leapylees

Oh dear. I had high hopes for the spices in this, but it's all burnt rubber and soap on me. Really don't like this, and it's giving me a headache. Shower for me and swaps pile for Death of Autumn.

In the imp: UK people will know what I mean when I say... REFRESHERS!!! This smells exactly like Refreshers sweets (a kind of sherbetty, fruity sweet) On wet: soft and fruity. Drydown: ... and it's gone. Overall: I was worried about trying this as I didn't like Depraved (which, as I recall also contains apricot) and it also lasted 48 hours on me, during which time I took two showers and it went on ... and on ... and on. Grand Guignol is a whole different kettle of fish - it's very bright in the imp, but on my skin fades very rapidly and vanishes without a trace within 10-15 minutes. I wish it lasted as I don't usually like fruity scents and my first impressions were excellent.

In the bottle - floral, a little fruity, a little watery and graveyard dirt peeking out from the background. On - fades pretty quickly, but the graveyard dirt is the most prominant note (YESSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!....) with some light watery florals and mossiness. I don't get the boozy notes at all. Overall - I'm glad I bought a 5ml of this. It's going to be a lovely scent for the spring.

I have no idea what cactus flowers smell like (probably because I'm from the north of Scotland), so bearing that in mind: Santa Muerte, to me, smells slightly bitter and kind of like like black tea with a hint of something citrussy - orange or orange blossom possibly. I get the slight tobacco note that someone else mentioned,but no roses at all. This scent doesn't morph much on me except that five hours after application it's faded to the generic powdery smell that I get with a lot of BPAL scents. All in all, I like it a lot.

In the bottle: a light, sweet floral but I don't get coldness from it. On wet: Ooof, this is quite strong. On, dry: Industrial strength baby powder. No coldness or violets, just a very thick, sweet, strong, heavy scent. Two hours on: both my boyfriend and I had splitting headaches. I tried to scrub it off, then cover it up with Lush's Karma perfume but Numb resolutely clung to my skin. I ended up trying to scrub it off in the shower. An hour later: I've just applied Ultraviolet in an attempt to kill off Numb completely. Conclusion: Off to the swaps pile you go!

In the vial: almond and coconut. On wet: Fig and coconut Dry: Fig, coconut and something that's almost coriander. It reminds me of Thai food. *rereads lab description* Hmm.... how odd. Usually sandalwood is very prominant on me but I can barely detect it in this blend. Overall: This is nice and comforting. Not a favourite or a 5ml but definitely a keeper. Edited for typos due to wonky 'v' key.

My experience is very similar to wolfie13's. In the imp I got a lovely, light aquatic scent. On I get a powerful and generic ocean-themed room spray/scented candle/pot pourri smell. And is it ever strong!!!! It's really rather overwhelming and I think I'm going to have to try and scrub it off I'm afraid. I found this too sweet to be reminiscent of the sea or piratey things. I know ozonic and aquatic scents have a tendency to go sweet on my skin but after sniffing the imp I hoped this would actually work. It doesn't, sadly.

Whilst wet, I get violet, patchouli and sandalwood in that order. Odd, since only patchouli is listed in the description. Maybe my nose is playing tricks. On the drydown, the 'violet' disappears and the patchouli dominates. I definitely get the Tramp association and will be investing in a 5ml.

In the bottle and on wet I loved this. Lovely and coconutty and hazelnutty with a touch of floral and I had no hesitation in adding it to my 5ml wishlist. A little while later it had faded quite a lot but I still liked it and I also got the expensive black silk nightie association (or perhaps expensive lingerie shop). Unfortunately, it's now three hours since I applied it and I get... the White Musk perfume from The Body Shop that I used to use as a teenager. My skin tends to make musk dominate all the other notes and that's something I'm not keen on. Final verdict: I'll need to give this a second go. It smells so fantastic at first but ends up disappointing because of the way my skin seems to react with musk.

Lavender?.... erm, well.... I have to say that Paris didn't change from the moment I applied it till it faded away, and it smelled like apples or apple flavoured sweets. This was actually a good thing as it smelled really nice and juicy. A bit unexpected but I liked it, and a pleasant surprise as lavender tends to just vanish on my skin.

I picked this randomly out of my imp box and tried it not realising it was a Dream Formula. Lavender, with a hint of eucalyptus; it reminds me of Badger Sleep Balm. Unfortunately it was also gone within half an hour. Oh well, definitely one to keep for night-time emergencies when I won't be awake to sniff it after the first few minutes (well, that's the theory anyway).

Oh.... beautiful! In the vial I wasn't sure - I think it was the slight strawberryish scent (I don't like strawberries), but once on this was just gorgeous. I was a little apprehensive about the herbs as the herbal scents I've tried recently haven't worked and I don't normally go for florals but this is a fantastic, cold water and white floral and apple scented oil. I suspect it won't last long on me but even so, definitely one for the big bottles list!

Thanks Miggins. I have my doubt about it actually fiting in the letterbox though - it's joined to an exceptionally tiny mailbox - I've had to go to the sorting office before to collect normal size A4 envelopes before. (Sorry, small diversion there.)

I was just wondering - when the order arrives in the UK is it delivered by the normal Royal Mail postman or does it come by Parcelforce? I usually participate in group orders so I don't know what happens, but I have an order coming to me hopefully in the next few weeks and i'd like to know whether it's likely to come with my usual post or whether I might have to wait in for it to avoid having to rearrange delivery.

Oooo... lovely. This is more woody and spicy on me that chocolatey. At first it reminded me of bananas dipped in spicy cocoa but that rapidy mellowed down to woody spiciness, as all scents with myrrh do on me. There's a little bit of cocoa in there still but mostly it's spicy wood. Though jj_j's grubby schoolboy is also spot on! needless to say, I'm getting a 5ml of this. Oh yes.

I sniffed this in the imp last night and afterwards had the taste of Parma Violets in my mouth so I decided I had to try this today. Initially I got violets, but also something leafy and green... lettuce? Cucumber? Something like that. As it dried down it became less green and more violetty and sweeter. This would have been one for my 5ml list except for one thing - this seemed to bring out an almost hayfeverish reaction in me. I had itchy sinuses all morning and sneezed repeatedly. By the afternoon it had faded enough that it wasn't making me sneeze any more.

In the vial and on wet - maraschino cherries. A little later, dry - pipe smoke and cherries. Blimey this stuff is strong. Later still - pipe smoke and a buttery biscuit. This is much more agreeable. It's still pretty powerful but not as overwhelming as earlier on. Overall - I'm torn on this. I'm not sure if I want to smell that strongly of pipe smoke. It is quite a comforting smell though. I think this is one to be used in tiny quantities to try and prevent the overpowering headachiness initially. And *keeps fingers crossed for Snowblind for this year*

Mmmmm.... cookies! This is an oil I'm going to have to experiment with at different times of day. In the bottle it smelt very edible. I applied it about and hour or two before dinner. At first I loved the delicious cookie scent, but then it started to get a bit sweet and sickly like in cheap cookie stores where they pump the smell of cookies through the air conditioning. It was spicy with it but I wondered if I was going to have to scrub it off. I had dinner and then something wonderful happened. Gingerbread Poppet turned into a fantastic buttery, spicy smelling perfume. So warm and comforting and perfect. oh yes.

I really thought this was going to be great. I love earthy scents and the idea of an anise-y, licheny perfume intrigued me. Unfortunately it was not to be. Very quickly it dried down to anise and cigarette ends (I ususlaly love smokey scents but not this). I have no idea what civet smells like, but I also got the, erm... faecial note.

...And it seems that the Yule order has, at last turned up at Ctrlfreak's. I can't wait to get my hands on those scents. Smelly goodness.

This is a really interesting scent. In the vial and on, wet: Alocoholic melted chocolate!!! Yum A few minutes later: this has turned quite smoky. Hmmm Another few minutes later: This went quite fruity and stayed that way untill it faded. The scent lasted a long time and my boyfriend liked it because he said it smelt like the pear and chocolate pudding his mother used to make. I bought a 5ml of this unsniffed and I'm really pleased - a gamble that definitely paid off. I like Kali a lot.

In the vial and on wet: Snowcake soap. Mmmm.... it was the comparisons with Snowcake that made me choose this in the first place. Dry: Honey scents always fade quickly at first but then remain at the same faint level for ages. This smells lovely - really light. Quite sweet but not in a cloying way. This reminds me of something but I can't place what it is. It does smell like warm milk and honey though. Absolutely gorgeous. Oh, yessssss.....

In the vial: Juicy Fruit chewing gum. I have a bad feeling as I do not like fruity... On wet, and initially dry: Apple and mint. Mmmm, I like. After a few hours: The mint has gone, it just smells appley now. I really wish mint would last on my skin but no. Overall: I like it, but I wish the mint last longer *evil skin chemistry.*

I've just discovered a BPAL scent that actually makes me feel sick (Vice) and I'm desperately trying to get rid of it, so this thread is really useful. I've scrubbed twice with Neal's Yard handwash and coated my wrists with rose-scented handcream. It sems to have overpowered the cherry scent of the Vice for the time being but I have half a lime left over from making Mojitos that might be put to good use soon...

This is the first chocolate scent I've tried but between ordering it and it arriving I discovered that I do not get on with cherry at all. Initially it smelled very strange and rather chemical and then it morphed into.... the scent of one of those Strawberry Shortcake miniatures from the 1980s. Eeek! I smell like scented plastic. Into the swaps pile it goes.