Greensleeves

In the bottle: Dark orangey yellow oil. Citrusy incensy lavender. Wet: Lavender, citrus and frankincense. Mmm. Like Arcana only more potent. Very cool on the skin. Smells cool to the nose as well. Dry: Lavender, citrus, incense and soft, powdery florals. I'm no longer getting the buzz that some incense blends give me, but it still smells sweet and very cool. After a few minutes: Herby soft lavender, citrus and incense. After first hour: Soft, powdery jasmine. After two and a half hours: Barely there jasmine. After 5 hours: Gone. Final verdict: Pleasant, but I think I'm just as happy with straight lavender essential oil for my bedtime needs.

In the bottle: Medium yellow oil. Lemony jasmine green tea. Wet: Fresh, sweet lemon verbena, green tea and jasmine. This is so sweet and clean, this is what I wanted Embalming Fluid to be. Dry: So sweet, clean, lemony and green with just the right hint of floral. Oh wow, not a drop of lavender to be detected and I am still falling in love. After a few minutes: The jasmine is becoming a bit uppity and obstreperous, while the lovely lemony greenness is fading to the background. After first hour: Now the green tea is making a less than pleasant commercial perfume smell with the jasmine, although the sweetness of the verbena beneath assures me it's still Bpal. After two and a half hours: Soft faint green tea with a hint of lemon, jasmine, and sweet citrus. After 5 hours: Soft powdery verbena, green tea and a hint of jasmine. Final verdict: Very pretty and fresh, but it lacks that certain ephemeral quality that would destine it for my keeper box.

In the bottle: Pale yellow oil. OMG VANILLA with a peep of lavender. Wet: Vanilla and lavender. I feel like a shortbread with lavender florets baked in. Dry: Lavender is starting to stand up for itself more. It is really tangy and nose clearing, but the foodiness of the vanilla is making me hungry. Could there be mint in here as well? After a few minutes: Very foody, mint, lavender and vanilla cookies. I am seriously getting hungry. I think it's time for a snack. After first hour: Foody vanilla. After two and a half hours: More foody vanilla. After 5 hours: Mmm, vanilla. I really amp vanilla. Final verdict: I don't object to this scent, but I don't like vanilla enough for this to be a keeper.

In the bottle: A pale green oil that looks very promising. Sweet green and something like lilies, or freesia, only not as unpleasantly overblown as I usually find them. Also something fruity like citrus or berries. Wet: Something fruity and floral like Cheshire Cat, with a hint of mint, and I do believe I am getting lavender and lilac. Dry: Lilac and lavender with something deliciously minty, fruity and herby. After a few minutes: A sweet, pleasant, softly herbal, faintly green floral, but the wow factor has died down for me. Since the blend doesn't mention for certain that it has lavender, only that it is purple, I find myself feeling not as enthusiastic as I would be if I had definite confirmation. Although my enthusiasm is waxing again, it does smell very nice. Argh, why is it so hard for me to decide? After first hour: Sweet violets, lavender, lilac and green herbs fading fast. After two and a half hours: Soft powdery, floral violet. After 5 hours: Soft floral with a hint of mint, almost gone. Final verdict: I don't think I'm ready to get rid of this one, it warrants further examination.

In the bottle: Very pale yellow oil, smells like Pain. Wet: Sharp, sinus clearing mint with a hint of lavender and a twinge of citrus sweetness. Dry: Sweet, sharp mint and very true lavender, with sweet citrus and herbal undertones. After a few minutes: Very clean and sweet, soft, powdery, minty herbal lavender mixed with citrus. This is somewhat like Villain combined with Pain, only much more gentle, and even cleaner, if that's possible. I think this would be a good blend to wear when feeling hot and sick with a headache or fever. After first hour: Soft, very faint powdery lavender mint and citrus. So sweet and delicious, I wish it had more throw. After two and a half hours: It has faded even more. After 5 hours: Only a pleasant memory. Final verdict: Why do the good scents fade so fast? I think this one might knock Pain out of the top ten because it is so much more multifaceted.

In the bottle: Rich orange oil, sweet woody herbal citrus. Wet: Sweet fruity citrus and the delicious smell of freshly sawed wood. Dry: Soft herbs and wood, very light. I'm starting to get the aroma of lumber yard. Not bad, but not necessarily what one wants to smell like. The aroma is very subtle and close to my skin. I have a feeling it won't last. After a few minutes: Sweet woods, plus something citrusy. After first hour: Sweet, herbal wood, a touch of hickory. After two and a half hours: More of the same, very faded After 5 hours: Gone. Final verdict: Subtle and pretty. I have no objections to this perfume, in fact I rather like it, but I am not in love with it sufficiently to warrant a bottle or even necessarily another imp.

In the bottle: Delicious minty green sweetness with an undertone of something seductive. Wet: Indonesian spice oils to the max, mint is being shoved back. Dry: Seduction in a field of mint, a cool balance of the freshness of mint, coupled with the darkly suggestive hints of vanilla and spice. After a few minutes: Whee, hot sex on a bed of cool mint, while drinking green tea with citrus. Alas, it does not make my husband want to hump my leg, but I think I want to hump my own. Then, after a few more minutes, something really bitter has crept forward, it almost smells like tonka, but not nearly as loathsome amidst the leg-hump inducing goodness. The vanilla and sugared oils have beaten back the mint again, but there is still a hint of cool freshness and tang. After first hour: Powdery, almost icing sugar like vanilla, underscored by faint, raunchily sweet spice, possibly cinnamon, nutmeg, and hint of tonka and a very faint hint of mint and citrus. After two and a half hours: Vanilla and soft spice underscore d by a faint hint of green. After 5 hours: Vanilla and something tangy and vaguely bitter, but still slightly pleasant. Final verdict: A complex scent that leaves me with complex feelings. I wanted this to work for me because I wanted a piece of the Snake Oil mystique to call my own while still being true to myself. Unfortunately the essential notes that I could most readily identify with in the blend were the first to go. I think more experimentation is warranted.

In the bottle: Cool sweet greenness Wet: Fresh green tea with tart, sweet lemon. Dry: More of the same. This is so mouthwatering and clean. This is what I wanted from Embalming Fluid, but didn't get because of the white musk. The honeysuckle is being remarkably well-behaved, and rather than being overblown and nauseating is instead quite soft and green and herbal. After a few minutes: Oh, hi there HONEYSUCKLE, I guess I was a fool to think you would behave yourself. This blend still smells good, but there is something headache inducing now. After first hour: The honeysuckle is cowed somewhat, and the green tea is pungent and fresh with lemon. After two and a half hours: Soft refreshing citrus greenness. After 5 hours: More of the same. Final verdict: Very fresh and pleasant once the honeysuckle stops amping. I'd have almost considered this bottle worthy if I hadn't found Envy first.

In the bottle: Pale yellow oil, delightfully sweet green flower. Must be the dandelion. Wet: Sweet green flower, something that evokes a scent memory that I can't put my finger on... almost like... pineapple? Or pears. Canned pears. Yes, that's definitely it. Dry: Tasty, mouthwatering fresh pears right off the tree. Or honeysuckle, but without it being so violent as it usually is on me. After a few minutes: Now a faint hint of something herbal and hempy. I was hoping for better quality... hemp, but it seems to be faintly redolent of burning tire. The pears are gone specifically, but this blend still feels very sweet and fruity. After first hour: The fruits are starting to sharpen, and things are getting smoky and incensy. After two and a half hours: More of the same After 5 hours: Totally gone. Final verdict: Quite mild and pretty, but it doesn't fill me with covetousness.

In the bottle: Something faintly medicinal, must be the bitter. Rose, lavender and something heady, like hyacinth. Wet: Lavender, bitterness, which turns out to be tonka, and a bunch of dried flower arrangements, rose, hyacinth. Dry: Harsh, bitter tonka abusing a dried flowershop, and something that arouses a profound scent memory in me, of looking through my mother's Avon perfumes. I think this might actually smell like Avon's Sweet Honesty. After a few minutes: The tonka is getting really really sour, and not in a fun citrus way. The powdery dried flowers are really amping up. After first hour: The bitterness of the tonka has died down, and the flowers are now soft, sweet and powdery, I'm getting hints of lavender, rose, vanilla and amber. After two and a half hours: Soft vanilla and amber, with a faint bitterness of tonka. This smells a lot like O. After 5 hours: More of the same. Final verdict: It got more pleasant as time went on, despite the tonka, but this is not my thing. To the swaps!

In the bottle: Cool yellow oil, faint citrus greenness. Wet: Sweet, fresh burst of floral green and tanginess. Dry: A hint of something commercial, but it fortunately stays behind. A blend of clover flowers mixed with hyacinth with an undertone of herbs. Final verdict: I just kind of lost interest in this scent and didn't bother to write down my other observations. It is definitely well-crafted, but didn't capture my imagination.

In the bottle: Pale yellow oil, soft fruity green and pine. Wet: Deliciously, mouthwateringly sweet fruity pine, something like lily or orchid, possibly gardenia, yet despite this it still has a distinct greenness that is the hallmark of scents I enjoy. Dry: Peppery greenness, soft, sweet fir or light balsam, delicate yet complex. After a few minutes: Sweet fern, fir, soft, peppery green sweetness. After first hour: Barely there soft fern and spruce. After two and a half hours: Gone. After 5 hours: Gone. Final verdict: I didn't think I could find a green scent that could be this sweet. It is very pleasant and a candidate for my honourable mentions.

In the bottle: Pale yellow oil, smells like a fruity, sweet Christmas tree. Wet: Fresh spruce and some sort of sweet fruity note, almost like Belladonna mixed with Slobbering Pine. Dry: More of the same, with an undernote of clean. This isn't a dirty, sexy blend by any means. After a few minutes: Fresh bayberry, almost, underscored by spruce and clean. After first hour: More of the same. After two and a half hours: Almost completely gone. After 5 hours: Gone. Final verdict: I like this very much, but not enough that I can't part with it. I think it would be a great Christmas scent, but I've got Hemlock and Slobbering Pine for that.

In the bottle: Golden oil, spicy sweet incense. Wet: Fresh, sweet citrusy incense - I get a delicious hint of something that reminds me of the mysteriousness of Villain. Dry: The sweetness amps up, but this is a good sweetness, not foody or floral or fruity, just rich, sweet, deleriously exotic spiced incense and resin that makes my mouth water with pleasure and my breath catch in my chest in a feeling of being uplifted spiritually. Can't stop sniffing... I think I'm going to have a religious experience induced by PERFUME, and it both frightens and excites me. I think I'm also catching spicy lavender in there, and a hint of powdery lilac - Oh rapture! After a few minutes: Deep, dark incense hinting at cinnamon, nutmeg and clove, and some sort of clean, soapiness like lavender. I just want to sit and listen to Gregorian chant by candlelight. After first hour: Exquisitely beautiful, sweet, slightly peppery honeyed resin, faint undertones of lilac, still makes my mouth water. Whenever I sniff my wrist I feel all energized and magical, almost like a spiritual high. I almost feel like rolling around on my back like a cat into catnip. Purrrrr... Although actually, I almost feel this is too holy to play with lightly. I feel like I would like to wear this while studying my Tarot cards, or maybe have it in a oil burner while going on vision quests. After two and a half hours: A clean cedar note starts to creep through, softening the rich, dusty darkness. After 5 hours: Sagey cedar and sweet incense, so delightfully warm, dry and soft. Final verdict: I am torn. This is not a 'me' scent, but it smells sooooo goood that I think they will need to pry this imp out of my cold, dead hands. Mmmm...

In the bottle: Pale, yellowy green oil, a fresh burst of green and lemon underscored by floral. Wet: Clean and green, richly lemony. Dry: A burst of fresh aloe and lemon and a salty, almost sea spray like coolness, overlain with some sort of heaviness that is probably the musk. After a few minutes: The smell has turned to smelling very commercial, like the type of giggling girlie perfume that I don't want to smell on anyone else, let alone myself. My skin seems to have turned it into a lemony chemical-infused drug-store nightmare. I think it must be the musk. While I've had the occasional success with musk in blends in the past, (like with my beloved Villain) this is generally the exception rather than the rule. On the plus side it doesn't seem to be inducing nausea, as drug-store, and even perfume counter blends regularly do for me, and a little tiny bit of aloe has stuck its head out - only to get whacked over the head by musk. Poor little aloe... you must try harder, my friend! After first hour: The cloying sweetness of white musk turning the normally enjoyable scent of lemon unpalatable. Aloe still peeking out and getting whacked by musk, and green tea looking on from a safe distance. After two and a half hours: Musk has gotten tired of beating up on aloe, and so green tea comes out to bandage aloe's wounds with... pepper? o.O This is almost nice now, but I don't think I could navigate through the overblown poofy musk in order to finally get to the enjoyable part. After 5 hours: A hint of spicy aloe and green tea. Final verdict: I wanted to like this so much because there is a matching soap at BPTP all ready for layering, but it doesn't work on me. The white musk is unfortunately the deal breaker. *sob*

I've been very remiss in not reviewing my new imps before putting them up for sale, just taking a sniff and deciding whether or not to keep them, but this scent surprised me enough that I had to post a review... I would totally start humping the leg of anyone wearing this, male or female. It is such a wonderfully complex blend, not too floral, not too earthy, but everything just harmonizes in such a way that it is a rich, sensual treat for the nose. Normally I don't like blends with a lot of floral in them, prefering greener, herbier scents, but these seem to be some of the greenest of the florals I have ever experienced. Sadly the drydown has made it turn powdery on me, as blends with amber often do, but I still can't stop smelling my wrist.

In the bottle: Medium yellow oil. Delicious fruity herbal lavender. Wet: Tangy, spicy lavender, herbs and fruit, with a pronounced hint of anise. I hate anise normally, but it seems very nice in this blend, adding a dimension of richness that is very compelling. After a few minutes on skin: Lavender, pomagranate, and incense in an Indian food restaurant. After first hour: Pomagranate and anise, smells almost like Indian food. After two and a half hours: Pomagranate and anise and a really pungent, almost ammonia note - might be the hemp. After 5 hours: Pomagranate and anise. Final Verdict: Not bad, but it smells too much like Indian food for my tastes.

In the bottle: Pale yellow oil. Soft herbs and faint suggestion of bananas. I know there are no banana notes in the blend, but that's what I'm getting. Wet: Tangy fresh yet sweet greenness, a field of grass accentuated by very mild wildflowers. After a few minutes on skin: Flowers and aroma of banana amping up, along with some of the freshness familiar in Envy. Hints of citrus, and now I'm getting a suggestion of pineapple. After first hour: Powdery soft herbal green with faint, mild florals that are sweet without being overpowering. Quite pleasant. After two and a half hours: Same as above, with a faint, spicey, sagey note beginning to filter in. Rather than fading over time, the scent has actually gotten deeper and richer, which is very unusual to me in my experience with green blends. After 5 hours: Soft, sweet herbal with faint green floral with a hint of banana. Final Verdict: Really quite nice. I can't decide if this is one for the top ten or just another honourable mention, but it definitely deserves some recognition.

In the bottle: Intense yellow oil. Violet, lavender and mint, and heavy commercial tang - must be musk. Wet: Heavy commercialness (musk) and violet. Strong, almost nauseating floral. After a few minutes on skin: Violet and lilac, the commercial heaviness of the musk is dying down to a more manageable level. After first hour: Violet and lilac and a sort of leathery smell that I think might be coming from the musk. The scent is still quite strong and doesn't make me very happy. After two and a half hours: Sweet lilac and violet, blending very well together. The musk has died down and the result is now quite nice. Not really what I want in a perfume, not really something that makes me happy every time I smell it, but I can still appreciate it as a nice scent, it's quite pretty. After 5 hours: Soft, powdery lilac and violet. Final Verdict: This blend has improved my opinion of violet as a note in perfumes, and it did finish off rather pleasantly, but this isn't a scent I would personally want to wear.

In the bottle: Pale yellow oil. Bright, fresh citrus with a hint of lavender and herbs. Wet: Delicious lavender, herbs, and citrus, with a faint hint of marachino cherry (?) - must be the almond. Fresh and tingly on the skin. After a few minutes on skin: A pleasant citrus medley underscored softly by peppery lavender and the faint tang of other herbs. I'm getting a hint of thyme, but no sign of the mint, though I know it is in there just because the oil seems cool on my skin. After first hour: Lavender and citrus and mild almond, which has died down from maraschino cherries and lost its foody notes. Soft, sweet, but with enough tang that it isn't sickly. Very pleasant. After two and a half hours: Citrus with a faint hint of soft floral and almond. After 5 hours: Citrus faintly underlain by almond. Final Verdict: Quite nice from start to finish. Not what I really want, but enjoyable enough to be worthy of an honourable mention.

In the bottle: Medium coloured faintly orange yellow oil. Incense, balsam/pine, peppery lavender and citrus. Wet: Pleasant, very prominent lavender and incense, with delicious lemony citrus After a few minutes on skin: Strong almost artificial lemon (must be the fact that it's verbena instead of actual lemon) underscored by soft, mild floral and a faint smokiness of incense. After first hour: Lemon and frankincense. After two and a half hours: Frankincense with the faintest hint of lemon, and possibly a hint of rosemary, although all the lavender has gone. I don't think I ever got any neroli. After 5 hours: Frankincense. Final Verdict: Very nice, I think this could fit into my top ten, although I wish more of the notes lasted longer.

In the bottle: Very pale, almost colourless yellow oil. Lavender and butterscotch mints, mouthwatering, yet pretty at the same time. I'm almost giddily excited to smell this one, it may be a winner. Wet: Lavender and sweet, soft, mild mint (must be the pennyroyal), fresh and soothing. Not painful at all, but relaxing and stimulating at once. Every time I sniff my wrist I want to break out into a huge smile. Soft cooling sensation on my skin. After a few minutes on skin: The soft pepperiness of the lavender is still noticeable, overlain by the clean scent of the pennyroyal, still minty, but with a softer edge than peppermint or spearmint. I'm still getting the faint impression of butterscotch mints, but not enough to make this a truly foody blend. These scents compliment each other *so* well. I didn't think anything could improve upon the deliciousness of lavender, but this comes pretty close. After first hour: Fresh minty lavender. After two and a half hours: Barely there lavender. After 5 hours: Completely gone. Final Verdict: Quite pleasant, with an excellent start, but as it faded the pennyroyal vanished and only lavender remained. If I wanted this effect I would simply wear some lavender essential oil. Worthy of an honourable mention, definitely for its auspicious beginning, but not one for my top ten.

In the bottle: Pale yellow oil.Fresh, delicious pine with a faint hint of eucalyptus and the promise of tangy citrus. Wet: Very strong, fresh pine and eucalyptus, with only a faint background of citrus. Offers a nice cooling sensation on the skin. After a few minutes on skin: Orange starting to assert itself over the pine, fresh and mouthwatering, like someone has just started eating fresh oranges right in front of me in the middle of a pine forest. The orange and the pine seem to be clashing a little now. Overall it's not unpleasant, but strange and exciting. After first hour: The orange and pine have harmonized nicely, but I'm not entirely sure if I like the combination as much as I would have liked pine combined with another citrus aroma, perhaps lime or lemon. The orange to me doesn't smell as fresh and clean and bright as those two would have, it's sort of sour and a bit stuffy. After two and a half hours: The pine has stabilized and the orange has faded somewhat. This is mild and pleasant. After 5 hours: Very faint orange and pine. Final Verdict: It's sort of pretty, but the orange adds a certain sour bittersweetness to the pine that I don't really think I like.

In the bottle: Pale yellow oil. An explosion of yummy, fresh citrus. Wet: Refreshing citrus with predominant fresh grapefruit note, and tangy hints of chocolate that somehow don't detract from the freshness. Getting a note of spicy floral that I think may be lavender. It's a very busy scent, with a lot going on, but the chaos is very pleasant. All the ingredients smell very natural and non-commercial, this is the fresh, free from synthetics, harmonious aroma of Bpal at its best. After a few minutes on skin: Tangy citrus with tangerine and grapefruit notes most prominent, faint richness of herbal chocolate. After first hour: Chocolate coming through slightly stronger, turning the blend into a more foody, candy smell, though with the herbs it is still fresher and fortunately not too overtly edible, which would have been unpleasant to me. After two and a half hours: Faint aroma of Terry's Chocolate Orange, but with a tinge of herbs. This is going to be gone before the five hour mark. After 5 hours: Faint aroma of citrus chocolate. Final Verdict: A pleasant and sophisticated blend worthy of the Bpal name, and almost nice enough to find a place in my top ten.

In the bottle: Fresh herbal green and faint hints of cucumber. Wet: Green herbal and something that smells like fresh, spicy lilacs, or maybe wild roses, the kind that grow in the huge bushes and smell wonderfully heady. After a few minutes on skin: Pretty and spicy with that faint wild rose scent still present. Very, very light. I think this one is going to fade fast, which is a shame because it's rather nice. After first hour: Very light, peppery herbal cucumber, with a faint sweetness. Normally I don't like sweet, but there is enough herbal tang in this that it doesn't smell overly girly or candylike. It smells definitely interesting and unique enough to be worthy of the Bpal name. After two and a half hours: Pleasant spicy green herbal, the cucumber has died from a recognizably foody note to a very pleasant generic green/vegetal. After 5 hours: Faint herbal green. Final Verdict: Pleasant enough to find a temporary place in my top ten, though I don't think I like this enough to ever want a big bottle.