First official BPAL post. Woo. This is a batch from one person on the forum, including chosen and freebie imps. Written in the order tested over the last few days, which was random (except for the first).

And I've noticed several people say this around LJ, but they're right: the English language is woefully inadequate for describing scents, or maybe humans are. For scents that I don't know by name, Google wasn't much help with descriptions. The forum reviews were a little better, but most people seem to assume you know smells by name. So I've done the best I can.


Voodoo
A midnight scent, evoking images of flickering golden firelight reflecting off the sheen of glistening skin and the jerking shadows of bodies suffused with spiritual ecstasy. A deep, powerful, resonant blend of myrrh, patchouli, vetiver, lime, vanilla, pine, almond and clove. (Bewitching Brews)

This imp was an extra. It had leaked just a tiny bit onto the tape she'd wrapped around the cap of each bottle, which unfortunately transfered from the cap to three of my fingertips. Instant headache. In the bottle, wet, dry, it was all nothing but very, very strong patchouli. It clung to my skin for hours and through several handwashings before it was finally faint enough for me to sleep. If it had stuck around until morning, I think I might have cut my entire hand off. NOT FOR ME.

I'd suspected I should avoid patchouli, because looking it up brought immediate and physical memories of incense making me ill. I guess it's good to have that be official.


Sudha Segura
Named after the primordial ocean of milk where Lord Vishnu reclines upon the thousand-headed Naga. Sweet milk and warm, healing ginger with a touch of golden honey and our blend of Ambrosia. (Bewitching Brews)

This one I'd gone looking for. It's supposedly gender neutral, so I guessed it wouldn't be sweet, and I figured that milk and honey should be a good start.

In the bottle: It's mostly the ginger and the honey. I think. I'm not sure what Ambrosia is supposed to smell like. Either way, after getting attacked by Voodoo, this is wonderfully mild.

Wet: Mmm, yeah, the ginger. Not at all just-grated sharp, thank goodness.

Drydown: Huh. Heads toward almost Chai. Straight brewed, not latte or spiced. Still some honey, but only when I'm trying to find it. The milk seems to be missing in action, unless that's what's keeping the ginger from going completely to town on me.

After a while it turns kind of soapy, though. Not completely, but that sense is there.

In the end, it has strength and staying power on me, but it's not something I'd wear. A scent should at least make me think, "Gee, I smell good." From this I get the olfactory equivalent of a slacker shrug.


Santa Eularia Des Riu
Piquant citrus tempered by jasmine, soft Mediterranean herbs, lavender and orange blossom. (Wanderlust)

I wanted to try a citrus blend, since orange scents usually make me happy when they're body washes.

In the bottle: Wow. Herbs. Under there is the citrus, mostly lemons, but yeah, HERBS.

Wet: Oooh, the citrus comes out on my skin. Yay.

Drydown: And there's the lavender, no question. Hm, reminds me of Crabtree & Evelyn. It's like taking that first step into the pastel and stripes store in the mall. The orange blossom starts to come out a couple minutes in, but the citrus is still mostly tangy.

Yep, the lavender is what sticks and sits on top, but it's got a good kick of lemon throughout. Wish it had been the other way around. I have no clue if there's any jasmine in there.

After a couple of hours, it was still there. Not at all offensive -- more my thing than the Sudha Segura, in fact -- but it just doesn't do anything special for me. Ha, just realized, it smells like my grandmother's bathrooms. Not a bad memory, but not something I really need to smell constantly around myself, either.

Anyway, interesting that this is another gender neutral scent. Two doesn't make a trend, but...


Snake Oil
By far, our most popular scent! Magnetic, mysterious, and exceedingly sexual in nature. A blend of exotic Indonesian oils sugared with vanilla. (Love Potions)

Another freebie. Not sure why I didn't chose it, since vanilla is something I enjoy in body washes.

In the bottle: Definitely vanilla. Heavier than I usually go for.

Wet: Still heavy, sort of hard, vanilla. Aggressive. It's like getting beat about the head with it.

Drydown: Hm, goes a little lighter after the first minute. Still pretty damn strong, but without the hard.

Not in love, but I like it. I can see this being occasional; something for crowded places, where a scent has to be strong enough to reach out. Night, not daytime. Sweat may change things, but it sticks like super glue. I'm not sure I want it any nearer my nose than on my wrists.

Note, about an hour later: The more I wander my apartment with it, the more I'm convinced that it needs other scents and stimuli to compete against, or it plants a flag and claims the air around me in the name of Vanilla. And one wash is in no way enough to make it disappear. (One wash was enough for Sudha Segura and Santa Eularia Des Riu.)

Note, several hours later: Well, this one really likes me. Walk through DC humidity to a bar, spend several hours at the bar, walk back, and it's still around after washing up and getting ready for bed. That's some serious power.

Question -- This is the first oil I've voluntarily tested that isn't clear, and my skin is really fair, so even just a dab shows until I wash it once. Is that how it's supposed to work?


White Rabbit
Strong black tea and milk with white pepper, ginger, honey and vanilla, spilled over the crisp scent of clean linen. (Mad Tea Party)

Final choice from this forumite. One of the scents shaye thought I might like. Another gender neutral.

In the bottle: Mostly the tea. Irish Breakfast, almost. Possibly the pepper, or maybe it's ginger. Something sharp.

Wet: Tea. A little of the honey.

Drydown: Oh, there's the linen. Sort of baby powder, but not. Still mostly the tea. Ooooh, now the vanilla comes out.

It certainly doesn't stay as strong as the Snake Oil, but it sticks around, and it also doesn't need to be any nearer to me than my wrist. I can deal with being a "teeny little dab'll do me" girl; lets me live on imps, rather than bottles.

Hm, a couple of hours later, still no fireworks. But this one is nice and calming. Weekends. Much better for daylight doings. I want tea.


So. One that I wouldn't keep if you paid me. Two that are better off going to someone(s) who can truly appreciate them. And two that I'm going to play around with a bit more before deciding if we're meant to be together for ever and ever. Not bad.

Okay, I lied. A bonus, because another package came last night, and it included the one imp that I've really been waiting for.


Jack
The scent of warm, glowing jack o'lanterns on a warm autumn night: true Halloween pumpkin, spiced with nutmeg, glowing peach and murky clove. (Bewitching Brews)

I'm all about Fall. Love it. I always talk about how I need four seasons, but I really think that if I could live someplace that was always fall, I would. It's the colors, the bite to the air, the scent. A bottle of my perfect bright late September Massachusetts day would be Pier 1's Harvest candle, a cup of hot spiced cider, and a handful of crisp oak and maple leaves.

Anyway, I said: "I like fall."

Everyone said: "Samhain [a limited edition from last year] and Jack."

And I have to admit, the hope that one of them would be what I have been wanting for years is what truly pushed me over into trying BPAL.

In the bottle: Whoa, buttery. Big hit of pumpkin, with the spices just barely there.

Wet: Mmm, the pumpkin backs off a little to make more room for the nutmeg and...I guess that "buttery" scent is also the peach. Still don't get much clove.

Drydown: The peach continues to come out. Aaand, about an hour later, it's pretty much taken over. Damn it, I didn't get much of the spices in there at all.

Okay, that last sentence comes off wrong, even though I mean it. I love this scent. It's warm and a deep orange, and makes me happy. It's the first to get me to order an actual bottle from the lab. But it's just not what I was looking for. I knew that was more likely to be the result than a first-try hit (or any hit), but still, the first emotion is disappointment.

::sigh:: I've initiated a swap with someone, and I hope she responds. If Samhain isn't It either, well, I don't suppose I could send the lab a candle and beg (and plead, and offer up my soul) for them to reproduce it in oil form? ... Nah, didn't think so.