symbiosis

Good In the imp: I'm getting mostly the sweetness of vanilla, warmed by the honey and sugarcane. The floral adds a backup note that's a bit more floaty and keeps all those sugars from being thick or cloying. On my skin: wet this is mostly...acacia I'm guessing? I don't recognize the scent right off, but soon the musk comes charging in to balance things out. At first the vanilla is nowhere to be seen, but I'm just fine with vanilla being a backup note in this one. The honey isn't too pungent, which I'm also fine with, and the sugar cane...well, I don't smell much sugar cane. My nose can't quite figure out if this is floral or sweet - perhaps if I had even eaten a sugared flower I might have a better idea of what I'm smelling, but I can only imagine that this is what it might smell like if you soaked an acacia flower in sugar and honey and then applied a thin veil of musk. It's a nice scent, but it hasn't made me fall in love with it.

Ooohhhh, Rogue. I've always loved a rogue. In the bottle all I'm getting is the hemp tempered a bit by the rosin, but I'm sure that the leather will come out. Wet on my skin: this is just beautiful, wonderfully balanced notes of hemp and leather and pine. I just wish I could smell this always...alas... Dry on my skin: it's gone powdery enough to lose at least two-thirds of all the "wow" from before. Sad! I'll likely try this on the man before abandoning all hope of it being wonderful. But for now, it's not something that I'd wear regularly, unless it stayed like it was wet all the time. Oh well..win some, lose some I guess.

Fallen In the imp: Mmmmm, warm sandalwood backed up by warm musk, with a touch of amber dancing through. I can smell very few florals in this one right now, but I guess we'll see if that changes! On skin: At first the sandalwood pops out to play. Something in this blend - probably the musk - keeps it from going dry on my skin like some others. The florals seem to be adding a bit of sweetness, but they never really pop out on me. This scent is really working well for me! I might have to invest in some more of this, as I just tested it and do not own an imp or bottle.

Juliet In the imp: Peaaarrrrssss! Lots of pear, backed up closely by his wingman, honeysuckle. On my skin: At first the honeysuckle explodes to the forefront (which makes me happy, because it reminds me of my childhood spent playing in and among those flowers.) Sadly, like many others, after 5 or 10 minutes, this scent fades into a soapy, lotiony nothingness. It smells pleasant enough, but the throw is minimal and I imagine it will wear off completely within the hour. Strangely I am reminded of My Little Ponies. You know the old ones that were scented? I smell like one of those - slightly plasticy, slightly floral, but both very faint.

Ecstatic Revelry: in the imp this one smells like the amber and honey are playing among anise. I know there's no anise in the ingredients, but to me the combination of the spices smells licorice-y. On my skin: thankfully no licorice shows up here, just a dry, mixed spice scent. It smells a bit like I rolled around in my spice drawer. I can't pick out any one thing, but something on my skin is going a bit powdery. I don't like this scent enough to wear it, but it would be nice in another use, perhaps an oil burner, or on one of my doll's wigs. (It would work great for my hippy character.)

Caliban: In the imp: there is something deep about this smell. It's not super fruity, or floral, but I feel like it is something I might naturally smell standing on a tropical island. On skin: Ahhhh, GREEN! There you are! I smell like I just rolled around on a bed of palm fronds, laced with sweet ferns. The wine stays in the background for me, adding that small touch of spice and fruit that keep this smell from turning to grass. The saltiness blends everything together nicely, this is definitely a nice summertime scent. I can almost imagine myself at the beach...

In the imp, I strangely couldn't smell a bit of rose. This one was all about the smokey smells of musk, the bergamot and myrrh. Wet on my skin, Rapture explodes in roses, petals and fresh roses at that. At that point I was worried, since rose tends to turn a bit sweet and grandmotherly on me, but somehow...somehow, the rose that usually smells bad, the jasmine that my skin amps and then turns powdery...why, they're teaming up with the other notes and doing something entirely new! The grandmother of the rose is balanced out by the sweet of the jasmine, which is balanced out by the musk. Unless something weird happens in the next hour or two, I definitely won't hate this scent, and it may start to change my mind about florals. I'm not sure I'd call this one a daily wearer, but it sure might be interesting for those times when I'm feeling extra girly.

I was curious to try this one to see which notes my skin amped, and I think that I am pleasantly surprised! I smell definite plum and sugar, those are the notes that jump out and linger in my nose and mind as I sniff at my wrists. The clove adds a touch of spiciness that grounds out the sweetness a bit, but overall this is very much a scent that would remind me of a street festival only if I had ever been to one where they only sold sugared fruits. I'm going to have to think on this one a bit, as I'm not sure if I like all this sweetness or not, but it certainly is intriguing. Both my roomie and my fiance like it, so two votes in its favor for staying in my stash for now.

This one reminds me a bit of a scent that I might buy at Bath & Body works. Despite the fact that most florals go horribly on my skin (I generally can't stand rose smells, and sadly jasmine seems to turn strange on me, though I love the smell) this one manages to smell nicely and not change too much. There's a definite berry sweetness to the drydown, almost like sweet BaBW raspberries in among the sweet flowers. This would be a great scent for those super-girly days I have once and again where I just want to smell sugary and flowery. I can't think of too many other ways to describe this one besides sweet, and flowers. It's nice! Don't know that I'll buy a 5mL of it any time soon, but I certainly won't be swapping it away.

In the bottle: The amber is what hits me first in this scent, but it seems to be sweetened with something. It smells like almond, but I know it's likely coming from the poppy. On my skin (dry): This smells...a bit like grandma to me. It's not horribly offensive like some overly floral scents can be on me, but it's certainly not something I smell and go "yum." I'm not sure that I'd even use this in an oil burner or for any other use, because I'm just not that in love with it. Will be putting this one in the swap pile!

Oh, am I ever pleasantly surprised with Lear! In the Imp – Green, green cedarwood, like it’s been pulled fresh from the tree in the midst of a hot summer rainstorm. The green I’m sure comes from the sage and bay. Once on my skin, there was really no transition from “wet” to “dry” like I usually have to write with other oils. The sage and bay were a LITTLE more pronounced when wet, and when dry they fade to become the two pillars that hold up the white cedar on me. I was a little afraid when I first tried Lear, because I’d tried a few other cedar scents before and without fail the cedar went powdery on my skin. Not the case here at all! Lear’s magical white cedar stays true on my skin and the smell brings me back to a childhood memory I have of this cedar box my grandmother got me with a little lock and key that I used to keep all my treasures in – rocks, twigs, leaves…Lear is this memory on my skin. The Bay itself is very green and not at all like the dried herb on my skin, and the sage gives depth to the cedar, which is definitely the most pronounced note on my skin, and oh-so pleasant. Finally, a cedar smell that works on me! If it works on the BF too, I’ll buy a bottle of this!

Just have a few things to say about Dracul. Tried this one out on my boyfriend as it goes rather flat on me. (Just a slightly sweet incense smell.) It smells AMAZING on him - like bury-your-nose-deep-in-the-crook-of-his-neck-and-inhale-and-this-is-how-you-will-remember-him. This is definitely a favorite for him - his first BPAL scent ever too! I know I didn't get mine right on the first try, but he seems to have a knack for that

Tushnamatay In the Imp – a light incense, a touch of …is there such a thing as a vanilla flower?….oh DANGIT I spilled it on my desk!!! I really hope I like this one because I’m going to be smelling it for a while. Interestingly, my faux-wood desk really amps the incense smell, almost turning it powdery Wet – Same as my initial description above…but on my skin! Dry – Wow, this is really well blended. No one note sticks out above the rest. Yes, there’s floral, but my skin doesn’t amp it like it does with most florals. Yes, there’s incense, but it’s not very smoky. A touch of spice (perhaps some cedar in there?) and a touch of sweet round this scent out into a complete circle…there’s no beginning or end, and I can’t find any of the edges! Ok, there is definitely Cedar in here, because like Kathmandu, up close it smells a bit powdery on me. But unlike Kathmandu, there are other scents on my skin After a few hours, sadly, the cedar is all powder on me, just like Kathmandu. I think this one would smell great on an oil burner, maybe on the BF. Will have to try it!

Kathmandu – In the Imp – Pungent cedar, a whiff of sandalwood, spices and earth.Mmmm for once, the imp smells exactly like the description to me. Usually I just pick out a few notes, but the more you sniff this one, the more you smell. Oh I really hope this works on me!!! Wet – Wow, this almost smells like licorice on me. It has that same spicy scent. Licorice and root beer! Odd! Smells like I took one of those root beer barrel candies and rubbed it on my wrist! No…no! That’s not baby powder I smell, is it??? I get the feeling that this one will smell very, very good on theBF. The cedar smells so great until it dries and morphs into more of a powdery smell. Dry – Still all cedar, and from a distance I think the cedar could easily be mistaken for powder. Saddening, since I won’t wear it, but I’m absolutely going to finish the imp off – either on my BF or in an oil burner, because I think it would smell great as a room smell!

Ladon In Imp – WHOA…what is that smell? Kind of fruity, but more pungent, not flowery or incense-y but definitely sweet. Oh yeah. That’s that golden apple! Kicks ya right in the nose! Wet -Dear Horse…PLEASE don’t eat me. I swear I’m not an apple. (Or a little apple flower for that matter.) Dry – All hyacinth and apple blossom. My skin really amps these florals, I wish it had more of the white musk and dragon’s blood to balance it out, but alas it’s all florals (and a tiny hit of golden apple peel in there somewhere.) I’m sure this one is great if you love a balanced, sweet flowery scent, but that’s just not my bag, baby. This is one I regret I’ll be trading, as it’s just not for my skin

Midnight is a very white floral, pleasant when wet but the dryness of the drydown (as inelegantly worded as that sounds) parches the flowers and leaves them too dry for my body. It's just a step away from going powdery. Once again (as if I needed any reassurance) sweet or strong florals just don't do it for me. Surprisingly, I dunked my wrist in some warm water and this scent became nicer when I re-wetted it. Again I think this would be a lovely scent for someone who likes florals, but this is just to much floral for me. Wet it was bearable, dry I wanted to start looking for my grandma. (Gran? You there? I can smell you!)

Sea of Glass In the imp: Smells like my clothes do after they’ve been sitting in a beach house (unworn and clean, of course!) for a week. Definitely smells like a room spray that I would use in a beach house. Wet: The ocean! This is the way all beach houses smell. The sweet sea air, a hint of floral (honeysuckle? Lilac?) Hot wooden decks under the sandy sun, washing off with sweet soap in the shower after a day of swimming in the ocean. Dry: This still smells…nice. A lot of that salty-warm sea air scent has gone and what lingers is the tiny floral note that reminds me of beach-house room spray. This smells almost exactly like a bottle of room spray I bought in college that had a beach scene on the front, actually. It’s not an unpleasant smell at all, and I think I would like it a lot more if my college dorm room hadn’t smelled like this one year. Overall it's a lovely scent but just not for me.

Hell’s Belle In the imp: Spices and mandarin swirled with a touch of an antiqued flower. The musk has aged in this bottle . Wet: The flowers are very prominent here, especially the magnolia on my skin. It reminds me vaguely of gardenia, but without that summertime-sweetness. Dry: Gone a little bit powdery, but still retains almost all of the scent of the flowers. It’s a very fresh but sweet floral, and I think if I was into smelling like sweet flowers I would really like this one. Alas, I’m just not a fruity, sweet, flowery girl. I need white, light scents, white musks, sandalwoods, and about the only flowers I can pull off are lavender and sweet pea.

Mouse's Long and Sad Tale is one of my favorite BPAL scents thus far. It was also the first bottle I bought. This is the bottle that I carry in my purse, not caring if it gets scuffed up or how fast I use it because it's that worth it. This is my go-to fall and winter scent. (Whereas I would call Embalming Fluid my go-to spring/summer scent.) This perfume, to me, is Christmas. It's the sharp, pungent scent of Christmas trees indoors, baking spices, chocolate (from the vanilla. Counterintuitive, huh?) and a slight warmth from the sandalwood/amber. I love it when I pull my scarves off the rack in my closet and they still smell like MLaST. I think I love this scent so much because it's more difficult for me to pull the individual notes apart. Yes I get vanilla, but it's not a "wow, you smell like vanilla" kind of whiff. It smells like everything I listed above because of the unusual combination of food, flower, incense, and amber. I usually like to break scents down by note and talk about how they interact in my reviews, but this one my nose just takes in as a whole and I love it that way.

In the Imp: The mint and a muddle of other green herbs pops the most here. It’s fuzzy and lush and green and it actually reminds me a bit of a large garden store in summer when the heat bakes the green smell from the marigolds and other flowers. Wet: Lime, wet, cold, summer limes of the kind you want to squeeze into your cocktail. The perfect blend of sweet and tang. And green herbs. Smells like I chopped up a bunch of things to mix into a fantastic summer cocktail, but then instead of pouring rum over the muddled herbs, I just rubbed them on my wrist instead. Wet the lavender is not noticeable, but I hope it pops a bit on the drydown. Dry: Both the lime and crushed-green herbs calm down a bit and the lavender floats through, blending with the two green scents to calm it. This smells like a bar of soap I’d love to use in a spa or something luxurious that my mom would receive as a present, but that you’d never find in a regular store. The green herbs no longer smell like I’m walking through a garden store, but rather more like they’ve been perfectly preserved in a tonic with lavender. The lime that was so present before has really faded and blended with the lavender and acts to join the scents of the herbs to the floral of the lavender. Overall: I love this scent, the way the four elements play together is intriguing and more complex than you’d think they could be. This one definitely pulls up memories and images in my head – I love scents that make me think and remember. This is a great, light, clean scent that I could wear casually. To an inexperienced sniffer this one could just smell like soap, but its beauty comes from a long, deep sniff and the separation and analysis of the notes. I wouldn’t expect say, my dad, to fully appreciate the complexity of this scent - he'd probably just say I smelled like a spa and leave it at that.

I know that technically Cheshire Cat is grapefruit, but it sure smelled like fresh apple on me! I got a note of citrus now and again, but I kept smelling and thinking "apple!"

A negatively charged scent. Ambergris, Spanish Moss, oakmoss and three electric mints. Sadly, cathode was awful on me! I didn't even bother to write up a full-length review about it it got that awful that quickly. As soon as it dried on my skin, it turned into a mixture of baby powder and old lady. (I guess that would make it old-lady powder?) I smelled SO much like a big, round old lady with a heavily scented massive bosom that I had to get the bartender at work to pour me an ounce of Vodka to get it off my skin! Will definitely trade this one off!

In the bottle: This smells almost exactly like Tide in the bottle, with a scent in the back that is hard to identify - its almost a lemon candy smell, I can't quite put my finger on it. Wet on skin: Still Tide-like, it smells soapy in me (but I hesitate to say it "turned" soapy since it smelled like this in the bottle.) The tide is all I can smell, and I'm having a hard time getting past it to any other lingering scent. Dry on skin: I can smell the roses in the background now, and they meld with the berries and soap scent to mellow them both out. It's reminding me of stepping into a craft store. I can get the maple leaf smell in the back, and it's pleasant, not strong or cleaner-like. Later: The rose fades after just ten minutes (which is fine, as I don't like rose smells.) The smell keeps morphing from soapy to floral to woodsy and green. Later I can definitely smell the "cold" and it reminds me of snow and ice on the ground, clean but with the florals still lingering. Verdict: I really like it! I love that the scent changes each time you sniff it. It's floral without being heavy or sweet, it's herbal without being sharp, and soapy without being generic. It smells clean and fresh, cold and floral! Rating 1-10: 8.5

I've really gotta add some props for the alcohol method. I had a bottle of Skyy vodka sitting around that had like 1/3 of an oz. left in the bottom, and when baby wipes and soap and water didn't take pannychis off my skin, Skyy erased it like a magic erase board! Of course, you don't have to use top-shelf vodka (I'd save your Grey Goose for drinking, haha) but it definitely works!

Woo, my first review! In bottle: Floral warring with an incense (definitely sandalwood) smell. Lingers between sweet and smoky, the sweet being more prominent. The jasmine smells more like my grandmother's lilac to me. Wet on skin: I can definitely smell a lilac and sweet flower smell, but the sandalwood smell has disappeared and is not present on me at all. The resins are completely absent as well and the smell is just sweet and floral. Dry on skin: The lilac has faded to a definite jasmine smell and has mellowed quite a bit, perhaps blending with the lily to form a smell that just brings to mind a very light purple color. There are very faint hints of spice and incense in the back of the smell that are almost musky on my skin, but not heavy at all. Later: The currant begins to pop some more as the florals mellow out a bit, lending it a fruity sweetness that tempers the nectar of the flower. The incense and resin smells begin to blend in to the flower as well. It turns a quite soapy on my skin. Verdict: This is one I definitely have to apply sparingly as the combination of sandalwood and jasmine can get very heavy and headache-inducing on me, even when I barely touch the dry-ish wand to my skin. Rating 0-5: 1