torischroeder9

In the imp: Rose and vanilla as individual notes. Also something that comes across with a powdery quality. On my skin: Wet, it's rose and powder, with the sharper jasmine trying to break through. As it dries, the jasmine fades, and fig emerges, deepening and sweetening the scent. At this point, the powdery quality also decreases. Oops. False alarm. Given time to warm and develop on my skin, the scent morphs again. The fig disappears (sad, but expected on me), the powdery rose (this time I'm sure the powder quality is linked to one of the roses) reemerges, and the jasmine also strengthens. Fifteen minutes later, and it's all rose again. It's like rose and jasmine are fighting for dominance on my elbow. Another fifteen, and it's rose and jasmine equally. I can finally also detect just a hint of mahogany grounding the scent. Every round I sniff, rose is the winner of the battle, though jasmine sometimes makes a greater or a lesser showing. However, there are many BPALs that are mostly or totally rose on me. I can't justify keeping another one. Strong throw on me -- because rose.

In the imp: Vetiver, with a splash of lime and an undercurrent of almond. Unusual and a bit disconcerting. On my skin: Wet, it's almond, pine, and vetiver. As it dries, it's both tingly (possibly the clove) and quite pungent -- stinky vetiver and patchouli in the worst way. Given some time to settle, I think I can detect powdery myrrh at the edges of the scent, but it's very much behind the discordant combination of the foreground. Gradually, the myrrh does become a noticeable note; however, I still don't like how much it's competing with the notes that misbehave with my skin chemistry. Oh, wow. This morphs a lot. I'm getting myrrh, clove, vanilla -- and possibly almond -- and just a touch of lime. This stage is amazing. Maybe it's even worth waiting for all of the stank to waft off. Update 5/30 -- On me, it definitely starts off as almond, pine, and vetiver that eventually -- after a couple of hours of wear -- quiets down to vanilla, myrrh, and clove. I am not a fan of the first stage, and while I like the latter, I don't quite love it enough to justify keeping this imp.

In the imp: Violent with an accent of gardenia and an undercurrent of vanilla. On my skin: Wet, the vanilla is most detectable, though the violet and gardenia stay present in the background. On the initial drydown, however, the throw is all violet -- though gardenia remains noticeable close to my skin. The vanilla disappears on me, as vanilla often does. As the blend settles, the throw continues violet while the gardenia becomes stronger in the skin scent. It's possible some vanilla is acting in the background, rounding out the gardenia and keeping the floral from becoming too piercing. Gradually, the gardenia becomes more noticeable in the throw as well, adding some floral lightness to the deeper violet. Ultimately, I like this, because I like violet, and this is mainly violet on me. The gardenia makes it maybe not my favorite violet blend, but I'll likely use up this imp.

In the imp: Lots of red musk. On my skin: First, I'm not sure how aged this imp is, but the very dark red oil actually stains my skin, even more than my aged Snake Oil and Vixen do. Wet, there is a touch of something sweet making its way through the red musk, but it's not immediately identifiable. As it dries down, the rose note becomes prominent, tinged by the deep red musk. The amber, I suspect, is helping to bridge these two notes as well as to help showcase the roses. Given time to settle and warm and develop, it's definitely still very much a rose blend on me, but the amber and red musk are still quite assertive in the background, helping to add depth and grounding to Spellbound's scent. I've worn it many times before (at least a couple of other imps and the majority of a post-Lab purchase bottle), and I think Spellbound is my favorite BPAL rose blend -- certainly of the ones I've tried, which are many. For skin chemistry like mine -- rose almost always shows up true and beautiful, but it almost always wants to take over -- it helps to be paired with other strong notes to give the rose something to stand up against. Good throw, longer than average wear length on me.

In the imp: Musk, rose, and spices. On my skin: Wet, the rose note hits my nose first, but the backing musk note is actually the one that fills up the overall scent more. On the drydown, the rose eats up all the musk and spice. Given additional time to develop, I can detect the musk a tiny bit as a backing to the rose; however, the spices aren't currently anywhere to be found. Ultimately, this is very much a rose scent on me. It's a strong, deep rose, and I can see where it reads to people as a more "masculine" rose. However, with my skin chemistry, it's definitely a "rose" scent and not a "rose plus" scent or a scent containing rose. Like all rose-dominant scents on me, this has lots of throw.

In the imp: Narcissus and vanilla. On my skin: Wet, the narcissus dominates, and the vanilla basically disappears. I can also just start to make out the airiness of orange blossom. On the drydown, the narcissus is still the main note, with an undercurrent of vanilla rounding out the floral. The orange blossom sort of graces the top of the scent; right now, it's almost a separate element from the narcissus-vanilla combination, which blends very well. As the blend develops, however, the orange blossom seems to disappear -- which is fairly unusual on me, since orange blossom tends to be a pretty prominent note on me. After some time, the vanilla fades, but the orange blossom reemerges. (This is a common happening with my skin chemistry, the rising of orange blossom and the swallowing of vanilla.) On me, this finally settles down into a deep, heady floral. The vanilla gives it just a touch of grounding and rounding but isn't otherwise noticeable. Not sure how I feel about this one. I like the depth of it, but I feel like it might be more to my personal tastes if it contained a little more of a grounding note.

In the imp: Tobacco with a hint of vanilla. On my skin: Wet, it's the same as in the imp. As it dries, both the vanilla and woods come out underneath the tobacco. Once it's had a little more time to develop, the woods recede and get caught up in the tobacco. The vanilla is detectable in the background, softening and rounding out the scent. As it starts to settle, the vanilla and oak, blended, amp a bit so there's a note that's not unlike root beer alongside the tobacco. I like both notes, but the combination is a little odd. By about an hour after application, the tobacco dies down, though not entirely, so I'm left mostly with soft vanilla and soft woods. It actually reminds me most of a less sweet, less foodie Stimulating Sassafras Strengthener. Additionally, the throw on this is much softer.

In the imp: All kinds of cherry candy. I can tell that it has a note that's grounding it and giving the cherry a boost, but at this stage, I can't pick it out as something distinct. On my skin: Wet, it's more cherry candy. The cherry is tarter rather than overly sweet, so I can't tell if that's the cherry note alone or if I'm also detecting the currant. Once it's dry, the currant becomes readily detectable, lending the blend a fruity aspect that's tart overall. The woods are also starting to come out, grounding the blend and drawing the scent closer to my skin. Gradually, the scent transitions so that the woods become the main note with the fruits keeping the overall scent profile a little lighter and brighter. I'm not going to lie. This scent is composed entirely of notes that are iffy on me at best. I don't love it, but that's likely because it was never designed for my skin chemistry.

In the imp: Creosote, coal, and a harsh chemical smell that I presume to be the industrial waste note. On my skin: Wet, the industrial waste note rides to the top of the scent; however, it's the creosote that's giving it the boost. As it dries, I get the coal note. I also notice that the industrial waste note has a quality that's reminiscent of pipe tobacco smoke, lending it an almost caramelized sweetness. Over time, the tobacco element becomes stronger until it overtakes both the coal and the creosote. This settles down to be mainly caramelized tobacco smoke on me, with an undercurrent of coal and creosote. It's sweeter than I would have expected from the description -- and also decidedly more wearable. It's probably too traditionally masculine for my tastes, but I can definitely see how it would work for other people. Strong throw and longer than average wear length. ETA: So after declaring it probably wasn't for me, I kept avoiding washing it off, even to test the next imp. It's also now in the "imps to keep" box rather than the "imps to swap" box. Apparently, I'm sufficiently intrigued to keep it around for a while.

In the imp: Lily of the valley and hyacinth among other less discernible floral notes. On my skin: Wet, the lily of the valley is a touch more prominent, though I can clearly pick out the hyacinth as well. The drydown sends the lily out to the scent's edge while the hyacinth becomes the main player closer to my skin. One of the notes -- I don't know which -- also goes just a bit powdery. The powdery quality disappears as the scent develops; rather, it begins to throw out a lot of hyacinth as well as lily of the valley. Ultimately, this is a thin, sweet floral on me, with nothing to warm it. To me, it does evoke the cut flowers of funeral arrangements, minus the notes of greenery or sunshine that would make them feel vibrant and lifelike. Grief does well at evoking its namesake, though doing such a good job of it is also what makes me not want it for a daily scent. Solid throw and wear length.

In the imp: Iris, ivy, gladiola, and a smattering of other white florals. On my skin: Wet, the iris and ivy dominate. On the drydown, the iris still holds out very strong, a piercing white floral backed by other shimmering, sweeter, white floral notes. Once it's had time to develop on my skin, I can catch lily in the scent's throw, and the delphinium comes out to grace the skin scent; the ivy slides into the background to become just the barest of grounding notes. Sadly, at approximately half an hour after application, The Ghost starts to fade out on me. It's a shame, because I really liked the prominent iris in this blend. It's not overly sweet or cloying on me, nor is it (until it does fade) overly soft and powdery. It has a very distinct presence, and I would have liked to have experienced more of it.

A phenomenally powerful attractant. Sexual and commanding in the extreme.  In the imp: I get rather a lot of bergamot with some other muddled notes, including something herbal or otherwise grounding, behind it. On my skin: Wet, it's much the same as in the imp, with just a hint of something astringent that may well evaporate off by the time it's dry. As it dries, the bergamot smell recedes and is replaced by roses. It's a thicker rose scent rather than a thinner one, and it's just a tiny bit powdery, suggesting to me that this rose might be backed by amber or black musk. (And black musk, which sometimes has a hint of lemon on me, might explain why I interpreted a citrus scent in the imp.) That said, once it has time to warm and develop on my skin, the bergamot note returns -- in addition to the rose and the musk, not instead of it -- so maybe I was reading it earlier because it was there earlier. On me, this ends up being a rose with a fair amount of depth. The citrus compliments it nicely as a top note, and the musk adds some grounding and depth without being obtrusive or overly noticeable in itself. If I was still looking for a rose blend like this, I'd probably be inclined toward keeping this or at least testing it further. That said, I already have other BPAL roses that fit this profile and that work a little better for my scent preferences -- so this seems to be a blend I have the luxury of passing on.

In the imp: Sweet, creamy, vanilla, coconut-y milk. On my skin: Wet, it's sweet vanilla and salt -- which, yes, is odd, but not necessarily bad. As it dries, all the vanilla milk sweetness goes away, and I'm left with a very faint salty aquatic -- sea foam, rather than the sea itself. Once things settle down a bit, I can detect the milk note again, only it's much less sweet now, and it's playing in the background behind the sea note. And this is about where the whole thing stays. As aquatics go, I like it. The milk note -- which doesn't go sour on me but which my skin eats up pretty fast -- gives this a rounded, creamy feeling while retaining the sea salt aspect of it. The throw on me is very low, possibly because my skin likes to eat milk.

In the imp: Very reminiscent of every "fresh scent" dish soap and laundry detergent I've purchased. On my skin: Wet, it's more of the same. As it dries, there's still a lot of salty aquatic, along with the emergence of a note that's just a bit tart. I'd say it has just a hint of something that reminds me of citrus - and feels like sunshine. It's just enough to make the blend stop smelling like artificial sea scent and start smelling more like being outdoors at the ocean for real. Oops! Spoke too soon. Once everything has had time to dry and warm and develop, the tart note disappears, and we're back to a soapy aquatic. After thirty minutes of this, I'm ready to call Cthulhu just not a match for my scent tastes or skin chemistry.

In the imp: Thick musk, salt, something vaguely sweet and possibly floral. On my skin: Wet, the sweet scent shows up first. I can't place it, but it reminds me of melon and melon flower. As it dries, I notice something like musk thickening the scent. Given a little bit of time to warm and develop on my skin, I also get something like lily in the scent's throw, though I can't detect it when I sniff close to my skin. As time goes on, however, the lily-like note also becomes part of the skin scent. Approximately thirty minutes after application, a briny, salty note emerges, cutting some of the sweetness from the melon and lily. The overall scent is one that conjures, by turns, the salt of the open ocean and plant life in still water. It definitely has a thick, weighty feel on me, though it's lacking any notes I'd normally describe as dark or heavy. Aquatics are not my thing in general, and this isn't enough to change that, but it's a very interesting scent. Medium throw. Something -- the grounding, musky note, probably -- is keeping it from disappearing too fast, though I can't promise I'll keep it on for its entire wear length on me.

In the bottle: Honey, jasmine, and ginger. The jasmine definitely gives it a floral honey aspect, but the ginger adds a bit of spice to keep it from being overly floral. On my skin: Wet, the ginger disappears, and jasmine's the boss. Over time, both the honey and the ginger rebound, though this remains decidedly a jasmine honey on me. It's similar to Hony Mone on me, but in this one, the jasmine stays more subdued.

In the bottle: Honey, slightly herbal, slightly minty. On my skin: Wet, the herbal quality comes out first, followed by the slight mint. Neither are overwhelming. As it dries, the herbalness and mint sort of combine to form a more coherent note. Imagine, maybe, a large mint plant that smelled both like mint and traditional greenery. The mint also has a wafting aspect that's hitting my in the back of my nasal passage, but it's not harsh. The sweetness of honey is barely detectable in the background. Ninety minutes or so after application, the mint has gradually faded away, so I'm left with a soft, very faintly minty scent. The mint keeps it from going too cloying or heady like honey can sometimes do. This might be a nice, fresh honey for summer months.

In the decant: Super bubble gum. Like, extra bubble gum concentrate assaulting my nose. On my skin: Wet, it's still all of the bubble gum in the known universe. Thirty minutes later, the bubble gum is still going strong. At approximately the forty-five minute mark, the bubblegum subsides enough that the Snake Oil is noticeable. An hour after application, this is all Snake Oil on me. Well, it's an interesting scent experience, that's for sure. I'm not fond of bubblegum as a note on its own, but I'm always interested in Snake Oil + sweetness (Snake Oil is patchouli + spices on me, lovely but not really vanilla or sweet as some folks experience). However, the time that this is not just Snake Oil is relatively short, and the time that it's a Snake Oil blend is even more fleeting. I'll keep my decant to use as Snake Oil, but I won't be chasing a bottle.

In the decant: Dragon's blood, and some unidentifiable thing -- or, rather, a myriad of things -- working to temper the dragon's blood's sweetness. On my skin: Wet, aside from the dragon's blood, the first things I can pick out are the gingergrass and the rue. Something is also definitely very tingly, which might be the black pepper or the dragon's blood itself. As it dries, the red musk comes out to play, and so does the black pepper. The rue recedes back into the blend, possibly along with the basil, as some "not sweet" scents. Given time to warm and develop on my skin, the dragon's blood dies down from prominence. I get a throw that's mostly red musk, and a skin scent that's primarily gingergrass, possibly backed by sandalwood, and definitely interspersed with a shot of black pepper. It's a very interesting and fiery scent, for sure. That said, it also feels a bit more on the traditionally masculine side than I prefer to wear in perfumes. So for this Leo, it was a fond experiment, but a no-go.

In the decant: Peach blossom and frankincense. On my skin: Wet, the sharpness of patchouli comes to the forefront, though some of the lighter notes are still evident in the background. As it dries, the patchouli remains prominent, with several notes warming and sweetening it. I can pick out peach blossom, honeysuckle, and fankincense. As it develops on my skin, the throw is more floral -- peach blossom, and I can now detect the carnation as well -- with a touch of patchouli, while the skin scent is patchouli with a touch of floral (and the carnation disappears here). I'm torn on this one. I love the grounded floral throw I get from it, but that's always a bit elusive, as I can only catch whiffs of it when the air is just right. The scent close to my skin, with less floral and more patchouli, is perfectly nice but not so remarkable on me. If I was someone who was looking for a way to wear "soft" patchouli but hadn't found it yet, though, this would definitely be something I'd want to try.

In the imp: Wine and something that comes across as softly and sweetly grassy. On my skin: Wet, it's red wine that's almost vinegar. As it dries, I detect a slight powdery note that's likely myrrh but might be amber or black musk. The red wine has also receded, and a note like lemongrass has emerged. As it warms and develops on my skin, I get more of a sweet lemony powder; it's not foody, more resinous. An hour in, and it's been fairly stable lemony black powder for the last half of it, so I'm ready to consider that this one isn't going to be a morpher on me. It's a fine scent, especially if lemon is your thing (it's not mine), but not spectacular enough on me to make me reach for it again. Glad I tried it, but this one's off to swaps.

Imp purchased from a forumite, date stamped March 12, 2016. In the imp: Yummy spices -- clove, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, peppercorn. They're not overwhelming on my nose, so there must be some sweetness tempering them -- tea or tobacco or both -- but they're very much in the background right now. On my skin: Wet, it's cinnamon, clove, pepper, and sweetness. I actually have a tea blend (of drinking tea, not perfume) that smells like this, so I can easily imagine the tea is there, but that I'm just not picking it out. It stays very consistent from the first drydown throughout its wear, a wonderful, beautiful spice. I only worry that if I applied it to my breastbone (my go-to spot for actually wearing perfume; I'm testing on my inner elbow), it might be too potent for actual wear in any kind of indoor environment. It's a very strong scent on me, with a lot of throw.

In the imp: Red musk, skin musk, and tobacco. On my skin: Wet, the red musk takes a back seat, and it's skin musk and tobacco. As it dries, the tobacco becomes the blend's strongest note. Given time to warm and develop, a bit of a... funk... emerges, like a touch of rotting vegetation. Hemlock accord, maybe? An hour in and, true to its form, tobacco amps on me. There's a bit of musk, keeping the scent from going straight to my sinuses, but this is all tobacco's game right now. After another thirty minutes of all tobacco, I ended up washing this off. I'm not super fond of tobacco, and I'm a little sad that the red musk couldn't overcome it on me.

In the imp: Something floral or lightly citrus at first, then a soft not-smokey incense. On my skin: Wet, I get the same floral or citrus note. As it dries, I get a sugared incense smell. (It's similar in feeling, though not exactly in scent, to the "sugared clove" in Wednesday's Child Is Full of Woe.) As it warms and develops, I get something that alternately smells a bit like soft, creamy floral and lightly resinous frankincense. The throw is low on me, but it could possibly be a very nice resinous scent for warmer weather. I don't believe I have anything that ticks the "summer incense scent" box. If this is a summoning from the Gods of Madness and Decay, you can count me in.

In the imp: It smells faintly of dill pickles. (You heard me.) On my skin: Wet, it's dill pickles and amber. As it dries, I get amber and... stinky socks? At this point, I cannot pick out any individual notes besides amber. Eventually, sock stink dissipates, and I can make out currant under the amber. But by this point, the whole scent is starting to go.