Teamama

In the imp, smokey wood and aromatics. Can't pick out the lemon. Wet, more of the same, with an undertone of plastic (?) that faded quickly. A little powdery, the way sandalwood can be powdery. Dry, the lemon is there in the background. I'm catching a hint of ponderosa pine up close on a hot summer day, walking on dry needles. Overall, it's perfumey sweet dry wood with a little bit of citrus way back there. Nice, but I'm not inspired to need a full bottle (yet.)

Grants courage under extreme conditions, helps overcome fear of death, and strengthens the fortitude of artists and businessmen, enabling them to further their goals. Thank you to the many forumites who reviewed Wolf's Heart--I bought a bottle unsniffed, and am SO glad I did. This is a big hit with me, my daughter, and (unexpectedly,) my son. The oil is a beautiful clear coral-red color (I know because I had to split the bottle with my daughter, and decanted hers from the amber bottle into a clear glass one.) In the bottle, I could pick out dragon's blood and jasmine and spice. It's really well-blended, so none of those predominates. Wet and dry, the scent stays close to the skin, and feels very personal. It's not a "signature" scent, it seems to blend with the wearer and change itself to match the wearer's chemistry. The reviewer who said Wolf's Blood is like a blanket is right--both my kids are attached to comfort objects, and the comforting effect of Wolf's Heart is just like a special blanket.

In the bottle: Jasmine, a little bit of incense, and a hint of the same "soft" note that's in Wolf's Heart. Wet on my skin, the jasmine and incense have TREMENDOUS throw. My incense-averse daughter has forbidden me to put it on in the same room as her. The jasmine's still the easiest note to pick out, but the incense, the other florals and the bergamot are definitely involved. The bergamot is more citrus than herb. Can't find the vetiver at all. Dry, the throw is much subtler. The bergamot and the incense are on top, the vetiver is in there, and there's a powdery sort of iris. It's not very long-lasting on my bare skin indoors by the fan on a 90-degree summer day. I've had some world-class photosensitivity with bergamot oil in the past, so I do not plan to wear this blend anywhere that the sun can shine if I'm outdoors. Update 2 months and 1 bottle purchase later: The Caterpillar is wonderful. I get compliments on it, I love the way it smells, and it plays well with Wolf's Heart, my go-to fragrance for work. Back-up bottle, here I come!

In the imp, I was not able to pick out any one note, mostly it smelled sweet and oddly chemical. Wet, the oak reveals itself as the source of the "chemical" smell. It's not the sweet, woody smell I know from laying or sanding dry oak floorboards, and I've never smelled green oak wood. The rhubarb note is nice. Overall, this is pretty subtle, not a lot of throw. I don't think I can wear it, through, because I'm feeling a little queasy from it. Yep, had to wash it off.

Sweet roses, sweet figs, sweet honey. The orange blossom is in there, but it's lying low. This reminds me of the best baklava...it's baklava for the home! I really like this scent.

In the imp: Sweet and complex, with milky, amber-y notes. Wow! Wet on me: Aw, shucks. It's almond extract and sugar with musk. This is NOT good on me. Dry: The almond has faded, there's a little bit of amber, but mostly this smells like musk cookies. Sigh. Another example of my chemistry wrecking a really interesting foody scent.

Spicy bay rum, with a LOT of tobacco. Maybe a hint of leather in there somewhere? As it dries, it gets sugary. Nice.

So sweet! The notes are well-blended, and interesting in the imp. However... Wet on my skin, it was an immediate mismatch. It smelled unpleasantly like I'd spilled some kind of coconut-rum-butterscotch drink all over myself. The rest of the notes vanished. Time did not improve matters. Not for me.

I love sandalwood, patch, jasmine and rose, and I was really looking forward to Namaste. The imp smelled like 100% lemon. Wet, it was mostly lemon. It didn't smell like lemongrass, more like straight up lemon extract. I could hardly detect anything else. The lemon dominated for over an hour. Eventually, I could smell the other notes, but faintly. This isn't a good one for me.

Foody all the way. In the imp I could smell the spices and the myrrh. That was the only time I could find the myrrh. Once I put Chimera on, it was very, very sweet. It started as a sort of amber-y cinnamon, with some vanilla and cherries. The cherries started out low-key, but gradually took over completely. Where did they come from? Darn cherries.

My kind of party! Rose, jasmine and myrrh? I'm there! I like this as an evening scent. I can't quite imagine wearing it before late afternoon. That would be like having liqueur and cheesecake first thing in the morning in your jammies.

My imp is a mid-amber color. Somewhere in Gnome there's a note that's related to the good dirt smell I like so much in Yorick. The ginger is faint. It's nice, but I'm not very taken with it. My daughter the Elf-wearer reacts very strongly against this scent (go figure,) so it's going in the swap pile.

Note: my skin wrecks aquatics. A pretty coral pink oil. In the imp, it smells complex and salty. On me, wet and dry both, all the complexity went away. My skin turned it into something sadly like Irish Spring deodorant soap. I guess I soaked up all the blood, leaving only seafoam. Not for me.

Devilishly playful: white peach, amber, golden musk and patchouli. This smells much nicer in the imp than on me. I like the spice, but the peach turned into the ghost of Juicy Fruit gum and scared the spice off. So far, peach notes don't seem to be my thing.

BPAL rose blends are GOOD. I like this blend's sweetness, and liveliness. The grassy note must be there in the background someplace, because there's some green, but it could just as well be rose leaves (I've run over a few rose suckers with a lawnmower in my day, and I can believe this scent is related.) This isn't up in your face ROSE. It's roses, it's sweet, and the roses are real flowers, that grew on plants. It's not very long-lasting on me, alas. ETA I bought a bottle. Over time, I was reaching for the imp more and more.

Fantastic! But fleeting. It's sparkling and magical, exactly as described. It lasts about 10 minutes on my skin, and vanishes with nary a trace.

In the imp: Sandalwoods are barely there, alas. The main scent is a fruit, sort of like if Wrigley's made a Passion Fruit version of Juicy Fruit gum. Wet and dry: My skin smelled like "My Little Dragon, Friendship is Fruit Salad," for an hour, and then it was gone.

Just purchased from the Etsy store, and loving it! Rose, sandalwood & jasmine are my best buds, and they're all in there, but not in an overwhelming way. The red musk and vetiver are peeking out, and I sense a little tannin in the background from the black tea. The wood & herb notes keep the florals from dominating. I also thought of honeysuckle. Maybe the nectarine & jasmine combined? A win! Hooray!

Just purchased from the Etsy shop, and it's lovely. The pine is the tangy center pole that the other sweet & fruity notes dance around. Not especially long-lasting, but a lot of fun while it lasts 😊.

Just ordered the 5 ml bottle, which HAS to arrive before my imp runs out! This is a great blend, and the notes combine in a really satisfying way. In the imp, the pinot noir note is way too overpowering for me. It took me a while to try it on, because that wine-y, grapey impression seemed like a bad risk. Wrong! Once on, the pinot noir quickly becomes a well-blended and subtle part of the whole. The dark myrrh, red sandalwood, black patchouli, night-blooming jasmine, and attar of rose are all in there, but they're dancing together. None of them take over. I love this one as much as Has No Hanna.

Peach notes aren't working out for me. In the imp, Al-Shairan is spicy and fascinating. On me, it turned into Red-hots and Juicy-Fruit gum. I had a similar experience with Imp (the fragrance.) I think my skin turns BPAL's peach notes into Jell-O.

I love Anne Bonny for its woody, resin-y qualities. The patchouli is very well-behaved, and blends beautifully with the sandalwood & frankincense. I feel like there's some Amber in there, too, because the overall feeling is sweeter than I would expect from patch, sandal & frankincense. I was so impressed by the imp that I bought a 5 ml bottle, and am very happy with it. It's very strong at first, but dries down to a subtle scent. A co-worker, however, asked if I was wearing Jean Nate'! My goodness, noses are funny things.

In the imp: Eurgh. I get mildew, or a moldy orange. Wet on my skin & Drydown: Wood, and dirt, and spice. Sweet. Reminds me of playing in the garden in the summer. Dry: Wood, anise, and a pale pale hint of dirt. This is going on my wish list. Had to buy a bottle. I would never have thought that from the first whiff of the imp! Edited again to add: Yorick has light throw. I didn't wear it at all this winter, but now that it's spring I'm reaching for it again.

Wonderful! I've had a super-positive response to this scent. Wearing it during a chaotic time at work has been soothing and uplifiting. I love the jasmine / gardenia / rose heart of this scent. It's very warm and organic, not fussy or uber-femme. I work in a health care setting, so I've been wearing it diluted with apricot oil while at work. In a dilute form like that, it's subtle, but lasting. 10 stars! I got it as a frimp, and immediately had to buy the bottle.