hypothermya

From what I understand, it wasn't the carrier oil that didn't work...it was just that it somehow clogged up the roller applicators... But it would be nice to see if any of these worked better than the others.

I've always thought that Viola is one of the brightest, loveliest, and most courageous characters in all of Shakespeare. Twelfth Night has always been one of my favorites (right up there with The Tempest, and Taming of the Shrew), and I was dying to see how Beth envisioned Viola. I have to admit that I was a bit surprised that the cross dressing Viola had such a floral theme to it, but after all, she really is a lady underneath. So even though I'm not necessarily a fan of florals, I gave this a shot. In the Bottle In the bottle this is definitely heavy on the floral. I can smell the tea rose right away, and something really sweet -- reminds me of the sweet pear in Endymion, although there's no pear in this. Wearing It On me, this is very strongly floral. I think the Calla Lily comes out when it first goes on wet. As it's drying, I'm sniffing it and my nose is getting all itchy -- damned allergies -- so this is probably going to be one of those scents that I'll have to forego for the sake of my respiration system. Bah. As it dries out, the amber, spanish moss, and sandalwood (i think it's sandalwood...something resiny that isn't the amber) start to make the scent a bit more full on me. Instead of smelling like a straight floral, it's got more of a woodsy smell, with a hint of something foreign (as if a dab of Old Morrocco or Scherezade fell into it). The sweetness is totally gone at this point, and I can't seem to pick out the Mandarin note. Just very floral/woodsy, as if you stumbled into a clearing in a forest, sunlight soaking a floor full of rich flowers, the scent overwhelming you. It's a very warm, feminine scent. Lovely. Of course, my nose is still tingly... Stupid allergies. This is definitely one of the best floral scents that I've worn, and it has more body and more oomph than any other I've tried. But at the same time, I'm still not a big floral wearer, and I think that it just isn't compelling enough for me to ignore my allergies for. But smelling it, I definitely find myself envisioning some of my female friends who have a bit more grace and femininity than me; perhaps less tomboyishness, and a glowingly warm, loving personality...

Well, I've been putting off trying this one out, not because I didn't think I'd like it, but rather because it was such a confusing scent in the bottle that I wasn't sure what to think about it. Plus I kept waking up and thinking, "God, I'd love to wear more...(insert a BPAL scent here that I've tried and loved)" It's hard to give up a day wearing a delicious scent in order to try a new one...Even if the new ones seems like it'll be wonderful also. In the Bottle This one definitely smells like grapefruit -- it's the first thing I smell. Other people can only pick up a citrus note, but for me, it's like being slapped in the face with a fresh wedge of grapefruit. Surprising, more than offensive. It's the sort of shock that makes you chuckle after you've finished assimilating what just happened. But then, just then, I'm able to pick up this musky scent, and then, something sweet. I'm thinking the sweet is the currant, or perhaps the florals... Either way, this smells perfect for the Cheshire Cat. Totally fitting. The smell confuses me though, and intrigues me at the same time. Wearing It When I put this on, there's still the loud splash of grapefruit and sweet muskyness, but it dies down real suddenly. Within about ten minutes of applying it, I shove my wrist into my boyfriend's face (he's been so patient with my perfumery obsession lately...), and ask him what he smells. Flowers, he says. Anything else? Nope. Just flowers. I give it a sniff, and while I can still catch a bit of the citrus/currant tones, it's predominantly flowers (almost like a department store floral perfume) with a hint of muskyness. An hour an a half later, the scent has changed again, only this time it's a really weird shift. It's turned into a smooth, creamy, butterscotch scent. No kidding. A friend of mine gives me a hug, and mentions that I smell great. I ask her what I smell like. Butterscotch and milk, she says. I'm incredulous, but for some reason I haven't really noticed the change yet (just the fact that the flower smell has died down, and the fragrance has clung closer to my body than the rest of the BPAL scents) -- but when I smell my wrists, lo and behold, Butterscotch! It's amazing. And weird. I really love the way this smells in the bottle, and I really liked the way this smelled on another friend of mine. But on me, I have absolutely no clue why it behaves like a schizophrenic. I do like the smell of butterscotch, and the taste, but not so much as a body odor. More importantly, I really love citruses, and I would have loved for this to have kept the same scent that it had out of the bottle, except perhaps a bit less potent. Unfortunately, c'est ne pas. So, I guess I'm just going to have to get a good friend to wear it so that I can sniff their wrists constantly.

I'm more familiar making PDFs from InDesign, and I'm not sure what program you're using to create the document. However, Adobe has some good (if obtuse) instructions for creating PDFs from Word. http://www.adobe.com/support/techdocs/28006.htm And if it's from a different program, let us know and I'm sure at least one of us will have something useful to say.

I always loved the way it smells just before it rains, and I especially adore the way it smells the day after the rains -- all fresh and clean. So I had to give this a try. In the Bottle This has a really indescribable scent, which is odd for me to say. Normally I'm all description. It smells fresh, yes, and crisp, just like I was expecting it too. But it also smelled a bit heavier and more perfume like than I was imagining. Wearing It At first the scent was very strong, and as it dried down it picked up a bit of a lemony scent. It was still fresh and crisp, and still just as hard to describe. I couldn't decide whether I liked it, mainly because it still wasn't matching up with what I had imagined for it. Perhaps it wasn't as wet as I wanted it to be. But it still smelled very good. When I still couldn't figure out what it smelled like, and still wasn't sure whether I liked it, I started asking my sister and her boyfriend what they thought. Her boyfriend before sniffing my wrist said, "Oh yeah, I smelled that when you came it. It smells really good." My sister agreed, and couldn't help me in the least in terms of figuring out what it smelled like. She suggested a really light floral, but too light to really be flowery. The scent lasted strongly for at least three or four hours, until it died down. Although it does last a while, the scent is so light that it's hard to notice once it's died down. While it does smell very, very nice (everyone who's smelled it today has agreed on this -- and I have harrassed a fair number of people into smelling my wrists), I don't think it's a scent that I'd wear in the future.

I've got some White Musk from The Body Shop that I wear regularly, and love, so I figured I'd give this one a try -- and of course, who can say no to a perfume named after one of their favorite Shakespearean characters? Let's just say that the names of these perfumes really tug on my heart strings. (Yes, i bought Viola too...) In the Bottle It has a really strong fruity scent. All I can smell is the apricot and I want to say peach, but I think that it's just the orange blossoms meshing with the apricot that make it seem that way. The musk is a very light undertone, although *very* different from my other white musk. Smells good. Wearing It When it first goes on, it's so light and fruity. While drying, the fruit scents even out a bit, and the musk kicks in, giving it a really evenly blended smell. This white musk is sweeter than my other white musk, almost vanilla like, and goes so well with the apricot. And the apricot is... odd. I'm so used to other fruit scents, that I'm habitually smelling my wrists, delighted, in order to smell this scent that I so rarely get a chance to smell. It reminds me of the dry apricot circles that I sometimes get for backpacking. And the more it dries, the more the orange blossom picks up and mixes in with the rest of it, for a really smooth, sweet blend. It reminds me in a way of a dreamsicle, but less candyish, and more smooth and warm, more apricot and more springtime. After wearing it for only a half hour, it's faded away a lot. I think this will be one of the scents that needs frequent reapplication. But it's *so* good. I generally don't wear fruity scents. (Berry scents are okay, but anything else is very untypical of me.) I used to have a vial of "Avalon Peach" perfume, and every time I wore it it seemed out of character for me, despite the fact that it was a pleasant smell. Katharina, on the other hand, is really a lovely smell, almost addictive, and perfect for a light, spring-time day. I'm thinking that I might just have to change my opinion that fruity scents "aren't me," and wear this some more. If I can finally let myself be comfortable in something this light, I'll probably end up getting a 5ml bottle. ADDED May 17: I was wearing this again, just the other day, when my boyfriend noticed something about the way this scent changed on me that I would never have figured out on my own -- the white musk turns into a smell very similar to brand new cardboard boxes, just like the kind that you can get to file papers in at Office Depot. I suspect he was able to notice this because he's been moving from place to place so often, and has the scent of new cardboard fresh in his mind. The smell itself is not a bad one at all, and I have to agree with him -- it smells *exactly* like a freshly folded cardboard box would if it were loaded with the most wonderful tasting apricots ever. Delicious. I still love the smell, and find that I'm becoming much more attached to it -- who cares if it's traditionally me? It's me now! Definitely getting a larger bottle of this.

I was really looking forward to trying this scent, because I adore musks and amber. Unfortunately, I don't think this one really agreed with me at all. In the Bottle This had a very potent smell, and the musk was very heavy, almost overpowering. It smelled dark and foreboding, very much like the description of it. Wearing It When I first put this on, the scent was very heavy on me. Almost immediately the scent morphed to a heavy talcom scent, very much like the Persephone that I had tried earlier this week. My boyfriend commented that I smelled like a sort of medicinal baby powder, with some sort of air freshener added to it. I had to agree -- the amber and musk were noticeable, barely, underneath the talcom smell, but were so drowned out that they weren't identifyable to anyone who didn't know what was in the perfume. Later, after it had died down a bit, the amber and musk picked up a little bit, but not enough. After an hour of wearing it, the scent wasn't overpowering, but wasn't gentle either. My sister could smell it from a couple of feet away from me. She also mentioned that I smelled like baby powder (and that it was very nice). Eventually I just washed it off, because while some women like the scent of powder, I don't. I'm not sure what causes some of these perfumes to pick up the scent of baby powder on me, but they do, and it's a shame. I was really hoping that this one would work out for me, but I think my body chemistry has it out for me and really screwed this one up. I'd love to see what it smells like on someone else, but it is definitely not for me.

I ordered this because I remember a "Mountain Berry" perfume I had when I was 12 years old or so, and I loved that scent and haven't been able to find any others like it. When I read the other reviews on here, I was really pleased to hear that it smelled like the Blackberry Sage tea that I adore. But really, this scent doesn't quite smell like either of these two things to me, and I love it all the same. In the Bottle When I first took a whiff of this, I immediately smelled the berries, but not as such. It was more of a generic, sweet, candy smell that had berry undertones. I was actually nervous at this point, because there was a similar smell in Kitsune-Tsuki, which turned out horribly for me. There were also some woodsy/spicey scents underneath the candy sweetness, but not very strong. But I put it on anyway, biting my lip and hoping that it would work. Wearing It Almost immediately the scent changed on my skin. The sweetness died down to a weak undertone, and the scent of the berries came out strongly. The woodsy/spiceyness picked up also, and the result was that I was really reminded of the smell of a baking blackberry pie, while it's still in the oven -- but maybe if you were baking it in a cabin tucked away in a lush summer canopy. The scent itself wasn't especially strong on application. When I tried out Scherezade, for example, I really had to wait for it to mellow out. This one went on mellow and smooth, and makes me me feel warm, luscious, and sultry -- at the same time, I also feel comforted, like being six and having my mom cooking in the kitchen. It's still noticeable without having to smell my wrists, but I've been sniffing them every ten seconds anyhow, because it just smells so good. I haven't been wearing this for too long, so I guess I'll have to wait until later in the day to find out how long it lasts. I'll also be going to Aikido practice, so it's anyone's guess how excercise will morph the scent. I'll edit this later with updates. Either way, this really exceeded my expectation. I was hoping for something that might live up to my cherished memory of Mountain Berry, but this is better. It has all the woodsiness that the previous scent had, but it makes it warmer, and more inviting. It has the same yummyness as the Blackberry Sage tea, but sweeter and less sagey. Both of those scents were my ideals, but Bewitched actually improved upon them. This is definitely going on my list of favorites.

I also didn't have success with this. In the Bottle When I sniffed it right out of the imp ear, my boyfriend and I both agreed that it smelled like purple grape gum. It was sweet, juicy, and candy like. But I still enjoyed the smell, and dabbed some on my wrist. While Wearing It Almost immediately it turned into a rancid fruit smell; unfortunately I don't even need to try to place it, since I know exactly what it reminded me of: my mother has a plum tree outside, and when the plums have become overripe and fall to the ground, there's this sickly sweet rotting smell that lingers around her bedroom window and all throughout the backyard. This smelled exactly like that on me. I also tried to stick it out, but couldn't stand it and finally tried to wash it off. Once the majority of the scent was removed, I could smell something of the undertones, which were very pretty smelling, but the scent of rancid fruit was still there. Uck. I was really, really hoping that this one would work out, but I guess my body doesn't play well with the asian plum scents. I'm going to give Kabuki a shot, though, and see if the cherry type of smell will work. Pity, though, because I really thought this one would be on the top of my list of favorites.

When I was first diving into all of my new imp ears, Scherezade was one of the first to be plucked up and opened. In The Bottle When I first smelled it, I couldn't help thinking that it reminded me of an occult bookstore, with the heavy incence smells and the strong, overpowering musk. When I handed it to my sister's boyfriend (who had no clue who Scherezade was, or what sort of ingredients were in the perfume), he told me that it smelled like "old books." I was delighted and instantly knew this was going to be one of my favorites. Wearing It When I put this on this morning, the scent was so strong it was overwhelming. I had to roll down the windows in the car for my boyfriend's sake, and hoped that it would die down a little. Sadly, another part of me was hoping that it wouldn't die down, because the heady smell of it was delightful. After about 40 minutes, it finally mellowed out a bit. I find myself thinking that it is rather like Drakkar in that you really need to put aside a good half hour before you need to be in close proximity with others; I certainly wasn't upset by the initial strength of the smell, but I'm sure that my boyfriend would appreciate if I didn't put it on *just* before hopping into the car with him. Right now, it's very faint and reminds me a great deal of a spicy, warm, middle eastern smell. It's blended so well that I can't really identify any of the scents individually, but it still reminds me of books, and incence, and very faintly of the soft, warm, wrinkled flesh from the hand of an old middle eastern woman. I'm a little afraid that it won't last the whole day, which makes me think I should carry the imp ear around with me in the future... It makes me want to smell my wrist every twenty seconds. It's exactly the sort of scent that I'm going to wear every day in summer and winter, but I'm not so sure about a spring scent. It's really relaxing, and comforting, and makes me want to wrap myself up in my bed with a good book. This is definitely on my list of favorites.

Last night when I recieved my imp ears, the first things I noticed were O and Old Morrocco sitting on top of the pile. I was puzzled and delighted, because they were not part of my order, but I'd been wanting to try Old Morrocco anyhow. O, sadly, fell to the bottom of the pile for the next 20 minutes while I squealed about all of the wonderful scents and how sweet it was that Beth had included extras. But then, my boyfriend found it. O When he opened it up and passed it under my nose, I immediately perked. "Amber! And...musk? Oh, that's nice. Smells more like a male scent. Which one is that?" "Says 'O.'" "Huh...I don't remember which one that is..." Since I couldn't place the name right away, I told him to give it a try (he'd just finished having an allergic reaction to Mad Hatter, and we'd been hoping to find something alluring for him to wear around me). After giving it a brief sniff and mentioning that that was definitely one of the nicer scents, I got distracted with other shiny, pretty imp ears. When It Dried A few minutes later, he passed his upper arm under my nose, and I suddenly couldn't remember which scent I was currently inspecting. "That's yummy. That's sexy. Oooo....bring that arm back here....I need to smell it some more." The next hour, I spent smelling imp ears and playing cards, every few seconds pausing to sniff at his arm. And when we were trying to go to bed....well, sleeping was definitely not the first thing that got done. I guess I shouldn't have been so surprised that it was under the "Love Potion" sections when I was trying to find it today. But sure enough, there it was, and finally I was able to place those other scents. The honey is definitely the strongest of the two, and the vanilla is almost not there. But the hint of them really goes a long way. When I first read the description of O, back when I was ordering, I never would have gotten it -- it just looked too sweet. But really, what it is is pure hormones in a bottle. My boyfriend, who wasn't even the one shopping for scents, is determined to get more, and I don't see any reason to stop him.

Beautiful, radiant daughter of Demeter... her loveliness was so exquisite that even Hell itself could not resist her. Pomegranate and rose. Last night I just recieved a shipment of 16 imp ears, and after opening up about 7 for quick whiffs, I decided to not flood the room with a cacaphony of smells and wait until the next morning (today) in order to try my first scent. I decided on Persephone. First Impression Oh, this smells lovely... The rose is a bit strong, but I can smell that sweet pomegranate underneath. The pomegranate isn't too distinct, but more fruity/sweet. After Wearing It The scent has settled into my skin, and for the first time I catch a whiff of a scent I despise: baby powder. The lovely fruity smell has all but vanished, and the only thing that's left is a heavy fragrant rose scent (like tea rose) and an almost equally powdery scent. Just to be certain, I go ask my sister and mother what it smells like to them. Sure enough, baby powder and rose are the only scents they're able to name. My sister says it's sweet smelling, but that's as close to pomegranate as it comes. My mother, meanwhile, has started to tell me what a dignified "lady's perfume" I've got, and how it's so much better than anything at the department stores. I have to agree -- the perfume is lovely, way above any of the floral scents that I'm accosted by at Macy's, for example, but I'm not partial to rose perfumes, and was really dissapointed that the pomegranate hadn't picked up. I wore it for the rest of the day, since it really was a nice smelling, dignified, lady's perfume; but I've decided that it is not at all my type of scent. It remained strong for the first 3 hours, and faded into a tolerable light floral smell which lasted another 4 hours before I washed it off. Since I did smell the pomegranate in there, I'm pretty certain that my body chemistry just didn't pick it up, and instead probably caused the rose/powder scents to pick up... But it's a pity that this one didn't work out too well, but I'm content to try out the rest of my treasure hoard.