VioletChaos

in the bottle: the sweet smokiness of Antikytheria Mechanism, all by itself. wet on skin: more of the same, with a dash of leather tossed in. dry down: it has stayed true. in all: if you like Mechanism, check this out, it'll likely make you swoon.

in the bottle: sweet caramel yumminess wet on skin: caramel apple bake with cream on top dry down: a sweet, smoky burnt-sugar and fruit combo. in all: apple usually becomes horrid on me, but this might just be the apple blend for those of us that can't do them!

in the bottle: pine resin and a hint of patchouli wet on skin: the same, with a touch of honey dry down: a smoky leather aspect has taken over. it's the smoke of Fire Eater, tempered with honeyed fruit. the result? sweet without being innocent- and sexy as hell. in all: oh YESSSSS!!!

in the bottle: rose incense, the type i buy when i go to India Way in jersey city- warm, powdered rose incense. wet on skin: it's opening up, becoming more 'indian' in that it reminds me of Diwali and Khajuraho- stuff that would be in the same family as this to my pseudo-trained nose dry down: yup. rose incense. in all: a wonderful variation on incense oils, i think i'll use this in ritual.

in the bottle: a sweet, but not cloying, full-bodies bulgarian rose. it reminds me of Hope, but without the sugar aspect. wet on skin: the same. a natural, lovely rose, just passed it's full bloom. dry down: a 'skin' rose, by which i mean this stays close to the skin, doesn't have a strong throw, and is totally lovely. in all: i'm not big on florals, i'm very picky about them. this one is everything i love about real roses in bloom, and none of the stuff that i tend to dislike about floral perfumes. in short: a total treasure!

in the vial: a vague pine-y sort of scent, but mixed with something more 'base', i'm thinking it's the TP! wet on skin: same. dry down: more of the same, but more gentle. in all: a novelty that i'm glad to have been able to try, but not something i'd intentionally wear.

in the vial: sweet grape wine. wet on skin: the same, but with a slight bit of peach added. dry down: a soft peach/grape mix, close to the skin, light throw. in all: a nice fruit mix, something i'd use to enable friends that were into Body Shop's 'fuzzy peach' or 'juba' oils.

in the vial: a sweet Yule time incense. wet on skin: orange and clove stove scent. dry down: a sweet, woodsy scent, with some amber notes thrown in for good measure. in all: a nice amber/wood-heavy GC, a good day-to-day scent.

The Finnish Goddess of Agony, Torment and the joy found in inflicting pain on others. The Mistress of Torture, she has transformed in the modern era into the patron Goddess of Dominatrixes. The slap of slick, hot leather punctuates the warm, sensual embrace of black amber, red musk and dark, lascivious myrrh. in the imp: smoky leather, and something vaguely sweet. wet on skin: same. dry down: leather and a hint of lime-infused men's cologne in all: not a bad scent, but with so many swoon-worthy BPAL oils, it seems a shame to concern oneself with 'not bad'.

in the imp: a very sweet floral with a slight hint of wood. wet on skin: the wood has faded, but there is a trace of something smoky here, under the cloying flowers. dry down: a smoky, floral blend. in all: not my cup of tea, but interesting all the same.

in the imp: peppermint with a slight edge of leather. i'm assuming this is the pennyroyal in action and it's surprisingly good! wet on skin: same, but the leather has a touch of smokiness added in. dry down: it has stayed consistent. in all: the lavender is only faint in this blend, and i find i like it, because the pennyroyal, which i'd previously been unfamiliar with, has a real chance to show it's complexity. Beth hit the nail on the head in terms of name- this is very evocative of SM roleplaying, i must say.

in the imp: strong neroli, with a hint of something i can't name. wet on skin: the neroli calms down, and is very close to the orange blossom hydrosol i just picked up in seattle. which is to say, really, really lovely. dry down: a soapy element has emerged! in all: it smells like orange blossom soap. on others, i imagine it to be lovely, but i shall pass on this one.

in the imp: wet and floral. the aquatic note isn't too bad. wet on skin: same. dry down: light, sweet floral with a mild water note. in all: BPAL aqua notes usually go very wrong on my skin. this didn't do that, which is nice. however, a light floral like this isn't really for me, though i can imagine during this hot summer that many will enjoy it immensely.

in the imp: Irish Spring soap!!! wet on skin: same. :D dry down: wow. it has stayed the SAME. in all: not for me.

The darkening amber of faith’s sunset, deepened by the dark fruits of Proserpine. in the imp: a hint of amber and lots of fresh, ripe fruits. wet on skin: something akin to sandalwood is showing itself, making this blend more complex and alluring. dry down: light throw, with a war/wood scent that reminds me of Tombstone. in all: a lovely, warm 'skin' scent, another that i imagine i'd wear a lot if i lived in a desert climate.

in the imp: the fruit sugar liquid in those wax 'straws' we ate as kids. seriously! wet on skin: it has changed into a fruit/floral yankee candle dry down: a less strong yankee candle. in all: apple blossom and apple stuff always turns to poison on me. however, if they don't do that to YOU, you will likely adore this.

in the imp: heavy almond, backed with a lovely array of exotic spices. wet on skin: the almond settles down and warms up- it reminds me of Tell Tale Heart without the chocolate undernote. dry down: wow. this has TOTALLY morphed. being part arabic and having my best friend me arabic a well, it reminds me most of being in the kitchen when one of us is cooking some wonderful food thing to share. in all: total keeper!

in the imp: green grasses, and a hint of cucumber. wet on skin: a continuation of the green grassy scent dry down: same. in all: this reminds me of an aloe hand lotion i loved when i was younger. now, however, it's not really for me- too light and floral-y.

in the imp: cedar and vanilla. yum! usually i don't care for cedar as it reminds me of a hamster cage. but this is warm and woodsy. very nice. wet on skin: the vanilla is opening up. this is a very 'warm' scent indeed. dry down: it has stayed the same. average throw, warm, sweet and woodsy. in all: lives up to it's evocative name- reminds me of warming myself on a desert rock while someone cooks something over a wood fire for the evening's dinner.

in the bottle: a soft, slightly sweet smell. it reminds me heavily of the Burt's Bees "Baby Bee" line. wet on skin: there's a very slight sweet aspect that has emerged. it's not really floral OR fruit. i would say it's likely to be the white tea. really lovely. dry down: a beautiful close-to-the-skin kind of scent. light without being flighty- i can feel the Asian influence in this easilly. in all: where i live we are in the middle of a heat wave and i now have a scent that i feel i can bear wearing in this heavy and oppressive weather. total keeper!

in the bottle: that 'dry, orange' scent people have mentioned. more specifically, i catch a subtle hint of what smells like vetiver, although it's not mentioned in the description. there's also a peek of the amber coming through. wet: the amber comes out, but this is not a sweet amber, it's tinged with that 'dry' quality. nice! dry down: the heliotrope and the frangipani have unfortunately conspired to become baby powder on me. sad! in all: i'm jealous of those that can wear this without the powder morph.

in the imp: a sharp spike of something perfumy. wet on skin: ahhh, the dragon's blood has come in *whew* dry down: it's interesting, because the sweetness of the DB is tempered by the sandalwood, but i don't actually *smell* the sandalwood. it's like a muted Dragon's Blood. in all: some people find DB to be too sweet or too cloying. for them, i think this is a fine version.

in the imp: it's...wow. it reminds me of camping out at the Rainbow Gathering: damp earth, incense and something sweet. huh. wet on skin: same. dry down: ok. it's morphed a bit, but not too much. i like it- there's a nice dry earthy sandalwood, a bit of white coconut and a dash of soft vanilla. in all: not sure if'n i'll buy a full bottle, but i can see this being a wonderful day-to-day kind of scent.

in the imp: a very sweet, very perfumy rose. wet on skin: same, with a little perfume-laden neroli tossed in. dry down: same. in all: cloying, floral perfume scent. reminds me of the type of stuff my grandmother's sisters would wear to family gatherings. not for me. :shrugs:

in the imp: old leather and sweet grass. wet on skin: something soft and sweet which i am assuming is the musk has taken over, but all else has gone. dry down: the sweetgrass has returned-faintly- and is joined by a very, very soft amber. in all: this is nice enough, but it's *very* mild, hardly has any throw, and honestly, wasn't that unusual, which is what i want personally in my BPAL oils. so, not so bad, not so great.