agirlnamedfury

I keep trying pumpkin scents because I want to like them but somehow they just don't seem to do much for me... I've had a decant of this for years now and I just never pull it out. Something about it is very buttery and sweet, but then it goes slightly bitter and sour on me eventually. Just not a huge fan of this one.... which is unfortunate because I think I also have a full bottle of this from a later year. Oops.

Far too aquatic for me, unfortunately. It almost smells like Windex on my skin.

In the imp: tea and what I think is the amber. Wet on skin: definitely jasmine tea. Simple. I start to get a touch of vanilla as it settles, but it's not overly sweet at all. Definitely a more sophisticated vanilla than usual. Drydown: the sweetness comes out a bit more, and it smells just like sugared tea without being saccharine. This reminds me a LOT of Dorian.

In the imp, I definitely get light rosewater and boozy, syrupy black cherries. On skin, the rosewater is almost undetectable, and the black cherries take an almost bitter, dark edge. Something about this almost smells burnt? I wonder if that's my skin doing something to one of the notes I'm less familiar with. It's not altogether bad though. There's actually something very magnetic and interesting about this one -- I can't stop sniffing it but am not sure why. There's something a little spicy about it but I have no idea what that might be. Despite the notes, this isn't very sweet once it dries on my skin and is certainly a bit foody, but somehow calls to mind more savory foods than dessert? I'll obviously have to wear this one a bit more to decide how I feel about it!

In the imp, this is all crisp, fresh apple. It's much the same on skin but a sultry muskiness also starts to come through a little -- that must be the spiciness of the cardamom but it really doesn't scream "cardamom" to me. There is sweet, fruity honey as well. This seems really unlike anything I own, so I'll be keeping the decant for sure, but I'm not sure if it's bottle-worthy yet.

All the listed notes on this hit me right out of the imp: lots of patch, honey, and saffron. On my skin, the leather really comes out as well. This is sweet and rich and musky, not super spicy. Very nice, though not mind-blowing.

Floral green tea. Unfortunately I don't get much of the honey and the "vanilla flower" is definitely more flower than vanilla. Unfortunately not what I expected, I have a feeling this one will end up in the swap box.

In imp: apple and rose, with a touch of patch. Wet on skin: lots of bright apple, with a bit of citrus. There's also something kind of sour and musty here, which may be the rose -- I've found it sometimes turn bad on me. Dry on skin: As with most of the other bonbons I've tried this year, this doesn't seem to morph much at all, but does settle down and become a slightly lighter, more subtle version of the same notes.

I haven't tried the regular Laudanum, so keep that in mind with this review! In the imp: STRONG, bright sassafras with a touch of nutmeg and other spices. I don't get chocolate at all. Wet on skin: The sassafras is almost minty, it's a scent that really wakes me up whenever I sniff it. Still not getting any chocolate but I actually quite like this one. It's like a more complex Stimulating Sassafras Strengthener. Drydown: Still the same, no morphing.

I haven't tried Haunted itself, though I keep meaning to. So keep that in mind. In the imp: Sweet incense. Wet on skin: There's something very sweet and almost honey-like about this, but it's still dark and musky as well. There's nothing I would really pick out as "chocolate!" but there's still somehow a rich chocolatey-ness about it. Drydown: Oh no, it's slowly turning into baby powder. Damn you, amber!

In the imp: syrupy, fruity chocolate. Wet on skin: Much the same. This is a lot lighter than I expected, and not actually all that chocolatey, except at first. I'm not getting any lavender, which is great because that was the note that scared me. Drydown: This doesn't seem to morph a lot, it just fades. And very quickly. This seemed really strong when I first applied it, but only about half an hour later and it has zero throw. Bummer!

2015 version: I'm pretty picky about florals, so I'll admit I got this mostly because of the name. However, I don't think I've tried a violet scent before and it's surprisingly interesting. Unfortunately I'm having a hard time describing the scent and i can't quite decide if I like it or not yet. It may take a few more tries!

2015 version: With a description like that, how could I not try this one? In the imp, this is much more fruity and almost herbal than I expected! Wet on the skin, I get some leather and wood, but there's also a strong note of... rosemary? There's also something bright and citrusy about this. It stays much the same as it dries. This is actually pretty different than I thought it would be from the list of notes, but I still like it. I'm often attracted more to BPAL's more savory, less traditionally perfume-y blends, and this definitely fits into that.

This is one of the Lupers I was most excited to try this year, because all of the notes sounded amazing to me. So it was the first one I grabbed to test when I got my giant decant circle package. This is so light that I almost couldn't smell anything in the imp, just a bright, clean freshness. Wet on the skin the coconut really comes out. This really screams "spring!" to me. Something about the sweet lightness of it reminds me of Eden... a coconutty Eden. The reviewer who compared it to a pina colada is right on. Unfortunately this is going all plastic on me as it dries... I think this will have to be re-tested, as I'm not sold on it yet.

In the imp this is all cardamom, but once it hits my skin it gets quite floral. Interesting, since there aren't any floral notes listed. I don't seem to get any of the bourbon vanilla or apricot while wet. After a few minutes the apricot starts to come out, but it is almost a dried apricot and is very subtle. Almost no throw.

This is very sweet almond both in the imp and on the skin.... marzipan! I will probably keep and use the decant, but I don't know if I need a bottle of this, as I already have quite a collection of sweet foodie scents.

I was all set to love this because of the vanilla and sandalwood, but unfortunately the other notes don't seem to work for me. It's not horrible, but doesn't really do anything for me. It also seems to have almost no throw...

So I'm not the world's biggest fan of Snake Oil, but I love almost all of the gingerbread blends I've tried, so I was super excited to try this when a generous forumite sent a decant my way. It doesn't disappoint! Delicious gingerbread spiciness with extra vanilla, which just makes it more baked goods-like. Yum!

Yum! This is delicious... slightly foody but not overly so. In the bottle it's all woodiness and baking spices, cinnamon maybe? Once on the skin though, I get that delicious sweet wax and vanilla, still with the same subtle spiciness, similar to some of the gingerbread blends. Warm and comforting! I keep getting whiffs of this off my wrist and the smell just makes me happy. So glad I bought a bottle of this unsniffed off a forum member!

In the imp, this is all cherries, but wet on my skin it's strong, almost bitter mahogany. The cherry comes back a bit after an hour or so, but it's not nearly as fruity as I'd hoped for. I think this one goes into the "to try again....eventually" pile.

Exactly what the description says: sweet vanilla tea. Yum! I get just a touch of lemon as well, and absolutely no lavender, which is just fine by me!

As a native New Yorker, I've had this one on my to-try list for quite a while! In the imp: floral and powdery. Wet on skin: Citrus, mostly. Lemony and a lot fresher than I expected. The leather comes out after about 10 minutes, but it's pretty subtle. I have to really search to detect any of the teakwood. Unfortunately, I'm starting to think amber may disagree with me (so far most of the blends with it I've tried have seemed "powdery" to me, this one included). This one's definitely a morpher, because it gets a bit herbal after that. However, I'm not really in love with any of its stages. After about an hour it is very faint. I might keep this imp and try it again in the future, but I'm not super attached to it.

In the imp: Incense, florals, and spices. Wet on skin: Primarily incense, with a hint of something bright and citrusy. However it's also turning a bit powdery on me, which is probably the amber. The saffron is quite strong after a few minutes, however this smells like nothing so much as an ancient old-lady style dusting powder my mother had when I was a kid, and that's just not a super attractive scent to me.

In the imp, this is all wood, fresh ginger root, and roses. On skin, the patchouli starts to come out, but it's still primarily woody on me. The roses are fairly strong as well, but still slightly in the background. I'm fairly indifferent towards this one, so I'll hold onto it for now and try it again at some later date.

A lurching, hateful, bitter scent. This is a gruesome blend of ghastly greens and blacks: vetiver, pine pitch, troll musk, black basil, clove smoke, and scorched cumin. Another that I find "interesting" and can't stop sniffing at but I don't know how wearable this is for me! There's definitely vetiver, which I haven't really liked much in the few blends with it I've tried, but the cumin and other spices in this also temper it. Still, this is definitely a bitter, strong scent. It's almost like a spicy, smoky swamp. I guess it's a well-named oil! I'll be holding on to this imp and trying it again in the future, I think. I would love to smell this on a guy!