catalyst

I would like a masculine smell for winter. Strong, possibly woodsy and cold feeling. I have a summer cologne (aquatic- go figure) and I am in need of a winter one. I'm not a huge fan of leather, but I might try lighter note of it.

I actually really like Jabberwocky for this, because the sharper notes mix with the orange and, at least for me, turn into something very similar to balsam. You know that smell? The really sweet, fragrant kind of pine that mostly grows in the American northeast woods. So it's balsam with orange overtones. The official description is "An earthy yet buoyant scent: pine, eucalyptus and orange." It's in the Mad Tea Party section.

On me it was mostly dragon's blood with a little cinnamon and a hint of spice, which made it nice, actually. I was worried about this one, since Port Royal and I didn't get along, but it's not bad. Not fantastic, but okay. Probably going to the swaps, I don't keep ones that are just "okay."

Wow. So disappointing. On me, it was about the most awful, medicinal, chemical, industrial cleanser type of smell imaginable. It was not light, comforting, or anything ethereal on a warm breeze. I couldn't wipe it off fast enough.

Holy cow. This reminds me of my older brother's cologne. I think it's the musk, fig and dragon's blood. Whatever it is, it's some kind of deep memory trigger, and I'm putting this on my bottle wish list.

This is like sex. It starts out fast and exciting, almost sharp, and mellows into an "animal attraction" sweet musk afterglow. Absolutely buying this at some point.

PS, I read back to what other people are saying, and I'm surprised to see that people talk about things like flowers, soap and bubble gum. I'm not getting that at all. I suspect a body chemistry thing is at play here, because I'd call this at least unisex, leaning toward masculine.

It reminds me of an expensive night club: Warm, dark and full of pheremones.

I wanted to like this so much. I like herbs a lot, but this is green green green all the time up my nostrils. It softens into something more like dried herbs, but holy cow. It's too much. Off to the swaps.

I really like this. I don't get a ton of eucalyptus, and it took me a while to put my finger on what the Christmassy smell was in this, but I figured it out. Sweet balsam. I think the pine and orange are combining to make a balsam scent, because this is exactly like that, but with even more orange. Seems perfect for December, but I'm going to see if I can get away with it the rest of the year. Definite keeper. Might even try for a bottle at some point, which for me is a big deal.

I like this a lot. Sandalwood is one of my favorite notes to begin with, and this is a great combination. Not too sweet, and just the kind of light woods I like, without being the kind of dryness that sucks the life out of my sinuses, if that makes sense. Like an ancient library, not like catacombs.

I like dragon's blood all right in other things, but this was just weird. Milky and sweet and just... weird. But then I don't like food ones. I did give this one to a friend who does like food ones, and she loved it. Not for me.

This is mostly beer and dandelions wet. And eventually just dandelions. Interesting, but not really what I imagined from a Roadhouse. Maybe I watch too much Supernatural?

Haha. I know I do.

 

I'm still torn on if this is too sweet for me to get away with. I think I can, but it's on the edge, partly because it's so light. My female friend here said it was "lovely," when wet. I'm not wearing something "lovely," sorry, but then when it mellows out, more of the tobacco and beer come out, and that's pretty good. Because... beer. But not cheap beer, more like a microbrew draft pale ale. Which I now want.

 

I thought from the description I'd hate this, but I like it enough to see if I can get away with wearing this to work. Interesting.

Wet, this is the best thing ever in the universe. Seriously. I love this even more than The White Rider when it's wet on my arm.

 

Then...

 

The last lingering note is not something I like. I think it's the musk? It's the very last thing that lingers for a few hours. Whatever that is, that ruins it for me. Which completely sucks because otherwise, this is amazing. So I'm giving it to a friend, which just kills me to do that, dangit. And I've tried it several times, but that last note... blah.

The description was like "Whoa, I gotta try that." And it pretty well describes what it smells like. Which is pretty weird. I can't bear to get rid of it because it's just so cool, but... it's weird. I don't see wearing it much or at all, but... it's interesting and cool. Like a tropical island volcano or something. Green and aquatic with a bit of smoke and something warmer, like a wood maybe? It's different...

 

One weird thing is that I happened to get a second imp of this a few months after the first, and the colors are totally different. The second imp is the color of dragon's blood, that weird bright salmon red color, but the first is amber colored. I haven't compared the two, and I'm not sure which is the "right" one.

This is good, and I liked it in general, but the last lingering note was spices. For hours. Strongly. To the point that after about four hours I was so sick of smelling spices that I washed it off and gave away the imp to a male friend who thinks it's the best thing ever invented.

Story time. Sandalwood and leather are my two favorite cologne scents, and the friend that got me into all this stuff sent me The White Rider, among a few other imps she had, as a Christmas gift. Hooked from the first minute. And leaving it on... it only got better. Holy cow. I never thought I could smell so good!

 

This is way, way at the top of my favorite BPAL list. It's number one. This has pretty much become my signature scent. It's so simple, just sandalwood and leather, and both of those are good lingering notes, so I don't have to keep putting on more after a few hours. It's masculine, but with a sweetness, if that makes sense? Not like cheap boring cologne that have a lot of sharp or bitter things in there. It's... perfect.

Crayons. And not in a good way. I get the mint and juniper, I guess, but... I don't want to smell like a box of crayons. Which is really all I'm getting from this. Into the swap compartment it goes.

This was the single most disgusting thing I have ever smelled.

It was ridiculously strong and industrial smelling, like chemicals used in some sort of process with metal.

 

I tried to wait it out and see if the oil changed on my skin, but no, it just continued to make me gag. And it was STRONG.

 

I desperately tried to wash it off several times. I only succeeded in spreading the smell all over my hands. This junk lasted for hours. I did not like it at all.

I wouldn't go quite that far, but yeah, it was gross and really strong. I got a metallic thing going on here too. There's nice burnt wood smell, like maybe sandalwood or cedar incense, and then there's the smell of a fire pit full of burned camping trash that's been drowned in the rain. This one's the latter. And I like earthy woody scents. Not this one. Yuck.

I love this one so much that it's the first full bottle I ever bought (partly because it was now or never - I'm coming for you next, White Rider). A female friend of mine says it reminds her of gardening on a spring morning. The leather and earth parts are what linger most with a little of the grass. I don't really get the lemon either, but I think that's because it's so similar to the green grass. It's got this bright, uplifting, earthy energy to it that's fantastic.

.

I got this as part of an eBay lot and I couldn't wash it off fast enough. All I got was the tobacco tar and some spices. It was like being in a chainsmoker's kitchen. This guy says thumbs down.