coldandsleepy

In the imp: ozone? That's about all I smell. On me, wet: the ozone smell morphs into a nice, snowy cold note. I get damp leaves along with that, so this is living up the imagery quite nicely. On me, dry: as above, with the added addition of what smells like apples to me. Apples? Weird! But appropriate, i think, for a November scent. Throw and duration: good throw, but short (for me) duration. It lasted about 3 hours on me. Overall: this is a pleasant and interesting scent, and i'm glad i tried it. It feels kinda like jumping into a leaf pile in the snow. I think i'll keep it around for now and again (might be refreshing to sniff in the heat of summer) but i won't be actively searching for a full bottle of it.

In the imp: sandalwood and a surprisingly pleasant, almost foody whiff of patchouli. On me, wet: strong sandalwood with very, very faint touches of frankincense and patchouli. On me, dry: all sandalwood all the time. It's a nice, rich sandalwood though, so maybe what i'm smelling is really an incredibly well done blend of the three things. Throw and duration: both about average. Overall: This smells like a lovely single note sandalwood on me, which is not a bad thing; however, i'm a little surprised that it has nothing else to offer me. I'll keep the imp, but i don't see myself needing a bottle of this in the near future.

In the imp: hello? Are you in there? I get a little bit of cinnamon, but nothing else. On me, wet: the tiniest trickle of rose comes out and joins the extremely faint whiff of cinnamon. On me, dry: little more rosy, but no big change. Throw and duration: this had the least throw of any BPAL on me AND the shortest duration. Seriously, it was gone without a trace in less than 2 hours. Overall: Rose usually works really well on me, and i often amp it. So i have no idea why Harlot doesn't seem to even exist on my skin. I'd been worried that this would be really strong on me, but instead... nothing. Sigh. I'll wait a week or two and give it one more try, but it looks like my imp of Harlot is going to the swaps.

In the imp: smells like... candied rosemary? Huh. On me, wet: still smells like candied rosemary. Little less sweet. Unusual, but pleasant. On me, dry: oh, i see. The sweetness before was the rose, which separates itself out a little bit when this is dry. So now i've got a nice, savory rosemary smell mixing with a sweet, light rose. Throw and duration: both average-good. I'm happy to report that i don't seem to be out and out amping anything in this, so the scent's not overwhelmingly strong. Overall: This is really a pleasant surprise. I'd worried that the rosemary would smell medicinal on me, and it really doesn't at all. Smells very pretty, very clean, and kind of playful on me; it's not entirely unlike how Versailles smells on me. I'll definitely be keeping the imp, and I'd consider buying a big bottle some day. (Sooome day. )

In the imp: soap? Almost not there soap. That's weird. On me, wet: ah, i see. The soap was just rose in disguise! Its soapiness has gone away, and now this is a very wispy, pretty rose on me. On me, dry: the night flowers come in, adding a little bit of spice around the edges of the smell. Moon Rose smells really solitary to me at this point-- it's a single white rose in a garden at night, surrounded by other night blooms. Throw and duration: very little throw. I'm a dabber by nature, but i'm sorta tempted to slather this one, it's so gentle on the nose. Not sure on duration yet, but i think this'll be on the low end of normal. We'll see. Overall: Generally i amp rose like it's my business, so i was prepared for this to be a lot stronger than advertised. But, no, my skin's behaving itself beautifully and the result is a scent that's exactly as described. Very ethereal, almost translucent, like the description says. It feels quiet, peaceful, and a little bit lonely to me. It's not at the top of my 5mL wishlist, but we'll see how i feel after a few more tries.

In the imp: smells like extremely strong coffee to me. Not detecting a booze note, nor am i getting any dust yet. Smells pretty good, though. On me, wet: heeey whoooah, woah. Coffee like you wouldn't believe. This reminds me of when i was in high school and i used to drink a pot of black coffee every morning. Mmm. I'm getting a very small touch of the boozy/sweet note here, but fortunately i don't smell like Bailey's. The dust of the books is coming in quickly, and this currently smells exactly like what i thought Misk U would smell like. On me, dry: to my mild dismay, the coffee really tones down on me fast during drydown, so i'm left mainly with a dusty smell. It does smell exactly like old, dusty books to me, which is pretty cool. There is still a subtle air of coffee going on here, too, it's just very faint. Throw and duration: not sure about throw, no one was around to ask. I could smell myself fine, though. Duration's on the very good end-- i applied at 10 p.m. yesterday and could still smell it at 10 a.m. this morning. (I'm beginning to wonder if maybe i have superpores or something, since almost everything lasts forever on me.) Overall: delightful! I'm glad it didn't stay all coffee all the time, and i think that it smells exactly as described on me. I'll consider buying a full bottle once my imp is gone, as this is an awesome scent to help me through the long, late nights of grad school work.

In the bottle: cinnamon and citrus to my nose. Spicy, pleasant, not quite what i expected. On me, wet: whatever the cinnamon scent was, it's gone now. I'm getting a lot of strong verbena and biting citrus rind. There's also a bit of sandalwood down there, and something i'm pretty sure is ozone. I have to stop myself from huffing my wrist in public. This smells absolutely awesome. On me, dry: softens up a bit. The verbena slowly falls out over the course of a few hours, and i'm left with a more sandalwood and pine (not sure what that's from) scent. The ozone is still heavy. There's something sort of soft that's crept in here, maybe that's the lunar oils? The combination of scents is really interesting, and nothing like any other scents i have. Throw and duration: both very good. Overall: I love this smell, but i don't know if i should keep wearing it. When i sniff this, it makes my lungs burn. No sinus irritation, no skin irriation, no headache, no coughing or dificulty breathing... but my lungs burn. Weird, no? Anyway, i'll have to try it again and see if the same thing happens. Really hope it doesn't, because this scent is pretty great on me. It really does evoke a desolate, burnt out field for me.

I've got half of an '06 decant of this, which i picked up in order to help me determine whether or not to buy a bottle of the '08. Because i was so excited about trying this, i sniffed from the imp last night even though i couldn't test it on myself then (still waiting for Velvet to wear off). Oh my! I was so thrilled by that first sniff that i applied a dab of this as soon as i woke up this morning. Anyway, the review... In the imp: caramel! Deeeelicious. A little strong, but really yummy. On me, wet: still caramel! Not quite as sweet or strong, which is probably for the best. The opium is really coming out now along with a bit of the tobacco. On me, dry: yes! This is not going horribly awry on me! Still delicious buttery caramel and soft opium. The tobacco seems to have peaced out, but you know what's popped up here? The coconut! Just a breath of it, nothing that overwhelms the scent or anything. It's really, really, really beautiful though. Duration: unsure. As i said, i put it on right after waking up... totally forgetting that i was going to show in a few hours. It was still going strong prior to the shower, but had disappeared afterwards. Dooooh. Overall: There is definitely a big bottle of this in my future. On me, this is delicious caramel, fluffy opium, and breathy, gentle coconut. Not overwhelming or cloying at all. Just lovely.

In the imp: smells like cocoa. Delicious, but all i'm getting here is chocolate. On me, wet: oh, wow. This is so delicious now. It's unfolded into three distinct parts, cocoa, cream, and sandalwood. The cocoa and the cream are sort of tangled up, and i keep getting a visual of pouring cream into hot chocolate when i close my eyes and sniff. Right now the sandalwood forms a sort of base that's distinctly underneath the cocoa/cream layer. On me, dry: the sandalwood kept growing on me for like an hour. I guess i amp it. (Hey, there are worse things to amp than sandalwood.) Unfortunately, it kinda takes over the scent and the delicious creamy cocoa is almost all gone. However, i still get a hint of the cocoa, and it's still pretty delicious. Throw and duration: throw is decent, not overwhelming, which i'm glad for. Duration's very good; i dabbed it on at about 11 a.m. and it's still going at 6:30 p.m. Overall: This is my first really "foody" scent, and i wasn't sure i'd like it. But it's really awesomely good during the foody part, and i kinda wish it stayed foody on me. If this would stay in the on me, wet phase, i would probably have instantly bought one or more bottles of it. As is, i really like the sandalwood scent it settles into when dry, but i think i want to try some more sandalwood scents before i get a bottle of this one. And i'll definitely be trying more cocoa scents in the future.

This was a frimp from the Lab. Thanks Lab! Imp: not sure what i'm smelling, it's kinda jumbled. Definitely woodsy, but i'm not picking anything specific out. On me, wet: seriously, this smells exactly like Irish Spring soap on me when it's wet. Irish Spring with an extra dose of pine. Also, it feels like it's burning my skin, but no marks are showing up so i'm just going to leave it on for now. On me, dry: wow. Irish Spring is gone, and the woods have arrived. Oddly, this reminds me of something really specific. When i was very little, i lived with my grandparents on what had been a farm. It was largely wooded, and there was this one place where there were pine, fir, holly, and oak trees all in the same spot. This smells like that spot after rain, with all the damp leaves on the trees and the fallen needles underfoot. Awesome. Throw and duration: wa-hooooah, whoa. I think maybe i amp everything in this. A teeny tiny dab with the wand became a scent detectable from several feet away. My husband found it kind of overwhelming and had trouble sitting next to me on the couch because of it. So, um, excellent bordering on dangerous amounts of throw for me. Duration was great, too; i applied around 6 p.m. last night and could still detect the scent at 10 a.m. this morning. Overall: this is one of those heartbreaker scents. I really adore the scent on me dry, but the logistics of the thing just don't work out. It's way, way, way too strong for me to wear out in public, and since my husband doesn't really like it, it's not probably a good at home smell for me either. That's really sad. I'd love to smell this on someone else who doesn't amp it quite so much. Or maybe i could put a bit of it in a carrier oil and wear it that way? Dunno. Guess i'll sit on it a while and think about it.

Well, it seems like i've had a pretty atypical reaction with this, so i hope my review'll cheer up people out there who are fretting about receiving a bottle of Earth Melon '08. Here we go then. In the bottle: Melon, melon, melon. Smells delicious, like really freshly sliced melon at breakfast, but it's close to overwhelming me with its sweetness and melon-ness. On application: Wahoooooooa, woah. Not only was this a melon-o-rama, the melon seemed to go weird on me right away, simultaneously becoming extremely sweet and developing a sour note. (How does that even work?) My husband recoiled in horror at how this smelled on me straight off. We're now calling that scent Psychic Death Melon. At this point, my heart kinda sank and i thought Earth Rat was destined for a new home. But wait! There's more! About 30 minutes after application: suddenly the melon just fell out of this. Like, entirely. It remained as a very, very, very faint sort of... aftersmell. Once the great ominous melon clouds parted, a scent emerged that was almost a single note peony scent. It's really weird, i don't think of peonies as being the most flavorful flowers, but i have a really amazing new appreciation of them. About 30 minutes after that: the peony kept on kickin'. It developed a really nice creamy edge. And guess what note peeked out? PINE! Yesssssss! I tend to amp pine, but that's okay with me because i looooooove it. It's really beautiful with the peony. I even like the melon aftersmell. Throw and duration: throw's not big on this for me, and wasn't even during the Psychic Death Melon phase. I'd be okay with it being a little stronger now, but really, it's pretty pleasant as is. It's been about 2.5 hours and there's no signs of this fading off of me, so duration looks like it'll be fine too. Overall: i'm really happy this didn't stay Melon Fest on me, because while i did think the melon was delicious in the bottle, it wasn't what i was really expecting and it's not really what i want to smell like. The peony scent makes me pretty happy, and i'd love to wear it again; i'd probably be more keen on doing this if i didn't have to go through the weird melon phase first. Keeping my bottle for now... i'll see how i feel about it in a couple of weeks and go from there.

Eternal desire, unquenchable passion: red musk, cocoa absolute, Nepalese amber, red sandalwood, aged patchouli, nicotiana, and blood wine. In the imp: raisins ahoy! I feel a little like i'm being whacked with a raisin stick. On me, wet: hey, there's something other than raisins in here! I'm getting cocoa notes too. The raisins are getting richer, and have sort of morphed into a delicious, sweet port scent. On me, dry: the sandalwood, which i hadn't noticed when this was wet, finally emerges. The other notes mellow out significantly. The raisin/port scent subsides into a nice boozy scent that's sweet but not cloying. I get a waft of cocoa every now and again, and it's quite pleasant. But it's mostly sandalwoody. Throw and duration: my husband can smell it a foot or two away, so decent throw. I've worn it maybe half a dozen times (i keep forgetting to review it promptly after wearing, and don't want to trust my memory) and it's lasted at least 10 hours every time, so i get great duration from it. Overall: fun scent, but not really my bag. For whatever reason, it smells teenager-y to me. (Which i guess makes sense since it's a Shojo Beat smell.) What i find amazing about this scent is that it features two things i hate-- patchouli and musk-- yet i really think it's an extremely pleasant smell. I didn't even know there was patchouli in it until just now. Sheesh. Nice work, lab.

Veil picks me up when i'm sad or worried. It reminds me of an oil blend my mom used to make when i was little, and for whatever reason, that's a really comforting memory. Versailles is also a cheering scent to me, but if i'm too bummed out to start with, it just irritates me.

In the imp: mostly smells sweet-spicy to me. Kinda cinnamon-y. Wet, on me: oh, here come the florals. Really lush, wet smelling flowers. The cinnamon-y smell is lurking, but it's much less intense than it was in the bottle. I also get the smell of old tobacco smoke, though it's mainly hidden under the flowers and spice. Dry, on me: hey, where did my flowers go? Suddenly all i can smell is the tobacco smoke. Smells like someone was smoking here a while ago. Finally, i get a whiff of the rum smell, which adds a nice sweetness to the smoke scent. The dry scent reminds me of lazy naked summer days. Hmm. Throw and duration: good throw (a foot away), good duration (maybe 6 hours). Overall: i like it, it's definitely an evocative and interesting smell. But i don't love it, and it's definitely not the best scent on me.

In the imp: smells like rosewater flavored Turkish delight to me. Almost too sweet for me. Nice citrus notes peeking out here, but they smell secondary to the rose on me. Wet on me: Some of the sweetness goes away when it hits me, which i'm happy for. The rose note is still very strong, but it's sort of a playful rose to my nose. More of roses on a bush in a garden than three dozen roses delivered to your door, if you know what i mean. The citrus is nice and juicy, but not overwhelming. I think i get some orris, but the jasmine is (happily, for me) not coming out of this thing at all. Dry on me: This smells almost edible on me. The only word i can think of to describe the combination of the rose and the citrus is juicy. Deliciously juicy. Very similar to the wet smell. Throw and duration: good throw on this. My husband can smell it about a foot away, but not several feet away. This is one of the longer lasting scents on me. I'm not sure on exact hours, but every time that i've applied it in the morning, i've still been able to smell it the next morning. So... yeah... awesome duration for me. Overall: i really adore this scent. Sweet, playful, kinda flirty, kinda giggly, sophisticated but in a careless way. It's hands down the most consistent BPAL scent i've tried so far: it smells almost identical in the imp, wet, or dry. Neat.

In the imp: very floral. I can smell all of the listed notes except the sandalwood, which i'm just not picking up on. Wet on me: it seems like i amp ylang ylang. That's not a bad thing, mind you; however, i lost a lot of the other floral notes as the ylang ylang took over. What does stand out is the lavender, which i didn't think was that bold in the imp. Still can't smell the sandalwood. Dry on me: the ylang ylang mellows out a bit, but it's still the top note. The lavender is a very solid presence just a layer under the ylang ylang. The lilac has crept back in just a tiny bit and is a nice sort of peripheral scent. Extremely nice combination. Still no sandalwood, but i'm happy all the same. Throw and duration: not a huge throw on this. I'd put it at a little below average for BPAL scents on me. To my dismay, its duration is much shorter than other scents i've tried; however, it still lasts for a good 4 hours or so, so i can't really complain. Overall: Veil seems very clean to me, and a bit aquatic. It doesn't seem particularly "floral" when dry, but that may be because of my mad ylang ylang action. It's a refreshing scent, and sort of uplifting for me. Initially, i bought an imp of it because i'd just gotten engaged and was like, oh, marriage, veils... Veil! And indeed, i did end up wearing it when i got married. It's a more subtle scent, and i wasn't sure i liked it the first time i tried it, but i really love it now and may buy a big bottle when the imp runs dry.

In the imp: i just get spicy, sort of cinnamon-y notes. Can't really detect lilies at all. Still, it smells delicious. Wet on me: Moment of potential BPAL mishap terror: for the first couple of seconds after this hits my skin, it smells, i swear on my life, exactly like baby wipes. Fortunately, this disappears really fast, before this even dries. After the initial scary smell, here come the lilies. The overall scent is still very spicy, but the floral from the lilies is starting to emerge. Dry on me: Mmm. The lilies have turned creamy. I seem to smell a couple of floral notes-- maybe the different types of lilies? -- and they're mixing beautifully with the spicy notes. There's also a faint whiff of dirt, which might be a new part of the spice smell coming out to play. As a whole, it smells bold but very pretty on me; kinda sexy, actually. Throw and duration: my husband can smell it from a few feet away even though i just dabbed very gently with the wand, so it seems to have great throw on me. Lasts a long time (6+ hours, at least) on me. Cool. When i got this as a frimp, i wasn't all that excited, as jar-o-lilies didn't really seem like my sort of thing. But actually, i really like this. Not sure i'll ever buy a bottle, but i'll definitely keep the imp. It's made me more receptive to the idea of lilies.

When i was much younger, my mother was big into making her own incense, and i remember loving to sniff the dragon's blood. I bought an imp of this based on the memory of my love for the smell, even though i could no longer really remember the smell itself. In the imp: wow. This smells so good. I sniffed it and the wonder that is dragon's blood came rushing back to me. Nice, lurking sultry smell minged with pretty florals. I was so, so excited by how this smelled in the imp. On me, wet: for a moment, things were great. Then disaster struck. Something in this (the ylang-ylang, i think-- a great smell, but maybe not one i can do?) rose up and starting screaming a soapy note. Yuuuck. On me, dry: after about twenty minutes, this dried down on me and the soapy note totally disappeared. Phew. What was left was not anywhere near the smell in the imp, but it was pleasant. Powdery, but with a bit more to it. It actually smelled a lot like my mom used to when i was little. I think she wore a poppy perfume then, so that fits. Overall: this smells so good in the imp. I'd like to smell this around my house or on someone else. It's really wasted on me, though. Maybe i'll pass it on to my mom. Also, wanted to add: this was a LONG lasting scent on me. I applied a small wand-dab around 8 p.m. last night and could still smell it, albeit faintly, this morning.

Today i received my first batch of BPAL goodies. This was one of six imp's ears i ordered, and the first i've tried out. In the bottle: smells nice to me. I get a lot of eucalyptus and orange, with just a little pine in the background. On me, wet: the eucalyptus vanishes almost instantly. The orange smell seems to grow-- it's so big and juicy that i momentarily fight the urge to gnaw on my wrist. On me, dry: as quickly as the sweet orange came, it went away. Sadness. What's left is still pleasant, though. Finally, i can smell the pine. It also smells a bit cedar-y now. It's rich and foresty, but not overwhelming. It's been about four hours since i applied it, and i'm pleased to report that the scent is still as strong as it was initially. Overall, i like it a lot, though i'm sad that the orange smell disappeared. It seems to work nicely on me. I'd consider buying a bottle of it.