Lunasariel

In the imp: Vanilla. A spicy, interesting vanilla, but vanilla nonetheless. With perhaps a touch of lemon, though? Wet: Overall, spicier and less sweet. It see-saws back towards sweetness over time, but for the first hour-plus, I would describe this as a primarily spicy scent. However, my brother said that it smells like nicotine??? ...Which is a bit weird, since neither he nor I smoke. Dry: A sort of vanilla-y your-skin-but-better. Which isn't surprising, since I tend to amp vanilla. Maybe it's because everyone enthuses over this so much, but I wasn't as blown away by this as I thought I would be. A re-test several months down the line does indeed show an improvement - sweeter, warmer, more expansive. So while I feel like I do need at least one bottle to be considered a true BPALista, I'll re-test this periodically rather than reach for it every day. Plus, if the other comments are anything to go by, truly aged Snake Oil is out of this world, so I'll wait for that.

In the imp: Sweet incense with an herbal edge. Maybe a bit of a piney zing to it? Wet: A calming, grounding scent, which is a little odd, considering it starts off so sharp. It's doing that thing many incense blends do on me, where it's quite sharp if I deliberately smell my wrist, but if I just catch a random whiff of myself as I turn my head, it's much sweeter and broader. Also like my other incense blends, the sharpness decreases and the sweetness expands over time. Dry: After a few hours, it settles into a soft, sweet, resinous smell that lasts all day, and I do mean *all* day. It's the kind of low-key, almost "your skin but better" scent that is clearly settling in for the long haul.

In the imp: A strong spicy-earthy scent - about equal parts cinnamon and patchouli, methinks. There is a sweet ambery undercurrent, but it's not immediately apparent. Wet: An initial big ol' burst of patchouli, which quickly shifts to share space with spicy cinnamon, with the soft warmth of amber (and maybe sandalwood?) throughout. Dry: Each note fades in turn, with the spicy-sharp cinnamon going first, and my old friend amber hanging around the longest.

In the imp: Sweet! More honey-sweet than vanilla-sweet. I mean, the vanilla-sweet element is present, too; just less so than the honey-sweet. Maybe there's a hint of muskiness/spice? Mostly, though, it's a very sweet scent. Wet: I admit I don't have the greatest scent profile for patchouli, but I do believe this is heavily-honeyed patch. TBH, though, it mostly reminds me of those complicated, expensive varieties of honey you get at Whole Foods. The vanilla quickly asserts itself, although the honey remains the dominant note. If there is any cinnamon in here, it's pretty well-buried. Overall, I would call this a foody scent, and, as per most foody scents on my skin, one with a pretty decent throw. Dry: Ah, THERE'S the patchouli! But a sweet patchouli - by now I'd say more vanilla-sweet than honey-sweet, which I actually prefer. It's also much closer to the skin, but again, I see this as a plus. It REALLY hangs around, so for 10 hours or so, I've got a lovely skin-scent going.

In the imp: Interestingly, something bitter, sharp, and herbaceous. I eventually discovered a touch of sweetness at the base, but it definitely took more than one sniff to find it. Right now, I'm not getting much of a sense-memory of church, and I grew up pretty heavily Catholic. Wet: Speaking of sense memories, the first thing I get, oddly enough, is my old guinea pig's bedding, which was cedar/redwood wood chips and shavings. The sweet/sharp divide is also a lot more evident - the sweet resins amp way up, but in a good way. At least now they've got a fighting chance against the redwood! The almost-lemony resinous sweetness comes to dominate, but not for a little while. At first it's all sweet resins from afar and sharp cedar/redwood up close, but eventually even that fades, leaving pretty much smooth, slightly smoky, resins. A great cold-weather scent! Dry: See above re: resins. This is my first experience with a pure incense blend, so that might be it, but I swear I smell something almost foody-vanilla-sweet right down at the very end...

In the imp: The oil itself has a unique pink color to it. It's a sort of omnidirectional floral - if pressed to pick one, I would indeed say roses, but fresh garden roses just after rain, not traditional perfumey roses. There's even a bit of straight-up greenery as a base, to complete the rain-washed garden illusion. Wet: A much greener scent than in the imp. Interestingly, the rose itself veers slightly waxy/perfumey. It quickly veers more sweet-floral than floral-sweet, which I think we have the honeysuckle to thank for. I don't have a great scent profile for honeysuckle, but from other people's descriptions, it makes sense. Dry: Florals pretty much all the way down. I think I may have gotten a brief flash of something ambery way down at the base, but that may have been interference from my coat sleeve, which has had contact with so many different perfume oils that it's probably gained an aroma of its own. This is an unusually short-lasting scent (3-4 hours tops), and maybe it'll be a nice, fresh floral for summer, but I don't think it's going to be in heavy rotation this winter.

In the imp: I immediately imagine a sort of reddish-brownish color. Almost the color of cinnamon, which is interesting, because this isn't a very cinnamon-heavy blend (at least not right off the bat). It is very spicy and a little sweet, but not cinnamon-spicy. Wet: Is that incense??? It's warm, a little musky and smoky, whatever it is. The cinnamon-y cassia makes itself known after not too long, giving it a strong "Oriental" vibe. Amber is always a bit Russian roulette on me - sometimes it's powdery, sometimes it isn't; this time it is. I mean, it's not pure powder like Brisingamen became, but there's a definite baby powder note there all the same. Dry: Lovely ambery warmth! Yummy without being in the least juvenile or foody. Sign me up!

In the imp: A fresh vanilla scent with an earthy-spicy undertone, and a hint of (chemical) lemon. Wet: There's an interesting contrast between the vanilla and musk going on here. The vanilla and musk both become much more prevalent over time, with the musk hanging around as an undertone. And possibly there's a hint of soap? (In retrospect, fougeres do *not* play well with my skin, so I'm just glad that it was only a hint.) Dry: There's a strong shift to musk after about an hour, and then back to vanilla tea after ~ 3 hours. The whole thing doesn't last longer than five hours, tops. Maybe I need to revisit this, because I first encountered it (and thus took notes on it) in my BPAL infancy, but...I don't get it. Like, it's okay, but I'm guessing it needs some time to age, because while it's a nice enough scent, I wouldn't put it in my "Beloved Favorites." EDIT: Like Snake Oil, this one really needs time to come into its own, but when it does, WOW. It's a strongly foody scent, black tea and vanilla and sweet sugar (which I first thought was honey, given how it amps on me). Turns out it just needs a few months of aging to make it into my everyday rotation! EDIT 2: After about two years, either my skin chemistry has changed or the oil has. But either way, now I absolutely cannot wear any kind of fougere - the beautiful dark, sweet tea of yesteryear has morphed into pure undiluted soap. T.T Alas, poor Dorian!

In the imp: Very, very fruity - I originally thought orange (while testing blind), but nope, that's definitely peach. It's a very rich, opulent, almost voluptuous scent - the amber does a wonderful job of kicking the peach up a notch from the fruity body splashes of my youth. Wet: At first, an interesting spiciness is about equal with the fruit, creating an interesting sort of fruity floriental. ...But then, after a few minutes, I discover fruit, especially peach, is one of my death notes. The sillage is huge, and the peach sweeps all before it. No amber, no sandalwood, no vanilla, only the faintest touch of florals; it's pretty much, as my notes say, "like being punched in the face by a radioactive peach." Dry: After two or three hours, the peach finally calms the hell down, allowing the sandalwood-amber combo to finally shine. It eventually dries down to a pleasant, slightly sweet, woodsy amber, but it's too little, too late - that peach was *intense*, lemme tell you. I'll put this in the back of my aging drawer and let it sit for awhile - hopefully that fruity edge will grow out of its impetuous youth and into something much more subtle.

In the imp: A more cool-toned amber than I'm used to. Usually I gravitate towards the warm, slightly spicy ambers, but this is something fruity and/or floral resting on a large amber base. Interestingly, something in here reminds me of the string of babysitters I had while growing up, all of whom were some flavor of hippie. Wet: Still sweetly cool-toned, but not actively cold. There's a whiff of traditional perfumey florals with the carnation providing a lovely spicy bridge between said florals and the amber. Interestingly, when I asked my mother for her opinion, she said "baby powder, in the best way possible." And she really likes the scent of baby powder, so...thanks, I guess? It seems that my luck is not with me for this one - sometimes ambers turn powdery on me and sometimes they don't; it looks like this is one of the times they do. Dry: Sweet amber. At first I thought I was picking up on a vanilla note, but soon realized I was getting a false foody positive from the apples. I'm going to age this one for a while, because I REALLY want to like it (amber is my favorite scent family, and apple blossoms are so completely emblematic of/tied up with memories of my childhood I can't *not* love them), but it just didn't light a fire under me like I thought it would.

In the imp: A very fruit-leaning amber. I would even go so far as to call it sickly-sweet, even medicinal at times. Wet: I got synthetic fruit, with the amber veering a little too sweet for me, but I've actually gotten a fair number of compliments on this. So maybe my nose is just being a jerk? Dry: Luckily, the sickly-sweet fruit (which, upon retrospect, is most likely the lotus, which generally doesn't play well with my skin) fades after an hour or three, leaving only an interesting spicy-sweet-warm amber. It's still more gourmand-y than many of my other ambers, but in a good way. I'll tuck this one away for a year or so, because I was ALL SET to love this (Bast! Amber! Musk!), but I never really loved it like I wanted to. Maybe some aging will take the edge off of the lotus and bring the drydown forward some.

In the imp: Warm, sharp sandalwood, soft florals, and a general sense of old lady perfume. But *rich* old lady perfume, the kind who travels the world and wears designer clothes. Wet: There's an initial burst of sandalwood, but it fades to the background pretty quickly. Instead, there's something I can best describe as fruity amber - it starts out a little fresh/aquatic/green, but then what I assume is the rose quickly becomes rosehip jam. Thanks to BPAL's particular brand of alchemy/ESP, it does feel very motherly. Dry: The sandalwood comes back to the fore, followed by amber. While I'll hang onto my imp and see how it ages, I don't see this one being in heavy rotation for a while - a little too maternal for my tastes.

In the imp: My first thought: "ethereal." Sweet, cool, and smooth, with hints of lemon, herbs, and maybe something vanilla-sweet. Wet: The lemon and herbaceous notes are definitely much sharper. I could see some people finding this a great cooling scent for sticky, humid summer days; sort of the olfactory equivalent of a cool drink and a pool. But I like even my cool summer scents with a little more meat to them - this one feels much too faint even for that. Dry: Pretty much fades to nothing after an hour or two. I found this kind of a non-scent - it has too little personality to stick around. While I do tend towards the "less is more" theory with regards to perfume (too many olfactory-sensitive people in my family), this was too little even for me.

In the imp: Sultry, lush florals; primarily jasmine. I'm A-OK with this, since jasmine is my One Floral to Rule Them All. There's a hint of bergamot to keep things from getting *too* dark, but in general, it's a very mysterious, almost-heavy-but-not-quite scent. Wet: Very much the same as ITI: the jasmine continues to dominate, with the bergamot providing some brightness and zing to counteract all that languid, indolence. So while it has much more gravitas than the screechy drugstore perfumes of my youth, it's a definite "perfumey" scent, nonetheless. Unfortunately, after about half an hour, something distinctly soapy starts to develop. Ever since Venustas, which I was 100% set to declare my HG scent, veered straight Dove and stayed there for eight hours, I've been super wary of anything even vaguely soapy. Dry: Alas, the soap settled in to stay. I mean, it's a nice-ish soap - you would find it in the cleaning aisle at Target, but it would be called "Arabian Nights" or "Night Garden" or something. Dangit, I really wanted to like this one, too! Oh, well, maybe it'll age well?

In the imp: Resinous and very sweet - I guess this could be called sinuous, but sinister, not so much. There's also a definite note of cinnamon spicing things up. Wet: Unexpectedly cinnamon-heavy! There's also something foody-sweet in there, but it's definitely a very cinnamon-dominant blend. In fact, my first sense-memory is that of the vanilla- and cinnamon-scented pine cones they sell at Fred Meyer around this time of year - they keep them in huge bins right by the door, so as soon as you enter you're hit by what starts off as a pleasant cinnamon-vanilla scent, but then gets STRONGER AND STRONGER OH GOD. I got this as part of the Incense Imp Pack, but I'm not getting an awful lot of incense here. (Of course, it could also be that I'm relatively unfamiliar with BPAL's various incense notes and blends.) Dry: Thankfully, it dries down to something sexy-sweet within half an hour. The incense does eventually come out, and by the end (about 7-8 hours later - about average for me) it's actually a mostly sweet, resinous incense blend with an ever-so-slightly-spicy edge.

In the imp: My first impression is something floral-sweet. There's also a hint of spicy sandalwood, and maaaaybe vanilla? Or possibly amber. Anyway, something warm and sweet and not quite floral. Wet: First off, the vanilla comes off MUCH more noticeable. And a non-foody vanilla too, woohoo! The sandalwood is there as a base, but it's a non-intrusive sandalwood, if you know what I mean - it actually takes some sniffing for me to place the subtle spicy-woody scent. And amber, my old friend, is providing a lovely bridge between the two. Dry: Sandalwood, mostly, albeit warmed up and made simultaneously cuddlier and more slinky by amber. Vanilla is hanging on by a thread, but still present.

In the imp: Big ol' blast of honey. I think I'm detecting amber, too, but not amber like I've smelled it before, more like a spicy-ish complication for the honey. If there is vanilla in here, it's getting rather lost among all the other sweet scents. Finally, is that a whiff of traditional perfume I smell? Wet: It's interesting - whenever I get a whiff of myself in passing, I think "ah, there's my old friend amber!", but when I actually stick my nose on my wrist, I get honey with maybe a touch of vanilla. I think yesterday's White Rabbit is running a bit of interference, because once it settles down, I get an interesting sort of musky-amber honey on one wrist, and soap on the other. Weird. Dry: It becomes about 95% honey by the end, with maybe a touch of amber to keep things from veering too foody-sweet. The vanilla never really develops, alas.

In the imp: The first thing I noticed was something surprisingly zingy - at first I thought lemon, but that must be the ginger, and possibly the pepper as well. It actually took me a moment to suss out the black tea, and the honey-vanilla sweetness below. This is definitely a tea scent, but it's a complicated tea scent. Wet: The pepper and ginger continuing strong, albeit with more of the latter than the former. I'm not getting so much of the milkiness, but there's definitely a honey-vanilla undertone restraining the ginger and tea. Speaking of which, the note of crisp black tea weaving throughout is extremely pleasant, in a get-up-and-go way. In fact, I'd describe this as an overall wake-up-and-get-going scent, but without the aggressive citrus I usually associate with that type of scent. The clean linen is only discernible as a clean, fresh smell (but NOT soapy) that hangs on for a surprisingly long time. Dry: The tea and honey-vanilla sweetness both intensify over time, as expected, but the zingy ginger (and/or pepper) also proves surprisingly tenacious.

In the imp: A salty, aquatic, almost clean/soap smell. A hint of sweetishness (which I'm more inclined to attribute to the vanilla and "gilded musk" than the florals) keeps it wild and interesting, rather than clinical and soapy. Wet: Oh, THERE'S the vanilla. After an initial burst of the ocean, I get an expansive, warm, elegant sweetness that I'm coming to associate with non-foody vanilla, albeit with that extra dimension my beloved amber provides. The sea notes are still hanging around, but as an interesting complication, like the salt in salted caramel. If there is sandalwood here, it's an unusually restrained - I'm getting golden vanilla beans by the sea, and that's about it. Dry: The "sea" note becomes more and more definitively ambergris, giving me some wonderful memories of some hippie neighbors when I was growing up, who gave me my very first vial of (homemade) perfume oil, which contained a lot of ambergris. Thanks for starting me on the path that led to BPAL, Gordon and Mary! Other than that, the vanilla-amber blend is still going strong and lovely.

In the imp: Resinous and sweet. I got it as part of the Vanilla Imp Pack, and the vanilla is definitely there, but it's not a foody, cake-and-cookies sort of vanilla. It blends with the resinous notes to create something expansively warm and sweet. And finally, yup, there's candlewax. I will never not be in awe of the Lab's ability to recreate non-traditional sensory experiences as perfumes like this. Wet: Yup, definitely smoky candles! More of an emphasis on the latter than the former, but still. The vanilla takes a big ol' step forward, making the whole thing deeper and warmer, but, interestingly, "sweeter" isn't the first word that springs to mind. Unfortunately, this stage doesn't last as long as I'd like: the slightly-too-clean smell of pure beeswax takes center stage after a few minutes, with the warm resins/vanilla blend rounding it out and keeping it from smelling too clinical. But then it's back to warm resinous vanilla...it seems to be doing that switching thing where two different notes keep trading places for the most dominant note. Huh. Dry: The resinous aspect comes out much more - smoky, almost spicy. The undertone of sweet (albeit non-foody) vanilla is still there. What surprised me is that most blends that linger throughout the day tend to go either cloyingly sweet or a little sour, but definitely one-note, while this one remained at least mildly complex. This one is definitely going on my to-buy list, but not, I think, at the very top.

In the imp: Right off the bat, from both me and the bf: "OMG CUPCAKES!!!" I got this as part of the Vanilla Imp Pack, and there is indeed vanilla in there, but it's a very foody vanilla (to the surprise of none). I'm also a little worried about the currants. They're only a subtle undercurrent (pun not intended) here, but my skin tends to amp fruit of all stripes to hell and back. Wet: Like GuardianoftheMoon, my initial reaction was along the lines of "sour cake wtf???" At first I thought it was interference from yesterday's Juke Joint still hanging around, but apparently it's not just me. But either I get used to this really fast, or it's just an initial burst that fades thankfully quickly, because it quickly settles down into something much more wearable. The currants are definitely dominant, but not the bust-down-the-door "HI I'M FRUIT!!!" reaction that my skin usually has; more of a slightly-too-loud-indoor-voice kind of thing, with the foody vanilla playing backup. And even this doesn't last too long - within 10 minutes or so, the currant has decided to play nice and settle down, allowing the foody vanilla to take center stage. I actually think I like this phase better - the currants are less sharp (which I think was the initial sour cake note), and it feels more like delicious, delicious cake. Dry: The currants are back, and with a vengeance. There's a slight cake-batter edge rounding them out, but at this point I would describe it as primarily a currant scent. This is a bit too foody-sweet for everyday wear, but I could see myself buying a bottle A) to round out my collection, and for those ultra-horrible days when the only thing that will make me feel better is smelling like fruity cake.

(NOTE: My nose is still a little stuffy from a nasty cold Death Flu I had earlier this week, so some impressions may be off. I plan to revisit everything I wore for the first time this week at some later date just to be sure.) In the imp: This may be because, in many respects, I'm a BPAL n00b, but this is the first blend where I've been able to pick out each note instantly and distinctly. Sweet sugar? Yup. Mint. Yup. Bourbon? Ah, that must be what that nice boozy undertone is. (I'm a TERRIBLE drinker, so differentiating the various alcohol scents isn't something I'm great at.) I found it clean and sweet, but not in a squeaky-clean-dryer-sheets clean way, nor in a cloying-high-fructose-corn-syrup sweet way. Looking forward to this one. Wet: There's definitely some sort of skin alchemy going on here; the mint retains its zinginess (shut up, it's totally a word) without screaming "MINT!" - now I would have a harder time, if I were smelling it blind, picking it out as actual mint, but I'm still definitely getting something indescribably herbal and uplifting. The sugar, too, has undergone a change where it's more of an accent than a main note. Again, if I were smelling this blind, at this point I would have trouble picking out sugar as a note, but there's definitely something sweet bridging the gap between the zingy minty top note and the bourbon(? I swear there's some musk in here) base note. I'm going to have to get confirmation from the bf, but right now, I'm thinking that this smells AWESOME on me! I foresee this being in *heavy* rotation this winter - it reminds me of all the best things about summer, while still feeling winter-appropriate and substantial. Dry: Soft, sweet musk. If bourbon = sweet musk on my skin (this is my first experience with BPAL's bourbon note, btw), then sign me up! I admit, I was a little apprehensive about trying this one out, even though I got it as a frimp. I didn't have much experience with mint, but didn't foresee any problems there. It was the sugar (sweet notes tend to be really really friggin' sweet on me) and bourbon (the only other boozy note of BPAL's that I've tried is the red wine, which mostly just disappears) that I was worried about. But damn, this one just sped right to the top of my to-buy list!

In the imp: A slightly synthetic, fruity-sweet smell. Not quite fake cherry, but close. Possible undertones of red wine. Wet: Apparently my notes deleted this cell, but I'll reconstruct it as best I can. It's still fruity-sweet, but less synthetic; more of a traditional perfume note. I don't think lotus plays well with my skin - it became overwhelmingly fruity in Bastet, and I'm afraid it's doing the same thing here. And my skin amps fruit like whoa. The chocolate and wine (especially the wine) eventually start to peek out a little, but never get more dominant than the florals. Dry: I don't know if this just became an indistinguishable part of my skin-scent really fast so that I couldn't smell it on myself, or whether it fades REALLY REALLY FAST, but I really had to huff to get anything beyond an hour, and after three, I'm not getting anything at all. I may buy a bottle somewhere down the line to round out my florals collection, but I'm not much of a florals gal to begin with. Plus, it shares many similarities with Lilith (only with lotus being the dominant floral instead of rose), and Lilith is already on my to-buy list. But, as usual, I'll hang onto my frimp and see if it goes any interesting directions with age.

NOTE: I'm caught in the throes of a pretty nasty cold, so my impressions may not be the most reliable. I plan on coming back to this scent when I'm feeling better and seeing if my impressions change. But for now, they are what they are. In the imp: A clean, fresh scent; a little reminiscent of Embalming Fluid. A bit woodsier, however, and with an interesting undertone of sweetness. I don't have a good scent profile for BPAL's beeswax notes, so I don't know whether I can't distinguish it or it just isn't there in noticeable amounts. Wet: Man, was this a journey! It started out as a clean, pleasant, musky-sandalwood take on Embalming Fluid. Nothing that knocked my socks off, but something I immediately began to make plans for layering with other RPG scents. (Specifically, I was looking forward to jazzing it up with something like Mage or Bard.) However, after about ten minutes, something sharp and acidic popped up out of nowhere. Before I knew it, I was having my first experience with BPAL's infamous Lemon Pledge/cleaning fluid note. Dry: It stayed stubbornly Lemon Pledge for a good several hours. Eventually, it calmed down to a pleasant, slightly musky sandalwood. There may still be some citrus-y hints hanging around, but that may be just my poor traumatized nose having flashbacks. So while it's now not *un*pleasant, I'm probably going to hang onto the imp for awhile, and see if aging it and/or me changes the Lemon Pledge thing, as opposed to buying a bottle.

In the imp: There are a lot of notes that I'm completely or partially unfamiliar with here, so my impressions might be a bit off. That said, I immediately got something kind of syrupy-sweet (maybe the hops?) that mingles slightly unpleasantly with a VERY sharp sort of sweaty-metallic tang - my first thought was paint. Not gonna lie, I was a little apprehensive about putting this on my skin... Wet: Thank Bob, that sharp tang is gone. In fact, my first impression was "...is that bread?" So that's probably the hops coming out to play. In fact, it becomes a musky-sweet (but not traditional gourmand/fruity/floral/perfumey sweet - it's difficult to describe) scent that seems VERY masculine. However, this calms down after a few minutes and lets something a bit colder and tangy come out. Not nearly as strong as in the imp, but I'm going to guess that this is more of the leather and stone. There's mmmaaaayyybeee a touch of metallic-ness, but, see above re: not as strong as ITI. In fact, now it's rather pleasant. The hops, too, are still around a bit, but only to provide some nice mellow warmth to the dominant stone and leather. Dry: A wonderful smoky, leathery warmth that still reads very masculine, but no less enjoyable for it. I've never been quite confident enough to experiment with layering, and I got this as a frimp, and the only other RPG scents I own (Paladin and Half-Elf) are also frimps, but this is making a pretty strong case for me to systematically buy the series and get a-layering! It's interesting that what terrified me so much ITI turned out to be such a mellow, well-rounded, balanced blend. Thank you once again, BPAL, for leading my nose to scents it didn't know it needed!