AnnetteL

Pure violet on me, from imp to skin to drydown. I would have guessed this to be single-note violet if it wasn't labelled Quite sweet, but not artificial. It lasted a *long* time on me, and stayed strong - light application required! I already own another violet perfume, so I won't be buying more of this right now, but I will consider it when/if I use that up.

In the vial, and wet on my skin, this is an incense store smell. As it dries down it quickly changes to almost pure sandalwood, with just a hint of rose and a touch of spiciness. I really don't smell any jasmine, patchouli, myrhh, wine, or any of the other notes from the description. Sandalwood on me is a bit of a love/hate thing, in that there are some specific versions of it that work really well and others that I find quite unpleasant. Unfortunately this particular one isn't "good sandalwood" on me, so I'm not that fond of the blend as a whole.

Carnal and March Hare give me the same "feeling" (a translucent juiciness) though their notes are totally different - I think if you liked one, you would like the other. Eclipse, Old Morocco and Snake Oil are also all similar on me - Eclipse obviously has the cinnamon, and Old Morocco is a little more exotic, but they are similar (especially over time, after about six hours I can't tell the lingering traces of them apart). Oh, and Effluvia: Yes, March Hare is much sweeter than Depraved. On me, Depraved really comes through as earthy with a hint of apricot, whereas March Hare is apricot with a hint of spice... they share the apricot note, but I wouldn't say they're very close.

This definitely lives up to the description, it is exactly what I had imagined! It's deep and thick with green woods and leather, but lifted with the spicy wine and sweet dragon's blood notes so it doesn't end up too masculine - true gender-neutral, IMO. A perfect (modern, romanticised version of a) castle feast! This goes straight into my top 5. Now I want to quaff things

The dominant note on me is the bamboo, with some light florals and hints of crisp air. It's not at all strong, I applied twice as many wand-swipes as usual and it's still just a light hint of scent. Serenity is certainly the right feeling here - I have to say I don't get as much of a modern vibe as I expected. This is a case of not being the kind of fragrance that I prefer, but I think it is the nicest I have smelt in this fresh airy-green-floral genre. (Admittedly I could tell just from the description that it would probably be too light for me, but it was a free extra from the lab, and I probably would have ordered it eventually anyway because of my not-so-slight obsession with Tokyo!)

First I thought 'aniseed?', then 'Fisherman's Friend cough lozenges*?', then it finally decided to be super strong cinnamon with some herbal undertones. My skin felt hot where I had applied it, but I didn't get a rash. It's not quite what I want to wear as a fragrance (the word conflagrant comes to mind), though I gather that the Voodoo Blends are not always intended purely as perfumes. I'm not at all sure this will inspire, er, nocturnal activities, though I will report back if so * I don't know if these are purely a New Zealand phenomenon, they are EXCEEDINGLY strong herbal cough lozenges - most people can't stand them but I quite enjoy munching on one when I'm all blocked up, they certainly clear the head and sinuses...

First up, I must admit that I am not, on the whole, a fan of light florals. This was an generous extra from the wonderful lab. It sounds like it has interesting notes - sandalwood, musk, sage - but they are very light. I *can* detect the sandalwood, in fact it gets more noticeable and interesting as the fragrance wears, but overall this is mostly just a floral blend on me. And as with many BPAL white florals, slightly soapy in conjunction with my body chemistry

A very light, fresh scent. I get a strong note of citrus peel - not the fruit itself, just the peel and pith. The other notes don't really come through separately on me, just a light floral blend, sometimes I can pick out the tea and sometimes not. It didn't last that long on me, usually I can still smell my fragrance quite well when I get home from work but with this I had nothing left. I'm not excited about it at all but it wasn't unpleasant, just not for me. (To be fair, I generally prefer warm perfumes in the sweet / spicy / woody / vanilla range, so this was out of character for my tastes. I would definitely try it if you like this sort of thing...)

Oh UGH UGH UGH. I really disliked this - in fact, it was my first BPAL wash-off It smells exactly like this range of hand cream etc. that they put on Air New Zealand planes, called Les Floralies, that I have never liked. I am not sure what the note I dislike is - I always thought of it as generic "aquatic", but that's nowhere to be found in this description. (Now I'm wondering if I have had the wrong idea about aquatic scents for years and am avoiding them unnecessarily!) I know I like tea, ginger and fig, so it's one of the herbals I guess...

This started out screaming as sticky, sugary grape bubble gum. Once the amaretto came through it was slightly calmer and the grape morphed into more of a cherry-berry, but still very gummy. I'll keep the imp, as there will probably be future occasions where I desire to smell like a gum-stick, but it's not really an everyday scent for me

I didn't really like this at first sniff, as it reminded me of a store I'm not keen on, but I've worn it a few more times and now I can appreciate it on its own merits! The amber grounds the sweet vanilla and honey well, and after a few hours I get very interesting salty skin notes coming through. I can see how this would remind one of, er, activities I think it may have crept up to 5ml-worthy...

Oh yes, I like this one very much, though I find it too complex and well-blended to really pick out notes to describe... I find that a lot of spicy blends have harsh edges, at the start especially, but this is perfectly mellow and smooth. I wouldn't exactly call it incensey (or at least not the particular slightly smoky notes I think of as incense) but it is warm and exotic and cosy, very enjoyable.

Exactly as it says - apricot and clove. The first few minutes smell exactly like sticking your nose into a bag of dried apricots. It then mellows out a little and the clove starts to come through. This is a pretty strong scent, light application is required! Interestingly, despite having completely different notes, this conjures up the same feeling on my skin as Carnal does - a kind of translucent, juicy sweetness. I like this one a little more, because of the hint of spice. (edited to fix my HTML/board code snafu...)

I got a wee whiff of orange and some florals from the vial, but when I put this on it turned into pure soap! Floral soap! Damn it.

An imp of this was thrown in as an extra on my latest order. I thought from the reviews I had read that it probably wouldn't work for me (Vicks Vaporub? - not my thing!) I put it on and thought "ugh, I was right"... but within 15 minutes it had become a delicious blend of incense, sandalwood and spices with the unpleasant notes completely gone. It is unusual, and will require delicate application, but extremely good. I think I will have to get a full bottle because now I can't stop sniffing my arm! I mean that literally, it is hard to type this because I keep trying to jam my forearm up my nose...

Another fabulous free imp from my latest order, BPAL rule! This is wonderful, on me the notes that come through strongest are smoke, leather and tonka bean (similar to vanilla). The smokiness is subtle, a hint of just-got-home-from-a-club, but absolutely not the stale ashtray smell of having actually been around smokers That and the leather are traditionally masculine, but they combine really well with the sweet base. On me it actually ends up a little reminiscent of licorice, yum! Unique and entrancing, I desire a 5ml bottle. Definitely one of my favourites.

Initially this is just almond over a sweet milky base. Gradually the almond retreats into a more oaty scent, and loses a little of the sweetness. It's still quite reminiscent of marzipan, though. I won't buy a full bottle since I already own a flock of sweet almond scents, plus it faded much faster than any of the other oils I've tried.

This starts off wonderfully, soft and creamy with a contrasting dose of spiciness (I know it's the carnation, but it really smells like pepper on me) that make it interesting indeed. It does tend toward baby powder after a couple of hours. At first this put me off the scent, but after a few more wearings I am appreciating its comforting qualities and am really getting quite fond of it It seems almost a sleepytime scent, maybe I will put it near my pillow...

The first minute is pure almond. Then it suddenly breaks out with the cinnamon - and it's a strong, Big Red Gum kind of cinnamon. Perhaps 15 minutes later the vanilla emerges and everything calms down into a very moreish blend. It's foody, but subtly so, not like being smeared with a cake. Very nice - it reminds me of Keiko Mecheri Loukhoum (a soft powdery-almond-milky scent that's one of my favourite fragrances) but kicked up a notch with the cinnamon and spices. It is very much like the Lush Marzibain Christmas bubble bar I had a couple of years ago. I think I need a bottle of this one My boyfriend has declared it his favourite of all the BPAL I've made him sniff so far, as well.

This smells of delicious musky pink candy, remarkably similar to the overall rush of scent you get walking into the Lush store. I get a hint of apricot too, and a subtle earthy base. It is sweet, but not too cloying - I probably wouldn't want to wear it all the time, but I will definitely use up the vial happily.

This smells exactly like a Spiced Pumpkin Yankee Candle I used to have - and exactly as it sounds, sweet pumpkin with light spices. I am not usually averse to foody scents, nor do I find this unpleasant, but I just don't feel that it is something I'd want to wear. I think it is the slightly synthetic tone that I find offputting. I might use it in my oil burner as a room scent though, it is pretty yummy, just not on me!

Well, I don't get a 'touch of decay', but this is a steamy, humid floral scent. I smell all honeysuckle and no jasmine, though I must admit I'm very picky about what I consider jasmine. (I grew up entranced by the scent of a jasmine plant in our yard, I have never found that scent properly captured in a bottle...) The unfortunate part is that it is very soapy on me. This is a problem I have with a number of BPAL florals, so it is some kind of personal body chemistry issue. It would be fantastic if not for that! - Annette

This was an extra in my order (thanks Beth!), but sadly not for me. It is mostly heavy woody notes, though I can definitely also pick out the pepper and grass. It's just too masculine for my tastes, but I think it would be wonderful on the right person. (Probably, though not necessarily, a man.)

Am I right in assuming that the Australia shipping rate applies to New Zealand as well? TIA! - Annette