tinyvulture

i love leather and i LOVE red musk, but they don't go together very well on me. the red musk turns sweet and cloying, which has never happened before. it does the same thing on my husband, on whom leather scents usually smell fantastic. i guess i'll stick with my favorite leather (doc constantine!) and red musk (mme. moriarty!) scents from now on. this scent is ok, i don't hate it or anything...these particular notes just work better separately, for me.

i don't usually like lemon, but i had to see if shub lived up to it's hype. and it does! indeed it is mostly gingerbread -- the astringency of ginger, plus all those nice sweet baking spices. there's a strong touch of fresh lemon. there are a couple other notes i can't put my finger on -- something clean and herbal, and also something sweet and smoky...myrrh maybe? this is such a happy, comforting yet invigorating scent. i am a big fan.

On first application, I smell pumpkin baking in a rich buttery crust. Then the ginger and orange come out. The ginger is strong! Now it smells like gingerbread mixed with pumpkin pie. The mandarin adds a sweet, bright sparkle to the mix. A great, cozy fall scent.

At first, this smelled of butter and apples. But as it dried, those scents quickly faded, and it turned into Red Lantern. Caramel, coconut, and booze. No apples anywhere in sight. Delicious and fun, but too sweet/foody for me to wear very often, so it’s off to swaps.

Bewitching, tantalizing and dangerously seductive. A thrilling, exotic blend -- deceptively sweet, but spiked with malice. White ginger, jasmine, and a touch of vanilla and apricot. I applied this and immediately thought, "Wow, this is pretty hot!" Apricot is made sophisticated with the addition of ginger and jasmine. On me, jasmine sometimes smells powdery/old-lady, and sometimes smells exotic/sexy. Here, happily, it's the latter. If you like other sexy fruit blends like Depraved or Intrigue, then this is probably for you.

I smell pear, jasmine, and maybe banana and mint? I’d classify this scent as fruity, floral, and also herbal. It’s pretty strong. And…it’s just not me. It’s a spring/summer scent, and I’m a fall/winter girl. But I’d recommend it for anyone who is cheered by fruity florals.

a strong scent, redolent of wine and lush roses. myrrh adds its smoky sweetness, and the musk adds fullness and warmth. an interesting combination, but i’m picky about my rose perfumes. sometimes i like ‘em and sometimes i don’t, and it really depends what the rose is blended with. i just don’t care for it here. it’s like the sourness of the wine brings out a bitterness in the rose. too bad for me, but good for someone else when i swap this one.

a men’s cologne with dominant woods and leather notes. smells dry and dusty at first, with something earty/mossy underneath. after about 20 minutes it has sweetened up quite a bit. it’s the same sweet woodsy scent of rosewood that is also found in ouija and séance, but the tonka makes it even sweeter here. i don’t ever really smell the incense.

nothing’s going to replace athens as my #1 favorite bpal scent… but this is now a strong #2. i adore it. it reminds me of a less-spicy scherezade (must be the warm red musk that my skin loves), or a sweeter snake oil. there’s also a similarity to snake charmer – the plum maybe? i thought it would be fruity due to the pomegranate and plum, but those notes just add a lovely sweetness…as does the vanilla. there’s no juicy fresh fruit aspect to it. the patchouli is there but it doesn’t hit you over the head. it’s really subtle and grounds the other notes. my words really can’t do justice this lovely, seductive scent. one more thing…it lasts all day

i make these 7-layer cookies, and the bottom layer is graham cracker crumbs mixed with melted butter, and that’s exactly what cockaigne smells like when i apply it. rich, buttery, delicious. as it dries, i can smell the honey and spiced wine. amazing, i love it. must get a bottle.

wow. a pure opium scent. smoky and dark and sweetly intoxicating so you keep coming back for more. less dry than Darkness, less floral than Languor, this is the opium scent for me. a very grown-up, look at me, sexy woman scent. truly addictive.

my skin always amps up citrus, so anything with verbena is usually out of the question. when i first apply this, it smells very strongly of cherry and lemon. as i feared, the lemony scent is WAY too strong. after it dries, it turns into a light cherry/cinnamon/vanilla potpourri-type scent. the lemon’s gone away, but now it’s so faint that i’d have to apply more to get anything out of it. and i don’t want to go through that initial verbena phase again. going to have to swap this one.

I’ve always hoped the lab would come out with a ‘haunted house’ scent, and I think this might be it. If you are familiar with Dark Candles’ haunted house scent, this is kind of similar, to my nose anyway. Woods, resins, something musty and earthy. It really captures the dry, peculiar scent of an abandoned old space. Picture pushing open the creaking door and stepping into pitch black. Did you just hear something scurrying across the floor? Where is that breeze coming from? What this scent makes me think of, more than any other BPAL scent, is total darkness… not knowing what’s two feet in front of you…feeling your way along, wondering if the warped wooden floors will give way at any moment…pushing cobwebs out of your face…is that a ghost…or just some ancient furniture covered with dusty cloths…who knows? OK, I’ll stop now. I love this scent so much.

I love the lab’s leather scents. They just smell so sexy on my husband. I’ve been searching for Dead Man’s Hand decants, but I think my search is over because I like this one even better. It’s totally a ‘cowboy’ scent – dry dusty leather. But it’s sweetened just a little by the addition of juicy pear and vanilla -- so I can wear it too! It’s just amazing, what more can I say?

I get the same soft incense notes that are in Midnight Mass, blended with buttery cake. I actually prefer it to Midnight Mass because the cake adds such sweetness and is a wonderful complement to the powdery incense. The solemn, mournful incense and the happy, comforting smell of cake is a beautiful combination.

For me, fall is synonymous with trips to the cider mill for fresh pressed cider and donuts. The moment you step inside the mill, the apple cider scent is overwhelming. Punkie Night captures that experience in a bottle. Crisp, juicy, tart apples and nothing else. Strong and long-lasting. It’s wonderful -- the autumn scent I'd always hoped for.

A surprisingly fruity scent. Pineapple, peach and grapes maybe? There are also some soft spices, but nothing that screams ‘frankincense’ or any of the other notes that are listed! So I’m a bit confused. But if I ignore the description and my expectations, and judge the scent for what it is, I do like it. Spicy fruit. Not bad.

I’ve never smelled such a strong tonka note. It’s almost cloyingly sweet on my skin. I’m not smelling anything that makes me think ‘Mediterranean incense’, and the clove is very faint. Mostly, it’s tonka combined with violet to make a very sweet, foody floral. I do like the violet, very pretty. After a few minutes it smells less foody, more creamy. Still extremely sweet. A nice, girly perfume, but not quite right for me.

The saffron is the ingredient that really stands out on my skin. I thought this scent would be somewhat strong and masculine, but it’s actually quite soft and sweet and comforting. Gentle woods and spices…not really noticing the patchouli. It sort of reminds me of a spicier Morocco. What else can I say – all of the notes in this scent are ones that I love. I wish it were a bit stronger, that’s the only thing that might keep me from ordering a bottle.

The unmistakable smell of gin (juniper berries). Crisp and sweet. I’ve never had a martini, but this actually makes me think of drinking a gin & 7-up because it has a slight citrus note to it. I would describe it as effervescent and refreshing, a good pick-me-up scent.

florals (jasmine?) and herbs. the incense, earth and moss are not making their presence felt very much at all. i’m generally not a big fan of floral and herbal scents, so i just feel kind of “meh” about this. i do like jasmine sometimes, but here it goes all soapy. my husband, however, finds it really sexy, so maybe my nose is wonky today.

this smells sexy on my husband -- a mixture of earthy patchouli, and dirt. it's a bit too strong on me. my skin amps up the juniper. and while i adore juniper in scents like Black Forest, it turns sour here when combined with the floral and dirt notes. if i just tab on the tiniest bit, it's ok, but there's really no reason to waste it on me when it smells so good on my dude.

From now on, I’m going to buy a bottle of any BPAL scent containing chocolate. They are all so well done. I love that they start out foody, as the pure chocolate is most dominant. But then the other elements come in, and it’s no longer foody. The chocolate becomes part of the blend, of the perfume. That’s how 13 is. First it’s all chocolate. And oranges. But not fresh, juicy citrus. More like those chocolate oranges that come wrapped in orange foil… chocolate flavored with orange liqueur. But then light, pretty florals come in, and the foodiness disappears. Now it’s a lovely, complex perfume with chocolate as one of its many components.

to me, this smells like jasmine and nag champa incense, warmed by musk. i can’t pinpoint the saffron. incense scents are always winners with me and this is no exception. it’s feminine, sexy, and exotic. it also reminds me of Smut, only less sweet and not quite as strong.

woodsy and spicy. deep sandalwood (pencil shavings!) and cedar at first, and then the umistakable scent of sweet frankincense creeps in and takes over. very dry and slightly smoky. seems like something a wise and powerful old man would wear. one who is still physically strong, just getting on in years. there’s something aged and familiar about it, like a cedar chest in the attic filled with mysterious old artifacts.