meredevachon

I'm in love! This is the second time I've wished I'd gone straight for a 5ml instead of ordering an imp first, and I'm negotiating with myself on how long to wait before adding a bottle to my collection. In the imp: Teak, something bitter-not-quite-medicinal, and a roundness I'm pretty sure is from the vanilla & tobacco. Wet: The teak's stronger now, but the vanilla's blooming too, making it hard for me to keep my wrist away from my nose. I don't want to stop sniffing. During dry down: I only thought I'd liked this before, now I know what real love is. Tobacco joins the vanilla and teak in the best way. It's like walking into an empty shop that was a tobacconist for decades, so the fragrance of all the tobacco has melded into the walls and then faded over time. Sweet and warm and round. Dry: Overall I've got a cozy almost decadent feeling, interspersed with wafts of stronger scent (sometimes smoky, sometimes expensive whiskey, in addition to the vanilla-teak-tobacco I'm crazy about). I can kind of see the comparisons to Perversion (which I finally got a bottle of in this same order), but the moods they invoke are so different for me. AM is curl up in a big comfy leather armchair with a good book. Perversion is take over a corner of a bar with your friends and drink and laugh and talk about sex until the wee hours. I love this on me, even more than I thought I would. But I really wish I had a guy to try it on, because if it's this good on me... *mrow* Definitely in my top five.

In the imp: Jasmine, just the way I remember it. Wet: The jasmine's even stronger now, stronger than I like, but it's very much the scent I get walking on a spring night after it's rained during the day. When the night flowers open up and the moisture in the air carries the fragrance everywhere. Dry: Once the jasmine calms down a bit, I get hints of other florals, but nothing I can identify. It's still heady and sweet, but comforting/calming at the same time. Overall: I think I might keep this more for a room scent than a ME scent. I love the fragrance and it worked well on me, but I feel weird smelling like flowers. I don't feel like me.

I got this as a freebie from the lab, and wasn't really sure about it as I'm not a fruity scent kind of person. But enough of BPAL's scents surprise me that I'm never going to dismiss something untried. In the imp: Sage. Green and light. Wet: Berries! Lots of berries, but tempered with the sage (and maybe some tea?) It's not overpowering, though, and that's a good thing. Dry: Now I really get the impression of Republic of Tea's Blackberry Sage tea. No real whiffs of musk, but I can tell (or have convinced myself) it's lurking underneath, keeping things from being too bright. Overall, I liked this a lot more than I thought I might, and I think in the spring or when I'm in the right kind of mood, this'll be about perfect. Probably not an every day scent for me, but one I'll enjoy from time to time.

In the imp: Medicinal and sharp. Wet: I get the amber & musk now, but overlaid with a fake-y citrus, like lemon-scented cleanser or something. Dry: The lemony tang goes away after a while, and I'm left with a wonderful musk rounded and softened by the amber. I couldn't stop sniffing myself. Overall, decent throw (which for me means not a lot), average longevity, and a wonderful scent. I love it.

Ordered this because I really wanted it to work (both because of the name and the description), but had some concerns. Grabbed it out of the "to try" pile this morning without looking to see what was in it. In the imp: Cough syrup, plus something I couldn't put my finger on. Wet: Ah! This must have red wine in it *checks description* Yep. There's no mistaking that grape Bubble Yum scent I get from the Lab's red wine note. (and that would be why I was concerned when I ordered it) *crosses fingers it doesn't last* Dry: Still grape Bubble Yum. *sigh* Okay, so after about 4-5 hours the grape has faded, become more wine like, darker and softer. Hint of rose starting to peek out from time to time, and a roundness I think's from the myrrh. Overall, I like where it ends up, but the 4-5 hrs waiting to get to that point, with a stronger throw than I normally like anyway... not going to be one of my faves.

I like all these notes, and they usuallly like me, so I had to give Fenris Wolf a try. In the imp: Feral. Raw animalism. Wet: Predominantly earthy, like packed earth, with a hint of the feral, animal scent underneath, musk, but not musk (if that makes any sense). This is the scent of the wolf's den. Dry: More of the same, but more familiar seeming. Like instead of being an interloper in the wolf's den, I belong there. Marked. Territorial. This scent wasn't what I expected it to be, yet I still love it. I don't think it's something I'll be comfortable wearing frequently, but when it's right... it's right. When I need to stand up for/defend myself and the people/things I care about, this is the armor I need to wear. Definitely a keeper.

For a variety of reasons, I was really looking forward to trying Bastet, and I finally got the chance In the imp: Sweet. Like overly ripe fruit just about to tip over into rotting. But not in a bad way, just sweeter than I like for me. Then again, I'm learning that what I smell in the bottle is a) nowhere near what things will smell like on, and way out of whack from what most people report smelling. Weird sniffer, I guess. Wet: Amber. Dry: Still amber. Not that amber's a bad thing. I love it. But while it doesn't seem like an amber single note, I'm also not getting anything specific other than amber. If that makes sense. Overall, I like it, but not as much of some of my other ambers. I don't know if it's headed for a swap, or if I'll keep it for rare occasions when I just randomly pick something to wear.

The perfect scent to wear to your next bondage ball, dungeon adventure or sojourn to your favorite pleasure dome. Smoky rum and black tobacco with a whisper of steamy leather with a splash of crystalline chardonnay, layered over a sensual, sweet, and deceptively magnetic base of tonka. This was a freebie with my last order, and I wasn't quite sure how I'd feel about it. But from some of the reviews, I had to give it a try. In the imp: Mostly what I'm getting is burnt sugar. I don't get any of the chemically scent I'm starting to associate with leather notes (that luckily changes on the skin, but is rather unpleasant in the bottle). No real boozy notes either, although the burnt sugar is probably connected to the rum (and possibly tonka). Wet: Burnt sugar's gone, and I'm starting to pick up some subtle hints of leather now. A really soft, broken-in leather. And there's the tonka, almost vanilla, but not quite. Dry: I like this. It's hard to pull out individual notes (something I'm not very skilled at anyway), but there's the tobacco (like walking into a tobacco shop and getting a whiff of all the pipe tobacco's mingling together, and a sense of leather and rum, but more like a rum flavoring than actual rum because it doesn't seem boozy at all. I still don't get any of the chardonnay, but I don't feel like the scent needs anything else. And I'm pleased to find I don't get any of the coconut so many of the reviewers did, as I'm not fond of coconut, and don't feel the need to smell like suntan lotion. Moderate throw and lasted for a decent amount of time. Overall I like this. I'm not sure it will go into my first tier of scents I wear most often and can't resist getting a bottle of, but I'll wear it often enough, I think, and will definitely use the imp. ETA: What a difference even 6 months of aging can make! Some time over the summer I went from the occasional dab of Perversion to reaching for it almost as often as my other faves. And when I started worrying the imp would run out before I could get some more (and rationing what was left along with the worrying), I knew this was a keeper. Got my bottle yesterday and have set it aside for now. But Perversion is definitely in my top 5 (for now... who knows what the next shipment might bring *g*)

Sniffed this last night in the imp, but musks and I weren't getting along, and that was all I could smell. Tried again today, though, with different results. In the imp: Prairie grasses in spring while fresh and new. Very green scent. Wet: Starting to get the amber, and the grass morphs to a dried sweetgrass. Not really getting any other notes early on. Dry: Occasionally I get a hint of musk or sun-warmed fur, but mostly it's sweetgrass and my beloved amber. I'm reminded of the sepia-toned scene in Gladiator where he trails his hand along the wheat. This has lasted a long time, not much throw, but I prefer scents that stay close to the skin. Overall, I really like this, and will add it to my regular use scents.

This was a freebie with my last order, and amazingly became the first I tried. In the vial: Fresh, green scent, but I can't pick out specific notes. Wet: Soft, creamy sandalwood and something resiny. Dry: I'm really starting to think the resin I caught early on was amber, and boy does amber love me! This is velvety and buttery (not that it smells like butter, but it evokes similar feelings... I'm not phrasing that well, sorry) and a very comforting and comfortable scent. First trials I always use a light hand when applying, but even so, this faded very quickly. I think it's just about right for use during yoga practice, though. It's very grounding and calming, and the timing of it seems about right to put it on just before beginning yoga and have it last until I was through, but not much longer, letting me associate the scent with the activity. I'll definitely enjoy the imp. Not sure yet if I'll upgrade to a bottle once it's gone.

I'm hoping my sniffer is just having an off day, because Lyonesse is nothing like I thought it would be. In the imp: Butter. Movie theatre popcorn butter to be exact. Not quite what I had in mind, you know? Wet: The buttery note is still there, but sweeter now. If I try really hard, I can just make out a hint of vanilla. Dry: It's hard to pick out individual notes now; it just keeps getting sweeter and sweeter. Kind of like the super-sugary frosting on grocery store cakes. I'm going to hold on this for now, try it again in a week or two to see if my chemistry's just wonky today. If that doesn't work then maybe see how it does if I age it for a few months. And in the meantime, I can bask in my beloved Mouse's Long & Sad Tale with the warm, golden vanilla-amber blend I love so much.

I really want to find a leather scent, and with the amber I knew this was one I had to try. In the imp: a sharp chemical tang (I got the same note from Wanda in the imp, so am pretty sure it's the leather). Wet: Leather. Hard, stiff boot leather. I was fairly happy about this because the only other leather I've tried, I didn't get any leather from, and I was a little worried my skin was just going to eat it up ~ not that I would have complained about getting amber, musk, and myrrh, but I really wanted some leather, you know? Dry: The amber doesn't come to the forefront like it usually does for me, but it does soften the leather, turning the stiff leather biker boots into supple thigh boots warmed by the body heat of the woman wearing them. Or the lingering scent of leather on the skin once the boots have been removed. I like. It's warm and dark, and very sexual. I wasn't sure my personality could handle such a Domme fragrance, but wearing this I feel ready to take on whatever. It's certainly not something I'll wear all the time, but when the time is right, it's exactly what I want to wear.

In the imp: Pale, and sweeter than I expected it to be. Wet: The sweetness died down, but it was kind of plasticky. Like the gel air fresheners my grandmother had scattered around her house when I was a kid. Dry: Watery and a pale blue, it's a very mild scent that stays close to the skin. And I have to agree with the reviewers who said Lightning reminded them of Yankee Candle's Storm Watch ~ which I loved and has been discontinued. It's not a bad scent, and in fact, on dry down it becomes something I really like... just not as a perfume. I'll probably keep the imp to use as a room scent and/or anointing candles though.

When I first started wandering around the BPAL site, I came across the description for MLaST and had to have it. It just seemed so perfectly me. There was never any question whether or not I was going to order this one, only whether to get a bottle unsniffed or start out with the imp. Caution prevailed and I just got the imp. I should have been bolder. On me, Mouse is a creamy, warm, golden vanilla that isn't foody - my favorite kind of vanilla. The amber & sandalwood perk up more during drydown, and the balance is perfect. I never really get the sweetpea as sweetpea (which I would have liked if I hadn't fallen so in love with what I do get), but from time to time there's a hint of sweetness that isn't from the vanilla. When I put it on, it's like coming home or being more me than I already am (if that makes any sense). It stays relatively close to the skin, which I like because I'm not comfortable drawing a lot of attention to myself or my perfume, and it lasts a long time. I'm a BPAL newbie, but until/unless something absolutely knocks me off my feet, Mouse is my perfect everyday scent. I can't believe how lucky I was to have my first pick be so exactly what I wanted it to be.

BPAL newbie here, and Unicorn was the second "gotta try this NOW" scent I got in my first order of imps. I love linden (and it's so hard to find) that I was really excited to find this one. And the scent was everything I hoped for and more: fresh and light and cool green... for about 20 minutes. Even slathering it on, it faded completely within half an hour. So I think this is going to fall into the "love it, but won't buy it" category because I'd go through it way too fast. And I could easily see myself wanting to wear it all the time.