Bagfish

Kali is an extremely complex scent which has morphed and morphed on my skin. First up when wet, I definitely smell the chocolate and possibly the tobacco. It dries down to an almost savoury spiciness. It is not at all sweet on my skin, but I do get a sense of honey as an undertone. There are lots of ingredients in Kali that I don't know, and therefore can't recognise which makes it quite hard to describe, but I do know that it reminds me a bit of both Santa Muerte and Dia De Los Muertos.

Wet, this is jasmine and other white florals with a slight overtone of lemon/citrus (who knows where that is coming from?!) "Aah", I thought "possibly a wearable jasmine blend". But no, as this dries down, the white florals increase in volume, and after half an hour this is screaming at me. And now I must go and wash it off. But I have to agree with wanderingredhead this does remind me a little of Sacred Whore which I happen to be testing on my other wrist. Off to swaps

I wish I was better at identifying notes in perfume, but here goes. Sacred whore was a frimp as I would never ordinarily have ordered something so floral. All I can identify is a white floral - not an overtly tropical floral, but very white like gardenia or jasmine or both. On me, this smells like old ladies high quality old fashioned soap. The longer it is on the more pleasant it becomes as it stops being so dusty and powdery and throat choking and becomes smoother and rounder and slightly greener, but it really isn't my type of perfume.

The scent of Irish coffee, dusty tomes and polished oakwood halls. I ordered an imp of Misk U a while back and didn't like it so swapped it away without reviewing. Just got a frimp with my last order so thought I'd give it a second chance. Well, I still don't like it I don't smell coffee at all, I get the sort of caramel that is found in Jack and Gluttony which doesn't work on my skin, which is why I don't like this oil. With the caramel is the scent of one of those hazelnut coffee syrups which sweetens the caramel even more. I *do* get a faint smell of books and old paper, which is pretty impressive. This note stands slightly seperate from the caramel smell, and I would be really interested to smell this note in another oil as it is incredibly reminiscent of librarys and quite evocative. Just a shame that the sickly caramel gets in the way

I wondered what all the fuss was about and now I know. Shub is absolutely amazing earthy, rooty gingerbread. You really realise that ginger comes from a root when wearing this. I keep getting wafts of something amazing over the top of the other amazing scents I am testing and every time, it is Shub. I slathered some of DH as well and he smells fantastic too (and even admitted that he liked it). Definitely a bottle next time I order from the lab.

Chintamani-Dhupa is a real morpher. On my skin it starts off smelling very "clean" which is a little disconcerting. I'm assuming the clean smell is the pine resin. After 15 minute or so the clean smell develops a lovely, delicate honeyed sweetness and within an hour this sweetness becomes a little more woody and with a dried petals sort of smell, like a pressed flower. CD is a very subtle scent. It is really very beautiful, understated and decorus. It feels almost stately or perhaps that it should be used in a holy but private ritual. I think this will smell even more amazing when I don't have olfactory fatigue from writing reviews for 8 new scents with them plastered over different bits of my arms Edited to add: I am now wearing this on its own and it is a really very marvellous scent, woody, herbal and with the smell of dried petals. The reason I am updating my review is because this definitely reminds me of the way Luperci smells. It is not the same by any stretch of the imagination, but the way the honey weaves in and out of the woody scent has a great deal of similarity to the way Luperci wears on me. This is a definite winner.

Something went horribly wrong for me with Svaddhinaopatika. In the bottle it smells quite generically perfumey, but when on my skin - eww. The sandalwood or resins just become more and more sharp and sour and almost bitter in the way that Midnight Mass and Cathedral didn't work for me. I've been wearing this for about three hours in the hope it would develop and morph, but it is getting more and more sour. No amber, no honey, not even any currant. I am SO disappointed as I love amber scents and sandalwood usually works on me. This one will go for swaps ASAP I think.

A beautiful scent which is just right for imagining the heroine reclining on her couch waiting for her lover. She would be draped in beautiful light, floaty fabric and adorned with nothing but this lovely perfume. Vasakasajja is light, tropical floral with the silky-smooth musk underlying the scent and making it very nuzzleable. Underlying the scent and grounding it are the tonka and vanilla, both muted. I don't find the scent fruity, the rich ripeness that could be construed as fruitiness is definitely champaca and orchid. This morphs and morphs, one minute the champaca is at the fore, the next minute a less sweet and rounded floral (the orchid or amaranth?) appears. The two interchange, but all the while the scent wafts and wafts. The throw is strong and I am really enjoying this scent. Definitely some resemblance to Khajuraho, but more of a lighter, more sheer scent without the wood and honey that grounds Khaj and rounds it out. I'm reckoning that Beth has done a fine job capturing the heroine waiting for her lover - she is full of anticipation, not yet fulfilled. This is definitely a scent to wear for seduction.

Oh wow, this is absolutely delightful. On application I am hit with the green rose smell of Rose Red (I think this is the way my nose decodes crisp apple scents as some people say that RR smells like apples). This lasts for 15 minutes or so and then dries down into a really well grounded sweet, spicy floral. The plumeria and gardenia are making their presence felt, and the apple smell lingers, but what pulls this all together and makes it totally wearable for me (normally someone who finds florals difficult) is the sweet, spicy grounding that Snake Oil gives this scent. It is SO marvellous - it doesn't smell at all like Snake Oil, but the influence is there. Looking forward to this one aging too as I reckon the SO influence will strengthen and imrove the blend even more. Wow 1st June 2008 Edited to add Coral Snake is even better 18 months later. It has smoothed out delightfully and is apple-fruity and tart-sweet with a gorgeous underlying amber-ness about it. I'm wearing this a lot at the moment, it's a good early summer scent for when I need something that isn't my usual heavy resins and ambers. I will need another bottle before the Carnaval leaves in September as I think this is going to be a permanent favourite.

Saw Scaled viper is pure powdered dry ginger in the bottle, it smells like the dry ginger and sugar mix I use when setting up a ginger beer plant It has an almost savoury kick to it when wet. As it dries, it is still GINGER, but the cinammon and cassia start to peek out. I wore this on my cleavage today as I was trying out two others on my wrists and had to keep slipping out of my office to take deep sniffs down my top to catch the smell It is very very gingery and the Snake Oil sweetness is very subtle, but it is there. This is definitely not a foody scent, no baking gingerbread here, but I can't wait for this to age a bit longer to mellow and combine the spices and vanilla as it feels quite raw at the moment. It is a lovely scent, but I think the potential of this one is mindblowing!

This little critter has confused me as he smelled all berry and fruits and no amber, cardamom, neroli or vanilla to start with Throughout the day this chap morphed from Eat Me-like sweet berryness through to an almost aquatic amber, very, very similar to Lyonesse. I'm not sure whether I actually like the Australian Copperhead, he seems like a tricksy sort, slithering between scents and I just can't pin him down. At the moment there is no Snake Oil to be found in the scent, but I'm reckoning if I hang on to this Snakey critter for a few weeks, the spiciness of his true nature will come slithering to the fore, and then I can make a decision on his future. But I'm still confused by this scent and I will probably edit this review as I don't think I've done him much justice......

In the bottle: really quite Snake Oil-y with overtones of Champaca and Frankincense. On wet: Snake Oil for literally 30 seconds and then the champaca blooms on my skin in the same way it does in Khajuraho. For the rest of the day: sweet, fragrant champaca wafts from my wrists with a slight frankincense overtone which is yummy. No Snake Oil spiciness though. I'm slightly disappointed that the Snake Oil scent disappears so fast, but I am reckoning that this will age and improve and improve and improve and that the hidden Snakeyness of it will appear at some point This is a definite keeper though, as I always knew it would be as champaca is my friend and is the only floral that I know is consistently good on my skin.

Wow, this is lovely. It is really very uncomplicated compared to some LEs for example, but Grand Guignol is gorgeous high quality apricot jam on me with a woody undertone. The brandy/alcohol smell is very faint and fades quickly. This is juicy, yummy, sweet and totally unexpectedly good. I can't stop sniffing my wrist. This scent makes me happy

The champaca in Dr John is very heady and strong and lovely. Champaca and sweet tonka all I smell to start with and I put Dr John down as a sweeter Khajuraho (which is a GOOD thing in my book as I loves me Khaj!) However on drydown after about an hour I get the dryness/bitterness of opium smoke and a little woody-ness (the sandalwood?) that stops Dr John being quite so sweet. I never smell ginger and white pepper directly, but I think they temper the extreme fruitiness of the champaca and stop it from being completely overwhelming. I am so pleased I have a bottle of this (ordered before I got my decant) one the way, it seems that I chose right for once! This one is certainly a winner!

Creepy smelled just like the caramel/butterscotch/toffee of Grog or Gluttony on me, possibly slightly more burnt. I didn't get any apple scent at all, which was a disappointment. This will be swapped away I think.

What a shame. On application, I did smell a little honey and amber under the florals, but after ten minutes Brides is all screaming white florals all of the time. I had to wash it off as it gave me a headache after the first hour of wear. I don't think lillies and I are compatible as they drowned out all of the other non-floral elements. No spice, no honey, no amber (all things I love). Very disappointing.

This is a very pretty scent, and it is one of the only jasmine BPALs that I have ever been able to wear as the jasmine doesn't make an appearence. Lucy is extremely orange-blossomy and somewhat floral (but not to much), smooth and creamy. I can't recognise the magnolia, but if it's there, it doesn't smell generically floral on me which is great. There is a little bit of Jezebel about this scent, but is not as cloyingly sweet. I can smell a rounded musk on drydown and frankincense too as a slightly sour woody undertone after I have worn this scent for a few hours. All in all this is quite lovely. I really didn't expect to be able to wear Lucy, but I can which is fantastic I don't think I need a bottle, but I will hoard my imp!

Love the idea, thought the blend would suit. But no. Bitter cloves and more cloves spiced with a little bit of nutmeg. Not a hint of sweetness to start with. I smelled like the real smell of cloves and of nutmeg, dry, bitter and dusty. The balsm doesn't temper Winter on my skin. It is only on extreme drydown (8+ hours - this baby lasts!) that I get any sweetness. The rosewood, balsm and musk come out after being hidden by the cloves. Unfortunately this is not one for me. Off to sales, and yes I am discontented!

Samhain '06 I had a bottle of Samhain '05 and ended up selling it as I didn't wear it. Just before I sold it I tried a dab and it smelled richer, thicker and darker than it had when newly purchased. I would say that Samhain '06 smells very like aged Samhain '05. I find it hard to pick out the individual components, but there is a dark, thick rich sweetness to it, probably the patchouli, apple and pumpkin, and also a slight medicinal feel to it. There is also a burning smell, not fragrant smoke, but more of mixed ashes and earth like after a bonfire. It has amazing throw, and having put it on to test at the same time as other scents I got this morning, it is certainly overpowering everything else. I wouldn't have kept a bottle, but I'm glad I've got an imp as I did regret selling my bottle of Samhain '05 a bit.

I'm afraid that 13 was more of a Candy Butcher experience for me than Bliss or Velvet. It smells lovely in the bottle, definitely chocolate-orange with some interesting sweet and delicate fruity sharpness going on (starfruit?). However 13 just does not work on me, it is a real mish-mash of smells with an underlying scent of plastic similar to what I got from Snow White. I can only smell the chocolate when I huff on my arm and smush my nose up against it and the delicate fruity scent I can smell in the bottle just seems to disappear. I will give this another try, but so far it is not for me 19th November edited to add: I have had a Road to Damascus conversion over 13 I decided to give it another go before sending it off for swaps, and have given it many more goes since after realising that this isn't horrible and plasticy at all, it is beatiful, complex, sweet and comforting scent. I definitely get a progression of scent, starting with the lavender, chocolate and orange rind as short lived top notes, progressing through the sharper, fruitier Rooibosch, fig leaf and star fruit and ending with sweet, spicy comfort of vanilla, sandalwood, amber and nutmeg. OMGyum, how could I have thought this was horrible to start with. I'm just so pleased I tried again.

Oh dear oh dear, Quincy is making me feel dizzy and unwell I get an awfully strong, slightly chemically leather from this oil and nothing else, I smell like a new sofa This is not good, I am going to have to wash him off

Good grief this is effective. I have trouble sleeping and have to take herbal sleeping pills most nights and on occasion have needed to take Temazepam to get anywhere near sleeping. I have used TKO recently which is a great aid to relaxation when used in an oil diffuser, but isn't a knockout like I need I managed to get a decant of Nocturne. On opening and anointing (as per instructions) a gentle scent of roses fills the room. I found the scent of Somnus when I had a decant so harsh and floral that I couldn't use it, whereas Nocturne is a lovely gentle rose. I anointed and then read for about 20 minutes until I felt my eyelids closing insistently, almost as if I had taken Temazepam. I struggled against sleep for a few minutes after I had turned out my light (I often do this and its one of the problems with my insomnia), and after that I slept like a whole pile of logs, not even waking in the middle of the night which I normally do. My DH had to get up early this morning, and I hardly woke when he left. When my alarm went off I lay in bed, just not being able to get up, and I have been feeling pretty spacy all morning. DH has just phoned and asked me how I slept, I said like a log, and he said "I think you over applied as I slept like I was drugged last night and found it hard to get up this morning" Looks like I might have used too much! Will try again tonight but apply less. But Nocturne really does do what it claims to do. I am extremely impressed and also quite wary as this is powerful stuff.

TKO smells of bitter lavender surrounded by very sweet ice-creamy vanilla in the bottle. On my skin, the lavender is very strong and the creamy vanilla takes a while to come through. The first few times I tried to use TKO as a sleep blend, I found the smell too strong, it was almost distracting and, like my trial of somnus, I felt slightly panicky whilst wearing it. I didn't sleep well and had very vivid dreams when I did sleep. However, last night, I tried a different tack. I ran a bath, and dropped quite a lot of TKO into the bath. I also got my oil burner going in the bathroom with TKO in it. When I finished my bath, I took the burner into the bedroom. TKO smells so incredibly yummy when diffused by oil burner or in bath water. It just smells amazingly like vanilla ice-cream only touched with a tiny bit of lavender. The burner diffused this amazingly soothing sweet smell through the bedroom (Mr Bagfish thought it smelled good too) and by the time the water had all evaporated I was ready to sleep. I slept quite well all in all, and I woke up earlier than usual and didn't feel sluggish and horrible like I normally do in the morning. Result! What made this experiment even more interesting was that I normally sleep really badly on a Sunday night as I worry about going to work on a Monday. I am going to repeat the experiment tonight and report back on whether it was just a one off or whether TKO works when used in a burner in the bedroom and in the bath.

Ylang ylang and white florals which is not a good thing on me. The impression in the imp was of heady overwhelming florals which just became more intense on my skin. This was headache material so I had to wash it off within 15 minutes of application. I really would love to appreciate true "floral" perfume, but I don't seem to be able to

I tried Lyonesse the day it arrived, but I think I had nose overload as I didn't particularly like it. However, on giving it a second chance today with a whole arm to itself rather than being crowded by other scents, Lyonesse blossoms like a shy girl asked to dance at the ball. The BPAL that this reminds me most of is Mouses Long and Sad Tale, but I like this far better. This is because the florals are far more muted and the scent is much more grounded, which allows the creamy amber and vanilla to emerge along with a slight salty edge - sea moss? The scent stays close to my skin, it is very comfortable to wear and would be a fantastic scent for days when I don't feel like shouting that I'm wearing perfume. This really is very beautiful, but I shall decide if I need a bottle by seeing how often I reach for the imp as it may not quite be "me" Edited July 2007 to add: I used three imps of Lyonnesse so decided a bottle was in order The odd thing is that the scent in the bottle has a definite caramel tone to it which initially really put me off as I can't wear BPAL caramel scents. I was all ready to complain, but gave it a go. The caramel smell disappears after five minutes and the gorgeousness of Lyonesse appears so if this has happened to you, don't be put off, Lyonesse is still there, just hidden by caramel.