Etaven

In the bottle: Sharp and fruity, with a touch of florals. I have a feeling we aren't going to get along, though it's pretty. On my skin: Extremely strong; the florals and the fruits are at war, and I'm trapped in the middle. As they settle down a bit, the wet note comes out. It does remind me of rain, though rain with a whole lot of flowers involved. Pretty, but not really my sort of scent. It's fading quickly, though, and ozone is coming out a bit more. Later: Faded really fast on me. Ah well.

In the bottle: Sharp, the lavendar comes out right away, and a bit piney, but with something else coming out. Lemon, maybe? It's both invigorating and calming. On my skin- Still a bit piney, though I think my nose is confusing that slightly with the lavendar, but also a little bit spicy. Something in there reminds me of licorice. A sweetness is coming out, but it's still sharp, and getting a bit smokey, as if incense is wafting through. Even with the sharp sort of edge, though, it remains calming. It sort of reminds me of a smokier hemlock. After it dries and tones down, it reminds me of what happens when I mix Hemlock and Velvet, mmmm! I like it muchly. Though, for me, it definitely seems to be more pine than lavendar, for whatever reason. As I was falling to sleep wearing this one, I did keep moving my wrists closer to my nose! This one's definitely a keeper!

In the bottle: Flowers, with a hint of something, an almost tart sort of scent, that reminds me a tiny bit of Nosferatu. There does seem to be a sort of softness over this one. On me: Morphs into what I consider the "typical" sort of perfume, the kind you find yourself spritzed with as you walk through department stores. It's definitely floral, and very refined. It's a very pretty, feminine sort of scent. Later: It's settled down. Rather flowery, and flowy, and it does indeed fit the innocent and pure description. I'll probably swap this one, as I'm not big into florals, but it is quite pretty.

Upon first sniff in the bottle, I'm reminded of men's cologne. Something more tasteful than Axe, but too masculine for me to find appealing for myself. Wet, on my skin- the flowers are out more, now, toning down the masculinity slightly, but not enough to really suit my fancy. I'm also not a big flower fan, though, so maybe that's why. A sharp scent is also coming out... it reminds me of something my mom might wear. And I sort of get the image of wet pavement in my head. If I sniff too closely, my head hurts a little... this one doesn't seem to agree with me too much; it's a bit too strong for my liking. As it's drying down, it's lost the "manly" edge, and is more female... but not girly. More that powerful, business woman sort of female. Feminine, but aggressive, and if you get too close, overpowering. After giving it a bit more time, the ozone is definitely out. It's still really strong, and still makes my nose twitch if I get too close. It's not bad, but it's not my sort of smell, so I'll be swapping it.

In the bottle- Flowery, but with something that just seems deeper... pine, I think. Definitely reminds me of hemlock. I'm not big on flowers, but the pine balances this out a bit. On my skin- the pine gets stronger, which is good, in my case. There's definitely something sweeter coming out, too... it actually reminds me of chocolate for a moment. It's got a bit of a spice to it, like a wild garden that refuses to be tamed. Considering I'm not into flowers, I'm actually really liking this one; there's something different about it that sets it apart from anything overly floral. The pine isn't as noticable, though it's lurking. It's settling into my skin a bit differently than most BPALs do (more incensey), which is also nice. Unexpectedly, this one's a keeper.

In the bottle: Very masculine, powerful and musky. Not really pleasant to me. I'll didn't get the rum, or the almond... I got a very predominantly musky smell. When it hits my skin its gets a bit nicer, though still too masculine for me. It's smokier, and if I get too close to my wrist, I end up coughing. And a few minutes later, it's all smoke, and no musk, which is nice. It's spicy, and though I can't really pick out a smell I'd identify as 'rum', it makes me think of pipes being smoked in big, wood-walled rooms. Later on, it reminds me of newly-turned dirt, and a while later, it takes on an incense-y sort of smell that I like, but that the majority of BPAL oils seem to do on me. I probably won't keep it, because it's too masculine for me, but on drydown it's pretty nice.

In the bottle, I get a bit of that metallic scent of blood, and something else, which I guess is the amber. On me, it sharpens, and I can't really discern any seperate scents... I'm not really sure what precisely I'm smelling. It's not very strong, though, and seems to be fading with every second, unfortunately, making it rather hard to pick out more than a light scent. It faded too quickly on me, so I may swap it... though after reading the other reviews, maybe I'll give it another try. Second time around: I put a bit more on... this is definitely one that I need to use more of if I want to actually be able to smell it. Wet, it was sharp, slightly metallic, but also spicy; I guess this was the amber I was smelling? It also smelled a tiny bit like cinnamon. After drying down a few hours later, I can still smell it (I guess I used the right amount this time) and I like it. It's taken on a sort of mellow, incense-y scent, with a base smell that I find is familiar with other BPAL scents that I like, but, as with the others, has certain unique distinctions. Most of the metallic scent is gone, with only a very faint lingering remainder. It's a bit of a warmer, older sort of scent now. Second time around, I like this much, much more, though I'm still a bit sad that, for whatever reason, it's so faint unless I use a lot. Ah, well. I think I shall be keeping my imp after all.

In the bottle, Eris smelled strongly fruity. It was a happy, festive sort of smell. On me, wet, it was still fruity, and reminded me of Jolly Ranchers candy. There was a bit of a smoky smell coming out as well. As it dried, it turned more perfumey and less "festive". For whatever reason, I got the image of a mature and sophisticated woman having tea with her friends under parasols in a garden. There's something about this one that reminds me of something I smelled in another oil... Blood Amber, it might have been. It's a sort of cherry-ish smell, and reminds me distinctly of something from my childhood... but I haven't been able to recall just what that scent was. Perhaps some sort of candy I used to get? It was nice as it fades, but I'm not sure I'll end up keeping it, as I'm not quite as fond as the fruity-sweet or floral scents.

Tried this one out while I was down at the beach on vacation. Wet, it was strong and sharp, with a sort of metallic hint to it, though it still remained a 'warm' scent. It does remind me of hot desert sand and tangy fruit, and brings up memories of my trip to Mexico a few years back. There's almost a slight alcoholic sort of edge to it, as well, though very faint, and there's also what seems to be a sort of peppery scent to it, as well. Rather complex, I'd say. After it mellows out and dries down, it's a smokey, spicy sort of scent. It stayed on my skin for quite a while. It wasn't quite the sort of scent I'd normally have gone for, but I rather like it, and I'll be keeping it.

In the bottle, I can smell herbs and a bit of smoke, a tiny hint of pine. It reminds me of Kathmandu for the first few seconds, but then that reminder sort of goes away. On me, wet, the smoke and incense come out, as well as the herbs. It's a sharp smell, and a bit tangy. It does indeed remind me of bonfires and dancing. The herbs give it an almost floral hint on me from a bit farther from my skin, but not overly so, and underneath comes the scent of smoke. It does evoke images in my head of revelry by moonlight, and trees and smoke. A little while later, and I smell like... the Yankee Candle factory in MA. Not necessarily bad, just unexpected. A while later, and it's sweet, incensey, and delicious. Sort of wish it was like this for more of the time it's spent on my skin, but overall, I do like it.

Mmm. This, along with Hemlock and Twilight, were the first 3 BPALs I've ever sniffed. So my first experience with Velvet was actually mixed with Hemlock. I can remember commenting to my half-asleep roommate that I smelled like a chocolate Christmas tree, which confused the hell out of her. In any case, I love Velvet. I smell the chocolatey goodness, and it's a comforting smell, though there's something else about it that I pick up too. It's smooth and sweet and intoxicating, a warm sort of smell. I didn't think I'd be too into the foody scents, but this one just smells so damn good that it's impossible not to like. While I love the chocolatey goodness of it, it doesn't make me crave actual chocolate... in fact, sniffing it seems to satisfy cravings

The day I recieved this order was the first really nice day we had, and I first sniffed Spooky while walking back from the mail building, which the sun shining and the air cool, but not freezing. And I think I must have gotten some on my nose, because every time I went outside after that, I smelled Spooky. My first impression was of coconut and rum, with that tiny hint of vanilla... it reminded me of the tropics, of beaches, of pirates. Yay pirates! And it was strong... I had it open for maybe a minute in my dorm room, and a few minutes after I closed it, all I could smell was Spooky. I thought I'd just gotten it on myself, but my roommate commented that it was all she could smell as well from across the room... and indeed, it scented our whole room. Yay! Today, a gray, rainy, cold day, I have decided to try Spooky out on myself. In the bottle, it's the same as my first impression, mostly coconut and rum. On me, it changes immediately, a new smell coming out... hmm. It's a sharper scent, one I can't really identify, and a wee bit metallic. Growing into very metallic. It's faintly fruity, faintly alcoholic... and the coconut is just about completely masked, though occasionally a wiff comes out. A while later, it's mellowed out and become much sweeter, though not as tropical as it seemed at first. The vanilla is much, much more apparent, and overall, it's a very warm smell. Not sure if I like it enough to wear it, but it's got some good memories associated with it, so it'll probably stick around for now. Though I wish some of the mint would come out for me...

In the bottle, I can smell the musk and what I think might be the myrrh. And maybe a hint of leather as well. It's good, but not something that really grabs my attention right away. On me, it morphs a lot... the lusty musk scent makes itself known. It's definitely strong, definitely dominating. It's hard for me to pick out the other scents, but it swirls together in a heady way, making itself quite known. After a few more minutes, it's musky leather, and quite intoxicatingly sexy. It's screaming 'seduction' and 'bondage' at me, mmm. I think I'll be keeping this one

Recieved as a freebie in my Storm Moon order. In the bottle, it smells like incense, with a wee hint of sweetness. On me, wet, it takes on a decidedly smoky one, and I can definitely pick out the sandlewood. It changes right away, to something more fruity and a tiny bit flowery. The sandlewood stays noticable, but underneath the other smells. It's strange, and I think it reminds me of something else, but I can't quite tell for sure or recall what... After drying and sitting for a while, it smells a lot less smokey and sandlewood-y, and quite sweet, but not overbearingly so. Not sure if I'll keep it, but it's an interesting smell, most definitely.

In the bottle, it smells kind of smoky and wood-y, with a touch of underlying floral-ish spices. Not sure whether or not I really like it, but it could work. On me, wet, the spices come out in full force in the first few seconds, followed by a sweetness that eventually overpowers the spicyness. The faint hint of incense is there as well, though the scent already seems to be a lot weaker than a few moments ago... but maybe that's just my nose. It's pleasant. After a few more seconds, there's a piney sort of scent that reminds me a bit of Hemlock, and a kind of mintyness. It's definitely a complete change from how it smells in the bottle, and I think I like it. It gets faint fairly fast on me, and hours after, I can still smell it a bit, but only very close to my wrist. It's a spicy sort of incense smell, at this point.