Electric Maenad

Phwoaaaar. This is super heavy when I first put it on, all sticky fruity honey and OMGPATCHOULI. After a few minutes the patchouli takes a walk and the clove and floral bits start to come up. Still a bit too heavy/sticky for my tastes, but I'll keep the imp and maybe mix it with some lotion to tone it down a bit. It's pretty sexy, but just not my kind of sexy. All the same, it's nice to know that my dread of patchouli (acquired while living with a houseful of goths) appears to be unfounded for BPAL blends.

This stuff is the Buckley's cough syrup of magickal oils. It smells filthy (well okay, not filthy, but medicinal and hella strong - vetiver and I definitely don't get on), but by the gods, it works. As mentioned previously, though, focus is crucial. The first time I used it, I spent several hours doggedly playing mah jongg online. The second time I caught up on my coursework.

Smells like cinnamon, or possibly cassia depending on which of the various recipes for Abramelin Oil this is based on. (Although if I had to guess, I suspect Beth's a purist and used the original Biblical recipe for anointing oil.) Stings a bit when applied to skin (I dabbed a bit on each chakra and my forehead and throat were decidedly pink. Other areas, not so much.) Anointed ritual tools at the last full moon and did the Vortex Rite (a chaos magic ritual) just to try it out. Works good. Like, feeling my wand vibrating slightly in my hand good. If you do ceremonial magic, you need this.

(Frimp! Yay!) From my experience with this and Obatala, I have a suspicion that my skin must devour aquatic notes. I got the faintest ghost of a sweet, girly floral, and then nothing. Smelled great on Eyeska though...

(more lab frimpage - glee!) Wow - I have to say that while this scent is not at all the sort of thing I typically go for, the representational quality of it is staggering. It smells like compost - not the rotting crap on top of the pile, but the end product - rich, slightly sweet, pure dirt. I'm not super interested in smelling like dirt, but the fact that it smells *exactly* like that is pretty damned impressive.

O was one of the scents I ordered in my first imp pack last spring, and it's taken me this long to decide whether I liked it or not. It smells really sticky-sweet in the vial, but once I put it on, it turned to pure amber. Now, I like amber, and vanilla, and honey, and I was really interested in trying this after reading so many reports about teh sexiness of it, and... it just turns into a nice, pleasant, ambery-powdery scent on me. Not offensive, by any means, but not a sex bomb in a bottle either. I really wished it worked on me the way it does on some people. Ah well - there's always Snake Oil. Or Scherezade.

Dang - this sounded like it would be a really great scent on me - I've got this shea butter lotion that I use during the winter, and I like the smell of that, and I've discovered since trying Elegba that I *lurve* the BPAL coconut note... Mmmnope. I got nothing. I smelled something vaguely sweet and nutty, and then it was gone. I'm suspecting, going by a similar experience with Pool of Tears, that aquatics just disappear on me.

I'll second Juushika's review - this is a gorgeous, heady, tropical scent that feels like an offering to an ancient jungle god. Unfortunately, it completely fails to work on me - another case of the perfume wearing me. For tropical scents, I prefer something a little sweeter and more fun, like Elegba (or possibly one of the new Atomic Luau scents... ). On the plus side, I've got a friend who loves Angel and has the sort of expansive, "steamy" personality to carry this off fantastically. Also, she has not yet experienced the glory that is BPAL... Another recruit for the BPAL corps!

This was one of a set of imps I got to try out on the man. It's a much darker and richer scent than Tombstone, which was his favourite, but after a cautious sniff, he agreed to wear it. (I think he was afraid of the patchouli.) This is also a very sexy scent on him. No trace of eau de hippy, just dark chocolate, incense smoke, and enough leather to balance out the flowers. Tombstone is comfy, rugged, sitting around a campfire toasting s'mores before cuddling in the tent sexy. This is dressing to kill and ordering wine like a true connoisseur sexy. Great stuff - I think this will be his second bottle.

[Lab frimpage - muchas gracias!] Nom nom nom... this smells like those brandy beans that only seem to come out at Christmas (around here, anyway). Dark chocolate and thick, syrupy booze. Lasts about 3-4 hours, which is average for my scent-devouring skin. These rabbits sure know how to party!

[Lab frimp - w00t!] Sexy, musky, slightly cherryish incense. Rowr. It lasts a good long time too. And then the man says: <sniff sniff sniff> "Do you smell something burning?" I will save this for "Girls' Night Out" events.

[frimp from the Lab - thanks!] It starts off really nice, kind of like a really good summer fruit salad or one of the mango-based Jugo Juice smoothies. Unfortunately, the ginger gives it a bit of an astringent, almost raspy "aftersmell". It also fades very quickly on me - after an hour there's only the sandalwood left. Unfortunate, but I'm sure I can find it a good home.

[frimp from the Lab - danke schoen!] Wargh - really strong, sharp, herbal-smelling rose. Not my bag at all, and I can't even smell the orange blossom at all. Catherine and I are unsuited for one another, so I will bid her adieu.

[frimp from the Lab - thanks folks!] Wow - this was a hell of a ride. It started off as lemon drops, maybe a little medicinal like lemon Vicks' cough drops. When it dried a little bit, the jasmine came up and started a fight with the lemon drops. After about an hour, both combatants seemed to tire and the whole thing settled down to a rather sullen jasmine sencha sulk. Finally, just before everything disappeared, there was a faint hint of other florals, which I'm assuming was the honeysuckle and wisteria showing up to clean up the broken crockery and vacuum the rugs. Not my bag, but I'll try it on my sister, who likes jasmine tea and citrus scents.

Starts off as WHOA CANNED PEARS, which I don't particularly object to, although a whole can at once is a little too sweet for me. After about 15 minutes, though, the chef goes to work, and by the half-hour mark it smells like Pears Foster (complete with flaming brandy sauce) with a big dollop of vanilla ice cream. It's still hella sweet, but it's also rich and decadent enough that I just don't care, even though the scale will force me to do penance for the next week to make up for it.

The Atrocious Attic is very reminiscent of Nocturne from the GC, only with less noticeable violet. It's still an old-fashioned, slightly dusty-smelling floral. It reminds me of a carefully-dried wedding bouquet kept in a hope chest with the wedding dress to keep it smelling nice. This is definitely not a modern perfume - I can easily imagine this being worn by a young Victorian lady. This one's a keeper, if only for wearing to _Vampire_ LARPs. Edit: This is also yet another BPAL scent (along with Abhisarika) containing rose that doesn't beat me over the head with it. Fantastic stuff. ETA: Wow - okay, after not wearing it for nearly a year, I was thinking of swapping it. I decided to test it on one arm and Abhisarika on the other because I don't need two elegant florals. Dayyyyyymn... this resembles TKO, Antique Lace, and the (current) love of my life, White Chocolate and Sugared Violets. The rose has all but disappeared, and the violet and sandalwood and a sweet, vanilla-ish lavender have come to the front. I'm keeping this, and I'm going to invent more excuses to wear it.

I've never tried a fragrance with pumpkin in it before, and it was a real dilemma whether to buy V or III. The bourbon vanilla was the deciding factor for me, and I'm glad I went with it. This smells so tasty, like pumpkin spice cookies with orange zest icing. Every time I wear this, I want to lick my arm. Tragically, it only lasts for about three or four hours before my skin goes OM NOM NOM NOM and swallows it. At the very beginning though, there really *is* a weird buttery sort of smell - is this typical of pumpkin scents generally? Oh, and it also goes really nicely with Candy Butcher. Think *chocolate-dipped* pumpkin spice cookies. Almost makes me want to bake something.

I've had this since last spring, and haven't worn it since August when I took it to an outdoor music festival. Obviously, this was totally the wrong setting for a scent like this, but even when I initially tested it in March 2007, I wasn't particularly impressed with it, because it didn't seem to last very long and it had very little throw. It just came across as a rather nondescript floral, so I filed it in the bottom of my perfume box and forgot about it. After over a year of aging though, and worn indoors, this is a fantastically sexy scent. I wore it when my husband and I went out for dinner on Valentine's Day (first outing without the baby) and it made me feel more feminine than I have in months. It's a beautifully well-blended fragrance, although I can't really pick out any of the individual notes (even the rose, which usually beats the bejeezus out of everything else in most perfumes I've tried). It's super rich and creamy and yet delicate at the same time. My only problem now is finding excuses to wear it, because it's definitely *not* an every-day sort of scent. And my husband likes it too. A *lot*. [Edit] Tragically, I simply don't have many occasions to wear this, so I've got it up for swap. I'd like to note that this is the *only* BPAL rose scent I've tried to date that doesn't go soapy and nasty on me, so if you have a problem with rose scents generally, this might work on you.

I'd purchased this and Lionheart at the same time, and boy howdy, does this stuff ever work. My husband got a job offer the day after I did a candle ritual with this. He was there for two days, and then he got *another* offer for a Government of Canada position he'd been waiting to hear back from for over three months. So he quit the first job and is still happily employed *and* has been promoted to a higher job class. He has also had two other companies that he hadn't heard anything back from after the initial interviews call with offers since then. Thank you Auntie Caroline and the Lab!

Infuses you with immense amounts of courage and drive. Useful to help you recover from intense depression and ennui. Brings on a positive outlook, renews hope, and replenishes positive energy. Fills your spirit with the courage and nobility of a lion, warmed by the life-giving joy of its solar aspects. I bought this and Aunt Caroline's Money Draw back in November when I was preparing to go on maternity leave and my husband was frantically looking for another job. He's had difficulties with depression in the past, and all of the jobs he'd had up to this point were crappy minimum-wage (or just above) retail positions with no benefits or security and lousy hours. EI (Employment Insurance) wasn't going to pay near enough to cover household expenses, and we were both starting to panic. Lionheart is a warm, cheerful, slightly spicy smell that was sufficiently un-perfume-like that I could persuade him to wear it to interviews. I don't know if it was this or the pep talks I gave him, but after going to a few interviews with Lionheart on he received callbacks from all but one of the positions, and he seemed much more relaxed and confident than he had been previously. He also was a lot more open to applying for more challenging positions. I've also worn it a few times since I gave birth, and it's really good for getting rid of that "ohgodsIdon'tknowwhatthehellI'mdoing" sense of panic.

(Frimp from ze Lab - muchas gracias!) Oh yeah... I like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, the whole shebang. This smells like the aftermath of a disreputable beach-resort holiday with your favourite lust object. Fortunately, it's not nearly as sticky or difficult to explain as actually coming in to work the following week still drenched in girly drinks and with a little paper umbrella stuck in your hair. If this is what offerings to Elegba smell like, I think I've found a new god to follow. ETA: Okay - having tried Red Lantern and Upa Upa since this review, Upa Upa is definitely more like a tropical "girl drink". Elegba actually smells more similar to Red Lantern, only cleaner and more stripped-down to the basic booze-and-tobacco essentials. Still good stuff though, and I've used it in a couple of rituals with decent success.

After the disappointing response to Dee and Twenty-One, I was a little hesitant to test any of the other imps I'd bought for my husband. About a month after the first two though, I managed to persuade him to try a bit of Tombstone. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner!" This could have been custom-made for him, it smells so damned good. Pipe tobacco and roasted marshmallows and campfire smoke and rootbeer schnapps, only all blended together and a hell of a lot sexier. Definitely getting a big bottle of this for his birthday.

Oh. My. God. Every time I wear this, I feel like I just bathed in home-made hot fudge sauce. Or batter for one of those pudding cakes, with an added quarter-cup of cocoa powder and cream cheese to make it that much thicker and richer. As an added bonus, I've discovered that layering it with Lush's Soft Coeur body bar makes it last a lot longer. I've only used it a couple of times, because I'm hoarding it for when it gets colder outside.

This was a freebie, for which I thank the Lab profusely, but... OMG HONEYSUCKLE! Which promptly morphs to sweaty honeysuckle. I have a suspicion, just from what I've read on Wikipedia about it, that the vetivert is the sweaty portion. That, and just strange skin chemistry on my part. [Edited 12/3/08] Huh. I must have tossed this back into my imp box, and when I tried it again it smelled a lot better. Maybe aging helped. Now it smells like really thick, really rich incense smoke (opium?) with just a trace of flowers. It still doesn't feel like me though - it feels like the scent is wearing me rather than the other way around, if that makes any sense.

I love violet and lilac, and I was really excited to try them together. Not familiar with tuberose, but I suspect it's the sort of sweet, "white"-smelling scent that's binding the other two together. This is really pretty and old-fashioned, but still vaguely unsettling and dark - I bought it for a lovely, innocent-looking, terrifyingly powerful Malkavian elder I played in a Vampire LARP several years ago, and it suits her quite well. Unfortunately, the violet has a tendency to disappear within about half an hour, and then it just barely smells like lilac potpourri if I stick my nose right into the crook of my elbow and inhale like a coke fiend. Which is decidedly undignified.