mari4212

Wet: Soapy florals, possibly lily, as lily often goes soapy on me.

Drydown: After a bit, a combination of a tea rose and some incense starts to develop. A little while after that, the dragon's blood peeks its head in.

This is a lovely blend for someone else, but it didn't end up working on me at all. Another one to toss into the swaps box.

I'm finding it hard to pick out individual notes on this scent. I think I'm getting the frankincense and carnation strongest, but it's just very thoroughly blended together as a warm and light golden scent.

It sits right on the edge between floral, herbal, and incense scents, with aspects of each, but never quite falling into one easy category for me. And it's absolutely lovely.

On wet: It starts out being very fresh and clean-smelling.

Drydown: Oh no, and I was so hoping this was going to work as another lightweight summer scent. This turns to laundry detergent and baking soda on me. Still clean, yes, but overwhelmingly soapy on me. Not going to work.

Wet: Lavender comes out strongly at first, which is fine by me, because I love a good lavender scent.

Initial drydown: The lavender from before is dying back, and the scent turns into a cooler-toned Dee. That must be the tonka and rosewood interacting with the lavender.

Drydown: As it dries and develops on my skin, the lavender dies back more and more, revealing the tonka, rosewood, and amber. There's still a trace amount of something cooling in here that keeps it away from the warm of Dee, but this is very nice, very nice indeed. I'm not picking up on the patchouli, a major plus for me.

The other scent this resembles, in feel more so than notes, is Lyonnesse, which also remains cool feeling although the notes that stand out on my skin all should be warm. I have a feeling that on me at least, Old Scratch is going to be a similar sleeper hit.

This is a departure for me, as I'm normally wearing the soft vanilla/amber scents.

Tempest is cool and green on me, faintly herbal, but not any one specific herb. On wet, there's a faint hint of citrus, a little like lemon rind or grapefruit. It stays as that greenish scent for a while.

After about a half an hour, something weird happens, and I get the faint hint of a crust of homemade bread that starts out riding along with the green note, and gradually takes over. Like Bread and Butterfly, it's a dry bread smell. I have no idea how my skin chemistry took green-citrus-ozone and turned it into bread, but there you go.

Probably sending this off to swaps, because I have a bread scent already that I prefer.

I'm a newb so I'm afraid I can't be very helpful with recs, but here I am:

 

Let's see. I'm an actor. My three great loves are musical theatre, gender theory, and language. I live off of tea, and I'm also fond of black coffee. I'm more of an aesthete than is perhaps healthy, and although I love science, if anyone tries to get me to do mathematics or repair a machine, I recoil and rant at length about how art is the only human pursuit that is truly worthwhile, until they back away slowly and leave me to my daydreams. I currently speak a fair bit of German, and I'm slowly teaching myself Irish and Mandarin. I read too much -- mainly fantasy and sci-fi with some assorted general fiction and nonfiction thrown in. My favorite authors are Ursula K. Le Guin, Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, and Patrick O'Brian. I'm a huge nerd. I love history, especially maritime history. I think too much. I'm a fairly cheerful person and get very hyperactive very quickly, and people tell me I have a good sense of humour. I'm usually a bit of a prude but occasionally come out with shockingly perverted innuendo, to the great amusement of my friends. I'm often described as being intelligent, but lacking entirely in common sense (a friend once told me I'm blond, but in the back where I can't see it). My hair is naturally black and curly, but currently dyed blue.

My first thought is Dorian, for the tea, the literary references, and a bit of intellectual aesthete. A lot of people say it's sexy, but I don't get that as much from it.

Also, there is no such thing as reading too much. It's just not possible.

Initial thoughts/hopes on reading the scent description after this was frimped to me: Ooh, amber, vanilla and heliotrope? All good scents on me. Cherry? now I'm worried. Strawberry and red musk I've yet to try often enough to know how they'll go.

On wet: This starts off as a strawberry/cherry mix, but avoids smelling like cough syrup.

Initial drydown: The strawberry has gone into hiding, and the cherry is perilously close to cough syrup on me, but there's something sweet going on behind it that's so far keeping the scent out of cold medicine territory.

Full drydown: this is a cherry-vanilla scent, primarily. I think I'm picking up on a bit of the strawberry or heliotrope, because this is also almost candy-sweet.

It's a bit too sticky of a scent for a day like today, it only makes me feel more hot and sticky myself. I'll try it again after the weather cools down for a longer tryout, to see if the amber and vanilla come out more.

In the imp, it smells somewhat sweet, and almost cool.

On wet: Mild citrus over light wood. It's interesting smelling, without being either an instant win or instant fail.

Drydown: The citrus is becoming less prominent, and something is lightly sweetening the woods. This turns into a very lightweight, almost dry woods smell, with just enough sweetness to keep it nice on me.

I'm not sure if I'll be keeping this one, because I'm not sure it fills any needed holes in my perfume sets, but it is lovely.

In the imp: honey, and something else sweet.

On me: unfortunately, the honey disappears entirely. What's left must be the lotus note, and it goes straight to that pink-flavored bubble gum. The kind that doesn't have any specific flavor listed, it's just pink? Yeah, that's where this scent went.

Tossing that one into the swaps box.

This is the kind of rose I was hoping for in Harlot, but never got on my skin. It's rich and sweet without being too overpowering.

The leather is present, but subdued. It's a base note holding the rose in place, not sounding forth much on its own. This isn't like when I left my leather gloves in my purse next to an imp of Two, Five, and Seven, the leather smell doesn't come through as much.

I'm also getting a touch of powdery sweetness when I bring my nose right up against my wrist. I like it, but then, I love sweet smells and a bit of powder.

I'd class this as being like Rose Cross on me, strongly rose with just a little bit more underneath to make it somehow even better.

I second Brisingamen, and also the Salons, particularly Ecstasy of St. Theresa. This is an incredibly complex and gorgeous perfume that could stand alongside anything from the fancy French houses. I would also suggest Tamora and Belle Vinu.

 

What initially brought me to BPAL was the total absence of preservatives and nasty-smelling, throat-closing additives found in those upscale brands, so you might want to mention that to any snobs out there. (And then I stayed for the awesomeness.)

This. I started BPAL my senior year of college, though it took me another two years to join the boards. My roommate that year had major allergic reactions to certain preservatives, one of which is in most commercial perfumes and cigarettes. She was thrilled that BPAL perfumes were ones she could wear without being flattened for the rest of the day. I don't think she ever got any of her own, but she gratefully took the imp of Mata Hari off my hands when jasmine did it's evil death thing on me.

As for what to throw into the box, I'd say like the others, go with some of the classics. I'd also suggest throwing in something fun and creative that shows off the Lab's playful side, like any decants if you have them of the Black Helicopters scents. I think BPAL tends to have a bit more room to play and explore more fun random concepts than a lot of the more traditional perfume houses do.

Gift imp from GirlinDenial in the art swap.

On me, this is lemon and sugar, light and sweet. Perfect for summer wear, though it dies down pretty fast.

This is sort of related, but I got my order of imps the other day and I'm not sure how they open. Do they twist or pop off? I don't want to spill them everywhere!

Hold the bottle steady, and then I kind of wiggle the top off. There's no threads, so twisting isn't necessary. What you need is enough upward thrust to pull the top off, without so much that you jostle the imp bottle.

In the imp, and immediately swiped across my wrists, there's a dark green herbal scent for a minute. Possibly the myrtle?

That scent fades away, and what's left is a rich amber scent. And it's warm and soft amber, my favorite. I love it.

This is along the lines of the Lion and Haunted on me, where the amber is the most predominant note and I love it for that.

Gift imp in a swap.

On me, both dragon's blood and almonds tend to go straight to cherry. This blend turns into a close mimic of Dragon's Milk on my skin, that same cherry scent mixed in with a somewhat honeyed vanilla. I don't get any smoke out of it, and if there's vetiver in here, it's not showing up on me at all, which is a very good thing.

This feels a bit lighter than Dragon's Milk, without the insane amount of waft. I put on Dragon's Milk, and people are complimenting me from twenty feet away. This doesn't have the same wafting feel to it.

I'm debating whether it's a keeper or not, because it is so similar to something I already own and wear rarely.

This is sweet dry cake on me, all the way through.

In comparison to Cockaigne, Eat Me is a dry white cake scent, the cake after it's been baked, but before you've put the fresh cream cheese frosting overtop, whereas Cockaigne was the smell of yellow cake batter and sugar.

Eat Me is a skin scent on me, and it doesn't do much morphing. It does last several hours, and is one I always want to have around, at least in imp form.

Eve definitely tends to go green apple and rose on me. I get no ylang-ylang or honey at all.

In the imp and on wet: Greeny, damp. I can smell the juniper strongly, with the mint adding a slight zing.

Initial drydown: The mint is coming to the forefront. When I hold my arms away from my face, I get a slight waft of mint and something sweet, the lotus, maybe? I don't think I've smelled lotus before, not enough to be able to pick it out.

This fades very fast, down to a light hint of mint and juniper that I can only find by huffing my wrists. I'm getting more from the hint of Rose Cross lingering on my clothing. And while it's a nice enough scent, I don't see me wearing it anywhere. Swaps box time.

In the imp and on wet: Umm. Sweet and rich, with a hit of unfamiliar spice that must be the pink pepper.

Drydown: more of the same. This is pretty and feminine, but with a definite kick to it. It's flirty and cheerful, but with a bit of spunk to it as well. Definitely one to wear on my "I'm having fun" days.

On wet: Oh, gross. The tobacco note is dominant, with a bit of pine and mint underneath. I really don't do well with tobacco, and right now it smells like nasty cigarettes. Luckily the scent isn't wafting much, I can keep my wrists down and see if the drydown improves anything. Antikytheria Mechanism drys down into something nice and wearable, so there's hope for the tobacco note not completely killing this blend on me.

Five minutes into drydown: Well, the tobacco note is gone, at least. Unfortunately, what's left is pine, mint, orange, and a hint of random "perfumey" note. And it's, well, have you ever brushed your teeth with a mint toothpaste and then taken a sip of orange juice too soon afterwards? That utterly foul taste combination that just makes you gag? Yeah, that's what's hitting my nose. Erg. At least it's still not wafting much. I'll scrub it off when I go and do dishes.

Swaps box material.

In the imp, and on wet: Lemon-Lime soda, with an extra kick of lime somewhere in this. It's very green and sweet, but there's something unsettling underneath.

Initial drydown: The soda edge is dying down, and there's something underneath that's turning this mildly unpleasant. Maybe the light florals or the musk aren't playing nicely with my chemistry, there's just an edge here that I'm not enjoying.

ech. This one didn't gel into anything I liked. Swaps.

In the imp: That's the tea note that always goes soapy on me. Erm, we'll see how well this works.

Wet and on: Gardenia, with something else underneath. I'm not getting the soapy tea note yet, and that's normally the first note to show if it is going to come up on my skin. I'm not hugely fond of gardenia, but there's something underneath toning it down a bit and softening. Probably the amber, as it's one of my skin's natural allies. Amber makes everything smell better.

Dry: It's a soft and spicy gardenia-dominant floral. The rose hasn't made an appearance yet, nor the patchouli, unless they're so soft they're undetectable, and just smoothing out the edges.

I like this more than I thought I would, but I'm still debating whether to keep it or not. Gardenia doesn't seem likely to ever be my thing.

Dragon's Milk on me is incredibly strong and long-lasting, so much so that I have to be careful about when and where I put it on. If I get into a car or confined space within the first half-hour or so of having it on, it's strong enough to give me a headache. It also tended to be one people could smell on me from a distance.

Chimera doesn't have nearly the same waft, but it will last for forever on me. I can put it on in the morning, and still smell part of it the next morning when I wake up.

Rose scents, including Marie and Rose Cross, tend to bloom big with the rose for about, then die back to a very light scent.

In general, though, oil based perfumes don't waft as much as the alcohol based ones will. You might try putting some of the perfume on the ends of your hair, it tends to last longer/waft more from there. I've had hetaraie on my wrist and in my hair, and everyone noticed it in my hair, but no one comments on my wrist.

In the imp, and on me wet: Honeysuckle, or maybe a soft lilac? Something sweet and floral. Definitely not what I was expecting, given a dragon's blood mix. Dragon's blood resin tends to go strongly cherry on me. Amber is not strongly present.

Drydown: there's still a floral tone to this, but the amber is showing up now, as that warm/dry sweetness I love. This is very light, a definite skin-scent on me.

Overall, not at all what I was expecting. I thought going in that the dragon's blood was going to bloom big and bloom cherry on me, and that it would be almost overpoweringly rich and heavy. Instead, the amber softens it all, makes it warm and dry and slightly spicy, and with only a little floral sweetness. What I ended up with is a lot better for me than what I had anticipated.

I'm still deciding on what my very first six imps should be so unfortunately I'm not very helpful with recommendations at the moment...I want to see what you all think and help me out if that's okay.

 

I major in illustration. I like working in clay, pastels and colored pencils (mm, pencil wood!) coffee and tea have been my companions for most nights and a part of my artwork too.

My hobbies are kayaking, hiking, traveling overseas, cooking, reading and collecting old books, dumpster diving, making figurines

I can be very introverted unless I'm with my friends then I just act goofy and outgoing.

I like relaxing, I hate conflict but I'm capable of defending myself if I really have to.

I'm easily bored and my taste in interests like music changes a lot (i.e. from glam rock to ska).

I usually wear dark or muted colors. I don't like attracting attention plus it feels cozier.

I'm a picky eater and drinker (most alcohol does not love me)...I feel weird talking about myself. Um, I think that's about it.

 

Any recommendations will be much loved <3

The coffee and old books automatically makes me think of Miskatonic University. Which, on me is utter hazelnut coffee. It's also a comforting and unobtrusive scent, as most people will just assume that you just finished drinking some coffee, rather than notice it's a perfume, which also fits the introversion and the dark cozy requirements.

The outdoors and active lifestyle bit makes me think of Dracul or Slobbering Pine, something with a good evergreen forest feel. Plus, Dracul has a bit of the world travel and old books aspect as well.

Now for me...

I'm one of those quintessential geeky bookworm girls, to the point where if my mother ever needed to find me, she'd just call the library and ask the librarians there to send me home. I'm fascinated by science and religion in equal measures, and my bachelor's degree was an interdisciplinary field that let me take classes in both biology and religious studies. I read fantasy, science fiction, and historical fiction for the main.

I'm very centered on family and friends, and tend to be the support network for a lot of the people I know. I'm a very introverted people person. I'm going into massage therapy as a career because I get to help people and make them feel better on a one-on-one basis.

I've got long red hair, glasses, and am normally wearing long flowy skirts and knit tops, mostly in lighter shades. My favorite neutral is gray, and I tend to wear a lot of blues, greens, and pinks.