Dark Angel

This was a frimp from the lab. On me, it's masculine, in a kind of sharp and unpleasant way, not really smoky, not vanilla at all. Sort of like demon's BO, which isn't really as good as it sounds like it might be

My imp is quite aged--I believe I got it with one of my first orders, back in...2005? Well, let's say 2006, which still makes it six years old. It doesn't seem to have changed all that much, to my memory. It's very dark, dark opium, sweet, smooth, sophisticated, and did I mention dark? It's also very strong--just a little dab is almost too much for me (this is why I still have that original imp). And it lasts--ten hours later I can still smell it. Not for the faint of heart--these are black dark florals that take no prisoners. The scent of a dangerous woman, one who wears a weapon and can kick your butt with or without it.

His scent is a blend of holy myrrh, storax, balsam, and embalming herbs. This is an aged imp, 2+ years old at least. I am returning from a BPAL hiatus and trying to thin the herd of imps. Unfortunately, I am finding that even things I thought I didn't like have aged into something wonderful, so the 'thinning' isn't working out so well. I remember thinking that Anubis was too sharp and medicinal for me, which made me sad, because I have really liked the god Anubis ever since I had a spell of being really interesting in ancient Egypt in late grade school. But now! Not a bit sharp or medicinal. In fact, it's very sweet, which is OK, because I like sweet. Actually, until I looked at the notes I would have sworn there was honey in there. Must be the myrrh and--maybe storax?? I have no idea what that even is, much less how it smells. Someone else mentioned lotus, and that seems possible too. But it isn't soapy at all. Just very sweet, but not in a foody way, yet not floral, either. I don't smell the herbs--maybe they faded away in the aging. In any case, I am really liking this now. Another imp that will be hanging around! Now the question is: do I get more, knowing that I will probably have to age it before I like it??

My imp is well-aged; at least two years old (I'm just returning from a BPAL hiatus). On me, this dries down to a floral--I was hoping the spices and musk would come out more, but no, mainly floral. I don't recognize it--could be either magnolia or oleander, or a mix of both. (In the Pacific NW, we don't have those things...) Definitely a lush and 'humid' sort of floral, not high or screech-y. It's rather elegant, in a southern belle sort of way. Nice, but not my thing--I'm just not a fan of floral perfumes. Also, I think my sinuses are reacting badly to it, so I won't be hanging on to it any more.

This is...weird. Where to start? Certainly it is very dark. I am kind of having a love-hate relationship with it, actually: sometimes I think I really like it, and then I think maybe I really don't like it. Also I kept thinking "why does this remind me of Darkness?" because I know Ekhidna doesn't have any opium in it, and I was thinking that Darkness was primarily opium. But now I realize they both contain myrhh. So it must be the myrhh I am getting (yeah, I am not so great at detecting notes.) It does smell... corrupted: sweet but so dark and somehow a little bitter at the same time. Not sure this works for me. But it fascinates me, too. Probably I will hang on to it and test it again in a while.

At first this is all sweet and caramel-y on me but as it dries down the sweetness fades until, weirdly, it smells almost exactly like Miskatonic University. I think it must be oak, since that seems like the only note they have in common. Unfortunately, on me it's kind of sour and I'm not very fond of it. I wish it had stayed sugary, but the oak seems to eat up all the other notes. Boo.

I got a decant of this from a circle (thanks, Queen Mab!). I would not have bought a bottle unsniffed, but I think I might have to have more of this. Like the reviewer above, I don't get any strong blast of lemon out of this--at first it seems to be mostly about the flowers, but smooth, sweet and delectable flowers, not the sharp sneezy kind. There is something a little citrus-y to it, but I wouldn't have said, "lemon!" As it dries, it mellows into a lovely, complex scent. I'm really unable to pick out individual notes. I think I can detect a wee dribble of opium, but it's not in your face, slap-you-upside-the-head smoky opium. It's sweet but not cavity-inducing, faintly floral but not in an obnoxious way (I'm not much of a floral person), sexy but subtle, sophisticated, and just plain gooood!

A shot of pure, self-indulgent euphoria! A scent that is very, very wicked in its own way: the serotonin-slathered scent of pure milk chocolate. Source: Lab imp Just like everyone else has said, this is chocolate, pure, indulgent, rich, but not too dark, really wonderful. Doesn't go off or smell like cheap chocolate at all on me, although I agree that the initial strong throw when first on wet fades quickly. That doesn't bother me much, though, because I like my perfume to be subtle. I don't want people to wander into my office and wonder where the brownie are! It does remind me a lot of Velvet, which is a bit drier and woodier on me. I'll probably keep both around (in imp form--I very rarely buy bottles because imps last me a looong time) to meet my chocolate-sniffing needs! (I also was surprised to see that this oil was virtually colorless--after Boomslang I had expected it to be really dark)

Source: Lab imp So, based on the description and other folks' reactions, I expected this to be a soft, wispy, elusive kind of scent. On me, er, not so much. I get ALL VANILLA ALL THE TIME. Straight out of the imp, after several hours, and even upon getting up this morning (I put it one before bed) it's way powerful. Nor do I really get much of anything except vanilla from it, though there is something keeping it from being vanilla-extract-like. It seems like the same cool vanilla as black opal, but not nearly as subtle, although it's not overly sweet or foody at all. It's not that I don't like the scent, it's just OMGinmyface. I didn't slather it, either. (Imps last me forever.) Apparently, I really amp whatever vanilla is in this. I haven't had this reaction before to the Lab's vanilla, which usually plays nicely with whatever else is in a blend. With this one, I'm going to have to be really, really sparing, though I do find it pretty. I don't like to think that my perfume preceded me into the room. Maybe it will mellow a little with age?

Source: Lab imp At first (wet on): Wow, this is sharp and cold--doesn't strike me as actually smelling like pine, in the sense of actual pine trees, but there's definitely a cool, wintery note in there that's very strong at first. Yet oddly, there's something else quite sweet under that. After it settles down a bit and dries, it's still a cold kind of smell with some sweetness lurking in there. I can't decide if I like it or not. The waft is lovely, but up close there's a kind of hard, sharp note that my nose doesn't like. After several hours, the long dry-down is much more sweet and mellow, and just a bit musky. Not sure if I like this or not--it's quite a bit different from my usual spicy/sweet preference, yet I can see the attraction. Must do more testing....

Source: Imp from the lab. Wet on, this is cinnamon and clove like whoah! Like I spilled ground cinnamon and cloves on myself. However, it quickly mellows out and dries to a warm, spicy rounded scent that is, as others have said, dry and not foody-gooey. Does seem to fade rather quickly but a definite favorite anyway. Both Silk Road and Morocco have something in them that just goes weird on me, and I'm very glad to find that Plunder lacks whatever note that is! This is good stuff!

Source: Imp from the Lab. This is really hard to describe, especially since there aren't any notes listed, and I'm dreadful at identifying notes without a cheat sheet. It's definitely sweet, but I wouldn't say candy-sweet. There's a richness and complexity in there--I want to call it 'spicy' but dang if I have any idea what spices it might be--nothing I can recognize. I think there's a smidge of vanilla in there, too, but it's pretty hard to pick out. All in all, it's warm and sweet but not cloying on me--I actually really like the way it smells. Not sure about the voodoo properties. I'm feeling kind of blue today, but on the other hand I'm handling it OK instead of just sinking further and further into a funk as I often do, so that's positive.

OK, now I am officially insane because wet out of the imp it smells caramel-y to me. Maybe that's the maple syrup vibe some others have mentioned but I swear it's caramel. Actually it kind of reminds me of the caramel in Gluttony, though not nearly so strong and sticky. I don't know what else is in it but it dries down to a lovely slightly sweet, slightly incense-y scent, not dark or evil at all. My husband thought he could pick out a bit of coconut, too. This is a very comforting scent to me; I like it a lot. I find it rather odd that the only scents where the word 'comforting' springs to mind immediately for me are pretty much all in the Picnic in Arkham category. It just doesn't seem quite right. Maybe I am an evil outsider at heart....

Source: imp from the lab. Right off, this is incredibly caramel-smelling. But this is a very thick, gooey, expensive caramel, not the cheap petrified things that you find sitting in the bottom of the candy jar after everyone has eaten the good stuff. After a bit, the scent of dark chocolate begins to develop under the caramel, not too sweet, with just a slightly bitter edge. It's a lot like chocolate in Velvet, which I really like. Later something very slightly incense-y or smoky seems to come through, making the scent a bit less foody. Definitely different but surprisingly wearable. I like it!

Source: Imp from the Lab (actually two imps--somehow I got an extra) Unfortunately (especially since I have an extra imp), this doesn't work on me at all. I don't see any listed notes that it has in common with Voodoo but alas they both turn bad on my skin chemistry in exactly the same way--I get a sharp, high, almost sour note that reminds of the smell when you walk into an old hair salon, like something they use to give permanents. I wish I knew what that note was so I could avoid it, because it just makes certain scents go horribly wrong on me. Usually I can see the point of BPAL perfumes even when they don't suit my own style, but my skin chemistry just hates something thats in this.