scourgeotheseas

Speaking with my geologist hat on, I second Black Opal. Also, Queen of Diamonds if you can get your hands on it! If you are into sediment, Zombie or Graveyard Dirt.

Cancer 2007 In the imp: Light, sweet-tartish. Kind of like the scent of those flavored waters, you know? On me/wet: Very aquatic! Light, lovely. At first it's all kind of blended together, but then a sharp green smell pops out, then sweet pea and another floral. Mmmm....followed by pear. Drydown: Getting sweeter! Unfortunately, it's also very faint. It seems to be disappearing. Oh, I guess not. It's sticking around, but very light. This blend is a beaut! I will probably mix into a spray bottle or use a scent locket for longer-lasting coverage.

The Ecstasy of Passion (thanks for the swap, reenie212!) In the imp: Musk and amber, so I imagine I'm smelling both of them and the ambergris as well. Plus a boozy topnote. On me/wet: Amber! Clove appears in the background, and a sweetness that might be the bourbon vanilla. As it sits, the clove becomes more and more apparent. Sweet, smoky clove. Mmmm.... Drydown: Whoa! This is a strong one! The sweetness has faded, and now I see where all the comparisons to clove cigarettes come from. There's a light floral overlay, and hint of vanilla sweetness. Pretty. As it continues to drydown, it's fading to a sort-of skin musk smell, with only a bit of clove. Still very nice.

Shanghai Tunnel In the bottle: woodsy (gee - I hope that's not sandalwood!), a little green. On me/wet: Spicy! Is that a musk? Yep, there's sandalwood. A hint of florals. And more sandalwood. BPAL's sandalwood amps on my skin until there's nothing else left. Drydown: Damn you, sandalwood!!! That just ruins it. I hate to smell of pencil shavings. (However, well over an hour later, the sandalwood disappeared and it became this super gorgeous scent. I don't think I wait that long, though. )

Unheavenly City In the bottle: Whew! Giant, wet, night-blooming flowers! On me/wet: My random guesses for notes (before reading the thread) were magnolia, jasmine, red musk, and dragon's blood. Looks like I hit some of them right! It starts out on me as an almost overwhelming floral, with big hits of magnolia and gardenia. There's also the background greenery and waxy notes I come to expect of these guys. The red musk starts out a little funky on me, but is basically drowned ot by the florals. I thought dragon's blood, because of the floral quality and its insanely red color! When wet, this one is superstrong and heady! Drydown: Wow! It changes a lot! This lightens up a lot on me, becoming sort of sweet in the drydown. The florals have calmed, and I begin to smell the jasmine some more. The green, waxy notes have faded as well. A certain spiciness starts to come out...that's nice. I'm liking this a lot more than in its initial stages.

Shattered - this was a DC imp from the circular swap. In the imp: Mint and lotus, but the mint is a soft, afterdinner variety and the bubblegum scent of lotus is very faint. On me/wet: When it first touches my skin, those same two notes are the first to make an appearance. Soon after, a hint of grapefruit and an aquatic somethingness begin. This is a weird one! Mint, but a catniplike mint, is still the forefront. Drydown: More grapefruit, but still minty. Reminds me of one of the citrus mint gums, or the extremely odd citrus mint toothpaste I sampled recently. However, this works. Still weird, but it works. I think I like it.

Silentium Amoris - from the DC imp swap. In the imp: Light rose plus a much stronger, whiter floral - must the ylang ylang? I always forget what it is supposed to smell like... On me/wet: This is fresh, green rose like that found in Rose Red. Generally, I love rose. Hmmm, it's going all lemony on me. Drydown: The lemony freshness mellows, leaving a light rose scent. It's pretty, and I would have liked some, but I've got a ton of other BPAL rose scents to make me happy.

Cabaret - from the DC circular swap. In the imp: Red musk and alcohol. If it already smells like BO in the imp, can it possible be ok on my skin?? On me/wet: Ummm, probably not. I don't really like red musk, and can barely smell the florals. Drydown: Actually, the worst of the musky smell goes away and it turns much sexier....wait, I lied. I smell awful. Really, really awful. No red musk for Deb. No!

Azazel - from the DC imp circle. Lemongrass sometimes overpowers me, so we'll see. In the imp: Lemongrass, and probably the citron. On me/wet: Lemony fresh. Nothing else is coming through, although the citron is blending well with the lemongrass to give it a strong, sharp citrus scent. Drydown: It's still lemony, but getting more candy sweet. I wish something else would come out of this, but nothing yet. Wait...finally, sage and bay have joined the group. Very nice.

Lex Talionis - from the DC imp swap circle. In the imp: Pepper just reaches out and slaps ya in the face, don't it? Also cedarwood and grapefruit in the inital sniff. On me/wet: Pepper replaced almost immediately with grapefruit. The rest of the spicies lurk in the background. Drydown: Cedarwood has completely taken over - my, the skin loves wood. I never even got to smell many of the other notes. Poo!

Typhon - From the DC swap circle. This is a list of things that don't like me, but I'll try it anyway. In the imp: Vetiver, patchouli. Resiny. On me/wet: Just like in the vial. I think some of the DCs have probably aged a lot, and this seems like one of them. The inital notes end up forming a blended, dark, spicy scent on me. It reminds me of one of the other DCs with patchouli. Drydown: After a while, the notes become more distinct again. Sandalwood is trying to have its way with my arm, but I will resist. The scent has definitely become dryer and woodier. Very masculine, and I'm guessing that the aging has really helped this one. If I had an imp of my own, I'd try it on the bf.

Goona Goona - From the DC swap circle. In the imp: Herbal baby powder. On me/wet: Powdery, a little rose, and hint of light resins (to me, anyway). Drydown: Definitely gets more rosy, and normally I enjoy rose. This one is more of a powdery old lady rose, and I don't really like it much. And it's super strong on me. I think I'll stick with White Light.

Black Widow - from the DC imp swap. This one is a combo of good (rose, myrrh) and bad (sandalwood, patchouli) so we'll see whether the forces of good or evil win out. In the imp: Red wine and roses. Not bad. On me/wet: Kind of spicy, without any proper form or scent. When I'm not sniffing closely, the red wine just hangs around in the air. Now that I'm near my arm, roses are coming to the forefront. No hint of sandalwood, and the patchouli is confining itself to providing a full background note instead of jumping to the dirty hippie front! Whoa nellie! This one is strong!! Drydown: Red wine and roses, with a hint of spicy background. I haven't tried on Wanda or Spellbound in a while, but I have a feeling the similarities would be strong on my skin. This dried down quite beautifully.

Ingenue - from the DC imp swap. In the imp: Oooh, pretty! Brightly floral, yet aquatic. On me/wet: Violet mellowed by melon and something else (clover? water lily? I don't know). Not bad at all! Drydown: Melon-y at first. A sharp biting scent jumps in soona after, which I think is the violet. Definitely an aquatic background, though. Is it coincidence that I'm getting a headache, or is it the violet???? Sadly, I'm not getting much rose. Headache...ok, this comes off now.

Yuki-Onna - from the DC imp swap. Oh, the dreaded sandalwood. And lemon verbena. Both amp on me unbearably. In the imp: Tart and lemony fresh! Bergamot and lemon verbena, and a whiff of jasmine. On me/wet: Lemon pledge! AAAAAUGH! Drydown: While it stayed at the lemon pledge stage for a long time, it has finally acquired a hint of musty woodiness. Now I smell like the inside of an antique store. Yuki-Onna was definitely not a scent made with me in mind.