The_Merf

In the imp: This bodes well...a nice warm cinnamon, with honeysuckle in the background, providing a feminine depth Wet: Very sweet cinnamon...but just short of the Big Red phenomenon. It comes off as a very festive scent, and the copal warms the honeysuckle up to give it a bit of an edge. Drydown and wear: The cinnamon dominates this blend and remains very rich throughout. This is a great fall/winter scent. Perhaps I'll try layering this with Hemlock to the get the wintery scent that Tintagel could have been, had it not given me welts.

In the bottle: This is not as cherry as other cherry scents (Kabuki, etc.) and I can also smell the cassia and cardamon. Wet: Excellent! My worry with this scent was that the cherry would be overwhelming and the blend would be less complex on my skin. However, that is certainly not the case. There is a strong "spicy/cinnamon" component to this as well. However, about five minutes after application, the cherry really starts to dominate. Drydown and wear: Thankfully, the domination does not last, and the oil settles in the blend between cherry and cassia/cardamon/patchouli (this is another one like Geek, where the patchouli does interesting things). In fact, the spicy side of the scent lasts longest. This may be the first real hit of the CD series for me!

Thanks again to pkwench! In the imp: Nyarlathotep has been on my wishlist since I first discovered BPAL, but I had always hesitated on pulling the trigger because of the unknown--and ominous--"ozone" notes. However, this smells like lighter incense to me. Wet: This is a very clean resin--it has an echo of "cologne" smell, but it is certainly not anything like Oberon or Wilde in terms of being that close to men's cologne. Drydown and wear: This stays pretty consistent through the drydown cycle...I'm glad to have it on hand.

Note: I am testing a shortie, provided by the generous pkwench, that has been aging for approximately two years. In the shortie: This is just amazing...absolutely gorgeous. I could rave about this all day. I smell the myrrh, the ylang-ylang and maybe even some rose? I hesitate to say rose because there is no note that jumps out at me the way rose always does, but OTOH, it smells like faded roses--perhaps a consequence of the aging... Wet: This stays pretty consistent with what I smelled--now I want to say there is no rose, because nothing rosy is coming up on my skin. It's powdery, but it's the most beautiful powdery you could hope to smell. Drydown and wear: This is an oil that was meant to be slathered. As someone upthread said, this is a "second skin" scent, and it really does smell like a combination of fine, lingering soap and a flushed, but happy person (or what we would think a flushed, happy person should smell like). I'll be interested to see what this smells like new, but I see that aging does this oil quite well!

Thanks to pkwench for the imp! In the imp: This should be interesting--it doesn't smell like any almond I've encountered before. I don't detect the spices, but we'll see what happens on my skin. Wet: I was afraid that there was a small chance this might go awry. Usually I'm OK with "honeyed" notes--it's just honey itself that causes problems. But in this blend, the "stale, burnt" smell that comes along with honey leaps to the fore. Drydown and wear: The spices never emerge, and the burnt honey bread smell does not go away. Such a shame--it's a great concept, but not for my skin.

Thanks to the lovely pkwench for the frimp! In the imp: This is a strong citrus, all right! I can't really pick up on anything besides the orange blossom Wet: The orange blossom is not nearly as dominant on my skin as I thought it would be, given its strength in the imp (my skin does not usually make the note vanish either). The neroli is also prominent. Drydown and wear: Again, this scent continues to surprise. Now I can pick up on the bergamot (I've been on a streak of scents with bergamot as a note, and I'm pretty sure that my skin amps it) and the citrus becomes very light. The oil as a whole is light, citrusy from the orange and bergamot, but also with the neroli. A very interesting composition.

In the imp: This smells like a floral. I'm really awful at picking out floral notes (except for some of the more obvious ones like roses or orchids), so I can't be more specific. Wet: This smells the same on my skin as it does in the bottle. Drydown and wear: I can see why lots of people say that this is a very floral scent. I think that this oil manages to smell like FLOWERS as opposed to a floral scent. As others have said, it's very fresh and green, and I particularly agree with the person who likened it to a florist's shop. It's lovely.

In the imp: I'm not hopeful here, as I'm one of the minority of people for whom "milk+honey" is generally a bad thing, but this smells very pretty. I can detect the rose and carnation. Maybe these strong florals will help? Wet: Ah, this is nice. The florals are prominent on my skin, and the carnation can stand up to the rose, which is usually very strong. The milk mellows things out and prevents this from being a sharp scent. Drydown and wear: The milk and bergamot grow stronger (and this is not a lemony bergamot like Severin), but they don't go wonky on me because of the florals. This is one of those scents I would have never tried in a million years on my own, so I'm very grateful to the Lab for the frimp. It's a really beautiful oil.

In the imp: This is a very warm and pleasant smelling blend--I can detect the vanilla and apricot, but not the ginger. Wet: Arr, the apricot and vanilla remain strong, but I can also pick up on the jasmine Drydown and wear: The jasmine is not playing well with the other notes on my skin. I would call this "stale" on my skin, but it's not stale in the same way that oils which contain a honey or buttercream note are--but I'll bet this is the mix of the jasmine, vanilla and apricot. I really can't detect the ginger.

In the imp: Given all the notes listed, I'm not surprised at how complex this smells. There's no particular note that stands out here for me, though I can detect the lemon and leather. Wet: The lemon is the strongest note in the blend at first. In fact, it is surprisingly dominant, and on casual sniffing, I can't really smell anything else specific...everything muddles behind the lemon. Drydown and wear: This stays pretty consistent--I was hoping for more assertivness from the other notes, particularly the leather. Still, the overall effect of lemon with this complex background is still interesting. I will hold the imp, but I don't imagine that I will get a bottle.

In the imp: This is certainly leather and another note that at one sniff smells like bergamot and at the other sniff smells like lemon. Wet: This is very lemony--even to the point of overpowering the leather--at first. Drydown and wear: The scent regains its inspiration and "truth" quickly; the leather reasserts itself, and the citrusy bergamot blends very well. It's the cleanest leather blend I've tried yet (beating out Les Infortunes de la Vertu in that category), and I'm quite a fan. This seems like it would be very good for work or professional situations.

In the imp: This is green and herbal in the tradition of Oblivion and its ilk. Wet: Yes, this seems to be a cousin of Oblivion...perhaps a more springtime blend. It remains very green and grassy. The ginger is there if I try and smell it, and I can't pick up on the fig. Drydown and wear: This remains fresh instead of drying into something older and smokier like Oblivion. It's a nice herbal, as it isn't sharp.

In the imp: Undistilled dragon's blood, with the close relation to lilac. Wet: Extremely floral, and it actually reminds me of the jasmine in Nyx and other blends of that nature. Drydown and wear: This remains true to its initial application, but it fades quickly. It seems like a great layering blend though, so I'll see what I can do there.

In the imp: I smell the apple the most, but I know that all four of these notes love to amp themselves on my skin. Wet: Apple is in the lead...honey is at its heels...and here's rose coming up...poor ylang-ylang is being left in the dust (a shame, as it is my favorite note of the four). This is the first BPAL I've tried that has the "diaper" effect. Drydown and wear: Things do not improve much here, unfortunately. Off to swaps.

In the imp: I think the rose is the dominant note, but unlike Black Dahlia, where the other florals drowned out the lovely spiciness of the orchid, I can also detect the orchid in this blend. Wet: You know, I've been doing the BPAL thing for nearly a year and a half...and I'm just now getting around to the realization that white roses are one of the notes that I amp up...right now, this is all roses on me. Drydown and wear: The orchid does mellow the rose out, but white roses are sharp to me (moreso than tea roses and red roses at any rate). This is a very evocative scent, and it does an excellent job of combining the sacred and sensual in the rose and the orchids, but it just doesn't work well enough with my skin for me to keep the imp around.

In the imp: Ah, in the fine tradition of scents like Jack and Grog, here we have another very, very foody blend that has a 99.9% chance of going stale on my skin. However, one never knows, and the fun of BPAL is searching for that elusive scent that breaks your skin's rules. Wet: Very interesting. This is not nearly as offensive as I thought it would be. In fact, the hazelnut and chocolate recall Misk U, which I tried right before I tried this imp, and quite liked. Drydown and wear: Alas, it is not to be. Unlike the other scents I have tried in this vein, which started out scary and mellowed out, the buttercream and caramel (which has given me problems in Red Lantern, among other scents) amped up something fierce, and I was left with that frustrating sense of stale. However, the opening stages of this gave me some hope. LOL

Obtained via a swap with the lovely and generous Buddha Mama. In the bottle: This is what it says it is: florals, sweet sugary notes, and a very unique sort of incense. Wet: The floral in this is very sharp--it reminds me of the "hairspray" floral in Stardust. The incense is very, very sweet. I didn't try Midway so I don't have a point for comparison. Drydown and wear: Count me in with the headache crowd--and this is the first BPAL that has ever had this effect on me. A shame...but I know it will find a loving home.

"Springtime in Arkham" was wrapping up its run just as I was getting started with BPAL. Since I was a n00b, I was afraid of ordering LEs without a chance to try them, so even though Misk U and some others sounded nice, I passed. I am SO grateful to Beth that I now have the chance to try this blend! In the bottle: Minor warning flags go up as I recognize the creamy, foody note that has caused problems in numerous other blends. I have to hope that the wood notes do their job. Wet: Holy cow, is that strong. I can smell this everywhere--and it is good. The wood notes do their job and keep the coffee/cream notes from going bananas on my skin. This does smell very "sophisticated university" (though perhaps more young, hip grad student than old professor...not that this is a bad thing at all). Drydown and wear: This has magnificent throw, and the wood notes continue to blend beautifully with the dominant notes. What a lovely scent--I will always make sure to have bottles of this on hand.

In the bottle: I actually detect something that smells like cherry, though I guess that could be the antiqued patchouli or maybe the opoponax in combination with something Wet: This is very singular on me--it smells exactly like a light combination of cherries and patchouli. Drydown and wear: This does eventually reach the beautiful and gorgeous aged stage (smoky, dark, foreboding) that others have mentioned, but it takes upwards of 45 minutes to get there on my skin, and then it does not last long. Fortunately, I've already found someone to give this treasure the home it deserves.

In the bottle: This smells fantastic--clean ginger and mums Wet: Ginger, mums, red musk and smoke, all blend beautifully. A good friend--who rarely comments on my perfumes either way--commented on how nice this smelled on me. Drydown and wear: This has great throw...I can smell it quite clearly hours later. The ginger and musk are the notes that last longest, but the mums are not exactly faint-hearted. This is a lovely and mysterious floral...my favorite in that vein since I tried my beloved Gypsy Queen. Fortunately I have been able to scrounge up another bottle.

Chaos Theory III: CCLIII (253) In the bottle, this reminds me a lot of Dragon Moon, Oberon, Dorian and other tea/musk/fougere scents. I believe that this bottle contains tea notes, maybe a bamboo or other pulp note, some light musk, and fougere, or maybe just some lavender. There's probably a light floral here as well, but I'm simply awful at telling florals apart from each other (maybe a light rose?)...The tea is most dominant on me, and this is really performing like Dorian did on my skin. This blend is more floral though, and the more I smell it, the more I am convinced that there is something floral here. If I were to characterize it, it would a very light colored, summery oil. It's really not me, but I'm pretty sure that someone else on this forum will adore it. Chaos Theory III: CCLXIV (264) In the bottle this smells very citrusy--some sort of orange note, if I had to guess. I'm not really picking up anything else specific, but its clear that there are things lurking in the background. We'll see what emerges on my skin. Well, wet, this scent is even stronger orange/citrus. This is another clean blend, and I'm having a really hard time figuring out what else is in this. There are additional notes emerging as the scent dries down, but the citrusy smell is still dominant, though now I can't tell if the citrus note was actually lemon, or if lemon is emerging on drydown. It really does smell like orange in the bottle. It's unique, but it's also not really me either. What a shame. I knew I should have gotten three bottles!

In the bottle: Cedar and rose. I'm not sure if I have really done a lot of scents with red roses (I seem drawn more to the white roses and tea roses), but it's very bold and strong. Wet: The wet stage is very similar to the scent in the bottle. I'm having a hard time coming up with words to describe the combination. It's a strange mixture of notes that are traditionally masculine (i.e., the resins) and the rose scent, which is frequently considered the classic feminine staple--though this is a strong rose, not at all "old lady" or "perfumey." Drydown and wear: I see where people are getting the incense-y smell on drydown. I do suppose it smells like rosey incense (but this scent is nothing like Rose Cross, IMO). As the scent dries down, the rose is actually vanishing on my skin, which tends to amp resins. I wonder if the cedar note in this is similar to the one in Midnight Mass, since it is actually starting to smell more and more like that scent as it dries down. I wish the rose would remain stronger, as it added a real interesting twist to the blend. The rose is very, very faint at the end.

In the bottle: Wow, fir trees and nothing else. It almost smells like a car air freshener. Wet: Again, the fir is strong, but other notes start to come in. I can detect the amber and leather, and the musk seems to be hanging around in the background. Drydown and wear: The notes I listed above continue to grow more prominent, and sometimes when I smell my wrist I can detect a whiff of the smoke. I think that the comparisons to Geek are apt; this scent is certainly in the same family. This is a cooler, more wintry version. In fact, I think this is one of the most "wintry" scents I have tried (granted, I have not tried a lot of favorites like Snow White, Rose Red, etc.). This strikes me as the older, more complex brother of Black Forest--you get that same bleak "bare, tall trees illuminated under a pale moon" feeling, but the amber and leather give it just a touch more warmth. I'm still not sure whether or not I'll keep the bottle, as the final stage of this scent is really, reallly similar to Geek, which I have lots of, but it is a beautiful scent and the initial cool stage is very intriguing.

In the imp: This is a stronger orchid than Queen Mab, but less piure than Shadow Witch Orchid. I can detect the apple, but I'm not sure what else is mixing with the orchid. Wet: Wow, at first the orchid is overwhelming. I'm testing this and SWO at the same time, and it is very difficult to tell them apart at this stage. Drydown and wear: The two scents distinguish themselves. Whereas SWO and PQ are both beautiful, full-bodied florals, the apple and moss begin to mix with the black orchid in PQ and create something that smells like a more mature, spicier version of Viola. The other notes give the orchid spicy creaminess, if that makes sense. So far, it seems like PQ is a stronger black orchid than QM, but SWO is the most genuine orchid of them all. I haven't tried the other notable black orchid scents yet. I'm having a hard time deciding between Phantom Queen or Shadow Witch Orchid as the imp I keep. There are differences between the blends, but they are subtle enough that, given my perfume abundance, I should really only keep one.

In the imp: Yarr, it's patchouli and apricot. Wet: I can smell the apricot, but this is 90% patchouli. Very dirty patchouli. Drydown and wear: It does not take long for apricot to come out and mix very well with the patchouli. The result is a nice and spicy blend that is very appealing. I think my skin just like apricot and peach. This one gets more and more interesting as it dries down, and seems to have pretty darn good staying power.