All Activity
This stream auto-updates
- Today
-
Laufeyson is unexpectedly effervescent. At first, I thought maybe it was a ginger note and the fizz was ginger ale-esque, but there's no ginger here. I suppose it could be the bergamot, but it's never done that in any other blend I've tried before. Maybe this has a fizzy, aldehyde-infused amber like Les Passades? Who knows. I get citrus fizz, leather, agarwood, and clove from this, with the fizz and clove being most noticeable at the beginning of the wear, and the leather and agarwood gaining strength over time (although this scent never gets as dark as it sounds based off of the notes). This isn't a scent I need more of, but I'm glad that I decided to try it, and I'll keep an eye out for future reviews to see if anyone else has any ideas about the source of the fizz!
- Yesterday
-
This scent is mostly about the pumpkin molasses on me, which is infused with some fruitness from the mulberry at first, and the clove adds a bit of spice that works well with the pumpkin molasses. It turns out that sonnen-werbel is a fictional herb that is just German sounding, and I am not getting any caraway or anything resembling black licorice (fortunately). I'm glad that I was given a chance to try this, but I don't see myself reaching for this over other molasses-heavy scents in my collection.
-
This is predominantly about the butterscotch ale on me, which has some effervescence to it in the beginning. Then it's all butterscotch and buttery pumpkin that fortunately isn't a spicebomb. Definitely one for fans of butterscotch!
-
Ghoulnextdoor is right on the money with this paradoxical sliquid scent. A blizzard of frosty aldehydes clears to reveal a vast white tea glacier—limpid, smooth, frozen solid. As it cracks and slides, it reveals glimpses of moss below until it meets a frozen ocean where sea spray is suspended in the air, the salt and ice forming nacreous, flowing sculptures where land, sea, and sky meet in a reconciliation of the elements. In a different register: I tried this decant after Snowman Beatdown, which immediately won me over. They share that frosty opening, but the Crumpet-Fanlight Expedition is less of a total white out and dries down to a remarkably polished white tea chypre—genteel indeed, full of textural interest but somehow also smooth, polished, with a fastidious quality that feels appropriate for the ball gowned and smoking jacketed world of Edward Gorey. White tea and ambergris are both hit or miss for me, but they work so wonderfully together here, the ambergris encrusting the sharper edges of the tea, the tea lending an herbaceous backdrop to the salt sparkle of the ambergris. The musk here is not a classic white musk, but nor is it particularly funky. It casts a silver sheen on the proceedings, and lends this scent a wonderful sleekness. Color associations: Blinding white and the lime green version translucent blue glacial ice. Scent associations: Lyonesse in a cold snap, Mars and Venus takes to the tundra. More complex and hence not quite as chilly as Snowman Beatdown. A pale green chypre counterpoint to the deep red Pomegranate and Scarlet Chypre. Verdict: Love, my immediate favorite of my (overall exceptionally successful) Yule decants.
-
after about 13 minutes of juicy, sweet, fresh licked cherry lollipop you arrive at a dryer more medicinal and licoricey destination that isn't my favorite especially after the pleasant sweet opening notes. there's still fruitiness in the drydown but more sanitized and scattered around amongst the lozenge mintiness of anise. no freshness comes out of this for me, cherry blossoms or things otherwise green floral or fresh. not my favorite but not awful
-
The Ace of Spades changed their profile photo
-
This is for the 2025 Release. I have a very long history with Diwali. It was part of my very first Yule order in late 2007, and I went back and read my old take on the scent from then, creeping up on almost 20 years ago! Some of my tastes have changed and my skin chemistry has as well- at a certain point, after loving Diwali for years, I gave the last of my 2007 bottles away. But I felt a pull and decided to get a fresh bottle now to see how it compares. In the bottle, it's immediately not as I remember- this is more complex but also more gourmand than my old review would have me believe. The lotus and mogra are lending a floral aspect that I definitely didn't pick up on all those years ago. As it warms and melds with my skin, those gorgeous layers of spice emerge and mix with the almond milk and rice flour to create something truly special. This isn't an incense blend OR a floral OR a gourmand scent: it's all of the above, and I am allllll over it. Medium throw with a complexity that has me huffing my wrist repeatedly, I welcome Diwali back into my life with open arms. I am SO glad I have
-
In the bottle, I get all melty lavender ice cream all the time. I was expecting it to be similar to TKO but that's not the case for me, even at this early stage. TKO is straight up sugared lavender to me, in the same camp as the sugared violet and sugared rose of Faith and Hope respectively. This Sundae, at least for now, is not sugary, it's cream in its sweetness. Soft and fluffy. Once applied and started to warm up on the skin, I am immediately reminded of an old Lilith blend I loved, Daybreak, which was also heavy on the lavender-vanilla coupling, and I like it here, too. Upon full drydown, the kissing-cousins vibe of this scent to Daybreak continues, only instead of the third guest at the party being a cupcake coconut, here it's the lightly baked-sugar-cookie vibes of the waffle cone. In all, a lovely low-medium throw lavender-vanilla confection, nice for a calm and gentle daytime scent, but also a new one to have in the rotation of bedtime perfumes. 💜
-
I love the Lavender Kitchen as an ongoing series, and I *adore* the Lab's bread notes, so this was an insta-buy for me- the first thing to drop into my cart for my Yule order! In the bottle and during the warm-up period on the skin, it's all warm, fresh-baked bread, all the time. The throw is quite strong for what I've typically had from prior bread-heavy scents, so apply frugally until you know how it'll react with your personal chemistry. As it gets further into the warm up, those aromatic notes start to bloom, with hints of the flax and sesame coming into the m ix and bringing a nuttiness with them. The rosemary starts to peep out too, reading more generally for its evergreen qualities than as rosemary specifically. But if you're worried at all about that, don't be- it's just lending a little atmosphere to the proceedings. By Dry Down, the various notes have reconfigured themselves one final time, with the bread note still being the star of the show, but the various other components being a louder chorus than they were initially. In all, a fine addition to any bread note lover's collection, and a nice introduction to low-key foodie scents that might feel too overwhelmed to try something more sweets-forward. A lovely, cozy daytime scent. 🥖 🥖 🥖 ❤️❤️❤️
-
The bottle scent is a strong, true-to-life root beer smell with just a little kick of pumpkin spice. It goes a bit flatter and more... green, herbal, kind of? on my skin in a way I don't love. However, it sweetens up a little again on drydown, though personally I get more candy than ice cream.
-
This is very juicy! The pomegranate and the rose are very balanced, making this a truly red scent. The beautiful part is that it neither leans too floral nor too sweet and it has depth without darkness. It is sensual without being explicit. There is some sort of golden base in the drydown, perhaps amber, it leans warm.
-
I'm not going to lie to you guys, this one made me a touch nervous at first because the dominant note I was smelling was the polished wood, which was admittedly... not what excited me about this hair gloss. But I persevered and was rewarded! While that wood note stays present, Lavender Kitchen Mouse becomes a cloud of salty-sweetened dried lavender. I would say the scent is moderate strength, not a big sugary pow-in-your-face foodie but not extremely quiet, either. If you're a lavender fan and you're mourning Mouse Circus, for sure check this out (though I would say that the popcorn note here is subtler than in MC). I think this is going to be nicely versatile, and I'm really happy I picked it up!
-
I agree with the general consensus that this is very predominantly lavender - almost a lavender single note on me as it goes on, with just a hint of mead-like depth behind it. I would also call it an herbal lavender, though it's wearable and balanced in a way that a lavender essential oil wouldn't be. As it dries, it sweetens, though I still don't get a distinct honey note, just a richer, sweeter lavender. This is very pleasant and likable, but not what I was hoping for; BPAL's wine and honey notes both tend to show up beautifully on my skin, so I was disappointed not to clearly get them here. It also had extremely short longevity on my skin, so much that it had almost entirely faded after ~2 hours. I do imagine the longevity might improve with age, and that the honey note might come out more as I have seen BPAL's honeys consistently do. I'll certainly keep my decant and possibly use it as a sleep scent as @doomsday_disco suggested, but I won't need more than a decant and I doubt this will be a frequent one for full day wear.
-
The dead leaves start out dank and vegetal and quickly turn dry and a little talcum-y. The apple is very much soft baked apple, with a generous sprinkle of cinnamon. I do in fact get idealized apple pie on windowsill surrounded by swirling leaves. I don't like apple cinnamon scents as a general rule but the soft, subtle throw on this is beautiful. The contrast of foody with leaves is something I like.
-
When I placed my order, I admit I was not at all expecting to get Back To The Future 3 in a bottle. Great Scott! This the silk accent on Clara's hat when she finds the model of the DeLorean (surrounded by the hay in Doc Brown's barn), the saddle Doc Brown puts on their horses, the shot he takes in the saloon (ok, creative license here: maybe Doc was a rum guy and not a whiskey guy after all?) while surrounded by the tobacco smoke wafting around the room, and the poncho Marty wears in his shootout with Mad Dog Tannen. Leather, rum and tobacco forward, it is the ruggedly masculine-leaning scent of a gentleman scholar with a barn workshop who has the good fortune of falling in love with a teacher in possession of a telescope, and a passion for what science can mean for humanity's dreams. Fans of BPAL's tanned hide and bay rum notes will not be disappointed here; the initial burst of saddle soap quickly dissipates, and I have to work hard to pick out the black silk note even an hour after drydown. I do get the slightly animalic wool about an hour in, but it's unrefined textile, not dirty sheep. There is definitely some shared DNA with Carved Wooden Livery Stable present (perhaps the saddle leather and dusty straw?). Bold sillage, going very strong for 6 hours and moderately strong for another 3 hours before it fades into obscurity. I like this, but do not love this, purely on the basis of the bay rum note. I actually think I would prefer a whiskey instead, like Doc Brown.
-
Super sugary caramel in the bottle, with a distinctly foodie (as opposed to beachy) note of toasted coconut. That hyper-sweetness disappears immediately on my skin, leaving behind a soft, barely-there caramel scent. I really had to slather to get this one to show up, but what's there is very pleasant. Best used for days when you want something subtle and sweet.
-
Lightly lemony tea, a puff of cold air, and the tiniest twinkle of something aldehydic in the bottle. On skin, the marine tones of the ambergris meet a musky, slightly wintergreen current. Slowly, as it dries down, the scent softens; there is less tea and more ephemeral sweetness. Is this what the Coca-Cola polar bears smell like? Super cozy! Lasts 8 full hours with low to moderate projection. Verdict: Gorgeous. This is so wearable that I can see it being an all-season alternative to something more intense or gourmand when you're seeking a refreshing, non-minty sweetness and brightness.
-
Mine's also from a sniffie. It's a clean, metallic, aquatic ozone. It does feel ghostly blue white. It's nice! Not problematic or sharp in anyway, as ozone can sometimes go, but I do like others in this vein more.
- Last week
-
-
Got a frimp of this with a recent order. I can smell the tea most clearly. There's a hint of crisp citrus as well. The musk is a very soft background note. It really is a lovely, clean smell without smelling soapy! I feel like it would make a great scent for a shower gel, or a light lotion to use in summer. I can see myself wearing this more regularly when the weather warms up. It's not one of those scents that feels like it was made for me, but it's pleasant and light and uplifting.
-
I got a frimp of this with a recent order. It's not one I would have ordered for myself. It smells NOTHING like what the listed notes would suggest, to me. It's very floral. Someone on the BPAL website described it as smelling like lilac, which seems almost right, but it has a weird funk underneath the initial light floral smell. It almost suggests rot or something. That kind of ruins it for me. I'm washing this off. It makes me sad, because I like it initially.
-
Once again, we're closing down the site in solidarity with nationwide efforts to demand that I.C.E. get out of US cities (I mean, the list of demands is pretty long at this point, but that's the most recent impetus!) 9am - 5pm our website will be in maintenance mode. Last time we did this, it forced everyone to reset their password afterward in order to log into their accounts We're hoping to avoid that this time! Also, this seems like a worthy opportunity to remind everyone that we're working up to a major website relaunch. When the new site arrives, your transaction history and any reviews left on the main site will be evaporated. Poof! If that info is important to you, please slay your procrastination demons and gather that info ASAP. Thanks, one and all!
-
Full disclosure: I'm pretty new to BPAL, only really started trying them out early last year (before that had only blind bought a bottle or two in the initial stages of my (indie) perfume journey while I was still trying to figure out my preferences so wasn't having great luck) and now after a little under a year I am starting to understand what works for me when it comes to BPAL. This perfume, Black Lily, is one that really works for me and is currently the only GC bottle I own. Lily is my favorite floral and Black Lily is one of my top picks for a lily perfume. I don't know exactly how to describe it except to say it is a bit mysterious. Yes it's mainly lily and you have to like lily for this, but it's deceptively beautiful and not JUST lily. For me, there's a sort of danger lurking underneath. I would call it a dark floral, sometimes it seems like it has a sort of incense element in there as well. It's quite potent, a couple dabs will last me most of the day. I definitely recommend giving this one a try if you love lilies like I do!
-
Fried dough and mystery! jam. On reflection, that's probably the honey. Also waxy chocolate and probably some pumpkin spice going on but there's so much here it's hard to say. If you ever wanted to smell like a sufiganiyah and honey with a little smushed chocolate candy debris now is your chance. It's pretty rich.
-
As a longtime fan of Bah!, I purchased this within seconds of its release and have periodically worn and treasured it ever since. I cannot believe, therefore, that I never reviewed it! As is true of a good portion of single notes, one of the nice aspects of this scent is that it stays pretty close to form from first bottle sniff, all the way through to dry down, and long passed that point. And for me, that means a flawless coffee candy scent. I agree with the prior poster that it's more brewed than bean, but I don't think that hurts it in the least. It's also lightly sweet, which I welcome, as it removes the sometimes-present edge of acridity (not acidity) that can occur with coffee notes in perfumery. It's a wonderful, comforting daytime scent on its own, but can definitely be used to enhance other fragrances that might be spruced up with a bit of layering. In all: while I wound up getting rid of the majority of my SN's over the years, this one will always be a keeper
-
Bombastic Subtropical Turquoise Cream Pie
Smelly_Swede replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Gifts with Donation or Purchase
I can feel the crust. I don't get any fruit, but a bit of a weird sweetness that sort of lingers. The first thought that came to mind for me was some kind of curry dish. There is something in this that feels a bit dirty to me, but it's unclear to me what it is. It feels like the notes sort of take each other out. -
BPAL: (in the singsong call of Marco Polo) "Leath-errrrrrrr" Me: "Com-ingggggg" (in the singsong answer of same) Freshly tanned leather, not too dark, mixed with what smells like a slightly yeasty cinnamon bun with a light drizzle of apple tinged flood icing. Somehow, even on skin, the cinnamon doesn't really ride in hard at all. Not spicy, not dank, not cloying. Just hide and baked fluffy dough. Dare I call it a Leathermond? Sits close-ish to skin, doesn't evolve much (but doesn't need to), still tossing random wafts of scent my way close to 7 hours later. The word "genderless" comes to mind, which I mean more of in the sense that this will smell really good on you (I hope!) no matter how you identify. I haven't been so quickly enamored of a leathermond scent since Three Pairs of Shoes. I bet it will age like a dream!!
