sarahmarie

I echo everyone's sentiments about the complexity of this oil. It's beautiful, and reading the description makes it all the more evocative and interesting. When I first put it on, this oil surprised me. I expected an immediate rush of flowers, but that's not what happened - instead I got a scent full of so many different things, blended so well, that I couldn't tell what I was smelling. It was good, just not identifiable. Hints of fruit or flowers would appear from time to time. As I wore this oil, it became more floral. It's still an oil I like a lot, but it's not very me, somehow. It's too bad, because I love the concept, and even the oil in many ways. But it's just not a scent that feels right for me. My spouse said, "You don't smell like you - you smell good, but you smell like someone else." And that's kind of how it feels for me. I can't decide if I want to keep it and feel like someone else sometimes, or if it feels too weird or unsettling. I thought it was an interesting reaction, though!

Oooh. This is so fresh and green and sparkley! At first, all I smell are leaves and mint - I say leaves because it's sort of an indiscriminate weeding-the-garden-crushed-leaves-all-over sort of smell at first, amazingly so. It's completely refreshing and invigorating, and it reminds me of pulling up handfuls of grass and herbs (but without the sneezy feeling ). I've been wearing it a few minutes now, and the lavender and lime seem to be appearing slowly, with the mint still going strong. I will report back if it does anything wacky, but right now I love this oil and will have to add it to the big bottle list. Envy is good stuff.

So, I've discovered something interesting about tea scents and my skin. Tea comes off very...floralesque when I wear it. I guess it turns kind of soapy. I'm not sure how else to describe it. If I didn't know it was tea, I would think it was floral. And it doesn't work very well for me. The tea issue aside, this is a beautiful scent in the imp - creamy and light, with ginger and a touch of sweetness (but no distinct honey scent, which is good because honey is generally too sweet a scent for me and makes my spouse kind of ill). On my skin, I smell the pepper and the ginger, and a hint of the linen, I think. It smells clean and light. But then, the weird tea-floral/soap thing happens, and I don't like it anymore. Too bad my skin chemistry messes this up, because it is a very nice, clean, happy scent.

Whoa, clove! I love it! The clove is the dominant note on me, but as it wears it develops a nice apricot background to sweeten it up. I love the spiciness of this scent. It keeps the apricot from being too sweet and balances it very well. This is a simple, warm spicy scent on me. I like it a lot!

I get some lavendar in this, but mostly, I get the spicy lemony scent - it's not lemon though, it's lemongrass or lemon verbena. I'm thinking verbena, but I'm not sure. It's very familiar to me, though I don't know why. I tried a little bit of this last night and fell asleep very quickly, so I didn't have a lot of time to reflect on it - but I know it's good stuff! I remembered my dreams better than usual, though they weren't terribly important-seeming dreams (I was pretending to be a sort of statue that attached to shopping carts in the grocery store, and Xander from Buffy (who was Xander but also my spouse, Ryan) was carrying me home in the rain (because I was still pretending to be a statue)). Anyway. I like Nanshe quite a bit and will probably be getting a bottle of it eventually. It's got similar qualities to the other sleep oils I've tried, but this one is definitely unique - it's green and spicy, and also sort of...quieter, I guess, than Baku or Somnus. I think I am going to like all of the sleep oils! Soon my ritual of applying oils before bed will be even longer, and I will run out of places to put all the different oils.

In the bottle, this is definitely very, very sweet and pink. I get a light creaminess and a springy floral scent as well, but not much berry - maybe just a touch. The flowers are different, and as I said, very springy and happy - but they are a bit sharp to my nose in the bottle, and it made me nervous at first. On my skin, the cream drops out, the florals kick up for a few minutes, and then the strawberry appears. This was a threatening transition for me, but it only lasted a few minutes. After that, it settled down into a very nice strawberry scent, sweet, but with a tartness that keeps it from being sickening. It has the happiness and effervescence of Bon Vivant. but without the weird headache-inducing plastic that that oil turned into on my skin. I'm still aware of the flowers, but they are much tamer and more agreeable. In the end, I don't like it as much as I love Chaste Moon, but I do like it. I think it's a pretty, happy, hopeful spring scent, and I will be wearing it whenever I can tear myself away from Chaste Moon this spring.

Wow...this is very pretty. It has a light flowerly scent with a slightly earthy, definitely spicier note - that's probably the sage and/or thyme. There's a lemony aspect too, and I think I can pick out the honeysuckle sometimes. This does smell very much like a garden on a warm night - again, a floral that surprised me quite a bit. I think I will use up the imp...and it's possible that this will warrant bottle status if it's still around next time I can afford some. Mmm. Even if you don't like florals, I say give this a shot. It's very light and not "perfumey" (I think the lemony note helps with that), and it has a nice grounding note with the sage and thyme.

I am really surprised by how much I like Chaste Moon. It has flowers, and I like it! Oh my! The flowers are just so soft, and combined so nicely with the creaminess...mmm. It's a very soft and gentle scent, with a cheerful, hopeful feeling. I'd say it's a fluffy sort of feeling - it makes me think of little flowers and cotton puffs or something. But it is definitely very first-buds-of-spring. I get the buttery scent when I sniff the bottle too. When I heard people say it was buttery, that made me nervous - I've had a really hard time with buttery scents in the past. But this is a delicious butterscotch scent, not quite as outright buttery (not as sharp/salty/rich?) as the butteriness in Gluttony and Jack. It's a smoother, softer butter. On my skin, the butter settles down a lot, and the creaminess comes up, along with the very light, unusual scent of flowers. I don't do florals - I have strong icky reactions to them sometimes - but this is just really nice. It's too soft and light to hurt me, and it smells fabulous with the creamy aspect of this oil. I think I smell something else too - maybe the "lunar oils" - but it's blended so well it's really hard to tell. I tried to describe all the aspects of the scent, but on my skin it really is blended into one soft, delicious fragrance that I can't really describe well. I'm surprised and really pleased. It's such a pretty scent! Thank you Beth!

I have scent sensitivity and migraines too. I can wear BPAL, I just had to figure out what works for me. What scents work for you is completely dependant on you, but here's what I've figured out about me: - musky scents, particularly dark musks and patchouli, are a big no-no - foody scents are usually fine, better if they are spicy and not too sweet - fruit is generally safe - light scents are usually safe -woody scents are usually safe - florals vary wildly, but are usually risky - all things in moderation...I have to apply very sparingly, a little on a wrist to start, and sometimes a touch behind the ears if it's a scent I know tends to work well for me.

If you're still looking, check out the university scent under "Springtime in Arkham". Books and wood and coffee, mmm!

This scent was much better on my skin than I expected - I was afraid of the metallic, ozone aspect in the description. But it comes out on me as a very light, clean, soapy-in-a-nice-way scent - lightly floral, lightly fruity. It's delicate and light, and very pretty. I'm not sure if it's me, but it is definitely very pleasant and clean smelling.

I really like Spooky! I really wasn't sure I would - sweet scents tend to make me ill, and I was afraid of the mint being overpowering. But this isn't terribly sweet, the mint isn't strong on me at all, and it isn't as foody as I imagined. It's creamy but lively - a large dose of coconut (yay!) with undertones of mint and chocolate. I don't get the rum or much of a vanilla, but that's largely a good thing (I've had bad luck with both in the past.) The mint is cool, but not cold - it's not a freezing scent, it's just sort of reminiscent of a chilly wind blowing outside while you eat something really delcious inside. Spooky surpassed my expectations. Thanks to Beth for bringing it back! I'm really glad to have a bottle.

I am always a little nervous about trying the Voodoo blends, because some of them have something in them that really bothers me. I'm not sure what it is...but All Night Long doesn't seem to have it. I put just a teeny tiny bit on my forearm, just to get a sense of what it smelled like - and it was definitely noticeable. A little goes a long way! It's reminiscent of a headshop - but it's beyond that, too, in a very soft, warm, relaxing way. Over the headshoppy scent (I don't know what it is, I just know what it reminds me of) is the warm, spicy cinnamon. I normally can't wear anything musky, and there is a muskiness to this - but it's very warm and soft, not animalistic at all... and it feels fuzzy rather than sharp, if that makes sense. I think I may really like this. Just be aware - a teeny bit goes a very long way - that touch on my arm was plenty, and it didn't wash off easily in the shower.

Corazon is *beautiful*. It's all sunshine and heat and juicy fruit, with the muskiness underneath. Honestly, I'm not sure if I can wear it, because of the amber - it jumps right out on me and amber is, sadly, sometimes a migraine trigger for me. But I may have to try, because this blend is so lovely. I can't even really describe it, but it really suprised me. And this makes me think that I would love to smell the mango in something I knew I could wear - it's really delicious.

Perversion - the number one sexiest scent ever, to me (at least so far). It's sort of a mix of classy and elegant with dirty and dangerous. And it is truly awesome.

b-pal!

I thought I reviewed this one already, but I guess not! Absinthe smells much more complex in the imp than on my skin. In the imp, I smell boozey lemon and anise, and other green-ish things I don't really recognize. It's almost medicinal to my nose, but in a light, not-unpleasant way. On my skin, the booze goes away and most everything else does too - except the anise. Absinthe is very anise-heavy on my skin. My skin does this with Baku too, so it's my chemistry...but oddly, I like it anyway. It's a sort of light, purple-feeling scent, and every now and then some of the other notes appear lightly, just a little. It's light, but it lingers. I'd like it better if it remained more complex on my skin, so I won't be buying any bottles of this one - but I think I'll use up the imp.

Perversion! It's the sexiest BPAL I've ever tried.

I will preface this by saying, as others have said, that I am not usually a floral girl and rose perfume sounds great in theory but never works on my skin. UNTIL ROSE RED! Yes! This is so nice I regret not getting a bottle (but I love babykitty for sending me an imp ).Oddly, it doesn't go sharp on my skin the way most floral oils do. It stays true and beautiful, and it has great staying power on me. It can't be said too often - this is amazing, in that it smells absolutely perfectly just like a fresh red rose. Even though everyone said it, it still surprised me how perfectly real it smells - though I don't know why I'm surprised, really. Beth knocks my socks off.

Oh my goodness! I wasn't crazy about Bliss in the imp - it was chocolatey, yes, but it didn't ring true for me somehow. It seemed too foody and sweet, and just not quite right. I tried a teeny bit on my skin and felt sort of the same way. But today, I tried it for a second time, putting on a more significant amount. It's so much different and better on my skin than I thought it would be when I smelled it in the imp! It's not overly sweet, it's very rich and deep. It makes me think of brownies, but somehow didn't strike me as being extremely foody anyway. I was out this afternoon, and the breeze would pick this up sometimes and I'd get a whiff of it...and it was such a warm, happy scent. I get the euphoria, I really do. So, I don't know if it was my chemistry before or what, but now I am a big fan of Bliss and would love a bottle. My big bottle list is getting dangerous...

Mistletoe is not complex on me, but it is beautiful. It's like a refreshing walk in a winter forest. It also reminds of a lot of when you first bring a Christmas tree into your house from the cold - it's that same strong evergreen scent, with a waft of cold air. It actually smells more like evergreen than my evergreen wreath does. I think I could even wear/smell it when I have a headache! On my skin, it fades and softens fairly quickly, but I still love it. I have it in my oil burner right now, and it's also a beautiful room scent, and it's nicer than on my skin because it stays true and lasts much longer. I only have an imp of this, but I am going to enjoy that imp!

Endymion is very soft, gently floral, and feminine. I don't know if it struck me as pink, but it fits all the other criteria and it really is beautiful.

Oh dear. My skin seems to turn this into a very strange scent that reminds me both of flowers and chemicals - definitely not a great thing! I can almost see how people are comparing it to a shampoo or cologne...but there's this weird, sharp chemical thing that just bites at the nose. It's too bad, everyone else seems to be having mostly great experiences with this, but on me it's just unpleasant. Oh well...skin chemistry strikes again.

I'm surprised I didn't review this one before, but I just looked through twice and didn't see a review by me anywhere! This was one of the first 6 imps I ordered from BPAL back in August. I liked it, but my spouse immediately took a liking to it and he wears it much more than I do. I really like it on him - it's a sweet, ruby red grapfruit, with just a touch of tartness, and smelling it makes me long for a halved grapefruit and a spoon. Mmmm... I also pick up a hint of herbiness and a touch of currant, but I can't distinguish those notes as well as the delicious-smelling grapefruit. It's very difficult to describe, actually. It may be a Disney association, but whenever I smell Chesire Cat I think it's deep pink and purple. It is a very happy, slightly odd scent that I really like.

I haven't decided about Jester, but I don't think I'm a big fan. It's very sweet and very loud, but it does have that hint of tartness that I love about so many of Beth's fruity oils. It does, however, ultimately make me think of a candle, in a sort of generic berry way, on my skin. I think it's probably because my skin has a tendency to take one or two notes and run with them, and all I'm getting from it is BERRY WHOA. I'll try it again though, just in case it comes out differently. It's a very happy, bright purple scent, and I wish it worked better for me.