ekolmus

Hey all - I want to second the tip about gently agitating your oils before applying them. It fixed my problem with the individual notes in my Embalming Fluid bottle arguing with each other, and I bet if I try some others I'll have similar success. (I smell a lot more like corpses now than when I was mostly getting lemon and green tea oil... )

In the bottle: I'm having trouble describing what I'm smelling. It's musky and spicy, with a sour, uric note. *checks description* Oho! That's the patchouli and black musk I'm smelling. Wet: Musky/spicy. There's an undertone of wet, decaying leaves... in a good way. Having gone back and read the description, I believe that's the myrrh and orris bringing the other two notes back in line. Wet, 1 minute later: Warm, glowing death. Spicy, resinous, with a faint waft of fragrant leaves and earth. This is a feminine blend, but not a girly one. Dry: This smells delicious. Really, really good. I can't stop sniffing it. The longer it sits on, the better it plays with my skin. It's a golden-brown scent, welcoming and soft. Lady Death indeed!

This one came as a frimp with my "boy scents" order. In the bottle: Sugar and pine. Wet: Mostly the same as in the bottle - very sweet pine. Wet, 1 minute later: Pine and wildflowers. I don't normally like floral blends, but the woodsiness and sharpness of the pine lends the flowers a little gravitas. Really, really nice. Wet, 2 minutes later: Soft and floral, but not overly girly. This is a really rich smell, with lots of complexity but no one note that gets overly assertive on my skin. Dry: Ooh... the cranberry is starting to come out and lend a little autumnal spiciness to the mix. I smell like a really expensive scented candle! :-P This is a great scent to welcome in the changing of the colors in October/November. I definitely want a 5 mL.

In the bottle: Clean and spicy. Wet: Clean and spicy. Wet, 1 minute later: Warm and spicy - well-aged, musky leather showing through. Dry: This blend goes on smooth and stays that way through the whole dry-down. None of the notes really pop out at me the whole time. Undeniably smells like a freshly showered dude, but this is a nice guy, a patient guy, a guy who lets other people come to him instead of getting in their faces. Civilized, noble, clean. My dad REALLY liked this one on my wrist.

In the bottle: Astringent. I love it Wet: This is really sharp and clean-smelling! Wet, 1 minute later: Oh man, this is just like my dad's aftershave. JUST like my dad's aftershave. It's like I'm walking into my parents' bathroom right after they've been getting ready to go someplace nice. Wet, 2 minutes later: Hello tonka bean, my old friend. I like you and you like me, and we're playing well together. But you're taking up a little more attention than the rest of the other notes, and that's sad. Dry: Warm, pleasant, civilized. This is the first "men's" blend I've tried that actually came across as a bit androgynous to me.

In the bottle: Oh yuck! This smells chemically and awful. Wet: Pee-yew! Chemicals! Wet, 1 minute later: The bad smell has turned into a really strong tannin note that's burning off quickly. Also, TOBACCO. I guess that's the vetiver. Wet, 2 minutes later: The leather and musk notes are coming up to the top. This smells cheap and sleazy, like dollar-store cologne on an unshowered construction worker. Dry: Now I can't stop sniffing. The individual notes have stopped bickering and merged into lovely smoky leather. So manly! Num num num. My cat is sniffing interestedly at my wrist, too. I have to say, the horrendous drydown is worth what this ends up smelling like.

In the bottle: Root beer! Wet: Smoky cedar... then WHOA TOBACCO. I smell like the inside of a humidor! Don't know whether to sniff more or choke. I guess that's the balsam note? Because tobacco isn't listed as a note in this blend. Wet, 1 minute later: Tobacco, cedar, root beer float. Dry: The sarsparilla and vanilla give the smoky, woodsy top notes a sweet finish. I really like this one, and apparently it likes me too - I had to wash twice and scrub my wrist to get the last of the smoky smell off.

In the bottle: Astringent! This one goes right up my nose. Wet: Really, really, really clean. Almost soapy, but in a good way, not like my skin is having a bad reaction. Wet, 1 minute later: Some of the base notes are starting to come out. This is a really elegant, manly blend. Dry: Freshly-showered man. This reminds me a little of my own personal favorite, Embalming Fluid, but instead of being softened under the citrus note with tea and aloe, this is sharpened with... with... something. It's hard for me to identify individual notes. Delicious, but not very approachable - it makes me think of an arrogant, well-liked man who knows exactly how handsome he is.

In the bottle: Wow, this has a cloying smell that sticks to the back of my nose. Icky. I bet that's the lilac. Wet: Well, I can smell the men's cologne from here. It's much better on my wrist than in the bottle. Wet, 1 minute later: Yummy! However, this is a very old-fashioned cologne, like something my BF's dad would wear. Dry: Masculine, short throw. Very nice, but count me out of the nose to crotch connection camp. We'll see how it goes when I try it on the BF, but I could take or leave this one.

In the bottle: Chocolate and sandalwood. Mmm! Wet: Chocolate, sandalwood, and moist, loamy earth. This is one wolf I wouldn't mind hugging for a long time! Dry: Unfortunately, I don't like the scent on the throw (which, unsurprisingly, is considerable.) Sandalwood is not something I would put on myself unless BPAL sent it to me as a freebie. On the other hand, Fenris has convinced me that sandalwood blends don't have to smell awful. This is definitely a scent for someone more masculine than I.

In the bottle: I smell the aloe and the tea. Light and astringent and barely there. Wet: Lemony! There's an almost licorice-like undertone balancing out the bitterness of the lemon. I'm really, really liking this one. Dry: Very light throw. It's too bad, really, because I smell fantastic!

In the bottle: This smells weird... this smells... oh my god, it smells like cat. Do I really want to try this? Wet: Grassy and herbal. The kitty smell is diminished somewhat. It's throwing a lot of sweet lemon, from a distance. Dry: This scent doesn't have a ton of throw on me. The cat musk is starting to play a little nicer with everybody else, mellowing out into a light grassy scent with a kind of dusty rose buoying it up. Very nice!

Received this as a frimp in my latest order. In the bottle: Lightly floral, with a strange, sharp note underneath. Wet: My skin is neutralizing the edge to the sharp note, while the florals are starting to go a little powdery. I smell... citrus? horses?! Strange, but nice. Dry: This scent has really good throw. I can easily smell the clean florals and the animalistic musk from a couple of feet away. This one definitely has me smelling my own wrist a lot, although the scent is not at all suited to my personality.

In the bottle: sugary sweet. I can definitely tell there's honeysuckle in this, but the other notes lend it heft and depth. Wet: I may or may not be noticing a pattern here - my skin tends to amp musk notes when they first go on. Dry: Okay, the muskiness and the sugariness have decided to play nice now. Every so often I get a whiff of perfume when I'm moving my arms around - this scent has a deceptively light throw. Fadeout: I'm definitely getting more and more vanilla as time goes on. The scent is sweetening and mellowing. Very, very nice!

In the bottle: Resinous. I definitely smell the orange and musk. Wet: Whoa! The musk is really elbowing its way out in front here. Dry: The other players are finally starting to move out onto center stage. I'm getting a spicy, floral, orange musk scent now - it's really lovely! I only used a very little, and it's getting very quiet now, after about 90 minutes. There is a rich spiciness to this perfume that reminds me of the nearby herb shop. I like it, but all my housemates liked Oval Portrait better on me.