isyche

Inferno was a frimp I got that I had wanted to try, so thanks lab! It's cinnamon/almond on me, about equal in strength, I don't get any of the neroli, and it's not burning my skin or anything. It does remind me of Eclipse, but I think I prefer this. The cinnamon's not too candyish on me (which is good, since I like real cinnamon but hate red hots and cinnamon gum)...the almond makes it more like cookies or something, as others have said. It's definitely a warm, red, glowing scent and might be nice in a burner for the holidays. I think I'll save the imp until it gets cold out. This is my favorite Dark Element so far.

in bottle: incense. on: Wow. This is a complex, warm, shadowy, black-and-purple scent. I smell bergamot and tea leaves, incense smoke, myrrh, candles, a tiny bit of carnation, maybe some dark fruit... Like most of my favorite BPAL scents, it's incredibly atmospheric. I close my eyes and I'm there in a fortune teller's wagon draped with old velvet and fringe and hanging herbs, surrounded by flickering candle flames and wavering shadows. I *love* this.

in bottle: sweet and buttery...yummy, but very rich. it seems like a little goes a looong way. on: the same buttery-sugary-fried-food smell as in the bottle, but lighter...I can't smell it unless I put my wrist to my nose. it's not salty, but more like sweet fried things – white sugar-sprinkled donuts or funnel cakes, yeah. it's making me hungry. I don't know how much I'll wear this, but it's definitely unique and delicious and I'm keeping it.

Snake Charmer in bottle: smells like Snake Oil. on: A slightly sweeter Snake Oil...the spices are the same, but I think I can smell the plum and coconut under them. It's still extremely similar, though. As it dries, the coconut comes out briefly and there's a phase where it reminds me of Perversion, then it goes back to Snake Oil. I like this, but I already have a bottle of Snake Oil, so I might swap it to someone whose skin brings out the other notes more.

in vial: Fruity, kind of like fruit punch. on: Very light pale floral, mainly pear and plumeria...I don't get the rose. It fades really quickly. La Belle au Bois is nice but unremarkable on my skin, one of those light girly florals that are pretty but just not me (see also: Juliet, Endymion, Thalia, Pele, Desdemona). Sleeping Beauty was never my favorite fairy tale princess anyway. Off to swap.

In vial: Musk, that perfume counter smell. On: Musk and opium? That must be the poppy. I don't get the patchouli. Vechernyaya is heady, perfumey and sophisticated, like an expensive traditional perfume. It's definitely an evening scent...it makes me think of designer ball gowns and diamonds, as others have said. Smoky and sparkling is a great description. It's not really me, though. Utrennyaya is more my kind of thing....so it's off to swap.

I got a decant of 13 from OriginalWacky...thanks! In the vial, it smells exactly like Bliss, very chocolatey. On me, it's more like tea-chocolate-orange...the tea note is very fresh/cool/clean, and it dominates the scent on my skin, which is great because I love Beth's white tea scents. The chocolate and orange come in and out in the background, and they're sweet and warm and bakery-like, which makes for a strange but interesting contrast. It gives me an image of having afternoon tea and chocolate pastries outside on a cloudy day with a cool breeze blowing. 13 is certainly unique, and I'm glad I got a chance to try it.

At first this is a fresh sweet dewy floral with green leaves around it. I like this phase, but as it dries it becomes mainly sweet pea and the dewy leaf smell goes away. Juliet is an innocent, pale pink, soft, traditionally feminine smell...like Desdemona, it's pretty, but not really me. Rosalind is still my favorite girly Illyria scent. I guess I prefer my Shakespearean ingenues wild and cross-dressing.

Peitho was a frimp from the lab that I was wanting to try. Thanks, lab! wet: Light jasmine. Worried that the jasmine will turn evil, but I press on. on: Spices and vanilla? This is actually quite nice. I think the sandalwood, myrtle, musk, vanilla and clove together are beating the jasmine back. Yay! I can still tell it's there, but it's submitting and blending into the lily in the background. The overall effect is of a creamy vanilla-whiteness liberally sprinkled with spices. Peitho is kind of like a more refined sister of Hell's Belle on me...it has the same sort of creamy sexy white floral/spice combination. I actually quite like this. I don't think I need a bottle, but the imp will be saved.

Jester was another lagniappe from the lab that I wouldn't have ordered because I'm not a fruity scent girl, by and large. In the imp it smells like banana to me, weirdly, and it stays that way for a while on my skin. Bananas and apple, I get that too. Then it goes to a sweet berry candy smell like I thought it would. Yep, Jester isn't me at all. To the swap pile.

Akuma was another lagniappe from the lab that I probably wouldn't have ordered because I don't do well with most fruity scents. It's all sharp neroli at first, the same sharp almost pickle-like scent I got from Lolita. I can vaguely smell raspberry behind it. Then the raspberry comes out and it turns to a berry candy smell. This isn't me -- I figured as much. Off to swap with you, Akuma!

Phantasm was lagniappe from the lab....I wouldn't have ordered it because I fear jasmine, but I tried it. It's a light, fresh, floaty lemon and tea on me at first, similar to Shanghai, which I like. However, the jasmine comes out later and starts to dominate with that evil rice/soap smell (although it is lighter/fresher than jasmine usually is on me). I prefer Shanghai, since jasmine hates me.

I swapped for an imp of this from OriginalWacky...thanks! On me Wildfire is dragon's blood and rose mainly at first, then the dragon's blood fades back more to blend with the other notes and the rose is prominent. It's very red and warm with a touch of smoke, and makes me think of red-gold Indian summer afternoons. The wood, orris, and juniper are giving it a dry feel, sort of like a sun-dried August rose garden ready for burning, which is an interesting image. I like it and I'm glad I got to try it!

Hmm, just opened the imp of Bathsheba and this is very “perfume counter” on my fingers, like I just touched one of those magazine perfume strips. When I put it on, there's a bit of fresh sweetness and then it settles down to a light perfumey scent. I recognize the Arabian musk from Othello, and that's the strongest note on me...I think I can detect some carnation behind it, maybe, but I don't get any plum. The commercial perfume associations make this not my thing -- the heady musk kind of makes me want to sneeze. I bet it would be nice on someone whose skin brings out the freshness of the carnation and plum, though. Off to swap.

Nocturne is very strong lilac on me, with this overpowering heavy floralness that I also get from jasmine and gardenia. I love the smell of lilacs on the bush, but the lilac note seems to go all wrong on my skin. The drydown is powdery violet, but it's still kind of oppressively strong. Damn, I was hoping to like this more...but Midnight gives me the same dreamy moonlight blue quality without heavy jasmine or lilac, so I guess I'll stick with it and swap Nocturne.

I caved and bought a bottle of Yog-Sothoth on ebay after reading the reviews and being intrigued by the whole "creepy, vast air and darkness" concept. Sadly, it's just vetiver on me, which I can't stand. It's a light vetiver, not as bad as some have been, but not what I wanted -- it is kind of manly-cologne-ish. The bottle scent is more interesting, but my skin kills it. Ah well.

Eden starts out as strong, waxy, slightly bitter dark green leaves -- must be the fig leaf -- with something sweet (honey?) behind it that makes for an odd combination. I usually like leaf smells, but there's something weird about this one, so I'm not crazy about this part. Then, after a while, suddenly the fig (definitely a juicy fig, not a dried one) and toasted coconut and milk jump out and it becomes rich and warm and rounded/fruity, like a dessert... figs in warm honey milk with coconut on top. It stays that way the rest of the time. The end phase is nice, but I don't know if I love it overall enough to keep it. ETA: I decided it was too tropical-fruity for me...the drydown is yummy but it felt wrong on me, so I swapped it to a very happy new forumite.

Wet, Elegba is sweet boozy coconut, like Grog with coconut and smoke added. I like this better than Grog...it's more wearable, less candy-sticky. As it dries, it becomes similar to Perversion, only sweeter and without the leather, and it ends up as just sweet tobacco. This is OK, but I love Perversion and already have a bottle of it, so I'll probably swap Elegba.

Wet, this is all strong pine/juniper, but a natural spicy pine, not an unpleasant fake one – it smells just like there's pine sap on my hand. As it dries, it sweetens, so it's a bit like Tombstone, a sweet dusty vanilla-pinewood smell. The final drydown is pretty much exactly like Snake Oil on me. Golden Priapus smells nice, but it's not really me. I prefer Snake Oil for me.

Out of the imp, Utrennyaya is sweet and minty, reminiscent of Shattered to me. It feels sparkly and white, very star-like. As it dries it becomes more herbal/floral, but still pale, airy, and minty; I can make out the violet and rose, but I think of white ones, not purple or red ones. This is a very pretty, ethereal scent, like a garden just before dawn when the colors are muted and the air is cool. I like it a lot.

On me, Whippoorwill is very fresh, green, a bit lemony at first, simple and unsweet; if it's a marsh, it's a pleasant daytime one with tall reeds waving in the sun and birds singing. I recognize the bamboo note from Neo-Tokyo, I think, and the moss reminds me of Cathode. I don't get any spice or wood, though. It's very nice and certainly my kind of scent – I love the “cool, mossy, green, fresh” category -- but I'm not heartbroken that I don't have more.

As everyone's said, Shub-Niggurath is yummy sharp raw ginger, very warming and savory...I was afraid of getting gingerbread from this because I don't really like ginger cookies, but it's not, it's fresh ginger root over an incensey/spicy base that's kind of like Snake Oil on me (the aphrodisiacal spices?). It's also quite strong and long-lasting on me. I like it a lot.

Villain is much more subtle than I was expecting... less cologne-y than Vicomte de Valmont, and softer than Whitechapel. On me it's a light, silky lavender skin scent that's a tiny bit sweet, and smells traditionally elegant. I agree that it's very Victorian -- it doesn't scream sex to me, it feels more proper and buttoned-up, although it might be different on a guy's skin. I like it, though, and I think it would be a good everyday man's scent.

in vial: sharp bergamot and lavender. on: bergamot and lavender and leather and amber and other herbs, like a mix of Antony and Saint-Germain (both of which I like a lot), but a bit more complex than either of those. the drydown on me is mainly amber and tonka, I think, with light overtones of the herbs, similar to Saint-Germain's drydown, but richer. Overall, I really like Casanova and I bet it would be tres sexy on a guy.

Lust was a frimp from the lab tht I hadn't considered getting, so I was interested to try it. At first all I smell in Lust is strong, hot patchouli and red musk. It kind of makes my head swim when I sniff the vial. I definitely see how this evokes the sin – it's a very down and dirty carnal smell. When I put it on, it's softer and the ylang ylang comes out after a while, turning it into a sweet heady floral, and I don't really like this phase -- I'm not a ylang ylang fan. I don't know if I'll keep it or not – I like it more than I was expecting to, but I don't like what it does on my skin.