CynicalPink

I have a feeling that patchouli is going to make or break this scent Imp: Warm and crisp at the same time. Feels "golden" Wet: Ooo! This is really nice. It's pretty but with a warm, earthy edge that doesn't involve a dirt note Drydown: Golden and warm! This is what I was hoping I'd get out of the Lion. Rose taking a backseat to the amber and gardenia. The crispness must be the white tea. None of patchouli's scent ruining qualities are showing up. Overall: I love it! Right to the bottle auditions. I can see getting a lot of wear out of this in the spring and fall.

Disclaimer: I am a lavender evangelist, so this is a biased review Imp: Dr. Bronner's lavender liquid soap. Mmmmm... Wet: Same as above. Anyone who uses that soap will know what I'm talking about. It's very clean feeling and definitely LAVENDER in ALLCAPS Drydown: Still LAVENDER with an eensy weensy bit of bergamont. Personally, I love it Overall: I love it but, as stated in the disclaimer, I'm really biased. Seriously, if you're on the fence about this one, ask yourself "Would I wear a lavender single note?" If the answer is yes, this will be better than that. If you're "meh" about lavender, seriously don't count on the bergamont to save it for you. With Age: It's been over a year now, and it's still very strong lavender. The bergamont is slightly more noticeable in the wet stage than before, but this blend still has a tendency to fade after about 2 hours. Age hasn't given it much more staying power

Imp: Minty fresh. I'd swear I've had a drink that smelled like this Wet: Minty and aquatic. Very interesting. Drydown: Actually starting to smell sort of green. ::time passes:: Okay but no. This scent is not meshing on me at all. If it were just a bit more blended, I think it'd work out but...something just unsettling about it on me

Decant from a swap! Decided to take a walk out of my usual "floral and foody" comfort zone. Never know what'll surprise you! Imp: Mmmm. Soothing herbs Wet: Yay! A nice cedar! Something creamy too. Definitely getting the herbs. Drydown: I was really not expecting the creaminess. I guess that's the sandalwood, which has a problem of going marshmallow-y when not held down by other notes. The cedar and herbs do a fine job of it. The "lunar herbs" are very cooling. Overall: I'm conflicted. It's a *really* nice scent. I'm just wondering how often I'd wear it. I guess the best thing to do is put it in the imp pile and see if it gets used.

Imp: Grapefruit and smoothness of amber Wet: Bergamont, grapefruit and a surprisingly well behaved plum (tends to go sour on me) Dry: This is gorgeous. It's smooth and bright at the same time. Doesn't smell "fury"-ish at all. Really fills the nose, which I'm always looking for. And the amber's not going powdery! It's a miracle! Overall: I can see wearing this a lot. It's got enough complexity to be interesting, but it's not muddled. All the notes present themselves in time. It smells ladylike and sweet without turning to candy. I have a feeling that I will be picking up a bottle very soon!

No idea what's in this one, haven't read reviews. Imp: Wood-shop class Wet: Hamster bedding Dry: Hamster bedding and Pine-Sol I'm not going to give up on wood notes yet, but MAN this really went sideways. Very masculine, but needs skin that can handle cedar. I was expecting an amber-fest from the description and got none.

I love roses and I love pomegranates. I'd *really* like to find a non-old lady rose scent Imp: Tartness of pomegranate is holding back the powdery old lady vibe Wet: Pomegranate and rose. Hand in hand, neither overpowering each other Drydown: Well hell that didn't last long. Rose rose rosie roseroserose. And not a particularly nice one, either. Oh well.

Imp: Blood orange and something...weird. Not bad. That neroli? Wet: Something weird and cut grass about this scent. I'm not sold Drydown: It's kind of bitter on me, truth be told. I'm not getting anything fruity, I'm just getting...I don't even know what to call it. Yeah this is just not good at all. Overall: Swap Pile. Can't win 'em all.

Imp: No idea what lotus smells like, but this is fun. Very cheerful Wet: BUBBLEGUM! Yes the ALLCAPS are justified, trust me. Drydown: Okay this is really fun. I still don't know what lotus smells like, but if it smells like bubblegum it's got my vote. Nothing going sour, just sweet and a little kitchy. Overall: I complain about stuff smelling "too young" for me, but this just jumps right of the bell-curve in to funny and enjoyable. I'll put the imp in to my "bottle audition" pile for now and let's see where it goes from there.

Imp: Oooo. Apricot and musk. A little boozy Wet: Still nice. Very apricot heavy, but the musk gives it almost a green edge Drydown: A little apricot brandy-ish. Overall: Pretty sophisticated for a fruit scent. The apricot's a little boozy and just ends up with a sort of sour effect on my skin. If you like fruit, though, it's worth the try!

Imp: Nice and light on the lavender, little bit of rose, hint of musk Wet: Pretty! A really great lavender that doesn't get all medicinal. I just need to see if the rose will eat my arm. So far so good, though Drydown: Awesome! A rose scent I can wear without smelling like my Great Aunt Dorothy! The lavender and light musk are keeping things well in hand, so the whole effect is very classically pretty. Overall: If you've been hoping for a lavender scent that didn't smell like an astringent or a rose scent that didn't smell like an old timey sachet this one's for you!

Imp: Smells like straight up honey Wet: Cherries? Dry: Dana O'Shee with a cherry on top. I smell a little bit of the vanilla and some amber. The honey is keeping things very sweet. Overall: You know I'm really not sure. I feel like I need to give this one another test down the road. But right now, the overall impression is "meh." The amber is doing weird things to the honey scent and giving it a bit of an artificial smell. The vanilla is really nice, though. But still...cherries...where the eff did those come from? RETRY 3/19: Okay I was a bit hasty. O just needs more time on my skin than most oils to really hit it's stride. The new Chaos Theories made me want to give this a shot again and I'm happy to say this is smooth and tasty. Imps coming off the swap list and seeing how it fares on bottle auditions...also a possible chaos theory purchase since I'll be this would be a delicious base scent

Imp: Wow that's sweet. Maybe even too sweet, even for me! It smells a bit like every "country crafty" store I've ever been dragged in to by my mom Wet: Sweet Pea. That's it, really. Drydown: Okay this was *so* subtle that I actually had to put more on in order to get any kind of actual scent. I think I can find a little vanilla but...really it just smells like Sweet Pea Overall: I really enjoy a nice sweet pea scent. Aeval is one of my favorites, but this one just comes off so subtle that I can't smell it at all. When I put my nose to my wrist, I can smell vanilla there to keep it from getting soapy, but I can't find the amber at all. Not bad though. Just a little forgettable on me.

My Lovecraft nerdery continues... Imp: Smells like Limeade. I love limeade.... Wet: Oooh. Flowers. That was unexpected. It's so light and airy! Basically the last thing I would associate with a Shoggoth. Drydown: It's worth pointing out the coconut now, since it's decided to join the party. It's not like shaved coconut you'd eat with a dessert. This is the kind of coconut that goes in to really good Thai food. The whole scent is really creamy now. It's so funny that there are so many notes in this, because it's actually quite a light scent. Lily's really the only flower I'm picking up on, the lime is hanging in there, but the coconut meat is definitely in charge. Overall: I really like it! That's 3 Lovecraft scents tried, and I've been in no rush to get rid of any of them! This would be such a great summer scent! I should try more scents with coconut...

Eeeee! I've been coveting this scent since I first looked at the BPAL site and I finally get a decant! But I have to admit, the patchouli is scaring me. Imp: Mmmm...interesting. Can't quite make anything out, really. Musky, but sharp at the same time Wet: Oooo...smoky. But in a good way, not the "just blew out a candle now I'm choking" kind of smoke. The oil goes on thick, too Drydown: Only an emoticon will do - It's so dark and complex, but gorgeous at the same time. The smoother, smokier vanilla didn't work for me in Snake Oil, but here's it just right. The red musk is awesome (I'm a Mania lover, anyway), the plum is nice and subtle (for once on my skin) and even the dreaded patchouli is doing something good for the scent. It's not "pretty." That's not quite right. But it's got a really dark kind of beauty. As time goes by the "smokey" nature of the scent evens out and the more subtle notes really get time to shine. An awesome blend. Gotta get a full bottle Addendum: I just went to go wash it off my wrist so I could try out some other new acquisitions....yeah not so much. My arm still smells smokey. She's a clinger!

Disclaimer: I've tried this once before and was so taken aback I washed it off after only seconds. I got another imp of it from the lab, so I'm gonna take that as a sign that I should give it it's due. Greek mythology nerd that I am, here goes Imp: Yep. There's the root-beer from hell I remember... Wet: Not root beer. White birch beer. I had the stuff all the time when I went to school in central Pennsylvania. Nowhere near as bad as I remember. Drydown: Still birch beer Overall: Eh. It's not the demon scent I remembered, but it's not really my style. Interesting though. Not sure I'd call it foody, or spicy, or anything else. It just smells like Siren.

Imp: White tea? Check. Ginger? Double check. Spicy clean. Wet: No surprise. Just like in the imp Drydown: Very very sharp. I like the ginger well enough, and there's plenty of sweetness. but it's just not lighting my world on fire. Overall: I like a nice clean scent with the best of them, but this is just very bitey. It's by no means bad, just a little forgettable.

Imp: Mmm! Candy! Wet: Very soft and pretty. This is what I was hoping for with Belle Vinu but didn't get Drydown: Stays much the same. Soft and peachy with a nice candy scent. Where Belle Vinu is powdery with sandlewood on me, this stays pretty creamy. Overall: Winner! I've been looking for a nice, peachy sweet scent and I finally found it. Dunno about getting a bottle, but the imp's staying right here

Imp: SQUEE! I love the smell of tea! Wet: It's light! It's crisp! I think it's a winner! Drydown: It's so dainty! I love it! This would be the *perfect* summer scent...Or anytime, really! Overall: Love it, love it, love it! Crisp and clean with a beautiful complementary floral. This is totally going to be a bottle buy

Imp: Interesting. Reminds me of Bordello without the cherry Wet: A little sour, but still soft and pretty Drydown: MMmm plummy. Not getting any musk, but a teensy bit of carnation spice. Unfortunately, the plum stays a bit too sour for my tastes. the spicy carnation helps, but it's just not a wow. Overall: Meh. Not enough of a hook to make me get over the sour smell from the plum. I guess it needs some darker notes on my skin to smell right. Everything in this blend is very light and does nothing to hold the plum back

Imp: Christmas at first. Then...something interesting. Wet: Still a pine tree, but not like cleaning solution. Much more real. Drydown: Phase 1 - Oooo...Something sweet to go with the pine. Quite pretty, really! Phase 2: Have you ever smelled a pine cone? Like picked it up when it's fallen right of the tree and sniffed it? That's what I'm getting here. Still a sweetness in it, too. Phase 3: Even sweeter! This is NICE. I need to stop being so shocked at liking "earthy" scents... Overall: What a nice surprise! I don't think it's an imp I'll be reaching for all too often, but I'm reluctant to send it to the swap pile. A definite recommendation for anyone who wants to give a "woodsy" scent a try but doesn't want to smell like a lumberjack. Unexpectedly feminine.

Disclaimers: (1) I have a seriously messed up relationship with the tobacco smell. For one thing, I have a few smokers in my family so as weird as it sounds tobacco is sort of a comfort scent to me. Reminds me of my dad. (2) The only other tobacco-y scent I've tried was the Antiketheira Mechanism which when to dime store cigar box very quickly. (3) I'm a sucker for really complex scents. Alright let's do this Imp: Woah. "Complex" doesn't even begin to cover it. I'll just go with "a jumble of manly scent" Wet: Mandarin, tonka, tobacco, herbs, and saffron. Wow. Drydown: Phase 1 - Mandarin is beating down some of the complexity. It's a bit licorice-like too. I...I kinda like it. Even weirder...it's clearing out my sinuses! I might have to hang on to the imp just for that. Something tells me it's the saffron and herbs giving the citrus that nose clearing edge. I still get some herbs and musk, but I never did find that coco. Overall: Okay this is one of those scents I was taking a gamble on. Nothing about this scent looked like something I would buy, so of course I swapped for it. I'm so surprised. It's really good! After about half an hour the mandarin calmed down to give it a sharp, musky scent that's a bit on the masculine side but totally wearable for me. I'm in no rush to get rid of this one.

In the bottle: I can't tell one wood note from another, so all I can say is "woodsy." No flowers to be found Wet: For a brief second, downright manly. The wood notes are still the key players, but you can find some of the flowers now, though again I couldn't tell one from the other. Dry: It takes its sweet time, but once you let it really set in, the field of wildflowers comes out. And it's not foofy pretty pretty floral. It's flowers as they grow in a forest, not a florist's. Nevertheless, the wood note jubilee is still dominant all the way to the end. Overall: Very very sharp on the nose, especially at first. It took me ages to figure out if I liked Arkham or not and in the end I bought a bottle. It's floral without the fuss. The funny thing is, I can go ages without even looking at this bottle but then suddenly I'll have a day where only Arkham will do. I'm glad I have it since it smells like nothing else I've ever worn.

Imp: Completely herbal. No signs of rose. Wet: Everything goes off at once. On me, the grape spirit amps right away and stays in charge for about 20 minutes before letting the other notes have a voice Drydown: Once the grape backs off, it's like a really good chord - grape, rosemary, and citrus. The mint is extremely subtle and so are the roses, thankfully since most rose notes eat my arm and kill everything else. Overall: This is me shilling for my favorite scent. It was the first imp I tried from my first ever order and it's been my go-to perfume ever since. It just works on me. One of those lucky things where the notes you really love just play well with your chemistry. It's deep, complex, and a bit aristocratic: Exactly what I was looking for. Again, it's my all time fave so this review is totally biased

Imp: Mmmm...I love cheesecake. This reminds me of the smell of the cheesecake ice-cream and Cold Stone more than something I'd get at Junior's but I love it all the same. Wet: Where cheesecake go? Drydown: Mmmmm...no more cheesecake, but delicious graham cracker crust with some vanilla-strawberry icing coming in from somewhere. Overall: I love a nice foody smell. This one is great for days when I'm baking something for myself or just want a nice comfort smell. Glad I got it!