meredevachon

Won this in a raffle as part of a collection inspired by the TV show Supernatural. After reading the description, I wasn't sure about it, and after reading some of the reviews knew it was a real love it or hate it scent. In the imp: Something woody. And menthol. Wet: The menthol kicks up, almost like Vicks Vapo-Rub, but without the eucalyptus. Dry down: Menthol tones down, but is still there. But smoke blooms, with an almost acrid hot metal scent fading in and out. Dry: It's been said before, but really, it smells like burning. I was afraid it would be too masculine for me, but it's amazing. (possible TMI) At certain times of the month it goes very sweet, but still smoky. A smokehouse burning applewood maybe? Still good, but not at all like it is the rest of the month. Overall: I like this a lot more than I thought I might. I feel powerful and almost dangerous when I wear it. Definitely not an everyday scent, but one to keep in my arsenal.

In the imp: a light aquatic, a little sweet Wet: smells perfume-y, something commercial Aaaaaand, that's all I know. As it started to dry down, my allergies flared hard. I had to wash it off. It's a shame, because I'd love to find an aquatic I love.

In the imp: spiced honey. Wet: Cinnamon. Lots of cinnamon. But with a sweetness. Almost as though someone made homemade red hots or some other homemade cinnamon candy? Cinnamon oil or extract, not ground cinnamon or cinnamon sticks. Dry: Red hots. Never really liked them, and don't particularly like smelling of them either. Finally getting some of my beloved amber, but underneath, almost like a separate scent. Like wearing a faint amber while eating lots and lots of red hots.

I've had O forever (as far as my explorations of BPAL go). How could I not, as much as I love amber and vanilla, and honey's got to make it even better, right? But I never got around to posting a review, even though my experiences with it haven't changed over time. In the imp: Sweet, warm vanilla. On me: From the moment I put it on, all I get is skin. Warm, flushed skin. Decide for yourself how the skin got flushed, although words like afterglow and post-coital definitely seem to fit. Not a scent that I've got a lot of reason to wear given my RL these days, and when I could, there are others I like better. But I can definitely see the appeal.

I should probably start by saying Golden Priapus is one of my top 5 BPALs. And a lot of what I love about it has similarities in Fascinum. In the imp: Mostly amber, but I do get some cedar as well. Wet: Amber and musk, but without the sharpness some musks have when I first put them on. Dry down: Amber and musk continue to play well together, and the cedar starts to come back. Dry: Everything kind of nestles down into the amber, the musk hugging close to the skin, with cedar coming through like wind in the trees so you get more of it at some times than others. And there's a sweet tang too, that I can't really pin down, but keeps everything from going completely masculine on me. Overall: Warm, golden, rich. I like it, but I love Golden Priapus, so I'll probably stick with that one. (edited because I'm a flake and forgot part of what I wanted to say)

In the imp: Juicy sweet, but not overpoweringly so. Wet: The amber comes out to tether the dragon's blood, keep it from going out of control. Dry down to several hours later: Blending into a lovely mix of the two. I'm put in mind of those glass objects with flecks of gold leaf in them, in this case red glass (obviously) with lots of gold leaf, and for some reason I'm picturing it heart shaped. But instead of being cold and hard like glass, something squishy. (I swear that makes sense in my head) Overall: Nice throw, which to me means not too much, but I can smell it without having to sniff right along the skin. Lasts for hours. Sweeter than I normally wear, so it's probably not one I'll pick up all that often, but lovely all the same.

In the imp: Spice and musk, very warm and red and lovely. On me: Almost immediately turns to soap. Every once in a while I get a hint of musk, but even then it's more like a men's scented soap. Unfortunately this isn't going to keep me coming back for a thousand and one nights.

I was worried about the rose, but it was a frimp, so worth a try. In the imp: Amber base, but with a bright thread of rose running through it. More rose than I would like, but wearable. Wet: ROSE! What happened to my beloved amber? Dry down all the way through several hours later: Rose. Rose. ROSE. Even after washing it off, both with soap and water and with alcohol, I still smelled it. Overall: Even I don't normally amp rose this much. And my skin normally loves amber, amps it right up, but not this time. Enough throw my aunt could smell me in the next room, when I prefer very light throw, and nothing but rose that I'm not particularly fond of. On the right person I'm sure it would be lovely. I'm just not that person.

In the bottle: Like Hillary, I got the chemical tang I usually get when there's a leather note in the blend. Makes it hard to pick out anything else. Wet: Post-coital flushed skin, sweat (in a good way), and hints of booze. Like somebody partied hard recently. Chemical note is gone, just as it does when I put a scent with leather notes on my skin. Dry down: Very complex, what note's on top keeps shifting around. Then again, it was the kind of party that got banned in Boston, right? (sorry, couldn't resist) Dry: About an hour in, my allergies started kicking up. Watery eyes, scratchy throat, sneezed so hard I thought I pulled something (which was still hurting even after the allergy attack went away). I was driving, so couldn't wash it off, and after about 20-30 minutes, I was over whatever was causing me problems. Overall: Verdict's still out. I really like it, but it has a lot of similarities to Perversion to me, and that one doesn't make my allergies act up. Still, I'll probably give it another try before making any final decisions. ETA: I've tried this a few times since I reviewed it, and when the air quality in the area is good, then I don't have any problems with Banned in Boston and my allergies. But on air quality alert days, we don't get along. So it's a straw that broke the camel's back kind of scent. I'll probably keep it, but be mindful of when to wear it.

In the bottle: Spice and vanilla, and after checking with my spice rack, yeah, that's mostly cardamom. Wet: I get tonka here too, and how Beth managed a mix of vanilla, cardamom, and tonka that doesn't smelly foodie is beyond me, but I'm glad of it. Dry: Doesn't change much from wet other than to get softer, rounder, layered and more ethereal. Not much throw, which I like, but it also needs more frequent reapplication than a lot of my usuals. I really like this. So much that part of me's saying I knew better than to buy a LE, because it's only going to be around for awhile, and then what will I do once I use up my bottle? (note: between all my "favorites" and my light hand with application, it'll be a long while before I run out of this) *hoards the precious*

#45 In the bottle: Eucalyptus. I'm not even getting a hint of vanilla yet. Wet: Still eucalyptus, but softened and rounded now. I'm assuming that's because of the vanilla, although there's not a definite vanilla scent to it. Dry down: Getting more complex now, other notes coming out to say hello. Lemon grass for a bit. Hints of pine. Something resin-y. And, finally, actual vanilla. Dry: Lemon grass is gone, but the pine seems here to stay with the eucalyptus and vanilla. All nicely blended, and with hints of smoke from time to time. Everything about this says winter to me. Time to curl up in a blanket with your honey on a cold night in front of the fire. And I think by the time winter gets here, give the vanilla a chance to age, it'll be even better. Very happy with this one. So I couldn't resist, had to try a second CT vanilla. #443 In the bottle, wet, drying, dry - I couldn't tell you what this one smells like. Every time I decided I maybe knew what the primary note was, I decided I was wrong. My best guess is ambergris, even though I couldn't pick ambergris out of a line-up if I had to. Of all my CTs (2 vanilla, 2 amber), this is the one I'm least happy with. It's not so much that it smells bad as that it doesn't smell good. At least not on me. Still, 3/4 is not bad for random chance. 3/4 working for me isn't bad even for BPALs I pick when I know the notes.

I told myself when I first started exploring all the lovely smelly-goods from BPAL that I would limit myself to the GC oils. That way, if I fell completely in love with something, it wouldn't be something that was going to be impossible to find again. And I did well for almost 3 years. My most recent order? Only LEs. And not just any LEs, but 2 Chaos Theory blends. I'd say so much for trying to be smart, but I got some really yummy frangrances, so I'm not going to complain. (or not until I run out ) And with amber and vanilla as two of the base note options, I couldn't resist. #223 In the bottle: a sweet amber, soft and round. Wet: The amber's there, but almost overshadowed by...sweetpea? Yeah, I think it's sweetpea. Dry down: It doesn't take long for this to meld into a really nice blend. I keep sniffing myself. Dry: Lasts a long time, which surprised me a little, mostly because of the sweetpea, amber usually lasts a long time on me. Mostly amber and sweetpea still, but there's a softer, deeper note I can't quite place, but really like what it adds to the overall effect. Overall: The very first BPAL I picked out was Mouse's Long and Sad Tail, and it's still my favorite. The one thing I could never smell in it, though, was sweetpea. And now I've got that. Hmm...sounds like time to try layering, see how things turn out. ~*~*~ #47 So...I couldn't stop with just one. We all know BPAL's addictive, right? In the bottle: Perfumey. Some kind of floral-citrusy, got caught by an atomiser while walking through a department store, where's my amber? kind of scent. Wet: Less perfumey, which is good. Jasmine and some kind of citrus. Still no sign of the amber. Drydown: Gets softer and rounder, so even though I can't pull out amber as amber, it's there and doing its job. Wish I could figure out what the citrus is. Dry: After awhile, jasmine's still the top note, but it kind of wafts in and out, like a night breeze carrying the scent of jasmine through a window. The citrus is still a mystery, not sweet, nor sour, nor bitter, but definitely citrus. Overall: I keep sniffing my arm. From my own description, this doesn't sound like something I'd love, but I do. It's bright, almost sparkly at times, and it smells yellow. Like a sunny night breeze, as oxymoronic as that is.

I love the idea of this Mary Read, and it's definitely a pirate-y scent (not that it smells like a pirate; they weren't all that big on hygiene, you know ) In the imp: Sweet. Yeah, that's all I got, non-specific sweetness. No salt, no sea, "am I sure I grabbed the right imp?" sweet. Wet: Ah, there's the sea. Still sweet though, but now it's more like eating salt-water taffy while walking along the beach. Dry: This one morphs a lot, one minute it smells one way, then a minute later other notes come to the surface. There's something biting underneath that could be the gunpowder, and it really helps pull things together. The sweetness has deepened, with a hint of spice, and is at least vaguely reminiscent of the sarsaparilla I used to drink at this one restaurant we used to go to when I was a kid. An aquatic with a lot of depth to it, almost lush, and absolutely fits its pirate inspiration. Probably not one I'll get a bottle of, but I'll make the most of the imp.

In the imp: Medicinal and herby. Very sharp and green. Wet: The green herbs seem to bloom (expand, not flower), and I'm not sure how my allergies are going to respond. Dry down: Medicinal scent comes back, but I'm starting to get a sense of resin too. Allergies still iffy. Dry: Still sharp and medicinal. I could see a connection to embalming maybe, but that could just be from the name putting thoughts of Egypt in my head. Not majorly allergic, but also not worth the feeling less than great for a fragrance that isn't very me. Unfortunately.

*sigh* I think I should just give up on anything from the Conjure Bag; I've yet to find one I wasn't allergic to. Both in the imp and wet I smelled limes. Or maybe lime blossoms. But within a couple of minutes, there was the scratch in the back of my throat, the watery eyes, and the sneezing. Had to go straight to washing it off.

Tobacco and sugared rum sound yummy, but the coconut in the description is off-putting. In general, I don't like coconut. But I've learned not to dismiss things out of hand when it comes to BPAL and the frimps I get from them. In the imp: Butter. Browned butter, I think is probably more accurate. Wet: Very creamy and round, but the rum's starting to come through. So yeah, buttered rum. Dry down: Lucky so far in that I've not gotten any coconut. Notes are blending, I get whiffs of tobacco, which I love and which goes really well with the rum. I could like this. Dry: Oh. There's the coconut after about 20 minutes. But it's more like coconut milk than sunscreen or even coconut meat. And it's light compared to the rest of the scent. It's never going to be a favorite, but it looks like I could get to like this every once in awhile. Until about an hour in. Then it's flashbacks to standing on the beach as a kid, waiting impatiently for Mom to slather on the sunscreen before letting us head for the water. Overall: For awhile, not as bad as I feared it would be, but then things went downhill from there. This one's just not for me.

I used to hesitate to try anything with neroli because one of my cats HATED it. Unfortunately she is no longer with me, so I decided I would try this after all. In the imp: A generic floral. And I'm not big on florals. But in the bottle and on the skin are almost never the same, so I continued. Wet: Not just floral, but jasmine, and lots of it. If I really sniff, I can pick out neroli too, but mostly it's jasmine. Dry: Turned soapy. Like those decorative soaps to keep in the bathroom but never use; jasmine-scented ones in this case. Overall: Yeah, this one doesn't work on me. On the other hand, at least I haven't found a scent I love but can't wear because of feline finicky-ness, right?

Even before skimming the reviews, I figured this would be a love it or hate it kind of scent. Funny thing is, now that I've tried out the frimp I got with my last order, I'm sort of in the middle on it. In the imp: Medicinal, sharp. Wet: Could definitely smell the anise, with the other notes all kind of blending into the background. Dry down and beyond: Anise slowly faded to something more balanced with the building dark, damp, earthy-woody whole. Overall: I think it actually blends well on me, but it's just not a me fragrance, mostly because of the anise, I think. But I want to like the cool, damp, dark forest floor earthy sense. It's one I might wear if I were in the right mood, though.

Another frimp. I love getting a chance to try out things I might not even consider otherwise, and even when they don't work out, I've gotten to play a little, which is always good. In the imp: Mostly musk, with a fair amount of patchouli. Wet: Still musk, but now sweet to the point of cloying is almost overwhelming it. A dark honey, maybe? Dry down: The sweetness starts to back off, which helps some. After a couple of hours: Back to how it started in the imp, musk with patchouli. Overall: Somehow it seems to evoke the idea of lust more than lust itself. It's not bad, but I've got better scents for when I'm in the mood (or want to be). Not sure this one's a keeper.

Pinot noir, dark myrrh, red sandalwood, black patchouli, night-blooming jasmine, and attar of rose. As much as I love the name and the idea of an obsidian widow, this wasn't a scent I was going to pick out for myself. I like jasmine in moderation, but rose scents don't really feel like me, and as much as I would LOVE to find a BPAL with a red wine note that works on me, so far it hasn't happened. But I got this as a frimp, so that was the perfect time to try it out. In the imp: An almost languid sense of wine and incense with a just hint of florals. If it stayed like this, I could like it. Wet: ROSE! Lots of it. And nothing else. Dry down: As it started to dry I began getting whiffs of grape Bubble Yum, same as I've gotten with everything I've tried with a red wine component. Dry: Grape Bubble Yum mixed with rose air freshener, both way to strong to notice any deeper notes in the fragrance. Plasticky and chemically-fake smelling, unfortunately. Why can't my skin like red wine? Lots of throw, but completely wrong for my personality and skin chemistry. But I'm sure there's someone else it'll be perfect for.

Beauty, joy, pleasure and delight: devastated. This is the scent of the hopelessness, torment and despair of love. Lavender and wisteria, heart-wrenching pale rose, desolate white sandalwood and thin, tear-streaked white musk. I could, if I really took the time to think about it, probably come up with coherent thoughts about the notes I picked up from Ode to Melancholy and how they worked with my chemistry. But the notes are secondary to the overall mood evoked by the blend. It's perfectly named and wearing it does make me feel more melancholy. Unfortunately, most of the time when I'm in a good mood, I don't want to feel down... and when I'm down, I don't want to exacerbate that feeling. So I don't wear this one very often. But it was perfect today when I had to take my grandmother to a funeral for someone I didn't know much at all. It put me in just the right frame of mind. And because it doesn't last for a long time, by the time we got home the scent was gone and I was able to go back to one of my more usual scents.

The first time I tried this, it reminded me so strongly of Loviatar (thank you, leather and musk!) I couldn't really smell anything else. Not that that's a bad thing; I like Loviatar... but I don't need two of them. So I decided to put it away and try it again a couple of weeks later. It still started out almost exactly the same as Loviatar, chemically in the imp from the leather note, then strong leather and musk when wet. But as it dried and bloomed on my skin, the sweet roundness of the tobacco came out and made it so much better. I only got hints of incense from time to time, but the tobacco-leather-musk is absolutely lovely. Definitely a keeper.

Got this as a freebie from the Lab. It was on my list of ones to get soonish anyway (partially for the name), so this just speeded up the process a bit. I love the scent of jasmine (night blooming or otherwise), but am not a particularly floral person when it comes to the scents I want to wear. In the imp: Sweet floral, but I can't really pull out jasmine or rose (or any other specific florals). Wet: No rose (but I don't mind); the jasmine at the forefront is present and heady, but grounded and warmed by the myrrh, and I like it. Dry: The same, but moreso. This is sultry and mysterious, and seems to me a fitting tribute to a goddess of night. I think this will be really nice to wear for full moon rituals, and may set it aside for just that. It's not the sort of thing I would want to wear every day, but it's a floral I'm comfortable with. But it's different enough from my usual scents that wearing it kind of shifts my awareness. A keeper in its own way.

I've really been looking forward to trying Dee. How could I not, given how much I love its notes? In the imp: Strongly chemically, but that's what the lab's leather note does for me in the bottle, so I'm not worried. Wet: The chemical scent changes, but it's still strong and kind of astringent and I can't really pull out any specific notes. Dry down: Much the same as wet until it's really had time to dry. Dry: Only the barest hints of leather (and not all the time), mostly it's men's cologney, but I don't know that I'd call it particularly masculine (which may only make sense to me, but there it is). Overall: I really want to like this, and based on some of the other reviews, I think some aging is in order. But I'll probably try it again in a week or so to make sure it isn't just hormonal chemistry/a wonky nose. Then it'll probably be off to the back of the box for a few months.

I wasn't sure about this one, but I'd been wanting to try something from Ars Draconis, and Reverie just barely beat out Milk when I was placing my order (not that I remember what pushed it over the edge...) In the imp: Floral. Sweet floral Wet: WHOA. FLORAL. Getting the feeling this one may not be for me, but I know better than to give up before bpal scents have had a chance to morph. Dry down: Still way too floral-sweet for my taste, and for once my skin's not amping amber. I wish it were. When I was little (~ 7-8 y/o), I had this kit where you could make your own nail polish, "perfume," etc., by mixing various components and putting them in the little vials and stuff. I think I remember adding the lilac scent to almost every fragrance I made. I loved it. Reverie is reminding me of that. I don't love it so much any more. Dry: Finally starting to get a bit of amber glowing through, and it cuts the sweetness some. A couple of hours later, I'm left with a sweet, creamy amber... but I have O for that (and without all the florals to begin with). I may give this another try in a couple of weeks, but it's not looking like something I'll wear much, if ever.