PurringPulsar

My favourite type of cinnamon smell is the spicy cinnamon smell, the sort of thing that makes you think of mulled wine and Christmas. Ditto with cloves. Aunt Caroline's Money Draw, a TAL blend, is very cinnamony but hard to obtain...it's a magical oil but I love it's spicy scent...it also has a hint of curry like spice (well, on my skin it does). Three Witches is my favourite cinnamon scent, and Tintagel has a lovely mulled wine cinnamon note. Eclipse is lovely but didn't smell very cinnamony on me, it had a beautiful glowing vanilla scent though which I love!

Blue Moon In the imp: mmm, interesting. A fresh, slightly sweet, tart, tangy, bright scent reminiscent of cologne. Wet on skin: this gets sharper, but is still pleasant. This scent is complex-I can make out cucumber in this, and juniper too, and possibly bay which gives it a herbal scent, there's also a bit of sweet floral in there. So complex and mixed! Dry on skin: quite nice! It's similar to some kind of cologne, it reminds me of a perfume I've smelt before, and yet it's so unusual. It's fresh, quite sharp and tangy, quite unique. There are green elements here, and cool notes, a hint of herbs and florals like orchid. After a while: the cucumber and the florals get stronger…the floral note here is soft, perfumey and slightly powdery, but is prevented from becoming very powdery by the watery cucumber and the tangy notes in the blend. that cool cucumber-moonflower smell does feel like a cool breath of dewy night air... Verdict: like all the lunar blends, this one is full of intriguing complexity. I don't recognise many other the notes in the description, but I can smell some of the notes I do know about, such as cucumber, juniper and bay, and possibly moonflower and orchid. This blend is unique and unusual, filled with a variety of different notes-some fresh and watery, some sharp and tangy and bright like cologne, some soft and floral, and some are green and herbal. It's an enigmatic, yet fresh and bright blend. A magical fragrance.

Hazelnut's another nut oil that's used...not sure about walnut and macadamia though.

Ultraviolet In the imp: cold, minty violet. With a hint of eucalyptus. Wet on skin: it's funny, all eucalyptus containing oils feel cooling against my skin-or is that the mint? Yup, it's minty and violety with hints of neroli and eucalyptus. Dry on skin: cold violet, and mint. It's a cool, icy scent…I swear there's a smoky note in this. I'm sure the neroli's coming through too. It doesn't smell too metallic yet. After a while: there's something green coming through…could this be eucalyptus or fresh mint or even the violet itself? I'm not sure, but the green note adds a nice twist to the mint-violet combination (and yet it still smells purple!) I can also smell the neroli more, I'm pretty sure that's giving it a smoky or tea like note, as sometimes neroli smells a bit like tea on me…it's fascinating. Verdict: this is the scent of frozen violets. The mint adds a chill to the light violet scent, eucalyptus cools it even more, neroli adds depth. It's unusual, yet quite lovely, so cooling…the mint makes this smell cold and fresh, this would be fantastic for summer. Another scientifically inspired blend which I like.

Lotus In the imp it's that lovely sweet almost bubblegummy floral that is lotus. But on my skin, it becomes even lovelier, it's not just bubblegum, it's a lovely sweet slightly watery floral…it's a beautiful, light scent which is quite exotic and luscious, I think. This was what Forbidden Fruit and Glitter dried down to, a lovely soft sweet floral. Dry on the skin, it develops a slight tartness or dryness which adds more complexity, but still with that gorgeous exotic scent, light and feminine, slightly powdery, very sweet, slightly heady (but not overpowering or sickening at all), and after about an hour, there's a slight hint of a slightly buttery or oceanic/aquatic note (which is unusual, but quite nice!) which was totally unexpected...I'm pretty sure that BPAL uses different Lotus notes in certain scents, as this is the lotus in Glitter, Paris, Forbidden Fruit and Undertow, but is slightly different to the lotus in Blood Lotus, Black Lotus, Cairo and Egyptian Temple (which I'm sure both contain lotus, though the notes aren't listed) It's surprisingly complex for a single note. This can be worn as perfume on it's own. I wish I had a big bottle!!!

Well, it makes sense that aquatics are linked to water signs, and that spicy/hot scents are linked with fire signs, and earthy scents to earth signs, but how do you know the specifics? Why resins with air? What fragrances go with what sign (not element)? Personally I don't let my sign restrict my fragrances, even though I am an avid believer in astrology. Narrowing your scent choices to your sign prevents you from enjoying other scents, I think...I'm an Aries and yes, i do like fiery spicy scents (Shub Niggurath, Three Witches, anything cinnamon-yall the scents on that link about elements) but I also love watery scents?? And florals (yup, extremely floral)? And incense??? Mind you i would looooooove to get my hands on the now discon'd Aries scent!!! Black pepper! Frankincense! Ginger! That tarot listing of sign correspondences seems to make sense in some places, but in others, the correspondences seem a bit odd...shouldn't the Moon be linked with Cancer, not Pisces? Or even with the Moon itself???

Yemaya In the imp: watermelon!!! Lots of sweet juicy watermelon, but there's a salty note, like the sea… Wet on skin: watermelon, but also an aquatic, oceanic scent and a sharper green note (seaweed?) I can also smell other fruit, possibly honeydew/cantaloupe melon, maybe pomegranate, or even starfruit? Dry on skin: there's a dry, rough woody/green note in this, as well as a fruity melon note and a hint of sea salt. It reminds me of a tropical sandy beach with palm trees. The rough note is slightly weird but the watery/fruity note is lovely and fresh. After a while: the dry note takes a back seat-it's still there but is more bearable (for some reason, it makes me think of sand or palm trees, like you'd find on the beach), and now the melon and possibly some other fruits come to the fore. It's actually slightly cucumber-y, but that's also very nice. Fresh, wet and cooling. There's that salty warm sea smell there too, which also strengthens, and is reminiscent of that lovely sea salt smell you get in tropical islands (and not that horrible seaweed stench you get on UK beaches!!!) Verdict: this is another interesting blend. it's got sweet, juicy melon, but also a dry scrubby smell like dry woods or beach sand, and a salty, oceanic note. This is a scent that transports me to a tropical paradise…it's quite a lovely blend, very summery, fresh and yet warm. I'm not sure how to use this magically though, but as a perfume that evokes holidays in exotic islands fringed with sandy beaches and crystal clear tropical blue oceans, this is fantastic. I was reading up on Yemaya with the reviews and I can see the reasoning for the ocean and watermelon notes in this. But the best thing??? She's linked to Isis, my favoured goddess! SQUEE!!!!!! If that's the case, I'm keeping this one until BPAL makes an Isis scent!!!

Three Witches In the imp: omg…cinnamon!!! This smells beautifully festive and warm, like mulled wine spices. Wet on skin: cinnamon and cloves! The cinnamon becomes a drier woodier scent, but has the aroma of cinnamon sticks. The cloves are also there and the pepper warms it up. This will be fantastic for Xmas. Dry on skin: yup, still cinnamon, cloves and pepper. This is a lovely warm spice blend, like a pomander without the orange, like the spices you add to mulled wine. I adore cinnamon, and this smells like a dry cinnamon bark smell, but with a nice sweetness. The cloves add their delicious sweet-spicy touch and the pepper makes the scent really warm. After a while: the cinnamon sweetens, it's almost like pot pourri but not artificial. This is like those cinnamon sticks my mum has, or like the cinnamon note in Lush's Christmas stuff. This is so yummy. Verdict: I wish this wasn't discontinued, because this is one of the most gorgeous spice blends ever. This is cinnamon, cloves and pepper at their best. It's sweet, it's warm, it's delicious. It puts happy thoughts of Christmas in my head, and would be fantastic for winter. An instant favourite.

Lustration In the imp: lemons! But this is like the soft centre of lemon Lockets-a powerful medicinal punch. It's got a hint of green/pine. I think there's a mix of lemongrass and citronella as well as lemon oil, and some herbals-eucalyptus maybe? Wet on skin: omg, this smells like lemon peel. Real lemon peel that's been squeezed and the oils come out. I think there's pine, menthol or eucalyptus there too! Dry on skin: this dries very fast, and smells like freshly squeezed citrus peels-not just lemon, I'm sure there's orange and grapefruit and tangerine (yes, clementines, that smell that always reminds me of Christmas, is in here-but this blend smells like summer!!!) but it's mainly lemon. There's also a green note, there…it smells medicinal but also very fresh and juicy. After a while: this gets even more juicy…I'm so amazed at how this smells like real citrus fruits, orange juice, lemon rind…this isn't lemon cleansing fluid. This is real lemon juice and rind! Verdict: this is the most citrussy BPAL I've smelled. It smells like squashed lemons, oranges, grapefruits, satsumas, citrus peels and juices, freshly squeezed orange and lemon juice. It also has a medicinal aspect, like the soft centre of lemon Lockets, with that hint of pine and menthol. This is a very nice blend, impressive in it's realistic fruitiness…not really perfume, but impressive none the less.

Snake Oil In the imp: whoa. This is dark, sweet, sumptuous, mysterious. Vanilla with a mix of exotic spices. The oil itself is the most viscous of the BPALs I've tried so far. Wet on skin: interesting…it smells almost boozy even though I know there's no alcohol in this. I'm not sure what the spices in there are, but I think there's patchouli, sandalwood, maybe musk? Oh, and vanilla, of course. Dry on skin: this smells sexy! Those exotic spices are really sensual and seductive-smelling. There's a bit of bite to this blend, but it's a sweet, spicy, perhaps resinous blend. The vanilla adds a lovely sweetness to it though. I wish I knew what was in this, it's such an entrancing smell! There's something musky in this, very sexy smelling… After a while: mmm, sexy vanilla. Now it's vanilla with a hint of something else which I think is musk, it's a deep, sensual smell. But as time passes, the vanilla gets stronger and sweeter...I just hope it doesn't go too sweet! Verdict: I can see why this is so popular! This is a really gorgeous blend…vanilla adds a lovely, almost edible sweetness…but then the other ingredients, the mysterious spices, add a sensual, sexy, even quite dark aspect to this. This is a sinuous, sumptuous, exotic blend. Sweet, with musky and spicy/sandalwood-y/patchouli aspects. Really intriguing and brimming with mystery and depth.

Kali In the imp: a luscious floral blend with a slight boozy kick. Wet on skin: there's a huge explosion of scents-light delicate blooms underscored by tobacco and dark chocolate. What a mixture! It's light and feminine-floral, yet has a dark side to it. Dry on skin: I can smell those luscious blooms again, there's a slightly 'off' note there but it isn't too bad yet, just a bit distracting…and yes, I can smell the tobacco, but it's not making me smell like a smoker, yet. There's so much in this blend, I can't pick out individual notes mainly because there are so many, and they are all mingling in quite a big clash as opposed to a perfect blend. I suppose this is appropriate concerning the goddess this blend is named for! After a while: that off note goes after five minutes, thankfully, leaving a gorgeous floral smell, so exotic and full bodied, a womanly scent. But there's still that sharp kick from the wine and tobacco, but its not as noticeable now. I now really this flowery scent, so exotic and heady-it reminds me of jasmine, but I can also smell lotus and rose there too-and maybe hibiscus. This is growing on me-I love this floral note I'm getting, it's the fragrance of beautiful Indian blooms scenting the evening air! it's also slightly fruity as well... Verdict: this is a chaotic blend of feminine flowers, exotic and perfume-like, but with an undertone of dark, clashing notes like tobacco and wine…it's womanly and luscious, and yet has a dark side to it. it's not a gentle fluffy flowery blend, this is powerful stuff! At first I thought it smelt a bit weird, but it does improve nicely as time passes, the flowers become even more heady and lovely until it gets to the point when it becomes truly gorgeous. But the first stage was a bit funny, there was an 'off' note that was a bit weird. But five minutes afterwards-amazing tropical floral explosion of WOW!!! however, I do prefer other BPAL florals to this, but none the less, it's still amazing.

Mars In the imp: cloves! That's what I mainly smell here, cloves. Also something floral (?) and something that smells like incense, reminiscent of a new age store. I love the red colour of this oil! That means only one thing-dragon's blood. Wet on skin: omg, this smells like Lush's Chai!!! It's almost identical in colour and smell to Chai, only this one's spicier. I can smell cloves in this, maybe some ginger, and possibly cinnamon (but not sweet cinnamon-this smells more like the cinnamon leaf essential oil I have rather than ground cinnamon spice) and a clear 'red' resinous note that's undoubtedly dragon's blood. I swear there's a floral there too… Dry on skin: now it smells a bit like Lush's Skinny Dip! Yup, that's right. The smell is spicy, warm, but not overpowering or 'hot'. I'm pretty sure there's a floral, or a herbal note there but that could be the dragon's blood. After a while: the clove/cinnamon note intensifies…it's not a sweet, pleasant spice note, but a darker, brooding note that puts in my mind the image of a the embers of a fire, warm yet darkened and muted, with a hint of dust. But there's a sweet herbal-floral there that adds an interesting twist, along with the clear note of dragon's blood. And I think there may be sandalwood there too. In fact, I swear there's an earthiness there to all the fire of the spice and dragon's blood, but then again, I do have Mars in Taurus-could this blend really be reacting to my astrological make-up??? After a few hours, I get pure dragon's blood on my skin. It reminds me of the smell of those new age shops I love to shop at... Verdict: as an Aries, Mars is my ruling planet, and I really like this oil. There's a warm, dark spiciness with a clear note of dragon's blood and a floral I can't identify, but what I like about it most is that it reminds me of Lush's Skinny Dip and Chai, but with a more pronounced clove note. This is a lovely, spicy-herbal blend with dragon's blood, it's a warming blend-fiery but approachable-there's also a grounding scent in this blend. It also has a bit of kick, and has a masculine aura about it-it would smell great on a guy! but I love it too, and I find that it actually calms down the fiery, impulsive Aries side of me!!

O In the imp: honey. Pure and simple-this is sweet and honey-like. Possibly amber too, but this is sweet. Wet on skin: yup, it's honey. It's quite a tart honey smell, but that’s no bad thing, it smells almost like beeswax or honeycomb. Dry on skin: this reminds me of the honey note in Lush's old honey products, like Honey Waffle and Flying Saucers. It's nice, but it's a really 'close to the skin' smell. I was hoping the amber and vanilla would come through but it's predominantly honey on me. After a while: hello? Is that vanilla I smell? I think there's a hint of vanilla that comes through after about 5-10 minutes. Can't really smell the amber yet, it's well blended with the other notes…the honey gets even more pronounced though, it's the main note in this blend. After about half an hour, it's mainly honey with perhaps a bit of amber. After an hour or two, it's a wonderful yummy honey with...is that amber? I think it could be as it reminds me of my egyptian amber SN slightly, but mingled with honey. Verdict: this is yummy! This is a sweet, delicious honey note which is distinctive and slightly tart/beeswaxy but not strong or overwhelming. The vanilla adds a nice touch and sweetens it even more. This blend smells lickable! The only problem is that it's very subtle, almost too subtle…but I suppose that's the point-this is something that should be smelt close to the skin. And it's scent improves after an hour when it becomes sexy sweet honey-amber!

Milk Moon In the imp: yoghurt??? Yup, that's what this smells like. Sweetened yoghurt. Even more so than Chaste Moon's fruity vanilla 'Petit Filous' scent, which had loads of other lovely notes, but this is true yoghurt, with a hint of honey-but it's warm yoghurt which isn't very nice... Wet on skin: yup, it's yoghurt. Or marscapone cheese. It's slightly sour, in a milky sort of way, but I think it improves. I prefer cold milk though-to me this smells like warm milk/yoghurt with something sweet added. And I think I can smell mint? How unusual… Dry on skin: mint! This smells a bit like 'mint milkshake' now (is there such a thing?) the milky note is very strong in this, but I don't really like the way it smells like warm milk that's been left in the sun and has started going sour. I like my milkshakes and yoghurts served chilled and fresh, the same goes with the smell. There's a sweet note that wants to come out, but the sour note blocks it. After a while: yup, it's still the same, warm sour milk. There's a hint of honey there, but I really don't like the sour milk smell. And I love yoghurt with honey, but I don't want to smell of it… Verdict: after reading the description I was hoping this would smell like the lovely Dana O'Shee, which also has milk and honey and smells awesome. Unfortunately, this smells more like warm yoghurt (which is not nice), or sour milk, with mint and honey-I was hoping the honey would come through, but the sour milk note stops it. This has the strongest 'dairy product' smell I have experienced in BPAL, and I usually love creamy sweet smells, but this just smelt slightly rancid. Milk Moon, I wanted to love you, I was hoping this oil would be my BPAL bitty…but my skin wouldn't let that be

Mabon In the imp: blackberries, apples and wine-fruity and sweet with tartness. This is a lovely beginning of autumn, September smell. Wet on skin: still the same, but I think I can smell ivy coming out. This is similar to Harvest Moon but without the notes that smelt a bit icky, but it is very similar-I swear I can smell grain, as well as apples and blackberries. Dry on skin: cider! Sweet apple cider and hints of blackberry and ivy flitting through here and there. this is a warm smell that makes me think of September sunsets, the golden warmth of evening. It's laid back, quite soothing and comforting. It puts pleasant images of early autumn in England (when it's not raining!) in my head. After a while: there's a tart apple note and a hint of wheat, the scent's slightly boozy, but pleasant none the less. After 15 minutes, it smells like apple juice! It's a deeper richer scent than simply apple juice though-it's like apple juice on a golden autumn afternoon, with a bit of ivy. After about half an hour, the booze goes back into the apple and it becomes cider again. The blackberry's returned, the ivy adds a deep green, possibly with sage-and, ooh, is that bark I smell? This gives off such nice vibes… After an hour or two, the smell is similar to that of Harvest Moon, but more pleasant. I can smell ivy, wine/cider and something that reminds me of ripened wheat. Verdict: this is a scent that really conjures up the lovely atmosphere of the autumn equinox-it's that time before the leaves have turned, and there's a wonderful pleasant warmth in the air, the harvest is being gathered. This is like a pleasant September evening in the English countryside by a golden wheat field, sipping on traditionally made cider and eating apples and blackberries whilst the sun sets-you can smell all that here. September's one of my favourite months and this delicious and complex blend really captures the scents of the early autumn, I much prefer it to Harvest Moon, and if it's sold again this year, I'm getting a bottle. On a side note, I'm intrigued to find out what the Osirian aspect of Mabon is. I know a lot about Osiris but I have never seen a connection with his festivals or mythology and the autumn equinox…

Egyptian Amber In the imp, this smells gorgeous-not heavy, but definitely a lovely rich sweet amber, similar to an amber perfume I have, and similar to one of the notes in Brisingamen. Wet on skin, it smells pretty much the same, a beautiful rich amber. It's soft, sweet and gentle, but mysterious, golden and slightly smoky. Dry on skin-yup, this is the dry down of Brisingamen I loved-I'm sure this is also in Queen of Sheba. This is beautiful rich exotic amber. I love this and it has many many layering possibilities. It's not heavy or overpowering like the other amber perfume I have, this is a sensual close to the skin scent. I love this-but I do wish it were a bit stronger, because it's so beautiful, and I love the way it 'glows' on my skin. edit: this gets better and better. I am addicted to this beautiful mysterious smell, it's so seductive, rich and mystical. If it wasn't discon'd, I'd buy big bottles of this!

Mi-Go Brain Canister In the imp: yummy fruit juice! This smells like tropical fruit juice, it's so summery! Wet on skin: still tropical fruity, but I think the jasmine's coming through. This is the scent of summer. Dry on skin: this is gorgeous. I can smell kiwi, mango and pineapple (and coconut??? I swear there's coconut here too) and also some sweet white florals. This reminds me of a beautiful paradise island. This smell is just so wonderful, light florals and sweet fruits. I hope the spices come through. After a while: can't make out the tea or spices yet, but the florals have strengthened, and the white musk is making itself known. And the fruits are still lovely, they blend nicely with the florals. After an hour or so, the scent is now a soft, sweet blend of white musk, jasmine and mango. It's lovely. Verdict: who could have thought brains smelt so good! This is the perfect summery scent-fruity, floral, juicy, bouncy and light, it's like summer on a tropical island, a cocktail of exotic fruits and exotic white flowers. I love it!!!

Miskatonic University In the imp: Irish coffee! Coffee and Baileys! YUM! Wet on skin: still that delicious coffee, Irish cream, whisky smell! I do smell like someone has spilt Baileys and latte on me, but I don't mind, it smells awesome! Dry on skin: the old books smell is coming through now…the coffee, cream and whisky are still there, but there's a dusty, dry smell that reminds me of aged pages of dusty tomes…now I smell like a librarian! It's interesting…not really a perfume I'd wear but I'm amazed at how this smells just like what it describes, so realistic! After a while: the throw is incredible. I put my arm down away from my nose and I can still smell coffee, the smell wafts everywhere like no other BPAL I've tried!! There's a hint of wood here too, dark polished wood with old books and strong coffee. After about two hours, the coffee still stays , but gets darker and there's more of a hint of varnished wood now, and dusty book pages. Verdict: I'm a student so a scent named after a university appealed to me…and I am impressed at how realistic this smells. If there was a smell that encapsulated the phrase 'wake up and smell the coffee', this is it. It's coffee overload, and much more. At first it’s a shot of pure Irish coffee, almost drinkable…but as it dried, the dusty books smell comes through and the sweet coffee smell strengthens. I know it sounds weird but that smell of dusty books and spilt coffee and Irish cream is surprisingly nice…so compelling to sniff! I probably won't wear this as an everyday perfume, but this is an impressive scent, capturing an old library, and one of the most unconventional BPALs I've tried. What an amazing olfactory experience. I'm sure this would make a fantastic room fragrance. Now I'm a bit bummed that I never got any other SiA scents (the only reason being that I know nothing about Lovecraft), as they are the most unique scents that are like no conventional perfumes out there!

Shub Niggurath In the imp: YUM!!! Gingersnaps! With something creamy and buttery and sugary-the smell of ginger biscuit dough! Nothing dark or evil yet, it smells delicious! Wet on skin: whoa, the ginger now becomes more hot, spicy, and fiery, it has a piercing quality. But it still retains a dough-like quality. Yup, these are gingersnaps from hell! Dry on skin: now it's like raw cut ginger when the smell hits you in a piercing shock when you chop ginger. There's a sweet creamy-buttery-sugary biscuit dough undercurrent that tries it's best to soften this, but the ginger is screaming on my skin! It's like a fire in my nose…but that's no bad thing! After a while: the ginger is still biting my nose, but tones down a bit. Now the sweet gingersnap dough smell returns-not as evil as before, but sweeter and with a hint of some other spices-possibly cardamom and maybe even some cinnamon or cloves. But the scent does have dark undertones. I think I can make out some herbs, not sure what though. There's also something lemony there. But that doesn't stop it from smelling yummy. After an hour or so, the ginger overload has calmed down considerably, and some dark herbs/spices come through. There's even a smell that reminds me of damp soil, which is unusual, but strangely pleasant. Verdict: I can understand why this has been described as 'evil gingersnaps' because this exactly what I get on my skin! There's a lovely sweet delicious biscuit dough smell, but then there's the ginger. Piercing, loud, fiery and vicious ginger. Like a little ginger demon biting my nostrils every time I sniff this. But I love it so much. It is very intense though, hot and with a lot of punch, but the smell of gingersnaps from hell is too enticing to resist! Now I want to make gingersnaps that taste just like how this smells.

Erato In the imp: floral…pink, soft florals. Rose softened by possibly the other flowers in the blend. Wet on skin: rose and sweet peas. Maybe some ylang ylang. This is a soft, floral, feminine scent. Dry on skin: the rose gets stronger…oh, lovely roses! There's another soft powdery smell underneath it that reminds me of a perfume I've smelt before. This is quite a nice blend, I think. I think it's the ylang ylang I can smell with a hint of myrrh added a deep warm resinous sweetness. After a while: there's something in this blend that reminds me of geranium, even though that is not listed as an ingredient…which is nice because I love the smell of geranium! I think the myrrh's coming through-it adds a unique depth to the florals, but isn't heavy. But it's more prominent and makes this blend more interesting than just generic floral perfume. the myrrh gets stronger and stronger, it's a gorgeous smell, it doesn't take over the florals though. Verdict: another lovely feminine and soft blend, so floral, but that's not a problem for me…the rose is evident in this but it's softened and warmed by other flowers and myrrh. It's soft, almost powdery (no bad thing) and it makes me think of sun kissed petals, flowers scenting the summer air. As the myrrh strengthens, it gets deeper, richer and more sophisticated. It's a laid back floral that would be lovely for spring and summer. It's also a grown up, mature scent. I have other floral BPAL blends which I prefer to this, but I think this one is quite nice.

Aunt Caroline's Money Draw In the imp: cinnamon!!!! This smells like a festive orange-spice blend. Wet on skin: it's cinnamon or clove, but there's also something salty there, which is strange. Makes me think of my mum's spice filled cooking. Dry on skin: now the cinnamon comes to the fore, oh, beautiful spicy heaven. There's a sweet note there too, like a sweet wood, maybe sandalwood, and possibly some clove. But this is mulled wine spice, but also smells like a spice market too, because I can detect savoury spices too, like turmeric or ginger? There's something slightly curry-ish about this blend, but I love that. There's a hint of orange there that blends with the cinnamon to make that festive smell that makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. After a while: oh, the cinnamon is simply glowing on my skin! This makes me feel like a true Spice Girl lol. This is dry, warm, comforting and delicious. Verdict: this is the ultimate spice blend. This is like walking into a spice market, there's cinnamon here, and loads of other spices, both sweet and savoury. This smells like the spices used in Christmas dinner meets the spices from a delicious curry. It's foody, it's comforting, it's warm…but will it make me rich? Well, I'm going to dab a bit on a lottery ticket to see if this stuff works! Edit: it seems this stuff does work! I did win a small prize on the lottery-only 10 quid, I know, but it goes to show there's magic in that there oil!

Blood Pearl In the imp: interesting. it's got a sweet, iris like smell which is also dry, and there's coconut there too. Wet on skin: there's a lovely sweet iris-coconut smell, similar to Black Pearl, but without the hazelnut. It's quite nice, actually. Dry on skin: the dry iris/orris smell becomes smooth and powdery (no bad thing) and there's a hint of coconut there. I can't smell the musk yet, but there's a hint of cherry-ish red resin that is probably dragon's blood. But there's a smell there that's quite dusty. After a while: I'm not sure if it's the orris or musk that's causing this but there's a soft powdery smell now, and it's so sweet and comforting, I think that's the coconut. Mmm. After a few hours...hello musk! Oh, I love this musk, it's sexy. Verdict: this is like a drier, more powdery variant of Black Pearl. This is really nice, it's a soft, slightly dusty, light iris-like scent with a sweet coconutty smell, with a hint of dragon's blood. It's a lovely smell, but I prefer the cool, lush delicate musky sweetness of Black Pearl. But I love the musky drydown after a few hours...

Hexennacht In the imp: sweet and foresty…like fir trees and incense. It's very warm. Wet on skin: dark warm firs and something sweet, like incense with smoke. The great thing is that the smoke isn't going icky on my skin! This is like a campfire in a forest. Wow. Dry on skin: the firs become fresher and greener. This isn't a Christmas tree smell though, this is warm, smoky, mysterious. This is like a night time forest with a magical ceremony, a witches' dance, the smoke of the fires, the sweet sticky incense…it's awesome! After a while: I'm surprised as to how nicely the smoke note behaves-it smells like a faint breeze of smoke, not like my skin's on fire! There's a sweet woody-resin smell like tree sap, and there's that soft, sensual, almost baby-oil type smell that could be the skin scent. As time passes, there's a sweet resinous note that gets stronger and stronger, with a hint of smoke lingering on the surface. This is an unusual and interesting blend. About 45 mins-1 hour later, the sweet smell remains but now goes back to dark tree sap, with pine needles and smoke. It's like a ritual bonfire with incense and sacred herbs added, giving the smoke a magical quality. It's strong, but so pleasant. After a few hours, it changes to deep musk, and a few hours after that comes the baby oil reminiscent scent that I got in LPM. Verdict: this pleasantly surprised me. This is a fascinating blend of deep dark forest notes, sweet incense, smoke and warmed skin…it's sweet, it's smoky, it's mysterious, it's magical. I'm not sure if I'd wear this as perfume, but it's a wonderful nose-trip that BPAL can do so well. Amazing.

Ides of March In the imp: an interesting mix of sweet, green, herbal, light floral, and citrus smells. Wet on skin: it's unusual, quite herbal with a hint of green. There's a note there that I'm not very keen on though that for some reason makes me think of salad, I hope it clears… Dry on skin: much better. It's still herbal and green, with citrus. This is very fresh and moist, perfect for spring, and is developing a clean sweetness and a hint of floral. I think I can smell the rosemary, bergamot and lemon, and it's possibly iris or narcissus causing the light clean floral on top. There's also a sweetness which could be from amber. After a while: the lemony tartness is still there but now there's a soft floral on my skin. It reminds me of a perfume I've smelt elsewhere-it's quite nice. It does smell like men's cologne, but the floral notes soften this out a bit and stop it from smelling blatantly 'manly' and more unisex. After a few hours it reminds me of my godmother's perfume. It's very floral, surprisingly, and has changed from masculine at the start, to unisex, and now to feminine. Verdict: this is quite nice, a clean, fresh spring scent. There's a herbal scent to it, sharpened by citrus, but with a hint of delicate floral and a sweet undertone. It's complex, yet quite clean, not messy or complicated in it's scent. It's quite lovely, but not really me, I do like it though.

Tiger Lily In the imp: ohhh, lovely lily with a touch of sweetness. Honeyed lilies indeed! Wet on skin: still sweet lilies, freshly bloomed and fragrant. This is gorgeous. Dry on skin: the lily note becomes more pronounced and, excuse the cheesy pun, 'blooms' on my skin. There's always that golden sweet honey note giving this a nice aspect, gives an image of lilies illuminated by afternoon sunlight. The honey note then becomes more pronounced and mingles so nicely with the lily. After a while: this doesn't change much at all-it's just that wonderful honeyed lily all along. Lovely. Verdict: this is a beautiful sweet lily blend. it's fresh blooming lilies with a swirl of golden honey. It's simple, and so effective. I have a feeling this blend will be wonderful as room fragrance too. it's not soapy on me at all, and the honey just enhances the lily scent and adds another, sweet and comforting dimension to this scent. Fantastic.