Lyrical

In the vial: like red wine vinegar! Wet on skin: the same red musk that is in Fenris Wolf. I can smell cocoa and sandalwood. This is nice! As it dries the cocoa is coming out more. Dry on skin: wow - this is actually a bpal I sweeten! The wine is coming out and is now the dominant note, mingling nicely with musk, sandalwood and a light floral which must be nicotiana. The cocoa didn't linger and the patchouli is behaving itself, perhaps because it is aged. This has a lot of what I like about Fenris Wolf, but in a feminine version! But there is a slight vinegary sourness lurking just in the background, which spoils it for me. After a few hours the vinegar is gone and soft amber comes out. There's quite a throw - I'm wearing two scents (because I'm testing imps), but this is the one I can smell all around me.

in the vial: thin, white, dry and masculine. wet on skin: sharp and rather bitter. Dry, herbal ... in fact it smells like the sort of oil you put on your pillow to unclog your sinuses - that must be the cajeput! I have a feeling that without cajeput it would be quite nice ... dry on skin: well, what do you know! The cajeput faded after half an hour, leaving a faint, thin, creamy scent of sweet sandalwood and white flowers! What a lovely surprise! I need to apply more! On a second application, it smells of rubber! Ew! On the third attempt, the rubber smell came back but eventually faded to leave the soft, sweet sandalwood ... which is unfortunately very faint.

in the vial: where's the rose? Dark and spicy. The colour is pale amber. wet on skin: patchouli? That's not supposed to be here! Still dark and spicy with very little rose. I don't like it. dry on skin: it's improved, but not enough for me to want to wear it. It smells dark and sinister. In the final stage it is pleasanter, but very soft and mild, and barely noticeable.

in the vial: very sweet and fruity. This is much more what I thought dragon's blood would smell like than Dragon's Heart was. wet on skin: phew! It's strong, fruity and sweet. I can't smell the individual spices, but it tickles my nose! dry on skin: how weird! I keep thinking I can smell hyacinths! This is a much nicer dragon's blood than Dragon's Heart, and not at all angry! I can't smell the pepper, but it makes me want to sneeze anyway! Ah - there's the pepper - and plenty of it! Still not getting cinnamon and clove, though. I'm not too keen on this one. Peppery hyacinths, and with a huge throw!!! Fortunately it fades after a few hours.

in the vial: sweet and rum and lime - it made me think of Christmas pudding! wet on skin: I was stupid enough to spill half the imp on the table, so now I've really slathered it on! It's still extremely Christmas puddingy, which is lovely. It's also smoky - like Christmas pudding that's just had flaming brandy poured over it! I'm not getting lime specifically, but there's definitely a citrus peel smell. dry on skin: smoky, sweet, fruity and alcoholic! It's not like tobacco smoke - it's more a spicy wood smoke. The lime is discreetly making it's presence known in the background. Close to the skin, the smokiness is offputting, but the throw is much sweeter and fruitier. I don't know if the raisins I'm smelling are really there or if my brain is adding them because they seem to fit! I need to try this one a few more times to be sure about it. The sweetness is dry rather than syrupy and it's really yummy! After a couple of hours the smoke has turned to butter! It's rich and exotic and foody and very unusual. It lasted well over 9 hours - in fact, it was still lingering pleasantly next day, despite a long shower. Very nice indeed! It's a really unusual smell, with definitely addictive qualities. A friend was kind enough to send me a decant, but it's now on my bottle list.

in the vial: vanilla and spice. It's similar to Lyonesse but different. Perhaps it will be what I hoped Lyonesse would be? wet on skin: it's fresh and the palest shade of greygreen. Very quiet and subtle - I'm having trouble picking out any particular note. It's barely there at all. dry on skin: it's much the same as it dries. Nice, but extremely faint and very neutral. More masculine than feminine. There is a hint of Lyonesse, which is unsurprising since they share many of the same notes, but this is nicer. Pale vanilla with a barely detectable hint of cool musk. I'm not getting any throw at all. This is a scent to wear on a day when you want to feel clean and fresh, but don't want to reek of perfume.

in the vial: almond essence, orange and spice - it's Christmassy! wet on skin: almond essence. Sweet and foody. Wait a minute - I think there's a touch of orange there too, and a hint of rose. dry on skin: mostly rose, but a very nice, well-behaved rose tempered with fruit and spice. The almond has gone, and there is very little nutmeg, clove, or sandalwood. It's very well-blended, but there is hardly any throw. I'll enjoy the rest of the imp, but I probably won't get a bottle.

in the vial: juicy citrus with a twist of chocolate and mint. wet on skin: CITRUS, CITRUS, CITRUS! Tart and juicy like freshly sliced lime, tangerine and grapefruit! Yummy! dry on skin: still very citrus, but if I sniff hard I can get a whiff of chocolate in the background. No, it's mint! No, chocolate! Or is it lavender? It keeps changing, but the citrus dominates. Unfortunately it fades fast. It's gorgeous, though! I may have to get a bottle of this!

in the vial: oatmeal cookies smothered with honey! wet on skin: strong almond essence. dry on skin: it's still predominantly almond, but milder, sweeter and creamier now. It's icky! After a couple of hours I noticed a rather pleasant, sweet and creamy smell wafting up from my arm. It's a nicer version of the way it smelled at first! It's not worth waiting for the icky stage to pass, though, so I've given it to my daughter.

in the vial: spicy amber. wet on skin: warm, golden, animal amber, (and just a tiny bit foody!). Nice! dry on skin: rich, spicy and masculine. I can almost imagine a lion smelling like this! It gets gradually stronger and lasts a long time. Unfortunately, I can't imagine ever wanting to smell like this.

in the vial: mmmm - very fruity with a touch of spice. And it's bright orangey red! I was really expecting it to be green! wet on skin: tropical fruit and spice. Nice! dry on skin: juicy and sweet like a fruity bubble bath. I can't smell patchouli, but I suspect it's lurking in the background providing depth and a hint of spice. After a few hours some musk emerges, making it slightly less less bubbly-bathy. By next morning the fruit was gone but there was still a pleasant trace of musk/patchouli. I won't get a bottle, but I'll enjoy the imp.

I'm so pleased I found this thread! The Body Shop White Musk has been my signature scent for years, and one good friend even told me not to bother trying out BPAL because he likes White Musk so much on me! I don't actually think Black Pearl or Zephyr are much like TBS White Musk, or at least not on me, although they are both beautiful, but I'm waiting for parcels with Verchenyaya, Mr Ibis, and Whitechapel in, and I'll definitely check out the other scents recommended here.

This was a frimp. In the vial: smells weedy and, going by the description, I can't think when I would wear it! Wet on skin: smells like garden weeds. Dry on skin: I can smell the violet, lavender and vetiver (I hate vetiver). It is sharp and unpleasant. I never got any white musk at all. Better luck next time, I hope!

I was lucky enough to get this as a frimp. In the vial: I smell ginger and it's a lot less floral than I the description led me to believe. Wet on skin: very sweet - the main note is peppery ginger, with creamy citrus and pale flowers underneath. Dry on skin: the ginger fades enough to let the other notes through, especially grapefruit. It's a delicately spicy citrus/floral blend and I like it! It's refreshing - perhaps a good scent for Monday mornings? Not much throw, which is probably a good thing because with the grapefruit and ginger it's powerful stuff! After a while it goes just a bit soapy before fading into a smooth vanilla with the barest hint of orange! This is lovely, but I wish it lasted longer.

This was my first encounter with dragon's blood. In the vial: dark and musky. Wet on skin: rich, dark musk. I was told that dragon's blood is very sweet and fruity, but I'm not getting that at all. It's very dry and masculine. Dry on skin: ah, is this what dragon's blood smells like? It's a bit sweeter and fruitier now, but with an odd, medicinal twang that reminds me of something in my elderly father-in-law's house. It's probably just my chemistry messing it up, but this is definitely not for me! However, it's sweeter on my daughter, so I think I'll pass it on to her.

In the vial: very rose but with a bite! Wet on skin: delicate rose with a fair amount of throw. Dry on skin: still very rose. Several hours later: now the rose is fading a little and the amber and musk have come out to join it. This is a beautiful scent, but rose isn't really "me". I'm glad I tried it, though. Edit: I recently received a frimp of Spellbound and liked it much better. The new imp seemed to have more rose and less amber and I've been wearing it quite a lot! Edit again: I neglected the imp, leaving it in the bathroom cabinet for a few months, and now it is thick and dark and incredibly lovely, with rich, dark musk as the main note, and the rose hovering politely in the background! This ages really well!

In the vial: rich, sweet honey. Wet on skin: a pleasant, sweet smell with equal amounts of honey and vanilla and something warm and just a little spicy which must be the amber. It doesn't really smell like perfume. It smells of skin with honey smeared on it. There is very little throw. Dry on skin: a little sharper now, but rich and subtle. I really like this, and I will definitely use up the imp. It layers beautifully with Fenris Wolf.

In the vial: light, creamy coconut with a twist. Wet on skin: cool, pale and delicate - a lightly fruity coconut reminiscent of Malibu rum! Dry on skin: icy cold, delicate, dry and nutty. White musk and hazelnut are the last notes to show up, bringing just a little warmth and making this very silky and sensual. It's similar to Black Opal, which I like a bit better, but this is definitely one of my favourites!

By far, our most popular scent! Magnetic, mysterious, and exceedingly sexual in nature. A blend of exotic Indonesian oils sugared with vanilla. How could anyone resist this description? However, it didn't seem to like me at all! In the vial: spicy patchouli. No vanilla yet. Wet on skin: rich, subtle and mysterious. Spicy, but I can't pick out anything in particular. Dry on skin: still no vanilla. It's dry and spicy with an unpleasant sourish tang. Two hours later: it's faded to almost nothing, and now the vanilla has come out! It's nice, but not worth waiting for. Next I tried some on my cleavage and it was sweeter there but it stung and left my skin red. It's exotic, but I don't much like it. However, I won't give up yet - I'll try again in a week or so, and if it's still no good, I'll let it age for a while. ________________________________________________________________________________ __ Two months later: Wow - this is really nice! It's unusual, but yummy! Unfortunately it still makes my skin itch, but it works fine on my clothes! It's very spicy, and the foody vanilla makes it comforting.

In the vial: chocolate and sandalwood. It's both dry and sweet at the same time. Wet on skin: rich yet dry, chocolatey and somewhat smoky. Dry on skin: the chocolate is gone and it's woody, smoky and just a little bit fruity! A week later: this is gorgeous! It's reminiscent of a mug of creamy, spiced hot chocolate! Warm and lovely.

Very pretty! In the vial: light, fizzy orange and peach! Very fruity! Wet on skin: the same. Then the white musk starts to come out. Dry on skin: still fizzy and orange/peach fruity, light and delicately musky. A light, young daytime scent. It lasts well and doesn't morph.

Success! In the vial: pale, sweet, musky and really beautiful! Wet on skin: ethereal, nothing really stands out here - it's just a soft blend of fruit and flowers and woody tones and it's gorgeous! Dry on skin: it's richer, darker and spicier. Sandalwood, musk and citrus are the dominating notes - although I'm not getting anything lemony. Warm, subtle and very nice indeed. It's not white, though - it's golden brown. The second time I wore Zephyr it was just as lovely and lasted well. After about 5 hours it started to fade and after 6-7 hours it reappeared as pure powdery sandalwood that reminded me distinctly of my grandmother. Oh well, I guess I can always wash it off when it reaches that stage! I loved my grandmother, but I don't want to smell like her! This one's a winner!

I was really looking forward to trying this one, since it combines a lot of the notes I thought I liked best. However, this was my first BPAL order and I'm still learning. In the vial: "golden vanilla" sums it up perfectly. Wet on skin: syrupy vanilla. It smells like a vanilla flavour meal replacement drink! Dry on skin: still thick vanilla with something vaguely floral in the background and another note I don't like - could that be the ambergris? This is a huge disappointment!

This is absolutely gorgeous! Wet on skin: very light and effervescent, slightly acidic. Dry on skin: this is amazing! It really does smell like a cold, smooth, luminescent opal! I think there's citrus here and flowers but it doesn't smell of either. But it's not black - it's definitely white in colour! Not a lot of throw. There's some vanilla coming out now, and perhaps a little white musk and coconut. It is faint, delicate, slightly creamy, and really, really beautiful! It just gets better and better and it lasts all day! My favourite BPAL so far!

the applicator smells different from the bottle! It prickles in my nose - that must be the ginger, but the applicator smells almost chocolatey - like Terry's Chocolate Orange! After shaking it up a bit, it all smells the same - the oils must have separated! So far I wouldn't call it sexy, but I'm looking forward to trying it on. Spicy, complex and intriguing! wet on my arm: I'm still getting chocolatey, although I guess that's probably the patchouli combined with the orange blossom. It's rich, heavy, dark brown and spicy. Not sweet. 10 minutes later it smells slightly sour and rather grubby, if you can call a scent grubby! Perhaps earthy would be a better word. After half an hour all the chocolate is gone and I've recognised what this reminds me of - Germolene (the antiseptic cream)!!! It's not unpleasant, but I wouldn't describe it as sexy either. 6 hours later: this has mellowed out into something really nice, although still a bit heavy for my taste. The Germolene is gone, but the Chocolate Orange is still hanging around in an earthy, subtle way. I just added a drop to my cleavage and it smells pleasantly rich and smooth, no Germolene, actually rather sandalwoody! However, I think this is going to my daughter, because it smells fantastic on her - much lighter and sweeter on her than on me, with a delectable note of vanilla. I will almost certainly steal some from her now and again! Later: this combines very nicely with the Body Shop's Vanilla. ETA: this ages amazingly! One year on, the oil in the imp is thick and gloopy. In the first whiff the Germoline is still there, but not as strong, and ginger is much more prominent – a very “hot” red ginger – hot both in the smell and the way it feels on my skin. This is rich and smooth and rounded, but also fiery and passionate – with just a hint of Germoline close to the skin. Patchouli and I have issues, but this is a patchouli scent I can really enjoy!