Lamia

So deightful! Sugared violets, but not wretched chemical creations. I was fortunate recently to try a real sugared violet, a bloom grown in a friends yard and candied in a medieval manner. It was so delicate, so fresh, so magnificent in such a tiny mouthful. And that is what Faith smells of - that perfect, pure, real and precious sugared violet.

A twisted teatime tart: apricot and sweet clove. Not having read the description before putting it on, I am dismayed. This went on with a shrill masculine fruit, and continued to be awful. It quickly turned to Yankee Candle, and there is shall stay. I may need to wash this off. Trade bag.

In the bottle, thin and bitter. I was certain that this was full of vetiver. On skin, it's faint, still bitter, with a touch of rueful sweetness. Trade bag.

This was so complex it completed broke my nose musk, cinnamon, fruits, woods all at once! Deliciously gently masculine, but it faded within half an hour of application, and all I am left with is the faintest brush of old tonka. Regretfully, as this is a delectable scent, trade bag.

I thought I'd reviewed this, but apparently not. When I first tried this, my notes say "BUM'S MOUTH, EW", and reading the reviews of others above, I'm relieved to see that I am not the only person who had that reaction. Some months later, I mistakenly swapped for an imp of this (what was I thinking??) and figured what the hell, I'll give it a second chance. Today is smells like a hippie wanna-be. Like someone thought that the way to be a damn dirty hippie was to not shower this morning and put a wee dab of a watered-down beauty salon version of eau de patchouli behind each ear. Trade bag.

This is just extraordinary, smoky, thick and not-food-cinnamon. Charcoal burns the back of my throat if I inhale too deeply. I'm surrounded by wafts of scented reddish smoke, waving hands about like an old Bugs Bunny cartoon, leading me ever forward.

So disappointing! This started magnificently, with a male musky tone. It quickly became spicy and so alluring that were a man wearing this around me, I'd be all over over him. I thought to myself "this is what spicy brains must smell like to zombies!" because it was so delicious, so utterly irresistible. Alas, that which burns brightest burns fastest, and within half an hour, this became cheap soap bought at a department store - the kind that is part of a men's colonge line and you receive free as a gift with your $30 purchase. This started so well...

All leather, all the time. A dash of tobacco and cedar, and this is a truly divine scent. I detect no pear whatsoever. Most folks would call it overly masculine, but since I spent several years working in a leather shop, this is your leathergirl being happy

Soft floral, bandaids, quick fade. Fail. Trade Bag.

This is quite fruity (and as I love Beth's fruity notes, this is a Good Thing). I'd thought that there was dragon's blood resin in here because there is a dusty pasty background note, but apparently that is a blend of the opium and lilac. Husband says he likes it better than the "Pez" (his term) of Pirate Moon. The most amusing part of this scent is that everyone at the Meet & Sniff said EW THIS SMELLS LIKE DIRTY DIAPERS but I loved it. Weird, huh?

This is damn nice. Very masculine, with vanilla, rum and tobacco, but it is, regretfully, a quick fade. On the plus side, I had a bad experience with rum once (whistles innocently) but the rum in this scent doesn't trigger any, ah, bad memories.

Ptui. I can't tell if the charming throw is from curious chemical interaction with my skin, or if it's reside on my jacket cuff from yesterday's Blood Countess, but it sure as hell doesn't come from my wrists. Crypt Queen was maliciously floral wet, and on skin is dry shredded stale orris root. This scent is That Goth Girl who tries too hard; her makeup is MAC, her corsets are Dark Garden only, her shoes are New Rocks, but only *this* seasons style, smokes tobacco because cloves are "weird", her hair is ALWAYS worn in falls and she will claim that *she* started the trend even though she was in grade school in the early 90's. Her purse is overpriced, and daddy gave her her own AmEx. She's uncreative with accessories, claims to love the Cure but never listens to them, and her apartment is decorated from IKEA because she couldn't actually put any of that weird Victorian drapey fabric in HER living room. This imp is being returned.

I can't puzzle this one out. Fresh, it was light with a saucy musky snap. It's spent the past hour-plus changing every time I check it. The lime brightens it, certainly, and I can smell the tobacco, but every so often it smells a lot like pussy. Husband says he likes it, when pressured, although he doesn't like it under his nose. It even smells differently on each wrist. I am confident that the one bottle will be more than sufficient.

Fresh, it's complex vanilla with murky touches. Drydown, it becomes sweet vanilla with fruit - Cyborg says "You smell like Pez!" and while he agrees that it's not candy store sweet, but rather fruit sweet, he continues to call it Pez. However, he also said that he likes it. So yay! After reading the reviews above I can say "okaaaay, maybe grape soda maybe, if I think about it." But it doesn't leap our and shake me crying GRAPE JELLY DAMN YOU, GRAPES WITH SUGAR! for which I am heartily grateful.

I'd gotten to try Inez back in August, and loved it. This weekend, I tested it again prior to purchase, and instead of smelling like the intoxicating sensual feminine scent it was the first glorious time, it smelled like stale saliva. If someone licked my wrist, it would be the same smell, and it stayed for HOURS. I was so sad So I bought Temple Viper instead

This is a thin sharp floral, there is a harsh shrill note here. Dare I say...piercing? (HAHASOFUNNY!) This reminds me of a cruel Schlafende Baigneuse. Trade Bag.

Glory! Magnificence! *Nomnomnoms self* Fresh, this was mint - the finest, highest quality peppermint patty, mint bonbon truffle you could ever hope to caress with your mouth. It quickly turned to lemon, then orange, and then was light like honeysuckle. Ever had chocolate-dipped honeysuckle? Me either, but this must be what it smelled like! Then came roses, and my nose was overwhelmed trying to keep up with all of the scents spilling off my wrists. Hopefully, it has settled down a smidge, and smells primarily of clovey-chocolate. *goes back to NOMNOMNOMing self*

This is remarkably magnificent for being a single element scent. It starts quite woody and brutal, rather like vetiter, and slowly turns softer, with brushings of myrrh. Trying to puzzle it out (as I lay dozing on the sofa) it's the scent of a spy, someone who knows something that you don't, someone whose secrets could change you. It's powerful and dry and deep and smirking. Yum!

Fascinating. Wet, it was quite fruity, but dried to a sharp floral scent. Sniffing my skin, it's quite acrid and floral, like a dried bouquet that's spritzed every so often to "refresh" it, but the throw is remarkably fruity.

Gah, this is awful! The vetiver is so strong, so bitterly masculine, that the poor violet doesn't have a chance. It peeps out here and there, but the vetiver drowns it and holds it under. Bitter bitter bitter. Trade bag.

MAGNIFICENT! I must hunt down a 5ml of this, it's divine. Thick and red with musky wood, it envelopes with a warm dark cloak with a fur lining that I wrap tightly about myself and hug to my chin. Mmmmm nummy.

A small, furry, sharp-toothed scent that will nuzzle you curiously in the black hours before dawn: dusty white sandalwood and orris root, dry coconut husk, creeping musk, and the residue of ceremonial incense. To my delight, I can't detect the coconut. This is indeed a warm fuzzy brown scent - it's masculine, muskily sweet and sandalwoody. I don't need more than the imp, but the smell is delicious. EDITED TO ADD: Hmm, it started to get a smidge armpitty, but I was able to ignore it. Until my boss walked into the office and said "What smells like a pool hall... or a gym?" When I offered that perhaps it was my perfume, he said "Your perfume smells like gym socks?" I guess this goes in to the Trade Bag...

Created in honor of the fiery, vicious Princess of Hell and bloodthirsty general who governs thirty-six legions of infernal warriors. Her lust for bloodshed and manslaughter is matched only by her love of the classical arts and sciences - definitely a woman that we respect. A seething, fiery blend of dragon’s blood, deep myrrh, red and black musks, civet and thick red patchouli, glistening with drops of rose and ylang ylang. I confess to being mildly disappointed. I guess it's the dragon's blood? It, like amber, sometimes works ... poorly. Or this might just be because it's aged. I wonder what it smelled like fresh? Wet on skin, it's resiny and roseate. If you had rose petals turned into resin for a hookah, this is what it would remind me of. It's quite smoky - its what the salon of a Princess of Hell must smell like, sullen smoke and roses and something rueful. After about an hour, it becomes quite rosy and soapy. The ylang ylang wants to push through, but the dragon's blood is stopping it. This is a complex scent, lots going on in here, a power struggle in perfume.

This baffles. In the bottle, it smelled like "Poison". Fresh, it smelled like something went bad, but not so vile that I had to wash it off (like some). It's taken a while, but it's stopped smelling like something is "off" and has instead become a soft insipid floral. Too weird, I will put this aside and test it again some other time - there's nothing in here that should smell like this.

This is very NOM. I should have sucked it up and bought a 5ml at the time, expenses be damned! It started, both wet and fresh on skin, as something that reminded me a lot of something my mother wore when I was young, but that changed rapidly to fruit. It doesn't shout POMEGRANITE at me, but it does say DARK DIPE RED FRUIT, juicy and firm, like the curranty joy of Frumious Bandersnatch. And clearly I should get me a 5ml of that, since I compare it positively to so many other BPAL scents. Thr fruit takes some hours to shift to something dustier, I'll guess the moss and sandalwood and musk, in some combination. Not the most ZOMG EXQUISITE MUST HAVE IT RIGHT NOW DEAR GOD of Lucifer, but a delicious round scent all on its own.