stasha

I bought this on a whim with no interest in the notes or Lady MacBeth herself, and without having read the reviews. Clearly, this scent and I were destined for each other because I absolutely adore it. In the imp and on my skin all I can smell is wine and berries. The wine doesn't have the "I've been chillin' in a bar" boozy quality that a lot of the alcoholic notes do; this is more how a vineyard would smell where they create the most expensive, upscale wines for royalty. The berries are dark, sultry, and reminiscent of dark purple or burgundy velvet. This is one of the times where I fully understand what people mean when they something is well blended. Smelling this in the imp, wet, or dry is like smelling a swirling glass of expensive red wine with black berries in it.

Diabolus scents just have not worked for me yet! The cherry is way overwhelming in the bottle, almost to the point of cough syrup. Wet on skin the sandalwood and I know this is weird but I can almost detect mint? Dry it kind of reverts back to cough syrup but this time it's cough syrup flavored incense. This is a surprising dislike considering the notes generally work fine with me and with how many good reviews it's received. Another Diabolus imp to the swap pile.

Mmmm Normally lemon turns to Lemon Fresh Pine Sol on my skin, but Dorian is just as beautiful as people say it is. The lemon is very prevalent in the bottle, wet on skin, and on dry down but the vanilla makes it creamy as opposed to full on citrus. The tea is such a subtle background note that gives brings an air of sophistication and cuts down any chance of Dorian entering overly sweet foody territory. As light as it is there's a real staying power here, too. I usually like to try imps a few times before I buy a big bottle but this is an ASAP purchase. Delicious, sexy, and innocent. A triple threat.

Ohhh how I wanted to love Hellcat. Really. The description sounded almost like it was made for me but.. woe is the Hellcat that touches my skin. When I first opened the bottle I got a breeze of sweet hazelnut and butter-cream. Unfortunately the closer my nose got the bottle the more it was slammed with a boozey, acrid, almost chemical scent. I was hoping maybe the original hazelnut, butter-cream, and honey that I got a hint of would come out more on my skin. Sadly it was all booze, chemicals, and incense.

In the bottle: Juicy, fruity citrus and yumminess. If I could I'd drink it up. Wet: Immediately the sandalwood comes out cutting the tasty fruitiness. It's very harsh and intense. A complete 180 from the almost happy summery scent that wafts from the bottle. Dry: Eeeeek orange cleaning solution. Obviously this is all me since it's so beautiful in the bottle. Oh well, it's off to the swap pile fast!

Talk about a sexy scent! I'm not sure how old this is because I got a decant in a swap, but if it just gets better with age then I certainly have a signature scent. In the bottle there's the musky, dusty smell of walking into the incense section of a new age store. It's fierce but not over powering. Wet on skin the vanilla merges with the spicy incense to create a sultry, creamy blend. The dry down continues the merge as it moves in waves between the innocence of vanilla and the sultriness of the spice. Overall this is sex in a bottle, folks. So glad this has been one of my first BPAL tries.

As soon as I opened the bottle I was a hit with a huge wave of pear. It's incredible sweet and reminiscent of smelling canned pears in the summer time. Not being a big fan of the fruit, my review is probably going to be biased. Keep that in mind, pear lovers. The fruit immediately fades to the back and all I can smell is overwhelming plumeria and a floral I can't really put my finger on. There's a dusty sharpness that I have a feeling would be giving me a headache had I put this on more than just my wrist. Definitely not for me. There's something almost chemical-smelling wafting up from my wrist now that it's good and dry. With all of the positive reviews it's received this proves it's really all about body chemistry!

This definitely isn't something I'd pick up if I hadn't read the reviews. The name alone evokes images of old ladies and powder rooms. Luckily I gave it a go because Incredible! In the imp I'm immediately struck by the florals. It's light and dreamy like antique linens hanging out in the sun to dry as opposed to antique linens hidden in a chest. After putting it on the warm vanilla mixes with the florals to create a sultry, nostalgic scent. It's certainly sweeter than I would have imagined but the vanilla never becomes foody. It's an elegant, warm scent as opposed to the vanilla associated with junior high locker rooms as someone mentioned on the first page. After the immediate dry down the linen comes into play and it's obvious why this has the name Antique Lace. You can smell the aged linens and distant perfumes mingling in an antique shop but without the old lady scent I feared. Overall it's extremely beautiful and haunting. I'll definitely need a big bottle of this.

In the bottle: Boozy caramel with a hint of coconut behind it. Wet: More booze! More coconut! Extremely strong yet seductive and calming. Dry: This is so beautifully blended. All of the sweet foody notes remain while the tobacco in the background prevents it from becoming sickening. The coconut manages to remain strong without ever reaching the on the beach slathered in tanning lotion scent. This is definitely one of my favorite BPAL scents so far. It's sexy, yummy, and mysterious. An absolute perfect tribute to Elegba.