milo

Hmm, I thought this was lilies or jasmine, as I get a very heady floral. Much too heady, must be the sweet pea. After it dries a bit, it changes somewhat powdery, which saves this blend somewhat for me, but not enough. I wish I got the carnation. Off to swaps.

First sniff on wet: Cake and Vetiver? Must be the coconut and patchouli. The strong coconut fades pretty quickly, but this blend is still pretty sweet. I find it kind of an odd combination, sweet foody patchouli. The name suits this blend well, but definitely not for me.

The perfect vanilla mint. In the imp, this seems a bit more foody vanilla than Tokyo Stomp, like there is a bit of cake thrown in with the vanilla mint. On, this is pretty much Monsterbait Tokyo Stomp, maybe a bit more vanilla-y, and the mint may be a tad different, though I can't find my TS to compare. It does seem to fade pretty fast on me, however, though I still like this blend. I'll enjoy this in the summer for sure! eta: I found my TS, and while they are similar I would say that the vanilla and mint are two different versions. Kind of like fraternal twins if that makes any sense. TS is the more adventurous minty, and SB is the laid back foodier blend. Love them both!!

My imp only says "Black Tower", but I couldn't find any scent descriptions of the same name, so I'm assuming this is just a typo on the lab imp. Wet, this is a winey incense blend. Dry, the wine disappears, and we're left with incense. I have plenty of these types of blends, some better than this, so I'm sure I'll just enjoy the imp.

This is a spicy blend, most dominated by the cassia. I also get some sassafras in there, but not sure if it is listed. I think that is what is ruining this blend for me, because I like all the other notes. Sassafrass sometimes smells "dirty" to me, and this is no exception. Off to swaps.

To think I wasn't going to bother with this one! Fruits (especially tropical) are quite often a big miss, as with sweet pea. So glad I did, as this is turning out to be a lovely surprise love for me. Wet, this is creamy vanilla with a touch of apple and some florals. The apple disappears after awhile, and we're left with a delicious, creamy floral, with maybe a lingering apple scent. The notes that I love in this blend, the carnation, vanilla, tonka, and probably sugar cane are amping, and the ones I don't, the fruit and sweet pea, are behaving themselves. That being said, this reminds me a lot of "A Mouse's Long and Sad Tale". So happy I did get a bottle, but wishing I got more, so greedy that I am!! A lovely thing for the lab to do to commemorate 5 years!

Mmm, this is spice, spice, spice!! Ginger, cinnamon, and all the good stuff. There is a touch of herbal, but it very quickly fades on me, which was only slightly unpleasant while it was there. I was afraid of the brown sugar, as Sugar Skull was a big fail on me. The brown sugar just balances out the spice so it is not so overpowering and adds a sweet dimension. Wet, I got a bit of chocolate, but unfortuneately, it is gone dry. I think I'll layer this with a bit of Gelt to see how it is. Hopefully the chocolate will come out with a bit of age, but all and all, I am very impressed with my first 13, and I love it!!!

VERY nice man scent. I have a hard time picking out notes for the guys, but this is very sexay. I slather when I review, and I really did not need to do so with this one, only a dab'll do. This is a freshly washed guy in a great suit, not rugged as a previous poster said. The only note I can identify is lavender, one of my faves, and it is slightly sweet. I won't be wearing it, but I'll pass it on to my so.

This was frimped to me, and I do not see any number. In the imp, it is coconutty, with a bit of wood and a touch of floral. On me, the notes stick around for awhile in that order, then the woods take over with some added warmth, which I'm guessing is the coconut taking the background. This kind of reminds me of Death Adder a bit, without the snake oil, and more wood. Overall, it is just a little too perfumey for me (some woods tend to do that to me), and I'll most likely pass this one on.

I didn't really like this in the imp, but on it is a very pretty springlike floral. I'm not a floral fan, especially of lilies, but I'm not really getting the headiness of lilies. This is light, fresh and green, I'm guessing this is the crocus, as I haven't smelled that note before, except for the actual flower. I like this, and will enjoy the imp, especially when it gets a bit more like spring around here!

This is very strange, I get vetiver, vetiver, vetiver and more (you get the picture!). I little while later, something vinegarry, then poof it's gone (?) This is a homemade frimp, so maybe it's not what it says. Anyways, I get no fig, currants, herbs..

Yes, this is definitely peach and I get the Peach Cooler comparison. It also smells like peach sours, and juicy fruit gum a bit. I could imagine a 13 year old wearing this and loving it, but this is NOT me.

Initial impressions, this is fruit and licorice. In the imp it was a bit too fruity, and I'm actually surprised that it is cherry, as we normally don't get along AT ALL. On, the licorice and red musk come out to play, so the cherry is not all that offensive to me. This is 'OK', but a little too sweet for me.

I really like this. It's like a "bad" dark pumpkin, with the musk, although there is a definite sweet spiciness about it too. I get a butter right away, that kind of fades after a bit. The incense comes out to play after an hour or so. The end result is an incensey, musky, slightly spicy sweet pumpkin. I likes it, and will treasure this decant. eta: Another hour later, and this is "Perverted Pumpkin" aka a variation of Perversion, with a bit more spice. I love even more *swoon*.

I had difficulty picking out the notes in this one, I just knew that I liked it. So peeking, I see that opium is the main note, something that I have recently discovered and enjoy very much. I get the smoky, spicy opium, and a touch of floral, which is probably the orchid. This is not as strong as I'd like it to be however, and fades quite quickly as well. While this is 'OK' I will just keep the imp for now.

This is watered down cologne to me. Fake floral with a bit of musk. Not for me. *sigh*

Wet, this is a old fashioned cologne, perhaps an Avon brand? I had to wash it off, as it was much too strong and overpowering for me. It has gotten smokier, but the perfumey vibe is still there. This one is off to swaps.

Mmm, red musk and berry are the first impressions of this lovely blend. I did not know it was strawberry, though. Normally I don't like strawberry, but this blends very well with the red musk, and it doesn't smell "little girl like" at all, which I find strawberry can sometimes do. This kind of reminds me of a cross between Schezerade and Snake Charmer, only fruitier. This would be a great "summer" red musk blend. I really like this a lot, and I foresee a bottle purchase very soon.

I have never tried a note with red wine listed, so I was really looking forward to this one. Wet, and the first 10 minutes or so, this is a very alcoholic red wine with a touch of spice. I'm really not liking it so far. After 10 minutes or so, the alcohol note is taking a background and all the glorious spices are coming out. I can't pick them out specifically, but it smells like a warm, spicy apple cider, only with berries instead of apple. I really like this, and I'll bet this ages very well. I am very glad the "boozy" note didn't last. While I like drinking red wine, I don't want to smell like a winery. Extremely nice blend, well done Beth!

So I was wishing to try more scents with opium in them, and lo and behold this landed on my doorstep (literally), well in my mailbox, I guess. So it smells to me like opium is actually incense, or the other way around. You learn something every day in the wide world of bpal! I love incense, which is a good thing, and opium poppy fits the bill very nicely, a heady, fragrant, sexy scent. Well at least I know now where to get my incense fix when my Midnight on the Midway, Midnight Mass, and other blends run out.

... Their scent is the crisp, inviting bittersweet tang of cranberry with smoky dark lilies, heady, sensual musk, a tingle of ginger and a brush of Mediterranean spices. I didn't think I'd like this on, as it smelled extremely fruity in the imp. Fruit scents are probably a 50/50 win scenario for me. I do love some blends, but others can be a little too sweet and candylike to me. Though this is sweet, there is a delicious musky spice that is really quite wonderful. I had a hard time identifying the fruit, thinking it was orange when it really was cranberry. I difinitely can get the cranberry now that I know what it is, and though I like this blend, it is a tad too fruity for me. I really do like the musky spice, so I'll definitely keep the imp, and maybe enjoy this in the fall.

Wet, I get the honeysuckle everyone seems to be smelling. Dry, this is air-freshener floral on me, not nice at all. Eventually after a few hours, it is a faint, musky floral, but I am not waiting three hours for this. Off to swaps.

Wet, this really smells dirty and smoky, and not in a good way. Gradually, the patchouli takes over, and whatever smoke there was is now gone. The patchouli fades fast, but the opium I found interesting, even though I didn't like it in this oil. I'm wondering what opium would smell like in a more feminine blend. This is not really a win for me, but still, interesting. Does not last long at all. eta: 1 hour later, this has morphed into a sweet, smoky, musky incense blend. (pretty much one of my fave combinations) The patchouli has taken a back seat, and I'm liking this alot. If only it didn't take the hour to get to this stage, I'd get a bottle in an instant. Maybe age will cure this? Anyways, Silas deserves a second chance.

I was really interested in the wheat, so I got a decant. Unfortuneately, all I get is a honeyed rose, that fades to just rose. I tried washing this off, but man is it a strong one. If you like rose, you'll probably like this.

Oh my gosh, an aquatic that I like, and only a dribble to try. Kind of a good news/bad news scenario. This smells so awesome in the imp, like most aquatics do for me, but most change into yuk on my skin. This one however stays true, and I'm thinking maybe it's the amber that's holding the aquatic note in check. My skin (and me too), love amber, so I finally find an aquatic, but a fleeting one. eta 20 minutes later: Oops, there it goes, the aquatic has turned on me. Blast it anyways, there is the cheap hairspray smell now. So sad.