lilirose

In the imp: sharp apple with a tang of something not quite apple-y. On skin, wet- pure apple, like I'd applied concentrated apple juice. Drydown- still apples. I honestly don't get much else. It's a very foody smell on me. And I'd swear that this is the exact same apple note found in Samhain '07, which is a favourite of mine. Some blends with apple turn nutty on me for some unfathomable reason, but this one stays true. Staying power: not the best. Was pretty much gone after two hours. Throw: Only a little, in my case. My skin chemistry found nothing to amp here. This is a nice enough scent. I find nothing at all to dislike about it, but at the same time, nothing in it really hooked me in.

I don't get motion sickness, but I do get migraines, and I understand the nausea from a migraine is very similar (neurologically speaking) to motion sickness. I find Envy to be the only BPAL I can stand when I'm feeling ill- it actually helps. The mix of lavender and mint is soothing and makes my stomach feel more settled.

To my nose, Red Devil is a deep, bitter musk. It almost smells like a locker room. I cannot bear the smell of it on its own. However- I actually wear it often, usually layered with something that's strong and sweet, because damn, does it ever work as advertised! It's so effective that it should almost be a TAL rather than a BPAL. I use it so sparingly that I'll probably stick to imps rather than ever buying a big bottle, but I wouldn't want to be without it.

If you're interested in TALs, I also find White Light to be effective in these sorts of situations. I also find most vetiver-based scents to be comforting (Sloth, Incantation. etc), but that may be an individual thing- I know a lot of people don't care for vetiver.

My nose must be broken. I get no juniper, no flowers. To me, this smells like patchouli and vetiver, and nothing else. I hope I didn't get a mis-labeled imp, because I love it and want a 5ml. edited to add: On second wearing, the juniper comes out clearly. I still love it and want a 5ml.

How very odd. I'm a huge fan of incensey scents, and quite like patchouli, so I thought I would certainly love Sin. In the imp it smelled very nice and rich and incensey. On skin? It turned to dusty wood, and rather faint dusty wood, at that. Very little throw on me, and where did the patchouli go? It's just sandalwood with a hint of cinnamon. *sob*

Lately when I feel down I find myself reaching for Sloth. I don't know why, but t's like being wrapped up in a big warm blanket.

OMG, this is so gorgeous. I almost hate getting imps of rarities because I invariably fall in love with them, and this is no exception (I don't really hate imps of rares, I just hate loving what I can't have more of!) This is snow and soft, clean, gentle floral on me. I don't get any mint or pine or anything strong. Just a sweet, cold, haunting scent that actually does call to mind seeing the full moon reflecting on a snowy landscape.

This is just so beautiful. It's a green, bright, clear, slightly musky floral aquatic. It captures the sadness, the wistfulness, the poignancy of its namesake, as well as the passion and love and the distance she was forced to keep from the world. Definitely one of Beth's masterpieces. My only complaint is that I wish it had a bit more throw.

In the imp: Lemon. On skin: From the scent in the imp, I expected it to be as lemon-drop lemon as Phobos, but it wasn't. It was entirely softer and earthier, but not so much so that I could really pick out any of the non-lemony notes before it faded away completely. I don't care for this on its own but think it might be nice layered with The Coiled Serpent (which on its own is too masculine for me).

In the imp: Sweet floral and musk On skin, wet: Bitter musk contrasted with just a faint touch of the sweetness of jasmine. Drydown: Sandalwood with a lot of musk and that tiny hint of jasmine sweetness. Throw: Average Lasting power: Excellent- still very much there after 6 hours plus. Verdict: Very sexy, but a bit too musky for me. Edited to add: I was a newbie when I posted this- now I know that the scent that goes all funky-musky on me is jasmine. So this one wasn't all that musky, just very very jasmine.

In the imp: Bright and sharp citrus. On skin, wet: Lemon. Just lemon, and nothing else. Drydown: the lemon fades away completely within 10 minutes and I get a soft, powdery lavender with just a touch of rosemary, and enough neroli to know it just isn't right for my chemistry, even though I can usually wear the other notes. Verdict: Very nice, but not “me”.

In the imp- cotton candy. On skin, wet- real, old fashioned bubblegum- the kind I used to buy for .02 a piece as a kid. It’s accurate right down to the light powering of confectioner’s sugar they used to put on it to stop it from sticking to the wrap, and not a hint of the artificial sweeteners you find in nearly every brand nowadays. Drydown: stays bubblegummy, but starts to head in the direction of a powdery grape/cherry scent (it seems to morph every time I smell it!). Two hours later: ….and it’s gone. Damn. I really enjoyed it while it lasted, but staying power is one of my top requirements in making 5ml decisions. Maybe I’ll try it again in my scent locket to see if it lasts longer.

In the imp- a slightly sharp generic stone fruit (peach, plum, something like that) On skin, wet: Sweet, smooth, and "peachy keen", as my mother used to say. Drydown: I used to have this facial scrub that had ground-up peach stones in it (they were supposed to help exfoliate). Fae smells so much like that scrub that I keep expecting it to feel rough on my skin. I can't pick out any other note than peach, to be honest. It has quite good staying power and a little throw, but not enough to make it obnoxious. Verdict: Not unpleasant in any way- in fact, completely inoffensive- but it's not "me" at all.

Yummy! In the imp: Mostly cinnamon, a bit sharp and biting. On skin: Instantly blossoms into a gorgeous, spicy-sweet, smooth, incensey perfume. Another "love at first sniff". The "cinnamon" note is very much like grond cinnamon- almost dry and dusty- but mixed with warm honey. The clove and ginger rise up as the scent develops. I keep thinking I catch a hint of vanilla in the background, as well, but somehow the musk is so barely-there than I can't smell it at all. Verdict: Definitely like this one, and will seriously consider a 5ml.

This may be impossible, but I would love a BPAL that smells like Astral Travel. It has absolutely the most wonderful, gorgeous, amazing smell...sort of like orange creamsicles, without being foody, somehow. Anyway, if there were a BPAL that was even close, I'd buy gallons of the stuff.

2007 version In the bottle: Sugar, with an extra helping of sugar. Wet: I've never had a sugarplum- I've never even seen one, in fact- but this is certainly sugar and plums in equal measure, so I have to say "Sugarplum". (My, I'm being original today!) Drydown: This becomes much more complex, interesting, and lovely the longer I wear it. It's still primarily a very sweet fruit, but the florals are there as well. I'd have to call it a white floral- I can't pick out anything more specific than that, but it's more perfumey than foody. Very nice altogether.

Frimpage from the Lab. Not one I would have thought to try myself, but frimps never go untried in my house. This one is mostly patchouli on me, but sweeter. It's not floral, but it's lighter and more feminine than straight patchouli. Quite incensey- I do love incensey scents; they go well on this very Taurean chick. Excellent staying power- still going strong after 6 hours plus. Not a huge amount of throw, but I wouldn't want a scent of this character throwing too far anyway. I like this. It's probably the best patchouli I've tried so far. I'll probably spring for a 5ml.

Oh no. I should have read the reviews of this before I randomly chose this as Imp Of The Day. I swore off of vanilla weeks ago. It Just Doesn't Work with my skin chemistry. Anyway. Yes, vanilla. Vanilla soap, in fact. Why did this turn to soap on me when it hasn't turned to soap on any of the other reviewers? And it's not just a little bit of soap, either; it's the "washed my mouth out with soap" feeling that I haven't had since I tried Come to Me, which is freaky because the two don't even smell remotely alike. I am very sad about Mouse's Long and Sad Tale.

Ophelia, in the imp- Rosy floral. On my skin: This turns into a deep, heady, darkish floral; mainly rose, with the lotus adding sweetness. I don't smell the stargazer lily at all (I grow them in my backyard, so I know the scent well). This scent is lasting longer and throwing further than most florals do. I like this, though- it's clean without being soapy, and does have a foreboding, wistful, sad quality that suits me well on certain days. I'll keep the imp and seriously consider a 5ml.

I didn't wear this myself, I used it on my Tantra partner while doing energy/chakra opening work. Hot damn. And I mean HOT DAMN. Yes, it smells like incense- like a head shop, even- but on hot, sweaty male skin, it's the sexiest thing since...anything. It's dead sexy. It made me want to forget the meditation and ritual and...well, since this part of the forum is public, I'll pretend I'm a polite person and stop there. Oh, the meditation bit was also really effective. We cleared a major block that's been causing him problems, and the energy work was too intense to try to describe in words. My partner and I are not strangers to energy work, but he usually leads and I follow. This inspired me to be more active, to excellent results. (Maybe it didn't help that I was wearing Voodoo Red Devil, but still. Sexy.) I'm buying a 5ml. I will probably never wear it myself but I'm going to use it in the context mentioned above as much as I possibly can. Oh, yeah, what exactly did it smell like to me? Patchouli, sandalwood, vetiver, and musk.

2007 version Another favourite-of-all-time scent (I have lots, but this one is a star among stars). I'm gushing all over the place about Rose Red because I love it so, so, so very much. Love. Did I mention love? It's the rosiest rose that ever rose. It's like walking out into a garden just after sunrise and snipping a bright, velvety, long-stemmed red rose. It's the smell of the rose and its freshly cut stem. It is probably the most convincingly real BPAL I've ever smelled, and that's saying a lot. It's also dead sexy. I can't speak for morph or staying power because I wore it in a scent locket (where it's still going strong 24 hours after I applied it). I want to wear this every day. Love love love. I can see layering this very successfully with a lot of different scents, as well. I can also see my 5ml being gone in a month, which is heartbreaking because I can't afford another bottle. Love this beyond trying to give it a number or rating other than "best of the best of the best".

In the imp: generic floral On skin, wet: very very quiet rose, and not much else Drydown: As usual the rose slowly amps the longer I wear this, but it's still a very pale and quiet rose with just a faint touch of lilac. Somehow it manages not to go soapy like floral blends tend to do on me. Still, it's not really "me"- much too soft. I could see it being wonderful on the right person, but I'm not that person.

This is several of my favourite smells combined. Dragon's blood, myrrh, and clove? Hell yeah, where do I sign up? In the imp, the cherry predominates, and wet on skin, it's just dragon's blood and cherry and nothing much more. On drydown, this turns amazing. It's spicy, exotic, and sexy- just a perfect blend, a dream blend. It's mainly dragon's blood. The clove amps up quite a bit but doesn't overwhelm. The cherry sweetens lightly without becoming cloying, and the myrrh smooths it all out so it smells like the perfect incense (I love incensey perfume). The only minor complaint is that my husband felt that the clove was too strong, and reminded him of a dentist's office. Of course, dentists hardly ever use clove oil as an anesthetic these days, so that's his age showing. Love it. Adding it to my 5ml wishlist. Definitely one of my favourite dragon's blood blends so far.

Wow. Just....oh wow. This is definitely a top ten scent for me. In the bottle: sweet coffee love. Coffee with lots of sugar, just the way I like it. It smells totally drinkable. (Not recommending that anyone drink it, of course.) Wet on skin: Instantly hot chocolate! But not instant hot chocolate; rather, the good kind that has to be made slowly and carefully. Drydown: whoa, it morphs back and forth between coffee and cocoa so fast it's making my head spin, but somehow never smells like both at the same time. Dry: Mostly hot chocolate, with a coffee background. I'm not smelling the cinnamon but that's okay. I'm in love anyway. Verdict: Why didn't I buy about five bottles of this? It's not like my kids really need Christmas presents, after all...