Nikki Scarlet

Received this as a frimp from the lab. In the imp: There's something about this scent that's reminding me of other scents I've tried and disliked, BUT somehow it's working in this one. I went into my first sniff of this completely blind (ie: no idea what was in it) and liked it. Now that I've had a look at the listed notes, most of them are scents I don't think I have much experience with, other than the sweet mandarin. I suspect that's actually what's making me like it on the whole -- I love citrus. It doesn't actually smell citrusy in the imp, though. It just smells sweet. On me, wet: Ahhh, the sweet mandarin is coming a little further forward. I like! . . . aaaand I've spilled a bit of my imp on my blanket. So, good thing I'm enjoying this so far! On me, dry: It gets a little more spicy and smokey as it dries, but on the whole this is a really well-blended scent. I'd say the mandarin is the dominant note, but that might just be mostly because it's the one I most recognize, and it seems well tempered by the florals. The musk and spice keep it nicely grounded and add a bit of sex appeal to the sweetness. Verdict: I think this may be big bottle-worthy! The throw is pretty low on me and gets even lower with time (not a lot of lasting power, methinks), but it's a lovely, sexy scent that I'd be willing to give a good thick slather if needed.

This was a frimp from the lab. In the imp: This actually does smell like gold. Metallic, at any rate. The incense gives it a bit more colour. I'm kind of reminded of hanging out with my dad at the garage, among all the engine parts and chemicals. I like that smell, though, so it isn't a bad thing. On me, wet: The incense gets a little stronger and oddly a little more foody. There's kind of a wheaty/grainy vibe that I don't like as much as in the bottle. On me, dry: This keeps going more . . . gamey, on me. The gold scent is still there, but it's dirty. Not like the engine grease scent of before, nor is it an earthy kind of dirty. It's the kind of grimy, part-sand, part-sour-milk smell that small children and their toys tend to collect on themselves over the course of a day. Dry, later: The sour milk smell mostly steps back and returns to more of the wheaty/grainy scent, and then the incense gradually sweetens up and strengthens over time from there. It returns to the original scent I smelled in the imp, and then the incense note keeps getting stronger until eventually it's pretty much entirely incense with just a little bit of gilding along the edges. Verdict: Meh. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ It went through an awkward phase, then turned pretty nice. The first hour's worth is still a more masculine fragrance than I'd prefer for myself, though, and it's not really a strikingly sexy enough scent that I'd feel the need to try to convince a partner to wear it. Once it acclimates to my skin chemistry, it's definitely got its pleasant points (I would probably still try other scents with these notes in them), but it's not interesting or swoonworthy enough for me to feel the need to keep it. Not bad, but not for me.

I had to try this. My friend and I generally go in on orders together and buy big bulk packages, and we love opening the box to smell the combined scent of everything we've bought (oh, if we could only bottle the scent of our most recent order!). And of course, now that I'm a few orders in, the box I keep all my BPAL imps and bottles in smells amazing. I went in kind of hoping that this would capture that, but really, I would want this even if it smelled horrible, pretty much just for the lols. In the bottle: Uhhhh . . . . Kinda like . . . medicine? I'm getting a bit of chocolate. A bit of dark cherry. Cherry almond? A lot of booze. Aaaand a whole lot of tingling static. @_@ It seriously reminds me of static. Like the feeling you get when a part of your body goes numb, but in smell form. Wait, I think there was a bit of citrus there. Something floral? Wait-- Corn syrup? Pine? Wood? Men's cologne? HOW IS THIS ALL HAPPENING IN ONE TINY BOTTLE? On me, wet: Candy-- no, wait, leafy. Boozy aloe. Wat. Plastic. Uhhh some kind of candy I tried once and didn't like. Um, wafers drizzled with rum. Someone above mentioned the smell of wafers and I'm agreeing with them. Wafers are present and seem to show up the most frequently of any note that pops up. It's like wafer cookies and the icing is EVERY OTHER FLAVOUR EVER. On me, dry: Pain apples? Engine coolant. Household cleaner you can eat. . . . A fresh breeze followed by a dunk in a mountain river. Snow. Mm, yeah, after its lolrandom phase I'm getting a lot of "fresh, clean" smells, tinted with a little bit of aquatics and a little bit of greenery. There's still a chemical/bitter-sweet something-or-other in the background, though. Tiny bit of lemon/lime pops up in the aquatic overall scent right now - like a glass of lemon water. It seems to be staying in its "fresh" phase now. It's a bit bitter (kind of metallic, actually) around the edges, but I come away smiling after every sniff. Quite pleasant and not at all what I expected! . . . A little later, I'm getting a bit of a dried flower scent alongside the fresh air/greens/aquatics. Purple flowers. Lavender, I think? Slowly morphing to white floral with a bit of soft fruit (pear?). Then back to fresh air and clean water. Bit of clean linen, as well. I feel like I've been doing laundry out in a tiny cottage in the mountains. . . . Aaaand much later, I woke up from a nap and it was mostly gone, but the lingering smell left behind is kind of reminding me of crumbly graham cracker mixed with rose petals. Verdict: Honestly, I'd be happy to own this even if it was the worst, but I'm genuinely enjoying it. Don't think I'd wear it out of the house, but it's definitely a ride and a half - an olfactory adventure for an otherwise quiet day. I'm guessing the experience will change each time I try it, too. Wheee!

Decided to buy an imp of this since it's BPAL's most popular scent and I've been trying to find a nice vanilla scent, and thought something with a little added spice would fit the bill. In the imp and on me, wet: Ugh. Guh. Ooof. Yeah, no. The incensey part of this REALLY doesn't open well for me. I'm reacting to this very similarly to the way I first reacted to Sin, which is a big no. The vanilla is making it more bearable than Sin, but . . . no. On me, dry: Whatever it is that's doing this (patchouli?) is weird for me. It starts off awful, but drying lightens it, and when it's lighter it's quite pretty. I'd love it if it just WAS that subtle, brighter version of itself the whole way through. But this starts off dark and dreadful, briefly becomes light and lovely (at which point I like it in combination with the vanilla), and then returns to dark and awful. And my skin seems to amp it. The vanilla is not strong enough to tame it. Verdict: If it was like the brief, bright middle point the whole way through, I'd probably enjoy this a lot more, but alas, this scent is much too moody for me. Having read some of the recommendations in the reviews, I'm willing to wait a while and let this age before trying it one more time, but if it's anything like this first attempt then I definitely won't be wearing this ever again afterward and will swap it. Even after trying to scrub it off twice, it still clung to my skin and . . . honestly, I felt a bit nauseous.

A frimp from the lab for me. This isn't something I'd have thought to choose for myself, but let's give it a shot! In the bottle: NOPE. . . . I put this away without testing it on myself the first time around. I've left it alone for a few weeks now, but today I'm gonna grit my teeth and give it another shot. Maybe it'll surprise me. TAKE 2: In the bottle: . . . Actually, it smells oddly pleasant now. I don't know if this is an issue of having been at a slightly different point in my cycle when I first smelled it, or if this is just something that needs to age a little bit first. I'm getting a lot of green notes now, but when I first smelled it last month all I got was a punch in the nose with smoke and bitterness. On me, wet: There's definitely a bit of a smokiness and muskiness up front, but there's a fresh, leafy/piney scent in the background that's kind of keeping it together. I think I'm picking up some florals, as well. On me, dry: Getting a bit of the wood, I think. I'm kind of reminded of wood that's just come off the saw or sander and is still a bit smokey from too much friction. The green notes are still there in the background. This one's kind of surprising. A little later: Oooh. . . . Oooh! There's something very sweet coming out now. Not sure what it is but I kind of love it. It's sort of floral-fruity but not foody or perfumey. It's reminding me of something but I can't put my finger on it. Verdict: Wow. I was so sure this was going straight to swaps, but this is a keeper! The throw is pretty low, so I'm not likely to wear it out of the house, but it's a really nice one to just sit quietly and sniff.

I wanted to try a green scent without going too far into masculine cologne territory, and this one sounded absolutely magical. In the imp: At first I thought . . . Maybe not so much? There was a heaviness to the scent I wasn't sure I could get behind. I think it's a combination of the blackberry and dark musk that initially made for kind of a boozy combination. That was my first impression, but subsequent revisits to the bottle have pretty much just smelled the same as it does on me (a good thing!). On me, wet: Once on my skin (the first time, but now I can smell this straight out of the bottle), the green tea made itself known and lightened things up quite deliciously. It made the fruit less cloyingly sweet and, at the same time, juicier. Berry is still the dominant note, but this is definitely where the scent started to grow on me. On me, dry: By the time it dried, I had concluded that this scent is amazing. It *sparkles* like dewy leaves and berries in the morning sun. The green tea and berry balance each other so well, the sage keeps things grounded, and the dark musk stays well back but still provides the sense of gravitas befitting of a proper witch. Verdict: I want a big bottle of this. I could see this becoming one of my signature scents. (ETA: I bought the big bottle and I am in love. I burned through my original imp very fast, and it's since become a regular purchase. A few years on, this actually is my signature/everyday scent. It's dreamy and wild, juicy and green, and exactly the magical scent I was hoping for. It strikes a great balance of having enough throw that people catch hints of it every now and then, but staying close enough to the skin that my scent-sensitive friends don't have any problems when I wear it. And it's a long-lasting scent that keeps me happily sniffing my wrist all day long. I can't get enough of it.)

Dark, decadent and incomparably exotic: the rich scent of buttered rum flavored with almond, bay, clove and sassafras. This was one of the frimps included in my most recent order. I had been kind of hoping to try a piratey scent! In the imp and on me, wet: BAM! PUNCHED IN THE FACE BY ALMOND AND RUM! It's not a bad smell but whoof! Strong! Waiting to see if it calms down a bit when it's dry. On me, dry: This has dried down to single-note clove. For about fifteen minutes it was as strong as, or stronger than, the initial almond and rum (which have now COMPLETELY DISAPPEARED) and smelled rather dusty on top of that. It was obnoxious and I hated it. Now it's calmed down, though, and it's a kind of pleasant, autumnal clove scent, but . . . still sort of disappointing. Verdict: I'll probably try other scents with these notes in them, but Port-Au-Prince isn't a winner for me. Swapping.

I'd been hoping to find a nice vanilla scent. This says it only has a hint of vanilla, but it also mentions honey, which I'm also curious to try. I think the combination could be lovely, although amber's a bit of a mystery to me, as I'm pretty new to scents in general, let alone BPAL. In the imp and on me, wet: I can barely smell this, but what I am getting is a somewhat medicinal honey. On me, dry: Still almost can't even smell this, even after reapplying rather generously. What I can smell is a teensy bit of honey, occasional hints of vanilla, and something . . . blunt. I wish it had a little more strength and throw. It feels like something I COULD like if it showed itself a little more. Verdict: My results seem so much in contrast to other reviewers'. So many other people seem to get a strong scent from this, but it's barely detectable for me. I really want to like this, but . . . meh. Will probably swap. ETA: Today I don't have anywhere to be and decided to play with my scents as part of a self-pampering day, so I've given O another chance. It was the first scent I'd put on for the day, applying generously to my wrists and just letting the puddles dry on their own rather than rubbing them in. This is still a very subtle scent, but I'm picking it up a little stronger today. Not sure whether it's because it's the first and only scented thing I've put on myself so far, or because I'm at a different point in my cycle than I was when I first tested it, or because it's been allowed to age for a couple of weeks, or because I'm wearing more of it. Or maybe a combination of all of the above. What I'm smelling, I like. It's very a very soft, smooth sweetness. Luxurious, if faint. I'm going to agree with a few other posters that this scent is a combination of sexy and comforting. I'd say it leans more toward comforting for me, but the sexiness sort of springs from that. It's an intimate, private scent (perhaps partly due to how close I have to get to smell it at all). Not the kind of scent I'd wear out somewhere with the hopes of luring someone in, but rather a scent I'd wear for mutual, private enjoyment with someone who's already very close to me. Back in high school, I had a friend who pretty much said anything that popped into her head, and at one point walked into a change room, furrowed her brow, and said, "This place smells like girl." That's what this smells like: it smells like naked femininity in all its complexity and beauty and imperfection. O smells like girl. It's a much subtler fragrance than my general preference, and I'm thinking it's not something I'll wear very often, but this second try has saved it from the swap pile. I can see occasions where I'd want to wear this. And I have both an imp AND a frimp of this, so I think that'll do me just fine for a while.

This was the first scent I took interest in while looking through the catalogue for the first time. It sounded simple and pretty, and I thought it might make a nice everyday scent. In the imp: The rose and tea are lovely, but something about the carnation seems to be throwing it off, I think? Or maybe it's the rose and carnation that are blending together nicely with the tea throwing things off. I'm not sure. On me, wet: Strangely medicinal, and I'm not fully sure what's causing it. On me, dry: The medicinal effect wears off. Then it goes through a pretty strongly spicy phase which almost but not quite takes it into headache territory, before calming down into more of a powdery scent. At this stage it's very nice! The rose is turning sort of soapy, but that's not something I mind too much. Verdict: This is sort of similar to Alice, but grown up and much more confident. The scent progression almost seems to tell the story of the Maiden's life: sickly childhood, rebellious early adolescence, then suddenly a blossoming into a delicate beauty. I'm not sure it's big-bottle-worthy, but I think I'll keep the imp.

I wanted to try a chocolate scent, and Bliss was out of stock, so I thought I'd give Vice a shot. The black cherry and orange blossom listed alongside the chocolate in the scent notes sounded pretty decadent! In the imp and on me, wet: This isn't nearly the sweet smell I was expecting. o.O This is unsweetened chocolate for sure. The very bitter kind. On me, dry: After about 10 to 15 minutes it sweetens up, but now it's less about the chocolate than the orange blossom, with a nice touch of juiciness from the black cherry. The chocolate is still present and still rather dusty and bitter, which I think is enhancing the sweetness of the other notes. There are these little moments, though, where I think I can detect a more milk-chocolatey scent. Verdict: While I didn't think so at first, I'm probably going to keep this. I'm not ready to jump on a big bottle just yet, but I'm interested to keep experimenting with this one and see if it grows on me some more.

This was a frimp from the lab. The ingredients list didn't really speak to me when I saw it in the catalogue, but it does list cinnamon as one of the ingredients, and I would like to try a cinnamon scent. And who can say no to free? In the imp and on me, wet: . . . Whoof. That is a VERY smoky scent. Not really smelling any cinnamon. Just . . . smoke and something bitter. On me, dry: . . . Yeah. This just smells like me after I've been hanging out in a heavy smoker's house for a while. After some time passes, the amber starts to come forward and lighten it up a little bit, but it's not enough to save this for me. And even if I did love the scent, it doesn't seem to last very long on me. About an hour and it's just about disappeared. Verdict: Will probably swap this.

I asked for and received a bottle of this for my birthday from a friend. :3 Reviewing for scent and intent! SCENT: I could swear there's cola in this. This is such an interesting blend of what smells like cola to me and the lovely, sunny, perky citrus the other reviews have mentioned. I've never tried Coca Cola Orange, but if it tastes the way this smells I might be tempted to start drinking soft drinks again. It sparkles without being obnoxious and, for me at least, smells pretty much the same on my skin as it does in the bottle, other than maybe being a little bit brighter, warmer, and sweeter on me. It's a bit of an unusual scent for a wearable fragrance, but I like it! It's a cheerful, summery scent: the kind of thing you could wear while playing beach volleyball or having a picnic with friends. And it LASTS. I applied it early this morning, and over 15 hours later I'm still catching lovely whiffs of it. INTENT: I'm normally a pretty low-energy person, but some days I wake up feeling like a reanimated, centuries-old corpse - especially as a pretty extreme introvert, in cases where I've gone too many days in a row without an "everybody screw off I'm not leaving my bedroom except to eat and pee and I'm not talking to anyone on the way to doing either of those things" day. Today was one of those Reheated Death days. And on top of that, I had a public event to attend for work, so I couldn't just zombie my way through the day. I figured today was the ideal day to give this oil a first try. After performing a brief ritual and applying the oil, I noticed some odd heart palpitations at first, but these faded a moment later and afterward I felt more alert. Not ready to sprint across town or anything, but like my usual self on a day where I've had adequate rest (which was not reflective of my actual situation). My body aches faded and while I could still feel my tiredness, it was more in the background and easier to ignore. The oil got me through my work event exactly as I hoped, although, as a previous reviewer mentioned, it doesn't do much for mental focus or clarity. This oil seems to strictly be intended to keep you physically able to get done what you need to get done. I think next time I have to use this oil I may pair it with something like Clarity or Concentration so I can be both energetic and sharp. During the ritual I'd specified that I needed the oil's effects to last until at least 6 p.m. After the clock struck 6 I did experience the brief moment of heart palpitations again and start to feel a little more sluggish, but I didn't immediately crash at this point. It was more like a very gentle, gradual decline in energy that ended with me just feeling nicely cozy and ready for sleep at bedtime several hours later. Almost like it was following the sunset. Definitely glad to have this. I could see myself using it every day, honestly, but I think I'll just keep it for when I REALLY need the extra help.

I found this while looking for an aquatic scent to round out my sample order, and this one's description happens to have "water" in it, so it came up in my search. Once I saw coconut meat listed as one of the ingredients, I knew I had to order it. In the imp: Yup. There's the coconut. Exactly the warm, creamy, buttery coconut I fell in love with in a conditioner I sometimes buy. It's softened very nicely by the milk and water, but the primary scent is definitely the coconut. Mmmmmm. On me, wet: Yaaaaaaas. On me, dry: The coconut remains the dominant scent throughout. Verdict: No wonder this is named after the King of the Orishas: this scent is divine. I think my skin tends to amp coconut, and as far as I'm concerned that's a wonderful thing. Definitely getting a big bottle. Oh my goooosh. <3 <3 <3

This one sounded like fun, and I do love apple, lemon, and rose, so I was interested to see how they'd smell together. In the imp and on me, wet: Oooh! I really like the way the apple and lemon come together in this. Not picking up much rose, but this is a nice, perky scent that combines everything I like about both apple and lemon! On me, dry: Hmm. The apple seems to be fading now, and the lemon is starting to smell more like lemon zest. Not necessarily a bad thing, but not quite as fresh and exciting as when it was wet. Dry, later: It's pretty much just single-note lemon zest now. Not unpleasant, but kinda boring. Verdict: In the imp it's absolutely delightful, but on me: meh. I might scent an object with it rather than myself. When my body chemistry doesn't futz around with it, it's a really fun scent.

This was a frimp from the lab, and I didn't even really know it existed until I found it among my other samples, but it sounds pretty interesting! I'd been interested in possibly trying a minty scent and this may fit the bill. In the imp and on me, wet: I really don't know how to describe this. I'm definitely getting the mint but it's not really a cool mint or a spearmint. It's kind of a fruity mint, if that makes sense. It's a teensy bit aquatic, too, but the combination is just . . . something I'm not sure I can properly describe. I think I like it, but it's definitely very different from what I was expecting. On me, dry: I still don't know how to describe this, but I think I like it. The scent really hasn't changed much from when it was wet, other than maybe getting a little bit warmer. There's something vaguely citrusy about this, as well, even though there's no citrus in the ingredients. I feel really conflicted about it. I don't think it actually suits me. It does blend nicely with my skin, but it's just . . . this really unexpected smell that seems to clash with the rest of my personal aesthetic, if that makes sense. When I deliberately smell my wrist I come away not sure I'm all that fond of it, but I keep having little moments where I'll catch an accidental whiff of it and go, "Ooh, nice! :D" Verdict: This is really weird, but not in a bad way? I do like it, but I don't think it's a "me" scent. By which I mean, I don't think I'd wear it out of the house, but if I ever just wanted to have a relaxing day curled up at home, I think I might dab a little of this on my wrists just to quietly enjoy as kind of an aromatherapy thing. I had actually invited a friend to try out some of the scents in my order with me, and she ended up taking a real shine to this one. In the end, I ended up giving the frimp to her. Not only did she love it more than I did, but it smelled better on her than on me. But this one still left enough of an impression that I might go ahead and order another imp of this for myself later. I don't think I love it enough for a big bottle, but I feel like it's a scent I'd just like to be able to smell every now and then.

I've heard a lot about Dragon's Blood but have never really had occasion to try it out in anything before. I read that Dragon's Milk has a lot of what people like in Dragon's Blood without quite as much potency (I'm prone to headaches with some scents, so I try to be careful), so I elected to give it a shot as my first exposure. In the imp: I really like this. I definitely get a nice, juicy berry scent. On me, wet: About the same as in the imp, but a little warmer. Getting hints of the vanilla. Dry: Hmm. It's starting to get a little plasticky-smelling, now. Like a Twizzler. Which isn't a good thing, unfortunately: I'm not a big fan of Twizzlers. Dry, about an hour later: . . . Nope. Nope, nope, nope. It's gone pure licorice on me and is giving me a headache. I gotta scrub it off. Verdict: Definitely not going to wear this, but I'll see if maybe I fare better with it as a room oil, or maybe I'll keep it stored away somewhere and see how it ages. I really do like it in the imp, just not on me.

My first review in my very first BPAL order. At first I found this kind of subtle and difficult to discern, but I think that was because I'd just finished sniffing all the other imps in my order and some of them are quite a bit stronger. After washing my hands to remove as much of the scents of the other imps off my fingers as possible, this was my first choice to give a proper review, so I could get a better sense of it. In the imp (post-hand wash): Hmm. "Curious" is a good word for this. It's still rather subtle, and a bit . . . odd? I think I'm picking up the a mix of the honey and the bergamot. It's coming out more medicinal than I was expecting. It's not bad, but not the sweet, candyish scent I was expecting from reading the other reviews. On me, wet: Still a strong chemical scent up front that I'm not really liking. I'm thinking this is the bergamot. But once you get past that, there's a softer floral scent. I think this may be the rose and carnation coming out. Drydown: I'm getting a bit of the milk now, which is making the florals smell creamier. The strong chemical scent is dying off now, but there's still a sharpness in the background. Further sniffs are bringing back a sweeter honey in the mix, which is nice. There doesn't seem to be a lot of throw to this, though: I have to press my nose right up to my wrist to get anything. Dry, a few minutes later: Oh, now this is interesting. Now that it's dry, I'm getting almost pure honey, with occasional whiffs of rose. This one's quite the morpher! Dry, about an hour later later: Back to milky floral, with honey floating beneath the surface. This seems to be that sweet, innocent, nostalgic, girlhood scent other people were talking about. it's really become lovely. A few hours later: The scent lasts pretty long, but once it gets past a couple of hours it pretty much turns to a rosy soap smell on me. I do like the clean smell, but it's comparatively a bit humdrum: I'm kinda sad to have lost the honey notes. Verdict: Alice took me on quite the adventure! On the whole, I like it, but I don't think I'm excited enough by it to want a full bottle just yet. For now I'll keep the imp to see if it continues to grow on me and if the lingering scent is any different at different times of the month. I'm not fond of it straight out of the imp, but my body chemistry seems to do some really nice things with it that make it worth keeping around.