Styx

Montresor (dark yellow oil) Imp: Medicinal, alcoholic and very sweet berry. Skin: Obvious blackcurrunts. Think boozed up Ribena with faint hints of wood. The vanilla isn't strong, almost undetectable, but its there. The scent smells deep red, almost purple, and bruised. The drydown is soft currants and very light vanilla (no booze or wood). I am curious what this smelled like when it was fresh. Now, it is a sweet and mellow blackcurrant scent with a vintage edge. Very nice! A definite bottle if it was still available. Middle weight, room temperature, All year blend (a tad on the Autumn side).

Hungry ghost moon (very pale greenish oil) Imp: Smells like citrus without any acidity. Like a really nice room freshner? Skin: YUM. At first it was strong greenish citrus, sweetened with vanilla and sugarcane, but once the oil dries the wood comes out and everything melds together seamlessly. Somehow the texture and sweetness of the scent gave me an image of a really fluffy smoothie. The citrus becomes very well behaved, and doesn't bite. When the scent reaches this stage, it stays stable to the end. Just like copyshopclerk, I found this nostalgic too. The memory it triggered was making a roadtrip early in the morning, with all the windows of the car wide open. A medium to light weight scent, breezy cool, for spring and summer.

Lucretia (orange brown oil) Imp: wood and florals, a hint perfumy. I also smell a trance of mandarin. Skin: All the notes mix up into a complex, sweet woody blend! Very polished and mature. The wood is strongest, but I could smell a floral sweetness touched with vanilla lingering at its core. I couldn't smell any mandarin despite what I got from the imp, maybe my skin drank it up? This dries down into a soft, musky wood floral. Makes me imagine a rich, exotic woman that looks younger than her age. Heavy weight, room temperature, long lasting. Autumn and winter blend. Try Lucretia if you like scents like Thanatos and Ouija.

Crypt Queen (dark yellow oil??) from bottle: earthy, spicey red fruit scent. Skin: When its wet its sweet and fruity. I thought I would get more rose out of it, but it was more patchouli and fruit. As it dries it gets spicier, mustier and the sweetness tones down. A very sharp pepper bite - It is as if all the ingredients have been locked in a cage made of pepper. After wearing the scent for half a day, it does get rounder on the edges, but maintains a kick. Overall: spicy, dusty patchouli and fruit. Middle to heavy weight, lukewarm, and somewhat romantic. The name "Crypt Queen" fits the scent perfectly. The mustiness does seem like what you would get from opening a 500 year old coffin, and the scent itself smells womanly and powerful. I imagine a goth girl that dresses in red, not black wearing this.

Lady Macbeth (pale yellow oil) Imp: A lighter, fruitier version of wet Bordello. Like apricots or some sort of yellow fruit was added. Skin: Sweet, sweet berries. The thyme is very faint, and the wine is a watered-down sort. The berries are almost swimming in syrup, thats how sweet it is. However it wasn't that difficult to wear, because it stays quite close to skin. I like my berries to be darker, and my wines to be deeper, so this was not the berry scent for me. The drydown is like Wanda without the leather.

Rosalind (clear oil with the faintest trace of green) Imp: Smells just like the description. Very fresh. Skin: A clean, fresh floral. Berries are there too, but very faint. The grassy smell is my favorite part; it smells so vibrant! Its a very happy scent, like a breezy summers day. However it does smell like a type of laundry softner; so I guess the whole picture would be "hanging laundry on a breezy summers day". Drydown does not change much, except the dewy element fades. If you do not want to smell like fresh laundry, this is not for you. Personally, I wouldn't mind if my laundry smelled this good.

Shattered (slightly greenish light yellow oil) Imp: sweet mint. Skin: Refreshing mint sherbet laced with champagne. The florals add a lovely sweet touch, I LOVE this at this stage!! It made me smile. However after the mint fades a bitterness develops. Like grapefruit rind. And it doesn't disappear for a very long time. I wish that never happened! Once the bitterness is gone, my skin is left with a soft, creamy scent I can't quite put my finger on. I would have bought a 5ml straight away if it never turned bitter on me.

Amber, heliotrope, golden sandalwood, peach blossom and vanilla bean. Tamora (dark yellow oil) Imp: Peach and vanilla. Skin: Peaches and cream gummies. At this point, its much too sweet for me! As it dries, the sweetness tones down a bit and its much better. The sandalwood comes out, and I thought I smelled a faint pepper of spices at somepoint...but that faded soon after. The scent ended as peach and sandalwood. A sweet and girly scent. Its an "okay" blend for me, I don't mind it but I don't think I would wear it myself.

Blue Moon 2007 (greenish yellow oil) Imp: A smooth floral Skin: Its a smooth, elegant, complex blend. Its blended so well! All of the notes meld together beautifully. The scent stayed quite stable, did not morph much. The throw is just right: someone sitting opposite you by a cafe table won't be able to smell it, but someone sitting next to you would. It does smell somewhat blue too; like a pale lavender blue. I liked how the sweetness was subtle. A very feminine, medium weight floral. Its too round and mellow to be me, but I love it all the same. Floral lovers must try.

Dana O'Shee (transparent colourless oil) Imp: plasticky. Skin: The moment it hit skin, this turned into almond milk: The powdered almond drink my sister used to drown herself in, or make chinese puddings out of, except the sweetener isn't granulated sugar but honey. This is very sweet, in a high-pitched gourmand way. As the scent dries, the almond scent turns into grains. The honey and milk stays stable. Sadly on my skin, there was a faint rubbery scent that sat in the back, so this did not work for me.

Bordello (pale yellow oil) Imp: sugar sweet berry candy. Skin: The imp smelled too sweet, but on skin it is completely different. In its wet stage it smells just like the imp, but as it dries the sweetness subsides and a fizzy drink sort of feel develops. The feel is like sticking your nose on the brim of a cold glass of berry soda: You can't taste the sweetness in your mouth, but you can feel it tingle in the tiny bubbles that pop on the tip of your nose. Than, is it the amaretto? A tinge of something boozy peaks out too. Berry candy for grownups, is what I would call this scent. Yummy...I would wear this on a date.

Khephra (yellow oil) Imp: A bit tart and bitter. Skin: While wet, it was cloves and cinnamon plus a note that is so familiar, but I can't remember the name... Than it morphs into a yellow scent. Sadly I caught the same sour tinge I got from Jacob's Ladder during this stage, but it is not as obvious because of the spices. At the drydown, just when I thought it has stopped its transformation, it gains a string of sweetness on top, similar to the scent of manuka honey. Beautiful. I loved the drydown the most. This was an unusual scent. I bet it would smell different in colder climates, so I'm looking forward to try this in a different season.

Ozymandias (light yellow oil) Imp: classic perfume. Skin: Smells soapy clean, very vintage, and dry like gin. "Conservative glamour" is the word I get. Think the 50's or 60's. It didn't get powdery on me, big plus point. Not strong, on the mild side, but keeps its presence. Very good balance. It would smell different on some one young, classic on someone middle-aged and classy on grannies. I wouldn't mind if my gran smelled like this. She'd smell like a very hygenic and prim old lady. The nice type you want to walk up to and help carry her groceries for. This will make a good gift.

Hell's Belle (orange-brown oil) Imp: Smells Sweet, bitter, slightly nutty Skin: Sweet, heavy magnolia spiced up. Sensual, yes, musky, yes, but its giving me a headache I didn't get any citrus, just mostly powerful magnolia. This stuff is strong, and needs to be applied lightly. Its so pungent, I felt a bit sick; I actually had to wash it off. This is the first time I have ever done this to a BPAL oil without waiting for the drydown Much as I love the flower, I have sadly come to realise I can't wear magnolias; especially the gardenia type. I will probably give the imp away to someone who can. Why oh why can't I get along with white flowers?

Osun (pale yellow oil) Imp: attack your nostrils sweet. Skin: Sweeeeeet!! Same honey note as "O", with a big chunk of herbs. For some reason it was overwhelmingly sweet compared to O, despite O having vanilla to add to the sweetness. Smells thick and heavy too. O stayed close to my skin, and was subtle - but Osun... it'll give the guy standing on the other side of the room a toothache. Also, the sweetness isn't a young sweetness; I need to put on a few decades to pull this one off. Occasionally I get a whiff of something milky too. As it dries, I catch a very slight whiff of spice in the back....cloves? A syrup perfume too sweet for my tastes. It may work wonders on somebody elses chemistry tho; I find my skin tends to amp honey.

Baneberry (yellow oil) Imp: Smells like a very sweet fruit perfume. Skin: I...uh, wonder if there's anything wrong with me? When this is wet, I don't get any "dark berry" at all. I get WATERMELON! Juicy, watery, sweet watermelon. Maybe its mixed with honeydew, maybe its mixed with a bit of tea and herbs, but the strongest impression I get is watermelon. I get the astringent and shampoo comments too. When it dries, the fruit subsides a bit but its still pretty sweet. It smells more like berry than watermelon too. The sweet herbs come out a bit more, giving more character; I like it better like this than wet. I didn't get any black or red berry images from this scent. More like yellow and green... Its nice, but overall I found this too syrupy sweet for my taste.

51 (light greenish yellow oil) Imp: Sweet, musky and a tad sour. Skin: REFRESHING! Smells nothing like the imp, its so much better. Wet, light, fresh and fruity. Honey dew is what I get the strongest during the first hour. Its a very ripe honeydew so it doesn't smell melon green. However the scent itself, as everyone else says, strangely does have a "green feel" to it. It is green in a sense that it smells clean, not soapy, cool, not warm, and definitely not blue or white. Gosh, I wish I had a wider vocabulary to describe this... In the drydown the musks come out very lightly. The scent develops an unusual twist. I'm loving this. Its unoffensively unique. It is modern, pleasant, stylish, something I could wear to work. "Modern interior designer" is the image I get.

Jacob's Ladder, year unknown (Yellow Oil) Imp: Smells yellow, faintly boozy and a tinge sour. Skin: Something in this went very sour on my skin. While it was wet, I thought I smelled a whiff of something green, almost like mint - but that dissapeared quickly. When it dries, its benzoin and amber, but instead of the soft mellow powder I usually get, something was sharp and dry. And the sourness stayed too. This has left me thinking what in the world it was that reacted on my skin this way. The scent doesn't last long, and didn't have much throw, which was fortunate for me since my chemistry seems to do strange things with it. It sounds absolutely divine on everyone else, I'll have to try it again in a scent locket when I get one.

Et Lux Fuit (pale yellow oil) Decant: Smells alcoholic, and reminded me of an aftershave my dad used to use. Skin: This is so beautiful. Warm, sweet and sunny. It smells golden! The feel is not light or heavy, the weight is just like sunshine on your skin. The honey and vanilla isn't yummy yummy gourmand, but adds a sweetness to the florals thats so comforting. There is a musky undertone in it, so its not what I'd call a "clear" scent, but it very well may be - you know how a ray of sunlight shines through an opening in your curtains, and you can see flecks of dust dancing, making the light look almost opaque? Thats how the musk acts. (I hope that didn't make my room sound dirty...) I am not sunny enough to wear this without it wearing me, but I will treasure what I have.

Gennivre, L'Artiste du Diable (very pale yellow oil) Decant: Smells sweet, green, and light. Skin: Mint tea garnished with orange blossoms. The sugarcane and honey combination makes it very sweet on my skin, but it doesn't smell heavy at all. The mint is very gentle and faint, not sharp and cold, its just enough to lift the scent a degree or two. I also cannot smell any lemongrass, but I like it this way. A light, clean scent to take on a breezy vacation near tropical rainforests. If this was a colour it would be a pale, sugary pastel green.

Muladhara (dark orange oil) Decant: Powerful stuff. Earthy, wet and smoky. And something sharp. Skin: I smell patchouli, vetiver and cedarwood. Its earthy, mossy, moist and smoky, and VERY strong. I can meditate in this easily, it transports my entire room deep into the woods. Definitely not something I would wear as perfume, its a spiritual scent. Its not sweet at all - Super earthy, on the brink of turning bitter. The element of Earth is so strong. It is calming, quiet and makes me feel my feet are firm on the ground. I feel focused. In the drydown a lemonish scent develops, making vetiver the stronger note. The scent stayed for a whopping 9hours. Muladhara is a powerful blend that touches your senses. A true chakra oil indeed.

Theodosius, The Legerdemain (pale orange oil) Decant: Sweet, lemon-fresh Citrus. Skin: While wet, the citrus is strong. But once it dries, it goes milder and out comes the vanilla. I really like the vanilla in this, its warm, gentle and the sweetness is just right, not cloying, and just plain yummy! I keep sniffing my arm during this vanilla stage, and I'm tempted to lick it off. After a while, the scent stabilizes and I smell the musk and something manly- I'm guessing its the jasmine leaf and fougre noted. However Theodosius isn't a "Look at me, I'm flexing my muscles" kind of obnoxious male scent. Half gentleman, half naughty, smells like a good-looking, witty guy that makes you laugh easily. In other words, GAH! Did I mention this is sexy? Excuse me while I hump my decant too. I haven't tried Dorian yet, so I can't compare them, but if Dorian is anything like Theodosius I am definitely getting an imp real soon. Now I wish I was a man so I could wear this myself. And No, I don't even want to give the decant to my man even if he can wear it appropriately. Its that good.

Pride light yellow oil Imp: Posh rose and narcissus Skin: I knew I can't wear narcissus well. But I like the flower, and hoped that magically I may be able to pull it off. Fat hope. The oil rapidly turned into that sharp, choking powder I know. *Groan* However after wearing it for half a day the narcissus dies down and the rose stays. Its a prudish rose, reminds me of those 2 feet tall aristocrat wigs. Snobbish scent.

Kathmandu very pale yellow oil frImp (Thank you!) : Sweet, minty, a bit nutty and herbal. Skin: Started off as a minty rootbeer. I LOVE the smell of rootbeer, so this is a good thing for me. As it dries, the spices and saffron come out, and the rootbeer morphs into cedar. Spicy and smoky. At this point it also reminded me of the sweet and woody bath salts my grandma used to imitate the minerals in hotsprings with. How comforting... then: Saffron started to pick a fight. I'm sad my skin suddenly decided to amp Saffron. I would have bought a bottle otherwise. I still can't bring myself to hate this, so I'm hanging on to the imp. People that like Laudanum may like Kathmandu.

Ouija pale yellow oil frImp (Thank you!): woody, sweet, and lightly aquatic. Skin: While wet it turned very slightly bitter, and the rose stood out most among the florals. The lilac and osmanthus are just enough to temper the rose. This is a warm scent, and its fragrant in a perfumy way. I didn't catch any spice notes, but definitely woody. As it dried, the bitterness went away, and I have a clear, sweet incensy-floral smell left close to my skin. What I think is the lilac came up more, making the florals lighter than the beginning. "Antique" will be the word to describe this. The polished type that gets hawked off in auctions for big prices. I like this, unexpectedly. I don't think I would have thought of ordering it myself, so I'm grateful for the frimp.