fairestrocza

In the Imp: heavy on the jasmine Wet on Skin: floral, soapy While Drying: This reminds me of the basket of multi-scented decorative soaps my Grandmother kept in her bathroom. After a Little While: occasional hint of myrrh beneath the florals Final Thoughts: another floral that doesn't work with my skin Nyx earns a 2/5

In the Imp: Evergreen, bright, fresh Wet on Skin: Piney, citrusy, gingery While Drying: Still a good mix of pine and citrus with a little spicy kick After a Little While: Here is where it gets interesting... My BFF and I like to play a game where we both test the same scent, then marvel at how different it becomes (rarely would anyone guess we were wearing the same oil). On me, the base notes dominate, and I get mostly pine with just a bit of a brightening kick from the other notes. On her, the pine virtually disappears, and she is left with a delicate orange scent. Both are lovely, but oh so different. The BFF likes it, but thinks it is better on me. Final Thoughts: Jabberwocky is energetic, but calm, and has good staying power (lingering traces remained after a shower). This imp is interfering with my other testing because it keeps demanding to be worn! I will definitely have to pick up a 5ml in the near future. Jabberwocky earns a 4.5/5 ETA: Wow. Just re-tested my ~10 month old imp. I can pick out the animalistic, hidden beast note now like never before! It is very apparent in the imp and while wet. As it dries, the citrus overtakes it. Still a lovely piney base.

Thanks for the input! Based on review comments, I compiled a list of scents likely to contain eucalyptus or similar effects... SCENT (# reviews mentioning eucalyptus (some attribute it to other components)) Baku (49) Belladonna (47) Hemlock (29) Snow Moon (18) Gnome (17) Czernobog (13) Snow, Glass, Apples (12) Nocnitsa (12) Temple of Dreams (11) Ace of Wands (11) Ajna (11) Undertow (10) Astraphobia v1 (10) The World (10) Sagittarius (10) Concentration (9) Ugh (9) Burial (8) TKO (8) Djinn (8) Pluto (8) Lustration (8) Bed of Nails (8) Nephilim (7) Yew-Trees (7) Nine Mysteries (7) Ace of Pentacles (7) Kathmandu (6) Talvikuu (Yule 2005) (6) Wolfsbane (6) Ace of Swords (6) Stress Relief Elixir (6) Oof (6) Brimstone (5) Grr (5) Aquarius (5) Golden Priapus (5) Horn of Plenty (5) Envy (5) Nuclear Winter (5) Yggdrasil (5) White Light (5) Mistletoe (5) Ice Queen (5) Salamander (5) Vigor (5) Jezirat al Tennyn (5) Many others with 4 or less mentions, but I figure this is a good list for now

I was *so* excited when Stormhold arrived in the mail... and so disappointed when I tried it. The good news is that it works a bit better on The Boy, so it wasn't a total failure. In the Bottle: Fresh, a bit soapy Wet on Skin: (on me) Irish Spring Soap. (The Boy) Still clean, and a bit soapy, but more of a fresh-out-of-the-shower smell, and not as offensively single-note-irish-spring as I ended up getting. While Drying: Powerful throw while wet. (on me) The Boy smells califlour (?!), then Irish Spring. I just smell the Irish Spring. (The Boy) Stormhold seems to sink in better and blend more with his natural scent. He seems to be picking up the lower notes. After a Little While: (on me) Irish Spring. (The Boy) Mellows out a bit, still clean/fresh. Later: The first time I tried this one, I thought the scent left me after a few hours, but I may just have started tuning it out. The second time I wore it, it seemed to linger for ages. Final Thoughts: I think I need to dabble with more GC scents and figure out my chemistry tendencies before I run off and purchase un-impable blends. I wish I could pick up the imagery that some others have been able to detect in this blend. Stormhold earns a 2.5/5 on me and a 3.5/5 on The Boy.

Sophia was one of the initial imps I tried in my ongoing Quest for the Perfect Lavender... When I was young, I lived in a town called Sophia Antipolis. The front yard of our house was a dense mass of lavender with a single cork tree. The smell of lavender greeted us every time we left or returned to the house, and left a lasting impression in my scent memory - I *had* to try Sophia to see if it would capture Sophia Antipolis. In the Imp: Perfume-y, slightly bitter... lemony? Wet on Skin: Perfume-y lavender While Drying: Smokey/soapy lavender *sigh* After a Little While: Soapy Final Thoughts: Ironically, my lavender soap smells less soapy than Sophia. Florals, especially florals that include jasmine, often go soapy on me. Sophia earns a 2/5, and the Quest continues...

Gaueko was one of the initial scents I tried in my ongoing Quest for the Perfect Lavender... In the Imp: Soapy fake florals with a hint of incense Wet on Skin: Soapy fake lavender *sigh* While Drying: the soapy effect is taking over After a Little While: yup, soapy. On my second attempt, I got the sandalwood note more, but still soapy and not enough Lavender... Final Thoughts: I have a hard time with most florals, so I had high hopes for this blend. Unfortunately, sandalwood does not seem to like my skin. Gaueko earns 2/5, and it looks like the quest will continue...

In the Imp: something off-putting; the BFF says "It smells like B.O." Wet on Skin: Chocolate with something sickly sweet - cloying While Drying: I don't like this phase... it emphasizes the cloying aspect After a Little While: I haven't had good luck with Sandalwood so far, and this is the first scent with a chocolate note that I have tried... not sure which to blame, but this is not working. Later: mellows a bit after a few hours, but too incense-y (specifically too sandalwoody - in general, I like the scents with a strong incense note) Final Thoughts: Velvet smells delicious on my personal Enabler. Unfortunately, it does nothing good on my skin. I was testing from an aged imp, so I may have to try Velvet again from her fresher 5ml bottle and see if age is affecting my results... but as it stands, Velvet earns a 2/5.

I have tried both a fairly old imp (I am guessing at least a year old, possibly 2 or more years old) and a fresh bottle (purchased in response to the imp test) of Vixen. The oil in the imp was more viscous, and the scent seemed to have a bit more intensity, but scent-wise were nearly identical. In the Imp: Dusty-sweet incense (I thought it was Nag Champa at first before reading the notes) Wet on Skin: Nag Champa! (except that it is really Patchouli) While Drying: ...spice... ...vanilla... After a Little While: Incense & Vanilla, incensey-vanilla - gorgeous! Later: lasts forever... wonderful scent Final Thoughts: Vixen is _amazingly_ delicious on me, to the point that friends have started requesting that I wear it when we are planning to spend time together. The first time I wore it, I asked The Boy to smell me... When I finally pried him away from my neck, he asked what it was called. I told him, and he replied with a nod and a smile, "fitting name." (Now he says "Epic Win!") The Best Friend says: "Smells like sex, in a good way." Vixen gets a solid 5/5, and is holding its own as my favorite scent so far.

I am now about 30? 40? imps into a growing BPAL obsession, and I figured it was about time to start moving some notes from my spreadsheet to the review boards, starting with my first love: Hemlock. In the Imp: Evergreen, slightly sweet (in a good way)... Wet on Skin: On wrists, very piney. In elbows, a brief (very brief) blast of strong eucalyptus, quickly taken over by the evergreen scent... While Drying: The eucalyptus fades into the background, serving to brighten the forest smell; a lemony scent appears... After a Little While: A true evergreen scent. Pure, fresh, and slightly sweet, uplifted by citrus and eucalyptus... Later: Good lasting power. Never turns nasty. Love love love! Final Thoughts: Hemlock is my gateway scent, and my first 5ml purchase. The evergreen note is the pure, crisp, natural scent I associate with wandering around trying to pick out a Christmas tree (though I will likely wear this year-round whenever I want a little emotional boost). My fellow sniffers do not seem to like this on me as much as *I* like it on me, but that is fine - I still rate it as 5/5, and Hemlock is currently one of my two favorites. Additional Notes: Back when I started testing oils, I assumed that Hemlock would eventually be replaced by some other foresty scent, but after testing quite a few woodsy blends, Hemlock is still in my top 5 overall, and looks likely to stay there. It makes me happy every time I wear it! (edited to add Additional Notes)