phedre

I'd heard this was similar to snake oil, so I looked forward to it with great anticipation. Well, it's not like snake oil at all on me, but I do like it. This is all soft creamy vanilla, with a bit of spice and amber thrown in for good measure. Definitely a keeper!

Sweet, soft, and lovely. Definitely lots of iris and coconut, but it never goes foody on me at all. It's very well blended and has very little throw (which I like); stays close to my skin. The white musk really comes into the forefront and ties everything together. I don't get any hazelnut at all from it though, perhaps due to the imp being a bit older. I'm a bit hesitant to order another imp or bottle as I'm afraid it wouldn't be quite the same as my imp!

This is an odd one, definitely tricky! Spicy herbals, and a faint powdery scent that lingers afterwards. There's something very medicinal about it, must be the herbal notes coming out. I can't quite nose out the individual notes. I like the thought behind this one, but it just didn't work for me.

This to me is all smooth milk and creamy honey. There's a bit of an oatmeal quality to it, oatmeal that's been drowned in cream and honey. On my skin, it stays true. I never get any kind of nuttiness from it, just that creamy oatmeal goodness. It's not one of my top favourites, but it's got its place in my collection for those days when nothing but a bit of comfort food will do. It's warm and soothing in a way that floral or herbal scents could never be. I don't think I'll order a bottle of this, but I'll keep an imp of it around for sure.

This is the scent that convinced me that I do not like cocoa/chocolate blends on my skin. This is pure cocoa on me, like I'd stuck my nose into a container of Fry's Cocoa. No florals at all, but perhaps a touch of the mandarin shows through. I think, taken on its own, it's a nice scent. It's just one of those "not for me" blends.

Another scent to add to my LOVE! pile. I wear this when I think I'm going to have a particularly stressful day. It's calm, light, and just soothing. There are no harsh edges, no sharp notes, nothing jarring at all, just smooth lovely light flowers with calming incense on top. I agree with the nag champa comparison earlier, but it's not as strong as pure incense. There's sandalwood for sure, one of my favourite deep scents.

Apricot for sure! Apricot was all I got from the bottle, maybe a little spicy clove teasing around the edges. Once on my skin, this turned into a scented candle type dealie... too sweet, and a little overpowering.

I was excited by this one, with its carnations and plums, as carnation is one of my favourite scents. It should have been lovely! Ah how my chemistry loves to play with me. My skin ate all the florals and left me with a sticky sweet plum smell that reminded me of nothing so much as jolly rancher candy. To the swap pile it goes!

I'm not quite sure why, but this is pure lemon dish soap on my skin. Doesn't work at all! I had high hopes for it with the teas and herbs, but alas, off to the swap pile with it.

Wet, I smell honey and carnation, with a bit of bergamot. On my skin, it's all creamy honey and carnation. The rose teases around a bit but never fully develops. I like it. It's not something I'll wear a lot, but I'll definitely use my imp!

*wrinkles nose* I'm going to be a dissenting voice here I see! I expected this to work on me like Persephone did, with its pomegranate and roses, but no chance. This is a completely unique scent! There's something in here that just goes way off on me. I applied it sparingly as the scent from the bottle was just offputting, and had to wash it off almost right away. It smelled rotten, that's the only way I can describe it, like someone had let a pomegranate rot and molder on the counter. Not for me, I'm afraid.

I got this in a trade with someone recently, and now I'm considering ordering a bottle. This is the perfect blend of resins and florals, just enough rose and lily to keep it lovely, enough incense to spice things up, and enough myrrh to smooth it out. Wet in the bottle, I get roses and florals, with a touch of spice. On my skin, the myrrh and frankincense come out to play, lending sweetness and warmth. I really love this one and I've put it into regular rotation!

Can I mention how happy I am that I bought a bottle of this unsniffed? Wow! Straight out of the bottle, I smell the nutmeg, spiced orange, and fresh evergreen tree. To me, it smells like Christmas, drinking eggnog near the tree. What a gorgeous image! There's a touch of smoke, but it's barely there, so maybe you're next to a fireplace? Wet on me, the spicy orange and eggnog really come up. It gets woodier and smokier, which must be the rosewood and cypress making an appearance. As it dries, I lose the orange and I'm left with a blend of musk, smoke, pine, and eggnog that blends into a perfect christmas scent. Love! ETA: I keep getting the most gorgeous whiffs of eggnog and balsam floating past my nose. So happy!

This is the scent that convinced me that I liked tea in an oil. I hadn't been sure up til this point, but The Apothecary really pulls it off! The mix of tea with the sharp herbs backed with the spice of ginger comes together on my skin to make this something I just really like. I never get any fig out of it, but that doesn't bother me at all considering how much I like this as it stands!

I was absolutely shocked to find out there was no lavender in this. It lives up to its description of innocent, soft and pure though! Wet, I get lovely florals, something I can't identify which must be the sweet pea. A bit of spicy carnation rears its head. But as soon as it dries, I swear this turns into lavender soap! Though, I'm one of those weirdos that likes lavender soap, so even though I've gotten two frimps of this, I'll use them up

Light and pretty. It's quite nice on me, staying in the light floral notes with a bit of musk peaking out underneath. The lemon never appears, and I don't get any green tea at all. It just stays very summery and feminine, and lingers close to my skin.

In a word: Fresh. In the bottle, I got fresh herbal notes and a bit of ozone. On my skin, it softened to a lovely fresh scent with just the right amount of patchouli to keep it anchored. I love the bright neroli notes (my favourite floral scent!), and the addition of deep myrrh & patchouli seals it for me. A keeper!

This on me is fresh, ripe berries with an undernote of something woodsy. It's not sweet at all, which is strange for something that reminds me so much of berries. This is more of a very tart, bitter berry with such a fresh feel to it. The sharp notes are perfectly in balance with the berry notes. I like it!

When I got my vial of Hemlock, I was so excited by the colour. The green shade is just lovely! Opening it, I got a whiff of herbs and green grass, something medicinal, but not off-putting. Applied, it softened down to a lovely, woody, tea infused scent with an overlay of something minty. It's not something I'll wear often, but definitely one I like to have on hand!

In the bottle, this was over the top orchid. I was leery, but applied anyway. On my skin, whoa. Headache-inducing overindulged orchid! I hoped for something else to emerge on drydown, but it stayed as a massive perfume cloud around me. I could smell it so strongly, even after hours had passed, and all I got was sweet, heavy floral orchids. Far too strong for my chemistry I'm afraid!

Ah Lucretia. Perhaps the biggest BPAL failure I've ever had. I couldn't get past the scent wet from the bottle. For some absolutely bizarre reason, all I could smell was vomit and I have no idea why. Horrible, horrible imagery I know, and the ingredient list was so lovely. I wanted to like this, as the story of Lucretia is one of my absolute favourites, but alas, it wasn't to be.

I'm one of those "oh sharp! eep!" complainers I'm afraid. I got a lot of green, sharp, aquatic notes on this without any of the florals to soften them up. Ah well.. swaps pile!

I really liked this scent. I ended up giving the imp to a friend who loved it more, and now I really regret it! In the vial I got orange flower in abundance with a touch of spice. On my skin, it warmed up and got a bit woodsy, and a bit more spicy, while retaining that lovely orange floral. Lovely, definitely one to wear when you're in a contemplative mood.

Whoa. Bailey's irish cream and coffee. It hit me like a ton of bricks! The scent stays very true on my skin with none of the woods or books coming out to play at all. I really wish they would, as the pure irish coffee scent gets quite overwhelming after awhile. The throw is quite intense and I could smell it all evening; it even lingered on into the morning! I don't think I'll be buying a bottle of this one, but I'll use the imp as I try to figure out if I like it or not; either way, it's an experience!

This one's florals and spice, all wrapped up in a delicate package that belies the name. I expected something quite different, muskier and sultrier perhaps, but in any event it doesn't disappoint! I get nice, light florals as it dries with cinnamon coming in to spice things up. I didn't get vanilla in this at all. I quite like it! Not to mention there's a subtle thrill in telling people the name of the oil I'm wearing.