sarahmarie

I love how green it is in the imp! Eep! I can't decide if it looks friendly or evil - and that's perfect. Exactly as others have said, it's very sharp and biting in the imp, but it morphed *very* quickly on my skin into a softer, sweeter, powdery-in-a-nice way blend. Behind the powdery softness, there's still something woody or even nutty, and a hint of the sharpness from the initial wet stage. It's very different than I expected, and I think it's different in a good way. I'm not sure if it's me, exactly, but I think I'll at least give it another try. It's a very intriguing oil!

At first, this was all violet on me. It reminded me a lot of soap, but there was still something different about it, something seperating it from a normal soapy-floral scent. And then, the violet dropped down quite a bit, allowing a cinnamon-warmed frankicense to come out. The cinnamon is barely detectable on me, which is interesting since my skin often loves cinnamon and amps it up. Instead, it just warms the frankicense, so there's a hint of spice but not much else. The violet never really goes away, it just drops back enough so that I can smell the rest of the scent too. Interestingly, the violet seems to sort of float in the air as a seperate entity from the rest of the blend. I like this, but it's got some challenging notes for me, and I'm not sure I like it enough to keep it.

On me, Whip is almost all rose. I can detect a hint of leather, mostly within the rose, if that makes sense. It's not a seperate scent, it's just present in a slight change to the scent of rose. The rose is very strong and I agree that it's sort of dry, at least to my nose. I want to like Whip, but I really wanted more leather, more balance. It's my skin's fault though, I'm sure, as my chemistry tends to amplify and sharpen roses and most other florals.

Sadly, Hearth was a no-go for me. It's just so intense and sweet, far more than I expected. The cherry is like a thick, syrupy smell that leaps out of the bottle, mixing with the tobacco to create an even deeper realm of sweetness. I didn't get much smoke or leather at all, just a tremendously sweet and heavy cherry/tobacco scent that really throws a lot. It didn't change or lighten very much on my skin, and it wouldn't wash off! I bought it for my spouse, but he couldn't even sniff it - it was way too much for him, as he doesn't like sweet scents and is sickened by the scent of honey, which he swears that he smells very strongly in Hearth. I wish I could appreciate strong, sweet scents, because I wanted to love this. I may give it one more shot, but unless miracles occur, this one's going on ebay to fund a couple different BPAL bottles for Ryan. Oh well.

At first, I smelled buttery honey with a hint of cocoa and/or coffee. The butter disappears almost immediately when I put it on, which I am grateful for. On my wrist, it smelled a lot like honey at first, but now that's fading and I get more of the cocoa and a boozey smell, which gradually develops into wine somewhere in the background. It's still very sweet, but it isn't quite at the "too-sweet" point. Instead, it's warm and rich, and reminds me a lot of Blood Kiss. It's a bit too sweet and heavy for me to wear most days, but it's definitely a scent I like and will wear when I can. Plus, I love the description - four hundred divine rabbits! Yay!

Gasp! Could it be? A floral I like! And not only do I like it, but it seems to work reasonably well with my skin. (Okay, so this has happened before, but it's pretty rare.) Ophelia is very pretty, very feminine, and quite strong on my skin...but the flowers aren't choking me. It reminds me of spring. It smells a lot like lily-of-the-valley on me, which is great - I missed the lily-of-the-valley single note and I've regretted it every since. I can also pick up on the tea rose, and a green note. As it dries down, it is turning slightly sharp, but florals always do that for me and it's not enough to ruin it. If your skin is floral-friendly, definitely try this blend - it's really lovely, even if you don't usually like florals.

This oil smelled different on me than it seems to have smelled on everyone else. I could only smell the lavender for a minute - after that, florals came out and went strong. These florals, however, seemed to work for me! They did go a bit sharp, as they tend to do on my skin, but they were still very sweet and restful. This blend reminded me quite a bit of Rapture on my skin - I think it must be a set of the same florals. In the imp, there's a grapey quality to the oil - perhaps iris? At any rate, I really liked Somnus and I think I would like a bigger bottle. My next order is going to be big, I think...

Debcauchery is not my friend. It's very, very strong and musky, I can smell it even with the cap on the imp. It's very dark, and I can see that it could be very sexy for some people - but not me! Musk and I are not on the best of terms. It's just too headache-inducing, or I'd try wearing it anyway since I do think it's sort of intriguing...but I think in this case, it wouldn't be a good idea. Oh well, off to a person with a less delicate nose.

Like other VooDoo blends, Has No Hanna did not agree with me. I wanted to like it, because the idea of a lucky oil really appealed to me, and it had a sort of hopeful feeling about it when I first smelled it. It was sort of a white-smelling floral on me, with other things I couldn't identify underneath. But there's something about the VooDoo oils that doesn't work for me. There's something in them that's just really strong and pierces my skull. I think this oil could be very nice for someone who could handle strong scents - I'm just not one of those people.

I thought I would love The Star, based on all the coconut-lime goodness people talk about. I got the lime, and a smidgen of the coconut - but on me, there is also a weird note that I suspect is herbal, and that note bothers me. I'm not sure what it is, but I think it's been in other blends that have given me headaches. So, not so much a fan. Other than that one mystery annoying note, The Star was very light on me and not as rich as I would have liked. However, I have found my creamy coconut-fruity oil in Snow White, so I am not too sad.

Aaah! My spouse put this one on and I fell in love. It does remind me of "normal" mens' fragrances, but, at least on Ryan, this oil is much more interesting than that. I think it's more complex, but it's also smoother in a way. There's definitely an edge to it, so I don't mean that it's a smooth scent, exactly. It's just that there's no synthetic sharpness, as with normal, alcohol-laden colognes...it's just delicious. I think it's very sexy and masculine, and quite warm and spicey. I want to order him a bottle of it.

This is beautiful in the imp. On my skin, it does what many oils with floral notes do to me - it becomes straight-up gardenia. All gardenia, all the time! I like gardenia, but I wanted the full effect. It is lighter than Sacred Whore was on my skin, and it was slightly more "watery". I didn't smell anything overtly aquatic about the oil, but the way the gardenia came out on my skin was lighter and wetter than other gardenia scents. However, it was still pretty one-noted on my skin, so I gave it to a gardenia-loving friend instead.

Snow White (2004) smells wonderful on me. I was nervous about it, but it turns out I had nothing to worry about - it's perfect for my skin! My bottle is on its' way, but I tried some of my sister's. On her, it smells more musky. On my mother, it smells mostly like tiny flowers (I say tiny because that's what the scent made me think of on her - very small, soft flowers). I was afraid it would be musky or floral on me, but it wasn't - on me, it is a perfect cool, creamy coconut with a side of apple. The apple usually strikes me as green - very tart and crisp. Sometimes though, I can smell a redder, sweeter apple. It's almost poetic - I love it! It stays very soft on me and I may need to wear a lot of it for it to actually have any throw, but I kind of like how it wears so gently and close. I didn't expect to like Snow White as much as I do, but it's beautiful! I can't wait for my own bottle to arrive.

Egg Nog smells precisely like egg nog! It's very creamy, and as others have said, not in a heavy way. It's just really smooth and sweet. I can smell a bit of nutmeg, and hint of booze...but mostly it's just a smooth sweetness. On my skin, the egginess comes out a bit more and I think it might smell odd on me. It's not my favorite, but I'm giving it time - I just haven't made up my mind about it. One way or another, this is the one I can bear to share imps of, I think. It might be good, and I might like it more than I think I do, but it's just not as great as the others on me.

This stuff smells amazingly, perfectly, like warm gingerbread. Not just the spices associated with gingerbread, but gingerbread itself - squishy and moist and mmm. It's full of spice and that keeps it from being too sweet. I wasn't sure if I would want to smell like gingerbread, but it also wears really well - I was really surprised. It makes me feel warm and comfortable. It's a very cozy scent. I tried it in my new oil burner, and it was really great in that as well.

Skadi really does smell like snow. That part of the scent fades quickly on my skin, but in the bottle it smells just like snow. It's amazing. I also smell pine and a very tart, red berry, and there's something else I can't put my finger on. Something vaguely spicey. It reminds me of potpurri, but it's a good thing (though I bet it sounds bad). At first, it's strongand so bright it sort of overwhelmed me - but it smells so good! And it doesn't take long for it to fade to a softer level. Skadi is perfect. It's festive and wintery, and it manages to be both warm *and* cold. It's bright and cheery, but there's also an air or something mysterious about it - something like a silent forest full of freshly fallen snow. Even though I can't smell the snowy note on my skin, I love how this oil wears for me. I am going to be quietly hoarding it, and hoping it returns next year so I can snatch up some more!

Swank, for me, is not sweet. It's very tart and fruity, with a definite bite. Aizen-Myoo doesn't strike me as sweet. It's one of my favorites because it's fruity and citrusy without being overpowering or predictable. It's really unique.

Whoa! Upon opening the vial, I smell the same melted-butter scent that I got most strongly from Jack. It's a salty, strong butter scent, with nuts underneath. (The butter made me sort of sick in Jack, but it doesn't seem to do that here.) When I put it on my skin, the butter remains strong, but the hazlenut comes up too, and then there's some coffee in the background. If I'm smelling chocolate, it's very well blended with the coffee because I almost can't detect it. I feared that this would be too sweet and make me ill, but it really isn't. It's decadent, sure - I'm picturing some sort of elaborate chocolate/coffee/caramel/hazlenut dessert, maybe in the form of something like a mudslide pie. But it's not sugary on me at all. It's buttery, nutty, and dark. I smell sweetness only when I directly sniff my arm - what comes up to my nose is just the dark, buttery smell. I like this. I don't know if this is bigger bottle material for me, but it is definitely a delicious, fun scent that perfectly matches it's description and seems to work well on my skin.

Ahathoor... I detect woods and amber most strongly in this. It seems like a lighter amber to me than in other amber scents I've tried. It's very golden. There's also a very light citrus, and a hint of spice. I love scents with wood notes in them, and I think this scent is very well balanced. It isn't overpowering at all, but it is definitely a noticeable scent. I like it better on Ryan than on me. I think it's pretty masculine, and while I will happily wear masculine scents, I think it's better suited to his skin than mine. It's warm and bright and golden, perfectly suited to the midday sun. I didn't think I was very interested in the Sun scents, but this scent has me thinking otherwise. Now I'm curious about the rest!

I ordered this in my first BPAL order, when I had no idea what worked on me and what didn't. This, sadly, is one that didn't. In in the imp, it smelled very white. It was classic and pretty, very much a woman's perfume. Unfortunately, I thought it was too "perfumey", if that makes sense. I think it would be easy to wear too much of this, and on me it turned into an unfortunate hair-spray scent. My skin and flowers do not get along, as I have since learned. However, if you're a fan of florals and distinctly feminine scents, this one might be for you!

Pele was nice on me, but as other's have said, it was very light. I like light - florals tend to give me headaches, so I needed it to be light. But it was so light I could hardly smell it. That's never really happened to me before, but as others said - my skin just ate it, or something. It also turned a bit soapy on me, as florals tend to do on my skin. But, before it faded and went all funny, it was very pretty. It struck me as being a pink scent, light and feminine. It's soft, but it has a little crispness because of the ginger. It was more complex and pretty in the imp - just not so much on my skin.

Kweku Anansi, on me, is lemon (verbena?), wood, something darkly spicey (black pepper?) and something...else. I might decribe it as herbal, I'm not sure - but it's something green and earthy. It's a little bit masculine, a little bit dark and dry, but it also has a that spicey black pepper and fresh, green quality that keep it from being too dark or heavy. It reminds me of Eidolon, but it's not as smooth and simple. Eidolon, to me, was a smooth wooden table with lemons on it, or smooth, shiny round wooden balls scented like lemons (as weird as that sounds, that's what I picture when I smell Eidolon - I also think of buttery lemons ). This, to me, is a dark forest, lit by something friendly. It's more interesting to me, and I prefer it. My spouse really likes it, too. He said it reminded him of camping, because it's outdoorsy (not because it resembles bug spray, because it doesn't - he made sure to mention that ). I think it will be great on him, and I also like it on me. If he wears it, I think I'll want a bigger bottle - I hope this becomes available for purchase!

I think I'd go with... Snake Oil (because it's the most popular) Swank, Glitter, Aizen-Myoo, or maybe Lolita - something feminine and fruity Alecto or Intrigue (something woody and gender neutral) Wrath, Three Witches, or another cinnamon/spicey scent Harlot, Rapture, or Endymion - something floral, those being a few I really liked Chesire Cat, Perversion, Kali - something complex and different OR something incensey/meditative, like Old Kathmandu or The Coiled Serpent

Nero, Nero, Nero -- I can't emphasize Nero enough on the rosemary front. [And it helps with migraines, too, yes.] It's a very underrated scent, but definitely one to give a try. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Funny - I just ordered that as one of my imps in my last-minute order last night. It was completely on a whim, since I'd never heard anything about it. It just sounded like a good one that wouldn't bother my head. So I'm glad you mentioned that

This kind of...freaked me out at first, but now I really like it. At first, it's strong and kind of astringent, I guess you could say...but it's also refreshing, calming, and cool. I can see wearing this when I have a headache, I think. Last night, I put it on when I couldn't fall asleep, and I found it comforting then. The first time I wore it, I thought I smelled mint and something that reminded me of geraniums, oddly enough. Last night when I wore it, I could smell lavender, mint, and something else that I can't identify. I can't say yet how it affects my dreams, but I think I love this oil. I didn't at first, but it seems to be growing on me. I think I'm going to want a bottle to keep by my bed. Also, I think I want to try some more of the dream formulas.