theshapeshifter

Wet: Aggressively pine. Staying *just* this side of 'pine cleaner'. Can't really make out any other notes. Drydown: About half an hour in, it went through a cedar shavings phase where it reminded me a fair bit of Disappointing Pencil. However, further on the patchouli started coming out and now it's a lovely dry earthy evergreen forest smell, like being in a sun-warmed cabin in the woods. If I really huff my wrist I get just a hint of the honey. I'm not getting the tobacco at all - which is okay with me, as tobacco is usually a note that gives me pause about ordering a scent.

Based on the smell in the bottle, I was worried that the caramel would be super-aggressive, but on me it completely chilled out and just gave a lovely sweetness to the chocolate. The whisky and spice stayed in the background, giving it some depth and mystery. Overall this comes off like a very grownup, smooth, expensive dark chocolate.

Yep. Snake Oil and leather! It was very leathery - reminded me of Dead Man's Hand from my early BPAL days - in the bottle, but the Snake Oil sweet dark vanilla comes out immediately on skin. The leather balances it out perfectly, as I find straight-up Snake Oil can sometimes do a slightly powdery thing on me. (In fairness, my bottle of Snake Oil is ancient.) I think this is going to become one of those all-time classics.

Had to try this almost immediately after opening my package from the Lab! In the bottle: VETIVER. Doing that funky, smoky, swampy-vegetal thing that it does in Highwayman. Wet: Vetiver is still predominating, though the greenness goes away and it starts to smell more lush. This is very strong. Drydown: I was a little concerned that it might be overpowering, but after about 20-30 minutes the vetiver calmed right down and let the patchouli (super smooth) and wood notes come out to play. It's now a really lovely deep dark skin scent - this must be the shadow musk bringing the other notes together. I would love to smell this on a man... I have yet to convince my husband to try BPAL but maybe I should ask again.

Definitely a poppy-opium type of scent, but different than other 'poppy' notes I've encountered before - very much a YELLOW poppy rather than red. It's like someone took a classic sultry opium and took it out in the sunshine. I will have to try this one again after I get over this cold, to see what other subtleties I can pick out, but it feels not so much like a winter scent to me, as the first cold-but-sunny hint of spring.

Caveat: I do have a bit of a cold, so I will have to retest this when I'm healthier. However, it's a hit so far! Initially I got a whiff of something like vetiver, but it disappeared almost right away, as did the orange (citrus is usually pretty fleeting on my skin). I'm mostly getting a warm, powdery amber backed with dusty leather and just a hint of musk very much in the background - the combo is almost evoking sandalwood. ETA: A later test, now that it's sat for about a month and I no longer have that cold. Not getting anything like vetiver this time, and the citrus stuck around longer. It's reminding me a bit of Red Devil, or a favourite 'spiced orange' incense, except with some leather mixed in. It didn't knock my socks off the first time, but I love it now!

This is more leathery than I'd expected, but that is not at all a bad thing! It is definitely the leather of an old library, warm (I guess that's the wax coming through) and with a hint of chocolate. After wearing for a few hours, the chocolate and parchment come more to the forefront. I will wear this a LOT. It came with a reprint of 'The Voodoo Queen', a 1950s-era fictionalized account of Marie Laveau's life. I'm about halfway through and it's fascinating!

I'm afraid it's something like 45 days for us internationals... Fingers crossed it'll start moving again very soon! That's what I figured. I'll keep an eye on it and hope for the best! Edited to add: After sitting in limbo for 17 days, it seems to be on the move again - taking a circuitous route, but hopefully it'll be here soon!

Hmm. When I look at tracking for my latest order, it's been stuck on "arrived at facility" (in LA) for a week now. Whereas my Trading Post order that shipped several days later has gone through the facility and is "enroute to destination". At what point should I get worried that my Lab package is lost somewhere in the bowels of the US Post facility?

My hope for this one was that the rose really would just be the "barest fleck" and that the other notes would take precedence. Alas, I will amp rose forever. In the bottle it was very rose-y, and for the first half-hour on skin, it was pretty much DRIED ROSE with a whisper of wax and resin. About 15 minutes in, it briefly veered into headache territory, but after about half an hour the rose settled down enough that I could pick out the other things. Alas, later that night the rose took over again. When the rose calmed down, I liked the scent, so I'm willing to give it some aging and try again - although I think I've learned my lesson on roses and my skin chemistry for the future!

As other people have found, I got straight green apple in the bottle. On skin, it's apple - perhaps more of a red apple? - and clove, with a subtle background of vanilla. Over time, it became more earthy, and I had to go reread the scent notes because I was almost getting just a hint of patchouli. It's not as strong as some fall/Halloween scents (like my beloved Samhain 2005, which I can't wear around the scent-sensitive), so I foresee it being a very everyday-wearable choice for this time of year.

I had hoped to be first to review this one, but third is cool too! Honestly, this was the Halloween scent I was most excited for - partly because I literally burst out laughing when I first saw the name in the update. As soon as my package arrived today, I had to try it. In the bottle: It really IS a pencil! Cedar shavings and a waft of eraser. On skin: Pure cedar shavings at first. After a little while, I swear a hint of graphite comes in - it's like the contents of a pencil sharpener. Nostalgic and delightful. After a couple of hours: Warm cedar, and just a hint of vanilla-type sweetness wafting through. Modest throw, not overpowering. A really nice, friendly scent. Definitely 'pencil', but not disappointing in the least!

Got a bottle of this from the Lab's Etsy shop, and was puzzled when it arrived. It smelled so overwhelming foody in the bottle that I had to re-look-up the description not once, but twice, to convince myself why I'd decided to order it. (Not that I don't like foody scents, but it was unexpected.) However, on the skin it changed almost instantly - at first to a sort of earthy men's cologne type scent, but within maybe 15 minutes a gentler, warmer musky/amber-y scent prevailed and stuck around most of the day. 14 hours later, I can just baaaaarely smell it if I mash my nose into my wrist. I really, really like this, and kept finding excuses to sniff myself all day. (Okay, and admittedly, it's my first new scent in literally years, but this one is definitely a keeper.)

Seconding the pirate costume + Pirate Moon love!

I'm not sure if it's the 'saltiness', but alas, this amped right to men's deodorant on me. Off to swaps!

This is so well blended, I couldn't really pick out individual notes, and like a previous reviewer, I had to come back and check the note list to refresh my memory. It's wonderfully sexy - my first thought was 'it's Two Monsters gone to sea' - and not at all 'cologney', as some ocean-type scents can be. This is definitely the scent of a pirate ship - if it's the sort of ship captained by Johnny Depp in eyeliner. I'm glad I gambled on this one!

In the bottle, it was almost exactly like Sugar Skull. However, on applying, it's got a personality all its own. It's a white, syrupy sugar at first, then the honey (similar to the honey in Honey Moon) and wood come in to give it an amazing roundness and richness. I absolutely adore this, and I'm glad that (for the first time in 2.5 years of BPAL-ing) I bought a GC 5ml unsniffed! You definitely have to like the sugar note, but those who like it will like this a LOT.

For dark, my new discovery is A Countenance Forboding Evil. It's VERY well-named.

I think this may become one of the great 'love it or hate it' BPAL blends. Personally - I LOVE this. I'm a major vetiver and patchouli fan, and these are definitely the star players here. I don't particularly notice the blood orange or ylang ylang, except that they perhaps add to the 'roundness' of the blend. It's earthy and definitely dark - 'forboding' is certainly the right word. This is a strong candidate to get upgraded to a 5ml!

I don't have much original to add... sugary, slightly creamy, very slightly 'pink', like Midway minus the donuts. I get just the tiniest whiff of plastic on applying, but thankfully that's gone in a second or two. I love this... it wavers between a true marshmallow and a cotton candy. Not the longest staying power, but I don't mind reapplying! Oh, and the label art is darling.

I had really dithered over ordering this one (the beer and tar gave me pause), but I'm so glad I did! I've only had it on a short time, so I'll come back and edit if it changes wildly, but so far it's exactly what I'd hoped for. It's like someone poured a bit of thick, sticky treacle over a wood fire. I get just the slightest hint of the tar and booze, just enough to make it a bit darker. The overall impression is thick, dark and outdoorsy, but urban or near-urban outdoorsy, if that makes sense. This is going to be a major love for me, but I think it's definitely a love-it-or-hate-it sort of scent, not for the faint of heart.

Initial application: Spicy! And... there's some element in here that reminds me of TAL Brass Balls - something a bit medicinal (maybe the ginger?). Within 2 minutes: Ouch! I rarely have bad reactions to BPALs, but this one seems to hate me. Oddly, my skin was fine where I applied it, but after taking a few deep sniffs, the skin above my upper lip (which is sensitive at the best of times) started to BURN. I had to wash my wrists, scrub them with makeup remover, and hold a cold compress to my face for a couple of minutes before things settled down. So this is definitely going to swaps! Shame, because I quite liked the scent.

When first applied (and for about the first half-hour), even from a teeny swipe of the imp wand, this was "OMG HI I'M MUSK HI HELLO!", which is usually not my favourite sort of thing, but this is such a lovely sexy musk that I decided to wait it out and see where it went from there. In the drydown, the initial blast calmed down, and the spices and honey start to work their way in. I'm not really getting the caramel, but that's okay - caramel notes sometimes amp on me, so I'm glad it's playing nice. Overall, this is a very heady scent, in a sexy-incense sort of way. Not for wearing to work, I don't think, but a definite winner for nighttime.

I wasn't sure what to expect of Isaac, but he was totally different than I would have guessed! From the description, I was thinking it would be far boozier, but on my skin it was a dry, dry scent. Warm and leathery with a hint of tobacco and cologne... and usually tobacco is hit-or-miss on me, but it works really well here. Absolutely dead sexy - I could hardly tear my nose away from my wrist.

I'm 14 weeks pregnant, and I've shied away from BPAL since my test came back positive, just to be on the safe side. Today, I felt up to giving it a cautious try, so I dabbed a teeny bit of Beaver Moon on the sleeves of my hoodie... most of the day I was alright, but towards the end of the day it got a little overwhelming. I did get a scent locket as a Yule gift, so maybe I'll try that out next.