cal_steph

My body has never cooperated with Snake Oil (it goes all nasty pepper-plastic on my skin) but had to get this one because green tree snake breeds are among my favorites and because I LOVE the smell of sweet mint gum. In the bottle, this reminds me of Ultraviolet. Definitely not a sweet mint, but that sharp, chilly eucalyptus. I'm really not a fan of that scent, so I was disappointed. It didn't change much on my wrists until about ten minutes into wearing. Whereas Ultraviolet tended to turn into this kind of nasty eucalyptus violet powder, this mellowed out into that nice Andes mint scent that a lot of people mentioned upthread. But even though I get traces of that scent from far away, when my wrist is directly under my nose all I smell is that unfortunate plastic smell. Mm, this is not going to work. I guess knowing that my skin will amplify the Snake Oil base kinda ruins the rest of the Snake Pit blends for me too...which sucks because I was really looking forward to having some perfume named after snakes.

I don't know what yuzu is supposed to smell like, but Aizen-Myoo is all grapefruit zest. Which is great because I LOVE grapefruit. I don't get any of the sweetness that other reviewers have talked about, but that's okay, tart citrus is juuuust fine. This is a 5 mL for sure.

This stuff is simply amazing--I think it might just be my new favorite. I have to admit to having no idea what any of the specific notes smell like (except for the coriander, but I don't smell it at all in this blend), just that the result is indeed, juicy and green. Maybe the slightest bite of a pinkish floral pear lingering in the background. Cozumel, Mexico is my favorite vacation spot ever. This blend reminds me of laying out on a hammock on the empty beaches there, or perhaps a lazy drive around the island in a convertible with the top down. Very evocative. A tiny drop of this on my wrist has a huge throw and lasts for hours. I wasn't expecting this one to be my favorite in the imp pack I ordered, let alone one of my all-time favorites. But I think it is. LOVE.

Got this from ketalady in a swap. And..yay! This is one of the few scents I've tried that both smells delicious in the imp and on my skin. In the imp, it's mostly fir trees. I can smell apple cider and clove lingering in the background, but it's hidden behind the trees. On my skin, it becomes all clove and apple cider and a little hint of dead leaves. It really is the perfect fall scent. I might become a bit obsessed with this one, if I ever figure out the situation in which I'd want to smell like autumn. Maybe in the winter.

I usually strongly dislike floral scents, but this one is beautiful. It's not an obtrusive rose, but a soft, feminine, beautiful rose. I wore it to class tonight and felt so damned pretty--if only I had a more formal occasion coming up to wear this to! With this one, Nosferatu, and Dracul, I'm 3 for 3 on vampire inspired scents so far. They're all so different, but they're all *such* a success.

I can't place my finger on it exactly, but this scent reminds me of..something from my childhood. A candy I used to eat, perhaps, or the smell of my grandmother's peach pie baking. Whatever it is, this is lovely--very feminine and as everyone else has said, golden. It's a keeper.

Oh wow, sweet pea and peach. Both in the bottle and on my skin. I can't even say anything else coherent about this. I LOVE IT.

Got this in a swap with WidgetAlley. In the imp: This is a dry, earthy fig..not too sweet, but not too bitter. It's just right. On me: HERBS! is all I get for the first minute or so, but as it dries down, a sweetness that I think is the date note emerges and mingles with the heavy incensey scent. It becomes a slightly less sweet Scherezade, which I also love. I'll definitely keep it.

In the bottle: Wow! Now I understand the hype. It smells exactly like an afternoon snack of tea and lemon bars dusted with powdered sugar. On my skin: Almost exactly the same as in the bottle, except the vanilla comes out a little bit more. Luckily, this is genuine sweet vanilla instead of the plasticky fakeness that I usually get from body sprays (obviously a difference of quality). Definitely keeping this imp.

Got this in a swap with WidgetAlley. In the bottle, this is truly Bazooka bubblegum with a light dusting of powdery sugar. It takes me back to being a kid playing community sports and being more excited about Big League Chew from the snack stand, rather than whether or not our team won. On my skin, the cinnamon note that usually gives me headaches comes out for a brief minute, but it's not a particularly sharp cinnamon (as I found Chimera and Tintagel to be). It quickly morphs into a very "cherry lollipop" scent and from there, fades back into the bubblegum. Fifteen minutes later, the "womanly perfume" underneath begins to come out and refines the bubblegum...delicious! I'm not usually one for the overly feminine scents, but I love the way this one flirtaciously develops on my skin. Definitely a keeper!

In the imp, the only way I can think of to describe this is "brown". A woodsy, musky incense with just the slightest touch of sweetness as I exhale. On my skin, the musk becomes sweeter and even more lovely. It blends perfectly with the rich incense that dominated in the imp. Even the slightest touch of certain florals will make a blend harsh on me, but luckily it doesn't happen here. This one is just lovely. I'd get a bottle right now if I weren't on a budget--for now, it's going to have to wait on the wishlist.

I thought it would be all strawberry, but there is a definite balance between the strawberries and the champagne in this one. To me, it smells like a bubbly strawberry lip gloss in the imp. A pleasanty light boozy smell. On me, the strawberry note begins to smell less balmy and the champagne gets richer. I like it, but full-bodied incensy scents are more "me". Still, I'm going to hang on to it for a little while longer and see if the mood strikes before putting it up for trade.

I tried this out twice because I really wanted the coffee notes to work on me. Unfortunately, I couldn't smell any of the foodier notes--coffee, vanilla, fig--that I was looking forward to in either the bottle or on my skin, because the jasmine overpowered it completely in both places. This is probably a great choice for someone lucky enough to have jasmine cooperate with their body chemistry. On me, it tends to smell like stale breath.

I'm going through a vampire phase right now, so getting this as a free sample with an order couldn't have been more exciting! "Crypt" is definitely an accurate description of the scent in the bottle--the combination of wine and wet soil produces a fungusy, almost bloody scent. Not something I thought I'd ever want to smell like, but I decided to see how it reacted with my body chemistry. On my skin, the dirt smell mellows and the wine comes out sweetly yet boldly. It's the rich scent that I expected from Bordello. Deep, heady, and sexy. I want to say that I'm in love, but yes..lust seems more appropriate. Definitely my favorite BPAL scent so far, and it's going to be a hard one to top. I can't stop smelling myself, and I will definitely be raving about this to friends.