jenleigh

This came my way as a frimp, and it was one of those that was never really on my radar. That said? I'm saving this imp for fall. I'm getting a lovely warm almondy-spicy scent out of this, and smoke that reminds me just a bit of the scent of burning leaves, which reminds me of home. This is lovely, just a bit too heavy to wear during summer. I think it'll be just gorgeous as the leaves turn, though.

I was lucky enough to get a sniffie of this from bifemmefatale over on LiveJournal. And oh. Oh, my. This is just...the description is so much like the scent itself. Irish coffee and book smell. I keep sniffing my fingers - got a tiny bit on me when opening it. This is just gorgeously blended. If I ever win the lottery, this is something I'd plunk down big-time for. It really IS as good as everyone claims it is. I want to time-travel back to April 2005 and order many, many bottles.

OK, I have to explain myself a little before I write this up the rest of the way. I'm one of the administrators of LiveJournal's Support team, and we jokingly refer to our volunteers as bunnies, because they "hop to it" on the board, "quick like a bunny". That said? I'm declaring this the unofficial official LJ Support admin BPAL scent. This is lovely - soft and pretty, but there's definitely a "fed-up" undertone to the bunny. It's so well-blended, too - the light musk in here just works so well with the rest of the other notes. I think I need more of this.

This was lovely in the imp I got - all soft piney/birchy with floral undertones. On my skin, something's making this soapyish, and I'm not sure what - it's kind of like pine/fir combined with soap. I think I smelled a Christmas soap that smelled like this once, actually. I'm glad I got to try this one, but it's just not me, as lovely as it is in the imp. It's off to a more appreciative home, who'll love it like it should be loved.

Aizen-Myoo is like a stronger, slightly darker version of Happy. If you can find it, Mi-Go Brain Canister also has that same "brightness" that's in Happy. Sounds like this year's Harvest Moon might've been up your sister's alley, Jupiter - "This Harvest Moon oil is a merging of autumnal scents from all over the globe: chrysanthemum, pomegranate, cane sugar and dusty wheat, sorghum, green tea leaf, rice flower and rice milk, Russian sage, bamboo shoot, elderberry, black cherry, wild plum, red haw, hazelnut, red apple and shagbark hickory." Maybe Persephone, too? That's rose/pomegranate.

OK, I think my nose is slightly on crack. When I put this on, I got a very strong banana scent at first. I don't know what note did this! The banana left really quickly, though, which is a good thing - I don't like bananas or their scent. I'm getting mostly citrus and black tea now. I'd like to test this once more when it's not as hot out - I'm guessing my skin reacted oddly because of that. It was yummy in the imp!

My Mr. absolutely loves The Red Queen on me - it's the only thing he's said "ooh, what smells good?" without me prompting him "hey, smell me!"

Thanks much to filigree_shadow for the imp! First sniff: All lavender and chamomile, just a little sandalwood underneath. This is so relaxing, mmm! On drydown, I'm getting the ylang-ylang and a little more of the sandalwood. I can tell the poppy's there, but it's carefully hiding in the background. This is absolutely gorgeous, well-blended and soft. The visual image I'm getting is night in a big forest. Lovely!

Juliet is sweet. Very sweet, actually - it's going a bit sickly sweet on me a little while after applying it. I'm not really able to pick out the individual notes in it - it's becoming a generic peachy-fruity kind of scent on me. I'm planning to give this a second try before deciding whether this is meant for the swap pile or not. As it is, I don't hate it, but I have a lot of scents I like more, and I don't love it right off.

I hate to use character analogies when talking about perfume, but I've just got to with Moon Rose. The thing that popped into my head when I tried this on was "Oh, wow. If Tsukino Usagi (Sailormoon) wore perfume, this would be it." This is such a girly, pretty, soft rose. Very feminine. It's light at the same time, though - the imp of this I got was very full and I accidentally slathered, but it's soft and light enough that it can be slathered without being overpowering. I really like this.

I tried this on with a few other things once I got my imp pack with it last week. It didn't stand out amongst the sea of things I've tried, but on its own? Wow. Viola's very feminine - I agree that this is her pre-shipwreck. It went through a bit of a dusty phase a few minutes after I put it on, but it's now settled into a lovely mix of rose, mandarin, and sandalwood. It reminds me of a much stronger version of Lush's Amandopondo scent, actually. My husband got violets when he sniffed me, though I haven't gotten them to my own nose yet. I think this is just a bit much for everyday wear, though - I'm getting lots of throw and scent. I'd like to save this for dress-up occasions.

I'm getting all saline and ocean notes from this one. I liked it in the imp, and it was OK on me, but I asked my Mr. to try a little on, just on a hunch - he likes Cool Water and other oceany scents, so I figured, "hmm, let's see..." I like this better on him than I do on me! Very clean, very crisp and cool. I've handed the imp off to him.

This came as a frimp in my 4/26 order. I'm getting a lot of green from it - the "spring rain" description is very apt. I'm not sure what I smell in here - wisteria, definitely, and a bit of hyacinth, but something a bit herbally as well. My skin's just drinking this in, though, so I'm not getting the throw and staying power others in the thread have mentioned. That's really the only thing I wish there was about this one, as otherwise, it's really clean and fresh and lovely.

I think I've found my favorite GC so far. This is lovely - the ivy and the roses blend so well, and the lotus makes it just a touch sweet. I definitely want a 10ml of this one, it's just so feminine and pretty.

In the imp: Cherry blossoms. Mmm. Alas, the imp's promise of that lovely cherry blossom scent was not to be. My skin picked up the anise and ramped it up through the roof, and it's inducing a headache. So it's definitely off to the swap pile with this one.

I'm almost ashamed to admit I haven't actually tried Arcana on my skin. I get such a strong medicinal scent to it in the imp that I can't get around it. One whiff from the imp and I kind of went, "Blech!" It's a shame, too, as I normally love lavender and verbena on their own. I'm not sure what's putting me off the imp. This one's off to my swap pile.

I was frimped The Red Queen. It was one of those scents I'd passed over the description of because of the woodsy notes - I normally go straight for the florals, do not pass go, do not collect $200. I decided to give it a shot anyway, though, and this queen wowed me. It turns into a sexy currant-woodsy scent on me. My husband certainly loved it on me, too. I do notice the lack of staying power, though. It's so strong on first application that I just can't justify putting tons on, but I've needed to touch up after a couple hours. This has turned from a "well, I'll try it" to absolute love.

Oh, Alice. I loved you in the imp - you were all soft and girly and pretty. Definitely milk and honey. About 5 minutes after I put it on, it was still milk and honey, though I was starting to get the hint of baby powder. And 5 minutes later it had all gone to baby powder. I'm going to keep the imp I have though - I have hopes that this will work better in a scent locket than it does on my skin.

Help. I got an imp of Mi-Go and ADORE it. What smells similar to this in the GC? I'm worried I'm going to run out of my imp and be left without something I've fallen in love with!

In the imp: violet dominated. It actually reminds me a lot of Gratuitous Violets soap from Lush, just in the imp. This is a good thing, I love violets! Wet: Still predominantly violet, but there's some rose peeking through. Drydown: roses and lilies, with just a little violet peeping through. I'm definitely getting a leafy hint, too. I'm not completely in love with this, but I'm most definitely keeping my imp. On a scale of 1-10, this is a 7.5.

I just got an imp of this from forumite dawna. I AM IN LOVE. In the imp, this came off very fruity - the mango came out a lot, and I was worried it'd turn into that. On my skin, though, the jasmine is really coming out, and something a bit spicy too - I'm guessing it's the pink pepper. A 5ml of this is definitely on my wishlist now. It's just lovely.