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As soon as I applied it, I realized that this is very similar to one of my favorite scented soaps, which is pine and grapefruit. Jabberwocky smells very much like Christmas trees and sweet oranges. There's also some eucalyptus in there, but I don't seem to be getting as much on my skin as others have. (In fact, I seem to be getting most of it as a chill at the back of my throat!) Overall, it is definitely a buoyant scent that makes me happy. Unfortunately it doesn't last very long on me. After about 20-30 minutes, it is just a skin scent. I think this would be a great scent during the winter, when I crave the smell of Christmas trees and need a little pick-me-up. I'll just have to track down a full bottle so I can reapply as needed.

For a scent that has a couple of death notes for me, this is surprisingly okay! It starts off with a lot of mint and ozone, slightly cologne-ish. Ozone never fails to smell like soap to me, and it does here too, but somehow it works. I also get a bit of the eucalyptus, but it's just rounding out the mint. I smell like mint-eucalyptus soap, and I'm kind of okay with that! Maybe it's just because I have a headache, and mint-eucalyptus is good for clearing the head, but I am kind of liking this. I'm getting that Vicks Vaporub feeling at the back of my throat, and normally that would bother me, but not today. As for the other notes, I'm getting a hint of ginger somewhere in the background, but I wouldn't have noticed it if I wasn't looking for it. I don't get any lotus, which usually smells like bubblegum on me. I know I won't like this everyday, but I can see myself being in the mood for this every once in a while.

[Aged imp, probably 2+ years old] This was a really pleasant surprise! Wet, it is earthy and slightly sweet. But this is an herbal earthy, rather than something that smells musty or like dirt. It is a bit milky, as others have said. As it dries, it gets a bit sweeter and milkier. I'm not a foodie person, but this is working for me because it's not overwhelmingly sweet and it still has that herbal quality to it. Aaaand as it dries, it gets sweeter and sweeter. Completely dry, it is too sweet for me, but it still smells like it comes from something real and natural, which is nice. I think this would be good layered with something wet and green, like a jungle scent.

This is an aged imp, probably 2+ years old. Hmmm, without reading the notes first, my first impression was "cigarette smoke." Not loud cigarette smoke, just some of it wafting over a bed of something else. I think this is the patchouli, which is just going all kinds of wrong on my skin, for some reason. I also get something kind of earthy, but I wouldn't describe it as fresh or herbal. It's kind of musty. I'm thinking this is not for me.

This didn't smell like much at first, but suddenly it bloomed on my skin and smelled...not great. :/ I agree with the reviewer that said it smelled like wine past its prime. It was kind of musty. As it dried, I got more of the honey, and now it is smelling like a slightly musty herbal wine with honey. Not really my kind of scent, but it's interesting.

Wet and in the imp, it's mostly coconut. As it starts to dry, I get more of the musk, and it kind of dirties it up a bit. The orris is here too, and it adds a pretty edge to the coconut. I really like the coconut/orris combo a lot, because I think orris really helps round out sweeter scents without making it smell too floral. After a little while, it's definitely a skin scent, and the musk is much stronger. Not a lot of throw, so I might need to slather next time. I like this one and I'll definitely keep my imp.

When I first put this on, I smelled something sour and sharp, and I couldn't place it right away. But then I realized that it was the grapes and opium smoke, which was just not a good combination for me. After a while it faded to a sweet fruity, smokey scent. This is much more bearable, but still not for me.

When I first applied it, I got soapy orange blossom. I don't think orange blossom likes my skin very much, so I was expecting this. As it dries the champaca comes out a lot. I get the sandalwood, and it's kind of dry and slightly sweet. The champaca is still dominant though, with the sharp orange blossom underneath. After about half an hour, it's very faint. It smells mostly of incense with some dry sandalwood. The orange blossom has completely faded.

This is an aged imp, probably three years old. In the imp: From the description I was definitely not expecting this, but this smells very strongly of mint toothpaste. Wet: Still mint toothpaste. I like peppermint, but this is definitely sweeter than the herbal peppermint I like. Dry: I got distracted and didn't smell myself again for another 45 minutes or so. Now it's some sweet peppermint with musk. It's faded a lot. I'm thinking this is not for me.

This definitely started off as lavender cologne, but after a few minutes the sharp edges wore off and some sweetness came out. Actually, a lot of sweetness, more from the amber than the tonka. I almost smell berries or fruit. I think this is what amber does to flowers on my skin sometimes - it turns them into fruity syrups. I still smell the lavender, which is the only thing saving it at this point. But it's just a bit too sweet for me, I think. I like sweet scents sometimes, but I was expecting something more akin to a men's cologne, and my chemistry turned it into something completely different. I didn't find this to be "masculine." If I had, I think I would have liked it a lot more.

Graceful vanilla musk, tea rose, and stargazer lily. This is so pretty. I get mostly tea rose here, and it's soft and pink and not at all soapy. The vanilla musk is just lovely. It gives it a soft vanilla sheen and really keeps the rose from overpowering the scent. I don't get much lily here. Overall, this is a very soft, pretty, classic perfume that fits Victoria's character very well. It doesn't last very long in me, but it would be worth keeping a rollerball bottle in my purse to reapply throughout the day. Definitely ordering a bottle ASAP.

I liked this a lot when I first put it on, and immediately thought I needed to add it to my bottle list for my next order. But now I'm not sure. When I first put it on, it was really nice - sweet and boozey, with some floral and maybe a hint of fruit and tobacco. I couldn't remember most of the notes, so I wasn't really able to pick out anything more specific. Anyway, it didn't last very long at all. After about an hour, it had faded to a generic BPAL skin scent. It's the scent that I get when I open a package from swaps, or when I open my imp box to find something. It seems like a lot of scents dry down to that same BPAL scent, and this one does it too. I guess my skin chemistry just boils everything down the same way, or maybe I just need to branch out with the scents I try. I'm going to keep my imp and try this a few more times to see if today was an off day, since my skin seems to be eating scents lately.

Okay, something is going on with my skin today, because it has been eating every scent I've tried on. *sigh* Anyway, I loved this scent while it lasted. It started off lemon with some sweetness in the background. Soon the lemon burns off a bit and becomes sweet lemon floral, then floral with something creamy-sweet underneath - the vanilla and the coconut. It's sweeter than I normally like, but it's nice! But 1.5 hours later, the scent has faded a lot. I get some musk now, and it's contributing to the skin scent vibe. But I'm thinking this disappearing act is due more to my skin chemistry right now than the lasting power of this blend. I'll have to try it again sometime in the future because I might like to get a bottle.

Hmmm...I had high expectations for this scent, based on popularity and the notes. I confess I'm a bit disappointed. <img src="http://www.bpal.org/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/icon_sad.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="icon_sad.gif" /> It starts off patchouli and musk, with a bit of fruit rounding it out. It's mustier than I like. I'm a fan of musk and patchouli, but I like it more when it's rounding something out rather than being the first thing I smell. After a while, I get less of the fruit and a bit of vanilla underneath. I wish there was a bit more vanilla to smooth out the patchouli and musk. I don't love super sweet foodie scents, but I do like vanilla as a note to tone down muskier notes and make them smoother and creamier. And usually I do amp sweet notes, including vanilla, so I'm surprised that's not happening here too. Anyway, after about 1.5 hours, the smell is pretty faint, mostly musk now with a bit of vanilla. Nothing remarkable on me, I'm afraid. I might keep my partial bottle for layering though, and do a little experimenting with some vanilla scents. ETA: I think I was having some chemistry issues the first time I tried this, because I love it a lot now. On me, it is somewhat spicy fruit fleshed out and supported by the vanilla. Musk and patchouli are in there too, making it sexy/dirty. I love it. It lasts forever and stays pretty true throughout, just mellowing out a bit and getting sweeter the longer it's on my skin. I often catch whiffs of it on cardigans I've worn recently and it's lovely. I get compliments on it all the time.

Based on a Romany incense blend reputed to induce sexual dreams: Somalian rose, Moroccan rose and Bulgar rose with a sultry dribble of cinnamon. I am using an aged imp, probably 2-3 years old. Wet: Rose! It's very pretty. I love roses, but haven't tried many BPAL rose blends yet, so this is like coming back to an old friend. This is a lush, wet rose. It smells a bit like rose-scented soap, but that's okay. I don't get much cinnamon yet, just a bit of spiciness from the rose. Dry: This is smelling exactly like a rose-scented soap I used to use. So, yes, there is a certain soapiness to it, but it smells good to me. I really don't get a lot of cinnamon until about 30-45 minutes after application, and even then it's subtle. After 3-4 hours, it's faded to a very light rose scent, like I just showered with the aforementioned rose-scented soap. I like this and will continue to use my imp, although I doubt I'll need a bottle.

This starts off strong, heady floral, but within about ten minutes it's all hazy, illegal incense/tobacco/smoke, with a bit of floral and sweet earthiness. It is very evocative, but it doesn't last long. Interesting, but I don't think this is for me. I might test it again sometime, but I don't see myself wearing it often (especially not to work!).

This is an aged imp, probably 2 or 3 years old. Wet: I get a lot of musk and a lot of amber. There is a Lemon Pledge edge to it that is unexpected, and it's a bit unpleasant. I was expecting to love this from the notes, but it's mustier and not quite as smooth and sexy as I was hoping it would be. Dry: The amber really fades a lot as it dries. I love musks, but this is almost pure musk on me now, and I'm not sure I like it. I am surprised, because usually sweet notes amp on me, so I was expecting the amber to take over. Apparently not! It is still lemon-musk. After about 30 minutes on my skin (I slathered, and it took a while for it to dry, so it has only been dry for a few minutes), it is almost nothing. Just clean musk blending in with my skin. The lemon is gone, but...I was expecting amber! I love amber and musk together and had high hopes for this one, so this is disappointing. Oh, well.

Papyrus, vanilla flower, Egyptian musk, African musk, aloe ferox, white sandalwood. In the bottle, I smelled ink and parchment! On my skin, the "ink" dried into aloe. It smelled slightly soapy, but I am mostly thinking of an aloe-scented soap that I have. Mostly, it just smelled fresh and clean. I didn't really get any of the other notes, but I was slightly distracted and not really looking for them. I don't think I'll be getting a bottle, but I do love the unique combination of notes.

I really love this. I bought this looking for a good cedar scent, and I wasn't disappointed. It started off strong and perfumey, very floral. Then I forgot about it for about half an hour and took another sniff and mmm, cedar. It's really lovely - dry and sweet from the amber. A little bit of lingering floral, but mostly warm cedar. The only thing is that it doesn't last very long. I've been wearing it for about 3 hours now, and it's not very strong anymore. It dried down to a soft, powdery cedar, which might be the amber's fault. Still very pretty, though. I know a lot of reviewers associate this scent with summertime, but I think it would be a fabulous warm scent for fall and winter.

This is interesting and I don't really know how to describe it other than, "Meh." The ozone is definitely here, and I hate usually hate ozone because it makes everything smell like soap. Here, it blends in very well, but I still smell it and it's distracting me from really enjoying the scent. I also get the red wine and something musty, which I think is the combination of the woods and leather, and maybe the ivy. As it dries, the ozone fades a bit and is much more bearable. I get some saltiness from the ambergris, and that gives it a little bite. I like the combination of the sweet wine and the salty ambergris. This blend is definitely wearable. It doesn't give me a headache or make me want to wash it off immediately, but I don't like it enough to wear it often. I will definitely keep my imp to try again in the future. Maybe I'll have stronger feelings about it then.

This is one of those scents that, the second I opened the imp, I thought, "Yes, this is the scent I was waiting for." I bought two aged decants - one from 2007 and one from 2008. I tried the 2007 one the other night, and it was glorious. The vanilla was the main note, but it was rounded out by smooth leather, musk, and some wood. I tend to amp vanilla, and I don't particularly love it on its own all the time, but this wasn't too much. It was just perfect. It smelled expensive and I wanted to bathe in it. This morning, I got out the 2008 imp and tried it on. I get more leather and wood this time around. The leather is on par with the vanilla, and it's gorgeous. A bit more cologne-ish, but still in a way that smells expensive and not overpowering. So, as it ages, the vanilla must come out more and the leather and wood step to the background. I never got any lemon or lilac, or at least I never really looked for them and therefore never noticed them. They may be more prominent in a lab-fresh bottle. Also, I wore it this morning so my co-worker could smell my new favorite perfume on me. She also insisted on trying it, and we just came back after about an hour to compare. She didn't use as much as I did, and I definitely got more vanilla from her than I notice on my skin. She said, "It's muskier on you." That might be because I used more, since I tend to amp vanilla (or maybe she just amps it more than me!). I definitely recommend this to fans of leather and vanilla! I also recommend letting it age, because it's beautiful.

Since I've gotten into BPAL, I've started thinking about how a scent affects what I'm writing. The other day, I was writing a scene set in a used bookshop, and I was testing Ravenous, which ended up being mostly patchouli on me. Everything just clicked! The patchouli reminded me of dusty books, and the way a bookstore would smell. The scent didn't really work for me as a fragrance, but the next time I went back to the scene, I put on some more and was able to slide back into that place. I find that there are a lot of scents that I find evocative - The Caterpillar smells so illegal, and Gaueko smells like a hookah bar - but could never wear as a perfume. But they're perfect for writing. Same for perfumes that don't smell like me, but they smell like they'd be a character's favorite. Does anyone else use BPAL to get into a scene or into a character's head?

Wet: It's got a clean floral feel to it, which I attribute to the orchid. (If I didn't have the notes in front of me, I would have said lily...I guess I can't tell the difference between the two.) It's also got a little bit of citrus from the bergamot. Dry: As it dries, I get some fruitiness...actually, a lot of fruitiness. The juniper and the bergamot? It smells like mangos! Mangos and orchids. Not bad, just....not what I was expecting? :/ I get a bit of wood in there somewhere, but mostly it's mangos and orchids. Overall: On me, this is a clean fruity-floral. I don't feel the need to jump up and wash this off, but I don't feel the need for a full bottle either.

I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from this, but I ended up liking it. It started off a bit sharp, and I think I got some of the lemon and lavender. Now it's mostly the sweetness of the labdanum and the frankincense, with something herbal and astringent sharpening it just a bit - I think this is the lavender. Sometimes frankincense gets really overwhelming on me, but it's nice here with the labdanum. I don't know that I'll spring for a bottle, but I like this blend and I'll definitely keep my imp.

Patchouli, Kashmiri tea, cardamom, black pepper, carnation, and clove. In the bottle: Clove! Sweet, like clove cigarettes. Wet: Still lots of clove, with some other spices. It smells a lot like chai tea. Dry: Still cloves and spices and tea. After a while, the patchouli starts to come out more. It dirties it up and makes it less of a foodie scent. I don't like patchouli when it's really strong and in the forefront, but this is just the right amount. Overall: This is wonderful - spicy and sexy and delicious. I'm definitely purchasing a bottle of this.