zomathesadist

The first time Hex went live, I didn't have internet, and only found out after the fact. I was really sad because the fir and amber notes sound right up my alley. The SECOND time, I was INCREDIBLY broke. soo...no Hex. =( being a grownup blows sometimes. but....I was able to nab a bottle from a generous forumite!!!!!! in bottle: mild, soft, crisp. slightly sweet, but fresh, kind of similar to the sweetness of fresh cut grass. wet on skin: fir. gorgeous crisp fir! this smells like the forest in fall! drydown: the fir stays strong. the sweetness of the amber and skin musk are rounding it out but the fir keeps center stage. I *love* this. This may be a new favourite! WINWINWIN!!!!! in a nutshell: strong fir notes kept from being too sharp by amber and musk. unsure of throw or wearlength yet.

i love mint. it's one of the few notes I can wear when i have a headache, like today. so I thought today would be a good day to test it. in imp: earthy, minty, sugary. this oil is quite a bit more viscous than most, as well. wet on skin: much the same. the earthiness is deepening, though. after ten minutes: not much more mint, unfortunately. patchouli is DEFINITELY there, though. not really too boozy, to be honest, either. dry on skin: yep, patchouli with some sweetness. no more mint. I won't be getting a bottle, and I'll probably give this away (I like it--I just have already have my patchouli favorites) in a nutshell: while wet, definitely minty, but much more patchouli on the drydown. I have a feeling the throw is intense and I have a feeling it'll stay for hours.

I've come to realize that I love BPAL's mint notes, especially at work or in the middle of a long hot summer. =) I love finding a fragrance that I can still wear even if I have a headache. the oil is a pale green, almost like Belladonna is. in the imp, it is strong sharp mint. Nice. wet on skin: Mint-ayyy! I like it. I smell fresh, without smelling soapy. And it's refreshing me, too--I love mint scents on tired, stressful days. drydown: it sweetens up considerably, but still remains minty fresh. I really like this! and I took in my GINORMOUS bag o'imps to work yesterday, and three of my coworkers loved it. One of them (she's quitting smoking) kept sniffing it and said she found it really soothing. =) maybe I'll give her my imp to keep in her bag. yep. The Coil rules. I probably won't get a bottle for a while, but this is one of those oils you keep around because even if you don't wear it every day, the perfect day to wear it will roll by and you don't want to be without it. in a nutshell: MINT! sharp, bracing mint and eucalyptus notes tempered by softer florals. less than average throw, but long wearlength.

one of my most anticipated Steampunks! in the imp: clean, fresh, slightly woody. kind of a generic, manly smell. The teak is quite distinctive, though. wet on skin: whoa! my skin amps wood notes up like crazy! I noticed that with Glowing Vulva, too. This is very woodsy, very dark. Strong, too. and I slathered it. oops. Not getting much of anything besides WOOD. after 5 minutes: The vanilla is peeping out, just a tad. It's sweetening up the sharpness of the teak and oak. not getting much tobacco yet. shame. BPAL's tobacco note is one of my favourite things EVAR. after 15 minutes: Hullo, tobacco! Nice of you to join us. it's nice, sweet, pipe tobacco. this is lovely. drydown: the least obvious note is the vanilla for me, but that's fine, because though I like vanilla FLAVORED things, vanilla scents often just smell fake to me. nah, it's staying in the background and chilling. This is really well blended, though, and very well balanced. I'd imagine this to be great in the fall/winter; soon it will be too hot for me to wear this. WIN. in a nutshell: dark sweet woods. This is very unisex. great throw, unsure about wearlength but I suspect it will be long.

when I read the description, I thought, "Root beer? I don't even like drinking root beer! Why would I want to smell like it?" I mainly just got the imp because of all the fuss about it. I dabbed it on yesterday, and yep! ROOTBEER! but the good stuff. this isn't any A & W--this is the gourmet stuff in the glass bottles made in small batches. the kind that's way more spicy than sweet. wet on skin: see above. something kind of sharp comes out--maybe the onycha or the oak leaf? whatever it is, it keeps it from getting too sweet. I was unsure about it at first, but the roommate said he really liked it. after 10: vanilla comes out to play. this is really unique. now, the interesting: I honestly didn't really think I liked it that much on me. But the roommate LOVED it, and when I went to work, my manager (who hated White Rabbit on me, and now calls me Jackrabbit ) LOVED it! so this is a scent that gets people's attention. another sidenote: I'm a bartender in a VERY busy Asian restaurant. I move, I sweat, I get the smell of soy sauce and garlic in my hair and that's what I usually smell like. But I still kept catching sniffs of it. And when I woke up this morning, the ladies still had a lovely smell! this one LASTS! in a nutshell: sweet rootbeer smell made more complex by the leafy sharp notes. not cloying in the slightest. impressive throw, even more impressive wearlength (all the way through Mother's Day dinner and a good nights' sleep!)

i love anything pina colada. (except, ironically, actual pina coladas. I know. bizarro.) if there's ever an option for pineapple coconut ANYTHING it is immediately ushered into my belly. so when I saw the description for Upa Upa, i knew I had to try it. in bottle: caramelly butterscotch. I am slowly realizing that BPAL's rum/booze notes all smell butterscotchy/caramel on me. odd, but not a bad thing. I don't get a ton of fruit in the bottle. wet on skin: why, hello, you juicy thang! Pineapple is sticking his head out, and he is juicy and sassy. the coconut's not showing up yet, though. after 5 minutes: my hand is tingling! that must be the spice in the rum. i really don't know yet. i can't tell. it definitely smells GOOD--I just need to wear it all day and see how it dries down before I decide if I'm going to keep my bottle. in a nutshell: a very sweet scent that becomes more spicy on the drydown. Lots of pineapple initially that goes by the wayside. Very creamy. Unsure of throw or wearlength.

Opuhi was another tiki that I was excited about--the vanilla orchid just sounded absolutely lovely. Normally I stay away from floral notes, but I'm game to try it! in bottle: sweet. very sweet. vanilla with light florals. it would be a good fragrance for something like an outdoor wedding, or a bonfire. wet on skin: sweetness amplified. drat! it seems a little powdery on me. well, hopefully that will go away. after 5 minutes: still WET! dry faster, you! it's difficult to say how this is gonna go--it seems like it might be fairly strong. after about 15, it's honestly still kind of wet! but the ginger blossom has come out more! more vanilla, more ginger, and unfortunately, more powder. d'oh! the powder isn't really bad--it's soft and sweet, but not really my thing. that's okay. i knew it was kind of a crapshoot with my dislike of floralsl it's really gorgeous, though. I think I'm going to have to wear it a few more times. in a nutshell: very sweet soft floral. slightly powdery. this isn't a "sexy" scent, but more beautiful. work appropriate.

normally fruity ANYTHING isn't my thing, but when I read the descriptions of the tikis, Blue Fire just jumped out at me. I thought about it all month long. I just *knew* I would love it. and i opened the bottle...and... it smells fresh, and bracing, and fizzy! It's going to be great for summer. The blueberries smell sweet and ripe, and the gin gives it a fresh, almost cold sort of feeling. it's lovely. it will be wonderful to wear on a hot July night, in a wifebeater and linen skirt. wet on skin: sweetening up a bit, and becoming less sour. drat. I really wanted it to stay EXACTLY like it was wet. oh well. this is nice, too. drydown: softer and sweeter. the gin and lemongrass threaten to get bitter, but they never really do, and they keep the fruits from being too sweet. 3 hours later: lingering sweetness. that's all she wrote! this is a keeper for me for sure. nutshell: ripe, tart blueberries with some fresh gin notes to balance it out. average to low throw, average to short wearlength.

now, I've had this bottle for at least 3 months, and every time I pick it up and sniff it, I think to myself, "Not today." But TODAY it was raining and gross and crappy outside. The perfect day to smell like a cup of hot cocoa, y/y? in bottle: CHOCOLATE. Creamy, sweet milk chocolate. Not really getting coffee, brown sugar or cinnamon. wet on skin: Holy, this has some throw! Again, smells just like a really good bar of milk chocolate. drydown: the hints of that plastickyness threaten to come through, but they never really surface. I walked into work tonight and my super picky coworker (whom I have EVILLY enabled, BWAHAHAHAHA!) stopped, sniffed loudly and said, "What are you wearing? I want a bottle. I want a bottle NOW." (She's slowly coming over from the darkside of commercial perfumes ) verdict: not an everyday thing for me, but definitely something people NOTICE. I'll hang on to my bottle and I think I'm going to have to look for one for my coworker, too! nutshell: intense creamy chocolate, sweetened by the brown sugar. SERIOUS throw, and SERIOUS wearlength.

i'm wondering if something in my chemistry is EATING scent right now. Midway disappeared entirely on me yesterday and it looks like this one might be heading after it to see what's up. still, I'll soldier on. this is one of the cases of different body parts having different smells. on my wrists, it's aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall linen-y, clean laundry smell, with the barest hint of something fruity (I'm guessing the ginger?). If I had to go by wrists alone, this would be a pass, as it's utterly unremarkable. BUT the smell wafting up from my cleavage is lovely! my nose buried in my cleavage reveals that lovely tea note that I go nuts for in Dorian! that's where the tea, vanilla and creaminess comes out, with the ginger lurking to keep it from becoming too sweet. *head scratchy* so I'm going to reapply, and put some in my hair before I go to work, and get some feedback from my similarly enabled coworker. in imp: softly sweet vanilla wet on skin: depending on WHERE, it's anywhere from linen to vanilla. drydown: slightly schizophrenic. White Rabbit hasn't decided if he likes me yet. nutshell: soft vanilla with black tea and ginger. not too sweet, with enough sharp notes to keep it from becoming cloying. not sure about throw or wearlength this could go either way. if it goes the Boob Way, it will be bottle worthy. if it goes Wrist Way, i'll be passing it along.

in the bottle, light candy smell. wet on skin: even LIGHTER candy smell. drydown: what drydown? Midway has left the building. *head scratchy* I've tried this now three times, and i have SLATHERED it. i'm almost wondering if there's something wrong with my bottle because it's so incredibly light. and it just disappears on my skin. this is so sad. I really thought I would love this one. and I think i WOULD love it...if it didn't just go POOF into the ether. in a nutshell: very light, very faint candyish smell. almost no throw, almost no wearlength (on me)

Gah. Alecto turned my stomach and then gave me a splitting headache that lasted for almost 2 days. and I COULDN'T GET IT OFF. I frimped it immediately.

oh, i so, so, so wanted to like this. in the imp: sweet. very sweet. fruity. very fruity. no tobacco, not really honey, either; the sweetness is more of an undistinctive sweetness instead of anything specific. wet on skin: grapey. sweet. sour. =/ still none of the gorgeous BPAL honey. drydown: here comes the wine! but unfortunately, on me, it smells like wine that's been left out to sour for about a week. talk about sour grapes. (bad pun, I know.) after an hour: mad grapey spoiled wine. so not my thing. it started to smell more spoiled. in a word: on me, it smells like prison hooch; like something someone's brewing in a garbage bag under their toilet. my SO hated it on me, too. It's going to go live with a friend. In a nutshell: very sweet sour wine, with a strong plummy grapey smell.

the sneak winner from Lupercalia '08 for me! this scent loves me. and even better, I love it. It's mild and inoffensive in the bottle, with a kind of 'greenness' that's the most notable part of the first sniff. Then I tried it on. Warm, sexy, green. FANTASTIC. The patchouli is sweetened by the honey and ambrette. The juniper keeps it fresh. The beeswax...mmmm. This smells like you're getting down and dirty with a Faun in a spring meadow. It's green, but so so sexy. On me, it's not a dark smell--it's a light, springy, "Let's mate!" kind of smell. In my top 5. I think I may get a second bottle. In a nutshell: warm green patchouli sweetened by hints of amber and honey. Moderate throw, long wearlength.

i have to admit: I had really low expectations for this one. when I got it, I opened it, took a whiff...and IMMEDIATELY wrinkled my nose, and put it away. it took me over two weeks to muster up the desire to try it. in bottle: pure butter. yuck. with a hint of vanilla. on skin: butter note disappears immediately! thank god. now the vanilla comes out. it's a sweet, light, inoffensive vanilla. not tremendously unique, but a great deal softer and less obtrusive than most vanillas I've smelled. after 5m: oh, there's the spearmint! hmm. odd. it kind of reminds me of those after dinner mints that in pastel pink and green and white. odd thing to be reminded of, but there you go. after an hour: about the same. mild spearmint, mild vanilla, no more troublesome buttery smell. not one of my great loves. everything about it is...MILD. there's nothing that really grabs me in it. with so much fabulous BPAL, i can't really see myself wearing this one all the time. I have, I think, far too intense of a personality to wear something so...meek-smelling on me. (JUST on me! ONLY on me! I would love to smell it on someone that it's dead sexy on!) In a nutshell: mild vanilla minty smell. the cream note is not overpowering. moderate throw, LONG wearlength. sidenote: Although I really don't think too much about the way this smells on me (it's not bad, it's just not fantastic) I went to lunch with a friend today JUST after having applied it. When I walked up to the counter, the girl immediately started sniffing the air and said, "god...something smells so good." I just gave her a Mona Lisa smile and threw some extra singles in the tip jar.

Salt air, ocean mist, aged patchouli, sarsaparilla, watered-down rum, leather-tinged musk, and a spray of gunpowder. In the imp I wasn't particularly blown away, by it--it was a frimp that I'd never really thought twice about. Then I read the notes. I LOVE leather and patchouli, and I had a feeling that i was absolutely going to love this one. Like I said, in the imp: a somewhat bland aquatic. Wet on skin: HOLY! this smells exactly like it would smell if you were on a boat on the open sea. Clean, fresh. After 10 m: way down below, in the background: the patchouli, cutting the sharpness of the watery notes. This is pretty hot! It's not your typical sexy fragrance, but it smells clean, fresh and sexual without smelling perfumey. It just smells GOOD. After 20: the barest peek of the gunpowder. it smells great mixed with the watery notes. I love it. And I'm ordering a 5 ml. Today. I don't get any of the rum, but I'm wondering if I have a scent blind spot. I smelled no rum in Grog, I smelled no booze in Smut, and I get no rum whatsoever in this. I'm obviously not missing it, but I am kind of curious... In a nutshell: nice aquatic with earthy notes of patchouli, a definite keeper.

In the imp: strong floral...JASMINE! NOOO! I was really hoping the jasmine would be soft. Wet: extremely floral. I get no tonka, no coffee. Just jasmine. I dislike jasmine greatly. I had to wash it off. But I used the rest of my imp as a room scent and then, I could smell the rose, too. Just jasmine and rose, though. drag! I really wanted to like it, but alas.

Arrr! Avast ye, matey! This be the scent of pirate rum! in the bottle: strong sweet butterscotch. wet on skin: oh, there's the coconut! but...but...oh...there goes the coconut. bye, coconut. =( drydown: dries to a plain perfumey sweet smell. the boozy notes never came out on me. the butterscotch disappears. everything disappears. weird. YARR! AWAY WITH YE, YE SCABROUS DOG!

love at first sniff. =) To me, it smells a lot like Pink Moon '05, without the sweetness that made that one almost cloying on me. This is sweet, lovely, comforting. I didn't expect to like it, to be honest, since herbal florals really aren't my thing. But I love it. I bought two bottles (one for me, and one for my best friend, who is also a Pisces) and I think she's going to like it. I don't get the earthiness at all. *shrug* But like I said, I love it. I'm glad I waited for my sign to come out! light to average throw, medium to light wearlength (at least on me.)