Elf

[yakiguri]

Pale golden musk, honeycomb, amber, parma violet, hawthorne bark, aspen leaf, forest lily, life everlasting, white moss, and a hint of wild berry.

I had such high hopes for Elf (especially since both Mr. Elf and I enjoy them, obviously) but all I get is super-soapy berries with a drop of herbs to make it slightly crunchy. On my skin Elf smells more like a bubbly tween with Herbal Essences in her hair than an ancient race of forest dwellers. :/

[theseagrows]

for some reason, i expected this to be way less fruity, but apparently my skin is amping the berries and not much else. this pretty much smells like a fizzy pineapple on my skin-pineapple with a bit of zingy effervescence. maybe it's honey + violet + wild berry that i'm smelling. i'm not sure. at any rate, this is too sweet/fruity for my personal tastes.

Edited September 6, 2014 by theseagrows

[claudia6913]

Unfortunately this is just straight up soap on me. Nice soap, but strong and well ... soapy.

[JazzieCazzie]

Received a boatload of RPG frimps in a recent purchase from the Lab, and this was one of them -- the last one of the series for me to review.

 

IN THE IMP: Woodsy and nose-ticklingly evergreen.

 

Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm.

 

WET: Sooooo very very very green. I'm getting the aspen in huge doses, the moss, and the berries. And ... that's all. NONE of the other notes are even slightly present for me at this point ...

 

DRYDOWN: ... or at this point either. It's very clean and soapy, like an ad for Irish Spring. There is also an unplaceable note for me but whatever it is, that I can't put my finger on, it's definitely not the amber, honeycomb (sniff, I really was psyched about that!) or musk. There is a very odd berry juiciness that I actually quite like (berries are usually dealbreaking notes for me), almost as if the berries were steeped in men's cologne. But good men's cologne.

 

OVERALL: If I was blind-testing this, I would be unable to pick out any notes other than the green ones BUT I think I'd IMMEDIATELY know that it was an RPG scent. It really captures this feeling of being in an otherworldly forest, hidden away with all sorts of interesting characters. That said, as a scent, I like it but I don't love it. It will go into the swap box.

 

On a scale of 1-5, a 3. Just not for me.

[boomtownrat]

This was a frimp from the Lab. Unfortunately, I got too queasy to make it past the wet phase. Other kinds of violet and lily notes have given me a similar feeling, but I took a risk. I had to wash it off.

[virusq]

Sooooooap. I tried, Elf. I tried. I wanted you to be so good. So green and woodsy. I even overlooked the amber and violet to give you a shot, because, clearly, you'd smell better on skin than in the bottle, right? Please? No? Sigh.

 

On my skin, Elf is very soapy. Well, more clean and crisp than hotel soap, to be fair, but that's what amber does on me. The musk and honeycomb are probably what smooth it out, but I don't get the warmth and creaminess I expect from honeycomb and musk. It's just sharp. The violets are the next thing I can detect, since BPAL's violet amps on me LIKE WOAH. But it's also cut down with something more gentle and breezy; either the lily or aspen. Probably the aspen, because it reminds me a bit of Yggdrasil. Unfortunately, I don't have any more of the more grounding scents I had hoped for.

 

This will probably move on to my sister, who likes the green woody smells, and then off to the swap shelf. Ah well.

Edited July 25, 2013 by virusq

[mymymai]

ITB: It smells like woods and juniper berries. I love clean green scents and this is one of them so far.

 

Wet: Aspen leaves, juniper berries, hawthorne trees with a thick blanket of moss underneath.

 

Dry: It's woodsy, musky, sweet, and slightly floral. Most of the notes of melded together, but it's a beautiful combination.

[brilliantcat]

I'm another one of those people who adore elves in fantasy literature, movies, gaming, anything and everything. I almost always play elven characters when gaming and since I game almost constantly, that's added up to a lot of elven characters I am very close to. In the imp, it's very... pretty and smells like a high-end soap. On me, I get more of a sense of the woods and some ethereal quality that does mesh with the usual grace associated with elves. I'm not sure how I feel about this. It seems too floral to me. I get some slighly astringent woodsiness, more a feel than a scent really, along with a bit of sweetness, and what I think might be juniper? It still gives me the ephemeral feel of elves but is too one-dimensional, at least on me. I feel like I'm missing a lot of the notes though and what I do get isn't agreeing with my skin.

[Mokiefraggle]

Frimp from my Miskatonic Philharmonic purchase. I've been eyeballing the RPG collection for a while now (I'm a gamer nerd; how could I not?), and this was definitely one that I'd been considering strongly, so I was happy to dive right in.

 

In the Imp: lightly green, with something sweet just...slightly left of center. It's not really under the green, just not quite as straight-on as it. Light hint of fruit, tiny bit of sweet, light traces of the waxy scent of beeswax before it's burned. The green isn't herbal or sharp, but the sort of clean scent of forest air in late spring. Pleasant, airy, and a bit fluttery. I could just as easily have seen this scent dubbed "Nymph" or "Pixie", though I could see it fitting a wood elf. Certainly not a drow or blood elf, and it might be a bit flighty for all high elves, but definitely forest-like.

 

On my skin: the sweetness perks up, but doesn't get cloying or heavy. The berries are there, the flowers are pale and soft--especially the violet, which I've noticed can be a bit in-your-face in some blends--and the green remains springtime light. The honey is much softer and is only a light sweetness compared to the only other honey scent I've yet tried; it's not at all a foody honey, nor is it a rich, sexy honey. It's...well, it's all very much springtime.

 

Dry: this fades a bit quickly, and goes to primarily a fresh skin scent with traces of honeycomb, berries, and a light whiff of green forest air and flowers. Very close to the skin and gentle, definitely a spring scent.

 

I'm keeping it! This is definitely on the bottle list, though I have so many on that list that I don't know when I'll get around to it! It's sweet, clean, and fresh, doesn't get overpowering or cloying in its flowers and honey, and it's overall just a very nice, feminine scent. I could definitely do with a few more of those, to counterbalance my fondness for thick, sweet, resinous scents. Can't smell like a Renaissance Faire every day, after all.

[kajacana]

I'm surprised by all the negative reviews because on me this is so pretty!

I get a LOT of aspen from the bottle. On my skin, it's like sweet berries with the faintest background of violet, all over top of something that smells like a forest in late spring. It's light and ethereal and just really gorgeous. I don't think it smells soapy as others have said, but it is a very clean smell. Kind of reminds me of the scent that's left behind after you've washed your hair with some kind of fruity/floral shampoo.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - A sharp musk and sappy green florals

 

Wet on me - A sharp woodsy musk with tart berries just beginning to come through

 

Dry on me - It disappeared on my skin

 

Overall - Just got eaten by my skin

[tinyvulture]

At first: warm golden musk, red berries, and a forest note that my amateur sniffer identifies as pine, but which must be hawthorn bark or aspen leaf. These notes together make me think of Yules, like Mistletoe and Skadi. I can't pick out any violet, moss, or honeycomb, and I'm not sure what life everlasting smells like.

 

After 5 minutes: the woodsy note is gone, now it's all berries (sweet/sour/fruity) and honey. Sort of reminds me of Florence. Strong and bright, a happy, youthful blend.

[Erinofhere]

I too get soap. It's very pretty smelling Juniper soap...But it's still just soap on my skin

 

[Aviatrix]

There is a whole lot of notes going on here, but I'll try and distinguish as best I can!

 

At first, it has a rather soapy quality to it that I don't like. The violet is also strong at this stage.

But as it dries, it mellows, and I get more of each individual note; there is sweetness from the berries, snuggliness from the musk, greenness from the aspen and the hawthorne, and a floral edge as well. It's a very clean, fresh and magical forest blend that makes me envision fairy lights and long shadows in summer woods with fireflies fluttering about. Very fitting for an Elf scent!

 

Overall, it was a surprise hit for me, as the initial stage wasn't to my liking. If you find it too soap-like, give it a little more time!

[lizardqueen]

Sweet berry-misted Christmas trees! I can't pick out any particular notes beyond that: evergreen woods with a hint of berries. It's warm and sweet and green and just lovely.

[RockstarGirl]

When it was wet, the only thing I got was "Vick's Vapo-Rub." However, I've learned not to judge a scent before its drydown.

 

Once Elf was dry, I smelled woodsy-leafy-foresty with a slight fruity note (the wild berry, I'm guessing.)

 

A couple of hours in, I smelled slightly fruity amber, which eventually became pure amber. Which I am perfectly happy with, as my skin loves amber, and amber loves my skin, as it will last for hours on me - which is impressive because my skin eats lots of scents.

[Morsigne925]

Wet/Imp: Smells like freshness, if that is a good descriptor. Vaguely lemony, vaguely like irish spring but not as obviously perfumey

 

Drying: I reallllllly like this one, even without layering with anything else. Will do an edit later with it layered, maybe. It smells a bit like an old B&BW scent I used to like, but not as ridiculously strong and much nicer in general, the lemon verbena or something like that. I'm really curious to see how this layers with other RPG scents, this is the first of that line I have reviewed, and I already love where this is going. As time goes it smlls very pretty, like a fresh morning.

[BoneBone24]

Wet: Purple flowers with sweet herbs. Fresh and clean.

 

Drydown: I smell berries and evergreen trees, both of which are tempered nicely by dreamy flowers. There’s a touch of waxy creaminess, from the honeycomb no doubt. There's a bit of a glimmer of gold in there too.

 

Dry: Dreamy and woodsy. Mainly a berry-sweetened floral, but with a complex and shimmering base of green and gold and white.

 

 

 

I think this one will layer well - It has a "plays nicely with others" vibe.

 

6.5 out of 10 bones

[AgriaTheWild]

I LOVE THIS. It smells like a magic forest. I definitely need a bottle.

 

wet: mostly pine. a bit of sweetness, maybe a citrus. definitely some amber.

dry down: the pine stays strong, the amber backs off, and there are some flowers coming through that i can't identify.

dry: still mostly pine, the other notes are just supporting. overall just really, really lovely.

[Raidho]

The imp I got of this a few months ago was musky in the way my then-favorite scent was, and delightfully green--the aspen hit hard for a glorious summer understory smell. The 5ml a friend just bought me for christimas smells sharp and waxy and I'm incredibly disappointed, as it's violently sharp while wet and smells like a lump of warm beeswax while drying. There are hints of the smell I fell in love with in there on the dry phase, but it's weak. I keep hoping some kind of magic will happen in the bottle but at this point...

[JuliskaMarie]

In the bottle: This is so well blended that it's actually really hard for me to pick out the individual notes! It smells like a clearing in a magical forest, but with no dominating "wood" scent (this is good for me, because most woods quickly turn to antiseptic on me!). Somewhere that elves would live, for sure!

Wet on skin: Different, but still so well blended that I can't really tell what's changed! It's warmer, slightly muskier, sweeter (the honeycomb & florals?), juicier (the berries?), richer & more solid. More like an actual elf up close now, rather than the forest where they live.

Dry on skin: Different again, but so gorgeous! Musky, sweet & woodsy, yet still somehow ethereal & light! Exactly what a Wood Elf should smell like!

After a few hours: A dusty (almost smells like sandalwood), golden, honeycomb-scented musk. Lighter than before, but so very pretty! Definitely Elf-like!

Verdict: This is one of my absolute favourite scents! I love it so much! It's gorgeous layered with "Good" as well - I need to experiment with other layers soon!

[squidhearts]

summary: I LOVE THIS I LOVE THIS I REALLY TRIED TO NOT LOVE IT.

 

So, background: I'm pretty passionate about my D&D. I also play dark male characters pretty much exclusively. I still miss the dread necro from 3.5, I really do. And there's nothing I hate more than showing up to a pick up game and not even getting to look through the pre-gen characters because the DM just hands me a sheet all, "so here's the healer elf princess." I swear, this has happened to me multiple times. So over the years, with my usual group, there's something of an in joke/tradition of my characters hating on elves. This slowly seeped into real life to a fascinating/weird degree.

 

Which is a needlessly long explanation for why I was like, "fah! an elf scent! why bother testing."

 

But eventually I did test it. Oh. Still--those dumb elves, man. Who cares about them and their themed scents!

 

Buuut--

 

Apparently I DO! I care! I care so much!

 

Elf is woodsy without being screaming medicinal evergreens, and without ever becoming sawdust. It's berries but never sickly sweet berries that remind you of girls dousing themselves in raspberry body mist in the locker room after soccer practice. It's clean without being soap--it's fresh and lovely and *perfect*.

 

This is the scent that singlehandedly taught me that I like golden amber, when I was very anti-amber before on the grounds that it smelled too perfumey/powdery on my skin.

 

I blew through my frimp. It's not so much that I wear this scent on my skin during the day, though sometimes I do, and it has a discreet throw but good staying power. The thing about this scent, for me, is that somehow...it's the scent in all THREE of my scent lockets*. It's consistently what I want to get whiffs of during the day. I find something about Elf incredibly, consistently soothing. It's the only scent I'll sometimes wear at night, just a dab on my wrist so I can curl around and press my nose into my arm to smell it.

 

Anyway, eventually I accepted that I'm a filthy elf loving traitor and got a big bottle. It's a little sharper than my first frimp, possibly just because it's so new, but the scent settles into something very familiar to the scent I love, so I';m pretty sure this blend is going to mellow beautifully with age. Life everlasting smells delicious.

 

*my three non BPTP scent lockets, since they're impossible to buy and rare even on e bay. Plz fix, Puddin'?

[Shealynne]

I've had an interesting habit of just grabbing an imp out of my scents left to try and trying it blind, as I tend to forget the notes in each scent I have purchased.

Today this went very, very wrong. My skin chemistry and this blend refuse to cooperate.

Elf turns into old cat lady on me. I don't know how, but it is like they bottled this annoying old woman and then rubbed her on me. It will not disappear either. I have literally scrubbed at the one wrist I dabbed it on to sample with a sublime soap and it just refuses to budge.

[ziggystardust13]

So happy I got the opportunity to test Elf!

 

Out of the imp: oooh! Herbal, fresh, and a little sweet. Lovely so far!

Wet on skin: Evergreen (almost piney) and oh no... Soap?!

Dry down: the soap is gone! I've never had a soapy scent go UN soapy on me. Yay! Now I'm getting more of the sweetness and touch of berry. It's a light and uplifting scent. Slightly evocative of another scent I love in this category... Bewitched.

My husband's impression: smells like jelly beans! And now that he mentions it, it does. Lol

 

I will probably hold on to my imp. Don't think its bottle worthy for me since I now associate it only with jelly beans. Oh well

 

Edited to add: this dry down smells very much like Snow White!

Edited March 10, 2015 by ziggystardust13

[DevilsCandyCane]

This is so lovely, but I'm baffled by the listed notes! The main scent for me is a sort of forest-y pine-yness, a little like Jersey Devil, but in Elf it's so much warmer and softer and more complex. It's definitely a pretty wood, rather than a rugged forest - flowers and berries and sunlight here. It's a very calming, refreshing scent, outdoorsy but magical.

 

The honeycomb and amber I don't really get any of, at any stage, which is a little sad, and it does fade to nothing within about half an hour on me, so I suspect I'll never spring for a bottle. But I did grab 2 more imps, and will be using those often

 

I'm really blown away by the RPG scents in general - I'm not a gamer, particularly, so I never sought them out, but of the imps I've received, they've all been amazing, such gorgeous, fresh, gender-neutral, outdoorsy-but-magical things. And I think this is my favourite so far

Edited March 18, 2015 by DevilsCandyCane