whisperstilled

In Imp: Sweet and a little astringent, which I think is the neroli. I'm not a huge fan of that particular note. I also detect some soapy sharp cherry blossom and anise. Wet: More cherry blossom, a tiny bit of green violet leaf, neroli, and a creamy sweetness that has to be the vanilla peeking out from behind. Dry: Sweet and perfumey and highly floral. This is a gentle, cool floral in the vein of Snow White, with a shot of licorice. I haven't quite decided if I like it yet, but it's definitely interesting. 3/5

Got a tester of this today, and I'm very intrigued to try the much-talked-up Crumpet Rebellion. In Imp: Baked goods and berries! Maybe with a little honey. Sweet and extremely foody, exactly as one would expect. I didn't expect the berries however, and they're very nice. Wet: This reminds me so heavily of Pancake Breakfast, I'm actually a little surprised. The same hint of maple syrup, the same backing berries, the same fluffy baked good quality from the crumpets. This is a little differently balanced than Pancake Breakfast, and it is really delicious. I love it for all the same reasons I love PB. Dry: Yep, Pancake Breakfast without the butter or the extra strong maple syrup. All in all this is a really nice foody scent, exactly as I expected, edible and delicious perfection. If more comes my way I will, of course, leap at the opportunity to own it, but as such, Pancake Breakfast is a nice substitute. 5/5

Imp: Candy floss and fruit! Mostly I'm getting huckle and acai berry. The rose is very understated, this is more of a fruit/candy scent than anything. Wet: Now I'm getting the sweet pea and the candy floss, with the berries mingling in. The lemon almost isn't there, and the whole thing combines to smell like a sweet, fruity confection, like a tart. Still just about no rose, which is a good thing in my book, since it tends to dominate for me. There's also a smidge of vanilla, and the effect also resembles a berry flavored candy floss, since everything is so well blended. Dry: Sweet and pleasant. I skin tested this once before and it went candy sweet on me, but I seem to have had better luck this time. The vanilla comes out a little more on my skin, and the berries ground the scent and keep it from going straight sugar. Really nice! The only one from this set I've had success with. 4/5

In Imp: Plum, green bamboo and tea, a brush of pomegranate. I get the feeling of the other notes beneath the fruity tea aspect, and they support it and lift it up in a really nice way, but this is one well-blended scent. It's hard to pick out specific notes. Wet: Surprisingly soft on the skin for the fruity sweetness in the decant. There is definitely apple in there, which is dominating the other fruit notes. Dry: There's something intruigingly foody under the apple, something almost like a baked good. All in all this is a light scent with short throw, but it's really well-blended and pleasant. I'll be keeping my decant even if I don't need a big bottle. 3/5

In imp: Gardenia, and strong, which doesn't much agree with me. There's something sort of pale and almost aquatic in the background that must be the rice paper, and just a hint of honey. Wet: Gardenia city! I don't get much sense of the rice paper and no honey at all. Dry: Astringent floral without the honey sweetness I was looking for. Just not for me I'm afraid. 2/5

This one has been on my wishlist solely on the basis of the Fury it's based on - I have a thing for revenge stories. In Imp: Sweet oleander and and that distinct, strange ylang ylang sour-sweetness. The patchouli is a background note at best. Wet: Oleander, so sweet and rich it almost borders on vanilla. This is one hefty floral scent. It takes a really intreresting floral to hook me, and this is definitely hitting all my high marks. Dark, rich, sweet, strange. Dry: Dry I get more oleander than anything else, and that's just fine by me. I didn't even know I liked oleander, but now I am assured that I do! I see that this is one of Brian's creations, and the man knows his damn florals. 5/5

GC Version In Imp: Blueberry, with a boozy zing. There's lemongrass there as well, I think, adding to the tart freshness. Cool and refreshing as a tall drink of ice water on a summer's day. Wet: Now more lemongrass and what I presume to be the papaya, layered on the gin. This is one snappy, clean scent! I want to drink it, but thankfully, I have the self-control not to do so. Dry: Reminds quite a bit of my other favorite from this set, Polynesian Pop. The lemongrass gives it a pop that the ginger lends to PP, and they both lean on a citrusy fruit to sweeten them up. On me as it dries this is almost pure lemongrass and gin, with just a little blueberry and almost no papaya to be found, but all of that is a okay with me. Sweet and sparkling fresh, a perfect summer scent.

I'm a sucker for anything with almond, so I'm giving this one a chance despite my fear of heavy rose notes. In Imp: Rose and almond, as expected, with some spice and a touch of orange blending nicely beneath. Wet: The almond is still there and so is the clovey orange, but now the rose is fighting to oppress them. Come back, sweet almond! As it dries I get a little more of the spices beneath as well. Dry: Orange has won out as the dominant note, with rose close behind. Almond has, unfortunately all but faded. Pleasant, but it's gone all rose. Pity! 2/5

PEE! CAT PEE AND CAT LITTER! Hands down the worst BPAL I have ever smelled. 0/5

The only particularly interesting thing I found about this otherwise nondescript floral is that it contains distinctly the same 'lettuce' note in 'Occurrence At the Diner.' Eerily accurate, if not my thing.

I tried this one all the way back at C2E2 and am just now finally getting my hands on a decant. I remember it being sweet cake and cucumber. In Imp: Sweet cake and cucumber, exactly as I remember! Wet: There's the earl grey, and this is sweetening on the skin as many things do on me. The cake is coming in high and drowning out the cucumber, which I have no issue with (cucumber is fresh and all, and I can tolerate it, but it's not my favorite thing). Unfortanately I am left with a slightly weird, musky cake scent. Dry: Something that the tea, cucumbers, and cake do simply does not work on my skin. What a disappointment! I love foodie scents, and cake scents are usually totally my thing. 2/5

In Imp: Herbal mint, a touch bitter on the back of my throat. Some metal, and a definite ozone background. I don't get any violet, but the sage is there somwhere. Wet: A lot calmer on the skin. The mint is a little better blended and sweetens some on the skin. I'm getting neroli and violet, still background, but there. Mint dominates, however, paired with metal notes and ozone. Dry: This scent is fresh and herbal and minty. Kind of reminds me of the few times I attempted organic toothpaste, and like that product, it's ultimately not for me even though I love mint scents. 2/5

In Imp: Incense for sure. Not getting much wood, at least not at this stage. Wet: Roses and incense, now I'm getting mostly rose. A little tobacco, but not much Dry: Rose, incense, almost no tobacco. I don't know if I just amp the rose in this (I must) but I get more rose and incense than anything else. Alright, nothing super exciting. 2/5

In Imp: Deliciously foody! Almond and coconut, with just a touch of fig. Wet: Toasted coconut and almond, ummmmm. This is amazing. I love almond, but it has a tendency to be too sharp when not tethered down by something else, and the coconut sweetens it enough to make it smell almost exactly like almond shortbread with coconut sprinkled on top. Reminds me of Hellcat, another good almond foodie GC. So good! Dry: On the drydown I finally get a little fig, but that's hardly the part I care about. The coconut and almond stay strong, with just the tiniest bit of fig. I am getting almost no sandalwood, but it's fine by me, this is too good all on its own. Absolutely a keeper, possibly bottle material.

In Imp: Rose and mandarin. I smelled citrus and for a moment thought it was apples, but nope, that's definitely orange. Wet: The mandarin blends into everything else really nicely, and I end up with a well-blended floral with rose and jasmine thankfully taking backseat. I love morroccan rose like crazy, and it's really great here. Throw isn't too bad either. Dry: Sweet, fairly simple, but a really nice example of the lab's morroccan rose note. I get almost no musk, but that hardly matters. Definite keeper. 4/5

Ylang ylang, osmanthus, spring berries, and daffodil cloaked in hoarfrost. 09 Version In Imp: Ylang ylang, I know you well! I also get the spring berries, the frost, and a floral that might be the daffodil. Wet: This kind of reminds me of a christmas poutpourri. I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. Berry-tastic, and definitely feminine, this is reminding me of Bath and Body Works sun-ripened raspberries, which I love as a shower gel but not so much as a perfume. Dry: Staying pretty true to form. Tart berries on top, a little frost, and some encircling florals. A light citrus scent, definitely for the folks who like the more girly berry scents. 3/5

I actually tend to be a big fan of concept scents, so where the description on this one would, I think, throw a lot of people off, I am onboard. I love BPAL's gin note as well. In Imp: Gin! That intriguingly fizzy, boozy juniper. It's so much nicer than the overpowering note that juniper is in its original form. A little perfume behind it, and a whiff of cigarettes. Wet: Sparkly and oddly clean, I get just the tiniest huff of secondhand smoke, a scent I am very familiar with. Dry: This ends up being a strangely perfumey and clean. I can't quite decide whether or not I want to keep it, so I think I'll set it aside and try it again another day. Definitely interesting, however. EDIT: After some quality time with Alana Patel and I can say pretty definitively that this was a scent that grew on me. Just deliciously clean and boozy and smoky! It's a great scent for summer, as long as you don't mind a scent with a little teeth.

A dark floral with plum? I am there. In Imp: Plum and something strangely acrid. Maybe the amber and the orange blossom? I definitely smell citrus. Wet: Hairspray is right, that's all I'm smelling. No luscious, juicy plum and dark berries, just slightly fruity acridness. Dry: Doesn't morph, doesn't improve.

In imp: Odd but interesting. Musk, something like cherry, honey, and leather. Off to a good start. Wet: How odd. There is something distinctly citrusy here, but based on the notes I can't imagine what it would be. Dry: Disappointing indeed! Faint honey, a brush of musk, and the tiniest touch of chemical leather. No oomph, no pizazz, no strong woman badassery. 2/5

When I read the notes for this and saw 'mysterious herbs' my mind went 'and spices!' and then it ran away with me, envisioning The Curator as The Curator of the secret to KFC's chicken empire. Anyway. In Imp: Resinous oriental blend. Smells...yellow? I couldn't tell you why, but it does. Wet: Dust for sure, I'd recognize BPAL's dust note anyway, along with something faintly herbal without being green. Heavy on the incense, but pleasant. Dry: Sharp, resinous, incensey oriental blend. Nothing super special, but nice enough. If the drydown was a little less powdery, I think I'd dig it more. 3/5

Crushed porcelain? This I need to sniff. In imp: The victorian villainy of my dreams. Cologney, a touch musky, and evil as sin. Wet: What an odd scent. I expected more throw, but this is one villain who is playing his cards close to his chest. Dark, floral, and fading fast. Dry: The tonka and black musk layer over something dusty that might be the porcelain, though I really wish that note had made itself known more. Great in the imp, a disappointment on my skin. 3/5

In imp: Mr. Vandemar is not for the faint of heart. This must be what the sharp edge of a knife blade smells like - metallic, spicy, and deadly. The sandalwood gives it a dry, sharp edge, with a hint of pepper. Wet: Peppery and metallic. Definitely smells like an unholy demon in the pit, but in a good way if that makes any sense. Dry: Stays spicy, but calms a bit. While it's not my sort of scent, I can totally see what most people see in this one. 3/5

In imp: Music to my nose after the last imp I opened, which was the disgusting Rat Speakers. Sweet, complex, and sexy. What a surprise! I think I recall Beth saying this one was her favorite out of the Neverwheres. Orchid, one of my favorite florals, soars strong here. I'm reminded of Black Butterfly Moon without the dirty quality that scent has. Coconut is there for sure, sweet and milky. I get almost no vetiver, my death note, thank goodness! Wet: Sexy as hell. This is a real vixen scent, dark and dangerous and sweet. The Lamia means business. I didn't recognize the peach at first, but after checking the notes I can identify it as the fruit that is sweetening up the coconut. This scent is definitely something special. Dry: I'm amping the coconut, which is beautiful, and the orchid and vanilla. I could not love this sexy, slinky scent more. My grand slam out of the Neverwheres I've tried so far. 5/5

Oh my, that is unappealing. I won't be skin testing this one. Filthy patchouli, pretty damn gross. This smells like a rotting thing. 0/5

A scent that slips through the cracks: peppermint, lavender, bergamot, and mandrake. I've been wanting to get my hands on this one since I smelled it at C2E2. It reminded me of the lovely and light Ether, with that sharpness and cleanliness. In Imp: Wow! Mint and lavender, and identifiably peppermint. Sweeter than straight mint leaf, but still sharp to the nose. This one cleans my sinuses right out. The lavender, which is often a death note for me, finds a perfect match in the peppermint, which combats it and lifts it up to keep it from getting cloying. I don't know if I can pick out bergamot and I don't know mandrake, although it could be the slightly herbal background. Wet: Ah, now the bergamot rears its head. The lavender and peppermint are still strong however. This reminds me of a soap I used to love as a kid. Very clean and fresh. My nose is tingling from where I got a tiny bit of the oil on it from smelling too close! Dry: This is the first lavender scent from the lab I can handle. It's lavender as it should be - paired with mint and kept fresh and ice cold.