astridclaire

This is very lemon Pledge at first, but after a few minutes on my skin it turns to a lovely lemon smoke. However, the loveliness doesn't last very long and just about disapears completely after 15 minutes. My skin just eats this one up!

I was hoping to get some cardamom out of this one because there are so few BPAL blends that showcase it well, but all I got was screaming red hots! No cardamom, no cherry even, just red hots candies

This really is a lovely scent with the first 10 minutes being a perfect amber/rose/opium combo for me. But then after 10 minutes? It completely disapears. Vanishes into thin air.

This scent is so lovely and comforting the first 15 minutes it's on-- it's absolutely perfect: vanilla mixed with marshmallow root and the prettiest, most delicate 80 year-old lace.

And then it disapears completely.

Gorgeous! Like daffodils dipped in honey, rolled around in candied lemon rind and soaked in pineapple juice! Sweet, smooth, and very golden yellow.

Once it dries it's a bit less juicy and a tad more herbal, but it's still amazingly well blended, complex, and just plain sun-shiny lovely.

All Big Red gum all the time.

I was really hoping I'd get some of the peach and clove. The Lab's description sounds so lovely. Oh well.

Yep, definitely honey with herbs and something floral in the background when wet. But once it dries, it turns into an un-sticky sweetness with more floral and less herbs plus some green apple.

Nice, but not a big bottle purchase for me.

I have smelled burning kyphi before, and I have read various recipes for it because I've always wanted to make my own, so I had a preconceived notion of what this oil should smell like.

In the Imp: It smells sweet and raisiny with some resins in the background-- pretty much what I was expecting.

On Wet: The raisins turn into lemons covered by a layer of powdery incense smoke. How strange!

It's nice, but I was hoping for more of a honey, resin smoke, raisin, wine sort of thing... more of a honeyed purple-ish scent. This is all golden yellow. It does make me feel more awake though and suddenly I want to clean the house!

I don't think I like it enough to buy a bottle, but I'll keep the imp around for my major house cleaning days.

In the Imp: Really strong and sharp-- it smells like a commercial perfume one of my grandmothers had.

On Wet: Oh that's much better. Damp musty dirt but... perfumey. Sophisticated and elegant somehow.

5 Minutes Later: It's much lighter now... like it's expanded. I know that sounds strange but I don't know how else to explain it. There's some sweetness coming out too and it makes this blend a little rounder. The original sharpness is gone.

I imagine a strong, 30 year old woman from old money wearing this while wearing a little black dress and pearls. Heh. I also imagine a hippie chick smelling like this after dancing all night at a concert. It's sweet and dirty.

10 Minutes Later: Hmmm... it's a little powdery, but in a really good way.

1 Hour Later: Boy do I love this stuff! It's so different that I keep smelling myself to try and figure it out.

Just gorgeous. Perfect for any time of year. 10 ml bottle a must.

In the imp it smelled like a sweet and happy floral with just a touch of vanilla. I didn't even notice the jasmine until I put it on. Then it turns to pure, sharp, overwhelming jasmine. Oh well.

Golden, clean, light florals that actually work on my skin! The ginger is gorgeous and i could've sworn there was plumeria in this even though the description doesn't point it out.

Perfect for summer and going to the beach... it exudes this I'm-on-summer-vacation vibe.

In the Imp: Milk Moon + some aquatics! Woo hoo! Milk Moon!

On Wet: Definitely milky, but there seems to be some sort of floral in there with a little salt water. I'm not getting the coconut at all, which is too bad because I love the scent of coconut milk.

On Dry: Very soft and clean, it almost disappears. It smells even more floral now with the smallest hint of lemon, but there is a milky butter still there behind it all.

This blend is really gorgeous but I wish it had more lasting power and some throw. I think I'll try making it into a spray to see if it helps it stick around.

Imp: It smells like... like... old fruit cake raped in vinyl. Seriously. I'm a little worried at this point.

On Wet: Hmmmm... now that's better. There's the sweetness I was craving. I can almost make out the cotton candy, and I can start to smell the funnel cake but it's fighting with this dusty dirty smell...

2 Minutes Later: What is that.......? What the? Sugared PlayDoh! PlayDoh!!! No, it can't be! I've heard of it's existence, and have read the countless cases of it ruining a BPALer's olfactory experience, but I never thought it could happen to me! Ack!!!

Yep. My boyfriend confirmed it. I now smell like candied PlayDoh. He said, "It's kinda wierd but I think I like it." (This just goes to show said boyfriend is a little strange.)

10 Minutes Later: PlayDoh in thick, old frying grease.

Oh the humanity! I really wanted to fall in love with this one. All the reviews were so wonderful...

My new summer love: Calliope. It's like a big glass pitcher of cold homemade lemonade that is just barely sweet... with a sprig of lavender on top. It's cool, refreshing, and perks me up.

Wet: very much milk chocolate with some hazelnut perhaps

Dry: chocolate orange and then mostly disappears after 10 minutes. Nice while it lasted though.

I'll keep my imp of it because it is unique but I wouldn't buy a bottle.

I got this as a freebie in a swap. By looking at the description I don't think I would have ever ordered it for myself even though I do quite a bit of writing and need Calliope's assistance from time to time.

Lavender, bergamont, and verbena all together? I thought it was going to be super sharp. But no, oh no! This is lovely! Yes, there's the bergamont, and yes, there's the lavender and verbena, but it is very well rounded and smooth. I'm guessing that the orange and almond save this and turn it into something devine. Like another reviewer said, it does remind me of really good slightly sweet homemade lemonade with a spring of lavender throw in.

This is an absolutely perfect cool summer scent and very inspiring as well- which is good because now I have to go write a narrative statement for art school!

It fades a little quicker than most and it stays relatively close to the skin, but I'm sure it would work wonderfully as a perfume spray (I turn most of my GC favorites into perfume sprays and love the throw and staying power I get from them).

Calliope can be my muse anytime. I'm definitely getting a big bottle in my next order.

I wish I got some of the cream notes or the herbal tones that others get from this. All I get is super-sweet strawberry candy. I may have to pass this decant along.

Imp: It's all about the sweet, sweet pear. Like a pear-flavored lollipop

Wet: There's some dryness to this. Like a hot dessert in the background drying out your nostrils when you breathe in. The sweet pear is still there but now there is some greenery with it... and something floral too. Sweet, fruity, herbal, floral, warm, bright... it's amazing.

Dry: The pear tones down alot and shares the space with the green and floral notes. Very beautiful and full, it almost smells like agave syrup and makes me want to drink tequila!

It doesn't last on me very long though. My skin eats it up, but maybe if I made it into a spray it would stick around longer. It's definitely worth trying.

Help! I need to find a GC (or a few GC's to layer) that smell similar to Luperci.

Luperci smells so swoon worthy on the boy. It's just perfect.

Any ideas?

Help!

I have discovered that Luperci turns my man into sex on a stick and I like it. A lot.

Only problem is, we only got a few bottles of it and I'm starting to worry about what we'll do when it runs out.

Do any of you lovelies know what the most similar GC to Luperci is? I've looked at Golden Priapus and Greed. What do you think?

Thanks!

When I first put this on it smelled lovely and rich. Rose and amber go fabulously with my skin chemistry and I loved the dark almost clove-like quality to it. And then.........

The dreaded musk!

After about 5 minutes it turned to this nasty, overpowering, suffocating baby powder on crack

I immediately washed it off and covered it up with Bengal.

I absolutely adore this scent!!!

I got a free imp of this from a gracious forumite who threw it in with some other imps I bought from her. Now I'm ashamed to say that I didn't get around to trying this beauty until months later while I was cleaning out my imp box. I hadn't looked up the description so I had no idea what to expect. You should have seen my face when I opened the little imp for the first time and applied it to my wrist. First there was surprise because it was so damn good, then a big happy grin with my eyes closed because my thoughts were being transported back in time...

You see, I grew up in Palm Springs, CA and my parents had loads of citrus trees in the backyard: 4 tangerine trees, 8 grapefruit trees, 3 orange trees, and 1 lemon tree. As a kid, I spent a lot of time in the backyard under those trees, picking the fruit, and eating them right there under the branches. This scent captures that whole experience beautifully.

Xiuhtecuhtli smells like experiencing all the stages of an orange grove in a single moment. First there is that tangy smell of an orange peel being ripped back to expose the fruit. Then there is the smell of the sweetest slice of orange you've ever tasted, and at the same time, there is the smell of the orange blossoms that bloomed months ago (Once I read the lab's description I realized what I was smelling was plumeria, not orange blossom, but they are similar to me). Then there is the slighty smoky, earthy smell that reminded me of the bark of the orange trees and the cool earth that surrounded them- I think this comes from the copal perhaps. Then, to finish it all off, there is the smell of the orange leaves being warmed by the sun.

It is a glorious scent overall and a definite big bottle.

On me, Hellion smells just like PURPLE in the most amazing way. I absolutely adore this!!!

However, 30 minutes later and it's gone.

This was all juniper and musk on me, and not in a good way. However, on my boyfriend this is the sexiest, most lust-inducing perfume I have ever had the privilege of smelling on a man!!!

I don't know what I'm going to do when the bottle runs out and I can't nuzzle up to his Luperci clad neck and chest anymore.

I ordered an imp of this once I read all the hype about it. So needless to say, I had high expectations. Hey, if Beth herself slathers this stuff on, it must be pretty damn good. However, I was a little disapointed when I first put it on. It did that ugly thing musk usually does to me- it went all icky powdery. I was tempted to send it to the swap pile, but I remembered that Snake Oil is supposed to age extremely well.

Jump to one month later....

I decided to give Snake Oil another chance today, and OMFG!!! It's so sexy and yumm and awesome!

Dark and dirty sweet vanilla incense.... Mmmmmmmm.....

*scampers off to buy a 10ml...*