fiddledragon

In the bottle: weird, off-smelling fruity floral. On me: Very fruity, almost lotus-smelling. Is that the champaca? I can pick out the vanilla and orchid as well. As it dries, the really sweet floral tones down and move into the background to let the other notes shine. The vanilla and musk (and probably tonka, though I can't pick it out by itself) warm it up. It's now all about the vanilla-musk-orchid, and possibly the other flowers; they're not notes I'm familiar with. It's a little sweet for my taste, but I think it might grow on me, and I want to watch it age at least a few weeks.

Mmmm.... In the bottle, this is tart and fruity and a bit overly "perfumy". But once it's on my skin for a few minutes it morphs into this lovely powdery honey melded with woody sandalwood. I get whiffs of the resins and what I'm guessing is the massoia bark, as it's another woody note. It is a very contented, self-satisfied sort of scent. It's not strong, but clings to the skin like a silky drape. I'm guessing this will be absolutely *divine* when it ages. Edit: And just as I thought it was maybe crossing the line into too-woody sandalwood, the honey just waved its sexy little hand and took over completely. This is almost indistinguishable from Honey Moon after it's dried for 10 minutes, and the remnants of sandalwood, amber, and current make wonderfully complex. I thought of Honey Moon as a distincly summery honey -- this is the winter or early spring varient. Warm and sexy and enveloping without going sour or overly sweet. Bottle. The only reason I don't say two bottles is that it takes that 10 minutes to work up to full glory and I go through things so slowly as it is.

Mmmm...citrus! This doesn't go sour (in the bad way), but stays tart and sparkly and definitely a white/yellow/green sort of citrus, rather than a sweet pink/orange one. The flowers don't really come out and show themselves, but they make the scent more complex. It is, as many have said, a first cousin to Aizen-Myoo. I found that one just a touch too strong and bitter, but this is perfect! Not really my sort of thing, but I'll definitely keep it for when I want to smell nice and citrusy.

Luperci 2007 I'm so glad I ordered this one! The first time it came around I thought "enticing description; not my notes". Now I know better! On me, it's a wonderfully wild but calm earthy blend. The beeswax is just at the edges, with a very earthy patchouli and some hints of juniper. The juniper isn't going wild like it usually does -- yay! The strongest note I'm getting is actually vetiver. Several notes I'm not familliar with, so I'm assuming it's either one of those or part of the patchouli. It's almost pepper-like. The honey and beeswax tone it down and sweeten it. I find beeswax an incredibly sensual scent; I'm so glad Beth's been using it! It's very similar on my boyfriend, and I should not be held accountable for my actions after putting it on him

This is a very nice, light incense blend. I agree with the "laundry detergent" description earlier...this is sandalwood laundry detergent. It's faint and soft and has hints of floral sweetness surrounded by powdery sandalwood and resins. I prefer the in-your-face deep bright resin blends, so this isn't entirely for me. I'll keep the imp around and see if it ages well, though. It's certainly a scent I'd wear from time to time. It's an incense blend for people who don't normally like or are scared off by incense blends.

I'd been wavering over this in a decant circle and finally decided to order one. By accident, I went through the same process for both decant circles and ended up with two (well, eventually two; I only have one now). I was kicking myself because I thought I wouldn't like it all that much. Well...something must have been correct in telling me to get two! In the imp, this is juicy sweet real fresh blackberry with a hint of very dark soft lavender. Berry scents often go kind of odd on me, but this is the most amazing berry I've ever smelled! On me, the blackberry and honey are strongest, with just a hint of lavender. It smells mostly like blackberry, specifically like some kind of really, really good real-fruit hard candy. The honey is light and doesn't sour like it sometimes does. The lavender just makes the berry scent even sexier. There's a kind of flowery tone there which might be the dianthus; no idea what that is. It could just be the honey. It got a *very* enthusiastic reception from my boyfriend, so I think this one is a winner! Now to just convince myself that two imps is more than enough and I don't actually need a bottle. But it'll be so good in summer...

This is the '05 version. On me this is true, but heavily iced, gingerbread. Nicely spiced, and not too cookie-like. But the sugar is cloying and ruining it for me. Luckilly I thought to put it on my boyfriend, who's a huge ginger fan. On him it's pure true gingerbread without being overly sweet or foody -- it smells like gingerbread without making you randomly crave gingerbread from smelling it. Nice and cuddly. :-D I'm just going to have to use him as a portable fragrance diffuser -- he turns gingery and foody scents into what I think they should smell like, instead of horrible sweet or soured things.

On me this is an oily, foody, slightly spiced pumpkin, like a toned-down version of Jack. I'm not a fan, but I think this just cements my conclusion that pumpkin does not get along with my skin. I'm sure someone else will love it :-)

They probably just do very similar things on you. Aizen Myoo and Sea of Glass are absolutely nothing alike on my skin, but Hymn to Proserpine and Midnight Mass are nearly identical. And Purple Phoenix smell exactly like Haunted on me, which really should not be possible from the ingredients. Noses and skin are weird :-)

I'm looking for a Gennivre similarity too. Strangely, The Unicorn smelt kind of similar to Gennivre on me, as in it had the same "vibe" and feeling about it, but it's nowhere near as complex and meaningful as Gennivre on me. Suggestions? That Japanese Salon scent with the sugarcane and honey sounds a lot like Gennivre without the mint...I'm really looking forward to it, as Gennivre was perfect on me after the Death Mint of Evil faded away. Maybe you could layer that with a touch of a minty or tea scent?

Horreur Sympathiqe was all big ripe purple grapes on me, especially wet. There was another one that smelled exactly like the bubbly pink grape juice we sometimes have for special occasions and now I can't remember what it was.

So far the votes in this relationship are (in order of preference): On me: Rose Cross, Hymn to Proserpine, Midnight Mass, Sudha Segara, Eos, Somnus, Haunted, Nanshe On him: Sudha Segara, Cairo, Hymn to Proserpine, Midnight Mass, Djinn We're out of Midnight Mass, though. HtP seems to be taking its place quite nicely, and doesn't go wonky like Mid.Mass sometimes does.

Mag Mell was very green and grassy wet, but went a little sour dry, since my skin hates all aquatic/rain scents with this unreasonable passion. The most "green plant" smells I've found are Pontarlier (maybe a bit sharper than grass, but very very green), Masquerade, and Ra. The latter two are more of that very green/earthy patchouli variety than true green plant, but they might do something interesting on you. Pontarlier is definitely on the top of my list. Garden Path With Chickens seems to be reviewed as being very green -- it's on my wishlist. Silly Salon imps -- not venturing out alone.

In the imp, it was bright purple Concord grape juice. But as soon as it hit my skin, this musky resin developed. It's almost indistinguishable from Haunted. I don't know where the musk is coming from, though I assume the resin is the myrrh. I'd been leery of this because violet never works on me, but I don't smell any at all here. I'm glad I got the sniffie to test, but with what it does on me I might as well stick with Haunted.

I was a bit leery of this, because I'm really not a foody person, and only like wine-scents in moderation. But I got a nice little tester thrown in in a swap...and whee! Let's just say I'm finalizing swaps for two more whole imps of it ;-) Initially it's quite fruity wine, and as it dries down it becomes very similar to Hymn to Proserpine on me, which I adore. When it got to that stage I thought, "well, I'm very glad I tried this, but Hymn to Proserpine is already a favorite and it's a GC, so I might as well just use that; these two are indistinguishable." But as it dried down further this amazing buttery shortbread scent emerged. Light, delicate, not that heavy foody scent I dislike, but still somehow very rich...it smells crumbly with just a hint of spices. And it stays in the background behind the amazing dark resiny purple fruit-wine. That really surprised me, as even the food scents that I like, I usually amp to unwearability. Even if you don't think you like foodies, give this one a go while it's still easily available.

Ooo, good idea! For the Labyrinth itself, something really really mutable...maybe Hollywood Babylon. For Sarah I'd imagine either something girly and princessy, maybe Alice or Eusophrene or possibly Wicked, or something like Scheherezade, though that's possibly a touch too sensual for her. Something that fits that fantasy in her head. For Jared the first thing that comes to mind is Krampus, though I haven't actually tried it, so I'm not sure how good that rec is. Ludo is definitely Death Cap -- earthy and cuddly. Sir...what's his name? The fox...I want something like Moxie for him. Maybe Moxie with a dab of Brimstone or Djinn. Saturnalia is my personal Bog of Eternal Stench. ;-)

I definitely second TKO...my boyfriend accurately described it as "irresistably cuddly". It's like a big vanilla-marshmallow hug. :-) On a non-BPAL note, have you tried some light meditation or a hot bath or fluffy story before bed to help unwind? TKO and Succor seem particularly well-suited to combining with such things.

I just got the chance to try Haloa (wonderful evil swapper, giving me sniffies to get attached to!), and especially in the wet stages it's very similar to Hymn to Proserpine on me. HtP doesn't have that wonderful buttery shortbread note that comes out in the later states of Haloa, but if that warm deep fruit is what you like most about Haloa, Hymn to Proserpine is probably right up your alley :-)

XVIII (18): This appears to be an almost entirely clear, thin oil. In bottle: Absolutely classic department-store perfume; I can practically smell the alcohol and fixatives! Not at all my thing so far, but it's just amusing smelling this out of a BPAL vial. On me: Ok, now it's becoming interesting. There's a strong hint of what might be anise, and a soft wood of some kind, maybe a rosewood or dry sandalwood. It's warm and dry and subtle, and disappears quite quickly. There's perhaps a *very* faint musk. It's a very classic unisex scent. It's not my thing enough to keep it, but it was a happy experience. Last reviewed by edenssixthday. _____ CCCVII (307): This is pale yellow, and seems a bit thicker than 18. So, there's this Tom Smith song called 307 Ale...if this turns out to be alcoholic I will be deeply, geekily amused. In bottle: There might be some slightly alcoholic note in here, actually :-) It's a light fruity scent, kind of bubbly, not too sweet. I can't really place what it is, but it might be some kind of light apricot. On me: Hmm...that might be sweet florals, rather than actual fruits. Apple blossom? Maybe a hint of lotus? Something that's reminiscent of the champagne note in Bon Vivant. It's sort of what I thought Muse would smell like. Still light bubbly tart-sweetness with no notes jumping out and grabbing me. I think this is more of a summer scent, but very nice. I might keep the imp unless someone else really wants it. Very enjoyable! Previously reviewed by gangstaknitta. ______ DCCCIV (804): Pale yellow oil, quite thin. In bottle: kind of indistinct citrus and floral. Possibly in the same vein as Moscow or similar. On me: What is that flower? It's sort of a sweet musky flower -- I don't think there's any actual musk in here, though. There's a hint of tangerine or orange, and maybe just a smidge of light vanilla coming out. This is kind of in that fruit-floral-haze category that I enjoy but never find really distinctive. It's a very nice, well-balanced member of that category, though. I'll stick to the ones I like in the GC and give this to someone who'll appreciate it.

That quote describes Blood Pearl very well. On me, it's mostly coconut and musk, though I still really don't have a clear idea of what orris smells like, so I could be getting some of that, too. The musk is muted and almost a bit waxy, but not in a bad way. The coconut isn't too sweet...this is an unsweetened dried coconut rather than a lush coconut milk or sugary coconut candy scent. It sticks to my skin in a nicely subdued sensual way.

I thought sure I'd hate this one, since I'm generally very much not a really-sweet-foodie person, but the Lab frimped me it in my last order, so I figured I might as well give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised :-) Not much chocolate, vanilla, or sickly buttercream, but this one turned out all sugary pralines once it dried down. Nicely nutty, and sugary without being horribly sweet. The inital stage is a bit much -- it's kind of artificial pancake syrup -- but that doesn't last more than a few minutes. I'm still not really a foody person, but this could be a nice cuddly scent, for much the same reason as I keep Bliss around.

On wet, this is all bubbly sweet grapes...a hint of wine, but not nearly as alcoholic smelling as the wine in, say, Kali. As it dries, the honey and blood musk come out and add depth. It's overall a *very* fruity blend, but after the initial grapey overdose, it's not overly sweet. The blood musk goes a little waxy, as it's prone to do on me, but it's not unpleasant. I look forward to the honey coming out more as it ages. Not an everyday scent, but I'm definitely holding on to this imp!

I *adore* the tamarind in Nephilim, and it's the strongest note on my skin, so I was expecting this to be similar. Nope! I smell like a curry. This makes sense, given the tamarind and ajowan, and I think the vetiver is adding a nice earthy depth to it. I smell like really tasty, but not particularly spicy, Indian food. While I approve of my house smelling like Indian food, it's a little odd as a personal scent. Maybe this'll work as a room scent, and I'm looking forward to seeing it age.

I was expecting something resinous, but I get all maple syrup and sweet, sweet, sweet. I think this actually shares some notes in common with Midnight Mass, but while MM was sweet frankincense and myrrh, this is just the sweetness, without actually smelling like resin. As it is, it's far too cloying. But given that I got Midnight Mass at least six months aged, I'm going to give this some time and see if it mellows.

Tarot: The Tower is the lovechild of Shub Niggurath and Djinn on my skin. It smells like someone managed to bake cookies over a campfire.