angelamaria

In imp: this is just like what the description says: it's a mix of scents, and quite a tickle to the nose. It's spicy and softly sweet, a very clean scent. I can't pick out specific notes, but after a while of sniffing, I realized what I was remembering from this scent: the gum Trident! I was quite pleased, because I have somewhat fond memories of Trident. I think it is the Original flavor. Wet on skin: the Trident association is reinforced. Definitely Trident. I feel suddenly homesick and wanting one. It's spicy, sweet, and bittersweet, also a very refreshing green. Can I have my Trident pl0x? Dry: well, it's still Trident! It stays true on my skin. My notes on this scent have"Trident" written a couple times, and on every repetition, it keeps growing larger. It's a very pleasant smell, the sort that I keep smelling to try and figure out what is so pleasing, when it's all quite pleasing. Verdict: well, as much as I like this scent, I don't exactly want to smell like sugarfree gum so it will be a pass for me. But I'm definitely keeping the imp, and maybe someday I'll be able to pick out the notes.

In decant: straight up strawberry. I can't catch the other notes, they're all pretty well blended together into the sweet and tangy strawberry scent. Wet on skin: well, guess what? Strawberries. It's slightly minty to my nose, bright and fresh--likely the dandelion sap? It's sweeter now, less tangy--it's kind of like what Kool-Aid would smell like (do they have a strawberry flavor?), sweet and sugary strawberry juice. There is that phantom oily smell on my skin, although it's not too strong. Dry: there is something that is vaguely off with the drydown for me. Something missing, or something just weird. It's still that sweet strawberry smell, but the phantom oily/plasticky scent hanging about it bothering me too. I can't get at it; it may be the mintiness I'm getting that's warring with the faint vanilla notes and producing that oily/plastic smell. I still don't know where the minty bright note is coming from. Verdict: Not for me. Even without the oiliness, it's a bit too candy-sweet for me; and while I love strawberries, it's a "childish" scent for me to enjoy wearing it.

In imp: oh, I'm loving this scent. It's bright, slightly tangy, and the rose is topmost with its sweetness. It's an innocent, bright-eyed scent, not exactly light, but quite uplifting. Wet on skin: this is sharply sweet on my skin, a strong scent. Rose is still topmost, but I can detect a little lavender, I think. The musk and the frankincense is nice, grounding out the sweetness. It's a very, very nice rose scent! I love florals, although not necessarily rose--I usually think it's too "womanly" for me--but I can see myself wearing this. Dry: the rose has faded a little, letting the other flower scents shine. In tandem, it's a very nice, sweet floral, not overpowering or overbearing, with a bright, pleasing note. It's a little generic, but intriguing enough, with the rose edging out slightly at the front always. There is a bit of powderiness, but it's such a beautiful, light floral. I hope this stays well on me...but alas, an hour later, it's gone all powder. I am sad panda. Verdict: sadly, no. I really wanted this to work, it's such a delicate, bright floral. It's perfect...if only it didn't get powdery. Maybe frankincense doesn't like me? Or is it really the rose?

In imp: quite tart and spicy--it definitely woke me up when I smelled it. I'm not able to pinpoint the almonds, it seems like a fairly even note with the spices here. My nose is not experienced enough to know what those spices are, though. Wet on skin: wow, this is very nutty--the almonds are out full force here. I can get a bit of honey, but the nuttiness and the spices drown it out almost completely. I was trying to think of what it reminded me of, and the image that came to my head was a box full of old pretty antique-y things. There is a bright note here somewhere--I'm not sure what it is, but it's very pretty amidst the earthiness of the other notes. I keep sniffing to get at it. Dry: the almonds are retreating a bit, to the same layer where the rest of the spices are. Honey is still hiding behind other spices, but pretty soon the scent is almost all gone, disappearing on my skin; I can hardly get at it now, although there is something still nutty hanging around somewhere, very faint. Also, after a good fifteen minutes on my skin, at some whiffs I am getting a burnt plastic smell! Very faint, but it's there, maybe one out of five sniffs. This is odd, I don't like it one bit. I wish I knew which note was doing it on my skin. Verdict: well, I can now safely say that I like almonds to eat, but not have me smelling of them! It's a very "true" almond scent, and it's pretty interesting, but not for me, even if the burning plastic smell didn't start to seep in at times there.

In imp: this is an interesting scent! Light floral--possibly the iris. It's already slightly powdery/dry, but the bright notes are uplifting enough that it's a nice base. There's a feeling of getting drunk in the sweetness, too. Wet on skin: faint on my skin, but I'm really liking the bright floral note here. This is totally not the dark and ominous scent from the description--I'm liking it a LOT, it's a bright and airy white floral scent. I can get a little of the musk, but not so much. Very clean smelling, very delicate and almost ethereal. Dry: this seems like quite a morpher. Newly dry, it stays true to the sample/wet on skin scent: light, sweet, delicate, bright, white, you get the idea. I wrote down, "bottle". It was that good. The powdery note underneath, however, gains more and more prominence as the scent ages on my skin--at first it was a really nice base for the bright floral, but after an hour it's just...baby powder. I get the violets now, and the darker notes, although it's difficult to think "dark and ominous" when you're smelling baby powder... Verdict: started out really well for me, but ultimately a no.

In imp: I'm getting those frosty notes here. Slightly spicy-sweet, with a round kind of vanilla-ey note. It's a soft, lovely scent, white with a touch of pink and blue. Wet on skin: huh. It turns very vanilla-ey, and quite yummy, actually. I think it's the coconut, may also be the orris, but I've had this same smell for the other coconut/orris scents I've tried (Blood Pearl especially). The higher, frostier notes stop it from becoming grandmother-y like Blood Pearl for me, the frosty blues amidst the white--the brightness is usually hidden by the coconut though. It's a heady kind of scent, and definitely foody for me. Dry: well, it's a soft, very womanly and knowledgeable scent for me. I can't decide whether I love this scent or not. It has good throw and it's over eight hours now, and I can still smell it on my wrist without really trying. It's very heady. The coconut is still there full force. Verdict: well, at least I know that I should tread lightly on scents with coconut. It hasn't been very good to me so far! I love the scent, but a whole day with it--it's a bit "too much" for my nose, and not very "me". It's waning now--I think a little zing and lightness to this waning Last Unicorn would be just perfect for me.

In imp: refreshing, sweet tea—slightly spicy, slightly citrusy and minty, and the vanilla all around it is just plain delicious: I can almost drink this! Definitely gender neutral to my nose. I have TWO “yummy” notes in the “imp” section of my notes, one with an underline, so it’s very yummy. Wet on skin: vanilla is definitely topmost, and the sweetness and the citrus mesh very well together, kind of like the lemon you find in pastries, but the tartness still hanging around. The vanilla keeps growing softer and rounder as it dries, but loses none of its potency. Can I eat my wrist now? Dry: sugared vanilla is just perfect as a description, and I really, really love this round sweetness, with the tartness of the lemon (or whatever citrus scents are in here—I don’t know yet) keeping it awake and alive and non-flat. Much later on, it’s turned really, really sexy. My notes have exclamation points in them. This is a fabulous “date” scent—a date that you’d bring home for the night. Verdict: absolutely bottle-worthy. I’m slightly leaning towards wanting this on a man more than on myself, but it’s neutral enough to wear and I just love how it smells like on me too.

In imp: masculine! This is a wholly masculine scent to my nose, reminds me of my father, quite frankly. It’s sharp, almost piercing, green and very clean, the citrusy notes on top for me. Wet on skin: this stays true to the imp scent to me, but the citrusy notes become even more prominent—I’m not sure which is which. Underneath everything there’s a sort of musty smell, not leather, and my untrained nose can’t pick it out or accurately describe it. It’s not a dirty smell, but it smells the opposite of the cleanness that is topmost here with me—it’s an interesting, intriguing contrast. Dry: generally the same as the imp and wet smell, this is pretty faithful, although after a while I’m starting to get a faint metallic smell from it. I’m not sure what it is, it just strikes me as being slightly metallic. It comes and goes though, and to me it gets better the longer it is on my skin. Verdict: it’s definitely not something I would wear; but it’s an interesting, nice scent for men and I wouldn’t mind smelling this on a guy.

In imp: sharp and green, slightly floral but no one note jumped out at me. It definitely smelled like the garden it says it is--a clean, sweet garden, with a good dash of green in it. Slightly generic, but somehow still rather interesting. Wet on skin: the first note was definitely green, sharp and alert and a good upper for a sleepy morning. The flowers come after, and while I'm not sure I can really tell which scent goes with which flower yet, the topmost scent for me seems to be ylang ylang (it's doubly underlined in my notes). The sharpness recedes quickly, becoming softer and creamier. Dry: still quite faithful to the wet on skin experience, but without the sharpness--a mellowed out garden, with different competing sweet scents but ylang ylang usually at the top or near enough. It's truly enigmatic--it's such a beautiful mix of scents that I can't stop sniffing to try and find out which is which, or to get more of something, only to find another that's just as pretty. It's soft and sweet and young, but not in a child or adolescent way, more like in an ageless, happy way. Much later, it's turned just a wee bit soapy, but that may be because it's become a very clean, very refreshing scent. Verdict: VERY promising! I want to give it another shot before really deciding on a bottle, as there was a hint of oiliness in the smell for me, but that may be just me today. Only a hair from bottle-worthy because of that, otherwise I'm quite sold!

In imp: my notes say, "booze! wine! liquor!", because I don't drink and thus I'm not totally sure which is the best word to describe what I was smelling. It's an interesting scent, quite sharp, and something I didn't expect at all. Wet on skin: it started off as sharp as in the imp, but swiftly went creamy on me (within half a minute). I started getting the coconut then, with whiffs of a pleasant sort of greenness. It's a dry, soft, creamy scent, these characteristics heightening the longer it is on my skin. Dry: it's gone to a very round, soft, creamy scent, almost grandmotherly to my nose :/ it was also, at times, smelling slightly "oily" to me. I'm not sure if it's just today, or the orris on me--I tested two scents and they both had orris (my first time with orris) and they both had a touch of oiliness to my nose. This scent seems to be warring between sharp and powdery, and sometimes I catch a whiff of something wonderfully sweet and enticing but it's very fleeting--the moment I catch a wee note, it's gone instantly. Much much later, it's turned into a definite grandmother scent for me Verdict: Sadly, not for me.

In imp: I sniffed this before I knew the title (as the decant I received was very, very smudged), and I had no knowledge of whatever notes were inside. A strong, sweet scent, faintly musky, but definitely green in a nice way. I could faintly make out “honey” in the label, and I found the rest after and compared against available reviews. Wet on skin: it’s turned into a dry kind of sweetness, definitely a mix of the Jerusalem cherry and honey—slightly tarty, but full and round with the honey. Interestingly, my mother and sister almost immediately said “sunblock lotion!” when they smelled it on me. Err? Dry: slightly powdery, but sweet, with a green note, but it’s more honey than anything else right now to me—the tartness is almost all gone. It’s a very interesting scent, just a shade before “too powdery”. I’ll have to wait a bit more and see if it morphs even more after an hour or two. Verdict: definitely wearable, but I’ll have to think first if it’s bottle worthy especially since it’s an LE.

In imp: a sad sort of sweetness, definitely. It makes me think that it could be happy, but it's a bit cloying and heavy and a shade darker to be actually happy. Wet on skin: mostly the same as the in imp smell, but turns very powdery on me. (Likely the amber? Being only the third scent I've tried and the first one with amber on it, I'm not yet sure yet what's happening.) Dry: very, very powdery. The rose notes are clearly coming out now, but the powderiness is somewhat overpowering--it's a womanly sort of powdery though, not too bad. Gone after two hours. Verdict: Not yet sold on this one, because of the powder thing, but I'll probably give it another shot later on to see if it grows on me.

In imp: very blue and aquatic, cool deep water indeed. My first thought was that it's fairly gender-neutral to my nose, even with the flower notes. I think it's the blueness. Wet, on skin: still very clean, slightly musky on me. The watery notes are still very present, reminding me of days on the beach in the summer, and times right out of a refreshing cold shower. The flower notes are there but not cloying, just giving it a bit more sweetness than what I smelled in the bottle, not so gender-neutral now, but it still makes me think of a boy's cologne at times. Dry: it's a sweeter and tarter Ulalume for me, definitely less ethereal, more "present". The clean and watery scents are still there, but with fuller flower notes. I was thinking I'd definitely go for this if I was looking for a more "modern" Ulalume sort of vibe, but in two hours, it was almost all gone. Verdict: I was initially thinking this was promising, but because it felt similar to Ulalume for me save for the "modernness" but without the longevity and throw I'd expect from a "modern" Ulalume, I'll pass.

In imp: smells light and airy, almost citrusy--it made me think of summer and beautiful hot days in the shade with the sun shining down. Very interesting scent. Wet on skin: wow, very woody! This is my first try of a wood smell, and it smelled almost like varnish to me, the kind that you smell on newly made wooden tables and whatnot. Smells very tart, almost sharp. I was a little apprehensive right after, and wondering if I would need to wash it off before I left, but as it did smell interesting enough--there is that floral scent amidst the woody notes--I wanted to stick with it. Dry: Oh wow, dried down it transforms into an airy-sweet floral smell, not cloying at all--the description says it well, "starry white lilies". Very airy, ethereal, starry, but still well-rounded and full. Good staying power--four hours later and I can still smell it on my wrist, and I can't stop sniffing it, it's such a pretty, pretty smell. I feel like I would like to bathe in this! Verdict: definitely a keeper for me, very bottle-worthy!

Beautiful, radiant daughter of Demeter... her loveliness was so exquisite that even Hell itself could not resist her. Pomegranate and rose. My first BPAL sniff In imp: definitely floral, very rosy, and very sweet--almost cloying, but not enough to be overpowering. This reminded me of swapping scented stationery with friends in my childhood. Very nice scent. Wet on skin: smells the same as in the imp, a bit softer, rounder, but overall the same. Dry: the sharper, juicier smell of pomegranate is coming out, but much later it's going mellow again, soft and very womanly. I sometimes smell pomegranate, sometimes rose, so it's a good balance of scents. Sadly, it turns kind of soapy to my nose very faint, and wears off far too soon. Verdict: I'm not giving up on this yet--I'll give it another shot and see if slathering it on more will help. Not getting a bottle yet, but the scent is definitely very, very pretty--no, beautiful. - edited to add scent description

Thanks! It was in a decanting thread, and she was saying smaller (10-bottle) decant circles worked for her because of the 12 bottle cap. Maybe I misread, or it was a long time ago! I guess I'm just really nervous 20 bottles is $350 general catalog bottles--that's a lot of money!! (And 12 imps (1 item) would cost even more!) Hi hi again And thanks! $500...man, if I get to that point I'd definitely be in trouble Plus I'd be really scared of having something that costs that much in transit! Yeah, I'm quite hesitant myself since I don't even have any idea of what a BPAL package looks like right now! I do have a friend back in the Philippines who is keen, although I feel pretty bad because I won't be back there for a bit--a couple of months maybe. :/ I suppose I'll have to stay on the lookout--I've been refreshing the board and the lj comms a lot in the hopes of a new decant circle or anything that I can join in

So I've been doing a fair bit of lurking on BPAL.org and LJ and trying to figure out the best way to get stuff--I live in Singapore currently and as a newbie (read: no imps or bottles or anything on hand yet) I'm trying to figure out the "safest" way to order as well as the best route cost-wise. As a backgrounder, I *have* started ordering from a few lovely ladies here in the forums, because lower shipping and cheaper imps is definitely good for me; hopefully I will getting my first real taste (or sniff!) of BPAL in a month's time! (It can't come any sooner!!) That said, I've seen these things from my lurking in the forums: - Someone mentioned a cap of 12 bottles (or equivalent) in an international order from BPAL. But in the BPAL FAQ it says up to 20 items and 1 item = 1 bottle. Was the 12-bottle cap more of a "to be safe" sort of cap? Leading to that--I assume I shouldn't force 20 bottles/items in one order? - International group orders! I haven't seen a lot (or any?) in the Decant Circles/Group Orders forum here, so I have no idea how they go or if people are interested in them, and how exactly they go about (aside from what's said in the guidelines). As a complete newbie, I don't want to bite off more than I can chew with a decant circle but I certainly want to minimize the shipping cost that I'm taking on; but I realize that people who live in the same area probably know each other and just organize their own group orders off-forum. Is this the case? Thanks for any inputs! (Please feel free to move the topic somewhere else more appropriate! I didn't think it was right to post it under the Decant Circles/Group Orders forum, nor in the Forum Questions/FAQ as it wasn't a technical question.)