Penance

I'm buying another 5mL of Hearth today, I think, but it's going on my mom's credit card since I'm still flat broke (I literally have $0.44 in my bank account). But I did pay CtrlFreak back, so I'm in the clear on that.

Got an imp of this from Tempete. First sniff: Frankincense, very strong frankincense and a hint of cinnamon. This is like Penitence's spicier, softer sister. I don't smell any violet yet, but that's fine because I love the way it smells as is. Wet on skin: The frankincense immediately disappears as soon as this hits my skin and it turns into violets dipped in cinnamon sugar. Very powdery and softly spicy at the same time. I don't normally care for floral scents, but this is beautiful. The spiciness of the cinnamon keeps this from becoming headache inducing and the floral notes keep it from smelling like a bakery. Dry down: More powdery and slightly less spicy. The frankincense still hasn't made a reappearance, but I find that I'm not really missing it. This is so beautiful just the way it is that I don't think I'd want to chance ruining it by adding it into the mix. I really like this one! The bottom line: This one's a real shapeshifter. It goes from resiny and spicy to powdery and spicy in the space of seconds and both ends of the spectrum are just gorgeous. I really like this one.

Well, seeing as how I get about 5 wears out of an imp (I guess that classifies me as a slatherer, eh?), I'd say a 5mL would last me about a month if I wore it every day. I've never actually used an entire 5mL so that's just my quasi-scientific estimation.

Got an imp of this from BrownBat. First sniff: Sassafras and something spicy. I'm guessing it's the nutmeg. I'm a self-admitted sassafras addict, so this is wonderful. It's one of the only foody scents I can tolerate as a perfume and I wear it with total abandon. Wet on skin: Sassafras...strong sassafras. The nutmeg is also becoming somewhat more prominent and there's a growing smokiness to it that's absolutely gorgeous. This is a really unusual combination of notes, but it works so well! I'm in love with this one already. Dry down: The smokiness and sassafras are fighting for dominance and the result is gorgeous. It's not too sweet or foody and not too smoky and headache inducing. The two blend perfectly. The bottom line: I really love this one! I can't believe I didn't try it sooner.

Got an imp of this from Spanglemaker. First sniff: Aquatic but swampy with something that smells vaguely like rotting wood. This is what I expected Bayou to smell like. This is a really unusual scent in the best possible way. Wet on skin: The same as in the bottle. This really does remind me of the aftermath of a hurricane when there's debris and standing water everywhere and the weak sunlight that heralds the end of the storm. I really like this! Dry down: Aquatic and vaguely sweet like rotting vegetation with an undertone of damp wood. It's not at all unpleasant to my nose. As a matter of fact, I really like it! The bottom line: This is probably the most unusual BPAL scent I've tried yet. It's everything I had imagined Bayou would be like and then some. I think this is probably a hit or miss kind of scent, but for me it's a hit!

I got an imp of this from Kimmer. First sniff: This is a very complex scent. On one sniff it smells like Constant Comment tea...spicy and clovey and dark and lovely. On another it smells like pepper. And on another it smells like deep woods and damp soil. This is so beautiful and complex! I'm really looking forward to trying this one. Wet on skin: Pepper and moss. I also get a whiff now and then of something that smells like allspice. I'm guessing it's the nutmeg. Whatever it is, it's beautiful. This is a very unusual combination of scents, but it works so well! I never would have imagined that this sort of combination would work so beautifully, but that's why I'm not the one designing perfumes, I guess. Dry down: Peppery and spicy in an allspice kind of way at the same time. The moss seems to have retreated into the background, but I still love the way this smells. I've never cared for the smell of black pepper, but for some reason, this works for me. The bottom line: I love this scent. I had some doubts about whether it would work for me, but it does and beautifully. This is quite possibly my favorite of all of the up-and-comings I've tried. Beautiful, just beautiful.

First sniff: Straw. Drying straw that's still slightly green. It reminds me of the inside of a barn after the harvest. Wet on skin: Now it smells more like a corn field after the harvest. There's a very unique smell to a field after hte dried stalks have been cut and hauled away, leaving the tangled remains for the bird's to pick over and Scarecrow has that smell. It's a smell I really like, personally. It has a lot of happy memories for me. Dry down: I really need to slather this one on to get it to last on me, but the result is well worth it. This is a scent I would classify as clean in a very unique way. It almost smells like bamboo in a way, if that makes any more sense. It's hard to explain but gorgeous. Bottom line: I really like this one, being a country gal and all. This is a definite winner.

Got an imp of this from Allidavie. First sniff: Oh my God...this does smell like buttered popcorn Jelly Bellies! That's pretty bizarre. Wet on skin: This scent changes character almost as fast as I can figure out what it is I'm smelling. At first it's pure buttered popcorn flavored jelly beans, then it changes into something buttery and vaguely floral and then it changes again into something very autumnal smelling that I can't place. This is really nice. Dry down: It's buttery. It's foody in a way I can't put my finger on. It smells like autumn. It's gorgeous! I can't pick out any particular notes, it's so well-blended, but it's a very happy autumnal scent. The bottom line: This is gorgeous! I don't normally go for foody scents, but this is really beautiful. It embodies everything I think of when I think of autumn. This is a definite winner.

Yep, I've tried Snake Oil. It starts off almondy, but it goes away fast enough that I can wear it (and love it) as long as I don't sniff myself while it's wet.

Neo-Tokyo. Nothing smells cleaner to me than it does.

To me, Obeah (the up-and-coming scent) smells exactly like Karma.

First sniff: Wow, this smells freakishly like LUSH's Karma soap! I smell patchouli and orange peel and maybe some lemongrass? This is nice in spite of the fact that I don't like citrus in my scents. Wet on skin: The sweetness of the orange peel (or what I'm assuming is orange peel) is tempering the earthiness of the patchouli to where it's not so potent and the earthiness of the patchouli is tempering the sweetness of the orange peel so it's not cloying or too citrusy. The sweetness seems to be growing a bit now that it's on my skin, but I really like this a lot! Dry down: The patchouli and sweet orange peel have balanced each other out and the result is gorgeous! It's not cloying and it's not too "dirty" smelling. I'm really going to enjoy finding out exactly what's in this one. The bottom line: I'm definitely going to get some more of this once it comes out on the site. This is really nice and it perfectly complements my Karma soap.

I ended up wearing Zombi. My mom says I smell like "dead dirt", whatever that means.

I'll admit it, I picked this one purely because of the name. Who doesn't want a perfume named after the walking dead? First sniff: Loamy dirt; the deep, wet, black kind. It smells almost exactly like Demeter's Earthworm, which is good because I like Earthworm. There might be the faintest hint of roses here, too, but the smell of soil is so strong that it's hard to tell. This reminds me more of growing up in the country than it does a grave. I really like this! Wet on skin: This smells exactly like Demeter's Earthworm on me. And I do mean exactly. The only difference is this is stronger. There's no change from bottle to skin, it's still fresh-turned black dirt. My mom says it smells like "dead dirt", which is appropriate given the name of this particular scent. Dry down: It's gotten even more loamy if that's even possible. I don't smell any roses in here, which is just fine by me because I don't like the smell of roses. This reminds me more of fresh-turned dirt on a farm when the planting is being done for the year than it does a funeral and I really enjoy that association because it brings back a lot of happy memories for me. I don't find this mournful at all, it's actually a very cheerful smell for me, but that's admittedly because of the associations I have with the smell of black dirt. The bottom line: Unique, very unique. I really like this one, it's one of my favorites, although I can see it not working for everyone.

Believe me, I would if I could, but I'm flat broke. I literally don't have more than $2 and I already owe money to CtrlFreak for the advance she so generously lent me, so it's just not a possibility. Why must the world be so unfair?

I tried this one because several people suggested it as a woodsy fragrance, but sadly this was a major crash and burn on me. First sniff: Vicks Vaporub! That usually means a ton of eucalyptus, which is fine by me because I love eucalyptus. I also love Vicks Vaporub, but that's another story for another time. Wet on skin: The eucalyptus is still predominating, but there's a growing citrus behind it. It's quickly starting to smell scarily like the cleaning solution that they used to clean the bathrooms in my elementary school with; like bleach and citrus and eye-watering fumes. This is going downhill fast. Dry down: Ugh, the citrus has really come out and now it smells like cleaning solution mixed with that orange scented hand degreaser. This is not good. Not good at all. I wanted something woodsy, but this is like Jabberwocky brand industrial strength cleanser and hand degreaser. Not a good thing. The bottom line: Maybe it was my skin chemistry screwing this up, but this was a train wreck on me. I'm glad I got a tiny bit of this as a freebie in a swap, because this just did not work at all.

First sniff: Cherry? I don't remember there being any cherry in the description. I guess it must be the dragon's blood I'm smelling, but it smells like cheap cherry bubblegum. At the moment, that's all that I can smell. Wet on skin: Still cherry. It reminds me of some sort of cheap gum I used to get on Halloween...the kind that was always so hard you'd chip a tooth on it. I'm sure someone else might enjoy this, but I'm not a big fan of cherry as a fragrance. It's a bit too cloying for me, personally, but I'll wait it out and see what comes of it. Dry down: There's some flowers starting to peek out, but that doesn't help matters much. The cherry bubblegum smell is still overlying everything and making me faintly sick, this is definitely not a scent for me, sad to say. I don't know why, but dragon's blood seems to be a hit or miss scent with me. Either it works beautifully or it turns into something horrendous and this seems to fall into the latter category. The bottom line: I wanted to like it, it sounded lovely, but I can't wear it so it's off to swaps with it. Hopefully someone else will get some use out of it.

Got an imp of this from Eoywin. First sniff: Deep woods...juniper and pine needles and a hint of loamy soil. It's a very clean, peaceful scent. It reminds me of the deepest reaches of hte woods: serene and untouched. It's not herbal the way I would have imagined it to be, but rather it's unequivocably woodsy. This is looking very promising. Wet on skin: It's very woodsy for the first few seconds and then starts turning green and slightly herbal. The woods are still there, but I feel like I'm sitting on the forest floor with the wild floor-dwelling plants rather than smelling the trees. This is pretty, but not nearly as piney as I'd like. Dry down: The herbal scent has remained, almost drowning out the woodsiness. It's still pretty and still reminds me of the forest, but it's more like I would have imagined something called Wolfsbane to smell like. I miss the intense woodsiness of the first couple of minutes, but this is still lovely. The bottom line: I'd prefer a more woodsy scent, but this is quite nice. It's not too herbal, but it has just enough greeness to it to fit the name. This is a really interesting scent that I can see myself wearing quite often.

Masabakes is a Cantabrian demoness that governs lustfulness and lechery. In order to tempt virgins to corruption she employs the aid of her lackey, the imp Tentirujo. Under the cover of magickal invisibility, the imp caresses maidens with mandrake root, instilling uncontrollable passion and wantonness in the unsuspecting girls. Thick black currant with the darkest, deepest myrrh, a drop of bitter mimosa and the slightest touch of mandrake dust. First sniff: Earthy and dirty and very slightly bitter. I can't pick out any individual notes, but the impression I'm getting is of a very dark cave with a dirt floor. I don't smell anything fruity in this at all, which is fine by me. Wet on skin: More bitter than in the bottle, but not at all unpleasant. It reminds me of something, but I can't put my finger on it. The notes in this are so well blended that none of them stand out to the point where I can identify them. The earthiness is fading, leaving a bitter, slightly woody scent behind. Dry down: This is, quite possibly, the most complex scent I've tried yet. It's almost impossible for me to describe, even in my mind. It's almost herbal, but brown instead of green, if that makes sense. It's not quite earthy, but I get the impression of earthiness. Very complex. The bottom line: Complicated and unusual. It's confusing, but in a good way. It's entirely different than any other scent I've tried. Definitely a keeper.

First sniff: Juniper. Very strong juniper. Very woodsy smelling. It reminds me a lot of Burial right out of the bottle, but without the earthy undertone. This smells like the deep woods to me, serene and untouched. I love this sort of scent. Wet on skin: The juniper is still predominating. This stuff is strong. I can also smell the patchouli a tiny bit now that it's on my wrists, but not enough for my taste. I love patchouli even more than I love juniper. This is nice, but it's not going to be able to replace Juniper or Loup Garou as my favorite woodsy scent, I can tell it already. Dry down: The juniper is still predominating, but there's a rising baby powder scent that I got very strongly in Black Forest, too. I'm thinking my chemistry is turning juniper to powder lately, there's just no other explanation for it. The bottom line: I really like this. A lot. But it won't be replacing my other favorites. Might have to try it out on the boy and see if it works on him.

I know it's a little late, but I second Port-Au-Prince. It kind of reminds me of potpurri to begin with and it's nice and spicy. ~ Penance

TO the Lab? They make it there. Now I'm confused. ~ Penance

I think it means it's been pulled from the Lab's stock. It generally doesn't mean it's really been shipped. But that's just how I understand it, I could be wrong. ~ Penance

First sniff: Wow, very masculine! It puts me in mind of the covers of those harlequin romance novels where the pirate's holding up the swooning young woman in the artfully torn dress with the wind blowing in his hair. Now, I've never read those things (honest to God, I really haven't) but it's the immediate mental image I get when I smell this. I smell salt predominately and behind it I can pick up a hint of leather and maybe the lightest touch of rum. I like it and so does my mom, who almost didn't give me the imp back after I let her smell it. Wet on skin: Salt air. I can almost feel my nose burning from the salt and that's a very good thing. There's also a hint of leather and something spicy which must be the rum. This is the most masculine BPAL scent I've smelled yet and it's gorgeous. Dry down: All the scents have merged together perfectly, none of them overpowering the others. It's manly and rugged and sexy as hell. At the same time, I can see myself wearing this. A lot. The bottom line: Sexy. Rugged. Masculine. Perfect for my inner pirate!

First sniff: Almonds? No one said there would be almonds in here... Please tell me my nose is playing tricks on me. I'm going to give it a shot, though. I've been wanting to try this, no sense giving up now. Wet on skin: Yep, that's almonds all right. Call me stupid, but I'm going to stick it out and hope it goes away like it does in Snake Oil. Hope springs eternal, I guess... Dry down: No more almonds! It actually reminds me of newly minted money now, kind of papery and dry with a green, earthy undertone. I have no idea what it is that I'm smelling that's provoking that association, but it's unshakeable. There's also a faint powderiness to this, although I'm not sure if it's my chemistry creating it or if it's part of the blend. The bottom line: Once I get past the wet stage, I really like this one. It's not something I'd wear every day, but I can definitely see myself wearing it every now and then.