semuelle77

I pick up a decant of Samhainophobia (07, I think) about a year and a half or two years ago. I tried it at the time and was rather meh about it.

A month ago I tried it again on a whim and OH HONEY! This bad boy aged beautifully. Deep, slightly spicy, smokey. It is Autumn in liquid form. This scent is not for those who like girly, femenine scents. I feel as thought I am out on a chilled October night. Leaves are burning in a bonfire, a mug of something warm and strong is clasped in my mittened hands. This is a scarf and sweater scent.

I tried it on my boyfriend and it was a sexy, masculine blend. On me it was very gender neutral without being butch.

I snatched up a bottle here on the forum and passed on my imps to the boy. Now I need to figure out if a second bottle is in order...

My boyfriend os wonderfully willing to wear whatever I dab him with. (MOstly I think he is tolerant because he loves how BPAL smells on me and how I react to BPAL on him )

The two that I absolutely LOVE on him are Frederic ans Samhainophobia '07. I need to find a non-LE that I love just as much.

My guy smells great wearing Jolly Roger or Frederic. Yum!

I've worn Ozymandias on interviews. It is light on me with a decent throw (yet not overpowering.) Whenever I wear it at work I always get compliments. It does smell more "mainstream" to me. Commercial perfume, but GOOD.

I second 51 and whoever recommends Sudha Segara.

51 because it's very fresh and light (I would've also recommended Neo-Tokyo had it still been in the catalogue - it's even nicer IMO), and smells very much like a department store perfume done right for a change.

 

Sudha Segara for being warm and gentle but still unique enough to be remembered by. However, if your skin amps milk notes or makes them go sour like crazy I'd go for 51 instead. SS is tea with ginger + lots of milk.

 

Pele works well, I think, because it's so light and inoffensive

 

Szepasszony is good if you're an aquatics person. Especially if the interview is in the summer.

 

Envy is great for herbal lovers. it's sweet, clean, unisex veering towards citrus. very much a "spa" scent.

I need to hunt down and beat... er, spank, the individual who sent me an imp of this with juuust enough to test it. Damn you!!! So very perfect on my skin. Warm and rich, just the tiny bit I put on is giving me nice wiffs of a subtly spicy leather. Cardamom has been my new favorite note since discovering Mama-Ji. In Spanked it not nearly as strong, contributing to the background of the scent. God, I can't stop sniffing my wrist.

It is really not fair that I discover these blends after they are long gone and highly coveted.

I think this one gave me a headache.

In the imp it was all floral. I keep thinking florals can work on me. Someday I will accept the truth, but for now I keep trying them.

On the skin this goes very sweet. It does not do the weird plasticy thing that the BPAL sugar notes does, but it is nearly overwhelming. I could smell the scent CONSTANTLY. This would not be a bad thing if I adored the scent. Gotta give it points for throw and wear length. Eventually I just smelled like very sweet floral soap. Oddly, while it seemed overwhelmingly strong to me, my mom (who has an incredibly sensitive nose) had to sniff my wrist to detect it.

I can see how this would be lovely on someone else, it just does not jive with my chemistry.

Amber, honey and musk. This should smell amazing. This should smell perfect on me. This should smell... like something, anything. It does not. I slathered this on but good, and I can only barely smell it when I shove my wrist against my nose. I think the tiny wisp of scent I detect is pretty, but it is so faint I can hardly tell.

Grr!!! I am getting no love from the recent update.

This is one confusing scent on me. Evey time I sniffed myself (which admittedly was often) that darn stuff smelled different! I feel as though it never settled into one final blend. It changed constantly. In the beginning I got this bright juiciness (currant?) followed by the tobacco. The coconut poked it's head out. It went through a longish caramel phase that I liked for a while, but then did this weird stale thing. The throw smelled noticeably different than the scent against my wrist. At one point I sniffed my wrist and thought "Misk U?" Now, a little over 7 hours later, the throw is almost gone. Against my skin it smells of amber, gentle caramel, and (possibly) opium. I like this stage, but it was a LONG time coming.

Complex would definitely be the way to describe it. I know I am going to have to try it again in a couple of weeks (once hormones change) to see if I get the same result. If so, I think the imp may sufice. It's not bad, just not quite what I am looking for in my BPAL.

I am really sad to say that I am with tarotgirl on this one. I wanted to love this, but it just ain't working on me. The first 45 seconds on my skin was great. I briefly got the wintergreen scent, but it was not bad. As it dried down it became hardcore vanilla. Not a soft, wafting vanilla, but a smack you in the face kind. I think I may understand what others talk about when they mention smelling plasticky. I felt like I smelled like Strawberry Shortcake's vanilla frosting friend. I only applied a toothpick swipe of it on my wrists and another on my neck. By no means did I douse myself. I could smell it all day long. Strong. This baby has so much throw that one of my 6th grade boys asked what smelled like vanilla. I had to admit that it was his teacher. Hopefully I can find a loving home for this imp since it will be getting no love from me.

I loved Cotton Blossom by VS. Any suggestions for something similar since it is discontinued?

I have been testing imp after imp. Every time, even when a scent does not work on me, I think "It nice, I can see why someone would wear it." I can always at least appriciate what Beth and her labbies have created.

Then I met Kathmandu. I have finally met a BPAL scent that I absolutely could not stand. I tried it in the morning, planning to wear it to teach. Thank god I did a sniff test before walking out the door. EW!!! My wrists smelled like perspiration. Stinky, middle of summer, underarm yuckiness. I don't know what notes (or combination of notes) created this horrible aroma. But wow.

Off to the swap pile. I really hope it works better on someone else.

Green Tree Viper was my first mint scent. I was not sure what to expect. I did not want to end up smelling like menthol all day. (It would constantly remind me of sore muscles.) Luckily, I did not get that vibe at all from this scent.

I received an imp of this little green guy very recently from a BPALer who had run a decant circle. I have a feeling the imp has aged a bit since it was first purchased. The mint was mellow, not overwhelming at all. Rich, creamy. I am thinking the Snake Oil is making a strong presence. (I have yet to try straight up SO.) There is a depth and spiciness comingled with the mint. It reminds me of this Mint Chai that I get at my local tea house. Yum!

After a couple of hours the mint completely dissapears. If what remains is true SO, then I need a huge bottle, PRONTO!

I like this scent. Very much. I think I need to try Snake Oil before I decide to puchase a bottle of Green Tree. If the mint truly did disappear, than I would just stick with SO. If the end product (dried down) smells unique, then I will definitely be purchasing a bottle before the Carnival leaves town.

I'm not sure about this one. I absolutely love honey. I will try nearly any scent that contains it. I want to love this. Honey! Wood! Molasses!

Wet: Oh. My. Yum! Wood and honey. I want to freeze the scent at exactlt this point. It is so perfect and amazing.

Dry: Honey? Wood? Where did you go? I miss you! The sugar takes over and it becomes a fake, sweet smell on me. Much like Sugar Skull. I love sweet. I am not loving the sugar note.

Verdict: I will reapply and give it another shot, but if nothing changes I am going to pass on this one. Oh how I wish that were not the case!

I, too, am part of the anti-floral ranks. That being said, I agree with the individual who mentioned Ozymandias. So lovely. It is on my "need a bottle" list. The only floral on the list.

You could also try Desdemona so long as tonka works on you. Fae is nice. Aeval.

I really wanted to like this. I was hoping for something crisp and fresh. After the dry down one note takes over and goes super powdery. I think it is the tonka. I don't think tonka likes me. It hijacks the scent, much the same way Desdemona gets hijacked on my skin. This makes me very sad. I think I need to stick with the spicy and gourmand scents.

Boo. There are tears, but they are fava tears, not Vampire Tears.

I ordered this from the lab in an imp pack. I have to many sweet, foody scents, I thought this might be a nice alternative.

In the bottle: Lemon! Very, very lemony. This is way different than any other BPAL I have tried.

Wet: Ack! Lemon Pledge! Not cool.

Dry: The lemon (thankfully) backs off. The amber steps foreward. I don't really ever get the ginger, sadly.

Verdict: Once it settles down, this is a soft, gentle scent. Sweet, but not overly so. I am glad I did not run to wash it off while it was still wet. Giving this one a bit of time to morph (and boy howdy, did it change) is worth the first blast of lemon cleaner smell. I have realised that amber works well on my skin, but can have a tendency to drown out other scents. I wish the lemon stayed a bit stronger. I like this. I will need to wear is again to determine if it is bottle worthy. Overall, a very nice scent.

Hellfire is an anomoly for me. My preference for sweeter foody scents did not lead me to think I would like Hellfire. The notes were just so different. I have always liked musk, but it does tend to amp up on my skin, overpowering any other note. So when I tried this back in the day, I was skeptical.

In the bottle and Wet: Incredibly intense. Tobacco and leather in spades.

Drying down: The musk moves forward in a strong way. The leather, pipe tobacco, and musk seem to be dueling for dominance.

Dry: Somehow a balance is struck. You can smell all three elements without any one note taking over. This becomes an amazingly rich, deep scent. Mysterious, sexy, edgy yet soothing.

Verdict: I bought a bottle. This is a big keeper. I don't wear it every day, but when I am looking to bolster my sex appeal or am feeling a bit mischeivious this is my go-to scent. Hellfire has the added bonus of good throw and a long wear on my skin. Also, this is one of the only BPAL that I have received unsolicited comments on, "Congratulations, you smell fantastic!" (Yes, someone actually said that.)

This is lovely.

Warm, sweet, rich. This scent sinks right into my skin. I don't know that it smells like teh sex, but it sure does smell good. I can definitely smell the honey and vanilla. Unfortunately, it does not seem to last very long on my skin. I will have to reapply throughout the day. I think that is a small price to pay to smell this good.

I recently received an imp of 13 in a swap. The fabulous swapper I got it from said she believes it is the original...so here I am.

Someone (maybe many) have mentioned that this is a complex scent. I have to agree. At first the chocolate was all I could smell, but very quickly that changed. Almost minute to minute this one changes on my skin. I swear each sniff smelled different. At first I did not think I was going to be a fan of 13. Once it completely dried down, I do like it. Soft, slightly sweet. It started as a strong foodie scent, but mellowed to a lovely blend of everything. I am definitely keeping the imp. I don't know that I will go out of my way to hunt down a bottle, but if I stumble across a bottle I was probably pick it up. OK, I definitely would.

In the bottle: Super sweet and fruity. All I smell is the plum.

Wet: Juicy berry, fruity scent. This very quickly begins to change and something soft (perhaps floral) come forward, then...WHAM! Grape Dymatap. I smell like grape medicine. Ew.

Dry: This becomes much softer. It is still fruity, but not overwhelmingly so. It has a decently strong throw. It is definitely sweet on me. Less like sugar, more like very ripe fruit. I can see how this would be a lovely scent for a person who likes fruit and berry smells. It is just not for me.

Wow, a little bit goes a long way with this one. It is actually giving me a headache, it is so strong.

I think this one is proving to me that I need to stick with foody, spicy scents.

Strong pine, almost floral smell. I agree with a previous poster that this feels masculine to me. Maybe I will pass it along to a guy. It's nice, but SO not me.

This one is...weird. meh. It must be my skin chemistry, but I really don't get a foody scent here (at least not in the way Egg Nog and Gingerbread Poppet are foodie. Heck, it is not even as foody as Dana O'Shee.) Every once in a while I get a faint whisp of something sweet, but if I put my nose to my wrist it is very "green" smelling. Something plant-like, perhaps the olive leaf. It is a bit jarring to me. The scent of the throw and scent at my skin just don't jive together for my nose. I will try it again in about a week (hormones may be making this one morph), otherwise it is off to the swap pile.

And I really wanted this to work!!!

I received this as a decant just after Christmas. I want to like it, SO much.

In the bottle: Boozy, strong, I wish egg not tasted as good as this smells.

Wet: Rich, creamy, sweet. The booze is still there, but eases back a bit. Yum.

Dry: Where did it go? Other mentioned a plastic smell. Not sure if that happened because it is nearly gone. Wah!

Re-application: Ok, maybe I just need more. Maybe my skin is really dry this morning. I don't know. This is so light on my skin. I want it to be more. Stronger. Perhaps I need to give up on trying to clean test this one and just slather it on.

Verdict: Great in the bottle. Could be the first one I ever use as a room scent/oil burner. I will try again later after a shower and copious amounts of lotion.

UPDATE: OK, after trying it again and slathering it on...5 hours later I still want to lick myself! I am absolutely loving Egg Nog. Actually, all of the Yules I have tried so far (Egg Nog, Gingerbread Poppet, and Fruitcake..hey! it's sort of a Yule) have all smelled wonderful on me. I am really such a foodie. Now I need to try out the non-foodie Yules before they disappear from the Lab. This could end up being a pricey order I'm about to place!

Gingerbread Poppet 07 marks my first foray into the world of LEs.

In the bottle: Wow! My mouth is literally watering! This smells exactly like gingerbread is baking in my kitchen ::runs to check my oven:: Nope, it's empty, must be the BPAL.

Wet: This one morphs constantly for the first little bit. Each spice comes forward to wave hello.

Dry: This is truly a cozy scent. It makes me want to cuddle up in a fluffy blanket with a mug of chai and a thick piece of gingerbread. Once it is dry, the scents mellow and blend. Still spicy, but almost a hint of vanilla? Something else is coming forward. I only put on one dip of a toothpick worth on my wrist. It seems pretty strong, with a good throw. Mmmmm...yum.

Verdict: I am so happy I had the courage to engage in my first swap to get an imp of Gingerbread Poppet. I think this may now be the first LE bottle I ever purchase. Yay!

What about foody scents that aren't just sugary? I love scents that are full of baked goods yumminess. Cake, cookies, rich and buttery. I love Dana O'Shee and Fruitcake.

Any foody recommendations that would fit that catagory?