JazzieCazzie

Another one of the handful of straggling scents that I have tried and liked in the last year or so but never reviewed! IN THE IMP: Beautiful pure green woods. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: On first application, it's not quite as awesome as it was in the bottle/imp because there is that little hint of Pine-Sol. Not enough to be blerg, but enough to make me wonder if I want to get more than what I have, which is about a half an imp. DRYDOWN: Happily, I see why I kept it. The piney cleanser note evaporates quite quickly, leaving the rest of the awesome ... mellow cedar and grass amp up and it remains a beautiful, lovely, green woodsy forest scent. OVERALL: I am always on the hunt for a GREAT green scent that has no icky notes and this is one of the best yet. I would totally wear this and will look for more. On a scale of 1-5, a 4.5

I had this in my keeper box, presumably received as a Lab frimp, but realized I hadn't reviewed it so pulled it out (along with a batch of about 8-10 others I hadn't reviewed or re-reviewed since 2005). Prefacing by saying I was a little surprised to have kept it since I'm not a big leather fan. IN THE IMP: Sandalwood and fresh air. Not getting any leather, am getting something slightly ozone-y which often goes perfumey on me. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: I can understand the leather description more by the images this evokes than specifically saying "this smells like the leather note." I get sandalwood and riding around outdoors. The leather is not the armchair/whip leather I usually smell but rather, maybe, an old loved harness or saddle. DRYDOWN: It's okay. But it's slightly cologney and gives me a little headache. I think it's a solid subtle gender-neutral perfume. OVERALL: I admit I'm surprised I kept it the first time around. It's nice enough but it is definitely not me. On a scale of 1-5, a 3.

Was able to snag a half bottle (which, since they're 10 ML bottles, is like a full bottle) via our wonderful forum. BIG item on my wishlist from loving it way back when! This is from a decanted imp of it from said aged cobalt bottle. IN THE IMP: Bandaids and awesome. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: Just this awesome, medicinal, pharmacy scent that brings me back to my childhood, where the local drugstore smelled like Bandaids and vanilla ice cream cones. it's sweet and spicy and has a little mercurochrome to it. DRYDOWN: I can smell the cinnamon and I can smell the sandalwood. I do not get ANY of the mint others have mentioned and mint almost invariably goes wonky on me so am thinking if there IS mint it's only a trace amount. But there's something else amping on me that brings out that medicinal note ... Amber? Benzoin? Something more resiny and herbal than just sandalwood. A comfort scent for sure. OVERALL: I still love love love this and SO wish I knew the notes in it so that I could find out if there were other BPAL blends that I should try because of their similarities, since I don't think the Lab will ever rerelease the amazing Tarot line no matter how hard I wish it to be true. On a scale of 1-5, a 5.

IN the imp, it's just straight on orange aspirin, St. Joseph's brand. Ugh. Dabbed in crook of my arm and hoped I wouldn't hurl. WET: Orange. Sweet candy orange. And I hate sweet candy orange. I don't want to wash this off I know there's a reason I kept it all this stime. This is a total death note for me. Must be patient. Patient patient patient. DRYDOWN: Finally it starts to morph as it dries. Some potpourri scent comes out as the orange dries. It's ... nice. Then a little bit of cloves. Okay. I can live with this. I don't have to wash it off. Not something I think I'm going to keep, I've already shifted it from keep box to swap box, right, as I leave the house to go to a movie. And in the theatre, two hours later, I realize that the crook of my arm smells, simply, like clove cigarettes. And I LIKE that. So, yeah, it goes back into keeper box. OVERALL: Clove cigarettes. A memory of my past. A keeper. On a scale of 1-5, a 4+

Testing from a Lab imp IN THE IMP: Roses and jasmine but in a surprisingly nice not-in-your-face blend for me. Dabbed on one wrist WET: The jasmine is clearly what I have been identifying as the "bubble gum" scent in the Euphrosyne, which I'm testing simultaneously (they go well together). But it is so well blended with the other notes that it is not taking over the party or dancing with the lampshade on its head or any of that behavior. It's just very nicely taking hands with the rose (dragging the rose away from its favorite spot of hogging the attention) and playing nicely with all the other lovely notes. DRYDOWN: Great great great great great, I kind of forget about this for while but then when I'm sipping a dream I think "OK, WHAT was the scent on this wrist because it's awesome and spicy and floral and resiny and gorgeous" and it was the Mata Hari. I am thinking the fig is the big winner here because it tends to do that for me. Just come in late and make everything around it so much better. This has a loooooooooooong throw but it's a low key one. Subtle, spicy, lovely, low. On a scale of 1-5. a 4.3

This is a weeeeeeeeeeeeeird one. I know I did not order it myself so I either got it as a lab frimp or a partial from someone in a swap or purchase. On paper, it seems like something i could take or leave and probably leave yet it remained in my in box after I'd conscientiously gone through everything. So let's try it again. IN THE IMP: Sweet lush floral a la Twilight (one of my first favorites). Dabbed on wrist WET: Yeah, it reminds me a lot of Twilight but with that little twist of the vanilla that has the soupcon of danger. The sweetness is more like sugarless bubblegum (which is what Jasmine tends to do on me). Not getting super strong rose or gardenia in my face. I'm just getting a nice hothouse floral scent, surprisingly light yet lush. Wedding in the day, engagement party type scent. Women wearing white gowns. DRYDOWN: It dries sweet and floral and hot and lush and classy. There IS the tiniest bit of plastic from the vanilla but it's temporary. Oh, and no gardenia or jasmine headaches. On late late drydown it's really quite lovely. OVERALL: I like this a lot though by all acounts I really should not like it as much as I do. It will work for the right occasion. I thin this would be a great scent for girls at a bachelorette party or engagment party or just out with the girls. On a scale of 1-5, a strong 4.

Bought an imp in a decant circle. IN THE IMP: I had misread this as "musk, honey, peat and leather." So I was pleasantly surprised to sniff the imp and be transported to a field of HEATHER instead. Dabbed in crook of my arm. WET: This is delicious. Divine. Fresh outdoors heather with that bit of peat and the sensuousness of the musk (I get zero honey from this). It's fabulous wet. It makes me want to run around barefoot outdoors, which I would do were it not snowing out. DRYDOWN: Sadly, as it dries down, it goes a little too perfumey for it to be a long-term new love. And I think that's pretty common for me ... it's just really rare for one of those "wet outdoors scents" to stay as true to the outdoors as they are when they dry down. That doesn't keep this from being a brilliant blend. OVERALL: Not a keeper but a wonderful experience to smell for the first 10 minutes or so. And not that it's bad after that. Just not something I'd wear. On a scale of 1-5, a 4.

Purchased an imp in a decant circle. IN THE IMP: Unexpectedly pungent. Dabbed on one wrist. WET: This smoothes right out as soon as it is applied into a perfectly nice resiny blend. There's a tiny little hint of what I call the "Bain de Soleil" note in it lurking in the background as well. DRYDOWN: I get a little bit of the "oppo-cola" scent but not as much as I would like. And the frankincense doesn't take over as much as I'd like it to. The chamomile, which I'm discovering, more and more, is a problem note for me, gives it a tiny bit of ooky. Not enough to be a dealbreaker but enough for it not to be a keeper. OVERALL: It's perfectly nice but nothing special for me. There are so many other resiny blends I love much, much more. On a scale of 1-5, a 3.


Clouds of flour and spices with the scent of ginger tea, warm caraway cakes, snickerdoodle pinwheels, and sugar cookies with sweet orange frosting. 
Clouds of flour and spices with the scent of ginger tea, warm caraway cakes, snickerdoodle pinwheels, and sugar cookies with sweet orange frosting] Hope I formated that top-of-the-page post right! Anyway, bought as an imp in a Yule decant circle. IN THE IMP: TOOOOO sweet cookies. Dabbed tentatively on one wrist. WET: I really don't know what I was thinking when I ordered this. I think I was caught up in the OMG ALL THESE YULE SCENTS madness and didn't settle down and think that out of, what, 63 blends, nothing REALLY grabbed me and called my name so I better pick SOME. This was super-de-dupery sweet on me and that would have been okay were it not for the inevitable amping up of the "orange icing" which smelled like St. Joseph's baby aspirin. Candy-ish or faux orange is SO not my scent friend. I knew that so my bad. Ugh. DRYDOWN: This is just not me. At all. Way too sweet and sacchariney with side notes that don't do anything for me and then the orange icing to top it all off. OVERALL: My bad Yule choices, however, will be a lot of other people's chances to get some of the Yule imps in swaps. It is what it is. On a scale of 1-5, a 1.5

Bought an imp in a decant circle IN THE IMP: Oddly metallic. Cleaning fluid. Dabbed -- ever so slightly up -- on my wrist and in the crook of my arm in the name of science. WET: The tea just runs in and takes over and knocks the notes I like, such as champaca and incense, right out of the room and then spills a whole bunch of other crap too and messes everything up like tea always seems to do. And while PEACH BLERG is not listed on the notes, I think PEACH snuck in with tea just to be all fruity and make me nauseous. So I'm getting peach, tea, acridity and ickiness. DRYDOWN: Why, oh why, did I not wash this off, you ask? Answer. I don't know. This is just bad bad bad on me and stinky too. But I'm sure it would be great on someone else. OVERALL: I do not like this Sam I Am. And I can't pronounce it either so I guess that's just as well. On a scale of 1-5, a 1.5.

Bought an imp in a decant circle. IN THE IMP: Sweet, woodsy, resinous. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: Hmmmmm. My initial notes are confirmed as it's sweetly woody and resiny. It actually burns a little on application, something I have noted in many of the Misky Phil blends for some reason. It's very subtle. Not superstrong, nothing lurking behind that makes me worry about what will rise upon the drydown stage. DRYDOWN: A very smooth combination. It's a little saltier than I'd like (vetiver?) but not to a horrible degree. Smoky and pleasant. Definitely a gender-neutral scent. OVERALL: In the end, I don't see this as a keeper because I have so many other scents I like more in this "family" so to speak, but I like it more than I thought I would on first sniff. On a scale of 1-5, a 3.

Actually bought TWO imps in a decant circle. That's how high my hopes were for this. IN THE IMP: Musky, resiny, sharp. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: Wow. Odd. Burns a little. Patchouli and clove are predominant for the first moment or so but after that pepper chases them away and gets all stinky on me. It's weird with pepper because, on the one hand, that was one of three notes in the ORIGINAL Aries, one of my favorite all time blends, and yet in the last several years I've found that it ruins a lot of other promising scents for me. It makes me smell like a restaurant kitchen after they have shut down for the night. DRYDOWN: Yeah, I smell like a bag of takeout. OVERALL: I really should love this based on the notes. Or even LIKE it. But I don't. It goes really rank on me, to the point of having to wash it off before I go out. On a scale of 1-5, a generous 2.

Bought an imp in a decant circle. IN THE IMP: It's definitely resiny but not a deep resin. It's a familiar scent that I can't put my finger on. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: Somehow I can't identify a single note in here. It's very well blended, very smooth, very simple. Hard to describe. There's something that's a little bit like a cleanser but not in the "stinky industrial" sense of the word. And it's oddly green and fresh for a resiny blend. DRYDOWN: This goes very "green" and familiar but, again, I just can't figure out what it is that is on the edge of my brain, so this is not exactly the world's best review if I can't seem to describe what it smells like, is it? Could it be the gum that is so familiar? OVERALL: Well, I don't love it enough to drive myself crazy trying to figure it out, honestly. It's not bad, it's pleasant enough, but it's not something I'd reach for in my imp box to wear again. On a scale of 1-5, a 3.

An imp that somehow slipped through the cracks when it came to reviewing it. IN THE IMPL Fresh citrus but with a candied sort of element to it. Very fresh. Dabbed on my wrist and in the crook of my arm. WET: Kind of like lemon-lime lifesavers being carried on an ocean wave. It reminds me of a sweeter, stronger version of Val Sans Retour and is very evocative of an island vacation. DRYDOWN: Sultry, sweet, fresh and fruity all at once. OVERALL: I want to love this. I think it would be a great vacation scent. But in the end, it's just one shade TOO sweet and fruity for me to wear and goes into the swap pile. On a scale of 1-5 a 4.

Just checking my collection against what I've reviewed and found a few straggler. So not sure when I got this imp but think it was a frimp from the Lab. IN THE IMP: A charred, burnt scent, yes, but oddly with a clean and resiny kick to it. Dabbed on one wrist and in crook of arm. WET: The resin and the spices combine nicely with the firewood and ashes. To me, it smells like a burned-down church. Not that that would be a good thing in real life, mind you, just that's the image I get. DRYDOWN: Medicinal and smoky, a little goes a long, long way with the big throw it has. OVERALL: I think this would be really sexy on a guy but it's just a little too much for me. On a scale of 1-5, a 4.

I had this on my wish list because of the intriguing notes but knew it could be a crapshoot so a little history here ... I list ginger as one of my favorite notes because when it is good it is SOOOOOOOOOOOOO good (think Shub Shub Shub Shub Shub). But every so often ginger won't work on me. I should probably be even more anal-retentive and get to know which ginger does what but I have reviewed nearly 500 scents based on my review spreadsheet and probably sniffed way more than that which never got reviews (I did ZERO reviews written down between the fall of 2005 and the early spring of 2013). So, anyway, was able to acquire a bottle of this in a swap and decanted an imp for the testing. IN THE IMP: Sharp, hot and, yes, sulphuric, for sure. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: Very hot and metallic, which I recognize as one of the gingers. DRYDOWN: This morphs several times and is kind of fascinating to "watch" ... the first brief morph is to, oddly enough, something that is strongly green or reminds me of fresh greenery, which I didn't expect. Next, I get Chinese food (I do like ginger in my Chinese food, so this is THAT ginger, not the sweet Shub ginger). Finally, it becomes sweeter and more subtle, wet again, like ginger combined with spring rain falling on someone who might have had Chinese food for lunch. OVERALL: This is a tough call. I like it a lot. It's intriguing and unusual and makes me want to put it on again a half hour later. Kidding about that. It DOES make me hungry. But, honestly, in the long run I think an imp of it will be enough for me and I'll probably put the rest of the bottle on my next update of my swap list. On a scale of 1-5, a 4.

Received a partial of this in a swap as a frimp and, dedicated to my science of reviewing everything at least once, gave it a shot despite very strong leanings towards worries about the death notes (on me) of blackberry and mint. Can the amber, sandalwood and OB offset it? Tune in ... IN THE IMP: Resiny blackberry. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: Sweet, fruity and perfume-y. Resiny, yes. And, oddly, the tiniest bit boozy. The good news: not a washoff. DRYDOWN: It stays pretty much the same. Not a washoff, even when dry, but still remains just a little too sweetly fruity for it to ever be a keeper for me. OVERALL: It was nowhere nearly as bad on me as it could have been. I never got the mint (and mint goes weirdly wonky on me when it dries down) and blackberry has turned out to be one of the few fruity notes that is at least remotely bearable for me. Not a keeper, but quite pleasant for what it is. On a scale of 1-5, a solid 3.

Received a partial imp as a gift in a swap. IN THE IMP: Honestly? Generic perfume. I'm not getting a read on anything here. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: On first sniff, nothing. There's nothing there. I put on MORE on wrist and crook of arm and sniff again. I have to sort of huff it to get anything. So it's very faint and very light but certainly nice. Sweet, then a faint resiny floral. DRYDOWN: This is so, how can I put this, subtle that it's hard to describe it specifically. I can't slather it because there wasn't enough in the imp to do that. I like it okay. It doesn't make me want to order more so I can actually, you know, wear it. OVERALL: I feel like I have to give this an incomplete in terms of the experiential. I definitely appreciate people sending partials because usually there's enough to figure out if you want to actually buy some, but it's why I am not a fan of sniffies and when I get them I just immediately put them into the giveaway pile ... I know a lot of people love them but for me they're just frustrating because you can't even really try them so they're just a tease (OBVIOUSLY just my opinion). In normal circumstances, there would have been enough in this imp to test and decide. But the scent is so faint that there wasn't. On a scale of 1-5, I think it's a 3. Maybe even a 3.5

Received as an imp gift in a swap. IN THE IMP: Minty lavender. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: Mostly lavender. A little mint. No bergamot or mandrake as far as I can tell, so so far so good. DRYDOWN: Not bad at all. It stays predominantly lavender with just a hint of mint for most of the ride. But then, yes, as it dries, the mint inevitably comes to the surface and prevents this from being a real winner. OVERALL: For reasons completely unclear to me (because in most of my BATH products mint is one of my favorite notes), BPAL mint goes wonky on me in the drydown and invariably and ends up being the dealbreaker on otherwise winner scents for me. However, it's fine when it's wet -- example, ENVY is one of the most amazing wet scents ever but becomes almost a washoff when it dries. So I won't say I LOVE it or would buy a big bottle of it or look for more, but this imp will be a keeper to use as an aromatherapy oil in my steam shower. I think it would be a great candle, too. On a scale of 1-5, a 3 because I can't wear it.

Acquired an imp of the 2013 version in a swap ... I know I have tried an older version, most likely the original, but that was during a span of time when I wasn't writing reviews. My recollection was I sort of liked it the first time but then it didn't work for me anymore. I couldn't remember why. IN THE IMP: Buttery and cakey. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: This is so weird. The salty, buttery cake is a note and the sweet incense is a note but they don't blend. It's like they're on two parallel lines to my nose with a wall between them. They're both very distinguishable yet they don't mingle. DRYDOWN: This is a really interesting scent. I'm not getting any of the currants so that's a good thing because that is a note of mini-doom for me. It's cakes on one side, incense on the other, and the two want nothing to do with one another. They just sort of ... clash. Then on the late drydown instead of just being weird it gets distracting. And the long-term drydown is very definitely old-lady. OVERALL: Definitely not a keeper. Interesting, intriguing even, but not for me. I also knocked down the rating by a full point-and-a-half when the final drydown went to "old lady." On a scale of 1-5, a 2.

Acquired as an imp off my wish list in a swap. IN THE IMP: Odd. Slightly acrid at first but then sweet, fresh, herbal, floral. Dabbed on my wrist and in the crook of my arm. WET: This is super-duper spring time. Spring flowers blending beautifully with the green and resins, and the honey is not cloying and doesn't try to take over the party. DRYDOWN: This dries down quickly and into something that is very much the sum of its parts rather than definable notes. If I didn't know what was in it, I would not be able to identify the notes as anything more than a very light, VERY light, very nice spring scent. It's nice. But for me it's JUST nice. It's actually TOO "NOT in my face" for me. OVERALL: This is a lovely light blend and would probably work well for someone who is a "beginner" or works with people who don't like strong scents. It doesn't make a statement. It just wafts spring. ETA find this interesting because it's almost eight years old, and in my experience honey blends have gotten stronger with age. Yet almost every review I read here singles out the honey, whereas on my it didn't amp at all. So let me add that I was coming down with a cold when I tested this and it may indeed be stronger than I thought but I didn't have an issue with the other scents I tested that day. So YMMV. On a scale of 1-5, a 4 for what it is.

This was one of the many new-to-me blends on my wishlist and was very happy to be able to swap for a bottle of it! IN THE BOTTLE: Fresh golden amber. Dabbed on one wrist and in crook of arm. WET: Lovely throw. I get a summer vibe, for sure, though none of the incense others mentioned. It's evoking more images than specific notes for me -- green and gold and flowers. It is very much a scent of sunshine and so definitely met its goal. However, I'm getting a little bit of what I think of as a "gum" scent ... not a deal-breaker necessarily, but it's distracting and keeps it from being perfect. DRYDOWN: Sadly, on drydown, this becomes more of a generic perfume on me. I have a feeling it's the chamomile, which I've noticed can be something of a ... well, not a "death note" but a "bummer I don't like this as much" note. A little fruity and sweet and powdery. And definitely more perfumey than I'd like. OVERALL: Don't get me wrong, this is a very nice scent. But as I've been filling out and cataloguing my collection, and as I'm getting older and will never be able to go through everything I have as it is, I'm becoming much more selective about what I keep. It's no longer enough to just be a very nice scent. It has to be something I would say "Hey, I really want to wear (fill in the blank) today." And I don't see that happening with Labores Solis. So despite a pretty high score it goes onto the swap list. On a scale of 1-5, a 4.

I am totally puzzled how I did not review this already ... I know I had some way back in the day when I was reviewing everything as a newbie, and I know I have had an imp for awhile that should have at least made it into the mix when I reviewed/RE-reviewed everything. But it fell through the cracks ... dun dun dun ... UNTIL NOW. So, yes, reviewing from an imp I've had for at least a year or two (and I realized I had to have this when the Bonbon series came out and I knew there was NO WAY I hadn't tried this based on the notes). IN THE IMP: SHMEXY!!!!!!! Patchouli and sex! Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: Ohhhhhhhhh shmex shmex shmex. Musky and myrrh mellow out the patchouli so that it's not all "nursery school arts and crafts project" on me (I like patchouli and I like the smell of nursery school arts and crafts projects but, to me, sexy that ain't). Not getting any of my beloved YY on wet sniff. DRYDOWN: This just gets better and better. All the goodness remains, but the YY adds a very subtle floral deliciousness to it. OVERALL: This is the next GC bottle on my "must buy" list now and will be one of the few GCs on my wishlist. It's nummmmmm. I can't wait to try the Lust Bonbons now because, IMHO, Beth's chocolate note always makes good things even better. On a scale of 1-5, a 5.

Received as a lovely gift from my wish list from a wonderful forumite. IN THE IMP: Fruity headshop. Dabbed on one wrist and in crook of arm. WET: Interesting. Fruity fresh but not TOO fruity. Resiny but not quite resiny enough. Sweet but not TOO sweet. I can't tell if this is going to go fruity floor cleaner on me yet. DRYDOWN: Sadly, it did. Fruity often goes industrial cleanser on me, with citrus scents USUALLY being the main culprit. I'd hoped that grapefruit would be an exception here since it's been, in the past, the main fruit note (other than fig) that worked on me. But alas, in the end, this was more like something I'd use on a hardwood floor. OVERALL: Oddly, I got NO smoky from this at all. I'm starting to think my body is playing games with me. On a scale of 1-5, a 3.

Decanted from a full bottle I bought unsniffed because I was so in love with the notes. IN THE IMP: Deep and mysterious but I can't tell any notes apart. Dabbed on one wrist and in crook of arm. WET: Smoky, deep and rich but almost oppressively so. It does lighten a bit as it starts to dry but for some reason I still cannot single out notes in this one. DRYDOWN: It's smoky and a little salty in the crook of my arm and sweeter and more incensey on my wrist. But there is also a note that doesn't like me at all ... a little stinky salty. I'm not sure if it's the hyssop? OVERALL: I confess that as much as I had been looking forward to this for MONTHS before its release, it really didn't work for me. I like it okay but don't love it and looking over my crazy big collection I can't imagine every reaching for this ... and as I do my Super Bowl night culling and swap list updating, that's going to be my deciding factor ... not WOULD I wear this but WILL I wear this. And I will not wear this. On a scale of 1-5, a 3.