kraken

In the Imp: Peaches and lychee dominate with the peony floral just behind it. Initial Wet: Peony! And oranges soaked in sugar. Initial Dry: The bamboo mixes nicely with the fruits resulting in a unique sweet green scent. Still mostly sweet orange citruses. Dryer Dry: I can't exactly pick out all the notes, but it's certainly sweet and fruity. It reminds me of generically fruit-flavored gum. I think the citruses are more dominant than the other notes and occasionally I'll get a whiff of lychee. Overall, I think it's a nice scent, but it's very much not me. It's too fruity and girlie for my tastes and I was hoping there would be more dragon's blood and pine. I am surprised that it didn't go horribly sour on me, since fruits tend to do that. I'm curious to see what aging will do to it, so I'll keep the imp around.

The smell of chocolate always makes me feel better. Bliss, Candy Butcher, Velvet, 13, they're all my loves when I'm feeling blue.

In the Imp: Mmm, sandalwood and light florals. Initial Wet: Very bold sandalwood layered over florals and herbs. Smells like a bouquet of dried flowers on a sandalwood chest. Initial Dry: The cajeput comes forward and I don't think I like it. It's a sweet that goes sour on me with a eucalyptus-like freshness. Drier Dry: This fades very quickly. All that's left is a hint of sandalwood and grass, which I like very much, but it's gone very quickly. The drier dry is the scent I was hoping for, but it goes through a sour phase before it reaches that. The whole thing is gone in a little over an hour.

In the Imp: Smells of deep, dark woods. Initial Wet: Pine? No, maybe it's the cypress. It's overpoweringly sweet and downright fruity. I can vaguely pick out some cypress and juniper, but I can't make out any other notes. Initial Dry: Now it smells like floral scented laundry detergent and overripe/rotting fruit. Drier Dry: - Ugh, I had to go wash this one off. I couldn't stand the rotten-fruit-like sweetness. I'm not familiar with all the notes, so don't know what caused that reaction. My initial guess would be the aquatic notes since we've never really gotten along. I didn't get any sandalwood or rose or lily or yew, which is what I was hoping for.

Oooh! Try The Isle of Demons (Twin islands near Newfoundland, now lost, that were believed to be gateways to Hell. The scent is of wet, dark greenery, carnivorous flowers, volcanic gas, and the hot black musk of the demons and wild beasts that populated the islands.) It's in the Wanderlust section. It's definitely a different green scent than all the others and, after reading the reviews, everyone seems to get something a bit different.

In the Imp: Smoky, green and wet. Initial Wet: An overpowering green & floral. The throw initially hit me like those heady perfume counters at the mall. After a few minute, it calms down to sage and flowers. Initial Dry: The smoky note begins to come out along with a faint sweetness like vanilla. The greenness fades a bit leaving the florals more prominent. Drier Dry: Ah, now the smokiness turns to black musk and goes sour on me until it fades out taking most of the rest of the blend with it. When it's light and soft, it's goes back to a green and floral until it fades away. I'd been considering trying this because of the description and was delighted when I got it frimped from the Lab. I wasn't sure what to expect. The scent certainly doesn't disappoint from the description. I wish black musk worked out better on me. I'd love to smell this on someone else.

In the Bottle: Lemon pine. Like one of those lemon-scented pine cleansers. Initial Wet: PINE. I amp pine a lot. Therefore ozone=pine. The throw is all pine. Have I mentioned that I smell like pine? Initial Dry: Still very pine, but other notes are sort of under there. There's a sweetness to it, which must be the amber, and a lovely, gentle citrus note that reminds me of candied lemons. The sage adds a freshness to the blend. Drier Dry: The throw is still all pine (have I mentioned the pine?). But closer to the skin it's a sweet citrus and verbena with a hint of sandalwood and an underlaying note of amber. It reminds me a lot of Skadi and Snow Moon, but then again, they both smell like pine with some variants on me. I think I like this one better than those though. I don't wind up smelling like I hugged a Yule tree. I enjoy the sweetness that comes out of this blend.

In the Bottle: Sweet tangerines and cardamom dominate followed by the amber musk. Initial Wet: It's sweet and, dare I say it, fruity without going bad on me. Underneath it is the tea and it all comes together almost like orange pekoe tea. As it dries, I can smell the spices coming through. Initial Dry: Hello cinnamon! There's still some sweetness, but I almost can't tell under the wave of cinnamon. I can smell a bit of fruit sourness under the spice, but thankfully not much, and the throw has none of it. The throw is cinnamon and amber. Drier Dry: The cinnamon is still very prominent, but it's smoothed by the undercurrent of amber musk. The result is a warm, spicy scent over a the occasional whiff of tea. Ah, I think this is just the right cinnamon and fruit blend that will work well on my skin. I'm so unused to fruit smells and subdued cinnamon on my skin, I'm practically giddy.

In the Bottle: What an odd smell... it reminds me of... of... clean air-conditioned hotel room, specifically, the hotel room we stayed in at Disneyland when I was a kid. (Now if that's not a strange scent association, I don't know what is!) Okay, taking another whiff, it's chocolate, then cherries, and as I close the bottle, I get the caramel. Initial Wet: Graham crackers. The throw is all graham crackers and up close I get some s'mores action going. It's certainly not cinnamon since I amp that like crazy, so the spice must be cardamom. No cherry, which is good since I'm hoping it won't go bad on me. Initial Dry: Still graham crackery, but now the caramel starts to come out. It's not that cheepo corn syrup caramel either, it's the real stuff made with cream, butter and vanilla. Drier Dry: Noooo! The cherry's gone all sour on me. But then fifteen minutes later, the sourness fades and it mellows into a caramel and cardamom scent. It's not overly sweet or overly spicy, just sort of a nice blend of the two with no fighting. There's probably a bit of vanilla still there as well, though when I think of caramel, it always has a vanilla element, so it's difficult for me to differentiate it as a separate scent. After about six hours it fades to nothing. On reapplication, I get more cherry than I did the first time around and it sits on that verge-of-going-sour place for a while before turning into cherry candy. The graham cracker scent doesn't come back. What a huge heartbreaker! I was so delighted to smell like s'mores this morning and get whiffs of graham crackers as I worked. Maybe I can age the cherry out of it, or at least get more chocolate out of it.

Mmmm, yes, I've had that lovely tea. Sadly, the only BPAL that comes to mind is Alice (milk and honey with rose, carnation and bergamot), which is more of a sweet and spicy Earl Grey rather than an Asian tea. There's Dragon Moon (dragon’s blood resin, tea leaf, bamboo reed, sandalwood and cherry blossom) and Bakeneko (warm amber musk, Satsuma tangerine, black tea leaf, cardamom, cherry blossom and cinnamon) but both lack the rose and the more delicate quality of the tea.

The Perfumed Garden has apple in it and it smells like ripe apples on the tree instead of apple cider like Creepy.

In the Bottle: Apple/quince over myrtle/thyme. I can't quite figure out the exact notes, but it is fruity sweet over an herbal. Initial Wet: Immediately I get a very strong apple and quince throw. Once that fades a bit, the myrrh and musk start to come through. Strange that I get no sandalwood or jasmine notes as usually those are the first that I can pick out. Initial Dry: The blend sours for a bit (either the fruit or the musk combating my skin chemistry). Then the sour fades. The throw is still sweet, but now with a resin undertone. The sandalwood also comes forward and I can get just a hint of the jasmine. Drier Dry: Now it's a sweet ripe fruit and floral over the musk and myrrh. The sweet isn't overwhelming or cloying at all like fruit juice, but more like smelling a ripe fruit through its skin. The jasmine is present, but lies just under the apple and quince. Underneath that is the musk and myrrh, giving the blend a darker note and drawing the whole picture together. I think this is a very aptly named scent because I really get the impression of a garden on a warm summer night, lit with some torches. This is probably one of my signature floral blends since I can't pull off a mix of floral notes very well. It's a nice sweet scent that isn't foody. Edit: This is for a bottle of the 2006 edition, now aged about a year.

Hmm, like ivyandpeony said, toasted sesame oil has a stronger taste and smell than non-toasted. I doubt it was a massage oil (unless it was a very decadent massage) as it's quite a bit more expensive than other oils. Could it be that you were picking up the roasted-toasted part of the sesame oils scent? In that case, maybe one of the Lab's autumn, smoky, burning-leaves scents would do the trick. Maybe some of the dark, incensy scents as well. I've never tried it, but how about Scarecrow (the scent of a hot wind blowing through desolate, scorched, barren fields)? Maybe something layered with sesame oil? I cook with sesame oil all the time and nothing that I've tried reminds me of it. It's a pretty distinct scent. If Beth ever made a scent that smelled like sesame oil, though, I would totally buy it. It's yummy!

Lo these many years ago, I got a pure violet perfume oil when I was in France, and it's the most wonderful floral scent I have (even, dare I say, beating out my BPAL florals ). And then I got Purple Phoenix (a regal, majestic, and somber blend of myrrh, plum blossom, African violet, cognac, fig, orris, lilac, wisteria, black plum, and Burgundy wine grapes). Its violet note is exactly like my beloved violet from France. And none of the other notes that usually go bad on me do in this blend.

In the Bottle: The green of the juniper blended with jasmine and then the pepperiness of the rose geranium. Initial Wet: Jasmine, rose geranium, and juniper berry, in that order. It's a rather pleasant floral scent, reminiscent of some perfume I had when I was younger. Initial Dry: Whoa... the throw has become something powerful and overwhelming. The Jasmine is still there, but the sweet of it is competing with the rose geranium as it goes green-sour. The juniper berry is a nice background note and maybe it can pull the other two together. Drier Dry: The throw has calmed down a bit to a jasmine touched by greens. On closer sniff though, it smells like old sweat trying to be covered up by an alcohol-based jasmine perfume. This would have been nice if the rose geranium had played nice with my chemistry. The jasmine and juniper berry I got, I liked a lot, but the rose geranium was pushy, nosed its way in there, and then turned sour.

In the Bottle: It smells of wet, moldy dirt. Initial Wet: I'm still overwhelmed by the dirtness of it. Slowly a sharp, green scent peaks out, woody and loamy. It takes on a sweetness, not sugar sweet, but the sweet of florals wilted in the hot sun. Initial Dry: The patchouli comes through and it becomes a sweet, woody scent with an undertone of soil. The greenness is gone, replaced by dark tone. Drier Dry: The dirtness fades almost completely, leaving a dark wood scent with the sweetness of patchouli and, perhaps black orchid (though I'm not entirely certain what that should smell like). It does remind me of dusty and wet wilted florals, just before the flowers either go dry or moldy. This has to be the best dirt scent that I've tried--not overly floral or overly dark. It's something I might wear mid-winter to remind me of the warm, wet earth of spring or early summer.

In the Bottle: The berries are strong, tinged with what smells like burnt, dried orange peel. Initial Wet: Sweet and fruity with an undercurrent of sherry. No dark woodsy smells, but this isn't a light fruity scent. It reminds me of a spiked berry punch. Initial Dry: The smell of orange peels and rose hips comes through the sweetness, with all the mustiness of a dried potpourri. Overall, it's still berries and the throw becomes quite noticeable. Drier Dry: It's now gone all sour-sweat smelling on me as berries tend to do. Occasionally I get the patchouli instead of the sour in the throw, but it's mostly sour and will probably stay like that.

In the Bottle: An odd scent. Soft green sage in the forefront and a hint of something that reminds me of a sweet musk (perhaps that's civet?). Initial Wet: Initially very faint. Then I get a whiff of sharp citrus-like herbal, which must be the sage, though I initially thought it might be verbena. Underneath are wisps and hints of sweet florals. It's a very green scent, primarily herbal. Initial Dry: The sharp quality fades and the florals begin to peak out. They're well blended and have a perfumy quality to them rather than distinctive notes. Drier Dry: As it dries, the floral notes become more distinctive and wind up being a soft powdery (in a good way) orris over iris. A nice, simple floral that isn't too sweet or overpowering. I don't really know what civet smells like, but the soft, good powdery note is something that I associate with some musks, so maybe that's it. It's hard for me to find a nice floral blend, especially a floral blend that mixes green notes into it, so I will have to horde this one

In the Bottle: Sharp and green-woodsy and not as incensy as I thought it would be, though it does remind me of the smell of a wooden box that holds incense. Initial Wet: The greenness fades quickly and the incense comes through. There's a still a faint green-woodsy note, possibly cedar as others mentioned, that turns into a lovely sandalwood. It's a very light scent, barely noticeable nose-to-wrist. Initial Dry: The incense really comes out, smelling almost exactly like a sandalwood-frankincense-myrrh blend that I burn. It's warm and smoky and woodsy. The scent begins to amp as it dries, giving it a nice, but not overwhelming, throw. Drier Dry: After reaching a beautifully blended peak, it begins to fade rather rapidly (not unlike the scent of incense in a large room after it's done burning). It's still sandalwood and frankincense with an undercurrent of myrrh. This blend didn't morph much once it reached its incense stage, which I appreciate. I am sad that it fades so quickly as it's such a lovely, dark scent. It's like the grown-up, jaded version of my beloved Velvet.

I just got my order of 13 and it's a chocolate with a sweet vanilla-orange on me. It seems to be a morpher though--others are getting a lot of florals on it.

In the Bottle: I get a soft cocoa scent with a hint of sweet vanilla orange and something sharp, possibly lavender. Initial Wet: Hmm, very morphing, but mostly notes of rooibos tea, amber, and vanilla bean. I get vague florals and the mimosa underneath it all. The throw is cocoa with maybe a hint of orange. Initial Dry: Floral mimosa now with undertones of tea and lavender (and star fruit? something sweet...). It's not as smooth as it was before, punctuated with an herbal sharpness. The throw is cocoa and lavender. Drier Dry: Cocoa, vanilla, and a hint of lavender and amber. It's become smooth again with the cocoa and vanilla softening the herbal notes. The florals have faded until almost nothing. The throw still has hints of orange in the cocoa, but it's mostly just cocoa. Overall, I like it, though not as much as the previous incarnation. I was leery of this description since fruits tend to go bad on me and was hoping that the cocoa and vanilla would fix that (and it did!). I'm sad that I didn't get much sandalwood out of this--I was kind of hoping for a spicy Velvet with tea, lavender, and rose. I'm very excited that this worked out on me as well as it did and that I got two bottles. edit: I got some on my nose when I sniffed the bottle too closely. Now all I smell is chocolate!

In the Imp: Juicy pears and a touch of florals, mostly magnolia, though I can get a touch of rose. Initial Wet: Overpoweringly fruity bubble gum. Sticky sweet. Initial Dry: Froot Loops and florals. Mostly magnolia and plumeria with a undercurrant of roses. Drier Dry: It alternates between a lovely pear blossom scent in the throw and the smell of damp sweatsocks. Awww... my anti-fruit chemistry strikes again. The initial scent reminds me of Jailbait, then it goes sour. I wish it wouldn't tempt me with the good scent, only to have me sniff and go 'ew...'

In the Imp: It's certainly aquatic and I would also say "salty", though I don't know what note is giving me that impression. Initial Wet: The dragon's blood gives it a sweet resinous tang, but it's overlaid by a that salty aquatic scent. Having grown up by the ocean, there's something about it that reminds me of sand at the base of a tuft of beach grass. Initial Dry: It begins to become very floral dominated, though I can't tell what type. The resin and beach scents fade quickly under the florals. Drier Dry: It's faded quite a bit and I have to put my nose right up to my wrists to smell it. The dragon's blood is barely there, only a hint of sweet and no resin, and it's now mostly just florals. Aquatics fade very fast on me, but dragon's blood makes things last longer on me, so I was hoping this was going to be an aquatic blend that worked well for me. I was surprised that all I really got out of this in the end was florals.

In the Imp: A fresh, green scent, like what your hands smell like after pulling weeds. Initial Wet: Wow, it smells exactly like digging my hands into a bag of fresh potting soil, but without having to clean under my fingernails. Initial Dry: Still earthy, but now with a vanilla-amber spicy-sweetness. It does smell like a brown paper bag filled with fresh mushrooms. Drier Dry: Now it's a powdery earthy scent--powdery in a good way, not an 'ew' way. It's light and doesn't have a very strong throw. This smells like a freshly worked garden, but not dirty.

In the Imp: A sharp lemony green scent. I don't get the impression of tea at all, just a green citrus. Initial Wet: I swear there's grapefruit in this, because it really smells like grapefruit and lemongrass to me. Still no real tea impression (unless you count the lemongrass). Initial Dry: Okay, now I guess it smells like tea, but an herbal tea not the blacks and Earl Greys I like drinking. It's a very fresh, clean scent that reminds me of early spring and spring cleaning time. The floral is very light and adds just a touch of sweetness to the mix. Drier Dry: Whoops, gone! It was so good my skin ate it all up! There's very little impression left, even when I stick my nose right down to my wrist. I definitely like this, but it doesn't last very long on me. I'll be keeping an imp around for a nice pick-me-up.