Jump to content
Post-Update: Forum Issues Read more... ×
BPAL Madness!

Blogs

Featured Entries

  • Silvertree

    Mod post: No wishlist posts in blogs

    By Silvertree

    Please be aware that we do not permit swap-related content on profiles or in blogs. Please post this content only in the For Sale, Swaps, and Wanted forums, or in the Wishlists topic. ~from Swapping 101  Thanks!
    • 5 comments
    • 7,708 views
 

Brisingamen

I'm normally a little hesitant with amber. When it's good, it's goooood, but when it's bad it's just awful. And unfortunately, amber many times goes a bit pungent on me, or powdery.   This one doesn't do either (well, maybe just a touch powdery, but in a soft, pretty way). It's beautiful amber (strikes me as a darker amber blends perhaps) with a touch of creamy florals and a hint of spice. Very pretty!   I am definitely keeping my imp, but could actually see getting a bottle down the road.

femmefatale

femmefatale

 

Rice Field

I wore Lovers In A Rice Field again today, and I like it more and more. The plum blossom was much more apparent, and overall it smells like some kind of fabulous plum/cream dessert, but still not totally foody. It's rather on the femme side for a bearded guy like me but that doesn't hasn't stopped me from wearing it, and in some situations it would be just great. Possible bottle? Or maybe just another decant would suffice. Still have to test my other decants which are still pending, and there may be another favorite among those.

forspecial_plate

forspecial_plate

 

Blood

Category -- Bewitching Brews   This is pretty much the sweetness of dragon's blood. Early on, the cherry and clove make for a tart note that can be detected close to my skin, but the dragon's blood pretty much takes everything over and is the most easily-smelled. It's a durable scent with a nice amount of throw. It reminds me a lot of my first love, Wrath. I think that a side-by-side comparison of both Blood and Wrath are in order.

Argentwolf

Argentwolf

 

Bliss

Category -- Bewitching Brews   Straight out of the imp, it's chocolate brownies! Moist, fresh brownies with chunks of chocolate chip melted in them...oh man, I really want to bake some, now.   As it dries, it turns to more of a dry cocoa powder...the sticky sort of smell you'd get on your hands if you've been nomming on a bag of chocolate candies for far too long.   I can see this being great layered with other scents...just by itself, it's not quite to my taste, but it could be fun to experiment with!

Argentwolf

Argentwolf

 

Black Tower

Category -- Bewitching Brews   Wow.   This is unlike anything I've smelled in quite some time...   There is supple, well-worn leather, and ivy -- more like the dried tendrils of ivy still clinging to the grass-choked stone of a tower that has long since crumbled away to piles of rubble. Every now and then, the wind stirs up scents from the lives of those who used to dwell there -- their warm spiced wine, the wood stacked up in piles for their fire, their very spirit and essence, all wafting in in a ghostly way. It really is a very sad, wistful, evocative scent...a great sensory experience.   This is not quite for me. But if I were to come across it on a man, I think I would follow him almost anywhere.   Highly recommended for those looking for masculine scents.

Argentwolf

Argentwolf

 

Black Rose

Category -- Rappacini's Garden   In the first stages, this scent is dominated by a dark, lust, full-petaled rose, with the musk and amber lending a peppery sort of undertone to it. As it dries, the other notes come forward, so that by the end of the day a delicious warm aura of musk and amber is left on my skin. A very sexy, seductive scent that hugs the skin and just gives faint wisps of sultry lust throughout the day.

Argentwolf

Argentwolf

 

Black Phoenix

Category -- Diabolus   Sweet cherry-rose, with maybe a very faint hint of almond. Throw and staying power are both of average quality. Recommended if sweet rosey blends like Kurukulla work well on you.

Argentwolf

Argentwolf

 

Black Pearl

Category -- Bewitching Brews   On me this is mainly iris with a sweet, creamy undertone of coconut, though every now and then they trade places in predominance. It's a really light scent on me that seems to fade all too quickly.

Argentwolf

Argentwolf

 

Kurukulla

Category -- Excolo   This is a very pretty, and well-balanced, blend of lotus and rose. Neither becomes too overpowering; it just blends to create a nice, sweet, light floral. Not quite to my own personal tastes, but still a very pleasant experience overall. If you don't *quite* like either lotus or rose, you may still want to try this, because they really do balance each other well in this blend.

Argentwolf

Argentwolf

 

Forbidden Fruit

Category -- Ars Amatoria   'Lotus bubblegum' is a good descriptor for it. It's a very sweet, lush scent, though on me it doesn't have a lot of throw, and wore off fast. Definitely recommended for those who like lotus, as this is the predominant tone.

Argentwolf

Argentwolf

 

Lupercalia scents

As much as I can remember, Lupercalia is my least favorite of the yearly 'big updates' from Black Phoenix. Every year, I get excited about trying some new scents, but overall, they've had the lowest success rate for me. I like a couple of the Shunga scents from '08, like Ebisu Making Love, and Men Ringing Bells (actually bought a whole bottle of that one, even though I don't wear it much). They both remind me of some kind of fabulous, expensive hair care products. And I really like Chintimani-Dhupa, which I think was a Lupercalia scent.   Today I got some of my decants from this year's update, and so far I've briefly tested Miller Vs. California, Lovers In A Rice Field, and Lovers With Rutting Cats. I think the Rice Field is the best out of those, but again, it smells like some kind of fancy shampoo or conditioner. Not so much foody as drinky to me, it starts out rather like shampoo or soap. Then it drifts into plum tea, then later into plum wine. This scent, in the early stages especially, is extremely reminiscent of one of the 4 Fat Cats wax tarts, but I can't remember which one. Basmati Rice, or maybe White Plum Chutney. This is nice because it reminds me of when I lived in northern Kentucky, three years ago, which although not the greatest time of my life, does have some pleasant memories.   Lovers With Rutting Cats is probably my least favorite of the three. It reminds me of Love's Philosophy, but not as sweet or sugary. Or maybe Stimulating Sassafras Strengthener, without the sassafras. Basically I get a lot of vanilla that comes off a little plasticky, and as a whole, the scent just feels a little flat or one-dimensional to me. I might be spoiled because so many other bpal scents seem 'deep' to me, and this one just falls flat on my skin, unfortunately. Of course, this is from a first impression, and those sometimes change.   Miller Vs. California is an interesting one. This scent actually smells more complex than the notes suggest. I first smelled a lot of sweetness, fruit, berries, and cream. The leather seems to be a supporting note only, nothing like the leather in Quincey Morris, or other leathery blends. As this one dries, it changes a lot. The papery note and the leather both come out stronger, and it also seems to get spicier, which I attribute to either the leather, fig, or possibly both (or maybe something else entirely!). At the beginning, this reminds me a lot of the newer Milk Moon, which I hated, but this is better....the cream isn't so sour or cloying. It's creamy, but the sweetness of the berries and fig balance it out a little more. I think the leather is actually helping to ground the scent a lot, even though I couldn't really smell it at first. Later, after drying, this scent smells entirely different.....it does remind me of some other GC scent, but I can't think of which one. Nephelim? Or the one I can never spell, Tzadikim Nasturtium or something. Anyway, I swear there is another scent that smells something like this, but I can't place which one it is. I like the early sweet and creamy stage more than the later, dry, papery/spicy stage of this one.   So far I can't say that I'm likely to get much wear out of these, but I also have yet to try my other decants. I have Flowering Chrysanthemums and Phallus Head still to try, as well as decants from another circle still on the way. I'm really looking forward to Dia and Glukuprikos (sp?).

forspecial_plate

forspecial_plate

 

Wishlist

Since my forum wishlist isn't working...   Gradually my wishlist has become smaller and smaller but here it is!:   LEs: Sugar Slathered Candy Apples bottle please!! Even low level partial/empty welcome Spooky decants for my bottle (05) or full bottle please!! Snow White (all years) Gelt Humbug bottle and decants welcome! Tarot: The Star All Souls 06 decants for my bottle Earth Ox decants for my bottle Purple Phoenix decants for my bottle Gingerbread Poppet 05 and 07 decants for my bottles   GCs: Nanshe Croquet Baneberry Mouse's Long and Sad Tale Tweedledee Kyoto   BPTP: Tomoe Gozen perfume Hua Mulan perfume   My favourite notes (in no particular order) are: Vanilla (sweet rather than smoky) Mint Sugar Cream Lemon Grapefruit Ginger Tea Cocoa/chocolate Apple Sweet Coconut (absolute favourite!!) Melon Coffee light florals...   Notes that absolutely don't work: aquatics tobacco most coffee scents rose berries

hyperhaggis

hyperhaggis

 

Yes's

So Far: Come To Me #1 Favorite, AMAZING!!! The Illustrated Woman Snake Oil All Night Long - I LOVE THIS!!! Inez Morocco Namaste (incense only) Titania Midnight Belle Epoque Dragon's Tears 51 Manhattan Viola Black Phoenix Snake Charmer

sophie221b

sophie221b

 

Note Preferences

Likes:   Trying to categorize right now...so far, spicy warm things and clean florals. Carnation, lavender. Always willing to try most items.   BPALs I love:   Silk Road, Sudha Segara, White Phoenix, La Primavera, Dorian, Lilith Victoria, Hexennacht 08, Gingerbread Poppet 07, Scherezade, Robotic Scarab, Ether, White Rabbit, Tamamo-no-Mae   Dislikes:   Almond, cherry, coconut, mint, lemon, eucalyptus, rum or other boozy notes. Orange creamsicles. Heavy patchouli.   BPALs that have not worked:   Mme. Moriarty, O, Snake Charmer, Snake Oil, Elegba, Eclipse, Queen of Sheba, Chrysanthemum Moon, Hay Moon, Siren, Venice, Ichabod Crane, Katrina van Tassel, Lyonesse, Mead Moon, Carnavale Diabolique, Xanthe, Marianne, Aeronwen, Clemence, Strawberry Moon, Pink Moon 05, Pink Phoenix

GalaxyLei

GalaxyLei

 

Wish List!

In no particular order...   Would like to try imps of:   LE:   Hod A Blade of Grass L'Autumno Pink Moon 2007 Gennivre C. Auguste Dupin Worm Moon Glowing Vulva Hanami Harikata The Spell of Amorous Love (imps to fill my bottle!) Dolce Stil Nuovo Aries 2007 November Hungry Ghost Moon Lune Noir Crumpet Rebellion Grainne ni Mhaille Blossoms in Springtime Miles   GC:   Aeval Chimera Dana O'Shee Plunder Tushnamatay The Bow and Crown of Conquest Brisingamen Desdemona Hermia Glasgow Kyoto Morocco Aziraphale Lady Una Mama-Ji Nanny Ashtoreth Mr. Ibis Succor Quietude Baku Veil Black Opal Rapunzel Prunella Belle Vinu The Little Sparrow Nostrum Remedium Somnus   GC - SALON   And There Was a Great Cry in Egypt Bat-Woman The Fox-Woman Kuzunoha Leaving Her Child The Cup of Death Cupid Complaining to Venus The Ecstasy of St. Theresa Garden Path with Chickens Itaso Kansei Nenkan Joro Fuzoku La Mort Qui Danse Melancholia Bat Spirit of the Komachi Cherry Tree   GC - TRAVELING SALON   Autumn Haloes Judith and Holofernes Parsifal Wezwanie/Hold     Would like bottles of:   LE:   Labores Solis Feast for the Greatly Revered Ones Season of the Inundation The Festival of Anuket Manners Among Men and Women in the Red Light District Marcilla (partial) White Rose (BPTP) The Dole of the King's Daughter (partial okay too)   GC:   Egle   Already have, but might be tempted by:   White Phoenix Tamamo-no-Mae La Primavera   Non-BPAL:   Villainess Perfumes in: Masala Byzantium Crushed Pyromania   Villainess soaps   Socks!

GalaxyLei

GalaxyLei

 

Tabella

In the bottle: Sweetness, a touch of something clean and herbal.   On wet: Still clean, sweet, and herbal. Definitely picking up on the tobacco flower (which used to be my favourite home fragrance from The Body Shop some years back). Very nice so far!   Drydown: Lightly perfumey. The bright, citrussy bergamot (which I love), the smooth, sweet, candy-like angelica, and the tobacco flower are dominating this blend. Underneath, I can detect a smidge of woody sage - possibly a teeny shot of the frankincense. No ginger yet, or anything that's yelling "fig" or "olive blossom" - though I'm sure the latter two are mixed up with all that sweet, floral goodness. The benzoin is also, thankfully, absent at the moment (it doesn't like me, sadly).   Overall: A very pleasant floral-herbal scent. It's heady but light, complex but not over the top, sweet and fresh with just a little herbal darkness to ground everything perfectly. Wearable and lovely. 3/5

furygrrl

furygrrl

 

No's

This list is in progress:   Sophia Phobos HI'iaka Miskatonic University Venice Moscow Follow Me Boy Vixen Imp Eden Wings of Azrael Twilight Haunted Xiuhtecuhtli Brisingamen Nero Eros O Tiger Lily Jezirat al Tennyn Black Dahlia (I'm throwing it in the bathtub though...yummy bath!!!)

sophie221b

sophie221b

 

Wishlist

Bottles I am Looking For Chimera v5 Cupcake Spatter Pattern Analysis Le Pere Fouettard (Ava Luxe) The Beach   Stuff I'd Give a Kidney For Glowing Vulva   Stuff I Want to Try ! The Oval Portrait ! GC Caliban Zephyr País de la Canela Cobra Lily Mad Hatter Grand Guignol The Deep Ones House of Night Nocnitsa El Dorado Ogygia Kuang Shi Event Horizon The Unicorn Hellfire Manila   Carnival Diabolique Hand of Glory Faith Hope   The Salon Death of the Grave Digger Sunrise With Sea-Monsters Lucretia Philosopher in Meditation Judith Victorious   Neil Gaiman Pepper Agnes Nutter The Buggre Alle This Bible Nanny Ashtoreth Wensleydale Bilquis Mr. Ibis   Oh crap, how did I miss these? (LEs)

lilyana

lilyana

 

Wishlist!

The more the merrier! (Scents I tried and love!)   Bakeneko Black Lace Glowing Vulva at Ryogoku Bridge Mme. Moriarty, Misfortune Teller Tamamo-no-Mae The Perilous Parlor Snake Charmer Resurrected Voyeurs Among the Cherry Blossoms   I want to try these!   LE: Selkie Blood Moon Hellhound on My Trail Snow-Flakes Queen of Clubs Midnight Mass Monster Bait: Underpants Skadi Chaos Theory II : CXXXVIII (The Butterfly Effect) Fire Pig Opuhi   Carnaval Diabolique: Australian Copperhead Asp Viper Green Tree Viper Western Diamondback Wulric, The Wolfman Thalassa, The Galapagos Mermaid Pickled Imp Inez Cytherea   Bewitching Brews: Bewitched Black Forest Lightning Phantasm Undertow Voodoo The Hersperides Kubla Khan Water of Notre Dame Black Opal Ozymandias Wilde Cathode Velvet Anne Bonny La Bella Donna Della Mia Mente Dee Shattered Eclipse Zephyr   Mad Tea Party: White Rabbit Two, Five & Seven The Unicorn The Lion The Dormouse Queen Alice Mouse's Long & Sad Tale   Wanderlust: Danube Tombstone Kumari Kandam Lyonesse Amsterdam 51 R'Lyeh Shanghai Baghdad Delphi Florence Glasgow The Hanging Gardens Havana Kyoto Machu Picchu New Orleans Prague Bengal Morocco   Ars Moriendi: Embalming Fluid Dance of Death   Sin & Salvation: Dorian The Bow & Crown of Conquest Sea of Glass   Ars Amatoria: Golden Priapus Snake Oil The Lady of Shalott La Petite Mort Psyche Severin Rapture Satyr Desire Perversion   Diabolus: Blood Countess Dracul Fenris Wolf Hell's Belle Szepasszony Villain Medea   Excolo: Xiuhtecuhtli Kali Aglaea Queen Mab Hecate Eros Peitho Bastet Aizen-Myoo   Illyria: Ophelia Lady MacBeth Titania Tamora   Ars Draconis: Dragon's Milk   Rappaccini's Garden: Belladonna Shadow Witch Orchid Death Cap   A Picnic in Arkham: Y'ha-nthlei Arkham   Pharmacopoeia: Sassafras   Somnium: Somnus   Steamworks: Antikythera Mechanism   Marchen Belle Vinu   Good Omens: Crowley Famine Aziraphale   American Gods: Mr. Ibis Mama Ji   Stardust: Yvaine Fairy Market   The Graveyard Book: The Lady on the Grey The Convocation Miss Lupescu   The Salon: And There was a Great Cry in Egypt Lucretia Bat-Woman Two Monsters Spirit of the Komachi Cherry Tree The Fox-Woman Kuzunoha Leaving Her Child The Lantern Ghost of Oiwa   Panacea: TKO Moxie Seduction   But don't be fooled by this, I'm always willing to try scents that are not on the list! Thanks for looking!

Ceri

Ceri

 

bottle wants, update

Three Gorgons (I no longer think I want a whole bottle of this.....Satan And Death is a better citrus-y scent) Dia Flowering Chrysanthemums Lovers In A Ricefield Glukuprikos Silence Carnaval Diabolique Satan And Death With Sin Intervening Obatala

forspecial_plate

forspecial_plate

 

Maoi

The Lab sez:   Volcanic ash and Easter Island palm   Bottle: Wright's Hickory Seasoning, also known as liquid smoke. It made me homesick. My mom smells like this when she's been barbecuing.   Wet: Campfire. Angry, burny, smoking campfire.   Dry: This is where it gets interesting. I'm not exactly sure what palm smells like, but after the smoke burns itself out...this gets really sweet on my skin. Not a foody sweet, like Beaver Moon, but not a flowery sweet either. It's very clean and appealing at that point.   If this were to be reissued, I'd hope that they could make the smoke tones shorter.   Rating: 3/5

DigitalCoyote

DigitalCoyote

×