elphaba

The frimp of Jester that came with my last order leaked in the package, so the smell of it has been hanging around the table where I opened the box. It's a tart, bright, fruity smell and I'm quite enjoying walking past that corner of the room and catching a whiff. On my skin, the same tart fruitiness is the wet scent. On drydown, the neroli starts to take over and it becomes much softer with occasional reprises of the initial tartness. I keep sticking my nose in the teacup where I put the leaky imp, so there's definitely something addictive about this one. However, it's not the kind of scent I see myself wearing on a regular basis, so no big bottle for me.

As someone who pretty much only likes florals if they're light, I'd second Amsterdam. Tenochtitlan is a bit more complex of a blend, but I think the final effect is similar to a light floral.

I appear to have fairly different chemistry than most reviewers on this one. For me, the primary notes to come out were cassia and mandarin. I can tell the other notes are there, but they don't really assert themselves. They just keep Red Phoenix from becoming a bowl of Christmas potpourri...which it decidedly is not. The image I get from Red Phoenix is a gorgeous woman in a red cheongsam, embroidered with a dragon (or a phoenix!) in gold thread. The scent is exotic and sexy and a little bit dangerous. I love it.

I haven't had a chance to try it yet but, based on reviews, what about The Lion?

In the bottle, I couldn't make heads or tails of Phantasm. A sweetened floral, it seemed, but not particularly distinct. As soon as it hit my skin though...lemon! Actually, it smelled like jasmine lemonade. I could almost see the pitcher, floating with white flowers. This is sweet lemonade, though, sweet and smooth. No lip puckering here. On drydown, the lemon finally backs down and I can tell that it's lemon verbena. There's an almost thyme-y herbal scent that gives it away. The neroli must be what's giving this its sweetness. After the initial blast of lemon, Phantasm is quite pleasant, but it's not a type of scent I associate with myself. It feels wispy and delicate. Appropriate for an ethereal creature, not so much for me.

Got this as a frimp from the lab. Just on my skin, the first note to be immediately recognizable was the vetivert...perhaps because I just tested Iago recently and the scent was fresh in my mind. I had to look up notes to identify the other elements, although I was sure there was at least one heady floral swirling around with the vetivert. It struck me as a rather torpid scent. I can blame that on the opium, which lasted just long enough to give me a headache before the honeysuckle came out, high and sweet. I hate that opium always seems to do that to me. I used to adore opium incense, but I don't think any BPAL opium blend has failed to make my head hurt. The final drydown is honeysuckle and vetivert with just a hint of the opium but this blend is decidedly not working on me. Off to the swaps.

The first time I tried Dorian, I was repulsed and honestly couldn't understand what any of the hype was about. I put it on and got a lemon tea scent for about an hour, followed by a disgusting, stinky, rancid musk. Horrible. Today, though, I tried it again, and it's beautiful sweet tea with pale musk that turns it from a food scent to a person scent, just how the description said it would be. I had a similar experience with Morocco so I can only conclude that my skin chemisty is extremely sensitive to musks and there will be times over the course of a month when I won't be able to wear them at all. I'm going to keep my imp because Dorian really is beautiful when it works. I just wish it wasn't so horrid when it didn't.

I am happy to report that Blood Countess smells nothing like one might smell after bathing in the blood of virgins (at least, not as far as I know.) It does have a juicy sweet berry scent that I somehow associate with bath products, though. At first, it seemed like it would be all berries and flowers--a regal womanly scent--but the opium comes out to darken it eventually. It reminds me a lot of my beloved Bordello and of Lady Macbeth. More distant than Bordello, more vainly beautiful than Lady MacBeth. I don't think Blood Countess warrants a 5mL on her own, since Bordello has become my signature scent, but I'll keep the imp at least for now.

Iago is MANLY. I got this one as a frimp from the lab and tested it on myself because it didn't appeal to my husband at all. Too bad, because Iago smells totally sexy and guyish. First on, for lack of a better description, it smelled dark green. Not piney, but dark and herbal. I suspect this was the vetiver. As it dried down, it kept getting darker and darker as the leather and musk came out. It's an amazingly blended scent. I couldn't even really make out the lines between the notes. They just all swirled together. I did learn that, contrary to what I'd thought previously, it seems black musk doesn't go stinky on me. Still, this is a blend for a man, decidedly not for a woman. I'm going to pass the imp on to a male friend who I think will appreciate it.

Based on notes, I was all ready to be heartbroken over this one. I adore anything piratical, though, and a little bit of sandalwood wasn't going to scare me off from wearing Anne Bonny. First on, this is pure wood on me but oddly, I don't mind it. It's a full, round, woody smell, without a hint of the varnish that has ruined several other woody blends for me. On drydown, Anne's incensiness comes out and the effect of everything put together is rather exotic, but rough around the edges. I wouldn't say that I'm in love with this scent except that I keep waking up in the morning and reaching for it, often choosing it over oils I ostensibly like better. If nothing else, Anne Bonny is compelling. I'm not sure whether she'll convince me to buy a 5mL, but I have two imps and they're not going anywhere.

Beaver Moon makes me happy. It smells like buttercream frosting, which I think might be one of the happiest smells in the whole world. Like other BPAL scents in this vein, I do get a tiny hint of plastic close to my skin, but it's not enough to turn me off of Beaver Moon. The throw is sheer joy and I love having this wafting around me.

Embalming Fluid is one of a few BPAL scents that, although I was intrigued by the notes, I never ordered because I am a delicate and sensitive flower who was put off by the name. It's quite a nice scent, as it turns out, very light and lemony. At the very beginning there's a bit of something bitter that I'm not sure whether to attribute to the tea or the white musk, but it eventually goes away and is replaced by a pleasant sweetness. I'm going on four hours with it now and I can still catch occasional light whiffs of it in the air. Overall, I think I prefer The Dormouse for this kind of a light, fresh tea-based sort of scent, but I'm glad I got to sniff Embalming Fluid.

Notorious for its properties for protection against werewolves and curing lycanthropy, this nefarious plant also has a fine history of use as a virulent poison. Clasically, Medea employed it in her many works of vengeance. This concoction of ours has none of the lethal qualities, but still personifies all of the herb's dark history beautifully. When I first put this on, I thought it was going to be a straightforward, pure herbal. It started out that way and I assumed it would finish the same. Was I ever wrong. After the initial crushed green herbalness died away, pressing my nose to my wrist revealed a very woody base. Every time I moved my wrist away, though, I smelled roses--so much so, that I wondered if maybe my imp of Harlot had leaked on my fingers while I reached for Wolfsbane this morning. I'm fairly sure it didn't. Wolfsbane's throw is just sweet and rosey. During breakfast, I discovered the "poisonous" aspect of this one. Each time I moved the spoon to my mouth, I got a whiff of Wolfsbane that put me off my food. By the final drydown, I still caught a bit of the bitter, poisonous smell, but the herbs and wood had come into balance and the roses were gone. I don't think this is a keeper for me, but it sure was a rollercoaster.

There is something completely intoxicating about this scent, about the combination of sassafrass, vanilla and cedar. It's sweet and dusty and, when I close my eyes, I can almost see the saloon doors swinging open to reveal a cowboy with a pair of six-guns and a swagger. I know the description says "traditionally masculine" but my skin eats the balsam (I can only catch the tiniest whiff if I press my nose to my wrist and concentrate) and this easily becomes gender neutral on me. I can't wait to slather it on my husband. Definitely a keeper and probably a big bottle purchase.

My first thought on sniffing Perversion on my skin was, "Oh man, what am I going to have to take off the top ten list to make room for this?" I adore this scent. Wet, the tonka (or maybe the rum) is extremely sweet, enough so that I generally wait a few minutes for sniffing, just to aoid that initial sickly sweet blast. Within a minute or two, though, it becomes this glorious blend, like a woman walking into a cigar store and her sweet perfume blending with the ambient scent of unsmoked tobacco. The leather is there too, but it is subtle. If I didn't love the scent of leather, I suspect I'd notice it more, but at it is, it just wafts around becoming part of the perfect whole. This is definitely a keeper.

I just have to share. My husband came downstairs and pressed his neck towards my nose to sniff. He seems to have gotten bored with Jolly Roger and decided to raid the rest of my stash. I have to say...Snake Charmer smells awesome on him! Way better than it does on me. In fact, I'm going to go sniff him some more now.

Bacchanalia was discontinued. Reviews and description here.

I think, as much as I hate to, I am finally going to have to admit that dragon's blood doesn't work on me. I love cinnamony-spicy blends and I was very much looking forward to trying Wrath. Unfortunately, though the spiciness was wonderful, the dragon's blood turned sickeningly sweet, in a rotting, overripe way. This is one of very few blends I've ever had to wash off. I'll be avoiding blends with prominent dragon's blood in the future, as Blood did the same thing on me.

This is divine. I keep thinking I'm catching whiffs of our Christmas tree amidst the buttery, brown-sugary, nuttiness of my perfume, but it's not the tree. It's all me. I love the way the pine weaves its way into the foody smells in just the right subtle amount. I could really be next to the fireplace roasting chestnuts with a fresh-cut tree waiting to be decorated in the corner. It does seem really light, however. I've been refreshing constantly. Still, I think this will be my Christmas Eve scent. I can't think of anything more perfect.

I just tried Silk Road for the first time and would definitely put it in the "clean and spicy" category. It's spicy with herbs backing it up instead of a smokey incense or musk.

This is a thick scent, thick and sweet. On the imp wand, it's warm and bright with cherries and cloves coming up above the dragon's blood, but on my skin, it immediately darkens into a musky overripeness and it becomes even more sweet. Sickeningly sweet. On my skin, I lose the clove and this turns into an blend of incense and slow-flowing corn syrup. It certainly captures the texture of blood, but it's not a keeper for me.

The first time I wore Skuld, the only impression that stuck with me was "spicy," which was odd, given the ingredients. I tried to be a bit more careful in my observations this second time around. In the imp, Skuld smells heavily of ylang ylang. On my skin, the ylang ylang fades enough to allow in a sweet honey scent--raw, complex honey and that's when the spiciness comes out. Not a hot spice like cinnamon or cloves, but a light spiciness with a hint of mintiness every now and then. This has to be the labdanum and it's gorgeous. The musks are very light and haven't gone stinky on me in four and a half hours I've been wearing this blend. Skuld is a very soft scent, but it's managing to stick around quite well. I don't know that I'll be ordering a big bottle (my husband didn't like it one whit), but I'm going to be hard-pressed to give up my imp. I can see this as a very relaxing sleeping scent and, with the sweet ylang ylang and musk, I suspect it would blend quite well with Lush's Butterball, although I don't have one handy to sniff side-by-side.

I got Nosferatu as a frimp from the lab and put it on without really looking at the notes. I expected it to be a heavy, dark scent the actual description ended up pleasantly surprising me once I read it with the oil already on my wrists. Dirt! I love dirt! Wine! Wine good! Herbs! Herbs are nice. Somehow, though, this turned out to be incredibly fleeting on my skin. All of the notes were definitely there, but the dirt receded into sort of a background sweetness after drydown. The herbs, which started out green and pungent, faded into a definite dry, crushed, and dusty herbalness. The wine, though. I'm afraid the wine didn't play nice at all. Instead of the big grapey juiciness I get with other BPAL wine blends, the wine in Nosferatu when sour and vinegary on me. It does have sort of a "spilled wine left out" sort of vibe to it, so I can see the appeal, but overall the scent just isn't me. An hour in, and my husband couldn't catch a whiff on my wrist. I can still smell it, knowing what I'm looking for, but this one is definitely a close-to-the-skin sort of experience. I do smell like a vampire, though. In that sense, the scent is right on. And, if only because of that, I'm going to have a hard time giving this one up. It's definitely an experience worth having.

From the CT2 Swap Circle: CVIII - This is a very cool bluish/greenish oil in imp. Wet, it smells like forest greens. Dry, it turns into herbs (maybe rosemary?) and some kind of mint. Previously reviewed by amrita and OriginalWacky CCLIII - Floral, rose with something sweet underneath. Much more floral than sweet. Previously reviewed by Penance, sarada, and OriginalWacky CCLXVIII - Spearmint and spice. This one is downright edible! Previously reviewed by Original Wacky CX - Wet, this smells like a dark floral, with herbs backing it up. On drydown, it smells like dried herbs. Previously reviewed by OriginalWacky and Imbrium CCXCVIII - Wet, this is confounding. A bit herbal with something incensey sweet. Dry, I get sweetened herbs with a bit of smoke. Previously reviewed by OriginalWacky CLVI - Wet, it reminded me of nothing so much as blue toilet cleaner. The drydown, however, is much nicer - an aquatic with a very subtle mint. Very clean. Previously reviewed by OriginalWacky and Gin XXXVI - This is the only one I tested based on reviews rather than just randomly. It's like fruit moon sugared with vanilla. Gorgeous. When I first put it on, I wrote down "cream soda suckers" because it really does remind me of hard candy. I have a friend who always makes rock candy in all different flavors at Christmas time and this scent smells a lot like how his candy smells the moment after you open the jar and the wonderful scent of sweets comes rushing out. Really wonderful. Previously reviewed by OriginalWacky, darkling, sihaya09, joseybird, and olympia301

I've been saving Miskatonic University for November (National Novel Writing Month) because it smells like writing to me. In the bottle, it's a very boozy Irish Creme scent, but I feel incredibly lucky that on my skin, everything listed in the description comes out. The Irish Creme tones down and the smell of wood and dusty books comes up. The polished wood isn't the same overwhelming scent I got from the Red Queen. It's subtle and very old. This truly is the smell of a university library. Amazing. I adore this scent and, believe me, if it is ever re-released, I will be snatching up enough bottles to last me a good long time.