TrinitySydney

What a nice surprise with my Bards of Ireland order! In the bottle--smack-in-the-face sharp herbal with a little old-fashioned soap. On, it immediately morphs into sweet grass, lemon, white flowers, a teeny bit of wood, and some very subtle candy. I see gold, rather than green, and that's both suprising and pleasing. Wow...what a mix! Reminds me *just a little* of Fairy Market, though I see indigo when I smell that one. It's really very refreshing and appropriate for this new spring (finally!) weather we're getting here in Germany. Yay! Thanks once again, BPAL!

I was so excited about this one. Damn cedar! I smell pencil shavings. *sigh*

Argh...I'm so disappointed in this one I reeeeeeally wanted to love. In the bottle I smell cloyingly sweet maple syrup, and apparently it's not just me, as when I opened it in the front seat of the car (I can't even wait to get home to open my BPAL boxes), my daughter who was in the backseat said "Mommy! I smell maple pancakes!". Heh. Not good. I don't mind foody, but I don't want to smell THAT foody. SO I put it on anyway and a few minutes later, the horrid maple smell is gone and there is a slightly detectable rose. However, I don't get to enjoy it because it is OVERWHELMED by BUTTER. The blackberry is as weak as the rose unfortunately. I smell like I've been slaving away making a pancake breakfast and the smell is all over me. I feel sticky and dirty and I think I need to take a shower. My skin is a royal pain in the butt, because I know this scent could be just gorgeous if it weren't for the fact that I tend to amp up butter and syrup smells. Gah. Rose and blackberry sound like a genius combination. Sadly, the butter pastry part ruins this for me. Not BPAL's fault of course....just bad chemistry between me and this particular oil.

In the bottle ....wintergreen?!? On, incense, cedar and wintergreen. Wow..what a combo. I'm a sucker for imagery so I really wanted to like this one, but the combination of these notes = Bengay & Auto shops. Heh. Wearing Kathmandu, I feel like an old person before my time. I'm not even sure I'd like this as a room scent. Maybe I'll have to try this one again sometime and give it another chance, but for right now, it's not a winner. *shrugs*

Brings a rush of good luck, lifts the spirit, and helps alleviate depression. Ok! I was expecting peachy-gingery stuff like most people have said. What'd I get? BANANAS. With a little jasmine and a little smoke and the teensiest bit of sunscreen. And I like it together, oddly. It's not too bad. I'm not sure this'll be a perfume scent per se, but maybe it'll work for luck? And if not, it'd make a lovely summer room scent. I think it would go nicely at a BBQ.

Agreed! And unfortunately, I had the same reaction as Andrabell to this. The lotus simply amped itself up into cloying sweetness, and no other note couls come through. Ah well, of to swaps! And here's a third for that! Lotus has it's moments, but generally, and this blend is no different, Lotus becomes something cloying and unpleasant on me. I WANT to like Kurukulla, because I usually like anything with rose (my soul mate). And I can see how this would smell wonderful on the right chemistry. But on me this is a giant sugar bomb and something I'd let my six year old daughter wear instead. *sad* I hope all the people that CAN wear this blend will enjoy it for those of us who can't.

This scent really runs the gamut on me and for the first few stages it definitely does not seem like I can even bear to keep it on, let alone keep the imp. I didn't keep great track of the time it took for each stage, but the stages were: In the bottle: something overly sweet and sharp. Blech. On: FIG NEWTONS! ExACTly like someone has shoved fig newton filling up my nose in a violent way. Ugh. After awhile, grape fig newtons. Still no likey. *shakes head* Then suddenly, before I know it, the overly sweet stuff and the Fig Newtons are gone. What's left is rose, musk and myrh with the tiniest unobtrusive bit of cherry tobacco. So what the hell happened to that unpleasant scent it was to begin with I don't know, but what it has turned into is definitely a keeper! I like it! I like it a lot! The closest I can come to describing this is a lovely, heady, sexy dark mix of Fendi perfume and Blood Kiss. Not a perfume you want to wear with pastels. I'm thinking blood burgundy or plum or better yet, black velvet. And bring 'yer mojo, baby! Niiiiiiiice. Very nice indeed!

Based on the smell straight from the bottle I was thinking it was going to be pretty boring..straight champagne, meh. But on, I immediately get sugared strawberries on top of the champagne. And they're kept under check BY the champagne. There's also something I can't quite identify...something slightly floral. Perrrrfect. Really good all around. It seems very innocent, despite the obvious alcohol smell, and I think this will be perfect for light breezy summer days. I'm so glad this turned out better than the first impression it gave. Bottle on the horizon!

Ok, I'm going to have to restrain myself in order to do this review professionally: In the bottle I smell some sort of unidentifiable floral. On, it immediately becomes a gorgeous soft, non-soapy rose with a *touch* of rich violet. After a while it dries down to a rich violet with a *touch* of sweet, non-soapy rose. Lovely. NOW...how I REALLY feel about Marie.... NOSEGASM! NOSEGASM! NOSEGASM! NOSEGASM! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!

In the bottle I smell jasmine. I whole load of jasmine and nothing else. On, it changes rather quickly. The jasmine is still forefront on me, but it has a lovely background of incense and cream. As others have said, this one is complicated. I don't think I could even begin to try to pick it apart note by note, but I can say with certainty I really like it! It's sophisticated and classy...but with that very dark undercurrent that reminds you it's a BPAL blend. I'd like to get a bottle of this in the future. Oh I wish the 10mls hadn't been done away with.

In the bottle: Creamsicle. Dead on. On: I think Slave1 said "Fruity Pebbles" and I agree. Not too bad as far as smells go, though I'm not sure I want to smell like this. 5 minutes: wow....this stuff morphs quickly. Lemon and some sort of candied flower....and the *tiniest* tinge of cinnamon (!!! can it BE?). Yep, definitely just the teeeniest touch of cinnamon. 20 minutes: Glade cinnamon air freshener with a tad of lemon thrown in. Wow. Chemistry is just the most fascinating thing, isn't it? 1 hour. Ok, well, it gets big points for throw and staying power, and huge points for morphing power, but I'm not sure what it ended up is something I want to smell like. I will keep the imp though because I think this would be an excellent mood-setter for when I write. It's very silly.

Hmm....this is an odd scent for me. I was expecting NOT to like it, actually. I ordered it in an odd mood....one in which I suddenly thought that cloying smells might be a good thing for me. And well, it hasn't turned out so badly for all that. This is one of those oils that will be *just the thing* on some days, while making me sick to my stomach most others. In the imp I smell pancake syrup and butter, but if I apply it on *just* the right time (read probably when I'm PMSing) I don't get syrup at all. (Chemistry, that mystery!) Instead I get pure buttercream. And such heavenly, perfect buttercream that I don't even feel the need to go EAT any buttercream as it seems to work perfectly well just *sniffing* Gluttony instead. Ayup..this oil will be quite useful, I like it, and I'm glad I bought it. But like I said, only on certain days.

I ordered this as a mood-enhancer for the term paper I'm working on about racism against Native Americans. It is seriously perfect. Smells can really bury me in the world I'm trying to bring to life and Coyote didn't fail me. I smell desert wind, leather, and what smells like sweet grass and sage all nicely topped off with a bit of musk and earth. Excellent, excellent, excellent. And when I'm done with my paper, this will be nice just to have around for those days when I need something soft and different.

Yay! I've made 5 orders from BPAL in the last two months and this was the one I'd been wishing for the hardest. Naturally, it was the last to arrive, but it's oh-so-worth-it! I ordered a bottle of Blood Countess and Coyote without ever having so much as tested an imp of either. I was really lucky that my predictions were dead on. Blood Countess ROCKS. It makes be both thirsty and imaginative at the same time. It's rather like Hanging Gardens except that it lacks the spicy note. I smell lots of plum, opium and berries, with some sort of sexy floral around the edges. This is incredibly wet and wanton and lacking in any shame or humility whatsoever. Perfect for it's namesake. I'm glad I have the bottle and I'm certain that it will be replaced when it's finished.

Faustus....wow..this one really morphs and how! It's almost unrecognizable from what it seemed when I first popped the lid on my frimp. At first I smelled what I nearly always smell when there is frankincense or myrrh involved....pencil shavings. But after about a minute, the pencil shavings disappear and I got a nice soft cinnamon *just* grounded by frankincense. Now, after about 3 minutes, the frankincense is only barely detectable with a nicely balanced violet-cinnamon in the forefront. It's really lovely. I can't see wearing this every day or it being a staple, but I can see being in the mood for this often enough to get a bottle. I'll also be interested to try this on my husband and see how it enhances his wonderfully always-sexy scent.

Ok! I got Ladon as a frimp today. I must say that the description turned me off as I'm not fond of apples in any way unless they're in a pie. BUT, that said, I'm really pleasantly surprised at Ladon. At first it's a bit sharp...but it mellows out nicely into a mild green apple smell with a bit of ...it must be the hyacinth. I think I also smell smoke in a very mild, light way. It grounds it nicely. I don't think this is one I'll wear regularly, but it's definitely not one that makes me gag, and maybe it will be a good one for when I'm writing. Always looking for mood-setters.

Wow. This was a frimp and am I ever grateful! Thank you, Lab! First off, right out of the bottle while still sitting in the post office parking lot, I sniffed it and thought..."This is happy. It makes me feel happy." Which just proves Black Phoenix's genius, because at that point I hadn't read the description so it was obviously not psychological. When I got home and read it, the light bulb went off. "Oooh! Ok, so it's MEANT to be happy!". It really works. Cheers me right up whether I like it or not----very comparable in it's sparkly cheeriness to Fae. A+ on this one and a future bottle purchase. As far as notes, I can't smell the champagne, but the plumeria and pear are about equal. It's not too sweet. Just fresh and fruity (I'm not normally overly fond of fruity) with a feel of something different.

CUTE little house, Grrrr! Looks so cozy. Congrats!

I wanted this oil specifically for mood---I love the story it's dedicated to. Because of the story I was expecting something a little more...somber. What I do smell right off the bat is peach, cedar (!!) and more peach. Not a soft juicy peach like in Fae, but more a sharp not-quite-ripe peach. The first five minutes are not beautiful to me. But after about ten, I think that's the olive jumping in as the peach and cedar are softening up. After 20 minutes, there's something else too (this is getting complicated). It's sweet, but I can't identify it so I wonder if it's the spikenard. Whatever it is it really takes the edge off the cedar (which I don't like in a perfume), so it's a welcome savior. 1 hour: these things have really melded together nicely, despite the fact that they definitely don't sound like they would. This is an interesting creation. I don't know if it will be the comforting, holy scent I'd hoped for, but it's an interesting and pleasant one nonetheless. I have a 5ml and I'm not sorry I got it.

Hrm......how can I put this? When I think of 'rose', I think of soft, gently sexy, maybe a little shy. But this rose takes all preconceived notions and unceremoniously dumps them in the trash. This rose walks in like she owns the place and kicks ass. At first, a strong rose soap---abrasive and unpleasant. But after a mere minute, the rose smells like rose jam....sugary and rich, and the leather comes out. And how! Black leather, still warm and musky from recent wear. Whip makes me picture a woman with creamy skin, full lips and an impish gleam in her eye, dressed in white cashmere and cream lace, but carrying a cat 'o nine tails. This is a good one for the right mood. I've got a bottle and I'll keep it for ....a-hem....very special occasions.

This was a frimp. Thanks, Lab! Hmmm.....well, I was waiting for the lemon everyone keeps talking about, but mine morphed into something slightly different--a strong bitter orange. And that's what it stays for the first 10 minutes or so. THEN the orange becomes less bitter and the patchouli and jasmine come forth with a tad (and I mean the tiniest, almost-undetectable) touch of vanilla. Who'd've ever thought orange, patchouli, jasmine and vanilla would make such a mix? Odd, but I like it very much. Good perfume for morning and getting off on the right foot, methinks.

Wow--reading all the descriptions to do with rocks and vanilla, I really expected just that. Instead, I found no evidence of rocks. What I did find was a sweet surprise called........ Lush's American Cream! Yep, American Cream bottled. To the T! Wow!! I'll have to get a bottle of Black Opal to go with my American Cream/Twinkle bath bomb.

Man, I hate to give this one a not-so-enamored review, especially when it seems to be so loved (except by just a few people), but it seriously disappointed me. I'm glad I only ordered an imp, instead of the 5ml I was tempted to go for. It's probably my fault it didn't turn out the way I'd hoped, because I was seriously hoping for something that smelled Downy-ish or Tide-Y or even Gain-Y. . Instead, I get floral, floral, floral, perfume-y, perfume-y, perfume-y and a tad of generic vanilla. I read a lot of reviews here that say it smells just like fresh laundry and laundromats. All I can say is that I must be using entirely different detergents and fabric softeners than everyone else. I cannot pick out the particular floral notes, but I sure don't smell any 'breeze'......instead, the closest way I could describe it would be this: Go to Target or Wal-Mart and to the toiletries section to find the store-brand body sprays. Pick out the one with the most typical cheesy name like "Morning Dew" or "Sea Mist", and then douse yourself in it. THAT is what I smell with Dirty. I really *wanted* to like it, and I might very well have, had I not placed such high expectations on it before I got it. Like I said, this is entirely my fault. *sigh* Why can't someone just bottle April Fresh Downy for personal use?

This was a frimp (thank you, Lab!) and it is IN-ta-desting! This oil is playful and hard to describe, so the best I can do is this: Imagine "O" is a woman and she takes a bath in grape koolaid mixed with cranberry juice. Ayup, that's Skuld. Honey, Grape and Cranberry. I don't get a bit of ylang ylang, which is a good thing since ylang ylang and I aren't impressed with one another. Oddly though, even if my description doesn't sound flattering, I rather like the fragrance. I think however, I'd much rather have this scent in a room candle than on my wrists. Perhaps I shall collect a few imps of this and make a candle.

Wow---I was wondering how in the world I was going to manage to describe this marvelous oil, but thanks, you did it for me! All I can add is that even though I tried this in a frimp over a year ago, for some reason it just didn't click with me the first time. All of a sudden a few months ago I got this odd urge to try it again, so I ordered 5ml. I came in today and WOW WOW WOW. I don't know how I managed to go so long without it. The lemon-y bit I'm smelling must be the bergamot, and I definitely smell the musk. The peach is lost on me, which is strange since it seems so obvious to everyone else. No matter, I normally don't like fruit smells anyway, and especially not peach. But this scent is beautiful, light, sweet but not cloying, and .....well......sparkly. As Tart says, it's like catnip, and it makes me happy! *contented sigh*