Amaroq

The notes are right, but when freshly applied, this pulls heavy baby powder on me. Give it a few minutes and it turns to a very autumnal/wintery holiday-appropriate spicy cinnamon scent, which is pleasant. A minute or two after that, it goes back to smelling like baby powder. Letting it mature yields a gentlemanly scent, a bit like a more bookish than foppish, less floral and citrusy version of Dorian. It's a bit strange that I would get such a powdery smell out of it -- I usually amp leather and patchouli and wear them well. It is promising, but I hate the smell of baby powder, so I think I might let this one age a bit and see what happens.

Imp: Shades of Crowley. Crowley is the BPAL I wear most often, so this is a good thing. On: Yum, sandalwood. Patchouli checks in after a bit. I think I may smell cinnamon sweetening it, but if I do, it's very faint. This is nice. I'll use this up. Edit: Almost a year later and this endeared itself to me more than I expected it to. It is a very sexy scent; a little sweeter than I usually prefer, but it's a good one.

Imp: Classy. Very classy. I smell lemon, but it's not a floor cleaner lemon, it's a very elegant lemon. On: Still elegant lemon. I'm trying to figure out what's making it smell so... rich. I'm thinking it's the white tea and orchid. I can't even describe this. It smells so, SO good. I love it. Bottle! BOTTLE!!!

Imp: My immediate thought was "seashells!" I like this already. Very fresh and oceanic. On: Sharp ozone. It's still reminding me of seashells and sand. It smells incredibly familiar. I think a family member had a candle like this when I was young. Dry: Brings to mind photographs of bright blue skies, bright turquoise water, and white sand. It's very strong and very clean. I smell leather and something warm after a while. I'll definitely wear this. Might even get a bottle.

I was really, really looking forward to this one. From the reviews, I was terrified that it was going to be way too feminine, but I was still very drawn to it, so I ordered an imp. In the imp, it... wasn't too feminine. Not masculine by any means, but not TOO feminine. Unfortunately, when I put it on, it all went to hell. Baby powder. Nothing but baby powder. No, wait, baby powder and Play-Doh. DAMNATION! I can't even bear to let it dry. I think it's the iris note that ended up screwing me over... I've never liked any floral besides rose, on me or anyone else. *sighs* Oh well.

Imp: Wow, what the hell is this? The upper part of the wand has a weird fruity smell, and the tip smells like... chocolate. I didn't think war smelled like chocolate, but what do I know, I'm not in the military. On: I smell mandarin. I think that the aforementioned weird fruity smell was the mandarin mixing with the cocoa. Thankfully, now it's less weird and more citrus. The musk comes along to warm it up as it dries. Dry: Warm and orangey. Hmmm. Not sure how I feel about this one.

Imp: HOLY JESUS CRANBERRIES. Wet: HOLY JESUS CRANBERRIES. Dry: UH, CHERRIES? Cinnamon and cherries. Yeesh, I really wasn't expecting that. This is a super-foody scent. It smells like a Yankee Candle that I can't recall the name of. Once I get used to it, it's actually pretty yummy. I think the vanilla comes out to make it a little more complex. I don't smell frankincense, heliotrope, or almond at all, or at least I don't think I do. Probably not something I'd wear in public, but I'd wear it in the colder seasons at home. Or rather, I'd wear it on my clothing in the colder seasons at home, because it actually irritated my skin. Not too badly, but damn, I've never had that reaction to cinnamon before.

The imp is rather citrusy. This smells exactly like a slightly fruitier (I'm assuming the peach) Dorian on me. That's pretty much it. Wow, er. It does stand on its own, and it's definitely not an exact clone, but it really does smell a lot like Dorian.

I smell citrus in the imp. It's delicious. I put it on, and it stays delicious. The citrus vanishes within three minutes and leaves a vaguely lush but warm and soft amber, but it comes back in a lower key within three minutes after that, then fades again. Then it all seems to disappear. Strangely, I smell the citrus in the air, but almost nothing on my wrist. Weird. I'll have to do some experimenting. I love the wet tropical feel of this scent, so I hope I can make it work. (I edit my posts too much, I know...) Now it smells like water and flowers and fruit. Mostly water. Very relaxing, very nice. Hopefully it'll stay that way! If it does, I'll look into getting a bottle.

Well, that was helpful. Thank you, everyone.

I'm looking for recommendations of oils with leather and vanilla notes. I love them individually and I love them together (Crowley smells incredible on me). Or, as the topic description says, you could recommend an oil with notes of leather, ocean water, and sugar, if any exist. I remember years ago a day I wore a long leather coat and conditioner in my hair that smelled just like salty, rainy sea water, and a girl friend sprayed me with a sugary perfume she had. They smelled amazing together. I've been on the lookout for something that would recreate the experience ever since.

I'm just tossing in my support for the idea of more coffee scents. Especially a mocha latte scent. Yum. Although, now that I think about it, a mocha cappuccino would probably smell much better as a perfume (on me, anyway).

I'll preface this by saying that Good Omens is my favorite book. I love Aziraphale and Crowley equally, but decided to try Crowley first, since the blend has a lot of notes that flatter me. I have had my eye on this blend since it came out (yeah, it took me a while to get it...). In the bottle, it's all leather and patchouli, with a sweet undertone. Wet on my skin, it's still all leather and patchouli, though I can smell red musk when I take a deep breath. I don't mind it at all. Leather is one note that I know for sure plays nice on my skin, and while I've never worn patchouli or red musk before, they smell great with the leather. After about an hour, the sweet smell comes through, which I'm thinking is the vanilla husk. This is a leather/patchouli/red musk combination with leather as the dominant note, and a very slight, very attractive vanilla note when it dries. I think I smell a touch of the mahogany, too. Sexy, smoky, sweet, and surprisingly classy. Perfectly Crowley. It smells fantastic on me, and seems to last a while. I love this! Yum!

Unfortunately, Dorian smells fantastic on me when it's wet, all refined cologne and sugared tea, but goes soapy when it dries (it has a fougere note, and fougere includes lavender... I have never agreed with lavender). It returns to its initial deliciousness in a lower key a few hours hence, but I really dislike how long the soapiness lasts. Still, it's extremely promising, so I'm going to let this bottle age and see what happens. Edit: I'm wearing it now on my wrists and neck... it's dry and not soapy at all. Well, then. I can now admit to a fondness for Dorian.

In the imp, this smells extremely feminine, but pleasant, like vanilla and coconut. There is a hint of vampy blackness, though. Some sort of musk, perhaps? It retains its femininity on the skin, with a powdery note. Many people have called it soft, and I suppose it is, but not in a demure way. It's inviting and pillowy. Dry, I'm still getting vanilla and coconut, less of the powder (which is a good thing, to me). That may have been the muskiness that I smelled in the imp. Overall, it's very soothing, and a little alluring. I can see this being incredibly flattering on an older woman. While it doesn't suit my personality at all, it does smell quite nice, so if none of my lady friends are fond of it, this will be another oil to burn. Edit: This, like Absinthe, smells very nice on my mum. There's another imp for her!

First time in a while an oil has smelled differently on me than in the bottle! In the imp, it smelled like sweet sandalwood. I put it on my wrist, and was rewarded with sugar cane. Half a minute or a minute later, it's sugary cinnamon. Same amount of time later, it's smelling woodsy. Next, definitively cinnamon and sandalwood. Now this is interesting! I like both cinnamon and sandalwood, but I don't know if I like them together... the sugar cane is strong on me, and is sweetening the blend beyond my tastes, but I'll let it mature. Now the mango's coming out and this oil has an incredibly powerful throw scent of fruity gum. Lean in closer, and you smell the spice from the sandalwood. I think I like it. I also think it's mixing with the equally as powerful drop of Absinthe I got on my robe (almost all I can smell right now is minty anise, like it's burnt into my nose...) and the Penny Dreadful I'm sampling on the other wrist, which may or may not be flattering the Dodo. I think that once the crazy party is over on my wrist and I focus on the smell, it smells like particularly fruity incense. I like fruity, I like incense, and I like fruity incense. I'm not head-over-heels in love with it on my skin, but the imp's a keeper, and this would probably be fantastic in an oil burner. This smells remarkably better on me the next day (no more minty anise corrupting my sense of smell). I changed my mind, I may have to buy a big bottle of this.

Penny Dreadful smells like taking a walk through the woods after a snowfall, and it warms up when it dries, like sitting by a fire post-walk. Very enjoyable.

The first whiff of it I got reminded me exactly of an extract that we had when I was very young, but I couldn't remember what it was... I read the first few posts in this thread, and I figure it must have been licorice extract. I can say that on first smell, it did come off as being very boozy. All I get in the imp and wet on the skin is a swift kick to the face of black licorice and the slightest hint of mint that goes right to my sinuses. Dry, I still get the mint chill, with slightly less licorice (which I assume is the anise) and slightly more wood, if I take a deep breath. Edit: Just read a few more posts... THAT is what this smells like. ROOT BEER. And I hate root beer. Too bad... but I will definitely recommend this to the fans of black licorice and root beer whom I know. The edit strikes back: This smells lovely on my mum. The imp belongs to her now.