Indigo78

*jotting* Nanny Ashtoreth...that's still at the Lab, right? Shrunken Heads was almost on my last order, but I decided to wait & see if I can get a decant first. And a Bachleor's Dog? Time to start tracking that one . My nose is all excited now!

If there's Cinnamon in here, the nether place must be freezing over, because this blend more than works for me. Cinnamon topples a blend for me more often than not. In this blend I can definitely smell it plain as day, yet I love it. I guess...another Bethicle (= Lab miracles like this) This is highly meallic and bright, with sinister edges that gleam. I can smell the faint char of wood, coin and Earth cleansed by Electric Fire Single Note. Evocative, schmevocative - - Djinn is downright uncanny. Bottleworthy, & instantly on my list.

I am beginning to realize that I strongly connect leather and tobacco - perhaps to a fault. It probably dates back to a boy I had a crush on in the 7th grade...Greaser-type "bad boy" who smoked and had the coolest leather jacket. Anyway, leather soaks up scents like nothing else...so I am guessing that maybe this is why scents like DeSade just aren't it for me...there's no smoke! Coyote's okay, and I haven't tried Wanda, Whip or Perversion yet. Dee is on the way, and I'll report back on his leatheriness if it's remarkable. Meanwhile, my quest for the perfect "bad news" scent continues.

Opening the bottle, I expected much more throw than this has to my nose. I love Leather in any form. Even the reviews that didn't sing this one's praises made me want it that much more. Mall leather, country leather, city leather, belt leather, shoe leather, even "pleather"! (not really, but you get the picture ) True, De Sade's all leather -but soooo whispery soft! I like the initial impressions, but can't get enough of a *blast* to make a real assesment. A total skin scent that clings and requires limb-huffing to detect. As soon as I figure out which BPAL turns up the volume a little more I'll be swaping this bottle. Maybe some aging would amp the leather a bit, but I probably can't wait that long for something tougher Wearlength is short: an hour on my skin.

Absolute PARSLEY in the imp. The first BPAL I have smelled like this. For the record, Parsley isn't gross - it actually smells ver fresh and nearly piney. But it is probably one of the last herbaceous notes I would expect from this. As if the Parsley weren't weird enough, after about ten minutes on my skin this becomes a sweet, crisp Vanilla which isn't a far cry from what I get in my beloved Black Opal. As someone else mentioned, very magical. It's the most dramatic morpher ever, and I the scent it becomes on my skin.

In the imp this is mostly true, bright peach. I want to taste it, but know better. On my sin the amber explodes initially, followed by a slight waxy smell. This only lasts a minute or so, then the Heliotrope and Vanilla begin to control the direction of the scent on my skin. The Peach languishes in the background just enough. Tamora's subtle nature is a total departure from more prominent blends that I normally prefer. Like Black Opal, however, the delicateness of this one is balanced by the utter beauty of the scent. A bottle is on the way

Infernal musk, red patchouli, lilac cologne, mahogany, lemon rind, oakmoss, leather, and vanilla husk. This was a partial imp decant from a generous forumite. It's age is apparent from the thick consistency of the oil. Almost a hazardous reddish brown, I can literally see the concentrated potency of this one. In the imp I get heavy musk and mahogany. i can't wait to apply it and see what else surfaces, so here goes... As they are warmed by the skin, the combination of notes is evocative of moist, high end tobacco. I am visualizing a refined older gentleman who hasn't lost a bit of his affinity for long legs and well-turned heels. My father-figure complex side finds this sort of *rowr*, but the twenty-something I am has a voice of reason that screams "He's too old for you!" This is a gracefully stirred together work of art...I would give it a bottle shot if it were available, simply because I have had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Crowley "aged". All the stars. This is a good one.

I love the Norns. Verdandi offers a sweet-tart golden apple straight from the imp. Just picked and in it's perfect moment; an hour more would make it overripe. The amber billows up as my skin warms it. I'm undecided on this scent as a regular-wear choice. The smokiness of the resin as it blends with the apple remind me of potpurri. Is that Cinnamon? Normally that isn't a good thing for me, but it seems to work here. A beautiful combination of notes, but my private associations with apple-scented potpurri are rather maternal...I'll keep the imp & consider a bottle. I wish this blend had a bit more smoke...or leather..or something to ground the fading apple note, Verdandi might layer well with a darker blend.

In the imp, the tropical florals are the most obvious. Not the strongest blend, so it is difficult to get much else. On my skin this blend whispers, but from what I can discern the most obvious note might be Lotus. I don't get Ginger at all, or really much of anything after twenty minutes. Very pretty scent, but not enough throw or duration for me. Definitely Pele's lighter side, and maybe ideal for those who steer clear of overpowering scents!

I see that this thread has been inactive for some time...This is where my question fits, though, so lets wake it up! I am wondering if the Lab has ever considered packaging with dry ice. It gets pretty warm where I live: I get home about an hour after the mail comes, and as much as I rush to get home when I have a CnS, I am rarely here when it arrives. Today an order came, and I couldn't wait to start sniffing. One oil, which was lukewarm from the couple of hours it sat in the mailbox, smelled SO incredibly different between when I opened it this afternoon and right now...I can't help but wonder how much degradation occurs in just that short amount of time. I would SO pay for dry ice packaging if it were available - any thoughts?

In the bottle this is RICH. The initial whiff put the feeling in the back of my throat when you've eaten wayyyy to much of a delicious dessert, and can't even eat that last bite - no matter how yummy it looks. Very golden and somehow buttery, like a shot of the riches melted toffee. Wow. On the skin this richness disappears almost instantly. What replaces it is a darkly sweetened floral. I love it. The drydown is giving me wafts of something incensey and beautiful. Will be hoarding.

How did I miss this one?? Well, maybe unreviewed until now, but I instantly loved this imp from my first lab order! Very green/herbal in the imp, but the warmth of skin releases this one's magic. It is initially quite sweet and slightly citrus (moonflower?), with the bone dust notes whispering beneath like some playful ghost. The dust amps as the sweetness recedes, and gives the scent an eerie yet comforting texture. It lies very close to the skin, and the wear length is short-average. The drydown is so beautiful that I don't mind needing to reslather from time to time. A gorgeous keeper.

Imp-to-nose, To A Woman has something that really reminds me of a vial of Cypress oil I had as a teenager. Melancholy and wistful, not to mention sort of repellent (hey, at fifteen you can pull anything off) This smells "off" when first applied, but morphs very quickly. The woods are in the background, pressing toward the front, and after twenty or so minutes they become the strong point. I never get strong Patchouli here, which is fine by me. Sweetening constantly, this blend improves the longer it is on my skin. Not the type of scent I would wear, but will hold onto the imp for a novena or sachet.

Bright, dashing Bergamont is at the front of this blend, from imp to nose. Wet on the skin it only gets brighter, and has an "expensive" vibe to it as well. It smells serious from the woods, but not uptight. Everything is blended so well in that no single note screams, they all whisper to make one voice. Beautiful.

New Orleans is a Bayou sidestreet where salt is high in the air. The two topnotes, Salt and Stems, balance the florals pretty well (which are suprisingly faint on my skin). As it dries I get a more aquatic note, and hints of spice. None of the decay mentioned by others... I expected this to be more like Bayou - more evocative of N.O.'s spooky side - but this was a pleasant surprise, and it captures the essence of the city (minus the Vampires ) pretty well.

I imagined this would be heavy incense. It'll be something dark, smoky, resinous from beginning to finish. Right? No. In the Imp this is sweet, fresh almonds, backed by a sharpness. Once on my skin, there's a chemically smell that gets into my nose and stays there each time I sniff. There are wafts of Lemon here and there, but that overriding sharp note is still the deal-breaker for me.

I didn't come to the reviews for this one right away, and so didn't have a description to go along with it. The name made me think, well, that it was going to be "dirty" like Smut, Perversion, etc. Nope! I was surprised to get a quick snap of lemon when I forst sniffed the imp, then a scent I could only describe as "clean". Soft, sun-warmed whites on the clothesline. Yep, the Lab nails it again. It wears much the same, and I notice little difference between the wet and dry stages on my skin. I would adore this scent on almost anyone. Beautiful & Bottle-worthy Edit 12/15/08: As it aged (or as my nose matured...either/or??) this began to get a soggy laundry vibe about it. Dank, beginning to mildew, was-fresh-but-not-anymore laundry. Swapped away post-haste

Patchouli, ylang ylang, blood orange, and vetiver. In the Imp: There is something in the unapplied, unaltered, raw state of this one that tickles my gag reflex. Can that be Vetivert? I don't think so...but something is palying with the orange note and making it smell mouldy. I hesitate to apply, but perservere. Everything morphs at least a little...right? Wet: More woodsy, a bit of Cedar. Cinnamon or perhaps Cassia note threatening to emerge, even though it isn't listed. I also smell the earth notes, and something about this reminds me of an old Virginia cabin. Drydown: Different than any blend I've tried so far. Cautionary, dark...hmm. Difficult to describe, and blended expertly...the listed notes are indistinguishable. Keeping my imp close-at-hand.

I really do hope that I am reviewing the right scent, here. My impressions are different from the few I looked over before hitting "reply". In the imp, this is all dust-laden greenery, very somber. On the skin it rapidly morphs to soft, sweet citrus. Vetivert is almost unregnizable unless I put my nose right up to my wrist. Rose slinks up, too. My skin is amping this sweet much more than I had expected, and I can't shake the citus association. Might have to retest, but for now I'll just give this one a neutral rating. Okay, but nothing to write home about.

To my nose this is sharp in the imp. Sharply sweet carnation and jasmine, and I am not excited. On the skin it dries down to reveal strong Jasmine and hints of carnation, but this isn't making me squee for a 5mL order right now. The dry down is unremarkable as well, NO mosses, NO patchouli, and NO vetivert. I kid not - and those three are usually powerhouses on my skin... ETA: Just gave this one a second try, and got a bit less sharpness. Perhaps this is one that mellows with time.

Peaceful...In the imp I can really smell what must be the Galangal. This is sweet and piney at the same time. Yes, the Vics smell is there if you think about it, but this smells sweet and barely citrusy to me. Freshly applied it is even sweeter, but kept somber by the Pine and Juniper. I continue to amp sweet quite a bit as this dries. While I like the stages Loup goes through, I would probably enjoy those stages privately... applying well before leaving the house, then leaving when it hits the sweet stage on me. Definitely another *keep an imp on hand* scent, for now!

In the imp: Barest hint of Cedar. Warm and spicy. Lemongrass appears front and center, but running through everything there is a strange sort of familiar pepperiness. I didn't look at/remember the notes in this before dabbing it on, and my impression was *pink pepper* - - even though I know this isn't in the list of notes. The Lemongrass takes the edge of the spice after twenty minutes or so, but it is still quite prominent. Drydown is warm, comforting, but the pepper resembles cumin a bit right now. Not sure about this one. Wil retest in case my chemistry is messing things up, but for now it's a "don't think so".

Mmmm....in the imp, this is sweet, ripe, mouthwatering. I can smell the Mango most prominently from the imp. Wet on the skin this just unfurls. The fig and mango are seamlessly blended, making a luxurious fruit salad on divinity's table. The patchouli adds a barely there dark note which grounds everything. The tea is steaming in a cup, bringing the occasional waft, but nothing prominent. Good-gahhhh this is sexy. Reminds me slightly of Urd, minus the heavy incense notes. Tweedledum fades rather quickly, about two hours on my skin. It's one of those you want to reapply often anyway, because the wet phase is so deliicious. Bottle-worthy indeed!

A whiff from the vial makes me think of thick, heavy, humid August air hitting hay bales. The deeper, darker note underneath is promising...if only i could describe it, or knew what it was. It's brownish and slightly flammable. Others have said acetone, but that isn't it. Hrmm. On the skin wet this is sweet and golden, borders on scorching! I like how the sweetness of grass amps so much on my skin, while at the same time some very smoky notes begin to appear. This stage has a ton of throw, and I can already tell this is one you would apply well before stepping out the door. The drydown - - ahem...wow this morphs. After an hourthe smell reminds me a lot of the Phantom Wooer. It's a dusty, old room sort of smell - as if you were in the field, but now you're in the farmhouse. Not unpleasant at all, in fact I love it. But it is an unexpected departure from the trajectory my skin was on with this one... Altogether fabulous, if only to experience the morph. I think this one is too "warm" for my everyday tastes these days, but it is definitely an imp-on-hand keeper

In the imp: I get what smells just like Cypress to my nose, and hints of cinnamon. Wet on the skin: Spicy Cedar The blending of these notes is amazing - I can't pick anything out when it's dry! Cedar and Cinnamon and Cypressy Laudanum..I like this blend. Each note on it's own is kind of *eh* on me, but the mix is pretty and evocative of the imagery it represents.