theshapeshifter

I had to try this a couple of times to make up my mind about it. In the imp: A cloud of jasmine. Actually, I could smell the jasmine even before opening the imp, really fresh and heady, as though it had been fresh-picked. Initial application: There's another floral coming out and tangling with the jasmine - it's something else similarly sweet/heady, but I can't quite place it. It's not as strong as I would expect for a jasmine scent - the first time I was quite sparing because it smelled so strong in the imp, but the second wearing I applied more and still found it gentler than expected. Through the day: Although I would expect a moon-oriented blend to be a very 'white' scent, I'd categorize this more as a pale greeny-yellow. There's a bit of a citrus-hard-candy tang to it under the florals, and over time, something herbal comes out, as though I'd grabbed a handful of night-blooming flowers and crushed the stems and leaves in my hands. However, there seems to be something in it that goes a bit sour on me after a couple of hours - it must be a minor note, because the sourness isn't overpowering, but it kind of hangs there under the scent, a bit like the sourness of skin the day after a night of heavy drinking. I wanted to love this... but it's probably just as well I don't, seeing as it's discontinued. I do like it, though, and will use up the imp.

Most of the ones mentioned here are on my list of 'orders I'm waiting for', but I have tried Bewitched. It's lovely, but I wouldn't call it 'woodsy'. More berry/herbal, like blackberry tea.

Black Phoenix had a lot of cherry and almond, although on me it became very rose-dominant eventually.

My first try of a 'Voodoo Blend'... In the imp: I can't quite place what I'm smelling - it's like a few different smells at once kind of swirling around. Wet: It smells so familiar... after about thirty seconds the lightbulb goes off over my head - I KNOW THIS SCENT! It smells exactly like this gorgeous 'Spiced Orange' incense from an occult shop across town; I don't shop there as often as I used to when I lived closer, but it's been my favourite incense for the last 16 or 17 years, so the scent is emblazoned on my brain. What a thrill to be able to wear it! Okay, to make some sense of that rambling - it smells of orange, cinnamon, cloves and something in the incense department: myrrh, maybe? (I love the incensey smells, but so far I'm not too good at recognizing which is which, other than patchouli, which this is definitely not.) But it's not a juicy, sweet, candy orange - this is a very dry, aged orange, if that makes sense. Dry: Exactly the same. Oddly, at first I thought it was going to disappoint me with a lack of staying power, but perhaps I was just cold for a while; it seemed to fade after a couple of hours but then come back STRONG for the rest of the day. It's been on for about ten hours now and is still going. I haven't had a chance yet to test it for its intended purpose, but over the course of the day, I'd say that although I haven't really felt any 'lustier' than normal, I've felt sexy in the sense that this scent seems to make me feel very confident and assured in my own skin. It's a sexy, alluring scent, but not sexy like a young nymphet... this is sexy like an older woman who is utterly gorgeous without needing to make the slightest attempt to pretend she's anything other than who she is, and the age she is, and still can have much younger men begging at her feet. (I kept envisioning Susan Sarandon as I got whiffs of Red Devil through the day). DEFINITELY going on the must-buy-a-bottle list.

In the imp - SAGE, strong almost to the point of being medicinal - like grabbing a handful of leaves right off my sage plant on a warm summer day and crushing them under my nose. When first applied - The sage disappears immediately, replaced by a burst of sweet juicy blackberry. At first impression, it seems quite simple, almost like a single-note scent. After 10-20 minutes - The berry is still predominant, but the sage and tea are playing a solid supporting role now, so that it's become a scent of sweet blackberry tea, as several others have cited. The musk seems to be quite mild in this, just adding a little depth - which is great news to me, as this is the first musk-containing BPAL I've tried, and I've always had bad luck with musk in the past. After 6 or 7 hours - It hasn't changed much further in the drydown, except to become even more well-blended, as the berry-sweetness mellows into something less candylike, more grown-up. The only thing is that next time I'll apply a little more... I was quite sparing with the imp this morning due to my apprehension around the musk issue, and the scent is becoming fairly faint. This will be a 'slathering' fragrance, and a strong contender for purchase of a 5 ml!

Thanks so much, everyone! Just to clarify, I wasn't trying to pick things out on her behalf, just compiling some recommendations for her, since she's thinking about perhaps ordering some as her birthday gift to herself.

This is the third BPAL scent I've tried so far, and may be the first candidate for purchase of a bigger bottle! In the imp and immediately on my skin - Maraschino cherries. STRONG maraschino cherries. I think this is my brain's initial reaction to 'almond'. This only lasted perhaps two minutes. Wet - Cherry morphing into almond, with the frankincense looming but not overpowering it. Smells like "occult shop", which to me is a good thing. After about an hour - Gorgeous, just gorgeous. The vanilla and cinnamon have come to the forefront, with the almond and frankincense humming underneath like a great bassline. Heliotrope is a scent I'm not familiar enough with to pick out, but there is just the gentlest waft of floral, which must be it. After several hours - Nice staying power... I was out at a festival watching performers, and every time I applauded I got a nice little fresh whiff of Eclipse, but not too strong. A lovely, slightly sugary cinnamon/vanilla, with the other elements giving it depth and keeping it from being too sweet. Definitely getting at least a 5 ml of this. Also, my friend who joined me at the festival has a lot of allergy and scent-sensitivity issues, and not only did Eclipse not bother her, she LOVED it, and asked me for the link to the BPAL site.

An online friend of mine is intrigued by BPAL, but she's got a five-week-old daughter and doesn't want to overwhelm the baby with strong fragrance. Any suggestions of some oils that are pretty, but not so intense?

My very first review ever! In the imp: Wow, pure sweet maraschino cherry. Wet: Maraschino cherry, but almond/amaretto is coming in too, along with a whiff of rose and something that seems like a cross between incense and baby powder... is that amber? (I have no idea what the 'amber' note is, but based on other reviews, perhaps that's it) After 15 minutes: Becoming much more floral... a very grownup, heady floral, that makes me think of getting very dressed up and doing something 'classy', like going to the theatre. The rose is quite prominent, and I tend to not be a big rose fan, but this is rather nice. After about an hour: Rose, and baby powder... but not necessarily in a bad way. And a vague hint of the almond still wafting about. So far, I'd say I'll probably use up the imp, but not buy a bottle; this is lovely, but slightly out-of-character for me. Something I'll probably wear when I'm in the mood to be grown-up and sophisticated, but a little reserved, like going to a nice dinner with my dad or something.

Phew... hopefully now I'll be able to pronounce all the wonderful things I've ordered, once they arrive! I study Scots Gaelic, so that's one domain I'm okay with... although the Lab seems to use more Irish-type spelling for scent names. I had to double-check "Leanan Sidhe" about ten times, because I was wanting to spell it "Leannan" as it would be in Scots Gaelic.

While I'm waiting for my first and second BPAL orders to arrive, I'm already pondering future purchases... and one thing I'm wondering about is musk. I've had bad luck in the past with musk going kind of sweaty/body-odor-ish on me, but I admit I've only tried it a couple of times, several years ago. (And products that were no doubt not nearly as good as BPAL!) So I'm apprehensive about musk, and have so far shied away from ordering anything with it listed... but then again, some things sound SO good to me otherwise. I was wondering what scents you might recommend to the slightly musk-phobic? Something where it's present, but not overpowering?