isyche

Just tried this, and it must have vetiver in it, because all I can smell is vetiver, as in Saturnalia. Which does not like me. The Vetiver Monster is after me, must wash off!

In the vial: Honey. On me: At first, fresh apple blossom, like in Baobhan Sith, only stronger. The rose backs it up. Really like this phase. Later, rose begins to dominate and I think the ylang-ylang makes it sweeter/heavier, which I don't so much like. Eve is a sunny, golden, morning rose garden scent. I like it, and I like the apple blossom note a lot, but the rose gets stronger/sweeter as it dries and ends up a bit too strong for me.

Wet: a sharp splash of chardonnay at first, then coconut. Dry: sweet and smoky, like the smell in your clothes after standing next to a wood fire – I guess that's the tobacco. The coconut, rum, leather and tonka bean aren't really distinguishable at this stage, but they create this creamy, rich undertone that keeps the smoky smell from being too harsh. Perversion smells like you've been out late doing fun things you shouldn't. I can see how it's similar to Hellfire, but this smells less refined somehow – a rough bar instead of an exclusive club. Love it love it, it's in my top ten now.

at first: Sweet and grape-y, but that quickly passes. then: Myrrh, rose, wine. Myrrh tends to dominate on my skin too, so it really darkens this. Lilith is black with hints of red, like a dark cave where rose petals have been sprinkled. This is a little like a cross between Blood Rose and Old Athens – the myrrh/wine – which makes me think of Lilith as a dark prehistoric goddess figure. Powerful and terrifying and demanding obedience. She's nothing like me, but I like it.. I'll save it for when I want to evoke that kind of feeling.

wet: Lemon. on me: At first quite lemony, then settles down to Earl Grey tea and leather as per description. Wow, whoever said this is the smell of Rupert Giles is so right. Tea, old leather-covered books.... love it. I so wish I had a guy to try this on. then: Hey, where'd it go? It faded suddenly away. Maybe my skin liked it too much. It's very faint now, but still nice.

Oddly, Le Petit Mort smells nothing like either O or Snake Oil on me. (I have O on one hand and Le Petit Mort on the other hand right now.) I just get a sort of musky, myrrh, vaguely soapy scent from it. It does smell kind of like warm just-washed skin - like a guy who uses some kind of woody-scented soap, as SilverGarland said. My skin seems to amplify the woody/resiny parts of this and cancel out the rest. So, yeah, not really me, I guess I'll swap it.

in the vial/wet: Honey. Yum. Smells like Jezebel without the floral. I love the honey note. as it dries: Vanilla comes out and then takes over. O becomes a sweet heavy vanilla similar to the way Dragon's Milk ended up on me - syrupy, I feel like I spilled something sticky sweet on myself and haven't cleaned it off. Later, the vanilla backs off a little, but it still dominates and I can't detect the other notes. I don't think my skin plays well with vanilla (except the vanilla in Snake Oil, which doesn't do this. Hmm). ETA: OK, on repeated wearing I like this a *lot* better - the three notes blend together more and it smells lighter, golden and creamy. Maybe it's just too heavy for me in warm weather.

Don't know why I haven't reviewed this yet... If you asked me to pick one favorite BPAL (nooo!), it might be Dana O'Shee. I got it as an extra in my first order, and I love it so. It smells of almond extract at first, and then like milk and honey poured over oats - I think the oats help keep it from being too sweet. It's understated, warm, comforting, never cloying, and really acts as a second skin scent on me - like a cozy blanket, as others have said. The only downside is that it doesn't last as long as some others, so I have to put more on. Also, I love the name and the concept - might have to try leaving some out for the faeries sometime .

First impression – light, somewhat green/grassy (bamboo?), somewhat aquatic, very light floral in there too (cherry blossom?). I quite like it – the aquatic isn't air freshener-y like Lightning, it's not too sweet, and the bamboo and cherry blossom are fresh and yet sophisticated. Rather like a Japanese flower arrangement in that the elements are from nature, but refined and highly stylized...definitely more city than country. The original scent didn't last very long, but it left this cool/clean aura that lasted all afternoon.

Just got this in a swap and like it a lot. The lilac and dragon's blood mix together really well to create a warm but springlike floral, like a sunny garden corner tucked away out of the wind. Makes me think of a lilac-colored baby dragon with big sparkly eyes. And it's not as sweet as Dragon's Milk (good for me since that was too sweet to wear), but I can imagine the Dragon's Eye dragon being fed on Dragon's Milk.

When I first tried this, all I got was mint and my wrist smelled like toothpaste. I wasn't really into that, so I put it in the swap box. However, I've just tried it again and given it more time to dry down, and I actually like it a lot this time. The minty-toothpaste smell fades after about 10 minutes and I'm left with a lovely green, leafy, faintly sweet-herbal smell - I don't get any lime, and if there's lavender it's very mild, not bitter. I ordered Envy because I love green smells, so I'm really happy with this phase. No more swap box for it!

My first impression of Kumiho was that it was like Old Shanghai without the lemon (which is odd, considering that so many other people get lemon or citrus from it). I like Old Shanghai, but I'm not a big lemon fan because it reminds me of cleaning products, so I'm quite happy that Kumiho doesn't smell like lemon on me. I love it: bright, sharp white tea and ginger, very refreshing and great for summer. (The ginger does remind me of sushi ginger, which I like to eat by itself.) I might get a big bottle of this next summer.

On me, Hurricane is like Lightning with vetiver added. It does remind me of a thunderstorm with the smells of rain, mud and wet wood, which is interesting - but, I'm finding that most of the "rain" scents don't work so well for me to wear, and vetiver hates me. So this shall be swapped.

This is all pine and eucalyptus to me, and I'm not a fan of either smell (too cleaning product/vicks vaporub-y) - off to swap it goes. (Also, after I opened the vial, the scent lingered in the air for a while, so if you like it it probably has good staying power.)

This sounded great to me and I was really looking forward to trying it, but something in it goes all sickly sweet on me - I think it's the fruity smell others have noticed. I like the herbs and other things I can smell in it, but the sweetness takes over after a couple of seconds and they're gone. :sigh: Oh well.

On my skin, Incantation alternates between smelling like dark green fresh-cut stems and beeing eerily like some kind of cologne my father used to wear. The other scents I've tried with vetiver have not been good on me, but it seems to be tamed in this. It's nice, but quite masculine, and it reminds me too much of my dad to wear it myself.

At first, this is minty and citrusy - white mint, not green mint. Then it dries to something almost like mint chocolate (I know there's no chocolate in it, but that's what it reminds me of). It's a white, shimmery, sparkly smell that fades quickly, like you threw a handful of glitter in the air and watched it fall. Very pretty, and I think it would be a good New Year's Eve scent somehow.

When I first put it on, Forbidden Fruit is a fruity powdery candy scent that smells almost exactly like Smarties (the US kind). I'm guessing that's the combination of the lotus and citrus? After it dries down, it becomes almost completely amber (I think). Neither phase really does much for me, though - another one to swap.

First sniff in the vial: Smoky. On me: At first it's mostly woody – cedar or sandalwood or some other spicy wood. After a while the wood recedes and I think I can smell the fig and cocoa, although it's hard to tell them apart. As far as colors, I'd call it a warm shadowy brown. Intrigue gives me an image of a secret agent sitting in a dark corner of a bar in a country like Singapore, smoking, with the shadow of palm trees falling on her face, waiting to meet with a contact. Definitely not for every day, but I like it a lot.

At first: Dragon's blood and brown sugar/caramel/cream. Yummy. Dragon's blood resin is becoming one of my favorite notes. Later: The vanilla takes over, the dragon's blood disappears, and it becomes a little too sticky-sweet for me. I think I prefer Dana O'Shee for a milky-honey scent to wear, as it's lighter, but this might make a nice room scent.

As everyone else has said, Tears is salty, green water for me, kind of like seawater when smelled up close. This water isn't pure and clear, but the salt and herbal notes have a clarifying effect, like crying does. It's not sweet, unlike some of the other watery blends, which I like....actually, the more I smell it, the more it appeals to me. I might have to get more.

At first when I got this, I was like "wow, this smells just like the air right before a storm, very cool!" - but then I recognized the grapefruit note in it, and now all I can think is "ozoney grapefruit peel" when I smell it. Which isn't as good. I still like it, but it's not my favorite aquatic scent.

For me, if Danube is deep blue water, and Tears is salty green water, this is crystal clear cold water. I think I detect a faint background white floral undertone in this, but it's mainly a pure clean rain scent. I like it - it's one of my favorites out of the BPAL aquatic scents I've tried.

On me this smells like a rainy forest - the aquatic and woody notes seem to be the most prominent. I don't detect any flowers in it, just the image of dark tree trunks rising up into the mist and leaves wet with rain. I like it a lot - very evocative and different. Not for every day, but I'll save it.

First sniff: Honey and myrrh, slightly medicinal. On me: Yum, honey and flowers, and myrrh in the background adds spiciness. Don't notice the wine, but I love this. It's another one that really lives up to its name for me - it feels B.C., not modern. I think it's so cool that it's a recreation of an actual Ancient Greek perfume. (This also confirms my love of BPAL's honey note.)