OdetteOdile

This fell solidly in the Gluttony-Jack scent family for me - deeply foody-desserty. It smells (I almost wrote 'tastes') like some sort of rich holiday nut candy with a creamy rum-based center. The alcohol note was so strong at first, I was afraid people at work would think I'd been drinking heavily (I put it on at about 2pm - much too early to reek of rum). Luckily the alcohol note toned down & I was left with a gorgeous, rich, sweet nuts and maple syrup scent. Up close it had an odd, dry wood note that caught at the back of my throat - but the scent in the air around me was wonderful. Also, it was very strong - I kept getting whiffs of it for hours afterwards from one little dab with the imp tongue.

On me this was milky-nutty-fruity-sweet. It just kept getting nicer and nicer. (I'm beginning to think heliotrope is a big winner note on me - so many of the oils I love seem to have that in them). I expected glitter to be...glittery - hard edges, mint and lemon sparkle. Instead this is soft and round and comforting and friendly - and definitely bottle-worthy.

Sweet amber and spice with a sort of root beer note. There's a little bit of a wood note too - sandalwood? - but it's not masculine at all on me (yea!) There's something familiar about it, but I can't place it. This would smell great in a lotion, I think. I absolutely adore this oil and will be ordering a bottle in the next update order.

Sadly, this smelled almost exactly like hellfire on me - it developed quickly on my skin into a sort of heavy, slightly sweet, musty tobacco smell. Whatever scent family that is, it really doesn't blend well with my skin. If you love hellfire however, I strongly recommend trying Blood Kiss. Note - I never got any cherries, vanilla, chocolate or wine - mis-labeled imp or weird skin chemistry?

This is...this is AMAZING. It starts out creamsicle vanilla sweet - a very desserty perfume, much more feminine than I expected. And then after 15 min. a bright, sharp citrus starts coming out...a very tart, white, slightly sour grapefruit. For some reason it's strongly evoking browsing in antique stores on Columbus Avenue with my dad when I was a kid. Something about lemon oil on the old wood furniture, sweet, faint rich old potpourris smells...and I'm remembering now that a lot of the old dresses smelled like sweet vanilla powder. This is not remotely what I expected Dorian to smell like but I love it. And it does transport me to the past really strongly, maybe not quite to Oscar Wilde's time, but far back enough that it feels magical. I strongly recommend this to anyone who likes Dragon's Milk - it's not the same scent, but has the same wonderful desserty sweetness with complex counterpoint notes blended in that keep it from being saccharine.

Apples and wine. My skin loves fruit scents and also loves most wine scents so this is a winner for me. This smells to me like early autumn in Catskills farm country. It's apples under an apple tree, cinnamon in fresh apple pie, a country fruit stall by the side of the road with cinnamon-scented burlap patchwork dolls, fruity candles and fresh, cool air. Uncomplicated, happy autumn memories. I think a bottle of this for September would be wonderful.

Sadly, I had to wash this one off almost immediately. It turned into a sweet animal scent (similar to Lust, like Sarada mentioned) on me and unfortunately I can't wear any of the BPAL scents in that family (lord knows I've tried). I could see what the fans of it were talking about, though. It does smell like some fruity LUSH products, and the grapes in it are wonderful. However my skin seems to bring out some sort of "unwashed" note in the oil - & not in a good, healthy, earthy way. Ah well, many other oils to love.

When I first applied this, it had an almost animal musky smell on me - to the point where I was a little worried that I'd applied it before work. I was also very perplexed - none of the notes matched that musky impression. After about 30 minutes, it developed into the most wonderful jasmine - a jasmine with a rich, beautiful, almost foody-sweet base. There's also something a little watery under that, but not so strongly that it bothers me (I generally don't do well with aquatic notes). This is a great scent for someone who likes rich, feminine florals. I'm really impressed with the Gratiae scents so far.

I think I may be ordering a 5ml of this when the next update is posted. The peach is so lovely and happy and sunny and not the least bit artificial smelling - it evokes the essence of summer to me. It just makes me feel good, and it's the perfect antidote to a dreary day.

Lollipop sweet, pretty, soft, romantic. I'm not able to pick out any notes (although I can almost distinguish the peach - but it's very well-blended) but it dries down to a lovely, uncomplicated, feminine fruity floral. An extremely easy scent to wear, and probably a good one to use if you're introducing someone to BPAL who has mainstream perfume tastes. (Although it's much nicer than most mainstream soft fruit-floral perfumes). Also a good one to give as a gift for a young woman.

This is one of those scents that really brings out how varied different people's senses of smell are. It reminds me of something I learned in a cooking class once - that some people hate cilantro because their noses actually work differently and they smell it as a soap smell (I think I belong to that group - for the longest time I thought food had gone bad when it had cilantro in it - I've learned to appreciate it since then). On me, Anne Bonne is cedar and vanilla and nothing else. I strained to smell all the interesting notes other people were picking up, but none of them showed up. Happily I like the smell of cedar and vanilla, so I'm enjoying my imp. And I agree with everyone who said it would work on a man - I think this would be insanely sexy on a guy. I could fall in love with a guy who smelled like this.

For some reason I was expecting an amber scent, but this is lemon drops, red wine and raisins. I've never heard of Kyphi incense - does it smell like this? Happily, the lemon candy note softened & moved to the background the longer I wore it, and wine scents tend to go pretty well with my skin so I enjoyed that. I badly want to visit Cairo now and see if the streets or restaurants smell like this. You know how a new city can smell intense and strange and when you first arrive, but after visiting or living there for a few months, that scent becomes full of associations and reminds you of all the people you know there and all the different experiences you've had? That's what this reminds me of. Eventually it developed a dragon's blood scent mixed with wine - tart and fruity.

I would never have guessed that citrus could smell so dirty! This literally smells like sex on the beach to me - healthy, passionate, earthy sweat mixed with fruity margaritas dripping on warm bodies, getting everything sticky. The sense impression is so real, it makes me blush. I can't figure out what the note is that turns this from an innocent fruit drink scent to something x-rated - it isn't a strong civet note (thank god - not a good note on me) - it's something about the combination, rather than any one dominant note. Very unique & seductive scent (and NOT for work - unless your work is a bit risque).

I was reading Tithe by Holly Black & wanted to wear something that would evoke faerie. This was a perfect choice. This scent is more the world of Seelie than unseelie. It's meadow flowers and honey, the tiniest hint of grass, something rich and chocolatey, and something like a heavier, darker syrupiness - but just the barest hint. There's also a bit of powdery sweetness with that, but not overwhelmingly so. It easily evokes the longing mortals have after they've been in faerie - this would be the scent that you would catch a distant whiff of in Spring and go half mad trying to track down the source. I like it.

Hi Diamondheart, Revisiting this thread now, I'd say definitely Mata Hari.

Lorajc, what a great idea...I wonder if I could make the hand soap in my kitchen smell nicer - I use it so often. Nadirah, that really make me miss performing. I did modern dance when I was in college, but I don't think it ever occurred to me to wear perfume oils during performances. What a missed opportunity! I could have established scent associations that would bring back all those memories more vividly now. Ah well...

Each bottle of Chaos Theory is truly unique, a fragrant fractal, an exercise in the joy of chance and uncertainty! Each is a one-of-a-kind, utterly random combination of scents, the composition of which is based on whim, mood and gut instinct. Each bottle is numbered, and comes with a small parchment certificate. CHAOS THEORY XCIII This is so interesting and elusive - so many subtle scents that keep fluctuating. I think "wine" and then I smell citrus. Then rain. The just when I've decided it's a clean scent, I smell something warm and sweet and a little nutty hovering at the edges. This may be the most complex BPAL scent I've encountered so far. It's nice on my skin, and subtle. I could easily wear this to work, but it would be nice for dressing up too. And there's something kind of wonderful about being the only person to have it. (But of course, greedy little monkey that I am, I am now wishing that I'd ordered more Chaos bottles - just to see what some others might have been like. Then again, having just one makes it seem more special). I may end up *really* loving this after I've had some time to build up some associations (which means I'll be heartbroken when the bottle's finished.) Thank you BPAL folk!

I think I smell the geranium rose, and something woody - the rosewood I guess. Interesting. A tiny bit soapy. I'd wear this when I'm in the mood for an interesting rather than a pretty scent. It's the green lawn outside a church in a foreign country - unfamiliar vegetation smells when you're travelling.

Perfectly named. Creepy and peaceful simultaneously. Something "human-smelling" under the main scent...but powdery-wispy.

On me this smells just like Indian food - very savory and smoky. Not something I'd want to wear, but definitely something I'd want to eat. Hungry now.

Oh, this is so wonderful. Cinnamon sweet and milky. It could have been called bliss. So desserty-yummy. I ordered a bottle.

NOT your average B&B Works plumeria. Fruity and very tart, with a smokiness, and something warm and sweet - vanilla maybe? I got a strong book association with this (my favorite perfume reaction) - Pat Murphy's book "The Falling Woman" about an anthropologist who uses her visions to uncover artifacts in Mexico (although that was about Mayan, not Aztec civilization - so it's not a purist association). This would make a gorgeous summer perfume.

This is exactly what I'd hoped Blood rose would smell like. Decadent, fermented grape, boozy rose, unmistakably deep red. I'd wear this to hear Rasputina perform. (And, as Anita Blake mentioned in the Buffy fragrance thread, the character Drusilla definitely might have worn this)

On me, I smelled pine, and then a VERY strong powder scent. It evoked the time I accompanied a friend who was posing nude in the woods for a professional photographer (I was there in chaperone capacity). Powder deodorant and evergreen trees. Wish I had more interesting associations - more fairy tale ones. Maybe I should try it again.

If I liked Ozone fragrances more, I'd love this. Ozone and musk was how it smelled on me - and something floral, maybe - faint, but just enough to balance and soften everything perfectly. We'd been having lightning storms every night for weeks when I tried this last summer, and I enjoyed the idea of having a fragrance to accompany them. My only question was - would the perfume increase the threat of being struck - or ward off lightning and protect the wearer? (No evidence either way).