yeahbutnobut

Skuld In the imp: sweet honey nectar. This is the same honey from the Honey SN, with a floral sweetness added-no doubt the ylang ylang. Wet on skin: oh wow, honey is amping up! This reminds me of O or Jezebel, only this time with ylang-and I think I can just make out some musk, but it's predominantly honey. Dry on skin: I think the labdanum is giving this a lovely, resinous aspect, adding depth to the honey. And oh my, who's this? Egyptian musk has come out to play, I think! Or is it Arabian musk? Probably both- under the ylang and honey, there's a gorgeous, gorgeous, sweet musky scent. After a while: the notes seem to settle down nicely. Honey and musk are the prominent notes here-and they go together surprisingly well. It's like a coating of wildflower honey with musk beneath it. It's even got a slight fruitiness. Verdict: another lovely honey blend! this has the same note from O and Jezebel and Honey SN, but with a wonderful, soft musk underneath. Ylang ylang adds a slight floral touch, and labdanum deepens the honey. The more I smell, the more I love this scent-I adore the musk which gives this such an exotic touch. I may get a big bottle of this.

Anne Bonny In the imp: dark, woody patchouli! Wet on skin: mmm, this is lovely! It's dark patchouli with a woody undertone. The frankincense adds a nice, bright, resinous feel to this, blended with the sandalwood note, which is amazing. Dry on skin: it doesn't change much, it still has its dark, woody, resinous quality. It smells gorgeous! The wood in this reminds me of the polished wooden beams of some great tall ship! Arr! And I loooove the frankincense in this, and the patchouli is lovely. The scents work fantastically together. After a while: oh, the sandalwood in this is amazing-really strong and oh-so woody, with patchouli adding lovely dark, almost leathery tone, (the patchouli and sandalwood keep swapping round as the most prominent note) with the golden brightness of frankincense. I am in love! Verdict: this is the total opposite of the perfumes I normally wear-usually I wear light, floral perfumes. But guess what-I love Anne Bonny! This is the perfect perfume for those days when I don't want to be frilly and flowery. This perfume means business. It's strong, it's woody and dark, and it's the perfect piratical blend. The dark woody scent is like the beams of a mighty galleon, with a leathery aspect from the patchouli, with frankincense glistening like pirate gold. It really fits the image of a kick ass pirate queen. I will get a bottle of this! Arr!

Spellbound In the imp: rich musk and a hint of rose. Wet on skin: oh wow. Now the rose comes out and blossoms on my skin! Oh I love rose. And red musk. And just a tiny hint of amber. This is gorgeous!! Dry on skin: this is lovely. The rose and musk are nicely balanced and smell so divine together. The amber gives it a rich sweetness. I have fallen in love! After a while: this blend just gets better and better! The notes settle down and the rose warms up wonderfully, complementing the musk and backed by amber. it has a slight powderiness, but I don't mind that at all! Verdict: this is amazing, gorgeous, and beautiful. All these rose blends have wowed me, this is another one. I'm impressed at the way the notes in this are so nicely blended and balanced and they go so well together. The rose note is wonderful here and mingles so nicely with the red musk, whilst amber adds a golden sweetness to the blend. Another one to add to my list of 5mls to buy! I am truly spellbound by this scent!

Flower Moon In the imp: yup, it's floral. But it's very light and breezy, quite sweet, and almost reminiscent of melon! Wet on skin: this is a very sweet scent, like honeydew, or honeydew melons. I can smell the nectar and the pollen in this blend. It's sweet, light spring flowers dusted with sugar, Dry on skin: still very sweet, springy, light, playful. This is the scent of springtime crossing over into summer. I can't make out the individual flowers, but it really does smell like nectar and pollen, it's so sweet, I keep getting images in my head of a meadow of wild flowers on a sunny day with bees buzzing round the flowers. After a while: the scent becomes more 'fuzzy', it smells sweeter, and it reminds me of the big yellow centres of flowers full of pollen. That's what the scent now reminds me of. It's also got a fresh aspect to it, like dewdrops on petals, and also has a slight greenness. I can also make out the lunar oils in the background. Verdict: this is a sweet, honeydew like scent. I was expecting it to be more floral, and it is quite floral, yes indeed, but totally different. This is light, breezy, and very sweet. It almost smells like melon at some points, but that's probably the smell of honeydew, or flower nectar, I can smell the pollen here. (Thank goodness I'm not a hayfever sufferer!) It's a sunny, bright, playful floral, like a meadow of sweet flowers in the springtime. However, there are other floral scents I prefer to this, but even so, this is really lovely and really evocative of spring and early summer.

oh dear...to me IPS smelt like perfumed vinegar I hope that's not what you mean, because I have Nanshe coming to me in a swap!

Fig This smells slightly reminiscent of pomegranate in the imp, which is weird. It's sweet, but also tart and quite dry and slightly green. On the skin, a nice, soft, slightly waxy sweetness is apparent, but it still has a tangy, sharp, crisp, almost green scent. It's like slightly unripe figs and fig leaves. I really like the sweetness in this though, which reminds me of dried figs. The tangy scent tones down a bit as time passes and the fig scent 'ripens' very nicely from green figs to ripe red figs. This is a lovely, tangy-sweet fruity scent, but again, I would prefer it as part of a blend. But I love the drydown of this.

Honey This is interesting. In the imp, this is a slightly floral, slightly tart honey rather than a sweet honey. On the skin, it has a real 'wildflower' scent, and a bit of a nutty or grainy scent. Quite unexpected for a honey scent! It does have honeyed aspects, but it's not blatant honey. It's like honey flavoured herbal tea, actually (in fact, I swear I can smell camomile in this), or like the fresh wildflower honey you can get at a country fair. It has green, herbal, grainy, nutty, floral/nectar like aspects, with a honey undertone. As time passes, the scent gets more and more like true honey, but it's not over-sweet. It's slightly similar to O and Jezebel's honey (only more herbal), and very different from Hetairae, Queen of Sheba, Tiger Lily, Dana o'Shee and Alice's honey. Very interesting, quite nice, but not what I expected from a Honey SN, but I still like it. It also goes to show that Beth uses many different honey notes in her blends.

Yuletide In the imp: holy moly, this smells like Christmas! Cinnamon, sweet berries, and pine trees! Wet on skin: oh, this smells like a Christmas tree! It has a soft pine/fir scent-it also reminds me of Badedas, which used to be my favourite bubble bath before Lush came along-with cinnamon. Dry on skin: yup, still Xmas trees with cinnamon! This is a lovely scent, it's festive, and warm. This smells a bit like a Christmas candle. There also cloves in here. The scent has a soapy quality to it, the scent reminds me of taking a Badedas bath at Christmas time. After a while: this doesn't change much, it still has that comforting, festive scent of Xmas tree and spices. I think this would make a wonderful scented candle/room fragrance. The drydown after a few hours is fantastic. It's got that wonderful pine/fir scent from Val sans Retour, but unlike VSR, which only lasted 15 minutes on me, this one lasts for ages. Verdict: this is another BPAL, along with Skadi, Sugar Cookie, Gingerbread Poppet and Three Witches, that reminds me so much of Christmas. This one is the scent of Christmas trees decorated with cinnamon sticks and pomanders studded with cloves. It also has a soapy quality that reminds me of Badedas, one of my favourite bubble baths. I can't really smell berries though, but it does have a waxy sweetness, which could be the berries. The drydown is wonderful, the scent of pine forests and Xmas trees lingers on my skin. This scent is lovely and makes me feel happy and warm inside, and I think it would be even better as room fragrance or a candle fragrance. I'm still undecided as to whether it's my favourite Xmas fragrance though.

Tiphareth In the imp: something boozy in here. there's also a hint of fruitiness, or something floral. Wet on skin: this reminds me of a perfume my mum wears. There's a slightly alcoholic perfume-y quality to this, with a sweet sherbet-like note with a floral aspect. This fruity-floral scent reminds me of some of the tarot oils. Dry on skin: mm, this is interesting. This is sweet, fruity, floral, but with a sophisticated depth reminiscent of posh perfume. It's light and citrus-sweet, but has a darker, heady feel. It's quite hard to describe, actually. After a while: dang it, this scent is complex! I think there's a citrus note of some kind in here. it's like sugared candied oranges, or orange sherbet, or maybe even apricot and there's probably vanilla here too. I also think there's a floral in here, not sure what though-I think it could be heliotrope, but I'm not 100% certain. There may also be a resinous note, maybe frankincense or amber? Possibly some sandalwood too? There's also a note there reminiscent of a perfume I've smelt before. It has some resemblance to some of the stations of the sun scents and tarot oils, but that could be my skin. It seems to fade quite fast, but the scent it leaves behind is really nice-sweet sandalwood and sugared fruits. Verdict: I'm having so much trouble identifying notes in this blend, it is so complex and well blended. Overall, the scent is very sweet, yet mysterious. There's a mixture of all sorts of scents here-fruity (citrus?), sweet (vanilla? Amber?), a bit of floral (not sure what), and also something deep and mysterious, possibly some resin or wood notes. This scent has a quality that reminds me of expensive perfume, like the one my mum wears. This is a lovely scent, very calming and soothing, but it reminds me of other BPAL blends, so I'm not sure if I'll keep it.

It's ok, I got a reply (and a very friendly one too!) just now

I sent an email to the lab at the answers address on Monday, and I haven't got a reply. Usually they reply quickly though...

Pomegranate In the imp, this is a delicious, edible smelling juicy scent which is both sweet and tart. On the skin, the sweetness develops, it smells red and juicy like a real pomegranate, but also has a slight berry like aspect to it's sweetness, and a sharp undertone. This is a very fruity, fresh smell which is both sweet and sharp simultaneously, and is both juicy and dry. It does go a bit over-sweet and candle waxy after a while. This is nice, but i prefer it as part of a blend, like Persephone, than as a SN.

Lucy's Kiss In the imp: rose…freshly bloomed Victorian rose. Similar to London, but less dry. Wet on skin: oh rose, I love you! This is like a traditional English rose perfume, it's quite nostalgic. It's fresh and quite tart and wet, and yet has a slight dry or powdery aspect. Dry on skin: this is lovely! This is really nice, soft, mature rose-and yet it has a crisp, fresh, wet and slightly green aspect to it. I think there's something else there-maybe the Victorian spices? It's not very spicy, but there is something else there-a soft, powdery smell backing up the roses. After a while: this stays lovely and rosy, simple as that. it gets a bit more powdery, and also quite dry. This is like a rose perfume from a posh Victorian lady's boudoir! Verdict: another beautiful rose smell from BPAL. This one has a nostalgic, old fashioned, traditional feel to it, and yet also has a certain freshness and tangyness about it, but there's also a dry scent there as well that develops as time passes. It's a gorgeous, feminine fragrance, and quite warm as well. This is another perfect example of the English rose blooming in a summer garden, or a sophisticated Victorian rose perfume.

Holy friggin' squee. That Midway label is wonderful-and it really does fit in the CN theme-I mean, a bat-rousel! How cool is that!!

Chimera In the imp: cinnamon! Me likes cinnamon very much! There's also a resinous, slightly sweet background. Wet on skin: ooh, this is interesting…it's quite soft, in fact. The cinnamon isn't very strong here, but, it's lovely and like the real ground spice. There's a dark depth here, thanks to the resins. Dry on skin: mmm, lovely. It doesn't have much throw on me but there's a slight sweet honey like floral scent-must be the honeysuckle. I can also smell the myrrh there, adding it's thick, deep, sweet scent. The only problem is that it is really faint on me… After a while: oh yeah, that's more like it. The scent has warmed up, the throw's improved greatly, and the smell is wonderful-a warm, gorgeous cinnamon myrrh scent, with a golden resinous touch-I'm not familiar with copal but I'm assuming that's what it is. The cinnamon fades over time and the scent then turns almost Snake Oil like! Mmm! Verdict: this is another lovely BPAL cinnamon blend. At first I was worried my skin ate it up, but no, it then warmed up nicely to make a mysterious spicy-incense scent. this smells delicious and sweet, with a dark side. The resins back up the cinnamon nicely. I'm not sure if I'll get a bottle yet as there are loads of other cinnamon BPALs which I love and this scent is slightly reminiscent of Eclipse and Snake Oil, but I will consider getting more Chimera another time because it's wonderful.

Alice In the imp: ooh, lovely, soft honey almond with a hint of floral, rose and carnation. This is like a floral Dana O'Shee! Wet on skin: soft creamy florals with honey. I can smell a bit of carnation and rose, nicely blended, with the creamy honey on top. The milk note in this is lovely! Dry on skin: oh, this is lovely. Creamy honeyed florals. The rose and carnation are mixed nicely so they form one lovely slightly spicy pink floral scent, and goes together wonderfully with the milk and honey. After a while: the florals become more pronounced, they get warmer and start to bloom on my skin, mingling ever so nicely with the honey. This blend makes me feel cosy and fuzzy inside, and it reminds me of happy childhood days. Verdict: this is a gorgeous, gentle, sweet creamy honeyed floral scent. I was worried that the milk note would be too sickly in here, but thankfully this wasn't the case-it was like the milk in Dana. The honey is very soft, and the florals are just perfect, carnation and rose blended to make a soft, girly, youthful scent. This would be wonderful as a body lotion. I'm thinking of getting a bottle of this, because this scent is so lovely!

I'll PM fallow deer because I think she's another Londoner...it's specifically London I'm concerned about because Paypal lists it as a county as well as a city. So other UK people won't have such problems.

Do you think I should email the lab to ask about this?

I've sent about 4 paypal orders to BPAL and I didn't write my address because it usually gives your address with every order. But with Paypal, my address has 'London' on it twice (it's listed as both the county and the city) when usually my address should have London on it once. Does this matter or does that mean there'll be problems or delays when it is sent?

Sugar Cookie In the imp: sweet, spicy biscuit dough! This smells yummy! It's similar to Gingerbread Poppet but much sweeter and with more cinnamon. Wet on skin: yup, this is very similar to Gingerbread Poppet, but it think there's more cinnamon here. it's a delicious, sweet and spicy dough mix! Dry on skin: oh wow. I can smell more cinnamon now. There's some ginger here which gives this a fiery kick, cinnamon that adds a sweet-spicy warmth, and possibly some nutmeg-in fact, it reminds me of mulled wine, I swear there's even some orange. There's a delicious buttery, floury, sugary dough mixture smell with the spices. It smells so yummy and edible and makes me think of Christmas! After a while: the spices tone down a bit-they are still there but now the dough smell is more apparent-with the sugar, the butter, the flour, possibly some treacle. This is the entire baking of cookies scent-the smell of raw dough, baking dough, right up to the cookies being sprinkled with sugar. This is soooo sweet, there might be vanilla in this as well. I want to eat my wrist because this is just incredibly yummy. I have now got an urge to make some spicy biscuits. There's also a hint of orange pomander in this, adding to the whole Xmas vibe this scent has. Verdict: this scent makes me do a Homer Simpson impression...mmm, cookies...*drool* One of the yummiest, most gorgeous BPAL spice scents. I've been looking all over for the best Christmas-reminiscent spicy scent and this is it. There's biscuit dough, all the flour, sugar and butter. There are spices-cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and maybe some cloves. And there's even a bit of citrus, like orange peel. This is warm, lovely, decadent, indulgent, festive and makes me smile. Very similar to Gingerbread Poppet, but with a more varied array of spices and a hint of mulled wine. It's like the most delicious spiced biscuit smell without the calories. It's the perfect sugar and spice smell, and I wish I had a bottle!

The Hierophant In the imp: soft cinnamon and a soft floral scent which I've noticed in many tarot oils. Wet on skin: mm, this is a nice, comforting cinnamon and sweet floral scent. There's also a hint of orange, something like orange sherbet warmed by cinnamon. Dry on skin: the cinnamon is lovely in here, and there's still that sweet fruity or floral scent- I still don't know what it is, but it's lovely. This reminds me of a more down to earth version of the Sun. I think there's sandalwood in here as well. There may also be cloves here, it's sweet-spicy and warm. After a while: now the blend changes, the sweet floral gives way to a deeper, woodier scent. It's possibly a blend of cedar and sandalwood, with warm cinnamon, and maybe some incense, as there is a wonderful smokiness here, and it's slightly green as well. It feels calming, grounding and meditative, almost sacred. It has a similar vibe to the World, but not as deep and earthy. This one is more smoky and spicy. Verdict: at first, this is a soothing, sweet, lightly spiced fruity-floral scent, but then changes to a lovely warm smoky smell of wood and cinnamon with a waft of incense. This is a nice blend of wither sandalwood or cedar, maybe both, with cinnamon, and possibly sweet incense. This feels grounding, soothing and warming, almost meditative, mysterious and sacred with a regal air. I am impressed with these tarot oils, and this one is another one that I really like.

Persephone In the imp: pomegranate and rose. It's tart, juicy, sweet, and floral all in one. Wet on skin: this is a sharp, tangy, crisp mix of fruit and flower. The rose and pomegranate mingle together into one, it's like a rosy pomegranate, or a really fruity rose. It's lovely! Dry on skin: the rose goes to the forefront of the scent, it's a warm, dry rose, it reminds me of the Turkish rosewater that my mum uses for ironing! (yup, she adds rosewater to the iron to fragrance the clothes-much nicer than Vaporesse!) But that's no bad thing-it's lovely, and the pomegranate has the effect of simply enhancing the juicy, fruity, tart aspects of the rose. After a while: the rose and pomegranate are having a fight! And what a pleasant scented fight it is…first the rose takes over, then the pomegranate, then the rose, and so on…they swap places with each other all the time! Eventually, rose wins, and the drydown is a soft, gorgeous, powdery rose. Verdict: this is a rose fit for a goddess. Yup, it's another wonderful BPAL rose scent that I love. This is a youthful, fresh, full-bodied rose with a tart, sharp edge. The pomegranate adds it's own juicy tangy touch to the rose, the two notes complement each other nicely. It's a simple combination which works. I'm not sure if I'll get a bottle since I prefer Harlot, Kurukulla and Rose Cross, but this is wonderful all the same!

Muse In the imp: a lovely, light white floral with a teeny bit of lime. Wet on skin: oh wow, here come the lotus and lime! The jasmine's also there, with a slightly soapy, lily of the valley like smell, which could be tuberose. Dry on skin: lovely light white flowers once more. It has a soapy or powdery aspect, but it isn't unpleasant. The lime gives it a nice citrus tang, but doesn't last. After a while: the lotus comes out and changes it once more, and merges with the jasmine. Although it still retains a certain powdery-ness, this now also smells like fresh, dewy blooms of exotic flowers. It is very clean and fresh, like freshly washed sheets hung out to dry. Verdict: this is a really nice, light, floral scent that makes me think of spring. It's gentle, sweet and very clean, slightly soapy but not in an unpleasant way. The white flowers add a soft powdery aspect to the smell, whilst the lime adds some citrussy zing, and the lotus is lovely. It smells clean and white, fresh and breezy, like freshly washed cotton sheets, and has a delicate sense of purity and innocence about it. Lovely.

My bottle of Bastet has a stronger cardamom note than my imp of it. Which is all good, because I love cardamom!

Harlot In the imp: cinnamon and rose! I have a feeling I'm going to like this one! Wet on skin: oh, the rose here is lovely-so juicy and so floral, so richly scented, the cinnamon just enhances that and adds some kick. Dry on skin: oh wow. There's something almost nostalgic about this rose perfume, without smelling old fashioned. This is a crisp yet sweet and almost fruity blend of roses with a little bit of cinnamon that just enhances it without taking over the blend and adds a sense of dry, fiery, sweet spice. Beautiful. After a while: the rose in this has an almost fruity, lemony fragrance-reminds me of one of the 2 5 7 rose notes. It's really lovely. The cinnamon is still there, in the background, boosting the rose with it's hot spiciness, but as usual, the rose takes centre stage-not that I mind! It does fade a bit, and leaves a nice soft scent on my arm which actually reminds me of a Lush product, can't remember which one, but it's so lovely. Verdict: another wonderful BPAL rose blend, and another marriage of two favourite notes of mine. The cinnamon in this blend enhances and spices up the roses in the most amazing way. I can really smell different roses in this blend, and they all smell gorgeous. The scent is simple, but so wonderful. Cinnamon and roses are a match made in heaven, and Harlot proves this point in the best way. The scent is feminine yet fiery, hot and spicy, sexy and exotic. I neeeed a bottle!