stardreamer

In the imp and fresh on: Sweet, slightly floral. Drydown: Mostly vanilla and jasmine, with the sandalwood adding a dark under-note. This stays fairly constant, with the rest of the florals nicely in the background and only the barest hint of cinnamon. I think the honey is blending into the vanilla. Long-term: The florals fade back, leaving primarily vanilla; very late in the game the jasmine reappears. Staying power is average -- after 13 hours only a tiny trace remains. Bottom line: Pleasant, not offensively floral, and I like vanilla. This one's a keeper.

In the imp and fresh on: Strong and sharp! Drydown: The sharpness fades, and the coconut comes up; the patchouli makes its presence known, but stays politely in the background. Long-term: Stays nicely spicy. The sweet benzoin starts to make an appearance after an hour or so. The coconut and patchouli go together surprisingly well, and for a change they seem to fade at about the same rate -- the patchouli isn't the last thing left long after every other note disappears. Also, it's a nice deep coconut, reminiscent of the coconut note in Upa Upa (for those who remember that LE). Staying power is pretty good -- after 12 hours it's still fairly present on my wrists. Bottom line: I didn't observe any of the claimed effects -- but as far as scents go, this one's definitely a keeper.

In the imp and fresh on: Ew, rose. Drydown: The rose drops back into a more generalized floral/green, with just a hint of something spicy (carnation, maybe). Long-term: The rose keeps fading back, and the rest fades more slowly; by the end of the day it's fairly ordinary as floral scents go. Staying power is average; after 10 hours, it's still noticeable on my wrists but most of the throw is gone. Bottom line: Not unpleasant after the first couple of minutes, but not the sort of thing I tend to wear. Swap pile for this one.

In the imp and fresh on: Fruity -- must be the cider! Drydown: The florals come up a bit, so now it's a nice fruity/floral mix. Long-term: After a while the amber comes up and adds a different level of sweetness to the mix. This is a very nice scent, pleasant but unobtrusive, something that you could wear to a job interview without worrying about offending the interviewer. Staying power seems about average -- 11 hours and it's nearly gone. Bottom line: Definite keeper.

In the imp and fresh on: Very masculine, with a distinct "men's cologne" feel. Drydown: Becomes more herbal/spicy, but still with the "men's cologne" aura. Long-term: Doesn't change much until the very end, when the non-musk notes start fading back and the musk sweetens a bit. Staying power is about average; 12 hours and it's mostly gone. Bottom line: Not a bad scent, but rather too masculine for my taste. If my guy wore scents, I'd try it on him; as it is, it's headed for the swap pile.

In the imp and fresh on: Wood and evergreens. Drydown: This settles out nicely. The sharp evergreen scent fades back and the wood comes to the fore, with hints of spiciness. Long-term: The earthy undernote does present itself after a while, but never becomes really noticeable. Overall, this is a pleasant, woody scent with a little spice -- an earthier, less aquatic relative of Mary Read. Staying power seems about average; after 11 hours, it's still a bit present on my wrists, but there's no throw. Bottom line: It's not going to be a top favorite, but it's a very nice scent and will definitely get used.

In the imp and fresh on: I can really smell the lime in this! Too bad it won't last. Drydown: Yep, there went the lime -- my skin eats BPAL citrus for breakfast. Oddly, I'm not getting much hibiscus either. What I am getting is slightly bitter; perhaps that's the matcha. Long-term: The hibiscus comes out more strongly after a while, and blends well with the sweetness of the white musk. But there's no throw at all, and it's not a strong scent even on my skin. Staying power is about average -- 12 hours and it's nearly gone. Bottom line: Not a bad scent, but nothing noticeable or memorable about it, and the opening could be more pleasant. Swap pile.

Powerful, commanding, blazing with strength. In the imp and fresh on: That's odd, I'm getting almost a floral note from this. It reminds me of the lily-of-the-valley in The Death-Horse, but not as in-your-face as that was. Drydown: I've worn blends with Dragon's Blood in them before, and this is nothing like them, and still more floral than anything else. It's weird. Long-term: Very little change. Staying power is lower than I expect from a resin -- 11 hours and it's mostly gone. Bottom line: Not at all what I expected, and nothing like the description. This one's a swap, although not for the reason I thought it would be.

In the imp and fresh on: Oh-oh, strong burnt-sugar potential. Drydown: Okay, no burnt-sugar. What I'm getting now seems to be mostly tobacco and tonka, and that (plus rum) may have been the source of the initial impression. Long-term: This is a pleasant, masculine scent, but not so masculine that I'd be uncomfortable wearing it. The tobacco is much to the fore and only modified by the other notes, so it's rather like a sweet pipe tobacco; I agree with Kindkit that it's a discreet-Victorian-gentlemen's-club sort of scent. Staying power is surprisingly low -- 8 hours and it's very faint. Bottom line: This is absolutely going to be my go-to scent for when I'm doing steampunk! So it's a good thing that I have 2 imps of it; one can stay at home and the other go into my travel kit.

In the imp and fresh on: Masculine and sharp. Drydown: Now the red musk is coming out, It's not as Newagey as it usually smells on me -- the civet must be taming it down somewhat. Long-term: I never get anything out of this but red musk, which is not my favorite scent. And which unfortunately has staying power like whoa. Bottom line: Swap pile.

In the imp and fresh on: Very masculine, with a flowery undernote. I can catch the lily-of-the-valley, but the opopponax (alternate spellings: opoponax, opopanax) seems to be dominant. It's rather bitter-smelling, which makes sense if it's a variety of myrrh. Drydown: The lily-of-the-valley becomes a lot more apparent. I'm used to thinking of it as a light floral, but this is strong, almost cloying. It's threatening to give me a headache, which BPAL oils almost never do. Long-term: Stays pretty much the same -- strong floral with a bitter undernote. The headache never materialized, possibly because the scent started fading back. Staying power is surprisingly low for something with a resin; after 8 hours, it's nearly gone, and what lingers is not the resin but the floral. Bottom line: I just don't like this scent. Swap pile.

In the imp and fresh on: Is there actually a scent there? Most of what I'm getting is a faint sharpness. Drydown: Okay, it's coming up a bit more strongly now. Seems to be mostly moss. Oh, there's the patchouli root -- it's not as strong as regular patchouli, for a mercy. Currant? What currant? Long-term: Everything but the patchouli root drops out after a few hours. Never got anything even vaguely resembling violets. Staying power is pretty low for everything except the patchouli, which (like anything else incense-y on my skin) lasts for a very long time at low intensity. Bottom line: Swap pile.

In the imp and fresh on: Definitely tea and herbs! I like this already. Drydown: The grass comes out more strongly; now it's very green. Long-term: Stays pretty much the same until the end. I never really get the ginger or fig; it's mostly tea and grass after the first 20 minutes or so. Staying power is about average; after 12 hours it's very faint and the throw is entirely gone. Bottom line: Not a top favorite, but a nice refreshing scent, neither too light nor too strong, which will be pleasant in warm weather. Keeper.

In the imp and fresh on: Light and very sweet. I'm definitely getting the fruits, especially the pineapple, but not much else. I'd have expected the tobacco to be more of a base note than it seems to be. Drydown: Now the tobacco is coming out a bit more. Still more fruity than anything, and very low throw. Long-term: The florals and amber show up after a few hours, and after that it doesn't change much. Staying power is low-to-average; after 12 hours, it's mostly gone. Bottom line: Not awful, but not especially good either. I think it's worth keeping and making a second attempt, but it's likely to end up in the swap pile.

In the imp and fresh on: Sharp, then sweet; the ginger is much stronger in the imp than on my skin. The fruits are to the fore, with the rum just a boozy tinge in the background. Drydown: Fruity/spicy, very pleasant. Rum sometimes goes weird for me, but this isn't one of the times. What it reminds me of (because I was wearing it recently) is Rl'yeh after it morphs out of the aquatic phase, only with more fruit. Long-term: Stays pretty much the same, with a bit more underlying sweetness as time passes. A nice spiced-fruit scent, warm and autumnal. Staying power is excellent; after 12 hours, it's still very present on my wrists and even has a bit of throw. Bottom line: Keeper and favorite, especially for autumn and winter.

In the imp and fresh on: A pleasant, light, greenish-fruity scent; the honeydew is much to the fore. Drydown: Still light and sweet; the florals come out a little more, but not overwhelmingly so. Long-term: This doesn't have much staying power; after 5 or 6 hours, everything is gone except the lingering sweetness of amber and maybe a bit of white musk. Still, I like it, and there are times when you don't want a long-lasting scent. Bottom line: Not a favorite, but a keeper.

Not at all what I'd have expected from this. In the imp and fresh on, it's floral with a harsh, bitter undertone. After about 20 minutes, the harshness fades away and it becomes more spicy/floral; after a couple of hours, it becomes a sweeter floral. Black currant usually comes out strongly on my skin, but I don't get even a whiff of it in this. Staying power seems about average; after 10 hours, it's nearly gone. With the exception of those first few minutes, this isn't a bad scent -- but neither is it something that really appeals to me. Bottom line: swap pile.

In the imp and fresh on: Floral! All I'm getting is the heliotrope. Drydown: Still floral, but it's a sweet floral; that's probably the strawberry and vanilla underneath the heliotrope. Long-term: After a few hours, the amber starts to appear. At six hours, it's pretty much faded into an amber/vanilla configuration. Red musk and black cherry never put in an appearance at all. Staying power is good -- after 9 hours, it's still very present on my wrists, and much more pleasant than the opening stage. Bottom line: This isn't an unpleasant scent, but it's much too floral for my taste in the early phases, and not distinctive enough in the later ones to be worth keeping. Someone else will like it better.

I'm not normally fond of dragon's-blood blends, but Dragon's Hide surprised me, so I'll try this one and see. In the imp and fresh on: Vaguely medicinal, almost a cough-syrup smell. Drydown: Medicinal smell intensifies. Long-term: Everything fades but the sandalwood, and occasional whiffs of something that smells like fresh sweat. Staying power average, nearly gone after 10 hours. Bottom line: Swap pile.

Okay, I have NO idea what's in this (I hate vague descriptions), but it's a lot nicer than I was expecting. It does smell sort of like a lily, but there's also a sharp note like carnation or marigold. It's not too floral or the wrong kind of floral, soft and spicy and green all at once, and feminine without being overly girly. It doesn't change significantly over time, and staying power appears low-to-average; 7 hours, and it's getting faint. Bottom line: to my surprise, this one's a keeper.

Meh. On me, this is green-and-incense, with the green part fading after an hour or so, and a lingering smokiness. Never got anything that I recognized as violet, and the overall impression was somewhat masculine. It isn't nasty, but it's not something I can see myself wearing either, when I've got so many other scents I like better. Off to the swap pile.

Pumpkin is an iffy note for me; with the right other ingredients it can work, but these aren't the right other ingredients. It's sickly-sweet, evoking a surfeit of Halloween candy rather than a Jack-o-lantern, and I don't think the peach is a happy choice. More precisely, peach OR pumpkin with the nutmeg and clove, but not both. Overall it just smells "off" with my body chemistry. Swap pile ahoy!

In the imp and fresh on: Root beer?! Drydown: I'm getting mostly vanilla, with a musky undernote and just a hint of green. Vanilla + musk probably explains the initial root-beer impression. Long-term: It gets significantly more floral over time, with a soapy/powdery overlay. Staying power seems low to average -- after 7 hours, it's mostly gone. Bottom line: Meh. It's not an offensive scent, but it's not really me either. Swap pile for this one.

I really don't like vague descriptions. From the sound of this, I thought it would be strong and gamy. In the imp and fresh on: Spices! That's not at all what I was expecting, but the overall impression is mostly cinnamon and clove, and something darker but still spicy. It is indeed strong -- this is one to be applied very sparingly. Drydown: There's something unpleasant in an undernote. Could be civet, or one of the other really strong musks. It's mostly covered by the spices, but pokes thru every so often. I'm not finding the scent as a whole to be especially masculine -- more neutral. Long-term: The unpleasant note never gets very strong, and after a while it mostly fades away, leaving something I can only describe as "dark spices". Staying power is excellent, still quite present on my wrists after 12 hours. Bottom line: Not icky, but definitely not me. On the right person, it might be very attractive. I think I'm going to put this one aside; someone I know will be interested, if their skin chemistry works with it.

In the imp and fresh on: Green, grassy/fruity. Drydown: I like this. The green tea seems to be the top note, with the fig adding richness and the patchouli providing a spicy undernote. Long-term: Very little change. Staying power is average to good; it's still around after 8 hours and the patchouli (the last note to fade) is still barely perceptible after 11. Bottom line: This is a very pleasant blend, with a little more staying power than a lot of the fruity scents. Definite keeper, to be worn often!