quickdrawkiddo

I never would have picked this one for myself as I have an aversion to foody scents, but I got a frimp from the lab and I'm so glad I did! It's become one of my surprise favorites. In the imp it's a very strong tart, fruity scent, which made me a bit scared to try it. Wet, it's tart red fruit plus a buttery crust, and I think it's the butter note that makes it work on me. I never notice the roses emerging on the drydown until I sniff my wrist and notice that it's gone from DESSERT to a well-rounded, sophisticated scent. Roses are iffy on me too, but they're very subtle and well-blended here. I'm kind of blown away at how well these "notes of meh" (for me) work together and complement each other -- I really think this is the foody scent for people who don't like foody scents, and I wouldn't shy away from the rose either if it's a note you normally avoid. Such a delight.

This is very "vetiver + something nice" on me, which might be my favorite sub-genre of scent. I had to try it several times to pick out the black musk, which is surprising since it usually amps like crazy on me (I should mention I don't know how old this imp is, so that might be a factor). I thought there might be a floral note in there as well but the amber is very faint. I actually like this a lot but it fades very quickly and never really has the "oomph" when dry that it seems to promise in the vial, as some others have mentioned. I think I like this enough to get a bottle at some point and slather the heck out of it, but for now my brand new bottle of Samhainophobia will fulfill my need for "vetiver + something else."

Deep, mysterious, and full of dark portents: oakmoss, juniper berry, myrrh and patchouli. Why don't I love this? I am somehow getting zero oakmoss or patchouli -- this is very incensey with a tiny hint of juniper on me. Myrrh must be the thing that's killing it for me -- it almost reminds me of white musk, which is one of my notes of death. I'll have to give it another try just to make sure my nose isn't being wonky today, but I'm a bit disappointed since this sounded like a surefire winner.

This might be the perfect summer scent for a non-fruity, non-floral gal like myself. The dominant notes on me are dried dates and sweet pipe tobacco, and I love that the sweetness is mellow and not cloying or foody. Very gender-neutral, as DarkSinestra points out, though the image it conjures up for me is of a guy wearing linen trousers and huaraches lying on a hammock in the shade. If you like your hot-weather blends more desert-y and less tropical, this one's for you. It sticks close to the skin but lasts for ages on me, generally more than 24 hours or until I shower Definitely bottle-worthy -- it's very very "me".

I've been putting off reviewing this one because it's so subtle and well-blended that I'm having a hard time describing it. Amber is always great on me so it's no surprise this one works, but it's a light, pretty amber, as opposed to some of the more intense amber scents like The Lion. I'm getting a hint of something tart, fresh, and floral in the background that must be the apple blossom. As a blend it has an old-school perfumey feel, in the best way possible -- something about it reminds me of flappers with long cigarette holders dancing all night in lavish Art Deco clubs. Just me? The spiciness of the carnation does come out a bit on the drydown but it's still predominantly amber. I like my amber a little more dirty and a little less pretty, but this is still lovely.

The muted flame of in-between time, the stillness of the gloaming: blue chamomile, green tea, Spanish moss, champaca flower, white sage, jonquil, wisteria, and white honey. This Phoenix embodies the strange beauty of the dreamscape, the force of the imagination, and the power of the spirit. I picked up this decant from a generous forumite mostly for the herby/mossy notes, and as luck would have it, what I'm getting is wet, pungent florals, at least on the initial application. The combination of champaca, jonquil, and wisteria is more heady, sexy floral than old-lady floral, at least to my nose, and the wet stage is almost *too* intense and heady for me. But it mellows out beautifully on the drydown and the green tea note balances it all out and makes it (as Heavenlyrabbit points out) a laid-back sort of sexiness. It's still firmly in the "floral" camp which means I'll probably reach for it on days when I'm feeling more conventional (or trying to present myself as such). But I'll definitely use up the decant.

This was a frimp from a generous forumite! Clearly she was reading my mind because this is right up my alley. Before I read any of the notes, I would've said this smelled like dry grass and skin musk, but I wasn't surprised to find that the main note is actually amber. Like all amber-heavy scents, this is very warm, dry, and sunny on my skin, but I could swear there's a hint of musk in there as well, even though it's not listed among the notes. Maybe it's the way it aged (no idea how old this imp is), but there's a gentle skin-like funkiness under all the regal amber that gives it a subtle sexiness. No spice or sweetness whatsoever. If you've never tried amber and want to test it out, this is the blend for you -- simple, unisex, and gorgeous.

I'm having the reverse experience of BoneBone24 -- this starts out all bay rum on me and then the aquatic notes start to come out on the drydown. It's very light and I'm getting almost no leather (which is too bad since I heart leather). All the notes listed are my jam so there was no way I wasn't going to like this one, but I wish my skin didn't swallow it up. May need to slather next time

In the imp this smelled almost fruity! So weird. Once I applied it I realized that was the juniper. As soon as it started to dry, the pine comes out more (LOVE the lab's pine note), but the juniper is still at the front. So far it's reminding me a bit of Troll, but without the pinesap-y sweetness. This is a bit more astringent, but I can also detect the black musk (another favorite note) lurking in the background and giving it a bit of softness. I think I like Troll better but so far this scratches my woodsy itch too

Super stoked to try this decant since I chickened out of getting a full bottle! Wet, this is all hay with a sweet underpinning that has to be the Snake Oil. Before I reread the notes, it came across as almost wheaty -- combined with the Snake Oil, it reminded me a bit of breakfast cereal, of all things. On the drydown, the salty aquatic notes start to come out and I'm starting to rethink my decision not to get a bottle. Now that I've read the notes and I know cedar is in there, I'm getting a tiny whiff of it, but it's mostly hay and seaweed. *swoon* This is such a sunny, mellow blend, perfect for a lazy summer Sunday. So glad I got to try it!

Lightning slashing the midnight skies over the endless reaches of the ocean. The electric tang of ozone, marine notes, and a drop of sharp rain. I got a sniffie of this from a generous forumite in an order recently -- yay for pleasant surprises! I love ozone so I knew I'd like this one, and from what I could tell, it's almost like an ozone single note. Very summer storm-y and very light -- it's almost a "non-perfume" on me, in the best way possible. I think I need a full imp of this one so I can slather properly and decide if a bottle's in my future!

Yay! I just got a big pile o' vetiver, leather, and tobacco-heavy imps in the mail and I'm raring to try them out I've been looking forward to Love's Torments for a long time since it also has neroli, one of my other favorite notes. In the imp, this is sort of a rank citrus, but it blooms into something absolutely gorgeous on my skin. I don't know if my nose is wonky today because I'm a wee bit hung over, but dry, I'm getting all neroli and sandalwood and just a tiny hint of vetiver. It's very light and pretty and I can totally see this becoming my summer scent. 5 out of 5! ETA: the drydown on this one is all creamsicle-y neroli, which is really interesting given how many other reviewers are getting nothing but vetiver. If this one scares you in the imp, give it some time to develop -- it gets very pretty and girly on me after half an hour or so.

I'm one of those weirdos who loves all three of the notes in Iago, so I had to try it and WHOA NELLY I was not disappointed. Yes, it's very masculine in the imp, but I love what "manlier" notes like vetiver, leather, and tobacco turn into on my skin. And as many people have mentioned, the black musk takes the bitter edge off the vetiver and makes the whole thing much more wearable for the ladies as well as the gents. Very long-lasting and not much of a morpher. Sexay! I love it!

Coyote is great! I'm wearing it right now, as a matter of fact. It's a very warm, dry, sagebrush sort of scent -- definitely more desert-y than foresty. Seems to go well with the summery weather we're having so it's been getting a lot of wear I'm also a huge fan of the woodsy scents -- here's my reactions to the ones I've tried: Troll: sweet pinesap; also getting a TON of play lately Ochosi: beautiful and cedary, similar to Coyote but a much stronger woody note Whoso List to Hunt: this was a weird one on me -- it was all sexy woodsy musk in the imp but turned to woodsy powder the second it hit my skin. Not bad, I just wish the wet stage lingered more. Elf: GAH, so good. I used up the imp so long ago I can barely remember what it smelled like except AWESOME. Tombstone: a really nice balanced blend of cedar and vanilla. I generally avoid vanilla like the plague but I found this very wearable and comforting.

French Love reminded me *exactly* of Lush's Rock Star soap, which I would always pick up and sniff before remembering how much I dislike it and dropping it like a hot coal. I haven't tried any of the Ars Draconis blends so I don't know if I'm getting any dragon's blood, but to me this was violets all the way. Florals are not my strong suit and I've tended to avoid violets in particular (mostly because I thought they were the main note in Rock Star), so I might be misremembering how they smell. That said, it wasn't bad on my skin, and I did end up using up the imp. Dry, it was a powdery floral with just enough depth to keep it interesting, and definitely not the overpoweringly sweet note I got in the imp. If soft, powdery florals are your thing, this should be a slam dunk, but unfortunately it wasn't my style.

Clearly I need to try Crowley because I also love me some leather I mentioned this upthread but my current dark musk favorite is Iago, which is basically just black musk + leather + vetiver. OM NOM. Dracul is another good one. So I'm intrigued -- 51 and Dorian are both really bad on me due to some musk note (white? green?) amping like crazy and drowning out everything else. Both had a really specific perfume-countery note that I didn't like. Embalming Fluid wasn't great either but was partially saved by the lemon.

My current black musk obsession (and I don't throw that word around) is Iago, though steer clear if you don't like leather or vetiver because it hits all three of those notes pretty hard. That equals instant love for me but I'm a weird girl Dracul has the same note but it's softer and less scary -- it's very warm, gender-neutral, and mysterious, if that makes sense. And for me the ultimate "dark" musk scent is Queen -- I have no idea if that's black musk, civet, or something else entirely, but it's to DIE for sexy on me -- sort of a woodsy musk with a hint of naughty floral in the background.

Apologies if this has been covered upthread, but I just tried Dorian for the first time and I discovered (somewhat to my chagrin) that it has the exact same musk note as 51. It doesn't necessarily smell bad on me, but it reminds me of a perfume I wore all the time in junior high, back when I didn't really know what perfume was supposed to smell like. I want to say it was Avon's Skin Musk? Anyway, on me it completely overpowers all the notes I like in both Dorian and 51, to the point that they smell exactly the same to me after a couple of hours. Does anyone know what musk this is? I want to say it's a green musk but I'm not sure. FWIW, I've discovered by trial and error that anything with black musk smells *amazing* on me, so I'm tickled by all the "eeeww heavy musk begone!" replies

The Hummingbird of Love, the Rose Sucker. A potent, benevolent, merciful love blend. So pretty! I'm not really a floral girl but this has a nice grassy undertone that, in addition to cutting the sweetness of the florals, also evokes a crazy-strong scent memory of my childhood, specifically of the lilac bush in front of my preschool. I've always found lilac really comforting, so it's no surprise I like this. That's the main note I'm getting, plus some honeysuckle and carnation. No rose at all, which is fine by me. Very summery and youthful, good for everyday wear but also quite romantic. Love it!

This is my JAM. Got an imp with my very first BPAL order ever, and it was so, erm, effective that I bought a bottle immediately so I'd never have to be without it. It's honestly that good on me. The first sniff freaked me out -- it smelled all sticky sweet foody/spicy, which is not my style at all. But on my skin, holy cow. It turns into some kind of amazing woodsy musk with a bit of floral in the background -- nothing foody or spicy about it at all. Other reviewers have mentioned that it seems pretty gender-neutral for a "women only" scent, and I agree -- I tend to prefer masculine scents and this definitely strikes me as one that would smell amazing on a guy. It's so well-blended that it's tough to pick out individual notes -- one guy asked if it was lilac, and a girl asked me if it was sandalwood. Both notes could definitely be components, but what makes it special is the musk that, if it works on you like it does on me, will meld with your skin and make people go "I MUST HAVE YOU NOW" rather than "oh, you smell nice, what's that scent?" I'd also guess this has some neroli and/or vetiver in it, just because those notes both work well on me. Admittedly, my skin chemistry is a bit weird -- the perennial favorites like Snake Oil and Dorian smell totally naff on me. But if you tend to like woodsy blends and you're looking for a good "take me now" scent, give Queen a shot.

For something I would never have tried on my own, this is actually really pleasant and wearable! Wet, this is a heavy floral. Dry, it's a nice, balanced peach/floral/musk blend. My first thought when sniffing the imp was "wow, this is girly!" But the drydown is less girly-girl and more sophisticated (but still playful) lady. I probably don't need a whole bottle of it, but it'll make a nice change of pace from all my woodsy/aquatic standbys so I'm sure I'll use up the imp.

Wow, this is really different from what I expected! Wet, this was all vanilla tea on me, which wasn't terrible since I can sometimes wear vanilla if there's another note to cut the sweetness (i.e. Tombstone). The drydown is a bit weird though -- I'm getting the same musk note (white? green?) that drove me nuts in 51. No lemon at all, which is a bummer. I still like the complexity of the blend but I wish the musk wasn't going buck-wild with my skin chemistry.

In the vial, this reminded me a lot of Whoso List to Hunt, so I was afraid it would turn similarly powdery during the drydown. Turns out I needn't have worried! On me, it's a light, fresh pinesap scent, quite sharp and tangy but not at all bitter. I'm not getting any spice at all, but sometimes I have to wear a scent a few times before picking up on the subtler notes. At any rate, I love it as is and am super happy to have such a crisp scent to transition into spring with! Also, I should mention that I tend to love the woodsy, masculine scents so my reaction to Troll was probably a foregone conclusion