Again, on my blog proper.
http://www.snarkattack.info/gracenotes/200...ll-blood-drops/
Once I've moved house properly, more BPAL reviews and such to come!
I was extremely lucky to get some decants of:
Erik & Christine
Silas & Ruthyn
Jekyll & Hyde
Erik has leaked a little so I know what *he* smells like, but will be testing the others shortly.
Sadly, a lot of my BPAL is in boxes as yet unpacked - because I'm back at my folks' place and they are renovating, so they've asked me to only unpack bare minimum, sob sob!
Received several decants from the lovely 2sistersreviews on LJ. I'm going to test the ones I think I will like the least and see how I go from there. A few leaked and they smell heavenly! I'll probably love the Ode to Aphrodite ones!
I decided to test the BPTP roses first, because traditionally, BPAL rose doesn't like me...
White Rose - I cannot believe how heavenly this is. I can barely smell the rose, more the vanilla tea (yum!) and I think the orris. There is a hint of something fruity but it's not listed in the notes. If I had enough money, I'd be chasing down a bottle of this.
Red Rose - smoky goodness. The clove, Indian musk, tonka and tobacco make this just...wow. I can't believe how suited it is to my body chemistry! This is more of a nighttime blend as compared to the one above, which was more innocent. This is refined, more elegant. Am won over.
Earth Ox - smells like lychee sweets, and I happen to personally dislike lychees. I realise I am mad... It does smell a little like plum blossoms later on, but I shan't be keeping my decant.
Bony Moon - beautiful, and unisex too. I'm coming to appreciate these lunar oil based blends more with time. The cedar is not too much in this, and it's pretty easy for that note to overpower a blend. The white sandalwood is just gorgeous, nice and subtle.
Milk Chocolate Buttercream - more buttery version of Bliss to my nose. I'm not particularly fond of milk chocolate BPALs but this seems a little nicer than Bliss, which didn't like my body chemistry.
White Chocolate & Strawberry - the strawberry smells fake, as does the white chocolate, which is by its nature a very fake chocolate! I don't like strawberry flavouring in chocolate so it's not surprising that I don't like this.
White Chocolate & Sugared Violets - strangely enough this was stronger on the violets, but they didn't smell as sugared to me as in, say, Faith. I like sugared violets and much prefer Faith to this, where I could hardly smell the chocolate and sugariness.
White Chocolate, Marshmallow & Coconut - I can't smell the marshmallow and coconut in this at all...it smells a little alcoholic and not as yummy as the name suggested, sadly.
Dark Chocolate & Cherry - the cherry note is too artificial but I do like the dark chocolate in this. I wish the latter were stronger, to be honest.
Dark Chocolate & Pepper-Smoked Caramel - this is just fantastic, and wish it were permanent. It reminds me a bit of Arcana's Frilly Underpinnings. Pepper-smoked caramel is just a wonderful idea. It smells delicious and so complex! I may try to get a bottle of this! Easily my favourite out of the Chocolate Box scents!
A sunny Sunday afternoon seemed a good time to start testing these pretties.
Christine - springtime blooms, seems to be quite a flowery blend. Am hoping for more of the vanilla orchid, as I do love that note so much. This reminds me of a very nice 80s fragrance from my childhood - can't quite remember which one.
Erik - this one tends to impress me easily at first, more so than the aforementioned. I love the leather, wood and kerosene. Who would think the latter note would work in such a blend? It does wonderfully.
Maud Ruthyn - BPAL, you are killing me. I'm wearing a rose-based fragrance that works on me. Usually BPAL rose hates my manky arse. I think it must be the rosehips, as well as the nectarine note. Going to try this again some other time, but so far, it's behaving unusually well on me. I'm stumped!
Silas Ruthyn - oh wow, this is bottle-worthy. Smoky opium is so hard to resist! This is just lovely. Yum.
Fri 1/5
Geek - just a sniffie! Very heavy on the leather, then cedar, pine and such as listed. A nice gentlemanly, old-world fragrance. Wasn't I lucky to get to try!
Tue 26/5
Eanach Dhuin - LE decant. A sweet, feminine fragrance - however I do not find it conveys grief, as it's just too cheerful for me. One of the girlier ones I've liked.
The Ides of March 2009 - LE decant. I find this quite mind-clearing and clarifying. I didn't initially think anything of it, but I'm now rather drawn to it. Might take to work with me to help my mind stay focussed on things.
A good male friend of mine was kind enough to let me test some BPALs on him so I decided to write up my observations, which you can read at the below link, if you please!
blog post comparing same BPALs on two different people
On my blog I've just reviewed a few Blooddrop fragrances from the most recent spring/summer 2009 collection.
Miss Mapleleaf's garden
They're fantastic, and Astrid is really lovely too.
I've had some time off work to do what it is I *really* like to do (poetry stuff, that which earns no money you understand...) and in the meantime have found some imps lying around that had yet to be tested. I really need to get back into the routine of testing, seeing as I still order LE decants!
Manners Among Men and Women in the Red Light District - a light woody scent. Slightly feminine, and very refined. The blonde wood is lovely because it's so light and melds so well with the apricot. Even with the apricot, I think this would be fantastic on a fellow. I don't think it has much throw on me, but this is due to personal body chemistry rather than the fragrance. I think on the right person this will sing beautifully.
The Music of Erich Zahn - all just dirty vetiver on me, I'm afraid. I did briefly test on a male friend and it was so much more rich and complex. But I am fond of BPAL's vetiver - it's very rich and reminds me of fragrant dirt or soil with a burnt aroma added in.
Litha 2009 - very, very floral. Most dominant is the honeysuckle. That does die down and it becomes more honeyed later on. I won't be keeping my decant.
Nyarlatholep - not really a big fan of ozonic scents, but this one I did quite like - probably because of the incense. That isn't quite enough for me in the end - the wateriness comes back and overpowers the incense. It's pretty nice as far as the oceanic scents go, for me.
Villain - this will be devastatingly debonair on a lad, but I quite like it on me, even though there isn't much throw. The lime is just gorgeous and it's a subtle fragrance that speaks volumes precisely because of its subtlety. Might be an excuse to get a new bedtime scent that's unisex...!
It's been really busy at my end with sickness and adjusting to meds, fitting in part-time work, and attending films for this year's Melbourne International Film Festival.
I've been wearing my BPAL collection out a fair bit rather than testing. Good heavens, I have a *lot* of bottles!
Haven't been testing as much as I'd like as usual but here is a list of what I have used since I last updated this blog.
Pollution
Madame Tracy
Noche Buena 2007
Whoso List To Hunt
Berry Moon 2009
The Host of the Air
The Deserted Village
The Dole of the King's Daughter
Velvet Unicorn
Velvet Nudie
Velvet Bandito
Velvet Panther
Standouts for me are Madame Tracy, Whoso List To Hunt and Velvet Panther.
Off for more testing on this sacred day off from work!
