The_Merf

In the decant: Everyone says that they catch dragon's blood...I don't get that at all--unless it's the type of dragon's blood that we see in Bloodlust. (Which, given their respective themes, would make sense). Vetiver? Anise? Civet? Something in common with Black Annis? There is a note in this oil that gives it that sweaty, bloody warrior aura. Again, all fitting. Wet: Perhaps this does have eucalyptus in it, because I am slightly reminded of Loup Garou. It's sharp, but earthy, acrid stone, and a very poisonous smoke. I use the Crowley deck, and I've always thought that its representation of the Tower was much along the lines of Mordor (and the resemblance between Tolkien's drawing of The Eye, Jackson's representation of The Eye, and the Eye that is on the card are all real similar). This is exactly what Mordor smells like. Drydown and wear: This remains remarkably consistent, and it is a fascinating and evocative oil. However, I feel that I can only hold onto one oil that fascinates me despite not smelling 100% awesome, and right now, that is my bottle of Saturn.

Note: I do not know if this decant is an original or Resurrection run of the oil. In the decant: Vetiver! Wet: The vetiver in this blend is overwhelming at first. I did not think I was going to like this; I certainly was prepped to swap it, but... Drydown and wear: Pepper! I may have tried one or two other blends with pepper before, but none of them were as pronounced as the pepper in Lex Talionis. I almost sneezed as the oil was going through its last change and drydown. After the oil has settled down, the pepper keeps it very interesting for a long time. Certainly this is unique enough to hold onto.

I received this decant from a very generous colleague... In the decant: Dirt! (Patchouli?) This is very earthy, and I only pick up on the barest hint of the fruits. Wet: Pomengranate! Currant! The fruit comes out full force, but is balanced by the earth notes. This is very nice. Drydown and wear: As many others have noted, one of the great things about this blend is that the rose truly just peeks out, allowing you to have a nice whiff, but not overwhelming you. This is just a lovely scent all-around, and I will treasure my decant.

This is a test of a decant of All Saints' 2005 In the decant: This is a very white blend, and it does strike me as more floral than resiny. However, I'm still dreadful with telling white florals apart, so I can't go into specifics about which ones I smell. Wet: This has the sharp smell of light roses at first, but that does go away quickly (thank God). There is the barest hint of incense here. Drydown and wear: This remains as a white floral (the rose never goes away 100%) and incense blend. It's a little sharp for me, so I'll pass the decant on to the next person.

In the decant: An incense blend. We shall have to see if this can carve its way into my collection, which has many such oils. Wet: This is a grassy incense. I don't smell the heavy woods at all; this is quite light, almost like Hymn, with a green note in place of the roses. Drydown and wear: Is consistent from its wet stage. I'm not going to get a bottle, but I will keep the decant.

In the bottle: This is one of those scents that has notes that run together in the bottle. This often tends to happen for me with scents that have lots of amber. Although this is a "sunny scent," the overall effect I get is the same I got from the darker ambers in Haunted and Hymn to Proserpine. Wet: OK, I'm pretty sure that I picked up on the amber in the bottle, because that's what hits my skin first. It definitely reminds me of the two blends I listed above, and I'm really getting a "Haunted" vibe from it. There is frankincense in here, but it isn't listed as a main ingredient. There's the barest hint of orange in the back, but orange does not brighten a scent for me. The lighter, brighter notes are absent on my skin. Drydown and wear: I swear that I've said this somewhere before, but I think my skin can do weird things when amber is involved. All of these notes dry down to a very powdery amber within 45 minutes.

Embrace your villainy: balsam, myrrh, mandarin orange, bitter clove, artemesia, rosewood, nutmeg, dark musk, smoke and cypress. In the bottle: I think it's because I'm sort of a pessimist, but all I can smell is the basalm. This is the first scent I ever allowed the name/concept of a scent to overpower the fact that it clearly contains danger notes for me. Wet: This is very muddled. I can get hints of the basalm, but it's not strong enough to ruin things for me. However, no other note is distinguishing itself. I wish I could get the smokiness or spiciness that so many other people are referring to. Drydown and wear: Sadly, this remains very light and muddled, with the notes working together in indistinguishable fashion. It does not have strong throw for me, so off to swaps!

In the bottle: I gave this one a whiff after going through a lot of floral and fruit scents. It's good to come home to the Dark Side, baby. Dark and spicy--tonka, cinnamon and patchouli all front and center. Wet: I'm really shocked here--it's the neroli that's strongest on me, and I can also smell the tonka (how bizarre--tonka disappears on me in light blends like Sybaris, but is prominent among all these heavy-hitter notes). The patchouli, so strong in the bottle, fades into the background. Drydown and wear: With scents like this, it's not a matter of 'will it work on my skin?' but a matter of 'is it unique enough to hold its own niche among my other incense/leather/wood blends?' In this case, the answer is yes, because there's an amazing clove that emerges as it dries down and stays active hours after I applied. That makes this scent, which falls into the pleasant company of (new) Hellfire, Herr D and others, unique enough to stick around. I recommend this one highly.

In the bottle: This doesn't come off as a musk blend at all. If it reminds me of anything, it reminds me of Alecto, even though that scent uses olive and raspberry leaf. I can also detect the plum. Wet: This is gorgeous! I can see why the scent has garnered such praise. It's very complex. The patchouli leaf gives it a bit of that patchouli earthiness, but the plum and vanilla work to keep it sweep and allow it to morph a little bit. Drydown and wear: I'm sad to say that this is just gone after 30 minutes. I cannot detect it, and I marked where I put it on my skin. Given its short lifespan, and the fact that it does remind me a lot of Alecto, I decided to swap the bottle to one of this scent's many die-hard fans. It's still such a lovely blend though!

I tried this one a long time ago, from a friend's decant, so my notes are not really all that detailed. What I do have marked in the spreadsheet is "light jasmine, not complex." I remember being very surprised, particularly given the rest of the reviews, at how dominant the jasmine was. I really couldn't pick up anything else, not even the violet, which is usually a strong floral on me. Despite that, it's not a heady or heavy jasmine--it is very light and delicate. However, it is all that comes up on my skin. I had to pass on the decant.

In the decant: This smells a lot like lemon, as many others have said. Wet: This is more complex than I thought it would be. I can smell the coconut and vanilla Drydown and wear: This is a very powerful lemon, and it is certainly quite evocative. The combination of lemon, coconut and vanilla, which remain the strongest notes on me, is that of "food and bodies." This really does smell like a carnival late at night, while people have been walking around for hours and sticky food is on their hands. While this may not sound all that appealing, it is very hypnotic, and I will certainly keep the decant.

In the imp: This is a generic white floral when I smell it before trying. Wet: Cedar leaps out of nowhere on this one--this could get interesting. Drydown and wear: Sadly, the cedar thins out and this becomes what I like to call a "crystal-white" scent--almost transparent, as it were. It doesn't vanish on my skin, but the notes all blend together seamlessly to form this very clear cover on my skin.

In the imp: I tested this so long ago that I can't remember what it smelled like before I put it on my skin, and I've already swapped it! Wet: There is a strong cherry at first, much like The King of Hearts. Drydown and wear: Lily of the Valley is a strong floral, and I knew it would emerge. It actually ends up overpowering the cherry note as the scent dries on my skin. This was a very borderline one; I almost kept it, but I already have a lot of nice light florals (Viola, etc.) around my house.

In the imp: Oh food category, we meet again. One day, I will find a food scent that doesn't make my stomach turn, but it is not this day. There is a very sweet berries/vanilla combination here. Wet: This is not as bad as it could be, really. The vanilla is not bad, but there is this very rich pastry smell that accompanies it. I don't really catch the berries. Drydown and wear: The scent remains a vanilla/cake mix, with berries firmly in the background. To be honest, this is much more appealing than I thought it would be, and I commend it to anyone who is interested in trying to find a food scent that works of them. However, I'm a hard sell in this category, so I think I"m going to swap it.

In the imp: I had high hopes for this oil, because I like dragon's blood, but a lot of my favorite DB blends are on the lighter side. This sounds a bit more malicious. Indeed, it has a rough, dirty, bloody smell in the imp, like a warrior in the midst of a battlefield. Wet: Oh dear God, what the h*ll is going on here? The vetiver and patchouli have taken a malicious turn and this just smells like dirt mixed with rainwater. Not appealing at all! Drydown and wear: There is no DB here to provide warmth, it is all this odd stale and dirty patchouli and vetiver mix. This is not appealing on me at all.

In the imp: I will admit that I went in with a bias against this oil, since its composition is so similar to that of The-Bottle-I-Can't-Sell (i.e., Nyx). Nyx leads with jasmine, Wicked leads with myrrh, and rose is the tertiary note in both of them. Wet: This smells like a cross between Nyx, New Orleans and Penitence. However, the similarity to the former keeps on bothering me. Drydown and wear: The scent does not morph that much. However, based on the advice of some of these threads, due to the resinous composition of this oil, I am going to age it and try it again in a little while.

In the imp: This is a very light scent in the imp, which, given the notes, is surprising to me. Wet: This is very orangey at first, and I can't really smell the ginger or the patchouli. I hope this changes, as I don't really like orange as a main note. Drydown and wear: The scent does blend, and the patchouli emerges as I wear this. I don't get the ginger as a distinct note, but something makes for a very creamy and light patchouli...whereas I picture most patchouli oils as a dark brown or red cream, this one is sandstone or orangey in character. The orange really vanishes as it dries. I don't see the comparisons to Snake Oil, and I'm not sure if I'm going to hold onto this, but it is an interesting blend.

In the imp: This is a very deep rose. I can't smell the leather as a distinct note (i.e., I would not have been able to tell that this was leather without it being in the list of notes), but I can certainly tell that there is something providing a bit of darkness to the rose. It's not a powdery darkness like Black Rose, but something different. Wet: I expected that the rose note would be strong at first, and it is. Drydown and wear: However, the leather tames it rather quickly, and the rose never becomes obnoxious. This is one of my favorite BPAL roses so far.

Rake, scoundrel, demon in a frock coat. Devilishly seductive, ultimately tragic; a villain undone and redeemed by love. Based on an 18th century gentlemen’s cologne: ambergris, white musk, white sandalwood, Spanish Moss, orange blossom, three mints, jasmine, rose geranium and a spike of rosemary. In the imp: This is clearly in the cologne family of BPAL scents. I can't really differentiate between this and Wilde. Wet: This is a lot like generic cologne on my skin. Drydown and wear: As this dries down, it takes on its own individual character. I can smell ambergris, moss and mint notes. It's a very light and clean fragrance. It's nice, and not offensive on my skin, but it's not something that I'd wear on a regular basis.

A sinister, darkly seductive scent inspired by poetry of Charles Baudelaire. Violet entwined with vanilla and gardenia. In the imp: Not much is jumping out to me here. I had to examine it very closely to pick out the vanilla note. I think the violet's duskiness is muddling the entire thing together. Wet: More distinction emerges among the notes, and the florals are quite obviously different from the vanilla. The vanilla in this is veyr foody. Drydown and wear: The vanilla remains very foody--I can't recall a BPAL where the vanilla was this strong and warm. It starts to go a little stale, and the gardenia gives the combination an unpleasant sharpness. Sadly, this is not for me.

In the imp: I can smell the cherry note that must be the almond. There are many other notes in the background. I think I can pick out the clove and orange notes. Wet: Whoo--cherry overload! Drydown and wear: The cherry note dries down to something more palatable, a la King of Hearts, but the other notes in the background don't really do anything substantial.

In the imp: I detect sandalwood and ylang-ylang. Wet: This is a very strong sandalwood at first, which is not surprising, since it is one of the notes that is strongest on my skin. Drydown and wear: This reminds me very much of a classic women's perfume; perhaps it's the ylang-ylang that reminds me of "Chanel No. 5." However, it's not quite distinctive enough (I don't detect the neroli at all), so I've decided to swap it.

I can't even break this down like I usually do...I think the lotus is the major note that I smell in the bottle, but I'm not entirely sure. However, I do know what happens when I put this on my skin: Amoxocilin. I hated amoxocilin when I was younger. I had to scrub this off immediately.

In the imp: This smells more complex than I thought it would. It's certainly not a dragon's blood dominated blend. I smell the cherry right off. Wet: The cherry note is also strong when it goes wet. Drydown and wear: The cherry goes down, thankfully, as it is not one of my favorite notes, and the scent gets spicier. The clove and myrrh, two notes that my skin amps anyway, come out to the fore. It's not a bad scent, but I prefer Chimera for a spicy scent.

In the imp: I had high hopes for this one, perhaps as a substitle for Lenore when I run out. They don't smell that similar at first; the lemon is much stronger in Incantation. Wet: The vetiver is strong at first, but the lemon is right there with it. I can't really detect the wood notes at this point. Drydown and wear: This makes its turn very quickly. The vetiver goes away entirely, stealing away the dark and twisted side that I wanted this scent to have. It ends up as a lemon-dominated blend with sandalwood backing. Not bad, but I'm going to swap this one.