Reaver

Three of my favourite notes, and one that's not so favoured. Thankfully, the currants are kicked to the back by the moss. It's bright and watery, the violets are sweet and... BRUISED! How DOES he do that? It's a very green scent but the violets temper it without becoming too floral. Violets are not often in the foreground of fragrances on me, but this one is different.

The patchouli is sweet in this blend. Not too violent on me, but still obvious. I wouldn't recommend it unless you love, or at least like patchouli.

I can't think of anything too similar to this that I've tested before. Usually violets are accompanied by something ick-floral or altogether different so I'm so glad I got this bottle. Impulse buying FTW!

Conclusion - All year interesting green joy.

9/10. The violets still fade back. It's probably me.

Bright, light, pleasant. The honey makes it a little sickly, but fades nicely. It might be my imagination, but it stings a little? I put a LOT on, and can barely smell it. It clings REALLY close to my skin.

A little like White Rabbit without the ginger on me. Less grassy, more medicinal. I like it. A little blander than my usual taste, but this is sweet and light. Summery, if you will.

Dried, this morphs quite a bit. The tea becomes more promenant, and it loses its sweetness a touch. Becomes more evolved, more grown up and slightly less feminine. This was girly-unisex to start with in my opinion, now is straight up he-she.

Conclusion - The honey made me shy away, but i'm glad I just bit the bullet and bought the imp.

8/10, keeper.

ETA - Agree with the liquorice comment above. THIS IS WHY I LIKE IT SO MUCH!!!

Hello, and welcome to the world of GC Loves Philosophy. It's so similar! Stimulating Sassafras Strengthener is BRIGHTER somehow. More summery. Loves Philosophy is sweeter.

Vanilla with a green edge. Not herbal really, but bright and fresh. I was expecting foodie, but it's not. It's quite remarkable how many things it reminds me of, but nothing I can quite place. I have no idea what root beer is, so I can't say anything about that comparison but it's ice creamy and lickable.

Conclusion - A bottle to replace Loves Philosophy, but happy with my imp until then.

8/10

BRIGHT BRIGHT peppery poppy.

I hate honey, and can detect it from 20 yards and I can't smell it in this.

The berries aren't quite ripe.

It's a creepy floral. Slippery, indeed.

It's strong and violent and smells VERY fresh and bright and GREEEEEN. I expected it to be sweeter but the bitterness of the poppies and fruit isn't tempered by the honey. Good job the honey IS in there. It could be SO bitter. (OH my, you won't hear me say THAT often!)

Conclusion: Keeping the imp. If it wasn't in this range, and had this name, it would be OUTTA HERE.

3/10 Could have been so much nicer, but just not for me.

MELONS!

Wet juicy melons. Bright honeydew melons and some lychee.

The fruit floats on top of the resin base when dried and my skin amps up the pine, making this terrifically grounded with a fruity blast at the first moment of a sniff.

The dragons blood is the only thing left after about an hour (which is no bad thing for me, but I have plenty of oils that do that already!) but I can't smell it at all for a long while. It's light and barely noticable, so don't flee from this blend because of it. I apply mine after the first few wears OVER a dot of pure Dragons Blood, just to boost it a bit. It works.

This is summer in a bottle. Bright, wake-me-up melon, a bouncy fruit throw and a calming, cool base.

Conclusion: After being hesitant, I'll be keeping this bottle. The Dragons Blood boost makes it perfect for me.

8/10. In my top 5 summer scents!

ETA: Just saw that my Death-Note, Narcissus, is in here. Fellow narcissus fearers please be aware that I can wear this without smelling like I'm rotting. Narcissus behaves nicely and I can't even tell it's there at all.

One of my bottles of King Of Hearts is missing its cherries. It's still yummy though.

Cakes. Bitter cakes. Bitter burnt cakes. With extra butter. Being thrown at my nose. Slightly alcoholic, slightly DISGUSTING.

It's like the Home Ec. teacher baked pastries in the Science lab.

Eaugh.

Conclusion: I thought I was going to like this from the Imp. But, alas. Evil honey attacks again!

1/10. SWAP!

Another boring floraly citrus. This time with jasmine. Whoop.

Why, every time I grab out two imps to road-test, do I pull out at LEAST one boring fruit-tinged floral? I've come to the conclusion it's because I've found the ONE that works on me (Schroedingers Cat) and now they all want the attention that one gets. But they shan't get it. Ever.

This one is faint, and smells quite grape-fruity. Definitly jasmine. I don't get any lavender or blossom or herbs. Just a fairly simple grapefruit and jasmine.

Conclusion: Into the 'swap' box.

2/10 (Blah-froral)

I regretted putting this on my skin just as I did. I didn't read the scent description, ignored the sweet tinge of the imp and went ahead anyway. HONEY! Noooooo!

Honey, milk and fig. It's sweet, gentle and STRONG. THIS is the one that's been making my entire imp-box smell like honey.

I find this to be quite similar to Alice. The honey has the same sort of temper on me - the one that gives me a headache and makes me quite ill. This is a shame because the fig is quite nice and this blend is one that I could love. I shall hang onto it with the hopes that this honey thing is just a phase, but I shan't hold my breath.

Conclusion: Into the 'Wear this at some point in the next month to ensure it's being kept' box.

5/10 (Doom-honey)

Bizarrely nice for something that smells like candles, chewing gum and latex condoms.

Schroedingers Cat!

*does a victory dance*

Pineapple toffee turnover, from wet to faded, all the way through.

I HATE it but I'm keeping it because I've got an Alice OBSESSION, and it looks cute next to 'Eat Me', which is far, FAR superior. And doesn't smell slightly of wee.

Dragons Milk

I really want to see this through to the dry stage to see what it’s REALLY made off, but the cinnamon vomit smell is a little overpowering. I daren’t sniff it for about ten minutes. The throw from my wrist during this time is horrifically sweet with a bitter bite to the edges of it. Sickly floral.

I’ve just read the notes. It’s honey. I hate honey. I hate hate HATE honey. Oh, WHY did I put this on my wrist?!

*headdesk*

I can see WHY this might be popular. It’s vanilla-y and VERY honey-y(?) but as much as I want to like the smell of honey (because it’s SO good as an ingredient in things... but savory things.) I just can’t get past they cloying death.

Conclusion: Not for me. But I WANT to like it...

4/10

Nightgaunt and Suspiro?

off the top of my head... :S

Just need to find something with the base notes...

Incensey herbal = Eshe, A Vision of Life in Death from the Carnival.

It's pretty frackin delicious.

Has anyone else noticed that Antique Lace is similar to Vanilla Fields?

 

Years ago, I wore Karl Lagerfeld's Sun Moon Stars and Coty's Exclamation pretty much exclusively. I was wondering if anyone knows of any BPAL equivalents?

 

ETA: The notes

 

Sun Moon Stars

fruit, oriental florals, orange blossom, amber, musk

 

Exclamation

amazon lily, orangeflower, jasmine, bergamot, musk, patchouli, amber

Strangely, I've been poring the net for Sun, Moon and Stars information today.

All I can say is that I'm going to layer Hanami with Schrodingers Cat when they arrive. I have Schrodingers Cat, and it's the right level of fruity. Hanami will hopefully add the florals. Thinking of a little bit of Fautus underneath it all, but I only ever got fruity floral joy from Sun, Moon and Stars.

Is a shame it's not in shops anymore, but you can still get it on the interweb!

*dances*

Just checking in here, to put down my oh-my-gods-thank-you-guys.

Black Annis? Awesome.

Kabuki?!?! Oh my word. I think I've found it. The PERFECT aniseed scent. I rave about King Of Hearts quite a bit, and this has the cherries from that, with liquorice. And it's like cough syrup.

Also... thanks to Indefatigable, I've now tried Sambuca. It's awesome. Nearly as awesome as reeking of liquorice. But not quite. Raspberry sambuca and lemonade. *drools*

So... for those looking for Anise? I recommend Kabuki. Surrounded by glitter, in flashing neons.

Phobos

Diabolus

Far too astringent lemon to be of any pleasure to my discerning nasal passages. Nose-rape with bathroom cleaners. Off to my male scent-opposite.

Conclusion: Don’t have any qualms about passing this one along.

1/10. Wash it off now! Oh no, don’t worry... It’s already faded.

Cathode

Bewitching Brews

Light, almost cucumberish, still managing to be quite masculine. Looking at the notes, I put the freshness down to the mint. It’s tangy and very bright, but not sickly cake-mint, which is sometimes far too strong in some blends. The ambergris highlights this scent masterfully, and it makes it quite complex but still light and fun to wear. Most definitly a summer scent. I dug this out to try for a steampunk scientist to wear at my LRP games, and it suits perfectly. I almost get the Frankenstein “It’s ALIVE!” feel.

Conclusion: Electricity shot through water, good intentions hiding a rotting underbelly. More please!

9/10. What ‘Herbert West’ should have been.

ETA: I love how, without reading through the pages of reviews before throwing this one out there, I managed to pin it down to Frankenstein, and 'windbourne' 2 posts above did so too. Strange planet, this one.

Maiden

Ars Amatoria

I used to go to a lot of craft fairs, and this is the generic smell of craft fairs. Slightly woody pot pourri and a hundred women all wearing the same Rose essential oil. It’s like ‘Alice’ without the interest. This scent belongs in the Neil Gaiman section. It embodies Victoria. All those promises, but she just turns out to be just a diluted version of all your hopes. The girl that everyone loves until the discover there’s a whole new world out there to explore.

Conclusion: It’s nostalgic, but useless for someone that wants to explore the world.

3/10. It’s pretty enough, I suppose.

Suspiro

Ars Amatoria

Lilies and ‘Charlie Sunshine’! An absolutly beautiful, sunny, summer scent. Light and playful, childish without a hint of ever wanting to grow up. That endless summer before you hit puberty and want to act like a tramp. After that summer, this is the scent you’d use to trick your dads friend into thinking you’re still that innocent schoolgirl. It’s so unassuming, you can morph it into anything. Act innocent, and it’s your greatest friend. Want to have a summer fling? This is your greatest ally.

Conclusion: Maybe lilies aren’t that innocent after all.

8/10. Oh my... I actually like a floral scent!

The Temptation

Ars Amatoria

A while ago, I went to France. For once, further into the country than just Calais to pick up cheap bottles of Jaegermeister. This blend reminds me of that holiday. Walks in the country through the white flowers and light grasses, eating ridiculously fresh peaches from the local town market and getting sticky peach-goop all down my front. It’s slightly more fragrant than peaches, pulling me more towards peach chupa chups lollies. Peaches and cream. Sweet, sugary and floral. Clean and fresh. Innocent and girly.

Conclusion: While it doesn’t suit me at ALL, it’s a really excellent blend, and beautiful.

7/10. I hope I can find someone to give this imp to that will love this honest, trusting oil like it deserves.

Vixen

Ars Amatoria

Oh my. A subtle booziness floods this scent out while it is wet, the patchouli only getting a slight look-in. Vixen indeed. The ginger is foxy, the slight floral of the blossoms managing to ground this heady mix quite evenly. The ginger means it packs a punch. Dry, this morphs into a sweet, gingery floral. Very weak, but lingers for hours. She might be a vixen, but when she’s done raping your nose with ginger, she likes to make english muffins and earl grey tea. And she alphabetises by author.

Conclusion: Oh why didn’t it stay in the nose-raping wet stage?

4/10.

Mata Hari

I got convinced by reviews of this scents being deliciously coffee-tinted, sticky but still light. All I get is roses. I LIKE roses, but roses WITH something. Roses with coffee would have been nice. It doesn’t have any personality, is light with no throw to speak of but kind of lingers wetly instead of morphing as most BPAL scents do. After a while, a vanilla scent is behind the roses, but you have to concentrate to find it, and fight through the strong sickly roses that refuse to fade to allow you to get to the vanilla. By the time they have faded, the vanilla is gone.

Conclusion: A bit boring, to be frank.

5/10. It’s a nice light rose scent. But not half as good as other rose blends like King of Hearts.

Hunger

Ars Amatoria

Right, it’s official. I’ve found a note that my skin hates. It’s taken about 30 different blends tried to find ONE. Finally, I can ignore a group of blends. I can pretend that I’ve got a rigourous set of rules when it comes to picking new oils.

Sheer, unadulterated carnal lust? No. Just burning. The vanilla note is pleasant under the burnt flowers but I get none of the orange blossoms, unless they’re burnt out too.

So... a burnt down fudge factory. Not a keeper.

Conclusion: Bye bye, Hunger. I won’t miss you.

1/10.