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gogmagogWow, I enjoy Byron so much. He's so readable and snarky!
Also, incest has continued as a running motif in all my classes, and cannibalism has joined it as another theme...both subjects came up in both of my classes today. But I can't really argue with that - as one of my classmates said this afternoon, "Incest and cannibalism are two of my favorite things." And I wholeheartedly agree.
...er, just to clarify, that's to read about, not to practice. XD
Well, my BPAL "mystery lot" arrived today. So, more reviews! :D
DE SADE
The essence of pleasure heightened by pain: the raw scent of leather.
In bottle: Kind of musky men's cologne, though on the imp wand it's pure leather.
Wet: Kinda like my dad's leather jacket that I wear, only more so - a combination of leather and hella strong cigarette smoke. (My dad smoked a lot wearing that jacket, so it has the cigarette smoke ingrained into it.) The bitter ashy scent of the cigarette smoke is especially prominent though.
Dry: To be honest, I never actually let it get to the dry stage because after less than ten minutes I was like AUGH ACK BLEAH OH MY GOD WASH IT OFF. (It's strong, though...it took five handwashings and several hours to get it mostly off, and there's still traces of this stuff on my wrists.) But it seemed to be getting more and more cigarette-smokey as it dried.
Verdict: Blech. I don't really wanna smell like an overfull ashtray, I'm afraid. (Just sniffing my wrist makes me want to either hack up phlegm or throw up.) This one I may actually want to send the imp to somebody else just so I'll never forget how bad it was and accidentally try it again. :(
INFERNO
The Dark Side of Fire: cinnamon, bitter almond, and neroli. Heavily spiced, torrid, and possibly conflagrant.
In the bottle: It smells kinda like a cinnamon roll. XD
(I hope I'm not one of those people who has a reaction to cinnamon.)
Wet: Okay, I'm totally getting Red Hots here. XD
The undertone of almond comes through relatively fast, though, and it ends up pretty nice. Also, I don't seem to be allergic to the cinnamon. :D
Dry: A little less Red Hot and a little more cinnamon cookies or something...it sweetens up, the almond comes out a bit more, and the cinnamon gentles down a bit. Cinnamon is still the predominant note though.
Verdict: It's nice, and I like it...it's not the sort of thing I'd wear every day, but I'll probably wear it on rainy days, or when I'm in a particularly snarky mood. XD
GAUEKO
The Basque God of Night and all the perils of the darkness. Though he is the God of the Danger that Lurks in the Gloom, he is kind to men and warns them against the nighttime hazards and sets rules of conduct for both the living and the dead as they travel through his domain. It is said that since the warm, vibrant daylight is for the living, the abodes of night are reserved for the dead. All who heed his counsel are protected, but woe be to any man that disobeys the laws of Gaueko: he is swift to punish those that would scorn his advice. Blackened sandalwood and misty lavender, with curling wisps of smoky tobacco, nag champa, and labdanum.
In the bottle: It smells kinda like Celtic: Temple, and I'm thinking that perhaps what I thought was jasmine in that scent was actually sandalwood?
Wet: That same probably-sandalwood scent, with an undertone of the cigarette smoke I got in De Sade. It's much fainter than in De Sade, but my skin seems to be amping it up like a mofo. The sandalwood makes it much easier to deal with, but I can't say I'm loving it so far.
Dry: Okay, the cigarette smoke seems to have blended into the sandalwood and - is that the nag champa? - to make a kind of incense-y, headshop-smelling scent. It's getting sweeter as it dries, which makes me like it more.
Verdict: Okay, clearly I need to avoid Beth's tobacco note. XD
I didn't hate this like I did De Sade, but I can't say I particularly loved it either. And I'm kinda ambivalent about the incense-y smell...I think I'm gonna have to give this a few more wears to see if I like it or not.
Edit: It did get nicer as time went on, becoming kind of a sweet, peaceful Zen-like scent, and I'd totally wear this again now.
Huh...one definite keeper two definite keepers out of three isn't bad AT ALL (especially given they're part of a mystery lot). Coming up, Dublin, Aquarius, Languor, and the tantalizingly named voodoo oil All Night Long. :D
Also, incest has continued as a running motif in all my classes, and cannibalism has joined it as another theme...both subjects came up in both of my classes today. But I can't really argue with that - as one of my classmates said this afternoon, "Incest and cannibalism are two of my favorite things." And I wholeheartedly agree.
...er, just to clarify, that's to read about, not to practice. XD
Well, my BPAL "mystery lot" arrived today. So, more reviews! :D
DE SADE
The essence of pleasure heightened by pain: the raw scent of leather.
In bottle: Kind of musky men's cologne, though on the imp wand it's pure leather.
Wet: Kinda like my dad's leather jacket that I wear, only more so - a combination of leather and hella strong cigarette smoke. (My dad smoked a lot wearing that jacket, so it has the cigarette smoke ingrained into it.) The bitter ashy scent of the cigarette smoke is especially prominent though.
Dry: To be honest, I never actually let it get to the dry stage because after less than ten minutes I was like AUGH ACK BLEAH OH MY GOD WASH IT OFF. (It's strong, though...it took five handwashings and several hours to get it mostly off, and there's still traces of this stuff on my wrists.) But it seemed to be getting more and more cigarette-smokey as it dried.
Verdict: Blech. I don't really wanna smell like an overfull ashtray, I'm afraid. (Just sniffing my wrist makes me want to either hack up phlegm or throw up.) This one I may actually want to send the imp to somebody else just so I'll never forget how bad it was and accidentally try it again. :(
INFERNO
The Dark Side of Fire: cinnamon, bitter almond, and neroli. Heavily spiced, torrid, and possibly conflagrant.
In the bottle: It smells kinda like a cinnamon roll. XD
(I hope I'm not one of those people who has a reaction to cinnamon.)
Wet: Okay, I'm totally getting Red Hots here. XD
The undertone of almond comes through relatively fast, though, and it ends up pretty nice. Also, I don't seem to be allergic to the cinnamon. :D
Dry: A little less Red Hot and a little more cinnamon cookies or something...it sweetens up, the almond comes out a bit more, and the cinnamon gentles down a bit. Cinnamon is still the predominant note though.
Verdict: It's nice, and I like it...it's not the sort of thing I'd wear every day, but I'll probably wear it on rainy days, or when I'm in a particularly snarky mood. XD
GAUEKO
The Basque God of Night and all the perils of the darkness. Though he is the God of the Danger that Lurks in the Gloom, he is kind to men and warns them against the nighttime hazards and sets rules of conduct for both the living and the dead as they travel through his domain. It is said that since the warm, vibrant daylight is for the living, the abodes of night are reserved for the dead. All who heed his counsel are protected, but woe be to any man that disobeys the laws of Gaueko: he is swift to punish those that would scorn his advice. Blackened sandalwood and misty lavender, with curling wisps of smoky tobacco, nag champa, and labdanum.
In the bottle: It smells kinda like Celtic: Temple, and I'm thinking that perhaps what I thought was jasmine in that scent was actually sandalwood?
Wet: That same probably-sandalwood scent, with an undertone of the cigarette smoke I got in De Sade. It's much fainter than in De Sade, but my skin seems to be amping it up like a mofo. The sandalwood makes it much easier to deal with, but I can't say I'm loving it so far.
Dry: Okay, the cigarette smoke seems to have blended into the sandalwood and - is that the nag champa? - to make a kind of incense-y, headshop-smelling scent. It's getting sweeter as it dries, which makes me like it more.
Verdict: Okay, clearly I need to avoid Beth's tobacco note. XD
I didn't hate this like I did De Sade, but I can't say I particularly loved it either. And I'm kinda ambivalent about the incense-y smell...I think I'm gonna have to give this a few more wears to see if I like it or not.
Edit: It did get nicer as time went on, becoming kind of a sweet, peaceful Zen-like scent, and I'd totally wear this again now.
Huh...
