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A frimp from the lab Purely boozy scents don't always work on me, but I do love the smell of rum, so maybe this will still surprise me pleasantly.

 

In the imp - butterscotch and rum! Smells like my mum's kitchen when she's baking. Delicious!

 

On wet - slightly boozier butterscotch, but still very sweet, and even slightly fizzy. This is a fun one.

 

Drydown - behaves surprisingly well on the drydown. I thought this would be pure boozy butterscotch all the way through, jumping out at you, but as it dries down it rounds out, becoming slightly sweet, slightly nutty, slightly buttery and very rich. A great oil for lovers of foody scents

A frimp! I never really thought to try this but the leather, musk, wood and dragon's blood sound good. I must've completely overlooked this while browsing through the site.

 

In the imp: red, warmly-coloured oil; leather, dragon's blood, the spices of the mulled wine and light woods.

 

On wet: More of the mulled wine and dragon's blood than anything, very warm and soothing.

 

Drydown: Musk, the spices from the mulled wine and dragon's blood. No leather and very little in terms of wood, but I really like the warmth of the scent, it's very comforting. The imp is definitely a keeper, though I'm not yet sure if it warrants a bottle.

Mr. Hyde is one of my all-time favourite BPAL fragrances, and I've als been meaning to try his slightly less psychotic twin; I finally decided to cough up the money to get a bottle. I'm very excited I love cumin, juniper, bergamot and basil, but am slightly worried about the mint. However, since I liked this cologne as part of the Mr. Hyde blend I'm fairly sure I won't completely hate it.

 

In the bottle - it's amazing how close these oils are in terms of fragrance. I have both bottles next to me and Dr. Jekyll does just what it says on the tin, it's Mr. Hyde without the darkness. Cumin and basil right from the get-go.

 

On wet - very pretty. It's all of Mr. Hyde's gentlemanly demeanour without his dark underside. Cumin is easily the strongest note right now, with a bit of mint and noticeable basil. I really like this.

 

Drydown - Mmh. So light, so pleasant, exactly what I expected Dr. Jekyll is the oil you put on in the morning when you go to work, and then you add a little Mr. Hyde when you clock out and go out on the town Perfectly well-behaved. My beloved cumin at full strength, that sweetness of juniper to cool it down, the depth of bergamot, and that beautiful, beautiful basil! (I love herbs, can you tell?). Barely any mint. I love it, I'm so glad I have it to keep Hyde company now

Sometime back, the lab posted that things were back to normal and that the email notifications were going out again, so I don't think that it's anything to do with your email addy. You might just want to email customer service.............and once you do that, it will show up for sure.

 

Oh dear, I must've confused the labbies with my talk about e-mail in the comments then I e-mailed the Lab just now and I'm sure they'll get back to me soon.

 

ETA: Got a response, the parcel went out last week and for some reason the CnS notification just never appeared. Oh well Time to stalk my mailbox!

Quick question, because I think this might have been an error on my end - recently someone (I honestly forgot who) told me that due to some change in PayPal processing, the Lab no longer receives my e-mail (which is needed for a CnS notification) with the order and that if I wanted to have a CnS notification I'd have to include the e-mail in the comments section of my order.

 

So I placed an order (1 bottle Coyote, 1 bottle Cathedral, 1 bottle Smokestack) April the 25th with my e-mail in the comments section. Now, I know the lab takes time to process orders but the thing is, people are already receiving CnS notifications for orders (including international orders) placed on the 29th. Coyote, Cathedral and Smokestack don't strike me as scents I've ever heard of being backordered, either. So maybe it's just gone out without the notification because I screwed up on the e-mail thing?

As a transguy, I always wanted to try it just for the sake of its name

 

In the imp - caramel! And how!

 

On wet - caramelcaramelcaramel. Wee bit of cinnamon but mostly caramel.

 

Drydown - Caramel calmed down somewhat, but only somewhat. There's some patchouli and light whiffs of tobacco and black currant, but for the most part this is sheer caramel and cinnamon and not really my thing. Shame

In the imp - refreshing and light! Coconut, sweet rum.

 

On wet - oh my, this is delicious! Sugar, light rum, and something like coconut butter. What a wonderful summer scent! Didn't expect to like this, but yes please!

 

Drydown - goodness me this is delicious. And delightful. Coconut, rum, barely any tobacco - smells like Pina Colada! Love this. Keeping this for summer.

I love werewolves, vanilla, cocoa, betiver, bourbon, musk, sage and birch, and after months of putting off Wulric and hearing so many flattering reviews, I knew I just had to try him out and got a bottle when the opportunity presented itself

 

In the bottle - cocoa and vetiver. Mmmh, seductive

 

On wet - Whoa! Vetiver, delightful cocoa, birch tar, faraway sage. Why the deuce did I not try this oil sooner. Foolish, foolish man. Gahh. So good.

 

Drydown - Okay, self? The next time you have a really amazing feeling about an oil and the only thing keeping you from trying that sucker is your own self-doubt, sucker-punch that self-doubt and buy the damn bottle. This oil is utterly, utterly amazing. I love it. I adore it. I want to move in with it. Vetiver, vanilla, musk, sage, with slight hints of musk and a consistent but not overbearing streak of cocoa. The citrus, that so often ruins a blend for me, is nonexistant.

 

A new favourite. Amazing, amazing, amazing.

I was rather excited about this one, since it was described as a butcher Dorian, and while I always liked Dorian well enough it's always been a bit sweet to my nose.

 

In the bottle - Yep, light tea, maybe some vanilla.

 

On wet - faint & sophisticated. Tea, vanilla, musk, fougere.

 

Drydown - The Earl Grey remains strong, and the jasmine leaf is there without being overwhelming. There's still a light hint of vanilla. I also notice the white musk, which so rarely works on me but does with this one. It's a different scent from my usual, which tends to be darker than this, but this is light, gentlemanly, witty and perfectly charming. Am glad I invested in a partial bottle here.

 

It really is that butcher Dorian I've been looking for. It shares Dorian's tea and vanilla note, but contains less lemon and less (possibly no) sugar - and the musk deepens it. If you, like me, like Dorian but felt it was either too lemony, too light or too sweet, Theodosius is the man for you.

In the imp - mmh, fresh herbs, shea, and a hint of wood.

 

On wet - Much of the same. The herbs strengthen a bit more.

 

Drydown - Oh, this is a beautiful, fresh scent Unbelievably refreshing and cool. Perfect for a hot summer day. Very green, and brings to mind the smooth, cool feel of palm leaves under one's fingers on a tropical day. Love it! Completely androgynous. Amazing. Am keeping this imp for those stifling hot summer days to cool me down

Sheer musk, cedar smoke, fir needle, black amber and leather.

 

In the imp - musk and cedar smoke, very foresty and manly.

 

On wet - Oddly sweet - probably the amber plus fir needle. Not what I expected so far - barely any musk or leather.

 

Drydown - This is so strange. The complete opposite of what I expected. I thought this would be butch leather, deep musk, with a solid wood base, but instead this is . . . for lack of a better word . . . cedar air freshener. Mind you, a very sophisticated, complex air freshener, but still air freshener. Stupid, stupid skin chemistry. There was a time I thought about buying a bottle blindly for the leather, musk and fir notes, but now I'm glad I waited for a decant.

 

Sorry guys

 

ETA: I just retried this today and have to say that after it has sometime to dry down (well, okay, a lot of time), it turns into a very nice piney, cedar-y, leather-y musk. It just takes too long to get there. But the final dry stage is really nice!)

In the imp - very light, barely detectable. incense and a bit of opium.

 

On wet - This is very light - much lighter than I expected. Still mostly incense and opium - but I really enjoy the wetness of the tobacco, making this almost smell like incense and opium on a rainy night

 

Drydown - This is beautiful. Absolutely gorgeous, much lighter and creamier than I expected from the dust / incense / opium notes. Airy, warm, and beautiful resins. I'm going to give this a full test soon, and might consider a bottle.

In the imp - dark florals and opium.

 

On wet - Lilies foremost, some narcissus. Where's the opium gone?

 

Drydown - narcissus, lillies, and nothing else. Somewhat disappointed. I love the scent of opium and I was really hoping there'd be a heavier opium presence in this. As far as florals go it's actually very nice - very dark and mysterious - but not really what I expected going into it.

In the imp - booze! And how. Reddest, strongest of wines. Wow. I'm kind of afraid to put this on my skin

 

On wet - a bit lighter than before, thank god. Slightly grapey, but still mostly boozy.

 

Drydown - dries and smoothes into a pleasant, light wine scent. So basically, this does exactly what it says on the tin, and it does it very well - it doesn't work much for me but it's still a very beautifully honed wine scent

Ah yes! Along with Mr. Vandemar my most anticipated oil in the Neverwhere line I adore the Old Firm. And when I found out Beth had added the porcelain note to Mr. Croup, I was ecstatic

 

In the bottle, you've got musk, tonka, a pleasant but not overwhelming cologne, and the faintest whiff of china.

 

On wet, tonka and bourbon, and deep musk. This reminds me, pleasantly so, of another one of my favourites, Mr. Hyde.

 

Drydown - definitely a cleaner, but still psychotic Mr. Hyde The musk is beautiful, barely any geranium (thank the heavens), lovely warm tonka, a clean, sly little cologne, with yes, just that powdery little whiff of a nice bite of the finest bone china imagineable . . .

 

Croup & Vandemar are instant winners and pure masterpieces. I waited for so long for these, and I would've been crushed if they'd not worked - but my, yes, they are wonderful, and a thousand thanks be to Beth for her wonderful work

This is one of Neverwhere scents I was most curious about. How would one put into oil the certainly mad, wonderful, at times festering aroma of the Floating Market? Well, I'm about to find out.

 

In the imp - balsam, coconut, wasabi and spices.

 

On wet - sharp, cooling, fresh! Woods, spices, definite balsam and definite wasabi.

 

Drydown - this turns into a pleasant mixture of foods, spices and herbs, maybe not a personal fragrance but a wonderful smell in and of itself, reminding me of my favourite Chinese buffet. Delicious!

Aha! The Marquis himself! He may not be my favourite character but I think it's impossible to read / watch Neverwhere and not like him I think that's how everyone, even the characters in the story feel - you like him in spite of yourself.

 

In the imp - very intriguing and dashing! Opium (which I love), leather and wool.

 

On wet - My my, very nice Wool and bay rum!

 

Drydown - Mmmh, mysterious and attractive! Rum, wool, leather, with just a whiff of opium. Might have to get more of this.

This one really surprised me straight from the get-go, in the imp, this is deep and dark, where I expected a lighter scent, along the lines of Brown Jenkins, but no - this is really dark and gritty, like something that crawled out of the walls . . .

 

On wet, just as dark. definite sage, sandalwood, leather, fig leaf.

 

Lightens on drydown, lemongrass cuts through the darkness and the fig and leather make this pleasant.

I'll admit, I was worried here. For some reason I thought this might be similar to Inganok Jewellers, which first worked and then failed on me, but the moment I took a whiff from the decant I knew things would be different

 

In the imp - my god, it's just like the name says. I know I sound lame repeating it, but it does smell like stone, and a pitch black night. Like fresh, cool, endless, indifferent night air. Wow.

 

On wet - oh my. There's that stone note still, some light ozone maybe . . . a very light aquatic.

 

Drydown - a lighter, crisper, unproblematic version of Inganok. Nice

A decant I bought for a friend of mine, but I thought I'd have to try it, too, for the sake of curiosity

 

In the imp, this is very pretty. Rich honey and a light breeze of florals that aren't at all cloying, just naturally beautiful.

 

On wet - Honey, chamomile and cistus. More rooted and less airy than the original whiff but very natural, almost as though it belongs to the skin.

 

Drydown - This goes deeper and becomes a truly stunning feminine blend. Floral, but not sweet, it's the scent of wildflowers and honey and secret dark places that one shouldn't go but does anyway A wonderful scent. But then I love honey and chamomile on general principle.

I always wanted to try this, but not enough to buy a new imp. Thankfully, I was just frimped it, so all the better The word 'bandersnatch' will always call forth, in my mind, images of the lupine enemies of the same name in Final Fantasy VII. I like musk, spice and plums, but I do worry this might be too floral to work.

 

In the imp - plums and chrysanthemums, a very magenta sort of scent, and very fruity.

 

On wet - Fruity indeed! Much different from what I expected. Fruity and flowery, bright and red. So far, not really my kind of thing.

 

Drydown - overwhelming cinnamon. Where did that come from? No, certainly nothing for me. I was so certain it would at least work partially but no such luck.

Was frimped this I don't think it'll work on my skin but I'm determined to skin-test every oil I get my hands on, so:

In the imp - lily of the valley, myrrh, frankincense.

On wet - mostly pure lily of the valley and rose, very floral but timelessly so.

Drydown - Rose more noteable now. Very light and pure, and ladylike. Good for anointing my Mary pendant, but not for wear

Just got all my Neverwhere decants and my Croup & Vandemar bottles in the mail today - glee! Can't test them all now though, have errands to run, they'll have to wait until the afternoon, but I did put Vandemar on as my scent for today

 

In the bottle, this is just like its namesake: imposing, dark, somewhat monstrous, very intimidating. On wet, the pepper and opopponax with hints of metal.

 

On the drydown Mr. Vandemar becomes much friendlier. The sandalwood provides a nice base, the pepper takes a quality akin to curry powder - which other reviewers had pointed out before and which was one of the things that intrigued me most about this blend, and I'm glad I'm getting that note on me! Metal barely detectable, gives the blend a nice little edge. Absolutely wonderfully blended. A new favourite!

I've got to admit I've always been curious about this oil. No movie has ever quite traumatized me like Jacob's Ladder (starring Tim Robbins, watch it if you don't want to sleep for a week), but I know the name obviously usually has better connotations, just not to me.

 

However, I'm going to try and push away bad memories by thinking instead of Lost's Jacob, a far more comforting thought.

 

In the imp - very pleasant and golden. I can sense the amber, benzoin and tonka.

 

On wet - Lots of amber, galbanum, lots of tonka.

 

Drydown - A masculine, spicy amber. Love this! A great summer scent.

 

Thank you again to rawgirl75 for gifting me this

Just in time for Panther Moon, rawgirl75 gifted me a sniffie of this; which is good because I need to see how well the star anise behaves on me in spite of all the other win notes

 

In the imp - Yep, the anise is there, as is the agarwood, vetiver and mandarin . . .

 

On wet - A surprisingly complex scent. It's weird, very far away, I smell Chinese takeaway, where did that come from? Mandarin, vanilla, vetiver, anise, definitely.

 

Drydown - This is really amazing, and is making me wonder if I shouldn't pick up Panther Moon after all. I wouldn't have thought for a million years that this would work on me. I mean the musk and the vetiver, sure, maybe the vanilla - but usually citrus fruits (mandarin) and anise are pure death. But this, I can't even put a finger of what works about this, it just does. It's amazing. Purely and utterly amazing. You can detect basically every single note of this blend individually with one whiff, and it's practically overwhelming in its complexity, but in the good way - profoundly impressive. Wow!