mmmitchell

This is definitely one of my hit-parade oils.....it all just WORKS for me, in a unique and wonderful way. In the Bottle: Wake up and smell the Starbucks! BIG coffee note in the inital bottle snuffing, with just hints of white florals in the background. This doesn't scare me, big time coffee addict that I am. I can see how this initial BIG note might be off-putting if coffee ain't your thang. But be thee not afraid, because...... Wet: .....BIG coffee note dissipates after about a minute. And then, here come ALL the florals! I am sometimes NOT a fan of rose-y scents on me. I love roses, but somehow feel they can be a bit insipid as a scent for me. But here, and in combo with the jasmine and other notes, they become feminine and mysterious. A GOOD thing. Dry: As it dries the coffee almost completely dissipates on me, seeming to morph into the warmth of mahogany, which anchors and rounds the scent. Dry, it seems so well blended that I don't really pick out the individual notes anymore. I never seemed to actually "get" vanilla, tonka bean, or fig, but I think that those notes are evening out the florals, to give me this mysterious, and very wearable floral that has plenty of depth and substance. Only drawback for me is that while the throw is quite decent, it fades pretty quick on me.....maybe 2-3 hours. Then I have to reapply. For those that intensely dislike the inital "I smell like a cuppa joe" phase I can see where that might be a negative. Doesn't bother me though. I'm planning on using Mata Hari as a scent for a body scrub that incorporates coffee grounds that I plan to give to some of my coffee-lovin' girlfriends as Yule gifties. Enabling? You betcha. BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

This was a imp gifty from the lab....I've ordered several of the Love Potions, and they are among my faves -- this had a very different character than many I've tried, so that was nice. In the bottle: Wet, wet, wet, BIG iris scent. Very refreshing. This is the scent of the old-fashioned bearded irises you sometimes see in the Midwest around older homes. So nostalgic for me. A lover-ly "spring scent". Wet: Moremoremore iris....if scents have a color, this is a pale silvery-lavender, very elegant and pretty. Soft and soothing to the nose. Just a whiff of the sandalwood, as it starts to become just a bit woody. And then...... Drydown: .......no more sandalwood. How very strange. And disappointing for me, since I LOVE sandalwood. This remains just very wetly floral on me. Sort of ALL iris, ALL the time. Average throw. OK staying power. I'm thinking I'll put my little imp away, and save it 'til spring. This seems like a VERY springlike fragrance to me, and maybe by then my new-fresh-lab-imp will be slightly less one dimensional. Don't get me wrong....this is nice. Just kinda one-dimensional on me.

OK, not even remotely CLOSE to what I was expecting...... This was just, well, sort of a bunch of nuthin', on me anyway. I got this as a Lab imp gifty, and was looking forward to trying it, as I haven't tried any of the "ozone" notes as of yet. In the Bottle: I have to work at taking a serious nose hit on this to get much of anything with this....I tried "wafting" the wand around.....still very subtle. What I do get is sort of a vague fruitiness with a hint of herbal-something, and maybe a VERY tiny "zing" if I really try. Wet: This just pretty much clings to my skin, very little throw and not much smell to it, either. Mostly just the "fruity" smell, which seems like sort of an artifical blackberry scent. No musk. None of the thick/rich notes I'd anticipated from other reviewers.....dammit!!! Dry: I can really barely smell this.....I've not yet had the experience of having my skin just EAT a scent like this, but hey!!! there's always a first time. Just part of the adventure of BPAL.....it's so cool that there really IS something for everyone.... Next day......This didn't have much scent, but it DID have staying power, if that makes sense. I tried this in the evening, not too long before bedtime, and this a.m., I can still snuff it on the back of my hand. Interesting. I have to wonder if maybe my imp is just so lab-fresh-and-new that the notes need some time to get aquainted and do their thing? I'll let this sit and trytry again....

All the depth, beauty, and darkness of All Hallows Eve. Truly, the scent of autumn itself -- damp woods, fir needle and black patchouli with the gentlest touches of warm pumpkin, clove, nutmeg, allspice, sweet red apple and mullein. Samhain '06 Mmmmm.....fall deliciousness in a bottle....... In the bottle: Sharp, earthy notes, with a hint of underlying sweetness. Hunh?? Smells a bit like caramel....though I know that's not one of the notes listed. But it's that same slightly burnt, thick sweetness I associate with caramel. Wet: OK, my head received a complete scent image of my favorite garden nursery around Thanksgiving, when their holiday displays begin....fir from the trees, spices and herbs from the wreath crafting area, and sort of a chilly earthy smell from the refridgerated bulb section. (This is Houston, many bulbs here are annuals, and we actually DO keep our bulbs in the fridge before planting to fool them into blooming here in the subtropics.....) I'm not getting much sweetness in the wet phase. Dry: Ooooo, lovely....as it dries, here comes the apple!!! Yay! Big, beautiful golden apples sweetening the spicy fir. All of it is hanging on the slight musty patchouli note...this is just great. 30 minutes later: Even better....the apple-y note has become spiced cider, plus the above. Yum. I don't get any pumpkin out of this, but that's OK. I will be using this alot....I think it'll be great layered with Three Witches (to amp up the spice) for my Hallowe'en scent, and I might also amp up the lovely apple note layering my last bits of Harvest Moon. It's going to be great in my oil burner, too, for those days when I want to feel like, yes, it IS fall, even if the temperature today is 78 degrees and it's humid and raining. Scents like this are SO important to me, living as I do in an area where the only real difference between my fall and spring wardrobes are the colors....they're ALL the same weight.....Thanks Beth!!!! Edited to add Lab description

Like many of the other reviewers, I love it when people ask me what scent I'm wearing, and I can respond "Frumious Bandersnatch"!! In the bottle, this was all plums and cinnamon, wet and fruity. But there's a little musty/sharp something else going on.....maybe the chrysanthemum? Wet, on me, this gives me more of an incense-y cinnamon-y smell.....I totally get what other reviewers have said about "that craft shop" smell, but it's not artificial or off-putting to me. There's a spicey edge to the cinnamon that may be the chrysanthemum and carnation peeking out. No musky stuff going on for me. Dry, this stayed very true. Not much morphing, just some mellowing. It's a nice, full, wellrounded scent on me. Of course, I love cinnamon, and that IS the main thing I'm getting with FB. It has an average throw on me, and a little longer than average lasting-power. I have mixed this with unscented lotion, it makes a very nice skin-scent....I have a feeling I'll be wearing it a bit more often now that it's fall, and I think I'll also try it out in my oil burner around the holidays for a room scent. One of the other forumites mentioned the possibility of layering with LUSH Potion, which I love, and still have some of......that may bring the carnation out to play a bit more....hope so, it's a nice note. All in all....glad I have a bottle of this......