Scorianelle

I tried this without checking the notes and I have to say I'm shocked. Looking at the ingredients this should've been so much win - the worst thing listed is the lemon peel, and maybe the anise which I haven't tried before. All the other notes work so well on me and I specifically wanted this because I love tonka. How did it end up such a muddle? From start to finish I could detect none of the individual notes and instead this was a like very strong, very unimpressive bundle of flowers. It was so floral and entirely reminiscent of bath products or soap and absolutely feminine. I know that my skin tends to sweeten everything so that scents everyone else feels are masculine become or dark become (at the very least) gender neutral and light, but how did I get flowers from leather, patchouli and tonka? I have no idea. He is off to the swaps. I'm glad actually as I don't want to be in love with a discontinued scent.

This is perhaps the most apt description I've ever seen! In the imp it smelled quite smoky. I was surprised at how recognisable it was! Once on Agnes becomes a dark, smoky, spicy scent. There is a definite metallic iron twang of the nails. The only note I can't find (or perhaps recognise) is the gunpowder. Overall Agnes isn't dry at all really, which I think is amazing for a 'charred wood and smoke' scent, but it is warm and interesting. A definite keeper, and especially good when layered with The Lights of Men's Lives. Think I'll wear some tonight! Colour association: Gold flecked with black ashes.

Hunter is a beautiful, soft, watery amber. I find this hard to explain - it didn't smell 'aquatic' but from the first sniff I could only describe it as 'watery' or sort of 'watered down'. I think this was the effect of the amber and sage. It started to smell drier after a few hours, when the leather mopped up the sage and the clove entered to spice it up just the tiniest bit. It was a very lovely scent overall, just not for me. I'm very glad I got to try it, though. Colour association: Lion's skin.

I should start by saying that I strongly suspect the imp I got of this was quite aged. My experience was of an abrasive and not really pleasant scent. The sassafras and black poppy dominated and together caused this to become dry and biting. The Myrrh and nutmeg didn't show, so there wasn't much colour or body to it overall. It wasn't terrible but certainly wasn't something I'd ever want to wear. Colour association: Black smoke.

I've seen people say 'this smells like an occult shop' or 'dirty hippy' in reference to patchouli before. I've never gotten that feeling from patchouli, but if there was ever a sent that screamed these things to me it would be Urd. When I opened the imp I almost gagged. Something in it smelled rotten to me, like it was decaying, and I almost decided to pass it on for good then and there. But as these perfumes can morph so drastically I steeled myself, took a deep breath, and opened the imp again. And it smelled... nice! Not great but certainly not gag worthy. On my skin Urd is a very strong, very odd appley resin. The nag champa or the muscadine (I'm not sure which) absolutely dominates. This is not a 'me' smell, but it was so evocative of being in occult shops and book stores that it is so far the first and only scent I have kept for my oil burner. It is much more subtle in the burner, and most importantly I feel I have learned something by trying it. Colour association: warm glowing amber.

I wanted to try November because that is my birth month. Of course, where I come from November is in spring so I don't have the association of snow and autumn leaves that Northern Hemispherers (what else to call them?) would. I was still interested to try. Unfortunately I didn't get these associations from the imp either. Really it just smelt like soap to me. A really white soap, but soap nonetheless. I thought it might just be one of those things (happens with some scents, you know) but I tried another Yule with a 'snow' note and it was exactly the same. On the plus side I don't have to worry about spending lots for Yule scents anymore. Colour association: White.

In the imp it smelt very strongly of lavender, but the first time I tried it the bergamot was the dominant note. However the second time it was straight Jasmine and it's been jasmine ever since. There's not much else I can really say about it. I didn't notice myself falling asleep or sleeping easier and I'm not super keen on jasmine. Perhaps someone else will like it better. Colour association: Burnt Orange.

I finally understand what people mean when they say a scent is 'boozy'. This had a distinct alcoholic spin like some sort of dark sugar rum. There was a fruity undertone but no tea for me unfortunately. I was pop-y and nice but not something I'd want to wear everyday. Certainly interesting as a novel scent. Colour association: Dark Brown Sugar. Word for the scent: Booze.

I was hoping this would be much darker on me but as my skin has a tendency to sweeten everything it ended up being a light stroll through the herb patch rather than a dark bowl of herbal offerings. One thing I can say for it though is that it certainly kept itself interesting. This thing morphed like crazy. At first when it went on it smelt like liquorice. Then after a while that changed to mint, then apple, then coconut. They're not exactly 'herbs', but it was very interesting nonetheless. Ultimately not interesting enough, as it was moved into my swap pile. Colour association: dried-herb green.

There is unfortunately not much I can say about this. At least it has helped me learn that I probably don't work with aquatics. From the moment I opened it through to when it was fading from my skin it smelled like 'Sea minerals'. You know, the 'sea mineral' smell that they put in handsoaps and bodywash? That. It's not bad, I even had that type of bodywash for a while. Ultimately though it was pretty boring. I think I'll have to rely on Anne Bonny for my Pirate scent. Colour association: Sea-glass green.

Well I should start by owning that this has three notes (White musk, Vetiver, Violet) I already knew I wasn't too hot on. I basically got it for the lavender and I have to say that, well, it was a surprise. I am not a flower girl so I was not surprised when I opened it and immediately disliked the way the Violet dominated. It was not the sickly sweet violet I was expecting though, instead it was stinging and sharp. Once on my skin it combined with the astringent lavender to become a really cold and aggressive scent. I have to say that it's description is very apt. In the latter stages the flowers faded and softened allowing the vetiver and musk to come forward which was pretty 'meh' for me. The vetiver definitely added a sort of oily dirty quality, but I would in no way describe this as a man's scent. It was actually quite unnerving and off-putting but not because it smelt bad. While I can't say for sure if I liked it I am keeping the imp as a very interesting, possibly dangerous scent. Colour association: Blue-Purple. I don't know the name for the colour that I'm thinking of. Word for the Scent: Angry.

I've not had much luck with BPAL lavender scents even though I've been looking. Lavender is my favourite flower but I find that my skin doesn't support it very well. In that respect alone, Gaueko is a godsend. Right from the forefront this starts out as a misty lavender on my skin. The sandalwood softens and disperses the normally astringent flower, making it ethereal and comforting. It isn't until the latter stages that the darker notes begin to creep in and it's like fog parting to reveal a dead black night. The 'blackened' note of the sandalwood strengthens. It's slightly abrasive but works well with the tobacco to give an impression of dark shadows that are kept warm by the slight incense of the Nag champa and laudanum. This is one of three GC scents I've ever considered getting a bottle for. It is not a bold scent but beautifully subtle and evocative. Colour association: Mauve mist. Word for the Scent: Ethereal.

Word of the Scent: Juicy First Sniff: Fruit! Stone fruits that are sharp, not sweet. Second Sniff: It's figgy and juicy with a high and windy feeling. Wet: Definitely fruity. The plum dominates but it has also warmed up a lot. Dry: It's sweetened up heaps (as all scents do on me). Honeyed plum and wine is what I'm getting. It's not bad but definitely not for me. I'm getting a headache. Throw: mild to medium. Colour association: Nut Brown and Plum Purple.

Plunder is definitely a spice scent. I was so sure this would work on me because I know I love spicy perfumes but Plunder was a bit too... waterlogged. Not in that it smelled aquatic, rather there was no bite to it. It was musty and muted. The main notes I got were cassia and allspice and overall there was a distinct 'powder' quality to it, like I was opening expired spice jars. Mostly powder with a hint of scent and not one I particularly enjoyed, although it wasn't terrible. Ah well, I shall pass it on.

Well I wasn't really sure what to expect from this so I can't say I was disappointed. In the imp Magus was like a sweet mild ginger (that would be the galangal). I'm not really a ginger fan but most scents morph on me and this was no exception. It morphed into... crayons? It has that waxy kind of smell of crayons, specifically a blue one, and I have no idea what is causing it. I know some people find that cedar smells like pencil shaving on them so it could be that but this is still a bit different... I don't know. Either way it's going to the swap pile. Colour association: Blue Crayon.