mspixieears

The younger Jezebel is very strong on orange blossom, but as it gets older it gets more powdery. When I first tried Catherine, the orange blossom wasn't so strong but I tried another imp (newer one?) and it was definitely strong on it. Interesting.

My favourite grown-up, elegant, sophisticated scent is Bon Vivant. It smells very similar to YSL Yvresse (used to be called Champagne).

PoM is opium by death - heavenly!

The Lab gave me squillions of imps and so I've started testing them. Les Bijoux - bah, hates me. Reason? Rose. I can smell a lot of the other notes, but not the ones I love. Yeah, red apple doesn't much like me either. Sigh. Intrigue - ooh, this is sexy, in a very understated way. A little too dry for me, though the fig does sweeten it up ever so slightly. I don't detect the cocoa which was a bit disappointing. I won't keep it but would love to see what it smells like the on menfolk. Sin - a much less intense version of Smut I feel! But no throw on me, odd given that Smut has amazing throw on me. Wanted to keep my decant, but it dried to nothing on me and became crayonish. Shame. Amsterdam - I don't know what tulips smell like, but this is lovely, it's a very fresh floral, sort of green yet watery too. Sri Lanka - first is fresh sandalwood, then incense-like sandalwood mixed with cedar. The cedar is nice too, but this has such a gorgeous sandalwood. It stops smelling so sandalwood-laden, however.

I sent them an e-mail about an incorrect bottle received and haven't heard back from them - it's been a couple of days. How long does it take them to respond usually?

This was something of a cheer-up/Christmas present to myself. The most bottles I've ever ordered! Snow White 2008 (because I forgot that I actually already ordered one, duh!) Belle Epoque Zorya Thalia Snake Charmer Resurrected Candy Phoenix Pickled Imp Tabella - though this was a mistake of the Lab's - I actually ordered Tabula Smargadina. Have e-mailed them though Frimps: Sri Lanka, Scherezade, Les Bijoux, Pontarlier, Sudha Segara, Nanshe, Siren, Kurukulla, The Hesperides, Dove's Heart, Independent*, Amsterdam, Sin, Jezebel, Intrigue, Catherine. Am chuffed with the frimpage. Have tried many of these but wow, Lab is generous!

I retested a few 5mL bottles I had to try and figure out whether or not I should find them new homes. These were: Tiresias, The Androgyne - a lot of people are saying they want to stock up on this. I bought a secondhand bottle, only half-full to try and its throw on me is amazing and it's quite unique, but not something I'm enamoured with. I do have a home for it though...have a girlfriend who was rather partial to it. Will give to her! The Perfumed Garden 2006 - I love the jasmine in this, but not super-keen on the rest. Am genuinely torn, no idea if I should get rid of it or what. Libra 2007 - bah, rose! This didn't like me at the beginning, and still doesn't. The Emathides - oh my, this has developed into a beautiful, herbal blackcurrant scent. The fruitiness is very subtle, however. The throw is not as strong as I'd like but I can't bear to get rid of it. Stay: The Emathides. Go: Libra 2007, Tiresias. Undecided: The Perfumed Garden 2006.

These were purchases from the user stellans - she blasted away 4 entries on my LE wishlist! Fantastic! Stardust 2005 Diwali 2007 (Yule) Beatrice Michtecacihuatl 2008 (Halloween) All of these I had the pleasure of testing whilst in convalescence and fell in love with - particularly Diwali 2007. I was naughty and used funds from my super-savings account but when someone offers you 4 wishlist scents you'd be silly to turn it down! At least, that's my story and I'm sticking to it, chuckle. She gave me a buttload of frimps but I put them in my "need new homes" imp bag before recording their names, whoops! I have 2 PO slips telling me I've packages to pick up and I think one might be my actual Lab order. Am so excited!

After a break of quite some time, I find myself getting reobsessed with BPAL again. I thought I might use this blog feature as a way of tracking what I purchase, what I try and such. You might like to read it if you're interested. I also keep an external blog which houses my non-olfactory obsessions: Grace Notes @ Snarkattack It talks about everyday life (surviving chronic illness), poetry and music. Again, may interest you - feel free to nose around.

Khandita is a nice strong saffron, though sadly LE.

Alice is mega on the milk. Didn't initially like this but wow, we are good friends now! Like another poster I too get cream in The Candy Butcher. Katrina Von Tassel is also quite creamy. It didn't like me, alas!

The Spell of Amorous Love = Kitsune Tsuki GC, I swear!

Ooh, love the wine in this! It’s sweet and syrupy. Definitely very tangy too but not sure if it’s the blood or wine gone sweet. Doesn’t have much throw sadly, which is a shame as it’s a lovely scent. It fades to become quite floral.

Reminds me of Fairy Market, minus the sweetness. I’ve tried a few BPAL florals that have been quite similar. The flowers are more potent in this blend than in Fairy Market. I think I’ll be holding onto my decant.

Smells of a mild male cologne. I don’t really get the incense or the musk that is mentioned in the notes – I don’t really like it all that much to be honest. As it dries it does start to take on the mustiness of books and becomes a bit more old-world refined.

Instant amalgam of pear and vanilla, deliciously foody and fruity, the pear is just so juicy, succulent and ripe, and the vanilla is a soft white cake kind of vanilla which reminds me a lot of Eat Me’s vanilla. Average throw and could probably be more heavily applied than what I did initially.

I’m hard pressed to identify what I smell here, it smells very green and oaky, not at all of rotting wood. I think the greenness I get is probably the moss? Nice to have tried it but not one for me at all.

Beautiful, clean florals. I think I mainly smell the magnolia first up which is a bit of a surprise as usually my skin amps things like frangipani. Really gorgeous scent, might even be worth getting a bottle of it. I do wish the frangipani and magnolia were more dominant, as the white sandalwood comes into play, giving the floral nature of the fragrance an interesting edge.

I love blends with sage and this is no exception – I’m quite surprise by this, did not expect to like it very much but love it. It’s very uplifting. I can pick up hints of the mint and lime rind which are lovely and very refreshing as one would expect.

I don’t think dragon’s blood really likes my body chemistry which is a shame. The almond at first wasn’t pleasant but it gets nicer in the blend. There are too many notes in this blend for my liking, it’s a bit of sensory overload but as it dries down all I can pick out is the dragon’s blood. A bit later it gets all berryish and winy.

Fresh pine/evergreen scent with a hint of winter chilliness which I’ve detected in some of the more wintry blends. Very strong and has excellent throw. Better suited as a room fragrance than a personal one, I feel. It is nice but I don’t think it’s something I’d wear again. Reminds me a little of Snow Bunny.

My first reaction is oh no, the rose is too strong! It’s definitely the dominant note here though if I sniff my wrist up close I can smell the black cherry and another floral which I assume is the carnation? I’d like more of the fig and honey as well as the blackcurrant to be present – it was actually the blackcurrant that made me leap out and buy a bottle. The rose is nice and fresh but up close it’s just too strong.

The wisteria is dreamy in this, tempered by something else I cannot put my finger on. It could be the amberish quality of the galbanum? Gorgeous scent, much better that I thought it would be. I smell something uplifting like coriander of all things. Minutes later it turns fruity with the pomegranate which adds a crisp, tart sweetness to the blend, it stops being less floral. It reminds me of a BPAL blend I’ve tried but cannot put my finger on.

Been a very long time since I tried a fragrance with amber in it and it’s been a welcome change. I can smell the amber along with the chrysanthemum and oud (I think that’s what it is) and a little later the camellia which is just gorgeous – this is what made the fragrance bottle-worthy to me. I don’t smell the dead leaves so much but I don’t mind that at all.

Zomg, I totally agree with Bathsheba. I totally feel like teh sex with that stuff on. Last time I wore that scent I got lucky if you know what I mean *winks*.