Three of the Ladies of BPAL's Grindhouse

First off, I must thank the lovely Scented Djinn, who sent me a tiny vial of boronia--distilled into a 10% solution. It's still a very elusive scent, but I really do get the raspberry and I can totally see why she'd want to use it in an eau de cologne, it's fresh and really quite lovely.

Secondly, I apologize for not updating recently. In addition to the final polishing on the novella Darkrose and I wrote, I've been having motivational issues, so yeah...sorry.

Thirdly, reviews:

Tonight it's three from BPAL's Limited Edition series Carnaval Diabolique. As part of Act IV, these are the Ladies of the Grindhouse. All the blends of the Carnaval series are accompanied by art, some of it not safe for work, so take care when you click the links.

Aeronwen -- "Fig, dark myrrh, amber, redwood, nutmeg, tarragon, black musk, and sweet orange."

It's cripser than i would have expected given the notes; my first impression is a green citrus. I assume the green comes from the tarragon, although it doesn't smell like the herb much. In the dry down I start to smell something sweeter--the fig, probably--with a slightly bitter undernote from the myrrh. Along with a dry note from the redwood, the whole thing seems almost masculine, or at least like something blended with a male wearer in mind. I like it, but it's not at all what I expected.

After about ten minutes or so, I get a faint medicinal note; it's not awful, but I'm not crazy about it either. In fact, that sums up my whole reaction to this. I've smelled things that were intended to fall into the "masculine" category that I've liked much better. There are guys I'd love to smell this on--Sean Bean maybe?--but it's not something I need more of.

Eisheth Zenunim -- "Honey, ambergris, neroli, white peach, patchouli, and cocoa absolute."

In the imp the first thing that hit me was OMGPatchouli, but once I got it on, it was mostly about the white peach and the neroli. I don't get much cocoa at first, and the patchouli is very much in the background. Then the honey kicks in and it's honeyed peaches with a little floral over it. It isn't particularly foody, but I suspect it would appeal to people who like the current sweet, fruity floral trend in mainstream perfumes. Sadly, those people? Are not me. This is just a little too twee for my tastes. Since it also reminds Darkrose of the stuff her mom used to use to straighten her hair, that's another strike against it.

Inez -- "Golden amber, vanilla musk, myrrh, cedar, carnation, and red sandalwood."

Cedar is a tricky note on me, my skin tends to amp up woods a lot and it did so with this almost from the second it hit my skin. It also amped up the sandalwood, but you don't hear me complaining about that. And underneath...oh my yes, this is nice. The vanilla musk is a nice faint undernote, and the amber is present without being too powdery. I can't get the carnation yet, I think it's probably being overpowered by the woods and, strangely enough, I don't smell that faint bitter note from the myrrh.

About ten minutes in, the cedar and sandalwood calm down a little and the whole thing becomes a very nice, almost creamy, woody scent that really works on me. I might just have to buy a bottle of this before the line goes away.

Speaking of which, the Carnaval Diabolique was going to go away in September, but in her most recent update, Beth said something about it sticking around a little longer because they're still working on the next act.