rellyjean

Important note: I really don't like rose scents. But then BPAL has managed to do amazing things with notes I would have never imagined I'd like, and the description of Eve sounded exquisite, so I thought I'd give this one a try. See if BPAL could redeem roses for me, as it were. So. I uncapped the vial and got knocked back with the !!!ROSE!!!. I couldn't pick out honey, or apple blossom, or anything other than a huge, thick rose. Kind of a rose that's been out in the rain and is dripping wet and you can smell it across the room. It was wonderful as far as roses go, but again, not a rose fan. So, I was a bit put off by the initial sniff, but then I reminded myself that a lot of the scents vary pretty strongly from the imp to the wrist, and repeating my mantra of "I trust the lab, I trust the lab" I dabbed some onto my wrists. In the vial: big wet rose. Wet: big wet rose. Drying: big wet rose. Half-hour in: big wet rose. Throw: everything in the room smells like a big wet rose. About an hour in, I'm tired of the blast of rose that hits me any time my wrists get near my face, and I figure the other scents have long been drowned out by the fog o'rose, and I give up. Off to wash my wrists. So, I've discovered in the past two weeks that my body chemistry doesn't play nice with red patchouli or roses - one it turns medicinal, and the other it amplifies the living hell out of. This is good to know. But in the meantime, Eve and I must part ways. Sorry, Eve. I still say you were framed. But I won't be smelling your rose.

First impression: the imp is a lot darker than I was expecting. Huh. In the bottle: Mmmm. Spicy and warm. Not quite picking out the cranberries, though. On me: This is weird to try to explain, but - once on, the scent just kind of - didn't go anywhere. It didn't disappear. I could smell it. But it smelled like a generic backdrop of "I'm Wearing Perfume." I couldn't pick out scents or tone. I couldn't find anything in it. It smelled nice, but kind of a background nice and not really anything to it. The really odd thing is that hubby came over and said, Oooh, what IS that? And when I explained to him the problems I was having, he looked at me like I was crazy. He could smell the cranberries, and the spices, and all kinds of notes. The one thing I can think of - !!TMI warning!! - is that I happened to try Lampades on what was a heavy flow day. So my body chemistry was a bit wonky, and possibly my sense of scent was a bit off as well. I'm going to wait until a better time of month and try this again. Come on, cranberries, don't fail me next time.

I am hopelessly, helplessly in love with Kuang Shi. First sniff in the bottle: a bit sharper than I was expecting, and a touch unnerving. I ordered this mostly for the mandarin/mango touches, and I can't pick them out in the imp. Hmmm. Wet: OH MY. The instant this touches my skin, it morphs into something exquisite. The mandarin and mango are lurking way in the background, and up front is - the sandalwood? The musk? I don't know much by way of notes. I cannot stop sniffing my wrists. Drydown: The scent goes through a few light phases - now a touch softer, now a bit fuller, etc - and every single one of them is exquisite. The scent is warm - not the golden glowy wrapped-in-a-blanket warmth of Blood Amber, but the feeling of bare feet on sawdust on a warm day - and complex. There are levels I could get lost in. The sharp tinge to the sandalwood - the thick smokiness - the fruit rounding out the scent, keeping it from being too close to the edge, but never coming out front, content to hide in the background and pull strings. The overall effect is strong, feminine, and powerful. Kuang Shi saunters up to the bar and orders a drink, wearing jeans and a t-shirt, and making them look sexier than any of the thigh-high boots that the girls around her are wearing. She makes them all look like they're just trying too hard. She looks you right in the eye when you talk and throws her head all the way back when she laughs. She's confident and proud and strong, and it's all a challenge laid out before you. I have already ordered a 10-ml bottle of this. I would order the two-gallon size if they offered it. So. Much. Love. Now I have to go sniff my wrists some more.

Just got this imp. Sniffed it and had to try it on right away. In the vial: MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmm. Pear in all its lucious ripeness. sitting on a background of light white florals, juicy and resplendent. Wet: Hmmm. The florals come out to play, and the pear switches to background. Unexpected, but kind of nice. It's now a floral-with-pear instead of a pear-with-floral, but I think I like it. It's delicate and still scrumptious. Drying: Hey, where'd the pear go? 10-15 minutes later: Pear has left the building. Lily of the valley kicked him in the knees and threw him out a window, and is hogging center stage. Damn you, lily. You give me a headache. 30-45 minutes in: Lily, lily, lily, you never change. Or, it would seem, go away. I washed it off before things got any further, because the headache was picking up. (My dad's allergic to lily of the valley, I wonder if I am too.) I really thought I'd love this one. I wonder if my skin amplifies the lily or sucks up the pear? Ah well. Off to the swap pile with thee, Endymion. No fair being such a tease.

This was my first-ever BPAL scent. A lovely way to be introduced, overall, once I discovered the right amount to apply. The very first time I tried this, all of the amber was swallowed up into a very strong, heady, incense scent. And I mean strong. I nearly gave up and washed it off about a half-hour in, as I was developing a headache. After the incense settled down, this warm, rapturous, golden glow came out. Thick, hazy, and soothing. I could not stop sniffing my wrists. The next time I tried, I went lighter instead of slathering it on, which I always want to do when I smell the deliciousness of the bottle. No headache, no overly powerful incense. Just a warm spicy scent that matured into a thick warm blanket. I'm still playing to find the perfect amount that won't get the knock-you-down-across-the-room incense to taunt me but will last with the golden overtones. I'm an insomniac, and I put a dab of this on my wrists the other night so that when I curled up in bed, I could drift away on it. I will be getting a big bottle of this.

DAMMIT. I read the description of Ravenous and I fell in love, hard. Evil orange? SO there. I smelled the imp and swooned. It was this perfect delicious crystalline metallic sweet tangy orange, with an undercurrent of corruption keeping it centered and dangerous. A vixen wearing thigh-high boots and a false-innocent smile. I dabbed it on my wrists, and all of the deliciousness disappeared. It faded into this faintly orange medicinal scent. Not the cough syrup type, more the kind of thing you would put on sore muscles. Similar to Ben Gay but not minty at all, just that sort of linament tinge. Not exactly unpleasant, just - odd, and nothing like the imp at all. I left it on for nearly an hour, and the scent morphed a bit, but nothing could even approach the medicinal tang that wasn't going away. Damn my body chemistry anyways. I wonder if my hormone levels are affecting it? I'll try again at a better time of the month. If not, this one goes into the "swap" pile for me, with a big sign that says "This sexy vamp broke my heart."