VioletChaos

in the imp: dragon's blood, with a very, very slight edge of vanilla. wet on skin: the dragon's blood is prominent, but it's being tapered by something undefinable- it mellows the sometimes overbearing quality of the dragon's blood. nice! dry down: a *gorgeous* mix of milk, honey and dragon's blood! in all: oh YES, i need a full size bottle right away!!!

in the imp: this smells *exactly* like Gingerbread Poppet! (fingers crossed!) wet on skin: yup. gingerbread. YUM! dry down: with my skin chemistry, this is identical to GP, which is great, because i can get *this* one anytime i want! in all: Gingerbread fans, snag some of this, a.s.a.p.!

in the imp: it reminds me strongly of marzipan in it's almondy scent. wet on skin: more almond. also smells like that burt's bees almond hand salve. nice! dry down: the almond disappears and is replaced by a strong dose of bay and clove. it is certainly reminiscent of the idea i have of Old Salts sailing the seven seas! in all: a good basic spice. i got no hint of buttered rum, and i'm pretty sad about it. meh.

in the imp: a sweet berry note i can't quite place and something that reminds me of the beach, but not the salt water aspect at all. hmmm. wet on skin: there's a sweet, very summer scent in here, but i can't place it- honeysuckle? swimming in a lake? whatever it is, it's very, very lovely. dry down: this is so well blended i can't really pick out notes, just to say that it's sweet without being cloying, floral and fruity without being food-like at all. in all: a complex perfume, reminds me a bit of the original Betsey Johnson perfume for those who know it- sweet, floral, almost candy-like. a beautiful and complex fragrance.

in the imp: the fresh flower smell of going into a florist shop- how divine! wet on skin: an orange blossom/neroli note comes out in front dry down: neroli with a dusting of chrysanthemum under it to soften the blow in all: this doesn't strike me as a 'funeral' scent per se, but it's a fine all-purpose floral, ne to wear during the day, but not really for sprucing up in the evening.

in the imp: a rich, musky rose. lovely! wet on skin: somebody mentioned dried roses, and i agree. that concentrated, but toned down rose, that's this. dry down: more of the same. it almost reminds me of the smell of rose hookah tobacco: a rich rose with a hint of molasses. in all: a rose to keep, even if you are not much of a floral person- which i'm not!

in the imp: pure neroli wet on skin: more pure neroli. the esential oil $100-a-bottle-type. dry down: that's all i'm getting from it- no rosemary, no anything else. in all: if you love orange blossom / neroli, you will adore Catherine.

i *love* my bottle of Fruit of Paradise, so i'm interested to see how this compares... in the imp: like sweet tarts thrown in a big shot glass of alcohol. and someone mentioned the dryer sheet thing? i get a whif of that too. wet on skin: the alcohol mellows and the sweet tarts and dryer sheets duke it out for who's on top. dry down: it has elements i like or love in other things- the fruity aspect, the tart pom, the sugar, but something is off, and this smells very chemical on me. in all: dryer sheets win, and i'm *so* glad for my bottle of Fruit of Paradise! :shrug:

in the imp: honeydew melon! wet on skin: more honeydew melon! only now it reminds me of the japanese honeydew candy i sometimes get. dry down: like melon candy, but not too sugary! in all: like melon? love Yemaya!

in the imp: citrus, and something that smells like voodoo. whatever that might mean to you. wet on skin: sweet fruit and heady perfume. interesting. dry down: it's very well blended. i can't pick out any notes in particular. it's sweet and perfumey, but more than that i'm actually having a really hard time defining this! in all: a sexy perfume. i imagine high-class call girls putting this on before seducing their john for the night. and if that's what you're going for, get a 10 ml of this for sure.

in the imp: a dark, musky floral. wet on skin: the amber comes out a bit, and something sweet, like lily of the valley. dry down: there's something vaguely violet about this blend, but it's gone quite powdery and dusty, like finding your great grandmother's scented hanky in the attic. in all: if you are fond of powdery nostalgic florals, you'll love this. me? i'm swapping it out!

in the imp: the kind of floral that is in old-lady perfume. meh. wet on skin: the same, but even more. dry down: the perfumy-ness is died down a bit, but it's basically everything i don't like about most florals. in all: cloying, too sweet. powdery and it doesn't smell real at all. NEXT!

in the imp: cypress, very heavy, and a bit of bay behind that. hmmm wet on skin: more of the same. it's reminding me of christmas-themed scratch n sniff books from childhood. dry down: it's settled down and become a christmas potpourri scent. in all: i could see this being great in a diffuser to scent a room. on my body, however, not so much.

in the imp: fruity and floral, but it's not pleasant. wet on skin: it's cloying, and is making me slightly queasy. dry down: the cloying goes away a bit, but it reminds me of something unpleasant, like a chemical coverup, like embalming fluid at the funeral home with fake rose on top to try to mask it. in all: a surprisingly dreadful experience :sob:

in the imp: rose. straight up. wet on skin: ROSE. a very accurate tea rose. lovely! dry down: rosey rosey rose rose rose. this is the real deal, straight shooting, 100% rose. in all: if you are a rose fan, you must NOT be without this one. i don't usually car for many florals because they always smell fake to me. but this, this is a *perfect* rose.

in the imp: like...sweet, floral bubblegum. weird. wet on skin: more of the same with a cloying undernote similar to Mr. Clean (sorry, this isn't shaping up to be a very good review, is it ) dry down: ok. mr clean has taken a hike (whew!) and out comes a yummy fruity smell, makes me think of junior high strawberry lipgloss and flowery bubblebath and, yes, bubblegum. in all: sweet, innocent. a fragrance i would let a little kid wear, or a grownup who has retained a level of wide-eyed wonder. just lovely.

in the imp: yep. forest: loads of pine - not pine cleaner - and some cypress. wet on skin: more pine. lots and lots of pine. dry down: pine with a sweet christmas-y 'other' pine mixed in, like balsa and fir together. in all: if you are really into pine, you will want to marry this oil and live with it forever

this is 2008 version, and i should say i've never tried ANY version before. in the bottle: sexy! like booze and musk, as described, and in the BEST possible combination, i might add! wet on skin: the booze comes out strong, reminds me of red wine. it's a soft smell, though. like red wine without the sharpness of alcohol, if that makes sense. dry down: oh MAN is this good! sweet without being cloying, a hint of sugar without being foody, a skin musk that comes from a good romp on an otherwise lazy afternoon in all: sexy. as. HELL. i am sooooo getting a backup bottle!

in the bottle: tea with lemon! wet on skin: the citrus comes to the front a bit, but the tea is still very present. dry down: *very* much like the original Bulgari green tea perfume, if anyone has tried mainstream perfumes. in all: very pleasant, gender neutral, something that i could see being worn on hot summer evenings, but not something i'll be seeking out obsessively. love the illustration, tho'!

in the bottle: headache-inducing sweetness and musk, similar to Glasya. uh oh >> wet on skin: more of the same, with a heavy dose of neroli coming to the fore. dry down: well, the cloying sweetness has abided and a more gentle floral/musk has emerged. in all: sadly, this reminds me only of the at-home perm solutions my mom used in the 70's. glad i only tested out my boyfriend's bottle of this!

in the bottle, White Light isn't really much to speak of. oh, it's a pleasant enough floral, light, and as a few have noted, there is a bit of that lilac essence that BPAL Dragon's Blood possesses. but i'm not really a floral person, an that wasn't the point of getting this oil anyway... so, i didn't do a full anointing, i just put a drop or two between my hands. not thing happened. then, about five minutes later i had this weird head rush and i had to lie down! i'm really sensitive to energy and that sort of thing, so i'd actually been prepared for this to happen, but it still took me by surprise a bit. i put a little more on later and that didn't happen again. it's too soon to tell how well this is gonna work for me, but it's clearly doing *something* so i'm just going to keep experimenting/

MAN, am i excited to give this one a shot! FYI I'm getting over the flu, so i'll have to blow my nose in between each sniff!) in the bottle: cream and sugar with a hint of effervescent fruit as an undernote. it reminds me of Hearth 05, with a touch of fruit. interesting. wet on skin: oh. my. goddess. this smells EXACTLY like fruity pebbles! milk and all! man, this is getting me HUNGRY dry down: yep. Fruity Pebbles. in all: this just might be in the Royal Court of foodie smells! *must. buy. backup. bottle.*

i've been waiting a long time to try this one- i hope it lives up to my expectations! in the imp: almond cookies! seriously! and it also reminds me of almond burt's bees hand salve. yum! wet on skin: the almond mellows and the milky aspect comes up. it reminds me of those facial scrubs we all loved in the '80's. hmmm. dry down: the almond almost disappears completely and what's left is a very gentle milk-and-sugar sort of smell. it's very comforting, homey. in all: for those who like a more gentle foodie smell, this is excellent for daily wear. i am personally a ten-ton foodie smell kinda girl- think Beaver Moon 05 or Underbed. so it's a bit too understated for me, but others will totally dig it.

in the imp: sweet, creamy and floral. heavy. wet on skin: a melon slinks out to mix with the vanilla and i believe the amber. nice! it tones down the heaviness a bit. dry down: it's going powdery on me reminds me of the kind of commercial perfumes i liked in high school, like 'Love's Baby Soft' and the Designer Imposters line. in all: a good one to convert your conventional friends. but for me? i'll pass!

i have high hopes riding on this puppy, let's see how it goes... in the bottle: oh. my. goddess! straight up gingerbread, no holds barred! wet on skin: more of the same. really *just* like warm, moist gingerbread from the oven. dry down: the ginger comes out to the front a tiny bit- man, this is SO delicious in all: don't distract me, i'm trying to gnaw my arm off