The_Merf

In the imp: A melange of florals--I pick out the sweet pea (from Erato), iris and carnation. Wet: There's a blast of the generic floral (sweet pea still leading), but this disappears into my skin very quickly. Drydown and wear: I don't get any vanilla at all--this is pretty much sweet pea and carnation, with other floral hints in the background. This isn't sharp, which is probably a result of the vanilla in the blend, but it does remain sweet.

This is a really lovely lily that has gained depth with a bit of aging in the imp (around 5 months). I'm not sure what else is providing that extra grounding, but even when this was fresh, it did not come off as overly floral, even when it was wet. This is not as creamy as lilies nearly are on me, but it is lovely all the same.

Much like I did with Tamora, I get a slightly different result from trying Regan fresh/slightly aged (about five months). Again, the difference is in the sweetness of the vanilla. While the scent follows roughly the same progression each time I try it: the vanilla gives way first to an orchid floral and then to the softer stephanotis. However, with a little bit of aging, the vanilla does not come on so strong and shrill at first, and the orchid is easier to perceive even when the scent is wet. Now the scent has really taken on the status of a lighter version of Shadow Witch Orchid. I believe that this one is less floral and sweet than Queen Mab or a lot of the other orchid scents.

I love the "leaf" scents--Alecto and The Jersey Devil are two of my favorites, and Lear is definitely in this family. Compared to the other two, Lear is a bit thinner and drier. The cedar gives an overall woody effect and you can actually feel a dryness in your nose when you sniff this one. The leaf adds the smokey quality that you get from Alecto, but this is not a scent that does much morphing. Cedar will be the dominant note for most people, I imagine.

I was able to age this imp a little bit between my first and second testing. On the first testing, this was a very strong and sweet vanilla with a dusty amber background. However, on the second try, this is a very round and warm vanilla with the slightest bit of peach. I'm much fonder of this when it loses the sweet edge that it has when fresh. This does remind me of Yerevan with a warmer, less juicy base. It's quite nice.

In the imp: lavender and a light citrus Wet: lavender and a very strong, sinus cleansing blast of lemon Drydown and wear: The blend remains very sharp and clarifying--like a scent that cuts through fog--even as it dries down. While the blend is not soothing (in a dulling sense), it is very compelling. I'll have to wear this before I go to bed sometime.

In the imp: Very buttery--as others have said, I don't know if this is the shea butter or the coconut meat (I'm tempted to say the latter, unless this is much stronger than the same note in Ochosi) Wet: Milky and buttery--almost too foody. Drydown and wear: I always wondered how a "cool water" note would function, and it appears that here it provides some dilution of what would otherwise be a very foody and rich blend. The buttery note goes down in intensity and one is left with something that is almost, but not quite, that sunscreen smell. It is certainly very beachy and tropical and summery, and while I'm really more of a Spring/Fall lady, I find this one intriguing, and certainly enjoyed it more than I thought I would.

In the imp: Vanilla and amber. Wet: Vanilla with a fresh amber (and there might be something from the sweet pea as well). Drydown and wear: This scent doesn't change much on me. The vanilla and amber combination is somewhat boozy, and the warmth of the sandalwood never really comes out. This one's going off to swaps.

In the vial: Man, Haitian vetiver is no joke. It is an overwhelming scent, although there is something smoked around the edges of this (perhaps the ginger?). I also get whiffs of patchouli on some of the sniffs. The hide-and-seek quality of the patchouli reminds me of Geek (in fact, this is sort of an odd mix of Geek and Lenore). Wet: This is not just vetiver on me...in fact, the patchouli is surprisingly strong. While there is no leather in the blend, this has a lovely warmth and smoky quality. Drydown and wear: This is not overpowering, but it has staying power. The musk note emerges a tiny bit as the scent wears, but it is not dominant (which is good, because I don't really like black musk in most blends). I really do think that this will be a scent I consider as a "replacement" for Geek (it doesn't have the resin of that scent, but...) when my bottles run out.

In the imp: Honey (almost like Anubis), rose and orange. The orange is unusually strong. Wet: Honey and rose, with a dash of orange. Drydown and wear: Unlike most honey blends, this one did not go wonky, so even though I couldn't smell the resin notes, I think they were definitely there in the background. The three main notes sort of take turns pairing off with each other--after the honey/rose sequence comes a orange/honey bit and then a final orange/rose drydown. The rose note lasts the longest on my skin. This actually turned out a lot better than I thought it would, but oranges are always a bit candied on me, and it's not a smell that I'm too fond of, so this one's being swapped.

Like someone else, I am surprised that no musk note is listed (although I'm detecting more black than red musk), because there is definitely something around the edges of the woods in this blend. I think the redwood and tobacco give the scent an overall "red" character, but that doesn't really emerge until the scent has been on my skin for awhile. This is a really light blend, which surprised me, as woody/resin notes tend to be very strong on my skin. The pepper seems to come and go. The first time I tried this on, there was a definite pepper edge, but when I tried it on again, I couldn't detect any of that.

I'm not familiar with the Death card in the Rider-Waite deck, but the freshwater/soil mixture of this blend certainly recalls the Death card in the Thoth deck (the card features a black/murky blue color scheme and features fish, etc.). There is a strong dirt note in this blend (to possibly recall the scent of fresh turned burial dirt?). There's a clean note that goes over the dirt that really (and maybe it is just because I recall the Thoth card) reminds me of fresh river water moving over the dirt. I think it's very evocative of an interesting aspect of the Death card.

In the imp: A very warm vanilla, absolutely a "golden" scent. Wet: The white notes, like the sandalwood and lily, as well as the herbal moss, are combining with the amber to give this scent a bit of sharpness right now...the vanilla is there, but not the dominant note. Drydown and wear: As the scent dries down, it starts to match the golden scent from the imp itself (hooray!). This is one of the more pleasant ambers I've tried in some time (lots of ambers end up going powdery on me, but this one does not). I think the person(s) who summed this up as a slightly richer/wamer version of Jacob's Ladder pretty much hit the nail on the head.

Woooo! I finally got a bottle of Faith. I really love violets in some blends, but lately I'd been striking out with them, so I was a bit hesitant about trying this one out. However, my fears were abated. This is a simple scent, but a lovely one--pretty much like everyone says, it's a sweet violet (what a shock!). What makes this blend appeal to me is the fact that the violet note, which is a deeper floral, keeps the entire perfume from becoming sharp or overly candy-like, at least on my skin. Many thanks to wichapi for the bottle!

This is for Ides of March 2007: In the bottle: A very nice, clean, but not cologne-y blend of rosemary, citruses and florals. Wet: This is really nice--a truly gender neutral blend that manages to be clean and cool, but there is also a floral base at the same time that gives it a type of grounding and depth that one associates with a feminine scent (but this does not smell "feminine"). Drydown and wear: There's not a lot of morphing, but this is sooooo light. It ends up as a pleasant light herbal with a slight hint of floral. I can only detect it for a very short time on my skin, which is a shame, as I like the concept of this blend, and I must say that this is one of my favorite BPAL labels ever.

This threatens to go candy or cola (a la Wrath or Love Me) for just a few seconds, but it turns out to be a lovely spiced dragon's blood. This is extremely pretty and a scent that stays close to the body. I'm quite fond of this one--along with High John and Aunt Caroline's Joy Mojo, this may be one of my favorite Voodoo Blends.

In the imp: Wow, that is a strong, strong peach. I can't smell much over the peach, but I do pick up on a little bit of lavender. Wet: This is a ripe peach at first, but it quickly becomes more complex. I think the leafy part of the peach leaf emerges, and other notes work to provide a soft edge to the scent. Drydown and wear: This holds fairly steady from the wet stage, which surprises me a bit, as most of the Salon scents I have tried make at least one major morph. However, this one changes gradually, as a slght edge of greenery comes out. It's a very bright and pretty scent.

In the imp: Strong, sharp cypress, but also some warmer notes (this is not as shrill as Hades or Medea). There's also the fig and the good kind of ginger. Wet: There's a short blast of cypress, but it blends really well with the ginger in this blend. There's something else supporting it, but I can't tell exactly what note that is. Drydown and wear: This is a blend of cypress and ginger, with the warmth of what must be fig. I don't get any rose from this blend either. It is an interesting blend, and one that I'll probably have to try again before I figure out exactly what I'll do with it.

In the imp: All saffron and amber Wet: Saffron, amber, and hint of rose. Drydown and wear: This is the same on drydown as it is wet. The rose becomes stronger as it wears down, but the amber is really, really overwhelming.

A celebration of one of the first commercially produced perfumes of America's Old West. A rugged, warm blend of vanilla, balsam and sassafras layered over Virginia cedar. In the imp: Mostly leather, with some sassafras and the slightest bit of vanilla. Wet: The sassafras and vanilla blend to make this smell almost like chocolate leather. It's very appealing. The leather does a great job of keeping the sassafras from going to candied root beer at this stage. Drydown and wear: This is fantastic--a great scent for leather lovers. It's a warmer version of another favorite of mine, Les Infortunes. This stays grounded with the leather and the sassafras never takes over.

In the imp: Very quick whiff of juniper followed by woods and resins. Wet: Orchid and bergamot. Drydown and wear: Orchid and bergamot that fades very quickly. After less than 30 minutes, I can barely smell it on my wrist. It is mostly orchid on the drydown, and that's a favorite note of mine. I do wish this was stronger, as it is a pretty, non soapy floral.

In the imp: something floral...and chocolate? Wet: Berry and chocolate...this is quite nice...there is a candyish edge to the berry, but the chocolate keeps it from being obnoxious. Drydown and wear: I'm a big fan of most of the Lab's chocolate blends (as long as they aren't along with 800 other foody notes), and this is no exception. This would be a real nice spring/summer scent...a foodier companion to Blood Rose or some of the other red florals in the RG category.

Curse you, ginger, take II: In the bottle: OK, my first sniff of Aries '07 was a very sweet dragon's blood/honeysuckle with a whiff of pepper. I forgot there was even ginger in this blend until I smelled it again and went "oh gawd." Wet: This is Saw-Scaled Viper's little brother here...horrid, rancid wild ginger, combined with pepper. This doesn't make me sick to my stomach, but it does sort of make me want ot sneeze. Drydown and wear: This one does settle down much quicker and the ginger goes away, leaving the pepper to blend with the floral notes, which are not present when the oil is wet. I don't mind this stage (though there is a hint of gingery unpleasantness), but I don't think I'll be able to deal with the wet stage of the oil. Major curses...

In the bottle: Does smell very bright, there is a fruity/cakey edge (shortcake?) that comes off more as berries than citrus. There are also some light florals in the background. Wet: Very light cake/honey/foodiness (lighter than Eat Me, which this reminds me of at some level) at first, very quickly mixed with a citrus fruit scent. There's also something there that reminds me of amber, but I think it's the resins drying out the fruit a little bit. Drydown and wear: As the oil dries down, it becomes this unusual combination of resin and citrus, with the rose attar at the very back of the scent. Sometimes I can smell the sweet cakes when I take a whiff, and other times there's no trace of that scent at all. The rosey note gets stronger and stronger (and dustier, due to the orris root, I'll bet). Some honey also emerges and I get that stale smell that I often get with honey (particularly when it's mixed in with foody notes). I'm going to have to swap this one, alas.

This certainly is an unusual scent. It smells very much like a jumble in the bottle, but I can pick up on the red musk, vanilla and ambergris. When I first put it on, it smells, of all things, like a slightly warmer version of men's cologne: the ambergris, moss and patchouli are the most dominant notes while the oil is wet. As it dries, the red amber takes over as the base, and there is a bit of a creamy edge provided by the vanilla. I don't pick up on any spiciness from the pepper or the clove, and I did not have any skin irritation while putting this oil on. Unfortunately I'm not crazy about the wet stage, and red amber smells vaguely off on me, so I'm going to have to swap this one.