backwards8

My coworkers are mostly male, computer geek types, who wouldn't notice if I hacked off half of my hair and dyed it orange. I had been wearing BPAL scents for months with no comments, when all of a sudden I started hearing "Is it you that smells so good?" and "What scent are you wearing? You should wear that all the time!" The scents in question: Morocco and Black Opal.

A slightly woodsy and light green Snake Oil. After it dries, it doesn't smell very different from Snake Oil on me, apart from being a little less intense. I'll definitely be finishing my decant but I think I'd rather stock up on the original Snake Oil and the other snakes that I love so much (and are completely different from SO on me) instead.

In the imp: Very green and floral but I can't pick out individual notes. Wet: Hello bergamot! My skin chemistry amps lemony scents like crazy, usually fading out everything else but here I can detect some musky, flower action going on in the background. Dry: Still lemony but the ginger has kicked in, the florals are softer, and there's a little bit of sweet vanilla peeking through, which my skin is loving. Overall: Not much throw but it's a lovely, fresh scent that I'll definitely be needing a bottle of.

Oh Morocco, my new love. Sweet, creamy and sexy. This scent stays very close to my skin with not too much throw but I just want to bathe in it. This is what I wanted Snake Oil to smell like on me - warm, sensuous vanilla and musk, swirling with spices. I'll definitely need a few bottles of this one!

A play of geological darkness and jagged brilliance. Soft and luminescent with flashes of black fire. Black Opal is like chilled vanilla-infused water poured over smooth black rocks. I love geology and I love vanilla, so I'm completely in love with this one. A very clean, non-foody vanilla scent that lasts all day on me and has earned a place in my top 10.

Queen Mab is one classy lady. Seductive yet understated, sexy but not sultry, and very soft. I feel like I need to wear a skirt with this one, or dress up and put on some heels. I'm not good at describing florals but this one is gorgeous on me. A good scent to wear when you just want to feel confident, feminine and pretty without necessarily attracting too much attention.

Hello magnolia. Lush is definitely a good word to describe this one. A very heady floral scent with a hint of spice. I didn't put more on than I usually do when testing a scent but it definitely felt as if I had bathed in it. I had no trouble smelling this on me all day (and the next) and I kept feeling paranoid that people could smell me from across the street, so strong the scent was on me. Definitely not a scent for work - very overwhelming and it made me feel slightly headachy, not to mention that I was afraid that my coworkers would complain about how strong I smelled. I love the smell, but I think Hell's Belle might be too much of a belle for me. Maybe I'll try diluting it - or, if that fails, use it as a room scent.

Oh fig, where are you? Nothing but cypress for me, both in the imp and on me. I keep sniffing my arm to see if anything else will show up to sweeten this scent on me, but the cypress hangs on. This is a very green, earthy smell to me, kind of wet and leafy. Alas, this one goes in the swap pile.

In the imp: It's a very sharp peachy smell, like Peach Schnapps, with a bit of amber in the background. On me: As it dries, it loses the sharpness and the vanilla comes out. It reminds me of O mixed with a bit of peach. I usually like anything that has a hint of vanilla, but amber and I are still getting to know each other. Like O, I think I'll have to give Tamora a few more tries before I decide if it's for me or not.

In the imp: Intense mint and eucalyptus. There's also a hint of something fruity. I want to say apple or honeydew melon, but neither seems quite right. It reminds me a bit of the apple-mint gum I tried while in Japan, an experience I do not care to repeat. On me: A bit less eucalyptus, more fruit and mint. I'm not sure what lotus smells like but if this is it, then I'm not a fan. Very strong - it's making me feel congested and slightly sick. Two hours later: Holy disappearing act. There's still something vaguely fruity but the mint is all gone. Not unpleasant but not something I want to smell like. Overall: Definitely not for me. I thought that since I'm a Pisces, I should try at least one aquatic, but I think I'll leave the water to the fish for now.

I love pomegranates, so I was prepared to love Persephone as well. Alas, I can't smell the pomegranate at all, either in the imp or on me. On me, it smells a lot like roses, which wouldn't be so bad if there wasn't also an edge of old rose water and nail polish remover to it. Slightly bitter and a bit overwhelming. Another nay from my body chemistry. I'm disappointed I couldn't get the pomegranate but I'll try to pass it on to someone else and maybe they'll be luckier with this scent.

When I woke up this morning, the cicadas were singing and the air was already heavy with humidity. I could tell that until the heavy thunder clouds looming in the distance took pity on us, it would be a sweltering hot day. What better day to try Dirty? In the imp, it definitely smells clean but also very strong, almost like laundry detergent or dryer sheets, the ones with ambitious names like "Morning Mist" or "Mountain Spring". Undeterred, I liberally applied it, knowing that sweat has a tendency of making perfume oils vanish on me. Wet, it's still very strong but I can now detect a faint, pleasant floral note to it. As it dries, I get that lovely scent of clean laundry put out to dry in the sun and it warms on my skin and becomes much softer. Throughout the day, when the wind is kind enough to favour us with a breeze, I can catch a whiff of the scent on me and even though I have sweat trickling down my neck, I still feel fresh and clean. Now, several hours later, smelling my wrist brings back memories of cuddling in a pile of fresh laundry that my mom has just brought in from outside, that same laundry that's been out in the sun all day and is still warm. I just want to envelop myself in the comfort of it. Overall, a beautiful scent. Comfortable, calming and clean. Definitely going on the 5 ml bottle wishlist.

I would love to find a BPAL that matches Allure as well. I got a big bottle of the EDP 3 years ago and since then, I've polished off a bottle a year. It lasts forever on me without turning to alcohol and I always get tons of comments from people (and by people, I mean MEN) about how good I smell. It's such a wonderful mix of floral, vanilla, and a little spice, but so, so pricey. I bought an imp of Hell's Belle because of the similar notes it has with Allure but I found that it smells only like oleander and magnolia on me - very heavy floral. I've got Alice on my list for the next set of imps that I'm going to order!

I'm looking for a spicy vanilla - not too sweet but more like a cup of vanilla chai tea. I tried Snake Oil but it smelled too much like incense. O smells too much like honey. Misk U is lovely but more caramel and coffee. From the description - "dark, sugared vanilla tea" - Dorian might be a contender, but the "fougere and three pale musks" concerns me. Any suggestions?

I knew from the description of this oil that I would love it since it contains 3 of my favourite things: books, irish cream and coffee. In the imp: Buttery irish cream with a hint of coffee. On me: Less irish, but more caramel and a stronger coffee smell. Yummy! I couldn't stop smelling my wrist. After about an hour, it loses the caramel and becomes more oaky, still with the coffee in the background. Smells like curling up with an old leather-bound book in a dark corner of a library. Very comforting smell. This one definitely goes on the bottle list. I think it'll be a lovely winter scent.