orata

I love this! I stupidly turned down an offer of a sniffie at a Meet 'n' Sniff after just sniffing from the imp, and then ended up ordering an imp from the lab after reading more reviews. Now I have a bottle on the way (I could have skipped the trouble and just gotten the bottle after the Meet 'n' Sniff! I just hope the bottle smells like the imp, since it seems like there are a lot of batch variations in this scent.) I thought this would be more like Baghdad, which was way too much sandalwood for me, but it is something else entirely, closer to Alice, a soft, creamy, gentle carnation scent with light hints of spices and sandalwood. I have a lab-fresh imp and I have to say it leans slightly towards plastic territory without ever quite getting there; I suspect though that it will only get better with age. I see people have compared it to cream soda, but I also smell a bit of Dr. Pepper in it! It's creamy without being milk-like, vanillic without being exactly vanilla, sweet without being sugary, a slight cinnamon scent without being too spicy or overpowering. I don't find it particularly incensey, more of a warm and gentle, immensely comforting skin scent with low throw. All I wanted to do when I got my imp pack was pour Morocco all over myself. The other very anticipated imps I'd ordered (Lyonesse, Mouse's LAST, Obatala, etc.) all got cast aside in favor of this one. Cozy and warm, it is wonderful to put on before bedtime. My only complaint is that I wish it were a bit stronger.

The Ta-Ta! Coffee, carnation, and leather

I received this in a swap along with a generous frimp of U Mutter Museum, and tested both the same day. I was so surprised at how similar they smelled! U was much like I expected from reading the reviews, but I was expecting something more woodsy, spicy, and cozy from FRM. I put this on and was immediately struck by the same intensely green, slightly bittersweet balsam note as U Mutter Museum: intellectually, I parsed this as part hay and part cut grass, but feeling-wise I would have to say the sensation of smelling this scent is somewhere between eating an underripe green banana and drinking a cup of oversteeped black tea. An understated whiff of tropical-fruit fragrance and a sort of slight powdery mouth-puckering astringency underlying the grassy notes. I think it must be the East Indian bay causing this resemblance to the balsam notes in U. I get faint hints of the spicy clove and carnation and there's a certain soft creamy quality as it dries down that must be the vanilla (though I can't pick it out individually). Undecided about how I feel about it; it's definitely interesting, but whether I will reach for it to wear it is another question.

Insanely strong, almost medicinal patchouli, with an almost nutty tone to it. SO strong. Serious patchouli, like a musty kick in the face. I think the tobacco is making it a bit sharp. Cocoa and vanilla never made an appearance on me, as far as I could tell. I was about to kick my decant to swaps when I found it can be quite lovely if layered in a tiny dose with some strong, sweet vanilla (I'm using Solstice Scents Cenobite)--not as creamy/nutty as Banshee Beat due to the missing hemp note, but still a nice way to cut the sweetness of one and temper the earthiness of the other.

Very, very cinnamony. My initial notes say "Cinnamon Toast Crunch!" but re-sniffing it now, it's almost like a mixture of Cinnamon Red Hots candies and a little bit of wood smoke, or a blown-out cinnamon-scented candle. It's more smoky-marshmallow and less cinnamony when I put my nose up right against my wrist. More spicy to me than the super-sweetness people have been describing; in fact, I wish it were more vanilla-ish, more sweet-marshmallowy instead of being crazy spicy cinnamon, but it's nice enough that I upgraded from a sniffie to a decant after testing it out. Perhaps aging will mellow out the cinnamon a bit and bring out the marshmallow more.

I wish the Sogg was getting more love here! It was the first Weenie sniffie I decided to get a bottle of (even though it's not my favorite out of the update). I get fresh, lovely grapefruit heavy on the fragrant peel. Not too sharp or too sweet. As it dries, the dry orris and sweet honey emerge a bit more; both notes tend to be a bit powdery, but in the drydown I get a nice, pleasant, creamy, skin-hugging honey musk still tinged with grapefruit peel. I'm not sure if I get the swamp moss and cypress, perhaps they're part of the dry powderiness I'm attributing to orris in the drydown? I think this will get more wear in the hot summer than right now. It's a nice addition to my citrus scents collection and I love the label art for all the Seekim scents SO MUCH.

Agony and ecstasy: black leather and damp red rose. All I got from this was rose, which was disappointing--I was hoping for a nice big dose of leather, but rose completely took over on me.

Sexy, almost edible strong red musk with incense and nutmeg swirling through it. Reminded me almost of a less foody, more grown-up Eat Me, or a warmer Kabuki minus the fruit. I liked it a lot, but the red musk was by far the star of the show on my skin, with the other components playing minor supporting roles.

A gorgeous aquatic. I don't find myself craving aquatic scents much, and sometimes they outright turn my stomach, but my sniffie was so pleasant I might hunt down an imp one of these days. I was prepared to write it off as generic, but it had a lovely dark depth to it in the skin test that was really intriguing and lovely.

Evocative, woodsy, piney, resinous and smokey; made me immediately think of camping in a dark forest, sitting around a fire in the cold night air. I usually go more for light, clean, sweet scents, so this was a huge surprise--I liked this way more than I thought I would!

It took a little while for this scent to grow on me, but I kept coming back to it and thinking "what is that great scent?" when skin-testing different perfumes on different parts of my arms. It starts off very fruity; as the fruity top note fades, it starts to reveal itself as leather with a hint of coffee and a spicy backdrop of carnation. I'm not sure I can pick out the tobacco--if it's there, it's certainly more of a mellow, leafy presence than the sharp, harsh intruder that kept me from wholeheartedly enjoying Pussy or Antikythera Mechanism. It doesn't morph much over time on me--it stays a mellow, gentle, fruity leather and coffee scent that I really enjoy. I ended up upgrading from a sniffie to a decant, and then from a decant to a bottle, as I found myself coming back to it. Edited to add: I tested this against a decant of The Arabian Dance that Mountaingrrl kindly gifted to me at the last Meet 'n' Sniff, and they are indeed very, very similar! They start off almost identical when wet, but as they dry, I find The Arabian Dance a little softer and creamier, with the hazelnut note emerging, and The Ta-Ta just slightly more sharp and spicy from the carnation. The Arabian Dance dries down to more of a hazelnut coffee scent and The Ta-Ta to more of a leather scent. They are both amazingly yummy and beautiful.

A beautiful fresh lime juice scent (love!) mixed with a generous heap of dragon's blood (hate!) I liked the lime note but couldn't deal with the dragon's blood, especially as the lime started to fade as this dried down, so I didn't keep it on long enough to see if the other notes like cedar developed. This was the only one of the Seekim that didn't work for me at all.

I love this scent so much! This was my favorite out of the Weenies and catapulted into my top ten of all the BPALs I've tried. Wet, it's a blast of juicy, musky, bittersweet black currants over a creamy, exotic, heady mixture of florals, primarily jasmine. (I tend to have problems with BPAL white flower notes like jasmine or gardenia turning into a kind of acrid burnt rubber smell on my skin, but this one stayed beautiful into the drydown. Also, it was a nice change that the rose note didn't amp to high heaven like so many other blends containing rose.) The bitterness of the opium tar comes out a bit more in the drydown, mixing with the blackcurrant to pin the fragrance down and keep it from getting too sweet or pure floral. I never get too much vanilla until far into the drydown--I think it just adds a subtle creaminess to help blend and soften the different notes. On me, the intensity, throw and longevity are all pretty good (this feels about four times stronger than my other favorite out of the Weenies, Glittering Apple of the Stars). Just a tiny dab does fine. It dries down to a hazy blackcurrant-vanilla-musk with hints of jasmine. A dark, grown-up, unsweet, sexy fruity-floral, and absolutely gorgeous.

My first BPAL Halloween! I got sniffies of everything and this is how it shook out for me... Bottles Muse of the Night--this is GORGEOUS, and I'm considering a backup bottle. I've found, to my sorrow, that many BPAL white flowers don't work on me, but this one does and the blackcurrant fruitiness gives it a lot of richness and interest. The Glittering Apple of the Stars--also beautiful, also considering backup, but I think it's more out of worry that this was quite faint on me and might require slathering The Two-Tailed Sogg--Sweet grapefruity goodness with a creamy-powdery drydown. A partial of this might have been fine, in retrospect... Upgrade to a decant/partial bottle Boo--sweet sugary loveliness Pumpkin Latte--love the milky-coffee drydown Sonnet D'Automne--a bit too sharp, but I really want one of these "dry leaves" smells to work on me. I'll see what a little aging will do to it. Nightmare--this was very lavender, creamy and almost foody. I can't see myself reaching for it too often, but I think I'd like it occasionally. The Silver Apple of the Moon--lovely, but a little commercial-perfumey to me; my notes say "Smells like going to Sephora," which isn't a bad thing, but I thought a decant should serve The Gorobble--Cinnamon Toast Crunch! I didn't get the charred marshmallow everyone else was getting but I do like cinnamon. The Seekim (well, still trying to upgrade my sniffie; nobody seems to be selling their decants)--a big surprise for me since I normally don't like patchouli. The first few minutes of this are rough, then it settles down to dark chocolate and grassy hay and patchouli, sort of an airier version of Boomslang. The Ta-Ta--almost fruity, mouth-watering leather. I was gifted an Arabian Dance decant at my last Meet 'n' Sniff and am looking forward to comparing it to this one. The Wiley Grasser--the cotton candy sweetness melds so well with the balsam pine scent. Couldn't see myself wanting this too often, but I wanted to have a little on hand... Askalaphos--Based on my experience with Swank, Persephone, Candy Phoenix, etc. I wasn't expecting any of the pomegranate scents to go well, but I was pleasantly surprised. The dirt tempers the candy sour-sweetness of the pomegranate really nicely in this scent. Nymphae Avernales--Gorgeous--I didn't think I'd like this, based on the notes, but I kept coming back to sniff it out of all the testers I'd put on my arms, just a lovely blend of fruit, flowers, and sandalwood. Regina Erebi--Red berries and mint; refreshing, but not complex Keeping my sniffie I found all of these interesting or evocative, but unwearable/seldom wearable for one reason or another. Ghosts in Love Le Revenant Mictecacihuatl Nothing But Death October The Changeling

Huesos de Santos is delicious and I think would be right up your alley... creamy, custardy orange and anise cake. Chanukkiyah was (shockingly) too sweet and foody for me, fruit and cinnamon donuts. Cockaigne smelled like cinnamon sugar oatmeal, or oatmeal cookies, to me.

Agrat-Bat-Mahlaht is gorgeous--smells like a shimmery, soft, flowery version of a caramel apple, sort of halfway between floral and foody. Sweet, delicate, apple-y, with a rich sexy creamy caramel over it all, and somewhat powdery floral blossoms flickering out over the musk/amber base to keep it from smelling like straight-up candy. I think I smell the teak, cream, and honey as component parts of the caramel note, and thankfully I'm not getting celery. Feminine and pretty, not particularly sexy to me, but not asexual either.

A sensual scent, compelling and passionate, that stays close to the skin: Roman chamomile, bourbon vanilla, and smoky vanilla bean. Pure, herbal/bitter/flowery chamomile tea. I don't get much vanilla out of this one at all. I like the smell of chamomile, and I might have liked this more had it not arrived in my mailbox right around the same time as Against Idleness and Mischief, which is chamomile and honey, and won a handy victory over Sachs in the inadvertent chamomile deathmatch because I love BPAL's honey note.

Hot damn, this is good. Smells a lot of aftershavey, herbal sage and cedar when wet, with a touch of lavender/vanilla. As it dries down, it becomes the most fantastic, sexy, almost creamy leather/vanilla/cedar scent. This would be so hot on a man, but it's not bad on me, either

Bread-and-Butterfly smelled like movie theater popcorn to me--super-buttery. Not in a good way, for me, but it might be up your alley.

This ended up smelling just like bubblegum on me. Grape bubblegum, maybe? Not like real fruit, in any case.

I hadn't run into any "plastic" smells from BPAL yet... till I tried out this one. It's too bad, because for the first 20 minutes or so, I was really loving the smell of this: sweet and fizzy, with a very realistic blackcurrant smell like Ribena blackcurrant soda, tinged with the juicier, sharper smell of pomegranate. Then it abruptly shifted into Strawberry Shortcake-style scented plastic.

This blog post talks about the difficulties of creating a gasoline perfume... (That said, if you google "gasoline perfume" you'll find at least one fragrance that apparently has a gasoline note.) I've been finding that one of BPAL's white flower notes (I think the culprit is jasmine) turns into a burnt-rubber smell on my skin after drying down, which I don't like, but might be just what you're looking for if your chemistry behaves the same way.

Tamora is very warm, mildly sweet, and well-blended at first; nothing jumps out immediately as a primary note. (I find the scent of sandalwood kind of iffy, so I was glad it didn't dominate.) Sweet peach and vanilla emerge as the victors as it dries down, very pretty. Gentle, pleasant, overwhelmingly warm and golden; sweet, feminine, pretty. It lasts a long time on me. In my initial notes, I wrote "generically sweet and girly, almost like almond extract on drydown" but the second time I put it on, I fell in love with the drydown I'd dubbed "generic" at first--a muted vanilla-peach-sandalwood sweetness on an amber base, very comforting and an excellent bedtime scent. I find it softer, warmer, less musky, and more well-rounded than Fae--if I were comparing them, I'd say Fae was more like a white nectarine and Tamora was more like a golden peach. The peach note here isn't very juicy or crisp-fresh, which may be good or bad depending on what you're looking for. I can't pick out the heliotrope note. I think it's playing in the background, rounding out the corners of the blend.

This is GORGEOUS. Very creamy, sweet, and lovely: my first impression when sniffing it was of the vanilla creaminess. On skin, sweet honey and sticky, musky blackberry add to the creamy vanilla chord, with a strong hint of green tea freshness and greenness (honestly, it blends in very well with the blackberry; I wouldn't have been able to pick out this separate leafy note except that I have a single note green tea perfume oil that smells just like it). It's very faint, though--I feel like I need to drench myself in it to smell it at all. The blackberry and musk start to come through more with the drydown, and the vanilla weakens, which is odd because I always feel like vanilla is one of the longer-lasting notes on me. It dries down to a gentle, very sugary honey-vanilla muskiness that doesn't have throw but is fairly long-lasting. I don't know where the "fae spices" are, but that's fine by me. I suppose they're in the background, adding to the complexity of the scent. I bought a 5 mL unsniffed because the description sounded so fantastic, and I'm SO glad I took the gamble and that it's GC! It is delectable and despite its general impression of creamy sweetness, it's not overly saccharine. (I realize as I'm about to hit "add reply" that almost everything I said in my review directly contradicts the one just above mine... I say "sweet" and "delectable", she says "not sweet or foody"; I say "faint", she says "good throw", "bold and noticeable"... I'm not *trying* to be contrary!)

This was a weird one. Top and heart notes: when wet, it smells little-girlish to me. Just bushels of white-flowery goodness. Heaps of strong but lovely flowers, with gardenia dominating and jasmine running in second place, an almost butter-smelling combo, almost no rose to my nose. Vanilla came out a bit more as it dried, but was always a shy presence, did not dominate like many other people described. Unfortunately, after a while, this really bizarre note emerged on the drydown: something burned or scorched, possibly burnt rubber, dominating the gardenia-jasmine mixture. I liked it a lot when wet, but the burnt rubber note is pretty off-putting.