cinderfallen

In Winter In My Room reminds me so much of Aizen-Myoo when I first apply it! It's not nearly as piercingly citrus, but very smooth and sweet, but it totally smells like the almost buttery-sweet Asian persimmon (kaki) and yuzu blend in Aizen-Myoo. Then the peony pops its head out, so it's a bit more floral-astringent. I don't think people should be afraid at all of the "tropical flowers" because the tuberose is very well behaved here (sadly--I LOVE tuberose) and it only serves to give luscious body to the blend. I think it's the violet leaf that's giving a bit of the "fuzzy" quality to the top, and then the pikaki kicks in a bit, with its slightly waxy tropical feel. The tonka mellows everything out, creams it, so nothing is high-pitched, and the frankincense only serves to restrain and mellow out the scent. Sweet and slightly tart, it's a softened Aizen-Myoo with a gentle flurry of waxy-sweet flower petals. It reminds me more of the Asian blends than the outright tropical Tikis. It's actually shot up to become one of my all-time favorite BPAL blends. (My other favorite is Tiki Queen.)

In the bottle, I can see how someone could draw a likeness to Black Lace. There's something reminescent of the cognac/cologne type scent that I smelled in Black Lace, though the comparison doesn't wash when actually applied. I can tell this is one of those blends that will turn really stunning when it ages, due to the harshness of patchouli when I first smell my arm. When that adds to this blend? Oh man. It turns into a milky spiced tea, comforting. I can see why people like it so much. It reminds me of Bakeneko--not the exact scent, but spices. Tea. Comfortingness. I didn't like either particularly, but it seems that trends don't lie.

Oh man, Dreamland sounds PERFECT! I'm definitly putting out an ISO.... I hope I can find a bottle!

Haha, that's already a bottle! =) I absolutely loved it at Will Call. So pretty, isn't it?

WHOA! Blast from the past! I made my first BPAL order after angsting for months, with Ingenue first on my list--the day it was announced that it was going to be discontinued. It was the scent I was the most excited about, and I've kept my imp around for nostalgic reasons, and decided to revisit it. I guess I got one of the very last imps, but I am just so surprised by the date! '04! Geez, does that mean my 6th BPAL anniversary is coming up? But Ingenue is quite a charming scent. It reminds me of the low-key prettiness of the Salons or the Retail scents. Clover and melon is the first to bloom, then the sugared violets and "wooden notes" which are very subtle and smooth. It's also the very soft, young, creamy rose that doesn't go sharp on my skin. Overall, this is a sugared blend, with a flower-petal softness at the core. Almost aquatic. Reminds me of Impressionistic paintings of water lilies, done in soft blues and greens. It's too soft and delicate for my personality, actually, but it smells pretty nice. For someone who wears cardigans and pastels and pearls.

Pele is what you're describing to me. =)

Mhmmm, tuberose! Gardena, tuberose, and lots of something spicy--spicer than cinammon, perhaps cassia? More like the bark than baking cinammon. The combination lays lightly on my skin, with those three notes balancing each other out. The gardenia is a lush, cream floral, which is encased by the cooler, waxier tuberose, and the whole thing restrained by the spice. Really interesting, though I need to learn not to stick my nose right at the application site on my arm as my nose hurts from breathing the cinammon bark fumes! LOL. ETA to say: lab-fresh imp!

#1 Tip: REMEMBER TO SHAKE YOUR BOTTLE. The benzoin sinks into the bottom of the bottle and makes for a completely different scent if unmixed. This goes on exactly--and quite unpleasantly--like pink bubblegum. Then it tames itself into something sharper, a little citrus, and slight sweetness from the pear, and a little salty tang from the ambergris before I get the slight creaminess from the benzoin. I agree with what others have said--this reminds me of of the slightly herbal-vanilla of American Cream with a slight citrus tang.

At first, it smelled like Eat Me without the currants/raspberry glaze. Then it turned into Snake Oil and I guess Doc Constantine + a little cream cheese frosting, that vanilla powdery-tangy subtle sweetness...plus some dirt. I get the same earthy scent as I did with Beaver'versary, except this time it's not taking over, thankfully--it eventually dries down. I think there's a slight bit of--cassia? in this? I guess to simulate the cream cheese frosting, but I tend to amp spices and while the spice isn't apparent, the fume hurts my nose a bit. Mostly earthy, a deep vanilla, chocolate cake combo with something spicy/sour/creamy tickling my nose at the top. More like raw cake dough than anything else. It's...all right, but either the blend itself is kind of wonky or it's not playing super well with my chemistry. I think it'd get better with aging, but at this point, I wish I just had a bottle of Eat Me instead.

For anyone who missed out on Ingenue, try Nocturne. They have the same feel. Edit to note that this is when Nocturne is on wet. On drydown, Nocturne is darker.

It's a rush of magnolia, extremely lush and fragrant, and then the more powdery-flat jasmine coming up behind to counter it. I was really disappointed they're so evenly matched because I really wanted a more pure magnolia scent. The amber grounds this, but that amazing white floral haze gets flat within half an hour, and I really think it might be the rose causing something to smelly powdery--as if that it was meant to, actually, but it dates the perfume to something like a costume scent, or one meant for more mature women.

This smells like a traditional perfume in the best way. It smells expensive like a rich, red brocade. At first it's a hit of all red musk, and it's here I get "CRUNCHY GRANOLA HIPPIES" like I do from Scheherazde. But from there, the musk calms, and the amber and the roses step forward--roses I can wear? It's gorgeous in this phase, when it's not a slap in the face with the red musk, but big red roses with a base of amber and musk, uplifting the flowers. Oh, and there go the roses, sharp sharp sharp. Ahh well, pretty while it lasted.

I loved this the first hour, when it was balanced between the smoke and leather and under that, very pretty hint of creamy flowers, but eventually, the leather began to dominate everything else. But while it held that balance, this was a really evocative scent--sexy, dangerous, tough--all of it. A really great concept blend that felt like wearing a piece of Liz costume.

First off, this is STRONG. Wow strong. I did a couple imp swipes on my wrists and forearms and everyone could smell me coming. Resins love me, but this is serious freakin' adulation. I like this blend for not being so heavy, despite the gingerbread comments. The almost citrus aspect of the spicy gingers ward off the heavy bakery connotations, so it doesn't feel like I smeared buttery pasteries all over myself. But yeap, reminds me of pumpkin spice lattes and fall! This smells like all the stuff you add to pumpkin to make a pie. Perfect for Halloween! =)

The Girl shares the same "opaline" white amber/vanilla note from To Helen, sweet and almost a little ozone-y vanilla--may it have the lightest, *lightest* touch of anise?, and it spins off into very subtle florals. On the crooks of my elbows, it stays mostly like this. However, on my wrists, where it evaporates faster, I get a lot more birch, and the delicate notes settle themselves into a warm aura of vanilla musk with a pale pink tinge, which reminds me of Bath and Body Works' "exotic amber" blends. I get no floral notes. It kind of reminds me of a cross between Morocco and To Helen. Very mainstream scent, nice--gentle, soothing, and calming. Lasts all day and then some on the crooks of my elbows.

It goes on smelling like a ritual. I smell singed lavender, ashes, incenses, and it's smoky, herbal, and extremely evocative of an asian temple, and I've been to a couple. Or a spa. A soothing sleep blend, perhaps. It's quite business-like and purposeful in tone in that way--"you've put me on, now it's time to get to sleep!" There's a bit of an asian bitter herbal medicine tinge to it, which I think is because of resin of the opium or the labdanum. As times goes on, the smokiness and ash fades, and the lavender turns almost citrus-like, and the champa offers a sugary grittiness. These and a swirl of opium becomes the main attraction of the scent. Reminds me of a lavender-floral Event Horizon with a stately sandalwood backbone.

Muse, for sure. Super kapow! sparkling.

Lady Una, a bright purple.

This smells like an incense pastry drizzled with honey. I get a lot of incense that reveals itself the longer it's on, actually, with the slightest tinge of foody.

There's a blast of apple at first which smells very much like the fresh note in Rose Red, crisp and clean and sweet, but the longer I wear it, the more the apple fades and the poisonous elements warm up and take over. I get mostly oleander, a sweet-smelling, pointed floral, the same as in Hell's Belle. I think the opium serves to warm up this scent and provide a good, almost sticky-resinous base and provide a very slight smoky presence, and the hemlock is a slightly herbal. I can see this amping into poutpourri if the opium doesn't work enough to ground this. I really like this on drydown--sweet, but not too sweet, slightly resinous, and evocative of an apple without going ever into fruity candy territory. Hours and hours and hours (almost 12) later, I have something that smells like peach or apricot! This must be part of the apple bouquet!

Sigh. I love this scent so much--sweet and clean and green and prettyyyy. Unfortunately, when it hits my skin, it loses that freshness and turns into an air freshener, flat and muddled sweetness.

I absolutely love this scent as it smells exactly like Asian persimmons (kaki). It's the mild, almost buttery-sweet kind, firm but tender--not the liquid, thin-skinned, slurpy kind--with a little, smooth, crunch-jelly-like sac in the center of the fruit when you bite into it--and man, this smells exactly like the fruit. A little citrus edge, but I don't detect any overt floral. Just persimmon goodness. Love in a big way.

Oh, this is lovely! I think the imp is fairly aged? The myrrh and tuberose create this amazing, full-bodied aura that swells out, rich and sweet, especially with the addition of the honey, carrying with it the sharper, restraining influence of the cognac, and the sweet-herbal geranium. The red patchouli and myrrh, as well as geranium are especially good choices to tone down what could have been an overwhelming fragrance with its lightly herbal notes. The warmth of this scent simply radiates. Other words that come to mind is, "a cloud" or "diffused" or. yeah. Nice. Soft honey and myrrh hit my nose first on drydown, like sticky honey diffused to silk in warm water, with that rose-like, plant-like aura of geranium's presence only implied. The patchouli only gives body to the scent and is never noticeable. Really gorgeous, extremely sexy, and sweet--but not too sweet. This is what a woman smells like in fantasies. I want a bottle that smells exactly like this.

This smells exactly like Snake Oil on me, but with a slightly citrus-powdery twang. This is super aged. I must really amp amber as I instantly recognized the same note--what I was mistaking for vanilla in Snake Oil. Sweet yet has a note that has me thinking of citrus cleanser--the black musk perhaps? Or another note? On full drydown, actually, it's not so bad. Mostly spicy-sweet amber, though, with citrus/almost tea-like something airy swirling over it.

Bluestocking, thank you so much for identifying that citrus as orange blossom! No wonder Versailles turns to powder on me--just like Jezabel. Citrus tang, a little jasmine, strong, middling scent. And then the slow slide into powder while the jasmine struggles to keep afloat. And...then the powder fades away? WHAT. An aged imp, this smells like weak tangerines with the richer sweetness of jasmines. However, overall kind of weak. Wouldn't mind trying a fresher imp. I wonder if this means I can try revisiting Jezebel? I loved that scent to pieces until the powdery turn so early into the initial application.... Or did the powder note just get overshadowed by the other elements? Hopefully not....