JazzieCazzie

Received an imp in a swap (was on my wishlist). What happens when three of your very favoritest notes in the world (lavender, frankincense and benzoin) get together to hang out with your death note (orchid)? I don't know either but apparently I didn't want to find out for 7 years, Then when putting together my wishlist I figured it couldn't hurt to put it down if I could pick up an imp to try out without laying out real money and was near a shower just in case. IN THE IMP: Lavender. Yay! With a little medicinal kick to it. Dabbed in the crook of one arm. WET: Still mainly lavender (still yay!). I also get a bit of the frankincense and benzoin and, for now, no orchid. Still yay! DRYDOWN: The bad news? It just goes perfumey on me, which is definitely the orchid, drowning out the other three. The good news? The other three fought off the evil that is orchid on me enough that it wasn't horrible (there was one orchid scent which, I kid you not, I happened to test while at work and I had to leave work and go home to shower, that's how sick it made me). So instead it was just icky generic perfume but not horrible. OVERALL: Not a keeper but not a washoff so that's actually a win compared to what might have been. On a scale of 1-5, a 3.

Decanted an imp from a bottle bought from the Lab on release of the Lupers. IN THE IMP: Spicy frankincense. Dabbed in the crook of one arm. WET: Unlike the first reviewer, the first note to amp upon application is absolutely the jasmine, but it's slightly more subtle and not in-your-face headache jasmine. There is something odd about it that I can't put my finger on which I wonder if it might not be the pimiento (I only associate pimiento with Italian deli sandwiches). I DO get the cinnamon kick but though I could smell the frankincense and benzoin in the imp, I am not getting them on the wet notes. DRYDOWN: Rose rose rose rose rose and then, finally, frankincense and benzoin as it dries. The jasmine remains, giving it a wonderfully funky (good funky, not sweat funky) blend of the hothouse lush floral of jasmine, the spice of cinnamon and the awesome sauce of frankincense, with rose sitting in the background which is just where I like it. OVERALL: I would not recommend this for jasmine haters, and I know some of you are out there, but if you can live with jasmine, this is a really awesome keeper and a great surprise. On a scale of 1-5, a 4.4

Decanted an imp from my own bottle bought during Luper update. IN THE IMP: Heavy rose with an oddly fruity note ... maybe the oudh? Is that a fruity wood? It reminds me of a hair tonic my dad used to use. Dabbed on wrist. WET: Rose and hair tonic (this isn't a bad thing, I liked his hair tonic, but I just can't identify the note). I think the musk may have something to do with it as well. Then there is a sweetness which I believe is the myrrh which can go powdery on me on my wrist. And something else medicinal. I like this much more on me than I did in the imp. DRYDOWN: I know it's not listed anywhere in the notes or description and there aren't enough other reviews to confirm or deny but I swear there is fruit in here somewhere. My thought is fig. The more it dries, the more darkly fruity it gets on me. OVERALL: I like this a lot. Despite the fact that I generally don't like fruity blends (and my nose may be totally off base but I swear this is fruity to me), it's very cool and unusual ... it reminds me a lot of Nemesis and Nephilim. On a scale of 1-5, a 4.3

Kind of shocked I had never tried this before, or if I had I hadn't reviewed it and didn't remember it. But bought an imp during my "let's revisit some favorite GCs missing from my collection" period and glad I did. IN THE IMP: Fresh, sharp, unique. Dabbed in crook of one arm. WET: Somehow medicinal and fresh and light at the same time. A golden scent. The patchouli is the predominant note at first but the carnation and OB lighten it up, Francis. Delicious complex and demanding my attention. DRYDOWN: A teasing, playful and mysterious scent all at once, which, if you think about it, is perfect fit for its name. I can't really put my finger on any of the individual notes, they're so well blended, but I am testing four scents at once (two wrists, two crooks of arms) and this is the one I keep coming back to huff. OVERALL: Glad I got this and will probably get more. I really, really love it the more I smell it. Probably NOT a big bottle purchase at this point because I have a lot of scents that are similar enough to have the same effect. On a scale of 1-5, a 4.5

Decanted an imp from a bottle bought at time of release. IN THE IMP: Syrup? Odd. Yes. Syrup. Dabbed in crook of one arm. WET: Upon application, the rose immediately amps noticeably but it's a sweet almost soda-like rose, which may be the musk and oppo since they both tend to go cola on me (a good thing). Thus, there is still something darkly sweet when I huff the crook of my arm. Yet when I start to type, what wafts up to my nose is tea rose. DRYDOWN: Definitely more rosy than anything else at the end but in a really mesmerizing way. And the slight syrup-y scent remains, reminding me a bit of Al Azif. OVERALL: A keeper, yes. Not sure how often I'll wear it but I WILL wear it. On a scale of 1-5, a 4.

Decanted an imp from a bottle purchased unsniffed. IN THE IMP: The sharpness of the patchouli but with a lurking sweetness. Dabbed on one wrist. WET: The chocolate amps so quickly that I can smell it as a single note before I even bend my head to sniff my wrist. It's a more sweet chocolate note for me than some of the cacao/cocoa/chocolate blends and I get a touch of hazelnut in it, which I suppose could be the cinnamon. Meanwhile, the floral and musky notes of lust blend very nicely with this. DRYDOWN: This is unusual and unique and sweet and floral and musky and resinous all at once. I'd say when all is said and done it lands on the lighter sweeter side instead of the darker sinuous sexy side. That's not a bad thing, it just is what it is. OVERALL: I like this a LOT. I don't love love love it as much as some of my favorite cocoa blends (Velvet, Tezcat, etc.) but I like it a lot. On a scale of 1-5, a 4.3

Another one of the "I have this imp and didn't realize it and kept it but never reviewed it" ... and I will add that my own notes on it clearly show that even celebrating my 10th anniversary of being part of this forum, I am clueless on notes. IN THE IMP: Spicy, sexy something with a little Snake Oil kick to it. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of my arm. WET: WOWZA. How on earth did I not order a big bottle of this? On me this is Snake Oil-scented cola. Now, I know notes aren't listed but usually, for me, cola is either oppoponax or musk so I'm guessing this is the musk. This is like the GC version of my beloved Schwarzer Mond or Minotaur. DRYDOWN: Okay, I admit I didn't read every single review on this long thread but I read the first two pages and the last two pages and did not see anyone mention myrrh. However, I am convinced that there is myrrh in this (or else something I have ID'd as myrrh for awhile is not myrrh) ... it's a funky scent I get ONLY in the crook of my arm on a resiny drydown. It makes me still love this blend like wow but reminds me that I will have to keep it away from my active sweatglands. OVERALL: I totally love this and it is on my GC big bottle wishlist. I know it's defined as a "guy scent" but it smells awesome on me. Plus, I am looking forward to mixing and matching this with some of my other scents like Bliss, etc. On a scale of 1-5. a 4.9

Another one of the handful of straggling scents that I have tried and liked in the last year or so but never reviewed! IN THE IMP: Beautiful pure green woods. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: On first application, it's not quite as awesome as it was in the bottle/imp because there is that little hint of Pine-Sol. Not enough to be blerg, but enough to make me wonder if I want to get more than what I have, which is about a half an imp. DRYDOWN: Happily, I see why I kept it. The piney cleanser note evaporates quite quickly, leaving the rest of the awesome ... mellow cedar and grass amp up and it remains a beautiful, lovely, green woodsy forest scent. OVERALL: I am always on the hunt for a GREAT green scent that has no icky notes and this is one of the best yet. I would totally wear this and will look for more. On a scale of 1-5, a 4.5

I had this in my keeper box, presumably received as a Lab frimp, but realized I hadn't reviewed it so pulled it out (along with a batch of about 8-10 others I hadn't reviewed or re-reviewed since 2005). Prefacing by saying I was a little surprised to have kept it since I'm not a big leather fan. IN THE IMP: Sandalwood and fresh air. Not getting any leather, am getting something slightly ozone-y which often goes perfumey on me. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: I can understand the leather description more by the images this evokes than specifically saying "this smells like the leather note." I get sandalwood and riding around outdoors. The leather is not the armchair/whip leather I usually smell but rather, maybe, an old loved harness or saddle. DRYDOWN: It's okay. But it's slightly cologney and gives me a little headache. I think it's a solid subtle gender-neutral perfume. OVERALL: I admit I'm surprised I kept it the first time around. It's nice enough but it is definitely not me. On a scale of 1-5, a 3.

Was able to snag a half bottle (which, since they're 10 ML bottles, is like a full bottle) via our wonderful forum. BIG item on my wishlist from loving it way back when! This is from a decanted imp of it from said aged cobalt bottle. IN THE IMP: Bandaids and awesome. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: Just this awesome, medicinal, pharmacy scent that brings me back to my childhood, where the local drugstore smelled like Bandaids and vanilla ice cream cones. it's sweet and spicy and has a little mercurochrome to it. DRYDOWN: I can smell the cinnamon and I can smell the sandalwood. I do not get ANY of the mint others have mentioned and mint almost invariably goes wonky on me so am thinking if there IS mint it's only a trace amount. But there's something else amping on me that brings out that medicinal note ... Amber? Benzoin? Something more resiny and herbal than just sandalwood. A comfort scent for sure. OVERALL: I still love love love this and SO wish I knew the notes in it so that I could find out if there were other BPAL blends that I should try because of their similarities, since I don't think the Lab will ever rerelease the amazing Tarot line no matter how hard I wish it to be true. On a scale of 1-5, a 5.

IN the imp, it's just straight on orange aspirin, St. Joseph's brand. Ugh. Dabbed in crook of my arm and hoped I wouldn't hurl. WET: Orange. Sweet candy orange. And I hate sweet candy orange. I don't want to wash this off I know there's a reason I kept it all this stime. This is a total death note for me. Must be patient. Patient patient patient. DRYDOWN: Finally it starts to morph as it dries. Some potpourri scent comes out as the orange dries. It's ... nice. Then a little bit of cloves. Okay. I can live with this. I don't have to wash it off. Not something I think I'm going to keep, I've already shifted it from keep box to swap box, right, as I leave the house to go to a movie. And in the theatre, two hours later, I realize that the crook of my arm smells, simply, like clove cigarettes. And I LIKE that. So, yeah, it goes back into keeper box. OVERALL: Clove cigarettes. A memory of my past. A keeper. On a scale of 1-5, a 4+

Testing from a Lab imp IN THE IMP: Roses and jasmine but in a surprisingly nice not-in-your-face blend for me. Dabbed on one wrist WET: The jasmine is clearly what I have been identifying as the "bubble gum" scent in the Euphrosyne, which I'm testing simultaneously (they go well together). But it is so well blended with the other notes that it is not taking over the party or dancing with the lampshade on its head or any of that behavior. It's just very nicely taking hands with the rose (dragging the rose away from its favorite spot of hogging the attention) and playing nicely with all the other lovely notes. DRYDOWN: Great great great great great, I kind of forget about this for while but then when I'm sipping a dream I think "OK, WHAT was the scent on this wrist because it's awesome and spicy and floral and resiny and gorgeous" and it was the Mata Hari. I am thinking the fig is the big winner here because it tends to do that for me. Just come in late and make everything around it so much better. This has a loooooooooooong throw but it's a low key one. Subtle, spicy, lovely, low. On a scale of 1-5. a 4.3

This is a weeeeeeeeeeeeeird one. I know I did not order it myself so I either got it as a lab frimp or a partial from someone in a swap or purchase. On paper, it seems like something i could take or leave and probably leave yet it remained in my in box after I'd conscientiously gone through everything. So let's try it again. IN THE IMP: Sweet lush floral a la Twilight (one of my first favorites). Dabbed on wrist WET: Yeah, it reminds me a lot of Twilight but with that little twist of the vanilla that has the soupcon of danger. The sweetness is more like sugarless bubblegum (which is what Jasmine tends to do on me). Not getting super strong rose or gardenia in my face. I'm just getting a nice hothouse floral scent, surprisingly light yet lush. Wedding in the day, engagement party type scent. Women wearing white gowns. DRYDOWN: It dries sweet and floral and hot and lush and classy. There IS the tiniest bit of plastic from the vanilla but it's temporary. Oh, and no gardenia or jasmine headaches. On late late drydown it's really quite lovely. OVERALL: I like this a lot though by all acounts I really should not like it as much as I do. It will work for the right occasion. I thin this would be a great scent for girls at a bachelorette party or engagment party or just out with the girls. On a scale of 1-5, a strong 4.

Bought an imp in a decant circle. IN THE IMP: I had misread this as "musk, honey, peat and leather." So I was pleasantly surprised to sniff the imp and be transported to a field of HEATHER instead. Dabbed in crook of my arm. WET: This is delicious. Divine. Fresh outdoors heather with that bit of peat and the sensuousness of the musk (I get zero honey from this). It's fabulous wet. It makes me want to run around barefoot outdoors, which I would do were it not snowing out. DRYDOWN: Sadly, as it dries down, it goes a little too perfumey for it to be a long-term new love. And I think that's pretty common for me ... it's just really rare for one of those "wet outdoors scents" to stay as true to the outdoors as they are when they dry down. That doesn't keep this from being a brilliant blend. OVERALL: Not a keeper but a wonderful experience to smell for the first 10 minutes or so. And not that it's bad after that. Just not something I'd wear. On a scale of 1-5, a 4.

Purchased an imp in a decant circle. IN THE IMP: Unexpectedly pungent. Dabbed on one wrist. WET: This smoothes right out as soon as it is applied into a perfectly nice resiny blend. There's a tiny little hint of what I call the "Bain de Soleil" note in it lurking in the background as well. DRYDOWN: I get a little bit of the "oppo-cola" scent but not as much as I would like. And the frankincense doesn't take over as much as I'd like it to. The chamomile, which I'm discovering, more and more, is a problem note for me, gives it a tiny bit of ooky. Not enough to be a dealbreaker but enough for it not to be a keeper. OVERALL: It's perfectly nice but nothing special for me. There are so many other resiny blends I love much, much more. On a scale of 1-5, a 3.


Clouds of flour and spices with the scent of ginger tea, warm caraway cakes, snickerdoodle pinwheels, and sugar cookies with sweet orange frosting. 
Clouds of flour and spices with the scent of ginger tea, warm caraway cakes, snickerdoodle pinwheels, and sugar cookies with sweet orange frosting] Hope I formated that top-of-the-page post right! Anyway, bought as an imp in a Yule decant circle. IN THE IMP: TOOOOO sweet cookies. Dabbed tentatively on one wrist. WET: I really don't know what I was thinking when I ordered this. I think I was caught up in the OMG ALL THESE YULE SCENTS madness and didn't settle down and think that out of, what, 63 blends, nothing REALLY grabbed me and called my name so I better pick SOME. This was super-de-dupery sweet on me and that would have been okay were it not for the inevitable amping up of the "orange icing" which smelled like St. Joseph's baby aspirin. Candy-ish or faux orange is SO not my scent friend. I knew that so my bad. Ugh. DRYDOWN: This is just not me. At all. Way too sweet and sacchariney with side notes that don't do anything for me and then the orange icing to top it all off. OVERALL: My bad Yule choices, however, will be a lot of other people's chances to get some of the Yule imps in swaps. It is what it is. On a scale of 1-5, a 1.5

Bought an imp in a decant circle IN THE IMP: Oddly metallic. Cleaning fluid. Dabbed -- ever so slightly up -- on my wrist and in the crook of my arm in the name of science. WET: The tea just runs in and takes over and knocks the notes I like, such as champaca and incense, right out of the room and then spills a whole bunch of other crap too and messes everything up like tea always seems to do. And while PEACH BLERG is not listed on the notes, I think PEACH snuck in with tea just to be all fruity and make me nauseous. So I'm getting peach, tea, acridity and ickiness. DRYDOWN: Why, oh why, did I not wash this off, you ask? Answer. I don't know. This is just bad bad bad on me and stinky too. But I'm sure it would be great on someone else. OVERALL: I do not like this Sam I Am. And I can't pronounce it either so I guess that's just as well. On a scale of 1-5, a 1.5.

Bought an imp in a decant circle. IN THE IMP: Sweet, woodsy, resinous. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: Hmmmmm. My initial notes are confirmed as it's sweetly woody and resiny. It actually burns a little on application, something I have noted in many of the Misky Phil blends for some reason. It's very subtle. Not superstrong, nothing lurking behind that makes me worry about what will rise upon the drydown stage. DRYDOWN: A very smooth combination. It's a little saltier than I'd like (vetiver?) but not to a horrible degree. Smoky and pleasant. Definitely a gender-neutral scent. OVERALL: In the end, I don't see this as a keeper because I have so many other scents I like more in this "family" so to speak, but I like it more than I thought I would on first sniff. On a scale of 1-5, a 3.

Actually bought TWO imps in a decant circle. That's how high my hopes were for this. IN THE IMP: Musky, resiny, sharp. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: Wow. Odd. Burns a little. Patchouli and clove are predominant for the first moment or so but after that pepper chases them away and gets all stinky on me. It's weird with pepper because, on the one hand, that was one of three notes in the ORIGINAL Aries, one of my favorite all time blends, and yet in the last several years I've found that it ruins a lot of other promising scents for me. It makes me smell like a restaurant kitchen after they have shut down for the night. DRYDOWN: Yeah, I smell like a bag of takeout. OVERALL: I really should love this based on the notes. Or even LIKE it. But I don't. It goes really rank on me, to the point of having to wash it off before I go out. On a scale of 1-5, a generous 2.

Bought an imp in a decant circle. IN THE IMP: It's definitely resiny but not a deep resin. It's a familiar scent that I can't put my finger on. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: Somehow I can't identify a single note in here. It's very well blended, very smooth, very simple. Hard to describe. There's something that's a little bit like a cleanser but not in the "stinky industrial" sense of the word. And it's oddly green and fresh for a resiny blend. DRYDOWN: This goes very "green" and familiar but, again, I just can't figure out what it is that is on the edge of my brain, so this is not exactly the world's best review if I can't seem to describe what it smells like, is it? Could it be the gum that is so familiar? OVERALL: Well, I don't love it enough to drive myself crazy trying to figure it out, honestly. It's not bad, it's pleasant enough, but it's not something I'd reach for in my imp box to wear again. On a scale of 1-5, a 3.

An imp that somehow slipped through the cracks when it came to reviewing it. IN THE IMPL Fresh citrus but with a candied sort of element to it. Very fresh. Dabbed on my wrist and in the crook of my arm. WET: Kind of like lemon-lime lifesavers being carried on an ocean wave. It reminds me of a sweeter, stronger version of Val Sans Retour and is very evocative of an island vacation. DRYDOWN: Sultry, sweet, fresh and fruity all at once. OVERALL: I want to love this. I think it would be a great vacation scent. But in the end, it's just one shade TOO sweet and fruity for me to wear and goes into the swap pile. On a scale of 1-5 a 4.

Just checking my collection against what I've reviewed and found a few straggler. So not sure when I got this imp but think it was a frimp from the Lab. IN THE IMP: A charred, burnt scent, yes, but oddly with a clean and resiny kick to it. Dabbed on one wrist and in crook of arm. WET: The resin and the spices combine nicely with the firewood and ashes. To me, it smells like a burned-down church. Not that that would be a good thing in real life, mind you, just that's the image I get. DRYDOWN: Medicinal and smoky, a little goes a long, long way with the big throw it has. OVERALL: I think this would be really sexy on a guy but it's just a little too much for me. On a scale of 1-5, a 4.

I had this on my wish list because of the intriguing notes but knew it could be a crapshoot so a little history here ... I list ginger as one of my favorite notes because when it is good it is SOOOOOOOOOOOOO good (think Shub Shub Shub Shub Shub). But every so often ginger won't work on me. I should probably be even more anal-retentive and get to know which ginger does what but I have reviewed nearly 500 scents based on my review spreadsheet and probably sniffed way more than that which never got reviews (I did ZERO reviews written down between the fall of 2005 and the early spring of 2013). So, anyway, was able to acquire a bottle of this in a swap and decanted an imp for the testing. IN THE IMP: Sharp, hot and, yes, sulphuric, for sure. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: Very hot and metallic, which I recognize as one of the gingers. DRYDOWN: This morphs several times and is kind of fascinating to "watch" ... the first brief morph is to, oddly enough, something that is strongly green or reminds me of fresh greenery, which I didn't expect. Next, I get Chinese food (I do like ginger in my Chinese food, so this is THAT ginger, not the sweet Shub ginger). Finally, it becomes sweeter and more subtle, wet again, like ginger combined with spring rain falling on someone who might have had Chinese food for lunch. OVERALL: This is a tough call. I like it a lot. It's intriguing and unusual and makes me want to put it on again a half hour later. Kidding about that. It DOES make me hungry. But, honestly, in the long run I think an imp of it will be enough for me and I'll probably put the rest of the bottle on my next update of my swap list. On a scale of 1-5, a 4.

Received a partial of this in a swap as a frimp and, dedicated to my science of reviewing everything at least once, gave it a shot despite very strong leanings towards worries about the death notes (on me) of blackberry and mint. Can the amber, sandalwood and OB offset it? Tune in ... IN THE IMP: Resiny blackberry. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: Sweet, fruity and perfume-y. Resiny, yes. And, oddly, the tiniest bit boozy. The good news: not a washoff. DRYDOWN: It stays pretty much the same. Not a washoff, even when dry, but still remains just a little too sweetly fruity for it to ever be a keeper for me. OVERALL: It was nowhere nearly as bad on me as it could have been. I never got the mint (and mint goes weirdly wonky on me when it dries down) and blackberry has turned out to be one of the few fruity notes that is at least remotely bearable for me. Not a keeper, but quite pleasant for what it is. On a scale of 1-5, a solid 3.

Received a partial imp as a gift in a swap. IN THE IMP: Honestly? Generic perfume. I'm not getting a read on anything here. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: On first sniff, nothing. There's nothing there. I put on MORE on wrist and crook of arm and sniff again. I have to sort of huff it to get anything. So it's very faint and very light but certainly nice. Sweet, then a faint resiny floral. DRYDOWN: This is so, how can I put this, subtle that it's hard to describe it specifically. I can't slather it because there wasn't enough in the imp to do that. I like it okay. It doesn't make me want to order more so I can actually, you know, wear it. OVERALL: I feel like I have to give this an incomplete in terms of the experiential. I definitely appreciate people sending partials because usually there's enough to figure out if you want to actually buy some, but it's why I am not a fan of sniffies and when I get them I just immediately put them into the giveaway pile ... I know a lot of people love them but for me they're just frustrating because you can't even really try them so they're just a tease (OBVIOUSLY just my opinion). In normal circumstances, there would have been enough in this imp to test and decide. But the scent is so faint that there wasn't. On a scale of 1-5, I think it's a 3. Maybe even a 3.5