eloiseattheplaza

Wet: Juicy blueberries and sweet, spicy ginger. Dry: This ever-so-gradually morphs into a gingery, almost powdery, cakey scent, but the berries are still there. It's absolutely lovely. Not quite as cakey and foody as Lady Una or Eat Me, so it never gets too much for me. I'll wear this one a lot. The concept of this is just delightful, and it didn't disappoint me in the least. I'm so glad to have a bottle!

I haven't yet met a Stardust blend that's not breathtakingly beautiful. The Lab description fits this perfectly. It's light, airy and herbal, with just a faint breath of redcurrant. Wet, it's a little soapy, but that dries down in a minute and I get a long-lasting, absolutely beautiful floral-herbal scent. I've been reaching for this over and over. I'd wear it anywhere--it's more subtle than Fairy Market or Fairy Wine, but just as lovely. It melts into my skin. I'm so glad I went straight for a big bottle.

I was given an imp of Tum by a wonderful forum friend and I love it, but that's right, it's discontinued. It's a very pure warm glowing honey on me, incredibly beautiful and evocative. Any suggestions for similar GCs?

Wet, this is the same baked goods note I loved in Knave of Hearts. There's a subtle floral scent in the background. Dry, the baked smell becomes more spicy. The blackberry stays in the background on me, and after a few hours it's all spice. Not one I wear all the time, but I do reach for it once in a while.

From first sniff to drydown, Maiden is pure yet complex carnation and maybe the ghost of a cup of tea--a little spicy, interesting, but extremely wearable and understated. I love it--I've been reaching for it again and again. Might have to be a big bottle. It's similar to Alice, but less girly, simpler, and more grown-up.

Wet: This surprised me. Very green, herbal, hints of the floral and berry notes, but mostly a herbal and almost dusty scent. Not really sweet or alcoholic at all. From the description, I thought I'd probably like the idea, but not want to reach for it often--but it's lovely. Drydown: A soapy something emerges, but not in a bad way. It's a complex but clean scent. I still like it--I'd like to try layering it with a rose, maybe London. Dry: A skin scent, clean and understated but still complex. The rose and lavender have disappeared. I'd wear this to work. Pontarlier reminds me a little of Glasgow, with the breezy open-air feeling. I am surprised that one I thought of as more of a novelty scent is so beautiful. I can see this growing on me and becoming a future bottle.

I second mint, though I don't have any BPAL mint as yet. Sharp lemon essential oil is helpful for me, as well. Also, sitting at the front of the car, having the window slightly open, and looking at the sky were the biggest helps when I was a young carsick child.

I received a frimp decant from a wonderful forumite, and I was so excited to try it! I usually like rose, especially London and Two, Five and Seven, but Rose Red sounded subtly different. In the imp: I remember the first time I sniffed BPAL (it was the Knave of Hearts) and I was bowled over by how real it smelled. Not like a perfumer's interpretation, but like being inches away from the real thing. This is not like sniffing a vial of rose attar; it's like holding the stem and thorns and flower of a real, big-as-life rose bloom. It's green and fresh and perfect. On skin: the greenness stays for about twenty minutes, beautifully crisp and lively. Dry: the green fades somewhat, and the rose petal scent comes through, very similar to Two, Five and Seven on me, though maybe a little redder. It didn't last long--a couple of hours, at most. In locket: the stemmy scent remains. I'll probably wear this both on my skin and in my locket to capture both of its beautiful elements, or I might wear Rose Red and London in the locket together. Verdict: Rose Red is absolutely beautiful, and Beth's artistry in creating such a complex and evocative scent that is at the same time so pure and true... it just blows me away.

I've been looking for a great paper scent since I heard about Christopher Brosius's In the Library. I thought about Miskatonic U, but I wasn't really after the coffee scent. I swapped for an imp of Aziraphale, and in the meantime, I ordered a 5 mL Lurid Library with my Yules and 'Weenies. Well, Aziraphale arrived, and while I didn't hate it, it didn't really give me paper, and it was a little sharp and cologney for me. I was pretty nervous that The Lurid Library would do the same thing. Not so! This is perfect. In the imp: it's hard to tell what's going on, but nothing scary... Wet: Instant incensey paper, not cologney or over-the-top at all. Dry: A very soft, skin-scented paper, literally like wandering around an old library. The musk just serves to blend the notes and create a lovely, long-lasting scent. So glad I have a bottle--I'll wear this often.

I put a dab of the oil on a cottonwool pad and tuck it into my pyjama pocket, or just inside my pillowcase. That way, it can be refreshed as needed, and I don't have to change the whole bed just to refresh the scent. Plus, I like to only smell Somnus at bedtime, and if it was hanging around on my pillow, I think its sleep associations would be lessened for me.

Fairy Market is so beautifully blended that I can't pick out any one note. On me it's floral and sweet--wonderful at every stage, never sickly, just a gorgeous blend of flowers and grasses and sweets. I wouldn't have picked incense, but that must be what's smudging some of the sweetness--it's absolutely beautiful. It also lasted all day--thirteen hours later it's still wafting up at me, which is just right. I won't say no to a bottle of this one.

On me and in the imp, this is very pure, simple rose. It's lovely, and I think I prefer it to Two, Five & Seven (the only other BPAL rose I've tried)--I don't get any wickedness, but it's a beautiful, not-too-cloying, not-too-pink, completely wearable rose. I have a 5mL of Two, Five & Seven, so I probably won't spring for a big bottle of this as well, but I'd swap for one--maybe one day.

In the imp: mango, I guess. Not too rich and fruity, but promising. Wet: The mango rounds out almost immediately, with just a faint herbal something in the background. Drydown: Patchouli slowly emerges, in a good way--it's fruity, but not purely edible. Dry: It's beginning to smell like Tweedledum has let himself go just a tad. I'm not sure I like the dirty-hippie vibe that's coming out. Sadly, I'm comparing this to other mango scents that have stayed juicy on me, like Body Shop moisturisers, and I'm just a little disappointed. It's not bad, but there are yummier BPALs, so I'll probably let this one go.

In the imp: pure heather, a little air-freshenery. Wet: Heather, quickly blending with skin and becoming nicer. Drydown: half an hour later, a hint of blackberry--not a full, round, berry scent, but very like being around blackberries growing outside. A scent, not a taste. Quite exquisite. Dry: the berry and heather have evened out, and although this is not a strong or super-unique fragrance, it is beautiful. I don't know that I'll buy a bottle, but I'll certainly use up the imp. It's subtle enough for work and I'd like to try it in my hair as well.

I love the description for The Apothecary, but unlike some of the more fruity, foody, or bizarre blends, there's no way anyone would spontaneously associate this one with its name. I don't dislike it, but there are so many other BPAL blends that really are unique and wonderful that this one doesn't leap out at me. Wet: light, acidic herbs, almost but not quite fake-smelling; nothing specifically presents itself, apart from maybe a green tea note. Drydown: there's still something commercially-perfumey about this, which is not what I have come to expect. Though it is getting more wearable, I still wouldn't expect anyone to compliment it. Dry: after a few hours, the acidic characteristic is gone and the scent is light, fresh but not brash, and more complex--quite lovely, in fact. I don't smell any fig, just green tea and grass. I think I'll keep the imp and revisit it now and again, though ultimately I think I won't fall in love with this one. I didn't really enjoy the initial wearing and I doubt this would work in my locket--it needed the time on my skin to develop. It is lovely, though, and there may well be occasions when it's worth it to get to the final delicate herbal fragrance.

Alice took a little while to make friends. It didn't help that I was already besotted with the Knave of Hearts and had recently spent a day with Two, Five & Seven, but I did my very best to be open-minded, and I'm glad I did. Wet: I wasn't sure what I detected in the imp. A vaguely sweet, wholesome, powdery scent. On skin: the same vague waft of childlike scent, but more and more pleasant as it got used to my skin. Drydown: the honey became more rounded and defined, while a hint of spice (carnation) and bergamot began to emerge. Dry: we became fast friends. Over a few hours the blend became sweeter, less powdery, and more complex. It's very wearable, and although it took me a while to decide it suited me, I think it will be something that will grow on me more and more. Definitely one for work and other places where subtlety is a virtue, but this is still quirky and different enough that it doesn't feel like any generic perfume. I might even have to share its sweet honey and cambric tea scent with my little sister.

I was in a hurry to choose an imp to try minutes before going to work--alas, nanoseconds after swiping Tintagel on my neck and in my locket, I got a strong whiff of bus-station bathroom air freshener. I can't place the scent--something floral--but it was evocative enough that I rinsed off the oil as best I could when I got to work. On drydown (mostly locket) it became more herbal and slightly more wearable. Sadly, the bathroom fragrance periodically reappeared, and Tintagel became the founding member of Eloise's Noble Guild of Replaceable Imps.

I bought 5mL unsniffed in my first order. Somnus was as I was led to expect: a slightly acrid lavendar, pleasant, but not for daytime wear. I inverted the bottle quickly on a cotton-wool pad and put it in my pyjama pocket. It was a faint scent to begin with--I was tempted to keep inhaling deeply to find it, but in no time at all I found I couldn't be bothered. I slept like a log, and on waking to my alarm, the scent was much stronger and still very pleasant and very soporific! Getting to work by 6am was nearly impossible, and I'm sorry to say that if I'd been feeling at all indulgent, those early clients would have been on their own while I snuggled in for another few hours. I think the chief beauty of Somnus will be in creating a scented link to bedtime, though even on its own merits it is a deliciously slumbery blend.

I've just started using Somnus, and it has worked so well that I'm a bit scared of oversleeping too. So I'm eager for replies here. When you say that Temple of Dreams and Oneiroi leave you woozy, is that in a good way? That is, if you had a free weekend ahead of you, would you use them and enjoy the slumber, or do they leave you feeling grotty regardless of how much time you have? I do have occasional opportunities for sleep-ins, and a scent that helped me to make the most of them would be wonderful, but of course it's no fun to sleep in a scent-induced migraine aura, as it were.

In bottle: This was the first BPAL I decided to try when my goodie-bag of imps arrived. For some reason, despite all the descriptions and reviews, it hit me like a cosh when I first sniffed: it really does smell like a blackcurrant tart! Not reminiscent of, or a perfumer’s interpretation of, but literally a blackcurrant tart in a bottle. Who knew? Wet: Flour and spices predominate, as if I’m standing in the kitchen baking and getting whiffs of ingredients around as the first batch of tarts browns up in the oven. Five minutes later someone opens the window and the roses make an appearance. Seriously, this is delicious! Dry: The roses have disappeared, and the pastry scent is somewhat more powdery (floury?). It’s not at all unpleasant, but the berry and rose notes are certainly diminished. I love the foodiness of it, though, and the spicy, festive, homelike aura. I will keep and love the Knave of Hearts. Here’s hoping that the other Mad Tea Party oils are as beautiful.