Category: Excolo
In the imp: Oh my goodness, this was a beautiful scent. It actually brought tears to my eyes for a moment because it was so lovely. Very sweet, definitely redolant with peach, though I could also smell the warm tones of the musk and, I am assuming, amber around it as well.
Wet: Very sweet and peachy. The fruitiness and sweetness predominated.
Dry: The muskier tones come back, but the peach is definitely not to be undermined, and conquers all. It is *almost* a little cloying.
Verdict: I really like this scent, though I am almost thinking that it would be better as a room scent, as unfortunately I think it tends to get a little sour and cloying on me. I'll be willing to try more of it, though.
What I liked: The peach, and I think I liked the amber.
What I didn't like: The fact that yes, I think musk likes to misbehave a little on me. Though thankfully it's just a little.
Overall, I can live with this scent, I just don't feel like it's *perfect* on me. It's so gorgeous, though, that I can't give up on it. I wonder if it would work in a locket, where it is warmed by me but not in contact with my skin. I'll keep the imp around but hold off on getting a bottle for a while, I think.
Category: Limited Editions -- Samhain 2008 -- Sleepy Hollow Series
Initially, it's a very dry, smokey scent; it doesn't have the sharp tang of cordite that I was expecting -- it's more like the last traces of smoke after a flame has been snuffed or blown out, sans the wax.
This is very fleeting, however; after that, I swear that it smells like Axe Body Spray. LOL Not really my thing.
This does strike me as a very masculine scent, and I'd recommend it, along with Brom Bones, for anyone seeking out a late 'Weenie purchase for their male companions.
Category: Diabolus
In the imp: Strongly sweet and fruity.
Wet: Hellooooo Raspberry! It was incredibly strong and sweet, and, oddly enough made me think of 'generic candle smell'...that scent that most candles seem to have to me. I guess I've hung around a lot of berry-scented candles.
Dry: This was the part that has changed the most. I wore this every day for over a week, just because I *wanted* to try to like this scent, or at least give it a fair shake. Initially, it dried as pure raspberry -- sickly sweet and very 'childish', in that I felt like I was about 15 years too old to be wearing this scent. As the days passed, however, I noticed that there was more of a mingling of orange with the raspberry...that was actually a *lot* more pleasing to me. And today, I've noticed that the scent has grown sweeter still, like faint cherries, but unlike the raspberry, it isn't annoying.
Verdict: This scent just isn't for me. It's certainly not bad, and I would advise anyone who is initially put-off by it to give it a chance over time, particularly if you otherwise enjoy cherry-like scents. But there are other scents that I like a lot better.
I'll quit beating this dead horse (or imp) and put it away; perhaps I will think of someone else who would give it the love it deserves.
What I liked: The orange (when it briefly showed itself).
What I didn't like: The raspberry. Just too sickly-sweet for me.
Also, my skin just seems to eat up fruity scents. Waaah! So sad.
Limited Edition -- Yule 2009 -- Miskatonic Valley Yuletide Faire
I don't get a nutty vibe from this...it mostly smells like spicy baked goods, like cookies or bread. Unfortunately, the sugary side of it is what causes it to smell off to me...there's just a barest hint of toasted plastic to it. And that's a shame, given its subtle throw and very hardy staying power. Ah well.
Category: Mad Tea Party
Now that I am re-visiting it for the review, this smells a lot better than it had initially. I remember it being rather shrill and awful; now it's more muted, more like a watercolor painting done in pastel colors than the garish melange of FRUT! FLOWERS! INSANITY! that I remember.
Even so, something -- possibly the pineapple -- is just not working for me. This one needs to go to a loving home.
Category: Rappacini's Garden
Ohhhhh, yum! I get a lot of coconut from this, though at the beginning, if I lean down close and sniff my skin, I get the 'dirt' notes -- a musky, loamy sort of smell that is creamy in a way -- like, yes, mushrooms. Incredibly odd, but true. As it dries, the coconut smell takes over for the most part, with just a hint of that creamy 'shroom smell running underneath it. I have to admit that I wondered why people seemed to flip over this, but damn! It's delicious. Definitely on my list of favorites, now!
It has a gentle sort of throw, treating me to wafts of creamy coconut all day long. Yay!
Category -- Rappaccini's Garden
Oh God, this is gorgeous. Beautiful, sweet lily, smooth and velvety. It has a cool darkness without being damp, more an essence of the shaded light that surrounds the flower, rather than the earth it springs from.
If only it projected. It hugs my skin and really does not throw much, and this is disappointing.
(And, unfortunately, the only day that it really seems to amp -- is the day right before my period. I can't really justify wanting a bottle of something with such a...limited window of usefulness. )
Category: Ars Amatoria
Dammit! I don't detect *any* of these notes in this at all! To me, this is all jasmine, with maybe a barest hint of musk. It's definitely pretty and sensual...but not the OMG yumminess that I was hoping for.
Limited Editions -- Halloween 2009 -- The Literary Vampires
I pretty much just get roasted chestnuts off of this. It's a rich, almost buttery sort of smell -- it's like going over to someone's house after they've been baking all day...all the smells of the various breads, cookies and such mingle together, into one warm, delicious celebration of carbohydrates. It's a very, very intriguing scent, though in my case I'm pretty sure I don't need a bottle of it. If I do ever swap my imp of this, it will be with a bittersweet and reluctant feeling.
Category: Ars Amatoria
Initially, I got lots of syrupy cherry with a hint of cinnamon; subsequent uses brought out the licorice. Now, it's blended (in that very mysterious way that a lot of scents seem to have gotten their shit together a month after I originally tested them) into a nice mix of cherry and anise, with the licorice smell diabolically present and tempting. I was on the fence about getting rid of it, but now that I've read the reviews again, I think I'll hang onto it. :love!: It stays and throws decently.
Limited Edition -- Halloween 2009
Not *exactly* like candy corn to my nose...more like a sugary vanilla. Someone who described it as Karo or corn syrup hit it pretty much on the nose.
Category: Ars Amatoria
This is a beautiful blend that manages to be sweet without been cloying, and a bit on the resinous side. It's a dark-brown sort of scent, melancholy and brooding, and subtly creeps up on you to gently fill your senses with its sweet air of loss. It has decent staying power and throw. Very, very lovely.
Category -- Bewitching Brews
On me this is mainly iris with a sweet, creamy undertone of coconut, though every now and then they trade places in predominance. It's a really light scent on me that seems to fade all too quickly.
On me it smells like musky sandalwood, with a bit of spiciness from the honey. Not really an 'in your face' scent, but it's got some pretty decent staying power.
...which, you know, is kind of nice to have in a phallus. Scent. Phallus scent! Yes.
Category: Limited Editions -- Halloween 2008
This scent is definitely as advertised: leather and musk. The 'leather' aspect evokes brand-new, shiny, supple, oiled leather; it's like walking into a Wilsons showroom (or any other store that specializes in leather coats and goods). The musk is a pure, clean skin-musk that is verrrrrrry delicious; it smells just like fresh, clean man-skin. The combination makes it a pretty damned intriguing scent. I don't need a bottle, but I'm definitely keeping my imp, and I'd recommend wearing this to anyone who wants a highly-interested woman or three to follow them home.
Vanilla with sweet palm date, with the oakmoss and ginger giving it sort of a warm undercurrent. If this would have had any throw at all, it would totally have been on my MUST BUY NAO list. However, it is really, really lovely, and those who prefer to keep their perfumey pleasures all to themselves, to be sniffed discreetly from their wrist throughout the day, are really in for a treat with this one.
Category: Picnic in Arkham
In the imp: HELLO I WILL BE YOUR CARAMEL SMELL FOR THE DAY
Wet: Still very strongly of caramel, mixed with chocolate...it was almost too overpowering, making me feel as if I had glutted myself on forbidden Halloween candy and eaten myself sick.
Dry: It morphs from the crazy 'wtf?'-inducing candy smell to something...else. I'm wanting to say 'musky', but I don't think that's the right word. Yet it doesn't smell like straight incense, or straight florals. To accurately describe it eludes me...but this is not to say that it is unpleasant, now. In fact, it's a really lovely odor.
Personally, I realized that the candy-like smell actually smelt a lot like the very dregs of burnt-out incense...I am wanting to say myrrh, simply because that's what I've burnt in my house before, and the 'memory' of smell that I have is from that. (And wouldn't myrrh be appropriate, in this case?) Once I realized this, I saw the perfume from an entirely different perspective -- that of smelling an area where a ritual took place, long after the fact, with just enough sweet, seductive malevolence to draw one's attention and keep it.
Verdict: It's a very interesting scent, which I find works on several different levels (especially since the obnoxious caramelness has toned down quite a bit in subsequent days of testing). I don't know if it demands bottle status in my collection, but the imp is definitely worth hanging on to.
What I liked: The caramel was okay, once it calmed the hell down. I like the ultimate end result. It seemed to have a little more throw than what I've been wearing lately, which was nice.
What I didn't like: Getting to that beautiful end result is a bit uncomfortable.
I will simply have to compare this to other 'incense' scents to see if I like anything better. It's not bad by any means, it just may be one of those scents that I'd only wear once in a while.
Category -- Limited Editions -- Yule 2008 -- BPTP Yule Inquisition
Sirensea sent me a sniffie of this (phew, say that five times fast), and I'm very glad to have been able to smell this! It's a very rich coffee that to me has tones of hazelnut, or amaretto. I don't really get a boozy vibe from it. There wasn't enough to test on my skin, so I'm not sure how my chemistry would have interacted with it. I almost get the impression that it might have turned sort of sour after a while, like coffee breath. But as a little sniffie every now and then, it's very fun.
Darn...I really wanted this one to work, since it sounded so delicious. Unfortunately, all I get is toasted pancake syrup. BPAL made me a cookie...but they burneded it.
Category: Bewitching Brews
It was hard to review this one, simply because I'm not sure how to describe what I was smelling. Ah well, here goes.
In the imp: I am wanting to say it was more floral than anything else, though there was a certain...solidity to it. An edge. A razor-thin one, however, as the scent was not strident in any way.
Wet: Still floral, getting a lighter quality to it. It's hard to really, truly catch a whiff of it...it's as if the scent rises just short of my nose, and then darts off to parts unknown, leaving only a ghost of itself for me. I told you this review was hard!
Dry: It gets very faint, fairly quickly -- a couple of hours after application, it's barely detectable. It did leave behind a faint, woody scent, almost like cedar.
Verdict: I'm afraid this doesn't do anything for me; I'll keep an eye out for a loving home for it.
What I liked: It was a pretty scent, if a mystifying one.
What I didn't like: It had no throw, no lasting power...I want to reek of smelly goodness, gosh darn it! I have no idea what notes might have been in it, so I couldn't tell you anything else specific.
Limited Edition -- Yule 2009
This is a really gorgeous, creamy, fruity scent. Utterly laden with pink and orange goodness; I get a lot of images of a sunlit room redolent with the smell of flowers and a freshly-ordered fruit basket. So very yummy! It has a little bit of throw, and lasts quite a while even under the rigors of things like washing one's hands during cooking and such. Now I'm wishing that finances had allowed a bottle of this.
My very first BPAL order came today! I brought in the mail just a few minutes ago. I was excited, but made myself linger over the box, because I love to do so when opening any kind of present.
I had ordered six imps: Absinthe, Aeval, Aglaea, Agnes Nutter, Aizen-Myoo, and Akuma. (Yes, I meant to do that.) Agnes is not available as an imp, as I found out soon after I had placed the order, but whoever had packed my box had kindly substituted Al-Azif for it instead. Hee! Thanks for understanding my wacky system, whoever you are!
I received 3 frimps as well: Fruitcake (I have heard much talk of this scent), Tushnamatay, and Wrath. I love how Wrath is so cutely furious inside its vial, bright cherry red compared to the others.
Mmm, and the very sweet, faint scent that caressed the packing materials, as if to reassure me that these were not going to be like any perfume I had yet smelled. Lovely...
Thank you, oh BPAL dieties. I can't wait to embark on my explorations...what a wonderful way to celebrate the Solstice...
Category -- Rappaccini's Garden
I wasn't hoping for much from this one, but was pleasantly surprised. This really does smell like rich, juicy red berries, with maybe a teensy splash of wine. Unfortunately, it doesn't have all that much throw or longevity on me; otherwise it'd be a keeper.
Go ahead and try this if you normally don't like lotus. I think you'll enjoy it for a change.
Category: Bewitching Brews -- The Conjure Bag
Why do you want me to come to you? Because you just cleaned and disinfected the room? That's sort of what it smells like. Oh, okay, well, there is something that smells pretty nice, here...jasmine, maybe, or a lily. It's pretty enough, I suppose, but as far as being amorous, let alone sexually commanding...I just don't get it. Fire Of Love fills that niche for me.
