sunshinedaisybliss

Many of you may remember that in the early 80s, Robert Smith took a break from being the frontman of The Cure and played for a year or so on tour with Siouxsie And The Banshees. He and Siouxsie were old mates, their bands having toured together previously. Returning from their travels in 1983, both Robert and Siouxsie found themselves seeking more fulfilment in life — something more fun, and less pressure than being on stage every night. They decided to buy an icecream van, thinking it would be lovely to travel around England making kiddies happy. Taking inspiration from the very popular Mr Whippy brand, they named their van Mr Gothy and off they went! In only a few short months, Mr Gothy became well known throughout the villages of England for its sweet treats — including the most popular of all; the neopolitan icecream cone with its creamy layers of sweet vanilla, strawberry and chocolate. However... as hard as they tried, Robert and Siouxsie were unable to embrace the sweetness and pinkness of the whole icecream van ethos and it wasn't long before people started complaining that their appearance and their habit of chain smoking clove cigarettes were upsetting the kiddies. One complaint sent in to a local council said the icecream had a weird smoky smell and "the people in the van look scary". Sadly, it wasn't long before the children who used to scream with joy whenever they heard the Mr Gothy van coming up the street would hide and refuse to go outside, crying their little eyes out and peeking fearfully through the curtains until the van was out of sight. Robert and Siouxsie would drive around for hours trying to attract business, but it was clear that their best days were behind them and eventually Mr Gothy closed its window for good — Robert returned to The Cure, and Siouxsie went back to being a banshee. In an interview with Rolling Stone in 1997, Robert was asked if — given his inability to give up the wild hair, lipstick, eyeliner and chain smoking — he felt responsible for the failure of Mr Gothy and the fear and sadness he caused thousands of kiddies across England. He responded "No, in fact it inspired me to write 'Friday I'm In Love' because weekends were the best of times in the Mr Gothy van.". Now here we are in 2025, and I'm so happy that BPAL has released this lovely tribute to Mr Gothy! It has all the classic flavours of neopolitan icecream, mixed with a warm smoky clove — exactly how the inside of the van used to smell after a few days on the road. But without the crying children. PS if you don't believe me, here's a rare photo from the good old days of Mr Gothy.

For me, this started out with a strong juicy dark and zingy grapefruit blast with a slightly rich and sticky vibe – something kinda like a brown sugar toffee but not sweet – like the one grapefruit to rule them all, the best grapefruit you have ever smelled. Then the marshmallow steps in, and now the grapefruit has gone from juicy and dark to sweet and soft – it mellowed out the citrus zing almost immediately. I don’t think this is a vanilla-forward type of marshmallow, and it’s not the uber sweet type of marshmallow either – it’s more soft and squishy, like a pile of marshmallows that were left out on a hot day and they’re all melted… warm and gooey. I enjoyed the first ten minutes of this when the grapefruit was rich and juicy and the marshmallow was doing its thing, but it all faded very quickly and I was left with only a faint hint of both. It’s like I just used a citrus-y handwash... the scent is there, but only just. So unfortunately I can’t rate this one too highly – yes it’s nice, but it just doesn’t knock my socks off. And within half an hour, I can barely smell it on my skin even if I get my nose right up close in the exact spot where the oil was applied.

You’re so very welcome! There’s been so many fantastic ones over the years, it’s hard to pick just a few! The wild strawberries one is gorgeous, sorry for recommending htf things but the BPAL universe will never let you down, they will find you 🙂 The other option is to get hold of the BPAL patchouli single notes – to me, the Sumatran Red Patchouli SN is warm and rich and snuggly, and the East African Black Patchouli SN is more punchy and sharp – and layer them with your favourite fruity or sweet BPALs. A combo that I particularly love is the Red Patchouli SN + Tamora… it creates a gorgeous sweet peachy patch!

Oh there’s been some good ones over the years!! You’ll need to hunt these down since they’re no longer available, but here’s some that I would recommend – Wild Strawberries and Patchouli https://www.bpal.org/topic/101089-pink-moon-wild-strawberries-and-patchouli/ Mandarin, Black Vanilla and Patchouli https://www.bpal.org/topic/100253-mandarin-black-vanilla-and-patchouli/ Feed Me and Fill Me With Pleasure (black patchouli, honey, and thick vanilla amber) https://www.bpal.org/topic/80012-feed-me-and-fill-me-with-pleasure/?do=findComment&comment=2288133 Tricksy (patchouli, aquilaria aguillocha, and Manuka honey) https://www.bpal.org/topic/81866-tricksy/ And if you haven’t tried it already – Goblin from the GC (black coconut, gnarly patchouli, and sweet benzoin) is a gorgeous sweet patch 🙂 You might also enjoy some of the Snake Pit collection, like Asp Viper (Snake Oil with King mandarin, myrrh, and almond); Coral Snake (Snake Oil with blood orange, blood apple, lemon peel, plumeria, and red gardenia); the beautiful Cottonmouth (Snake Oil with blood orange, blood apple, lemon peel, plumeria, and red gardenia); and of course Boomslang (Snake Oil with cocoa, teakwood, and rice milk).

Hmm. I’m really not sure what to make of this one… I am not typically attracted to “dirt” or “mud” type notes, nor do most things “alcohol” – particularly any ‘white’ alcohol notes such as gin – work for me, but I do love a rich vanilla so I was intrigued enough to give this one a chance. But right at the start, I got a strong blast of the ethanol – sharp, alcoholic, bitter – and although it did mellow out after about ten minutes, a haze of alcohol remained and it kind of smells like a very cheap after shave. I can smell the mud, and it’s not really “dirty” as such.. it’s quite dry and soft but I can’t honestly say that I particularly like it. The alcohol + mud together reminds me of vodka breath. And the vanilla? Well.. these “masticated vanilla pods” have been masticated to the point of being almost vanilla-less – I was really hoping for that authentic heady vanilla that you get from a pod but nope, on me it’s a soft / sheer and rather generic sweet vanilla. I see previous reviewers have had a more positive experience with this one, so I think for me it’s just a skin chemistry fail because of the alcohol (ethanol) situation, which never really plays nice for me.

This started out as very fresh aquatic and soapy greenish floral on me – a slight sweetness, but not the pink bubblegum sweetness of the lotus flower – definitely more green/ plant-like. As it dried down, the soapiness faded a little and more sweetness came through but the aquatic vibe remained. No amber yet. Half an hour in, and the amber is now there but it’s a glow-y type rather than a dusky one and it’s not really a main player. The lotus root still has some sweetness, but it’s no longer a floral sweetness.. it’s a little more earthy. Still smells aquatic and soapy. I’m not sure what I was expecting from this one – I guess I had a softly sweet amber in mind? But overall this is just kind of unremarkable on me – it smells like I’ve used a hand wash named something like “Floral Springs”. Or just used a roll-on deodorant that claims to smell “fresh”.

You might be thinking of The Serpentine from 2018? That one was Dorian, Lilith's lavender, snowdrops, and soft vanilla – not “mint” as such, but it has that cool feel from the snow element and the lavender in it is lovely. The only HGs I can recall with lavender that are currently available are: > To A Wreath of Snow – Morning rising in mourning grey: tobacco flower, white oud, lavender bud, and ambergris accord. > Diver Combing Her Hair – Salt-dusted lilac and lavender petals splashed by sea water. Neither have the mint you’re looking for.. I’m thinking you could add in a couple of drops of a mint essential oil though? Another option could be to try to get hold of a Lick It hair gloss from the Yules (there’s been a couple of them in previous years) – peppermint + vanilla – and add a few drops of lavender EO. Hope that helps ! Good luck with your search 🙂

Meemaw is definitely not your typical scarf knitting teapot appreciator and doily aficionado type of grandma – nope. She’s the type of grandma who grows bodacious buds in her backyard and plays her Pink Floyd LPs late at night with all the windows open because the neighbourhood cats enjoy it. When Meemaw goes to visit her friend Marjorie in the summer, she picks a few buds and puts them in her purse – along with a handful of Werthers Originals (Marjorie’s favourite). It’s a four-hour drive to Marjorie’s lakeside shack, and it sure gets warm in Meemaw’s Kombi van, but it’s worth the effort because oh boy does Marjorie bake the best cookies in town. As soon as Meemaw arrives, Marjorie puts the kettle on and the ladies enjoy a cup of tea. But then Meemaw grabs her purse. Marjorie beams with excitement, scoots her chair over, and leans in… Meemaw opens up her purse, and the room is filled with the magical aroma of warm soft sticky butterscotch candy and fluffy fresh buds. A short time later, Marjorie’s cookies are the highlight of the ladies’ day. This is an absolute joy to wear – it’s quite potent at first, but then it becomes softly sweet and snuggly... kind of the best smell you can imagine – like puppy breath or fairy farts – but also nothing you can imagine, because it’s not at all what you expected. But you could bathe in that smell and be as happy as a clam at high tide. Surprisingly lovely, and quite magical.

Have you tried Snake Smut? It has everything you love about Smut, plus the deliciousness of Snake Oil and a few extra goodies: –Snake Oil and Smut with leather accord, cardamom, and 7-year aged patchouli – https://www.bpal.org/topic/97836-snake-smut/ Personally, I love the ones that translate to rich burgundy velvet in my mind – deep, dark, naughty 😀 One that I think is super sexy evil is Lucy, Kissed – Diabolical voluptuousness, a siren song from the grave: juniper and yew brushing against blackened violets and funeral roses, red musk and hot blood, veined white marble and icy, brittle musk, all pulsing with the sinister, hypnotic scent of patchouli, amber, oude, and cubeb. https://www.bpal.org/topic/60030-lucy-kissed/ And another one is Callidora the Vamp – Blood musk, Egyptian myrrh, Mayan cacao, 7-year aged red patchouli, Siamese benzoin, and tobacco absolute. https://www.bpal.org/topic/81877-callidora/ I would also suggest Snake Charmer, Mme Moriarty, Dark Lace, and Resembling the Passion of Love 👍🏽 From the GC maybe try Vixen, Perversion, Debauchery, Ravenous, Depraved, Spellbound, Voodoo, Blood Kiss, Whip, Scherezade, Queen, and Lust. Have fun finding some new delights! 🙂

@Vaudenilla I would recommend Blacklight Reactive Poster – nag champa, patchouli, and weed smoke. Reviews here: My bottles (yes, plural.. for me it’s hoard-worthy!!) are from the original release, so they’re well aged by now, and the nag champa is *chef’s kiss*. The weed smoke is there, but it’s not strong enough to get you arrested on suspicion of having just smoked a big fat doob, and the patchouli is warm and lovely. It’s a beauty if you love that true nag champa smell – it may be a bit on the harder to find side now, but you should be able to track down a decant to try 🙂

When I first put this on, I got a huge blast of sweet almond-y marzipan! Whaaaat?!? Let’s forget that happened, and move on. The muguet here is a heady and rich white floral, as expected, but it’s gentle – like catching its smell in the breeze on a warm summer’s night. The white ginger has a gorgeous exotic sweetness, and a fairly strong spicy vibe (like cinnamon-y), which keeps this from turning all Big White Floral on me (thank you, white ginger!). The ‘green’ aspect didn’t come out for me until about 30 minutes in, but when it did – I was taken back to a trek I did many years ago through a rainforest in Bali. It was a super hot and humid day, and the air was thick with the smell of tropical flowers. Pele is that in a bottle.

I put this on without knowing the notes, and my first thought was a dark purple plum with a nag champa vibe – heady, smokey, radiant. So now I have read the notes… “garnet-tinged haze” makes sense. It took a few minutes for the leather to emerge on my skin, but when it does… mmm, it’s a beautiful soft snuggly leather. I can pick up the warmth of the dragon’s blood, but it isn’t a standout – it’s just adding a lovely resinous base. The amber is very dry, and there’s definitely some muskiness but also some earthiness going on in here as well. A half hour in, and the leather is now the main player – it’s not quite as soft and snuggly as before, and that dark purple feel has faded, but the overall smokiness has also stepped up quite a bit. This is quite exotic and mysterious, slinky and sinuous and chewy. It’s a beautiful blend for those who love their BPALs on the resiny / smokey / darker / musky spectrum.

I found this one started with a strongly herbaceous lavender, exactly how it smells to hold a big handful of freshly cut lavender stems and flowers. Then the lemon myrtle comes through – waxy, with a bright lemony tang. I’m very on the fence about ylang ylang – it doesn’t always play nicely for me – but here it adds a pretty tropical vibe and a bit of sweetness to the lemon and the lavender. I couldn’t find the tangerine at first, and to be honest I wouldn’t say it’s a standout note here, but it kind of adds a subtle orange-y top note. I don’t think the sandalwood is obvious here either, but it’s laying down a nice warm base and also helping to mellow out the brightness of the lemon. Unfortunately, I also got the furniture polish experience after about half an hour of wear. So overall, this was an interesting one to try but not something I would reach for because it’s just not my thing.

Having written a few reviews lately where @doomsday_disco has posted theirs before me, I am beginning to think we may have some kind of skin chemistry DNA in common! I agree completely with this, because I too am basic sometimes when it comes to my favourite notes. So for me, this one announced its arrival with a big blast of black cherry and blood orange – you would think it impossible for them both to be so ballsy together rather than one dominating the other, but it’s quite magical how they each hold their own. And they were magnificent – dark, juicy, intoxicating.. like a rich liqueur – so good! However.. five minutes in, the black cherry and the blood orange have blurred together, and now the florals are here and – this makes me very sad to say – all I can smell is potpourri. Waaah. But it got worse. After about 10 minutes, it smelled like I have walked into a bathroom immediately after someone has done A Very Big Poo and tried to cover up the stench with one of those air freshener sprays named something heinous like “Fruit of the Forrest”. WHYYYYYYY IS THIS HAPPENING?!?!? I know exactly why. That little bastard jasmine is the culprit. Every now and then I get a jasmine that plays nicely on my skin, but mostly it comes out as A Very Big Poo and here it is, doing exactly that. And because of the Very Big Poo Phenomenon from the jasmine, nothing else stands a chance – the beautiful black cherry and blood orange have run away from it like “OMG let’s GTFO this smells BAD!!”. But then I waited another 15 minutes, and summoned up enough courage to go in for one more sniff because I refuse to give up hope, and the Very Big Poo jasmine has calmed down! It hasn’t disappeared completely, but now I can pick up the slightly peppery tuberose and the warm glow of the amber. The vanilla is subtle but smooth, and yep there’s the musky sweet labdanum too. A full hour in and I have a lovely warm amber with a hint of black cherry and blood orange, and a teensy tease of silky vanilla, which is actually very nice but overall quite faint. It’s not what I was loving at the start with that luscious big heady wallop of black cherry and blood orange, but I’m going to keep this for now and see whether aging it for a while will change anything. .

(2024 version) When I first dabbled this on and leaned in for a sniff it was like someone had picked me up and thrown me into a huge lavender bush and as I was landing, I crushed all the flowers and leaves so I found myself face deep in freshly smooshed lavender and that’s all I could smell. After about 10 minutes the lavender calms down a little, and now I can smell the sage and a hint of the honeyed patch. It’s kind of… balm-y. Wait no, it’s minty? Wait no, it’s menthol-y – I wasn’t expecting that! 15 minutes later the lavender is less dense but still there, and I’m getting something a bit like dirty socks. A slight tinge of sweaty skin. Like someone decided not to take a shower when they really should have, and instead slapped on some lavender scented body cream thinking that would hide their body odour and it almost does, but doesn’t really. (I blame the honey for this unfortunate situation) I’m happy to report that after the weird BO stage passes, I get a soft but still menthol-y lavender and a nice warm sweet patchouli. The bourbon vanilla never really showed up at any stage, but now I get the “safety and security” vibe – it’s quite comforting, but for me the menthol aspect is interrupting the serenity. I’m glad I got to try this – thank you to the lovely @bheansidhe for sending it my way! I don’t think I will wear it though, because it’s just not my jam, but I know it’s well loved by many so I will definitely pay it forward as its maker intended.