Trish

In the imp: Oh my! Spices, honey and light musk. Cinnamon's the most prominant spice but I can pick out a little ginger too. Wet: The honey lightens instantly, but it's still sweet. Sweet spices with a little musk. Heavenly!! Drydown: The pepper is emerging, just adding a little more bite. The cinnamon isn't overly strong in this, it's definitely cinnamon bark rather than foody cinnamon. A little ginger, a little clove, and a little musk. Dry: It doesn't change a whole lot, except the honey fades a fair bit. Unfortunately it disappears within 3 hours even after putting on unscented lotion first and slathering it. *sigh* My skin just eats spices it seems, except Chimera. No skin irritation at all, but I tested it on my wrists which seem immune to cinnamon.

A little while ago I saw a thing about the Bone Church in Prague on TV and was fascinated, so I had to give this a go, florals or no florals. In the imp: sweet frankincense Wet: soft florals over sweet frankincense Drydown: Mmm I'm not familiar with lily or rose geranium, but this is lovely! The florals are softening and sweetening the frankincense, but not overpowering it. At one stage I start to fear they will, but then the frankincense moves up another notch. For me, this is a good thing as I am rather fond of frankincense. Luckily it's just as fond of me! Dry: I can just smell a warm soft wood in the background which must be the rosewood, then the florals mingling with the frankincense. A warm, dry slightly sweet incensey floral. After a while the florals fade so it's nearly all soft frankincense. It has a bit of throw and medium to good lasting power. But then, after about 4 hours it turns to powdery florals. Damnit!

At first this is orange and spice, then it dries to a resin base (very light dragon's blood maybe?) with a little spice and floral. Jasmine I think, or something that reminds me of it. It's not as strong as jasmine usually is, nor has it given me the brief stabbing headache it normally does. In any case it's difficult for me to work out what's in it, although if it is dragon's blood I should be able to tell as soon as the other notes fade as it always outlasts every other note on me. Does it work? I don't know since I haven't had a chance to test that yet. But I can see how it could very easily... And yes, I'm almost positive that's dragon's blood in there now. Even while typing this it's got a bit stronger as it is wont to do on me. That would also explain why I rather like this.

In the imp: Lemongrass and something that makes my nose twitch. Wet: Lemongrass. Drydown: I walked outside and suddenly got a whiff of the most wonderful soft incense. But up close... lemongrass! Now I like lemongrass but not as a perfume. However there is a soft kind of herbal incense underneath it. Dry: This is quite complex. There's a very light and soft incense, a tiny hint of smoke and dried herbs. Plus lemongrass. It's dry and exotic, with a little lingering sweetness. I'm not getting any wine or berries unfortunately. Also unfortunately as the lemongrass fades everything else does and within an hour there's only a faint powdery scent left. Mind you, it's quite a lovely powder! If the rest of the notes were as strong as the lemongrass was and if it lasted longer on me this would probably be a bottle.

In the imp: Orange, cloves and something far darker. Patchouli I think because I don't really like it. Wet: Orange, clove and cinnamon. Sweet, but with a bitter edge. Drydown: The bitterness fades as it dries thankfully, and the softer sweeter peach appears. Then the cloves really warm up, and combine with the orange and peach to make a sweet and spicy scent that's soft rather than sharp. Funnily I am getting very little cinnamon at all from this. There is a muted darkness underneath also which I quite like. Dry: The cloves fade away somewhat and mingle with the cinnamon that appears, producing a soft spice. The peach and orange are also mingling nicely, the former sweetening the orange without overpowering it. A rather soft and pretty spicy fruit scent. This was nothing like I expected, especially after sniffing the imp! I got no incense and although there was an underlaying darkness it was very muted. On the positive side the orange did not go sour on me as citrus often does. I'll keep the imp but it won't be a bottle as it's not really me.

In the imp: Sweet fruit is immediately followed by florals. Wet: Sweet berries with a hint of floral. I'm not a floral person but this is rather nice, I just hope the rose doesn't take over. Drydown: As I expected the plum quickly takes centre stage as it normally does on me. However this isn't like the plum in Bordello, Bathsheba or Hellion, it's softer and isn't as sweet. There's a resin like darkness to it too, just lurking in the background. I'm guessing that's opium. As it dries the florals come out a little more, thankfully the lilac rather than the rose! Early Dry: Plummy florals with a touch of smokey darkness. The rose has come out, but the other notes are keeping it well in check. The plum has sweetened up a bit too. Although a softer scent it has a reasonable amount of throw which is all plum. Again that's expected, plum throws like crazy on me. Later Dry: It gets darker and smokier, almost incensy, and the florals fade into the background although the plum remains the top note. It's soft and feminine, but with a darker core that suggests strength. The staying power is pretty good too. This is quite a complex scent that moves through several phases, each as stunningly beautiful as the one before. I absolutely love this and I will definitely be getting a bottle.

In the imp: Cedar and incense. Wet: Lots of cedar, but not overly sharp like it was in Cathedral. There's spice and incense too. Lots of incense! Drydown: The spices warm and bloom, reminding me quite a bit of Silk Road. However due to the cedar it's seems to be more full bodied and rounded. Actually this smells a bit like a cross between Silk Road and a much softer Penitance, two oils that I really like a lot. Dry: After an hour or so the spices start fading leaving soft cedar and incense, and just bit of myrrh. I'm quite astonished the cedar is so soft in this, it's quite often very strong and sharp on my skin. After 2-3 hours it fades a lot, leaving a very soft cedar and - finally! - sandalwood and just a tiny hint of spice and incense. I never picked up patchouli at all, which isn't a bad thing! I've been searching for the perfect dry spicy scent, and this is as close to perfect as I've found so far. The only reason it's not perfect is because it fades away so quickly. It still may be a bottle though, I've got Bengal coming my way so I'll see which one I prefer.

In the imp: Irish coffee, very rich and very sweet. I rather suspect this is going to be way too foody for me. However if I sniff hard enough I can just detect some woods which is a good thing. Wet: It smells wonderful, all boozy and creamy and coffee but I'm not sure I want to smell like it (I'd rather drink it!). Drydown: Oh here comes the oak! Smooth, worn polished wood rather than freshly cut. Now I'm understanding why this is so popular, the oak cuts through the otherwise way too sweet Irish coffee (man I want a Baileys...). Dry: Doesn't change, just gradually fades away. After three hours there's just a little left. It has incredible throw until it dries and then it doesn't seem to have any. I don't get dust or library which is sad because they're the main reasons I got it. I do like this, a lot. But I'm not sure that I'll wear it enough to get a bottle as oak or not it is still rather foody (or drinky really) for me. Then again it's summer over here so I might change my mind in winter. It definitely brings to mind the image of sitting in a window seat, sipping Irish coffee and reading while outside it's cold, raining and blowing a gale. It's very much a comfort scent. EDIT The other night I was in the mood for something foody so I slathered some of this on. I discovered two things: 1 - I definitely want a bottle and 2 - It lasts for 6-8 hours if I slather it. Actually make that three things - this time I got the dust! Oh happy happy joy joy!

In the imp: Lemon - bright, crisp and clean. Very uplifting. Wet: Pretty much the same. Drydown: The lemon gradually softens and becomes less sharp and more rounded. Something underneath (aloe or green tea, I'm unfamiliar with both) is making it's presence felt and giving it more depth. I can't really detect the musk at all, possibly because I usually wear stronger musks. Dry: It doesn't really morph at all, just gradually fading away. After nearly 4 hours there's just a hint of it left on my wrists. Doesn't seem to have much throw. I had no idea if I'd like this or not, I really only ordered it because it seemed pretty popular and because I liked the lemon in Dorian even though I often don't get on with citrus. I do like this, and it was perfect on a hot summer day like today. However it's not really me either, I'm more of a resinous, spicy, woody, musky kind of person. However I'm hanging onto this imp anyway for the rare times when I do want something cooler.

In the imp: Sweet juicy cherries Wet: Woah, cherry overload! I love the smell, but after the cherry in Blood Kiss completely took over and turned sickly sweet - and then would NOT wash off - I'm very wary of it. Drydown: Oh wow. The cherry softens and becomes more subdued quite quickly, and this is now a sweet fruity resinous scent with a bit of cloves. LOVE! Dry: Ah, so this is the metallic scent. This really does smell like blood! A really nice sweet blood mind you. I don't mind the metallic part, but I wish it would hurry up and go away so I can get back to that wonderful scent underneath it. Later dry: The metal has gone, but unfortunately so has most of the cherry and the cloves have completely disappeared. The myrrh never makes an appearance. This is now just a very soft and subtle dragon's blood, a lot like what remains of Dragon's Milk after 6 hours or so. I do adore dragon's blood, but there are ones I much prefer to this. I wish this had stayed at that pre-metallic stage.

On me this changes very little from the imp, except to become smoother and deeper. From the 15 minute mark on it doesn't change at all, and after 9 hours it still smells like I've only had it on for an hour. I don't get floral from it (thankfully!), just wonderful rich, warm dragon's blood resin. Dragon's Blood loves me. "Powerful, commanding, blazing with strength"? Oh yes, as well as sexy as hell!!

In the Imp: Leather and woods, a bit incensy. Masculine and a little sharp. Reminds me of men's cologne, but one that I actually like. Wet: It softens instantly, although the leather and rosewood are still present they're softer and rounder. Drydown: Leather and incense, with the rosewood in the background. Warm, round and smooth. Is that frankincense? I rather like frankincense so it's all good. Initial Dry: The incense has become more subdued, leaving leather and the rosewood as the dominant notes. I don't like rose, but I think I may have to investigate rosewood some more as this is beautiful. The leather isn't strong, it's warm and comforting, like a well worn and much loved leather jacket is. Later: There's a hint of tobacco smoke now, and yes, parchment! This is the main reason I bought this seeing I love old books, second hand bookshops and libraries purely because they smell so good. Has decent throw too, funnily enough I seem to get a tiny bit of pine in the throw but not when I sniff my wrist up close. Soft leather, rosewood, a hint of tobacco smoke, incense and parchment, and just a little tonka. This is freaking amazing and I love this. It's masculine but not overly so, and I prefer gender neutral or somewhat masculine scents in any case. There is definitely a bottle of this in our future - I say our because my partner has already decided he wants a bottle for himself and he hasn't tried it on himself yet! If it smells as good on him as I hope it does, I'll buy him the bottle myself!

In the imp: Vanilla dragon's blood with a touch of honey. I've already decided that I need a bottle of this *starts praying it doesn't do anything weird on my skin*. Wet: The second it hit my skin it softens and becomes less vanilla sweet. It still smells sensational however. Drydown: Mmmm as it warms up the dragon's blood is starting to bloom and although I only put a little on one wrist I can smell it wafting around me. The vanilla and honey is making it a lot softer than the other Ars Draconis blends I have tried so far - it's not as brash, maybe a little more feminine. Beautiful. Dry: The honey soon fades away, but the vanilla moves back up a notch and it and the dragon's blood remain entwined for hours. It has really good throw, even though it's not overly strong. Not overtly sexy like Dragon's Heart or Musk, but very alluring. This doesn't change at all once the honey goes, not surprising as vanilla and dragon's blood are both very stable on my skin. Yep, straight to the top of my I need a bottle list. Really, I should stop wasting time and money and just buy bottles of the Ars Draconis blends without trying out imps first. I have yet to meet one I didn't like, and 4/5 are now bottle scents (and I have 1 more to try and another on the way as well).

In the imp: Sharp ginger, and something almost... plastic. Wet: Same, but a lot softer and lighter. Drydown: The plasticy scent disappears quite quickly, and now this is very light and soft ginger with a milky edge. I can barely smell it. Dry: It becomes a little stronger as it dries, but it's still extremely soft and light. Warm creamy ginger. It does remind me a lot of Dana O'Shee, but with ginger instead of almond. It's absolutely beautiful, but I wish it were stronger and had more presence and throw (but that's my personal preference). I also wish it lasted longer because it disappears rather quickly. I suspect this would make an incredible lotion, it's a very luxurious scent. Andrabell's spa idea is something I'd go along with for sure!

I am not overly fond of salt, aquatics or florals. But I do love me some dragon's blood, so when this came up in a swap, well, I had to try it! Although dragon's blood is the most dominant scent at first, there is still a very definite salty twang. I'm not sure I completely like it, yet it's somewhat compelling as well. Then as it starts to fade a little a floral note comes in (lilac?) and threatens to overpower even the dragon's blood. Just when it gets to the point where it's threatening to go soapy on me it starts to back off, and after an hour or so I'm left with dragon's blood laced with a little salt and floral. In short I like it quite a lot, despite all the reasons I probably shouldn't! It most likely won't be a bottle scent, but that's just as well since every other Ars Draconis scent I've tried thus far has ended up on the bottle list already!

This had a lot of potential since vanilla, red musk and plum adore me as much as I do them. But I don't like patchouli (although Bpal has taught me not to avoid it completely - I love Snake Oil and Sin) and pomegranate is an unknown quantity. At first it's sweet fruity incense with a somewhat green note. I hate green scents. However this isn't overly sharp and dies down as it dries fairly quickly. Once dry this does remind me of Snake Oil, but with a layer of very strong and sweet bright pink fruit over the top. This seems to be the pomegranate rather than the plum which is a little surprising as I can amp plum a bit. But this is a much "pinker" scent than plum to my nose. I have to say I'm not enthralled by it, because it's too pink for me. However I'm hoping that aging will improve it, and bring out more vanilla, as well as the red musk. EDIT: I tried this again a week later and it was much better. I don't know if it was chemistry or that my nose was rebelling after sniffing my entire order or what, but this time the pink scent was more subdued and the vanilla more prominant. Much more my thing!

I find this quite hard to describe actually. It starts off resiny and sweet, but as it dries it becomes softer and drier and what I imagine is the orris comes to the fore. It's a little powdery (in a good way) and a bit floral, with the vanilla and spices of Snake Oil buried in the background. The frankincense barely makes an appearance however, which is strange because it usually quite likes me. I like it, but I'm not enthralled. However I'm hoping aging brings out the vanilla and frankincense more.

Another vote for Dragon's Claw here. On me the dragon's blood is quite prominant at first, but it dries down to a wonderful smooth sandalwood with just a touch of dragon's blood underneath. Being a sandalwood freak quite a percentage of my first order contained it. Off the top of my head the other ones that struck me as very sandalwood are: Morroco - wonderful creamy golden sandalwood and spices. I love this above all others. Velvet - dries down very sandalwood on me, although the cocoa note sticks around which puts me off because I'm not fan of chocolately scents. If I was I would love this. Tushnamatay - it's very light and soft, and to me seems to have cloves or maybe carnation in it as well. Beautiful but very light. Cathedral was all cedar on me, and I get far more patchouli and cinnamon from Sin than sandalwood.

In the imp: violet with a touch of berries and other florals Wet: The violet and berries are what hit me first, followed very quickly by the other florals. Drydown: Jasmine is rising up rapidy, laying on top of the other scents. The berries are nearly undetectable now. Dry: The jasmine has become more subdued and the violets are taking it's place. This is quite a dark, deep, heavy floral despite the berries which have returned. It's very strong and has very good throw. Later: The berries are now stronger and this is quite lovely now. I'm learning that although I like violet, Bpal violets often don't like me and become heavy and perfumey. However this is one of the better ones on me. I do like this after an hour or so, but before that it's just too heavy a floral for me.

In the imp: Sweet almonds Wet: Sweet almonds Drydown: Very sweet almonds. More like cherry actually. I can detect something underneath it, but I can't make out what. In fact I can't even make out what it's vaguely like because the almond is just so dominant. Dry: I can make it out now, it's creamy spices that remind me of Morocco. Almond is still the top note but it's more subdued. Quietly seductive. It's threatening to become powdery but hasn't as yet. I kind of like this, but I'm not a huge fan of almond as a perfume so I doubt I'd wear it very often. However this is an absolutely superb room scent! In fact make that a house scent as 3 drops added to wax in an oil burner filled the entire house.

This was a frimp in a swap. In the imp: Almond Wet: Almonds with a little honey. Drydown: Woah this is changing every minute! Now it's spices with almond, and it's a lot dryer than it was 5 minutes ago. This is a dry hot dessert wind. And now it's getting musky. Musky spices with a little almond and a touch of sweetness. Dry: This has turned qute perfumey on me now. Dry but quite sweet, with just a hint of spices and almond. 5 minutes later: This is now very similiar to The Lion right before it went powdery. I suspect there's amber in this. 10 minutes later: Bah. Spiced powder. I really liked this in the drydown, far more than I thought I would from the imp. But the powder *sigh*.

In the imp: Bright sweet juicy citrus Wet: Definite fruit, and sweet and tart at the same time. Drydown: It's got a slightly woody feel to it now, a little smokey, a little spicey. But still very fruity, mainly the mandarine. I'm not getting a whole lot of mango in this, just enough to add a little sweetness. There's a slight "fizziness" to it too. Dry: Hmmm.. this has turned a little sour on me. I'm not sure if it's the mango or mandarine though as both are new notes to me. Bergamot does tend to do it too on a much bigger scale. It still has that fizziness, and the throw reminds me of a candy I used to eat as a kid. I like this, but it's not me and the sourness is a bit offputting. This will be swapped. I can't help but think this would make an excellent bath bomb though!

In the imp: Chocolate covered perfume Wet: Chocolate vanilla covered sandalwood. Very foody. Drydown: The chocolate's turning bitter, not in a bad way but more like dark chocolate. It's a little incensey too, due to the sandalwood and myrrh and isn't nearly as foody now. As it dries a little more the sandalwood and myrrh start to compete with the cocoa for the title of most dominant note. I hope sandalwood wins. Dry: It hasn't changed a lot at all. It's sandalwood, myrrh, cocoa and a touch of vanilla in that order, and has medium throw (but I didn't put much on). I am so close to loving this, and yet... *sigh*. I was hoping the cocoa wouldn't be as strong as this. I love sandalwood and it's lovely and strong in this, with the myrrh adding some extra incense and almost spice and it's a combination I love. It does remind me a bit of pencil shavings, but I happen to love that smell. But the cocoa just doesn't do it for me. I just don't like smelling of anything foody unless it's spice or alcohol. I do however like it a lot more than the first time I tested it when it turned to overpowering myrrh. Then again, I was hungover. Despite my mixed feelings I'm keeping the imp, because I think it might grow on me plus I want to see what aging will do for it. EDIT Well I did keep it, and forgot all about it until I tested Intrigue and fell for it. So I dragged out Velvet and retested it. Now I don't know if aging has changed it or my nose is far more Bpal educated now (probably both since the myrrh does seem smoother), but I really like this a lot more now. Not enough to get a bottle, but enough to wear it to work!

This was a frimp from the lab. In the imp: Frankincense is the first thing I smell, followed by a little musk and maybe green. Wet: Frankincense - which I love - competing with green herbs - which I hate. The result is a sharp green herbal incense. Weird. Drydown: Woody incense mixed with sharp green herbs. This is confusing my nose, it wants to love and hate it at the same time. If the herbal notes (particularly the sage) die down I'll be a lot happier about this one. Dry: Incensy leather with a little green. It's still not me, but this is very intriguing. I think I'll keep this imp and test it further. The frankincense in this is absolutely stunning, but the green, as always, is my nemesis. But I think I may be able to learn to like this. It's also another I need to test on my partner, although it's nowhere near too masculine for me. In fact I'd call this gender neutral.

This was a frimp from the lab. In the imp: I could never understand how a perfume could smell like dirt. Now I know. This is dirt with alcoholic flowers. Wet: As soon as it hits my skin the alcohol and what I think is magnolia explode and subdue the dirt. It's still there but it's secondary now and not dominant. Drydown: Oakmoss is one of the few green scents I like, and it seems I might have to add Spanish moss as well. This is very mossy now, moss with a little dirt overgrown with flowers and soaked in bourbon. Dry: Alcoholic dirt and moss with a little floral. This is very different and interesting, but not really me. It's a very alive scent, nothing dead about this! I was sure I was going to hate this after sniffing the imp, but I kind of like it. It's still going to be swapped because it's still a bit too green for me, even if it's a green I actually like.