blueroses

I just got a gift of some B Never, and the Love bubble bar smells just like a mix of Night's Pavilion and The Perfumed Garden.

 

1000 Kisses Deep has myrrh, and it's really good, but I don't know about BPAL similarities because I haven't enjoyed the blends with myrrh.

This one was no surprise to me. It's a sweet sharp scent that reminds a lot of people of cherry, although BPAL's does a lot less than some other almond oils I've smelled. It's not as foody as you might think, and there is a faint nuttiness under the sweetness.

 

Sweet Almond is perfect on me - it's a shame that BPAL's almond blends don't work well on me. Dana O'Shee is nearly all almond, but something else in it doesn't like me.

Carnation is spicy!

 

It's a powdery floral that reminds me muchly of Alice, with a hot spicy center. This is the note that I like in the few floral BPALs I can tolerate.

A long time ago, I got my hands on an imp of Vanilla Bean, and from the very first sniff in the imp, I could tell that this was the note that ruins a lot of the foody BPAL blends that I want to love. The sweet, plastic-y smell from the imp stayed the same on my skin.

 

I'm having a different experience with it now. Like a poster above said, it smells like amaretto in the bottle, and I am not getting the same chemical plastic smell. On my skin, it's vanilla with a nutty, marshmallow-smell. I still feel like it is on the verge of turning to complete plastic, but I am having a much better experience with it, and with some of the other vanilla blends.

I mostly grabbed this one to train my nose. This is very warm and spicy, and reminds me of pumpkin baked goods. I've used this with Pumpkin Patch 2 to temper the sweetness. It would probably be nice with Jack as well.

Intrigue smells like a dry, non-foody cocoa, wood, and black palm. The cocoa is the strongest scent when first applied, but it fades away to a green, wood and palm scent. The fig is just a light touch that emerges after the cocoa fades.

 

Intrigue is interesting, but it's neither feminine enough nor green enough for me to wear.

Mata Hari smells lovely and unique in the imp and when first applied ... like roses and dry coffee beans (not the creamy coffee smell of Miskatonic University). Unfortunately, jasmine overpowers the rose and the wood note takes a chemical turn. I don't get any fig or vanilla - this scent isn't sweet in the slightest.

 

This would be great for people who like jasmine and don't have a skin reaction with the mahogany note.

I get no pear from this! Maybe the slightest hint, but I could only detect it after I had read the note list, so I might be imagining it. This is all lily of the valley and a soft rose, and the (nearly imperceptible) pear makes it very sweet. Disappointing, since I love pear, but it's nice for a floral.

This is achingly beautiful, a work of art. (I am up way too late tonight. )

 

So, in my life before BPAL, the commercial perfumes I favored were gardenia or aquatic blends. This is both, so naturally it appeals to me. But this is so much more complex. I imagine a base of aquatic notes and soft musk, scattered with gardenia and water-flower petals. It's very fragile - I was afraid to rub my wrists together and crush the scent.

 

So beautiful. This is something I'd like to consider one of my signature scents, which is funny, because even though I loved commercial gardenia and aquatic perfumes, I've been liking the sweeter BPAL blends. This is very light, though - slathering and re-applying is a must if you want it to last.

Mmm. This is simply a deep, rich plum with a drop of wine. I don't smell the amaretto at all. The plum is much less sweet and more wearable for me than Midwinter's Eve, which was too Kool-Aid for my tastes.

 

This is a possible future bottle purchase.

This is one that sounds so absolutely delicious it's a shame that I don't like it better.

 

Eclipse goes on smelling of almonds and cinnamon, like a delicious cookie. The cinnamon is not strong or overpowering at all. There is hint of vanilla as well, a little disappointing because I love vanilla and wanted it to be a stronger presence here.

 

Then ... dun dun dun ... the frankincense. I have an unpleasant scent association with frankincense. I don't know what it is, but it also reminds me of herb rubs, like something I'd rub on fish or chicken. The frankincense gets stronger and stronger. And the the almond morphs into cherry cough drops. No no no. Get it off!

This one somehow reminds me of a funeral parlor, the mingling of women's perfume with men's cologne, combined with the scent of lemon polish and flowers in the corners of the rooms.

 

When I pick the scent apart, it doesn't seem like this would be the effect, but it is. Haunted goes on smelling of a golden amber, but the dark musk comes out immediately. The musk is similar to the musk in Enraged Orangutan - very dark. Then I smell something lemon-y or citrus-y. It reminds me very much of The Star. The longer I wear Haunted, the more I smell like the The Star.

 

But overall, I smell like a lemon almond cookie. But the beginning stages are too melancholy for me. I'll pass on this one.

This is a springtime version of Snow Bunny. The same citrus and powder notes are here, but the piney scent of Snow Bunny has been replaced by clover.

 

It starts out strong and citrus-y, but dries down fairly quickly to a musky cotton blossom and powder. That stage lasts for a looong time on me. It leaves a really good soap-and-skin scent on me for hours. I love it. The Bunny Musk and Snow Bunny are the only two LEs that have earned a second bottle in my collection.

Actually, the Orishas seem to differ in the accent color depending on the blend - Osun is in yellow, Ogun is green, Yemaya is (I think) blue, but I may be remembering her wrong...but the main difference is the hint of color for "Orisha Blend".

 

All of my bottles last order, including four non-Orishas, were amber, so it may just be the current run of bottles for those.

Yes, Yemaya is a pale blue - I was going to post here and kept forgetting.

 

And, aw! I like the cobalt bottles. I liked having a mix of amber and cobalt.

Melon melon melon!

 

Yemaya is overwhelmingly melon, in the bottle and on my skin. It's a bright, fresh honeydew on me - no candy or artificial smell. As it dries down, there's a strange salty kind of smell, the sea mosses and grape, which sometimes reacts funny on me. This one fades very quickly on me.

 

It is indeed very similar to Fee, but Fee is more of a honeydew-and-cream scent, whereas Yemaya is very fresh and natural. I do like it very much despite the brief weirdness at the end.

In the bottle: A dark musk with a splash of citrus. It's not as heavy or masculine as I thought it would be.

 

On: Okay, the orange doesn't last out of the bottle. On my skin, it's musk and heavy amber and some wonderful green, planty notes. This might work!

 

Drydown: Hmm. The nice exotic green notes go away fairly quickly. The blend is a lot softer now, a lighter musk and amber perfume.

 

I imagine layering Buck Moon and Jacob's Ladder would produce something similar to the Enraged Orangutan. I have both of those bottles, so I don't know if this one is a keeper.

The reviews saying that Berenice is Antique Lace without the Lace are spot-on.

 

In the bottle, Berenice is all aloe and smells very green. On, I can smell the linen and the same floral-y smell that is in Antique Lace. I'ma fan of AL, so I love this. It's a fresh green version of AL.

 

It also reminds me of CKOne, which I wore to death in the eighth grade. I don't know if that's because they have similar ingredients, or if Berenice is evoking some perfume nostalgia in me.

 

I loves teh fr00t. And Budding Moon is not disappointing me.

 

In the bottle and freshly applied, Budding Moon smells like sweet plum blossoms and peony. I can smell a bit of ginger. After a while, this dries to a musky fruity floral. (And as for the "color" of this blend: it's a pale lavender in my opinion).

 

It's a nice sparkling floral for people that are overwhelmed by pure florals. And definitely a different kind of fruity from the other BPAL fruity blends I've tried - it's sweet and soft cold.

In the bottle, Red Lantern is overwhelmingly caramel. I can smell some tobacco in there, but really it's so sweetly caramel that this could be Trick or Treat.

 

On, it's a world of difference. The predominant note is still caramel, but the black coconut and tobacco make a strong showing. I can also smell distinctively "Asian" florals and spices.

 

After wearing for some time, I can smell a slight fruitiness - the black currant.

 

Ok, keeping this one, I think. It's hard for me to find a sweet BPAL that I can wear without it going plasticky. I'm loving the currant, coconut, and, most of all, the tobacco in Red Lantern. It's a nice caramel scent held back from being obnoxious by exotic and green notes.

In the bottle: Snake Oil. Well, a drunk Snake Oil

 

On: A sweet, sugary, boozy Snake Oil. I get the same vanilla and spices of SO with a nice musky smell.

 

Dry: The same, except the booze wears off. I think I like this better than Snake Oil and Snake Charmer. It's the musks that are doing it for me, I think.

 

If you like Snake Oil/Snake Charmer, definitely get this. Even if you don't, give it a try - it's different enough to warrant trying. This isn't a top ten scent for me, but I really like it.

In the bottle: A minty rose. Awesome. I definitely see where the "pink-green" comments are coming from.

On: Rose, rose, rose. A tiny hint of some herb like sage. But overwhelmingly a deep pink rose. The mint disappears, but mint tends to always do that on me.

Verdict: Not for me, at least as perfume. I'm not too into roses to begin with, and I miraculously already have a few BPAL rose blends that I love.

Moxie makes me think of someone pouring fresh marmalade into a jar.

 

It's a gorgeous bubbly orange blossomy scent with a little ginger behind all the citrus. It makes me feel very lively, if not totally moxious.

 

Love it!

Dorian was one of the first imps I ordered from the Lab. I was in the midst of trying a whole bunch of scents, so I just swiped Dorian on, registered a mostly tea and white musk blend, and set it aside. I ended up giving away my imp.

 

After reading all the raves, I decided I must have been missing something. So I tried it again.

 

In the bottle: A vanilla that smells wearable! And tea!

 

Wet: How did I miss the vanilla the first time? This is great. A sugary sweet vanilla (but not very foodie - I can almost never wear vanilla bean) with a light musk and a hint of tea.

 

Drydown: More of the tea comes out, but Dorian is still overwhelmingly sweet musky vanilla.

 

A new favorite - I've already ordered a 10mL.

In the imp: Rose. That's all I get, so I'm expecting the worst. I'm not into straight-up florals.

 

Wet: Um. I get a nice light rose and something lemony. This must be the tea, I guess. Sometimes this note smells lemony, and sometimes just green, like sweet grass. I only get a little carnation.

 

Dry: Much the same. Less carnation, more tea, and the delightful rose. This is a nice greenish-white scent.

 

I love it. Probably going to get a bottle.

In the bottle, LoC is rich, fudgy chocolate icing or brownies. Unfortunately, I can already tell that it will go funny on my skin; there's that lurking note o' plastic.

 

Wet, dry, and faded: This really is much more rich than BPAL's other chocolate scents. It's very sweet and fudgy. I would love this if not for the scent weirdness. I'm not a fan of BPAL's other chocolate blends, but this is good.

 

Sadly, the plastic smell doesn't wear off, so this one doesn't work for me.