theshapeshifter

I'd had March Hare on my wishlist for aaaaages, but after having bad luck with pretty much all the other peach/apricot BPAL's I'd tried, I was definitely skeptical. On first application, it was really in-your-face apricot, and I was worried it would go 'fakey' on my skin, but within about 5 minutes, it blossomed out with this AMAZING sweet clove... with the apricot just rounding it out, juicy-tart in the background. This is AWESOME.

I've worn Sugar Skull to a couple of rock shows in crowded, sweaty (although thankfully not smoky any more) bars, and found it held up really well. Out of your 'possibles' selection, I'd go with Sugar Skull, Samhain or Snake Oil. My favourite rock-show scent, though, is Dead Man's Hand.

In the imp/wet on skin: That sweet gummy/fruity scent I associate with lotus. Drydown: What a surprise! The myrrh, sandalwood etc come to the forefront, and somehow the black lotus turns to.... plum? By some wonderful alchemy, this turns into the kind of dark-plummy-incense that I was hoping for from Hellion. Lovely, just lovely. I wish it stuck around a little longer, though - a little over two hours and it's fading away, but what a wonderful scent while it lasted!

Wow! I never would've ordered this, given my fear of roses, but it arrived as a generous frimp with my latest order, so I gamely gave it a try. In the imp: Aggressively, eye-wateringly herbal - sour rosemary. I was almost afraid to try it on. Initial application: Oh! Citrus! I hadn't yet read the scent description when I first put it on, so I was confused for a while, although vaguely reminded of the lemon-mint candies I liked as a child. (Makes sense now.) Suddenly, this seems much more promising. It's a bit medicinal, with the lemon on top and the herbs and a winey tang beneath, but surprisingly pleasant. I only get the roses as a faint hint in the background, just enough to make the scent a little more feminine. Drydown: Several hours later, it's still just barely present if I sniff my wrist. It doesn't change a lot in the drydown, just mellows and gets less sharp. It's an unusual scent, and still does remind me somewhat of herbal cough drops, but I don't mean that in a bad way. There's something very energizing and upbeat about the scent. I'm glad I got to try it!

2006 version. I have been desperately wanting Mars ever since discovering BPAL, primarily because it happens to be the name of a fictional character I spent a year and a half writing about. Therefore, it was a hugely exciting moment to finally remove the cap and take a sniff! In the bottle: Oooh. I'd been expecting spice, but this is much more complicated... warm and heady and red. Something about it evokes The Living Flame to me, although they don't really smell that much alike. Wet on skin: Orange peel! I get a strong, strong rush of orange on application, but not a juicy-candy orange, more like a semi-dried orange rind. Drydown: Oh, Mars is so much more complicated than I'd expected. It's really well-blended, which makes it a challenge to pick out notes. Orange rind, dragon's blood, maybe some jasmine, a bit of spice (clove?)... I'm not sure what else. It's absolutely, absolutely gorgeous - and has GREAT staying power. I'm so happy! It's lived up to my wildest dreams... I think Mars is going straight to my top 10.

I was a little nervous of the mad monkey, especially after one of the musks in Smut seems to have turned on me. But on me, the monkey's quite friendly! In the bottle: Wow, that's definitely musk! Warm, but dark and ominous. Wet on skin: Warm, enveloping musk, and a deep foresty greenness that must be the rainforest plants. Drydown: I guess it's the combo of musk and amber, but this mellows into a very woodsy/incensey kind of scent - warm and natural without being an in-your-face "OMG INCENSE" sort of scent (although I like those too). I foresee getting a lot of wear out of this one!

Luperci started out with a tang of juniper in the wet stage, but dried down to something pretty close to a patchouli single note on me. It's a gorgeous patchouli, and it is a note I love, but I was hoping for a bit more complexity from this one. It'll probably go to swaps, for someone whose skin chemistry does it justice.

Wow! From almost the moment I ordered Parlement of Foules, I wondered 'what was I thinking?' Because really, rose and I are usually real enemies. I was just sucked in by the medieval concept. But what a surprise! In the bottle: Hmm, pretty, but that's DEFINITELY rose. Worrisome. Wet on skin: Suddenly it starts to turn promising. The rose is definitely a 'white' scent, and rather... sharp and spiky, somehow. Like a few roses amongst a lot of thorns. The resins are just perceptible underneath it (although I'd be hard-pressed to identify which resins), and seem to keep the rose in check so it actually keeps smelling like a rose - instead of 'old lady rose dusting powder' or 'rose soap', which is what my skin usually does with rose scents. Drydown: Eventually, the rose fades waaaaay into the background, letting the resins take centre stage. It winds up as a mellow, incensey scent with just a hint of rose. I'm reeling in delighted surprise - this is definitely a keeper! And beautiful label, too.

In the bottle/wet on skin: Very similar to Snake Oil, except with a kick of musk. Drydown: Hmm. It seems like one of the musks doesn't like me - it sort of wavers between this darkly sweet scent that I really like, and something just too raw-musk for me. It's just not quite me - it'll go to the swap pile and hopefully find a happier home.

Personally, I like to seek out scents that relate in some way to the people or places I'm writing about. For instance, for a character of mine who's strongly linked to the element of fire, I had some great ideas while wearing The Living Flame.

In the imp/initial application: At first, I'm just bowled over by the caramel. It's intense to the point where it makes me thirsty. Drydown: At first I was thinking I smelled something vaguely reminiscent of sandalwood or very mild patchouli, but after refreshing my memory on the official description, I'm thinking that must be the tobacco. The sweetness really dies down into the background, and gets overtaken by this incredibly complex tobacco/opium/coconut tango. The coconut isn't the dealbreaker I usually expect - perhaps because it's black coconut, it's not making me think of suntan oil and pina coladas, thankfully, but it's still not quite 'me'. A really fascinating scent, and I'm glad I got to try it, but not quite my style; I'm glad I listened to my instincts and just got an imp of this one.

Both wet and in the drydown, Budding Moon perfectly embodies that pale, pretty green that was used on the t-shirt. On my skin, it's hard to pick out individual notes - probably because a lot of these notes are ones I'm not so familiar with - but overall it's a very fresh and bright scent. Green but not herbal, juicy without being fruity. Gorgeous, perfect for a "when will spring get here?" pick-me-up.

Disclaimer: I do have a cold, so if I find later that it's influenced my view of the scent, I'll come back and edit. Initial application: Sweet plum and spices (something cinnamony), with an undertone of incense. It's actually almost... chewing-gum-like. Drydown: The patchouli and sandalwood make their presence known a bit more, but the sweet-spicy plum is still the most prominent note. I'm getting a bit of a plasticky-waxy note to it that makes it seem more like a room scent than a personal scent, but I'll try again when my cold goes away. So far, I like it, but I think an imp will be enough.

Which ones have the most throw or staying power is liable to vary a lot from person to person, but one general tip... I find if I apply a little scent to my hair (just run the imp wand through my hair, or put a little on my fingers and run them through my hair), it lasts far, far longer than on skin, and typically has a little more throw.

I received this as a generous frimp, and the timing could NOT have been better! I tried it on today, since I felt the need for some extra 'power' in dealing with a work situation. Initial application: For a few moments it's very herbal, almost medicinal, with a sharp metallic edge that reminds me of Djinn. Drydown: I obviously have no idea what's in here, but I suspect vetiver - which, on me, is a good thing; that dark grassy edge to it always makes me feel strong. And yet, there's also a rich, almost-sweet depth to this as well, something cocoa-ish. To use other scents as a reference point, this makes me think of a sort of Freak Show/Djinn hybrid. (Clearly, this really does different things on different people, scent-wise!) Effects: So far, this has proven incredibly effective; I feel more grounded, confident and powerful than I have in weeks - as well as magnetic in a kind of 'hands-off' way. EXACTLY what I needed right now. Thank you, Beth - I might never have tried this on my own!

Initial application: Cassia, cassia, cassia - did I mention cassia? It's cinnamon-like, but neither a red-hots candy smell nor the really woody cinnamon-stick smell. I can't make out any of the other notes, really, but there's a strangely... plasticy?... undertone to it, that I can't quite place. Drydown: After about 15 minutes, I start to get the other notes, but this just doesn't seem to agree with me. They're all notes that in theory I love, but somehow on my skin it just seems like they're all fighting with each other here. Eventually, after about an hour and a half, I start to get a mellow, lovely patchouli, but it's hard to find under everything else that's going on. Woe. I really wanted to love this! From all these positive reviews, though, I'm clearly the anomaly, so hopefully it'll find a happier home.

This arrived in the mail just as I was leaving for work, and I was so excited to try it, I just went ahead and dabbed some on without even sniffing the bottle first! Wet: Helloooooo, cardamom! And a bit of dry woody cinnamon. I hadn't been sure how cardamom would work on me as a scent, but I really like it. Drydown: Thankfully, the bourbon seems to be a bit player on my skin, which is a good thing since I didn't want a super-boozy scent. The cardamom continues to be the predominant note (especially in the throw), but as it dries down the leather comes up to almost equal prominence, with the patchouli (and what a gorgeous, woodsy patchouli it is!) giving it all a lovely undertone. I only put a relatively small (well, for me anyhow) dab on, and I'm impressed with the power and throw of this! Love it, love it, love it.

Wet: This doesn't smell 'dry' to me at all! I get the sharp musk, and an almost aquatic scent. It's fresh and dusty-herbal, and quite masculine. Drydown: As it dries, it becomes a little closer to unisex, but I'd still group this on the 'masculine' end of the spectrum... but in an accessible way. Like you've borrowed your boyfriend's jacket with a hint of his scent still left on it, not like you've doused yourself in the men's cologne aisle. This is still not as 'dry' as I'd expected (which is a good thing, since the dryness was the element that had worried me). It's surprisingly comfortable - although I get the "fang-sharpness" of it, it's a small fang. A little spike of light musk above pale dusty woods and a whisper of dried herbs. I think I'll really enjoy this in the early spring when I'm looking for a fresher, lighter scent.

Initial application: Although I can smell the vetiver straight away, the China rain note predominates when it's wet. For a few seconds straight out of the imp, I was worried it might be too mens-deodorant, but it calmed down quickly. Drydown: The vetiver takes over, and it's all smoky-grassy-earthy. Thankfully, vetiver tends to work really well on me, so I'm enjoying this very much. I wonder if this is the same vetiver used in Highwayman, because it's very similar to my nose. Every once in a while - interestingly - I also get just the tiniest hint of sweetness from it in the throw, like a very, very burnt marshmallow. This is the sort of scent I wouldn't wear every day - I'd have to be in the right mood - but I'll definitely enjoy it.

My first impression was that this was like a very faded, less-minty version of Lick It - the vanilla note is similar. As it dried down, it went to vanilla-y powder, with a bit of mineral sharpness; nice, but a little too... pale... for me.

In the imp: Something muted and cologne-y. Initial application: Ugh, at first it's a bit too men's-cologne on me. After a minute or so it gets nicer, but still very masculine. Drydown: As it starts to try, it quickly becomes less overpoweringly manly - although I'd still love to smell it on a boy. It's reminiscent of Cathedral on me: very woody-incensey, but with a twist (I guess the parchment note) that makes it much more 'library' than 'church'. It's a very comfortable scent. It has very little throw on me, though - I need to put my nose right to my wrist to find it.

In the imp, and initially on skin, I get a mix of chocolate and fruit that triggers an amazingly clear memory of being a kid and rifling through a bag of Halloween candy, all the different kinds of candy mixed together. As it dries down, the mandarin takes over and dominates the rest of the scent... it's a bit like "13 on steroids". It's nice, but 13 and Tezcatlipoca fill a similar scent niche and work a little better with my chemistry, so I think this one may go to swaps. Sad, though, because I LOVE the name so much!

My one disappointment when the raft of Yule scents went up was that Skadi had not returned... but when I saw some initial hints that Snow Bunny might be similar I - with some nervousness over the 'girlie perfume' - ordered a bottle. It was the right decision! In the bottle: Very piney, but not that aggressive, astringent pine that sometimes gets associated with floor cleaner or scented candles; this is a cold, natural forest. Initial application: Yay! The slushy berry note that I remember from my imp of Skadi comes out... but this isn't a ripoff of Skadi; it also has a bright sweet 'zing' to it like a lemon wedge dipped in sugar. Drydown: The initial citrusy bite calms down a little, but otherwise it's staying much the same - a fresh, cold, sweet-berries-and-evergreen scent, with just a little lemon zest for good measure. I LOVE THIS. This might even be a second-bottle candidate, which is rare for me.

Wow, it seems like this is one of those scents that gives people very different impressions! In the bottle: This is going to sound odd, but there's something reminding me of Snake Oil - like Snake Oil, minus the vanilla. Initial application: Really complex! It's hard to pick out individual notes, more impressions. The Snake-Oil-ish component is less prominent, more like a whisper in the background (maybe the 'faded incense' has some components in common?), and there's an almost tangy metallic overlay, plus an edgy, smoky note (a bit reminiscent of Djinn). Drydown: It doesn't change too much in the drydown, actually. It doesn't have a huge amount of throw on me, but I can't stop sniffing my wrist. It's smoky without being warm, and metallic without being cold - a very intriguing scent. Really, I hate to review a scent just by saying "it's like...", but I have to say, on me, The Cracked Bell can almost be summed up by the following equation: Snake Oil - vanilla + small amount of Djinn + metal. Given that Snake Oil and Djinn are two of my faves, that makes The Cracked Bell a definite winner in my books!

Hmm. I got a little of this on my hand when I just intended to sniff it, and even from just a drop I immediately (alas!) got the 'peanut butter' note a few others have described. For about ten minutes, I get a mix of powdery florals, something that must be the 'body musk'... and peanut butter. It's a bit jarring. Now that it's dried down, I get honeyed musk (quite reminiscent of O) and a bit of fruitiness that I think must be the cognac. It's pretty, but still a little powdery for my taste, and between that and the 'peanut butter' phase, I think this might be best suited for someone else's skin chemistry.