Lucchesa

I agree with Little Bird that All-Father smells like honey musk, which I adore, with a little woods. It's lighter and sweeter than I expected for the character, possibly even on the feminine side of gender neutral on me, and I wish I got more fennel because I think it would be an interesting note (no other scent that has passed through my hands has it). The first application faded really quickly, but I reapplied, and the second one lasted three or four hours. So, this is not quite what I expected, but I am enjoying it a lot.

Pleasures of the Imagination I is single note black leather on me. Not that that's a bad thing -- in fact, it's not a criticism at all, just a description. It's crazy strong, too, so you could add a tiny bit to any scent whose leather you felt needed a little bucking up. Only after a couple of hours do I begin to perceive any amber. I'm not sure I ever get the myrrh or if it's there underlying the leather the whole time. Definitely a keeper!

If you hate earth scents, you probably will not enjoy Badger. It's dirt and cedar, with a hint of sweetness playing off the sharpness of the cedar. So, it's the forest with all its secret energies, roots and branches, things growing and dying. I find it incredibly calming and grounding and was thinking, like an earlier reviewer, that it would make an excellent bedtime scent.

Just a tester of this one -- it was sour red musk at first, and I wasn't loving it, but then the sourness of the grape burnt off and it became quite a pleasant slightly boozy red musk, which then, unsurprisingly, turned into SN red musk on me, with, unsurprisingly, great throw and wear length. I really do like red musk; I just wish it were content to share the spotlight more often.

I was generously frimped this or would never have tried it -- mint is a big no for me, as is gin. This is all big mint with juniper and citrus -- I would have said lime, I can't specifically make out bergamot. I'm not getting any cardamom or vetiver, so if you're a mint lover who detests vetiver, I suspect you're safe here. I appreciate the artistry -- I can see how this might be a kind of kicky, cooling olfactory mint julep on a hot day -- but it is way too far out of my comfort zone.

I guess I never reviewed White Rabbit. Retesting today to refresh my memory, and because I wanted a tea scent. My skin usually drinks up tea immediately, but White Rabbit lasts longer than most. There is a bright sharpness to this scent from the ginger and pepper, and maybe from the linen, which does not go soapy on me. It's balanced by the milk and honey notes, but they don't subdue the ginger. Very nice!

So, I didn't realize there were two formulations of A Mirror of Spring Pleasures on Kites, and I thought I was getting the one that was hemp, white honey, amber, black currant, beeswax, and wild honeysuckle. So I was pretty confused when I tested it, especially since I looked at reviews and everyone mentioned how strong the hemp note was, and I wasn't getting anything hemp-like or grassy at all. Fortunately the Kites I swapped for was an imp in the original bottle, and the picture helped me figure it out. That wasn't black currant I was smelling; it was the combination of strawberry and blackberry. I would have easily believed there was honey in here; it's very sweet. Berry notes do that on my skin, but maybe because there is no honey or sugar note here, it keeps from getting cloying. Gardenia is usually good on me and champaca is usually awful, but there's just a hint of soft vanilla floral in the background. I can't honestly say I'm aware of any frankincense. There's a girlish quality to this -- not my usual thing at all, but I'm going to keep it and see if it gets some wear this summer.

Enraged Bunny Musk is adorable! It's soft and powdery, with the cotton blossom I enjoyed in Cotton Phoenix. I don't get that hot sexy drydown some of the reviewers seem to mention, and in fact it doesn't last long on me at all. But I'm delighted that I got a chance to try it.

I was frimped a little Honey Moon, and it's really lovely. I'm getting mostly honey with a hint of herbs and flowers. Jasmine can be a deal breaker on me, but it is nicely understated here and in combination with the honey feels more like honeysuckle. It's not a strong scent but like many BPAL honey blends lasts a long time on my skin.

So I usually have to check to understand what I’m smelling, but I tried this without looking at the notes. I got caramel and vanilla and I thought some amber. I did not get red wine. Once I checked the notes it was obvious that there was coconut in there and I could make out the peach but I still got no red wine. Since that was the only note I was worried about here, I’m loving The Initiation for its caramel vanilla coconut goodness. Not sure where the wine went, but I don’t miss it.

My initial testing notes for this read "high-pitched florals. And snow. What was I thinking?" And in fact the opening of The Garden in Winter is not me. Not me at all. Loud screechy flowers. And snow. But I didn't scrub it off, and an hour or so later I sniffed my left wrist and thought, "Wait, what was this one again?" Because all of a sudden it was seriously beautiful. The flowers had calmed down and melded, so that I couldn't pick any individual ones out, just bright sweet (poppy?) calming flowers and the lovely snow note from The Snow at Dawn, one of the few snow blends that work on me. Magic.

I know tea notes tend to disappear on me, but I was hoping to at least get a lot of musk in this blend, and maybe some of that agarwood attar. Instead, Satan just talked to Sin and Death about violets and lilies, which was not the conversation I was hoping to overhear.

I wanted to try this because I love the painting so much. The notes are mostly reliable on me, except that Moroccan seems to be one of the roses that goes sour when it hits my skin, overpowering all the other loveliness. ETA image: Jan Toorop, The Three Brides, 1893. Kroller Muller Museum

Lotus root is bubblegummy on me, and ylang ylang can be iffy, but everything else here is pure win. Fig milk!!! Please, sir, may I have some more? The fir and khus are extremely understated and nothing to fear. This scent is soft fruity bubble gum, soft creamy fig, soft bourbon vanilla, soft myrrh, soft sandalwood. A skin scent, exceptionally comforting. I love it and love the idea of adding to the world's sum of compassion. Maybe on those crappy ass days when I'm in a foul mood and want to slather on some Troll, I should wear Poor Monkey instead.

I didn't have high hopes for Knave of Hearts because the pastry note tends to be a disaster on me. And wet, it was all I got, weird sweet buttery pastry that amps out of all proportion to anything else. Just like spikyfairy, I got no currant, no rose. When it dried, it became significantly more pleasant, and just as spiky could almost smell the rose, I could almost smell the currant. On me too, this was definitely better than Eat Me, and I'm glad I got to try it, but I'll be passing this imp on.

SN Guatemalan Coffee Bean is so great! It could be the TAL Concentration scent -- just a pure, unadulterated jolt of olfactory caffeine! Wet it's all roasted coffee bean with a tad of bitter greenness that made me feel there were some unroasted beans in the mix as well. As it dried it was more just bittersweet coffee. I didn't get the candy-like scent some other reviewers did. My only complaint is that it does not last long on my skin. I think this would be a fantastic layering scent.

Light, fun, fizzy, citrusy, smells great in the imp. Sadly I've learned the gin note just doesn't behave on my skin. I'm happy I was frimped a tester, but that's all I'll need.

I had an imp of Oblivion last year and felt it didn't quite work on me, so I sent it to a friend in a batch of near-misses and she loved it and ordered a bottle. When I was frimped it recently, I decided to try again as my tastes are evolving. Oblivion is a beautiful murky emerald color in the imp. Wet, it has a somewhat cologne feel on me, which may have been what put me off earlier. But I now find I really enjoy a lot of unisex scents, and this is no exception. It's musky and woody, not too sweet, a little musty dryness from the saffron. The patchouli is content to be a supporting player, which is good because I've been amping patch lately and was worried it was a trend. Oblivion reminds me of my dad, and that is good. There's something solid and comforting about it. It's mainly a skin scent on me and stays pretty true all the way through. I'm definitely keeping this imp!

Grog is a big ole boozy foodie! More rum cake than rum, with a chaser of hot buttered rum. Yummy and fun, nothing aquatic about it, very festive - I can see wearing this around the holidays. Not much throw (I hardly ever get any with my skin) but pretty good wear length.

Patchouli Earl Grey! That's what I get from this wet, and a nifty idea for a scent it is, too. Sadly, my skin always eats up tea notes rapidly. This one lasts a little longer by essentially merging with the patch, but the bergamot fades quite a bit. Ultimately the bourbon vanilla comes out to round out the patch, but by that time the Earl Grey is long gone. I wish I could all of the notes to express on my skin at once; that would be fantastic.

Sweet apple and juicy orange, faint gardenia, subdued Snake Oil. I wouldn't call this a fruity floral so much as a florally fruit. This is a workplace-friendly summer Snake, with no throw and a friendly demeanor, but you know the snake is lurking underneath. It doesn't last anywhere near as long on me as regular SO.

Too much fruit! Fruit Moon was generously frimped to me, and it's helping me learn that I like my BPAL fruit one or maybe two at a time. Fruit Moon is a bubblegummy fruit smorgasbord, a fruit extravaganza, sweet and juicy and summery. I may have to set it aside as starter BPAL for my niece; it feels very youthful to me.

I don't know about red leaves; my first impression of October is "green," sharp and green with a faint smokiness. It is not a particularly sweet scent on me. I get more of the dead leaves note, which on me has a beautiful old-fashioned perfume vibe, in drydown. A crisp, outdoor scent, evocative of early fall, not as dark and sweetly smoky as Samhain. Perfect for when you have to be indoors but long to be out in the elements. ETA 2015 version

The Gilman House Hotel, which I received in a PIF, is far more pleasant than the notes would suggest. It's light and outdoorsy - imagine treading on an unfamiliar plant and getting that sharp green sap smell and some of the dirt underneath as well. It's also a little salty and aquatic, but I get nothing chemical or rotting. Unisex with decent wear length, just not in a scent family I wear much.

Hi, Candlewight -- You are in luck -- there are scents for EVERYONE. I recently tried Sloth -- myrrh and vetiver -- and loved it. The myrrh does have a little sweetness on me. But you like myrrh, and everyone's skin chemistry is different -- I tried something recently (and I wish I could remember what it was but I'll do a little looking and get back to you) and it had NO sweetness whatsoever on me. I want to say one of the Fortunas. But some of the reviews mentioned sweetness. At any rate, you might find some excellent suggestions in this thread: http://www.bpal.org/topic/92250-im-going-to-be-difficult-anti-sweet-anti-floral-help/ Good luck!