Bagfish

07 version In the decant, Sugar Skull has a brown sugar/burnt sugar/incense sort of smell, but on my skin the burntness seems to wear off a bit and mellows to become really very like Pink Moon 07 which is rather odd! It is suprisingly nice on me - I didn't think this was my sort of scent, but I'll keep the imp for definite.

DDLM 07 is a tragic disappointment. I love with a passion DDLM 06 and have been wearing it a lot recently thinking I could stock up again with this years version. But no DDLM 07 has jasmine or somesuch in it and I amp jasmine until it is the only note that can be smelled. No cactus, no cereus, no chocolate or incense smoke, just jasmine. I am SO sad about this.

How sad I had such high hopes of my birth sign oil, but it is just too sweet rose and currant on me. I don't get any of the figs or honey or plum, just currants and a similar rose to that found in Lady Luck Blues. Libra is almost teeth-achingly sweet, and it really lasts, but doen't have too much throw. I'll be sad to let this go, but I know I won't wear it as I've hardly worn Lady Luck Blues.

This is a strange sharp heady caramel when first applied (no, I don't know how caramel can be sharp either ), and dries down to a masculine cologne crossed with the smell of a hair gel that an ex-boyfriend used to wear and curry leaves in a similar way that Mr Nancy was curry leaves on me. The nicotiana pokes through, but not enough to save this blend on me. I don't know what is making the scent sharp and curry-like, but his really isn't for me.

Pretty, pretty rose. This is lovely and watery and summery on my skin, almost pure rose with a little bit of lily. I don't smell any jasmine (yet), just a summery floral. Helena is simple on my skin, but very lovely indeed. I shall enjoy my imp!

Boooo methinks that Infernal Musk is actually red musk in disguise and if there is one thing my skin hates, it is red musk. So this smells like woody, leathery Smut on me, and unfortunately that is a bad thing. No vanilla, lemon rind or patchouli to be smelled on my wrist, just smutty leather.

Wow, this is so herbal when on wet. It's almost mouth puckeringly dry with very few florals. On drydown Allison turns straight into Litha with the same green, herby florals, and a slight sweetness. Suprisingly, I don't actually get any dragon's blood out of this as it is usually a really strong note on me.

A complex woody male scent with something light and airy about it too. It is not all dark and woody, but tempered with a lighter more cologne-y sort of feeling. I think the lemon peel and mint raise it above the murky woodiness and give it an almost fougere sort of smell (even though it is definitely not a fougere). This also smells nice on Mr Bagfish too Having just read Stardust, I have to say that this doesn't make me think of Tristran, it is too ethereal, but maybe it is his underlying parentage rather than his actions in the book that is mirrored in this scent.

I smell books and wood in Aziraphale. On first application, the woods are most apparent and they have an almost John Dee sort of scent to them, but this dries down to a really gentle scent, not sweet, but not tart or overly masculine either. The books/parchment and musk appear after 15 minutes or so mellowing the woods and making them lighter and more ethereal. A lovely evocation of Aziraphale; the bibleophile, slightly slipped (rather than fallen) angel.

The Sportive Sun has lots of light, sweet, rounded amber - very like Arcana's Nepalese Amber single note. Rising above the amber basenote is heliotrope and a light almost floral almond, but it's not an almond like, say Bastet or Asp Viper. This is not a heavy scent, but it lingers. It is slightly resinous and when still quite fresh on, reminded me of a very light, sweet version of Schwarzer Moon. I can smell the cedar giving a high resinous overtone, but it certainly doesn't overwhelm the scent. The BPAL that this reminds me most of is Sudha Segara, but I think it has more to it than this. This is a very grown-up scent, it has an almost classic "high end" perfume feel about it but I can't make up my mind about the Sportive Sun. I have a bottle coming (I ordered a bottle before it went down without having tried my decant) and I'm not sure if this is going to be a total love or a not really me..... Edited to add 26/7/07: OMG I'm totally upping The Sportive Sun to my top ten BPALs ever. It is absolutely amazing. I have worn it every day since I got it, have got quite a few compliments. It just feels like such a "me" scent, I totally love its warm, rounded, spicy, nummy goodness, I love it on my skin, and I also love the slightly different smell on my clothes and my bra. This is a total and utter winner and I am just so SO pleased I got a bottle too.

Victoria is a beautiful pink rose to my nose. When wet is quite similar to Rose Red in its rosy pureness on my skin, but just ever so slightly sweeter. As it dries the musky vanilla rounds out the rose-ness of the scent. I don't get any lily from this, which I am pleased about as it can be an iffy note on my skin. As edenssixthday says below, up close this is vanillic, musky rose on my skin, but with my nose further away the rose stands out on its own as it wafts around me. Beautiful, I think this one may be bottleworthy.

Frimp from the Lab. In the imp, bitter and brown. So much so that I dabbed this on, smelled the wet bitter brown smell and consigned Gomorrah to the swaps box. Five minutes later, Gomorrah is retrieved from the swaps box and slathered. The initial nasty dirty smell blossoms to a beautiful almost sweet but not quite currant underlaid with interesting herbs. I have to say I can't smell the fig or the date in this, it is just herbs and fruit. I'm not normally a BPAL fruit girl, but this is very different from the over-the-top candy fruit scents like Jester or Bordello as the currant is tempered by the bitter herbs. This is a winner and I'm going to enjoy the imp.

Wow, the centre of chaos that Azathoth sits in must be a damp shed. Because that it what this oil smells like on me, brown, damp, dark and earthy; full of spiders and unmentionable creepy-crawlies. There is no brightness in this scent at all, the vetiver note drowns all with its dankness. Hmm, probably a suitable evocation of the god, but I can't see me wanting to wear this for fun!

In the imp and on initially: fake cherry-almond, as usual, my skin turns BPAL almond into something horrible. Very quickly, this dries down to a stale smelling babypowder and then to generic soap. Not. For. Me.

Belle Epoque is mainly lilly of the valley and opium on me. It is also very slightly ozoney/acquatic too which is rather odd. As it dries down, the sandalwood starts to emerge, but I don't get much mandarin, just a slight citrus note coming through. I get no vanilla at all, although it could be the vanilla that mellows down the high acquatic note, but never comes to the fore. Belle Epoque is OK, but I'm not sure it's a keeper. Needs to be tested a second time.

Carnation-tastic! Queen Alice is a marvellous scent, initially a really heady scent of carnations with a side order of apples (rather than cider) when wet and on first dry-down. The carnation then mellows and sweetens and becomes very, very similar to Pink Moon 2007 (I tried them side by side and they really were identical to my nose for about 30 minutes). This similarity becomes less after a while and the Queen sharpens up a bit, possibly the wine or the treacle which can be quite bitter. And after four or five hours I really do get a wooly sort of scent . Queen Alice is a definite winner and will be good as a replacement for Pink Moon when I run out, and definitely has merits of its own. Lovely

Ooooh, I had an imp of Bathsheba ages ago and passed it on, but I have discovered a love of carnation scents, so got another imp from the lab and I am SO pleased I have given this another chance! Bathsheba is spicy carnation plums on me, I hardly smell any musk. This is a warm, deep red scent to me and reminds me of summer and buzzing bees and lounging around with a new boyfriend in the heat. It is slightly sexy in a new relationship sort of way, and evokes stolen kisses and passionate embraces. Very, very lovely

This has the feel about it of a windswept coastal heath, could be Vinland, could also be western Scotland. It is familiar to me, an almost nostalgic scent with a slight ozone tinge from the sea and the smell of wild vegetation blooming. This is not one that I want a bottle of, but I'm happy to keep the imp to take out and sniff on occasion when I want to think of the wild lands.

Too, too floral. The lilies really rule this scent on my skin. Even frankincense can't get past the mighty power of the lily. Very white, very regal and clean and unblemished, probably suits the Seraphim who I can see guarding Eden with a flaming lily in his hand

Love Me smells like Dragon's Milk with added jasmine, and possibly a touch of civit. I have just touched the tip of the imp's wand to my wrist and the smell is making my head reel, incredibly strong throw, and very headache making. Don't think I'll manage to wear this to test its efficacy

Incantation on my skin is a dark, woody leathery soap, and smells very masculine. Like the description says, it brings to mind dark woods and nightfall, and yes, incantations around a fire and smoking incense. It is very evocative, but just not my sort of thing.

Ohh, pretty! Calliope was a frimp and I'm so pleased I was gifted with it. It starts of very lemon-lavender but has morphed into a beautiful smooth warm herbal scent, I can almost smell the Mediterranean Maquis with the warm sun beating down on it. I think the almond provides the smoothness, its like a moist Spanish almond dessert with an orange-herbal syrup, like a pithiver, although it really isn't all that foody/gourmand. This is so much more than just a bunch of herbs, it is an absolutely beautiful, unusual scent.

Bah, typical. What should be an amazing scent on me (Amber! Heliotrope! Vanilla!) is ruined yet again by red musk. Red musk is my BPAL nemesis making Hollywood Babylon smell like a scented eraser, all the nice things with a horrid plastic overtone. Not good Off to swaps, what a shame

Bess is a lovely refreshing slightly herbal scent. I got her as a frimp from the lab, and I would never have chosen Bess myself, so I'm pleased I got a chance to try her. In the imp, Bess is quite sweet, with the orange blossom coming into play, but on my skin, the sweetness dissipates and the lemon, rose and mint shine. Very pretty, and I'm keeping the imp for summer wear.

Fall under the spell of our Green Fairy! An intoxicating blend containing wormwood essence, light mints, cardamom, anise, hyssop, and the barest hint of lemon. Absinthe smells sort of soapy on me, like one of those Bronnley Lemon soaps. It's all lemon, and no anise or mint to start with, and then a little anise peeks through after a couple of minutes. After a while, it still smells very clean, too clean for a scent named after a drink with absinthe's reputation!