Little Bird

First on this smells like sharp herbal lavender. Then it shifts and I can smell cinnamon and a bit of clove, perhaps. It's pleasant, warm, and spicy. Then it quickly turns into baby powder on me . Within 5 minutes that's all that I can smell. Amber sometimes goes powdery on me, so maybe that's what happened here...

Black Cat is most definitely a shapeshifter on me. I think I love it most in its first stage. It smells like I took a handful of herbs and green mint leaves and crushed them in my palm. Very refreshing and lovely. In the drydown it starts to smell like sweet rose soap and musk. I don't like musk and for a while I feared that this would give me a headache. Then the musk fades away again and the mint creeps back in. Like sweet roses growing in a patch of mint leaves. It's odd and I don't know if I'd wear this frequently, but I want to test my imp a few more times. Sadly, I'm not getting any civet out of this and I actually like civet. 2018 review: Most every bpal fragrance smells completely different now vs when I first started exploring their catalogue in 2005. Black Cat now goes on reminding me of geranium (green, and herby) and lemon over a powdery, cold black musk. In the drydown, it has the harshness of generic white bar soap (the kind that strips and leaves a horrible film on your skin) mixed with old, dusty, rose scented soap, with the powdery musk and sharp lemon thing.

White flowers don't work on me. Aquatics and ozone aren't my favorites, but sometimes they surprise me. I was worried about trying Szepasszony because of all of the notes that would probably go bad on me. It wasn't that bad at first. It smelled sort of like a green meadow with some sweet florals and salty aquatics in the background. I like the smell of salt for some reason. It's light and pleasant for almost a full half hour before going soapy and bitter on me. After about an hour, this reminds me of laundry detergent and cheap hairspray . White florals always do this to me.

Maenad was too much strawberry for me to handle, even though it only lasted for about an hour on my skin. It was a bad hour. At first this smelled like something sharp and bitter layered over strawberry. Like a strawberry that was poisonous and had thorns. Then the sharpness fades and a burnt smell comes out. Orange blossom always smells like burnt orange peels on me. I can definitely see the strawberry incense scent that everyone described in the drydown... but I don't like it. It's sickeningly sweet and smoky on me. This is just too much fruity sweetness.

Queen Gertrude is a very dark and cold scent on me. Violets usually give me the impression of a cold floral, and this is mostly violets to begin with and then all violets in the drydown. At first I smell a dark greenery that reminds me of English Ivy with bruised violets lingering in the background. After about 5 minutes it is all violets. Lots of throw and very strong. They smell like loud angry violets, with a slight soapy edge after a while. Another perfume where the violets completely took over. They are strong little flowers.

Desdemona was a blah floral blend on me. It smells very plain. Light, soft, pristine florals with a slightly aquatic edge. It smells boring to me. Then the drydown is aquatic and soapy lilies. Definitely not a fragrance for me. I prefer darker scents with a spicier edge.

I've tried Phantom several times, at various times of the month. I wanted to give it a fair shot because it is one of my friend's all-time favorite BPAL scents. This just does not stay on my skin at all. There is a split second of spicy myrrh and then it morphs into baby powder and disappears. Very much the phantom perfume. I almost like it just for that comparison. Like a real phantom, appearing in a sudden moment of clarity and then disappearing, leaving you with a few moments of lingering aftershock. The it's just gone. A passing memory. The imp will be going back to my dear friend though. I like a perfume that I can smell for more than 10 minutes and this is just lacking any sort of staying power once it hits my skin.

Kuang Shi didn't work on my skin at all. I like the smell of mango and mandarin orange, but the fruitiness here was just... odd. It was like fruit that didn't really smell like fruit. Sort of a dry and sharp orange scent. Not wet or sweet as fruits normally are. Underneath that smell was a light almost-pepper smell. In the drydown, this is all white musk. My nemesis . The best way to describe how white musk normally smells on me is 'cheap hairspray'. Sharp and bitter enough to make my brain explode. I had high hopes for a mango scent, but I can't smell anything resembling mango here at all. Another one for my swaps.

I would really love to find a great rose and incense scent. A scent where the rose doesn't smell bitter or soapy. Dark, sexy, and resinous. Hymn, unfortunately, is nothing but soapy floral on me. The rose starts out strong here, sharp and bitter. Then after a few minutes it's taken over by lily. And lily always goes soapy on me. Hymn just smells like sharp rose soap on me. It'll be one for my swap pile.

This is a very interesting scent. I definitely get the pineapple smell that other people have mentioned, but this has an overall dry, spiky sort of feel for me. It makes me think of deserts, cactuses, and hardy plants heated in the harsh sun. The pineapple-esque smell is an interesting, slightly earthy sweetness, not an outright, fakey-sweet pineapple smell. I can definitely smell the dry woods of the galangal and an incensey something as well. This even smells a bit sandy to me. It's like stumbling through the desert, surrounded by cacti & an oddly fragrant, fruity sweetness, with hints of a woodsy incense wafting through the air from somewhere off in the distance. Very interesting, and very evocative.

I haven't been doing so well with rose or floral blends lately, so I was hesitant to even try Two, Five & Seven. I thought that this would be another one that doesn't work on me as it smelled way too strong and perfumey when first applied. Then it started to smell more lush and green after a few minutes. Like sweet green grasses and wet green stalks. For a while the grassy scent is dominant and I *love* it. It keeps the roses settled down and in check. Then the green goes away and the roses start to come back. I kept waiting for this to go soapy or powdery or perfumey. I was pleasantly surprised when the roses stayed light and lovely. Light and sugary sweet. Like roses that have been dusted with powdered sugar. This is a rose blend that I can actually wear and I am contemplating an order of a full bottle.

When I first put on Prague, it smelled oddly like grapefruit to me. Crisp and citrusy. The drydown is all lilies. Soapy, powdery headache in a bottle. I hadn't worn this for more than 10 minutes before that familiar throbbing started in my brain. I'm not sure what it is about white florals that can induce a migraine so quickly... the floral seems so strong on me and just makes me ill. I can't handle it. My white floral loving friend was so happy when I gave this to her, she says it smells light, clean and crisp. She just can't wear it around me.

Eve was on my BPAL wishlist before I even tried any of the oils. It was a very newbie choice for me. The thought of honey and apple perfume made me blissfully happy. Now that I have an imp of it, I'm actually hesitant to try it though. I know what roses and honey do on my skin. I am wiser now. I'll still give it a try. First on it is lovely, fruity apple blossom. Pretty and almost edible. There's a bit of honey lingering in the background, but not enough to irritate me. The fuzzy sweetness is barely coming through. Then, as soon as it dries, the rose picks up and comes out full force. Within minutes it is all that I can smell. The poor delicate apple blossom never had a chance Drydown this is strong rose powder. I hate it when blends do this on me. Eve will be going back into my swap pile.

The greatest of all Aztec cities, and capital of their empire. Amber, hyssop, coriander, epazote, Mexican sage, prickly pear and Mexican tulip poppy. In the imp, this smells like fakey, sickly sweet apple candle (must be the pear making me think of apple candles). On my skin, it gets worse. It's mostly a cloying fruitiness, but with hints of spice and floral. It smells like wandering into a candle shop where all of the cheap smells are overwhelming, clashing together, and giving me a vicious headache. It even smells slightly waxy on me in the drydown. Not good. I had to scrub this one off after a half hour because it was literally making me nauseous.

So many dream/sleep products have lavender in them. This one does too. I don't dislike lavender, but I prefer it to be sweeter and creamier, where it's more herbal smelling here. Baku starts out all herby lavender with a bite of minty/medicinal eucalyptus. Then, after a few minutes, this morphs into a strong anise/black licorice with hints of medicinal, menthol eucalyptus. Not a keeper for me.

March Hare is so amazingly strong and fruity. I definitely would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of fruity blends. It doesn't work well on me and I'm not very fond of fruits. It starts out smelling like very strong apricots. They're overly sweet though. Like overripe apricots or apricots from a can to be used in cooking grand little desserts. In the drydown the clove definitely makes its presence known. The clove mixed with the apricot is making me think of pies. For a while the clove gets so overpowering that it's all that I can smell, but it mellows down and blends nicely with the apricot. This won't be a repurchase for me, just because I'm not crazy about fruit smells... but I like it nonetheless.

I've decided to update my review, since Spooky is a blend that I've been wearing quite a bit lately . Unlike some of the blends I've enjoyed, Spooky has managed to age *really* well, getting stronger and better with my skin chemistry over time. Where Tokyo Stomp is like candied mint and chocolate cookies, Spooky is like candied mint and warm, golden sugar cookies laced with buttery vanilla and toasted coconut. It's main notes are sweet, smooth, and warm, which is addictive and lovely when paired with the cold bite of mint. It's like Tokyo Stomp with brighter, sugar cookie & buttery vanilla notes instead of dark chocolate. This has become one of my favorite BPAL scents, and I'm glad I have a few bottles

Honeysuckle is one of the few florals that I love (along with black orchid and daffodil), but it tends to be too strong in perfume blends for me to actually wear. Vetivert is often too darkly woodsy/earthy for me to wear. I was hoping that the two would balance each other out nicely in Anathema. This smells like burnt wood and dried ashes on me. I waited for 2 hours before I tried to scrubbed it off (and this stuff does not come off easily) and gave up on it. It was such a strong burnt smell. Odd. I'm not sure what opium smells like or how it works on my skin chemistry... maybe it was the vetivert that went bad in this blend for me. I don't know. All I know is that I never smelled any honeysuckle at all. I just smelled like a recently burned down wooden building. -I love olympia301's icon for Anathema, though the actual imp will be headed for my swap pile-

Magdalene started out pretty promising on me. It smelled green and spicy. I agree with those who likened this to the smell of a greenhouse. Warm blooms and greenery. Then after about fifteen minutes, the green herbs start to take on a soapy edge and I start to worry... Magdalene turns into a vicious soapy white floral. Very perfumey and very headache inducing. I can't even pick out a specific floral scent or the usual sharpness of rose, it's just perfumey and overwhelming. I wanted to like this just for the name, but it'll be one for my swap pile.

Urgh. This is so sour, soapy and unpleasant on my skin. It's a cheap, generic, white bar soapiness that gets stuck in your throat, sour jasmine and sharp rose, and intensely sour citrus. Heavy, sour, sharp, soapy floral disaster. In the drydown, the carnation adds a really unpleasant spiciness in this case. I had to scrub this one off after an hour.

Loralei was a very mediocre blend on me. It makes me sad because everyone else seems to have described it as beautiful and dreamy. On me it just smells like a light aquatic and candied orange peels. In the drydown I get a dry woodsy smell, and then it is gone. All gone within 15 minutes. This one wasn't a winner with my skin chemistry.

The dragon's blood in Dragon's Tears isn't as awful or rotten as it usually is on my skin. It's still a rotten wildflower sort of smell, but it's not as strong here and it smells sort of clean. If that makes any sense at all to anyone. It smells more clean and metallic than resiny/floral. Dragon's blood, heavily salted. I get the salt, but not a real aquatic smell. Very odd. I'd never wear this. But it's something that I enjoyed smelling just because it's so strange. Salty-metallic floral.

Debauchery is actually *painful* for me to wear. It gives me a pounding headache in such a short while. Unlike most people, though, I actually like civet. It works well on my skin. It smells wild, untamed, dark and just good to me. It's the Egytian Musk that ruins this for me, and it's the only note I can pick out of this blend. A sharp, bitter, perfumey, powdery musk. Very cheap and headshoppy.

First on, psyche is all musky rose. It's very perfumey and I'm not liking it at all. Sometimes rose is very sharp and has an almost burnt sort of smell to it. That's the rose that I'm getting here. After about 15 minutes the rose is going soapy and the lavender is coming out and dominating the blend. In the drydown I smell like lavender soap. It's so rare that roses really work out well on my skin, this is another one that just doesn't work

I want to love ozones and aquatics, but they just don't seem to work on me in reality. Storm Moon is one of the strongest ozone fragrances that I've ever tried before. It starts out smelling like sharp cheap hairspray and dries down to dryer sheets. It smells of charged air and static. Very soapy and gives me a quick/vicious headache. I can see this working better on a man than a woman, but my guy hates it as well.