Argentwolf

In the imp I could tell that there was some sandlewood there, with maybe a hint of something sweet, like the mandarin.

 

Once it gets on me, that sandlewood really amps up. At first there is a sharp, woody tone, but it quickly mellows to something that has sweetness around the edges -- bergamot and orange, it seems.

 

It's a lovely scent, though like all the sandlewood scents before, it doesn't last too long.

Oddly enough, the main scent I got from this was...licorice. Weird!

 

All things considered, however, I did enjoy it; it was soft and delicate on me and had a beguiling femininity to it. It evokes an impish fae quite well in that regard.

Straight out from the imp, it smelled like soap. So, at least I smelled clean, albeit with a sharp touch of lye. And that's the way it stayed, the first few days that I wore it.

 

Today, though, it smelled differently...it actually smelled *good*, and of flowers. (Yes, I tend to persist with scents, even if they don't work right away.) I couldn't really detect any myrrh; I think in the imp I'm mostly smelling ylang ylang and sweet pea. As I put it on, the flowery notes gained a bit of strength, but weren't overpowering in soapiness as they had been before.

 

Dry, I smell sweet pea, and perhaps rose. There *is* a faint bit of soapiness and powder to it, which keeps it from being perfect...but it's definitely an improvement.

 

So, hm, something's definitely going on with my body chemistry. The only notes I've previously experienced have been sweet pea and myrrh, so I'm not sure who the culprit is for the strange, intriguing acrobatics that I'm noticing here.

 

In the end, unfortunately, there was just too much soapiness present to make this one a keeper.

At the very beginning, as I first drew breath to sniff it fresh from the imp, I could detect a faintly-sweet, fruity note.

 

And then...the cedarwood came.

 

The cedar completely dominates this one for me; I cannot smell anything else. And, oddly enough, the sweetly-earthy note that usually defines cedar for me takes on a sharp, high pitch early on in this blend; it reminds me more of pine trees.

 

So, nope...this one just didn't work.

In the imp I could smell musk and a hint of lemon. It was a very elegant mix.

 

As it joined with my body chemistry, the lemon grew a little bit stronger. Unfortunately, it grew faint and wore off really quickly. Just not for me.

I smelled mostly cedar and patchouli in this one, with some other vague incense smokiness going on around the edges.

 

Aureus is golden in the way that a chunk of amber is golden; you get that lovely deep aura of radiant wood and patchouli, dark red-gold and bright orange-gold; and then there are those dark swirls and flecks of smoke and leftover incense embers caught up within it. If you are blessed with skin chemistry that highlights incense and smokiness, I suspect that your senses would be going over and over it, like polishing a smooth stone in your palm.

 

I, alas, am not one of those people. As seems to be the norm with incense, this faded quickly on me, though the cedar stuck around for a bit.

In the imp, it had an almost licorice-like quality to it, with lemondrops mixed in.

 

Wet, it smelled like bubblegum -- fresh, pink, juicy sugary gum.

 

Oddly enough, as it dried, there was a sort of...flowery note to it...or perhaps an herbal one...rather powdery and faint and intriguing, after that straight-up sacchirine candy goodness. Unfortunately, as time went on, it turned plasticky. Very disappointing...

 

Had it stayed in the candy stages, I probably would have liked it a lot more. It does have a soothing quality to it, but quite frankly, *all* the BPAL scents do that for me. I will probably have to reluctantly give up on this one.

Initially, I smelled the myrrh and wine, with perhaps the honey thrown in...it had a very sticky, tart, juicy sap-like quality to it.

 

As it went on, the stickiness of it went away...just becoming myrrh and wine, with perhaps an herbal tint around the edges.

 

I'm thinking that myrrh is going to be one of those hit-and-miss things with me. This time, it was a miss, and I think it was the wine note that did it...the blend had a sourness to it that did not appeal to me. So, nope, not for me.

In the imp, it smelled warm and spicy, like cinnamon and other spices, with a sugary hint to it...as if someone sexy were baking something sweet in my kitchen! (Hey, one of the many ways to my heart is through my stomach...)

 

If only it had remained like that. As it went on, it immediately smelled like red-hots, or Big Red gum. Not really my idea of sexy, now.

 

An hour later, it's gone. Not even a remote trace of it left to sniff.

 

So, no...not for me.

In the imp: Sweet florals with a teensy bit of an edge to it.

 

Wet: When freshly applied, there is a bit of a sharp note to it, more like citrus than pine to my nose. There is a moist aura around it all, as if you're standing near a river and smelling the scent of big bushes laden with flowers nearby.

 

Dry: The sharp note goes away after a while, as does the aquatic undertone, leaving faint traces of flowers. Very pretty.

 

It's not as juicy as Amsterdam, though the floral note, once applied, is similiar...it's sweet, but also grounded, and very fresh and clean-smelling.

I pretty much get patchouli from this, with a bit of lavender around the edges. Unfortunately, it didn't get any more complex than that on me. Will pass it on to someone else who can appreciate it more.

Oh, dear. I *like* this. It's a nice, light floral -- not sweet so much as...natural and a little earthy. It's much like leaning into the buds of a flower that have just opened, that soft velvety odor that you get from a flower that derives beauty more from the shape and color of its petals than from an overwhelming fragrance.

 

That, and it was long-lived in addition to being pretty...so now I'm sad that it got discontinued!

In the imp: Wow. It really does smell like an old person's house. Like...cleanser and very artificial air fresheners trying to cover...something gross.

Eeek.

 

This scent morphs quite a bit. When first applied, the florals are predominant, in an almost sickly-sweet way, though having them in open air on the skin does wonders for the geriatric-home smell. Then, there's pine, trees, woodsy scents...perhaps the moss as well. Definitely a sense of earth and loam and undergrowth there.

 

When dry...it actually smells a lot as if you'd come to a halt on a forest path, and were scenting the trees and ferns around you. I'm not familiar with Eastern US trees, but there's definitely a pine smell like Douglas Fir, cedar, redwoods...that's what it reminds me of.

 

I don't believe it's for me (and it didn't last long on me at any rate), but if you like nature scents perhaps you should give this a try.

In the imp, there is the sweetness of the lavender, spiced around the edges with the prickly sharpness of rosemary.

 

As it goes on, there's still that very sweet tone with the herbal note throughout...I think I can detect the neroli now.

 

As it dries, it gets light and peppery...herbs and perhaps frankincense.

 

While I'm not exactly a huge fan of lavender, it's a nice, soothing, pretty scent, and would make for a great room scent IMHO. Unfortunately it evaporates pretty quickly on me. But if you're a fan of lavender, well, here you go.

In the imp, it smells very strongly of tea and ginger, with some sugar thrown in.

 

As it goes on, a more herbal sort of tone comes through. As it dries, though, I smell the tea/ginger again.

 

It's a lovely smell -- I really like the smell of tea. Unfortunately, this scent is so light and fleeting that it will not work for long on me.

In the imp, it's pretty light and unobtrusive...but once you lift that wand up and expose it to the air, it reaches out and latches onto your senses. It has a very sweet, almost candy-like scent to it, yet there's also an herbal touch to it.

As it goes on, it morphs rather dramatically again. To be quite honest, my first thought as it touched my skin was, "Oh god...it's mummy parts and wet jackal butt." Not exactly the most charming scent...and yet it seemed so appropriate, somehow, to the theme of this particular god...and don't worry, it gets better.

The scent becomes dry -- still pungeant, but there is a sandy sort of air to it. The incense and herbs are quite fragrant and there is the sweetness of the balsam all around the edges. This scent has a pretty healthy throw -- the first day I wore it I may as well have worn a sign that said "HEY, COME MEET ANUBIS!"

As time passes, the scent retains these same qualities, just with gradually-decreasing strength. The sweet tones are at times reminiscent of sacrificial wine, left in a bowl on an altar all day long.

Now, when I say that those rather unflattering components are appropriate, I mean that it really does conjure up funerary rites, an ancient temple, bandages scented with myrrh and packed with spices. It is *very* evocative.

I'm reluctant to set this scent aside, but ultimately I don't think it's for me. I would highly recommend it to any Egyptophiles, however, or to anyone who likes to conjure up a little sweet, dry decay now and then. And I definitely give it kudos for its strength and longevity.

In the imp I can detect incense with a great deal of sweetness to it...the sweet herbs and grasses, perhaps. As it goes on, it gets more of a woodsy tone to it -- the frankencense, perhaps? Over time, as it dries, it turns spicy (and most stereotypically manly) to me.

 

Overall, it's a nice scent...while it does not scream 'HI I'M A DUDE' to me, that's fine with me, as most of the 'mainstream' male scents have a nasty overspiced air to them, while this is a lot more mellow and subtle...and besides, I like wearing it. I'm half-tempted to smear some on the BF and see what effect it might have.

This blend went through an interesting transformation during the period of time that I wore it. The first day, it had this horrible fake vanilla smell. It was awful. But on the days after that, it somehow transformed from that sharp, vile scent to a sweeter, creamier vanilla. As it dries, it gets a powdery air to it. I'm glad I was persistant with it.

 

Vanilla is predominantly what I smell in this. Any florals that are in it are very, very light and dusty.

 

This is such a pretty scent. It seems like something my mom would like, as she likes vanilla, but often ends up with candles and lotions that have that nasty plastic smell to it. So I'll probably keep this imp around just for her.

In the bottle, this blend is thick and sweet and pungeant. Throughout wearing it, I think that the amber, honey, and currant were predominant, as it was a very thick, sweet scent. To be quite honest, it reminds me of peaches or oranges, but that's not a bad thing as far as I'm concerned. When it dries, it gets light and powdery with just the hint of a sweet undertone. It has good throw and staying power...it's lasted all day on me, and I'm treated to a golden whiff of it every now and then out of nowhere.

Verdict: This is another bottle that I'm glad I bought! It actually reminds me a lot of Aglaea, only without the slightly cloying air that that other blend had.This is sweet and sexy and mmmm yum.

In the imp: Patchouli and incense.

 

Wet: I'm thinking I detect mostly sandlewood -- it has a much lighter air to it than I thought it would. This scent never gets heavy or thick, like I'd thought that it would. The other notes are there on the edges and the overall fragrance is very nice.

 

Dry: As it dries, I would swear that it gets a bit of a gritty, smokey tone to it, like gunpowder. It's not bad by any means, though...it rather intrigues me. The scent is never overpowering, but it's pretty tenacious; I could smell it faintly on myself all day.

 

Verdict: I don't really need a bottle of it, but I'm also quite reluctant to get rid of my imp...so I'll hang onto it for a bit. This is another popular scent that I can admire, but not necessarily claim for my own. I'm intensely thankful that the patchouli behaved itself, as I figured if any blend was going to go all militant, obnoxious patchouli on me, this would be it.

In the bottle: It's hard to describe...I'm wanting to say it's an 'herbal' smell at first, because the light, fluffy notes that I would normally associate with florals aren't there. It's a very down-to-earth scent, instead, though as I huff deeper and longer, that sweet note does rise to the surface; I'm assuming that's the gardenia.

 

Wet: This scent has warm tones to it; it speaks to me of a candlelit ritual or gathering, one that centers around radiance and joy, where wreaths of olive leaves and pure white flowers adorn everything. It is verdant without being excessively flowery; all of those thicker, heavier notes blend together and come to me; while I can't pick out olive blossom, honey, lemongrass or patchouli exclusively, I can definitely tell that they're *there*, based on the 'texture' that the scent gives off. I'm afraid this really isn't doing a very good job of saying what it *smells* like, other than that it's warm and earthy and OMG so nice.

 

Dry: Unfortunately, after a while it wears off and gets very faint, with just a hint of sweet floral remaining. I'm sort of surprised that I couldn't detect the citrus notes at all, but that's okay.

 

Verdict: This scent is divine! I'm so glad that I got a bottle of it; the very down-to-earth quality of it is what makes it beautiful to me. This is another one that I would recommend for people who do not like traditional 'sweet' florals, who like a bit of solidity to their scent.

In the imp: A very heavy, dark scent reminiscent of incense.

 

Wet: It honestly smells like a really, thick, resin-based incense to me, with a floral sweetness around the edges. I'm not familiar at all with opium, but perhaps this is what's producting that? Very interesting.

 

Dry: It softens down pretty drastically to a leftover sort of flower scent. I'm wanting to associate that with the honeysuckle.

 

Verdict: This scent intrigues me even more now because I could have sworn that this was an 'incense' scent...but no, it's florals. Which is amusing because I was comparing it to other incense scents I've worn, and thinking that I'd found my happy medium there. My only criticism of this scent is that it didn't have the throw that I desired. It tends to last a while, though, and it's just lovely all-around as far as I'm concerned, even if it doesn't quite justify a bottle.

In the imp: It's like sinking your nose into a bouquet of tulips, literally -- that light scent, with an almost peppery air to it, like pollen, all dappled with drops of water.

 

Wet: The light tulip scent is predominant, though the scary pollen edge to it is gone. It's very evocative of lush green grass in the morning hours, laden with dew. I don't get a 'crisp' note so much as a 'juicy' one: plump tulip heads, thick blades of grass, fat drops of dew sliding down the sides of them all.

 

Dry: It's as if the sun has come out and dried the grass; now it has a sort of moist, healthy air to it, the tulip scent almost ethereal, with a more traditional 'perfumey' note to it..perhaps that's the peony.

 

Verdict: Oh, if only this had more throw, and lasted longer! It's beautiful! Once again I am in awe of the perfumist's art of being able to capture such imagery in a bottle. I would highly recommend this to people who like unadulterated (non-perfumey) florals, nature scents, and possibly to those who like aquatic scents. I hate to discard it anytime soon, so I will probably hang onto the imp for a while at least.

In the imp: Cinnamon, patchouli, and orange...very, very warm and spicy.

 

Wet: It starts out spicy, peppery, a scent with bite; the patchouli attacks your nose with the spiky texture of its scent. Then it seems to dissolve and turn smokey, like a newly-lit stick of incense. There's definitely a strong note of both patchouli and orange, mixed with the darker notes of the other incense. It smells exactly like a little clothing shop that I used to go to...it's a gorgeous scent, and very 'incensey' without becoming obnoxious.

 

Dry: Unfortunately, it grows faint pretty quickly. The airy quality of it takes on a more woody sort of tone, and reaches a strange juxtaposition in that it's earthy and 'grounded', while the faintness of it makes it ethereal.

 

Verdict: I really like it, I just wish that it stuck around longer...Come back, dammit, I like youuuuu!!

In the imp: Honey, with a very warm tone to it.

 

Wet: Thick, sweet, honeyed cream, with a bit of spiciness to it.

 

Dry: The floral scents come out to me as it dries, and it 'cools off' as in the honey note becomes more subdued, though it never quite disappears...more like it coats the petals of the flowers (and I'm wanting to say that I smell more carnation than rose). And yet, there's a powdery note to it, as well...I'm wanting to call it 'baby powder' only because it's a very light, feminine, innocent sort of tone...not soapy or strident at all.

 

Verdict: I can see why this is a popular scent; it's *really* lovely, and very feminine, very elegant in an innocent sort of way. Unfortunately, it has *no* throw or lasting power on me at all, which makes me very sad. I'm reluctant to get rid of it because it's so pretty, so hopefully I'll be able to find another use for it.