spanishviolet

Vanilla on a winter's day ... This reminds me of a perfume I wore in high school, but less over-the-top, more sophisticated. I guess that comes from a white musk?

 

I'll have to agree with all the earlier reviews - sticks close to the skin, embodies a cool mineral beauty. Very calming & elegant. Definitely a keeper!

I didn't order this initially because I thought it would be minty, but when I heard reports of violetness, I tracked down an imp.

 

It is, as mentioned above, very powdery. I can smell a little violet, but not much. And it's not a fresh sweet kind, it's both sharper and a little dusty. On me, it doesn't smell cold, but rather warm & clean - ozoney.

 

Overall, Numb isn't unpleasant, but it's not really me. Might try it again later before I add it to the swap pile ...

I love cinnamon and I love almond (Eclipse is one of my favorites), so I was really looking forward to this one.

 

I never really got any almond from it though, not even in the imp. Just straight-forward candy cinnamon, as opposed to the spicier foody cinnamons I prefer - I smelled exactly like Big Red gum. Pfooey - back to the Eclipse for me.

At last I get to smell the goodness too! I delayed ordering this because I was put off by earlier reviews reporting coconut, but that doesn't show up for me.

 

Midway is pure funnel-cakey, cotton-candy, bit-of-salt yumminess. I love the undertone of vanilla, the beautiful label, and everything about this bottle - except maybe only having one of it ...

First impression: melons melons melons! Hmm.

 

Once it's on: melon & a bit of pomegranate. Not quite as berryish as I was hoping for, but it seems to darken a little with time. It's always a very happy smell, but as it dries I can smell maybe the raspberries or currants.

 

Overall, much lighter & more ... cantaloupey than I usually care to smell like, but good for carefree outings or relaxing days off. Maybe wearing this will help that sort of day happen more often!

Spicy and delicious!

 

This combines the slightly-floral dragon's blood sweetness I loved in Dragon's Milk with the spiciness I crave, and leaves me smelling fantastic. It doesn't suggest anger to me so much as warmth & zestiness - I imagine it'll be extra welcome once the weather gets chillier. There'll definitely be a big bottle of Wrath in my next order!

Yum!

 

Clovey, rosey, musky, amazing. The mixture of the rose, tobacco flower & musk lingers on me for hours, whereas most of my beloved bpal needs to be reapplied after two.

 

This didn't seem decadent to me so much as full-bodied, womanly, intense (never overpowering, but always full of life). Just wearing it made the evening special - I waited to try my imp until a worthy occasion came along, & now I'm glad. I might not pay e-bay prices for a bottle, but I can definitely see why someone with a bit more expendable income than me would! This imp will be treasured for as long as possible ...

Supersweet peaches & vanilla! When I first applied it, it was almost too much, in the same way Hollywood Babylon was. I may need to apply this one with a lighter hand in the future ...

 

After it dried down, I liked it a lot more. A warm & happy scent, with a vanilla that stayed good instead of turning into playdoh. The drydown was definitely worth wearing it again - maybe not every day (I'd rather eat peaches than smell like them), but often enough to keep the imp on hand.

I keep trying scents with coconut, even though it usually makes me queasy. With this scent, I finally know why! I picked up an imp from joseybird (thanks!) because the Star is one of the cards I feel most drawn to (especially this beautiful one from the Gaian Tarot).

 

Freshly applied, I get a bright burst of LIME and coconut. I like lime, so this is good. After fifteen minutes or so, it settles into a bright white coconut & mint with some lingering lime influence. At last I am rewarded for my foolish persistence in coconut scents! This isn't foody at all, it's calming & beautiful. And it matches my mental image of the card exactly. Usually I'm not all that fond of citrus or mint, but I may have to get a big bottle of this sometime.

I didn't get coconut from this, thankfully. It has the same milky quality as Milk Moon, but less so - where Milk Moon is honeyed, this is more buttery. Not that it's heavy - the flowers poke out after the first few minutes and keep things light.

Overall, very pretty, but too similar to Milk Moon for me to track down any more of it. Glad I got to try the imp though!

Soft violets with a bit of honeysuckle & amber, eventually drying down to a light vanilla. I never smell any of the rose. It starts out slightly powdery, but only in a lusciously femme way, not an icky baby-powder way on me. The scent does fade fairly quickly, but I like to keep my bottle at work & sneakily reapply anyway, so I don't mind that too much.

 

This is it - at last I have found the perfect violet! I usually prefer foody scents, but have a weakness for violets & honeysuckle, with the occasional rose, so I ordered this despite my fear of jasmine. I'm so glad I did! I almost wish I'd ordered an unprecedented third bottle, it make me so happy.

Picked up an imp of this because the spices sounded so good. In the imp & freshly applied, all I got was Irish Spring. Where were the spices? Is this what people mean when they say soapy? My guy liked it though - he said it smelled clean & good.

 

I wasn't fond of that stage, but after half an hour I realized there was a yummy, light-chai smell wafting around in the car with me. Pepper - mmm! It faded after an hour and a half. On second wearing, I can appreciate the early clean scent on the way to light spicy goodness, but I don't feel the need to track down a bottle. I'll just enjoy my imp.

Had to try an imp of this because the reviews sounded spicy & people recommended it to those who love cinnamon.

 

In the imp: pale floral. Smells like Arkham Revisited - flowers on the breeze.

 

On me: Now I smell flowers & a hint of wood. I wouldn't mind more wood, but this is mostly a very light floral. Disappointing. After a while I can pick up a hint of spice, but it's cinnamon bark - very dry & just barely there, not the spicier, warmer cinnamon I prefer.

 

Pretty, but not amazingly wonderful for me. I'll keep the imp for days when I feel all ladylike - they come up every now & then. Won't be needing a big bottle though.

Thought I'd reviewed this already ...

 

This and Cerberus were the perfumes that brought me back to bpal. I had ordered some last year, but hadn't been back to the site in a long time (thus missing out on many a wonderful LE). But when I randomly checked out the site & saw this, I had to have it! I love bats, & belonged to this particular organization for a couple of years, so decided to try it even though these particular florals sounded like they might not suit me.

 

The perfume itself is a pleasant light floral, herby rather than full-bodied. I didn't pick up too much of the lavender or honeysuckle - on me this was mostly lemon balm. It also faded pretty quickly. So, pretty but not really me. Still, I donated to the charity, and it made a perfect gift for my sister, whose taste in perfume differs radically from mine, and who is still a member of the charity 'cause she likes bats even more than I do.

I don't normally care for coconut, but the rest of the description sounded so wonderful - all sorts of figgy, almondy-milky goodness - that I couldn't resist. Also, I've been trying to expand my boundaries lately & try things I normally wouldn't, and in the past I've caught myself enjoying the smell of toasted coconut, so it seemed worth a try.

 

When my imp arrived, my impression from the vial was a sort of green, light & creamy sweetness. Wet, it smelled green & creamy for the first minute, and then gradually I began to feel queasy. The next 20 minutes were an endurance test - all coconut all the time, but just creamy enough so that I didn't run for the soap & water. After about 40 minutes, the drydown was a fairly yummy lightly honeyed fig. Almost worth the beginning ...

 

So I've learned a valuable lesson. Toasted or not, coconut is a boundary that is not meant to be expanded. Why make my stomach feel woobly when there are so many other delicious scents to wear? Too bad I can't skip to the end smell.

This was the first imp I tried today out of my brand-new pack. From the deep red color, I was expecting something a little spicier - just my own associations. But the dragon's blood is only mildly spicy on me. I'm still learning what that smells like, the only other dragon's blood scent I've tried is Tintagel, which has a lot of other stuff in it.

 

At first I was a little disappointed it was so mild (I love spicy scents). But then I kept sniffing, and it's quite yummy. It is a lot like Dana O'Shee with a little more spice, and thankfully it lasts longer on me. Not superlong, but about average for my bpal length of wear. Also, I love the thickness & color of the oil when you first put it on, it makes it seem extra special.

 

I think this will be a great at-home scent. It's comforting and happy, but doesn't waft much for me. Maybe a big bottle sometime in the future.

For the first twenty minutes or so I had this on, I was being absolutely smothered in orchids. My boyfriend said I smelled really good, and I'm glad he thought so, but I could barely stand the smell of my wrists & had to keep them trapped against my body for a while.

 

Then all of a sudden, I was left with a lovely floral vanilla, not as foody as I usually like, but quite beautiful and ladylike. If I could only get there without that initial blast of orchid ... I'm glad I got to try this imp, but it has been passed on to a friend now. Maybe she likes orchids more than I do.

On me, my only thought was, "So that's what vetiver smells like." Dark-grassy & sharp. Later, some bitter almond came through, and I love almond, so that's all right. Definitely not the winner that Queen of Clubs was for me.

 

On my guy - Pure almondy, spicy, green foody-foresty goodness! I must keep this around at all times so he can apply liberally.

In the bottle, it smells sharp. Then on, I mostly get rum at first. The first few minutes aren't the best - I like bpal rum, but that's a little too much of it - but then it settles down into rummy-figgy-chocolatey goodness. When it's dry, it's absolutely delicious.

 

Only seems to last a couple of hours on me, but when I keep my bottle at work & reapply frequently, I end up with layers of wonderful cocoa & light musk at the end of the day. Yum!

The herbal woody descriptions sounded a little different from my usual favorites, but intriguing, so I gave this a try. Result - another example of the importance of body chemistry!

 

In the imp, I get a sharp-lily impression. Once on it goes citrus for a moment, then turns into white roses and stays that way. These roses are related to the ones in Lucy's Kiss (which I quite enjoyed until the day I spilled it all over me). It's not what I was expecting, but very pleasant. Only lasts an hour on me, though, and it's not one I'd feel the need to slather.

 

Last thought - it seems to have more herbs in it now that it's almost gone. Just a tantalizing hint as it waves goodbye ...

I don't usually care for perfumes that claim to smell oceany, being a foody sort, but I was getting several imps from Blood_onmy_hands (thank you!), and decided to sample this too, since I'd liked the two SiA scents I'd already tried.

 

In the imp, it smelled pleasantly salty, with none of that annoying fake-water smell. Once on, it smelled salty & surprisingly warm, with an undefinable (to my nose anyway) floral quality - some sort of flower that grows by the beach. The floral sort of makes me think of the way Galveston (the only beach town I know with any familiarity) looks - lots of magnolia trees, crepe myrtles, & little marshy bays filled with fascinating shorebirds. It's fading pretty quickly though - lasted about an hour.

 

Overall, not one I'd need a big bottle of, but quite enjoyable for the summer heat. Also might be something my sister would love - I'll have to let her do a sniff-check when I visit in a couple weeks. Fun experiment!

This is the best perfume I have ever smelled, period!

 

I was a bit worried when earlier reviews mentioned lemon, since I don't generally care for citrus, but my fears were unfounded. The first sniff was lemon ginger, but the lemon seemed to be keeping the ginger at its peak freshness, much like squeezing lemon juice on cut apple slices would. The initial gingery smell was all bitey goodness, the sort that makes my blood sing & makes all my senses seem to expand (ginger, my ultimate aphrodisiac ).

 

As it dried, I could smell more of the underlying resiny goodness, which reminded me of the drydown of one of my earliest favorites, Black Phoenix. The resins give it a fuller, deeper scent than the yummy Gingerbread Poppet, which smelled tasty but a little thin on me.

 

The whole time I was wearing my Shub, I wanted to curl up somewhere & spend hours sniffing my wrists. And it wasn't just me - my Guy, who used to always say my perfumes all smelled "pretty good," now says, "it smells nice, but not as good as the one you wore the other day" (Shub-day!). I'm treasuring my imp, happily obtained from the wonderful Blood onmy hands, and am eagerly awaiting the arrival of my e-Bay bottle. If only I'd gotten back into Bpal buying a few months earlier!