captainecchi

I had a disappointing experience recently. I tried Tanuki no Hikifune in a decant circle, and fell in love with it. It was just this amazing melon smell that managed to not fade within five minutes on my skin. It was a perfect scent for the disgusting hot summer we're having here in New England, and I knew immediately I had to have a bottle. In the meantime, I pretty much used up most of my decant.

 

I decided to wait until July to order, for money reasons, and actually ordered a bottle on the last day it was available. After a very quick turnaround, it arrived--but it smelled very different from what was in the decant. It was clearly the same perfume, but this batch was a lot heavier on the honey and softer on the melon; it was cloyingly sweet for a bit, and then faded to nothingness almost immediately.

 

Understandably, I was hugely disappointed, but I'm not sure there's anything I can do about it...

Well, hello, little decant that has been sitting in my imp box since the Lupers came down, along with the 72 other scents I still need to try (!!) You came to me from the lovely Jenova in a decant circle, and there you were, lonely and forlorn, still wearing plumber's tape. How could I forget you?

 

In the vial/on wet: This is an amber oil. A sweet muskiness greets me when I open it - maybe that's the fig + vetiver? If so, it's not at all like the fig I've come to love in Nemesis and Carnal. If anything this sweet muskiness reminds me of Smut or The Soldier.

 

In the drydown: Yes, there's that smell I recognize from Hod - Beth's carnation note. Myrrh peeks out, too, lending the scent a smokiness. All in all, I'd say the notes blend together supremely well.

 

I would agree with whoever called this "smoky fig and carnation." Despite unassuming beginnings - and especially given that myrrh and carnation can sometimes go soapy on me - this one is quite pleasant. I'll at least be keeping the decant for my collection. 4 out of 5.

I usually don't order bottles unsniffed. I made an exception here--I'm a sucker for chocolates.

In the bottle: This appears to be a clear to light amber oil (hard to tell with these new-fangled wand caps). The notes are all present and accounted for here: chocolate, an orange-y citrus (that's the tamarind, I take it), and in the background, the fig. It's like Vice and Nemesis had a baby!

On skin, wet: Interestingly, there appear to be small solid bits that smear when I apply them to my skin. The color of them is the reddish brown of tamarind paste, so maybe that's related. Right away, the tamarind note flies away like citrus usually does on my skin, leaving the fig and chocolate to fight it out. One minute the fig seems more dominant; the next, the chocolate overpowers it. I do wish this had more throw--I actually went back and applied more, which I rarely do.

Drydown: This has dried down to a well-blended figgy chocolate that I'm moderately pleased with.

Verdict: I like this well enough, but maybe I was hoping for something a touch more exotic and maybe headier--this one does exactly what it says on the tin. I have plenty of fig and chocolate scents already, after all. I'll give this one a 3 out of 5.

Sharp smell in the vial takes me off guard. It's a medicinal, poisonous-smelling honey, just liked advertised. My husband sniffs it and proclaims that it smells like Ricola's Honey-Echinacea cough drops.

 

So! Overall, it's successfully evocative, but not quite appropriate for everyday wear. Aaand it dries down to baby powder on me, alas.

 

Verdict: 2 out of 5.

This is the 2010 version.

 

I tried this a few days ago, and here's apparently what I wrote in my spreadsheet: "Patchouli? Is my midnight mass full of hippies? I guess that's actually frankincense, although I think the drydown in No. 93 Engine smells more like church incense. Some pine/balsam/woodsy notes, too."

 

I recall being not terribly impressed. Verdict: 2 out of 5.

Huh. I thought I had already reviewed this one. Apparently not!

 

Light amber oil. Strong pineapple note - I have no idea what in the notes list is causing that. I can't say I ever really get anything else out of this, although it's softer in the drydown. Was really hoping, with the zdravetz, for the spicy-sour smell of torn geranium leaves, but no such luck.

 

Verdict: 2 or 3 out of 5. Doesn't do anything special for me.

I've always thought there was a strong tomato leaf smell in Aizen-Myoo. It's not on the list of notes, but kaki--persimmon--is, and they are closely related, so that may be where that smell is coming from. Or I could be crazy. Let me know!

Hello, all! I'm relatively new to BPAL, and just bought my first set of six imps, and had a wonderful time trying them all out. I loved Dee and Ouija (although I wished they had a bit more oomph), and waffled between loving and hating Jolly Roger, but once I tried Eclipse, I was just about bowled over.

 

Eclipse smells like pure almond extract with maybe a little bit of vanilla on me. Almond extract is one of my favorite flavors and scents, and after trying Eclipse just once, I was determined to buy a 5ml once the imp ran out. I noticed a little red itchy spot on my neck a few times after dabbing the perfume there, but since it disappeared in about half an hour, and since I loved the scent so much, I ignored it.

 

Well...ignored it until my neck turned bright red with a scaly rash that lasted three days, that is. I'm heartbroken! I've NEVER smelled anything I love half so much as Eclipse, and I can't bear the thought that I'll never be able to wear almond scents. I considered just buying the 5ml and only wearing it on my wrists (I only got the rash if I dabbed the scent on my neck), but I'm afraid that the sensitivity will just spread and I'll end up getting a rash no matter what I do.

 

So...knowing that sometimes scents combine in unexpected ways, can anybody recommend any scents that smell like almonds, but don't have almonds listed as one of the notes?

 

This is a response to a post that's over a year old, but I had a reaction to Eclipse like this, and yet I wear Eden--which has an "almond milk" note--without any problems. That said, I'm not sure it's the almond causing the reaction, actually--Eclipse also has lots of spiciness to it. But if you haven't tried Eden yet, it might be worth a try in a non-sensitive area.

 

I'll also repeat what lots of other people have said, which is the importance of applying lotion beforehand--it also helps the scent last longer. Even my beloved Hellcat gives me contact dermatitis if I apply it right out of the shower without lotioning up first. I have a big thing of unscented Aveeno I use, especially in the winter, or sometimes I'll try to match my lotions with the perfumes I've selected.

Received this one in a swap with OlfactoryMaven just a couple of days ago. I'm very glad I got a chance to try this before the Yules came down!

 

This one is a reddish-brown oil. When I open the vial, the first thing I smell is something that reminds me of root beer or licorice, i.e. something spicy and sweet. I'm thinking the pepper is implicated in there somewhere - I definitely felt the burning at the back of my throat that indicated the presence of some volatile oil. I guess I could see how vanilla cream or pie are implicated in this. Maybe mincemeat pie

 

My second impression is of that leather + musk combination note that I've come to know well in the High Priest Not to Be Described, one of my husband's favorite blends. Usually it's kind of funky on me, but here it's sweetened nicely by the aforementioned peppery root beer smell.

 

These notes soften in the drydown, but they're still all present and accounted for. Actually, it reminds me a little of Smut in this phase. This one has good throw, too, like most leather + musk scents I've encountered.

 

I like this one. Like I said, it's kind of like a sweeter, more vanilla-y version of High Priest. It's unique, but maybe not compared to the rest of my collection? We'll see.

 

Verdict: 3 or 4 out of 5. I'll keep and use the decant, if nothing else. Just need to be sure to slather on lots of lotion with this one to prevent contact dermatitis.

I'll second the suggestion of Agnes Nutter. I hear everyone raving about the Lab's blood and metallic notes, but usually they do nothing for me--"metallic" smells like generic aftershave on me, and "blood" usually contains dragon's blood, which smells like rotting flowers to me. But this one really does exactly what it says--smells like blood and rusty nails and gunpowder. It's awesome, but not something I wear on normal days. Great for certain LARPs, though!

 

In the same collection, War. Martial blends do tend to contain dragon's blood, too, but this one doesn't. It's... hm. A hot, spicy smell. Lots of ginger. It very much reminds me of the quote from Good Omens, "And she lifted her sword, and smiled like a knife." (paraphrase).

 

(The Gaimans in general have been good to me. I should try more before more of them get discontinued *sniffs*)

 

In the impables category...

 

Twenty-One: For those times that you need to smell like a gin martini, this accomplishes it quite effectively.

Cthulhu: smells like bubbles rising off a sunken necropolis. Likewise, for bubbly smells, my go-to blends are Masabakes (now DCed) and Twinkle Twinkle Little Bat.

Shoggoth: I had to try this, because my love of HPL is well known around here, and because shoggoths are cool. It was overpoweringly floral, yes, but also a weird odor of burnt plastic. Which seems appropriate to me.

 

And I'll second other recs above... No. 93 Engine, Destroying Angel (this smelled like bile on me... is that the infamous dirt note? I didn't get that in Burial), Brimstone, The High Priest Not to Be Described (dced), The Music of Erich Zahn (dced; best if you want to smell like an Indian restaurant).

 

Hmm. Apparently weird to me means "evocative." I can get behind that definition.

I've had this imp for a while, though I can't remember where it came from--maybe a frimp from the Lab. Anyway, I dug it out yesterday when I was looking for sage smells, as it was recommended to me as having a very strong sage note.

 

This is a golden-colored oil, and when I open the vial, the first impression I get is of cedar (the balsam, I assume) and… yep, there's the sage, peeking out. It blends very well with the balsam, so I don't think I'd notice it unless I was specifically looking for sage.

 

As it dries down on my skin, I start to notice a sort of sweet-but-medicinal scent, that makes me think of eucalyptus, but isn't. Looking at my older notes about certain scents, I also noticed this in Kathmandu, which shares a few ingredients (namely saffron and cedar/balsam), so I'm assuming that's some sort of wood in drydown, or that's how saffron smells. Dunno. Sage is becoming less evident here. Aww.

 

Finally, dry, this smells like church incense on my skin - so I'm assuming that's the frankincense. Unfortunately, I'm not getting any sage any more.

 

Verdict: 3 out of 5. It's evocative of a steam locomotive cutting through virgin forests, which is pretty cool. And hey, it's got sage, too. Alas, it's not quite what I was looking for. I'll hold onto it--maybe compare it to Kathmandu--but I'll continue my search for the sagiest sage.

I received this one as a frimp from the Lab last year.

 

Like most oils, this one is golden brown in color. In the vial, the first thing I get a whiff of is some sort of base note - the musk, I'm assuming. It isn't until I put it on my skin that something floral--the lily?--is evident, which is kind of odd, for a top note. Aren't they supposed to jump out of the vial at you? Isn't that why they're top notes? There's also some pepper there - I notice it when I first put it on my skin, and I can feel a bit of burning as a result, but it doesn't last longer

 

Everything is so, so faint and muted--I have to huff at my wrist to really smell anything, and it's gone by lunchtime. I can definitely see the comparison to Ulalume, although Ulalume has much more prominent lily note. Ulalume is also freshened by the green and aquatic notes.

 

Verdict: 2 out of 5. Not a keeper.

Thanks, ivyandpeony, for merging the threads! My apologies for not spotting this - my search fu is weak.

 

I tried No. 93 Engine yesterday, and I definitely noticed the sage, but it's hiding behind the balsam there. And on drydown it was all frankincense. I'll have to try some of the other recs here.

High Priest Not To Be Described. One of my husband's favorites. He is going to be so heartbroken when I tell him. Ironically, the one thing I remember smelling similar to it is... Loviatar. And now they're both gone.

 

When looking up reviews of past year's Valentine of Rome to see if I needed some from the new batch, I saw a few people comparing it to The High Priest Not to be Described.

 

The High Priest Not to be Described: Monastic incense, blood musk, black leather, cypress, pimento, white pepper, and Roman chamomile.

 

Valentine of Rome: Ecclesiastical incense, Roman flora, and the fruits of martyrdom: cypress, olive blossom, frankincense, myrrh, and blood accord.

 

Wow, there do seem to be a lot of similarities there. I hadn't planned on trying VofR (I worry about that blood accord... can't handle dragon's blood, if that's what's involved), but maybe I should add a decant to my list.

 

When I told my husband this morning, he wasn't too heartbroken. "Now, if it were Brimstone... then I'd be really disappointed," sez he.

High Priest Not To Be Described. One of my husband's favorites. He is going to be so heartbroken when I tell him. Ironically, the one thing I remember smelling similar to it is... Loviatar. And now they're both gone.

Thanks for the recs! Luckily I already have No 93 Engine and Drink Me in my To Try pile, so I'll bump those up to the head of the list. And a few more things for my wishlist.

I searched but couldn't find an appropriate topic for this - what do you recommend for your sagiest sage? I want something that reminds me of the sage smudges or sage bouquets I came across in New Mexico. I notice a lot of blends I've already tried have sage notes (Brown Jenkin, Aeval, Nyarlathotep), but none of them seem very dominant.

 

The Witch's Garden and Antony do look promising, though - any thoughts on those?

I received this imp as a frimp from the Lab - it isn't something I would have ordered myself.

 

In the vial, I notice the oil is golden and almost overflowing the edges of the imp. A strong, heady floral is immediately evident - rose! However, it is a very green, very fresh rose; one of the better roses I've tried. Perhaps that's the water blossom ivy doing its job (what the heck is "water blossom ivy," anyway?)

 

It stays pretty constant on my skin for about an hour, with a lot of throw. As usual, my skin amps rose liek whoa. I do start to notice a little of the sweetness of the lotus at this time, but it's very subtle.

 

Verdict: I'm not sure whether to give this a 2 or a 3. (Two is generally my cutoff for swappage). I am not generally a rose fan - I like the smell in general, but it tends to be overpowering on me. However, I am trying to escape from my gourmand/heavy wintry blend rut, and this seems to be a change of pace from that. I would like to compare this to the other rose scents I've hung onto, like Rakshasa, and I'd also like to see how it wears in a different season.

Hellcat is similar to Gluttony to my nose (both make me absolutely sick, TBH, because of the insane sweetness and richness), so I agree that layering Bliss with Hellcat could be a good way to get a fairly similar scent.

 

I love (and have bottles of) both Hellcat and Gluttony, and I will agree that they have some similarities. Hellcat is more boozy-honey, and Gluttony is more sugary-praline-nuttiness, but they both have that bloated, almost unwholesome sweetness to them that some people (like Penance) hate and I love. Misk U is in the same category, although I think that smells more like caramel corn than a hushed library

This oil is a light gold in the imp. Sniffing it, all I can say is "aquatic." Very generic in that regard.

 

As I start to put it on, and continuing into the drydown, it gains a strong floral note. This is a lot more feminine than what I would expect from a blend called Caliban, honestly! I would have guessed a white floral, like lily, but that must be the palm or fern note. I agree with whoever compared this to dryer sheets. Very nice dryer sheets! But dryer sheets nonetheless. I get absolutely no wine out of this - very disappointing, since I'm thinking that's the reason I selected this imp. (Or maybe it was a frimp. Don't remember!)

 

This seems to have almost no throw, even moments after putting it on. I expect this on to fade quickly into nothingness.

 

Verdict: 2 out of 5.

Clear oil. Does just what it says - it's the sugary-chocolate smell of baking brownies. Sort of like El Dia de Los Reyes without the spice. Pleasant, but I don't feel the need to expand my chocolate collection at this time. 3 out of 5.

I received this imp in a swap about a year ago, and just now got around to trying it.

 

This is a golden brown oil, whose smell first makes me think, "Old, generic perfume." I find florals and resins tend to morph into this over time, and this could be an older imp - I don't know its provenance.

 

On me, the base notes rapidly come to the fore. I guessed musk or sandalwood at first, but no, this seems to be patchouli, by the description. To compare, I dabbed a little Anne Bonny on my hand, and it matches up with the patchouli in that. There's a dryness here that makes me think amber, which is probably the copal, another resin. Not getting any florals. I think St. Germain when I think oakmoss, and I'm not getting that either.

 

Verdict. Bleh. Not good, but that could just be because it's an old imp. 1 or 2 out of 5.

I've found Perfoom very helpful in the past--and I'm probably one of the few remaining users but with stash tracking on the forum, I'm working on moving my log over to the Stash Manager instead. It adds a feature I always wished Perfoom had - the ability to keep private, not-quite-review notes on a scents. (Otherwise it can be hard to remember what's what!) Until the end of the month should hopefully give me enough time to get everything moved over. I wish there was a way to import into the Stash Manager from a spreadsheet or other website!

 

Hey guys, now that the forum has stash tracking capabilities, I'm strongly considering close Perfoom at the end of the month. Any objections?

I can't recall how I came across this decant - it might have been included as a freebie in a decant circle.

 

In any case, this thin, clear oil does just what it says on the tin. The primary impression is indeed one of sugary mint, like a candy cane. The mint fades down fast (I find the pepperment lotion I layered it with much more lasting); a few hours later the prominent impression on my wrists is a warm, sugary vanilla-like scent.

 

Verdict: Good for seasonal usage (some days--like today--you just need peppermint!), but nothing spectacular. 2 out of 5.

This is one of the few of this year's Shungas I've enjoyed. Very fruity out of the decant and fresh on my skin - I would have guessed cherries, but I'm guessing that's the quince and mandarin. It seems to die down quickly, like many fruit notes do on my skin, but the honey and vanilla pick up the slack. The tobacco seems to be adding a dry, leafy note, almost like tea.

 

Overall: It's a warm, drunken scent, but not quite like any of the other drunken scents I like (Hellcat, Smut, etc) - very nice.