tajana

In the wet stage, this is softened cinnamon with a dash of cardamom! There's just a hint of tangerine to give it a bit of citrus/fruity tang. After it dries down I definitely get an undercurrent of nice, dark tea and soft, almost cuddly amber... it's the same amber I get from Bastet, but the cinnamon and musk blends with it in a warm way that makes me think of a real cat or cat fur... but more "pretty" smelling, of course. The cherry blossom is more apparent the further along this scent goes, and the soft pinkness of that scent definitely just adds to the overall impression I get, which is of something really soft. I need to slather this a bit and it isn't blowing me away (I bought my bottle unsniffed) which makes me a bit disappointed as the notes made it sound like pure awesome. I can't deny though that it smells very pretty, like chai tea and a cute little perfumed kitten playing with cherry blossom petals. I'll give it a few more tries to see if I can justify holding on to my because it's playing nicely with my skin and this seems like the scent that'll sneak up on little cat feet and really grow on you. edit: Uh, yeah, even as I was finishing writing this review I was starting to notice it's lovely, soft waft. This actually manages to have nice throw without being the slightest bit aggressive. Earlier on the amber musk seemed a touch too generic and "perfumey", but this scent really reaches it peak after it's already been on for almost two hours. The soft and character-filled spices and the touch of cherry blossom conspire to create a disarmingly snuggly smell, like the way I wish my skin smelled naturally. edit 2: This doesn't have a ton of lasting power (after six or seven hours its veerrrry close to the skin) but this just has to be THE most snuggly cuddle-up smell I've ever smelled. I'm so glad I got to grab a bottle on a whim, this is perfect for every day use. It's the kind of smell I'll reach for when I need to feel like I'm being hugged all day, or just to put on when nothing else feels appropriate.

I used just a drop because with a whole ton of coconut and patchouli, I suspected that it could be pretty strong. And it was! That one drop surrounded me with a cloud of scent. Wet it was toasted coconut with creamy edges and an earthy base underneath. After it dried down it was much the same, but the sweetness and throw of the coconut diminished and the earthy, smooth, soft patchouli came out more strongly. Despite how little I used this scent hung around for hours, and in class I had to come up with ways to subtly sniff my wrist. I really like it, but I think that my imp will last me a while because of how little I need to use. Heartily recommended to anyone who craves patchouli and enjoys coconut!

I was so excited to try this! I like the smell of tobacco, vanilla's often nice, and hey, a brand new wood note to try. It smelled nice enough in the imp, and the reviews were so glowing... But EAUHGH oh god wet on my skin this was terrible. Incredibly strong, I should have put a drop instead of a smear. I made the mistake of taking a whiff off my wrist and the smell totally dug into my nose and practically choked me to death. Incredibly strong, HUGE throw. The tobacco is incredibly strong, viciously strong, and it's combined with a scent that does remind me very strongly of polished wood, but sharper to my nose. I'm guessing it's the teakwood or maybe the oak that went all berserk on me, since I've never tried teak before and there's something totally bizarre about this wood. It's ridiculously strong, and smells just plain bad. I didn't wash it off because the reviews were all so good! I had to see if maybe the drydown would be ok. After about half an hour it chills out a little and starts to smell more bearable. Vanilla and tobacco with a hint of wood. That by itself is nothing special, and there's still a dark, leering shadow of the way this smelled a little earlier. An hour and some minutes later it's still going strong, and it smells sweeter. I suspect this has an exceptionally long wear length, but I don't want to make it all the way to the end. Time to scrub this one off.

Pretty potent! I only applied a couple of drops (I'm finicky with florals) but that seems to have been enough. Wet, it's like I ripped a big flower from the ground and ripped its stalk open. Wet, green, alarmingly lifelike. As it dries down I get the petals of the lily itself. There's a strong spicy note but that fades away quite quickly but is present later on in more subdued form . Then I notice something extra that smells to me, very strongly, like juicy orange. It sweetens up and reminds me of orange hard candy after a bit. It's really prominent, and really takes over the blend after a while. So in the end, it's candied orange with a little kick and very natural greenery, with the lily actually taking a back seat. It's surprisingly pleasant, actually, but I think I'll pass the imp along because this isn't really my style. I'd definitely recommend it to people who like sweet citrus/fruit and florals. Edit: Changed my mind, I think I'll keep this... I'm not feeling it right now in the dead of winter, but this seems like a great way to bring a touch of spiciness into spring and summer.

As soon as I opened the imp I knew I was in for a treat. Wet on the skin I get something tropical and white, almost like coconut even though that's not listed, blended with a bit of deep, delicious cocoa and something slick and green: I am guessing that the black palm is giving me this green and white note. It feels very tropical without being tacky. That's nice enough, but the real surprise is the depth and perfect balance of the more "shadowy" notes. On the drydown the woods emerge and form the heart of the scent. I get some nice smooth sandalwood and a great cedar note blending into that touch of slick greenery and dark chocolate coconut. The fig is sweet and distinct... not sharp, but maybe the tiniest bit tart? It adds a perfect high note to a scent that would otherwise be much simpler. Yum. This is wonderful and it lasts for a long time on me. It's really evocative and makes me think of a dark green tropical jungle bordering a pristine, empty beach. The perfect balance of light and dark, and just sweet enough. I'm in love! Every imp of this I've tried has been great, but I got a bottle and swapped it after a few months because it just wasn't the same... it was much creamier and less woody and deep than I was used to. But I love it so much that I'm trying again, and hoping that batch variation will be on my side. If not, I'll just cellar it for a year and hope!

The first thing I get out of this is a whole lot of lemony bergamot. That initial wallop dies down enough to reveal some of that strong black tea. It really does smell a lot like a cup of Earl Grey. Since my skin has a tendency to sweeten a lot of things up, the bergamot ends up coming off as almost like lemon drops sometimes, which isn't bad, since that reduces the potential austerity of this scent. After a while on my wrist a hint of leather comes out. Not as much as I'd hope for, but definitely enough to add some character. This holds on for surpisingly long (a lot of tea scents tend to fade away quickly on me). Quite simple, but would be great for summer. Actually, after having tested Dorian so recently (that one was almost all vanilla all the time) I'm predicting that Severin layered with Dorian would be just the thing to get the perfect black tea scent I've been questing for...

I didn't expect to like this scent quite this much! Wow! Not something I'd typically reach for, but for certain moods and times, this will be perfect. I want to slather myself in it every night right after I take a shower, and to wear this whenever I need to feel calm and composed. Lots of sweet, soft almond, bathed in cool, creamy milk sweetened with honey. I don't get much oatmeal but there's something extra in this scent that I can't place, so I'm guessing that's a trace of those "grains". I know that description sounds simplistic, but there's an ethereal quality to Dana O' Shee. The overall impression this scent gives is of the color white, pleasantly cool temperatures, the texture of silk and cream. It stays remarkably stable, and smells the same when it's wet on my skin and when it's been dry for a few hours. It's really beautiful and I'd love to have a full bottle!

I'm on a quest for the perfect tea scent. Dorian isn't it, but I think I may still hold onto my imp... that may just be because this is my first experience with BPAL vanilla in anything, though. Wet, it smells like nice vanilla with a splash of black tea. As it dries down I sense a tiny bit of light musk, hardly any lavender, and lots of vanilla. Strikes me as feminine, but that's probably because the creamy vanilla is amping way up over the other notes on my skin. It has good throw and loads of lasting power, which are definite pluses. Hour after hour of delicious vanilla, made lovely as opposed to overly cookie-like by the soft hints of musk at the edges. Pretty despite its simplicity, but I wish there was more tea!

I got an empty of this, but there was just enough to skin test it once. In the bottle it smelled quite strange, but not unpleasant, so I dabbed on the last drops. Well blended into one cohesive scent, and it takes quite a bit of sniffing to discern individual notes. The first impression is sweet, with lots and lots of walnut and fig, with just a trace of clove, which definitely give this an edible aspect at first. As it dries down on the skin, I the woods come out. They're noticeably woody, of course, but this scent is much moister smelling than what I expected. There's a sweet musky base to all this. I can definitely sense some chamomile and magnolia flower, not enough to make this scent overtly floral, but just enough to give the impression of flowers budding from heavily dew-laden, delicate branches. This is definitely a scent that reminds me of newness. Tiny flexible branches, not the powerful trunks of old trees. An interesting scent. I like it, perhaps not enough to have a whole bottle, but it'd be nice to have an imp's worth.

Pine, eucalyptus, and sour! I don't know why I was drawn to this in the first place... eucalyptus is a tricky note, and paired with pine? Smells a bit like a cleaning product. That impression isn't helped much by the emergence of the orange note after a few minutes. Eesh. After another ten minutes it's changed a bit because the eucalyptus is already all but gone, and what's left is orange and pine, of course. Stripped of the loud eucalyptus note, I can notice that the orange is very, very real smelling, and the pine smells real, too. So... all in all, pretty Christmassy. Reminds me of the potpourri my boyfriend's mother puts around the house every winter. It's not an offensive smell, but not something I'd wear as a perfume.

I was intrigued by this scent because it has a wealth of notes that I know I like the smell of. Every single note is one that I like, with the possible exception of these mysterious "herbs of conflict". But one thing's for sure: this scent is complex, even more so than I expected. First impression: a generous squeeze of spiced orange, a splash of astringent tea, a sprinkling of cocoa, a breath of herbs... surprisingly coherent! The cocoa disappears and this morphs to orange-flavored black tea with saffron, and a faint herbal (not green, dried) presence. Then the tonka comes out a bit, hand in hand with a touch of tobacco. Then, the musk unfurls into the mix. It's later hours are still distinctively mandarin orange, blended with saffron, unidentifiable herbs (reminding me of savory food), and a relatively subtle bit of musk. No more cocoa or tea remains, the tonka is probably just taking the edge off the citrus, and the tobacco is only noticeable if I huff. Not unpleasant, and strikes me as rather unisex. It's not bad, but not what I would have hoped for given the notes. I dreamed of more cocoa, more tea, more tobacco than the Great Sword delivered.

Smells pretty in the imp... nothing attention-grabbing, but many scents smell innocuous in the imp and fabulous once applied. Unfortunately, on the skin it was unimpressive. I like violets, and neroli can be nice, but the florals turn out feeling very soapy. Perhaps iris (the only unfamiliar note for me here) is doing this, perhaps it's just the way that this is interacting with the white sandalwood. After it's dried down and spent a while on my skin, it's... floral soap with a bit of wood. The musk is not prominent at any stage and I don't get anything dark or ominous from this... actually, it's quite clean and harmless smelling. A relatively quick fader that stays close to the skin.

The first few seconds smell like pure juicy fruit gum! I've liked all the other scents involving lotus that I've tried so far, but when it's the centerpiece it's a little overwhelming. The bubblegumminess gets a little more flower-like as the scent dries down, and the scent turns more incensey. Myrrh and amber for sure, but I'm not getting any sandalwood unless I huff my wrist. It seems familiar and reminds me of something, but I can't put my finger on it... it makes this scent strangely compelling. But it's, well, weird. "Corrupted" indeed... despite its sweetness it smells sinister. I was waffling over whether or not I want to keep this imp so I gave it a go in a scent locket. It stays bubblegummy lotus sans noticeable dark notes for a longer while, and then it's the same story as on my skin, with the sandalwood marginally more noticeable. After hours and hours and hours in the locket, it's got much less strength but smells better because the myrrh/amber/sandalwood are sweetened beautifully instead of overpowered by candy. I have a strange fondness for Black Lotus but at the end of the day I don't think I want to smell like incensey bubblegum.

Oh dear. This smelled intimidating in the imp and I don't know if I want to put it on. Wet, it's strongly medicinal and STRONG. I put on a tiny drop but this stuff is potent. As it dries down this strongly animalistic scent comes out. It practically smells like an animal enclosure at a zoo: a really dirty animal smell, with some woodsiness and green (medicinal herbs and pine) thrown in for good measure. This stuff certainly smells lethal! The amount of throw died down just enough for me to deal with it after a few minutes, so I decided to let it sit on my wrist for a bit longer and see how it developed, just out of curiosity. Well, it was a bit of a struggle, to be honest. I'd get wafts of pine and cedary wood here and there: pretty pleasant, really, because it smelled like a forest, and not like Christmas or pine-sol, as some piney scents do. Unfortunately, the forest was full of stinky animals marking their territory. Blugh. I wonder if it's that civet note I see mentioned in some reviews. I've never smelled civet before, but if this is it, it's not my friend... least favorite note I've ever smelled in a perfume. I feel like I've accomplished a feat of endurance by letting this stay for almost an hour on my skin before had to wash it off.

Well, it's what the scent description says it is. White tea and ginger. It is true to life: a chilled cup of good white tea and freshly sliced, lemony ginger. There's not much more to say. Nice and bright, refreshing, crisp, and light... but also simple as far as perfumes go. It just doesn't have enough character for me... why settle for simple and nice when I can settle for complex, intriguing, and wonderful? This is probably a good choice for people who really enjoy tea notes or clean scents, and whose chemistry fares better when there are fewer notes involved.

Aizen-Myoo! Super bright and sparkling yuzu (citrus), a strong energizing cup of black tea, and soft, sweet and cheerful cherry blossoms. Epitomizes springtime and exuberance for me.

Ah, Loviatar! At first, it's almost straight-up leather. Almost bright in its crispness, like the snap of a whip. There's something sweet at the edges and underlying it, but the scent doesn't fully round out until at least half an hour later, when it becomes sharp leather atop a bed of slightly spicy and lightly sweet red musk and soft, warm resins. There's lovely myrrh in here and I'm liking this black amber, it's not at all powdery. There's not much waft but this scent has some staying power. Simultaneously sharp and soft, and devilishly sexy. Mmmm. For kicks and giggles, my boyfriend's impression: wet on my skin it smelled like freshly sliced cucumbers (lolwut?), it dried down to "kind of sexy, actually" leather, and finally to really nice incense. This is a definite keeper, and I like it more and more every time I wear it.

This is for the 2006 version: I bought a decant of this having seen only the scent description. For some reason I didn't check out the reviews. I really should have! As soon as I opened the imp I knew this wouldn't be for me. Jasmine! My nemesis. On the skin the initial impression was of laundry detergent and jasmine. Oh dear. Jasmine ruins any blend for me: the slightest amount broadcasts itself loud and clear, drowning out all other notes and warping itself into a nasty rotting monster rather than a flower. I didn't wash it off though, because I wanted to let it develop. Even though I knew I wouldn't keep it around due to the jasmine element, I wanted to see all those other notes come out! I didn't get any candies or foods from this, but the character of the floral changed twice, both times distinctly. First, miraculously, the jasmine dissipated, and it became less detergent-like, but still densely floral in a generic way. Then, to a scent strongly evocative of the desert: definitely cactus blossom, with other desert flowers and smoky tobacco... the final stages of this scent (after an hour or more) aren't that bad, but this is still too floral for me.

Instant favorite! I was excited to try this one, and it did not let me down. Penny Dreadful, when I take a deep whiff of my wrist, is rich and warm, earthy and spicy... there's some nice patchouli in here, and some tasty spices... gingerbread dirt! Yay! I love ginger, and it's incorporated into such an unexpected way here; the spices would be delicious if isolated but with everything else this scent has going on it's not foody at all. (I loved Shub, but it really did make me smell like a giant ginger snap; this has a similarly round and rich spicy-ginger note, but with added earthiness and complexity!) The throw is huge! But it's not aggressive...it's very soft, with a definite floral element but it's neither sharp nor heady nor soapy, just very soft, like crushed petals in a garden, and the floral notes disappear almost completely after a while, so there's nothing to fear if you normally stay away from flowers. The waft also has a slightly smoky, almost dusty (not in a bad way) quality and a dose of soft candied spice. This is really wonderfully executed! I love love LOVE it! My imp will not be enough... I NEED to get a big bottle of it sometime soon.

Cinnamon, cinnamon, cinnamon! When I first started getting interested in BPAL I assumed I'd enjoy smelling like cinnamon, but since then I have learned that I'm actually quite picky about what my cinnamon is paired with. In All Night Long, I get almost pure cinnamon, like a canister of powdered cinnamon straight from the spice cabinet. Very natural smelling, not like gum or candy. There's something lurking within the cinnamon, some other kind of woodsy note that smells like it could be cedar. But still, it just smells like cinnamon from the spice cabinet. I can practically see and feel the texture of it. Not sexy at all, I'm afraid.

The first BPAL I've tried with a definite green tea presence. (I've tried black and white tea before.) The Dormouse does smell like bright, crisp light tea with garden herbs. The peony is subtle and melds with the green to give it little splatters of floral color to cut the greenness. It's pretty, but not terribly interesting or terribly beautiful. It reminds me of nice lotion. It's still nice enough that I'd keep it around for spring and summer, and it has moderate but subtle throw when it's around, but the problem is that it fades very quickly on me!

Woah, this is STRONG! A tiny tiny dab expressed itself very fully with aggressive throw. A sweet slightly grapey note (chardonnay) blended with a bit of tobacco, over a hint of coconut and a vanilla-esque base at first, occasional peeks of sharp leather coming through to temper the sweetness a little bit. I wish the leather was more aggressive, actually: it's the only pervy aspect that really comes through; I don't really get "booze" out of this. It has a powerful presence and is sweet for at least an hour and a half, and I just can't reconcile perverse or sexy with sugary sweet. As time passes it becomes more of a sweetened leather-tonka scent with a touch of tobacco, which is more to my taste, but still too sweet! I'm impressed by its throw and lasting power, and if Perversion's wine and tonka was just toned down a few notches I would love it. I'll keep the imp around and see how it layers with slightly more masculine blends to femme them up a little. I bet it would be great layered over Tezcatlipoca, actually... mmm, I'm practically salivating at the thought. ETA: Nooope, there's no hope for me! Too sickly sweet, and the wine note is just really disagreeing with me, even when I layered it.

Wet, it smells like orange zest and a tiny bit of carnation spice over patchouli. A little bit of noticeable throw, which is primarily bright orange over darker patchouli. As it dries down the ambergis comes out more, adding a bit of saltiness and its usual powdery oddness... ambergris doesn't really play well on my skin. The orange quickly dissipates and I'm left with mostly patchouli and a bit of ambergris. It's worth noting that this is completely different on my boyfriend. On him, it's all peppery carnations and sweet oranges! Spicy and juicy and bright, but it's quickly tempered with the strong grounding presence of patchouli. It's really nice.

Oops, looks like I never reviewed this one. I tried it a long time ago and liked it, more or less: it smelled like cinnamon rolls. Well, either my tastes changed or only fresh Chimera works on my skin, because a slightly more recent test was much worse. Upon opening the imp I was already worried: a sickly sweet smell. Cinnamon rolls, alright, but ones suspended in a vat of honey and general sweetness. On my skin it was also too sweet. Cinnamon is in there, but the copal is just a grounding presence. Honeysuckle amps WAY up and I just have to wash it off. I wish I could also throw a positive review onto the pile... if only honeysuckle behaved itself. ETA: Oh my. I got a scent locket and it's SO much NICER that way! I keep getting wafts of myrrh and copal tinted cinnamon. Warm and comforting and not too foody!

I often gravitate towards warmer/darker or heavier scents, but I like to have some light scents around too, particularly for spring and summer. Maiden is one of those light smells that passes the test! Pretty, light, but with a twist. This scent expresses itself pretty simply on my skin: rosy white tea with added carnations for spice. I LOVE tea, so I enjoy smelling like it, too! The tea is light, bright, and crisp, and has a gentle aspect like a real cup of white tea, tempered with rose. I dislike heady, loud rose, but this one is very well behaved and feminine. Spicy carnation, one of my favorite flowers (and I have few that I pick out as ones I really want to smell like), rounds this very balanced scent out nicely. The tea gives this a chilled aspect that would be perfect for spring and summer. It's just the loveliest scent!