JazzieCazzie

Frimped with an imp in a wonderful swap and cannot believe I did not try this back in the day when I sniffed a bunch of awesome tarots. Yet another reason to wish they'd do a reboot of this, even temporarily, so I can go broke. IN THE IMP: Very light and faint but lovely resins. Not sure if it's just one of those scents that doesn't have a lot of throw in the imp, or my allergies are affecting my sense of smell today. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: Maybe it amps more, maybe my nose is clearer, but this is awesome sauce. A delicious and very clean resiny scent. I am in agreement with the references to sandalwood, frankincense and even dragon's blood. DRYDOWN: It is soooooooo clean and yet not "soapy." In fact, this smells, to me, exactly like Neutrogena Rainbath, a scent I've been trying to match in a BPAL forever (it seemed like there SHOULD be a BPAL match for it yet since I was never sure what the notes were, I couldn't find it ... and now here it is!!!) OVERALL: Not just a keeper but one that goes to the top of my wishlist with a bullet. Sadly, Tarots are SO hard to find. On a scale of 1-5, a definite 5.

Swapped with a forumite, had it on my wishlist based on the limited reviews because I love BPAL lilac. Tested from an imp decanted from the bottle. IN THE IMP: Definitely floral but oddly not getting the lilac here. Smells suspiciously like old lady florals. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: Clearly my body chemistry is on the fritz because unlike everyone else in this thread, I got ZERO lilac from this, nor did I get hyacinth (I love hyacinth as well). For me, it's, for lack of a better word, a "fruity floral." Sweet and powdery but not really like flowers, more like "generic department store floral perfume." I can't ID the flowers per se but I recognize them from other BPAL floral blends that don't work for me either. I'm admittedly picky about my flowers and none of the ones I pick seem to be here. DRYDOWN: Yup. Plasticy department store scent on me. Not one iota of lilac. Not a wash off but not pleasant for me. OVERALL: I'm glad I got to try something new but now begone to the swap pile where someone who likes florals more than I do will probably love it. On a scale of 1-5, a 2.

Purchased two imps in a decant circle. IN THE IMP: Super-foody, as in Chinese food. Unique and unusual, with the anise shoving itself to the head of the line moments after opening the imp. . I don't think it's something I'd want to wear but I am testing it for the sake of "you never know" ... Dabbed in crook of arm. WET: Massively gingery. Not good ginger, like Shub, but stale Chinese food ginger. And then soapy. And then full-on anise. And then soapy again, but with an "I'm trying to smell like the outdoors but am only achieving a bathroom-cleanser-that-says-it-smells-like-the-outdoors-on-the-label" soapy. And then I am in so much pain I forget about trying to make notes, and look down and see a huge red blotch on the crook of my arm three inches in diameter ... I don't think I've had that kind of BPAL reaction since Malkuth. DRYDOWN: At first it's not awful. But the more it dries the more it becomes an absolutely horrible-on-me soapy mess. I don't think I've wanted to wash something off this much since Sacred Whore of Babylon. OVERALL: Well, it's not that bad ... oh, who am I kidding? It's that bad. On me, anyway. One of my new Bottom 3 ever. On a scale of 1-5, a 1 only because I don't go lower than that.

Purchased two imps in a decant circle. IN THE IMP: Oddly fizzily fruity. I totally get the Sweet Tarts references above and wish I didn't. I never would have bought this had I thought it would be fruity and to the best of my knowledge there are no fruity notes listed. Dabbed in crook of my arm. WET: This is hellafruity. I actually am getting apple, not grape, but YMMV. I hate fruity blends so right away this is a blerg on me. Apples and ozone. And air freshener. I am getting ZERO oppoponax, myrrh, or even ambergris. DRYDOWN: This is clean, that's the best thing I can say about it, but it's clean in a soapy industrial bathroom cleanser way, one that's fruit scented. There is not a single note I like in here. It's not horrible but it's so completely not me. OVERALL: Honestly, I feel sort of like I got bait-and-switched on this one. All these notes that are just nasty to me, and none that are the notes that made me choose to try it. I have no issues when I am kindly frimped by the Lab or swappers or sellers with scents that are new-to-me, or even when I take a chance and get something that may have a note or two I am not crazy about. But in this case, it seemed very safe based on the notes listed and yet I am not getting ANY of those notes, but instead some fruity concoction. And I'm not going crazy because everyone else is also mentioning the fizzy fruits. It's not a horrible scent. I am sure there are people who will like this. But it sure doesn't seem to be what I thought I purchased. On a scale of 1-5, a 2.

Purchased two imps in a decant circle. IN THE IMP: Very sharply acrid with a tiny touch of cola. Without seeing the notes, I would have actually thought there was some patchouli in here. Dabbed on one wrist. WET: Sharp and metallic, but that is how clove smells on me before it dries down so I can be patient. Spicy hot clove-metal. A good fit for this series. DRYDOWN: And ... 3-2-1, cloves. Yay. I do love cloves. And on final drydown, just ... sorta ... clovey. OVERALL: This was a tough call. Of the four Ragnarok scents I got, it's the only one I'd even consider keeping but ... I have lots of other great clove scents that are much more "me." I can't see wearing this as is, though I think it would layer well with something like Dragon's Blood or Bliss. A little goes a long way, by the way ... it's super potent. On a scale of 1-5, a 3.

Purchased two imps from a decant circle. IN THE IMP: Quite lovely, smoothe and velvety but there is something sweet lurking in the back that does not bode well for me. Dabbed on one wrist. WET: Oddly, for the first few seconds after application, I smell absolutely nothing. Then the musk and ginger gently rise to the surface. DRYDOWN: As feared, as it dries and the notes become more prevalent, there is something here I can't put my finger on and don't recognize as being a known BPAL note, but it's familiar from my childhood. Whatever it is, it's just cloyingly sweet on me and is a dealbreaker on what would otherwise be an okay scent for me. OVERALL: With a full box of BPAL and a finite number of years left to live, I'm at the point where I won't keep anything I don't think I'd actively choose to wear, and I can't see ever saying, "Hey, I want to wear Laughter of Loki" today, so both imps go onto the swap list. It's an interesting scent and a well-crafted one, just not for me. On a scale of 1-5, a 3.

Glad to have this thread so easy to find ... I was updating my collection over the last few days (making sure my swap list was accurate and updating my keepers) and noticed that of my three imps of Malice, one was very dark (an older imp) and the two I had just bought from the Lab are quite light. I am chalking this up to aging, but admit that, at least IN the imp, the old one smells a little funky so wonder if it's just not aging well. However, I'm also sad to read that the "new" -- or at least current -- Gnome is NOT what it is in my imps, because I was about to add it to my "upgrade to a big bottle" list ... I have two imps (well, a full imp and a little over half an imp, both from the Lab as frimps originally) and it's pale and smells like ginger ale. End of story. ETA: Both of my Gnome imps from the Lab must have come some time in 2013, because I had reviewed it in early 2013 when I was testing from an imp I'd received as a frimp from someone (and it was also ginger-ale-y and light). Since then, I got two more frimps from the Lab and both are light and fizzy.

Frimped with a sniffie of this in a swap. It was on my lengthy wish list but not a holy grail scent, just one I was curious to try. Very interesting how far down this thread was and how long it's been since someone has reviewed this scent, since it seems to be on a lot of people's "available for swap or sale" list. IN THE IMP: First a whiff of perfume but then spun sugar. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: Pretty much what other people have said. It's very sweet and sugary, like white cake or cotton candy, but I like it ... it's not plasticy or burnt or cloying like a lot of the marshmallow scents tend to go on me. DRYDOWN: This is really nice. Just nice. Pleasant. And if that sounds like I'm damning with faint praise, it isn't. There is nothing that makes me think "wow, this is an amazingly gorgeous and complex scent that I will reach for to make my signature scent." Rather, it's an "ingredient" scent ... a lovely, light, sweet, candy scent with nothing nauseating, cloying, fruity or boozy to my nose. OVERALL: I wouldn't wear it alone, but I would definitely keep this on my wish list to get another imp or two because I think it would be something I'd really love to try layering with other blends that need that extra touch of sweetness. On a scale of 1-5, a 3 alone but a keeper because of the magic I think it could do with other blends.

Tested from a partial imp received in a swap. But let me give a little preface here. During a period of inactivity awhile back, I went through the anal-retentive project of not only completely updating my collection to prepare a complete swap list (which is now being updated once again this weekend) but also going through EVERY review on this site to create a comprehensive "wish list" of blends, many or most of which, I had missed during a less obsessive gap between about mid-2005 and early 2013. Since I had been periodically perusing the site, and making occasional purchases, I was pretty familiar with most of the GCs and lunacies, etc., but I had a lot of homework to do with the LEs and, especially, with the "event exclusives" so a lot of my wishlist is of blends like this that just sound interesting based on reviews. And, like IvyAndPeony said in her review back in 2009, while there are no specific notes listed in the description, virtually every note listed or projected or offered by reviewers are notes I love, individually and collectively. So when I was able to nab a partial imp of this in a swap, I was half hoping it was a holy grail and half hoping it WASN'T because I know it's really hard to find. That said ... IN THE IMP: Cloves and carnations, yes. But there is an odd scent that makes me think of the the ladies' suit department in stores that I associate as being for women "of a certain age" (Lord & Taylor's, etc.). Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: I am getting that image of old ladies and old ladies' perfume and I don't know why. Linen? Clothing storage? I can identify the cloves, the carnation, the spices, etc. but instead of them smelling exotic and exciting they smell musty and cloying and old. DRYDOWN: Same thing but stronger and longer. This is not working for me AT ALL despite my liking every note "listed" ... it's sharp, acrid, cloying, strong and old ladyish. OVERALL: My efforts to wash this off were not completely successful and the clothes I was wearing when I tested it have all gone into the laundry bin. But honestly, I'm relieved by how much I disliked it because now I don't have to try to track anymore down. On a scale of 1-5, a 1.

Received a bottle of this in a swap. Tested from a decant from that bottle. IN THE IMP: Super resin goodness. Dabbed in crook of arm. WET: Getting the first whiff of this is more amber/resins than clove/cardamom but it's all good ... and I know from experience that clove tends to amp big time on me when it dries down, long and strong (hello, Scorpio 2004, I miss you so). DRYDOWN: This is an amazing drydown ... the resins and ambers remain delicious, the clove amps and the cardamom is OMGWTFBBQ. My arm smells like the most stupendous confabulation of incense and mulling spices minus the fruit. OVERALL: Thrilled to have gotten this in a swap. It is divine. On a scale of 1-5, a 4.9

Frimped an imp. IN THE IMP: Lavender lavender lavender. Dabbed in crook of arm. WET: Super duper lavender with a sharpness which, perhaps prompted by the list of notes, I recognized as tobacco but not smoky tobacco, rather like the smell of one of my dad's unlit unfiltered Camels. DRYDOWN: Still lavender with tobacco and musk. I get NO vanilla, which is good. The musk is more noticeable on the drydown. OVERALL: I love this and am glad I received this frimp. I need to add this to my wishlist. I know I had a bottle of this when it came out (I did not review it at the time) and I did love it but though I don't remember the details I know I swapped it for a holy grail scent. On a scale of 1-5, a 4.8

Purchased bottle on forum. Testing from imp decanted from that bottle. IN THE IMP: Dragon's blood and lavender evenly balanced. Dabbed on wrist. Would have slathered but am test driving four scents today. WET: Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh yes. The lavender and the herbs offset what is usually a very ampy dragon's blood on me (and I loves me my dragon's blood, so that's not a problem) and they all blend together into something impossibly awesome. I'd say the calming lavender and herbs are more predominant, but the DB gives this wonderful, lush base for them to lie back and relax. Amazeballs. DRYDOWN: I only applied this to my wrist and not the crook of my arm (which is where scents go to either die or bloom), because I was pretty sure this would be great and I didn't have to find out if there were dealbreakers in here. It also generally means the scent is less "throw-y." But this is freaking awesome. One of the most beautifully balanced blends. OVERALL: I have had this on my wishlist since reading the reviews, plus I LOVE my bottle of DM 2008. I was able to purchase this for an amazing price because of "water damage" to the label. I don't care what the label looks like. It's what's inside that counts and to me this is priceless as a result. On a scale of 1-5, a definite 5.

Frimped an imp in a swap. IN THE IMP: This is very odd and unusual in that I can't put a finger on ANYTHING on first sniff. Pepper, maybe? Dabbed on one wrist. WET: This is surprisingly sweet, almost candied floral and medicinal ... something. Yet it's also kind of exotic. I think the ginger may be what is causing the sweetness. It's very nice and hard to pin down. I'm not even getting images or colors. DRYDOWN: The notes blend quite beautifully, which makes it even harder to identify any of the individual notes. Overall, I'd call this an herbal scent which doesn't really make sense looking at the components, but it's what my nose and brain are insisting. At the very end of the drydown, something funky rises which turns this from a keeper into a swapper. OVERALL: I would have thought from the name this would be male or at least gender neutral but it's surprisingly feminine. On a scale of 1-5. a 4.

Decanted from a bottle received in a swap. IN THE IMP: OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH yes. Shmexy Coca-Cola. Dabbed ... lavishly ... on wrist and in crook of arm. Oh, and maybe in cleavage. WET: OMGOMGOMGOMYESYESYESYES. This is pretty much everything I love about BPAL scents, and given that the comps mentioned in this thread are almost all other top faves of mine (Scherezade, Schwarzer Mond, Gaueko, etc.) that shouldn't surprise me. Lots of dark gorgeous sexy musk, awesome champaca, dark spicy ginger. I smell like a headshop-flavored Coke float and couldn't be happier. Dark,sexy, sensuous and medicinally mysterious, this is amazing. DRYDOWN: The musk and ginger and nag champa amp the most but honestly there isn't a bad note in here. Even the myrrh plays nice on me. OVERALL: This is where the swap gods smiled upon me. Somehow, when going through all the old scents I'd never tried to put together a massive wishlist, I missed this completely. But when I was approached by a forumite for a swap, because she was interested in a few scents on MY list but didn't have anything on my wishlist, I looked over what she DID have and when I saw the notes for this, I was just ... HOW DID I MISS THIS? And I am so glad it happened because this is a Top 10 for sure for me now. On a scale of 1-5, do you have to ask? A 5.

Decanted from an bottle received in a swap. IN THE IMP: Freshness. Can't pick out a note. There are so many. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: I get the outdoorsy and spring but to me it's more like something -- laundry detergent or fabric softener or Febreze -- that's spring-scented. DRYDOWN: I admit I was hoping it would have that overall bright fresh scent of when spring first arrives but instead, to me, it's just fruits I don't particularly like and florals that don't smell right on me. I get a lot of orange (death note) and rose. OVERALL: When I worked out this swap, honestly, there were two bottles I knew I wanted and I was swapping away three bottles so it came down to either this of Strawberry Moon 2005 which I had tried and liked-not-loved. I thought it would be better to try something completely new to me and rare and I'm not at all sorry I made that decision. Instead, someone else will get to give this a good home. On a scale of 1-5, a 2.5

Frimped an imp. IN THE IMP: Almonds. Dabbed on wrist and crook of arm. WET: This is super odd and interesting. Oddly, I don't get almonds once it's applied. VERY herbal when wet. Can't put my finger on which herbs, though, though I THINK there is chamomile in here. It smells like facial toner. Very clean. DRYDOWN: Here I get the rose, though to me it's more like rosewater since I'm still getting high end organic face treatment smell from this (thus, the chamomile and roses connection). Despite the rose scent on drydown and the almond note when I smell it in the imp, I would totally put this in the "herbal" category. OVERALL: Just too strongly clean smelling for me. Not that I don't want to be clean, but I don't like smelling like soap. On a scale of 1-5, a 3.5

Frimped an imp. IN THE IMP: Almond and resins. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: Very sweet. Yes, I get the almonds, but not as predominantly like a single note as it smells in the imp. There's enough musk and myrrh to offset the "candied nuts" note of almond. It reminds me of a resiny Eclipse. DRYDOWN: Definitely getting something fruity here (others have mentioned cherry) and while it's faint enough to not make me wash it off, it also is the note that moves this off the bubble from the keep pile to the swap pile. It reminds me a lot, still, of Eclipse and Salome, the two almond scents I like. OVERALL: Like, don't love. On a scale of 1-5, a 4.

Frimped from the Lab. IN THE IMP: A surprisingly sweet woodsy resin. Wondering if there is cinnamon or nutmeg in there? Not what I expected. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: This is REALLY sweet. The sweet overpowers the woods and resins a lot. And it's super strong (or maybe I overapplied because woods and resins tend to need a little more liberal dab). It's like someone's baking sugar cookies in the woods. DRYDOWN: This just gets more and more cloying the more it dries. I liked it a lot more in the imp than I do on my body. There's also something that reminds me ever-so-slightly of Van Van, except that I really like Van Van, so I'm thinking there's just more of whatever it is. Ever-so-slightly lemony snickerdoodles. OVERALL: Just no. On a scale of 1-5, a 2.

Frimped an imp. IN THE IMP: Super-musk. I have this weird feeling it will turn on me, but it smells amazeballs in the imp. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: Spicy delicious musk and opium. I'm still not sure what civet smells like but if my recollection is that people say it smells like cat pee, then it's not amping on me because I do NOT smell like cat pee. Or what I think cat pee smells like. It's very musky and dark and mysterious. DRYDOWN: Upon initial drydown, I continue to love this way more than I would have expected. Oddly clean and not debauched, just shmexy. But then ... the more it dries down, oddly, the cleaner it smells until at the end I smell like soap. Sexy guy soap but still soap. OVERALL: This was a toss up as keeper/swapper but in the end, my collection is so overwhelming that if there's any debate, to the swap list it goes. On a scale of 1-5, a 4.

Received an imp in a swap which turned out to be quite less than full (sad face and I wish I had checked levels by removing label before I gave high marks on feedback but that's water under the bridge). Was an item on my wish list. IN THE IMP: Flowers and Chinese food. No, I'm not sure why either. But that's what it smelled like. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: Eh. I get all the individual notes but don't love them. The florals dominate, making it much more perfumey and less complex and interesting. I get vague hints of the musk and incense and amber but stronger ones of the iris and violet. DRYDOWN: Just meh. I won't say "department store" perfume but not something I'd choose to wear. And then as it dries down something decidedly stinky on my amps up. Oh well. OVERALL: While I was unpleasantly surprised, once I removed the label which covered the level, to see that this came in at less than 3/4 of an imp, in the end, it doesn't really matter since I won't keep it (though now I'll have to put it in my partial list instead of as an imp I'd feel comfortable swapping for another imp. Chalk it up to "I won't change feedback but I won't swap with that person again" experience. No harm no foul, I guess, since I don't love it.) On a scale of 1-5, a 2.

I had this on my wishlist and an amaaaaaaaaaaazing forumite from whom I bought a different bottle gifted me with a half-bottle of this ... my first FROTTLE! IN THE IMP: Patchouli Dabbed in crook of one arm. WET: OMGOMSGFSKNSDKBKDBKJABKJA. Delicious cola scent!!! The patchouli is joined by the musk and resins that make my arm smell like shmexy Coca-cola, and whatever that slightly sweet note is (the one that I think we're all ID-ing as cinnamon) kind of makes it a coke float! The frankincense also mellows out the dark and scary notes. DRYDOWN: Dare I say that this hell is absolutely heavenly??? It's just divine. It dries into a beautifully complex, spicy, resiny awesomeness. OVERALL: I am in lurve. The surprise winner of my batch of sought-after testers so far. On a scale of 1-5, a 4.9.

Had this on my wishlist after my marathon of reading up on all the old blends I'd never tried, because I am always looking for the great deep green scents. Received an imp of this in a swap. IN THE IMP: Deep, dark and green. Dabbed in crook of arm. WET: Deep, green and rich. Evergreens are predominant but I also am getting the cypress and the sandalwood. Veryyyyyyyyy yum. DRYDOWN: This is lovely. May I quote some poet or other (kidding! studied this in 4th grade!) when I say these woods are lovely, dark and deep. There is nothing "haggy" about this at all. OVERALL: Just clean and wonderful. I think this would make a fantastic bath oil and candle as well. On a scale of 1-5, a 4.3

Picked up a bottle of this in a swap (it wasn't on my wish list but the swapping partner really wanted something I had and so of the bottles she had available, this was the only one that looked even remotely up my alley and I was willing to give it a shot), and then was also frimped an imp of it the same week ... what are the odds? IN THE IMP: Clean. I don't really get the lavender or the cedar on first sniff which is a shame since they were the main notes that intrigued me. Dabbed on one wrist. WET: This is odd. It's definitely fruity, which I don't tend to like, but also there's something really creamy in it which I really don't like ... I don't know if it's one of the notes I am unfamiliar with (awapuhi?) but it's how I sometimes associate ambergris (which has ruined more than one otherwise promising blend for me over the years). DRYDOWN: It's just okay. There's really nothing about it that stands out for me. Whoever said it smelled like shampoo came close to my reaction. I don't get any lavender or cedar, just a clean generic perfume. OVERALL: Definitely not me, but that is part of the wonder and awe of swapping. You give up something that isn't "you" and maybe you get something that is, or maybe you get something that you also swap but either way you discover new scents and become more and more attuned to what works for you. So it's a learning experience that goes into the swap pile. On a scale of 1-5, about a 2.

Had this on my wishlist based on reviews and received an imp in a swap. Because I loves me frankincense. IN THE IMP: Booze. I don't know why but I am getting strong alcohol on this. Dabbed on one wrist. WET: The main scent I get upon application is rubbing alcohol with a slight burn. Whether that's a note or just a sign of aging, I have no idea. But then as that evaporates I do get the frankincense. But it's a sharp burnt acrid frankincense, not one with lovely rounded notes. DRYDOWN: I don't get the "sugar" notes that some others have mentioned but I can't quite put my finger on what the other notes are, either, for that matter. It's still alcoholic to me. And it goes perfumey instead of holding the frankincense. OVERALL: It's not bad, but it's not me and it will be passed along, eventually, via swap to someone else who wants to try a rarity. On a scale of 1-5. a 3.

Had this on my wishlist and was gifted with a partial imp in a purchase. ETA this is the 2013 version. IN THE IMP: Ruh roh. Ubersweet and cloying. Dabbed on wrist. WET: WAYYYYY too sweet and creamy and sticky for me right off the bat. The vanilla doesn't even wait to dry down to become super-plasticky. I am getting ALL of the sweet and creamy notes with NONE of the woody or resiny ones to offset the cloy. DRYDOWN: Tuberose keeps wafting up and assaulting my nose, surrounded in a haze of plastic vanilla. No amber, no champaca, no sandalwood. And of course it's got legs and it knows how to use them. OVERALL: This is just all kinds of ick on me. On a scale of 1-5 a 2.