TheLetterL

Stayed true to the lab description. I get lots of buttercup when it's wet. Morphs quickly into a warm/sunny honeysuckle with a touch of jasmine. Very much the smell of being outdoors in spring. Beautiful! I feel both perkier and calmer when wearing it.

I'm one of those who gets all sweet pea, no carnation from Desdemona. Very, very sweet floral without being...bright? It's fresh, but it's definitely watery. I was profoundly "Meh" about it until I asked my mother what she thought and she immediately said bathroom spray. Off to a more loving home. Luckily, it smells beautiful on a friend of mine.

A friend passed this along to me. She got it for the honey but ended up disliking it. My skin amped something like crazy from the moment of contact. I suspect it was the benzoin...maybe the mysterious unguents? LOL Whatever it was, my skin turned the volume up to 11 on this one. It took several hours for this to mellow. (Again, benzoin, I'm looking in your direction.) I ended up with soft, spicy, a little honey...eight hours later. The red musk may have made an appearance at some point, but my only other experience with that note is in Kabuki, which goes in a totally different direction. Couldn't pick caramel out of a line-up, so I'm no help there. I remember thinking "Nice. Nice scent, but not...pretty." Feminine but not girly, I guess. I asked one co-worker what she thought, and she said "Incense?" Maybe the mysterious unguents did end up being part of the equation. Another co-worker perked up as I walked by and said I smelled like lemons. He meant it in a good way, I think. Overall: Keeping the imp, not planning to order more.

I've never associated a smell with a color, but...Hermia is magenta and jungle green in my head. In the bottle and wet, it's got a fruity juiciness to it. I'm not a fan of fruit, so I was happy that it faded. It's a sweet floral with pink pepper to make it spunky and amber to keep it from being to sticky-sweet. One of my faves to date! (And for the record, I'm 4'10" )

I found Magdalene to be a less frilly cousin of my grandmother's signature scent, Estee Lauder's Beautiful. She passed away recently, so this one gets a pretty deep emotional response from me. Associations aside, I don't think this will be a big bottle. Seems like a floral for a mature lady...maybe that's the resin talking?

As others have said, this one doesn't stay around long. My skin seemed to soak up everything except a fruity lily smell. Unfortunately, not my cup of tea.

"O" wow! I am floored. I dislike sugary food scents and am hesitant about amber, so I didn't expect to adore O so much! There's a sweet fruitiness in the bottle that is a turn off for me, but I don't get any of that once it's on. Instead, it's perfect. The amber keeps the vanilla and honey in line. It lasts forever, too. Is it sexy? Well...on the one hand, it doesn't scream "SEX!" on me. On the other hand, I couldn't stop sniffing my wrists for the entire time I wore it. Will have to wear it strategically for research. ETA: No! No no no no noooo! Tried O again for a night out, and something was just...off. Was it the aging? The oil is certainly darker and stickier. Has my skin chemistry changed, maybe due to warmer weather or the truckload of anti-inflammatories I've been taking for my knee? It's still nice, but not knock-your-socks (or pants?)-off amazing. Previously my skin just slurped up the vanilla, but now it sticks around a little longer, which isn't a good thing for me. Makes it too sweet. The amber and honey are playing TOO nicely now, making the scent less interesting. Ah well. Worst case scenario is I like my O fresh. I'll just have to order imps instead of grabbing a big bottle, I guess.

Oh dear. Tried some fresh-from-the-lab Snake Oil, and it didn't go well. In fact, I scored the dreaded trifecta: Just on, I got Play Doh. Ten minutes later, a co-worker added, "And baby powder." The sweetness faded on drydown, prompting another co-worker to comment it had turned into "dirty hippie." Back in the box for some aging... ETA: Aaaaaand I'm back. It's been aged for ten weeks or so....not a long time in the grand scheme of things, but it was enough to make a difference. The oil has gotten quite viscous. What a change in the scent! No more dirty hippie or Play Doh. Powder-y and vanilla-y and very, very sweet. Just enough spice is left to keep it from being catastrophically cloying, i.e. I considered washing it off, but I didn't need to wash it off. Still not a fan, but I'm pleased with the progress from the first time around. Will try it again in a few months. (For full disclosure, my skin chem seems kind of off right now, so this could be part of the problem. Same too sweet issue struck with my beloved O. *sniffle*)

The very first imp of my very first imp pack to get a spin! Imp: Florals and green...that would be the lettuce. Wet: Some soft floral as a balance, but LETTUCE comes out swinging! There was a second or two where I thought I might be attacked by an amorous rabbit on my way out the door. It's definitely a wet lettuce, and it is beautiful. Drydown: No more lettuce. Has faded into something very soft, outdoors-in-spring smelling. I'm not familiar with the notes, so I'm not much help telling who's doing what. It is nestling into my skin very nicely, so there's no "Hey! That girl is wearing perfume!" feeling. Gorgeous from start to finish.

Seeing this thread reminded me of a scent quest from many years ago. I was in the Barcelona airport (I think...like I said, this was several years back) and I stumbled across a perfume that smelled like fire. It wasn't spice, or smoke, or something burning. It just smelled like flames. It was the weirdest thing ever. Even though it's not really my type of scent, it was just so amazing that I've always regretted not getting it. Needless to say, I've never found anything like it. Can anyone think of a BPAL equivalent?

Ah-HA! Violet! That's what I'm getting. Thank goodness for these reviews. I couldn't place the floral note in WoND, but this thread made me realize it's the same kind of sharp soapy-ness that I get from those violet candies. Very sharp to me in the bottle, and very sharp for some time after application. Not a fan. Instead of calming me down, I felt unsettled. However, I put it on before bed, and by the next morning it had faded into a fresh floral that I loved. Oh, and add me to the chorus of those saying go easy on this one. It's deceptively strong!

In the imp: Balance of almond, milk, and honey. Not getting any cherry. Wet: Whoa. Hello, almond. My skin picks up on it like crazy. Dry: The almond fades fairly quickly, and then it goes one of two ways. Sometimes, Dana mellows into a sweet creamy honey scent. Other times, it turns into oatmeal. No almond, no honey...just oatmeal. Food scents aren't my thing, but I can see how it would be very comforting. Note: I was surprised to find so much staying power in this one. It's so light that I assumed you'd have to reapply a lot. Not so. One application, and hours later I was smelling honey: "What the...? Oh right. Dana O'Shee."