Trish

Insatiable lust, unending vigor! A truly carnal, energetic men's blend: vanilla and amber with juniper, rosewood and white pine. I got this as a frimp from the Lab and I have absolutely no hope that this will work for me. It sounds wonderful but there it is, my nemesis - amber. In the imp: Vanilla, with a touch of pine and amber. Wet: Sweet vanilla with quite a helping of pine and juniper. Sharp and woody yet warm and sweet. Drydown: Pretty much the same, except a little more vanilla. Warm sweet golden vanilla woods. This is lovely but I know it's going to turn on me once it's dry. There's a little throw, mainly vanilla and amber and the combination is heavenly! Initial Dry: It hasn't changed a whole lot, except the vanilla has receded a little and the pine is the top note. No baby powder as yet... Later: The vanilla has faded some more, so that it's mainly pine and rosewood now. A little sharp, a little soft, and still sweet. No powder.... 5 minutes later: And now the vanilla returns with a vengance! Warm sweet golden vanilla overlaying pine and rosewood. This is my favourite stage so far... and still no baby powder *begins to hope* The throw, although not strong, is pure vanilla now. Soft and sweet, and reminding me of the vanilla I get in the throw of Eat Me. It's rapidly becoming more and more vanillary now on my wrist too. After an hour or so it's settled into a soft warm vanilla amber scent with just the tiniest touch of powder - but not baby powder. I agree with whoever said it reminded them of Chimera minus the cinnamon - and I love Chimera. This was a suprising success! I don't know that it's a bottle yet though - I need to experience it properly instead of compulsively sniffing for baby powder. I also need to test it on Ray.

I got this as a frimp from the Lab, and it's not something I would have bought myself because of all the florals. However lemon, tea, musk and cedar are all winners on me so you never know! In the imp: Strong floral with the sharpness of lemon and a touch of spice. Wet: Sweet florals and lemon. Drydown: The tea is starting to emerge so that it's lemon tea and florals. In fact the lemon is dominating everything else on me - luckily I like lemon and this is not cleaning fluid lemon in the slightest. Now there's a hint of green, like freshly snapped flower stems. Not sure I like that. Dry: The florals are a lot stronger now, but I'm not sure if it's wisteria or osmanthus that is dominant. It's definitely not lilac though, it's underneath the other one/s. The lemon is still very much present, along with a little cedar in the background. Unforunately I'm not getting any musk at all and the tea is fading. For a floral this is rather nice, mainly due to the lemon, tea and the little bit of cedar. I wish I got the musk and cinnamon/spice others have mentioned, along with more cedar. Although soft it has a strength behind it - as befits Shakepeare's Cordelia - and is very pretty indeed. It's definitely one of the better florals on me, but it's not a keeper.

I got this from the Lab, and it's not something I would ever have picked for myself. Tropical fruits don't always work for me, I'm not overly fond of coconut, and even though I LOVE bananas I'm really not sure about smelling like one! The chilli however is very intriguing. In the imp: Apple, a hint of spice, and maybe pineapple. Juicy and sweet and rather yummy. Wet: Fruit smoothie! Drydown: Well hellooooo apple! This is all apple now. I like apple but it reminds me of the apple scented fabric softener I use little too much. Dry: Still mainly apple, but with the other notes peeking through. I can't distinuish any of them except the chilli, which is just giving it a touch of spice. I love the taste of chilli and the scent of it is working nicely in this too. Wish it were stronger though - it's a very mild chilli! Later the apple subsides somewhat and all the fruits blend together nicely. I can't pick any out except the apple, pineapple and a little coconut. Very nice, especially once the apple subsides, but not really me either.

In the imp: Musk, patchouli and a touch of orris. Rich and smooth. It does bear a resemblance to Lush's Tramp, and this makes me happy! Wet: The patchouli jumps out immediately. Thankfully this isn't dirty patchouli, but the more rounded and smooth one. Drydown: The orris starts to show itself, with it's dry and almost powdery self. There's a floral like note too, and the patchouli is rapidly disappearing. Dry: Uhh... powder. And not just powdery orris (which I like) but baby powder. Which makes me think there's amber in this. Certainly black musk and patchouli like me, and when myrrh doesn't it goes bitter not powdery. Baby powder mixed with a little dirt. Uh... no. At least I still have Tramp.

I love berries, I don't like green. But I had to give this a shot anyway. Soft, sweet blackberries mixed with a green scent that reminds me somewhat of freshly cut grass. It's not a sharp green, more soft and sweet. I wore this while reading outside on a mild sunny late winter afternoon, and it really was the perfect scent for that. It's an early spring scent to me, when it's warm in the sun but there's a fresh breeze blowing softly. So I did like this, but it's not really me either.

The very last Ars Draconis for me! And there is a reason I've left this 'til last: with amber and ylang ylang I fear this one won't be for me, dragon's blood or not. In the imp: Dragon's blood with a touch of floral. Wet: Soft dragon's blood and floral - very nice actually! Drydown: Oh wow, this is a floral I really do like! It's mainly poppy and soft dragon's blood, with a little ylang ylang. Just dry: The amber curse strikes again... Having said that it's a rather nice powdery floral dragon's blood. It has some soft throw too, mainly the dragon's blood which is normal for me. Fully dry: Crazy. It's lost most of the powder! It's also gained a lot of floral, but whereas ylang ylang usually takes over a scent in this case it hasn't. The dragon's blood underneath seems to be keeping it well under control. And despite being a floral I really quite like this. And then it gradually turns to baby powder with a hint of floral *sigh*. This actually was a lot better than what I expected, but the bloody amber hates me. I'm still keeping the imp though, just so I've got the entire set. Plus this will work nicely in a scent locket.

In the imp: Almond. Or cherry. Hopefully the former - neither particularly likes me, but almond at least sometimes surprises me. Wet: Same. Drydown: Ok there is something in here besides almond, something floral. I suspect it may be rose. *2 minutes later* Yep, definitely rose. Dry: Amazingly the almond has been beaten into submission. Unfortunately it was by the rose. Somewhat powdery rose. 5 minutes later: Rose talcum powder. I'm thinking there is amber in this. 5 more minutes: Straight out talcum powder. Almond, rose and amber. This didn't have a hope in hell of working on me did it.

In the imp: Honey and wine, deepened by something. But predominantly honey. Uh-oh. When honey is this strong in the imp it usually doesn't bode well for me. However all the other notes are at least good on me, and some (opoponax, musk, wine) are favourites. Wet: Within 30 seconds the honey is subdued, and the wine comes out stronger. Drydown: Within 2 minutes the most glorious scent is wafting around my nose. This has serious throw considering I only lightly swiped it on one wrist. The wine is glorious (yes, I'm repeating myself but it's a very apt word) and warm and musky and deep, with the honey sweetening it without overpowering it. There's some grapes and musk too, and just a hint of plum blossom. Dry: This is just getting better. Now the tonka and benzoin are lending a warm rich smoothness to it, and the tobacco flower is present underneath giving it a touch more darkness. It's not a heavy scent, yet it's still rich and deep and a bit dark. The honey is fading rather rapidly (weird, even when it works for me it tends to stick around for a long time), along with a fair bit of the throw. The wine does remind me a little of Bordello, yet it's quite different too. This is darker, richer, muskier and more subdued. Sexy as opposed to Bordello's playful flirtatiousness. A bit more complex too, with the plum blossom dancing over the top and the musk deepening it. Let me put it this way - I knew there would be a bottle of this in my next order within 30 minutes.

In the imp: Sweet currants and vanilla Wet: Pretty much the same. Drydown: Woah this does smell like cake! Vanilla cake with some currants. I'm not a foody person but this is nice! Dry: More vanilla than cake now - sweet vanilla with ripe currants swirled through it. It's sweet but it's a natural sweet, not fake at all. There's a slight spiciness in it too, which I really like as it cuts through the sweetness a bit. As time goes on the "cake" changes into a lovely sweet vanilla. Creamy vanilla and currants with a hint of spice. It's definitely a lighter foody scent and therefore I like it more than Gluttony etc. It's more girly than I usually like too - yet like it I do! It's kind of playful and innocent, but a little mischevious. It has pretty good throw too, considering I only swiped it on one wrist. A little later the vanilla starts to dominate - not overly surprising on my skin. And this is the best stage of all! Warm sweet vanilla with a touch of spice and currants. Gorgeous! A bottle is a possibility, the imp is definitely staying! ETA: Did I say a bottle was a possibility? After wearing it a couple of times this has shot into my top 10 and a bottle is a definite must have. As soon as possible!

This is soft and sweet, and there is a sort of cake smell to it, but it's very soft. There's also very soft incense. And yes, the operative word here is soft. In fact no matter how much I slathered on it was barely discernable once dry and gone within 30 minutes. But while I could smell it was lovely! Just soft sweet light foody incense. Gorgeous but oh so fleeting!

In the imp: Mandarin, vanilla and sandlwood. But mainly creamy mandarin, which makes me a bit wary. Citrus can go sour on me, but I'm hoping that the vanilla and sandalwood - both very stable notes on me - will keep it in check. Wet: Oh wow. This is lovely! Soft sweet creamy floral and mandarin grounded by vanilla and sandalwood. Drydown: Lily of the Valley - and in bucketfulls! There's still some mandarin but everything else has been drowned out. Dry: Strong mandarin and lily, with just a touch of opium. There's not a sniff of vanilla or sandalwood at all! It also has mega throw. I'll wait and see if it subdues a bit, but at this stage it is not for me. It's not bad, just not me at all. Couple of hours later: Nope, it hasn't changed at all. This is going to be one with very good lasting power, seeing it has barely started to fade at all.

In the imp: Soft smooth creamy rum and coconut. Wet: Soft leather, smoke and coconut. Surprisingly light and sweet - I imagined perversion to be a much darker scent! Drydown: The leather, tobacco and smoke start to dominate, but the coconut and now tonka are still very much present underneath. It's still far softer, sweeter and subdued than I imagined. Dry: Soft smooth smoky leather and tonka with a touch of coconut and chardonnay. I don't think the chardonnay is quite working on me, there's a slight sour note in the background and I've never had a problem with any of the other notes in this. It's not bad mind you, as it's very much in the background. It's got some soft sweet throw which is beautiful. Except for that slightly sour note, this is delightful even if it was nothing like I expected! It has surprisingly good last considering it is quite soft on me. I put it on last night and I could still smell it softly on my wrists this morning.

Wet, this is sweet sandalwood with a touch of light musk. As it dries the sweetness lessens somewhat and cedar appears. Not harsh cedar, but soft rounded sweet cedar. There's also glorious warm golden musk and some dust. Dust that's mixed with incense ash. It's warm, soft, sweet, dry, haunting, calming and a thousand other things that I can't describe. It's provoking quite an emotional response actually. It might be the dusty old books thing - I love second hand bookstores and they always stir some sort of "homecoming" response in me. I love woods, I love musk, I love dust, I love incense, and I adore Aziraphale.

In the imp: Honey and musk, mixed with far darker notes. Wet: Honey and nothing but honey. Uh oh. Honey and I have an unpredictable relationship. In some blends it lends a delightful soft warm sweetness to a scent that rounds it out (see: Dragon's Milk, White Rabbit, Bengal), but there's been a couple where the honey has taken over and made it far too sweet for me and impossible to wash off (see: Athens, Milk Moon '07). I'm already fearing this is another. Drydown: Honey and a little musk on my wrist. The throw is FAR nicer, less sweet and more musky and smokey. Dry: Hmmm.. The honey is still very dominant but at least it's not sickly sweet. The musk is keeping it under control - just. I haven't got any patchouli, and I doubt I will now since I subdue it fairly quickly. Nor has the myrrh appeared but it can be a late bloomer on my skin. Bit later: Oh this is better! The musk has managed to beat down the honey a bit. It's still a bit too sweet for me, but it has more depth and warmth - and I do so love musk of any type. I just wish the myrrh would show up. And then it gets a plastic undertone. Don't know where that came from since it doesn't contain cherry or vanilla. *sigh* This could have been so good, and for a few brief moments it came so close, but alas it was not to be.

At first this is all dragon's blood and patchouli, but the latter softens quite quickly and the myrrh takes it's place. Myrrh can do either one of two things on my skin - turn bitter or glorious. Thankfully this is the glorious type. The cassia is there, but is quite muted on me, just adding a touch of spice. I don't know where the pomegranate was, but it never made an appearance, and I wouldn't know mimosa if it hit me over the head. In short this is a smokey slightly spicy dragon's blood with a good dose of myrrh. The dragon's blood is somewhat more muted than in most of the Ars Draconis scents. It has good throw and slightly better than average last. Well, better than average compared to all scents. For an Ars Draconis it's quite short lived on me (the majority are still going strong 12+ hours after appliction)! I like this a lot, and happily wore it to work today after testing it last night. A bottle may be in my future - not that I need another DB blend bottle right now!

In the imp: Tart yet sweet berries, almost medicinal but not in a bad way. Lollies! (or if you prefer - candy!). Wet: Sweet wet berries and blackcurrant. Drydown: The wine emerges - a slightly dry red wine. It doesn't smell like lollies so much now, it's a little more grown up. As it dries more the sweetness definitely dies right down. It's still sweet mind you, but not as much. And now it's starting to throw like crazy! The throw is sweeter than the skin scent, it has a cherry lolly hint to it. I don't mind, I like cherry - it just doesn't always like me! Dry: Oh there's the thyme. Very subdued and only apparent if I press my nose to my wrist. It's definitely not as sweet now, much more mellow and smooth. But still that cherry lolly sweet in the throw. I do love how often things smell different on my skin than in the throw. Usually I prefer the throw scent, but in this case I prefer the skin. I do rather like this, but I'm not sure I'll actually reach for it that often seeing that I adore Bordello with it's added depth and richness (not to mention my beloved plum). ETA: Unfortunately after a couple of hours or so it once again sweetens up, and also becomes somewhat sickly. So much so I had to wash it off. Oh well.... I still have my Bordello!

To me this is a more straightforward and non-complex blend than many others, but it is beautiful in it's simplicity. On my skin it is nearly all tea, with the lemony ginger more in the background. The ginger itself is far gentler and "refined" than say Shub or Saw-Scaled Viper, and the tea is crisp and slightly sweet. It doesn't change from wet to several hours later, it just gradually subdues. And it does last - I put some on last night and I could still smell it clearly when I got up this morning. Mind you I did slather it! Overall I find it a fresh uplifting scent, which are not words I normally associate with my faves. But this is lovely and I can see it getting some pretty heavy rotation in the summer.

First of all I have to say that once the reviews started coming in I was dreadfully disapponted I hadn't ordered a decant through DenMother's Good Omens/Stardust decant group. But when I got my order she'd popped a full decant in! Just as well too because I positively swooned when I opened up the imp. Musk! Patchouli (the good sort)! Leather! Wet it immediately reminds me of Smut with all the musk. As it starts to drydown the leather emerges, along with some soft patchouli and just a little citrus, mahogany and cologne. But it's mainly musky leather and patchouli which pleases me very much! Once completely dry it sweetens up a little, and the cologne becomes more apparent. It smells like a very sexy man this does. It's fairly soft on me, which isn't surprising since my skin softens patchouli and usually leather as well. But I'm still surprised at how subdued the leather is, and in that way it does resemble Dee. But it's sooooo much more sexier than Dee. After half an hour or so it becomes quite difficult to describe, because all the notes are so well blended. Yes there's musk, and yes there's leather and some other notes, but they're all in perfect harmony. But it's soft and warm, a bit dry and sexy. And it still reminds me of Smut. Kind of Smut dons an old leather jacket and some cologne. This is definitely gong to be tested on my partner (once he gets over his flu). He loves Dee and musk so I think this may just be a hit for him too.

This is a whole lot softer than I expected. In the imp it's all fiery red ginger, reminding me of Saw-Scaled Viper. Once on the ginger gradually subdues and something that smells like pepper pops it's head up briefly. After an hour or so it ends up as a very dry and subdued ginger with just a hint of musk in the background. Usually red musk throws like crazy on me, but this has very little throw on me. It's very nice, just not what I was expecting. I never quite imagined War as being soft and subtle!

As far as I'm concerned the ultimate myrrh scent is Priala, The Human Phoenix. Myrrh can go bitter on me, but Priala doesn't at all! If you also like cinnamon then I really must recommend it. However it is pretty incensey - really good quality rich slightly sweet spiced myrrh incense.

This Full Moon marks the time of the year when the new antlers of buck deer emerge from their foreheads, coated in soft velvet. This is a time of masculine vigor, thunder, balmy nights, glorious sunlight and hot winds. Buck Moon is an animalistic, deep scent: an amplification of one's natural musk coupled with forest herbs, a hint of clear, warm evening air and a crystalline spark of lunar oil. I got a sniffie of this from Funkmoppet, and there was just enough to test it. In the imp: My initial rection was "Dorian"! There is a resemblance to my nose, with the light musk and there's a lemon scent in there too. But there's also herbs as well, so it's not quite a Dorian clone. Actually it smells like a cross between Dorian and Osun (but minus the tea of the former and the honey of the latter). Wet: Uhhhhhhhh..... Sweet lemony musky dried herbs and grasses. It's light and fresh and cool and gorgeous. I don't normally like cool scents (excepting mint) but this is freaking beautiful. Drydown: The lemon is fading away rather quickly, leaving soft light musk with dried herbs and grasses. It's still gorgeous. It has a little bit of light throw. Dry: Yep, the lemon has gone. Otherwise it is the same. Light and soft, and the word pure springs to mind. Ths is much lighter and cooler (and purer!) than what I normally go for, but I have fallen instantly for this. It wasn't even on my wishlist! But now it has gone straight to the top of my must track down a bottle list. I need it asap - preferrably yesterday. {Edited to add Lab description}

In the imp: Very sweet and foody, almost caramel, but with something woody and smoky behind it. Wet: Wow the wood just jumps out immediately! I mean it's still very sweet and foody, but with a very definite wood note. Drydown: Definitely cedar and pine. As it dries the foodiness is backing off quite quickly, so that it's becoming a sweet yet somewhat sharp wood. Actually it's reminding me a lot of Misk U, with the sweet foodiness over the woods long with dust. Except this is less sweet than Misk U now, and of course no coffee. Dry: The same, this isn't morphing much on my skin at all. Dry woods with creamy foody sweetness. It's nice, but I prefer Misk U.

In the imp: Sandalwood and herbs, somewhat sweet. Wet: Dry sandalwood and a touch of herbs. Drydown: Lots of sandalwood! As it dries the florals appear and grow stronger, but the sandalwood is stopping them from taking over. Thankfully - I like sandalwood a whole lot more than flowers! It's gaining a bit of throw too - soft sweet warm dry flowers and sandalwood. Initial Dry: Hmmm one of the floral notes smells familiar but I can't quite place it (not surprising, I'm not too good with florals). I think it might be lily actually, which is a floral that I don't mind. It's perfumey now, and the sandalwood isn't quite as dominant although still very present. It's sombre yet pretty, light and yet deep. Hmmm is that rose? Time will tell - it usually takes over on me *sigh*. Later Dry: Ok, maybe not rose, or at least one of the roses that behaves itself. The herbs are starting to come out now, mixing with the sandalwood and florals very nicely. The florals are starting to fade in fact, and the sandalwood is getting that dusty quality which I quite like. Soft subdued dusty sandalwood and dried herbs. It doesn't change from there, just gradually fades away over a few hours. I like this rather a lot, especially the last stage, which begs the question: Why have I not tried this before when I love sandalwood and it's been on my wishlist from the very start?

This was also frimped to me by the awesome DenMother! And it also went to powder on me, as amber usually does. But not as quickly as it often does, so before it did it was a lovely sweet patchouli with a hint of spice. The powder isn't so bad either, a soft resin powder rather than baby powder. The imp will be kept though - my partner really took a liking to this and claimed it! He hasn't tested it yet, but he has his own scent locket (yep, he is completely enabled lol) and loves it in the imp.

My skin's quite sensitive, and I am allergic to various flowers and grasses (as in hives, hayfever, and in the case of jasmine, asthma). But so far I've been fine with Bpal. Chimera and Snake Oil both irritate and redden my skin for about 30 minutes if I apply them to my cleavage/neck after a shower but are fine otherwise, and Saw Scaled Viper bit me but good the one time I put it on my wrists after a shower. Again it's fine otherwise. However all the other spicy ones I've tried are problem free at any time, and I've tried quite a few now (including the oft mentioned Eclipse and Tintagel). I haven't tried Inferno though. As for jasmine, well it gives me a brief stabbing headache but otherwise it's fine. It seems to just be the flower or burning the EO/FO that provokes the asthma thankfully. The other two big hayfever causing florals are chryanthemum which I've only tried in Frumious Bandersnatch which was ok, and fresia which I'm not sure is in any Bpal. So I guess I'm lucky! I just need to remember to never put on Saw Scaled Viper less than an hour after a shower! Oh and not to put any containing mint near my face, which is ridiculously sensitive to it.