MaidMirawyn

Not what I expected!

In the bottle: Pomegranate and something a bit sour...

Wet: Nice! Pomegranate and floral...nothing sour.

Dry: I smell the pomegranate, but there's an earthy note, too, and a bit of floral. I may have to buy a bottle!

This is another one I was able to sample thanks to the generosity of someone at last night's Meet n Sniff at the Roswell Whole Foods!

Didn't make notes, so I can only speak to the final stage. It's floral and subtly sweet. The aquatic note is understated, and there's just a touch of sharp earthiness. Very nice; I think I'll buy at least an imp.

Just got this one with my decant of Parlement of Foules, from salixnoir. I'm hoping it will work, because every note in it intrigues me except vetiver...

So, in the imp: Whoa, nasty vetiver. Please tell me it won't be vetiver on my skin...

Wet: Ah. Vetiver...please, please fade.

It is fading, just a bit. Maybe...

Dry: It's still vetiver. I can't smell anything else, except maybe a touch of musk. Too bad.

I thought long and hard before buying this, because I do NOT want to tell people I smell like a bordello...

But it's too intriguing. It's very fruity, plum and cherry and berry, and not much else.

On, it turns to something more complex, even before it's completely dry. That must be the amaretto. It's fruity but warm, a bit exuberant and larger-than-life, with just a touch of wine.

I think dragon's blood likes me! This is my second hit with it.

I was lucky enough to get an imp out of someone's "up for grabs" box last night at the Roswell Meet n Sniff. (Was it Myth? Was she the one passing the happy purple-y box?)

I didn't know what was in this when I tried it, but it quickly turned warm and sweet yet spicy. I definitely get some of the same cinnamon fire out of this as I do Chimera, so I think that has to be in the spices. There's just a bit of a bite to it (which is appropriate), and I think it's the vertiver. Slightly woodsy.

Cinnamon and dragon's blood have been good for me, but vetiver has been hit and miss. I think this is a good one if you like spicy-sweet and vetiver works for you in a supporting role, not front-and-center.

I'm hoping to do a classic Trek communication officer costume for Dragon*Con. So, the question: what would Uhura wear if she were a fair-skinned white chick?

I was privileged to try this as the Whole Foods/Harry's Farmers Market meet n sniff in Roswell tonight! (I think it was AndraBell that brought hers?)

It's apple-y at first, but as it dries down i morphs like crazy, as everyone has said! The final note is aquatic, with only a hint of the fruit. Cold, just a touch sharp, and intriguing. Sadly, I'm horrible at describing scents, so that's the best I can do.

But five hours later, it's still there. Middle of my left arm, labeled "SGA," carefully distanced from Djinn and Serpent's Kiss.

I tried this one at the Whole Foods/Harry's Meet n Sniff tonight.

I don't really detect distinct notes...for me, it blends into a slightly dark and subtly tropical scent. Very nice! Sweet, but not overywhelmingly so. I would never guess the dark note was tobacco!

Wish I could remember who let me try it so I could thank them...I may have to get an imp!

I've come to really like Black Moon, since buying a bottle off Stella.

In the imp and wet, it smells pretty much the same: very, very jasmine. I mean REALLY jasmine.

But as it dries, a wonderful thing happens: the jasmine recedes. The other notes begin to develop and blend, until you have a fruit-floral-musk blend that's absolutely wonderful.

It's definitely a perfume scent, and I think it's a nice "night" scent. I wear it during the day myself, but I do think it smells like the scent of flowers on a breeze, with a touch of the night-blooming flowers. It's relaxing, and subtly sexy without being sleazy.

Yay! My bottle arrived!

This one doesn't really morph for me. It's pomegranate, that's for sure, but I agree with Pugmom that there's something darker grounding it. My friend said it smelled like a musk to her (and she is better at picking out notes than I am). So that's what I'm going with: pomegranate but with the fruitiness tempered by a bit of musky darkness.

It's a bit sharper in the imp than dry, but really, almost no change! First time that has happened to me.

The thread for the East Coast will call is here. As you can see, there are children younger than 15 at the event and there are specific hours for the will call - they generally don't go all day. I've never been to the East Coast events, but I have been to the one at the lab. Much fun!

Thanks for the link! I especially love the pics of the marked-up arms!

I ask because I go to Dragon*Con every year, and while I love it, there is NO WAY I would take a fifteen-year-old there late Saturday night...though it's great during the day!

When I got my order, I decided I had to try Hamadryad first. I opened the imp, took a few sniffs, and tried it on.

Then I checked the scent description, and my brain went, "Huh?" But after searching the topic for "mint," I was reassured that I was NOT losing my mind.

Okay, maybe I am, but at least it's totally unrelated to the perfume...

In the imp: Minty! Specifically, wintergreen. I know the scent I'm getting is wintergreen, because when I was an art student we did wintergreen transfers, and ever since then I randomly crave wintergreen. (I SWEAR the stuff must have leeched into my bloodstream, but that's a separate issue...)

Wet: Mainly wintergreen. There's something peeking out, but it's still pretty faint so I can't identify it.

Dry: It's a complex, blended fragrance now. I do get whiffs of wintergreen, but they're faint and someone who doesn't have my weird wintergreen thing going on may not even notice it. It's woodsy, though I can't single out any one wood, with a touch of floral sweetness. I don't really smell the cinnamon or nutmeg; I think they've been absorbed into the woods scent and are giving it more depth.

My husband doesn't particularly care for the wintergreen stage; he says it's too sharp. So I'm glad it morphs into something else on me. I wouldn't have minded more cinnamon (I'm addicted to Chimera, so yay cinnamon), but I love the result. I'm sure there are plenty of other spicy-yummy fragrances; this one is nicely unique.

AND I can still have my wintergreen fix when it's wet or in the imp.

Thanks so much! I wasn't sure if there was a will call EVERY full moon, or just certain ones. I also didn't know if it was always ON the full moon, or if it was on weekends. Y'all are such a big help. Here's hoping I see at least some of you in Hershey sometime this year.

One last question: how about taking a minor? (My cousin's fifteen.) Would it be okay? Would my aunt lynch me? Would earlier in the day be better?

I had to read several of these reviews to convince myself that Santa Muerte was unlike what I smelled in the bottle.

In the imp it was sharp and soured, maybe decaying. Ick.

Wet, it's much better. I can smell green, and a bit of floral.

"Dry, it's pleasant, more floral. But nothing outstanding on me.

I am so thankful it didn't smell like it did in the imp!

For Christmas, I gave my sister a set of six Mad Tea Party imps; I tried to pick a range of fragrances. I was giving her a Mad Hatter necklace I bought off Etsy for her birthday, and since she was away for her bday she got that gift at Christmas, too. So I did a two-occasion theme. I used polymer clay to decorate an Altoids tin and lined it with craft foam to cushion the imps.

Totally wonderful review there!

But a question: how are the East Coast Will Calls different? Or are they? I have family in the area, and I will be visiting them sometime in the next year. If I could time it to coincide with a will call...even better!

Is there a set schedule for will calls, anyway? Or is each one decided separately?

OH!!!

 

And if you want the milkiness to go with the chai-ness, definitely search out Milk Moon 05 to layer =)

 

Hmm...do you think Milk Moon 07 would work? I have that one, actually.

 

I'm placing an order this weekend, and I'm definitely going to try Bengal, Plunder, and Dragon's Milk.

 

It'd be a more tropical chai, if such a creature exists, but it sounds like an interesting experiment. The original Milk Moon was a more pure milky scent, as I recall. (Of course, I'm mostly just envious of anyone Milk Moon '07 works on. It'd have been great on me, if not for the sourness.)

Ah, okay. I'm not familiar with the original. I'm still fairly new to BPAL, so I didn't know what the difference was.

I can always try it at night. Then I can just go take a shower if it's horrible!

OH!!!

 

And if you want the milkiness to go with the chai-ness, definitely search out Milk Moon 05 to layer =)

Hmm...do you think Milk Moon 07 would work? I have that one, actually.

I'm placing an order this weekend, and I'm definitely going to try Bengal, Plunder, and Dragon's Milk.

I love this thread! I started making chai from scratch way back in 1998 or so, after seeing it mentioned in a spice book. For years, no one ever knew what I was talking about.

I tried Starbucks chai once, but didn't reallly care for it. I like to get chai from Indian restaurants, because everywhere else uses concentrates and mixes, it seems.

As far as BPAL... Dragon's Milk is on my list already. I'll have to add Bengal and Plunder now! And maybe convince my sis to let me try the Alice I bought her...

Now I want to make some chai. Except I have to leave for work soon...this job thing is ALWAYS getting in the way!

How about Christmas Rose? It's not GC, but it is currently available. It's very green, herbal, and light, with just a hint of floral undertone. And the Yule scents are up through, what? January 11?

This was a frimp with my most recent lab order.

In the imp, I can detect lemon in the background; mainly I think I'm smelling the leather, amber, and tea...though I can't detect the individual notes, and I'm guessing what makes up the main note.

Dry, it's not agreeing with me. I don't smell any citrus, any tea, or anything herbal or floral. I've had ambers behave questionably before, so that may be it. It could also be the leather...or the teakwood. Regardless, it's making my eyes water a bit and my nose wrinkle, even after an hour. I applied it fairly lightly, I thought. It smells kind of sharp, but maybe it's just too masculine for me.

Off to the swap pile. And off to wash my wrists before bed!

Edited to add: After a few more sniffs, I'm chalking it up to the combination of amber and leather. Think I'll avoid that combination...

In the bottle, Angeronalia smells sharp; I think it's the patchouli. However, I can detect hints of sweetness and citrus hiding in the background.

Wet, it morphs: now I can smell the nectarine and blood orange, though the patchouli is still strong. There's also a subtle floral note besides the gardenia, which must be the olive blossom.

Dry, it's musky, but with floral and citrus notes that play hide-and-seek with me. Complex, and definitely earthy.

Once again, the lab has created an unusual and memorable fragrance. Very nice!

I love the phoenix and the dragon, so a phoenix fragrance with dragon's blood resin seemed like fun. After reading the reviews, I decided to take the plunge and buy a 5 mL.

In the imp, it's fruity as can be, mainly grape but with a touch of a candy scent. (Yeah, grape candy. What a surprise, right?)

Wet, there's still a lot of grape, but with more depth. Still sweet, but not overpoweringly so. (I like scents that are a bit sweet in non-floral sense, so that's fine.) It may be the dragon's blood.

As it dries, the fragrance blends and the notes meld, which has been my experience with every BPAL except Mouse's Long and Sad Tale. There's a touch of incense (myrrh and dragon's blood, perhaps?) and some floral, though I can't pick out the individual notes. I think I can also pick up on some foody warmth from the tonka and almond.

So far, this is a real winner. Very different from what I've been used to all these (non-BPAL) years, and that's great. I'm glad I bought a bottle!

I put this one on my husband instead of myself.

In the imp, I smell warmth and evergreens. When I smell the wand, the evergreens are dominant, but when I sniff the vial it's the warm note I mainly smell.

Wet, I smell the evergreens still, but they aren't sharp.

As it's drying, the notes blend together and I can't really separate the evergreens from the vanilla and amber.

Strangely, I could never separate out the different evergreens or the vanilla and amber. It was just "warm" and "evergreen". Very nice.

Edited to add: This one smelled quite nice for quite a while on him, but only if I was very close. It was nice catching a whiff of it every time I leaned close or kissed him. Kind of romanitc.

Got a frimp with today's order!

Wet: Whoa! I don't think these notes are playing well together... It's too jumbled for me to pick out the individual notes.

Wet: Thyme! I can smell that one, but the rest is still a jumble.

Two minutes later... Is this the same fragrance? It's all lemon!

Drying: I can smell verbena and thyme playing in the background, but it's still mainly lemon!

Morphed again. Lemon is almost gone; thyme now, but it's not overpowering. It's blending with other notes... Maybe lavender, almond, and the orange?

Thyme is coming to the foreground again! And it seems to be staying that way: I can't smell anything else now.

Ah well. Guess this one doesn't like me... But that just gives me swap material, right?