VioletChaos

in the imp: WHOA lemongrass! wet on skin: same. dry down: staying true, at this point, it pretty much smells like lemon pledge in all: if you like lemon-y scents, check this out, all others, proceed with caution!

in the imp: stinky dirty feet! wet on skin: ewwwwwww. add vomit into the equation dry down: ok, less vomitous, more orange-y now, but still, not so good. in all: well, maybe for others, but not for me.

The Greek God of Tears, Patron of Mourners, who dictates and accepts honors paid to the dead. He is the personification of grief and the sorrow and emptiness that comes from loss. Weeping is his hymnal, and this is his perfume. Salt tears over white roses, the fumes of thin funereal incense and the hollowness of calamus. in the imp: this is too weird- it smells like...tacos. especially the cilantro aspect. :shrug: wet on skin: it's a very 'clean' floral, though i don't get any rose from it, but maybe i'm picking up on the 'tears' part? dry down: it's gone all soapy in all: me no like soapy.

in the imp: very 'green' smelling, very natural. wet on skin: i'm getting a floral now- maybe the lily? it's a bit too sweet for me. dry down: the green has come back. yay! in all: a light summer fragrance, something to wear to a picnic or an after-dinner stroll, nothing too serious.

in the imp: amber and very light peach wet on skin: the vanilla is coming out, but it's subtle. dry down:the peach is winning now. in all: this is very light, very fleeting. i'm thinking good for those that need a light touch with their scents.

in the imp: i get a berry/grassy smell, but it's more like 'air freshener' than anything natural. wet on skin: now it has morphed into an herbal shampoo scent. reminds me of when my older sister used Prell in the early '80's dry down: yep. shampoo. in all: i could see people wearing this in their hair, seriously. me? i'm swapping it

A pale, delicate, truly angelic blend. A scent created to emulate Adonis' halo of beauty: fragile, distant, and radiant. Rosewood with Sicilian lemon peel, red Mysore sandalwood, pale musks, sweet mountain sage and a dusting of lily, night-blooming jasmine and orris. in the imp: floral, in a very 'perfumey' way. hmmm... wet on skin:i get jasmine, but the other notes are pretty cloying, and actually making me feel like a head ache coming on dry down: ok, the cloying this has settled out a bit. i get a tiny bit of citrus, lots of jasmine, a bit of wood, though it doesn't smell like sandal or rose variety. it smells like cedar and tobacco flower. in all: an ok floral/wood mix, not my thing, but a nice perfume for someone else.

in the bottle: FRUIT! it reminds me of Bandersnatch, which makes me a little nervous because that went all plastic on me wet on skin: wow. this is really something. i get all different fruits here. someone compared it to Bloody Mary and while i love that one, this doesn't have that powdered sugar element that makes that an oil i don't wear super often. this is more like a fruit salad, distilled dry down: yeah, this is a yummy blend of varying fruits, a really good springtime and summer scent in all: this is what i had hoped Fruminous Bandersnatch would be on me, but just wasn't. thanks goodness for swapping!

in the vial: like fresh-tilled earth. very nice! wet on skin: the clove is starting to come out, but that earth smell remains. maybe it's the patchouli, though this isn't the usual result... dry down: the clove and the rose combine to create this earthy, deep and sensuous animal. it makes me think of sitting in a small room, the walls covered in heavy tapestry, no trace of natural light allowed to enter, nothing but the scent of ancient oils and dried flowers that dizzy the senses. in all: this oil is for worship, who ever and how ever you define it.

in the vial: a strong men's cologne, coupled with soap and cream wet on skin: men's cologne scent dominates, and is making me feel head-achy dry down: same in all: well, if you like strong man-cologne scents like Drakkar and Axe, then give this a try. me? er...no thanks ETA: ok, i've been hanging out with it on a bit longer, and it's totally morphed! it's become something slightly powdery, but actually in a good way, and there's a beautiful spiciness that's present. wow. ok, so i've decided that if you can get through the first 15 or 20 minutes, this is *totally* worth having!

in the imp: something sweet, and syrupy without being foodie in the slightest. i know that's vagues, but at this stage, it's the best i can do. wet on skin: something a bit citrus-y comes out, i'm thinking it might be the pine, actually. it's nice, gives the blend a balanced feel. dry down: the pine settles, the amber comes out more, but something is off. is it the lotus? i don't have much experience with lotus, so that may be it in all: for whatever cruel reason, this has turned to play-doh soaked in perfume on me well, off to swap! ADDED 4/16/09: in the bottle:sweet, fruity lotus. very "wet" without being at all watery, if that makes sense... wet on skin: much of the same, but perhaps the opium is slinking around deep in the back ground? dry down: yup, it's stayed true. mostly lotus and a hint of opium. in all: this might be a bit too sweet for me, but i'm going to wait until the weather warms up a bit more, as i have a feeling this could be perfect for late spring or early summer evenings...

in the imp: sweet floral wet on skin: wow. it really 'smells' like the tropics. huh! dry down: i'm getting some of the ginger now, but it's a very sweet, light ginger- there is nothing heavy about this fragrance. in all: i would wear this on the hottest of summer evenings, one that involves kisses and hand holding and moonlight, beach optional

in the imp: a sweet/spicy musk, but with a sharp unidentifiable acrid note underneith. wet on skin: same dry down: the violet is showing itself, but in a more subtle way than in most violet blends i've smelled. i'm also getting little bits of the tonka. the acrid note remains, but has faded quite a bit, thankfully. in all: not bad, but reminding me too much of bus bathroom soap, i'm afraid. ADDED Nov. 28: in the imp: violet and clove, in equal measure. wet on skin: clove is winning by a hair. no tonka or incense in sight. dry down: clove wins, with violet a close second in all: violet and clove happen to be, individually, two of my favorite BPAL notes. but perhaps because they are so very different from each other, i am finding that they simply can't quite co-exist in the same blend. not this particular one, anyway. if you want clove, check out Mort de Caesar. If you want violet, check out Faith, Marie or Ultraviolet. but don't bother with this one.

in the imp: liquid sunshine! i pick out citrus, heliotrope and something beautiful, delicate, sweet but not cloying. lovely! wet on skin: mmmmm. more of the same. like a lemon pie served with mixed fresh berries on top at a picnic dry down: the same. this hasn't morphed on me at all. in all: ooooohhhhhhh it's so goooooood! more! more! more!!!

in the imp: strong evergreen, some holly. wet on skin: reminds me of the scratch n sniffs of childhood- the christmas one with the tree! dry down: more of the same, with a little sweetness thrown in. in all: if you like forest/evergreen/pine blends, you will DIE for this. i'm personally not a fan, so off to swap it goes!

in the imp: plum- ripe, wet plum. wet on skin: plum is still strong, but is now reminding me of the original Betsey Johnson perfume, which was one of the first fragrances i really fell in love with dry down: the plum and the musk dance well together- i get no carnation from this blend at all, but i feel ok about it. in all: this is a really good crossover scent- one that i would use to recruit new folks to the wonders of BPAL!

in the bottle: creamy caramel fruit tart wet on skin: at this point it morphs into a sweet incense-y treat- deep, resinous and smoky/spicy. very decadent. dry down: the honey really starts to come along, but not over powering the blend like my beloved 'O'. mixed in, it mellows and becomes a wonderful 'skin' scent. the apple didn't come out on me at all, which i'm relieved about because when it does i smell like a Yankee Candle shop in all: i took a chance, and am REALLY glad i did!

The scent of sexual obsession, slavery to sensual pleasure, and the undercurrent of innocence defiled utterly. Amber and honey with a touch of vanilla. in the bottle: HONEY! there's also a sweet non-honey note in the background, but i can't place it. wet on skin: honey and vanilla. sweet and sexy dry down: while i'm not getting any amber, i'm hardly complaining- i got a precious vial of Honey SN not long ago and anything that will prevent me from having to use THAT up is fine with me! in all: if you love honey and don't have the money for the SN, get some of this, it's almost as heavenly as the original!

This is for the 2008 version in the bottle: like a deep delicious incense wet on skin: i'm getting little whifs of dark jasmine, sweet grape wine and nag champa. very 'indian'. dry down: all the above mesh and melt together so that individual notes become harder to pull out, giving this scent a beautiful, rich complexity that is likely to have by standers drooling in rapt attention trying to figure out where the lovely fragrance is coming from in all: glad i got a bottle before it was gone- this is one to wear out to the clubs!

in the imp: men's cologne wet on skin: there's a green note that reminds me of being in a forest surrounded by ferns. it's quite nice, but the cologne aspect is still too strong. dry down: it's become more herb-y. i can pick out the sage, and another 'green' note. still, that cologne persists in all: for someone else, maybe. but not for me

in the imp: some woody notes, some sweet notes. too early to tell, but it reminds me of the kind of cheap incense cabs here in nyc sometimes have. wet on skin: the wood becomes stronger and the fig is coming out in a big way too. it's strange, because they don't seem to want to go together at this point. dry down: the wood settles and the fig becomes more round. i don't get cocoa at all, which saddens me. in all: it's not bad, but with so many other really terrific scents in the BPAL catalogue, i think i'll pass on this one.

in the imp: salt and lime wet on skin: salt, lime and the aquatic scent i knew was coming dry down: salt, lime leather, in that order, and a faint hint of the aqua note from before. in all: although not my personal cup of tea, i wouldn't mind smelling this on a cute stranger, though probably not my boyfriend.

note: i've yet to meet an ozone-note scent that likes me, so let's not get our hopes up on this one... in the imp: wet on skin: more of the same- cloying perfumy smell. dry down: well, the leather is there, which is neat, because yes, it smells just like leather. but the ozone is there in a strong way, and i simply can't deal with it. in all: one for the swaps, as predicted :shrugs:

in the bottle, wet on the skin and dry down is all the same: simply awful for me i'm so deeply disappointed, i really wanted to like this one. but between the overly zealous aquatic/ozone notes and the man's aftershave/ cologne aspect, i felt like i was in a bad 80's commercial for Drakkar Nior. deeply saddened.

in the imp: a very fresh lavender. like the flower, not an oil. wet on skin: mostly lavender still, but an under note of honeysuckle. dry down: the florals blend at this point so it becomes difficult to pick out a single note. in all: a light, complex floral. not my thing, but i think that those who swoon from florals will like this one very much.