maoric

In the vial: Faint, sweetened tea. Freshly applied: Musk? and whatever flowers/plants are in the fougere. Drying: Early in the drying it definitely smells like a light cologne. Pretty nice, though not much presence. Now and then wafts of a sweetened tea and musk reach my nose as I type on the computer, though smelling my wrist is mostly citrus. Veeeeeery strongly citrus. Later: Light musk with some tea sweetened with a bit of citrus (thankfully much less than before) and sugar. Going to need to borrow some noses to get outside opinions later, but this would be a very nice change of pace from the usual wood scents I love. The drying is a bit strong with citrus, but afterward the scent is great.

In the vial: slightly sweet, almost fruit-like with sandalwood. Freshly applied: Thick, sweet resin. Drying: Sweet resin and sandalwood, just like the description made me think it would smell. Later: Simple, sweet sandalwood with floral hints that come and go over time. Very pleasant and good as a possible light day-to-day scent. I'll need to borrow other noses to make up my mind completely on this one, or try out Dragon's Blood by itself to see how it interacts with me more.

In the vial: Sweet, deep vanilla maple syrup. Freshly applied: Not exactly sure, but there's some sort of wood scent with a slight sweetness in the background. Drying: The smell gets faint momentarily, slightly powdery, though still has a sweet wooden smell in the background. Later: Hello! Thick vanilla tempered by some very deep, warm woods. I'm getting just a hint of tobacco in the background, but I'm not getting the reaction I have when passing by tobacco shops, so that's a plus in my book! As time keeps going, the vanilla seems to ebb and flow, at times I feel like I'm swimming in syrup, and at times it's better offset by the wood. A good scent, though maybe a tad too sweet on my skin to warrant a bottle purchase.

In the vial: Deep, earthy wood with a sweet spike, reminds me vaguely of some sort of soda concentrate. Freshly applied: Burnt wood! Not necessarily charred, but it definitely has a smokey edge to it. Drying: Cedar is coming out, but not overpowering so far. I hope it behaves since another cedar scent I tried went crazy on me. Later: Faint woods with a smokey tone to them. The cedar is behaving in the background and all in all this is reminding me of a slightly sweet burning wooden incense. I'll have to come back to this after trying more scents to see whether I want to get it in a bottle or not, but it is a nice scent.

In the vial: Faint leather and spiced woods. Freshly applied: This is good! Incense and a faint hint of leather. Drying: Definitely getting a liquid, cologne vibe made more interesting by the incense. Dry parchment is starting to come up from the back with some rosewood not far behind it. I'm really getting a similar vibe that I've seen posted in this topic of an old, Victorian library/study. Later: I totally feel like I'm sitting in a Victorian study (though I guess Elizabethan would be better for the actual John Dee) next to a shelf of old leather-bound books while incense burns in the background. Borrowed my friends' noses and they commented about the nice throw length as well. Far reaching but not overpowering. This is a very, very good scent, and definitely something I'm thinking of getting in a bottle.

In the vial: A subdued cherry cordial liqueur. Freshly applied: Lavender with a hint of cherry, but something is keeping it from being too feminine. Hmm. Drying: The lavender is fading, and I'm not exactly sure what I'm smelling now. Maybe this is the musk? I'm not used to smelling musks yet, so the fact that I have a hard time placing this means that might be what's coming out. The cherry is very faint, but still can be picked up in the background. Later: Nooooooooo, rose. They like coming out on my girlfriend and apparently like coming out on me as well. The cherry has faded from its already obscure position into nothing. I smell like a bouquet at this point. A bouquet placed on a rosewood table, maybe, but still a bouquet. Borrowed some friends, at first they said it did seem like a passable cologne (the lavender and rosewood were standing out), but it had next to no throw on me. As I stood and talked with them however, the rose came back with a vengeance and they agreed with me that it was getting a little too feminine. I'll most likely pass on getting more of this for myself, though it might work for a room scent since the in-the-vial cherry liqueur smell is nice. ETA: My cat just jumped on my lap, and after settling she zeroed her nose onto my wrist and tried to lick where I had applied the scent. Now, my cat is odd and licks people to show affection, but she was definitely aiming directly at the specific spot where I put the oil ETA II: Just to add, I know these oils aren't for consumption, so no need to worry -- she didn't get any

In the vial: A nice, mellowed out blend with some juniper in the background. Freshly applied: Wet evergreen needles. Drying: That's pretty interesting! I think I'm smelling more of the rosewood now? There's still a bit of the "green" smell going on, but it's more in the background. Later: Definitely rosewood and amber coming out more, with a hint of green from the pine/juniper in the back. All in all really good ETA: Muuuuch later it's still really good. This is going in my "candidates for bottles" list

In the vial: Vanilla and deep, brown woods. After applying: Cedar and sassafras. I don't smell like mulch (yet), and I'm hoping to stay that way. The sassafras is making it an interesting mix. Drying: Where did it go? My skin seems to have eaten it up! I'm not sure if this is actually vanishing or it's working well on my chemistry since nobody is around me that I can ask for a second nose right now. Later: It seems to come and go to my nose, I'll either smell cedar (which does sort of remind me of fresh hamster bedding), or sassafras, or a combination of an interesting vanilla-sassafras-cedar. I just can't smell that much of it myself to know if it's working on me or not. As I'm sitting typing, with my nose nowhere near my wrists, now and then I'll get a nice vanilla+sassafras combo that I really like. Interesting, though I'm not sure whether or not it would be something to buy more of. Going to need to kidnap some friends and ask their opinions as an outside nose. ETA: The next morning was a bit of an eye opener. I could still smell the scent faintly, and really liked it finally when I discovered the reason I liked it then was that the cedar was apparently all gone. I'll have to pass on this one for myself. Maybe Stimulating Sassafras Strengthener would be more for me since it won't have cedar coming out so strongly for me.

ETA: Err, never mind, it looks like my issue is resolved

Perfect! Thanks so much

Necro-quote, but I had assumed those were replacement imp caps since they were on the imp page on the website. The wand caps that BPAL sells there are for their bottles? I've got a bottle coming on the way and potentially more depending on how I like the bunches of imps I've ordered as well, and I was starting to go crazy looking around for something to apply them with. If these fit actual bottles, I could just use them when I want to apply, then clean them and store them to totally avoid skin oil contamination. Does anyone know anything more about them? Are they glass or plastic wands? Thanks for any info!

The World Ash. Nine woods, nine leaves, and three herbs each for Ratatosk and Vidofnir, with three final herbs to placate Nidhogg. In the imp: Slightly astringent, young green plants, and a hint of a warmer scent. Wet: Still astringent at first, but it fades pretty quickly to something that I can only describe as just "perfume" at this point. Drying: I swear I can smell cilantro very faintly. I haven't had any Mexican/Tex-Mex/etc. food in over a week, so I don't think it's food playing tricks on me, but it fades too soon to be sure. I still get the thought of saplings and perfume, and something is starting to remind me a lot of my mom now. Later: Powdery, not quite soapy and not quite floral. It really smells a lot like a perfume my mom used to wear often, which is too bad. I really wanted a good woodsy scent, I didn't want to end up smelling like my mom Not really for me, but I think I'll send the imp down to my mom to see what she thinks of it

Wow, thanks for the many responses The Coiled Serpent and Banshee Beat apparently will get special mention it seems... though it looks as though Urban Outfitters is out of Banshee Beat (and nearly any reference to BPAL at all). Is it still in production? ETA: Whoops, ltrittipoe ninja'd in there. That's unfortunate that Banshee Beat is gone. I'll have a look around for it I guess, but if I do find some for her I'll have to let her know it might not be easy to find more of later. It does I'll have to go digging around later and see what that can turn up as well. Ahahahaha, so it would seem! (Thanks again by the way for the comments on woodsy scents for my big imp order!) And thanks for the big list-o-scents, though I'll have to cut out Iambe when passing it along to my mother due to the gardenia, since I don't want to make her ill

I'm trying to get my mom into BPAL since she's apparently big on scents and said she's been looking for a good patchouli/patchouli-based scent for a while now. I figured I'd ask here since there have been a lot of people trying a lot of scents in here that could give me some good feedback (especially for scents that don't list any/some notes on their page). She likes more "earthy" scents but is open to anything just so long as it does not have any gardenia at all because she has very bad reactions to gardenia. This is where I'd very much appreciate help from better noses and minds than mine when it comes to this

In the vial: Very sweet and fresh green plant smells. Freshly applied: A warm note ramps up fast, with some green, young trees and a mild spice with some sweetness hiding around in the background. Drying: Smells a lot like some traditional colognes I remember, though it isn't giving me a headache. Warm and ever so slightly spicy. The green/woods are on the backburner. Later: Soap? Very, very faint in the background. Sweet scents have started to return slightly, but the warm, mild spice is the strongest. It's pretty good, actually, like if someone made soap out of a rich cider. Just not something I'd want to smell like all the time. Something about this made my girlfriend cringe when she smelled it in the vial and very slightly when smelling it on me, though she says it smells better on me than in the vial (probably because it's much warmer on me). It's nice in my opinion, but I'll probably pass on buying this in a larger size

Part of my first BPAL order where I was going for different types of wood scents. I'm not sure I can smell wood in this one personally, but it does smell very good on me (easily the best out of the few I've tried so far). Upon opening: Fine, powdery dust, cool and slightly sweet and dry. Freshly applied: Dusty, cool air is the best way I can describe it. I can't smell it much on myself right after applying, which I'm told means it works well with my body chemistry. Drying: The dust turns to baby powder, but thankfully only for a few very short moments. I was worried at first that I'd smell like fresh diapers instead of dry plains, but it very quickly starts warming up and leaves the baby powder territory in a hurry. Later: Very warm, slightly spicy (but not sharp) dust and slight musk. My girlfriend lives in a desert region presently, so she was afraid she wouldn't like the dust aspect, but she wound up grabbing for my wrist now and then to sniff, commenting that it smelled "yummy and feral" on me. It lasts throughout the day after applying, for another bonus. Definitely a candidate for buying a bigger bottle

Iago was an unexpected surprise after ordering the first three BPAL scents to catch my eye. I had them shipped to my girlfriend, so I wasn't around when it arrived. She said that she could smell the leather while the vial was still closed, and it reminded her of going to a Renaissance festival. After looking over the first page of reviews, I thought "well, maybe this could be a nice surprise, though it's not something I'd normally get for myself" How wrong I was. I have to agree, even with the imp closed, you can smell some faint leather, and it's not too bad. Upon opening it: SHOE STORE. That's all we could think about to describe it. It seriously reminded my girlfriend, friends, and I of department store sections where purses/women's shoes are sold. Wet on my skin: Pretty unpleasant. I can smell the same leather smell as before, but it's slowly being joined by some sort of smell that I do. not. like. Being new to this whole scent business means I can't place my finger on what is causing it, but I don't like it. Maybe it'll change like some of the other scents did over time and get better? Drying: SMELL BAD. It's sunscreen! All I can smell is thick, smeared sunscreen my parents bought for me as a child going to the beach and leather shoes. GET THIS OFF OF ME. As a positive for anyone whose body chemistry plays nicely with this scent, it seems to last forever. I scrubbed down as if preparing for surgery (my girlfriend told me to stop after noticing I was making one wrist raw), but it still lingered. If anything, the leather smell seemed to only briefly fade after washing and then come back stronger. At least I was rid of the sunscreen, but I wound up smelling like shoes until showering the next morning. Not for me