Mountaingrrl00

I had a bit of a burning reaction to this on my wrists, so I washed it off, mixed the imp with vodka and sprayed in my hair and on my sweater. This is wonderfully rich - in both the sense of heaviness and smelling expensive. The saffron, black tea and red musk are the strong, grounding notes. Something about it reminds me of a worn leather jacket. The chocolate and orange don't smell foodlike or sweet; they just seem to add dimension to the overall smell. This makes me feel like a million bucks. I'd love to smell this on a man, too.

I ordered this as an experiment. I don't tend to get on well with musks, but I thought BPAL's might just possibly be different, and the other notes looked intriguing. I didn't expect much, really. I'm most pleasantly surprised. This is a warm, sweet, woody musk I can wear. I don't get individual notes; it stays pretty steady and well-rounded. It feels sophisticated and luxurious, like something that would go with dark jewel-toned velvet. Definitely a keeper.

This one was love at first sniff, and I think this is going to be a lasting love. The bergamot-grapefruit zing, the plummy-amber spice, and the amber-orris powder are all lovely and well-balanced. It makes me feel energetic, womanly and absolutely delicious. It is long-lasting but stays close to my skin. I've been sniffing my wrist for hours!

All I get is the birch smell - a kind of wintergreen-ish, rootbeer-ish smell without the sweetness. I can see how this would evoke winter and mountain air for some folks. Unfortunately, it doesn't work for me. The note is too high and piercing for me, and at least with my chemistry, it overwhelms any complexity that might be lurking under it.

These all sound like great suggestions. Thanks for the enabling, I think. I'm excited to see Macchu Pichu on this thread, as I have some in an order that just CNSed!

This one is case of a BPAL I admire but can't live with. I admire the way the development of the scent morphs as if the wearer is theg the black phoenix rising from the flames! It starts out fiery: The almond top note sears my nose and makes my skin hot where I apply it. Then there's a sweet, hot effervescence, like sparks shooting up from my skin - what some have described as the Dr. Pepper effect. Then a smoldering phase, which is indeed langorous; I rather enjoyed this phase. Finally, a perfumey, ozoney burnt-wood drydown. I had a weird psychological reaction. Something about the smell of this made everything else in my apartment seem shabby. I didn't like my own body smell when I was wearing Black Phoenix. Quite the opposite of an extreme self-loving blend. I did not like the incense smell that lingered on my clothes. I'm going to have to swap this one.

To me, this smells like lilacs and waterlilies - not at all what I expected in terms of notes, yet the feel of the scent definitely has glassy smoothness to it. I don't notice any ozone notes - which is good, since they usually give me a headache. I also don't get the citrus notes others have mentioned. The spring flowers are lovely, natural and light, yet lasting. I find it refreshing and rather sexy.

I, too, get a spiced-cider fragrance from Block Buster. I've tried it a couple times as a body fragrance and once as a room fragrance - I especially like it in the latter context. This oil has surprising strong throw and staying power for something so fruity. It's cheering and stimulating. It's too soon for me to report on specific outcomes of its intended use, but I do notice it gives me extra energy to work on my projects, creative or otherwise.

I find Tenochtitlan very cheering. Amber-based scents in general are what I reach for when I want something uplifting and cozy, and Tenochtitlan in particular has Mexican herbal notes I associate with happy memories. I have to take it with me for reapplication, though - it doesn't last as long as I would like.

This is the scent I was most anticipating in my first lab order. The description sounded perfect for me. When the package arrived, I was afraid I was going to be disappointed: In the vial, all I got was a whiff of Juicy Fruit gum. I decided to try stuff that immediately smelled more appealing, and put Tenochtitlan aside. This morning, I decided to experiment. I dabbed a little on my wrists and took the imp with me to work. The hyssop and epazote wafted up to my nose during my commute, and it put me in a good mood. I caught the coriander during a meeting - yum. Back at my desk, the smell warmed and mellowed; I had to keep sniffing my wrists. I reapplied more at lunch to get another hit of the initial herbal phase. I can already tell that I'm going to go through this imp in no time and will need a big bottle. By the way, all the cats I've encountered today adore this oil too. Is there nip in here?

Interesting - this rose actually seems to ripen as I wear it. It starts out with a bit of a greenish sharpness. Then it softens to what I think of as the white-rose phase, where the perfumey aspect comes out. Then it gets really soft - velvety - and I smell something a little spicy underneath; I especially like this phase. The final phase, which lasts a long time, smells like a true, sweet fully ripe red rose - the kind where the sweetness reminds me of raspberries. This is very pretty. I could see wearing this to a not-so-mad tea party, actually.

Shroud looks like it has similar notes to Chanel No. 19. Vicomte de Valmont might also work.

Thanks, you guys! Those were two I hadn't thought to try. I'm putting them on my wish list.