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- Past hour
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A true pleasure to wear such a beautifully aged scent! Soft, clean, lightly fuzzy sage, sweet sandalwood, a warm incense, slightly soapy muguet, and a very unassuming patchouli all meld together with delightful results. I'm not much into florals and find the intensity of them here to be just right. I can't recall if this is the first scent I have tried with Balsam of Mecca as a note, but I love it. Despite starting off quietly, the intensity and projection increases significantly as it dries down. I put this on mid-day and could still detect it 10 hours later at bed time. Catching a whiff of myself while wearing this was a joy every time. Time has only made it more lovely, perfect for all seasons and situations.
- Today
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Upvoting @VioletChaos. Very well put. But while I really like how it smells and enjoy sniffing, it's not something I think I can wear all day without succumbing to a headache from the perfumey aspect.
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Twizzlers. Is that the worst thing? Definitely not. But that's all I got.
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Alas, the allspice is too much for me. Allspice and clove are migraine notes for me, but I can see the beauty in this, just from far away. Very amber forward on me.
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I don't have enough in my felties to try this, but I bet layered with Lines Written by a Bear...would be absolutely banging. This is gorgeous. Buttery, warm in the amber sense, vanilla without being Vanilla. My brain tells me that this lives too close to Lines Written in my satisfaction of the scents, so I'll pick one to FS. Right now this is winning
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What @wilhelmscream said. How is this both warm and cool? Beautiful and light.
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Smells completely different between the bottle and skin! Wet in the bottle is the somewhat dank stickiness of the opium tar mashed up with the lightly sweet earthiness of the patchouli root. Applying to skin completely transforms the scent; floral, fragrant, sweet berries are front and center, intermingled with a powdery backdrop. Wow, this smells amazing!! Reminds me of a premium early 90's perfume in it's sophistication. I normally don't care for opium as a note, but it blends well underneath the overall caramelization. This patchouli root isn't stinky or particularly potent at all. The berries stick around for quite some time, and the scent as a whole lasts 8 good hours. I can easily see this as a daily wear option in cooler months, and I desperately hope it returns some day so that I can grab a few more bottles.
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Glittering gold and loss beyond understanding: antiqued amber, English lavender, vetiver, and tea rose. Time has burnished this scent down to a faded dried bundle of lavender and dribbles of vetiver in the bottle, evoking a "past life" type of nostaglia. highly remniscent of a Victorian era gentleman. On skin, this impression persists with the arrival of the tea rose (almost rosewood-esque, that must be connected to the antiquing quality of the amber). It sits softly close to skin, with a light, glimmering echo of copal giving it some warmth. Reading historical reviews, I think the scent packs much less of a masculine punch now that it has rested well, although it still leans that way. As a person of the female persuasion, I think it smells pretty nice on me, too. Although it is a Yule, there isn't anything specifically winter or holiday coded about it.
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"Intoxicating" is the first word that comes to mind when sniffing it from the bottle. There is a dark, plummy, purple sweetness from the black kyphi that dominates, and the myrrh swims alongside it. On skin, the scent blooms and becomes even jammier. The red musk and indigo oud are present, but restrained. Two hours later, the overwhelmingly beautiful sparkle of the scent is largely gone, leaving behind a sweet, dry woodiness. This gives an incredibly premium, sophisticated open that was truly incredible to experience, but then pretty rapidly disappears. For the sake of comparison, I applied a dab to a tester strip to see if my skin was the culprit in chasing it away. Although it took a bit longer for the top notes to fade (maybe another 30 min) the end result was the same. The quick retreat of intensity makes it a little challenging to wear; your choices are to apply more liberally and risk overdoing the open, or to reapply more often not to lose the bloom entirely. I rarely wish for a scent in EDP format, but this may be one of those fringe cases where the blend needs a different base to "stick" a bit better. Truly a gorgeous blend, just needs a bit more enduring potency. 9/10, highly recommend. (Note: The label and official Blood Milk website spell the scent name "Bhelena".)
- Yesterday
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A clear channel for communication and reflection reach into a splendent garden of stillness. Ambrosial flowers float in pristine pools, nestled underneath trees weeping frankincense tears, and oh so gentle sandalwood incense curls across the space. The lotus blossoms’ mouths are wide and resonant, emitting fragrant hymnals of devotion to the timeless divinity that pulses in every speck of creation. One emerges completely renewed. On Prayer is, understandably, very similar to Venus Caelestis (Blue lotus absolute, grey amber, white myrrh, frankincense, and sugared lemon peel.), without the sugared lemon, and some extra texture from the white sandalwood. The blue lotus has some of the bubble gummy feel to it, and the frankincense is bright. I should probably compare them to see if I should keep both of the bottles.
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it kills me that this is running bubblegum on my skin 😫 the spicy cinnamon candy is nice but it's definitely no golden amber which is breaking my heart because the lion is such a big pick when amber recommendations go around. over time some of the dryness peeks its head with time but mostly this is a pretty chemical/artificial sweet smell of candy. my imp was pretty aged and deeply red so maybe i should have tried it fresh instead. bummer!
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There's something cozy about this that reminded me of Mary Llwyd. Something baked, and sweetness, but not an overwhelming gourmand.
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Nice cardamom forward scent. I get the coolness of the (gentle) snowy slush and I also detect the rice (also gentle, and cozy). On me, the cardamom dominates.
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Very fun, bold scent. I get the honey/mead fizz, the woodsmoke, and a springy, lemony something. Perfect for when one is aggressively determined to cheer up on a difficult day.
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Sooooo cozy 🫠 I’m getting all three notes just swirling around me in luxurious wafts. The cinders are strongest when I sniff my wrists, the fur has the widest throw, and the wood just cheerfully lends itself as a resting spot for both to lean upon. Feels expensive, and simultaneously like the most supportive hug. I knew this had potential, but did not expect to fall this much in love so fast! Purrring~
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Much more coffee forward on skin than Pumpkin Spice Espresso Latte, the punkier latte cousin of this year's Yules. There is definitely some perky, frothed, high fat milk in here, along with a somewhat fruity, floral vanilla that smells a lot like the recently released Patchouli and Smoked Vanilla lotion (which smells nothing at all like vanilla or patchouli to me, RIP). There is a slight, acrid undertone to the coffee, like the oil in the beans went a bit rancid before they were ground up for brewing, that wafts up from time to time. I get more simple syrup than brown sugar from this until it is fully dried down. Do I enjoy this? Will I wear this? The answer is not so clear. The blessing and curse of such an expansive BPAL Scentverse is that, because there are so many things to love, it doesn't always feel like there is enough room to just LIKE something (or even sit with it long enough to find out, before the next thing comes along that also needs trying). To be continued...
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I think BPAL Nation is sleeping on this one. She's the perfect blend of sweetness and spice, leading with the toasty roasted chestnut and cardamom in the bottle, even though all notes can be teased out with the right sniff depth and concentration. Once my skin gets ahold of her, the allspice races to the front of the line for a few minutes before politely returning to the rest of the group. And then, poof! She dials her whole self back from a 9.5 on the intensity scale to a modest, demure 6.5-7 (depending on which way the air is blowing) after only 20 minutes in. The amber and caramel start to appear with cozy, almost powdery warmth, and they carry the scent alongside the chestnut for the next 5 hours or so. This is a November 18th to December 31st scent that you won't have to think twice about putting on when you want to feel snuggly and festive. Another Yule 2025 offering that begs for multiple backup bottles so that you never have to let these feelings go!
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Wolf Moon: Snow & Oak Bark
SmellsPrettyGood2Me replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
This is a minty, mentholated snow in the bottle, cold, tingly and fresh. The oak bark has what seems like a touch of humidity to it, perhaps with some lichen growing on the surface that has been lightly covered by a dollop of freshly fallen white powder. On skin, the menthol snow REALLY kicks up in a pseudo-medicinal fashion. I feel like I can taste it in the back of my throat as I bring my nose up to my hand, and there is a bit of physical warming on my skin as it dries down as well. I spend the next 30 minutes patiently waiting for the scent to settle; it is bracingly atmospheric. The bark has a wet, heavy, almost dirty quality to it. As dry down is happening I feel like I get the smallest whiff of dried wildflowers and anise sweetening things up from underneath it all. Moderate projection that lasts around 6 hours total. It's not bad, but I don't want to smell like the first hour of this as a pre-requisite to enjoying the next 5 hours of it. A more patient soul than mine would likely delight in it. - Last week
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I agree that this is like a divine mashup of Woman Putting on Her Stocking + Snake Oil. Delicious coffee and snake oil! Can't go wrong.
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love love love love love!!! I am a BPAL champagne lover and this is such a good iteration. It's the fizzy champagne note I love, plus slushy lavender. Dries down to a nice snowy musk. Works as both a daytime and nighttime scent.
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It's perfect, it's beautiful, it smells like Linda Evangelista... In all seriousness, to me and when applied, this smells exactly like sitting in Cafe du Monde with a huge plate of warm beignets and a cup of hot chicory coffee. I love it.
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I feel like I hit the jackpot with this Day When Old Friends Meet. I’m getting primarily a floaty vanilla over a chewy bready confection, like bread pudding, or denser, and supporting all that is the myrrh smoke, which I adore! I think there was a bit of fig early on, but it got too cozy and submerged into the pudding. The spices are subtle, and were heavier on application. A really lovely blend for the winter. Glad I took a gamble on this bottle, and hope I can wear it to greet old friends sooner than later!
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In the bottle: I was expecting mostly coffee, but actually, I'm not getting any. In fact, NONE of the listed notes are present! Mostly I'm getting a fluffy cloud of...sweet cream? 😯 Don't get me wrong, I've no objections, cause it smells awesome. But I'm suuuuuper confused! Wet On Skin, the scent starts to bloom as it warms and now I'm getting the uncanny animal crackers-thing that doomsday mentioned! Not the lemony part of those crackers, but the rest. It's a bit odd, but I'm intrigued. Once full drydown is reached, I get the chicory coming on kinda strong. It reads as vaguely cinnamon-y, which could be a plus for this of you that can't wear actual cinnamon- this could be your work around! On me, the scent is largely a light snickerdoodle scent. I really miss NOLA, so I was hoping it would show up as intended on me, so while this is a perfectly nice winter time baked goods scent, I do wish it had the coffee and beignets in the mix. 😢 I DO have the Guatemalan Coffee Bean single note, and I shall try layering that with this- maybe it just needs a little help to pull it all together for my chemistry
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In the bottle, I get some of the thick, sweet honey I have long associated with O (a scent that I've long felt doesn't get the love it deserves). At this stage, it's just the honey. After application, there's quite a bit of shifting and projecting over the ensuing 5 minutes or so: the throw becomes insanely loud, very briefly, then begins to settle itself down. During that time there's a rapid succession of first the honey, then the amber, then the honey, then the incense...etc etc etc. The morph is dizzying in its speed. 👀 Upon drydown, it all settles into place, the honey pulling back some, the amber creeping forward, the incense grounding the two and preventing any of it from being powdery. Just lovely. In All, a surprisingly low throw given the intensity of the notes involved. Still, considering that brief, enormous burst forward during initial application, apply sparingly until you see how exactly she reacts with your particular chemistry It's funny that this scent has come through the Yules several times over the years but only now am I discovering it for myself. Glad to finally join the party, this is a really nice addition to my winter scent collection!
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In the bottle, this is pretty much all the effervescent champagne, all the time. After applied to my skin, it stays that way for a while, taking its time to warm and bloom. Eventually, some of the musk shows up, adding depth to the boozy note, which is some magic feat (since light musks are...light). I don't get any lavender at this point. Upon complete drydown, I'm left with a lightly sweet, balanced champagne/blush musk scent. No lavender or snow appear for me, alas. In all: A scent for softly snowy days. Low to medium throw, making it a good daytime scent. I'm not sure it's my thing, but for those that love a champagne note, don't miss out on this beauty. ❄️
