donnatron

Eeps, my darling! Soapy water will leave residue in other bottles. If you want to reuse the pipette, wash it in rubbing alcohol. That will clean off absolutely everything and you won't have to worry about any of your other BPALs.

Imp: Patchouli and ylang ylang. Wet: Yep. Black patchouli. I really like black patchouli--it has this odd creaminess to it that melds so well with floral notes. I get some of the oleander but not much. Definitely getting that dusty neroli vibe. Dry: Wow. This is awesome. Perfect, creamy patchouli with a heady mix of neroli and oleander overtop. Very lovely. I don't quite know what I was expecting but I was not expecting something this bright. A touch woodsy and resinous. Blends really, really well with the floral. Throw: Moderate. Overall: I really like this. It reminds me a lot of Urd due to the black patchouli and for a while there I actually thought Tisiphone was one of the Norns. Lovely, sultry perfume and a wonderful black patchouli.

Imp: Oh... this is not what I expected. It's... well, I think there's vetiver which I'm cool with but it's over a kind of... uh... biological scent. A slightly putrid biological scent. Wet: I have one of those moments where I realize that BPAL has made me insane. I can't stand this scent, sniffing it in the imp is grossing me out, and yet here I am putting it on my skin hoping my chemistry will de-grossify it. It kind of does. I think the dried leaves note overlaps with the dirt note. This reminds me of other dirt blends. Dry: Eh. Dirt, lilies and cypress. Maybe a bit of aquatic. This isn't doing wonders on my chemistry. It's okay but this is BPAL: okay is never enough! Throw: Moderate. Overall: It's okay. Definitely unique. Just too gross in the imp for me to ever reach for it, take a test sniff and be like, "I must wear this today!"

Imp: Red musk and myrrh. Er... not feeling it, actually. Wet: Well, I was mistaken. This is fuckin' A, man. Wet on the skin it's a sensual red musk/leather blend. I can smell the amber and I'm afraid it's the overpowering amber from Haunted but it seems to be behaving on my skin. The myrrh has disappeared, actually. Dry: ACK! SO WONDERFUL! I have a serious jones for Krampus and this is like Krampus without that annoying "switches" note. Pure, luscious red musk and leather with a little smattering of resin. I can't believe it's taken me this long to try this. It's gorgeous. Sexy as hell and completely in control. Must get bottle NOW! Throw: Excellent. Overall: This just shot to the top of the list. I can't believe I've been dragging my feet on trying this. Now I can power through my Krampus with abandon and enjoy the fact that there is an even more amazing red musk/leather scent out there and it is GC!

Imp: Candied rose. Getting a bit of violet but it's a parma violet smell. Wet: Whoa, violet! Lots of violet! How'd that happen? Usually rose is really strong on me. Dry: Powdery violet and a light rose. Touch of greenery. Very pretty and delicate. Very, very feminine. It smells more like dusting powder than perfume. Reminds me of hot summer nights and patting on powder before going out (yes, I am probably the only person on the planet who puts on dusting powder to go to the club). It's just... pretty. It's not as haughty as I expected and it's also not particularly sensual. A light, lovely, balanced floral. Makes me feel girly. Throw: Moderate. Overall: I like it. I don't know if it's enough to warrant a bottle but it kind of makes me want to buy a cute nightgown and marabou trimmed slippers and swan around my bedroom singing showtunes.

You could try Rumpelstilzchen or laying Djinn with a sweeter, foodier scent like Hellcat or Grog. There's also Devil's Night which is a current LE or the recently departed St. John's Eve (I have learned that I love my fire scents food free. SJE gets a lot of love whereas my Devil's Night is from 05 and I've barely made a dint in it).

A couple weeks ago I was wearing Spellbound and my coworker commented on my "beautiful perfume" and asked if it was French. That's a nose chemistry thing, though. Because I'm a nerd I just spent a few minutes reading about the history of perfume and scanning through articles for mentions of France. French perfumes are highly floral and herbal in nature. There can be a musky base but probably more along the lines of a dark musk, red musk (possibly, depending on how it reacts on your skin) or civet. Just from what I read here are a few suggestions. They're more along the line of pre-Industrial Revolution France. Marie A blend of sinuous violet and elegant tea rose: the chosen scent of France's Demigoddess of Debauch: Marie Antoinette. Kind of a "duh," I guess. Twilight Lavender and jasmine, with a touch of glowing honeysuckle. Elegant and womanly with a classical bent. Belle Epoque Sweet opium, Lily of the Valley, vanilla, mandarin and red sandalwood. Another kind of "Duh" one. The vanilla in this is warm and non-foodyish enough to give this a sensual vibe without making it modern. Veil White sandalwood, lilac, gardenia, violet, orris, lavender and ylang ylang. Soft and a bit powdery. Very cool and distant feeling. You may also want to look at the Wanderlust section. A lot of the perfumes, particularly those inspired by cities in Europe, probably suit your quest.

Bottle: Uh oh. It's THAT honey. The one I think is in Jezebel. But there appears to be many different types of honey. And some nutmeg. Wet: There's a hint of fruity sharpness but it's kind of working on my skin. Definitely smelling the rosemary and it's adding a lovely herbal contrast. Dry: This is so pretty. Warm, golden honey with a soft, spicy/herbal feeling. The clove is a bit wonky but I'll live. Just a soft, golden skin warm kind of scent. Very girly and summer appropriate. Throw: Mild. Overall: I'm glad I snagged a bottle but won't be hunting for anymore.

Bottle: Herbal dragon's blood and leather. Hint of... something? It's either the fire or the steel. Reminds me a lot of Dragon's Hide but less kinky. Wet: Strong, rich dragon's blood and benzoin. Actually pretty soft on my skin--not with little throw but with fewer harder edges than I expected. The leather is soft and musky and lovely. Touch of spice from myrrh and pepper. Dry: Huh. This is a good "huh." It's not what I was expecting because I was actually expecting this to be one of those "Almost, but not quite" scents like most of my in-search-of-the-holy-grail scents have been. This is somewhere between flashing a cute stranger a pretty smile and crossing your legs to draw attention to yourself and pinning said stranger to the counter and having rushed, intense sex before dispatching that stranger because you're actually an assassin. You know. Things that happen all the time. The dragon's blood dominates with an undercurrent of leather and a bit of steel and sort of singing smokiness from the leather. The benzoin smoothes the whole thing out. It's like a pretty floral resin over... body armour. Really interesting and sexy without being incredibly intense or inappropriate for the office. There's also a faint, salty undercurrent of... um... sex. Nothing outrageous and it sort of adds a rumpled allure to the overall scent. But definitely something that kind of signals, "Guess what? I got laid!" And while I don't like other people knowing my business, it kind of works in this scent. Odd and appropriate and a little demure and also wild, dangerous and completely unpredictable. Huh, indeed. Throw: Moderate. Overall: I'm very pleased that I found this. It's an interesting scent and has a lot more layers than I initially anticipated. Incredibly sensual without necessarily being sleazy. It more indicates that you know when to turn the sleaze on and when to turn it off. This is a power scent and the sort of thing I would wear to indicate that I am in control of the situation and yes, I smell damn good.

Imp: Jasmine and fir. Man, I always forget that fir is such an amazing scent. Wet: Continues to be jasmine and fir. A bit of saltiness creeping through and a sort of magnolia-like muskiness that is probably the hyacinth. Dry: Wow, I really like this. The ocean water adds this beautiful salty water quality that mingles with the florals to just smell... wow. Lovely. And then the fir sort of makes it interesting to my nose and kind of makes it smell, well, like my style. A lovely balance of delicate, feminine florals and glorious, glorius fir. Throw: Mild. Overall: I don't even really know what impelled me to get this imp. It is wonderful, however, and I think I am definitely in need of a bottle. This is lovely.

Imps: Creamy, cakey, musky cinnamon. Wet:Definitely an interesting, musky base. Reminds me of some of the other voodoo blends--maybe the dread pirate civet? I like civet so it's no worries. The cinnamon smells like cinnamon bark. Even has that dusty edge. Dry: Reminds me a lot of Chimera but like if Chimera and Tombstone had a baby in a film noir. This is dark, sexy cinnamon over something a little subtle, sweet, musky, and sexy. I think there might be a touch of citrus in here. Getting something like jasmine or tuberose. Really, really beautiful. A little animalistic but nothing scary. This is really lovely. Sort of borderline foody but reigned in enough by the touch of musk and floral. Maybe there be dragon's blood here? Throw: Moderate. Overall: I am single and prospectless so I can't attest to the voodoo qualities but I definitely wouldn't mind testing this out at some sort of indeterminate date in the future. As for perfume properties--gorgeous. Definitely thinking about a bottle and will probably power through the bottle. Why are all the voodoo oils I like always the salacious ones?

Bottle: THAT LEATHER! The one that smells like Lammles Western Store! My exclamation marks are not meant to indicate excitement, they are meant to indicate trepedation. Also: sage. Wee hint o' Snake Oil. Wet: So this is one that you definitely have to roll like crazy. First time I tried it (admittedly fresh outta the mailbox) I rolled it for about ten seconds and wound up smelling like C. Auguste Dupin all over again. Second time I gave it a good long roll between the palms (is it just me or does that last sentence sound abhorrently filthy?) for about 30 seconds. When I applied it was more than just leather. A rounder, fuller Snake Oil base with soft sage and a lot of leather. This is not for the faint of heart. Dry: More leather. But it's sweetened by the Snake Oil and calmed down a bit. Getting hints of the sage and a dryness that is probably the sandalwood and tonka. This smells like Man. But I like smelling powerful and manly (oddly) every once in awhile and I think this fulfills a strange niche in my scent preferences. A bit soft and feminine from the Snake Oil and tonka but also dry and masculine from the leather. I don't think this is a sexy scent. It's more of a powerful and commanding scent--you might be sexy because of what it compells you to do but not necessarily smell sexy. If that makes sense. Probably doesn't. Throw: Pretty strong. Overall: I don't know if I need more than the bottle but at least I've figured out what to layer my unloved C. Auguste Dupin with.

Imp: Florals... florals in a thermos that was once filled with milk. Wet: This goes from the horrifying initial sniff to being kind of boring. Faint lilies. Bit of sweetness. Dry: Oh. There we go. More milk. Old, sour milk in a thermos. And lilies. Mercifully this is really, really faint because it is absolutely repusive on my chemistry. Throw: Faint. Overall: That was... unpleasant. It's not a wash-off-right-away sort of scent but that's solely because it's so faint on my skin that I have to get up close and personal to get a good whiff. Really not a great one on my chemistry.

Imp: Thar be rosemary here! Getting a soft rosemary sort of scent over warm citrus. I think I'd happily marinate chicken in this. Wet: Dusty, dusty, dusty. Definitely the impact of the orange blossom--it's kind of weird and tempermental on my skin but usually worth the weirdo drydown. Getting some jasmine and maybe some bay leaf or something? Definitely another green herb other than rosemary. Dry: So I have always wondered why my first imp of Lolita never smelled like my bottle of Lolita. It's because I'm pretty sure that my first imp of Lolita was actually an imp of Santa Eularia Des Riu. This definitely has that same sort of orange blossom/lemon candy scent of my first imp of Lolita and it's vaguely related to my eventual bottle of the blend. Definitely evokes that first imp of Lolita for me and I think I still have it somewhere and will pull it out to compare. Lovely orange blossom and lemon candy with a faint whisper of green herbs. Summery, pretty and very carefree. Throw: Mild. Overall: Glad I had this on hand. I actually have been wearing a lot of my Lolita bottle simply because I like the heliotrope in it. But I think that once I finish that bottle I'll probably replace it with this. The jasmine rounds this out in a really sultry sort of way and this is very classical and pretty while still being clean.

Imp: Oddly cakey and buttery. Touch of rose. Wet: Seriously buttery. Almost nauseatingly so. Is this the leaves? So weird. Dry: Okay, I get a better sense of the dry leaves. I think there's an aquatic note in them that is not really agreeing with my chemistry. However, the buttery quality and dried down and I get more of the osmanthus and the rose. Tiny bit of sandalwood. Each ingredient is definitely unique but that leaves note is just a killer on my skin. Or at least it is for the first fifteen minutes or so. The longer this dries down the prettier it becomes. It's not "Drop everything I want to wear this until the day I die" pretty, but it's not like the weird rancid butter cake from before. Throw: Mild. Overall: Eh. It's pretty but not my favourite and the drydown is just a little bit too long to make the eventual drydown worthwhile. Might use up the imp but will never need a bottle.

Bottle: A Lammles Western Wear store. Lammles right before Stampede, in fact, when they are loading up on the cowboy boots and other assorted leather goods for tourists to buy. Wet: A bottle of Sprite open at a Lammles. Faint hint of the lavender. Still a strong leather and very, very, very, very, VERY masculine. Definitely one of those scents that can go either way--teetering on the edge of wonderful but may be downright icky. Dry: I think this is lacking the sweetness most leather blends require in order to really work on my skin. I kind of smell like a saddle. It's... interesting. And I might actually wear it just to mess with people (is that weird? Probably) but it's really not the greatest on my skin. It's very literally a saddle leather sort of scent with a strange lime/lavender thing going on. I actually think that this will smell great on my skin a few hours in when the leather has had time to really sink in and become a skin scent and the lime has died a brutal death. It's the lime that's really making this nose-tingling to me and throwing me off from enjoying the blend. Throw: STRONG. Overall: Eh. It's not really doing it for me. Maybe with a bit more sweetness and a little less lime.

Bottle: Cocoa. Very strong cocoa and a touch of vanilla. Wet: More cocoa. Slightly gritty. The sandalwood is coming out and is, natch, also a bit gritty. Dry: Lovely. The sandalwood is actually the dominant note, preventing this from being exceedingly foody. The cocoa is underneath giving it a sweet warmth. Not getting a lot of myrrh but there is spice and there is also a vanilla/sweet component. This is very simple, very outside my comfort zone (I am not one who is comfortable smelling like food) but also something I love wearing in the winter. Throw: Mild. Overall: It will never be a die without essential but it's also a scent that I like to have on hand. It's cuddly and cozy and warm on cold days. On a 30+ day like today it's really not my bag but I'll be wearing it like crazy come September.

Bottle: Kinda dusty, actually. Patchouli and honey and dust. Wet: Dusty patchouli, honey, myrrh and more dust. I don't recall it being this... dry. Dry: Right. That's because as Sed Non Satiata dries down, I lose all that initial dustiness. The honey comes to the forefront and makes this very lush. There's a faint undercurrent of patchouli and a hint of spicy myrrh. Almost no floral note. Primarily honey and very skin close and sexy. Sweet but not innocent. Throw: Moderate. Overall: I don't wear this often because it's very, very sexy and very overtly so. Definitely one to try if you're in the mood for seduction.

All right. I'm not much of a Star Warsphile but I'll give it a go The Robotic Scarab Polished metallic notes, glossy leather, frankincense, star anise, and thin lubricating oils. This strikes me as the most literal Luke Skywalker scent. Just straight up eau de Skywalker. Manhattan sheer amber, black leather, white mint, lemon peel, white tea, grapefruit, kush, teakwood and orchid. I think Skywalker just has to smell unearthly, a little modern and clean and I really like the idea of leather in the scent. Because I'm a weirdo. The Black Tower white sandalwood, ambergris, wet ozone, galbanum and leather with ebony, teak, burnt grasses, English ivy and a hint of red wine. I dunno. This might actually be more Darth Vader. It does strike me as kind of Star Wars-y, however. Rumpelstilzchen Firewood and ash with an oddly otherworldly blend of patchouli, cardamom, nutmeg, black pepper, tonka, vetiver, and myrrh. Sort of the roughed up, battle weary Luke. One struck me for Leia as I scrolled through the site: Ultraviolet Lush violet and neroli spiked hard with eucalyptus and a sliver of mint. A hard edge over a very lush base.

Bottle: Bubblegum! Perfect bubblegum replication scent. This should come with one of those minorly lame little comics you got folded into the bubblegum. Wet: I get a whiff of the orange lollypops but this remains overwhelmingly bubblegum. Dry: Some spice comes out--getting cinnamon. Still getting the warm, bubblegum scent. This is fun. Just a casual, high spirited sort of scent. Not overly complex but definitely the sort of fun thing you can wear to a casual party or just out on the weekend. Throw: Mild. Overall: I always forget that I have and like Jailbait because the name gives me pause for wearing it at the office (where, admittedly, I pretty much live). It's a super fun scent and incredibly evocative if you want to try a scent that is unapologetically literal about its scent inspiration.

Bottle: I dunno. Orchid, definitely. Touch of lavender. In the bottle the Emathides is kind of sickeningly sweet. If I didn't know better I would think that the dread pirate caramel is in there. Wet: Stronger orchid phase. Touch of violet. Touch of greenery. Weird musk. This is starting to smell like TKO. Dry: So... yeah. On my skin this is almost exactly like TKO. It's got a bit more of a woodsy/green/flower stems vibe to it, but definitely in the same family. Very sticky sweet and almost sugary/caramelly. I like it but I don't like it. Just tried it on before I shower and it is way too intense for this hot summer morning. Very pretty, however. Very strong and lovely orchid note. Orchids are usually pretty shy on my skin so I'm excited about that. Less excited about the sticky, caramel scent. Throw: Strong. Overall: I'm pretty sure I like it. It has a general scent to it rather than a layer of notes. I just think I have to wait for cooler weather to truly appreciate what The Emathides has to offer.

Imp: Dusty dragon's blood. Wet: The dragon's blood amps a little over the sandalwood but there's not a lot of mystery to this one--you can smell the componengts strongly and distinctly. Dry: Dragon's blodo resin with a grounding of sandalwood. Very simple but very elegant. It's a bit masculine but retains a sweet edge. Not really a lot to say here because neither are problem notes on my skin so it's really not that interesting: This smells like dragon's blood and sandalwood. If you like both I would highly recommend checking this out. Throw: Moderate. Overall: I like this. Not enough to get a bottle but definitely enough to use up the imp. Simple, elegant and interesting without being overpowering or confusing. Probably a very good way to introduce yourself to dragon's blood

Imp: Soft, cool, slightly citrus. Hint of aquatic and floral. Wet: On my skin this goes a little salty. Still pretty, just a hint of seasalt and tang. Dry: THAT'S WHAT IT IS! I've had this on for about half an hour and it's been driving me nuts trying to figure out what the floral note is--I think it's lily! I get a really soft, warm lily with some aquatic coolness in the background. This is very calming. I am test driving it with a few other scents so I'm probably not getting the full effect but I definitely can see this having a good calming and collecting sense to it. Throw: Pretty strong, actually. Overall: I like it. Probably will use it more for intent than for perfume but who among us couldn't do with smelling good and being calm?

Imp: Nothing, really. A bit of a soft, white floral scent. Wet: Yargh. One of those midnight flowers is probably moonflower. Moonflower kind of smells like unscented deodorant on my skin as does white musk. I smell like a Lady Speed Stick. Dry: Lady Speed Stick with a faint hint of jasmine. It's actually kind of... refreshing? It hasn't been unbearably hot here lately but I can see putting this on if it was pushing into the mid thirties again and I wasn't feeling mint. It gets less aggressively deordorant-y the longer it sits on my skin but never really loses that weirdness. Throw: Mild. Overall: May use up the imp but am not particularly enamoured of smelling strong enough for a man but made for a woman.

Imp: Wine and myrrh. There's actually a touch of black pepper here. Wet: The wine amps up and I get a touch of the rose. This reminds me a lot of Blood Rose from Rapaccini's Garden but not as lush. Dry: Dark, sweet wine with rose. I can smell a faint hint of the myrrh and it's all layered over a deep, sultry musk. This is gorgeous. Very femme fatale and sultry. I see this often recommended as a fancy dress recommendation and I totally get why. The wine adds the perfect bit of interest to an otherwise sort of classic but borderline boring scent. Throw: Good. Overall: I think I need to start attending more fancy dress parties because I have found the perfect scent.