hereunto

Imp: White tea! Flowers! It's a very pale, white scent. Skin: I was little nervous about the vetiver, but it's barely there. It's more of a strong floral-white tea scent on me, and there's a bit of hibicus to warm it up but not enough to overpower it. It almost has an aquatic quality to it, like the tea is still steeping. It's really lovely but alas, not me.

Imp: I won't lie. I cringed. I didn't want to put it on my skin. It smelled of strong, strong booze. Skin: It sweetens and softens a little upon application. I was hoping it would soften by A LOT because it was so strong and it did soften a lot but it wound up turning sour. It has the same sour tobacco smell as in Champagne and Cigars. Pass.

Imp: Holy herbal peppermint, batman. Yikes! Skin: Peppermint cat pee. I've never had a scent turn to cat pee on me before. This is sad. I was hoping there would be more lavender but no. It's also kind of headache inducing. It reminds me of chewing straight mint leaves before it winds up as Windex. So disappointed in this.

Imp: The scent changes on each sniff - whiffs of peach, then currant, then honeysuckle, then vetiver. I'm guessing this one is going to be a morpher. Skin: Sweet and fruity, and very very juicy. It kind of makes e want to gnaw my arm. I can't hep feeling like I've smelled this before though. Wish I could place it. And despite my guess that it would morph, it pretty much stays true to it's original application. Thank goodness too, since vetiver can be hit or miss with my allergies. Not me but again, glad I got to try it.

Imp: Ooo. I don't think I've smelled anything like this before. It's intriguing and I want to keep sniffing it. Skin. God, I love this. It would smell awesome on my hubby. Dark and just the right amount of booze splashed onto some cozy wool. And there's leather, bit it's not in the forefront like in other blends, it's subtle. The bark and opium residue lend a hand at keeping it from turning musty. Mmmm. An hour and a half later, this turns into cafe latte on me with some gingerbread biscotti on the side. It smells delicious but I was kind of hoping it would keep it's awesomeness from before. Still would buy a bottle though. I have that much love for it.

Imp: Black musk and geranium and it's potent upon opening. I foretell this either giving me a headache or going straight to baby powder on me as black musk is wont to do. Skin: Huh. Nuts. *sniffs arm* *checks note list* *sniffs again* Yep. Nuts. Bizarre. It gets two points for not giving me a headache but not something I would buy.

Imp: Stone-y and cool. The stone note always smells melony to me. Skin: Stoney, cool, and melony, same as the imp. It's not a bad thin and is actually really pretty. My hubby usually prefers the stone scents for himself, but I can't see him wearing this one. And this one doesn't morph at all. Not for me, but I'm glad I got to try it.

Imp: Kind of bitter. I was expecting a more golden scent, maybe a little green, but not bitter. I'm worried. Skin: Are they sure there's clove in here? I'm not getting any at all and I usually amp the stuff a bit (which is okay because I love clove). And leather? Where are you? It's mostly sage softened up by amber. It's pretty and I like it a lot, but it's also a little strange as well. I wish I could smell the other components. Oh well. Maybe my skin ate them or they're off having a party somewhere and forgot to invite me.

Imp: This is gorgeous. I'm not getting any honey but everything else is beautiful. I wasn't expecting this. Skin: It smells almost identical to Dorian at first application on my skin, which isn't a bad thing because I love Dorian. It morphs into something of a Dorian and Black Lace lovechild and it's beautiful. Comforting, sweet, warm, and ooo, I bet this would smell dynamite with Floating Market. I keep telling myself I don't need a bottle of this since I already have Dorian and Black Lace but my nose goes . I don't know that I believe me. Hee.

Imp: A warm golden smell. I'm definitely picking up citrus rind. Kind of like orange rind, freshly peeled. Skin: This gets a little sweeter at first application. It's still very citrus-rindy with something that's almost menthol-like and woody. It's an odd combination but I'm loving it so far. I think this would make a great room scent. It totally smells like a tchotchkie shop I used to visit with my mom when I was little. After about an hour, the citrus is all gone and I'm left with spices. It's a very interesting scent that I really enjoy, but I think it makes a better room scent than a body one.

Imp: Earthy patchouli and only earthy patchouli. I wasn't sure I wanted to test this one but it had to be done. Skin: I don't get any leather at all, just faint lemongrass, tang of sage, and LOTS of patchouli. It is very earthy and dirty, like a rat running through weed-infested gardens. I'm betting if there had been vanilla in this, it would have been right on par with Banshee Beat or pretty dang close. The scent quiets quickly and winds up sweetening a lot. It actually isn't as earthy as before at all. Well I'll be. I'm really loving this after all. Who would have thunk it?

In the imp, this is totally reminding me of another BPAL scent. Dang it. Swiss cheese never fails me. Anyway, it's definitely smells more resinous than herb-y. On my skin, it does a total 180. The resins fade to barely a whisper and the herbs come barging out of the barn, all flailing arms and legs, screaming at the top of their lungs to love it except I don't. I was hoping it would become more complex and deeper as the it dried but alas, twas not to be. My husband would love this one for himself though. It's right up his alley.

This might sound a little crazy, but in the imp, it smells like a combination of the scents they use in Soaring Over California at DCA. Take all those smells - the forests, the orange groves, the ocean spray, etc, - jumble it all together and this is the smell you would have. On the skin though, this is vastly VASTLY different. Honey, I've found recently, is very much hit or miss on me. This one is a definite hit. It's sweet but not overly so and avoids turning to urine or sour or sour urine. The leather must be tempering it well. This kind of smells like quick, dirty sex. And wow, okay. An hour into it, the leather starts amping. Why hello there Leather! How are you? How have you been? It's lots of sweet, sweet leather. Not something I'd wear to my grandma's 80th birthday but it's definitely something I'd throw on for special occasions and date nights. So happy to try this!

In the imp, it reminds me of a perfume my grandma used to buy but I really couldn't tell you what it was since I have the memory of swiss cheese. On my skin, it's super musky and heavily spicy. Within a couple of minutes it turns to sour BO on me which means the frankincense decided it didn't like me this time. Metal? What metal? There's no metal. I was going to wait to see if it was just a bad stage it was going through or if it would stay as nasty BO but thirty minutes later and it's like I never wore it. Ah well. For the best, I think. This one just isn't me.

Red musk, vanilla bean, pomegranate, patchouli leaf and wild plum. I bought a bottle of this unsniffed because of all the glowing reviews I've read. When she first arrived, I was so excited to FINALLY smell the hype ... and I was a little disappointed. At first. I know better by now not to form opinions based on first sniff alone. What in the bottle smells overwhelmingly of red musk and patchouli morphs into a gorgeous spicy pomegranate-plum hanging with her patchouli leaf friend on my skin. It's phenomenal (and always puts the hubby in the mood when I wear it). My only complaint is that I wish she hung around longer. My skin seems to love her as much as I do. I wasn't expecting to love the Madame this much, but I do. Boy do I ever. She's become my go-to scent and I've already ordered a back-up bottle from the lab. Somehow I think a few more might find their way to me before the Carnaval leaves for good. I can't be without her.