maika

I was frimped this too...so here goes.

 

In the imp: sweet and almost bakery, there's something reminiscent of baking, without it being totally foody. There's an almost fruity note there too. There's something a little bit floral too. This is interesting.

 

Wet: The bakery note has disappeared, but I think I smell bananas. Creamy bananas. Again, interesting. Not quite me at this point, but still an experience. It's got a big throw, too.

 

Dry: It's changed again. Now it's sweet powdery fruity rose. Something vaguely musky too. I don't think it's straight out musk though...maybe copal?

 

Ultimately though, for me, it's interesting, but too sweet for me.

 

I only got it this morning though, so I'm going to put it away for a retest later.

In the imp, patchouli, and something spicy-sweet. Probably the clove.

 

Wet, patchouli and myrrh without a lot of throw

 

Dry, there's a bit of a perfume-y vibe, which I think is the ylang ylang, the myrrh patcholi and clove are all there together - and the earlier posters are right, there is almost a sunscreen thing going on there. It's not OMG sunscreen, but it is very reminiscent. That's not a bad thing though.

 

I'm not sure if this is going to be a bottle purchase, but I'm definitely keeping the imp.

In the imp - almost pure rose.

 

Wet - pretty much just the narcissus - spooky

 

Dry - both notes are there, and it's lovely, but on me the roses are very sweet - so it's wonderful, it just doesn't fit with the description. That doesn't matter though.

In the imp, smokey musky leather - with a hint of something green underneath

 

Wet - almost pure vetiver. But it's not screaming at me the way that it did in Saturnalia. It's very much there, but I'm pretty sure it's the leather holding it in check, because there's a little bit peeking out at the base. Very masculine though, which is to be expected.

 

Dry - the musk is right down deep, the leather has taken over, but there's enough vetiver to make me incredibly happy. It's still quite masculine - more masculine then I would normally wear - and I do want to smell on a man...but this is almost pure sex, and I need more.

In the imp, this is herbal with a little citrus undertone.

 

Wet: still very green and fresh, with a tiny hint of musk peeking through way up the back somewhere.

 

Dry: Pretty much cologney herbs. Fresh, and gender neutral, but not for me.

In the bottle: Well hello there jasmine. That is all. I LOVE me some jasmine though, so that's all good.

 

Wet: Still jasmine, but with something kind of fresh and green underneath. It has quite the throw too...I'm typing while I do it, and I'm surrounded by a waft of jasmine, caused by nothing more than a small dab on my wrist.

 

Dry: A fresh, bright and utterly wearable jasmine. No complaints at all from me!

In the decant: A lush red rose, with a smokey undertone.

 

Wet: Still rose, but the vetiver is more obvious than in the decant.

 

Dry: The vetiver is now the dominant note, which is like the way the vetiver behaves on me in Saturnalia - this is not really a surprise to me, given that both a single floral notes paired with vetiver. Unlike Saturnalia though, which turned into scary screaming over the top vetiver with no violet at all, this still has the rose underneath, but it's gone from rose with a hint of vetiver to vetiver with a hint of rose. I'm not sure about this. I'm keeping this to age and retry, but at this point, I think the decant I have will be enough.

 

Further note, a couple of hours after this...the vetiver inched back, and the rose crept forward...and I wound up with a gorgeous lush smokey rose. Just beautiful. After that, I might just be needing more after all.

Just opening the decant I get this gorgeous sweet smoky resinous incensey smell waft up at me. Beautiful!

 

Wet: this remains, but the vetiver brings the smokiness closer. The opium is more prominent too. If this stays as good as this, I'm going to need more.

 

Dry: This is stunning! The smokey opium and vetiver thing is the primary thing I notice, but the other notes give a gorgeous lush sweet undertone that leave it all beautifully balanced. It doesn't have a long throw (based on just being worn on one wrist) but a proper all over test will be happening to further work out the end result. But based on this test, as long as something doesn't go wrong at that test, I am definitely going to be needing more of this.

If you want to try something chocolate-y, this hasn't been released yet, but a $35 pledge here looks like it will get you something interesting.

 

In the imp: sweet, clove-y musk, and a smokey undertone of opium. Gorgeous!

 

Wet: Opium. Beautiful smokey opium.

 

Dry: Impossibly sexy, but with a low throw. That's okay though, a combination of slathering and a scent locket should take care of that. I'm absolutely going to need more of this.

In the decant, I get a kind of almost but not quite masculine cologne-y smell. I'm thinking most of that comes from the mums and the leaves, with just a little of the musk peeking out underneath.

 

Wet on me, it's still masculine, but not opressively so. I'm going to agree that there's a hairsprayish tinge to it, but I hoard Stardust, so to me that's not a bad thing...as long as it doesn't become the dominant feature.

 

Dry, the hairspray thing is there as an undertone, and the rose seems to be coming out. I really think the hairspray thing is coming from the leaves.

 

This is lovely. It's not my normal style of scent, but I am going to need to get my hands on some more of this.

I so want to love this. The notes are perfect, and it smells incredible in the imp. (which tells me it's my skin being funky)

 

Once it hits my skin it turns into a dirty sour weird smell...and it became one of the very rare scents that I had to scrub off.

 

I want to wait another week or so, and make sure that it's not hormones making things crazy.

In the imp: creamy orange candy.

 

Wet: still an orange-y candy smell. It's like a mild hint of what a chewable Vitamin C tablet. This is probably my body chemistry fighting with the honey. Strangely, I'm getting no rose at all, if I were going to amp anything it would normally have been the rose.

 

Dry: I've lost the orange candy. What I get now is a slightly incensey, powdery rose. The honey explains the powder, the sandalwood explains the incense, and the rose is self explanatory. I can't find any hint of orange blossom anymore.

 

This is pretty, but probably a bit too sweet for me.

In the imp, a gorgeous floral. I get the sweetness of the ylang ylang, and a creamy floral mixing with it, which must be the oleander. So beautiful!

 

Wet: Ylang ylang, and I think the patchouli. Ylang ylang has a tendency to get a little screamy on me, but the patchouli has brought it into line. I think the ylang ylang is lifting the patchouli while simultaneously the patchouli is mellowing the ylang ylang. I'm getting a little hint of citrus too. Hello neroli!

 

Dry: This is beautiful! It dries off to a perfumey note, which I think is a ylang ylang and neroli mixture. The patchouli grounds it all perfectly. I can't really pick out the oleander anymore, but it doesn't matter. Whehter it reappears is immaterial, because this is so lovely as it is, it can only get better. Absolutely a winner...and I rather think I'm going to need more of this.

 

Further drydown...the wrist I've tested this on, smells EXACTLY like the inside of a Lush store. This is not at all a bad thing. This turns it from a I think I need more scent to an I must have more one.

In the imp: musky sweet (rose) woodiness. Very pretty.

 

Wet: The first sniff was pure rose, second sniff, it's sort of a green spice scent. I'm thinking that that's the bergamot and the nutmeg meshed together.

 

As thie dries, I can pick out the saffron and the mandarin as well. The sandalwood and rose are predominating again. The amber is coming through and giving me a heap of baby powder, but the other notes are keeping it in check enough for me to no longer want to wear it though.

 

Ultimately, it's nice, but I don't think I'm going to be needing more than the imp I have.

In the imp: it's clean fresh lily. Nothing more, nothing less. Gorgeous!

 

Wet: Well hello there opoponax. The Lily is still there, but it's being grounded by the opoponax. It's a tiny bit soapy, but not in a bad way, and it's got a strong throw, but it's not unpleasant. I'm enjoying wafts from my wrists while I type.

 

Dry: It's predominately a floral...it's like walking through my Grandmother's garden in spring time...but there's enough of an undertone from the opoponax to stop it being a Lily SN...and that base it what makes it so lovely.

Could anyone help me find a (specifically GC) BPAL similar to Posset's The Scent of Angels?

 

I'm going to keep an eye on replies to this, because I really like Scent of Angels.. but I find Possets' oils just don't have the quality of BPAL's and that particular one doesn't last long on my skin.

 

And also because every time I try Scent of Angels, it drives me nuts because all I can think of is "which BPAL does this remind me of?!?" - I know there is a BPAL, but I can't place it!

 

I know what you mean. There's something Dorian-ish in it to my nose, but that *could* just be my skin.

Wicked, The Illustrated Woman or Mme Moriarty. They all work as my "don't mess with me" perfumes.

In the decant: a tiny bit if vanilla, a tiny bit of musk, and something incredibly clean. I guess that's the rice wine

 

Wet: Pretty much just the rice wine.

 

Dry: The rice wine has settled into the background, and the sandalwood, musk and vanilla are soft and sweet. It doesn't have a big throw, but I can see this being a wonderful summertime scent. Off to find more.

In the decant: Musky gardenia with an undercurrent of patchouli. Nice!

 

Wet: Florals and chamomile, plus an earthy note. I don't know if it's the patchouli or the massoia, but it's good.

 

Dry: Mostly musky patchouli. It actually reminds me of what a Lush store smells like, except a bit less sweet. This is not a bad thing. This is intriguing...

I think if it ages as well as I think it might, I'm going to need more of this.

In the decant: Lots of almond and vanilla. It smells like my favourite Dutch almond cookies with just a hint of cherry underneath. I also *almost* get a hint of sweet musk.

Wet: Sweet and foody. The lemon gives it enough of a lift that I'm not as scared of that as I normally would be.

Dry: The foody factor is gone! This is beautiful. It sits close to my skin, and every element of it melds together beautifully. I might just need some more of this.

2011 version:

 

In the decant: roses. Exactly the same scent as the white roses my great-grandmother used to grow. Beautiful!

 

Wet: Sweet rose with a hint of resin underneath.

 

Dry: A think of beauty! The rose is blending with the resins, and it's glorious. It doesn't have a massive throw, but it's perfect to wear with someone you might want to move in closer I'm off to hunt for more.

In the imp: I can only smell the ylang ylang. That's okay though, I love ylang ylang, but I was looking forward to the jasmine.

 

Wet: There's the jasmine. Weirdly though, underneath that, I can smell something that smells more than a little like Band-Aid adhesive. Kind of clean and a little powdery. Odd...very odd.

 

 

Dry: I've worked it out. The Band-Aid smell is the ylang ylang and the amber. I'm going to put this back to age for a while, because I don't want to give up on this, because the jasmine and rose that I wanted this for are nowhere to be found.

 

Further dry-down: (2+ hours on) The Band Aid aspect is gone, and it's pretty much pure jasmine...but it's throw is pretty much nonexistent. Again, I'll give it more aging, but at this point, it's probably not for me.

2011 version.

 

In the imp: Hello lavender! On second sniff, more florals with a tiny hint of powder. Very pretty.

 

Wet: Jasmine! But I love my jasmine, so it's all good. The musk is just discernable, but not in a drowned out by jasmine way. Still very pretty.

 

Dry: More musk. This is a beautiful, classic floral blend. I wouldn't wear this every day, but it's definitely bottle worthy. I'll be interested to see how this ages, because I can only see this getting better and better.

This is odd. In the bottle, it's all warm creamy spicy gorgeousness.

Wet, it smells like slightly spicy buttered popcorn?!?!?

Drying down, the popcorn thing edges back, and I get a strong fresh ginger note.

 

I'm putting this away to age for a bit, but at this point, it's not what I was hoping for.