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BPAL Madness!

Em-

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Everything posted by Em-

  1. Em-

    Salty scents?

    I second the Dragon's Tears suggestion. Also, you might try Dublin or Selkie if you can get your hands on them - both are pretty salty on me. Ogun might be another good GC option. It's foody, not aquatic, but the first think I thought of when I saw "salty scents" was Shill from the Carnival Noir line. It is salty buttered popcorn and the people who like it seem to *really* like it.
  2. Em-

    Hunter Moon 2007

    Like others, I was very surprised by Hunter Moon...I adore the first one, which has aged into a gorgeous blend of dark, animalistic musk and spicy autumn wine. While I didn't expect this one to be the same, I wasn't expecting the sweetness at all. In the bottle, this smells like a light wine, a soft wooded glade, and vanilla. On my skin, the vanilla amps like woah, leaving a really nice scent (I happen to be a big fan of vanilla and am always happy to find it in a blend that isn't inherently foody) that is worlds different from what I expected - that vanilla, and a hint of a soft musk - whomever said buckskin is right on to my nose, as this is very similar to coyote, but with, well, vanilla bean. I get virtually nothing of wine or leaves or anything else really. So, not at all what I expected, but a happy surprise, nonetheless.
  3. Em-

    Azazel

    Oh damn, this is absolutely gorgeous - herbal and woody with a lovely light lemony note. I love this on me, and it would be gorgeous on a man as well. So so sad that it's gone.
  4. Em-

    Eidolon

    Wow...this is a gorgeous blend, herbal and citrusy - this definitely has a townhouse in my alley! This is a light scent on me, but quite pleasant.
  5. Em-

    Aquarius

    Warm evergreen, lavender and something sort of creamy and sweet - not sure precisely what, but it's lovely.
  6. Em-

    Goona Goona

    A soft, sweet peace and harmony blend. Used to create an atmosphere of compassion, understanding, trust and love. This is particularly useful in mediation, calming tense or volatile situations, and in strengthening relationships. Sharp, strong herbal flowers. Very pretty at first, then becomes too much for my nose.
  7. Em-

    The Perilous Parlor

    Mmmmmm. I've been wanting a pear/vanilla combo for a while, so The "Pear"ilous Parlor was a must have for me. First on, this is riperiperipe juicy pear in a creamy sweet vanilla. Almost poached pear with vanilla ice cream sort of scent. But as it wears, the sweetness fades and what appears to be a light musk comes out, grounding the blend and making it wearable even for us who don't necessarily like the uber sweet/foodies at the office. Much much love!
  8. Em-

    Privilege

    Like a lot of other reviewers, it seems, I get primarily fresh, floral *perfume* from this. There is a hint of citrus that almost makes it me, but not quite. It is very pretty, and if you like serious florals, then this might be you. Alas, me, it's not.
  9. Em-

    Dolce Stil Nuovo

    Wow...I was reluctant to try this one, because I shy away from all things jasmine. But I really don't get much, if any, jasmine from this blend. Instead, I get primarily rich, almost creamy, amber with a healthy dose of carnation. The vanilla flower adds to the creamyness, I expect. I cannot really pick out any of the other florals in this, but that's okay - it is gorgeous. That's enough.
  10. Em-

    Thirteen (13): July 2007

    Wow...this is a good one. I almost didn't order this one, because I tend to have mixed luck with chocolatey scents, but this is just amazing! I get a rich dark cocoa (which does work better on me than chocolate), a dollop of honey and beautiful, spicy peach. The peach really starts to come out on me after a while, which is exactly what I hoped for.
  11. Em-

    Pumpkin V (2007)

    At first, this is almost all pumpkin and vanilla...very sweet, almost sugary. As it wears, the citrus comes out more and makes this a very pretty, sweet/fruity scent. A few hours later, I've almost no pumpkin left, instead a vanilla citrus scent with just a hint of spice. I'd like more ginger out of this one, to be honest, but that's a note that doesn't really sing on my skin, alas, so I'm not surprised that I'm amping other notes instead. Still, a very pretty and impressive blend!
  12. Em-

    Pumpkin II (2007)

    OMFG...this is heaven in a bottle...rich heady tobacco and tonka (one of my most favoriteist BPAL combos ever), with spicy sweet carnation and chambaca...and a fruity, not at all bakery-like pumpkin. TO. DIE. FOR. This is like Mme. Moriarty gone Halloween, with pumpkin instead of plum...sultry, spicy, heady and absolutely gorgeous!
  13. Em-

    Pumpkin III (2007)

    This Pumpkin was a real surprise to me - my sleeper hit, if you will, in an amazing quintet of pumpkiny goodness. I knew right off the bat that this would be my least favorite pumpkin this year - caramel almost never works on me, and chocolate is dodgy. In the bottle, I got mostly sweetness - gooey caramel and flakey chocolate (I'm glad I'm not the only one who smelled cake!), with a touch of something fruity and maybe a little tart - which must be the Pomegranate. Wet on my skin, I got almost straight up buttery pumpkin - much more reminiscent of the Pumpkin in Jack or prior year's Patches than in the others of this year's collection. I had to resniff the bottle to make sure I hadn't imagined the cake scent. As it dried, the sweet caramely cakieness amps up to balance the pumpkin, and the pom adds that tart counterbalance that I sniffed in the bottle. This is a surprisingly wearable scent (given my chemistry) - not one I'm likely to grab much, I don't think, but still, a very fun wearable scent that will be a huge hit, I expect.
  14. Em-

    Singing Moon

    Oh my... I get complements almost every time I wear this blend...it is soft and rich...a grassy green almost-aquatic with a dose of vanilla or tonka or something that makes it creamy. On my skin, this is my beloved departed Wipporwhill - the absolutel essense of a New England late spring/early summer - made softer and even richer with a shot of that creamy vanilla. Absolute heaven!
  15. Em-

    The Emathides

    Fruity, rich caramely amber. Not caramel as in burnt sugar, but thick and heady and oh-so-comforting and lovely. I devanted a bit of this before bed one night and woke pu with my hands still smelling of it...oh so beautiful.
  16. Em-

    Thunder Moon

    I didn't originally order this, as I tend to shy away from watery/rainy/aquatic blends. But damn, but if this is not just a gigantic exception to that rule - this is a gorgeous, cloudy rainswept summer field, warm and grassy with sweet damn florals that behave beautifully. I absolutely adore this.
  17. Em-

    Hunter Moon 2004

    Not sure how I never reviewed this, because it is an absolutely gorgeous blend - I get a rich warm musk, sweet wine and just a pinch of dry smoky leafyness. Even three years later, this is still a beautiful ode to autumn.
  18. Em-

    Pumpkin IV (2007)

    Mmmm...Halloween in the desert! This is very much a deserty, cactus/sage/sweetgrass scent on me, with the pumpkin providing a marvelous autumnal backdrop to the fresh juicy cactus and the soft grassy herbals of the sage and s-grass. If you like scents like Tenochtitlan, but want something with a heavier, more autumnal feel, this should be a must buy scent.
  19. Em-

    Pumpkin I (2007)

    I *adore* this. The pumpkin is a very well behaving basenote in this on me - it is a much more fruity pumpkin than in past BPAL pumpkin blends, blending gorgeously with the pear and the grapes for a fresh, fruity perfect early autumn scent. The tea adds a lovely savoryness, and much to my great joy, the jasmine behaves and is nothing more than a whisp of delacateness. Lovelovelove!
  20. Em-

    Dublin

    This was a very sweet, green aquatic on me. Not at all what I expected, although I suppose that's a relief, since it's discon.
  21. Em-

    Lemon Verbena

    Mmmm, wonderful green lemony scent. I have a lemon verbena plant in my backyard, and this is *it*. Absolutely perfect.
  22. Em-

    Coffee Bean

    A fresh pot of rich, good quality freshly ground coffee. As it should be.
  23. Em-

    Fig

    This is very rich and fruity - I definitely recognize this as being a key note in blends like Freak Show and other figgies, but on its own, Fig is much more...sparkly, for lack of a better word.
  24. Em-

    Ylang Ylang

    Ylang ylang and I have a sort of love/hate relationship - it is the sort of note that puts me on edge a little bit, but is not something that I universally cannot wear. Notes are weird. Or maybe my chemistry is borked. Anyway, there is something very sultry and Oriental (as a perfume category) about this note - it evokes jasmine for me a bit - which could explain my trepidation - but there is a spicy note that endears it to me.
  25. Em-

    Redwood

    Wow...this is such a warm, woody scent...completely evocative of standing in a redwood forest.
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