Em-

I apologize for asking the same question over and over, but I really don't want to bug the lab if it's not a problem... Anywat, I placed two orders via PayPal on September 1 which contained many of the same items because I was also ordering for other people. It was my first time using PayPal, not the CCNow cart, so I am extra nervous. For the first, I got the Paypal autoresponse and the BPAL response. For the second, I just got the Paypal response. I don't want to harass the lab if the BPAL autoresponse is really hit or miss, but I also want to make sure they know I really do want three pumpkin patches and two bottles of Dia, even if I ordered them 12 hours apart! So should I chill? (My gut says I should chill, I think I just want some reassurance here that one of my orders isn't lost in the ether...)

So, I acquired an imp of Samhain (2004) in a lot of LEs on Ebay fairly early in my BPAL addition. And I liked it in the vial, but it didn't jump out at me as being a scent that I wanted to slather myself in for the summer, so it sat, forlorn in my untried imp box. Then yesterday, after applying a hefty dose of Danse Macabre, I checked the update before leaving the house...and decided that it was a good day to finally try Samhain. OMG. What an absolutely beautiful blend. I can smell the pumpkin and the apple, but they are submursed in the most wonderful smoky autumn leafy smell...I did get a sort of nuttyness, which may have been the result of not completely removing all of the Danse Macabre (in which case, let me note that these two oils blend beautifully, too. ). Thank you thank you thank you Beth for bringing this back again this year so us newbies can order large quantities! Edited to add thoughts re 2005 vintage: I fell absolutely in love with 2004 based on the imp described above, and ordered a bottle the day of the first update and a second with my Beaver Moon order. I am, however, not entirely sure that I will be needing both bottles of 2005. I'm going to have to see how it wears. It may have been the year of aging, it may have been the minute differences in the blend, it may just be that it is so much easier to over apply from a bottle from an imp, or it could be that my skin chemistry has been off the past two weeks from being on antibiotics and menstration, but I just don't like this year's Samhain as much as that precious little imp. It is still absolutely lovely in a way that I have a hard time describing, but at the same time, it doesn't send the same chills through me that 2004 does. So I'm going to have to play with this one for a bit, I think.

This is an absolutely georgeous scent in the vial and is very true to its description - it smells almost exactly like a ginger peach tea that I love, but without the peach and with maybe a little citrus. I really like the fresh clean smell of this and had hoped it would be perfect as a sophicticated perfume for the still hot days of late summer. Unfortunately, though, while Kumiho smells delightful, it fades almost instantly on my skin. As in before I even finished dressing and left by bedroom the morning I tried it, it was gone. So many people have mentioned a similarity to Shanghai, which makes me happt, since I just received that from a swap, so maybe I wil have more lick with that one.

I'm not sure why it took me so long, relatively speaking, to try O, given that I adore honey, love vanilla and amber and I tend to get along just fine. And in the vial, this is really an absolutely delectable scent. It smells richly of honey, just dripping from the comb, but with the amber to give it some density and complexity. So, this morning I used my honey body wash and my honey lotion and I slathered me some O. Then I went to work. Perhaps this was not the best of ideas. I am not getting sexsexsex from this, in all honestly, and I have to refer to the profound observation of Madame Nyx who asked earlier: But there is still something about this scent, particularly on the skin, on a fairlywarm August day, that doesn't smell like sex to me, but is definitely evocative of that feeling of being snuggled up after some afternoon delight, shall we say. There is a muskiness, to this on me, particularly in the early stages, which I am not sure if I like, as it is a little jarring. But while I generally immediately consign such oils to the swap pile, such are my hopes for O that I think I might be willing to give her another try or two. Perhaps on date night, next time.

I almost didn't order this because of the floralness of it, but the name and the Dylan Thomas and my growing love of tobacco/tonka bean combinations, plus vanilla threw me over the edge. When I saw the incredibly awesome bottle, I figured I'd done the right thing. When I sniffed the intreguingly spicy rose in the bottle, I thought I may ahve found a truly floral winner. In the bottle, this is rose, but it is also what must be carnation and a hit of the other notes. It is richer than any other deep floral perfume I've ever smelled and I absolutely willed myself to love this. On my wrists, it is all rose. I do not get any of the other notes. This is almost more rosy than Rose Red...but not as truly pure...there is a spicyness, but not anything distinctive. This is a truly lovely blend, but it is not something that is really me, and I just cannot see myself wearing this enough to justify keeping this bottle. Sigh.

When I first sniffed this in the imp (which was a fripm from the lab - thanks labbies!) it was love. It smelled like the perfect blend of Tenochticlan, which I love, and dark cocoa bean. On my skin, the leather and the incense kicked the exotic florals to the ground, however, and took over with the cocoa. All in all, this was just too much for my nose to handle.

Another CN scent that I really like. I am getting a lot of the notes out of this one, especialy the woodyness and the citrus, which blend together beautifully. I like it on me, and think it will be fabulous on my hubby as well, but still need to try that out.

Midway is just delicious. There is no other way to describe it. It is the only CN scent other than Freak Show that is simply ordering me to get a bottle. Get a bottle now woman, or you will regret it later. It is pure sweetness, exactly as described.

Wow. I had written off Gypsy Queen as being too floral a blend for me to really like. Boy was I wrong. There is something in here, maybe the carnation and the musk, that makes this blend one of the true winners of CN series for me. It is a very pretty floral blend, but whatever the note is that I cannot identify makes it something more complex and beautiful than a simple floral perfume and tuens it into something that I expect to actually wear.

Shill is what it is. Like most of the other reviewers have mentioned, there's not much else to say about it - it is dead on buttered popcorn. The kind you by from old fashioned red carts at the fair or the zoo. This is the kind of smell that I usually try to get off my skin after eating said popcorn, though, so I sent the imp on to a good home.

This smells a lot like Snake Oil to me as well, but is a more complex blend and I like it considerably better than Snake Oil. The fruity notes really make this oil something that I will be likely to wear. It really is a very lovely, sexy blend.

This is very pretty, to the point where I was actually sad when I had to wash it off because the jasmine had become too much for me. Before that moment, though, I almost thought that the honeysuckle and vanilla would save this blend for me, as I've been able to sneak a couple of jasmine oils into my collection, but alas, the Bearded Lady had other ideas.

I was expecting Fire Eater to be hot and spicy - sort of like a more festive version of Wrath or somthing. Instead, much like when I tried The Living Flame, I get almost nothing out of this. In the vial, it was a kind of soapy floral. On my skin, it diappeared within seconds. Odd that.

Something in this blend really did not agree with me - I'm not sure if it was the balsam or the opium, but it was just to strong and heavy for my poor nose to handle. Which is too bad, because I like a lot of other tobacco blends, like Perversion, but unlike others, I do not get the similarity here. This does smell sort of medicinal, but not in a way that I find soothng or pleasant, but hopefully the imp will be loved in its new home.

Kunstkammer is one of a handful of scents that I seriously debated getting a bottle of prior to getting my imps from the decant circle. I thought the description sounded luscious and fully expected to love ths blend. It is a very sweet blend, much sweeter than I expected, almost like orange soda pop, and while the other notes waft through, it is the super sweet candy orange note that is predominant all day long. This blend is a little to much for me, I think. I am glad I have an imp to play with, but I definitely don't need a bottle, alas.

Bed of Nails came off as very ozone/aquatic to my nose and skin chemistry. My nose and skin tend to turn ozone and aquatic scents into very strong cologne scents (think commercial men's colognes). Ergo, it doesn't take a genius to figure out what this smelled like to me. Not my thing, alas.

In the bottle, this is one of the most absolutely complex and magical blends I've ever smelled. I was *so* happy to have ordered it when I smelled it fresh from the post this morning. Wet, I would describe this as a blend of light musk, citrus, and lunar oils from the minty/herbal collection. On my skin, alas, it very quickly turns powdery. Not sniff your wrist and smell baby powder, but actual baby powder throw, while a close wrist sniff reveals the delightfulness of the actual blend. I tried a thicker application (having not slathered the first time out), hoping that might help, and it has a little, but it really seems that this is not a blend that works terribly well on my skin. I will have to try it on my husband and see how it works on him, but I suspect that this will not be a keeper.

I had fully expected to adore this scent and seriously considered ordering a bottle instead of an imp, but I played it safe. Mostly, I like this alot, except for the sharp bitter green note (the fig leaf, maybe?) that hung around dominating my wrist all day. I could smell all of the coconut, honeyed almond milk figgy goodness trying to make itself known underneath, but this bitterness just wouldn't let me be. Perhaps I will try again for another batch, but based on the imp I received, Eden does not work for me.

I swapped for this imp, figuring I would try something different, that I had not really considered previously. Aureus is a very heavy resiny, incensey blend. To me it seems very dark, actually. Turns out that I am not really into heavy incensey resiny blends. But we all have to learn somehow, right? If incense and non-amber resins are your thing, then this blend would be lovely, I'm sure.

I was gifted a partial imp of this by a wonderfully generous forumite as part of an ebay purchase. Alas, it is really not me...I am starting to really like some floral blends but Beltane is too heavy duty oh-wow-jasmine for me to be able to wear it. It is a very pretty blend that would work well for someone who likes serious florals, but that person is not me or my brain chemistry.

I wore this on this August's full moon, which was ripe and red and juicy...this blend is absolutely perfect. The dragon's blood is just divine and blends perfectly with the florals and the fruity notes...it is a very powerful oil that made me feel fabulous all day.

I expected to really deeply adore The Red Queen. I like woddy scents. I like fruity scents. All of the notes soundsd absolutely delish. In the vial, she is extremely sweet to the point that I cannot really pick out notes. I did not remember that this was described as mahogany or in conjunction with "woods" and do not get a sense of them at all, really. It is sweet. Powerfully sweet. On my skin, the notes start to play together a little more. The sweetness mellows and I can smell fruitiness and cherries and hints of the darkness lurking. But only a hint. I think that this might be better for me layered with something a little muskier, perhaps. Because I do like The Red Queen. But I am not madly in love.

Alice was not originally high on my wishlist, because while I love milk and honey scents, I was afraid the florals would be overwhelming. Now I want to trade in my 5ml of Sudha Segara for one of Alice... This is one of the first oils I've tried that I would both describe as a truly beautiful feminine perfume and as an oil I really love and would wear regularly. In the vial, Alice smells strongly of almonds or amaretto to me - so similar to Dana O'Shee that I wondered if the imp was mislabeled for a minuted. But on, it is all sweet milky honey drenched tea. The florals are all staying nicely in the background, giving this a nice herbally, tea like quality that really grounds it and makes it something other than a sweet little girl scent for me. This is absolutely lovely.

I figured I would have to like Dorian. The notes are all favorites of mine, the name is fabulous and, well, doesn't everybody like Dorian? And I do like Dorian. I am not madly in love with Dorian. I don't want to order a 10 ml this very minute and bathe in it all day long. But I like it. I really like the way the lemon and the musk blend with the sweet milky tea, and I like the way it is a sweet sexy scent that is still light enough for everyday wear, but I don't see myself grabbing this on a regular basis. But I like it.

Zephyr was all floral to my nose. It was pleasant enough in the vial, if a little more "floral-commercial-perfumey" than what I normally wear, and on my skin, the whoo-florals came out swinging. I can see how this would be an absoltely lovely blend, if it's your thing, and I sorta wish I had more lemon and vanilla out of this one, because I like those notes and some of the others, but something in this doesn't agree with me. So, since the Lab was nice enough to gift it to me, I've done so for someone else. Hopefully the poor little impsie will find love.