presotm

Very soft, delicate........smells 'pale' to me - a pale vanillary floral. I had to apply twice just to review it - my skin just eats this one up. As it dries, the amber turns the florals down and makes the scent powdery, but not in a sneeze-inducing way. Verdict: not much point really! I can't get it to stay on my skin long enough to smell of anything much!

I had to order an imp of this with my latest order to see what all the fuss was about.... Wet on my skin - I get very very strong black coffee laced with lashings and lashings of sticky condensed milk and a good splash of whiskey. Drying down - oh no! Someone spilled the coffee all over the freshly polished, gleaming dark wood table. And now the dust is coming out (I'm guessing - I've not smelled a blend with 'dust' as a note before) - it somehow reminds me of being in art/craft class at school with frying pans of paraffin wax melting. Don't ask me how I get molten wax out of dust.... Verdict: um, no. Just too bizarre for me!

I wanted to like this one, but I'm yet to find a Voodoo blend that works on me. This one just turned to watery, soapy Dragon's Blood on me.

Sweet, girly floral. Violets dominate for me, but I can pick out lilacs and lavender lurking as well. I wish the white sandalwood was more predominant - it might be more my cup o' tea. But it's too girly floral for me.

This one arrived fresh from the Lab, and I discovered when I went to test it that the imp was one of the notorious decapitated ones. A double swipe of the wand over my wrists, close my eyes and sniff..........all I can think of is standing on a cliff overlooking the ocean, with the seabreeze wafting wonderous scents from the huge bunch of white flowers I'm holding. I can't pick out any one flower, but I would swear that there's white roses in there. This is a truly angelic blend and it seems to like my chemistry. Don't know if I'm an aquatic kinda girl though. Verdict: I'm going to use up the imp somehow....jury is still out on whether I'll invest in a bottle.

I bought a bottle of this unsniffed, based on the notes alone. Soft golden amber......black musk.....hell yeah! Unfortunately once applied, my skin said, hell no. I'm finding that black musk likes to turn to powder pretty much instantaneously on my skin, and that is soooo what happened with Haunted. I managed to detect a citrussy musky scent before my sneezing fit began. Verdict: bottle has gone to a hopefully more appreciative owner.

I believe this was the very first BPAL imp I ever opened, and I instantly fell in love. I have since come to the realisation that my favourite colour of musk is red. Oh, yes, and it loves me too! Scherezade is an absolutely gorgeous blend of incensey musk and spices. I feel instantly sexy whenever I apply it. Bit too racy for the office though! Verdict: I bought a 10ml just before they went the way of the dinosaur and I'm making it last despite frequent use.

Received as a frimp in a swap. I was so excited to try this one out after reading the notes involved.........rose and dragon's blood? *swoon* Unfortunately, from the instant I opened the imp, to the drydown, all I get is soap. Fruity soap, and quite possibly expensive soap, but soap nonetheless. So much so, it gave me a hayfever sneezing fit. Bugger. Verdict: swap pile.

Received as a frimp in a swap. I get what others have written about this being decidedly fruity, although I'm not getting pineapple so much as a very sweet yet coconutty peach. Then I read the notes listed.........wtf? I don't get olive or frankincense or anything like that. I am, however, still endeavouring to train my nose.... Verdict: would be lovely as a spring/summer daytime scent. Not sure if it's bottle worthy, but I'll certainly use the imp.

I was hoping for a more multi-dimensional scent from this one, but all I get is sweet vanilla cream, in all stages. I'll keep it, but probably try to layer it....maybe with Hope/Faith when they arrive.

Wet - sharp (I guess due to the pepper or ginger) sweet tea. After 10 mins - the sharpness fades, and I'm left with a creamy, sweet, spicy, citrussy tea. After an hour - fades quickly to a soft, light, creamy, sweet vanilla with a hint of spice. I guess you'd call this a foody kinda scent, but it's hard to put it in a box? Interesting? Yes. Bottle? No, because my skin just eats it up.

I originally bought this for my hubby as BPAL have listed it on their webby as recommended for guys, but he hasn't even tried it. Wet - smells very very close to Scherezade to my sniffer......I'm presuming that's because of the red musk they both have in common. After 10 mins - I think it's the rosewood coming out now.....it smells more grounded somehow, and a little less 'girly'. Still not sure why Fenris is touted as a masculine fragrance though? After an hour - the red musk and amber have softened things further. The resiny part is really warming up now. It seems more....earthy, but it's a sweet earthy. This is the sweet incensey kind of smell I love to wear out, but I find it's a little heavy for daytime. I think I need to persuade hubby that he needs to give this a go, if only to see how it differs on him.