tempete

Initially, Tzadikim Nistarim was sweet tropical fruit on me - not quite pineapple, and definitely not melon, peach or mango. It smelled like something fleshy and fibrous like a pineapple, but not watery like a melon. The sweetness very gradually faded and turned slightly soapy in the drydown. Overall, the scent did give off an aura of spiritual purity. Since this doesn't describe me in the least and I'm not a fan of sweet, fruity scents, I'm passing this scent onto someone else.

I agree wholeheartedly with what you said about Amsterdam. Also: Apocathery: Lush fig uplifted by green and herbal freshness. Dirty: Clean linen and plumeria. Fae: Ethereal, effervescent peachiness. Tenochtitlan: A light, golden amber that is enlivened by green and herbal notes.

I disagree with the attitude that you shouldn't "bother" the Lab about your order. Cat, if it makes you feel better to get confirmation from the Lab about your order, then I think that you should go ahead and email them. Right now, if you like, because it's your money. Just be aware that (1) as far as I know, everyone who has PayPal'd the Lab money has always received their order, confirmation email or not and (2) as inkstone mentioned, the Lab has had intermittent outgoing email problems. But again, none of that should change whether you email the Lab or not.

Sigh. I do not seem to do well with vanilla-containing BPALs, with the notable exceptions of Snake Oil and Dorian. I usually get a weird funky note, and White Rabbit unfortunately seems to follow that trend. Other than the funkiness, I can't smell much else other than the vanilla note, so my little imp of White Rabbit is headed to the swap pile...

Although Anubis dries to a gloriously complex resiny finish, it is almost nauseatingly sweet and has tremendous throw in the initial stages. It's too bad that Anubis pulls so sweet on me and that I can't stand extremely sweet scents because I've gotten compliments wearing this. However, I can't get past the insulin shock and I'll regretfully have to swap Anubis away.

The lavender fougere predominates when Dorian is wet, but recedes as the scent dries down. Dorian then morphs into a dark sugared vanilla whose sweetness is tempered by the three pale musks. Yay, no lemon for me! I regard Dorian as Snake Oil Lite: it contains the same vanilla-y goodness without the spices, patchouli and bold musk to sex it up. So while Snake Oil seduced me and those around me without compunction, Dorian is more distant and reserved and seems more... well, metrosexual, for lack of a better term. That's not to say that I don't like Dorian, because I do like it a lot and will get a 5 ml bottle - but I would wear Dorian when I simply wanted to smell gorgeous and not when I wanted to ensure that my date would end up in the bedroom.

My skin likes to amp up fig, and this is a very good thing as I love its sweet yet earthy fruitiness . In Nephilim, I can tell that there's something else dark and cold slithering around the fig note, but as other reviewers have mentioned, the notes in this scent are so well-blended that it's difficult to pick out anything other than the fig note. While I enjoyed Nephilim, there are other figgy BPALs that I enjoy more, so I'll pass my imp onto someone else.

In the wet phase, Djinn evokes an image of a still-burning landscape scorched by the whims of vastly powerful elementals. The scorched smell mellows into a burning incense smell, but is eventually overridden by a strong soapy smell which suggests the presence of lilies (jasmine would have soaped out instantly on me). Although I'll be swapping away the imp, I'm glad to have experienced Djinn.

Unlike most BPALs containing wine, Lady Macbeth doesn't smell like grape juice on me. The sweetness of the wine and the berries are reined in by a green note, presumably the thyme mentioned in the description. Unfortunately, this note gains power during the drydown and eventually overwhelms the scent with a dry, dusty odour. How fitting, though, for a scent named after Lady Macbeth.

Moon Rose is a rather sweet, perfume-y smelling floral. I only like florals when they're heavily doused with musk and amber, and sweet florals can make feel me nauseated, so this one is most definitely not for me.

I have to echo dreadeddragon's review and say that I would have done nicely with just the musk and opium. The civet note is gaining strength as I type out this review, and I'm beginning to resemble my cat's litterbox more and more

Bon Vivant smells like carbonated strawberry drink on me. Very effervescent and fun, but it doesn't really suit my personality. Although it does make me want to have strawberries and champagne...

Wet, Iago is VETIVER... and pretty much nothing else. As the scent dries, the vetiver allows the black musk to take over, which brings Haunted to mind. However, this musky stage is accompanied by a strong dose of leather, which is unfortunately giving me a headache. I can tell that Iago would be wonderful on the right man (or the woman with the right body chemistry), and since I obviously don't qualify, he's headed for the swap pile.

Bathsheba mixes almost equal portions of sweetness (from the plum and Arabian musk) with soft spiciness (from the carnation and Arabian musk). It's pretty but rather bland and non-descript, partly because Arabian musk smells like dryer sheets to me. I guess that I prefer my spiciness to be more overt, and paired with an incense, a resin or a stronger, bolder musk.

Named in honor of the primeval Greek Goddess of Night. A scent reflecting inky black skies and eternal desolation. Night-blooming jasmine, warmed by myrrh, lifted by the promise of rose. While Nyx was a generous freebie from the Lab, I can't do jasmine because it turns to soap on my skin. Nevertheless, I try everything that the Lab throws into my order, because You Never Know. Sadly though, Nyx is instant soap despite the presence of rose and myrrh. Oh well, off to the swap pile where it will hopefully find a home with a jasmine-lover.

Skuld is initially a thick, syrupy honey that gives way to a ylang ylang phase that is gently spiced by the musks and slightly sweetened by a residue of the honey note. At this stage, it smells pretty similar to La Petite Mort to my nose, except lighter and less complex. The labdanum component then takes over Skuld, pushing pretty much all the other notes aside. A very pretty but not compelling scent on me, so this imp is most likely headed for the swap pile.

Bliss has a sharply bitter note when wet, similar to bittersweet cocoa powder. As it dries down, the bitter note fades away and it becomes the pure milk chocolate scent promised by the description. I doubt that I would wear this alone (it would entice my coworkers to try to lick me, ugh) but I will save the imp to layer with other scents that need a boost of chocolatey goodness to offset tenaciously strong woody notes (I'm looking at you, Velvet).

The Red Queen smelled like cherry cough medicine while wet, drying down and completely dry. Obviously, I need to stay away from cherries because it doesn't seem like that note will ever work for me.

I bought a bottle of Corazon unsniffed because red musk/amber scents are usually spectacular on me (Spellbound, Fenris Wolf). Unfortunately, it joins Hollywood Babylon as the only red musk/amber scents that didn't work for me. The problem is that I can barely smell the red musk and amber (which was also the problem with Hollywood Babylon). Mango dominates during the wet phase, and never really fades away as Corazon dries down. However, lavender emerges briefly, to be replaced by a peppery scent which I assume to be sage. The combination of mango sweetness and sharp pepperiness just doesn't do it for me. So unfortunately, this bottle will have to be sent to a more loving home.

Unspoken love. Inspired by Oscar Wilde's poem. A scent brimming with pathos and memories of longing and loss. Rose touched with ylang ylang. As I mentioned in VelvetSky's Flower Power thread, I inexplicably like ylang ylang, even though it tends to be sweet and powdery on me, two scent characteristics that I normally avoid. To my delight, Silentium Amoris is mostly ylang ylang with a touch of rose. It is a very pretty, feminine scent that isn't overtly sexual, which is a rarity in my imp box and makes it appropriate for weddings and family functions. I will treasure this imp and mourn the day that I use it up.

I've tried Fae, Imp, Katharina, Siren, Tamora and Yerevan. Fae was far and away the best peach scent on me. I love how the scent is grounded by the oakmoss note, yet effervescent and ethereal smelling because of the white musk note. Not extremely long-lasting on me, but I still recommend the scent highly. Imp was very peachy, but a little too heavy on the patchouli for my tastes (it will probably improve with a little aging). Katharina turned sour because of the orange blossom note. Siren was quite sharp, probably because of the ginger note. Tamora was lovely but very one-dimensional on me - all I could smell was peach blossom and very little of the other notes. Yerevan was sweetsweetsweet, ugh. (Edited to add my thoughts about Yerevan.)

As far as I can tell, I am the only review to be afflicted with a soapy cinnamon wet phase for The Lion. I hate smelling like soap and I hate smelling like cinnamon only slightly less, but after an hour or so, the soap scent dissipates and the cinnamon note is enveloped by a very golden amber halo. Unlike some other vaguely spicy and sweet skin scents that I've tried, there seems to be something anchoring this scent down and keeping it from feeling too light or floating off my skin. I detest the wet phase of The Lion, but the drydown is utterly gorgeous. I'm torn about getting a 5 ml bottle. ETA: brownbat kindly threw in an imp of The Lion into the Oblation Caravan, and it is completely different from the imp that I have. The Oblation Caravan imp smells strongly of grass and dust and there's hardly any amber at all.

Wet, Venom is nauseatingly berrylicious sweet, with a hint of the lime toning down the sugarfest ever so slightly. It reminds me of Poison in this stage, as other reviewers have pointed out. If I wait long enough, the sweetness fades and gives way to a resiny note (opponax? galbanum?) Venom is quite interesting at this stage, but I can't stand the incredibly sweet wet phase, so I'll have to swap this one away.

Mantis starts off very green and herbally. As it dries down, the herbs give way to a light golden patchouli/amber/musk blend, which is pretty but not outstanding on me as it seems to lack depth. This scent is also very light, because it fades away to nothingness within an hour. [For light amber scents, I prefer Tenochtitlan and for green/herbal scents, my choice would have to be The Apocathery.]

"The Pretty Era", France’s Golden Time: an age of beauty, innovation and peace in France that lasted from the 19th Century through the first World War and gave birth to the cabaret, the cancan, and the cinema as well as the Impressionist and Art Nouveau movements. Sweet opium, Lily of the Valley, vanilla, mandarin and red sandalwood. This was a generous freebie from the Lab. I wouldn't have ordered it on my own because lilies usually turn to soap on my skin. Yup, they turned to soap. At one point, I smelled like vanilla soap, and then the sandalwood note came out for a bit, at which point I smelled like sandalwood soap. Into the swap pile!