puck_nc

Imperial violet softened by wisteria and chrysanthemum, but edged with the regal iciness of delphinium. I ordered an imp of this from the Lab, as I am a big fan of wisteria. In the bottle: blue and purple suggesting nighttime. I get the violet and delphinium first, then the wisteria. Wet: As usual, the violet must do its thing with me and go through a nasty acrid stage. Drydown: Finally the violet calms down and the wisteria comes forth to blend into a softly sweet and dusky floral. Verdict: It doesn't remind me of its namesake, but once the drydown happens this is a lovely scent. I'll definitely use the imp, and pick up more from time to time.

Pele was an impulse imp, taken in a swap when I offered an imp of something I didn't want to someone who had spilled her supply and lost it. I have a hibiscus perfume that I enjoy wearing, so the possibility of a new tropical-flower scent was appealing. In the bottle: Yay! Hibiscus! And other florals and scents that make me think of my spring break on a beach in Mexico. Wet: I think this is the first time I've had a scent stay true to my skin without morphing all over the place. Happy happy joy joy! Drydown: Hey, where are you going, Pele? Stick around! And the weakness is revealed; Pele is a lightweight that vanishes quickly and has next to no throw on me. Verdict: I've tried slathering and the scent locket, but Pele just doesn't like to hang around, which disappoints me greatly as it's such a pretty scent. I'll use up the imp, but I don't think I'll go out of my way to get more unless it's the occasional swap.

This was my first 5ml bottle of BPAL, bought on an eBay auction. Daffodils are a favorite flower of mine and rhododendrons bring back happy memories of my grandparents' home in the Virginia mountains. So I definitely wanted to give this a go. In the bottle: The florals are soft and light and run together sweetly. I think I can pick out the violet, but it's hard to single anything out. Wet: Uh oh...here comes the violet. Anything with a lot of violet turns astringent on me for a while. Wait it out...wait it out... Drydown: The violet takes a while to calm down, but once it does I'm left with a stunningly beautiful floral mix that I keep sniffing and sniffing. Sometimes I can catch the tulip, sometimes the iris, sometimes the daffodil...they keep rotating and changing into a new lineup that has me compulsively bringing my wrist to my nose. Verdict: This one is a winner for me and I'm sorry that it's a LE. I need to experiment a bit with scenting lotion with this, to see if that solves the violet=acrid problem. In the meantime, this works very well in my scent locket!

This was one of the frimps that the ever-wonderful Molly Moon sent me along with the storage box I bought from her. In the bottle: A heavy blend of dark flowers that smelled very rich and exotic (perhaps that was the currants and/or cherries). No wood at all. Wet: Tangy and fruity for a few minutes, then the woods start coming out. Drydown: On me the wood elements are much more prominent, with the fruits fading into the background. An interesting scent, but it doesn't really speak to me.

This was the only one of the Carnaval Noir scents that I thought I'd like based on the description. This was my first bottle purchase from the Lab. In the bottle: dark and richly floral, just hinting at an aftershave I remember my dad wearing when I was a child. I think the vanilla is behind the flowers, organizing and arranging them like the teacher behind the curtain as the kids' overexuberance onstage gets the better of them. Wet: I think it's the jasmine, but something is adding a green tinge to the luscious burgundy and tawny. Port! I'm reminded of the sweet deep flavor of port, without the alcohol! Drydown: The vanilla comes out and takes command of the performance, tamping it down and bringing it all together. Verdict: The husband LOVES it. I love it. I'm going to have to decide when I can wear it besides date nights/evenings out. It feels too luscious for wearing to work at this point. Damn. I'm going to have to buy a couple more bottles of this. Thank goodness CN got extended a month! Brava, Beth!

As a Spanish teacher, I had to try all the Wanderlust scents stemming from Hispanic countries, so I snapped this one up in an LJ purchase. In the bottle: Hmm...kind of sharp, kind of sour on the first pass. Then I start to pick up the spices. But there's something lingering in the background that I find unpleasant...could be the hyssop, could be the epazote. Wet: On my skin it turns sweeter. I can pick out the amber, sage and maybe the tulip. There's a heat to this one that I kind of like. Drydown: Now I'm getting the coriander, some odd note I can't identify (the pear?), and the combination almost smells cinnamon-y. I think it lasts a little longer on me than for some others who have reviewed, but it's still gone within a few hours. Verdict: It's an interesting metamorphosis, but not love at first sniff. For me the green notes clash with the spices rather than blend. To the swap pile!

In an effort to create a pleasing environment during a surprise trip to Yuggoth, we have created a soothing yet stimulating blend of pink pepper, peony, jasmine, mango, kiwi, pomegranate, pineapple, white ginger, serene white tea and light musks. Bon voyage! I grabbed this one on a whim in an LJ sale, even though I tend to favor florals over fruit and wasn't sure about this one. In the bottle: EEEWWWW!!! That smells like catshit! I had to talk myself into putting it on my skin. Whatever the combination of fruit and musk, I didn't like it at all in the imp. Wet: OK, the civet or whatever is toned down and I'm catching whiffs of various fruits, but nothing I can sort out beyond high and sharp. The musk is emerging. Drydown: Eventually it sorts itself out into a light musk with fruity overtones. It's very light and doesn't last for more than a couple of hours on me. Verdict: Not for me. The end result isn't captivating enough for me to go through the whatever that makes it smell bad to me in the bottle and drying down.

Origin: Bought a decant on LJ In the Bottle: Where's the rose? All I smell is sandalwood. Wet: Still sandalwood, but with a note of something that seems sharp and bitter. Not good. Drydown: Finally, there's the rose! It takes a while to emerge on me. But whether it's the combination with sandalwood or some other note I can't identify, there's a sour, soapy undertone that keeps me from fully enjoying this blend. Verdict: I'll hang onto it for a couple of weeks and try again when That Week is over, but if I get the same result I think I'll send it to the swap pile.

This was one of several imps that Molly Moon included in the box I bought from her. In the bottle: A light, crisp citrus. It takes me a couple of sniffs to get the ginger. Wet: Holy cow! That's Lemon Pledge, complete with the acrid aftertaste (after-smell?) of the dust that's been wiped up. Drydown: Ok, the Lemon Pledge is very slowly calming down and I think what I'm thinking of as "dust" is actually the tea. There is only the faintest whiff of ginger. Later: Okay, now it's starting to smell like tea and ginger! It's a very clean scent, very fresh, maybe a bit more masculine than I normally wear. Or maybe a good one for scenting a bathroom or kitchen. Verdict: It smells nice in the bottle. It eventually smells nice on me. But it takes a very long time to dry down and lose the overpowering lemon and the final scent is nice but not something I love. This one will go in the swap pile.

The husband either likes Rakshasa or likes what Rakshasa does to me. I'm not certain which

I adore honeysuckle, so this one was a must-try for me. In the bottle: Flowers! I'm in a garden surrounded by all kinds of flowers! Wet: The strongest notes for me are the lilies, with the pear also predominant. I have to sniff several times to find the honeysuckle. Drydown: The lilies calm down, letting the other flowers come to the surface, and the musk begins to seep in just a wee bit. It's light and pretty, very feminine, very spring and summer-y. Verdict: At this point, the beginning of my BPAL addiction, it's in the keeper side of my box. I may be looking for a 5ml down the road for lotion & perfume purposes.

This was an addition to my wishlist because I'm always about the florals. In the bottle: a nice dark floral with a hint of musk that adds an element of mystery. Very nice! Wet: Okay, it's official. Violet and I have a difficult relationship. The scent is sharp, astringent, nose-tingling violet, with the musk clinging on for dear life. Drydown: Eventually the violet softens, leaving a faint, sweet musky floral. It's a pretty scent if I'm patient enough to wait on it, but not an instant hit with me.

This HAD to be tried! I cannot walk by a rosebush without stopping to take a sniff...it's categorically impossible. In the bottle: Rose heaven!!! Wet: Sweet, lush and heavenly. I close my eyes and I am in a rose garden on a bright hot day. Drydown: Fades just enough to be there and not overpower, with the tinge of grass coming out to balance the sweet. I sometimes get a whiff of soap on the right wrist, but the left stays true and floral. Bottle, here I come!

Well, I had my first experience of the "dirty dishwater" syndrome. As much as I love standing outdoors on a winter night of new snow and ice and just breathing, I hoped this oil would be a little bit of heaven. In the bottle, I didn't get a strong impression at all. An airy scent with a touch of sweet, but nothing of the cripsness or chill. Wet on me, the airy morphed into what I imagine ozone might be like. It was acrid, sharp, and unpleasant. I couldn't make out the undertones at all. The acrid calmed slightly on drydown, but persisted. If I held my wrist to my nose and took a very long breath, just at the end I might get a hint of sweetness, a tantalizing taste of holidays and good cheer. Definitely not for me. This decant will go into the swap pile.

This was a blind purchase off LJ, but I had hopes for it once I read the description. In the bottle: Yuk! A very harsh and astringent blast of citrus. All sour orange. I'm not sure I want to put this on! Wet: Okay, it's not quite so biting, but it's still a very strong citrus tang. Be patient...be patient...don't wash it off yet... Drydown: Okay, finally the flower notes are emerging and I can smell the carnation and hibiscus that were the reason I wanted to try this. But the fruits keep it so sticky and sweet that I know I won't wear this again. Final verdict: It's so not me. Too young and too in-your-face for my liking. Sold to a fellow addict. Shannon

I am a very recent inductee into the BPAL worship , and this was the first scent I tried on, since I am a fan of all that is rose. In the bottle: A very sweet and fruity floral, almost juicy. I think the pomegranate just dominates the rose. Wet: Okay, there's the rose coming back. A very rich rose, deep flame-red and begging for you to shove your nose in. Drydown: On me, for a while the rose and pomegranate fight it out like two combatants in a death cage. Eventually the rose wins out, but there is a dusky depth to it when I compare it to a straight rose oil I have. It's like sniffing the roses in my in-laws' back yard, because they also have a fig tree there. Final verdict: Since I adore rose, I like this one very much. I can see getting a bottle of this, eventually, or just replacing the imp each time I empty one. It might have been my favorite if I hadn't sampled Two, Five & Seven since Shannon

I was intrigued by the site description and snagged an imp off a sale on LiveJournal, and I am so glad I did. I think this will become one of my favorite summer scents. At first I thought it odd to call it a summer scent, because once I put it on there was a richness behind the florals that made me think of holidays, fruitcake and sugarplums dancing in my head. But it finally came to me. This is the scent of an outdoor wedding on a perfect hot day: the exquisite flowers arranged just so, the sweetness of the wedding cake being sliced, the crisp tinge of champagne for toasting. It's a scent for celebration, for enjoying being alive, and I'm so glad I stumbled across it.