donnatron

Imp: Ferns. I like the fern note so this is not a problem. Bit of salty aquatic. Wet: Strong, green fern scent and a bit of sickly sweetness from the wine. Dry: It's okay. I'm a Pirate Moon fan and I'm always looking for something I can replace it with once my bottle is gone and this is something that I would like so much better layered with Scherezade or something. Salt, ferns and a very tiny bit of sweetness. Smells like herbs and greenery crushed against my skin. Throw: Mild. Overall: I like having it on hand for the layering possibilities but it's not a favourite right now. At least I'm not sending Caliban back out to sea?

Imp: Green... green. Just a sense of green. Wet: Huh. This is an interesting scent. There's almost something melon like. I definitely get the tea extract and a strange almost biting scent that I think must be the wasabi. No honey to be seen. Dry: I dunno. I like it. It's very clean and green and sharp. Would be good for summer. But it's also kind of... offputting and weird. Like something I'd wear on a hot day when I want to sit on a patio and have a glass of wine by myself but send out the vibe that no one should talk to me. The strongest note is a bracing, astringent tea. Then there's a bit of spiciness underneath and a very faint, faint hint of honey. It's almost poisonous. Throw: Okay. Overall: I'm not sure I like it. I'm certain that I don't dislike it but... yeah. It's an interesting scent and that's probably the most I can say about it. Very interesting. Will hang onto the imp just because I'm fascinated with how weird it smells.

Imp: Thin violets and neroli over dark musk. Wet: VIOLETS! Lots and lots of violets. As a violet nut I can assure you that this is no problem. The neroli is a secondary note and dries down a bit dusty. I can smell the sandalwood and dark musk lingering. Dry: Hot damn, man. Orange blossom never disappoints and this winds up being a beautiful violet/neroli over soft sandalwood with the barest, clinging hint of dark musk. I don't know why I haven't bothered with this imp for so long because it is drop dead gorgeous. Throw: Moderate. Overall: Just send the bottle my way. This is a masterpiece.

Imp: Lilies and frankincense. Wet: Immediately gets that sharp, searing Irish Springs edge. Takes a very long time to soften out and develop any secondary (primary, I guess, as soap is not a note listed) notes. Dry: Mostly the lily with a touch of frankincense and a little rose. I get the wisteria more as a sense than a real note. Very floral, very heavy. Traditional. If not for the bit overpowering throw I would feel comfortable wearing this to church (assuming, of course, I was going to church which is a rare occurence for me). Throw: Strong. Overall: Pretty. Simple. Very light and delicate. Not my be all end all by any means. Definitely good for fans of white florals but just something that does not scream "special" on my chemistry.

Welcome, Lolli! The first thing that came to mind was Mandrake which is sort of a dusty/cedary scent. Since you're new to the boards and BPAL I'm going to recommend scents you can get as imps because it's a lot easier and economical to start with imps than dive right into bottles. Troll vetiver, pine pitch, troll musk, black basil, clove smoke, and scorched cumin. Mountain trolls! Black Forest Thick, viscous pine with ambergris, black musk, juniper and cypress. I feel like I'm losing my Harry Potter nerd cred. It took me a very long time to remember it's called the Forbidden Forest. Hellcat hazelnut, buttercream, honey mead, rum and sweet almond. And now I'm really losing my HP cred. I can't remember the name of the drink they get at the pub in the village. Very vague but I hope you know the place I mean. Jack The scent of warm, glowing jack o'lanterns on a warm autumn night: true Halloween pumpkin, spiced with nutmeg, glowing peach and murky clove. Off the top of my head this is the only GC scent with pumpkin in it. Magus galangal, high john essence, frankincense, cedar, and sandalwood. I'm going to assume this is probably what Dumbledore smells like. The Obsidian Widow Pinot noir, dark myrrh, red sandalwood, black patchouli, night-blooming jasmine, and attar of rose. I don't think HP has quite the traditional steampunk aesthetic but it has a bit of that steampunk feeling and I think this scent kind of captures that line between pure magical inspiration and steampunk. And then I just sat here for awhile really overthinking this and came up with scents for each house: Tintagel The scent of a castle's great hall in the midst of joyous feasting. Spicy mulled wine flowing through the musky heat, warm leather and bright clash of armor, the damp branches of Cornish hawthorn, blackthorn, juniper, English elm and bayberry, and the magical tingle of dragon's blood resin. For Gryffindor. Dee soft English leather, rosewood and tonka with a hint of incense, parchment and soft woods. Ravenclaw. Bow and Crown of Conquest sage, carnation and cedar with lavender, vanilla, white musk and leather. Slytherin. Sundew A carnivorous enchantress: diverse, lovely and graceful, emitting a sticky, glowing golden, sweet and terminally inviting scent. Its dew is believed to grant eternal beauty and longevity, and restore vitality and vigor to the magician. Hufflepuff (sounds a bit sinister but it's actually very cheerful and warm). I hope there's a good variety there to not only help you find a good scent for the new movie but also to help you determine what works out on your skin. Now if you'll excuse me, this thread has inspired me to go reread all the books.

Imp: Rose, jasmine and a touch of citrus. Wet: More rose, more citrus. Jasmine recedes. Getting a hint of myrrh. Some of that Arabian musk, too. Reminds me a touch of Othello. Dry: Pretty. Rosy jasmine with myrrh, musk and a hint of bergamot. Mandarin kind of disappears. Very, very light and skin close. It's not really singing on my skin, however. This is a little bland. It's the sort of scent I'd wear so I could wear scent but it's unlikely that anyone else would notice or care that I was. Throw: Mild. Overall: Not really working with my chemistry to make it embody its inspiration. Will use the imp up but have no need or desire for a bottle.

Imp: Gardenia? Jasmine? It's a very familiar scent. Wet: I think this is gardenia. The very strong, aggressive gardenia I get from Lady of Shallot and Sacred Whore. Maybe some ylang ylang although I am not a fan of ylang ylang so I don't really know the smell of it right off the bat. Definitely floral, however. Dry: Gardenia. Gardenia and I have a complex relationship and there's usually a 50/50 chance I'll wind up smelling like bananas. This is one of those times. Bananas = no seducing for me. Throw: Astronomical. Overall: If I actually wanted to seduce someone at this point in time this would probably be a bit more disappointing.

Bottle: Odd and a little sour. Probably the ylang ylang and my nose chemistry clashing. Wet: Dark and earthy. The patchouli is definitely the dominant note and I get a bit of a peppery bite from the red musk. Touch of myrrh resin. None of the dread pirate ylang ylang. Dry: Lust certainly lives up to its name. The red musk/patchouli combo is dead sexy and earthy and sensual without being too aggressively headshoppy or generally dirty. The ylang ylang adds a bit of interesting sweetness and slight floral. The myrrh winds through the whole scent giving it this sexy, spicy, earth goddess vibe. I've been reading a lot of tarot theory lately and this reminds me of the Empress card--sensual, robust, sexual and very enveloping and comforting. I don't think it's necessarily a raw, flat out sexual scent so much as it is the scent of seduction--all the acts and thoughts and desires that happen before the sex happens. However, seeing how much I've typed "sex" "sexual" "sensual" and so on in the last paragraph definitely tells you where this scent takes my brain. It's a sexy, sexy blend. Throw: Good. Overall: This is such a perfect blend. Dark, earthy, sensual, and flat out sexy. A great scent for nights out at the bar and definitely a scent to wear when you're on the prowl. One of those blends that epitomizes the all out BPAL scent experience as opposed to just spritzing something on before you waltz out for the day and forget you're even wearing it.

Imp: Menthol. Eucalyptus and/or camphor? Do people use camphor in perfume? That's kind of crazy. Wet: Camphor. SRSLY. Also: bark. Dry: This winds up kind of generic and green. I think there might be red musk in this? Not certain. Musk and bark and camphor. Menthol, at least. It adds a really great cooling quality to the scent. I like my musks and spices but this is musk and spice cooled down for the summer season. I can't determine if I think this is awesome or if I'm really not that into it. Throw: Mild. Overall: Unsure. Do not like wet stage. Kind of intrigued by drydown. Knowledgeable that I have bottles upon bottles of musky pine scents. Do I honestly need another bottle of something so similar? Am joyous that this is GC. Kind of wondering why I can't use proper sentences.

Bottle: Sticky white chocolate and the sweet, sugared violets of Faith. Wet: This is pretty true to the name. On my skin it goes a bit powdery but the drydown is all creamy white chocolate and a touch of violet. Dry: The chocolate backs off a bit and the violets take full force. This is a very feminine, sexy sort of scent. It has a strong throw but it's still the sort of scent that makes a person want to lean in closer to smell you. Wore it to a business function today and about 80% of the colleagues I was catching up with were like, "OMG! YOU SMELL AWESOME!" It's very unusual and interesting without being kind of weird interesting (say, Black Annis or Depraved) or sex kitten take-me-now interesting. Throw: Good. Overall: I really like this. Totally forgot I had it but there you go. Am glad to have the bottle at this point in time I'm not going to consider selling organs or firstborn childrent o get more.

Imp: Amber and pink grapefruit. Wet: Still amber and pink grapefruit. Sort ofg floral. Very thick and heavy. Smells like heavy and heady blooms. Getting a jasmine/orris combo but it's still overpowered by the grapefruit. Not a fan of the grapefruit. Dry: Eh. Strong amber with jasmine and orris. Touch of rose? The grapefruit scent has mercifully faded but I still get a hint of it. This is very pretty and classic and dense and very lustrous but I already have scents that answer to that longwinded description and I think they do it better on my chemistry. This is very sweet. Very... floral. The sort of thing where I try to describe what it very is but mostly can't think of anything beyond very... very. A little too affected for me? Too mature for me? It's on the edge of being something I'd love but there's something too... too for me. Throw: Moderate. Overall: It's okay. I think it's a beautiful scent and had we sat down and had a serious meeting earlier in my BPAL evolution it would probably be a different story. As it is I think that Versailles is kind of a niche scent (dense, heady oriental florals) that I really have filled and have no need to expand on. The jasmine in this is particularly nice, however.

Imp: Leather and lavender. Wet: OMG. Sweet vanilla over leather. Very sexy and... uh... sexy. Let's see where this goes. Dry: This winds up being a soft and sexy vanilla/leather with a sort of wild grass and lavender element. Super, super hot. The lavender is sort of sticky sweet and a bit dry and really... well, it makes me write with lot of elllipses. Sweet, sexy and the sort of scent where I can't believe it's taken me this long to truly discover it. It's a sexy scent. It grabs attention and holds it and doesn't let go. Throw: Strong. Overall: This is sexy and commanding and totally in control. I like wearing this because it makes me feel like a million dollars and like I'm not going to take crap from anyone who suggests otherwise. So sexy and awesome.

Imp: Dusky pomegranate. Maybe a bit of plum? Definitely purple/red fruits. Wet: Yeah. That's pomegranate. Bright, screaming pomegranate. Acclimating amber. A very dark, golden amber. Dry: Hot damn! I always forget how much I love this one. A really dark and sensual amber/fruit scent that is extremely simple but also extremely comfortable, warm and a little sexy. Above reviews compare it to Lunar Eclipse and I definitely get that vibe. This is less dry and refined than Lunar Eclipse although it's not really playful. It's a beautiful, warm, sensual scent. I want to wear this at sunset while sipping cocktails with an impossibly handsome man. Throw: Good. Overall: I need to remember that I have this. It's a gorgeous blend and exactly the sort of scent I got into BPAL for (or at least the type of scent that I learned I loved through BPAL). Just terrified that this gorgeous blend is due to the fact that I've had it a few years and when I use this one up the next one will be totally WTF? to my nose.

Imp: Red musk and civet. Wet: ARRRRRGH! Red musk and opium are ingredients that work gloriously for me SEPARATELY!! But together? It's repulsive. I can't even really explain what the two combined on my skin smell like but this is the same heartbreakingly disgusting scent I got from Chrysanthemum Moon. Dry: Gross gross gross. I think I've figured it out: Red musk and opium combine on my skin to smell like propane. SRSLY. That sort of propane gas scent you get while barbequing or refilling the tank or whatever. Nasty. But they combine to smell like propane and body odour. It's really, really unpleasant and so unfortunate. Especially since as noted, both work well on my skin individually and I can actually wear and enjoy civet with no issues. Throw: Miles and miles of propane. Overall: If I ever decide to seduce Hank Hill I know what I'll be wearing.

... His scent is a blend of holy myrrh, storax, balsam, and embalming herbs. Imp: Sweet myrrh. Wet: Arrgh! Sweet overload! MOLASSES ALERT FIVE! Dry: After this hits my skin it's pretty much game over. Some of the sweetness dies down a bit but this is ultimately just a gross, molasses-y wreck on my skin. I can smell a very faint hint of balsam and there's still a touch of spicy myrrh resin but otherwise it's all sticky sweet molasses all the time. It's really overpowering and unpleasant on my chemistry. A wash off. Throw: At least it's relatively mild. Overall: For some reason I think there's poppy or something similar in here. It has that sort of vibe and it's simply not working on my skin. Want to love it, sadly my chemistry just doesn't let me.

Imp: Orange blossom and patchouli. Thus far there are no surprises here. Wet: Fresh on my skin orange blossom has a tendency to go a bit dusty and this is no exception. I get a really sort of musty rankness as the patchouli also adjusts to my chemistry. Dry: Oooh, pretty! The orange blossom is almost creamy on my skin while the patchouli adds a warm, woodsy base. The orange blossom is definitely the star of the show and I get a very strong citrus vibe from this. It's kind of like my patchouli OTP Masquerade but a little less ballsy. A lot gentler, quieter and simply beautiful. Throw: Mild. Overall: Me likey. Not enough to topple the aformentioned Masquerade but I'll probably always keep an imp around. This is lovely!

Imp: Cypress, orchid and labdanum. Labdanum is one of those scents I always think is going to be sour or a very pale resin. I'm always like, "WTF? Why so smoky, labdanum?" Wet: On the skin Medea gets a little rank. It's the cypress and the poppy wrangling for control and the whole thing becomes a sort of foresty/molasses-y mess. I can smell a bit of dusky orchid in the background and the labdanum is acclimating to my chemistry. Dry: The trick with Medea (for me at least) is to let her sit on the skin for about half an hour or so. It's a long drydown and I'm not sure it's worth it, but the resulting scent is very elegant and sultry and makes me feel like a grown ass woman. I keep a mental list of scents I enjoy wearing for kicking ass and taking names purposes and Medea definitely falls into that category. There's an almost wine like bouquet to the ingredients. I get a dark orchid over a touch of myrrh and currant. The poppy is there but it's not the usual heavy, opiated molasses scent I get from it. This is dark, complex and very, very wicked. Throw: Moderate. Overall: I dunno. I have a kind of morbid fascination with Medea and I really like the eventual drydown of this perfume. The actual drydown is a bit pungent and overbearing. I'll run through the imp, ruminate on it and then make my choice. It's a fascinating, complex scent and I really love how it actually comes together. If nothing else Medea is certainly a work of art.

Imp: Acai berry and chysanthemum. Wet: Very bright and tart acai berry. Touch of jasmine and musk. Dry: The acai berry is still the dominant scent lingering over a musk jasmine and chrysanthemum. I get a bit of the tea astringency keeping this bright and tart and preventing it from becoming a little too languid or floral. The tea is a great conduit between the sharp acai and the softer, more voluptuous florals. The musk is just... sexy. Throw: Mild. Overall: I like Daiyu. However, I like a lot of other scents that fall into this sort of floral/fruity spectrum and I don't really find her unique enough to worry about a bottle. It's a very lovely, sensual sort of scent and although it seems very classically feminine I'd be interested to smell this on a man's chemistry. Don't know why, just want to. The chrystanthemum in this is wonderful.

Imp: Honeysuckle, moss and jasmine. Honeysuckle and jasmine are one of my favourite combos so let's see how this goes. Wet: The jasmine is the star player with a touch of powdery orris. Maybe a bit of moss? Dry: Oooh. Warm, sweet honeysuckle with elegant jasmine. The orris is a nice, powdery violet touch. I get the moss as a hint rather than the usual "HI! THIS IS MOSS! HOW DO YOU LIKE THESE APPLES?" I wonder what sort of musk it is in this? Maybe Arabian or skin musk? Altogether it's very well blended and sultry. Reminds me a lot of New Orleans or Peitho but is still more than the sum of those parts. Throw: Mild. Overall: My favourite Grindhouse girl is Marianne simply because she is so down and dirty and voraciously sexual. Parthenope is a little more refined and graceful. Still a beautiful, sensual scent but also coy and coquettish. Will use up the imp and think about getting a bottle before the carnaval hops town.

Imp: Almost nonexistant. A bit of fruity sweetness. Wet: And then my chemistry goes completely insane. Caramel. None of the other notes. Nothing at all. Straight up caramel. Like Red Lantern but slightly less overwhelming. Dry: Caramel. And maybe a bit of... oh... yeah. Clove. Clove smells like dried blood on my skin. This is somewhere between repulsive and fascinating. Throw: Mercifully mild. Overall: Is it weird that I liked it more once it started to smell like blood? Probably. The clove added an interesting, savoury note to this that was just... needed. I am not searching for any more than the imp I already have but I can see pulling this out around Hallowe'en time. It kind of smells like a Michael Myers (the scary one, not the one who used to be funny) film. Gooey candy and gore. Whee!

Imp: Wet rocks and florals. Wet: The florals start to acclimate to my skin while the misty/rocky quality of this starts to burn off immediately. It's odd for a few moments but then starts to morph into a straight up tropical/white floral. Dry: It's ver pretty. Simple florals (orchid, maybe? Magnolia? Something lush, light coloured and southern) and a bit of humidity. Maybe not something I'm going to run screaming through the streets belting my love but also not something that I can't wait to get off my skin. There is a bit of a weird... ozone, maybe? It tingles my nose and sort of makes this waiver between pleasant and indifferent. Throw: Mild. Overall: Eh. I'm on the positive side of indifference but it's really not grabbing me. If you like ozone and florals it's probably a good bet.

Imp: Amber and almond. Is this a problematic amber? Wet: The second Bastet touches my skin I can no longer smell individual notes. Just sweetness. This is very syrupy. Like golden syrup but not necessarily golden corn syrup. Dry: I don't know. I can smell a very faint cardamom/myrrh combo and then some... saffron? Most Bastet is just sweet, warm, possibly amber and some spice swirling around my skin. It's pretty and sweet and I can't tell if I like it or not. It's almost like... I don't know. I have gone through almost an entire imp of Bastet just applying to my wrist, smelling the drydown and then trying to write a review. I think I like it. I think it smells really nice on my skin. THERE ARE JUST NO WORDS FOR IT!!! Throw: Skin close. Overall: I am confused.

Reviwed for scent purposes only. Imp: The strongest note I get is the plum followed by the pine. Wet: Chilly! I love the lab's frozen notes and this one is certianly fascinating. The plums are frozen, snow falls off the pine boughs. There's a warming touch of white (?) musk. Dry: That chilly note wears off pretty quickly and I don't think I like the dry stage as much as I do the wet one. The plum is still the dominant player but I can now smell the lily and the bergamot over the pine notes. When the frozen note wears off it leaves a sort of... lemon lime pop scent in its place. It sounds kind of weird but it somehow works with the scent overall. Cool and fruity touched with more aggressive, wintery notes. Throw: Mild. Overall: I like it. It reminds me a lot of L'Inverno although thankfully I think I prefer L'Inverno. The oil sinks into my skin quickly and is very moisterizing so I'd probably pick it up if the lab ever rereleases it.

Imp: Dark, sweet earth. None of the acrid quality I sometimes get from other BPAL dirt notes. Wet: Ah, there's that acrid quality I know (and love? No. Not particularly). Sharp, biting dirt over a sort of weird sweet quality. Reminds me of Black Opal. With dirt. Dry: A core of really beautiful, sultry vanilla and... dirt. There's something in the dirt note that just doesn't work out on my skin. It makes it a bit too sharp or a bit too pungent or something and it just sort of makes an otherwise interesting scent a little too off. I really like the core scent but the sort of sharp zing I get from the dirt note is just not making it work for me. It's interesting, definitely. Glad I smelled it. Throw: Good. Overall: It's an interesting sort of scent and as the dirt scent kind of wears off and becomes less aggressive I like it more. However, if I wanted to wear a light, buttery vanilla with a bit of a mineral/organic tinge I already have Black Opal and don't need to go through the weird drydown. I can guarantee, however, that you have likely never smelled anything like this perfume before.

Imp: Herbal. A bit of juniper or fir, maybe? Sticky sweetness underneath. Wet: Very mild and sweet with the tiniest hint of the herbal quality. Currants are the dominant note and then the sticky fig. Dry: Huh. This is very pretty--very unlike what I thought this would smell like (not that I didn't think it would be pretty). It's a soft, warm sticky fig scent with a hint of earthy date (don't particularly know what date smells like but I can cross reference it from a few other scents, most notably the Hanging Gardens) and a tart, juicy currant. The herbs have all but disappeared. Very soft and girly. Goes with the sundress I just happen to be wearing today. Throw: Minute. Overall: Pretty. It's a warm, fruity scent that's unusual and sticks in your mind. The throw is pretty minimal on my skin so I don't exactly see a bottle in my future. Definitely a good one if you're looking for a fun, fruity summery sort of scent.