Ishtar

This Devil deserves its name, it is definitely red. But instead of a flamboyant, glossy red, which is what I expected, this is a dark, muted red. Both in the imp and on my skin, Red Devil is much softer and lighter than I would have thought. I get some spice, mostly cinnamon and some sweet resin note that might well be dragon's blood. I thought that Red Devil would be sultry and bold. Instead, it is deceivingly innocent and playful, in that the different notes play with each other without ever settling. It is very changing on me and the overall impression is joyful and uninhibited. I cannot vouch for its effect on my other half since he is one ocean and a continent away, but I wore Red Devil to bed twice and let me tell you that on both occasions my dreams were highly graphic and totally steamy. A keeper, obviously!

In the vial, mercury is all cinnamony goodness to me. Which is a very good thing since I love cinnamon. What is odd is that I love lavender too, yet I was unable to detect it here. Before reading the reviews, I was totally unaware that there was lavender in this. All I knew is that there was "something cool" balancing the warmth of the cinnamon and imparting a very interesting depth to this blend. Now I understand why I am often tempted to wear this at night, which always struck me as odd since I rather see cinnamon as an energizing note. Anyway, Mercury is a very warm and to me, comforting scent. It seems to give me clarity of mind and self-confidence in intellectual and learning endeavours. Even though I experienced the same burning problem others had, I love Mercury and I made sure to order more before it was discontinued.

Wanda is a very red, very bold scent (well, duh, with that name, who would expect a frilly, understated fragrance?) with a definite wine note when wet. Very nice. On my skin, the wine remains the most prominent note even though the musk and florals are also vying for attention. There is quite a bit going on here, I can't wait for it to settle and to see where it takes us. It is only after complete drydown that the leather comes through, making Wanda less of an everyday scent than I would have initially thought. I like it a lot, but I will need to be in the right mood to wear it. It ultimately reminds me of a smoother Old Madrid.

In the vial and wet, The Empress was pretty much straightforward rose, with a hint of wood underscoring it. Since I love pure rose scents, I thought that I had found the perfect rose blend. After drydown though, the woody note became more prominent, imparting a slight bitterness to the blend. Nothing unpleasant in itself, but it changed the overall mood of the scent, making it a touch more severe and distant than I imagined The Empress. Maybe it is just that I have the wrong associations with the card, as I just started studying Tarot a few months ago. This is a very, very nice scent that I would recommend to all the rose lovers

Sepulcher was mostly rose and lily on me, with something of an edge coming from the juniper, I guess. A severe and serious scent. This being a Funereal Oil, I wasn't expecting it to be unreasonably chirpy and upbeat, but I must admit that this one felt rather forbidding and even left me a little depressed. True to its name and very evocative, that's for sure.

I had to try Obeah two or three times before I could recognize any of the notes and even now I am not sure if I got them right! The first application left my nose completey confused. It smelled utterly unfamiliar, yet I could have sworn I had smelled it before. Hrm The second time, things became a little clearer: I could smell something green and dark at the same time, maybe evergreen? There was also something vaguely fruity, or maybe a sweet floral, with a definite metallic note to it that I could almost taste at the back of my throat when I inhaled deeply. The overall impression was an initially sharp scent that mellowed into something smoother but still with that green edge to it. After reading the reviews and especially the comparisons with Lush Karma and Amazonian, I can (at long last!) recognize the patchouli and the ylang-ylang. I still have no idea what the green and metallic notes could be. I really hope Beth will let us know what is in this one! Obeah is a little too masculine and dark for me to wear. I could see it used as a ritual oil.

I would go for Hellcat. The boozy notes are definitely there (rum and mead) and the foody notes, while not exactly those of Irish coffee, are close enough to make it smell like a delicious spiked hot beverage BTW, that joke about Irish Coffee and the food groups always cracks me up. I once had a friend who thought it was a perfectly serious scientific question and kept coming up with the most unlikely foods for half an hour before giving up. He was appalled at the answer. That's what I get for telling jokes with a straight face

Pixie-Elf, I can vouch for Temple of Dreams to help you make sense of your dreams. The Lab sent it to me as an extra imp with my last order. I admit that I was a little skeptical at first, but since I started using it, I haven't had a single nightmare or any rambly, absurdly long dreams. Admittedly, I have only used Temple for a few days, so hopefully the effects will last, but it is already a huge improvement over the two or three nightmares a night that have been plaguing me for the last year. Also, I send you a big hug and lots of love in dealing with your sleep apnea. My dad had the same condition and he was constantly exhausted. It would take him several hours after waking up to be able to function normally. He would fall asleep at the dinner table or while driving. I know that it made his life difficult and I sincerely hope that yours is not affected too badly Neko, I would agree that it is probably stress that is disrupting your sleep. I would use whatever oil best alleviates stress for you (for me it is The World). Maybe consider one of the Voodoo blends? I know that you are probably quite busy, but maybe you could try to fit into your schedule a short workout (in the morning) or 30 mn of yoga before going to bed. Exercise and meditation do really help a lot when dealing with stress and sleep issues. Good luck!

Well, I am apparently the odd duck here, but I love Follow Me Boy! It is a very warm scent on me, that surprisingly manages to be bold and soft at the same time. It is powdery, incensey, fruity, floral, delicious! I spent all morning trying to identify the fruity and floral notes. I could detect some rose and maybe some red fruit, but it was not berries... and then it hit me: Follow me Boy on me smells exactly like Persephone with some incense added. Since Persephone is one of my favourite BPALs, no wonder I like Follow me Boy so much. I really love this. It made me feel energized and confident from the very minute I applied it. I never thought I would fall in love with a Voodoo blend (since I see them as being primarily for ritual purposes), but this one goes straight on my 5ml list

Mimosa and orange blossom are two favourite scents of mine, so I was pretty excited about Succubus. In the vial and wet, this was very sharp and sour, but I learnt from Old Madrid that mimosa can sometimes do that to a blend during the wet stage, then mellow down beautifully. So I waited and waited. Unfortunately, the sourness never went away and that ruined this otherwise pleasant scent for me. For some strange reason, I kept thinking that there was violet in this blend. Apparently I am not the only one. I wonder what combination of notes causes this.

Maybe it is because I work in a cigar shop, but I loved the good quality leather/ fine cigar tobacco combination in Hellfire. At one point I was afraid it was going to turn a little musty on me, but this was just a stage that did not last. Let's just say that it was the smell of the well-stocked bookshelves in the corner of the old gentlemen's club From the notes listed it will seem obvious that this is a rather masculine scent. Still, it is much softer than I intially thought it would be. It is actually quite smooth, like a well-worn leather armchair. Hellfire is wonderfully evocative. I like this a lot

I was really looking forward to trying Faustus since I adore frankincense, cinnamon and violet. I expected something warm, bright and haughty, but Faustus turned out to be cool, sharp and quite masculine on my skin. As it dried, the violet quickly took a backseat to the resin and spice. In spite of this, the blend did not warm up and never really "bloomed" on my skin. I did enjoy Faustus but I feel as if it did not quite express its full potential. I feel as if I missed something. I ended up swapping it, but maybe I should give it another try one of these days.

In the vial, Anathema smelled quite sharp with a hint of sweetness, almost a little boozy. Dark, menacing and smoky, this is definitely not a happy scent. After complete drydown, the smokiness became less prominent and the sweet floral note of honeysuckle gradually started coming through. After a while, it turned a little soapy/powdery on me, which I think is the combination of poppy and honeysuckle. Not really me, but interesting and complex all the same. ETA: 8 years after my first review... I had the opportunity to try this again at Bedlam Bedlam last weekend, and WOW! I don't know what happened, but this time around I found Anathema so seductive and dark that I debated buying a bottle on the spot. My, how things change

When I first smelled Allegory in the vial, I thought my nose had gone crazy. All I could smell was... old-fashioned grainy mustard. I have absolutely no idea how my weird nose/brain connections came up with this, but that is exactly what it smelled like to me. After applying, thankfully, Allegory did not make me smell like a mustard-coated roast, but it was still an olfactory riddle. The civet actually behaved itself, which was nice since it usually turns very unpleasant on my skin. I cannot really say that I was able to recognize any note in particular; this is quite complex. A little too masculine and moody for me to wear, but interesting. I am glad I could try it before it was discontinued.

Arkham was an extra imp added to my order by the ever-generous Lab. I wouldn't have ordered it myself, since juniper, cypress and vetiver rarely work on me. From these notes, I expected something quite dark and brooding, but the lavender and verbena actually made it invigorating and rather fresh. The high-pitched citrus note is what struck me first, before Arkham changed into a very green and complex scent. It was much nicer than I would have initially thought. However, it was a little too green and "busy" for me to wear.

Black Pearl is simply gorgeous! I love the coconut note in The Star, so I was really looking forward to trying Black Pearl. It is even better than I imagined. There is not much to add to the above reviews: this is indeed smooth, creamy, tropical and as intoxicating as a drink. Not only a keeper, but an instant new favourite!

Wow. This is very different. I usually loathe bubble gum, both the candy and the scent, especially when it is actually another note turning to bubble gum on my skin (yes, lotus, I am looking at you!). Yet I adore Aunt Caroline's joy mojo. Go figure. So yes, it is very, very fruity, very red, very sweet... and very happy! It is literally a giddy scent. I put it on yesterday evening after a tough day at work and within minutes I could not care less about my boss and his total lack of management skills. Better than that, it actually made me laugh! I probably would not wear this out as this is not me at all as a scent, but as a voodoo blend, it definitely does a great job of lifting one's spirits. Amazing. A keeper!

Sudha Segara reminded me a lot of Alice. The creamy/milky phase did not last long on my skin and soon turned into a spicy floral instead of the sweet scent I was expecting. The ginger was never biting and perfectly balanced out the sweet and sour notes of the honey and the milk. Sudha Segara is like an improved version of Alice on me, since I love ginger but I am not a huge fan of carnation. It is very well balanced, to the point that I couldn't really classify it as sweet, floral or spicy. It is a little of each. A definite keeper

Saturnalia is one of the scents I tried in my quest for the perfect violet blend. I was a little worried about the vetiver, which usually doesn't like me, but I gave it a try anyway. In the imp, the vetiver made its presence known quite forcefully, as is usually the case. The violet note smells lovely though. As soon as I applied it, Saturnalia turned into a very dark, earthy masculine scent. The poor violet is completely overpowered by the raging vetiver. This ended up being much too bitter for me to wear and I had to wash it off.

Lucy's Kiss had been on my "To try" list for a long time. I like rose scents a lot and this one sounded exceptionally pretty from the description. In the vial and wet, this was a very straightforward, yet soft rose scent. The spices gradually came through, but instead of making the blend warmer, they actually turned it into something a little unsettling, almost sinister. There was a hint of decay and tragedy in there. After complete drydown, the dark connotations eased off somewhat, but Lucy's Kiss ended up smelling like a very old, dried out rose. Not an unpleasant scent, just not exactly cheerful.

I was looking forward to trying Loralei because I love both the legend and sandalwod scents. Out of the imp, this was indeed a wistful, melancholy scent as Northernminx and Lixolux said. I waited and waited for the sandalwood to come through, but that never really happened. The combination of neroli and ylang-ylang eventually resulted in a blend that was both too watery and too sweet for me to wear. Quite pretty, but I had to swap this one.

On my skin, Lobban smells very lemony but it is a warm citrus as opposed to the chilly note one finds in Phobos, for instance. As is the case with most of the citrus scents, the top note faded away pretty quickly and the blend then mellowed into a very nice soft warm scent. Very soft and comforting

Add me to the list of those who got fruit without any spice or musk and on whom it mellowed into a muted lily scent. This is a great fruity oil, with the added bonus of the unusual cranberry note. I enjoyed it a lot. But I already have lots of fruity scents and I am afraid Lampades might never make it to the high rotation list. However, if you like fruity blends, do give it a try, you won't regret it

Hemlock gets points for the brightest green colour in the imp! In the vial and wet, it was distinctly medicinal, but I decided to be brave and give it a chance to settle down. Alas, after drydown it turned into a sharp, bitter scent that was halfway between herbal and evergreen. This goes to show once more that green, herbal scents do not like me. Will that stop me from trying them in hope that maybe one will work on me? No

When I first sniffed the fabled Samhain in the bottle yesterday evening, I could clearly see why it has such a fervent following. Complex, autumnal, lovely. All the notes described in the above reviews were there. Patchouli, check. Pine needles, check. Woodsmoke, check. Apple, check. So, maybe it was my high expectations, but I couldn't help feeling a little underwhelmed this morning when I put it on and all I got was a nice, but rather generic, patchouli scent. Thankfully, it only took 30 mn for my skin to warm up enough to let Samhain express its beauty and complexity. This is incredibly layered and, as everyone said, the very embodiment of autumn. Gorgeous. A few hours ago, my coworker exclaimed: "Mmm, what smells like food? It smells delicious!" We agreed that I smelled like the most delicious apple crumble ever, complete with spices and all I am really grateful that the Lab re-issued Samhain this year and I am happy to be able to enjoy what is, in my opinion, a true classic. Bravo!