Sheila

Oh, I love this! And I didn't think it would--it wasn't even on my wish list. But I got this as a freebie in a swap from a lovely forumite, and I'm so glad I tried it. This smells mainly of rose. However, this smells nothing like any other rose I've smelled from the lab. This is a dry, sad rose that's not at all overpowering. I think the rosewood and hazel add just a touch of age to this blend. This is a sweet and wistful blend that really captures the mood of a Seance.

Wow, pretty! This reminds me a lot of 13 and Black Pearl, other iris scents that I love. This combines the gorgeous, sweet smell of iris (and if you don't know what iris smells like, you should try it--it's a creamy floral) with a slightly darker "spice" smell. It suggests dark water to me, making this scent very aptly named. I don't get the berries or the amber. Wonderful, Beth!

I was very excited to try this, since I love all the notes listed. Then it appeared as a giftimp--thanks, lab! This is a very pretty floral. I get mostly lily, with a light rose and violet in the background. It's a bright scent, at least on me--the chamomile and autumn leaves don't make an appearance. (I wish they would come out a bit more.) However, it's very soft and ephemeral (groan), and faded very quickly. Lovely, but not extraordinary on me. Off to swaps. ETA: I really love the name!

What else can I add? This smells like sweet, vanilla cupcakes on me. It's a soft scent, but lasts longer than Midway did. I swapped Midway because it was too fleeting on me, so I'm glad to have this sweet (similar) scent to replace it.

At first, soft wiffs of pine (not as PINE as Skadi or Dublin, but similar). Then a citrus note comes through--I think it's grapefruit (though is that possible? Is there enough grapefruit available to make this scent? Maybe I'm wrong--but it's definitely citrus.) At drydown, the sweet, girly perfume note comes out, with the citrus and pine in the background. This smells like an upscale, posh girl, wearing a "fresh" citrus scent, just came in from a snowy forest. It's very nice, and I'm going to swap my imps of Skadi and Dublin--this is similar, but I like it best.

Huh, is that carnation? Some faintly spicy floral on top of a blue-green, watery. herbal note. This is a very unique scent that I can't really describe--but it does smell like water! Not ocean, stream, or lake water, but rather like man-made pond water. Domestic water, if that makes sense!

I'm not a huge almond fan, but out of the almond scents I've tried (Seraglio, Dana O'Shee, Bastet), this is definitely my favorite. On wet, it smelled like bitter almonds on me. As it dries, it gets sweeter and spicier. I can faintly smell the honey, but mostly the spices. It's a lovely scent, but it faded very fast on me. Off to swaps.

Holy coconut milk batman! That's what I smell when this is first applied: really, really, REALLY sweet coconut milk. Did I say sweet? It's tooth-rottingly so! I wasn't expecting this scent to be so sweet. Luckily it mellows in 20 minutes or so--I like the sweetness, but it was too much for me. At drydown, this is a lovely, softly sweet fig and coconut scent. It's very tropical, lush, and green. Very pretty and unusual.

Wow, this scent smells ancient, and sacred. And it's totally not me. I definitely smell smoke--smoke and dry woods. It's unique and sultry. If you're going for mysterious, try this scent.

This one is very complex! Sweet berries, light woods, some herbs, breeze (but not ozone), a citrus, and--florals. Unfortunately, the florals are very prominent on me (and I suspect jasmine, though it's not listed as a note). I wish it were more of an equal blend on me, because all the other notes are lovely and unusual.

On wet: Flashback! This smells really strongly of grape juice! Not the watery, sugary grape juice you buy in the store, but the kind my grandma used to make, using the small, sweet, dark purple grapes she'd grow. Very strong and sweet. Drydown: The grape scent has diminished, and now it smells like incense. Yum. Sweet honey, red wine, and incense combined. This scent smells ancient, and is very evocative of the name.

No BPAL I've tried smells like HIWTK, I'm sad to say. On me, the honey single note and O are closest (but O has amber, too). A lot of people recommend Gluttony, which is toffee-ish, like HIWTK, but it was more buttery on me. Maybe it would work on you? Let me know if you find something that smells like HIWTK!

I get a soft, floral melon from this scent. It's lovely, delicate, and feminine. There's a touch of tea and jasmine in the background. If you're looking for a replacement for Ingenue, try this.

No fair! Everyone but me gets tropical fruit and flowers--in other words, a lush, juicy garden--from this scent. I get florals (mostly jasmine), and not a touch of fruit. It's pretty on me, but not gorgeous. I'll swap it to someone with better skin chemistry.

Wow, this is one potent oil! I like the sweet honey-toffee scent at drydown, but overall, this is too buttery for me. I like gluttony in moderation (heh)--I can only handle a dab of this oil. It's definitely a glut of buttery sweetness!

Dragon's Blood, and something floral. Usually I love Dragon's Blood, but something in this is going sharp on my skin. I think it's the added floral? I think this is too much scent for me--I'll stick to the lighter, soapier "Come To Me" for my voodoo love oil! Off to swaps.

In the bottle, this has that overwhelming, foody, buttery-popcorn smell that Sugar Skull, All Saints', and Gluttony have. Ugh. Luckily, on my skin, this is lovely. Slightly gingery, slightly chocolatey-sweet, this is like light, delicate candy (not overly heavy or sweet) and musk. There's a faint breath of autumn leaves and night air, too. It's very lovely, and softer and sweeter than I expected.

Four words to describe Black Opal: vanilla posh perfumey rocks. Oh, OK, one more word: Gaaaaaah! (That's me fainting in pleasure.) In the bottle, this smells almost exactly like Antique Lace to me--I think the vanilla is the same in both of these. However, on my skin, Black Opal morphs into a posh perfume, with a side of...wet, metallic rocks. It sounds strange, but it's very lovely. And unique. I also get a touch of melon. When it dries down, it smells like...well, something I can't describe, except that it's soft and pretty and powdery and innocent. This is a soft scent, but every time I think it's gone, it'll rise up again. This is wonderful--thanks for this scent, Beth and the lab!

On me, the peach really shines in this blend--it's almost a single note. It's sparkly and bright; fruity and sweet. This is lovely and gentle--it would be perfect on a young girl, and is one of those soft perfumes you could wear around people who don't like strong scents.

This is very posh and masculine. It's dry and woodsy, with a drydown of incense and leather. I like this on me, but it would be very sexy on a man.

More than any other BPAL I've tried, this reminds me of a generic "male cologne" scent. At least at first. Then it dries into something totally sophisticated and elegant. Very refined, almost cold. A beautiful, ice-queen scent.

Why do I smell rose in this? Rose with an underlying sweet myrrh resin? Very strange. This must be a strange skin chemistry thing; sorry this isn't very helpful! I'm guessing frankincense turns rosy on my skin.

This is a very pretty, delicate, light floral. I wish I got more of the black currant, but on me this is mostly jasmine. It's not overbearing, though. This is nice, but not "me." Off to swaps.

(This reminds me very much of Zephyr--in fact, is there sandalwood in this? Something's going powdery--in a good way!--on my skin.) I love sweet pea, and I wish there was more in here--this is mostly sage on me. Still, this is a very pretty, very sophisticated blend. It's slightly floral, slightly herbal, with a base of sweetness. Not sure if I'll get a bottle, but I'll enjoy the imp.

This scent is very disconcerting to me, because it blends so well with my own skin, yet it seems slightly sinister to me. Hmm. At first, sweet honey and something golden. Then, the herbs/myrrh come out--this is very sophisticated. At drydown, it's very hard for me to distinguish the scent from my own skin. It smells like me. And, like I said, I'm not sure I want this to be my scent. (Anubis, the god, scares me a bit. Although my spirit animal is coyote, so maybe I need to explore this more.) Not very helpful, huh?