wildeblack

I've worn rose with patchouli for years and gotten many compliments. Perhaps a rosewater rinse? Or, maybe something with vanilla.

I did a quick search on the BPAL site, asking for scents in the spice family that also had vanilla. This one popped up and since it has Orange Blossom, I thought it might be suitable. Even the name is kind of related since Plaisir is french for pleasure. Hunger: Evokes sheer, unadulterated carnal lust. An undeniably warm and sensual scent. Black narcissus, orange blossoms, and vanilla. (Gender neutral) There's also Zephyr: A gentle white scent, breezes laced with the scent of springtime blooms and citrus. Lemon, lemon verbena, neroli, white musk, white florals, white sandalwood, China musk, bergamot and a drop of vanilla. Bergamot, lemon, lemon verbena and neroli are all citrus-y scents I've not tried either of them yet, someone else might be able to do better with suggesting things. I'd suggest check out the reviews section.

I really, really wish that I had liked this one. Unfortunately, it's one of the first ones that even in the imp I kind of had an ick reaction. :/ Imp: Anybody remember the old formula jergen's lotion? That's what this smelled like plus some cherry cough medicine. It's very strong, syrupy, with a bitterness underneath it to my nose. Jergen's Lotion was cherry almond, so I'm guess this is cherry, almond and some darker wood note or possibly a dragon's blood blend. Wet: Gamely I tried it since many scents change once on the body. Still cherry almond darkness. Some of the fragrance I'm associating with medicine fades once it hits the skin so it's more hmm. It's also giving me a headache. Dry: Okay, the cherries to me smell sweeter, perhaps a little more like ...I dunno cherry body powder or cherry bubblegum but whatever it is that's giving me a headache just won't quit. Still darker and resinous. Later: This one obviously does not have my name on it. I had to go wash it off and that didnt' quite do it. My loss is someone else's gain however.

Nocturne is one of the first scents I obtained by imp and is one of my favorites as you see by my signature line. The violets to me are not opressive but just a soft whispy slightly sad smell that mingles beautifully with the lilac and tuberose. I tend to think of Beethoven or Chopin when I smell this. Anyone see Immortal Beloved? Right, on with the review. In the imp: If the color "violet" had a scent, this would be it which I guess is appropriate since violets are a component and the color name came from the flower. I think of a big moon and a piano and starcrossed lovers and a garden with masses of lilacs overgrowing its walls. Wet: This is one that I really pretty much slathered on where usually I dab. The fragrance comes on pretty strong, and I bet for some it smells like "old lady" depending on what things smell like little blue-haired women to them. It's a little bit powdery but not intensely so, the main thing I'm smelling is the lovely lilac fragrance. More purple! Drying: The strength is fading and the color sense I'm getting is more very pale purple rather than a more intense shade. The sadness seems deeper and a bit more woody than previous but otherwise, it's still holding beautifully. Later: This fades on me but my skin rarely holds a fragrance for more than a few hours. Reapplying wasn't a problem for me since I loved the precious purple lilac yummy romance of the blend. Aces from me.

The thing I always try to do with the imps I've bought so far is look at the notes and then guess if it might be for me. Manila was one of those. From the outset, I wasn't so sure about the banana leaf which I suspected would smell very banana. I like banana but I'm very much in the non-foody camp when it comes to perfumes. So with that in mind, here's my review. Initial sniff: Yep, there's that banana. It's very strong to my nose and in fact, I put this one aside for a while and went back to it a few days later. There's also something that I'm interpreting as "green" and something else that smells like pineapple to me. Wet: Still very banana and tropical. Would be great as a tanning lotion or something like that. It's not at all a bad kind of smell, in a cake or something it'd be delish, just not the kind of scent I like to wear. Huh, can't seem to think of much else to say about it which is unusual for me. Drying: A metamorphosis is taking place. The sweet banana and pineapple is burning off and I'm getting more spice, a little more herbal. The spice is what attracted me to the scent so I'm happy about that. I keep taking little whiffs of the scent and I do get the visualization in my mind of just hanging around in a hammock under the banana trees with maybe a pineapple frozen drink in one hand - but without any coconut - and this spicy warm breeze blowing. Very relaxing. Later: The banana remains but is now an undernote to the spicy green scent. Then the whole thing fades on me. Le sigh. Overall, I liked the scent if only it didn't fade and if the banana- pineapple didn't last quite so long. Swap pile!

Can I just get verification? A box that is 3 inches high on the inside would hold either 5ml or 10 ml bottles? And they are about an inch wide? So a box six or seven inches wide would have room for at least 2 rows of bottles and then imps? I'm looking at some old cigar boxes, the wood kind, and decorating them for storage as others have done and want to make sure these are going to be worth it.

I'm still new at this but here are some of my suggestions. I have a passion for roses and tend to dislike "foody" scents so I may have a different take than some. Ophelia goes in the light white rose slightly haunting category for me. Eternal and Nocturne are two more in the lighter scents to me. I prefer Nocturne slightly over Eternal and I'd say they both have a bit more of a foresty-garden-y scent than some of the others. I have't smelled Snake Oil or Dorian yet but on me, O has the slightest bit of an unpleasant musk about it that may be too much for someone who isn't in that sex bomb mood so I'd recommend probably Snake Oil for a first time tryer outer. I'd recommend either Alice or the Dormouse for your foody-ish scent. Leanan Sidhe might be a nice alternative choice for a spicy, musky fragrance. There's also Hemlock or Absinthe as opposed to Embalming Fluid. And finally, I adore Iambe. *g*

Hmm. As in my review of "Temple of Dreams" my main interest in this scent was the use in helping me sleep. I received this as an lj purchase and it was a decant. In the imp: The main thing, nearly the only thing I can smell is lavender. Lots and lots of lavender. Traditionally, lavender is a scent that relaxes the mind and probably the brain itself since the nerves that register scent travel far back into the brain itself. I regularly spray my sheets and pillows with lavender water. There is a small amount of an herbal scent backing up the lavender, I'm thinking either lemongrass or juniper but really the lavender is nearly overwhelming. Wet: The scent is the same, lavender and a bit of a deep rich herbal. Makes me think of sleeping in a bower somewhere lined with leaves. Delightful. Dry: Unfortunately I really have no idea what this smells like because I too was asleep by then and it was gone when I awoke. Overall Impression: Definitely helps with the relaxation and mind stillness that is needed for dreamless sleep. However, I really found the lavender almost overpowering and I think I'll stick with Temple of Dreams for now.

Bugger. I really wanted to like this simply because hey, Unicorns! I won't copy the official description again but, here's my review. Origin: Purchased on LJ, is a labeled decant. In the Imp: Something very refreshing hits my nose, a little minty or perhaps juniperish at first, with white flowers underlying. So far so good. Wet: Pretty much just the same as above with the white flowers coming through a bit more. I do get a picture of a misty meadow in my mind with maybe a waterfall at one end and a stream running through it. Just the sort of place that Unicorns might live. *g* Drydown: There's something very familiar about this scent that makes me think of haircare products for some reason. It's a very pleasant fragrance, maybe a little childish but still lovely but I can't get that familiar - haircare thing out of my head. *thud* This one goes back in the swap pile for me. *sigh*

Temple of Dreams I got this either as a swap or in a purchase through ebay/lj. It was on my list simply because I liked the description and because sleep is an important issue to me. Let me say that I am an insomniac and have chronic pain. I mention this because I think it helps explain what I liked about this remarkable oil. In the bottle: When I first opened the bottle, the overpowering scent is rosemary with other sharp herbs. Rosemary is often an herb used in aromatherapy and healing techniques for cleansing, balancing, grounding and it hit me immediately as a pleasant if somewhat medicinal smell. I was somewhat hesitant about it because I wasn't so sure if I was going to like this scent on my body but I did feel a sense of well-being steal over me just by smelling it in the little imp. I dabbed it on sparingly. On my skin: A most marvelous metamorphosis seems to take place. The herbal scent is almost gone, merely a delightful memory of peacefulness. Instead there's a sweetish, spicy, citrus smell overtaking the herbal scent. This is definitely one to wait for the transformation. Worn all night: I am not one to remember my dreams and the night I used this, there were a lot of things on my mind, spiritually and otherwise. I fell asleep much more quickly than I usually do and I remembered at least bits and pieces of several dreams. Mostly I just felt rested and that the answers to the things I was concerned about would come to me in their own time. I have very dry skin so almost no fragrance will last very long on me. I usually have to reapply every 3 to 4 hours. This scent lulled me into sleep but had faded by the time I awoke. By the way, now I slather it on and am ordering another imp, possibly a 5ml in the future.

Hmm. I had ...well, weirdness I guess with O. On the surface, the honey and vanilla with that little bit of something darker and sexier was wonderful. Yet, there was something else, I suppose the scent of sex that people keep talking about that to me was ...acrid. What clinched it was when my roommate who normally can't smell the broad side of a cow asked me, "What is that? It smells weird." LOL. I am not happy that it didn't work for me because I liked it at first, just not on me.