Reenah

This is a must-have for any foodie. It's definitely nom-able. Upon opening the bottle, I got a heavy, sweet vanilla, like butterscotch and bright fruit. Immediately apparent is the same juicy green apple in Snow, Glass, Apples. That note is amped on the drydown, sticking around for a good, long time while the other fruits pop in and out, leaving various droplets of juice behind. The carnation also makes an appearance, keeping everything from becoming too sickly-sweet by adding a sharp greenery which is simply heaven. It makes me want to frolic somewhere spring-y. The sugar remains close to the skin, while the vanilla cream, tonka, and sweet pea are more apparent in the throw, which is much less fresh-feeling that the nose-to-wrist experience, but no less lovely. Overall, Agape is dreamy. I have a feeling it will become my first two-bottle purchase.

I just have to comment on how lovely this blend is. It was a frimp and I didn't expect it to be this good, but WOW. It reminds me a lot of Gennivre, which I suppose is the tea. It's sweet, with a green freshness from the carnation which becomes less sharp in the drydown, making room for the tea. There's nothing heady about this rose. It's so light that you wouldn't notice it as first, but it adds a beautiful femininity. All the notes have a blended quality so that you can barley distinguish one from the other. It's definitely got a magical feel I feel like if I wore this in a forest, I may very well attract a unicorn. Maiden will merit a big bottle come spring.

Thanks so much everyone! She just had to make a second trip to the PO and they had it there! And she looooves her Lady Una - another one hooked!

So this isn't exactly the right thread, but I'm not sure where to post this. I have a friend who is in LOVE with the book Stardust and so when I told her about BPAL line, she immediately ordered a bottle of Lady Una (you can tell they're BPAL newbies when they only order on bottle at a time). That package got lost in the mail and the Lab generously sent her a second one. THAT package got to her house, but no one was home, and when she went to the PO the next day to retrieve it, they said the mail truck carrying it had broken down, and everything in it had been transferred to a new one, only her package somehow disappeared in that process. She's waited a few days for it to show up, but nothing has. I wouldn't ask this for myself, but I want her to have a good first BPAL experience - is it worth it to contact the lab about this order?

Well, frankincense is certainly the predominant note all the way through. The very same bitterbitterbitter one that's in Penitence. The red sandalwood attempts to smooth is over as best it can, but has very little luck. The sandalwood only encourages it. It's pretty badass, that frankincense. Overall, what I get from this is the leather note I never had. BPAL's leather is total fail on me. Epic fail. BUT. Anne Bonny's notes come together to a dirty, spicy, smoky LEATHER. So piratical. I'm in love. I feel sexy in this stuff.

Straight up Snake Oil + Lucy's Kiss. It's a little less medicinal than SO and more warm, but still quite similar. I can see why most BPALers will LOVE this, but it's not for me. Not enough food.

So can anyone who has tested the Yules tell me if Gelt is anything like B&BW Chocolate Amber?

In the imp, this was kinda bleh, cloying jasmine and a little buttery note. Of course my skin has this ridiculously sappy love affair with honey. The first hour and a half of this is just "I'M REENAH'S SKIN AND I'M IN LOVE WITH HONEEEEEEEY". And I glare at it and say, "Yes, we know, you've made that quite clear from your rather loud romps with Gennivre and Eisheth Zenunim." Eventually, they quiet, and allow a few other notes to worm their way in. The jasmine works VERY well with the honey, and the vanilla is a nice way to temper those two notes, which are usually both feverishly strong on me. Beth's vanilla is so un-foody sometimes, it surprises me, but in a very good way. As for that buttery note I smelt in the bottle, I wish I knew where it comes from, because it comes back a bit after the omgwtfhoney! stage and is a very interesting addition. Sometimes a rich but smooth sandalwood can smell like that, but I don't know what olive blossom smells like, so maybe it's that. The cinnamon is really NOT there for me, at all. Conceptually, this is spot on. It's glow-y (if I had to assign it a color, it would be an extremely light amber) and languid and lazy and very feminine.

I guess this is related to the topic.... My Q is about single notes. I understand putting out single notes of accords, like the musks and such, but if BPAL is 100% EOs, what's the point of a single note for an organic substance that has it's own EO readily available? Wouldn't a lavender or lotus or sandalwood (random notes off the top of my head, I'm not sure those have SNs) single note from BPAL just be lavender, lotus, or sandalwood essential oil? Or did Beth somehow augment those EOs with other EOs so they smell MORE like the actual thing that the EO? Is that even possible? Most EOs smell pretty lifelike to me already. But I've never smelt an SN, so I wouldn't know.

This was a very fortunate frimp from the lab. Every rose I've tried so far from BPAL has turned into a LOUD, pink bubblegum scent, and it's been very frustrating because I really do love the scent of rose. This however has has a bitter, tart edge that sooo unlike the rose in Two, Five, and Seven or Gwenyth. It smells greener and more plant-y, and maaaaybe a little more like generic "perfume" from an earlier era. If you're afraid of a grandma-y rose, then this one is not for you. For me, however, it's perfect. Wait, actually, the rose note in Moscow was bitter like this one, not bubblegum-y. But it made me sneeze and my eyes water. I have a cold right now though, so maybe Lucy's Kiss does that too, but I can't tell the difference. Hmmmm... Conceptually, this doesn't fit at all. This doesn't evoke darling Lucy Westenra for me. She is pure white and blood red, and Lucy's Kiss is pink and gold. *sigh* I wish it did. I freaking love that book. This blend smells classic and elegant and grand, like a Victorian opera. In fact, I'm going to rename it "Gala at the Opera Populaire" and pretend it's from a line based on The Phantom of the Opera. It works so much better that way.

In the bottle this is mostly cool, sweet milk, with pretty, PINK carnation and rose, and a bitter, herbal lavender just barely poking out. I amped the honey (as usual) while it was drying and for a good while after that, so it was pretty much just honey. An hour or two later it was still mostly honey with some milk and comforting herbal notes. On my sister, who is nursing, it's mostly milk with sweet pink florals apparent underneath and a little bit of herbiness. Altogether, hers is a lot more unique-smelling and pretty than mine. Maybe it's a new mother thing. *envy*

Revisited this one and was much happier with the results. What I love about this scent is the bitterness. Bitter cocoa, biting alcohol, bitter blood all running freely. Extremely dark. It really conjures up the image of dark sweaty nights filled the sound of screaming insects and screaming drunken madness as people start to worship some dark version of Dionysius. And yet....I kinda want to wear it ALL the time. I feel very edgy. The cocoa is initially the strongest scent, completely unsweetened, though it dies down quickly, dusting the surface of the rum, which is full, dark gold, and rich, but, all the same, very bitter. The "red" notes, wine and blood, accent everything well, making the overall effect deep and complex. The weird thing about me and red wine notes is that for about five minutes after application they smell kinda salty, like onions or potato chips or even BO! (This was the case with Prospero. I still have nightmares of B.O. and grape candy from Prospero.) Luckily, that went away quickly this time around, leaving just a dark, translucent red wine. The strange thing about this is how similar it is to The Death of Autumn to me. They share no notes, but the people who keep mentioning vetiver might be on to something. It was something in the rum I think, that also makes them similar. Either way, I definitely need a bottle of this.

Oof. This is my first unsniffed order to go wrong. I was so SURE too. The bottle was promising. Heady and fruity. Pineapple was quite evident. Vanilla was sharp like in Love's Philosophy. Coconut made itself known when wet, and the whole thing was shaping up to be that delicious Pina Colada scent that I wanted it to be. Then it all fell flat on the spice. The spice is a little plasticky and dull and everything disappeared but that. *pout*

Oh, so this one was really strange. It starts in the imp with this really well rounded fruit, sharp citrus from the grapefruit and lime is predominant, but the apricot and pomegranate are filling it out and making it sweeter. The ginger permeate the whole blend. As far as booze-y notes go, they aren't apparent, but I guess you could argue for their presence. There's definitely SOMETHING alcoholic, but not on its own. It's kind of like some of the sweet fruits themselves fermented a little, but aren't intentionally being made into alcohol. As Screeching Parrot progresses, the ginger CLEARLY takes over. It becomes an herbal-spicy, kinda earthy because of that, like ginger tea. There's still some fermented sweetness, but it's definitely playing the supporting role. This was so NOT anything I was expecting it to be. Sophisticated, which anything Tiki shouldn't be, and cool, which anything tropical shouldn't be. It's a foody-spicy quite unlike anything I've tried so far from BPAL. I kinda want a bottle!

Cockaigne really doesn't like me. You know how I know? Because it PISSED on me! In the imp it was a BIG, moist apple cake with a tiny bit of cinnamon. On me, the apple became strong. Then it got stronger. Then it murdered the cake and cinnamon. Then it turned into preschool-apple-juice. Then it turned into straight human urine. All in the course of five minutes. I gave Cockaigne away before it decided to murder me in my sleep. Never fall asleep in a room with someone who has made their dislike for you so obvious. Especially when you've shut said enemy away in a crowded drawer.