Laughing Seagull

I purchased a fresh imp of this from the lab. Initially, I don't know what the hell it smells like. After putting it on, The Great Sword of War transforms into... A less exhaustingly sweet version of Perversion? What kind of "sword" are we talking about here? Tobacco dominates all other notes and this is absolutely "Perversion but less sweet" to my nose. Not what I expected, but not a bad thing since Perversion irritates me with its sweetness after a while.

I received this as a frimp from the generous Mad Maudlin because evidently it seemed like something I'd like. This was a good call because I find this beautiful despite normally being a sandalwood hater. This is the longest lasting citrus scent I've tried so far, with bright juicy mandarin and what I assume is the opium sticking around right in the foreground. The sandalwood appears to be staying in hell where it belongs or it's just subtle or well-blended here, because it's not doing the horrible pencil shavings thing that it usually does. Lily of the valley arrives late to the party, but the bright juicy mandarin is still the star of the show. The floral component to this is very gentle. This is bright and refreshing, and a definite bottle candidate.

I bought an imp of this from the lab because I have had good luck with citrus and copal notes, and WOW, I love it! This is a must-bottle! The streak of having good luck with citrus and copal continues. In the imp, this is a "breezy" orange. By this I mean, let's say the neighbor has an orange tree and you open the window and a little bit of orange scent wafts in. It's like that - very light and fresh. On the skin, the breezy orange develops a creamy softness that is just gorgeous. It's not sweet enough to be a creamsicle - perhaps a high class orange mousse or something. The florals come out about an hour later, and they are amazingly polite - I can still smell the other notes, they just have a floral twang to them now. I don't really get much if any smokiness. I can sort of see where people were coming from with the "white chocolate" comments. I am just in love with this scent. It's fresh and breezy and pleasant!

I purchased an imp of this from a forumite. In the vial, initially, it has a sharp medicinal smell that does not instill confidence. As luck would have it, the Robitussin scent fades after it's placed on the skin and is replaced with a very sweet, syrupy cherry with a tiny hint of chocolate buried under it. I do not get "dark chocolate" out of this, or if I do, the darkness is overwhelmed by the overwhelming sweet of the candied cherry. Though I've been known to enjoy a cherry tootsie pop from time to time, this is a bit much in the sweet department. Bliss remains my favorite chocolate scent in its pudding-y simplicity.

I purchased an imp of this from a forumite based on a recommendation from another forumite. This review will be short and unfortunate. In the imp: Whiskey Wet on skin: Whiskey Dry: Whiskey 3 hours later: Still whiskey After trying to wash it off: Whiskey I was really excited about this based on the recommendation and the reviews, but despite the huge list of notes in the description I ended up with single-note whiskey. I'll try it again later, but this tavern has left a terrible first impression.

I'm testing a brand new imp from the lab. I am aware that everybody likes aged Snake Oil better than fresh. In the bottle, I have no idea what this smells like but HOO BOY it's strong! Wet on skin: A split-second blast of patchouli gives way to plastic and vanilla Dry: Eat Me but the cake is served on very smelly plastic plates. I'm going to put this one aside for a while and try again later.

I purchased an imp of this from a forumite. In the vial: The cherry-like almond scent that I know and love! On skin: The aggressive cherry-almond backs off for the most part and the myrrh and dark musk take over with a memory of an almond croissant (yum) hanging in the background. As an enjoyer of both myrrh and dark musk, I'm not disappointed by this outcome. I don't have the issue that others seem to have with it going powdery. Hecate remains lightly sweet but not too sweet with just a little wisp of smoke. The scent sticks fairly close to my skin for several hours and on the whole feels quite cozy. I expect to at least use up the imp; we'll see how I feel about a bottle later.

In the vial and wet on the skin, this SCREAMS bubblegum. The pinkest, bubblegummiest bubblegum ever. I thought lotus smelled like bubblegum, but wet High-Strung Daisies is the ULTIMATE bubblegum. Though it retains a slight sweetness after drying, the peppercorn really jumps out to make this... Strangely savory-foodie. Maybe my skin amps peppercorns? I swear I've eaten barbecued turkey that smelled exactly like this. It remains barbecued turkey for several hours with no changes. This was worth trying if only because of how absolutely bizarre it turned out on my skin. Lasts quite a long time too, but I don't know how long or how often I want to smell like ?

Whitechapel concerns me because either lilac or wisteria made my allergies go nutz when I tried Les Fleurs, but otherwise it sounds perfect - I loved the lime in Croquet. Vasilissa is the ONE sandalwood-containing scent that didn't go all pencil-shavings on me, and I love her for that. Aizen-myoo and Embalming Fluid sound In addition to all the stuff I listed above, I've also got Fae, Hecate, The Lights of Men's Lives, The Tavern of Hell, Nyarlahotep, Vice, and The Sea Foams Blood on the way from a forum sale. I was reluctant on Fae since I hate oakmoss, but the price was right. Ahh, so complicated - but I guess the diversity of things available is part of the fun, after all.

Thank you for your response! Coincidentally, possibly inevitably, I am a big fan of aquatics and "juicy/wet/damp/humid" scents. Though not at the tippy-top of my list, I am a fan of Lightning. There's Water Here sounds like it could be evocative of rainy days back when I lived in Philadelphia, which would be wonderfully nostalgic. Torture Queen sounds sparkly! I like sparkly! I'm not wild about white tea, but I think that there are enough other things to balance it out. I've been curious about metal scents. I can't believe I overlooked Media in all my times browsing scents! The reviews mention honeysuckle, and I do love me some honeysuckle. That's fantastic, and this review had me rolling:

Thank you for your response! I've got a bit of Snake Oil and Haunted on the way. I chose Imp as a "Patchouli Test Run" scent, but will put Coiled Serpent on my list for later if I either really like the patch or still feel uncertain about it. It's hard to say what I'll think about BPAL patch - I used to use Kiss My Face patchouli liquid rock deodorant, which I adored, yet Yankee patchouli candles make me feel like I'm dying. (The full list of stuff I currently have on the way is Snake Oil, Sed non Satiata, Night Gaunt, Haunted, High-Strung Daisies, Imp, Hunger, Xiuhtecuhtli, Great Sword of War, Athens, Thanatopsis, and Envy, and of course the Weenie decants I signed up for + a bottle of La Calavera Catarina) I'm going to go for Fighter over Paladin because frankincense seems to lend a horrible cologne-y quality to everything when I wear it. Likewise though it doesn't contain frankincense, I'm reluctant to go for Aelopile because I've seen it called "cologne-y." ETA: I was also surprised that I found Kabuki masculine, to be honest. I used to wear an anise perfume all the time in college, but after I wore it on a horrible date once I now can't wear it without thinking about that bad date. x_x

Guess I'll give this a crack as well since I'm on the lookout for new things to try. As I've said elsewhere, I'm a 30 year old news reporter. I cover many things, including handling obituaries for our publication. People often ask if handling obituaries daily upsets or scares me. Not really. I mostly view it as a necessary public service. I think that as an entity, Death probably feels that way about their job, too. I like cold things, and I hate hot things. I don't like hot weather or hot drinks or hot showers, and I prefer just-kinda-warm food over hot food. Big fan of rainy weather. Allegedly I am blunt. Equally allegedly I have a good sense of humor. I have a short temper and neither forgive nor forget, but I'm easily amused and assume the best of people unless they give me a reason not to. I'm quiet, but I "secretly" like listening to other people's gossip and drama. I get excited about things easily - for example, I once contacted a toothbrush manufacturer to tell them how amazing the toothbrush I bought was. My fashion sense is "plain clothes, lots of jewelry." I have 15 piercings. Asexual. Can't hold still worth a damn. Being a sleepy bitch is a personality trait. My cat's name is Romeow, which seems worth mentioning. Favorite things: Activities: macro photography (plants/bugs mostly), inadvisably picking up random animals, cross stitch, naps, picnics, reading sappy fanfiction. Foods: pea soup, cabbage dumplings, drunken noodles, vanilla yogurt, egg yolks, red/black grapes, pomegranate, beans in general. Drinks: iced black, green, red, kukicha, or hibiscus tea, iced coffee with a lot of milk, Thai iced tea, passionfruit seltzer, water with crunchy ice. Flowers: lungwort, blackberry lily, forget-me-not, adenium, hoya, daisies (all types). Colors: yellow, pink, dark red, cobalt, mint green. Mythical creatures: Minotaur, kraken, oni, mothman, gorgons. Dislikes: cumin, hyacinths, red meat, hippos (they're scary!), the comments sections on my workplace's website, loud noises, when people are like "can you do me a favor" and expect you to agree to it before telling you what the favor is. That's a lot... Whoops.

Will def. be picking some of these up while I order an industrial-sized barrel of Cheshire Cat later - I'm particularly interested in Aglea, I just hope it doesn't end up being too sweet. Night-Gaunt had been on my radar for a while but most of the rest of these suggestions I hadn't thought about! I think I'll try Snake Oil on its own first before I spring for a Snake Pit bottle. It'll probably be totally fine, but you never know. Since I've had so many scents turn overly sweet when I put them on I'm reluctant to trust O, but I may try La Petite Mort and/or Sed non Satiata, which I've heard are similar but more complex. Feel free to keep the suggestions flowing!

I received this as a lab frimp, and I never would have purchased it on my own. When I first put this on, it smelled primarily like ash and I was tempted to wash it off right then and there. After a few minutes, it's actually kind of good? It's smoky, leathery, maybe a bit metallic, and somewhat on the masculine side. I don't think I'd want to wear it on its own, but I think that it would be good to layer on scents that are too light or sweet.

I purchased this as a fresh lab imp. My first impression is that this smells exactly like citrus flavored gummy candies. A whiff of fresh grass adds a certain freshness to it. This is very nice, for a few minutes. After the first 20 minutes or so, the soapiest rose I've ever experienced in my life crashes the party, chasing all of the other guests out. The soap-rose lasts forever and is surprisingly difficult to wash off. This is very strange to me because rose is usually reasonably well behaved when I wear it. This is a good candidate for a locket scent.

I purchased this as a fresh imp. I feel that the previous poster's comparison to Dragon's Milk is somewhat apt. I found Dragon's Milk to be offensively sweet until it dried. Chimera is like the dry phase of Dragon's Milk, skipping over the offensively sweet period entirely. Excellent. This has a bready undertone to it that makes it seem extremely edible. In fact, I would say that Chimera and Bliss are the most edible-smelling BPAL scents I've tried. The scent didn't really morph at all and lasted for an average amount of time (3-4 hours).

I purchased a fresh imp of this from the lab. I was concerned about trying this at first because sandalwood tends to destroy everything around it when I wear it. When I put this on, I primarily smell amber and... Other stuff. I can't pick out any other individual notes. This is a good thing. Vasilissa doesn't really do much of any morphing, essentially remaining "amber and other stuff" for its duration. I agree with all of the comments saying that this gives off a "pink" vibe. It's like the fluffiest, softest pink bathrobe you can possibly imagine. Overall, this is a very pleasant scent. It is somewhat short-lived (about 2 hours).

I purchased a fresh imp of this from the lab to try. My first impression in the vial was that this was pure daffodil, which is a bad thing. I enjoy looking at daffodils but have always found their smell to be overwhelming. After putting it on my wrist, however, the plum comes to the rescue and beats back the daffodil with a stick. The daffodil does not go away entirely, but it is tame now. Thank you plum!! After the plum tames the florals, the scent of Kitsune-tsuki reminds me of, appropriately, the plum-flavored "Flower's Kiss" candies that I used to buy sometimes before the local store stopped carrying them. I would call this too strong and sweet to be an everyday kind of scent, but I can see myself reaching for it on special occasions.

My test is with a new imp from the lab. To my nose, this is 100% buttered rum. In the vial, wet, dry, hours later, it's just buttered rum. I hope that this one changes as it ages, because right now it's like a PG-rated adaptation of Perversion.

I purchased a fresh imp of this from the lab. Both in the imp and on my skin initially, it is most certainly juicy grapefruit and lavender! Though the grapefruit is mostly sweet, there is a twang of sourness just on the edge of my sense of smell that I can detect if I shove my nose directly onto my wrist. The chamomile peeks out to soften things up a little as it dries, providing Cheshire Cat with a somewhat "creamy" aspect. The delphinium, I assume, emerges after the drydown and adds a light floral overlay to the other scents. After an hour or so, I am left with the most wonderful musk with a whisper of citrus. I am in love with this scent! My only wish is that it lasted longer, which seems to be a recurring problem I (and many others) have with citrusy scents. It's my new favorite and I want an industrial-sized barrel of it. ETA: After a few days of wearing this, I realized that it reminds me of Adagio's "Leo" tea, which iirc is orange, chamomile, and rooibos, and which a friend of mine once said "is what heaven must smell like."

I purchased this as a fresh lab imp and it is amazing. It's an orange cream soda whose sweetness is tempered perfectly by lovely blossoms. Somehow, this belle has managed to dodge all of the gripes I tend to have about perfumes: not too sweet, not too incense-y, doesn't get violently taken over by a note that I dislike, not powdery, not so strong that I get sick of it, my skin doesn't instantly obliterate the citrus note, doesn't go through any horrifying intermediate phases, etc. The "spices," whatever they are, gently breeze in after the drydown, darkening the orange just a touch. The scent reminds me of allspice. The only downside is that this one fades relatively quickly (about 2 hours).

Bought a fresh lab imp. In the vial this is a punch to the face with musk. After putting it on, vanilla and sandalwood appear. I detect no lemon. Then, when it dries, sandalwood beats every other note to death, turning it into pencil shavings haunted by the ghost of vanilla. It smells exactly like Velvet did on me. Sandalwood always does this on my skin.

I received this as a lab frimp. In the vial, Nyx smells like JASMINE. In all caps. Wet on skin, I detect jasmine still and I could swear that there's some kind of citrus fruit far in the background? This may just be an aspect of jasmine. Hours later, it turns into pure incense. Rose never showed up. This oil lasts forever. I don't think it's very "me," however I got a bit of it on my sweater and find that it smells nicer on the sweater than it does on my skin. This to me suggests that it is probably better as a locket scent.

I purchased this as a fresh lab imp. In the vial, I primarily get rose with a very, very deep red fruit, the way a pomegranate should smell. Beautiful. Immediately after applying it to my skin, it smells EXACTLY like burnt hair. It's absolutely incredible, in a bad way. How did this happen? Fortunately after drying down, she goes right back to being lovely, tart pomegranate and rose. Outside of the burnt hair phase (must be the trip through the underworld), this is a beautiful scent. Hopefully the burnt hair thing will go away with age or something. This scent doesn't last very long (like, an hour and a half).

I purchased a fresh imp of this to try, reluctantly. I do not get along with honey scents and only bought this because it was highly recommended by many, many people. In the vial, it smelled very much like almond extract. I liked that. I love almond smell! Immediately upon coming into contact with my skin, it turned into pure baby oil smell. Argh!! The drydown smells like a combination of baby oil and wet cardboard and once again affirms that honey scents do terrible, terrible things on my skin. I was really hoping that this would approach "oatmeal cookie smell" but it never made it there before the honey note ruined everything as usual. I think it would work well in a scent locket or as a room scent, where my skin can't ruin it.