devilot

In the Bottle: Frankincense. Lots of it. Something floral (just not sure if it's the osmanthus or Nile lily I'm smelling). Wet: Smells pretty true to the bottle, has a v cool and aquatic feel to it, but definitely floral. Drydown: Like others have mentioned, dries down powdery. I think that it's predominantly the white musk and frankincense now. Verdict: It's nice and pleasant, but not a fave of mine, and for the last year or so, I haven't been as big a fan of such clean, aquatic floral scents.

In the vial: I sense patchouli. Eek. Wet: PATCHOULI!!! This isn't the first time this has happened to me-- the lab's patchouli note is super-amped by my stupid skin. *retch* But within seconds, it morphs into a really strong sweetness: definitely that caramel and yes, that v dark fruity sweetness of the black currant. Drydown: Ginormous sigh of relief-- the patchouli doesn't linger forever on me! Victory! The caramel shoves its way to the forefront w/ the haughty black currant right behind. Definitely smell a hint of tobacco and on occasion, the cinnamon leaf. Way way way after the fact, the red sandalwood makes a timid appearance. Verdict: Terrifyingly patchouli for the first 5-10 minutes, but then a lovely dark, fruity, sugary sweet scent. It reminds me a LOT of Sugar Moon and Midnight Kiss (Shojo Beat). So no bottle for me-- I've got bottles of both of the other two and can do w/out the patchouli kick in Tiresias. My main wish? No patchouli and more tobacco-- I think this blend would be amazing with a touch more tobacco in it.

Huge thank you to the super sweet and kind drmomof2boys who sent me a full decant of this! In the vial: Sickly sweet nectar (indistinct fruit + raw honey), and yet, not actually sickening-- if that makes any sense. Wet: Smells even more like fruit nectar concentrate on my skin. Drydown: Ah, here's some of that amber now! Lovely. And yes, lots of vanilla-- to the point that it almost smells like almond extract on me. Verdict: I will cherish and love this decant of O, but don't see a bottle in my future. That vanilla-into-almond note just isn't what I'm fond of. But the rich sultry amber and nectar is really nice. ETA: Here we go, now I detect more of that honey. Unfortunately, I think it smells a smidgeon sour on my skin.

So, I'd gotten the chance to sniff someone else's bottle then ordered one myself. Except, I guess due to batch variances, mine seems nothing at all like the other one I sniffed. Wet: All I'm getting is lavender, lavender, lavender. Not "bad" per se, but not really what I want, either. Drydown: Still tons of lavender. But wait, 30 minutes later some of the woods are coming out! Probably the balsam and cedar. Verdict: It's nicer later, but it's still not enough of a love for me to keep this 5ml around.

In the bottle: Just fresh, clean, floral. Wet: Yum! The cherry blossoms are here! And they're gorgeous. Or is it the ume blossom I'm smelling? Something that smells sweet, but not candy-sweet, a fresh, clean sweet. Lovely! Drydown: Bummer, the cherry blossom much like the actual flowers, come 'n' go much too soon. They never linger as long as you'd like given how beautiful they are. Now, I'm left w/ a soapy smell on my skin, a generic "floral." Verdict: Might be a scent-locket scent, but given how many gorgeous BPAL blends there are, I should probably just let this one go.

A sensual blend of twisting, exotic, serpentine oils: black amber, caraway, oakmoss, green sandalwood, bergamot, jasmine sambac, gardenia, orange pulp, vanilla, blackberry, black musk, white honey, ti leaf, and ginger. Bottle: CITRUS! Hehe, I'm definitely smelling the bergamot and orange pulp. Wet: The yummy citrus changes quickly into a sharp floral. A bit too much for me. Gardenia and jasmine. I'm starting to think I'm not the biggest fan of the lab's jasmine note on me. Oh wait, it's the ginger adding more sharpness. Ick. Drydown: Pure floral. Powdery, nose-burning floral. Like another reviewer said, it's a lot like cleaning fluid-- at least on my skin it is. I'll probably try it on a less-warm day, but I'm thinking Faiza just won't play nice with my skin chemistry. Bummer since the notes sound awesome. ETA: The next morning, I could actually smell the violet oh-so-subtly on my wrist! I've never had a BPAL oil last so long on my stupid skin, ever! I love that violet, but why does it take 10+ hours to come out on my skin?

Wet: Hm, powdery. Floral. Got the bergamot for sure. Drydown: Now I get a powdery milk with the barest hint of carnation and the rose is skipping around-- first in the foreground then the background and all around. Just a couple of minutes later? Much more rose. Meh. Verdict: Not bad, but not enough of a love to get a bottle.

In the bottle: throat-burningly sweet peaches and apricot syrup with what smells like grapefruit to my nose. (I guess, by looking at the notes, that the "citrus" I'm actually smelling is the blood-orange; odd, it's not like any other blood-orange I've smelled before.) Wet: I can smell the lemon peel and a strong floral-- probably the tuberose, but always, that omnipresent syrupy peach (wine) note. Drydown: I agree w/ catattack in that it takes on the slightest bitter tinge, though I rather like it since I feel like it's super syrupy sweet otherwise. Now, it's smelling more like a bunch of freshly sliced peaches, and less like that syrup from before. I'm wishing the lemon-peel note stuck around a bit longer as I think it adds a really nice touch, and this coming from a person who doesn't really like lemony scents, too. Verdict: I'll hang onto this nearly-full bottle for now and see how my feelings about it may or may not change. I'm thinking this will be delightful when the hot weather hits.

My first (and super casual) review. I have to really agree w/ Argentwolf a few posts above-- my nose definitely detects a "minty" note, but not like peppermint or spearmint, more an herbal scent that then comes across as minty. In the vial: Strong, sharp-- ah, the juniper berry, because I get an almost piney scent. I can definitely get a feel for the "salty oceanic notes" and an herbal feel. Wet*: Subtlest hint of floral peeking out (lily of the valley or cinquefoil? not as sweet as sweet pea). Definitely an aquatic feel. Drydown*: Slightly powdery, hint of the "wateriness" and still that herbal 'mint' tone. I've got v stubborn and "stupid" skin that tends to swallow up all fragrances and w/ BPAL, that means that v few blends can ever be discernible after 30 minutes. This one lasted about an hour on my forearm. *Random aside: so this scent was really making me feel nostalgic. For México. And I couldn't figure out why. Then it hit me! It smells almost exactly like BBW's (Bath & Body Works) discon'd scent line; Cool Citrus Basil! And when I had visited and lived w/ a host family in México, I had slathered myself in that lotion everyday.

Oopsies! Sorry.