vanillaskwirl

Hmm... I really wanted to love this scent, but I'm thinking that my body chemistry doesn't like sassafras so much. In the Imp: A warm, sweet inviting vanilla Wet: Black licorice and wet cement Never have I had a scent morph this drastically. It's nothing more than a dusty, freshly poured sidewalk and licorice. Bizarre. Dry: The cedar and balsam have come out with a vengeance. Almost strongly enough to overpower the licorice, but not quite. I get no vanilla at all. In fact the woods are so strong, that my co-worker asked me if I was washing it off even though I didn't put much on. I may try it again, but I think it's for the swap pile.

In the imp: This is light, soft lemon. So soft, I can barely smell it, but that may or may not be due to my sinuses acting up today. Still, I like lemon and citrus in general so we'll see. Wet: VERBENA! and cedar. I'm not sure I even know what oud smells like, but mostly it's the verbena at the fore with cedar backing it up and the barest whiff of amber. Dry: Verbena is still going strong though it has mellowed some and the cedar has done the same. I'm getting whiffs of something that's like cedar, but not so I'm guessing that's the oud coming out to play. 2 hours later: It's settled into this light, fresh woodsy scent, kind of like an orchard after a short rain. Nothing aquatic per se, but clean, fresh, and green with light citrus hints coming out at unexpected times. All in all, delightful. I can see this being a good summer scent for me with it's lightness as I live in a humid climate. Lovely blend.

I'm quite pleased with Dana O'Shee. What I seem to get out of this is sugared almonds drizzled in vanilla glaze. I've been looking for a great vanilla perfume to wear for special occasions for the boy since it's his favorite and I just may have found it. I can't wait to test it out on him and see what he says! All in all, very yummy and not too sweet or foody. This just may be added to the bottle list.

Imp: Whoa, flowers! Wet: YIKES FLOWERS! I can sense an underlying note that might be pleasant if it ever comes to the fore. Dry: I have a headache and I smell like my Nana. Now, while I loved my Nana, I never wanted to smell like an 80+ year old lady at 33. I think it's just me amping the florals since I can smell the promise in the blend, but it's not working for me at all. This will go in my swap pile where it stands a chance of finding a more loving home.

In the imp: Sweet and uh oh... LILY! *officially nervous as florals don't really work for me and lilies make me sneeze* Wet: Hmm... still sweet, but more musky, amber rather than flowers and this is a good thing. Drydown: I appear to amp the musk note to high heaven, but it blends so well with the sandalwood that it never truly overpowers any other note. The lily is there, but faintly and I can't detect the sea moss at all. Over 5 hours later: This scent is still very much around (I applied sparingly) and has mellowed into a sensual vanilla musk that is sexy, yet understated. I doubt it will replace Mouse's Long and Sad Tale, but I will definitely be getting a bottle in the near future. It will replace my only commercial perfume that I have been wearing for years as the scent becomes very similar. What's that you say? Why Calvin Klein's Obsession. All in all, an amazing blend that I'm glad I got to try and will enjoy for a long time. Good throw and long wear for me. Complete for this one.

I got this scent as a frimp from Robin (Thanks again! ) and while I eventually get the vanilla, the first thing I smell is amber and some kind of musk. I like both, but then it goes powdery on me for hours. Not a *bad* powder, per se, but like expensive dusting powder in a box with a frilly pink pouf. Four hours later I finally get the vanilla and while nice, it's only as the scent is fading that I can smell it. It's quite lovely, but not really my style. A bit more *girly* than what I normally wear. I'll probably keep the imp and see how it ages, but it's not something to take over Mouse's L&ST as an everyday scent for me.

I agree somewhat with the previous review that AM starts off all sharp teak, though I happen to like it that way. However, I don't really get anything sweet per se from it on dry down. It does mellow some on my skin and I enjoy it on me, but I have to say on my guy it's heaven! Extremely long wear on both of us and a decent throw, but not over-poweringly so. I felt the scent was very well balanced and even upon long wear, nothing seemed to come to far to the forefront. I'll definitely be ordering a large bottle and sharing with my guy. Instantly on the favorites list.

In the imp, I mostly get the ambers and musk with a hint of vanilla and sandalwood. It dries almost exactly the same, but it gets a little softer and "warmer", for lack of a better word, on my skin. I wore it the whole weekend and it enabled two people just with it's soft and somewhat elusive fragrance. I seem to amp the amber without having it overpower the other scents too much and it appears to have a fairly decent throw as people around me could smell it without having to huff my wrist. It lasted a long time for me as well, even though my past experience with different fragrances other than BPAL tended to have them wear off quickly. In general, Mouse is lovely! I will definitely be buying a big bottle in the very near future. This may quite easily be a signature scent for me. My guy sniffed, his eyes rolled back in his head, and he practically glued my wrist to his nose from there on out. It was all I could have hoped for!

I really wanted to like Hunger. I was hoping the vanilla and orange blossoms would balance out the narcissus, especially since I tend to amp vanilla, but sadly it goes all soapy on the dry down for me. I couldn't really catch much BUT the narcissus. I have no idea if my imp was aged or new, but I'll keep it a bit and let it age to see if the vanilla becomes more apparent as well as layering it with a more vanilla heavy oil, but first impressions are this will be for the swap pile.

Honestly, neither did I. *laugh* I'm fairly new to BPAL and didn't know if what was being referred to was something from here or not. Too bad the single notes from BPAL are discontinued, but I'll keep my eye on things in case they surprise us and bring them back. I'll also check out the swap threads, just in case. Floral isn't really my thing, so I'd probably prefer a more musky or woody vanilla. Of course, it'll all depend on how it morphs on my skin, so... who knows? Thanks, everyone, for all the help. I'll definitely be experimenting with a lot more imps even if one of my original three is what I was looking for in the vanilla department.

Thanks! I'll make sure to look for it.

Hmm... I've looked through all the replies here and will probably be ordering more imps soon to try some of these suggestions. I, too, am looking for a great vanilla since my guy loves it. I've got an imp each of Antikythera Mechanism, Mouse's Long and Sad Tale, and Hunger on order, but have to wait a little to receive them yet. I saw mention of adding some singlenote vanilla to a fragrance I already like, but can't see a place where it's available for purchase. Is this a rarity or is there a special place I need to look for it? Any help is greatly appreciated.