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BPAL Madness!

mhickle

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Everything posted by mhickle

  1. mhickle

    Hemlock

    In the imp and upon first application, this is very medicinal. As it dries, though, it smells like Christmas trees! It gets a little sweeter, but is basically lovely piney goodness on me. I really like it! Unfortunately, this does not last at all on me. I put it on before leaving for work, and now, just shy of 2.5 hours later, it's pretty much gone. Wish I'd brought the imp with me to reapply!
  2. mhickle

    Absinthe

    In the imp, I was smelling mostly anise and a bit of lemon and sugar. Upon first application, it's all lemon, but shortly thereafter I walked into the kitchen and my husband said "You smell like licorice." It has a pretty long throw at that point, because he was at the sink and I was at the fridge grabbing lunch items (which is to say we weren't getting all kissy or anything). Once it dries, it's this really interesting bitter but cool (as in minty cool) smell that throws a bit of anise toward me every now and then. It's like nothing I've smelled before.
  3. mhickle

    Bengal

    I looooove honey, so I was really excited to try this. And I have not been disappointed!! In the imp, it smells like spiced deliciousness, all honey-sweet with cinnamon. On my skin, it's very spicey at first, with the honey sneaking into the background. As we hit the drydown phase, the honey comes back to the forefront, and I'm left with a slightly spicey sweetness that is just lovely. I was at a rehearsal last night and must have looked like a crazy person, because I could not stop smelling my wrists. I've noticed with most of the oils I've tried, though, that they just don't last very long on me.... Hmmm....
  4. mhickle

    White Rabbit

    In the imp, I can't quite place it - definite sweetness, and not getting much tea. That continues on my skin - I get a bit of the linen, but more milky sweetness than anything else. I'm not getting ANY of the complexity of the scent, which is disappointing, because I so wanted to love this one!
  5. mhickle

    The Jersey Devil

    Okay, I think I am in love. This was in my first-ever order, and while I have definitely liked others that I've tried so far, this is one that I am just really loving. In the imp it's piney and earthy and lovely, with more fruit than when it's on my skin, and on me it smells like Christmas. But not in a super typical way. I am a big fan of the tomato in it - previously one of my favorite fragrances was Demeter's Tomato, as it smelled like the plant and not the fruit, and it's the same thing here. What a lovely scent!!
  6. mhickle

    Kabuki

    In the bottle, this has a THICK cherry scent. Maybe the color of the oil pushes that as well, as it is quite dark, blood red. I don't get any anise or musk on first sniff, but whoa! does the anise come out on my skin. It's very heavily licorice on me at first, like way too much, but it becomes more subtle and the musk starts to come out as the oil dries down. Now it has become very subtle. It's a complex scent, and curiously enough I don't get much cherry at all once it's on! This was a frimp in my very first order, and I'm digging it!
  7. mhickle

    Delirium

    Upon first sniff, Delirium really smells like apples to me, which made me happy. Unfortunately, as soon as I put it on, I knew it would not work for me. It's all rose, and I am not a fan of rosey or flowery scents. On me, this ends up a drugstore perfume, and gives me a headache. To the swaps with you, Delirium! I so wanted you to work, but we can't always win, can we? Oh, and I forgot to add this, so an edit: It is lasting fooooorever on me. Figures! Another edit: I gave the imp to a friend of mine because she said she likes roses in her perfume. On her, this smells wonderful - a perfect blend of apple and rose.
  8. mhickle

    Lady MacBeth

    I'm not usually big on ultra sweet scents, but for some reason I'm kind of digging this one. In the imp, it was like whoaaaa berries - super sweet and punching me in the face with berriness. On my wrist, it calmed down a little bit, but I'm still not smelling much other than berries. It sort of reminds me of the store my mom used to sell her crafts in (she made primitive art snowmen and things like that - Christmas decorations and things - really cool and not cheesy). The place always smelled like cranberry candles and other berry-smelling things, all mixed together. Maybe that's why, despite not usually liking scents like this, I'm okay with Lady Macbeth. It takes me to a happy place.
  9. mhickle

    Old Scratch

    Just to start off, I am not familiar with tonka as a note, so hopefully as I try out more of the offerings at BPAL, I'll be able to start picking it out. For now, I'm just going to describe this scent the best way I can. In the imp, it smells very clean, almost powdery to me. It goes on my skin the same way, though the powdery part of the scent disappears rather quickly. As it dries on my skin, it becomes a bit more masculine, but very warm and a great choice for this lovely autumn day. I don't detect much lavender on me, and only a hint of patcholi. It's a very rich scent, and once again I'm trying to hide my many wrist-sniffs from my office mates. Hah! I reallllllly like this one! Yay!
  10. mhickle

    The Red Queen

    When I opened the imp, my nose was met with a very strong waft of sweetness. Like Kool-Aid sweetness. As I put it on my skin, it didn't smell so much like Kool-Aid anymore - definitely like cherries - dark, dark sugared cherries. I really hoped it wouldn't stay so strongly sweet. And it didn't! On me, this oil dries to a soft woody scent, like I've just opened an empty drawer in a very well-made old cabinet. The wood is at the forefront, and lurking behind is the sweet fruitiness, which I normally would not like. However, here the sweetness makes it so that I don't smell exactly like that old cabinet! I rather like it, and really wasn't expecting to with that burst of sweetness at the start!!
  11. mhickle

    Shoggoth

    Upon first sniff, I can't really place the scent, but am more apprehensive about trying it than the other two I've reviewed in the past two days (Arcana and Severin). It's a sweet smell, and I'm worried it will be too sweet for me. Applied and wet, the sweetness stays, and I'm afraid it will be one of those headache scents for me. As it dries, it softens up, but is definitely a "perfumey" scent on me - I'm getting a lot of licorice from it, which is weird, because in scanning the other reviews, it looks like I'm a bit strange there. It reminds me of a perfume I had a sample of once... As it dries, the scent softens and I start to pick up the coconut. I'm trying to sniff my wrists without drawing much attention to myself at work. Luckily, my office mates are all pretty much crazy anyhow. Just sniffed again, and I'm getting the coconut but now the musky smell. Overall, I don't like it when it's wet, but once it dries I'm really digging it. I might have to put it away for a while, though, because I'm not feeling it for autumn.
  12. mhickle

    Arcana

    Upon first sniff, I get a ton of lemon. So much so that I am not quite sure what it's supposed to smell like, and make a mental note to check the description on the site. Wet on my skin, it is incredibly lemony - almost in a lemon-scented cleaner kind of way, which makes me sad. As it dries, it starts to smell almost like incense, but still with that strong lemon smell. Finally, it ends up as a lavender/incense kind of smell on me, which I like. It is calming. I'm about to head off to bed and might put some more on before I brush my teeth, so it will be settling into that final scent as I am getting into bed. I settled down on the sofa with my husband a little while ago and he said "what perfume are you wearing?" I told him and asked if he liked it. "Eh," he shrugged. "It's okay." So, I'll try some other stuff! So far, though, I've liked both oils I've tried. Hooray! Can't wait to get the dozen imps I'm waiting for!
  13. mhickle

    Severin

    My first review! Here goes... First sniff and application: Quite lemony. As it dries, I smell the Earl Grey tea leaves emerging past the lemon, really more or less shoving it aside! The scent becomes more complex on my skin, and the lemon has become a whisper. I've buried my face in the steam of a cup of tea, and my favorite kind of tea at that. Just a few moments later, the strong Earl Grey note fades and I'm left with a very subtle smell against my skin. This has a fast fade time, softening to an almost creamy version of the initial scent... EDIT: Put it on again today before leaving the house for work. It had already faded completely by the time my drive in was half over, so maybe 1/2 hour later.
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