Brianne

Jasmine in all it's overpowering glory on my skin. It's no secret that I don't dig jasmine, so if you LIKE or even TOLERATE jasmine, take my review with a great big grain of salt. Jasmine is very overwhelming in this blend (like with most others) and it's followed by the airy and slightly sweet moonflower, which at least elevates the jasmine's headiness a bit. Then, there is the cardamom, coming in and spicing this up a bit and thoughI usually LOVE spices and they certainly make me enjoy florals more, for some reason the cardamom just clashes with the jasmine to my nose. It seems.... hectic, for lack of a better word. I don't like how these two jive together quite frankly.

 

As to be expected, the jasmine is very powerful and totally not my thing.

Robin Goodfellow starts off pretty well on me with a soft but masculine mossiness which is appealing and even slightly sweet. However, it quickly grows into "grandma perfume" with a sort of sickly sweet muskiness. None of the notes listed for this typically do that on my skin, so I'm not sure what gives here.

Like many of the Somnium blends, Oneiroi is straightforward and simple. The lavender in this one is very deep and potent and will certainly be the first thing you notice. Following that, there is a heady lavender note and then the sharp crispness of bergamot, which lends a slight citrus edge to this scent (and also a slight sweetness in the drydown). Very heady and deep, lavender and jasmine fans will probably enjoy this!

I was hoping that Suck It would be a dark and rich scent, but it's quite the opposite. Sniffing the bottle I get cherry cough syrup - it's slightly medicinal (but not boozey) and has a light candy-ish cherry note.

 

On my skin there is no strong cherry and no boozey note ever appears. But one thing is very clear to me about how this smells to my nose. Fruit Punch Kool-Aid. Period, dot the end. I even made some to compare because I was so convinced that was what I was smelling lol. It's just a dead ringer on me - the fruit is strong but has a "thin" quality to it, making it more candy-ish and sugary, like in Kool-Aid. Which is fun, but not the dark and sexy scent I was expecting or hoping for.

 

The wear time on this is not so short that it disappears in a few minutes, but after 20 minutes it is certainly close to the skin and with a lot less throw. It's also quite a bit more mellow at that point, making it less fruity and just kind of a faded sugary, slightly fruity scent with a tad bit of a musky quality (without smelling like musk if that makes sense).

 

I think it's nice enough and fun but not what I imagine to be sexy and it's (in my opinion) more of a summery frou frou fruit punch scent.

This pumpkin is one of many that I've tried over the years from BPAL. However, it's the first one where I had an "AHA!" moment about pumpkin scents

 

This is just lovely - the pumpkin is sweet and a tad fruity in tone but it's backed beautifully by the tomato and rosemary and fir. It helps give it an earthy, toned down feel which works wonderfully.

 

I love the smell and keep sniffing my arm but... as mentioned, I came to my AHA moment about pumpkin scents finally. I keep buying them and trying them because the descriptions pull me in (being a fan of Autumnal scents) and I usually end up liking the scent, if not loving it. And then I end up with bottles that I never wear. I could never figure out WHY this was but it dawned on me with this one - I love the scents but I love them in the way that you love a really nice candle or room spray. But as a body scent - something I'd smell on myself - it just doesn't appeal. It makes me think of some of the yummier Yankee Candle Company candles - which are great smelling! And I love my HOUSE to smell like that, but not me.

 

So in short - I love this scent - it's a beautiful combination and certainly evokes Autumn thoughts. But it's not very wearable to me, and would make a much better room spray!

This is very "perfumey" and deep with a sophisticated mixture of florals, resins and mosses. The end result is too perfumey for me but it does remind me a great deal of Black Lace. The "vibe" is very similar between the two and if you are a fan of Black Lace, I'd say Black Butterfly Moon is worth checking out

Sachs is definitely a very straightforward, simple scent. It starts off as a syrup sweet vanilla with a streak of strong and astringent smelling chamomile (I'd say medicinal even). The vanilla mellows out after 15 minutes or so and so does the chamomile. It's a nice enough scent, but not smoky to my nose and doesn't last very long either.

Count me among those who do not get honey from this Definitely myrhh and ylang ylang, which combine to a vaguely powdery scent with an sort of old fashioned warmth to it. I tend to associate myrhh with being kind of old fashioned so it makes me think of perfumes that my grandmother wore. It's a nice scent, but definitely not very "me" unfortunately and though I think it's pleasant enough I keep getting "old lady perfume" flashes every once in a while when I sniff it!

I can safely say that this is not really what I was expecting with this scent. The fig is far more prominent than any other note in this blend, and the blueberries only make a brief appearance on my skin when I initially apply and are quickly gone after that. Even the fig is pretty subtle in this though, backed by an almost astringent herb note (reminds me of the herbal backing to Strawberry Moon actually) and a sugary musk. This isn't particular sweet OR fruity, and the drydown is sort of a subtle figgy musk.

When this first goes on, it is a bit like Pink Phoenix. It's bright and super pink and fruity. However, within just a minute or two, that changes. It becomes more like a tin of berry hard candies dusted with sugar. It's fruity but in a very subtle way. The dusty sugary note is what really stands out in this more than anything. It's sweet and girly, but wearable. Certainly not for those who aren't fans of sugary scents.

I think etheral is a good way to describe this. It is a strange combination of both smoky AND soapy. It's clean but has the mysterious appeal of smoke. There is a light sandalwood and iris floating through this also, it's very pleasant and also very low key.

DCCLXIII - 763

 

In the Decant: Indian spice blend and a hint of pink grapefruit

 

On My Skin: Indian spice blend (softer), pink grapefruit, and lime. After about an hour, it's almost pure cotton candy, with only hints of the other notes

 

 

I got a decant of this one as a frimp from flyingdutchman and I actually agree completely with this review. It starts off with this sort of soft and exotic spice backed by a fruitiness which I agree must be grapefruit. It's a really interesting blend in that the spice and grapefruit offer an odd but appealing contrast to one another. After it's been dry for a bit though, it goes really weird on me and the spice takes on a rather ... funky (for lack of a better word) tone and it goes a bit sour.

This is what I'd call a "pale fruity" scent. It's fruity in that it has a vague blueberry scent to it with a touch of lime. But it's not very strong and it's backed by a watery, ozone like scent. It's kind of a subtle way to wear a fruity scent, so I imagine it would appeal to someone who needed something that wasn't in-your-face or shockingly sweet

This is exactly what I was hoping for out of this scent It's musk with a slightly sweet twinge to it and it's incredibly smooth and creamy (and yet, not a foody scent - it's smooth and creamy but MUSKY).

 

Honestly, if you like musk, this is a must own in my opinion. It's lovely all by itself, but will also be PERFECT for layering and making other scents muskier

A great big thank you to Ahania who generously gifted me a full sample of this! <3

 

Giallo made me curious because it's full of notes that I normally love but also had a couple that scare me (*cough*JASMINE*cough*). Red musk, smoky vanilla, patchouli and tobacco are all notes that I have a lot of luck with and that I enjoy. On the other hand, jasmine, black amber and opopponax usually go wrong on me. So this was a real gamble and I was curious as to how it was going to turn out!

 

I can definitely see where people are making comparisons to Black Lace, because there is a very similar vibe to this. It's sort of a "high end perfume" smelling scent in my opinion, it's got an edge of smoky musk with amber and lightly sweet florals. There's a lot going on here and it all blends together well.

 

It's not for me (in the same way that I liked Black Lace but didn't wear it) but it's a lovely scent and sure to be popular among many!

Oh my, this goes on gorgeous and exotic. It's warm and sweet with strong almond and a touch of apple, making it just the tiniest bit fruity against the rich sweetness of almond.

 

However, after about 60 seconds, the rose starts to peek out and make this more floral than I can tolerate (I have a low tolerance for rose for whatever that is worth!). This is an otherwise very pretty and fitting scent, but the rose is certainly present. It's very feminine and as I sit sniffing this in the already super summery heat, I have to think that it seems like a lovely summer scent!

Well, this did not end up smelling like I thought it would. None of the notes show up on me that are supposed to be there lol. What I DO smell is cedarwood. With a touch of a clean linen scent. That's it, but MOSTLY it's cedar on me.

This is really simple on me - lemony jasmine. More jasmine than lemon, but that's all I get (such is the way of jasmine on my skin). Dries down into a powdery smell (like jasmine scented talc or something)

Why I got this: spiced oranges with licorice? Ummm yes please. This was THE scent I wanted from the whole collection.

 

Why I was concerned: rich amber. I don't always have a problem with amber, but sometimes it can really go awry on me

 

What it ended up being: Enraged Orangutan Musk how did you get in my decant??? Seriously smells like that - dark and musky with a deep orange scent and dark spices. Not what I was expecting. Not unpleasant, just not what I thought. Very dark.

 

What it reminds me of: Enraged Orangutan Musk, it smells nearly identical on me!

Why I got this: tobacco and irish coffee of course!

 

Why I was concerned: When I have high hopes for a scent, it rarely works out in my favor.

 

What it ended up being: This could have been called cigar single note on me. That's it, no coffee or wood even (which is usually dominant on me), just soft and vaguely sweet cigar smoke.

 

What it reminds me of: The dry down of Pinched (after it's been on for a few hours).

Why I got this: Honestly, I was in a decant circle where you had to order the whole Velvet set. I had no interest in this one!

 

Why I was concerned: The entire description lol. The word "dust" in a BPAL description is like the kiss of death for me. It always ends up smelling like dust. And nothing else.

 

What it ended up being: A surprise hit! The dust is nowhere in site on me but guess what is here? Clove! And I ADORE clove. Clove and tobacco with a faint but smooth cedar. It's very unisex and warm and just delicious. It's funny that the two scents I definitely didn't want are the only two scents to work for me out of this collection so far hah!

 

What it reminds me of: Clove ciggarettes inside my Dad's smoker (that he smokes meat in). It's definitely JUST like that. Just lovely.

Why I got this: I love tropical scents and tropical florals are the only ones that don't scare me off. Coconut is one of my favorite notes and the prospect of having coconut with vanilla and some tropical fruits and florals was too good to pass up!

 

Why I was concerned: Despite the fact that I am not afraid of the tropical florals, they don't always work out for me.

 

What it ended up being: Too floral unfortunately. I do not get coconut or vanilla at any stage of this scent. I do get a fruity scent which is more citrus than pineapple or passionfruit (in fact, it smells lemony to me). I also get light tropical florals. They are nice enough, but without the sweetness of coconut or vanilla, this scent is too floral for me. It's very light on me, extremely close to the skin.

 

What it reminds me of: This tiare powder my Mom used to have. It was light and powdery with a soft floral scent. This smells a lot like that.

Why I got this: Cherry with other assorted candy scents. Too tempting to pass.

 

Why I was concerned: If you read my other Velvet scent reviews you'll notice that I keep mentioning that BPAL scents with the word "sugar" or "candy" in their descriptions rarely work for me. I keep trying anyways, because I like a good candyish scent.

 

What it ended up being: Disappointing. It goes on vaguely sweet with a hint of what smells like soft caramel and some vaguely pinkish candy scent. It disappears very quickly indeed, ten minutes of this on and I can barely smell it anymore! This was the one I was looking forward to the most and it was the one that ended up being the most disappointing on me.

 

What it reminds me of: Midway and Marshmallow Poof. I wouldn't get too excited about that though, because the throw and lasting power of this is nowhere near what it was for the other two. But I kind of think if those two scents had a child, it would smell a bit like this. But this child is a wussy that doesn't stick around ;_;

Why I got this: To be honest, the decant circle I was a part of didn't do individual scents, just a full set of the Velvet scents. Otherwise, I never would have tried this!

 

Why I was concerned: Oh why was I not is really the question. Cedar? Myrrh? Frankincense? This is some kind of Brie-bane unholy trifecta of scent or something.

 

What it ended up being: This is the sixth of ten Velvet scents that I tried, and it's the very first one that I actually like. Odd that, because I never even wanted to try it - it just goes to show you! This goes on vibrantly green. It's so... ZAP! GREEN! that I can imagine it would be exactly the sort of scent I'd want to wash with in the mornings to wake me up. It's not minty and it's not citrusy, it's just green with a bit of woodiness and resin. A very well rounded scent. Though, I could not see myself wearing this as a perfume, I think it's a fascinating scent and so far the stand out of the series (keep in mind I still have four to try). After 20 minutes or so, this is more like fresh cut grass than anything else, but it's still refreshing and nice.

 

What it reminds me of: Fresh Cut grass and green tea

 

 

 

Why I got this: I love skin musk and anything with the word "nudie" in it is going to get my attention!

 

Why I was concerned: BPAL scents with "sugar" in the description have not worked out well on me in the past

 

What it ended up being: It's a very close scent, definitely a skin scent as one might expect from both the name and the notes. Unfortunately, the floral note takes a soapy quality and keeps this from being really loveable to me. It's nice enough, and wearable in a way that I think it's pretty inoffensive and could be worn by anyone anywhere.

 

What it reminds me of: It reminds me of Bonne Bell's Skin Musk only it's more floral and soapy. Sort of in the same vein though.