DarkMouse

On my skin: Dragon's Blood, Cinnamon and a backnote of fruit & florals. Its a very "hot" scent.. and I can feel the cinnamon burning on my wrists a bit as I'm typing. Funny, this almost smells like Scherezade to me - it must have a similar note or two that my skin is amping up. I like this one.. I've liked all of the Ars Draconis scents that I've tried so far actually, but this one is definitely more of a fall/winter scent. I will probably buy a bottle of this for winter... its sexy and warm feeling. I still can't get over the similarity to Scherezade though, that's sort of odd.

In the bottle: hot sweet donuts ( sort of like the smell in a Krispy Kreme shop) On my skin: This is another one of those "how the heck does Beth do that?" scents.. I started to feel like Violet in "Charlie & the Chocolate Factory" when she's describing what the gum tastes like. First its Cotton Candy, followed by buttered popcorn, then morphing into funnel cake with sugar. There's a strong coconut sort of scent that is constantly present.. but its not fresh coconut (which I hate.. so that's good for me) almost a cocoa butter scent. In General: This is the first 5ml bottle that I've bought unsniffed (my review is off of an imp I got from the forum) and I'm glad that it works for me. Suprisingly, this is going to be the only CN scent that I purchase. I'm not entirely sure whether I will want 2 bottles of this, but it is very nice. I'm glad its not sickeningly sweet.. its such a warm, comfortable scent that makes me think of going to the fair and getting funnelcakes with my dad. The memories alone for this scent are worth getting a bottle.. even just to open it up and sniff it. foody goodness!

In the bottle: spicy vanilla - almost like a cinnamon bun On my skin: Spicy vanilla -there's almost no change from what I smell in the vial to what is on my skin. I've never smelled Q0C or Snake Oil so I've got nothing to go on with this one. Its very sticky sweet on me almost like burning brown sugar. I have to go wash it off. In general: It really doesn't do anything for me. I couldn't stand the burning sugar smell and had to scrub off my arm. I'm disappointed, but releaved that I didn't buy a 5ml of this by the description because it doesn't work with my chemistry at all.

In the bottle : almond pastries set at a table with a vase of fresh roses On my skin: ROSE!! I smell nothing but rose.. and its STRONG! This reminds me of Turkish Rose Petal Jam .. with a bit of honey on bread. In General: My mother in law would probably love this.. since she adores the now discontinued "Blushing Rose" lotion from Victorias Secret. Its going to her, because its too floral and rosey for me to stand. (I've washed it off twice and its still on my skin... definitely no lab rose scents for me!)

In the bottle: Cherry throat spray On my skin: Cherry throat spray (or cherry flavored booze) and wood. It smells exactly like the waxy buildup on my parents wooden dinnertable in their diningroom that I used to scrape off with my fingernails when I was a kid. The dry down was a pretty wood and incense smell.. but that was the only part of this that was pleasant for me. verdict: unfortunately the cherry medicine/booze smell and wood wax smell were too much for me to stomach to get to the pretty wood/cherry incense drydown. By that point it was so faint that there wasn't much left of it anyway. This went to the swaps and recieved a much better home.

In the bottle: lemongrass & (uh oh) jasmine On my skin: all lemongrass and sandalwood (very similar to Shadow) until my friend jasmine came out to ruin the day.. my body chemistry HATES jasmine.. On the drydown all I smell is jasmine. No sandalwood, no patchouli.. and very faint lemongrass. in general: stupid, stupid jasmine. I was hoping that it would stay in the background like a nice little flower and not ruin the whole party.. but no, Jasmine the Diva had to take over. Too bad.. off to the swaps with it.

In the bottle amber with backnotes of saffron & cedar On my skin it smells very 'perfumey' to start with (which now I realize is the rose) but then warms up with the saffron and sandalwood. I smell cedar, musk and saffron the strongest... If there is a floral I'm smelling when its dry, its going to be the carnation & spice mix from the dry down of Sri Lanka In general: Baghdad is the more wearable love child of Kathmandu & Sri Lanka. It lacks the 'in your face' incense smells of Kathmandu and my all time favorite Scherezade. I really like this one though, and could end up buying a 5ml in the future.

I love the smell of leather.. always have. I especially love the smell of a mans worn leather jacket - and this is that smell. I definitely get a smokey smell.. tobacco, not incense - and a bit of musk. There is something clean in the background.. very similar to Jolly Roger. I don't concider this a masculine scent as I was wearing it when I first got the imp and really liked it.. but it definitely smells better on my hubby. I love De Sade, its sexy yet not overwhelming.. and there is something warm and comforting about it, like wearing your man's leather jacket.

(I have a decant imp and it smells different from my bottle, so I have two separate reviews) In the imp: milk chocolate.. like Bliss.. only thicker.. almost a brownie smell In the bottle: orange zest with a chocolate cake baking in the background on my skin (imp): warm brownies on a table with a vase of orange blossoms On my skin (bottle): orange creamsicle.. fading down into a milk chocolate base. Its almost floral.. but its so creamy and white and yummy that the floralphobe in me doesn't even care. In general: 13 is my favorite number, Friday the 13th is always my lucky day, and lastly.. my hubby's birthday is the 13th of May - the day this came out of the lab! I had no idea it had come and gone when I saw the review and immediately kicked myself in the butt for missing it. I was SURE this was gonna be a bigtime favorite for me. I managed to get an imp decant on the forum, and now own a 5ml (with another on the way!)... I'm in Loooove. I'm going to be one of the folks counting down the days until the next Friday the 13th ( January 2006 baby!)

This smells warm and spicey.. but I can't pick out any notes above any other. There is a cinnamon heat and a sweet cedar but I don't get sandalwood or patchouli on my skin. Its almost floral to me.. carnations and spice. Its a very warm and comforting scent and would be nice in an oil burner in a meditation room or bedroom. Unfortunately, my biggest problem is that it was unbelievably familiar to me when I opened the imp. My mom used to order natural foods and bath products through a co-op when I was younger.. and to me, Sri Lanka smells exactly like a hair conditioner that I used to use. I feel silly writing that in a review, but I can't get that thought out of my head. It does take me back to that time in my life though, so I will be keeping the imp when I want to be reminded of home.

In the bottle : mmm.. exotic. Spices, incense, and (uh-oh) flowers of some kind. On my skin: Definitely spicey.. but its a cinnamon stick spice, not a peppery spice. I'm picking up myrrh and possibly saffron in there too.. its a very warm scent on my skin. I know there are flowers in here.. but they aren't slapping me over the head, so I'm fine with them right now (I'm another floral-phobe) I'm thinking its maybe carnation. I get the impression of trunks loaded with spices, silks and incenses from far off places.. its definitely conjuring its namesake with me. In general: I definitely like it.. but I'm not sure I want to smell like this. It would be absolutely perfect I think as a scent for my linens since my bedroom has sort of a silk & exotic type theme going on. I could definitely sleep wrapped up in this scent. Its very dreamy..

In the bottle: Almonds & maraschino cherries On my skin: When I put this on, it smells just like it did in the bottle but I get an under note of honey. As it dries down I can feel and smell cinnamon.. this smells like spice cake to me too. Its foody, but almost boozy - the almond smells slightly alchoholic to me (almost like almond extract) but I really like this. Its a very warm and cozy scent.. and very comforting. In General: I really like it but I'm on the fence about a bigger bottle of this - mostly because its not something I typically wear. I would have to agree with other reviewers that this would be an awesome fall scent... it'd be cozy with a big sweater.

In the bottle: Vertiver with a background of dragons blood and patchouli. on my skin: This starts out beautiful, but its almost floral. I smell the patchouli and the musk.. but no cinnamon. My skin is hot where I put it on and that's my usual response to cinnamon. On the dry down this goes soapy.. its soapy, powdery, and floral. I hate florals. verdict: I wanted to love this so much.. but it went very wrong. The soapy smell is so strong I can almost taste soap in my mouth.. its sort of gross. My chemistry doesn't like something in this blend, that's for sure. I really like all of the 'blood' scents, so I'm thinking I'm going to keep this one for when it gets cold and try it again.

(new formulation Hellfire) In the bottle: a thick, tobacco and leather mixture.. it reminds me of something, but I can't place what it is. On My Skin: This gave me a headache.. but I thought I'd ride it out anyway. I can smell the pipe tobacco first, and I get a very sharp note that bites at my head. After that it goes musky.. almost soapy and powdery- I'm pretty sure that's the dark musk. It got so sweet on my skin that I had to wash it off.. and I still have the headache from it. In General: I actually bought this scent for my husband, so I'm anxious to see what it does on him. There is good throw to this scent.. so I'm hoping it will be lovely. As for me, I'm not going to be using any more of this imp.. since it induced a brain numbing migraine.

In the Bottle: lemon verbena & cedar come out first in the bottle.. I smell the sandalwood in the background. I wouldn't know there was patchouli in this without reading the description. On my Skin: The lemon verbena is really short lived on my skin, immediately it starts turning to sandalwood. I love sandalwood.. so this makes me very happy. I'm thinking maybe that the patchouli is the depth that I'm smelling in the background- the thickness that sandalwood usually doesn't have. Its a great 'woody' smell without being resin - it smells like sandalwood mala beads. This scent reminds me of my mom's best friend T (a new agey, bohemian, gypsy type of woman) who used to wear sandalwood oil all the time. It was everywhere.. on her clothes, in her hair, on her accessories- and I loved that smell. You could "smell her" before you saw her.. She used to give me scarves of hers for birthdays and holidays, and they always had a musty (she lived in a tiny cabin on a farm) sandalwood scent.. I used to want to bottle that smell. Fortunately for me, Beth has managed to put that smell into Shadow.. and it makes me miss T very much. in General: I love this scent.. especially the memories it brings back for me. It already fell into the top of my Top 10. I'm definitely buying a 5ml of this as soon as I possibly can.

Yep.. its chocolate! Gooey, warm, melty chocolate.. I'd swear there was some on my arm - its that vivid and real. I loooove smelling like chocolate, and this is perfect for me. Honestly I'd rather SMELL like chocolate than eat it, because it does terrible things to my digestion and my skin. This is what I hoped Vice would smell like.. but alas, the orange blossom went nuts on my skin. I don't smell any other notes other than chocolate, except in the bottle (it had a slight almond note in the background). I'm definitely buying a 5ml of this. mmmmm... chocolate!!!

IN the bottle: musk, and myrrh - smells like incense On my skin: wow.. this is really different. It falls into my love of incense/resin/wood type smells but its something completely different from the other BPAL scents I've smelled. There isn't any spice to this, and its not thick or musty.. its very smooth - for lack of a better word. The only note that I can pick out is the musk.. the other scents are just swirling together - but its beautiful. I really, really like this scent. in general: I love, love, love this scent. Its more subtle than the other scents I wear, but I would definitely buy a bottle of this for days when I don't want to knock down people with my perfume. Its a good scent for people who think the patchouli based BPAL oils are too strong for them, but they still love them. I slathered this stuff on and there's not any hint of a sharp patchouli scent. Its a Winner!

In the bottle: mmm.. resin goodness. yummy. on my skin: At first the scent gave me the creeps for some reason.. I don't know why. I definitely smell the cedar but on the dry down it smells exactly like the sandalwood mala beads I carry with me in my bag. It reminds me not of a church but of the Tibetan imports stores in Boulder Colorado, filled with foreign dusty things. I don't really get the incense smell.. but definitely the sticky resin. In general: I do like it.. it smells like the 'musty' note in scherezade. I'm just not sure I'd wear it everyday. edited to remove lab description

In the bottle: lemon furniture polish- I'm guessing this is the bergamot and patchouli mixed together making this smell.. its odd. on my skin: lemon furniture polished wood. This is the first BPAL scent to actually burn when I put it on.. its not comfortable. As it dries down I can smell more of the musk and the vanilla.. the 'furniture polish' smell is gone. Its actually a really nice scent now.. mellow, musky, warm & comfortable. In general: its a really nice sweet musk smell on the dry down.. and it seems to have good staying power. There isn't much throw to it though, so its a very personal scent. I could see it worn in winter with a nice fluffy sweater.

in the bottle: ohhhh... wow! How perfectly musky, indian spicey, incense- resiny, wonderful can you get? on my skin: Its so warm and musky.. and the spices are so well blended that I can't tell what stands out, if anything. I can smell the saffron and something that smells like musty old books or fabric from a middle eastern imports store.. thick with incense smoke. This takes me right into Arabian Nights, and would go perfectly with bellydancing garb.. I hear Dead Can Dance (Salterello to be exact)when I smell this.. its so sexy and dark. comments:This is my favorite BPAL scent to date.. and nothing has topped it yet. This was the first BPAL scent I picked out that I wanted to try, and the one I wanted to 'love me' the most.. I concidered buying a 5ml straight off the bat and I'm sorry that I didn't, because I LOVE this scent so much. If middle eastern scents (sandalwood, saffron, resin, nag champa) are your thing.. this is sheer perfection. I am buying a 10ml of this... and I'm going to wear it every day.

In the Bottle: mmmmm.. it smells like thick, dark honey. There's also the twinge of amber in the smell.. but its just enough to tone down the honey scent to a tolerable level. Its so sweet it makes my mouth water and my head feel dizzy.. but I have got to smear this on my skin. On my skin: wet, it reminds me of those thick pieces of honeycomb that you get at farmers markets and have to suck the honey out of them. I want to lick my arm.. its that good. As it dries down I get a little bit of a sweet cherry scent, but that honey is still going strong. I'm also getting a warm amber note that is really great- amber and my body chemistry get along very well. I love this scent.. it makes me very, uh.. hungry. I can totally see the sexual side of the scent- its so warm and intoxicating. This scent as a really good throw to it.. I can smell this scent on my wrists as I'm typing, and it smells divine. In General: I got this as a frimp with my first order of imps, and I LOVE it. I think that O is in the same scent family ( sexy sticky honey smells) family as Blood Kiss.. so, if you like one, you'll like the other. As for me, I'm buying a 5ml of this so that I can roll in it. Ooooooh yeah.

in the bottle: apricots.. fruity baby food apricots.. and shoe leather. on my skin: burned coffee and apricots.. I don't get it, patchouli and I are big buddies usually and this is just odd. I smell leather too.. no idea why. This patchouli has a bite to it - serious bite. I have to go wash this off.. again. in general: I love patchouli but this one doesn't do it for me.. off to the swap pile with you!!

In the imp: eww.. what is that? It smells like orange kitchen cleaner and chocolate.. I'm going between being repulsed and attracted. The labs chocolate scents do this to me every time! On my skin: Oh, there's the chocolate- how yummy.. I smell like those candy coated chocolate eggs you get at easter time. As it dries down it smells really familiar and I can't place it... oh wait.. I know... its Tootsie Rolls!! I smell like a Tootsie Roll.. all chocolatey & sugary stickiness. After it sets a while it gets very soft.. but still reminds me of a faint Tootsie Roll candy smell. (I just looked back in the reviews and other people had this reaction too) In general: I like chocolatey scents, but this one isn't mindblowing enough to buy a 5ml. Its a little too soft - but I'm definitely going to use it until its gone. edited to add: I put on more of it, and the orange blossom does NOT like my skin at all. This gives me a headache. Off to the swaps with you!!

In the bottle: I don't even have to open the imp to smell this.. its that strong. I smell jasmine, and.. jasmine.. and jasmine. For the first time today I actually caught that 'coffee' smell everyone was talking about.. but I never noticed it before. Florals and I don't get along.. I sour them something horrible... this doesn't look good. On my skin: After smelling it in the imp I really didn't want to put this one on.. so much that I waited nearly 6 months to wear it (my order was in February and I just put it on today) - but I am being brave today. I don't smell the rose.. but this stuff is definitely floral. The jasmine has calmed down a bit now and has given way to something that reminds me of flowers that are out at Easter. I smell the tonka a bit, and the wood.. its like a gigantic flower arrangement sitting on a big, old wooden table that has been polished until you can see your reflection. Maybe its a gift of flowers from an admirer, set by the dressing table backstage.. but it definitely takes me to a place indoors.. not flowers growing in a field. In general: Ohhh Mata Hari - I wanted to love you! I have to admit that I bought this mostly based on the name rather than the notes inside it and I was also wondering whether I would like a Lab floral. This was another imp in the 6 pack of my first order.. and the definite "no way" of the bunch. If florals are your thing - its lovely. If I wore florals I would love this... but I don't.

In the bottle (imp): wow.. that's some powerful stuff! A chocolate, honey, cherry smell with almost a medicinal twinge to the background (I'm guessing this is the vertiver saying hello.. ). It smells thick and makes my mouth water. On my skin: the scent is so strong it almost makes me feel dizzy and slightly intoxicated.. but I like it- alot. Right off the bat I can't pick out any single scent but as it drys I'm getting something that reminds me of those chocolate covered cherries that have the syrupy centers. I can definitely smell the wine in the background too, its thick and red - like port wine. It makes me think of black velvet and I definitely get the "vampiric sensuality" part of it - its very sexy in a dark, almost animal way. In general: This was part of the imp set I ordered as my first introduction to the Labs.. this scent is amazing. I ordered it because of the description ( cherry, vanilla, wine & "vampiric sensuality" .. I'm sold) and got more than I even expected. I love dark, thick, strong scents and this one is definitely is a winner in my book.