Miyabi

London, definitely. It's the closest true rose scent I've found in BPAL so far.

There is no vanilla in this. Only spices, spices, spices, and they're way too strong for me. Off to swaps for this one.

In the imp: Cherry flavored...oh, there's the honey. On skin: Honey honey honey. HONEY. Whoever compared this to Lush's Honey I Washed The Kids was right on. Drydown: Oooh, this is lovely. Vanilla's weaving in and out, and it's very light and sweet. I'm not getting any of that SEX SEX SEX vibe. This is the innocent sweet scent I can see myself wearing on dates, and it's not headache inducing. I've a date this weekend, will try it out then.

While I got an intense lilac when sniffing Dragon's Eye, but on my skin, it went kinda...weird. I could smell the lilac from far away, but when I brought my wrist up for a sniff, it wasn't there. I'd kill for a Blue Lilac SN imp or 5 ml bottle--I'm a huge lilac lover.

Out of all the rose scents I've tried from BPAL, I think London, hands down, is perfect for you. That's the truest rose I've smelled, and one that stays on my skin. I've yet to try out Black Rose, actually. Persephone is candied rose, Kurukulla came out as some sort of potpourri scent later both times I used it (and Persephone did a better job), and Eve came out as honey and ylang ylang on me. Two, Five, and Seven was real disappointing, since it came out as flowered beer on my skin.

I got an herbal sort of scent from the oil when I opened it up. There's a light jasmine note that makes it sweet, but it doesn't really come out. Today I burned a CD with the photos for a photography contest, and burned a candle with the oil as I was doing that, and as I was writing the captions, and then anointed the envelope with a few dabs. We'll have to see what turns up.

In the imp: Maraschino cherry, touched with vanilla. Mmmm. Kinda candyish though. On skin: That cherry sure does like to come out. My mom said she smelled almonds. Drydown: Cherry-touched vanilla. It's lovely, but it's not what I want to smell like. Off to swaps.

Decided to be experimental and swiped this across wrists and collarbone. In the imp: Fruuuuuity. It reminds me of all that tutti-frutti someone was talking about when I was little. No sign of the florals, but I get the idea of intense fruit punch. Wet: The grape note's really coming out on this. It stings a little. Man, I hope it's not like this on the drydown. Drydown: Fruity bubblegum and candles. No thanks. Off to swaps.

Ugh. I had such high hopes for Two, Five, and Seven, but in the imp, it didn't smell like roses, and later, as it dried on my skin, it came out, but with this boozy note. I smell like a frat carpet where someone brought rose-flavored beer. Off to swaps.

When I sniffed the imp, I thought, "Where's the rose?" and then it bloomed on my skin. It's definitely juicier than London by far, but that might be the pomegranate, which, I should note, I can't smell. It could be my allergies, but right now I can only detect a hint of rose--London was showier. But it's definitely there, and that's what counts.

Oh, wow. This is good. It doesn't smell overtly sexy and vampish, but sweet and warm in that wholesome girl-next-door who you still like way. I like this a lot. I don't know whether it necessarily calls for a big bottle yet, but definitely another imp.

In the imp, sniffed: Herbal chocolate? With some apple lurking in the background. On skin, wet: The chocolate note comes out more noticeably, followed by the herbs and the spiced amber. No sign of the apple, which was what I was looking for in this oil blend. There's a slight fruitiness, but it doesn't say "APPLE." Drydown: Chocolate and amber, the apple's completely gone, as is any fruitiness. It's nice enough, but not for me. Off to swaps. I guess I'll have to look to Hesperides for a true apple scent.

In the imp, sniffed: fruity cinammon. Wet, on skin: still fruity, but more of a sweet undertone to it. Drydown: stays the same. If I were to use this, it wouldn't be for something I'd wear every day--more like for the voodoo powers it's got--not really me. I wound up overspilling some onto a candle two days ago, so I think I may need a new imp!

In the imp: A sharp green rose. Not very sweet. Wet on skin: Where'd it go? Drydown: Ah, there it is. The rose needed time to bloom, and it's staying on my skin so far, even now, when it's beginning to fade, I can tell it's a rose. Along with Sea of Glass, I might need a big bottle of this.

In the imp: Salted citrus! Oh, boy! That did not smell like that when I uncorked it a day or so ago. Wet, on skin: The citrus fades into the background, and then the salt tang takes over. It's what makes it from smelling like those generic aquatic scents, that almost bitter salt note. Drydown: the salt fades back a bit, but it's still really pretty. The florals are coming out to play on this one. Eight hours later: it's faded almost to a whisper on my skin. Almost like holding a shell up to your ear and listening for the waves. I think I'm going to need a big bottle of this, pronto.

In the imp: Damn, that's sharp and green. Green, green, green. Wet on skin: There's some lemon coming out, I'm not sure what. But it's beginning to smell like that Elizabeth Arden Green Tea lotion I had when I was in my first year of college. Drydown: The scent still remains, and it smells wonderful. Light, fresh and herbal. It's going to be hard to decide between this and Embalming Fluid.

In the imp: Cherry flavored cough syrup? What? On the skin, wet: Whoa. This is sweet. I'm smelling the lotus, mostly, but the rose is there as an undercurrent. Drydown: Candied lotus, with roses weaving in and out of the background. It's like a huge pool of sugared lotus blossoms sprinkled with rose petals. Keeping the imp. Yum.

In the bottle: Lemon and cream together. Like a lemon ice cream or something. On the skin, wet: Oh, the lemon's not coming out. It's more or less turning into something really sweet and buttery. Is that the vanilla coming out? Drydown: Oh, no. That's the musk. Hmm. And this isn't very nice and light for a wind...it's kinda heavy, like a very womanly perfume. I'm not too sure about this, since my bro sniffed it and kinda went "Arrrrgh," (he did it for Skadi too). Verdict: It's...well, nice, but the musk is a bit heavy on this one. If I wanted something with the musk, I've got the imp of Juliet which smells a lot nicer. I might not put it off to swaps, but I'd have to think about it.

Sniffed in the imp: Whoa, ow. Sharp cucumber with something else underneath. On skin: Agh, sharp. Not cucumber, but something that's very astringent. This isn't sweet at all. Drydown: It's mellowing out some. There's some strange burnt smell lingering around, and it's a lot nicer. Maybe off to swaps. I think it's nice, but it's something I'd like to smell on a guy instead.

In the imp: Lemon tea! Mmm. Wet on skin: Oooh, lemon lemon lemon. It's like I'm wearing lemonade. Drydown: It disappeared for a bit, but now I'm getting this sense of Elizabeth Arden's Green Tea, which is a perfume I'm gradually running out of right now. Ahhh. Not sure on a bottle of this, though I'll keep the imp for sure.

In the imp: Holy crap, it's Estee Lauder's Youthdew! Arrrrgh! On skin, wet: Hmm, not so bad. The strong Youthdewness of it fades, and it's very very floral. Almost goes to a powder on my skin. I can's smell the pear, though the flowers are very present. Drydown: Ooh, the musk's come out. It's making this scent seem more natural and buttery. I usually didn't think I'd like musk, but this smells very nice. Definitely will use up the imp. It's not screaming "big bottle NOW" at me right now.

In bottle: Oooh, interesting. Smells lemony and sweet. Wet on skin: Eugh. This smells like...like lemon drops on me. Sugary lemon gumdrops or somesuch. Drydown: Nope. The lemon's faded in the background, and now it's some sort of fruity candy on my skin. I wanted to like this. I really did. I read the description and went, "awesome!" and alas, I think Vinland, along with Medea and Eve, are probably off to swaps. Darn.

In bottle: Hooo, that's strong stuff right there. Wet on skin: OK, I don't know what it is, but I feel like my nose has been punched with something smoky, like sweet tobacco. Drydown: It calms down a little, but the smell's turned into the potpourri smell of this house I used to go to that made me sick after a while. It's beginning to cause a headache. I guess Medea's fury even overpowered me. Off to swaps.

In the bottle: ...the child of dryer sheets and fruit punch. Wet on skin: Oooh. Clean, but still sweet. The fruity note isn't there. There's an edge to this I find interesting. Drydown: Fruity note peeks out for a little while, but then it disappears. The scent's still got that clean-with-an-edge going on. The edge is what keeps it from getting into dryer sheet territory. I don't think I'd get a big bottle of this, but I'll definitely keep the imp. This has a lot of staying power, too--I put it on this morning and it didn't come off until tonight's shower.

In the bottle: Lightly spiced pine, with a slight bubblegum tinge to it. On skin, wet: Oooh, pine! I'm not getting the cold images I originally had. Well, maybe for a second, but it's drying to something warmer. I'm getting images of sweet pine. Drydown: Sugar n' spice pine, with a slight menthol tang to evoke the coldness. Oh, my. This is delicious. I'm going to have to get my hands on a big bottle or see if the Yule 2005 scents divulge anything like this. ETA: Final drydown, I'm not so keen on. It lingers, since it's been more than a day since I put it on, but it doesn't smell like pine. It's like, a dryer sheet sort of nondescript sweetness. My brother doesn't like it, and originally I bid on a big bottle, but since I've been outbid, I think I'll just hold onto the imp or try my luck if there's a 2005 edition of Skadi out. I still think it was pretty amazing, though. Now this one, she has me sold on BPAL.