storme

In the imp: sweet sugary roses and sweaty leather. Hrm. On me, wet: nicer on me than in the imp, even though it's still really just leather and roses. It smells more blended, somehow. On me, dry: man, this just gets better the longer it's on. The rose sweetens the leather and stops it being too masculine, while the leather stops the rose becoming too sweet and sugary. I'm not sure it's very sexy, really, but it still smells nice. Verdict: I keep worrying this will tip over into being too sugary-sweet, but the leather does a pretty good job of restraining the rose. Very pleasant - soft and warm and womanly without being too overt.

In the imp: lemon sorbet! This is a very sweet lemon scent. On me, wet: oooh, immediately sharper, to my relief. Still vaguely candy-ish, though - like a sour candy. On me, dry: hmm, this takes a while to stop being candyish, and by then it's mostly just a slightly sweet white musk scent. enh. Verdict: Nice enough. if a bit sweet, and I have better scents for the times when I would want this sort of scent.

A gentlemen's blend, possessed of dignity, charm and refinement, but in truth masking a corrupted, hideous, soulless core. White musk, lime, lilac and citron. In the imp: mmm! sharp, biting citrus and lilac. gosh, I'd forgotten how much I like the smell of lilac. On me, wet: slightly powdery lime and musks. the lilac is much less prominent than it was in the imp. On me, dry: ...interesting! the lime has a much closer throw than the lilac, so at arms length I get wafts of soft, gentle lilac. Close up, the lime and musks intrude and this smells sharp and dangerous but in a *really* good way. Jack the Ripper was hot, apparently. Later: the citrus dies down, leaving a beautiful lilac-and-musk smell that lingers for ages. Verdict: even if this didn't work on me, I would keep the imp around for use in scent lockets or just to sniff at. As it is, it works and is pretty fascinating. Awesome!

In the imp: mm, spicy apricot - smells like a pastry of some sort. On me, wet: whoa, sherbet - very fruity, but sort of a fizzy powdery fruit. no hint of cloves, and it's not even really an apricot sort of fruit smell. On me, dry: ah, now, this is better. Sweet juicy apricots, with hot, fiery clove dusted all over the top. Verdict: I'm not sure how often I'll wear it, but I will definitely keep the imp around for now.

In the imp: warm, almost sweaty musks. On me, wet: metal musk and dragon's blood. The fruits are adding a wetness and ripeness to the whole thing, but they're pretty faint in the mix. On me, dry: sweet dark swirling musk and warm plump fruit and hot burning resins. Man, this is dizzying - strong and sexy and knowing. Verdict: Aw yeah. This feels like what I was expecting from Scherezade. Sultry and dark and confident. Yum.

In the imp: lavender! and patchouli! the cleanest dirty hippy *ever*. On me, wet: mmmm lavender and wood, and not too much patchouli. it's a little bit herby-sharp, but it's quite soothing. On me, dry: weirdly, this has morphed into something quite deep and musky and warm - with just the faintest whiff of lavender adding an air of hastily-assumed respectabilty to the blend. Verdict: Man, this is nice. I may have to try it on the SO, but even if he doesn't like it, I'll keep the imp around. Very subtle and sexy.

In the imp: green, unripe blackberries. On me, wet: ripe blackberries, with some crisp green herbs in the background and something faintly citric adding sharpness to the mix. On me, dry: this smells like a fruit-and-herbal shampoo on me - a nice one, but still a shampoo. Verdict: Not hideous, but not really worth keeping either.

In the imp: Butterscotch! And rum, too - it smells like a very dangerous cocktail, really. On me, wet: now the rum is stronger than it was, and there's something buttery behind it. Still a lot of butterscotch, though. On me, dry: still butterscotchy rum. It gets a bit more buttery and less butterscotchy over time. Verdict: well, it's okay - it gets a bit too greasy-feeling for my taste, but it's certainly not horrible. Don't think I'll wear it, though.

In the imp: whoa, so much cherry. it's a candied cherry, though, not a fresh one. On me, wet: a Cherry Bakewell Tart. This smells exactly like those taste. It's really disconcerting. On me, dry: the anise wakes up and takes over, and then slowly fades into the musk. The cherries have faded to barely a whisper. This reminds me a bit of Blood Moon - I guess that's the red musk, maybe - and is quite sexy once the anise calms down a little. Verdict: Hmm, I might try this in a scent locket - I love that sugared-cherry smell, even if I have doubts about whether I want to smell like that. I'll keep the imp around, anyway.

In the imp: mmm, green watery peony. Yay peonies. On me, wet: wow, that is very crisp and green, but very faint. On me, dry: man, if this wasn't incredibly faint I would like it a lot. Soft gentle pink peonies and crisp greenness. Verdict: Lovely, but my skin chemistry devours it. Off to the swap pile.

In the imp: lots of spiced pumpkin, and freshly-sliced apples. On me, wet: lots of fresh, juicy, apple with a hint of spicy cinnamon. The SO says it smells a bit sour to him. On me, dry: ech, the pumpkin came through, but in a watery, pulpy, rotten way. What's left of the apple is all brown and nasty too. Where did all the freshness go? Sigh. Verdict: I could smell it withering and becoming a rotten mess on my skin, all sour and icky. Not one I'll be keeping around.

In the imp: a green, almost aquatic, peony scent. On me, wet: this is a manly aftershave sort of smell, aquatic and sharp with very very light floral hints. On me, dry: the peony smell has returned! The manliness fades a little, and this becomes a more balanced, slighty melon-ish floral with a dusky base - but there's still something that reminds me of men's aftershave in this. On the SO it smells more floral and more like I was hoping it to smell. Sigh. Verdict: Pleasant enough in its own way, but probably not worth keeping around - it clearly smells better on others than on me.

In the imp: whoa, musk and sandalwood and sharp herbs. This is *sultry*. On me, wet: musk and cinnamon and sort of an creamy oatmealy tang - ah, grains, okay - that's holding the cinnamon back from being crazy. This is the sexiest porridge smell ever. It's also the only time I've ever had a BPAL scent *sting* on my wrist. On me, dry: I am sticking with the 'sexy porridge' description here. In a big sandalwood bowl. Comforting and sexy and warm and spicy and yum. It's still stinging my wrist a bit, but no rash. Verdict: Man. This smells *good*. If it works on the SO then I will sneak it onto him - but even if it doesn't I am keeping the imp and using it on, uh, some thick-skinned and nerve-free part of my body. Maybe my knees.

Stephanotis, cyclamen, heliotrope, white rose and gardenia. In the imp: wow, soft white florals. very pretty. On me, wet: this is a very juicy, soft floral - I keep thinking there's a pear scent to this, but I think it's the gardenia, since it's the same note as from Ace of Hearts. On me, dry: yup, this is almost identical to Ace of Hearts. Slightly fruity, bright white, sweet, girly, and clean-feeling. If anything it's slightly more velvety and soft as a scent. Verdict: Geee. As with Ace of Hearts, I'll keep around the imp - but I'm not certain I'll use it very often.

In the imp: sweet fruit and sweet rose - very delicate but very bright. On me, wet: The pomegranate and the rose are both still there, but this is a powdery rose and it's not blending with the sweet pomegranate. On me, dry: hmm, this has blended down a bit, but this is a murky smell, not a bright one. This doesn't seem like the usual BPAL rose, since that doesn't usually go so weird on me. Verdict: This seems like it could be awesome, but these scents just don't play together well on my skin. I wanted juicy, I got powdery floral over stickiness. Sigh.

In the imp: hmm, slightly rancid coconut. On me, wet: oh, the rancidity is the shea butter, I guess. Now it's on my skin, this smells a lot like cocoa butter moisturiser - creamy and thick and rich. On me, dry: this is a much softer coconut smell now - more like the coconut milk than a moisturiser, but still with a weird hint of a skincare product to it. Verdict: I think I was hoping for something a bit fresher. This is nice, but so much like a moisturiser that I might as well use one for this smell.

In the imp: sweet, slightly spicy woods and resin. On me, wet: whoa, patchouli and sandalwood and resin. I can't smell much else at all. Man, this makes my nose twitch. On me, dry: powdery honey and tobacco, and the faintest whiff of carnation. Meh. At least the patchouli has calmed down. Verdict: Those notes looked like they might just be awesome on me, but nope. At least it's fading swiftly.

In the imp: sharp, sweet tea and musk. On me, wet: lots of sweet vanilla honeyness, but not as cloying as in other BPAL scents. It's reminding me of Jack a fair amount. On me, dry: still lots of sweet, wet, sugary vanilla. The SO likes it. I'd like it better if I could smell the musk, or even the lemon others mention, but at least it's not overpoweringly sweet like I feared. Verdict: I have 3 imps of this, for various reasons. I guess I will use those up, but I probably won't be buying more after that.

In the imp: sweet pure wet white florals. Wow. On me, wet: oh, man, the gardenia is almost pear-like - white and damp and sweet. This is very pure and bright and clean-smelling, with a lot of wateriness, and a lot of floral. On me, dry: this is such a delicate, sweet, girly scent. All those florals produce a slightly fruity, watery, clean rose-fronted blend. It's very faint, unfortunately. Verdict: Lovely - but I suspect (after some comparison) Peony Moon will fill the same spot in my scent-wardrobe. Still, I'll hang onto my half-imp.

In the imp: mm, caramel. slightly burnt, creamy caramel. On me, wet: hmm, this is now a slightly alcoholic caramel, but a lot fainter than it was in the imp. I wonder if my skin is going to overamp the sweetness? On me, dry: this is still burnt-caramel-smell to me - there's a lot of alcoholic and woodsy warmth behind the sweetness, but not much coffee. Not too cloying, though. Verdict: Interesting. I don't get much of a university feel to this at all - except in the sense of student drinking. I think I might keep the imp around to retest before making my mind up on this one.

In the imp: cinnamon! not quite as hot as in Three witches or Wrath, but still, very very cinnamony. On me, wet: dirty cinnamon. there's an earth base to this, I guess - and maybe some clove and a dark wood too. On me, dry: spicy clove-and-cinnamon woods. it smells like an empty spice box, in a good way. After a while it fades to a soft clove-and-wood smell. Verdict: Gee, this is a lot subtler than I feared it would be from the imp. Nice enough and it's made me stop fearing cinnamon in scents so much, but it's not a scent I think I'll ever wear.

In the imp: bitter, bitter neroli and soap. On me, wet: still a lot of neroli and soapiness to this, and not much rosemary at all. On me, dry: this is rather a muted, bitter-orange-blossom over softer florals. It's a softer neroli than I'm used to in BPAL, actually. There's only the faintest wiff of rose, but it's a pleasant, sweet rose. The rose and the neroli don't work together so well, though. Later: well, this does all blend together pretty nicely after a while - it's startling, since neroli Does Not Work On Me Ever. Verdict: This plays a lot nicer on my skin that I thought it would. I quite like this, in fact. I'm not sure it's a scent I'd ever reach for, but the imp can stay.

In the imp: sharp bitterness over very faint, musky florals. On me, wet: whoa, suddenly it's the smell of the ocean near a field of flowers, lots of sharp stinging saltiness and breezy florals. On me, dry: detergent. not a lot else - maybe a faintest tinge of the earlier aquatics, but mostly it's a lily-and-rose-ish laundry detergent. Verdict: fascinating concept, but wrecked by my skin chemistry. Alas.

In the imp: light, crisp airy fruitiness. A bit like Embalming Fluid but with a satsuma-ish tang to it rather than lemon. On me, wet: there's a hint of a lovely rose-ish floral in this I couldn't smell in the imp. The fruit has mellowed a little and blends wonderfully with the green tea I can smell, and the whole thing smells *awesome*. On me, dry: everything has softened and blended together The tea and the fruit and the florals and something sort of watery... sweet but airy. Smells like springtime. Verdict: I think I need a 5ml of this at some point - it's now very different from Embalming Fluid or Aizen-Myoo, the two I would have compared it to in the imp. And it's *lovely*.

In the imp: very light sweet white florals. On me, wet: hmm, is there something citrusy in this? There's something sharp under the sweet slight girly florals, and the whole scent is stronger than it was. On me, dry: hm, this now has a weird combination of florals and muskiness over faint.. aquatics? I can smell the fresh lightness, but there's something nasty beneath it that reminds me of rotting flowers. Verdict: This feels like it's trying to be innocent and light, while really there's something nasty underneath. It's making me consider unicorns in a whole new light, at least, but I don't think I'll keep the scent around.