Little Bird

I like this blend a lot more than Marshmallow Poof and Plastic Pink Flamingo. The marshmallow note in Poof and Flamingo goes oddly tart and fruity on my skin, but the marshmallow note here really smells like white, sugary, fluffy marshmallows <3. First on, I get lots of marshmallow, lemon sugar, and something like bubblegum from this. The drydown is like a glass of iced tea with lemon and a drop of golden honey, next to a plate of homemade vanilla-y marshmallows. The lemon is sharp and I normally hate sharp lemon notes, but it works for me paired with the sweetness of the marshmallow. The notes really balance each other well, and the tea scent makes it smell summery and refreshing. Chewing Little Bits of String smells summery and cheery to me. It's an awesome tea blend

Sniffing this in the bottle, my husband said that it smelled like cinnamon and celery. I can definitely smell the redwood in the bottle, like a soft, sweet woods smell, and also something spicy, with a little bit of cucumber. I don't get that spiciness once the oil is on my skin, though, it just has a nice warmth to it. On my skin, I get lots of dry, warm, almost incensey woods, sweetness, and cucumber. The coconut note is sweet without smelling at all like a dessert or suntan lotion, and the tonka adds more of a perfumey sweetness than a foodie one. I *really* love the cucumber note in this. It adds a fresh, crisp, pale green edge to the blend that's so pretty. The cucumber really lifts up the other notes and calms down the sweetness. Warm, soft woods, perfumey sweetness, and a sparkly, fresh edge from the cucumber. Boneshaking Antique Velocipede really well-blended, unique, and lovely. My husband said that it smells pretty, like clouds, on me, lol.

I wasn't sure if I would like this. I don't usually enjoy beer or bonfire scents, but I do like cake and incense. Thankfully, I don't really get a beer smell from this, and it's not really smoky either. Feeding the Dead is mostly a sweet, creamy, grainy sort of smell on me. It's not as sweet or dry smelling as cake scents usually are to me, and it doesn't smell buttery on me either. It's very pretty. In the drydown, I get a hint of incense and what smells like just the tiniest touch of wet ash. It reminds me of the Bonfire Night room spray a bit. I'm glad that I got a bottle of this before it disappeared .

Peach Moon doesn't smell like peach or peach blossom at all to me. I get lots of white tea (which smells sharp, clean, and citrussy on me) and cool, slightly powdery musk, with hints of fruity-floral perfuminess. It's a very light, cool, clean, perfumey-sharp scent on me. It dries down to a light, clean powder after ten minutes and disappears entirely before I've even worn it for a full half hour. I thought that I would really like this, but it's not so great on me. It's a little too sharp, clean and perfumey at first, and it has awful staying power and throw on me. I was hoping that it would smell something like peach :/

This goes on smelling like bitter, sour black coffee and a hint of dry spiciness. It dries down to soapy, sharp florals and a hint of bitter black coffee on me. The husband told me that it smelled like burnt coffee and soap. I only had a tiny drop of this to test, but I think that'll be enough for me, lol.

The White Rider is the softest leather scent that I've tried from bpal. It's a little like Quincey Morris's well worn, sweeter leather note, but simpler and better in my opinion. It's like butter soft suede. Sandalwood can sometimes be too dry and powdery on me, but it just adds a cozy, warm feel here. The most comforting leather. I like this for a cozy, sophisticated leather, where The Red Rider is my intense and sexy leather scent.

I'd definitely recommend trying The Antikythera Mechanism (notes of: Teakwood, oak, black vanilla, and tobacco). It's a really gorgeous, dark vanilla-tobacco scent. Also: Intrigue - "A sultry, exotic scent that inspires devious plotting and clandestine affairs. It is a scent painted in artifice, veiled in deceit, and slithering with whispered secrets. Black palm, with cocoa, fig and shadowy wooded notes." Centzon Totochtin - "Bittersweet Mexican cocoa with rum, red wine, and a scent redolent of sacrificial blood." And Miskatonic University is probably your best bet for a coffee scent right now (note: The scent of Irish coffee, dusty tomes and polished oakwood halls). You would probably love Pinched With Four Aces, but that was limited edition and practically impossible to find now :/ (notes: Colorado Maduro tobacco wrappers, cinnamon bark, coffee bean husk, and dry woods). If you're interested in picking up a limited edition, El Dia de Los Reyes is currently available and has notes of "Hot cocoa with cinnamon, coffee, and brown sugar."

The phoenix labels are awesome <3. I'm so glad that I have bottles of all of those coming to me.

In the bottle and on my skin at first, this smells like the pulpy, fresh, pale green smell that I get from Whippoorwill. It smells like the bamboo note on me at first, but more like a pine/Christmas tree as it dries down (a dead, not-so-fresh pine tree). The cinnamon here smells like a very dry, dark cinnamon that starts off slightly sharp, but sweetens up over time. The green smell after about 15 minutes starts to just go all wrong on me. País de la Canela smells like cardboard and a hint of rotten pumpkin and dead pine tree :/. I smell like a garbage dumpster filled with throw-aways from Halloween and Christmas (rotten pumpkin, dead pine tree, cardboard from Christmas gifts, and a handful of holiday potpourri). It gives me a headache and starts to make me feel sick after a short while. I don't get a tropical feel from this, to say the least. This doesn't work for me at all. I had to scrub it off after an hour.

In the bottle, this smells like musky, sexy, rich, dark chocolate fudge. I don't tend to like herbal scents, so I wasn't sure that this would work for me, but I'm not getting a strong herbal presence from this at all. It smells like a sexy, perfumey musk and the best chocolate note ever, with a little hint of sweet and smoky resins. It's such a sexy, dark, luxurious scent. It's like the perfume equivalent of dimming the lights in an expensive hotel room, having sex in your little black dress, and then laying in bed laughing and eating expensive, rich chocolates with your lover. I lovelovelove this. My favorite Thirteen is still the orange label one, but this is a close second.

Sleipnir smells like a granola bar and fresh berries on my skin. It's cheery, golden, and slightly sweet. I get delicate, honeyed oats and this fresh berry smell, like smelling a basket of real berries. I smell a bit of dusty hay in the bottle, but none of that note on my skin. This has a natural, pleasant, light smell. I could see myself wearing this on days when I don't want a heavy fragrance. I was worried about the hazelnut and honey going sickly sweet on me, but this is very wearable. I might need a full bottle of Sleipnir, and I'm definitely keeping my decant

In the bottle, this smells like sweet tarts candies. On me, it smells like sweet tarts + a hint of slightly smoky, tropical floral. I'm not a fan of this one. It smells tart, sweet and artificial...

I would get her a bottle of The Smiling Spider, for sure. It has lots of clove and no fruity-floral sweetness. A lot of people have said it smells like clove cigarettes to them as well. It's probably my favorite clove scent, and it ages really well.

I love this scent. It really does "invoke the comforts of Christmastime" and it's like a perfumey version of "a glowing hearth." When I read "glowing hearth" I thought of ashy brimstone notes, but this perfume is like a warm, comforting glow. It's dark and spicy, and it has something like a fragrant, spicy wood smell to it (like the way that cedar has that spiciness to it, but this doesn't smell like cedar). It's sort of foodie-sweet, but in a perfumey way, and it's all wrapped up in this dark, spicy warmth. This is super-comforting, warm, and unique. It doesn't smell exactly like food or glowing hearth to me, but it's like this gorgeous, perfumey interpretation of those things. I definitely need to upgrade my decant to a full bottle of Joulumuori. I think that this would be a beautiful room scent as well as a perfume. My husband said that this smells beautiful on me .

The original Lick It is still my favorite of this line of scents, but Lick It Til It's Sticky is probably the closest to getting back to the original. This is slightly sharper and not quite as sweet or hard as the original, and I don't get quite the intense cooling sensation, but this definitely smells like a peppermint candy cane. It smells cold and I can practically taste the peppermint candy when I smell this. The drydown is a bit more menthol-y than I would like as well. It's a refreshing, freezing peppermint candy. I'm still hoarding the original Lick It and probably won't keep my decant of this one.

In the bottle, this smells like those lemon scented hand wipes that they give out at some restaurants/bars after you eat - lemony clean and kinda soapy. On my skin, this winds up being a much brighter scent than I was expecting. I don't smell any frankincense or rose geranium, and the blood orange isn't as dark and sweet as it usually is on me. This is mostly a soft, slightly soapy, bright lemon smell. I get a little extra sweetness of the blood orange, but not much. This isn't bad, but it's too clean/soapy smelling for me to be able to wear it without getting a headache. It also reminds me a lot of the lemon scented disinfectant wipes that I use to clean my house. I love those wipes, but I don't want to wear them :/

I thought that I would love this after smelling it in the bottle. In the bottle, it smells like some sweet, effervescent mix of root beer and cola, with a soft undertone of fuzzy, warm musk. On my skin, this gives me a vicious headache. It smells spicy and kind of cinnamony, like a spicy potpourri of some sort. Then there's something sharp and perfumey underneath the cheap spice smell. The drydown starts to get slightly smoky. All around, it's just bad and headache inducing on me My skin amps up spice notes, and I don't care for the spiciness here paired with the sharp, perfumey muskiness and hint of sharp smoke. This just goes all wrong on me.

I like this, and I'm not exactly sure how to describe what it smells like, lol. I don't even know what most of the notes in this are supposed to smell like. I expected this to be herbal and too dark/harsh for me, but it's not. It's actually rather sweet smelling. In the bottle, Yule Cat smells like sharp pine and something dark, earthy/resinous and sweet. I was worried about the pine note, but it really softens once it's on my skin, like the gentle, sweet pine note in Golden Priapus. Then there's a hint of warm, furry, soft musk, and something dark and sweet that makes me think of incense. So... this is like Golden Priapus's cool, smooth pine note, Ivanushka's warm, furry musk, a drop of Satyr's dark, sharper musk, and an undertone of incensey sweetness on me. After an hour, I smell something like a hint of sweet, thick floral in the mix. It smells a little too sweet at times, but I find it interesting. I think that I'll keep a decant of this one. This makes me think of my old cat, Lewis, who used to enjoy shredding our Christmas tree every year, climbing up it, knocking off ornaments, and rolling the Christmas bulbs around the house.

First on, Hypothermia smells like the creamy, frosty vanilla note from Snow White fell into a vat of Vicks VapoRub. As it dries down, the sweetness becomes cloying on me, and I just don't find that medicinal menthol smell to be very wearable as a perfume. Over time, I start smelling hints of a sharp mint and soapy aquatic as well. Hypothermia smells like a medicine cabinet stocked with spearmint mouthwash, Vicks VapoRub, vanilla mint toothpaste, and bars of cheap soap. I can't imagine myself ever actually wearing this out anywhere. It smells more like it would be a good bathroom cleanser than a good perfume to me...

On my skin at first, this is dark, dry wood (really smells like pencil shavings on me), a hint of gritty earthiness from the tobacco, and the hot, incensey warmth of the red musk. As it dries down, it still smells overwhelmingly of pencil shavings, and something in this is going sour and acrid on me. After fifteen minutes, Diable en Boîte starts to get a bit better. The black currant sweetens things up and the peach blossom adds a smooth, girly quality to the blend. I can still smell the pencil shavings in the background and the red musk still smells sour (which must be one of the other notes going off, because red musk is usually lovely on me), though. The drydown of this isn't bad or unwearable for me, but I don't like the pencil shavings turn that the wood notes take on my skin, and it remains a little too sour for my tastes.

The Adoration of the Mi-Go is my surprise love of the yule blends. It does make me think of hard moss on cool rocks at first, with something like a bubbly, clean lime soda smell. It doesn't have any of the sharpness that I usually get from citrus notes, though. It's a surprisingly sweet and creamy smelling scent, while also having a cool, clean (but not at all soapy) edge. I don't have another perfume that smells anything like this. It's so unique and lovely. It does have an apple-y smell to it as well, as other people have mentioned. It smells like real apples to me, though, and bpal's apple notes usually don't work well for me. This is cool, clean, creamy, slightly sweet, slightly lime-y and bubbly, slightly apple-y, and all around just smooth and lovely smelling on me. I think I'll need to purchase a full bottle of this one.

In the bottle, this smells like sharp lemon verbena and sweet, red cherry-almond. This has so many different notes listed (and lots of notes that I love), but once this oil is on my skin, it's lemon verbena single note. It's like sharp, sour lemon and that slightly herbal tone. Nothing else. I only really like lemon notes when they're sweet and/or foodie, so this isn't working for me at all. Nes Gadol Haya Sham is probably my biggest disappointment of this year's Yule blends .

In the bottle, this smells like fuzzy mint leaves and snow. On my skin, this is snow with a soft, sweet, vanilla-y mint added in. This actually smells a lot like Cloister Graveyard in the Snow (one of my Salon favorites). As it dries down, I can smell a dark, baby powdery amber taking over the scent. Nothing about this smells floral to me, though. This is all sweet, minty snow and baby powdery amber on me. I really was hoping for a chrysanthemum scent, but I can't smell any floral here

In the bottle, this smells like cherry pie (sweet cherries and sweet pastry) with something pleasantly perfumey. On my skin, this quickly morphs into cherry kool-aid powder. Cherry notes often aren't kind to me. As it dries down, the cherry actually slinks into the background and the apricot comes out. It smells like fuzzy, sweet, perfumey apricots and pie crust now. The cherry note disappears within ten minutes on my skin, and I'm okay with that. Unfortunately, the entire scent disappears within 20 minutes. I think that Toothsome Banketstaaf might have the worst staying power ever. I like this, because I love that apricot note, but the whole blend doesn't last long at all. I might try using this in my oil warmer, because I think that it would make a good room scent as well...

This has so many notes-of-doom in it for me. I don't normally enjoy freesia, eucalyptus, lemon, jasmine, or bergamot, really. That said, Smilin' Servitors' isn't as bad as I thought it would be. I even kinda like this blend. In the vial, this smells very fresh and just slightly soapy. It goes on smelling sort of like frosty pine and ozone, and quickly dries down to smelling like a white bar of freesia scented soap with a hint of clean, sparkling citrus. It's soft, floral, creamy, clean, and fresh smelling. It has a cool feel to it as well, perhaps from the eucalyptus. This is actually a very pretty, feminine, clean scent. It smells like clean girl to me. I might actually keep my decant.