Brianne

Why I got this: Licorice and cigar smoke are right up my alley and tempted me to try this blend

 

Why I was concerned: BPAL's candy scents have rarely worked with my chemistry. Add to that the ominous sounding "greasepaint" note and the "scorched marshmallows" and it seemed like a big gamble.

 

What it ended up being: I had every right to be concerned, as licorice is a no show on me and the cigar smoke is faint and fleeting (like the whiskey note). The end result is burnt sugar and an odd fruity scent that's not quite fruit and not quite sweet.

 

What it reminds me of: It's VERY VERY similar to Sugar Skull on me so take that for what it's worth. If you loved Sugar Skull, this may be for you. If you hated Sugar Skull you might find yourself with the same reaction as me!

I'm not someone turned off by vetiver at all - I actually like it in most blends, so I wasn't afraid of this scent for that reason. For me - the term "dark musk" means that a scent is going to turn into "Old Man at the Swap Meet". It's got a pretty bad record on my skin. But after I read dark musk I read.... star anise. OMG. I love star anise. And then... mandarin! Ooooh. Anise and mandarin? Yes please. I was willing to overcome my fear of dark musk for the chance at an anise and mandarin scent.

 

No such luck though. Anise, mandarin and vanilla are all MIA for me in this one. Oh but dark musk is definitely there don't you know. This scent is musky, murky and musty on me (ie Old Man at the Swap Meet). Sad

I was immediately reminded of Pink Phoenix when I put this on, but it was only that first few seconds that resembled it to me, after that it was nothing like Pink Phoenix. I got pink for sure (though BPAL's strawberry note never smells like strawberry on me, it does smell appropriate "pink" and sweet) and then I got the gritty scent I associate with BPAL's sugar note (such as in Sugar Skull) and then the juniper (the gin). It was really nice at first, but like most other sugar or candy blends, it disappears in record time. Within 2 minutes it was mostly gone from my skin. The remainder of the time it was a light juniper scent with a touch of sweetness. Little to no throw - pleasant enough but also a bit vague on me and just not enough "oomph" in this for my tastes.

 

 

CXXIV -

This one just eludes me. I can smell it well, it has excellent throw. But I just cannot pinpoint what I'm smelling. Definitely some Snake Oil, but I think there is a resin in this also - frankincense maybe? And also a touch of floral? I just cannot say for certain here, I AM fairly sure there is resin added to that Snake Oil, I just don't know which one!

 

EDIT: I feel certain now that there is orange in this. It's very obvious in the bottle, but not at all on my skin.

I really wish they would have used a different pen to write the numbers down. Before I even put my fingers on the bottle, the numbers were smudged (still readable thankfully, but barely). Now that I've touched them, I have to rely on my handwritten labels on the top in order to see what they are, because the pen is pretty much gone. Good thing I wrote it down real quick!

 

 

Dorian is one of my favorites, so I was really eager to get this!

 

CXIV -

The bad news is that this is a leaky bottle. The good news is that I don't want to send it off to anyone else anyways, so what didn't leak is staying here with me because I LOVE it. It's so straightforward and I really love a good straightforward scent these days. Dorian with lemon. The lemon starts off bright and sugary sweet, but settles into a creamier, but still very bright lemon. It makes for a version of Dorian that is perfectly summery!

 

 

CCXXXXX (that is how it is written)

I think this one is pretty straightforward also - quite a bit of Dorian in this one, but with a wood of some sort. I want to say redwood, because redwood always smells a bit "nutty" on me in it's wet stages, and this one certainly does. This also has a bit of extra citrus or the citrus that is normally in Dorian is really played up by that wood note, because it dries down with more of a citrus note than regular Dorian does.

I get the cream note in the bottle, but on my skin it just goes POOF I guess, because this is apple and floral and nothing else. BPAL's apple note is just odd on me for some reason - it is too green and has a slightly bitter quality, rather than sweet or fruity. So I'm getting a green-ish apple scent backed by a girly floral. Very pretty, but I would have enjoyed it more if the cream note had stuck around on me

Goes on very gingery - has a foody quality, but not in a really sugary sweet way on me. Smells like a big chunk of ginger cake.

Vaguely reddish spice scent - not too spicey, it's actually really subtle but has a reddish/warm vibe to it without being cinnamon-y. Not sure what to make of this otherwise though!

Vaguely fruity smelling - in a sort of watery way, like currants smell sometimes. Softly boozey to me, I don't get a sharp booze note from this. Very toned down scent on me!

Definitely rose, but a pale rose. Touched by a crisp and slightly salty ozone note. I would say this rose is more "wearable" than a lot of others.

This scent is very straight forward on me. Light herbs with a touch of bitter apple (not sweet apple or fruity apple, it's bitter and has a sharp "tangy" quality to it). Interesting - I don't think I could wear this as a personal scent, though I think it might make a nice room spray!

Lysander is a strange mixture in that I would THINK that these notes would clash. Even when I smell them, I think, "Hmmm those are odd together"... but they aren't BAD together. The tonka and benzoin create a warm, slightly sweet smell that reminds me of caramel. But it's backed by lilac and something woody. The result is strangely addictive (as I sniff my arm for the 25th time) and I actually like it... but wouldn't wear it (as it's just not something I could see myself wearing despite the fact that I enjoy the smell).

Prunella goes on like sharp white florals, but does eventually tame down into florals backed by a softly sweet plum. Reminds me of Spring - nice but definitely a floral!

I'm not typically a fan of white sandalwood or cedar (though I don't dislike either) but the phrase "lunar herbs" piques my curiousity every time. Many of my favorite lunacy blends have "lunar herbs". It's pretty woody and the herbs make this seem very ethereal and light. It's pleasant but too woody for me.

Chrysanthemum Moon is one of my favorite lunacy scents so I had high hopes for this one, which sounded like it might be similar. Indeed it is, in that it's smokey florals backed by incense. It's simply beautiful - a very grown up floral I think - it's an equal balance of flowers and incense, so that people like me (who don't really enjoy a straight up floral scent) can really appreciate it also.

When this is wet, it's a dead ringer for my much-loved original Hunter Moon. As it dries down, it stays like that. It's heady incense and plum - sexy and very distinct.

This goes on VERY cherry blossoms - but with a touch of soapiness. It's really spring like and clean/floral. I don't dislike cherry blossoms at all, I think they smell quite pretty but they aren't really *me*, so I really got this scent for the other notes. Luckily, the musk and moss creeps in and makes this cherry blossom slightly more palatable for me. I never get much "vanilla" from this - it's pretty much moss and musk and cherry blossom. Very soft and delicate, and yet surprisingly unisex in my opinion.

I tend to fall in love with almost every apricot blend BPAL has put out, so it's no real surprise that I adore this one. It goes on like sake - green but boozey but settles into a bright apricot scent. Gorgeous!

The whole time I was wearing this, I kept sniffing it and thinking, "This smells like something I know..." but I could not put my finger on it! It was driving me nuts, but I figured it was just going to remain one of those mysteries. I came here to review it and saw someone compare it to Siren! That was it! It smells very similar (and yet not exactly the same) as Siren to me.

 

It's more ambery than Siren is in the dry down, but the end result is a feminine, smooth and sexy scent. It's not for me as the amber is too strong for my tastes (and I prefer Siren anyways), but it's a very nice scent and I can see this being popular with some!

 

 

EDIT - (I wrote this review to put here earlier today, so forgive the edit already!) The more I sniff this, the more I like it. It's really growing on me, and it's becoming a winner in my eyes. Oddly enough, it eventually moves past a mostly-amber phase into a more orange blossom and vanilla phase. Lovely.

This smells like vanilla on me at first, nothing else. As it dries, oakmoss comes out a bit and cuts the sweetness of this a little bit. That's all I get from this though - it's pretty but it's a too subtle for me (and stays VERY close to the skin, with little throw).

This goes on like rice pudding with plum. The longer this sits on me, the woodier it becomes - it's very plummy though - not plum blossom, but plum. Rich and purpley in tone, backed by sandalwood and the clean, perfumey scent of rice.

 

This is really nice - I think it's a sort of "grown up" scent, the kind of scent a woman would wear. It does remind me a great deal of Bordello, but if Bordello was woodier and not quite as sweet.

This scent is just all wrong on me. I don't know why because none of the notes in this are particular notes I have issues with. And there isn't a real reason that this should smell overwhelmingly of white floral, but it does. Just soapy, white floral that eventually goes powdery also due to the daemonorops (dragon's blood tends to do that on me). I don't get honey or musk or smokey anything. Sad

I agree with it smelling somewhat like Eden - it has a soft greenish fig note as one of the dominant notes and I can only keep thinking that brown paper bag = teak or something. It's VERY woody. It's a lovely blend but a bit woody for my tastes.

The yuzu is quite strong at first, it's very bright and crisp but the labdanum creeps in after that and pretty much dominates this blend. With the citrus notes and the tuberose and neroli, this blend ends up unfortunately very "perfumey" and indistinct on me.

Giant Vulva is Xiutehcuhtli's more refined but quieter cousin. The copal is loud and clear in this and it's gorgeous - it dries into a really "soft" version of Xiutehcuhtli, so if you like that scent (like I do), Giant Vulva is a good choice. The drydown is very close to your skin and has a more subtle throw but is absolutely lovely.