Lunasariel

In the imp: Strong, sharp woods, almost turpentine-smelling, with a spicy, peppery note also very distinguishable. All this sounds pretty un-promising, and yet there's something oddly sweet and mellow lurking in there, drawing me in. Could be the lotus, could be the sandalwood, idk. Wet: The sweetness is much more prominent (almost cloying or bubblegum-like, as lotus tends to turn on me, but not quite), but the base is still strongly spicy-woody, like a cedar cabinet that's been used to store cooking spices for decades. At this point, I can't decide whether I like this scent or not - it's definitely very different from my usual warm, slinky ambers or bright, brisk citruses, but that's the beauty of frimps. Dry: The bubblegum-sweet lotus does a surprisingly quick fade, leaving me with 95% pure cedar (albeit a soft, wearable cedar - the turpentine from ITI is gone entirely). There's still a hint of spice, but it's no longer distinguishable as pepper.

In the imp: Fruity fruity fruit fruit fruit! Apricot so strong it almost gave me a headache upon first sniff, and I can still catch whiffs from the uncapped imp from half a foot away. If there's any orange blossom or musk in there, it's buried in the landslide of apricot. Wet: Ah, there's the orange blossom - it's still playing second fiddle to the apricot, but at least now it's discernible. And I'm not sure whether I'm actually getting the white musk, or that's just me wanting to smell what's in the description, but there's almost definitely something anchoring all the fruit - still sweet (as white musk tends to go on me), but giving it something to grab onto. In fact, right now it's reminding me of Grand Guignol (albeit a little more floral-sweet and less boozy-sweet). Dry: That lovely orange blossom note emerges more fully, with the apricot slowly but surely dialing back. Hmm, now I'm not sure whether to file this under gourmands or florals! But either way, it's a keeper.

And second! In the imp: A soft, spicy-smoky smell with a bit of traditional perfumey sweetness. I agree with Aviatrix - it's so well-blended that it's difficult to pick out individual notes, and the overall impression is difficult to describe. The closest I can come is a calm, bright, golden top over a smooth, strong, brown base. Wet: Holy cannoli. From up close, it's identifiably a woody-leather scent, with some soft sweetness rounding it out. But from afar: HHHNNNNNNNGGGGG. It really is difficult to describe the notes; it just conveys a sense of kindness and strength. It's also unexpectedly sexy - I don't find myself having "mmmmmmm ;)" reactions like this that often, so this is really outstanding. Dry: Primarily amber. The smoky wood and leather are both there as accents if I really look for them, complicating the amber, but they're not really discernible on their own, even if I huff for them. There's an extra bit of sweetness that may be the honey, too, but mostly, it's just my old friend amber making my skin go "I LOVE EVERYONE IN THIS BAR."

In the imp: Mostly the cherry-floral sweetness of, yes, dragon's blood. There's something vaguely warm and spicy at the base, but I wouldn't immediately identify it as amber. Indeed, instead of the cuddly, slinky warmth I usually associate with amber, this feels decidedly fresh, even brisk. Huh. This should be an interesting experiment - amber has a tendency to either go to powder, or turn the whole blend into pure gold on my skin, while dragon's blood tends to go either too sickly-sweet, or morph into a bog-standard department store perfume. I wonder which one will win out? Wet: I got an immediate sense-memory of some mainstream perfume or other, but I can't really put my finger on it. Something containing jasmine, perhaps? Anyway, I'm getting brisk, subtly spicy florals, with that cherry note still hanging around. But after a few minutes of this, the florals settle into heady, slightly indolic jasmine, and the cherry burns off. Still no amber. Dry: The dragon's blood burns off after six hours or so, leaving a soft, powdery, skin-level amber. A little more subdued than I'd like, and I do miss the oddly jasmine-y dragon's blood, but I can live with this just fine.

In the imp: Dominantly sweet, wet black cherry. Which would concern me, since I amp fruit like nobody's business, but there's something else here, taking the cherry half a step down from being sickly-sweet into something more interesting. Maybe it's the rosewood, maybe the red musk, maybe the rose...I dunno. Wet: Now there's a change! The cherry is almost entirely gone, leaving a sort of sweet, woodsy lavender in its place. I get the impression of lavender buds kept in my grandmother's massive old wooden armoire, sprinkled with sugar water or rosewater. I can maybe pick up a touch of cherry in the underlying sweetness that keeps the lavender from going too herbal. Dry: The rose and/or rosewood quickly eclipses the lavender, but the warm, cuddly woodsiness remains. And boy howdy, is it some good woodsiness - broad and sweet without cloying, the cherry becoming almost almond-like (sort of a reverse process as in Blood and Judgement So Well Commedled) just the thing for a cold blustery day like today. In fact, this smells so divine on me that I'd almost swear that amber was in here - it's that good! But it's probably the red musk giving me a false positive. Maybe. On me, red musk can do anything from amping fruit into too-sweet territory, settling for a bland sort of office-appropriate pleasantness, or occasionally making a good blend GREAT, as in here.

In the imp: Not as dry as I imagined. There is a dry, woody note that I imagine is either the broom twigs or the moss, but mostly I get slightly...woozy(?) herbs. I'm in week 2 of fighting off a cold/the flu, so maybe that's just me, but I do get an unsettling, hard-to-put-my-finger-on-it feeling. Wet: Wow, this one's a morpher! Now I'm getting sort of light, omnidirectional florals, with maaaaybe just a hint of patchouli at the base. But it still feels dry and chilly, and constantly threatens to veer into soap territory. Dry: It settles down into an inoffensive, barely-there generic perfume - the kind that could be mistaken for "I just washed my hands with nice soap." I was all ready to give up on it, when I got a random whiff of myself ~4-6 hours in, and was surprised to find that it had morphed into this fascinating mossy-woodsy scent, with the florals as a faint accent, nothing more. Hmm! Instead of consigning this one to the swaps box, I think I'll age it for a while, see if I can bring forward that fascinating forest scent (which I really haven't found anywhere else, even in supposedly foresty blends such as Druid or Arkham).

In the imp: A harsh, synthetic cherry smell, like that awful cough syrup, and nothing else. If this is what almond works out to, uh-oh... Wet: Ah, now that's more like it! The almond quiets down into something smooth and sweet, and plays EXTREMELY well with the leather. Speaking of which, the leather starts out a little newer and sharper than I'd like, but also settles down into something I like rather a lot. And this may be my post-cold stuffy nose talking, but I could almost swear there's an aquatic undertone hanging around somewhere at the base...? Dry: Got a random whiff of myself, and...HNNNNGGGG. Amber can turn pretty much anything to magic on my skin, and clearly it's at work here - I'm getting something broad and sweet, masculine (or maybe unisex), and utterly delicious. At this point, it's so well-blended that, from afar, I can't even pick out any individual notes - it just smells awesome. There's a touch of sharpness from the bourbon vanilla and/or almond if I get close, but basically I'm trailing a cloud of "I am a good person"-smell. (Seriously, HOW does Beth manage to capture such specific, ineffable concepts in scent?)

In the imp: I'm getting primarily tea, with maaaaaybe a hint of citrus and/or florals. Right now, this is one I'm regretting waiting to order - this is promising to be the perfect light, cooling summer scent, in the vein of Juke Joint or Manhattan. But will it have enough grip for a cold, rainy day like this one? Wet: Starts out with a big ol' blast of citrus and mint, slightly cut by honey. Man, is this a turnaround! I can't distinguish the tea at all, and the florals not a bit. But it quickly settles down, and the citrus and mint start playing better with the others. From afar, it's this delicious complicated honey-citrus-mint-floral (and my skin looooooves it some honey and mint), but up close, it actually becomes less complicated and settles down into a citrus tea with maybe just a hint of florals. Right now, I'm totally getting both the White Rabbit and Alma Venus comparisons. Dry: Honey-mint tea, but not as warm or cozy as that might sound. In fact, this has an oddly... hollow feeling to it? I keep getting whiffs of it here and there, but mostly it's just a sort of cold, vague sweetness. If I really shove my nose into my wrist, I can get something approaching the lovely warm zingy orange blossom honey that I was hoping for, but only then. I'll probably let this sit for a few months, and see if it's more suited to springtime than cold October.

I like to make perfume an element of my Halloween costume, which BPAL happens to be perfect for. This year, I'm thinking of going as Agent Peggy Carter, and we actually know what her perfume smells like! Bésame Cosmetics Decades of Fragrance: 1940 is described thus: After prohibition, NYC jazz club, 1940s Aromatic, Floral, Ambery Top notes: bergamot, cognac, davana Heart notes: rose, clove, labdanum Base notes: sandal wood, amber, benzoin Can anyone help me out?

In the imp: Zingy! Interestingly, this is definitely lemon verbena, rather than lemon itself - softer, rounder, and more herbal-feeling. There are also some very soft florals, but they're very much in the background. Wet: Starts out with the same lovely bright lemon verbena, but all too soon, it turns to soap! WTF? I have a sneaking suspicion that jasmine is the culprit here, since I noticed it at the same time as the soap started to develop, but jasmine usually behaves on me. *grumble* Dry: Yup, it's soap, soap, and more soap. There's at least some fresh/floral overtones for the first few hours, but they smell very synthetic, like the soap is called "Forest Breeze" or "English Wildflowers" or something. But even those don't last long - after a few hours, it's pure soap. Bleh.

In the imp: I dunno about the oil itself, but it smells syrupy and heavy - mainly honey, but the olibanum and definitely the rose are also making themselves known. Right now, I'm thinking that it might be too heavy for a muggy summer day like this, but for a warming winter scent? YUM. Wet: And there go my expectations! It's a delicious honeyed rose - my first thought was rose jam that does feel languid, but not too heavy for summer. There's just the faintest suggestion of incense hanging around in the background, which is just the way I like it. Srsly, this is one of those scents where I have to remind myself that BPAL is not for eating, no matter how much it may smell like it. Dry: And again away with the expectations, albeit in a different direction this time. Instead of staying with the honeyed rose, it morphs into an incense-rose blend, which, as usual, goes sour on me. And I have a zillion rose-incense blends that go sour on me, so I really don't need another one. Hmm, I wonder if there's a way to prolong that yummy, unique wet stage, and avoid this entirely...

In the imp: I agree with JuliskaMarie - there's a lot going on here! Florals (primarily rose, but I can also detect something creamier) mix well with the citrus, over a strong, smooth, almost masculine/cologne-y base (woods? incense? something else altogether???). This is appropriate, given the character - both masculine and feminine aspects. Wet: Brisk, fresh roses. I can also smell the citrus, but right now it just smells like another facet of the roses, not its own independent scent. There are also some creamy floral overtones that I'm fairly sure is the lily at work, or possibly the lilac. There's a brief flash of...sandalwood? Wood of some kind? Maybe? But it doesn't last long - mostly it's florals, florals, and more florals. Dry: Ah, there's my old friend amber! Along with sandalwood and maybe rosewood, it becomes much more prominent after several hours, even becoming more notable than the florals. Right now, it's exotic in a smooth, creamy way and I LOVE it.

In the imp: Sweet, smooth woods, but somehow it feels light and airy rather than heavy. There's an interesting edge that I can't quite put my finger on - perhaps metal, or some sort of sharper wood, or frankincense? I really want to say I can pick out the parchment, or maybe it just gives the overall impression of parchment. Right now, I'm agreeing with Claudia - a snuggle up with a good book day, indeed! Wet: From afar, this is DELICIOUS. Amber and parchment and just a touch of incense - smooth and sweet and warm and light and lovely. I probably look like an idiot bobbing my head back and forth, trying to get a whiff of myself, but it smells so good I don't even care. Up close, however, the woods grow much sharper, especially the cedar. Everything else is still there (I think), but the cedar (which, unfortunately, reminds me of pencil shavings and rodent cage litter) rides roughshod over it all. Dry: Thankfully, the cedar settles down after not too long, and lets the more complex scent shine. And boy, does it shine! I'd even swear there's something in the vanilla/tonka/benzoin family there - it's wonderfully comforting, in a smooth, elegant sort of way. That lovely old book smell, rounded out with warm woods, and amber and that vanillin-y whatever to keep it from getting too dry, and the faintest drizzle of incense. I think I'm in love.

In the imp: SWEET! Sugar, fizziness, and synthetic strawberry; all so sweet that I can actually feel it on my tongue. In fact, it smells so much like strawberry Bubble Tape that it's making me crave some. Wet: The fizzy element is gone, but the sticky-sweet synthetic fruit and sugar remain - now more syrupy than anything else. Unfortunately, straight-up candy scents aren't really my thing. It smells exactly like I rubbed slightly melt-y strawberry candy on my wrists. Dry: Fairly linear - sweet strawberries all the way down. It takes on an almost pastry-like character by the very end, which I actually kinda like.

In the imp: An elegant, grown-up take on a sweet fruity scent - the musks and dragon's blood resin in the base really help to anchor it. However, I amp fruit like nobody's business, so here's hoping it stays like this instead of going way over the top! Wet: Uh-oh. It's still sweet, but instead of the rampaging I AM FRUIT, HEAR ME ROAR!!! that I had feared, it's a synthetic, chemical sort of sweetness. It smells "perfumey", but not necessarily in a good way - like it's an alcohol-based perfume instead of an oil. Dry: A fairly generic perfume, like something your mother-in-law would wear, or like you would find in an office. Inoffensive (sweet without being cloying, grown-up, spicy edge), but nothing too interesting, either. I think I'll either age it to see if it develops in an interesting direction, or keep it on hand when I need to smell professional and competent, but unobtrusive.

In the imp: Elegant dark florals (perhaps predominantly violet?) with a strong, creamy base. I've been disappointed by the disjunct between a scent's copy/idea and the reality (for example, Le Serpent Qui Danse has become my perfect sprightly spring violet scent, but I've never smelled anything less "sinister, darkly seductive"), but for a scent based around the Morningstar, this ain't half bad. Wet: Just as lovely, but now much less smooth (although a better word might be "suave"), and with more...frisson, I want to say? Something attention-grabbing, anyway. Violet is definitely the dominant note here, but there are also, more omnidirectional, florals hanging around in the background. But it's a good 70% violet - lush, wet, and refreshing. That smooth, strong base is still there, providing support for the florals, but now I can just about distinguish it as musk, or maybe woods. Alas, no sandalwood yet! Dry: A surprisingly quick fade! Within an hour or two, it's about 50% sandalwood, 40% violet (maaaaybe a whiff of a few other florals), and 10% musk. And six hours later, next to nothing! The barest whiff of sandalwood, if I really shove my nose into my wrist, but that's about it.

In the imp: Huh, this is the first time I've had a scent go to soap while actually in the imp. There are some dark, smoky notes hanging around, and just a touch of sweetness, but overall, bar soap it is. Wet: I'm sorry, but the only words I can think of are "soapy root beer." It's sweet and yes, a bit bubbly/effervescent, but the soap is still going strong. I gotta say, I'm more than a bit disappointed. For Evil, I was hoping for something slinky and darkly seductive, and that's what the notes seemed to promise, but in combination, they work out to that one time I spilled a root beer float on myself during a 4th grade field trip and had to wash it off with amusement park soap. Dry: It gets surprisingly soft surprisingly quickly. To the surprise of nobody, I amp the plum the most, but the tobacco(/opium/kush?) is also keeping things interesting. Still not quite what I think of as "evil", but closer than soapy root beer.

In the imp: I would characterize this as exuberant - a zingy green (almost evergreen) scent, with something spicy-floral-sweet hanging around as well. This is what mid-springtime looks like (but doesn't necessarily smell like), when it's just rained and everything is exploding into growth. Wet: Wow, chaotic really is a great name for this! The greenness is still there, but rounded out by...tea? mint? Florals? Sweet-ish musk? Fruit??? It changes from sniff to sniff, and I LOVE it. It's unexpected, fun, a little crazy, and still very exuberant. Dry: It leans fruitier and fruitier, until it settles down into a very wearable sweet musk. Much more stable and less, er, chaotic than the Wet stage, but no less enjoyable because of it. I can't wait to layer this with ALL the other RPG scents!

In the imp: Bitter fruity overtones (I believe someone on here mentioned cherry?) over a strong, smooth base. I'm willing to bet that the bitterness comes from the oakmoss, although that's not a note I'm too familiar with. There's also something ineffably sweet that could be the almond, could be the jasmine, could be both, or could be something else entirely, idk. Wet: Starts off as pretty much a jasmine single note. Which, personally, I'm A-OK with - I love jasmine, but I know it doesn't work for everyone. Eventually, though, the almond starts to sneak back in, followed by the sandalwood and/or musk. I could definitely see how this could be both a "coquettish" (floral) and "sinister" (musky, a bit of the almond) scent, although I do find myself wishing that the oakmoss would put in an appearance; this would help quite a bit with the interesting-yet-unsettling "sinister" aspect. Dry: Jasmine and sandalwood. It's a lovely scent as-is, but I'm worried about it leaning a little too "generic exotic." Like, I love jasmine and I like sandalwood, but I'm still missing that oakmoss to really make it distinctive.

In the imp: Yup, that's a summer men's cologne. Bright, clean, and fresh - bergamot and a general sort of herbal-ness are the most evident. In fact, it even smells a little generic cologne-y, but not in a bad way, if you know what I mean. If it stays true to this all the way through, it's going to be a PERFECT scent for today, which is projected to be the warmest day of the year so far. Wet: Indeed true to ITI, but maybe even better. I like my cooling summer scents to have just a touch of something to "ground" them, to stop them from being all light, airy top notes that feel like they're going to drift away in an hour. The patchouli and/or the tonka have come forward, and are doing an excellent job of giving the scent some heft - Wilde may have been an aesthete, a fashionista, and a bon vivant bar none, but this reminds me that he was also a really bloody good writer. The top notes are also very interesting: sometimes I get definite bergamot, sometimes thyme, sometimes lavender, and sometimes even the suggestion of jasmine (which I love, and which generally plays well on my skin, but I know isn't for everyone). They keep trading places and upstaging one another in the most fascinating way. Dry: The florals die down after a few hours, and the herbs and citrus prove surprisingly tenacious. It's much more of a linear and traditional men's cologne by now, but still refreshing and pleasant. Sadly, though, the whole thing really doesn't last above six (maaaaybe eight?) hours, but that's pretty much to be expected from bright, fresh notes like these.

In the imp: My first thought was "exotic". If you're a fan of scents like Morocco or The Lion (which I happen to be), then this is one for you! It's sweet (in fact, almost foody-sweet, but I guess I can also see how this could be honeysuckle) and spicy (but not immediately identifiable as cinnamon), and like the above-mentioned two, gives a lovely warm reddish-brown impression. Wet: The cinnamon comes forward in a big way. I still wouldn't call it a foody scent, though - the sweetness is still there (albeit rather dialed down), but the cinnamon is a bit too sharp to be something I would cook with. But idk, if you're a big fan of cinnamon or spices in general in your food, maybe this would come across as foodier to you. (This is the reigning World Champion Spice Wimp here.) Dry: Now I'm getting all the Snake Oil comparisons! If SO and The Lion has a scent-baby, this would be it. (LOL, now I just need to add a goat-themed scent to get a true chimera.) It's spicy and sweet, but a bit lighter and not quite as overwhelming as SO. I imagine it will age similarly, though.

In the imp: Ah, now this is what I was looking for in Mage! Smoky, incense-y, mysterious, and powerful. I get the image of smoke swirling around and half-concealing the mage (magus?). Mmmm. Wet: Takes a sharp turn into Plywood Territory. Yup, that's fresh-cut cedar right there, and nothing else. Luckily, something warmer, sweeter, and less dry works its way back in over time (oddly enough, it's especially notable the farther my nose is from my wrist) and turns the whole thing back towards sexy, mysterious incense. Dry: A more standard incense - frankincense and sandalwood both looooove my skin (at least in terms of wear time), so it's not surprising that everything else burns off, but these two remain. EDIT: Apparently something in here is reacting badly with my skin - I get the same raised red welts that I got from Voodoo, although I'm pretty sure that clove was the culprit there. Unlike Voodoo, however, these ones actually itch. High john essence is the only note I'm unfamiliar with here, and I know that my skin gets along just fine with all the other components, so I'll have to add high john to y list of death notes. *sigh*

In the imp: Pretty much only rose; alas, I'm not getting any leather. The rose does have a lovely just-after-the-rain quality to it, though. I second dementia_divine - HOW does Beth get the smell of damp? Wet: Maybe just a touch of leather (or maybe that's me trying to smell the listed note instead of what's actually there), but it's still very rose-dominant to the point of being a single-note. Dry: Huzzah, the leather actually shows up! IDK if this is just me being suggestible to the title and/or copy or what, but this really does bring to mind stiff, black leather. At first it's about equal with the rose, but as time goes on, it even eclipses the rose.

In the imp: Yup, that's vetiver right there, leavened a bit by leather. I don't have the "OH GOD NO GET IT AWAY" reaction to vetiver that I know other people do, but it's far from my favorite scent out there. Right now I'm getting the "malevolent" and "dark," but maybe "sharp" instead of "shadowy." Wet: Wow. That's um, a lot of smell right there. This is probably the strongest vetiver I've ever smelled - sharp, acrid, and just a bit of the scent of burning tires. The leather is also making itself known and the musk is anchoring everything, but overall, I can't say I'm crazy about this, at least for me. In fact, this is almost exactly what I imagine Famine or Pollution from Good Omens to smell like - sophisticated and powerful, but dangerous. And not in a sexy-dangerous way, either. Bad dangerous. Dry: Thankfully, the vetiver calms the hell down after ~15-30 minutes, and reveals an actually rather pleasant musky leather. It's still pretty austere and VERY masculine, but I could actually see this working now. I don't think I'll ever love it (for a good manly scent, I prefer something with a bit more slink to it), but it's definitely gone from a 2 to like a 6.3 on the Do I Like This scale.

In the imp: Woods, herbs, and a sweet, musky leather all blend together into something cohesive and GORGEOUS. This is one sexy-as-hell scent! Wet: As usual, I amp the leather (but, again as usual, a newer, drier leather than ITI) right out of the gate. However, not as usual, the herbs and vanilla are gamely hanging on, turning this from a "fancy new shoes" sort of smell to something slinkier and more lived-in. But maybe "slinkier" isn't quite the right word, because this is definitely a unisex-leaning-masculine smell for me. Dry: Unusually (see above re: amping leather), I'm getting the vanilla and herbs/woods as much as the leather. In fact, it leans more and more vanilla-centric over time, until I'm left with a lovely musky (almost smoky) vanilla, with just the ghost of sage and lavender hanging around.