walkingundine

Gorgeous! In the imp: Lush, squashy, pinkish-golden stickysweet floral. Smells like girl and summer. On skin: Lush, squashy, mostly-golden floral, with an increasingly noticeable skin musk scent. Like, literally, if you took a nap in your front lawn with your face in the buttercups, and woke up with the sun on your face, this is about where you'd be as you stretched and said 'Wow, I'm glad I don't have anywhere mundane to be right now!'. Staying power is not all that long, sadly, but it's so nice that I am definitely getting a bottle ASAP. For comparison's sake, I think it's a little like the Demon In My View scent Dreamland, only mostly-gold instead of mostly-pink.

In the imp: Complex whitish floral. On my skin: I thought Grandmother of Ghosts would be amazing. Instead, I'm sorry BPAL, I just smelled like grandmother. One of the flowers in there just goes nasty on me. I had to scrub hard to wash it off; the staying power is impressive. If you like complex floral stuff, this may be for you. I'm swapping mine.

In the imp: Overwhelming green-gold scent, so strong I can't pick out notes (a little scary) On the SO: Green herbs and a little bit of lavender. Much less face-punchingly strong. It's a classic 'guy' sort of scent. The throw is about a 6 of 10, and it has decent staying power. Summation: He thinks he'll be happy with just the imp.

I'm going to start by saying I shouldn't like Salome. I shouldn't be able to wear it. It violates the laws of Perfume Physics. In the imp, Salome is sweet and rosy, with a significant hit of almond. It's definitely a red scent. On the skin- this never happens to me- the rose vanishes, the jasmine steps WAY up, and the almond just kinda chills for a while. In drydown, Salome is almost all jasmine on me. It goes from red to a light purple and STAYS there. For hours. I think I might keep it. It's really feminine but oddly that's not bothering me.

Oh, this was a sad moment. In the imp: STRONG green perfume, like an upgrade to everything Bath & Bodyworks wishes it could be. Fruity, juicy, and rather Springy. Wet: My skin did something horrible to 51. It can't appreciate the delicate balance of complex ingredients. It all turned to a horrible sickly mess. I'm going to have to swap this one.

In the bottle: Dirt? Mushroom? Dirt *and* mushroom? LOVE. Wet: Dirt, and something kinda sweet and reddish, very soft. Drydown: Voted toe-curlingly good by three out of three testees. Don't ask me to peg notes in this one. It's rich but not drippy, red but not screamingly loud, warm and sweet but not particularly innocent. Plus the dirt note. If you like the dirt note from Nosferatu or Penny Dreadful, you have GOT to try Death Cap.

This stuff is incredible. In the imp: Mostly really dark aquatics and some seriously swampy woods. Is that wintergreen in there? Wet: The aquatics recede and mingle with the woods. There's a nice soft white flower note, which is not oppressively girlie, and that's totally wintergreen. Dry: Very true to form. Throw: Only moderate. Duration: Kinda short. It fades to barely-perceptible in an hourish. Summation: I want a bottle, so I can put it in lotion and stuff and have it with me all the time. It smells like this one state park, I think it's in Douglas MA, with bizarre swamp trees and wintergreen ground cover and murky water. Gorgeous.

In the imp: Patchouli is the first note I get. It's strong and woody and unusually bright... Not so much a hippie who hasn't bathed in a week. More a wealthy hippy who just got back from a super-intense yoga retreat, and is lying out in the sun. Wet, on skin: Oh there's the copal. That's where the gold note is coming from, I think. Because it's resinous, my skin amps it way up. It doesn't quite drown out the patchouli, but it gives it a run for its money. Drydown: All of these bright, red-brown-gold notes are duking it out at about equal strengths. It's a little overwhelming, and I'm glad I didn't try more than a tiny drop. Duration: Many many hours of smelling like a really awesome hippie. An awesome rich hippy, did I mention that? Throw: On me, significant. The resins, you know, they love to travel. In sum: I have two imps of this. I think I really only need one. It's nice for some things- Gods know it's grounding- but I so rarely want to be grounded that I think I'll be rehoming one of the imps this holiday season.

Deep herbs and apple with black amber. I received this imp from Telesilla, who saw that it was on my wishlist and passed it along. At first whiff: Apples! Not supersweet apples, but not Granny Smiths either- moderate apples, very autumny. Initial application: Apples remain the top note, definitely, but there's a smooth, strong undercurrent of amber which my skin cranks up to a billion decibels. After a couple of hours: Mostly amber. The fruity, apple note is fading, though the amber is not what I'd call standard issue- it's both stronger and lighter than what I'd expect. Throw: Only moderate. I was able to pretty much paint it on and it doesn't assault the nose too much by my standards. My partner, who is insanely scent-sensitive, coughed a bunch and made disgusted faces at it. Seems to think it smells of 'conventional' perfume. Very disappointing- shall only wear it when I'm out myself, from now on. In sum: I like it, and I'll use up the imp, but the fact that I can't wear it around a certain someone kinda precludes buying a bottle.

I tried this at a Meet-n-sniff. Oh. My. Gods. With a bottle of this and the right shoes, a girl could rule the world. Something about the combination of ylang ylang and skin musk provoke this visceral, reptilian-brain reaction that says, 'You could have anyone you want. Go get 'em.' It leads to a certain sway of the hips, a certain predatory expression... I think the scent itself isn't necessarily what attracts people, it's the attendant rush of... Um, yeah. So, needless to say, I want a bottle of it. I shall procure one as soon as I'm gainfully employed again.

Origin: Imp pack. In the bottle: Plum. Purple, plummy plum. Also something nutty, but it's an oddly light, bright nut. On me: Sharp, red-purple plum. It's not particularly sexy; it's energizing. I don't get any nut. On my good friend Abbey, who allowed me to foist it off on her: Nutty, plummy, rich, golden, warm and sexy- which suits her perfectly. I have given it to her so that she might torment people and amuse herself.

Origin: Imp pack from Christmas, many moons ago. In the imp: This smells kinda promising. It's vaguely golden, in a twisted way, with something resiny or woody and something kinda floral, and something almost velvety tying the other notes together. Wet, on skin: Just like in the imp... For a little while. Drydown: This is where I begin to suspect that Wanton wasn't such a good idea. The attar of rose turns to soap, the palmarosa becomes sickly-sweet, and the patchouli turns somehow rotting. I was about to say I smelled like an old lady, but sometimes they smell really dignified and pretty nice. I smell more like a horrible old harridan, the kind that sloshes herself with nasty old perfume from a heavy glass bottle and then goes to make a list of ways to make her daughter-in-law cry using only an outdated copy of House Beautiful and a Roget's Thesaurus. In sum: I will probably hand this off to one of my several girly friends who get along with florals. I am working on recruiting a few of them.

Origin: An order I placed a long time ago. Why I waited forever to try it: I am afraid of florals. I am a bit of a tomboy, you see. In the imp: This is strange. Normally wet-smelling things have that 'dryer sheets' note to them. This does not. It smells like a cold puddle on the lawn, around late April / early May... With huge white and purple flowers. On skin: For some reason I expected it to turn to soap, like roses would. It stayed fairly true. The violet note is very prominent, but now and again I get hints of lilac (which actually smells of lilac instead of turning vile the way lilac sometimes does on skin). I'm thinking that the peculiar lushness would probably be because of the tuberose. Throw: Moderate. I would not wear it much in the summer, though, for fear of attracting bees. Is that paranoid? I know if I were a bee I'd be all about the Nocturne. In sum: I think I'll use up the imp and just be quietly alarmed that I appear to have turned into a girl.

Origin: Part of my imp pack from Christmas. Why I waited sixish months to test it: It is a scary, scary red color. I had it out of my BPAL box where I could keep a suspicious eye on it until I was sure it wouldn't rise up and devour me. In the imp: Cherry. Not just any cherry, though. It's sweet, sticky, heavy cherry pie filling, and something black and sinister. See? Told you it was scary. Wet, on skin: The cherry is kinda like a ninja. It sneaks up your neck and assassinates your nose. Drydown: After a couple of hours, the cherry finally calms down and I begin to discern resinous notes- that would be the myrrh, which my skin usually amps way up but in this case it's too busy defending against a cherry siege. It still smells very very red, and a little spicy, and I can't seem to find the dragon's blood note in here. Throw: Considerable. I had it on in an enclosed space (was on a long car trip), and it is a good thing the cherry note finally diminished some, because by golly that car smells like Blood now. Staying power: All day, all night, all cherry, all the time. In summation: I do like it, and I think I'll use up the imp, but other things have suited me much much better.

Weirdest. Thing. Ever. When they say 'sacrificial blood', they don't mean dragon's blood, or any other red note. They mean real, straight-from-the-veins, iron-and-copper blood. And chocolate. This is not for the kiddiewinks. It's a very dark, velvety-sharp scent that will sneak up behind you and cart you off for sacrifice to the Pointy-Toothed Bunny Gods.

I must preface my review by saying that for a girl who used to work for a florist, I am crap at distinguishing floral notes. On opening the bottle, I found City In The Sea to be incredibly INTENSE. It was a bit like turning the tap on a fire-hose and directing it into my nostrils. This continued to be the case for the first twenty minutes of wear. It was blindingly, drowningly blue-green, so wet that I thought my skin would prune up, and the throw? Yeah, the throw was enormous. After that magical 20-minute mark, though, CITS became something phenomenal. It softened, developed a slightly green planty note, and the violet became apparent. I literally could not stop sniffing my wrist; it made me smile every time I caught a whiff. I am so, so glad I got this when I had the chance.

Forget that bald man in the white shirt in the household-cleaner ads. This is liquid clean. It's bright, clear, and not glassy-smelling; more like really cold water, with some greenery. In terms of its intended applications: Before I put WoND on, I was on the verge of getting canned by my employer and dropped like a hot potato by my union. I put it on and took a deep breath. By the end of that day, I was not only assured of my present employment, but was directed toward the possibility of another, less-maddening position, and I was unflappable and zen-like. This is marvellous stuff. It's not a scent I would wear for perfume, because it smells a bit like soap on me- okay, so a lot like soap on me- but when I really need some peace, I will definitely bust this out.

The ozone note made me nervous, but in the end it's all good. Lurid is a bizarre mix of really calming and oddly energizing. The other berry/currant scents I like are all 'Get out there and kick some @$$' scents. I found Lurid to be more 'Get out there and kick some @$$ after you have a nice nap and foment some evil evil plans'. It smells more... Purple than the other berry/currant scents.

Penny Dreadful is odd. By this I mean that it stays true from the moment I uncork the imp to the last second before it fades entirely away. It smells of dirt- dark rich dirt- and Attractive Woman. I found it to be an unobtrusive-yet-unusual scent that lingers for a good five-six hours.

Kathmandu starts out intensely cedar, with the stifling bubblebum kick I've come to expect from lotus. It's a bit overwhelming. Drydown is where its true character shines through. The lotus fades and becomes spicy rather than bubblegummy, the cedar stops being such a boot to the lungs and calms down a bit, and an incense note- I love the incense note!- creeps up. Overall, it starts out way too strong, but becomes a lovely complex scent that has only mild throw and lasts for most of a work day. In sum: I think it's worth keeping an imp around, but I'm not running around in circles shouting 'ZOMG BOTTLE NEED BOTTLE'. I recently found that if I stick this on one wrist and City In The Sea on the other, what results is less dry than Kathmandu and less overwhelmingly fragrancy than City In The Sea.

I've only worn Black Lotus a couple of times, because every time I reach for the imp I have to screw my courage to the sticking-point (or is it place? I always misquote that line.) Anyway. In the imp: The person several pages ago had it right. This is Robitussin, Cough Syrup Extraordinaire, elixir of my youth. I went through so much of this stuff when I was a kid, you would not believe. It's not the cough syrup smell that worries me, though. Wet: The bit that worries me is actually lotus, which for the first half-hour or so of wear is BUBBLEGUM. <---This is the face I make. It's worth persevering, though. Drydown: The bubblegum backs off and does its impersonation of a nice lush floral, and something dark and somewhat woodsy/spicy/incensey comes out. Throw: Pretty heavy-duty. Staying power: Many moons, I tell you. Many bloody moons. In summation: I've had a lot less trouble with Black Lotus since I started layering it with Haunted. It's a lovely scent if you get along with lotus.

In the bottle: Crisply floral, a little spicy. I think that's carnation. It's pink but not in a bad way. Wet: It's oddly smooth, and I detect a rich sort of note that reminds me of Utrennyaya- bits of gold in with the pink and flowers. Drydown: This is so mild and nice. I have a wicked migraine, so anything that smells of anything should be nauseating- but it's not! It's calm, and comfortable, and really clean. In sum: I don't think I've ever been so happy to smell like a girl. Throw: Mild. Staying power: I predict several hours. EDITED 12/14 I've now tried Dreamland several more times, and I like it more and more. In drydown, I definitely discern the same super-sexy musk note that's in La Petite Mort- it's sort of dark and golden both at once. The Lab description references nightmares, but I tell you, I put this on and sleep like a baby. It's my new wear-while-sleeping scent. I wake up in the morning with my wrist crammed up against my nose. Also: Over time I'm finding the pink floral note to be less crisp, and more plush. It's discernably a fresh-petals scent rather than a distilled-whole-flower scent. As a total picture, it is still quite girly, but it's somewhere between very clean and innocent and very very dirty and wicked.

In the imp: Aeval smells like girl. Liquid girl. It's soft and cozy and rather pink. The sweet pea is what jumps out first and loudest. Wet, on skin: I don't know why I like it so much, but I do. It's sweet, and gentle, and very very feminine. Drying down: Aeval does stay sweet, and the floral notes are prominent, but it matures. It gains a little bit of a dry herbal thing- I'm assuming that's the sage- and it sort of smoothes out so it's less like an enormous foofy bouquet and more like a growing bush with woodsy stems and heavy pink flowers. Throw: Moderately strong. In summation: I like it. I even like it on me, which is weird. Ultimately, though, I'm not going to go for it because I think there are things that suit better. Rated on its own merits alone, I'd give it a 6.5 out of 10- and it's only that low because of the Mega-SweetPea Effect.

Urd came to me as part of my bimonthly meet-n-sniff. In the bottle: Patchouli. Normally this is enough to make me very nervous; patchouli always amps up on me, and I end up smelling like a total hippy (in that unwashed way). Further sniffage shows up something oddly bright and clear, very red-gold- like that peculiar quality of light when the sun is just coming up in the summer. It's not an overly warm scent in the bottle, and it's surprisingly crisp. Wet, on skin: It smells like really good incense, and the patchouli has calmed down somewhat- happily, the clear-as-glass note stays for a while as the scent warms up. It's reminding me more of summer by the minute. Dry: The incense steps up a bit, and while it's no longer liquidly clear, Urd is definitely still a nice clean bright scent. It's no longer standing on your front lawn while the sun comes up- it's more like being in a new-age shop when it first opens in the morning. It evokes very pleasant memories, and on the whole, is a smile-inducing sort of smell. Overall assessment: This is so loveable. I can't even sniff the imp without grinning. I will definitely use this up, and possibly add it to my list to get more.

I was holding onto this scent for a rainy day, sort of hoarding it. Before I review, I have to say that I get migraines, nasty ones, which I treat with strong drugs and peppermint oil. I slather up and somehow it reduces the headache. This is why I'm so glad to have Nine Mysteries, because as far as I know, it's the only BPAL with peppermint rather than any other mint. Correct me if I'm wrong, please, because if I am, all the blends I'm missing are going on my wishlist in a real and serious way. On to the review. In the imp: Cool, kind peppermint, how I love thee! This isn't the peppermint I'm used to. I usually paint up in gallons of the stuff, just straight peppermint in a carrier oil, so I guess I must have some kind of tolerance. Wet: Peppermint... And citrus? No, floral! No, citrus floral? I'm getting rapid-cycling notes, here. It goes from bright green to mildly pink floral to kinda light orangey. Very confusing. Drydown: Now it's three colors at once, my headache is mostly managed, and I smell like... I don't know. It goes pretty girly on me, which by every law of the universe means I should hate it, but I don't. Staying power: Moderate. At about five hours now, and I can just smell the last traces. Throw: Minimal. My partner could smell it when we were driving in to work this morning, but it doesn't reach out to smack passersby or anything. Summation: I like it, I'll use it, and it has marvellous curative powers, but it's not my favorite.