DiesMali

In the imp: Deep, slightly sweet wood.

Wet on my skin: A very warm, slightly incensey wood and dry cocoa scent.

Dry: This doesn't change much as it dries, except a tinge of the fig starts to sweeten it. It's very much a skin scent when it comes to the cocoa and palm wood, with the throw mostly fig with a faint hint of the cocoa. I wasn't sure what to expect with this since it was a free imp, but it's really quite nice. I'm not sure if it stays on me long enough to order a bottle, but I might like more imps of it at some point.

In the imp: Nauseating. Why am I going to put this on my skin...?

Wet on my skin: Still nauseating. Bitter, salty, and full of ozone and strange things.

Dry: This remains very unpleasant on me for some time, but despite my first inclination to wash it off, I let it sit to see what it did. There's a vague notion of something sweet and maybe floral, but it's mostly just that dark, salty seawater. It actually starts to smell rather nice after it's been on a while, but I'm afraid the first hour+ of this is probably one of the more unpleasant BPAL scents I've tried. I definitely chalk that up to skin chemistry. Something in this just goes rank on me, and that initial unpleasant smell just doesn't fade quickly enough to make the later stages worthwhile.

In the imp: Strongly salty seawater.

Wet on my skin: Dark, muddy, kelpy seawater.

Dry: The water part of this fades on me within an hour, leaving something that smells very much like the slimy seaweed and sand left behind as the tide begins to recede. Mostly sand and mud, though, with the salty, slimy seaweed strewn about in places. This isn't really something I would wear, but it was certainly interesting to try it out.

In the bottle: Dark, orange-tinted chocolate liqueur.

Wet on my skin: Dark orange chocolate, apple, and a hint of rose and vanilla.

Dry: I'll admit that I was nervous about having ordered this after reading the above reviews, but I tried it anyway. Glad I did! My bottle came today, and I should have known I'd like it since I seem to have an affinity for some of the more unusual blends, especially ones with incense/wood/musk notes. This dries into a top layer of soft, creamy-yet-musky chocolate with orange, a hint of juicy apple and velvety rose beneath that, and a little bit of incense making the whole thing a little bit shimmery. The predominant colour in this is a velvety auburn, midway between brown and red, with flecks of shining gold. Surprisingly pretty on me.

In the bottle: Earthy, rich wood and musk.

Wet on my skin: Lots of sandalwood and balsam, patchouli, and musky moss.

Dry: On me, this is very much a wood scent with an almost medicinal quality to it. It's almost all sandalwood and balsam, with the musk, patchouli, and moss deepening it just enough that I don't smell like the lumber department of a hardware store. The rose is almost imperceptible here, only a faint hint of it beneath everything else. This is a soft but oddly masculine scent on me, and thankfully I'm A-Okay with that. This is the sort of scent I might wear when I need inspiration to push myself. Maybe good for workouts. I'll have to test that idea!

In the imp: Hershey's strawberry syrup.

Wet on my skin: I smell like a bag of Jolly Ranchers.

Dry: I still smell like a bag of Jolly Ranchers, but now there's a hint of vanilla and musk, like maybe I'm carrying a high-quality perfume in the same bag as the candies. I can see why people would like this one, but so far it's just too sweet and "girly" for me. I'll try it at least once more when it ages a month or so, just to be on the safe side.

Edit: Tried this again a month and a half later, and what a difference just that month and a half made! There's still that initial blast of Jolly Ranchers, but now the musk, amber, and vanilla join it and stay. It's actually quite lovely now! Musk and amber love my skin, and now that they have their chance to shine, this has gone from a girly-sweet perfume to a rather sensual, seductively sweet scent. Glad I kept my imp!

In the imp: ROSE and red musk.

Wet on my skin: Same as in the imp.

Dry: Apparently, I amp rose when my hormones are whacked out, because the rose scents I tested today and yesterday went bonkers, and I only just now made that connection. After spreading a single wet imp wand of this on one wrist, there is a haze of rose bouquet (I think this is red, yellow, and white rosebush rose) surrounding me, wafting through the entire dining room and kitchen area, and someone walking through the adjacent living room asked if I was wearing one with rose in it today. After filling three entire rooms with rose over the course of an hour, the flowers finally calmed down a bit, and now it's a beautifully balance trio of roses, red musk, and amber. Mostly rose and musk, with the amber softening it just enough that it's not unpleasantly sharp. In the interest of fairness, I think I'll add second thoughts on this and Lucy's Kiss after my body chemistry goes back to normal.

In the imp: I had no idea what I was supposed to smell here, but I smell dust, earth, and herbs.

Wet on my skin: I'm not entirely sure how they managed to get the scent of broom twigs in here, but they did it. Along with moss, dust, herbs, and something sparkly like magic.

Dry: This is primarily the broom twigs, moss, and herbs on me, coated in a thin layer o dust and that sparkly-magic scent. I am not getting any pineapple at all, like other reviewers have said, nor much fruitiness at all. It's actually quite nice, not really what I was expecting from a scent named after a hag. The moss and herbs are very nice on my skin, along with the...magic. Go go Celtic Druid blood?

In the imp: ROSE.

Wet on my skin: ROSE, but green too. Like roses still on the bushes.

Dry: ROSE. Instead of spices, though, the Victorian spices make this smell like a row of rose bushes. Not red roses, though - these are the smaller-blossomed pink and orange roses. I think they're called tea roses? It's a very faithful rose and greenery scent. Very pretty, but definitely only for someone who REALLY likes roses. I happen to love them, and I love the fact that BPAL flowers (unlike most flower perfumes) actually work well on my skin.

In the imp: Sugary, sharp, and FLOWERS.

Wet on my skin: The drier, golden notes immediately come out when this touches my skin. Sweet hay, ginger, sandalwood, and dried flowers, with a kick of sweet, sugary vanilla and floaty jasmine.

Dry: This dries similarly to how it goes on wet. It's a bright, shimmery, golden and orange scent that looks like grain fields shimmering in the wind. It's sweet and grassy and flowery all at once, a very warm and summery scent. The jasmine, opium, hay, and vanilla are strongest notes in this on me, with the rest faintly clinging to my skin and warming it as the sweeter notes float in the air around me. The leather unfortunately faded too quickly, but the rest of the stuff in this makes up for that and then some. This will definitely be a bottle scent at some point.

In the imp: Sharp amber, almost chemical.

Wet on my skin: Same as in the imp, unfortunately. Not as nice as I'd have hoped, at least at this point.

Dry: Wait for this to dry before judging it! The sharp amber fades and softens within a few minutes, and the dark musk comes out to make this a warm, languid, slightly-powdery scent. It's a perfect blend of amber and musk, and despite the description, it's not at all foreboding. It's actually rather snuggly and comforting, like the memory of someone who was very dear to you. It's a beautiful, wistful image. My skin also happens to love musk scents, so I'm sure that has to do with why this smells so much better dry than wet.

In the imp: Wet, dark, earthy, and still somehow vaguely smoky.

Wet on my skin: The tobacco, tea, plum, and opium are strongest on me now. Definitely a dark and smoky scent.

Dry: This scent is unmistakably evil, and evil is GOOD. It starts out dark, sweet, and almost juicy along with the smoke. As it dries and wears on my skin, this becomes earthy and dry, the vetiver, seeds, and roots taking hold. The sweetness fades, leaving the deep, dry, rich scents of earth, tobacco, and opium smoke smoothed out with ambergris. It is dense and rich for several hours, and then fades slowly until all that remains is smoke and ash clinging to the skin. Oh, I do believe I'm going to need more of this once my imp is done.

In the imp: Oddly chemical, slightly sour. Very, very faint even in the imp.

Wet on my skin: Huh. Where is it...? I know I can vaguely smell something floral, but...

Dry: Oh, THERE it is! It took a few minutes, but now there is a delicate, silvery cloud of lotus, frankincense, and blackcurrant floating around me. The only thing on my skin is faint black amber and maybe some currant juice, and the rest of it is just floating about in the air. It's very very pretty, feminine, and sweet, though not so sweet that only girly-girls could wear it. It is silvery-blue, verging on lavender, and shimmery. It's nice, and I will be keeping the bottle even if I don't use it too often.

In the imp: This smells oddly like fresh, warm Belgian waffles with real syrup. I don't know, I'm sorry. I have no idea.

Wet on my skin: MMmmmmmyes. All of the notes except the lavender are in full bloom here, with the leather, vanilla, and musk at the forefront and the sage, cedar, carnation, and lavender beneath it.

Dry: This sweetens further as it dries, with the vanilla, carnation, and leather coming to the front. It's a warm and yet light scent, a rich and creamy beige in colour, bordering on golden when the vanilla and carnation drift through the air. The leather is against my skin, perhaps as leather should be, and the throw is almost entirely vanilla and carnation. The other notes are present, though very subtle, and give the sweetness a vaguely spicy/incensed edge. It's everything I was hoping for, and if this is what the Antichrist smells like...well, I suppose that's why he'd be so popular with us worldly folk. EHehehehehehe.

In the imp: Sweet, lovely incense and saffron.

Wet on me: There's a Tibetan imports store downtown at which I buy wool items and incense, and this smells just like that store. Which is a GOOD thing. I love that store.

Dry: This did not morph much as it dried. The red musk, saffron, and spices are perfectly blended, no one note overpowering the others. It's a rich, warm, sweet incense scent with a faint whisper of dusty pollen, likely from the saffron. It reminds me a little of the Snake Oil I tried, but less vanilla and more spices. This is exactly what I wanted Snake Oil to be, actually, and there may be a bottle in my future. The colour of the scent is this:

In the imp: Smells like this one Herbal Essences shampoo/conditioner I use sometimes. The one in the purple bottle.

Wet on my skin: Very sweet violet with a juicy under-currant. (ha ha)

Dry: This remains sweet on me, with almost none of the patchouli or moss. There's a very faint hint of spiciness, but otherwise this one is all sweet, powdery violet and juicy currant. It's fading very quickly, which is alright with me since this is a little sweeter than I usually like to wear. I'm sure it would be much nicer if my skin brought out the moss and patchouli, so I'll try it again after it ages a bit and see how that goes.

In the imp: Leather and chemical/asphalt sort of smell.

Wet on me: Very strong leather and musk, with the coppery scent of blood and steel. Just as the description says.

Dry: I am a heavy roleplayer in the World of Warcraft universe, and my main and her future betrothed are both Warriors. This is what I imagine them - especially him - to smell like. Polished armor, leather straps and under-armor garments, sweat, and the smell of blood that never quite goes away after a battle, no matter how many times they clean their armor and weapons. It's not something I'd wear every day, but this would go absolutely fabulously on me when I wear my leather barbarian armor and longsword to the Renaissance Festival.

In the imp: Powerful wet flowers.

Wet on me: SO MUCH IRIS and some lily and gladiola. Nothing but flowers at this point.

Dry: This remains very floral on me as it dries. It's mostly purple iris and white lily on me, with little wisps of the gladiola and heliotrope. The copal, labdanum, and tonka are close to the skin and soften the floral just enough that it's not cloying or headache-inducing. I usually amp incensey notes, but in this one it's the flowers that want to come out and play. This is probably one of the two strongest BPAL scents I have tried so far, with the throw being this purple haze of flowers floating around me and leaving a trail wherever I walk. It's actually quite nice, but I wouldn't call it pretty in the normal light and happy sense one usually associates with lilies and irises. It's a deep and rich floral, and it lets you know it means business.

This was a scent I was very unsure about, as citrus perfumes in general tend to smell like cleaning solution to my nose. I had nothing to worry about with this, as it turned out!

In the imp: LIIIIIIIIIIIIIME.

Wet on my skin: Freshly-squeezed key lime juice, faint white musk, and an even fainter breeze of lilac.

Dry: At first, this was a strong lime scent on my skin, but not in a cleaning solution sort of way. Just pure, fresh, juicy key lime. It quickly started to morph on my skin as it dried, the LIME note fading and blending with the beautifully fresh lilac, white musk, and citron. Now, about an hour in, the lime has taken a backseat to the gorgeous lilac, which is one of the best notes for my skin along with white musk. I have a long-standing love affair with those two notes in particular, and the Lab's versions of them have almost universally smelled like heaven on me. This is no exception. It's now a sharp, crisp lilac floral with a tangy haze of lemon-lime, still with the sweetness of key limes. Key lime pie, maybe. MMmmmm. This is definitely going to be a bottle scent at some point.

In the imp: Cologney and musky, with a vague floral sweetness.

Wet on my skin: A burst of orchid and earth, with some juniper and a faintly citrusy tang.

Dry: This is really nice. I was looking forward to this one, and it does not disappoint! The orchid smells true to life, and it's got this earthy, juniper bark base which makes it more of a grounded scent than an ethereal one. The citrus has all but disappeared now, but that's alright because the other notes in this are so nice. The throw is mostly orchid, and the rest is more of a skin scent. I happen to love orchid flowers, and I'd never tried a perfume with them in it before. I smell like the orchid tables in my favourite plant nursery, which then brings about the scent memory of walking through them with my dad when I was a child. I may end up getting more imps of this, if not a bottle.

In the imp: Fairly generic men's cologne.

Wet on my skin: Still fairly generic men's cologne.

Dry: ...Yep. Maybe I'll try this again at another time of day. Or maybe I'll put some on my boyfriend and see how it works on him! It's not a bad scent at all - very crisp and clean - but it's not the complex sort of thing I've come to expect from BPAL. Maybe I'll try aging the imp and see how that goes.

IN the imp: Oops, I forgot to sniff it in the imp.

Wet on me: Sharp citrus and even sharper lavender.

Dry: This is a gorgeous mixture of primarily fresh lavender and lime peel, with currents of lilac whispering through it. It's softened quite a bit from the wet stage, and is now an elegant and refined cologne. I happen to be fine with wearing more masculine scents, but I can see how this would be too masculine for more feminine women. I, however, am loving this. If this is what a villain smells like, sign me up for the next world domination plot!

This was sort of a blind test for me, as it was a free imp and I hadn't yet found this one in the shop or reviews. I had no idea what I was about to smell!

In the imp: ...Spices. Clove and cinnamon, and tea?

Wet on my skin: The clove, cinnamon, and allspice were the first things to come out to play, and I loved it for those right away. Clove is one of my favourite notes, especially in BPAL blends.

Dry: I love spicy scents like this, and I am SO glad the lab sent this imp! This is a warm, woody blend of spices that smells like my spice rack. And then there's the tea, which makes the whole thing smell a lot like chai. Which isn't a bad thing at all, as I love the scent of chai much more than I enjoy the taste of it. So now I get to smell it without having to drink it! Win-win situation. I may end up ordering a bottle of this, especially to wear when it is cold outside and I want to feel warmer. Arachne of Lydia is kind of my go-to for that now, but this may end up as an alternate for such occasions.

In the imp: Fresh, strong lavender with a hint of a sweeter flower.

Wet on my skin: Deep, dark lavender and what I'm fairly certain is night-blooming jasmine.

Dry: This is a perfect mix of primarily lavender and jasmine, with a hint of rose and something that smells green and ferny to me. I've noticed that BPAL's dark floral blends work beautifully on my skin, which is very welcome since store-brand florals and I don't get along at all. I can finally wear pretty florals! And this is a great one! It's dark and mellow and leaves me feeling relaxed and ...warm. I'm not sure if it is the power of suggestion or actually the perfume itself, but I really want to take a mid-afternoon nap right now.

In the imp: Roooooooooooooose rose rose ...ROSE.

Wet on my skin: ROSE and am I detecting the sandalwood in there? Ooooh, now there's the plum.

Dry: I happen to like rose when it actually smells like rose and not cheap rose imitation perfume (which gives me an insta-migraine). This smells like real roses! Soft and almost buttery petals, very sweet. It's tempered by the plum and sandalwood, which bring it from a light, crisp red to something a little more "mauve." The bergamot and oudh give it just a hint of a bite, but not so much as to make the scent sharp. This is a very pretty scent, in an antique, lacy Victorian sort of manner. Hmm...maybe more Rococo, now that I think on it. It's a little bit too "full" and lively to be truly Victorian.