windbourne

I got an imp of this in a swap, tested it out, and had to come give it a glowing, snuggly review. Not a long one, as, somewhat sadly, it's fairly straightforward on me, but a good one. I like sweet, foody smells a great deal, so was one I decided I had to try -- and it was precisely as promised, almost. Sweet Irish Cream-soaked coffee beans with a particular dusky dust that mellows it just enough to not overwhelm me with whipped cream. It's warm, it's cuddly, it has a fireplace somewhere and a book I've been wanting to read for days, and it stays that way for hours. When I want to smell like this, this is what I'll turn to, bar none. If I want a more complex scent, I'll look elsewhere. It has a moderate throw, and is very mellow and definitely work-safe; decent longevity to the scent, and excellent strength-to-time ratio. Final verdict is that I'm keeping this imp, and when it's gone, I'll order another one from the Lab, but I'll never need a full 5 ml. ETA: So, after some years of feeling this way and going through a couple of full imps of the GC Misk. U., I finally got my mitts on a bottle of the original Springtime in Arkham release. It is so much better (to my nose) it's not even -funny-. It's milder and less sweet, but more complex, more wood, more dust, just -more-. The scent profile is basically the same, all the notes are still very present, but the proportions feel different. Maybe it's because it's aged, or maybe the components were just a bit different back then. I don't know, but this one, this one I am totally in love with and very happy to have a full 5 ml bottle.

*sigh* This is one that really should work on me -- vanilla does just fine usually, and the rest sounds like other things I've tried and liked...but I've tried it a few times now, and every time, the same result: vanilla flea shampoo. Some of the variations or blends that include it (The Phoenix, some of the Snake Pit) are fine, but the base oil itself just refuses to mellow down and be the beautiful beast I want it to be. I don't know if aging it (or finding some very fresh!) would affect my results, but from two separate batches...flea shampoo. *shrug* Ah, well. Everyone's got something that they wish worked that just doesn't. ^-^; It does last fairly well on my skin, and has a moderate throw. Still, not one I'm going to be buying anytime soon.

I like this bath oil, more or less. It's not a scent-type that I'm usually fond of, but when I feel the need to seriously chill out, this is exactly what I'm likely to reach for. It's watery, green, and fresh with just enough of a floral touch to make it sweet. The cucumber and cherry blossom are what stick out on my skin, though the scent in the tub is a more even mix of the notes. Overall, this is a very relaxing scent for an always-lovely product. Not one I'm ever going to be hungry for, but nice nonetheless.

A twisted teatime tart: apricot and sweet clove. I'm learning that I really like some of these rather simple scents -- two notes, both of which I like, blended to lovely effect, seems to result in nothing but good for me. This one is a perfect cooked apricot with a lovely clove aroma, juicy, sweet, and delicious. It settles into my skin very quickly, and as it dries leaves behind a lovely ghostly spice. That's really the only problem with this one -- no throw at all, and it lasts for a very short time. I sat at the computer for two hours futzing around, and every fifteen minutes I had to reapply it to my wrists and arms. It's just delicious for that blink of time, but as soon as it's gone, it's really gone. I love it, but the lack of longevity means that I'll probably only seek it out in imp form.

This scent is very simple, pure, and clean at first -- an even mix of all three notes. That lasts from first good sniff until five minutes after drying at which point it turns into baby powder. If I let it sit for a while after -that-, I get the lemon and rose back, and a periodic whiff of apple-y moistness, but after letting it settle into my skin for a few hours, it goes berserk and starts shuffling bits of rosy powder, lemony rose, dusty apples, and (again) baby powder about. It never really morphs into anything strange, but it just keeps shifting top notes like puzzle pieces. For HOURS. It's never sweet, never really fruity, certainly never deep, and never dark, just light, bright and yellowy-pink and white in tone. It lasts -all- -day- in one incarnation or another, though it never really settles into a singular scent. I feel like repeating myself with this, just because it's quite unique in perfumes I've tried. It doesn't have a strong throw, but it's quite distinctive if I have my nose fairly close to the skin. This one's acceptable for work, but made me feel incredibly scattered, so I think I'll be more likely to wear it when I'm going to be going out and having fun in a situation in which focus is unnecessary. Thumbs up, but with a bit of hesitation -- that is, I'm happy to have an imp, but probably will never buy a bottle.

This is a floral I love to bits and will be purchasing a bottle ...soon, because it's going away. ^-^;; It starts out a lovely lilac and rosy blush, then the rest of the flowers burst into full bloom. The beeswax mellows and sweetens it, but the rest of it is just this amazing swirl of flowery goodness. It seems like every time I snuffle my arm a different one has popped to the surface. Gah. Amazing. It's not unlike a bouquet gathered from a garden right after a rain -- everything seems fresh and bright and slightly damp. After a couple of hours the flowers die down and leave a very light, mellow beeswax and carnation haze. There's not a lot of throw and it's pretty gentle all the way through. I'm so glad I got to try this out; it was one I threw into my decant circle request as a testament for my Wilde love and a random hope it might be nice, but I'm so going bottle route on this. So much lushness, and so much lovely.

This scent gives me happy shivers just thinking about it; it was everything I wanted it to be and then some. I can't really pick out individual notes as it all blends into a beautiful purply cacophony of lovely on my skin. I have a hard time even identifying it as a scent, it provokes such a strong color visual response in me. It starts a very bright, clear violet color, then drums up into black grape, then down into imperial violet, then to blue-violet, then mellows to parma violet, then to lavender, then dusty lavender, and finally settles into a myrrh-y haze of pale lavender gray. It lasts for about an hour with a moderate throw, and after that all I get are subtle whiffs until I apply it again. I could keep going like that for hours with my nose pressed to my wrist, so this is one I'm only going to pull out on special occasions until I can find a bottle. And I will find a bottle. Wonderful (and heady!) stuff.

This review is in regards to the 2007 version. Unwholesomely gorgeous. On me, as on so many others, this is not in the least cold. Pale, yes, but not cold. I found it to be a delicate perfume with a touch of almond, a hint of floral, and a slippery sweetness that melds into a lovely skin-scent. It's practically indiscernible from my general body chemistry, but with just a touch of extra something beyond that makes it heavenly to wear. I can see this being a good one to seduce someone with -- goodness knows I can barely keep my nose off my wrists when I'm wearing it! It lasted all day, fading gently but never morphing into anything strange, and it never developed much of a throw, which is excellent, because I can slather it on and still go to work without worrying about attracting the attention of allergy-sufferers. I'm very happy to have an imp of this, and if I don't manage to get a bottle between now and next Yule, it's definitely going to be a prime purchase. Providing it comes back again, of course.

On me, this started out store-brand soap in a bottle (not unlike Dial, actually), and then as it dried it turned into the very scent of summer sunshine. It was ridiculous -- I kept sniffing my arm and it smelled the way the sun feels on your skin in the late afternoon in mid-July or so -- golden, warm, and relaxing. I felt mellow and cheerful after testing this scent and will keep my imp safe until next winter for certain. I don't know if I'd want to use this strictly as a perfume, but as a short-term mood-altering scent, so far this one is high on my list.

I popped the lid on this one, curious as a puppy, and then it roundhouse punched me in the nose. BLAM. One whiff, and that lid was straight back on. To my nose, this scent is rough and brash and cruel and dark and eminently suited to a man whose main source of notoriety was killing wife after wife and keeping their bodies in a secret chamber. I get a noseful of vetiver with some very black violets and a heavy reek of sneezy lavender cologne, and after that, I almost can't smell anything else for a while. I braved it enough to toothpick test it on my wrist a few nights later, and the same thing happened. It sat and released an angry miasma that threw itself all over the room for fifteen minutes before I gave up and washed it off. It's a very impressive scent and I hate it. So this one's heading straight for the swap pile. I'm glad I got to test it, though my nose may never forgive me. If you like strong vetiver and violet, this may be for you. I usually am okay with both vetiver and lavender, so I'm assuming it's the combination with violet (never a favorite of mine) that's really kicking my schnozz.

This one was one of the chosen imps from my first imp pack -- my hopes were for a bright, fruity scent with a bit of sting, and I got exactly what I wanted. On me, Akuma goes the Sweet Tart route when it's wet, then dries down to a flaming pink ball of raspberry and blood orange. The neroli doesn't come out for at least a half hour, and after about forty-five minutes, that's almost all I can smell. I love neroli, and it likes me back, so I come out happy all ways 'round. The letdown is that it has zero throw and completely vaporizes in around an hour, even heavily slathered on all possible pulse points. I'd have to bathe in it, I think, if I wanted it to last. This is not entirely a bad thing, as it means I can quite happily wear it to work and not worry about my scent-sensitive co-workers having asthma attacks. This is the first imp I've gotten that I'm worried I might actually use up in a short amount of time; I'll almost certainly be buying a bottle of this one whenever I make another order. I like sweet and fruity pretty regularly, and this one makes me feel just the right amount of mischievous to warrant wearing it a lot. It may be a devil, but it's just a little cute one.

This was my first bottle ordered, and my first bottle sniffed. I was very hopeful for this scent, and it didn't let me down. It's a very elegant, clean floral -- the sakura curls out first, then the wisteria, and the ume drifts along behind it. Wet, it remains very light, very pale pink and green and white in tone, and then it settles down to a comfortable mingling of blooms. As it dries it does become more classically perfumey, though remaining very pure in tone. The throw is not heavy, but then, nothing about this scent is heavy. It does stay at a remarkably consistent strength for several hours, then fades away beautifully. As has been commented, it has a very Asian quality to it, and it made me feel relaxed and clear-headed while wearing it. I like this a great deal, and am very, very happy to have bought a bottle.

Amazing. Just...amazing. This was my first big splurge on a BPTP item (via a lj community member, bless her), and I could not possibly be happier. The scent is light and delicate (and exactly as described!), chilled berries and woods, with the slightest touches of rose and amber to warm it up -- very sweet and pure and wintry, but with a hidden potential for spring to dawn at any moment. It makes me want to write poetry about it. :9 The oil itself is sleek and far more watery than bath oils I've previously used. I usually use around a half-capful, which does very well for the entire tub and leaves me feeling moisturized but not sticky afterwards. The scent has excellent staying power on my scent-eating skin, and the different notes bubble to the surface at different times, which is nice. This is an oil I want to use -all the time-, which is unfortunate, as it's LE, but perhaps the Lab might consider making it a perfume, too? Or bringing it back again next year? One can always hope.

Wet, this one blindsides me with a burst of pale flowers -- soapy jasmine, diffuse paperwhite, and what seems like an old bouquet of white roses. That fades in moments, turning sweet and rotting as it dries, followed by a long, rather horrible dusty phase, and ending up faded sandalwood with a tussle of myrrh and death. The notes are fine and it smells largely acceptable on me, but I smell like an embalmed corpse, and that just doesn't tickle my nose in the right way. So no Eshe for me. This is the first scent that I've tried that made me want to wash it off after only a few minutes. It was a bit of a long shot for me anyway, so I don't feel bad about passing along the impage.

I don't have a lot to add to this one; it's quite a surprisingly straightforward scent. No strange notes that hit my nose sideways an hour and a half after application or other weirdnesses. It's just a solid blast of whiskey, followed by a slow clean fade into luscious woodsmoke with a touch of coffee. This is a scent I'd wear to a private club or possibly, clubhouse -- somewhere people go to drink and smoke and play cards. Or to a night club, where the scent would mingle with the cigarettes in a rather becoming way. Either way, it smells happy and drunk to me, and I'd want to wear it when I want to feel happy and drunk.

This is not a scent I think I'm likely to wear when I'm planning to be around other people. I like it rather a lot, but it feels very, very antisocial to me, and a little bit dangerous. Very good for going out with the intention of being left alone to observe and consider. The initial scent on my skin is, hilariously, ketchup. Seriously -- spicy tomatoes and vinegar and such. That lasts about ten seconds, and then the cinnamon slinks in, takes over the world and sits down for a nice game of Parcheesi with the late-coming Dragon's Blood and smoky, husky vetiver. This is not a friendly game, however. They battle it out for several minutes and finally the Dragon's Blood leaves in a huff, surrendering its spot to the other two, who give each other cold glances from over their shoulders for a while before settling down in comfortable chairs to consider their next moves. A final scuffle, after about six hours, results in dead vetiver and lively cinnamon. Eventually, the cinnamon gets bored and vacates, leaving just the ghost of the vetiver to lurk about until it fades away. On me, it has almost no throw at all; it sits very close and very spicy on my skin, and lasts for several hours. I could wear this to work, but I'd be a complete horror to work with, I think. As I said, it strikes me as a very antisocial scent, contemplative and cold. Full marks, though. I love it, and when my imp runs out, I will be buying more.

Interesting scent, this one. In the imp, it's a rather light floral, but as soon as I get it onto my skin it turns vibrantly woody with a touch of licorice. That lasts a short while, then the lemon runs in, beats everything with a baseball bat -- but not for long, because the soap and lilies are right behind with a bigger bat. (I'm really just amusing myself here. My apologies.) After the soapy scent fades, I still have lilies, and then the lilacs slowly bloom and stick. It's quite light and doesn't last more than three hours, by the end of which all I have is the lightest touch of musk and wood. Definitely a work-safe scent, as the throw is about an inch on me and it's light enough to ignore. Overall, this gives the impression of a very womanly woman blessed with strength and gentility. Sounds about accurate. Nicely done, though it's not one I'm likely to purchase as, barring the lilacs, it's not really my type of scent. I'm happy to have an imp to use up, though. I think it'll be lovely to wear in spring.

To me, this smells like an herbalist's shop -- you walk in the door and your nose is assailed by a cacophony of mixed dried herbs and growing plants, with just a touch of dirt and dust, and even though the windows are kind of grimy, the sunlight still glows through. Wet, it smelled very strongly of musty tea and sage or thyme with a bright lemony kick. As it dried it turned soapy for a moment or two, then the tea made a hostile takeover, and finally the ginger burst out to dance with the tea. It got a little bit sweeter as it progressed, but never really went beyond a mild green-and-yellow, generally gender-neutral aroma. On my skin, it's very light and fades very quickly. My skin devours light scents for breakfast, however, so I wouldn't put stock in that. Since it has very little throw, I might wear this at work. Nice, but not one I'll seek out once my imp is gone. ETA: After wearing it for several hours, the tiny remnants of scent have turned vaguely spicy and amber-ish. Buh? 0_o;

Wet, this punches me in the nose with spices -- cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon, clove. As it dries, those dissipate behind a WALL of heavy incense. As it fades, I get some mysterious flutters of dusty rose. After several hours, all that remains is a soft cardamom blur. Overall, it reminds me of an old Gypsy woman sitting in a warm enclosed tent waiting for her next victim client -- incense burning, crystal ball on a velvet cushion, rotting roses, and a pot of spicy tea. This has some serious (and heady!) throw on me, which is fairly unusual. Sadly, it also makes me a little dizzy, which means I will not wear it often, and will definitely not wear it to work. I'll keep it around, though. It's a nice one to put on just before going to bed, because the hours-later scent is really lovely, so I can wake up to that and not have to worry about working through the incense to get there.

This (along with the rest of my current collection) was a gift from a thoughtfully enabling friend. Straight out of the imp it smelled rather strongly of lemon, ozone, and cucumber -- bright and crisp. That faded to a mellow musky note with a very electric undertone. As a little time passed I finally got a hint of the mints. The mint never became particularly strong on me, which I thought a little unfortunate. I could easily imagine Doctor Frankenstein smelling something like this; it's fairly masculine and somehow feels vaguely old-fashioned. I get a definite laboratory sort of feeling from it, but it's one populated entirely by rather off-putting men who are too busy working to pay attention to their lives. Nice, but not one I'm totally enamored by. I'll likely wear it during summer (like most of the rest of the reviewers!) and keep looking for my apex of cool perfumes.