Miss Lynx

I'm not sure what possessed me to try this, when it has five separate flowers in it and my skin usually amps florals like crazy. Plus, I don't like orris either. But I got it as a Lab frimp, and sniffed it in the imp before I read the description, and it smelled nice enough that I dropped it into the "to try" pile rather than the swap pile. But I was initially glad I did, because this seemed, bizarrely enough, not bad at all. Once I'd read the description, I was expecting it to turn into Death By Florals on me, but it didn't. Mainly I got lavender and sandalwood, with just a light touch of the others. Not really a "me" scent at all, but it wasn't bad, and definitely did come across as soft and calming. Enough so that I could see wearing it to help myself sleep, and thought about maybe hanging onto it until I can get a bottle of Somnus. But then... The lavender died down, and apparently it had just been hiding the others. One by one, the other florals began to assert themselves -- first the gardenia, then the violet, and I think it was round about then that it hit the Death By Florals stage and I ran to wash it off as a headache began. Oh well. Guess I'll be looking into Somnus after all. Grade: D

Although I am not a floral person myself, I would second Peitho and Amsterdam, both of which were gentle and light enough that even my floral-amping skin could tolerate them. I'd also suggest Euphrosyne, which while very much not me was very pretty and probably right in line with what you're looking for.

I just thought I should add Iago to the list. I know it's supposed to be a men's scent, but on me it smells more like a butch woman. I sniffed it on my wrist, and immediately thought "leather dyke"!

Light and citrussy, with just a faint touch of florals. I know this is theoretically a men's scent, but it strikes me as more androgynous than specifically masculine. It could work on either gender -- it's not really sexual in any sense, just sort of light and clean and fresh. It's a touch reminiscent of Mantis and Saint-Germain... Unfortunately, part of the similarity is that it seems to be disappearing really fast. Oh well. It was reasonably nice while it lasted. Grade: B-

Hmmm, interesting. It's a very unusual scent, even by BPAL standards. And there really is something in it that smells like clean laundry -- not sure what that could be! Mostly, though, it's kind of a dry herbal tea scent with just a bit of sweetness, and a touch of spice. I haven't entirely sorted out whether I like tea as a scent. I love tea to drink and have a cup everpresent on my desk pretty much all day and night. But as a scent on me, it just seems a little... odd. Not sure why. The one thing I kept thinking while sniffing this one was that it was probably a scent I would like to smell on my clothes or sheets more than on me. It's kind of like if you gave your laundry a final rinse with ginger tea. It also fades down fairly quickly, though the remaining soft, barely-there scent is quite nice and lingers for a while at that low level. All in all, not bad, and enough different than any of my other scents that I don't think I want to swap it away just yet even though I'm not sure it's really "me". The only thing that I've ever smelled that's been at all similar was Sudha Segara and I think I like this a little bit better than that. I guess the Rabbit and I need to get a little bit better acquainted before any final decisions are made. Grade: B or B-, not sure.

Another in a series of cast-offs by a very picky male friend of ours. This one didn't appeal to me at all based on the description, but when I sniffed the imp it actually smelled pretty interesting and not as skanky as I'd thought it would be. So I swiped a little on for a try. Not bad. Kind of reminiscent of Loviatar -- I'm tempted to say a male version of that, but I don't see Loviatar as all that feminine, or this as exclusively male. They're both in a fairly androgynous sector of the gender spectrum, to me, but Loviatar is slightly the more feminine of the two. It sweetens up a bit more on my skin than I would have expected, and I could see women wearing this, but definitely not your girly-girl types. It's a pretty butch sort of scent, but not in an "I am a men's scent!" sort of way. I could see this as more suitable to a leather dyke than to a guy. It's very heavy, earthy, musky and probably best worn in moderation. Ultimately I don't think it's really me, but it's an interesting scent and I could think of some people -- of both genders -- it would really suit. Grade: B/B-

Interesting. This was the one 5 mL out of our order that arrived in mid-January that was specifically for Kettu, not for me, though there were a few that we were both interested in. And ironically, it gave her a headache, but it's the only one of the DimV scents we ordered that comes anywhere close to working for me. Lenore and Alone, the ones I wanted, didn't work on me at all. It's not my usual sort of scent, though. It's very light... sort of dry, wispy and ethereal. Very suitable for its subject matter. It does seem a bit closer to a commercial-perfume type of scent than I usually like, but it's not overly sweet, which is nice. The papery note in it is reminiscent of Clio, which I like, and there's something else about it that's a bit like Shadow without the initial lemon-drop blast. I don't really get much of the citrus note others have mentioned, or much floral either. On me it's mainly light wood and herbal notes, with a very soft touch of floral. And as with most very light scents, it doesn't last terribly long, though it stays nice all through the fadeout. It's hard to decide what I think of this one - I certainly don't dislike it, but it doesn't entirely grab me, either. It's much nicer than I expected it to be, but I'm not altogether certain it's a me scent. I've put it in the swap pile and then taken it out again, a couple of times now. Guess I need to make a decision sooner or later... Grade: B or B-, not sure

I've got to second Shub-Niggurath -- it's the only one that comes close to what you've described that I can think of. It's a long-gone LE, but does turn up on eBay now and then. Unfortunately, it tends to command high prices there, but if you really want the ultimate ginger-musk scent...

I should really have known better. Ylang ylang is never good news, not on my skin. It's exactly the sort of high-pitched, sharp, overly sweet floral that my skin loves to amp, and comes across like the olfactory equivalent of nails on a blackboard to me. But in this case, the other ingredients with it were mostly so earthy that I thought they might balance out the ylang ylang. I was wrong. That would be like trying to balance out a tactical nuke. The ylang ylang completely dominates this scent on me, as it has in every other scent I've ever tried that contained it. I can faintly smell the other notes in the background, but only barely. Maybe if it had about 1/10th the amount of ylang ylang in it that it does, I would like it. In my ideal world, BPAL would have separate versions of all their scents for the florally challenged like me, which would have much-reduced levels of the floral notes, kind of like a low-carb version. But that, alas, is likely to remain a fantasy. Oh well. Grade: D

Kind of like with March Hare, I want to like this one but it seems to be missing something. There are elements in it that I really like, but it's lacking depth and there's a kind of flatness to it as a result. Initially, I was more worried about the wine note, and indeed it does start out with that aggravating grape-candy scent that BPAL's wine note seems to turn to on me, but that fades really fast. The currant-thyme combo is nice, like the apricot-clove in March Hare, but ultimately a little too simplistic, and also lacks staying power. It needs something more to give it depth, and particularly the darkness you'd expect from a character like Lady Macbeth. Some myrrh or oakmoss or something would have been nice. Oh well. As it is, it's not bad, but not great. Grade: B

Hmmm. As with most of the others I've tried lately, I have mixed feelings about this one. It has some very nice aspects to it, but also some that I don't like so much. There's a nice golden warmth to it, and more complexity than with some of the others, but it verges on being a little too sweet for me. I think it's the heliotrope, which my skin tends to amp a bit. And the vanilla sometimes comes across as a touch Play-Doh-y It's reminiscent in some ways of both Aglaea and Fae, but I think I like both of those better than this (Aglaea especially, which has become one of my preferred mood-lifters for grey days). I don't dislike this scent, but I'm not sure I need to keep it around when I have other similar ones that I like more. Then again... There's enough complexity to it that I may need to try it a few more times to be sure. Like a lot of BPAL's better scents, it smells a bit different each time I sniff it. Grade: B

Hmmm. I like this one, but not as much as I'd hoped to. Apricot and clove are both good notes on me, and they work well together, but ultimately it just feels like it's missing something. Maybe if those notes were put together with the background notes of Imp -- amber, musk, patchouli -- or something like that... Something to give them some depth. It also does a quick fade. As it is, it's a bit too much like a potpourri or scented candle scent. Pleasant, but not particularly complex or evocative. It's just sort of... Yep, that's fruit and spice, all right. Grade: B

OK, at first this scent was on my no-go list, because so many people who reviewed it mentioned a strong almond/cherry note. I hate almondy scents with an unbending passion, and maraschino cherries, which is what a lot of cherry scents smell like to me, are not far behind. Ironically, I'm perfectly happy with eating almonds, and cherries of the non-maraschino variety, but I would not drink Amaretto if it was the only alcohol left in the entire world. But I digress. Anyway, now that I've tried a lot of different scents, I've found there are a few here and there with those notes that I don't mind, partly because they tend to be among those aggressive top notes that fade away really fast. Voodoo and Bastet both have almond, and Blood has cherry, and I like all those - I just avoid sniffing them for the first few minutes. So all things considered, I decided to give Black Phoenix a try. First impression: ALMOND. Almond like a Very Almondy Thing. Almond like a cyanide poisioning scene from an Agatha Christie novel. One can almost see the bluish corpse on the floor with its tongue sticking out, and that is probably what I will look like if I have to smell this again. But of course, almond usually fades quickly. So I try again in a few minutes, and get... ALMOND! Hey, no fair! Let's wait another 5 or 10 minutes. How about now? ALMOND! What demonic force is enabling the almond to hang in there this long? It does eventually fade, but it takes its time. Even as it finally starts to die down, it seems like it's clinging to my skin by its fingernails, refusing to quite let go. But eventually it does... and leaves an absolutely gorgeous spicy incensey scent that I really like! Now why couldn't that have happened a little sooner, damn it? Hmmm. I think I will have to try this again sometime and see how it goes. The eventual result is divine, but I could seriously do without the initial almond attack. Cyanide is not a "me" scent (if I was going to poison someone, I'd go with arsenic because you can feed it to them little by little so that they slowly sicken and you can pass it off as natural causes). I could see myself developing a love/hate relationship with this scent, and which will triumph remains to be seen. Grade: Initial: D, Eventual: A-

This one starts out interesting -- dry and spicy and not overly sweet. I was expecting it to be more floral, but the flowers are fairly low in the mix, even on my floral-amping skin. Mainly I get pepper, and a faint trace of mandarin, over a dry herbal/woody base. During that phase, I kind of like it. Unfortunately, the spicy and fruity aspects of it fade fairly quickly on me, leaving just the drily aromatic base. At that point, while not unpleasant, it's also not very interesting. And then, within an hour or so, it's pretty much gone. Oh well. Seems to work well on Kettu, but obviously not meant for me. Grade: B-

Oh, dear. Supposedly this is all woods, herbs and grasses, with just "the lightest white flowers" added, but all I get is the flowers. Loud, screaming, high-pitched, headache-inducing attack flowers. I didn't have a chance to find out if the flowers would eventually fade to let the other notes come out, because in fairly short order it started giving me a headache and I had to wash it off. *sigh* High, cold florals are my bane, which I suppose is why there's very little in the Funereal Oils category that works for me. Grade: D

Wow. This is supposed to be a men's scent? Rose. Rose rose rose rose ROSE! I guess it would be OK for a man who was obsessed with roses (don't laugh, I know one). On me, though, it smells pretty damn girly. I suppose it's my skin amping up the florals again. Very similar to Spellbound, actually. Roses over musk, though with a little touch of spice as well. Once it dries down enough for the rose onslaught to fade and the musk and spice to make themselves known, it's quite pretty, but man, this is some seriously rosy stuff. Grade: B-

The Lion's nice, but very heavy on the cinnamon! Which may be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your tastes. Other nice amber-heavy scents: Haunted, O, Coyote, Fenris Wolf.

This was a heartbreaker. Apart from Red Phoenix, it was the one I'd most looked forward to in our recent Lab order. But alas, it does not love me, or vice-versa. It shows just enough of what could have been great about it to be a tease. Tantalizing hints of cardamom and mandarin, faint traces of hidden florals.. But out there, front and centre, dominating the scent in true playground-bully fashion, is patchouli. Or should I say PATCHOULI, since it seems to be screaming its name from the rooftops. Now the thing is, I like patchouli... in moderation. When it plays well with others. I do not like it when it bosses the other notes around or beats them up for their lunch money. If this scent had about half the amount of patchouli it does, it would be lovely spicy goodness. As it is, it's just... patchouli. With just enough hints of the other notes to be frustrating. It does settle down some after a while, so the other notes are a little more identifiable, but it never really stops being patchouli-dominant. Kettu put it on after I did, and got something completely different. She recoiled in her chair, holding out her wrists, and said "Whoa! This is SPICY!", then cautiously leaned forward to sniff again, and got an impish smile on her face. She came over and extended her wrists for me to sniff, and the scent was barely recognizable. It was so fiercely spicy I thought it was Three Witches at first, though it seemed more complex than that one. But no... That was what Alone did on her. I sadly held up my wrist for her to sniff, and she said with an expression of sympathy "Um, yeah. That would be patchouli." *sigh* Grade: C+/B-

Interesting... This is an odd combination of scents. I'd been worried the florals in it would be too strong, but they're not -- it doesn't come across as predominantly floral at all. I can definitely get the wine note -- that seems to jump out most strongly to me. Musk and leather are definitely in there too -- I can see (or smell, rather) parallels to Loviatar here. The florals are there, but very much in the background. Overall, it seems like the different notes aren't really meshing together, though. The wine note is a little sour, and the other notes seem to be just sort of... there, but not really joining together into anything that's greater than the sum of its parts. It's OK, but it seems like it doesn't quite know what it wants to smell like and is just sort of meandering around in a state of confusion. Interesting, but not a keeper. Grade: B-

Holy mint blast, Batman! This was really strong when I first put it on... enough so that Kettu was waving the scent away from her on the other side of the room. This possibly has more throw than any other scent I've ever tried. There was an earthy undertone, but the mint was very much front and centre. The combination was kind of like sucking on an Altoid while gardening. But the initial mint onslaught, like most aggressive top notes, fades down after a while, and the other notes begin to come out more. There's a dry, earthy mossiness underneath it all, and at one point during the drydown, thebalance between the two makes it a perfectly cool, clean, dry herbal that would be great during the hot days of summer for making you feel fresh. Unfortunately, as it settles in further, that balance is lost. The mosses become dominant and the mint begins to smell like a jarring off-note in an otherwise dust-earth-moss type of scent. It's still not bad, exactly -- it just seems a bit disjointed. I'm glad I got the chance to try it, but it's not really me. Grade: C+

I had to try this given that I'm part Dutch and really enjoyed the one trip to Amsterdam that I'vehad, but I was worried this scent would be overly floral, at least one me. But I didn't have to worry -- it is a floral, but a very light, gentle one, and not overly sweet. I think it's as much herbal as floral -- I suppose that's the grassy element. And yes, I could definitely see tulips here. As others have said, this does have a springtime feel to it. It's very light and breezy and soft, not an aggressive scent at all. Really, its only down side is that it's perhaps a little *too* gentle - and thus lacks character. It's pleasant enough, just not very interesting. It also disappears fairly quickly -- it's been less than half an hour since I put it on and it's virtually gone. Overall, not too bad, but probably not a keeper. Grade: B-

I tried this at the same time as Amsterdam, because they both seemed like watery florals that might be dreadful on me, but which I wanted to at least try before consigning them to the swaps (got them as frimps from the Lab). Neither were really as strongly floral as I expected, not even on my floral-amping skin. And of the two, Danube is definitely the stronger and more distinctive. It does come across as slightly floral, but there's also a strong fruity element, and a definite aquatic feel. It's very much a watery, cool-smelling scent. A lot of people have mentioned grapefruit -- I don't get that so much, but there's definitely something fruity here, and I could see it being citrus of some sort. But it doesn't really seem to have the bitterness of grapefruit. My strongest impression of it, though, is that it's very Body Shop-ish -- more than anything I've encountered, it smells like the overall ambient scent of that store. This is what I would come home smelling like when I used to work there, many years ago -- a sort of mixed fruity-floral-herbal generic quasi-natural perfuminess (quasi-natural in that it's the sort of thing synthetic perfumers come up with when they want something to smell "natural"). Definitely brings back a few memories, but I'm not sure it's something I need to smell like again. Grade: C+

This was a pleasant surprise. Another in the pack of men's scents we recently got gifted with, this one does an excellent sex change on my skin, smelling decidedly feminine. I think that for once my skin's tendency to amp florals has worked in my favour -- the floral notes in here are quite prominent, but balanced out nicely by the patchouli, leather and incense. The overall effect is a bit like Burial meets Loviatar with a touch of Gypsy Queen and maybe Sin -- it's earthy, heady and just floral enough without being too floral. I keep thinking there's some kind of musk in here too, but it's not on the list of notes, so maybe not. It doesn't come across as all that chocolatey on me -- I can smell the chocolate quite strongly in the imp, but once on my skin, it drops back into the mix and doesn't really stand out. But I think it's still in there as a background presence. Overall, it's rich, earthy and kinda sexy. And strong -- not in the sense of strong-smelling, but in that it makes me feel strong -- definitely a power scent. This is one guy-scent that's not going to a guy -- it stays right here! Grade: B+

Warm cinnamon, husky clove and white pepper. Although the description didn't sound like it would have as much depth and complexity as I like in a scent, I couldn't resist ordering this because so many other spicy scent fans seemed to consider it the Holy Grail. And I do basically like it, but not as much as I'd hoped to. The pepper note is quite dominant at the beginning, a not altogether pleasant foody scent that smells more like I should be putting it into a sauce or something than wearing it (though I'm not entirely sure I'd *want* it in a sauce -- it smells a bit... off). But thankfully that dies down before long, leaving a fairly nice cinnamon-clove scent. But that too fades within an hour or two. Not a lot of staying power here. It doesn't have the excessive sweetness of Bengal, but it doesn't really have the incensey depth of Chimera either, though it's definitely in the same scent-family as both of them. It's pleasant enough, but having just ordered a 5 mL of Chimera, I'm not convinced I need them both. I will probably be passing this on to someone who will love it more than I do. Grade: B

Sigh. I am starting to realize that wood and I are rarely friends. I'm usually OK with the evergreens -- pine and fir and juniper and what not -- and often with sandalwood, but beyond that, woody scents often tend to go kind of nasty on me. It's OK if they're in the background behind other things, but if they come out into the foreground, it's pretty much game over. Intrigue was nice initially, while the cocoa and fig were dominant -- a bit Freak Show-ish, though not as complex. But then after about an hour, those died down and it was all wood, and the particular kind of wood that goes really unpleasantly dry and funky on me. Oh well. I have other, better, chocolatey scents, and figgy scents too. Grade: Initially B, later C. Overall: C+