Donnababe

First Sniff White grapes. Drydown On application it's joyous sweet grape juice, not dry champagne. In a matter of seconds the mints come to the fore although the grapes haven't disappeared totally. After a While A salty feel is coming in but overall it fades in less than two hours. Final Verdict If I sniff my wrists directly I can still detect the sweet grape. I have had little luck with the aquatic blends I've tried (Ingenue and Water of Notre Dame) and sadly this is no different. I love the grape note I get but I don't think it suits me as a whole. Probably will swap.

First Sniff Dare I say orangey cola? Perhaps this means there's almonds here as I get cola from Hellcat and Black Phoenix. Drydown It's very hard for me to select individual notes here. Although it's odd because I can smell a beautifully tart orange even though it is not in the description. After a While I've come to the conclusion that perhaps the myrrh and mimosa are combining to make the 'orange' that I'm getting. Probably not. Still can't detect the blackcurrant! Final Verdict A beautifully warm and smooth scent. It's a bit fruity, quite incensey, a touch spicy and although it's dark it doesn't make me feel that way. It would be a perfect autumnal scent for me. It's only drawback is it's lack of staying power. More imps for definite.

First Sniff Nutty chocolate. I've only sniffed Bliss so far but Velvet seems very similar. Drydown Mellow vanilla 'wood shavings' with a hint of cocoa. Lovely. Even hubby is impressed! After a While Virtually no change five plus hours later. Final Verdict This stuff has amazing staying power. I have to sniff my wrists now to get the cocoa but it's 13 hours on and Velvet is still around! For anyone who is nervous about foody scents, I don't find this foody at all. I'll be getting more imps for sure - testing Bliss might help me decide whether I buy Velvet in larger quantities.

First Sniff Fruity musk. Almost sticky sweet. Not as expected. Drydown Call my chemistry loopy but before the drydown I smelled like the cola ice lollies you get from the ice cream van! Now, the myrrh is the leader here, every now and then I think I smell polished wood. Very bizarre. The occasional swirl of roses and wine is beautiful. After a While Predominantly myrrh and rose. A whiff of wine from time to time. I was expecting it to remain very fruity but the 'darkness' of the myrrh suits it wonderfully. It seems to be fading though. One to bathe in maybe? Four hours on it's a lovely mellow rose. Final Verdict There's a fab episode of Frasier where Lilith sleeps with Niles. Before the dirty deed she is wearing a black Cut Down To There Dress. Regardless of the name this is the scent she was wearing that night. Whereas Blood Rose is fun and voluptuously sexy, Lilith is more menacing, aloof and hopelessly inviting... Definitely one to wear if you want to get your way. More imps for sure and very probably a bigger bottle. Damn Beth and her rose blend magickery, I CANNOT order them all! *sighhhh*

First Sniff Sweet spiciness (a bit like cinnamon) and maybe a touch of jasmine. Not sure about this one, it's a bit medicinal. Drydown Sweet floral. Dragon's Blood Resin too I think... After a While Powder powder powder. (Excellent staying power though.) Final Verdict Not for me.

First Sniff Jasmine and an unidentified bouquet. Drydown Sweet flowers. After a While Pretty much the same as the dry down. It's still a generic floral to me with the jasmine occasionally peeking out. I have no idea what frangipani smells like so I maybe smelling it without knowing. Good staying power. Final Verdict Perfectly pleasant but not different enough for me.

First Sniff Yikes, dirt. Just a breath of rose. Drydown Yay! It's much rosier now. After a While I'm surprised about how sophisticated this seems given it's name. There's a touch of something behind the rose (probably the sandalwood) and the early shock of the patchouli has vanished as quickly as it came. Final Verdict A sweet, classy, womanly rose. The longevity is average and although it's perhaps not as 'stand out' as Rapture or Othello it's something I'd certainly buy again.

First Sniff Oh dear, loads of jasmine. I hope it mellows out. Drydown Thankfully the jasmine isn't so strong once it's on my skin. I hate to make so many comparisons but this reminds me of a less green version of The Caterpillar. I'm surprised the rose is so quiet. I keep thinking I do smell the bergamot but I am drinking Lady Grey at the moment so it may be that. After a While The scent is very quiet now all round. Orangey rose tea. Very nice. 6 hours on I can only smell it on my right wrist. Final Verdict Another lovely blend. It's not a must have for me but I would consider a bigger bottle and certainly further imps. I will search out more jasmine blends now I think I'm OK with them once they have dried down.

First Sniff Dusty aniseed Drydown Same as above but a little sweeter. After a While Still very much the same. Final Verdict Amazing. Very much evoking of dusty clothes. There's aniseed here and all though it's not unpleasant it's not something I want to smell like.

First Sniff Herbs (menthol?), a general floral and just a hint of lime. Drydown The linden is a little more prominent now and it's sharper now. The floral notes add sweetness. I get the impression this one will fade fast on me. After a While As I feared this has faded far too quickly for me. Just before it disappeared completely however the scent changed a little. The sharpness gave way to a sweeter linden note which was pleasantly surrounded by a gorgeous appley fragrance. Final Verdict I absolutely adore this. Regardless of the sharp citrus stage it's very calming on me. Although it doesn't last anywhere near long enough on my skin I am seriously considering a big bottle, perhaps even a 10ml! Glorious.

First Sniff Ooooooh this is very much like Seraphim. Drydown I'm still smelling Seraphim. It's not so floral obviously but it's very very similiar. I think there's a strong presence of frankincense here. After a While It's not quite so 'green' and incense-y now and it's mellowed considerably. The initial notes are still there but I'm getting a warmer, softer feel, it feels rather like a rich lather but without the soapy smell if you know what I mean. I sense vanilla too. Final Verdict This is very quiet and calming. I like it but as I initially find it so similiar to Seraphim it will be a toss up between the two when it comes to a repurchase.

First Sniff Creamy and fruity. Very much like a rich peach mousse. Yummy! After Application Very much the same as the 'sniff' review. I can't seem to detect the musk but I think it's the amber that provides the creamy element. Drydown Yum. This is lovely and has not changed at all. Maybe there will be more to add after a couple of hours. After a While Aha, now the earthiness of the patchouli is coming to the core. It works well but it's masking the fruit a bit too much for my liking. Just a little later I'm pleasantly reassured by the occasional waft of peach pleasing my nose again. But it's not mousse like this time, instead it's sharper and very reminiscent of peach schnaaps. I like! In the end the patchouli/schnaaps phase was very short and it morphed very breifly to the initial 'mousse' smell before disappearing altogether. Final Verdict This is a very nice blend but I'm not sure it's really me. (Although I'm encouraged by the fact that peach works so much better on me than apricot and I will look for more peach blends now.) I will certainly use the remainder of the imp and probably buy more on occasion but I don't think this is one I'll wear in large quantities.

First Sniff Mmmmmmm. Like springtime sunlight. It's very bright floral yet I can't pick out any specific notes, not even rose. I can smell spices though, and a creaminess maybe? Perhaps that's the spices working? After Application Very much like the initial impression. I'm a little worried by it's strength, I have a nasty feeling this one will disappear on me. Drydown Unusually for me this is one of the few BPAL blends that is staying constant on me. Thankfully I don't get the laundry detergent thing that others do. At the moment things don't seem to be fading. After a While I still smell lovely! Unfortunately I don't have much to add from the previous paragraph. Perhaps a hint of rose is peeking through but just barely. It's not like the rose in Spellbound or Black and Blood Rose but the rose smell I used to adore as a kid when I would pick up the pink orange petals in my school playground and 'make' perfume! Final Verdict Despite my worries Othello stayed with me for 5+ hours. It is a very light scent but it seemed to remain at the same intensity (and stayed true) almost the whole way through. I'm always very conservative/frugal when applying my scents but I needed to be a bit more generous with this one. (And this makes my sad as I don't want to use it up too quickly.) This is not a man's scent. I feel extremely content when I wear it. Confident too. And sexy. No, that's not it. Sassy is what I mean. Can a man be sassy? An almost definite Big Bottle for me.

First Sniff Urggh, almond/marzipan/clove like fury. I do not like this at all. I wanted booze ooze! I will try it regardless... After Application No change or improvement... Drydown As above After a While Despite only applying a teeny bit it's still there almost seven hours later in a slightly more muted form. Only now do I detect a hint of burnt sugar. It's too shy to come out to the full, the monsterous almond is scaring it away. Final Verdict I am very very sad. I so wanted to adore this. I do not like almond smells as a rule but I was confident to get my thrills off the rummy, foody delights that other reviewers have been lucky to find. All I managed was marzipan with something similar to Jack along the way. (And guess what, I don't like Jack either.) I had visions of being a tipsy pirate timed barmaid slopping the buttery booze from the tankards onto her ample bosom, darn it!! Sob.

I think I speak for everyone when I say, "Yipppppppppeeeeeeee!"

Ditto

Can I be your getaway driver? There's at least 14 Must Haves there...... and that's just the preview!!

Thank you!!!

The Caterpillar, Old Glasgow, Black Rose and ..... Haunted... Please!!!

Haunted is very calming for me.

First Sniff Grapefruit peel. Beautiful. After Application Still have the peel-y tang, it's sweetening off a little, like the pulp of the fruit. I'm getting a hint of tea but not much. After Drydown The tea is pushing forward a little more but it hasn't changed a great deal. No sign of the ginger or apple blossom. After a While. It's only been a hour and I can barely smell anything! During the course of the next hour or so I catch the occasional hint of scent but it's faded far too quickly on me. Verdict I love this but it doesn't last anywhere near long enough for me. I'm in rainy, dull England so I can't see it lasting very well in hotter weather. Shame, as it's a great scent for the summer.

A Note I had to test this twice before I reviewed. The first time I tried it I had LUSH's Arabian Bright slathered all over my hair and was concerned it was playing with my sense of smell so I wore Seraphim again the next day. On trying again I'm convinced I've put on the wrong scent, this is Black Rose, (no, it is Seraphim) I will review again... and here we are.. Sniff Test Very strong and sharp. I can detect a greeness despite the almost overwhelming smell of the frankincense. I can't wait to try this one (properly.) After Application Still lots of incense and that 'green' sharpness. There is a floral note here but I can't distinguish it yet. Drydown Here's the rose. I applied Black Rose on one wrist and Seraphim on the other and I can barely distinguish between the two. If I concentrate the frankincense is there but BR and Seraphim are very similiar on me. I can't smell any flower other than rose. After A While Since the drydown the rose in Seraphim has faded but I can still smell it on my BR wrist. The warmth from the frankincense is still there, just. Seraphim overall fades rather quickly on me and I'll need to reapply again very soon (after less than 3 hours.) Verdict Lovely. Very lovely. It's similarity to BR has left me undecided about getting a larger bottle but I will surely consider it. I love a lot about this one, particularly the incense note. I feel really calm when wearing it, it reminds me of my visits to Russian churches some years ago. Thank you Shollin!

Please excuse this very brief review but if you read on you'll understand why... I really wanted to like this, before I received it I was hoping dearly for a wicked version of Burt's Bees Apricot Baby Oil. I apricot jam too. Sadly all I got was a queasy stomach, this made me feel really But going by the 'You Never Know Until You Try' thang I dabbed a teeny bit on my wrist. There is fruit there (very tart) but mostly what I get is CLOVES. It's so strong I have to wash this off right away, this does not agree with me at all. I thought I liked the smell of cloves but this and my similar reaction to Jack is making me think otherwise I didn't even try Jack as it smells much stronger than MH in the vial.

This kind of scent is out of my usual 'comfort zone but I was offered this in a swap so thought I'd try it. Oh dear. I couldn't even get beyond the Sniff Test It's very very spicy and far too heady for my tastes. It's exactly what the description says but it's far too strong for me. I have the same problem with March Hare too.

Michelle!