thewondersmith

In the imp: Oooh, this is nice! I'm getting lime, gin and bay rum. Sort of smells like Kumiho's sexy, dangerous bad-boy ex. Wet: Oh man, this is GORGEOUS. Lime, bay rum and the slightest dash of sugar. Behind that, there's smoke and something I can only really describe as male body heat. Absolutely delicious. Dry: The booze note is definitely being amped now, with the lime fading a little. The tobacco is swaggering all over the place, and I'm pretty surprised to find that I actually LIKE it, since tobacco and I don't get along well. This is fantastically well blended, and very, very sexy. I really wasn't expecting to like it quite as much as I do, since I don't typically go for unisex/masculine scents. I'd quite happily wear this, and would ADORE my boy to wear it too.

Midway Original- In the imp: Super duper sugary sweetness. I'm not really getting any particular notes here, which is a shame since I adore caramel apples and was looking forward to seeing what the lab would do. Wet: Ugh, this is... maybe not so great on me. Very sweet, which was expected, but it's the sort of sweetness that goes straight to the back of your throat. I was really hoping to like this, since I usually love the lab's sweeter scents, and I'm a big foody After a few minutes, I'm getting the faintest tinge of lemon and a sort of plasticky undertone happening here. Still no cotton candy or caramel apples. Dry: Ahh, I don't think this is for me. I can hardly smell it- the only thing telling me I'm wearing it is the faint queasy feeling I get every time I inhale. I may keep my imp to see if maybe we can work things out, but as it stands, I don't think I'm a Midway sorta girl.

Though I don't really get along with Snake Oil all that well (it's way too strong and sickly sweet for me- sort of like vanilla coke swamped by burnt patchouli), I was pretty interested in trying out Boomslang, since I ADORE the lab's chocolate notes, and was hoping the cocoa would help calm the Snake Oil down a little. Unfortunately the first few times I tried it, I was unimpressed- the chocolate was nice at first, but was beaten down in a matter of minutes by the Snake Oil. HOWEVER. A couple of weeks ago, as I was sorting through my imps, I accidentally spilled about a quarter of an imp's worth of Boomslang on my desk and just about died. It was so traumatizing! Without thinking, I grabbed my favourite hoodie off the back of my chair and dabbed up what had spilled. At first, it'd seemed like a really, really stupid idea (I mean, I didn't really like Boomslang all that much, so why would I want my favourite jacket to smell of it?) but ohh, mama, was I wrong. Now it's nearly impossible to take said hoodie off because it smells so damn good. The cocoa and rice milk are really, really prominent, with the Snake Oil dancing around the edges, giving it this delicious dusty, powdery coating. The throw is surprisingly good too, and I've had a couple of compliments already! Which is sort of nice Basically, even if you don't like Snake Oil, give this baby a try. Though it might not seem that great on your skin, it works amazingly well on fabric, and I think it'd be fantastic in a scent locket too.

Hmm, I'll admit I was a little wary of trying this baby out after reading some of the reviews here. Though I like cherries, I'm not particularly fond of that fake cordial smell that a lot of other perfumes have whenever they attempt cherry, so I was really hoping the lab would be an exception. And boy were they ever! In the imp: Cherries dipped in dark chocolate syrup. The chocolate is fairly dominant, and the cherries are barely in the background, but that is -exactly- how chocolate dipped cherries taste like, so I'm happy. Wet: Wow, CHERRIES. A little boozy, and the dark chocolate's bringing this lovely bitter edge to it. Boy this is lovely. I'm really hoping this isn't going to morph too much, because I'm really loving this. Drying: Mmm, this smells divine. Like cherry juice just after you've bit into the fruit. It's still a little boozy, and the chocolate is very, very faint, but I really love how juicy and luscious this smells. Not at all like cherry cordial. I think this would be amazing to layer with Bliss, or maybe one of the other chocolate scents, just to bring up that lovely dark chocolate note.

Okay, this is sort of weird. As much as I adore the lab's chocolate scents (Bliss and El Dia de Reyes are like, my favourite scents of all time), Milk Chocolate and Buttercream smells like chocolate and blue-vein cheese on me. No, seriously. In the vial, it smells absolutely divine- sweet, creamy icing and a gooey chocolate base, but once I put it on, it's cheese and chocolate. Pretty gross.

Okay, I've gotta be honest- when I first tried out Rose Red (2007), I hated it. It was too pungent, too earthy and I couldn't smell any rose over all the green. However, I'm never one to leave an imp behind, and after waiting for a few days, I decided to try Rose Red again. And boy am I glad I did. In the imp: Alright, I still get a screaming green sort of scent, but there was a distinct edge of rose, which is pretty encouraging. Not really like any rose I've ever smelled (and my mother has a massive rose garden), but it's definitely very organic. On me: Still getting a leafy, thorny vibe going on here, though the rose is definitely making itself known. The dirt note has faded a little too, which is a relief. This is actually pretty surprising. Dry down: Mmmmmm. Oh man, this is delicious! The rose has come to the fore, but it's not a big, stompy, LOOK AT ME godzilla rose like roses usually are on me. The green definitely tones it down a little, and stops it from getting powdery. I asked my brother what he thought it smelled like, and he said 'like rose petals being squished', which is actually a dead ringer. I'm so, so glad I didn't just chuck this into the swap pile like I'd originally planned, because apart from the slightly scary start, this is absolutely beautiful.

Oh man, I seriously can’t say enough about how much I love Tokyo Stomp. I’ve always been fond of mint, but could never find anything that didn’t smell like chewing gum or tooth paste, so finding Tokyo Stomp is absolutely incredible. In the imp: Mint and creamy vanilla. I have to agree with everybody else; this smells exactly like those Girl Scout mints. Absolutely delicious. On me: This is unbelievable. I’ve only ever had this sort of omfgmorenow reaction to a bpal scent before, and that was with El Dia de Reyes (<3!!!). There isn’t much change, other than maybe the vanilla’s a little smoother, and everything just seems creamier. It isn’t cloying sweet though, and despite the vanilla warming this up, the mint stays cool (but not a bite-your-nose-off-cool) and refreshing. Drydown: Almost no change, apart from the vanilla becoming even creamier. This is going straight into my top five scents. Fairly decent throw, and it’s pretty long-lasting too. Mmm. <3

In the imp: Mm, sweet wine with a haze of jasmine. I'm really hoping the jasmine isn't going to amp like it usually does, because I adore BPAL's wine notes and the pinot noir element of this sounds delicious. Wet: Waah! Jasmine! Jasmine jasmine and MORE jasmine. Damn. Not getting any wine whatsoever, and the patchouli is near non-existant on me. Drydown: That's odd- after about ten or fifteen minutes, the jasmine morphs into a rather nice turkish-delight sort of scent, which I suppose is the rose. It's rather nice but only sticks around for a few minutes before morphing back into the jasmine! I don't get any wine or sandalwood, which is surprising since my skin amps sandalwood like crazy. I think I would have liked the Obsidian Widow more if the sandalwood -had- been amped, rather than the jasmine. Ah well, I think I'll hang on to this one and see how it ages, just in case.

In the imp: Grape soda! Yum, this is really delicious. Not at all like wine, which is a little disappointing since I love BPAL's wine/booze notes, but the grape here is still rather lovely. On me: Grapes, sugar. Not really getting any leather or musk, but then again, my skin seems to swallow up any of those sorts of notes so I'm not all that surprised. Drydown: Sweet grapes with a lovely subtle floral edge. I'm so glad the rose isn't dominant here; despite not actually liking florals all that much, I tend to amp them like crazy. The sweetness of the grape somehow manages to keep Wanda from being an overly girly sort of scent, and I feel rather womanly wearing this. Not too overpowering, either. I'm curious to see how long it lasts, but as things stand now, I'm thinking Wanda's a keeper.

In the imp: Currants and herbs. Rather tart and sharp, but not at all in a citrussy sort of way, which is nice. As I’m not that familiar with fig, I’m not sure if the fig’s a dominant or weak note here, but I’m enjoying it so far. On: Earthy, juicy currant, with the faintest hint of sweet date that’s driving me crazy. I keep wanting to chase after that sweetness, but it’s just dancing around the edges and it’s absolutely divine. I really like it so far. Dry: Mm, sundried currants, date and something that has got to be fig. It's softened and sweetened up too. This has a fairly decent throw on me too, which is a nice surprise considering my skin tends to eat BPAL. I'm not sure if I'd get a bottle of this, but I'd definitely grab another imp if the opportunity arose.

In the imp: Dirty water and nut shells. Ugh. On me: Cocoa, salt and a rather unpleasant sandalwood-like sharpness that I guess is the butter note. Damn it. The same thing happened with Drink Me too (another scent I was dying to love), which is a real shame. I'll see how this mellows out. Dry: Exactly the same as on wet. Boo. I'll give this an hour, I think. An hour or so later: Hm. It's calmed down a little, and I'm getting the slightest bit of butter, which is encouraging. I can smell chocolate- but it's not sweet at all, and I'm still getting that sandalwood hit. Only getting the teeniest hint of hazelnut. Bummer. HOWEVER. On my brother (and BPAL guinea pig) : Oh my -God-, caramel, chocolate, hazelnuts. Everything listed in the description is there and absolutely delicious. I am so -jealous- of his skin chemistry.

In the imp: Oh God, this is so gorgeous. Definitely one of my favourites so far. I can smell honey and wine, and raspberries, I think. Wet: Mmm, honey and mulled wine. This is so ridiculously delicious. Not getting any smoke, though. Dry: Like anything with florals, this turns a little incensy on me (that might be the tobacco, now that I think about it?), but the honey is still there, which I love. It smells oddly waxy, too, which is surprisingly pleasant. I really wish the wine note had stuck around, since it was absolutely glorious, but all in all, this is a brilliant scent and I'm definitely ordering a bottle.

In the imp: Woah, that’s kinda strong. Sharp lemon-lime and thick honey. Kind of nice, but I’m hoping it softens a little once on. Wet: Mmm, iced lemon tea. Luckily the floral notes aren’t really all that prominent, as my skin chemistry amps floral like you would not believe. It’s a delicious scent- both light and invigorating, yet somehow syrupy. Brings back memories of my childhood summers in Hong Kong, when my friends and I would hang around the beachside noodlebars and have huge glasses of iced tea with thick lemon slices and pots of honey. Dry: Wah, come back! It’s still delicious, and quickly becoming one of my favourites, but I really, really wish it lasted longer. This would be a perfect scent for summer; sweet, clean and just zesty enough to be a mood lifter during hot, humid days. I am definitely buying a bottle of this.

In the imp: Maraschino cherries and cinnamon! Slightly alcoholic, but in a pleasant sort of way. It’s almost as if a dash of cherry wine had been added or something. It's a little sweet, but I'm liking it so far. Looking forward to the almond. Wet: Cherry, vanilla and cinnamon. Still no almond, boo. However, the cinnamon is divine and more than makes up for the lack of nutty goodness. Dry: Ahh, there the almonds are! They're still very faint, but they're definitely there, and they're spiced with the slightest hint of cherry and cinnamon. Delicious. I can definitely see myself getting a bottle of this one. Strangely enough, I put some on both my wrists but each side smells completely different! My left wrist smells of cinnamon and almonds, while my right wrist smells of cherries and frankincense. It’s very, very odd.

In the bottle: Wow, orange! Sweet and sticky with lime and... I think that’s grapefruit? It smells like one of those orange tictacs, only with a little less vanilla. Not usually a fan of citrus but this is intriguing enough for me to try, and the lime lightens it up a little. Wet: Orange has morphed into mandarin, and the lime is coming through strong. Less of an orange tictac and more the smell of the homemade mandarin juice my grandfather makes. The lime is lovely too. I’m really liking this scent so far. Dry: The lime has faded considerably, and so has the mandarin, which is a little disappointing since I was really enjoying the citrus. What’s left is a sugary sort of scent, and the vanilla note has emerged again, considerably stronger. Three hours on: Sugar and vanilla, with the slightest dash of lime. Pretty, but a little too sweet for me, I think. It's a shame. I was really enjoying that lime note.

Bottle: Popcorn flavoured jellybeans! Buttery and sweet, to the point of being almost too heavy. Promising though. Wet: Maraschino cherries and vanilla. Yikes, that’s sweet! I’m a little worried about this one, since I was really looking forward to the buttery, creamy goodness I’ve read about in other reviews. Drydown: The butter’s all but faded, and I’m not getting any yummy pastry. There’s a slight sharpness which is a little unpleasant. Almost like burnt plastic, and very reminiscent of a wet Brown Jenkins on me. I think it’s probably my skin chemistry reacting to... maybe a coconut note? It’s done the same thing with both Brown Jenkins and Obatala, which is a shame because I adore coconut. Ah well. The maraschino cherries were rather nice, but in general this scent was far too sweet and cloying for me. Into the swap pile it goes.