innocent

When I first put this on the lilies are very strong and, as others have pointed out, warm - as if they've been sitting in the sunshine. The honey is there, but only as a bit of subtle sweetness. There's nothing "old lady" about this one (which I've found which some of the BPAL florals). The best part is the dry down - then the honey comes out and it smells very much like that Kama Sutra honey dusting powder. And -that- brings back some good memories.

The woods, tobacco, and vanilla is this scent blend wonderfully. It's not too sweet - not too masculine. I put a little bit in my hair (since my skin eats scent so quickly) and was smiling all night. If the notes sound good to you - give this one a try, they're beautifully realized.

This smells exactly, exactly like gingerbread on me. No resins, no incense... gingerbread. I walked into a friend's apartment and was immediately asked, "Do you have gingerbread?" Yummy, though far foodier than I was expecting. I won't be getting more, but I'll use my imp on occasion.

On me this was a very bright lemon verbena. I couldn't smell the lavender at all - though it seemed like it might be calming the lemon down a bit. I put this on before I went to sleep - and to my surprise I slept much better than normal and had vivid (though hardly prophetic) dreams. If it reliably helps me sleep I'll definitely have to get a big bottle (insomniac here!), even though I didn't think the scent was that special. A nice bonus - when I woke up this oil had dried down into a lovely sweet scent, it almost reminded me of a light, non-cloying vanilla frosting. I could only smell it if I put my nose right up to my skin and it made me want cupcakes for breakfast...

Oh, envy is lovely! I get all the wonderful herbs here that I so often miss in other scents. It's gotten a bit sweeter since I first put it on, but even so - I'd say the lime here is more like lime zest than the flesh of a lime. It's a fairly faint scent but I don't mind (strong herbal scents often mess with my allergies). This is something I'd consider buying as a 5ml one CD stops sucking all my money away.

I was hoping to get some of the green herbs that other reviewers got, but on me Tenochtitlan remains aggressively fruity / floral and quite sweet. It's still very pretty - but it does rather remind me of chewing gum (not something I want my perfume to smell like!). That, combined with the fact that it seems to be making me sneeze, means it will probably be swapped or given to a friend. I guess I'll have to stick with actually eating prickly pear fruit, rather than wearing it.

The Illustrated Woman is my very first BPAL 5ml. I bought it unsniffed to celebrate the completion of my tattoo (which took about 5 months and 16+ hours under the needle)... I was a bit worried, especially when so many reviewers were taken aback by the pine pitch... But I got lucky! This smells wonderful on me, creamy spices with a hint of tobacco and the lightest touch of pine. As others have noted, this scent is much lighter than I expected - almost like my skin, but sexier. I go through perfume very slowly, but I think I'll be getting at least one more bottle before the Carnaval leaves. ETA: Okay, maybe two more bottles... the more I wear this the more I love it. I've tried a lot of imps, and this is my favorite BPAL to date. I'm glad it was my first 5ml!

I love love love this one. I tried it out of a friend's imp order, and will have to get my own. I didn't know, but I'm apparently a violet fan (I loved both this and Ultraviolet). I can't smell the mint in this, and its sweeter than Ultraviolet. After a few hours this dies down into a lovely skin scent, the musk emerges, and I want to make out with my own arm. I'm sure getting 5mls of this and Ultraviolet wouldn't be excessive, right? ETA: This is the first BPAL I've tried where I've thought, "I can't wait until the next lunacy. I have to order this NOW."

I tested this out of a friend's imp order... by spilling it on myself. To make matters worse this one really does not work on me. I thought all the notes sounded good, but on my skin they smelled like a strange cross between cheap liquor and ash. Fortunately my friend didn't much like the scent either - so I don't have to feel -too- guilty about spilling her imp.

The first time I tried Ether it smelled like soap... then gave me a rash on my wrists. But I waited a few weeks and tried it again (I can never quite give up on a BPAL scent)... and this time I'm getting a light, airy floral spiked with fairly subtle citrus. And no rash! It's a nice counterpoint to the lemon tea I'm sipping. I'm glad I didn't give up on this one - I don't have many good summer scents and this one is perfect for those early mornings when the sun isn't quite up yet and I have to drag my butt out of bed and head to work. Sadly it seems to be fading very quickly, but I'm allergic to everything in TX, so that might just be my nose.

Mmm... I like this blend. I'm getting the dragon's blood that other reviewers have mentioned with hints of florals and herbs. Unlike some of the other voodoo blends I've tried, the herbs in Wolf's Heart don't go crazy-strong on my skin, so this one is much more wearable. I love the concept of this scent and I've considering trying the TAL blend of the same name as well (I'm a writer who's just beginning to send things out to publishers, my ego can be a bit fragile so I could certainly use some courage!). Scentwise there's nothing about this that screams "You need to buy a bottle!" But I enjoy my imp and will replace it when I eventually use it up (I'm not a slatherer, so that could be a long time).

I got this as a freebie from the lab! <3 To me this just smells like a faint red berry, not overly sour or sweet. I'm not getting the hints of green that some people are. This is certainly nothing I couldn't live without, but it's a pleasant change from the incensy scents I usually chose for myself.

Oya is my favorite orisha, so she of course made it into my first order of imps... On me this scent is so complex, I really can't pick out individual notes - just a plummy overtone darkened by incense. While wet, something in this goes powdery on my skin - in a bad "baby diaper" way. Fortunately that fades quickly though a trace of (inoffensive) powder remains. Nice, I'll be keeping my imp (and may replace it when it eventually runs out) but I don't think I'll get a bottle.

Another one I sampled from my sister's imp horde... Lovely! Just... so nice. The florals don't go soapy and, unlike many other reviewers, a hint of pear remains once this is dry. The only downside is that it fades fast. Even my fiance, who doesn't usually like scents, thought I smelled nice. Or in his words... "Like the nice stuff they put inside the copper roses at Renn fest." If I can't steal this from my sister I shall have to get my own. ETA: the pear is much stronger in my new imp than it was in her aged one. I'm thinking this one might be a 5ml buy - something that rarely happens with me and light scents. Maybe its the musk giving it a little something extra? I love musk... *adds to growing wish list*

... His scent is soft English leather, rosewood and tonka with a hint of incense, parchment and soft woods. I don't have too much to add to all the other reviews... when I first got this imp (almost a year ago) the leather, even in the dry down, was really overpowering on my skin. I didn't like it much. Now that it's aged the leather has really mellowed out and I can enjoy the other notes without smelling like a pair of freshly saddle-soaped boots. Yay! Now that the leather is under control this is one of my favorite scents, perfect for a rainy day when I get to stay inside and read a good book. It is on the mannish side, as other reviewers have said, but I love manly scents so that's a-okay to me. edited to add lab description

On my skin I was able to pick out the citrus, cedar, and lovely lovely amber. However in the throw they combined strangely until they smelt well... brassy. This scent takes on a decidedly metallic tone on my skin. It's nice, but a tad strange (definitely evocative!). From the notes list I thought this might end up being a big bottle purchase, but I think I'll be content with just the imp - for those times when a girl needs to roll up her sleeves and pull on her goggles.

I was really looking forward to this scent... and really disappointed when I finally tried it. Something in this oil (the ozone maybe?) turned into a cigarette-butt smell the moment it hit my skin. It also had a LOT of throw initially. After about half an hour (my skin eats scent) the throw was mostly gone but the unpleasant ashy smell was still clinging to my wrists. Oh well.

I was going to save my first review for the 5ml of The Illustrated Woman I have coming in the mail... but I discovered yesterday that my sister had a set of BPAL imps that she had never even sniffed (?!!) so I had to try them out... On skin: I was very taken with Ultraviolet. I couldn't smell the eucalyptus at all, only feel it as a bit of chill in my nostrils. On me this was all cool mint warmed slightly by the violet base. The mint stuck around for about an hour as a ghostly smell that I could catch whiffs of but not smell on my skin. Once that faded I was left with a gentle violet that was neither overpoweringly sweet nor soapy (as many florals go on my skin). I never would have chosen Ultraviolet for myself based on the notes (I tend more towards warm amber and incense scents) but I really loved it. I probably won't get a 5ml (I don't use much BPAL at a time and I rotate through tons of different scents) but I definitely need my own imp.