torischroeder9

In the imp: Ginger ale and root beer, complete with effervescent feeling. On my skin: At first, my skin about eats this up. I had to reapply within a couple of minutes just to make sure I did, in fact, have Gnome on my arm. As it's drying, I'm getting very light ginger ale -- like how you'd smell some in a glass if you held your nose just out of the bubbles' reach. There's almost -- but not quite -- something citrusy about it. I lose the other notes entirely. And this is where the blend seems to stay for me. For such a light, fizzy scent, it actually has a pretty strong throw. Like, I can smell barely-there ginger fizz no matter where I go. I can see why this might make a good layering scent, though the only other RPG scent I have at the moment is Evil (the one I picked as a best stand-alone based on notes). So I'm probably going to have to see what Evil Gnome smells like one of these days.

In the imp: The round, deep, sweet scent of oleander. I also get spice, though I'm not sure if that's from the oleander itself or if it's the separate spice note: On my skin: As I'm applying, the magnolia rushes to the surface, followed by the mandarin. In these moments, the oleander all but disappears. As it's drying down, the magnolia disappears, and the oleander starts to resurface -- so I get a lovely scent profile of bright mandarin with a spicy sweetness underneath. If this is where the blend stays, it's more "belle" than "hell." Aaaand... no sooner do I type that than a shadow of musk starts to creep into the blend. It starts off as just a tiny undercurrent, dampening the mandarin's brightness just a touch. Gradually, it creeps up to become a main player, eventually eclipsing the mandarin and even rivaling the oleander. Fortunately, this works well with my skin chemistry, and I'm left with a sweet and spicy musk with just a hint of mandarin. The result is sexy in a sophisticated kind of way.

In the imp: Dry and woodsy. I can pick out the sandalwood and patchouli. On my skin: The sandalwood comes out first, but the patchouli is quick to catch up. The cinnamon creeps in a little, just enough to provide an accent note. The result is woodsy and earthy, with just a touch of spice. The throw on this is pretty low on me, which is just as well since I was hoping the cinnamon would play a more central role.

In the vial: Skin musk and a light, sweet floral note that I think is jasmine. (I'm used to jasmine announcing itself in a perfume, and at least in the vial, this jasmine doesn't quite do that.) On my skin: This smells very light and faint in the vial, so I gave my inner elbow a good slather. Wet, the jasmine announces itself. Like, a lot. The skin musk must be tempering it a bit, though, because although jasmine is the dominant note, it's not overpowering my olfactory sense (as jasmine is wont to do on me in the absence of balancing notes). Gradually, the amber makes its way out, followed by the sandalwood, adding both a powdery and a spicy note to the blend -- and this is where it seems to stay. The result is a light, creamy sweet scent that stays pretty close to the skin.

In the vial: Lime, some other citrus that is not lime (is it weird to smell them as two distinct notes?), and lavender. On my skin: Wet, it starts out with some type of citrus as the top note, with the lavender keeping it more grounded. As it dries, the lavender becomes the more prominent note with the citrus scent(s) brightening it. Something akin to white musk (it isn't that, necessarily, but it's the closest way I can describe it) works to tie these two scents together, so it's one unified fragrance rather than competing notes. For a while it seems like this musky note is going to be the most forward note in the scent for me, until -- BAM! -- lavender soap. I mean, very nice, high-end lavender soap, but lavender soap just the same. This wouldn't be bad for someone who wants a scent that's clean without feeling overly perfumed, but it's not really one that I can see working for me. Throw is medium; I also suspect a moderate level of staying power on me.

In the vial: Predominantly lavender, with traces of a sweeter floral (could be the wisteria or the rose; it's not distinct enough at this point for me to determine), something sharper to my nose (that I'm guessing is the white musk), and just a bit of the sandalwood. This has the potential to go a lot of ways for me, as my skin usually likes sandalwood and white musk but tends not to play too nicely with rose. On my skin: At first, there's a competing sharp-and-sweet floral as both lavender and wisteria (the sweet floral that's definitely not rose) strive to be the dominant note. The rose itself peeks through in fits and starts. I'll be honest: this phase is not the blend's finest moment. At some point, however, what I can only describe as a certain... spiciness... starts to emerge. It reminds me of a similar note in Fledgling Raptor Moon, so I'm guessing it must be the sandalwood. When it first emerges, I only get it if I smell the scent indirectly: What I mean is, if I put my nose to the inside of my elbow (where I've applied the oil), I still get the clashing and competing florals. But if I put my arm down and go about my business, the wafted scent of the perfume (it does have pretty good throw) is where the spiciness comes in. Also, somewhere along this phase, I sense the white musk. I don't smell it directly, but I do get that "tickling my nostrils" feeling that white musk induces in me. Now that it's been on for a couple of hours, I get a sweet -- but not overly sweet -- floral scent blended with a soft sandalwood. I still sense the white musk rather than smell it directly, but it's brightening the scent and acting as a nice tie-in between the sandalwood and the florals. I never do get a sense of "melancholy," but it is a nice, deep, contemplative floral blend. With a balanced overall profile and good staying power, it would make a good everyday perfume. I'll definitely revisit this imp and am contemplating whether I need a bottle. Edit 10/26: Wore it all day to work. Just came back to say that it has significant staying power on me -- which is a great point in its favor.

In the imp: Something softly, roundly sweet, in a way that reminds me of -- but isn't -- a patch of clover. It's not quite grassy -- and it definitely doesn't have the sharpness of cut greens -- but it's also not quite floral, either. Sniffing more, I get something slightly soapy, and I can just pick out the dirt note in the background. On my skin: As it's drying, the sweet floral continues. However, once it is fully dry, the soapiness increases until it is by far the dominant note. Which isn't terribly, exactly, but if I wanted to smell like a bar of Irish Spring, I'd just go buy a bar of Irish Spring. This stayed in full-on soap mode (complete with strong throw) for 30+ minutes, at which point I had to go wash it off. It's possible that this blend would have morphed into something my skin likes better, but it stays unlikable enough for long enough that I'm not really willing to try.

In the vial: Grapefruit, with another sweeter fruit scent -- I'd guess the currant -- rounding it out. I don't get the musk, chamomile, or lavender at all. (I don't recognize delphinium well enough to note its presence or absence here.) On my skin: Initially, it's the same sweetened grapefruit I smell in the vial. As it dries and morphs, a grounding scent -- what I think is mostly lavender but may also be a touch of chamomile -- emerges. On top of that is a lighter floral scent, which I'm assuming is the delphinium. The overall effect is fresh and floral and fruity without being overly sweet or cloying. Once the grapefruit fades from initial prominence (my skin amps and then eats grapefruit), the throw is low to medium. After about an hour, all the floral and fruit notes fade from dominance, and I'm left with a sweet, soft dark musk staying very close to my skin. The effect is quite nice, but by this time, it's very faint. Not a practical scent for my day-to-day wear as I'd have to reapply too often.

In the bottle: A red fruit scent that I would describe both as "sugared" and "tart." It does smell like the pomegranate soda I sometimes drink. I can't smell any of the notes present in Morocco. On my skin: As it dries, something creeps up to make this more than a pomegranate single note, but I can't say for certain which Morocco note it is (probably not the cassia; sandalwood is my best guess). It's all quite faint, though, as my skin also eats up this scent in its entirety. My last bottle of regular Morocco was one that wanted aging, so it seems reasonable to hypothesize that age might help this one as well. Update 11/24 -- Tried this again, and the Morocco is more detectable now. It's still a close-to-skin scent on me, and it still doesn't last all that long -- but it doesn't disappear nearly so soon as it did before.

In the imp: Sweet citrus clouded and shadowed by something smoky, with a subtle wood note in the background. On my skin: As it's drying, tangerine struggles to be the base note while the vetiver, black amber, and cedar all vie to become most prominent. I can't pick out the saffron note at all. Soon my skin eats up the tangerine (as it tends to do with orange citrus notes), and I'm left with cedar and vetiver. The result is a dry, woodsy, smoky scent, much like a cedar log freshly sat on a campfire. It's an interesting concept, but without a stronger brighter base note, it's not something I'm likely to want to wear as perfume. Fairly low throw, which in this case is more good than bad. Edit: After a few hours, the scent becomes more woods and less smoke, which improves what I'd like from it. However, as there are other woodsy scents I prefer to this one, it's still probably not one I'll keep using.

In the imp: Sweet and heady, but not as sharp as I normally perceive BPAL honey or caramel notes to be. I'm not getting any red musk. My skin tends to amp all 3 of these notes, however (honey and red musk in a good way, caramel to my detriment), so this should be a fun experiment. On my skin: On the initial drydown, it's a mix of honey and slightly spicy resin. I still don't get the red musk, but something is working to temper the honey note from being too cloying or sharp and to keep the caramel from going all warped and burny on me. Applied to my inner elbow, it has a medium throw; I suspect a fuller application (including applied to my torso) would increase that at least a little. The more it dries, the more the resin and incense smell comes out, making the honey/caramel mixture a sort of background element. And there's nothing wrong with this, but it fails to attain the awesomemess that a honey + red musk scent on my skin could be. (It does manage to avoid the Kiss of Burning Plastic that is my skin + caramel, though, so it has that going for it.) I'm interested to see how this wears over longer amounts of time. Honey especially usually has some staying power on my skin, so this could be an entirely viable -- same or different -- scent tomorrow. Edit, next morning: The scent keeps its same honey/resin combination overnight; some of the throw fades, but the scent profile remains basically unchanged.

In the imp: Bay rum, salty ocean, and soft, dry woods. Dry, this settles very quickly on my skin to wood and saltwater, but in a good way -- almost like the smell of driftwood on a breezy day on the ocean beach. The rum disappears quickly, and I never get the leather at all -- which is probably good since my skin tends not to play nice with either of those notes. Medium throw and longevity. I do like it, but -- while it's not overtly masculine -- it is more masculine than are the perfumes I normally like to wear.

In the vial: I get the vanilla upfront, tempered by the powder of the amber. The honey is there if I search for it, but it's not at the forefront. Wet on skin & the initial drydown: My skin eats vanilla and amps amber and honey, so O does this weird thing on me where, for some time after the initial application, all three of these scents are competing to be the top note on my skin. The vanilla disappears on me almost as soon as the oil is dry; then amber is the dominant note. For about an hour or more (~30 minutes to ~90+ minutes after the initial application), the scent almost disappears on me, transforming to what I'd call a subtle, close skin musk. Long term: Eventually, the honey does come through, and I get honey grounded a bit by the amber and warmed a bit by the vanilla. This version of the scent has a lot of staying power on me (I could still smell an evening application the next morning) but not a lot of throw (which is unusual for a BPAL honey scent on me). Ideally, I suppose I'd like a bit more throw from it, but the same notes that are keeping the scent closer to my skin are probably also helping to temper the honey note and prevent it from being overwhelming.