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.

I wanted to love this, I really did. All the reviews sounded incredible and I was so hopeful that it'd finally be a pumpkin that I can wear - with the added bonus of coffee! So I was really excited when it arrived in the mail yesterday. In the imp, it was everything I thought it would be - a rich, spicy pumpkin-y latte and it smelled delicious. The second I put it on though, it was the loud, buttery over-ripened pumpkin I get from every other BPAL pumpkin scent. I resisted the urge to immediately wash it off though because I desperately wanted it to work and I was hoping maybe it would settle down after a few minutes. But hours went by and my husband kept asking what smelled so rancid. I had to finally wash it off. I'm going to give the imp a few days to rest and then try it again and hopefully, it will be as lovely for me as it is for everyone else.

My husband has a bottle of this thanks to a lovely person who picked it up at Comic Con for me. Anyhow, in the bottle it smells exactly like freshly mowed grass out on the fairway which means it makes me sneeze. That doesn't stop him from wearing it though. He loves it and wears it often. On him, it goes slightly sweet after a while which takes the edge off the grassiness but it still manages to keep that nature-y vibe to it overall. I tell him it's taking pity on my allergies, hee.

In the bottle, I smell cake and ... hmm, I can't quite place what else. Once it's on though, it turns from cake into something boozy - like there was rum in those cupcakes! It actually stays all boozy on me for a while. Half hour - forty-five minutes in, it morphs into - why yes, those are cupcakes and maybe a smattering of frosting. But these aren't your Wonderland light and fluffy cupcakes, nope. They're of a more sinister variety. There's definitely something dark under all that sugar. Finally, it wears down into this really warm blend of cake, rum, and something resinous almost - not entirely edible, but it smells pretty dang good.

I received my imp at the Dark Delicacies Trunk Show. In the imp: Overwhelmingly egg noggy, but it's different from the 2007 version. Are they sure there's any cinnamon sugar cookies in there? Wet: Egg nog? What egg nog? There's nothing but sweet, nommy cookies on my wrist. Dry: The cookies make room for the egg nog since let's face it, you have to have something to wash them down with. Mmm. It adds a creamy depth to it and goodness, it's gorgeous. This is Christmas as I remember it from my childhood. Christmas Eve at my grandparents, sugar cookie crumbs dropping all over our gifts as we open them because we can't be bothered to finish our sweets first, the inviting smell of nog as mugs of it are passed around the room, Bing Crosby singing White Christmas from the record player. Why oh why was this not a Yule? I need a 5ml of this now! I adore this so so much. It's safe to say I heart my imp and will treasure it muchly.

In the bottle: Sweet, sweet, sugar. It's a little effervescent, a little purple. I think I just gave myself a cavity. Wet: It's candy all right. This pomegranate is swimming in an ocean of sugar while the black currant candies are splashing about. I don't know where the pear or apple are at; maybe they've drowned? Drydown: The sugar recedes a bit and now I get pear, similar to the one in the Perilous Parlor, which is one of my favorite scents. The pomegranate's there too, but I only can pick up a hint of it behind the black currant candies. The apples apparently didn't get an invitation to this party, which is sad since I love the BPAL apple notes. Overall: I really like this scent. When I tried this at the DD Trunk Show, I absolutely had to have it because of its sweetness factor (even though my hubby doesn't care for this one at all. Oh well, he doesn't have to wear it ). It's not one I'll wear everyday; just on days when I'm longing for a toothache. This is a perfect birthday/binge scent.

In the bottle: A forest in a bottle. Fantastic. Wet: As soon as it goes on, all I smell are trees: balsam fir, cedar. A little bit of sage as well, but overall, just trees. I love the woods. I love the mountains. I wish I had a log cabin. *digresses* Drydown: About a half hour in and the juniper berry and clove show up, mixing famously with my forest. There might even be a smidge of black cherry in there and a clean bit of aloe, but it's fleeting and wow, this smells great. I bet it would smell fantastic on the hubby. Overall: I truly enjoy this scent. It's mountain-y enough to satiate my desire to go all Paul Bunyan and build my own log cabin at the foot of a mountain on the edge of a lake up in the cool, crisp mountains of Oregon (really, I need new dreams, I do). It works great as a unisex scent, woodsy enough for a guy but berry/spicy enough for a woman.

In the imp: Just like apricot brandy. Ooh, this could be good. Wet: EW. The apricot has gone and all I'm left with now is the paint-peeling smell of alcohol. Apricot, I hope you come back! Drydown: No change. Still the nasty smelling alcohol, almost vodka-ish, the cheap kind, and ugh. I think I'm gonna have to wash this off. I cringe every time I catch a whiff of it. Not good. Overall: Had to wash it off. I'm so disappointed. It smelled great in the imp and I was excited to try it but the apricot refused to return and I was stuck smelling like a distillery. Good thing this was a frimp. Off it goes to swaps!

In the imp: Fruity and flowery and oh so very girly. Wet: The heather is strongest at first, dusky and soft. It's gorgeous on it's own. I can't foresee much throw with this one. Drydown: The blackberry makes an appearance and mmmmm, this is smelling better and better. It mixes beautifully with the heather, creating something that's out of the ordinary and quite poetic in the simplest of ways. The throw, as predicted, is not strong at all. In fact, it's rather weak, but I don't mind keeping this one close to me. Overall: I'm going to have to buy a bottle of Glasgow. The simplicity and subtleness of it has completely won me over. It's delicate and feminine without the need to bathe in the obvious and pungent rose/floral scents. It's a perfect light, springtime scent.

In the bottle: Smoky apple cider. Oh wow. I could totally drink this right now. Wet: Apples, apples, and more apples. But in a sweet, spicy, cider-y way. I can't pick out the sassafras beer, but hey, there's some of the smoldering firewood. Yum. It's just like sitting on your front porch during a cool autumn night, drinking hot spiced cider and watching kids jump into piles of dried leaves next to a campfire. Drydown: Very much the same as wet. The smells alternate between this delicious apple cider smell to the smoky scent of charred firewood and roasted apples. There might even be a leaf in there somewhere. It's absolutely stunning. Overall: One of my favorite autumn scents. After smelling this in my imp, I immediately knew I needed a larger bottle. Gah, why didn't I buy a second bottle? My daughter absolutely loves this one as well and often asks to wear it. All in all, a gorgeous scent that has me huffing my wrists and wishing for a hot cup of cider right now.

In the bottle: Mmm. Vanilla, thick and luscious, with a hint of something floral. Wet: I am in heaven with this scent. The vanilla is strong, but it's not a fake vanilla smell, it's thick and creamy and has so much more body to it than your other run-of-the-mill factory branded vanilla smells. It's divine. Drydown: Not much change, thank god. The vanilla is delightfully complex, smoky at times (is that weird) and sweet and creamy at others. There's just the faintest hint of Dragon's blood resin in the background, but all my body seems to love is the vanilla and it's totally mutual. Overall: LOVE THIS. Originally I had claimed that Tiki Queen was going to be my signature scent but this? This one trumps Tiki Queen. So glad I took a chance and purchased this one unsniffed. I'm even more thrilled this one is a GC because I will be wearing this for many many many years to come.