DiesMali

In the imp: Oops, I forgot to sniff. Wet on my skin: Warm, soft leather and spicy, almost cologne-like sandalwood. Dry: This doesn't change a whole lot as it dries. The leather in this is similar to BPAL's soft brown leather note, but with a white musk sort of edge to it that gives it something of a shiny quality. Combined with the sandalwood, this is a warm, masculine, and spicy-cologne like scent on me. Very pleasant. Not quite mind-blowingly good, but I think I might actually like it a little better on me than Black Rider, of which I have a full bottle.

In the bottle: Deep, juicy, earthy apple. Wet on my skin: This actually starts out patchouli-tobacco dominant on me, with a bit of apple peel (specifically the peel) and vanilla. Dry: I took a chance on this, because apple often just doesn't quite work on my skin. I am SO GLAD I took that chance. To quote myself, "patchapplebacco with PURE SEXY ON TOP." This is dark, almost-smoky apple tobacco, like there's apple peel mixed in with fresh tobacco leaves. The patchouli gives it a gorgeous earthy texture, and then the lavender, vanilla champaca, orange blossom, and honey are supporting players (in that order) to give it a faintly creamy, slightly-sweet floral throw. On my skin, which LOVES patchouli and tobacco, this is much darker than it is sweet, and if an apple blend could be called masculine, this is it. Absolutely gorgeous. This may end up being one of my favourite BPAL scents, if it's already this good on the first day out of the mailbox. /drowns self in Apple III

Ah-hah, thank you! It has to be the July 2007 after reading those notes. /makes note on cap label

Hi all! I have a bottle of 13, but I'm not sure what year it's from. It's got a pink label with the 13 in solid lime green. I think it's 2007, but I forgot to write down the date from the forum seller's thread and can't remember who I bought it from to ask them.

In the bottle: Sharp and almost unpleasant flowers. Wet on my skin: Unnnnnnngh so pretty. The moment this touches my skin, it just blooms beautifully. Wet, it's indigo musk and jasmine, then olibanum and other white flowers. Dry: I am SO glad I got ahold of this bottle, because it's absolutely gorgeous. It's a bit reminiscent of one of my other favourite scents, The Night-Raven, as it shares a couple of prominent notes with that one. That's why I bought it, actually. This is primarily indigo musk, white night-blooming flowers (they're all discernible if I concentrate on picking them out, even though they are also well-blended), then olibanum, and the hint of spicy cinnamon. The patchouli grounds everything, and the vanilla orchid gives it a very slightly creamy sort of texture. This is a bit less sweet and a bit more spicy/incensed on me than the Night-Raven, but definitely in the same scent family. Thankfully, jasmine usually behaves fairly well on my skin, and it's really a team player here rather than a top note once everything is dry. It's a deep blue scent with fuzzy blue-white wisps of clouds.

In the imp: Almost blueberry-like. Wet: Rich, fruity pastry and oats. Dry: Ehhhh. I'm not a fan of this one. It smells like raisin oatmeal cookies, which are my least favourite cookie due to unpleasant scent-memory associations from a childhood daycare that treated me absolutely abhorrently. It's not an unpleasant scent based on the notes, just not a good one for me.

2015 version. In the bottle: Almost boozy pomegranate-musk. Wet on my skin: Musk, musk, musk. Bit o' patchouli. Dry: This is definitely red musk dominant on my skin. At this stage, I'm a little disappointed in it, but I'm hoping it will improve with age. Beneath the musk, I can smell some patchouli and amber, and just a tiny hint of pomegranate and fuzzy violet, which is thankfully not enough to turn the whole thing into shampoo. I'm not getting any rose, vetiver, honey, myrrh, or vanilla, which is why I am disappointed. HOWEVER, I'm willing to keep it around a while to see if those notes come out with some age, because I don't give up that easily. And it is rather nice, still, if I'm looking for a good red musk dominant blend. I'd normally prefer The Ifrit for that, but this is softer and more feminine, which could be good for some occasions where I can't wear something as spicy-sexy.

In the imp: Dirt! Wet on my skin: Rich, black soil and a bit of sweet apricot. Dry: Normally, I adore patchouli in a scent blend. However, the apricot alone just doesn't make this shine, at least to my nose. It's not bad by any means, but there are many other patchouli scents I have that are much more interesting, and I usually prefer slightly more complex scents. HOWEVER, I think this one could be an excellent layering scent, so I will keep it around to experiment with for when I need to ground something that is a bit too sharply sweet for my tastes.

In the imp: Non lemon/lime citrus! Oh noooooo! Wet on my skin: *bracing self for blast of Costco orange cleaning wipes* ...Huh. It smells...good? Saffron-citrus with a bit of sweet, powdery amber. Dry: I kept waiting for this to do the dreaded shift to cleaning solution, but I do believe the combination of amber, saffron, and vetiver saves this on my skin. Citrus + aquatic goes horribly, horribly wrong on me, but I'm starting to think that maybe citrus + amber/spice might have the occasional chance, based on this and one other recent surprise. I am so tickled by this, because I've been wishing more of the Arkham scents worked on me, and this is the last one I would've expected to work? It's a triad of tangerine-amber-saffron, spicy, warm, and sweet, with just a tinge of the cedar and vetiver. Once it's been on a good ~6 hours, everything but the amber and cedar have faded, and it's now a lovely skin scent. It's actually fairly light and pleasant on me through its whole life, so maybe my skin is the Borg (bringing order to chaos).

In the bottle: Cherry-almond-vanilla. Wet on my skin: Sweet, lovely, snuggly vanilla and cherry-almond with brown leather. Dry: This dries into a warm, fuzzy, soft brown leather with vanilla and a bit of amber. The cherry-almond almost completely evaporates on me, leaving the toasted almond to back up the warm snugglies of the other notes. It's so, so pretty, and exactly what I was hoping for. I was just thinking about ordering a bottle of Captain Cully, but I think this will do quite nicely to fill the brown leather-vanilla/tonka slot.

In the bottle: All carnation. PINK carnation. Wet on my skin: Sweet, sweet honeyed cotton candy and carnation, with Snake Oil. Oh no, it's just too sweet at this stage! D: Dry: This threatened to be overpoweringly sweet on me, which almost broke my heart, but it's settled down enough that I think I like it. It's very sweet and feminine, and girlish in the manner of Alice. On top, it's blue cotton candy, sweet white honey, carnation, and Snake Oil, with a hint of sugary tea (Dorian), in that order. There's just enough of the moss and roots to balance the sugary sweetness. I swear I smell garden soil when I put my nose to my skin, but the throw of this is almost all carnation-candy-honey. It's unlike anything else in my collection, as I'm not much for sweetly girly scents, but I am definitely keeping this. So pretty and sweet, and it'll be good for those times when I am in a dress and/or wanting to wear something cute and inoffensive. This will join Alice as "that" scent, I think.

In the bottle: Musky cocoa and clove. Wet on my skin: ...Cola? Fizzy root-beery cola? I don't know, don't ask me. I can smell the hint of Reese's peanut butter cups too, but mostly cola. Dry: After a while, the fizziness subsides for the most part, and this turns into a light but GORGEOUS mix of primarily clove, dark cocoa, amber, and red musk. The patchouli is barely detectable, but grounds the scent along with a faint breath of leather and sweet tobacco. I'm not getting any currant or vanilla, but I think they're contributing to the sweet airiness that makes this a fairly light, feminine scent rather than a rich and heady one. I was hoping for rich and heady, but this is so beautiful that I am actually not disappointed in the slightest.

In the bottle: Very woody, like the lumber section of a hardware store. Wet on my skin: As this goes on, it's mostly strong, rich wood and patchouli, with just a hint of the vanilla. Dry: Oh my goooooodness. I had really wanted a bottle of this as soon as I discovered the Metamorphosis scents, and this exceeds my expectations. It's a gorgeous woody-smoky-vanilla with patchouli, fuzzy light brown with a hint of green in my mind. This actually reminds me a little of yucca/cactus flowers, but then I realise it's actually also a cousin of Ask the Nearest Hippie, sans hemp and cannabis. There is just enough balsam and oudh to sharpen the woody undertones, but on me, the stars of this show are the smoky vanilla, champaca, and patchouli. Gorgeous. I'll need to track down another bottle of this someday.

So far, the only thing that has irritated my skin is Vial of Holy Water, which burns mildly for about 5 minutes after I put it on. Go figure. I'm not sure what is actually in it, so no idea how to trace it.

This is the 2015 version. I was holding off on reviewing this because it wasn't great on me when I first got it early this year. Then I forgot to review it...and now it's been aging almost 10 months. HOLY MOLY what a difference! Let me review the 10-month aged stuff. In the bottle: Sharp, almost menthol-like red musk and woods. Wet on my skin: UNNNNF. This immediately blooms into a gorgeous, heady blend of all of the listed notes. They all combine into this gorgeous, red, spicy goodness. Dry: This doesn't change much as it dries. The red musk and patchouli are to die for, the woods combine to bring it from earthy to rich and resinous, and then that geranium and benzoin give it SPICY KICK. The amber sweetens and mellows it just enough that it's not overwhelming. On me, the geranium isn't really floral at all, just spicy. This scent is red, but not like crimson. It's a slightly-rusty orange-red, with some dusty earthiness making the edges just a little fuzzy. This has actually nudged out all the competition except For Each Ecstatic Instant, making it my #2 favourite from the 2015 Lupercalia run.

I've been putting off reviewing this in case it got better somehow, but nope. This is for Woods bottle #85. In the bottle: Sharp and herbal. Wet on my skin: OHMYGODNOGETITOFF Dry: Still OHMYGODNOGETITOFF. A certain percentage of the population has a gene mutation that makes cilantro smell and taste like vomit and/or soap. I'm 99% sure this has cilantro (AKA green coriander) in it, because all I can smell is terrible, bitter, soapy vomit. I'm sure this might be nice for someone who doesn't have that mutation, but I can't smell anything else but that. This will be my first full bottle to put up on sale. :/

I find that tipping the bottle and using the amount coating little nub that's already in there works great. I tip it over and back, open it, and plop the cap nub onto my skin where I want perfume. Usually get 2-4 drops on it that way, which is about the perfect amount for each place on my skin.

In the imp: Warm, slightly spicy amber. Wet on my skin: MMmmmmm. Warm, dusty amber. It's slightly sweet. Dry: As this dries, it warms further, and it's ohsoniiiice. The amber and musk are reminiscent of Haunted on me, but are joined by a hint of soft brown leather and a rustle of sweet, dry prairie grasses. It's a warm, fuzzy, dusty, brown scent, and so far it's the best out of the frimps that came with my recent order. May order a bottle sometime!

In the imp: Strong burning rubber. Wet on my skin: Grey, gritty, burning volcanic ash. Dry: Much the same as when it's wet. It smells very much like hot volcanic ash, and I'm definitely impressed that this scent got packed in a little vial like this. Not something I'll wear often, buuut Ren Fest and RPG nights might benefit from it!

In the imp: Dirt. Wet on my skin: Dirty Costco orange cleaning wipes. Dry: Dirty Costco orange cleaning wipes. Thaaaaat's pretty par for the course for me, with anything involving orange. Not even the magic of patchouli could save this one on my skin.

In the imp: Bubble gum? Wet on my skin: BRIGHT, effervescent, pink-green-orange LIIIIME grapefruit FLOWERS fruit SPARKLES LIIIIIME rose. It's like a Lisa Frank painting exploded in my brain. (synaesthesia is great sometimes) Dry: Either my skin chemistry is unusual right now, or BPAL knew something I didn't, because this is the second scent tonight that shouldn't have worked on me but does. It's the first grapefruit scent I've tried that hasn't made me smell like dirty cleaning wipes, and I thiiiink that's due to the lime and nectarine offsetting the bitterness of the grapefruit. Or maybe it's the patchouli, which is one of the best notes on my skin and tends to turn things from just-okay to pure awesome on me. This smells like drinking a fruity summery drink while sitting on a porch near the edge of a forest, with a faint whiff of blooming roses carried on the breeze. There's the musk, sage, and patchouli closer to the skin, but the (fairly light) throw is sweet fruits and roses. Thankfully, it settles down quite a bit from the wet stage, because I'm not sure my brain could handle more than a few minutes of the colour-scent combinations there.

Luminescent, glowing, and otherworldly: green mandarin, neroli, honeydew, white amber, guava, freesia, white and green musks hovering over desert scrub, smashed wood, and the dry, biting scent of night air over the Groom Lake salt flats. In the imp: Sweet floral. Wet on my skin: I'll admit, I was bracing for the possibility of orange cleaning wipes, as often happens on me with orange/grapefruit scents. However, that...didn't happen? Dry: Huh. Colour me shocked! Maybe I can wear mandarin? I've been avoiding ordering things with it since it's too closely related to orange, but this is the second mandarin scent that's worked on me. This is a light, white/green floral with bits of juicy melon and just a hint of sweet mandarin. Freesia and honeydew melon take center stage, and I'm quite enjoying that combination. It's a nice, feminine, summery scent overall. A bit more feminine/white than I usually wear, but I can see myself reaching for this when I want a citrusy floral but need a break from my usual citrusy-floral-mood scents (Shoggoth and Whitechapel). Don't need more than the imp, but it'll be nice to have while it lasts.

In the bottle: Strong, sweet, floral lemon. Wet on my skin: In this stage, it's very reminiscent of Shoggoth on me. Lots of lemon and flowers, almost effervescent. Dry: The predominant notes in this are lemon and the flowers at first, and it maintains that resemblance to Shoggoth for about 15 minutes. After it's dried and starts warming on my skin, the lemon subsides a little bit, and the opium and coconut come out to play. The black musk is almost absent, giving the other notes a slightly "darker" feel instead of being a prominent note in and of itself. Once it's been on for a while longer, the lemon fades even more, and it becomes a creamy vanilla-coconut with wisps of smoky flowers. All in all, it's quite pretty.

In the bottle: Sharp citrusy tea. Wet on my skin: Sharp, clean citrusy tea. Dry: Other reviews say this is similar to Dorian, and it is, but it's actually far more reminiscent of Jareth due to that white musk and white fougere. Indeed, the notes in it are rather similar, but instead of lilac, this one has jasmine leaf. Don't worry, though - the jasmine leaf isn't strong like jasmine flower, and it effectively blends the Earl Grey tea with jasmine tea. It's a strong, shiny citrus tea, and it is both very clean and somehow mysterious at the same time. This is a unisex scent, bordering on masculine, and if you're a fan of Jareth, you're probably going to like this. This is not as overtly bad-boy sexy as Jareth, however, and in that it's more like the refined gentleman of Dorian. With a bite.

In the bottle: Uh oh, I don't think I can wear this out in public. Wet on my skin: ...On the other hand, I DO live in Colorado. And this smells like the uh, candies, I occasionally use to help treat my medical issues. Smoky hemp vanilla indeed. Dry: Something about the combination of ingredients in this makes it smell slightly like cocoa butter on my skin. Hemp-infused cocoa butter. When I sniff deeper, I can definitely pick out that smoky vanilla, sweet cannabis, and patchouli, but I swear it combines to smell a bit like the (completely legal in my state) chocolates I've eaten on occasion. It's a good scent on me, somehow fuzzy and comforting. The throw from it is almost all vanilla, now that it's warming on me, but there's definitely a tint of sweet cannabis in that vanilla. The earthy hempy patchouli sticks closer to the skin, but is quite strong up to a few inches away. Edit: After it's been on for a while, the cannabis fades quite a bit, and now it's mostly that warm, dry, smoky vanilla and patchouli. Mmmm.