Tess

In the bottle - This has lots and lots of fir. I'm not getting any of the Graveyard Dirt earth I'd hoped for (damn), but there is a touch of moss and decay to this. Wet - FIR TREE. Wow. Drying - The evergreen is just overpowering everything else in this. There's just a bare amount of moss in the background, but it's almost a single note. There's also a good amount of throw here. The throw is, of course, fir. All fir, all the time. The dirt had better start kicking in soon. Dry (1.5 hours) - This is just... evergreen. A bit, happy evergreen. Truly almost a single note. Overall - Very boring in the end, sadly. Oh well.

In the bottle - Minty pennyroyal, with some lovely dark musk in there and just a bit of that lavender cologne. Wet - Oh, the musk is darkening even more on my skin. Drying - There really is something unsettled about this scent. The musk is very much a dirty musk, unwashed, covered by the gentlemanly cologne and the pennyroyal. It -is- quite minty. An in your face type of madness, really, strapped under cultured clothing. I keep smelling myself, asking myself if I like it and I'm not sure. It's very interesting, but do I like it? Hrm. Dry (2 hours) - The dirt of the musk is utterly gone and it's quite nice. Not dirty, not minty. Smooth and tasty. I do like pennyroyal a whole lot. Overall - This is actually one I think I could really grow to like. I'll keep the imp around to continue trying until I make my final decision.

In the bottle - This is heavy on the lily, extremely light on the sandalwood. Very, very floral. Wet - Oh, it's teasing me with the rosewood. Drying - The geranium rose is getting stronger, which is nice, but it's still so heavy on the lily. Rosewood is making an apperance, too, which is very nice, but I'm getting no sandalwood at all. Lily really is owning this, though. Dry (1.5 hours) - This is still incredibly floral. The lily is in the front with a hefty backing of the rosewood. The sandalwood has never shown itself on my skin. Overall - Far too floral for me.

In the bottle - Oh how I love neroli and musk. This is a very complex and lovely scent. The roses and apples aren't overpowering, the bergmont is just a touch and the patchouli gives it base without being too heavy. Wet - Much more rose on me than in the bottle. Drying - Wow, the patchouli comes out with everything else slinking back. There's still some musk and vanilla in this but those floaty notes, as well as the neroli, are just gone. The patchouli is also being a very "dirty" variety, if that makes any sense. Boo. Dry (2 hours) - The patchouli really came out and ruled over everything else. It's really too bad. Overall - In the bottle this was extremely lovely, but the patchouli really ruined it for me. It just killed all the other notes. It makes me sad.

In the bottle - The rose and lily give this a very perfume smell, but the amber and other warm notes give it a hint of depth. Wet - Very, very perfume smelling. Drying - Ack, there comes the lilac! The lily and rose are bodily holding it back, but the amber is making the heavy floral (VERY HEAVY) powder out to some extent. I can get just a touch of sandalwood in the background, but the mandarin and the myrrh aren't present yet at all. This is truly a powerful floral. The rose isn't as weighted as the lily and the lilac in this. Dry (2 hours) - Mmm, amber. But all that's left is dusty amber and rose. Which part of me is very glad for... Overall - I'm sure this is a lovely and complex scent on other skin. But the floral notes just get amped like no one's business.

In the bottle - Very salty and green, not at all the dry wood that I expected. I'm getting no leather or rum, but a strong "perfume" scent which is probably those. Wet - So freaking green! Drying - Okay, it's very salty, but the greenness is coming across as decaying wood and leaf materials, really. Which is confusing my nose, because my brain keeps saying "it's a salty bog!" There is some leather here, nothing overpowering. The decay scent is really getting to me here, though. It's almost a floral decay, very cloying. If only this were pure salt and leather. Sigh. Dry (2 hours) - That decaying plant life scent is still there. It's making my head hurt like mad. Overall - I don't get any of the fun things from this.

In the bottle - It's very herb-y to my nose, with a touch of the ambergris making it almost soapy. Wet - Mmm, ambergris is nice in this. Drying - This reminds me of something. Like a cleaning product. Unless I'm very wrong, that's the basil that's making it feel that way. I'm getting no frankincense from this. Wait, there's a touch coming out, along with quite a bit of the sage. It's a very interesting scent right now, but it just isn't kicking that "cleaning solution" feel to it. Dry (2 hours) - All that's left is sage with a little basil. And it's... well, sage just doesn't smell good to my nose. Overall - Sage and dill both give me issues. So big no on this.

In the bottle - This is very heavy on the floral notes to my nose, with jasmine being quite in the front of it. There's some vetiver, but I'm getting a lot of heady purple floral and that's scary. Wet - ...there is the strangest note in this all of a sudden. Drying - Okay, the musk is coming out, but it's not one I'd describe as "golden." It's coming across as dark, but not VERY dark. Like one of the lighter musk notes in Satyr. I think I was wrong about the jasmine, as this is clearly a violet note I'm getting. Not my favorite, but not something to be outright afraid of. There's some of the amber, but it's very light in here, just an afterthought. Dry (2.5 hours) - It dried down into an amber and very, very powdery violet mix. Meh. Overall - No, not for me. My skin just doesn't do nice things with most floral notes.

In the bottle - Grapefruit and musk and sugar and a touch of ho wood! Oh dear gods, this is lovely. Wet - GRAPEFRUIT! Drying - This is like Cheshire Cat (which I ADORE) only tamer and more grounded. I'm not getting any ginger in this, but I am placing the wood notes. The sugar has really died down. It's much more of a musky wood now with a splash of vanilla and grapefruit. Well, maybe more than a splash of grapefruit, but it's not as in your face with the citrus as C. Cat is. It's bright and sweet and just WONDERFUL. Dry (1 hour) - Well, it WAS wonderful. Now it's just missing. Sigh. Overall - If I could keep that drying stage around for more than 15 minutes, this would be a winner. But it just disappears on me.

In the bottle - Very berry tea. The berry smells distinctly like cough medicine as it mixes with the sage. Ugh. Wet - Less medicinal on. Drying - This is an unusual beast. The dark musk is making it's play in the background and the berry is making it just a little bit sweet, which is nice. There is just the barest hint of sage, but no no cough syrup. On the whole, it is so incredibly faint. There is a slight scent halo, but that's it. Barely there at all on me. Dry ( 2 hours) - This is barely here at all! It's a very, very faint sweet musk. If I press my nose to my wrist, that is. Overall - Well, it could have been worse, I suppose?

In the bottle - Medicinal, oddly, with some sweet musk and what smells distinctly like the Lab's dragon's blood. Smells like lilac, but of course! Wet - Minty somehow. Drying - Oh yeah, that's the lilac of dragon's blood there. Normally I'm so nervous about reviewin scents with no list, but that is the one thing I've gotten really, really good at noticing. The lilac is very powerful here, with just a slight back of the medicinal herbs. This smells like it could be an Ars Draconis scent, really. Dry (1.5 hours) - Lilac and cloves. Giving me a headache, too. Overall - I should have assumed this wouldn't work for me. Silly of me not to read the reviews first to find out the notes. Bah.

In the bottle - Oh, interesting! Very much like fruit with white wine by a bouquet of late summer blossoms. Apples are really at the front, but it's blended very nicely. Wet - A sudden shot of apple that immediately waves away. Drying - I'm at a loss to explain what this is becoming on me. It smells very warm, with the florals being at the front, but there's almost no "front" to it. It's very soft and subtle. If I get too close to my wrist, the scent goes Queen of Clubs on me, rotten florals, only with fruit added to the mix. As time is wearing on, it's getting more and more like that. It's... giving me a headache. Dry (2 hours) - Okay, it mellowed out to just about nothing but floral, but it's still headache inducing. It's hard to to pick out which florals exactly while in pain. Overall - This is nice in the vial, but my gods, my skin did terrible things with it.

In the bottle - Lots of flowers. Smells like lavender, rose and a touch of lotus. Is there carnation in this? I'm getting that spicey note from it and something woody. Wet - There really is something anchoring this, like a wood. Rosewood? No, something deeper. Drying - Lavender is really strong in this, with quite a bit of rose. But I'm also getting something dark, like a bitter patchouli. No, more like frankincense. This isn't nearly as airy as what other people are saying. In fact, it's not airy at ALL. I really have to wonder if someone mislabeled this. It's very heavy on the frankincense with a touch of floral. Dry (2 hours) - Well, it stayed with that heavy "darkness" for about 30 minutes, then it went back to the bottle scent with an added bit of soapiness for about 1 to 1.5 hours and now it's almost totally gone. Overall - I'm not convinced that there's something up with my imp, as this was NOTHING like what I was expecting or what others got. In fact, I'm not going to even try this out for meditation because, well...

In the bottle - Heavy on the almond, with something hard booze related under it, like the bitter note in gin only... not. Wet - Er, musty? What? Drying - WOW, my hand is burning. I'm glad I used it on the back and not on the wrist like normal. The spices are coming out, like in spiced rum, but it's still very musty. There's also still a lot of almond going on with it. It doesn't really remind me of rum. Well, maybe a really cheap one. In fact, as I smell it, the musty note is like musty playdoh. Dry (2 hours) - Seriously, this is spiced playdoh.... Overall - Arg, I have no idea what that was, but it should stay far away from me.

In the bottle - I'm getting a whole lot more rose than leather from this. There's a clarifying note in the background, though, so that might be leather precurser. Wet - There is so much rose in this bad boy. Drying - Seriously, there is no leather in this at all on me. It's just like a rose single note. : / And I don't even like floral notes much normally. Boo. Dry (1.5 hours) - Just... rose. That's it. A rose, slightly on the soapy side. Overall - This scent makes me feel like a total BPAL newbie. From start to finish, this was all rose, all the time. It makes me feel like my nose is busted. : /

In the bottle - Nice apple peel, very sweet. I'm also getting a lot of the myrrh and sandalwood, with a lovely bed of musk. Stay like this, if you please! Wet - This really is a nice apple. Drying - The myrrh is actually pretty strong, but I'm so far getting no jasmine at all, thank gods. The apple is faded away quite a bit, though, with the thyme coming out underneath the myrrh. Oh... wait... spoke too soon. There's the jasmine... Dry (2 hours) - This became an odd combination of myrrh, jasmine and musk. The darkness and the floral just do not work well together on my skin. Of course, jasmine never does, but there you are. Overall - Certainly not for me.

In the bottle - Oh my, the ylang ylang is so strong! I can pick up some poppy and lavander but it's almost all that heady ylang ylang. Wet - So... strong.... Drying - Okay, I'm getting a little chamomile, but my GODS the floral is so strong. It's a little soapy, too, but the floral is overpowering in it's strength on me. Dry (3 hours) - This is pure ylang ylang on me. 100% pure. I know that night-blooming flowers hate me, but dear gods. Overall - No way. Ugh.

In the bottle - Wow, the leaf makes this green, with just a touch of sandalwood. Wet - Oh! What's the creamy? Drying - Okay, the almond milk isn't actually all that almond on me and the coconut is light, which is nice. But the leaf is just overpowering this on my skin. It's almost like I'm wearing two different scents, a really nice creamy one and then something that is just GREEN. I'm not getting any fig yet, though, which makes me sad. Dry (2 hours) - The green has faded into a lovely creamy, figgy yumminess. This is pure loveliness! There's only a touch of the sandalwood, but the throw on this is subtle and glowing and I just love it. Overall - This is a wonderful blend for me and I do think it's going on my bottle list as soon as I can afford another order.

If I were to design a scent that is all wrong for me, this would be it. So many notes that are bad for me... In the bottle - Okay, I must say, I love benzoin. But other than that, the florals are strong and salty. So much floral. Wet - Seaweed and salt and just a little bit of the florals. Drying - Oh gods, here comes the jasmine. It's not overpowering yet, thanks to the MASSIVE amount of salt going on here. As time is going on, the frankincense and benzoin are coming out. Which I like. This is... actually kinda a nice one on me. I don't know even what to say to that. Dry (1 hour) - Every 10 minutes or so, the jasmine comes out like CRAZY, but then fades back again. When the jasmine isn't beating me up, it's quite nice! Overall - This isn't gonna work for me, but it does inspire me to find more benzoin scents.

In the bottle - This. Is. LOVELY. Grapefruit in the front with a musk background and then plumeria as an anchor. This is truly fantastic. Wet - Wow, that is a really white and light grape in that. Drying - Now that is interesting. The grapefruit completely left the mix and the ginger and verbena came out, but only a little. It's a very pale mixture of musk and champagne grape with a touch of the floral. But it's barely a smell anymore, yet my nose is warm when put near my wrist. It clings to me, but it's not the bright scent that it was. Dry (2 hours) - It's just totally gone. Well, it disappeared so much once it was on and it just faded even more. What I can smell is a lighter version of the drying phase. :/ Overall - This just smelled so good in the bottle! Why oh why didn't my skin hold onto that?!

In the bottle - Rose, rose, rose, but with the hint of something smoke related in the back. It's a RED rose, I should say, much more full bodied than the white roses in Ace of Hearts. Wet - Roses get zapped away and the scent fades back by a whole heck of a lot. Drying - This is an interesting beast. The rose is forefront, that powdery version of itself that I normally get with red rose scents. But there is a darkness lurking that I can't smell so much as feel. A twinge of tobbacco I think. Ah, coming out a bit is the tonka and vanilla, mixing with the rose in front. Dry (1 hour) - The rose is seriously floating around me and it's surprisingly lovely. Rose just about never works on me, but this really does. It is, however, quite powdery now. The tonka and vanilla are just gone, too. Overall - It just wasn't as complexe as I had hoped, but it's still pretty. I'm sure someone else's skin would bring out the other notes quite more than mine does.

In the bottle - This is cake with a berry frosting. If it were a food giving off this scent, I'd be eating it FAST. Wet - Buttery note coming out to play, oh dear. Drying - My skin is ripping this appart. The butter is doing that terrible rancid thing that it sometimes does and it's taking a terrible toll on the berries. Dry (2 hours) - Again with the smelling like the little fake plastic foods kids get. The S.O. likes it on me, at least. But it's faint, so very faint. Overall - This one just didn't get as much description as most of my reviews, ack. I blame it on the foodiness factor. (ie. I have issues telling between different "food"scents.) But it's lovely in the bottle, it really is. Makes me sad I can't really wear it.

In the bottle - This is a very calm floral scent, with copal creating a steady base for it. There's a bit of power from the frankincense in here, added to by the orris root, but it's a very... yellow floral. It's like Et Lux Fuit's floral cousin Wet - Citrus florals with just a little incense. Drying - This is very, very light and very sunny. The florals are the only thing really making any sort of presence, although even that's soft as heck. It's clinging to me with a lovely, yellow aura. Almost only felt and not smelt. Dry (3 hours) - This is really light and powdery, but floral. Just... generic and not interesting anymore. Overall - No, not for me. My skin ate it up way too quickly.

In the bottle - Musky florals, mostly magnolia if my nose is working right. Even in the bottle it's not very strong... Wet - Faint, faint floral. Drying - Oh, there we go, there's some complexity. The patchouli is out a little, as is the leather, but neither are forcing their ways up. The honeysuckle is very faint, too. On the whole it's ALL faint, which I wasn't expecting. And yet it seems to have a nice, understated throw. Primarily, it's a magnolia scent on me, with some leather and a touch of the patchouli and musk to darken it down. Dry (2 hours) - This has become something I'm not too fond of. It's sort of soapy and leathery with a little super dry patchouli. It's not offensive, just a really unlikable mix for me. Overall - I can see why other people like it so much, but it's seriously not for me.

In the bottle - Sweet buttery goodness. This reminds me of a lighter version of Midway. Wet - BUTTERBUTTERBUTTER. Drying - This is a very innocent scent. The thing I'm most reminded of is sugar cookies. It's sticking very close to my skin, but at least it's not getting that caramelized burnt scent. Just sugar with a touch of butter. Dry (2 hours) - It's still lingering there just barely if I press my nose to my wrist, but that's all there is. Overall - Too faint for me, but it's nice to know that there are sweet scents that my skin doesn't do funky things to. As a side note, this is not at ALL what I would imagine a mitzvah would smell like.