nerdcraft

in the vial: So pretty! Or, um, tres jolie! haha too bad I don't speak French at all. I was expecting this to be a little heavy, but it smells very pretty and softly floral. The dominant note is definitely the lavender, although I can smell the ultra-candy lotus underneath. wet: Just beautiful - a sophisticated but still pretty floral with a slightly herbal edge from the lavender. For a second there, I got a very candy-sweet note from the lotus, but thankfully that has gone away. dry: The herbally-spice notes are more evident now, and it smells a little "vintage", like a fashionable Parisian woman might have worn in the 1920's. season: Any. office-friendly? Yes, definitely. A sophisticated scent. overall: I didn't expect to like this so much! I'll be wearing this a lot, I think.

in the bottle: Oh. It's nice. More white floral and springy than I was expecting I think. wet: A pretty, soft floral. It's just nice, though, not fantastically amazingly lovely. Nice. dry: Oooooo. This is better. It melts into my skin and just makes me smell good - not my perfume smelling good, but me. Definitely a skin scent for me. Smells very clean...I can see how this would be a tropical scent. Not a lush, humid tropical at all, but a fresh, clean one. Like you just took a shower and tucked a freshly-cut exotic blossom behind your ear before you head out to the beach. Really light. season: Spring and summer. office-friendly? Yep. Light and pretty! overall: Hmmm...this was maybe my last experiment in buying general catalog bottles without trying them first. A lovely scent, and I probably would have sprung for a bottle eventually, but not the signature scent I was hoping to find. Still very pretty.

in the vial: How banana-y! I didn't expect banana leaf to smell like the fruit. wet: Right away, this blooms into a gorgeous fruity tropical floral. So, so pretty. Very much like the description - tropical, humid and lush. I get a bit of a fresh, crisp, almost minty(?) note for a few minutes. dry: Stays true on me. The banana scent has died down, and the lush, pretty florals take over. Love it. season: Summer. office-friendly? Yep - this one is definitely noticeable, but not too heavy. overall: I really love this. It lasts a good long while, and I get whiffs of it throughout the day. Although it is definitely tropical, it's a sort of unusual one, not like any other floral I've smelled. I don't recognize any of the notes in it - sampaguita, banana leaf, palm or narra - from other scents I've tried, but I'll definitely look for them in the future.

in the vial: A clean-smelling, soap/detergent/dryer sheets smell. wet: Exactly the same - clean soap/shampoo or laundry scent dry: This is so, so faint. I can only smell it at all by sniffing right on my skin. It is a pretty, clean perfume for someone who doesn't like to be too adventurous with their scents. It would be fun to put this on, throw open the windows, and do some spring cleaning. And yes. I do like cleaning. I know I'm odd! season: Any. office-friendly? Yep, would be about as inoffensive as possible. overall: I like this quite a lot - when I can actually smell it. This is probably the fourth time I've tested this one, and I haven't had strong enough impressions of it to really write a review, even with slathering it on all over. My skin must just soak this one up. I know I'll love the imp, but I'll have to see about a bottle.

I thought it was appropriate to review this one during Derby week! preconceived notions: Mint juleps remind me of Churchill Downs (not neccesarily juke joints....hmm) and I really hope this scent evokes that. Including of course the mint and booze smell, but also sunshine and cigars and just lots and lots of people packed into the infield. in the vial: Hello mint! wet: Very mint - it's a fresh, clean smelling mint, like the sprig of mint in your glass, but underscored by the warmer bourbon. This is the second or third time I've tried this one, and it's even more minty now than on previous tests. dry: The mint fades more and more, until it's almost entirely a boozy/musky scent that reminds of me bars and cigarettes, and maybe like....someone's grandad. But in a good way! It's funny, it's starts out so light and fresh, and then by the end of the night is so musky and warm, with only the tiniest hint of sweet mint. season: Any season, really. Will be great this summer. office-friendly? Not so much! haha. I use this one for going out. overall: As a Kentucky girl, I have to keep this one for sentimental reasons, but it's also fun to wear.

in the vial: Whoa candy. wet: Oh, yes. This is the lotus note in my old pal Ophelia! Sweet, wet, almost candy scent. dry: It becomes a bit less candy and a bit more light green watery floral. overall:A nice, pretty floral. I like lotus, but it gets very strong on my skin, so this seems really close to pure lotus on me. season: I think...spring. office-friendly? Yes ma'am.

preconceived notions: I hoped and suspected this would be juicy and fruity apricot. in the vial: Pure apricot. wet: Oh! Nice. The apricot is the dominant note, but I get more and more of the warmth of clove. dry: The clove gets stronger and sticks around, turning it from a fresh, juicy fruit scent into a warmer, bakery smell. season: This would be perfect for fall. office-friendly? Yep. overall: Really good. More foody and spicy than I was hoping, but I really like it.

preconceived notions: Well, sexy, I suppose. I know this one is way popular (14 pages of reviews! what else can I add?) but I suspect it'll be too heavy for me. in the vial: This is totally bizarro but I smell sweetness, almost fruit. The amber maybe? Also a bit of darker vanilla. wet: Vanilla all the way. dry: There's a (blessedly short) minute when it smells like plastic, then it goes back to powdery vanilla. Kind of soft and warm. season: winter office-friendly? yep. overall: Pretty good, didn't bowl me over though. This smells more comforting than sexy, like cuddling into a soft sweater.

preconceived notions: None, really...just floral. I have no idea what myrtle smells like, unless it's similar to a crepe myrtle bush? in the vial: Mmmm. Very fresh, light, clean floral. No single note is jumping out at me. wet: Beautiful. Smells really wet and fresh - like rain falling on a flower bed. It does have a clean shampoo-type smell, but that's still very nice in my opinion. dry: Hmph. Now I'm not sure about this one anymore. After an hour or so, it fades into a generic floral perfume scent on me. Actually quite a lot like "spring fresh" dryer sheets! Eep. season: Late summer and fall. office-friendly? Yes - it's fresh and light. overall: I think I'll have to give this one another try. I liked the first hour a lot - I'd love to hold on to that wet blossom scent it has at first.

preconceived notions: Wow, that's a lot of things in one little perfume oil. in the imp: Yeah, smells like lots of things. Transcript of my olfactory organ's initial reaction: "Smells like incense. No wait! Smells like a candle shop. No wait! Smells like straight-up jasmine. No wait!" wet: The floral is shoving its way to the top. Really, really reminds me of this jasmine incense I used to burn in my room when I was 13 that severely annoyed my mom. Which was probably why I burned it. I also smell a bit of spiciness, as in savory-not-sweet foody spiciness. dry: Very complex. If I had to describe it, I would say a smoky, spicy jasmine-y floral. Has also turned a bit soapy on me. season: fall and winter. office-friendly? Yes, I think so. Not too, too heavy. overall: Again, so complex. The jasmine comes out more on my skin, but has a supporting cast of interesting scents, to create a dark, warm, slightly heavy scent. It'll be nice to have but not in frequent rotation as I'm a more girly bright scent person in general. Fun to try.

preconceived notions: This was one of the first scents that made me want to try BPAL. I'm a huge, huge film person, and have always been really captivated by classic Hollywood. As in, I read biographies of Louis B. Mayer in my spare time. So, I love the name and concept of this one. I expect it to somehow capture all of my idealized visions of Old Hollywood - starlets, Clark Gable, the Paramount lot, Sunset Boulevard, gossip columns, movie premieres. in the imp: Very much a cherry, fruity scent. That's all I get at first. wet: Still mostly cherry, but that fades pretty quickly and the other notes come out to round things out. It gets deeper and darker after a minute or two. dry: At first, I wasn't too hot on this one. I liked the fruity notes, but it felt a little headshop-y at first. Very much a strawberry incense smell. After half an hour or so, it began to blend in with my skin into a musky but still darkly fruity scent. I liked it more and more as it went on. season: any office-friendly? Possibly. Yeah, probably not, it's a little heavy. overall: Really complex and nice, by the end. It's a bit lovely and glamorous, and a bit vulgar and sweet. Perfect for the concept. Lasted several hours.

preconceived notions: The description makes me think of women in white dresses, cafes, red velvet curtains, wealthy people with lots of leisure time. in the imp: An interesting floral with resin-y or wood tones? There's something behind the floral that I can't pick out. It's a deeper, more powdery floral, rather than a bright floral. wet: For a split second after I put in on, it reminds me of the smell of old historical houses (uh...which is weird), the smell of aged wood and flowers, but that's gone pretty soon. Very, very faint. dry: This is very nice. After an hour or so, all I get on me is the resin of the opium, which I kind of love. It's so dark and soporific. I put this on before going to campus to work on various school things, which was not good as it made me feel sort of drowsy and languid. A little faint though. season: fall/winter office-friendly? Not so much. Coworkers may suspect opium-use. overall: An interesting scent, sophisticated and complex. The opium is the dominant scent on me, with bits of powdery Lily of the Valley coming through at times. I don't really get any vanilla or sandalwood. Would be nice for those evenings when I have nothing to do but lounge around in my best clothes, drink expensive liquors and look beautiful. Because I have those evenings all the time.

preconceived notions: I thought this was going to be very bright and fruity. The name seems bright and orange-y to me. I just learned from Merriam Webster's that maenad can also mean "a raving, frenzied woman". Haha....that's awesome. in the imp: Whoa. Very fruit-y, very orange-y, with an odd overtone of hairspray. Huh. wet: Fruit Stripe bubblegum! dry: Nice fruity scent, quite orange, with a background of warmth. season: summer office-friendly? Maaaaaybe. It's a little aggressively fruity. I'll probably keep this one for a weekend scent. overall: A light, innocent fruity scent, with a background of spicy darkness. I really like this and will use the imp for sure.

This was a generous freebie from poppycocteau. preconceived notions: I'd forgotten the notes in this, but I thought it'd be soft and floral. in the imp: Smells very similar to Ophelia, the same watery green-blue floral. This is the water lily, I'm pretty sure. wet: Same - blooms into a lovely floral. Soft and aquatic. dry: A slightly warmer floral than Ophelia, due to the carnation coming out more, but the water lily note they share is still really evident to me. It has the same "historical floral" feeling that the other Shakesperian scents I've tried do, if that makes any sense. Well...that somehow makes sense in my mind. haha. These don't smell anything like any other floral perfumes I've tried outside BPAL - very unique and lovely. season: spring, summer, but really any season office-friendly? yeah, definitely. overall: Very nice. Soft and innocent and pure. Yep. This is also pretty long lasting on me. I might consider a bottle in fact.

preconceived notions: When I think of this one, I think red! Bright, fruity, paint-your-toenails kind of red. in the imp: Yessssssss. Strawberriesssssssss. I love strawberries. wet: Very bright very awesome strawberries, right away. dry: I will admit that this smells a bit like my beloved Strawberry Shortcake doll from childhood, but that's a good thing. A young, fruity, bright, bubbly scent that cheers me up. Not so much like a fresh strawberry, but more like strawberry lipgloss. Again, a good thing. season: summer office-friendly? Yes, and this would be perfect for when I volunteer at this elementary school library near me. Yeah. I'm approachable and friendly, kids! I smell like strawberry Lipsmackers! overall: Dang I like this a lot. Bottle for sure! Just a drop of this cheers me up right away.

My very first review! Yay. preconceived notions: Makes me think of cloud forests, humid rain, green lush jungles, Peru, etc etc. in the imp: Wow oh wow. Smells exactly like fresh-cut fruit - the smell of the peel of mango and papaya. wet: Still quite fruity. I can't put my finger exactly on what it is...there's definitely a "tropical fruit" scent on the top, and some bright clean florals underneath. dry: This is so lovely. I don't really get any amber coming out, although I could see how it's the background scent, holding things together. A soft, lush, tropical fruit scent. season: spring, summer office-friendly? Yes. It's light...almost too light. But yes. overall: I love almost any tropical scent, and this is no exception. This is lighter and cleaner (less sweaty/humid feeling) than Manila and Santo Domingo. I got mad love for Machu Picchu. Indeed.