lucycat

This happened with one of the imps in an order that I received in late January. I figured it was a fluke; I've had an imp cap break before, but that was one I used repeatedly over months, while I'd opened this one maybe twice. It does sound like a bad batch of caps.

This was a frimp from the Lab. In the imp the cherry is most prominent; I thought it was almond at first. While super-foody scents are not usually my favorite, I like most of the Lab’s chocolate blends that I have tried. When I can smell them, that is. The orange blossom in Vice seems to cancel the chocolate out. It very quickly becomes chalky and sour-smelling on my arms. On the back of my hand, the cherry and chocolate put up more of a fight, drying down to something piquant and not overwhelmingly sweet and making me think of chocolate-covered cherries. Orange blossom rarely works for me, but if you like it, Vice is worth a try.

In the imp: Patchouli is the strongest note, floating over the other sweeter notes underneath. On the skin, some of those sweet notes come out more. It’s fruity from the blackcurrant, and the red musk is making its presence known. I can’t pick out the amber, but I think it’s what’s grounding everything, and I can’t distinguish the vetiver at all. This has a perfect sweet spicy autumnal feeling. It took me a few hours to realize what this reminded me of: Visions of Autumn III from last year’s Weenies. The patchouli is the one note they share, and it’s the same patchouli, though honey provided the sweetness in Visions of Autumn, and here I think it’s coming from the blackcurrant. Funnily enough, a friend who liked Visions of Autumn III on me thought it contained amber, which it doesn’t and Satan Starting does. I haven’t done a side-by-side comparison, but already I think this is a bottle candidate.

In the decant: Cannabis and hemp. Wet: The same. I’m glad I took the precaution of testing this on my day off! The unmistakable cannabis smell does disappear after about ten or fifteen minutes. I’m left with hemp and patchouli on my arms. The patchouli is doing its familiar freshly-sharpened pencil impression. On the back of my hand, though, the vanilla comes out and makes the whole blend much sweeter and smoother. If this is at all like Banshee Beat, then I can see what the fuss is about. My decant is still pretty fresh, so I want to see if aging brings out the vanilla. Right now, though, I don’t see myself needing a bottle.

On first sniff from the bottle, the one word that came to mind was “Old.” I know that’s probably not very helpful, but this oil really does convey the sense of something that has been around for a very long time, since the 16th century. It’s very dry sandalwood, with a vanillic sweetness from the benzoin. I’m reminded of old, sun-warmed wood: an old house with wood floors warmed by sunlight coming in through the windows. Like porcelina, I smell paper in this; before I checked the notes, I expected there to be parchment in Kit, as well as ink. I bought my bottle a year ago and have worn it pretty regularly. Kit is a blend that works year-round for me.

This was a frimp from the Lab. In the imp, this is pure neroli. It stays that way on my arm: not quite bitter, very traditionally perfumey. Only on the back of my hand do the fruit notes round it out and add some sweetness. Neroli lovers, this one’s for you.

This was a frimp from the Lab. Druid starts with a burst of pine, making me think of Christmas trees. So the forest is definitely a pine forest. On my hand, this remains incensey pine, though it becomes faint fairly quickly. On my arm: This is a druid whose woolen robes are washed with a nice detergent and fabric softener. Druid leans masculine, but not overpoweringly so.

This was a frimp from the Lab. In the imp it’s juniper and patchouli, equally balanced with neither dominating. They’re both strong. The loam comes forward when this is wet on my skin, though it may also be that this is just a very earthy patchouli. For a brief while when this is first applied, the juniper makes it smell like a strong cleaning product. It settles down to clean, fresh juniper and woodsy patchouli, balanced by the earth note. Close to the skin, there’s a warm spiciness under those woods, but I never do smell any floral. Burial is beautiful and also very masculine to my nose. It’s not very me, but I would love this on a man.

This was a frimp from the Lab. In the imp: Cherry almond, like Jergens lotion. As I expected, that very sweet almond note, which I love, doesn’t last, but develops into a deeper, less sweet nutty scent. The honey also comes forward, making this a nice spiced honey-almond.

This was a frimp from the Lab. I could have sworn I already reviewed it; I have an imp that I received from a forumite some time ago, but apparently not. In the imp: Violet in the foreground. I smell more floral than just violet, so that must be the lily-of-the-valley, but violet is definitely the stronger of the two. Behind the violet is the cypress and juniper. Violet is the strongest note here, giving the blend an old-fashioned feel somehow. For a little while I get an “ecologically correct cleaner” impression, which I think is coming from the combination of juniper, cypress and cajeput (apparently cajeput is related to tea tree.) On my arm, there’s a strange, slightly sweet fruity note in addition to the violet: before I looked up cajeput, I thought it must be some sort of tropical fruit. I really like the way Wings of Azrael smells on the back of my hand, where it’s myrrh plus violet: the only place I can really pick out the myrrh. I wish it smelled like that everywhere.

This was a frimp from the Lab. In the imp: Vetiver and flowers. Wet: Still strongly vetiver. I’ve never before gotten “ashtray” from vetiver, but in this blend, it’s teetering just on the edge of that. Also, oddly, when I smell this soon after it’s applied, I get a foody smell, almost a taste, that suggests chocolate. The florals are more discernible as this dries, though I can never pick out the chrysanthemum. It’s mostly rose, subdued, I think, by the vetiver, and a very sweet, syrupy floral I think must be the cactus flower—as a Northeasterner/New Englander, I have never smelled cactus flower. The syrupy quality intensifies as Santa Muerte dries down. Especially right next to my skin, it has a very foody quality. I suppose it makes sense that cactus flower would smell like agave?

This was a frimp from the Lab. I have never tried a blend with as many listed notes as Kubla Khan: fifteen! In the imp: Aquatic floral with incense. Wet: of all the notes, I can smell the mandarin most strongly. It doesn’t last long, but it’s very clear while it does last. Dry: First, it’s a mint-tinged floral. I think that’s actually the ginger and the Peru balsam. Clearly the “caves of ice” and flowers of the poem. Kubla Khan is like the smell inside a Lush store, all the notes mingled together. Definitely flowers (I can pick out the roses and jasmine if I really try) but also spices and mint and aquatic and… Next to my skin, this dries down to warm, sweet amber, vanilla and tobacco that suggests an old-fashioned library. The whole blend is very evocative of the poem: thanks for making me take another look at it for the first time in years! I usually prefer simpler blends, but Kubla Khan is worth trying for the scent experience.

This was a frimp from the Lab. It’s just a clean, fresh scent. There’s a slight hint of floral and aquatic, giving the impression of flowers in a vase of cool, clean water. Dirty is the best “clean linen” scent I’ve encountered. It’s cheerful, feels very appropriate for springtime, and is also somehow comforting. I would not have identified the floral as plumeria, but many people have mentioned smelling plumeria in the reviews. That helps explain why I like Dirty so much; I was a fan of Bath and Bodyworks plumeria lotion back in the day.

I also get almost pure neroli from Akuma. I tested a frimp of it just last week, and wrote in my notes, "Neroli lovers, this one's for you."

I reviewed Belle Vinu, which I really liked, almost a year ago, and wrote, I don’t know whether it’s more accurate to call this a flowery peach, or a peachy floral. I’m not familiar with osmanthus, and that must be what I’m smelling, because I know all the other notes. Osmanthus is the only floral note in Belle Vinu. I have never knowingly smelled it in real life; I grew up in Pennsylvania and now live in New England, and I don't think it grows in either place. I think Belle Vinu is worth a try if you're looking for that note, though.

So simple, yet so perfect: apricot and bourbon vanilla. Because it’s preserved apricot, it’s noticeably sweeter than a fresh apricot note would be. Yet it’s light, so it’s not cloying or overpowering. At first this suggests fruit-flavored gum, and for a few moments after application, the cardamom makes itself apparent as a bubblegum note. It suggests the spices in traditional pink bubblegum, as in Aunt Caroline’s Joy Mojo, though Aristocratic Couple smells nothing like that. Other than that, this is not a spicy blend. Somehow, I think because the apricot and vanilla combine to give a very innocent impression, this is a nostalgic scent for me. It also reminds me, understandably, of Comptoir Sud Pacifique’s Vanille Abricot, so anyone who likes that should try Aristocratic Couple. Lovely as this is now, I think it will really shine in late spring, when it’s not muffled by layers of sweaters and long underwear. My experience with Lupers and Shungas is not all that extensive because last year was my first Lupercalia update, but Aristocratic Couple is far and away my favorite of all those I have tried.

This was a frimp from the Lab. In the imp: Leather and, yes, zucchini. Wet: Primarily leather. Dry: This is a very rugged blend. The leather predominates, and it does have a rough-cured quality, different from the much smoother leather in Paladin. The vetiver is dry and almost tingly at times, but balanced by the leather. I was intrigued by the “field grey courgette musk” listed in the notes, and reading the reviews confirmed that it is indeed courgette as in zucchini. There’s something in Orc, as it dries, that makes me think “plant.” It’s a long time since I’ve smelled zucchini growing on the vine, but that has to be it. This would be great on an outdoorsy man.

This was a frimp from the Lab. In the imp: I can identify the rose and incense. There’s more going on here; there’s clearly a base of other notes, but I can’t pick them out. Thanatos smells very classically feminine. It’s a much brighter blend than I expected, given the inspiration; there’s an almost citrus quality to it at first. The sandalwood comes forward briefly when the oil is wet on my skin and for a short time after, but the rose very quickly dominates it. Pretty soon, this is rose with an undertone of incense. Apparently my skin amps rose even more strongly than it does wood notes, which is saying something. Thanatos is a very beautiful blend, for someone other than me.

This was a frimp from the Lab. In the imp: Citrus. I can’t pick out which one, but it’s not a sweet citrus. The floral note is just discernible. Wet: Now I can pick out the yuzu, which is the strongest of the citrus notes. After a few moments, the flowers become stronger. I always like citrus scents, and Night-Gaunt is the most successful of my most recent batch of frimps from the Lab. Because of the yuzu, it has a similar bittersweet quality to Aizen-Myoo, which is one of my warm-weather favorites. As is usual for a citrus blend, this has little throw and fades quickly. I will bring it out again in a few months; I think Night-Gaunt will really shine on a warm day.

This was a frimp from the Lab. In the imp: Evil Christmas tree? Though the notes say leaves, I smell an evergreen. It’s slightly sour, and there’s a hint of berries. Wet: Evergreens. Dry: My skin amps wood notes, and that’s what happens here. It’s such a strong evergreen/pine smell that it comes across as very masculine. After the oil warms on my skin for awhile, the musk and berries become apparent. The slight sourness I detected in the imp remains; this is not a sweet, cheerful Christmas tree. Bohun Upas would be great for a guy who wants to smell like sinister Christmas trees.

This was a frimp from the Lab. At first sniff from the imp, this is all musk and blackberry. However, when I reopen the imp and sniff again a few minutes later, the green tea is much more prominent. Wet: Musky blackberry. After a few minutes on my skin, this becomes very…high-pitched is the only word I can think of to describe it. I don’t know if the sage is causing it, but Bewitched smells more like a cleaning product than a perfume. This fades down to an inoffensive berry musk after a few hours. I suspect that the time of the month may be to blame for that high-pitched dry phase. Bewitched is worth a retest during a different week, and in warmer weather, because none of its notes have been problematic on me in the past.

In the imp: This is going to sound very odd, but for a moment this smells just like walking into a shoe store. I have no idea why, because there’s no leather in Cryophobia. Wet: Now I smell the mint and eucalyptus, and a little of the grapefruit. Cryophobia is cool on my skin, which I hoped and expected it would be. I thought it would be a good scent to counteract 90-degree days. It dries down to eucalyptus and mint, a spa-like scent similar to Envy and Pain in the GC. It’s pleasant, but since it does what those scents do, I don’t think I’ll need a bottle. I’m slightly disappointed, because I was hoping for a cold, cold scent to wear in the summer.

I’m with stellamaris: I love Lick It for the summer, and anytime I need a light, wake-me-up scent. This is sweet mint candy, peppermint with a little vanilla. I agree that it’s not as strong as last year’s Lick It Now and it does fade quickly. I don’t get the cooling sensation on my skin that I get from last year’s, though that may become stronger with age.

In the imp: Lilac. Lilac is one of my strongest, best scent memories: my grandfather had an enormous lilac bush in his yard, and every spring when it flowered, the scent was heavenly. Eusapia reminds me of that, and makes me sigh. Wet: There’s an almost candied quality to the lilac, which I think is the tea poking up its head. Dry: I don’t think I’ve ever tried a BPAL white tea I didn’t like, and that holds for Eusapia. The white tea comes forward and mingles with the lilac. After a couple of hours, I can smell the vanillic sweetness of the wax when I put my nose right against the back of my hand. On my arms, this remains lilac and white tea. Eusapia fades away completely by the end of the day. Like other BPAL tea scents, it would require reapplication.

In the imp: Booze-soaked fruit. This does smell like Christmas pudding ingredients, though not the ones listed in the notes. Wet: Still a bright, boozy fruit smell. There is a slight richness/fattiness underlying it from the suet accord, but that element is not strong at all. Dry: Apples! Tart, spiced apples. Not at all what I expected, but very enjoyable. After a few hours, I can see that this is plums, not apples. It’s clearly a plum dessert, though to me it seems more plum crumble with custard than plum pudding.