hackess

A stirring yet gentle perfume. The scent of love and devotion mingled with an undercurrent of heart-rending sorrow. A bouquet of white roses, labdanum, and wild orchid. (GC - Sin & Salvation) My signature scent! What I love about Magdalene is the labdanum and orchid and how they keep the rose down to just an undertone that only comes out in the drydown. When immediately applied, sometimes I get slightly greener wafts of the labdanum, sometimes they're woodsy and spicy. Sometimes the orchid is most powerful. The woodsy/spicy notes last throughout the scent's lifetime on my skin. Ten minutes after applying, the white rose starts to come out, but it's not anything like Two, Five & Seven or any other rose scent I've tried. It's somber, haunting, like the scent of a funeral bough. What I like about scents like this and Alice is the combination of a gorgeous soft note with something spicy. In Alice, it's spice of carnation and bergamot tempered with rose and creamy milk. Here, it's innocent rose spiked with the exoticness of orchid. It lasts long enough that I don't feel the need to slather myself in it (which doesn't stop me, of course). It's probably not supposed to be sexy, but I feel like a damned goddess when wearing this one. Verdict?: Bottle! Which, according to my CnS tracking, was delivered today! SQUEE! (12/20)

The essence of ambition, covetousness and manipulation: sweet Bordeaux wine, blood red currant, thyme and wild berries. (GC - Illyria) I'm so glad the red wine doesn't really come through in this scent, because reds, even sweet reds like Bordeaux, give me massive headaches. Lady Macbeth is one of my favorite oils and I've gotten so much of it that I've started putting it into lotion. To me, it smells like the seduction of power. There's a hint of that fake berry smell of black cherry candles, but it's sweet without being waxy and cloying and blends with the stronger scent of currants. It's really a beautiful scent. Verdict?: Bottle, eventually.

A shot of pure, self-indulgent euphoria! A scent that is very, very wicked in its own way: the serotonin-slathered scent of pure milk chocolate. (GC - Bewitching Brews) Imp: Creamy milk chocolate. Wet: Ack! That sickening smell of too much melted bittersweet chocolate. It's briefly overpowering but I'm giving it a little time to mellow. Dry: It got a little better. I have this cocoa butter lotion from Jergens or some other Walgreens brand, and it smells exactly like Bliss once it's mellowed. It's nice, and I'll have to see if my boyfiend stays true to his word by not keeping his teeth off tasty-smelling me. Verdict?: Imp only. I won't wear it often enough to warrant a bottle.

I can already tell I'm addicted to rose scents. Two, Five & Seven was one of the first imps I ordered from BPAL almost a year ago. Imp: Roses. Wet: Freshly cut roses. Dry: Sugared roses! I love this. It's not too cloying, and the drydown leaves the roses smelling sweet - not dusty like the potpourri in your grandmother's closet. Has great throw and wear - I usually repply once during the day just because I like being surrounded by the scent.

Antique amber frames a series of distorted, eternally warping clear crystal and glass notes. (LE - Carnival Noir) I got a 5mL of this from happygophucky in a fairly unbalanced swap (I definitely came out ahead!) because she's unable to wear aquatic scents due to asthma. It found a good home! Bottle: Crystalline and a hint of citrus. Wet & Dry: I initially feared the amber note, but it's gorgeous and soft. The crystal notes remind me of the ozone I love in Lightning. Drydown is quick, but I get wafts of it all day and don't feel the need to reapply. Verdict: This one stays on my shelf for when I'm not wearing rose blends.

Lucky enough to get a 5mL of this just the other week from happygophucky as it aggravates her asthma and she wanted a good home for it. It found one! Bottle: Crystalline and a hint of citrus. Wet & Dry: I initially feared the amber note, but it's gorgeous and soft. The crystal notes remind me of the ozone I love in Lightning. Drydown is quick, but I get wafts of it all day and don't feel the need to reapply.

A huge bouquet of squished rose petals: Bulgarian rose, Somalian rose, Turkish rose, Damascus rose, red and white rose, tea rose, wine rose, shrub roses, rose, rose, rose… …and just an itty bitty bit of green grass. (GC - Mad Tea Party) I can already tell I'm addicted to rose scents. Two, Five & Seven was one of the first imps I ordered from BPAL almost a year ago. Imp: Roses. Wet: Roses. Dry: Roses. I love this. It's not too cloying, and the drydown leaves the roses smelling sweet - not like the potpourri in your grandmother's closet. Has great throw and wear - I usually repply once during the day just because I like being surrounded by the scent. Verdict?: Bottle! Need! More! Roses!

Milk and honey with rose, carnation and bergamot. (GC - Mad Tea Party) I got this because I love carnations and roses, and wanted to like the honey notes (though the SN of Honey goes rancid on me). Imp: Lightly floral, threatening to go powdery. Wet: Heavy on the carnation. Surprisingly creamy. Dry: This smells exactly like chai tea on my skin! Pity it fades pretty quickly, because I can't stop sniffing my wrist. I've reapplied twice today because the scent is gone after about two hours. I like this one a lot, but I think I may have to swap it away because it doesn't last. Edit: Forget swapping this away - I'm keeping it and hording more! I'll just have to slather. Verdict?: After the edit, I might need to get myself a bottle of this. LOVE.

I got this because I love carnations and roses, and wanted to like the honey notes (though the SN of Honey goes rancid on me). Imp: Lightly floral, threatening to go powdery. Wet: Heavy on the carnation. Surprisingly creamy. Dry: This smells exactly like chai tea on my skin! Pity it fades pretty quickly, because I can't stop sniffing my wrist. I've reapplied twice today because the scent is gone after about two hours. I like this one a lot, but I think I may have to swap it away because it doesn't last. Edit: The hell was I thinking, "swap it away?" Alice is lovely. This particular imp, which is a different one than I'd first tested from, has something in it that goes more lemony tea than chai - more bergamot than carnation, perhaps? Maybe it's that I've been sniffing Ugh all day.