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wonderful. i get why so many people seem to start with it (i also ordered an imp as part of my first order) and why it has twenty-eight pages of reviews. i like how many different situations it seems to suit; it is feminine (but? and?) less heavy/voluptuous than other scents i've tried, and one could wear it for a special occasion or every day and it wouldn’t feel out of place. i have worn it now about four times but i think i still need to work out how much i need to apply. in the bottle and when it's wet it smells very faint, and i always have the feeling i haven’t applied enough so put more on, but then as soon as it’s dried all at once it seems to become much stronger and i feel like i’ve applied too much! i seem to do well with rose, bergamot, and honey, so perhaps something must be going on here where they all converge in one scent and my skin really amps the whole thing up. maybe less really is more. or could that be the carnation? is that just what carnation is like? more discernment is required and there are probably a lot of scents i'm just not familiar with. that said, other reviewers have described alice as 'spicy' and, though my skin seems to bring the whole thing forth, that isn't a word i would use for it. i will need to spend more time with it to decide if i could go in for a whole bottle. i have a few other rose scents (othello, the rose, spellbound, etc) and i've really liked them all so far and all feel like 'me' in various ways, but realistically my purse will only ever let me commit to bottles of just one or two.
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okay, my project to keep a record of the things i’ve tried begins! let's go! i came cross an imp of this for £5 on ebay and i went for it because i was simply so intrigued; partly by the name (as madrid is a city i have very fond memories of and that means a lot to me), partly by the fact no one else has written about it for so long and i wanted to be able to investigate and report back. in the bottle it was very sweet (not in a bad way per se - just that i knew i'd have to be careful about not putting on too much). i also knew at once that i had to save it for the right occasion and that it wouldn't suit the very dark and wet english february it arrived to me in. then, about a fortnight ago, i finally got to try it out on the first few warm days when the sun finally showed its face. from the bottle there is a lot of red wine - then upon the skin cloves - then as it settles down the wines seems to come back. thankfully i don't find the wine plasticky as some others seem to have. i am not sure about the mimosa; i don’t get much, so either it's simply not a scent i'm familiar with or the wine and cloves are too strong, which may well be the case. it’s quite all-or-nothing; it's not one of those that is strong to begin with and then gradually fades and softens. while it’s on it has a good throw, but then after about five or six hours it seems to disappear all at once. i'm really glad to have this imp and i will enjoy wearing it on spring days or summer evenings sat out on a restaurant patio or at the theatre or anywhere else its boldness and sensuality wouldn't make me self-conscious (!). that said, i don't think it bothers me much that it's so old realistically one wouldn't be able to get hold of a bottle, and there are other imps i've tried that i'd be inclined to save up for and bottle sooner.
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I'm an absolute fiend for Turner, his art just does something for me, so since the notes also sounded innocuous enough, I had to grab this. It starts off very.... Gun? Like a well kept antique gun. A scent I grew up with, so quite a bit of unexpected nostalgia. I might have to return to this and re-review it when it's not so unexpectedly lever-actiony, but as is, if you wanted to smell like a slightly rugged gunslinger or a noir detective, this one's for you.
- 3 replies
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- 2025
- October 2025
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(and 3 more)
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kinneret_rising joined the community
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In the bottle, this is very honey forward, and I swear I smell jasmine, but that must be the ylang ylang. On wet, there's a lovely citrus from the lemon blossom and the neroli. It's quite floral, but no longer as cloying as it was in the bottle. A bit musky, and I can see why the description says "fuzzy." Dry, it reads a bit foody due to the honey making an appearance again. The lovely floral citrus is layered over that, but I'm not getting any cedar at all, which is unfortunate for me. The honey is very strong, probably deepened by the frankincense and amber. It's a very lovely scent, but not something I would buy a bottle of for myself.
- 7 replies
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- 2025
- February 2025
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In the bottle, this reads as very cool and blue. Definitely getting mint and a very gentle eucalyptus smell, but it also smells quite sweet. On the skin, the eucalyptus and mint get stronger, but it stays sweet and not not overwhelming. It smells a bit soapy, or maybe like laundry detergent, but in a really nice way. It's quite bright and cool, and I'm definitely feeling someone else's description of the sun glittering on the ocean on a cool, crisp day. As it dries, I get more of the spruce, but it's just becoming drier and sweeter on my skin. The eucalyptus and mint have faded. Overall, this is a lovely, super bright and cool aquatic.
- 11 replies
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- Novel Ideas for Secret Amusements 2025
- Shunga 2025
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Honey, Raspberry Jam, and Buttercream
Geminirubyshoes replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Lupercalia
shit I knew I should have ordered this! I will add it to my order next time !- 2 replies
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- 2026
- Lupercalia
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(and 4 more)
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My experience coincides with bheansidhe's; I get a beautiful pumpkin loaf, warm and bready, embedded with melting semisweet chocolate chips. Delicious!
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Behold! A honey perfume for those of us that generally can’t wear Bpal honey scents! I have a 95% fail rate with Bpal’s honey note so I’m not sure why I purchased a bunch of fullsizes from the Honey Pot release. I think all the notes just sounded good and thankfully my gamble paid off because every bottle ordered smells amazing. Honey, Raspberry Jam, & Buttercream is the first one I’m skin testing from this collection though! First applied to skin it’s straight up raspberry syrup with honey in the background. This is a sugary honey, not screechy or overpowering. My first thought was to slather since I had a feeling I was going to wand-cap and keep her! Within a matter of minutes the raspberry syrup calmed down and the buttercream and honey were stepping up and becoming key players too. Unf, let me tell you I sniffed my arms alllll day today. At some point magic happened and it smelled like sugary raspberry buttercream. If I could find a cake shop with buttercream like this - I’d never order any other frosting. Drool worthy! I’m for sure getting a backup bottle. It’s been over eight hours since application and I can still smell the sugary goodness on my skin when I sniff my wrists. I’m hoping this scent gets even better with age. This one is for the gourmand lovers!
- 2 replies
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- 2026
- Lupercalia
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(and 4 more)
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- Yesterday
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green plants, electric/acid/ozone note adds brightness, hint of floral sweetness. No leather no soil
- 4 replies
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- Activism
- December 2025
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(and 1 more)
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In the bottle, through the dense cloud of fruits and incense, I absolutely smell Snake Oil! On the skin, the fig, pomegranate, blackcurrant and apple are pretty prominent. I keep picking up on the vanilla and musk from the Snake Oil. I'm sure you're wondering: what is this iridescent serpent scale accord? So am I! There is something in here that has almost a fizz or a shimmer to it? Maybe a bit of an aldehyde? Overall, very interesting and beautiful spin on Snake Oil. I always love the variants.
- 1 reply
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- Lupercalia 2026
- Fools Journey
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Claire-of-the-Valley started following Thirteen: 13 March 2026
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This starts out as a nice mix of notes with the cacao as a solid base, but quickly dissolves into what I think is the yellowed paper note. Kind of sour, musty, bordering on moldy. Not great. I keep expecting the library-style scents to work for me, and they almost never do, so I should probably stay away from the more paper-y, incense-y notes from BPAL on the whole.
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In the bottle, I can't really make anything out! It smells rich, warm, dense. On the skin, I get the warm wool and leather, the wild honey and cedarwood. That deep, dark pomegranate. This is really sexy! Has a real rush of heat to it, wears a little closer to the skin but has some throw!
- 1 reply
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- Fools Journey
- Lupercalia 2026
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In the bottle, super lush floral and rich, heady incenses! On the skin, a lot of rose and frankincense. A few minutes later, I can detect the iris, red saffron and warm, glowing amber. A bit of the beeswax. Oh, there's the myrrh! This is such a dramatic fragrance! High throw and guaranteed to turn heads.
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- Lupercalia
- Lupercalia 2026
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In the bottle, it smells like salty sand and warm metal. I like how summer-y this smells. Like a long day at the beach. And surprisingly soft, considering notes like armor and metallic blood! You'd think it would have more of that coppery tang, and instead I almost get the faintest hint of something soft and sweet, like incense, which makes me wonder if dragon's blood is a part of the blood note?
- 1 reply
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- Lupercalia 2026
- Fools Journey
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In the bottle, I mostly get that clean skin musk, a bit of fig and that crisp apple skin, and a whiff of smokiness. On the skin, smoky and lightly musky, with a bit of sweetness from the fruit notes. Then I really began amping the smoke note and had to give it time to settle down. It did, but it just gives me this image of burnt apples. Ultimately, I don't think this one is working out well on me, but I do like it in the bottle!
- 1 reply
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- Lupercalia
- Lupercalia 2026
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This is Millennial Pink and Snake Oil's love child and it's an instant favorite! I love the ruby chocolate note and I love Snake Oil. It's so beautiful and rich, has a high throw and really hangs out on the skin all day.
- 2 replies
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- March 2026
- Lupercalia
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PresterJoan joined the community
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In the bottle I'm German and I can confirm that, in the imp, this smells exactly like Vanillekipferl that somehow ended up in a pile of pine needles. And the question I have is: WHY did they end up there? Wet on Skin Unfortunately for me as a pine forest lover, those pine needles quickly fade away on my skin. (stays longer on hair, somehow). Dry on Skin I read it as hazelnut vanilla cookie now, slightly burned, and with some smoke somehow, no pine needles but --- ahhh, one of the bpal images emerges (cool, that does not happen every time, but this image is very specific): My mental image is that there has been some kind of town party where people first built a large pile of wooden branches, then they jump over it while they already start lighting it. The fire grows bigger, and only the sportiest younglings now still dare to do this jump. Meanwhile, a young teenager who somehow had a Vanillekipferl from his grandmother in his hands that he just wanted to take a bite off, gets slightly burned on his legs during the jump - and accidentally lets go of the Vanillekipferl, which drops into a half-burning pile of local town former Christmas trees and pine branches. He pretends a pokerface and pretends nothing has happened, but brushes the skin that, to his surprise, shows zero injury. He laughts and asks grandmother for a new Vanillekipferl, to which she replies: "Mind Krampus!" as if she understands the world better than he does. He frowns, he simply wants a Vanillekipferl! Being Grandmother, she smiles - and provides. No one sees her looking briefly into the darkness of the nearby town forest, where she had collected the pine branches, earlier that day. She smiles as if she thinks back to some memory. "Good that we burn the branches nowadays," she thinks and smiles softly, "when I was young, the boys used to hit the girls for fun with these branches - and we liked that - but nowadays, the youth is so much softer than we were..."
- 12 replies
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- Yule 2024
- Ars Kramponis
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(and 2 more)
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In the bottle, this smells like a very soapy tea and myrrh scent. On the skin, it stays somewhat soapy, but becomes mostly a rain/aquatic note and tea. The wood notes are quite soft on my skin, and I don't get anything smoky or ozone/lightning from it. It's very fresh, and it sticks around for quite a while. Overall, if you're into fresh, clean scents that lean masculine of center, this is the one for you! My bottle will definitely see good use.
- 5 replies
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- June 2025
- June 2025 Lunacy
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(and 3 more)
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leptonpyr started following His Crown and His Shroud
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My skin apparently possesses the legendary alchemical properties necessary to turn the dreaded Erl-King into... Sprite. Not, like, a faerie type of sprite, like the popular lemon-lime soda. I swear to god that's all I'm getting from this, and it's bizarre. No idea which mysterious elements are going Sprite on me, but I definitely get zero rain-soaked earth, zero blackened steel. On me this is a weird artificial-smelling lemon-lime soda, with some fizzy aldehydes definitely present. The scent is quite similar to The Erl-King's Pale Daughter (although that one seems slightly more wearable on me), so if that one worked for you, I think the musk is the same and this one likely will too. I appreciate the thematic consistency of the Erl-King's Pale Daughter inheriting her father's spectral musk, I just wish my skin didn't do... whatever the hell it's doing to it!
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Finally got around to trying this, thank you reviewers! This is lovely, and I haven't got much new to add. Heady/rich/full-bodied but somehow still rather polite jasmine cooled by an evening breeze carrying a gentle waft of citrus. How does she do it? It's magical.
- 5 replies
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- Activism
- Lord of the Winds! I Feel Thee Nigh
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(and 2 more)
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Another of Beth's magical bread perfumes, hooray! This one baked on the same tray as my venerable favorites, Lavender Rosemary Baguette and Lavender Avocado Toast, and shares the same warm yeasty crumb and hints of buttered crust. However, something about the lavender and rosemary combination grew a little too piney and floral in a way that sadly overtook the warm nuttiness on my skin. I'll stick with my bottles from the previous years, but I still recommend you try this one.
- 2 replies
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- 2025
- November 2025
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- Last week
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Oh dang this is good! Like above, sniffing, all chocolate, wine and amaretto!! This stays strong on as well and I get all these awesome notes. This does smell like a rich dessert. I might have to get a BU bottle of this. This is a must for gourmand/foodie/dessert lovers. Amazing! ❤️ 🍷🍫
- 4 replies
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- 2025
- Rarities and B-Sides
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GG: Very soft and clean, without being a drier sheet. The lavender comes through as a solid base. I can't really pick out the other notes on top of it. The whole scent fades even more shortly after applying, though I think I can pick out a hint of moss at that point. DT: Also very soft and clean, like an air freshener. It's definitely a different (sweeter) lavender and the vanilla is very fresh as a nice compliment. Again, I can't pick out the other notes, though there is something more to it than lavender and vanilla. This is lighter and brighter than GG, with a stronger throw. As the often-token goth kid, I was looking forward to trying these two perfumes just for that nod (though I would argue Eeyore is just depressed and not goth). However, I was not expecting this to smell so freshly laundered, like my blacks are now a faded gray and very very clean.
- 9 replies
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- 2025
- November 2025
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(and 4 more)
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GG: Very soft and clean, without being a drier sheet. The lavender comes through as a solid base. I can't really pick out the other notes on top of it. The whole scent fades even more shortly after applying, though I think I can pick out a hint of moss at that point. DT: Also very soft and clean, like an air freshener. It's definitely a different (sweeter) lavender and the vanilla is very fresh as a nice compliment. Again, I can't pick out the other notes, though there is something more to it than lavender and vanilla. This is lighter and brighter than GG, with a stronger throw. As the often-token goth kid, I was looking forward to trying these two perfumes just for that nod (though I would argue Eeyore is just depressed and not goth). However, I was not expecting this to smell so freshly laundered, like my blacks are now a faded gray and very very clean.
- 16 replies
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- November 2025
- Yule 2025
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(and 3 more)
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Oaty, roasted, and toasted. As it dries the milk note comes out strong, which bothers me on some level. And a touch of vanilla. It's a very comfort-warm / foodie / breakfast kind of scent. As it wears, I get more cotton, with a subtle sweetness from the vanilla. It does somehow fit the image of a stuffed bear sitting by a sunny window while breakfast is served. Though I can't say it's something I would want to smell like, I know some BPALers enjoy scents like this a lot.
- 10 replies
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- 2025
- The Hundred-Acre Wood
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(and 3 more)
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