donnatron

Imp: Buttery pumpkin with a top note of clove and apple. Wet: BUTTER! This is initially so unpleasant it's a candidate for wash off. Dry: This dries down to a beautiful, soft pumpkin pie scent. It's sweet and foody and appears to share notes with Eat Me. Throw: Decent. Overall: It's a good foody scent. Definitely not an every day scent for me, but it's nice to pop on every once in awhile and revel in my spicy, foody goodness.

Imp: Plum and the heavy, pollen scent of daffodils. I'm actually really impressed with how true to life the daffodils are. Wet: The fruit amps up and gets super sweet. I catch whiffs of the musk and the jasmine starts to sweeten. Dry: My skin does weird things with this. It dries down to plums and gunpowder green tea. I can catch a hint of the white musk and it's all very... nice. But not nice like Niiiiiiice, but nice like... that's nice. It's pleasant but mostly forgettable. Throw: Moderate. Overall: I feel like this smells really unusual, but I just can't work up any enthusiasm for it. It almost smells like I SHOULD smell or something. Not that I'm a Japanese werefox or anything, but it seems both very exotic and yet commonplace for me. It's such a hard scent to explain and it's even harder to explain how it feels on me. Definitely try it if you can, see if you understand what I'm trying to say here, and perhaps you're more articulate at explaining it than I am.

Imp: Erm... mint is dominant with a green fruit note in the background floating with sage and my old nemesis, tea. Wet: This goes pure clean green scent. Very appropriate for the name. Kind of reminds me of Embalming Fluid. Dry: Wow. Surprisingly nice. None of the notes dominate the other and it all just comes together to a really soft, pretty green scent. Throw: Quite good. Overall: Notice how many times I said "green" in this review? It works well enough on me, and it definitely evokes the feeling it's going for. A beautiful, beautiful scent.

Imp: Sharp amber and benzoin with a waft of floral. Wet: IRIS! Iris with a touch of the intial sourness I experience with amber. Dry: The combination of ingredients manage to dry down to a resinous violet scent. As a violet lover, I'm very happy about this occurance. Throw: The violet-esque scent goes for miles, the amber and benzoin are sweet and close to the skin. Overall: How pretty and complex. I'm glad to have tried it but am not too upset about it being a LE.

Imp: Maple syrup. I knew about the incense-i-ness of Al-Azif but had never read any of the reviews and was just like "bah? WTF? Where's my incense?" Wet: Hyper sweet maple-burnt sugar-caramel scent. Dry: Maple and caramel. Instensely sweet. Throw: Pretty intense for the first half hour or so and then settles down. Overall: Totally not what I was expecting. It's pretty but doesn't have the complexity that I usually like in scents that wind up smelling foody on me.

Imp: Heliotrope and peach. True, fruity, luscious peach, none of that gummy candy stuff. Wet: Peach sweetened by a swirl of vanilla, heliotrope and amber. Dry: So lovely. The amber, heliotrope and vanilla create this rich, warm close-to-the skin scent that is just so sexy and inviting. The peach floats over top of it adding this great effervescent note. This is the type of scent that compells someone to touch your arm when they lean in to smell you. Throw: Good. The vanilla amps the most, which then draws you into the layers of the scent. Overall: I love this scent. It garners me lots of compliments all the time and it seems to be a general crowd pleaser. I'm so glad I was frimped it, because I thought that peach=death up until this point. If you're nervous about trying fruit scents that have done horrible things on your skin previously, try this one.

Imp: Sweet pea undercut by a bit of spicy carnation. The lily smells like a spritzing of C&E's lily of the valley. Wet: The sweet pea is all up in my grill. It's pretty aggressive, and I can smell lily and carnation in the background asking if maybe it would like to back off. Dry: Really pretty and balanced floral. The sweet pea does step off and becomes more round and balanced and lily steps into the spotlight. Throw: Moderate. Lasting power isn't too great. Overall: It's really pretty and sultry in a weird way. It's not aggressive or coquettish or anything, but there's something very appealing about it, and it's very pretty and classical. Somehow I get the feeling that my own partner wouldn't feel this way about it, but I could probably go to Pearse Estates on a weekend and pick up a role-player who likes my true-to-period perfume.

Imp: Cocoa powder and patchouli soaked in wine. Wet: Sweet patchouli. Dry: Really lovely. The cocoa and patchouli balance each other, the nicotiana flower adds a dusky, smoky sweetness, and the wine turns to a heady berry scent. This is really dense and lustrous. Throw: Good to excellent. Overall: Mmm.... I really like this. However, I can't shake the feeling that there is another scent in the GC catelogue that smells exactly like this on me. I'm glad to have the imp, though, and it may get a good space in my scent rotation.

Imp: Pencil shavings. Wet: Pencil shavings. Dry: Pencil shavings. Throw Pencil shavings Mild. Overall: Pencil shavings, dudes, PENCIL SHAVINGS! Meaning: It was dry and not really exciting to smell on my skin. I do like it in concept, though.

Imp: Sharp lemon with an undercurrent of rose and apple. Wet: Bright, clean sweet apple. Dry: Lemon is the top note and the apple and rose combined to create a candied resin scent that just grounds the scent beatifully. This is really bright and clear and a gorgeous warm weather scent. Throw: Polite. Definitely appropriate for social situations. Overall: How lovely. And, of course, having applied this without looking at the scent description, how completely unlike how I thought it would smell. It works well with the concept and it's just pretty, dagnabbit.

Bottle: Super sweet fig and plumeria. Wet: This just explodes into this huge, fruity/juicy floral scent. Dry: I smell fig and pear predominantly. The woods are behaving themselves and the florals are a beautiful soft midnote. The rose goes lovely and sweet and entwines with the gardenia. So pretty. Throw: Good but in a weird way. From far away it's just this general dark sweetness surrounding me. I have to get pretty close to my wrist before I can start distinguishing notes. Overall: A really lovely and well-blended fruit/floral. It's dense and complex without being overpowering.

Bottle: Cassis and cherry dominate. I catch whiffs of verbena and cardamom with just a hint of the patchouli lurking in there. Wet: The cassis shifts into a cinnamon/clove scent and the scent becomes almost unbearably spicy. Dry: A mixture of verbena and cherry are the dominant notes with the cassis and patchouli trailing behind. The cardamom makes appearances at times but doesn't seem fussed about being involved. Throw: Really good. Overall: The Phantom Calliope was my first bottle of BPAL and I'm so glad it was. This is a gorgeous, spicy delicious scent that manages to be fruity and spicy without being edible. It's completely lovely and compelling and I just adore it. I'd hoard more bottles of it, but I've barely put a dent in the one I have.

Imp: Milk chocolate. Wet: Stays true to the milk chocolate scent! Dry: Praise the lord, I have found a chocolate scent that doesn't go dusty on me. This is smooth and slightly creamy and sweet and just a delicious scent. Throw: A fair amount. I can smell it from about half a foot away from my wrist and every once in awhile I get a whiff while typing. Overall: I don't know how fond I am of smelling exactly like food, but this would probably be divine to layer with other scents.

Imp: I barely know what heather looks like, let alone smells like. But it doesn't smell like berries so I'm going to say this smells like heather. Wet: A bit of berry peeks out but the scent from the imp mostly stays true. Dry: Soft spicy floral with a touch of berry. Normally berries amp to high heaven on me, so it is a unique experience. Really pretty and soft. Throw: Minimal. Overall: It's nice and quet and a really relaxing scent. I could see wearing this to bed or to write papers or something similar.

Imp: Sweet fresh apples. Wet: The fresh apples amp up and I get a weird sour smell which indicates the honey is thinking about whether or not to behave. Dry: Instead it just packs its bags and goes. I mainly get the apple scent as the top note with a light base of powdery roses and syrupy ylang ylang. It's a very tart scent, not sour but not really sweet on me. Throw: Average. Unless you're insane with application you won't be scent-dominating a room. Overall: It's really pretty and holds true to the concept. It's kind of a minimalist Ladon and it will be lovely to wear this spring.

Imp: Sweet almondy citrus with a herbal green scent laced through it. Wet: Sweet citrus candy. Dry: The candy scent remains. A really lovely blend of citrus and almond. The greenery has disappeared and if the lavender's around, it is not having me. Throw: Pretty good. Definitely detectable from a few inches away. Overall: I had the experience of going from a delectable candy scent to unwashed armpit in the course of two hours with Nanshe earlier in the week. I've had this on for the better part of an hour and it's holding strong. If it retains the candy scent, I'll be happy. I'll just enjoy the imp while I can, seeing as how the GC has waved goodbye to Calliope.

Imp: Mmmm.... this is fabulous. Sweet almond and a bit of soft floral. Wet: The almond disappears and the wood takes centre stage. Dry: This is primarily sandalwood tempered by a touch of jasmine. The wood is really strong, and I think it's being buffered by my old enemy oakmoss. Throw: The wood has great throw, but not really the rest of the scent. Overall: I wish this stayed true to the beautiful scent in the bottle but, alas, I am either going to have to put it in the hair or get a scent locket.

Imp: Myrrh and amber. Wet: Amber does this weird sour thing when it first hits my skin. The carnations amp up. The other notes are just like "whatevs... let them do their thing." Dry: Soft musky amber with spicy carnation and a touch of apple blossom. Very soft and dreamy. Throw: You have to be pretty close in to smell it. Overall: It's pretty and I'm glad I've tried it, but it doesn't immediately appeal to my senses. I'll finish up the imp and see if my impression changes.

Imp: Freaky. It evokes standing over the button mushroom bin at the co-op. Wet: This goes harsh and musty on me. It must have some sort of moss note, because it is amping up like crazy on my skin. Dry: Dank, moist, decaying earth. I can't really separate any of the notes from one another. This is an exceedingly dry (in the dry vs sweet sense) scent. Throw: It's moss(ish?). It's me. I reak. Overall: I can see the appeal of this in its own way, but it's just not my style. Swaps or I'll be lazy and just give it to my sister.

Imp: Plummy mandarin. Wet: Sweet and bright. Reminds me of Vampire Tears without the butter hint. Dry: Nice, sweet citrus-plum scent. Very crisp and light. It evokes a hot summer afternoon sitting on the patio of a good restaurant sipping a dry white wine. Throw: Moderate. Overall: It's pretty and I'll use up my imp but I'm not in love. I'm sure it will come in handy during the summer months.

Im[: Dry sandalwood and frankincense. Wet: The saffron and honey come out to sweeten this and it starts to smell more like a single note rather than a collection of different scents. Dry: The frankincense and sandalwood dominate the scent and the rest of the notes combine to create this icky milk scent. It's just not that into me. Throw: The resins have throw off my skin. Thankfully I can only smell that nasty milk smell up close to my skin. Overall: I can't take the milk. If you know that the components work well on you, this is definitely a good scent to try.

Imp: Gentle carnation and calm tea. Wet: The tea dominates and I get a sense of carnation and rose in the background. Dry: This is mainly a clean bright tea scent on me. The florals are around, but they're not in a mood to take centre stage. Throw: Actually quite heavy, especially for a floral/tea scent. Overall: Wow, Maiden. The firs few times I tried this scent it was repulsive. Somehow my skin has come 'round and we can be friends again. This is really fresh and pretty--something I'll wear in the spring or summer.

Imp: Sharp aquatic with sweet florals in the background. Wet: General "wet scent" that comes with a lot of white flower blends. Dry: Aquatics just aren't my friend. I'd assume it's the blue musk lending that aquatic edge. My wrist smells like a lovely floral perfume doused in pool water. Le sigh. Throw: Not much. Overall: You can't win 'em all. It would make a nice bath or room scent. There's still potential for us, Long Night Moon. There's still hope.

Imp: Sour fruit and wine. Wet: A sort of soft, floral-fruit scent. The pear smells almost peachy and the champagne is flat on arrival. Dry: It dries down to a nice perfume-y pear scent. Pear is the top note grounded by a blend of plumeria and champagne. I was expecting a bit more of an effervescent scent or something, I guess. Throw: Not a lot. This would be a good work or theatre scent. Overall: As is the fate of most of my lighter oils, this will be mingling with jojoba in my bathtub at some point in the near future.

Imp: A bright, clean scent. If I didn't know better I'd think there was ozone in this. Wet: The most unusual rose scent I've ever smelled. I get the roses but they're thin and almost bitter. Strange. Dry: The bitterness is gone but it's replaced by an overall sourness. It's not unpleasant, but when given other options to smell like, it's not my first choice. Throw: I can't complain. Overall: Between the white rose and the orchid my skin was just like "I don't care. May the more persistant win."