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Hm. This is a rose scent I could wear. Must be the amber and musk keeping the flowers from getting too cloying.

Shango Wet on skin, this oil is puuuure apple. After an hour, the apple dies back and this is nearly all coconut with some sugar cane. Another thirty minutes and it's all banana. Er, no thanks.

Red Rose This starts out spicy and stays that way for quite a while. After an hour, the rose comes to the surface but the heaviness of the clove is still present. I can pick up the barest hints of amber and tobacco, but this is primarily clove. Layered with White Rose: WOW. Okay, now I understand all the rave reviews. I was meh at best about Red Rose, but with the White layered on top... I'm going to need a moment. Or three.

Earth Ox Melon. But not the screaming MELON of Earth Rat. There's a lot more going on in the background and the other notes get to bubble to the surface occassionally to say "hi". A little plum, a little tangerine, some flowers. Very pretty.

Bony Moon I got only a decant of this because curiosity got the better of me. Cedar and sandalwood? On me? Oh but no. Except... it works and now I'm wishing I had a bottle of this delicious blend. It's cool and brisk without any trace of mint. I think I'll coat my sandalwood fans with Bony Moon this summer.

White Rose This is a Where-Have-You-Been-All-My-Life scent. This is amazing. Vanilla tea and coconut and a rose which doesn't turn to powdery death on my skin. I want to bathe in this. I want to drown in this. I haven't tried layering with Red Rose yet, because I don't want to spoil how amazing the vanilla tea and coconut are. I'm so very much in love.

Lovers in a Ricefield This oil is nearly all plum with a hint of pear when it's wet on my skin. After an hour, the pear is gone and the pear is fading while the vanilla sandalwood rises to the top. I agree that the rice note is more rice milk than wild rice. It's very, very pretty but it's not a me scent.

413 U.S. 15 / Miller Vs. California Oh my, this one is complex! It's sweet when I first open the imp and then it turns into standard men's cologne. When it's wet on my wrist, the oil turns into a spicy leather with a hint of booze in the background. But when it has dried, the cream and figs and berries bubble to the top. I LOVE berries so I have no problem with this stage. Now that it's been on my wrist for a few hours, the oil is less brightly fruity and more creamy with one of the darker scents pulling the scent back down to earth. I may need to spring for a bottle of this one; I don't think an imp will be nearly enough.

House of Night I don't like "green" scents because they make my nose itch. The green note in this is very faint behind the flowers -- which I find more shouty than somber -- but it's just enough to make the tip of my nose tickle. This is very pretty, but I'm nowhere near gothy enough to pull off this perfume. Thirty minutes of wear and it's got that dreaded hair spray "aftertaste". Trade.

Bayou I am soooo not an aquatic scent person but I am a floral person. This oil is hitting me hard as the smell of late summer in the south. The air is too heavy for any kind of movement and all one can do is drape oneself across a porch swing. The flowers have passed their peak and are on their way to crisping in the sun. And an hour later, it's full-on soap.

Hellfire Wow! This one socked me in the memory banks. No, I've never attended a Black Mass. When this oil is wet, it smells like the party room in the Southern Mississippi Sigma Nu house. Wow. I can smell the stale beer and cigarette butts. As it dries, it sweetens. The leather's faded and the tobacco is, suprisingly, lightening the scent. It's almost floral. How weird. I don't want to like this, but... I kind of do. I'll keep it for further experimentation.

Lovers with Rutting Cats Very sweet vanilla when wet. Dries to a mossy incense backing the date and ginger. There's still a bit of vanilla sweetness hanging about. It's staying very close to my skin. I agree that this scent is demurely seductive. Yeah, it's going to be the sleeper hit.

Sol Invictus The air is crisp today. While the roads are clear and dry, the grassy landscape and trees are covered with ice-crusted snow. The sky is cloudless and the sun is bright. This is a perfect day for Sol Invictus. The amber and orange and frankincense and melding beautifully to create a bright, if chilly, scent. This a perfect representation of the winter sun.

Carnaval Diabolique Mmm... sweet lemon and coconut. Who knew that these two could meld so beautifully? I get faint whiffs of the smoke and the occassional hint of vanilla, plus some floral softness in the background but it's mostly coconut and sweet lemon. I this! I may need to grab a second bottle or three before the Carnaval leaves town.

Cordelia The floral isn't cloying, the citrus isn't too shouty, and the cedar isn't too woody. Everything is perfectly balanced and the mix of florals, musk, tea, and cedar makes Cordelia a lovely feminine scent that isn't too girly. I've been debating whether or not I should trade Cordelia away, but every time I wear her I fall in love again. I guess the blend is so perfect that there isn't one note that I absolutely must have on my skin even though all of them work nicely together. I suppose I'll hang on to her for those days when I don't know what to wear.

Black Pearl This is delicious and sweet in the bottle. When it touches my skin, it turns into hairspray. *cough*choke* After thirty minutes or so, the coconut and iris are rising and whatever contains the hairspray note is receding. I'm not sure about this one, yet. It's pretty, but maybe today isn't the right day or time to wear Black Pearl. I'll let it age a bit and try again in the spring.

Black Lily This is truly lily in perfume form. Wow. It reminds me of the jonquils and daffodills and lilies in the front yard of my childhood home. Very little throw so it needs a bit of slathering. This won't be my everyday scent, but it's a nice palate cleanser from my usual tea and resin loves.

Bat So soft and feminine. The amber grounds the florals so they don't become cloying but still allows them to play. I love the honeysuckle in this. I am reminded drinking the "honey" from the honeysuckle vines covering the shed in my grandmother's yard. This will have to be slathering scent because it's gotten fainter and fainter as the day passes. After six hours, it's still there, but barely.

Ho Ho Ho OMG, I looooove this. Spiced pear yumminess. And then it mellows to some sort of smokiness with berries. I don't understand it, but it's wonderful.

Egg Nog Latte I don't get much Egg Nog from this; it's aaaaall coffee. In the bottle and wet on my wrist it's coffee. And then it dries down to burned coffee. Sadness for me but happiness for the friend who is getting the bottle.

Aureus Aureus was in the second set of imps I ordered from the lab when I found BPAL in 2005 and I loved it so much I immediately ordered a 5ml bottle. That same 5ml has been sitting, mostly neglected, in my collection as I sampled the limited editions and lunacies and fruity scents. I opened the now three-year-old bottle this past weekend to decant a sample for a friend and was nearly knocked over by the rush of AMBER. Wow. I made a promise that I would wear this scent soon and much more often. It's amazing. I mean, I loved it fresh. But as a three-year-old, this is incredible. The incense and amber and sandalwood have blended so perfectly and I feel bathed in a warm glow. This is perfect for today's brilliant sunshine against a cold blue sky and snow-covered landscape.

Aglaea This little gem caught me totally by surprise. You see, when my mom remarried she wanted to have peach potpourri sachets for wedding favors. My grandmother, sister and I spent the better part of three weeks filling net balls with peach potpourri. Ever since I have despised peach-scented items and even been leary of the actual fruit. Then an imp of Aglaea fell into my collection. I didn't read the notes before applying the oil. I happily sniffed and snorfled my wrist delighting in the soft fruitiness. I was reminded of a gentler "Hanging Gardens". I decided right then that I needed a bottle of this amazing perfume. And then I read the notes. Peach? There's PEACH in this? And I love it?? Beth, you're amazing. You've made me appreciate peach again!

French Love This is so weird. I had tested a friend's imp about 6 months ago and it smelled SOOOOO good. It's been on my must-have list ever since. But when I got my own imp the oil smelled like hot cherry cough syrup and was so strong it stung my eyes. Swap pile.

Heavy incense notes waft lazily through a mix of carnation, jasmine, bergamot, and neroli over a lush bed of dark mosses, iris blossom, deep patchouli and indolent vetiver. The Caterpillar Oh, I loved the list of notes for this oil (except vetiver! ick, ptui!) and unfortunately all I smelled on my skin was vetiver (ick, ptui!). Swap pile.

Agrat-Bat-Mahlaht Yes, honey is a NOTE OF DEATH on me and I was blinded by the amber and completely missed the honey in the list of notes. The oil is pretty in the bottle, but whoa and sadness on my skin. I wonder, though, based on Agrat and The Hesperides, if apple is also a death note. Swap pile.