Victory

I must amp vetiver like a mad amping thing, because that's all I'm getting. It's fading a little bit in the hour after I put it on, but it's too little too late. I was dying for that gorgeous white musk, but it wasn't to be.

 

Ah well, I'm going to pass this on to my mother, who enjoys vetiver so the imp will have a happy home.

Yes, this does smell like rain! It's very clean, very fresh and invigorating. I have a hard time picking up on BPAL florals, so I can't talk about those, but the aquatic-ness is lovely. Doesn't last very long, but I'll definitely be pulling the imp out when I want to feel clean.

Lucy gets points for being one of two rose scents that I can actually detect rose in. (My nose is weird- I just cannot smell any of the lab's rose notes.) It's almost a tea rose, I think. Nice. I'll hold onto this one.

Myrrh? Check. Patchouli? Check. Vetiver? Check. Lime, vanilla, pine, and almond? MIA. Clove? AWOL. Things are not looking good for me. Myrrh, patchouli and vetiver are yet-to-work notes on me. In fact, if there was sandalwood and frankincense, this would have every note I hate. *sigh* But the lab gifted me with two imps of this, so I figured it'd be worth a try. And once it's dry it's not so bad. But this just really, really isn't for me.

I put on Dove's Heart not because I've had a breakup, but because I've been having a hard time with a neighbor and the very thought of it made me want to cry, so it's not the prescribed usage, but... Dove's Heart is very comforting. I wish I knew what it is that I smell. It's right on the tip of my brain, but I can't grab it. Whatever it is, it's floral, and it's settling something in me. Instead of freaking out and being weepy, I'm all right. I like this very much.

When I put this on, I was thinking Thaleia was the muse of dancing and I kept thinking, but this makes me think of laughter, not dancing. So I guess that tells you how apt this scent is to its purpose!

 

Lovely, lovely apricots and cream. I like this very much.

I took a sniff of Envy in the imp, recapped it, and said, "Oh hell, no."

 

Today, I took a look at the imp and thought, "Self, try this. Don't think about your Jailbait experience. People have enabled with Envy. Go on, try it!" I quickly swiped and waited to smell. Whatever horrific smell is in the imp is luckily not on my skin. I can smell the mint first, then the herbs. It's not so bad a I thought. Later, it's all powder, which may or may not be the lavender.

 

So it's not my thing, but at least I convinced myself to give it a try rather than keep pretending it isn't in my imp box.

Peony Moon smells of beautiful pink peonies, but they're so soft and don't last. I can't smell the oil after a half hour. Too bad.

When I first apply Death Cap, I smell a jumble of notes that I can't identify. My nose gets too confused and shuts off for a while until suddenly, there's this gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous vanilla-ish scent. I know it can't be vanilla because the Lab's vanilla note(s) doesn't show up on me, but... gorgeous.

Oh, my dear Valmont, you are indeed wicked. You smell almost exactly the way one of my exes smelled- clean and warm and comforting. And then you disappear. Why you gotta go breaking my heart like that?

Oh, this is lovely. I got this as a frimp, happily. At first, the citron and lime stand out but after a half hour or so, fade behind the white musk. I don't smell any lilac, which is all right, since the musk is so lovely. I've worn white musk before, but never liked it so much. It's very powdery on me, and I mean it in the best possible way. It's like jumping into a flour bin and smearing the flour powder all over your skin. Lovely.

 

And for those worried about the gentleman part- maybe it's the way Whitechapel wears on my skin, but it's very, very feminine on me.

This is weird. When I have my nose to my skin, I can smell the linen. But away, I'd swear I was wearing Dana O'Shee. It's almondy. So weird. Nice and pretty, but not at all what I expected.

At first, Ultraviolet is all eucalyptus, which is very not good. After about a half hour, it dies down and the neroli picks up, whic is better, and much later the violet peeks out, decides it's too scary, and hides again. Honestly, Ultraviolet is a little scary!

Alecto's hard for me to describe. I don't detect any cedar on my skin, so the main notes must be the leaves, which I am unfamiliar with. The vetiver's pretty strong too. The scent's kind of murky, much like a dark rage, which is appropros. I'm not sure how I feel about this. I don't dislike vetiver, but I'm not a fan, and the other notes don't turn my crank either. We'll see what I do with this one.

Mmm. Pure apricot goodness, but it doesn't last at all on me. I guess this is a good one for wearing before I go to bed because I won't be disappointed at how fast it disappears.

Belladonna is definitely herbal. I don't know which herbs or plants, but they're really present on my skin. I didn't detect any pine, which is just as well for me, but I did get the mustiness, which isn't. I appreciate Belladonna for the idea, and even for the way it smells, but I don't know that this is one I would wear. Very interesting, though.

No florals, no honey, no date palm... on me, Khajuraho is purely sandalwood. I keep forgetting about the passionate love affair that my skin is having with sandalwood. If there's even a drop of sandalwood in a perfume, my skin amps it up to the point that I can't smell anything else for days. Unfortunately, my nose doesn't much care for sandalwood. That said, this is a nice sandalwood on me. But still single note sandalwood.

I love Budding Moon. When I first apply, the plum springs out, followed by the Chinese musk. My skin loves both of these notes, so I'm very fortunate. To me, Budding Moon is a pale lavender scent, and makes me think of stillness, of the moment between the fury of winter and the mad growth of spring. And it lasts on me, even through multiple hours of wearing latex gloves. I am so very glad I got this.

Edited for the description.

Ack! Peanut butter and angry musk. It's ninja peanut butter! As time passes, the peanut butter tones down a wee bit and lets the sugar come out. But it's all too little, too late for me. On my skin, that is. This stuff is super thick, and some got on my sweatshirt, and it smells lovely and sugary. Wonky skin chemistry, I smite thee!

This is one of the more perfumey-perfumes in the BPAL catalog. The amber is a thick, dense cloud that hovers just over my skin. Today I can't smell the apple blossom, and I haven't gotten any myrtle, but even just ambery, it's beautiful.

I got a frimp of this in one of my orders a while back, and really never intended to try it because none of the notes spoke to me. Sandalwood love my skin, but my skin doesn't love it back, wood scents tend to be very prone to a miss, as can orris, and I didn't have any experience with dragon's blood. So I tried this on when I was sick and couldn't smell much, just to say I had tried it, and it wasn't bad. I put it on again this afternoon, and I have been pleasantly surprised. Yes, it is dry, but also...... sweet? The sandalwood hasn't gone crazy on my skin, and the wood is nice. I don't know that I would order this, but I'm very glad I got to try it. Maybe I'll give some of the other Ars Draconis scents a chance now.

Rose! I say this with a smile, because as yet, no other rose blend has been particularly "rosey" on me. This is rose without any other note to distract my nose. It's lovely and full, almost to the point of cloying. The smell almost reminds me of the scent of a friend's mother's tea rose oil just for straight-up rosiness. I'm not a huge rose fan, but I'll keep this bottle for when I'm feeling the need for roses.

Midwinter's Eve starts really fakey smelling. I don't think it's fruit punch so much as just... I don't know. Fake. Once it's dry, it turns into an incredibly sweet scent. I don't get much floral or fruit, just gently fading sweetness. (Can I describe scent or what?) I would have NEVER guessed it, but I really love sweet scents, so I'm a fan of this.

Persephone smells really musty on me. My guess is that it's the pomegranate that's causing it because, although my body doesn't do really well with rose, it's never smelled like that. Luckily or unluckily, Persephone really didn't stick around. I'm glad the Lab gifted me with this, because I had wanted to try it. It's disappointing, but not everything will work.

 

ETA: Two years later, whether through aging or body chemistry change, I find that Persephone is so much better. When the oil goes on, I can smell the sweet, red pomegranate, then the rose and pomegranate come together and now I see why people enjoy this scent. Very nice.

Alas, alas. I can smell the rose in the bottle, but on me Rose Red is all greenery. Nice, frozen greenery, but greenery all the same. Maybe at a different time of the month this will work better.