Indefatigable

In the vial: hot, cinnamon and clove, like a pie-spice potpourri... but with something darker that I can't quite identify. Maybe it's more cloves than would ever be in a pie. Wet on me: cinnamon and PEPPER. Black pepper, that's what that dark note was. Or something more animalistic... like patchouli? If it's patchouli it's very, very subtle. I think it might just be pepper. Drying down: the cinnamon is fading back a bit and letting the peppery sex smell come more to the front. There might be some kind of wood in there as well. It was vaguely foody or candle-store-y at the beginning, but that's definitely not the sensation I'm getting from it now. *fans self* Dry (~ 15-20 min): pepper and wood; cinnamon is just hovering around in the background. The throw is not very far, but it's perfect for something to be smelled only by me and the person I'm snuggling. Whatever these oils are, they work on my skin, they don't irritate, and they are sexy as hell.

In the vial: very strong floral -- but like real flowers, not fakey. Wet on me: hot summer night with garden in full bloom. Green plant smell as well as blooms. Drying: going a bit sweeter, but that summery greenness is still there. I'm not sure I'd buy this again because I'm doubting my ability to wear heavy floral notes, but I do like the scent in general. Maybe in a locket or something.

In the vial: mmm, peony. Darker and cooler than a peony out in a summer garden. Wet on me: Powdery. Man, I hope it isn't rose that's going all powdery on me. That would suck. I can smell the rose a little bit. Drydown: I think the rose is fading, and it's going back to uninteresting powder. I'd love to be able to use this as a room scent or something, because it smells so good in the vial, but it just doesn't work on my skin.

In the vial: wet pomegranate, with some flowers making it heavier. On me: augh, baby powder right away. This is a bit distressing, it smells like that horrid perfumed stationery from the dollar store. I'm not sure which note is doing that, because I can tell there are also some nice flowers back there somewhere. I'll try this again sometime. It's stuck in baby powder mode, and it's making me cough a bit. Something in there is really not working. Meh, I wanted to like this one.

You could try whatever kind of lotion or soap you use to remove makeup. I have Philosophy's all-in-one Purity cleanser, and I think it took the remnants of this morning's Yerevan test off my wrists. I can smell something but it might be the cleanser itself. I'll give it a little while and then see if the scent is really gone.

In the vial: indeterminate flowers, musk, and sweet fruit in equal proportions. On me: sweet, heady musk. There are still flowers in the background, but the musk is very dominant. The fruit is gone completely. Bummer. Drydown: the musk is getting sweeter and maybe a touch powdery. Still pleasant enough. Fortunately musk is nice on me, but I was looking forward to all the different notes in the description, and all I'm getting is musk. EDIT: three hours later... it's still just musk. It's not powdery and doesn't tickle my nose -- it's a warm, sensual musk snuggle. But I wish those other notes had been stronger. I think my skin likes musk too much.

In the vial: vaguely peachy, mostly a sort of undefinable floral sweetness. On me: soft apricot/peach with some flowers. As it dries, I think I'm getting more of the musk and less of the flowers, but the apricot is still there. This is really lovely. I love peachy scents, and this has enough apricot to keep me happy. The other notes don't overpower the apricot, but they give it a depth that keeps it from being little-girly. This is the grown-up version of the single-note peach I wore as a teenager. EDIT: as it dries the apricot really fades and the musk comes out. And I think it won't last long overall.

Rice pudding would be a neat scent. You could also have Kheer (Indian rice pudding) if it had cardamom and almond/pistachio notes.

Clove is supposed to be a boy magnet too. I remember reading that study that mentioned pumpkin... but I think it was pumpkin pie, not just the big orange squash-relative itself. The spices in a pumpkin pie are cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice... and I think I've heard independently of cloves and cinnamon having aphrodisiac properties. For myself, I'm looking for the ultimate peach. I've noticed a few BPAL blends that have a bit of peach, but it never seems to be described as a primary note. My favourite scent to wear up until now has been an old bottle of Fuzzy Peach eau de toilette from the Body Shop. It's just pure, single-note peach. I'd love to find something that has a lot of peach but also other things to make it more complex. I'm still a BPAL virgin. I've ordered some stuff but it isn't here yet. I think a couple of the imps I'm getting have pear (like Titania) and plum (can't remember which, might have been Bordello).

Other related scent keywords could be 'sambuca' and 'ouzo', although I don't know if they're in any BPAL stuff. They're both pure anise/liquorice liqueurs (the former is Italian, the latter Greek).