obsidienne

I am wearing this in a scent locket today, since I gave up on my oil-eating skin, and I feel sort of enveloped in a warm, rosy, somehow woody amber & rose glow. A very different type of rose!

Edit: 6 hours later, and the amber and musk have gotten thick, sticky and a little bit unpleasant... and soapy? The rose went into hiding for the most part, as well. But thanks to the scent locket, it's still going strong! I'm going to compare this to Black Rose tonight (same components, basically).

Swank was a frimp from the lab; I don't think I would have ever ordered it because I dislike pomegranate. That said, it smells really good! In the imp, it's sugar and bright red fruit, with a definite fizzy booze thing going on.

With my chemistry, Swank smells a lot like it was in the imp, but some of the alcohol burns off to morph into something that is even more sugary and sweet. The pomegranate does seem to amp a bit, but it's not the pomegranate that I usually hate. Throw is about medium. I like! Not something I'd wear regularly, but a keeper.

Overall, this is a very bright, sweet blend, so if you like sugar and bright red fruit that has a semi-citrus bent, then this is your girl. A great summer blend.

I thought Rakshasa would smell great on me, because I have never had a problem with any of the notes that make it.

Instead it smells just like woody rose soap in the imp and on me. Soap soap soap. My chemistry is so evil.

This was a forum frimp, and I'm grateful to have tried the blend! Crossing another "to try" off my wishlist today.

In the imp this is a bright and interesting citrus scent with some bite.

On me, it settled quickly into a strong, sour orange peel and that's about it. Blergh.

*falls over*

This is one hell of a heady, sexy, sassy perfume!

Agrat-Bat-Mahlaht is so my kind of smell: a creamy drunken apple-honey-caramel scent. The musk, amber and teak give it a bite and something else... how to describe it... it's just. Evil-sexy. Evil-foodie. This perfume thrills me.

On far drydown, the teak takes centre stage and also the overall scent gets kind of bitter and sharp smelling, but before that, it's just fabulous.

Edit: Unfortunately, my boyfriend had a strong and immediate hate/nausea reaction to this scent, so I think I'll stick with my imp, but not order a bottle. (I know how it feels to hate a cologne or perfume but be forced to smell it all the time... like in high school, when guys would wear CK Escape, which meant I was often in a sea of nausea and revulsion).

Kali was a generous Lab frimp; thank you!

Wet on skin, Kali smells quite complex due to all of the different notes, yet none of them are overpowering and the blend seems very balanced; I smell light florals, hints of sweetness and even fainter hints of wood, and something a little darker and sharp, perhaps the wine and chocolate notes, which are not entirely distinguishable as such. That said, Kali is for me a very faint and delicate blend, I have to try really hard to smell it!

From what I can smell, the florals dominate overall, with the other notes supporting them and making them more interesting. Honey usually amps quite strongly on me, and I often find lotus cloyingly sweet and overpowering, but not so here, so I think there is just a little bit of everything to make this perfume. Far drydown sees it turn a little bit powdery and a little bit sharp (red wine). I'm using a lot of modifiers like "hints of" and "a little bit" because it's just so frustratingly light on me.

In about 15 minutes, there's just a hint of perfume left.

Throw and lasting-power: light!

Overall, Kali is a beautiful, complex and womanly perfume, but I'd have to slather it on and repeatedly to get the full effect, which I wasn't willing to do just to sit around the house on a Sunday night. Maybe the lightness is why it doesn't stand out for me? That said, I'd definitely wear it again.... just lots more of it. I suspect I'll get maybe two wearings out of the imp before it's gone. Drrr.

Oh my goodness but I love this scent! Soft and sociopathic indeed!

Zarita smells all gentle creamy orange blossom, sweet and lightly peppery white carnation and sugary cream on me. It's both a [lightly] spicy white floral and a creamy light foodie at the same time, in a very sensual, delicate way. LOVE.

I had to put on a fair bit; the first time, a few daubs faded to nothing but sugared cream. After a generous reapplication, it now has some throw and it's just intoxicating; and lasting power is a couple of hours before I'm back to wanting to reapply.

LOVE.

Edit: the one thing about the blend is that the overall scent is a bit... surprising, or unexpected. It smells a little bit... weird. But when I say weird, I mean that in the best sense: it has that slightly removed from reality carnival feel, which is why I think it works so well and fits in with the concept of the CD.

I got this from the forums, so I am not sure of its age.

Basically, for me Desire started off as Snake Oil with hint of bergamot and rose; at drydown, it smelled of rosy patchouli (aka Rose Snake Oil), and at far far drydown, like honey-with-a-hint-of-rose patchouli (aka Honey Snake Oil). I know there is no honey in there, but sometimes the Lab's roses turn to a sort of honey-rose smell on me when I've been wearing them for a long time.

Desire is without a doubt a very nice blend, but I think its similarity to Snake Oil just makes me think, eh, whatever. I suppose I prefer it to Snake Oil, because rose is my favourite smell. I definitely want to try a new imp sometime in the future just for, um, accuracy's sake.

Okay, this review will seem pointless, because... I can barely smell Psyche! Also, Psyche was my first leaky imp, which prompted me to do an emergency craft session last night so that all imps are now stored upright. Psyche's lack of smell turned out especially problematic for me because half the imp leaked in my case and I didn't even know it until I sorted through my imps only to find several stained labels! AAARGH.

When wearing Psyche, I get the faintest hints of lavender and rose, maybe some orchid, and something more complex; everything is so mind-bogglingly faint that it's like smelling something through a thick veil. As it dries, I honestly can only smell the faintest hint of perfume. It's frustrating, because I am sure that if I could smell Psyche, I'd love it to death (I adore lavender and rose). Because of its faintness, I can't really say much for it other than that is dried down into a rose-orchid blend for me. From what I could smell, that is.

I don't know, I might order another imp and see if the leakiness of this one compromised it.

Frustration galore, as I was really anticipating this scent!

Ophelia is definitely wistful and vulnerable! It's also an extremely sweet aquatic floral that has great throw and staying power. This is not my first time wearing it, more like my fourth, so my impressions aren't exactly fresh.

Ophelia was recommended to me as a blend that smells mostly of roses, and in the beginning, that seemed the case; it smelled like a sweet almost candy-ish lily and rose to me at first. That said, over a couple of months of testing blends and constantly sniffing myself like a crazy person, I've realized that it's more the lotus that I smell than anything else... and lotus tries really hard to disagree with me (I don't think my nose could even understand or recognize it before having so much olfactory practice; I have never spent this much time and effort just smelling myself when Givenchy and Chanel were my mainstays! :> ). Lotus tends to smell almost like sweet sweet sweet floral grapes and also something else that is a bit icky as it dries on me. Fortunately, I mostly notice the ick only when sniffing myself really closely.

In the beginning drydown stage, the white rose and lily are definitely still present in the blend and sneak up on me now and again in a delightful way, but overall the lotus overpowers them. I can't really identify or detect the water blossom ivy, myself.

On far far drydown, the rose finally comes out. It's just like the white rose in Katrina van Tassel, albeit with less honey (don't know how the feeling of honey got into this blend, but some roses smell kind of spicy sweet anyway). The lily supports the rose but I wouldn't say it's a major factor anymore, and neither is the lotus. Thank goodness.

Persephone was a generous frimp from one of the posters here . I was super happy to get it because I was really curious about it -- I love rose so absolutely that I'll try it in anything -- but I tend not to like pomegranate at all.

Overall, however, the impression of this rose is not so much pomegranate and rose as super juicy fruity sweet rose. The pomegranate almost but not quite seems grapey. But it's still pomegranate. And I don't mind it, actually. It's such a juicy and bright rose that it's an invigorating scent, although I am sure that too much of this could come off as annoying.

This second time wearing it, I realized that there's a slightly pencil eraserish smell that comes out on far drydown, but it's not too bad and is mostly noticeable when wrist-sniffing (i.e. it's not part of general throw).

Good throw, lasting power isn't long as seems to be the case for all the blends I've tried, but it's longer than a lot of the others I've tried.

I was a little bit wary of this blend, because lotus can be much too sweet for me and can also mildly remind me of soap. In the imp, Kurukulla smells extremely sweet, juicy, wet and floral.

On me, it becomes a complex mixture of different lotuses and roses. And I get a fruity smell out of it, almost like really ripe peaches. The blend is bright pink, sweet, girlish and wet, but not watered down (if that makes sense). It's very lovely, but I think it's more of a spring/summer scent than for fall. A keeper for sure, but not necessarily something I'd buy in a bottle.

I expected this to smell completely different than what it did/does smell like, which is milky ginger with maybe a hint of honey. Since my skin usually amps honey, the absence of said amping was a surprise. I can't really detect anything else to it. The ginger just seems to take over and be too much. If I were to describe the scent as a colour, it's a milky-white-green-gold; the ginger imparts a citrus tone somehow. Or maybe that's the Ambrosia? But what the hell does Ambrosia smell like, anyway? My personal "food of the gods" would smell like a box of Bernard Callebaut chocolates.

So... I don't think this is a me-scent. It smells nice, but it's too bright/green for me to want to wear more than once in a while.

Edit, Nov 12/08: I really needed a wake-me-up-and-keep-me-awake sort of blend this morning, so I went rooting through my stash and sniffed this one again. Suddenly, I love it? It smells different to me this time, the ginger keeps itself in check and it's just a beautiful sweet milky ginger with something else (probably the mysterious Ambrosia). Personal lesson learned? Mood and hormones greatly affect one's taste! I slathered this all over myself and put it in a scent locket as well; the scent locket still smells (faintly), but my skin ate it up within an hour.

In wear, this is like a warm-smelling wood scented with vanilla with some spices. It's kind of like soft incense. It's enveloping, warm and comforting, yet also sexy.

I had to slather it on to get it to the point where I could really smell it, which surprised me. Maybe my nose is broken?

Definitely a "keep in stock at all times" sort of blend. It's just so cozy, and if I get to feel cozy while others may (or may not) think I smell sexy, well, I'm all over that!

Edit 1: I read some reviews that mentioned how much this benefits from aging, so I plan to try that and not wear it for a few months. (I really do find that I need to use a lot of it, and if I don't wait it'll be all gone before I get to the aged stage!) I want the vanilla to amp more, but even if it doesn't, I still like the scent a lot.

Edit 2: October 28/08 -- #!*(!@*&%*(!!!11 My boyfriend smelled me yesterday and commented that I smelled like an old lady. So much for sexy. Drrr.... I'll just have to wear it for me, then.

Yay, lab frimp!

This is not a girlie scent; burnt, sour/bitter and smoky.... the description was pretty spot on.

Not my style at all, but without a doubt an interesting blend to try out. I did end up washing it off after 30 minutes because it was so not something I can wear, but I think the right chemistry could turn it into something special.

A naughty-girlish, sweet blend: evil strawberries and crushed orange blossoms with a floral undertone. Yummy! It would be a good winter scent to chase away the grey skies and cold snow (this smells like full-blown 30C+ summer, but in summer, this would be cloying and extreme).

Throw is good, intensity good.

Seraglio is a surprise because it turned out to be a totally rose blend on me; it starts off like a light sweet almond that I can barely smell in the imp (it was like a ghost-scent in the imp) and then the overall blend gets a bit stronger once liberally applied. The rose took over during drydown; all the other notes support and influence it, but don't really speak up on their own. Therefore, I get a very beautiful rose that smells like rose-almond & rose-orange and a little bit like rose-[sandal]wood. I can't seem to detect the neroli, nutmeg or clove.

Also, Seraglio is for me extremely light in both intensity and throw, and I have to slather it on... and even that's not enough. Therein lies the disappointment for me: it's a gorgeous perfume, but it takes a lot of effort to keep on smelling it without having my nose permanently stuck within one inch of my wrist.

Have you ever had a bouquet of fresh cut roses in a vase in your room, and as you're doing something, whatever air currents there are bring gentle wafts of heady rose scent to your nose?

This perfume is those roses.

This blend is womanly, elegant, sensual, and beautiful. Perfection. It's like every fairytale I've ever read and loved that featured roses, condensed into one perfume. It's just so magical, a true fairytale rose.

The blend is also amazingly consistent from wet to drydown, which is phenomenal in itself.

I have loved a tonne of BPAL blends already, but this one takes the cupcake.

Rating: 25/5

P.S. I got this imp and a Snow White imp on the same day; I have been interested in these two more than any other blend in the BPAL canon, and so had to try them both on at the same time (one went on the left wrist, one on the right). Because. I was just so impatient! The point of this info is: they smell great together! Snow White and Rose Red. Do I even need other perfumes? Not so much!

I am reviewing from a Snow White '07 decant.

October 30, 2008 edit: Okay, on my second wearing I am a little less influenced by the pure thrill of getting to try this scent. So a more thoughtful review will replace the first overexcited one.

When I first put this on, I definitely get a sweet and slightly buttery cotton candy/vanilla kind of experience. Somehow, it reminds one of coconut, but I don't think it's coconut. As it dries, a cool floral waft comes out of it that reminds one of melting snow (it doesn't actually smell like melting snow, it just conjures the idea). Another reviewer said it was mint and that would make perfect sense! But if it's mint, it's so subtle as to not really smell like mint. That sort of cool melting snow bit burns away eventually, which is disappointing because that was the excitement.

Snow White is on far drydown a lightly floral vanilla with hints of something chilly and green. But this is where it gets sad, because the vanilla smells a little bit like plastic to me. If I think about it as cotton candy, it smells less plasticky in my mind, but when I think of it as vanilla, I smell plastic. Thus the power of the mind's influence is shown. I don't think I will be ordering an '08, but I am glad to have an imp and I'll hang on to it.

Edit No. 2: Due to the time-limited nature of these LEs, I've been giving them extra wear so that I can determine if I really do need a bottle/that second bottle/etc. And Snow White is the weirdest! Because even with that plasticky vanilla note.... I fricking need this scent. It's light, gentle, and alternates between cool and warm floral. It's just so fascinating. Now I do want a bottle. The plastic can be ignored and overcome!

Heehee, this review must be confusing anyone trying to make a decision based on reviews.

Lab frimp that was already on my wishlist, yay!

This is kind of a sweet, musky, slightly spicy scent. Somehow it manages to make me think I am smelling citrus now and again. I was hoping for more caramel than what I am getting (only a little). Not my usual style, although I wanted it to work. Strong musks often amp on me in a way that annoys my nose (like now). As it wears, the musk and whatever it is that I am really not liking (must be benzoin?) strengthen, along with the spices.

This smells like a masculine cologne; not for me!

My most favourite perfume notes are rose and honey. So when I saw this blend, I had to try it.

I'm so glad I did.

In the bottle, Katrina smells like a beautiful white rose mixed with honey and cream. I'm used to most of the BPAL roses being a bit thick and sometimes almost soapy to my nose, but this is quite light!

On the skin, the rose amps up and gets a lot juicier/fruitier, but it's still delicate. The honey adds that sweet-spicy touch that I love so much, and the cream holds it all down and tries to keep it soft.

As it dries, the blend becomes yet still juicier rose and more honey (my skin always amps honey). The juiciness makes me think of chilled pears or pink champagne. Just a little bit.

In far drydown, the cream loses out to the honey and rose and I don't think there's much of it left. The overall throw and intensity fades quite a bit, but I can get a good whiff as long as I put my wrist close to my nose. I wouldn't mind if it lasted longer, just because reapplying this 5 times a day would mean I'd run out of oil pretty fast!

First off... wow. This scent is phenomenal, most especially when still wet on skin: amorphous, radiant, incandescent: very good descriptors! This is like... pale and luminous green-yellow sunlight dancing through electric green spring leaves. Cheerful & silly.

In the imp: lime and lemongrass and a hint of lightly sweet florals.

Wet: lime, green coconut (HOW?!), pale flowers that I can't distinguish, lemongrass.

Dry: wow, this softens out and the throw goes from good to middle very quickly; the lime holds on, lemongrass amps a bit, the musk and hinoki come out, and there is still a hint of that amazing green coconut. Repeated deep sniffs detect the peony. I don't think I know what half the other flowers actually smell like other than muguet, so... I need to get myself some single note sniffs at a local aromatherapy counter because I know I'm losing the details on a lot of the BPAL blends thanks to my floral ignorance.

Far drydown: lime amber hinoki slightly spicy-sweet floral. No one smell takes over, so it's extra-fricking awesome for being continually fascinating to smell.

I have found that most green scents turn soapy/irritating on me, but this one is an exception and a keeper. It's fantastic! I'd wear it when I need to remind myself not to take myself seriously, because it's definitely playful and fun.

This was my [internal] reaction when I put this on my arm:

"OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG..."

Pretty much.

An hour later, I was still sniffing my arm and thinking, "OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG!"

I wore To Autumn yesterday and didn't really get a chance to write down my overall nasal "experience"; but that doesn't matter. I'm buying two or three more bottles of this and keeping them in the fridge, in case it's not brought back next year (btw, Beth? It would be a CRIME AGAINST US ALL if you didn't bring this back next year . I almost have no words for how beautiful the scent is. Just extremely good feelings.

This scent smells like warmth and autumn and cozy and yummy and happy and content and home. Like warm ripe drunken caramel apples with some faint wood and spice and a lovely, completely-not-dirty smelling smoke and ... I dunno. I'll wear this again tomorrow and come back to my review and flesh out the notes. I should mention that it turned out very sweet on my skin; I forgot what was in there and was almost sure that it was honey, which my skin amps like crazy. But it's not honey. So I don't know what the sweetness is from. It's a good sweet, though.

Throw: great; Lasting power: great.

Get it while you can!

In the imp: exactly fresh cut green grass and autumn leaves.

On me, wet: ... see above, but just a little less green.

Drydown: The scent sweetens and lightens considerably, coming to a soft balance of the grass and leaves, but a hint of sweetness develops as well, which keeps it from being too, um, real, and makes it more like a perfume (in the best way possible). The grass smells a little more like was cut a couple of hours ago instead of just now.

This scent is truly a testament to Beth's artistry. I love it and will keep the bottle; I am not sure I'd wear it enough to order a backup for when it's no longer available. That said, it's definitely a perfect autumn scent!

Enchanting, beautiful, feminine.

Cool, juicy white fruits and softly sweet wafting flowers. This is a sweet, gentle blend, but not so sweet that it annoys me. In fact, it smells like what I imagine fresh spring and early summer breezes in Faerie might smell like on occasion.

The fruits keep the flowers in balance. Somehow one of the fruits smells like melon, and I loathe melons and everything to do with them... but in the case of this perfume, I don't seem to mind or care! I'd buy this in a bottle if I didn't already have tonnes of imps to get through. Definitely a keeper, and I always want it around.