seamor

First on: Very resiny, kind of like being the inside of a new cedar-and-sandalwood box. I think most folks would consider this a masculine scent. On dry down, I find the sweet note I expect from amber, but it stays very close to the skin. The spicy resin notes continue to throw. A bit of a sort of musty patchouli as well. The resin reminds me of sandalwood, but not exactly. I can't quite place the difference. On me this scent is what they call "bracing". It clears the head and sharpens attention. I reapplied at lunchtime because it seemed to have faded. About 2:30 it suddenly came surging back, all by itself - it may have been a little much for a crowded meeting. I do not associate this scent with a golden color, or with light. The patchouli darkens it considerably and makes it kind of dusty, and the amber (which would naturally make it feel warmer and lighter) is pretty much overwhelmed on me. I'm not sure about this one. I may give it another try in a few weeks.

Oh my, I think I've got a new favorite! Wet: Kinda "perfumey". An elegant, sophisticated fruit and floral scent. Dry: Just a touch more "down and dirty". A fruity floral with a sweet, almost musky, base. The tobacco note is subtle but definitely present, and I think it's what really makes the scent for me - keeps it from being too sweet, blends wonderfully, makes the overall scent much more interesting. I am not catching chocolate as an individual note, and I'm not sure why I'm getting fruit (dates? figs? Must be the florals - or maybe the chocolate? - blending with the tobacco.), or the slight musky effect, but it's amazingly yummy - I can't stop smelling myself. All the different notes blend beautifully - there's none of that back-and-forth everchanging scent effect that I have had with some others. This one just is what it is from the get-go, and what it is is wonderful. It lasts about four hours, which on me is a long time. I can definitely see wearing this one every single day. Top of the "big bottle" list for this one.

I LOVE THIS SCENT!!! Love, love it, LOVE IT!!! Unfortunately, even when I spilled about 1/3 of an imp on myself (which initially reeked), it only lasted on me for about fifteen minutes. Ahhh, the bitterness of fate.

Wow, it seems like I've wanted to try this forever! I love all the ambers, and like the the musks, too (although I don't wear them as often. It seems like weird things happen at work when I wear musk... Hmmm...) Anyway, the combination sounded absolutely luscious. Wet: The gorgeous, slightly spicy golden amber is at the forefront, with a gentle, amost imperceptible, darker foundation. Just beautiful! Drydown: YIPES! The black musk has totally overpowered the amber! Just gulped it down like a puppy treat! This is a shocker, because amber is nearly always the strongest note on my skin. The black musk scent is intoxicating, a little smokey, with a slight earthy undertone. So, YUM! Okay, I would probably wear this alone. A bit later: I think the amber has rebounded a bit. There's a lighter note here now. Later still: The amber and musk seem to be switching off - amber for a while, musk for a while, and repeat. Interesting. Later (maybe 40 minutes?): Aha! The notes have found a way to blend on my skin! Now I have a kind of velvety warm musk (with a subtle hint of chocolate) and the occasional amber highlight. This is very nice. I'd have liked a bit more of the amber, and I didn't get the citrus or florals that some other folks reported - that might have been nice. Also, I didn't get the foreboding (although my coworkers may have. I didn't ask, but I thought I got some odd looks today. ) This one lasted a very long time. There was still a hint of it on my wrists 12 hours later. That's quite unusual, and definite plus. Still, I think I'll probably trade it. I still have plenty of my beloved EOM for those times when I'm in feelin' a little musky.

Wow, this one doesn't seem to work on me. Ain't body chemistry a hoot? The first time I tried it, I simply couldn't smell it at all. It was as if I were wearing plain oil with no scent added. I let it rest for a couple of months and tried it again yesterday. It had scent this time, but it didn't match the description. Well, yes, it was floral, but it was thick and cloyingly sweet. So, I guess I have the option of wearing it very lightly and adding a little at a time until I get scent, hoping not to be suddenly overwhelmed with yicky sweetness, but that doesn't sound good ot me. I guess this relationship is doomed. I am sad. The description of Leanan Sidhe is so lovely; I really wanted to smell that. On the other hand, some of the scents that don't initially sound as interesting to me have turned truly fabulous when I get them on. It's kind of a fun game.

It is cool and dim under the spreading trees, but for an occasional sunbeam filtering through. The stream is perfectly clear and sparkling. The air shares that same clarity. It is oddly quiet here, only the soft sound of my footsteps, a muted rustling of foliage, the stream’s rush of quiet laughter. From a distance, the scent of blossoms blends with the spicy aroma of dry leaves under my feet. It is a quiet joy simply to breathe in this place. I really can't pick out the grapefruit note, although I'm sure it is what makes that sparkling effect. The apple blossom, tea and ginger blend seamlessly into something truly magical. This is a gentle scent, unobtrusive but not weak; remarkably calming, comforting, and grounding. I wore it while droppping a friend at off at the airport, and found myself walking in a little bubble of forest calm through the hubbub around me. And on top of that, this lovely scent stayed with me for at least five hours!!! That' s a very rare experience for me to have with a floral. On the second try, I did get that intense, sharp grapefruit scent that a few people have mentioned, and it lasted for nearly an hour before morphing back to the wonderful perfume I knew was hiding behind it. I don't know what made the difference - the two tries were only about 24 hours apart - but whatever it was, the result was entirely worth the wait. In spite of the possiblity of occasional grapefruit ambush, I love this scent and plan to wear it often.

Oh ... my... (pant, pant) ... YES!!! Flowers and crushed herbs (I think someone has been rolling in them) under a very hot, bright sun. Exactly, gloriously, right!!! Beth, once more I bow to your amazing abilities. This 5 ml. certainly won't last long ... Will you do it again next year? Please? About 90 minutes later .... Wow! The scent has now settled down into a warm honey mead with herbal notes. Just scrumptious! I am really loving this!

Okay, this is not at all what I expected from the description. But, let me hasten to say, I like it! I get mostly a cinnamon (cassia?) note. This is not listed among the igredients, but it's definitely what I smell. It surprised me because I usually expect cinnamon to be a component in heavier, warmer scents, and the other notes here are airy, sprightly, very fresh. Yet they blend and support each other nicely. I can't seem to separate any of the other notes - just light, herbal, fresh, maybe a flower or two somewhere in the background, with this light, cinnamon-y waft. Unique, and very wearable.

In the bottle: VERY intense almond, with an edge - something like a buttery almond extract. This is definitely too much for me. I won't try it on my skin, but maybe in a bath. In the bath: Ohhhhhh, my.... what a surprise! This is luscious! Soft, warm almond with just a little spice. And I know it's not listed but I'm sure I smell flowers! (Carnation?) This is wonderful! The warm almond note is always primary, with the spice and flowers very subtly phasing in and out. The word that comes to mind for this one is "voluptuous". Yummmmmmm.... Now I am sorry I put it all in the bath.

I have had a 5 ml. bottle of this for some months, saving it for the right day. Finally, the moment came... Wet, there is a kind of spicy greeness to it - can't quite identify it, but it's great. Dry, it becomes a light, gentle floral with just a hint of green. Perfect! I will be using this whole bottle, no doubt about it. Thank you, Beth!

Oooh.... very "perfumey", in a really, really good way! All-grown-up, out-for -the-evening kind of perfume. Marvelously sexy and aristocratic, both at once. A red satin gown with tasteful diamonds. I'm not really smelling the plum. Lots of carnation, which is great. I love a good carnation, and this is very good. Not much musk, either. I would swear I smell some lily in there somewhere, though... Drying down, it lightens - perfectly wonderful. I could wear this anywhere (and probably will). I have been looking for a really good carnation scent literally for years! Thank you, thank you, Beth! This is terrific! I haven't bought a 10 ml. yet, but I am certainly considering it now. ADDED Aug. 1: Gosh, this is perfectly lovely. It's a wonderful blend - nothing sticks out - just one marvelous multi-dimensional ollfactory delight. I love the BPAL carnations scents, the plum adds a wonderful dimension, and the hint of musk is divine. It is not overpowering, but gently, beautifully present for about three hours, which is quite a good length of time for me.

A frimp from the lab! Wheeeheee! I have been wanting to try this one! Wow, this is great stuff! Except for the rudely violent violet! I am beginning to realize that violet (in other than very small amounts) amps on my skin to a level of genuine viciousness. (Envision a horde of tiny flowers with Christopher Walken eyes, bloody fangs, and chainsaws...) I now suspect that Hell smells heavily of violets. The other notes here are quite wonderful together, and the throw is lovely, but every time my nose gets anywhere near my wrist, I am walloped with the stomach-churning stench of homicidal violet. So frustrating. I strongly recommend Wings of Azrael to anyone on whom violet is a good thing.

I just received this in trade from qara isuke - thank you so much! In the bottle, this is simply fabulous. I am not getting the "turpentine" effect some people are remarking on - I smell something sweet, with a bit of an herbal edge. Wet: I get an almost overwhelming rosemary scent (and I like rosemary, so it's got to be strong for me to feel overwhelmed by it - but why am I getting rosemary? There's no rosemary in this...) After a few moments, it calms down and I begin smelling that sweetness again - what is that? Later: This is marvelous. My chemistry is such that I have almost never had one of Beth's oils stay the same "flavor" after I put it on my skin (although what they morph into is usually pretty wonderful, too). Even later: I begin to smell the cedar and pine, and still something sweet - kind of like a fruit-and-flower blend tobacco, if there is such a thing. I am really loving this - I can see it as a signature scent. Still later: This is just yummy - herby and foody at the same time (a hint of glazed doughnuts among the cedars?). Do werewolves like glazed doughnuts? I know I do... So, okay, maybe it isn't holding the intended scent exactly, but it is still indescribably delicious. Oooohhhhh Nooooooo, it's fading... So, not my signature scent, then. But definitely something really great to wear for short periods. I can't believe it went away so fast. I will have to wait and try it again. Can't give up on something wonderful after only one try. ADDED 3/10/08: Wet: Strong, head-clearing eucalyptus - very therapeutic for my poor pitiful allergy head. Dry down: Eucalyptus fades, leaving behind a distinct pine. Pine is not listed, but pine is what I'm smelling. - a very good clean pine, like having a bit of pitch on my hands. Another head-clearer, though not as intense as the eucalyptus. After a few minutes, the pine fades and I am smelling the cypress/juniper combination I expected, with a hint of sweetness - the galangal? Very pleasant. I think it's the cypress that creates that hint of fur. This is clean, content, happy loup garou enjoying its favorite part of the forest. Interesting scent. It would be great on the right man. I thought this hadn't stayed with me, but the next morning I find a faint, sweet, slightly furry scent still on my wrist.

Wet, I am definitely getting the sandalwood, clove and musk (all of which I like just fine), with floral overtones (must be the lily and jasmine, but I can't pick out the individual notes - just a very tasty flower scent). This is absolutely scrumptious. The sandal and musk pull back a little after a while, leaving a very intriguing warm floral with just a breath of vanilla. Oh, my, I do smell yummy! Oh, joy! IT LASTS ALL DAY!!! I usually lose florals right away, but not this one. AWRIGHT!!! WAHOOO! I love it and it lasts! This one goes instantly to the top of my list (right up there with Cheshire Cat and Enraged Orangutan Musk). Yes, indeedy, sweety! Love, love, love it!

Oh, I am SOOoooo disappointed! I had wanted this, and wanted it, and wanted it, and finally found an imp, and.... ... IT HATES ME! Wet: Overwhelmingly, sharply rancid, with something animal and decomposing mixed in. Dead dog rotting under the porch in a vat of rancid butter. Utterly rank. Oh, where are the peach and clove? Where is the pumpkin? Where is the crisp, sweet and spicy Jack of my imagination? Dry: Thank goodness! The stench has gone, leaving me with a slightly burned pumpkin smell. No cloves. No peach. Plain ol' singed pumpkin. This is remarkable, actually. It is the perfect scent of a jack-o-lantern - fresh pumpkin slightly burned by the candle inside. Even if I could bypass the initial olfactory assault, this is probably not something I would wear, although I am greatly impressed by its artistry. AND IT WON'T WASH OFF! This one really hates me! AAaararrrrgggghhhhhhhhhh..... I sure could use a little bit of something with pumpkin with cloves and peaches... Mmmm... [daydreaming] Oh well, ya win some, ya lose some. I simply must go and bathe in something smellier-than-thou right now...

How strange - I'm getting fruits instead of flowers! Wet: Melon - watermelon and cantaloupe. 10 minutes: I don't usually like melon scents, but this is lovely. Dry: Oooohhh.... there's amber under the melon (or is the melon turning to peach now?) Yummy! Golden ambery, melony, peachy, a little spicy, just wonderful! Later: I thought this had gone away rather quickly, but I just realized that I still have the amber note about three hours later. The early stages of this would make a wonderful summer scent. I love it. It's too bad the florals and fruits don't seem to last on me. I waited a couple of months before trying this one again today. This time, I am definitely getting an ambery, flowery, spiced peach! Where the heck is that coming from? This scent is not at all what I expected from the description, but it's completely luscious. The amber lasted about four hours, and the peach almost as long. This will definitely do.

Wet: Spearmint candy, very intense. Is there a little patchouli or something underneath? It stings my skin, but I persevere. 10 minutes: Spearmint candy and patchouli, with a nice spearmint throw. The stinging is lessening. 30 minutes: A light sweet patchouli with a minty top. 40 minutes: Still patchouli-ish, with a touch of - tobacco? This is actually not bad, but not at all what I had expected. 75 minutes: Light, sweet patchouli with spearmint. I keep trying to find the mosses and woods and flowers, but I guess they don't want to find me. Must be the alien skin again...

Wet: Chocolate cake! Wow! Yum! Someone I used to know made a special chocolate cake she called Velvet Cake, and it smelled exactly like this! Yummy! Dry down: Not quite so foody now. Sweet vanilla with something less definable behind it. I would swear there's a bit of mint in there somewhere. I don't really smell it, but I am getting that cool feeling in the nose. 40 minutes: Sweet,sugary, with a little cocoa in the background. Still a little foody, but the sandalwood and myrrh are coming in, promising a softly resiny balance. 1 hour: Ah, now I'm getting a little more sandalwood. This is more what I was hoping for - sweet vanilla chocolate balanced against resins. Now, this is really nice. It fades pretty rapidly, leaving just a hint of musky cocoa on my skin.

Wet: Soft flowers with citrus (the bergamot?) 5 minutes: Some peaches coming in. (BPAL has the most wonderful peach scents!) 15 minutes: Less peach, with something sweet - almost sugary - is it amber coming up under the peach? Oh - I think it's the heliotrope! Wow, that's really nice. I'm not noticing the oak moss or musk particularly, but I am loving this. 40 minutes: I think I'm catching a little whiff of the musk now, but it's very light and airy. That wonderdul sweetness is definitely heliotrope - it's a little more flowery than sugary now. 2 hours: Something like a light, gentle amber - is it the musk? The oak moss? I'm not sure... 2.5 hours: That was the last of it. Most of the fruits and florals don't stay with me long, but I surely do like this one. I haven't been attracted to peach scents before, but Beth's are converting me. They are just gorgeous. Now if only I can find one that will last more than an hour or two on my skin...

Wet: Ahhhh.... beautiful, fresh, juicy peaches! 40 minutes later: Still peachy! Yaaay! (I know this is supposed to be apricot, but I am smelling peaches. They're lovely. I'm happy.) 1 hour: Softening to a mild, warm peach with a floral overtone. 2 hours: Absolutely luscious. Only lasts a couple of hours, but well worth reapplying. Yum! ADDED 3/14/08: I don't get strong or willful from this scent at all. Instead, I get a delicate, glistening, very light, fresh peach (so light it's almost pear) which slowly swells into a riper, sweeter, juicier peach, then gradually adds a bit of unidentifiable spice. Spicy peach. Very lovely. But, of course, it doesn't stay long on me. Beth's peach scents are pure bliss. Unfortunately, except for Marquise de Merteuil, they just don't seem to stay with me. Waaah! But thank goodness for MdM!

Wet: Mmmmmm… this smells rosy to me, with a little drop of something warm underneath… Five minutes: A beautiful light floral – still smells like rose to me, but I’m not sneezing yet… 30 minutes: Arrrghhh! Gumdrops again! Odd how this keeps happening… Clearly there’s some lovely floral note that smells like roses to me, but changes on my skin to gumdrops. Drat! This was really pretty for about fifteen minutes.

Wet: Oily almond/vanilla On the wrist: Very faint – something – vanilla? The almond oil? (I am beginning to suspect that there are some notes Beth uses that I just can’t smell at all.) Later: Something kind of ozone-y. It's a mismatch, disturbing but intriguing, with the faint vanilla/amber scent underneath. This does kind of smell like an opal. Maybe it’s the changing nature – sometimes I think I smell warm amber, sometimes it’s all cool ozone, and sometimes a strange combination (but never a blend) of the two. Very light and elusive. Not for me, but definitely an interesting scent.

I had great hopes for this, but... Wet: Strawberry/cherry gumdrops 5 minutes: gumdrops with ozone 20 minutes: Oh! Suddenly it’s a soft, sweet rose scent – candied rosebuds. Rose gumdrops. Innocent enough for my five-year-old, golden-ringleted, big-blue-eyed granddaughter. Sadly, not for me. I'm just not doing at all well with these rose blends. It seems like they either make me sneeze, or they turn to sugar.

Wet: Rose. Very mild, faint, rose. Five minutes later: Uhhh, raspberry syrup? And it stays like that. And it stays for hours. I smell like raspberry syrup. It’s oddly pleasant, but not really what I want to smell like, or at all what I had expected. Sadly, this is the only rose-containing blend I've found so far that doesn't make me sneeze. But it doesn't smell like roses on me, either. Let's hear it for the alien body chemistry!

Wet: Reminds me pleasantly of Twilight and Dove’s Heart 20 minutes: Now reminding me of Water of Notre Dame, which is a bit worrisome, but this one is doesn't seem to be allergic-making (yet). 1 hour: powdery sweet violets. I didn’t smell the musk, sandalwood, or anything else much – just violets. This fades pretty quickly on me. Not really my scent - so off to the swap pile.