JazzieCazzie

Working my way through my BPAL collection alphabetically, revisiting and reviewing and re-reviewing where necessary every scent I own, sorting out a comprehensive swap list and adjusting a wish list ... also getting a much better feel, by doing this all at once, of the notes that seem to be winner-winner-winners and which ones are ... well, not. Third Charm was one of the very few bottles I own that I got to sniff before buying ... after my first trip to Dark Delicacies in January 2012, where I spent hours sniffing every bottle and coming away with three, this time (I go out to WeHo every January to visit my daughter) I came armed with a list of scents I wanted to try that had been released in the previous year and Third Charm was on it. The plan had been to buy three bottles but I got sidetracked by the amazing BPTP candles and had to have Shub and Dragon's Blood, leaving me with enough for ONE bottle ... and as soon as I sniffed Third Charm, the decision was shockingly easy. This review comes from a decant imp from the bottle purchased in January 2013. Obviously, not really aged yet. IN THE IMP: COLA!!!!!!! (I love the cola scent). INCENSE!!!!!!!! Applied pretty liberally to both wrists and both crooks of arms since I was about to go out for the evening, something I rarely do these days. WET: Incense and cola, truly one of my favorite combos. Some woodsy notes, some very deep floral notes way at the bottom, but overall incense and cola. DRYDOWN: Coca cola and incense. That is honestly ALL I get and it's all I want. It lasts a good long time. I sniff my arms frequently during dinner. And I may actually say, randomly, a few times "DAMN I SMELL SO GOOD." OVERALL: This. Is. Just. So. Damned. GOOOOOOOOOOOOD. It is absolutely a top 5 for me. I definitely get, with my own body chemistry, the Scherezade comps (which, not coincidentally, is ALSO a top 5 scent for me). And, just as luckily, I DON'T get Snake Oil from it at all (I respect and admire Snake Oil but it doesn't work that well on me). I think if I were in a place where I needed to pick ONE signature scent from the BPAL domain, this would be very much in contention. It's one of those "good any time, anywhere" scents on me. On a scale of 1-5, obviously a 5.

Continuing my journey through the T region of my BPAL collection, en route to a complete retesting, revisiting and reviewing of my precious. Surprised I never reviewed this, one of my faves. This testing camp from an imp decanted from my own original 5 ML of this from around its release. IN THE IMP: Moco-chocolata-yaya!!! Chocolicious! And other things that represent mostly chocolate with a kick. Applied to wrist and into crook of arm. WET: Chocolate incense! Or incense-y chocolate! No harshness of leather (or at least how I've found the leather note in other blends to harsh my own BPAL buzz) and minimal flowers. Just chocolate and incense. DRYDOWN: It gets a little smoky and I actually figure out that what it smells like, to me, is bacon-chocolate!!! BACON CHOCOLATE! Yessssssss. OVERALL: I'd forgotten how much I absolutely love this scent, and it's sort of sat dormant in my box (or wherever I've been storing my BPAL in the past, though always the requisite cool dry places). Now that I've been reminded, it will get much more wear though it's not really an "every day" kind of scent. I think this would be a hugely popular scent in the commercial marketplace right now, since it seems designer gourmet chocolates are all the rage. And Beth does a magical job with chocolate scents. On a scale of 1-5, a 5 for sure.

Working my way through reviewing every scent in my collection, A-Z, so you can tell I'm getting close to the end here ... got a bottle of this via the Forum earlier this year and am testing from a decant from said bottle. IN THE IMP: Light, woodsy and herbal, and ever-so-slightly creamily fruity. Dabbed on one wrist and in the crook of my arm. WET: Yes, very definitely a "creamy fruitiness" which is more creamy than fruity. I am guessing it's the olive blossom, which gives the herbal green woodsiness more of a roundness, for lack of a better word. DRYDOWN: Sadly, I am not getting the fig which so many people have commented on ... I say sadly simply because j'adore fig. The scent overall is very complex and interesting and it really really really reminds me of another BPAL scent. Others have mentioned possibilities but what I keep thinking (and can't confirm because I don't have it) is Hanging Gardens ... anyone else smelled the two and can compare? The drydown is reasonably true to the wet smell, creamy and light and green and slightly fruity. I would add that the one note that rises on drydown and was not really noticeable to me when wet is the tobacco ... not pipe tobacco like, say, Tombstone but rather unsmoked cigarette tobacco. It reminds me vaguely of my dad who was a Camel Unfiltered man. OVERALL: I like this, I like this a lot, but I don't LOVE it. There is some component in it that makes me ever so slightly queasy. As a result, I expect this will be going onto the swap list that will, hopefully by May 1, FINALLY be ready to roll out. On a scale of 1-5, a strong 3.

Received this as "lagniappe" from a forum purchase/swap. I really expected to HATE it since pretty much every single note in it is a dealbreaker for me, or darned close, but based on my anal-retentive project of trying and reviewing or revisiting every single scent in my BPAL collection to prepare my comprehensive swaplist, I forged ahead with caution. IN THE IMP: So many deal-breaking notes and yet ... on first sniff ... oddly not unappealing. Watermelon is the predominant note, not something I'd associate with what I want to smell like. But very recognizable and unique. Dabbed on my wrist and in the crook of my arm. WET: I'm shocked by the fact that I don't hate this. It's much more like fruit salad in a bottle than fruity perfume, the latter of which 9 times out of 10 makes me want to wash it off, retch or both. DRYDOWN: Alas, as it dries down the fruity stench rises for me. Not to the point of washing it off but definitely to the point to rapidly hustling it off to the swap box (actually, the lagniappe part of it since the imp I received was only half full anyway). OVERALL: I don't hate hate hate it and that's a lot more than I expected so I may give it a few more fractions of a point just for that. On a scale of 1-5, a 1.9.

Getting into the homestretch of my journey through my BPALs, A-Z, and already starting to prep the swap list that I will finally be able to post once I finish ... um, W. I have no X-Y-Zs. This was an imp I received as lagniappe in a forum swap/purchase. IN THE IMP: Sharp and clean and unusual. Not something I could put my finger on. Dabbed cautiously on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: A very "white" scent. Not rosy at all at first though that is usually a note that amps on me. I expected not to like this but I don't DISLIKE it. It's clean and sharp and slightly acerbic. Not resiny, not woody, not floral. Just ... sharp. DRYDOWN: Aaaaaand here comes the rose. Not in-your-face rose but more like tea rose. The other notes fade to the background but this isn't strong enough to be a washoff. OVERALL: I don't dislike this. I could keep it but probably would never wear it so instead it's off to the swap list. I think this would make a great bath oil, though. On a scale of 1-5, about a 2.8.

And with this review, I complete my trip through the Letter S as I near the end of my journey of reviewing and revisiting every one of my BPALs, A-Z, in preparation for a comprehensive swap list AND wish list, coming to a forum near you (really near you, if you're reading this post) soon. A little background ... I discovered the original (2004) Scorpio when the first batch of celestials were being taken off the site, and I ADORED it ... here is a link to that review, since these threads are separate ... 2004 Scorpio review However, reading the reviews for Scorpio 2007 intrigued me ... while the notes didn't sound the same, they DID sound like notes I'd like a lot, and it was being compared to some of my favorite blends like Schwarzer Mond (which I believe I revisited yesterday). I found a bottle on eBay and put in a bid, but during that span of waiting, a forumite was also selling a bottle so I bought that ... AND won the eBay ... so I now have two bottles of Scorpio. This review comes from an imp I decanted from one of the bottles. IN THE IMP: Surprisingly "perfumey" without a specific note being recognizable on first sniff. Hoping that upon application that will change. Dabbed on one wrist and in the crook of my arm. WET: A deep, dark brown musk with a slight burn. Woody but not really resiny to me. I'm not getting ANY dragon's blood at all (surprising, since that tends to amp on me and is a favorite note of mine), nor basil, nor opoponax, ... and certainly none of the spicy sultry sweetness I recall from the original. I admit to being disappointed. DRYDOWN: I've almost given up on this and then ... an hour or two later ... sniff the crook of my arm and ... divine. Kind of ambery and sultry and spicy. Really fantastic and worth waiting for. OVERALL: I panicked unnecessarily. Scorpio is different but still wonderful. On a scale of 1-5, a 4.6

Received a sniffie of this from a lovely forumite in a swap ... IN THE IMP: For a brief first moment, it's oddly acerbic and almost vinegar-like, but then the pure carnation rises out of the imp and envelops me. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm, reasonably lightly since there's only about an eighth of an imp ... don't want to waste the preshuss. WET: Strong, fabulous and divine spicy carnation. Kind of perfection. DRYDOWN: Fades down a little too quickly for my liking, but am sure if I had a big bottle of this, I'd be able to slather and it would last longer. The final faint stages have a bit of myrrh-like powder to them. OVERALL: It's always tough to write much about a single note because, you know, it's a single note. So either it's one you like or it's one you don't, but there's not that much to describe. SOOOOO. This is one I very much love. And hope I can somehow nab a big bottle somewhere somehow. On a scale of 1-5, a 5.

Working my way through my collection of BPAL, old and new, imps and bottles, revisiting or reviewing for the first time as I come closer to completing one comprehensive swap list and one comprehensive wishlist. This was a forum purchase of a bottle last month, and tested from a decant I created from said bottle (I like to have ALL my smells in single imps, the better to travel with, my dear). IN THE IMP: Milky chocolate. Not quite "milk chocolate" per se and not pure chocolate like Bliss, but sort of close ... chocolate with warm milk. Dabbed on one wrist and in crook of arm. WET: Chocolate with an odd kick. I would never have come up with the "glue" or "paste" or "plastic" notes had I not read the description and the reviews (read while decising whether to buy it) but with them in the back of my head, I can understand them. I definitely get the marshmallowy sweetness. Kind of like chocolate fondue. Bliss with a kiss. DRYDOWN: At first, I admit, I'm not crazy about it. It's not the pure chocolate bliss of Bliss but rather whatever that odd note is becomes slightly cloying as it dries down. However patience is a virtue and the final drydown is MUCH more lovely. Subtle and chocolatey with just that marshmallowy sub-note to it. I'm not sure I would have placed the final mystery note as coconut ... to me there is a very very ever-so-slight resinous quality to it. OVERALL: I like this a lot. I don't love love love it but I don't have many scents like it (Velvet and Tezcaplitoca are, I think, my only cocoa blends since I have Bliss on my wish list but don't have any of it right now). My thinking is that I will keep the bottle and get wear out of it but will not be averse to decanting from it once I release my swap list. On a scale of 1-5, a 4.

My 2006 original bottle, and testing a full decant from my own bottle, now aged, oh, shall we say 7 years? Working my way through my entire collection, putting aside scents that don't work and will become part of the upcoming swapapalooza and what will be added to wishlists. But for now ... IN THE IMP: Spicy delicious cola thank you, I believe, to the opoponax, while the resins make it more syrups. Slather pretty lavishly on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: Spicy coca cola, right down to nose tingle, but also has throw of what strikes me as fresh turned dark wet dirt in a vegetable field. They all combine so perfectly, this is about as good a wet scent as there is. DRYDOWN: Still spicy, rich, resiny, woody and cola-like, deep and delicious, hours later. Nothing wrong here. OVERALL: Just a damned perfect blend. On a scale of 1-5, a 5+ EDITING TO ADD a little note on the 2013 version (I have an imp of the 2008 which I did not review, and never tried the 2011 so not sure if the difference here is a matter of aging or a possible tiny change in the formula) ... Still amazing, fabulous, gorgeous and brilliant and I still bow at Brian's feet for this scent. But what I noticed right away was a hit of spicy sweetness that wasn't as prevalent in my 2006 blend ... It reminds me a lot of Shub. Is it possible there is some ginger in this? Whatever it is, it is absolutely still fantastic and still rates a rare 5+ on my meter.

Working my way through all of my BPAL to finally come up with a comprehensive swap list AND wishlist, I also fortified said collection with some imps of old that I knew I liked but no longer had. Salome was part of that impapalooza purchase and it is that fresh imp from the Lab which I tested here. Surprised indeed that I never reviewed this ... I always associated it with Eclipse as the two "almond scents" that I liked a lot. IN THE IMP: The first blast is almond. Jasmine joins it very quickly but, in the imp, it remains predominantly almondy sweet. Dabbed onto wrist and into crook of arm. WET: Upon contact, the jasmine and sandalwood notes immediately jump into the fray and combine so perfectly with the almond, that the latter is really no longer identifiable in and of itself (and, happily, it DOESN'T go cherry on me, since that is a tummy-turning note). I definitely get a hint of "Flying Fox," as a few others have noted, from the jasmine bu t the sandalwood is also REALLY prominent in terms of offsetting the almond and keeping the blend from being too sweet. DRYDOWN: It is nose-ticklingly complex, a blend of sweetness and smoke and resin and wood. On my wrist, it is sweeter with very little evidence of the sandalwood. Yet in the crook of my arm I'd say the wood/incense scent is predominant. OVERALL: This is absolutely one of the most unique and unusual of BPAL's blends, in my opinion. You can identify all of the notes and yet, when combined, none of them are predominant, but rather one ineffible and inexplicable mysterious scent. It's really a work of art. On a scale of 1-5, a 4.6

Received as lagniappe in a swap or purchase, not long ago but I can't recall which one. IN THE IMP: Rose rose rose rose rose. More of a fresh rose, like if you stick your nose in a rosebush, but all rose and nothing but, nevertheless. Dabbed on wrist and then ... decided that was enough because it was already throwing like crazy. WET: Rose rose rose rose rose. DRYDOWN: Rinse and repeat. Or in my case, rinse. OVERALL: If you like -- no, love -- rose, this would be a great scent for you. It is pure fresh rose, not rose potpourri or rose scent. However, honestly, rose doesn't always play nicely on me and then compounds it by amping like nobody's business so for me, this is straight to the swap list (coming soon to a forum near you). On a scale of 1-5, 2.5.

Received an imp of this as lovely lagniappe in a recent swap and always especially grateful and appreciative to get something so rare. Sadly, as I tested this as part of my alphabetical journey through A-Z of all of my BPAL imps and bottles, en route to finalizing a comprehensive swap list and wishlist, this really, really, really did not work on me. IN THE IMP: No likey though can't put my finger on the specific note that is setting my teeth on edge. I don't think it's vanilla because, while vanilla tends to go play doh on me on drydown, I generally don't have issues with it when wet. Booze? Fruit? Caramel? Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm in hopes that it was an in-imp aberration. WET: Just ... no. If it's vanilla doing this to my nose and stomach, it's evil vanilla. Overly sweet, way too sweet, cloying, nauseatingly so, but moreso it's boozy and fruity, two dealbreakers for me and neither of one I expected in the description. No cream. No vanilla. No frosting. No cake. No sprinkles. DRYDOWN: Sadly, one of the worst scents on my skin in years. And it has legs. And arms. And other limbs. Even after washing it off it remained. In fact, when I came back into my study hours later, the whole room reeked. It's a rare BPAL that will take over the scent from all the other BPAL's that have preceded it AND the two candles. OVERALL: This makes me even sadder because it's a Lilith scent and I so wanted to love it. ON a scale of 1-5, a 1.

Going through all of my BPAL scents, old and new, imps and bottles, to revisit and review (either for first time or as edit), with plans to finally have a comprehensive swap list AND wish list when I'm done. I don't remember from whom I got this imp, but it was, I'm pretty sure, as lagniappe in another purchase (it MAY have been a forum imp buy). All I know is that the imp came from a decant circle organized by TrailerTrashPrincess, but I'm not sure if I got this from her ... I believe I got it at the same time as The Ifrit. Anyway ... IN THE IMP: Funny how so many of us are defining this as a color rather than as a note. The first thing I wrote down: "light green." I couldn't quite put my finger on the notes specifically (especially having grown up in a city) but it did bring images of walking in the fields (with dandelions) near my grandparents apartment, down by the river, in early spring. Applied to wrist and into crook of arm. WET: It's a combination of spring about to bloom, just ever-so-slightly fruity and pungent, combined with being in an arts and crafts room at school. DRYDOWN: Believe it or not, this dries down to booze. Or, more specifically, beer. Not in a bad way. Not in a "this is what a bar smells like the morning after a party." But rather a "this is what a glass of good beer or maybe dandelion wine smells like after someone finished it, while it's still kind of fresh and cold." It's also got a cologne smell, but a light fresh cologne. OVERALL: I kept this because I loved the scent so much but now I understand why I haven't worn it. It is VERY masculine. My hubby does not like to wear smellies but I am going to see if I can convince him to try this because it is a divine smell for a guy. If not, I'll pop it onto the swap list or frimp it to someone in a swap who has a guy they'd like to smell awesome. On a scale of 1-5, a 3.5 for me but a 4+ for a guy.

Working my way alphabetically through all of my BPAL scents -- new and old, imps and bottles, ones I chose and ones that I acquired via frimp or lagniappe. This was a Lab frimp from my most recent purchase. It is, to the best of my knowledge, completely new to me. IN THE IMP: It really does smell like heat, if heat has a smell. Clean heat. Dabbed on one wrist and the crook of that arm. WET: Surprisingly, I seem to be getting a very slightly fruity resiny scent mixed with dryer sheets straight out of the laundry. DRYDOWN: Yup. Fruity. Kind of like hops or grain, though. Very beige. I think I am getting a lot of interesting throw but will add that I am test-driving this at the same time that I have School House on the other arm and the two are very similar so during drydown I am not totally sure which notes are coming from which arm. But it's sweet and dry and surprisingly delicious. OVERALL: This is definitely, to me at least, a "guy scent." Not that it smells bad on me. It doesn't. But I feel it's not something I could or would wear though I love sniffing it. (Note: I feel the same way about School House this time around and though my husband is not a scent wearer, I am going to "regift" him with both imps and see if he'd be willing to wear either/or. If not, they'll go onto swap list so someone else's guy can smell awesome). On a scale of 1-5, a 3.5 but for someone else, preferably male.

Happy recipient of a Goblin Squirt of this in my last Labbie order and so glad I was ... had already fallen for Alchemical as a spray so hoping he'd have some company! I agree with the Christmas pot-pourri scent but in a good way, not in the "what it smells like in the Glade aisle of the Giant" way. Spicy, kicky, autumnal, something you'd get before you start heating up the mulling spices. I do think of it as a cold weather scent so for now, with the temps finally having hit 90 today, I think this may get tucked away until the fall and winter but it will definitely come out to play what that arrives.

Received this as a generous lagniappe in a recent trade and confess I just cringed when I saw it. I knew that for the sake of completion for my project I was going to have review it which meant wearing it again, however briefly, Though I had never reviewed it here, this was, I admit, one of the biggest disasters when it came in contact with my body chemistry of any scent short of, perhaps, Kitsune-Tsuki, Sacred Whore or Samhain. Top 5 all time fails. But hey, my body chemistry has changed. Maybe it will be different now. And maybe pigs will fly out of my butt if I don't learn my lesson about wine notes and leather and rose. The ones with four-alarm warning notes on my Notes I Hate and Love list. IN THE IMP: Sour wine and stale stuffy flowers. It smells like a bad morning after a night of too much purple-colored alcohol. And I've had a few of those. Dabbed lightly on one wrist. WET: I honestly CAN see why this would be so appealing to people. It's red and purple fruity, complex and sweet. But to me it's cloying, stifling and makes my gorge rise. It's me, not you, Wanda. DRYDOWN: Much more rose and spilled wine all over the floor the morning after a night out at a club before they've come in to mop up. On a scale of 1-5, a 1.1. I'm saving the 1 for Kitsune or Sacred Whore and hope I never have to try those again. The good news is that I believe of the rest of the 50 or so scents I still have left to test drive, review and prep for swap or keep status, there are only about 6 I think may not be keepers!

Received as lagniappe in a swap and because I am intent on actually trying -- revisiting or reviewing -- every single scent in my BPAL collection for the sake of science and anal-retentiveness, I test drove this today (simultaneously with another lagniappe scent that I knew was death on me). IN THE IMP: Straight rose. Rose rose in-your-face rose. And that doesn't bode well. Dabbed some on one wrist. I figured that would be more than enough and I was right. WET: ROSE ROSE ROSE ROSE ROSE. And the much fainter scent of a high-end furniture store with high-backed chairs. Not exactly what I imagine when I think of a leather scent but then again I'm not sure there is anything that I would find appealing about a leather scent anyway. Obviously many disagree since it is quite a popular note on here. DRYDOWN: Thankfully it doesn't last too long (and I didn't put too much on). ROSE fades to ROSe to ROse to Rose and finally to just rose. OVERALL: This furniture store is closed. Rose only plays nicely on me when it takes a back seat (hahahaha chair joke). On a scale of 1-5, a 1.5

Received as a lagniappe in a swap. I'm pretty sure I've tried this before and it didn't work for me but I can't recall why and I didn't review it, so adding this to my project of reviewing and/or revisiting every single scent I own, including ones that I know are scents of death (those are the next two on the list, later this evening, before I shower LOL). IN THE IMP: Cleanser? Clean cleanser, not Pledge or Lysol, but definitely some sort of household cleanser. Applied very delicately on wrist. WET: Very very faint. And still like a cleanser. Maybe "toner" would be a better word for it. Like the flowery water they sell for sensitive skin? It's not strong, it's not interesting, it's not complex. I add a little more to try to get a read on it and it still remains so faint on me I can barely smell it. DRYDOWN: Of course, the rose rises and that's my least favorite note in the blend. So it's basically very faint rose. Clean rose. Enough that I know I'm wearing something with rose in it, but that's about all. Not in your face at all. OVERALL: I guess this would be a good gift if you wanted to give a scent to someone who doesn't really like strong scents. It's not unpleasant. On a scale of 1-5, a 2.

Received this as lagniappe in a swap. One of four lagniappes, ALL of which had dealbreaker notes of doom for me, but in my anal-retentive plan to try EVERY SINGLE SCENT I OWN, I forged ahead ... gulp. Note of Doom in this one: PLUM. Ugh. Rose is also a bad bad note on me a lot of the time but not a Note Of Doom. IN THE IMP: The primary note I get is frankincense, which is a good thing. I also get a LOT of rose, which is not such a good thing because rose only tends to work on me when it's a way-down note, not an in-your-face note. This is ... interesting. I don't smell the plum in the imp. Dabbed very very very cautiously on my wrist. WET: Frankincense and paint remover. I guess it could be worse. I don't get a lot of the plum per se in the usual "get this off of me right now now now now now" way. But it is winey. Which I like in my mouth but not on my skin. DRYDOWN: Just way too strong and perfumey and purple, even applied to the tiniest degree. OVERALL: I guess I can see why the complexity of this would be good for people who like all of these notes. But I'm not one of them. On a scale of 1-5, 1 1.5

This is a tough review to write but since I am determined to go through every single one of my scents and review them, I'm going to try. You'll understand the issue when I finish writing it. This was a scent I very very much wanted to try since I love pretty much every note in it. Purchased the imp as well as a few others, along with about a half-bottle of another DC'd LE, on the forum. The imp was only about half-full and it clearly came from an old decant circle (it is marked 2009 so it's from the original release, I assume). The label was very old and faded and stained and I couldn't make out if there was ID of which circle it came from. Anyway, to proceed: IN THE IMP: Primarily patchouli and musk, with a sweetness underlying it. Perhaps the vanilla? Or the myrrh? Very pleasant and not very strong so I looked forward to how this would play on my skin. Dabbed reasonably generously on wrist and into crook of the arm, since they often tend to yield slightly different results and there is usually a lot more throw and longer legs in the crook. WET: At first sniff, I kind of recoiled. It just smells like ... department store perfume. That slightly alcohol-based scent which I don't associate with ANY of the notes in this. NOR did I GET ANY of the notes in the listed blend when it went on wet, not even the ones I'd sniffed to lightly in the imp. No resin. No spice. No sweetness. Okay, I figured I'd wait for the drydown because that is often where these notes like to make their mark on me. DRYDOWN: Well, it barely didn't even get there. Within about two minutes (no exaggeration), the whole thing was GONE. No trace of it on my wrist. No trace of it in the crook of my arm. I can't remember this ever happening with a BPAL scent. After about 15 minutes, I got a whiff of the myrrh drydown, the powdery kind, the one I recognize (especially in the crook of my arm). That is always one that amps hugely on me so of course it would be the only note that actually stayed on me LOL. OVERALL: I'm just perplexed. Although I capped the imp back very tightly, I guess when I opened it, some of it seeped out onto the outer part of the imp and I saw a small pool on my desk calendar. I dipped my finger in it and it didn't smell like ANYTHING. And I just sniffed the dried stain on the paper and, again, nothing. I'm going to guess that either Raven's Moon just doesn't age well, or perhaps during the journey this imp has taken maybe it went through a decanting process that affected it? I may need to look for, perhaps, one of the more recent versions of it to re-test. I'm hoping there will be other current reviews of the 2009 blend so I can see whether others have experienced the same results as I did. ON a scale of 1-5, I have to give it an incomplete. I've never done that before.

Received an imp of this as lagniappe in a purchase and though I had a pretty good idea of what it would be like based on the notes, I am assiduously sticking to my plan of working my way through every single imp, frimp, bottle and sniffie I have, A-Z, so I can create one comprehensive swaplist and wishlist. IN THE IMP: About as "white floral" as white floral can be. Strong. Clean, Powerful. Florally florally floral. Dabbed on one wrist. Since these notes tend to amp on me, and not necessarily in a good way, not taking the chance of putting it into the crook of my arm where bad scents go to die. WET: All of the floral notes listed are very much presented and accounted for. Hello, lily, with your clean (some might say soapy, but it's a high end soap) scent. Hi rose, doing your usual job of pushing your way to the front of the line. Chrysanthemum, I see you. Carnation, you are being way too shy since you're my favorite note listed. While I know this is listed as a funereal scent, to me it's much more like a wedding bouquet/wedding ceremony of someone who really LOVES white flowers but maybe I'm a glass half full kind of person (actually, I'm not). While wet, it's not TOO in my face and it's more a very high-end expensive soap smell. Nothing wrong with that ... except that, from past experience, I know what these do on drydown ... 3 ... 2 ... 1 DRYDOWN: Yup. Just gets stronger and stronger to the point of really overpowering me with its white floral perfume. It is absolutely NOT an unpleasant scent. It's just that there's way too much of it for me, and that's even with a very slight application of it. OVERALL: I realize that lilies go "soap" on me and that's not a bad thing in and of itself, it's just too strong for me. Ditto on roses amping up way too much most of the time. I have found that I tend to categorize BPAL florals into two distinct areas -- the "white florals" like this and the "lush florals" which, to me, are scents like Veil and Twilight, two of my all-time favorites. I'm a "lush floral" person. If you are a "white floral" person, who loves the clean white flower scents like lilies and roses, this would probably be absolutely divine on you. It is absolutely "what you see is what you get." But for me, it goes into the swap box. On a scale of 1-5, it's a 3 because it's a perfectly nice scent and isn't stinky on me or anything, doesn't have any dealbreaker notes, it just doesn't work for me.

Though I had only tried a few of the CD scents back in the day, perusing some of the descriptions in my spare time had me add this to my wish list and was able to snare a partial imp on the forum, about 60% full or so ... enough to test drive to add to my alphabetical journey through my goodies and save for occasional use for the future. IN THE IMP: There is something really odd and unique and familiar about this scent in the imp that I cannot place for the life of me. It may be the smoke, but it's ever so slightly metallic and sharp. I'm a huge cinnamon fan (one of those people who thinks there's no such thing as a BPAL blend that isn't made even better by adding cinnamon), but in the imp the cinnamon is more bark than spice. Dab on wrist and into crook of arm. WET: Not totally unexpectedly, this sweetens almost immediately upon hitting my skin. The myrrh and cinnamon amp followed by a very unique spiciness that I still can't put my finger on. Whatever it is, the elusive scent sweetens and softens the scent but not to the point of cloying. It still holds that smoke and bark ... DRYDOWN: I love how this morphs continuously, and differently between the wrist and the crook (if I think I will like a scent, I'll apply it in both places because the wrist is really dry whereas the crook of the arm has just enough perspiration to create a different throw and in the long run I need to like BOTH In a keeper). On the wrist, this is absolutely fabulous. Sweet and spicy and resiny and smoky and everything that is good. In the crook, it has more spice but also, for a few minutes, has that "BO" wonky scent that myrrh has on me when it amps/dries down (but thankfully it doesn't last too long). OVERALL: This is absolutely a keeper. And the fact that I don't have a lot of it in the imp actually makes my life easier because I probably wouldn't make it a "go to" scent for application on any part of my body which sweats LOL (crooks of arms, cleavage, even behind ears) BUT it's DIVINE DIVINE DIVINE on my wrists and maybe my neck. Which will make it last longer. On a scale of 1-5, I'd give it about a 3.5 on the sweat points, a 5 on the dry points and a 4-ish overall.

Almost finished up with the P segment of my alphabetical testing tour of all of my BPAL collection, this tester review brought to you via my own decant from a 5 ML bottle of Pontarlier purchased right around its release. IN THE IMP: A deep fruity purple floral. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: This is like being in the shade of a tree covered with fragrant blossoms, somewhere on a hill, when the weather is warm but not hot. It's a fresh and sweet scent that has so many different notes to it. It reminds me the tiniest bit of my memory of first trying Glasgow, one of the very first BPAL scents I tried when I received an imp of it with my very first order ... (I would not have ordered something with blackberry and heather, and yet it worked for me the way this does). There is even a slightly aquatic note, something that usually does NOT play nicely on me but with Pontarlier they all work. DRYDOWN: It remains a scent that is PERFECT for Wanderlust ... it is evocative of places I've been and places I've never been. It quiets down to a cool purple scent that makes me feel like I'm sitting by a mountain lake. It's a foreign meadow where I want to run barefoot. OVERALL: I guess this review probably doesn't help anyone who is considering trying Pontarlier, LOL, which probably defeats the purpose of a review. But it is so BPAL in how it's just complex and complicated and makes you feel and see and imagine things, rather than just smell like something. Or maybe the Green Fairy is blowing my mind. On a scale of 1-5, a 4.3 or so.

Purchased an imp of this in a recent impapalooza buy from the Lab, not really sure why since rose is so iffy on me, but took the plunge. IN THE IMP: SOOOOO simple. Rose lit up by a bright complementary flower. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: I don't think I'd ever be able to identify the scent of narcissus but whatever it is, it works beautifully with this Moroccan rose. It asserts itself in a way I can only describe as a bright vermilion. Neither note is all "in your face." The rose is one of the most perfectly subtle roses. DRYDOWN: I am so glad I got this. This is by far one of my favorite "rose" scents and yet it's so much more. For whatever reason, this scent, especially on drydown, is more evocative of images and impressions that specific notes. I get the image of two strong and assertive (but not pushy) women in fashionable suits, warm and vivacious and working together to bring out one another's best traits. It's two strong flowers that co-exist beautifully, not competing but co-existing peacefully and seamlessly. OVERALL: I could see one of the awesome strong women characters on "Mad Men" wearing this. Maybe Joan. On a scale of 1-5, a surprising 4-plus.

Purchased this during one of my "let's make a list of scents I want to try and buy a bunch of imp ears from the Lab" buy but not the most recent one, so not quite sure how long I've had this. Working my wait through all of my BPAL scents to sort through and create a comprehensive swaplist AND wishlist. I know I've tried this but couldn't really remember what I thought so it was sort of "new again to me." IN THE IMP: Surprisingly foody. The first word that came to mind in terms of a description was "velvety." Kind of sharp and red and spicy. Dabbed on wrist and into crook of arm. Despite my description of it as "red," it leaves a distinctly amber-colored sheen kind of like medicine. WET: Interesting that I used word "velvety" because, upon application, it reminds me SO much of Velvet. Despite the apparent lack of foody notes, to me it is very foody. It's like Velvet with red amber. Rich, spicy, creamy. DRYDOWN: Probably not that surprisingly, this is where the listed notes become more predominant and it goes more powdery and resiny. I'm surprised not to see myrrh because I am getting a little of that as well. I can definitely note the amber, but find that red amber does not have the same "comfort note" I get from golden amber. OVERALL: I like this a lot. It morphs a lot on me from wet to dry, but both scents work for me. It wouldn't be an every-day scent for me, but whereas I considered putting it into the swap box because I do indeed have other scents that are similar and probably preferable, I will keep it in the keeper box because I really DO like it and you never know (however, it's that kind of on-the-bubble scent that, if I saw it on the ISO list of someone who had something I wanted, I wouldn't hesitate to offer it up in a swap). On a scale of 1-5, about a 4+.