surlygurl

When the decants came, I sniffed this one - the most expensive, coveted, etc. bpal so far - and was "Eh. This is nice. No biggie". Then I put it on....... I was suddenly in the middle of a forest. It had recently snowed, and everything was white & fresh (the labs mint/snow note). I could smell the trees in their chill. The sage & wood remained frozen while an amber warmth played in the openings of the forest. Eventually the sun warmed up the woods & this scent generated a sort of melancholy warmth. Wow. A definite bottle buy.

This is lovely on me. As soon as I read the scent description, I knew it would be MINE. I agree with the Deserted Village comparison. This is sweeter and deeper. I'm getting mostly labdanum, and the throw is quite sweet. Too bad the clove is understated; the sage & pimento berry are apparent. This is lovely and may be a bottle purchase.

In the vial, this threw me a little. It smelled "off". Still, I braved the smell & applied. Immediately I got a pinky-orange vibe from it. Right underneath that was Lilith & the Jarocho, like someone took a batch of the leftover oil & scribbled on it with a pinky-orange scent crayon.

You guys wanna heard something freaky? This came in the mail today, and I thought it would be all cocoa & musk with tobacco (you know, like advertised ). So I applied it and got cocoa. Then that went away within seconds and you know what I got? Khandita from the Faces of the Heroine series. Seriously. It must be the same "severe" black musk, because that's all I smell. I'll do a side-by-side comparison later, but it's so similar it's almost scary. eta: after drydown, the cocoa comes out a bit and blends with the musk, making it more complex than before. Still, that black musk is fierce!

Wow. Ok. This is strange. Fresh on, my nose said "Huh? Is this supposed to be woods or resins? Or fruits or some kind of spice? Sort of an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink blend". Very confusing & a bit unpleasant. Then I came here & read the notes. "OH! HONEY!" Now I understand. As long as there's honey in a blend, it turns to sweet funk. This is no exception

The decant I have is from 2007. I waffled on getting a bottle because it was very grapey - white grapes, but grape nonetheless. Now, 2 years later, the grape is almost non-existent and it is a cold, clear, crisp scent underscored by a touch of sweet resins. This year, it may be a bottle purchase

This morning I did my usual stumble-thru-the-bpal-box and came across Perversion. This imp has been with me for a long time without being properly tested, so I decided to give it a go. Fresh on, its Sour Sour Sour! Sour white wine with something darkening it a bit. Yuck. As it dries, the sour fades and something sweet & a little creamy (tonka?) come out. The white wine is still there, slightly dry & fruity (no 2 buck chuck, this). The same tobacco that's in Elegba has a supporting role. It darkens as it dries (on me, anyway). All in all, its a very different scent. I may have to get a bottle, depending on final dry down. eta: I wore this to a fancy Christmas party this past year with sexy black pants & a shiny silver top - glittery & glam-y. This scent was perfect! White wine with a creamy background and a little hint of tobacco. Very sexy!!!

This morning I stumbled across this imp while searching for a scent for today. This was purchased when it first came out, so it's aged for.... however long. On my skin, right away I saw a similarity to Black Pearl. While that one was coconutty aquatic, Brown Jenkins is mature coconut with the dried husk thrown in for good measure. White sandalwood always smells 'dry' to my nose, which keeps it from being foody. There's either musk or incense or some such thing which, again, keeps it away from the foody/tanning lotion realm. It' mostly a Brown Coconut on my skin, which is ok by me

This was a last minute "may as well" decant. I didn't expect great things from it, but it is surprisingly lovely. Fresh on my skin it's very much a high ozone-y floral. Makes me sneeze. After it warms up it goes sweet but not powdery. It then swing back & forth between high-end lady perfume and something sweet & gentle. This would be a good scent for a wedding or a fancy night out. Since I don't have many of those I'll keep the decant but *probably* not get a bottle.

I am really surprised that this scent doesn't get much love. On me, it starts off with clean sweet lemon ozone. Very bright. Very spa-like. The white sandalwood/lemon combo reminds me a bit of scales of deprivation, but this is clean & breezy. After it dries it gets a little more... serious. It never really darkens, it just looses it's bubbly spa-ness. This is such a lovely warm weather scent. I could never figure out why people didn't sing its praises. Now I know - it's a secret . If too many praise it, we may have a riot on our hands

I broke out my little used decant in honor of this scent coming back. In my memories, it was very coffee with some chocolate. But in reality (& after 2 years of aging) this scent is a brown/gold scent, very warm & comforting. The coffee & dark chocolate become one, and the spices lift it up out of the 100% foodie realm. If you, like me, hate coffee - fear not! This is gorgeous!

Fresh on my skin, this is very manly. Cologne all the way. Instead of giving me visions of a land of gold, I get visions of John Wayne movies I think this needs to be washed off. I will keep the imp hidden away & come back to it this time next year, in hopes of a more pleasing scent.

When ordering decants I passed this one by because red musk & I don't get along. No harm done - or so I thought. When people started comparing it it Mme Moriarty I felt justified; then the comparisons to Snake Charmer came in and I had to get a bottle. So..... In the bottle: Not much of anything. Sort of like Giallo, which I didn't like. But then ....... On skin: A cross between Snake Charmer and something brown & spicy, like maybe a touch of Sin or fresh Anne Bonney. Sweetish clove is the main spice. The red musk is a bit player and not the evil that it normally is on my skin. The drydown, which starts almost immediately, sees something fruity come out. It blends with the musk and spice, creating a lush red spicy scent. I really am glad I got a bottle; this is gorgeous!

Preconceived notion: "This'll be an All Souls redux" In the vial: Soft sweet, cakey, a bit of incense. Same sweetness as All Souls. On my skin: Yeah, just what I thought...... wait....... it's softer, more ethereal. Not quite as sweet. Something fruity, like the beer is apricot ale. At the center of this scent is the incense - light lingering incense. The fruit/ale is like an aura, glowing from within. Dry, the fruit & incense are indistinguishable. It's not nearly as cakey as I thought it would be; the cake just provides sweetness. The waft is beautiful. Not your traditional incense scent. And to think I almost didn't get a decant of this. Now I need a bottle

Looking at the list of notes, I don't know what half of them are! I figured it was time to try it..... Fresh on, Incense Musk!!!! Something medicinal, sharp, like an Indian/Tibetan temple incense with herbs for healing. Dark & strong. A bit scary. As it dries, the sharp & scary fade and it becomes a woody resiny incense. Very brown smelling. What used to be OMG Medicinal! is now behind the incense resin, raising up. It even sweetens up a bit. This reminds me of one of the Faces of the Heroine series - the really sharp incense one. This isn't as dry, tho. I can almost picture it being a leftover from that series. I like how it smells, but it's not something I'd wear all the time. I'd love to see how it ages.

The other day I was wandering around a flea market, listening to music, hanging around the drum circle, smelling hand dipped incense, cheap body oils & food from the trucks. After arriving home I decided I needed to be more scented, so I randomly pulled out my decant of Berry Moon. *apply apply apply* - Oooh. that's strong! Some kinda fake berry / fruit scent! Was it this strange when I tried it upon arrival? Where are the berries? Why is it going 'car freshener' on me? Drydown - What does it smell like? It's not foody. Not like pie. Kind of .... incensy. Sort of like that hand dipped incense at the flea market. um.... yeah. So maybe my nose was broken from all the strange smells earlier, but berry moon is very fake on me. Maybe it'll age into something pretty.

This was a frimp from somewhere - one of those "Oh, interesting. *shrug*. I'll test it more later". Now, many months later, I threw it on hoping to beat the heat. In the vial - empty flowers. Kind of hollow. But also kind of high pitched. On skin, the "hollow" feel came forth. I suddenly know what it must be - white sandalwood. The same stuff that makes Scales of Deprivation (one of my faves) hollow smelling. That's the only thing I could place. Everything else was High Pitched Florals. At first I thought "jasmine", but I don't see it listed. As it dries, the white sandalwood departs and the flowers come together. I can smell gardenia. There must be others, but I can't identify them. A touch of violet. Nothing else. Overall, a strong sweet floral. Pretty, but not really my cup of tea.

This scent was frimped to me by the lab a few times; it's something I never would've purchased. in the imp: *sniff* um...... hot rocks? Cold rocks. Something earthy & cold & somber. On my skin: Cold. Reminds me of castle walls. No metals, just cool stone and some light spice. Eventually, as it dries, the sun comes out and warms the stone, bringing forth centuries of incense(?) & spices. Warm florals grow among the ruins. I really like this. It almost smells like spicy cotton candy, but not as sweet. I would consider this an autumn scent - summer flowers meet somber cold stone (opium?). Really lovely.

Recently I wore my *very* aged imp of Anne Bonney. Fresh it was woody & a touch gross; aged it has become drop dead sexy. It is now my secret weapon

Fresh on my skin, it's "Whoah, Caramel!!!" That lasted for, um, 3-5 seconds before the crazy fizzy red came out. I forgot about the strawberry jam and told myself that it smelled like Zots (remember those?), fizzy part included. As it dries the fizz goes away and it darkens up somewhat. It goes from almost unbearably sweet to "hey - that's kinda nice!". I can see wearing this for my foody fix.

Violet Violet Violet Violet.... oh, wait. There's other stuff there, but I can't tell what, exactly. It's just a soft violet, almost powdery.

This is much more wearable than I'd expected (rose & I don't get along). On my skin, this is light resins and faded rose. I know this rose! It's the same rose that's in Binah, but the resins are much softer & lighter. Not exactly a summer scent, but not head-shoppy either. I could see wearing just a touch of this to a job interview.

This is some serious cola! People upthread mentioned cola, but I thought "yeah, ok, a bit of cola can be nice". In the decant it smells like cola + almond syrup. On my skin it's "HEY EVERYBODY! Watch me open up a bottle of Mexican Coke & dump it on my arms!!!!" Which isn't a bad thing, just, um, intense. I was just expecting other elements to come out. I like real coke & funky colas, but I really don't drink them. So when I get a craving for cola, Te Po will be waiting for me. Oh, wait, after it dries there's something familiar.... reminds me a bit of Knucklebones (and The Magi). How odd. eta: Two hours later it's there. It's no longer thick and syrupy, but sort of a clear fizzy fruity cola + dirt. Knucklebones goes through this stage but then turns sour on me; this, otoh, stays delightful. I may need to hunt down a partial.

If you ever stalk the swaps/sales thread (doooo eeeet! doooo eeet!), be on the lookout for Chintamani-dhupa. It's gorgeous.

In the imp, I had no idea what I was smelling. So I applied a bit to my arms: "Huh? Wazzat? Sassafras? Pine pitch? A touch of mint? Possibly eucalyptus? This is very strange. It's pretty but has almost zero throw. *waits 10 minutes* That's ok - I'll apply more! HMMM? Musk!!! Oh how I love black musk! Fruity & dark. *waits 20 minutes* Flowers? Sweet flowers. In my musk. Where's all the sharp pine-pitchy sassafras? And why is it smelling so....normal? Almost baby powder tropical flowers." Fresh= Fabulous Drydown = cozy Dry = Where did my pretty go?