taramarie

For clean florals, I suggest Euterpe (you'd have to like white musk), Delight, and maybe Zorya (it has spices but my body chemistry never picks it up). For fruits, I'd suggest Yemaya -- it smells like melons.

I've had irritant contact dermatitis from All Night Long, Coral Snake, and MB: Tokyo Stomp. Cinnamon and peppermint do not like me at all. Eris, however, was another story -- headache and lightheadedness. It's too bad, since I really wanted to like it. So, that's 4 out of the 29 that I've tried so far.

On me, Baron Samedi's mostly rum, but I also got whiffs of earth, caramel, and nuts while it was still wet. I think Capt. Jack Sparrow would definitely approve of this one, but it's not for me.

In the bottle: Mostly apple, a little bit of flowers, and maybe some spices. Very nice! On my skin: Same as above. I've never tried Snake Oil on its own or any of the SO blends before. Unfortunately for me, there must be clove and/or cinnamon in it, since Coral Snake really irritated my skin. It's a real shame, since it smelled so good in the bottle. Oh well, I should be able to enable someone good and proper with this.

In the imp: leaves, woods, and lilies Wet on my skin: Hooboy, this stuff is pure autumn leaves. It's strong and very earthy, reminding me of Destroying Angel. Drying: Leaves and lilies. Dry: Lilies with the barest hint of leaves. It's now a lot weaker -- I have to hold my wrist up to my nose to smell it at all. I never smell woods on my skin, which is a little disappointing. I'm hoping the lilies will get stronger if I age this. Otherwise, I don't see myself buying a bottle of this.

Wet, R'lyeh smells like seaweed and murky water. As it starts to dry, I'm getting whiffs of evergreens. I expected grapefruit and got Christmas trees. Weird. This one's definitely not for me. Though, it might make an interesting room scent come December.

Strangler Fig smells like sitting on the ground in the middle of a fig tree orchard -- wood, leaf litter, and a touch of fig. I think this one's definitely gender neutral. It's nice but it's not me. ETA: After wearing this for a few hours, I now like Strangler Fig very much!

I cannot figure out what Somnus smells like. I just know that on my skin, it smells sweet. I mean really sweet -- so much that I've stopped wearing it and just scent my sheets with it. That seems to work pretty well at alleviating my insomnia.

In the imp, Bewitched smells like woods and berries, but on my skin, it's just berries. It's like a sweeter Baneberry. I like it but I don't think I'll get a bottle of this.

A little sweet, a little bloody, Blood embodies every sense of the word "sanguine." I'm just not sure if it's me. I'll have to wear it more then decide. I may have to update this after I try Dragon's Blood on its own.

As if the name didn’t spell it out for you. This blend relieves all sexual inhibitions by simultaneously relaxing and arousing. Unfortunately, the cinnamon in All Night Long irritated my skin everywhere I put it except for my wrists. It smells like cinnamon potpourri or a cinnamon-scented candle, definitely not sweet enough on me to smell like Big Red gum. I'm single, so no SO to try this on (it was a frimp from the Lab), but it's not making me amorous. Still, this would be a great room scent.

I'm just getting a straight floral -- none of the four notes stand out from the others. Not that that's a bad thing, it's just not spectacular on me. However, I do think a bottle of this would be a great gift for someone who loves floral scents but hasn't discovered BPAL. I'd also suggest this to someone new to BPAL who's still overwhelmed by the choices.

Fittingly, there's something odd about the April '07 13. Mine's brown while other people say theirs is clear. Same scent, though.

While I love the way Tokyo Stomp smells in the bottle (just like Yankee Candle's Jack Frost or, as hologhost said, a minty sugar cookie), unfortunately my skin had a very bad reaction to the peppermint -- redness and burning are not good. I don't think aging will help, so I'll pass it on (hopefully enabling the recipient ).

I didn't get anything but floral from Zorya, not that I'm complaining. My nose keeps telling me there's honeysuckle, even though it's not listed. Maybe if I let the imp age, I'll get more spices and musk. Still, it's a very pretty scent, definitely in my current top 5.

Yemaya smells just like a watermelon Jolly Rancher, not that I'm complaining. There might be another melon, but nothing else. It's a good summer scent.

Wet: I smell earth and decaying plant matter. It's similar to what I got from Black Rose wet or Destroying Angel all the time. Either they have similar notes or there's something wrong with my nose. Dry: A gorgeous cologne smell, one that I think could easily be gender neutral. It smells very familiar but I can't name it. I'm not really familiar with any of the notes listed for Azathoth. Still, everything seems to be well-blended. I don't think I'd get a bottle of this, but I think an imp always on hand would be a good thing.

I don't get anything from Baneberry that smells dark green or herbal. What I do get is berries. My brain has settled on raspberry and blueberry. It's not too sweet or too strong. I like it, but I don't think I'll buy a bottle anytime soon.

Sed Non Satiata is pure musk from the time I open the imp to several minutes after it dries, then there's a hint of geranium. It's a very sensual scent, perfect for a hot date.

In the imp and wet on my skin: Dirt with a hint of roses. Dry: The dirt smell goes away, thank goodness. Another Destroying Angel I don't need. I'm not very familiar with amber or musk, but there's something besides the rose. I think the musk might be stronger than the amber. They seem to be playing nice with the rose, however. It's a nice scent, but it's not really me.

Poisson D'Avril is the scent of a Spring bouquet. I smelled rose when I first applied it but now I smell all the flowers except the rose, not that I'm complaining. I can't smell the honey at all, but that's good since it would have made it too sweet. This would be the perfect pick-me-up scent for a rainy day or a cold and snowy day in the dead of winter when you're anxious for Spring. I like this so much that I may buy a second bottle before it disappears.

On me, Love-Lies-Bleeding is a heady mix of dark chocolate and roses, with a hint of strawberries. I think it would be perfect to wear to a romantic dinner. It's competing with Persephone for my favorite.

Eris on me smells like a lighter, creamier Euterpe. Not that that's a bad thing, I just was expecting something totally different. This imp is going into my aging pile. Maybe after it's aged it'll smell more distinctive.

I also love the packaging. Bliss soap looks like an expensive, handmade chocolate bar and smells like a Hershey's Milk Chocolate with Almonds bar. Unfortunately for me, I live in a hard water area, so the soap doesn't lather very well. Still, it gets me clean. I don't know if I'll buy another bar when this is done. If you don't have hard water, I'm sure the Bliss bar will live up to its name.

In the imp: Brownie batter. On my skin: Bliss wavers between brownies and Count Chocula cereal. Not that I'm complaining.