Schwarzer Mond - the resurrected one. Wow. This is punchy! Dark, and sexy too. Am so glad I got this in 5mL form! It just gets better and better on my skin, and smells magnificent from afar (ie. when my nose is not glued to my wrist!)
The Gaoler's Daughter - wet, peach! As it dries down, the gardenia becomes more prominent. Such a girlie, flirty scent, am surprised there aren't more reviews for it. It's a very innocent yet cheeky blend. Not sure if it worth a bottle.
Pickled Imp - Very strong of cloves, then cinnamon and pine come out. Doesn't seem so vanilla-ish, but will let it age a bit or stand and this should improve it. I initially got this confused with Bezoar, which I may actually prefer.
Belle Epoque - fresh bottle, needs ageing, as imp had much more vanilla. It'll be a bedtime scent for me. It is gorgeous, and subtle and timeless.
That's it for now, or I risk sensory overload!
It's the Yules! Am writing more detailed notes in my imp journal, but here are some of my thoughts in summary about the Yules. I got a set of decants of all of them.
Le Pere Fouettard - I had to look up what 'gaufrette' was - a thin, fan shaped waffle wafer. Nice, not too foody at first, then whip leather makes an appearance, and gradually takes over the foodiness. When leather is at its strongest, the liquorice becomes known to my nose. An artful blend, but not something I would wear.
There's A Certain Slant of Light - ozonic, barely there. Very little staying power on my skin, which is fine really, am not too fond of these sorts of blends, as they tend to smell very male-colognesque on me. It smells minty in the vial.
Visiting the Temple of Auspicious Fortune Alone On the Winter Solstice - definitely get the rain at first! Wow! Then it gets musty, rather than dusty, and has an Eastern/Oriental feel. Much later it starts to get incense-ish. Again, not one I'd wear, or scent my environs with.
Lines Written Among the Euganean Hills - a more complex version of The Snow Maiden - sleety, chilly and berryish, but then it gets rather minty to my nose.
The Magi - I don't think I appreciate the complexity of this blend. I get the frankincense but it's too hard to tell what the other things are.
Perchta - has the characteristic BPAL chilly note, which is lovely. A hint of something spicy, then all the florals come out. Am keeping my imp.
The Head of Holofernes - wine and pomegranate are evident at first. This is actually quite lovely, and will be keeping my imp. Don't so much detect other notes, and had to look up what onycha was!
Butter Rum Cookie - just as the name says! Has almond, which is behaving on me (BPAL almond does not like me so much) but does get a little cloying after a while. It is yummy, though.
Gelt - wow, smells exactly like the coins. I love cocoa, and am surprised that the amber is quite muted in this blend. Will end up retesting.
Midnight Mass 2008 - am surprised it doesn't have more throw, but is really true to its name: smells exactly like mass incense. Be a nice blend to wear at nighttime. I actually got a bottle of this straight-off rather than just a decant.
Snow White 2008 - got 2 bottles by accident! No matter, it means I don't have to use sparingly, and will be my actual fragrance on Christmas Day.
Bottle-worthy: The Head of Holofernes, Midnight Mass 2008 (got bottle), Snow White 2008 (got 2 bottles).
Keeping imps: Perchta, Butter Rum Cookie, Gelt.
Black Cat - smells wonderful. Spicy, rosy sort of scent. Am very much hoping it will do what it says it can do! Perhaps I didn't put on enough.
The Lion - oh wow, I like amber, but this is just heavenly. Sunny, spicy and slightly sweet.
Last night was horrible. I felt horribly unhappy and unloved, and invisible. Given that I have a mood disorder, trying to talk myself out of it was not working.
Originally I was going to send a friend of mine who feels that his life wasn't going so well two imps - that of Dove's Heart and High John the Conqueror but lately he seems to have forgotten about me.
So I used them on myself: after all, I am (still) heartbroken and though it's getting easier with time, there are those days where it just hurts like almighty feck.
Before finally settling to sleep, I slathered both of those oils on me, and this following morning, I feel so much better. My mind feels clearer, my thoughts are more calm and positive. I feel like I feel when I'm well.
So yeah, those are on my wishlist, haha. Especially Dove's Heart, which I can still smell.
Edit: Water of Notre Dame is even better than High John the Conqueror on me.
Up on the chopping block:
Faith - I was wrong to think I could even get rid of this. My bottle is only a third full, and I'm contemplating getting another.
Beaver Moon 2007 - like Eat Me but with red fruits, plummier. Don't think I can part with this either.
Vampire Tears - I like the jasmine and the pink grapefruit, but am torn about this. It's a maybe.
Kanishta -after trying these, best try all the Indian-scented in one and compare them accordingly.
Keep: Faith, Beaver Moon 2007
Retest: Kanishta, compared to her own 'Indian-similar' fragrances in my collection
Retest: Vampire Tears
Nanshe - smells like lemon balm at first, then becomes a lemon scent that sort of gives me a bit of a headache. However, I do know that this is supposed to do something, so wore it nevertheless overnight. Oddly, I didn't recall my dreams though slept a bit better than usual, so don't know if it helps with the interpretation of dreams. I suspect that this is something you have to use over an extended period of time?
The Lab gave me squillions of imps and so I've started testing them.
Les Bijoux - bah, hates me. Reason? Rose. I can smell a lot of the other notes, but not the ones I love. Yeah, red apple doesn't much like me either. Sigh.
Intrigue - ooh, this is sexy, in a very understated way. A little too dry for me, though the fig does sweeten it up ever so slightly. I don't detect the cocoa which was a bit disappointing. I won't keep it but would love to see what it smells like the on menfolk.
Sin - a much less intense version of Smut I feel! But no throw on me, odd given that Smut has amazing throw on me. Wanted to keep my decant, but it dried to nothing on me and became crayonish. Shame.
Amsterdam - I don't know what tulips smell like, but this is lovely, it's a very fresh floral, sort of green yet watery too.
Sri Lanka - first is fresh sandalwood, then incense-like sandalwood mixed with cedar. The cedar is nice too, but this has such a gorgeous sandalwood. It stops smelling so sandalwood-laden, however.
This was something of a cheer-up/Christmas present to myself. The most bottles I've ever ordered!
Snow White 2008 (because I forgot that I actually already ordered one, duh!)
Belle Epoque
Zorya
Thalia
Snake Charmer Resurrected
Candy Phoenix
Pickled Imp
Tabella - though this was a mistake of the Lab's - I actually ordered Tabula Smargadina. Have e-mailed them though
Frimps: Sri Lanka, Scherezade, Les Bijoux, Pontarlier, Sudha Segara, Nanshe, Siren, Kurukulla, The Hesperides, Dove's Heart, Independent*, Amsterdam, Sin, Jezebel, Intrigue, Catherine.
Am chuffed with the frimpage. Have tried many of these but wow, Lab is generous!
I retested a few 5mL bottles I had to try and figure out whether or not I should find them new homes. These were:
Tiresias, The Androgyne - a lot of people are saying they want to stock up on this. I bought a secondhand bottle, only half-full to try and its throw on me is amazing and it's quite unique, but not something I'm enamoured with. I do have a home for it though...have a girlfriend who was rather partial to it. Will give to her!
The Perfumed Garden 2006 - I love the jasmine in this, but not super-keen on the rest. Am genuinely torn, no idea if I should get rid of it or what.
Libra 2007 - bah, rose! This didn't like me at the beginning, and still doesn't.
The Emathides - oh my, this has developed into a beautiful, herbal blackcurrant scent. The fruitiness is very subtle, however. The throw is not as strong as I'd like but I can't bear to get rid of it.
Stay: The Emathides.
Go: Libra 2007, Tiresias.
Undecided: The Perfumed Garden 2006.
These were purchases from the user stellans - she blasted away 4 entries on my LE wishlist! Fantastic!
Stardust 2005
Diwali 2007 (Yule)
Beatrice
Michtecacihuatl 2008 (Halloween)
All of these I had the pleasure of testing whilst in convalescence and fell in love with - particularly Diwali 2007. I was naughty and used funds from my super-savings account but when someone offers you 4 wishlist scents you'd be silly to turn it down! At least, that's my story and I'm sticking to it, chuckle.
She gave me a buttload of frimps but I put them in my "need new homes" imp bag before recording their names, whoops!
I have 2 PO slips telling me I've packages to pick up and I think one might be my actual Lab order. Am so excited!
After a break of quite some time, I find myself getting reobsessed with BPAL again.
I thought I might use this blog feature as a way of tracking what I purchase, what I try and such. You might like to read it if you're interested.
I also keep an external blog which houses my non-olfactory obsessions:
Grace Notes @ Snarkattack
It talks about everyday life (surviving chronic illness), poetry and music. Again, may interest you - feel free to nose around.
