skyturtles

I. Am. Yummy.

From the bottle sniff, I get shisha overridden by baking spices. But we need to talk about this tobacco. I usually am pretty meh about tobacco. I associate it with leather, a scent that I loathe. This tobacco, however, has a sweetness and richness that will not make you think of any old cigarette.

Wet on my skin, the coffee and cardamom pop up. But we need to talk about this coffee. I do not often drink coffee. It, like some other acidic foods, do not make me feel well. So while some people loooove the smell of freshly roasted drippy coffee or whatever it is, I'm pretty ambivalent. So I am quite glad that the coffee is not overpowering everything else going on here. Rather, it has joined hands and they're all standing in a circle singing girl scout songs. In Arabic.

Drying down, I can pick out the cinnamon and sweet shisha. There is a woodiness about this as well. It is a well-worn cafe whose chairs, tables, and walls have absorbed smoke, caffeine, and little spiced desserts over the years.

I'm a fan! Lovely scent for the winter season ahead of us.

This is my fourth BPAL nail polish; second from the Crimson Peak line.

Here is one coat:

Here is two coats:

Very smooth application, and forgiving. Takes a good while to dry. I think 2 coats is good enough for me (with a top coat of course) but I can see why some would prefer 3.

A sniff from the bottle: Bitter! What!?

Wet: Sharp green, little hint of floral, honey smearing through.

Drying down: There's a slight spice, as the bitter greenness calms the eff down, and the honey gets a little creamy and less sharp as well.

I can see where some people may get amber or coconut. There's that slight warm nuttiness.

I'm giving this to a friend for her birthday, and I hope she likes it!

YES! This is one for red musk fans. I absolutely adored my decant of Pumpkin Pie Musk, and had the super sads when I lost it. When I read the notes for Pumpkinville, it reminded me of it and knew it had to be the one Halloweenie I would get, if any. I'm glad I took the plunge! From the bottle I got a very sweet and buttery funnel cakey scent, which spiked fear in me. Thankfully that recedes quite a bit on the skin, as the spices and musk take over. It's actually quite complex. The search is over; I've found a musky pumpkin spice scent. ❤️

From the imp of unknown age and forgotten origin, I just get leather and steel. Leather makes me nauseous. No exception here. I will not be testing this imp unfortunately.

LIP SMACKERS! I've tried this twice now and everytime I am taken back to shoplifting those lip balms at Kohl's as a kid. Sweet, fruity, plasticky. I'll pass this on to someone else, but I got a good laugh!

Not what I was expecting! Wet from the imp (of unknown age) I get a fresh, green, sweet orange with copal. As it dries down, there are some floral notes in there, and the orange turns into some sort of creamy incense. Very interesting! There's something wet and jungle-like about this for sure. I think this would be great in the summertime, because of those tropical vibes. It's not quite my cup of tea, despite the creamy sweet orange, but I'm going to hold on to it and try it out in warmer weather.

This is a nice blend of "violet" and musk. There is just the slightest hint of smoky coconut as well. The orris, being an iris root, isn't a floral, but gives it those violet vibes. No powderiness here, just a tiny bit of soap. I'm going to guess that the musk is red. Fun stuff, I can see why some people would like it. I don't love it however.

Oooo noooo this is not for me. The leather is making me nauseous, as it often does. It's the leather shoe section of a department store. It's a pompous wealthy man who overstyles his hair. PASS.

Sniff from the imp of unknown age: CITRUS.

Wet on my skin: LEMON DROP.

Phobos does not whisper. That overwhelming grapefruit and lemon scent quickly dries into a more complex, yet still fresh and sharp, white musk. It reminds me of a shop downtown called the Souq.

I love lemon verbena as a summer scent, so I'll be saving this imp for next year.

Green and floral, sweet fresh forest and violet-forward. I do pick up that slight grape scent every now and then. It's "nice" in that clean bathroom way but it is not what I'm looking for in a perfume oil. I'm actually a little embarrassed to be wearing it out in public, lol. My imp is of unknown age and I will be passing it on to someone who will hopefully enjoy it more.

Wow, I actually like this a great deal. I could have sworn vanilla would be one of the notes. I'm guessing the hint of spice from the bay rum mixed with the sweetness of the honey and the creaminess of the white musk is what's giving me those vanilla vibes. This would be a great summer scent for me, I think. I'm going to save my imp of unknown age for that purpose!

In the imp: This smells FANCY!

Wet on my skin: This smells FANCY!

Drying down, okay now. Floral but not powdery. I'm not familiar with "aquatic" scents. I'm definitely picking up the lilac. This is quite feminine, but I think I'm a fan! Lilacs are my favorite. I'd love to see how this layers with something with a bit of spice or sweetness.

The first thing I notice is the rhubarb. It's bitter and ever so slightly sweet. Next, the chamomile. I really don't like chamomile, as it reminds me of stale dusty flower petals with a side of moth balls. The oak and fig leaf gives an earthiness to this scent, a foundation for the bittersweet and stale floral.

This just isn't for me! (My imp is of unknown age.)

Here's a wintery scent! The plum and cassis are immediately evident. I'm getting something else, like apricot or something. I typically like fruity things, but there's the slightest chemical aspect here that reminds me of walking around the mall. Like a scented candle, as someone else put it. I'm not picking up the ginger so much.

As it dries down, the jammy fruit calms down a bit and the spiced rum smoothly slinks in. I would love it if my apartment smelled like this. I'm going to keep this imp of unknown age but I'm not sure if I like it as a perfume quite yet. I'll try again when the cold settles in.

Ooo, this is nice! I can pick up the cinnamon/cassia, but it's not too overwhelming. The clove is not, as well. The tea leaf, peppercorn, allspice, nutmeg are all there... I'm genuinely impressed at how this all blends together so well, since there are a lot of power players in here. It's all tied together with a slight woodiness, which may just be the earthiness of these spices before they are ground and made into foody goodness. I don't think I need a big bottle, but I definitely enjoy it.

I had to look up what a bumboat is. ☺️

(My imp is of unknown age.)

Due to others' comparisons of fresh imps vs. aged imps with White Rabbit, I believe I have an aged imp.

Wet on my skin, the crisp linen and pepper are noticeable amidst some sweeter, creamy components. Black tea is a difficult scent to bring forward, I think. I would have liked a stronger scent,  but this is very soft.

As it dries, the milk note comes out more and it does give a bit of a milk tea vibe, like in a Taiwanese boba shop.

Interesting, and I'll be keeping this imp for myself rather than passing it along, thank you!

Wet out of the decant I immediately get the jasmine, followed by the vanilla cream and rose sandalwood. It's so light that I'm reapplying in hopes of getting more throw and strength.  With a second layer, I'm getting some patchouli as well. This is definitely a floral-incense, with the vanilla cream just giving it a hint of sweetness. 

Drying down... I'm getting a slight whiff of something stanky. Not Czernobog level, thankfully.

I don't like this nearly as much dried down as I did when wet. What happened?

EDIT: Had an allergic reaction about 5 minutes later. Whoops, that's new!

Whoops, how did I not review this yet? I purchased a bottle for a friend who, yes, has a small brown cat. (I do as well but she is not so nice usually as to deserve a warm cuddly blend.)

Definitely a scent for when the weather gets colder. The cardamom is not overwhelming, less like Indian food and more like baking. Cedar gives it some dry warmth. There's unobtrusive musk to give you that "warm fur" aspect. The bourbon is there but I don't think I could catch the vanilla. As a whole, however, it's a lovely blend and my friend adores it, so it's a win.

I was not expecting to like this one as much as I do! I say that because leather is usually icky.

Despite its ingredients, it's actually a light masculine scent, one that as a feminine person I would be comfortable wearing in my conservative workplace. The bay rum is not boozy; rather it lends a bit of spices. The saltiness is wonderful, and I wish it would last longer. Dried down, the leather is what takes center stage. There is a slight soapiness, but I think this keeps it smelling clean rather than a cleaner.

Ocean salt, rum, leather... yup, this is a pirate in an imp.

I'm reeeal tempted to put this on my want-a-bottle list. My imp is of unknown age.

At first I get... mint! Mint with a bit of sugar.

Still wet on my skin, the bourbon is coming out. It's like the bottom of your whiskey glass when it gets all watered down from the ice.

At first I was thinking this might be nice to wear to work, but now I'm thinking it smells too much like I just came from the bar!

Dried down, the sugar comes back out. It's light and fun and I don't hate it.

(Imp of unknown age)

The color in the imp is surprisingly light for a scent that boasts of danger and criminal activity. This absolutely smells like a pirate ship. The sandalwood is the base that I'm picking up, slight hints of leather, and a touch of the incensey frankincense and patchouli to give it some smoke. Not my cup of tea but I could see how pirate girls around the world would bask in it. It's quite masculine but when has that ever stopped us?

From the imp, I get flowery soap, near a grandma-zone. "Don't judge a scent out of the imp!" as they say. Or something like that.

The violet takes center stage. We've gone from soap to candle. I'm trying for the life of me to find something other than violet here, and as it dries down, the neroli comes through, giving it some, but not a lot, complexity. As times goes on and it dries more, I think I'm catching whiffs of the sandalwood.

Floral-forwards aren't really my jam. This is an unoffensive blend that I could see those of the Lolita aesthetic embracing.

I received a lab frimp of Lust recently.

Maybe I have too many scents that are red musk-based, because Lust just isn't as exciting to me as all of this hype would lead me to believe. I do like the surprise bit of fruitiness, though I wish there were more of it. The patchouli is strong, and I find it kind of boring. All in all, it's just not my definition of "sexy," I suppose.

Wet immediately out of the imp, I got that sportiness that is probably the fir, mint, and whatever other stuff they put in masculine deodorant. On my skin those notes are still present, but the musk, clove, and orange blossom also appear and makes it all turn into a wonderful, slightly wintery, sexy scent. The evergreens and mint keep in clean in that cold inhale sort of way. The spices warm it up, and that slightest hint of floral keeps it complex while the black musk ties it all together. I'm a fan!