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When I first tested my VERY lab-fresh bottle of Dragon's Milk, it was so sweet I couldn't stand it.

 

Now that it's been aging for a month or so, it's changing into something I know I will love. SmoooooooooooOOoth and creamy Dragon's Blood, with smoky vanilla. I think this one will be a fast favorite, and I want another bottle to age!

this is great! I expected a bit more orange, but I like Moxie just the way it is, orange, ginger, spices, and something else. I have been looking for a blend to wear while I work out, and this is definitely the one. I'm going to try it today

How have I not tried Inez before?

 

This blend is certainly reminiscent of Morocco, which is a top ten favorite of mine, but there is something sweeter and more feminine about it. I love the vanilla. I love this whole blend. I will need at least one more bottle before the Carnaval goes away.

Rosewood doesn't usually get along with me, but I will try this one anyway!

 

As soon as it touches my skin, I get rosewood and incense. No leather or anything else. Weird.

 

How odd. Dee dries down into a nondescript sweetness. Its not BAD, just nothing spectacular and nothing like what I had hoped for. I'm sure this is my skin chemistry working its magic.

With a name like Night-Gaunt I expected something darker, but I'm not disappointed with the light, happy feel of this blend.

 

Ack, after it dries, I get some weird bitterness that I don't really care for and I have no idea where it came from. Too bad :/

This is a kind of wispy, ethereal scent. A little fruit here, a little floral there, a little musk to ground the blend. I think I will hang on to the imp and see how it ages. I like it right now, but not enough for a bottle. There's potential for later greatness though

I don't recognize most of these notes, but I do get something strong and citrus as soon as it hits my skin. From there, it quickly morphs into something much more soft and floral. The Tea is in there too. I rather like it, but I think I would like it a lot more if the sharp citrus held on a little more.

HUGE thank yous to the generous forumites who made it possible for me to try out Oak King!

 

In the bottle it smells almost boozy. Like rum boozy, not gin or wine. Teeeeny hint of wintergreen too, but its barely there.

 

On me, it smells like a tree. Birch for sure, like many others have said, with a little caramelly note in the back. Or maybe it is almond? I can't quite tell. The birch note is almost wet smelling. Not like moldy, rotting wood, but wood just after a rainstorm when the sun has come back out. This is definitely a unisex blend.

 

Oak King finally rests at delicious, sugary wood. Its different than any of the other blends in my collection, and I love it. I hope it is actually released to the public so I can stock up!

 

ETA: It has been several hours since my original review, and Oak King is still gorgeous. I slathered a little more on and found that the initial boozy scent lasts a little longer than when I apply sparingly, but it burns off within 20 minutes and I am left with supreme yum.

In the bottle this smells very close to a commercial perfume. Odd.

 

On me, it changes a lot. Now it's sort of an incensey-cologne smell. I was hoping for more tobacco, tbh.

Eeesh. This stays REALLY cologne-y. I generally like scents with a more masculine edge, but this is too much like men's commercial cologne on my skin. Not for me

Mmmmmmmm sweet tobacco and cinnamon. After a little while, there is a tiny bit of coffee. Or maybe I only imagine it. Either way, it's great. Coffee is very hit-or-miss on me.

Overall, the woods and the tobacco dominate, with cinnamon as a nice afterthought. It's very warm, very comforting, and PERFECTLY balanced. I really do like this a LOT, but I probably wouldn't fork over my paycheck for a bottle. (however, if it ever makes a return appearance I would stock up.)

Okay, in reality I would probably splurge a bit on a bottle if I ever got the chance and the $$. This is really wonderful.

This blend is a true work of art. Even my husband (who normally thinks everything is either "ew" or smells like one kind of candy or another) has to agree that Strawberry Moon smells like strawberries, grass, and dandelions. Its spot on and wonderful and I know this will be a top ten favorite.

 

It's one of those blends that has me sniffing my wrist and saying "WOW" over and over in my head.

I usually don't get along with wine notes, so Montresor made me a little nervous.

 

In the bottle it smells more like berries than wine, which is fine by me.

 

On me, it is berries and oak. Oooh the oak is really nice and smooth. I doubt I would have liked this blend much when it was new, but all the notes have blended together beautifully. I get wafts of berry interspersed with wafts of vanilla-y oak. It's lovely and nearly unisex (something I like).

 

Montresor feels like a classier perfume blend, one that I would wear on formal occasions. It reminds me a little bit of the Blood Garden but the oak makes it so much better.

I don't know how I missed out on trying Goblin for so long. I like all of these notes!

 

In the bottle, it smells like dirty, musky vanilla. On me, it's mostly black coconut and patchouli. WOW, this is different and wonderful. I feel like I am sniffing a fresh coconut husk that has dirt on it. That's not the most appealing description, but it's quite lovely. Patchouli at its very best, if you ask me!

 

After a few minutes, I can smell the sweet benzoin. The contrast between benzoin and earthy goodness is fantastic. I'm so glad this is a GC!

SO excited to try this blend, even if it doesn't work for me!

 

In the bottle it smells like real bananas. Not candy banana, which is great. As soon as I put it on my skin, I can smell the pie crust underneath bananas and cream. It's actually much less foody than I anticipated, but very sweet.

 

As it starts to dry, the sweetness is cut by more crust and a hint of grease. That sounds weird, but it's PERFECT. It smells a little bit spicy now... like maybe there is a pinch of nutmeg in with the cream.

 

I want to slather this and go out and have everyone around me wondering what on earth smells so damn GOOD.

So glad I get to try this!

 

In the bottle this smells like fancy ginger ale, or maybe sparkling apple cider. Its amazing how Beth gets things to smell so fizzy.

 

This stays pretty true over time. I don't get much tobacco at all, just a little bit in the background when I sniff my wrist up close. The throw is all champagne. It's pretty much exactly what I expected, and therefore I am very pleased!

 

 

edit: unfortunately, my husband doesn't like it so much. Oh well.

I don't quite know how to describe this beyond musky. Green musk? Does that exist? It smells a little green. And clean.

I like Creature Feature a whole lot, even if I can't explain it! I could wear this often and not get tired of it. Musky scents are among my favorites, but I tend to avoid them in hot weather. This musk is summer-friendly.

Side note: I am one of those who amp flowers!

 

Wet on me: Definitely florals in the blend, but I can't detect the jasmine as a separate entity. *whew*

 

After 5 minutes: Still mostly flowers, but the tobacco and vanilla are lurking just beneath the surface.

 

15 minutes in: florals are starting to burn off now, but they're not gone. I'm smelling primarily red musk and something indefinable but spicy.

 

30 minutes: I can understand those who have said this is a cousin of Snake Charmer, and I agree that is a lighter, sweeter version. And like Snake Charmer, I am sure I will like it much more when it has had some time to settle

 

 

 

Here's another vote for Tiki King. It needed some age on it for me... at first it was more musk than anything. Now I get a lot more coconut.

 

Obatala still takes the cake for me though.

I can totally see where that comes from, bluelena. Velvet Bandito smells extremely carnation-y to me - I had no idea that tumbleweeds could be so spicy and gorgeous! And Potion is almost all carnation on me, barely any rose. They will probably layer wonderfully.

 

I think it goes beautifully with Potion but it smells more like Skinny Dip to me. Skinny Dip is one of my holy grail Lush scents and when Bandito is wet it smells so much like it. Puts a perma grin on my face.

 

I think Velvet Bandito smells exactly like Pied De Pepper lotion. I need to try Potion and Skinny Dip now!

Whitechapel!

 

It smells like a margarita without the booze (to me).

Ever since I got into BPAL I've heard Misk U hailed as one of the lab's best creations. Me and coffee have a rocky relationship, but how can I not try this?

 

HELLO IRISH COFFEE.

This smells goooOOoood but it might be a little sweet for an all-day scent.

 

My mouth is seriously watering. The strong coffee blast has faded somewhat, but this may prove to be a positive thing. I better slather this to get a good sniff-reading.

 

After a little while, the initial sweetness has worn off, and I believe the woods have stepped in to keep the coffee grounded. We shall see. If it stays this way, Misk U is a winner.

 

15 minutes in: this is getting more nutty/dusty and less coffee as we go along. I am not disappointed.

 

Half an hour: I think its safe to say that this blend isn't going to turn on me. Usually if coffee is going to take a turn for the worse, it happens within the first 20 minutes or so. I really, really like this blend, and only wish I had tried it sooner.

I have no idea what davana is so this will be a surprise.

 

First sniff is lemony and ozone-y, kinda like Lightning. Only in this case, the ozone fades instead of taking over.

 

After a little bit, things get flowery. This smells almost exactly like Szepasszony, only less ozone. I like both blends, but I didn't wear Szepasszony a lot, and I probably wouldn't wear this one much either. Pleasant without being particularly memorable (on me).

Caliban was on my list of imps to try from the very beginning of my BPAL adventures, but I kept forgetting about him. I've since learned that wine can often go very gross on me, so I am wary.

 

First impression is green and aquatic. Maybe a hint of ozone. Kind of like Sea of Glass...but not really. As it dries, it gets greener and heavier. Wine brings in a touch of sweetness, but doesn't booze up the whole experience.

 

 

Overall, I like Caliban but I don't think I need a bottle. I have a lot of green scents with more complexity to them that I would wear more often. But I'm still glad we were finally introduced

When I first opened the imp, Jailbait was ALL bubblegum and I got scared.

 

However, upon application, this is delicious without being sickly sweet. It smells like a musky blowpop with a smidge of spice. Really quite wearable and not too candy. I'm impressed! And buying a bottle. I can easily see this as one of my heavy rotation scents.

I love ALL these notes, so I'm really excited.

 

My first impression of Kuang Shi is a blast of orange. To be quite honest, it reminds me of the orange oil air freshener my dad keeps in his bathroom...

 

After a minute this smells oddly green on me, like maybe the mango isn't quite ripe.

 

Dry, I really like it. Not at all what I imagined, but still nice. I usually get a whole load of sandalwood if there is any in a given blend, but here it is mostly green fruits with maybe a little musk in the background.

 

I'll have to try this out for a whole day before I reach a verdict on its bottleworthiness.