quickdrawkiddo

I'm not big on florals and especially not lilies as they tend to read as powdery on me. But this is very light and fresh, sort of youthful and innocent. It reminds me of Rapunzel, except a bit more fresh and dewy. This is very much the opposite of the dark, earthy scents I normally wear, but everyone needs to smell fresh and clean every once in a while so I'll hang on to my imps.

Imp of unknown age! The oil is a pretty dark golden color. This falls into the "pleasant but not me" category. It's a pretty straightforward scent that didn't morph much on me -- just a clean floral with a hint of spice. Lily is often soapy and old-lady-ish on me, so I'm glad the spices are keeping it from going that direction, but I wouldn't call it sexy either. Just clean and simple. I don't see myself wearing it often but I'll probably keep the imp just to have something different to reach for once in a while.

I have a special place in my heart for the weirder, less-popular BPAL scents so I really wanted to love this one. I knew I liked tobacco, juniper, and honey, so it seemed like a slam dunk. Unfortunately this one is really strong on the cantaloupe, which I've always disliked in real life precisely because of the smell. Lots of people are describing this as boozy and I can see where they're getting that. But to me it's more like very ripe cantaloupe plus sweet tobacco -- not so much boozy as heady, if that makes sense. The tobacco comes out more on the drydown -- it's still a sweet pipe tobacco and not a burnt ashy note. If the cantaloupe note stays in the background like it is now, I can see myself using up the imp.

I am SO glad I sprang for a bottle of this unsniffed! It doesn't have any of the usual notes that make a scent a must-have for me, but something about it was just calling my name anyway. This is one of those scents where I said out loud "it's so weird! I like it!" on initial application. It went on as vanilla plus something funky, and I mean that in a good way. Vanilla on its own can be kind of flat and cloying on me so I need something else going on to give it some depth. Enter sandalwood! The lab's description hits it on the head, actually -- it really does have an "elegantly distorted" feeling to it. No sharp edges or overpowering notes -- everything is well-blended and balanced. It's totally different from everything else in my box full of musk/leather/vetiver/tobacco bottles so I'm really glad I took a chance on this one unsniffed.

Fruity notes are always iffy on me, but berries seem to work better than peach or apple so I thought it might be worth a try. At first this was a very intense raspberry with a hint of orange thrown in - kind of like I was back in high school and had just slathered myself with B&BW Sun-Ripened Raspberry Which is definitely not an unpleasant way to smell, just not exactly what I'm going for as a supposedly-adult lady. HOWEVER! On the drydown the neroli warms up and blossoms, and it becomes really lovely and balanced. I never did get much of the orange, but that's OK -- the tartness of the raspberry goes so well with the floral neroli that it works great as is. This was a surprise hit on me and it lasted ALL DAY -- I applied it in the morning before work and I could still smell it in the evening when I was sitting on the couch watching a movie!

This is way too floral for me. Rose and lily individually have a tendency to turn other notes musty and old-lady-ish on me, and since they're combined here, the effect is very... NOT me. I'm not a classic florals girl. For some reason this reminds me of the old perfume White Shoulders, which I'm not 100% sure I've actually smelled, but this smells like what I always imagined White Shoulders smelling like (although I did look up the notes in White Shoulders and they're actually very similar, so I may be onto something). This is extremely feminine and classic without being either girlish or vampy, so if that sounds like your thing, give this a try. It's not unpleasant, it just doesn't suit me at all.

I'm also getting the "honeyed stone fruits" note that seems to dominate for other folks. It does seem appropriately named -- to me this smells like what you'd imagine hummingbirds drinking, floral and juicy. Unfortunately it's far too sweet for me.

I loved this in the wet stage -- it was so weird and cold-yet-incensey and totally different than anything else I had. But the longer I wore it, the more I kept sniffing my arm and saying "hmm, I don't know if I like this anymore." I couldn't put my finger on why until I realized it smelled like all violets, all the time. I've always found violet-heavy scents way too sweet for me so this gets a hard pass, unfortunately. All that aside, I wanted to thank everyone who's posted already for identifying the violet-y note as orris for me I didn't realize that's what orris smelled like and now I know to be wary of it in the future! Thanks guys

Allumina hit it on the head -- this is exactly what I imagine Dorian smells like on everyone else. For me the black tea note was more prominent in the beginning, and then it morphed pretty quickly into a sexy vanilla/incense (and this is from someone with a contentious relationship with vanilla). My first thought was that this must be what people love about Dorian, and my second was that I can see this being VERY popular. Apparently not everyone is having the same reaction I did! Oh well, more for me

OOH. I like this a lot. Without looking at the scent notes, my reaction was "sandalwood, orris, and... something sexy?" After looking at them, that'll be the Egyptian musk. This is a dry, smooth, sexy wood scent. Very sophisticated, as other reviewers have mentioned, and very different from anything else I have so I may need a full bottle. Unlike other reviewers, I'm not getting any "green" notes at all. Just sexy sandalwood. I think I've talked myself into a bottle....

I would have snatched up a full bottle of this unsniffed if it weren't for the white musk, which I have a complex (usually bad) relationship with. Usually it makes perfectly good scents go all musty and gross on me, but once in a blue moon I'll try a blend with white musk and it actually works. This one has so many other notes I like that I had to take a chance on a decant, and luckily it paid off. The white and red musks are both very subtle here -- I'm getting mostly plum with just a whiff of vetiver, musk, and vanilla in the background. I actually love red musk but I also tend to amp it pretty strongly so it's nice to find a red musk blend that's more balanced. I want to try it a couple more times and see if I need a full bottle, but I'll definitely use up the decant. So glad I took a chance on it!

This goes on all woodsy-resiny on me and doesn't morph much at all. As it dries down I get just a whiff of the floral notes, but they stay very much in the background, which is fine with me as florals and I are iffy. I can definitely see how this wouldn't be for everyone, but I adore it as an everyday scent. The incense makes it very warm and inviting and calming -- I have a ton of client meetings today and as soon as I saw this in my imp box, I went "Oh yes, that's the one."

I'm not sure what scared me off from buying a bottle of this unsniffed (probably the rose), but it's turning out to be the surprise hit of this year's Weenies for me. Maybe because this has two notes that I tend to amp (rose and red musk), it's much more balanced than I expected. I generally go for the drier, woodsier red musk blends, whereas this is more floral and womanly. I would say "feminine" but this has a grown-up, powerful lady quality to it, rather than a light girlish floral. The honey and vanilla come out more on the drydown but it's still far from being a foody scent. I'm really enjoying this and might need a bottle

Allllll the geranium! To me this was a dead ringer for those Mrs. Meyer's geranium scented cleaning products, which brought back some memories since I have an ex who used them obsessively. So the real test for me will be whether I can get past the scent memories! That aside, this is very pleasant. I'm getting a bit of leather in the background but this is mostly rose geranium, so if that's your jam, pick this baby up!

This went on very pumpkin-y and quickly took on a sharp note that I mistook for cinnamon. I think it's actually a combination of the cedar and the resin, but it's remarkable how foody this still smells. At first I was a little trepidatious about it but it's growing on me, and it's certainly very different from anything else I have, so I'll hang on to my decant for sure. I can definitely see being in the mood for something like this during the fall and winter!

I was avoiding this one like the plague because violet tends to be soapy and way too sweet on me, but I got a frimp of it recently, so I figured it was time to bite the bullet! Wet: cold, bracing mint. Maybe I like this after all? Dry: yep, there's the violet after all. It stays "chilly" smelling so it never becomes soapy or powdery, but there's no getting around how much I dislike violet. If you like Lush's Rock Star soap, give this a try -- that was the thing that made me realize violet and I are not friends, and this is similar, to my nose. I'm not running to scrub it off, but I doubt I'll want to wear it again either so this one is off to swaps.

Oh my gosh, I love this so much This was the Lillith I was the most excited about, and it smells exactly like I hoped it would -- dandelions and dirt. It's less like fresh cut grass to my nose and more like dandelions yanked out of the ground, with dirt clods still clinging to their roots. I've been wearing it all day and it's mellowed a bit, but it's still got that fresh planty bite. This scent reminds me so much of being a kid and playing outside all day I adore this and may end up needing a backup bottle. I've been regretting missing out on the Wild Dandelion SN but this might be better!

Caveat: I just got my lab order yesterday (yay!) so this one hasn't had time to settle down yet. With that said, I'm getting straight up cardamom, like Indian-food-style. I'm kind of flabbergasted that there's none in here! It's pleasant and very different, but not what I was expecting at all. I wonder if it's the tobacco and the pepper combined that are reminding me of cardamom. I've had similar reactions to scents I ended up loving later on, so I'm not worried -- these are all notes that work on me, so I'll try it again when it's had a chance to settle down. Still very wearable though

My skin chemistry is apparently WAY different from most people's, especially when it comes to sweet/foody scents. So I shouldn't be surprised at how much I like this, given how unpopular it seems to be The whole spicy/foody thing is usually not my cup of tea, but when I applied this, I went "OH! That's kinda sexy!" And it is, in an understated kind of way. I think it's the musk and the tonka that are taking this from chai tea territory to sexy, slightly spicy vanilla territory, for me. I'm still trying to figure out which musks work on me and which ones don't, but based on this I'm giving Egyptian musk a big thumbs up -- it's far less in-your-face than black or red musk on me but it gives the foody notes a nice depth. All in all this is a totally pleasant surprise! It'll be perfect for the cold weather coming up.

This went on like Flintstones chewable vitamins -- extremely sweet and citrusy, to the point that I almost had to wash it off. It's now been almost two hours and it's settled down quite a bit, but it's still not really my style. Almost all I'm getting is lychee and peach, so if that's your thing, you'll love this. It's really similar to those lychee martinis, actually. I'm not a fan of those or of sweet/fruity scents in general, so I'll be swapping this out.

I bought this imp off a lovely forumite so I have no idea of its age. This is QUITE the morpher! It goes on very green and minty and softens into ambergris and moss within an hour, probably less. Three hours later it's mostly ambergris, but very light and less powdery than ambergris sometimes goes on me. Alianthe hit the nail on the head -- it's a very gentle scent. Good for summertime or right before bed. I can see why it's not more popular -- the moss note is pencil-shavings-adjacent, to my nose, but that's my jam so I'm OK with it I don't have many "green" scents that aren't piney or leafy, so this fills a hole in my collection. I'm always in the market for what I call non-perfumes for hot weather or days when I play sports, so this one's definitely a keeper.

Wow, this is complicated and awesome! I love vetiver but I don't think I've tried anything like this before. The black musk is actually not amping as much as it usually does on me (a lot), and I don't find this nearly as smoky and "burnt" smelling as most vetiver blends. This is more like vetiver, woods, and something sharp -- maybe the cognac? It has a pleasantly chemical undertone that I can't identify but is VERY familiar to me. It's almost like brand-new leather or lemon verbena (because those scents are so similar ) I can tell it's going to drive me nuts all day, but in a good way. Very different! I wish I'd jumped on a bottle.

Yay! I've been wanting to try Manhattan for ages so I'm glad it lived up to the hype. Citrus fruits can be iffy on me so this one worried me at first -- it's very citrusy when freshly applied. Now that it's starting to dry I can detect the amber, woods, and just a tinge of leather. On the whole it's softer and cleaner than I was expecting -- it's light and delicate without being feminine. This would make a fantastic summer scent, so I may save my imp for when it gets warm again. I'm so pleased though - fruity scents are rarely this sophisticated on me.

This was low on my "to try" list, not sure why since jasmine is usually good on me. I think it's the lime I was iffy about -- the lab's lime note is often more "lime lifesavers" than fresh-squeezed actual lime on me. But the lab frimped this to me, and to my surprise it's really pleasant. To me this is the daytime version of Belle Epoque -- both are strong lotus-y scents but BE is darker and heavier, whereas this is light and fresh (just like the lab promises). The lime is less in-your-face citrus and more of a hint of freshness in the background. I get a ton of jasmine on the drydown, but several hours later it's mostly lotus. It's not really "me," per se - I tend to go for more masculine scents, and this is pretty girly. But I kind of dig it and will keep it around for when I'm in the mood for something different.

Finally got my grubby little hands on some Yellow Jessamine Honey! Been looking forward to this one for a while. I almost had a heart attack when I uncapped the imp because WHOA NELLY this is sweet. I love the lab's jasmine and honey notes but this almost veered into cotton candy territory. I started to worry that I'd made a huge mistake... then it dried and became GORGEOUS. Mostly floral with a whiff of honey, and I can almost smell something herbal as well. Don't be scared by the wet stage! It calms down pretty quick and becomes a lot more wearable. Now to track down a bottle!