kwsix

In the imp: Honey and herbs Wet on my skin: More of the same, with ylang ylang coming into play As it dries, the honey becomes less prominent and a dusty dried-flower scent comes into play. It's a very pleasant scent that reminds me a little of old-fashioned perfume. It's something that wouldn't be out of place on my grandmother. I do like it quite a bit, but I don't know how often I would wear it. For honeyed florals, I prefer Hetairae.

Tweedledum is lovely! Oddly enough, it reminds me of the lighter notes of Thierry Mugler's Angel. It must be the combination of patchouli and fruits. I don't really detect any of the notes individually except the patchouli. It's very light, refreshing, and sweet without being foody or sugary. The patchouli grounds the scent and makes it different than most of the other light fruity BPAL blends I've tried. It's more earthy and sensual, but still very light and airy. This is definitely going on my bottle want list.

I agree with ivyandpeony about the dragon's blood. Maybe try Blood . . . it's sweet and spicy, but no herbs in sight.

A scent that is both coquettish and sinister. Exotic and lush, brimming with grace and viciousness: almond with star jasmine, oakmoss, red sandalwood and Egyptian musk. In the imp: Almond extract On my skin: No department store perfume here. This is a nice soft blend of almond, sandalwood, and flowers, which must be the star jasmine. There is a definite sweetly smoky undertone here that I really like. It's similar to a drift of smoke from sandalwood incense. As it dries, the almond fades away and the other notes become more prominent. I don't know how star jasmine relates to regular jasmine, but there's no jasmine-out-of-control problem here at all. My only complaint is that it fades very quickly on me. By the time it's completely dry, it's almost completely gone. Overall, this is a nice blend of very light, slightly powdery florals and smoky sandalwood incense. I like it, but it doesn't really jump out at me, and it fades too quickly. I'll probably keep my imp, which was a freebie from the lab, but if I see it on someone's wishlist I might just pass it on. It's pleasant but unexciting.

In the bottle, I get a deep, soapy aquatic. On my skin, it's still soapy, but the ozone comes out to play. This isn't the same light ozone that I love in Neo-Tokyo. It's much darker and more masculine. Even though it's dark, it's very clean and fresh, and as others have mentioned it is reminiscent of a high-end men's cologne. Also, I think it's a dead ringer for one of the Old Spice High Endurance bodywashes that my stepson uses. Mountain Fresh scent, maybe? Yes, that's a compliment. The amber doesn't come out until drydown, and on my skin it clashes horribly with the other notes. Usually amber does really well on me, but it isn't working at all on me this time. I can tell it would be lovely on someone with different chemistry, but it just makes me smell like I'm trying to cover up poor hygiene with a soapy aquatic men's body spray. I'm going to pass my bottle on to my stepson, because I think it will be gorgeous on him.

I have to respectfully disagree with starrykitten. I just got Thunder Moon today, and it smells nothing like Neo-Tokyo to me. Yes, it's ozone-y, but it's not the same light airy ozone as Neo-Tokyo. Of course, your body chemistry may interpret it differently. I haven't found anything else close to Neo-Tokyo, sadly.

I definitely agree! Spellbound does smell like Poison on me, not in the bottle. And Venom does smell like Poison, but on my skin I actually think Dark Delicacies is closer.

Sorry for being crude, but holy crap! On my skin, Mama-Ji smells just like Blood does on my husband. I love the way Blood smells on me, but I really love the way it smells on my husband. Now I've found something that smells that way on me! It's really hard to describe the way Mama-Ji smells on me, but I'll give it a shot. It's deep, rich, spiced woods over warm florals. The florals smell like carnation and rose to me, more accurately described as how dragon's blood smells on some people (not on me). It's a very subdued yet heady floral scent that doesn't scream FLOWERS. The spices really add depth to the blend. They aren't exactly foody spices, but they still make me drool. There definitely is an incense quality to the blend, but it's a dark woodsy incense instead of a perfumey sneezey one, if that makes any sense at all. This is a complex, beautiful scent that, despite the florals, would be lovely on either sex. If you like this, give Blood a try. Conversely, if you like Blood, don't let Mama-Ji go untested.

My eChecks seem to clear right away now that I have a credit card on file as a backup payment source. Before they were taking 5 days or so to clear. I don't know if those two things are directly related, but if not it's one heck of a coincidence.

This is a lush, complex floral that is like the lovechild of Thierry Mugler's Angel and Dior's Poison on me. I'm not even going to try to describe the individual notes. It's a sexy, femme fatale scent that doesn't scream for attention. This is the scent of a dangerously beautiful woman who is worth every minute of the trouble she'll bring you.

In the imp: Grapefruit and the ocean? From application to drydown, it's salty grapefruit soda with a musky undertone. It's an interesting scent. Although it's much brighter and fizzier than I expected, it's definitely not a typical summery grapefruit scent. It's Fresca on the dark side. R'lyeh, I dub thee Enraged Grapefruit Musk. It isn't my type of scent, but lovers of murky aquatics should definitely try it.

In the imp, I smell a strangely appealing combination of cedar, birch beer, and smoke. Interesting . . . I like birch beer On my skin, Kathmandu is almost completely wintergreen by way of birch beer. It isn't bad, but it isn't something that I'm particularly interested in smelling like. It does make me long for the diet birch beer that I can't find in Virginia. As it dries, it gets more creamy and the sandalwood peeks out a bit. I think this would be a good home scent (think sachet), but I really can't imagine using it as a personal scent. It is interesting, though, so it's worth a sniff if only for the experience. It opened my nasal passages all the way, so it would probably be good for times of sinus congestion.

In the imp: Wine and herbs Wet on my skin, Delphi smells like a craft store, right in between the candle and dried wreath areas. Thank goodness the wine isn't going sour like it did in Athens. As the scent dries, my nose hallucinates a rose scent out of the wine and bay combination. It's actually quite pleasant, which is odd because rose scents don't usually work on me. Maybe hallucinated rose scents work better than regular rose scents. I actually like Delphi much more than I expected. My skin usually amps honey, which is ok because I like it, but it's staying in the background here. On me, Delphi ends up smelling just like a wreath of dried roses and sweet herbs. I know it's wine, and if I sniff deeply I can tell that it's wine, but my nose keeps telling me otherwise. I'm not sure how often I would wear this scent, but I do like it, and I would like to keep an imp on hand for further evaluation.

In the imp: Chilly blossoms and incense Wet on my skin, the florals get sharper and the incense fades away. Theres's something dusty and a little earthy in the background. As it dries, it becomes more herbal but it's still predominantly sharp cold flowers. I don't know if I'm imagining it, but I detect a slight chemical scent - kind of like perm solution. It isn't horrible on me, and this review is probably making it sound worse than it is. I actually liked it in the wet stage, when I could smell the incense and earth. But it becomes too overpoweringly floral for my liking. Lovers of chilly, waxy, white floral blends should try this one.

In the imp: Indistinct floral, soft and pretty Wet on my skin: Waxy florals, green grass, and maybe a little citrus Drydown: Same as above, plus aquatic notes Overall this is a nice floral-based blend, but nothing about it stands out to me. It smells clean and a little soapy, and could be to my nose a detergent, air freshener, or deodorant fragrance. To me, Danube is pretty but not exceptional.

In the imp, Pontarlier is lilac, lavender, and ferns. I seriously doubt if I would have figured that out without reading the description first. At best I probably would have come up with lavender, flowers, and some green things. While the oil is wet on my skin, I mainly get lavender. I think my skin loves lavender, so that's no surprise. As it dries, it becomes lilac with greenery. I don't detect rose at all, and couldn't specifically pick out ferns or absinthe. It just smells like sweet fresh lilac and herbal plants. Overall, Pontarlier is the truest lilac scent I've ever encountered, which is funny to me because there are so many other notes in the blend. It truly smells like the fresh-cut lilacs that my Mom used to put all over the house when I was a child, so I appreciate it for sentimental reasons if nothing else. I don't think I would wear this often if at all, but I would like to keep an imp around and perhaps try it as a room scent.

In the imp: Thick dark honey with red wine On my skin: Reminiscent of Hetairae with a heavy dose of red wine. Although it's a very sweet blend, the red wine is oddly sour, and I'm not sure that I like it. Drydown: The sourness fades somewhat, and the florals become more prominent. To my nose, it's the same powdery and spicy floral scent that I love in Hetairae, but the wine is still walking all over it. Overall: Athens is fairly true to the decsription. I don't dislike it, although I'm turned off by the sourness of the wine note. The spicy honeyed florals thing is lovely, but I think Hetairae does it much better.

In the imp, Kyoto is all cherry blossom to me. On my skin, it is cherry blossoms and licorice with a wisp of sandalwood in the background. It's a beautiful soft floral with an unexpected kick, and I like it very much. The cherry blossom fades a little on the drydown, and I'm left with licorice with the barest hint of delicate flowers. It's unique, feminine, and fresh. This one is a winner, and I will definitely seek out more.

Like ariosa, I never expected to like Prague. But guess what? I do. In the imp it's just an indistinct floral, and well, I don't think of myself as a floral person so I wasn't too excited. But on my skin, Prague blooms into the most beautiful fresh floral scent. As others have mentioned, there's a definite hint of fresh grass. I don't know what crocus or snowdrop smell like, but I think they must be dominating the scent, as I'm not detecting much lily. Whatever I'm smelling, it's a gorgeous combination of sweet, unassuming florals. This isn't a floral-scented blend. It's the essence of a lovely flower garden in the springtime, complete with green grass and fresh air.

In the imp: Lime! Wet on my skin: Lime that almost smells . . . like Pine-Sol? Must be the gin. Drydown: The Pine-Sol goes away for the most part and I'm left with fizzy Sweet Tarts. Actually, not Sweet Tarts - Spree! I smell like a green Spree. Overall: I didn't like the wet stage at all. The drydown was a definite improvement. Oddly, I'm not really sure how I feel about this one, but I want to go buy some Spree.

In the imp: Wet tropical flowers On my skin: I'm disappointed because there's no hint of smoke or fire. I get wet tropical flowers and ozone, all the way through the drydown. Overall: It's a pretty scent, but it really isn't my style. I do really like the ozone note, but the headiness of the flowers is too much for me. It might work if I had gotten a hint of the smoke or fire, but without something to ground the florals it's too bright and sharp for my taste. It does really smell like tropical flowers on an exotic island, so anyone who likes that sort of thing should give it a try.

In the imp: Soapy aquatics Wet on my skin: Still soapy aquatics, with florals peeking through. I'm not getting any fruit at all. Drydown: More of the same. Still no fruit. Overall: Eh, it isn't an unpleasant scent by any means, but it smells very much like a type of "commercial" perfume that I'm not fond of. I can't pinpoint a specific perfume, but it reminds me of the smell of perfume counters and sample strips in magazines. It's just too bright and sharp for me. If I had gotten any fruit smells, I might have felt differently.

Shanghai Tunnel isn't dark at all on me. It's woodsy but fresh, more like an actual forest that's damp and green instead of dark resinous trees. It's salty and aquatic on me, but it's definitely the most wearable aquatic I've ever encountered. It's light and airy on my skin, not reminiscent of aftershave in the least like most aquatics are. There's an ozone note here similar to the note in Neo-Tokyo that I love so much. And I do detect some very light, fresh florals in the background. Overall it's fresh, "earthy" without smelling like dirt, green, and uplifting. I really like this blend, but not enough to actively seek out more at the prices it will command. If it were a GC or even a less rare LE, I would definitely want more.

I haven't been sleeping well, so I took a hot bath around 10:30 last night with the hopes that it would help knock me out. My soothing bath was interrupted by an angry and persistant bat. My apologies to anyone who may have seen a scantily-clad woman releasing an agitated bat from a towel sometime around 11:00 last night.* Playing naked hide and seek with an ill-tempered bat frazzled my nerves. The cold medicine I had taken earlier backfired, so I was nervous and exhausted but wide awake. I tried to sleep anyway. Dogs barked. My mouse would not get off of his squeaky wheel, except to noisily chew on his toys. Dogs howled in 3-part harmony. Bat-like noises were heard. My son alternated between crying beside my bed because he didn't want to sleep in his bedroom alone, and crying in my bed because he wanted to sleep in his bedroom alone. I ended up putting the mouse habitat in my closet for the night. Even though my closet is huge and as nice as my bedroom, I still felt guilty. I had nightmares about mice when I did manage to sleep. Huge vengeful mice with squeaky bat wings. Sad mice with tears running down their little mouse faces. So today I am functioning on three non-consecutive hours of sleep. That might not be so bad, except that I haven't gotten more than 5 hours of sleep on any night in the past two weeks. I am beyond sleep deprived at this point. I really wouldn't be surprised if I do start hallucinating bats. Today of all days, I was railroaded into having lunch with my Mom and four year old son. I love them both dearly and normally welcome the chance to spend time with either of them, but today was just not the day. They insisted on eating at Burger King, of all places. My son, who is usually an angel, was on his worst behavior. So was my Mom. They both took pleasure in pushing my buttons, which were admittedly easier to push today than they usually are. Hooray, temper tantrums and crappy food for everyone! I've never been so glad to get back to the office. I'm the only one working today, which is good, but I can't leave before at least 6:30, which is bad. *Note to those of you with an interest in bat welfare: I tried to be very kind to the bat. I gently picked him up with a towel after he roosted on a windowshade. He tried to bite me, but I think that's because he was upset, not because I was hurting him in any way. He appeared to fly away unharmed when I released him. Bats get into our house all of the time, so any advice on getting them out safely would be welcome.

In the imp, I smell a creamy citrus with some light florals. There's definite potential here. Wet on my skin, it smells exactly like it did in the imp. It's light and airy, and definitely feminine. But sadly, as it starts to dry, it goes all powdery and soapy. It isn't bad, but it's too vague for my liking. My skin ate it all up, and there's nothing left but an indistinct smell that could be soap, deodorant, or a generic lightly scented skin cream. Not unpleasant, but nothing to get excited about either. Maybe it would work better for me in a scent locket.