Xylis

mmmm.... i swear i can almost taste it going down my throat! *yums* in the imp: the first thing that i got was a warm apple, mixed with cinnamon and ale. i'm not really getting the milk so much, the apple is shining bright and clean with the ale giving it a sparkly tinge. wet: the apple and ale are getting stronger.. mmm. i could drink this scent, it reminds me of a gorgeous cup of steaming hot apple flavored chai. dry: oh dear, it's starting to smell a bit like a xmas candle, albeit a rather yummy smelling one. still, i'm not sure if i want to smell like a candle. i'll leave it on longer and hopefully it'll tone itself down a little. i'm still not getting the milk, but i'm getting a healthy dose of apple-cinnamon! verdict: i love how evocative this scent is, so i'll probably not ever swap it off. then again, i suspect that i'll be using it more as a room scent rather than a perfume.. i feel a little strange wearing foody blends. still, this is yummy, hooray!

this is such a fun, syrupy blend! i was a little worried that the sweetness would be too cloying, but really, i shouldn't have. despite its rather flippant name, this isn't a plasticky, sickly sweet scent. it's bright, cheerful and vibrant and a joy to wear. in imp: ohhhh this is so sweet! i'm actually getting the currants that went missing on me in "eat me". what a yummy scent. wet: pomegranate mixed with currants, lightened by a happy dash of sugar! i'm not really getting the pear and apple though, which is sad, but i'm loving the fruitiness so far. it's sweet, but not headache-inducing like how escada perfumes are on me. there is something tempering this sweetness. drydown: this shall henceforth be one of my happy blends! i love how despite its sweetness, there is a light sophistry to it as well which prevents it from going all silly bubblegum candy pop. it reminds me of a woman-child who laughs her way through life but still takes herself seriously. such a flirty scent, i wore this to a movie date and my fiance couldn't help stealing sniffs at me. verdict: i'll be loving and using my imp! and maybe one day i'll get a bottle. i think i've come to realize that i love fruity scents. candy phoenix makes me happy!

amsterdam sounds like a dream! i love all the notes in it and that's quite rare for a blend. i wonder how it managed to slip past me till now. and i like the idea of layering grass with one of the dirt/loam scents. yorick's going to go on my never-ending BPAL wishlist, ohoho. thanks for your recs, sweets!!

hellooo green scent lovers. <3 i've been looking for a scent that encapsulates the idea of wet grass after the rain and seemingly "garden path with chickens" sounds like a pretty good bet for that. however, i was just wondering, is the greenery in that blend similar to the green-ness at the beginning of rose red? i didn't like the greenery in RR at all (i have the '08 version), it was too... sharp. so if garden path is going to smell anything like that, i'm going to be devastated.

i've finally found an aquatic that works out for me! this is such a very clean smell, i feel refreshed already. there is a tinge of a soap-like quality to it though, which seems to be a bad thing for most people, but i don't dislike it. i've always had a problem with aquatics going too sharp on me but the flowers temper this and help to sweeten the blend. i'm unfamiliar with rhododendron, but if this is how it smells, then it's going on my list of likable notes. this is a blend which makes you pause for a while; on first sniff, it seems like a typical *clean* light bluish scent, but there are layers of crystalline florals dancing underneath. very pretty. thank you for the frimp, sabrina! (:

imp: jasmine. that's the first thing that greets me. but this isn't the headache-inducing variety that i'm all too familiar with. there is a certain delicate quality to it, which is very quiet: a single white flower blooming amidst the velvet darkness. wet on skin: the jasmine is more rounded now. what i'm finding strange is the fact that i seem to be getting a clear single jasmine note rather than the blend of flowers that was listed in the description. i like it though, this is a night blooming flower, understated and crystalline. drydown: i like how floral this scent is without coming across as being too "polished". there is a bit of musk in the background which is grounding the jasmine and i'm picking up just a bit of moonflower. it's not a very strong scent at all, in fact, i find it very muted and subtle on my skin. there's a certain intimacy that i'm getting in that it floats up softly and with soft, feathery fingers lures you closer to the skin. this is the smell of a night in a garden of white, silvery flowers under a midnight sky speckled lightly with stars. very pretty. verdict i got this as a frimp from the lovely femme_fatale (sabrina) and i'm so glad that she sent it because i wouldn't have picked this one out on my own. i'm not exactly a jasmine-lover, but this imp, i'm definitely keeping and using.

in the imp: i thought i was in trouble when i sniffed the pine. for some reason, it evoked memories of dettol for me. wet on skin: ahh... the pine is getting stronger. i'm quite dismayed at this point of time because i dearly wanted to love snow bunny because of its name. there's a slight tinge of a lemon in the mix which doesn't help in muting the dettol resemblance. i don't think i do pine scents too well. drydown: this is a pleasant surprise! i must say that this scent is quite a morpher. i'm getting whiffs of the girly perfume which i definitely love.. there's almost a slight tinge of creamy vanilla amidst the gentle white florals and sweet berries. i love this. verdict: i absolutely loved the drydown of this blend. apart from the early pine stage, this was quite a surprise because i didn't expect snow bunny to be this sweet.. but it's definitely a lovely surprise. i will be cuddling my imp, but i haven't decided if i want a bottle yet.

this is a really masculine blend, i think. extremely extremely woody, this is such an authentic woody scent. i've never been a big fan of vetiver which is probably why i'm not loving this scent. i don't get much of the china rain which is a pity because it means that my quest for a rain scent is still unfinished. i really wanted to love this but it's just not meant to be.

i tried on this scent with the preconceived notion that this is THE definitive BPAL rose scent, so i was really excited and hopeful that i'd find a grail. the version that i've got is the 2008 one in an imp. in the imp: this is sooooo very GREEN! i feel as if i'm holding my nose right up close to a rose stem and sniffing it. i must say that i am rather amazed by how realistic the smell is; my only quibble is that i'm finding it really hard to smell the petals amidst the greenery. on my skin: unfortunately, i was distracted and missed smelling it while it was still wet. the drydown was swift and the green-ess of the rose's stem is still dominant although i'm starting to pick up some rose in the mix. this is a highly fresh, young and realistic rose; very much unlike my beloved whip. to be honest, i'm amazed that my skin is amp-ing up the greenery so much. i normally amp rose like anything [to my delight, i adore rose], but in this scent, the rose is taking a backseat for once. i'm just that bit disgruntled because this wasn't what i was expecting somehow. verdict: perhaps it was my own fault for having an inaccurate expectation for this scent. to be fair, i find it amazing how beth managed to capture such an authentic rose smell in a bottle, but while i admire this evocative scent, it's something which i wouldn't really wear out as a fragrance. i'll definitely keep this, because i want a whole collection of BPAL roses and hopefully, once i've weaned myself from the expectation that every rose should smell similar to the one in whip, i'll give this blend a shot again.

An ancient formula that inspires unrepentant decadence, lechery and debauch. in the imp: from the moment i opened it, i got this OMMPH of a floral that was obnoxious, bold and totally in-you-face. honestly, i didn't know if i liked it or hated it.. it seemed to be straddling the thin line between the two. wet on my skin: i'm surrounded by a floral overture which i just cannot put my finger on. [considering that i come from an origin where i'd be more likely to recognize the smell of concrete rather than flowers.] is this gardenia? i've smelt jasmine before [which seemingly is the over dominant floral note based on other reviews] and i don't think this is it on me, unless this is a case of over-amped jasmine, then more fool me. the drydown: i'm still undecided as to whether i like it or hate it. there is this undertone of mystery stemming from a low note of incense. it reminds me of a deep, sensual boudoir where a beauty lies immersed in a bath of freshly plucked gardenias [yes, i think that's what it is]. it's all beautiful and lovely for a moment, and then, on double sniff, it smells like a hand-wash soap in my school bathroom which i absolutely hated. verdict: it kept alternately between the two so eventually, i gave up and drizzled my most beloved whip onto it, in the hope that rose would save the scent. and so it did, i'm now basking in beauty. *bliss* although, of course, i'd be in the same bliss even if it were whip alone, so this lil imp will probably be dancing its way into the arms of someone who can appreciate it more.

i know this scent has a reputation of glowing reviews, but i was really wary because i know how badly spices and incense fare on my skin. i did finally take the plunge though, so let's see how this turns out. in the imp: i'm scared to even put this on. don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful mix of herbs, spices and incense, swirling together in a cloud of nostalgia and promise but at the same time, it kinda reminds me of a chinese medical hall along the streets of chinatown or maybe even a sari shop in little india. i love that smell because it reminds me of my childhood, but it's really not something i'd want to wear out as a perfume. wet on my skin: it's not as overwhelming as it had been in the imp. there is a sweetness to this blend, something woodsy, like the fragrant wood of a chinese fan. it's like a merging of cultures and backgrounds which was basically what took place on the silk road; i can imagine the hustle and bustle of people and curios. the drydown: there is something in this blend that doesn't agree with my skin because my wrist is starting to get a tad itchy, a pox on sensitive skin. i'm going to finish up this review anyway, because i think this blend deserves at least that. this is a beautifully nostalgic blend which is really, despite how "crowded" it seemed in the imp soon melts into something more harmonious and gentle. if i had to describe a scent as oriental with a touch of middle eastern flavour, this would be it - and more. verdict: i like this very much as a blend; unfortunately, i'll probably be sending this along to someone who can appreciate it more than i can. the warning about it being tough on the skin is something to take note of though. this may well fare better in a scent locket or as a room scent.

thank you both for your recommendations, i'll definitely look into those! ((: frankly, before i checked the notes for cool water game, i had no idea that it had that many fruity notes in it. O.O goes to show how little i know about fragrance notes huh. it strikes me as a fresh scent that's more or less clear rather than musky and overly woodsy. i was actually quite surprised to see that it has a woodsy base, because it doesn't smell that way to me at all. sometimes i'm tempted to steal it... but i thought smelling like him would be rather strange since his cologne entices me to jump him..... yeah, i'm that kinda girl. i'll probably have to give it a test run one day, describe it better and then check back with the scent reviews.

i swear that i've tried doing searches, but so far, i've been getting "cool water" by davidoff which is not quite the same as "cool water game" so do bear with me. i'm trying to find something that's close or along the lines of my fiance's favourite cologne. the make up of "cool water game" goes as follows: top notes: basil, grapefruit, lemon verbena and watermelon middle notes: black currant, lavender and violet leaf base notes: patchouli and woodsy notes. this smells divine on him, yet it doesn't really seem to fit other popular masculine BPAL blends [i'm thinking satyr, jolly roger, cassanova etc]. could someone please enlighten a clueless girl here? (:

now this is one special oil. i've had the imp for quite some time, but for some reason, i never really felt compelled to give it a whirl. anyway, i forgot to close my imp box after i extracted my imp of the day [Queen]. so i was in the middle of replying a PM when suddenly, this sweet, utterly delicious scent caught my nose and i found myself sniffing away at the box like a puppy, trying to locate the beautiful scent. and there she was, waiting for me, slightly mocking like, "what on EARTH took you so long?!" in the imp: this was the reason why i didn't give the oil a test run from the first sniff. in the imp, it's deceptively overpowering and the florals seem to have mixed themselves into an cloying mess. however, this time round, i took the time to let the scent to permeate the air a little longer and there's this beautiful, almost wistful sweetness that lingers. i can't wait to have it on me. wet on skin: it starts off really strong. i'm getting the slightest hint of honey amidst a number of florals. there is indeed something bold about this scent as depicted in the scent description, but underneath that affirmation is something much more delicate. there's a bit of wine-ish note to it too.. i'm getting the warmth of red wine slipping its way down my throat. dry on skin: the sweetness of the scent is definitely coming through. there are some moments when the scent smells almost gourmand, like a lighter mix of the caramel buttery notes of eat me, but it's soon soaked in red, velvety petals. i'm detecting the sweetness of cherry too. still, this sweetness is grounded by something musky, probably red musk? i'm still getting light whiffs of honey that gently flits around the scent. i was mistaken, there's nothing overbearing about this. it's a beautiful blend. verdict: definitely one of my misunderstood blends, i'm so glad that it managed to call out to me from the depths of my imp box. this is a keeper and i think it may just be big bottle worthy. gorgeous, i love this.

in the imp: it's a little bit herbal, a little bit floral mixed with a touch of something peppery. my untrained nose can't make out any specific notes, but this smells interesting. i get the vibe that the scent is fluid; it constantly moves and doesn't stay static. i *think* i'm picking some ylang ylang. wet on skin: my first impression when it landed on my skin was, "hmm. pepper." thankfully, the scent is starting to morph now into something sweeter, a tinge of rose kissed by ylang ylang, dribbled with just a little bit of honey. this isn't as strong as i feared it would be, which is a good thing. the drydown: the herbal note is stronger now, but not overpowering. there is a pretty good balance of the notes on me where they all coexist in harmony rather than fight for a place in the spotlight. i've lost that bit of rose that i detected, but the ylang ylang is growing stronger. this is full grown woman, sexual and magnetic. i'm just not sure that it's me. verdict: i seem to be coming up with loads of scents that are too mature with me lately. queen smells great, but i just don't have the personality to pull her off. i've got a couple of people on my mind that i could toss her to, but before i do that, i'm going to run her by my fiance first, and see what he thinks. big bottle worthy... if you can handle her.

in the imp: this is some strong wine, i can almost taste it slipping down my throat. amidst the warm tingly burning, the myrrh is making its first appearance, tart and striking. i must say that i'm actually intimidated by this blend. still, nothing ventured, nothing gained, let's hope my skin chemistry does something nice to it. wet: the smell of sweet wine is very distinct and i'm actually getting whiffs of honey, mixed with the myrrh. this is going to sound strange, but this scent is actually drinkable. i can feel its warmth flowing down my throat and warming me from inside out. if i don't sniff carefully though, it's kinda bordering on a sweet medicated oil which while not unpleasant, isn't exactly what i'd want to smell like. drydown: this is a very mature scent. i can imagine it on a sophisticated lady, elegant and worldly-wise, with a hint of exotic beauty. this is starting to be more sweet myrrh than medicated ointment, thank goodness, but i feel like a little girl playing dress up in her mother's clothes. i do very much like the honey in this though. verdict: truly not the scent for me, but still, it's a beautifully exotic scent that's evocative of grecian wonder. it's a pity that i'm just kinda underaged, scentfully speaking.

as a rule, i truly fear frankincense. even when it's not one of the dominant notes, my skin has the nasty habit of amping it up to the point of being obnoxious. however, i couldn't resist ordering faustus because i just love his story. so i was feeling adventurous last night and decided to give it a run. and i was so gorgeously surprised. in the imp this is hard to believe, but it actually smells really good! it's distinctly frankincense, but this version of it is sweet without being cloying or innocent. it's power tempered by something more fragile and i guess, at the heart of the matter, that was what faustus was. sheer, crazy ambition, and yet, it was all founded by a dream. wet on my skin God bless the violet. it's really soothing the frankincense, blending it so that it becomes like a perfect unity of two lovers. this scent is strong, yet delicate all at once. i can't pick out a distinct note of the cinnamon, but it's there, warming the scent. the drydown i'm surprised. i'm really loving this scent. in fact, i wish i could slather it on my fiance, i'm interested to know how his body chemistry would react to it. on me, it's kinda androgynous in a good way. i think i may just be a violet fan, i love what it's doing to the frankincense. this is a really warm blend, and i feel just that bit more confident wearing it. hours from my first application, it's started to fade into a slightly powdery version of a mild frankincense that's not unpleasant. this blend has rather good staying power. verdict i'm surprised to say that i actually liked faustus. i'm not crazy about it, because frankly, i can't imagine myself wearing this out of the house as a scent, it's just not me. but i think this would be delish on a man ie my fiance or my father. i'll be keeping my imp, but a bottle this shall not be. still, i enjoyed the ride, and will gladly reach for it again.

in the imp: there's a certain sharpness to the scent; i can identify a thread of rose amidst other florals.. lavender? there is certainly a complexity to this scent. the innocence of the rose is caught in a whirl with strains of frankincense. i'm a little bit worried about this is going to turn out. i love roses as a rule, but frankincense intimidates me. wet on my skin: oh where be thou, fair rose? it's being shadowed by the frankincense which thankfully, isn't as overbearing as i feared. the drydown: first 5 minutes compared to whip which i tried earlier on today, this is a more subtle scent. it takes more sniffing to discover a dance of different floral notes. it's hard to identify specfic ones; they play peek-a-boo, blending with each other into a pretty floral symphony. very pretty, but i'm still not getting my beloved rose. i'll need to let this sit for a while longer, but while i don't adore it, i certainly like it. first hour the sharpness of the frankincense is fading away, with a soothing lavender to take over its place. i'm kinda glad that i chose to wear this before bed, purple-tinged dreams after a long hectic week are like soft pillows of bliss. still no clear sign of the rose though, i'll keep sniffing! second hour oh goodness. my skin ate up the scent on my wrists. looks like the staying power of this isn't as strong as i'd hoped it would be. my neck's still holding on to the scent though, but i still can't detect the rose. horrors of horrors, it's actually turning a tad powdery. final verdict: everyone's got their favourite love story. while i adore the story behind this scent, it's just not going to be true love with a skin chemistry like mine. i'll probably give this one last whirl before i pass it on. *crosses fingers* **ETA** i gave psyche a second run today and for some reason, it was much sweeter than the first time. maybe it's because i'm in a way better mood than i was yesterday. i definitely loved it - while it lasted. sadly, the staying power of this blend is too brief. which is sad, because while it was at its best, this is big bottle material.

in the imp: the first thing that hits my nose as i open the imp is a distinct aquatic smell. to my nose, it smells more like the ocean than the rain. this is definitely a bluish green scent with a slight oriental touch. it's like a picture of calmness laced with elegance. i like it, but i'm not sure if i'd wear this as a perfume. i was hoping for a less "dressed up" and more raw watery scent. wet on skin: it smells exactly like it did in the imp, with the ozone note blending itself with the whiffs of chinese musk. there's something sweeter appearing too, probably the juniper lightly introducing itself. on me dry: upon first drying: oh, sod my skin chemistry. i'm starting to lose the aquatic smell and it's all turning musky. there's some lavender in the mix, together with the frankincense. this is sophisticated and nice, but i'll have to let this sit for a while and hope that the sea water smell will return. right now, i'm imagininga beautiful, proud bird soaring above the ocean, her feather emanating a regal, sophisticated fragrance which blends with the waves of a majestic sea. after an hour: for a brief moment, i discovered that if i inhaled really hard, i could detect a beautiful rain scent; gentle and sweet, it hides behind the increasingly overpowering frankincense, lying in wait to be discovered in its own private shell. it's like a shy little shower hiding in the background while the raindrops watch the phoenix's dance in awe. i blame my skin chemistry for this; i seem to amp frankincense & patchouli to the extent of them being overpowering. after 2 hours: i can't believe that the journey's almost over. maybe my nose has been overly conditioned to the smell, but after sniffing my wrist like a puppy, i'm more or less convinced that the phoenix has gracefully fled into the shadows of the impending dusk. there are still traces of frankincense though,lingering like an afterthought. i much prefer these dying notes to the overpowering, almost pompous ones that i got initially. upon a further sniffing, i can detect a faint return of the oceanic notes i got at the beginning, almost as if the ocean is regaining its ebb and flow after the departure of the phoenix. final verdict: i have to admit that perhaps frankincense isn't really my cup of tea. it's pretty, i'll grant you that, but my skin amps it up in a way that makes it sophisticated in an overbearing way when really, i would so much have preferred a cleaner, purer ocean scent. in short, while the phoenix's flight was beautiful, i think i'm more of a sea gull. maybe i'll try this out as a room scent; otherwise, i'll be passing this on to someone who can appreciate it more than me.

i love the sultry, sensuality of whip. to me, it's like a single stalk of a rose in the midnight, sexy and grounded by the light tinge of black leather. like others have said though, it's a very pure rose smell ie, a single solitary dark red stalk rather than a bouquet. while i love it, i'm still looking around for a more complex blend before i commit myself to upgrading my imp to a 5ml bottle. having said that, i absolutely loved it and so does my fiance. (: i'm going to give psyche a run next. i love roses! <3

in the imp: the impression that i'm getting is not one of a bouquet of roses, but rather one dark, intense, solitary rose standing on its own beneath a midnight sky. soft, insistent and sultry, whip smells so sexy that i can't wait to slather it all over myself. wet on my skin: now, my skin chemistry has a penchant for being naughty and it totally broke my heart when "eat me" got all messed up. so just picture my delight at the fact that the beautiful rose scent is not only unaltered, but rather, it's even deeper and more intense. beautiful. upon sniffing my wrist, i'm starting to get a tinge of that black leather scent which adds an edge to the rose. this is no fragile blossom; she's a beautiful rose of the night. drydown: whip has a pretty good throw. i'm getting whiffs of the scent just typing on the keyboard. my untrained nose is unable to pick out the black leather note though, this is all rose to me, but what a sexy rose this is. upon a deeper sniff at my wrist, i'm picking up a slight sharpness, almost as if the rose is reminding me of the thorns hidden beneath her petals. this is a wonderful, deep, seductive, slightly melancholic scent. definitely all woman, there's no girliness to this. just pure deep sensuality, this reminds me of corsets, boudoirs and romantic rendezvous. verdict: this is so gorgeous, i just wish my fiance was home, whip's putting me in the mood for a long, romantic interlude. seriously though, as someone very new to BPAL, this is the first scent i've tried amongst a few that i truly adore and very probably, this will be my first 5ml. i'll be poking around with the other rose scents before i make my decision, but this scent has definitely stolen my heart.

this is my first review, so don't mind me if i don't make too much sense at any point. in the imp: mmm... this is delish. mind you, the scent is pretty strong. i took a larger sniff than i ought to and got overwhelmed by the sticky sweetness that whooshed out of the bottle. sniffing more delicately though, i'm picking up a mix of drippy caramel [it's not listed in the notes, but i'm definitely getting it! strange nose ] soaking itself into a soft, lush, buttery cake mix. there's something slightly fruity here, which i'm taking to be the currant. i'm not exactly a fan of the fruitiness, but the rich buttery caramel, i definitely like. on me wet: at the first moment of it touching my skin, the oil actually left a light trace, like a residue of decadent, liquid caramel that i had a sudden silly urge to lick. unfortunately though, as i eased the oil into my skin, the butterscotch-like goodness disappeared with it. on me dry: i don't fully understand my body chemistry, because this is starting to smell a lot like how angel by thierry mugler smelled on me, and i don't mean that in a good way. there is this single irritating note that is dominant and snuffling up everything else. comparing the fragrance notes, the one similarity that they have is vanilla, which i'm finding a bit strange. i've always loved vanilla, but in actual fact, while i've smelt it on candles and body fragrances and all, i've never exactly tried it on my skin.. so maybe that's it? i'm going to have to try my other vanilla oils to try and deduce this mystery. ETA: so i ran a search through this thread and found that others have picked up whiffs of patchouli and i think that's it. or at least, something highly along the lines of patchouli, it was present in angel as well. it's strange how my skin manages to amp patchouli to the extent where it rules the scent in an overpowering way. either way, i'm pretty sad because i think my skin chemistry just doesn't work with "eat me" and i was so looking forward to this scent. my fiance didn't like it either, so that pretty much sets up its funeral for me. i'm going to run it by my friend to see if she gets anything better out of it, otherwise it'll be going into the swap pile.