Janegodzilla

2009 version: I need to spend a little more time getting to know Dia de los Muertos, because when I first tried it I was a little weird hormone-wise and a lot of scents were going a little crazy on my skin. In the bottle, Dia de los Muertos was a lovely mix of sweet and savory, with lots of musk and flowers all jumbled together in a wonderful melange. But once it was on, all I got were flowers. Lots and lots and lots of flowers. It's not unpleasant by any means, and after about an hour or so the florals calmed down a little bit to let some smokiness through, but still. Yowza.

2009 version: Sweet fancy Moses, I love this scent. It’s cold and spicy at the same time, and all I could think of when I closed my eyes was a cold, blustery October night – fallen leaves, a hint of smoke on the air, people snug in their warm kitchens, candles flickering in carved pumpkins. It smelled amazing. What I love about Devil’s Night is that it doesn’t change much at all when it hits my skin. The musk comes out a little more, as does a faint boozy sweetness, but this doesn’t change the scent so much as open it up a little more. On my skin, Devil’s Night is warm and super-spicy – it reminds me of the way pumpkin spice lattes smell and taste, not because there’s anything pumpkin-y about it, but because there’s a particular combination of spices that screams “autumn” to me and Devil’s Night has it in spades. Devil’s Night is easily one of my favorites. I’ll be wearing this all winter long.

In the bottle, this smelled glorious -- like sugar and caramel and butter, super-sweet and delectably creamy. I wanted to drink it, it smelled so delicious. Unfortunately, it smelled so good in the bottle that I was a little overzealous in the application. At first, the slathered Boo smelled just as delicious on my skin as it did in the bottle -- the buttery note calmed down into something that was more "thick cream" than "buttered popcorn", and while I never got anything particularly cottony, the sugar and caramel were so strong and sweet that I didn't mind. My stomach, however, wasn't as happy with the sweetness as my nose was, and after a while Boo started to make me feel queasy. Broken-hearted, I washed it off my wrist. I didn't want to give up on it, though, and the next morning I tried layering it with The Antikythera Mechanism. Success! The sweetness and creaminess of Boo played beautifully with the vanilla smokiness of AM, and I didn't feel remotely queasy all day. I'm glad Boo plays well with others -- I'll definitely be wearing it a lot layered -- and someday I hope I can figure out the perfect amount for solo wear. The cream and caramel are pure deliciousness.

Amsterdam came to me as a frimp in my first order, and I was initially hesitant about trying it, if only because floral scents are so hit-or-miss for me. Some smell great, some go cloyingly sweet and overwhelming, and some give me a raging headache. I never know which it's going to be, so I find I approach florals with a little more caution than I might otherwise. And in the imp, Amsterdam is DEFINITELY floral. I was pleased to note, however, that it wasn't a "punch you in the face with flowers" sort of scent, but rather something a lot more refreshing. It's like having a warm breeze carry the scent of meadow flowers over to you, as opposed to sticking your face into a vase and inhaling. On my skin, it's still very floral, but to my pleasant surprise I also got a hint of pollen and lots of crisp, green grass. This scent is refreshing and pretty, and although it doesn't last as long on me as I would like, it's certainly not something I mind reapplying. It never went to soap, which was a huge relief. I would've been heartbroken. Final Verdict: This is going to get soooo much wear in spring and summer. I can also see myself wearing it a lot on days when I want to feel pretty -- not sexy, just straight-up pretty, because there's something about Amsterdam that makes me feel like I should be wearing a cute little skirt and kitten heels, and I absolutely adore that I've found an oil that makes me feel that way. I love this scent so much!

The Antikythera Mechanism smelled incredibly masculine to me in the imp, although not in an unpleasant way. Rather, the strong vanilla, tobacco, and teakwood notes made me think of the kind of cologne a distinguished Victorian gentleman might wear. I don't know many (okay, ANY) distinguished Victorian gentleman, but if I did, the in-the-imp Antikythera Mechanism is how I think they'd smell. The cologne aspect pretty much disappeared once the oil was on my skin. Wet, I mostly got vanilla, and as it dried the tobacco started to re-emerge. There was a deeper note below the tobacco, which I assume was wood of some sort (aside from picking out cedar, I'm still not that good at distinguishing wood notes from each other). On me, vanilla is definitely in the forefront, but the tobacco and wood keep it from being too strong and sweet. I'm a big fan of sweet vanilla, but the more mellow vanilla of the Antikythera Mechanism is just lovely. It's warm and comforting, like vanilla pipesmoke. This is also one of those oils where a little goes a long way, especially if your skin amps vanilla the way mine does. The first time I tested it, I put on too much and was bowled over by how strong it was, to the point where I got a little headachey. This morning, I split one drop between both wrists and another behind my ears, and that seems to be the perfect amount. It hasn't faded a bit and I smell fantastic. Final verdict: I'm in love. As masculine as this is in the bottle, the vanilla sweetens it considerably once it's on and the result is a scent that's warm and layered and comforting. Folks who love vanilla should do well with this one.

I don't think pine agrees with my skin chemistry. In the imp, Egle smelled like pine and flowers and the ocean, although she was a tiny bit soapy to me. On my skin, though, the flowers completely disappeared. All that came out on me was pine, pine, pine. I hoped some of the other notes would emerge the longer I wore it, but all that showed up was...even more pine. Gahhh. The pine ended up being almost sickly-sweet on me, and in the end I had to wash it off because it was giving me a headache. Final Verdict: Based on the description and other people's comments, I could see this being a really lovely scent for someone who can wear pine well. Sadly, I am not one of those people. This one's not going to stick around.

Azathoth is the blind, idiot god who sits on a black throne at the center of Chaos. His scent is high-pitched and screeching, both impenetrably dark and searingly bright with the clarity of madness: tangerine, saffron, vetiver, black amber and cedarwood. In the imp, I didn't get any of the tangerine. Instead, Azathoth smelled mostly like musk and dust, with a hint of something that reminded me of wood or chocolate. The cedar came forward like crazy on my skin, though. If there was any tangerine there, I couldn't pick it up -- instead, Azathoth is all cedar, all the time, and I'm not sure whether that's a good or bad thing for me. On one hand, I really like the burnt, dusty sweetness of cedar. On the other hand, my sinuses seem to disagree. A lot. Final Verdict: I love love love Azathoth's burnt-wood smell, but it made my sinuses clang shut the moment I put it on. No bottle for me.

I'm a huge Lovecraft fan, so I was incredibly excited to try out my Cthulhu imp. I was somewhat disappointed that soap was the first note to hit me from the vial. Beneath the soapiness, however, was something green and kind of salty, and so although the overall effect was a bit sharp, I was still intrigued. The soapiness stayed strong when wet on my skin, but as it dried the soap receded a bit and my tentacled friend started to smell more like juniper berries. When I closed my eyes, what immediately came to mind was the Oregon coastline in winter. Cthulhu smells green and gray and a little murky. It's like hiking through coastal evergreens on a windy, overcast day. It mellows a lot as it dries. Final Verdict: As much as I like Cthulhu, I don't see myself wearing it much. It's a little too masculine for me (although, considering who it's named for, I'm really not that surprised). The imp, however, shall stay -- I have a feeling this would smell amazing on my guy!

In the imp, Shoggoth smells delicious. It's lemony and refreshing, with a hint of flowers underneath. There's also a faint muskiness that I really like. On my skin, it starts off very juicy and citrusy, with lots of lemon and lime. As it dries, the citrus fades a bit and the tropical flowers take the forefront, with a deeper coconut note emerging underneath. The longer I have it on, the more the various scents merge and blend and flow together. It's really, really lovely on my skin. Final Verdict: Shoggoth reminds me of an ancient tropical jungle, lost and overgrown with tangles of sweet-smelling vines. It's feminine and pretty, but not overly girly, and I could see it being a wonderful hot-weather scent. The imp is definitely a keeper.

In the imp, Cheshire Cat smelled odd but exciting. Lots of currant and grapefruit, with something spicy or peppery underneath. I wasn't sure I liked it, but I was definitely intrigued. Once it was on my skin, I liked it a little more -- the grapefruit took a backseat to the currant and spice. Unfortunately, I don't think my chemistry agreed with Cheshire very much. The currant and spice notes amped so much that they overwhelmed everything else, and the fruitiness got so cloying that I ended up with a headache and had to wash it off. Final Verdict: I'm really sad about this one. I was super excited about trying it, but I think currant just doesn't work well with my skin. I smelled like a Christmas ornament, and not in a good way.

I got Lampades as a freebie in my first ever BPAL order. Because of the cranberry factor, I don't think I would've ordered it if left to my own devices. I like cranberries, but I'm not crazy about the idea of smelling like them. But it was a freebie and I was super-excited about trying out all of my new goodies, so I sampled Lampades first. In the imp, it smelled sharp and almost paint-like. I'm guessing that was the cranberries -- very tart, with kind of a bitter edge. When I got it on my wrist, the tartness persisted, although now I was able to distinguish an actual cranberry note as opposed to the overwhelming sharpness of the imp. There was some muskiness underneath that kept it from being all cranberries all the time, though, and in my notes I wrote that I occasionally got a whiff of something that reminded me of brown sugar. Once Lampades dried, though? No cranberry! None at ALL! It's like my skin completely absorbed the fruit, and what was left was musk and smoke and the occasional whiff of brown sugar. It reminds me of a kitchen around the holidays -- not foody, but kind of cozy and spicy and very, very warm. Final verdict: I'm utterly in love with this scent. I can see myself wearing it a lot, especially as the weather gets colder and we start moving from fall into winter. I want to wrap it around me like a blanket, it's so very warm and comforting. I'm so glad I got to try this!