Magpie

I wrote a review of this yesterday but like a silly I deleted it by accident! My conclusions were that it starts out with the melon dominating and then gets more aquatic, reminding me of Body Shop 'sea' scented things without the bitterness underneath. It had a strong throw, which I didn't expect, and lasted for several hours at a fairly high strength. It didn't morph much once on me and my skin chemistry didn't do crazy weird things to it!

In imp Very sweet, with an almondy scent that isn't too obvious and the wine-and-honey scent from Athens, with its bite. Also, spices and florals, but over all this is a very foody scent. On, wet The nutty smell comes out more and it reminds me a bit of shea butter. There's a bit of spice still, but not much. The scents mix and change prominence quite a lot. Delicious. On, dry Warm, boozy, spicy and sweet, very heady. Indulgent! I really love this. It’s like Hellcat but doesn’t make me smell like I’ve been quaffing before midmorning. The musk means that despite an early strong throw, it stays close rather than giving everyone in the room headaches, but when it was fresh on, my significant other said he really liked it. My weird skin chemistry tried to play havock with this by making one wrist smell like nutty shea butter and the other all spicy, but the whole is so lovely it didn’t matter! It’s lasted for a good few hours now, which included a walk (which usually makes my perfumes go away as I get overheated). I keep catching a scent of it and it doesn’t smell like it’s going anywhere, which is great. Yummy! A new favourite! Hm...looking at the ingredients, I can't see where my idea of almonds or nuts came from. But it remains somewhat - the whole thing smells like delicious cake, but not in too obvious a foody way!

In imp Strong, sweet, spicy and incensey. Quite foody, but with the hyssopy smell of some of the more herbal scents (like Temple Viper and Mr Jacquel). There's a definite fruity undertone. On, wet Cinnamon, fruit, opium (as from something like Doctor Seward) with a bit of a soapy smell. Very distintive, despite having lots of notes I associate with other scents. As it warms up, the notes blend together better but also gets more herbal and medicinal. On, dry Becomes much less strong and the throw gets less wide quite quickly. But still rich and spicy, would be foody if it wasn't more incensey. However, it doesn't morph much after that point and sticks around fairly well.

In bottle Fresh, green, woodsy. A little bit of soil. Very fresh and full of possibilities! It does smell a little bit like furniture polish but not eniugh to distract. On, wet It warms to be quite velvety and fresh. Very nice. Not very like other scents I have, which is refreshing. It smells a little of pine and cedar but doesn't lose that freshness. On, dry It gets a lot warmer and softer, less fresh but still very outdoorsy and herbal. It's no longer so much like fresh, damp vegetation but more like the warm nature smell of an evening walk. It is quite soft and doesn't have much throw, to the extent that I can't smell it passively without smelling my wrists! It doesn't last very long, as far as I've seen. My skin either drinks it up or I've stopped being able to smell it!

In imp: Like pine or eucalyptus, quite sharp and herbal and fresh. Wet on: Soft almond emerges as it warms and the sharpness takes a back seat. It does get a bit soapy but still sweet. Smells like a less harsh coal tar soap. It gets a lot softer and warmer as it dries. Very comforting and calming, like a warm breeze that smells of sun-baked wheatfields and home. Dry: Gets sweeter and dies down a lot, where I would have expected it from the imp to be very overpowering. Actually, it fades to a sweet background scent, all soft and comforting. Very pleasant indeed. Fairly good last, as well.

In imp Strong, old-fashioned slightly cloying scent. It might end up a bit old ladyish if it continues like this - it definitely has the smell of a classic Victorian floral perfume. On wet I can smell wisteria and violets. It smells severe and formal with a distinct soapy edge that will hopefully fade. On the other hand, it isn't your typical lab floral. Dry As it dries, the severeness lessens a bit, though more on one wrist than the other, and some subtler florals come out underneath, like the rose. It is also blending better as it warms up and dries, without so much of single notes standing out. I'm always surprised how this scent starts out and then ends - it never fills me with confidence at the beginning, but by the end it is really nice sophisticated floral.

Ladon In imp: Mmmmmm. Sweet, sweet apples. Fresh and delicious, with a touch of resins underneath. On: Probably even sweeter, but still with a nice depth of scent that means it isn't too sicky. Becomes a little more anchored as it warms. Truly smells like a soft, warm garden on a summer evening. Hyacinth begins to come out. What's nice is that the dragon's blood doesn't come out crazy overpowering - this is wonderfully well blended with complementary scents and the musk stops it from getting too floaty and sweet. Could be a bit too sweet for a lot of people, but I like how rich and warm it is. Drying: As it gets dryer, it loses some of the rich, juicy fruitiness and becomes a bit powdery dragons blood, which is a shame but it's still nice. There's still a freshness and richness to it that is very pleasant indeed and brighter than a lot of other perfumes. Throw: Pretty good, but not over the top. Lasting: Smells good for several hours.

In imp: Woody, floral and almost a bit licorice-like. On: Grows more herbal. Green and still quite woody. There's a breath of flowers underneath. Warming: Ugh, not sure I like how this is developing. It's lost some of the sharpness of the licorice smell (possibly the tea leaf or resins?) but I still can't smell the myrrh, lilac or honey wine. Dry: The woody scent softens and the lilac comes out more. Other than that, it doesn't really morph much. It's certainly nicer than it was initially.

Wet in imp Quite sharp and herbal, surprisingly. An almost piney scent underneath, morphing into sweet tobacco. I guess that might be the black narcissus. Warming up Kind of syrupy, still quite herbal but softer. It gets sweeter and less sharp. Drying Has an odd sort of undertone, almost slightly burnt-smelling. Gloopy and indulgent like opium but also on edge. As the description says, it is very warm and sensual, but it isn't particularly lustful to me. It had a decent last, a mid throw. Pleasant and a bit unusual but not absolutely stand out on me, alas!

Rumpelstilzchen Wet in imp: Vetiver. On wet: Smoke. I can still smell the vetiver distinctly. It's a bit soapy, as I find vetiver always has a slight soapiness to it on me. I can smell the peppercorns coming out more as it warms, and the the myrrh, nutmeg and cardamom. There's very little sweetness here, just smoke and ashes and spice. It's quite harsh on the note but not as harsh as Bengal. On dry: Fades down a little bit so it isn't as powerful, but still sticks around for a good long while. This scent, despite being smoky, seems somehow cold compared to something like Bengal or the Ifrit. Though that might be because it's snowing outside...

Wet, in bottle: Sweet and herbal, slightly foody. Gentle and green, with the creamy blackberry scent in Bewitched but with more spicy undertones. On: Warms to become more vanilla-focused and foody. Gets a little cloying but that passes and it becomes a nice creamy berry scent as time goes on. A lovely warm and comfortable scent with a touch of clean linen and unidentifiable foodiness, but also exotic herbal sweetness. Throw: It's quite soft and close to the skin but it's also strong enough not to just fade into nothingness or powder. I like this a lot but time will tell on how often I feel the need to wear it.

In the imp: Almondy and ambery. A bit foody, a bit cakey. Can't really smell the vanilla or honey but pretty. As it dries: Scratchy and vanilly, a little hollow but overall warm and pleasant. Doesn't seem to have much of a sense of obsession or sex, though. Innocence, sure. Slighty sweet but it's fading into something with more of an edge. Dry: It's gone a little plasticky, but that seems to go awar. Smells mostly of woody, dry golden amber but with a touch of vanilla and honey, and it seems a bit monotonal for a while but then I'll catch a scent of sweetness that reassures me. Throw: It seems to have medium throw. Lasting: Lasts a couple of hours fairly strongly and fades a little after that, but still stays quite pleasant, if a bit powdery. Conclusion: I like it, my partner likes it quite a lot, it's warm and just has an edge that gets under your skin (not literally). Sort of hangs like an atmosphere rather than a perfume, gives an aura of warm sexuality.

In imp: This is a scent I could never work out. Pretty, but like some kind of household cleaner. There's a mossy undertone I hadn't noticed before, like ivy, so it kind of smells like Robin Goodfellow. There's also a lemony zesty freshness that is, as other people say it's acrid or sharp, perhaps with a touch of lime underneath for uber-sharpness. On: Wahh, farmyard. That's weird. Not that it smells like animals or anything, just reminds me of farmyards. Or a Calippo ice lolly. With an undertone of Refreshers sweets. I'm really not sure this is for me. It's very floral but not accessible enough - I like spicey, aquatic or soft florals, but this is a bit sharp for me. I agree with the neroli thing, but it is tempered as it warms and dries by the florals. Over time, a soft rose scent emerges underneath, reminiscent of The Lady of Shalott, but this doesn't have the melancholy fragility that just makes me want to read Keats and moon about like a romantic heroine. 'm not getting forcefulness, surprisingly, but the self-confidence to be otherwordly. There's violet there too, and the way it always goes powdery on me, but the other florals means it isn't monotonal, as violet just tends to end up dominating on me. My boyfriend loves the smell of this, and that's what made me try it. It's pretty on me, but not something that's particularly 'me', like Lucy's Kiss. Over time, it fades a lot. It's sort of still there, but after a couple of hours, it becomes powdery.

In imp: Whoaaaaa sandalwood (or maybe vetiver, judging by the other reviews? Smells like sandalwood to me, but substitute whichever one is correct). Not terribly promising, but it's a nice sandalwood, the same one I think is quite like paper and leather. It's in Aziraphale, so this is like a more one-note Aziraphale. On wet: Still sandalwood. Not as horribly strong as expected, quite light actually. Quite sharp, like sandalwood always is on me. This is warming up to be a kind of creeping round-the-edges scent. It's nice, if it evens out. Not so much the dusty pages of an individual text, this is more like a library - I get tones of wood in there too. Uh...OK...my famously weird skin chemistry is making a appearance. On my left wrist, I have muted sandalwood tones which if I squint and pretend I don't recognise could be book-smell. My right wrist is kind of...acrid? But not in a really awful way, just kind of weird. It evens out as it goes, though. I think it might be the tobacco coming out on my right, but it's a bit nicer now. I actually like this so far. It's very Aziraphale, but also nice. It becomes a velvety sandalwood scent with a bit more oomph to it underneath than plain sandalwood, which is a bit high and ethereal on me. The incense and tobacco really balance this. Overall, it turned into a dusty, soft smell that feels undeniably old and nostalgic, perfect for Aziraphale's bookshop. I'm still a little worried that I might just have hit a fluke good day with it, but the original scent has rounded out and warmed up. I can live with this. It clings close to the skin, but is just kind of there in the background, without intruding. I do worry that my skin is going to swallow it, however, so I'm not sure what the staying power will be like.

In imp: Mmm, sweet chai almondy goodness. Smells a bit like a cake flavoured with cardamom and almonds and...flowers...yeah, that's where the simile ends. But really good and really edible. If this is a place, it's somewhere I want to go. It's like Bengal, which i got at the same time, but less aggressively 'CINNAMON!!' and more soft and delicious. On: Nutmeg...cardamom...a bit of cinnamon...very much getting the 'baked goods' vibe right now and less of the florals. It's like Mama-Ji and Bengal had a baby that's right between the two of them. MMMmmmmmmm. It's quite gentle - I may have slathered a bit too much on because it's so soft. Limited throw, I'd guess, but I'm notoriously bad for judging throw. Hm, I agree with some other reviewers that there may well be some sandalwood in here...I get the kind of flatness I get from sandalwood on me, but the ickiness that sometimes results in blends like Aziraphale and The Buggre Alle This Bible melts into the yummy cardamom. After a while, it is less obsessed with baking and more a lovely soft waft of scent, as on the dry breeze along a desert path. It seems to bruise my nose a little in the way that strong scents, especially those with vetiver and sometimes cinnamon do, so my perceptions of its strength are limited.

Wow, I can't believe I haven't reviewed this already! I got this as a frimp with my very first order of BPAL, and still love it so very much. The poem is one of my favourites, and this scent is (along with Crowley and Mr Jacquel) pretty much precisely 'me'. I wear it when I want to feel inspired and melancholy, because this perfume to me is the most wonderful summation of the Romantic concept of melancholy: bittersweet beauty and sadness. In the imp, this is a staggeringly lovely sweet aquatic, like Water of Notre Dame, but with a bit more kick and personality due to the ginger. It makes me think of deep green river weeds and willows creating a green lagoon, like Monet's painting of the 'Bridge Over a Pond of Water Lilies'. That may just be the semantic link, but that's fine by me. On, it doesn't change much. It does feel less wet and more floral, but in a spicy way. Mmmmm. There is a risk of a slight soapiness on the drydown, especially on my right wrist (yey, uneven skin chemistry!) but I usually find that melds into a lovely muted sweetness. This, for me, has been the ultimate keeper, and will continue to be. This is top of my bottles wishlist for GC scents (the only one I've bought is Crowley, as a present to myself for my 21st, and that only won because I wear it slightly more).

In imp: This almost freezes my nose. Strong and perfumey, spicey and dry. On: Warm and dry, nutmeggy and spicy. This isn't the spicy-breathed breeze of an exotic market but the warm scent of sun-baked sand. Really lovely without being too harsh on the nose, just comforting and kind of sad. It's also quite soapy as it dries, something I hope will disappear in time. The soapy smell does disappear, leaving a delicious burning spicey smell, soft and subtle but still distinctive. It isn't strong, so I'm not sure about throw or staying power, but it makes me feel exotic and confident. I don't get much dragon's blood with this one, which is interesting because in my experience dragon's blood has stuck out in blends (in a good way), but I can definitely get ginger and cloves with a hint of cinnamon.

In imp: A sweet bouquet of florals, not too sickly...in fact, quite fruity. Wait, wait, this smells like a tutti frutti! The old chewy sweets that were orange and pink and were like blackjacks! On: I get the ivy and lily coming out underneath as well now. Nice. However, just getting more and more like a tutti frutti. Not necessarily a bad thing (I actually love the idea of smelling like one of my favourite sweets!) but not something I'd want others to pick up on unless I was trying to smell vaguely Lolita-ish. Very pretty and sweet for Ophelia, though. I always imagined her less lively and far more dreamy/away with the fairies: this to me says Bianca from 'The Taming of the Shrew' or Hermia from 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' than the lovely, tragic heroine I admire from Hamlet. Over time, this is going rather soapier and less fresh. I also suspect that I shouldn't have slathered it...it seems pretty strong. After about half an hour, this fades into a rather nice, elegant womanly scent. A bit more mature than I'd have expected from Ophelia - I would have pegged her as a dreamer with stars in her eyes. The lotus is pleasantly in evidence without being too overpowering, adding freshness to the scent. Not nearly as strong as I'd have expected either, actually a subtle and controlled scent. No candy rose as well, which is a good thing.

I haven't really tried this since I initially got it and was put off by the fact that, though it smelled very nice, it also smelled like I'd been at the drinky for quite some time beforehand, so I'm giving it a go today because I don't have to go out or meet anyone, so I won't worry about being judged. In imp: Sweet, strong, spicy. I can pick out all the notes, most especially the rum. On: Creamy, almost green/cocoa-like. The rum isn't as strong on. Just yummy spicy food scents with a touch of greenery. Reminds me a lot of the version of 13 I have (green label). There's more of an edge of alcohol as it dries. Over time: Oh dear, there's the definite alcoholic scent again. It's actually not as blatent as I'd thought, and overall stil a very nice scent, but I get self-conscious about what people might think of me if I smell like alcohol. I guess it was my bad for getting a scent that had rum and mead listed as ingrdients! It is nice, though. Might wear it for a LARP event I'm going to, where it won't matter if I smell like rum! It certainly is yummy, just makes me self-conscious. Smells a little like hay (something I noticed with Baron Samedi as well). An hour or so later: This reminds me loads of the 13 I own and love (green label) - cocoa-green freshness. Lovely. The alcohol fades and it's just plain nice. Like a more muted version of 13, which is pleasantly surprising. Lovely.

I thought I'd reviewed this already, but apparently not, so here goes. In imp: Sweet, gently fruity, reminds me of blackberries, or possibly blackberry fromage frais as it's almost creamy. Also, fresh, pleasant and green, very like an English hedgerow. Very pretty, but last time I tried this it faded quickly into something I couldn't smell. On: Pretty, faint, green and blackberries. There's still a definite creaminess to it, reminding me of a berry-scented moisturiser I had a while back. It kind of makes me crave berry yoghurts. It doesn't really morph much while drying, but I keep catching whiffs of a lovely fresh sage sort of smell, green rather than sweet. Bewitched does get quite a lot fainter over time, but not so much that I can't smell it and I keep smelling blackberries, so it must work somewhat. Overall, a nice gentle berry perfume which does pretty much exactly what it says on the tin. I shall wear this again.

In imp: Almost unpleasantly sharp, almondy, slightly floral, with a bit of a nail-polishy smell, possibly due to the saffron. There's definitely the fruity/floral scent that's a bit like cherry and a bit like peach as well. On: Less strident, the lotus and amber come out a bit more gently and the almond and saffron fade into the back a little. Bastet becomes sweeter and more sultry. This is actually becoming really lovely, deep and exotic. As it warms up on my skin, it becomes incredibly beautiful, with swelling lotus and the background of spice. Mmmm mmm. This is definitely one I'll wear fairly often, though I have other ones I want bottles of more. It's certainly on the list of 5mls (and it's a pretty long list...) I can definitely see where the 'peach' and 'cherry' comparisons are coming from: it's sweet and swelling with ripeness. Sexy, delicious and luxurious. After a while, it calms down a bit and becomes a drier, more powdery, but still lovely scent, but for a while there it was delicious and juicy, evocative of exotic markets and cool palaces.

In imp: Floral, strong,but not particularly sweet, with a hard edge underneath. Not a light scent. I suspect the amber is what makes it so individual. On: Almost almondey-sweet. Pretty, almost cloying. After about 30 seconds, it begins to become dry and sweet and almost sharp...weirdly, very like hay, though I don't know if that's just a semantic connection. That's on my left wrist. On my right wrist, it has become a sort of soft sweet powdery background scent. It is a lot softer on than in the imp. The amber and rose stick around in the background nicely, blending so the rose isn't too cloying. It smells warm and golden, like sunlight through a window onto the dusty floor of a barn. Fanciful, but I suppose it succeeded! Over time, it drifts into a faint aquatic, with the occasional touch of the original scent poking through. Has quite a throw, as well, despite being so light. I think I preferred the in-between 'hay' moment, but it's still quite pretty.

Ethereal musk, blonde woods, and dusty Bible accord. I thought I'd reviewed this, but apparently not, so here goes... In imp: Flat, resiny wood. For some reason, this scent is the colour white, or possibly the pale tan of cut soft wood. On: Reasonably faint, very gentle and friendly, but sophisticated. Wood-shavings galore, but I don't really get 'booksmell'. However, I have the same reaction to The Buggre Alle This Bible, which just smelled like wood shavings on me, but not as nice as this. Perhaps I just don't get on with the lab's booksmell note? Pretty, not my favouritist scent in the world, but the boy really really likes it on me. I suppose partly I like much darker, fruitier or more floral scents by default. This smells a bit like pleasant, light cologne in a kind of masculine way, but still nice. Certainly it was a rounder and spicier scent than when I've tried it before, so it seems pretty sensitive to changes in my skin chemistry. I've tried it a few times and was never fully satisfied. Some times it's been totally horrible sandalwood with no respite, so this is certainly an improvement. Something to wear when I'm feeling gentile and melancholy, I think. Perhaps when I'm wearing a waistcoat...

In imp: Woody and fragrant, a little smokey. Smells almost like it has vetiver in. I don't know what copal smells like, so that might be it, especially as it's a resin. Some of the woodiness undoubtedly comes from the patchouli. On: I would agree with jj_j that this is rich and earthy rather than golden. It's a bit flat and dry on me, almost like sandalwood or something, but less out there. Resiny in a kind of old way, almost like an old, dusty cedarwood bookshelf. I know it's weird, but that's what this makes me think of - a dusty bookshelf in some forgotten corner of a library. Not that it smells like books, it doesn't, just the shelf! This is really quite faint. Underneath the copal/patchouli resiny scent, there is a hint of a rounder floral, so I suppose the lab succeeded in exactly what they wanted to do! To be honest, I'd associate this more with pride: like the wood of a board room. It's really lovely, mellow and slightly spicy, but not really me. This grows on me over time. Very subtle, but a little too woody for me to wear often.

I can't believe I haven't reviewed this already. I got it ages ago...I think partly it's because I put some of it on a facemask I had to wear for a couple of weeks in the summer and got a little sick of it then, along with Bengal. In imp: Mmm, delicious sweet cakey floral, with a foody hint of spice. This, like Bilquis, is a bit like cake to begin with. On: Oh god, wow, why haven't I worn this in so long? It's amazing, comforting and soft,almost like that lovely clean smell you get with freshly washed sheets that have dried on the line on a beautiful summer's day. A little soapy, but in a quite nice way, if that makes any sense. Again, my unbalanced skin chemistry makes two different scents on my wrists - the left is sweet and soft, exactly the fresh-linen smell I just described. The right is an almost acrid spice, definitely cinnamon and nutmeg, very foody. This is weeeeeeeird. The difference is a little less pronounced as it dries, making a nice overall foody/fresh blend that is incredibly comforting and lovely. I put this on because I'm feeling a bit down, ill and cold (it's snowing) and boy, does it make me feel better. Mmmm mm. Quite faint, but deliciously lovely, definitely spicy in a fairly non-aggressive way. Smells a bit like a homely kitchen after delicious sweet things have been cooked, especially with the cold but summery freshness as well. My wrists have evened out after fifteen minutes or so, and now both have a lovely soft, nutmeggy floral that doesn't feel much like a floral at all. A high score, and definitely on the bottle list.