Trish

In the imp: Rich vanilla with a definite incensy kick. Very yummy!! Wet: Vanilla, spices and incense. This is so me! Dry: Oh no, the spices are fading rapidly. In fact they're gone within 30 minutes, leaving me with vanilla and... patchouli. I hate patchouli although this isn't evil patchouli at least. It's more warm and rounded. 1 hour: Warm rich vanilla with a fairly hefty dose of patchouli. 2 hours: Same. The patchouli is really starting to get on my nerves and I have to wash it off. *sigh* I so wanted to love this, and in the imp and wet it was so promising. But I've gone off vanilla of late, and the patchouli was too strong. If the spices had stayed I'm pretty sure I would have liked it far more. I've tested this several times now, always hoping this time will be different, but no. However I'm definitely keeping the imp as I think this would be a really good one to layer with. I've got a heap of incensy blends on the way and I'm sure one of them will work wonders with this! And one day maybe I can learn to like patchouli - something I would have said was impossible before Bpal. EDITED TWO WEEKS LATER Well I kept persisting with this one, and it finally paid off! I wore it out of the house so I couldn't wash it off and discovered that the patchouli does die down after a while, and it becomes a warm vanilla with a dark and sultry centre. Much more my thing. Also in the patchouli stage it smells a lot better wafting around me than when I've got my nose pressed to my wrist every 5 minutes. I quite like this now, even if my partner says it smells like Fruit Tingles. I still doubt I'll ever get a bottle though. EDITED 6 MONTHS LATER Famous last words huh. Guess who got a bottle in her order this week? I realised I had fallen for it as soon as I finished my imp Now I can't believe I once never liked it much - how could I have not have fallen for it immediately??

In the imp: soft vanilla with some light florals. Actually the florals smell dusty, which really does conjure up the image of antiques. I'm not a floral person but I do like this. It's soft and romantic. Wet: Very similiar to the imp, except the florals become a little clearer. Dry: Same. After an hour: Almost pure vanilla, albeit a soft gentle one. Two hours: Vanilla. Four hours: Still vanilla, but getting faint. This isn't surprising really. Vanilla loves me and although I don't amp it, it stays very true and tends to last a fair while on my skin. I like it normally, but of late I've become extremely sick of it thanks to a merchandiser at work who drowns herself in The Body Shop vanilla perfume oil. I'll keep the imp but probably won't get it again. I just wish the florals would last longer (now that's a first for me!!).

... A dark, palpably sacred chthonic blend: black narcissus and cypress, stephanotis, opoponax, labdanum, onycha and ambergris. I'm completely unfamiliar with all the notes in this, so this will make reviewing this interesting. In the Imp: Strong, floral, slightly astringent, a bit of green (uh oh) and woods. Wet: Astringent for about 5 seconds, then that disappears to leave sweet florals, but ones that I actually like. Something reminds me of jasmine here, and I get the brief stabbing headache that I get from it too. On further research I think that's the stephanotis. Whatever it is within about 5 minutes it seems to rise and float above my skin. Underneath that theres a slightly incensy/spicy note coming out. And earth. Dry: The floating somewhat sharp floral has disappeared, leaving a dark soft floral with definite earthiness underneath it along with a hint of incense. I think the black narcissus might be the floral I can pick up now, whatever it is I like it a lot! I only put a drop on each wrist but it's got quite a lot of throw and lasts a fair while. This is freaking gorgeous, and I need to further experiment with the notes in it (especially the black narcissus). I'm not a floral person, but this is definitely my kind of floral. Verdict: I don't know that I'll get a bottle as it's definitely not an everyday scent, but I'll be keeping the imp that's for certain!

I got this in a swap with reservations, because I generally don't like green scents or rose. However I'm half Irish so I couldn't resist the name. In the imp: Wet, slightly green, sweet floral. Wet: Ack! Sharp green! Dry: It barely changes, except the almost pine green note softens and there's the barest hint of something softer underneath. I daresay that's the rose, but my nose can't get past the green. Pity, I get the feeling this is a rose I would like. Verdict: Off to the swap pile with you Dublin!

I recently acquired a bottle of Hellion and have fallen in love with it. Is there anything in the GC that resembles it at all? Or anything that's similiar but a little more musky and a little less fruity?

A scent for all rabble-rousing, nose-thumbing reprobates: black plum, champaca flower, dark musk, patchouli, narcissus and scorched sandalwood. My first bottle, thanks to Nymph. In the bottle: Sweet, fruity incense. I like. Wet: Extremely fruity and juicy, somewhat spicy, and with an astringent quality I'm not so sure of. The latter disappears within minutes thankfully. After 10 minutes: It smells like bubble gum or something similiar, but with an incensy edge. However at this stage it's a bit too foody for my liking. 30 minutes: Now this is more like it! The plum has been subdued by the other notes, and now it's a deliciously warm fruity incense and fairly close to how how it smells in the bottle. I can't really detect the other notes individually, they just combine to form incense. In the case of patchouli this is a VERY good thing as I normally despise it. I can't detect any floral notes at all as they seem to have disappeared completely. This isn't a bad thing for me either! On my wrists this disappears within an hour, two if I slather it. However if I put it in my cleavage and in the hollow of my throat it lasts for hours! I got whiffs of it all day, and also received a couple of compliments several hours after applying so it seems to have some throw. The more I wear it the more I am falling in love with it. This one is never leaving me.

In the imp: Cinnamon, with a touch of floral. Wet: Cinnamon, maybe a touch of cloves? Sweet without being foody. 30 minutes: The cinnamon has subsided somewhat, and has blended with the florals so that it's hard to tell where one ends and the other starts. They've become intwined. I can just detect woods in the background, just enough to ground the spice and florals. It is still fairly sweet. 2 hours: Has barely changed except to fade a bit. Clings fairly close to my skin. 8 hours: There's still just a hint of warm sweetness on my wrists. Verdict: This was the first Bpal I ever tried and it was a good place to start for me as I love cinnamon and woods. I don't know if I'll get a bottle as I'm still extremely new to Bpal and want to test a lot more before deciding. However I can definitely say that this imp is a keeper.

In the imp: Very floral and quite sweet. There's a note that reminds me of something but I don't know what. Wet: Woah this is strong! And floral. Very very floral. 10 minutes later: There's a note that's completely taking over everything but I can't pick what it is (I'm not a floral person). I'm pretty sure it's not jasmine though because I love it and I definitely don't love this. I want to say rose, but I'm not completely sure it is. Whatever it is it's just too strong and heavy, and is very cloying. 30 minutes: I'm getting very lightheaded, but nothing has changed. 6 hours later: I can still smell it! But at least it has faded enough so that I'm no longer quite as lightheaded. No effects on luck either. Verdict: I need to know what that note is that my chemistry is amping so that I can avoid it! I've tried it several times and the result is always the same. I don't mind it in the imp so I've tried a couple of drops in the bath. It's nice, but it still makes me lightheaded. I now officially give up on it.

This is my first review and still being new to Bpal I'm far from expert at detecting individual notes. In the imp: All floral. I'm not a floral person but this smells very good all the same. Very bright and warm. Wet: Very strong floral, almost sharp in a way. A sprinkling of violets, but it seems to be the iris (or at least I think it is, it's not a note I'm particularly familiar with) dominating. A hint of citrus around the edges. I really like this despite the sharpness. After 30 minutes: Oh my. The sharpness has disappeared and the musk is coming through quite strongly. The sandalwood has also made an appearance, and is lurking in the background. Iris and violets are still there. It's not nearly as bright now, and although it's not particularly dark it has a depth to it, a hint of mystery. I love this! After 2 hours: Wah! It's faded a lot, now it's a soft musky floral. I think this will be totally gone in another hour or two. Verdict: I adore this at the 30 minute mark, and there's no point where I dislike it. I'm not surprised the musk ended up being the dominant note on my skin as it likes me (and I like it so it's all good). Definitely a floral that I can and will wear. I just wish it lasted longer. Will I buy a bottle? I don't know yet until I get more exposure to Bpal, but this imp is definitely not going anywhere!