Hawke

I get musk and just a hint of leather from the imp. Wet on the skin, it's new leather. Not broken in, not at all dirty, but clean, stiff, squeaking leather. I don't mind the smell of leather but I'm not sure if I need something that's this direct. Still, I'm willing to give it a shot and let it dry. And I did, and oh man, this could have been a nice scent, particularly on a guy, but I didn't think it was bad on me. Until the headache kicked in. Something in this does not agree with me, and while I can see that it's pretty, I don't think I'm going to keep something that causes me pain. Pity.

Smells like apple cider in the imp. Wet on skin, it's initially pretty faint. Apple-y with a hint of cinnamon, and pleasant, but not a whole lot of throw. There's a whisper of something chilly, too, which might be wood. It does warm up and strengthen once it sinks into the skin and it really does smell like mulled cider. No smoke yet, but we'll see if it turns up. Dry, this reminds me of a bowl of cider put out on Halloween, possibly with dry ice curling up from it, and cinnamon sticks floating on the murky top. In other words, it's very evocative. I like it quite a lot. I'll test it again before deciding whether I need a bottle, but the decant is staying with me for sure.

Almost pure almond in the imp, which isn't a bad thing. I like almond. More of the same, wet on skin, though the thick, syrupy Snake Oilness is there lurking underneath, waiting to spring out. I love the smell of aged Snake Oil so I can't call that bad, either, but I'm not sure that this is going to be all that different from Snake Oil itself. Or, I could be wrong, as this turns into a fantastic, crunchy cookie sort of scent as it's drying. I'm not getting any of the mandarin, but I'm not missing it. I'd like the recipe to bake whatever smells like this. Dry, the almond lingers and I keep happily sniffing myself. I can make an imp stretch forevvvver, so I'm not sure that this calls for a big bottle, but the decant is staying with me for sure. I will ponder when I get a look at my finances and possibly have a chance to test this again.

Oof. What a scent, in the imp. I really do get the scent of weeds growing at the edge of a slightly nasty pond, along with the pumpkin note hiding within them. Not a real comforting scent. I get the pine pitch too, all cool and sharp. Wet on the skin, woo, that's dirt for sure. It gives me the sense of trying to breathe in dirt and makes me feel like I have grit on the back of my tongue. I'd wash it off if not for the occasional whiff of pumpkin that keeps me intrigued. When it finally dries, the dirt calms down enough that I can breathe without feeling like I might choke. It's still present, though, and I have dirt and pumpkin. As much as I'm surprised by the fact that it's not a terrible smell, I have no desire to smell like dirt.

This is pure pumpkin in the imp, which makes me feel better about putting the asphalt and beer on my skin, but we'll see what happens. Weirdly, like Spiked Punch, this one all but disappears on me, wet on the skin. I can smell a hint of pumpkin close up and a bit more wafting around from a distance, but I'm hoping it gets stronger. What is it about me and the Inquisition scents? Immediately after I wrote that, of course, the scent strengthened up. The rule of complaining on the 'net works! Ahem. At any rate, I can't say I'm getting asphalt or beer. Just pumpkin, which I'm not complaining about, but it's sort of a single note at this point. Eventually I got some beeswax, candle scent, but no asphalt, no beer, so this is a pleasant pumpkin candle scent. Interesting, but probably not worth keeping just to say I have it when I have other pumpkin scents I like.

Pumpkin in the imp and something sharp. Not sure if that's the black musk or the leather, but it's got *bite* and makes me a leeeetle nervous. Wet on skin, yes, there's pumpkin there, but it's not buttery or particularly sweet. There's also something very "perfume" about it. Sharp, commercial. It smells like it could have come from a department store counter, which is weird to me, coming from BPAL. It's sweetened up a bit and I must be getting some of the orange because there's a tang coming through. This does the weirdest thing on me. As it settles and melds and blends on my skin, it goes almost tropical. I swear it's turning into a pumpkin pina colada. Ultimately, I liked this a lot more than I expected to. I think I'm going to have to retest it, though, as I never really got wood or leather, just the hints of both and while I don't mind, it's not what I was expecting so I don't want it to be a fluke. Yay for the first time weirdness, though. It was very nice.

Smushed candy corn, rock candy dust, marshmallow gunk, strawberry goo, spun blue sugar, globs of salt water taffy, and lint. Thick and syrupy in the imp. It's almost molasses sweet at first and finishes with a fruity, Nerds-esque note. Wet on skin, the fruity fades momentarily and the sugar takes on a browned or almost burnt sort of smell, then they combine and this becomes really sweet fruity cotton candy. It's light and fluffy and while it's wafting around it's sort of like catching a whiff of the stuff while it's being spun at a fair. This is *awesome*! Someone mentioned that there are two parts to this scent: the caramel-y dark sugar and the bright, fluffy fruit. For me, they never blend. Every sniff starts in that dark space and ends light and fluffy. Did I mention awesome? I can only imagine how this will age. I think I need to get a bottle and find out. Eventually it mellows out a bit and stops flipping between thick and syrupy and fluffy lightness. It's still gorgeous and I'm so glad I have the imp, at least. Edited to add scent description.

Resinous and sweet in the imp. The idea of roses scares me, but I'm going to try it anyway. Wet on skin, it's thickly sweet. Warm, a little spicy. I assume the honey-like scent is the agave nectar but I could be wrong. Ah, there's the rose. For the moment, at least, it's not screaming about it's presence and is actually fairly nice. We'll see what happens as it continues to dry. Fortunately, this never reaches Screaming Rose levels, as most of the other lab blends with rose in them do. I can smell it, of course, a soapy note hiding beneath the spice. It's not horrid or traumatizing, but I do think it makes this a little less enjoyable than it started out. I'll keep the imp for now and no doubt retest it. I seriously doubt that this will end up a bottle scent.

In the imp, it's a sharp alcohol, though I can't tell which, over the fruit underneath. Oddly enough, wet on my skin, this…disappears almost entirely if I put my nose close. If I wave my wrist around, I get a very faint wafting of fruitiness, but I couldn't tell you what kinds. Kind of smells like a fruity gum. Now there's a weird almost metallic note when I get close to skin. The fruit's still present from a distance but...this is weird. As it dries, I can actually smell more of the scent now, and I'd call it more sangria than punch, but it's nice to know that my nose hasn't simply stopped working. It's not terrible, but there is a sort of false note behind the fruit that reminds me of a tupperware pitcher the sangria might have been in. It's all right, but I suspect that I won't reach for this a lot, so it can go to someone who loves it more.

Smells kind of like Snow White to me. White flowers, snow/minty slushy note underneath them. Wet on skin, there's another green note that pops out with the mint. It seems to me that when I tested this back in '06 there was something I didn't like about it. I think the overall scent has changed a bit since then. Changed for the better. It doesn't take long for the scent to soften and go powdery, but it's not a hateful, perfumed old lady smell. Instead it's a somehow fluffy bit of something hovering around that still-cool mint. Go figure, like a cold snowflake. Once it's completely dried down, I'm sort of surprised to say that the mint gets even colder and sharper and the throw improves. I think this is one of the few, if not the only I can think of, that goes that way. Still beautiful. Keeping the imp.

Very faint floral in the imp, maybe a hint of something that has an almost citrus tint. Wet on skin, it's undeniably a floral, though it's not a *flowery* flower, if that makes sense. Doesn't smell like I got attacked by a bouquet. Another scent that triggers color for me, as it's *bright* yellow on sniff. It's a sweet floral, sticky. As florals go, it's not all that offensive, but unless it gets a lot more irresistable as it dries, I don't need to keep it. And it doesn't. As it dries, it just gets fainter and fainter. Not a standout, not a "me" scent, so off it goes to swaps.

Violet. Interesting. Violet doesn't usually work. I can smell it in the imp, but I think the neroli sweetens it up and keeps it from being instantly powdery to my nose. Wet on skin, though, there's the powder, even if it is sweet. It's sort of like a powdered SweetTart to me, and I'm not at all sure why this scent should invoke anything about The Raven or *any* raven. It is, however, the first scent that I can honestly say smacked me with a color association. It is very purple. This gets muskier by the second, which cuts down the almost-painful violetness of the scent, but dark musk is one of those that usually goes off on me. It's not terribly long-lasting either, another plus in a scent that doesn't work well for me. It fades down to a very light, powdery floral that's difficult to smell even with my nose pressed against skin. Definitely not a keeper.

Sweet in the imp, like huffing honey. Honey doesn't always work on me, but I'm hopeful. Wet on the skin, boy howdy, hello throw. I'm not sure why some of the sweetest stuff just explodes the second it gets on my skin. Not always complaining, but it sure is "loud" for a second or two. I can tell immediately that while there might be honey in here, it's not pure. People have said they get custard, and I can see why, but it's not there yet for me. Smells good, but there's an edge that I'm sort of worried might go plasticky. Fortunately it doesn't, but it does go a little musty at the very end of the drydown. This might be one for my locket or maybe one that just needs to be refreshed. Whatever the case, I don't feel like I need to hunt down a bottle, but I will keep my imp.

Fruity and light. Peach and white musk in the imp, I think. Wet on skin, the peach is even stronger, though I think the bergamot is making it brighter than usual. It reminds me a lot of Tamora at this point and, as a bonus, reminds me of why I *like* Tamora. No doubt if Fae had been my first peach scent, I'd have the same fondness for this one. I can't really tell the difference at this point, except that my Tamora, much aged, has a softer peach note. It really must be the bergamot making this one stand out. Decent amount of throw, but not overwhelming. It settles on a soft musky peach scent and fades from there. I really do need to test this side by side with Tamora as I don't know if I'd need bottles of both, but for now, I'll keep the imp.

In the imp, it's cakey, but the wine note is worryingly like pee. Hopefully it's not once I put it on. Wet on skin, this is thankfully not urine. Instead it's like honey-glazed cakes. There's a hint of something almost spicy in the scent right now, though I don't see spices in the notes. Not sure where that's coming from but I kind of like it. It's also sort of doughy, almost like an undercooked cinnabon without the too-sweet frosting glaze. I swear I tried this before and I didn't like it, but I don't remember why. It settles into a warm bakery scent and I find I really like it. Not sure what I was thinking last go round. Definitely keeping the imp, at least.

A sweet, almost cherry note in the imp, which I'm sure is the cigar note. It's not bad, if a little weird. Wet on the skin, helloooo throw. Good lord, this blooms right away, a definite "smoking sweet cigars" scent. It's gorgeous, though, dry and papery. Fortunately the initial blast of scent fades off pretty quickly. Otherwise I was about to proclaim this pretty but way too strong. The throw's still good, occasionally giving me a sniff of smoky, sultry goodness. This is such an accurate scent that I want to cough. I know it's a mental association, but I'm impressed. I don't get coffee at all which is mildly disappointing, but I will survive. I'm happy with my sweet vanilla tobacco scent and the occasional candy-like whisper that hangs around it. Don't have a bottle, but the imp will last me a while.

Watery ozone in the imp, that gives it that aquatic note. Probably some lotus too. Wet on the skin, it's stronger, though there's also a warm note of something …weedy? Woody? It almost smells like it's going to go off at this stage. I'll hope that my nose is playing tricks on me. When I'm not up on top of the scent, it has a cool edge, which is a neat trick. Aha. Must come from the eucalyptus. Continuing to dry down, citrus-y bergamot makes its appearance. This is an okay scent. Not stunning, not making me huff my wrists every two seconds. Not something I hate, but not thrilling enough to keep.

Almost fizzy in the imp, like Skadi and 7up. Wet on skin, this just proves that if something has a frost note, I need to at least take a second look. I don't know what it is, but everything icy or frosty that Beth makes at least starts off well. The fizz disappears and leaves behind a gorgeous ...something that I can't quite identify. I get faint hints of the eucalyptus and pine, but the flowers or the frost or both make it almost candy-sweet. Whatever I'm really smelling, it's gorgeous. Decent amount of throw. It's not choking me, but I don't have to get right up on top of it either. It doesn't last particularly long and it dries down into more or less no scent at all. Maybe a hint of something dusty, but I enjoyed it while the real scent was there, and I'll keep my imp.

I get a hint of cocoa in the imp, but mostly wood, and primarily cedar, I think. Wet on skin, the fig bursts to the foreground and this is a bright *fig* on me. There's a hint of woodiness in the background, but it's fig first. Wild. This actually has quite a bit of throw as it dries, that fing singing out and making its presence known. Right now, it's a brighter, sharper version of Eden. I'm getting no cocoa at all now and wood only if I press my wrists close to my nose. So, no more cocoa except for that one sniff, and pretty much a fig single note, which is okay, but not something I need to keep.

Vanilla and something almost metallic in the imp. I tried this before and the sweetpea ruined it. We'll see what happens this time. Wet on the skin, it smells a little like paste, which I think I'm learning to associate with vanilla and X flower note, where the flower could be one of many. It has very little throw. As it dries down, the sandalwood comes to play with the vanilla a little and it reminds me somewhat of Tombstone, which is interesting. When it's dry, it's a pretty, if perfumey, vanilla. Sweetpea and I only sometimes get along, and this is another instance in which it's just not going to work out. Buh-bye Mousie.

Linen and vanilla, like vanilla dryer sheets in the imp. That's not a bad thing. I use vanilla-scented stuff on my clothes. Wet on the skin, this pops immediately with a warm, wafty, thick vanilla scent. Yes, I get the flowers too, hence the dryer sheet notion, but it's not soapy. It's a little intense for the first few moments, but I'm sure it'll settle down. And it does, but even dry and faded a bit, it's still got quite a bit of throw. I understand why this is so popular. Not sure it's a big bottle need for me, but I'm keeping the imp.

Despite the jasmine, it's not bad in the imp. Sort of bubblegum-fruity and maybe a weird note of butter. Wet on the skin, it's almost immediately floral and powdery and …igh. There are a *lot* of florals in this, which makes it almost certain to bomb on me. This has lots of throw, too. Of course, the scents I could really live without are the strongest on my skin. I'm really getting perfumed baby powder, which makes me feel like it's hard to breathe. Reminds me of Numb. It ultimately fades into a very faint, almost inoffensive floral, but it's really not for me.

There's a hint of mint in the imp and something almost …citrusy? Wet on skin, this really does smell like a mostly citrus mint sort of smell. If there's three mints in this, I couldn't tell you which three, and it doesn't have much throw at all. There's also something almost floral here, and I don't know if that's Spanish moss, oakmoss, ambergris or none of the above. As it dries, it gets earthier and I'm sure that's one of the mosses coming out behind the lingering citrus. For a second, I thought I was going to get a clear mint, but that faded off again, which is disappointing. I'm not sure exactly what I'm smelling at the end stage, but I know it's not for me. Pity.

Cologne-y. I think I'm smelling sandalwood in the imp. Wet on the skin, I definitely get the sandalwood and musk, which is okay as I like the lab's white musk sometimes. I think I may be getting the ambergris too, though I'm never entirely sure what ambergris smells like. It's a sharp scent with lots of throw. Still cologne-y and definitely more something a man would wear. I'm not girly, but this is too much for me. I agree with a lighter clone of Drakkar Noir. I love that cologne on the right guy, and this isn't terrible, but it's definitely not me, and holy hell, the throw just keeps getting stronger and stronger. Glad I'm taking a shower after posting this. Eventually it calms down into something softer and even a little powdery, but not attacking my nose so much. Still too masculine and cologne-like for me, though. Sorry, Valmont. Go work your charms on some other girl.

The pearl of the Italian Renaissance. Elegant iris, bright berries, gilded amber and velvety spices. Fruit and flowers in the imp but neither overpowers the other. It seems like a soft scent. Wet on the skin, it's a heck of a lot more floral and powdery and girly, unfortunately. I got a blast of incredibly strong scent, too, and my hands are nowhere near my nose. The berries disappear and amber shows up, which just makes the scent even more powdery. If this is where Florence is going to take me, she's going to another home fast. As it dries, the spices come out and the powder gets a little less so. No question there's still powder, but now the amber has gone almost vanilla-y, the floral note has faded a lot and it's much prettier, much more wearable for me. Wow, I'm really impressed. I thought this was going to go into the swap pile, but it's actually turned into one of the few scents with a floral listed first that I like. I don't think it's big bottle worthy, but I'll keep the imp.