JenM

In the imp: fuzzy cocoa, and a touch of the exotic. On the wrist: the sandalwood comes straight out, masking the cocoa. I get the myrrh, too. In fact, on the wrist, it’s exactly the two scents I *didn’t* get in the imp. Half an hour: mostly sandalwood, with just the hint of cocoa. I tend to amp sandalwood, so perhaps this is not unexpected. One hour: More cocoa. How pleasant a morph that is, foody that I am. Alas, it fades all to quickly. Both wrists agree on this. More of a sandalwood SN in the end.

In the imp: there is something sweet under something a bit sour and something a little bit musky. My nose has been through a lot this cold season, so bear with me. On the wrist: wow. Lemon balm and sandalwood. No mistaking it. After twenty minutes, the lemon softens, and I can get a hint of the bark and the sage. Half an hour: I’ve started sniffling and sneezing. Time to wash.

In the imp: floral with a hint of perfume and wafts of vanilla On the wrist: Wow. The throw on this is incredible. I only smell the flowers, now, not the vanilla. And that remains for half an hour. Stays a bit too perfume-y, though. I wish it had more apple on me. 7.5/10

In the imp: strongly carnation and iris. Hint of musk. On the wrist: oh, this is musky, but in a beautiful way, and I don’t say that often. 20 minutes: faded into a floral musk. Very pretty, but I don’t think enough to justify a bottle, even with it being discontinued. 8/10, but just not right for me.

In the imp: lily with a dark, spicy edge to it. On the wrist: lots of spice. Then on drydown it fades. Almost mace or allspice backing the lily. It makes it what I’d call a “fuzzy” scent. Moderate throw. After an hour: It gets spicier and spicier. It’s lost its dark edge, and smells more like a spice rack with an edge of lily. The throw’s not too good at this point. Overall, I think this is a 7/10. It’s pleasant, but it’s not knocking my socks off.

In the imp: oh, gorgeous. The melon isn’t a clear note, but they’re sweet and lovely. On the wrist: heady throw. The fruits combine with a slight tang to the sweetness. I can get a waft of floral, but can’t identify it. Half an hour: This is a happy marriage of fruit and floral. The throw has lessened on drydown, but it’s still unutterably gorgeous. I think it might tail off really fast, though. Time will tell. Hour and a half: It’s retained the same lovely fragrance, but it’s so muted I have to inhale my wrist. Even so, 8/10 for being exquisite.

In the imp: only a sniff of violet. The rest is that rose note—I guess it’s tea rose, then—that so often goes to soap on me. On the wrist: The rose dominates heavily. Half an hour: Right wrist has gone to my nemesis, Dove soap. The left wrist, however, has got a lovely violet blend which is staving off the soap for now. It’s vaguely reminiscent of I think it’s Sybaris, only with not as much throw. An hour: the violet is holding its own, but the dreaded soap is rearing its ugly head and putting a sour edge on it. 5/10. Not unpleasant, but nothing to distinguish it, and that damnable soapy aftershock.

In the imp: sweet snake oil. Reading the description, I think I’m getting the almond. On the wrist: I smell the almond, and I smell something cocoa-y too. The almond lingers a bit, but after an hour it’s almost completely gone, along with the rest of the fragrance.

In the imp: The rose is strong but already has a tendency towards my nemesis Dove Soap ca. 1975. On the wrist: I can’t smell any leather at all. This is a straight rose scent, that turns into my nemesis early on and stays that way. Drat. Never mind.

IN the imp: Smells like snow (must be the ozone) with an aftereffect of a eucalyptus-like mint which singes my nostrils. On the wrist: the frankincense and the ozone combine to come to the fore, smelling like neither but instead creating a sort of consecrated snow scent. I also get a pine scent which reminds me of Death of the Gravedigger. ON the right wrist, the musks are coming out, but gently. The left wrist is just a pinier, stronger version of death of the Gravedigger, really. With a bit of warmth added from the frankincense. So far this is the first musk I’ve really liked. After an hour it’s gone from the right wrist except for a hint of forest. On the left, a soft musk (at least what I assume is musk—it smells like what cake would be made of if it were made with snow (work with me here)) permeates. Fiftyeen minutes later, and except for a faint waft of musk it’s gone entirely.

In the imp: mostly cocoa. A dry sort of cocoa, almost verging on carob. On the wrist: The dryness is resolving into the rum. The right wrist gets a sweet tinge to it, which then turns into a scent I can’t describe, but is still dry. oN the left wrist it’s almost gone after about five minutes. Half an hour: gone except for a scent of burnt cocoa and a touch of plastic which is I think what alcohol turns into on me.

Sundew In the imp: I’m hit by warmth and then a pause, and then a department-store perfume kind of smell. On the wrist: I get warmth , a little bit of resin, and a sort of wine, with a hint of grass. Dries down into an airy grass scent with a hint of resin and maybe something citrus-y like tangerine. After ten minutes, it morphs into a floral—sweet on the right wrist, spicy on the left. Oh dear. Now it’s making we sneeze. It is nice, but I’ll have to wash it off.

In the imp: hard to smell the imp, as I was peeling garlic earlier. I definitely get rose and orchid, and something warm and fuzzy in the background. On the wrist: Quite musky. Fuzzy-musky. And a bit of orchid. On drydown, this is very faint. If it lasts an hour, I’ll be surprised. I do get a hint of frankincense now, but it’s distinct and not blending. Overall, it’s pleasant, but not anything to write home about.

In the imp: grassy and a rich ginger. On the wrist: very grassy, but the ginger mix makes it smell almost of a Christmas tree. On drydown, the verbena comes out very strongly. An hour: mostly faded to something that smells like clove. I know. There’s no clove in it. But that’s what my nose is telling me.

In the imp: sweetness with a bit of woody undertone. On the wrist: I’m getting flowers. I’m hoping that’s the orange blossom, and that the neroli is deepening it the way it deepens jasmine. AS it dries, the clove comes out. So lovely. Orange and clove have always been a good combination. It’s nice and warm, so I’m not getting “pomander” from it at all. There is a faint scent of soap. I don’t know where that has come from. Oh, the soap has gotten stronger, and the clove can’t combat it. What a shame. I was enjoying this.

In the imp: a dark woody scent reminiscent of patchouli. I guess that’s the vetiver. On the wrist: The orange blossom comes through strongly but is made woody and spicy and impure by the other notes. On drydown, it’s orangier, but still dark. No sunshine in the orange blossom at all. Then suddenly it fades to a smidgeon of orange and a smudge of dark. After several hours: still holding on at that very faint level, mostly just the spicy mahogany scent. Nice, but not enough to keep

In the imp: a lovely floral just this side of soap. On the wrist: The amber and sandalwood jump out. Can just get a hint of almond on the right wrist. Alas, on drydown the musk comes out and glomps the amber, creating a sweet and fuzzy mix I don’t like all that much. The lily of the valley is trying to overcome it…but ultimately fails before it fades to nothing. Drat.

The Red Queen In the imp: pure cherries. Sweet cherries, with a kick of blackcurrant. On the wrist: exactly the same as the imp. Wow. Nearly Jailbait-like in its sweetness. On drydown, on the left hand the woods come through really strongly, but less so on the right. Fades to a vaguely cherry-wood after an hour or so.

In the imp: aquatic pine On the wrist: Very strongly I can smell the aquatic note, more strongly than anything else. Under that ghosts what is clarified as cedar rather than pine. After half an hour: white, aquatic lilies. This is not “the faintest aquatic note” by any means at all. This is aquatic pounding you in the face with fists. The aquatic is vaguely artificial, very unlike the wetness of the tears in Pool of Tears, which I love. An hour: gone.

An ethereal bouquet of night-blooming flowers. Evening primrose, ruellia, flowering nicotiana, wild petunia, panani-o-kai, night phlox, night gladiolus, moonflower and the elusive scent of Nottingham Catchfly. In the imp: dark flowers and pine On the wrist (well, back of hand): I don’t know what it is that smells coniferous. On drydown: I don’t like it. It’s a sour smoke, rotting flowers. And it burns. I probably shouldn’t have tried anything with nicotiana in it. OH, well. Time to wash.

In the imp: wow, rose. On the wrist: I can smell the amber more strongly. On drydown, the rose is turning sour on me. In fact, it’s turning into my BPAL arch-nemesis, Dove soap ca. 1975. After 45 minutes: yup, dove soap. Damnation, yet again.

Garden Path With Chickens In the imp: floral grass with a touch of crushed herbs. On the wrist: Very grassy, with a hint of florals that swim through individually and fade. The grass is like grass trodden underfoot—bruised and pungent. On drydown, the grass is still dominant, and there are two strong flowers that are pushing through. Looking at the description, I’d say it’s probably the begonia and the heliotrope, but I’m not certain. An hour and a half in, and it’s gone through a floral phase and just calmed down to a warm patio, with a summer breeze wafting in a mix of flowery smells. It’s late afternoon. Very little scent left, though. Hardly any last. I'm glad I bought it, but it's off to swaps.

Gentle flowers over hot metal, shocked to life with electricity. In the Imp: very perfume-y. Flowers not particularly gentle. On the wrist: oh dear, this is an LE I think I’m going to like. A very complex floral, with overtones of really posh nights out. An hour in: I get a tiny bit of the metal, but really, this is like all the posh perfumes I can’t wear because I’m allergic to them. And I’m not allergic to this! Sigh. And my mother would love it. I’m going to have to haunt ebay. I can tell. Three hours in: still good last. And the vague metal has faded, leaving just a gorgeous, complex, rich floral.

In the imp: pine and lemon. Very nearly detergent-y. On the wrist: Oh, there’s a nice warm wood in this, like a fire sparking up. But it’s not scorched, just a nice slightly smoky wood. On drydown, the throw is soapy. Not a particular brand, but definitely soap. Closer to the wrist, though, it’s wet pine needles and wood. Half an hour: It’s gone flowery; or rather, if pine were a flower, it would smell like this. Four hours: the faintest whiff of piney powder. Interesting, but I think not a keeper. But if you liked pine scents but hemlock et al were too strong for you, I’d give this a serious go.

In the imp: a strong, heady floral wit, as it says, a breath of incense. On the wrist: How strange. I get almost a pine scent. That must be the incense. It’s the same on both wrists. On drydown, I get a strongly jasmine-y scent. There are other, more haunting echoes, but I can’t identify them After a couple of hours, it’s still there. On the right wrist I get the faintest hints of fruits; on the left, a violet/jasmine combo. The violets are heading towards a powdery direction. After three hours: very faint, and the incense has come to the fore. It’s not unpleasant, and it’s violet-scented. Like Parma violets on the right wrist; more airy floral on the left. Eight hours later and there’s still a faint waft! Longest lasting BPAL scent on me ever! I’ll keep it just for that!