tura

The years definitely do not detract from the dark, gooey, sticky, fudge-brownie loveliness that is Lump of Coal. I usually have to slather myself to be able to smell things after dry down. This is the first scent of any I've tried that I could smell all day. Wafts of brownie kept coming up past my nose whenever the fan rotated towards me, and it was delicious! And it's still there after 14 hours! Although I do admit it is quite faded. But it got me through an entire work shift. Plus, I only used a small swipe on each wrist (with one on the girls for good measure), since I don't want to go through the imp too quickly.

 

It didn't morph on me at all with time, which was just perfect. Amazing throw for me as well. This is definitely top 2 favorites material. It might even have usurped Underpants as #1. Only time will tell.

I got an unexpected opportunity to try this out at work the other day. Turns out the first person I've enabled with BPAL happened to come across a bottle and brought it in for me to try. Not knowing anything about the scent, I got a very deep, rich, almost heady scent out of the bottle. It instantly had the feel of a dark, smoky lounge - in a good way.

 

On, I immediately got the tobacco. And something woody. But not like the wood in Ventriloquist's Dummy. It feels almost spicy. And I get what must be leather. I've been wanting to try something with leather in it for a while, and I definitely get that here. When my boss walked out, I found myself trying to describe this scent, and BPAL in general, to him, and described this scent as

 

"a man smoking his pipe after dinner in an elaborately done parlour with floor to ceiling mahogany bookshelves with beautiful leather sitting chairs and velvet curtains" He sniffed my wrist and replied "I can see that"

 

I bet it would be absolutely fantastic on a man, and it's pretty darn nice on this gal, too. The drydown was nice, as I got a lovely spice and leather scent, and the smokiness cooled down a little for me. I didn't get the cherry or dried fruit that others mentioned, but I'm not sure which year I got to try. I would definitely wear this again, and might have to get more adventurous with the leather/smoke scents after all.

I just got my bottle of TKO last night, and thought "well, it's almost bedtime, I'll put some on, write a review, and hit the sack. I brought my laptop out to the sofa, put on a bad movie, and woke up when the alarm went off in the other room. I don't remember smelling it. I don't remember falling asleep. I don't remember much of anything!

 

I know. Not so useful as a scent review, really. But I think that speaks wonders for the powers of this blend. I am a certified insomniac. I've had trouble falling asleep for almost a decade. Tried prescriptions, sleep-time bath stuff, teas, OTC meds, everything, and nothing has knocked me out that fast and left me feeling refreshed and ready to go in the morning. I think I need to get about 10 back-up bottles of this stuff. Ohmygosh!

In the bottle: Cheesecake (maybe graham cracker?) and cheap cherry candy.

 

5: I'm not too sure about this. It's a really cloying, sweet, sticky scent. It reminds me of thick, gooey, cherry-pie filling. Actually, those same cherries are frequently put on top of cheesecake... Hmmm.

 

10: Yay, morphing! I'm finally starting to get that strawberry ice-cream scent others mentioned.

 

Dry: It's getting really pretty now. A super-soft, sweet, creamy, almost breezey berry. Did any of you have that strawberry shortcake™ doll that released a cloud of strawberry-scented air when you squeezed her belly? It feels like that. And I think I love it!

 

This lasted a really long time, and just got prettier with time. A definite keeper!

I'm unfamiliar with most of the notes in this. But I'll give it my best shot.

 

in the bottle: Is that booze? Wait. Celery. Definitely celery. Wierd.

 

wet: It's still freshly-cut celery.

 

5: okay. now I'm getting the sweetness and the booze. Its almost like a really soft, boozey caramel.

 

10: This has turned into a really soft and complex scent. This is where my unfamiliarity with the notes gets me though. I can pick up different hints of things with each sniff, but I'm not sure yet.

 

Dry: It's all really subtle. Almost like catching wafts of picnic goodies in the breeze.

 

An hour or so later: omg This is gorgeous! It has turned all sweet, and sexy, and playful on me. I just wished the throw was a little longer. Its gorgeous now, but awfully subtle.

2007 edition

 

in the bottle: pink gum! It's that scent that wafts up when you unwrap a big piece of bubbleyum. Ripe, and sugary, and pink!

 

wet: This immediately calmed down. I still get that sugar pink scent, but its creeping into sweet, ripened red fruit. If you could see a color wheel, its crossed the path from neon pink, to pastel pink, to a glittery dark red.

 

5: The bubblegum sweetness from earlier is gone now. I'm getting the ripe plum, and something that I can't pinpoint that feels herbal or light floral.

 

10: This is moving toward a dried fruit and floral. Hrmph.

 

dry: Not too sure about this one. I thought I was going to fall in love. But it went from being sweet, sugary ripe fruity goodness, to a perfumey sweet floral on me. I will have to keep trying it to see if maybe my chemistry is just off now (I hope, I hope)

I figure I love the taste of saffron, so why wouldn't I love the scent, too?

In the bottle: It took me a second to figure it out, but it definitely reminds me of a spicy cream soda.

Wet: omg!! this is definitely a warm, spicy vanilla.

5: Yay, it's the saffron finally coming out. It's official. I'm definitely a fan. It blends with the vanilla to make a nice warm, snuzzly scent. This is one of those scents that make me smile.

10 and on: This isn't changing much on my skin, which is perfect! Every time I sniff my wrist, I have an instant craving for a soft, comfy, fresh-out-of-the-dryer warm blankie.

I definitely love this, and imagine I'll be reaching for this quite a bit. But I found this new love one day after they came down --Oops!

So, if anyone didn't love it as much as they thought they would...

End result: love, Love, LOVE!

Wee! My first review from the Monster Bait series...

 

In the bottle: Smells like booze and creme. Not getting cake or berry yet, but we shall see.

 

Wet: Definitely booze. Now I'm getting sweet cream cheese?

 

5: Ooh, it's getting springy. There's something tart coming up. Could that be the red berries? I hope, I hope.

 

30: Ah, things are finally balancing out, and I can detect different notes with each whiff. Alas, still not getting much of those red berries I love so much, but I am getting a really yummy blend of baked goody sweetness, with the passing boozey whiff.

 

Not a lot of throw, but it seems like an intimate, self-indulgent sort of scent. It's the first time I've ever wanted to gnaw on my own wrist... (why does that feel like such an exciting moment?!)

 

I'll keep trying it out to see if I get more berry at some point.

In the bottle: crinkled nose and smooshed face-inducing bitterness. Can't even detect specific notes at this point, but it just smells bad.

 

Wet: I'm getting musty citrus. Not loving it, but the scent is starting to mellow, and the soft cookie scent is starting to come out.

 

Dry (about 45-60 mins): Ah finally! soft gentle cooke scent, with a little bit of lime and booze. And then... gone! completely sucked up by my skin. No wafting goodness, hardly any scent on my wrist once it morphs into something so yummy.

 

Alas, I'm pretty sure this one is headed for the swap pile.

I'm still learning how to break down individual notes, but when I put this on, I instantly got chocolate and lemon. They felt like they were fighting on my skin, and I was getting this bitter undertone while it was still wet.

 

Once it started to dry, it got a little spicy and flirty. The citrus had mellowed (thankfully!), and I was left with what must have been a combination of the musk, fig, with a little bit of tonka.

 

After a while, it had turned deliciously warm and foodie on me. I couldn't stop sniffing my wrists at this point, and was glad I decided to pick up a bottle unsniffed. Pretty long-lasting. I definitely think I will get a lot of wear out of this one.

Wee! My first review!

 

I received this as a frimp from another forum member. When I read the description, I didn't know what to think of it. Lavender is usually a nite-time scent for me, and I don't usually love citrus scents as much as I want to. But somehow, I think this will get a lot of wear.

 

In the bottle: Sharp sugar-ey citrus. Almost like country-time lemonade mix, with sugar added. And definitely some grapefruit in there.

 

Wet: Pretty straight-up citrus. I'm still not great at picking out individual notes yet, but this smells like citrus fruits, cut in half, and dipped in sugar sitting on a plate.

 

Dry: I love this! Definitely a springtime or summer scent, but its calmed down quite a bit, and I can definitely smell the lavender now, with wasps of citrus. Didn't get the mint at all, and I get what 'might' be chocolate, but only on occasion.

 

For me, this is a walking in the park, having a picnic, lounging around in nature on a summer day sort of scent.

You're welcome.

 

When there are updates, I put the new lines at the bottom of the spreadsheet, and will change the date in my sig to reflect the last time the sheet was updated. The easiest way to get the updates is to open the version I have on my webspace, copy out the new lines, and paste into your local copy. I recommend changing the filename of your local version so that you don't accidentally wipe out the entire thing.

 

Thanks, I've only managed to mix up all the columns twice. I can't seem to get my sorts to apply to the entire sheet, as opposed to just one column, leaving all the others in thier previous orders. More experimenting in order...

Everything's current.

 

Still working on getting the review threads added, and I'm tweaking the released/discontinued dates by breaking each into its own column.

 

Oh my goodness! I can't believe the amount of work and love that went into this. I just manually searched the forums to track down the category/subgroup names for the imps I just acquired in lots, so that I could look them up on the lab site, so I could log all the scents and their notes to create a listing to help me get familiar with things before my first imps arrive. It took me four hours. And then, about five minutes after I was done, I found this!

 

So, I feel about 3 parts silly, and 97 parts grateful beyond belief!

Thank-you.

 

Now, silly q. When there are updates to this (or any other) sheet, do I need to copy and paste to insert or do they update on their own? I know, I know, but I haven't used excel since the early nineties, and I'm a mac girl to boot, so one can only hope I don't accidently wipe the entire thing in one fell swoop until I reacquaint myself with the program.