Lunasariel

In the imp: Oof! This is a ballsy, dark, growly scent, with throw good enough that I can smell the uncorked but covered imp sitting a foot away from me. The leather is black and fuck-off, the patchouli is at its grittiest, the vetiver is very prominent, the musk is animalic (which is a little odd, since red musk usually reads as sweet to me), and the pepper is spicy to the point of abrasiveness. I'm glad I didn't decide to test this on a day I have to work, lol. Wet: Still very dark, very sexy, and VERY not work-appropriate. The vetiver, black leather (and boy is it black leather), and patchouli are all front and center, with only the barest hint of red musk, which is indeed coming off as a little sweeter, to smooth the edges. Dry: It settles down into a take-no-prisoners, darkly sexy scent, mainly leather and roses. The leather is still a very black leather, as opposed to my usual well-worn leathers and suedes, and the roses are similarly dark. Coconut and red musk provide an earthy sweetness that takes off some of the sharpness. There's just a hint of vetiver remaining, lending the whole thing some grit. And maybe a touch of ginger?

In the imp: Quite reminiscent of The Antikythera Mechanism - smooth, polished wood at the base, with prominent but dry, non-foody vanilla and black tea. I actually found the tea way more prominent than I expected, and I like it! It makes the whole scent a bit lighter, and the vanilla gives it just a hint of sweetness. Wet: Now more Dorian than The Antikythera Mechanism - a light, strong but sweet vanilla tea, with only a hint of woods for grounding. Or rather, Dorian if it actually worked on me; a few years ago my skin decided that anything containing moss/fougere notes was going straight to soap. T.T But now, I'm getting a sophisticated, elegant blend, subtle and sweet. Dry: Actually quite similar to ITI - dark, aged wood, sweetened by vanilla bean pods - it almost reads as the sort of vanillic smell you get from really, really old books. There's still a hint of tea, but it's no longer quite so Dorian-esque. I bought this for its similarity to The Antikythera Mechanism, one of my all-time faves, and while it didn't turn out exactly the same, I'm kind of glad it didn't. I'm forever sad that Dorian no longer works on me, and this is very reminiscent of Dorian, but with the addition of the dark, smooth, aged bookshelves I love from TAM. <3

In the imp: A very light scent, almost carbonated. I think I'm getting the sage and ambergris mostly, but it's more like the scent of sage carried on the breeze. I think I'm getting the florals after some pretty determined sniffing, but it's more like iris root than iris; quite powdery. And finally, I think I can get the patchouli and purple fruit way down at the base, but I've never smelled dark, heavy scents like these so lightly - barely a whiff. Wet: The sage immediately steps to the fore, which I could not be happier about. The ambergris really weds it to my skin, and the leather and patch start to make themselves known a bit more. The iris drifts in and out. It's still a very light, elusive scent, but I'm liking it a lot better now. It feels...well-bred, for lack of a better word; subtle and understated. Definitely not what I was expecting, what with the leather, "patchouli-soaked blackcurrant," etc., but lovely all the same. Dry: A gently herbal, musky leather, actually fairly similar to Anthony, albeit with occasional whiffs of a particularly sweet, fruity patchouli. It's still a very soft, subtle scent, but also a reassuring one. I'm going to reach for this one on days when I feel unsettled and unsure and need some grounding. <3

In the imp: Primarily earthy-sweet fig and that well-worn leather/mellow tobacco combo I've smelled so often they're starting to meld into one scent in my head. I might also be getting the faintest thread of cardamom? Wet: Huh, that's interesting! One wrist is fairly similar to ITI, if a bit more leather-centric. The other is mainly white musk, lightly accented by leather and cardamom. But after a few minutes, both of them settle down into one of the leather-tobacco-woodsy-spicy scents that I so love - the leather and tobacco are by far the most prominent, but I can also get hints of cedar and cardamom. Still no pepper, and I don't think there's any fig left, alas. (This is hilarious to me - I HATE the taste of figs, but I love the smell!) Dry: Woohoo, the fig is back! Now it actually reminds me quite a bit of a more masculine Nasty Woman (Nasty Man?) - earthy, sexy, and sweet. But the well-worn leather is still a major player, and the tobacco, spices, and just a hint of woodsiness and musk are all still distinguishable. I would still call this a cozy, leather-dominant blend, but with a unique twist.

In the imp: I get the "star-speckled" part first and foremost; it reminds me of Zorya Polunochnaya or Lyonesse. White musk? White amber? Vanilla? Ambergris? Something in that family, anyway. Wet: Ah, there's the musk! I kind of want to say it's the same warm, fuzzy one as in Coyote. It blends wonderfully with the cool, crystalline "stars." There is an element of mintiness, or possibly ozone, which blooms once it's had a chance to warm up on my skin, but it fades after five minutes or so. I'm left with an interesting combination of warm, cuddly musk and that crystalline element, which I'm now almost positive is ambergris, Zorya P.'s vanilla, or quite possibly both. This is definitely a good thing, as all of these are total win notes on me. It comes off as incredibly elegant and ethereal, and yet simultaneously snuggly and comforting. Dry: Yeah, I'm going to call this the same "gossamer vanilla" as was found in Zorya P. - They have the same ethereal, elegant feel to them. The puppy-fur musk, however, makes this a warmer, snugglier, more approachable scent. I'm only getting hints of the hay right now, but I imagine that will really come into its own as the blend ages. Bottle-worthy if vanilla or musk are at all your things.

In the imp: Yep, this is the smell of the color pink. I sometimes find roses overpowering, but this is a soft, subtle, and lovely one, rounded out by some vaguely vanillic sweetness. I've never smelled Snow White (shocking, I know), so I'm afraid I can't compare the two, but if this is Snow White plus roses, sign me up! Wet: A very soft, femme, princess-y scent - newly-opened, dewy rosebuds and a breath of non-foody vanilla. After a minute or so, the roses gain some traction and start to bloom, but this is still a very young, innocent-feeling scent. Dry: The roses bloom and then fade, taking the vanilla with them. I'm left with...ambergris? Soft white musk? WTF? It kind of reminds me of The Forest in Winter at Sunset - this could be the same snow note. If so, it's unexpected but lovely! It's the worn-in jeans of perfumes - it's casual and understated, and just seems like I naturally smell amazing.

In the imp: Fairly uncomplicated, straight-up lavender. I could easily believe that amber and/or ambergris are hiding somewhere beneath the lavender, but I can't detect them as such. Wet: It starts out a softer cousin of Good Morning, London, but after a few minutes the ambergris comes out and, oh boy. Good Morning, London was actually strong to the point of wooziness on me, but this melds with my skin to become something exceptional. There's just a hint of sweetness from the amber, and the ambergris rounds out any sharper, medicinal edges. Hoooo boy, this is lovely! Dry: After several hours, first the lavender fades, then the amber, and I'm left with a faintly herbal-sweet ambergris. On me, this smells like I've worked up a sweat running through a field of wild herbs and grasses, then washed it off in a stream. But it's still a soft scent, wearing close to the skin. I think this is what I wanted Good Morning, London to be!

In the imp: On first sniff, I instantly said, "Hey, it's ponderosa pines!" But this is probably just a false positive since my grandfather, who is basically Hearth personified, lived in the Sierra Nevadas for many years, and would burn ponderosa pine logs as firewood when we came over. Anyway, this is a warm, homey, woodsy-leathery-smoky scent. Wet: A moment of discord, where the cherry gets sharp and the smoke gets acrid, before it settles down into... pretty much the same as ITI, actually. Maybe a touch more leather? And a bit less smoke, a touch more resinous wood. This is still a warm, snuggly, cozy, "curl up by the fire with a big blanket and a cup of hot chocolate" kind of scent. Perfect for winter! Dry: This is THE winter scent for me. The resins and/or woods are a little more dominant, with the smoke wafting in and out. The leather feels well-worn and warmed. This is the feeling of coming in after a journey through a snowy forest (maybe as in The Forest in Winter at Sunset, another one of my winter favorites) and settling down in front of a roaring fire. It's amazingly evocative and cozy - beautifullly done, Beth!

In the imp: A whiff of jasmine, carried on the breeze. I kinda want to say there's a thread of tobacco in there, but that might be just me trying to smell the listed notes. Wet: Still a light, soft, subtle jasmine; not getting any tobacco yet. Ethereal and lovely! Dry: Hmm, apparently this is the kind of jasmine that goes a bit sharp on me. I was hoping for something in the vein of Zorya P. - a tantalizing, elusive, impossible-to-describe scent, somewhere between floral, herbal, smoky, and sweet. And while this is nice, especially for jasmine lovers like myself, it ain't that. Still, as jasmine SN, this is a nice one!

In the imp: BPAL's champagne note dominates, although it's less fizzy than usual. I also get hints of a broad, sexy, sweetness and wafts of soft, subtle florals underneath, but the champagne makes them difficult to focus on. Wet: Oh dear, there's some soap going on here. From afar, I get a wonderful black velvet cocktail dress kind of scent - I wouldn't be able to identify the Snake Oil without knowing it was there already, but it's a refined, subtle, sexy-sweet scent. But up close, yeah, soap. I bought this because I was very interested to see (er, smell) BPAL's take on a classic like Chanel No. 5, but I don't have the lovely warm nostalgic associations with it that would take this from "yeah, it's alright" to "LOVE FOREVER!!!" To my knowledge, no one else in my family wears any kind of scent or perfume, let alone Chanel. Dry: OK, if this is what Chanel No. 5 smells like, sign me up! It does smell elegant, refined, subtle, and classic. It's warm and cool at the same time (if that makes any sense), slightly spicy, and slightly floral. I could totally see myself wearing this for an elegant night out.

In the imp: I don't have a good scent profile for fig IRL since I absolutely hate how they taste, so I'm afraid I can't speak to that. This is a creamy, sweet, fruity scent - I think this may be the same fig as in Nasty Woman, which I adore. There's something I can't quite put my finger on complicating the scent, cutting the sweetness and giving it some gravitas. I can't say whether it's a woody or green scent like the description says, I just know it's there. Wet: It does almost a complete 180 and becomes an incredibly realistic forest scent (I believe I'm getting pine and/or fir) with a faint but distinct darkly fruity-sweet note winding throughout. Somehow, taken all together, it feels unsettling - a haunted forest with poison fruit ready to drop. Dry: More green-woody than woody-green, still with some ineffable creamy sweetness hanging around. I could do with either less sweetness, or just a different kind, but I am and will always be a sucker for green scents, so I'm calling this one a winner!

The scent of a pirate's bumboat, overflowing with stolen wares: tea leaf, cassia, cinnamon bark, clove, allspice, sandalwood, tobacco, peppercorn, and nutmeg. In the imp: I was anticipating a SPICEBOMB! going off in a wooden cupboard, but instead, I get straight-up baked goods. Spice cookies, yeah, but cookies nonetheless. Or cake, maybe? Point is, flour, eggs, and milk were definitely involved in this at some point. It's warm, delicious, and exactly what I need on a frosty December day. If there's any sandalwood or tea down there, it's fairly well-buried. Wet: Ah, there's the sandalwood. I still get cake/bread/cookies wafts from afar, but up close, it's much more pure spices, with cinnamon and/or cassia being especially prominent. The tea note takes a while to appear, but it eventually becomes a fairly major player. Ah, now I get the masala chai comparisons! On me, the spices and tea are a little more distinct from each other, if that makes sense, and they come to rest over an increasingly faint woody background. Dry: The sandalwood comes to dominate. The spices, now aromatic rather than "spicy", and more omnidirectional than cooking/baking spices, provide an accent rather than being main players themselves. Now it's a soft, cuddly, woodsy scent - low throw, quite comforting. I still do miss the yummy baked goods stage, but this ain't half bad.

(Mods, please delete/merge this thread if it's a repeat - I've checked around and I didn't see anything, but I could definitely have missed it.) I've just started a new job, which is wonderful in so many respects: it's in my field, it's in my hometown (er, home-county), and all of my coworkers are incredibly kind, thoughtful, and intelligent. ...That said, there's an informal no-scented-products rule, as one of my coworkers is sensitive to strong smells. I would love to find a way that allows me to indulge in my BPAL habit, while making sure that my coworker is safe and comfortable. Pertinent information: - I've seen her get stuffy and congested when another coworker used a synthetic aloe-scented hand sanitizer, but a cucumber-scented EOS hand lotion I use seems to be ok. - Coworker and I share a workspace, although we do have our own desks. - We work in a sort of mega-cubicle with an open top and several entrances/exists, along with three other people. Does anyone here have any advice, either from an office veteran standpoint or a scent-sensitive standpoint (or both!) on how to find a happy medium? Should I apply something the night before to decrease its throw? Scent lockets? Stick to lighter scents like Embalming Fluid? Thank you for any and all advice and input!

Thank you so much for your advice/input/brain-offerings! It sounds like the way to go is: lighter scents, apply early so they have a chance to settle in, and remember that every person's allergies/sensitivities are different. I already have a father and a brother with hyperosmia, so I'm fairly familiar to people who have a naturally low tolerance for strong smells, but allergies are a whole other ball of wax. Norsowideasachurchdoor, I especially appreciate the perspective re: not sticking to the same thing too often - I would never have thought of that, but that's a really good thing to keep in mind. LizziesLuck, thank you in particular for that very extensive list! "Freshly showered" or "just naturally smells nice" are excellent words to keep in mind. Unfortunately, I do tend to lean towards the wood/leather/rum/amber family of scents, but you've given me some great starting points for others. Again, thank you everyone for letting me pick your brains!

In the imp: I thought it would be very similar to Morocco or Sin, but this is exactly the scent of Yin Yang, a hippie/New Age store in my hometown. Hellooooo, memories! Wet: The clear intention is sensual, but to me, this smells incredibly comforting. Red musk is first and foremost, and there's a spiciness that's not nose-biting - no cinnamon or cassia that I can detect. Instead, this is the scent of Sebastopol, CA, circa 2005 (pop. ~5,000): comfortably aging hippies, co-ops with barrels of spices out front, jewelry made up of little coins, and incense everywhere. Dry: Gets a little spicier, but the drydown is pretty linear. I'm not sure whether anyone without this specific scent memory will love Scherezade as much as I do, but as it stands, I went through the whole day wrapped in the warmest, loveliest cloud of nostalgia.

In the imp: Fresh, candy-sweet, springtime violets. Wet: Yep, still violets. I think it's the mint adding that particularly fresh, outdoorsy, breath-of-fresh-air element, but it quickly burns off, leaving the sweeter aspect of the violet to dominate. Dry: Violets all the way down. Luckily, these ones don't go too too overly-sweet - the fresh, springtime element even re-emerges after a little while. This is probably my new favorite violet scent - not crazy sugary or complicated by any other notes. When I want to feel like an Edwardian lady, this is what I'll reach for.

In the imp: Smooth, omnidirectional sweetness. Sometimes I think I can pick out hints of all the listed notes, but sometimes I think they're so well-blended, I'm just trying to smell what's listed. It's difficult to describe, but right now it's a little floral, a little creamy, and even a little smoky. A pale, gossamer scent indeed! Even ITI, it's elusive, making you want to lean forward and find out more, like a gauze veil trailing behind a famous courtesan. Wet: Wowwwwwwwww. Still an elusive scent, but now in the sense of a gauze veil set with stars. Still too well-blended to distinguish any notes with reliability, but I think I'm getting a little more vanilla now? It could be ambergris making the scent meld with my skin so well - ambergris tends to go "your skin but awesome" on me. I'm also getting a breath of flowers and amber, my first and truest love, at the base. Finally, and most intriguingly, there's almost definitely a curl of tobacco (flower?) winding through the blend, giving it an elusive, unexpected smokiness that takes it from merely something lovely to something truly unique. I can see why this is the one everybody has been raving about! Dry: More vanilla-centric, but still an elusive, gossamer vanilla. I can see the comparisons to both Mouse's Long and Sad Tale, and to Lyonesse (which happen to be two of my favorite amber-vanilla scents) - less floral-sweet than the former, and less ambergris-forward than the latter, but definitely a relative of both. The tobacco flower is also a little more noticeable, and that fascinating, unique smoky element is a little more prominent. Boy, does this one *last*! I applied one swipe to my wrists and one to my collarbones around 7:30 this morning, and by 10 PM, it's soft but still noticeable. Beth, you really knocked it out of the park on this one.

In the imp: Creamy jasmine, with the addition of a fresh, floral-green note that both emphasizes and uplifts the jasmine. Most of my jasmine scents are slinky, languid, boudoir-on-a-hot-summer-night kind of scents, but this is much more of a springtime scent. Wet: This is a capital-W Woman's scent. Curvaceous, yeah, but the word "voluptuous" also springs to mind. Fresh springtime jasmine, in the early morning with the dew still on it, is still the most prominent note, but the honeysuckle is also becoming more notable as itself. From afar, I get a creamier jasmine and less honeysuckle. Right now, it's light, uplifting, and absolutely lovely, but not frivolous, if you know what I mean. So many of my floral scents feel giggly and carefree, and while this one does make me smile, I could absolutely believe that this is the scent of a goddess. A kind goddess, and not an asshole like a lot of the others in AG, but a being of immense power and strength nonetheless. Dry: This reminds me of the drydown of Cave of Treasures, another fresh, creamy floral. The creamy note comes to dominate over time, and the florals lose that fresh, green element. Instead they become softer and more languid - while I can't say I don't miss the outdoorsy, spring-like feeling, I'm also liking what it's growing into.

In the imp: The exact sensory experience of walking out into a riotous vegetable garden on a summer evening, when all the plants are releasing their aromas after the heat of the day. A very, very green scent - mostly vegetal (I think I can actually pick out the slightly spicy tomato vines and wet, fresh cucumber in there), but a little herbal, and I think I can pick out the soil, too. (Unless that's the vetiver.) Wet: I love green scents, and I have a lot of them, but this is truly unique. Most of my greens are "mage's pouch of herbs"-type green, but this is the purest gardener's green I've ever smelled. Sam Gamgee would smell like this, along with some wool and pipeweed smoke. Dry: Dammit. Like so many promising green blends, this one ends up as pure soap before half an hour has gone by. I think I've narrowed the culprit down to either dead leaves (which would be an unlisted note, but I would believe it's in here, thematically speaking) or moss. Dammit, dead leaves and/or moss! Perhaps this will work better in a scent locket, or as a room scent.

In the imp: Uh. I really have no idea what's going on here. A sour, bitter, vaguely green (while not resembling any plant I can think of) scent? Resinous, maybe? I don't really get much wood or stone. Wet: More definitely sour resins. Frankincense tends to go sour on me, but not *this* fast. The wood also puts in an appearance, dark and aged. Dry: The sour frankincense backs off, and the aged, resinous wood comes forward. Like King Haggard (another frimp I received in the same order), it's still not exactly warm and inviting, but it is... interesting, in an austere, regal kind of way.

In the imp: A big ol' snootful of ashes and dry, charred wood. After a couple of sniffs I'm getting the balsam as well, which helps to round out some of the sharpest edges, but this definitely puts the bitter in bitter balsam. Wet: Fairly linear, if perhaps even more smoky and bitter than ITI. Woof - it actually made me stick my tongue out and say "blech!" Right now, this might be a good room scent for a certain type of D&D game. After a few minutes, it settles down into very aged cedarwood and balsam. I agree with renfair - an austere, regal scent, but not an entirely pleasant one, with hints of a younger, less bitter, self. Dry: Better and better. Cedarwood and balsam, or occasionally vice-versa - aromatic, resinous, and sometimes spicy. Never a warm, cuddly, inviting scent, but somehow a sternly appealing one.

In the imp: Definitely a green scent, and even more definitely a dark green one. Maybe I'm just susceptible to the copy, but I have a lot of green scents that feel fresh or spring-like, but this is indeed a dark, untamed forêt sauvage. Perhaps a touch of vetiver? Wet: A brief moment of over-ripe, carnivorous flowers and rotting vegetation, before it settles into lush flowers. The fruit follows soon after - I kind of want to say black cherry. Dry: Huh! When reading the description, and when first sniffing the imp, I would never have guessed that this one would resolve itself into a soft, subtle black cherry and musk. It's actually quite pleasant, even office-appropriate. This one doesn't last long, maybe five hours or so. I wouldn't mind finding a way to kick it up a notch, but as it is, I was surprised to enjoy this quiet, competent, grown-up scent so much.

In the imp: Dry cedarwood, with just a touch of warm sweetness. Wet: The cedar comes out swinging, but is swiftly tamed by a lovely, spiced bourbon vanilla. The "warm brown fur" isn't as prominent as it was in Coyote, but I am getting a snuggly, comforting feeling overall. Oooh, this is going to be in heavy rotation this winter! Dry: The cedar steps back to become an accent for a lovely, spicy bourbon vanilla. It stays this way for a good six to eight hours, eventually boiling down to an oddly plastic-y vanilla. Hmm, maybe aging this will help, or pairing it with Bast. (Now there's an idea...)

In the imp: Primarily dry, spicy, unsweetened cacao (the real stuff, before they add sugar or milk to turn it into chocolate) and aged, resinous cedarwood, perhaps a chest or incense. The sweetness of amber/honey/bourbon vanilla is there, but buried way deep down - maybe shut up in the chest? So far it's a seductive scent, but a reserved, mysterious one. Wet: All the dry, resinous scents come on strong: cedar, myrrh, and cardamom. A straight-up oriental. After a little while, the cedar begins to veery in a worryingly dry, sharp, plywood-y direction, but is saved by the advent of the bourbon vanilla. After a few minutes, it settles down into a resinous, aromatic oriental up close... but from afar, I get whiffs of an almost O-like amber/vanilla/honey blend, complicated by something spicy that may be cardamom. Oh, now *this* is what I'm talking about! Unlike Shadow, which I loved but didn't match my mental image of the character at all, this is so very Bast - refined, elegant, but a bit reserved until you take the time to get to know her, and then she hits you with the unabashed sensuality you knew was coming all along. Dry: Mostly myrrh and cacao, with just a little bourbon vanilla and/or amber for sweetness. There might also be just the ghost of the cedar and cardamom hanging around to provide a hint of aromatic-ness, but mostly I get myrrh and cacao. Oooh, this one is *nice*!

In the imp: A light, elegant, sexy cologne. The amber (a light, summer-weight amber, like in Lyonesse) is most prominent, followed by oudh and bay rum, mostly in that order. The bay rum, too, is lighter and breezier than I'm used to. But on a summer day like this, I'm grateful. Wet: Ooh. Ooooooh. This scent opens like a flower (although decidedly not a floral) to become deeper, richer, and headier, but still essentially itself. I almost want to say there's ambergris in here, as it's doing that "your skin but better" thing that ambergris does on me. All the elements are still there, and in roughly the same proportion, but this is more of a summer night perfume than a summer day perfume, if you know what I mean. Still refined and subtle enough to wear to work, but this is definitely date night-appropriate. Dry: If ITI was a summer day and wet was a summer night, date night, this is after-dinner drinks and dessert at his place. It settles in and becomes, as galahad says, downright cuddly, while still being extremely sexy. The bay rum warms up, becoming more distinctly boozy and sugary, and develops a slinky, sexy aspect. The amber (and what I still swear is ambergris) become almost vanillic. Right now, it reminds me of Haunted - a soft, spicy, musky amber. But while Haunted is unisex, this leans distinctly masculine. I'm not sure this is quite Shadow - it's a little too suave and debonair for how I imagine him - but it is a damn sexy masculine scent!