiver and metal. Why did I even try this one?

Faeu Boulanger - Mushroom gases, swamp mist, green mint, and bog violet
Sweet violet, like those little square violet candies, with the very faintest hint of mint, as if someone simply held a handful of mint near Beth when she made this, lol. So far, so weird.

Looking at the lovely list that 2sistersreviews always includes, I'm now kicking myself for not trying Shrunken Heads (leather tanned with the pupl of Amazon ferns and rainforest herbs), The Blood Garden (blood accord, bitter clove, English ivy, Tempranillo grape, red currant, oak, leather, blackberry leaf, and ginger lily) and pretty much the rest of the ladies. I dunno, probably none of them would be good anyway.

I am going to get L'Autunno:

ATMOSPHERIC SPRAY
Fig leaf, patchouli, black tea, and bonfire smoke.

BATH OIL
Sage, myrrh, patchouli, molasses, sweetgrass, cedar, and cinnamon sugar.

PERFUME
Hawthorn, fig, myrrh, carnation, toasted almond, red and green apple, patchouli, wood smoke, and Indian musk.

in the hopes that Beth has now learned to control her use of patchouli. And Dana, I will just have to sniff your L'Estate and hope I don't love it! Lol. I'm also going to pick up the Whipporwhills tee before it comes down, and quite possibly a Hay or Mead Moon shirt. I don't know which one I like better! And, I think I have to get BOTH Hay and Mead Moon bottles. Maybe Hay Moon will be what Scarecrow should have been, and maybe Mead Moon will be just awesome sauce. Oi, this is going to be an expensive BPAL month.