theshapeshifter

I probably never would've tried this - being afraid of it being too boozy, since rum and I have had a thorny relationship over the years - but when em_h brought it to the Toronto meet'n'sniff, I gave it a go, and was intrigued. She was kind enough to gift me with the imp, so here goes... In the imp: Sweet, but not the straight-up rum I'd feared, more like a spiced rum cake. On skin: From application right through the drydown, it's a one-way ticket to Clove-town! Clove is definitely the predominant note I get, with the sweetness of the rum, something almondy, and something earthy (vetiver?) in the background. It's actually reminding me a bit of the imp of Yuletide '04 that I've been hoarding. I'm really loving this - I'm a great fan of spicy scents that have a bit of sweetness to them without necessarily being baked-good-foody, and this fits that description perfectly. Really nice for such a cold day.

I was glad I got to try this at the Toronto meet-n-sniff today, because I was too leery of civet to ever order it - but I've always been tempted by the name. In the imp: Heady, dark and sexy. Definitely animal, but none of the 'scary' smells that some people seem to get from civet. Cautiously dabbed just the tiniest, tiniest bit on wrist. Wet: Oh. OH. Very intriguing. I get the opium and musk, and as far as I can tell the civet is just making it all more raunchy and edgy, in a good way. Drydown: Yep, it's the opium that I love so much in Darkness, but much more frankly sexual due to the civet. This is STRONG - one tiny barely-touch-the-skin of the imp wand to the wrist was still detectable (just) a couple of hours later. I like this. A lot. Strong potential for love. Thanks to the generosity of em_h, the imp came home with me from the meet-n-sniff. In short: this smells like sex. Like wanting to grab the nearest willing specimen and... well, you get the idea. VERY aptly named.

Wow! I got The Unicorn as a generous freebie, and might have have paid attention to it otherwise. I haven't had it on long, so not sure how the drydown will go, but it's just lovely. I get an almost candylike sweetness from the herbs; I can see what someone else said about melon candy, but it's not overpowering at all. It's a very "fresh sweet air" kind of scent, a nice change from the heavily sweet/incensey/heady scents I usually favour.

In the bottle: Spicy and sugary... snickerdoodles? My first thought was "oh em gee, this is what I wanted Sugar Cookie to smell like!" Initial application: Yep, snickerdoodles. There's just a hint underneath of a cool, dry, fallen-leaves scent. Drydown: After two hours, the outdoorsy-ness and just a faint whiff of the musk have emerged. The cookie smell (and it's a DRY cookie smell, none of the butter of Gluttony) is still there, but more of a background now. It's like walking outdoors on a crisp day, and catching the aroma of baking from some nearby house. This is utterly fabulous. I had high hopes for Devil's Night, and it's even better than I'd dreamed!

Sexy witch here, and I'm leaning towards The Living Flame.

In the imp: Sweet, very dry incense. Initial application: At first it does something like a drier, flatter version of Cathedral on me, but then a familiar scent starts creeping in. Drydown: Oh dear, the familiar scent is the cleaning-products aisle at the grocery store. My skin chemistry obviously disagrees with this one. Alas, Cairo and I weren't meant for each other. Off to swaps!

I love Hamadryad, but Hesperides - though pretty - was an apple pastry on me. Dublin would probably be up your alley, and possibly Vinland. If you also like evergreen-forest scents, I highly recommend Nocnitsa.

I wore Bordello last week to see Dead Can Dance, and it was perfect.

In the imp: That cherryish-marzipan topnote I always seem to get from almond blends. Initial application: Yep, it's that marzipan hit I get from Eclipse, although I can detect a smokiness in the background. Drydown: Smoky resin, with the almond as the background note. There's the occasional powdery waft from the myrrh, but not too powdery so far. And it's very DRY, despite its richness. It's a perfect fall scent... I'm loving it on this cool, grey October day, but I think if I'd received it in May or something, I might not have liked it nearly so much. This is one of those scents that - although it's not a 'skin' type scent, really - seems less like a perfume and more like simply the natural scent emanating from the wearer.

Woohoo! It's here! In the bottle: Rich, spiced apple, with just a hint of wine. Wet on skin: Mulled cider initially, and after a few minutes the plum and pear come in, along with a hint of winey tang and dry florals. Dry on skin: It's more like a spiced wine now, with the fruits playing more of a background role. There's something reminiscent of tea - that must be the bergamot. My only regret? As others have said, I'm finding this dries down VERY faint on my skin; after about four hours, it's hard for me to detect it at all any more. However, a little dab in my hair is keeping the autumnal goodness going strong.

It's not earthy, but for a fresh, damp, misty, 'spring-in-a-bottle' scent, my vote goes to Leanan Sidhe.

Just received this as a surprise extra in a swap, and ohhhh... *swoons* This is thick and darkly spicy-sweet. I got a bright sweet hit of cherry on first application, but on drydown it's balanced out by the clove... those two notes do a sort of evil, sensual tango while the dragon's blood and myrrh give it a lovely earthy warmth in the background. And there's just a slight tang about it that makes it reminiscent of actual blood. Warm and wicked, perfect for fall. I was certain I'd like this, based on the notes, but I adore it. Damn, another to add to my "must get a 5ml" list!

Wow, it seems like everyone gets really different impressions of this oil! In the imp: Bayberry (or holly berry, I guess?) and spice, like a candle. On skin: HELLO NUTMEG. And cinnamon stick and clove. From wet through drydown, it's primarily mulling spices on me, with a hint of sharp waxy berry in the background, just like walking into a warm and welcoming house where everything's decorated for Yule. People have mentioned candles and potpourri, and I agree, this is reminiscent of both things, but I'm almost hesitant to say that for fear of giving the impression that it's a "room scent, not for wearing" kind of oil, which couldn't be further from the truth, at least on me. This smells gorgeous on my skin. I hope it comes back this year, because a lonely imp isn't going to be enough!

Wow, I'm glad I finally tried this! In the imp: Pure chocolate. On me: Simply perfect. It's the perfect chocolate brownie, with just a hint of the sugary, slightly buttery goodness of Midway. Brownie with icing! I wish I could give more detail to this review, but sometimes simple does NOT equal boring. Bliss is very aptly named.

Ouija definitely has that Victorian vibe going on. Sometimes it's all lilac on me, sometimes more rose.

Dragon's Eye is sun-warmed lilacs for me. Ouija seems to vary on me... it was 'all lilac all the time' the first couple of times I tried it, but then I put it on a few days ago (after not trying the imp for a few months), and just got rose.

I received a half-imp of the 2003 version in a swap recently. Alas, there's not too much I can say about it - it smells creamy and cold on first application, but it's very, very, VERY faint on me... and within half an hour it had vanished entirely.

Yay! I'd almost thought I wasn't meant to have Zombi, as a friend had promised ages ago to send along an imp, but it never arrived. However, it turned up today after over a month in the mail! In the imp: Earth, but a richer earth than Graveyard Dirt, and something sweet. Initial application: Yes!! This is the earth I was hoping for in Graveyard Dirt (which was a bit too dry for me). I'm tentatively delighted, but worried about what the rose may do, since it's usually a note I shy far away from. Drydown: Here comes the rose... but wait! It's a rose that SMELLS LIKE ROSES, not like rose perfume! (which is interesting, given that this is dried rose). It's strongly rose for a little while, then mellows into the perfect earth/rose blend; I'm not really conscious of the moss, but I suspect perhaps it's helping keep the rose under control. Wow... a huge hats-off to Beth for creating a rose scent that my skin likes!

I live in Canada as well, and I have never had to pay Customs fees on any of the eleven orders I've received from the Lab so far. It just takes a little longer for shipping than US orders.

The winiest one on me is Nosferatu - as long as earth notes don't put you off, I think you'll really enjoy that. I also get a rich wine note from Samhain (I just have an imp, I presume it's the 2004 edition), although it doesn't seem to officially be in the description.

Highwayman has a foreboding quality that makes me think of Fangorn Forest.

In the imp: STRONG, and something that reminds me of Highwayman (upon looking up reviews, I determine this must be gardenia). I love Highwayman, so it seems promising. Initial application: Oh dear. Here's where I discover that gardenia is the mystery ingredient that almost made me dislike Highwayman. And it's much, much stronger here. Gardenia obviously hates my skin with a flaming passion - it's like a mix of banana scratch-and-sniff stickers, dank vegetation and something caustic. After ten minutes of hoping it would settle into the scent that so many people rave about, I had to give it up and wash it off. I haven't had too many BPALs that abjectly hated me, but alas, the Sacred Whore was one. Woe.

In the bottle: I must be getting lots of the pepper, because it's very... spiky. Initial application through drydown: It's INTENSELY blood orange, with the pepper making it more sharp/tangy than sweet. It smells concentrated, rather like sticking your nose into a packet of Tang powder and sniffing... if, of course, they ever invented blood-orange Tang. I'm honestly not sure what to expect of benzoin and olibanum, but there seems to be something vaguely vanilla-like lurking way at the bottom. So far (it's been on about 45 minutes), I adore it. If there are any further interesting developments as I wear it longer, I shall update this review.

In the imp: I don't know whether I'm more tempted to lick it, or have sex with it! Initial application: For a brief moment, I was afraid it was all going to go horribly wrong, because I got a strong whiff of what I can only describe as 'rotting baby powder'. Thankfully, though, that literally only lasted about 15 seconds. Then it blossomed into this heady clove/vetiver/incense combination. Drydown: It's been on for two hours now, and I simply can NOT stop sniffing myself. It's got great throw, for one thing. And it's wonderfully complex... I keep getting different elements of it each time. The cherry, vanilla, and honey are dancing around each other, and then there's the clove (a THROB of clove is exactly the right description! It's almost pornographic!) and vetiver and musk just dragging the sweetness into total debauchery. I'm not getting a huge amount of the wine, but there is just a hint of tartness. The poppy I'm not sure of, since I haven't smelled many prominent 'poppy' scents. It has the most amazing effect. I'm in jeans and a plain t-shirt and glasses, hair all mushed down from the rain, and just from this scent alone I feel like a total vamp. If combined with an actual sexy outfit, this scent might have to carry a warning label!

Wow, this is amazingly complex, as others have noted. In the bottle: Earth, incense, and currant, with an undertone of something very 'womanly'. This is the Queen, alright. Initial application: It goes on very rich and sweet, and for the first five minutes or so actually reminds me of a more subtle, less chocolately Gluttony. Drydown: After about 15 minutes, the currant and pomegranate really start to come into their own. There's the rich, almost boozy fruity depth that I love in Bordello, but made unbelievably deep and intriguing by the hints of incense and earth. The vanilla's still there, and combined with just the subtlest bit of rose (I'm glad, because strong rose scents are not my friends), it rounds it out, making it very clear that this is the Queen, not the King. I absolutely love this. It's everything I hoped for when I read the list of notes, and then some.