requieminblack

First sniff from the bottle- Fir trees and something musky After 10 minutes- Deep green fir, earthy tobacco, dark musk and something making my skin tingle....mint! This is really a nice earthy forest scent. After 30 minutes- The orange comes out a little but this is still a musky dark forest. Summery- Definitely not me, but a really nice blend.

First sniff from the bottle- Chocolate After 10 minutes- At first this was all deep dark chocolate. Then the sandalwood started to slowly waft it's way through very gently. Who would have thought that sandalwood and chocolate would blend so beautifully together? After 30 minutes- Now the myrrh has come through in full force and taken over. The chocolate has faded and it is now all sandalwood and myrrh. Nice, but I liked it better in the chocolate phase. Summery- Velvet is a really nice chocolate blend but I like Centzon Totochtin better. Off to swaps.

First sniff from the bottle- Gingery with a sharp floral background After 10 minutes- When I first put this on it had a warm spicy, slightly Gluttony like smell to it with a hint of a sharp floral in the background. After a few minutes the warm spicy smell went away and turned all honeysuckle floral on me in a bad way. After 30 minutes- Now this is all wine and floral on me. SOUR wine and floral. It smells a bit like Zephyr the more it dries down. It's sour wine soaked honeysuckle, lemon and jasmine. Summery- I am really jealous that some people smelled this as pumpkin spice and butter. I so WISH that is what it smelled like on me. My body chemistry has once again clashed with a really beautiful blend turning it sour.

First sniff from the bottle- frankincense and cedar. After 10 minutes- This is a lot like a cross between Khephra and Tushnamatay. It is a gorgeous blend of frankincense, cedar, and sandalwood with a spicy kick from the galangal. A perfect meditation blend. After 30 minutes- Sweet, sharp and smoky. The scent of ancient incense burning on charcoals. A magical blend indeed.

First sniff from the bottle- OMGWTFBBQ!? Almond cookies! After 10 minutes- At first this was all vanilla/almond/rum but after a few minutes it settles down into an 'Oh! my! God! piping hot delicious hazelnut latte. It is a lot like gluttony, but spicier! After 30 minutes- Yep, this totally smells like a hazelnut latte as it dries down. More please? Summery- Hellcat is yummy. I like it better than Gluttony. It's a keeper!

First sniff from the bottle- Oakmoss. This smells like a popular men's cologne but I can't put my finger on what it is. After 10 minutes- The moss jumps out at me first, but now the aquatic notes are coming through. Aquatic = dryer sheets to me so naturally this smells like mossy dryer sheets After 30 minutes- I am not sure what else is in this but it sort of has that olive juice smell to it that I picked up in Jolly Rodger. Bayou is like the masculine version of Sea of Glass. Summery- Bayou is way too masculine and aquatic for my taste.

First sniff from the bottle- Yummy! Magnolia and something spicy. After 10 minutes- This one smells almost exactly like Sacred Whore of Babylon, one of my favorites. This one is a bit tangier, having the mandarin in it. After 30 minutes- I want to say that this smells like pear now. Is that the oleander coming through? Pear, spices and magnolia. What's not to like? This is YUMMY. Summery- Hell's Belle is so much like Sacred Whore I can't help but love it.

First sniff from the bottle- Oooh, very pretty. Rose geranium and lily. After 10 minutes- This is the most delicate floral I have yet to try. Rose geranium is the dominate note followed by lily. I used to have a large pot of geranium that smelled just like when it rained. After 30 minutes- The frankincense is now starting to come out making this a bit soapy. Summery- I loved the wet stage of this one but the dry down turned soapy on me.

First sniff from the bottle- Honey. After 10 minutes- This smells just like 'Dana O' Shee' to me but with Indian food spices mixed in. After 30 minutes- The Spices have kicked in and are much stronger now. The spices in this smell very similar to those in Old Kathmandu. Summery- Queen of Sheba smells like a cross between Dana O' Shee and Old Kathmandu.

First sniff from the bottle- Opium and oranges. After 10 minutes- This is very perfumey, but not in a bad way. I think this is what I was expecting Mata Hari to smell like. It is very gourmand. The Opium is dominant with the mandarin and the vanilla swirling around it. After 30 minutes-This is a gorgeous oriental spicy scent. It smells very much like popular perfume that has been around for ages but I can put my finger on which one it is. Summery- Belle Epoque is very grown up and sexy

First sniff from the bottle- I am not sure what I am smelling, but it smells like dryer sheets to me. After 10 minutes- This smells GREEN. Like limes and the blue green ocean and dryer sheets all rolled into one. After 30 minutes- Aquatic scents all smell like clean laundry to me. Like 'Ocean! fresh! clean!'. Summery- I like this but I don't love it. Off to swaps.

First sniff from the bottle- Tangy orange After 10 minutes- I think it is the bergamot in this making it tangy. The clove in the background is very subtle yet still gives it a slight spicy kick. After 30 minutes- Spiced oranges and bergamot. Lovely! Summery- Succubus is orangey goodness.

First sniff from the bottle- Yummy! Apricots! After 10 minutes- Siren smells exactly how I imagined Old New Orleans would smell. Is is jasmine, but it is blended so beautifully with the apricot, ginger and vanilla that the jasmine is not overwhelming on me like the other jasmine scents. After 30 minutes- This is a gorgeous grown up scent. I think apricot is definitely one of my favorite notes. Summery- Siren gets two thumbs up.

First sniff from the bottle- At first sniff this came off as very bitter like vetiver. Is that the narcissus? After 10 minutes- The bitterness is gone and has been replaced with a warm vanilla wrapped in orange peels scent. It's a bitter orange, not a sweet orange. After 30 minutes- This still smells of bitter orange but the vanilla undertones have sweetened up making this quite lovely. Summery- I would like this better if it did smell like creamsicles. I think it is the narcissus in it that has made it too bitter for my taste.

First sniff from the bottle- Whoa Momma!! That is some strong rose! After 10 minutes- This smells like a pack of rose incense I have that is from India. It is a very strong musky rose. After 30 minutes- I really, really wanted to like this. I was hoping this darker blend of rose would work for me, but alas as all rose scents do this burned and irritated my poor nose. Summery- Swap city

First sniff from the bottle- Very soapy After 10 minutes- I can make out grapefruit and lavender. The chamomile and red current linger in the background giving this a 'sharp' kick to it. After 30 minutes- This isn't a bad scent, it is very clean smelling...but it still smells very soapy to me. This would be a nice scent if you like shower fresh perfumes. Summery- Nice, but not for me.

First sniff from the bottle- Lavender After 10 minutes- Lavender is definitely the dominate note here but I also smell Chamomile. After 30 minutes- This is very soft and relaxing. It smells just like baby bath. Summery- I can see how this would be great for bedtime. It is indeed very relaxing.

First sniff from the bottle- Patchouli and orange After 10 minutes- This smells like an orange covered in dirt. After 30 minutes- I am not fond of patchouli. This sort of smells like the herb isle of Whole Foods. Summery- I am glad I got a chance to test this, but it is not for me for me.

First sniff from the bottle- Ooh! Lemon Verbena! After 10 minutes- I used to have a Lemon Verbena and this smells just like a fresh crushed leaf. It is fresh, crisp, green and lemony! After 30 minutes- Absolutely wonderful. The fresh crushed Lemon Verbena smell is still going strong. Summery- This is perfect for those who love spring time green scents. This would be wonderful as a shower gel or bath bomb.

I just got back from Black Broom and happened to pick up a bottle of this. Yea! First sniff from the bottle- Glorious dragon’s blood! After 10 minutes- Mmmm, the fig is coming out making this really warm and fruity. I can smell the musk’s wafting up through the dragon’s blood and fig making this almost animalistic. After 30 minutes- The musk has come out in full force. It has turned all red musk on me...yikes. Noooooo! I want the yummy dragon's blood back! Summery- I don't like red musk so this one ig getting swapped.

First sniff from the bottle- Herbal floral After 10 minutes- Ugh. This is....not good. It's very bitter and medicinal smelling on me. It is herbal and floral but very bitter. Maybe that is the Frangipani I am smelling? After 30 minutes- I feel bad about saying this but this one totally smells like Ben Gay to me! I had to wash it off. Sorry Beth!

First sniff from the bottle- Chocolate! After 10 minutes- Chocolate covered cherries! After 30 minutes- This smells exactly like ooey gooey chocolate covered cherries in all their glory! As this dries the cherry smell takes completely over and becomes sickly sweet. Like cherry jolly ranchers or a cherry scented candle. It started to make me sick to my stomach and I had to wash it off. Summery- I like Bliss better as far as chocolate scents go. This one was just way to sweet for me.

First sniff from the bottle- A bit medicinal? After 10 minutes- It's so weird how some of the BPAL oils trigger memories. This one smells exactly like the drug store we used to go to when I was a kid. I remember always thinking it smelled strange in there...and this smells exactly like it! It's not a bad smell...it's a medicinal/Doctors office kind of scent mixed with powdery violets. I don't smell any cinnamon in this. After 30 minutes- This still smells like the drug store/Doctors office. Summery- This one was a wash off. I am not having any luck with the oils I am reviewing today. .

First sniff from the bottle- Just like Blood but with some vanilla After 10 minutes- The vetiver which I am not a fan of has now come out, making me wrinkle my nose. I hope this phase does not last long. After 30 minutes- Huh. I don't smell the vanilla in this at all anymore. Just a slight tang of 'Blood' and LOTS of icky vetiver which smells like mothballs to me. Summery- Well, crap. I was really excited about this one. My skin chemistry has ruined this by turning something really lovely into stinky mothballs.

First sniff from the bottle- A very dark and musky dragons blood After 10 minutes- I am not getting any clove with this one, only dragons blood and something really dark and musky. The cherry blends in with the dragons blood really well IMO. Cherry scents are usually too sweet for me but this one isn't. After 30 minutes- Metallic and bloody. Yep, this is blood all right! Summery- This is not something I would wear all the time but I like it enough to keep the imp.