Lyrical

In imp: ice cold apples. Wet on skin: huh - Rose Red??? Cold, crunchy apples, and yes, it does remind me of Rose Red - not rose petals but the stem and leaves - the smell of a dewy rose bush! It's mostly apple, though. (For the record, I described Rose Red as "a very sharp, green, woody rose" rather than a rosy rose!) This is a bit on the cold side for me, but I like it more than I thought I would! Dry on skin: very sharp, almost lemony, but also sweet and pretty.

In imp: apples and dry leaves and bonfires in the twilight. Just as good as I thought it would be. Wet on skin: mmmmmmm ... oh - um - there's patchouli! It's lovely, though - sweet and fruity, with earthy fig, toasted almond, apples and smoke. Patchouli stays in the background, spicy carnation sweetens and lightens it a little and I'm not sure what Indian musk smells like, but this is excellent stuff! Dry on skin: the carnation is coming out more, with its characteristic spice. Patchouli has realised it's unwanted and gone away. Fig, apple and a trace of almond are having a party on my arm! It's sweet and warm and spicy and the perfect autumn scent! It itches a bit, though. The second testing confirmed that this is an awesome scent. Even better than Samhain. Unfortunately, it also burns and causes red patches on my skin.

In imp: like someone dropped the contents of the spice rack into Love's Philosophy! Wet on skin: clove and cinnamon over a custard-y vanilla, and something unfamiliar which could definitely be pine sap (violin rosin?). Very warm and spicy. It's left my skin pink, which doesn't bode well! Dry on skin: still very realistic warm spices over custard and it stays that way. Definitely pleasant, but not swoon-worthy. And my skin is still pink where I applied it, so I don't think I'll need a bottle of this one. If you love Villainess Jai Mahal, you'll love this!

In imp: buttery rum and vanilla, and surprisingly fruity! It smells wonderful! *pauses a moment to fully appreciate the hugeness that is MonsterBait: Underpants - possibly the most sought after scent in the world of BPAL ... * Wet on skin: still oddly fruity, warm and yellow, with creamy vanilla and sandalwood that smells of fresh wood shavings. Mmmmmmm - this is sooooo goooood! It's buttery and sweet (but not sickly) and absolutely lickable, with a boozy tang of rum. It reminds me a little of Haloes, but without the icky note that spoiled Haloes for me. Oh wow - I love this far too much! I really hope Beth resurrects it - perhaps to celebrate Lillith Victoria being potty-trained!!! Dry on skin: still gorgeous! No, wait a minute ... probably even better! This is buttercup yellow like a sunny meadow. It's warm, sweet and lickable, and it has just the right amount of throw - I can smell it without huffing my arm and without slathering, although believe me - I'm huffing my arm too! There is a reason why this scent is so sought after! It fades a little on the drydown, and eventually goes to sweet and powdery custard, but every stage of it is wonderful! This is the perfect vanilla scent! Next morning: it's still there, in the form of a faint glow of soft vanilla close to my skin. I cannot emphasise enough how gorgeous this vanilla is!

In the imp: Vick's Vaporub! Wet on skin: Vick's with something sharp. The sharpness fades fairly quickly, and rose and jasmine-y osmanthus come out to play. It has nowhere near the warmth of Samhain, but I think the similarity of the dry leaves (Vick's) is enough to trick my brain into thinking I smell apples! Dry on skin: you know - it really does smell apple-y! Lighter than Samhain, but in the same scent family, and definitely autumnal. Crunchy brown leaves, bonfire smoke, and damp earth under light autumn rain, with a hint of red apples. I prefer Samhain, though.

In imp: honey with fruit and spices. This reminds me strongly of a hedgerow - a real English hedgerow full of honeysuckle, brambles and nettles. I was so scared of the mead, but this is beeyooootiful! Wet on skin: honey - spiced honey glowing with fresh greenery and spices. Sooooo goooooooood! I only put a tiny bit on (since I only have a tiny drop) but the throw is excellent, saving me the trouble of glueing my arm to my face! Dry on skin: rich, spicy honey, no longer with the freshness of a real hedgerow, but dark brown and delicious. Later: BPAL honey always becomes cloying on me, and this is no exception. It's still delicious, but not as nice as it was wet! I think it's the best honey scent I've tried, though - a dark, rich honey!

In bottle: yummy cake batter, yet also rich and womanly! The hazelnut is grainy (as in Harvest Moon 06) - how on earth can a scent be grainy? Wet on skin: warm and rich and soft and womanly. Foody, yet not foody. This is sooooo good! I don't want to take my arm away from my nose ever again! Dry on skin: OK - the drydown isn't quite as good as the wet stage, but it's still lovely! Hazelnut, vanilla and honey are sweet and foody, but they are perfectly balanced by the warm, woody radiance of the sandalwood, amber and myrrh. Move over 13 - I have a new foody-perfumey favourite (meaning one I can wear to work as opposed to straight-up foody, which I only wear at home)! An hour later: this fades really fast, so I put some more on my neck, while sniffing my arm to work out what it smelled like, because it was kind of odd. Not unpleasant, but not as it had been for the first hour. I finally realised it smells of mushrooms! Not all the time. The throw remains warm with amber and myrrh, but close to the skin - indisputably mushrooms! I wonder if aging it will help?

In bottle: sweet, pretty, with a softer plum scent than the lab's regular plum, over a whisper of pale musk and ginger. Reminiscent of Kitsune Tsuki but without the jasmine. Wet on skin: there's something almost thick and foody in here, but it's faint. I think it's the ginger and Chinese musk combined with the plum. Softly sweet and spicy, but rather faint. *applies more* It's got an oriental quality (unsurprisingly, given the description). Dry on skin: ah - now it's amping up a bit, and it's very pretty! The musk and ginger add body to the plum blossom and peony, but it remains subtle and perfumey. Chinese musk appears to be pale, but not cold like white musk - this definitely has a gentle warmth to it. WIN! If you like Kitsune Tsuki, you should try this.

In bottle: sweet frankincense, pale and cold. Wet on skin: white musk and pale florals, crisp, cool and sweet. No throw! Dry on skin: it's cool, floral and just a little bit soapy. The white musk is the same as the one in Black Pearl, but the frankincense and florals make it sharper and colder. Later: more frankincense comes out, and it's sweet, pale and smoky. This is now much nicer than I thought it would be. Because All Souls was dreadful on me, I thought perhaps frankincense was to blame, but this makes me think of a white version of Horreur Sympathique. It's very, very clean!

In bottle: clean, pure, sweet, the same gentle lavender note as The Oblation. Wet on skin: lavender and magnolia (like Yvaine). Otherwise it's very white and clean and soapy. A good throw develops, but it tickles my nose like dryer sheets or soapsuds. Dry on skin: close to the skin is an icky (pooey?) note I rightly or wrongly associate with jasmine. The throw is still very clean - too clean! It smells vaguely institutional or like laundry detergent. It's not unpleasant - it just has bad associations for me. Later: the white (crystal) musk is cool and almost minty, and the ickiness has subsided. it's cottony vanilla sweet, without being the least bit foody - like freshly laundered cotton bedsheets or baby powder. The drydown is good enough to warrant a second test, but I don't think this is for me.

In bottle: very fruity, with an undercurrent of cocoa. Wet on skin: tangerine/mandarin, with the bitter pith included, blended with the good sort of chocolate and a hint of tea. Comparisons to Terry's Chocolate Orange aren't far wrong, but this has more bitterness and a fruity-floral background. Dry on skin: a very realistic bitter orange, with very dark chocolate. Not my favourite of the 13s. I suspect it was better fresh! But if you like your chocolate dark and bitter, this might be the one for you! Later: it softens a bit and the sweet, jammy currant comes out to play, but the bitter orange hangs on to the very end!

In bottle: as with the orange label 13 (one of my favourite BPALs), I can smell a touch of chocolate, but the fruity and woody notes are stronger. Wet on skin: fruity-spicy goodness with no chocolate at all! Peach, starfruit, ginger and clove take centre stage. It's creamy and exotic, but also warm and comforting. The fruit starts to go a little sharp on me, which has happened with peach before. Not much throw. Dry on skin: white chocolate appears, although it's more like a white chocolate drink than a bar of chocolate. Vanilla joins in, softening the fruit, and there's a slight nuttiness which must be from the massoia bark. Subtle and pretty in an almost-but-not-quite-foody way. Verdict: I love this! The peach is the same as the rich, baked peach in Jack, the massoia adds a nutty coconut richness, while white chocolate and vanilla keep this creamy and comforting. It's different from my favourite orange label 13, but similar enough in tone that everyone who enjoys one of them should try the other! This scent makes me happy!

In the vial: very blue! Fresh, floral, gingery, and the bergamot and nectarine give a citrussy brightness. Wet on skin: fresh, sweet citrus with ginger and green tea over a smooth background of florals and beeswax. Dry on skin: the pale blue of the lilac, and the lily of the valley join the aforementioned notes and the result is fresh, sweet and pretty. Very nice! If you like Vampire Tears you should definitely try this - it's in the same floral-citrus family. Unfortunately it's very light with almost no throw at all, so I think the imp will be gone very quickly, and I have my doubts about how well it will age. But it's a really beautiful scent! By the way, this is nothing like the bottle artwork! The label is scary but the scent is sweet, gentle and innocent!

In the vial: a soft, sweet lemon, with opium, heliotrope, coconut and vanilla. Nice! Wet on skin: oh so pretty! I can smell lemon and apricot mingling with opium, creamy heliotrope, coconut and vanilla. Dry on skin: creamy and lemony-fruity, but not at all foody. I really like this one, although probably not quite enough to buy a bottle.

In the vial: liquorice?!!! The oil is really dark, and it smells dark too, with way too much patchouli! Kind of murky and horrible! Wet on skin: nasty! Very dark with lots of patchouli. I can't make out the other notes. Dry on skin: not for me at all!

In the vial: very rich, golden and creamy. Wet on skin: beautiful! A rich, spicy, woody, golden scent, beautifully balanced, and very expensive-smelling! Dry on skin: I usually amp amber, and this is no exception. It's a very beautiful amber, though, tempered by the other notes. I suspect this would be balanced better on someone who doesn't amp amber. I'll have to try it in a locket.

In the vial: rich, brown, fruity, slightly smoky, with lots of plum. Wet on skin: sweet and warm, with plum taking the lead, but the other notes close behind. Dry on skin: there's something a little sour here. I can smell mostly plum and patchouli, with a little frankincense. It's smooth, earthy, and slightly creamy, but still fruity. This really doesn't do much for me, but I'm sure it would be great on someone else!

In the vial: sweet, white, pale, light, musky, smoky, flowery (in that order). Wet on skin: faint! Where did it go? I should perhaps point out at this point that I hate lilac - even fresh lilac blossoms on the bush in my garden! This has lilac, which is the first note I pick up, but it is soon joined by coconut, vanilla, and a very soft, gentle musk. Dry on skin: I can barely smell this. It's mostly coconut, soft musk, tobacco and lilac, and quite pretty but nothing special.

In the vial: cream, apple, caramel and amber, with a hint of teak. Foody, yet not quite foody. Wet on skin: sweet, creamy, apple-y and gorgeous! It reminds me strongly of Creepy, but there's much more going on here than in Creepy! A dark, sexy musk swirls in the background with amber and teak, until it's quite masculine! At this point, the cream starts to go a little sour. Dry on skin: I can smell all the notes and I'm not sure what to make of them combined! Gooey caramel and sharp apple are fighting over whether the cream is going to be sour or not, teak is always masculine on me, and I'm not sure where the spice note is coming from. There was a brief sawdust-and-yoghurt phase, but it keeps morphing. Definitely intriguing, but not for me. Great lasting power! 12 hours later I could still smell this on my arm!

In the vial: fig with lots of warm, dark, red-brown notes behind it. Wet on skin: sweet, earthy fig and orange over a woody-herby-spicy background. Predominantly fruity, but in an earthy, woody way! I like it! Dry on skin: woody, orangey fig with resins and spice. Nice! It's not at all like perfume, but more like a much better version of my skin, if that makes any sense! Second test: Not as much fruit this time and I find this to be too dark and resinous for me. But the final dry down is totally gorgeous!

In the vial: rich florals with musk, clove and vanilla. Darkish brown in colour. Wet on skin: very dark and rich, and almost smoky - perhaps it's the red musk combining with the clove that does that? I think there's another note that's not listed - perhaps patchouli or even vetiver - giving that dark sourness! Then vanilla emerges and lifts it into the realms of foody. The second time I tested it I could swear there was heliotrope. Dry on skin: I really didn't expect this to be so dark and spicy! The vanilla and clove are yummy, but I don't like the way rose combines with the other notes. However it's sweet, and it's teetering on the edge of gorgeous! I'll just have to wait and see where it goes next! Conclusion: I think it's a bit too dark and spicy for me. There's a note here I don't like, although I'm not sure what it is. It is very nearly lovely, though! In fact it definitely has its moments! Great lasting power! 12 hours later I could still smell this on my arm!

In bottle: fruity, creamy, foody, redcurrant and blueberry. Wet on skin: sweet, fruity, creamy, a little reminiscent of Cheshire Moon only MUCH nicer! Redcurrants, blueberries, a hint of ginger, and vanilla, like a delicious cake with fresh berries on. There is something on the jasmine-y side of floral here, but it's behaving nicely and staying in the background. Dry on skin: a cool musk emerges and everything stays very sweet and fun and fruity. This is a truly yummy scent and just what I was hoping for! Later on: after an hour the throw increases as ginger and coriander amp up for a while. Close to the skin is a very cool note which I would have thought was white rather than red musk. The juicy berries are starting to recede. After 3 hours it reminds me of Black Opal's icy white musk and vanilla, but the fruit and spices are still playing hide and seek in the background. Very nice indeed - a playful and delicious scent.

In bottle: very dark, herbal scent - brown and forest green - that must be the oakmoss. A little incense-y. Wet on skin: dark, masculine cologne. Everyone is saying it's purple, but to me it's brown and green! Slightly vinegary. Dry on skin: very dark and shadowy, unlike the partial eclipse itself, which was on a bright, sunny day here and therefore barely noticeable! The predominant notes seem to be oakmoss and lavender, and I wonder if there's vetiver here somewhere. Lurking underneath are some soft fruity and flowery notes, but they are barely noticeable. It's not unpleasant, but it's not something I think I'd ever wear. Later on: pomegranate, sandalwood and musk make an appearance as the intense greenness gives way to something softer, sweeter and spicier. It's still an outdoor scent, but no longer a deep, dark forest. There's something a little sour and sickly about it, though. The notes don't seem to blend together very well. Perhaps aging will help? I'll try it again when it's recovered from its long journey.

If you request a reducer cap when you order from the lab, they will add them to your parcel free of charge, then you put them on the bottles yourself. I adore them, because they make application so easy and prevent spills. Some oils are thicker than others, but I label and keep the original caps just in case the oil becomes too thick for a reducer cap with aging. The lab can also send wand caps for the nominal fee of 50 cents (but it might be wise to check the current price before ordering).

In bottle: spiced orange tea and a hint of Beths "furry cat" amber (the one that's in Bastet and The Lion). Wet on skin: definitely orange, tea and spices - clove, cardamom and cinnamon, I think. It's quite faint at first. Dry on skin: as it dries a soft, spicy aroma wafts through the air. Mmmmmmmmmm! Sweet, warm and gentle, with a hint of orange and black tea. Stings slightly on my skin, but that soon passes and there are no welts! This is a winner! After a while the predominant note is a smoky, spicy amber, dark brown, rich, soft, dry and warm. The orange and tea are mere hints in the background, then later it becomes an extremely realistic spiced black tea. After 6 hours it turns into a powdery musk, which is ok but a little pungent so I wipe it off and reapply then. This is a beautiful scent! Perhaps a little manly, but that won't stop me wearing it. It's so warm and comforting!