tajana

In the imp, this smells like a lot of lavender, cold and blue. Wet, though, it instantly softens. It's a pretty union of lavender and soft, pretty, magnolia... lush, but lighter, more ethereal than usual. Magnolia is typically heady with a bit of a "high"/sharp edge, yet somehow sultry on me, but this incarnation is much gentler. I also get a lot of light, sweet, clean musk. The overall effect is chilly and lovely. Sadly, though, it's fleeting. The strength of the lavender fades exponentially, and the magnolia turns to indistinct pale floral musk that fades to a vague skin scent, literally, within 10 minutes. It seems very appropriate for the namesake, but it seems I'd have to slather on half a bottle to get much out of Yvaine.

I tried a sniffy of this blind, not knowing the listed notes. Wet on the skin, it was very sweet and fruity, very candy-ish orange with a hint of some berry. As it dried orange blossom came out to give a soft somewhat powdery, lightly bitter edge to the sweet, berry-tinted orange. It faded in intensty rather quickly, and when the orange floated away, I was left with raspberries and powdery floral. Pretty straightforward, but it doesn't stand out as anything special with my skin chemistry and it's not my cup of tea in general.

In the imp, I definitely get fir, bark, and a swirl of musky resin. Wet, it's odd. It's syrupy an resinous, with odd, medicinal, almost sweet-yet-savory feeling. The smell of bark punches through shortly, accompanied by a brush of fir needle. I'm not familiar with massoia bark as a note but after a bit of research (it apparently has a sweet, coconutty, buttery, distinctive aroma) I really think that's the note that rises highest and really colors the character of this scent. It amps in an odd way, it's creamy (though that could be a bit of benzoin mixing in) and it feels like an exotic spice rolled in something buttery, which feels a little nauseating to me, to be honest... I can't handle buttery feeling scents, and it's almost disorienting to find something with that quality in something so completely UNfoody! The spice-feel is enriched by the edge of fir as well, and in the opening stages, by the brightness of bergamot. Mostly, though, I think I'm amping the massoia, which dampens the effects of all the other notes. There's still a detectable myrrh and musky base, very warm and "brown" in feel, and it becomes more apparent as the other notes back off. It's a very, very distinctive perfume, I think... I've never smelled anything else like it. It's a worth a try just for the novelty of it, but it doesn't smell very good on my skin so I'm passing it on.

Fig... ripe, earthy, and creamy in its sweetness. I can vividly imagine the texture of a real fig when I smell this perfume freshly applied. Bright, fresh green sap adds an energizing tartness. As it dries down, big green leaves shade the fig and sap note. There's a bit of sharpness to it. After it dries down the rooty, woody aspects peek out a little, with a tantalizing suggestion of spice, but it's still mostly creamy figs with a sunlit green feel. It has great, throw, too. Yep, definitely a keeper. I like it even more than I expected to. I can't stop huffing my wrist. ETA: And this is long-wearing, too! I really, really love this. I've been looking for an awesome, brighter green scent, and this is it. I got a bottle and I love it. This also layers well with spicy scents. Compared to other wood and fig BPALs: Not as "dark" in feel as Intrigue... Intrigue is a night-time scent, Stranger Fig is the sunshine-infused counterpart. The creamy fig is very similar to Eden, but where Eden was oversweetened, cloying, and funky on my skin, the Strangler has some moderation and more greenery.

Plummy plummy plums, sweet and soft, not too tart, almost like pink bubblegum at times. The carnation is pleasantly punchy and prominent, adding a nice touch of spiciness that goes really well with the mums and plum. The atypical florals are a great compliment to the fruit, and keep this perfume smelling interesting. It eventually dries down to a spiced (yay, carnation), fruity yet not juicy sweetness, with the chrysanthemums holding on as a discernible note. The musk is a subtle base and doesn't really stand out to me, but then, most musks are subtle and meld with my natural skin smell. This is nice, it's really fun, and it has good lasting power. It feels like a great scent for late summer through early autumn in particular. I don't need a bottle, but the imp's a keeper.

Wet, it's light, bright, and clean take on green. Mossy, but illuminated. As it starts to dry down I get a hint of freshly turned earth, right after it's rained. The combination of moss and rained on earth smells natural but very clean. At this point, I am really enjoying the smell! I was hoping that the dried roses would be more well behaved on me than fresh roses, and they are, to a degree... they don't go oppressively powdery, but there's an oddly sour aspect to this scent that becomes clearer and clearer as it sits on my skin, and I can't help but suspect the rose is responsible. After about half an hour, Zombi has faded to crushed rose petals and clean moss. After an hour, it's all rose with an earthy undertone. Not for me, sadly!

Sweet juniper, softened with the pale suggestions of shivering flowers, including freshly cut muguet. Cypress emerges as it dries down, balanced with the dark juniper. I really like this when it's wet and just as it starts to dry, it's a delicate and elegant take on evergreen. I get whiffs of powdery violet getting stronger after a while, usurping the lily of the valley as the primary floral note. After some time the chilly green tree boughs, dusty violets, and unidentified "herbal" notes become more strongly grounded in a base of warm, smoky-sweet myrrh. After only about an hour of wear, it's gone to mostly myrrh on me, shot through with a piercing chill (juniper, violet, something camphorous, I assume that's the cajeput). It blends together very smoothly and stays distinctive rather than turning into a poofy cloud of generic floral incense as I feared it might based on the notes. This is beautiful, yet I'm torn on whether or not I should keep it around because it has such a somber feel, like something I would only be compelled to wear if I was going to attend a funeral or visit a grave.

I'd been trying to track some of this down for sooo long, and finally, got frimped with it! I had high expectations for Port Royal! Wet: A swirl of sweet rum with a noticeably boozy edge, a whiff of delightful spices (cinnamon, and I think cardamom too!), a sharp breeze of aquatic "sea air", and, best of all, a whole lot of wood, glorious wood, including some lovely cedar. It smells fairly masculine, but I like the smell enough that I feel comfortable wearing it. Dry: It settles down and smooths out, basically progressing as you'd expect based on the top notes. After it's been on the skin for an hour, it's faded a bit but it's still fresh, cool sea spray lapping against planks of dark wood (cedar is here, and probably some form of sandalwood), with a faint breath of delicate floral/light vanilla feminine perfume an occasional splash of rum. I really dislike "aquatic", ocean water-type notes when they're dominant in a blend, but it's subtle enough here that I find it perfectly wearable. This is all when I plaster my wrist to my nose. When I just enjoy the throw wafting up, it's mostly spicy rum-sweetened wood. It lingers for hours and hours in that form. Overall: Manly and piratey (wood and spicy rum) and yet a bit clean (fresh and aquatic) with occasional hints of something more femme (that "prostitute's perfume"). This is really evocative of the place described, but still a wearable perfume for a person, making it a perfect example of the Wanderlust series, in my opinion. This is so good. It's really, well, piratey, but I can't help but love it. If you like spicy and woody scents, this is a must-try. Note: This smells great on my boyfriend, too! A bit of warm rum melded into spiced brown woods. The overall effect made him think of tree roots.

On the topic of carnation... because B&C is quite carnation heavy on me as well... Morocco on me is very sweet, all vanilla and sweetness, way more cloying than B&C ever is... but if your skin tones down the vanilla, maybe you'll get some of the carnation magic. Judith and Holofernes is hard to get a hold of sometimes because it's a retail only, but it has a dash of carnation and it's otherwise a very striking perfume with a very prominent sandalwood note... kind of like what I wanted Morocco to be. Ysabel has a hefty dose of clove and clovey carnation, and it also has cedar in common with B&C. Clemence also has both carnation and clove, so if you're in a spicy mood, it may be worth a try. Masquerade behaves differently on me, but on my boyfriend it is ALL spicy, spicy carnation (I'm jealous)... with some sweet orange blossom and a patchouli backdrop. As far as lighter, airier scents go, I found Maiden to have a very prominent, slightly sassy carnation note. I find Bow & Crown to be very similar to Crowley in the dry-down... both are woody, vanilla-y, musky, leathery unisex colognes, but whereas I find Bow & Crown to be cool and clean, Crowley is warmer and dirtier... also sweeter. Bow & Crown vanilla isn't nearly as strong as Crowley vanilla on me. Crowley is also definitely worth a shot if you like Dee... Crowley smells like a relative of B&C, Dee, and Loviatar, with extra vanilla.

Prurience, in the vial and wet on the skin, smells SO familiar! That's probably the strong undercurrent of red musk and red amber (a la Fenris Wolf) underneath the scorched, smoky vetiver. On me, it smells a lot like the "smoke" in Priala, which is one of my favorites. But here, it's just not as charming, because nothing else even challenges it. Also, this oil is really intense, and a little drop turned out to be very strong. The smoky vetiver becomes too much, and too dry, especially because as it dries down the orris and amber amp up higher, adding a thick, dusty cloud of sweet powder. The carnation doesn't really deliver much more than a puff of clovey spice. The waft is a very powdery amber-vetiver combination. Later on the tonka peeks out a bit to smooth the edges, and remind me vaguely of a more aggressive, less sweetened variation on Snake Oil, but this scent remains dusty, dry, and thoroughly scorched.

I usually love lavender, lotus is great in moderation, and spices are great! So, when I slathered on some Paris I had high expectations. When first applied, I get herbal, clean-smelling lavender. Within moments, the lotus amps up and mixes with the lavender. It has a slightly aquatic, genuinely pretty aspect, but it's so strong that it colors the whole scent with bubblegum. A shame! There's just a faint hint of spices here, I think nutmeg. After a few hours all I can sense is a bit of bubblegum lotus dusted with nutmeg. It also has a powdery quality. As usual with very lotus-heavy scents, I still find it oddly appealing... despite or because of... its bubblegumminess. Still, though, I'll be reasonable and pass my imp on to a new home.

Wow, I've been having good luck with florals lately. Maybe my tastes are shifting a bit? Anyway, Noche Buena is very good indeed! At the outset, it has a fruity tone, perhaps apple, perhaps a squeeze of some sort of citrus, perhaps it's just the sweetness of the floral medley... but it's nice and tart and offset with a bit of fresh, vibrant green, so in the opening stage it calls to mind the ridiculously cheerful feel of one of my favorites, Aizen-Myoo, without actually sharing any notes in particular. It is really lovely. The sage doesn't really stand out to me. As it dries down, the greenness stays true, like the green stems of flowers that were cut just moments ago. The florals bloom, and it's a bouquet of greatness. Lush, sweet plumeria (I was just sniffing some plumerias the other day at a greenhouse!), fresh lilies, velvety tuberose, a touch of chrysanthemums... lots of florals that behave on me, none that amp or warp! After hours of wear on the skin, the flowers have died down and melded with the incense for a light, close-to-the-skin, pleasantly smoldering scent. It's very nice, and feels appropriate for spring and summer, yet I'd totally wear it in winter if I needed something jubilant and bright. I don't usually want to smell like straight-up florals, but for days that I do, I can reach for Noche Buena. This is definitely a keeper.

For some reason I let a partial frimp of this roll around untested for a while. When I finally popped it open and tried it on, my initial reaction was unpleasant. Wet, it's aggressively herbal and green, with a surprisingly strong parsley note and a lot of mossiness. It calms down as it dries down. The chamomile and gardenia get stronger, sweetened with a bit of honey, but not too much. After a while the sharp green edges melt into increasingly powerful frankincense. Its smokiness goes strangely well with the fresh grassy and floral notes. After a couple of hours have passed it's resin incense with strongly herbal undertones and a drop of honey. It really is summery, but in an unexpected way... yellow-green meadows with wisps of religious incense. I like it more than I thought I would!

I was frimped generously with a partial decant, and for days I didn't even test it out of fear. What if I loved it? It would be too hard to find more. One morning I just decided to dab some on and see what Hellhound was about. I hadn't read the description for a while so all I could remember being in it was vanilla, brimstone, and some kind of booze. Applied to my wrist, there's a strong top note of high john essence I've come to recognize but still can't quite accurately describe (there in Magus and High John the Conqueror). Within a few seconds it smells like herbal bay rum. Then, vanilla infused bay rum. There's a bit of extra spice to this too, a bit gingery, which I love. After it's been on the skin for a while it starts to smell quite smoky, which I'm guessing is the "brimstone", melded with tobacco. The tobacco is kept in check by the vanilla and bay rum, so it stays an interesting and oddly good note, rather than spiraling out of control as it's done at least twice on me in other BPALs. I was hoping this would be just another vanilla blend, but, no... it's actually really nuanced (but cohesive) and very good. I bet this would smell great on a guy, too. I haven't smelled any perfumes that remind me too strongly of this. It lingers for a long time as smoky, vanilla-tinted bay rum. So, yeah... tragically, I do like this... I like it a lot. ETA: You know, this sort of reminds me of Stimulating Sassafras Strengthener, especially after a few hours of wear. o_o;

Ok, so... Fairy Market... I didn't search for this too earnestly because I'm very picky with floral blends, and fresh or grassy blends, too. But then I got to try it. This. Is. Wonderful! Freshly applied to my skin, it's sugary delicate pink flowers and a tiny hint of creamy, marshmallowy goodness, fresh but girly. As it dries down a bit the bright green grass note shines through, wet and dewy... not like the harsh smell of freshly mown grass, but like the smell of a wild clearing where the plants grow freely. The grassy backdrop really enhances the flowers, which spring up delicately in shades of soft blue and lavender and pink. The creamy, marshmallow sweet candy smell is delicate and faintly fruity, faintly vanilla-tinted, and makes the throw of this scent smell quite delicious, but not in an overbearing way! There are whiffs of delicately sugar-coated lavender and... gah! I find it difficult to elaborate on this coherently. After it's been on the skin for a while the warm, golden incense shines through a bit more, balanced with misty floral notes. In summation, it smells like glitter and creamy candies strewn over a flower-coated meadow in mid-morning. Unfortunately, this seems to be one of those fickle scents on me. It needs to be slathered to come through, and even then, it often poofs all too quickly. I may eventually get a bottle, but it wouldn't be the most cost effective of purchases.

It starts off with pretty much all honey. As it dries down, the honey darkens with shades of musk spiced with a dash of carnation. The magnolia blooms later, lush and sultry, ushering in a strong sandalwood note with just a bit of smooth patchouli lying beneath it, but the honeyed skin musk remains the heart of the scent. I half expected this to go powdery and weird, what with the prominent honey, but it doesn't! It's just a dark, sensual, complex musky perfume that invites you to lean in and take a deeper whiff... after an hour it's dark amber-colored (not the resin, just the color) honeyed musk, cut with a bit of dry earthiness, swirled with a heady, intoxicating floral. Even later on I get way more of the sweet and warm, enveloping sandalwood... mmm amazing sandalwood. It smells expensive. It isn't overpowering, mainly because it has barely has any throw to speak of (it seems to have a bit more throw when I put it in my hair). It doesn't morph much but fades in intensity over time. It's sophisticated and a bit sexual... it shouldn't be an every day scent, but I'm often tempted to reach for this.

Wet on the skin, it has a cool, herbal touch... I couldn't determine what it was... it was very light, which makes it difficult to isolate, but it made me think of either eucalyptus and possibly a touch of sage. Mostly, though, it was lavender, lavender, soft purple lavender, feeling gentler and less sharp than it usually does. As it dries down the lavender infuses an amazing accord of marshmallow magic. Seriously, it smells like lavender rolled up with tons and tons of fluffy, pillowy marshmallows. Astonishingly, it does not go nauseatingly sweet on me. It just smells lovely, soft, and sweet, a simple but irresistible combination. I kept my wrist pressed to my nose and didn't want to stop inhaling, but I did fall asleep before too long. In the morning, the lavender has burned off, and while there's no throw to speak of... my wrist still smells like marshmallows. I will keep my decant handy for important nights that I can't afford to be an insomniac during, and when I can afford it I'll get a bottle so I can put this on my pillow and on myself whenever I want. It's am amazing smell, easily in my top 10 now... I love it to pieces, but it is so "bedtime!" that I obviously won't be wearing this any other time. ETA: It's past 1pm now and when I huff my wrist, I still distinctly smell like delicious marshmallows. I cant' bring myself to wash this off, though.

I tried this a while back and sold/swapped it away... I was frimped with this again recently, so I decided to give Sri Lanka another try! Wet it's mostly patchouli and dry sandalwood with even drier cedar. As it dries down the woods stay very dry and austere, and the patchouli stays relatively low, but the myrrh swells up and adds resinous sweetness further on into the dry-down. A little bit powdery, a little bit smoky. I'm also getting tiny whiffs of frankincense (olibanum?) here and there. I like the smell, but not as a perfume to wear on the skin... it feels like a smell for a place, not for a person.

Wet it's a lot of myrrh. Myrrh, myrrh, smoldering myrrh, with cinnamon spice. A bit like Chimera plus smokiness, minus whatever made that one smell like a baked dessert. When it dries down the cinnamon bark (definitely makes me think more of rolled up sticks of cinnamon bark rather than any other form) strengthens and I swoon a bit. The smoke rises, and it's blackened and dark and vetiver-y, it adds a bit of woodsmoke-esque edginess to the resinous dark myrrh, which is quite dry and less sweet than many of the other myrrhs I've smelled in BPAL. I'm sure a lot of people around me would read this as "powdery" (grumble, grumble) but I'm enamored with this, to me it smells like smoky incense studded with dry cinnamon sticks, with a lovely smoke and gold throw. The cinnamon eventually becomes just a whisper, but the effect of that dry cinnamon bark aspect on the myrrh lingers and keeps what would otherwise come off as a single note interesting. I have only a little bit of a partial decant to play with, and I think I really need to look into getting more! It's so warm and smoky and purr-worthy. ETA: I think I will wear this a lot during the colder months. It's great to have a spice perfume that's NOT foody or very sweet. The myrrhs are really intoxicating here, and every time I dab this scent on I have to fight to stop gluing my nose to my wrist. It goes through a not-so-awesome moment soon after it's wet, but after it is dry it is just too good. The waft is subtle, but warm and enveloping, and I don't get powder from this at all, just a smoldering, ridiculously compelling dark incense scent with the tantalizing suggestion of woody cinnamon bark. Awesome lasting power, too.

Starts off with citrus, all swanky grapefruit and lemon zest squeezed into chilled white tea. As the astringency of the citrus smooths out the sprig of cold, luminous mint comes into focus, harmonizing with one of the strongest white tea notes I've yet to smell in a BPAL oil. This doesn't smell like a mere tasty iced tea drink, oh no. It's got a lovely dose of sharp black leather, too. This is a relative of Severin at this point, but more feminine, expensive, sleek, and domineering. About ten minutes in the orchid comes forth with an elegant flourish, blending perfectly with a kush and teak wood cologne. The leather gets stronger as the citrus-mint tea gradually fades, but it retains a cool and fresh quality. The lasting power is pretty weak, but that's par for the course with citrus-tea blends. I can't speak as to how true this is to the spirit of Manhattan, as I've never even been to NYC, but I can say that this an urbane sort of perfume. I really enjoy it, and my imp will be in heavy rotation as long as the weather stays warm.

I wasn't sure whether to be excited or worried by Theodosius. I love tea, but jasmine hates me. The jasmine fear was enough to keep me from buying any amount of this, but I'm glad to have the opportunity to try out a little sample! Wet on my skin, though, I don't really get any hint of jasmine. Just soft vanilla and creamy "pearlescent" white musk... only the soft whiff of bergamot keeps this from smelling super girly. As it dries down the fougere peeks out just a tiny big, but this hint of dapper gentlemanliness is squashed by pearly soft white vanilla musk, infused with a splash of black tea, and on me this smells like an even girlier Dorian, if that was possible... Dorian, on me, smells extremely girly... you couldn't convince me it was androgynous, let alone masculine. Theodosius is even creamier. The jasmine finally shows up after about half an hour, but it's just a slight flavoring in the tea rather than something potent enough to spiral out of control and ruin everything. It finally dries down to a whole ton of creamy vanilla musk with an occasional hint of vague floralness. Not nearly as much tea as Dorian. It doesn't smell bad, just kind of... boring. I guess I'm safe from this particular CD perfume! Phew!

I didn't expect to like this so much! Lolita freshly applied surprised me. I must have mixed it up in my memory with another perfume because I expected bubblegum, but instead I got zingy, almost spicy citrus tempered with a vanillic, slightly cherry-ish tone... heliotrope? As it settled on on my skin it was alll lemon verbena and sweet orange, with soft almost powdery blossom notes and a touch of honey... definitely orange blossom and honeysuckle in the spotlight. It all smells like golden syrup and zesty orange hard candy. It dries down to mostly orange blossom, heliotrope, and honeysuckle, in that order. The magic is fleeting... in under an hour, it goes a bit powdery in the way that orange blossom is sometimes wont to do on me, the zesty citrus qualities are gone, and it's just a faded whiff of bland skin-close powder. It's a bummer because this really doesn't have very much lasting power on me... I wish I could trap it in the opening ten minutes and just keep it from developing further. (Well doesn't that sound creepy and appropriate for this particular scent.) This isn't at all similar to what I usually gravitate towards wearing as a perfume, but I kind of adore this. I'm confident that once I use up my imp I'll crave more, against all logic... and the imp will be gone fast, since this is a "reapply! reapply!" sort of deal. Bad news. Another issue besides lasting powder is that it's pretty sweet, and anything sweet with a fruity bent my boyfriend reads as "juicy fruit hyperglycemia". Can you tell I'm trying desperately to convince myself that I should just move on? Maybe I'll try it in a locket.

Cheshire Cat smelled OMGAWESOME in the imp, I grinned as soon as I whiffed it. Since I just used up my Aizen-Myoo, I needed a new imp-ful of bright citrus tempered with florals in my life! I've wanted to try Cheshire Cat for a long time. In the imp, it was playful grapefruit turned pink, cheerfully sparring with sleepy lavender and chamomile. On my wrist, it just went all wrong. It was profoundly bitter in a way that grapefruit never is on me, the red currant note smelled sickly and sticky, and then there was just more herbal-florally bitterness, and then the dark musk went powdery in a most discordant way... I wish I knew exactly what went wrong... I really expected to like this but I can't stand to sniff it long enough to figure it out.

Black Lily, freshly applied, is all blooming lily. Just the flower itself... there's little, if any, hint of the rest of the plant. It's a softly sweet floral, full-bodied yet not too heady, with just a hint of high tartness. It has a lovely creamy quality, and I'm not sure if that's just an exceptionally awesome lily note or if there's a dash of something like vanilla hiding out in the depths. This does feel darker than the brighter feel I usually get from lilies, largely because the lily seems to be steeped in a base of dark amber and/or musk, which does, as usual, go powdery on me, but in an appropriately perfumey and multifaceted way, since the floral notes retain their freshness and touch of creaminess for a good long while. Fresh it was really nice, but the dry-down is really nice too, soft and fairly simple, but dusky enough to be intriguing. I like this at least as much as I like the brighter Cobra Lily. Lilies, a floral I can love! I'm picky with florals, as even the pleasant ones often strike me as a bit dull somehow, but this imp's definitely a keeper.

When I opened up the imp I felt a little bit of trepidation. Rose! It rarely goes well on me. Still, I dabbed some on, as I just recently tried some enchanting florals. Freshly applied, though, the rose is quite demure and well behaved. Just a fresh cut, old fashioned rose. It does smell rather wistful... the petals smell delicate, there's just a tiny hint of green thorns, and a slightly powdery, dusty finish. The spices come through as dusty, too. It stays old-fashioned and Victorian smelling for a little bit, and if nothing else I have another instance of rose being rosy instead of deathly on me, but after thirty minutes or so the thing starts to go sour and unfortunate. Oh, well! This is a straightforward rose perfume, so if you like roses, go for it.