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THE GILMAN HOUSE HOTEL Innsmouth, MA The quintessential Valley vacation destination! With its distinctive bulging cupola pushing into the Massachusetts skyline, surrounded by gorgeous views of the majestic Manuxet River on the south and captivating swampland on the west, the Gilman House Hotel is an Innsmouth landmark. Built in 1750, this hotel is rich in Miskatonic Valley history, and is heralded as one of the Valley's most romantic getaways. By day, sail with the croaking, baying entities that lurk in the wharves, then come back to your room and bask in the many amenities that the hotel has to offer. Rest under the watchful eye of the Sleeping God, stroll through the boggy, vaporous central gardens, or unwind with your partner at the Gilman's House's renowned 4-star spa, famous for its sea salt scrubs and unique tentacle massage. The Gilman House's central location puts it easy reach of Innsmouth's open confluence of streets, its bustling downtown area, and the wharves, and it is a hop, skip, and jump from the Innsmouth Colony for the Insane. Banquet, convention, and ritual space available! Musty, dilapidated furnishings, peeling paint, swamp gas, and decay. Goodness me, first review! The whole last week I've been prowling the review boards hoping someone would write a review already, because I was waiting for my bottle to come in the mail, and wanted some inkling of what was awaiting me - but no. Oh well - then I'll do this service for any others out there who feel the same way I can't begin to tell you how excited I am about this bottle. I am a huge Lovecraft nut and came to BPAL through a Lovecraft community where there was talk of the Picnic in Arkham line. Disappointingly, of the entire line, only Herbert West really worked on me, Azathoth only barely, and The Deep Ones only barely now that I've aged the imp three months. Everything else failed. I wanted a musty, dark, foreboding scent, and I like to hope that this is finally going to be it. I do love Beth for making the Lovecraft Valentine's line though, because I can't get enough of Lovecraft-inspired oils and I love fun twists on Lovecraft's stories And the bottle designs are wonderful! Anyway, enough of my rambling! Onto the review. In the bottle - doesn't smell that awful, actually. A tad sour and there's some wetness to it, and I think I can smell a hint of the paint. On wet - lighter than I thought it would be. It's hard to nail definite notes. Still wet, still a hint of the paintwork. There's dust, and the swamp gas is definitely there as well. Being one of the few lucky (or unfortunate, depending on your opinion) people to have smelled actual swamp gas, this is a good representation - misty, organic, wet and gloomy. Drydown - I find it really curious that it's becoming more and more difficult to really pick out notes - it's so beautifully blended it's almost impossible. A hint of the sour note remains, but mostly it goes dusty - there might be some musk and amber there - and smells like taking a whiff of an old armchair at an antique store. Some of the paint smell remains behind as well, and it remains organic and green. I really like it, but I can see how some might not. Hours later, the sour edge has dissipated and the wood notes are playing up. Very nice.

A frimp Not discordant at all - floral, creamy, refreshing and wet. It dries down to jasmine, bergamot and a squeeze of lemon. Fresh and bright, but not my kind of scent.

I got an imp of this mostly to compare and contrast with Raven Moon, which I love I'm a bit worried about the florals here, but sandalwood and musk sounds good. Yikes. Florals, florals, and more florals. No musk, maybe only a very light dusting of sandalwood. On drydown - bleh. No thanks. Dry, faint florals and just a bit of soapy musk. Raven Moon all the way

I'm a huge fan of Lovecraft but it's a rare day when one of the Lab's Lovecraft scents work on me, nevertheless I keep trying Besides, ajowan, vetiver, musk, opopnax and tamarind all sound great to me In the imp and on wet, this is straight-up musky vetiver, smelling almost identical to Iago from the Illyria line. On drydown, it becomes a mildly spicier, lighter vetiver. It reminds me a lot of Mr. Vandemar in the sense that it almost has a curry-like scent to it. The vetiver is still a bit too heavy for me to reach for a bottle, but still, a really interesting scent.

Lately I've been getting more and more interested in BPAL's aquatics and so I'm trying to work my way through a few choice ones In the imp this is a sweet, soapy aquatic, very caribbean as the name says. It goes on clean and cool and sweet. On drydown, it remains a squeaky clean, soft, slightly sweet and slightly greenish aquatic. Very nice, but not as good as some of my favourite aquatics - at least not on me.

When I first got into BPAL, I was too overwhelmed by the GC to take into consideration the lunacy that came up when I first entered the community - Raven Moon. I liked the sound of it but was at a point where I didn't know my own tastes enough to buy blindly. Now that I do, I managed to find someone who would sell me Raven Moon at a great price, and without hesitation bought the whole bottle. In the bottle, this is brilliant - musk, vanilla, benzoin and resins with spice. On the skin, this is overhwelmingly beautiful. The black musk is the most prominent note but is sweetened by the vanilla and benzoi. The chili gives it a kick.

I was a bit too cautious to try a full bottle of this when the helicopters were up, but while shopping for imps the other day I found one decant on the sales list of a person I was already ordering from, so I thought I should try it Unsurprisingly, this starts off as very lovely almondy Battenberg cake and biscuits with a splash of tea. Very foody but delightfully so. The cucumber dries and freshens it and I think there is some kind of musk going on there too . . . maybe not my kind of fragrance but so very tasty!

Was frimped this The tobacco and bay rum sound delightful but the blossoms scare me. They aren't as heady as the warning says, but they do ruin the tobacco and rum This smells like a Caribbean market, bawdy, boozy and exotic - not a scent for me necessarily but it certainly is an experience

I simply love the colour of this one - aquatic electric, shimmering & translucent turqoise. Absolutely gorgeous. I've searched for a great electric, creepy metallic scent to match my mind's eye/nose vision of AM, the vicious computer in I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream, and this is it! Cold, sharp metal via the ozone, white ginger and mint, and sparks of strange neon colours through the eucalyptus and florals. This smells cold, aloof and cruel but also hideously refined and powerful, embodying AM perfectly

I don't usually buy much from the Ars Amorita series, but this one sounded just filthy enough to be interesting This is a delightful and sensual scent, honey sweetens the musk and the resins add a depth and age to this scent; the cognac give it a kind of mature depravity . . . an outstanding oil. Masculine and sensual, like an utterly sexy man in mid-coitus - I love it! This imp is a keeper

I don't expect much here - but I have a policy of trying out all frimps Much as I suspected, this doesn't really work that well. Rose and orange blossom, which are at least thankfully tamed slightly by the rosemary. Not my thing, but worth a try for rose lovers who want something slightly greener and more medicinal than usual

This was really disappointing on me - I love black tea, honey and wasabi as single notes but I can't make any of them out in this. It smells very perfumey and overly sweet, I can't detect anything . . . while I've had a few BPALs which turned out differently on me than I expected, this one doesn't work at all. Woe

A frimp from one of the forum members, lovely since it was on my wishlist as well This is a deep, red oil, and I'm actually surprised there's no vetiver in this - it's so dark and deep, I suspect this rises from my beloved red and black musks. Fig and currant add a slight juicyness to this blend, but it's not fruity at all - it's musky and resiny with a pleasant fruity afterbite. The red musk is possibly the strongest, sweetened a bit by the dragon's blood; this scent is infinitely red and deep. Am keeping the imp most definitley

A big disappointment. All I wanted was straight-up lawn and cucumber, fresh and wet, that lasts and lasts, but I'm not getting this at all - while I do get some cucumber during the wet stage, it disappears quickly and all I'm left with is a nondescript greenish aquatic that smells a bit soapy. Oh well, such is life.

A frimp from a forumite. Ars Moriendi as a line has never done me many kindnesses so I'm a bit afraid This is really nice though, actually, and quite dark. This is a black, dry, musky, resiny blend with just the slightest flare of patchouli, sacred and morbid, like a funeral reception in an ancient church. Creepy, but very beautiful.

Reading I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream made me crave a scent that might be reminiscent of AM, the mad supercomputer. If anything, this should be it In the decant - mint! And how! On wet - I think I'll have to keep looking for an AM scent - this is too pleasant powdery amber, tasty mint, neroli and violet and the dry medicinal quality of sage . . . but I was kin dof hoping for ozone, which I'm not getting at all. Drydown - slightly sharper. More sage, more mint, less florals and amber. Still not quite what I was looking for, but nice enough.

A free empty from /\ CitizenBree!! I am intrigued! I've never actually tried a BPTP scent before. In the bottle, the opium reigns surpreme. On wet, this smells amazing. resiny with the opium still in full force. Dry and it's a bit peppery, which I think is the opoponax, because it reminds me of Mr. Vandemar. Oh, this is gorgeous <3 Drydown: oh good heavens this is amaaaaazing Woodsy mandrake, peppery opoponax, opium and dry resins. A sweeter version of Mr. Vandemar, basically. Might have to track down more

A paradoxical scent experiment! - tangerine, sugared lime, pink grapefruit, oakmoss, lavender, zdravetz, and chocolate peppermint. I've wanted to try this one ever since I first got into BPAL, founding it cute that somebody would make a fragrance based on the concept I don't expect this to work that well - chocolate peppermint and lime, yes, everything else - urk. Better not. But I just had to know! In the imp - fresh and citrusy - lots of grapefruit. Lingering mint. On wet - a lot less bad than I thought it would be on me! Fresh citrus, mostly lime and grapefruit, lavender and a zing of mint. Drydown - pleasantly citrusy from start to finish, with just a bit of mint and a dusting of cocoa. One of the few citrus scents that don't fail on me! I like it a lot, but not to wear. I'll keep it for the sake of novelty though

I expect this to fail from the get-go. Rose is never good on me. But I adore London with all my heart and soul, therefore, I must try this In the imp - dry rose, very nice, actually. On wet - straight-up rose. Drier than the usual, but I still don't like it as much as I like damascus rose. Drydown - rose continues but something resiny and dusty tones it down a little. Beautiful as far as rose scents go, and I'm happy to finally own an imp of London to compliment my love for the city, but it's not wearable for me - no worries though, I didn't expect it to be.

I don't know why it took me so long to try this - the white mint, musk, lavender, ylang ylang and sandalwood are all right up my alley. I guess I'm worried it'll be too feminine. In the imp - minty lavender. On wet - powdery musk, sweet moss, lavender, sandalwood and lilac. Ehh. Not as great as I imagined it might be. Drydown - ylang yland and lavender - lavender soap and nothing more. No thanks

I've been curious to try this - I tried White Rider, which was nice and leathery but a bit too dry, and Black Rider, which was a bit too dark - here we go with rider #3! In the imp, this is oil as red as reddish brown as a red horse It smells like pure wild leather - outstanding and outdoorsy! On wet this is freaking amazing. It smells like well-worn saddle leather, balsam, and a warm horse in the sun - I'm in love already! There's a leather store nearby here where they sell hand-made moccasins - this smells just like stepping into that store! Wild leather, incense and herbs. Definitely what it says on the tin, very outdoorsy and rugged. I will keep the imp but I don't know if I'm rugged and outdoorsy enough for this to suit me

I bought a bottle of this blindly. I'm genuinely worried if this was a good idea Snake Oil hasn't worked that well on me in the past, but I was pulled in by promises of leather, tonka, sandalwood and sage, notes I love dearly. In the bottle, Snake Oil's spices and sage are prominent. On wet, sage and spices, faint leather . . . barest hints of sandalwood and leather, but no tonka. I have high hopes for the drydown. Drydown - uhm. Skin, please stop eating my oil. Please? Vanilla, faint leather and sandalwood and spices . . . I was hoping this would be more intense, it stays mostly close to the skin . . . but it smells very nice! It's definitely my favourite of the Snake Oils so far and the only one that remotely works. I'm going to age this a bit more and see how it turns out - besides wanting it to be a bit more dramatic this is actually very nice ETA: I noticed that when I apply a bit more it doesn't get eaten as quickly, and dries even more nicely. vanilla, tonka + leather, with sage drying it down. Yummy! I'm really starting to love this now <3

A frimp from the lab - I don't see myself liking this but I do like pear, musk, honeysuckle and heliotrope - so it won't be completely awful In the imp, this is a light, fresh floral, and on wet, the lily and sweetpea reign surpreme. On drydown, this sweetens notably, the lilies play with the heliotrope and honeysuckle, and it all turns a little into lily soap. No signs of pear or musk. Woe Definitely not for me, but it's a very nice and clean floral for people who are into that kind of thing.

Frimp from the lab - I love the concept of this and the rosewod, oak and teak sound lovely, but then all those florals . . . In the imp, this is woodsy rose. On wet - this almost smells a bit like sassafras for some reason. It might be something about the wood . . . strong oak and very strong florals. Yikes. As this dries down it . . . smells kind of like a feminine Tombstone. No, really. This is completely surreal. Some rose, sure, but mostly woods and sweetened phantom sassafras. What the deuce? Definitely an interesting scent.

I bought a bottle from this blindly from the Lab, mostly because I heard that it was the Lab's aquatic notes, which I love, plus the Lab's salt note, which I worship. So, let's have a go In the bottle, this already smells freaking brilliant. Just what it says in the description - salty blood with a hint of dragon's blood, possibly, and aquatics. On wet - Aquatics, straight-up, fairly salty. Drydown - Oh I love this. It's everything I wanted and more! It smells like salty seawater and a misty cloud of sea-spray. Salty, and with a hint of dragon's blood. Outstanding! Going on my top ten list, for sure