Happicuppa

This is amazing. The nutmeg/hay combo really elevates the vanilla and makes this unique but comforting. Warm and cozy and not-too-foodie...I love it. Will be keeping this one. 

Oh hey, Stekk marshmallow! Tempered by an AL-similar vanilla, this isn't too punch-you-in-the-face foodie, but it's definitely tilted that way. The hint of resin keeps it grounded for me, and dare I say I like it better than Stekk since the vanilla isn't foodie and the resin gives it depth - it's missing that buttery/cream note of Stekk and yay for that. 

 

If you like vanilla and marshmallows, get this one for sure. Will be curious to see how this ages. 

This comes out of the bottle swinging, but tames down very fast. Swings with patch, but it calms down quickly. I think the skin musk makes it go from loud to skin-hugging. The amber isn't powdery on me at all, it just adds a gentle resiny note to me. As for the vanilla, I am not finding it in anything but a sweetness that rounds this out. But I'm okay with that! 

 

It is golden and skin musky and warm and I like it a lot. Will age it and see how it goes!

This is soft, gentle, and almost tween-like. Love the sandalwood, but the vanilla is threatening to go plasticky candle vanilla on me. It hasn't done it yet, but I'm afraid it'll go that way and has that little whiff of it. I'm not sure it's a deal breaker yet. It's definitely low throw and skin-hugging. If you're looking for that, I think you'll love it. I'm going to let mine age. 

If you love a Dorian variant, put this bottle in your cart. Buy it. 

What a beautiful combo. It's definitely not The Serpentine, but it's a slightly more mature sibling (and maybe slightly more masculine with the oakmoss/bergamot moment). I love this Lilith lavender, and the bergamot and tea giving a citrusy salute makes think of Paper Phoenix briefly before it moves onto the bourbon vanilla note (and I'm a fool for the lab's bourbon vanilla in the right combo). This is one of those right combos. It ends up nice and neutral on me at dry-down with the Dorian, Lavender, and Bourbon Vanilla present, tempered by the bergamot/oakmoss.

 

My biggest gripe is that this lacks staying power. It didn't become sharper for me, it just went MIA. I'm a dabber though, so I may just need to slather a bit more? 

I really enjoyed this scent, it may be backup-worthy. 
 

Wet:  This is like...sexy grandma. Higher pitched, powdery amber patchouli. 

Dry: This is just sexy, now. Meow indeed. 

 

A very nice dusky patchouli scent which maybe comes off a little high pitched wet, but calms the f down in record time. I absolutely love it dried down, and it's going to be a go-to 'feelin' myself' scent to be sure. 

 

Loved it. 

Unfortunately, this is my least favorite bottle of the 5 I purchased blind. I thought the sugar aspect might save me, but the cream still goes 'fake-plasticky- candle' on my skin and it's a damn shame. I thought the sandalwood might save me too, but alas, it never shows up. This is likely my skin's fault, as cream scents and I don't often get along, but I was so hopeful with the sandalwood and vanilla husk in there! 

Alas. To the sell/swap pile it goes. 

This scent was a lovely, fresh floral that steers clear of indolic territory (at least on me). There is a nice depth here, probably the red benzoin and the chypre doing their jobs, and a subtle vanilla sweetness. It's a floral that doesn't go too floral on me. No soapiness, no poopy-jasmine note, no high-pitched 'white' scent that spells a headache for me. A little spicy from the carnation, a little sweet (but not foodie) from the vanilla. It is a perfect floral for when not wanting to go into full blown 'white floral' territory. I'd call this more...pink? Softer, more refined, and smoothed down nicely by the touch-of-resinous benzoin and vanilla. I love it. 

This evokes an image of a high-end spa/hotel and I ain't even mad. I don't usually love roses, but this blend was too good to pass and I absolutely love it. When I want to smell fancy, but maybe not overly femme, I may grab for this one. 

It definitely gets better with time on skin, but I actually liked it from wet to drydown. The roses fade as it goes, which is fine for an anti-rose person. 

Really like it! 

I was really hopeful here, but I went full on dryer cloth for a few hours. It did mellow out to a lovely woody, fruity floral BUT it gave me that high-pitched headache first so unfortunately it's going to the swaps BUT it's for a worthy cause so I am 100% happy to have purchased it either way. 

 

Medium throw, pretty decent staying power. It's 4 hours post-application and I'm digging it now but I can't do that headache zone phase again! 

This goes a bit masculine on me and I don't get much lavender, but that being said I really like it. Sweet patch reminds me a little of Badgers but the amber seems to ground it with zero powdery notes that I sometimes get from amber. Wish there was a lil more lavender in the front but overall, I think this one is a keeper. Warm and cozy, yet bold. Pretty strong throw, it's mellowed out considerably after 4 hours. I think it's a keeper. 

I love this. It's pretty, it's well balanced, and it's beautiful on. I was terrified we were going dryer sheet for a hot second, but it mellowed out fast and was a lovely bright floral vanilla with a spice of carnation and the mellow vanilla. 

Definitely a keeper! 

Unfortunately for me this went extremely buttery on me with hardly any trace of lavender. It was really foody, but not like the marshmallow I was hoping for...if I had gotten some tea maybe it would've balanced it more but my chemistry wasn't agreeing. It was pretty strong throw. 

 

Several hours later (like 4) it smells really good and the throw mellowed and I'm getting a soft marshmallow lavender with a butter undertone, but I don't wanna wait 4 hrs to love it! 

To the swap pile! 

I had some high hopes for this one, some of my favorite scents have some of the same notes (Sachs, Drag is For Everyone)

 

In the bottle: Neutral, is it you? Neutral + something femme in the bottle.

 

Wet: Sandalwood, vanilla, and skin musk and dare I say, it gets plasticky for a second on me?! Panic!

 

Dry: This has lost the plastic pretty fast, whew! I'm really getting Neutral + Some Buddies and that's not a bad thing. Clean, sheer, and feminine. I can see being about to wear this to more scent-subdued locations or just day-to-day for that clean, fresh feeling.

 

Glad to support the cause!

 

Rating: 7.5/10

In the bottle: Not much of anything? I'm getting some skin scent and something a little sharp.

 

Wet: ooh, this reminds me of something...Pedio? Zorya P? It's much less in-your-face though.

 

Drydown: This is clean, soft, and feminine but my skin just EATS it. Still, I really like it. It's a little sister to the scents I mentioned before and is more subdued. I do like it. We'll see how much I wear it because I'm not a slatherer and I'm going to have to with this one.

 

Rating: The scent is divine so 8/10.

In the bottle: SWEET. Hello honey. Just a little green around the edges.

Wet: Still honey, but some spice is already peeking out.

Drydown: honey and cardamom with a floral carnation edge but it's mostly honey. I don't even get creamy honey with the honey milk, just real, raw honey. It's pretty f'kin good but I'm not sure I'm going to wear it enough to justify my blind bottle.

 

 

Overall: So much sweeter than I expected, was hoping the spice would pipe up but it seems that honey is queen today.

Rating: 6/10

Oh I have a winner. A true winner. My #1 BPAL is The Girl, and this....this is The Girl's older sister who still has that air of mystery, a soft vanillic floral, and something seductive (I think the description said voluptuous?) and mature. Ava is so beautiful. She definitely has the same 'floriental' vibe but Ava's got more vanilla behind it and it just feels sexier than TG on me.

 

After wearing this for hours, they both smell very similar on my skin and I'll have to test them against one another tonight. It's just that wrist-huffing mystery note that made me fall in love with The Girl in the first place but updated and fresh with some delicious vanilla.

 

Ironically many of the notes listed in Ava are not always great on me. I am #blessed that this one worked. So. Good.

 

I bought two bottles blind and I'm a slow-use BPALer but I'm going to need one more at least. I can see wearing this every damn day of my life. <3 <3 <3

 

It smells so good in the bottle...! Except...in the tub it's the little Christmas-tree shaped air freshener with a touch of soft sugary marshmallow. I don't like pine scents so it's a no for me.

Oh dear, I'm first!

Well, this one I'm nervous about because it was a whim of a blind bottle. I'm gonna admit now I usually don't seek out vetiver, and I often outright avoid it. It can be a scent-hog and often drowns out the rest. But here I go!

Fresh-from-the-mail testing:

In the bottle: I am pleasantly surprised. This smells like an expensive, sophisticated unisex perfume/cologne to me in the bottle. I think the vetiver gives it a little push towards cologne but I also get a small sniff of the red currant too.

 

Wet: I'm getting a cacophony of scent! I can't tell what I'm smelling but so far, so good...! My husband has tried to help me but is shaking his head no. He said it he smells powder, I think that's the amber.

Dry down: I'm still having a hard time sniffing the individual notes. I can't really suss anything out other than I think the most dominant scent is myrrh and amber. I am getting the powdery scent too now and something a little creamy which is either the rice milk or amber cream. However, when I huff this for science ...I'm starting to get a little headachey... I can't find the red currants and I got it for that + rice milk. Honestly, there must only be a trickle of vetiver, because i can't find it's earthy astringent self anywhere on my skin.

3.1 RE-TEST:

 

Okay, what a difference a few days make. The headache-inducing high-pitched note is calm, and it's a creamy, red-fruited myrrh scent on me...and now I love it. I need to stop testing fresh!

Fresh from the mail, a few hours rested:

 

In the bottle: Huh. Creamy and vanillic with a tiny punch of non-aggressive floral.

 

Wet: I think this buttery scent is the orris butter + vanilla...little bergamot coming out to play. I'm getting a...medicinal scent? But it's not bad! It's just...strange.

 

Dry down: powdery but not baby powder - I think this is the amber and not the orris. Still some creamy vanilla hanging out on the edges, but there is a really strange medicinal quality to this one on me...and then there are sniffs that are just f'kn amazing. I'm so confused! I would second that this is totally more of a spring/summer scent. It's floral, but not FLORAL.

I'm still thrown off by the medicinal plastic bandage whiff I get, I'm going to chalk it up to fresh-from-the-mail-ness.. I really want to like this and at other times, the whiffs I'm getting are amazing.

 

Verdict: I'll give this baby some time to settle in, but iffy on whether I need it in my life.

Fresh from the mail, rested a few hours:

 

Bottle: it's hard to smell in the bottle, but I'm getting white tea.

 

Skin wet: white tea and vanilla orchid, the sandalwood is keeping this from going in-yo-face floral on me. Sweetness...is that you, honeycomb?

Dry: Ooh...I like you. If I put my nose right on the skin, I get the sharp floral of the vanilla orchid but the throw on this is reasonably low and at a distance I'm getting a really mellow, sophisticated scent. It goes a little sharp though when I get in close. I like mild tea scents, and this white tea is delicate and not too strong.

Verdict: Winner, winner chicken dinner, but no backups needed.

I really want to love this, but I'm getting a weird leather smell which seems to be the oudh and musk duking it out. There was a brief moment before drydown where I got a lovely amber lavender with some oudh, but I am getting sueded lavender now and it's really strong and I do. not. like. I put a small dab on my arm and I can still smell it through two layers of clothes. So sad!

With BPAL, I only apply enough that I can smell me and anyone else has to zoom in to get a whiff (and no one does because hello that's creepy to do to a co-worker.) I'm a dabber not a slatherer, so I never have real issues. Some bpal does give me a headache/sneezies so I keep it away from my face by only applying on wrists and inner elbow if I'm wearing long sleeves (I don't put much on if I'm wearing short sleeves. )

 

As someone who hates smelling other people's intensely over-applied alcohol based perfumes (think a skunk-trail in their wake when they leave a room) I find BPAL is about 90% less offensive than anything alcohol based.

 

Full disclosure, I used to get allergy shots and I'd wear my bpal into the waiting room which is a 'scent free' zone (coming from work usually, where I do wear BPAL daily.) I never set anyone off, no one ever mentioned my perfume or any issues, and even the nurses administering shots never mentioned being able to smell my perfume and they were right by my arms (and I'd heard them comment to people that their hairspray was too strong, etc.) If you dab and avoid the big ballsy scents (I don't tend to like incense/leather/tobacco/smoke much) I don't see you having any issues at work.

In Bottle: Lavender!

 

Wet: a little soapy, but still Lavender!

 

Dry: Wow this got sophisticated quick. This is a super clean scent but it is NOT at all soapy or powdery...pretty amazing in it's own right. I'm getting an ozonic metal + amber and lavender. It's pretty dang nice.

In Bottle: I'm getting that 'plastic-in-a-good-way' smell that I get from Pediophobia!

Wet: I'm getting more of a Pediophobia vibe, but way more floral. Again, not a bad thing.

Dry: Not much vanilla, but a really nice floral musk that does not go powdery at all. It's got a sharpness to it that I really like. I feel like a sexy headmistress. It's like a...powerful but older vibe. It's neither close to Zorya P or Pediophobia on me when dry...but it's definitely in the same family.

 

Verdict: I'm glad I bought a bottle. May not go through it fast, but for now it's in the keep pile.