m13

I have to second edenssixthday's comments -- I had high hopes for this one (I have a half sleeve tattoo of Pele) but this scent, pretty as it is, didn't conjure up either the power and passion of the volcano goddess or that particular scent of Hawaii for me. And it's also uberlight on me and quick to fade away. I'll pass my imp along to someone who doesn't have predetermined ideas about how Pele should smell. they'll probably love it.

This was a frimp from the lab. (thanks!) I think Ultraviolet is beautiful -- a really interesting take on floral blends. The only problem is that it's just so *not* me that everytime I got a random whiff of the scent while I was testing it I wondered who was wearing the grown-up perfume. There's something in this blend that reminds me of the sort of perfumes my mom and her GFs would wear out for a party or night on the town back in the 60's. I also kept thinking I smelled Chanel lipstick. So -- very nice, but it never felt like it was a fragance I should be wearing (since I kept looking around to try and figure out who was wearing the pretty perfume, something I've never had happen with a BPAL oil -- I'm always aware that the scent is on my skin, no matter whether I like it or not). This fresh and light floral will be passed along to someone who can give it the love it deserves.

All rose on me, as usual with any blend containing rose (rose loves me, I don't love rose.) This was a much-appreciated frimp from the lab, and if I did love rose I expect I'd love this. But this will be sent to a loving home where will be appreciated and enjoyed.

What a fun blend! On me, Litha starts off as lemon + honey, about a half hour later it's mostly light fruit, half an hour or so after that we're back to honey only sans the lemon this time and with a whiff of spice or resin (copal I think) .... but between my boobs and in the crooks of my elbows it's herbs and honey. Works perfectly for capturing the feel of Summer Solstice but it'll be a swell scent for Lammas too.

Smells swell in the bottle, but turns to baby powder on me shortly after meeting my skin. Penitence does the exact same thing. I'm beginning to suspect that Myrrh and me are not destined to be.

I bought this because the moon was in scorpio when the lunacy went live and since I have a half dozen planets in Scorpio I felt like I wanted to make that evening even more special. It was also my very first lunacy. All that said, I was pretty sure I wasn't going to want to wear Lotus Moon -- almost all florals amp up to insane extremes on me and amber tends to go to powder within minutes of application. But Lotus Moon isn't your average amber-laced floral. On my skin it smells like taking a walk on a summer night, a soft whift of night blooming flowers, a green-scented breeze, perhaps a hint of rain in the air, and something steady, glowing and wonderfully rich and fertile underneath it all. I started off liking this, then applied it again the next day and loved it, and today I find myself craving the scent. Yeah, literally craving it. So much nicer than I expected -- the lotus and rose are subtle and well behaved, the amber isn't morphing to powder, and the little bit of pine that peeks out occasionally keeps everything fresh and grounded. I'm so pleased that this one turned out to like my skin as much as it does.

Refreshing, icy, wonderful -- in the bottle and wet on my skin all I can come up with for a description is "a big patch of really pissed off mint." Alas, after five minutes on my skin it is totally gone. I reapplied it again mostly for the rush (this really cools my skin) and just to see if a second layer would make it last a bit longer, but nope -- the mint screeches away happily on my skin for five minutes and then runs away. Oh, well. I'll try it in the oil burner. Into the hot, melted wax pool with you fickle mints!

Embalming Fluid really doesn't need another review -- we've obviously established that its a crisp, clean lemon/tea/sugar smell with just enough musk to round it out. And it's perfect to wear on a hot, muggy day when just getting dressed is enough to make you break out in a sweat. Beyond that, what really made me happy is that this didn't go to powder on me, my skin has been turning the most beautiful scents all icky baby-powdery lately but this stayed true and clean and lovely. And now, I will go back to sniffing my wrist

Wet: wonderful green, herb, citrus freshness About ten seconds after application: wonderful green, herb, citrus freshness is totally gone, replaced by a very soft fig note. Five minutes or so after application: soft fig note has also vanished. I liked the all-too-brief wet stage of Apothecary, so I'll hang onto the imp and re-test when its less humid, and will try it as a room scent as well. Meanwhile, my search for a clean, fresh but not too perky summer scent continues.

I love patchouli, but the strong wood scent in Depraved really isn't making me happy. It's as if I'd stashed a nicely aged vial of patchouli in a cedarwood box -- that's what this smells like on me. I'm not getting any apricot whatsoever, just sharp, sharp cedar and patchouli. It's not foul, but I don't really want to smell like a hippie hamster either.

Elegba... opener of the ways, big boss of the crossroads, lord of the road, trickster, righter of wrongs, giver of second chances, breaker of barriers, the great communicator, Mr. Fast Fix – and the god who I honor each morning by placing a hot cup of black strong coffee on his altar. Got to love a god who is as much of a caffeine fiend as I am, and I love me some Papa Legba. I've seen him work miracles in my life. Legba brings peace of mind, among his many other gifts. So I thought it was wonderful that his BPAL oil smells like summer vacation bottled (at least on me.) Mostly coconut, with the faintest occasional whiff of tobacco, the barest hint of booze. Everyone who smells it on me smiles. It's happiness in a bottle, and perfect for Papa Legba. I want to slather this oil on, bathe in it, burn it in my oil burner, and sprinkle it on everyone I know --at least for the next couple of summer months and then I'll have to find another scent to honor Papa – this one is a bit too summery to work year round. But, yup, big bottle for me ASAP.

Almost instant baby powder on me -- a slightly butch baby powder, but that's about it. Tried it three times because I wanted to love it, but it doesn't love me. I'm fine with the lab's sandlewood so i expect its the amber that's turning to powder. Sigh.

From "really nice shampoo" as other reviews here noted -- and straight to stinky hairspray on me within 15 minutes of application. I had the same experience with Fruit Moon, so this is obviously a personal issue between me and fruity scents. Machu Picchu was nice enough for the first five or ten minutes to encourage me to try it again in a couple of weeks, when we're deep in summer and I'm not on my moon, and see if there's any change in my skin's reaction or my response. I'd love to be able to wear fruity in the summer.

Nostalgia encapsulated. A soft, wistful blend of dry flowers, aged linens, and the faint breath of long-faded perfumes. To me this is comfort in a bottle -- hot milk sweetned with honey and sipped on a rainy, chilly night after a long but good week. In the imp and on my skin it's vanilla with a backbeat of light musk. I don't get florals from this, and that makes me very happy. The scent doesn't morph at all on my skin, it smells the same right after I apply it until it almost fades away after about 4 hours. Not something I'd reach for when going out because its not really me, but a lovely scent for a lazy day at home. I don't usually like sweet but I do like this. I'll keep the imp and probably add another couple of imps worth of Antique Lace to my collection as needed. Bet this would be lovely added to a hot bubble bath too.

On me, this started off as overly sweet fruit doused liberally nail polish remover and didn't morph one little bit. From start to finish/fade away, fruit with nail polish remover. I don't do well with fruity sweet scents but was trying to expand my horizons when I purchased this as an imp from a forum member. I'm quite sure it's my body chemistry that's making this so yucky on me, I'm not blaming the blend. Onto the swap pile, and off to scrub my wrists.

I'm amazed that all this minty goodness I'm whiffing in the bottle doesn't make me smell like I smeared myself liberally with toothpaste. Instead it's as if I had a good roll-around in a mint patch after an afternoon storm. For reasons I will probably never be able to figure out my skin doesn't scream MINT though I can smell the mint quite clearly when I sniff my wrist. I suspect its because this is such a well-balanced and well-thought out blend so it's subtle but clear. I get virtually no morphing from when I put it on wet to when it fades out hours later. Perfect scent for a beastly hot summer day, and bless it's little heart Cathode is even making me feel cool and fresh and cheerful in the midst of major mugginess.

In the bottle: cherries -- cherries that have been stewed in spices. Too sweet and I don't want to smell like cherries. I'm not thrilled. But I bravely slide the imp's little plastic thingie across my wrists. Wet: Almost as soon as this hits my skin it becomes warm, spicy wonderfulness. Not too sweet, not too incensey, not too anything -- but a really lovely, complex mix. Yum. Imp is uncapped again and silk road is happily and lavishly applied to various body parts. After a few hours: This stayed true as it settled on my skin, which is nice given that I slathered it without waiting to see what it would morph into. I'm loving it. I like resin/incense scents and this one isn't too much to wear during summer plus i expect it'll work well in autumn and winter. I was/am so enchanted by this i googled "Silk Road" and found this nifty exhibit by the British Museum. (edited to correct a bit of sloppy spelling that would have bugged me all night long)

Wanted so much to love this, but it's pretty much just all roses on me from wet to dry down. Occasionally it morphs into something really interesting for a few moments, but then the roses come back strong soon after. Nothing wrong with it, it's a lovely blend and quite right for Lady Death, I think -- but I just don't like florals on me in general, and in this the heavy rose scent is making me woozy. Might let it age a bit and see what happens, or pass it along to someone who really wants and loves it.

Having just come off a year that could well be charitably as "Crawling Chaos" I was a little leery about trying this scent when I received it in Allie's wonderful newbie imp packet. I really didn't need to summon, stir or call up any further chaos. But then I looked up Nyarlathotep on Wikipedia and was intrigued by the description: "Nyarlathotep differs from the other (outer Gods) in a number of ways. Most of them are exiled to stars, like Yog-Sothoth and Hastur, or sleeping and dreaming like Cthulhu; Nyarlathotep, however, is active and frequently walks the Earth in the guise of a human being, usually a tall, slim, joyous man. Most of them have their own cults serving them, while Nyarlathotep seems to serve them and take care of their affairs in their absence. Most of them use strange alien languages, while Nyarlathotep uses human languages and can be mistaken for a human being. Finally, most of them are all powerful yet purposeless, yet Nyarlathotep seems to be deliberately deceptive and manipulative, and even uses propaganda to achieve his goals. In this regard, he is probably the most human-like among them." So, I worked up my courage and opened the imp. (cue the Twilight Zone theme) In the bottle: Mostly bergamot, with a whisp of incense smoke Wet: Still bergamot, and something golden and sweet -- honestly, I think I'm smelling honeydew melon here. It's like eating luscious drippy fruit in a smoky temple, post-ritual. Dry: Love, love, love this. It morphs into a warm, incense-spiked but bright scent that's perfect for summer when I don't want to wear my favorite full-on resin scents but can't quite force myself to wear a pretty floral. This is what I've been wanting for ages, a non-perky citrus. If it lasted a bit longer -- it fades on me within three hours -- it'd be absolutely perfect. That fast fade won't stop me from buying more of this one though.

In the Imp: Patchouli, deep dark midnight patchouli, with the faintest sprinkling of cinnamon Wet: Luscious. Still mega-patchouli, but I also smell sandalwood now along with that backbeat of cinnamon. 30 minutes later: Spent a few worried moments thinking the cinnamon would overpower all the other notes, but then patchouli, amber and sandalwood cheerfully beat the cinnamon into submission. Three hours: This settled down beautifully, it was a bit too strident there for awhile. Now its a beautifully balanced blend, and I can't stop smelling my wrists. Sin brings me right back to when I worked in an occult shop, after a few years the shop smell became an amazing deep morph of all our ritual oils, incenses and herbs – Sin smells exactly like the occult shop did. This is wonderful stuff. It's a hippie scent for grown-ups and the evil twin to Lush's Karma.