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This is such a bizarre scent! I really expected it to be much more green and citrusy, but then it went on like a rich green tea or chamomile, instead. It’s very strange and standoffish, not quite relaxing or soothing, like you’d expect it to be. On the plus side, everyone that smells it has a tendency to lick their lips afterward. I’ll take that as a good sign!

I actually really loved this scent. It went on smelling very metallic, like hot rusty copper or iron instead of cold steel. Then it sweetened up, just a tad, probably due to the honey. Eventually, it all mellowed out into something very mature and strange that I couldn’t quite discern. I asked my sister what she thought and she said “Blood and honey.” Okay. I can deal with that.

Man, I wanted to love volt. Unfortunately, it turned into a bizarre men’s aftershave on me. There was absolutely no hint of eucalyptus, mint or lime, which were the notes I was hoping for. Instead, I got a very strange flowery/cologne scent. Very disappointing.

Imperial violet softened by wisteria and chrysanthemum, but edged with the regal iciness of delphinium. I like the smell of wisteria and my sister said she liked the smell of chrysanthemum, so I purchased this scent on a girly whim. I have no idea what a delphinium is, but neither wisteria nor chrysanthemum come to mind when testing this imp. It’s light and floral, but really nothing like I expected. It also turns to baby powder on my skin.

This was a frimp I received in my first BPAL purchase. I think they threw it in based on all the leathery/dwarfy scents I ordered, mixed with all the floral/fruity scents my sister ordered. I can imagine someone behind a desk going, “Did they just not see this one?” So, I gave it a shot. I was really hoping the leather and herbs would poke through, but I really didn’t get anything distinct from this imp. Excellent idea! Poor execution with my skin chemistry.

Thanks! I snagged an imp of Agnes Nutter and Momma Fortuna (Honey, gunpowder, and pleonectic, twopenny magics). Here's hoping!

This was a very easy going smell, so it accomplished that much. It was very baby-powder on me, however. Someone commented that I smelled like I’d just visited a dog groomer, so the throw and mental imagry is effective. Toward the end of the day, it was all baby powder to my nose, but it did carry a hint of warmth and dust. Mission accomplished? Just not my thing.

I was expecting black pepper, honey or cream, from Queen. I was expecting something complex and alluring. When I opened the bottle, there was something tangy and floral, with a bit of a perfume edge to it. It's so very familiar, and I couldn't quite place my finger on it. In the dry down, I sniffed my wrist and the bitterness on my tongue was immediately recognizable: strong black tea. Queen smells like a much bolder version of White Rabbit, with the crisp linen and black tea notes, on me. There is a softness to it, blending much more smoothly than WR does, and a definite kick. I don't think this one will wear off nearly as fast as WR. The black tea note doesn't really agree with my pallet, so I won't be seeking out a bottle of Queen, but I will definitely keep this imp instead of White Rabbit.

Oo. The Steamworks collection has been really hit and miss with me. Anything advertising metallic notes seem to immediately turn into baby powder on my skin (which is a heartbreak, now that I own half of the metal phoenix collection), but anise and lubricating oils seems to work out fine. I'll keep an eye out for an imp of Robotic Scarab, but can you think of anything with gunpowder notes?

I have had really good luck with anise and vanilla based smells through BPAL, so when I saw VANILLA LICORICE, I squealed a little. I have to admit that I was a little shocked when I opened the imp. I was expecting a very sweet anise smell, for some reason, and this was straight up black licorice. Licorice, to me, tastes amazing, but kind of smells like dirty feet. I was hesitant to put it on, based on the first sniff, but I've come to learn that perfume shifts and changes, so I applied it and waited. First off, I can smell it all around me, in my hair and clothes, in my car. It's strong and ever present, but not pungent or overwhelming, which is a very charming quality. The dirty feet smell gave way to something a little sweeter, too. Still not quite anise or vanilla, but a creamy, candy smell. It has been a few hours and it has definitely dried down and blended. This is generally when scents turn into baby powder on me but, instead, Humbug has mellowed out and relaxed a little. It's still there and it's very pleasant. I'm not sure I'll invest the time required to search for a bottle, but I'll definitely keep the imp around for a change of pace. Very nice.

This is a really strange scent. I expected something spicy and it wound up being ... berries? I smell the pepper, definitely. It's not quite peppercorns, but it's hot and ashy on my tongue. Behind it is some kind of sweetness, like cherries, which may be the cubeb berries or the hyacinth, I can't really tell. I get no tobacco or sarsaparilla at all. The positive thing is that it doesn't turn into baby powder on my skin. The negative, however, is that it really doesn't last very long. Definitely soft, sweet and unique. I like it!

I'm looking for something for my Vash the Stampede cosplay. I'm thinking Geraniums and Gunpowder, with possibly donuts, dry grass, dust and/or lubricating oils. Any suggestions?

I really liked Bah. It smelled like hot coffee, which is a total bonus, in my book. The first application smelled like burnt coffee, however, which may be the whiskey hiding in the background and making everything a little stronger than it should be. Within the hour, I smelled like coffee and cocoa powder, which was divine, but I also smelled like baby powder. Ah, skin chemistry. I loved Bah, but it really didn’t work out for me. Too many reapplications, too much baby powder. Le’sigh.

I really wanted this one to work out. Leather, cinnamon, roses -- a faint foppish smell? Sounds like a bizarre fantasy. But it hits all the wrong notes on me. The leather and roses are great in the bottle, but the gardenia amps like crazy and absolutely hates me. Better luck for someone else!

This is going to sound horrible, but I can’t get past the bottle to try this one. It smells sickly sweet, like something rotting, to me. It was a gift; I would never have purchased it on my own. I’m sure it’s wonderful, but it hits way too many wrong notes on me.

I get nothing -- absolutely nothing -- from Antikythera Mechanism. And it breaks my heart. This has all the right notes to be absolutely amazing, and it just EVAPORATES on my skin. I can’t smell it if I’m trying. I've tried layering it on thicker and reapplying throughout the day and it's just ... INVISIBLE on me. I really wanted this one to work out, too.

I really wanted this to work, so imagine my surprise when it actually did. The green woody smells tend to evaporate on me, so when the heavy ashy oak smell and the used leather/paper smell came out and shook my hand, I was shocked. There’s something dark and bitter there, like ashes but not quite as hot. I’m assuming that’s the baneful aromatic herbs -- they really do make you stand up and pay more attention. But then, there’s also a burnt sugar smell to go along with it, like the bottom of the cake pan after you burn the cookies. It … really does smell like a used book store. Amazing.

I had high hopes for this one. Leather, wood, tonka, parchment? It sounds like it should be a lazy summer afternoon on a leather couch, thumbing through textbooks. It wound up far too sharp and acidic for me, very cologne smelling. I can’t pick any notes out of it at all, which upsets me more than it should. I thought it was just reacting to my skin strangely, so I attempted dabbing it on my jacket. It didn’t help. By the end of the day, it’s all fabric softener and cologne, to me. Disappointed.

Oh my God, this one is amazing! ON the bottle (around the edge where the cap sits), it smells like star anise and peppermint. It clears the sinuses and leaves a tingle on the tongue. I LOVE IT. And then, IN the bottle, it smells like RUM and peppermint. The mint and anise really roll around and mingle beautifully. Very bright and spicy in completely aggressive way. On me, it’s green tea and wormwood. And... not in a bad way, at all. It's light and deep and very refreshing. I am ALL OVER THIS. I just want to roll in it. Seriously.

Oh man, I love this smell! It started kind of like damp cedar and it wound up a buttery vanilla/sassafras. I keep catching whiffs of something delightful that reminds me of those little root-beer barrel hard candies. It’s delicious. Definitely on my bottle list!

The anise smell is delicious and I love it! It fades very quickly into the cherry, but then disappears. Would love this one to last longer!

I bought this expecting tobacco, bourbon and geraniums. From the bottle, it was overpowering. It made my eyes sting with something overly perfumed and floral, but I tried it anyway. It was much less offensive on my skin, but still very, very gardenia. At the end of the day, there was a much lighter gardenia smell with a citrus background that was kind of nice, but I never found the tobacco or geranium I was looking for. Didn’t work out for me.

I expected this one to be much spicier than it was. It was very green and refreshing on me. The Melon and Juniper stood out immediately and carried throughout the day. I never smelled the chili pepper, but I could taste it while driving around town with the air conditioner blowing past my wrist. At the end of the day, it mellowed into something very soft and creamy, which I’m assuming is the melon and honey combined. Never picked up on tobacco or gin. It's going on my bottle list.

Gnome! OMG GNOME! You have no idea how excited I am to get this imp! And ... and ... and ... All I have is ginger. It's really ginger. It kind of smells like that orange Dial hand soap, on me. I'm really hoping it morphs into something with a little more pepper or sarsaparilla, since those seem to mesh really well with my skin, but I'm not holding my breath.

This scent never made it on to any of my wishlists. I'm not a big fae person. I find fairies a little too girly for my tastes. The imp came as an extra in my BPAL order and I grimaced, wondering what exactly was going through the mind of whomever had packaged my order. I pulled it out of my tin at random, this morning, and figured, "What the hell." In the bottle, it smells floral. It's sweet and light and a little powdery, which almost made me put it back in the tin. On the wand, however, there was something much sharper and a tad more citrus, (bergamot, perhaps?), so I gave it a whirl. I have the air conditioner vent in my car pointed straight at my face. Somehow, in my tiny car, this means every scent on my wrist is blown directly into my face the entire time I'm driving. Today, Fae was sneaky. I could taste it, light and a bit tart, but I couldn't really pick out any of the scent notes. Now, at work, an hour or so later? The tart taste is gone and has been replaced with a delicious, soft, sweet smell. It's peaches, I'm pretty sure. Fresh peaches. It's ... very lovely. Very adult, too. Not sweet like candy, but refined. Very nice! Thank you, whomever threw it in the goodie bag. Excellent taste!