kraken

In the Imp: I get a lovely sharp green scent, like a freshly trimmed and watered hedge. Initial Wet: Flowers! It must be the peony, or if it's roses, it's not my beloved London roses. It reminds me of some floral commercial perfume that I tried once, but I don't know the name of. I don't get any of the green anymore, just flowers. Initial Dry: It has the most powerful throw that I've smelled. When I get my nose right up to my wrist, I can smell the lovely greens that I smelled in the imp, but as soon as I move away, it's a very strong floral. Drier Dry: --- The floral was so overpowering that it began to give me a headache and make me nauseous, so I had to wash it off. It always makes me sad to have to wash off a BPAL scent.

I don't suffer from intense anxiety attacks, but I have some social anxiety when it comes to large crowds. For me, the scent that calms me down and allows me to deal is chocolate. It reminds me of quiet, relaxing times, like hot cocoa with grandma. My favorite scents when I know I'm going out into crowds are Velvet and Bliss. I've considered getting a scent locket so that I can have the scent around me whenever I want. One sniff and I feel better.

In the Imp: Mmm, lavender and grapefruit, light and lovely. Initial Wet: Just like in the imp, lavender and citrus, but with a hint of chamomile. Initial Dry: Still very lavender--my skin must really like the lavender in this one. The currants are coming through and don't seem to be going bad as they often do. It's a nice tart-sweet underneath the citrus. Every once in a while I can smell the tiniest bit of musk, then when I sniff again, it's gone. I would classify this as a springtime scent, very uplifting and light to me. Drier Dry: Gone and not even a hint of a smile left. The hubby says he can smell a hint of something, but I can't smell anything. I got this because it got un-discontinued and was eager to try something that was good enough to be resurrected. The currants should have been a warning away, but I decided to be adventurous, especially because I love lavender. It was very nice while it lasted.

In the Imp: It's a spicey floral that really reminded me of commercial colognes. I knew it had to be better than that, so... Initial Wet: Saffron and roses and a bit of bergamot. The spice fades to the background and I can't pick out nutmeg specifically. There's a citrus scent as well that begins to come to the forefront. Initial Dry: The citrus is strong and the sandalwood begins to come through as the florals fade. The bergamot is gone and still nothing that I would call nutmeg. The amber and musk begin to warm up, especially the musk. Drier Dry: The sandalwood really comes to the forefront, reminding me a lot of my love, Velvet. In the background is the spice of the amber and musk. The rose has vanished altogether, which makes me sad as I was looking forward to a spicy rose blend. Overall a very complex and lovely scent. The ending drydown reminds me so much of Velvet though... yes, it's like a spicy version of Velvet. ... And now something in it has triggered my allergies and I'm sneezing like crazy.

In the Imp: Very piney with a hint of something else, something sweet, but not the berries. I don't know what makes up "snowy" notes, but it must be that. It's not all pine. Initial Wet: Still very piney. No sweetness or hint of any snowy scents. It reminds me of a Winnie The Pooh scratch-n-sniff book I had when I was a kid. The 100 Acre Woods was my favorite thing to sniff and this smells just like it. Initial Dry: The pine has mellowed just a bit and is like a crisp winter forest. It's rather pleasant, but I'm not sure it's something I want to smell like. Drier Dry: The berries come through and waffle between sweet and going sour on me. It unfortunately smells like a holiday pine candle now. I wanted to love this by the description, but it just doesn't work out on me. I love evergreen and woodsy scents, but this is just too much. The throw is huuuge and is just not me.

In the Imp: I get very strong lavender with hints of other herbs. Usually I can pick jasmine out right away, but not in this blend. No orange blossom sweet either, just the sharp herbal. Initial Wet: Ripe, freshly-cut, juicy grapefruit. That's it. Initial Dry: The lavender peeks out first from the overwhelming citrus, then other herbs--a soft green scent like sage. No floral jasmine, just the fruit sweet of the citrus. Drier Dry: After a while, it mellows out to a nice combo of all the notes. It's mostly herbal, but a sweet herbal mixed with lavender that reminds me of a farmer's market herb stall. The jasmine is only barely there in the background, as if there were a flower stall behind the herb stall at the market. It's a lovely, crisp scent, certainly something that would lift my spirits on dreary days or go well with spring and summer days outdoors, especially because I love a sharp lavender smell.

In the Imp: It smells like an orange creamsicle. And vague hints of wood. Initial Wet: Sweet peas! I can even smell the green of the leaves. No vanilla at all and maybe just a hint of something not-floral, but I can't tell if it's the amber or sandalwood. Initial Dry: The amber definitely begins to come out and then it gives way and blends with the sandalwood. The vanilla begins to overtake the sweet pea and it becomes a spicy, sweet, woodsy scent. The vanilla isn't a cakey foody vanilla, but really more like the raw vanilla bean. Drier Dry: It mellows to a very nice vanilla spice on me. The sweet pea has mercifully all vanished and the ambers have a warm spice quality that compliments the vanilla note. I'm waffling as to whether or not I like this one. I like the spicy vanilla, but I'm not especially fond of the floral. I'll have to test it on the hubby to see whether or not he says, "Ugh, you smell like weird cake." ETA: My skin really eats this one up and I find myself reapplying it so I can smell it. So, taking that into account, I think this one is worth a bottle. And hubby did say upon sniffing, "Huh, smells like weird cake."

In the Imp: The leather and merlot is very prominant, followed by the sweet floral, mostly violets. I get very little definite rose out of it and no musk. It is so sweet that had I not read the description, I would swear this was a fruit based scent. Initial Wet: My very first thought as soon as it hit my skin was, "Whoa, champagne and fruit!" I didn't get a merlot, but more of a champagne or white wine impression, though thinking about it, it could have been the violet influence on the merlot. The initial wet sniff was less boozy than the original throw and very floral, I'm guessing mostly violet and myrtle since I love other rose scents and this did not remind me of any of those. Initial Dry: Now the leather begins to come through and, predictably, begins to sour on me. It may also be the merlot, but it doesn't go as bad as other leather scents. Then the musk begins to come through and, I think, soften the leather. Drier Dry: The leather and musk settle surprisingly well on my skin. The leather isn't horribly sour, but it's not the nice, definite worn leather scent I get out of Tintagel. There's very little floral left, just a hint of its sweetness. The wine impression is completely gone. Overall, I think there was a brief moment between the intial dry and the drier dry that I though, "Huh, I could like this and wear it often..." but then the scent shifted and what I thought might be a violet-Tintagel was gone.

In the Imp: Flowers! Nothing but flowers. I'm not very good at picking apart floral notes, so all I get is flowers, no honey. Initial Wet: Very floral and I swear there's lemon or lime in it. It reminds me a lot of Whitechapel. Initial Dry: The floral fades and the citron becomes very pronounced. It makes me wonder if I got the right labeling. Then it fades and the floral comes back accompanied by a sour note that may be the honey (which is often hit or miss on me). Drier Dry: Ah, it's now a soft, warm, honey scent with just a hint of floral. This is one of the few scents that I've encountered that has no throw on me what so ever. I love honey scents, but I'm sad that I have to do the nose-to-wrist motion whenever I want to smell it. Then it fades to nothingness within a few hours.

In the Imp: It smells like a sweet herbal concoction. Not floral, but sort of like a fruity mint. It reminds me of something I can't put my finger on. Maybe it's the sage... okay, it reminds me of driving through the desert of Eastern Washington at night with the windows rolled down. There's a sagey smell mixed with new green fields of peppermint. Initial Wet: The amber really comes out on me though there's an undertone of sweetness. The mintiness is still there, but fading. Initial Dry: Amber and sage with just a hint of spice. And the floral is peeking out a bit. It's definitely a crisp, desert green scent (as opposed to a forest green scent). Drier Dry: Gone. Except for the barest hint of amber. My skin ate this one in about an hour.

In the Imp: Very floral with a hint of tea. I don't get many notes past the floral. Initial Wet: Gah! Instant sourness--the type I associate with currant notes going bad on me. And maybe some tea-ness. Initial Dry: The sour currant notes fade and the musk comes out strongly followed by the spice of the franincense and the afternote of tea (osmanthus, I assume). The florals fade to the background and the spice is prominant and nose tickling. Drier Dry: The spiciness dies down to a nice warmth and all the other notes seem to balance out. The floral is subtle and the fruit/currant has settled into a sweetness that compliments the musk. Overall, I like it, but I like other Lupercalia scents more. This one is less warm than the others, probably because of the osmanthus, but not as chilly as I was expecting.

In the Imp: Mmm, definitely an amber caramel scent with vague floral notes. It's like a sweet incense. I'm looking for coconut, but I don't get any. I'm expecting a suntan-oil like smell, but there's nothing. Initial Wet: Ack, there's my skin rebelling against the currant! Ah, but it doesn't last long (joy!). There's the coconut, but it's not suntan oil sickening, and it slowly disappears under the spices. I don't know what "Asian spice" consists of, but it's really strong and sharp. Initial Dry: The currant and coconut has disappeared entirely and the caramel and tobacco has replaced it. It smells dusty, but in a good way, like a room full of antique leather-bound books and parchments. I was leary of the tobacco, but it's a lovely scent sweetened by the caramel. I'm very surprised that the amber is thus far behaving on my skin. Drier Dry: I am in love! Lush, spicy caramel that isn't overpoweringly sweet along with sweet pipe tobacco. Still no coconut, and the currant hasn't resurfaced to go bad on me. I definitely need to aquire a bottle of this!

My honey faves are definitely Alice, White Rabbit, and Sed Non Satiata. I find I'm very fond of the honey-in-tea scents. Sed Non Satiata is just yummy sexy on me. One of these nights when I have free time (heh, yeah, right), I'm going to pour myself a nice Alice bubble bath and float in heaven.

In the Imp: I smell a number of things, though the first thing that hits me is the sweet-tart scent of the pomegranate, then the earth notes follow. My first thought was 'musky', but that must be the incense or amber. I don't catch the floral notes at all. Initial Wet: The currant instantly appears in full force and goes rancid-sour on me, almost to the point of me wanting to scrub it all off. Underneath the sour, I can definitely catch the hints of the earths and the vanilla and that is very nice. Initial Dry: The sour currant dies down and now the florals come out strongly. I love the rose and it seems like there must be another floral in there, or perhaps it's the pomegranate sweet coming through. I don't get any myrrh, but the amber is probably overpowering it Drier Dry: As it seems to do, the currant has diminished to a soft berry-like sweetness. The vanilla is the most prominent scent followed by the amber. The rose seems to have almost vanished at this point. Overall, it's a soft, sweet scent, though not foody or floral sweet. It reminds me of a vanilla-spice incense I used to have. Another scent I wish would just go from In the Imp to Drier Dry on me. Currant seems to be the initial wet to dry down bane for me. Strangely, I get very little myrrh out of this one (and I am in love with many myrrh scents). I am very sad that this did not work out on me the way I would have liked.

In the Imp: It smells like cake with frosting, like when you get a cake from the bakery, take it home, then open the box and take a deep sniff. It's very sweet, but with a slight tang that says that it's not all vanilla butter cake. Initial Wet: Yuck! That rancid-bitter-sour smell must be the black currants on me. *Sighs* I just can't win with fruits and berries, can I? Underneath it I can just barely smell the vanilla. Initial Dry: The currant smell has softened and is no longer quite so sour smelling. The cake is beginning to come through, a warmness underneath the sharp bitterness. Drier Dry: Ah, now this is lovely. The cake has fully resurfaced, frosted by a tang of the currants. It reminds me of a frosted vanilla pound cake with a raspberry filling. Yummy! It makes me hungry. It's not as sweet on me as Gluttony or the Monsterbaits is and is definitely a lighter scent. I really like the drier dry scent, but the currants foil me on the way there. If I could just go from the In the Imp to the Drier Dry, I would be very happy. Unfortunately, the scent is so yummy, my skin just eats it all up and I have to reapply it every four hours or so.

You must try Tintagel (spicy mulled wine flowing through the musky heat, warm leather and bright clash of armor, the damp branches of Cornish hawthorn, blackthorn, juniper, English elm and bayberry, and the magical tingle of dragon's blood resin). I tried it for the first time today and I am in love with the cinnamon-musk-dragon's blood combo.

In the Imp: Mmm, spicy wood and dragon's blood. Initial Wet: VERY SPICY, mostly cinnamon. I'm not getting any dragon's blood, but there is the woodsy scent vaguely in the background. It definitely has a bit of sweetness to it, perhaps that's the wine or the berry. Initial Dry: The spicy has died down a bit, but still definitely there. And... oh, could it be..? leather that isn't going badly instantly on me. Wow, and it really does smell like leather, like I've-been-wearing-a-leather-jacket-all-day-and-now-I-smell-of-it. *sniffs* Yeah, that's definitely leather. Wow, so that's what it smells like on skin. Drier Dry: Mmm, a very warm, dry scent that makes me want to curl up in front of a fireplace with a book and a blanket. In fact, yes, that's what it smells like: sitting in a leather chair in front of a fireplace that's been fed with pinecones and cinnamon sticks and a large old hardcover book in your hands. Wow, a leather and booze blend that doesn't go all nasty on me. I swear dragon's blood fixes everything!

In the Imp: *swoon* It smells perfectly of rose and myrrh, just what I was hoping for. Initial Wet: It smells like a dark, dusty bouquet of dried roses. Gorgeous! Initial Dry: Uh-oh, what's that sweet-turning-sour smell? *reads description* Jasmine? Drats! Jasmine only works about half the time on me and this one is threatening to go sour. Drier Dry: Okay, the jasmine didn't go wholly bad on me and now the whole thing smells like old, smokey, dusty dried roses. A lot of the rose notes have faded and it's mostly the smokiness of the myrrh-jasmine. Overall, I'm still not sure if I like this one or not. I was hoping for a kind of a Velvet meets London effect. I have really liked rose, myrrh, and jasmine before, but the combination of all three of them is kind of iffy. This is the first myrrh blend that hasn't worked completely deliciously on my skin.

"Painting the roses red. We're painting the roses red. We dare not stop or waste a drop. So let the paint be spread! We're painting the roses red..." I'm very picky about my florals and I was crossing my fingers that I would go gaga over this one like I did London. In the Imp: Gah, that's sweet! Sweet, cloying roses and no hint of the green grass. It's like sticking your nose into a bowl of rose-scented popourri with extra rose petals and rose buds. Initial Wet: A lot of very sweet, wet roses. Not a bouquet of roses, but a very 'generic' rose scent that reminds me of overdone room spray. Initial Dry: Okay, it's calmed down a bit and the green grass is starting to peek through and it smells less like room spray and more like a bunch of different rose bushes, which is what I was looking for. Drier Dry: Much nicer and exactly what I was hoping for. A lot of the sweetness has faded and it smells like wandering through a rose garden on a warm afternoon. The Drier Dry effect is the scent that I like the best, but I'm not sure I'm willing to wait through the couple of hours of sweet rose to get there. I think I'll stick to London for my preferred rose scent, but I think I'm keeping this imp for those moments when I'm in the mood for something sweet, but not foody.

In the Imp: Spicy and sweet. It smells like a group of differently scented candles all burning at once. Initial Wet: It smells like an exotic perfume of pungent, unidentifiable florals and spices. Initially it smells like walking past a shopping mall perfume counter. The notes are so mixed it's difficult for me to pick out a single one. Initial Dry: I think it's the carnation that turns to a spicy floral on me as the sweetness fades. It smells like a room filled with incense where candles have been burned and blown out. It's dark and sexy and makes me want to put on a bunch of wrist bangles and dance to some music with a heavy beat. Drier Dry: It almost tried to go sour on me and now it smells a lot like The Lion did on me, so it must be the amber musk. It's not quite as spicy as before, just warm. I swear there must be a little bit of honey in this--no honey sweetness, but that particular tang that makes me think of beeswax candles. I still get no rose, but occasionally I get the lovely tea-like hint of what must be the bergamot. It goes on really strong, but it fades fast after the amber musk comes out, though even the faded scent is lovely lingering warmness. I think this is going to be a nice scent to wear on those cold mid-winter days.

CT3: CCCXCI (391) I seriously thought I wouldn't like this, which is why I waited so long to try it on. I'm pretty new to trying to pick out notes, so here's my best shot. In the Bottle: It smells sweet, almost fruity with a heady floral to it. It's the type of scent that's gone on me so sweet and strong I get a headache. Initial Wet: Powerfully floral, but a floral that reminds me of the tropics where I grew up. Plumeria? Gardenia? I can't tell for sure what the flower is, but it reminds me of my childhood. Initial Dry: Just about the same as initial wet, but not as strong. When I walk, the scent from my wrists wafts around me and I remember running through gardens of plumeria trees, gardenia, and other blooms. Drier Dry: For just a bit, I think it tried to go sour on me, so there is possibly a fruit note in there. But now it's just back to the nice tropical blooms. I think it's a keeper. [i wore this again yesterday and a friend of mine said that the main floral was jasmine, her favorite smell. But she agrees that it's not just jasmine, there's something else in there, a sharper floral.]

In the Imp: Spicy and strong. No hint of honey or milk. Wet: Hrm, I don't know if this is going to work, it smells sour and strange. Almost like what happens when fruit scents go bad on me. Almost like sour milk. Initial Dry: A nice spicy floral, but not overly rose (I like rose scents and I can barely detect this one), it must be the carnation. It's nice, I guess, but I don't usually wear florals except for rose and violet. Drier Dry: There's this tea room here in Seattle called Queen Mary. And my wrists now smell remarkably reminiscent of it. The floral is very subtle (I can pick out the rose now) and it smells very much of earl grey tea with milk and honey. *swoons* I think I'm in love with a new scent! I wouldn't describe it as "girly", but certainly foody. I love the honey on my skin--it's got the scent without being cloyingly sweet. I'm definitely buying a bottle to wear and an extra imp to make bubble bath with! The Downer: It doesn't last very long on my skin and if I want it to last all day, I have to reapply it and suffer through the initial wet strangeness.

I'm actually wearing Vinland today for the first time and I it. At first I thought the berry was too strong (fruits generally don't do well on me), and then it faded into the rest of the scents very nicely. It became sweet without being sticky-clingy-cloyingly so. Unfortunately, my skin likes it so much it ate it all up and now, about three hours after application, it's almost all gone.

I just got this off of an eBay purchase and decided to try it today since we're having a warm spring streak. I read previous reviews and thought I'd give it a shot since I love violets. In the bottle: Whoa! After-shower floral powder, Powder, POWDER! Hmmm, not too sure about this... Wet: Ew, still powdery. Kinda flowery, but in that indistinct sort of way. Several minutes dry: Oh! That smells kinda nice. Wierd, very much "cool"--how'd that happen, I don't get any mint notes out of it? Still powdery when I put my nose right on my wrist. I like the distant whiffs I'm getting better than the close up scent. Several hours dry: The close up sniff has calmed down a bit and I'm really liking the gentle florals that are coming out. It's not as strong as a single note violet perfume I have, but I do like the overall effect. It's very dignified, something I'd wear to formal tea or a dinner party. The scent seems to fade quickly with my chemistry, which is a shame since it takes a while for it to get to a point that I like. Definitely a keeper for me though.