faded_stranger

Samhainophobia 2006. This is my absolute favorite autumn scent. I wear Jack and the '05 Pumpkin Patches in September and October, but November is all about Samhainophobia. It's a very dark scent, heavy on the vetiver and the patchouli without being, you know, heavy. It's very woodsy and resin-y on my skin, which I love. I try to wear perfume very discreetly when I'm going to class so as not to disturb people with allergies, but on this one I always get compliments, no matter how subtly I applied it. Nothing else says gray skies and dead leaves quite like this, snatch it up if you get the chance.

I got this courtesy of the lovely Aldercy, and my experience with it couldn't have been more different. When I first put it on, I got harsh cherry/almond, like that awful Jergen's skin lotion. I thought for sure that I was going to end up washing this one off, but I left it on. About five minutes later, the almonds had really faded, and this fell to a beautiful spice blend with just a hint of honey. Sometimes I lifted my wrist to my nose and didn't smell anything, other times this just wafted up out of nowhere. It's absolutely beautiful, and the first true skin-scent I've ever found. Queen of Sheba =

Spell-soaked herbs and flowers, cold iron, broom twigs, bundles of moss and patchouli root, and moth dust. This one is a morpher on me. Sometimes it's fruity, sometimes floral, sometimes musky and spicy. For the first twenty minutes or so that I wear it, it's usually nothing at all. This is interesting, and I'm glad I got to try it, but since it's different every time I put it on, I'm inclined to trade it for something a little more reliable.

In the bottle, this was boozy and minty. So boozy, in fact, that it stung my nose and made my eyes water. I was a little apprehensive, but kind of excited to see where this might go on my skin. Once on, it went straight to powder with a vague mint undertone. Sigh.

Let me begin by saying that this imp is at least four years old, but I really don't know what to make of it. All the reviews say wine and berries, all the notes are fruity and herbal, but on me this was floral. Distinctly rose, in fact. I'll agree with people who said that this was a red scent, but I got flowers, not berries. Perhaps this was mislabeled somewhere along the line?

This scent is dominated by straight-up dirty patchouli. I love it. I think I get a little vetiver, too, but I'm not sure. Either way, it's fantastic.

I got this imp courtesy of the lovely Aldercy. I was excited about it, as I love tomato leaf, but it didn't surface for me in this blend. I got mostly berries with a background of pine and cedar. This isn't too sweet or fruity, and the pine doesn't remind me of Christmas. It's an unusual blend, and though it's not what I was hoping for, I'll enjoy using up the imp.

In the vial, and initially on my skin, this smells like chocolate. Not a genuine chocolate scent, though--more like a tootsie roll inspired perfume. Then the chocolate fades, and for maybe twenty minutes after, this doesn't smell like anything at all. After that it gets floral--very rosey to my nose, though I've never actually smelled a love-lies-bleeding. This floral stage is very soft and pleasant on my skin, and underpinned with a little bit of dirt and just a hint of the chocolate from the beginning. This one was soft enough to slather, and had a pleasing but not overpowering throw. Overall very wearable, though not something I'll be tempted to buy again when the imp runs out. I agree that this would be a great oil for Valentine's Day.

I'm not generally a fan of florals, but I'm always willing to make an exception for gardenia. That said, I adore this. Since I only buy myself one bottle of BPAL oil a year, I almost always stick with limited edition scents. This is the first one in a long time that's tempted me into putting a general collection scent on the list. Unsurprisingly, then, on me this one is primarily gardenia. Looking over the description of a dark, smoky tavern full of hellbound partiers makes me raise an eyebrow, because to me this is a startlingly fresh, innocent scent. The gardenia is backed by ylang ylang and tobacco flower, and a certain woodiness that must be the ebony. I never get any absinthe or whiskey, but that's okay, because they wouldn't really go with the summer meadow vibe I'm feeling. As it dries, the lavender comes out and gives this a more herbal feeling. I was shocked to scroll up and see that this scent seemed masculine to some people, because on me it's incredibly feminine--much more so than I usually prefer. I am quite in love.

The strength and sweetness of this honey note quite surprised me. Initially Blood Kiss is all cherry and vanilla, and I briefly get that "almost chocolate" note that others have mentioned. Within the hour the clove and vetiver show up to round this out and give it a deeper feel. At this stage it's still a very hey-look-at-me scent, though in an appealing, sexy way, rather than a Dane Cook kind of way. A few hours later this is all honey, with only the vaguest floral twinge that I suppose must be the poppy. I never get any red wine, but that's fine since usually that note goes unpleasantly boozy on me. Overall I like this scent a lot, and it's the imp I'll reach for on those rare occasions when I feel the need to be the center of attention.

This imp is from back when the scent was still "Old Dublin." Don't know if that makes a difference. This is a Christmas scent on me--pine and cold weather. It's very fresh, not like Pine-Sol or anything, and I quite like it. A few hours after drydown it's very faintly floral, but the rose never amps like rose usually does on me. I like it, but Dublin is not an oil I'll wear much outside of December.

I wore this one so constantly during my freshman year of college that when my imp ran out (but before I'd found a good scent to replace it with), several of my friends mentioned that "something had changed about me, but they didn't know what." Baron Samedi was earthy and spicy and sweet, and I positively adored it. This one never hit my radar as a "masculine" scent, though I'm one who can't wear oils like Wilde because they're too cologne-y on me. It's on my list of bottles to buy "someday," when the husband and I are no longer grad students and have disposable income.

I tried this imp almost a year ago, and disliked it so much that I immediately decided to pass it off to a male friend. I tried it again on a whim last month, via the age old method of closing my eyes and picking a random imp out of my imp bag. I wasn't pleased about putting this one on again (hadn't I given it away?), but I had picked it out of the bag, so I cautiously dabbed a little on my wrist. Wow. Maybe my nose was on backwards last year, or maybe the patchouli just needed to age. Greed is a dark, rich patchouli, and the copal blends with it beautifully. I'll confess I don't get much oakmoss or heliotrope, but that's okay with me. I used this religiously throughout February, and will be mighty sad when the imp runs out.

I wasn't really looking forward to this one, as I'm generally not a fan of coconut or ocean-oriented scents. As it dries there's a floral background that I appreciate; it's slightly spicy and smells vaguely of incense. This is certainly a lazy, tropical, almost muggy summer scent, and very enjoyable in its own way. For me, however, it's hard to get past the suntan lotion connotation that coconut inevitably carries. Despite that, this is something that I can occasionally see myself wearing, if only for the languorous drydown stage. Against the odds, this is an imp I'll be holding on to.

When I first applied this scent, it was a very harsh, generic floral perfume. Then, within the next ten minutes, it faded and softened into something watery and white, slightly powdery, but very airy and, well... I'm not usually one to attribute emotions to scents, but this one was plaintive. Very feminine, and rather traditional. I'm grateful that the green tea note never stood out, though--living in Japan, that's the last thing I want to smell like. I also never got the cinnamon or rose that other reviewers have reported.

For a moment, when I first apply this scent, it is thoroughly unpleasant. Then, within seconds, that dissipates to a heavy, liquid chocolate. Seconds later, that's gone too, and I get unsweetened cocoa powder. Slowly, the cherry warms in to give it a sweet, very dessert background. Hours later, this has morphed into a citrus-floral, but one still dusted with cocoa powder. Overall, one that I definitely enjoyed wearing, and I look forward to using up the imp.

I'm in the market for a sweet, clean summer scent, so I had high hopes for this one. I'm always cautious when applying a new BPAL for the first time, and I dabbed just the tiniest bit on the inside of one wrist. The assault of white floral soap that followed was something I would have expected only if I'd dumped the whole imp on my forehead while laughing maniacally. I went to do dishes immediately after applying it, as that usually gets rid of any trace of perfume I'm wearing, but Desdemona pushed through. An hour later, when my husband got home from school, he pulled me into a hug, and then, as he's aware of my BPAL addiction, asked me what perfume I was wearing. I told him the name, and that I wouldn't likely be wearing it again, and he smiled and said, "Good, because that smells like soap and pee." Alas, this one certainly wasn't for me. Edit: I've started scenting envelopes with this imp, and the results are beautiful. All the pretty florals that just die when I put this on my skin come out beautifully when I send my mail.

What an odd combination. At first this is the same pumpkin that all of the scents in this collection are, then there's a quick burst of succulent pomegranate, and then it disappears. Just like that. If I hold my wrist right up to my nose I get that fruity, autumny candle scent that other reviewers have mentioned, but underneath it there's an animal musk that I don't care for. I'll definitely try this one a few more times though, since I'm such a fan of BPAL's pumpkin, and hopefully it'll perk up a bit.

On me, this scent is all lavender and light musk for a long time. If I hold the bottle cap under my nose I get occasional whiffs of neroli, but that never shows up on my skin. On dry down, there's the faintest scent of violet underneath the lavender, slightly powdery, but in a good way. This is my default spring scent at work, because it's so pleasant and also so decidedly neutral.

I don't want to rule out the potential that I'm just crazy, but when I first put this on it's reminiscent of my father's bay rum aftershave. Fortunately that fades out quickly, and I'm left with a delightful incense-y scent that's not as dark as most of BPAL's incense scents. It's almost...well, ticklish. It's also rather salty, which works well for a pirate, but not so much for me. I like it after it's had awhile to grow fainter, so that there's still a lingering spice without the aggressive throw Anne Bonny has at first.

In the bottle, this smells very patchouli-esque, but that might be contamination from one of my other imps. Wet, it's...well, loamy is just about the only word that works to describe it. As it dries it goes kind of cedar-y, and reminds me of when I used to raise rats to give out as classroom pets. On me, that initial burst of cedar never quite goes away, but there's a soft sandalwood kind of scent beneath it that gradually comes out until it's about even with the cedar, and, on me, Mandrake is at its best when it reaches that equilibrium. I like this a lot more than I thought I would, but it's not something I'll be in the mood for often enough to justify buying a bottle--however, it'll be a joy to use up the imp.

Warm, buttery foodiness, full of sweet pumpkin and spice. In the bottle and on my wrists, Jack makes me think of walking into a Yankee Candle store when they've just put out all of their fall scents. I like it a lot, but if you don't like homey, foody smells this is one to avoid. It smells more like a pumpkin pie-scented candle than pumpkin pie itself, but is one of my favorite scents to wear in the fall, and is one of my boyfriend's favorites on me anytime of year.

Straight out of the bottle, Malice is sharp and rather medicinal, but within a few minutes it fades into a soft, very feminine scent that, on me, is dominated by the ylang ylang. The patchouli is next strongest, and combined with the myrrh and clove give the initial brightness a dark background. While the concept of "malice" seems to me that it should have a certain coldness to it, this scent is very warm. Absolutely lovely, and perfect for that post-Christmas gloominess. If I go through the imp, I'll have to consider getting a bottle for those times occasions I actually have to smell like a girl, instead of whatever scent I'm into at the moment.

Straight out of the bottle, Kali was all rose and honey touched by wine. Wet, all the other notes instantly gave way to a very strong, very sweet floral that was absolutely dominated by rose. After dry down, Kali softened considerably. On me, rose and honey were still the standout scents, but the tobacco came in to round it out with a smoky sweetness that gave this oil a dark underbelly. A half hour later the wine came back out, faint but rich, and then after about two hours Kali was totally gone. I never got any chocolate. Overall, this is a very feminine, decadent scent. It didn’t ever go soapy on me like so many roses do, and if I were a fan of womanly florals, this would definitely be a keeper. Lovely. Edit: I passed this imp off to a tranny friend on whom perfume oils have an unfortunate tendency to shirk into masculine territory. Not this one. It stayed floral and feminine and she adores it.

Wet, this scent is such a strong, sharp, green floral that it smelled almost herbal to me. Once on the skin, however, that sharpness faded into a pale floral, dominated by a rose that's gentler than most of the BPAL rose scents I've tried. Magdalene is delicate and feminine, but firm. It goes soft very quickly on me, but it's a pleasant, wafting softness that stuck around all day and into the evening.