Musamea

Samhain '05 In the bottle: When I first got Samhain last fall, it was very sharp and medicinal, with the fir needle and patchouli really dominating the blend; after aging, it's become a sweet and warm scent--I can really smell the apple, spices, and cloves in here now. Wet: patchouli and apple Dry: very wet, very unexpectedly autumnal, as I tend to equate warmth and dryness with the season -- the red apple and mullein really stand out now and give this blend a sweetness that is tempered by the warmth of the spices and the pumpkin; the other notes keep shifting; one moment I catch a whiff of nutmeg and allspice, the next the barest hint of fir needle. This blend has fantastic throw as well… it keeps getting stronger and stronger. Overall: Samhain '05 didn't strike me as anything special the first time I tried it, so I'd actually been planning to sell or swap my bottle. I only opened it this morning to check the oil level before adding it to my sales list, but was hit in the face with the loveliest apple-spice scent. I *had* to test it after that, and now I'm definitely keeping the bottle. I can see how this blend might just get better and better with age, and come next autumn, I will definitely be wearing it all the time!

In the imp: spice and honeysuckle, with the barest hint of jasmine Wet: light with lemon and honeysuckle, complicated by spice, with the jasmine blooming quickly. Blast, I ordered this oil as part of a jasmine-themed set of imps, and I am quickly discovering that the Lab's jasmine hates me (and I it). The jasmine is rapidly taking over this scent. Dry: The honeysuckle and jasmine keep vying in this blend… I adore the honeysuckle -- it's light and delicate, exactly the summer scent that wafts up with the crisp evening air as the day darkens into night. The jasmine… ugh. Not worth it.

In the imp: sweet cinnamon and strong gardenia, with a touch of the sour scent I get from the jasmine in Mata Hari and Delight – a very potent, hits-you-in-the-face scent; murky and dark Wet: sour and musky up close, sweet cinnamon drift… almost get a banana scent from this Dry: sour-sweet and not for me

In the imp: the sickly sweet-sour smell that I've now come to recognize as the Lab's jasmine Wet: up close, all jasmine, while the throw is rose Dry: has dried down to a warm myrrh-jasmine combination, while the rose has turned soapy -- very… interesting. Very not-something-I-want-to-smell-like-everyday. Off into the swap pile this one goes!

In the imp: sour and sharp… reminds me of my bad experience with Mata Hari, when I got the same initial sour note that just never went away. The only note the two oils share is jasmine, but this definitely doesn’t smell sweet and floral like I’d expect jasmine to Wet: rose and what I assume is frangipani, the sourness of the jasmine fades back, thank heavens… oh wait, it's coming back. Damn. Dry: The rose has disappeared, and the jasmine has come back with a vengeance and combined with the frangipani to form a cloying, sickeningly sweet blend. Definitely not for me.

In the imp: roses, tinged with jasmine and mandarin Wet: Roses vying with jasmine… I really hope the rose or the mandarin wins out, as I'm completely unable to wear the Lab's jasmine (though my skin just LOVES it and tries to amp it up at every opportunity *shakes head in confusion*). I can recognize this rose as the Moroccan rose that Beth also uses in Harlot -- it gives me a slightly scorched scent, which I'm not too crazy about Dry: Wow, finally a Lab blend with a jasmine that doesn't overwhelm me! Unfortunately, the final notes I get out of this are actually thick myrrh and musk, which make the scent a very generic, department store perfume.

Wet: baby powder and lotion -- this is, unfortunately, a smell I associate with diaper wipes or the moist towelettes (sp?) that you sometimes get in restaurants. If I sniff *very* deeply, I can catch a hint of a lovely spice undertone, but it's not strong enough to make up for the rest of this scent. This is a very, very heavy rose… almost an entire dried bouquet of strong florals by itself. Dry: the spices come out more clearly, but the blend eventually turns into a slightly sharp rose soap. It's an improvement over diaper wipes, but definitely not what I was looking for. Overall this scent is a bit too stuffy and old-fashioned for my tastes (which pretty much means that the Lab did their job exactly right, as far as the description goes… and that I need to stop thinking Victorian scents are going to work on me!)

In the imp and on initial application, this is a rose in full bloom -- heady, seductive, and powerful. As deep as London, but less sharp and a good deal warmer. Lovely. However, on dry down, this oil eventually turned into a plastic-y, soapy scent. I'll be using up the rest of my decanted imp, but won't be getting a bottle of this.

In the imp and wet: A beautiful lily of the valley, deepened by rose. Drydown: I don't know why I keep trying scents with incense and thinking they'll work for me. Hymn turns into a blend of mostly lily of the valley tempered with a sharper scent (I'm not sure if it's the olibanum, labdanum, or myrrh), with the frankincense adding a dry note to the mix. Overall, this is a lovely, serene scent, but I think I like the lily in Endymion better than this take on it. However, Hymn would be a great choice for someone who wants their lily of the valley in a less floral setting than Endymion and their incense less dry than Kostnice's or Ouija's.

Mainly dry rose petals, yet London also has compelling depth that's usually only associated with wetter scents. It's slightly sharper than most of the Lab's rose blends, but it never grows astringent. Beth's description is spot on in this case--this is a darkly wicked rose, which one might find trampled into the cobblestones underfoot or scattered into the gutters of Victorian London.

I adore the carnation that Beth uses in Maiden, and the Lab has really helped lay my fear of musk to rest, so I expected to love Bathsheba. Unfortunately, the first thing that came to my mind when I put the oil on was... banana? That's right, a nearly overripe banana with the lightest dusting of spice over it. Okay. I let the blend sit for a bit, and the scent eventually morphed into a heavy, heavy plum. And, unfortunately, no hint of the carnation that I'd been looking forward to anywhere. Overall: Bathsheba is a very bold, very womanly scent, and one that I'm not sure if I can carry off. The overwhelming fruitiness of this oil puts it in my swap pile.

As a student of Attic Greek, I jumped at a chance to try this oil. Impressions: In the imp: Heady mulled wine drizzled with golden honey. Wet: Whoa, the reviewers who compared this scent to a head shop were right on. The incense and myrrh fairly jump out from the blend. A bit too strong for me. Drydown: After a couple of hours, I start getting a beautiful spicy note in the drift of the scent, though up close the incense is still overpowering. In the end, even though I adore whatever my skin did with this oil to create that spicy scent, the sickly-sweet resiny note in this blend lasts too long for me to like it. Athens--beautiful in concept and execution; very warm and mysterious, very ancient-world... and very not for me.

In the bottle and on initial application, Rose Red '05 is all sharp greenness. In fact, it was so astringent at first that my first instinct was to wash it off and swap my decanted imp ASAP. However, I should know by now not to judge a BPAL scent by first sniff, and true to the Lab's magic, thirty minutes into drydown, RR '05 had bloomed into the most amazingly sweet rose scent. The greenness never fades away entirely, and keeps the rose from turning to powder. Even better, this scent has great throw and stays very true--it has the same fragrance whether I catch a whiff of it while turning my head or have my nose buried in my elbow. I will definitely be getting a big bottle of this! (edited to fix a typo)

In the bottle: tightly closed rosebuds and freshly cut stems – the scent of a floral shop or a rose bouquet distilled into a bottle Wet: Wow, I never knew carnations had much of a scent, much less one this beautiful! The carnation in this blend gives the scent a beautiful green-white spice, which balances perfectly with the sweetness of the rose and the white tea (which my skin tends to amp up more and more as time passes) Dry: The spice of the carnation fades back a bit, but still remains the topnote over a gorgeous blend of rose and tea. Maiden does seem to fade fast on my skin (especially on my wrists, which try to turn any rose into powder), but I've taken to applying right before dressing, so that some of the oil stays on my clothes – it has great throw that way. Overall: This is a lovely, complex scent that's fresh and feminine, with a bit of flirty spice thrown into the mix. I could live with smelling like this every day!

In the bottle: sweet green tea and lemon Wet: Like many above, I can't seem to find much difference between this scent and Embalming Fluid. I get the same lemony green-tea scent initially, then it fades back to mostly tea. After putting Embalming Fluid on my other wrist and comparing the two, I'd say Shanghai is like a slightly warmer version of the Embalming Fluid (might be the honeysuckle?) Dry: This scent disappeared almost immediately. I had to bring my wrist right up to my nose to catch even a whiff of it after ten minutes, and now, about 45 minutes after application, it's all gone. This one's going into the swap pile.

I get very little actual rose from this blend (only little hints now and then for about an hour after it dries), so I assume what I'm smelling is moonflower. This is a lovely scent; very wet and dewy, sophisticated, and vaguely aquatic. If someone could bottle up a garden of pale flowers bathed with moonlight on a misty night, it would smell like this. This oil actually has great throw and staying power on me – I wore Moon Rose out to a fondue restaurant last weekend and could still catch drifts of it at the end of the evening, when the rest of me positively reeked of food-and-oil (that lovely restaurant aroma! *g*) This scent is a little too heavy for me to wear daily, but it's just the thing for a classy night out on the town.

In the bottle: a sweet, incensey sort of smell, no hint of vanilla Wet: very, very strong, nearly medicinal spicy sweetness Dry: the vanilla warms up very quickly and mixes with the spice nicely – the Indonesian oils keep the vanilla from being too "foody" and the vanilla adds a touch of warmth and comfort to a blend that might otherwise be too exotic Overall: the twelve pages of reviews for Snake Oil sort of speak for themselves, don't they? This sexy, complex scent has fantastic lasting power (I can put it on in the morning and still smell vanilla in my hair when I step into the shower the *next day*) and really grows on you – I find I like it more and more each time I use it.

In the imp: a light, sweet green tea Wet: crisp lemon, with a lovely, clean green tea note hovering in the background Dry: the lemon fades back and the tea comes out more strongly; Embalming Fluid grows sweeter on me the longer I wear it (maybe because of the white musk?), though it doesn't have much "throw." This isn't a perfume that's going to overwhelm other people in an elevator. Wearing it is like having a personal just-barely-spring-day: light and slightly chilly – truly an ethereal scent!

In the bottle: peachy with a hint of the pomegranate, very soft, feminine, and romantic Wet: peach and rose Dry: deepens into a very warm scent; the melilot blooms nicely and vies with the rose and peach for precedence – a glorious, complex scent. This tends to turn into powdery-peach-dryer-sheet on me after a few hours, so I don't see myself getting a big bottle, but I will definitely wear this imp in my hair until it's all gone!

In the bottle: sharp, mostly ginger with a hint of sweet vanilla in the background Wet: whoa, all ginger, cleaning-solution sharp Dry: Still getting mostly a ginger topnote with this, though the sweet warmth of the vanilla-apricot combination peeks through every now and again; no jasmine Overall: the disparate combination of warm vanilla and sharp ginger that this scent eventually turns into just doesn't work for me; back into the swap pile it goes

In the bottle: mm, pretty sage and sweet pea Wet: Whoa, very herby, green, cleaner scent. Hope she tones herself down a bit. Dry: the Lemon Pledge smell softens a little, but the sweet floral in this scent never really wins out. I ended up smelling like detergent.

Not a scent that would usually catch my eye, but I received a frimp of Ouija recently and decided to give it a shot. In the bottle: Lovely! Fresh and clean, polished teak with a hint of green sweetness. Wet: becomes very dark, with a cigarette-smoke scent prominent - ick Drydown: the smoke fades back a bit, I'm getting a sweet, florally incense that's alternatively soapy and powder Dry: Sweet floral, with rich wood swirling in the background. The stale smoke scent still pops up occasionally. Overall: The smoke was so strong when I first dabbed this on that I only applied a small amount and this oil doesn't seem to have much lasting power. I do like the haunting floral-wood touch in this, but the smokey undertone kills it for me.

In the bottle: all I can smell is the ginger and linen; really hope the tea comes out when I put it on. Wet: A very creamy sort of linen, with ginger hovering in the background and another, sharper note that's almost lemony. Dry: Mostly linen, milk, and pepper now, still a very creamy scent, but not at all sweet. I guess my skin just gobbles up the honey and vanilla notes in this. After 1 hour: Unfortunately, this has turned completely sour on me. Never got any tea notes out of it.

In the bottle: Mmm, lots of berries and currant, very sweet and fruity. Wet: Juicy, robust berries. Dry: Still tons and tons of berry, with a background hint of currant. It's very sweet, but not overwhelmingly so After 5 hours: The berry fades back a little and the currant comes out a bit more; has a ton of lasting power. This scent may claim to be the essence of ambition, covetousness, and manipulation, but it makes me feel flirty and carefree. I don't think I'll buy a larger bottle of this, but I will enjoy using up the imp.

In the imp: very sweet, almost a bubble-gum scent. Wet: Still very, very sweet. Lots of pomegranate, with the rose blooming nicely in the background. Dry: The rose came out very nicely. This is a fresh-cut rose scent, with petals, sepal, and stem. The sweetness of the pomegranate keeps the rose from turning into powder and in turn, the rose keeps the pomegranate from becoming too juicy and cloying. This one wafts very nicely. Up close it's still a smidge too sweet, but the drift is pure rose. Lovely! After 5 hours: This scent has some nice staying power; it's mellowed down to mostly sweet pomegranate. I'm not sure if I'm quite ready to buy a 5 mL yet, but I suspect I will be by the time I've finished this imp. (ETA: My suspicion was correct. I've been wearing this scent in my hair everyday for the past week and will put in an order for a big bottle soon.)