Lyrical

In vial: wow! Definitely red fruits and cream. Nice! Wet on skin: red, red, red! Sweet and fruity, yet also perfumy - it doesn't smell of candy. Lovely! Dry on skin: if it was candy, it would be those round cherry drops with white cream in the middle that I remember from childhood. But there's something else there too that I can't quite put my finger on - I wonder if it's a musk? And definitely some vanilla. This is gorgeous stuff!

Rose Red 2007 In vial: *cough* It's a very sharp, green, woody rose - at least in the imp. Wet on skin: it's nothing like conventional rose perfume. It's not even like the BPAL rose notes I've tried. It's tart, almost sour, and greenish, yet with real rose petals underneath. Dry on skin: The sour note recedes and I get a clear image of playing behind my grandad's rose bushes when I was a child. It smells like roses still growing on the bush, then it gradually softens into the smell of my nan's hall cupboard. I don't like this as much as the other BPAL rose blends I've tried.

Samhain 2006 In vial: Vicks VapoRub! This brings back memories of childhood coughs and colds! Ok, since I've got a cold anyway, lets try some Vicks! Wet on skin: hmmm - not quite as much Vicks now. It's dark and dank and medicinal, but with a certain deep warmth to it. Dry on skin: it's softer now, and the Vicks has gone, but it's still very dark - almost molasses. I'm not sure what pumpkin smells like but there is a deep, lurking fruitiness and a touch of spice under the dark, damp leafy soil. Gradually this becomes more like spiced stewed apple, sweetened with dark brown, molasses-rich sugar. Wow - in the course of an hour this scent has changed from something yucky to something marvellous! Samhain 2007 This is almost a different scent entirely! It's much fresher and fruitier, even a bit soapy. If 06 was stewed apple with dark molasses, this is fresh apple cider. Unfortunately it burns and leaves welts - and there are very few BPALs that do that! I hope I'll have better luck with the 2008 version. (edited to include both vintages)

In vial: sweet, creamy and smooth. I can make out honey, almond and fig. Wet on skin: sweet and mild and thick and slightly nutty. Very well blended. I can just make out honey, carnation, almond and fig, but the overall impression is delicate yet subtly rich and smooth. Dry on skin: for a while there I was really regretting not getting a bottle of this while I had the chance. But now it seems a little on the bland and sickly side. I'm not getting the rich, dark, sexy honey I was hoping for. And the apricot and jasmine are coming out now - I don't like apricot. Oh well. If I was to sum this scent up in just one word, it would be "bland". Next morning there was just a pleasant trace of honey. I wish I'd got more honey from this.

In vial: rum, coconut, and quite sour red apples. Wet on skin: coconut .. and crisp apple ... and a touch of sweet booze. Very nice! The coconut fades quickly - now it's sweet toffee. Dry on skin: mmmmmmmmmmmmm this is gorgeous! It's nearly all creamy toffee, with just a smidgeon of juicy apple, and the throw is excellent. I want more!

Midway Resurrected: In vial: very sweet, greasy (!) coconut. Wet on skin: nothing at all! Where did it go? I applied liberally, but all that's there is a hint of sugar and cooking oil! Dry on skin: ah, there it is! Close to the skin it's smooth and buttery, but the throw is sugar plus deep-fat-frying! I'm really glad I got to try this. I don't think I'd want to go around smelling as if I work in the kitchen of a doughnut shop, but it has potential as a comforting room scent. This is the most truly foody scent I've ever sniffed. I don't get apple or caramel, and I don't know what salt water taffy or sugar tart are like, but judging by this scent, I'd bet that funnel cake is extremely greasy! Later, this still smells greasy close to, but wafts of fattening, deep-fried goodies keep reaching my nose. It lasts very well. Might be good for layering!

This was a frimp, so I looked up the description before trying it. The blood sounds a bit iffy, but the rest looks great! In the vial: very rich and dark. I can smell cocoa, booze and yes, blood! Wet on skin: bitter! Dark and powdery and bloody! The throw is sour wine and it's kind of unpleasant! Dry on skin: yuck! The wine note is very sour on me, the cocoa is just dark, bitter powder, and the blood note is salty and off-putting. The cocoa note is the first to disappear. What's left still smells nasty. Definitely not for me!

In the vial: sweet and spicy Wet on skin: mmmmm, I can't pick out any particular notes, but it's sweet and rich. Wait a minute - now there is buttery cinnamon and vanilla. Dry on skin: cinnamon cookie dough, yet still vaguely perfumy! I like this! At times it's almost toffee. It smells very yummy and not too strong, and even my daughter says it's nice (she usually says BPALs are "weird".

In the vial: mmmmm sweet plum, musk and florals. Wet on skin: very sweet and juicy and musky. The colour is palest plummy pink. It's very pretty and has a good throw. Dry on skin: still soft, juicy, not-too-sweet plum and pale musk. This is a blander, younger version of Bathsheba and I'd like to try them side by side. Pretty! This may well be a future bottle purchase.

In the vial: mostly sharp grapefruit. Wet on skin: sharp, fresh grapefruit and lemon verbena, which soon becomes sharp dry grapefruit with a hint of musk and lemon. Dry on skin: This is a paler, cleaner version of Whitechapel, but without the icky note. It's a bit too cold and sharp for everyday use though, and sniffing it gives me little headache twinges. As it dries down, it warms up just a little, but remains dry, sharp citrus. After an hour or so the citrus fades. What's that? Boiled potatoes? *sniffs again* How odd - it's the water potatoes have been boiled in with some herbal lemon. The last note is lime. It's very interesting, but not all that wearable on me. I don't sweeten scents at all, but someone who does might like this better.

In the vial: spicy musk. Wet on skin: surprisingly floral and mild. Where are the Arabian spices? Cool, fresh and pretty! Dry on skin: as it dries the musk comes out and warms it softly. It's perfumy and pretty strong. Still no Arabian spices, just the gentle, pale spice of the carnation and musk and a hint of vanilla. I could definitely wear this! It's a non-floral floral, neither warm nor cool, and almost colourless. It gets cooler and fresher as is dries, and is very clean. Not at all what I expected, but very nice!

In the vial: flowers, sandalwood and musk. Wet on skin: soft and pretty! I applied quite a lot, but it's barely there. Dry on skin: I can smell rose, and a thick, fruity floral that might be black orchid. The sandalwood and musk are providing a barely discernible woody background to the florals, and it's all very subtle, with practically no throw. It's lovely, and it just gets lovelier - really unspeakably, intoxicatingly gorgeous! Shame it's so faint. I think I need a bottle so I can slather it over my whole body from head to toe!

In the vial: spicy, exotic floral. Wet on skin: all the listed notes blend together to create pure golden decadence, light yet rich and sweet ! Dry on skin: still the same. It smells like spicy, syrupy, golden nectar from the most beautiful flowers. I am in love with this scent! ♥

In the vial: cold and white (although it's actually amber-coloured), spicy floral with chilly lemon and white musk. Wet on skin: mostly carnation, which I like. There's some lemony sharpness and a peppery note. It's cool and pale. Dry on skin: the peppery sharpness gradually fades, which is good. It's a colourless spicy carnation, unisex, quite wearable, but nothing special.

In the vial: I could drink this! A mix of rich, dark hot chocolate and coffee. Wet on skin: brownies. No coffee, but something lurking in the background which could be brown sugar. Dry on skin: close to the skin still brownies with that little something sweet and earthy in the background, which reminds me of the note I took to be myrrh in Velvet. Or is it burnt brownies? The throw is quite strong, and smells as though I have a steaming mug of chocolate right next to me or as if I've been baking brownies. My little boy came in and sniffed enthusiastically, honing in on my arm where EDDR was applied. After about an hour the cocoa fades and what's left is the brown sugar/myrrh note. It smells sweet and perfumy but with very little throw. After 4 hours there is hardly anything left, but the very last whiff is of buttery toffee. If you really slather (or spill the bottle) the chocolate smell lasts longer. I don't really like this much. I find the earthy background note very off-putting. I may try it as a room scent, as it's much nicer smelled from a distance. ETA: it works very well indeed on fabric. It lasts for days and softens to something buttery with cinnamon and vanilla and just a hint of hot chocolate.

In the vial: old-fashioned seaside rock! Very peppermint, but not sweet. On the skin: I dabbed it on my temples, where the pain was. It still smells just like seaside rock - a dry yet round and sweet peppermint. It imparts a chilly tingle to the skin, and although the headache lingered, so did the chilly sensation, which was lovely and soothing.

In the vial: like aftershave, but the nice sort of aftershave! Lots of musk and patchouli. Wet on skin: spicy, masculine and sexy. Dry on skin: very strong - I only need a tiny dab, whereas I normally slather. This would be nicer with more white musk and less patchouli. I'm not sure what poppy smells like, but I think it's adding a hint of rich floral without detracting from the masculinity of this scent. It's a very heady, old-fashioned aftershave! From time to time some pure, icy white musk wafts up to my nose, even though it's spicy patchouli and poppy next to the skin. I absolutely adore white musk and had high hopes for Vechernyaya, so I find this somewhat disappointing. Later: This has a lot of throw, and it's weirdly compelling! It's sweeter now, and it reminds me of some aftershave my dad used to wear, which is a real turn off! This isn't what I expected at all, but I think it would be nice on a man. ETA: Vechernyaya becomes rounder and smoother with age.

In the vial: almond essence and toasted coconut. This reminds me of cookies. Wet on skin: wow - that's strong! It's nutty but actually quite sharp. I can't identify any particular note. Dry on skin: this is sweet, delicate, and vaguely foody. I can smell toasted coconut and what I assume must be fig leaf. And it's cool and crisp, almost as if it has chilly white musk in it, although I can't actually smell any musk. I like this a lot! Later: this has a comfortable amount of throw and ends up as buttery coconut and almond cookies. This is the perfect comfort scent!

In the vial: pale, golden green, amber and pear, very sweet and absolutely gorgeous! Wet on skin: sweet and golden tropical fruit. Not a lot of throw, but very lovely indeed! Dry on skin: Amber is always faint on me, and this is no exception. But it's an incredibly beautiful scent and it lasts well. Afterthought: this was a bit too Herbal Essences shampoo-like for me to wear it often. But it ages well - the syrupy fruitiness subsides and leaves sweet, spicy-herbal pale amber after 6 months in the imp.

In the vial: happiness in a bottle! Honestly, I just had to laugh as soon as it hit my nose! It's citrus, but not sharp - it's smooth, sweet, warm, well-rounded citrus. Wet on skin: again I have to smile as soon as I sniff it! It's a rounded fruity smell with patchouli for depth and warmth, and it reminds me of Tweedledum, only richer and more complex (Tweedledum was simple fruity bubble bath). I love this! Dry on skin: the sage coming out now. It's a rich fruity/woody/herbal smell, and the citrus is quite subtle. It's a young rather than sexy scent, despite the musk. It's very unusual, slightly foody, and very pleasant. I may well need a bottle of this! Later: after a few hours it fades to a vaguely fruity, musky sage. Who would have thought that sage would make good perfume? This is going on my bottle list.

I had a rough start with Bathsheba because on first application it smelled almost exactly like Dragon's Heart. I suspect this was because I'd tested too many imps that day, and either my skin or my nose was messed up, because the next day it was all sweet and plummy and really nice! Today I slathered it on and I've been walking around in a heady haze of spicy, musky plum all day. It's real plum, with the bitter, purple skin included and it smells rich, not too sweet, and very grown up but not at all old-ladyish! Simply gorgeous!

In the vial: thick, rich orange and spice. Wet on skin: strong (although that might be because my hand slipped when applying), orangey and spicy. Actually a bit too spicy because it stings like crazy and my arm is pink and blotchy where I applied it! It's a really lovely scent, but is it worth the pain? Dry on skin: still a lovely spicy orange, but too strong for my sensitive skin, so I think I'll have to wash it off and give the imp to a friend who I'm sure will love it. The peach is coming out now to mingle with the cinnamon, clove and orange, and the patchouli is behaving itself and staying in the background along with the incense. Gorgeous scent - shame about the burning!

In the vial: rose. I don't like rose. Wet on skin: mostly very pale rose. I put a fair amount on, but it seems to have almost vanished! Dry on skin: hmmmmm - this is the lightest, sweetest, most delicate rose imaginable. I can't make out any frankincense, but this is definitely wearable! In fact, it is exquisite! It seems I do like rose after all!

I must say I was really looking forward to Whitechapel, because I adore lime and white musk. In the vial: beautiful musk and citrus! Wet on skin: it's got quite a bite and a throw - I can actually taste the smell on my tongue! It's dry and sharp, mostly grapefruit and lime. No sweetness at all. And the colour is a very dark green. Dry on skin: it's still very dry, but warmer and richer now, and rather masculine. But there's a rather odd note now - I don't recognise it but it's bitter and unpleasant - like BO only spicier. I think I need to wash it off now. Next day: I tried it again and the unpleasant note is still there. I think it must be the hideous, soulless core, but actually my brain is telling me cat poo! Whatever it is, it makes what would otherwise be a magnificent scent quite unwearable! I even tried it in the ends of my hair but it was exactly the same there.

In the vial: fruity and alcoholic. Wet on skin: fruity and musky and floral. This is beautiful! Dry on skin: a sweet, light blend of fruit, flowers and musk. And it lasts well. The throw is fruity red wine, but close to the skin you can smell the honey. Definitely bottle-worthy!