danuv

Wet I got plenty of rose with something else going on in the background but as soon as it dried the rose went away and I was left with a slightly sweet soapy dusty smell that I guess is the frankincense.

Soft, creamy and lovely. Almost like a strawberry chapstick. It's less juicy and vibrant than Bon Vivant which is to be expected but still just very pretty and not the least bit overwhelming to me.

I may be totally crazy but Chaste Moon reminds me a lot of Snow White's bigger, older, louder sister. I get the same 'pineapple' time smell from it along with the cream. It's strange how different the dry smell is from the wet and bottle which are both very buttery. This is so scrumptious. I am very glad that I ordered two bottles.

Honestly I really dislike the smell of this one. I assume it is lavender but it's very strong on me. The thing is... the oil works. I decided a couple of weeks ago to stop taking Tylenol PM a nightly habit I've had for well over a year now and spent the first few nights not making it to sleep till the wee hours of the morning... until one night I decided to put on Somnus. I fell asleep immediately. I can say how unusual this is for me. I've had trouble getting to sleep ever since childhood. But it wasn't a fluke. Every night since I've used it and gotten to sleep so fast (for me!). I'm going to have to get my hands on a bottle of this before my imp runs out. Or maybe more imps till I can get a bottle ordered. Thank you Beth.

They are snazzy aren't they? I saw the red peeping through the bubble wrap and was momentarily confused.

What an incredibly interesting oil. Wet, in the vial it smells sweet and a bit boozy. When I put it on I catch the bubblegum others have mentioned just so briefly before it jumps ship. After that Perversion becomes all leather and smoke with a back kick of tonka that keeps it from being too masculine and makes it slither. If I close my eyes and smell creatively I can almost pick up the coconut but not really. I smell no booze at all in this on me once it's on. I've never smelled an oil quite like this before. It's really beguiling and I'll have fun with this imp trying to decide if I want more or not.

Dorian has a slight (ever so) sharpness to it when I first put it on and when its wet. Then as it dries and slips into my skin the vanilla really comes out, the tea behind it and a muskiness that keeps it from smelling too much like a foodie scent. It's light in that it doesn't have a great deal of throw but it seems to be long lasting and obvious on my skin. I think I will try it on my husband as his natural scent has a bit of vanilla to it.

Wet I get a strong rush of mint followed by roses and herbs. As it dries the mint fades and it goes a bit powdery. On my skin it's more of a floral but in my hair I'd say the herbal element is stronger. The first time I wore it I put it on and promptly forgot about it only to find myself in a completely mischievous mood some hours later which had me chewing on my husband. It wasn't until even later that I remembered I'd put on Black Cat. We'll see if it has any affect today.

Oh Morocco Morocco Morocco how I do love you. I'm not even going to try and be realistic in my description of it, I just can't. It's so beautiful. Not sexy (like Snake Oil) or even super exotic (like Scherezade). It's just so beautiful. I keep thinking that I'll get over it and my obsession will fade as it has with so many other oils. Love affairs with Dana O'Shee and Eclipse have all ended, but here I am months later having gone through 4 imps and 2/3 of a 5ml of Morocco and every time I open the bottle to sniff and see I fall in love all over again. It isn't even just that Morocco is so comforting (which it is). I have other comfort scents (Velvet and Carnal) but more that Morocco seems to be so fully encompassing of something bigger... what is it? I know... Morocco is ME. I put it on my skin and think, "This is what I was meant to smell like.". Now, I know this isn't likely to help anyone decide they want to try it or that they want to pass it by, but you have four pages of other people doing remarkably descriptive reviews so that should have helped you by now. What I do hope is that each one of you finds an oil that you fall in love with as deeply as I have with Morocco.

I almost get lemon from this. I wouldn't pin it down to that though. It's very light and breezy. I smell the tea but on me the floral element seems predominate. Normally this wouldn't be good but I guess I can add peonies to the list of flowers which will work on me (along with carnations and roses). It's like a much more girly version of Embalming Fluid on my skin I think. I'd put it in the same 'fresh and lively' family as EF and Kuhimo are for me. Lovely, I'll use the imp but not sure that I need a full bottle.

My first set of Lush swaps got lost in the mail somewhere and I've received a most amazing bundle of experimental blends today. These are very initial reactions to them wet and I absolutely suck at identifying and describing so please please bare with me. I'm still just bowled over from Beth's generosity and how amazing these are. I labeled them starting with 'A' just so I can keep them all straight. Remember, wet and I suck. Wait, that sounds naughty. You get the idea though. Blend A - sharp and piney in the bottle as it dried out on my test strip something a bit floral started to pop out. I get the feeling it's a morpher. Blend B - Mmm, reminds me of something between Velvet and the Tushie one. Sweet vanilla and a little chocolate and maybe sandalwood. It will be very interesting to see what happens to it on my skin. Blend C - Citrus!! Lemons! Oranges! Blend D - One of the more confusing ones to me. I don't recognize any of the elements but it's very strong and I'd say masculine. Husky and animalistic. Also a bit sharp. Blend E - This may be my favorite from these initial impressions. It smells like my childhood Christmas memories. Cloves in oranges, spice. Warm and happy but not really strong. It's a gentle smell which seems surprising to me in something spicy. Maybe some apple in there. Cider perhaps. Blend F - This smells a bit like the green element in Rose Red. When it dries on the strip something floral-ish seems to come out but I can't quite pin it down. It's lovely. A little melancholy. Blend G - Plum! This smells just like Midwinter's Eve to me. Jolly ranchers all the way baby. Blend H - Rum! Wow jeeze I've fallen into a barrel and can't get up again! Maybe a bit of butterscotch in there. Blend I - Another one of the oils that perplexed me (not that this is hard to do). I smell something I think I recognize from Snake Oil, perhaps a bit of vanilla? then bubble gum, the cheap pink kind! It also has a smidgen of spice to it. Very curious! I think this one should be interesting on the skin too. Anyway, as you can probably guess I'm giddy giddy giddy. And a little giggly. I may come back and add to the reviews later as I wear them if I can remember to.

Argh! This is the third oil containing sandalwood I've tried and as beautiful and different as each one is they all turn to pure sandalwood on my skin! I'm so distressed. Kyoto was so lovely wet and in the vial but kaboom, on my skin everything but the sandalwood vanishes. I'm going to hang on to it for a bit and try it at a different time of the month but my hopes are not high. It's so gorgeous in the vial... all cherry and anise. I don't smell the sandalwood at all, perhaps lightly in the background.

In the vial and wet on the skin, Akuma starts off very bitter. I imagine that's the neroli? There's a fruitiness to it but just as a background to the bitter. As it dries the berry comes out. On me it turns all berry. Any orange fades out along with the bitterness. One really neat thing about Akuma is that it really sticks on me. It starts off with a good throw which eventually settles down but the berry scent stays on the skin. I put some on around 9pm last night and 12 hours later it is still there. Akuma reminds me a lot of Swank. I get the same 'Sweet Tart' like feeling from it. Lovely but I don't think I'll need a full bottle.

I'd agree with the suggestion of Scherezade. That's what immediately came to mind.

Wow, this might be one of the strongest negative reactions I've had to any of BPAL's oils. I also put it on without checking the notes because a friend said she'd read that it might smell like Lush's Silky Underwear, but eeeeep this hates me. It smells like crushed peppercorns and dirt on me. I'm getting very nervous about violet in the oils now because I've found none of them with it in their that will work on me. It makes me sad because I so love Lush's Bathos. Another bad thing about Saturanalia (to me) is that it is not going away. I've washed, I've scrubbed and it will not fade. Not even slightly. I wish some of the other oils that I love had this much staying power.

There really isn't too much that I can add about this exquisite scent that hasn't already been said. It's like climbing into a tub of damp rose petals. Yup. The first time I wore it I leaned across my daughter to buckle her into her car seat, "Mommy, you smell boooooootiful!" she said with a breathless little gasp. I need no more reason than that to fall in love with Rose Red.

This was a giftie imp. Wet I can really smell the leather but it quickly settles down to where I can still smell the leather but it takes a back seat to a very dry dusty smell (maybe the myrrh?). On me it smells like a leather sofa in a hot attic. If I put my nose to my wrist I can catch the faintest whiff of something spicy but it's just hanging in there like a fading memory. Alas. This is too masculine for me. I think I would enjoy the leather scent if it were a touch sweeter or a little spicier.

I got Alice as a gift imp and am delighted with it. At first it smells very very sweet. I'm overwhelmed with the honey. On my skin the florals pop out, rose with honey and a little back end carnation. It's really not my favorite group of scents at first, but not something that is too off putting to deal with. As it begins to dry down the spiciness of the carnations really comes forward and eventually I end up with a very soft hazy (the milky smell probably) lightly floral spiciness with a veil of honey over top that I adore. I'm going to have to get a bottle of this I think. It doesn't strike me as at all innocent in the end.

I'm awful at these reviews but I figure if I keep plugging away at it eventually I have to improve! Snow White is a gorgeous light, breathless sort of scent. At first it reminded me tremendously of Dana O'Shee but the more I wear it the different it seems. I get hints of pineapple, but not a seriously tropical pineapple but rather a much more creamy delicate pineapple. It has the same creamy feeling overall that Dana O'Shee and a similar innocence but seems much more light and girly to me. I have to wonder when I wear Beth's perfume how much I project my idea of the description and name onto what I smell. What would my feeling about this be without it's beautiful name? It seems very much like light fluffy snow and happy innocent young women. It is one of my favorite BPAL scents right now, vying with Morocco for the top spot. I only wish it had a better throw. It seems to last but only if I stick my nose right up to my skin. Maybe my skin just likes it as much as I do.

I get a very similar reaction as inkstone. It's a lovely green-spruce-musky scent but it doesn't seem quite me. It amazes me how dead on the name is (or maybe I'm transferring!) because it is exceedingly cold, crisp and regal. I think I am going to put some on my husband tonight and see how it smells on him.

Sugar Cookie actually is a good bit different than I expected it to be. In the bottle the buttery smell is pretty strong for me but as soon as it hits my skin the spices come out. It smells exactly like some cookie that I know I've had and can't place. It is incredibly delicious. Several of the other 'foodie' type scents I've gotten have been overwhelming in one way or another but this one is perfect. It doesn't go funky on my skin in any way and it's not cloying or overpowering. A perfect perfume for snuggling up on the couch in comfy pj's with cookies and milk to watch a sappy Christmas movie! Edit: Yes yes yes! A Snickerdoodle! That's what it smells like. Thank you Pekeana!

This is going to sound weird but I've been putting Djinn on my husband and to me it smells like a manly Christmas tree. I know, I'm a freak. Also, I have discovered that 75% of recommendation questions can be answered with Old Morocco. Not that I am biased or playing favorites or anything. Nope. Not me.

I got this as a freebie in my last order which is great because I never would have considered ordering it and I really love it. I thought I didn't care for Dragon's Blood and I was scared of amber thinking it might have been what I really didn't like in O but this is a gorgeous scent. It is definitely RED. Very very very red. Makes me think of Russian women for some odd reason. On me this scent sinks into my skin and lasts nicely. I tend to change perfumes a lot throughout the day and this one took hours and hours to fade to the point where I'd want to put something else on but it is so easy to layer other things on top of. It seems an incredibly versatile oil. It is on my big bottle list.

Carnal on me seems to be one of the oils that changes the least from bottle to skin and through dry down and wearing, which is fine because I adore it. Peculiarly, I don't find it the slightest bit carnal. Like others it seems incredibly innocent to me, like watching a baby sleep type of innocent. I seem to want to wear it a lot when I go to bed. It is very peaceful and relaxing and reminds me of something from my childhood that I can't quite place my finger on. The fig in Carnal is instantly recognizable to me but while I know there is something else aside from the fig I wouldn't be able to name it without having read the description. It is one of my favorite BPAL oils so far.

In the bottle it did smell exactly like Jelly Belly Buttered Popcorn beans to me but then as soon as it hits my skin it turns into lilly. I can't smell anything else at all. I am simply completely overwhelmed with lilies. My skin must react very very badly to that particular note because this happened with something else I tried (can't remember which one) but I am still in the beginning stages of learning the ins and outs of my skin chemistry and now I know it does not care for lily. I'm still thrilled to finally have my own wee BPAL bottle now.