bookishgrrl

Wet on Skin: mainly orris, with something deep behind it. Initial Dry: On a surface level Dance of Death calls to mind my imp of Blood Pearl, which was all orris and musk (no coconut) on me, except underneath the orris is a much sharper/darker scent. I'm assuming the darker version of musk in DoD plus the patchouli & myrrh are the source of that extra sharpness. Later: One hour in, this is rather powdery orris, with a sharp underneath. But about 2 1/2 hours in the 'musk magic meld' starts... not quite as good as on Blood Pearl (I believe it's a different kind of musk) but still smells quite lovely, with the background finally integrating nicely with the orris top. Final Thoughts: not bad, much improved after the first few hours. If you like orris but Blood Pearl was too sweet/coconutty on you, give Dance of Death a try!

Wet On Skin: rich cherry scent, and actually smelled of wood underneath. Initial Dry: Fruity and woody; blends really really well together. Hmm... every once in a while it whiffs medicinal, but that may be just the association I make of this dark cherry scent with throat lozenges. Later: Er, hello? Gone in 45 minutes??! (verified with bookishguy, the neutral nose who just came home from work: "um... I don't smell anything? Powder, maybe?") Final thoughts: A mature, rich cherry blend... that is completely eaten by my skin in less than an hour

On me, Kyoto stayed a spicy anise/licorice underscored by candied cherries from start to finish. Not bad if either of these are notes one is into, but I'm really kinda bleh on licorice smells, and if I was really in the mood to go outside my normal notes for anise, Black Annis was much more complex and potent on me... Mild to medium throw. Lasted about an hour and a half.

Wet on skin: Juliet was a bouquet of flowers, well-blended so none really dominated, but I could most easily identify lilies and sweet pea with the pear lightly adding some sweet juice. Initial Dry Still sweet flowers, with light musk underneath. The florals/musk is nice, a bit more of a 'good girl' scent than I've tried before. Nothing forward or brazen, just sweet florals and that light musk. Later Flowers are settled down more, allowing more room for the musk to develop. I don't find the white musk to become as sexy as the darker musks on my skin, but I can still smell it in the background, though much more restrained than I'd normally choose. The Verdict: A keeper, I think. I can see using this during the day in the spring/summer while visiting family, where I don't want to smell all sexxified. ETA: After another test run I realized that this is the first BPAL that gives me headaches. I thought it was only a coincidence the first time.

Hellcat... I feared, reading the notes and opening the imp, it would be Gluttony all over again. Hazelnut and buttercream are not my friends. BUT this worked out wonderfully! I won't bother writing stages for this one, since it stayed very true to scent from the initial application on... here goes: Definitely a foody scent. Very sweet, very edible. Smelled just like these delicious imported Italian Marzipan concoctions I sampled last winter. Sweet, almondy, a wisp of liquour smell, though not in a boozy way... more like a hint of liquour-based flavoring. But mainly it's just a well-done, sugary, delicious italian marzipan from start to finish. Sure, you smell like candy, but it's more grown-up than lollipops and bubblegum. A mature candy, if you will. Though I'm not hot on foody scents, this is a definitely a keeper for those times I do want to smell good enough to eat.

I tested this on both myself and bookishguy (he couldn't resist). Even though neither of us is overly fond of anise, we were eager to try the challenge of vetiver(t)/civet... bring on the hag! Wet: me: Anise tinged herbals. Smells like this expensive absinthe we *cough* allegedly *cough* smuggled in a few New Year's Eves ago. Wet: him: Good-n-plenties. All anise, all the time! Initial dry: me: strong throw. Still a lot of anise, but complex: has become heady, spicy, with sweetness underneath. I don't get 'dank caves' at all, more dry and warm. Initial dry: him: still mostly sweet good-n-plenties. Later: me: fragrance is still close to initial drydown, but further developed into an amazing predatory animalistic RARRR sort of scent. Heady. Spicy. Visceral. Older (though not really hag, just... mature.) Civet? fine! No odd smells. I was worried because some of my least favorite smells in the world include: cats, cat pee and cat spray. Whew! Vetiver(t)? No prob! Later: him: both throw and lasting power still going strong. Though less complex on him than me. Mostly still good-n-plenties. Much sweeter on him than me. No problems with civet or the vet. This scent has personality with a capital P. So much so, and so different from me, that I almost feel like I can't live up to wearing this (aside from the fact that I don't overly like anise as a scent). The thing is... deep down I know that once in a while I'd WANT to be the kind of woman that could pull off Black Annis. It's not 'me'... but I don't always want to feel like 'me.' There are some nights I don't want to smell sweet and approachable, I just feel predatory, dark and evil. Wearing this would completely inspire me. Saving the imp for special occasions...

Summed up: Desperate sweetness underscored with bitterness. Yep, liquid Desire... Opening the Imp: Sweet. A waft of apple comes out. Wet on Skin: Floral and sweet... very sweet. Oooh, but with a definite undercurrent of something sharp/woody/bitter. I'm thinking it's the patchouli and/or teak perhaps? Initial Dry: Wow... I am now throwing off major clouds of rose. A miasma of roses around me, but if I sniff my wrist there's still that bitterness underneath, near my skin. Later (about an hour): Fairly similar to beginning, but more woody/bitter developing, though those notes are still close to skin. From farther away, it's still quite rose-y. Verdict: Medium to high throw (of the roses, at least). Pretty consistent from start to finish. Lasted until I washed it off hours later. I LOVED experiencing this scent based on its name! Seriously, I'm impressed with this blend. Great as a concept, even though not for me in reality: I'm just not (so far) a rose sort of girl. Probably will swap.

Source: Blood Pearl was a fresh imp from the Lab Wet on skin: Orris, ahoy! I can now state with confidence that the note that jumps out at me is definitely a floral orris after comparing to an imp of Dance of Death, which also has orris listed. I don't really get any coconut at all... too bad, 'cause I'm a big coconut fan. Moving on... Initial Dry: Still a perfumey orris. No coconut. A bit of sweet fruitiness underneath it, perhaps? But not a 'fruit' scent. Just, juicy-like. This is a pretty enough scent, but I'm so-so about it on me. About 1 hr in: WOW! I can't stop huffing myself and making everyone smell me. I am exuding a most wonderful scent. Something has bloomed on my skin. Musk? Orris alone = meh. Orris + musk = yowza wowza. Still no coconut, though? Or if there is, it's so well blended I can't pick it out specifically. About 2 hrs. in: Blood Pearl has settled into a very quiet sweet scent. Powdery. When I ask bookishguy to sniff me he concurs: "Hmm. Powdery. But not, like, baby powder. Just... powdery." Again, not offensive, just not enthralled like I was for the middle one-hour window. ETA: Final Verdict: Throw was mild. Lasted a number of hours, though settled into 'end' stages quickly. I don't know? What do you do about something that goes from a 2.5 to a 5 to a 2 (on a scale of 1 to 5)? I mean, that middle flash of greatness is really great, one of the best so far. But is it worth it for the not-bad-but-not-wow-on-me bookend stages? I think I'll finish the imp off and see if I miss it before ordering more.

Source: Imp from lab Eeesh, Aeval, you are hereby the winner of 'scent that broke my heart.' I wanted to love you. You were the scent I was most excited about in my first order! Sweet Pea! Musk! Sure, I didn't know what Sage or Tonka smelled like, but the reviews said overall you were 'girly' and 'floral' and 'pink' and 'sweet'... yes, please! The day my order arrived I walked into the stairway leading up to my apartment and saw the box sitting on the steps. I also noticed a very strong 'headshop' smell... a disagreeable (to me) one. Uh oh. Upon opening the box it got stronger. What was that smell coming from? Bringing the prized Aeval imp up to my nose... AIEE! That was it! It didn't smell like sweet pea. It didn't smell like musk. I could only guess it was either sage or tonka. I trepidatiously opened the imp. Whatever that scent is (I'm pretty sure at this point it's the sage), that is all I get from the imp. I even gave it a shot later in the week and applied some, letting it sit on my skin for 1/2 a day to see if it would change. Nope. Just that sage(?) scent, which may be delicious to some, but completely bowls me over, and not in a good way. No sweet pea, no florals, not feminine, can't even smell the musk. Maybe I got a bum batch? Update: As mentioned in another post, I still have a love-hate relationship with this scent. It's like being compelled to keep smelling something gross just to see if it still smells gross. It does And my nose is either getting used to the sage or it's mellowing out a bit. I guess I've grown a bit of an affinity for it. Not enough to wear it again, though.

Oh, dear... never realized that. Crap, I shoulda been making my orders PayPal instead of CCNow all along. Just sent one in today and everything. I didn't realize it was that much of a difference. Sorry

I think I'll keep this less structured than my normal reviews, as practically everything that can be said about Snake Oil, has Source: Last minute swapout in 1st imp pack ordered from lab on request of my loverguy. Good intuition: it's his favorite scent on me (he's previously proven to be partial to vanilla.) On me Snake Oil is sweet, candy-like vanilla with a hint of spice behind. I'm trying very hard to be sparing with my imp as I wait for the bottle I went back and ordered to come in. I'd like to tuck it away and age it to bring more spices out, but it's hard to leave it alone when everytime I wear it I get huffed and told I smell good Oddly, occasionally when I put it on I get an initial whiff of cheap motel rooms. You know: lingering cigarette smoke covered by air freshener. Changing hormones/chemistry? *shrugs* At any rate it only lasts a moment.

Source: Imp from Lab Since I had never worn any patchouli scents before, I ordered Depraved to jump right in and see what it was all about. I mean, c'mon... depraved. How can you go wrong? In imp: Wow! That is some dark, dank patchouli! Wet on Skin: All I can smell is extremely earthy patchouli. Very black, sharp, wet 'digging in the dirt' smell. Initial Dry: I can smell a faint trace of the fruit when I stick my nose up to my skin now, but only the patchouli can be smelled from farther away. Later: The patchouli is less agressive, but not exactly mellow. Apricot is still peeking out when you get in close to sniff, but not noticeable otherwise. Me to Loverguy: "Hmmm. Well, I smell like strong patchouli I suppose." LG: "Y'know... patchouli's not a bad thing to smell like *arches eyebrow*" Final verdict: Hmm. I don't feel much like *me* in this dark patchouli, so I doubt I'd order it again, but I'm still game to try some of the other Lab blends that might be more complex than Depraved. AND I think I'm going to hang on to the imp and let it age, to see if it changes how aggressive/sharp the patchouli is.

Blood Kiss was an Imp from the lab. I am still not very familiar with what different notes smell like (vetiver, what? dragon's who?) so I didn't know exactly what to expect. In the Imp: Honey! And lots of it. My initial notes were, "Honey, honey, honey." There is more sweetness under it, but honey is the main thing I can smell. Wet on skin: Honey! But this is not a typical innocent honey. There's a kind of a syrupy dark liquour, smelling a bit like cherries underneath, smutting it up. Dirty! Inital Dry: The honey has stepped back a bit, and cherry has come forward to share the spotlight. They seem very nicely balanced. I feel like I smell sticky, syrupy sweet, but verging closer to delicious than cloying. Later: About 45 min to an hour into it, the magic which is musk (i think?) blooms on my skin and ties everything together. Now I smell (from strongest to weakest): Musk, Vanilla (Hello! When did you get here?! ), Cherry/Honey, and maybe the tracest bit of cloves (though I may be wishing myself into smelling that, as I really like cloves and am hoping they'll come out... ;-) ) Blood Kiss lasts a couple of hours on me (though the traces of afterglow of spicy musk and vanilla last a few hours past that) and has an average throw. Normally that would make me sad, but you know what? This isn't a scent I want to wear to work all day. It makes me feel smutty and sweet and beggin' for some naughtiness. It lasts the perfect amount of time and has the perfect throw for calling in sick and spending a debaucherous afternoon in bed with a lover. ... jewelbug described it earlier as "Blood Kiss = Smex" and I have to say I wholeheartedly agree. ETA: The more and more I wear this, the more it has become my absolute favorite BPAL scent. LOVE! I've found it layers excellently with Snake Oil, too...

Ultraviolet was one of my initial 6 imp selections from my first BPAL order. I wasn't sure about it, but having noticed my other selections were very warm and incense-y/spicy, I wanted to throw something in that seemed cooler from the description... In the Imp: Girl Scout Thin Mints? I'm terrible at sniffing things out of the imp, it never is the same as when I put it on, so on we go... Initial Wet: Er... Girl Scout Thin Mints! Very sweet mix of peppermint is my initial impression. Odd, I expected it to be an earthier eucalyptus sort of mint... but it's not bad! I do notice a very cool sensation on my wrists and collarbone where I've swiped the wand... that must be the eucalyptus oil? What a neat effect... cool skin without smelling like mentholated product. Initial Dry: The mint almost immediately becomes much much receded, and now an herbal-y violet smell is coming forth in a major way. Still feels cooling on my skin! I like the smell of this more and more. Later: This has developed into a sweet and spicy violet scent. It's familiar... hmm... AHA! I'm smelling like those old-fashioned C Howard's (Choward's) Violet Mints taste! I LOVE those things, and practically o.d.'d on them the last time I bought some (while visiting New Orleans). Mmmmm.... Final Verdict: The spicy-sweet violet stage of Ultraviolet settled in quickly. It had a mild to medium throw on me and stayed a few hours. The 'cooling' sensation on my skin also lasted quite a while. I don't see this as my signature scent BUT I'm totally going to try making it a body spray using the info here for what I hope will be a cooling hot-day/summer/after-workout scent spritz.

Gluttony was a generous lagniappe/frimp in my first order, yay! In my excitement that day I tried about 7 scents on different parts of my arms, which was ridiculous as I became quickly scent-overwhelmed, but the initial response to Gluttony by my S.O.'s fresh nose was a hearty *SNUUUUUFFFFFFF* "Mmmm!" followed by a pantomime of eating my wrist. And so it became a preferred pick to get the full-on try-out treatment... In the imp: Oh. My. Goodness. Sweet candy, rich with sugar, toasted like caramel and slightly boozy like the syrup I make smells right after adding maple and vanilla extracts. DEFINITELY a strong scent, I have to 'waft' it to my nose from a few inches away like my H.S. chemistry taught in order to get a manageable dose. Amazingly, totally gluttonous! Wet on skin: Everything is amped even further the moment I dab on warm skin (swiped wrists and collarbone). I now catch whiffs of hazelnut and buttercream in addition to dark sugary candy and a hint of (to me) maple underneath. Very complex, very sinful! Early Dry: Mmm, candy! uh oh... Something happens after the initial dry. Arrrrgh! My skin chemistry has warped the scent notes, making the hazelnut and buttercream scream in a really overpowering, slightly rank syrup-y way! What do I smell like? Something not good... Oh, dear. Like walking by an overpowering Yankee Candle store. Arrrgh! I'm actually getting a headache. Humph. I'm not giving up, though, I want to wait to see how it mellows... Later: It's been hours, but I'm still emitting a vaguely rancid hazelnut/buttercream candle smell. I was hoping end notes might mellow it out (chocolate? hello?), but it seems that my skin & chemistry do not play nicely with Gluttony at all! This is very sad when combined with the fact that it appears to have the highest throw and staying power of everything I've ordered (I love assertive scents, why can't the other ones create a miasma around me like this?!) Supporting Evidence: -S.O. commenting as I walk by, early on: "Wow, following you is like following a bakery!" -S.O. comment later on: "Stay away, stink-bake!" *sigh* ah, well! Will have to pass it along... a scent this interesting deserves a better bod to be on