Hakirah D'almah

Absolutely gorgeous scent. It starts out fresh and green and herbaceous, with a hint of sweetness underneath. The tea to me reads as green or white, rather than the smokiness I expected of lapsang souchong. Over time, it slowly morphs to a gentle and non-foodie combination of tea, sandalwood, and a ghost of vanilla. It doesn't have very strong throw, especially past the first hour. It stays very close to the skin. It's just a gentle, lovely scent, and it does give a very "cool" impression without being "icy." Definitely one of my faves.

Oh wow. Oh wow, this is gorgeous. It's very strong, with serious throw. It's definitely sweeter on me than Good Ship Venus was, (which on me landed as brighter wood with a clear salt note), and a darker, moodier, sweeter wood blends was exactly what I am looking for. The wood notes are very prominent - I think I amp wood, and most woods smell good on me, so no complaints there - but it still goes on a little smokey, and resinous, and spicy, and sweet. This is an intense and complex scent. It's definitely not for the office, but I would absolutely wear it to a rocking party. I do understand the folks who compared it to a poutpurri - it is a bit strong in that sort of cologne-like direction. I don't think this is going to work for everyone, and I wouldn't recommend it to folks who don't like oudh.

I got a decant off the swap group recently, and I had wanted this scent for years. And ICE is sadly a relevant topic again these days, much to my chagrin. I also had expected a warm, foody, sweet scent with a wood base. It smelled sweet out of the decant bottle, too. But on me, the patchouli *yells*. I definitely get the smokiness, which on me reads a bit more like burnt, and I am not sure it is doing my any favours. I barely get a hint of vanilla. It gives an incense sort of feeling overall as a result, since the primary notes I am getting initially are ....burning and patchouli. Incense is fine, it's just not what I was expecting or hoping for. After an hour or so, I get the roundness of the oudh, which I enjoy (and I do tend to amp woods, and they tend to wear well on me), and there's more sweetness coming out. But the incense feeling and the yelling patchouli aren't subsiding as much as I wanted, either. Nor am I getting any coffee, and only a little bit of clove an hour in (what a shame, I love clove, and it's one of the things I like most about the Voodoo scent.) After about an hour and a half after initial application, I am getting a warm, woodsy-vanilla smell, with some clove on top. It's lovely, but it takes too long to move through all its phases to get to this place for me. I initially did not love Snake Oil when a friend introduced to BPAL and gave me a few imps to try. She was shocked! But I kind of just put them away in a cool dark place and forgot about them for a few years. I tried that imp again recently, and it was so delightful. I wonder if aging this decant - just chucking it in a little bag in a cool dark place for a while - might yield a similar effect. Maybe I just....need a lot less patchouli in these things.

I wanted to try this for literally years. Years! I got my hand on an imp from the swap group. I tried it twice. The first time I got a note that was almost mildew? I noticed another user also had this issue. So I shook up the imp, thinking the dark spots on the bottom were cococa sludge, and then waited another few days and tried again. The second time I didn't get the mildew note, but the cedar and patchouli just still smell a combination of dirty/earthy and sharp. I am getting zero cocoa. I don't think I'm getting any tobacco either. I had wanted this to be a sweeter, earthy, round scent, and it was ....none of those things. It's not bad, I am not running to scrub it off me or anything, but I am not enjoying it either. Will be passing it along, and hopefully someone else will give it love.

I have bought a ton of light/bright/citrus/breezy/clean imps, and this was one of them. The imp sat around for a day or three, (in a cool dark environment, of course) I did not put this on right out of the mailbox. And the second I put it on, I was punched in the face with florals. Those flowers stayed punching me for a few minutes there. It was the springtime floral punch-em-out show. After a few minutes of this, the florals moved over for some of the more herbacaeous scents that I love so much. But the florals are still very prominent. I do not understand the reviewers who consider this scent masculine or androgynous, and I am a little jealous of them, actually. This is just a cascade of blossoms, and therefore reads to me as rather feminine. It is very pretty! But while I credit the lab with creating floral blends that I do not hate, I tend to dislike wearing scents where florals dominate (but will enjoy scents where they are a supporting actor). So far, the florals dominate, and that makes this one for the swap pile. I am getting no vanilla. I hope the florals move their party to the back soon, so that I can the enjoy herbs and citrus and spice that I bought this scent for. ETA: after about half an hour, maybe only twenty minutes, the floral cascade moves over for neroli, which is still a floral, but it's one I like much better. While this is still going to the swap pile, neither will I scrub off what's currently on my wrists.

I recently bought a bunch of imps in the "clean, green, bright, tea, citrus" sort of category, and this was one of them! This was my original note when I got it as a frimp, a few years ago, maybe 4 years or so: The floral is definitely there, but true to the description, not overwhelming. You get a sort of breath of fresh herbs and a floral note when it first comes on. As it fades it gets more herbaceous, but not quite antiseptic. The tea does not smell like the black tea note I’ve gotten in scents like Antikythera Mechanism, which is a bit of a let-down for me. Overall very gentle, inoffensive, mostly forgettable. But then I went and bought another imp recently because ....I am a mess and did not read my own notes: I see why I initially passed on it. The burst of floral when you first put it on is definitely....floral. And I don't love florals. But it subsides fairly quickly and becomes just a breath of floral over tea, which I *do* like. So I'll hold onto this for now. Overall, a very gentle and inoffensive scent, if just a shade too floral for me. Hoping that some aging will up the tea and herb scents over time. Gentle, low throw, mild staying power. I found myself sniffing my wrists for more of it, so I think I really like tea notes!

I tend to like one of two categories of scent: woodsy, clove, vanilla, spice, AND bright, green, herbal, citrus. Those are my two buckets. Apothecary was on my "to-try" list and I recently bought a bunch of imps in this latter category. At first brush, a lot of the tea and herbaceous notes I liked in Dormouse show up here, but without the floral notes. So far, so good. It's similarly very gentle, with low throw. In just a short time on me, a fruity sweetness comes forward. Where the Dormouse gentled into tea, here the tea morphs into a tea-with-fruit note. That's probably the fig. I have an imp of Strangler Fig, and the notes on the forum attest that that scent eventually morphs into baby powder. I'm hoping the ginger and tea in this scent prevents that final morph, because while I don't hate the baby powder note, I don't love it either. Will update in a few hours. ETA: it's really faint, a barely there scent. That's fine, but it seemed the Dormouse had slightly more staying power. The ginger, or maybe the grass, is keeping the fig from getting *too* powdery, but I'm getting none of the woods notes that Strangler Fig gave. It's a lovely gentle scent, but it's also pretty unremarkable. It's forgettable, even. I'll hang onto this imp because it is lovely. It might be nice to layer with a deeper woods or spice blend to lighten up the latter, but we will see. Got a lot more imps to test first! ETA2: to my surprise, I reached for this scent first the other day, not Dormouse. Sometimes I just want to smell like tea and herbs, and nothing else, I guess! 0 notes

I'm a sucker for pirate anything, and this whole Fire Down Below line is just all pirates and sea shanty themed. It's like catnip. I like this scent, but it isn't as spicy or sweet as I expected from the cardamom and tonka. But it is very lovely and clean, and would work well also when you're sweaty, because wood scents are like that. I definitely get a whiff of the salt and the wood, and it is lovely and clean. The user who said it's like standing on the prow of a ship had it exactly right. Serious wear, solid throw. I would consider this a neutral scent, shading into kinda masculine. I do wish it was a bit sweeter, not a full gourmand or anything, but a hint of it. The sweet rum notes or warm spices might get me what I wish this was. Maybe I should layer it with Voodoo or Snake Oil, for the clove and vanilla, respectively? I will try wearing it alone again before experimenting with layering. I do really like it, even if it isn't as spicy or sweet as I initially expected.

I am absolutely kicking myself over how I completely slept on this collection, and now it is too late! I managed to get an imp off the sales/swap group, for which I am very grateful! Because I really love this sharp little scent! This smells like incense when I first put it on (that's probably the amber, I think?), but also herbaceous (probably the calamus and bay). It has a sharp and almost bitter note to it, which means that despite the spices, I never feel like I've walked into a new age sort of shop. It's got a sharp sort of warmth or heat to it. It's definitely not a gourmand, it's not like the woods and spices in Antikythera Mechanism or anything, but it's definitely not a cool scent either. Medium throw, I'd say, but I also doubt it will have very long staying power. Most of these scents don't make it to the end of the work day. Very lovely. What a shame it's a limited edition and therefore discontinued. Some reviews are calling this a Christmas candle. I don't really see that, since candle scents always smell way too sweet and also false at the same time. Maybe it's the spice notes? It's definitely faded down after some time, and the throw is almost gone after a few hours of wear. I'm about halfway or a little more through my workday when I took these notes, so it is about four hours since application. It's still spicy and kind of resinous, maybe a touch of woodiness, and that's nice, but it's now lacking the sharpness and herbaceous notes that I so enjoyed as part of the bouquet when I first put it on. It is not, however, offensive. Probably a good party scent to dab behind the ears if out and about, especially if outdoors. I feel like the spice notes would work well with a campfire. About seven hours later, there's a lingering lovely spicy woodsy scent, and I love it. But it's also very barely there. I really like it, and will definitely be wearing this again. If anyone has any more to offload....hit me up, please, I will take Laurel Wreath off your hands.

The moment I put it on, I smell grass. It smells like a meadow, and herbs, and tea, but the herbaceous teas. As it dries, a touch of sweetness comes out. It's very mild, with almost no throw. Definitely good for a spring, clean sort of scent. A little too grassy to be laundry, but the kind of scent you'd smell if you were hanging laundry in a meadow. I like it. I don't love it, but it's very nice. ETA 1: I was wrong there is definitely some throw, mostly of the amber note and the musk. The amber is definitely coming out more as the hours tick by. I don't love amber, it's too close to that "old lady smell" due to the prevalence of amber in certain perfumes. The herbaceous nature of the rest of the scent prevents it from going full amber cloying sweetness on me, which is good. This perfume would probably play well at outdoor parties or if you're very active. ETA 2: man, that sweet amber note is really hanging around. I wish it wouldn't. It's not awful, but I don't super love amber and that is the one note that sticks around.

I am again late to this party, but I recently grabbed an imp secondhand off the swap/sales group, so here we are! Mmmm. This is so herbaceous. I enjoy just handling the imp and getting some on my fingers. The immediate impression has a combination of herbs and water. It's a cooler scent, and feels more akin to Embalming Fluid than it does to Minotaur Landscaper, but without that sharp citrus note. A perfume sweetness then unfurls, and at first I think it might be a floral. But it then shifts to the berry note, actually, combined with the incense. This scent has low throw, and that's fine by me. It's definitely more subtle, and clean. But still with some depth to it. Very solid day-to-night sort of feel. Classy. Elegant. Nearing the end of my work day, and the scent is gone. About an hour or so ago, I could still get a faint lingering spice scent, a remnant of the incense note, but even that is faded. So this is lovely scent, but it's not going to last the day. I will definitely wear this again. I don't think it's a great scent for me for the high summer, but it would work, I think, for both spring and fall. 0 notes

Sorry to come to this so late, but a friend gave me a decant, I tried some today, so here we are. In the bottle, this smells fresh and a little like a cucumber, but not in a bad way. This goes on fresh and cool, with herbal or vegetal scents. It has a mildly sweet note without smelling like a teenager's cucumber-melon scent, though I feel like it is a little bit like that teenager's older, sophisticated cousin who has gone to college. As it dries down, I get more of the spice and parchment. It smells just a little bit like old books! It carries on towards a more incense sorts of note without going too far into New Age Shoppe or old lady smell. That being said, if definitely has some throw - more than I initially expected, whoops. It calms down after an hour or so, and it stays spicy. I liked the cool vegetal notes, and wished that that stayed around more to balance out this scent as a whole. I have a small collection now, and too many end on similar spice notes. I prefer wood notes to be the final notes over amber or too-sweet incense. Here, that's probably the frankincense I'm picking up on. I'm not getting the oudh as much as I thought I would. The oudh (or at least that's what I think I'm smelling) really shines a few hours in as a lovely, more faded, but round and mellow woodsy note. That being said, while this scent starts out strong with some throw, it simply does not last. It was gone by about four hours. Verdict, for me, this is probably 7.5/10 Solid, nice, but I don't see myself reaching for it every day.