unlaced

In the bottle: This is very light. As others have said it feels gauzy and light and grey. Giving the feeling of smoke without actually smelling like it. Wet on my skin: Sandalwood is the most prominent scent when I apply (I'm beginning to think I amp it. It's all I could smell in Velvet.) Sandalwood with some more dusty notes around the edges. Still a very light scent. Drying: Here comes the floral. Much more green and floral than I'd expect from the way it smelled a few minutes ago. It gets a bit of a smoky twinge, which I'm assuming is the nicotiana. Dry: All the elements blend nicely into a final product that's almost teasing in the way that it stays very close to the skin. Every once in a while I get a whiff of it as I'm typing but I really have to bring my wrist up to sniff to get a good sniff. The throw has a slightly smoky, almost earthy smell. And when I sniff up close it's a nice, light floral. Something that won't be too overpowering to wear on a summer night. (This coming from a girl who isn't really a floral fan) Very, very nice.

I think I've only had one bad reaction to an oil and that was TAL's White Light. Stinging, itchy red spots where I applied. It's smells pretty cinnamon-y to me so I thought it might be cinnamon content at first but I've worn oils cinnamon content multiple times before with no problem. (Chimera, Bakeneko, Priala, etc.) So maybe it's something else...

In the imp: almond, almond and more almond. Wet: more of the same. Drying/Dry:Spicy, sweet, warm and golden... A teensy bit of almond still lurking in the background. This is total love. It fades away and comes back when I'm least expecting it. A new comfort scent for me.

I want to love this one so much, but I just don't think it's working out. In the imp it smelled just like War (one of, if not my number one, favorite BPAL) and on my skin it smelled like candied ginger from wet to dry. Unfortunately, in the far drydown I'm getting something that smells like dirt... I don't know what's happening with that.

I haven't tried Bon Vivant but it's sitting in my "to try" imp box and waiting. As for Hollywood Babylon, it smelled like cherry cough syrup on me... so much so that I had to wash it off to keep from being sick. (I have very bad gag reactions to the smell of Robitussin and the like) I was quite sad since the description sounded so lovely.

In the bottle: wow... yes that is exactly the smell of real pink bubble gum. Wet on my skin: sugar rush!! Still very bubblegummy... Drying: The bubble gum is receding a bit now, there are other sweet smells coming out as well. Maybe some cherry? And it's getting just a touch of spice. Dry: Yep... mostly bubble gum with a little bit of other sweetness and just a touch of spice. I like it, but I don't know if I like it enough to keep the whole bottle.

White Chocolate and Strawberry went plastic on me. It smells like wonderful creamy strawberry goodness on other people, but on my skin... straight to plastic. I love the new Strawberry Moon. Fresh berries and sweet vanilla sugar and juuust a hint of green. Unfortunately it doesn't last long on my skin. And Velvet Pink Kitty... smelled like fruity ginger ale on me. Dunno what was up with that.

In the imp: I have to sniff a couple times to get a good read on the scent. Definitely aquatic... with a hint of fir needles in there somewhere... Wet on my skin: The fir comes out more forcefully. Forcefully being a relative term as I can barely smell this scent at all even though I slathered it at my wrists and elbows. No florals at all. Drying/Dry: This was a good choice for a hot day. It's light and aquatic. A bit salty. The piney fir element goes well with the salt water. The florals never showed for me...

From the first sniff out of the bottle to completely dry on my skin all this is is fruity gum, complete with that powdery gum smell... And even after 30 or 45 minutes or so I could barely smell it anymore, even in my hair where scents usually stick around longer. I really wanted to love this. It sounds so wonderful but it's just not working with my skin chemistry.

In the bottle: Strawberry candy. Good but I know it will get better. Wet on My Skin: Ohmyguh... *drool* Literally mouthwatering juicy strawberries. Drying: As it dries the green notes come out a bit more but it stays predominantly a fruit scent. Dry: Only when it's fully dry does the vanilla sugar show up with the juicy tartness of the strawberry. Just a hint though. Just enough to give a hint of creamy sweetness to the tart fruit and greens. Absolutely lovely. Very fruity but wearable. I was worried it would be overwhelming in the fruit department but it's not. As for the throw: it stays close to the skin.

*drool* Vanilla woods with the loveliest hint of citrus. But somehow dark and mysterious and sexy... I'm in love.

In the imp: Grape bubble gum! in a good way... Wet on my skin: still grape bubble gum... Though it's starting to get more true to actual sweet fruit. Drying/dry: yep... pure sweet fruit from start to finish. I smell no flowers (probably a good thing since roses hate me). I want to drink it... It smells like a fresh, cool summery drink. I think I need a bottle for the upcoming summer months.

In the bottle: smells almost exactly like Miskatonic University! Yum! Wet on my skin: immediately the smokyness starts to come out and it's sweet Irish coffee with smoky overtones. Quite nice. Drying/dry: More of the same. Irish coffee similar to Misk. U. with sweet smoke added in. There's another note in there that I can't quite identify that's just a bit bitter... I don't really know what's up with that. Maybe I need to age my bottle a bit. hmmm.....

in the bottle: mouthwatering orange with a hint of something incense-y behind it wet on my skin: more of the same... a bit more incense if I sniff really close. Oh man, this is gooood. Drying/dry: wonderful, almost tangerine-like orange, with a hint of smoky incense and the teeeeesnyest bit of lovely "jungle blooms" hovering somewhere in the background. I love this! It's definitely a new favorite.

In the imp: spicy cinnamon! whooooo!! Wet on my skin: spicy and a bit sweet. It's just a touch foody and so gooood! It's like an extra-spicy cinnamon bun! Drying/dry: more of the same! love it!

In the bottle: whoo... Butter Rum Cookie indeed. yowwie... Wet on my skin: oh my goodness. delicious cinnamon sugar cookie. not so heavy on the booze, but it's still in there. Drying: more of the same... Dry: well... in my hair it could be a dead ringer for Flesh Eating Reindeer but on my skin it's taking on a distinctly pancake syrup-y smell that I'm not liking so well... On the far drydown the pancake syrup smell was all I could smell. I love the yummy cinnamon sugar cookie part but I'm not liking the pancake syrup...

All the way through (in the imp to wet to dry) this smells like grapefruit and flowers to me. Nice pink grapefruit and flowers. Nondescript flowers at first then they reveal themselves to be cherry blossoms. Quite a nice scent and I find myself to be craving it as the weather is getting warmer.

I was worried about the rose in this since rose and I do not get along but I shouldn't have been... it's just yum all around. In the bottle: tart currants and pastry... no hint of rose. Wet on my skin: more of the same. a bit more fruity? Drying/dry: yep... all fruity, tart pastry with no rose in sight. (uhh, smell?) It threatened to go powdery in the drying stage but nothing came of it. All in all I love it! I'm thinking this will become a new favorite.

I was so not convinced about this in the bottle. It just smelled like dirt and maybe some grass or flowers or something lingering in the background somewhere. Once it got on my skin though... WOW. It's beautiful! It's the scent of wet green flower stems with a touch of dirt behind it. The dirt isn't too heavy and the flower stem smell isn't overwhelming... And floating through it all is the smell of flower blooms. What kind of blooms? I dunno, but they smell pretty and that's what counts. A lot of people are comparing this to standing in a florist's shop and while I can't remember ever being in a florist's shop, I'd have to imagine this is what it would smell like. It's just so springy and lovely! I didn't think I would love it (since it's really not my style of scent at all) but now I think I'll be reaching for it often this spring.

I'm thinking Agape is going to become my number one springtime scent. It's just so perfect and fruity and lightly creamy... Pure .

in the imp this is exactly vicks vapo rub! on my skin it gets a little more herbal and a little less astringent but whooo... definitely green and sharp and lethal smelling. I think this is going to get passed on...

This changes every time I spray it. I can smell every element but it's perfectly blended. Snow-covered pine trees and fresh-baked sugar cookies... it's wonderful! The pine-yness isn't too sharp and the cookies aren't too heavy. Lovely!

In the imp: cherry? oh, that's almond... and ugh, heavy buttercream. Wet on my skin: almond and a bit of hazelnut with too-heavy buttercream behind it. Drying/dry: kinda boozy, with hazelnut and almond, the buttercream has (thankfully) backed off somewhat I think the buttercream is too heavy for me... off to swaps!

In the imp: it smells brown and somewhat powdery... Wet on my skin: powdery suntan lotion? This is the first thing that's ever done this on me... Drying: The throw is still pretty powdery, and a bit of suntan lotion. Closer to my skin it definitely smells like seeds, not so sure about sedge. I can't detect any sandalwood or amber really. Dry: yeah... I don't think this is working out. I really like the idea though. I'll probably keep the imp around.

In the bottle: cherry liqueur and light colored wood. Maybe some chocolate in there… Wet on my skin: strong alcoholic cherry! I can tell there’s some chocolate in there somewhere but geez Louise… Drying/Dry: It morphed fast from an alcoholic cherry shot of some kind to cherry slurpee. Still some minor chocolate in the throw but if I sniff it up close, fake cherry syrup slap to the face! I smell no yummy spices, no woods, almost no cocoa. This is terrible. This 13 sounded like everything wonderful to me. I love cocoa, I love wood, I love fruits, spices are just even more fun to add to the mix! Why is this just a cherry slurpee on my skin?!?!