maijasu

This one is really interesting! I love the citrus and saffron, and the vetiver and cedar make it deeper and more masculine. I'm thinking it would be really nice on my husband, but then we might fight over the imp, so if it works for both of us, we may need a bottle. Interestingly, this is the first blend with vetiver that I've actually liked. A wonderful and very unusual blend!

I love the coffee in this--it's not the sweet Irish coffee of Misk U, but a thick, black coffee. It's very fleeting, though, and this scent turns out to be mostly floral. I appreciate that the rose doesn't go all soapy on me, but it's very sweet and borders on cloying. I wish this were more woods and coffee, and slightly less floral, but it could still be a very pretty scent on the right person.

Fruity and candyish, but also a little bit musky, and the lavender is very sharp. It's interesting, but not something I'd wear often enough to keep my imp.

I definitely get mostly patchouli from this, and it's a harsh one, at least on me. I can usually wear the red patchouli in BPAL blends, but for some reason, this isn't working out for me. It's very dry and masculine, although the incense does sweeten it up a bit eventually. I can see this being beautiful on someone with the right skin chemistry, and it also might be nice layered with something to soften it up (Antique Lace maybe?), but I think I'll pass it along anyway.

I love carnation, bergamot, musk, and tangerine. But I can't smell any of those here. The rose is amping as usual on me, and turning into soapy powdery old lady. I'm sure those of you without such weird skin chemistries will love this one, but I'll have to find a new home for it.

At first, this is a syrupy-sweet, soda-pop like scent. Eventually it becomes clearer that the sweetness is a honey note, and it dominates whatever other notes are in here. It's strong and has good throw. There's a hint of spice and something deeper, too. I like it and will keep my imp, and maybe get a bottle when it's gone.

 

As far as voodoo properties, I'm not quite sure...but I will edit this if anything interesting happens.

Okay, I've learned my lesson. I will never try another rose scent again, ever. Soap soap soap.

 

 

What she said. I love amber and musk, but the rose ruined this one for me.

My skin still hates roses. Sigh. This was all soapy floral on me. I didn't smell much vetiver. Off to swaps!

Sweet candy and cedar--what a weird combo! But I kind of like it. I'm not really smelling much spice, nor the wintergreen that others are talking about. It's unusual, but it works. I don't think I'll get a bottle, but I'm glad to have gotten the chance to try this one.

I was hoping for more musk and amber in this, but I'm getting the leather and cedar, maybe a little pine too. It's very masculine, which I don't mind, but my husband says it smells like Old Spice. Clearly, his nose needs to get used to the BPAL, but nonetheless, I am not in love with this blend, so it will be going to a new home.

This is a light, very natural-smelling apricot scent on me. I don't really get the brandy component at all, so it's not really what I was expecting. It's very soothing and soft, but I think I prefer scents with peach in them. Still, this one was really fun to sniff--and I might even try it out on my scent-loving toddler to see if he likes it. It's subtle enough, and non-boozy, so it just might work!

This is a light, soapy floral on me. It smells nice layered with fruity scents, but by itself, it just doesn't do anything for me. I'll be swapping my decant.

I smell vaguely spicy, musky peaches and melons. I am in love!!! I have one precious imp, but am hoping that someday this will make a return.

I thought I'd really like this one from looking at all the notes--spices and resins usually love me, and there are no dealbreakers in here. But this scent starts out as something really harsh and almost headache-inducing, then fades into something barely there and not spicy in the least. I know lots of people like this one, but it just doesn't work on me.

I love ginger, ambergris, and pepper, and can deal with most of the notes in this one, but I think it's the vetiver that's ruining it for me. It's very sharp and masculine, and just not "me."

At first, I get a blast of what I thought might be lemongrass, but I guess it's the orange blossom. Then, it settles into what would be a lovely floral tea scent without the vetiver, which turns it into something terrible on my skin. Too bad!

 

*picks self up off floor and tries to commence reviewing*

 

 

*tries again*

 

Wow. Cloister Graveyard is just amazing. It's fresh and minty, but not sweet or overbearing. And the white musk keeps it from getting too cold, although it's still a chilly scent. The mint doesn't hang around long, and the whole blend is very light and subtle, much more so than I'm used to, but it's gorgeous. I will definitely keep my imp, and might need to splurge on a bottle when it's almost gone.

This scent is really evocative of the image it represents. I smell snow, fresh cold air, and soil. The soil is sweet, not dry and dusty. The throw is light and the wear length rather fleeting, but it's wonderful up close and while it lasts.

This is a beautiful, deep, musky honey on me. I really wish I hadn't been so put off by the description at first, because it's really not as heavy or dirty-smelling as I thought it would be. I actually think I may like it even a tad better than O, and that is high praise indeed!

 

Another gorgeous BPAL honey scent!

I love most BPAL amber scents, but fruity scents can go either way. Thankfully, the fruits in Hymn to Proserpine are a perfect complement to the amber. This really does smell like an expensive perfume, and it's subtle enought that I think it could be worn all year long.

Superb!!!

Caliban is a great mix of green and aquatic. I love scents with fern in them, and this is no exception. I can't smell the wine, but that's not a big deal. I love how fresh this blend is, but unfortunately, it's very light and has limited lasting power. And I'd want to wear it in the summer, when all scents seem to disappear more quickly on me. So, I'll have to think a bit on this one.

I was really excited to try Ladon, and it did not disappoint! Wet on my skin, I smell fresh, juicy apples and sweet apple blossoms. When it dries down, a lot of the apple disappears and the scent becomes more floral, but not offensively so. I can't really pick out the dragon's blood in this one. It's very pretty and happy. I'm not sure whether I'll get a bottle of this or not, but only because I like The Hesperides (more apples) and Xanthe (more apple blossoms) too.

I was expecting a really foody blend from all the reviews, but 13 is more complex than that. I smell the chocolate and orange, but the iris makes it feminine and slightly powdery. It's really like nothing I've ever smelled before, and I'm honestly not sure whether I like it or not. Perfumey chocolate...unexpected, but it works!

Shoggoth is quite a refreshing pick-me-up scent! My skin amps up the lemongrass so much that the other notes get lost at first, but it's a more pleasant lemongrass aroma than I got from Phobos, and it's slightly sweeter. It doesn't have a lot of throw, but it's really beautiful, and it reminds me of my beloved Avobath from Lush.

 

After it dries, the coconut and florals come out, but they are very subtle. The coconut doesn't turn to plastic, and the florals don't overwhelm. This is a great new scent, and I'll definitely keep my imp for further use!

This does remind me a lot of Aizen-Myoo, but it's a sparkling yellow-orange, whereas AM is more of a blinding yellowish-white, if that makes any sense at all. Both are citrussy, but Night Gaunt is more subtle and slightly sweeter to my nose. I really like it a lot, and I might buy a bottle when I run out of Aizen-Myoo.