zankoku_zen

That happened with me and Tempest. I couldn't smell it anymore and then I re-dabbed on the same spots. Tempest explosion! I got the lily note in it to come out.... and I mean come out and like envelop me in a two foot radius! It wasn't bad... but it was definitely smelly!

Oh that's sad. For me, it's mainly red musk, with a little patchouli (one where it behaves) and some floral top note which isn't overwhelming. You might want to try Mania. Granted, that starts as grapefruit and ends up being red musk and light florals on me.

Silence. It isn't sad per se. But the silent contemplation can be painful or simple depending on your mood. It can feel infinite or tragic. I found Desdemona to be pretty sad as well.

Definitely try out City in the Sea... What about Bluebeard? I remember that the violet in that one smelled positively salty...

Neo-Tokyo has a "metallic" undertone to it, but it's mostly citrus/floral/ozone sharpness. If Steampunk could be a scent, it would be Neo-Tokyo.

The best thing about BPAL is that it does change a little as the oil "settles" and "dries" on your skin. O is just my favorite honey&spicy sexy. There's just something so warm and sensuous about it. For some people it's about the aged Snake Oil. That ended up being too vanilla for me. O was just perfect once the amber started to peek out more. It sounds like it was a hit with you too!

Yeah!!! Imps arrived. I'm fond of O, Blood Kiss (so sexy), Scherezade, Lust, Sea of Glass and Neo-Tokyo. You'll have to let me know how Sin is like. It's on my list and I haven't tried it yet. BTW, if you like Lust... try Mania. I found them to be very similar, except that Mania was softer than Lust (slightly more floral, less powdery because of the myrrh but just as sexy). If you ever get a decant of House of Mirrors, I found that to be very much like Sea of Glass. Same with the discontinued Ingenue. I couldn't get the comparisons from Sea of Glass out of my head... probably because of the strong lily components in both.

In the imp: Woodsy and vanilla-ish On Skin: Most predominantly I can smell a woodsy-smell which I am assuming is the cedar. It's got that same thick vanilla that Snake Oil has. The sassafras is very predominant and I get that "root beer" sort of smell. On Drydown: The sassafras mellows out considerably. I have a very warm spicy vanilla with a wood undertone. It's very masculine. Verdict: I can see how this scent makes people think of the Wild West. This is a ruggedly masculine scent on me. Not swarthy, simply... very male. I don't know if this is up the husband's ally since he prefers scents like Dorian and Wilde but I can see this being absolutely knock out on the right guy. Very tasty.

It's great that you get to see him for a month! I second Veil and Morgause. I don't think that Baobhan Sith and Aizen Myoo are right... both of them, at least on me, are very citrusy florals... and I don't associate them with the 'vintage' or perfumey vibe that the 20s - 40s have. Pretty dress you're wearing too. Very evocative.

Drink some soup with ginger brewed into it. That might help. I like Alice when it's that time of the month. I like comfort scents. Or something sunny and cheery like ELF. ETA: And this might be TMI but a couple of days before I *start*, I have this insane craving for new scents. I need new smellies. If I don't have a swap coming in, I end up going somewhere and buying lotion/soap/commercial perfume. Admittedly the commercial perfume happened over two years ago... but that's what tipped me off.

In the imp: bright, sunny flowers On skin: bright, lush flowers. I can smell the daffodils and the plum. I get whiffs of the orchid. It's a bit on the sweet side. On Drydown: It mellows out a little after an hour. But it is big and bright! Verdict: Fun and playful. Bright, lush flowers. It's a bit too sickly sweet on my skin but I can imagine this being absolutely gorgeous on the right person. *sigh* But it is pretty..

In the imp: Sharp and fruity On Skin: It's like a sharp citrusy fruit, possibly either a combination of the mandarin and the mango? On Drydown: I sniff deeply and I get a warm base, which I'm suspecting is the sandalwood. I can smell the mango more distinctively. Verdict: It's a pretty scent without being either too fruity or too floral. I'm very torn on how exactly I feel about it. It's not a happy scent... nor is it melancholic. Nor does it really make me think of zombies, despite the ghostly sort of feel that this scent has. I'll give this a whirl another day and see if I can clarify my feelings on this.

This is my 1000th post and I can't help but think it's rather fitting In the bottle: vanilla tea On Skin: I get something musky with tea and vanilla and lavender And then it disappears.... wait... come back... On Drydown: It's back! It's smells like sugary tea with something else, very creamy. On the boy: Started out as a lavender/vanilla tea and moved into a musky sort of vanilla on him. It was a bit femme on him but he still likes it. He loves Wilde more. But Dorian is a close second. Another bottle love! Yeah! Verdict: This is invariably a bottle order because we both like it. I like the fact that it's sweet without being gaggingly so, vanilla without being ALL vanilla and lightly floral without being too floral. God, does that description make any sense? Lovely, lovely, lovely. If I were Ted, I'd be so immensely flattered. This was a labor of love and it's gorgeous. Thanks to Beth for sharing this with the rest of us, because Ted isn't the only one smelling faboo. Faboo I say. /end of fangirling. Mmmm... Dorian...

I think this is 05, since it is a empty sniffie bottle. In the bottle: Smoky and boozy On Skin: It has that smoky component that Samhain does, along with booze and sugar. Definitely an autumn scent. I get the same vibe that I do with Samhain... but sweeter. On Drydown: Spicy, smoky and very faint. Unfortunately my skin eats this right up. Verdict: I'd have to slather to get a good throw going. On the other hand, I wasn't really all that interested in this scent because it didn't sound like something I would like. Honestly, I should know better by now. This is like a drunken fest eating candy with friends around a bonfire on a crisp autumn night. While Samhain is more serious, Devil's Night has a more playful edge and yet maintain smoky and mysterious qualities. This was very likeable... and maybe I'll hunt down an imp of it. PS: Great job Labbies!

I tried Carnal and I got mandarin juicyness, tempered by the fig. It wasn't altogether juicy fruit.... it was simply very lush. It wasn't overtly foodie.

I'm with cordia in finding a patchouli scent that works. So far, I've got Lust and Namaste, which worked. However, both are/were in the Like category but not something I was crazy about. Voodoo ended up smelling like a root beer float. Wilde was a lavender cologne for a guy. Imp, Desire, Hetairae, Sed Non Satiata, the Caterpillar were straight up patchouli. Greed ended up smelling like sweaty money on my skin. I mean, it was the scent of money... but I didn't want to smell like that! Mme. Moriarty ended up smelling like a sweaty male! So if cordia doesn't mind the occasional hijacks, I'll also post here. Instead of repeating, since I've taken several of the suggestion given to her and trying to find something that works on my skin too!

Third the Spellbound recommendation. That's the best rose scent in my opinion (not counting LEs like Rose Red).

I get honest mandarin with whiffs of fig... from the start to the finish. I have to love this one for it's simplicity. It's bright, sunny, juicy and comforting without being overwhelmingly sweet or floral or some strange deviation thanks to my wonky skin chemistry. I'm not sure I would ever buy a bottle of this (I'm too much of a floral/aquatic girl at heart) but it's very, very pretty. And the more I smell it, the more I'll keep the imp! ETA: Tried it again today and found that it was too "jam-like" for my tastes. Sniffing it also makes me very hungry. It's very pretty still. So torn about what to do...

In the imp: Creamy buttery sweetness On Skin: Cake! Heavy buttercream to it. Tasty. On Drydown: Most of the buttery-ness disappears and I get a drydown of spices. Rather, I smell more like spice cake. I can't pick out any of the notes... but it smells like baked goods on me. Verdict: Infinitely delectable and tasty. Unfortunately, I'm not a huge foodie person but I can see why people love this. I'd be afraid of wearing this because around me, people would sniff the air and ask "Where is the cake?"

In the imp: woodsy and patchouli On Skin: Patchouli has been confirmed. It's the only thing I can smell now. On Drydown: I get a bit of a woodsy smell to it, like pencil shavings. Other than that, it's a massive patchouli smell. Dirty hippie headshop smell. Verdict: This is not a golden scent on me. When I think of golden scents, I think of Et Lux Fuit... this, makes me think more of a smoldering flame, the embers left from a big fire. Patchouli smashes its way through to the finish line, beating all other components into submission. Skin chemistry wins again. Nuts. Off to swap.

In the imp: sweet, heady flowers On Skin: HUGE honeysuckle and jasmine scent. It reminds me to a floral hothouse. On Drydown: Again, the juggernaut of honeysuckle and jasmine. Verdict: This is a big, bright, floral hothouse of a perfume. If you love honeysuckle and jasmine, this is for you. I like both... but this is way too much for me. It's big, southern and heady.

Being a Peruvian, I had to try this scent even when I didn't think it would work out for me. It's a very tropical, lush, green scent. At the beginning, I get more of the green, foresty, fresh sort of smell. Somewhere in the middle it turns into a rainforest, damp, flowery, with a hint of rain and a bright citrus background, which reminds me of sunlight filtering through the green. Verdict: This is a very tropical, bright scent. It's very beautiful, but unfortunately on me there is something that gives it a "baby powder" smell, which I occasionally get whiffs of when I'm standing in the jungle.

In the imp: Roses and citrus like fruit. On Skin: Roses, very cloying. On Drydown: Smells like Cutex. Verdict: Skin chemistry defeats Persephone before the drydown stage. Urgh. I imagine this can smell lovely on someone else... but on me it's like nail polish remover.

Honestly, this smells pretty much in the imp, on my skin and on drydown all the way down. It's a very complex, sophisticated perfume. It's a very perfumey-BPAL (minus all that nasty alcohol smell). It's got a dark edge to it. I'm actually surprised that patchouli does not dominate this blend. I don't get any separate notes, nor honey out of this. Simply a well-blended strong floral perfume. It's gorgeous but I don't particularly fancy this strong a floral. Sorry about this gals, I can't be more helpful on this one!

In the imp: Chocolate! On Skin: Chocolate and cream! On Drydown: The chocolate tones down quite a bit and some florals come underneath, with a creamy undertone. Quite pleasant. Verdict: This is more of a chocolate-floral blend than a foody-chocolate blend. It's quite pleasant as it's less sugary than Lump of Coal. ETA: This one is more straight up foodie, chocolate and cream (the cream goes plasticky on me, but that's okay). My skin eats this up, and then only the cream comes back. Full of sadness.