Indigo78

Imp'd this is very Orris, heavy - nostalgic and mystrious because of the Sandalwood. I am beginning to think Orris must have been prominent in the expensive perfumes and powders of a not-so-distant century. Evocative. Because of the heavy Orris presence, Veil calls up an image of scented love letters that are brittle and crumbling with age, written by like-scented hands long since turned to bone.

 

Wet on the skin - - WOAH Violet!

 

Not sure about this one. Violet is a comanding note that always wants to steal the show on my skin. *please subside???* After about ten minues, she does.

 

I only got whiffs of Lavender about three minutes after applying during the initial drydown (fabulous, since Lavender hates me). It was sort of a face-off between Violet and Lavander, when they suddenly both took a hike.

 

Lilac remains and mingles nicely with Sandalwood for awhile, but Lavender and Violet wont be completely forgotten (DAMMIT). I am still getting whiffs. Ultimately this ends up powdery and slightly green on me, and is probably swap-destined. There's always the chance that a second sniff could change my mind, but not for now...

In the imp this smells of tea roses and salt. Yes, salt. There is something blatantly sharp and quasi playdough about it, and as soon as it is on my skin I detect that even more.

 

Five minutes of wear - I smell leather, but it isn't the buckskin leather I am used to. This is more like new car leather, replete with treatment chemicals.

 

On my skin, the rose note in this blend is nice enough, and the weirdness of the leather becomes a bit more "traditional" smelling - like well worn kid gloves.

 

Not quite for me, this one...I like the roses, but not enough to deal with the weird things my skin chemistry does to it overall. Will try again in a few weeks, just to see if I'm having an off nose day.

In the imp this clocked me upside the sniffer with ALL of the elements it contains at once. The melon and chile sit right alongside dark tobacco, with a heavy splash of gin soaking everything. In the imp, this smells a mess, and I am hoping for a super-duper morph.

 

The first five minutes kick out a TON of tobacco and gin on me. Suddenly, the warmth of my skin kicks this into mega-sexy land. Y-U-M. Ogun turns into a sweet piece of melon drizzled with fresh chile. The tobacco is spicy and warm - no signs of its ashtray-ish warning in the imp. Everything is so well blended that no one note suffocates the others. This is a symphonic, hypnotic, beautiful scent.

 

This is a total keeper, straight up my alley. Though I don't think I would wear it regularly, a bottle will definitely be in my collection.

I waited and waited - halfway into my imp testing initiation (out of 18 imps, this was about the seventh, I think). Anyway, I stared at the firey red liquid in the imp with hesitation. Unable to remember what the description said, I silently prayed that this wasn't cinnamon. The first whiff from the imp squelched my worries. Exotic dust is what this reminded me of right away. Like a chest full of forgotten nineties artifacts from my teenage years. There is something distinctly damp and earth bound about Dragons Blood.

 

On my skin it rapidly morphed into a dry, vaguely spicy scent. Sad pants.

 

If it would have remained just as it was fresh from the imp, I'd be thrilled and devoted to DB. Alas, the search continues...

After popping open the imp, there is creamy almond and fruit - I think of petit fours with rich buttercream frosting and fluffy strawberry filling. This amps immediately on the skin, with the fruitiness spiking and becoming more tart - no longer creamy strawberry, this is morphing into cherry-lemon preserves. There is a rind-like scent which keeps reminding me of something bitter. The scent itself is not, but the right elements are there to create a bitter "phantom scent" to my nose. Is that the milk? I don't know much about milk notes, and this is the first one I have tried which has it. The creamy note I noticed right away seems to have morphed and blended with the lemon to create something...weird.

 

Not too surprising - add some lemon juice to some cream and see what happens!

 

Alice's drydown goes VERY floral on me. I am getting strong rose-scented talc. Almost baby powder but not quite.

 

Alice is not a bad, but my skin and nose just don't mesh well with her.

In the imp Coyote is sweet and green, with warmth just behind them. Wet on my skin the doeskin note just SINGS. Gorgeous. The drydown ended up giving heavier and heavier wafts of amber, resulting in a scent which was almost incensy, but not in the smoky way. The dust and dirt are suffocated by the amber on my skin, but it is still a beautiful scent. I want more!

This is for the '07 version:

 

Mysterious, sweet, incense-y in the imp. Sandalwood is by far the most prominent.

 

On the skin: this is Acetone when wet?! Yeah...That's acetone to my nose, with the other notes banging on the ceiling trying to get out. Hrmph.

A moment later the woods come in beside Vanilla, softening the bitterness a little.

 

Five minutes in, and this isn't nearly as dry as before. In fact, the bitterness (and whatever the Acetone notes were) are almost gone, becoming sweet and nectar-like. Really nice. (please stay this way? )

 

At twenty minutes I get the date palm and honey, blanketed by tuberose and vanilla. Starting to get "under my skin", and I am enjoying this scent.

 

I really enjoy this after it settles, and if it were easily procured I would add it to the wish list.

In the imp this is a nose-turner - in the wrong way.

 

I loved the sound of this, and was attracted to the descriptions of extinguished candles and earth. That simply isn't what this is to my nose. I get a distinct, pervasive sharpness and bitterness from Darkness. I don't wanna try it on, but here goes...

 

Wet, I just can't get past the imagery of 1930s costume jewelery and garrish artificial plants (yeah, I know..what?)...And that old Cashmere soap.

 

Drying down she becomes more aquatic. I get a nautical feel from this, but it isn't me at all. Swapping, and hopefully to someone whose chemistry dances with Darkness better than my own.

You know what Urd is? Urd is hanging out with people 20 years older than me at age 17, chewing grape bubble gum, waltzing the hippie-biker circuit with a like-minded girlfriend. Naivete on the verge of corruption, bottled! Genius.

 

In the imp it is grapey, dark, and juicy. Sweetly sinister.

 

On the skin wet, the Grape amps sharply at first. Wrist-huff inducing, for sure.

 

Drying down, Urd settles into a smoky, luscious blend. The grapes are smoky and everything is just a big cloud of yum. I am thoroughly enjoying this, although I'm also in slight denial that anything involving patchouli can be this intoxicating. I do wish the grape-champa would hang around longer, but I don't mind reapplying to get that again.

 

This is great on my skin. Will definitely use up the imp.

Let me hide behind something before going on to say that Elegba smells like Hawwaian Tropics Dark Tanning oil to me, straight from the imp...is the angry mob gone?

 

Okay, let me go on to say that on the skin it is an entirely different story.

 

For the first three minutes I'm all Coconut oil. This is a slick seduction though, as the rum creeps in to make the next twenty minutes or so increasingly heady and rich. I like this...The tobacco makes a teasing appearance that I yearn for my skin to amp, but alas. The rum and cococut have too much control, here. I was hopeful through the drydown, but it never did get as dark or developed as I hoped.

 

It is a beautiful scent, but I want more Tobacco and...er...depth? I'll age the imp awhile and see what happens, because I have the feeling Elegba may be one that needs some time.

In the imp: Innocent and prim, Victoria captures the essence of every man's untouchable desire in her youth. Wow... that's a lot of rose, backed with some softer breaths of other things I can't discern.

 

Wet, on skin: Not changing much. The roses in this blend seem to be blooming for the first time, and I think this imagery comes about because of the Lily.

 

Drydown: The roses continue to be crisp and new. This isn't how I imagine the drooping, ripe red roses of some other sweeter, heavier blends. There is no sweet, just a girl tiptoeing through adolescence, softly saying "Look. I am blooming. In the standard, proper, perfect way."

 

Nothing deviant at all. Not me, I will probably keep the imp. After all, certain scenarios. demand somthing inconspicuous and low key.

In the bottle this is a piece of crunchy, fresh Ginger with an underlying note that's almost creamy. Keep in mind, this is an aged imp (don't know how aged, but aged) won on Ebay.

Anyway the scent is strong and pleasant, which is great since it seems to have spread onto other imps in the package (despite the sender's great attention to spillage factors with extra tape and bubble wrap). It is simply that strong.

Wet on the skin this is vibrant, delicious, smoky ginger. Yum. Developing it radiates candles, and lots of them. Somehow this scent reminds me of holiday shopping, peering over the heads of bustling shoppers to locate a wandering relative: I also happen to be standing between a Thai Grill, a Starbucks kiosk, and a Yankee Candle. Hmmm. Weird but fleeting.

The candle-y, almost paraffin aspect is what the drydown amounts to. I am utterly in love with the smoky, "burning" (to quote another reviewer) element War has. Delicious, wild, and intoxicating. The throw on this is above average, and so is the wear length.

I have two bottles on order: One for my sister (the original guinea pig) and one for my hoard. A keeper~

Just opened, the scent is OMG delicious. I want a mimosa - or something along those lines. Yum. The pear really strikes me as super-tart... Lotus, huh?

On my skin, Glitter goes almost straight to lemon drops and bubble gum once applied. I enjoyed the hell out of the boozy note while it lasted, but it was so brief! Still yummy and beautiful, though. Other reviewers commented on a "public restroom air freshener" vibe. I agree slightly, but you would only smell this in some top-shelf Vegas public potty, IMO.

 

Drydown: I can't stop smelling my arm! So effervescent and refreshing and youthful, but the throw and longevity are reallly low.

 

I like this. LOVE this. It is a complete detour from anything BPAL I have tried so far: sexy, youthful, even a tiny bit giddy. I'm off ISO a bottle, if only to see what some layering can do about the staying power~

If blindfolded, I could have easily confused Hecate with Amaretto. Almondus maximus. I love to eat almonds, but I've never especially gotten off on their oil scent.

 

Same thing wet on the skin: Almond-fest, and all I am getting in terms of imagery is cherry-almond shampoo. There is a brief moment between wet and dry down which seems promising. Are we going dark? Mysterious? Smoky?

 

"Nuh uh, Never mind", she says. We're going green Palmolive dish soap, and no further.

 

Swap-a-rrific.

The final frimp from my very first order: I feel this needs to be said because I may not have the most "trained" nose yet...Recognizing many of the notes has been a challenge (mainly with resins, I think) However: I do know Lavender quite well. We've had good times and bad times...but a little more of the latter than the former. Let's see how this goes~

 

In the Imp: Spicy spicy, resinous resinous... This is a recurring theme that I have noticed in many of the blends containing resins. Although they are growing on me, I am still not sure. I definitely detect the lavender, and sage is wafting about as well.

 

Wet on the Crook of the Elbow: Sweetens so much! Sweet and spicy? Eeh..Not unpleasant, but this doesn't turn my personal crank right now.

 

10 minutes: A lot more of the sage and greenery begin emerge, despite the persistent frankincense which really seems to be muting every other note.. The emergence of something else is good, for me - I like the softness of the vetivert in this blend. It's hiding just enough, and with the sage sage it is very sexy.

 

An hour later: For all practical purposes, this is gone. The are dusty remnants of sage and spice, but nothing ever really stole the show during the course of it's short life on my skin.

 

ETA: Somehow the vetivert, sage, and.. wow, even sandalwood are creeping back up. Much more freshness, much less smoldering spice. Live and learn, I guess.

 

This phase is much more enjoyable than the rest of the experience, but it still isn't quite what works for me.

I'm in love

On wet, the first thing to hit my nose is the Myrrh~ I haven't been able to decide about Myrrh yet...

Suddenly I am blindsided, and this becomes pure heaven. The note that is inspiring some to say "peanut butter" is actually very creamy to my nose. Thick, raw sweet cream splashed with cognac.

During drydown, this is completely evocative of a scent I wore when I was sixteen living in Europe...but I am certain I will never remember the name of it. The florals and musk are perfectly balanced, while the cognac and myrrh lie sweetly beside them. Mmmmm.

Delicious and sexy - and personal since there's not a ton of throw. That's okay...as long as I can smell it~

At least one 5ml bottle.

Frimped. The name and description made me anxious to try it.

 

In the Imp: Spicy spicy spicy. I smell nothing but that smell. Is that myrrh? I have always thought of myrrh as an evocative scent...one I thought I was somewhat familar with. Maybe I'm not. This smell doesn't do it for me in many blends - so if it is myrrh, I need to avoid it in oils, I guess.

 

On Wet: Giant, obnoxious explosion of whatever the mysterious spice smell is.

 

Drydown: After twenty minutes character started to shine through; that is, I could smell something besides the spice. The dry orris is Dance of Death's saving grace. There is a very ancient, dusty aspect peeking through, I am enjoying it in all of it's exquisite creepiness. I agree with the one who said it smells like something by Lush sometimes -I get that when the sweet part rises back up.

 

ETA: The drydown of this, once it happens, produces the dustiest, most calming crypt scent. If it smelled like this a bit sooner, I would need several bottles.

 

Nice enough in the end, but waiting so long to get to the good part is too much for me~

In the Bottle: Lush, green, crisp lily~ it's love.

 

Wet, on skin: Like the rest have said, ALIVE, fresh, and beautiful for the first five minutes or so...then the drydown.

 

Hour Later: Where did it go? On me this morphed into baby wipes. Never did get honey, or anything sweet for that matter. I applied it straight out of the shower after moisturizer. I use pure glycerine, so I donno if that did it...the glycerine is oderless, and the oil isn't. Maybe a reaction between the two. Anyway, as a mother I get to smell baby wipes often enough...and could do without this phase.

 

Two Hours Later: Still smells like wipes. Some of the green is remerging, but still. Wipes. I don't wanna take another showerrrr!!

 

Three Hours Later: The green is remerging and I'm starting to get a bit of sweetness from this...wow, this is a morpher on my skin.

 

 

Tiger Lily all alone is amazing for the first five. Wish she'd stay that way!

____________________

 

ETA: Wow. What a difference a day or two can make~ Tonight I tried Tiger Lily again in a scent locket, and then on my skin as well. It was as though I applied a completely different oil. This time I can almost see the bright rows of Tiger Lilies along the south side of my childhood home.

 

Very evocative - this is the exact smell I know.

 

A few culprits may have affected my previous review, but I think it mostly had to do with my moisturizer. Tonight I skipped lotion after thoroughly washing off another oil from earlier. Then I liberally applied Tiger Lily (the first time I only trickled the thinnest glossy line along one wrist, and rubbed together), and fell into profound nostalgic bliss.

 

It's like a real bloom - not department-store bloom, but the authentic smell of a memory. Genius.

 

This is my favorite so far, and I suspect it will stay near the top. Everything I was hoping for, from imp to skin to drydown. Just perfect.

Recieved as a frimp with my first order ever, I had no expectations before dabbing this on. I read the description, but had forgotten everything except the Roman phallic symbolism involved.

 

In the imp: Spicy, spicy spicy. Eeps...and not in the way I am fond of. Fascinum cleared it's throat and stated loudly: "I AM WHAT I AM". Blisteringly strong.

 

Wet on skin: It is still biting my nose. Cinnamon popcorn glaze, red hots, some sort of holiday spiciness as well (think: cloves?). The spice and resin are assailing. The bittersweet scent is overpowering at best, and I agree with the notion that it resembles some kind of men's cologne. Maybe Old Spice on steroids?

 

10 minutes later: This needs to be washed off. Unevolved as it may sound, I can't identify these notes because I am not fond of them. Now I know that. Tremendous throw.

 

Late Dry Down: Tolerable now, but simply not my thing. The warmth and sweetness have overcome the initial sharp notes, kind of powdery but with pronounced spiciness still going strong.

 

This would probably work well for someone, but not myself

Wet, just applied: Goldschläger Cinnomon Schnapps. Completely. I can practically smell the gold flecks that dance around in the bottle. Past experiences render schnapps of any genre a not-so-favorite "memory scent"

 

Half an hour later: Subdued are the schnappy whiffs...they've morphed into sweet, sticky-rich tobacco smoke. Vanilla is starting to billow up with her head held high. She's crystalline... Cream soda? No, slightly more sophisticated...Vanilla Twist!! She's a chilled glass tumbler of Smirnoff Vanilla Twist on the rocks. Lazy, curling ribbons of sweet Southern tobacco smoke lick her frosted edges. On my skin, this morphing stage goes from being acutely spiced and boozy into a sexy, languid swoon.

 

Three hours later: A softer version of before, Vanilla is now clearly running the show. As she fades , she's on the verge of mimicing...well, a vanilla tic-tac. The earlier smokiness is just as faded, and on my skin the two will likely die together.

 

A maybe...I'll bet this one ages very gracefully~

 

ETA: It's 6 hours later, & I just woke up from a nap with the fiercest craving for a 5,000 calorie slice of Black Cat Pie - without the ingredients and/or ambition to make one, I'll resist... But Snake Oil's gourmand drydown is making it rough, rough, rough...