dreago

DDLM07: In the vial: mmmmm, sexy men's cologne. As my friend who tried it out said "This is the smell of a good man." On the wrist: chocolate, incense and the smell of tobacco? It's still a bit too masculine for me. My friend smelled of spicy hot cocoa. Dry down: Oh no! Nothing but head ache inducing tobacco! Wah! On my friend it began to smell like leather shoe.. Dry: *washes with make-up remover and soap* My friend began to complain because it smelled like WET old leather shoe. Oh well, I bought this for a friend who is making an altar for our DDLM themed party. It will smell pretty in an oil burner.

Black Forest: I never want to smell like pine. So I put it on the boy. The boy is blessed with excellent skin chemistry because on him, the oil blend smells exactly the way it should: pine forest and soil, with a whiff of musk riding the cold air. The hubby doesn't really have a sense of smell (chronic sinusitis), so he couldn't comment either way, except about a half hour later he was like, "do you smell that? Is that cleaning solution?" Because like me, he associates pine with pine sol, not Christmas trees. I wonder if this means we need to do a better job about celebrating Christmas.

Brides of Dracula: In the vial: Drunken Honey On the wrist: Mmmmmm, spicy flowers and honey. Just a hint of sandalwood. Nice. Dry down: Disappointing. Up close the dry down blend is perfect- just like "on the wrist." But when it dries, the throw is superficially all top note. It is smothering honey. Like you're lying in bed and someone is trying to choke you with their warm, perfumed pillow. Not as pleasant as it sounds. Powdery. Le Sign. I may make a room spray, perhaps.

Kabuki: This one was very popular at work. I mentioned to the other SW's that if I didn't like it, I'd gladly pass it on to them. I even had an SW call me later and ask, "hey, didn't you say you would pass it on to me?" I said "hold on, I wanted to try it on first!" In the vial: Sweet, noxious cherry On the wrist: Luscious, juicy cherries with a hint of licorice (which I don' t like, but it isn't overpowering here). Dry down: Oh, god, what is that smell? I know that is supposed to be licorice but the oil has turned into a scent highly reminisint of cherry and tobacco. It gives me a headache. I had to wash it off. Too bad, it started out so promising. At least I know one lucky SW who will be very happy!

Frimp of Envy, woot! In the vial: Herbs? Check. Mint? Check. Lime? Check. Lavender? Check. Wet: I smell like evergreen winterfresh bubblegum. Dry Down: Herbal goodness with a touch of sweet. Like a mojito without the alcohol.

Oooh, I got Persephone as a frimp! In the vial: This smells a little boozy in the vial. Too cloying and sweet. It grabs you and holds you close, like Aunt Ruth squishing you to her busom while you struggle to avoid a wet pomegranatey kiss. On the skin: Wow. Immediate transformation. Roses are blooming on my wrist. Big roses with just a touch of that candy smell in the background. I think a friend of mine would love this. And since during my packing I found an imp of "Ode to Melancholy", another rose scent, I might send both to her tomorrow. I'm just not a big fan of roses. The Dry Down: I ran outside just now to compare a real life rose to the scent of my perfume. The real rose was pale and lifeless in comparison. However, to be fair, Persephone is now mostly Pomegranate. I should know because yesterday I had a Pomegranate Smoothie at Starbucks. Perspehone smells just like the smoothie tastes, except the Rose ingredients blunts the bittersweet aftertaste that straight up pomegranate can sometimes leave behind. This scent is very clean. It would make a nice lotion. Final Verdict: After about an hour I have decided that Persephone is a pomegranate that has rose petals for a rind. This scent really is "lovely", like the description says. Not my type of perfume, but of all the rose imps that have been sent to me, this one is my favorite. Elegant in its simplicity, sheer and sweet. A good blend for a young woman. And I think it could be quite versatile, both for daytime wear or for dinner. This would be a particularly nice scent to mix with a shimmery powder to dust along the clavicle and cleavage. Not that it is particularly sexy however, but I think the sniffer would want to come closer to get more of the smell which over time "stains" the skin with a lightpomegranate-rose scent. And that's pretty sexy all by itself, no?

In the bottle: Whew! A strong, dark scent lives in this honey colored oil. The first thing that rushes towards me is a strong, almost chemically scent. Like scented toner or astringent. And then towards the end of the sniff, I get the plum. On the wrist: This is very perfumey. I could see it being sold in a department store. It is definitely a grown up scent for fancy restaurants and evenings at the Opera. The incense and the night blooming flowers meld beautifully. This reminds me of Stilla's new scent, Midnight Bloom, except this has incense for a bite and not fig. The Dry Down: I'm tempted to remark that the plum seems superfluous. It doesn't detract but doesn't add anything to it either. Maybe Beth added it because this is Morgause and not her "evil" sister Morgan Le Fey? I think I would prefer it without. However, this might be my own skin chemistry at play. My skin always amps up sweet scents, hence I avoid anything that is predominantly sweet. This is a gorgeous bouquet of a scent. The violets are subtle but pervasive. Just lovely. My office mate has detected a hint of smoke or ash in the scent too. Final Verdict: The scent is fading! A couple hours later and Morgause has all but disappeared! I have to bury my nose into my forearm to get at the scent. It's so sad. She leaves a regal and sophisticated impression on the senses. However, one cannot get too close to her for too long; all I was left with was a trail of ash, incense and regret.

In the vial: Bathsheba is a sunshine yellow perfume oil. When I smell the bottle, I can detect the spicy sweet carnation and the musk. I imagine when Kind David saw the lovely lady, he was close enough to see she was a beautiful and fertile woman. He had plenty of those. But then he must have heard her laughter. Because when I open the vial and take a whiff, the first thing that greets me is a girlish, ripe, delightful plum. Poor King David. Just out of reach from his balcony, a sweet, juicy, spicy plum that had already been picked by someone else. Splashed on the wrist: The plum and the carnation are fighting it out. The combination of their struggle creates an almost soapy smell. Now, usually for most people this is a terrible insult: "ewwww, soap!" But my wrist smells like plumy/carnationy bath oil. I smell clean, fresh and lightly perfumed. Just like Bathsheba exiting her bath. Dry down: The plum wins! It sits on top and is what you smell when I wave my wrist in the air. But step closer, move in to caress my skin and the spicy carnation will greet you. The musk ensures that the carnation will have subtle staying power. It also deepens the plum so it stays juicy but not artificially sweet. I would buy a bottle of this. I usually prefer a more intense perfume, but it is nice to find something I like outside of my comfort zone. Not only does it smell delicious but it is light enough for office wear and innocent enough for interactions with my clients. It is not an overpowering scent so it is perfect for mixing with hand lotion. Final Verdict: Someone upthread quoted the Simpsons saying, "this is a plum floating in perfume in a man's hat." So true. Except about the man's hat. A perfect blend of sweet and spicy, but still innocent and light.

Newbie here with my first ever post on the BPAL forums about my first ever imp purchase! Naturally, I have way too much to say. I expect as I become more adept at this thing, I will be less chatty. In the vial: You know, I don't know that these ingredients are necessarily depressing. I'm a bit skeptical. Unlike Saint-Germain's "brash" carnation (which really was a strong, bright carnation) I fail to understand how one can make a rose "heart-wrenching." But we will see, oh me of little faith. I smell the closed bottle and I have to say that I like the soft pale colored scent. When I open the vial, the lavendar and wisteria come rushing out, but it is the sandalwood on the heel of the scent that makes a more lasting impression. It makes me think of a girl who is wearing traces of her boyfriend's cologne on her skin. On the wrist: This is quite a commercial scent. Interestingly enough, this scent does not have much of a sillage except that I keep thinking I am catching a trail of rose, but when I lean in to investigate, it dissapears and all I smell is lavendar and sandalwood (this combo always makes me think of male cologne). Tricksy. Dry down: As usual, my skin chemistry kicks in and the scent becomes sweeter as my body amplifies the florals. Mmmm, I really like the stronger appearance of the sweet wisteria! Still, there is not too much change from my initial splash on the wrist test. Definately no rose. 30 minutes later: Wisteria and then Rose, Rose, Rose, Rose. Okay, while the rose may not be heartwrenching, it is pale in that the rose is watery and translucent. It sits delicately at the top of this scent. Lean in too close and you smell right past it. But at the proper distance, this note colors every other ingredient in this perfume like rose-colored glasses. 50 minutes: Rose, rose, rose, rose...wisteria. Huh. I wonder if Beth meant one note to top the other or if they are supposed to go hand in hand. The wisteria keeps coming and going on me. The rose is a nice compliment to the sandalwood which has quickly taken a distant back seat. Don't ask me where the lavendar went, because I don't know. Final verdict: A woman's cologne that quickly morphs into an old fashioned, feminine, fragile, close to the skin, Sweet Rose scent. I don't think there is anything particularly sad about it nor do I feel sad when I wear it. I feel vaguely antique. Like I belong in another era. When I reread the adjetives I used, I can see a picture of a Victorian lady fingering a lost beau's scented hankercheif that she has taken to wearing in her own scented bodice, close to her heart. She only thinks she perceives the scent of her long lost lover, but what she smells is her recollection of how he used to smell. Is that sad enough for y'all? Power of suggestion or power of BPAL? Hmmm....