bifemmefatale

First thought-- "Is that a lemon in your Underpants or are you just happy to see me?" Seriously, this was all melissa (lemon balm) for the first few minutes and then straight to vanilla sugared saffron musk, a near-twin of Underpants, except for the musk being a tad brighter. Not a sign of the bitter herbs. Lovely, but I'll be swapping this. Must try the GC Absinthe, I think.

First impression: Wow, a BPAL booze note that actually smells like booze on me! Hellooo brandy! However this fades *very* quickly and out comes vanilla--a very rich, eggy french vanilla, the "warm" est I've yet tried, plus some nutmeg and the warm spice note I associate with my mom's mace-laden holiday bread. I also get the sugar note from Smut, but a little more subtle, less of it. This is kind of similar to Underpants to me, sans the caramelized sugar and musk notes. Vanilla seems to like my chemistry, and this sticks around a good while with medium throw. Very nice!

I love almonds and I've tried just about every BPAL with almonds in it. I thought Salome and Eclipse were my True Loves, but the Queen has grown on me. It's a softer almond than Eclipse, which is definitely bitter almonds. The touch of saffron is lovely, I adore saffron! After a while it becomes slightly soapy-powdery on me--I think the people who are guessing a bit of amber have it right. But what I love about the Queen is that it's the only almond scent I've tried so far where the almonds actually stick around--in the rest of them it's an all-too-fleeting top note and that's it. QoSheba reminds me of an almond hand lotion or something with its clean soapiness. At first I wasn't sure I loved it, but on me this is a subtle but lasting "skin scent". I think it's something I'll wear when I just want to feel fresh and content but not noticeably perfumed. This is probably going on the bottle list. Thanks, Kakiphony for swapping this to me!

Oddly, I didn't get myrrh or storax at first (storax is a rich amber), just some mild herbal scent. After a few minutes, a slightly soapy honey emerges (wtf?), colored by the herbs and balsam. Still no sign of myrrh or amber, which both usually like my skin. Strange. It's ok, but not a scent I adore or anything.

Oh how strange. I'd seen others saying they got band-aids off a scent, but it never happened to me before this one. The top note is definitely that medicinal vinyl smell of new band-aids. This fades back fairly quickly and the lilies and tuberose emerge, but there's still something vaguely antiseptic about this one. Not loving it. Wonder if it's the paperwhites and narcissus.

In the imp...sweet, almost orangey and clovey, somehow familiar.... On: Ah-ha! I know this scent from Jazz Funeral--it's bay rum! Which makes sense, given that bay rum is in JF and Baron Samedi...kinda goes with the theme. I also get a hint of the coconutty rum note from Perversion, which also makes sense as rum is often offered to the Loa. It finally dries down to a very soft subtle musk, th same one as in Storyville, I believe. Funny, when I tried this at C12 I thought I got patchouli, but I get none now. Maybe I confused it with Doc Buzzard. This is very nice, but so similar to Jazz Funeral that I'm not sad to have arranged a swap for Shub and Spanked for this.

On me, this is sugar, sugar and more sugar, like cotton candy or something, overwhelmingly sweet. I don't get booze at all. After the sugar, the musks come out with a vengeance, and unfortunately it's the ones that go bad on my skin. Teh Smut is not for me.

This is the mildest honey blend I've tried yet-I rather like it! Smells like there is a hint of rose in it, and the herbs are very subtle, in the background only. I was expecting something that hit you over the head like O, but Osun is surprisingly soft. Not something I want a bottle of, but still very nice.

On-Patchouli? Or vetiver? Something herbal, dark and sharp, almost musty, which fades back to a floral-rose maybe? mixed with dragon's blood, and finally the minty note I associate with birch. Strangely, I do find it rather pleasant at that stage, whereas I didn't like it at all in Kathmandu or Hamadryad. However, not one I'll be keeping.

Goes on strangely chemically--must be the champagne-then sweetens up after a few minutes, but to me this is disappointingly artificial, and very girly-not my thing. Bought it for my daughter but she didn't care for it either. Off it goes.

Bright pink grapefruit, almost cat pee but not quite, softening over time as the cherry blossom and tea creep in, but not something I want to smell like. I didn't look up the notes before I swapped for this, and I wasn't expecting grapefruit. Off it goes.

Creamy, marshmallowy vanilla with a hint of the linen in my beloved White Rabbit. Absolutely gorgeous, and if Underpants were't my favorite vanilla, this would be. It's very similar without the caramelized sugar and saffron notes in Underpants.

In the imp, this smells smoky, but on, frankincense and a lovely sweet sandalwood blossom out. I really like this, and I wasn't expecting that. Spicy sweet sandalwood....I bought this for my hubby, but I think I'll keep it! Unlike other testers, on me this does not have much throw.

This one morphs very quickly. In the imp: all antiseptic mouthwash and toothpaste. On: minty toothpaste for a minute or two, then it goes cedary, then sandalwood, then soft, soft lotus. All within about 5 minutes. Very strange. Don't love this one enough to keep it, but I can say it fits the cold Himalayas and Buddhist monasteries in feel. Very calming and cerebral.

Something is sharp and green pepper-like on me at first, almost anise-like. I can smell the strawberry and orange blossom hovering in the back, but not a bit of carnation. The strawberry sweetens up on drydown, but something is still reacting wonkily with my chemistry. Got this imp for my daughter and she didn't like it either, so off to the swaps it goes.

Very mild in the imp, just a little sweet. On: Sugar and more sugar, with a bit of vanilla and some cheesecake sourness, but just enough. Not a ton of cloying throw, thank goodness. On the whole, a simple sweet foody scent, which is not me. I like some incense, musk or spice with my foodiness. off to someone who will love it more.

I have imps of both 04 and 05. 04 is all Hawaiian Tropic tanning oil, all the time. Mainly coconut with just enough florals underneath to say "lotion". It goes slightly sourish on me for a minute but that fades and then it stays coconut floral. 05 has much less coconut, but still a good amount, with milky vanilla and a hint of mint. To me this is a more complex and satisfying version, but I'll stick with the GC Obatala.

Omg, this is my favorite amber blend ever. Rich, honey-sweet, a tiny bit floral, a little "expensive cologne"...all in all just a scent I want to cuddle up to. Not a lot of throw but when you do catch the scent it's warm, luxurious and golden. This does for me what other people say O does for them. Lovelovelove. So glad I just found a bottle!

Though March marks the end of the desolation and chill of winter, it is not yet Spring, the time of rebirth, fertility and the Earth’s fecundity. March’s Full Moon is a Virgin’s Moon, pure, youthful, unsullied and innocent. This is the Moon of the Child, and the scent is as soft and gentle as a baby’s breath: milky blossoms and soft cream touch the last buds of winter, coupled with crystalline, bright traditional Lunar oils. I get the buttery smell in the imp, but it's fairly mild compared to say, Jack. On, no butter, but a rush of pineapple and cream with some delicate white flower--linden maybe? Soft, delicate, not a lot of throw, but perfectly fitting its description. Reminds me a little of B&BW's rice flower scent but with pineapple and a little more sweetness. A really nice scent for those of you who like to keep 'em subtle. But subtle I am not.

Oh, YUM. I traded a bottle of Carnivale for this and boy am I glad. This is what I wanted Carnivale to smell like but it didn't. All cassia at first, but the fruit and resin notes warm up soon. The tonka, tobacco and resin notes add creaminess and a smoky roundness to the fruit and cassia. The musk just kind of wafts through it all and the patchouli, surprisingly, has not shown up....omg am I glad I have a bottle of this. It may be more of a fall-winter scent than spring, but I'm still very happy with this swap.

Why did I put this on my swap list again? Trying it before I mail it off, and... Lovely. The sandalwood, lilies and amber make it regal but sweet, the musk adds sexiness, the dreaded violets and vetiver add support without ever becoming icky. Clean, elegant, not a huge throw, but beautiful and dignified while still being warm. I may have to get this again.

I had to try this just for the name! Wet: Jasmine! and gardenias. After a few minutes a hint of cinnamon or cassia over the florals, plus something is reacting oddly with my chemistry and making a green bell pepper note. Then violets start to appear, combining with jasmine and cinnamon to make an oddly bubblegummy scent. On the drydown, it's all gardenia and violets. Lovely to start with, but I don't like violets, so I will be sticking with Salome for my violet fix.

In the imp: boozy almonds On: caramel and hazelnut! This reminds me very much of the top note in Red Lantern, without the incensey musky complexity. I like it a lot, but it stays the same throughtout, like a one note song. Since I already have a bottle of Red Lantern, and prefer its subtly shifting heady notes, I won't be getting more of this.

Despite the name, no traditional Van Van recipes contain vanilla, and as I know Beth is an initiate, I'm sure she did not put vanilla in this one either. There are many recipes for Van Van, but almost all of them contain lemongrass. Here's one traditional recipe I found: 16 parts lemongrass oil 8 parts citronella oil 1 part vetivert oil 1 part palmarosa oil 1 part gingergrass oil if you can get it On me, the lemongrass jumps out right away, and vetivert, giving it that dirt note people have smelled, along with something that is almost peanutty and a gingery white pepper note. This quickly turns to funky lemon herbal bleah on me and is giving me dizzy spells and the beginnings of a bad headache. Off to the swaps with you, icky. There are other blends for strengthening Will that smell better. ETA: Ack! I have scrubbed it off with soap and it still lingers! The drydown note is DEET, I swear! Ths is worse than my reaction to Highwayman. Hatehatehate.

This review is for a tarted imp I got in a swap, so it's aged. In the imp: sharp department store floral cologne. On: Helloo orchid! The clover peeks out as a green moist scent layering the orchid, but strong womanly floral definitely predominates. After about 10 minutes the apple blossom and meadowsweet show up, making it softer, sweeter and somewhat soapy (apple blossom and I do not get along). This is a perfume my floral-slathering mom would like, but not me. It smells very mainstream perfume and a bit cloying for my tastes. I don't get icy off it at all like some others.