storme

In the imp: hunh, sharp alcohol-based-perfume-smell, chemical and bitter. On me, wet: sharp chemical-floral over baby powder. Man, something in this just isn't good, and I think it's the orris. On me, dry: hmm, better than when wet, but still sort of a chemically powdery floral, with only the barest hint of sandalwood to warm it. It's a fusty talcum-ish floral, I guess - dry and slightly choking. Verdict: Not even sandalwood and dragon's blood can save me from thinking orris is a nasty, dry chemical scent, apparently. Not one to keep around.

In the imp: curranty musky citrus. Sharp but somehow dark. On me, wet: powdery sharp citrus and lavender and.. hmm, I guess that's chamomile, the soft herbiness. Interesting. On me, dry: very powdery grapefruit over soft fruity musks and herbs, and fading fast. Mrf. It's also a little reminiscent of a bathroom cleanser, later on. Verdict: Off to the swaps pile it goes. I'm starting to think that maybe grapefruit isn't a scent that works on me.

In the imp: ozone and soap, very very very faint. On me, wet: lilies and ozone, sort of soapy, but still very very faint and light. On me, dry: still soap, very light powdery lily soap. Sniffing at it too long makes me feel like I've *bitten* a bar of soap, for some reason. The SO seems less than enthralled by it, too. Verdict: The lab sent me two frimps of this in the same order. I *wish* I liked it. It's not quite as OH GOD SOAP as Numb was on me, but still, soap. Alas. Who finds this sexy?

In the imp: red ginger and incensey resiny darkness. On me, wet: very red-ginger, sharp and spicy and hot. Slightly fusty somehow, though - I think that's the incense and herbs. On me, dry: mrf, gingerbreadish sweet cakey cloying fusty enh. This is okay, but I was somehow expecting a little bit more bitterness and less cakeiness. What I can smell of what I think of as ginger is nice, mind you. Verdict: I know this is the One True Love of many folks, but I'm not one of those folks. At least it won't be hard for me to trade the imp away, I guess.

In the imp: sweet, sharp white tea and ginger. man, a scent I've been anticipating trying for so long, and it smells much like I hoped. On me, wet: mm, crisp biting sweet-sharp tea and ginger - this smells to me somewhat like the greener stages of a carnation note, that contrast of sharp and sweet together. On me, dry: mm, still that carnation-ish sweet-creamy-sharpness with a bitter tinge of crisp citric sharpness and an undercurrent of heat. Verdict: Hooray for scents living up to my expectations. This is what I wanted a gingery scent to be like - sharp, raw, biting, hot, crisp. Muahaha. Doesn't last long, but hey, I can always reapply.

In the imp: sweet soft honeys and the sharpness of the citrus and carnation. On me, wet: man, this is vividly golden-orange to my nose, morphing between rich citrus and soft sweet hints of honey and ylang ylang. I'm not sure which I want to win yet. On me, dry: hot, warm, and hovering between too-sharp and too-sweet. This is a really intriguing scent - it'll be interesting to see how this morphs over my cycle. Verdict: I have a bottle of this coming in a swap - I'm not sure I'm going to need it, but I could see this growing on me to become a favourite. A very sunny scent indeed.

In the imp: light, fresh marine-tinged ozone and florals. On me, wet: mm, melonlike aquatics and rain, strong and fresh and clean. On me, dry: a soft, persistent, cleansing rain in a park in the middle of a city. Verdict: lovely, which I sort of expected because I am never going to be able to pronounce this name. I'm not sure it's a scent for wearing so much as an atmosphere-setter, but I'll keep it around.

In the imp: mm, plums and carnations, sweet but with a tang. On me, wet: oh, musks creeping over the tangy sweetness - lots of plum and the sharp green carnation breaking through. On me, dry: soft, powdery plums, faint musks, very slight spicy carnation. Verdict: The sweetness and the sharpness don't blend well enough for my taste at first, and the powderiness does nothing for me later. Sigh.

In the imp: lavender and pepper and citrus, very strong - enough zing in the scent to make my lips tingle, like I've rubbed raw ginger on them. On me, wet: you know, while I'm able to discern that the lavender and the pepper and the citrus are distinct notes, my brain keeps trying to override that impression and read it as root ginger, freshly cut. It's very pleasant, but not exactly sleep-inducing. On me, dry: It fades pretty quickly, but what's left is just even more peppery-gingery to me. And my lips are still tingling. Verdict: This is very good in a peppy-spicy-foody way. I can't say it did much for my interpretation of dreams, but it's a delicious smell.

A piercing, radiant perfume: dragon's blood resin, lily of the valley, lilac and galbanum. In the imp: oh, dragon' blood and lilac, and they work together far better than I feared. On me, wet: lots and lots of lilac. and more lilac. and a tiny hint of warming dragon's blood cherryish resin. On me, dry: everything's gone just *slightly* powdery, which I think is down to the lily. But mm, that lilac, warmed by the dragon's blood... even when it's slightly dry-feeling, it's nice. Verdict: I think I'll keep this around as a warm and cheerful counterpart to the sharp and bitter lilac of Whitechapel, but I don't think it'll quite replace it. Still, very nice in its own right.

In the imp: whoa, lots of red wine and lots of rose. On me, wet: rose and musk and a tinge of alcohol making the whole thing sort of hazily boozy. Not nasty, but sort of weird. On me, dry: smells like a really good winestain. It's sweet but the musk and the myrrh ground it in warm spiciness and stop it from becoming skanky. It's a very dark, very dominatrixish scent. Verdict: Once again I am forced to conclude that maybe I just don't want to smell like wine. As winey scents go, though, this is the best I've tried, but not my thing.

In the imp: weak bergamot-and-tea scent under lemons. On me, wet: lightly citric tea and and bergamot, with a soapy leather beneath it. On me, dry: There's very little lemon in this, on my skin, and not even much tea anymore. It's almost entirely very slightly sharp leather. Verdict: Bah. I'd heard such awesome things about this, and I even quite like leathery scents, but alas, Severin is just not for me.

In the imp: hello I am MARZIPAN, bow down before me. On me, wet: marzipan and - ah, clove bursting through, followed by sweet rich alcohol. This is like a really decadent cake mix. On me, dry: The sassafras comes through and mingled nicely with the clove and the rum, but I smell no bay and the almonds have more or less vanished. It's a completely different scent to the imp, which still smells like marzipan to me. Verdict: Way way nicer than I feared from the imp, and far more what I would associate with the area, but I think Laudanum is a better sassafras-y scent for me personally. Still, I might keep it around to prove to myself that there's *one* BPAL piratey scent that works on my skin.

In the imp: very green and sharp herbs, over slightly sour florals and something very dark and sweet. On me, wet: mm, the sourness and herbs vanished on my skin, leaving a slightly taclum-powdery floral-and-sweetness. On me, dry: hm, a slight return for the herbs, but the black currant is mingled in too. The longer this stays on, the nicer it gets - a lovely warm rich dark floral-and-incense-and-deep-rich-currant scent. Verdict: You know, this is nice, but something is stopping me from getting too enthused. Maybe it's because it's not quite sure if it's floral and sweet or dark and dangerous. I'll keep the imp around - but I suspect I won't find myself reaching for this much. We'll see.

In the imp: man, earthy. lots of herbs and lots of vetiver and incense. Usage: dabbed on palms and backs of hands and rubbed in. On me, wet: patchouli and vetiver, very strong, almost choking. I guess it'll keep me alert if nothing else, but it's not an entirely pleasant smell. On me, dry: soft but persistent vetiver. It's very good for making me focus. In fact, if anything, it's too good at making me complete tasks - it's very hard to break off and tend to more urgent things before I've finished what I'm working on. Verdict: I'm going to try others in the same general TAL area, but this one is pretty efficacious. I just wish it smelled a little better.

In the imp: honeysuckle! with a hint of sharpness that I think is the opium. On me, wet: hey, where'd it go? all I get is the faintest waft of sweetened vetiver and a slightly sappy greenness. On me, dry: very very faint dried honeysuckle with a smoky tinge of vetiver and opium. VERY faint, but what there is is lovely. Verdict: grf, and I had fairly high hopes for this - I guess I'll have to try to find a different honeysuckle blend to try out.

In the imp: dirt and patchouli and oakmoss. On me, wet: whoa, oakmoss and patchouli and not a lot else. This is like someone's stubbed out a stick of incense on the ground. Dusty but damp. On me, dry: hmm, this has softened and now the patchouli isn't so prominent. I don't quite get 'glittering', but it's not totally earth either. Verdict: Very dark, very grounded, not really speaking of gold to me, but of rich, fertile earth and dark spicy musks and woods. Probably the best earth smell I've tried from BPAL - I can't see myself wearing this, but it's one I'll keep a few drops of around to sniff.

In the imp: soaking wet wood and damp, cold, stinging rain. On me, wet: man, this is so much like the woods near my parents' home in a storm. Rain, wind, a turbulent river, and lots of fallen rotting wood to stumble over. On me, dry: The storm has wound down a little - the woods have settled from being churned up by the rain, and the air feels fresher and cleaner. Verdict: Insanely evocative. I'm unlikely to wear this but it evokes those wet woods so strongly that I'll keep it around to sniff at when I feel homesick.

In the imp: slightly soapy butch male aftershave-ish aquatic. On me, wet: salt, and ozone, and an almost melon-ish aquatic. Very fresh but still sort of masculine, and very like a darker Sea of Glass. On me, dry: quite a lot of melon and sharp green aquatic. This has mellowed to something just *slightly* sweet but still crisp and tangy. The ozone is really the strongest element, though. Verdict: Sea of Glass is a nicer ozone on me - this does have that fresh melon edge behind it, but it's also slightly soapy to me, so, swap pile.

In the imp: hmmmm, woods and dark green rose leaf. Interesting, and darker than I was expecting. On me, wet: ew, rosebushes well past their prime, browning and wilting. Atmospheric, but I do not want to smell like this. On me, dry: oh, this has blended down a little - it's now polished deep woods with vases of dead, mildewy roses scattered around. Weird. Verdict: I'm sticking with 'atmospheric' as a description here. Alas, I don't want to smell like the places it's evoking.

In the imp: hmm, aquatic and sweet leather and sandalwood. On me, wet: aquatic and a heavy greenish wood smell - elm or birch, my brain insists. Quite a lot of soap and salt to this. On me, dry: the wood appears to have seasoned and dried, but I'm still getting a lot of soap from this smell. no rum and not much leather (occasional taunting wafts, but not blended in with the other notes), but still a fair amount of salty aquatic. Verdict: might be better on my SO, but it's not one I'll be keeping for myself.

In the imp: a melted nutty cheap chocolate bar. mrf. On me, wet: oh, that's better - the chocolate went up a few grades in quality on my skin. It still smells a bit oversweetened, though. On me, dry: at school, we used to melt caramel-and-chocolate bars on the radiators, inside their foil wrappers, and then eat the gooey contents. This smells like those tasted - cheapish, sweet, sticky, warm, full of calories. Verdict: maybe I shouldn't have tested this during the height of the heatwave - it's too sugary-sweet for me right now. The SO likes it a lot, though, and he normally dislikes BPAL chocolate scents. Weird. Guess I'll hang on to it and try it again in cooler weather.

In the imp: dry roses and a generic 'commercial perfume' alcoholish sort of scent. On me, wet: man, this is totally a generic commercial rose perfume on me, and not much else. On me, dry: oh, hey, there's a dash of the lilac, and this has softened a bit, but enh, nothing amazing. No woods at all. Verdict: off to the swap pile it goes, while I grumble about how this sounds like it should have been great but was just enh. Sigh.

In the imp: mm, peony and tea. Like a fizzy-to-my-nose Peony Moon. On me, wet: still sweet, light peony and a gentle but sharp hint of tea behind it. I'm not getting much herbiness at all, but it's still very nice indeed. On me, dry: hmm, there's something a little powdery creeping out - the herbs, maybe? - but this mostly makes me think of Peony Moon layered with Emblaming Fluid. Which is a good thing. Verdict: the BPAL peony note appears to be guaranteed to make me happy - this is a lovely scent. This is what I'll be buying to replace Peony Moon when I manage to finish the two bottles of it I have.

In the imp: minty gin! On me, wet: hmm, this is indeed dark but very fresh and watery feeling. It's a scent that tells you to wake the hell up but to be very quiet in case the monsters hear you stirring. On me, dry: the lotus comes forward a bit, and this becomes sweeter but still minty and menacing. It's like minty chewing gum that wants to kill you and eat your brains. Verdict: oh, I think I'll keep the imp around - I'm unlikely to wear this as perfume per se, but it's definitely a good scent to wave under a sleepy nose to wake you up and terrify you into moving.