ladyver

wet on skin: chocolate allspice and nutmeg, & maybe sandlewood, the other notes trying to decide whether they're coming out or not… drying: ok, here are the flowers and the tonka (just in time to stop me contemplating how it would taste), for a little while something (honeysuckle?) was verging on going soap on me dry: but not to worry, the chocolate launched a fight back with the incense and sandlewood and it has throw (i can smell it through my jumper) and i amp dried sweet spices. YAY! the flowers, tea and tonka make it lighter, more floral and a touch sweeter(?) than velvet. the tea seems to be playing an important blending role here as i can't decide whether to group it with the choc-spice-incense-sandlewood or the flower elements

this is sugared incense and night blooming flowers all the way!!!! lovely! and as the previous reviewer said this lasts really well and has good throw.

when i tried this i had midnight on the midway on the other arm - so it was interesting to compare. in stormclouds over the midway i could spot midnight underneath with a big storm rolling accross the top! the ozone is very dominant on me - it takes quite a long time before i can really spot the incense on me. my initial reaction is that this is fairly masculine - & i am sure this would be lovely for a guy - but i like it! however, if i find i am always picking up midnight over this one, then i may consider giving this to one of my brothers... if they are really, really nice to me

i second ashlultum coconut is definitely not at the forefront but plays an important role i also love red lanturn and like diwali

The first couple of hours the gardenia and chrome are more dominant - i like the way the chrome blends with the gardenia to make it really pretty rather than heady. after that it is fairly light but the vanilla musk comes out to play and i can't stop putting my wrist to my nose I like this a lot more than I expected - so I am happy I just went for it - it is pretty! mesmerising, white, silver and translucent are other words that come to mind. It is a lot different to the other scents in my collection, but i have a feeling i will be reaching for it often!

in the bottle: the first sniff i took of this it reminded me of an incense shop. wet on skin: for some reason all i can think of is gorgeous dark red lipstick. dry: this is very well blended so its difficult to distinguish - there is definitely musk - then black current - the patchouli plays a role but does not have that dominant phase it has in many other scents - the lotus root and other notes are playing a role that grounds the musk and prevents it from being too fruity. this is red!!!! it's red in colour, includes red notes and evokes red images. & it's great for a confidence boost - i feel good when i am wearing this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! though the 3rd time i wore it i did go a little over-board on slathering marianne - resulting in a little musk headache - so as hard as it is i'll be trying to keep to light-to-average application

in bottle: rose otto, musk and sage wet on skin: same, though the rose otto is most dominant (it reminds me of RENs rose otto body cream at this stage) later: the tonka, coconut and musk play a greater role bringing out a yumminess on the one hand it's like you've been a bit naughty out in the garden. on the other, its sophisticated too - i have been happily wearing it to work (in an office)

in bottle: i spot the flowers first wet on skin: flowers, but there is something underneath... dry down: the other notes are providng a warmth and little dirtiness (in a sexy feminine way) underneath the lilac dry: this is beautiful - all the notes are perfectly blended i like ashlultum more and more each time i wear it - i can't really explain

in bottle: if red lanturn had honey - I want to eat it! wet on skin: honey, honey and more honey, and then i see the teak and apple blossom. dry: honey and teak with a hint of apple blossom. It takes a while but the cream accord finally comes out to help link the other notes. this is a golden blend just like the pic - i like it - but will use it sparingly for a while because i would like to see if little ageing helps the notes blend a bit more EDIT: in only a couple of weeks since i first tried this the notes are less separate and it has become really well blended - the teak is less sharp and the caramel is in the mix now. it is a golden honey blend with teak, caramel, apple blossom and cream accord making it delicious!!!!!

i got a frimp of Blood Amber in my last order - its delicious

Green herbs slithering through mint, lime and lavender fresh herbs! it's like i've walked around a herb garden crushing and smelling different herbs in my hands. and the scent evolves on my skin in exactly the same way.

this was the surprise hit of my imp testing today - for a sweet fruit and musk scent this is quite grown up thanks to the amber and myrtle! in bottle: peaches! wet on skin: sweet peaches and hint of musk and after a little while I spot amber right down the bottom. bit later: this is a different amber to what I'm used to, at least combined with these notes it does seem 'golden'. wow and there is the myrtle - this is gorgeous! and it lasts really well edit: actually, i have really like the excolo scents i have tried so far so it should not have really been a surprise hit

in bottle: this is one to just put on and not smell in the bottle. wet on skin: wet myrrh, jasmin and rose. dry: myrrh, jasmin and rose. a bit too nana on me, which is unfortunate because it lasts ages and has decent throw! (ha! ha! Could I give my nana a purfume called wicked?!)

this one took me on a very long journey.... in bottle & wet on skin: yummy, in a sweet, warm, spicy herbally way - I'm not familiar with most of the notes (except for amber, prickly pear and coriander) so i had to do a bit of research to work out what i could smell - so i worked out initially i could smell the four herbs and the prickly pear. bit later, uh oh something soapy has appeared and taking over (amber, though i don't normally have this problem); a while later, ok i can now spot the herbs again through the soapy amber; even later and there is the sweetness from the prickly pear and the herbs, so we have almost come back full circle (though amber is still there). if i could get through the hour or two of soapiness, this one could be ok for evening

this morphs so much! in bottle: fruit with herbs; wet on skin: a little like a cleaning product, pretty please morph - I can tell it wants to be pretty.. Lets wait a while.. well I think this contains the most behaved patchouli ever, and it did get prettier, especially once the citrus finally mellowed a bit, to a citrus, nectarine, rose and sage scent, but i don't think this is for me as it seems like a few individual notes... after a while more... wow, i like this now that the notes have finally blended really well.. must rescue it from my swap/sale pile!!

in bottle & wet on skin: wood, cherry floral; spot the musk; there is lavender under there but not dominant (which is good for me); I can't decide if this is incredibly feminine or a little bit masculine at the moment! Later it reminds me of a scent that would be used in a really lux face product or makeup. Even later, definitely feminine, very intriguing, sophisticated scent. another one that i like, but am not sure i do it justice because to me it seems so sophisticated

in bottle & wet on skin: something almost marzipan about this, but really sweet, I'm guessing carnation and honey combination; then the rose comes out, then the milk and bergamot.. and then it was just a light rose scent - it's definitely nice, but to me was a bit more of a common scent than i expected i've been trying too many amazing bpal scents lately, my expectations have gone through the roof

in bottle: ginger and tea; wet on skin: initally smells like leaves, but then i get ginger, grapefruit & tea; a while later, the apple blossom does come out, and does stand up with the other notes, but ginger and grapefruit still strong on me. later still: tea and appleblossom with ginger still there i am undecided about this one because of the way my skin amps up ginger especially, and grapefruit a bit. i should probably save it for summer when i am sure to better appreciate this scent

i had a bit of a giggle testing this one because i totally wasn't thinking about what something called 'bluebeard' might smell like... so i initially got a bit of a shock that it was so masculine and so dark! i don't know how they got it from the notes, but it really evokes the drawings i have seen of bluebeard! definitely a smokey/ash smell that is a bit metallic, like a man who's been preparing his sword

this was my favourite imp test today! in bottle: sweet, banana, floral, tropical. wet on skin: smells like fresh food end of an asian grocery store, probably from the banana leaf and palm with the flowers; then I get a floral and a woody scent (I am wondering if the flower or the wood of the narra tree is used here? as i am not sure what i am smelling exactly). i also spot that faint peppery thing briefly in the background that others have mentioned. Bit later: becomes sweet in a soft pretty way, not confectionary like at all... This is soooooo pretty! seems to reflect the descriptions i have read on sampaguita blossoms and makes we want to go and see them and the narra tree in real life! i am loving the couple of tropical flower scents that i have tried so far

in bottle: definitely floral, with something almost like cough lozengers about it - could be the lemon; wet on skin: lemon - I have lemon and sandlewood, I can tell there are some flowers in their somewhere but my skin is just amping up the lemon sandlewood combination tooooo much for me

i think this is a beautiful scent as it is very true to the scents of the gorgeous flowers in this! in bottle: this smells like the real flowers!!!! wet on skin there was a polished wood stage - but it lasts only for a short moment - then we're back to the real flowers. initially the magnolia and jasmine are more dominant and much later the rose assumes the dominant spot (but only just) with the amber sitting nicely underneath the whole time. to me this would be perfect on someone strong, glamorous and mysterious - i am not sure i can do this one justice

i am finding kali really hard to review because she is really playing with my mind! in bottle & wet on skin: I can distinguish a few notes like the chocolate and couple of the flowers, there is a lot happening here! bit later: as with the BPAL description, "swirled" is a good way to describe what the food and resin notes do to the florals. A few minutes later.. it seemed to have almost disappeared - but then it came back to something really nice (totally weird!) maybe its cause my skin warmed up after throwing on a jumper an hour or so later, if i just catch a whiff or when i go to sniff after a break i get a really nice blend, but if i try to put nose to wrist to analyse it, i just get a bit of faint floral or balsam or lose it altogether - argh - next time i will slather & hopefully do a more useful review!

in bottle & wet on skin: yummy floral - which is a description I thought I'd never use. This just keeps getting yummier... (is that a word?!). i can see why this is a favourite! another imp i've tested today that i'll be using up to contemplate a bottle.

In bottle and wet on skin: floral, but something confectionary about this (like apple flavoured lollies) - this is totally not what I expected!!!!!!! (i didn't read the reviews before i tested this frimp). Something almost peppery in the background. Later: floral with something sweet and something peppery. Its so different to anything I've tried before, I can see people could have a love/hate relationship with this one. I would normally avoid trying something people had described as having a bubblegum/confectionary scent - but i think i really like this, so i'm really glad i got a frimp of it to try!!!!! i will definitely keep and use the frimp and contemplate whether i want a bottle as i could see myself wearing this one to work.