oldgentleman

Never before in my life have I actually said "Ack! Fftt!" much less accompanied those noises with an uncontrollable shiver. Until I opened Luperci. It was that good and that bad all at once. I still can't even decide if I like it, and that is unsettling. All those notes I love -patchouli, balsam, beeswax, musk- all are overpowered by the juniper. That was true in the bottle, wet, dried down, and hours later. And there's a persistent aftertaste to it that is somehow very like the smell of Goldfish crackers. There's also an impression of evergreens and juniper smoke that is very appealing; but Luperci '10 is not for me.

In the imp: Freshly snapped off cedar twigs and a smoky base that must be the labdanum and amber. Wet on skin: Lemon verbena and cedar. Delicious. Drydown: Verbena and cedar with a slightly sweet resinous base. It really is like well polished wood. It smells great on me but it would be perfect as a room scent: I want my home to always smell like this.

Imp: Balm of Gilead is the main note. Wet on skin: Lemon balm! I don't think I've ever encountered this scent in any fashion other than the plant itself. Very exciting that it's wearable without sticking lemonbalm leaves behind my ears. I can also pick out the Balm of Gilead, the benzoin and beeswax smoothing out the metallic frankincense, and the sage. It's accurate in that it doesn't smell like a manufactured lemon scent but a naturally obtained one. Drydown: A great balance of resin and incense, and the lemon balm and sage and hint of frankincense provide the gleaming bright brass aspect. Delicious! Medium throw. It stuck around for about three hours and after that I had to huff my wrist to smell it.

Another vote for the "well-blended" camp. Imp: Frankincense with a green afternote. Wet on skin: Still frankincense but the bottom notes are strengthening. The frankincense gives it a metallic tang, but doesn't go over to the cheap-cologne scent I was afraid of. It's borderline, but rescued itself in the drydown. Dry: Smooth frankincense (usually for me it's harsh and leaves a metallic tang until it's washed off), a sweetness that can almost be tasted at the end of each whiff that must be caused by the anise, and an underlying base that keeps it all from being too light and sharp, which must be the leather note. I rarely like frankincense because it's so often too metallic and dominant on my skin. This one was kind to me. There's almost no throw, unfortunately; and it's gone in a couple of hours.

In the imp: Sweetened cranberry juice. Wet on skin: Cranberry soap -- fake, sweet, no tartness left. Drydown: I wanted to smell like cranberries but my skin devoured this in under 30 mins. Scent: 1/5 Staying power: 0/5.

I got Rose Cross as a frimp. I strongly dislike rose scents, and frankincense often does me wrong; but I tried it because the name was so compelling. Imp: Fresh, crushed roses and rosewater. Pretty! Wet on skin: It's fresh and it's very strong, but it's clean and natural: not stuffy or frumpy. Dry down: The frankincense comes out and gentles the sheer, overwhelming rose-ness rising in billows from my wrist. Unfortunately, the frankincense has a bitter edge to it and the whole affair quickly ends up going sour. Literally. What's left of the rose scent is frighteningly old-ladyish. 30 minutes later, it's gone. Once again, my skin has chewed up another floral. Alas.

Wet: a burning vanilla tealight: heat, sweetness, and melted wax. On skin: a just-snuffed beeswax candle. Drydown: warm beeswax beginning to set, and a gentle curl of candle smoke wafting upward. The throw is magnificent and it's long lasting -- 6 hours later it's still smelling great. It became a bit sweeter, (more of a honey note,) but the warm wax and smoke are still present. For you it may bring Hanukkah to mind, or Christmas candles... For me it brings to mind the rows of lit candles at Hexham Abbey: 35p a-piece, with a little card -- Lighting a candle is a parable: burning itself out, it gives light to others. The perfume oil itself is smooth and gentle from start to finish, but its genius is in the accuracy and mood that brings back so many scent-memories! This is a must-try if you haven't sniffed it! One bottle may not be enough, as I will wear this frequently. It's immediately moved into my top 10. edited to fix typo

Wet, it's dragon's blood with a bottom note of cinnamon. Dragon's blood frequently turns sickly sweet on my skin, but this dried down to a warm scent that wasn't sugary. It came out smelling richer and more mature than I had expected. The cinnamon and pepper are perfect to balance out the resiny top note, and the clove takes the edge off the spiciness. This one always gets compliments when I wear it.

In the bottle: Ambergris and frankincense. It was so strong that I turned away and said "eurgh!" Wet on skin: Even worse, combined with the realization that frankincense and myrrh smell amazing on other people but on me they never fully lose their edge. The ambergris and frankincense are wielding boards with nails in them and are thrashing my poor nose in a back alley Dry down: The cumin and coriander are detectable as bottom notes. The scent has lightened up and the grape lends a freshness that works well with it. The myrrh is smoothing it all out, and the frankincense and ambergris have ceased their heinous assault. It works very well, and it fits the description. I'll keep it, let it age, and wear it occasionally when I have the time to let it hit the drydown stage before I step out the door. However, as incense scents go, I liked Valentine of Rome better.

From imp to drydown: Distilled essence of Gold Dial soap! The scent that permeated my grandparents' bathroom and still makes me miss them. I can't get beyond that, and I can't stop huffing it. This also is the perfect, sexy, clean, shagalicious men's cologne.

In the imp: Sage! with men's cologne. Wet on skin: Fresh, crushed sagebrush. The metallic note comes out, and yes, it's golden. The colour could just be my subconscious agreement with the original description but it does have a metal aftertaste. Let's call it 'burnished brass' because calling it that brings the same picture to mind as if I had polished the brass and now have dirty fingers and can taste the metal on the air and through my skin: and that's pretty close to the hot-metal-aftertaste-in-your-mouth feeling I got. Drydown: Dried sage and a hint of myrrh. Very classy and evocative!

It is everything I never thought I'd like. Boozy fruit flowers? Fruity booze flowers? ... Flowery booze fruits! Whatever! I hate fruity, I hate boozy, and I most definitely hate flower scents. This, however, is fabulous! I bought it because of the name and the Egyptian poetry, in hopes that it would match the poem. And it does. Because Beth is a genius. In the bottle: Heavy and overripe. It smells RED and fake and boozy and trashy and too sweet and flowery. Wet on my skin: Pomegranate wine! It's overpowering. Drydown: It morphs quickly to a strong, clear, and simple scent that I can best describe as Fresh: squeeze a pomegranate into a bowl, toss in a lotus blossom and a stem of hyssop and a freshly peeled reed, sprinkle with wine, and mash together. Staying power: It's still going strong 12 hours later! The throw is truly astonishing. One teeny dab of bottle to skin is all it takes. This is a super-strong cyborg-enhanced ueber-scent! I will be scrounging for another bottle!

In the imp: Vetiver and patchouli. Wet on my skin: Black pepper and benzoin with whiffs of patchouli and maybe a background hint of something like tree sap. Drydown: Smooth vanilla with dried coconut shreds and black pepper and hints of patchouli in the background. FANTASTIC! I'ma have to beat 'em away with a stick! I will be buying a bottle!

This was a frimp. 'Madrid' is a dead ringer for traditional, syrupy, fruit cordial with cloves. I should know, I still make my grandmother's recipe for it! It became a little bit more wine-y after it dried, but the scent of dark fruit and booze-soaked cloves was still overpowering. It gave me a headache; and it was the strongest, most pervasive scent I've ever gotten from the Lab. If you like the smell of booze and cloves, then the throw and staying power will delight you.

In the imp: BAM! Fresh, pungent, grated orange peel and cocoa with slight woodiness in the aftertaste. Try to whiff this while standing up! Fresh on my skin: Bitter orange so sharp that it makes my head swim. Drydown: Baking chocolate. 10 mins later: Hints of mandarin and chocolate, delicious herb and incense scent with wafts of musk. 3 hours later: It's gone unless I huff my wrist. It's disappointing to find that my skin eats it. This oil is very evocative; and each time I wear it, I feel like I'm on top of the world. It's an invigorating, strenthening scent - a little ferocious - and it's aptly named. Scent - 5/5 Staying power 2/5

I got this as a frimp. Imp: It was horrible at first sniff - the scents of candy and crowds of tweenies in cheap perfume. So I put it back in the imp box for a few months... Wet: the notes are now delightfully discernable - baking chocolate, boxed red wine, sandalwood and patchouli, and amber are all distinct! Whiffs of cheap fun and wafts of the exotic: it really does fit the Shojo Beat theme. Dry: Aging did wonders for this. It's gone from ick status to wow status The dry down is chocolate-dipped fruit on top of a mild sandalwood/patchouli. Not an every-day scent, but I regret that I only have a imp of it. End of day: it hung on for about 5 hours and then petered off; but up close my wrist still smells delicious.

In the bottle: It's the scent of wet earth and rotting leaves - so strong it makes the back of my throat hurt. Wet on my skin: Still sharp and very strong, just like in the bottle. Dry: The spicy scent of dry fallen leaves in cold air, with a bit of damp moss still attached to the tree trunk, and the smell of fresh dark dirt. The smoke is faint for me. 16 hours later: I still smell marvelous! I've worn this several times over the past couple of weeks, and it seems to attract employees who arrive outside my cube and can't explain themselves other than to say that 'Something smells fresh. Did you just go outside?' Score: 5/5 - One bottle will not be enough. When I was a child, my parents had an Eastern Tulip tree, which was vastly out of place considering it was entirely on the opposite side of the continent to which it is native. The leaves fell and turned brown and slimy and waterlogged immediately, and I had to scoop them up off the bare dirt of the terraced hill with a pitchfork (they were too heavy to rake). On the other side of the house was a maple tree with a swing; and we would rake the leaves into a heap so I could launch myself into them. There were also fields which, in autumn, were often burned off. In October, before everything turned to mud, my mother would turn under the vegetable garden into furrowed rows of black dirt and broken stalks. This is exactly, precisely, and perfectly that blend of scents. In other words, it is a work of art.