jiggahava

I am diggin' this garden. I can't pick out all these notes for the life of me, but I definitley get the greenery of this blend. It's like I walked outside in a garden, a slightly damp cool garden. The ivy sticks out, and the grasses are very obvious to me. The flowers are sweet and bright and not overwhelming, so floral lovers and non-floral lovers alike can enjoy this. This deserves a lot of popularity, and I can see this becoming a staple scent for me, like Roadhouse, it's green cousin. This truly showcases Beth's genius with evocative themes. Beautiful!

The heady scent of lillies and the slightly astringent scent of lilac, are the most distinctive florals in this blend. This reminds me slightly of Ode on Melancholy. This feels very wistful and full of longing. These aren't dry funeral flowers, but slightly dewy ones that have been left in a vase, slightly droopy. This doesn't have a lot of throw, but it's very pretty. I don't know if it's bottle worthy since I have so many floral scents already, but I'm going to keep and enjoy my imp.

When I first read the list of ingredients, I was super excited about every note except caramel. Red Lantern and Tiresias were utter failures on me, they became single note burned sticky caramel. I was worried that The Arrival at the Sabbath....would have the same effect on me.

 

Luckily I have nothing to be worried about. This is the first caramel scent that has actually worked on me, and not drowned out every other note. It's still very prominent, but it gives the other notes a chance to shine. The vanilla matches the sweetness of the caramel, making it cake-like, sort of like a cousin to Eat Me and Drink Me. There's a tiny hint of patchouli, which grounds the scent and adds a hint of earth, and the sandalwood keeps it from being overly sweet. Plus the throw is GREAT! Primarily caramel, but up close I get the other notes. This is what Red Lantern SHOULD have turned out on me. I like this very much, but I'll be more than satisfied with my little imp.

There is something a little off about this blend...I'm having the same problems with it that I did with Phobos. I think it's the combination of citron and white musk that's killing it for me. It turns into something slightly rancid and sharp on my skin. Luckily this stage doesn't last very long, but it's a bit of a turnoff. On the drydown I get lightly lime scented musk and lilac. It's somewhat of a rough blend, either for a urban gentleman or a tomboyish girl. It's kind of in your face with its intense citrus-ness. I'll keep the imp probably, but no bottle.

Indescribably light and pretty. I'll do my best: at first there's a blast of white mint. But this isnt sharp, overwhelming mint, it's soft and almost dainty. There's a hint of apple blossom in the drydown, and something slightly dark and woodsy in the background, which is the ho wood poking out. It's very asian in feel, as others have said. There's a suprising amount of throw for a scent this light. I like it alot. Another beautiful "springtime" scent.

A tad dissapointing. The rich dark bitter cocoa vanishes after half an hour, like many have already said, leaving behind regular snake oil. It's nice, but I wanted this for the cocoa! Ah well.

Oude(Agarwood) and cypress are the first notes I get when I apply this to my skin. They are dark, rich and woody to the EXTREAME. Not an everyday scent, and it's too woodsy for me at first, like smelling the bottom of a dark wooden chest. Then the frankincense makes it softer, a tad more incense and powdery-like. Much nicer than its first stage. Now I smell like wood with a tad of incense. Nice, but not something I'll reach for very often. I'm waffling between keeping the imp and swapping it. It would make a LOVELY room scent though. We'll see. The throw is almost nothing, but then again I didn't apply that much.

Man, oh man, but I do love kumquat. It has a high pitched fruity smell that is unlike any other. It's indescribable. I get the distinctive smell of kumquat right away, but it's tempered by the orange blossom, which always goes a little bitter on me. It mellows out after a little, and adds something creamy and smooth to the tang of the kumquat. The white tea is just wafting above the rest, adding to the creaminess. I like it, but it's a little subdued for my tastes. I'll keep the imp, but I'll get my kumquat fix from Night Gaunt. Very little throw.

The first impression I had of this scent fresh on my wrist was...baby wipes. It was super chemically smelling, and I wasn't sure I wanted it on my skin. Then after a few minutes it calms down to reveal the violet underneath. It's slightly dusty, but that's what violet always does on my skin. It's nice, but not my favorite floral. Then the hyssop and frankincense come out and ground the scent, making it richer and deeper. It's pleasant, but I'm satifsfied with just keeping the imp, but not getting a bottle.

 

Throw is strong at first, then fades quickly. I give this scent a B on my skin.

Very lovely and bright. My first impressions are peach and a light floral, perhaps gardenia? I looked this up later, and I found it was rose. It must be the myrtle and peach blossom melting togeather to make this "bright" feeling. The aquatic notes and a light watery smell to this, which is great. Very lovely and spring like, this is a pick-me-up scent. I will keep the imp around for when I want to feel cheerful and sunny.

I'm getting the impression of mosses and dried flowers, dried roses perhaps. A very melancholy scent, if you were looking for a scent to wear to a funeral, this would be it. There's a lot of green in here, but the dried flowers soften it, and it feels slightly faded, even when it's fresh. Suprisingly, a good amount of throw. I really do like this alot, but the imp will be enough for me.

Vanilla/tonka bean flavored incense? There's a very sweet undertone to this oil. Yummm! It smells wonderful. Sweet, but not sickly sweet. I was told to layer this with Thalassa, the Galapagos mermaid, and so I shall. Very light throw, but it's heavenly when you press your wrist to your nose. A definite keeper.

Yowza. Jasmine and magnolias are a heady mixture. It's like my face is pressed right against the petals. Good thing I love both these flowers so much. I'm not getting any rose and the orchids are pretty pale on my skin, so this is all white flowers and headiness. Mmmm. This is a keeper for sure. Only downside is that there is almost no throw.

This goes on very heavy and almost smoky. Without looking at the notes, I guessed I was smelling patchouli and myrrh. Then I look up the notes and it's amber and black musk! Woah, I was way off. At first it's smokey and acrid and overpowering, then it mellows into the dreaded baby powder smell. I'm not liking it at all. Then a couple hours in it turns back into amber, with the black musk wafting over the top. It smells better wafting around me than when I sniff my wrist. I like the drydown stage, but I dislike the first stage so much that it's not worth the wait. I will be passing my imp on to someone else.

 

Oh, and this stuff stays on FOR-EV-ER. It lasted through several scrubbings and rubbing alcohol.

A really nice blend of vanilla and cedar. For all you cedar-haters, the cedar stays in check with the help of the vanilla. I can't detect any sassafras on my wrist, but I can smell a bit of it wafting off me. I like this, and I'm going to keep my imp. It makes me feel warm and nice. A comforting blend, really.

Rose n'honey. This reminds me alot of Sed Non satia. It's the musk/honey floral combo, and this really really works on my skin. It has pretty good throw too, I need more blends that have throw. It's really indescribable, it's mostly sweet and lightly floral. I'm going to have to choose between this or Sed Non Satia to get a bottle of.

 

B+

Mostly Mahogany. At first I get cherry cordials, then it quickly dries down to mahogany. I smell like a dusty wooden chest, so The Red Queen will have to go. Maybe I'll try it as a room scent instead. Too bad, I was looking forward to wearing this.

 

Zero throw and short to medium wearlength.

There are three typical reactions I have when I apply BPAL oils. The first is "meh, maybe it will get better," the second is "like it but won't buy a bottle" and the third is "OMG, I NEED TO HAVE 10 BOTTLES OF THIS RIGHT NOW".

 

Bastet falls into the third category. Almond and saffron are the most easily detectable, but there's a subtle background of amber and lotus. This is so DELICIOUS. It's spicy and warm, and not too incensy. From all the rave reviews here, this seems to work with most people's skin chemistry, and that's a great thing. A surefire crowd pleaser, it deserves the same recognition as staples like Snake Oil and O. It's that good people. I'd be a fool not to buy a bottle of this.

 

Ps. nice amount of throw, not too strong and not too light.

Hmmm, not much sleaziness here. This is mostly green and refreshing! Dandelion and hemp, which I guess is making the green note so strong. I'm not getting any hops yet, which I'm not complaining about. Excellent spring and summer scent, this imp is going to get a lot of use. It makes me feel happy.

 

After a couple of hours, there is a bit of booziness, not obvious, but it's in the background, adding sweetness to the mix of green and dandelions. Ahhh, so good.

This is really refreshing. I get mostly lily of the valley and whitesandalwood. This feels like this should be worn at the beginning of summer, when the heat starts to set in. A tad soapy, but that's not a turn-off. Strong throw as well. I really like it, and will definitley keep the imp!

This had so many of my favorite notes in it. How could it possibly go wrong?

Well it did. The lemon verbena and lemongrass were super astringent, to the point of numbing my nose. Then I could detect this sour smell, like bad breath underneath all that lemon. I'm not sure what note is causing this, I think it's a combo of white musk and lemongrass. It just smells OFF and I'm sure it's my chemistry. What a shame, because I usually adore fruity scents. Not this time.

This is kind of like a masculine version of Loviatar. The vetiver comes on strong and thick, and I immediately don't like it. The leather evens it out a bit, then it's mostly leather and black musk on me with vetiver in the background. I like it a bit more after it mellows out, but I think it's too masculine on me. When I wear leather I need something sweet to balance it out, and this is just too much for me. Definitley good for a man though.

A bit, bitter more bitter than I expected. After an hour or two it mellows on my skin, and smells a bit like fresh gingerbread. Still a bit bitter and a little acrid as well. Either my imp needs to age a little longer, or I'm just not a huge ginger fan. I like it once it sits a while on my skin, but I'm not especially wowed by it.

This one is yummy. Without even putting my hand to my wrist, I can smell the vanilla and leather, with a hint of cedar. When I put my wrist to my nose, I can smell the leather, herbs and more of the vanilla. Delicious! I wasn't expecting to like this one very much, and the leather coupled with the vanilla is DIVINE. The cedar is barely there, which I am grateful for, as it has a tendency to smell overpowering on me. Whod've thunk? The throw is small, but I didn't slather very much. This smells kinda like Dorian and Loviatar together.

I'm getting lavender, with some of the sweet fruitiness of the currants. Then the musk and ozone come out, giving this a breezy light summer day feeling. Very lovely with a nice bit of throw. The imp stays.