LizziesLuck

Wet: A nice creamy scent. Very cream dominant (it really smells like cream rather than milk, to me). Hoping the honey and other notes come out a bit more, as currently this is just a rather non-descript cream. Dry: Reminds me a lot of Boo without the cotton note. I like it, but I don't love it. I wish the honey was equally balanced with the cream note, but it's totally cream dominant on me.

I couldn't resist the grey amber and white tobacco, but I know the woods are likely to make this something that doesn't suit me. Still, wanted to try it! Wet: Mmm, that's nice. A really sweet woodsy scent. I was right that it's not very me - the wood scents I like are generally things like oak and teak and sandalwood, sometimes cedar, but almost never pine. However this has a lot of sweetness from the grey amber, and I can pick up the tobacco, putting it more in the vein of Antikythera Mechanism, which I do enjoy. I also think this will age spectacularly. Dry: As much as I love the amber and tobacco in this, I just cannot get past the pine. Sadly, not for me. I think if I waited it out, it might age into something I like, but I am not sure enough about it to invest in a bottle.

LXI (61, I think? I suck at Roman numerals, lol) At first it smells like pure Frankincense. Then I think I get maybe a fir note? But not pine. Something woody, but that fades almost instantly. Still mostly Frankincense. It reminds me a bit of All Souls. No...there is something woodsy here! Not sure how I feel about this. I also got a decant of LXVII (so...67?) This one is much sweeter, and has Myrrh in it, I think. And fruit? I really like it. I have lots of Myrrh perfume, as well, so this suits me just fine! It kind of smells like....Myrrh and cotton candy. Maybe I'm crazy. Would love to hear what the others in my decant circle think of these! This one wins out of the two for me, for sure.

Wet: Whoa! That's....something all right. The red ginger is such an angry note, it's like a punch in the face. Nose to skin, that's all I can smell right now, but the throw is sweeter and more balanced, and gives me hope. Dry: Still overwhelming red ginger single note - so strong as to smell medicinal. Disappointing. Wondering if it needs to settle more or age a bit for the other notes to come out.

Wet: Champagne - and though I like the Lab's champagne note, this one immediately turns to soap, and in the throw, I get something akin to the jasmine-cat-pee-effect. So far this is Not Good. Dry: Less soapy, but still champagne single note. Disappointing. I had hoped for so much more with all these great notes. Pretty fresh out of the mail, so maybe it just needs to settle and be tested again.

Wet: Opium, opoponax....and is that a hint of dark leather? Nope, not leather. Hmmm. This is dark and smoky. I struggle with opium sometimes - it can go really soapy, or high pitched and headache inducing, but this is lovely. And I may be wrong about the opoponax, might be labdanum or galbanum instead - it's rich and syrupy, sweet and resinous, but not quite doing that cola thing that opoponax does. This is really good. It's going to age like a dream. I may have to have a bottle. Is that coal dust? This is so hard to decipher what's in it. It's so much more than straight up opium though, so those afraid it'll be a single note, I wouldn't be. Wow, this is good! Dry: Though not an opium single note, it is opium dominant. It hasn't gone soapy or "screechy" on me, which is great- - there's a dark, sweet resin in there that is beautiful and keeping this grounded on me. It's a fantastic scent, different than anything I own (since opium is usually so unsuccessful on me). I do think I will likely end up with a bottle. I may not wear it a ton, but I feel it's something special, and I need it in my collection.

I think it's the saffron and chypre I am getting here, backed up by fir. It's really different. A very strong, bold scent. I like it so far, but it's not very me. Very little sweetness, and it actually smells sort of musky (red musk, to be exact). I don't get any of the florals, fruit or frankincense, and no patchouli either. It really is mostly saffron, fir, and a note I don't recognize that I feel must be the indigo chypre - which I just Googled. " Chypre is the name of a family (or concept) of perfumes that are characterised by an accord composed of citrus top-notes, a middle centered on cistus labdanum, and a mossy-animalic base-note derived from oak moss and musk." This makes sense now!! I am getting the musk (which I can now identify as 'mossy' as well) from the Chypre! I even get the hints of labdanum. So this is what chypre is. It's very strong, and unique, but I don't think it's for me in this blend. I think I would like it with some vanilla, or amber or something to sweeten it up, as I prefer a sweeter musk scent. This, with the patchouli and fir mixed in, feels like an 'earthy musk type scent, with saffron. Quite glad I tried it, because I learned something!!

2011 version Wet: Warm, musky, a bit floral - very faint though. I smelled something fruity, for a sec? Hmmm. It's so hard to smell at all! Dry: This amps up all of a sudden, and becomes a really sweet floral. I like it, but it's not wowing me - I have a ton of florals to choose from, so at this point, one has to really amaze me for me to justify fitting it into my collection. This is really pretty though! Glad I finally got to try it.

2013 version Wet: Red musk, sweetened by amber, and wood. Very sexy, right off the bat. Hints of geranium as it warms, which is nice with the musk. Creates a very incensey effect, somehow. Dry: Red musk and geranium, in perfect balance and harmony. I never would have imagines those two notes would be so perfect together! I really like this a lot, and will absolutely pick up a bottle next time it is released.

Wet: I get a sweet, honeyed vetiver and glowing woods type scent. Quite nice, and not what I expected! I purposely didn't read other reviews though, so I didn't know what to expect. This is nice. Ok - now I have read other reviews, and am totally confounded. I swear, there is not a hint of Dragon's Blood in this imp. It's the wrong colour, for one thing, and I amp DB to the moon and back - and I'm not getting even a hint. Did I get a mislabelled imp? This is vetiver. Feeling like I am going crazy....well, my skin burns off vetiver quickly, for the most part, so maybe later I will smell what others are smelling. Cinnamon and lilac, seriously?? I get neither. At all. Dry: Vetiver, sweet, smooth and honeyed. It's gorgeous, but it smells nothing like the other reviews I see, and that confuses the heck out of me. I like this a lot, I think it is unique and sexy, very sophisticated, but I am just very confused about it. ETA: Read most of this thread and am seriously convinced I got a mislabelled or weirdly aged imp. We all know what colour DB is - this imp is a yellowish brown, not even a hint of pink or red. And it smells like vetiver and woods, not Dragon's Blood. So I will be hunting down a new imp, to see if I be crazy or not. ETA2: Got a different imp of French Love. It's pinkish/red, which is what one would expect of Dragon's Blood. It also smells like the Lab's floral DB note, with maybe a hint of lilac? It's pretty. Smells nothing like that other imp I had. Weird! But glad I got to try what I would consider the "real thing" based on everyone else's review. It's very nice, but DB is not a huge fave of mine, and there are other DB scents I prefer.

I love the sound of this, but in reality, wine is pretty iffy, and jasmine is a no-go. Still, I wanted to give it a shot. Wet: I can detect both the wine and jasmine, but they swirl amongst the other notes, and so far aren't an issue. This is quite interesting. I get rose the strongest, which is not what I expected. I should have though, I amp rose to high heaven. Good thing I like it. Dry: I think I like this!!!! Which is crazy. It's mostly a rich, heady rose. I get faint hints of jasmine, but it doesn't smell like cat pee or feces. Faint hints of wine, but it doesn't smell like sickly sweet grape candy. This is kind of a miracle, and I am tempted to get a bottle simple for the fact that I can WEAR this!! And there's jasmine!! So crazy.

Wet: Mostly getting the wood notes from this. They're quite nice, but I was hoping for some incense, too! Maybe as it dries... This imp is also quite aged, and I do wonder if the woods have amped and concentrated with age, and left the other notes behind. Dry: Still smells like a forest. A somewhat magical forest though, and I don't hate it, but I needed more of the other notes to really love it.

I adore these notes, except for violet, which never works on me, but here goes anyway! Wet: Mmm, the Tonka note in this is lovely, but then the violet stomps all over it. It effectively creates a sugared violet type scent, which is surprisingly not horrid! Closest thing to a violet note I have enjoyed since Faith, which was also surprisingly note horrid, but a bit too sweet for me to manage. Dry: I lied, OK? This is terrible. Or at least the throw is. Nose to skin, I get that gorgeous Tonka, and it makes this almost pleasant. The throw is all sour violet on me, and it is not a happy smell. *sigh* one day, violet, one day.

Blarg, aquatics, why can we never just get along? I was hoping green and floral notes might save this, but instead it smells like dryer sheets dipped in dirty swamp water. Blech. Not meant for my skin.

I tried this a long time ago, and don't think I cared for it, but somehow failed to make any notes or review it. The imp I am tested right now appears to be quite aged, and I am wondering if maybe it hasn't aged all that well? Hard to say. This is spicier than I expected, and I feel like I am getting more spice than just the anise. The sandalwood is really nice. The cherry blossom smells almost more like the fruit than the flower. The strange, unexpected, cherry plus spice combo is reminding me of The Phantom Calliope, and is nothing like I remember or expected. I think I would like to try a fresh imp of this sometime....but if this is Kyoto aged, then I actually quite like it. It's subtle, muted, and elegantly understated.

This is 2011 Wet: OMG, that musk...It has aged so well. Thick, sweet, dark musk. The amber is also amazing. This is such a rich, dark, heady scent. The Myrrh is very present, and lovely. The patchouli is muted, which I am happy about, I love a bit of patch, but already have a ton of patch-centric perfumes. I wanted musk and Myrrh, and I got it! Dry: This is dark and beautiful. Mostly Myrrh, on me, with lots of musk and hints of patchouli, and some other indescribable nuances. So glad to have it.

I love blackcurrant and sandalwood both. Violet leaf always terrifies me - sometimes it just smells green and leafy, other times it actually smells like violet... Wet: Mmm! Sweet, creamy, a bit powdery, a bit fruity. Quite gourmand! Way more so than I expected. There's something like eucalyptus underneath - a menthol sensation without actually being minty. Quite interesting, and not what I expected. Dry: Sweet and tart at the same time, which I love. The powderiness remains, but I really like it with the currant. This is really lovely. Not quite like candy, but hovering at that line between gourmand and not. I quite enjoy it. Glad I changed my mind about trying it, as I can't even smell the violet leaf one way or the other. The sandalwood and snow only serve as a background for the blackcurrant, which is the star of this on me. Yum.

Wet: Bergamot and lavender come through the strongest, backed by a strong, sweet musk. It's clean and comforting. Dry: Clean, cozy lavender and bergamot, with hints of musk (which I would not be able to identify as green if it wasn't listed as such). I find most clean scents cold and high pitched, but this is warm and soft, like slipping into clean, cozy pajamas. I like it a lot, and will love wearing it to bed.

I just want to be able to wear and enjoy Frankincense...why is that so much to ask for?? I like patchouli. I love sandalwood. Coconut snow sounds amazing. So this is going to be the one!!! I can feel it... Wet: Blech. Why the heck is this peppery? I can smell the Frank, of course, and something woody, but also something really peppery, and it's weird, and throwing me off. Dry: Frankincense. Single note. I give up.

Just FYI, this hurts like you wouldn't believe when you get it in your eye. Wet: I love the Lab's rum note, but I think I am starting to realize I don't love whisky in perfume. This is somewhat plastic on me as well, which isn't helping matters. Darn! It smells SOOO yummy and almost caramelized in the bottle. Dry: This recovers and gets really yummy on my skin for a bit, before it ultimately fades and turns "dusty", which is an issue my skin has with some gourmand scents. Boo! It was really good there for a bit. Clearly just not meant for me skin chem.

I am not a fan of the released version, much as I want to be, it just turns bad on my skin chemistry. Though that seems to be constantly changing, so I really should try it again one of these day. I can tell immediately that v3 is quite different. Wet: Cinnamon, woods, coffee. Sugar. YUM. Oooh, leather, also? Soft worn leather, I think. I like this a lot. Dry: This is beautiful, and reminds me more of The Arabian Dance, with the addition of cinnamon (which is perfect!) than Misk U. I need more.

2016 version Wet: Boozy lavender cake! So basically as advertised. The booze burns off really quickly, and the lavender is much stronger than the cake note. It's almost astringent. Dry: There's a really weird, almost plasticy note happening here. I am not as big a fan of this as I thought I would be. Sadly I think it's just not great on my skin chem, and is not the lavender cake scent I dreamed of.

Wet: Melon candy, which morphs into melon soda (is that a thing?) as something effervescent comes through. I thought I was going to hate this when it was all melon candy (I was expecting tobacco, somehow) but now that the gin has shown up (I love gin) and it's some kind of fun melon-gin spritzer, I am liking it a lot more. Dry: The effervescence fades a bit, and the sticky sweet melon candy comes back to the front, making this smell more like melon pop rocks than a fun cocktail. I do enjoy it, it's a neat scent, I just have no desire to wear it.

A sophisticated traditional gentleman's cologne, with just the slightest taint of patchouli's passion, tonka bean's decadence, the philanthropy of bergamot, moss' cynicism, the sharp wit of lavender, and the hopeless romantic longing of jasmine and thyme. Wet: Smells like a very clean, traditional cologne. Sophisticated is a good word for it. It's quite bright and citrusy. Hints of warmth from the Tonka and patchouli come through what is generally a "cool" feeling scent. Dry: Hints of spice emerge. Really quite nice, in terms of cologne. I definitely identify it as a "man smell" though, and I prefer more feminine scents personally, so I don't think I would ever wear it, but it's really nice and I could see giving as a gift to a guy who could use a better cologne!

I tried this long ago when I first got into BPAL. My notes say "head shop" but I wanted to give it a second chance (and a proper review) now that my tastes have matured. Wet: Much different than I remember! Much more jasmine than incense. Though the incense is balancing it out, and keeping the dreaded cat pee effect at bay. Quite a bit of dry, earthy patchouli as well. Reminds me of a jasmine and patchouli candle I had when I was young that I quite liked. I find I am enjoying this more than I expected to! I almost don't trust my nose - it smells like jasmine, without the cat pee, and some patchouli and incense. It's like a hippy day dream. I kind of like it! Dry: The jasmine amps way up, and turns into cat pee, and all is strangely right with the world.