BPAL Imp Review: UNDERTOW

Today's BPAL Imp Review is: UNDERTOW

BPAL says UNDERTOW is: The Dark Side of Water: clean and purifying, yet menacing -- lotus and juniper with a hint of mint. A scent dragged up from the depths to the Stygian shore.

Den says UNDERTOW is: UNDERTOW
-In bottle: There's definitely something dark to this scent, but it's subtle. Most of what I'm getting is a sweeter note, which seems fitting, and I suspect that sweetness will give way to the darker note once I put it on.
-Wet: The sweetness is still there, and I can smell the mint now.... the darkness isn't quite what I thought it'd be, but I do like this scent.
-Dry: Sweetness is still there, as is the mint.... Getting the juniper now, but the darkness I noticed earlier has faded to near nothing.... it's still a pleasing scent.
-Overall impression: This is a very clean scent, and I am adding it to my list of wanted decants.

BPAL Imp Review: CTHULHU

Today's BPAL Review is: CTHULHU

BPAL says CTHULHU is: If I say that my somewhat extravagant imagination yielded simultaneous pictures of an octopus, a dragon, and a human caricature, I shall not be unfaithful to the spirit of the thing. A pulpy, tentacled head surmounted a grotesque and scaly body with rudimentary wings... It represented a monster of vaguely anthropoid outline, but with an octopus-like head whose face was a mass of feelers, a scaly, rubbery-looking body, prodigious claws on hind and fore feet, and long, narrow wings behind. This thing, which seemed instinct with a fearsome and unnatural malignancy, was of a somewhat bloated corpulence...

A creeping, wet, slithering scent, dripping with seaweed, oceanic plants and dark, unfathomable waters.

Den says CTHULHU is: CTHULHU
-In bottle:  This one smells strongly of dark water, with something green as an undercurrent...  Very fitting considering who it's meant to represent.
-Wet:  This one likes to shift tones off and on.... The dark water is predominant, but the other notes seem to be taking turns coming out to play.
-Dry:  Even dry, it likes to shift tones.... The water's kind of faded to the backdrop, but it's still there, like something's crawled out of the water and is lurking about.  Definitely getting seaweed notes....
-Overall impression:  This is definitely befitting Cthulhu's name.  It's dark, creepy, and liable to drive you insane trying to describe it.

Black Phoenix Achemy Lab Imp Reviews: AL-SHAIRAN, THE DEEP ONES

Today's BPAL Review is: AL-SHAIRAN

BPAL says AL-SHAIRAN is:  The enemy of God, also named Iblis, He Who Despaired of the Mercy of God. Al-Shairan is the leader of the Jinn, a tempter who whispers false suggestions to men enticing them into evil and perfidious acts, and is the sworn enemy of all of Adam's children. His scent is fiery, bright and thick with sweet sinfulness: clove, peach and orange with cinnamon, patchouli and dark incense notes.

AL-SHAIRAN
-In bottle:  Definitely getting incense and cinnamon in this one... The incense is almost overpowering, in fact.  It's not a pleasant note, to my nose.  There's another note that is very unpleasant to me, which may be the patchouli. I'll have to see how this scent reacts on me, but I strongly suspect it won't be pleasant.
-Wet:  The cinnamon notes have faded a bit, but the incense is still there, as is a clove note.... And a slight hint of orange... Not really smelling the peach.... I'm not too wild about this one on... we'll have to see how it goes when it's dry.....
-Dry:  The scent has mellowed out... and I actually like it now.  It's warm, and actually pretty nice... reminds me of fall, and bonfires with a nice cup of pumpkin pie cappuccino.  I am getting a very faint hint of peach, but most of what I'm getting is cinnamon, cloves, maybe patchouli (I've never smelled patchouli by itself, so I have NO idea what to compare it to), and a bit of incense.
-Overall impression:  The in-bottle tone kind of put me off at first, but I was too quick to judge... This one is going in my tin of imps I want a full decant of.  It's strong in the bottle, but it mellows out nicely.

And since AL-SHAIRAN wore off, random selection turned up THE DEEP ONES.

BPAL says THE DEEP ONES is:  I think their predominant colour was a greyish-green, though they had white bellies. They were mostly shiny and slippery, but the ridges of their backs were scaly. Their forms vaguely suggested the anthropoid, while their heads were the heads of fish, with prodigious bulging eyes that never closed. At the sides of their necks were palpitating gills, and their long paws were webbed. They hopped irregularly, sometimes on two legs and sometimes on four. I was somehow glad that they had no more than four limbs. Their croaking, baying voices, clearly used for articulate speech, held all the dark shades of expression which their staring faces lacked.

Black algae, drooping seaweed, salty brine, and crushed coral.

Den says THE DEEP ONES is: THE DEEP ONES
-In bottle:  Hmm... This one's intriguing, but at the same time, I'm not quite sure what's going on with this scent... odds are, it'll really come out to play once I put it on. Getting a sweetness that I can't ID properly....
-Wet:  I'm not really getting a 'brine' note with this one... I am getting algae though, and a sweet-ish note.... I'm guessing that's supposed to be the coral... Definitely getting a little of a seaweed note too... I was right about it coming out to play when putting it on....  though there seems to be a note that reminds me of soap... I know what salt water smells like, though I do wonder if the soap smell is the 'salty brine'.
-Dry:  Still not getting the brine note, which could be due to any number of things.... Still getting algae and seaweed....
-Overall impression:  This scent seems innocent enough, but then the algae and seaweed creep up, like creatures rising from the depths.

Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab Imp Review: BELLADONNA

BPAL says BELLADONNA is:  The devil’s herb, which he cultivates with skill and pleasure. According to lore, the spirit of this plant may take the form of a breathtaking, achingly beautiful woman, deadly to behold. This scent is a tribute to such a dark and magnificent plant: a rich green and floral blend, earthy and haunting.

Den says BELLADONNA is:  BELLADONNA
-In bottle:  This smells delicate, and almost coy... It has a slight floral quality that I don't find unpleasant, and I'm not normally one for floral notes, but this does floral very well without being overpowering.
-Wet:  I'm getting pine-y notes now... with a slightly sweet, floral, but warm undertone.  This is definitely a green scent... but not in an unpleasant way.
-Dry:  Still getting the pine-y notes, and the floral notes.  It's subtly dark and dangerous, which is befitting the name of Belladonna.
-Overall impression:  I think this one would work well layered with LOUP GAROU.  It's woodsy, but the floral notes balance it out very well.  This is a scent that fits its namesake very well.  Deceptively dangerous, and almost magical, as Belladonna was traditionally used in witches' flying potions.... X3

Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab Imp Review: LOUP GAROU

BPAL says LOUP GAROU is: The wild, untamed essence of lycanthropy. Primeval in its raw power and insatiable hunger: juniper, cypress and galangal with the barest touch of eucalyptus.

Den says LOUP GAROU is: LOUP GAROU
-In bottle: I think I'm smelling pine trees of some sort, I want to say hemlock, but I'm pretty sure that's not a note in this scent... There's definitely a 'woods'-y note of some sort...
-Wet: Definitely getting juniper, cypress and the eucalyptus notes... not sure what galangal smells like, so I can't really be certain it's there.... but this is definitely a nice scent on me.
-Dry: There's a very faint note underneath the rest, which might be the galangal, but it smells fresh, and the scent is pleasant.
-Overall impression: This reminds me of taking a walk through the woods, either in the snow or right at the beginning of spring. I love this scent. It's definitely going on my list of full decants to get. It almost feels masculine, like it would smell wonderful on a male type person, but not overpoweringly masculine... In fact, I'd imagine a dryad smelling like this.

Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab Imp Reviews: ZOMBI, MISKATONIC UNIVERSITY

BPAL says ZOMBI is:  Dried roses, rose leaf, Spanish moss, oakmoss and deep brown earth.

Den says:  ZOMBI
-In bottle: Definitely getting a graveyard dirt impression, with something plant-like underneath... Maybe flowers? Hard to tell in bottle, since the graveyard dirt smell is the predominant note.
-Wet: Still getting the graveyard dirt, but now the plant-like scent kind of smells like a dying boquet...
-Dry: The plant-like scent smells like dying roses, and the graveyard dirt has kind of faded to the background...
-Overall impression: I'm not sure I'm terribly wild about this one. The graveyard dirt scent lingers for a long time.


Edit: ZOMBI wore off en route to school and then back home.... So on to MISKATONIC UNIVERSITY :3

BPAL says MISKATONIC UNIVERSITY is:  A venerable New England university, whose vast library holds many rare, diabolical and obscure arcane works, including one of the few surviving legitimate copies of the Necronomicon. Home to innumerable scholars of the esoteric and the occult, and the notorious Dr. Herbert West.

The scent of Irish coffee, dusty tomes and polished oakwood halls.

Den says MISKATONIC UNIVERSITY is:  MISKATONIC UNIVERSITY
-In bottle:  Mmmmm, coffee! Coffee sweetened and with a bit of milk... or maybe that's the old books... There's definitely a hint of wooden desk scent in here, but most of what I smell is what I think the perfect cup of coffee smells like.
-Wet:  Still coffee, but now it's more mellowed out, and a hint of dusty tomes, and the oakwood halls are starting to come through.
-Dry:  Definitely getting all of the notes in the scent description.  Mmmm.... The scent goes warm and comforting, which I just love.  I picture sitting in a quiet corner of a library with book that's well over twice my age, and a cup of perfectly prepared coffee.
-Overall impression:  ...I have to get myself a full-sized decant of this. It's so positively divine smelling. It's like getting a cup of coffee, going into the library, browsing the books for awhile till you find the one you want, and then settling down to read in a quiet corner, away from the rest of the world.