madmmx

I bought a decant of Gore Shock for my hubby, who loves the really bizarre and caustic scents (Scarecrow, Heretic's Fork, Goblin Rider), but decided I wanted to give it a whirl. Sniff in imp: Spicy musk, with a faint whiff of ham sandwich Wet on skin: That lovely spicy musk (civet maybe? I get the same note from Satyr on my skin). But wait, here comes ham/spam on wet toast RAAARRR!! I had some bad experiences with ham sandwiches getting hot and soggy in my lunchbag in high school, hence I haven't had a ham sandwich in 13 years. This is making me gag. Drydown: My 25 min commute was horrifying as I was trapped in the hot car with a hot soggy ham sandwich. I was hoping to wait this out for a couple of hours, to see if I got any of the rusted machinery, or the smokey note that other posters have smelled. But by the time Gore Shock had been on my skin for 35 min, I was gagging everytime I caught a whiff of it (and this one is strong...I only put a drop on each elbow). It took three vigorous scrubs to get most of this oil off. I called hubby, and told him to try Gore Shock, I can't wait to see what his experience is. But unfortunately, this one is NOT for me

I haven't indulged in any BPAL for more than 6 months because of no fragrance funds, but I HAD to try Psychological Horror. First, it's def my favorite horror genre, and I love anything that appears normal, but has that dark underbelly (Supernatural, X-Files, urban fantasy, etc). I was a little worried reading the reviews before my decant arrived, as I don't wear floral scents...they trigger my allergies, and are too froo froo feminine for me. But I was pleasantly surprised! First sniff in imp: Sweet, but not foody Second drive by sniff: Light florals, kind of generic perfume ugh Wet on skin: That intoxicating sweetness...must be the candied violets other posters have described (I totally don't know flowers beyond rose). I'd love to bathe in this at this stage After 30 min: The sweetness backs off and rose comes forward, setting off a sneeze attack. Did NOT like the scent in this phase After 4 hours: The rose has died down into the blend, thank goodness, and the sweetness keeps wafting in and out. There's a light powderyness to it as well. It's very odd, Psych Horror smells very traditional perfumey in one sense, but there's a golden quality to it that makes it full and gorgeous. At the same time, there is something sinister I can sniff deep down. Maybe it's psychosematic... I'm a spicy scent kind of girl, but this is the first BPAL blend I've wanted to splurge on a full bottle! Verdict: Psychological Horror is something Nicole Kidman would wear... if she were a serial killer. And I'm going to have to horde some more!

I received Jack as a frimp from a generous swapper! As a general rule, I tend to favor autumnal scents with their spicy clovey goodness. In the imp, this all hot melted candy corns. Way too sticky sweet for me. But after ignoring Jack for 3 months, I decided to finally give him a chance today, since it's a cold and rainy day. Wet on skin this has major throw! It nearly bowled DH over!! Wet on skin, it's still that artificial super synthetic candy corn smell. As it dries down, the peach comes out in a major way. Three hours later, and the peach hasn't diminished. And it's not a good peach. It's sickly sweet, synthetic, little girl's first "perfume" faux peach. Sadly, I don't get any spices at all. This one will go into the swap pile

The notes in this one really intrigued me. After reading the reviews, I decided I needed to try an imp. The Engine makes me go all orgasmic and floaty! In the imp and on my skin, this is a mouthwatering, mind blowing blend of effervescent herbs, smooth lemon curd, and golden sweet beeswax. After a few hours, the metallic note quietly comes forward, and No 93 Engine morphs into creamy beeswax and shiny copper pipes. Normally I'm a dark & spicy scent kind of girl, but I couldn't help but fall in love with this! It's energizing, spunky, and luxurious all in one! Will def be picking up a bottle or two!

I almost bought a bottle of this for DH unsniffed, but I'm glad I settled for a decant instead. DH tried it, said it smelled great once dry, but not good enough to suffer through the "girly rootbeer" drydown. I set Fire Phoenix into the swap pile and forgot about it for a couple weeks. A few days ago I popped open the imp, and decided to try it myself. In imp: Drinking zingy sassafras in a pueblo style home of red tile and desert woods. Wet on skin: Herbal, effervescent sassafras! Drydown: I'm still getting the sassafras the strongest, but it's not sticky sweet rootbeer. It's the rooty/peppery/dry scent of saspirilla drunk out of dark brown glass bottles. I'm huffing my elbow creases like crazy!! I start thinking about hunting down a 5ml of this! 20 min later: At this point, the sassafras and its herbal friends leave the party and Unisex Cologne comes out to sit on my skin for the rest of the day. This is the aspect of Fire Phoenix my hubby likes, but it's not for me.

This imp was part of my swap pile that I decided to revisit after a while. I had high hopes for this one, it sounded like a perfect holiday scent, and would fit my mood perfectly (I was reading a fantasy series at the time). In the imp it's all wine and berry sweetness, wet on my skin it's Super Berry, which I abhor. Ten minutes into the drydown, I start sneezing like a maniac, I'm still getting only red berries with a hint of Dragon's Blood (each time I've worn Tintagel, 10 min in I'm sneezing and itchy eyed. Maybe the Dragon's Blood is the culprit?) Half an hour later, Tintagel has disappeared. I actually forgot I was wearing it until a few minutes ago, and huffed my elbow creases. Now, 6 hours after application, I'm getting the wine perfectly mixed with juniper and leather. This is what I was hoping Tintagel would be all along! Unfortunately, I have to press my nose to my skin to smell this lovely blend. If Tintagel wouldn't give me raging allergies during drydown, and if it had more throw at the gorgeous final stage, I would snatch up a bottle. But for now, back to the swap pile it goes.

I've been searching for a warm, humid, summer storm scent, and Bayou looked like it might fit the bill. In the imp it smells of huge, wet, dripping, blossoms. It goes on wet in a blast of floral, so much so that I had to take my allergy herbs. About 15 minutes into the drydown, the flowers back off a little, allowing the aquatic & moss notes to peek out. At that moment, Bayou smells exactly like floating in a Louisiana swamp on a sunny summer morning. Ahh, so relaxing! But then the flowers send water & moss crying home, and I go running for more allergy herbs. Alas, I really wanted Bayou to work! Hours after application, and a frantic scrubbing, the floral notes continued to waft and aggrivate my allergies