jewelbug

I tested this one as his and hers. In the bottle: Dark green, herby and minty. On skin, wet: Hers: Mint is strongest, but I also smell some lavender, and something unidentifiably fruity. Very invigorating! His: Mint is much less apparent, much more limey. On skin, Dry: Hers: Mojitos--sweet clean mint and lime! Lime is strongest after it dries, but there is a refreshing herbal greenness (the lavender from wet phase disappears). Besides mojitos, this reminds me of an aloe vera cream I had a while back. Very citrusy, herbal and refreshing, and because I associate it with sunburn a bit medicinal. I almost feel like there's a tinge of chamomile to this. It's refreshing, invigorating and relaxing all at once. Stays on me for 4-5ish hours. His: Still, much less minty than on me, more lime, and very faint lavender. His skin has almost eaten the scent, and it had no staying power on him. Overall: Not for him, since it fades too fast. On me, I think it’s a lovely fresh scent. Smells clean and springy. The lime is the strongest note on my skin. I applaud BPAL for this blend. I don’t think I could wear it often, but I will consider it come next spring. Even if I weren't gonna use it as perfume, I think this would make a kick-ass shower gel or lotion. Or after shower splash. I'm marking this as a strong possibility for making gifts!

In the Bottle: evergreen and pungent Oh Him: Wet: Very much like linseed oil used in oil painting--pungent and acrid. Dry: as it dries it takes on a cedar and almost mint edge. Also pineneedley. In 10 mins it rather like pine-sol, but gets a tinge of sweetness. By 20 min its pine with a creamy edge. It ends cedar/evergreen and rounded with a bit of sweetness. Overall (His): Actually quite nice. But he says he'd prefer to try others. This one is nice but not "it". I agree. On Me: Wet: Cedar and mint. Dry: Takes on a very creamy scent. In 10 minutes it’s a mix of cedar and vanilla, with a hint of evergreen. In 20 min it's herbal piney creaminess. Makes me think of the sweet gin and milk punch we made in college. JUNIPER! That's what it reminds me of. Sweet creamy juniper. In about 2 hours it’s a very well rounded creamy juniper smell with a bit of a spicy note. I like this. It's not something I'd normally wear, but it works surprisingly well. Hmmmm… Beth really is amazing, isn't she? Overall (Hers): I smell like a sweet gin and milk punch in a hand hewn cedar cup. Yummy. It's not exactly what I'd call "me", but I might just keep the imp for days when I'm feeling atypical…Its a wonderfully complex scent.

Bottle: Whoa. Mega orange. I like it. On skin: Wet: Very orange (almost overripe orange), with some spice edging in as it dries. Did you ever stick an orange with whole cloves? This is what this reminds me of. Dry: 10 min: Gets more rounded, sweeter (fig?), the orange gets less biting and doesn't smell overripe anymore. I still feel like there is a spicy note--ginger or clove. Very warm and decadent. Invokes the holidays. I could definitely wear this in the fall, or to holiday parties. YUM. 1 hour: Faded almost completely. STOMP!STOMP! I thought maybe I washed it off while prepping dinner, so I tried again, and it still faded in just about an hour. Zero staying power on me. I really liked this one--such a pretty blend (Beth is awesome). I don't know whether to swap it or reapply often. I think swap, unfortunately; I know I'm too lazy to reapply. I'll have to look for another orange scent. Oh, more BPAL testing? What a shame!

Well, with my recent experience involving cherry blossom notes, I was hesitant to try this one, but here goes: In the Bottle: Initally, its very metallic and sharp. Underneath, there is a sweet green smell, almost minty, with citrus? buried a bit deeper. On skin, wet: A slightly powdery floral with a bit of citrus tang. There is a sharp biting "aftertaste", I think the ozone. This sharpness takes the scent towards a slightly more masculine direction. On skin dry: Early: Very "dry" smelling, I think due to a powdery overtone. The powder backs down and lets some more "tang" through, and it gets a little more ozone-y sharp. Also some sweet florals coming through. Late: Over 2 hours or so, it matures into a scent that is familiar, but I can't quite pin. It smells like an older perfume. Very soft and delicate, sort of powdery and floral, but mostly just smells fresh and clean. A coworker said it was sort of like White Diamonds, but I'll have to take her word for it. Overall: I think the cherry blossoms take over on my skin (again), but unlike in the Aizen Myoo, these ones are rounded out and tempered by a sharper masculine sort of smell. It had a staying power of about 5-6 hours. The final scent was very pretty, light, and clean, but not really "me." I could see this working on some men, so I will try it on hubby, though I suspect its not something that will "do it" for me. Hubby: As I suspected. It starts wet as a damp grassy smell, and gets soapy (but good soapy). He smells clean and nice, and it gets a strong ozoney/metallic edge on him after a bit. Nice smell for a man, but not for my man, if you know what I mean. I want him in scents that make me wanna jump his bones. ;-) I'll be gifting this to a friend for her to try out.

I bought this as a "for him" scent, based on a bunch of the reviews, but we both tried it to compare. Bottle: I can definitely smell the bay, but mostly it smells like a sweet fermenting cider, which must be the honeyed wine note. On skin Wet: Him: womanish floral incense. Very UNmanly Me: Soap, with a bay tang. Dry, Early: Him: Stays flowery, girly and gets a bit powdery. Poor boy. Me: Generic Soap. It gets to smell like a better soap in about an hour, but soap nonetheless. Also gets a bit powdery. Dry, Late (about 4 hours): He: It has moved to a woodier note--the laurel branches?--but its still too girly for him to wear successfully, and its fading quickly at this point. Me: Still sweetly detectable. I finally can smell the sweet honey coming through the "girly" powder smell. By 5 hrs, it's like mildly spiced mead with incense in the back. This is what I expected of Delphi all along. Why did it take so long to get to it? It has great staying power on me, but most of that time is too soapy/powdery. Overall: On hubby it was just laughable. And I simply can't wait out 4-5 hours of powdery to get to the yummy honey mead smell. To the swaps. ETA: I tried this for a second time, and it didn't dothe generic soap thing on me. It was actually quite like a spiced honey wine with bay leaves (like i was expecint the first time). And it dried down to something very close to honeysuckles and incense. Cool. It really is nice, but also has an edge that really isn't "me". Don't know how to describe it.

Bottle: Dripping sweet, almost like the sweetness of decay--I don't know how else to explain it, probably the fermented wine note. Under the decaying sweetness there is opium? note lurking in the background. Or something else reminiscent of a hippie incense shop. On the skin, Wet: I just walked into that hippie shop, and it's overflowing with incense--I assume those are the musky poppy/vetiver notes. Heady, to say the least. On skin, dry: Early: VERY incense-y, sometimes almost powdery. Despite the incense, it manages not to overpowering my senses (i usually get incense headaches), and is dark, sultry, musky incense. Late (3+ hrs): This scent matures and rounds out a bit. It's still incense, but acquires more sweetness, and a hint of creamy vanilla. There's even a smidge of spiciness poking through (clove?). Certain wafts remind me of musk and unlit flavored cigars. This is very intoxicating, warm and earthy. It sticks around for about 6 hours, which is a great deal longer than the other two BPAL's I've tried thus far. Overall: I was disappointed that I didn't experience the cherry or wine notes, and I wish the clove and vanilla had been a bit more assertive, and come earlier to the soiree. I think I must have incense-loving skin chemistry. I would like to smell this on someone who gets all those sweet notes. Despite the fact that it wasn't what I expected, and that the beginning came on a bit strong, I really did like what it evolved into. The final blend was complex, musky, and sultry and smelled kinda like sex on me. More sex than I'd normally wear. I think I will keep this around for "evening wear", and I will try it on the hubby, too. This one is imp-worthy, but I won't need a large bottle of it (unless it turns hubby into an animal). I was told that "Blood Kiss= smex" (a word I had to look up in the urban dictionary--I'm a dork). So, I will also give it a review for smex factor: I got asked to lunch by a dirty old man (the stares only at your boobs when you talk), and I was invited by a coworker to have mutual feels of each others padded bras (purely platonic, of course). It appears that my smexy musk works on both sexes. Or maybe it was just my boobs. Edited: I had to test this on him: Wet: powdery, incensey, with a sharp edge Drying: incense and dark cherry. Sweet notes, but musky and a bit powdery. ~1 hour: sweeter, incensy, less powdery, but still a bit. A touch of dark cherry? Its a touch feminine on him, and fades in 1-2 hours. Oh well, was worth a shot.

In the Bottle: Strong, bright, fruity citrus with sweet floral notes. Juicy, feminine and pretty. Strange, but for a minute there I swear it smelled like wet paint. And then it was gone back to juicy sweetness. Not picking up tea. On skin, Wet: Slightly fruity--maybe a hint of citrus, this note faded ultra fast on me. It is quickly overwhelmed by heady and dizzying sweet floral (cherry blossom, I presume). Where did those delightful sweet fruits go? Dry down: CHERRY BLOSSOM'D!!!! The floral is so intense I’m trying to talk myself out of it, and *think* I smell a hint of tea, but really it's wishful thinking. 1 hr: Still predominantly blossoms, sharp in the back of my throat. There is the tiniest bit of fruit begging to be let out--not super citrus, maybe this is the persimmon? The floral denies the fruity request, and dominates. 2 hr: Still blossoms, with a bit of bitter pith in the very distant background. Thankfully, the itch-my-nose floral is getting weaker. Now it’s a breezy floral, very feminine, with the slightest hint of tartness. It all fades in about 4 hours. I fell asleep in this and woke up with a stuffy nose. Sum up: My skin amps up the dizzying floral, and my nose doesn't like it. Instead of smelling like a grapefruit juicy tea-fiend, I end up smelling like prime tourist season in D.C. Or my mother. No good. This is not for me. My swap pile officially has its first imp.

In the bottle: A very smoky, slightly sweet smell with hint of chocolate. But mostly smoke. On skin, Wet: Hint of chocolate, mostly a sharp wood smell. This sounds bad, but it reminds me of the cedar wood chips I used to use for gerbil bedding--before the gerbils had their way with them, of course. On the dry down: Almost immediately, I smell an almost bright fruity, sweet smell, which I can only assume is the fig. It fades just as quickly as it came, never to return. Dry: Still woodsy, but not cedar-y like before. A more exotic kind of woodsy. I wish I knew what black palm smells like, but I don't, so I'm not sure if it's that or not. There is also a hint of dusty cocoa wafting around the background. Its very darkly sweet. Yum. Overall: A very warm, dark scent, befitting the name, as I just keep sniffing to try to figure it out. Woodsy, but exotically so, with just a hint of deep smoky cocoa. I never really got the figginess, since it was gone so quickly on my skin. For me, it invokes a sultry rendezvous in the corner of a smokey Bond-esque club somewhere in the tropics. The downside: it faded in about 2 hours (I'm still getting the occasional waft, though), so I either would need to apply more (was I stingy?), or reapply during the day. I really like this scent on me, and will definitely keep it in mind for a larger bottle. But I'm also thinking I'll try this on hubby, and see what the smoky/woodsy scents do to him (and me!). With my luck he'll come out smelling like chocolate covered fig! Update: I did try this on hubby. It was nice. More chocolatey, but still with the tropically woodsy smell, and no fig that i could discern. It faded on him very quickly, though, so it looks like I get to claim this scent for my very own! I put more on me so he and i could compare the same scent on both of us, and decided I liked it even more than the first time! I MUST HAVE A BIG BOTTLE.

Yup, I haven't tried it yet, but the word is that Bengal is the Chai thang! I can't wait to try it. joseybird, you have tried it, then? And was it scrumtilicious? After reading around the forum for the past few days, i've been seeing chai tea comments all about. I was inspired to get iced chai last night. Easily influenced? No, not at all..... Yum. I could definitely deal with smelling like that for a while. Mmmmm.