Ishtar

*Bounce*

This one is a very changeable scent on me. In the vial, all I can smell is almond liqueur - Yummy! On my wrists, it immediately turned into a dry and very woody scent. I had to re-read the description to se if there was sandalwood in it or not. Right now I can tell that it is starting to morph into something else. I don't know what yet. Fun! This scent is a riot On my elbow crease and my cleavage, I get a very sweet mead note. Delicious When I catch a whiff of the scent surrounding me (and it is quite powerful!), I can smell the hot buttered rum that one would expect from the description. The buttercream is the prominent note here, which is interesting because on my skin there is no butteriness at all. Heady and intoxicating. Hellcat is definitely not for the faint of heart or people who prefer their scents well-behaved. It's a little mad, unpredictable and so much fun! It is not often that I feel completely decadent and over-the-top, but next time the mood strikes, I'll know exactly what to wear

In the vial, all I could smell was a rather pungent/medicinal mix of spices. No vanilla whatsoever. On my skin, the spices mellowed out a little bit and a very distinct tobacco note appeared after a few minutes. Not an unpleasant blend by any means, but not one I am used to wearing. It is sharp and sinuous at the same time, mysterious and a little forbidding. I kept getting mental images of Balinese kris, these large and very ornate daggers. The blades are sometimes consecrated with incense, and that's the scent Snake Oil reminds me of. After two or three hours, I caught my first faint whiff of vanilla. The blend became warmer and much better rounded. The vanilla finally came through at the very end, when the scent started to fade completely. I was really looking forward to trying Snake Oil after reading all the glowing reviews, but unfortunately it didn't quite work on me. I guess I was expecting less spice and more vanilla. This would be an excellent scent for layering though. ETA: The lovely shriekingviolet was kind enough to send me a PM telling me she had the same initial reaction and advising me to give Snake Oil another chance. I did, and I am forever grateful for her advice. Now I get the sexy spicy vanilla everyone else has been describing and I love it Thank you very much shriekingviolet, and for those of you who are new to Snake Oil, don't give up after just one try if it doesn't seem to work on you, you might be very pleasantly surprised!

Much to my surprise (and delight), they didn't charge me. Then again, I did not have any bottle in there, only two sets of imps. That probably makes up for the two packages they opened last month One was a Bare Escentuals order and the other was my latest Lush swap on which they collected a whopping $24 when the goods themselves were probably worth $19 max...

Everyone was so right in describing this as pink and green! On me it is like a rosebud, stem, leaves and all. The rose is there, but barely. It is more like a hint of what is still to come. The main notes don't seem to change much after drydown, but they take on a liquid dimension that is quite remarkable. Venus is a very feminine and harmonious blend. It is a round, smooth scent with just the right tinge of green to keep it from being just another light pretty floral. It is extremely well done and even if I don't quite think it is for me (I am not too good with green scents), I admire its balance and elegance. On the right person this must be absolutely wonderful. I will definitely give it another try in a few days because I would hate to give up something that beautiful without trying a little harder to make it work for me. I think it would be a good candidate for layering.

From what I've read (never got to try it, alas), if you can get some of the limited edition Rose Red in a swap, I would say go for it!!!

Wow. I am wondering if my imp has not been mislabelled, since the oil is a golden colour and does not smell earthy to me In the vial, it smells like a very good, very refined department store perfume, leaning towards the Oriental family. It is a complex blend, I can't pick up distinct notes. On, the rose and the musk are the most obvious notes. No apple whatsoever. It is soft and powdery, very feminine. I guess that on some people it could turn old ladyish fairly easily, but it works very well with my body chemistry. As it settles down, the earthiness mentioned in the other reviews starts coming through. Even though the rose is fading quickly, replaced by a woody scent and what I guess is patchouli, it is still soft and lovely. The apple is still MIA. I really, really like this! Since I used to hate patchouli before BPAL, I always have a hard time recognizing it in a blend I like, but I need to get rid of my prejudice and admit that patchouli is NOT evil (at least when Beth works with it). Yet another keeper!

This is truly beautiful. I was a bit worried at first because incensey smells can sometimes be too smokey and overpowering for me, but this is a lemony, floral incense, with none of the headiness that I usually associate with incense or resins. In the vial and wet, I smell fig, lemongrass and honey more than anything else. It then mellows out to a wonderful spicy floral that, amazingly, is deep and light at the same time. I love it. Big bottle, please!

Old Shangai brought a smile to my face when I first smelled it, because it is exactly like I imagined it to be, only better. I love my tea, and I have been looking for the perfect tea fragrance for years. Everytime I smelled this kind of scent on someone else, I used to think "Ooh, I would love this... if only it wasn't so sharp/bitter/cloying". Yet another of Beth's creations that achieves perfect balance where department store perfumes try too hard. It is a straightforward but beautiful "lemon tea with a little sugar" kind of scent, and it smells almost the same in the vial and on my skin. It doesn't seem to change much upon drydown either. Since I expected it to fade quickly, I applied quite a bit this morning and it lasted a good 7 hours on my skin, which is not bad at all. A definite hot weather staple for me!

Vice smells like chocolate with hazelnuts in the vial. Surprising and mouth-watering. It actually gave me an instant craving for chocolate! On, the cherry and orange blossom start coming through, but the smell is still overwhelmingly chocolatey. The hazelnut is gone. Upon drydown, the scent gets a little more powdery and I can smell the cherry more. I am amazed at how realistic the chocolate note is - exactly like the real thing! I am not quite sure I want to smell like that, though. I think I would have liked a little more fruit to counterbalance the sweetness of the chocolate. I will try it as a room scent tonight. I also got Bliss with my order, I am looking forward to seeing how it compares to Vice.

Woohoo! The Dormouse, Tiger Lily and Shattered sound wonderful to me! Thanks for posting these new scents here and good luck for tomorrow (go get some sleep!)

They have been gentle with my imps, everything was absolutely intact I must admit that I panicked for a few seconds when I picked up my package and noticed all that yellow tape though...

Just wanted to let my fellow Canadians know that my April 27th order arrived today in Vancouver The package has been opened by customs so that probably slowed things down a little bit. I hope everyone get their orders soon!

Very clear and very helpful Shenorhagal em!

In the vial this smells very "busy", almost hectic! That's OK, with a name like this I did not expect an innocent, fresh and understated scent! I don't really know how to describe it. We'll see how it goes when I wear it On: Wow, this is much nicer than I expected. Rose and incense. Very bold yet refined Drydown: The patchouli and sandalwood are more prominent now, but they never become overpowering. This is good news, since I have always been a little scared of patchouli. Now I know that it doesn't have to be overwhelmingly strong and earthy and that I can actually wear it! Well, this really was a nice surprise! I didn't expect to like Wanton at all but in the end it is very nice and I have a feeling that I will grow to like it even more once I get used to smelling patchouli on me. It is not an oil that gets many reviews or comments on the forum, but I would recommend it to anyone who likes feminine (womanly, not girly) rose scents.

In the vial: Pomegranate martini indeed! I cannot smell the alcohol (vodka) note, but I can feel it at the back of my throat if I inhale deeply. A truly surprising scent, unlike anything I have smelled before! Very crisp and fruity On: Fruitier and fruitier! I get this slightly orangey note that fuschienne and Donnababe wrote about Drydown: unlike other reviewers, this faded rather quickly on me, and became a tad sour in the process. Not downright unpleasant, but nowhere as nice as when wet. I will give it another try to see if it was just a bad chemistry day. This could be a really great scent for going out.

In the vial, I kept smelling pear even though I knew there was none in this blend. Once on, the main notes are the orchid and the daffodil, with the plum in the background. On me it is mostly fresh and floral, but I completely see how depending on one's body chemistry, it could also be sweet, spicy or fruity. Anyway, Kitsune-Tsuki is extremely well-balanced, with some unusual notes that make it very interesting. It is indeed a "pretty" scent, but as in truly charming pretty, not shallow airheaded pretty. I might not get a bottle since I usually favour bolder scents, but I will make sure that I always have an imp handy for when I feel like wearing something lighter. A great oil for warm weather.

Hi Nella! Thanks for keeping us updated! I hope you will have a fantastic time in Armenia! I would love to go there one day. I used to live with an Armenian gentleman whose family was originally from the Etchemiadzine area. Unfortunately, we never visited Armenia since his family had moved to Lebanon after the Genocide. So I spent lots of time in the Armenian neighbourhood of Beyrouth instead! I can speak a wee bit of Armenian and I am in love with the alphabet. I think the letters look wonderful, all soft and rounded! Take care and have a great trip!

Ooh, this is lovely Very fruity (but not cloyingly sweet) in the vial. I mostly smell berries and... grape? When worn, it turns into a crisp, red, playful berry scent. It is tart rather than sweet on my skin, and the tartness makes it very interesting and deep. I put Jester on before going to bed and I discovered in the morning that this is a gorgeous room/sheet scent. While I liked it a lot on my skin, I like it even more on my sheets. I am ordering a second imp that I will exclusively use as a room scent and linen spray. Home fragrance perfection!

In the vial, it was a soft, almost creamy lemony/green kind of scent. Quite nice and intriguing. As soon as I put it on, it became strongly herbal rather than lemony. After a couple of hours, it turned soapy and almost masculine (probably from the cedarwood). I tried it twice now, and it still doesn't agree with my chemistry, so I am afraid this is a swap. Shame because the initial smell was so nice.

This is simply lovely in the vial. Fruity and crisp at the same time, very well-balanced. Unfortunately, it doesn't work all that well on me. For the first hour, it is on the herbal and bitter side. Upon drydown, the fig and ginger help sweeten and round the blend, but it is still a bit too masculine for me. This one has medium to good staying power on my skin. It is unfortunate that it doesn't agree better with my chemistry during the early stages, because I like the sweet tea scent it leaves when it starts fading. A very interesting oil anyway, that I might keep for layering.

In the vial, Inferno smelled like a stronger, more aggressive Eclipse. On, the almond disappeared immediately and gave way to a potent, straightforward cinnamon scent. I could hardly smell anything else, maybe a faint orangey note from the neroli. It is very nice (I love my cinnamon so I knew I would like this), but I found this oil a little one-dimensional compared to Beth's other creations. Oddly for such a strong smell, it did not last long on my skin. It should be great as a room scent, I will try burning it tonight.

What browser are you using? Some don't delete the cache when you close it, it might need you to go empty it manually... Still no luck, but thanks for your help, clephan

Alas, I am in the same situation as lorajc: no update, even after closing all the windows and opening my browser again Oh well. Maybe tomorrow morning...

In the vial and when first put on, Black Phoenix smelled very strongly of almond and frankincense to me. As it settles down, a wonderful fruity/spicy note develops, patchouli maybe? If this is the case, then it is the most delicious patchouli I have ever smelled! The drydown is like a fruitier Eclipse on me, and since I am obssessed with Eclipse, this is a very good thing. Once again the description from the Lab is dead on: I am in love with the way I smell. Definite Big Bottle