ABrokenAngel

Congradulations "Absinthe" you're my first BPAL allergy. I believe it was the wormwood but this caused my entire arm to break out in a 3 week long wicked case of hives. Yay me! However, the scent? Spot on, Absinthe. My hubby loves the (legal totally the legal one) absinthe so he got this to hang in his car as a scent ball. If you like absinthe, seriously this is 100% the exact smell.

In the Bottle: I’m not sure what copal smells like but there is something strange in this one. I’m not sure if I like it or not. I can smell the patchouli almost like an after thought. The heliotrope unfortunately is hidden behind the strong (what I can only assume is) copal and the oakmoss seems to be burying it also. I’m almost sure that this won’t smell nice on me. It’s a hearty earth smell and I don’t smell good in those. Wet: Patchouli. Lots of it. I can no longer smell the heliotrope. Just faint hints of the oakmoss. And I know it doesn’t list it but it smells like there’s a bit of cedarwood in here. Bleh…..I knew I wasn’t going to like this. Drydown: All patchouli. Bleh. Swap.

(Review made after testing without ability to do full review and after 1 week of wearing it) ...OMG.....OMG......OMG.....Beth.....forget Ted and marry me. This one is......an olfactory orgasm. I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this. I've always loved crisp, clean scents. To the point that I'd go to Wal-Mart and purchase these air fresheners called "Crisp Cotton" by Airwick. And when I say buy....I mean buy them out. They were so hard to find and I went through them so quickly. <.< >.> I even scooped out some of the purple goop and put it in a scent locket because I loved it so much. ....Dirty tops that....tops it and blows it completely away. It's a nice crisp clean airry breezy barely floral scent. It reminds me of what it would smell like if you washed your clothes and then dried them in fresh newly budded spring flowers that had just been kissed by the first spring rain. .....it's glorious..... Ordering 10ml .... my 3 imps of it just aren't going to cut it.

In the Bottle: An intoxicatingly rich red scent that reminded me of fire. Delicious. Wet: Slightly soapy, spicy overlayed with sweet florals. 15 minutes later: The spiciness that made it intoxicating in the bottle has lept up and bashed me in the head making my nose it. 30 minutes later: Soapiness is gone and the cinnamon has mutated into a mix that I could have sworn was part anise. 35 minutes later: The cinnamon HATES ME!!! It's run-a-muck on my skin and is burning my nose. I couldn't even last an hour with it on before I had to scrub it off of my skin with anti-bacterial soap. Final Thought: And now I know that cinnamon and I do not get along in the slightest. This is deffinately going into the swap pile.

When I read the ingredients in this one I was very excited I adore jasmine and I love iris. I was dubious about the patchouli since I always think of hippies when I smell it. In the Bottle: WOW! The Catapillar scent me reeling.It smelled like a mysterious garden. Made me think of the Forbidden Forest....but that might be because I've been reading too much Harry Potter. Initial Impression: The patchouli over powered and pushed the florals into the background. It made me think of that garden after it had been trampled. The scent of the flowers that once were crushed into the dirt. 1 hour: I can just BARELY smell any floral notes and the patchouli is drying down to a soft musky smell. 2 hour: I have to smash my face against my wrist to smell this .... even the strong patchouli. Final Thought: I -really- loved the complexity of the scent in the imp and had high hopes for my very first imp that -I- had purchased. Unfortunately, though I love this smell my body ate it up and completely devoured the smell in the end leaving me with a just barely there scent of powdery patchouli dotted with the very faintest hint of flowers. I'm so disappointed. I'm going to see if this works on the man-thing and see if he likes it since it could go either way on the gender scale.

I've also been considering BPAL as gifts. I've been bitten with teh bug and I'm contagious. I like giving my "flu" to everyone possible. I understand the Lab is busy but.....maybe there's a way? Register it as a normal item, then they have to say.....do a low tech way and fill out an "official" order card and send it off for their impies? Just a thought! I'll most likely be making up pretty pretty cards with BPAL logos and such and writing down step by step instructions on how to BPAL it up. 1) go to Lab Site and Forum site, 2) Cross reference scents with reviews! 3) ORDER!!!!...and order more than just these 6 too! Either that or I'll waste the paper to print up the entire catalog and sit there with them on christmas day since we have an extensive day long christmas hubub with my family and fill out their orders. Dunno but everyone in my family is getting BPAL for christmas......everyone needs to smell good regardless of age!