Sio Bhan

I purchased a big bottle blindly, some may say foolishly, but this turned out to be so good. No regrets. I don't get as much opium as I expected, in fact hardly any. The myrrh and musk dominate on me and sandalwood keeps it nice and soft. It is a very feminine perfume and does have a sexiness to it. It isn't spicy, though described as an oriental. The whole atmosphere it conjures up is soft and dusty. It reminds me a lot of my old buddy Haunted and may replace Haunted as my everyday go to. To me it smells like something an aristocratic, learned woman would wear. Very impressed with Shadows and Reflections, my only grievance is the need to reapply it after 3 hours.

This was not the campfire smell I was looking for. It is not a woody fire, but an industrial waste fire! Or maybe the smell of a burning church? Brimstone is BLOODY STRONG and my partner recoiled in disgust when I placed the wand under his nose. I actually like it! There is an after scent of molasses on this one, but predominantly it is acrid, smokey and almost sulphuric; metal and tyres after a fire. I haven't worn it in public, because it would raise eyebrows as to its origin. People may suspect you are an arsonist, a worshiper of Satan or a warlock from Firetop Mountain!!

A brilliant, ethereal scent: white musk, bergamot, heliotrope, peach and oakmoss. Fae is a very light, ethereal fragrance and retained its scent on my skin for about 4 hours. The peach is there, making this almost like a lolly on me. I found this much too sweet for me. While it is innocent and frivolous, like a fairy frolicking through the glen, it does hold an earthy quality. This might be the oakmoss? A sort of fern like quality? Light as spiders' silk, sweet as a lolly with a tinge of moss.

What a lovely scent in the imp! It reminds me of Veil, without the bitter after note. The ylang ylang is what calls out to me first, there is rose....but yet I detect no musk. The unusual thing about this is that, as the name suggests, it disappears on my skin just like a phantom passing through the room. No matter how copiously I apply Phantom it quickly fades as if I had never applied it.

This was a frimp as I would not choose this for myself. It is a girly perfume. The cherry reminds me of cough syrup (when sniffing from the imp) and I detect no honey. Putting it on my skin I detect the honey and the cherry becomes less synthetic. It is actually quite a pleasant fragrance if you want to smell fruity. The honey really warms up the tart of the fruit. It lasted on me for about 10 hours and it was detectable by those around me, "I smell something yum!" they said. If you like sweet, fruity, happy scents go for this one. If you prefer something darker and slightly depressing, this is not your jam.

This is indeed the embodiment of expensive milk chocolate; Whittaker's Milk Chocolate, pride of New Zealand! At the start of it's life I thought it smelt like chocolate yogurt and then as it reached adolescence it became chocolate muffin mixture. I've had Bliss for a month and it has settled into the pure glory of its present state. I will report that it does not taste like chocolate, but I had no resulting poisoning from the lapse in self control. On my wrists it retains its scent for only an hour and in that hour I am continuously sniffing my wrists like a deranged animal.

I received this as a frimp in the mail in the first bundle I ever purchased. At first it had no perceivable scent, almost invisible, only a faint sandalwood. As I do with most perfumes, I sat it aside for about three months to mature. When I next sampled this wee one I said to myself, "I am taking the veil." and it was beautiful! Veil is pure as fresh linen. It is a quite a sacred, virginal scent, but there is a tinge of darkness to it; a ghostliness. Almost like a suppressed hate growing in the heart of all that holy beauty. The seed of evil!! My partner enlightened me to this part of Veil, as I had previously interpreted it as a nice one. I'm not sure what makes it slightly bitter, maybe the Gardenia? It seems to last a long time on me, 6-8 hours. Veil loses its bitter quality on dry down and becomes a rounded sandalwood. I highly recommend this as an everyday perfume, as it is unobtrusive enough for polite society but sinister enough for you to be unique.

As someone obsessed with cemeteries I had to try this fragrance just based on the description. I had high hopes for Burial, but sadly it was all undone by the roses. The first sniff was like "Fuck!" Straight up astringent chemicals. When I put it on my skin it smelt very different and it was perfect. Damp soil and rotten leaves. It is beautiful at the start for me, but half an hour in the rose takes over completely and reminds me of soap my Nana used to put in her drawer to keep her clothes fragrant. Such a bugger, 'cause it is creepy at the start. It does maintain that old-fashioned, Victorian vibe even when the rose does come out and it could be worn by either gender despite its predominance.

Damn... straight out of the bottle it's pretty much vanilla to me, but when I put it on my skin the honey comes out and is warmed by the amber. Unfortunately this turns to baby powder on my skin, but long lasting baby powder! I wish it retained the initial sex smell on me as it does for so many others, but alas.....it is delicious.

Ahh, the description....again I was lured by that lavish prose and I was not disappointed!! The initial sniff was quite sour, a classic myrrh with something sort of stale underneath. In the bottle this does not smell very good, but on the skin it is potent and changes. Someone said to me it smelt like asparagus..... It isn't sweet. It is quite gloomy and sour, as i said. Darkness is definitely an apt title for this disturbing wee number. It is perfect for a "Don't f**k with me" vibe at work without knocking people over. It is witchy, ghoulish and just a little creepy......like you've been lurking around in the cemetery at night

After reading the description and following my love of musk, I purchased an imp. On the first sniff I could only detect Dragons Blood. While that is beautiful, it was too floral. Putting the oil on my skin did not remedy the initial scent and I was stuck with the incensed floral. I left it aside for three months to develop and when I came back to Dragons Musk I could indeed detect the musk, but apparently floral is just not my forte. Applying it to my wrist, it was unchanged and though an utterly stunning fragrance, it just did not suit my personality. It wasn't evil enough!!! The Lilac-esque aroma reminded me of a household spray used to disguise odour, such as a toilet spray. Nevertheless, it is still a beautiful scent and would compliment the right person, just not Sio.

After reading all the rave reviews on this I felt compelled to investigate and purchased a wee imp. When I opened it and sniffed I was transported back to childhood and smelling my mother's perfume; She had a vial of deer musk extracted from the glands of a stag. This smelt almost exactly like that musk! Except there was more sugar in Snake oil. It has an intoxicating aroma. It's mysterious, but wouldn't suit everyone. People around you definitely notice it, for better or worse. It seems to have a profound aphrodisiac effect on some individuals and It is a marvelous gender neutral fragrance. As it ages, the thick oil just becomes sweeter. Needless to say, I promptly purchased a large bottle to apply it more liberally, perhaps a little too heavily! Oh my! It does stain fair skin, I have noticed. It lasts bloody ages, even if you're working all night in a sweaty kitchen; Snake Oil will not relent!!

Aah, my first BPAL...... The first sniff out of the bottle elicited an "Oh, God, I've made a mistake!" response. Upon application it morphed into the notorious baby powder fiend that we all know. So I left Black Forest to brood for a few months before venturing once again into it's depths and oh yes, she was wonderful. What starts out as a soft pine (not like a cleaning product) turns into an even softer musk. It is perhaps a more masculine fragrance, but I don't mind. It is powerful and earthy, but gets sweeter on the dry down. I did not encounter the baby powder again. If you do not like this, leave it alone for two or three months to mature. Chur.

Finally a glorious incense perfume! It is like Nag Champa with a twist of honey behind it. If you want to smell like a cosmic shop that sells crystals and metaphysical knowledge, slap some of this on ye. I wear it when I want to feel mysterious. I've found that more people comment on this than any other perfume I wear, so it must have a decent throw. The aroma stays true on me for about 4 hours without morphing, but then needs reapplication. I have found, however, that it can make me sneeze. Still beautiful.

Initially this smells almost lemony on my skin. It soon dries down to a dusty, warm fragrance that reminds me of a library. My partner loves this perfume on me and it is perfect for everyday wear. Very classy.