aidenraine

Wet:

Oh my! It's sexy musky aftershave, something my father used to wear. It also reminds me of a cologne my husband has worn before. It's the musks I believe. Mmmmmm

The woodeness that this has a backdrop must be the fault of the patchouli. It makes the scent feel a bit primal.

(It almost smells like real peanut butter too. ) It's that nutty-woodsiness.

Oh man.

This is just one of those very rare ones that screams to me of the crook of a man's neck, leaning close past his crisp shirt collar. It's "man dressed up".

It only gets cosier on drydown too- warm and woodsy-musky, and very inviting.

Mmmmm...

Wow, this is a delicious smell, one that would probably smell good on my husband, but even better, smells great on me.

The lavender really jumps out when wet, as does the lime. It's a really citrus/lavender mix, absolutely delicious. This is positively delectable. A little bit sweet and spicy, with that great lavender-lime combination.

As it dries it becomes almost like a salty margarita. I smell the lime and something tangy that's the margarita-dupe. It's a smell I want to snuggle close to.

I usually prefer men's scents on me than on men, but this one is unique in that I really want to be seduced by someone wearing it, male or female.

It's a suave, naughty scent. Mmmm the lavender is back, subtly again.

Wet- green leaves, a very green scent but in a "fresh flowers" kind of way, not earthy at all. I definitely smell wildflowers.

Drying: There's something zesty in here, like violet candy, and I still smell those wildflowers. There's something slightly sour in here, but the "afterglow" (you know, the smell in your nose a second after you pull your wrist away) is pure sugar.

I don't like the slight sourness though.

After some time: Ah! The sour note is honey. I think it's honey, violets, and some mysterious other floral in here. The "herby" is part of the honey scent, and the honey has grown to dominate this blend.

Verdict: Not for me, off to the swaps!

Mmmmm delicious! I absolutely love this blend of scents. It's sweet and spicy at the same time. Oh goodness.

I don't know that it inspires lustful urges in me, per se- no more than any really delicious scent does, but it's really really good.

It's kind of a cousin of Urd- less on the grape front.

Definitely keeping my imp and considering a 5ml- and I only own 3 5ml bottles because I'm so picky.

I wonder if I should be concerned that I'm trying this and then Queen in a few minutes.

Wet: I smell the anise very strongly, so strongly I can almost taste the Good N' Plenties in my mouth. There's a strong wooden backdrop to this, and some sugar. Definitely licorice candies, minty herbs.

As it dries the wood fades back and it's all anise, nothing but that and maybe some sugar. I can't find the vetiver, civet, or oak in here at all.

About 30 minutes after application the musk and wood reappear, but remain behind the anise.

Hm, not for me.

First the floral, then the orange. Oh! Chocolate oranges, interesting. Then a bit of creamy vanilla. It's like a white chocolate truffle with a bit of orange liquer mixed in. Definitely makes me a bit hungry. It's a nice orange scent

Oh no, it's drying to smell like glue on me. Like that Elmer's paste that's kinda clumpy "Glue-All?" I can't remember the name. The stuff in the tubs, whose cap has a stick attached. It's the floral combining with the vanilla that's making the paste, I believe. Paste with oranges. Um... hmmm..

Ok, it's staying in the paste stage. I'm sad that the floral lept on top of the orange and the vanilla because that seems to be the cause. This is so... almost good on me.

Wet: Arghhhh I'm being attacked by flowers! ... But wait, this is settling quickly into something really nice, and I tend to loathe floral anything.

You know what this smells like? Lush's Fairy Jasmine bath bomb. It's jasmine galore but with a gorgeous duskiness to it. It's one of the most purple, decadent florals I have ever had the pleasure to smell. The ylang ylang keeps it from being too perfumey and the black currant sweetens it. The notes in this really all seem to balance out. I just can't stop smelling myself. What a pleasant surprise!

It's one of the nicest, richest jasmines I have encountered.

Actually, the drydown is pretty much the same. It's like a jasmine candy with musk (the black currant provides the 'candy' scent.)

I'm a'keeping my imp and would consider obtaining another!

Imp: Cinnamony-sweet something or other.... a cinnamon ribbon candy. This is just so familar somehow, and maybe a bit too sweet. Timidly it goes onto the skin.

Wet: Definitely cinnamon sweets. Red hots. I'd have expected to love this combination of spices but I am being bowled over a bit. It's kinda overwhelming. It smells like there's glue under the cinnamon.

Something chemical... rubber cement and cinnamon?

Drydown: Alas, the glue and cinnamon never morphs into anything else.

Verdict: Imp up for swap!

Wet: I got a strong "cherry lollypop" from this when it was wet on my wrist. Very sweetly strong fruit with a musky undertone, not unlike Urd when it's wet (not that it smells like Urd, but the same sweet-musky combination.)

As it begins to dry it musks up a bit- I smell the sandalwood. Thankfully, I don't smell anything ozoney, and this doesn't strike me as particularly masculine (it's truly gender neutral to my nose.)

Drydown: It's starting to smell kind of peach and musky- a really great balance between fruit and spicy. I smell maybe a backdrop of leather, but it takes a backseat to the other spice and fruit.

After some time: Musky-fruity, nice balance. Slather Slather.

Verdict: Keeping the imp happily, but probably not a 5ml. I almost never love something enough for a 5ml

Oh dear Black Opal, how I wanted to love thee.

Wet : Do I smell Teen Spirit deoderant? This has that powdery sort of sweet/herbal smell that I associate with certain deoderants. Not a bad smell, but very "powder".

Sitting for a bit - Uh-oh, I have now the scent of plastic doll hair. You know how some dolls are scented for little girls? This smells like that. It's plastic-y violets and powder now, and growing sweeter. A very synthetic smell on my arm.

Dry : Very sweet, like violets and angel food cake. It's still kinda fake though, and I don't like the sugary air about it.

Verdict? Imp up for swap!

I expected to adore OS, and I am really surprised!

I caught a whiff of tantilizing spice and wood in the imp, but on my skin it quickly became lipton iced tea in a bottle. The lemon kind that is too corn syrupy and sickingly sweet. The tea smell was quite strong.

This stage lasted quite a while before it became sort of wooden, like creaky old floor boards and a dusty corner. I can smell the patchouli, finally, and the dusky sort of smell I associate with Magus. Still, that artificial tea is behind it.

The drydown isn't unpleasant, but I'm not sure I can take the wet stage of this.

Lilith began as a blend that nearly made me swoon- some sweet, spicy combination of cherry and almond and musk.

I thought it was going to remind me of Urd, in a good way.

Alas.

As it settled Lilith began to take on a sickeningly sweet tone - like cola layered over headshop. Warm cola. It's not as horrid as it sounds, but on me it's definitely somewhat nauseating.

It's settled into this and stubbornly refuses to morph further.

The first wiff I took of this reminded me exactly of Delceor's Aromessence in "Ylang Ylang". You don't know it? Well, it's the combination of many crushed flower and plant essences plus it's namesake, ylang ylang.

A heady, floral smell, almost too strong, but with a slightly musky backdrop. On me it remains the same as it smelled in the bottle.

I used to work at an ice cream store that sold honeydew melon ice cream, and this smells just like that tastes. I definitely get the hint of strawberry as well. Wet this is all fruity cheeriness, and I wasn't expecting that at all!

I feel myself getting cheerful just sniffing it, and am wondering if the magical properties of this are to uplift the mood.

(God, I would have expected to hate something so fruity, but I don't, oddly enough)

It's kinda morphing into watermelon bubblegum on me. Maybe halfway between that and fruit punch. Lush's Angel's Delight soap.

And that's where it stayed, even after a few hours. :>

This is definitely herbal- and it smells nice, but definitely as a working oil rather than a perfume. It's clean and lemony, with something like fresh-cut grass in it. It smells like a clean kitchen on a spring day with the windows thrown open and the smell of blooming plants wafting in off the fields. It's very fresh-green-herby as opposed to floral.

A fresh, clean smell that doesn't come across as synthetic.

Ennnnnnnnhhhhhhhhhh it's mint with a slight alcohol undertone. My problem with it is that I can smell a kind of sickly sweet alcohol, like a spilled rum underneath the mint. It's a bit too sweetish for me. I can't explain what in this turns my stomach but something certainly does.

Something peppery in here too... the mint mellows out and gets topped by the sweet booze as it sits on my wrist.

I'm really going back and forth on this one.

It's going more cleaning product on me- it's the after-tingle of it, the kinda "cool in my nose" feeling.

Oh goodness, holy "foody" batman!

Immediately upon opening my lil' imp I was besotted by a wave of coconut / lime / cinnamon. Now the latter two have settled in and this is pure coconutty goodness.

I imagine an amazing scent for body lotion. Hmmmm tempting.

I am not sure whether I find this more deserty or more "sunblocky". I am somewhat reminded of coconut sun oil from the 80s.

After letting it sit on me for a while:

It's kinda synthetic coconut and doesn't seem to have much depth. It's a wee too brash for me.

You know the Body Shop's coconut product smell? It's just like that.

This really is an awesome scent- ritual use aside, it makes me cheerful and happy. It changed my mood from intensely foul and nervous to sunny and optimistic when I applied it- which was no small feat. I'm still marveling at my change of spirits. I feel kinda "so what, why was I so upset?"

It's got almost a baked-goods smell lurking under a nice berry- perhaps a fig. It's _almost_ "Christmas store" but better. A reddish-purpley scent. Could there be a hint of cocoa in here as well, making the sweetness a bit dusky? A bit of blackberry? Yum... yum yum yum.

I will have to wear this into the winter. It's just ... divine. I am trying to avoid licking my wrists.

Could it be a date bread?

(I know, I am cycling through fruits like mad here trying to guess. Might have a "molasses" undertone to it as well.... )

There is definitely something very "green vegetable" about this- cucumbers, green peppers etc.

I should add that while I put this on my wrists hoping that it would make me more deliberate and focused today, I was mostly curious about the scent at this time. I have always been interested in Celtic lore and mythology though, and gravitated to this blend among the first of the Temples.

As time passes it becomes more floral on me- a green "flowers in water" floral. It's got a weird "generic perfume" undertone to it though.

I seem to be more emotionally vulnerable today than usual, which I am not blaming on the oil, but it doesn't seem to be helping with.

Hmmm this does remind me of the types of cleaning products I gravitate towards- lemony/tea. It feels clean. It isn't the type of scent I want to wear, as it makes me feel like I am doing housekeeping, but it's an awesome room scent. This is the kind of aroma that lends itself to throwing open the windows and letting in fresh air and sunlight, letting the light make the freshly polished wood glow.

Wow, I didn't expect to like this because berries and florals are usually bad on me, but it smells like the amber saved it.

Florence is a sweet but dusky scent, a holiday berry. It smells a bit too like a freshly cut apple (that sweet and tart aroma). I love the way the amber highlights the berries, which are definitely dominating the florals in here.

This is just such a great bouquet.

I'm noticing this scent isn't very strong on me though- I feel like I'd have to douse quite a bit in order to smell it.

After a while, the sweet takes a backseat and I smell more of the dusky amber. The floral really is only present when wet.

Oh this is just great! I am immediately getting wafts of tea mixed with sugar and vanilla- I never invisioned being able to smell the tea so clearly. What a lovely smell. It makes me feel coy, romantic, mischevious. I want a bottle of this instantly. My imp seems so small!

As it sits it becomes slowly sweeter, so the tea fades a bit and I smell sugary goodness, a warm smell, the smell of a sugar cookie dunked in tea.

The cranberry is a lot fainter on my skin than on most people's. This is incensey-musk first, and if I didn't know it wasn't a patchouli scent, I would swear it is.

It reminds me of Urd, another favorite. This is rich and spicy and incredibly well suited to the fall, people are right.

As time passes it becomes a bit "redder" but still the musky incense lays on top of it, giving it a rough edge. It's almost nutty- that dry, dusty smell of a bin of nuts. Mixed with the fruit- a cranberry trail mix.

Oh Lampades, I am part of your fan club now. How wonderful you are.

I had been awaiting a chance to try this for a long time, because, well, I'll try anything with patchouli.

Wet, it's very incensey- it's a little musky for me, with no perceptible sweetness to soften it. I like it though, even though it's simpler than most BPAL scents. It's kind of woody, which I like.

After 30 minutes it actually smells exactly the same- no morphing action on this one. Incense. I like how straightforward it is though.

After an hour- still the same :>

Well, I don't have red and yellow candles but I have an orange tart, does that count?

I need some of the mojo this promises so I annointed my wrists with it and was immediately innundated with a sweet fruity smell- though not sickeningly sweet at all- it's got something slightly spicy underneath.

What a cheery, happy smell. It raises my spirits just to smell it faintly.