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My friend and I split an order, and got this as a freebie. In the bottle, it smells strongly of lemon cleaning products, and when I first put it on, it is exactly like Lemon Pine-Sol. Nice if you've mopped the kitchen, not so good on me. It has a very musty, institutional odor to it, which makes me think of Arkham Asylum. Now that it's dried, the pine and lemon have given way to cedar (the black cypress, perhaps). In fact, it reminds me very much of a guy I know whose clothes always smell of cedar. I'll be giving this imp to him; it'll be much more appropriate on him than it is on me.

I don't know if it's my taste for cocktails or what, but the second I read the description, I knew I had to have this. I wasn't disappointed! Swank became an instant favourite the second I opened the bottle. Bright and bold pomegranate underscored by something... "fusty" and fermented. There's more to this than meets the nose--I'd love to know how Beth got that "boozy" smell in there! After drying, the fruit notes expand, and it takes on an almost orange-y scent. It's like a drunken fruit cocktail, with oranges and raspberries and... I don't know what else. I've always loved fruit scents, and this is no exception. This is the 21-and-over version of all those fruity body sprays I used in high school and college. This stuff makes me want to put on the Dean Martin and pull out a martini shaker. Cosmos all around!

Does anyone else remember that perfume "White Shoulders"? Because when I opened this imp, that was all I could think of! It was my mother's favourite perfume for many years (my grandmother's, too, I believe), and I used to play with it when I was little--Juliet definitely conjures up youth and childhood for me. It's almost the same on my skin as it is in the bottle: very perfume-y and floral, and for some reason, I love it. None of the moldy musk problems I've been having, either! When it dries, the perfume dies down and lets the florals take over. Very strong lily and honeysuckle notes. I adore honeysuckle. Also, something about it reminded me of lily-of-the-valley, another favourite of mine. As the day wore on--and the dabs on my wrists wore off--there was a bit of a baby powder scent, but where I'd slathered it on my neckline, it retained a heady, almost womanly, aroma. Very interesting dichotomy, not too different from Juliet herself. (And it got an "Ooh, that's nice!" from a Member of the Opposite Sex, which is always welcome ) This isn't something I'd wear every day, but it's perfect for special occasions and certain moods. Might have to put this on my 5ml wishlist...

This was the first BPAL imp I ever opened, and I remember being so disappointed, because all I could smell was mold. 'Kate the Cursed' indeed! Nothing but mold and mildew, like opening a loaf of bread that's well past its peak. Once on my skin, while there is a definite fruit note, it retains that "I'm a grade A science experiment!" edge until dried. ...but once it dries, the apricot really warms up, and it is delicious. There's still a musk presence, but it's balanced out by the fruit-and-floral bouquet and no longer smells like a damp house. This scent is feminine, yet sassy--the apricot never gets too sweet or sugary on me. I'm tempted to get a 5ml of this, but those initial 15 minutes of mold are a bit scary.

I gave Desire a quick test a few weeks ago, and found it pleasant but incense-y. Today, I was hoping that the fruit and floral notes would offset the patchouli, but on me, that doesn't happen until well after drydown. I open the bottle, and HELLO! patchouli. Wet on my wrists, it was still strong, and with a note of musk (which my body chemistry seems to hate). Even my own father said it was "too musty" a smell for me. How disappointing! Hours after application, though, I'm finally smelling the rose and a touch of vanilla, but none of the apple or lemon accents that others have mentioned. Also, while it's deepened to a very sexy scent, a morning of relentless patchouli has given me a headache. I'll get some third party opinions tonight, but as it stands, Desire is a great scent... for someone else. It just doesn't seem right on me.

I ordered this one partly because I liked the idea of roses and orchids (two of my favourite flowers), and partly for the name (my ex-boyfriend went to Magdalene College, Cambridge). It wasn't until just now--when I went back and re-read the description--that I remembered the floral component. That's because when I opened the bottle, I was hit with a smell that was anything but flowery. Instead, it was very strong on musk and incense, which seems a bit odd in retrospect (could it be the labdanum?). Very... bold. When first applied, all I could smell was mold. I figured that must be from musk, since I have the same problem with Katharina (it goes on like mildew). On drydown, though, a floral note started to come through, and now there's a definite rose. In fact, right now it smells heavenly--strong, but feminine. I'm not thrilled with the earlier stages, but now that I know it'll get there in the end, I'll get a lot more wear out of Magdalene!

I got this scent off of a friend--we combined an order of imps, and this is one of the freebies that came with it. I must've liked it at the time, but when I opened it yesterday, all I could smell was Lemon Pledge. On me: A little less chemical-smelling, but the lemon was still predominant. In fact, it smelled like lemons and corn chips. Not at all appealing, and in fact, it started to make me feel a bit ill. As it dried, I could make out a faint whiff of something floral. It wasn't quite lavender, so I'll assume it was the lotus. Still, it was mostly lemon, and went back to the cleaning-supplies scent as the day wore on. I feel bad that my first review is for something that smells so awful on me! I should note, however, that I stuck my wrist under a male friend's nose, and he liked it (it's easy for him, he always smells delicious...).