caitilarkin

In the imp: Sweet blue florals and fresh water (as opposed to a salty aquatic note)

 

Wet on skin: Gah. Something's going soapy.

 

Dry on skin: I don't know if it's the aquatics or the florals, but this blend has turned--and remained--exceedingly soapy.

 

In the imp: Definitely picking up the rum and tobacco, backed by the sweetness of the tonka

 

Wet on skin: The chardonnay is lightening the mood of the blend, but also making it really boozy.

 

Dry on skin: After morphing wildly for about an hour, this blend settles down to sweet rum and chardonnay. I never get any leather, and the tobacco disappears fairly quickly. My skin just loves the boozy notes.

 

This lasts for more than 8 hours on me, changing greatly in the first hour or so. It'll be a good one to reach for when I want a rum scent.

In the imp: Lovely woods and greenery with spiced wine in the background

 

Wet on skin: The juniper is amping just a tad, but it's being held back from getting too sharp by the other wood and wine notes

 

Dry on skin: Spiced wine sipped languidly in front of a roaring fire while a storm rages over the moors outside the window of your snug English inn...

 

I love this one.

In the imp: Fruit backed by tea

 

Wet on skin: I'm not getting a noticeable berry scent; it's mostly generic fruit. And the tea is AWOL...

 

Dry on skin: Well, the good news is that the sage never appears (it's always terrible on my skin). Bad news: the berries are more like Fruit Roll Ups than real berry. Sad!

I totally forgot that I had an imp of this. Now that I've tried it I definitely know that it will become a favorite. Honeysuckle is one of my favorite florals and this is pretty much single-note honeysuckle on me. YAY!

In the imp: Light white florals

 

Wet on skin: The same florals, which are thankfully not amping into soap as some floral notes do

 

Dry on skin: This lovely wisp of a scent only lasts about 3 hours on me, but will be good for muggy days when I want something flowery rather than clean.

In the imp: Apple blossom and light amber

 

Wet on skin: The amber notes are melding with the apple blossom and a tiny hint of carnation to produce a warm, resinous floral.

 

Dry on skin: After an hour or so, this is warm, rich amber with a hint of sweetness from the apple blossom and a touch of spicy carnation.

 

I love BPAL's amber, and this is the most amber-y blend I've tried yet so it will be in heavy rotation.

In the imp: Rich honey and high, light florals (hello, ylang ylang!)

 

Wet on skin: The honey holds its own, the fig comes out to play, and the clove, patchouli and ylang ylang are present just enough to tantalize.

 

Dry on skin: The combination of honey, ylang ylang and fig would be enough to make a very sensual blend, but the subtle earthiness of the patchouli and the teasing bite of the clove put Hetairae squarely into WILD MONKEY SEX territory on my skin.

 

I wore this to a party recently and my date, um, commented favorably on it and visibly reacted to it. Too bad we were in a public place...with his parents.

 

I love this one for obvious reasons, but hereafter it will be worn only in certain situations to elicit a specific reaction.

In the imp: YOWZA strong dragon's blood

 

Wet on skin: Still primarily dragon's blood, which I like quite well, but I was hoping for some sandalwood as well.

 

Dry on skin: Joy! The sandalwood has shown up--actually, I can detect several different sandalwood notes--and they're blending beautifully with the dragon's blood.

 

I love this once it's dry--the blend of spicy sandalwoods and syrupy dragon's blood is lovely on my skin. And this baby is tenacious; it lasted all day on me and I could still smell it faintly the next morning. This is a win, especially in cooler weather.

In the imp: Strong, sweet dragon's blood

 

Wet on skin: I amp dragon's blood to the highest level of amping, and florals are also strong on me, so this blend is fiercely sweet and sticky.

 

Dry on skin: Well, as much as I love dragon's blood, it needs to be coupled on my skin with notes that will tame it. Florals just encourage it to sweet debauchery. This is far too cloying for me. Oh well...

In the imp: Sweet violet, but no incense or clove to be found

 

Wet on skin: Ahhhhh, there's the clove and it's lovely--just spicy enough but not overpowering. The tonka is coming out more, and blending nicely with the violet.

 

Dry on skin: I can't stop huffing my wrists...the tonka marries the violet and clove perfectly, making this a lovely and unique blend. The incense never appears, but that's okay with me.

 

Sybaris lasted over 10 hours on my first test and it's going strong again today. I love this and will be ordering a bottle.

In the imp: Lusty sandalwood and patchouli--this is my first experience with the red versions of these notes and I really like their sandy warmth.

 

Wet on skin: Noooooooo...I had hope that the sandalwood and patchouli would form an alliance to take down the frankincense, but they are no match for it at this point.

 

Dry on skin: This would be lovely if not for the frankincense, which amps into sharp bitterness on me. Sad! I'm going to let my imp age, because the sandalwood/patchouli combo would be absolutely lovely if the frankincense would just chill out a bit.

In the imp: YOWZA! Strong florals and faint green tea

Wet on skin: The tea is a bit stronger and still very green.

Dry on skin: Finally, the tea and florals are balanced. This smells quite a bit like Dirty on my skin--very light, green and vaguely citrusy. Maybe the tea has lemon in it. In any case, it's nice enough on me but I won't need a bottle.

In the imp: Black tea with cream and a tiny bit of spice that must be coming from the white pepper, because it sure doesn't smell like ginger

 

Wet on skin: The linen note, which is lovely on me in Wensleydale and Antique Lace, is doing weird things here...it's drowning out the tea and starting to smell kind of like biscotti.

 

Dry on skin: No tea, ginger, or cream; after about half an hour, this blend smells like dry toast on my skin.

 

A very strange experience...

In the imp: Green tea and spicy wasabi, and also a little whiff of sage, my sworn enemy

 

Wet on skin: The sage is amping, but it's not going bitter as it usually does on my skin. The frankincense has also come out but isn't going sharp and powdery like it often does. So far, the only that is misbehaving is the cedar, which is threatening to morph into its hamster cage variation.

 

Dry on skin: Given about 45 minutes, the cedar and the sage miraculously calm down and this blend is beautiful--green, creamy from the teas, spicy from the wasabi and deliciously herbal. It doesn't last very long on me (about three hours) or I would be very tempted to get a bottle. But I will definitely make use of my decant.

In the imp: Oh mama, it's carnation and honey, two of my favorite notes.

 

Wet on skin: The rose and bergamot are coming out to play just a tad, but neither of them are amping. The milk is a bit player, keeping the other notes muted and innocent.

 

Dry on skin: Like many blends with honey, this gets stronger on me with time. The carnation lasts very well, tempered ever so slightly by the milk and the florals. The blend lasted over 12 hours on my first test.

 

Ever so lovely! I need a bottle, now.

In the bottle: Rich fruits backed by Snake Oil spiciness

 

Wet on skin: The fruits are amping--I can pick out the neroli but it's all really very well blended.

 

Dry on skin: After an hour or so, the vanilla in this blend is deeper than in Snake Oil itself, so it keeps the mysterious (sometime medicinal) quality of SO sweeter and fruitier. And the fruit notes themselves aren't going sharp or light, either.

 

Lasted about six hours on my first test. I absolutely love this.

Nothing but love for Strawberry Moon, my favorite lunacy to date.

 

From bottle to eight hours after application, this blend is exactly like fresh strawberries with a little bit of cream and sugar. I don't get any of the dandelion/greens that others have mentioned; it's a deliciously fruity, uncomplicated scent.

 

It has more throw than I expected--I was standing in line at the post office today and the woman in front of me complimented it (and of course she wants a bottle now). How I desperately wish that I had purchased two bottles but I will certainly cherish the one that I have.

In the imp: Boozy candy, yum!

 

Wet on skin: Well, the booze is gone, which is strange since I generally amp any wine or other alcoholic notes. I'm not getting any strawberry ( ) but the candy scent is pleasantly tart and powdery.

 

Dry on skin: On me, this is a light, lovely summer scent. It's nice but similar enough to Candy Phoenix (of which I have plenty) that I won't need a bottle.

In the imp: Fruit smoothie!

 

Wet on skin: Still fruit smoothie (I can't pick out the individual notes) but now with faint tropical florals.

 

Dry on skin: Harrumph. This one doesn't like me. Or maybe it's my skin chemistry this week. In any case, it dries down to a faint, generic, rather sour tropical melange.

 

Further testing of Velvet Tiki is needed.

As previous reviewers have mentioned, this is a lovely blend for those of us who love clean, soapy scents. Wensleydale evokes clean cotton sheets drying on the clothesline in the backyard, the smell of skin just out of a shower with Ivory soap...very soft and innocent. It didn't go lemony or herbal at all on me, and lasted for over twelve hours. This will be another great one for hot weather or long days in stuffy rooms (i.e., at my dismal place of employment).

 

In the bottle: Uh oh, this smells like a muskier version of Dirty--a lemony skin scent. And Dirty did not like me.

 

Wet on skin: Ah, much better! Now the blend is a light, sugary musk with a dollop of lemon juice.

 

Dry on skin: This will be lovely in hot, humid weather. It dries down to a slightly sugary, clean-but-still-musky skin scent. And despite its lightness, it lasted for over 8 hours on my first skin test.

This was pure heartbreak on me.

 

When the Velvets came out, I read the list of notes for this blend and ordered a bottle unsniffed in a paroxysm of joy. Spiced citrus! Amber! Teak! Licorice! Vetiver! Every one is a verified Note of Win on my skin!

 

But it was not to be. As other reviewers have reported, this was all vetiver all the time on me, with nary a hint of any other note. And I like vetiver, but this is VETIVER.

 

In the imp: Dusty clove backed by cedar

 

Wet on skin: The clove is well balanced by the cedar and tobacco notes, while the dust note keeps the blend dry rather than foody.

 

Dry on skin: The perfect blend of cloves, tobacco and cedar. I didn't think I would love this but I do!

In the imp: Beautifully blended, musky and deeply sweet I can pick out the juicy tartness of the mandarin and the sweetness of the violet, but everything else is really well melded.

 

Wet on skin: This reminds me very much of On Darkness at this point due to its deep purple florals and unusual combination of notes. There's a little bit of an extra kick from the mandarin, a bit of anise in the background, and a grounding of musk and vetiver instead of incense.

 

Dry on skin: Yup, the Panther has the same purple complexity as On Darkness (one of my all-time favorite BPALs). This is very sexy and sophisticated on me (and I am neither sophisticated nor particularly sexy, so I love that I can wear a scent that at least makes me smell like a siren).

 

I adore this and am trying desperately to talk myself out of a bottle.