rainbow

In the bottle and wet on the skin- honey and grape, and possibly something woody. The honey is really strong, and I'm not a fan of honey. (I suspect this would be a good thing for others, but alas, it's not for me). It reminds me of Athens, what with the grape-honey combo, but the honey is stronger, and the whole scent is louder, more brash, and in-your-face than Athens, which strikes me as a more quiet and refined scent. As I'm wearing this softens a bit, and the scents blend together more. This does give off the sense of the setting sun, in that it brings about images of the sky growing dark. It's a thick and cloudy sort of scent. It retains a strong grape scent throughout, but I just can't deal with the honey. It does soften and become more powdery, which is nice, but still there's the honey, and I'd rather not have that. I think there must be loads of people out there who would love this scent, because I get the sense that honey is a fairly popular fragrance, but I'm not one of those people. In the final anaylsis I'm afraid that this isn't for me, and it's going into my swaps pile.

In the bottle and wet on my skin- bubblegum and booze! Yum! (and a bit odd, but still yum). There's also a hint of cinnamon. As I'm wearing the pine and and greens cut through (is that the hawthorn and juniper? It's hard to tell) and they mix beautifully with the cinnamon. The bubblegum scent does fade but is still present. It definitely has the celebration, banquet-type feel about it. Over the course of wearing the scent becomes spicier- warm and festive! On the drydown this gets a nice resiny smell, similar to what I get from the drydown of Kabuki. This is a lovely, complex scent- there's more going on than I can possibly adequately describe. Seriously, Beth is a genius for putting this combination together. I have no idea how she does it, but it's such an unusual mix that works so well together.

In the bottle and wet on the skin- a bright, sharp floral with decidedly powdery undertones. Very powdery indeed, at least initially- it's just like baby powder. I can really smell the lavender and chamomile. Wearing- This turns into a nice, well-blended herbal floral. The sharpness to it makes it sad. Wearing further- Oh my goodness, this becomes absolutely lovely on me. Oooh, it's fruity, with a slight floral undertone. It's amazingly different from it's wet form. In fact, it's quite a happy scent for me at this point. You'd never recognize it as the same oil it smells of wet. This is one of those amazing mystery blends that morphs before the nose. It's quite lovely, particularly in the latter stages of wear. If it weren't discontinued I'd buy more. I knew if I ordered a bunch of discons I'd find some I love- and I have- Despair and Banshee.

Oooh, this is soft and light, the description is perfect. I'm smelling possibly green tea and other stuff I can't identify. As I'm wearing this softens even more, if that's possible, and becomes even more pale and delicate. This is an extremely well-blended oil, and it's difficult to pick out individual notes. It's a pale gree sort of scent, very soft and wispy. Honestly, adjectives do this more justice than description. It's lovely, almost like being surrounded with pale green organza.

I'd also suggest Empyreal Mist, which is extremely wispy and delicate. It's green, but definitely wispy and romantic.

I'm one of those people for whom limited edition marketing is a seller's dream. Tell me something is only available for a short while and I go stark raving bonkers and buy loads. I'm still working my way through the original imp of my all-time favorite scent (Venom), but have acquired 15 LE 5ml in the interim.

I nearly sqealed with glee when I first smelled this in the bottle, as it smelled so beautiful. In the bottle- fruity, with a breath of mint. The mint is very well blended, and for quite some time I couldn't figure out exactly what I was smelling with the fruits. Wet on my skin- still fruit and mint, but more brittle and a bit colder. There's a possible eucalyptus note as well. I'm having a hard time determining what the individual fruit notes are. I almost think I'm smelling pineapple or something tropical. For me this is the big winner of the Yule LEs. It dries down into a primarily fruit scent on me, with a bit of musk. Too bad I only bought one bottle.

Okay, I know this isn't a BPAL oil, but you might want to check out this thread in the fashion and beauty section: Here It's for a soap merchant who has a soap called "A Roll in the Hay" which is supposed to smell of fresh-cut grass. Might be a good shower alternative. Here's a link direct to the soap site: Soap

In the bottle- just like the description- strawberries and champagne. Wet on the skin- this is a crisp, tart strawberry smell that's really tempered by the champagne. It's a very dry champagne, at least to my nose. As this develops it becomes slightly sweeter, still boozy, strawberries and champagne. It's nice! I can almost smell the effervescent bubbles, if that's possible. Overall- a really original scent, and very celebratory. It becomes creamy on the drydown. Yum- I'll be getting a big bottle.

In the bottle and wet on my skin- like a pomegranate martini- crisp and fruity. I'm imagining the fresh, juicy pomegranate seeds, as well as the sparkling martini glass full of booze. It's hard to explain- I'd definitely describe this scent as boozy, but not in the traditional heavy way. It's boozy in a lighter, clear alcohol sort of way. As I'm wearing it the scent develops into a real fresh and fruity blend. It's still pomegranate, but there seems to be a citrus note as well- possibly grapefruit or tangerine. This scent stays relatively constant on me. This is a scent that gives off bright red and orange vibes. Like many fruity blends it didn't last long on me, but it was lovely while it lasted. I'll get a big bottle.

I'd be interested to know about this one too. When I was planning my imp pack for the Cold Moon order I chose my scents by doing searches for currently available scents with various notes, rather than browsing the categories on the site, and Ingenue definitely came up as a current scent. To make a long story short, I ordered it as one of my imp choices (it sounds so freaking gorgeous), not realizing that its availability was a mystery, so to speak. So, I guess when my order comes I'll be able to report- I'll either be getting Ingenue or a surprise imp.

I love cherries and I love anise so I was very excited about this. In the vial- my imp is wafting anise, musk and resin. It's very nice and quite sophisticated. Wet on my skin- cherries. Big time. Bright cherry-red candies. It almost smells like I'd expect a cherry single note to smell. Then it starts to take on a cherry cough syrup feel (and I kind of like that). As I'm wearing the anise gets a bit more oomph and makes the cherry scent darker and more complex. I mentioned in the similarity to Lush scents thread that this smells much like Jingle Spells bath bomb, but should clarify that I get that Jingle Spells scent (which is a darker, more musk and resin type scent) after an hour or two of wear, and you do have to go through a long cherry phase to get there. Not that the cherry phase isn't nice- I adore it- but it is a contrast to the darker elements of the scent. Overall, this is a lovely adult cherry scent. Definite big bottle for me.

In the bottle and wet on my skin- marzipan. This is sooo almondy it smells just like marzipan. Yum. As it dries this becomes smokier. Oddly enough, I think that's the rose. In any case, it is definitely becoming rosier. This settles into the scent of spicy almond cookies on me, and it's just lovely. It's the perfect blend of spice and sweetness, and the orange peel adds just the right amount of kick. On the drydown I get brittle rose with just a little bit of spice. I'm in awe of Seraglio. I never like foody scents and they never work on me, but this is the exception. It's just gorgeous, and it's gorgeous on me. It's very warm and comforting. Another poster mentioned a hug in a bottle and that's exactly what this is for me, too. Sadly, my skin eats this stuff right up and it hardly lasts on me. Oh well, it means I'll be getting a big bottle for slathering purposes.

In the bottle- florals with plum. Wet on the skin- grapefruit and bergamot tempered with something sweet. This is a fresh, springtime scent. I guess the sweetness must be the floral- the orris? It's delicate and pretty; I'm imagining white and pink blooms. Wearing- on me this bears a distinct similarity first to Queen Mab (creamy floral) then Macchu Pichu (creamy tropical fruit). This develops into a beautiful fruity blend that is perfect on me. It's hard to pick out any individual notes at this stage, but it is lovely. This is going straight on my top ten and big bottle lists. A big winner for me.

A reformulation and modernization of a true Classical Greek perfume, myrrhine: voluptuous myrrh, golden honey, red wine, and sweet flowers. In the bottle and wet on my skin- smells of honeyed wine, and brings to mind outdoor bazaars and markets. It's a burgundy and rich, luxuriant gold scent, full of opulence and luxury. As I'm wearing it the spices develop and the scent becomes much more incensey and resiny. The honey is still there, but less sweet. There's also something fruity, which smells almost like apples- possibly spiced or baked apples. I'm also getting more grape and less wine. A few hours in- wow, this scent has finally arrived for me. The honey has faded, and the spices are the predominant notes. This is really nice. Overall- I'm not a huge fan of honey, but I love the spicy, incense part of this scent. Also, I can really appreciate how well put together this scent is, even though I don't particularly care for one of the notes. The way the blend works is really amazing. Even just wearing it these first couple of times the scent is growing on me. I'll definitely work my way through the imp, but I don't forsee a big bottle, because of the honey thing.

Wet- yup, this is definitely roses and cinnamon. And it's pink roses to me, not any other color. The rose is the most prominent note on my skin when wet, but as it dries, the cinnamon really comes into its own, and it's like cinnamon with a rose background. Wearing- at first the combination of roses and cinnamon is almost a bit plasticy. It develops, however, into a warm, powdery scent. I find it comforting. Overall, I've had really good experiences with BPAL rose scents. I wasn't sure about this one for awhile, but it ended up working for me. I'm not sure it's in line for a big bottle, because there are other rose scents I like better, but I'll certainly use up the imp.

This has quite possibly been mentioned before, but Kabuki smells just like Jingle Spells to me.

Mmmmm...holiday spices and berries. There's definitely cinnamon in here, and it's quite strong, along with lots of red berries. On my skin the cinnamon takes over, and it really dominates the berries, which seem to fade somewhat. This develops into a lovely holiday spice scent. I was expecting this to be much more berry-like, but instead it's spicy. That's okay- spice is nice too. I did find that after an hour or so of wear the berry scent returned and the result was a yummy spicy-fruity scent. Spicy scent lovers, do try this.

In the bottle- I get pretty much all snow from the bottle. It smells exactly what I think snow would smell like, as well as some hints of white flowers. Oddly enough, though those things are "cold" the scent smells more warm to me. Go fig. I'm not entirely sure what to think of it. On my skin- for the first five minutes this goes all warm and almondly. It's just lovely. Very comforting. There's still some snow, but not nearly as much. I wish this phase would last forever. Unfortunately for me, it didn't. The almond pretty much disappeared and the scent went bitter on me. How sad- I wanted to love Snow White, but she doesn't really love me back. Ah well, I am sure this will be passed on/swapped to someone on whom it is magical.

Indeed, this is just like a Christmas tree, just as I imagined mistletoe would smell. Yankee Candle has a Mistletoe scent as well, and this bears a distinct similarity to that when wet. It's so green and Christmassy. On my skin I get more of a forest scent. Still ots of pine, a bit of pinecone, and something approaching red berries (possibly holly berries). As the scent develops- wow, I smell like holly berries and pine. This is so nice and Christmassy. It's invoking a real red and green feeling for me. I like fresh, green scents, and I like this. It would be a fabulous holiday room fragrance as well, and I'll probably use some as such, since I haven't got my own live tree. Overall, the scent is intense at the outset but mellows nicely on the skin.

I really, really enjoyed Bewitched, and it's quickly becoming a favorite. Wet it smells strongly of berries, and these are bright, ripe, bursting-with-juice berries. The scent is thick and a touch medicinal. It's a pinkish-red scent, definitely. As it settles a touch of lavender or something else of a floral nature peeks through, though I'm having a hard time identifying it. This is definitely going to be a big bottle scent for me. It reminds me in spirit of Glasgow, which I also adore, only Bewitched is a bit sweeter and more berry, while Glasgow tempters the sweetness with a bit more floral.

In the bottle- sweet and berry-like. I presume those are the sugared plums. Yummy, in any case. Wet on my skin it's still very sweet and fruity. On my skin it develops into a really true sugared-plum scent. It's yummy, fruity and sweet (you'd think I'd have a better vocabulary, but every time I sniff my wrist these same few adjectives pop into my head). The fruity bit fades on the drydown, and it becomes just a lovely, sweet, comforting scent that's a bit hard to describe. Very winter-holiday like, and very nice. This is a great holiday scent for me.

Very rosey and definitely dark, this is almost like dried roses on me. In fact, the rose I'm imagining here is definitely not a live black rose but a dried pink rose, possibly left behind in an old musty room. This scent remains fairly constant on me, and doesn't really shift or change, much as a dried rose would remain constant too. The scent is not overly heavy; it's pleasant and a bit sweet. It has an almost melancholy feel to it. Not really sad, just more of a bittersweet-tinged, wistful longing. Overall I like BPAL rose scents and I like this one.

In the bottle and wet on skin- I love mint and I love this. This has a very similar opening note to Nine Mysteries- the sweet mint, reminiscent of cherry candy canes. Pandora is clearly sweet because of the florals (and I do get a sense that it's a floral sweetness), but I do get some cherry in the scent- just some, not alot. As the scent develops and dries the mint, which is the predominant wet note, fades, and I'm left with more of a sweet, fresh floral. This is just pleasant to wear which might not sound like a ringing endorsement, but it is, it really is. This oil is a real pleasure to wear, in an unobtrusive sort of way.

Yes, I think there's a BPAL scent, the thing I get eminating from my pile o' imps. For me it's sort of the combination of everything together- the result is mildly floral and slightly sweet, and sort of hard to describe. I also find that there are certain notes my skin favors on drydown, and regardless of the oil blend tend to be the most prominent as the oil as fading- that is, if a blend contains them, my skin seems to latch on for the extreme drydown (i.e. when the scent is really on its way out). I haven't yet determined what exactly these notes are, but it's something that makes me curious. They're not unpleasant, but hard to pin down.