lucycat

In the imp: Autumn leaves and a hint of men’s cologne. The leaf note is the same as in A World Where There Are Octobers, without the maple note. Wet: A strong, clean autumn leaf scent. I’m surprised by how strong this is; I applied lightly. This is like a bolder, less sweet A World Where There Are Octobers at this stage. This dries down to leafy men’s cologne after about an hour: maybe that’s what my skin is doing to the “cold autumn wind” note(s.). I don’t smell the smoke at all. I rarely say this, but October is just too masculine for me. I do want to keep my decant to see how it ages.

In the imp: Honey and patchouli. Wet: For anyone who remembers a Lush bubble bath called Flying Saucers, this is the same honey that was in Flying Saucers. As Visions of Autumn III dries, I get a whiff of earthiness from the patchouli. I also smell the cinnamon, very faintly. Sometmes cinnamon, especially in fresh blends, has irritated my skin. That doesn’t happen here. This is a very close-to-the skin blend, warm and cozy. I haven’t smelled Banshee Beat, so I can’t make any comparisons in that direction. I will say that of all my decants, this was the one I was compelled to test first, and I’m already contemplating at least one bottle.

This was a frimp from my Dragon Con fairy. In the imp: Red fruit drink, such as Kool-Aid or Hi-C fruit punch. Very reminiscent of childhood in the 80s! Wet: I smell the red currant first, and then the cranberry. Neither of them dominates; they balance each other well. While Red is sweet, because these are both rather astringent fruits, it’s never too sweet. Dry: The red currant and cranberry, as before. After two to three hours, I get a hint of the pink musk. I don’t smell the pepper in this, and I suspect my skin eats that note. I’ve had it disappear from my skin in other BPAL blends that contain it. Red is cheerful, energetic, and fun. I’m very glad to have had the chance to try it, and I know I’ll use it again, especially in warm weather, when I want a light, happy scent.

This was a frimp from my Dragon Con fairy. In the imp: I’m definitely getting the dandelion. It’s very springy; it makes me think of playing in our large backyard filled with dandelions in early spring when I was a child. Wet: I get a sudden blast of…banana? Or some other tropical fruit? It must be the “swirl of booziness.” Dry: Another childhood memory here: Solarcaine. That menthol/medicinal smell of the cream you put on a sunburn. I blame the boozy notes; they often don’t work on my skin. This was interesting to try because it evoked childhood memories, though it didn’t make me think of a roadhouse at all.

This was a frimp from my Dragon Con Fairy. In the imp: Amaretto. Very sweet and strong. Wet: The same. Dry: Baron Samedi smells like a lighter, slightly sweeter Voodoo on my skin. I don’t smell the clove, which comes out very strongly in Voodoo, and Baron Samedi doesn’t have Voodoo’s dark incense note. Otherwise, they’re very similar. I like Voodoo, so this is a great discovery.

In the bottle: Creamy, lemony lavender. It’s like a delicious confection. This becomes more crisp and less sweet as it dries: Primarily the lemon verbena and lavender, softened by the amber. It’s somehow both refreshing and cozy. I also think it would smell wonderful on a man. To me this is perfectly unisex. There’s a lovely, though brief, stage a couple of hours after I apply when 13 Ad Lunam dries down to sweet, creamy white amber and musk. Then it disappears: “ethereal” is accurate here. So this will need refreshing during the day.

This was a frimp from the Lab. In the imp: bitter orange. In the interest of honesty, I will say that when I first opened this imp, fresh from the Lab a week ago, Ravenous smelled like burned plastic. The bitter orange phase lasts briefly on my skin, and then this dries down to a sour, faded, old-perfume smell. I’m always a little wary of orange blossoms. They can be lovely, as in Fae, but when I tried a frimp of Hunger fairly early in my BPAL experience last year, I got the same sourness I get from Ravenous. I’ve tried other “patchouli plus” blends such as Imp and Goblin with great success, so I can only conclude that it’s the combination of orange blossoms and patchouli that’s producing this effect. As always, I appreciate the chance to try this, but Ravenous is off to the swaps.

This was a frimp from my lovely Dragon Con fairy. In the imp: Fresh, watery florals. Perhaps lilies?—that would suit the name. Wet: Floral. There may be rose here in addition to the lily, but if so, it’s not strong. I also get a very faint hint of a bubble-gum note, which reminds me of Aunt Caroline’s Joy Mojo: is it possible that a little of what’s in that is also in Water of Notre Dame? Dry: This is stronger than I expected considering the wateriness of the smell in the imp. Considering that I rarely seek out florals, this is very pleasant. I agree with earlier reviews that the water note here is aquatic without being marine. Water of Notre Dame really did make me feel calmer. It’s been a very busy week at work, so this frimp came at an opportune time. While today wasn’t quite as busy, and thus stressful, as earlier in the week, I still think I needed all the calming qualities I can get. Wearing Water of Notre Dame, I felt warm and relaxed, rather than tense, as I went about my work. I’ll definitely keep it around for future use on stressful days. I had been curious to try this, and had hoped a frimp would come my way, so thank you, Con Fairy!

In the bottle: SWEET. Peach with a boozy note . Wet: I like the peach note. I think because it’s dried peach, it’s unlike that in any GC peach I have tried (Tamora, Aglaea, Fae.) There’s an edge of something sweetly boozy, almost stale-smelling, that’s making this a little off on my skin. Dry: The peach gets stronger, which is good, but that sweet/stale note is still there. This is soft but long-lasting.

In the bottle: Soft peach. Before I checked the notes list, I thought this was the dried peach of Peach VII. Wet: There’s a moment when I get an almost chocolate or cocoa vibe—I don’t understand it either. Like a fruit-filled chocolate. Dry: And now the patchouli and sandalwood appear. I was expecting them to be strong with my skin chemistry. After a couple of hours, the wood notes settle down, and I’m left with a very soft, not too sweet, close-to-the skin peach. The blackcurrant is just apparent. This doesn’t last too long. In the final drydown, especially the throw, the peach and blackcurrant combine to smell like frankincense. I applied Peach VI the day after receiving it in the mail. I think I need to let it settle down and age a bit before it truly reveals itself.

This was a frimp from the Lab. In the imp: Delicious spicy gingerbread. It’s not as dry as Gingerbread Snake was when it was new, though I sniffed my bottle for a comparison, and Gingerbread Snake has mellowed. Wet: For a few minutes, I get gingerbread spices plus wood, as if the spices were being stored in an aromatic wooden box. Is there patchouli in this? It may simply be my skin chemistry, which amps all wood notes, sometimes to a crazy degree. Dry: Back to delicious spicy gingerbread. This is making me want to bake, and it’s July and about 80 degrees. After a couple of hours, the incense appears and mingles with the ginger and other spices. After wearing this all day, I was ravenous by dinnertime. I’ve wanted to try Shub for a while, so thank you, Lab! It’s delicious, and works better on me than any of the other Picnic in Arkham blends I’ve tried. I look forward to wearing it in cooler weather, too.

This was a frimp from the Lab. In the imp: this is a light, sweet, almost candylike honey, rather than a heavy, thick one. I applied this and then went about getting dressed. After a few minutes I sniffed my arm. The honey had subsided almost entirely, replaced by a sweet, powdery floral with a green undertone. I don’t think I’ve ever smelled oleander in the wild (I live too far north,) but it’s a bit like gardenia, though softer. After several hours of wear (in very hot, humid weather; I don’t know if that had anything to do with it) this morphed back to a honey scent. Womb Furie remains my favorite BPAL honey blend, but I’m glad to have had the chance to try this.

This was a frimp from the Lab. In the imp: Plumeria. Wet: Plumeria and pear. Fruity and sweet. This is really just plumeria and pear on me. I don’t get the white champagne at all. I wish I did, because I enjoy the champagne note in Bon Vivant. Thalia reminds me a little of an 80s perfume called Demi-Jour, which must also have had fruit and flower notes, because I remember getting the same impression from Titania. It’s sweet, though not in an overly young way; cheerful, as the name suggests, and very suitable for summer. It fades after a few hours. Although I haven’t worn anything with plumeria in years, when I was in college in the 90s, I used to love Bath and Body Works plumeria-scented lotion. Thanks for reminding me of that, Lab! I’ll be keeping and using Thalia on hot summer days like today.

My imp of this is over a year old. When it was new, Mouse’s Long and Sad Tale was very faint on my skin; whatever many of the reviews rave about, I wasn’t smelling. Now that it has aged, I can see what some of the fuss is about. In the imp: A very light, airy vanilla with whiffs of sweetness. It suggests spun sugar to me, though that’s not one of the listed notes, and I think it’s actually the sweet pea. The ethereal quality of the vanilla in this makes it similar to Boo, though it’s not as sweet. Although the vanilla is not described as bourbon vanilla, that’s what I smell. I’m surprised I don’t smell the sweet pea more; that note in Aeval amped like crazy on me. It adds sweetness, but it’s not specifically a floral sweetness. The ambers and sandalwood become more prominent as it dries down. This has great lasting power for such a light scent.

This was a frimp from the Lab. In the imp: It’s definitely floral, but it’s hard to pinpoint which. Orchid, I think, and poppy. I’ve never smelled night-blooming cereus, so I can’t say if that’s what I smell here. Wet: All I can really say is “dark aquatic floral.” It’s very complex. I can’t pick out some of the notes, such as blackcurrant or incense, at all. Dry: After about an hour, this starts to settle down on my skin, and an hour after that, the incense is beginning to appear. Medea has good throw and lasting power. After many hours, I smell the blackcurrant. I like this more than I expected to. It’s very dark and befitting its namesake.

This was a frimp from the Lab. In the imp: Jasmine. I can just get the faintest whiff of the creamy/powdery smell some of the reviews describe, but otherwise, this is all jasmine. This one doesn’t morph on me; it’s all jasmine, and strong jasmine at that. I was hoping I’d get the lemony scent mentioned in some of the reviews, but no, this is all jasmine. After my experience with Love Me, which also smelled primarily of jasmine, I was wary of Follow Me Boy, and applied very lightly, only one swipe of the imp wand on each arm. It’s still fairly strong. I noticed no effects on any boys in my vicinity. I strongly suspect that if I want them to follow me, I’m going to have to try something else. I’m glad I had the chance to try this, but it’s not for me.

I’ve been wearing the 2014 version of Womb Furie at least once a week for the past couple of months, so it’s time I wrote a review. Womb Furie smells like already-aged Snake Oil. My first imp of Snake Oil took about six months to smell like brand-new Womb Furie. I do smell the honey, though to me it’s not definite as O plus Snake Oil. The honey notes in this stay close to my skin and emerge after an hour or so of wear, and I have to put my nose right next to my skin to smell them. The throw is all Snake Oil. I’m very glad I bought a bottle of this unsniffed when it was first available.

This was a frimp from the Lab. In the imp: Foresty. I smell both the unspecified “forest herbs” and the sprucewood, sweetened by the shea. Wet: Dark green, almost tingly spruce and those herbs. Somehow it’s almost edible, or maybe I’m just hungry. As this dries, the sprucewood becomes stronger and stronger. I expected that, with my wood-note-amping skin chemistry. Even with the shea, this feels closer to Yggdrasil than to Obatala. Ochosi dries down differently depending on where I applied it: it’s much sharper on the insides of my elbows, and softer on the back of my hand, where the shea is much more noticeable. This is a little soapy in the first hour or so, though not in a bad way. It would be great as a shower gel or shampoo scent. The spruce gives this a Christmassy feel. Ochosi would smell great on a man, though I don’t think it’s too overwhelmingly masculine for me to wear.

This was a frimp from the Lab. It’s been ages since I had a Cosmopolitan, but this smells spot-on. It’s very sweet, fruity and pink in the imp, with a kick from the booze. It settles down on the skin, while remaining quite sweet—this is a very sweet cranberry. This will be fun to wear on summer weekends.

In the imp: Orange blossom and musk. The apricot is just perceptible. Wet: The apricot comes forward, and gets stronger as the oil dries and warms on my skin. I can smell all three notes in this, though the apricot is strongest. The musk and orange blossom keep it from being overly foody. Katharina is light, pretty, and feminine. It does have a young vibe, but I don’t think it’s “too young” for me, and I’m 39. It fades after only a few hours, so will need to be reapplied, but I think it will be perfect for spring.

I received a frimp of Shango in my most recent Lab order, and realized that I’d never written a review of the frimp I received a year ago. This is a review of the aged frimp. In the imp: Sweet, sweet pineapple and coconut. Wet: Oh, no, is that banana? I loathe bananas and always have. Dry: Phew: the banana fades. As this dries, the pineapple really amps very briefly, and then subsides. As so many others have said, Shango smells like a tropical smoothie. Once it’s dry, it smells primarily of pineapple and coconut, which are notes I like, sweetened by the sugar cane. I don’t smell the apple, pomegranate, or chili pepper. Pleasant as this is, I don’t know if it’s worth going through the brief banana phase to get to the drydown. There’s a reason I rarely drink smoothies: they almost always contain bananas. That said, the tropical fruits give Shango a fun summery feel.

In the imp: Peach bubblegum. However, when I first sniffed the imp after it arrived several days ago, I got much more amber. Wet: Juicy, sweet peach. As this dries, there’s a faint sharpness offsetting the peach, which I think must be the myrtle. Then that sharpness fades, leaving lovely peach. The amber becomes more apparent after an hour or so, and the musk becomes stronger the longer I wear this. Despite the initial bubblegum impression, Aglaea is not as sweet a peach scent as Fae: I smell more actual peach, rather than peach candy. For a light scent, it has great throw: I applied only my usual couple of swipes of the imp want, and even while I’m just sitting reading I can smell this warm, peachy golden cloud hovering around me. Splendid, indeed. A perfect, happy spring and summer scent.

In the imp: Rich cocoa with sandalwood in the background. Wet: Cocoa, very sweet and heady. At this stage it’s almost purely foody. Dry: As this dries, the sandalwood becomes stronger and stronger. Velvet was almost too foody for me at first, but I suspected that my “all the wood notes, all the time” skin chemistry would bring out the sandalwood, and I was right. However, the cocoa takes the edge off the sandalwood, keeping it from being too sharp. Velvet is a more complex cocoa/chocolate scent than Bliss, the only other chocolate BPAL I have tried, and so far I prefer it. It’s a warm and cozy scent. Judging from the above reviews, it also ages well, so I’ll have to revisit it in a few months, if not sooner.

In the imp: Very sweet peach and just a touch of bergamot, which give it an almost sparkling quality. Wet: This is more like peach candy than actual fresh peach. I can smell the bergamot—there’s definitely more here than just peach—but none of the other notes. Delicious. Dry: Now I can smell the white musk. The final drydown is peach-tinged oakmoss. I love peach scents, and Fae is sweet and cheerful. It’s different enough from Tamora, which is one of my favorites, that I can justify having and using both. I look forward to wearing this in warm weather.

In the imp: Saffron Wet, then dry: The unnamed Middle Eastern spices. They’re not warm spices; they’re very dry-smelling. I do get the Middle Eastern spice market feeling, though I was expecting a warmer blend, along the lines of Morocco or Bengal. This is just dry, verging on soapy, and I don’t smell the red musk at all at this stage. After about 90 minutes, the red musk appears, and it rounds out the scent. It’s more apparent where I applied the oil on my hand than on my arm. Scheherezade dries down to primarily red musk, which I like, though I have other scents, such as Hollywood Babylon, to fill the red musk niche. I will try aging this to see if it becomes more balanced.