CrazyPretzel

In the imp: Sweet flowers and something that reminds me of a kitchen herb/spice rack. Weird. Wet on me: Ugh, there's that violet note that smells like paint to me. This smells like chopped roots. (Orris?) The imp I have of this seems fairly aged; I wonder if it's nicer fresh. After five minutes: Roots, grass clippings, dirt...herbal smells but all very low-to-the-ground. Strangely I'm not picking up any lavender, which in BPAL blends is usually very sharp to me. A touch of pretty lilac and powdery ylang-ylang. Drydown: Grass clippings and powdery ylang-ylang. Sweet violets. I have to say this is not really winning me over... Suspiro is a similar scent which I like a lot more.

In the imp: Tart fruit and strong lotus, which always smells sort of pubic to me. Wet on me: Ka-POW! Lotus amps until it smells like bubblegum. Very sickly sweet at first. Some citrus is struggling to get through the lotus. Powerful throw just now. I was counting on amber to make the lotus a bit more sane, but it's just not happening! After five minutes: Still cloyingly sweet lotus. I may be smelling some other flowers in here as well -- gardenia? I think I'm gonna go and wash this off. It's just too damn lotusy and I can't imagine it turning into anything good.

In the imp: Delicious fruit and sandalwood. Wet on me: Mmm, smooth and juicy mango! Mandarin too. Fruity but sexy and sophisticated too; probably the musk. After five minutes: Uh-oh...sandalwood starting to get all musty on me. Nooo! This happened with Belle Epoque too. Let's wait and see.... The fruit is still very nice. Oh good, the sandalwood seems to be settling down now. Let's hope it just blends in with the pretty white musk and stays quiet. Drydown: The early stages of the drydown are interesting. This doesn't smell super-duper fruity on me (like the vitamin C tablets and dishwashing liquid that other people have mentioned), it's a silky, subdued tropical fruitiness with sexy white musk and sandalwood. The sandalwod keeps threatening to turn foosty to my nose, but I think it's working out. (Shhh, don't wake it up. ) Maybe not a bottle purchase, but I'll hang on to my imp. This is rather what I hoped Tweedledum would be like.

A bit cinnamon'd out from Tanin'iver and still getting over the horrible rash that one gave me, but I'm feeling brave so I'll give this guy a go! In the imp: Sweet orange and peach with strong cinnamon and a bit of clove. Wet on me: A fairly basic orange-cinnamon scent, rather enjoyable. It does remind me of The Dodo and Bengal, for sure. A dark base of patchouli is beginning to take over the fruitiness. After five minutes: Pretty much just strong clove, a spiciness that's not as searing as cinnamon. I get the occasional whiff of orange too but it's not a major feature. Drydown: Sweet cinnamon and clove. The fruits keep the spices from being too sharp, I think. Not the sort of thing I would typically wear, but this does smell rather pleasant -- I'd like to be in a house that smelled like this. This scent doesn't seem very complex to me, but I do like it better than Bengal -- the fruit adds something to it. I think I'll hang on to this one for the winter months; it'll make a nice holiday scent.

In the imp: Spicy dragon's blood resin. Wet on me: Something suggests cinnamon and apples to my nose -- ah, that'll be the pomegranate, and the cassia which is very strong. Hm, I hope this mellows out -- right now it smells rather like Wrath and I got sick of that smell. After five minutes: This is burning a little and giving me a slight rash -- sensitive-skinned BPALers beware! It's still that dragon's-blood-and-cassia combo, but this is a richer scent than Wrath. I think I can detect the patchouli in there -- sadly all the other notes are still stomped out by the cassia. This will clearly need some time to develop. In the meantime, the rash keeps getting worse... While I'm curious to see how this develops, I think discretion might be the better part of valor. I should probably go and wash this off.

In the imp: cool, fresh, watery. A hint of violets? (I'm guessing here.) Wet on me: A crisp melon note comes out first. I think I'm still getting violets, but they're *very* subdued. It is rather green, but it's a soft green, not pungent and herbal -- makes me think of tender green leaves on delicate flowers, sprinkled with morning dew. After five minutes: A teeny-tiny hint of that absinthe scent people have been talking about! Wow, I don't know if I would have picked up on it if people hadn't mentioned it -- it's super-light. I tried the Bewitching Brews blend Absinthe yesterday and this is quite different. Still mainly melon to my nose. Drydown: Crisp, wet, gentle floral with melon-like sweetness, and a hint of wormwood/absinthe that drifts in and out to sharpen things up a bit. Innocent and pure while still a little sexy. This would be a beautiful spring scent -- wish I'd had it earlier this year!

First off to my nose, it's a straight-up aquatic. Not particularly rain-ish or marine-y, just a pure cool water note. Not very strong, but I've got this one more as a good luck charm than for fragrance anyway. After the drydown, this turns into a very soft, powdery rose which is quite gentle and pretty. Even rose-haters could probably handle this (heck, I'm not even sure it *is* rose; just reminds me of it!) As for the effects on my spirit, well, I'm feeling better now than I was earlier this evening, but not as peaced-out as I expected. I think the Wrath on my left arm might be messing with the good vibes.

In the imp: scrummy! Deep purple fruits. Wet on me: yup, still deep purple fruits; candy-like without being too sweet. A little like grape lollipops?--but there is so much more depth here. Not too boozy yet. After five minutes: WOW supersexy berries! This is pure fruity goodness and just SO damn delicious! Look, it's making me use CAPS! No longer like grape lollipops now; just delicious blackcurranty heaven. My boyfriend's going to flip over this when he comes home! Drydown: This does get a bit faint but the scent stays true to its original berry deliciousness. Excellent! ETA: Much as I love it, I have to admit that this is a fast fader. I get around that by putting some in my hair, which means that I still catch whiffs of it hours later. It will probably be one for a scent locket -- if I get the nerve to ask for a scent locket for my birthday

This was a frimp from the Lab. Not on my wishlist, but sounds interesting! In the imp: Cool, clear, wet. Not exactly electrical though... Wet on me: Ahhh. Super-refreshing. This does smell like a rainstorm in a large garden or a grassy field. Quite sharp and tangy. After five minutes: Something lemony begins to amplify. Now smelling like a rain-battered lemon tree. (Dang it, why do the rain/storm blends always smell lemony to me?) Drydown: Crisp rain and a refreshing marine note, both sadly rather trampled by the lemon. This would be really nice if it weren't so damn lemony. Probably for swaps.

One I ordered fresh from the Lab. In the imp: butter, like buttered popcorn Jelly Bellies (oh man, I HATE those) and cherry just behind that. Wet on me: Still those damn popcorn jellybeans. A bit of fruit but it's totally butter-soaked, which is kind of gross. This is actually starting to turn my stomach. After five minutes: Butter and cherry chapstick. Where's the cake, dammit?! Now the throw from this is starting to get nicer, rather sweet and custard-y; however I still can hardly bear to put my nose to my wrist because of that damn butterball-scent. (Sidenote: holy mackerel, I swear I can smell turkey now! ) Drydown: More sweetness comes out, definitely, and I can see the comparisons to cake now. Unfortunately the butter is still there, and it's ruining my Drink Me experience up to this point... I'll wait a bit longer. The fruit notes (I suppose they must be cherry and pineapple, but to be honest it's just generalised 'fruitiness' to my nose) have now come out more strongly and are transforming the evil buttery grossness into a rich fruit-tart fragrance. This, perhaps, I can live with! If you like this one, try The Knave of Hearts. ETA: You know what? It's still buttery as all hell. Forget it.

In the imp: very light lemon, strong anise. Quite medicinal. Quite absinthe-y. Suddenly I have my doubts: I like to drink absinthe, but do I really want to smell like the stuff? Wet on me: Minty and medicinal, like sinus-clearing coughdrops. The lemon is not amping, thank goodness. Mmm, getting a bit sugary now -- big fan of the mint + sugar, me. Makes me think of Gennivre's alcoholic cousin. After five minutes: very sharp and biting crisp booze scent; not at all like the other boozey BPALs I've tried which have been mostly rum. It seems like a pretty true absinthe aroma and I wish I'd had this when I was with my ex-fiancee -- he was a goth and well into the romantic poets; he'd have flipped over this! Drydown: Crisp, sweet yet biting, unmistakable absinthe scent. Not too lemony, either. This is a keeper!

I got a sample of this in a swap I'm amazed first of all at how much this little sucker *lathers*; I had a wee sample from Wilde Ivy as well and I had to really work to get any suds out of that thing. Carnal produces masses of bubbles, which is great. Also it doesn't strip my skin at all -- a plus because my cuticles were dry and painful after camping in the chilly south of Wales for a week. The scent isn't very strong to me, perhaps because this is just a wee sample. I get predominantly orange with a nice spice note.

In the imp: something citrusy, yes, more like lemon than mandarin, but it's *dark*. And, yes, that graham cracker note people keep talking about. How funny! I'll tell you what, it's damn good though. Wet on me: WHOA! This is just insane! Citrus and spicy baked goods and...and...and manly sexiness! But oh crap, now the lemon is starting to get stronger...let's wait this out. After 5 minutes: Shit. Lemon and sweat. This was so promising too. It might yet change and become lovely...only been a few minutes... (Strangely enough, when I go back and sniff the imp again, it smells like paint. WTF?) Drydown: lemon still. The spicy biscuit scent is back, but they smell like really stale biscuits. I guess the musk is to blame for that. Where's my lovely Great Sword of War gone? ETA: After a good, long while -- say an hour -- the citrus and the musk finally chill out and this is a rather nice spicy, sexy scent. Tobacco and cocoa finally peek out and smell comforting -- this would be quite nice for winter. Still, the hellish drydown is not worth it, so I'll be swapping this one.

In the imp: leather and a lovely herby smell that reminds me of Allison Gross. Wet on me: leather still, and the herbal scent is becoming more resiny. For some reason this seems very hot to my nose, like sniffing a candle flame. Drydown: My first impression was that while this was a good scent, I'd have to give it to my boyfriend as it was too manly for me to wear. That impression has changed now. It is predominantly a leather scent, but it's blended beautifully with spicy flowers and resins. It just keeps getting better! This seems like such an unusual combination of notes but they all play together so wonderfully. It's immensely sexy and I think it would be quite lovely on either a man or a woman. If I could change one thing about it I'd make the leather a teensy bit less strong -- but that may yet fade as I wear it, and really it's an exquisite blend as is. Very happy! ETA: Oh noes -- this has turned pretty stale towards the later stages of the drydown. No more flowers or resins, I'm just left with a flat leather note that isn't very nice. Argh.

In the imp: shampoo! Wet on me: Still smells soapy and fresh to my nose, but it's warming up now into a pretty, very delicate floral. I hadn't expected this to be such a *warm* scent. Not really misty or dewy. After 5 minutes: OK, I'm sorry, but this is really, really soapy. No Gaelic mists, no nighttime dew, and the Irish herbs and flowers are still making me think Herbal Essences. Not exactly offensive, but WTF? Drydown: Arrrggghhhh. The soap just gets sharper. If I get my head round the soapiness I can smell a light, pretty, warm floral that will probably be brilliant on some people's chemistry -- just clearly not mine. Scrolling back through the earlier reviews, I see that there is a large minority of us who do get soap or dryer sheets or whathaveyou from this. It's nice to see that I'm not going crazy, but I'm still disappointed! I really wanted to like this one. I may try it again before deciding to keep it or swap it. ETA: After a long wait -- like an hour -- this finally mellows out into some tiny, honey-sweet meadow flowers. Very warm, very light. Quite pretty, but I'm still not sure it's worth waiting through that drydown -- my sinuses are shot!

A Latin word that means to sigh or draw a deep breath, that also suggests longing, desire, yearning, and a passionate wish. Ylang ylang with white plum, white orchid, jasmine, calla lily and lily of the valley. In the imp: D'oh. Jasmine. *sigh* It's not that I hate jasmine, it's just that after testing New Orleans I'm feeling sort of jasmined-out... Wet on me: Still jasmine; some very pretty sweet lilies and a bit of fruit peeking through. The ylang-ylang gives this a gentle, powdery base -- either ylang-ylang or jasmine on their own can be pretty damn overpowering, but maybe they'll play nicely together. After 5 minutes: The ylang-ylang gets warmer and stronger; the plum adds just a touch of juiciness that keeps it all from being too powdery. Drydown: A good balance between all the notes! Even jasmine doesn't dominate the blend. This is rather what I hoped that Seduction (from the Panacea series) would smell like; the ylang-ylang here is like the good twin compared with the evil twin of Seduction. The drydown phase doesn't give me a headache the way Delight did. Overall verdict: I like!

This is an aged imp that I got in a swap (has one of the old-school labels on it.) In the imp: hm! Really quite spicy and cinnamon-y. I wonder if the spiciness gets stronger with age. Wet on me: Reminds me a LOT of some of the Voodoo oils, Chuparosa and Follow Me Boy: hot spice laid over strong flowers. Given that New Orleans is the city of voodoo, perhaps that's not surprising. I'm surprised that at this stage the lemon seems to be overpowering the jasmine/honeysuckle. Not too keen on it at this point but I'll wait for the drydown. Drydown: After 5 minutes the spice is getting stronger until it smells like cinnamon redhots. Not cool. ...Another minute or two and the flowers peek out; they're still pretty flattened by the spiciness. Slightly potpourri-ish; the jasmine going a little soapy. Not really unpleasant now, but smells sort of synthetic on me. Not what I was expecting. Overall this has sort of an old-fashioned feel to it, while at the same time being sexy in a rather trashy way. (Is that appropriate to New Orleans? I suppose in many ways it is!) It's nice enough but I'm really not sure how often I'll wear it. ETA: Wow! Now it's doing something very nice indeed! The lemon and spice have finally settled into each other and make a good sultry pair, while the jasmine and honeysuckle sort of lurk underneath and keep the lemon/spice from being too sharp. This is definitely worth waiting through the drydown for.

In the imp: strong, slightly 'off' floral smell, bordering on dirty diaper. I've encountered this before with scents that have turned out beautifully though so I'm not scared off. I think it's jasmine that does it. Wet on me: My initial impression is that this is something to wear with a silk or satin negligee -- it's really very 'boudoir' and I can't imagine wearing it to work or class! There's a candy-sweet note in here that reminds me of Maenad and had me guessing at orange blossom for a moment, but that's not one of the listed components. Rose peeks out after a moment and then vanishes again. Overall, very very candy-sweet floral. Drydown: Uh-oh. The sweetness is amping to an unpleasant degree and I'm starting to get a headache. Now, after 5 minutes, it smells like super-sweet soap or powder.... Still, there's something in here that's *really* nice, probably the frangipani. This is a sexy, 'colourful' scent and I think there will be occasions when I reach for this. The sweetness does settle down after 10 minutes or so -- just have to be careful to avoid huffing too deeply or I wind up with a headache

This is very much a MEN'S fragrance -- it's true, it smells similar to many standard-issue men's scents. My boyfriend compared it to Lynx shower gel. That being said, it is very good, and makes him smell like a sexy bastard. The one note that I can pick out with confidence is ambergris, which I love. The others all meld right into the blend. Probably not a bottle purchase, but I'm sure he won't object to using the imp!

This was from a forum purchase -- an imp with a hand-written label on it and a teeny-tiny bit left in; it looks quite well-aged. Huh. Weird. In the imp and on me I can hardly pick out anything from this at all. It seems so faint. After a minute it shows up, though. Let's see...first impression: strong amber. Perfumey and sophisticated. Reminds me of Brisingamen, but more aggressive -- not in an unpleasant way. The amber really is quite sharp. After five minutes, it's sweetening and the vanilla is coming out under the other notes. I'm really not getting any peach from this, strangely. Sandalwood is here now, smelling magnificent; let's hope my skin doesn't turn it all foosty like it usually does! On the whole this strikes me as a regal, spicy, Oriental blend. I may order an imp of this from the Lab at some point; I'm curious as to how it smells fresh. ETA: after an hour this is still smelling pretty damn good; still ambery but not so sharp as at first and the sandalwood, to my delight, smells just gorgeous!

This was a frimp from a forum purchase -- I have no idea who it was from; sorry! In the imp and wet on me, this is such a pure cucumber scent that I can taste it and practically hear the crunch and feel the seeds between my teeth. After about 20 min's drydown, it smells less like something I'd want to eat and more like fresh grass clippings. There's a teeny-tiny bit of sweetness back there somewhere but I think it's my shower products interfering. After about 2 hours, the cucumber and grass have struck a nice balance with the cucumber predominating. What do you know -- foody scents can be healthy and *still* yummy! I'm very glad I got to try this and it may be a bottle purchase.

Purchased from kuroitsuki Before we begin, let's note for the record that I have issues with wood notes which may make this one a problem. In the imp: Mmm. Very green, clear, refreshing. No heavy wood notes, thankfully, just herbs. If I inhale deeply I can smell sweetness from the shea. Wet on me: Smells like a cool damp forest. Very nice. The wood is in there but definitely playing back-up to the medley of green notes. This seems very clean and unisex. Dry on me: The sweetness of the shea becomes stronger -- reminiscent of coconut -- and I can smell some grassiness. The wood is light and pale. Just beautiful. A fine forest scent for those who shy away from heavy pine and cedar notes. The scent seems very appropriate for the loa of clear rational thought and understanding; I could see the Goddess Athena getting on very well with this one too!

A decant in a purchase from squirrelmonkey. Wet, the sweet rosiness of this reminds me of rose pastilles or something, unsurprisingly. I had expected this to be a lighter, younger rosebud-type scent, but it is actually a full-blown rose. Also, there's a slight sourness to this that fades as it dries. Dry after about 30 minutes, the sweetness comes out more, though it never overpowers the rose. I've put on a dab of Possets' Silver Roses as well to compare the two, and it seems like Hope is a purer rose scent without the vanilla-y yumminess of Silver Roses. Hope is a bit more subtle than SR as well and seems like the city to SR's country. (If that helps you any!) All in all a very nice fresh, sweet rose that seems quite sophisticated. I could easily imagine wearing this one at a fancy dinner.

A frimp from the Lab! In the imp: Rose, wet rose, a bit fainter than I expected. Wet on me: Still a fullblown rose, still faint. Dry on me: For heaven's sake, why isn't this stronger? Usually I do pretty well with both rose and frankincense, but just now they're not doing anything special. This is nice enough but not strong enough to warrant keeping, especially since I have so many beautiful rose blends clamouring for my attention. My imp is very full, so I might as well experiment with this again later before deciding to swap it or keep it.

In the imp: Smells like motorcycles. Well, okay, not really. But it does smell sleek and powerful and a little dangerous, and manly. Wet on me: Hm. I know there's cedar in here but it's *not* smelling like crap on me. I'm having difficulty picking out notes, though I can tell it's a musk base. Lavender, which can also sometimes be a problem, is just fine here, not too sharp. A very smooth scent overall. Dry on me: As it dries, the leather comes out more strongly; not to a scary degree though. And--ohh. Ohhh. Is this a masculine floral? Yes. Yes, I believe it is. Something sweet coming through the leather and musk -- I just bet it's the vanilla. Another pleasant surprise: with sage, cedar and lavender I would've expected this to clash dismally with me, but it doesn't. If I have any complaint it's that the scent of this is sometimes a teeny-tiny bit generic in that it reminds me of deodorant or shampoo or something -- but it's very good and the vanilla makes it rather unusual. Nice!