Imp #30: Sin
"Thoroughly corrupted: amber, sandalwood, black patchouli and cinnamon."
Note: Middle of cycle. Imp from direct from the lab, but it's been sitting here a while.
In the bottle: Sandalwood comes out first, but I can detect the other scents as well, in a smooth flow. Warm, round, and a little spicy, this feels like a wintery scent to me.
On me: Amber and cinnamon dominate, while the sandalwood and patchouli fade into background supporting notes. It is somewhat foody, but also sensual. The black patchouli does not give the strong hippy patchouli note I feared. As it dries more, it is becoming more woodsy.
1 hour+ later: The scent has not really changed. It is still a delectable warm, spicy scent, with a woody background.
Imp #27: Whip
"Agony and ecstasy: black leather and damp red rose."
Note: Middle of cycle. Imp from littleone101701's sales.
In the bottle: Rose and more rose.
On me: The leather comes out as a base note and makes it more sophisticated. Still, the leather harmonizes and melds with the rose, making it very hard to distinguish the two notes as separate entities. This is an apple-sized red rose, fully open and heady on the vine.
1 hour+ later: At first I thought it was fading, fast, but then suddenly it wasn't. It has very good throw on me. I wouldn't have thought it possible, but this is a sultry floral.
Imp #8: Scherezade
"Saffron and Middle Eastern spices swirled through sensual red musk."
Note: End of cycle. Imp fresh from the Lab.
In the bottle: Definitely smells like insense. Do I detect the dreaded patchouli? Musky as well, I think.
On me: I definitely get what I would define as a perfumey feel out of this. Perhaps that is the reaction I have to red musk. I can't seem to pick out individual notes.
1 hour+ later: I am catching the spices & I think I can identify the saffron, though it is not as bitter as the mehndi on my left hand. At this point, a few hours later, I have lost the throw, but I like the scent.
Imp #29: Djinn
"An ancient, free-willed race created from the essence of Fire, much as man was created from Earth. They prowled the land at night, vanishing with the first rays of dawn. Myths surrounding the Djinn paint them as many things: benevolent champions of mankind and slaves to mad sorcerers, malicious incubi / succubi and energy vampires, or malevolent harbingers of madness and disease. The Djinn are ruled by Iblis, the Prince of Darkness, who bears unspeakable contempt for man. The scent of black smoke, of crackling flames, and smoldering ashes. "
Note: Middle of cycle. Imp from littleone101701's sales.
In the bottle: It doesn't seem particularly fiery. Woody, perhaps. Green sandalwood wet with oil, ready to light.
On me: A little smokier, dryer. Like a cedar sauna, with a hint of pine boughs. Nordic.
1 hour+ later: Dry cedar, light smoke and wet rose? Possibly some kind of sweeter incense? Myrrh perhaps? (I have no idea what that smells like.) It lasted strong for several hours, then dropped off almost completely just before I went to note the scent down, so that's making it tricky to describe. I think I get quenched iron in there as well, like the smell of a blacksmith shop, if the smith were working over a wood fire.
Imp #4: Anne Bonny
"A blend of Indonesian red patchouli, red sandalwood, and frankincense."
Note: Mid cycle. Imp fresh from the Lab.
In the bottle: It smells like salt-water soaked teak, the smell of a sailing ship!
On me: Knocked back a little -- mellowed. More feminine. Less patchouli. I like this red patchouli much better than the patchouli in Lust. I still get a whiff of the salt spray. It doesn't seem to have changed much at all, in general.
1 hour+ later: Same as when I first put it on. I like this very much, especially since I enjoy sailing.
[Edit] Anne Bonny has proven to me that it is entirely possible to have too much of a good thing. After liking it so much I applied more so that it wouldn't be just on my wrists, and OMG strong & headachey! It took a while to calm down, but by the end of the night it was back to happy pirateishness.
Imp #5: Sea of Glass
"Upon the Sea of Glass, glowing with the perfection of spiritual union and the radiance of true wisdom, rests the throne of God. A scent of inimitable purity, crystalline grace, and limitless light."
Note: Mid cycle. Imp fresh from the Lab.
In the bottle: Pleasantly citrus and... lily? Gardenia? Very fresh. Somewhat as I would imagine the edge of the sea in Narnia with Reepicheep sailing away. "Where the waves grow sweet...There is utter east."
On me: Wet, I get a lemony fresh almost cleaning product smell, but that goes away fairly quickly. On drydown, I have a fresh, gentle floral aquatic.
1 hour+ later: Stays fairly true to original drydown. It is rather lovely, not an annoying floral, but it is floral none the less. I don't know how much I will wear it.
Imp #2: Lust
"red musk, patchouli, ylang ylang and myrrh."
Note: Early in the cycle. Imp fresh from the Lab.
In the bottle: This smells rather perfumey to me. And red. Like Red Door? Or is that just a totally dissociated scent memory?
On me: The "perfuminess" is starting to mellow. I'm not sure what it is I don't like. Is it the patchouli? Is it the ylang ylang? I'm not sure I've ever smelled red musk or myrrh.
1 hour+ later: This has mellowed down to a light incensy scent, like old books in a sacred library, or the library at Hogwarts, yes, I think this is a Hermione Granger scent -- at least on me. It isn't the lust I was looking for, though. *tear*
I decided to try O first. Here goes:
"The scent of sexual obsession, slavery to sensual pleasure, and the undercurrent of innocence defiled utterly. Amber and honey with a touch of vanilla."
Note: Early in the cycle. Imp fresh from the Lab.
In the bottle: This is much sweeter than I expected! Something sharp... but not in a bad way, more bright. I don't know why I didn't expect it to be sweet, looking at the description "Amber and honey with a touch of vanilla." The honey is shouting out here, with a sort of Sweet-Tart-ish tang.
On me: A little mellower, less sweet. The amber is coming out more. The vanilla is just giving it an extra zing. I'm not sure I put enough on to really get a wet stage and a drydown stage. My skin kind of soaked it up before I had a chance to order my thoughts.
1 hour+ later: It still has throw, despite the fact that I only applied a little. I was smelling it a tiny bit as I went about my tasks around the house, without having to sniff at my wrists. It isn't what I expected from other reviews. On me now, it is like warm, aching desire. I'm glad it has morphed into this. Here I go to put a little more on.
Imp #28: Melpomene
"Melpomene is Tragedy, and the sound of Her voice is filled with beauty, power and strength. She is crowned in cypress branches, holds the mask of tragedy, wears the cothurnus and wields a knife or club. Her scent is rife with pathos, and inspires us with the ability to express our grief, loss, and the pain in our souls in a cathartic, creative fashion: dark cypress with mint, geranium, Bulgar lavender, orange blossom and passion flower."
Note: Middle of cycle. Imp from littleone101701's sales.
In the bottle: Cypress takes the stage. I don't really notice anything else.
On me: Cypress still predominates, but some of the florals come out, blended together nicely, with just a hint of the mint. This isn't a cypress swamp, it is much drier. This is the cypress lane leading somewhere mysterious. Not dry and dead. Alive, but not dripping with life.
1 hour+ later: A quiet, subtle scent. A walk in a wooded lane in autumn. The woods are open below the canopy, with little underbrush to be seen. The trunks soar up tall, orderly and branchless like columns in a cathedral nave, finally reaching out to meet each other near the bright grey sky. The wind is still and the leaves littered across the floor of the wood move to the breeze of your footsteps.
Imp #26: Seraglio
"In long-ago Arabia, harem girls rubbed an herbal poultice formed from a blend of sensual, luxuriant herbs and oils onto their bodies to prepare themselves for the Sultan's pleasure. This lush, indulgent perfume is based on that ancient formula. Sweet almond and Mysor sandalwood enveloped by a heady veil of Bulgarian Rose, neroli, nutmeg, clove and orange peel."
Note: Middle of cycle. Frimp from the Lab.
In the bottle: The almond and orange really stand out to me. I get a waft of orange Madeleine cake, with a sophisticated bitter edge.
On me: Unfortunately, it gets more sugary on me, and the rose comes out from wherever it was hiding and takes over as the main note.
1 hour+ later: The rose does step back and marry with the other fragrances after a short time. There is not much staying power on me.
Imp #24: Pannychis
"An attendant of the Goddess Venus. She presides over nocturnal pleasure, nighttime festivities, and all the joy and delight that can be found in the darkness. In later ages, it became the name of the all-night festival that closed the Eleusinian Mysteries. Night-blooming jasmine, moonflower, cardamom, sandalwood, black currant, ylang ylang, frankincense and lily."
Note: Middle of cycle. Imp from littleone101701's sales.
In the bottle: Sandalwood takes the front with the jasmine. Not sure if I can distinguish any of the other notes.
On me: The sandalwood moves back and the jasmine and lily dominate with a spicy background from the cardamom and frankincense. I'm not sure if I can identify the moon flower, but in general I get a well blended floral scent from this.
1 hour+ later: The floral moves back some and it becomes more spicy and more balanced. Unfortunately, this doesn't have a lot of staying power on me.
Ok, I've gone through the Sexy, Smutty, Seductive, Proactive thread about as much as I can stand -- 15 pages. I was looking for specific categories, and of course it all depends on what makes you feel good about yourself, but:
13
#20 Love Oil
Aizen-Myoo
Alice
Anne Bonny
Antique Lace
Antony
Arachne
Aureus
Baghdad
Baobhan Sith
Bastet
Bathsheba
Bathsheba
Bearded Lady
Beaver Moon
Bengal
Bewitched
Bewitched
Black Dahlia
Black Lotus
Black Opal
Black Opal
Black Phoenix
Bliss
Blood Amber
Blood Amber
Blood Countess
Blood Kiss
Blood Lotus
Blood Rose
Bordello
Brisingamen
Carnal
Carnivale
Casanova
Cerebus
Chaste Moon
Chimera
Coiled Serpent
Come To Me
Crucible of Courage
Dana O'Shee
Debauchery
Depraved
Desire
Dia de los Muertos
Dirty
Dorian
Dragon's Heart
Dragon's Milk
Elegba
Embalming Fluid
Eve
Fae
Faustus
Fenris Wolf
Fire of Love
Follow Me Boy
Formula 54
Freak Show
French Creole
Frost Moon
Glasya
Gluttony
Golden Priapus
Grog
Harlot
Haunted
Hecate
Hellcat
Hellfire
Hell's Belle
Hetairae
Hollywood Babylon
House of Night
Hunger
Hunter Moon
Incantation
Jack
Jailbait
Juliet
Kali
La Belle Au Bois Dormant
La Belle Dame Sans Merci
La Petite Mort
Lampades
Laudanum
Lenore
Lilith
Lolita
Love Me
Loviatar
Lust
Malic
Marquise de Merteuil
Masquerade
Mata Hari
Midnight
Mi-Go
Morgause
Morgause
Morocco
Nemesis
New Orleans
Noir
O
Old Athens
Old Morocco
Old Port Au Prince
Old Scratch
Old Shanghai
Old Sybaris
Omen
Othello
Persephone
Perversion
Pink Moon
Psyche
Queen
Queen Mab
Queen of Hearts
Queen of Sheba
Rakshasa
Rapture
Ravenous
Red Devil
Red Moon
Regan
Rose Red
Sacred Whore of Babylon
Salome
Samhain
Scherezade
Seraglio
Silentium Amoris
Sin
Siren
Snake Charmer
Snake Oil
Snow Bunny
Snow White
Snow White
Spanked
Spellbound
Spooky
Storm Moon
Succubus
Sudha Segara
Sugar Skull
Swank
Tarot: Temperance
Tarot: the Empress
Tempest
The Lion
The Star
The Unicorn
Three Witches
Tombstone
Tzadikim Nistarim
Undertow
Urd
Veil
Velvet
Venom
Vixen
Voodoo
Wanda
Wanton
Water of Notre Dame
Whip
Wicked
Xiuhtecuhtli
Yog Sothoth
Zombi
The ones I am most interested in trying based on the comments are:
Blood Kiss
Blood Rose
Love Me
Loviatar
Lust
Morocco
O
Scherezade
Silentium Amoris
Sin
Snake Charmer
Snake Oil
Spellbound
Sudha Segara
Swank
The Lion
Vixen
Imp #25: Libertine
"Like a puffed and reckless libertine,
Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads.
Rosewood and chamomile with bergamot, violet, red sandalwood, primrose and Arabian musk. "
Note: Middle of cycle. Imp from fruitycake's sales.
In the bottle: To me, this is "perfumy".
On me: On me, the bad perfume smell goes away immediately, and I get a rich dark musky floral. I don't know which flower does it, but I get a Victorian feel from this. It is plush velvets, a roll-top rosewood desk, and a man writing with a nibbed pen.
1 hour+ later: It stayed true for as long as I stayed awake, which wasn't really all that long. I don't know if the scent helped me fall into that rich darkness, or if it was just the time of night.
According to the General Recommendations Post , folks recommend the following aquatics:
Amsterdam
Apothecary
Bayou
Black Pearl
Blue Moon
City in the Sea
Cold Moon
Cthulhu
Danube
Desdemona
Dragon's Tears
Dublin
Empyreal Mist
Glasgow
House of Mirrors
Hurricane
Jolly Roger
La Bella Donna Della Mia Mente
Lightning
Lurid
Mock Turtle's Lessons
Neo-Tokyo
Niflheim
Obatala
Old Glasgow
Ophelia.
Paris
Penthus
Prague
R'lyeh
Sea of Glass
Shattered
Szepassony
Tarot:Temperance
Tears
The Isle of Demons
The Lady of Shallot
The Pool of Tears
The Unicorn
Two, Five & Seven
Ulalume
Undertow
Virgo/Harlot
Water of Notre Dame
Yemaya
Zephyr
Some sound more floral, etc. I will need to see how my skin reacts. From the descriptions there, the most appealing look to be:
Danube
Empyreal Mist
Jolly Roger
Neo-Tokyo
Niflheim
Prague
R'lyeh
Sea of Glass
Here's the grouping I expect them to fall into:
Woodsy:
Anne Bonny - A scent several people recommended for Zoe -- woodsy & sexy to boot!
Tintagel - ancient magical forest!
Hamadrayd - I remember fiddledragon especially liking this one - deciduous forest.
Aquatic:
Sea of Glass - it sounds so clean & makes me think of Ys. Also recommended by zankoku_zen.
Neo-Tokyo - Recommended for Serenity & Steam Punk, according to zankoku_zen.
Prague - After all the raves on Danube on the Aquatics post, people said this was the river version of the saltier Danube.
Sexy:
Blood Kiss - debated between this and Blood Rose for all the reviews, went with zankoku_zen's rec.
O - "defiled utterly" sounds more my style than "sugared with vanilla".
Lust - Lust in a bottle & highly recommended in the sexy stuff thread & by zankoku_zen.
- Slinky subset:
Swank - Pommegranate (my favorite fruit) that doesn't sound too sweet like Persephone. Recs in sexy thread.
Sin - Described as slinky in a dark blue dress.
- Exotic subset:
Scherezade - Exotic, highly recommended on the sexy thread & by zankoku_zen.
I just received my first order from the lab, and I can't wait to try it out! Of course, it's something I will do better to avoid, since I am about to go out and join friends, and I have no idea of my body chemestry. Still, I will try one tomorrow morning.
I received my order: Anne Bonny, Blood Kiss, Hamadrayd, Scherezade, Swank, O, Lust, Sea of Glass, Sin, Neo-Tokyo, Prague, and Tintagel.
Plus, I received two free imps:
Seraglio
The Bow and Crown of Conquest
Funnily enough, the package smelled a lot like stepping into Raven's Nest Herbals. From that, I really feel that true oils were used.
Imp #21: Athens
"A reformulation and modernization of a true Classical Greek perfume, myrrhine: voluptuous myrrh, golden honey, red wine, and sweet flowers."
Note: Very end of cycle. Imp from littleone101701's sales.
In the bottle: Very sweet but also a tiny bit sour in a good way, like a Flemish sour, which happens to be one of my favorite styles of beer. There is something deep, but the honey jumps out at me, followed by the flowers, making this a bright scent.
On me: Out comes that sour that I like - the wine? -- and especially a spiciness -- myrrh?
1 hour+ later: Still spicy with a light sweetness and light floral. The floral notes remind me of Sea of Glass, but here they are accompanied by a spicy red wine. To me, this scent is a summer evening drinking red wine in the temple gardens.
Imp #23: Tzadikim Nistarim
"Also called the Lamed Vev, two letters in the Hebrew alphabet that translate to the number thirty-six. In this violent, ugly, strife-riddled world of ours there are thirty-six men, the Hidden Just Men or Hidden Saints, who bear on their shoulders the burden of all our pain, sorrows and sins. The Tzadikim Nistarim move in obscurity, and are usually found among the poor, the downtrodden and the meekest among us, and are chosen for this task because of their righteousness, stalwart sense of genuine justice, and the true goodness of their souls. When one of these men dies, God chooses another to take his place. It is for their sake and for love of them that God does not destroy His imperfect creation. As long as the Lamed Vav serves humanity, the world will continue to plod on, but once one of them dies and God cannot find another worthy to take his place, the world will be destroyed. In Qabala, the thirty-six men of the Tzadikim Nistarim together combine to symbolize the seventy-two bridges, corresponding to the seventy-two names of God, that connect the concealed and revealed worlds of our universe. The scent is one of unadulterated spiritual purity, with a taste of the world's eternal pathos, and the joy of suffering with grace: frankincense, olive, spikenard, hyssop and galangal."
Note: Beginning of cycle. Imp from littleone101701's sales.
In the bottle: Sweet, wet, and green, with a spicy finish. I am not really familiar with any of the actual notes, except olive, so I am not surprised that I cannot pick them out. It does not strike me as olive
On me: Barely sweet at all, more spicy, but sunny high notes rather than sultry low notes. I like this stage on me, and I think it would also be good on a man.
1 hour+ later: Stays fairly true to original drydown. Good throw. Sun shining down on softly glittering ancient sandstone buildings.
Also according to the General Recommendations Post, here are woodsy scents:
Anne Bonny
Aquarius
Belladonna
Black Forest
Burial
Capricorn
Darkness
Golden Priapus
Hamadryad
Intrigue
Jabberwocky
Kweku Anansi
Loup Garou
Omen
Seance
The Hesperides
Tintagel
Tombstone
Ulalume
Umbra
Val Sans Retour
Wolfsbane
I am most interestedin more hardwoods type forrests, with dirt & leaves, and mosses... the following look most promising based simply on that post:
Burial
Hamadryad
Kweku Anansi
Tintagel
Val Sans Retour
Ok, well Val Sans Retour wasn't in that post, and it isn't even out yet, but I had to read the reviews earlier. After all, it's the Val Sans Retour, in Broceliande, Breizh.
Imp #22: Delphi
"The smoke of Sacred Incense of Apollo twined through laurel branches, bay, and honey wine."
Note: Very end of cycle. Imp from littleone101701's sales.
In the bottle: Laurel and bay with honey in the background. This is heady and a bit smokey.
On me: The honey steps up a little, and the scent is less green. The notes are more blended. It is becoming more like what I hoped for, but less incense than I expected. I had expected this to be the dark cave of the oracle, but it is the bright day on the field of Olympic competition.
1 hour+ later: Smokier, but still bright. Not much change from initial dry down. I think this will be a good scent to wear to work, as it is not as sultry as Athens.
Imp #17: Ouija
"Lush parlor rooms draped in thick velvets and gilded in gold, unearthly whispering in the distance, fleeting flashes of wraith-like figures rushing just outside your vision, the chill of a phantom presence brushing by your cheek, the inscrutable knowledge that disembodied eyes are peering at you from darkened corners… this is the essence of Victorian-era spiritualism: rosewood, oak and teak notes with wispy blue lilac, tea rose, dried white rose and ethereal osmanthus."
Note: Late cycle. Imp from fruitycake's sales.
In the bottle: I definitely get the rose and maybe something woody.
On me: Lilac comes to the front. I get the feel of an old library full of hard bound books with thick rag-paper pages. A home library in some Victorian, where there are built in shelves along the walls, rather than stacks of books piled close. There is a table in the middle of the room with a centerpiece of dried flowers. A velvety chaise sits in the corner with a Tiffany floor lamp to read by.
1 hour+ later: As time passes, the rosewood and teak emerge. This room is definitely paneled and the table in the center has been polished. Now, the velvet curtains are pulled shut, and it is warm and dark in the evening. Later the blend is mainly lilac with the other notes in the background making it more sophisticated than a simple floral. The old book smell is also kind of an incense smell as well.
I have several concerns with scent usage, as follows:
1) I have rather dry skin, and I am afraid that I will need to be a slatherer. I would like to have good unscented lotion that I can use to couteract this, but I don't know what to look for. There was a thread, but I lost track of it. I am alergic to some things, so I have to look for a number of options, just in case. Right now, I am using 100% Cocoa Butter, which -- logically -- makes me smell faintly of chocolate.
On the other hand, I had good staying power in the past with just a few drops of Planitary Perfumes on the pulse points.
2) I would like to find (or make) good unscented moisturizing soap, shampoo & conditioner that would work well, and also not conflict with my BPAL scents. For reference, currently, I use Oil of Olay bar soap with shea butter, Aussie Moist shampoo, Garnier Nutrisse Sleek & Shine conditioner. I also use leave in conditioner. My favorite is Sheer Blonde spray in, but I am now using Garnier Nutrisse, or Sheer Blonde detangler & shine gel. Some of this should become unnessisary after I cut a good two feet off of my hair, but I'm not sure how soon that will happen.
Imp #20: Salomé
"A scent that is both coquettish and sinister. Exotic and lush, brimming with grace and viciousness: almond with star jasmine, oakmoss, red sandalwood and Egyptian musk."
Note: End of cycle. Imp from fruitycake's sales.
In the bottle: The sandalwood and musk are strong, with an undercurrent of almond. It invokes a closed room with curtains drawn but fluttering and sandalwood burning in a brazier.
On me: The almond and jasmine come forward, blended together to create one scent that is both and neither. They do not step far forward, and are anchored by the woodiness of the oakmoss & sandalwood and the musk, like a girl dancing in the flickering light and obscuring smoke of the brazier.
1 hour+ later: I really like this. It is what I was hoping for from Scherezade.
Imp #9: Tintagel
"Spicy mulled wine flowing through the musky heat, warm leather and bright clash of armor, the damp branches of Cornish hawthorn, blackthorn, juniper, English elm and bayberry, and the magical tingle of dragon's blood resin."
Note: Late in cycle. Imp straight from the Lab, but about three months old.
In the bottle: Dragon's blood, bayberry, & juniper jump out at me. I don't get the leather, though there is a brightness. It is rather potpourri like at this stage.
On me: I think that the leather & hawthorn are coming out. I have no good way of identifying the blackthorn. I'm getting a slightly forresty mulled cider effect. The metal has gotten sharper.
1 hour+ later: It had decent throw for a little while, but now most of it is gone. Now it is mostly dragon's blood again, I think, with a little leather and metal. Not terribly exciting, but nice and clean in a woodsy sort of way, like a wood maintained by a forrester, not a rolling around in the dirt sort of way.
Imp #13: Queen Mab
"Warrior, Trickster and Goddess of Magic and Poets, she is one of the Tuatha De Danaan and the Queen of the Faeries. A very complex scent, both shadowy and fierce: black orchid, sandalwood, night-blooming jasmine, osmanthus, Somalian rose, and Chinese musk."
Note: Beginning of cycle. Imp from littleone101701.
In the bottle: I recognize the jasmine, blended with some other floral notes and deepened by the musk & sandalwood. It is hard to pick out individual scents.
On me: Jasmine like crazy. Gives it a perfumy feel. Not much throw.
1 hour+ later: soft jasmine
