mgrazulis

In the vial--an amber colored oil with an amazing golden pear note. Wet on the skin, the pear is sweet with a delicate hint of fig leaf. The oak moss and wood mellow down the pear as it begins to dry. There is metallic sharpness in the wet phase that dissipates quickly. The patchouli and musk are just a whisper...This reminds me of Wood Phoenix with pear instead of fig. A quiet fruity woods blend with just a hint of shimmer. This will age beautifully! Leans slightly to the masculine side...

Juliet is a wet white floral, bright at first with a honeysuckle top. Drydown is wispy and light sweet pea wth a moderate musky drydown. Very feminine and young, and just emerging from the shadows into yearning. Probably not what I would wear ordinarily. I'll hold on to the imp for a while and try again.

A wonderful pale rosy amber oil that should be on everyone's "to try" list. I get impressions of cypress, amber and sandalwood, myrtle, amaranth, gentle myrrh, cassia, clove, cardamom, saffron, mastic, lemongrass, green tea and a hint of jasmine. It's as if these aromas are blowing across silk curtains in a desert caravan. Wildly exotic and sensual. This one goes on a bottle worthy list!!

In the vial: wispy lavender,frankincense, rose Wet on skin: light and fresh orchid with a light muskiness Drydown: airy and soothing rose tinged with a mere earthiness from the lavender. Not a medicinally astringent lavender, just a calming note. The orchid is clean and a bit green. The sillage is low but the drydown is a soft floral with a light veil of smokiness from the frankincense. Definitely one of the gentler and subtle oils in my BPAL collection.

In the imp's ear: a light yellow oil with pungent grassy clover, worn leather Wet on the skin: earthy peat turf and dusty bit of dirt, more clover, metallic gold and silver, worn leather, a bit of home-brew poteen, and white rose Drydown on skin: The early drydown is a wee bit masculine, somewhat like cologne. It takes on a creamy light musky aroma . After a half hour or so, the leather and peat fall down into the background. The poteen, rose and clover soften the metallic notes. Earthy, sunny and fresh!! Nicely balanced. Keeper!!!! In my scent locket, the metallic and leather stay more forward.

A generous decant from mimosatique! In the vial: nicotiana flower (uh-oh!), tart purple berries, white rose, sharp green herbal Wet on skin: the herbal smells like coriander, must be the parsley...a bit more rose with citrus and lemon blossom Drydown: An interplay of sweet and sour with the huckleberry and tangerine. The white rose has merged with the berry and herbs into a soft fruited floral. The parsley and nicotiana surprisingly soften up the blend and give it some earthiness. There is a fizziness, too!! After a while, the rose is wistful and light floating around in the fruit blend. This reminds me of a berry version of La Vita Nuova! Throw is medium. A juicy floral that has more than its share of playfulness!! Fizzy and lots of fun!

There is something very luxurious and decadent about this one in the vial--thick dense honey, the sugar cane aroma and beeswax. Totally alluring until it hits my skin. That's where the powdery scent of vanilla flower tickles the back of the throat and burns the nostrils. The citrusy copal resin is lovely and does tame the vanilla flower somewhat. But never enough for me to enjoy all the elements. Sadly, this flower is not meant for me.

In the vial, this smells a bit like masculine cologne--mossy with light musk. On the skin, it warms up quickly with a delicate pink floral tinged with clean powder. The moss is gentle and light. Astonishly simple in the drydown--delicate and musky. A very happy, cozy blend. Unisex? I think so. The simplicity of this one is beautiful in itself.

Limb-loosener. Ambergris, pale musk, peru balsam, golden amber, cedar, lavender, spikenard, narcissus, vanilla caramel, white sandalwood, and woodmoss. In the vial: light vanilla, lavender, musty valerian, and fragrant cedar Wet on skin: sharp green narcissus leaves, a bit of hyacinth & jasmine, sandalwood. Here it is strongly green and floral. A bit of herbally lavender and valerian in the mix. The sandalwood cuts through the edge of the herbals. It is very cologne-like and sharp. Dry: amber begins to emerge, not overpowering, just firm. The lavender and floral notes soften and the moss deepens with the cedar and sandalwood. It does take a while to get past the sharp stage, but once it happens, all is uniformly blended and quite lovely. Very light from a distance, but up close is full-on. Leans slightly feminine once the vanilla carmel sets up on my skin. I'm glad that I tried a decant of this. It falls into that "had to try" category. Not at all like any scent that I have. One of those scents you ponder while you're wearing it-wondering if you've smelled something similar once you get to the drydown. I love to smell it on my wrists. But beyond that, it is not something that I would wear often enough. However, it may be something I can convince DH to try...

I truly wasn't expecting to like this one...but I'm head over heels in wub!!! In the imp: boozy sweet green fig, glistening in cognac Wet skin: hee, hee, hee! A brief whiff of brown paper bag, then gone---poof! Big ripe raspberry and rich cream and the fig is voluptuous and seductive! Dry: I can't stop smelling this ! No leatha--but that's ok by me. Big fig keeps turning up with the cognac. Pure heaven with a touch of cream and berry. Win-win-win!!

A gracious decant from chewy:) In the vial: woodsy, crisp, aromatic cedar and sandalwood Wet on skin: the sweet lunar herbs spill forward with a teensy bit of floral rounding out the cedar. I smell a bit of vetiver, too. Drydown: early stage is more masculine, but as it progresses, the sandalwood and herbs take on a creamy texture. The cedar is wistful now. Quite simple, solemn and enjoyably natural smelling. This one will definitely become part of bedtime ritual.

In the vial: sweet honey, musk Wet on the skin: the spices bloom with an undertone of currant; very perfumey; there is a tobacco-like note, too--not offensive, though Dry: No daemon drops--odd, this gets very arid, ashy and dry--the amber goes powdery on me. This decant will go to someone else whose chemistry can handle more amber than I can.

'08 Version A lovely decant in the vial--champaca, honey and amber stand out. On the skin, the sweetness of the champaca is strongest, drowning out the other florals. The amber takes over in the end, doing its usual amplitude with my chemistry. After an hour, it has all but disappeared.

Ahhh such a lovely evocative description...a whiff from a fresh imp. Lovely iris and a hint of berry. Wet, the spices are musty and the amber sucks the berry into oblivion. Dry, the amber is still hazy and the spicy iris go up a notch. It's all over within a half hour--choking powdery amber. Shoot!!!

On my skin this is mostly, jasmine and lily with a light touch of ylang ylang. Surprisingly light as far as white florals go. A smidge of plum peeks in for a bit...In the end the lily is strongest. A pleasant white floral bouquet touched with sweet plum...I like this enough, but I prefer my whites with a bit of resin.

In the bottle: evergreen, verbena, hemp, holly berry Wet: fragrant juniper and delicate rose, the hemp becomes creamy and sweet with verbena Dry: the woods and resins arrive. A vivid green and red scent reminiscent of Yew Trees with festive spices. Ceremonial and atmospheric--a wondrous winter blend!!

At first, bright herbally blackberry sage tea, fresh and light. When wet on skin, Bewitched sweetens a bit with a peek of citrus out top. The magic begins with the dark musk steps in--the berry sweetness tempers, quite muted down by the cool, almost smoky musk. Sensuously skin-close when completely. Quite a little blackberry potion!!!

In the vial: vetiver and more aromatic grasses, slightly camphorous, yet pleasing Wet: definitely vetiver, still alone Dry: hints of cedar, warmed woods among the vetiver which has a singed edge Interesting indeed...I may revisit again at a later time. A fairly new imp from the lab. Back in the imp box to age.

In the imp: tart blackberry and currant, fresh green leaf Wet: something wet and woodsy underneath, maybe pennyroyal Dry: stays true throughout drydown, wet,tart berries mixed with herbally goodness underneath. A welcome break from the usual straight up fruit scents!!

Yowza!! Sinuous, stilletto heels sexy!! A woman in charge of her sexuality. The magnolia is musky, spicy and very creamy...nothing over the top. The oleander is threatening but tamed. Will savor this imp for a night out with my dreamy spouse...reminds me of the Mitch Ryder tune "Devil with a Blue Dress.."!!!!

In a word--enigmatic!! In the imp: light orange, mimosa Wet: clove and bergamot--lovely and warm! Dry: softened florals that are almost indistinguishable--very muted, damp, musty and menacing. A keeper!!! I don't know why--but this one is strangely attractive to me.

A decant from mimosatique... In the vial: cotton candy Wet: fresh sweet fruited apple blossoms, bitter guava, a dash of pepper Dry: orange tea, still fruity, but a bit more spiced. The apple blossom is gentled--still refreshing and sweet. Wow! How fun and light...I can see this as a fresh summer ade. The vial is a definite keeper!!

The scent notes at a glance are right up my nose's alley, except for the almond which can amplify to the 5th power on my skin at times. I adore Egyptian musk and cardamom--both heavenly in the imp. But this little trip to the Nile was not meant for me. The almond asp has reared its ugly head and taken over my skin, far too sweet and sending a wave of nausea thruout. The myrrh, musk, and spices....let alone the lotus left to drown in the the almond Nile.

In the bottle: strong palm date--thick, sweet and fleshy; ginger; vanilla with a baked offertory cake aroma. It's almost like smelling Haloa crossed with Osun... Wet: holy morphology--ginger clouded by floating oud and oakmoss Dry: The oud is complex, pleasing--agarwood with a mushroom and carrot seed flavor. It blends seamlessly with the ginger and the oakmoss. This is not foody by any means. The vanilla and date are pushed down and very close to the skin. Tantalizing!! In the end, the palm date and oud langour with a very light dash of vanilla, ginger and earthy oakmoss. Skin close and very seductive.

A decant from mimosatique. '06 version In the vial: straight up jasmine, exotic and not soapy, citron Wet on skin: lightly fruited by the quince and apple peel and herbed with thyme. The thyme is such a nice unexpected surprise Drydown: The jasmine here is amazingly tame. Smells lovely and true. Here it never drowns out the other notes. This is seamless and incredibly well blended. A twinkle from the apple peel and citron, the herbal thyme--all grounded by the light sandalwood backdrop and earthy myrtle. In the end, a softly musked jasmine blend--very complex with a sparkly, herbal twist. Feminine and seductive without being overly powerful.