Ethaisa

The oudh and rose here are fabulous, with the rose more woody than bloomy. There's a bit of creaminess that I'm guessing is the tallow (and oddly reminds me of hazelnut!). I generally avoid aquatic scents, and honestly didn't think of this in that category when I ordered it; fortunately for me the hint of salt is more savoury than sea. The oudh really develops on dry down, with a lingering touch of smoke. Looking forward to seeing how this ages.

This arrived just before Christmas, and honestly I was very disappointed when I first tried it - everything seemed a jumble, the vetiver seemed sour and the patch overwhelming. But I set it aside for a bit, and I'm really glad I did, because now I"m sure this will age marvellously. I can get hints of cacao, and the sweetness of myrrh, and the rose and pom give a bit of spicy ripe redness. Not much throw on me, but it lasts and lasts. Definitely keeping my bottle.

Frankincense usually evokes brightness for me, but this is so rich I get a dark glow, like embers. The cinnamon is more woody than spicy, and not at all foody. Not quite what I was expecting, but I love it - I may need to hoard.

This is myrrh cubed, with just a hint of smoke and that sap-like stickiness I associate with copal. Full bodied, rich and glorious. Brilliant, complex blend.

Clove and moss and bitter orange - pith rather than peel. There's a sharp rawness to it so I think I'll set this aside for a bit and see how it settles out.

I'm really loving this. It took a bit to warm up but then wow! Rich and warm and woody (but not woodsy), with an edge of sweet. Even the metallic is warm, like the reflection of sun on polished brass.

Y'know, that would make sense; I've got a bunch of them and my first BPAL order (yay email records!) was Nov 05. Thank you - your memory is clearly much better than mine!

Does anyone happen to know when abouts the back label (that has the lab's name) on gc imps changed from the abstract tribalish phoenix to the newer one? (The front of the label also changed from saying 'perfume oil blend' to the website info. (I'm rather detail oriented, and damn near terminally curious...)

Maraschino cherry studded marzipan. A little boozy in the bottle, but it opens up on my skin and with drydown I get just a hint of that can't-really-quite -describe-it wonderfulness that is saffron. I'd feared this might be too sickly-sweet, but it has a good balance to it of fruit and nut and spice. I'm craving marzipan fruit now...

I'm a lavender fan, and this is gorgeous. It starts out all lavender sweetened with honey and then mellows into a lovely cloud of herbal powder. Some scents that powder on me go rather soapy, and I'm not at all fond of that, but thankfully this doesn't. The honey actually gets stronger at this point, and a little spicy-musky. A lazy afternoon walk through a sun-warmed herb garden, with bees dancing amidst the tiny blooms.

I love marigolds, and plant them with my tomatoes all the time. This is a sweet and warm marigold, all flower no bitter leaves. Very bright and fragrant.

Smoke and sex in a warm, dark room. Love it. (I was worried about the rum, but I don't really pick up any at all, except a hint in the bottle; perhaps it's the rum and galangal that's sweet underneath the smoke?)

Oh, this is amazing; deep, dark bitter roasted chocolate nibs, with hints of smoke and spice. Not at all what I would consider traditionally "foody", even with the vanilla, which enhances rather than overwhelms. Hints of salted brown butter and sweet heat develop on drydown. I'm so glad I got a bottle; I may need another - I can't wait to see how this ages, and I suspect that if I don't buy a back-up, I won't ever know; I've worn this three days running and I'm no where near tired of it yet!

Sweet, wet grass and leaves at first, very green and almost springlike. Then it mellows and the green fades away leaving me sipping cooling tea from a amber cup. Dry down is a light indeterminate floral, pretty, with a hint of yellowy ash. It reminds me of walking through yellow leaves after a rain on a cool day, you know when fallen leaves plaster themselves to the sidewalk and you have to be careful not to slip on them? Generally I'm not big on anything aquatic, but I quite like this.

A soft floral with drifts of incense that grew stronger as it dried, growing greener and a wee bit sour (not sure if its the moss or the wistera or the liliac, but it reminded me of the way lily goes on me sometimes). But that didn't last, and it mellowed out into a lovely melange; sadly, minimal throw at this point.

I've been going through some of my older bottles, and perhaps inspired by new vampy scents in the very near future, decided to give this a try again. I remember not really liking it - my ambivalence towards most citrus trumped my love of jasmine and tea in this case. Aging has done well by this scent and it is now far more to my tastes. The grapefruit is no longer overwhelming, I can barely smell it in the bottle and a light touch on skin. Now its jasmine tea with cream (is that the tonka?) with a touch of ginger and faint hints of salty floral incense a couple hours later. I really wasn't expecting this - no longer thinking of getting rid of this one!

Haven't opened this bottle in at least two years, and I swear the first impact was dark, sweet myrrh. So surprised when I reviewed the notes! Definitely thickened with age. Then it opened up into a patchouli vetiver duet, all rich and smokey dark with no sharp edges. More resiny than earthy overall; I'm a resin girl, so I am pleased.

I've been going through some of my older scents lately; haven't tried Yuki-Onna (res) for at least two years. I'm not a super citrus fan, but I have a soft spot for bergamot. Originally this was way too citrus for me, but with aging, wow. Mostly lemony bergamot in the bottle, bergamot with lemony touches when first applied and then the citrus is mostly gone and the jasmine takes center stage, with a hint of smokiness that must be the sandalwood. Really glad I held onto this.

I love foody scents, so no surprise this is a winner for me. Warm, buttery chestnuts with just a hint of caramel. As it dries, that delightful edge of burnt sugar that makes caramel so wonderful rises up and becomes smoky, and brings a hint of pine with it. First snowfall today, and I slathered myself with this. A yummy warm comfort scent. I don't have a fireplace to roast chestnuts on, but it sure smells like I spent all day doing just that!

When first applied, there is a sweet fruity note, almost cloying, evoking apricot, or peach on me, but deeper. Then it mellows, its heaviness brightened as the amber warms up. Just a hint of sandalwood and smoke. Benath it all, the myrrh, adding darkness and depth. Liquid indolence, lovely and bold, with moderate last.