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The description for this one is everything I could hope or dream of in a perfume. Please work, Morocco, oh please. In the Imp: This one is very lightly colored, which I wasn't expecting. It's almost clear, and I anticipated a yellow or even orange blend. Hrrm. Let's have a sniff, then. Mmmm... sweet and creamy. I can smell vanilla, and musk, and a few transparent spices. It smells... very classic, almost commercial, but not commercial in a bad way, just a sophisticated one. I think it's the clarion note of the carnation making it seem that way. Wet: Wow, this is really... feminine and complex and... yeah, commercial, but again, not in the bad way. It smells vintage and wonderful. I was expecting something a bit more like a spice-market, but this is very soft vanilla, musk and carnation with touches of gentle spice. I can smell a little cassia, and a bit of sandalwood. There's an impression, too, of blowing curtains or clean linen, and a hint of powder. It's absolutely lovely, but not at all what I was expecting. It's quite light (admittedly I only put the tiniest drop on), but the throw is decent. Dry: Creamy, powdery sweet vanilla and musk, with floral and spice. This is Audrey Hepburn or Sofia Loren in a bottle, right here. A classic beauty. I like Morocco a lot, and my boy adores all things '30s-'40s-ish, so I'll probably keep this around to wear when I'm dressed up all vintage, but it definitely feels like a costume-- something I'd put on to not be myself for a while, rather than accentuating my regular old personality. A special occasion scent, if you will.

Honey is usually okay on me, but sometimes not. Same with wine. Nevertheless, I had an insane urge to try this. In the Imp: Honey! Ya-hoo.... that is some strong honey. It's not too sweet, though, which is really nice, just rich. I can maybe catch a little wine in the background, making it less cloying, and some faint myrrh and florals. It's pretty, but it's a little too heady for me at the moment... so much so that I'm almost a little scared to try it. It reminds me a bit of Queen, and, well, that's not a happy memory. Wet: Dusty rich honey, followed by a wave of myrrh. No floral, and very little wine. At the moment it smells like a book-and-sweets shop. I'll report back in five minutes. .... Hmm. Still almost all dry, honeyed myrrh. I like it, but it's a far cry from the voluptuous feminine scent I expected. Where'd all the headiness go? The throw on this is pure honey, but up close it's almost... proper. Dry: A little sweeter, but still no florals and almost no wine. It's got a nice lasting time and good throw, but it's just not terribly exceptional. I'll hang on to it and use it a bit more and see if it morphs or if the Boy adores it on me, but at the moment Athens is kind of a dud. Ah, well. I'll just have to try Delphi next time.

Rose doesn't work on me. Wine almost never works on me. Dragon's blood... not so much. But hey, it was free. In the Imp: Rose, with juicy wine over it... almost like evil Sweet Tarts. Since I don't really like dragon's blood and am abivalent towards wine, I was surprised by how much I liked this one in the Imp. Blood Rose, why you gotta break my heart? I'm really quite enamoured with you, but there's no way you're going to work on my skin. Wet: Soap. Sexy, sensual fruity rose soap, but soapity soapity soap. Le sigh. I have a sneaking suspicion that, if the rose behaved, this would be stunning, but alas. Dry: This is fading fast, but considering I just got out of the shower that's not surprising. There's a lovely after-smell, though, a little musky, a little tart, a little fruity, a little... soapy. Don't you hate it when you have something that you just know could be a beauty, if your damn hide would cooperate? Gahd, Blood Rose, I know it's not your fault, but you're such a tease. [edit] Hey, you know, this is so dark and sensuous, that it might actually work on the Boy. I won't swap it just yet... hope springs eternal, I suppose.

I've had this Imp for a while now, but never got 'round to testing it. It's been so long since I've done a review, I'm afraid I won't be able to do Szepasszony (how do you say that, anyway?) justice! In the Imp: Ozone, touches of lemon, white florals, cleanliness and maybe a little musk. Smells like Embalming Fluid and Dirty and Lightning had a threesome and this is the lovechild. Very pleasant, very jangly, very femme. Wet: Soap. Soapy soap soap. Soap with a gorgeous, sweet floral (honeysuckle?) underneath it, but soap. Does this have rose in it? Strong, and the hints of sweet fruit (I think someone said melon and I can totally see that) and ozone I get are nice, but mostly it makes me want to sneeze. Let's see about the drydown. Dry: This has a really nice throw. It's present and noticeable but not overpowering. I like the melon, and the florals are calming down, letting everything else emerge. I think there might be some lotus in here too. Oddly enough, the drydown of this has that same buttery-sweet-smooth note as the unreleased Nihil, but it's fainter and the florals are more white than golden. In fact, I can't help but wonder if Nihil eventually turned into this. This would be lovely on the right woman, but the watery floral/fruit just isn't my thing, and probably never will be. That being said, this will be quite nice to sleep in tonight.

Frimp from the generous Lab. In the Imp: Light and bright and sunny-- I'm getting nameless white and yellow florals (the same kind that were in Asphodel), airy and sweet, and maybe a splash of something green like grass, a touch of something citrus-- orange?-- and a gentle aquatic... like dew on morning grass. It's beautiful. Wet: .... Aloe? It's bitter and green and citrussy for a moment, like Holiday Moon without the soap, and then dies down into a soft, musky floral with crushed greenery and citrus and air and just a hint of soap. (*sigh*) Lovely nonetheless. Dry: Soft and blended and beautiful.. the best bits of clean laundry, wet grass and flowers all smooshed together with a touch of sunlight. This is gorgeous. It's awfully light on me, though, I'd appreciate a bit more throw, but hey, maybe I'll just slather.

Ahh, the King of Hearts. Nearly as crazy as his wife, if a little kinder. Or, if you want to go the playing cards route, "the suicide king". This was a freebie from the lovely Lab. Thank you Labbies! In the Imp: Cherry, but light and sweet and cool, not overpowering, and lavender, fresh and biting, layered over soft musks (white and red! My two favorites!), and the slight spice of rosewood. No actual rose as of yet, which is good news, since my skin does horrible horrible things to it and I want this to work. I have to say, when I read the description, I was not expecting something this coherent and pleasant. It's not spiky at all-- just pleasant, interesting, and appropriately cologne-ish without being overwhelming. Wet: Herbal lavender, incensey rosewood, a breath of fruit, and a slight soapiness that can only be the rose. *sigh* But underneath there are the most incredibly gorgeous musks you could ever imagine-- velvety and sultry and clean all at once. It's gentle and cool-warm and absolutely gorgeous, and has the same sexy-but-genteel feel as Old Scratch. Dry: This is fading quickly, which is too bad, but it's still a beaut. The soft lavender still dominates, warmed and rounded by cherry and rosewood. Unfortunately the powdery rose is sort of trying to take over, but that's no one's fault by my own skin's (rose never works on me.) The musks in here are really gorgeous... not quite as sultry and in your face as red musk, nor as clean and quiet as white musk, but somewhere between the two. It's the lovechild of Old Scratch and Othello with a drop of fruit. If the rose didn't do that weird thing on me, and if it lasted a bit longer, this might have been a favorite. Unfortunately, as it is, I don't think it'll be nudging Old Scratch out as my favorite herbally-lavender-awesomeness blend. I may pass it on to the boy, though-- I'd love to smell him in this.

A slightly mangled Imp of this arrived today... but who cares what the label looks like? It's the precious that counts! In the Imp: Faint, faint amber and spices and something like tea. And I mean faint. It's more an impression than an actual smell. It's cool, though, rather than warm, and that part is not at all what I was expecting. Wet: This blossoms into a sweet golden amber, with a touch of something round like vanilla or tonka or a sugary musk (or maybe almond-- I'm catching the slightest hint of playdough), quiet background spices and a gentle black tea. It's beautiful and soft, and for the first five minutes quite cinnamony, but then it dies back and lets the amber come to the forefront. Dry: The same. This is lovely, but whatever's going to playdough is a bit much for my tastes. I'll try it again at a different time of the month, but as it is, I wish it had more volume and less playdough.... I may be passing this on; it remains to be seen. [edit] I must say that I received an aged imp of this in a swap, and it's much better now-- a myrrh and cinnamon black tea over amber. It is indeed dry, dusty, and almost slightly acrid, but in a wonderful way (weird as that is!) I like it, and will probably keep the imp.

This is one of those Imps that I can just never quite get around to writing a proper review for, so here's one from memory: Shanghai, on me, is bright and bubbly, all lemon-floral with a hint of bitter green tea. It's beautifully sunny and astringently refreshing and even lasts for a little while... but while I love it, I miss the slightly richer tones of white musk and aloe from Embalming Fluid. It's a lovely feminine version of the same thing, but, for me, the white musk wins. If musk isn't your thing, though, and you still want something clean and totally refreshing and absolutely beautiful, then this is your Holy Grail.

I refrained from ordering any of this when it was around, since all the comparisons to Misk U had me scared. The Boy got a bottle of it, though, and I finally stole a decant this past week. In the Imp: Sweetly smoky and rich-- buttercream and caramel and brown tobacco. Reminds me of a more Oriental Perversion, actually; it has the same sort of sticky, almost boozy, waxy sweetness underscored with spike and smoke. I'm catching whiffs of coconut as well. Mmmm. Wet: Unlike Perversion, this dries out once it hits my skin: the caramel fades to a background note, and coconut, tobacco, a touch of fresh delphinium, amber and opium are the most prominent notes. No black currant yet, which is good, since it tends to go a little wonky on me. There's something in here that's actually clean and very bright (must be the delphinium), and reminds me a little of ozone, but it's really interesting and keeps the whole thing from being too foody. It's like sweet night air and a night-market full of delicious, exotic foods. Dry: No one's going to believe me if I say this is like the lovechild of Buck Moon and Perversion on me, with a hint of Snake Charmer, are they? Fine, then, I'll keep it to myself. There's a touch of Yankee Candle about it-- the notes sort of all meld together-- but in a good way. I like this. I like it a lot. Not, maybe, enough for a bottle, but I'll hang on to my Imp-- it'll be great for fall days when I want something a little foody but not overwhelming. The only problem I have with it is it fades really quickly (WTF, skin? Everyone else is saying "Fifteen hours!" and you're all, "Ten minutes!"), but that could be due to the time of the month, so we'll see.

This Imp isn't mine, so it'll be a quickie review: In the Imp this smells like some kind of awesome candy to me-- lemon and anise and other things, sweet-minty-tart. The anise and mint are strongest on, clean and sweet and herbal, with touches of lemon and spice and other, more mysterious things, including a slight bitterness that must be the wormwood. It's very green and pleasant, but still mysterious. I love this, but I don't think it's going to last very long on my skin-- nonetheless, I very well might snag an Imp of my own.

Not my Imp, so this'll be a quickie review: Incense and citrus, thin and menacing. Whoever originally said evil grapefruit? Nailed it. But in a good way. With maybe a touch of amber or a musk to round things out? Reminds me of Hurricane-- water, but darkened. Oh, man, this smells so familiar! What is that? I can't recall. On my wrist this is heavy, smoky, almost unpleasant: a citrus, yes, possibly the same sort that was in Snow Moon, but twisted and darkened and almost acrid. I can see how this could be great on the right guy, but it's not quite for me. Oh! Yeah! CELERY! That's what that is! It smells like celery on me! Weird. *scratches head*

Not my Imp, so this'll be a quickie review. I'm scared of this one. Apparently the Boy can wear it just fine, though, which gives me hope, and I've touched on another few blends with civet and they were... a little unnerving but not actually unpleasant, so, what's to lose? In the Imp this was velvety-sweet opium and animal musks with a touch of something spicy. Yikes. The oil colour is the heaviest, darkest red I've ever seen. On my wrist, this is surprisingly unscary.... musky, heavy, but there's a surprisingly sharp, almost unpleasantly high-pitched sweetness to it (that's something to do with the civet, I remember it from Fire of Love), and swirling opium. It doesn't smell disgusting, but it's not really my thing, either. I'll give it a couple of minutes to dry down before I pass judgement, though. Later: nope, definitely something slightly off about this one. It's not that it smells gross, just.... wrong. Musk and opium are heaviest, with that mingled civet note-- apparently I can wear it, which is something, I just don't like it! [edit] Someone else said blood or metal-- that's exactly it. There's a disturbing metallic touch here, like the tang of copper in blood, or a scapel blade.

Not my Imp, so it'll be a quickie review: I love roses, apples and lemons to death, so you'd think this would be the best thing ever on me.... but, while I love roses, they don't love me back: soap. Every time. Still, hope springs eternal. Maybe the lemon will help? In the Imp it smells delicious, like some kind of tangy floral-apple-lemon meringue pie. My mouth is watering. On me it goes to powdery honeysuckle... lemon and apple and rose, mingling their sweetness. There's a touch of powder underneath but mostly it's tart and delicious. Oh, man, this is working! And tasty! I think I might need my own Imp, for those times when I feel playful and sunny and just a little mad. Sure, it's a touch soapy, but it still smells really, really good.

Not my Imp, so this'll be a quickie review. In the Imp, Delight smells like weak, salted-and-vinegared florals. Very strange. I can see pickles with jasmine, yeah. On my skin, it was a spiced, clean-but-heavy floral, tropical and slightly soapy. Frangipani, jasmine, tuberose, and the lovely soap rose always turns into on my skin, in that order. To be fair, it's better than some: the spice helps ground it and keep it from getting out of control, but it's still very much not my thing.

This wasn't my Imp, so it'll be a quickie review: This was the lovechild of Sin and Scherazade on me: earthy, spicy, musky, sexy, with lots of throw and staying power. Normally rosewood goes kind of icky on me, but here I couldn't even detect it. Fenris Wolf is very much in the "sexy scarlet-draped headshop" category of BPAL, and very much merits further investigation-- an Imp of my own, perhaps? Here's to amber, red musk and red sandalwood in perfectly balanced proportion.

This isn't my Imp, so it'll be a quickie review. On me, Aglaea was all peach and amber: very sweet, very bright, and very uncomplicated. It smelled like a peach bodywash-- juicy and fruity and golden. While I really love that smell in the shower, I'm not sure I'd want to smell like it all the time, and I wish the myrtle and wine had come out to play a bit more. It had good throw and staying power, but on the whole was just a little too Little Miss Sunshine for me: I'll stick with my Marquise and my Imp, thanks all the same.

Not my Imp, so this'll be a quickie review: On me, it smelled like the ozone of Jolly Roger without the salt, rum and wood: fresh, bright, sharp, high and a little bit perfumey. Beautifully evocative but sort of shrill for my taste (white floral and maybe a touch of lemon as well?) and, since I have my bottle of JR, I don't feel any pressing need for this. I can see how fresh scent lovers would adore it, though!

Not my Imp, so this will be a quickie review. I love the idea of a scent named after the good Baron, however, and I hope it loves me back. In the Imp: Almonds, gritty dry wood, maybe a bit of clove, bay, and.... sassafras? Birch? Something bubbly, anyway. Not really getting a rum feel from this, but it's masculine, spicy and pleasant so far. Wet: Does this have vetiver in it? I'm getting a strong, bitter-wet green smell that I associate with vetiver, rounded and sweetened by almond and the gorgeous spicy clove and a touch of rum. Maybe some tobacco? Ohhh, this is nice. This is really nice. It's earthy and sweet all at the same time; very appropriate. I just took a shower, though, and it's a bit... tingly. Dry: Everything rises and blends to become an awesome amalgamation of sweet-spicy-earthy-manly goodness. It's deliciously dark and smoky and a little mysterious, layered over green earth. I think I really like this..... I'm going to have to snag my own Imp and wear it a few times just to make sure, but this may be a big bottle contender. (No surprises there.... hooray! )

Not my Imp, so this'll be a quickie review. In the Imp: Fig, dry and brown and sweet, is the first thing I get, then a powdery cocoa (emphatically not chocolate-- it lacks the creamy sugar), and an assortment of cracked woods (the overall effect of which is a tiny bit like pepper.... spicy and dry.) It's a touch bitter, a touch smoky, a touch sweet, and smells rather a lot like some sort of exotic tea. Wet: Dessicated fig, bone-dry cocoa, and, strongest of all, the sharp-dry-spice bite of the woods. There's something in here that smells terribly familiar but I can't quite place it.... you know the feeling. It's dark and complex and interesting, and reminds me a touch of Gomorrah (fig and wood.) Dry: Settled down and blended into a dry, slightly bitter melange of cocoa and wood and fig: tea-like and pepper-like and interesting. It's really nice, and I can see why people love it, but it's not quite me. I think I preferred Gomorrah, just a tad. Still, glad I got the chance.

This isn't my Imp, so it'll be a quickie review. In the Imp: Cherries, but drier and sweeter than usual, not quite as juicy as Kyoto (must be the difference between cherry and cherry blossom), and anise, and the faint background velvet of red musk. How could this possibly go wrong? Wet: Cherries, anise, musk... similar to Kyoto but richer, rounder and more seductive. Fruity and exotic and compelling.... mmmm, I'm loving this! I miss the slightly incensey sandalwood of Kyoto, but the red musk in here is gorgeous. Dry: Faint, sweet cherry, a twist of anise, and a smooth, sultry, almost spicy red musk. I'm really surprised by how voluptuous this is. It's the night-time version of Kyoto, definitely; it makes me want to put on something slinky and Asian-inspired and straighten my hair out and paint my eyes and be a mysterious beauty, lurking in the night. Verdict: Wouldn't mind having an Imp of this of my own on hand-- no, not at all-- but I might wait until my Kyoto runs out first.

I'm coming to the conclusion that leather and I will never be the best of friends; most BPAL leather blends seem to dry down to the exact same thing on me: a weird, round sweetness with a hint of herbs. There are exceptions to the rule, however, which is why I'm trying The Black Tower! In the Imp: Wine! Red wine, dry and sweet, and leather, round and slick, and the tang of ozone. Incense smoke, too, over sharp greenery and wood. It's super-layered, probably much more so than what I'm picking up on, and reminds me a good deal of Blood Kiss, only with leather and herbs rather than honey. Interesting, but my skin almost never plays nice with these really complex scents. Wet: And bam! Just like that: the smell of burning grass. Damn, Beth, you're some kind of crazy genius! It smells exactly like grass, green and sweet, and black smoke, and incense, and leather, and wine. There's ozone, too, white and airy, a touch of sandalwood in the background, and something a bit like a musk... that must be the ambergris. The overall feel is wet and dry at the same time, and very strange, and... okay, yeah, it's actually a bit unnerving! Dry: Much the same, but it's settled and blended now, becoming an amalgamation of everything listed. The overall impression is sweet-round-sharp-green, with leather, wine, smoke and unidentified crushed, wet plants being the most obvious. This is fabulously evocative and the leather doesn't go too crazy on me, either-- I suspect it's not really meant to be as strong as it is, but it doesn't quite manage to overpower everything, so that's all right. Verdict: This isn't the kind of scent I'd wear routinely, but it's the kind of scent I might want to keep around for sniffing purposes. It'd be great for Hallowe'en... I think I'll hang on to it, for now, and see how often I have the urge to smell a... well, some kind of black tower!

I received a partial frimp of this in a swap with Audesapere. I love testing unreleaseds-- thank you darling! In the Imp: Flowers. Pure, light, unadulterated flowers over a bed of something curiously white and hollow-- ozone? An "air" note? Just a touch of a citrus-- yuzu or lime or grapefruit? It's softly pretty and reminds me a lot of a floral soap. If I had to take a stab at it, I'd say gardenia and something else, something rounder and sweeter-- muguet? A dab of honeysuckle? Plus a bit of whatever was in Asphodel. Wet: Lilies! And gardenia. Carnation? And that whatever-it-is... daffodils? Jonquil? And something else that isn't flowers, something sweet and fuzzy; musk or amber, I think. There's a gently crisp note in the background, too, fizzy and very fresh. Kind of a birch-citrus-ozone-mint crossover, but without actually smelling like birch or citrus or mint. Ozone is the closest I can get to describing it. Maybe that's the aldehydes that everyone's talking about? There is something in there that reminds me just a little of department store perfumes, but then, most florals give me that impression. Dry: The flowers have died down quite a bit, leaving a faint sweetness on my wrists. It's very odd: there's a definite hint of something golden and buttery, and still a lingering hint of floral, and that strange hollow ozone, and other vague impressions of white and gold. There might be amber, or maybe musk, or ambergris, or citrus, or any number of things in here, but they're so well-blended I can't really detect them, and am ultimately just taking shots in the dark as to what I'm smelling. Verdict: Well, that was... interesting. If it hadn't been an unreleased, I doubt I would have payed much attention to it, and probably would have written it off as just another nice floral. As it is.... it is a nice floral, to be sure, but there's more to it than that. I may pass this on eventually, since florals just aren't and never will be my thing, not really, but I'll hang on to it for a bit: it's definitely strange enough to merit further testing.

Jasmine and lotus. Could be interesting. *waggles eyebrows* In the Imp: Watery florals, faint juicy fruits, and that weird, round, sticky lotus note that smells simultaneously yummy and kind of repulsive. It's light and pretty and reminds me of Black Lotus without... well, the black. Or Undertow without the sharpness of mint and juniper. In other words, lotus. Wet: Jasmine! And lotus! And something else, a liquid floral.... tuberose? Lily? Hrrm. It's humid and very flowery. It sort of reminds me of some super-concentrated bubble bath or something... kind of a spa-like scent, but rich and heavy. Fairly good throw and nice power to it, though, especially for something that seems to be pure floral. Dry: Something in here is going a bit soapy on me. Wah! Where's the fruit and the amber? Or the lotus, really, for that matter? I can only catch it as a hint around the edges; mostly this is jasmine and assorted florals on me, with a touch of lotus and maybe the tiniest hint of amber. Verdict: Quite pretty and summery, but pretty and summery aren't my deal. If I want lotus, I have Black Lotus or Undertow, and if I want jasmine, I have Santa Eularia des Riu. I may keep this around and test it once or twice more just to make really sure, but I'm almsot certain this just isn't my sort of thing.

My spy boy saw you spy boy / sittin' by the bi-yo / My spy boy told your spy boy / I'm gonna set your flag on fi-yo. I said hey now / Hey now / Aiko aiko all day... In the Imp: Strong aquatics, tree-lined banks, a swirl of heavy floral and a sweet smattering of bright fruit. Blue-green is the perfect description for this; it's smooth and deep but in a bright way, not a sludgy or smoky one. I love it. Wet: Moss and trees and damp florals, all submerged in still, slightly foreboding water, with a touch of something that might be musk. There's a sweetness to this that I like a lot; not candy or sugar or even any fruit that I know, just a pleasant sort of sweet foliage. It reminds me a bit of the flowery part of Jazz Funeral, strewn over water rather than dirt. There's a touch of something soapy-- one of the florals, no doubt-- but it's not enough to ruin this. Dry: Pretty much the same, but that's fine by me! It's July, and sunny, and around 100, and thick with humidity where I live, and this is absolutely just the scent for that sort of weather. It might be a little much for some enclosed situations-- it's rather strong on me-- but it will go into heavy summer rotation, along with Jazz Funeral. It's wonderfully evocative and the florals are heady and lush, but still balanced enough, for me to wear. A great out-of-doors but still very sophisticated and unusual scent.

The description for this was one of the first things that drew me to BPAL, and yet it's taken me over a year to try it. Silly me. Still, thanks for the chance, Miseraya! In the Imp: Honey, and wine, and smoke, and vetiver, and something that might be poppy, all over musk... not a juicy, round scent, but a dry, herbal, almost metallic one. There might be a dab of cherry and vanilla, way in the back, but it's mostly dominated by the darker, dustier notes. It's much more dominating and commanding than I was expecting, but I like it so far. Wet: Clove and opium smoke swirling through honey, with overtones of vetiver and musk and touches of sweetness. The wine smells more like a sherry to my nose. I can't smell much cherry and only the faintest hint of vanilla... nevertheless, this is quite interesting. The description made me think of something richly tapestried, like Hymn to Proserpine, but this is much sparser and more animal. Dry: Gritty, spiced and smoked honey layered with dark musk, and a few other notes occasionally rearing their heads. BK is very intruiging! I have the feeling it's much more complex than I'm giving it credit for, since I worked retail all day and my nose feels "burned" by the industrial smell of the store; nonetheless, I can tell it has potential even in my weakened condition. This would be great for a night in the Old City, and certainly merits keeping the Imp for further investigation.