All Activity
This stream auto-updates
- Past hour
-
DdlM 2004 was my signature scent, I loved it so much. It was complex, more incense than floral, and definitely gave chocolate on me. the 2023 is so different. It smells like a single note floral, in the bottle, on me, and in a diffuser.
- Yesterday
-
The Dregs of a Bottle of Vanilla Extract (Discovered in the Mud)
wilhelmscream replied to doomsday_disco's topic in The Edward Gorey House
In the bottle, it's almost like rubbing alcohol that fell into a mud puddle. Very strong. Truly smells like ethanol! On the skin, it immediately unfolds into this GORGEOUS sweet, sticky, boozy vanilla mud. There is a sort of mentholated chill to it -- maybe anise? This is one of my favorite scents that BPAL has made. A simple, really dirty vanilla. I feel like it really captures the essence of Edward Gorey's art and sense of humor -- the sweetness of the vanilla and the dirty darkness of the mud. -
In the bottle, I smell a pine-y, mossy myrrh. Oh this is spooky! Not overly pine-y, but definitely like you are completely lost in the woods at night and your candle just blew out and you're shakin' in your ballet slippers. On the skin, the fabric note and the lily combine well with the moss. The myrrh and candle smoke give it a bit of a dark, resinous, crumbly, powdery smell. Very shadowy and beautiful.
-
"Are you sure they're real lemons?" In the bottle, it smells like lemonade... though I'm absolutely smelling the almond too, which is throwing me off, so it's like... uhh, what's in this lemonade? On the skin... really strange. Very stringent and lemon-y. But there is a dry saltiness to it. As it dries and the almond and cinnabar begin to balance all of this out, it smells less strange and more interesting. It smells like a lemon drop. Or the memory of a lemon drop. Tangy, sweet, sort of dusty.
-
Strangled on Midsummer’s Eve
wilhelmscream replied to doomsday_disco's topic in The Edward Gorey House
In the bottle, I smell bitter tea, something metallic, and a damp sigh of wisteria. On the skin, it's very wisteria-heavy, and that wisteria feels heavy. It has a very murky, purple-grey watercolor kind of feel to it. The wisteria is way more prominent than the tea. Faded notes of violet and rose float around the periphery, with just a whisper of woodsmoke lingering beneath everything. Soft and wistfully sad. -
In the bottle, I smell skin musk and bourbon. It's clean and boozy. But on the skin, it all melts into this rich, buttery, creamy pool of goodness. Almost kind of butterscotch-y? Musky, boozy sugar cookies? It's deceptively simple. Completely gorgeous and intoxicating and cannot get enough of! A decent throw, but definitely meant to wear close to the skin. Would layer nicely with other fragrances.
-
October surprised me. I don’t get anything cold or cologney, just a classic DL (perhaps a little sharper than average) over sap and light spices. The sap is doing that resin buttery thing and is slightly sweet. I suspect that there’s styrax at work here, but it’s also more complex than just styrax. This is one of those scents that you apply and then forget about and then an hour or two later are struck by its beauty! By then spices start to sizzle at the edges of the scent and it is just an atmospheric, autumnal delight. There is a definite family resemblance with Samhain, but October is leaner, lighter (in both hue and weight). It feels perfect for those sere autumn days splashed with slanting light. In my collection, I already have last year’s Dead Leaves, Black Tea, and Bergamot, and October 32. I don’t think I would reach for this over those, but if you have tried October 32 and didn’t vibe with the clean sweater accord there or found the amber too cloying, October is your girl.
-
In the container, smells very similar to the perfume oil version I have (2024). On though, it's quite camphorous, and the other elements take a back seat. It is pretty strong on initial application, but unlike the other lotion I've tried, Together We Shall Rejoice, there was no trace of the scent in the morning (I apply after showering and before going to bed). The texture is maybe a bit thicker than a HoG body butter, though I find BPAL's more easily spreadable. I'm glad the decant I got was in a jar because that's just my preferred format generally, but I think it might be a bit thick for a squeeze bottle. I'll have to wear some more to see if it stands up to winter dryness.
-
Love being brutally called out by the British Library
eldritchhobbit posted a blog entry in Eldritchhobbit's Blog
fandomsandfeminism: tikkunolamorgtfo: endearingsalt: conan-doyles-carnations: Love being brutally called out by the British Library Oh my gosh I went here a few days ago do you guys want to see the whole sign I’m covered with “Librarians from Everywhere” but as a former museums professional “Tourists who think we’re the British Museum” really speaks to me on a personal level. I’m “all ten people who think they’ve got the most niche interest in the whole building” View the full post. -
I love witch flash ! It sits in that frizzly place where incense and spices come together, with a little extra earthiness and tattoo ink to make things a little edgier. The tattoo ink feels a little bit sharper than the ink note I’m used to, but it’s definitely related. Otherwise I get sandalwood, patchouli, and a little frankincense that gives it that spicy “sparkle” overlap with the warm spices that are also here. There’s other stuff going on too, and it definitely has some mystery notes in common with GC Baba Yaga. That scent is one I keep an imp of around because it fascinates me but ultimately feels unwearable for me. THIS on the other hand feels just beautiful despite some elements (almost industrial ink, bitter spices, gnarly patchouli) that threaten to go harsh. And it makes me feel more like myself. The definite winner out of my weenie decants.
-
i definitely get the vanilla plaster feeling at first, along with orris...kind of dusty-powdery, almost like flour. several seconds later i get a tiny hint of the leather and fur...and something smells almost mildly spicy too. overall it's a dry orris-plaster. it's really interesting and i appreciate it for that, but i would probably wear it rarely...even though i like it. also i am trying in cold fall weather...i think this might work better in warmer early spring weather. perhaps i'll retry it then,.
-
It's one of those red white and blue bomb pop things you get from the ice cream truck. 🍧 That is exactly what this smells like. This was a generous freebie 5ml from GoldenRubee. I like to smell things like this before looking at the reviews, and I'm so glad I did - because I think it's something totally different to me and... honestly, I think it's probably what the lab was going for as a concept.
-
On the container, the blossom/floral element is the strongest, but it is recognizably apple blossom. On application, it's a lovely dewy, crisp apple scent. It goes on fairly strong, but stays close to the skin once it's sunk in. At that point, it smells more similar to how it did in the container. The scent has serious staying power, I can still smell it although it's 23 hours after applying. It has faded quite a bit, but I'm surprised. The texture is maybe a bit thicker than a HoG body butter. I'm glad the decant I got was in a jar because that's just my preferred format generally, but I think it might be a bit thick for a squeeze bottle. I'll have to wear some more to see if it stands up to winter dryness.
-
Initial impression: lime-flavored Lifesavers candy mingled with a bit of Jolly Ranchers and mints. Very sugary and strong. Wet on skin: I get the apple more clearly. I think it's the green aspect I was reading as lime. The candy aspect has calmed down. Four hours later: still going strong, now with a slightly tannic edge, but still bright and tart.
-
Starts with graveyard dirt, surrounded by that cool glow from Dorian and warmed by Snake Oil’s spices. Their shared vanilla then comes to the fore. I love the combination of cool vanilla and spiced soil ! As it progresses there is a gradual darkening and warming of the vanilla note, while the clean fougere aspects of Dorian come out to play. I always think there is a clean aspect to graveyard dirt’s moss, and this just amps that part of the scent up. But there is still an undercurrent of ever warmer vanilla and spices. Eventually the warming element here becomes legible as musks and patchouli and for a moment I love it. The patchouli in particular is deep dark and sultry, but somehow retains a lot of what I like about lighter versions of this note that I’ve encountered in other SO variants. I notice the ambient musks start to turn a little weird and then—horror of horrors—something in Hiss and Hearse turns sour. I’m talking vinegar level, almost ammonia sour. NOOOOOOO!! As an enjoyer of Dorian and Graveyard Dirt this was checking a lot of boxes for me before things went south. I am gonna hold onto this decant and hope things improve !
- Last week
-
In Canada we used to have these chocolate bars (not really bars but they were sold in the chocolate bar section) called Cherry Blossoms that consist of a syrupy cherry encased in milk chocolate with coconut and peanut. Sadly they were discontinued this year, but Choco-Bordello is the upgraded perfume version of a gourmand dessert based on them.. Amaretto gives me syrupy cherry vibes. Sweet (but not too sweet), boozy, delicious, edible, and tempting.
-
oh WOW! This is good. Obviously, you've got this macadamia as the headliner and she's incredible. The sweet beeswax, the old paper and leather, the teakwood, the hearth smoke... all provide such a beautifully dark, dense and cozy atmosphere. So smooth and rich.
-
My friend Sarah had several Halloween parties throughout middle school and high school and her mom would always make this punch that was like 7-Up and rainbow sherbet, and this really reminds me of that! Very fizzy, tart citrus out of the bottle/when first applied, but then it quickly disappears. Then the focus shifts to the strawberry and plum. The plum! The plum makes everything richer and a bit darker. But then... the citrus-y fizz comes back into the picture a bit more. Fizzy, fruity. Kind like... Sweet Tarts? Or this aforementioned Halloween punch my friend Sarah's mom made? It's kind of all blending back together again. Honestly, it's kind of like being at a Halloween party. You mingle with the different notes and then settle into a corner with a good conversation and see the party as a whole. It really, really reminds me of that punch. Ahh memories!
-
Dead Leaves, Salt and Sea Home & Linen Spray
wilhelmscream replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Atmosphere
I think that first review says it all! Definitely getting "sleepy, spooky small coastal town in Autumn" vibes from this. It smells like a cold, grey day at the beach. Fresh and sort of cologne-y, but with a quiet, spooky edge. -
After many years of struggling to get the most out of our website, we've decided to commit to a major refurbishing, hopefully as soon as January. We're looking forward to all kinds of increased functionality, streamlining things for the customer as well as on our end. However, we've been advised that a lot of customer and back-end information will not survive this transfer. Your order history on the old site, for example, will no longer be accessible on the new platform. Your reviews *on the BPAL website itself* will no longer be accessible (the BPAL.org forum is its own domain, and will not be affected by the migration). If you wish to save any of this information, please do so by the end of the calendar year. Past that point, as we proceed with the site overhaul, we can no longer guarantee the preservation of that data. If we can think of anything else to add to this list, we'll definitely let you know. That brings me to the sad subject of wish lists: we'd recently asked folks to please back up their wish lists, as some critical function had been lost and we were going to try to repair it. As it turns out, we were not able to fix the wish list system, and that info is now unrecoverable. We're terribly sorry if you did not hear about this in time to save everything. This situation is one of the many ongoing problems that has inspired us to make the leap and join the 21st century (in this one small way, at least). We'll be sharing more news about this renovation as we have it! And I'll try to circulate this info as widely as possible so fewer folks are caught unawares. You're welcome to reach out with questions if you have them, although I don't have much additional info at this time. Please just know that as an online retailer, we're very enthusiastic about the fresh possibilities likely to come from having a navigable retail website. Just imagine!
-
Powdery violets and incense, with just enough spice and sweetness to keep things warm and cozy. Love this!
-
Happy holidays are on the horizon, and per our custom, we're hoping to encourage folks to support smaller businesses during the great consumeriffic shopathon dance-battle this holiday weekend. So, into every order over $24 (before shipping) placed on Friday November 28th through Monday, December 1st, we will lovingly enclose a free stash of the following 1/32 oz. pie-themed perfume oils: ✤ MATCHA LATTE CREAM PIE We're that relative who tries to make everyone try a green pie! This one dances lightly on the palate. ✤ LONDON FOG CREAM PIE A velvety, sophisticated concoction for the ages! ✤ STRAWBERRY LEMONADE PIE A burst of summer sun to treasure during the icy months ahead. ✤ BOMBASTIC SUBTROPICAL TURQUOISE CREAM PIE Disclaimer: this perfume oil is not blue, it is not combustible, and it is not caffeinated. As I've mentioned in past years, we GREATLY appreciate your help in spreading the word about what we do, – whether it's this Free Gift promo, or our brand new Yule collection, or just BPAL in general. This time of year it's awfully hard to break through the static, even to folks who are already following us. By sharing our posts, writing reviews, or otherwise recommending our work to others, you help expand our reach exponentially. Believe me, it makes a big difference. May all of your bajas be absolutely blasted in the festive weeks to come!
-
My half-hour talk “Star Wars and Resistance” is now on YouTube as part of the SPACE Showcase. My talk kicks in around 11 minutes into the Showcase. This talk is a “sneak peek” into my new three-part online module for SPACE (Signum Portals for Adult Continuing Education) for Signum University in Spring 2026. The Signum University Webathon 2025!: SPACE Showcase And here are the details of my Spring Star Wars modules. Rebellions Are Built On Hope: A Star Wars Series Over nearly half a century of storytelling, Star Wars has challenged audiences to find their own agency and power in the face of injustice and tyranny. The Star Wars works Andor (2022, 2025), Rogue One (2016), and A New Hope (1977) fit together to provide a story of resistance, resilience, and rebellion built on a deep engagement with history, philosophy, and political thought. Join Dr. Amy H. Sturgis as we consider how Star Wars wrestles with big ideas, invites conversation and action, and inspires hope in unprecedented times. This SPACE series consists of three hybrid modules: Module 1 (Feb. 2026) covers the series Andor, Season 1 (more info here); Module 2 (March 2026) covers the series Andor, Season 2 (more info here); and Module 3 (April 2026) covers the films Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (more info here). View the full post.
-
Wow, a very cozy and warm scent. That macadamia is front and center enveloped in a subtle dry smokiness that keeps it interesting. I’m not really getting the leather that others seem to, but I may just not be as familiar with it. After about a half hour on the skin is when that delectable beeswax starts to be the main player. It’s a good thing I don’t mind looking nuts (ha ha) constantly sniffing my wrist. If you like nutty gourmands that have just a touch of sweetness, then this may be a new favorite.
-
Wet: bright, bright fizzy blood orange. The fizz reads soapy on me, like I stepped into a bubble bath full of orange peels. Dry: the blood orange had evaporated and that’s when that yummy plum note took over. This one didn't last very long on me, but it was so lovely while it was there.
