Muppetk

Wet: Okay, now this is pretty! Lightly-spiced plums with the chrysanthemum blended in seamlessly. I don't smell much in the way of musk, but that may have something to do with witting next to two open boxes of bpal bottles. But this is really nice. I may well go from merely testing this one to slathering it for the day! (I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. I love 'mum moon! But I had no clue that plums could be so pretty on me!) It's lighter on me than I usual care for, but given that it's hot and humid today, that may be a good thing. Of course, I may well edit in a half hour to wail that it's turned funny on me, as fruits used to, but it looks dry and ... it's oooh, better! The spiciness is actually becomeing slightly deeper! Oooh! VERDICT: YAY! If I'd ever finished an imp of anything, I'd immediately go out and get a bottle of this. As is, I'm going to savor my imp & get more if I run out.

Huh! Aquatic Vanilla! Whodathunkit!? Seriously though, it's a soft, aquatic vanilla with a hint of musk and more than a hint of soap on me. The soap just ain't working with my skin. Hmm... actually I think I may be mistaking soap for sunscreen, which is how coconut goes on my skin & to my nose. So it's an aquatic/coconut/vanilla. Interesting, but not me.

In the Imp: faint snake oil with LOUD sharp spice and a hint of baked goods. Made me recoil a little to be honest. Wet on: Ooh, okay, the recoil baked-butter note is gone, and I have a light snake oil background and a sharp spicey foreground. Whoa cinnamon! But hotter and drier. (At this point, I actually looked up the notes and realized which imp I'd randomly pulled out of the pile. No wonder my wrist feels warm. Cinnamon AND ginger AND cassia?) It's probably the ginger pulling it so far to the hot side of the force. Within about 20 minutes though the spices even out with each other. Nice. Sensitive skin alert!! Jeez, this has turned an area on my wrist slightly larger than a quarter red! I knew it felt warm to start, but wow. I rarely react to bpal and this one has got me but good. Mildly stinging, and I now know NOT to apply to my usual favorite spots: cleavage and behind ears, 'cause OUCH. Though seriously, it's causing enough enough irritation that I'm seriously tempted to experiment with using this on acupoints to see if I can stimulate an immune response without needles. I *think* it'll work, and a hell of a lot less akward than sticking myself with pins. [Note: I'm a licensed acupuncturist, not a creative masochist. This is professional experimentation, dammit! *ponder* I wonder if I can deduct a bottle of this as a business expense?] Later (an hour or two?), the snake oil balances out with the spices better. The redness & most of the stinging is gone. And it's certainly yummy. I have a feeling that with a bit of aging, the snake oil will intensify and spices ease up and balance each other better. In the meantime, I think it's more about scent lockets than wearing it on ouchy locations. Overall: Yum. Probably getting more!

This imp is more proof that some notes age well. This is so rich and smooth and sweet and gorgeous! It's only lightly woody, not sharp & cedary the way some other reviews have mentioned. And it's so completely familiar that I did a quick search. There I found that it was in The Masque, a scent which I just fell head over heels for, and based on the way this note ages, I'm seriously considering getting another bottle of The Masque.

It's a miracle. A jasmine blend that DOESN'T turn foul on me. I'm astonished. The note warps slightly but the other notes dry into a lovely soft interesting powdery drydown that reminds me of an aged Tarot: strength. I'm only getting a wee drop of pinapple, but my skin is notorious for eating fruit scents. If not for the drop of jasmine, I'd be in love. As is, I like it. I think I prefer Tarot:strength though if I want this type of scent.

I found this extra in my latest box from the lab, and got all excited! I think I'd only even heard of this scent once. Then I read the review and saw the dreaded j-word. Jasmine. Jasmine does loud and unholy on my skin. Still, I had to try. Wet on me it's a light, green floral, going slightly soapy as it dries. *sigh of relief* No jasmine so far. To me, this is more roses and... dandelions? Maybe lily? They sometimes go *slightly* sharp and soapy on me. I think that maybemaybe the rose note is the green one from rose red. ITt's a rich, soft scent. It's not assaulting my nose, but it's not fading in and out the way many blends do. Huh. Pretty in a kind of old fashioned way. Neat. Dry: oh, I take it back. Jasmine is definitely in this. As it wears on, the jasmine is slowly coming out and doing it's usual thing: hating me. Sigh. It's slowly amping and warping the perfume. Phooey. Washing this off. Aw man, I can't wash it off completely. Bummer. It was a neat scent before the jasmine gave my skin chemistry the finger.

Wow. This is really nice. Warm and smooth and ambery (sorry!) with a hint of wood and a hint (but not more) of sweet powder. This is *clearly* the primary note in Aureus. This is aureus without the cedar. I also think this is a note in the Lion, but the lion's is richer, so probably some other resins are mixed in there. Funny thing though, when wet, it smelled like nothing. I was wondering for a few minutes if this wasn't the real thing because there was no scent at all. Then it turned nice, then yum! And it took forever to dry. After 15 min, I finally smudged it a little flatter with my pinky and THEN the scent started to come out, but it stayed wet and shiny looking for at least 45 minutes. I guess that's the thick resin thing. Small tangent: There's a small handful of BPAL single notes that I genuinely think should come back. Not only because they're gorgeous and would stand on their own, but that they'd make good economic sense (because they're POPULAR) for Beth to bring back, even if only shortly and expensively. Before now, my list of those included Honey, Vanilla Bean & Patchouli for sure, and Dark Myrrh and Coconut for probable. (Just because I think Dark Myrrh is an orgasm in a vial doesn't mean I'm quite sure it has the popularity of the others. Coconut I don't care for, but it seems to be fairly popular.) Probably a Rose note or three would have enough popularity to carry it as well. And now, Egyptian Amber has totally joined the list of definites: gorgeous and popular. Just trying it out tonight has me *this close* to buying an amber sample pack from another retailer. (Eden Botanicals if you're nosy.) Okay, that was a large tangent, sorry. Anyhow: overall, really lovely. Not as much throw as I'd like, but if it were available, I'd certainly buy more to slather with. Or, oh god, to bathe in. *yummmm*

I can hardly believe this is the same animal as dark myrrh! This is *sharp* and fresh cut woodsy (not green, think lumber yard), hardly any of that sweet base. If not for some similar reviews and the identical handwriting on the imp as some of my other SNs which smell *right*, I'd be wondering if it was real bpal. Not for me.

Guh! *swoon* wet: warm, spicy, sweet - almost a hint of the bubblegum sweet that makes me think of lotus or rootbeer. I am in love. I may love this more than anything aside from SN honey. I'd wear this one alone. Pretty good throw. Same when dry. Yum. I think I need to find my imp of penitence and do a side-by side comparison.

wet: a way lighter version of myrrh, at first, except a little sharp, and not spicy. dry: the sharpness fades a little, and it becomes the mellow sweet scent that I like, but it's fairly light on me. Certainly a lot lighter than myrrh. Very nice, but a very light throw on me. This is one I'll scour other brands for, like Attar Bazaar.

A moderately strong scent. It's a sweet, somewhat rich, definitely *distinctive* floral, somewhat clasically perfumey. It doesn't have the baby-powderness of the Demeter Heliotrope. Somehow it has an undertone of diet seven-up. (And this both before and after I've eaten, so it's not just because I applied when hungry.) It's interesting at least. Not something I'd wear on its own, I don't think. It's possible that this one is an acquired taste. But there are several bpals with heliotrope notes that I like, so it's definitely not a blend killer for me. And I like that it's not wussy. It's a strong, solid scent for a floral.

In the imp, smells like lily scented white wine to me. This reminds me of champagne scented blends. On me: fresh cut flower + soda, but not in a sugary way. Drying, it goes slightly greener, like the stem is involved. I don't actually know what a real calla lily smells like, but I could well imagine this is it. It smells very fresh and real. Dry it's a fairly light floral. Nice, not soapy as lilies are rumored to be, but very light. I liked it better, alot better, in the imp, sadly.

Wet, this starts out with a sharpness that reminds me of both lavendar and vertiver, but mellows to something that reminds me of amber mixed with a hint of vertiver. And there is something sexy about it. I'm not so sure I care for it on me, but I think I really want to try it on my boy. Except that I only have the one teensy imp of it and would rather not get bummed when it's gone. My boy can slather like there's no tommorrow! A conundrum. I wish this were a listed note in some of the fragrances. I'd love to try this layered with other things. I wonder if this is in snow moon. I think the scents would be complimentary. Ultimately though, it does fade kind of quickly. An hour later it's pretty light. Still a nifty scent.

Wow. This is rich and round and sweet and cakey, (and the oil itself is slightly thicker than the most other blends that aren't heavily resinous) with almost a ghosting of butter underneath. (Not the smell of butter so much as a faint faint impression of it. Ie, this full well could be my overactive imagination.) I see why Josiebird went nuts over it. Lovely.

Unbelievable. My skin hates narcissus. And Crocus. And I usually hate pine scents. But this is NEAT. (At least wet. It's still drying.) It's a soft fir/pine, not overwhelming at all. It doesn't make my nose burn OR sneeze. And there's almost a feeling of slight fruitiness around it. Maybe lemon? Maybe tulip? Tulip has a lush scent. More like sweet lemon, meyer lemon. Snow Moon has some serious throw for the first 15 minutes or so, then falls off a bit, and isn't quite so amazing, but still quite nice. It's the only scent like this that I've liked. It's not especially me, but I think I'll keep it for the rare conifer mood.

Oh well. I had hopes. Very very tiny hopes mind you, but hopes. My skin usually devours fruit. It also turns narcissus into bandaids. Still, it sounded yummy. While it was still wet and smelling somewhat the way it seemed to, the plum was the dominant note with the patch & a touch of champaca underneath. (well, plus loud bandaid smell, but I kept hoping that would go away.) It started out nice. Then my skin warped it beyond recognition. No plum, blenty of bandaid, and a touch of patchouli & sandalwood. Feh. Probably not for me, but I'll still try it on my hair at some point before trading it away.

Wet: Dry and sharp, probably mostly the white sandalwood, then a moment or two of roses, Drying and dry: it goes all "perfumey" on me the way most jasmine blends do. I'm really surprised. There's no jasmine listed in the notes. And honey blends usually go so nicely on me. One of the florals in this goes all generic perfume like jasmine does. Sad. Dry about an hour, to an hour and a half: the honey is starting to come up a bit and mellow out the "perfumey" scent. Still not crazy about it though.

This is really pretty. The plum blossom seems to be most prominent. And wet & dry both seem to be similar, very little morphing. I would definitely be happy to get some more of this. A mere imp probably won't be enough.

Wet: An exotically spiced butter cookie Drying: most of the butter is gone. It's an interesting blend of spices on me. It reminds me of gingerbread poppet, but less sweet and with a touch of exotic spices, probably anise, maybe a touch of curry? Dry: The spice has eased off a bit, so it's a bit like an exotic GP lite, though relatively unfoody. It's nice, and seems like it might be nice for layering, but the other layers don't come through enough on my skin to wear it on its own. I'll have to try it another day to confirm. Maybe my skin is wonky today. EDIT: Dry later: Ooooh, I take it back. It still smells the same close to the skin, but when my wrist is further away, I keep getting whiffs of something gorgeous and sensual and decadent. This scent has officially sold me on tobacco, as that's one of the main notes in the throw, and it's just lovely! This is definitely a scent meant to be experienced from a litle distance!

Disclaimer: I'm actually testing this scent from a tarted imp, so the oil I'm trying is fairly aged. Wet: It's the woody aspect of sandalwood with a bit of baby powder sweetening. It feels raw. Drying: The woodiness has become smoother and it's morphed into something... sweet and familiar. I'm thinking a touch of resins, but light ones. Maybe frankincense, maybe amber, maybe a combination. There's something to the smoothness of this that feels refreshing, almost makes me want to drink it. (yes, that is weird.) And as it dries a little further, the resins become a bit more prominent. This is acquiring a church-like feel, only lighter (no myrrh I think), and I don't believe most churches don't smell of sandalwood... though they can have a slight wood scent from the pews. Conclusion: I have GOT to try this as an addition to both meditation, and to my qi gong exercises. I feel like this should qualify as a TAL oil, that it has a very centering quality, and makes me feel very present in the here and now. This has officially hit my "I like it" list, and I'm quite sure I'll want at least another imp's worth.

This is really pretty. It's very much a lemon verbena tea on me. (I guess that's the oude providing the richness, and perhaps the bamboo providing the citrus.) I could've sworn that there was a hint of ginger in the begining, but that seems to have gone away as it dried. (Thank goodness, 'cause I am just NOT into ginger, it tickles/burns my nose.) Very lovely. I'll be keeping the imp and possibly seeking more. It's funny. It has a fresh quality that makes me think "Damn! This is what cleaning products SHOULD smell like." Really really nice. Most fresh & light scents don't work on me. This one does, and I think it's the oude which gives it enough punch to do so.

Once more, I find I have little in common with other reviewers as regards the sephiroth. Maybe my nose is on crack today? To me this is in the same family as Dragon's Milk and Chimera. Definitely dragon's blood. It's less sweet/syrupy than Dragon's Milk, but has an extra note, almost like wine, and less spice than chimera. I'm guessing that's the carnation that others mention. Carnation SN smells lovely on me for about 3 minutes and then dissappears. I suppose the wine could be a rose peeking through, but I wouldn't have thought it without being hinted at from others. I got no almond, and almond usually makes me go BLEH so this is a good thing. It's a really neat variant on the dragon's blood family. Basically, this is a YES!YUM! scent. Though maybemyabe 10ml is too much. I might well consider decanting some. But no freakin way will I get rid of this bottle. MINEMINEMINE!

This is officially really nice. (Thanks to Cupide430 who first let me test her bottle and then gifted me with an imp! ) This is sweet sandalwood and a touch of cinnamon and all smooth and yummy. (Some myrrh maybe? Very maybe.) This may well become a bottle purchase for me as alot of BPAL sandalwoods are too dry on my wacky chemistry. It also actually lasts a few hours on me, which is neat. My skin likes to eat oils. Unlike other reviewers, I got neither cherry nor almond, (both of which I DISLIKE intensely) but a hint of dragon's blood wouldn't surprise me, and alot of people find that to be cherry. I'll have to review it again another time - this was tried surrounded by the hundred meet 'n sniff test strips. Perhaps this only compliments my chemistry one day a month. But it's YUM.

When wet, I thought this might be a new love. It's first pure rose, then a lovely rose/powder/deep-interesting/incense? blend. But about 10-15min later, it goes somewhat generic perfume on me. Usually that only happens from jasmine, and it usually goes alot worse on me in jasmine blends. Rosewood often doesn't work on me either, so I'm guessing that's the culprit. It's too bad. This is ALMOST gorgeous. Maybe I'll try it in my hair at some point or as a room scent. Mmm, as a room scent! That might be the ticket, 'cause it's truly truly lovely when wet.

How did the labbies know I was dying to try this one? In the imp: Fruity candy! Starburst or skittles, I believe. Bizarre! Wet on me: boozy/candy/roses. The recipe for sex. Drying: Deep rich rose with a slightly sharp note. Aside fromt he sharp, quite lovely. Dry not long: Rich rose with a hint of starburst candy. The candy note is a bit odd. I'm not quite sure what to think of it. Dry maybe 10 minutes: most of the candy is gone, but a hint of the sharp is back intermittently. When it's not sharp, it's shaping up nicely. Dry longer: Now this is what I was hoping for, plus some. Rich rose almost to the point of fruity, or like roses steeping in a good fruity red wine. Nice!