iiinterstate

I have no idea what davana is so this will be a surprise. First sniff is lemony and ozone-y, kinda like Lightning. Only in this case, the ozone fades instead of taking over. After a little bit, things get flowery. This smells almost exactly like Szepasszony, only less ozone. I like both blends, but I didn't wear Szepasszony a lot, and I probably wouldn't wear this one much either. Pleasant without being particularly memorable (on me).

Caliban was on my list of imps to try from the very beginning of my BPAL adventures, but I kept forgetting about him. I've since learned that wine can often go very gross on me, so I am wary. First impression is green and aquatic. Maybe a hint of ozone. Kind of like Sea of Glass...but not really. As it dries, it gets greener and heavier. Wine brings in a touch of sweetness, but doesn't booze up the whole experience. Overall, I like Caliban but I don't think I need a bottle. I have a lot of green scents with more complexity to them that I would wear more often. But I'm still glad we were finally introduced

When I first opened the imp, Jailbait was ALL bubblegum and I got scared. However, upon application, this is delicious without being sickly sweet. It smells like a musky blowpop with a smidge of spice. Really quite wearable and not too candy. I'm impressed! And buying a bottle. I can easily see this as one of my heavy rotation scents.

I love ALL these notes, so I'm really excited. My first impression of Kuang Shi is a blast of orange. To be quite honest, it reminds me of the orange oil air freshener my dad keeps in his bathroom... After a minute this smells oddly green on me, like maybe the mango isn't quite ripe. Dry, I really like it. Not at all what I imagined, but still nice. I usually get a whole load of sandalwood if there is any in a given blend, but here it is mostly green fruits with maybe a little musk in the background. I'll have to try this out for a whole day before I reach a verdict on its bottleworthiness.

I almost didn't bother to test this one, because most imps that the lab labels "masculine" are too manly for me. BUT NO. Whitechapel is very lime and citron. I have yet to find a lime dominated scent with enough staying power to make me happy, and I am actually pretty shocked to find it here. This blend reminds me of a good margarita with a hint of lilac. I really like it.

Like everyone else has said, Velvet Nudie is subtle. Weirdly, I SWEAR I am getting a hint of lemon. I have no idea why. At first I thought I was sniffing the wrong wrist (I have Hungry Ghost Moon on my other arm). After about an hour, it's more or less the same, that is, vaguely musky with a hint of floral something. Kinda comes off a bit waxy. I don't NOT like it, but I don't like it either. I'll hang onto it for a few days but if it stays the same Velvet Nudie is off to swaps.

I'm more afraid of Velvet Tiger than I was of Velvet Panther, and that's saying a lot. But I will be brave. In the bottle: Vetiver single note. If I were a vetiver lover, this would already require 6 backups and three decants for my purse. Alas. On me: Vetiver. Every so often I get a little whiff of orange in the throw, but nothing else. It amazes me that others are getting such wildly different things. Every time I bring my wrist to my face it's still HELLLOOOOO I AM VETIVER. I WILL END ALL YOU LOVE. Ohwaitohwait: 15 minutes in, orange and amber and cinnamon. Now this kind reminds me of the Lion, but darker. I guess that makes some sense. Part of me want to hang on to this and see how it is in a few months, but I don't know if I'll love it even then...

This could be either really gross, really great, or and interesting concept scent that I will never wear but can't let go of because it's just so odd. In the bottle: Boozy candies. On me: Someone else described it as burnt fruity sugar, and that's dead on. About 30 seconds into drydown, I get more licorice than fruit. After a bit: I was really worried about the whiskey. I'm a recovering alkie and I really can't be smelling too boozy or people might wonder But really, I don't pick up any liquor at all. This does remind me of Sugar Skull in a big way, but far less cloying and a lot less throw. I'll likely keep my bottle.

Confession: I have never tried a coffee blend before, simply because caramel will turn into coffee breath on my skin and it is horrible. In the bottle: sweeeeeet tobacco. Almost caramelly. Uh oh. On me: Tobacco and polished wood. Ohh it is the delicious. And before long, the tonka is right there too, vanilla-ing everything up. It's a smoother version of the Antikythera Mechanism on me (which sounds weird, as I think TAM is a smooth scent on most people. For me the woods are a little sharp.) Overall, this blend is rich and almost foody smelling, but does not actually cross over into the land of foods. It doesn't strike me as a hot weather blend, but that's just fine. I want more.

In the bottle: Smells like a cigar store. This is a good thing. On me: dusty cedar and clove. After a minute: Oh man, cedar takes a backseat to tobacco and spicy goodness. I don't know what tumbleweed is supposed to smell like, but I'm a fan of it. This is GOOD STUFF. It reminds me of another blend I just can't place... maybe a woodier Pickled Imp? But I didn't care for Pickled Imp and I loooove this. So far, Velvet Bandito is my very favorite of the Velvets. I'll be grabbing a backup for sure. ETA: OMG I KNOW WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE. This is a dead ringer for the Pied De Pepper lotion from LUSH. Perfect!

I'm kind of afraid of vetiver, so I'm also kind of afraid of Velvet Panther. In bottle: Very cologne-like. That's a shock. On me: Vetiver, something...resiny, oranges and a tid bit of violets. I hope the vanilla comes out for me. After a few minutes: The dreaded Vetiver is hanging on, but I sense that it is weakening under the power of something awesome hidden underneath. Also, anise says hello. Later: I went to go review a scent on my other wrist and the Panther transformed. The throw is gorgeous black vanilla with a hint of mandarin and anise. When I sniff closely, I still smell the vetiver, but it's not overpowering the other lovely notes. Velvet Panther is a winner. I can't wait to see how it ages. edit: After letting Velvet Panther sit for about 10 days, the vetiver has calmed a lot. I need at least one more bottle of this

Strawberry cotton candy. I definitely get the comparison to Midway. Something in Midway always reminded me of funnel cakes and Velvet Unicorn has it too. WOO, after a couple of minutes this blossoms into strawberry meringue. It's soft and yummy, but not too strong. I don't think I need a backup of this, but I will wear Velvet Unicorn for sure.

I've reaaaally never been a big fan of boozy scents, but I had to try Velvet Pink kitty. Upon first sniff in the bottle, I get sweet strawberry and gin, but I actually like it. The booze kills some of the potential sugary sweetness that would make this cloying. As it dries, more booze and strawberries and cream. It is a lot like Swank. Mmm... but not quite. There's more of a fruity bite to Pink Kitty, and that might be what makes me keep the bottle. I would say the jury is still out on this one. There's something tantalizing about it that keeps me sniffing at my wrist, but I can't say it's BPAL love just yet. eta: husband says it reminds him of urinal cakes (the same thing he said about Swank). I've never had the joy of sniffing one of THOSE, but I don't want to affiliated with them

I didn't think I'd end up with any scents from this series, but for some reason this one kept calling my name. I can't think of a better note to offset the sweetness of chocolate and caramel than pepper. Maybe I am weird, but I LOVE it when I get a blend that separates en route. All the chocolate is sitting on the bottom of this one, and I have to roll it to get everything uniform. Upon application, it goes peppery dark chocolate immediately. I was afraid that caramel might overpower like it does sometimes, but not here. 10 minutes in: a teeeeeeny bit of caramel sneaks in to sweeten things up. The smoky smell is most prominent though. After about an hour: Smoky, peppery, and slightly sweetened by caramel and chocolate. This is beautiful and even better than what I was hoping for. It almost reminds me of being at a bonfire and making s'mores.

I've had a partial decant of this kicking around in my imp box for the longest time, and I just now got around to testing it. I get a lot of sweet coconut, but not like Obatala. This is way more ethereal and dark. If this scent were a venue, coconut would be performing live with the resins and the tonka while the florals and fruit gums are waiting impatiently to get in. However, patchouli the bouncer keeps them from getting further than the door. Thanks patch. I love it.

First it is currant/rhubarb, then the mushroom appears... then it fades... then it comes back...a hint of my beloved champaca, then mushroom again. It's not a BAD scent, just sort of weird and undecisive. There are moments when it's a really beautiful balance, all fruit and incense and an earthy scent from the mushroom, and I love THAT. The drydown is much less mushroom and a lot more champaca. No cough syrup for me. I love earthy notes so so much, and mushroom is a creative way to incoporate it into a blend. Motley has promise for me! I don't doubt this one will be better with some age on it.

At first this is like sticking my nose into a lavender sachet. I like lavender, but not THIS much. 5 minutes in: Still waiting for the plethora of winning notes to come to the forefront... 30 minutes pass: OH MAN NOW I SEE THE LIGHT. Sooooooo glad I did not wash this off. Now it is tobacco and musk with a teeny bit of vanilla, more vanilla in the throw. This is everything I had hoped for after reading the notes! I must have more.

Apples! Good, fresh, crispy apples! Absolutely not what I expected. Dragon's Blood has a very distinct scent to my nose and I'm not getting much of it here, but that is just fine because I love me some apples (and poisoned apple goes too floral on me too quickly.) After a little while this remains very apple-y with a white musk base and a hint of Dragon's Blood. So perfect. I need more!

Usually ozone/aquatic blends go okay on me, but I'm really getting a lot of dryer sheets going on in here. Honestly, it smells like an ozone single note. Not my favorite.

I can't help but test Alice, even though I know me + rose = bad. Maybe I'll get lucky! Wet: Bergamot and carnation with a milk base. Mmmm. After a minute or so, I get the honey too. So far, it seems that the rose is staying under control. I get a little whiff every now and then but nothing like the amp of doom that comes with most rose blends. I guess I like Alice well enough, but not sure if I need a bottle yet. It seems like a good bedtime scent. I love the combination of carnation and bergamot but I prefer a blend with a lot more throw.

I'm not sure when Old Cairo became just Cairo, but I have the Old version to try. Wet on me: light, citrusy incense. Ooooh, nice. After a minute: incense is overpowered by something lemony... maybe verbena? I don't know if that makes sense though. Later: Citronella candles. Damn.

Wet on me: Banana Laffy Taffy, straight up. After a minute: Oh good, that didn't last. Not at all. Manila goes from sweeeeet candy to green and woody with a hint of banana behind it.... and then it all but disappears. Well that's a bummer. I've never had a blend go away so quickly. Too bad

Florals are almost always insta-fail on me, with very few exceptions. It looks like Lolita is one! These notes don't act much like flowers on my skin at all. Instead I'm getting a delicious fruity musk. I love it, and I'll be tacking on a bottle of this to my next lab order. My husband will LOVE it on me.

Let's seeeee I have an aged bottle of Sudha Segara (I don't even know how old it is... at least two years) but I should probably try it fresh. I get something like mild ginger tea from the aged version (still lovely). I tried Zephyr about a year ago and it went straight to men's deodorant on me, which was beyond weird. I know I have an imp of Alice somewhere around here. I'll try to dig it up. And Kuang Shi sounds like something I absolutely have to try. I love all of those notes! Thanks!

in the bottle and wet on me, this smacks of Sugar Skull and rum. Wooooo sweetness. It calms down quickly though... still sweet, but now it smells cool in a way, kinda mentholated. That sounds gross but it really isn't. Oak is the perfect grounding note for this blend. I wouldn't normally choose such a sweet scent but the woody note ties everything together in a great way, and the throw isn't so strong that I will get sick of it. I found all of the Tiki Bar scents to be too boozy and cloying for me, but Kill-Devil is a winner. I can very easily see myself wearing this in the summer.