Little Bird

I like red musk, but I tend to amp it like mad. I hoped that The Grindhouse would be a base of red musk, made creamier with the vanilla bean, spiced with clove, and with a touch of gentle, creamy floral. Unfortunately, I also amp & hate bpal's iris notes. Iris on me is like the worst of sharp, cheap, white floral perfumes. It has such a high pitched sharpness on my skin. On me, this blend is like a war between heated, sexy red musk and perfumey, sharp iris. I can't really pick out any of the other notes. The result is a blend that is far too perfumey/musky/sharp for my tastes. I love red musk, but it needs to be tamed with something else (like the gorgeous blend, Marianne, where the ultra sexy red musk was the main player, but softened with hints of juicy orchid, foresty patchouli, and dark fruity notes). The iris plus red musk just makes this blend heavy, suffocating, and sharp on me. Iris ruined Zarita the Doll Girl for me earlier in the carnaval, and now it has returned to ruin The Grindhouse

In the bottle, this screams CARAMEL with a hint of crisp apple-y goodness. On my skin at first, all of the notes start struggling with each other, but not in a bad way. The caramel continues to dominate with a silky sweetness, the apple blossom adds a tiny hint of refreshing apple (that I wish was stronger), and the skin musk makes the scent a bit perfumey overall. Every once in a while, I catch a whiff of teak that I don't enjoy. Teak smells sort of like rotting, dank, dark wood on my skin. In the drydown, this starts to smell a little bit like one of the old apple scents from Bath & Body Works (country apple, is that you?). Perfumey, musky apple with the added sweetness of a creamy caramel that almost smells a bit salty at times. I really want to love this, but I honestly think it's too musky/perfumey/unnatural for me to pull off. I feel like I slathered on musky country apple lotion and dabbed on a tiny bit of caramel perfume oil that is fading fast. It just gets too sharp for my tastes as the caramel disappears (and I get a hint of something like burnt rubber every once in a while that I'm not loving either).

I was super-excited to try Daiyu after the comparisons to Dorian (and I loved the berry smell in Australian Copperhead). In the decant, this smelled kind of like generic fruity-floral perfume to me. That almost soapy, sickly sweet floral & nondescript fruit smell that reminds me of a lot of popular perfumes that I don't understand on the mainstream market right now. It's exactly the sort of thing that gives me a floral perfoom induced headache. On me, I think the tea leaf and white musk give this a very clean feel that's not awful. However, as it dries down, it smells like jasmine tea with a side of cloying rotten fruit, in a room full of women wearing a disgusting, suffocating, cheap, fruity-floral perfume. I, uh, don't really care for Daiyu, as an understatement. It has that awful sweetness that just smells rotten to me. The longer I wear this, the more it makes me think of rotten fruit with a vase full of rotten jasmine flowers on the side. I couldn't stand the smell of this anymore after about an hour and a half, and the lovely tartness of the acai was just starting to make its presence known. But I had to take something for my headache and scrub this off, sorry acai berry. Ick. This is nothing like Dorian on me, and it's definitely going to my swap pile.

In the vial, this smells white and clean, with a bit of a powdery vanilla edge. I can definitely pick out the smooth woodiness of the white sandalwood. On my skin, this continues to smell clean and subtle. I get dry, cool woods with a tiny hint of vanilla sweetening things up and an edge of something herbal-floral. After about fifteen minutes on my skin, all I can smell are subtle, dry, slightly powdery woods. And it completely disappears after an hour, no matter how much I slather on. I have sandalwood blends that I like much more, so I doubt I'll be keeping my decant of Cytherea or buying more of this one. It's just a rather soft and boring scent on me.

I just got a decant of The Chapel, because I was pretty sure that it wasn't going to work on me (wine & brimstone are not favorites, and I even have trouble with certain blood and incense notes). This scent actually smells worse on me than I thought it would though. Something about this smells very harsh and chemical-like (almost like rubbing alcohol, but darker) on my skin, especially at first. Then there's a dank, gritty smokiness from the brimstone, followed up by a sour, sickly, rotten fruit sort of smell from the wine. It's a dark and gritty scent on me. Reading over the other reviews, I suppose I can also pick out a dark earthiness that might be vetiver. The Chapel is sort of the worst of all its parts on me. The brimstone is gritty and dirty smelling, the wine is sour, sickly, and rotten, and something else adds an extra flavor of dark, smoky harshness. It's probably an appropriate scent for its story & artwork, but it's not something I could actually wear as a personal scent.

I was pretty excited about trying this. I love a lot of the lab's rose blends, and I'm fond of lilac. I was hoping for a sweet, sugared rose with a background of absinthe. I think I was envisioning La Fee Verte with sweet tea rose & extra sugar. Unfortunately, the rose in this goes pretty sour on my skin (which surprised me, I figured rose water would be a softer, lighter smelling rose). It's almost like sour lemon and sharp rose, with an extra cut of white sharpness from the opium. There's a sharp smokiness to this that gets a bit stronger in the drydown, and I don't really like it at all. L'Heure Verte is pretty much just sharp, tart, smoky, soured rose on my skin. It's the sort of scent that gives me a headache if I sniff at it for too long. I *love* the artwork for this blend though.

I like the sandalwood in this at first, but not much else about this blend. It smells powdery, but not baby powdery - a nice, dry, soft, wood sort of smell. I'm not sure about the rot or rotting linen. A few of the haunted house themed blends smelled sort of dank and rotten to me. With this, I get maybe a hint of dank, molding fabric that reminds me of moldy curtains I once came across. In the drydown, I get a weird, moldy-damp smell mixed with the dry dustiness over the base of grounding sandalwood. However, the longer it's on my skin, the more it starts to give me an impression of baby powder and dust. It's dry and strange on me, and I probably wouldn't wear it again.

Some of bpal's pine/green notes smell sharp and awful on me, but Ice Prince seems to have that soft, sweet, dark green, smooth pine-y-ness that makes me think of the blend Mistletoe (which is one of my favorites). In the bath, it smells like Mistletoe with a hint of sweet plum. Mistletoe meets Midwinter's Eve? On my skin afterwards, it starts to smell a little funky. A bit of powdery lily joins the drydown and the fruity aspects seem to turn almost rotten and sickly on me. Still, the pine is holding it all together for me and keeping it from just being powder and sickly fruit. Oddly, this doesn't smell icy or snowy to me at all, and it doesn't strike me as having a menthol or eucalyptus smell to it either. I love taking a bath in this, because it's sort of like bathing in Mistletoe I like, but don't love, the scent that it leaves on my skin afterwards though. I've already used up all of my decants of this one, and I'd be tempted to buy a full bottle if it comes back next Yule.

I was gifted a bar of El Dia De Reyes soap and have been avoiding it, because so many of the BPTP soaps have dried my skin out like mad and just generally disappointed me by having little to no scent that I can detect. But I ran out of soap in my kitchen today and decided to give this one a go. I was pleasantly surprised. This soap actually had pretty good fragrance (though I don't think I would ever recognize it as smelling like the oil of the same name). It was still very light & subtle, but I could definitely notice it when I lathered up. It had a nice, creamy lather and smelled like caramel coffee with a hint of cinnamon sugar. My hands felt squeaky-clean afterwards, but they actually weren't badly dried out, and the soap did a great job of stripping off the scent of a perfume oil that I wasn't loving, lol. Later, it managed to make my hands smell clean after I had peeled and chopped an onion and some garlic. It doesn't leave any fragrance on my skin either. This is definitely more drying than my usual bar soaps, but it's still pretty good (and not as drying as some of the other soaps I've tried from this line), and I like how well it removes other fragrances from my skin. I think it will be a decent kitchen soap ETA: I may have spoken too soon. My hands are sucking up lotion and feeling pretty dry again :/. This still isn't as bad as the Perversion soap was for me, though. I'm torn. Part of me wants to save this soap for onion&garlic-duty, but I'm not sure I could stand this dry feeling on my hands afterwards. These soaps are so harsh on my skin for some reason.

In the bottle, this smells primarily of black musk (cold, dark, almost smoky-musky, cheap men's cologne) and charred wood. On me, for the first minute, I get hints of what could be a lovely wood and earthy oakmoss, but they're quickly swallowed by a sharp muskiness. In the drydown, this is just sharp and awful on me. I don't really like dark/black musk because it smells like a cheap, sharp musk on me and I amp it like mad. The Two-Headed Goat is like cheap black musk and sharp, metallic hairspray on my skin. Every once in a while, I can also pick out a charred, smoked sort of smell that I don't care for either. Strong, sharp, cheap musk... This gives me a vicious headache, and it's obviously not a keeper for me.

First on, Wensleydale makes me smell like I rubbed floral dryer sheets all over myself, with almost a fruity sweetness. It was dry, almost ozone-y (ozone smells like dryer sheets on me though), with a high pitched sweetness. I don't get the hint of greenery that others have mentioned, so that disappointed me. In the drydown, it smells like soap. Creamy, floral soap. I also catch hints of something sharply musky every once in a while. I hate blends that go soapy on me (usually reminding me of harsh dish soap), but this isn't as bad or harsh as I was expecting. It dries down to a creamy, soft, expensive smelling floral soap. I'd still never wear it again, but it isn't giving me a headache or making me run to wash it off either.

ETA: Most of the lab's Carnaval blends smell completely different if you purchased a bottle when it was first released and then a bottle a year later. I think they must have ran out of components and substituted some. My bottles of Inez and Priala, especially, smell nothing alike if I compare them. My original bottle of Inez is very warm and sweet, with a rich, resinous amber that doesn't turn powdery, a heavy & creamy-sweet vanilla, and gentle, soft wood notes. My later bottles of Priala smell like the dry, sharp musk in a man's cologne plus soap and a very baby powdery amber. It smells cool and clean. Completely different. I hate buying bottles from bpal and then finding out that they've been completely reformulated. The lab should really post notices for these things.... I wasted a lot of money buying backup bottles of Inez, Priala and others that don't smell anything like the original version.

My first thought when sniffing Marianne in the bottle was that it smelled sort of like Snake Oil with blackberry added in. I didn't remember what was in this one when I first tried it on my skin, and I wrote down, "Sexy, warm musk, dark fruit with a sour twang (blackberry? raspberry?), and wonderful woodsy tones. Some patchouli in the drydown?." I would say that the red musk is the foundation of this scent on me (I also tend to amp red musk, which is okay, because I loves me some red musk), and the fruity black currant is pretty constant, with just hints of juicy orchid rounding the edges and a lovely earthy tone from the patchouli in the drydown. Patchouli is probably my favorite smell ever, so I love the subtle but obvious part that it plays in this blend. I love red musk, black currant and orchid as well. I'd say that Marianne is a perfect combination of all of those favorite things . I have a bottle of this now, but I'll be getting at least one more full bottle before the carnaval leaves town. ETA: The second bottle I ordered of this smells nothing like the first. The second one is all ashy, gritty patchouli and something that smells like body odor. This is why I never purchase multiple bottles from bpal anymore not even close to being the same scent...

I think that this is pretty heavy on the jasmine and heather for me, and jasmine tends to smell pretty awful on me. Jasmine Cottage reminds me a little bit of The Passionate Shepherd to His Love and Glasgow at first, only heavier and more sickly-sweet. On me, this is a really heavy scent with a lot of throw, and it gave me a headache. I wound up scrubbing it off about about an hour, when it started going especially funky on me. Something about it reminded me of dirty rest stop bathrooms where the smell is halfway covered up by floral soap and disinfectant. This definitely isn't a winner on me, but I have a hard time pulling off heavy florals and, especially, jasmine. This blend is just cloying and goes all wrong on my skin.

The Stormhold smells promising in the bottle. There's that fakey-sweet rain note that reminds me of rain scented candles, and a mixture of vetiver and something else that really does smell quite a bit like warm summer pavement that has just been rained on. On me, unfortunately, I amp up the ozone and instantly smell like sharp, soapy dryer sheets. The East smelled like sweet, fruity-floral dryer sheets and laundry soap, and The Stormhold smells like rain fresh dryer sheets, with a hint of a salty twang and a barely-there touch of earthy vetiver. Even the very slight earthy quality is long gone after fifteen minutes, leaving me with salty, rain fresh dryer sheets. I have a hard time wearing soapy/clean scents (I lean more towards resins, patchouli, sweetened woods, and foodie blends), so The Stormhold probably won't get much love from me.

I normally don't like florals, but I wanted to try The East because I always want to try currant blends, I tend to like tea, and I once had a bluebonnet soap that I adored. In the bottle, this is almost sickeningly sweet and has a lurking soapiness that makes me uneasy. On me at first, this is floral, but a fresh, sweet floral. However, after about five minutes, it has turned into sharp, crisp, floral dryer sheets. It's a bit too clean for me, and almost aggressively bright. Over time, the East sort of makes me feel like someone drenched me in floral scented laundry soap and pinned dryer sheets to my clothes. Clean, sweet florals with an edge of soapiness. I love the label art, but the oil isn't really my thing.

In the bottle, this smells like dry herbs, dry woods, and something like roots that have just been pulled from the ground. I like it, but I was worried that it wouldn't work on my skin. In the bottle, it didn't seem sweet enough, and was a little too dry and dark for my tastes. On my skin, this blend instantly sweetens up and turns into something lovely and wearable for me. The apple blossom jumps forward and adds an apple-sweetness, joined by a sweet, subtle spiciness. It's not ashy or dusty on me at all, though it does have an herbal base that I actually enjoy. The herbal quality is a bit green, but also strikes me as being dried herbs at the same time. A mix of green and dried herbs. It's a bit of spiced apple (almost like cider on my skin), a bit of greenery, and a bit of dried herbs on me. I like this. It's interesting and rather garden-like with the impression that I keep getting of freshly pulled plant roots. The Norns' Farmhouse isn't a top ten and I'm not sure how often I'll reach for it, but I still like it... it really does remind me of growing up in Missouri when I was little, picking fresh herbs, strolling through farm fields & playing in barns full of dry hay. And I do like the hint of sweetness from the apple blossom, and the not-overwhelming-cider-spice that I'm getting from something

Iris really hates me, at least in bpal blends, it seems. It's the note that ruined the otherwise gorgeous Zarita for me. My skin seems to amp up the iris in Dyan Moon as well, turning this into a sharp, musky, generic white floral smell with hints of more pleasant notes suffocating underneath. I think I might pick out the blue musk and lily every once in a while, as they try to soften and lend a cool, powdery feel to the blend. After about an hour on my skin, this has mostly faded and I'm left with the blue musk's cool, watery feel and hints of sharp florals and rose. I'm glad that I went with just a decant of this one, because it's too much musky-floral for me to handle.

None of the notes in this are notes that I'd say I really like, though I do sometimes have good luck with orchid and lotus. First on, The Coil is mostly ozone with hints of eucalyptus and mint, which unfortunately smells like crisp dryer sheets and a medicinal, menthol-y coolness on me. In the drydown, the mint & eucalyptus seem to fade on me, bringing in a slightly soapy, floral quality. I smell like breezy, floral dryer sheets. The Coil isn't unwearable for me, but it's not something I'd ever reach for either.

I thought that I would like Nanny Ashtoreth more than The Buggre Alle This Bible, but I actually love the Bible and find Nanny Ashtoreth to be very not-me. I was excited to try this, because I hoped it would be honeyed berries and leather, and I like leather when it's paired with sweeter notes. Unfortunately, I don't really get the honey or berries from this at all. This is heavy, smoky, dark leather on me, with hints of something that almost smells like spiced black musk. I'm not sure what's giving me that impression, but it's very masculine to me. I suppose this might be better on a man, but I don't really like it on my boy (it's a little too dark for my tastes). I definitely can't pull off this blend myself, and wish that my skin chemistry amped up some sweetness from it...

First on, I get an impression of damp, rotting wood, which I'm guessing it the 'dry leaves' refusing to play nice on my skin once again. Then, Autumn quickly dries down into nothing but rose and sandalwood for me, and both of those notes go a bit powdery on me here. I'd like to smell this on someone else, because other reviews make it sound so unique and gorgeous, but it's just powdery, sweet rose and dry sandalwood on my skin. It's not unpleasant, and it's even rather pretty on me, but probably not something I'll reach for often or need a full bottle of. I have other rose perfumes that stand out for me more than this one does.

I was afraid to try this, because Glowing Vulva didn't work for me at all. I can definitely see the comparisons to Glowing Vulva, but Antikythera Mechanism seems to do everything right on my skin, where GV turned to rotting leaves and disgusting powdered milk. I figured that this wouldn't work on me, because GV was awful on me, and I especially tend to hate blends with tobacco in them. I don't get anything like tobacco from this blend at all though. It goes on with the teak actually smelling rather attractive on my skin, reminding me of driving through the forests of Missouri in summer, on the way to the creek. It smells very much of tall trees, thickly clustered around the cliffsides overlooking the river. Anyhoo, a fantastic woods smell and then the black vanilla is just wonderful. It threatens to go powdery on my skin, but never really turns enough that I start to dislike it. It goes very sweet and almost buttercream-frosting-like on me. The Antikythera Mechanism actually smells rather similar to a couple of my favorite Heaven & Earth Essentials Blends (I kept thinking I was wearing "Black Cat" or "Harmony Vintage" which is probably the mix of a similar wood and sweetness amped on my skin). Surprisingly, I actually really like this. Add me to its list of fans I definitely see myself getting a full bottle in the future.

I so desperately wanted to love The Robotic Scarab. I love frankincense and have good luck with some of the metallic blends & blends with anise in them. My skin amps spice like crazy though, and all I get from this is some sort of cinnamon or cassia. It's a sharp, strong, cinnamon-esque spice that threatens to give me a headache if I sniff at it for too long. I wish that any of the other notes would come out to play, but after five hours of wear, it's still a strong, flat cinnamon fragrance on me ETA: Got a frimp of this in 2016 and it smells totally different. I only get a hint of cinnamon from the frimp, but I'm still not smelling anything even remotely like metal, leather, frankincense or anise. It smells like a really dry, powdery skin musk and baby oil with a hint of cinnamon...

Nostrum Remedium is really rather awful on my skin, and has unfortunately wonderful staying power and throw. It starts off so incredibly sharp and strange on my skin, but with an undertone of cloying honey that makes me feel a little sick when I smell it. I thought that this did smell like a sharp wasabi with sour lemon and hints of honey, but my boy (who actually eats and is more familiar with wasabi) said it smelled nothing like wasabi to him, but more like a sharp potpourri. In the drydown, we both agreed that this is like a harsh lemon dish soap. It's crazy-sharp, and it's the soapiest scent I've ever worn Nothing about this really works for me

I've tried Ether a few times now, always hopeful for the 'white resins' to do something spectacular on my skin. Unfortunately, this flips between giving me an impression of generic, white floral, drugstore perfume or it smells like sharp, floral soap on me. It's more perfumey and soapy-clean than resinous.