ElectraV

In the decant: Patchouli and pink pepper Wet: Patchouli, pink pepper, touch of honey. I agree with whoever said that there seems to be some vertiver in here Dry: Amber, honey and a touch of pepper. I really liked this one. For some reason though it really reminds me of Ogun after the melon fades and since that's one of the ones for Haiti, I think I'll get a bottle of that instead this month.

I got decants of all the phoenixes, but this one, Tin and Copper seem from the description the ones I'll like most. In the imp: Violet. I'm not sure where that came from, but looks like I'm not the only person smelling it. Could it be the orris? I don't know what that smells like. Wet: Still violet, but it seems to be warmer and richer than in the imp. Dry: Violet- powdery and sweet like parma violet sweets- and mallow I liked it. Not quite what I expected, and not my usual style, but a beautiful scent. Not sure it's worth a bottle as I think I prefer the more foody violet in White Chocolate and Sugared Violets, but I'll definitely be keeping and using the decant.

Bottle: Strawberry and sugary sweets Wet: Strawberry, marshmallow, cotton candy and a hint of cherry Dry: The cherry took over then it went through a lemon phase then faded, although there seemed to be a faint lingering hint of coconut. I'm really disappointed with this one. From the description and how it smelt until it dried it was perfect for me, but unfortunatly not meant to be it seems.

Bottle: This just reminds me of aftershave. I can't pick out any notes right now, and it's pretty masculine Wet: Aquatic leather Dry: Salty, slightly smokey wood, leather. It lasted ages, and while it's not my normal kind of scent, aquatics love me. I'm not sure I'd want a bottle as it's a little more masculine than I like to wear, but one to try on the other half definitely.

I tried to resist wearing this for as long as pssible after it arrived to let it settle, but only managed 2 days. I'll try it again in a few more and edit this as I suspect the missing musk might appear. Bottle: Cake Wet: Cocoa and cake and a touch of something fruity Dry: Cake, chocolate (not the chocolate note I'm used to though- this is quite different), a hint of berries and something creamy. I'm not getting the musk for some reason.

In the imp: Just like it says. This is a pomegranate martini Wet: The gin comes through a little more than in the imp, but overall pretty similar Dry: Crisp and fruity. Not a lot of booze but still nice. It lasted ages as well.

I found that this smelt pretty much the same whether it was wet or dry, on me or in the bottle. It's Beth's fabulous cake note. The currants came through later, smelling like jam, but there was no sign of the vanilla which isn't like me- my skin normally amps it.

As a burlesque dancer and lover of all things Lovecraftian, I had to have this scent. In the bottle: Musk and cacao Wet: Earthy chocolate. Definitely not a foody scent Dry: I'm getting exactly how it's described- cacao, tobacco and musk- which I'm pretty impressed by considering my creative skin chemistry. It's surprisingly delicate, and a sexy chocolate rather than a foody one.

In the bottle: Red and sticky jelly Wet: Tart red fruit Dry: Sugary red sweets. It's very similar to Candy Phoenix but a little tarter on me I'm a little disappointed by that lack of booze but candy scents are still good.

In the bottle: Sweet, sticky almond pastry Wet: Pastry, cherry, almond and boozy apricot Dry: This smells exactly like a cherry bakewell It lasted ages, the cherry and almond behaved themselves which doesn't always happen with my skin chemistry. Gorgeous.

I've been looking forward to this one for ages. Cake scents are my favourite. In the bottle: Cake and creamy frosting Wet: Dense, slightly spicy cake Dry: Tea and frosting I'm assuming the tea is from Dorian. I'm going to have to get hold of some of that- it's spot on and really unusual.

In the bottle: Very sweet and sticky. I think I can smell the cream, and something like caramel. Maybe that's the spun sugar. Wet: Vanilla and cream. There's a touch of marshmallow fluff too. Dry: Very like the desciption. I'm getting vanilla, cream, and cotton. No sign of the fabric softener I've gotten with cotton before. The cream threatened to go sour a few times so I'm not sure about this one and my skin chemistry. Nice enough, but there are things I prefer. To the swaps I think.

Gold-washed frangipani, vanilla flower, vanilla bean, coconut, hibiscus, papaya, pineapple, bouganvilla, passion fruit, and three orchids. In the imp: Fruity Wet: Coconut, pineapple, vanilla and something floral that I think may be the orchid Dry: A gorgeous fruity vanilla. I got a few comments on the coconut so I suspect that while I didn't notice it, the throw on it was pretty good.

In the imp: Very pink and sweet Wet: Strawberries, sugar and gin. This is really sweet Dry: Pink and creamy. Lots of sugar and strawberries and I love the hint of gin. This is amazing, and probably my perfect scent- I love foody scents, I love boozy scents and I love anything pink. This combines all three.

In the imp: Green and spicy Wet: I'm really struggling to identify notes here. It's green and wet and I think I can smell the wasabi and something a little sweet. Dry: Still struggling with the notes. It's very green, but that's the best I can do. Unfortunately this one didn't last very long, and I'm not sure it's me. Off to the swaps with it.

I've got the 2009 blend. In the bottle: Boozy caramel apples Wet: Up close (as in if I stick my nose right by my wrist) it smells just like calvados. From a distance it's all apples, no booze. Dry: Apples, coconut, rum and a touch of caramel. I got some comments about smelling of butterscotch so I guess that note has a particularly good throw. I liked this more than I expected. Apple can be a bit hit and miss on me, but this one worked. Rich, boozy and foody; just what I like.

In the bottle: Mostly wine. This smells promising- I love boozy scents. Wet: Sandalwood Dry: A lovely combination of rich plum and sandalwood. The staying power's fantastic- over 12 hours later and the sandalwood's still there. I'm a little disappointed not to really get the wine coming through, but it's still great without it.

In the imp: Rum and licorice Wet: I was surprised at how different this was to in the imp- it changed as soon as it hit skin. Predominantly burnt marshmallow, licorice and cigar smoke. Dry: Smoke, greasepaint (I love that note), licorice and a touch of caramel. It's a lot less boozy than I expected. Annoyingly this didn't last long. I needed to reapply after about 3-4 hours. This one's amazing. I'm going to have to try to get a bottle of this. After seeing how the licorice behaves on me I'm going to need a bottle of Deathly Pride from the Inquisition as well

Thought I should get round to trying some of my GC imps as I've been mostly wearing LEs lately, and they shouldn't get all the love. In the imp: Sandalwood Wet: Vanilla and amber Dry: Lots of vanilla and something that smells like cherry. I have a feeling that could be the heliotrope as that's not a note I know and I wasn't expecting cherry from the blend. It reminds me a little of cherry pie and custard. I'm thinking a bottle of this. Cherries and custard are definitely things I like to smell of

I've had this one a while and only just got round to trying it yesterday. Starting to have the too many scents, not enough time problem. In the bottle: Gingerbread Wet: Gingerbread with a hint of musk Dry: Gingerbread, marzipan, moist boozy fruitcake (I love that cake note) and a smoky musk. The musk keeps it from being too sweet and really adds depth to this one. Foody but grown up and complex.

I've got the 2008 version. In the bottle: Floral. I'm no good at identifying florals beyond jasmine, violet, rose and lotus and it's not any of those. I really need to work on those notes. Wet: Rose and sandalwood. Little bit soapy unfortunatly Dry: The soap disappeared quickly. This dried to a lovely combination of rose, sandalwood and honey. Classy, soft and feminine. I got a few compliments on this one.

I love violet (used to wear Violet Angel before discovering BPAL) so this was a scent I definitely wanted to try... In the bottle: The same white chocolate from white chocolate, marshmallow and coconut. Wet: Rich, creamy violet. Dry: Violet with a little white chocolate. It's not as sweet as I expect, but gorgeous and I think more wearable than if it was more sugary. I love it. I think I'm going to have to get hold of some Faith as well now I've tried Beth's violet note.

I've been looking forward to trying this one after hearing so many good things about it. Bottle: Floral. I've not yet mastered telling most floral notes apart, but I'm guessing it must be the vanilla flower. Wet: Musk and vanilla flower. I was expecting more honey. Dry: Beeswax, honey and vanilla flower with a subtle musk. I rather like the beeswax, but the floral is a bit too much for me. I'm disappointed by this. It was far more floral than I was expecting and doesn't really suit me.

I've been really looking forward to trying this one. In the bottle: Pear drops and blackcurrant Wet: Fruity, sweet and refreshing. I'm mostly getting the pear and pomegranate coming through. Dry: Pear drops and pomegranate. It's kind of fizzy smelling. Lasted really well too. Very pleased I got this. I kept sniffing my wrist all day

I ordered an imp of this as the idea of smelling of bubblegum intrigued me In the imp: Pink bubblegum Wet: Bubblegum and cherry Dry: This turned to cinnamon pretty quickly and later faded to something like cotton candy. I was disappointed with this. The bubblegum was great but didn't last, and I didn't think the cinnamon particularly suited me. Without the cinnamon, and a bit longer lasting and this would have been great on me.