paperdoll

Initial Sniff: Yep, that's patchouli and orange. Wearing: The patchouli and orange are well-balanced, and the drydown is sweet with a bit of spice. Nice. Final Impressions: I am a huge fan of Vixen and this is just a whole lot of nothing special. Like someone else said it is like something is missing in this blend. It is perfectly nice though.

Initial Sniff: This smells like a healthy green forest in the spring when everything is alive. It is a sunny day, but the sun only reaches the forest floor in a few dappled spots. Wearing: Very woodsy - it goes through a period where it is very dry smelling. Then the lillies come out to play, leaving the forest as mere backdrop. I didn't get any of the spiciness others mentioned. Final Impressions: This is so pretty! It isn't my usual style, but I'm not ready to part with this imp just yet!

Initial Sniff: Deep red wine and luscious berries. Magpiedee, as usual, has captured this scent beautifully with her words. Wearing: This is gorgeous - sophisticated berries - for the first 15 minutes. Then the wine rears its head and the berries disappear. Final Impressions: This has incredible staying power, and I would love it deeply if it did not hate me so! Once again, I can't wear wine scents no matter how hard I try.

Initial Sniff: This smells like a meadow in full spring bloom. Mostly sweet green, but the floral is definitely there too. Wearing: This is fairly true to the bottle scent on me. It is a beautiful sun-drenched meadow when wet and when dry. Gorgeous. It does lack staying power, however - I'll have to really slather it on next time. Final Impressions: I am loving this. I have a red clover soap that I am just dying to pair with this... I see a big bottle in my future...

Initial Sniff: I really smell the apple blossom and honey in the bottle, with a hint of something floral underneath. Wearing: Predominately ylang-ylang with a hint of rose. This is just vile on my skin. Final Impressions: When I read the description and sniffed the vial I knew this one probably wouldn't work, but I have a policy of trying every BPAL at least once.

Initial sniff: In the bottle, this is all violet. Wearing: When wet, this scent is incredible. It is violet sweetened by the vanilla/tonka bean and lightly spiced by clove and other unidentifiable spicy goodness. After about 30 minutes, this turns to baby powder on me (which I loathe). Stright up Secret Solid chemical baby powder horribleness. Final Impressions: This started out so nicely. Body chemistry works against me sometimes.

Initial Sniff: Very floral, very aquatic. Very nice. Wearing: This smelled like watermelon Jolly Ranchers when first applied, but that quickly faded into a very pretty and breezy pool with flowers all around. This is cool and refreshing. Final Impressions: This is another cool floral that I think is pretty but I know I will never wear. While BPAL has encouraged me to venture from my normal red and orange scents into greens and purples, blues and whites are still just not my thing.

Initial Sniff: It's a little bit green, a little bit yellow, and a little bit cherry... I am concerned about the cherry, but we'll see. Wearing: I still have no idea what is in this, but the green and yellow are what I smell on my skin, and as they dry the colors meld together and darken - a pool of swirling forest green and golden goodness. Final Impressions: I like it, but I feel like I don't know this scent at all. I look forward to exploring it further. (And sorry for all the color analogies, it is just the only way I can think of to describe this!)

Initial Sniff: This manages to be earthy and sparkle at the same time. I like it! Wearing: When wet, the patchouli is mostly what i smell. As it dries, however, the heliotrope and something else (I'm guessing the copal) come out to play and add the sparkle back in. Completely dry this is sweet sparkly patchouli goodness. Final Impressions: I love this. I actually don't know why I haven't tried it before, being the huge fan of heliotrope that I am... definitely a keeper.

Initial Sniff: Dragon's Blood, how I love thee! Rich blood red, deep, slightly sweet resin... ahhhh. Wearing: Wearing this as a single note (as opposed to in a blend) is actually kind of disconcerting. I am not someone who practices magick of any kind, but this just pulses with power. Final Impressions: I'll probably still to the dragon's blood blends for fragrance purposes, but I'll hang on to this imp because I'd love to explore that feeling of power some more.

Initial Sniff: In the bottle this is dry and dark with an edge of citrus. Wearing: This remained very dry smelling on my skin - almost dusty, definitely scorched and black. It faded very quickly. Final Impressions: This contains two notes which almost always work on me (vetiver and sandalwood), but this combination really didn't work. I felt a bit singed around the edges.

Initial Sniff: This is very sharp in the bottle. There is a strong woodsy note, and the frankincense is prominent. Wearing: Almost unbearably sharp for the first 15 minutes or so of wearing, this one passes through an interesting dark forest phase before vanishing completely within an hour. Final Impressions: I'm going to try to convince the boy to try this one, as I think it might suit him. This one just doesn't work with my body chemistry

Initial Sniff:I really smell the cedar in the bottle. Woodsy and floral - and a little sharp. Wearing: I really dislike this when wet. The sharp, woodsy tones knock me over for the first half hour, until the sweet black orchid takes over. This is lovely when dry, as the cedar provides depth and grounding for the ethereal florals, Final Impressions: This reminds me of an older, wiser Queen Mab. The drydown is very similar to that scent but with more depth. Nice, but a little too close to powdery for my style.

Initial Sniff: This is very complex - I'm not getting the strong lemon smell that others have described, but I do smell the apple and patchouli. Very intruiging. Wearing: This is very nice. It is slightly foody (I guess that's due to the vanilla and apple), but the musk and patchouli really ground this scent and make it not at all foody. I know that doesn't make sense, but there you go. The drydown is spicy sweet. Final Impressions: I didn't expect to like this one based on the description, but it really surprised me. I look forward to wearing it again.

Initial Sniff: That bubblegum lotus smell is what I get when sniffing the bottle, but it has a lovely warm, dark depth behind it. This is most definitely yum. Wearing: This scent is a purpley-dark velvet. It is warm and exotic. The sandalwood really comes through as it dries down, making the lab's description just dead on. Final Impressions: I'm so glad I got a 5ml of this one! It is gorgeous.

Initial Sniff: A decadent, sultry, deep red rose. This scent is deep and wet. Wearing: Ugh. This one is all wine. The rose fades into the background, and even the dragon's blood resin can't help this one. Final Impressions: It's official. I can't wear anything that contains wine.

Your best bet may be to find some scents that sound good to you, then email the lab at answers@blackphoenixalchemylab.com to let them know your situation and the blends you are interested in. That way they can not only let you know if you may react to one of the ingredients, they can also take extra precautions on their end when you place an order - ie. not sending you a sample that contains nut oil, etc. Good luck - I'm sure you'll find lots of blends that don't kill you!

Initial Sniff: Honey, wine, dates, and amber. That's what I smell, regardless of what the ingredients actually are! Wearing: Like every scent that contains wine, that is what I smell more than anything else. The drydown is almost identical to Old Athens. Final Impressions: Wine = yuck with my body chemistry. I was so looking forward to a yummy incensey scent, but this isn't it.

Initial Sniff:This is difficult to capture - for some reason the scent just evades direct sniffage, and instead I get little glimpses of peripheral scent... here a little spicy, a little musky, a little sweet... Wearing: I smell like a tasty exotic baked good one moment and a tasty exotic seductress the next. This scent is always changing, but I would also say that it is true to the scent in the bottle... very mysterious and unusual. Final Impressions: I think I have to wear this more to gain a full appreciation for the scent, but I'm perfectly willing to make that commitment!

Initial Sniff: While this is definitely juicy, sweet, and floral, I can't pick out any of the individual notes except peach and sweet pea. Exceptionally well-blended. Wearing: This is very fruity when wet - the peach and grape are in the front. As it dries down, however, the florals take over. If this scent were a color, it would be pale melon. Final Impressions: I am not a fan of peach or grape, but this really surprised me - I find it quite wearable. I don't think I'll keep it though - it just isn't me.

Initial Sniff: Chilly! The eucalyptus and mint are very prominent, with the neroli adding an interesting twist and the violet providing depth. Wearing: When wet, this is a wonderfully refreshing mint scent. As it dries, however, it goes horribly wrong with my body chemistry. Someone else used the word "metallic" which is fairly accurate. Strange. Final Impressions: If only it could have continued smelling like that initial lovely mintiness! Oh well - they can't all be winners with everyone!

A truly fae nectar! Dragon's blood resin and honeyed vanilla. Initial Sniff: Super sweet warm honey vanilla in the bottle. I can see why others have thought it smelled like cherry - when I think about it, that's all I can smell. Wearing: There's the Dragon's Blood! Yum. This is sweet and warm, but not quite so sickly sweet as it is in the bottle. Final Impressions: This is yummy. A little sweeter than I usually like my scents, but it layers with other scents just beautifully, making a big bottle a must!

Initial Sniff: Mmmm... spicy! Cinnamon and clove in a warm incensey base. Wearing: I think there must be amber and possibly a little sandalwood in this one. It is sexy and warm and sweetens up significantly as it dries. Excellent staying power as well. Final Impressions: I got this one in a swap, intending to send it along to my Scorpio sister. Unfortunately she's out of luck, because this is all mine! There is absolutely nothing in my astrological chart that explains why this should work on me (in fact, my ascendant sign is Taurus, which I think is the opposite pole from Scorpio), but screw it. It works.

Initial Sniff: This is not your average springtime violet. This violet is a deep dark purple and grows in the darkest scariest part of the woods under the oldest tree... by the time you find it you have clawed through so much earth and moss that when you lean in to sniff the flower, the earth and darkness are part of the scent. Wearing: I never love vetiver in the bottle (insert nose wrinkle here), but I wear it well and this is no exception. On me, the violet and vetiver are perfectly balanced and as the day wears on the scent becomes softer and slightly sweet. This one has good staying power. Final Impressions: Yum. I like magpiedee's adjective: Furry. So true.

Initial Sniff: What is Things That are Green, Alex. I can smell all of the listed ingredients, and wow! It packs a powerful green punch. I've never had absinthe, but this is what the Green Fairy in Moulin Rouge smelled like. Wearing: This one mellows on my skin, becoming less medicinal as time passes. It is very refreshing on muggy days, and I feel as if I am bathed in bright green light (which sounds like a bad thing but it really is a good thing - I promise!) Final Impressions: I like this! I will wear it a lot this summer, and have already made up lotion scented with Absinthe.