badseed1980

Oh, this was a TOTAL WIN. A friend was selling some of her BPALs, and I called dibs on this one. I love orange blossom (fell in love with Vixen last summer), and have no issues with sandalwood in general. I didn't have much experience with champaca, though I know it's often a component of nag champa incense, about which I have mixed feelings. The sweet incense note of the champaca is sharpened a bit by the bright orange blossom, and given some backbone by the sandalwood. Is it a little bit hippie-ish? Maybe? But overall, the blend is elegant and delightful--a perfect warm weather perfume.

Hadn't worn this one in a long time.The initial scent for me when I sniff the imp is very much that cherry-like almond scent. On me, as it dries, it turns oddly...peachy? I almost thought I'd accidentally picked up my imp of Tamora! It's weird, I don't get any of the cardamom or myrrh. Saffron is a distant whisper. It's just really very fruity. Pleasant, but perplexing!

This past summer, I was looking for some warm-weather scents, and in the middle of my browsing, I saw Horses listed. It didn't sound like a warm-weather scent, but I knew from the description that I needed to check it out. I've sometimes been disappointed when I've bought scents based on the imagery evoked in the description/inspiration on the website. Sometimes I lean too heavily on that, and don't look closely enough at the notes to think about whether they'd actually create a scent that could work for me. In this case, though, I looked at the notes too. Amber is my absolute go-to. Beeswax? I love it, and love honey notes in the scents where I have them. Fire? Hmm. Could be anything. Could be interesting. I did something unusual for me, committing to a whole bottle of something I'd never smelled because imps weren't available. I'm glad I did. This perfectly matches the description and the scent works so well for me. On me, this scent is hot and dry, lightly sweet and slightly sharp--like woodsmoke even though it doesn't smell like woodsmoke. To me, it's a bonfire on one of those winter nights that's cold and crystalline and dry, breathing in wisps of smoke and feeling the flames warm your skin.

I got an imp of this as part of an order that was a quest to find some good summer scents. In the imp: huh, it's a perfume. I don't get a lot of differentiation of notes in here. Nice enough. There's some musky, floral stuff going on, that's about all I can tell. On me: Oh. Wow. Those flowers are leaping out now. I'm getting what I know to be ylang ylang, which I love in general, but there's something about it--an almost fruity creaminess I'm not used to from pure ylang ylang that almost makes me think of gardenia. And there's a skin musk in there that makes me think a bit of Sed Non Satiata. I feel like I put it into the same category with that scent. It's warm, sexy, but not seductive-sexy. To me, it's cuddling naked after sex with a long-time partner on a warm afternoon with the windows open to let in the smell of flowers. I could see this being My Summer Scent. I adore it. I want a bottle.

When I first put this on, it was mostly sandalwood with some lemongrass. After about 15 minutes or so, the rose has started to come out, making the whole thing a little more rounded. All I can think of is, "I smell like a hippie." Not a head shop hippie, but a Whole Foods hippie. A yoga class hippie. I have in my mind this little spa with hot tubs and massage therapy in Northampton, MA where my husband and I have gone on dates. I smell like I belong there. This is very much NOT a scent for me to wear in general, but I think it would make a marvelous scent to add to a massage oil or a bath when I just want to relax and pretend that I AM, in fact, at that little spa and that I have time for things like going on dates on the other side of the state.

I tried an old imp of this (from the amber imp pack) today, as I'm working my way through old stuff I never wear to see how I like it. The description sounded just lovely, but I was really disappointed. Wet, I got mostly sandalwood. It was a rather sharp sandalwood, but the edges of it softened pretty quickly with the amber, and I got a bit of the rose. Oh, nice! Not my favorite, but not bad at all. But then, gradually, the rose got more and more obnoxiously present until it really overwhelmed the sandalwood and amber. While I've been known to wear a little rose, it's usually a sweeter and more powdery rose (think a culinary rosewater scent). This was a much more perfume-y rose that just did not work on me. It's a scent for rose-lovers, not one for amber-lovers--at least, as it behaves on my skin. Boo.

So this is my review of this scent from six years ago. I don't think I ever touched the imp again after that, until today. Today, I have tried it again. The peach is still the most obvious, in-your-face note up front, but I'm getting a bit more of the amber and sandalwood, with a whisper of the heliotrope. It no longer seems to have the same longevity that it did six years ago, as after only 30 minutes or so, it's faded significantly. I'm finding it very pleasant, though, and may consider wearing it more often this summer. It no longer strikes me as cloying, and it seems better balanced.

When someone compared this to Habanita, I was excited. That's my favorite non-BPAL perfume. Like most people, I'm finding that in the imp, the leather is really prominent. It also seems that my skin amps leather, as I'm not getting a lot of other distinct notes as I wear it. I do like it, but I'm not getting the orange blossom or other florals or the amber, really. There's enough other scent to take the edge off the leather, and make more pleasant than a pure-leather note, but nothing that adds a lot of character of its own. There isn't a lot of throw on me. It's OK, but not one I'm going to want in a full bottle. EDIT: OK, I just realized I reviewed this...FOURTEEN YEARS AGO. OMG. I have had the imp that long? I just...wow. Or maybe I got another imp at some point? Anyway, yeah, my opinion hasn't changed!

I have had an imp of this for several years, but never really used it. I just gave it a try at the recommendation of some lovely folks here on the forum. I'm so sad, though--it's not doing anything for me. I'm actually thinking of washing it off. I tend to love BPAL amber scents, and two that this one has been compared to--O and Haunted--are scents that really work well for me. But somehow, this one is just striking me as very heavy and unpleasant. I can detect some good notes in there, but they're all wrapped up in stuff that is not very nice. It's weird because I'm someone whose favorite non-BPAL perfume is Habanita by Molinard, which is an extremely old-fashioned scent, and I really don't mind a bit of sharpness in some perfumes. On me, though, Brisingamen is unpleasantly sharp, sour, and old-fashioned. It reminds me of some old perfume bottles my grandmother had--ones she bought for the vintage bottles rather than for the perfume, which she never wore. I can get a BIT of the spicy dusty sweetness that other people mention, but it's only a trace, and so fleeting while the rest of the scent lingers. It's possible this might eventually fade into something wearable on me, though. Now, interestingly, I was going to get up and wash it off when I was done writing this review, but it's almost like it heard my thought, and it may in fact just be starting to transform into something a bit more mellow and wearable. OK, Brisingamen, I'll give you a little while longer and maybe sniff some coffee beans before I sniff my wrist again. EDIT: Nope, sorry. it's not happening. The offensive smell toned down after a while, but never turned into something I really liked. I ended up washing it off and replacing it with Haunted, which is SO MUCH nicer on my skin.

Thanks everyone, so much, for your suggestions! I think the recommendation to look in the forums for imps to buy of the scents that aren't offered as imps is a great idea. I am always hesitant to commit to a full bottle of an untested scent (Horses is an exception, as it sounds like pure perfection in my mind, and I've also bought full bottles where money goes to nonprofits I support). I've tried a few of the ones suggested here (#93 Engine is one I really like). I actually have an imp of Brisengamen (got the amber imp pack a long time ago), and should probably give it a serious try. It's been a long time since I did anything but sniffed the bottle. Womb Fury sounds awesome. Inez is one I was considering ordering. You've all given me some stuff to think about, and I appreciate it!

I haven't placed a BPAL order in YEARS, but I'm finding that I am starting to wear perfume more again now that I'm working from home. Pretty much all my favorite scents are things I feel are more cool-weather scents, or just plain heavy-sexy. I do a LOT of amber and musk. I need to find something that is summery, but MY summer, not everyone else's summer. Stuff I currently love: Bien Loin d'Ici Sed Non Satiata Palmyra O (but it can be a little sweet) Snake Oil The Lion (but it can be a little cinnamon-heavy) non-BPAL: Habanita by Molinard, and a solid perfume from Hawaii that smells like tiare flower. I vaguely recall a very bitter-green-warm solid perfume I had in college that was fig and neroli. It was not at all fruity fig, but a green fig. (Strangler fig is nice enough, but there's not much THERE there for me). In my cart now: Horses, Lyonesse, Morocco, La Petite Morte. I don't do great with really rose-heavy scents, fruity stuff, or wine scents. I love stuff that is WARM rather than cool. Sun-soaked. I love white ginger. Pele is nice but again, it kind of disappears into a generic wisp of shampoo or something on me. I can wear jasmine and ylang-ylang well, but they are often really heavy. I can wear gardenia-like scents. I'm having trouble thinking of other florals I like. Most resins and ambers and musks work nicely on me. My skin amps honey something fierce, and it can get really thick and heavy unless it has more heavy stuff backing it up. I would LOVE some help finding a summer scent!

Wow, I am getting NONE of the ginger or the heat in this one! From bottle to dry, over four hours, it's basically just a rather approachable floral. Nothing particularly sensual about it, nothing warm or spicy. The musk is really keeping its head down for me, just providing a slightly earthy backdrop to the florals. It's not at all unpleasant. It's enjoyable enough, but I'm not in love with it.

I wasn't sure which of the notes was going to be most prominent in this after reading reviews, but for the first hour or so, it was all sweet, sweet peach. It was a very sticky-sweet peach, sort of a wet peach, not quite as warm and golden as the smell of the actual fruit (which I happened to bring to work today as a snack, so it's easy to compare). It wasn't unpleasant to have a whiff of it, but wearing it, especially since it has a lot of throw, it began to cloy pretty quickly. Finally now, after an hour and a half, I'm starting to be able to get some of that amber and sandalwood, and the sweet fruit is fading. It's actually becoming reasonably enjoyable, but I am not going to buy a full-size bottle of it when it annoys me for the first hour or so that I wear it. It's not what I was hoping for. Too bad!

Oh dear. I put this one on, and had to wipe it off with alcohol. It doesn't smell BAD, exactly, but...it made me smell like a Yankee candle. I would have at least waited for the drydown to see if it got any better, but I'm going out to dinner tonight with my husband and friends, and I don't want to take the chance that I'll smell like a Yankee candle during dinner! I put on my Sed Non Satiata instead. (Incidentally, this time, I got some of the "peanut butter" notes, but I think they're fading.)

I got this as part of the Amber Imp Pack. From the time I put it on about 2.5 hours ago until now, I've noticed very little change in the scent. I'm surprised when I see people calling it "soft and gentle." On me, it is "HELLO, AMBER AND SPICE HERE. LOTS AND LOTS OF AMBER AND SPICE. DO YOU LIKE AMBER AND SPICE? BECAUSE WE HAVE LOTS." Actually, now that I sniff again, the spice--a very powerful cinnamon to my nose--has been outpaced by the amber. The amber here is very hot and sweet and potent. I think this scent could work very well for a confident, sensual person of any gender. I like it well enough, but I feel like it doesn't have the kind of nuance and subtlety I want in an everyday perfume.