Bagfish

Unfortunately this just doesn't smell right on me. It smells medicinal and sharp with a touch of florals; and "like an old granny" according to my husband! Skin chemistry has a lot to answer for So off Kether goes to the swap pile!

This is absolutely amazing It really does smell just like a big, wet rose out in the garden in late June. I am not a floral perfume fan, but this isn't really perfume in the traditional sense of the word. Its not been mucked about with or mixed with other things that detract from its beauty. I think I am in love - I put a dab on my hand and couldn't stop smiling as I was transported back to my parents garden by the gorgeous natural smell of roses. I think Beth is a genius. And I only have half an imp Stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid Bagfish to discover this a week after the LE finishes Edited to add: Hurrah! I scored a full bottle of Rose Red on Ebay and I am VERY pleased. What I love most about it is how it lingers on my clothes from one day to the next. When I put something I have previously worn whilst wearing RR on, I can smell faint wafts of beautiful Rose Red. What a fabulous scent.

Haunted was a frimp from dpoulsen21 - many thanks! On me, this lives up to its name: I am being haunted by the smell! I can hardly smell this oil in the bottle. This is a first for a BPAL oil cos normally the smell jumps out at me and I don't actually usually like the scent in the bottle, I have to wait for the dry-down to appreciate it! Anyway, I can hardly smell it in the bottle. When first applied, it instantly becomes very lemony, which I wasn't sure about. It then morphs through a powder stage. I tried this on about three hours ago and went away to cook dinner. When I finally got round to thinking about Haunted on my arm, I had a sniff and there was a glorious sweet, musky amber. Very much in the background, and on me a 'skin scent'. I have just slathered on some more (a lot more) and its doing the lemon powder thing at the moment, I'm hoping it will get over this stage quickly and move back to the lovely sweet musk haunting me by wafting up occasionally. I like Haunted, its a lovely "quiet" oil on me and is definitely a keeper! B

Purchased as a decant from dpoulsen21 and it arrived in the post this morning, so grabbed the imp and........ Woo, in the imp this smells just like shop-bought cheesecake, definitely foody, not *massively* sweet, but still very bakery. Wet: Smells really cheese-cakey on me. At this stage I thought I would really enjoy this one. Drydown: Well I have been wearing it for nearly 12 hours now and it is still really really strong. I only put a dab on. I am getting cheesecake/vanilla buttercream, but I am also getting that plastic "my little pony" smell. I don't feel like its agreeing with me all that much at the moment.... I have been feeling headachy and a bit nauseous all day. I was feeling a bit odd before putting on Beaver Moon, so I'm going to put it down to this, and give Beaver Moon another try when I am feeling a bit less wierd. This has all the right elements, I blame me rather than the oil, and I will report back later!

I was looking forward to the coconut in Blood Pearl, but unfortunately my major impression of this oil is white flowers and red fruits, neither of which work on me Wet: very sweet and fruity Drydown: the florals appear (must be dragon's blood by the smell of it) and it becomes a mixture of sweet fruits and flowers, and sort of soapy as time goes on. I had to wash this off after about 2 hours as it really didn't suit and was beginning to give me a headache. The final straw was when DH had a sniff and pronounced to to be "old lady" Off to the swap pile with Blood Pearl - now on a coconut mission! B

In the vial: It smells quite sweet and fruity which is a bit scary as I'm not good with either Wet: definitely honey and fruit, I can't put my finger on what, though as it dries down a bit a spicy resinous woody sort of smell comes through. It also reminds me a *little* bit of Yggdrasil Drydown: definitely a benzoin sort of smell, with sweet spices (cumin or coriander?) as well. It reminds me a little bit of the end of the drydown of Serge Luten's Ambre Sultan, although the fragrances come from completely different directions to get to it. Overall: this was a swap from Blu (thanks Blu) and I am really pleased that I took a chance on it. This sort of discovery makes the boards worth while! On a scale of 1 to 5 I think this gets 4.5 It is very nearly the best, and at the moment is in my top five oils (along with Snake Charmer and Sri Lanka).

I ordered block buster from the lab as an imp when I was on an apple scent bender in the autumn. When I received it, I tried it a few times and thought it was OK scent wise. In the imp - very sweet fruit Wet - more tartly apple than from the imp Drydown - well I put it on this morning at 8:30 - its not 10pm and I'm STILL smelling apple, but in a sugar-free boiled sweet apple sort of way. But this is not the point, the point is that this afternoon I had to do an exam for the first time in 12 years and I needed anything I could get my hands on to help as I had done sweet FA revision until this morning So slathered on Block Buster and managed to write 13 pages of script in two hours this afternoon. Not bad for someone who now types WAAAAY faster than she writes and who's hand-writing skills appear to have atrophied from disuse So, Block Buster may have unleashed my brain for the afternoon. We shall see and I shall update when I find out how well I did in the exam To sum up, not an oil I would wear just as a scent, but a way of getting me writing, it seems to have hit the mark. B

In the imp - very rose scented, proper roses like in the garden. I liked this a lot in the imp Wet - again, a true fresh rose scent, very lovely, but unfortunately for me as the dry down started, it became more and more ylang ylang-y Dry - almost all I could smell was ylang ylang which is NOT a scent I like and I had to wash it off. This is not one for me, but if I could find a scent like the wet rose scent I would be happy! B

A frimp from the lab - thanks labbies Well, how stupid am I. I dabbed a bit of Yggdrasil on, left it for 20 minutes or so and this glorious, herby, woody slightly sweet smell rose from it. Absolutely lovely. So, what do I do. Grab the imp and slather it on. Now I feel sick, have a headache and just want to wash it off ASAP Its ALL TOO MUCH in large amounts, it smells quite commercial perfume-y. What is gorgeous as a small whiff turns ugly in large amounts on me. That will teach me. I will leave the world tree for a couple of days and then try again, just with a little drop B

I received this as a frimp - thanks labbies! In the imp - hmm, florals. Well I'm not really a floral sorta gal, but I'll give it a whirl. On my skin - help! I've had this on five minutes and I'm developing a headache. Sorry, I'll have to wash it off I can sort of see why a lot of people like this, but I seem to have a visceral reaction to anything flowery perfume-wise (both BPAL and commercial perfumes). I've given it a try and it didn't work, so its off to the swap pile. B

A frimp from the Lab, thanks labbies! This is definitely one of the best BPAL oils I have tried. It doesn't have the really sharp patchouli head-shop scent that a lot of other blends with patchouli have. It is smooth. One odd thing is that it really reminds me of the 1970's mens favourite aftershave Old Spice, but its slightly sweeter and I feel that I can wear it! What is best of all for me is that it dries down to a beautiful benzoin scent after an hour or so - the spices fade leaving me smelling like I'm covered in benzoin, one of my most favourite essential oils. On a scale of 1-5, this definitely rates a 5! B

Jester is too sweet and sickly for me. I got this as third imp of a three imp Ebay sale (so didn't chose it) but thought I should at least try it! Its definitely a false fruit smell like you would find in a cheap scented candle, room scent or the Body Shop's Dewberry perfume. It smells like of the taste of strawberry bubblegum or sweets. An instant headache producer, I've made my arm sore scrubbing it off, and still the scent lingers - its a long lasting one Sorry Jester, I'm afraid you are off to the swap pile! B

Oh I am disappointed I have never smelled dragons blood before in any form and I was hoping it would be more resiny and incensy than it is seeing as it comes from a resin. And I LOVE dragons so much, I really wanted to love this! Dragons blood is a beautiful colour in the imp. On opening the imp I got a massive waft of florals. Not a good start, I just can't do florals, instant headache material . One VERY small dab - more florals, jasmine and lilac and all things that I just can't wear. I'm sure if you like jasmine, lilac, lilies and other strongly scented flowers, this would be great, but its just not for me. Gutted. Great staying power, it is as strong now as a couple of hours ago, but I think I'm going to have to wash it off. Off with you dragons blood, to the great imp swap pile. B

Oh my goodness.... First order from the lab arrives. I ordered an imp of Bliss just to see if it really was as chocolatey as everyone says. It Is. Supremely chocolatey! In the bottle, it was very strong and sweet, but I didn't 'get' the chocolate. On wet, this is just like melted Cadbury's Dairy Milk. When I was a kid, I used to let Dairy Milk melt onto my skin and then I would sniff it (yes, mad I know!). This is exactly the same smell. Unbelievable! Drydown - the cocoa becomes more pronounced on me, slightly less sweet, more like Green and Blacks organic dark chocolate. I don't know whether I like the Dairy Milk hit or dark chocolate hit best. Both are amazing. Wow, I am stunned that such a pure chocolate smell can come out of a bottle. Possibly a 5ml, I'm going to start by making this into a spray and see how it goes. I'm just so impressed by this blend, not because I completely love it (it may be a bit too chocolatey to wear!) but because it is so true. Beth, you are an artist! B

Wow, Nattie, that spreadsheet is fantastic, thanks very much As a newbie to BPAL, I have just put in comments about the oils I've tried so far (not yet too long a job) but its great and will help me keep track of what I've tried. I added five columns at the end: ordered, received, size of bottle, rating and fate (what I did with the oils). Cheers B

Thankyou! I really don't understand why customs would bother opening a tiny package, and the lady I bought the decant from was quite upset that it had happened (she sent me another decant which arrived well before the original order...). Yeah, guess I was just unlucky. Hopefully not this time. I'm just hoping that I get my order before 15th November as I want to order two of the current limited edition bottles, but want to wait to see if I like any of the imps I'm due so that I can combine postage if I want to order 5mls of any of these. B

Helloo I'm pretty new on the BPAL board, and am waiting for my first order to arrive (getting VV excited! ) - only 6 imps and a 5ml but I want to start slowly (and I'm short of cash at the mo!). I ordered on 31st August so the rate that the lab is going I am sort of expecting a click and ship in 10 days time. So, I have a question to ask all you much more experienced people about shipping. I'm in the UK, and I am concerned about how long the box from BPAL will get held up in UK customs and also whether any other people from the UK have had problems with customs either with not releasing purchases from the US or making horrendous customs charges. I'm a bit wary as I bought a scent decant from the US a couple of months ago and it took 5 weeks to arrive - and had been opened by customs (it wasn't labelled as perfume either, labelled as bath oil). Hope you can help this very exited newbie who is DESPERATE to try Dana o'Shee, Anne Bonney, Dragon's Blood, Queen of Sheba and 3 others, B