suki

this is 2008 version, and i should say i've never tried ANY version before. in the bottle: sexy! like booze and musk, as described, and in the BEST possible combination, i might add! wet on skin: the booze comes out strong, reminds me of red wine. it's a soft smell, though. like red wine without the sharpness of alcohol, if that makes sense. dry down: oh MAN is this good! sweet without being cloying, a hint of sugar without being foody, a skin musk that comes from a good romp on an otherwise lazy afternoon in all: sexy. as. HELL. i am sooooo getting a backup bottle!

in the bottle: tea with lemon! wet on skin: the citrus comes to the front a bit, but the tea is still very present. dry down: *very* much like the original Bulgari green tea perfume, if anyone has tried mainstream perfumes. in all: very pleasant, gender neutral, something that i could see being worn on hot summer evenings, but not something i'll be seeking out obsessively. love the illustration, tho'!

in the bottle: headache-inducing sweetness and musk, similar to Glasya. uh oh >> wet on skin: more of the same, with a heavy dose of neroli coming to the fore. dry down: well, the cloying sweetness has abided and a more gentle floral/musk has emerged. in all: sadly, this reminds me only of the at-home perm solutions my mom used in the 70's. glad i only tested out my boyfriend's bottle of this!

in the bottle, White Light isn't really much to speak of. oh, it's a pleasant enough floral, light, and as a few have noted, there is a bit of that lilac essence that BPAL Dragon's Blood possesses. but i'm not really a floral person, an that wasn't the point of getting this oil anyway... so, i didn't do a full anointing, i just put a drop or two between my hands. not thing happened. then, about five minutes later i had this weird head rush and i had to lie down! i'm really sensitive to energy and that sort of thing, so i'd actually been prepared for this to happen, but it still took me by surprise a bit. i put a little more on later and that didn't happen again. it's too soon to tell how well this is gonna work for me, but it's clearly doing *something* so i'm just going to keep experimenting/

MAN, am i excited to give this one a shot! FYI I'm getting over the flu, so i'll have to blow my nose in between each sniff!) in the bottle: cream and sugar with a hint of effervescent fruit as an undernote. it reminds me of Hearth 05, with a touch of fruit. interesting. wet on skin: oh. my. goddess. this smells EXACTLY like fruity pebbles! milk and all! man, this is getting me HUNGRY dry down: yep. Fruity Pebbles. in all: this just might be in the Royal Court of foodie smells! *must. buy. backup. bottle.*

i've been waiting a long time to try this one- i hope it lives up to my expectations! in the imp: almond cookies! seriously! and it also reminds me of almond burt's bees hand salve. yum! wet on skin: the almond mellows and the milky aspect comes up. it reminds me of those facial scrubs we all loved in the '80's. hmmm. dry down: the almond almost disappears completely and what's left is a very gentle milk-and-sugar sort of smell. it's very comforting, homey. in all: for those who like a more gentle foodie smell, this is excellent for daily wear. i am personally a ten-ton foodie smell kinda girl- think Beaver Moon 05 or Underbed. so it's a bit too understated for me, but others will totally dig it.

in the imp: sweet, creamy and floral. heavy. wet on skin: a melon slinks out to mix with the vanilla and i believe the amber. nice! it tones down the heaviness a bit. dry down: it's going powdery on me reminds me of the kind of commercial perfumes i liked in high school, like 'Love's Baby Soft' and the Designer Imposters line. in all: a good one to convert your conventional friends. but for me? i'll pass!

i have high hopes riding on this puppy, let's see how it goes... in the bottle: oh. my. goddess! straight up gingerbread, no holds barred! wet on skin: more of the same. really *just* like warm, moist gingerbread from the oven. dry down: the ginger comes out to the front a tiny bit- man, this is SO delicious in all: don't distract me, i'm trying to gnaw my arm off

in the imp: like cherry coughdrops. wet on skin: more cough drops, with a hint of licorice as an undernote. i mean real, actual licorice root, not black candy licorice- this is warm, sweet, a bit spicy. nice. dry down: the cherry all but vanishes and i'm left with a cloying incense smell of undefinable fruit mixed with a musk that is rapidly turning powdery on me. in all: meh. not my scene. off to swap!

in the imp: the pepper is STRONG! there is also a faint note of floral under that. wet on skin: the floral and the citrus mix, so make some lovely sweet orange thing that reminds me of creamsicles. yum! dry down: this *totally* smells like the strawberry shortcake dolls of my 80's childhood! sweet, fruity, and totally not real, but in a gentle, childhood way. in all: this would be a good one for your friends that are into Bath and Bodyworks products that you're trying to convert. for me, however, it's not -quite- what i'm looking for.

in the imp: spicy, like Eggnog, but the egg is more like custard. *promising* wet on skin: the spice is there, and there's a very, very light floral. this isn't foody at this point. dry down: it's become like Eggnog with a floral undertone. interesting, but not, like WOW! in all: i think i'll stick to Eggnog

in the imp: caramel and apple. the caramel smells real, but the apple is totally yankee-candle variety. wet on skin: more of the same. dry down: the candle wins in all: this happened to me with fruitcake, too: for some reason, every now and again, a foodie BPAL leaves me smelling like a candle shop in the mall next!

in the imp: a sweet floral. i get lilacs, mostly. wet on skin: the lilac fades back a bit and now a pink grapefruit note is coming up. nice! dry down: floral-citrus in equal measure. in all: not my thing, but there's a bunch of folks i think would really, really like this

in the imp: cloying, heavy floral. perfume-y wet on skin: floral that is giving me a headache dry down: the heaviness has faded, but it's still just too much. in all: soapy, unpleasant. i've *never* had a BPAL go this wrong on me! off to swap! ADDED Jan. 12: in the vial: a very light feathery floral. wet on skin: a round of narcissus ad not much else. dry down: same. in all: i love opium and many of the other notes listed. it's unfortunate that all i got was the single flower. if you like narcissus, you'll adore this. but if you're looking for something more heady, go to Red Lantern, Snake Oil, or something of that ilk and skip this one entirely.

in the bottle: sweet and tart. fruity without being definable. wet on skin: more tart! like tart candies. it's making me pucker a bit dry down: this is *just* like pomegranates. it's like biting into those delicious juicy seeds and having that sweet/tart juice fill your mouth. in all: salivatingly good- glad i have a whole bottle to myself!

Eggnog 2007 in the bottle: i'm mostly getting the boozy aspects, with the sweet nog part playing second fiddle wet on skin: oh YEAH! this is SO eggnog! dry down: the spicy-creaminess comes out, the egg part fades off a bit in all: this winds up smelling like a foody version of an ylang lily on me. like, the actual flower, when you smell it in the florist shop and it has this gorgeous soft spicy smell and the sweet is sugar-flower. this is SO GOOD

in the imp: the cassia is STRONG on this. but not unpleasant. the cocoa is in the background, peeking out just a bit. wet on skin: the cassia softens, becomes more like a piece of cinnamon-chocolate coffee cake dry down: yep. angel food cake with cocoa dusted on top. right like it says. in all: if you like warm, spicy, cakey scents, this is a great one! now, where can i get a 5ml of this???

in the imp: like house paint and cream. uh oh. :worried: wet on skin: the cream and sweet vanilla is there, but there's something...else, that simply isn't working for me. :very worried: dry down: *whew!* the sandlewood shows up and softens the blend into something sweet without being foody, sexy, but something i'd let my 15 year old wear (if i wasn't hording it, that is ) in all: certainly one to keep, but not to-die-for-loving-it as i thought. (which is a small relief )

in the imp: very much about the lavender, but with a tiny, tiny hint of the cognac found in Black Lace wet on skin: more lavender, but this is definitely a male scent, like an aftershave a gent might have worn to the opera about 100 years ago. dry down: while lovely, it's very male- and very grandpa. i can't possibly allow my fiance to wear this, it would be too weird. in all: this should be worn by proper dandies and fops, but none whom i'm in love with!

in the imp: movie popcorn butter and vanilla frosting. i'm in LOVE wet on skin: there's a sugary/incense note that actually immediately reminds me of The Crumpet Rebellion. in other words- YUMMY dry down: i don't get *any* of the aquatic notes, which i'm thankful for, since those tend to go wonky on me. instead i'm just getting this beautiful vanilla cake with a hint of something mysterious underneith. in all: the mystery elements temper the foody aspects. there's still enough foody for me to adore it, bit i think for those less inclined toward food smells, this might be a good middle ground.

this is *so* interesting! after having smelled several blends with cocoa absolute in them, it really becomes clear that this is MILK chocolate and not something darker. in the imp: i wholeheartedly agree with the Nutella claim that some people have noted. chocolate with a hazelnut undernote. mmm wet on skin: more of the same, warm, rich chocolatey goodness dry down: incredible throw! my BF said he could smell it WHILE he was in the next room- in the shower! the chocolate goes a bit 'scratch n sniff' on me for a time, but then mellows into a smell that i can only describe as 'if people's body smell were chocolate, this would be it'. in all: MUST HAVE BIG BOTTLE.

in the imp:*just* like black cherry concentrate, if you've ever been lucky enough to have some. tart, dark cherry yum! wet on skin: the cherry seems to have all but vanished! odd! now i smell the myrrh- sweet and resinous, but not cloying. dry down: oohh! the cherry came back, and the clove has dropping into the mix! yes! i'm getting all three, and they are mixing beautifully, no one note ahead of any other. in all: a really fine dragon's blood blend: sexy, alluring, without being over powering. a nice addition to anyone's collection.

in the bottle: mr clean. i am SO serious. YUCK! wet on skin: better! like mister clean, but with a little light orange thrown in. so, still not great. dry down: actually, not bad. it reminds me of something, but i can't put my finger on what. a floral scent, maybe a perfume a relative wore when i was growing up. and there's an aquatic note in there, too. in all: if you are the sort that goes for more floral-heavy blends, the kind to be worn in summer, you'll likely really, really dig this. but for a foodie like me, it's a no-go. swap, anyone???

I'm putting in my first Lupercalia order on Lunacy, so if this imp is all it's cracked up to be, i'll snag a full size before it's discontinued... in the imp: heavy, cloying neroli. wet on skin: more of the same. wah! dry down: the sweet peas pokes it's head out a bit, and is followed by something that smells akin to baby powder. hmmm. in all: well, i'll give it one more try before Tuesday, but otherwise, it's off to the swaps!

in the imp: yep. salt water and dragon's blood. wet on skin: dragon's blood in the lead, salt playing a distant second. dry down: total dragon's blood. the salt completely disappears on me. which is fine, because the wet made me want to just go wear some Dragon's Blood, and now the dry down has done it. in all: i'll be sticking to the original, personally. ADDED Aug. 31: in the imp: yup- dragon's blood and something aquatic. wet on skin: same. dry down: same. in all: not my favorite of the DB oils, but certainly not terrible or anything. if you like aqua notes, and you like DB, then certainly get this- you will not be disappointed.