Jump to content
Post-Update: Forum Issues Read more... ×
BPAL Madness!

iiinterstate

Members
  • Content Count

    1,152
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by iiinterstate

  1. iiinterstate

    Rain Scents

    IMO Stormclouds Over the Midway captures that "rainy" scent perfectly....but as of yet there are only a couple of reviews
  2. iiinterstate

    Licwiglunga

    oh dear, Licwiglunga almost fell victim to my premature judgement. When I first applied, this fennel was so strong and reminded me so much of a particular roast chicken recipe that I almost rinsed it off. But I didn't! The fennel disaster phase did not last long on my skin at all, perhaps 10 minutes, and now I am left with a great papery incense smell, and dried pomegranate juice. I really love it and I can't stop sniffing my wrist. I have to agree with Heavenlyrabbit, this blend is pleasant in the most complimentary sense of the word. I want to try some in my oil burner too! ETA: wore this at full slather today and found that it worked MUCH better on my skin than on my hair/in my scent locket. The fennel/anise stays too strong. Unfortunately it has a supershort wearlength.
  3. iiinterstate

    Bezoar

    When I first tried this on a few days ago it was so odd compared to anything else I had ordered I had to set it aside and come back later. Bezoar is like no other blend I've ever had in my hands, but the oddness is growing on me in a big way. Smooth, polished wood, but the cardamom comes out just enough to keep it from being furniture in a bottle. I ordered it for the hay absolute, and I am not disappointed. This note makes the whole blend very....golden smelling. I don't know how often I'll wear it yet, but I definitely plan to keep my bottle. I can't wait to see how this ages!
  4. iiinterstate

    The Oval Portrait

    Oooh so excited to be able to try the Oval Portrait. First on its creamy vanilla, and after a few minutes the florals come through. I sometimes amp honeysuckle but that doesn't seem to happen here...I smell mostly lilies and a teeny bit of carnation. For a little while there it seemed like this would be TOO much floral on me, but now the vanilla musk is back and balancing the flowers very nicely. The throw is very light, but so lovely. This is a blend to be saved for special occasions.
  5. iiinterstate

    Ashlultum

    At first this was WAY herbal...almost astringent. I assume that's what hyssop smells like. Initial drydown is more lilac than anything, and after a few minutes, I can smell the tea/coconut/tobacco a little more. I'm not sure where the musk is... might be hiding behind the lilac. I'm sort of hoping that after I give this bottle a couple weeks to settle, the lilac will back off a bit. I love all these other notes but right now this is a little too floral for my tastes. It seems to have potential though... every now and then I get a good whiff of coconutty vanilla. We shall see! embarrassed edit: I definitely spoke too soon, as I tend to do. 15 minutes or so after applying everything has balanced out. Lilac chilled out and vanilla moved in. I'm still missing the musk, but what I have here is quite lovely.
  6. iiinterstate

    Devil's Night

    oh GOD this is good! I tossed this in on an order as an afterthought and I am GLAD. When I first applied Devil's Night it smelled almost foody and I got a little worried it would be too sugary for me, but it has stayed on the musky side of things. Definitely an autumn scent, although I know I'll wear it sooner. Sugary spicy musk with a touch of booze (but not too much) and I swear I can smell burning leaves (just a little). Lovely!
  7. iiinterstate

    The Masque

    Such complex blends usually get all weird on me, or else my skin panics and amps the hell out of one note out of confused desperation. However, The Masque is not doing this. This starts out as strong carnation, and then within SECONDS fades into a complex honey/floral/incense. I'm usually not big on florals at all, but this is one I need to wait on and give it the proper chance...cause I LOVE me some incense. Honey gets stronger, then there's some tobacco (more love!) I can still pick up the spiciness of the carnation but it isn't overpowering like florals seem to be on me usually. No rose has shown up yet. It seems to settle on honey and clove with a hint of carnation and the occasional waft of tobacco...if you can call that settling. Definitely more feminine and perfumey than the things I usually wear, but that means my fiance will almost certainly like it I'm glad I jumped on a bottle of this! I really like it a lot. If you are a fan of the Lab's honey note you want to check this out.
  8. iiinterstate

    The Illustrated Woman

    This. Is. Perfection. I am so so sad that this scent will have to leave us someday and I am going to buy many many bottles before it does. It starts off with a light, sweet pine note in the beginning, but that lasts maybe 20 minutes on me. Then it dries into the smoky musky vanilla goodness. As slave1 said above, skin musk is definitely the base note, but I can pick up everything else... the resins are light and so is the tobacco, but they are undeniably there. I get a small waft of honeyed pine every now and then. I predict that this will be wildly popular. Nothing short of amazing. Edit: I still have my original 2008 bottle (although mostly empty now) and I wanted to add that this blend only gets smoother and more lovely with age.
  9. iiinterstate

    Agrat-Bat-Mahlaht

    Whoa, I can definitely smell caramel in the bottle. And apple blossom. Fortunately things calm down and become less dessert-like on my skin. And its changing fast. I think the teak just grabbed ahold of everything else and beat it into submission. Not like the teak is overpowering or anything, I'm just aware that its there and that my skin isn't having a party with the amber and the honey. Caramel sometimes turns to coffee on me (in a yuck way) but this is light enough to be okay. And it isn't cloying, as caramel can be sometimes. The apple blossom comes back after a little bit, along with what I assume is skin musk. To be honest, this is precisely what I had hoped O would smell like. I don't know how this will do in the warmer weather, but its yummmmmmmy. Must try on the fiance. Overall Agrat-Bat-Mahlaht is a blend that walks the thin line between foody and musky on my skin. That's a good place to be. A+
  10. iiinterstate

    Dionysia

    I was most impatient for Dionysia and I am not disappointed!! I definitely smell the same plum note from Bordello (a favorite) and thank God the patchouli is behaving itself as is the wood. Benzoin made me nervous but I can pick it out and it is DIVINE with mahogany. Oh man. This is a work of art right here. Not too fruity, not too woody, perfectly balanced. I want to eat my arm.
  11. iiinterstate

    BPAL Fruit Blends - the many variations

    Bordello is my FAVORITE fruity scent, always. I wish I could find a drink in the same flavor as this blend
  12. iiinterstate

    The Norns' Farmhouse

    Whoa! Totally bell peppers when it goes on. Smells as fresh and crisp as though I were cutting them in my kitchen. I also get a little bit of apple in there too. As it dries there is a general cool "green" feeling to the scent, but I can tell there is something waiting to warm it up. Herbal but not too much. I can detect a bit of the horehound but not a whole lot. Its nice! This goes from smelling like the garden behind the Farmhouse into a much lighter but earthier smell. I want to say burning wood, but its not woodsy per se. Almost like the smell of very very dry hay. Now there is more sage. I REALLY like this. I haven't come across anything similar before and I'm glad I snagged a nearly-full bottle.
  13. iiinterstate

    The Ifrit

    LOVING this. I picked up a bottle with about an imps' worth in it, and I'm ready for an upgrade please. Makes my skin burn a bit when it goes on (this always happens with cinnamon though, and it wears away pretty quickly) but very worth the trouble. The Ifrit has several notes that I normally shy away from: red musk, cinnamon, and ginger, but together they are behaving. The Dragon's Blood isn't too strong, and the tobacco is lovely as it always is. Sand! This really does make me think of hot sand. Another strange and wonderful note that I adore. This gets almost creamy as it dries down completely. Oh man. Top 10 scents easy. I would wear this often and I'm SO glad its GC. Full bottle soon. Might be placing an order today. Its that good.
  14. iiinterstate

    Egg'd Mailbox

    I've been dying to try this for a long while now, and I'm not disappointed! For the first half hour or so, Egg'd Mailbox was a sweet and vaguely floral scent. Then it morphed into delicious vanilla custard. I love it and I will definitely jump on a bottle if I ever get the chance.
  15. iiinterstate

    Urd

    This is REALLY nice. Sort of what I thought Mme. Moriarty would smell like, but didn't. I get lots of grapes and lots of patchouli, but the patchouli doesn't do the awful brown bland thing that it has done on me before. The Nag Champa is there but it doesn't overpower. I'm so shocked, this seems like something I would hate. Now I'm thinking about a bottle. This is the kind of scent that will have people wondering what smells so delicious.
  16. iiinterstate

    Shango

    I had high hopes for Shango... I can't think of another blend with banana in it, but really this just smells like apple on me. Nice apple, but a bit plain.
  17. iiinterstate

    Moana

    Yay! just what I had hoped for. Awapuhi has always been great on me, and the seaweed keeps everything from getting too sweet. A great summer blend. I don't know what seafoam is supposed to smell like, but I like it.
  18. iiinterstate

    Hexennacht (2008)

    pine and a little tiny bit of smoke is all I get from this. But its a pleasant pine, which is more than I expected! I'll keep this around and see what happens over time. I'm not willing to write this off as a swap/sale just yet.
  19. iiinterstate

    Tiki King

    Tiki King starts out much more lemony than I thought it would, but dries down quickly to a deep musky coconut. Every now and then I get sort of an odd whiff of something that I can't put my finger on, but it must be the ironwood. I don't exactly like whatever it is, but its not bad, just different. I am very curious to see how this will age. Hopefully the lemon will hang on a bit longer in my scent locket, but I really like the blend as a whole and am glad to have procured two bottles of it. Black musk is a new note I have to keep in mind for the future.
  20. iiinterstate

    The Parliament of Monsters (2006)

    Such an odd blend! Parliament of Monsters starts out mild and almost smells like dry grass, pretty much how I expected. Then within an hour it COMPLETELY morphs. I don't know what opium smoke is supposed to smell like, but I assume it must have a slightly sour note to it, and that's mostly what I get. I'll have to try this in a scent locket to see what happens there. Overall, I like this blend, but I'm not sure if I really need a whole bottle. Yet.
  21. iiinterstate

    The Perilous Parlor

    I think it may have been divine intervention of the gods of BPAL that made me pick up a partial bottle of this on a whim. I love pear, I love vanilla, and the two together are great. I dabbed a little on before going out to dinner with my family, and kept sniffing my wrist all throughout the evening without thinking about it. Light throw, so this is a slatherer, but definitely worth it. The vanilla never goes plastic on me and the pear stays nice and juicy and never goes blah as fruit tends to do on my skin. Yay! ETA: After awhile there is a delicious smokiness that comes from somewhere that compliments the pear and keeps the vanilla from taking over after a couple of hours. Perilous Parlor is a great warm weather scent.
  22. iiinterstate

    Regan

    In general, I have TERRIBLE luck with florals... I'm always amping something. Regan is different. Its a warm vanilla floral, but everything is balanced. I like it a lot and I'll be hanging on to my imp.
  23. iiinterstate

    TKO

    I finally got myself a bottle of this after testing a sniffie over a month ago. So. Wonderful. (and effective) I just took a TKO-soap shower, and now I am slathered in the oil. I smell like lavender cotton candy sugary heaven. Last night when I wore this I fell asleep quickly and STAYED asleep...something that doesn't usually happen for me. I'm almost tempted to wear this in the daytime because its so yummy, but I think I want to keep it associated with bedtime. *nods off*
  24. iiinterstate

    The Great Sword of War

    Definitely one of the weirder (but not necessarily in a bad way) blends I've ever tried. Initially: Bitter orange, a scent I really like. Followed by: The same orange, sweetened by cocoa. Then a woody smell comes in and sort of smooths everything over. Its very nice. Foody without being too foody, and combinations I wouldn't have put together in my mind. I think I'll hang on to this imp and see how it ages.
  25. iiinterstate

    Stimulating Sassafras Strengthener

    Reading the initial reviews I got a little worried...I love root beer, but I don't think I want to smell like it. For the first minute or so, I smell nothing at all. More worry, because that is weird. Then there is a lovely rich decidedly root beer scent, but not nearly as sweet as the soda. Definitely sassafras, definitely vanilla, and definitely a little bit of butter. And still somehow not too foody! I'm glad I ordered a bottle unsniffed, this is unusual and awesome.
×