Lunasariel

In the imp: A light, clean scent, but not soapy; more like clean air and running water. Right now I think I'm getting mainly the pale musk and sweet pea, although the sage is also evident, transforming the sweet pea from something unabashedly sweet and cotton-candy pink (as in Mouse's Long and Sad Tale) into something a little wilder, a little more complex. Wet: ...And there's that soap I was worried about. The sweet pea is more definitively itself, but the white musk is developing soapy overtones, as it sometimes does on my skin. It's nice soap, but still soap. Dry: I agree with roseus - this would make a great office/enclosed space scent. It gets very soft, very quickly, and the soap fades, albeit slowly. What's left is an herbal-floral take on "your skin but better" - like you've been gardening, or washed your hair with really really nice shampoo that morning, or just naturally smell amazing.

In the imp: The exact scent of a coastal redwood forest during/after rain: sweet, slightly floral, living greenery. I get a bit of musk at the back if I really sniff for it, but mostly it just smells like earth and wood. Wet: A much muskier, softer scent. There's an interestingly elusive floral element, but not ethereal like Zorya P. Just elusive in the sense of faint and far away - maybe hidden under some ferns around the next bend in the trail. Overall, there's very much a feeling of damp ferns and shade. Dry: Primarily a dark, definitely fruity musk, with the sage also still going strong, and maybe some woods? I'm surprised by how fruity-sweet this turned out to be, although the woody-herbal-ness is as lovely as I'd anticipated.

In the imp: Mainly a bright, clean aquatic. I've noticed that if a scent is described as having a "touch" of this or a "drop" of that, for some reason that's pretty much all I can smell, so it kinda makes sense that the "cleansing droplets of summer rain" are front and center here. Otherwise, some determined sniffing might reveal some very vague greenery, but they're not strong enough for me to distinguish sage vs. verbena vs. grass. Wet: An initial, worrying blast of soapy ginger settles down into... mildly soapy ginger, sweetened and smoothed out by verbena. It's still a light and clean scent, but an artificial rather than a natural one. Still no sage or amber, which are the two I was really hoping for. Dry: After a few hours, the soap fades entirely and it becomes a subtle, lovely herbal blend with just a faint hint of amber for resinous warmth, and a surprisingly long-lasting ginger/verbena kick. I hope some aging helps this phase develop, because it really is gorgeous. It wears very close to the body and feels like a secret.

In the imp: Coffee just the way I like it - so much simple syrup and vanilla extract you can hardly taste the coffee. Very foodie so far; if there is any dusty tomes or oakwood halls (crossing my fingers super hard for both), they're buried under all that sweetness. I'm mostly not a foodie kind of gal, but when I'm in the mood, this is the kind of scent I gravitate towards. Wet: Omgggggg, this smells exactly like my old job in the Special Collections and Rare Books division of a university library, with just a hint of someone's coffee caught in the recirculated air. Seriously, my first thought was, "OMG, my boss is going to go ballistic when she finds out that someone brought coffee into the Rare Books Room." (Which, btw, you should never, ever, ever, do. I've seen the effect of an accidental coffee spill on 150-year-old-paper, and let me tell you, it's not pretty.) But seriously, this is the old-books-and-libraries scent of my dreams! <3 With just a hint of unexpected coffee. Hmm, I wonder if there's a version of this with tea - that would be me, captured in scent form. Dry: Something, maybe the Bailey's in the Irish coffee, comes off as the vanillin that very old paper produces, completing the "ghost of illicit coffee in Special Collections" illusion. Why did I wait so long to try this??? It wears remarkably close to the skin throughout the day, and lasts a good 8-10 hours. At the tail end, a sort of chocolate-y coffee (mocha?) makes itself known, and blends with the lingering vanillic sweetness to make something a lot foodier, and a lot closer to ITI. In fact, it's reminiscent of my all-time favorite gourmand, and one of my favorite BPALs of all time, El Dia de los Reyes 2014. I'm utterly in love with every step of this scent.

In the imp: An initial whiff of rather soft, lovely lavender is almost immediately subsumed by a big ol' blast of bubblegum-y lotus. That's about all there is to it right now. Wet: Ah, there's the lavender! It starts out about 80% lotus and 20% lavender, but dials down to about 60-40 after a minute or so. That's... interesting. It's very WYSIWYG, and I'll never be a lotus lover, but the combination of dusty, cloying sweetness with dry, medicinal sharpness is certainly a sensory experience. Dry: Lotus all the way down, with the lavender making a surprise reappearance at the very end, about five hours in.

Time to admit one of my great areas of BPAL blindness: I have never smelled OG Eve, so I'm going in blind here. I know it's one of the great ones, and I love sage with a slightly unhealthy passion, so I'm eager to see where this one goes. In the imp: Sweet, musky, almost nutty honey, mixed with the scent of good, green, growing things - flowers and herbs and earth. However, I wouldn't call this one of the Lab's "earth" or "dirt" scents; it just gives the impression of slightly dry, dusty summer soil. I also get occasional whiffs of something cinnamon-esque, which upon further research, turns out to be the calamus. Wet: Holy shit, if this is anything like OG Eve, I need to track down a bottle stat. This is the scent of an enchanted forest - mainly hawthorn and sage, with maybe some other herbs and/or grasses thrown in, but with an elusive, not-quite-floral edge, a tantalizing hint of incense, and some very non-obtrusive honey providing a base. All of my favorite perfumes have something unexpected about them, and this is no exception: I normally wouldn't look for incense or resins in a primarily green scent, but this is just enough to keep me huffing my wrist, trying to catch that thread of incense smoke. This is utterly lovely. Dry: Pretty linear. The honey and incense/resins take a step back, leaving the hawthorn, sage, and other ineffable greenery prominent, with the saffron and calamus also notable. It's a surprisingly short-lasting scent on me (only 6 or 7 hours), but it makes a hell of an impression. I don't know if I would love this as much without the sage turning everything all green and forest-y, but as it is, this is quickly rocketing to a place among my all-time favorites.

In the imp: Mainly sweet and minty, with what I think are some floral touches. Think candied mint leaves and violets. This is a really delightful sweetness - not synthetic or candy-like, but not noticeably honey-like, either. More like nectar. Wet: A much sharper mint (roseus, I agree - the sweeter mint is peppermint, and this sharper one is spearmint), and a touch of bracing, resin-y pine. I actually don't think I've ever experienced this particular snow note, but it does smell like something BPAL would use for snow. Dry: And back to sweet peppermint. No more pine to speak of, but now there's something cool and almost aquatic-smelling; I could definitely see it being cucumber. This is going to be one hell of a summer scent! There's a general feeling of herbaciousness, but I can't put my finger on any herbs in particular, so it could just be the intermingling of mint and cucumber. A wonderful green scent!

In the imp: A heady, creamy, sweet scent. I almost want to say coconut milk rather than dairy milk, but it could easily be a case of milk + coconut meat = coconut milk. Like coconut milk, it's a very rich scent, almost overwhelming/too sweet, but not quite. Coconut is one of those cases where I dislike the taste, but the scent works great on my skin, so let's see how this one does. Wet: Ah, there's the shea butter, making a nice solid base for the rest of the scent. Coconut milk has given way to coconut water - refreshing rather than rich, almost citrus-y or tropical fruity. Dry: Mostly shea butter, with a bit of (rather dry) coconut hanging around the edges. No milky creaminess or water (coconut or otherwise) remains. It's a mellow, laid-back, "I took the time to moisturize ALL over, and I used the nice one with all-natural shea butter and coconut" kind of scent. I can see the above comparison to liquid hand soaps, but this is much more natural and realistic-smelling. This is what the soap dispenser in an eco-conscious corporate office is trying to smell like.

In the imp: Very dark, resinous cacao. It feels like it should come in tar format. I'm definitely getting the copal in there, and a bit of googling reveals that chapapote is some sort of pitch or tar, so I guess I was spot-on in that regard, lol. Wet: At first I wanted to call this a more appetizing chocolate, but I don't think I can really describe this as appetizing. The copal has settled way the hell down, and the dark, gloopy pitch is pretty much gone, but this is still a STRONG scent. I can't discern the honey as itself, but that must be it sweetening up the chocolate, because this is an incredibly sweet scent. A musty or starchy element starts to make itself known after a minute or so - must be the maize. Or is it the cotton blossom? There's something very not-foody about this blend developing; even though it's all cacao, honey, and maize, this definitely doesn't smell like food. Dry: OK, it's primarily a cotton scent now. Wow, what a morpher! It started out all dark, gritty, growling fuck-you tarry cacao, but it ends up smelling like my grandmother's closet of expensive lightweight summer clothes, with only a hint of (sadly?) tamed, sweetened chocolate around the edges. Certainly no more dark, growly pitch or tar, and almost certainly no starchy maize. So I guess the notes appeared, and then disappeared, in almost exactly the order they're listed! Huh, when I first uncorked this imp, I was all set to put it in my "fuck-off sexy" jar, where a cacao-flavored roofing tar scent would naturally go, but now it's going in the "office-appropriate" jar instead.

In the imp: A lovely, light, springy, aquatic floral - I get the impression of running water and greenery, with flowers hidden in the grass. Wet: The light, springy aquatic continues at first, but then a very realistic, spicy, green-sap smell emerges, and the florals shortly thereafter. In fact, the florals come to be a little bit woozy for me - I think it's the honeysuckle? It's got some pretty good throw at this stage, too. Dry: Thankfully, the wooziness fades after only a few minutes. The honeysuckle settles down, and the tuberose and gardenia (particularly the former) come into their own. It eventually settles down into something about 60% tuberose, 25% gardenia, and 15% honeysuckle, although these do blend together beautifully; so much so that it's difficult to pick out one floral on its own. After half an hour or so, it becomes something creamy-sweet, almost vanillic (but never foodie!), and stays there for the duration of the scent, which is about 6 hours on me. This is a perfect spring scent - it makes me think of running water, growing greenery, and just-opened flowers.

In the imp: Very fruity. I definitely get the apple, and Fragrentica says apple plus pear equals quince, and I'm also getting something quite juicy and pear-like, so that must be the quince. There's a soft fuzz of herbs around the edge, stopping the scent from going straight to Juicy Fruit territory, and I think the "soft musk" mentioned might be white musk? Wet: Ah, there's that jasmine. It's now primarily a lush, sweet jasmine, rounded out a bit by herbs (difficult to pick out any particulars, but I think I might be getting the thyme?), and an occasional incense-y waft of myrrh. The intense fruitiness I got from ITI is still hanging around a bit, but now it's just a facet instead of the main player. Dry: Settles down into an apple(/quince?)/jasmine combo very reminiscent of Desire. However, I apparently go nose-blind to this one INCREDIBLY quickly. After four or five hours, all I can get is maybe some sandalwood and the ghost of fruit, and that's after some damn determined sniffing. According to other people, it's got a low-to-medium throw jasmine and white musk.

In the decant: The first impression I get is an oddly effervescent, almost soapy, fruity-floral, leaning a little more fruity than floral. I also get a bit of the poppy smoke, but at this stage, it's more like the ghost of smoke, where all the acrid edges have been blunted. Wet: Vaguely fruity soap at first, which did not fill me with anticipation. However, after a few minutes, the soap starts to trade places with a pleasantly light, fruity, patchouli. Eventually, it ends up as a light, pleasant fruity-patch-floral. I thought this would be a rich, languid, very NSFW scent, along the lines of Red Lantern or Nasty Woman, but instead I'm getting a lot more "aristocratic" and not quite enough "prostitutes," if you know what I mean. Maybe this is one of those rare instances where jasmine, which I ordinarily love, just catastrophically fails to work on me? Dry: The soapy jasmine continues for a good four or five hours, rounded out by occasional whiffs of fruit (not strong enough to identify the plum directly). After that, though, the soap burns off and I'm left with a tantalizing, elusive, smoky jasmine, complicated by whiffs of an interestingly subdued, non-juicy plum, and supported by some very subtle patch. If patchouli is normally a growly, stomp-all-over-everything Godzilla of a note for you, this might be a more wearable alternative.

In the imp: A dry, aromatic scent; mainly cedar, with the edges softened by sage. There's almost a smoky quality to it, like a campfire in the mountains comprised mainly of cedarwood, with some dried sage used as kindling/tossed on for some flavor. Wet: Still cedar-and-sage-in-that-order-dominant, but now a little more resinous - I almost want to say ponderosa pines. After a few minutes, just a hint of brown sugar arrives to bring the whole blend a little more warmth and sweetness. This is the essence of hiking in the Sierras in the summer, with the sun beating down on the grasses around you and the pines getting a little sappy. Dry: No real surprises here. The sage, which has softened to a sort of omnidirectional herbaceousness, comes to dominate, and the cedar dials way down. That touch of brown sugar remains throughout, not candy-sweet, but providing the whole thing with warmth and unity. I didn't expect to find a heartening, John Muir-y, hiking scent among this year's Lupers, but I'm glad I did! Most likely bottle-worthy.

The Spirit of the Divine Messenger, the Lord of the Crossroads, He Who Owns All Doors and Roads in this World. He is the intermediary between the Orishas and mankind, and stands at the intersection of humanity and the Divine. He opens all paths of communication, both mundane and Heavenly. His ofrenda contains coconut, tobacco and sweet, sugared rum. In the imp: A big, heady whiff of sweet, rich, woozy, almost buttery rum. They weren't kidding about that "sweet, sugared" part! There is definitely some coconut in there as well (no tobacco as of yet), but it's all secondary to that rum. And I love rum scents, especially if tobacco is also involved, and I've also come to love coconut over the last year or so, so I'm looking forward to this one. Wet: Ah, there's the coconut and tobacco. The coconut is just the way I like it - dry and non-foody, just adding a hint of soft, creamy sweetness. I think I'm also getting the tobacco, unless the coconut is really dry. There's an elusive, smoky element that takes this scent away from the "lethally strong tropical drink" category and making it more of a mysterious, midnight scent. It's still got quite a bit of throw to it, and is definitely too much for me to wear to work, but now there's something a bit more subtle about it. Dry: Pretty linear. The coconut gets a bit drier and less prominent, while the tobacco amps up and becomes more chewy than smoky. The rum settles down and mellows even further. Pretty much all alcoholic scents that aren't based around grapes or gin (rum, bourbon, whiskey, etc.) are wonderfully mellow, warm, and sweet on my skin. This is definitely no exception.

In the imp: On first sniff, I got rose. Then jasmine. Then rose again. It shifts back and forth a lot, but it's a dark, slinky, sexy, voluptuous scent. If it stays exactly like this, I will be 100% happy. Wet: Still flip-flopping. Either rose-jasmine or jasmine-rose, 60/40 each way. Sadly, it's gone a bit sharp and lost that candlelight-and-velvet feel from ITI. It's still a nice, lush floral, though. Dry: Passes through an unfortunate soapy phase (huh, I've had frankincense misbehave, but never myrrh), but after three or four hours it's quite nice. A little musty, but still that jasmine/rose - rose/jasmine flip-flop. Soft, sweet, and very realistic!