tesao

*when* am i going to learn that musk is just WRONG on me???? hell's belle is strong. it goes on strong, it has huge amounts of throw, and it stays. and stays. and stays. the musk overpowers almost everything. in addition, there is a heavy floral note that is heavy and sweet. after drydown, hell's belle went sort of soapy on me...another bad sign. when everything else has gone, there is a definite citrus note that lingers. not a keeper.

yum. intrigue smells like wood. i don't know which wood, maybe cedar??? sandalwood. there is another familiar scent happening behind the wood. something dark....maybe chocolate??? and smoky, as if the cedar was burning just a bit. it is cedary and spicy, with hints of fig showing as it dries down. and the dry down is fantastic. it's too much when i first put it on, but afterwards....mmmmmmmm. it doesn't have a lot of throw, and it fades too quickly. but i LOVE it. i will just by a 10 ml bottle and smother myself constantly with it. mmmmmmmmmmmm. and you know??? sometimes we can't smell it any more on ourSELVES but others can still smell it.

i tried vixen today. too strong/wafty/incensy for my taste. it was spicy, but still very incensy. i wonder if this has musk???? okay, i checked, vixen does NOT have musk. it does, however, have patchouli, which may be what my nose is picking up on. i just can't figure this out. there seems to be a sort of red musk thing going on that's kind of overpowering everything else, but red musk isn't in the description, and neither is vanilla, which is what is smells like after about 20 minutes. the vanilla is overpowering and is starting to make me feel icky. i TRIED to like vixen, but it just didn't happen, i had to wash it off. and that was a struggle. i used hand soap, liquid soap, RUBBING ALCOHOL, and i could STILL smell it. gah. interestingly enough, once i have "cleaned" my wrists with rubbing alcohol, what is left behind -- and yes, even the rubbing alcohol doesn't get it all, not by a long ways! we are talking CONCENTRATED here!! -- is the incense/vanilla/musk fragrance, which i am attributing to the patchouli....

i tried kali today. waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too strong. it is also too floral. there are lots of really nice undertones of spice, but you have to get past too many flowers -- cloying, almost rotten sweet flowers -- to get to it. it is probably the lotus, which hates my body chemistry. ::sigh:: another one for the swap pile!

medea: black orchid, black currant, cedar, some sort of green leafy scent i can't place. another gender neutral scent that i reallllllly liked. strangely enough, there is supposed to be some myrrh in it, but the play dough horror that i have noticed in every other scent that contains myrhh never made itself known. not sure WHY....maybe some of the other scents neutralized it? maybe less of it was in the mix??? who knows? just goes to show that i can generalize about what works and what doesn't...but the proof is still in the sniffing and dabbing......

Whimsical, temperamental, radiant and ravishingly beautiful Goddess of Volcanoes, Fire, Lightning and Dance. She is the Mother of Eruptions and the personification of destructive power. Volcanic eruptions are said to be a side-effect of her jealous rages and her epic quarrels with her siblings are legendary. This perfume embodies her gentler, benign aspect as the capricious Goddess of Dance: muguet and Hawaiian white ginger enveloped by warm, damp tropical blooms. pele reminds me of hawai'i. ginger. it is a scent i love, but i'm not sure i want to smell like it. it has faded quite quickly on my skin. it isn't unpleasant at all -- and the ginger scent is DEAD ON. my middle sister LOVES this smell -- she was born in hawai'i. i may have to send this imp to her to see what she thinks of it.....

first review: i like this one. i haven't checked what is in this one, yet, but i know that it doesn't have any red musk (how is egyptian musk different from red?) or myrrh in it. verdandi is one of the norns. i didn't remember that. quite cool, actually. the norns: The Norse Sister-Goddesses of destiny, who measure the lives and fortunes of both Gods and Men and hold steady the ineffable laws of the cosmos. They are preservers and protectors of the Tree of Life and the Well of Fate, and give assistance during the birth of every mortal and divine creature. verdandi is the norn of necessity. the scent is deep herbs and apple with black amber. and i like this one a LOT. well, verdandi is definitely a keeper. my favourite so far....but i've only tried three! since i liked verdandi, i looked for other scents that had amber in them. second review: i'm wearing verdandi today. funny how i don't really like it when it first goes on, it is too sweet. but it calms down. it is a little more fruity than i remember it being, which MAY be because it is my moontime....even so, i still like it!

velvet on my left wrist. i smell like a cake there. yummy, and i like it. i'm starting to think that the play dough ingredient might be the myrrh. it is sort of a base note. it is there underneath all of the other warm cakey smells. mr. hotbuns sniffed it on his way out the door. he says that it smells good but that it "isn't me". i don't think myrhh likes me. i want to like this scent, but the occasional play dough thing is odd. and not becoming....

this was the first bpal scent i ever tried. my early reviews were subjective and did not contain as much information. i put a wandful of lust on my wrist pulse point this am and thought i liked it, but soon all i could smell was the red musk. i started to get a headache so i tried to wash it off. hah! i tried regular soap, victoria's secret dream angel liquid soap, dial liquid soap, and dish soap. NONE of them worked. well, it is fading.....i just now smelled it and it is almost um...play-doughy smelling. odd. could that be one of the other ingredients???? (not that i want to go around smelling like play-dough. i've been told that some people ATE it as children, though....hmmm. maybe i should wait until mr. hotbuns gets home and tells me what he thinks....) can't wait any longer. must.remove.now. *stumbles off to find rubbing alcohol*

mourning veil gifted me with a decant of this. so sweet and lovely. and so was the ides of march! it sounds redundant, but everyone who has described this scent as green was so right! not insanely green, not poisonous green. the green of spring. shoots popping out of the ground. leaves unfurling on trees. a soothing herbal tea....an herb garden in morning springtime sun. in the imp: herbal, rosemary is predominant. on my wrist, wet: the rosemary is still there, but it is definitely part of a well blended herb garden in flower. on my wrist, dry: the bergamot and lemon notes are coming through now. the lemon isn't the POP of lemon that you get when you squeeze a lemon into your water, it is more of the scent that lemon verbena leaves in your hands when you have picked some leaves and crushed them slightly. there are some light florals, as well, but they are a pleasant part of the whole....no overwhelming perfume. this is a green floral scent for people who don't wear florals. dry down: i can sense the amber now. but it truly is more of a sense -- a perception that it is there -- than a smell. it is a creamy, herbal, green smell, lightly overlaid with citrus. it is indeed the scent of spring. this is truly gender neutral and would smell wonderful on anyone. i just wish that i had MORE, so that i could wear it all the time! thank you SO much, mourning veil! this was so generous of you!!! and thank you, beth, for continuing to prove your genius.

in the imp: earthy. spicy honey, with a hint of sweetness that isn't the honey. on my wrist, wet: warm, sweet honey. but not the honey of o. the spice is clove. on my wrist, dry: the honey and the clove are still there, but other notes are now distinguishable. the fig that i so love. and a sort of dusty muskiness, which might be patchouli, but the patchouli is more toned down than it usually is on my skin. dry down: i do so love fig. this is honeyed, spiced figs. golden and sunny. the honey is lightly floral. a late spring/early summer scent. lying in a hammock listening to the bees buzz in the flowers. another keeper.

i'm not sure why i got this one. i know i love tuberose. i'm thinking that i ordered this BEFORE i knew how much violets hate my skin. in the imp: whoa. WAAAAAAAY strong florals. on my wrist, wet: violet violet violet. made me SNEEZE. on my wrist, dry: i'm getting tiny hints of tuberose and lilac now, but violets are still screaming at me. i admit that i never got to the dry down phase. i had mr. hotbuns smell it, and HE sneezed and said, wow. now, that is some strong stuff. it was starting to give me a headache, so off it came. one for the swap pile. maybe there is something else with tuberose that isn't paired with violets......

i'm not sure exactly what i expected, but this isn't it. it isn't reminiscent of death or grave yards to me. the dance of death......hmmm. in the imp: resin and soft woods on my wrist, wet: this grounds me. i would never choose to be buried in a coffin, but perhaps if the wood smelled like this, i would reconsider. on my wrist, dry: this is the first time i've picked up a nutty smell. roasted chestnuts, perhaps. sitting in a circle, sky clad, giving thanks to demetre and eating nuts around a fire in the deep woods, beneath a starry starry sky. dry down: all of the above, but subtle. the scents have faded and melded, as if to tell us that we are all one, that in the end, perhaps we will all realize that. another one i want a bottle of! ADDED Aug. 20: this imp was lab lagniappe. i love that we get free imps! unexpected gifts always make me smile! and i get to try a lot of different blends that i would never select on my own. this definitely falls into that category. i haven't had success with oakmoss to speak of. i have no idea what oude even is. in the imp: sharp and unpleasant. rotting greenery. on my wrist, wet: you know, this smells like rancid loup garou to me. loads of that juniper/cedar thing, except that something is off. drydown: the scent has dissipated rapidly. is the dance of death fast? perhaps it should be.....

a freebie from the lab!!!!! thank you -- obrigada! once again! in the imp: really strong, really sweet, bubblegum or juicy fruit gum. i really didn't like the way that this smelled, but as it is a voodoo blend, i left it on to see if it did anything as a joy mojo. on my wrist, wet: pretty much the same as in the imp. that may be because somehow the bottle cap broke and left a plastic ring still attached to the imp....so the scent is pretty overpowering. on my wrist, dry: it changed. and not for the better. it smells sort of like a cross between cherry toilet bowl cleaner and cherry cough syrup. i did not like it at this stage. at all. but i had to admit that there was a little smile playing around the corners of my face. i thought about taking it off but decided to go ahead and wait a few hours to see what happened to my mood. dry down: well, it changed again. now it is all of the strawberry shortcake and whipped cream goodness that others noticed. and i am happy as can be, giggling and smiling for no reason whatsoever. so even though i thought this would be one for the swap pile, it looks as if I’m keeping it for the joy mojo it really does seem to have.

i am on a winning streak, for which i can thank lady ell.....she has proven to be my scent twin once again! my last imp order i just ordered all of her favourites, without paying any attention to what they were supposed to smell like. and this morning i just tried it without reading any reviews. in the imp: slightly sweet and foody. i couldn't really recognize anything but thought i had smelled it before. spicy fruit of some kind, with a bright sweetness that wafted by once and a while. on my wrist, wet: fruity and warm. dark, deep, reddish purple smelling. i wanted to lick my wrist. i wondered if it was vanilla or cocoa that i was smelling. on my wrist, dry: got it! figs! fig newtons. and i love love love it. dry down: still yummy spicy figs. much creamier, though. not as sweet. i never got orange out of this, but i loved it. another big bottle, because i will use this imp up toute suite!

in the imp: sweet and spicy, warm amber with notes i don't recognize (probably the myrtle and the apple blossom) on the wrist, wet: the amber is more present, but there are wonderful layers of it, with slight hints of floral sweetness and something green....some carnation but not enough, alas. on the wrist, dry: the carnation is gone. drydown: yummy ambers that don't turn into play-dough!!! i love the subtle sweetness and the mix of ambers that continues to layer constantly; one amber scent is there and then another and another. not as "in your face" as some of the other amber scents; it is lighter but still seductive. yet another bottle i MUST have!

i got this imp because lady ell likes it so much, and she has been a godsend in terms of being my skin twin -- not 100%, but preeeeeeetty damn close! in the imp: green tea, lightly scented with lemon and a drip of honey. the way i would want to drink my green tea. on my wrist, wet: pretty much the same as in the imp. on my wrist, dry: the green tea scent is still uppermost, with wafts of lemon and something sweet. the sweetness isn't cloying, it is very subtle, and could easily be missed. dry down: amazingly, this scent has stayed pretty much the same throughout this process. first one i have ever had do this. yayayay!! it doesn't last as long as the heavier scents that i tend to prefer thus far, but i am so happy to have found something that i can wear in summer that i don't care. i will just buy a larger size and use more. i love this scent! clean, bright, fresh, soothing. it makes me happy. i think that it would also be good as a room scent, and for putting on guest linens and towels. maybe even having spare imps around to give to guests.

in the bottle: grapefruit!!! on my wrist, wet: grapefruit, but other things as well. spice. and what i can only suppose is "aquatic notes". it does smell like a living body of water, but not a dark one. not a clear one that you can see 8 feet down, either. a live, vibrant, happy and healthy moving body of water. perhaps a river? on my wrist, dry: grapefruit. clove. the river is still running through it. overall impression: a happy scent. vibrant, spicy, clean. will keep to see if it ever calls to me. it is DEFINITELY not evocative of evil or even of lovecraft, at least not to me....

this was a freebie from the lab.....which i didn't realize until i went to look it up to figure out where to put the review....i am SOOOOOOOOO lucky to have this oil!!! it is wonderful. when i first smelled it, i felt warm and ummmm...inhabited. i know that sounds odd but it really did feel the same as the one and only time i have channeled an orixá, pombagira. i literally felt like a goddess. confident. sure. desireable. sexy. unable to be refused. sought after. loved. worshipped. good. so after the goosebumps and the warmth died down, and i could actually smell again, the first thing that i thought of was the orange and clove pomander balls that people used to make for christmas. then the patchouli showed up. and i was really in love. spicy, warm, occult patchouli. after the dry down, there is something else which i would guess is amber but who knows? i'm so new to this i feel blindfolded most of the time...i have to go on how a scent makes me feel or whether or not i simply like it -- or not. my CAT cannot quit sniffing me. i think that this may be my current favourite. i love it, and want a BIG bottle and i hope it is actually released so that i can buy it. i would use it in ritual work, yes....but i would also happily wear it. and wear it. and wear it.

in the imp: erg. something literally SHOT into my nose. green. sharp. unpleasant. on my wrist, wet: the same thing. that one note overpowers everything. i can't even smell the scent that i put on my other wrist. i can't smell my COFFEE. all i can smell is that POWERFUL green sharp as a needle smell. on my wrist, dry: now the smell of dried roses appears. although i like the rose scent, the other one is still over everything else. i looked it up, just to see what i was thinking when i ordered it. i thought that i would like earth and moss. i think i was wrong. i normally wait to see what the dry down is like, but in this case i simply couldn't. it was just waaaaaaaaay too much.

this was a freebie. i am still reaaaaaaaally new, and it just rocks my world to get freebies. i was a bpal fanatic BEFORE i ever ordered from the lab (just friends sending me yumminess), but now i am obsessed. in the imp: the zing of scent that hits your nose when first peeling a lemon, followed by an indescribable herb mix. it really smelled masculine to me, so i "volunteered" mr. hotbuns to test drive it. on the wrist, wet: (to the sound of mr. hotbuns protesting, but i don't WEAR scents) jazzy lemon, earl grey tea, lavender. yum. i want to eat him. on the wrist, dry: i DEFINITELY want to do more than eat him. there is, inexplicably, leather in there now. and something creamy, almost but not quite like vanilla. maybe amber. overall: all of the above are layered. one minute i smell one thing, the next moment, something else. it has melded but notes ring bright from time to time. right. so he doesn't wear scents. i am going to buy this for him and have him wear it for me in bed at night. if there is an aphrodisiac for tes, this is what a man should wear (women should wear O)

i don't normally like floral scents on me, but Lady Ell likes this one so i thought that i would try it. i try to smell the imps without looking at what is in them, so as not to bias myself before wearing the scent. in the imp: this was floral. no idea WHAT. it reminded me of my wedding bouquet, which was flowers but not floral, if that makes any sense. on my wrist, wet: flowers are still there, but there is a lot more. honey. vanilla. on my wrist, dry: honey more prevalent. again, sweet, but not overwhelming. drydown: subtle, creamy. i could see this wafting up on a warm but not hot summer breeze. reminds me of being in the hills outside of rio when i was younger.

in the bottle: spicy, clove, cinnamony, but not the normal cinnamon...more nuanced, like the cinnamon from sri lanka, not china on the wrist, wet: i've never been to morroco, so i can't say. it reminds me of the markets in cairo, which sell spices and tea and flowers and incense is burning and people are smoking hookahs. floral, but not overpoweringly so. on the wrist, dry: there is now some sandalwood in the mix. it really does remind me of the hanh el halili bazaar....all of the warm, exotic scents at the same time but constantly changing. overall: this is going to be my first larger bottle purchase. i have to have this around all the time!!!

well. this was odd. VERY odd. i was thrilled to have this imp because the name has a special significance to me. i had no clue what it was, what notes were in it or that it was a voodoo blend. it was the name that swayed me. in the imp: flowers. strong flowers. too many. wet: floral, sweet, with a clean, green scent wafting through. after 5 minutes: i had a physical reaction, which wasn't pleasant. my stomach roiled, and i started to get a headache. after 10 minutes: no question, i had a headache. i wanted to get it off of my wrist. i couldn't, as i was on a business call. dry down: i swear, it's gone. i can't smell anything. coming in here and seeing all the comments, all i can say is that perhaps i should hold onto this and try it when i actually NEED it. i have no broken heart right now. in fact, i am strongly and surely loved. i'll hold on to it and update this.

in the imp: honey. pure unadulterated honey. warm, sweet. on my wrist: i smelled this on me and it gave me goosebumps. and my nipples stood up. and i liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiked it. once i got over THAT, and smelled myself again, it was still yummy honey, but the amber notes were there, as well, along with vanilla. dry down: everything has settled down and there really is no one note that POPS out. it is all very creamy and delicious. you can still smell all of the notes, but not as individually as when they were wet. i didn't think that i liked sweet scents, but obviously that isn't the case. seriously, this makes me want to eat myself. in any and all senses of the word. i once had a female lover that smelled exactly like this. i cannot imagine wearing this and NOT broadcasting to the world that i want sex. which is just fine, because i do, in fact, want sex about 99% of the time.... and that just about sums it all up.