JazzieCazzie

I LOVE THIS LINE ... is there a Dragon's Blood scent I DON'T love (wondering why Serpent's Kiss isn't in this line as well) ... Anyway, there is something about my first whiff of most of these Ars Draconis scents that makes me teary-eyed with joy ... for whatever reason it is evocatiev of good times in my childhood ... This is, I don't get the berries that some have mentioned, at all (which was a relief, I was slightly concerned about that note) ... there is something quite sweet though, almost cloying but not quite ... and then also something I can't put my finger on that is herbal ... Is there a chance there is a touch of lavender in here??? It is droolworthy.

Very very very woody ... cedar to the max, I'm guessing ... for some reason I was expecting some sandalwood but never got a hint of it ... no smoke or sandalwood or incense, like others have gotten, just pure cedar ... It reminds me a lot of Kathmandu and Fire of Love. I like it a lot but with a big bottle of Kathmandu already in my box I think it would be overkill to buy a big bottle of this ...

This is absolutely lovely when wet ... a sweet spring evening. Sadly, though it went soapy on me on drydown ... I think people who like Hymn would like this as well. The two remind me a LOT of each other ... definitely a must-try for floral fans.

Received as a frimp ... Hmmmm ... sharp, shiny and clean are the words that first impressions bring to mind. Slightly astringent with spicy incensey notes. VERY promising. It's got some serious green to it and my only concern is it may be too "guy" for me to wear ... not in a bad way though. I think I would find this unbearably sexy on a hot guy. It's kind of like Spellbound for guys ...

BOTTLE: Sweet (duh) ... I've never tried the much-ballyhooed "Pink Sugar" but this is what I would imagine that would or should smell like. There is more than a little "Chaste Moon" to this but the butter rum is replaced with strawberry. It's kind of like a kids breakfast cereal. WET: Applied to wrists and crooks of arms ... VERY sweet but not in a nauseating way. The light strawberry somehow cuts the cloying potential in a good way. There's a little bit of strawberry bubble gum action but not in the Maenad way that sent me screaming in the other direction. And the best news, no welts (was concerned from my reaction to Malkuth that it could have been the strawberries) DRYDOWN: What I love about this is it is really subtle. For me, many of these notes individually or combined could often make me queasy but this is such a lovely blend that instead they all work wonderfully. This is not only not a swapper, it's a keeper I could see wearing often and will DEFINITELY try a lotion from it ... I think it would make a marvelous summer lotion!!!

I had the EXACT same reaction, my first ever to a BPAL scent, and I have LOADS of cinnamon blends because it's one of my favorites ... so I wonder if it is another note causing this? Maybe strawberry or whatever fruit it is? Because I generally don't "do" fruit so if I were allergic I might not know ... Anyway, that said ... In the bottle: Yup, fruity ... and though I generally, as I said, don't "do" fruit, I want to sample all 10 Sephiroth fairly so I forge ahead and dab it on wrists, crooks of arm, pulse points on neck and cleavage. Wet: Though it's fruity ... and I would also guess strawberry ... it's also rich and deep and a bit spicy ... more like a strawberry daiquiri than the Strawberry Shortcake doll ... Drydown: A little cinnamony and spicy but really, the fruit is still the prevailing scent. The funny thing is I actually rather liked this, more so than most fruit scents. But within five minutes I had HUGE welts on the crooks of my arms and my neck (like three-four inches long and two inches wide), but none on my wrists or cleavage.

If you are, please move over and make room for me next to you on the crazy train ... I was pleasantly ... no, delightedly ... thrilled and surprised by Tushmanatay and its sandalwoodiness. It is on my next big bottle list. I am a YOOGE sandalwood fanatic and Elizabeth is a genius with the scent so there are very few BPAL scents with that note that I DON'T love (Queen Mab is one of them because orchid is very wonky on my and takes over everything). I think my favorites are Veil, even though it would probably be classified as floral, and Gaueko. Veil was my first BPAL scent ... I sat there with the "catalogue", senses in overdrive, narrowing down my choices to buy three 5 MLs based strictly on the notes and chose Veil, Twilight and Envy. Loved all three but through all my tests and trials and revamping of my top 10 over and over, Veil always triumphs as near-perfection. And Gaueko ... I know it doesn't seem to be one of those classic favorites but, oh my, sandalwood and lavender ... heaven on earth. I would give anything to turn back time and have bought up a few single-note bottles of sandalwood ... *le sigh*

Well, this is what I get for ordering something without reading the reviews ... had I seen how many people picked up a fruity vibe to this, despite a description of white floral and herbs, I never would have ordered it ... and I have no idea what it smells like ON me because as soon as I sniffed the imp I immediately recapped it and moved it very far away from me ... Just flat out fruity rancid yuck. Maybe plum? That is one of the only notes that has that garners the Mr. Yuck-face reaction from me ...

Am I the only one to think FIG????????????????? I love this ... it reminds me A LOT of Nemesis. And at first I couldn't figure out why there was such a sweetness to it, since I had only written down "woods, herbs, balsam" in my brief notes before trying it ... but once it dried down I was 98 percent sure that there is fig in here ... which is a good thing. I was getting figgy throw all day. Still working on my next big bottle list because I'm on a real roll now with the scents I've been trying and like SO many of them (Tushmanatay is SO on my top 10, for example), but I am thinking Anubis may get a big bottle as well!!!

Genius. Pure genius. So is the Altoids gum box ... must remind self to buy one this week ... I have a 16-day road trip coming up in two weeks and want to bring a variety of smells so I always have one to match my mood. I travel with one bag for my clothes and one for my books, files and all of my bath/cosmetic stuff ... usually by the end of the trip, the second bag is pretty much emptied out and lighter because I try to bring all travel-sized vials and bottles that I can toss when they're empty (and I always jettison the books and magazines). In the past I've been putting my imps in small snack-sized baggies but I like this idea MUCH better ... I already bought about five or six small lotion bottles to pick a few favorite scents and pre-mix BPAL Aveeno bottles.

Ordered this as an imp based on the notes, feeling a bit daring because vanilla and apricot could be too fruity-sweet for me but the descriptions/reviews seemed promising ... BOTTLE: Odd. Unusual Very interesting. Sort of spicy and sweet and foody. I'm not getting the jasmine floral vibe at all. WET: The fruity/apricot note rises but more as dried sweet apricots, not brightly fruity at all. Very complex scent, dark and sugary. Something remotely maple syrup to it also ... DRYDOWN: This had very nice legs all day. Not too strong, but constant. I don't think it's something I would wear every day ... but on a cold, gray wet day it was comforting and warm. My daughter liked it a lot too, and she is not a big fan of a lot of my perfume testing.

Ordered as an imp based on notes. BOTTLE: Spicy and delicious! WOW!!!!!!!! WET: Oh, this is divine. Spicy and floral at the same time, the initial throw also has a little bit of woodsmoke but I don't smell that when I sniff my wrists or crooks of my arms ... DRYDOWN: Upon drydown both the magnolia/oleander and the mandarin are more apparent. But it's NOT a floral and it's NOT a fruity scent ... it just has traces of both. It is a beautiful amber gold color in my mind with a trace of orange ... I think this would be a great summer scent and I bet it would make a marvelous lotion as well ... this will be a big bottle purchase for sure.

Ordered as an imp based on the notes ... IN THE BOTTLE: Very very sweet ... I know that sounds vague but it's the overriding reaction. I apply first just to wrists ... WET: The first note to jump out at me is the ylang-ylang ... I LOVE ylang-ylang (in fact, it was one of the few single-note imps I bought) but have not yet found the perfect BPAL scent that contains it as one of a mixed palette of notes ... the others have all gone bubble gum or soapy on me so I'm holding my breath (well, figuratively) as I wait to see if the honey, musk and labdanum play nicely with it. I added it to the crooks of my arms as well once I knew I liked it ... DRYDOWN: Divine and diviner ... The scents mix just beautifully, with the YY and honey the predominant notes (I wouldn't detect any musk at all if I didn't see it in the list, and I am not sure what labdanum smells like except that I have liked every scent I've tried where it's been on the list). Neither one is knock-you-over strong, and yet this scent has serious legs ... I applied it at 7:30 this morning and it's almost 7 p.m. and I am STILL getting serious throw. Right now this is on my "order another imp" list but I'm going to wear it one or two more times before the Feb. 23 update with the strong possibility of upgrading that to a 5 ML ... REREVIEWED FEB. 26 2014 when I really thought I had scored this the first time ... imp in my bix and a subsequent imp added to collection. IN THE IMP: Sweet and bitter at the same time yet filled with so much promise. Dabbed liberally in the crook of one arm because I was test driving four at once. WET: Honey and sweetness,and outdoorsiness and frehsness and green. DRYDOWN: a really genius combination of these scents where it sweet but not too sweet, musky but not too musky, resiny yet not quite resiny. OVERALL: I can't figure out a reason why I had this in my swap pile and am glad I didn't get called on it then because it is totally me. On a scale of 1.5, 4.8

Ordered as an imp based on notes. You know what the problem with this scent is? It's too simple. Not enough notes. BOTTLE: It's ... busy. WET: I am scared to try too much so I go lightly on the wrists. I like all of th entoes listed on their own but am concerned about the complexity. Upon application it's interesting but in a good way. No one note stands out yet ... crisp, clean, bright, energized are words that come to mind. I put some more on my wrists an in the crooks of my arms because it's not as strong as I'd expect. DRYDOWN: Peppery and spicy. Interesting. Not an every day scent and it reminds me of something else I can't place, another BPAL scent. I like it though ...

MORGAUSE ... ordered as an imp based on notes BOTTLE: VIOLET hits me hard with a little something extra WET: So far, so good ... despite the scary word "fruit" in the notes, it's lovely, floral and slightly sophisticated without being exotic. Very subtle. I could see this being a VERY popular mass market scent. There is some fruit but it's just enough to be a hint, not a ewwwwwwwwwwww. It isn't going yuck on me. DRYDOWN: Violety floral with a touch of round tone. Soooooooooooo nice.

MANTIS (herbs, amber, patchouli, neroli, musk) ... ordered as an imp by the notes. BOTTLE: Sharp, green and grassy. WET: Still very grassy but also fruity, maybe the neroli? It seems to be morphing unpleasantly from the minute I apply it but I have to run out to get to work and I don't have time to wash it off. DRYDOWN: Ick. Just ... ick. Kind of a combo of guy's cologne and old lady perfume.

HIGHWAYMAN ... ordered as an imp by the notes. BOTTLE: An odd floral. Something about it is stale and stuffy, probably the leather. WET: A tiny bit fruity as well ... but the leather is strong, like sitting in a Laz-Z-Boy showroom or something. DRYDOWN: It's kind of rancid guy cologne on me. I keep getting odd throws all morning. Definitely to be regifted.

<div class="bpal" style="background-color:transparent; border: 1px dotted #000033; color: #000099; padding: 5px; width: 90%; align:center;margin:0 auto 0 auto"><i>Fall under the spell of our Green Fairy! An intoxicating blend containing wormwood essence, light mints, cardamom, anise, hyssop, and the barest hint of lemon.<!-- bpal scent end --></i></div> ABSINTHE ... ordered as an imp from reviews here on the board but received as a frimp in the interim ... BOTTLE: Odd and strangely lovely. I can't identify a single note, which is surprising since there are so many to choose from. It's not even remotely familiar but it is marvelous. WET: NOW it is familiar. It's Dial soap ... but this is NOT to be confused with my negative term "soapy." I LOVE the smell of Dial soap. It is clean and crisp and beautiful ... this is one of the most divine wet scents of a BPAL yet. DRYDOWN: It was a terrific blend of mint and Dial all day ... I felt clean and energized from it. Admittedly it did not stay as FABOO as it was when wet but that's OK, that would have been too much to ask. I am thrilled I have another imp coming of this one and it is a possible big-bottle buy (it's on my list for now) REVISITING AGAIN IN FEBRUARY 2013: Purchased imp from lab in February 2013 to revisit ... In the imp: VERY sharp and odd with a second-hit of what I first thought was alcohol but is probably the mint. Not soapy at all, but not unpleasant. On my wrist: As soon as it hits my skin I understand my "Dial soap" comps from eight years earlier. Not sure which note(s) make it go soapy on me. It's a really, really NICE fresh, clean and slightly complicated scent but I don't think it works for me as a perfume. I think it would make a GREAT bath oil or body wash, or even a lotion. I think I'll put the imp aside and try mixing it up with some Aveeno and take it on my next road trip in a mini-bottle. Drydown: Now I understood why I may have swapped away my original imp rather than going big-bottle. Once dry, the anise amps up tremendously and all I get is licorice. I'm not a big licorice fan except in my booze. I'd say that, for now, Absinthe and Envy are the two scents that, for whatever reason, I love when wet but go bad on me once they dry down. Not bad-bad like GETTHISOFFOFME (a la Sacred Whore), but change drastically for the not-as-good. I'd give it a 3.5 wet and a 2 dry. Off to the lagniappe pile, my dear Absinthe.

ordered as an imp. Though normally I shy away from scents that seem like they will be TOO buttery, sweet and foody (I like a little kick with my sweetness a la Velvet), there was something about this and its reviews that intrigued me so I figured, eh, if I don't like it, I can always regift. BOTTLE: It smells like my grandmother's pocketbook ... she always kept a lifetime supply of Butter Rum Life Savers in there. I applied somewhat sparingly to my wrists. WET: On my skin, it imediately morphed into something a little less sweet, slightly smoky in an odd way and also believe it or not with a touch of citrus in the background. Just enough additional vague notes to keep it from being TOO sweet. My first reaction is that I surprisingly like it quite a bit but that it's not "me," a little too strong, too syrupy. But after a few minutes I change my mind and like it more and more as it dries down. DRYDOWN: The more I smell this, the more I like it. There is something familiar that at first eludes me and then I place it as being Playdoh. I know, I know, I have used that comp before for Snow White. I am not sure if the two share a note, but if they do I am guessing that's the Playdoh note. It is sweet but not TOO sweet, buttery but not TOO buttery. I wouldn't wear it every day but it is definitely a keeper. And I think that people who like Snow White might want to give this a try ... ADDING from reading reviews that I also LOVE Slipper Nipples and Butterscotch schnapps shots so no wonder I like this ... REREVIEWED AND REVISITED MARCH 2013: Was gifted with an impy of this as lagniappe in a purchase. IN THE IMP: Still the Butter Rum Life Savers, very sweet and butterscotchy and buttery. Dabbed on one wrist WET: On my skin when wet, very true to the imp smell. I don't get very much of the boozy part which is good because basically all alcohol notes are damned close to dealbreakers for me. But even the one bit of wrist-dabbing is just too strong for my taste. DRYDOWN: It's not bad at all but it's not me. I do get occasional little throw-notes of something coconutty, like a pina colada, which is probably what gave me the Playdoh comparison on my first go-round. OVERALL: The scent itself, as I said the first time, is SO evocative of my childhood. It smells like my grandmother (along with the pocketbook thing, we used to play gun rummy a lot and would use the Butter Rum Life Savers instead of coins). So for that alone I do like it a lot. But it is not something I can wear. On a scale of 1-5 I give it a 3 for effort and memories but put into the swap box.

When I placed my order on Dec. 1, I was completely torn between buying a big bottle of Intrigue and Nephilim, based on my absolute and utter adoration of Nemesis ... I thought they both sounded somewhat similar and I basically flipped a virtual coin and ordered a 5 ML of Intrigue and an imp of Nephilim ... Wrong choice. On me, Nephilim is almost identical to Nemesis (note: this is a very good thing), except with that added vague crisp clean note of lavender (note: this is also a very good thing). BOTTLE: OMFG. I had a migraine this morning coupled with a sudden major work deadline ... so while I had the blessed luxury of working from home, I wasn't a happy chicky and wanted to pick a scent that had some lavender in it ... In the bottle, as others have said here, this is SO complex. It is a fascinating scent ... so many notes and they all seem to want to come up and wave and shake my hand and say hi to me! Definitely fig. I love fig. Who knew? WET: Upon application (wrists and crooks of arms ... but next time maybe I'll bathe in it), it's already morphing by the moment. I think I have used this term before but I will use it again for Nephilim ... this is the Willy Wonka Everlasting Gobstopper of BPAL, constantly changing. VERY figgy, again yay!!! But also sharp, slightly astringent in a good way, clean. DRYDOWN: While other notes come and go, the fig remains constant. In a nutshell, Nephilim is what I THINK I would get if I layered Nemesis and Somnus. Since both are Top 10 scents, this is good ... but I'm not sure if I'll get a big bottle simply because I already have a 5 ML of Nemesis and plan on ordering a backup, plus have a 10 ML of Somnus on order ... so it would seem overkill. I am sure more sophisticated noses will find more of a difference ... but for me, no ... the good news, though, is I don't have an imp of Nemesis (used it up in Cali in December) so having the Nephilim is the next best thing if I want to take it in my makeup kit for a touchup during the day. REVISITED AND RE-REVIEWED MARCH 30, 2013: Well, it took me 8 years but I finally bought that big bottle. Am working my way through my entire BPAL collection during these weeks, from A-Z, reviewing and revisiting everything from imps, old and new, to bottles to frimps and lagniappes. not leaving ANYTHING out, while I make a massive sorting out of keepers, swappers and must-buy-mores. After striking out twice big-time this morning with Namaste and Noh Mask, I was so happy to get to my penultimate N with Nephilim and yes, it is every bit as wonderful as I remember. IN THE IMP: Still an amazingly complex scent to my nose, with so many different notes flying out of the bottle and my brain racing to identify and greet each one ... hi lavender! Howdy frankincense! Hola my precious figgy fig fig! Slathered this one. Both wrists, both crooks of arms AND cleavage. WET: This continues to be a real shape-shifter of a blend when wet. The Everlasting Gobstopper was right on target. In fact, I swear when I smell each application point, I get a different note. Yet instead of being too busy or too strong, they all combine for something surprisingly light and lovely. The comforting peace of the lavender and the wood notes. The sweet rich and spicy fig. The herbal background. The spice of the cardamom. DRYDOWN: This is absolutely and positively the kind of scent I can wear every day, comforting but not distracting, and subtle enough with my body chemistry that it wouldn't bother other people if I happened to be around them. A way overdue purchase worth waiting for. On a scale of 1-5, a 5.

This evening's scent was Gluttony and, sadly, I am not in love. Honestly, I didn't expect to be ... of the "new to me" imps I ordered, I think this was the one I didn't really expect to like but wanted to try nevertheless. BOTTLE: Interesting. Obviously very foody and maybe more appealing to eat than wear. I have a feeling it will morph bigtime upon application. I am not optimistic so I only go for light on the wrists. WET: Very sweet but also very smoky if that makes sense ... not in a fire/ash way or incensey way but more a burnt sugar/toffee way. SO many notes are throwing themselves at me at once I am getting dizzy. I know my daughter and husband would HATE this and am glad they're not in here because they'd be making Mr. Yuck faces. DRYDOWN: It just doesn't work for me. Too sweet, too candy store. To me, it smells like really strong cheap caramel-scented candles.

Ordered as an imp: BOTTLE: A strong vanilla with, for lack of a better word, rounded tones that might be amber or honey ... my nose simply isn't sophisticated enough to figure these things out! WET: Similar, upon application, to how it smells in the bottle ... very candy sweet but not too much so, not to the nauseating point. It's not cloying. Sort of like a vaguely burnt sugar coating, a la creme brulee maybe. There is something just slightly plastic but not unpleasantly so. DRYDOWN: It goes through a few different drydown phases ... first, like Swiss Miss cocoa with minimarshmallows when you let the marshmallows melt and sit on the top of the chocolate while it's cooling. SO yummy ... later on the honey really rises. All of the phases are really nice. It's not something I would wear as my signature scent but I really enjoyed the ride and will definitely order another imp or two. REVISITED AND RE-REVIEWED MARCH 31, 2013: Working my way through my BPAL collection, A-Z, new and old, frimps and bottles so I can figure out what I keep, what I add to a soon-to-be-comprehensive swap list, and what I want more of. It's also interesting to see how time has changed my body chemistry, my tastes, and in some cases I guess the oils themselves (I have a lot of 5 ML bottles from the mid oughties). O is one that, based on my original review, has definitely improved with age for me. IN THE IMP: Snake OIl with a kick. Dabbed on one wrist and in the crook of my arm. WET: Absolutely delicious. Honey always amps on me very quickly so the first whiff I get is pure and unadulterated sweet honey. The vanilla follows soon after and for about 30 second I wonder if it's just going to be TOO sweet for me (which, frankly, Snake Oil is). But then ... oh, then ... my friend amber joins the party and mellows honey out to the perfect degree. Sweet and sexy indeed but without being cloying at all. None of the "burnt sugar" note I detected back in early '05 (BTW I don't think this is the same imp but rather an imp I ordered more recently for the collection). DRYDOWN: Can't stop sniffing myself. This is just a fantastic scent for me. The amber becomes actually predominant on the drydown so that it's more like a honeyish resin than a resiny honey. While I still think this couldn't be an every-day scent for me, it's definitely going to have to be joined by more imps so that it can be a "many days" scent. On a scale of 1-5, about a 4.8

Received as a frimp, I know I tried this awhile back and swapped it away but had not reviewd it at the time so I couldn't recall exactly what my reaction was ... In the bottle, it's a lovely floral with the hothouse flowers predominant, but it has just enough of that hint of evil aquatic to make me hesitant and sparing in my application ... just a dab on each wrist. WET: The first hit, again, is yummy floral ... but within a few minutes it becomes more and more perfumey on me until, after about 15 minutes, I feel like I've been chased down by one of those overly-madeup women at the department store counters who want to spray you with cheap perfume. I washed it off so I can't report on drydown except to say that traces of Bayou mixed with anti-bacterial soap is still too perfumey for my tastes ...

So let's play "what's that funky note"??? I received Eternal as a frimp ... I knew I had tried it before and swapped it away but judging from the list of notes, it seemed pleasant and harmless enough ... stephanotis, cyclamen, heliotrope, rose and gardenia. In the bottle it smelled lovely. Really marvelous. A very unusual floral. What on earth didn't I like about this, I wondered, puzzled? As soon as I put it on, something morphed on me into something sort of funky and salty and, I have to say it, sweaty. It reminds me a lot of whatever it was about Obeah that didn't work either ... SO ... has anyone had this experience with Eternal or Obeah? Or does anyone out there know what the Obeah notes are and whether any of them are mutual to Eternal? I won't wash it off, it's not that bad, but it's definitely not a keeper ... I'd love to figure out the "guilty" note and find something with the rest of them in it because it has potential to be marvelous.

A frimp from the Lab ... I'd been warned by those who knew my tastes (I HATE cherry, probably my least favorite BPAL note, and can't stand almond either) that it probably wouldn't be much to my liking, but felt that since it's the Lab's signature scent and I love the Lab, I owed it to them to give it a go without washing it off and I'm actually glad that I did because I think if nothing else it has given me more tolerance to wait till drydown ... BOTTLE: My first hit was cherry-ew, which is better than CHERRY!-EWWWWWWWWWW ... but it was interweaved with enough other notes that I thought it might morph upon application/drydown. I still didn't have enough guts to go more than wrists ... WET: Cherry, yes, and also almond ... two scents that don't do it for me ... but also some other notes ... vanilla, maybe? And definitely something spicy/woody like perhaps sandalwood or something? There was a vibe of something I liked enough that I didn't scrunch my face. DRYDOWN: The cherry is almost totally gone and to be honest so is the almond ... this is nice. Not "wear it all the time and get more" nice but definitely "I don't not like it" nice. VERY baby powder (what note is it that does that? Anyone know???) with a little spicy kick. LATER DRYDOWN: The more it dries down, the more I like it. Odd. Right now, about two hours later, I actually ... um ... maybe love it. I think it needs to be applied sparingly, though ... I might actually buy another imp! SUMMATION: A real eye-opener and a lesson to wait out any scent that doesn't make me want to immediately lose my lunch (eg Kitsune-Tsuke, Maened, Fae or Red Queen).