elphaba

Chalk me up as another person for whom this one smells like a rather generic floral. There was something that felt very Southern about this to me and it never developed into the scent of a languid, smokey, hazy room as I had hoped. It sounds like Languor is beautiful on some peoples' skin, but alas, not on mine.

I was sure, looking at the vial, that Imp had dragon's blood in it. It was so very red! Even when I put it on, it seemed like that was what I was smelling...something about the musk and the fruit together. I could, though, when I put my mind to it, discern that it was peach and patchouli and musk all blending together to fool my nose (I couldn't pick out the amber.) The overall effect was fruity and spicy with something devilish underneath. I'm a huge non-fan of musk, but in this case, the effect was that of a dark, exotic fruit, rather than, say, a ferret. Overall, the scent was just a bit too dark for me, although I wasn't compelled to wash it off. It's hard to explain how something can be sweet and fruity, but also dark and spooky, but Imp was all that.

I was really surprised by Whitechapel. I tried it without reading the description first and was bowled over by the sharp citrus scent. I originally pegged it as lemon, but now realize that must have been the lime instead. It took about fifteen minutes for the lilac to come out for me and then it became this weird lime/floral blend. I didn't get a lot of musk, but was surprised how this managed to be a masculine scent, despite what I would have thought from the ingredients. I'm guessing that was the musk pulling everything together. I can't see my husband wearing this one and it definitely wasn't me, so it will be going up for swap. I'm sure there's some Victorian gentleman out there just dying for it.

I love the connotations of ancient power that the name Magus carries and I think this scent lived up to its name. Despite it being a more masculine scent, I knew it wouldn't be to my husband's tastes, so I tried it on myself. The first note that hit me was cedar. Strong cedar. As it developed, some sandalwood came through too and it became a lovely foresty blend. Magus was definitely live wood rather than cut down and processed lumber. About two hours in, what I can only describe as a floral note came out and mingled with the trees, reinforcing the feeling of this being a scent teeming with life. It remained woody enough to be masculine even though this phase. I won't be keeping Magus just because it didn't seem to suit me personally, but I did find it quite powerful.

This is wonderful bursting, ripe blend. It smells like fruit that is begging to be eaten, fruit that is at its peak and bursting with juices. I've been wanting a Goblin Market blend, but this might as well be it. In the bottle, it kind of smells like Hawaiian punch - an unidentifiable fruit melange. It's best experienced on the skin and in the air. I can definitely smell melon, but also peach and currant and the sharpness of berries. For a little more sophistication, it layers wonderfully with Snake Oil, but you probably already knew that. I can't believe I hesitated about ordering this. I like it a lot.

The ingredient list on Cordelia was deceptive for me, because this didn't turn out to be the light, fresh scent I was expecting at all. The first thing that hit me was the cedar, followed quickly by the florals, which I'm useless at telling apart. After about fifteen minutes, I started noticing something different underneath everything that I suspect was the Chinese musk. I have to admit, pretty much everything else went to the wayside once I started to be able to isolate that scent. I don't usually like musk, but this (if, in fact, it was the Chinese musk) was different and intriguing. I'm glad I tried this blend, if only for it introducing me to that note. I don't think Cordelia will be for me, but it's also more than just your garden-variety (pardon the pun) floral.

My first reaction to Medea was, "Whoah flowers!" It actually made my nose itch on first application. About ten minutes in, something dry came up underneath the flowers. I'm guessing this is is the cedar and myrrh. Then, a couple of hours in, the incense almost took over and I started to enjoy the fragrance much more. Those flowers, though, they're indominatable and, after three, hours, they came back to stay. Medea turned out to be just too floral for me.

I never order rose blends for myself because I never think I'm going to like them, but the lab keeps sending them to me and I keep becoming unexpectedly enamored. You would think I'd wise up and get a clue eventually and just admit that I like rose. The first thing that struck me about Harlot was the spiciness. I don't even notice the roses at first. It was just lovely sweet spiciness. Then, everything came together and there was truly something magical about it. I feel so pampered wearing this one, like I've done something wonderful for myself just by putting it on.

My first reaction to Goneril, a freebie from the lab, was that is was a nice, clean, woodsy scent. I couldn't place either the "clean" or the "woods," but the combination was fresh and outdoorsy. About five minutes in, I sniffed my wrist again and CEDAR! There was no mistaking it by then. This was a cedar forest. The cedar stayed strong on me for maybe ten or fifteen minutes before the florals began coming up again, but in a way that didn't seem overly flowery--probably because of the wood at the scent's heart. I think this would make a great masuline scent, but my husband isn't fond of cedar, so I won't subject him to it.

I'm pretty sure Jack is going to be one of my favorite autumn blends. It smells like a jack o' lantern at the end of the night, when the candle inside is melted and the flesh of the pumpkin is warm. That amazingly warm Halloween scent of wax and pumpkin is mixed with lovely spices that makes it even warmer. I can't wait to wear this one on a cool autumn night.

Neo-Tokyo smells, to me, like a fruit tree after a spring storm. Ozone is in the air and the delicate flower petals have been battered to the ground, releasing their scent into the air. It reminds me of the Ezra Pound poem, "In the Station of the Metro." THE apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough.

There was something about Megaera that immediately reminded me of the scents I've smelled in the Funereal Oils line. After looking up the ingredients, I suspect this was the orris, which also shows up in Dance of Death. Just on, Megaera smelled like a fruity floral on me. After a bit of wearing, the amber came out and mingled with the orris in a way that was surprisingly dark. It really did feel glowering and jealous, in a quietly seething sort of way. Megaera seems so sweet when she introduces herself, but I swear, she'll be talking about you behind your back at the first opportunity. I found the scent quite evocative, but it was too dark for my tastes in the final drydown.

It's pretty likely, just looking at the imp of Love Me that it contains Dragon's Blood and when I put it on, that's the first thing I smell. That fades pretty quickly, though, and this is so familiar. To me, it smells like my precious Butterball bath bombs, not how they smell in the water, but that luscious powdery vanilla-cocoa butter smell of the actual ballistic. I can see how people might be getting a cola type of smell but, for me, this is more of an implied fizziness than actual nose-tickling bubbles. I really like it and am so glad the Lab gifted me with this imp.

Dirty is a lovely, light, clean scent. If I had to describe it in one word, it would be "fresh." It went on fresh and didn't really morph at all over time. What you sniff is what you get. the thing that surprised me most about it, though, was how long it lasted. I put two wand swipes on at 9 in the morning and could still smell it at dinner time, which is incredible for a light scent on me.

I wore Midway to the county fair yesterday and as I stood on the grass watching motocross, with the breeze carrying the scent of cotton candy and funnel cake stands across the grounds, I realized I could no longer tell which smells were coming from the fair and which were coming from me. Midway isn't what it smells like to lean into a funnel cake plate and inhale. It's what the air smells like at a carnival, full of delight and promise. It's perfect.

I have been known to, on occasion, dance with fire, so I was more excited about Fire Eater than just about anything else in Carnaval Noir. Putting it on for the first time, it smelled like...fuel. Seriously, wet, it's the smell of the liquid paraffin I use on my fire toys, maybe with a little bit of residual soot mixed in. As it dries, the fuel "burns" off and the scent becomes sweeter and sweeter. I don't get any spiciness until the final drydown, but it definitely is a warm scent. It's quite possibly a floral blend, but it doesn't trip my allergies like many florals do. The first time I wore this, I was ready to reluctantly put it up for swaps. On my second wearing, I'm now thinking that I'll keep most of it, maybe sharing an imp or two. By my third wearing...well, who knows. I think this one grows on you.

For some reason, the wet scent of Queen reminds me of...calamine lotion. I have no idea why. Dry, it's a much more herbal scent and in the very best sort of way. More importantly, though, Queen makes me feel like a total badass. I think this is going to become my dance scent. It says exactly what I want to convey - I am strong and powerful, confident, and exotic...just try to take your eyes off of me, I dare you.

I put Decadence on before leaving the house at 9 this morning and I can just barely catch a sniff of it now at 5. It barely changed at all from the first sniff on the imp wand to the faint remnants left eight hours later. More than anything, I'm smelling orange oil and cloves. It reminds me of the stockings we'd find at my grandmother's house at Christmas, filled with oranges and nuts. This has clove too, I think. There's a very holiday sort of spiciness to it. It's lovely, but I think I'll like it better when it's not 100 degrees outside.

There was a thread a while back about scents to wear while working out. http://www.bpal.org/index.php?showtopic=299

From the description, I expected this to be a much more raucous scent than it turned out to be. It's actually quite soothing, like breathing from a wooden box containing a chunk of resinous incense. It lasts forever on me, too. I put it on at 9:15 this morning and can still catch whiffs every now and then at 6:45. Just on, the cypress is the most dominant note, although I wouldn't have known it was cypress without reading the description. It smells kind of like a cross between sandalwood and cedar. The resiny/incense note is there from the beginning too, but it becomes dominant later on. Dry, Danse Macabre becomes a beautiful soft, resiny scent on me. In concept, I like it a lot, but it's not really making me fall in love. Sooner or later, I'm going to find an resiny blend that I adore, but this one isn't it. It's close, though.

In the bottle and just on my skin, Black Lotus is a sugar-sweet scent with just the slightest hint of aquatic. That must be lotus. It doesn't take long for it to gain depth. Ten minutes in, a dark, incensey note comes into play. The lotus and the smokey, resiny notes are gorgeous together, making a scent that's pretty and dark at the same time. Black Lotus isn't something I see myself wearing often. It's just not...me. I do like it, though, for someone who's a bit darker and more mysterious than I am.

My experience with Milk Moon mirrored several others in that I breastfed a child not too long ago and am amazed that this is, in fact, the scent of lactation. When I put Milk Moon on, I smell like I did when I was nursing my son and it brings back a flood of memories. I do get a hint of mintiness from the lunar oils, especially sniffing directly from the bottle, but that doesn't hold up on my skin. If you want a sense of how Milk Moon smells, brush your teeth with a mint toothpaste and then breathe deeply from a box of powdered milk. That concentrated milk scent with just a breath of mint is Milk Moon in a nutshell. For me, though, it's much more about the memories than the scent itself. I will cherish this bottle for as long as it lasts.

Gluttony is an utterly decadent scent. In a lot of ways, this reminds me of Centzon Totochtin. It's the same kind of over-the-top, mind-bogglingly indulgent scent. Substitute beer for the wine in Centzon Totochtin and subtract out the corrupt blood and you get something close to Gluttony. The throw is surprisingly good and my husband really likes this scent (vanilla and caramel, he says). It seems to last well. It's made up of a whole bunch of things I really love. But... I'm not sure if it's the scent or the name, but I'm finding this one hard to stomach. I'm trying to think of it as luxurious rather than gluttonous, but what I'm really thinking is that I never should have watched Seven.

Pele smells so much like real flowers, you can almost imagine having a lei around your neck and a flower in your hair. The flowers are light and fresh and just slightly sweeter than flowers are in real life, like they were injected with extra nectar to please the bees and hummingbirds. This is a floral I can wear. On me, it lasts nicely for about 3 hours and by the fourth hour, it still hangs on with a bit of residual sweetness. On my skin, I consider 4 hours about the average lifetime for a blend, so I'm satisfied with the longevity. Pele is a keeper, especially for the summer months. She's a tropical beauty.

I got Delphi as lagniappe from the lab. I probably would have tried it on my own at some point, but it was low on the list as the description sounded nice, but not compelling. On the imp wand and just on, Delphi had a sharp, possibly fruity note I couldn't identify, backed by a warm resiny/incensey scent. After about five minutes, I reread the description and realized that the top note was the honey wine. Alas, this wasn't the sweet honey mead I'd just smelled in Hellcat. Delphi's honey wine seemed to have turned to vinegar. I left the blend on for about four hours and the vinegary top note never went away. It's a shame because I really liked it aside from that. I'm going to save this imp for now and try it again when the weather is a bit cooler. I can't shake the feeling that my chemistry is playing havoc with something that might otherwise be beautiful.