DiesMali

In the imp: Very sweet, almost like fruit punch. Wet on my skin: It retains that sweet punch feel, but with lilies surrounding the punch bowl. Dry: This could just be my hormones going wacky, but I never do get much of the musk, ginger, or spices. This remains a calm, sweet, slightly juicy floral on me for most of the duration of the scent, only fading enough to allow the musk to come out at the last hour before fading completely. It's not bad at all, that being said. I'd just wished to have more ginger/musk in with the lilies.

Black leather, oppoponax, tobacco, and black amber. In the imp: Strong, slightly incensed black leather. Wet on my skin: Deep, delicious, black leather with incense and a bit of sweet tobacco. Dry: The amber comes out once this is dry, joining the other notes and giving them a sweeter, almost powdery finish. It's soft, well-worn black leather now, with sweet amber and tobacco. BPAL's leather scents usually smell great on me, and this one's definitely no different. MMmmm. I'll need more of this later.

In the imp: Pleasantly fruity jasmine. Wet on my skin: Gooooorgeous already. Beautiful jasmine and juicy plum, very slightly earthy/spicy. Dry: Same as wet - Beautiful jasmine and juicy plum, softened by the blue musk and a tad bit of earthy patchouli. Mostly, though, it's this beautiful, rich, royal-blue jasmine and plum scent. This is actually one of my favourite BPAL fragrances so far. SO so so pretty.

In the imp: Very very herbal and almost medicinal. Wet on my skin: Earthy, herbal, and a little evergreen. Dry: This is a strange, almost chaotic scent on me. It's very strongly herbal, with an earthy base from the patchouli, and I don't get much fig or frankincense until it's been on for several hours. At that point, it's a deliciously herbal dried fig with wisps of incense. Very nice once it's reached this stage, though it's a little strange earlier in the wear.

In the bottle: Thick, salty caramel and tobacco. Wet on my skin: Salty, burnt caramel with tobacco and a hint of the amber. Dry: That same salty, burnt caramel with tobacco. It's not at all a sweet or cloying caramel on my skin. Now, the amber comes out more, along with the opium and something I could swear was woody incense. That must be the Asian spices, I think. It's a warm, dry, and almost bitter on me between the burnt caramel and tobacco. Very unusual, and stronger than I thought. I only put it on the back of one hand, and it didn't seem that strong to me until I went to shower and came back into my room, which now smelled entirely like this scent! I'm not sure yet whether or not I really like it, so I'm going to give it another try after it's settled down from shipping.

Blind tested this one, at least at first. In the imp: Fruit, I think? Wet on my skin: Oh crap, that's orange, isn't it? Dry: I've discovered the hard way that while lemon and lime smell amazing on my skin, orange and grapefruit make me smell like detergent and/or Costco's orange-scented cleaning wipes. I can't get much of the raspberry or neroli from this, because all I smell is orange-scented dish soap. Alas, this one is a miss on me.

In the imp: A rather unpleasant combination of sweat, male musk, and dark beer. Why am I putting this on my skin...? Wet on my skin: Smells like Guinness, smoke, and wet stone. Dry: As this dries, it becomes increasingly pleasant to the nose, very different from how it smells in the imp. Thankfully. It starts off with a kick of damp cave/stone and freshly forged iron, a little bit of fireplace ash, and that dark, stout beer. As it wears for a few hours, the iron and stone fade somewhat, giving way to a woodsy-ashy-fire scent that is very similar to the woodsy-ashy-fire notes in Midnight Carnival. Which just happens to be one of my all-time favourite BPAL scents. The metal further adds that similarity to Midnight Carnival's metallic two-penny magics. This is a very evocative and somehow homey scent, with that beery touch that ends up more like a tavern hearth fire than a magical bonfire in the woods. I really like this! P.S. I play a couple ever-elusive female Dwarves in World of Warcraft. They aren't my mains, but I love them nonetheless.

Blind testing a free imp. In the imp: Sharp, fresh greenery. Wet on my skin: This smells like what I wanted The Lilac Wood to smell like. It smells like flowering lilac bushes, green trees, fallen and rain-damp hardwood logs, and GREEN. Greeeeeen. Dry: Looked up the notes, and what do you mean this doesn't have lilac in it? It may be the lemon interacting with something in the vial, or my skin, or both, but I could swear up and down that there's lilac greens and flowers in this. It smells like a deep, old-growth forest of both deciduous trees and evergreens, and some of the bushes and wildflowers are blooming in the sunshafts coming in through the trees. It's a lovely scent, and as mentioned above, what I'd hoped for in The Lilac Wood. So pretty and green!

Blind testing a free imp, didn't look up notes til after putting it on my skin. In the imp: Rich, loamy black soil with dusty pine needles and mushrooms. Wet on my skin: Still that rick, black soil. That dusty pine needle and mushroom scent is still there, and it reminds me of the rich soil left behind after a spruce tree has decayed into it and life begins to spring from the tree's death. Dry: Same notes as above, but now there's this dry, warm sweetness coming into play as the fig makes itself known. The mushroom in this smells specifically like the white Amanita species that grow in the mountain canyons here after heavy rainfall. I had no idea what to expect with this, but it's an absolutely gorgeous blend and I think I may need more of it. In my mind, it's a dusty brown layered over deep, murky green.

In the imp: Purple bubble bath. Wet on my skin: Almost sickeningly-sweet little girls' bubble bath. Dry: This is too sweetly floral for me, unfortunately. It remains very sweet and almost soapy, strongly violet with some gardenia, and the only thing my brain can smell here is bright purple bubble bath. It is one of very few BPAL scents that has given me a headache, and thus I'll probably have to gift it to someone who likes very sweet florals like this one.

In the imp: Dry, bitter, earthy scent. Wet on my skin: Still dry, bitter, and earthy. It's very much tobacco and musk on me, with hints of dark cocoa and herbs. I don't get much of the other notes, except for a vaguely powdery note from the saffron. Dry: Exactly the same as wet, did not morph at all. This is a very brown, dusty scent. It isn't bad at all, but I may give it to one of my male friends who enjoys this kind of dry, masculine scent more than I do.

In the imp: Faint, sweet lily. Wet on my skin: Beautiful, sweet, authentic tiger lily with this vaguely earthy spiciness to it. Yum. Dry: Almost the same as wet, and I knew I'd love it due to the ginger and frankincense. Darker florals like this tend to do very nice things on my skin, and this is a rich, spicy, purplish-green scent with LOTS of lily throw tempered by that spice and earth. So very pretty, will likely be ordering more than just an imp of this.

In the imp: Lemony black tea and pepper. Wet on my skin: Same as in the imp. Dry: I get about 30 minutes of a deliciously lovely creamy lemon tea and sweetish pepper, and then...it's gone. Poof. Just disappears. My skin drank this up as if it actually were tea. I'll try aging it a bit and see if it lasts longer, otherwise I'll have to send it off to someone whose skin doesn't swallow it whole.

In the imp: Sweet incense and fresh tobacco leaves. Wet on my skin: This is very much sweet incense and musk, with sweet tobacco. Dry: Again, sweet incense, sweet tobacco like that in a fine cigar or maybe a pipe, and the undercurrent of musk and ambergris making it almost creamy and soft. It's not the rich, strong leather and incense smoke I hoped for upon reading the notes, but it's nonetheless a beautiful scent on me. My skin loves this musk and incense. As it wears a bit, the hot leather is finally coming out and gives it that dark, seductive quality I hoped for with the first application. Oh yessss. Leather, incense, smoke, and musk. Perfect. This scent is black, swirled with grey and red smoke.

In the imp: Sharp carnation and a bit of milk. Wet on me: Still sharp carnation, almost spicy. It's not a soft scent at all on me, and is instead almost wickedly sharp...but not in a bad way. Dry: This doesn't really change as it dries, except to add in a tiny hint of the rose and creamy milk. And WHAT? HONEY? I didn't know there was honey in it when I tried it, which is a good thing since honey tends to go sickeningly-sweet and sharp on me and I avoid it in most blends. This must be what's making it go sharp, but thankfully the spiciness of the bergamot offsets what would likely otherwise be sickening and cloying. This is surprisingly nice on my skin, and completely unexpected.

In the imp: Smells like high-quality jasmine petal green tea. Wet on my skin: Just as in the imp. Dry: This is GORGEOUS. Light, sweet jasmine petal tea in the throw with creamy vanilla and soft black amber closer to the skin. I ordered this after trying other BPAL jasmine and/or tea blends, and I knew it would work well on me, and it entirely lives up to expectations. It's a beautiful pale green and lavender colour, almost ethereal as it floats about. It really does smell a lot like my favourite jasmine petal tea, but that sweet amber and vanilla just warm it up and make it into a truly delicious blend. Probably my second favourite of the Lupercalias so far.

In the imp: Plum wine. Mmmm. Wet on my skin: No longer plum wine, but rather black currants and amaretto. Dry: This is a gorgeous scent! It's a dry, almost dusty amaretto and currant scent, with a bit of a tart kick from the plum. It really does give the impression of a bordello in a gritty, dusty Wild West town. It's satiny and a really lovely muted mauve/fuschia colour. Might be a bottle scent at some point. MMmm.

In the imp: Juicy Fruit gum. Wet on my skin: Delicious, juicy tropical fruit, with a musky hint of patchouli. Dry: This triggers a scent memory for me. It smells just enough like a lotion that I used all through college, and that is a good memory to me. It's tropical fruit with a musky edge thanks to the patchouli, and it's really quite pretty. The fruit and tea all blend together well enough that I have a hard time picking out the individual notes unless I really give it a good sniff. It's a green and pink scent, but not in a watermelony sort of way. Tasty.

In the imp: ...7UP. It smells just like 7UP. Wet on my skin: Still 7UP. Dry: This goes from 7UP to a dry, sparkly ginger ale right away as it begins to dry. I'm not that familiar with champagne, but whatever this is, it is bright and bubbly! I'm not getting any strawberry. Very unusual scent.

I had no idea what this was when I opened it and put it on. Blind test! In the imp: Strong, bitter grapefruit peel. Wet on my skin: Same as in the imp. Rather unpleasant on my skin, and now it smells almost exactly like the orange cleaning wipes I get from Costco. Dry: Yep. Smells exactly like Kirkland/Costco brand orange-scented cleaning wipes. I think I've narrowed down grapefruit as being a death note on my skin, because this is also the icky smell that The Deep Ones gave on me the other night. I'm actually kinda sad about this due to my heritage and connection with the lore behind this, but unfortunately it just does NOT work on my skn.

In the imp: Deep, slightly sweet wood. Wet on my skin: A very warm, slightly incensey wood and dry cocoa scent. Dry: This doesn't change much as it dries, except a tinge of the fig starts to sweeten it. It's very much a skin scent when it comes to the cocoa and palm wood, with the throw mostly fig with a faint hint of the cocoa. I wasn't sure what to expect with this since it was a free imp, but it's really quite nice. I'm not sure if it stays on me long enough to order a bottle, but I might like more imps of it at some point.

In the imp: Nauseating. Why am I going to put this on my skin...? Wet on my skin: Still nauseating. Bitter, salty, and full of ozone and strange things. Dry: This remains very unpleasant on me for some time, but despite my first inclination to wash it off, I let it sit to see what it did. There's a vague notion of something sweet and maybe floral, but it's mostly just that dark, salty seawater. It actually starts to smell rather nice after it's been on a while, but I'm afraid the first hour+ of this is probably one of the more unpleasant BPAL scents I've tried. I definitely chalk that up to skin chemistry. Something in this just goes rank on me, and that initial unpleasant smell just doesn't fade quickly enough to make the later stages worthwhile.

In the imp: Strongly salty seawater. Wet on my skin: Dark, muddy, kelpy seawater. Dry: The water part of this fades on me within an hour, leaving something that smells very much like the slimy seaweed and sand left behind as the tide begins to recede. Mostly sand and mud, though, with the salty, slimy seaweed strewn about in places. This isn't really something I would wear, but it was certainly interesting to try it out.

In the bottle: Dark, orange-tinted chocolate liqueur. Wet on my skin: Dark orange chocolate, apple, and a hint of rose and vanilla. Dry: I'll admit that I was nervous about having ordered this after reading the above reviews, but I tried it anyway. Glad I did! My bottle came today, and I should have known I'd like it since I seem to have an affinity for some of the more unusual blends, especially ones with incense/wood/musk notes. This dries into a top layer of soft, creamy-yet-musky chocolate with orange, a hint of juicy apple and velvety rose beneath that, and a little bit of incense making the whole thing a little bit shimmery. The predominant colour in this is a velvety auburn, midway between brown and red, with flecks of shining gold. Surprisingly pretty on me.

In the bottle: Earthy, rich wood and musk. Wet on my skin: Lots of sandalwood and balsam, patchouli, and musky moss. Dry: On me, this is very much a wood scent with an almost medicinal quality to it. It's almost all sandalwood and balsam, with the musk, patchouli, and moss deepening it just enough that I don't smell like the lumber department of a hardware store. The rose is almost imperceptible here, only a faint hint of it beneath everything else. This is a soft but oddly masculine scent on me, and thankfully I'm A-Okay with that. This is the sort of scent I might wear when I need inspiration to push myself. Maybe good for workouts. I'll have to test that idea!