nineveh

My boyfriend and I think that this is a heavy, dark, musky scent. I can definitely smell red musk. It's similar to Scherezade, but sweeter and less spicy. My boyfriend thinks that it's overpowering, dense, and floral, but I think it's soft. At the beginning, I thought that I could smell berries, but now it's mostly red musk.

I can mostly smell the patchouli and cedar. My boyfriend and I agree that it is a woody and warm scent. He thought that it smelled like evergreen sap before knowing that it was cedar. We can't smell the cinnamon distinctly, but there is a spicy sweetness here. It's not a sexy scent, but it's comforting. I don't like it enough for a bottle, but I'm keeping my imp.

I was looking forward to this scent not only because frankincense has really grown on me, but because I wanted to figure out exactly how myrrh smells, and now I think that I know. On top, there's the slightly sharp, cedary spice of frankincense, and below that is a warm, soft, sweet, dark smell that must be the myrrh. This combination is simple and beautiful, and feels calm and content. I think that this is my favorite of all the frankincense blends that I've tried so far. edit: It appears that I've spoken too soon. After a while, most of the frankincense disappears so I'm only left with myrrh, which I like, but liked with the frankincense more. Since it's so simple, however, I imagine that it would work very well with layering to deepen other blends. edit again: Well, I don't care that the frankincense fades out before the myrrh. It stays long enough. I love this and I'm going to get a 5mL in my next order.

This started out as a boozy, spicy almond, but once it dried, it turned into nothing but clove on my skin. I like clove, but obviously this blend isn't working on me if nothing else is showing up. While it was wet, it was a fun, outgoing, spicy scent, like a more playful version of Black Phoenix and a less floral version of Seraglio, so hopefully that will be helpful to those of you who are considering this scent.

This is a light, floral musk with just a bit of creamy lemon. I don't get any sandalwood, and I'm not sure that I can find the vanilla. Zephyr is very soft and pretty, just what I was expecting from its name. It's similar to Dorian, but doesn't have the citrusy tang. I think that I prefer Dorian, but I'll use up my imp of Zephyr.

This smells just like Sacred Whore of Babylon on me. Good in the imp, but straight magnolia with something burning underneath once it's on my skin. The burning thing fades and a sharp spice comes out instead. It's getting better, but I don't like how my skin is amping up the floral aspects. I think I just need to stay away from heavy florals; they drown out everything else on me.

Wow, I really like this one. It's extremely dark, spicy, and musky. I recognize the red musk from Spellbound, and although I don't know what saffron smells like, there's definitely an exotic quality to it. It has the same feel as Black Phoenix, but isn't as sweet. I was sad about Snake Oil not working on me, but this makes up for it. I'll wear it when I want to feel intimidating!

This is heavy on the mint and juniper for me. It starts out very strong and somewhat bitter on my skin. After a while, it calms down somewhat and becomes sweeter, but an odd waxy note emerges too. Overall, it's too intense for me. I was hoping for the creamy mint that another review mentioned. If a strong, invigorating mint blend sounds right to you, perhaps Undertow will be your thing.

Oh no, this doesn't work with my chemistry at all. From the description, the rose, fig, vanilla, tonka, and coffee sounded wonderful. I love all those notes in other blends, except for cofffee, which I hadn't tried before but love the smell of in general. Jasmine is the one note that I don't much care for, so of course it takes over the entire blend once I put it on. The coffee is there, but it's bitter and burnt. After a while, the vanilla/tonka emerges and sweetens this up a bit, but not enough. This one is just not for me, unfortunately.

This is similar to The Apothecary (citrus and herbal), but also creamy and with a slight vanilla scent that makes it better, in my opinion. It's definitely an artful deception; if I met Dorian Gray, I wouldn't suspect his dark secret, based on this blend. It's too light and pretty for that, while still managing to feel gender neutral. I may buy a big bottle of this sometime.

The lab was nice enough to toss in a free imp with my order. I smell citrus, some kind of light floral, and maybe a bit of light musk. It's refreshing and uplifting. Sometimes when I sniff it, I get a cake batter scent. Other times, it has a perfumy quality, but I don't mind that in this case. This isn't really a "me" scent, but I can't wear all my heavy, exotic scents during the stupid heat of the summer, so I will probably keep my imp for that purpose. I imagine that this will be received well when it's finally released.

I'm very picky about florals, but the description tempted me into an imp. I like the fruit and violet aspects of this scent, but the jasmine (if that's what it is) goes rather cloying on me. Initially, there was a sharp, blood-like scent, but thankfully that's faded. This is a dark, sophisticated scent, but the night-blooming florals are a bit too heavy on me. I'm discovering that I tend to only like florals if they have something resinous or spicy to accompany them, and unfortuntely the incense hasn't shown up yet. If you're looking for a dark jasmine blend, this would probably be a good choice.

This one is shifting around quite a bit on me. Sometimes I can smell citrus/ginger, sometimes cinnamon, sometimes tea. Sometimes it's light and cool, sometimes it's spicy. Overall, this is exotic without being heavy or overpowering. It would be great for summer. I can't really pick out any individual notes, but I like it a lot.

At first, this is a really great spicy scent with a lot of depth. Once it dries, however, the spices fade and what appears to be my archenemy, honey, comes out. Honey hates me and turns beautiful-in-the-imp blends into burning swamp plastic on my skin. Obviously, this is a problem with my chemistry and not the perfume. Snake Oil was very sexy and exotic until the honey showed up. I wish this worked on me. Edit, half a year later: For some reason, I had a hankering for more Snake Oil, so I tracked down an imp. I don't know how old it was, but it certainly worked better on me. It smelled just how I remembered it, but the gross plastic note didn't show up this time. Now I love it and I have a bottle with the neat Carnival Noir label.

I had never heard of a dirt perfume before, but the idea immediately appealed to me. I was expecting something dark and somber from the description, but Nosferatu is light and airy while still definitely being dirt and wine. It's like a fun vampire with a wry and cheerful sense of humor. I love how this smells, but it also seems like it's a quick fader. If turning my imp into a spray makes it last longer, I may get a bottle of this. edit: It still fades rather quickly, but I bought a 5mL anyway because I like it so much. I will just have to slather and reapply.

This was part of my first order because I liked the concept; I hadn't tried any BPAL and had no idea what any of the notes smelled like. I've since learned that lilies go soapy on me, and that opium kind of scares me. When I first put it on, the opium is most apparent. As it dries, the opium fades behind the florals. The lilies are actually working in this blend and not turning soapy. That's a pleasant surprise. Now a spice is showing up, and this is becoming a spicy, smoky floral. It doesn't make me feel energized at all, so it's definitely a good embodiment of its concept, but I'm not sure that I like the particular floral scent that I'm getting out of it. If you're into lilies, however, this is one to try.

Bordello starts off as fruity bubblegum and soap, but once it dries, it calms down into a darker, dusty plum scent. As it fades, it shifts between smelling like the dusty plum and lip gloss. I should say that I don't know how my skin handles fruit yet, since this is my first predominantly fruity scent. I don't think that this will be a big bottle for me, but I like it enough to keep the imp around for further testing.

Throw another vote onto the pile for Dracul and Perversion. I think that Dracul is darkly sexy while Perversion is more playfully sexy. Others that I have found to be more or less unisexy: Haunted, Kali, Black Phoenix, and perhaps Masquerade.

Hellfire has a really nice smoky woods kind of scent. I haven't tried Brimstone, but the reviews mention campfires.

Sandalwood, I've discovered, isn't my most favorite note in the world; I tend to find it too thin and sharp. The wood in this, however, combines quite well with the grasses and flowers, which sweeten it, and the embalming herbs (or maybe the cajeput, not familiar with that one), which deepen it. As it dries, a subtle spice emerges and the sharpness lessens, making Shroud turn somewhat incense-like. Overall, this becomes a contemplative blend. It's mellow, but not entirely relaxed. If you're a fan of sandalwood, you should definitely try this. As for me, I won't get a bottle, but I'll use my imp. Another wonderful concept beautifully executed.

Magdalene and Machu Picchu have an airy quality to me. Nefertiti and Nemesis remind me of water without being strictly aquatic. I haven't tried many fiery blends, but Faustus could be the blue flame that burns when ghosts are around. Hellfire is like the smoke from a fire. The earthiest blends I've tried are probably The Caterpillar and Greed.

I imagine that it'll be pretty warm in Anaheim, so I would wear something light and refreshing, like Sea of Glass. If you go out to dinner after it's cooled off in the evening, then you could wear something fancier, like a darker berry scent or something with rose or amber.

On a sexy date, I would wear Black Phoenix, Darkness, Kali, or Spellbound. Those are the most seductive scents I've tried so far; at least, I would probably be seducted if I smelled someone wearing them.

This is an unusual scent. I don't know what actual hemlock smells like, but this one starts off like a christmas tree. This smells like what I imagine the coniferous tree hemlock (tsuga) would smell like, not the poisonous herb hemlock (conium maculatum). It smells sticky and evergreen and slightly sugary. After a while, it fades into a sort of herbal lemon candy, which is pleasant, but I don't think suits me as a perfume. It would probably make a wonderful holiday room scent, however. I'm glad that I was able to try this, thanks to a very generous swapper.

This one is dark, evergreen, and woody, a somewhat sharp, masculine scent. I also have a hard time smelling this one, for some reason. There's a faint spiciness; maybe that's the frankincense, which I wish were more apparent. The scent as a whole loses its sharp evergreen note after a while and becomes warmer and spicier. I like wearing masculine scents, but this one is a tad too masculine/foresty for me. I like it though, so I'll keep the imp for my boyfriend. edit: My hairless cat is rubbing her face on my arm again. I guess she approves of this scent!