puck_nc

Origin: Bought a decant on LJ In the Bottle: Where's the rose? All I smell is sandalwood. Wet: Still sandalwood, but with a note of something that seems sharp and bitter. Not good. Drydown: Finally, there's the rose! It takes a while to emerge on me. But whether it's the combination with sandalwood or some other note I can't identify, there's a sour, soapy undertone that keeps me from fully enjoying this blend. Verdict: I'll hang onto it for a couple of weeks and try again when That Week is over, but if I get the same result I think I'll send it to the swap pile.

This was one of several imps that Molly Moon included in the box I bought from her. In the bottle: A light, crisp citrus. It takes me a couple of sniffs to get the ginger. Wet: Holy cow! That's Lemon Pledge, complete with the acrid aftertaste (after-smell?) of the dust that's been wiped up. Drydown: Ok, the Lemon Pledge is very slowly calming down and I think what I'm thinking of as "dust" is actually the tea. There is only the faintest whiff of ginger. Later: Okay, now it's starting to smell like tea and ginger! It's a very clean scent, very fresh, maybe a bit more masculine than I normally wear. Or maybe a good one for scenting a bathroom or kitchen. Verdict: It smells nice in the bottle. It eventually smells nice on me. But it takes a very long time to dry down and lose the overpowering lemon and the final scent is nice but not something I love. This one will go in the swap pile.

The husband either likes Rakshasa or likes what Rakshasa does to me. I'm not certain which

I adore honeysuckle, so this one was a must-try for me. In the bottle: Flowers! I'm in a garden surrounded by all kinds of flowers! Wet: The strongest notes for me are the lilies, with the pear also predominant. I have to sniff several times to find the honeysuckle. Drydown: The lilies calm down, letting the other flowers come to the surface, and the musk begins to seep in just a wee bit. It's light and pretty, very feminine, very spring and summer-y. Verdict: At this point, the beginning of my BPAL addiction, it's in the keeper side of my box. I may be looking for a 5ml down the road for lotion & perfume purposes.

This was an addition to my wishlist because I'm always about the florals. In the bottle: a nice dark floral with a hint of musk that adds an element of mystery. Very nice! Wet: Okay, it's official. Violet and I have a difficult relationship. The scent is sharp, astringent, nose-tingling violet, with the musk clinging on for dear life. Drydown: Eventually the violet softens, leaving a faint, sweet musky floral. It's a pretty scent if I'm patient enough to wait on it, but not an instant hit with me.

This HAD to be tried! I cannot walk by a rosebush without stopping to take a sniff...it's categorically impossible. In the bottle: Rose heaven!!! Wet: Sweet, lush and heavenly. I close my eyes and I am in a rose garden on a bright hot day. Drydown: Fades just enough to be there and not overpower, with the tinge of grass coming out to balance the sweet. I sometimes get a whiff of soap on the right wrist, but the left stays true and floral. Bottle, here I come!

Well, I had my first experience of the "dirty dishwater" syndrome. As much as I love standing outdoors on a winter night of new snow and ice and just breathing, I hoped this oil would be a little bit of heaven. In the bottle, I didn't get a strong impression at all. An airy scent with a touch of sweet, but nothing of the cripsness or chill. Wet on me, the airy morphed into what I imagine ozone might be like. It was acrid, sharp, and unpleasant. I couldn't make out the undertones at all. The acrid calmed slightly on drydown, but persisted. If I held my wrist to my nose and took a very long breath, just at the end I might get a hint of sweetness, a tantalizing taste of holidays and good cheer. Definitely not for me. This decant will go into the swap pile.

This was a blind purchase off LJ, but I had hopes for it once I read the description. In the bottle: Yuk! A very harsh and astringent blast of citrus. All sour orange. I'm not sure I want to put this on! Wet: Okay, it's not quite so biting, but it's still a very strong citrus tang. Be patient...be patient...don't wash it off yet... Drydown: Okay, finally the flower notes are emerging and I can smell the carnation and hibiscus that were the reason I wanted to try this. But the fruits keep it so sticky and sweet that I know I won't wear this again. Final verdict: It's so not me. Too young and too in-your-face for my liking. Sold to a fellow addict. Shannon

I am a very recent inductee into the BPAL worship , and this was the first scent I tried on, since I am a fan of all that is rose. In the bottle: A very sweet and fruity floral, almost juicy. I think the pomegranate just dominates the rose. Wet: Okay, there's the rose coming back. A very rich rose, deep flame-red and begging for you to shove your nose in. Drydown: On me, for a while the rose and pomegranate fight it out like two combatants in a death cage. Eventually the rose wins out, but there is a dusky depth to it when I compare it to a straight rose oil I have. It's like sniffing the roses in my in-laws' back yard, because they also have a fig tree there. Final verdict: Since I adore rose, I like this one very much. I can see getting a bottle of this, eventually, or just replacing the imp each time I empty one. It might have been my favorite if I hadn't sampled Two, Five & Seven since Shannon

I was intrigued by the site description and snagged an imp off a sale on LiveJournal, and I am so glad I did. I think this will become one of my favorite summer scents. At first I thought it odd to call it a summer scent, because once I put it on there was a richness behind the florals that made me think of holidays, fruitcake and sugarplums dancing in my head. But it finally came to me. This is the scent of an outdoor wedding on a perfect hot day: the exquisite flowers arranged just so, the sweetness of the wedding cake being sliced, the crisp tinge of champagne for toasting. It's a scent for celebration, for enjoying being alive, and I'm so glad I stumbled across it.