Julilla Regina

The first thing I got out of this was clove. Bright, sweet/sharp clove, and then a darker underscent, almost frankincense'y. It later went powdery, so I suspect amber as the culprit...*sniff*. Before the amber(?) went to powder, this had a nice blend of dark and bright. For someone who can carry amber well, this would be an interesting choice because of the clove element. It's really interesting, and I can't think of anything that this smells like commercially. I've no doubt this will be someone's second skin scent.

Tum smelled a little sweet to me, but not candy sweet. I think it's more like a thick honey smell that comes out of this. I think the other note is white wine, the wine that reminds me of "Glitter". "Glitter" was more candy than this one though. I think it's a smooth, aged honeyed wine scent. Very nice.

This was truly dirty. Dirty with a little incense. Not dirty like stinky boy dirty, but actual honest to goodness dirt. On the ground. I really liked the smell of this, just not on me. It did remain true to bottle on my skin, but I smelled like I just came in from gardening. It's not a bad smell, just not my idea of what smells good on me. If you like rich earth and a slight incense, this is for you.

I have no idea what this smells like! In the vial, it's kind schizo...incensy, but sweet? When I put it on, it was sweet...not candy sweet, but almost like a sugared orange peel sweet? I'm flummoxed by it. I think you'd really have to try this on yourself before you could determine if you'd like it. It wasn't my type of scent, but wow, it's really interesting in a good way.

Mmm, very nice! A soft floral. I don't think the rose is particularly overpowering, but it is noticeable, so if you're a rose hater, don't even go here! The ylangylang is sweeting it, and it ends up very much like a soft, powdery rose'ish floral. I say "rose'ish" just because the rose is light and not as heavy as the rose in Persephone, for instance. Very nice. This is definitely an 'appropriate for all occasions' fragrance.

Oh, dear, I thought I had reviewed this! I love this! There is something about the BPAL blends with violets that rock my world, and this is no exception. It is exactly as you can imagine, violets and roses. It smells wicked and charming at the same time. This is amazing, and I adore it.

On me this smells like a light, white floral with a sliver of dragon's blood. It went on a little incense-y, but was never overpowering. It seems like it would make a good spring or early summer fragrance, because it does have the slightly aquatic tinge to it. If dragon's blood was white, this is what it would smell like. Teeny white flowers with a hint of spice and a gentle sea spray.

Mmmm, I love grapefruit! Especially cut in half and covered with a layer of salt. When I put this on, I craved salty grapefruit so much, I could hardly stand it. It started out sharp grapefruit for about fifteen minutes, then it sinks into a wispy mild floral with a bite of tanginess. This is so delicious, it would make a fantastic summer scent for a lazy day of Sunday shopping and enjoying the sun. This is really awesome. If you're into citrus and mild florals, this is for you.

This is beautiful and quite understated on me. The violet isn't as strong as in other blends, like Marie. It's clean, because of the lavender, I think. It's very White Gloves for Afternoon Tea at the Ladies' Club. It isn't really "me", but it's truly gorgeous. Honestly, I would recommend this scent to a young girl who wanted a signature fragrance, but didn't want to wear some cheap ass drugstore tripe like "Love's Baby Soft" or something. If teenage girls wore this scent, all the boys would worship them! You could probably land almost any job you wanted if you wore this to an interview. It is probably a perfect match for any time you want to feel gorgeous, but the occasion is not necessarily sexy. It's regal in a Princess of the Realm sort of way.

The reviews on this are all over the place, and I just have to marvel again at the Lab's creations. When I first sniffed this, I thought "Oh no! What is that sharp smelly bad thing I smell?" However, I know now how much scents change, so I swiped some on anyway. Now there is not a hint of whatever sharp, green thing I smelled before. It went down into a fruity sweetness for awhile. Then it decided to play with the myrrh and roses and has now turned into a very feminine musky floral. This is another shape shifter. Lab...how do you do it?

When I first applied this, I got something apple-y. A crisp fruit smell. After about half an hour though, it smells like...chrome. I know, I know, how can you tell chrome from steel or brass? But I can, and it really reminds me of shiny, ultra bright chrome. There is a very mild green flavour to it, I think it must be the bamboo. I like it, but I don't think this is particularly me. I think it would be really great for someone who wants a non fussy, bright, mild fruity/floral scent that would be appropriate for day time. And of course it would be perfect for a neo-Geisha to wear during a tea ceremony or while playing shamisan. If you have ideas about crowded, busy, ultra modern Tokyo and it's history, it's all here for ya!

This scent is a little difficult for me to describe. It's sweet, but not candy'ish, and it is green too. Sweet and green, not herby green though, fresh green. Maybe something like what I imagine a meadow in summer might smell like. It has blooming flowers, but not the intense sort of floral that I would imagine in spring. Mellow flowers in a sweet smelling grassy meadow. There is also something that makes me think of fruit, a barely ripe kind of fruit, but for the life of me I can't place it! Very interesting. Quite unique.

This is very true. When I put a scent on in the morning, I'm always disappointed at how I can hardly smell it after ten minutes. When I reapply a little in the afternoon, I can almost choke myself with how strong it is. The only difference I can think of is body heat.

Queen Mab....I love you! If Persephone is dark pink, Queen Mab is the colour of Tanzanite. This really came out on me in spades. Make no mistake, it is a floral, though the sandalwood really does something beautiful with it. Phantom Queen faded in and out on me, and though it is beautiful, I think I prefer Mab. Perhaps my skin just eats much less of this, I don't know. It seems sophisticated but pretty at the same time. Very feminine in the girly way. I want to cuddle with myself, I smell so good...heh. I just keep pulling the neck of my shirt when no one is looking and sniffing my cleavage where I usually put my perfume. Mmmm.

Oh yeah! This is a sophisticated lady into alternative love styles, all right. A librarian by day who puts on a corset and lets 'em know who's boss at night. The first thing I smelled was booze, the wine of course. It didn't take long for this to calm down and really let the leather loose. And then very gently the floral comes peeking out. It's such a well blended fragrance, it doesn't seem to change on me much like other blends have done. It's all there, perfect and smooth and sexy. This would be perfect for a hot date...erm, the kind where you know your partner is going to get lucky. I love it!

A truly fae nectar! Dragon's blood resin and honeyed vanilla. Super lovely. This one had to have some time on my skin though, because when I first put it on, I got whiffs of plastic. Plastic died down, thank goodness! and what was left was a spicy, honeyed vanilla bean. I just reapplied a little, and more of that spicy vanilla is charging at me. It does have a creamy texture as well, I think. This is really an interesting combination of scents, and it works wonderfully. It would be perfect for someone who likes rich vanilla or honey scents.

Oh wow...this is cinnamon, woodsy deliciousness. I love this! When I first put it on, it's almost pure cinnamon, and then it dries down into a rich, woody cinnamon with a deep base that I'm having trouble identifying. The only problem I have with this is that my skin is really eating it up. I have to find a way to make this last longer! Maybe putting it on my clothes rather than my skin would be better. I love this. It's warm and spicy goodness.

Ack, my first post went kabloo....if this repeats, Mod, please delete! This took a long time to calm down on me. At first it was heavily, oddly vodka'ish. After about four hours, it's finally mellowed out. But I think I have weird chemistry where this one is concerned, obviously nobody but me got the booze. These are mellow, golden fruits. They aren't bright and oversweet. They are almost ripe, I think, still a little hard. The musk tamps it down and keeps it from being bubbly and effervescent.

I get the fruit mostly, not so much the sweet pea. All the fruity-ness seems white though, white grapes, white peaches. It really is very beautiful. The only problem I've had with it is that it seems so light on me, so maybe that just means I should get a big bottle so that I can slather to my heart's content!

I just reviewed Dublin, and it was almost pure pine on me. The pine is dominant on everyone, I think, but it does soften out. Give it a try!

On me, this is super steroid pine. I'm usually a big rose buff, but it never quite cleared on me. Ah well, que sera. It would make a fantastic room scent though, I do know that. Once again, I envy the body chemistry of others on this one.

It seems there are schools of thought on "aged" Snake Oil versus new. When I got my imps, I was surprised to see the Snake Oil I was sent had the old string label on it. It was a very dark brown and quite thick. I'm assuming this was an older vintage? It really is thicky vanilly sticky oooiyness. If you dig food scents, this is so for you. It reminded me of my childhood actually, and Lotions and Potions French Vanilla lotion I remember from the '70's. There is something dark in it that keeps it from being too sweet, but I couldn't pick it out. It was luscious, though. It was all about sexy earth mother-ness, with the sweet food smell and the dark mystery something. Very Nigella from that cooking show on BBC. I think she'd wear this. She'd be scantily clad and rolling out cookie dough and licking her fingers. That's Snake Oil.

Oh, yikes! I put this on this morning. It was a freebie from the Lab. I should have read about the oleander first, because I'm allergic to oleander. Oooh, that's why I'm itchy. However, no hives, and I think they would have shown up by now. I am keeping my fingers crossed! The smell is gooood though. It's kind of deep and lightly incense'ish. It does have a creaminess though that makes it really delightful. The floral aspect isn't too overwhelming at all, it seems balanced with the creamy note. When I first smelled the imp, I thought "Witch shop", but that isn't how it smells now that I've put it on. It's making me think of a tough, sexy, older woman who knows what she wants. Creamy magnolia with a hint of incense. Neither note overwhelms the other. This is a very nice blend.

Try each oil at least twice, at different times of your hormonal cycle, too. I noticed that almost everything tends to turn to powder on me when I'm close to my period. Also, it's hard to get all the nuances when you just start opening and sniffing beaucoup imps. For instance, I got 12 yesterday, plus a few freebies and of course I wanted to sniff all of them. But in opening the imps, little bits of perfume get on the fingers and then the next one you smell is like the one before...it's maddening!

Tattoos can be sensitive even after you think they should be all healed. I know if I scratch certain parts of mine, the edges of the outline will raise up like that. You might want to keep scents off the tat from now on. The tat I have that is about 12 years old doesn't do it, but my other, more recent one does. I have no idea why. I think it's just one of those thangs. Could depend on location, colour, how deep the ink went, etc.