surlygurl

I pulled this imp out of my imp box and said "gee, did I like this? How long has it been here anyway?" and dabbed some on my wrists. WHOA Dragon's Blood! Now, I like little bits of DB here and there, but this is almost single note, with that floral thing that DB does riding high. Not really my thing.

Once dry, this is lovely. The amber comes out and melds with the DB, creating a grounded yet still pulsating scent. Very soon after this stage - the lovely stage - it disappears on me. Maybe I just no longer notice it. I'll keep my aged imp and wear it when I want to feel all-powerful (rarely).

(Full disclosure - I wore this to bed & fell asleep when the bergamot came forward.)

The opening stage of this oil reminds me of Joyful Moon - white musk & soft amber, sweetish, comforting. The bergamot hovers in the background, making this a bolder scent. Like a comforting friend who will help you in a fight.

So... I woke up in the middle of the night wondering "what is that horrid boy cologne coming from my chest?" Then I sniffed my wrists and get a fainter version. Well. Damn if that sweet protective friend didn't go psycho killer on my skin .

In the decant I smelled lime, lilac, and musk. Very smart & slightly masculine. On my skin, I get LIME with lilac, musk, a bit of tobacco. It's pleasant. Charming. Subtly sophisticated. But as it dries it goes to powder. This powder knocks out everything but the lime, and it's a dusty lime at that.

Now that it's dry, the dust has gone and lilac is peaking out. I like this stage and the wet stage, but can I survive the dusty lime powder stage?

This came to me in a tester pack. I figured "I love tea, I like spices, and 1 time out of 100, rose is okay on me". Well... this was not that time. The tea and spices were lovely. The rose? Not lovely AT ALL. If it had been yellow rose (which kinda works on me) or some other floral, it would have been a winner. But instead it was that cheap headache inducing rose soap. Phooey.

This must not work well fresh on me, because I found 3 frimps in my swap box. it smelled ok in the vial, so I swiped some on.

Fresh, I get vanilla and flowers. Not bad at all. One of the flowers is jasmine, which usually hates me... but the vanilla knocks out the evilness. Lily gives it a gentle, almost soapy, quality. There is musk and sexy red sandalwood, but it's mainly vanilla with a touch of jasmine - glowing jasmine.

Wow! Age has done wonders for this. Verdict - swap one imp, save the other 2.

In the decant, this smells like some Indian incense from an import shop in a funky college town. On my skin, it starts to glow with that cedar (I think) warmth. I'm wondering where the stone is, because I'm getting incense. If I sniff up close I can get a hint of flowers underneath. Then it hits me: this smells like 'india temple' incense.

Once this whole thing dries down, it fades almost to nothing. But if I come in close, there it is - stone. Fading flowers. Quiet dreams (ok, I made that up). It is very nice, but I'm not sure I can live thru the india temple incense phase.

I almost passed on a tester of this because leather is iffy on me. But I persevered, and wouldn't ya know, this is gorgeous! It starts with balsam and leather - smooth supple leather, not the weird chemical leather. I'm not quite sure what ambergris is (can we have SN Ambergris, please? thx!), but something lifts it from any potential dark depths. As it dries, the bay laurel comes out and rides the balsam. Yes, this leans toward masculine. And I could see where someone would smell bay rum..... Now I smell bay rum. The leather burns off (oh pooh.) and I get a slightly leathery herbal bay rum.

If I can convince the leather to stick around, this might be a bottle purchase.

Oh my.... what lovely soap.

I'd love to say how I get lovely flowers & creamy cream and all kinds of wonderfulness. But all I get is floral bath soap. The kind my grandmother had in her bathroom when we came to visit.

Wow! This is very nice! The balsam and pepper are the 2 standout notes right off the bat. Unisex heading towards masculine. Then the honey weaves in & out; it doesn't sweeten things up, but it does add a new dimension. As it dries I get more of the skin musk, sexy & smooth. If the honey doesn't turn sour like it normally does, this will be a bottle purchase.

I tested this last night before bed, hoping it wouldn't be as sharp as in the decant. Lucky for me, the violet - which I like - was gentled and sweetened on my skin. Much like Mokey. The green tea gave the whole thing a bit of clean grounding, while musk and orchid blossom made it shimmer.

I'll admit to overuse of the word "pretty" when describing gentle bpals, but this really is pretty. Not stunning on me, but I'll keep the decant for those youthful times.

In the decant, this is the friendliest of the anniversary blends. I generally like warm solar blends so I slathered it on.

Oooh! Warm golden frankincense... something soft & yellow (rose? chamomile? pineapple?) Very cheery and soft. Also a very good resin scent. As it dries, I think about the other solar blends I have and how I do not need another one. This isn't all that different. But as it dries it gives off a gentleness, like warm summer sun. It's almost too soft; it's a skin scent on me.

I really wanted to get a bottle for the solar aspects, but there are other anniversary blends I like better.

In the decant, it is Christmassy and outdoorsey.

On my skin? "Jesus Balls! That's Marvelous!" Really - that was my reaction. It's less woodsy, more resiny, and there's something warm and shining - possibly sweet clove? Or hyssop? At this stage, it is brilliant. Like a warm hug from someone you trust completely.

As it dries, something a little tart shows up around the edges. I don't get individual notes, but the overall effect is a green, damp woods being warmed by sunlight. I will keep retesting this... again and again.

In the decant I get myrrh, pom and tamarind. I'm not sure it'll work, but here goes....

on my skin, the pom & tamarind come out all fresh & spunky. Then, almost immediately, the myrrh throws a smooth deep resiny blanket over the fruits. All the lighter aspects get covered by the myrrh. But this myrrh blanket opens up a bit and allows the fruits & flowers to soften it. So it is a beautiful soft myrrh, slightly powdery after a time. Wisdom from sorrow indeed.

I need to retest this, but it may be bottle worthy.

Oh wow! Something from my decants smelled really awesome but I couldn't figure out what. This may be it! I almost passed on this because of the peppermint - silly me.

Fresh on, I get peppermint and 'other stuff'. As it dries, it starts smelling sweet like candy - or almost candy. I would guess dragon's blood. Fig normally doesn't work, but this is white fig and I think that makes a difference. This is fruity/earthy - the earthy from the pepper as well as resins. I really like this. Sweeter than I though it'd be. Not sure I need a bottle... maybe a half bottle.....

I do agree with the lemon candy comment. Starts out bright lemon, moves to lemon candy with a dry woody background. Reminds me of a less ethereal Scales of Deprivation. I like it, but I own too many lemon scents already.

Thank goodness I have a decant of SN galbanum, because now I know what that green funk is.

This is green, sharp, somewhat astringent. Supporting that are soapy jasmine and lilly. I can't really get past those three. On me, this is an herbal soap; the kind of soap I'd use if I felt I was coming down with an illness and wanted to wash it away. The sillage isn't quite as insistent, but it does scream "cleansing bitter herbs!" on my skin.

When I received my decants, this was the first one I skin tested. Either it would be brilliant on me, or the death notes would dance all over my skin. With that list of notes, I had to chance it.

Fresh on, I got this happy cherry hibiscus with rose undertones. Not bad, considering I can't do cherry or rose. But then demure rose started shouting and making a scene. It smelled... rosey. Sort of a cheap rose... no other notes to be found. It shouldn't disappoint me because it was a long shot. Oh well, I tried.

I've had this imp for a couple years and never really tested it, so now's the time.

In the vial: Treacle and darkness. Maybe wool.

On skin: Carnations like WHOA!!! Lovin' it! Next comes a blur of red fruits and apple cider. Still carnation-spicy. I agree with a poster above in that is has an almost Morocco-esque feel, but without the creaminess. No wine (thankfully!).

As it dries, the carnation comes under control. Specifically, under control of the apple cider. I do like apple cider, but this has become apple cider tempered by white amber. This would make a good autumn body scrub, but as a perfume? A little too girly and generic. It is lovely in small amounts so I will definitely keep the imp.

As usual, the decant I get at the last minute - the 'it's not going to work, but what the hell' decant - is the one I really like.

Fresh on, I get a lovely violet that is sweet but muted. The funny thing is that a dusty rose is what's muting the violet, and I hate rose! But here it works. I get a soapiness like others are describing, but that is part of its charm. I like this scent. It's unique. It's pretty. It's kinda creepy and old lady-ish. I may need a couple more decants or a partial after more testing....

On my skin, this is a woodsy, dry, slightly dusty scent. There's some musk, but it is more background cushioning. As it dries, something sweet pops out - something powdery and light purple smelling. It combined nicely with the woods. Like walking in a forest and stumbling upon a berry bush with ripe fruits.

The powdery sweet purple grows as it dries, and it goes from a masculine wood scent to a unisex berry forest scent. I like it!

Okay.... this is odd. I was sent a sniffie of this, and I like the smell in the decant. Tonight, while looking into classes & training online, I dabbed some on my chest just for the scent. I like the scent; it's like candied almonds with sugar-eucalyptus syrup. Sweet and solid and a little bracing. But the odd part? I had, like, 5 windows open, comparing all my options, emailing a friend for advice, just totally going to town. And I have a f@*kton of energy. Seriously, this is weird. But I smell good!

eta: I found an old imp of this in my bpal box. Same effect. I'm filling out applications online & have *tons* of directed energy! *note to self: learn patience*

Oh wow. Dayum. This is much better aged! (I pulled it out of my swap box - the imp is about 5 years old.)

Fresh on, its banananananana. Seriously. Then the woods appear, but they're not pleasant woods. The woods must have been stronger when it was fresh, because the woods back down and lend a grounded feel to it. (Up close, it smells like dirty pencil shavings). The blossoms give it a lush, thick feel. It reminds me of Xuit....al, but without the copal of doom. It sort of has a buttery feel that I like.

It's a little sweeter than I like in a blend, but it is staying with me. Buttery banana florals are pretty nice after all.

SO I was going through my bottles, trying to cull my stash. Pisces kept jumping in & out of my sales box, so I decided to do a proper testing.

In the bottle, I could hardly smell anything. On my skin, it starts out a not-quite-mint(?) and a not-quite-aquatic, very soft and ethereal. As it dries, it starts to 'firm up'. That must be the opium. I never get the rootbeer vibe or the hemp. With even more drying time it loses the aquatic/mint thing and becomes a murky-yet-clean scent (yeah, real helpful, I know) with an opium/floral base. This isn't so much a perfume as it is an aura.

I think this bottle stays.

Hmmm... I have maybe 15 decants of salons, and I do like Carceri D'Invenzione, but not enough for a bottle (I think). The bottle I will definitely get is the Penitent Magdalen. I'm one of those weird people who can do lily of the valley - in moderation. The scent is a shy floral on me, and I should wear it more often.

Now to go retest the other decants.

My first thought was Golden Priapus (Insatiable lust, unending vigor! A truly carnal, energetic men’s blend: vanilla and amber with juniper, rosewood and white pine)

followed by Voodoo, which I *love* ( A deep, powerful, resonant blend of myrrh, patchouli, vetiver, lime, vanilla, pine, almond and clove).

Scales of Deprivation isn't a vanilla sweet/spicy scent at all, but it's slightly sweet & herbal with a cool "hollowness", if that makes any sense (lemon peel, white sage, frankincense, lavender fougere, sandalwood, vetiver and labdanum). Gender neutral and gorgeous with the right skin chemistry.

And I 2nd the sales page!