plainjean

Oy. I so, so wanted to love this one. In the imp, it smells exactly like dirt after a rain storm. I have been searching for a scent like that! Sadly, that aspect of the scent doesn't last when it hits my skin. For a moment, I get it..but then. THEN! It turns into a rosy cleaning solution! I was devastated! I kept it on, hoping it'd turn back to that beautiful dirt from the beginning, but alas. It never does. Off to a better home it goes!

A golden summer musk with warm fig, orange blossom honey, sweet blueberries, and bright velvety crimson raspberries. I got a decant of this from the lovely Dralore! I'm so sorry it didn't work for you. In the imp, it's a slightly musky berry with a hint of honey and a bit of smokiness, I assume from the fig. I like! Wet, the blueberry is coming to the forefront, and I can smell a bit more of the honey now. Dry, it's just magical. It's as if I'm lying in the middle of a meadow, with the sun beating down. I'm surrounded by bushes upon bushes of berries, all warm and ripe from the sun. The berries are mingling perfectly with the fig and the honey, and it's just so beautiful. I'm so happy I was able to locate a bottle of this to purchase. It's like summer in a bottle, and it will help to get me through those cabin fever stages of winter.

In the imp, it smells very strongly of caramel, but with a little edge to it. I assume this is probably due to the other components in this oil. On my skin, it stays very true to the scent in the imp for most of the time. Sticky caramel smoothed out by nicotiana and the musks, but with a little bite from the mint. I think the sage is mingling with everything, as well. This scent is..it's just wow. It's smooth and creamy and slightly foody, but dark and oh-so-sexy. It's like Beth bottled up a really, really good-smelling man. One you don't want to meet in a dark alley. But if you do, he'll seduce you and take you back to his gothic-style mansion and..well. Ironically, I find this works really well as a bedtime scent. And I think it will also be perfect for winter months, when it's cold out and I need something very warm to keep me sane. One more thing to note: This scent lasts for HOURS. Seriously. I put it on around noon, and I was still catching whiffs of faint, smoky caramel at around 10 PM that night. I may need to get a bottle of this at some point.

In the imp, this was like, "WHAM! ALMOND!" Seriously, it smelled identical to very strong almond extract. It scared me a little bit, haha. I finally got up the courage to try it out, though, and it wasn't nearly as scary as I originally thought. It starts out as pure almond, like in the imp, but then starts settling down. What does it settle down into, you ask? Juicy Fruit. The gum. Yeah.. Also it burned a little. Not enough to cause any redness on my skin, but enough so that I noticed the sensation and thought I'd better go look in a mirror to make sure my skin wasn't burning. But then! After about five or so more minutes it changes into a perfectly lovely soft, slightly floral cinnamon, and the burning is gone. It's very feminine, and very "not me". It was nice, though, and I think it'll work well for a bedtime scent. So, overall, it's nice, but not nice enough to warrant a bottle purchase.

When I had my natural hair color—a light brown/dirty blonde combo—I was always drawn to very "white" scents. You know, jasmine, white florals, soft in general. Nothing with an edge or a spice to it. Ever since I first dyed my hair with henna, though, I've been drawn to much deeper, spicier scents. Deep and slightly dirty vanillas, red berries, resins, incense..that sort of thing. I've been particularly drawn to Jester (So sad to see it gone!), Berry Moon, and Blood Lotus. All very warm scents on me. It seems that, with the lighter hair, I was drawn to colder scents. I've pretty much completely changed my tastes! Anyway, onto my recommendations! For blondes, I always think of either very clean, floral scents (Maiden) or very oceany, breezy scents (Sea of Glass, Lightning, etc.) So ozone, and white florals. Not necessarily together mind you, but those are what I think of. I also think very clean scents would work, as well. Dirty or Embalming Fluid, for instance. For brunettes, I always think of warm, foodie scents. Not like you're oozing cake or anything, but just a bit of a warm sugary undertone. I suppose that's more for the people with the curly hair. For black hair, I think of dark, smoky flowers. I'm not quite sure why! I can't think of a scent right off the top of my head that would qualify for this combination, though. I've already described what I wear as a redhead, but I'll do this anyway. I envision either very earthy scents or very warm scents. Incense, red berries, dragon's blood, vanilla, cloves, cinnamon (not all at the same time, though!)..that's what I picture for red hair.

Fresh imp purchased from the lab! I honestly did not expect to like this one. At all. I ordered it on a whim, before I even read reviews. Stupid, I know! And then I did start reading reviews, and I was terrified due to all the comments about it smelling like bubblegum! Anyway, when I got it, it was the first one I picked out of the box to try, due to its gorgeous red amber color. Upon first sniff, I was a bit scared. It smelled like spicy cherry cough drops! I proceeded with caution, though, and dabbed a bit on my wrists. And then proceeded to swoon due to the beauty of this scent. It does start off quite sweet, with almost a syrupy cherry note. This quickly mellows out, though, and turns into the perfect sweet, slightly fruity dragon's blood, with no bubblegum in sight! No cloying florals, either, which is excellent. My skin sure does love this scent, though, because it disappears on me after about an hour and a half. Dragon's blood is such a comforting scent for me, and this particular version reminds me of backstage in high school. During one of our productions, we needed incense, so one of the cast members brought in some beautiful dragon's blood incense. After it started burning, there were usually at least five of us hovering around it, inhaling the warm scent. Ah, nostalgia! Full bottle purchase for sure. ETA: That day that it only lasted an hour and a half must have been a fluke, because I wore it today (during and after writing this review) and it lasted at least four hours. Hooray!

This is the first BPAL I ever tried, so it holds a special place in my heart. I've used up my imp, but I do have a bottle on its way to me. I'm going to attempt to do this review from memory! I'll update it if I have a different opinion once I get my bottle, but I doubt I will. In the imp: very medicinal, with a hint of white blossoms of some sort. Not sure exactly which white blossoms, but I know they are white, ha. I assume they could be the linden blossoms. On the skin, wet: It's a very sweet herbal scent, but the herbs meld perfectly with the white flowers. On the skin, dry: Pretty much the same. Very herbal, slightly medicinal, but soft. I absolutely love it. Conclusion: Well, obviously I've already stated how I feel about this scent: it's worthy of a full bottle. It's such a beautiful scent that I feel is feminine, but cold and mysterious. I have a copy of Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn sitting next to me, and this scent perfectly matches the Unicorn in this story. It's absolutely gorgeous.

In imp: Herbal, slightly rosy On skin, wet: Hello, carnation! On skin, drying: Soft, slightly powdery rose with carnation. Oh dear..it's turned to baby powder. Major baby powder. On skin, completely dry: It's turned back to being a bit rosy, albeit a very powdery rose. I really am not getting any white tea, though. It does have a teensy bit of spiciness to it, which I assume is due to the carnation. The spiciness of the carnation does sort of stick in my nose and my throat and bothers my eyes a bit. So that's kind of unpleasant. I get the same effect whenever sniffing real carnations, so I think I just have issues with carnations, ha. Overall thoughts: It really doesn't have any throw at all..which I don't really mind. Honestly, I just don't think Maiden is my style. It also doesn't last too terribly long on me, either. I'm sure I know someone who will absolutely love it, though!