alyelle

In the imp: tea and cotton Wet: the exact scent of my preferred fabric softener (ilu cotton Cuddly), breadcrumbs, milky white builder's tea and a strainer full of dark wet leaves. Dry: I lucked out with this year's Liliths. This is yet another that I adore, though it is somewhat shorter-lived on me than I expected. Still, it's beautiful, and I am resisting the urge to buy a bottle, as I'm resisting the urge to buy a bottle of all the others I've reviewed. Medium throw, and about 6 hours wear time. Stars: ★★★★★

In the imp: lavender, moss, and sugared rose - basically what it says on the tin Wet: tuberose and lavender, the comforting smell I associate with my grandmother's blankets. A beautiful and sleepy scent, perfect for wearing while there's a storm outside. Dry: more tuberose than lavender, which was slightly disappointing, and a lot more delicate than I had thought it would be on first application. The sugared musk lasts longest; the lavender (which is my favourite part and the reason I bought this) is gone forever after only a few hours. Overall, this is a mild scent with a pretty short lifespan of 6-ish hours. Stars: ★★★★

Apple blends are probably my favourite of all my BPAL, and I have ... at least ten currently in use. This one is a welcome addition to my lovely collection. Long-lived on me (hurrah!), with a medium to strong throw. In the imp: apples, red and pulpy, with a backing of woody earth. Wet: sweet mashed apple, and pink blossoms. It reminds me of Snow Glass Apples, but warmer, and an apple glitter body paint I had ca. 1996. I love it already, and moreso for both of those facts. Dry: simply the most gorgeous apple, all day; a delicious balm to my soul. Stars: ★★★★★

Imp: fir and sweet cedar, blue-grey spruce, the sound of a distant river and the rustle of leaves Wet: very gentle, all things considered - the soft, clinging scent of fir trees, underscored by the warm richness of oak and cedar. Peaceful, solitary, and green. Dry: spicy bruised leaf litter, fading into a mist of fir needles and fog. Incredibly short lived at only 2-3 hours, with a mild throw, but such a beautiful and ethereal scent - I will probably try to track down another. Stars: ★★★★★

Imp: sweet cherry blossom and peach, with a woody undercurrent of frankincense Wet: a pale, secluded wood, with pink blossoms skittering through on the breeze Dry: the memory of blossoms, and crushed leaves underfoot. Like most apricot blends, this one stays super light on me, and so close to the skin that I need to apply quite a bit in order to generate any kind of throw. Possibly one that will be more potent with age, or in winter; in the height of summer, it lasted all of two hours, and the best throw I could achieve was 'faint'. Stars: ★★★★

Imp: vanilla and coconut cream Wet: a sticky, milky sweetness slathered in honey, tempered by resin. I assume it's benzoin but I'll be honest, I have no idea what benzoin smells like on its own; this reminds me of amber, but thicker and more bitter. Dry: Tanning oil. I knew it would turn this way, coconut always does. It's not unpleasant, but not... exactly what I want to smell like. More vanilla and creamy white shades would have been nice. A reasonable throw, and an average 6-8 hour lifespan, but possibly longer in cooler weather (I tested this at the height of summer, in 37C heat). Keeping to age, and to experiment with. Stars: ★★★½

Imp: rich black pine and cunning vetiver Wet: heavy on the pine with a splash of coriander overlaid, and a deep underlying sweetness from the vetiver Dry: unusual top notes which thankfully fade very quickly - the pine is smooth and resiny but the vetiver is oddly soapy, rather than the deep, sweet spice I'd normally get. This rounds out as it wears, becoming a rich vanilla-laced pine, and a strong earthy vetiver, and THAT is the behaviour I know and love from you, you little problem child of a scent. We've had some near misses over the years, but vetiver has never let me down yet, and Hyrrokkin will not be the first. This lasts a good long time, 10 hours or so, with a strong throw at first that does taper off as it dries down. Stars: ★★★★

Imp: apples, fresh grass, only a very little of the cedar mentioned, and none of the other notes at all Wet: earth and apple orchards heavy with dewy grapes, a waft of hemp on the air - and perhaps a touch of the heartwood coming in. A faint base of vanilla benzoin which I assume will amp on me. Dry: more vanilla resin than apple in the end, and not as long-lived as some of my apple scents. The apple note itself is very similar to that in Snow Glass Apples, but warmer, and without the ozone overtones in that one. Overall pleasant, if mild, but not one I'd seek out more of - I have plenty of apple BPAL around, and quite a few that work better for me than this did. I will keep it for now, however, to see how it ages; hopefully it'll firm up and last a little longer, given all the wood that's in it. Stars: ★★★★, probably half a star more than it deserves on performance but I'm very biased when it comes to apple notes.

Bottle: musk and ozone, white rose, violet and lily Wet: myrhh, carrot see, and clove, tempered by soft lily and rose Dry: sweet, sharp carrot seed topped with an amber-esque floral and soft spices For me, this is a more wearable version of Gold and Tears, which I wanted to love but couldn't. That blend made me wary of both ambrette and carrot seed; this one surprised me, coming in way above my expectations from its description. Clove and lily can also be very hit and miss on my skin, so I'm counting the fact that it works as nothing short of a miracle. A very strong scent, with a good long life - this went beyond 12 hours on me. Stars: ★★★★½

Imp: sugared roses, red currant, and musk Wet: Turkish Delight. This is the gorgeous rose I can wear, from Two, Five, And Seven, and the 2014 Lupercalia series, not the potpourri grandma smell I'm so often tricked by. Dry: rose petals, thick, viscous sugar syrup, a tempering of vanilla-lemon musk underneath; all of which boils down to a soft, chewy, sugar-powdered rose sweet. I love this, and cannot fault it in any way. It lasts forever, with a mid to strong throw that somehow doesn't get in your way at all. The sugar is sweet without being cloying (or foodie), the rose is strong without being overpowering, and the whole effect is just DELICIOUSLY pink. Stars: ★★★★★

Imp: vanilla, oaked bourbon (? sure, nose), and cucumber juice Wet: old oak barrels, teak-touched vanilla, hints of wet greenery and spice Dry: sweet, woody vanilla. One of the simplest, but most effective, scents I've tried out of the Singularity batch; it very much does what it says on the tin. It's super light on me, lasting only a few hours, with a very mild throw. Nevertheless, lovely. Stars: ★★★★½, would have been five with a longer lifespan.

Yet another scent that doesn't - and really should - have cinnamon listed in its ingredients on the website. This is a beautiful fragrance, objectively, but I ended up with horrible welts all over my skin when I patch tested. At this point, I just don't understand why blends containing cinnamon aren't marked as such - it's a common irritant, and so painful to discover the hard way. I learned long ago that I can't wear it and specifically don't purchase blends containing it, so it was really disappointing to receive this bottle and smell that tell-tale note when I opened it. I hoped, given that the description excluded it, that it was just my nose playing tricks on me, but alas - it was not. Into my sale pile. 5/5 for the blend itself, it is delicious. 0/5 for the execution of the product on site, please warn us for known irritants in future

One that's been on my wishlist for ages and randomly showed up as a freebie with a recent lab order. Imp: almond, honey, and a little hint of fig tree and olive wood Wet: fig and sandalwood, incredibly sweet, with a toasty waft of coconut starting to emerge. Its a weirdly fleshy coconut, not at all like a dried, desiccated sort, which blends with the bitterness of the almond to create a lovely coco-marzipan effect. Dry: so hard to tell what the drydown is like, because Eden disappears almost as soon as I apply it. After only a few hours, I'm left with the faint after-smell of suntan lotion and a hint of sweetness. In the wet stages, the throw is pretty decent, and the overall mood is love, but the (lack of) longevity prevents me from giving this a higher rating. Stars: ★★★½

Imp: sandalwood heavy, with a bitter tang of neroli Wet: a hint of sweetness from the champaca, which smells like amber on me, and very dominant sandalwood overtones. Incredibly, painfully, hippy. Dry: As this dries, it turns into every Tree of Life store I have ever walked into. (Also, I really like champaca flower.) Short-lived, barely 4 hours, with medium to strong throw. Keeping it because it's now discontinued, and my new age teenager heart secretly loved it. Stars: ★★★½

Imp: sniffing blind is never my favourite, my nose plays such tricks. Dragon's blood resin, amber, hints of citrus and possibly orris? Wet: gilded something, a boat load of jasmine (seriously so much jasmine), and probably one of the musks as there is a powdery note starting to come out. Maybe also carnation, which has the same effect on me. Dry: quite generic once it's dried, and a bit powdery with a surprisingly short life span (just a few hours) given how strong the throw is at the outset (and boy is it strong). Not a winner for me; will be gifted or repurposed as a homemade atmos spray. Stars: ★★½

This is the only reason I placed another order this year, because it sounded truly delightful - usually I limit my purchases to one massive one per year, due mainly to the $45 in shipping costs (hashtag thanks Australia). Imp: lavender cream with tiny bursts of sage and honey Wet: a calming scent for a stressful day; I wore this while working on code for our upcoming sale, which is a job I simultaneously love and hate. (Love because CSV's are so satisfying to finish, and hate because coding anything in our back end takes four times as long as it should and no one can tell me why). At first it is pure lavender, with wee drifts of honey creeping in gently, in a way that reminds me of the errant scent of fig trees during summer in Greece, wandering here and there on the meltemi. Not as sharp as TKO (which, honestly, is like a lavender-gloved punch in the face, and I love it) Dry: staggeringly beautiful - a soft, gentle lavender which stays this side of powdery at all times, tempered by sweet herbs. Long-ish lived, giving me eight hours of pure bliss, with a medium-tending-light throw. Stars: ★★★★★, would purchase this in a heartbeat if bottles were ever released

First time I've ever been "lucky" enough to get one of these apology oils, how exciting! It's ... certainly tricksy like a gremlin. In the imp: sandalwood and a hint of spice, with a light, sparkly fruitiness - my top guesses were peach, champagne grape, raspberry/blackberry. The spice may JUST be sandalwood; all my sandalwood bases have been smelling spicy of late. There's also a hint of bubblegum. Wet: given the lack of description, I went straight to reviews, and did a very cautious test patch after seeing so many people talk about cinnamon. I'm happy to bet on that not being in here - no redness and no reaction, even straight after a shower, thank goodness. I do agree there's a cinnamon-like smell at work, which I've narrowed down to pink pepper or maybe cassia, both of which have done similar things on me in other blends. The test patch smelled vaguely of Imperial Leather; a proper application gives notes of pine or cypress, thorny blackberry, and hay or spring grass. Sweetness layered over earthiness. Dry: I'll say pine or one of the resins for the base, and definitely a berry of some form; the effect reminds me of Black Forest, though much less piney. Life is good, still going strong at the ten hour mark, and the throw is mid-to-strong. Overall I love it, and am super glad to have had the chance to try this. Stars: ★★★★★ (rounded up just a touch for its olfactory trickery)

I believe this was a frimp in my last order, as I have zero recollection of ordering it, and none of my receipts show it anywhere. Received back in May, so aged around 6 months. In the imp: this one tricked me entirely - I got leather, spice, and bay from the imp, none of which are listed in the scent notes, along with white funeral flowers. Wet: ah, there's the bourbon and sandalwood, which I think is what must have been giving off the spice notes in the bottle. A tiny splash of the lime, and a lovely dark undercurrent of vetiver (which I will again say is an absolute WINNER on my skin, and I have no idea what I did to deserve such great chemistry with that tricky little bastard). Dry: a beautifully smokey fougere. heavy enough on the sandalwood that the vetiver is all but drowned out - an impressive feat since that's another note I tend to amp. A good strong dose of Catholic church incense, which I love, yet the whole event is very short lived. Life is barely 4 hours, and reapplication doesn't help; my skin just eats this up. Throw is incredibly mild, blink-and-you'll-forget-it. I love it so much, but realistically, I'd never buy a bottle since it doesn't have the staying power. Stars: ★★★★

This one has been on my wishlist since at least 2014 - so glad to finally tick it off! In the imp: deep rose (the deliciously soft, wet red petals kind) and a heart of amber Wet: blushing pink roses - thankfully not yet powdery - lightly tinged with amber Dry: heavy on the rose, which is no surprise as I amp it like crazy. I can discern two of the three - there's the powdery one, which I think of as pot pourri pink, which was the disaster note in so many Bewitching Brews releases. There's also a dewy, red rose, which was the one I fell in love with in the 2014 and 2015 Lupercalia releases. I'm not sure what the third one is, but thankfully those latter two stop the first from becoming unbearable; "pot pourri pink" is a hot mess of grandma talcum powder on me. Life is pretty good, 6-8 hours in long sleeves, with a strong throw - I definitely wouldn't forget I was wearing this. It reminds me overall of Between Your Heart and Mine (original release), and would make a nice sub for anyone who missed that. Stars: ★★★★

A frimp with my last order, tested all the way back in May but apparently never properly reviewed here! In the imp: very light and herbaceous, a sandalwood-eque base with moss overtones and perhaps a hint of tobacco flower or nagchampa. Wet: white florals (calla/linden) which seems very off-theme. I'd put money on tobacco flower or oleander; it has the same resinous gasoline smell as my Rapacini's Apiary collection. Possibly lemon balm or bay, there's hints of Bard about this one too. Dry: I never took proper notes in the dry-down, as this sort of faded into a nothing scent after a few hours. Overall it was nothing special on me, and nothing I'll ever buy; I ended up turning it into an atmos spray for our linen cupboard, and it has done quite nicely in that function. Short-lived and soft, so definitely a good choice if you want a quick blend for meditating. As a wearable scent, less impressive. Stars: ★★★

Imp: slightly talc-like, jasmine that borders on orris, and a tonka that insist on impersonating sandalwood. It reminds me a little of Follow Me Boy. Wet: much more rosey (I get none from the imp) - so much so that it drowns out any other note. Dry: a soft, unfortunately generic, rose and talcum powder, though thankfully without ever turning into the rancid baby smell I got from Follow Me Boy. Not really one I'd wear, or repurchase, as it smells like many others I've turned into atmos sprays. Throw is strong, with a life of 10+ hours. Stars: ★★★

Another lab freebie with my order this month, and another one I'm testing purely out of curiosity - I learned long ago that if the description says "spice" and the forum thinks it smells of cinnamon, it's not for me. In the imp: lavender, lotus, and I do get the bubblegum flavour others have mentioned. No spice yet. Wet: lotus, the barest hint of lavender, a faint talc scent. I'm not sure what the spices are, but they emerge predominantly as sweetness, tempering the aquatic notes of the lotus. I might actually try this out as a proper wear; so far, there's no hint of burning and I'm not convinced that any of the notes I'm smelling are cinnamon. It's more like gentle star anise and nutmeg. ETA - I did actually wear this for a proper test. There is definitely no cinnamon in here, wrists and neck are welt free Dry: lotus, mostly, and incredibly long-lived. This is one of the few lavender scents I've tried where the lavender doesn't amp, and I like it. I was going to give the imp to a friend to try, and I may still, but I'll definitely keep it in my list of imps to repurchase in the future. Stars: ★★★★

Freebie from the lab with my OLLA order. I won't be able to wear this due to the cinnamon, but the reviews are so intriguing that I have to at least give it a sniff. In the imp: weirdly floral, heavy on the dragon's blood resin, and topped off with pepper and clove. Wet: I'm risking welts on the back of my hands but - sweet cinnamon buns, summer flowers, and a warm, sultry beach smell (coconut? ocean salt?) This is not at all what I expected; it's not wrath on me by a long shot, it's gluttony, sloth, and lust. And annoyingly, it's starting to morph into something really lovely at around the 2-3 minute mark ... but it's also starting to burn like mad. For the sniffs alone, ★★★½. I'd really love to know what this does over a full day, but nothing is worth that level of pain.

I have two versions of this, one I believe I ordered as part of my first imp collection, and one a frimp from 2016. This is for the later one, which I had planned to swap but never got a chance to. Imp: in 2016, I had a note that this was too resinous, and that C. didn't like it. Two years on, it's much sweeter, and slightly alcoholic - pine, juniper, and cypress. Wet: on my skin, it behaves exactly like the smell of the 2009 imp - salty and damp, with a twang of earth and truffles, and a deep, rich fragrance of pine. Dry: I'm actually quite glad I allowed this to age, because it's morphed into a gorgeous soft pine and cypress blend. I don't get vetiver at all from this, which is quite odd for me, but in the end works well - knowing how that behaves on my skin, I think it would actually drown out the pine, and the pine is what makes this. Always fresh, but not fresh enough to be considered bathroom cleaner. A beautiful mimic for the 2007 Capricorn, and still my go-to pine scent after a decade. I recommend a year or so of aging to bring out the nuances. Stars: ★★★★ (this version)

Another one I've had for years and somehow never officially reviewed. Expect a lot of these as I organise my masterlists, ha. This is from a late 2009 purchase and I've soft-reviewed it four times in my journal - in 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2018. In the imp: during the early years, a very sweet apple juice scent, topped off with apple blossoms. As the imp aged, a hint of grass or straw, and by 2015, a wee hint of soap. That's probably the dragon's blood. Wet: soap, heavily, during the initial tests, which balances out a bit. As of today's test, there is still a laundry detergent quality, but barely. Dry: as a young imp, a buttery and rich apple, like apple pie, heavily covered in soapiness. As it aged, a series of grassy, meadow scents, apple blossom, fresh dew, and by 2015, a contender for my permanent apple scent. Today it was soapier than my past testing notes led me to believe - but having said that, my all time favourite apple is extremely hard to come by (Snow, Glass, Apples) and my backup is now discontinued (The Hesperides). Despite my dislike of most DBR scents, this one works quite well, so I'd stick by that assessment, perhaps with the caveat that 3-6 years is the ultimate age to be using this. Staying power is decent, about 6-8 hours. Stars: ★★★★½