Lunasariel

In the imp: I'm getting primarily tea, with maaaaaybe a hint of citrus and/or florals. Right now, this is one I'm regretting waiting to order - this is promising to be the perfect light, cooling summer scent, in the vein of Juke Joint or Manhattan. But will it have enough grip for a cold, rainy day like this one? Wet: Starts out with a big ol' blast of citrus and mint, slightly cut by honey. Man, is this a turnaround! I can't distinguish the tea at all, and the florals not a bit. But it quickly settles down, and the citrus and mint start playing better with the others. From afar, it's this delicious complicated honey-citrus-mint-floral (and my skin looooooves it some honey and mint), but up close, it actually becomes less complicated and settles down into a citrus tea with maybe just a hint of florals. Right now, I'm totally getting both the White Rabbit and Alma Venus comparisons. Dry: Honey-mint tea, but not as warm or cozy as that might sound. In fact, this has an oddly... hollow feeling to it? I keep getting whiffs of it here and there, but mostly it's just a sort of cold, vague sweetness. If I really shove my nose into my wrist, I can get something approaching the lovely warm zingy orange blossom honey that I was hoping for, but only then. I'll probably let this sit for a few months, and see if it's more suited to springtime than cold October.

I like to make perfume an element of my Halloween costume, which BPAL happens to be perfect for. This year, I'm thinking of going as Agent Peggy Carter, and we actually know what her perfume smells like! Bésame Cosmetics Decades of Fragrance: 1940 is described thus: After prohibition, NYC jazz club, 1940s Aromatic, Floral, Ambery Top notes: bergamot, cognac, davana Heart notes: rose, clove, labdanum Base notes: sandal wood, amber, benzoin Can anyone help me out?

In the imp: Zingy! Interestingly, this is definitely lemon verbena, rather than lemon itself - softer, rounder, and more herbal-feeling. There are also some very soft florals, but they're very much in the background. Wet: Starts out with the same lovely bright lemon verbena, but all too soon, it turns to soap! WTF? I have a sneaking suspicion that jasmine is the culprit here, since I noticed it at the same time as the soap started to develop, but jasmine usually behaves on me. *grumble* Dry: Yup, it's soap, soap, and more soap. There's at least some fresh/floral overtones for the first few hours, but they smell very synthetic, like the soap is called "Forest Breeze" or "English Wildflowers" or something. But even those don't last long - after a few hours, it's pure soap. Bleh.

In the imp: I dunno about the oil itself, but it smells syrupy and heavy - mainly honey, but the olibanum and definitely the rose are also making themselves known. Right now, I'm thinking that it might be too heavy for a muggy summer day like this, but for a warming winter scent? YUM. Wet: And there go my expectations! It's a delicious honeyed rose - my first thought was rose jam that does feel languid, but not too heavy for summer. There's just the faintest suggestion of incense hanging around in the background, which is just the way I like it. Srsly, this is one of those scents where I have to remind myself that BPAL is not for eating, no matter how much it may smell like it. Dry: And again away with the expectations, albeit in a different direction this time. Instead of staying with the honeyed rose, it morphs into an incense-rose blend, which, as usual, goes sour on me. And I have a zillion rose-incense blends that go sour on me, so I really don't need another one. Hmm, I wonder if there's a way to prolong that yummy, unique wet stage, and avoid this entirely...

In the imp: I agree with JuliskaMarie - there's a lot going on here! Florals (primarily rose, but I can also detect something creamier) mix well with the citrus, over a strong, smooth, almost masculine/cologne-y base (woods? incense? something else altogether???). This is appropriate, given the character - both masculine and feminine aspects. Wet: Brisk, fresh roses. I can also smell the citrus, but right now it just smells like another facet of the roses, not its own independent scent. There are also some creamy floral overtones that I'm fairly sure is the lily at work, or possibly the lilac. There's a brief flash of...sandalwood? Wood of some kind? Maybe? But it doesn't last long - mostly it's florals, florals, and more florals. Dry: Ah, there's my old friend amber! Along with sandalwood and maybe rosewood, it becomes much more prominent after several hours, even becoming more notable than the florals. Right now, it's exotic in a smooth, creamy way and I LOVE it.

In the imp: Sweet, smooth woods, but somehow it feels light and airy rather than heavy. There's an interesting edge that I can't quite put my finger on - perhaps metal, or some sort of sharper wood, or frankincense? I really want to say I can pick out the parchment, or maybe it just gives the overall impression of parchment. Right now, I'm agreeing with Claudia - a snuggle up with a good book day, indeed! Wet: From afar, this is DELICIOUS. Amber and parchment and just a touch of incense - smooth and sweet and warm and light and lovely. I probably look like an idiot bobbing my head back and forth, trying to get a whiff of myself, but it smells so good I don't even care. Up close, however, the woods grow much sharper, especially the cedar. Everything else is still there (I think), but the cedar (which, unfortunately, reminds me of pencil shavings and rodent cage litter) rides roughshod over it all. Dry: Thankfully, the cedar settles down after not too long, and lets the more complex scent shine. And boy, does it shine! I'd even swear there's something in the vanilla/tonka/benzoin family there - it's wonderfully comforting, in a smooth, elegant sort of way. That lovely old book smell, rounded out with warm woods, and amber and that vanillin-y whatever to keep it from getting too dry, and the faintest drizzle of incense. I think I'm in love.

In the imp: SWEET! Sugar, fizziness, and synthetic strawberry; all so sweet that I can actually feel it on my tongue. In fact, it smells so much like strawberry Bubble Tape that it's making me crave some. Wet: The fizzy element is gone, but the sticky-sweet synthetic fruit and sugar remain - now more syrupy than anything else. Unfortunately, straight-up candy scents aren't really my thing. It smells exactly like I rubbed slightly melt-y strawberry candy on my wrists. Dry: Fairly linear - sweet strawberries all the way down. It takes on an almost pastry-like character by the very end, which I actually kinda like.

In the imp: An elegant, grown-up take on a sweet fruity scent - the musks and dragon's blood resin in the base really help to anchor it. However, I amp fruit like nobody's business, so here's hoping it stays like this instead of going way over the top! Wet: Uh-oh. It's still sweet, but instead of the rampaging I AM FRUIT, HEAR ME ROAR!!! that I had feared, it's a synthetic, chemical sort of sweetness. It smells "perfumey", but not necessarily in a good way - like it's an alcohol-based perfume instead of an oil. Dry: A fairly generic perfume, like something your mother-in-law would wear, or like you would find in an office. Inoffensive (sweet without being cloying, grown-up, spicy edge), but nothing too interesting, either. I think I'll either age it to see if it develops in an interesting direction, or keep it on hand when I need to smell professional and competent, but unobtrusive.

In the imp: Elegant dark florals (perhaps predominantly violet?) with a strong, creamy base. I've been disappointed by the disjunct between a scent's copy/idea and the reality (for example, Le Serpent Qui Danse has become my perfect sprightly spring violet scent, but I've never smelled anything less "sinister, darkly seductive"), but for a scent based around the Morningstar, this ain't half bad. Wet: Just as lovely, but now much less smooth (although a better word might be "suave"), and with more...frisson, I want to say? Something attention-grabbing, anyway. Violet is definitely the dominant note here, but there are also, more omnidirectional, florals hanging around in the background. But it's a good 70% violet - lush, wet, and refreshing. That smooth, strong base is still there, providing support for the florals, but now I can just about distinguish it as musk, or maybe woods. Alas, no sandalwood yet! Dry: A surprisingly quick fade! Within an hour or two, it's about 50% sandalwood, 40% violet (maaaaybe a whiff of a few other florals), and 10% musk. And six hours later, next to nothing! The barest whiff of sandalwood, if I really shove my nose into my wrist, but that's about it.

In the imp: Huh, this is the first time I've had a scent go to soap while actually in the imp. There are some dark, smoky notes hanging around, and just a touch of sweetness, but overall, bar soap it is. Wet: I'm sorry, but the only words I can think of are "soapy root beer." It's sweet and yes, a bit bubbly/effervescent, but the soap is still going strong. I gotta say, I'm more than a bit disappointed. For Evil, I was hoping for something slinky and darkly seductive, and that's what the notes seemed to promise, but in combination, they work out to that one time I spilled a root beer float on myself during a 4th grade field trip and had to wash it off with amusement park soap. Dry: It gets surprisingly soft surprisingly quickly. To the surprise of nobody, I amp the plum the most, but the tobacco(/opium/kush?) is also keeping things interesting. Still not quite what I think of as "evil", but closer than soapy root beer.

In the imp: I would characterize this as exuberant - a zingy green (almost evergreen) scent, with something spicy-floral-sweet hanging around as well. This is what mid-springtime looks like (but doesn't necessarily smell like), when it's just rained and everything is exploding into growth. Wet: Wow, chaotic really is a great name for this! The greenness is still there, but rounded out by...tea? mint? Florals? Sweet-ish musk? Fruit??? It changes from sniff to sniff, and I LOVE it. It's unexpected, fun, a little crazy, and still very exuberant. Dry: It leans fruitier and fruitier, until it settles down into a very wearable sweet musk. Much more stable and less, er, chaotic than the Wet stage, but no less enjoyable because of it. I can't wait to layer this with ALL the other RPG scents!

In the imp: Bitter fruity overtones (I believe someone on here mentioned cherry?) over a strong, smooth base. I'm willing to bet that the bitterness comes from the oakmoss, although that's not a note I'm too familiar with. There's also something ineffably sweet that could be the almond, could be the jasmine, could be both, or could be something else entirely, idk. Wet: Starts off as pretty much a jasmine single note. Which, personally, I'm A-OK with - I love jasmine, but I know it doesn't work for everyone. Eventually, though, the almond starts to sneak back in, followed by the sandalwood and/or musk. I could definitely see how this could be both a "coquettish" (floral) and "sinister" (musky, a bit of the almond) scent, although I do find myself wishing that the oakmoss would put in an appearance; this would help quite a bit with the interesting-yet-unsettling "sinister" aspect. Dry: Jasmine and sandalwood. It's a lovely scent as-is, but I'm worried about it leaning a little too "generic exotic." Like, I love jasmine and I like sandalwood, but I'm still missing that oakmoss to really make it distinctive.

In the imp: Yup, that's a summer men's cologne. Bright, clean, and fresh - bergamot and a general sort of herbal-ness are the most evident. In fact, it even smells a little generic cologne-y, but not in a bad way, if you know what I mean. If it stays true to this all the way through, it's going to be a PERFECT scent for today, which is projected to be the warmest day of the year so far. Wet: Indeed true to ITI, but maybe even better. I like my cooling summer scents to have just a touch of something to "ground" them, to stop them from being all light, airy top notes that feel like they're going to drift away in an hour. The patchouli and/or the tonka have come forward, and are doing an excellent job of giving the scent some heft - Wilde may have been an aesthete, a fashionista, and a bon vivant bar none, but this reminds me that he was also a really bloody good writer. The top notes are also very interesting: sometimes I get definite bergamot, sometimes thyme, sometimes lavender, and sometimes even the suggestion of jasmine (which I love, and which generally plays well on my skin, but I know isn't for everyone). They keep trading places and upstaging one another in the most fascinating way. Dry: The florals die down after a few hours, and the herbs and citrus prove surprisingly tenacious. It's much more of a linear and traditional men's cologne by now, but still refreshing and pleasant. Sadly, though, the whole thing really doesn't last above six (maaaaybe eight?) hours, but that's pretty much to be expected from bright, fresh notes like these.

In the imp: My first thought was "exotic". If you're a fan of scents like Morocco or The Lion (which I happen to be), then this is one for you! It's sweet (in fact, almost foody-sweet, but I guess I can also see how this could be honeysuckle) and spicy (but not immediately identifiable as cinnamon), and like the above-mentioned two, gives a lovely warm reddish-brown impression. Wet: The cinnamon comes forward in a big way. I still wouldn't call it a foody scent, though - the sweetness is still there (albeit rather dialed down), but the cinnamon is a bit too sharp to be something I would cook with. But idk, if you're a big fan of cinnamon or spices in general in your food, maybe this would come across as foodier to you. (This is the reigning World Champion Spice Wimp here.) Dry: Now I'm getting all the Snake Oil comparisons! If SO and The Lion has a scent-baby, this would be it. (LOL, now I just need to add a goat-themed scent to get a true chimera.) It's spicy and sweet, but a bit lighter and not quite as overwhelming as SO. I imagine it will age similarly, though.

In the imp: Ah, now this is what I was looking for in Mage! Smoky, incense-y, mysterious, and powerful. I get the image of smoke swirling around and half-concealing the mage (magus?). Mmmm. Wet: Takes a sharp turn into Plywood Territory. Yup, that's fresh-cut cedar right there, and nothing else. Luckily, something warmer, sweeter, and less dry works its way back in over time (oddly enough, it's especially notable the farther my nose is from my wrist) and turns the whole thing back towards sexy, mysterious incense. Dry: A more standard incense - frankincense and sandalwood both looooove my skin (at least in terms of wear time), so it's not surprising that everything else burns off, but these two remain. EDIT: Apparently something in here is reacting badly with my skin - I get the same raised red welts that I got from Voodoo, although I'm pretty sure that clove was the culprit there. Unlike Voodoo, however, these ones actually itch. High john essence is the only note I'm unfamiliar with here, and I know that my skin gets along just fine with all the other components, so I'll have to add high john to y list of death notes. *sigh*

In the imp: Pretty much only rose; alas, I'm not getting any leather. The rose does have a lovely just-after-the-rain quality to it, though. I second dementia_divine - HOW does Beth get the smell of damp? Wet: Maybe just a touch of leather (or maybe that's me trying to smell the listed note instead of what's actually there), but it's still very rose-dominant to the point of being a single-note. Dry: Huzzah, the leather actually shows up! IDK if this is just me being suggestible to the title and/or copy or what, but this really does bring to mind stiff, black leather. At first it's about equal with the rose, but as time goes on, it even eclipses the rose.

In the imp: Yup, that's vetiver right there, leavened a bit by leather. I don't have the "OH GOD NO GET IT AWAY" reaction to vetiver that I know other people do, but it's far from my favorite scent out there. Right now I'm getting the "malevolent" and "dark," but maybe "sharp" instead of "shadowy." Wet: Wow. That's um, a lot of smell right there. This is probably the strongest vetiver I've ever smelled - sharp, acrid, and just a bit of the scent of burning tires. The leather is also making itself known and the musk is anchoring everything, but overall, I can't say I'm crazy about this, at least for me. In fact, this is almost exactly what I imagine Famine or Pollution from Good Omens to smell like - sophisticated and powerful, but dangerous. And not in a sexy-dangerous way, either. Bad dangerous. Dry: Thankfully, the vetiver calms the hell down after ~15-30 minutes, and reveals an actually rather pleasant musky leather. It's still pretty austere and VERY masculine, but I could actually see this working now. I don't think I'll ever love it (for a good manly scent, I prefer something with a bit more slink to it), but it's definitely gone from a 2 to like a 6.3 on the Do I Like This scale.

In the imp: Woods, herbs, and a sweet, musky leather all blend together into something cohesive and GORGEOUS. This is one sexy-as-hell scent! Wet: As usual, I amp the leather (but, again as usual, a newer, drier leather than ITI) right out of the gate. However, not as usual, the herbs and vanilla are gamely hanging on, turning this from a "fancy new shoes" sort of smell to something slinkier and more lived-in. But maybe "slinkier" isn't quite the right word, because this is definitely a unisex-leaning-masculine smell for me. Dry: Unusually (see above re: amping leather), I'm getting the vanilla and herbs/woods as much as the leather. In fact, it leans more and more vanilla-centric over time, until I'm left with a lovely musky (almost smoky) vanilla, with just the ghost of sage and lavender hanging around.

In the imp: Yummmmm. This is very much one of those "what you see is what you get" scents - I can pick out the smooth leather, the smoky tobacco, the vaguely incense-y oppoponax (which is similar to myrrh, but I'm getting more resin and less incense, if that makes sense), and definitely my old friend amber. Wet: Both the tobacco and leather take big steps forward, but they both become drier and...newer? ITI, it was the scent of a well-loved leather armchair that an old gentleman has sat in as he smoked his pipe every day for decades, but now they're both fresher - the impression I get is of a rack of my grandfather's shoes. Dry: Thankfully, less "Grandpa's shoe closet" and more "classy old library with really comfortable chairs." The leather calms way down and blends beautifully with the tobacco. The oppoponax, which had become more incense-y in the Wet stage, settles back down into something sweeter, warmer, and more resinous. And, of course, my old friend amber shows up (after being sorely missed in the Wet stage), and gives everything this lovely, elegant, sepia-toned feel to it. Overall, I'm actually not crazy about this scent. It's a good, wearable, everyday scent (and damn if it isn't respectable!), but at the end of the day, it's just not as interesting or mysterious as I like my perfumes to be. I'm not sure how often I'll be reaching for it, since it reminds me so strongly of my granddad, but I'll keep it around for a day when I need to add a little extra stability to my day.

In the imp: The main thing I'm getting here is SPICE! I know it's the carnation, but it almost makes me want to re-check the list of notes for cinnamon and/or clove. There's also a floral sweetness and just a little incense at the base, but overall, I would call this a sweet (albeit non-foody), spicy scent. Wet: Now this is an odd little duck. The carnation steps way back and the frankincense comes forward, but now it's an herbal/floral blend that's almost soapy. The weird thing is, the frankincense is definitely there, but the scent has no "grip" to it. I like my perfumes to have a little something at the base to anchor fresh/floral/sweet/herbal/etc. notes to stop them drifting away, if you know what I mean. So while incense in general does a great job of anchoring scents for me, I don't get the impression that frankincense is doing that here. Dry: Everything but the frankincense burns off, so I'm left with the "sour incense" smell that I usually get from incense and/or resin blends. It's not necessarily bad, just...interesting. Faint whiffs of the carnation and/or chamomile may still be hanging around, complicating things.

In the imp: Objectively speaking, it's primarily floral-sweet, but the inclusion of the vanilla plus my association of the scent of violets with violet pastilles equals a more foody-sweet impression. It's pleasant, sweet, creamy, and VERY feminine, but not in the least "sinister" or "darkly seductive." Wet: Oh my. Could this be the violet scent I've been looking for for so long? It's fresh and green, but also creamy and sweet, while remaining distinctly floral overall. Still not the faintest hint of "a sinister, darkly seductive scent" (srsly, most of the time I love the stories BPAL tells with each perfume, but I've never smelled a scent more unlike its copy), but a wonderful spring floral. Dry: Yup, still getting lovely soft violet pastilles. It's ever so slightly drier and more herbal, but still very recognizably a violet-and-vanilla scent. Coming in, I didn't expect anything at all slinky, dark, or even that sexy from violet, vanilla, and gardenia, so I'm not disappointed on that end. Quite the contrary, in fact - I think this will become my go-to springy violet scent. It's light, sweet, and princess-y, and as such, couldn't be lovelier!

The scent of warm, glowing jack o’lanterns on a warm autumn night: true Halloween pumpkin, spiced with nutmeg, glowing peach and murky clove. In the imp: A sweet, foody scent, about 60% peaches and 40% pumpkin. And I could even take a little more skewing, in that direction, since I love peaches, but I'm not crazy about pumpkin. The spices are also there (which may be a problem - I've gotten some icky-looking rashes/welts when wearing Voodoo, and I'm pretty sure clove was the culprit. Sure does smell nice, though!), as is an interesting note of warm pastry. I have no idea how Beth manages to bottle the scent of gentle, just-out-of-the-oven heat, but bottle it she does! Wet: Immediately, I notice that the peaches have amped way down and the pumpkin has amped way up. Oh, well. At least the pastry, which is fast becoming my favorite note in the blend, is still going strong. I'm definitely getting a pumpkin pie vibe (with peach pie/cobbler being a distant second), especially since the spices have decided to settle down into more of a faint supporting note than a dominant scent in their own right. Dry: Man, this one fades FAST. I checked after about an hour, and got a soft, creamy, fruity sweet scent. But then, a couple of hours later, GONE. Which was rather a surprise for me - spices, at least, usually last around six hours or so. But, nope, I'm going to have to agree with Yojenitan on this one; lasting power is pretty much zilch. Maybe it'll improve with age?

In the imp: Here's the thing: I can distinguish the sandalwood and the lemon rind (specifically, they smell like Meyer lemons to me), and definitely the woods, but the overall effect is of a fresh, woody floral. Similar to Elf, but with stronger woods and no honeycomb. Wet: The opening notes were rather unfortunate: the lemon is more definitively lemon, but in a cleaning fluid kind of way, and the vetiver also asserts itself in a way I wasn't crazy about. Thankfully, this stage didn't last long. The lemony cleaning fluid and skunky vetiver calm down gradually, so after ~15 minutes or so I'm left with a woody floral that's actually fairly true to ITI. I'm definitely getting DiesMali's comparison to The Lilac Wood. (Note: I've never smelled The Lilac Wood myself, but this is how I imagine it would smell.) Dry: Unsurprisingly, the lemon burns off fairly quickly, leaving mainly sandalwood. However, this is an unusually woody sandalwood - I like!

In the imp: Pretty much exactly what it says on the tin: musky, sweet booze. However, the sweetness isn't directly identifiable as sugar, and boozy notes are always a little roulette-y for me. Anything dark and sweet, like rum, bourbon, or brandy, generally plays well with my skin chemistry, but lighter liquors, such as wine, champagne, or absinthe really, really don't. So I'm glad that here we seem to have the former! Wet: An unusually thick, orange-red oil that could potentially stain skin or clothes. But oil notes aside, this is still a sweet, musky booze scent, but a lighter, less overtly sultry form than ITI. Going with the bottle art theme of the 30s, ITI was lounging on a pile of pillows, smoking a hash pipe and blinking kohl-rimmed eyes at you. But now it's more of a get-up-and-dance-and-have-a-good-time kind of scent. I swear there's even a hint of citrus in there! Dry: It eventually settles down into a sweet boozy note - I believe the same one (or at least very similar to) as was in Juke Joint. And like JJ, this note LOVES my skin, and turns to a gentle, warm, delicious scent that I find myself constantly huffing.

In the imp: A sort of synthetic fruity scent, like decently nice shampoo. Actually, I'm 100% with Ishtar at this stage: clean, fruity, a little sweet, and just a touch metallic/acidic. Wet: Not at all what I was expecting! From the name & description, I was anticipating a sort of "your skin but better" thing - a bit animalic, but very organic and maybe a bit sexy. Nope, here I'm getting kids' shampoo. For me this is kind of comforting, as it reminds me of the ostensibly kiwi-strawberry-scented concoction my mom used to buy for me in elementary school. I agree with LiberAmoris here - this would be the perfect scent for those of us who work in an environment where smelling like Snake Oil is discouraged, but still want to wear *something*. Dry: Okay, THERE'S the "your skin but better"-ness! Just a hint of sweetness (whether floral or resinous or both, I can't quite tell), but mostly a dry and, yes, musky smell. Like with so many other RPG scents, I can already see the layering potential!