VioletChaos

The scent was strangely subtle in the bottle. I say "strangely" because, based on the mild scent there, I slathered a bit on application and was greeted with "HEY THERE! I'M GONNA MAKE YOU SMELL LIKE A THING!" as the scent took over my arms and neck I've no remorse, though. What I got immediately was a strong combination of the sugar and the clove. I knew I amped sugar, but perhaps I amp clove as well, because there must've been a solid 20 minutes of nothing but those two notes, no matter how hard I huffed my arm. After that, those BFFs finally started to settle down and THEN the oats started to come around. This is the same oat note from Gunpowder, so if you liked the cuddly warmth of that, then SPM just might be for you. Largely absent on me? The sweet potato! I don't know what's happened to it! I wonder if it's my nose, or perhaps it needs to settle after shipping...but it's nothing I can easily detect, not at THIS time (if it shows up later, I'll edit my review!) Even with the slather and initial loudness, this scent has a low throw and sticks pretty close to the skin. A warm, close, comfy scent, Sweet Potato Musk, in all, comes off lovely, friendly and unassuming. I'd put this scent into a similar category as Hod, Halfling and Gunpowder for warmth, wearability and general coziness. Perfect scent for putting on your softest sweater and drinking hot cocoa while reading a favorite book or cuddling with furbabies.

For me, this scent was a lark. I didn't think on it much, I just sorta tossed it in my cart because it sounded fun. And now it's turned out to be one of my favorite new scents! For a perfume with such a low throw, this oil has incredible staying power! I put this on about 7 hours ago and traces of vanilla ice-cream and light sandalwood still cling to me. In the bottle, and for many hours after, this scent was just yummy ice-cream and warmth. There are a few BPAL scents that I classify in my head as being "sweater scents", by which I mean, when I need comfort and warmth and envelopment, these are the scents I reach for to hug me and protect me from the sharp pokey bits of the outside world. Hod is one such scent. Dragon's Milk and Bliss are two others. And now Mini Magdalene. As I said, the scent has low throw- this perfume plays it very close to the skin- but it's there, a constant comfort. I'm really glad I went with my instinct on this one. I predict this to be the sleeper hit, the one people kick themselves for not ordering when they had the chance.

In The Bottle: It's like Pumpkin+Diwali Wet On Skin and into Drydown: Welllllllll....I guess it turns out that pumpkin must be one of those notes that I kinda amp. This version smells mostly like a fresh-but-buttery pumpkin out front and then little traces of...maple? This is pretty sad for me- I've been looking FOREVER for a good chai scent, preferable something heavy with cardamom. But this isn't it. Oh, I'll test it out a few more times but honestly, I'm having better luck with the Pumpkin Spice Everything Single Note: it seems to come far closer to chai than this year's Pumpkin I on me. :Biding my time:

2014 version. In the bottle: Church incense and buttery sweet cake. Strange, perhaps, but I like it! Wet On Skin: This is the incense note from 2006's Midnight Mass. It's holy, and strong with a slight powdery quality to it. Dry Down: Okay, this is going to sound TOTALLY. WEIRD. But...this scent has turned to Love's Baby Soft on me. I am so deeply confused by this, it makes positively NO sense at all, but, well- it is what it is. I'm not terribly troubled by this because 1. There's a number of notes in here that can change dramatically with aging and 2. I actually have warm-and-fuzzy associations with Baby Soft, so if it stays this way on me forever, then I actually won't be that sad. Totally flummoxed, perhaps. But not sad.

I'll join in on the chorus of those that find comparisons to Banshee Beat. BUT- And this is important- this is not the sexy-hippie-love-thong vibe that I got from Banshee Beat. Not by a mile. While I'm not getting any of the cinnamon, the honey has done it's trick and very much transformed this scent and made it sweet and soft and maybe even a little sticky. As it dried further, the patch makes it's presence slightly more known but again, this is no dirty-hippie kind of scent. The honey makes the patchouli almost come across like a very, very soft leather. There's a sweet-but-earthy interplay here and I am interested in seeing how this scent might age for a month or so. In the meantime, it's keeping me interested enough to wait and see what happens next.

I can definitely see the cheery sherbet comparison, but this also reminds me strongly of Lik-M-Aid Fun Dip- sweet and sour cherry candy all the way. In the bottle it's got that karo-syrup sweetness that yes, I would associate with stage blood. But then it's gets fizzy, reminding me of cherry poprocks and maybe goes *slightly* lemony (but really, that lemon is an afterthought). As it finishes the dry down, the fizz remains, if in a slightly more subdued manner and the scent becomes slight more sophisticated- but not by much. Mostly, this is a strangely adult-flavor of poprocks. Consume by the handful- IF YOU DARE.

This is just one of those scents where I yell "How does she DO IT???" because how can Beth (or any mere mortal) take something as ephemeral as the smell of a fire and make it into a fixed substance like a perfume??? It's witchcraft, I tell you! But seriously, this has the smokiness of a good Lapsang Souchong tea but if that tea was ON FIRE instead of in a cup, brewing with water. It's really just an incredible thing. I don't know exactly how I'll use this, though I might try layering it with something rich and sweet like Bliss and see where it goes (hey, I love chocolate with smoky bits of bacon to eat- maybe I'll love smoky chocolate perfume, too!) But anyway, this was the Single Note of the whole bunch that definitely blew my mind with it's hyper-realness.

In The Bottle: A-yup, that's there's a bottle full o' spices used in flavoring pumpkin-y things. Wet On Skin: It's staying the same this far, which is a relief mostly in the sense that it's SO well blended. There's not any element that's stands above the rest, it's not like ginger is more dominant than cinnamon etc. It's pretty incredible. Dry Down: As usual for most Single Notes, this had pretty much stayed true from bottle to end-time, with just a little touch of dryness to the scent that might've not been there at the beginning. I, too, primarily got this as a layering-scent and I'm really excited at the possibilities. I am another that got NO pumpkin from this scent- just the spices. And honestly, as much as I love pumpkin, I'm not disappointed with this. I think this scent as is, without pumpkin, has a wide range of possibilities!

In The Bottle: Luscious, creamy, sugary buttery candy. Wet On Skin: Ah. There's the "stale" aspect. Yes, I get it- it has maybe the same "dusty" note that's in Miskatonic U. I like it better here, it lends a little weight to the scent so it's not "all foodie, all the time". Dry Down: Okay, I'm *totally* getting the (LUSH) Snowcake association now. Wow- that's kind of amazing, actually (Snowcake being my favorite LUSH soap *ever*). In All: Not only is this a keeper, but I *just might* have to get a backup bottle. Hmmmm...

What IS this?!? It's driving me a little mad- there's something in here that's incredibly distinct and I'm not...quite...able to figure it out. Part of it is that there's a sweet citrus-y quality to this, I *sorta* agree with the person that mentioned lime and *sorta* agree with the person that mentioned quince. Both feel like they're on the right track, but... I can't name it. It's like grapefruit citrus soda mixed with a light, twinkling musk. If anything, it reminds me of Juba, a perfume that I used to wear from the Body Shop some 23 years ago, mixed with a Betsey Johnson perfume that *also* hasn't existed for nearly two decades. So, I think that's the bottom line. Which for me is pretty great, because I was missing both of those scents of my past, and now here they are in one handy bottle.

This is the painfully-beautiful note that was in Death of Autumn, I feel certain. It's indeed a pile of wet, autumnal leaves. (At least when it's in the bottle as wet on skin.) As it dries, the change is subtle, but distinct, and the Pile indeed dries up too, leaving the unmistakable fragrance of sweet, dry, crackly leaves. I don't know that this is something I'd wear on it's own, but I can certainly see layering this with possibly something foodie, to give it a bit more grounding, like Cranberry Cider or perhaps even Eat Me or Crumpet Rebellion. Maybe it's pure madness to speak of such things, but I have a feeling that this is an avenue worth exploring.

I was delighted (delighted, I tell you!) to see the mighty return of Graveyard Dirt. I had a bottle a number of years ago, during one of it's previous incarnations and even at that time I remember thinking to myself "This really is a Single Note" because it was just SO purely what it is. But then, as we all have stories of, I swapped it away for something else and have regretted it over the ensuing ages. Until now! And so, it's been a total pleasure to uncork this latest vintage and discover that it's just as it was in past versions and I really couldn't be more relived or pleased. Graveyard Dirt has a name that can be perceived as silly or sinister or Goth-y, but the scent is pure evocation of this very real world. This is rich, black, damp soil. This isn't dusty city dirt, baked and frozen too many time to harbor or support life. This is the mineral-rich topsoil that grows robust fields of nourishment and holds summer rains and sweet longing. This is long, hot nights laying back in tall grasses and autumnal harvests and the whispering promise of spring's return and the chance to ride hobby horses and dance around maypoles and find hands-feet-nails caked and coated with rich, fragrant life. Bottled. Perfect for layering since, as is the case with many Single Notes, Graveyard Dirt stays true from bottle through dry-down, I find that it's eminently wearable all on it's own. Glad to have this beautiful scent back in the fold.

In the bottle, the tobacco was the strongest, followed by the pumpkin. At this level, I got nothing more than those two notes, but they were STRONG. Wet On Skin, the tobacco immediately started pulling back and the pumpkin got rich and buttery- a classic pumpkin note maneuver on me As intense as the scent was in the bottle, I was surprised how quickly after application it started to calm down. Dry Down found the pumpkin losing it's butter side and becoming a fresh, still-on-the-vine kind of pumpkin. A "green" note, it reminded me of the smell of all gourds this time of year. About 40 minutes later, the scent has gotten incredibly light on my skin and what's remaining is a whisper of tobacco with a tiny hint of the caramel (which isn't doing the sugar-amping thing on me, and I'm super happy about that) and a faint trace of the bourbon vanilla- which isn't reading as foodie in the least. In All: Very low throw- if this oil doesn't deepen with age I'll have to slather it- and a delicate, sweet smell. This is a good one for daytime use. I'm hoping with all those rich notes that aging it will bring some of that stuff up close and personal.

In The Bottle: The strong, thick coffee note from Bah! mixed with a sharp, astringent poke from the chicory. Wet On Skin: Wow. The chicory give the coffee an earthy vibe at this stage. It's so deep and rich that it *almost* reads like a leather note. Dry Down: Yeah, this has become coffee-and-leather on me Surprisingly, the pastry/sugar notes aren't present AT ALL on me, which is highly unusual, as generally, any sugar near me amps to the heavens. This scent is very perplexing! In All: I know that this coffee note gets better and better with age, so I'm not cashing in my chips just yet. I don't know that I've tested anything with a chicory note before, but my hope is that given some age time that the notes might influence each other in a more grounded and mellow direction. *Fingers crossed*

In The Bottle: Yup, that's some bananas, alright! But not just any bananas- to my nose, this smells almost *exactly* like Laffy Taffy Banana candy. Which I would've lived on as a child if I'd been left to my own devices, so I'm in already. Wet On Skin: The banana immediately starts to tone down as the oil warms on my skin, even at this wet stage. And what comes to fill in the void is a beautiful, light incense. It reminds me actually, of a very light version of Midnight Mass, oddly enough. Dry Down: Okay, so the "flambé" aspect of the bananas foster- that is, that which makes it caramelized- is now out. So what remains is a light, slightly fruit-based incense with some beautiful caramel note rounding it out. In All: It might sound strange, but this scent feels holy, and silly and magickal, and, having just spent my honeymoon in NOLA a few months ago, I do declare that Puddin has done an near-impossible thing, which is transmute a place into it's essence and make it utterly wearable and sacred. Well done, sir! Definitely a keeper!

The rum note that was so dominant in Hot Buttered Rum makes its triumphant return here in this atmo spray. I am a person whose skin amps rum notes to high heaven (and also sugar- maybe a connection? Hmmm…), so I was very curious to see what I'd make of a rum scent that wouldn't come in contact with me. And the verdict is, it's delicious The rum note on it's own wouldn't really tempt me. It's not complex enough to keep my interest. But paired with the cream and something really yummy happens between the two notes. The cream tempers the boozy aspect and makes it more sophisticated, but also more accessible. I didn't get the Red Lantern association the prior reviewer mentioned, mostly because there's a rich, foodie, caramel feel to that scent (especially the atmosphere spray version), where as this, for me, created less of a feeling of envelopment (RL always makes me feel somehow like I'm actually transported back in time) and more of pure atmosphere in this present moment- timeless and timely. Of this year's crop of atmo sprays, it was definitely my favorite.

In The Bottle: Yummy chocolate! Less rich than the chocolate in, say, Bliss, but more than what might be found in a random bottle of 13. Wet On Skin: Oh MY. This is sweet, light cacao, like sitting in the kitchen in the winter and opening a packet of instant cocoa and little dried marshmallows and dumping it into a mug. Dry Down: This? Is. GLORIOUS. The honey, vanilla and cacao make this pure foodie heaven, whilst the sandalwood grounds it just enough to keep it respectable. While I don't get the patch, I don't miss it at all- this is just lovely the way it is. In All: Low throw, this is something of s skin scent. I might be inclined to slather, as I'm wont to do with some foodie scents, but I like that this scent is subtle enough to be played either way. My personal hands-down favorite of this year's NYCC scents. While Lips of Flame might be the obvious choice, I predict Little Maggie to be the sleeper hit of the Con.

In The Bottle: Tobacco, followed by a bit of apple and some dirty patchouli bringing up the rear. Wet On Skin: The apple is gaining some footing now, and the smokiness of the khus is peeping it's head in. Dry Down: Mostly this has become apple and tobacco in even portions. I get no red musk (which is odd as usually in any blend that note dominates on me), nor do I get any vanilla or clove. The khus *is* still a presence, but it's like a whisper, holding the others down behind the scenes. In All: Of the NYCC scents I've tried this year, this one plays closest to the skin. Because of the strength of the notes, I wouldn't pour it on, but don't be surprised if you want a little extra dab once it settles on your skin. I am not writing off the other notes, since those earthy-resiny notes sometimes take a while to age and blend more fully into the scent. It's lovely now and will be exciting to re-test in a few months.

In The Bottle: Compelling! The apple hits my nose before the bottle is even up to my face.The copal and saffron combine to make it, at this stage, a glorious adult candy apple. Wet On Skin: The sophisticated candy apple vibe continues, getting richer, deeper and sweeter than in the bottle. This is NOT the crisp apple of Snow Glass Apples. This is like biting into an apple covered not just in caramel, but in…whiskey caramel. Or…rum caramel. Something not kid-like, but still delicious. Dry Down: This is not a morphing scent. It has stayed relatively true from bottle to dry down. At this point, the only thing that has changed is that it's softened a little around the edges. In All: Low throw, but because of the sweetness, I wouldn't just slather it on, either. This has stayed what I originally surmised from it: a mature, adults-only candy apple.

In The Bottle: Mostly I'm getting the gardenia, with some of the honey providing a nice base to ground the scent. Wet On Skin: As the gardenia warms, it becomes sweeter, fuller. The jasmine is definitely the same as in the BPTP atom spray Cathouse, and to similar effect: there's a lush, timeless quality to this floral. As if I might fall asleep and awaken in a Victorian sitting room. Dry Down: The is a heady floral, thick with jasmine and gardenia, the vanilla adding a bit of resin to the mix. The honey has become a little like honey powder on my skin, but I find I'm enjoying it, that it's not a baby powder note at all (so don't worry!). I get none of the frankincense or rose, but the scent feels complete unto itself. In All: Medium throw and a little goes a long way. I'm not generally much of a floral person, but I'm happy to have this one in my collection. A must-have for floral enthusiasts.

As this was the one I was most hopeful about, I figured I'd start here... In the bottle: The champagne note I remember is certainly present, and to my nose smells strongly like gingerale, as with the first batch of these scents from two years ago. but the opium is holding it's own, in a lovely, rich, slightly smoky way. Wet on the skin: Where as in the bottle, the champagne had the edge at about 70-30, the opium is gaining ground and is now at almost a 50-50 ratio to the champagne. I want to say that at this point, I detect no other notes. Dry down: Opium wins by a nose, in a 60-40 lead. The opium note by this point has become more stable, and is blooming into a sweet, almost summery version of itself. Don't get me wrong, this can definitely be worn through the winter months, but will be a fine treasure for sultry hot nights 7 months from now as well. The champagne is there, but it feels like a supporting cast member now. Which works for me, because in the past this note has gone horribly wrong on my skin. In all: A keeper for sure, but I'm anticipating more subtlety in about a month, after it's had a chance to settle and blend more completely. <3

CELESTE: HER BATH Vanilla-infused honey and saffron. This is a fabulous counter point to the Celeste perfume- clearly great for layering with her oil, but a stand-alone as well. Without the orris of her perfume, Celeste's bath is sparse, stripped down to her essence. The bath is also sweeter, lacking the dryness the orris gives as counter-balance in the perfume. I could therefore going either way in terms of scent layering after-bath with this: pick a sweet and creamy number like Love's Philosophy or MB:Underpants (the latter having the saffron note in common, the former great for amping the cream) OR you can pair it with something dry or earthy, I'm thinking that putting on Penny Dreadful or Chant D'Autumn wouldn't be out of line here. If you adore the strong notes like vetiver or graveyard dirt, I could see those being just gorgeous on top of this, for sure. I predict this to be *very* popular, indeed. :wub: ETA: The above review was entirely about the scent and the makeup of notes therein. but to be fair, I hadn't yet included anything about the bath experience itself. Now, I adore the BPAL bath oils. But they *do* tend to leave a very heavy, oily film on my skin, which is why I use them more frequently as a body oil or leave-in hair conditioner. So I thought that perhaps, by contrast, the salts would be somewhat drying. They're not. In fact, they're the perfect amount of moisturizing I want for my skin. the amount of scent left behind after towel drying is definitely less than with the bath oils. and if that's important to you, you might want to spike your bath water with a little extra perfume. but I find that this actually gives the salts a bit more versatility in terms of when I can use them. I had a hard belly dancing lesson that left me very sore. A bath with Celeste this evening loosened me up in all the right ways- enough so that I'm considering getting a backup pouch for when my current one runs out!

I got a goblin squirt of this directly from the Lab (mods, I searched high and lo for a topic thread and found none: if there Is one, by all means, merge mine with it, thanks ! ) Okay, so because of the name, I'd just randomly assumed that there would be a strong coffee note in this scent before even smelling it and was therefore startled when it was a bright, sweet floral in the bottle. It was SO sweet and cloying that, honestly, it smells like bug spray to me. Like, the type we used when I was a kid in the 80's, that was supposed to smell like air freshener but, you know, smelled like roach spray instead. Still, i know that first sniffs are often deceiving, so I gave it a little squirt in my living room, into the couch cushions. While wet, the spray stayed the same- sweet floral bug spray. but now it's about 10 minutes later and this has turned into *heaven*. I'm getting what seems to be some of the gardenia/vanilla mix that is so dear to me in the Cathouse room spray, but with a different subset of other notes. The change makes this something more for daytime use in a living room, whereas I strictly use Cathouse in my boudoir in the evening time. There's a "green" freshness to this that makes it a good choice for daytime use, whereas Cathouse is all sultry and sexy. In all: If the notes are an indication, I'm betting this will be even better with some aging. Trading Post: I'm keeping my eye out for a full release!

In the Bottle: Currants and cream! Wet On Skin: The above, with some ginger to spice things up a bit! Dry Down: A soft, white vanilla with a bit of spice around the edges. In All: Low throw, and close to the skin, this reads like a sister scent to Eat Me- which isn't much of a surprise, but it's like a more sophisticated version. Where Eat Me was very foodie-heavy, this has subtlety, and although I discern all the food notes in here, I wouldn't call this a foodie scent at all. It's sweet and light, and yes, I can see the comparisons to Antique Lace, though don't expect *too* close a relative to AL or you'll be a sad panda. Still, if you like AL, I'm betting you'll like this scent too.

In the Bottle: Brown musk (?!) and cocoa powder Wet On Skin: Red musk, myrrh and a little cacao thrown in for good measure. Dry Down: Much the same. the red musk is stronger now, and since I adore that note I welcome it. There's still some myrrh, making it a bit earthy, which is a nice twist, and now just the faintest hint of cocoa powder (no cinnamon). In All: I confess that in all my years I do not recall testing Lust. Since I'm really only getting the two notes on my skin, I am curious how the original would compare. In any event, I like what I'm getting just fine, and am happy to have a bottle to play with.