JazzieCazzie

Somewhat surprised to see that I never reviewed this previously ... I'm going to call this a "re-visit." I had an imp of this awhile back and while I remember being intrigued by it and certainly not DISLIKING it, I clearly parted with it at some point so when I placed an impapalooza order from the Lab recently, I picked up another imp of this. My memories of it were, not surprisingly, strong and maple syrupy. And perhaps a little too strong and unique to wear on a regular basis. ACQUIRED: Purchased as imp from Lab February 2013. IN IMP: A really powerful double-barreled hit of resin/incense and whatever the super-syrupy-sweet note is. But because it is so complex, I'm not sure I would have IMMEDIATELY thought "maple syrup" without the recollection of it previously. It definitely takes a moment to process the notes and place the scent. APPLIED: Just about a dab-and-a-half on one wrist, rubbed onto other wrist ... again, remembered it was strong so didn't want to overapply. WET: To me, this is SO complex and, aside from the incense/resin note, I honestly get more "images" than specific notes and they're really jumbled ... machinery, sand, sea, salt, waffles, suntan lotion ... as I continue to sniff, I start making some of the connections. I think the sweetness is at least in part due to coconut, which would explain why I keep thinking "this really reminds me of suntan lotion and being by the seaside." DRYDOWN: Now I remember why I regifted it the first time. It starts drying down into what I can only call powdery "Playdoh." It may be coconut, it may be vanilla. It is a note that has had this body-chemistry on me in other BPAL scents. In fact, I went back and re-read my Snow White review from 2005 and I singled out a Playdoh effect combined with coconut-based suntan oil. So it may not be coconut as a note per se, but it is a note that has that effect on me (and my daughter confirmed it exactly at the time, sniffing it and going ... "Wait, I know that smell ... let me put my finger on it ... PLAYDOH!") But since as far as I can tell neither Al Azif nor Snow White specified the oils, I haven't been sure which one it was ... It's not nasty, I don't feel the need to go take another shower (like I did with, say, Sacred Whore of Babylon or anything with orchid in it). The resiny incense part offsets the powdery sweetness enough to make it nice enough. I wouldn't be surprised if, when I go out later, I get compliments on it. It's just not something I would choose to wear again when I have so many other awesome scents that I adore. I'd give it a 3.5 overall for sheer creativity and complexity, a 2 ON ME and it goes into the regifting slot of my imp box to make someone happy and sweet-smelling down the road.

Been awhile since I've done full-on reviews (and I did a LOT of them back in the day), so forgive me if I'm a little rusty at this but since I've just been updating, spread-sheeting and adding to my imp AND bottle boxes, no better time than to review everything that fell through the cracks in the meanwhile, since I'll be trying new scents every day now! I don't remember when I bought this imp (it could even have been a frimp but, based on the notes I reviewed AFTER testing, I'm sure I chose it myself). IMP: Dark, SHARP, woodsy with a tiny touch of the medicinal. IOW, my kind of scent but a little harder around the edges. WET ON WRISTS: Not as "dark" (which was more of an image than anything) once it hits skin. Not what I would describe as fresh or golden, but there is SOMETHING in there that softens the woodsiness, sharpness, tincture and rounds it out, makes it a little lighter. It reminds me of something else that I can't put my finger on (but am sure once I read reviews I'll be all "DUH!") DRYDOWN: My body still plays SOOOO nicely with incense-y scents and this one is no different. It doesn't go wonky on me, but it doesn't have major throw either. Definitely a keeper imp and one that, if frimped with again, I would absolutely retain in my imp box rather than putting into the "swappable" pile but probably wouldn't buy a big bottle simply because I have other favorites that are so similar. 4 out of 5

Have an imp of this with a homemade tag and not sure if I got this as part of a decant circle or kindly added in by someone via swap/sale. Either way, it ended up in my imp/frimp pile and I only just rediscovered it while doing an "I'm out of work so may as well use this time to do a major housecleaning." The "out of work" part also has me on a pretty strict "no buy" kick however, when I found this and Dragon's Moon (similarly imped/labeled) I had to buy both in 5 MLs (DM, happily, through a BPAL-er who had it for sale and this through BPAL directly). Someone on an earlier page used the word "comforting" about Ifrit and that is absolutely the overriding word for me. The thing is, that's a very subjective adjective. In my case ... when I was growing up, we had a closet in the hallway of our apartment which we called "the linen closet." Along with sheets and towels, it also held all of our medical and first aid supplies, soaps, etc. I could not, to this day, tell you what the single outstanding "note" was (any more than I could tell you what the "Lush store" smell is), but it was the most comforting scent and the one most evocative of my long-ago childhood, back when everything seemed safe and good. When I uncapped the Ifrit and took a sniff, I was back in the linen closet. Now, I doubt that any of our first aid supplies contained Dragon's Blood or ginger or musk, but somehow the combination is identical. I really wish this scent could be acquired as well in some sort of candles, incense, room spray, etc. Nevertheless, I just wanted to express my thanks to Beth and company for giving me this gift of sensory olfactory memory that is so special.

This is probably my favorite "new" scent in a long, long time ... Wet it smells EXACTLY like Tushnamatay to me (which is my very favorite catalogue scent and on my Top 3 all-time BPAL list) ... On drydown though there is some sort of strangely sweet scent (I guess I'd agree with those who are calling it powdery) that keeps it from being perfect. I know there are a few other scents that have that same drydown on me but I am not sure which note it is ... A few hours later, though, that powder is gone and the initial goodness lingers on for hours. A definite keeper which I will be reaching for a lot. RE-REVIEWED MARCH 10, 2014: (With a note that I'm shocked to see a review from 2007. I really thought I had not reviewed anything between summer 2005 and winter 2013). Reacquired some of this and testing from an imp. IN THE IMP: Deeply musky myrrh. WET: Fantabulous. Resiny, bright and golden. The myrrh is predominant but sweet, not sweaty. DRYDOWN: Just a little too much myrrh for me now, making it TOO sweet and powdery. OVERALL: This is really interesting for me. I was not able to identify the myrrh in my original review. And, without sharing TMI (okay, sharing TMI), I started menopause in the late summer of 2007. Since then, there are definitely notes that react completely differently with my body chemistry and myrrh is one of them. It amps much more than it used to and, when applied to the crook of my arm, can sometimes smell like dirty sweatsocks. I actually like myrrh but not as much as I used to and only in small doses. Minotaur is not a small dose. It is also possible that the sheer age of this oil, almost seven years old, has made the myrrh age and get even more predominant. On a scale of 1-5, about a 4.

This is like bathing in a chocolate egg cream. In other words, awesome ... I am SO glad I have five on order and I suspect that austerity budget be damned I'll be ordering even more to have some stash. (And probably buying bars of Bliss and Shub soap while I'm at it).

I'm with SaraLaughs in the "almond soapiness" assessment. Not that that's a bad thing ... At first I thought it reminded me a lot of Salome, but on further consideration I would compare it with Kether. Sweet almonds crossed with Dial soap, giving it a light clean drydown. I wouldn't buy a big bottle but I will definitely use up my imp. REVISITED AND RE-REVIEWED APRIL 2013: I re-ordered another imp of this based on the notes during a February impapalooza spree and am in the final stages (finally) of reviewing and revisiting every scent in my collection to compile one comprehensive swap list and another updated wish list. IN THE IMP: All almond, all the time. But sweet almonds. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: I get an initial "play-doh" note but, surprisingly, not the soapiness this time and the "play-doh" fades very quickly and instead I just get this lovely, sweet sugary almond scent. There are, obviously, a lot of different notes in this blend and I feel like I can sniff each one individually if I try. DRYDOWN: It's interesting to see which of the notes, more prevalent when wet, disappear or take a complete backseat upon drydown. I get virtually NO almond anymore, nor cinnamon, nor any of the sweet or sugary spices. What remains are the floral notes, the jasmine and lily and bergamot. Yet the lily is playing unusually nicely with me (there is no question that lily is the note that tends to go "soapy" on me but it has not done it this time). It's a little perfumey but not in a bad way. OVERALL: Because I only like a few of the almond GC scents -- notably, Salome and Eclipse -- those were the two I had in mind when I wrote review notes, and this was much more like Eclipse for me than Salome. Yet I'd completely forgotten about Kether until I re-read my original review ... and can definitely see why I would have made that comp, since to me Kether was the ultimate "hot sugared nuts" scent. On a scale of 1-5, a 3.8.

Definitely Dragon's Blood (interesting that Clover mentioned gardenia, because Dragon's Blood is very gardenia on me ... the first time I tried Serpent's Kiss all I could think of was White Shoulders) ... No one has mentioned this but is it possible there is patchouli in this? On drydown there is something spicy/incensey that is one of my favorite BPAL-type notes which I generically refer to as "my comfort scent" ... I thought it was patchouli but it could be amber or myrrh I guess. I am officially madly in love with this. I hope it uses its power for good because I could sure that right now. REVISITED AND RE-REVIEWED MARCH 2013 ... Admittedly a little confused, but reviews probably not the place to solve confusion (but will explain briefly just to clarify what I'm sniffing from). I know I originally sniffed this as part of a TAL decant circle in August 2005 and purchased a 5 ML bottle when it became available. My bottle is cobalt but the label is from BPAL, not TAL. I made a note that Fiery Command was shifted to the Ars Amatoria section of BPAL but on second look I find no confirmation of that nor is it listed, as far as I can see, in that section. So ... I'm not 100% sure when I got this bottle (except that it's being cobalt means it's older), or whether there was a time when the TAL blends came with BPAL labels. Oh well ... on to the review, which remains quite similar to my old one. IN THE IMP: Lives up to its visual impression of red, red, fiery red with an equally noticeable resin of some sort cutting that lush floral of Dragon's Blood in half in great fashion. I just want to slather this goodness on but restrain myself to a generous dose on one wrist and in the crook of one arm. WET: Absolutely mesmerizing. I don't think there are a lot of notes in this and yet it is very complex and perfectly balanced and divine with my chemistry. Not quite floral, not quite resiny. It needs its own word. Flesiny? Roral? SO clean and powerful. DRYDOWN: While I know most of the reviews mentioned patchouli, cinnamon, etc. I now stand by my initial impression that the other note (or ANother note) is probably amber. And maybe, possibly, benzoin? But definitely amber. I suspect there is a third note here somewhere that gives it a spicy touch ... it could be cinnamon, or saffron or even a touch of myrrh (which often goes powdery-wonky on me if there's too much so if it's myrrh I think it's in a small dose). OVERALL: The reason I guess amber is that I've discovered that while I can't necessarily put my finger on an amber note when it's wet, when it dries down it becomes my ultimate ineffable "comfort" scent (benzoin is too) and that is EXACTLY what Fiery Command is. I know it's supposed to be something strong and bold but for me, the strength comes from the comfort it provides me ... and it makes a lot of sense now that it was such a huge comfort when I first tested it and reviewed it, because it would have been very shortly after my precious Cazzie died suddenly and mysteriously (and, as I know now, was killed, either deliberately or accidentally when someone was trying to kill the dog next door ... long story). I still can't figure out if this is a discontinued scent or I just can't find it but I am glad I have a bottle of it and plan to avail myself of its warmth and goodness a lot more often now. On a scale of 1-5, need I tell you this is an eleventyzillion?

Received as a frimp ... very interesting because of all the many, many notes in here the only one I really like is sandalwood, and I would not expect to like this AT ALL. Though it's heavy on the rose, it's actually surprisingly nice. I applied it pretty sparingly to be cautious, and was surprised that it never went bad on me. I still think it will probably end up "not me," but I am going to try it again more lavishly in the near future because I am undecided ... even if I end up swapping it, I was really pleasantly surprised how much I liked it ... or didn't not like it.

Received as a frimp ... I can definitely see how it got its name ... a sheer white floral. But it has that Hod undertone of ... dare I say it??? ... semen. ... and goes way too flowery on drydown for me. On a scale of 1-5, about a 2.

Received as a frimp, I would never have ordered this on my own ... on the one hand it has several notes I love (ylang ylang, calla lily) it also has my worst nose enemies (PLUM, orchid) ... What is fascinating to me about this scent is that all of the notes hit you at once, boom boom boom. Good and bad. Wet, it is more good than bad and actually really yummy ... I get excited and hopeful. Sadly, but not surprisingly, on drydown, the evil plum and orchid take over and it goes into the swap pile. I liked this more than I thought I would, but it is still just meh. Interesting, but meh.

I had ordered an imp of this based on notes in one of my daring periods ... and received it as a frimp which means I will have TWO imps of it on my swap pile ... This is the first total wash-off I've had in a long time ... BOTTLE: Almond and something else that is very sweet. WET: Almond and soap. Kind of interesting and complex at first, for about a minute or so ... at which point my throat starts closing up. DRYDOWN: I had a very virulent allergic reaction several years ago to some raw honey, like an anaphylactic shock, and this was physically a mild version of that ... but on a more sensory note, this was just horrible to me. Old maiden auntish cloyingly sweet HORRIBLE scent ... I have no clue what the offending note is ... I know I can't stand lotus, but I know that's not what's doing it. Even after washing this off with orange anti-bacterial soap I still stink. Do I even have to say that on a scale of 1-5 this is a 1??? REVISITED FEBRUARY 2013: Since I clearly did not re-read all of my old reviews prior to making a brand new impapalooza order, I re-ordered this based on the notes listed ... I mean, amber, saffron, musk, cardamom, how could I go wrong (again)? I DID, however, re-read the review before application and still wanted to be complete in my reviews (yes, there is a hyphen in anal-retentive) so I forged ahead, but this time with only a tiny swipe of the wrist. Imp acquired from Lab 2/13 IMP: Very fruity despite there being no fruits listed in the notes, very sweet, slightly medicinal (this may be because I immediately associate cherry and medicine which is why I never order anything with cherry in it). Not a hint of amber, musk, cardamom or saffron that I could tell. Dabbed LIGHTLY on one wrist. WET: A little bubble-gumy addition to the afore-mentioned notes but that's the only new note for my nose. NONE of the notes I love. I'm guessing it might be the lotus that is the deal-breaker on me and overpowers the others? Orchid works like that on me as well. Not much almond in it for me, which is neither here nor there -- I won't order a scent FOR the almond but it won't be a deal-breaker for me either, since I quite like Eclipse and Salome, for example. DRY: Just perfumey. I have to shower in a few anyway so no biggie. If I didn't have so many scents I wanted to try I'd probably be fine with leaving it on for the duration until it wears off, which is still a HUGE improvement over the first time when I nearly went into anaphylactic shock. OVERALL: I'm upgrading from a 1 to a 1.5-2. It's not horrible. I mean, let's face it, NONE of Beth's scents are horrible, honestly -- they're all brilliant in their own way. Even my least favorites are other people's favorites. It's just wonky on me, for whatever reason. I'll save the 1s for the ones I have to wash off immediately. And my wonky will, at some point when I get my swaplist together, be someone's wonderful.

BOTTLE: Orange rind!!! But there is also something underneath that which is somehow "off" (I know, I know, not a very good description) ... a little bitter, a little rancid ... WET: The immediate zing is the orange, but there is something else ... like cooking herbs. It's not really sweet, but bitter and tangy. DRYDOWN: It's a dark orange. It gets sweeter on drydown which is not necessarily a good thing ... This isn't me at all, but I am thinking my daughter the queen of all things citrus might like it (and to be honest, the reason I wanted to try it to begin with was for her and the name). On a scale of 1-5, about a 3 or so ...

XCVI (96): Please be forewarned, when I don't already know the notes I am CRAP at identifying them ... but here goes. BOTTLE: Before I opened it, I had sniffed the outside rim and gotten a Spooky vibe ... that kind of sweet but slightly tangy/minty scent. In the bottle, I still got Spooky/Star ... very sweet, a little suntan oil which makes me think coconut but also an underlying fruity scent. WET: A greenish floral jumps out as well here ... DRYDOWN: I think this is a real tropical fruity concoction, like a colorful frothy drink you'd get at a beach resort with a little paper parasol in it ... Yet I keep thinking I'm missing something. There is something REALLY familiar about it ... Dana thinks it smells like a mai tai so I guess we're on the same track here ... ARGH it definitely smells like another BPAL scent that ISN'T Spooky or Star but I can't quite place it ... ETA: PINEAPPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!! Baba Yaga without the brown sugary undertones!!! It's definitely got pineapple in it!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's not quite pina colada despite my feeling that it has both pineapple and coconut ... probably some other fruit too.

Wow. Another scent from the surprisingly-long list of "I THOUGHT I had reviewed this when I first tried it" batch ... going through my keeper imps that hadn't been tried in awhile in an attempt to whittle them down to "LOVE this, why haven't I worn it more?" and "like this but I'll never wear it so I'll put it in the swap bin to share with people who really love it" (and the occasional "what was I THEENKING putting this in the keeper box"???) ... This is definitely from that first category ... I do remember getting to a point where I felt I'd become pretty good about picking out the notes I would love and not love from BPAL, and going through the catalogue and ordering about 36 imps based on that ... this was from that list and I did very well percentage-wise on it (I am now on the "willing to get a little more daring after finding certain notes I didn't think I'd like that work for me" list) ... BOTTLE: Sharp woods and incense. WET: Not quite cedary (which makes sense since it doesn't have cedar, LOL) but that same comforting, grounding shavings type of vibe ... I've found that cypress has been a key note in several of my favorite scents. DRYDOWN: I would never have placed it as hazelnut, but there is that background note of something sweet that makes this really unusual and wonderful rather than just another good woodsy scent. It's definitely a "can't stop sniffing my wrist" smell. On a scale of 1-5, about a 4.5 REREVIEWING AND REVISITING MARCH 2, 2013: Received this as lagniappe in a recent swap/purchase. Interesting how much my body chemistry has changed my response this time around. IN THE IMP: Astringent, bright and citrussy ... still surprised to read the notes and not see anything lemony in there. I'm guessing it's the cypress? Dabbed on one wrist as I'm double-testing this with, interestingly, Dance of Death (going alphabetically through the box). WET: Green, fresh and outdoorsy, yes, but even wet there is a slightly bitter, musty scent lurking behind the green. DRYDOWN: Not a lot of legs, and it dries to just something perfumey/cologney on me. I definitely CAN stop sniffing my wrist. But I still don't get any hazelnut so that's probably a good thing. OVERALL: Not awful by any means, but certainly not the keeper I thought it was 7 years ago. This dances off into the swap box. On a scale of 1-5: 3-ish.

During my long layover between newly-arrived scents to try, I got on an organizational kick and decided it was time to go through my "keeper box" of imps, find the ones that I'd only used once and neglected to review, and catch up on everything ... in the course of doing so, I rediscovered a few scents that inspired me to put them on my "big bottle" order list, and found others that while I liked them, I realized I would probably never voluntarily wear them when I have so many others I love so they went into the swap box ... But Vixen is different. I cannot for the life of me figure out why it ended up in my keeper box to start with unless my aim was off that day BOTTLE: Sweet orange. So not me. WET: Cloyingly sweet orange. Even more not me. Shades of Triaminic. I love ginger but if this is ginger, it is not my beloved Shub ginger. And the (nasty to me) orange blossom just jumps out and the patchouli, my comfort scent, is nowhere to be found. Maybe it dried down well and that's why I kept it? DRYDOWN: Nope. Way too sweet. Ick. On a scale of 1-5, 1. BUT that said, I can see why this would be popular if you like that sort of thing.

I had an out-of-control wisteria vine at my old house but it never smelled as good as this does. A lovely white floral thatsings of spring ... A perfect summer night scent. Though it does every so often send up a hit of "slightly wet paint" ... anyone else get that??? Oh well ... On a scale of 1-5, I'd say a solid 4.

This is a total unexpected OMFG scent for me ... in the bottle, it's megafloral with some ineffable kick. WET it is OMFGBBQ, remarkable lush and exotic floral with the comfort of patchouli at the same time. The two complement each other so well ... I can dual task as hot babe (well, as much as I can task as hot babe in any situation) AND comforting head shop earth mother ... A Top 10 scent for sure. An easy 5 on a scale of 1-5 and happily I just got my 5 ML in my last order. REVISITING AND RE-REVIEWING APRIL 2013: Working my way through my collection of BPALs old and new, alphabetically, and almost seeing the light to be able to prepare a comprehensive swap lis and wish list. Although I have a somewhat aged bottle of my own of Tisiphone (not sure of year but it's a cobalt bottle), actually tested this from an imp I was lagniapped in a recent forum swap/purchase. IN THE IMP: I really do adore the way the Lab can combine lush florals like ylang-ylang (one of my favorites) and oleander (always makes me think of Steely Dan) with resinous patchouli to create what can only be describe, I think, as a whole new category. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: While I had never gotten this reaction before, the immediate effect it had on me was that it smelled like Coppertone 4 (Sophia is the only other scent I've ever made that notation about, and yet as far as I can tell the two blends share NO notes). Lush florals, sun and fun, hot vacation, with enough patchouli to offset it and make it a truly powerful and seductive fragrance. DRYDOWN: As this dries, the ylang ylang and oleander fade a bit while the patchouli and neroli get stronger, making it a little "perfumey" late in the mix, especially in the crook of my arm. OVERALL: I still love love love this but think in the future I may keep it on the drier areas of my body where the neroli is not as likely to amp and throw. On a scale of 1-5, a 4.5

Strong medicinal pine, clear and sharp and grounding. There is something simple and yet complex about it, as if there are many layers of one-note scent. A beautiful spicy pine, this is definitely a keeper ... ON a scale of 1-5, a high 4.

IN THE BOTTLE: It's a sweet light mint. WET: It morphs into Hawaiian Tropic suntan oil. This is nice enough, that sweet lemony coconut thing going, but to me Van Van does it better and without the suntan oil vibe. ... It's also a lot like Spooky on me. I like it but don't lurve it and have passed it along to a certain someone who accidentally left it in her jeans pocket before they hit the wash On a scale of 1-5, a good 3.

I got this as a giftie from Allidavie but apparently never did review it ... I thought I would love this or at the very least be transported back to high school based on the notes (I was a HUGE fan of Love's Musky Jasmin Flower back in the day) ... But instead I apparently got someone else's high school experience. Someone who liked fruity perfume and had big hair. I can really see someone from the 70s 80s legwarmers and flash dance period loving this. On a scale of 1-5, maybe a high 2.

More floral than sandalwood on me, I like this but don't love it as much as I used to ... it is a very girly sweet rich floral, like something an innocent junior high school girl might wear to her first big dance, in a white dress. The tuberose, I think, is predominant when wet and that is just too sweet and cloying for me ... On a scale of 1-5 I'd go with a strong 3.

YOW!!!!!!!!!! Big Red cinnamon gum on me, no doubt about it. Somehow I am surprised by the clear color of the perfume since it is such a RED scent. This is delicious and I really do hope the Lab eventually works out the forumla and finds replacement for whatever note forced its discontinuation. It burns really badly behind my ears but no welts, so that's good ... I wore this layered with Bliss on my wrists and crooks of my arms and it had major legs ... all day and all evening I got hits of yummy chocolate-cinnmony ME!!! ON a scale of 1-5 I have to give it a high 4 if for no other reason that it's a great layering scent and makes me feel creative. REVISITING AND RE-REVIEWING APRIL 2013: Working my way through my collection of BPAL, from A-Z. Happily was able to acquire via DISO a 5 ML bottle of this from a WONDERFUL forumite who saw my plea, and this testing is from my own decant from said bottle. IN THE IMP: Dentyne crossed with Red Hots. And since I am a cinnamon fanatic, that is good crossed with great. While I had called it "red" in my first time through, honestly, this is more a white-hot cinnamon. Dabbed on wrist and into crook of arm. WET: Just a good, strong, pure white cinnamon. I think it's the pepper and clove that make me visualize "white" instead of "red" and also, possibly, keep it from creating any burn on me this time. I would not call it a single-note cinnamon, though. The pepper and clove are not, to my nose, identifiable as such but they add a complexity to the cinnamon scent. DRYDOWN: It's actually a very calming scent. For some reason, I want to liken it to diaper ointment but I know that may sound non-complimentary and I don't mean it as such ... rather, it's spicy AND soothing at the same time. OVERALL: I am so thrilled to have this. On its own it is divine. And knowing how well it will layer with other scents just makes me drool. On a scale of 1-5 I give it a 4.9

Peace, serenity, tranquility, silence. I was lucky enough to have been in the early order list for this and have gotten one of the upgrades to 10 ML ... I ordered this without any notes on the brave assumption and desperate hope it would be yet another perfect lavender scent and it was ... I think either my nose is not well enough trained to be able to detect the other notes in it, or else I am so in love with lavender that once I smell that everything else falls by the wayside, but to me this is just a perfect pure lavender scent. It's simple and fits its description perfectly. On a scale of 1-5, a definite 5.

This is a re-test and first review of a scent I ordered as an imp based on the notes ... I know the first time I tried it I had a bad head cold and knew I liked it but put it aside for further testing ... BOTTLE: Perfection. Really one of the perfect scents in an imp. WET: An amazing combination of spice and wood, a definite OMGOMGOMG scent. I immediately write this down on the "gotta get a big bottle later" list ... DRYDOWN: There is a brief time when the saffron gets a little TOO saffrony for me, but even then it only detracts from the mesmerization (is that a word?) a tiny bit, and it goes away ... This has lots of consistent but not overpowering throw and it lasts a good long time. It is a divine, exhiliarating and at the same time calming scent. I also think it would layer well with some others. On a scale of 1-5, this is officially a 5. REVISITING AND RE-REVIEWING IN APRIL 2013: Working my way through my entire BPAL collection, A-Z, to do comprehensive reviews and/or updates. Always a good day when I get to Scherezade, even though I always want to add an extra "he" in there somewhere. I have a bottle and a half of this and still have "get another 5 ML" on my to do list so that gives you an idea of what this scent does for me. IN THE IMP: I can't even begin to figure out exactly which notes transport me. If I could, I'd buy them up in every possible combination, but I've never tried a BPAL with this specific effect. It is absolutely a scent out of my childhood, though to the best of my knowledge we did not keep saffron, red musk or middle eastern spices in our linen closet. Dabbed liberally on my wrist and into the crook of my arm. WET: This is, much like another favorite, Shub, which I test-drove yesterday, one of the rare great scents that smells exactly the same to me in the bottle, wet on my skin and dry on my skin, equally divine. Spicy and exotic and yet comforting at the same time. I want to just nuzzle into it. DRYDOWN: It goes light and spicy without getting too sweet or powdery. OVERALL: This is the closest thing to a potential lifetime "signature scent" that I could imagine from BPAL. I think it's the answer to the question that I hope I never get, "If you could only have one BPAL scent for the rest of your life, what would it be?" I wish there were a Scherezade candle. And lotion. And room spray. And bubble bath. And ... well, you get the picture. On a scale of 1-5, do you even have to ask? 5.

My favorite fruits, so fresh on the vines.. so close to the vines. So leafy and green that it's much more green than fruity. Lemon and lime rinds, It just has no legs, it disappears so quickly. This is what it should smell like in the fruit grove on a hot summer afternoon. REVISITED AND RE-REVIEWED APRIL 2013: After having fallen in love with a sniffie back 8 years ago, a wonderful forumite filled my heart and BPAL box by selling me a bottle of this precious. This is a review from an imp I decanted from said bottle. IN THE IMP: The lightest, most delicate lemon. A light fragrant citrus, but more green than gold. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: This is SUCH an interesting scent. It's more like an idea of a blend than a true perfume. I don't mean that in a bad way. It's citrussy, but more the scent of the dew-kissed air IN a lemon or lime grove, more like what it smells like if you're standing in the leaves than sniffing the fruit. DRYDOWN: This is one of the most unusual body morphs for me. Often, when I apply an oil to my wrist and into the crook of my arm, the scents are different (that's part of the reason I apply to both spots) ... because my wrists are dry, the scent will tend to be sweeter there with less throw. But the oil in the crook of my arm, where the sweat (well, slight moisture) amps notes, will be stronger. In this case, however, the initial drydown on my wrist was much more acerbic -- BRIEFLY but noticeably -- and even had that brief "cleanser" quality. Fortunately, that faded within a few minutes and it is now a lightly cologne-like citrus scent. The crook of my arm, however, remained sweetly fragrant with the grove-y vibe and still does. In both cases, as before, there is not a lot of throw. But now that I have a full bottle, I can be more generous with the application. OVERALL: This is a very cool and lovely summer scent. Not sure why it was not released, perhaps the lack of throw? But I am so glad to have my bottle of it. On a scale of 1-5, a 4.7