Gin

This is a lovely floral. I smell the violets right away, but they're softened by the lilac and gardenia. Very pretty.

Ooh, sweet but tart! Like the sharp zing of orange rind combined with the sweet fruit inside. Then, Xiuhtecuhtli goes sweetly smoky with a hint of florals. It's not a fire-smoky smell, though. It's more like the cold, ash-covered stone of the fire pit. Or perhaps the cold embers of a fire the night before. If I inhale deeply, I can smell the jungle in the background. This is an interesting blend. As it fades, the smoke seems to disappear first and I'm left with sweet flowers in the cool, humid jungle morning.

Mmmm. This smells like a fabulous men's cologne. I can't pick out individual notes, but it's a very clean scent. As it dries, it becomes sweet--almost too sweet. Ack. It's become like a cologne by Calvin Klein... I can't remember which (Obsession for Men?), but a horribly clingy male friend of mine wore it. It gives me a headache. I'm sure I'd find Wilde lovely if not for that memory.

Ah, I see TheDarkMother has made the Obsession connection as well.

I thought I got a whiff of eucalyptus when I put this on, but it disappeared right away, leaving a lemony-aquatic. As it dries, I smell an ozone note. The lemon-citrus scent fades a little, leaving the ozone and a marine note so salty, I can taste it in the back of my mouth. Off to swaps!

At first, it's dry and dusty, like dried roses that have been sitting in the attic. Then something sweet appears--it's warm and almost-vanilla scent. And a wood note. The wood develops a lovely spicy scent but the rose seems to disappear. I don't care for the wet, old rose scent, but the dry wood smell is nice.

While wet, this smells almost like apple?? Or some sort of nailpolish remover? I must be having a dodgy-nose day. It's sweet, grassy--but not like a lawn, this is long, wild grass, slightly damp, cut down and drying in the summer sun. As it dries, Scarecrow goes smoky (for lack of a better word), but in a clean, men's-cologne kind of way. I like this enough to wear it myself, but I think it's will be incredible on Mr. Gin.

I can smell the rose, but Rakshasa smells like an orange & spice tea to me. As it dries, the spices take over. As Morrighana mentioned, this smells delicious enough to drink. Lovely, but do I detect a soapy note? I think I smell something soapy, but then when I *try* to smell it, it's gone. Weird. Either way, I like this enough to keep the imp around, and maybe even order more. I think I'm going to try it on Mr. Gin, too.

This is not at all what I expected, and definitely not something I would have chosen for myself (The Lab seem to know what I like better than I do ). I accidentally applied quite a bit and it's very strong, floral and sweet--a deep red sweetness. When it starts to dry and become softer, I think I can smell the sandalwood and maybe the rose, but otherwise, I can't pick out any particular notes (not that I know what osmanthus is anyway*). This is really beautiful!

*I've looked up osmanthus, and it appears to be a fruity-floral apricot-peach scent.

Viola goes on with a very strong bite. I'm not familiar enough with many of the notes to be able to pick out which is the culprit. As it dries, it stays spicy but I can smell the florals in the background. Finally, this becomes a surprisingly sweet floral. Gorgeous!

Oh, this is lovely. Floral and fruity, in perfect amounts. I can definitely pick out the pear and grape, I think I smell sweet pea, and what must be the musk rose. This is the scent of sunrise, a breakfast of fruit on a patio by the sea.

This is sweet but with a green edge. It smells like a meadow—predominantly grassy, but also floral. The berries lend a sweetness, but Rosalind doesn’t smell like berries at this stage. This makes me so eager for spring! It makes me feel a little bit sneezy, though, as some “grass” scents do, before finally turning more berryish. Lovely, if I can get past the sneezy part.

Goneril starts out as sharp and green and a little soapy. It dries down into an almost-pure cedarwood scent. The florals are there, but faintly.

Mata Hari -

This reminds me of my mother. I can imagine her in the morning, fresh from her jasmine-scented bath, making coffee. A lovely memory, but not quite what I want to smell like. But, I'll trust Beth and sit it out. As it dries, the coffee remains, which is good because I love the smell of coffee. The jasmine is still there, too, but it's a soft jasmine, and it's been sweetened by the tonka and vanilla. I don't get any fig or mahogany, but it's just as well, since I really like this as is. I'm glad I was patient with this!

Poor Omen shouldn't have a chance with me. Every note listed is something I tend to avoid, but once again, Beth has worked her magic. I can clearly smell the juniper, over an "earthy" scent. As it dries, the myrrh and patchouli peek out, lending an incensy tone. I think this would be fabulous on Mr. Gin.

Ooh, pine. This is very pine-y, but there's something sweet underneath. It's lemon! Somehow, even though both lemon and pine usually make me think of household cleaning products, Hemlock doesn't. There's maybe a bit of eucalyptus in here, too. I don't know exactly what Beth has mixed together, but it's brilliant.

I smell the lavender right away, and something sharper that I can't identify. Wow, there's mint in this? I never would have picked that out if I hadn't known. Even now, I feel the mint more than I actually smell it. This dries down to a slightly sweet, herbal scent that eventually becomes almost medicinal. This is not for me, so off to swaps it goes.

I have a difficult time smelling Bruja at all. I can faintly smell the amber, which is nice, And I'm eventually able to smell something spicier--the myrrh?--but I have to inhale really deeply for it to appear. I like the scent quite a bit, but it's *very* subtle. And then, oh dear, it goes powdery. Too bad.

I had incredibly high hopes for Jack. All I got from him was weird buttery popcorn and then a clovey-nutmeggy scent, but they seem off, too. This is not the lovely, spicy, foody scent I expected. I'm terribly disappointed because I was *so sure* that Jack was the guy for me. He's found a good home with someone else, though.

Carnation

Oh, how I adore the scent of carnations! This single note is beautiful--sweet but very spicy.

My first thought is Lemon Pledge, but not quite... more like Lemonheads candy. It's somehow tart and sweet at the same time. As it dries, it gets sweeter and eventually takes on an almost floral tone. I think Phobos is my favorite BPAL lemon so far. Too bad I discovered it too late.

This is syrupy-sweet, but quickly morphs into bubblegum. A weird, pink, boozy bubblegum. Oddly enough, when it dries down, it's lovely. The cloves pop out over the sweetness and then it goes almost powdery. This is way more sophisticated than I expected. I'm not sure this is something I would buy or wear often, but I'm very grateful to grrrlennyl for sending me the imp.

I'm not familiar with what dragon's blood resin smells like on its own, but this is sweet and incensy, with an almost powdery note. I'm not sure I can pick out the fig or currant because I think it's given me a headache. Otherwise, it really is lovely.

This is super-cinnamony at first. Big Red/Red Hots type cinnamony. Eventually, the cloves come through, but the cinnamon is still dominant. I'm not sure if the pepper ever shows up. I love the scent but it's kind of candle-like. I bet it will be fabulous in an oil burner. On my skin, I'd like something to detract from the cinnamon. So far, I've tried layering it with Vanilla Bean and mixing it into Lush's Sympathy for the Skin lotion, both with fantastic results--also Swank, which would make a very nice pairing for a burner. (Next, I'm going to try it with Sweet Clove and then tart's suggestion of Bliss. ) Three Witches really is incredible; it's great on its own, and also incredible when layered with others.

Death

Death goes on with that pencil-shavingish cedar scent, but for some reason it doesn't bother me at all here, as it does in some other oils. The wood notes are dominant at first, but then the smokiness comes forward creating a fantastic blend. It reminds me of having fires on the beach--the sand, the smoke from the fire, the dried-up, sun-bleached driftwood. It's a contemplative scent. I like to use a bit before bed when I'm reflecting on my day.

Mmmm. This goes on like very sweet vanilla but goes spicy very quickly. I don't think of a souk, though. In my mind, it's sunshine coming in through a window and a ginger-colored cat curled up in the warm rays. It fades into a yummy slightly spiced vanilla--warm and soft like a cashmere sweater. Morocco is lovely, I can see why it's so popular.