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Frimp from the lab. In the imp: Sweet mint. Much of the same, without a slight boozy undertone. I'm not a big fan of mint, but I'm hoping the other notes will come to the foreground soon. Dry: No, no. The boozy notes have gone and it's still sweet mint. Which is fine if you like it, but I don't, really. As far as mints go, this is a very fresh, tempered mint, it doesn't jump at you. Edit: All right. Well. Colour me wrong. Upset that a scent I liked the sound of so much turned out so poorly, I put it on again and this time really let it dry - a few hours or so. Gone is most of the mint! Oh, lovely! Sweet, sweet bourbon and something herbal but no in-your-face mint. Who knew? Still too bright to really work for me but a hundred times better than the first time. Gorgeous smell!

Oh wow - not what I expected at all but very nice. My first TAL blend, a blind purchase. The vetiver and musk others have mentioned are definitely there, but it's unexpectedly sweet. There's also some incense to this. I haven't tried it out for its magical qualities yet, but will soon and will edit this with any updates. Am quite excited to see how this turns out.

I've never quite understood the concept of a "skin smell" until I tried this. Wearing this it smells as if I'm not wearing anything at all, it just smells very soft, musky and warm. I can't make out the grasses (shame!), but the amber and the musk are definitely there - and just that hint of doeskin. I was expecting this to be more dramatic but it really just evokes the image of a coyote, snoozing in the high grass under the warm sun. Not a bottle purchase, but I'll keep this around for the days I want to smell wonderful but not noticeably so.

Ohh, tasty. Very fruity, but dark, earth fruity which I'm sure has to do with the figs and dates. The herbs help deepen the scent. Definitely one for the oil burner because while I may not want to smell like a fruit garden, no matter how dark and lovely, I'd love for the room to smell like this.

Oh, this is gorgeous This is the very first vanilla oil in which my skin didn't completely eat the vanilla up. Golden, sweet, herbal but still very masculine. I adore rosewood, amber and juniper as well so I'm quite enthralled by this. Don't know if it's bottleworthy yet but I will try it a few more times.

Frimp from the lab. A very dark, musky, fruity, spicy smell - unfortunately my skin amps the lilies a bit too much because without them I think I'd really like this. I especially like the cranberry in this, which tries its level best to tone it all down if it wasn't for my cruel amping skin.

What a lovely floral! A frimp from the lab. Very strong lily, but tempered by ginger and frankincense. Not necessarily my thing but perfect for anyone who loves lilies.

A freebie from the lab - definitely not what I expected. I really loved it when it went on - spicy, dark, and really well-blended, but then it turns utterly floral and fruity it becomes unwearable to me (obviously people who like florals and fruits will love this ). I'm not that good at picking out floral and fruit notes so I'm not quite sure what's in there. It's still a nice scent, mind you, just not for me.

In many ways exactly what you'd expect and not what I expected at all. I was hoping to catch more of the linen, cotton-y scent, but instead it just smells like detergent. Very clean and nice and all, but nothing I'd wear. It does capture the scent of fresh laundry quite well, though.

Hmm. I thought I'd really like this because I suppose I was concentrating too much on the cold / dark / gloomy parts of the description and ignoring the bit about the blossoms. Florals just generally never do well on me, and especially wet florals just turn really sour on my skin - the same thing happened with Danube, which I'd so looked forward to. I anticipate that much like Danube, this will smell better in the oil burner, where my skin chemistry can't screw with it.

A very nice, woodsy scent. I don't care much for the lighter pine scents which always wind up smelling like air fresheners on me; this is an authentic, gorgeous pine, darkened by the musk and smoothened out by the ambergris. The juniper and cypress - two of my favourite notes - are just icing on the cake. A very soothing, enveloping smell, unisex and very suitable for anyone who loves to smell fresh and intriguing without smelling perfumey.

Me again - I'm probably just getting worried over nothing again. I placed two orders in December, one on the 15th and one on the 28th. The 28th one isn't really important now, obviously, since it's only been a bit over a week. But on the "I got my CnS" thread, there's a lot of people who ordered on the 18th, 20th, 23rd, 21st and 26th - over and almost two weeks after I placed my Dec. 15th order - who already have their CnS. Now, I will admit that I am in Canada, so I'm assuming international orders might get lumped together and not get sent out with the US ones, and by no means am I upset or anything, there's no rush with any of these - they're just personal indulgences so no rush to get them to anywhere on time, and if it'll just take a few days extra, no trouble at all. I just wanted to check at one point I should pester the lab? I know they're busy and I don't want to take up their time if it's not necessary. Please ignore, got the CnS this morning

I adore kitsune, and generally all folklore relating to foxes from across the world. So, naturally, I had to try this. How elegant! Pale, beautiful. While I'm not secure enough in my own masculinity to wear something so ladylike and gorgeous in public, I will keep the imp to slather my wrist and wistfully sniff it at the dark, complaining about gender roles. It really is a gorgeous scent. The plum and musk underline the sweet, mild florals, and I picture a fox in disguise, a lithe, pale, slim body wrapped in a white kimono with pale green and purple sashes, smiling, cold and sweet.

Apparently, and I hadn't noticed this before, my skin amps anise. Quite a bit. Shame, because it only makes this smell like slightly smokey licorice. Not an unpleasant smell, but not something I'd wear - me and food notes just don't go together.

The vetiver and white musk almost had me, but then here came the violet and lavender No, no, not for me. Shame. Wilting, dry flowers with a puff of smoke, but that's pretty much it - very evocative of the tale of Bluebeard himself, obviously, but not something I'd wear.

A soft, elegant floral. The roses are on the forefront, but it's all very well blended. I think the rosewood and sandalwood are particularly a good choice, they ground the scent so it's not an overwhelming floral. Warm, friendly and kind.

Oh no Oh, the heartbreak. I love Vienna and I thought I'd try Danube to take me there, but it was horrendous on my skin - I think it's the bellflowers with the rhododendron - it just turns so sour on my skin. I'm only happy I took the time to wait for the imp instead of ordering a bottle blindly from the lab. Happily, though, at least it smells gorgeous in the burner - none of the sourness - so all was not lost. The first scent to properly break my heart. Ah well.

I've been frimped a few Ars Draconis imps in my time and while I don't think Dragon's Blood is really something for me, they always make wonderful room scents - this being no exception. I expecially appreciate the poppy and amber and picked up mostly on them - a very nice earthy, dusty smell, lifts the spirit and calms me down. Excellent blend

I was frimped this and I'm so happy I was! This reminds me a lot of my other all-time favourite blends, Loup Garou - it's a pale, soothing woody scent, a beautiful cypress, but darkened by the vetiver, black patchouli, fig, tamarind and cardamon. The rosemary is distinct, as is the moss. Gorgeous, just gorgeous. Definitely bottle-worthy, but I want to wait for the release of Neverwhere to see how bad the damage is there before daring to order it. But it's certainly on my list.

An impulse buy after watching Wall Street What can I say? Gordon has it right, Greed is good! What a fantastic scent! I was concerned about the heliotrope since a man for florals I am not, but the patchouli and oakmoss made me curious. Well, I'm glad they did. This is a unisex blend, not outspokenly feminine nor masculine, but it smells like a golden gleam would if it had a scent. Beautiful, luxurious, amazing. A golden, pale, expensive-smelling scent. A little something for the materialist in everyone Bottleworthy, definitely.

Kroenen keeps changing on me. It's really funny. Either I have a wonky skin chemistry or it ages interestingly. When I first got it fresh, it was sharp black leather and metal and nothing else. I loved it. Then for a while it was nothing but old leather and overwhelming incense and made me ill. Now, it's lightened up again. I'm still not sure about it. Somedays I really like it and others it's too dark. Anyway - as it is, in its present state, the leather is a well-worn and intense leather, vetiver and incense, but barely any metal. I'm still battling over whether I should get a full bottle or not.

Oh god, this is ridiculous. Creamy, cloying, indulgent, sweet, food over food, syrupy and caramel-y. What did I expect? It's called Gluttony, that's what it's supposed to be! Wow. I don't even know where to start. It's very tasty, but I wish I could make out more of the pralines and the hazelnuts, it's mostly just chocolate, buttercream and caramel. It made a great room scent, but I can't imagine wearing it.

Another leather scent that fails on me. It's nothing but leather, no nuances. No vanilla, no carnation, cedar, no sage, no musk, no vanilla, nothing, just leather. I know a lot of people love the leather single note but that's not what I was expecting Such a shame. I wonder if it smells better in the burner . . . god I hate my skin sometimes.

After Has No Hanna really did bring me luck, I thought I'd try Wolf's Heart next. I haven't worn it in public yet but I can see how it could be strengthening. It's warm, spicy yet clean, comforting, masculine and red. There's some definite musk in there, which I always appreciate. It feels like Fenris Wolf's little brother A really gorgeous scent. I will try it on the next time I need a bit of a courage boost, and we'll see what hapens.

This is one of those "does what it says on the tin" situations I knew there would be the champagne but then it wound up too boozy for me. I love all the other notes, but I should've kept in mind I don't much like champagne. Very sharp, very glassy, very clean. Not for me, but a very beautiful smell.