d0gbones

In the imp: Fruity Wet: Blackcurrant air freshener. Seriously, exactly like a forest fruits room diffuser I use to have. Dry: Uh-oh. Still blackcurrant air freshener. This one is strong. Not overpowering, but strong and it lasts a good while. And I can't disassociate it from air fresheners (no idea what's causing that) no matter how hard I try, so this is one for the oil burner.

And another bottle I bought off porcelina This really is the loveliest rose note. In the bottle it smells pretty green but that's not as noticeable on skin. It doesn't seem to last all that long on me, but I can smell it the next day on scarves and my coat. Really love this one.

In the imp: Rose and something. It doesn't smell musky, so it must be amber, which I'm not familiar with as a single note. Wet: All incense. Dry: Roses. That's really unhelpful considering what I said in another review about BPAL's rose notes having such a range. But "black roses" is the perfect descriptor. They smell like a dark, dark rose, in bloom and just about to go over and what I think is amber is taking off any green edges of the rose. Hearts in my eyes...

In the imp: Synthetic... nothingness? Wet: Something really sharp and sour, which I think is the Spanish moss, and slightly rosy. Dry: Rose, but it's definitely dry. It amazes me how different "rose" can smell in a blend and I don't think there's a BPAL rose note I don't love. The sharpness has dried off to a lovely mossiness and the soil rounds the whole thing out to this amazing earthy-standing-in-the-woods-ness. The soil's not as prominent as in Deep In Earth, but it's definitely there. This one was a frimp, I doubt I'd have bought it because it sounds so similar to Deep In Earth (which I adore) but yes, I definitely needed both in my life.

In the imp: Lavender? Sharp and herbal Wet: Not at all like it did in the imp. Floral blend. Dry: I only bought this for the name but wow. It's wonderfully layered, I get church incense and beeswax for some reason, frankincense and a touch of violet, but strangely, no cinnamon.

In the imp: Green and a bit herbal. There's a rose in back of my nose (that was unintentional omg). Wet: Sweet, rich soil and moss. Dry: Soil is the main note, the yew and moss stop the rose from coming out too strongly. This was one of my first BPAL fragrances and it's pretty much my signature scent now. I often describe it as "soil and roses", but as I've got better at identifying things, I realise just how much the yew and moss part of the blend add. And this one is absolutely dead on the description. My great uncle and great grandparents are buried under a yew tree next to the hedge, so it's always covered in leaves and the roots of the yew have grown over the grave. I was raking leaves and tidying it up not long ago and realised it smells exactly like Deep In Earth, minus the rose. Amazing.

In the imp: Sweet tea and rose Wet: Something's gone wrong... chemical and a little like the aerosol in spray deodorant Dry: This one's weird on me. Some days it smells a bit like wet tea leaves, others, a light rose. Today is a rose day.

In the imp: Herbal, incense. Wet: incense, the herbal is decidedly more plant-y. Dry: Incense and a slight hint of floral. Another 10 minutes and it's the roses that've taken over, the incense is adding depth but it's barely noticeable. 10 minutes after that, the incense is back in the lead. Lovely rose incense is how it ends up on me.

In the imp: Rose and violet? Wet: Same Dry: Initially, just a sweet floral, not much changed but it isn't quite as sharp. Something powdery comes out too, I'm still getting just the slightest hint of violet, I know there's none in here so I guess the cinnamon and one of the roses must just be blended so as to give the impression. The final result is a gorgeous blend of roses and the cinnamon is definitely there, but not recognisably so, it's the "something" that knits it all together.

In the imp: sweet herbs and something balsamic? Wet: Much the same and the soil is coming out. I love BPAL's soil note. There's something slightly powdery I can't put my finger on and a bite that I'm guessing comes from the wine. Dry: Sweet soil and rose. The rose gets sweeter the longer I wear it until it's faded and become one with the wine. Mmm.

In the imp: Weirdly pale green. Wet: All cinnamon. Watery cinnamon. Dry: I'm amping the hell out of the cinnamon today. And the cinnamon is making my skin tingle which hasn't happened before... I actually love this one, it's usually cinnamon musk and nowhere near as LOUD as this.

In the imp: Sharpness, then sweet cherry Wet: Same as in the imp Dry: For a while, this is the same as Bastet in the early dry stage - almonds and myrrh. Later, it becomes sweeter and the cinnamon really comes out. I'd have a hard time picking a favourite of the two.

In the imp: Marzipan and cherry Wet: First sniff is a hit of sweetness, more cherry and myrrh. Dry: There's an almost coconut milkyness to this that I love. It blends so perfectly with the myrrh and takes on a spiciness. Very similar to Hecate, this is more resinous and less sweet to me. One of my favourites.

In the imp: Almost nothing. There's an impression of something sweet. Wet: Spices, slightly minty. I'm picking up a lot of notes I don't usually get from scents I wear regularly today, it's really confusing me. dry: Soft resins and a touch of rose. It is a tad powdery, but that works for me.

In the imp: sharp and sweet. Wet: Sweet shop! Dry: I got a lemony note testing this just now that I've never noticed before. Something odd going on with my skin today, clearly. That did go away after a while and left me with the kyphi and myrrh scent it usually does. Phew.

I bought porcelina's bottle recently, so it seems fitting I follow up her review In the bottle: warm and herbal, nothing specific jumps out. Wet: Weak myrrh, the herbs have gone. Dry: Sweet myrrh and spicy herbal which must be the sweet flag. I'm absolutely in love with this one, it smells SO good. It's a nice one to have lingering on you as you're falling asleep too, very comforting.

In the imp: Powdery white floral. Wet: Lillies? I suppose that's the gardenia. Dry: Overwhelming white flowers. This one's too much for me. It's developed a powderiness that sticks in my throat. I think I've learnt that me and white floral do not like each other.

In the imp: Penny sweets. Wet: Reeeally sweet pear. Like Pear Drops. Dry: Still getting mainly pear, but it's fresher now somehow. It settles to something sweet and delicate when the magnolia finally comes out. I can't identify the other flower notes, they all just smell very white.

In the imp: too-sweet florals. Wet: Patchouli, sweet incense. Still not getting the rose, it's more a jumble of flowers. Dry: Uh oh. We're in sandalwood territory. Thankfully, that died off and left me with a flowery patchouli. Still not one for me though.

Phantasmal patterns warp and weave through panes of leaded glass. Pale shafts of frail sunbeams push through, creating a sickly dance of violet, smoke-grey, blood-red, and blackened plum light on the oaken walls. In the imp (decant): Violets. Wet: More violets! And rose, but probably something closer to rose geranium than regular red roses. Something's giving a dusty feel to it without actually smelling dusty. Dry: It's going a bit soapy. The expensive kind old ladies keep in the bathroom for special guests. On me, expensive violet-scented soap. It's nice but a bit full on for me. The violets are a lot more prominent and less soapy on my mum and she's had her eye on it since I opened the parcel, so off it goes. (Edited because autocorrect is a smart arse)

In the imp (decant): Almond. Slightly bitter almond. Wet: Marzipan. So basically, still almonds. Dry: Slightly powdery almonds and a little frankincense. I'm not getting anything else, which is A Good Thing because me and cedar don't get along at all. This has ended up being my favourite by far, though not enough for a full bottle purchase.

In the imp (decant): Vetiver and black pepper. Wet: The cardamom is warming it up, but it's still predominantly pepper and vetiver. Dry: Nope. Musky in an unpleasant way and something's turning my stomach. I persevered because some of the other Plagues have turned out so differently after wearing them for a while, but it's just a flat tobacco in the end.

In the imp (decant): Froggy and boggy. I think I can pick out the sage and vetiver. Wet: A manly, green scent. The vetiver's stronger now. Dry: A green musk with sage lurking in the background. I think the benzoin kinda ruins this one once it comes out. It's still nice though! Pretty clean and fresh, though the benzoin reins that in a bit. I'm keeping it, but only because it reminds me of somewhere, not one I'm likely to wear so it'll probably end up as a room/linen spray.

In the imp (decant): Cough syrup. The kind that's been lurking on the shelf for ages. Wet: The cough syrup's calmed down to a tarty cherry and something resinous is taking over. Dry: Still getting the odd waft of cough syrup, but it's basically just sandalwood. This one's somewhere on the border between fairly masculine and heavy womens' perfume. Not a keeper for me.

In the imp (decant): It's sweet and slightly floral. Wet: All balsam and cedar. Cedar's a bit of a death note for me, so I'm not getting my hopes up for this one. Dry: Something milky has arrived to round it out. Maybe it'll be OK after all. In the end, it settled to a nice vanilla sandalwood with just the slightest hint of cedar and balsam.