Ghost of a Rose

In the vial: This is odd, but it reminds of of some kind of thick black medicinal syrup. And/or black molasses with overtones of grapefruit. But the overall impression is incensey rather than citrus. A very dark scent, and almost sickeningly sweet. On me, wet: Same as in the vial. So far, I don't like this one. I don't care for the pairing of incense/wood with super-sweet notes. On me, after 10 minutes: It has lost the cloying sweetness, but still doesn't appeal to me. It's incense, wood, and yes, smoky. And there's a spiciness, almost like clove - maybe the elemi or just the way everything blends together? In any case, more of a guy thing. After 20 minutes: Much better now. To me it smells like clove and smoke with a bit of amber. Still not really "me," but at least now it is pleasant. After 30 minutes: The incense notes have come back into play and are now equal to the clove-like note as it fades. After 1 hour: Softer and nicer. Still clove and incense, with the smokiness no longer so aggressive. After 2 hours: Subtle and warm now. Champaca and amber, with that mysterious hint of clove. After 3 hours: Very faint. It might still be noticeable by someone else (who hasn't been sitting in a cloud of it for the past few hours), but to me it is more or less gone. More than 12 hours later, I noticed that the clothes I had been wearing when I put this scent on my wrist still carried the scent - at its best. I really like that. It might convince me to keep this. Verdict: it is pleasant enough after the first 20 minutes, but not my thing. A man might like it, or a woman who prefers incense-and-wood scents. My rating: 3.5 stars, round to 3

In the imp: Oil is clear and amber in color. The fragrance isn't particularly floral - it's mostly incensey myrrh and musk. But if I keep sniffing, I do pick up a little rose. On me, wet: Much the same, although I don't have to try, to be able to smell the rose. And there's a bit of ylang ylang too, being uncharacteristically discreet. After 15 minutes: For a couple of minutes as it began to dry, the ylang ylang started to dominate, but now rose has taken the lead, which to me of course is a good thing. All of the other notes are still very much present as well, though. This isn't a fresh green rose fragrance, but a dark and mysterious one perfectly evocative of the name. Lovely, sultry, sexy, a little spicy in an incensey way. Like the ghost of Cleopatra. After 30 minutes: My first thought is that this is almost a single-note rose scent now, with just a little myrrh and musk whispering in the background. But the longer I sniff at my wrist, the more I notice them. The ylang ylang has given up and gone away. Overall, this is softer and more subtle than many rose perfumes are. After 1 hour: The rose is fading, allowing the myrrh and musk to take the lead again. This blend doesn't exactly morph - it does retain a consistent character. What it does is, it emphasizes different notes at different times. After 2 hours: Mostly incensey myrrh and musk now. There's only a faint trace of rose left. After 3 hours: Same as above. After 4 hours: Same as above. After 8 hours: The rose has faded away, but the myrrh and musk are still clearly discernible. After 11 hours: The musk lingers on long after all the other notes have vanished. It makes for a pleasant and long-lasting finale. (ETA) Verdict: The Phantom here is of course The Phantom of the Opera - with a red rose held in front of his mask as in the logo for the play. (And accompanied by the ghost of Cleopatra.) Lovely, intriguing, fairly unisex, and fully-realized in concept. My rating: 4.5 stars

My imp is a decant from the lovely and generous spiresinthesnow. In the imp: Oil is clear and a light yellow-beige color. Right off the black I get all of the notes: Black tea, oakmoss and to a lesser extent, anise, are strongest; the first impression is of bitter herbs. Then along comes the the mango which smells like the fruit - I'm not getting any floral note. The wolfberry might be blending in with that, I don't know what it smells like. On me, wet: Much like in the imp except that the mango is stronger. The other various notes seem to be vying for attention, with first one and then another coming into play and constantly shuttling back and forth. The bitter herbs are not as dominant as they were in the imp, but are still strong players. It is an exceedingly unusual and complex unisex kind of fragrance. After 20 minutes: Same as above. After 30 minutes: The mango keeps taking over more and more as the other notes fade. But they are all still around. The anise is developing more of its licorice aspect, which is a startling combination with the mango, but as it turns out, they go amazingly well together. I have some cool star anise earrings that my niece made for me, and I've been looking for the right perfume to wear with them. Well, here it is! After 1 hour: Pretty much the same. This blend doesn't morph - it stays fairly consistent, with the only change being that the mango gradually becomes more dominant. After 1 hour and 15 minutes: A strange and rather piercing petroleum-like odor has very suddenly developed. It must be something weird my skin chemistry is doing to the scent. After 2 hours: Fortunately, the tarry smell lasted only a few minutes, disappearing completely as suddenly as it came. But it took most of the remaining scent with it. It's virtually gone now. Verdict: I really like this for how unusual it is and for the amazing bittersweet contrast between the mango and the anise, tea, and oakmoss. I'm going to order a bottle to wear with my star anise earrings! My rating: 4 stars

My imp is a decant from the lovely and generous spiresinthesnow. In the imp: Oil is clear and a pale yellow in color. I can only smell a single note - of pine/ snow. On me, wet: Pine and now, an even stronger, sinus-clearing, eucalyptus. I chose this blend to try because of the delicate florals and the peach - I hope they will show up! After 10 minutes: The sharp eucalyptus has vanished, and now it's back to all pine again. There may be some teasing hints of other things starting to come out, though. After 20 minutes: Nope, not really. There might be the teeny-tiniest hint of peach musk timidly peeping out, but it's so faint that it's just as likely to be my imagination. After 30 minutes: Yes, the peach musk is now definitely there, to sweeten and balance the pine. And maybe some cherry - the fruit, although there are some florals showing up too. The pine has settled down significantly, but this is still a pine-based scent. It's gentler and much more interesting now. After 1 hour: The pine has finally agreed to share the limelight, and all the notes (besides pine, they are the musk and some mild florals - the slight fruitiness is gone) are now well-balanced. The overall fragrance has become very soft and subtle. After 2 hours: The musk has gone powdery, something that it always does on my skin. But I don't have a problem with that. Ditto for the florals, which are barely there now anyway. After 5 hours: A little powdery musk still remains. Verdict: I love the concept, and the choice of ingredients evokes it successfully. I also love the artwork. This is a nice pine-and-musk winter fragrance, and my imp is just the right amount for me. The florals are not a strong enough presence here for me to need a full bottle. My rating: 4 stars

Wow, with all these things in it, it's anybody's guess what this is going to smell like! My imp is a frimped partial decant from the lovely and generous spiresinthesnow. In the imp: Oil is colorless and the color is a delicate pale beige with a tinge of pink. OK, here goes . . . I smell fruit, lots of it, especially orange and tangerine. With some unidentifiable florals in the background. On me, wet: On me, it's a lot more complex. The citrus still dominates, but there is far more nuance. It's so complicated that it's hard to tell, but I think I can pick up lychee, kumquat, peach, and dragon's blood along with those florals. It's really quite nice, not as obnoxiously foody as it sounds. After 10 minutes: It reminds me of some kind of delicate fruity candy . . . I know, Turkish Delight, the real kind with the floral waters. After 30 minutes: The fruitiness has lightened up a bit, but so have the florals which were never that strong to begin with. It's difficult to describe now, and almost impossible to identify any specific note. There's still some fruit, now more generic. The fragrance is also a little incensey, and and a little powdery. After 2 1/2 hours: Almost gone. A hint of incense and powder is all that remains. Verdict: I'm not a fan of foody perfumes, so I won't need a bottle, but I have to admit this is really intriguing. The sense (scents? haha) of exotic Asian fruits does come across, even with the orange and tangerine dominating. I'm glad I got the chance to try this, and will hang on to my imp. My rating: 4 stars

My imp is a decant from the lovely and generous spiresinthesnow. In the imp: The oil is clear and a light yellow color. The fragrance is heavenly - a beautiful rose note with a hint of woodiness. On me, wet: The same. The woodiness gives the rose a musty, almost mildewy aspect. That sounds bad, but it isn't. It's like finding your grandmother's dried wedding bouquet in a wooden chest in a basement. Beautiful, antique, full of memories. After 10 minutes: Mostly rose. I'm not getting much of the oude at the moment. After 20 minutes: Back to the woody/musty rose. After 30 minutes: No change. Just as we might expect from a blend that contains only two ingredients, the fragrance remains rather consistent. It is long-lasting and stays the same for many hours after the initial drydown. After 11 hours, I can still smell the perfume on my wrist. The oude has evaporated first, and the scent is now a soft but clear single-note rose. Verdict: A beautiful and long-lasting perfume for rose lovers. I don't like the old-rose fragrance quite as much as I do other, fresh-cut, rose blends, but only slightly less. I do love this and will purchase a full vial. My rating: 5 stars

My imp is a decant from the lovely spiresinthesnow. In the imp: Oil is clear and a light yellow color. Mmm, it smells beautiful - gardenia, magnolia, lilies, a little rose; with a tiny hint of a mildly bitter green note that reminds me of neroli. That must be the bergamot. On me, wet: On me it is much sweeter and a little fruitier, but the flowers are still the main game, especially gardenia and magnolia. Gorgeous! I've been looking for a great magnolia-based scent. This might be it. After 10 minutes: The green note is stronger, giving it something of an orange-blossom-like fragrance. Which is one of my favorites, so of course I'm loving this, especially mingled with the other heavenly white flowers. I do get the reference to sorrow - these are funeral flowers rather than wedding flowers. After 20 minutes: Now the white musk (my favorite of the musks) is coming out, making this seem drier and a little powdery (in a good way.) After 30 minutes: Like an expensive white-flowers-and-musk body powder, with just the teensiest hint of the citrus-y bergamot to give it sparkle. After 1 hour: The same, but considerably faded. This blend stays pretty consistent rather than morphing much. After 2 hours: Same as above. After 3 hours: Almost completely gone. I kept expecting the sandalwood to show up in the final drydown, but it never really made an appearance, although it may have added subtle nuance. Verdict: The rose isn't particularly noticeable in this, but with so many other beautiful florals, I love it anyway. It isn't very long-lasting, but I can reapply it often or wear it in the perfume locket to make it last longer. My rating: 5 stars

My imp is a decant from the lovely and generous spiresinthesnow. In the imp: Oil is clear and a very pale yellow in color. I'm not familiar with the scent of peonies (they don't grow in my area.) But this is a beautiful fragrance that seems almost fruity. I don't detect any note of vanilla; maybe the flower has a different scent than the bean pod. On me, wet: The same lovely scent that seems both floral and fruity. After 10 minutes: No change. After 20 minutes: Pretty much the same, but now decidedly more fruity/foody than floral even though the only ingredients listed are flowers. The fruitiness has a candy-like quality to it. I'm also noticing something that reminds me of root beer. I remember thinking the same thing about another blend that had vanilla orchid in it. Maybe that's what the vanilla orchid smells like to me, or on my skin. After 30 minutes: The scent has now become rather artificial in character, like a root-beer-and-fruit-flavored-candy-scented plastic toy. It's probably just something my skin chemistry is doing to it, and might not happen if I wore it in the perfume locket instead. After 1 hour: It is much lighter, and most of the fruitiness is gone. Now it is vanilla bean (a note I haven't smelled before in this) and root beer. After 2 hours: Only a faint trace of vanilla lingers. Verdict: Intriguing and unusual, especially at first when the floral notes are more fully present. The overall effect is too foody in character to make me lust after a full bottle, but I will keep my imp and enjoy using it up. My rating: 4 stars

My imp is a decant from the lovely spiresinthesnow. In the imp: Oil is clear and a pinkish light yellow color. I first smell roses, then lilac comes in with equal strength, and I can also pick up a little honey. On me, wet: The immediate fragrance is all rose, and very beautiful. After a couple of minutes, it is much the same as in the imp, but more nuanced (undoubtedly from the other flowers, which I don't have enough familiarity with to identify specifically.) I knew that from either the name or the description alone I'd want a full vial of this, and it fully lives up to my expectations. I'm in rose-and-lilac heaven! After 10 minutes: It has already lightened up quite a bit as it dries; and the subtler nuances have faded away. But the rose and lilac remain and are two of my most-favorite-scents-ever, so they can inspire my adoration all by themselves. As beautiful as each one is alone, the two are stunning in combination. After 20 minutes: Save as above. After 30 minutes: Still swooning . . . After 1 hour: The scent has lost some of its freshness and has gone a little plastic. That's not a flaw in the perfume, but something that my skin chemistry does to a lot of scents. It still also has the lovely floral notes, and I know that if the tinge of plastic bothers me, I can wear this in the perfume locket instead of - or as well as - on my skin. That would also be a great way to retain the subtle nuances of the shorter-lived top notes (the honey, rice flower, and peony.) After 2 hours: Almost completely gone. There's just the faintest trace of a somewhat plastic-y rose note remaining. After 7 hours: I'm pleasantly surprised to find that although very, very faint, what is left of the fragrance has returned to a true rose. Verdict: For flower lovers only. It isn't a long-lasting scent (at least not with any strength), but this is too beautiful to care about that. I can reapply often or wear it in the perfume locket to make it last longer. There was never a moment when I doubted that I would want a full bottle of this. I've already ordered it! My rating: 5 stars

My imp is a decant from the lovely spiresinthesnow. In the imp: Clear, bright yellow oil. Mmm, beautiful! Honeysuckle, pear, and lily-of-the-valley with a mild bit of the ozone. On me, wet: Just the same as in the imp. After a couple of minutes, it's already less floral and more pine, sandalwood, and moss, with the pear adding sweetness. After 10 minutes: Mostly pine. A nice unisex, snowy, scent, but I'm pining (heehee) for those gorgeous flowers. The pear has gone as well. After 20 minutes: Same as above. After 30 minutes: Same as above. After 1 hour: Still mostly pine and ozone, but softer now. And with nuances of sandalwood, musk, and amber. After 2 hours: Quite faded, but now that the pine is gone, the floral and pear notes are faintly discernible again; along with the musk and amber. Verdict: I like this, but I really loved it in those few initial moments when the florals were dominating. I'm thinking it might stay like that for a while if I wear it in the scent locket. It would rate 5 stars and a bottle if it does. Later ETA - In the scent locket: It does stay as beautiful - for about 18 hours now - in the scent locket as it was in the first couple of minutes on my skin. The honeysuckle and pear are still there, the pine is behaving itself discreetly, and I can detect all of the other notes. It's heavenly! After reading the other reviews, I'm thinking that what my nose interprets as "pine" is the snow note. My rating: 4 stars on my skin, 5 stars in the perfume locket

My imp is a decant from the generous azurephoenix. In the imp: Perfume is a deep, rich, golden yellow. The fragrance is strongly chocolate and vanilla, with some pomegranate and the faintest breath of rose and nutmeg. On me, wet: Chocolate is the primary note, with vanilla and pomegranate. I don't notice the rose. As it begins to dry, within the first couple of minutes the chocolate lightens up, allowing the most beautiful floral fragrance to shine, and bringing out the first hints of the incense notes. After 10 minutes: Florals and pomegranate. The floral is only subtly identifiable as rose, it is more just a lovely floral note. After 20 minutes: This is OMG-gorgeous now! The rose has come into its full glory, and is now definitely rose. Balanced equally with pomegranate, and with the incenses whispering in the background. After 30 minutes: Same as above. After 1 hour: Same as above. After 1 1/2 hours: The rose has faded, which leaves the pomegranate as the main note. I don't love it quite as much now. The incenses are still around, though, which does help to keep it from being obnoxiously foody. After 2 hours: Pretty much the same as above, except that it is more faded, and the pomegranate has turned a little plastic-y (red fruits always do that on my skin.) After 3 hours: Faint traces of pomegranate, vanilla, and incense. Verdict: I wasn't so sure about this at first. The initial scent of chocolate, vanilla and pomegranate is delicious for sniffing, but I don't want to walk around smelling like I've been eating chocolate truffles all day! But the foodiness was very short-lived, and once the rose kicked it, this became drop-dead gorgeous for the next hour. The late drydown is nice enough, but doesn't equal the beauty of the first hour. No matter, I can always reapply if I want to keep the gorgeousness around longer. My rating: 5 stars

My imp is a decanted frimp from the most generous azurephoenix! It is a special offering and required special effort to get. I am so lucky that I got to try it, thanks to her!! In the imp: The perfume is clear and a deep golden yellow with a tint of pink to it. It smells very perfumey - like a lovely expensive perfume; with pomegranate, patchouli, and ylang ylang predominating. On me, wet: It is much the same, but with the addition of the woods and a hint of balsam. The pomegranate is the main player, but closely followed by the florals. Is it my imagination, or do I detect a faint whiff of vanilla? Does the vanilla orchid smell anything like the vanilla bean? After 10 minutes: As it dries, I become more convinced that the vanilla isn't just my imagination. Much of the fruitiness has already dissipated, and it's now mainly florals and woods. Even the patchouli and ylang ylang (which tend to be divas) are peacefully and quietly blending in with the other notes. This is an elegant, formal, and sophisticated scent. After 20 minutes: It has changed character completely! The florals have lightened up, which brings out more of the pomegranate again. But the main aspect by far is the woods, which now gives it a more casual, but dignified, mood that would be perfect for the office. It has an understated, professional kind of femininity. After 30 minutes: Still primarily wood, with the pomegranate and florals about equal in the background. After 1 hour: Same as above. After 2 hours: This is not a long-lasting fragrance; it is already very delicate. Mostly sandalwood and amber, with a lingering hint of the florals and pomegranate. After 3 hours: Faint powdery sandalwood and amber. After 5 hours: I can still smell just a trace of it. It did last reasonably long after all, it's just soft and subtle after the first hour. Verdict: Feminine, unusual, and very lovely. Also interesting in the way it goes through two totally different moods. My rating: 4 and a half stars

In the imp: Oil is clear and a deep golden yellow in color. I smell the patchouli and petitgrain. On me, wet: Same as above. After 10 minutes: Pretty much the same, although I do get the faintest of rose notes in the far background. If I didn't know to look for the rose, I wouldn't know it was there. This has a surprisingly woody feel to it, from the benzoin I think, or maybe the petitgrain. After 30 minutes: Where'd it go? Once completely dry, the throw lightened up dramatically. I'm just kidding, though. It's still here, just a lot weaker. The patchouli, petitgrain, and benzoin are the main notes. The rose is gaining in strength and is noticeable now, although still subtle. And it's still woody. After 1 hour: Again, mostly the same - a woody and incense-y fragrance. The rose is still there, but barely; as is a tiny breath of something like vanilla from the benzoin. After 2 hours: Same as above. I have not noticed any fruitiness from the cassis bud at all, although other aspects of it may be playing a part in the woody/incense blend notes. (As well as fruity, I've seen its aroma described as "catty", whatever that means. I don't think I want to know.) After 4 hours: Much the same, but fading away. The strong woodiness is gone, but so is most of the rose. So although they are now more balanced, I still don't get much rose. After 8 hours: A very faint scent of incense remains. Verdict: A lovely wood-and-incense blend. I like it very much, but the rose isn't strong enough for it to wow me. It is a dignified scent that would be excellent for work. My rating: 4 stars

My imp is a decant from the lovely TrailerTrashPrincess. In the imp: The oil is clear and a pale yellowish ivory color. I first notice the flower, then the chill air, which is lovely and lighter than "cold" scents usually are - no sharp medicinal notes. The white musk (which I love) is also there. On me, wet: Mostly the same, except that I do pick up an understated note of pine (the fir needles.) It still isn't sharp or camphoraceous, just enough there to make this a unisex scent. I have no idea what papyrus reeds smell like, so I can't tell about that one. Nor am I familiar with grey amber specifically, although I would recognize amber in general; and so far I don't. After 10 minutes: It is becoming less sweet and floral. This allows something I can't identify to shine out - perhaps those reeds? And there's a "men's cologne" feel to the background. After 20 minutes: Now there is a somewhat soapy, jasmine-like aspect to the floral note, and the men's cologne aspect is stronger. The fragrance resembles jasmine enough that I looked up champaca on the internet to see if it is a type of jasmine. It isn't; it is in the magnolia family. The fir is there, blending subtly into the background. After 30 minutes: Still mostly jasmine-like but I'm also starting to get a whiff of the spicy incense scent that is more familiar to me, from champaca. The men's cologne note has lightened up, but it isn't going anywhere. After 1 hour: Basically the same as above, but while going about my work I did notice a cloud of fragrance that had a note similar to anise. After 2 hours: The jasmine/champaca dominates, but there's still a definite aspect of men's cologne. After 3 hours: Mostly men's cologne. After 5 hours: The cologne scent has faded and it's now a nice incense/floral fragrance, but quite faint. Verdict: I like this best in the first 10 - 20 minutes on my skin, when the beautiful flowers are dominant, so it might be a good candidate for the scent locket (which retains the top notes much longer.) The rest of the time, it's too much like a men's cologne to really be my thing, but I would like it on a man. I like how the more feminine florals combine with the men's cologne scent - it's an intriguing yin-yang fragrance. So it could also be unisex. Later ETA: I do like this best in the scent locket - the florals do last there. My rating: 4 stars

My 2011 imp is a decant from the lovely meaganola. In the imp: Oil is clear and a very pale ivory, almost colorless. It smells exactly like a rich, creamy, luscious real eggnog. On me, wet: I don't normally like foody perfumes, but I love eggnog, and this is so unique, realistic, and delicious that I can't help but adore it. I wouldn't wear it just anywhere (not for work or dressy occasions, for example), but I do love it and will enjoy wearing it at home or at casual events. After 10 minutes: Darn, it has already lost the realism, the rum, and the creaminess. Now it's all plastic and nutmeg. Oh well. Never mind if my skin screws it up - that's what perfume lockets are for. After 20 minutes: Same as above. After 30 minutes: It's still plastic-y, but the brandy note is coming out which improves and warms the scent. I'm smelling a little vanilla as well. The nutmeg is still around, but not as strong as before. After 2 hours: Mostly plastic, with some vanilla. After 3 1/2 hours: Only a touch of vanilla remains. Verdict: I won't wear this often enough to need a full bottle, but I will thoroughly enjoy the deliciousness of my imp. And I will buy more decants in the future, in any years it is available. I'll wear it in my scent locket rather than on my skin. My rating: 5 stars

My 2011 imp is a decant from the lovely meaganola. In the imp: The oil is clear and colorless, looking as pure as water. My first impression is that it's all plum, but then some really beautiful florals show up in the background. On me, wet: Exactly the same as in the imp. It's very lovely - the florals have enough presence to keep it from being overwhelmingly foody. After 10 minutes: The plum has taken over. It's a nice plum - so far, it hasn't gone plastic as usually happens with red fruits on my skin. But I miss the florals, which are almost completely gone. For me, they were the best part, and I'd prefer them to be the primary note with the plum as an accent. It's too foody now to really my kind of thing. After 30 minutes: Still all plum. After 1 hour: Alas, the plum has gone all plastic-y. It was inevitable, on my skin. I'm surprised at how long it stayed nice, actually! I'll try it in the scent locket to see if the florals will stick around that way. Later: It still was more plum than florals in the locket as well. In fact, the florals showed up the most in the first 10 minutes on my skin. They seem to require the higher temperature of my skin to bring them out more. But the locket had advantages as well - the scent stays nice longer (although the flowers are not as strong in the locket, they did stick around; which meant that the drydown scent was not quite so overwhelmingly foody; and the plum didn't go plastic.) Verdict: It is a pleasant scent, and really lovely in the first 10 minutes on the skin. I'll wear it both on my skin and in the locket at the same time - on my skin to bring out the short-lived floral top notes, and in the locket where it stays nice. I like it enough to use up my imp, but it's too foody for me to want a bottle. I have to admit that all that plum is perfect for the concept - "visions of sugar plums danced in their heads." People who enjoy fruity scents will love this. My rating: 4 stars

In the vial: It smells almost like single-note hazelnut. There may be just a ghost of the fruits hiding in the background - or that could be my imagination. On me, wet: At first, I smell only the hazelnut. But within seconds, a very mild note of pine kicks in. And if I try really hard, I can just barely pick up a little fruitiness. After 10 minutes: The pine has already mostly faded away, and the honey has stepped in to take its place. It is lovely in combination with the hazelnut. After 30 minutes: Hazelnut and honey. After 1 hour: Back to single-note hazelnut. After 3 hours: Much faded, but still there. Hazelnut, honey, and something a little dusty and musky - the acorns? the warm black fur? The fruits are virtually nonexistent in this, which seems like a shame. They are so perfect for the concept, and would go well with the other notes. Verdict: Hazelnut is definitely the star of this show. It is a pleasant unisex blend that can be enjoyed equally by both women and men, but too foody to be something I'd wear very often. My rating: 4 stars

My imp is a decant from the generous Fright. In the imp: The oil is clear and a light bright yellow color. The fragrance is fruity (especially grape) with bit of vanilla. On me, wet: On me, it's hardly fruity at all, but a much more unusual and indescribable scent, kind of spicy. Strangely, it reminds me of curry more than anything. Underlying that are hints of carnation, grapefruit, and lemon. So far I'm not getting either of the rose notes, which disappoints me. But I am intrigued by how unique this is. After 10 minutes: Still that spicy curry smell, with a grapefruit note that is surprisingly sharp and not at all sweet, close behind. The curry note is teasing me with memories of a specific and uncommon spice that is found is some curries. Maybe fenugreek? Or coriander? After 20 minutes: The curry spice is still the main note, and the grapefruit has faded but still present. If I try really hard, I can now detect the faintest whisper of rose. It's so subtle that I'd never notice it if I didn't already know it was there. It's odd how this doesn't smell anything like most of its ingredients, but like something completely different. And also odd how totally different it smells on me than it did in the imp. I'll be curious to read the other reviews and see if this happened to anyone else or if it's just a weird fluke of my skin chemistry. I've had notes that go "off" on my skin, and blends that feature different notes on my skin than in the bottle. But I've never had a fragrance change so completely when I put it on. After 30 minutes: The rose is increasing, which I like, but it is still a subtle nuance behind the curry and grapefruit. After 1 hour: Curry, with rose and a little musk. After 2 hours: It's finally losing the curry scent, and is now flowers and fruits (too faded to identify specific ones) with a bit of musk and sandalwood. Verdict: I enjoy sniffing the fragrance on my wrist (I love curry.) But I wouldn't want to go around smelling like cooking odors all day. I might wear this at home just for fun, but I wouldn't wear it out in public. I tested this in the perfume locket as well, in case there was something going on with my skin: At first: The first thing I smell is pink grapefruit and apricots, with a hint of unidentifiable flowers. After 10 minutes, it's pretty much the same except that I notice the grape as well. There's a trace of spiciness, but it's the incensey spiciness of sandalwood and patchouli, rather than curry! After 2 hours: I can recognize a whispered echo of the curry note that I got on my skin, just enough to sort of tell where it came from. It seems to be the combination of the grapefruit with the slight spiciness of sandalwood, patchouli, and carnation. But in the locket, it doesn't smell anything like curry - just itself, an unusual fragrance. The fruits are a much stronger presence than they were on my skin. After 6 hours: The rose has become a significant player, together with the grapefruit and spiciness. All three aspects are fairly equally balanced at this point. After 24 hours: A gorgeous blend of rose and sandalwood. Final verdict: So much better in the scent locket that I do want a bottle after all! I'll wear it in the locket rather than on my skin. My rating: On my skin - 3 stars In the scent locket - 4 stars

My imp is a decant from the generous Fright. In the imp: The oil is clear and colorless. It has a medicinal kind of scent - the chamomile, green tea, sage, and perhaps the moss - that is reminiscent of (but definitely is not) eucalyptus. It doesn't have the sinus-clearing sharpness of eucalyptus, just a similar kind of fragrance. On me, wet: Much the same as in the imp. Not sweet or floral at all, which is surprising considering the ingredients. After 10 minutes: Mmm, the florals (especially jonquil and champaca) have kicked in, making this much nicer. There's still a strong green component and not much sweetness. I like the concept and how the notes tie in with it: blue chamomile = blue for dusk, chamomile for sleep and dreams; green tea and white sage = the mystery of the Orient and the deserts of the West; champaca and sage = spiritual practice; Spanish moss, jonquil, and wisteria = the mysterious swamps of the American South, flower and tree-lined avenues draped with the moss. Very intriguing! After 20 minutes: Still very herbal and somewhat floral, but the spiciness of champaca incense is becoming more insistent. After 30 minutes: For the first time, the florals have gotten the upper hand over the herbs, making this softer, gentler, and more feminine. I love the juxtaposition between that and the spiciness of the champaca. After 1 hour: It's mostly the florals and the incensey champaca that I notice now. After 2 hours: Quite soft and subtle now.The champaca is the main note, with the flowers hovering right behind. It's more perfumey than it was earlier. After 4 hours: The scent is gone from my wrist. My rating: 4 stars

My imp is a decant from the generous Fright. In the imp: The oil is darker than most BPAL's, a dark orangey-brown. It looks a lot like some types of patchouli oil. The scent is very sweet and complex, with the orange dominating and the florals also in evidence. On me, wet: Very mysterious and oriental in mood. Much like in the imp, but I can also detect some pomegranate, the slight spiciness of saffron, and a very subtle vanilla-like note of tonka. In spite of the orange leading note, this isn't foody in the least. It's really more like an incense type of fragrance. Perhaps that's the influence of the amber, although I don't specifically notice amber. After 10 minutes: Much the same, except that the florals and spices are stronger now, equally balanced with the orange. It's lovely. I see this as more of an evening scent than a noon one due to its formality, sophistication, and heaviness. I definitely get the fiery mood - something about this seems very red and orange. It makes sense, since many of the ingredients are those colors. After 20 minutes: Same as above. After 30 minutes: Same as above. After 1 hour: Much of the orange has faded away, allowing the spices to take over as the primary note. This is now a spice fragrance rather than an incense one, but it is a subtle change rather than a transformation. After 5 hours: The fragrance is still the same, but is barely discernible. Verdict: Although this isn't at all the type of fragrance I usually wear, I really like it a lot. I imagine wearing it to a formal evening event and see in my mind's eye a woman wearing an ankle-length Cheongsam of red silk brocade, embroidered with orange and yellow accents. My rating: 4 stars

My imp is a decant from the lovely PhantasmMystera. In the imp: This is pretty, and very different, hard to describe. There's a camphoraceous note - probably pine. The scent is somewhat spicy, but not a foody kind of spice, more like an incense. And something here reminds me of citrus, tangerine especially. I don't know where those scents are coming from! Maybe it's just my nose. Or maybe they are part of the snow accord. On me, wet: The pine note is stronger, sharper, and dominates everything at first. I can easily picture a snowy forest. After 10 minutes: Still mostly all pine when sniffed up close. But in the throw there is the spice and tangerine, along with some rather soapy florals. I can't ID any specific flower (I'm not that familiar with the ones in this blend); nor does this come across as a floral-type perfume. It's really rather unisex. After 20 minutes: Pretty much the same. The pine seems to contiinue getting stronger (or the other notes weaker.) After 30 minutes: Pine with a little spiciness. And now, there's a wisp of leafy green that must be the hemlock. After 1 hour: Pine is still the main note, but it's now a gentle one, having lost the sharpness. The florals are catching up, and the hemlock remains a subtle green presence. The overall fragrance has gone a bit plastic. After 2 hours: The pine is mostly gone now - in fact, so is the entire scent. All that remains is a faint plastic-y note that smells more soapy than flora. Verdict: Nice, but too much pine to really be my thing. My rating: 3 stars

My imp is a decant from the lovely PhantasmMystera. In the imp: With all those flowers, I knew I'd love this - but even so, I'm stunned by its beauty. It's a fabulous bouquet of florals. I don't know what most of these particular flowers smell like, so I can't identify the specific notes, just that it is a unique blend. I do recognize a bit of tuberose. On me, wet: Rose and plumeria with other realistic florals. Utterly stunning. After 10 minutes: Now less rose - a blend of flowers with just a hint of incense. After 30 minutes: It has become a soapy kind of scent that reminds me of jasmine, which isn't in this. No more rose or plumeria, and I miss them. I don't love this as much now. After 1 hour: Same as above, and already much faded. After 2 hours: Pretty much gone. Verdict: This started out so promising - no, much more than that - exceptional. But by 30 minutes, I was disappointed. It was okay, just nothing special. And then, it faded away faster than any BPAL I've tried. But I was so totally in love with the initial scent, that I still have high hopes for it in the perfume locket. In any case, this is a very exclusive blend - for flower lovers only! In the perfume locket: At first, I don't smell much of anything. But as the oil is exposed to oxygen and warms up, the gorgeous scent I loved in the imp (and for the first 10 or 15 minutes on my skin) wafts out. After 2 hours: The same scent, now with a faint undertone on incense. Over the next 2 days: The fragrance blooms into swooning rose-and-plumeria heaven . . . After 4 days: The throw is weaker, but the same wonderful scent remains, with the incense note now a stronger presence yet still in the background. It never did develop that soapy jasmine-like scent that it had for a while on my skin. So that must have been my skin chemistry. Oh yeah, I need a bottle . . . Three if I can afford it! To wear in the scent locket rather than on my skin. My rating: On my skin, 4 stars In the perfume locket, 5+ stars

My imp is a decant from the lovely PhantasmMystera. In the imp: A very well-balanced blend of unidentifiable florals, clary sage, and pine, that left a gentle "aftertaste" ("aftersmell"?) of orange fruit on my nose for a few moments. On me, wet: The pine is a great deal sharper, and in fact is the only thing I can smell at first. After about a minute I can detect some greenery, wood, and a teeny bit of orange, all hiding behind the pine. After 15 minutes: Same as above, with the addition of the floral notes that I can smell now, mostly honeysuckle and orange blossom. Both are subtle nuances rather than main notes, and are blended enough that it would be difficult to identify the particular flowers if I didn't already know they are there. I may be picking up the immortelle as well - I don't know what that smells like. (Ditto for the ambrette seed.) After 30 minutes: The throw is mostly a somewhat cloying fruity orange which I don't like all that much. I prefer my orange blossoms to smell like the real flowers, without any trace of the fruit. Sniffed up close, that's still the first thing I notice. The pine has lost its initial sharpness but is still a distinct presence. The pine tones down any tendency to foodiness, but I don't especially like it in combination with the orange. It reminds me of household cleansers. The florals are also still there, but are fading in strength. There's also a bit of musk. After 1 hour: The notes are more blended and softer. The ones I notice most are florals, orange, and pine. After 2 hours: Most of the pine and orange have faded away, and the main notes now are (generic) florals and musk. Maybe a little tobacco, but not much. It's more of a feminine scent, very soft and lovely. After 3 hours: It's becoming quite faint, but now that the other notes have evaporated I can smell the tobacco more, although it still takes a back seat to the musk. After 4 hours: Pretty much gone. Verdict: Most of the time, I liked this a lot. The cloying orange fruit note that I didn't care for was predominant only for a short time. I would have preferred more of the honeysuckle and orange blossom notes, for which I chose this blend. I don't need a bottle, but I'll keep and enjoy my imp. My rating: 4 stars

My imp of the 2011 version is a decant from the lovely PhantasmMystera. In the imp: Gorgeous realistic rose. On me, wet: The same beautiful rose note, but there may be something else here as well - maybe a faint undertone of earth? After 10 minutes: Mostly the same, but the undertone has become a little plastic-y. The rose is still beautiful, though. After 20 minutes: The hint of plastic has faded, and it's all rose again. After 30 minutes: The same. A rich, velvety, deep red rose; with a strong throw. After 1 hour: The scent is still the same, but not nearly so strong. After 2 hours: A faint rose fragrance remains. After 3 hours: Mostly gone, but there's still a trace left. Verdict: Fabulous, virtually (and possibly literally?) a single-note rose fragrance. So of course I love it and definitely want a full bottle. And I'm going to throw out my old 2007 bottle - clearly aging has spoiled it; this is what it's supposed to smell like. I want to do a comparison test between this and Rose Red by trying one on each wrist at the same time to see how they differ. I can't tell just by trying to remember what the Rose Red smells like. But that will have to wait. Right now I'm hurrying to finish skin testing all my Yule decants to see which ones I want full bottles of, before they go down. My rating: 5+ stars

My imp is a decant from the lovely PhantasmMystera. In the imp: Oh, this is beautiful! I first notice the gardenia, then a very realistic note of pear, delicate enough to not seem foody, and blending gorgeously with the florals. In the background I can detect rose, red currant, and honey. On me, wet: Right away I get a throw of musk. Then a fruity note that is less defined than it was in the imp. Sniffed up close, the gardenia is the primary note. And here comes the vanilla, which I didn't notice in the imp. This isn't quite as beautiful on my skin - it is slightly foodier, and I miss the true pear note. But it is still very bright and pretty. On me, after 10 minutes: Pretty much the same. It is getting fruitier, and the gardenia is leaning towards powder, but it's a beautiful powder, not baby powder. All of the notes are starting to blend together more so that it's harder to pick out individual scents. After 20 minutes: I'm reminded of Juicy Fruit gum, but fortunately the gardenia and musk help to balance that out. After 30 minutes: Now mostly gardenia and rose musk powder, with a mild undertone of fruit that is fading fast. It's a dry, feminine, and elegant scent. After 1 hour: Now all the fruit is gone, and it is even more lovely. Powdery gardenia, rose, and musk. After 2 hours: Weaker, but otherwise the same. After 7 hours: There is still a delicate breath of musk lingering on my wrist. It's a plain musk now, without any trace of rose. Verdict: I definitely want a full bottle. And I want to try it in the perfume locket, too, to see if the exceptionally beautiful fragrance that I smelled in the imp (with the fresh pear note) will be retained longer. My rating: 5 stars