All Activity
This stream auto-updates
- Past hour
-
When David Bowie and Bing Crosby sang The Little Drummer Boy in The Year of Our Lord 1977 AD, it brought together two classic voices in a brief, but glorious, intersection. So, you can imagine that when I saw two beloved BPAL classics combining forces in a single scent for a limited time only, a mental parallel was drawn. I had to know, would it be just as magical? Opening the bottle, the photorealistic Rose Red rose we all love is there, strong, vibrant. The green stems are there, too, but there is something a bit...off. I kept sniffing, and those frost bright petals and winter air smell a little rancid. I closed the cap, put the bottle down for a few hours, then picked it up and brought it into another room with less "smell pollution". No difference. Gah! I eyed the label suspiciously, looking for a hint of what may have gone wrong. Of course, there was no visual clue. I drank some water, took a deep breath, and put it on skin. Today was not our day for redemption. That same decay I smelled in the bottle came along for the ride, and despite rose riding hard in the front of the pack, there was a fetidity that was too legit to quit. As the rose faded and the Snow White elements took over it got a bit better, but it never smelled GOOD. I scrubbed it off after two hours with no regrets. All things being subjective, this pairing was confusingly disappointing to me. I love the individual scents deeply as solo artists, but neither my nose nor my skin could reconcile them as a duet.
- Today
-
This is such a lovely, golden scent--I put it on and it felt like springtime! Super photorealistic clover honey, and definitely CLOVER honey, not orange blossom. I'm a little amazed at the specificity. I'm not sure how to articulate the difference between clover and orange blossom honey if you haven't tasted both, except that clover feels a little darker, more ambery and more nuanced. "Darker" might not quite be the right word here, because I wouldn't describe If Bears Were Bees as "dark" AT ALL. It is so deeply golden and very, very bright. I swear there's something lemony and marmalade-like that's also quite prominent in this, a jammy sort of lemon-rind. I can't remember the last time I smelled mead, quite frankly, so I suppose that could be the mead for all I know. The last BPAL mead note I've tried was quite fruity, so maybe it is that! I'm definitely not getting anything fizzy though. Not getting anything smoky, exactly, but there's this almost caramelized, burnt-sugar edge to the honey as well, so I'm wondering if that's what the woodsmoke is doing with the honey on my skin. Hard to describe what the pollen is doing--it's absolutely adding a soft lightness (not powdery at all though), and a very very faint flowery touch. The total effect is really just lovely! I just got in from digging out my car from the most snow my area has seen in 10+ years, and it feels wonderful to feel like I'm basking in my own personal little bubble of golden springtime everywhere I go as I'm cozying back up inside. There are SO many BPAL bottles I've been meaning to buy, so I'm not sure if I can quite justify buying a bottle of this one as well, but I am wishing I had a bit more than a half-decant! I suppose I'll see how I feel about this come spring, if I decide I really must have more. (I know reviews are not strictly the place for this, but if you're looking to destash a half-bottle or partial of If Bears Were Bees, do please feel free to DM!) Haven't tried it yet, but am very curious to layer this one with Lines Written by a Bear of Very Little Brain. Will report back here if I do!
-
This one needed at least a month to calm down, straight from the mail it was quite sharp and biting. But now when it's rested it's much softer and lovely. Yup, there's clove but it's not dominating at all on me. Pomegranate is very evident now but it really needed that rest. I get a lot of dragons blood (I always get when there's some), clove, musk and patchouli and the pomegranate is giving juiciness and sweetness to the whole. This is dark, resin-y pom scent with some spice. This is going to age beautifully.
-
I have been going through my collection of frimps and I have found what I suspect is the 2018 version. I was looking for something else to test and on a whim grabbed this in my handful. I suspect I might have hid this one from myself, lavender is one of my very favorite notes, and as this has been a very limited drop, I bet I was trying to avoid heartbreak. And heartbreak it is! This is soft and gentle and layered. Close to the nose I get a subtle sweetness, but the sage and lavender fall in subtlety sweetened clouds around me. Warm and cozy. Absolutely the vibe I have been needing recently.
-
Unequivocally my favorite scent from The Prophet series so far. BPAL's hay notes are like catnip to my nose-brain; as soon as I opened the bottle and took my first deep inhale, I knew we had a winner. A touch of frankincense and a dab of cedar are there too, but this is all sweet hay (sweeter than, but similar to, the hay absolute in Judgmental Longhorn) in the initial whiff. Once on skin, the amber arrives, along with a background track of light beeswax such as you would find as remnants in a candle stick, as opposed to an actively melting, pooling liquid. The hearthsmoke is restrained, giving a slightly dry tone, and the frankincense is simply beautiful. Low projection, but 7 full hours of detectable wear. A work safe, blind buy safe, gorgeous skin scent type fragrance that could easily become a daily wear for me if I didn't have a bit of a testing backlog to get through first. I loved every minute I had it on and will be recommending this to everyone!
-
Melted Jolly Rancher in the wet open on skin, sticky and saccharine. The currant is just tart enough to not make the sweetness completely overwhelming as it dries down. It's over an hour before the patchouli becomes detectable, helping to ground and balance the scent as a whole. As the fruity intensity abates, there is a really nice jammy quality that starts to emerge. The patchouli is mostly what remains at 3 hours in. Moderate sillage and around 6 hours of wear all in. Fans of the BPAL pomegranate note will probably really enjoy this one, as it feels like the fruits here are all cousins. Something about it reads more fall to me, but really it's appropriate in any cooler weather day; summer heat and humidity would likely amp it into overdrive. This is another one of several Yule 2025 scents that I expect will age like fine wine.
-
In the bottle, an astringent tea, a murky lavender, and a bit of that watery rain note stand out. On skin, the top notes burn off in about 10 minutes, leaving the iris and lilac standing there awkwardly looking at each other. Like Donkey's Tail, the musk moves in quickly, sitting here next to the muted, aquatic rainy moss. Very soft sillage, and only about 4-5 hours of noticeable wear. I'm usually pretty well aligned with the BPAL Hive Mind on popular scents, but like Donkey's Tail this doesn't do it for me at all. I very much get sad, musty old lady vibes here, despite generally liking iris, lilac and lavender as notes in other Lab offerings. My search for an offering in The Hundred-Acre Wood collection that hits continues!
- Yesterday
-
YES. I feel so fortunate that this scent returned for the 2025 Yules collection, because I had never tried it before, and she's an absolute stunner. I have to think anyone who was lucky enough to get this in the initial release carefully guards their precious stash and never lets it go! The sweet, oaty incense in the bottle is intoxicating, and it only gets better on skin. Although I know it's a pseudogourmand, it doesn't give "edible"; instead, I'm in a Portland, ME bar on a cold snowy day, sitting with a gaggle of girlfriends having a catch up over a late brunch next to a fireplace. The one sitting next to me smells like a combo of incense and a bowl of lightly honeyed oatmeal, comforting and a bit seductive at the same time. She's a little older, much better traveled, and has an impeccable sense of chic Euro-bohemian fashion. I secretly wonder if she is the illegitimate offspring of a Roma traveller and a Bavarian duke, because she moves so easily in any company she keeps. On top of being supremely cool, she never gatekeeps the amazing things she has come across in life, and when I mention how nice she smells she reaches into her vintage velvet patchwork satchel and hands me a bottle, telling me to keep it. Every time I open it and put some on I feel like a little bit of the magic she has collected in her adventures briefly casts a spell on me. My only very minor complaint is that this fades faster on me than I would prefer, peaking around 45 minutes in and quickly falling off a sillage cliff from there. By the fourth hour post dry down, it's largely gone. I'm infatuated with this, and need at least 2 more backup bottles (and, pretty please, a lotion, hair gloss, and atmosphere spray as well 🙏🏼🤞🏼💛).
-
Got this as a free decant from a lovely decanter here on the forums and I love it so much. Soft and sparkly patchouli, frosty aldehydes. Not much vanilla for me. Really hope this one gets brought back some day !
-
This is a surprisingly gentle scents in spite of the punchy notes--it's a supple, soft, smooth brown leather with some glowing warmth from the rum and tobacco, and a touch of airy cleanness from the soap and wool. The clean notes do not overtake the scent at all. Neither does the grass, which just provides a nice greenness in the background. I swear that I can smell some fragrant, warm hay in the sun, but maybe it's in my imagination. A beautiful blend!
-
This is a gloomy atmospheric that's also very pretty. The rain and earth are realistic and loamy, gentle and not sharp or too clean. I swear that the white musk is coconut-kissed--it's very pretty. The steel keeps this interesting and unisex. I love scents that paint a scene for me, and this one is evocative, interesting, and highly wearable.
-
That first deep sniff is all brown musk and spice, with a touch of sweet dark molasses lurking below. Applied to skin, cinnamon, clove and a bit of sugar surge to the forefront and dominate for the first 25 minutes, right about when the patchouli starts to make its first appearance. The booze note here is powerful and present, but the brown musk itself stays quiet until around an hour in when the spices start to burn off a bit. I am not getting as much of the molasses note on skin as I did from the bottle, but I expect it will emerge more as it deepens with time in storage. Medium to strong sillage (a bit potent for small workspaces and places), lasting just under 7 hours before fading away. Not blind buy safe if you are sensitive to cinnamon in particular, but otherwise very enjoyable to wear now, and likely to get even better as the spices mellow out with time. Perfect transition scent from pumpkin spices in Fall to gingerbread spices in Winter! I suspect that people who may not be paying close attention will sleep on this vs Gingerbread Snek, but I think it has standalone merit and will end up being a cult favorite.
-
VERY strong butterscotch rum wet in the bottle, cloying and synthetic. Coming in hard behind that is an oily hazelnut with just a touch of astringency from the white oak. First impression is overwhelming, and I am not optimistic. On skin, even with an electron sized dab, the butterscotch rum screams and the hazelnut wails. There is no subtlety here; the scent swells and expands with time, becoming more potent. I got 6 hours of nuclear wear, 2 hours of modest wear, and 4 more hours of faint wear, even though I considered scrubbing it off several times along the way. There is a cream note lurking in here somewhere that I've not really liked in other BPAL scents, and I'm getting hardcore Yankee Candle vibes from the butterscotch rum. Overall impression is that this is too potent and artificial smelling to be enjoyable for me. I will keep it to see if it smooths out as it ages, but can't imagine wearing it again anytime soon.
-
"On Freedom" starts off with a gleaming bright ti leaf and violet swirl. Rather than what I'd picture as violet "ash," it smells like fresh violet and violet leaf to me. The frankincense is the high, almost lemony sort, which keeps it quite clean and pleasant alongside the silvery ambergris musk. It's all very dewy and refreshing, you could wear this anywhere and even on a crowded elevator I don't think anyone would complain. The solemn bitterness of myrrh adds a nice shadow dimension further along in the base, but by the time that myrrh is noteworthy, it's faded to a skin scent despite a generous slather. I really enjoyed wearing this today, but since the lasting power isn't great on my skin, and my brain ends up classifying this as primary a violet scent (I have plenty of BPAL violets!) I won't seek more... at least. not right away. I'd love to have this as a shower gel or shampoo. I think this perfume will really shine when worn on warmer spring/summer days. I agree with monocainsheresy above that this somehow reminds me of some Possets fougeres. It's something about the ambiance, that might come down to the particular combo of elegant yet bright top notes with "perfumey" resins.
-
2025 version. Very sweet sugar and plummy. I like it alot
-
Gang, it's Saturday night and I'm feeling a little loony. So here's your TERRIBLE MOON and friends, your Fire Horse, and a new fundraiser series called At The Root, which we'll be continuing throughout all of 2026: https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/product-tag/january-2026-lunacy/
- Last week
-
Absolutely gorgeous, and my favorite of this year's Yules that I've tried so far. I love me a good carnation note, and this one glimmers at the very top of the bottle when you take that first, long sniff. The peony is a little sweet, the vanilla subdued, the orris restrained. All together, the effect is soft, familiar and familial. On skin, the red musk and leather finally show their faces, but instead of shoving their way to the front they linger mid-stage, present but not overpowering the softness in the lead. Eventually, the red musk moves forward and the other notes move to the back. I agree completely with other reviewers who said that this orris is not at all powdery. Overall, it is a very well balanced scent. This wears closer to the skin on initial application, but really blooms in strength when the red musk takes over post dry down - take care not to over slather and then become a bit overwhelmed when it gains strength as time goes by. I had a full 8 hours of wear and enjoyed them all. Will be buying a back up bottle as I expect this will age like a dream!
-
Wow! Three years aged, this scent has really deepened and evolved into something pretty fantastic. Wet in the imp is a dance between a cocoa-y chocolate, a tanned brown leather, and a hint of a fir needle that has dried out but remains fragrant. On skin, it's mostly chocolate and leather for a good half hour until the amber and vanilla start to emerge. I start to feel a little uneasy at this point, as I'm getting that woodiness that sometimes accompanies some vanilla scents; it lingers for about a half hour before mercifully fading away. The fir needle has also left the building. What remains for the next 3-4 hours is a dark vanilla chocolate. Projection is on the low end of moderate, with a total wear time of about 6 hours.
-
If you want to walk around your usual places but be mentally in a beautiful, powerful old-growth forest then this is for you. This blend brings to mind a movie scene where a knight is walking through giant trees past a circle of large stones covered in moss in unnatural patterns with their sword vibrating their side. At least, it does for me. I know that's not exactly a helpful description, but there you go. This was a huge win for me as I am not at all familiar with any of these notes on their own as I typically do not buy them--that is going to change now for sure! A new favorite.
-
This strongly reminds me of Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris (Lilith meets the Gargoyles of Paris: stone and ancient incense, beeswax and lavender smoke). I believe this hair gloss features the same incense and stone notes, although I'm not really getting any beeswax from the scent in my hair. The hair gloss has great longevity. Most hair glosses disappear not long after I apply it to wet hair, but I was still able to smell this one when I held my hair up to my nose by the end of the day. In dry hair, it was more noticeable and had even better longevity, but this isn't one of those hair glosses that hits you with a cloud of scent when you go to wash your hair, and it's not one that will linger after a wash. I'll definitely be hanging on to my decant of this, but I don't think I'd reach for it enough to warrant a full bottle -- mainly because I don't have a ton of church-y or resinous scents in my collection to pair it with. But if you enjoyed Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris, you should enjoy this, too.
-
I'm so sad, I just got caramelized dark honey. Why??
-
What @LavenderCoffee said! It's really pretty and does that fizzy thing that BPAL is so good at creating
-
If you told me this was a single note frankincense, I'd believe you. It's balsamic, but it the way frankincense can be balsamic. It's a little bit in the direction of anise, in the same way frankincense can go in an anise-y direction. But I'm not trying to disparage the scent here. This is a really nice frankincense, standing perfectly well on its own. Beth never disappoints with incense. Because it's overwhelmingly just frankincense to my nose at all stages, I'd say this is totally unisex. I'll echo the comment that the longevity is unfortunately on the shorter side. It would be great for, say, a ceremony or religious service where you want to send subtle, formal vibes and don't need it to last all day.
-
If you're familiar with the Bath and Body Works Eucalyptus Spearmint stress relief line, I perceive this scent as being very close, including, yes, a bit of soapiness. The frankincense is very subtle and mostly disappears into the clean musk. Linnear, very clean, unisex leaning masculine. I'll be picking up a bottle in my next order, because it genuinely is a great stress relief scent for me and I'm not at all opposed to soap in a scent that's meant to be clean. Some may find it too simple on its own. The RPG scents were, after all, designed to be layered. I unfortunately don't have any others on hand to try it with.
-
ALT From The Oncoming Storm deck. View the full post.
