steffanina

Wrath- In Bottle: Ooh, that rich powdery cherry-ish Dragon's Blood smell, plus something equally rich and spicy. Wet: Cherry cherry cherry clove. Soon it is clove clove clove cherry! Dry: I was going to say that this was a scent best for fall or Yule, with that clove scent, but now that the black pepper scent is blooming, I've reconsidered--this is definitely a great scent to be called Wrath; it's "don't mess with me"; it's "I will so kick your ass." Terrific scent to make you strut! Overall: I like!

Lightning- Lightning slashing the midnight skies over the endless reaches of the ocean. The electric tang of ozone, marine notes, and a drop of sharp rain. In Bottle: Strong and citrus-musky; a little like the insect repellent men's cologne scent I don' t like. Well, will try! Wet: Still citrus-bright. Yes, it fits well with the name! So sharp and cruel, this scent, as if it couldn't care less about your needs. A slight nasty turn is coming on, though--dirty-diaper scent. More like...the sort of flowers that are keyed to attract carnivores, if you know what I'm talking about. Dry: I like this best dry, though it's not a huge favorite. Sharp and very, very clean. I'm still going with "cruel" as the best descriptor. Overall: Interesting but not something I'll wear frequently.

Pele- In Bottle: How odd! I can smell almost nothing. Wet: Very faint floral scent. Getting a little stronger, perhaps? Dry: Interesting. This is one of those hot ozone-y floral scents on my skin; it's very faint and non-cloying and I like that. It's not likely to be a frequent flyer though. Overall: Nice, will try again, not a huge hit with me though.

Bess- Inspired by the tragic, ill-fated love of Queen Elizabeth I and the Earl of Leicester. This is our modernization of a 17th-century perfume blend favored by British aristocracy: rosemary, orange flower, grape spirit, five rose variants, lemon peel, and mint. In Bottle: Grape, spice...this is fascinating! Wet: Citrusy and I think I still smell the grape. I wouldn't have been able to call that spicy smell rosemary if I hadn't known. Dry: Hmm! Not a lot of staying power but I think I like it anyway; not too strong, not too cloying or flowery. The fruit and rosemary is an interesting combination. Overall: Pretty, interesting; I'll give it another try.

A chilly, bright perfume: flurries of virgin snow, crisp winter wind and the faintest breath of night-blooming flowers. In Bottle: A cool scent, something foodish or fruity underneath. Wet: At first there's a bloom of something burnt plastic-y, which I think is that food scent I first experienced. Dry: Still with a burnt smell but now I kind of like it. I'm not sure if it's starting to grow musty on me.--No, it does not seem to. It ends up kind of a rich burnt sugar smell, and I think I do like this best after a hour or so. Not likely to be one of my favorites but it's certainly interesting. (A note: I wore this to bed and when I woke up there was still a hint of it, and at that point it was delicious--rich and warm-spicy like cinnamon or sarsaparilla.) Overall: Interesting. Conditionally like.

Monster Bait: Closet- In Bottle: Buttercream with strawberries! Wet: The strawberries bloom hugely and that's delicious. --Now I can smell that it's more like blackberries. Dry: Beautiful scent--stays strongly blackberries, doesn't get musty. Not as much staying power as some of its counterparts, but that might be the lotion I put on and the amount of handwashing I've been doing. Overall: I really like!

Monster Bait: Underpants- In Bottle: I smell vanilla, I smell booze. Wet: Ooh, here comes that woody chocolate smell. And the vanilla's there, and it's kind of buttery and boozy. Boozy in a nice way. Are you going to get musty? Don't. We'll see. So far this is yummy and niiiice. Dry: This has only that boozy bit of mustiness that scents like Juke Joint have on me--not truly unpleasantly musty, just suggesting tobacco and booze. Overall I love the scent wafting up to my nose--the whole effect is just delicious. Sweet and decadent and edible. Overall: I really like!

Monster Bait: Underbed- (I have been so sad over the failure of Lump of Coal to work well on my skin that I had to try some other foodie scents that I've been holding back.) In Bottle: Slightly alcoholic, like vanilla over toasted coconut. But not quite coconut. Wet: Oh, my god, that's beautiful. It's like a mace cake I once baked, with that perfume-spicy food scent. Oh, I hope this works for me. Dry: OH MY GOD. This is...this is sweet and teasing and fruity and sugar-spicy and vanilla-alcoholic. I can't get my nose away from my wrist. It's delicious. It's fabulous. It DOES NOT TURN MUSTY. I want to eat myself alive. My god, I think I'm getting HIGH from sniffing this. This is the first scent, and I mean first, even over Dorian, that has made me say that I have to have a bigger bottle of this. Overall: OH MY GOD. FABULOUS. (I have to try the other Monster Baits; I can't wait. I have to KNOW.)

Lump of Coal- (I couldn't stand it anymore teasing myself with the anticipation I had to TRY THIS ONE omg!!) In Bottle: Chocolate rich rich chocolate just like brownie batter OMG OMG. Please be this good on my skin. Wet: A little...bit...of must is trying to bloom on my skin. If that lasts I will kill someone. Dry: (weeping) Must. It's there. So is the chocolate, but the must is inescapable. My heart's breaking. Overall: (crying too hard)

Dracul- In Bottle: Wood and chocolate and...lavender? Wet: Bright and sweet and pine. Oh, lovely pine, not at all like Pine-Sol. I'm in a forest at mid-afternoon; it's overcast and not too warm. I have travel ahead of me but I'm not tired at all and there's the promise of a good night's rest tonight. Oh, yum. Dry: Oh, the wood, the wood and chocolate. It wants to be sandalwood but refuses to be that dull. It grows softly powdery; ooh, I want to bathe in this. It's delicious. And just a little bit masculine. Or it's a female power that I don't usually feel, one of the two. Funny--if it were on a man, I wouldn't love it half so well as I do; it feels too "scent-y" for a man. I love it on me. I feel so powerful wearing this. I totally 0WNZ0RS everyone I encounter. You love me. You want to bow down before me. Admit it. Admit it! Overall: I love.

Perversion- In Bottle: Mmm, vanilla and butter rum and pipe tobacco. Oh, please work on my skin. Wet: Tobacco must blooms, but I remember that must; it turns out okay after a bit. Butter rum also comes out, oh yes! I smell COCONUT; where's that coming from? Dry: The must didn't last longer than a few seconds. Joy! This is like Malibu Rum (the coconut kind) turned into a skin scent. Lasts a good long time but is never so bland or sweet as plain pina colada or some fruity girly business like that. This is rich and delicious and complex. I'm totally in love. Overall: I love.

Dragon's Blood- (I've got to give this one a try before more time passes, seeing how it's an ingredient in so many scents.) In Bottle: Oh! Beautifully powdery and light. Wet: First like lilies and gardenia and honeysuckle, with something...cherry-like. And almost like carnation, but the bestest yummiest carnation ever, because I don't usually like the wussiness of carnation. This is NOT what I expected from something called Dragon's Blood, heh. Dry: This stays lovely all through. Florals that are yummy and not at all prissy or light. Still not anything I would have expected from something called Dragon's Blood, but I'm pleasantly surprised. Overall: I really like!

The Red Queen- In Bottle: A fruity scent mixed with yummy woody scent. I like this one in the bottle! Wet: Oh, more of that. Cherries and wood! I like that mahogany--there's an almost chocolate/pipe tobacco undertone. Dry: Though there's a medicinal smell to the cherries--like cherry Robitussin--that doesn't put me off completely. That woody smell is so nice! --Oh, the medicinal smell is leaving now, and that chocolate/pipe tobacco smell is left, without the mustiness of actual tobacco. How delicious this one dries down! Overall: I really like!

Shango- In Bottle: This is hard because it smells like someone's spilled The Premature Burial (or some earth scent) on the label of this imp, so I smell earth all over it before I even open it. Once it's opened, I smell grape pop! Wet: Ooh, yummy and candy-like. A bit of the banana along with the grape. Dry: This stays candy-like, and it's light and fades before too long, but I really need to try it again, because I still have that earth scent on my fingertips from that label. I need to decant this one into a fresh imp (or at least tear off that label and wash the bottle well) and give it another go in the future. Overall: I think I like; must try again. Addendum: I've figured out what it was--my imp of Zombi that arrived in the same shipment had a cracked top and the whole imp leaked and that's why most of the labels in the shipment smell like Zombi. On the second try, all I said before goes--grape pop and banana, candy-like, fades quickly, overall nice.

Lucy's Kiss- In Bottle: Ooh, kind of fresh and citrusy-floral. Wet: Lemon verbena, I'm sure of it! With some florals behind it. Must see how this settles. The rose starts to come through a little bit. Getting a little Lemon Pledge-y though. Dry: How interesting it is that I always say I don't usually like Rose scent, but all the BPAL rose scents usually end with me saying, "This rose is actually nice." Cool! I don't love this but it's not cloying. Overall: Okay.

Red Devil- In Bottle: Orange and spice. Wet: Oh, what an odd, herbal, spicy bloom upon my skin. An undertone I don't really like, either, kind of gone-to-dust. Will await the changes. Dry: This cinnamon-y scent of which people speak--I think I'm getting it, but it's not very pleasant. It's kind of rude and plasticky, best I can describe it. This scent does not seem to be for me. Overall: Not for me.

Zombi- Dried roses, rose leaf, Spanish moss, oakmoss and deep brown earth. In Bottle: (Or perhaps I should say, all over everything! The imp cap cracked and leaked Zombi all over the other bottles and labels in the shipment.) Earth. Earth like in The Premature Burial. Wet: Earth scent. And I can smell the rose beginning to come out. Dry: The earth scent fades and I smell more rose than anything. It's a nice rose, however, not too cloying and faded enough that the memory of the earth scent affects it enough to give me the idea of dried rose petals, bare and dusty, and evokes the mood of this one. I don't love this one as much as I love The Premature Burial (love that sarsaparilla effect in that one) but it's interesting, definitely. Overall: I like. Will try again.

The Pool of Tears- In Bottle: Very aquatic, very sharp. Almost masculine. Wet: Interesting! Very intense, not floral or fruity or spicy...I can only say aquatic. Dry: This is unlike any scent I've tried or tried to describe. Yeah, I get the aquatic nature of it. I think sea spray, mermaids and cold coral-crusted treasures. Very, very interesting. I think it will grow on me. Overall: I like!

Haunted- In Bottle: Dark and musky; there's a bit of that insect repellent smell that accompanies a lot of men's colognes/aftershaves and puts me off. Will forge ahead, though... Wet: Ah, no insect repellent once it's on. This is heavy and ominous, like dark graveyards, like the air before the mother of all storms. Interesting! I think I smell the amber, and the musk is not so overpowering. Dry: Boy, my skin loves this one! This is heavy rich amber, all powdery and delish. This is not a light scent by any means; this is a "what a gloomy Monday; let's not fight it but wallow in it" kind of scent. Of course that might be because today is an overcast Monday, but it really fits my mood. If rich scents would turn me off on a particular day then I won't be able to wear it on that day, but otherwise it'll work great. --This also has HUGE staying power, and the longer it dries, the sweeter and more pleasant it becomes. Lovely! Overall: I really like.

Ochosi- In Bottle: Sweet sugar and florals. Wet: A very herbal-y bloom on my skin. Still sweet, a hot floral...quite foresty! Not really pine leaping out at me so much as mulch, undergrowth, the like. Dry: Hmm, rather quick fade.--Oh, here comes the must. Let me see if that stays around.--Yes, it appears that is does. No, this is not a pleasant scent for me. Overall: Goes musty. Don't like.

Endymion- In Bottle: I can smell the pear strongly and it's lovely. Wet: Getting a little acetone bloom as it hits and I don't smell so much pear. Getting a little soapy. Dry: The dry-down on this is actually quite nice. It smells like white musk and powder, and though it takes a while to get to this stage it's probably worth my trying it again here and there. Overall: I like.

Tweedledee- In Bottle: This smells amazing. What an awesome fruit scent, like pomegranate and orange. Wet: A bitter-orange smell blooms...oh, I like that! Dry: Interesting. The bitter stays around, refuses to let this be a sweet fruity smell. It's not musty, though. Overall: Interesting! I think I like.

Ouija- In Bottle: Wood and something that's not quite chocolaty, but rich and dark. Wet: Interesting--this is a little smoky and a little woody and pleasant. Dry: Continues to be pleasant but doesn't really bloom into anything nicer. There's a strong scent that borders on insect repellent but not quite that noxious as that usually is nasty and eye-watering for me. But I can't say I'm actually fond of it. Overall: Not for me.

Venice- In Bottle: Rose, lemon, a bit of baby-scent. Wet: Ooh, this blooms oddly. Lemon, plus something rancid underneath. Dry: This is bizarre--it fades quickly and leaves me with a big ol' "Wha' happened?" No impression at all. Overall: Uninteresting. Swapper.

Leanan Sidhe- ... Her perfume is a crush of Irish herbs and flowers, Gaelic mists, and nighttime dew. In Bottle: Fresh, deodorant soap smell. Wet: That deodorant soap smell strengthens, but it's not bad at all. A bit herbal; that's starting to come through more. Dry: This is a very fresh and pretty, sweet scent. It's sort of berry-herbal; reminds me of Herbal Essences. It's the sort of scent you'd wear if you wanted everyone to sniff around you and say, "I love your shampoo. What is that?" (Everyone says "green" about this, but I don't get that. I think my definition of "green" is "pine-like.") Overall: I like!