BPAL Madness!: StarBlind - Viewing Profile - BPAL Madness!

I'm still in the throws of my first Snake Oil application, so bear with me...

In the bottle, it smells VERY much to me like these vanilla beans soaked in bourbon that my mom used to use for baking when I was a child. The vanilla hits me straight off the bat, and there's an underlying medicinal, syrupy sweet alcoholic headiness that is undeniable. Its warm and evocative and comforting.

Upon application, I feel an odd familiarity with the scent as it begins to change on me. I can't place it initially...and then...YES! That's it... PIPE TOBACCO! It becomes almost overwhelmingly like pipe tobacco. Rich and unavoidable and smokey and slightly dusty. I get traces of that bourbony vanilla syrup, but its mostly beginning to remind me of an old professor's study - Dimly lit, as glowing embers from an overlooked fireplace cast shadows, a room rife with the smell of slightly stale tobacco and old, leather bound books. Its again a very comforting smell - warm, rich, but also slightly masculine on me. It's undeniably sexy, but in a slow burning, mature sense.

Snake Oil continues to soften on me into a more powdery vanilla, and the sweetness begins to take center stage. Its very heady, but I'm still getting hints of wisened professor. I have moments where I ADORE this scent, but then it seems to become almost overwhelming - oppressive, even. I debate washing it off, but then I fall back into the scent's warm and enveloping embrace...

I am not sure about this one... I need to give it time and see how our relationship develops. I don't think it entirely meshes with my personality, yet I am undeniably intrigued with it. I am sure that I will continue to keep coming back for more, I am just unsure as to whether this will grow into a flirtation, a friendship, or something more all together...


Update: Put some on first thing this morning, and it seems mellower on me today. Warm, creamy, sophisticated vanilla! Yes!

This was my first BPAL purchase, and I cannot tell you how excited I was for it to arrive! Being a huge fan of both clean scents and anything with a citrus kick, I was so eager to try this. The name also added to the intrigue factor...

In the bottle, it smells just like when you first slice into a ripe lemon (emphasis on the rind), but I can also detect some complexity there, perhaps the underlying green tea? This scent remains VERY lemony and sharp upon application. BRIGHT is a good descriptive. My initial color association is a clear yellowy green, but this changes into something more opaque as the scent begins to react to me. It softens over time and becomes a bit more powdery and slightly sweet. Its a clean, fresh, pleasant smell that does a good deal to boost my mood every time I take a sniff!

I have to say, overall, I am VERY much in like with this scent, but I am not in love with it. While it softens into something rather pretty, it lacks a certain warmth that I generally find compelling in a fragrance. I think I was expecting the musk to come out and play a bit more, but, sadly, it doesn't seem to on me...

I definitely see how some can liken this scent to lemon Pledge. It does have a certain 'cleaner' feel to it, which is perhaps b/c of the sharpness? I think this would be absolutely awesome as a body wash or shampoo, but for a body fragrance I'm not 100% sold. I'm still very happy with my purchase, however, and will use it for sure as a mid day 'pick me up' if I am feeling frazzled.


P.S. After giving it a few days, I think I finally put my finger on what is irking me about this scent. I actually have come to ADORE how it smells on me, but it becomes very faint very quickly and repeated slatherings do little to remedy this. My bottle is depleting rapidly! Help!