hexnut

In Vitro Tested blind. My first impression was fruity or floral sweetness. Wet Fresh on this was nicely sweet and spicy, possibly resin or wood. In a few minutes it became sharper and smelled very good. Drying Warm sweet spice or resin, very good. About twenty minutes on the scent was much the same, perhaps a bit mellowed, and reasonably strong. It started to fade in the next few minutes and became less sharp, then a an unidentified but familiar-seeming note emerged. An hour after application this was fading but still going strong, which is remarkable on my skin. I was very busy on the day I tested Strangler Fig so I don't have any written notes after the one hour mark, but whenever I remembered to sniff my wrist I could smell its sweetness. Sometime around seven hours after application I noted the familiar "sweet rubber" note that I get from BPAL's vanilla; by this point the overall scent was faint and mild. I was surprised by the identity of this oil because I didn't remember vanilla in the reviews; although, when I applied more at bedtime I did detect (or imagine) some slight vegetation. I like this one as much for enduring on my skin as for its scent. It's not an instant bottle candidate but I will certainly wear it again.

JACK A blind test; the oil in the imp is yellow. In Vitro Butter?! Wet On my skin the buttery note was less intense and something sharper and sweeter emerged. After three minutes the scent had a creamy note and some mild spiciness; a very nice, warm impression. Drying A quarter hour after application this smelled like chai spices and I was thrilled. It was too good to last: ten minutes later the earlier butter note mutated into an artificial cream smell like the one I got from Miskatonic University. Fortunately the hideous chemical odor that finished Misk. U didn't show up, but although the beautiful chai spices struggled valiantly, in the end they were dominated by plastic. Pumpkin was AWOL throughout. If only the spice part of the drydown wasn't contaminated I could put up with the buttery start. As it is I'll just bury my imp of Jack in a dark drawer somewhere. 47

POISONED APPLE Yellow oil, tested blind. In Vitro Sweet and fruity. Wet Strong fruit, with some throw during application. At first it smelled juicy and not spicy; a few minutes later it was much less juicy and slightly sharper. Drying In drydown this was faded but reasonably strong, still sweet fruit. The sweetness remained but after forty-five minutes the scent was less distinctly fruity. A nice enough apple fragrance but I hoped for something more sinister, or at least more green. A few days after the initial test I layered Poisoned Apple with Brimstone to darken and spice it up and the result was much more interesting. 45

DEE Tested blind. Oil in the imp is yellow. In Vitro Resin, maybe spice. Wet Strong and resiny. Some throw from the application site. Drying After ten minutes this was sweeter and less sharp, and a hint of floral emerged. Another ten minutes on it had faded and was slightly soapy but not unpleasant. Three hours after application I recorded the scent as "faint and pleasant", and at the seven hour mark it was extremely faint. With the list of notes to hand I tentatively identified faint leather, and the incense may have been the source of the sharpness in the imp. Between this and another BPAL sample I haven't written up yet, I suspect that certain "-wood" notes (e.g., rosewood and sandalwood) go soapy on me. Overall, Dee is a pleasant skin scent, clean and a bit cologne-ish but not too conventional, and neither exclusively feminine nor masculine. I'll certainly wear this again. 46

RAKSHASA In Vitro Yellow oil, tested blind. The first whiff from the vial was resinous and slightly sharp, followed by sweetness. Wet Freshly applied, a mild floral of weak intensity. At three minutes I got something like citrus. Sillage noted after nine minutes; citrusy, or maybe ginger. Drying A slight scare when I thought I was getting a skin reaction, but it turned out to be a false alarm. The scent was now mild and slightly soapy, with a bit of pseudo-citrus, and fading rapidly. After looking up the scent name that evening I applied a bit more to the same wrist and this time I detected a bit of patchouli, which vanished in the drydown leaving soapy rose -> rosy soap. Since I get a citrus-like note from smelling certain actual roses (and from my imp of Zombi), that part wasn't a big surprise. Rakshasa is pleasant enough and I'll use up the imp but probably nothing else. 44

BRIMSTONE This review is more incoherent than usual, but in my defense I was convinced that I was testing Jack ("...true Halloween pumpkin, spiced with nutmeg, glowing peach and murky clove.") In Vitro Strong and spicy - nutmeg? Wet Strong clove/nutmeg, slightly sweet. Drying Fading but still spicy, with a hint of fruit sweetness emerging at the ten minute mark. Twenty minutes later I characterized it as "dark spice and peach". Nothing that smelled like pumpkin, but surprisingly good and something I would wear to evoke Autumn. Hair A bit on the end of my ponytail went immediately to nutmeg, which remained prominent for a good long while. In contrast the scent from my wrist was a deep, almost sour peach with spice. I liked both very much. Many hours later the sillage from my hair was a sort of bitter clove - again, liked. BIG surprise when I finally unrolled the label. Talk about smelling what you want to smell! At least I didn't hallucinate pumpkin that wasn't there. Despite my chagrin at my latest blind review failure, I love Brimstone and it goes on my bottle list. 43

DRAGON'S HIDE Tested blind; the oil was orange, the darkest among my batch of imps. In Vitro Faint, mildly spicy, and sweet. Wet Heavy floral when freshly applied - maybe gardenia? It remained floral but some spiciness emerged after a few minutes. Drying Reverted to floral-only before the first hour was up. The scent fasted another three hours, faint and sweet. I knew this was a longshot on me but I hoped that leather or smoke might peep out. Nope, my skin turns Dragon's Blood into flowery mediocrity. Put a big red X through another major perfume note and move on. 42

A frimp from the Lab, tested blind. The oil is yellow in the imp. In Vitro Sweet resin. Wet Undistinguished, resin-ish. Some throw at application. After two minutes a heavy floral emerged. A few minutes later I guessed at rose. Drying While drying down this went through a less floral, more perfumey stage. Then floral re-emerged and the fadeout was rosy resin. I dabbed on a bit more that night, before seeing the label, and guessed at jasmine or rose. After looking up the description I could identify violet. There's a gardenia bush that I pass on my walk home from the bus stop, and each time I stop to stick my nose in a blossom and inhale the strong, uplifting scent. This blend doesn't evoke any of that for me, and I already have Ultraviolet for violet and Tombstone for vanilla, so although Le Serpent Qui Danse is pretty I won't be getting a bottle.

TEZCATLIPOCA A blind test. The oil in the imp was yellow. In Vitro Rich and sweet. Wet Very 'thick", resiny, and somehow familiar. Drying This dried and began fading rapidly, but the scent itself only improved. I guessed that it might be Tezcatlipoca because that was the only one in my order with cocoa and the richness of this reminded me of Bliss. I tested this again the same day and it definitely started out as cocoa-dominant, drying down to resin, incense, and the barest hint of leather. A couple of hours on it actually resurged in strength, something that only Bliss and Vice have managed before. It finally settled to a warm and sweet blend as it slowly faded. Tezcatlipoca is a good skin scent on me, which is rare enough to be noteworthy, and not foody despite the cocoa. I really, really like this one, enough to rank it with No. 93 Engine and the aforementioned Bliss at the top of my bottle list. It's not as strong as I would like but I wouldn't mind slathering to get results. 40

SCARECROW In Vitro Blind test. The first impression was spice and a curious "coolness". Wet Freshly applied to my wrist, I didn't get spice. Instead the inhale started citrusy and ended with coolness at the back of my throat. After a minute I decided that this was tangy but not citrus. Perhaps an aquatic note? The tanginess receded in favor of a not-very-sweet cologne scent with just a hint of musty lemon. Drying The same but fading rapidly. After ten minutes or so the overall scent changed but I couldn't find a way to describe it. In the end it was extremely faint, not sweet, and unidentifiable. I tried Scarecrow again a few nights later and this time I detected a hint of grass when fresh and faint but distinct acetone (nail polish remover) in the drydown. Not awful, but nothing I was keen to wear and certainly not the exotic scent I hoped for. 39

A blind-tested frimp, the last remaining vial in the order. In Vitro Yuck! A musty sharp note. Wet This tried to be sweet, but an unpleasant "curry" smell pushed in and stayed, making me grimace with every sniff. Drying The nasty part became fainter but was still dominant over a sweet base. An hour after application there was only a faint and undistinguished sweetness. Interesting. This was the same "curry" note that I complained about in my review of L'Examen de Minuit, which has only two component listed in common with Eros: myrrh and lilac. The former is a known malefactor in my case, and the latter is not something I would have guessed would go bad. So I'm glad that the Lab gifted me with this blend because it narrows down my list of suspected Death Notes.

In Vitro Tested blind. In the imp this was sweet with vague spice and maybe vanilla. Wet In the first minute on my wrist it was an unknown, still sweet, still possibly vanilla. After a minute I got a bit of root beer and also something like wintergreen. Then an herbal quality that was slightly medicinal, like horehound. Pleasant but not strong. Drying Wintergreen root beer, very good although faint. But twelve minutes in, a soapy smell dominated, and seven minutes after that there was a tiny bit of slightly rancid butter. Where did my delicious medicine go? The butter went away after a while and the soapiness receded enough to reveal some lingering sweetness, but it was too little, too late. Another scent for which I had high hopes, now consigned to the growing "cloth/locket only" pile. Even the most sovereign remedy is powerless against the corrupting power of my skin.

Insatiable lust, unending vigor! A truly carnal, energetic men’s blend: vanilla and amber with juniper, rosewood and white pine. A frimp from the Lab, tested blind. In Vitro Spicy sweet. Wet Sweet, spicy, root-beery, and very rich. Already I was half convinced that this was my order of Stimulating Sassafra Strengthener. Over the next few minutes the spice became a strong clove note reminiscent of Troll, and at the end of each inhale was a hint of vanilla. Drying The spiciness became "dryer" somehow, and the vanilla note a bit more pronounced but never dominated the spice. Sweet and lively on my skin, and unusually lasting, with a slow fade over five hours. The true identity of this oil was another surprise. How did I get supposed sassafras from "vanilla and amber with juniper, rosewood and white pine"? That night I tested Golden Priapus on one wrist and Phoenix Steamworks on the other, and this time I detected wood and/or pine when inhaling deeply (and the Steamworks had a "cologne" vibe - go figure). Again it lasted nearly six hours, and the vanilla sweetness took over from the piney wood. This is amazing. Amber = spice? Vanilla that doesn't turn into rubber? I need a bottle of this, and in the meantime I'm going to try some other scents with amber. Thank you, BPAL. edited to add description

The wax and smoke of millions upon millions of candles illuminating the walls of Death’s shadowy cave: some tall, straight, and strong, blazing with the fire of life, others dim and guttering. In Vitro Blind test. Rich, sweet, resiny. Wet Definitely resinous, all or mostly base. The initial sharpness faded quickly leaving a softer and somewhat conventional scent. Drying Faint and unremarkable, but about twenty minutes after application something else emerged. At first I thought it was floral but it became a vanilla-ish note that eventually dominated the perfumey resin base. Although the overall scent remained faint, this nicer note lasted more than four hours which is a long time on my skin. An incredible seven hours after application, I could still pick up a faint sweetness on my wrist. I didn't get smoke or anything evocative of candles, but I suppose the "vanilla" was actually honey and/or beeswax. By itself this scent isn't spectacular but it lasted an unusually long time and would be a great candidate for layering. More testing is in order. 35 edited to add description at top of forum page

A Lab frimp, tested blind. In Vitro Rich and sweet. Wet Banana? Definitely banana-like upon application. A bit of throw but quickly faded back to skin only. After a few minutes it was less banana-ish and more like fruity candy. Drying Not banana, but decidedly tropical fruit even though I didn't smell coconut or pineapple. Very sweet but not cloying. At this stage I wrote on my card, "reminds me of High-Strung Daisies". It remained the same as it faded away, about two hours' worth. I re-applied a couple of hours later and it was exactly the same. Short duration, but so... happy. This was another big surprise for me. Now I can identify the mango in this blend, but I can't pick out any of the others even though I've sniffed all three in various combinations in other BPAL oils. Depraved (patchouli and apricot) on me turned to musty wood and no fruit but I didn't get a hint of that from Tweedledum. I'm planning to compare 'Dum and Depraved, as well as 'Dum and Carnal (fig and mandarin). I don't feel the need for a bottle but I'll definitely use up the imp.

Blind test of a frimp from the Lab. In Vitro Minty! Wet Freshly applied: minty! After a minute something else emerged, a warmer smell. Five minutes on, the mint receded and the newer note resembled vanilla. Drying The overall scent was faint when only ten minutes old. It settled into a sweet vanilla-ish blend with some mint, mellow and somewhat foody. Much later I detected a bit of the "rubber toy" smell I got from the late stages of Tombstone, which strengthened my guess that this contained vanilla. At bedtime the same day I applied a bit on the other wrist and had the same results. It reminded me of the Candy Cane green tea that Trader Joe's sells in December, minus the tea leaf. This was a nice albeit short duration scent and good for a cold winter day. I couldn't remember what was in Mad Hatter but I know I passed it over when picking candidates from Mad Tea Party. Reading the description just now I am very surprised that a blend with musk - 'feral black musk', no less - behaved so tamely. Such is the power of Vanilla on my skin. And no wonder my search for mint scents didn't turn up this one, because it's pennyroyal, duh, but I like it. I've had Pain ("A sharp, cruel blend of lavender and pennyroyal") on my list for months and now I really want to try that one.

MISKATONIC UNIVERSITY Tested blind. In Vitro Ooh, sweet coffee. Or wait, not coffee per se but more like caramel syrup used to flavor coffee. Wet As in the imp, very sweet caramel flavored syrup. There was some coffee smell, but it wasn't true coffee beans and/or grounds but rather weak brewed coffee. It made me think of the brown water that passes for decaf at my local convenience store, after I've dumped artificially flavored creamer into it. After a few minutes a deeper note emerged, not sweet but not quite bitter or acrid. Maybe this would be my sought-after book smell? [Drying The unknown note became a weird chemical odor that overwhelmed the sweetness, and developed some sillage as well. There was just enough caramel-esque scent remaining to tip the whole thing into nauseating territory, and I washed my wrist around the ninety minute mark. It smelled like the artificial flavor factory made a batch of syrup in a tank that an Old One had been using as a spit cup. Gah! I was so excited about Miskatonic University, and it turned into my worst BPAL experience ever. I blame the booze. 32

DEPRAVED In Vitro Tested blind. Sweet, sharp... was that coffee? I had Miskatonic University in this order, so maybe. Wet Still sharp, less sweet, almost a leather smell. A few centimeters away from my wrist I detected something more like cedar. Drying Wood. Not cedar anymore but decidedly wood. I was half convinced that this was the "polished oakwood halls" of Misk U. The scent lasted perhaps two hours, about average for me, and became sweeter as it faded. I was all bummed out that I didn't get coffee or paper from my supposed Miskatonic University, so when I finally unrolled the label I was both relieved and surprised. Depraved? Dirty, dark patchouli and salacious apricot plus my skin equals wood? I don't even know. Despite everything I will definitely give Depraved another chance, because it was actually a nice skin scent on me. Besides, patchouli is supposed to age well so maybe it will turn into something less staid. 31

PELE In Vitro A blind test. The first sniff was perfumey, maybe aquatic or citrus. Wet Pure blossoms! Fresh, not too sweet. In fact it reminded me of my mother's cherished old bottle of pikake perfume. This had to be the imp of Pele I'd ordered. For me the smell of Hawai'ian flowers is in a category of its own; terms like "waxy" and "creamy" come to mind, but don't quite capture the essense, which is also penetrating. Drying Oh no, this faded fast! It didn't morph at all but neither did it last more than an hour and a half at the most. I put some on my hair but it didn't last any longer. The scent was so pretty and evocative that I carried the imp around for the rest of the day and applied to my wrist at least twice more, but alas! She would dance only a little while before slowly receding into the air, still smiling, while I stood longing on the shore. Pele is a beautiful and nostalgic scent but also a fast fader on me, so I'm not sure I'll get a bottle. 30

PHOENIX STEAMWORKS In Vitro Resiny, sweet, slightly sharp. Wet Warm, sweet, incense-y. Not much throw. Drying Softer than pure incense. Sophisticated and very pleasant. This mellowed and blended as it faded over the next two hours, developing a bit of sillage. I have given up trying to detect sage in BPAL blends, and neither can I pick out the gold or bronze, but something kept the resins under control. The "sharpness" had a different quality from my unloved frankincense - maybe it's all the other esoteric stuff in the Abramelin formula. This is a good perfume on me and isn't on my bottle list only because it pales in comparison to No. 93 Engine. I'll definitely use up the imp though. 29

SINGLE NOTE SPANISH RED CARNATION I've had this for a week now but delayed reviewing for reasons that will become apparent. This is the most challenging BPAL scent I have encountered, and my usual review format won't do. Opening the bottle the first time I smelled spicy carnation plus something wet or juicy. The odor was weak but of course there was not much surface area exposed yet so I wasn't concerned. Notecard and pen at the ready, I applied some to both wrists, observng that the oil was very thin. On my skin, there was a bit of the flower but it was immediately overtaken by a green, wet, and slightly sour smell, like all the discarded stems and leaves got in the vat. I hardly had time to be surprised by that when the scent faded in the space of a minute. I literally didn't have time time to write fast enough to keep up with the changes. Two minutes after contact it had sunk into my skin without a visible trace. With my nose on my wrist I picked up a faint, mild, slightly soapy odor. What? That night I applied some at bedtime, this time dabbing my pajama sleeves as well as my wrists, and lo! From the humble cotton flannel there rose a joyous scent of carnation, spicy and sweet and wonderful. My skin on the other hand yielded the same green smell close up, but this time I detected random wisps of blossom around me, just a few hapless molecules fleeing the event horizon. My dry skin is notorious for drinking BPAL so the next day first I coated my wrists with jojoba oil and then tried again. My notecard reads, "8:46p flower scent for less than a minute 8:46 faint, green 8:49 almost nothing". Day three. I have had great success with BPAL on my hair, which boosts scents that dry down poorly on my skin (a subject for a separate post), so that was the natural next step. I put SRC on my ponytail, sniffed eagerly, and… crappity! An hour of rank greenery. My hair did emit a faint carnation blossom scent the next day, but not enough to justify the amount of oil applied. Summary: Spanish Red Carnation Single Note is a glorious scent on my clothing and I will happily use up the bottle that way. Combined with hexnut DNA, it's pure failure. eta: Two months after my initial review I used this advice in this thread to convert my SRC into a linen spray, and the result was a resounding success. My sheets smell of spicy, heavenly, invigorating carnation flower, and just the tiniest bit of greenery if I put my face right on the freshly spritzed fabric. I will most definitely use up this bottle. 28

That eases my mind considerably. Thank you for the prompt reply! edited to add: Also thank you Quiet_Owl for the post below mine.

Hello. Can someone relieve a newbie's anxiety? I ordered a Limited Edition (single note) along with some GC imps via CCNow* on 4 July and the page linked in the reply e-mail still reads: Order Status: Awaiting Shipment Order History: 04 Jul 2012 - Received Plus I found this from earlier in this thread (bolding mine): I'm worried because of the time sensitive nature of the LE. How long should I wait before e-mailing the Lab? *This is my first order with CCNow. I never had a problem with PayPal before but now they're demanding a photo ID to unfreeze my account (and the accounts most if not all of their other customers) - seriously, WTF?

In Vitro Slightly spicy, possibly floral. Wet The first sniffs were chocolate-ish and sweet but nothing I could positively identify. After a minute the hint of something stronger emerged. Drying In the drydown this changed slightly from one sniff to the next; sometimes chocolate, sometimes an unknown base-type note. As I wrote on my notecard: "puzzling but pleasant". Forty minutes after application I couldn't decide whether I smelled food or floral, but I knew I liked it. After an hour it settled into a faint chocolatey scent and faded away slowly. I was quite pleased to see the list for this oil. Cocoa is close enough to chocolate that I wasn't imagining things, and my two previous encounters with fig were positive. Black palm is an unknown and "shadowy wooded notes" could be a lot of things, but I wouldn't call this scent nefarious or deceitful; on me it was mischievious, almost playful. This freebie is a possible bottle candidate.

HYMN Freebie, tested blind. In Vitro Uh oh. Nothing except what I've come to think of as resin. Not promising. Wet Sweet resin, strong throw. I only applied the usual test patch but my room smelled like I'd slathered the stuff. Drying Entirely base note(s) and insanely strong for the first fifteen minutes. It didn't smell bad, but it wasn't something I wanted to smell like. After fifteen minutes the scent mellowed and shrank down close to my wrist. As it faded it became pleasant but not enough that I was willing to endure the preceding stages. Looked up the description and Hello, venerable Myrrh and Frankincense, looking down your noses at me as usual. I don't know your friends Olibanum and Labdanum but I'm not eager to make their acquaintance. And Rose and Lily, you could have spoken up but no, not a peep from either of you. You ladies can all swan off to find someone more your style. 26