sunlitgarden

So glad this thread is here! When I visited the BPAL booth at Sakura-con, this is exactly what I asked for! They recommended Misk U and Buggre but, at least in the bottle, they weren't what I was looking for. Magus, though, smelled a lot closer to what I had in mind. I haven't been able to test it more extensively (I was very overwhelmed at the con!) but it definitely seems promising. The description: "An ancient blend, swollen with arcane power: galangal, high john essence, frankincense, cedar, and sandalwood."

Opuhi Wet, the first thing I think of is fruit punch syrup. It gets more pleasant as it dries though. Tropical deliciousness -- the ginger blossom adds a nice bit of spice.

Needlework Needlework is heaven if you're a lilac lover (which I am). Lilac is very dominant in this blend, especially when wet. After several hours I can smell the musk and ginger more. It's a lovely light floral, perfect for spring. I'm very glad I got a bottle.

Thouros I had to try this because of the lychee -- I LOVE lychees! This is a nice fruity-floral, sweet but with an edge of tartness. The rose is well balanced in this blend on me, and doesn't dominate like it sometimes does. I probably won't track down a bottle, but I will enjoy my decant.

Event Horizon In the imp: Thick, dark, heavy, smoky. I don't like orchid or opium, but it was a frimp, so I gave it a whiff anyway. It's really not my style though and I'm actually afraid to try it on my wrist, because these tend to cling and not go away even after scrubbing.

Bewitched Yum! I'm a berry fan, and I like this. It was a frimp, and since it smelled good I tested it without knowing the notes. I wrote down "raspberries and tea" and was pleasantly surprised to see that it does indeed have tea in it. I'm getting better at this! The musk is coming out a bit more now, and I really like this overall. Tart, yet deep/dark. Mmmm... this may end up on the bottle list, but I want to drink it!!!

The Great Sword of War In the imp and wet on my skin, my first thought was "buttered popcorn flavor jellybeans." Then I smelled a strong citrus (checking the notes, I guess it's the mandarin) with a spicy background. It's not unpleasant, but much foodier than I expected from the name! It kind of reminds me of an fancy type of tea (and I see that tea is listed in the notes.)

Milk Moon 2007 My girlfriend and I interpreted this as "pineapple yogurt". Pineapple isn't on the listed notes, but I think the combination of the other fruits combines to make a slightly sharp, acidic scent that my nose interprets as pineapple. It's definitely interesting... I think it's a scent for a particular mood, not for general wear, but I do like it.

Zombi Freshly turned earth and dusty roses. I LOOOOVE this and it's changed my mind about dirt notes!

Does anyone know if Kumiho is similar to the (now a website-only "Classic") Bath & Body Works White Tea and Ginger? I love that scent, but it is only sold in a few items now. (I have learned that note descriptions can sometimes be deceiving!)

Coyote Very earthy. It smells mostly woody and musky, with some herbs/grass. It's light, without much throw -- I have to stick my nose right up against my wrist to smell it. It's pretty masculine to me, it has a cologne-y vibe, but I still find it wearable. My girlfriend says it smells sexy on me. I'll be keeping the imp.

Bensiabel A frimp from the lab. I like lilac but probably would not have chosen this on my own because of the leather, which I'm iffy on. Bensiabel is a fruity floral, a little bit too heavy and cloying for me. I don't really smell the leather at all when it's wet, but it comes out a bit more as it dries down. It's okay but not particularly memorable to me. I like the idea of fruity florals but a lot of them are just not working well on me.

Les Bijoux In the imp and wet, there's a weird almost menthol-y sharpness, almost a bitterness, to this that I can't really identify. It's a nice fruity-floral, but that weird sharp note kind of ruins it for me. I really enjoy the skin musk+honey combination (Bengal is one of my favorite scents) but it doesn't really do it for me here. The rose comes out more as it dries, but there's this weird note in the background that smells soapy/plasticy to me. Seems like my chemistry and this scent just don't work After completely dry, it smells better (I am getting whiffs of honey), but still not amazing. If I want honey and roses, I like Alice a lot better. This is probably a swap. edit: After reading some other reviews, some people have guessed there's jasmine in this, and if there is, that could very well be the problem. Jasmine seems to go bad on my skin.

<b>Cathedral</b> Wet: CEDAR!!!!! It is primarily a woody smell with cedar being dominant. As it dries: The incense/resins are coming out more now, making it a bit smoky and musty. Despite the name I don't really associate it with church (even though I was raised Catholic). It does remind me of an old wood building, though, and it is comforting. This is a lab fresh imp. I am curious as to how aging may change it. EDITED 9/13 (4-ish months later): The cedar is calming down now and it's warmer and more resinous and complex. I like it better now!

White Chocolate, Black Raspberry, and Apricot Cordial Truffle Yum! This smells like the name implies. It has good throw, though the initial strong fruitiness and slight booziness fade as it dries on my skin. I think a decant is all I need of this, but it's great for wanting to smell edible!

Okayaki I was going to pass on this one, but a last-minute decant made me change my mind. Okayaki is light and fresh without being overly floral or fruity (which I usually associate with the "fresher" scents). It's soft and a little sweet, and to me, somehow feels both warm and cool, making it suitable for almost any weather. It reminds me faintly of olive oil, but in a good way, and it's not foody. (Maybe the olive blossom? I don't actually know what olive blossoms smell like.) I don't really have anything to compare it to, except to say that I really like it and ordered a bottle.

Lyonesse I really love this one! All the components blend really well to produce a warm, glowing ambery vanilla. After several hours it does smell a bit powdery but in a good way (to my nose, at least.) After a workday, what remains is a slightly aquatic vanilla. Adding this to my bottle list!

Pannychis I had a really bad reaction to this. It reminded me of the sickly-sweet smell of a port-o-potty and makes me nauseous. Had to scrub but it's still there. Swaps. GET IT AWAY Much later Edit: It appears that the culprit in this is jasmine and, apparently, indole, which is found in it. Very interesting. o_O

Kubla Khan I don't like smoky scents, but I thought I would give it a fair chance. It is a complex scent and I can see how many people would like it. It's too smoky and masculine for me, though. It does have a sort of freshness that I wasn't expecting (jasmine and maybe something else.) Edit: At the end of the day, the vanilla smells rich and sweet, very nice. Unfortunately, I still don't really care for most of the notes. Swap pile for this one.

Dragon's Milk I'm still getting used to dragon's blood... Right away, this is sweet and cherry-like, but with some spice. It smells a bit medicinal at first (I suspect it's the cherry aspect). There's a soft smoothness with the vanilla and honey that reminds me of almonds/marzipan. I do smell a bit of smoke as it dries. I am still not really sure what I think of it. It reminds me of some sort of candy. I'm not crazy about it, but it does seem like it has the potential to be an acquired taste for me. EDIT: It certainly lasts! I put it on yesterday evening and I can still smell traces this morning.

Dark Chocolate & Key Lime Truffle Yum! This is definitely dark chocolate, it smells chocolatey but not particularly sweet. The lime isn't overpowering, which I was worried it would be - they balance nicely. I want to lick myself! Dry, though, it smells a little weird, kind of musty like another review mentioned, but it's not entirely unpleasant. It really is yummy at first though! Probably won't be bottle-worthy but I'll enjoy my decant.

Alice This is a really nice light floral on me. Soft rose with a hint of spice (carnation) that becomes more prominent as it dries. It is very light on me, I have to really sniff my wrist to get a good whiff of it, but that makes it perfect for a day to go lighter on scent. I'm not really smelling the milk and honey separately, but suspect they add to the general softness and smoothness of the scent. Edit: I just got a whiff of honey! Makes it even nicer since I love honey

I sniffed a friend's imp (that she was trying to trade away) and got some on my finger, so I smelled it both wet and sorta-dry. I really didn't like this at all. Strong musk and florals -- way too heavy for me. It smells sickly sweet. I had to scrub more than once to get it off, so I imagine it would be very long-lasting. Nobody else who was there liked it either, so maybe it was just "off" or something?

I bought a bottle of this at Sakuracon. In the bottle and wet, it smells fruity (currant) and winey. It smells drinkable! Dry, it mellows out to a sweet honey floral. This is my favorite of the "springy" scents I've tried, I just love it!

I didn't get florals with this one. In the imp it smells smoky and strongly spicy, somewhat bitter. It's about the same wet on me, but the smoky-spiciness actually brought to mind a BBQ. It lasts a long time on me, and I find the drydown to be quite pleasant and woodsy-smelling. Smoke smells aren't my favorite, though, and I find it hard to get over the initial barbecue note. O_O