Fyre_in_Winter

Aureus is a very interesting blend, I'll give it that. It's a brother to Voodoo and Virgo, and is maybe Perversion's nephew. (Hmm, a BPAL scent family tree. A thought for another day) This review is pretty much going to end up a comparison chart. In the vial this smells very similar to Virgo. A damp, herby/earthy smell. Wet on my skin I got the same whoosh of woodsmoke as I got from Umbra, Voodoo, and Virgo. That is usually a sound indicator of patchouli (on me). This woodsmoke was also slightly drier, as in Virgo, rather than the sweet woodsmoke from Voodoo. I don't find this necessarily unpleasant, I'm just not sure how much I like it, if that makes any sense. That slowly lightens to reveal a very soft base note. I would describe it as equal parts the soft woods of Hamadryad and the smooth musk of Virgo (minus whatever component to Virgo that causes it to smell like Avon Rapture on me) mixed with the barest drop of the creamy note that Perversion has. I can definitely see where previous reviewers have gotten the sense of coconut. There might even be a hint in here. As time goes on the smoke is fading more and more and on the whole it is sweetening up a bit. I'm going to have to sit down with Voodoo on one arm and Aureus on the other and ouright compare. Not only to see the difference, but also which one I like better, as I needs only keep one in my scent chest.

I have to admit my main motivation for swapping for Follow Me Boy was my love of Poe's "Hey Pretty" lyrics. "You've got to follow me/ Boy I'm trying to show you where I'm at" Moving onward, I received mine today and promptly dabbed some on my wrist. I don't generally go too much by how oils smell in the vial, since they just change on me anyway. While wet this smells almost exactly like (Old) Venice does on me. Very uncanny. The difference being that is there are roses in FMB, they are pretty light, though the faint tingling in my nose suggests there are some. And there's jasmine and other florals as well. Underneath those is a very warm lemon, more like a lemon syrup than true lemon, and possibly some other fruit that adds some roundess to it. And also there is something else in here giving a base note of wonderful cream. I wish I could find out what it is since it is positively scrumptious! Hmm...as time goes on that creaminess is starting to take on a hint of baby powder. Well, techinically, it smells like cream turned into dust, rather than typical baby powder. Wow, that jasmine is getting stronger. Damn, I really liked the scent and now it is morphing out of control. It is very strong and I already apply sparingly. I'm not sure about wearing this. It might be nice used as a body scrub in the springtime. More of a bath product than perfume scent, if you know what I mean.

I was very excited when I found this in my mailbox today. So for the past 5 or so hours I keep going back to obsessively sniff the bottle of this stuff. It is magical, true, liquified ideal gingerbread. I was worried how "cookie-ish" this would smell on me, but it is glorious. For about 10 minutes I smell like a better version of Yankee Candle's Harvest, then the spices sort themselves out and calm down. The nutmeg and a touch of cinnamon are most predominant. After about an hour the spices have really gone to the background, leaving this wonderful thick molasses smell. As time goes on it gets more mellow and smooth with more and more vanilla coming out. Utterly scrumptious. I'm very pleased with how good every stage smells on me, I just wish it would last a little longer. Now to see how well it layers with my Urban Decay Cream & Sugar scrub.

I'm really on the fence about this particular blend. 've tried it twice now with remarkably different results. The first time I put it on, the predictable rose 'zing' happened, maybe all the worse by the lemon. I stuck that out and it dimmed somewhat to lemon and the slightly dusty smell I associate with violets. It managed to be somewhat pretty, but definitely not a favorite. I've tried it again today, and amazingly I got almost no rose from it at all. The lemon showed up briefly but has faded, and the violets have combined nicely with the waterlily, and the currant adds a hint of juiciness in the background. Weird skin chemistry. I think I'll let the imp hang around till spring and see how it reacts to me then. To my nose this is definitely a spring/summer nightime fragrance.

I was so excited when my imp of this turned out to be tarted! Ahem, ok, on to the review. I would basically describe Tamora as sweet and spicy. Not as sweet as say, Dragon's Millk, but it's there. It's a wonderful sweet, spicy, and vaguely floral goodness. I feel like I'm wearing gold. It is a very happy and bright scent, great for springtime to help perk you up after the long winter. I only get the very slightest hint of peach from it, and only if I "look" for it. The vanilla bean keeps it from being too cotton-candyish, and I'm assuming it's the heliotrope and amber that's adding the spice. I think this would also make a great work scent, as it is very nice-smelling without being obtrusive and "perfumey."

In the vial I smell the wine and heady florals, and it is very sweet. Wet on my skin it smells like grape Kool-Aid (?!) for a few seconds before it establishes itself. The floral predominates, especially the rose, which luckily the wine barely heads off. The leather was extremely light, just giving a slight roundness to the scent. Wanda was much lovelier than I thought from the description, but it doesn't suit "me." As time goes on the wine becomes a bit more pronounced and I don't like it as much. Off to the swap pile.

I decided to put an imp of Mata Hari in my first order because it sounded like a really unusual and exotic scent. By luck of the draw, it ended up being one of the last scents I tried, and with some trepidation. In most of the blends I had tried that contained rose (Rose Red, Othello, Venice, Desire), the rose did some interesting and not always pleasant things. I did not get any coffee from Mata Hari, at any stage. I was a trifle disappointed by that. Instead, Mata Hari smells like I expected Othello to smell. The rose doesn't overwhelm or go lemon-zing, but instead stays soft, a pink rose to my mind, reined in by predominantly the fig, which is quite nice, and a hint of jasmine. And for about an hour or two it has a nice, spicy bite to it. But it's the dry down that has me hooked. This is what I'll be wearing to bed. On drydown it is a very soft and wonderful smell of rose-infused cream. Ttonka bean apparently works wonderfully with my chemistry. I'm not sure about a big bottle of this, but I'll definitely always keep an imp on hand.

Voodoo is an interesting blend and I was excited when I saw it was one of the giftie imps from the Lab. I was very put off by the smell in the vial. A rather icky combination of almond, pine, and lime. But I dabbed a bit on my hand, hoping it would become something more palatable. It did, after a few moments where it was very confused, trying to decide if it was Sprite syrup, almond extract, or pine-scented cleaner. These all abruptly vanished, leaving a sweet woodsmoke smell (based on my little note spreadsheet, this is apparently what patchouli smells like on me) underscored by vanilla. Now this is a tamer and slightly sweeter version of Umbra, which made me jump for joy. However, as it approached an hour on my skin, the vetiver creeped out of hiding. Vetiver has a pleasant, citrusy bite on me, but I'm not a fan of it by itself. And a breath of pine also came out now and again. Damn. I think I will keep it for a bit, either to layer with vanilla or try and see if it reacts differently. This is a very interesting blend. The almond was only there when wet (ashame, since I love the smell of almonds) and no clove (another love that never shows for me) or discerable myrrh appeared at all. I would love to wear it if it stayed(s) at the woodsmoke/vanilla stage, but I think this would also be utterly fantastic on a guy.

On me Cheshire Cat became very strong lime and grapefruit. After a bit the musk peeked out and smelled very animalistic. The dry down was a soft, not too bad herbal. Definitely masculine, definitely not for me.

This was a generous giftie imp from the Lab. Thus far this scenthas had the most interesting reaction with my skin. As others have said, in the vial and wet on my skin this smells like Angel. Especially in the top note. As a small side note, despite being an ardent vanilla-lover, I truly dislike Angel. On me it turns to grapefruit-chocolate-patchouli-body odor, nasty to the point I dislike Angel even when other people wear it. Back to the BPAL. It took quite a bit of courage for me to dab this on the back of my hand. I was pleasantly surprised by it, however. A light, juicy tropical floral emerged with a touch of grapefruity-zing to it. A much softer, lighter, and prettier version of Angel. Then the most peculiar base note developed beneath it. Condoms. That peculiar smell to latex condoms and balloons. It was truly bizarre, but luckily very light. I stuck that out as it seemed to be fighting to turn into something pretty. Eventually the latex smell wore away into a musky incense base note, but overall it was still a very light scent on me. So light that in under an hour it was almost gone. This is a very pretty, non-sweet, tropical floral, but it doesn't quite fit "me." So, off to the swap pile it goes.

I am sad to say Othello does not agree with my chemistry. So far I've discovered rose is amplified on my skin and "zings." That is, turns slightly lemony and shoots straight up into the nostrils and clings on for dear life. The rose in Othello seems very pink to me. This is girly in the extreme, and my mental image is helped along by the fact it smells exactly like a perfume that came with a doll I had as a child. Well, except stronger. Pleasant association, but not my kind of perfume. This oil is very strong on me, very in your face type thing. It was just barely below my headache threshold. I put up with it for about an hour, but then had to go wash it off. I never smelled anything remotely musky or spicy. Darned skin chemistry!

I ordered an imp of this since it was being discontinued and I'm a Virgo (Sept. 20). I think Penance and I might have similar skin chemistry because I got the smell of Avon's Rapture perfume! Well, at first it was buried beneath a haze of the same (though much lesser in intensity) woodsmoke smell I got from Umbra. Then it was all Rapture, sometimes with a hint of a peppery note peeking out. I don't dislike it, but since my great-grandmother wore a whole collection of Rapture products, I won't be wearing this as my perfume. I'm still undecided about keeping this around for ritual/meditation purposes. Maybe diluted and layered with something this could work out. Experiment time!

Thank you to the Lab for sticking this in with my order!!!!!!! In the vial it smells so nice and sweet, almost innocent with a smile. On the skin it explodes into cinnamon-goodness. This is one of the best cinnamons I have ever smelled, and one of the most unique. It has the dustiness of a cinnamon stick, but the sweetness of the oil used in cinnamon brooms. Then as I inhale deeply off my wrist, a soft scent brushes my nose. Yes, it produces a physical sensation, like burying your nose in a soft cat's fur. The cinnamon slowly dies down over the course of 3-4 hours. Then all that is left are the soft woods, very light but still detectable. This is a perfect everyday scent for me, cinnamon at first to wake me up, then it dying down to unobtrusive levels.

Rose Red is spectacular, plain and simple. In fact, it smells almost exactly like the Chrysler Imperial roses I used to grow. Not only is it a dew-covered rose, but it is very cool. Appropriate for a winter rose. However, as I have discovered by trying on this and other rose blends/blends with roses (Othello, Venice, Wanda) rose goes "zingy" on me. If it could sing, it would shatter glass. Olfactorily speaking, it crawls up inside your nose and attaches itself with hooks. Alas, Rose Red does the same. Luckily I have found her a good home.

I do thank the Lab for including it as a freebie, as it was interesting to compare this with Dragon's Milk (which I adore). It smelled much sweeter than I expected in the vial, and mostly floral. Wet on my skin I got a brief zing of a honeysuckle-ish floral (since that happens when I apply Dragon's Milk, methinks that might be the dragon's blood resin), then the bizarreness began. It smells on my skin like a hospital. Acrid floral air-freshener over disinfectant and tinged with the smell of urine. Luckily the last note was light enough I only had to walk, not run, to the bathroom sink. 4 washings later, and I can still smell a hint on my wrist, which is an ozone-y floral. Now this part is very clean smelling and nice. Maybe if I diluted Dragon's Tears down quite a bit it would smell like this. But I don't think it's really "me" either. Onto the swap pile it goes.

Oh my goodness, where to start? I'll work backwards then... this smells so freakin' good on me, I can't believe it. It just emanates from my skin and is so soft and breathtaking. It is definitely an unusual scent, with something familiar about it that's nagging my memory. The only way I'm even guessing there is mint in it is the slight cooling tingle around my nostrils when I inhale and exhale. The first bit I smell is a cool, extremely mild vanilla bordering on cream, which deepens and warms with the swelling of coconut and what smells to me like a tropical floral. It might be my nose tricking me, but there also seems to be a teeny hint of pineapple there too. Then it's just a cool, dry vanilla for the few seconds until I need air again. I have to get close to smell it, but then again, I apply sparingly. Now, when I sniff at the opened bottle, I get this funky thick, wet floral (is that the lily musk, maybe?) and it's kind of frightening until I remind myself how great this smells on me. I will definitely be buying a bottle or two of this every year.

This is the first BPAL blend I have smelled that contains chocolate. The imp smells of sweet cherries closed, but when I opened it I got a whiff of cocoa and bitter orange. Not being a fan of chocolate and orange together, I snapped the imp shut and a bit of the oil got on my fingers. The orange just completely exploded on my skin with the chocolate as a dry and almost bitter underlier. Now, I'm from Florida, drink the juice on a daily basis, and it will always have a place in my heart. But this convinced me that I devoutly do not want to smell like one.

This was a generous giftie from the Lab. I didn't look up the notes until after I had dabbed a tiny bit on, so my review miht sound a little odd. In the vial it smells like a very sweet, bright floral with a bit of fruity-ness, also bright, almost apple-y. Once on my skin, poof! Bright, nose tingling spice. And Floral. This stuff is strong. As time went by the overwhelming, thick floral died down into a slightly floral, rich and warm spice. It vaguely reminds me of the opening nose-tingle (very technical term, isn't it? ) I get when I smell Coco, only Bathsheba is stronger. Bathsheba smells very, very good, a great balance between the floral, spicy, and warm elements. After about an hour (and 2 washings of my wrist) it is still there, and has a very slight luscious fruit undertone. But, to my nose anyway, it is definitely a night on the town kind of scent, and too mature for me (I'm 23). I would imagine a 35+ year old woman wearing this to the opera (this is probably popping into my head because I saw Moonstruck the other day), a woman who knows herself and has the presence and sassiness to carry this off. Also when I smell this, the word 'expensive' pops into my head.

This is the perfect fall/winter scent for me. I rate it a 9.5 out of 10. Sniffing the imp I get a vague sweet spice. On my skin Perversion becomes a creamy, high quality warm vanilla tobacco plus wood that has been sitting in the sun. Did I mention creamy? Not smoke, mind you, but the wonderful smell from the tobacco in a smoke shop. The leather adds a grounding mellow hint, and is only noticeable to me if I purposely "look" for it. After it was on me for a good six hours did it start to sweeten up a bit and I got a sense of what I think is the chardonnay coming through. At no time did this smell boozey at all though. The mental image I have is of a beloved leather and wood armchair, sitting in the winter sun that's coming through the window of a snug den or library. A dish of vanilla tobacco sits on a table nearby, with a glass filmed with the dregs of the drink from the night before.

Mmmmmm... oh, I cannot get enough of this one! In the vial and on me it smelled like a sugary, warm, deep vanilla. For about 10 mintues the dragon's blood was slightly tangible beneath the sweet vanilla, the same berry-bubblegum I detected in Tintagel, but fainter and not unpleasant here. There was also a strong gardenia or honeysuckle type floral, but it faded within an hour. Then it became the ultimate sweet vanilla, in my opinion. The dragon's blood helps ground it and give some depth.. Just sweet, warm, lusciousness. Definite 5 or 10 ml for me.

I was encouraged when the sniff of the imp was a true-non-sweet blackberry with some dusty greens lingering in the background. Alas, when applied to my skin, a slightly more perfumey version of Sun-Ripened Raspberry appeared on my skin. Ytch, not what I want to smell like.

Of all the scents I ordered, this was "The One" in my mind. It didn't turn out quite as I expected, but nevertheless still very pleasing. In the vial and while immediately wet on my skin it smelled very sugary sweet with berry-cherries. I say berry-cherry because it was definitely not a pure, strong, OMG cherry, it was a blend of berries that happened to contain cherries. That berriness faded very quickly on my skin to be replaced by what I'll call naughty and spiked honey. The honey (to me) smells pretty similar to what is in Hellcat (maybe it's the honey+ wine in both?), super sweet, but with a warm spiciness to it (faint clove?), and something dark and very sharp underneath it all (vetiver is my guess). It remained in this phase for hours, the dark and spiky something coming out more and more, but still reined in by the honey-sweetness. I felt delightfully wicked while wearing it. I expected the vanilla and clove to be more prominent... and overall to be more towards the warmth of vanilla than the sweetness of honey. But I do like it very much as is, and may experiment with layering it. ETA- After letting the imp languish for awhile I picked it back up and the vetiver has mellowed considerably. And the vanilla and juicy cherry really make an appearance on my skin. In short, it is tres magnifique.

This one is quite interesting. The description (and name) had intrigued me, but not enough to buy it, so I was very pleased to get it as a giftie imp. In the vial it smells like a New Age shop to me. Not incense, but a combination of incense, raw resins, and herbs, with a bit of dampth. When placed on my skin, some kind of magic happens. It morphed into pure, sweet woodsmoke. Not necessarily what I want to smell like, but it was neat to smell it on me. As time went by, a woodsy-citrus smell creeped into the mix. It is familiar to me, but I can't place it, just that I associate it with guys. This would be a SPECTACULAR scent on a man. I would nuzzle and eat him alive. I'm undecided about keeping it. It smells pretty dang good, but isn't "me."

This one turned out nothing like I expected it to be. A sniff of the imp was the sharp lemony spice I associate with ginger. When I dabbed some on my wrist, the sharp lemonyness subsided, leaving a more pure ginger-the-spice scent. However, it took on an austere, almost antiseptic quality. No milk, honey, or anything remotely along those lines. I like spice, but this one is too dry and harsh for me. I might try it again in a week or so... I really wanted to like this one. If it remains the same, off to the swap pile it goes.

Wings of Azrael was a freebie wih my last order. The name and description (I'd have had to have read it at some point?)hadn't sunk in my memory, so I didn't have any clue what was in. A just briefly sniffed the imp and got a soapy sweetish green smell, but figured hey, why not? I dabbed the tiniest bit from a mostly dry tester on the back of my hand. Well hmm, seems that Wings of Azrael turns to green dishwashing soap, with something pungent and sharp hanging over it's head on me. Had to go wash it off. Definitely not for me, but, someone has already offered for it, so it will find a good, loving home.