sunshinedaisybliss

Hmm.. this is an odd mix, really more genius than odd though - I can't imagine anyone else looking at these notes and thinking "hmm.. I bet those would smell good together". But clearly Beth knew they would So this is a dark one, as I expected. The incense is more misty than smokey, and the resins are very fluid. Bourbon geranium is a new experience for me - I love bourbon smells generally, but I'm not sure I'm digging this mix all that much - geranium often goes a bit peppery on me, and that's kinda spoiling the otherwise smooth feeling of Odd Portents. The lavender comes out pretty strongly after about 15 minutes, along with the black rose, and unfortunately those two the nice incense and resins - in the end, I'm left with a lavender/rose mix - it's still dark and resinous but now it's more floral than incense, the blackcurrant is there now too, and there's also a slightly sharp green edge (geranium, you fiend) that's upsetting the balance. It really is a genius blend though - if it weren't for the rose+lavender thing, I would really like this one.

I didn't even consider trying this one, since white musk and lemon verbena are usually no-no notes for me.. and grapefruit is a big NO for me. But whaddaya know.. I'm loving Pom II! Thanks to nrl1978 for sharing her decant with me!! The pomegranate is doing its usual bubblegum thing on my skin, which is all good, but on top of that I have a lovely bright zingy lime with just a hint of sweet lemon around the edges. I know the grapefruit is in there, but it's not bothering me at all where usually I find it bitter and/or sour. Can't say I'm finding any white musk in here, but that's OK - the fruits are what this one's all about.. and they're lovely. This is one of those "good enough to drink" smells - it's fresh, fruity and pretty. It's nice as a perfume, but I think it would be lovely to mix with a hand or body creme.. and it would make a beautiful refreshing room spray.

Bad BAD jasmine! I should have known you'd spoil this one. Pomegranate is a note I love, but unfortunately I amp jasmine terribly.. so the uber-strong jasmine combined with the benzoin is creating a sour, nasty dirty toilet smell for me. Nice it is not. Keep I won't.

Pomegranate, 99% of the time, is pure pink bubblegum smell on my skin. So that's how Heraeon Of Argos started - strong pom at first, but then within a minute or two the lovely sweet apple blossom kicked in. Then a minute or so after that, the fig makes an appearance. So within five minutes, I've got a lovely melange of the pom and apple blossom and fig making a lovely sweet fruity deliciousness together. The fig is a little smokey - not too sweet - it reminds me of the fig note in Miller vs California. The willow bark is not a lead note - it kinda sneaks into the mix a bit later on, just dampening down the sweetness a bit. Thankfully, the almond never made an appearance for me - I'm glad, because typically my skin does not like almond at all. Unfortunately the individuality of the three fruit notes doesn't last too long - they blend together within about 10 minutes and mostly what I can smell now is the apple blossom. Actually there's a slight hint of peach now - that's a bit weird! A very interesting combination, fruity without being obvious about it - nice

I'm not really a fan of florals in general, but this one is different to pretty much every other floral I've come across. The marigold is bright and heady, warm and golden. This perfume seems to have a texture - velvety - it's very smooth. There's a slight sweetness, and thankfully it didn't turn to soap on me. I'm glad I got to try this, but I don't think it's a perfume I would reach for if I had a bottle. It really does contain a little bit of sunshine though, it's very pretty and would probably make a perfect pick-me-up type of scent. And I like how findaghost described it - there's definitely a nectar-like sweetness to it. EDIT: just to update.. it's now 7 hours since I first applied this, and I can still smell it on my skin - not many BPALs last that long on me. Plus.. it's now developed a really nice sweet top layer that almost has a candy-like quality to it, but that lovely golden velvety feel is still there. I'm re-considering what I said before - this might actually be something I would reach for

This is an interesting one! The patchouli is that KICK ASS kind of down and dirty/earthy and sticky patchouli and it's all I can smell at first, but the carnation stops it from being too outrageous and actually ends up coming out on top a few minutes after I've applied the oil. The initial cologne-like smell also goes away pretty quickly. What I'm ultimately left with is carnation on top of the sticky tendrils of patchouli with a mix of floral-ish smells around the edges. It actually gets nicer the longer it stays on, everything warms up and balances really well but the patchouli and carnation are definitely the stars of the show here.

To preface this review, I must confess that I'm not a big Dorian fan.. I remember trying it once, a while back, and not being particularly impressed - so the whole "partner to Dorian" thing didn't influence me at all. That said, on with the review! When it's wet on my skin at first, I get the lovely mandarin and the Egyptian musk is also quite present. As it starts to dry down (within less than a minute) the honey emerges and a waft of the white tea also appears, and the vanilla is trying to peek out but not quite getting there. Then... dun dun dun... tea rose joins the stage. Oh.. hello tea rose, what did you do with all those other notes, you nasty bully!! Five minutes in, and pretty much everything else is gone now.. just the tea rose remains. It's a dusky/musky kind of rose, which in itself is quite nice, but I'm not a big rose fan and I hate that it always amps itself over everything else on me. If I try real hard, I can detect a hint of the mandarin and honey, maaaaaaaaaybe the cognac, and the vanilla is still putting up a brave fight to try and get out, but alas.. the evil tea rose triumphs over everything. One hour later, and Sybil has faded down to a very pretty dusky rose with a slight background of mandarin on a musky base. So nothing really changed for me - sadly - and even more sadly, this has become a bit "old-lady's poutpourri" like on my skin. I knew this one was going to be a risk, because of the rose, but when I saw all those other gorgeous notes that I love - cognac, mandarin, and bourbon vanilla - I just had to give it a try. I don't hate this, it's just not my style of perfume. I can see why so many others are loving it though - it is beautifully feminine without being girly, and dusky/sensual without being smutty. Alas poor Sybil - I don't think you will be staying with me. Last but not least.. thank you to my WeHo angel for picking up a bottle for me EDIT = SIX WEEKS LATER! So I decided to give Sybil a chance, and tucked her away for a while. What a difference a few weeks make! Now the tea rose has mellowed right out, to the point where it's hardly noticeable. What I'm getting now is a lovely dusky musk/vanilla with the beautiful warm cognac and a hint of honey - it's absolutely beautiful on my skin. I'm definitely keeping this now .

I agree with previous reviewers - this is a lot like the Pumpkin Pie bath oil. I get the gooey aspect people have mentioned, but on my skin the pumpkin is pretty dominant - the marshmallow either isn't very strong in the mix, or it's just being smothered by the pumpkin. So ultimately this is pretty much a straight-up pumpkin for me.. sweet and spicy (cinnamon? some nutmeg, maybe?) but pumpkin nonetheless. It does soften up quite a bit on the dry-down, but unfortunately the marshmallow never quite gets there - I don't think it can get out from behind the spices. For me personally that's a disappointment - mainly because I already have quite a few of the various Pumpkin Patch blends from years gone by so I was hoping for something a bit different. So yes - Marshmallow Pumpkin is a lovely pumpkin blend, and perfect as a Weenie. Pumpkin lovers should really enjoy this one

I had actually forgotten that this had cacoa in it.. and when I leaned in for that first smell after applying, I was a bit taken aback! My first thought was "wow - this smells like licorice chocolate!!". Then I checked the notes and realised I has the dumbs This is one of those BPALs that smells pretty much like you hoped it would when you read the notes. It's licorice mostly, with the dark chocolatey richness of cacoa dancing around the licorice - but the nice thing about cacoa is that it adds a lovely dusky chocolate rather than the creamy gourmand kind of chocolate. The anise adds a nice organic warmness and stops the licorice being too obvious - although I guess Licorice Bats falls into the 'foody' category, I think the anise stops it from being too candy-like. I could have sworn there's some dark vanilla in here, but it's not listed in the notes so maybe not. This just may be my perfect licorice BPAL for me - finally! I wanted to love Humbug, but it was just too much licorice for me.. way too strong and cloying, sadly. Licorice Bats gives me the gorgeous licorice/anise that I love, but the addition of cacoa is genius! My favourite Weenie so far

This isn't like any other BPAL I've tried that has a ginger note, and I love ginger, so I've tried most of them! In here, the ginger is candy-sweet without being fake or overly sugary - it's definitely a candy type of ginger though, not the warm/spicy kind of ginger. However, I feel that the way it's blended with the quince and pear make it lose its identity slightly - it kinda gets lost in the mix somehow, which is a little disappointing. I think the quince actually flattens out the sparkly aspect of the ginger. The pear is also different to other BPALs like Perilous Parlor for example - here, it's less sweet and bright.. more waxy, a little powdery, and slightly floral-y. I'm not sure it's entirely the pear's fault though - I think the quince has a lot to answer for in this blend, its fruitiness seems to dominate the other notes a bit too much and it's adding a slightly soapy feel to the whole thing. So.. this is a very nice scent, I was hoping for a more zingy kind of ginger, just a bit 'more' ginger overall really. I really enjoyed the first few minutes when it was still wet, but ultimately it dries down and becomes quite soft and subdued. I've had it on for four hours now, and it's lost all its brightness - all I have left is a waxy/soapy generic fruit smell. I do like it, but I don't love it.. and I really was hoping to love it. The lack of zing from the ginger is a dealbreaker for me, unfortunately.

ianastar - it's normal to have to do your BPAL and BPTP orders separately - unfortunately they can't be combined - so nothing to worry about there, you didn't do anything wrong I just checked the BPTP CnS thread here, and people have posted that they've received a shipping notification for orders placed around the same date as yours but it also looks like orders placed a week or so before yours are only just starting to ship now too.. so perhaps it depends what's in the order as to how quickly it can be organised. So going by the info in that thread, I'd say you should be receiving a CnS any day now If you're worried, you can email BPTP - tradingpost@papow.net - but remember Puddin' is at NY Comic Con this weekend so you might not hear back for a few days. Hope that helps!

Ooh.. great choices! I hope Snake Oil works for you - it's one of my faves If you enjoy Snake Oil on your skin, try dabbing a bit along your hairline behind your ears so that it rubs into your scalp and hair a bit (where you won't see it, because it will make your hair oily) - it's gorgeous when you move your head/hair around and get wafts of the lovely vanilla spices.

Hmm.. I would have suggested Midnight Kiss too. And I completely agree about Countess Willie - she is lovely. I'm guessing you've tried Black Temple Burlesque Troupe already - that's a nice musk + chocolate, although black rather than red musk. Apart from those already suggested, I can't think of anything that's quite what you're looking for. Have you tried layering something chocolatey with a red musk blend? Something like Infernal Lover might make a good base, or if you can find the prototypes BB2 or BB3 - they were very strong on the red musk for me. Oh.. and Cerberus - that has musk and chocolate, amongst other things - on me it's like a musky/incense-y dark chocolate.. it might be worth a try for you. As a side note, I'm disappointed to hear that Pom IV was a fail for you, knowing you love cognac, I haven't received mine yet but I have high hopes that it will be a winner!!

I'm another recipient of the famous #55! Thank you to the lovely Edens Sixth Day for sending me a tester OK.. so yeah.. it's really not very nice. The oil itself isn't really an oil at all - it's more like sludgy goop, and it does NOT dry - it stayed sticky on my hand for an hour, which is as long as I could leave it on before hitting the shower. The smell is interesting - not quite as heinous as I was expecting. There's an underlying tone of sour fruit, mixed with a bit of rancid honey and sour milk. As strange as this will sound.. it's not really that bad. I wouldn't choose to wear it, but I'm glad I got to try it! But here's the weirdest part - when I got out of the shower, I glanced at my hand and noticed a little patch of discoloured skin.. exactly where I had smeared the oil. When I rubbed my skin, it came off! Yes, my skin came off!! I now have a little patch on my hand with a layer of skin missing

Mmm.. this is divine! Arrrrrr.. I loves me some pirates!! In the bottle, it smells very heady - quite woody and balsam-y - and there's a slightly tangy air to it,kinda like the chemical smell you get with some paint products - but it's not offensive, it's just.. there. When it hits my skin though, it's a whole different story - the balsam is up front at first, and the grass is pretty strong too.. it's kind of clamorous for the first five minutes or so, until the notes get their groove on and start to balance out. Then it turns all soft and yummy, musky and leathery and woody, with the lime dancing along the top layer. At first it's quite bright and the notes really pop, but on dry-down (after about 15 minutes) it's changed into a gorgeous close-to-the skin scent. A soft powderiness eventually emerges, but it's not baby powder or 'old lady' powder - it's pirate powder! If pirates were clean and fresh, smelling of sea air and leather (rather than BO and unwashed hair and clothes as I suspect most really do) then this is how I imagine they'd smell. About one hour on, that powdery lime-i-ness has pretty much gone and in its place is a soft leather with a slight background of musky wood. I don't see this as a masculine blend at all - it probably smells wonderful on the guys, but it's definitely wearable for the gals. I was actually hoping it would be a little more ballsy.. the leather here is similar to the one in The Blockhead - very soft and subtle - and the other notes like date, tobacco, ebony, palm etc are surprisingly light as well.. the overall result is pretty light and soft. It's the sort of smell I associate with being at the beach on cool summer nights, when the breeze is coming in just enough to carry the ocean spray with it.. and when you get home, you smell slightly salty but fresh and clean and slightly lime-y. My only issue with this one is that it fades pretty quickly on my skin, so I want to keep slathering it! I'm going to need a few gallons of this one, methinks

Aren't they just! I like how they're obviously part of the same collection (ie Weenies) - it looks like Sugar Skull and Golletes are related thanks everyone for the photos!

Hmm.. green musk, herb-ish, almost a lavender-ish kind of feel, and some salty freshness - I wouldn't say aquatic as such, but in that vein. It develops into quite a brazing cologne-type of fragrance, along the lines of Wilde. I'd imagine people who love these herby/salty fresh cologne types of smells would really enjoy this one.

This is more light and soft than I was expecting - the gunpowder and smoke never really come out on their own, but they do provide a nice blanket for the sweetness of the magnolia and apple blossom. The frankincense and chamomile are quite noticeable on my skin, and together with the beeswax they're making this slightly waxy and dusty. I let this settle for a while before giving it my final verdict - I wanted to wait and see what the notes would do.. but ultimately everything melds together in a way that makes it difficult to pick up anything in particular. It ends up being kind of a waxy floral that's kinda flat and unimpressive on my skin.. very light, and it's a touch soapy. Not for me, which is a shame because magnolia and apple blossom should be a gorgeous combination but my skin is just amping the chamomile and beeswax too much for the more delicate notes to come through.

I definitely see the Snow White comparisons here.. and since SW is one of my all-time favourite blends, that makes me very happy! This is like Snow White's Hawaiian cousin - the coconut is sweet and mellow but definitely cold - it reminds me of a coconut icecream milkshake. Plumeria is such a pretty note, and combined with the other ingredients in here it mixes with the coconut and becomes a gorgeous tropical cocktail. I have nothing more to add - the other reviews say it all.. this is beautiful, soft sweet and cool. I really am astounded at its likeness to Snow White though - I see not everyone agrees with that, but on my skin it definitely has a similarity.

2008 version This is like snow and berries with a fresh lemon layer. It's not really 'powdery' for me - it's more fresh and 'wet'. A nice blend but definitely girly and not really my kinda thing.

Sublime peace, ecstatic joy, and thunderstruck awe: terebinth pine, patchouli, brown musk, linden blossom, honey, mallow, blood orange, heliotrope, and golden amber. On me, this was all brown musk and amber with a background of pine. The blood orange isn't very obvious - I have to really go looking for it, but the honey is that gorgeous rich dark kind so it's not going powdery/icky sweet on me.. that's a bonus! After about half an hour, this goes a bit weird - it's smelling very earthy and a bit like damp wood. I'm not sure what to make of this one - I think it's just a bit too brown for me :smile;

At first this reminds me of Pink Snowballs, but with musky violet in place of the rose. The snow is the forest type - it definitely has a feel of pines and dark green leaves about it. As time goes on, the violet gives way to the other floral notes and the musk also deepens - it's now more complex than the violets+snow combination that I had at the start. It ends up being mainly about the snow, with a blue/purple florals feel, and a layer of musk moving through it. It's quite evocative of the snow-filled forests full of big tall old pine trees and wild winter flowers that I used to tromp through as a child in England.

Brimming with native fruits and flowers, but also imbued with the power of native earth magicks: apricot and pomegranate with deep plum, wild roses, two Middle Eastern pale musks, white orchid, iris and sweet roots. I've just got a really old Lab imp of this (the old 'flying witch' style imp label), so it's probably quite different from how a newer imp/bottle might smell, but that said.. The oil is a rich golden apricot in colour, and when it first hits my skin it gives off a lovely throw of rich apricot syrup. My first thought was that it reminds me very much of my aged Queen Mab. I can also smell some plum behind there - the same rich and deep plum as Hellion has. There's also something that reminds me of Sugar Cane here, but I don't see that as a listed note so maybe that's coming from the way the florals have merged with the musks and sweet roots over time - it's a very 'waxy' but musky sweet base. 10 minutes in, and that initial wave of apricot syrup has faded and now the pomegranate is here - lovely, rich and deep but not overly sweet. I'm picking up more rose now too. Half an hour later, and this has faded greatly - it's still the same as it was at 10 minutes, but everything has softened and loosened up. The apricot has gone into the background a bit. Then after just over an hour, I'm left with mostly rose and pomegrate with a slight layer of apricot and plum. It smells very 'real' - like those things were actually sitting in a bowl in my house, exuding their various aromas. Very soft and pretty, almost Victorian feeling - definitely a feminine blend but it also has a quiet strength.

I took a chance on this as a swap, because I haven't met a BPTP spray yet that I haven't liked.. but I really didn't expect to be too excited about this one - I guess I was expecting it to be one of those flowery bathroom spray types of smells. Since my fave sprays are the more "dark" ones like Bah! Humbug and Doc Constantine and Mahogany Hall, this one didn't sound at all like something I'd want my house to smell like. Soooo.. I'm glad I chanced it - this is really gorgeous! The ginger lily is the most prominent note that I get - but it's more ginger than lily.. lightly spicy and sugary. I can smell the floral notes, but they're not at all FLORAL as such - they're just soft and sweet and very pretty. The musks are clean and bright and just a touch powdery from the amber. The end result from two spritzes is a kind of musky bubblegum - as others have said, it's a candy type scent with a musky edge. And if I walk through the room after spritzing, my clothes pick up the scent and I smell lovely too!! Oh.. and it lasts really well! When I spray in the morning before leaving for work, I come home 9 hours later.. open the door, and get greeted by a waft of sweet clean air. I still prefer the more intense/smoky/dark BPTP sprays, but this makes a nice change - it's the one I use when I just want the house to smell fresh and clean and.. just.. nice. It's a shame this was such a limited run, because I would definitely buy another bottle if it were available.

Here's how The Night-Raven went for me, in sequence: Open the vial - hmm.. rose soap? Dab on skin - eek.. rose soap! Lean in 10 minutes later - rose soap, oh hello - is that you, plum? Geranium, nice to see you. Lean in 20 minutes later - rose potpourri of the cheap and nasty variety Take a big whiff 30 minutes later - rose soap, pongy geranium and stinky jasmine. Reminds me of those awful fragrance cake things you find in gas station bathrooms. 45 minutes later - time to wash this off. Such is the tale of rose and I. Bummer - what happened to the wild plum, I never found that at all. I was hoping the patchouli and musk might have won the good fight against the rose. But no - nuh uh, rose wins. And when rose wins, I lose. I'll be saying bye-byes to The Night Raven. Edited to fix rose-induced spelling errors. Yes, rose hates me that much it causes typos. . .