joopjoop

So I did a little comparison test with Jezebel on one arm and Osun on the other since they are both honey rose scents to me.

They are very similar scents on me and both are lovely. For me, Osun has a slight edge because the honey combined with the sweetness of the orange blossoms takes Jezebel into baby powder territory during the dry down, while Osun retains a bit more brightness during this stage. I do really love Jezebel in its later stages, however, when the sandalwood emerges a little more strongly to temper the honey and florals.

But while I think my imp will do just fine, particularly after going head-to-head in a death match with my lovely love goddess, Jezebel is a beautiful choice for those who like very feminine honey florals.

I haven't had much luck with the Tea Party scents - I guess this just isn't my collection.

The chamomile and lavender - both notes I like in some blends, take the grapefruit in this one to a very sharp place on me. I find it refreshing and somewhat invigorating, but even after a few hours I don't get the musk or the currant to round out and ground the scent for me.

Sadly not for me, but on someone with different skin chemistry I think this would be lovely. I may hold on to the imp and use it as a room refresher - it is very bracing!

I love this one in the imp and wet on the skin - a blast of lime and grapefruit with something just a tiny bit herbal and musky in the background.

Sadly, within about 15 minutes, this becomes pink soap on me. Expensive pink soap that reminds me of a nice hotel in Miami Beach and vacation, but soap nonetheless.

*Sigh* I really wanted to love this one. Oh well, the search for the perfect grapefruit continues.

I love the description of this one and it was in my first BPAL order of imps. I tried it once and was disappointed, so I set it aside for a few months to see if it would improve with age (or if my nose/tastes would morph at all).

I tried it again this morning and NOPE! Sadly, on me this is one giant sweet sticky syrupy mess.

To me (and on my skin) Bordello smells like someone soaked a plum in amaretto and cherry cordial and set it on fire. And then dumped a bunch of sugar on top to put out the fire.

Too bad. I'm jealous of those who can wear Bordello because I love plums and I love amaretto and I really want this to work on my skin. But you can't fight chemistry.

Very bubbly and fizzy - this really does smell like champagne! Unfortunately I get very little strawberry and the champagne note is a little TOO realistic on me. I smell like I've been having a long boozy brunch. I seem to amp a lot of the boozy notes.

I love the concept of this one - it reminds me of a favorite part in one of my favorite books - the scene in Brideshead Revisited when Charles and Sebastian go for a picnic on the Thames and eat strawberries and drink champagne and generally have a perfect and magical afternoon.

I don't think I'll be holding on to Bon Vivant - it doesn't really work on me sadly. But now I'm inspired to reread BR, so that's all to the good!

First on this smells amazing to me - yummy almond with cardamom and warm musk - sexy and spicy and delicious.

But after an hour or so the myrrh and the lotus really up the ante on the sweetness, and the amber makes everything just a little bit powdery. I start to worry that this will go cloyingly sweet-y terrible on me like some of BPAL's spice blends do on me.

But then later, after another hour, when I haven’t been paying attention, I find it has changed again - everything has calmed down and it has settled into a lovely warm musk and spice scent - with just the slightest hint of sweetness from the lotus and amber. I can see why this is such a favorite. To me there are a lot of similarities to Queen of Sheba, although with that one the almond lasts longer and with Bastet the Egyptian musk is the center of the scent.

Still later: the longer I wear this, the more I like it. After about 3 hours it is a close-to-the-skin scent and I can't really pick out notes, it just smells spicy and pretty. I'm glad I gave this one time to unfold. I think I'm going to be wearing this one quite a bit.

Boone's Farm 'wine' and crumbly rose bath salts. On me this was not a winning combination.

This was a frimp - yay lab!

I'm intrigued by this one as I am a big anise fan but don't really know what to expect from the other notes.

In the imp I smell anise and what I guess is the lichen? It is very masculine to my nose but let's give it a whirl.

Wet: wet this is pure black licorice - the crumbly almost bitter kind you buy in Europe. I can smell wood behind the anise after a few minutes. Really interesting. I like this stage a lot.

Oof. On the dry down it becomes sort of ‘animal-y’ for lack of a better word - is this the civet? Like an animal with a thick musky slightly oily coat dipped in anise with just a touch of vetiver. At this point it is hovering just on the edge of smelling like BO, although it doesn't tip over into it. It’s an intriguing scent for sure, but sooooo not for me.

At the 2.5 hour mark it starts to give me a headache and so I went ahead and washed it off - or tried to - this one lingered and I had to give it several scrubs to get rid of it entirely. I think civet is a skin chemistry fail for me sadly.

I appreciate this scent in theory - it is very 'witchy' and primal smelling - it reminds me of some of the images and archetypes from the Wildwood tarot - but it is just not something I want to smell - or smell like.

 

Absinthe Bonbon was a Luper a few years ago; it's Absinthe + white chocolate, sweeter and smoother than the original but with the same personality. I'm a big Absinthe fan and I loved it.

 

If you like 51, I agree that Rendezvous at the Bath from this year's Lupercalia is a great choice. Or Dirty, a slightly floral, clean-smelling GC.

 

Oh wow! mouth watering! I will try to find some Absinthe Bonbon immediately. Thanks!

Joopjoop - Sorry. I really can't think of anything I've tried recently in the LE's that reminds me of your favorites. :-(. I'm curious what others say though. I'm a big fan of Absinthe myself.

 

Edit: Actually, you might see if you can get a decant of Faiza, Lady of Serpents. 51 had a sort of fruitiness with its sweetness tempered by soft, dry resins to my nose, and Faiza sort of has that feel though the notes are different. It's a very complex scent too.

Thanks VetchVesper! Yes, Absinthe is great - I'm wearing it today. And wow, Faiza looks amazing! A lot of interesting notes - I'm a little wary of vanilla but determined to keep expanding my horizons (*scurries off to search the sales forum*)

Thanks again!

I really appreciate it. If you think of anything else, let me know.

Joopjoop- the GC scents Embalming Fluid and Sea of Glass are some of my favourite light green scents. You might also check out Full Moon, Rendezvous in the Bath,and On the Porch in the Rain from this year's Lupercalias.

 

If you like the herbal aspect of Catherine, Mummeries and Straining-to-be-Memorable Passages from the Scalia collection might please you.

Thanks Auspicious Q! Embalming Fluid didn't really work for me but I will get ahold of an imp of Sea of Glass and start a hunt for those Lupers! I have had my eye on Mummeries for a while, I might just take the plunge.

Hi everyone! I've tried a lot of scents in the GC to figure out what I like and now I'm looking to be more adventurous and to branch out into some more complex and multi-faceted scents. I'd like to try out some LEs, some CDs, and some of the un-impables from the GC - but with so many options it is pretty overwhelming!

For my birthday I ordered my first two 'blind bottles' (The Waltz from CP and the LE Taurus blend) and I'm excited to try those out.

My top 5 (in no particular order) as of today are:

Catherine (in the rose category Persephone is a very close second)

Tavern of Hell

51

Absinthe

Pele

I don't have a lot of time to hunt down discontinued items, so I'm mostly interested in still available or relatively recent releases, although if there is something you really think I should make an effort to find on the forums or from eBay, I will do my best!

Thanks in advance!

This was a frimp (thanks lab!).

Starts out as a strong but pleasant berry-scented shampoo scent and dries down to something slightly greener and more interesting (but still very berry intensive). I like it because unlike some of the other berry scents I've tried, it doesn't go sickly sweet or fake smelling on me - it is just a very nice gentle berry and greenery scent. I agree that it smells very clean and fresh.

But that said, I don't find Baneberry particularly compelling one way or another. It's just sort of 'there' on my skin (it is also rather faint). I'm going to hold on to the imp for now and maybe try some in my hair and see whether that works for me, but there are so many other scents I like better that I doubt this one is a keeper for me.

Very evocative - as are all of the Wanderlust scents I've tried!

The aquatic notes are very strong in this one - they almost make my nose tingle - but they are mixed with the spanish moss and cypress and smell like still or slow moving water, not like the ocean or a fast moving river. Very appropriate.

After about 15 minutes the honeysuckle comes out and I feel like there is a gardenia somewhere in the background trying to peek out.

I quite like it. It is a hot summer night scent and much more wearable for me than New Orleans. But the aquatic is just a tad too strong for my tastes so I think the imp will do for now. I'll see how much I reach for it in the summertime.

Very pretty. Wet it is all warm amber with a halo of sweet apple blossoms and just a hint of something camphor-like - that must be the myrtle.

On the dry down the amber gets stronger and more powdery, yet the blend remains sweet and a bit fruity. I like it less during this stage, but it is still a very compelling scent.

However, it reminds me a lot of the perfume that my MIL uses most often, and while she is a wonderful person, that fact alone makes Brisingamen a hard pass for me.

This is a fresh ‘out for a walk in nature’ scent - the maple and dogwood and pine are softened by a meadow of wildflowers - all mixed up - it is hard to pull them apart but the overall impression is of a sun-dappled meadow, with just a hint of sweetness that is woody and a little bit fruity - like blackberry brambles in July just before the berries ripen.

I would say that this is primarily a floral scent but one that smells very fresh and outdoorsy to me. It reminds me a lot of Elf - I think I need to do a side-by-side comparison to see if I can tell the difference. It is not a big morpher on me and, also like Elf, it fades rather quickly, but it is lovely while it lasts.

I think that Arkham would be a good floral for someone who doesn’t like traditional florals. It is very youthful and 'springy' smelling to me. I can see my 14 year old niece loving it. Hmm, I think I’ll give her the imp!

When I tested Arcana the first time about a month ago, I really strongly disliked it, but during this second go, I’ve come around… a little, although there is still something unsettling about it to me.

Wet it is a mix of frankincense and lavender which is really unpleasant to my nose. On the dry-down it morphs into a sort of murky lemon furniture polish spiked with basil. I don't wait to see if it goes anywhere interesting - after about 3 hours I scrub it off. So I guess I haven't really come around at all.

I think this one is a basic skin chemistry fail on me. I knew that the frankincense was problematic, but I’m also finding that lavender is an iffy note for me. I love the scent of lavender in general, but on my skin it doesn’t always play nice.

This was a frimp and after reading the notes and the reviews, I was pretty sure I would hate this, but it is not bad (how’s that for a backhanded compliment?).

In the imp I am having a hard time picking out the notes- it just smells strong and musky.

On wet, the chypre and patchouli are dominant with the slightly biting grapes-ness of the red musk (and perhaps the red currant?).

It dries down to a patchouli and red musk scent - which translates to my nose as almost a sandalwood or some other strong wood scent.

Oh and Anteros is STRONG - incredible throw and sticks around forever - I just dabbed a tiny bit on my wrist and in the crook of one arm and it is wafting around me hours later.

Verdict; not for me - not the sort of scent I enjoy wearing - but I think it might be nice on the joop-man - and glad I got to try it!

On wet I can smell the basil and maybe a little of the sage at first plus musky grass? It is an odd one on me at first - almost kitchen-y in quality to my nose.

During the dry-down it remains quite herbal, but the fizz of the ambergris and a touch of incense round things out and make it much more wearable. During this phase it reads as slightly minty somehow (even though there is no mint), and smells like very nice quality shaving cream. I think someone upthread mentioned better smelling Old Spice and I can see that.

It becomes very faint rather fast, but the musky leather does start to emerge a couple hours in, and it also becomes just a touch more resiny, although it never develops that awful cloying sweetness that frankincense sometimes brings out on my skin (so that’s a big plus). It reads quite unisex to me - perhaps that's the 'classical' part!

I like it more than I thought I would - it’s quite intriguing and I’ve quickly come to adore ambergris (or at least the lab's interpretation of it - I assume they don't use the real thing) so this will be a interesting addition to my small but growing rotation of scents that include it. The imp will do for now, though.

On me Alice remains pretty consistent.

A strong Bergamot scent backed with milk and the spiciness of carnation. The overall effect is of warm spicy chai. I don't get any rose from this scent at all, which is disappointing, and like most 'tea' scents on me it lasts forever and has an impressive throw.

I find it very comforting and soothing but not a favorite - not really my thing.

This is fantastic. It smells like Christmas, or rather - and AMAZINGLY - like a series of Christmasy things; sometimes jumbled together and sometimes one at a time, but all there in the same oil. It's awesome!

At first it is all mulled wine and candied fruit and evergreen garlands and, from somewhere I swear, I also get the scent of wax candles. The interplay of dark fruit, soft - very soft - evergreen, and wax lasts a while - I catch wafts of one or the other as I go about my business - then after about 2 hours the fruits fade a bit and it settles for a while into a true soft evergreen (douglas fir or noble fir - no sharp pine or overwhelming cedar here!) which is lovely. Later (about 2 more hours) I swear it smells like a church decorated with evergreen boughs for Christmas Eve mass - evergreen and wooden pews and just the tiniest hint of incense in the background.

I'm putting this in a small tin of imps that I have marked 'fall and winter' - so far this is a top contender for a holiday scent, both to wear and use in the house and I will most likely be ordering a bottle in the fall if my bank account can support this growing BPAL habit of mine.

When this first touches my skin it is all lily and rather sharp, but within about 20 minutes the moonflower and moss come forward to join the lily, with just a hint of dust in the background.

It is at this point I suddenly feel like crying because the Phantom Wooer smells like my grandparents' house - my grandmother wore a perfume that was lily-dominant and the other notes - particularly the dust - combine to smell just like their house did in the overheated summer. My grandmother recently passed away (she was 99) and my grandparents house has been cleaned out and sold, so is just a memory now - a wonderful one - but bittersweet as well.

About 2 hours after application, this veers toward lily air freshener and starts smelling just a tiny bit sour on me. Honestly, even if that weren't the case, this not something I would reach for as a perfume, but I'm so very happy to have the imp. It is a sense memory in a bottle and that is a real and unexpected gift.

I love this.

I think that ambergris must trigger some pleasure center in my brain, because like Tavern of Hell, this scent also has the effect of making me want to loll around sniffing myself and sighing happily. No wonder the real thing is so astronomically expensive.

This is a soft soft evergreen scent on me - the woods at night and lots of shadows - with a ambergris base that is sort of 'fizzy'- I don't know how else to explain it - it sort of sparkles somehow. Later it becomes almost a pure fizzy scent - someone upthread recommended layering it with Elf - I think I will try it, that or Arkham - and see what happens.

Really really nice. Glad to have this imp in my collection and will get a bottle eventually I think.

Origin - from a forumite, an imp of unknown age

Surprisingly nice!

When it is wet, it smells a lot like Lemon Pledge furniture polish but on the dry down it becomes a lovely polished wood smell with just a touch of metallic.

It is very atmospheric - like an old library. I was hoping that the dry-down to Misatonkic University would be like this.

About 3-4 hours later the cedar amps up and up as it is wont to do on me - it still smells nice but I miss that balance between the citrus and the wood. Still I like it

I think I would enjoy this most as an atmospheric scent or even on a handkerchief as a way of motivating me to read and study. This is for sure worthy of holding on to the imp.

First on Tamora smells a lot like a peach danish pastry. It is making my mouth water and now I want a danish. Not sure about smelling like a peach pastry, however, but let's see where this goes....

2 hours later - peaches in sweet syrup. Yuck. Tempted to wash it off, but other reviews indicate that it develops into something less sweet and more balanced so I'm going to ride it out.

4 hours later - fresh peach with vanilla and a hint of sandalwood. Ah, that's nicer, and what's this? A vanilla that seems to like me! Hooray!

Final verdict - not for me, too sweet at the beginning and in the mid-phase and not really my style in any case. But it smells delicious and gives me hope that there may be other blends where vanilla will work on me - perhaps the vanilla bean is key?