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BPAL Madness!

zankoku_zen

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Everything posted by zankoku_zen

  1. zankoku_zen

    Ded Moroz

    This is for the Ded Moroz proto, from way back in the day. Because of the age, both the amber and the rose are much more prominent. There was also a small tinge of pine. It faded much quicker than I expected. I have to say that I adore the released version much more, and some of it has to do with the staying power (perhaps because I slather more of that?).
  2. zankoku_zen

    Pennyroyal

    Pennyroyal SN starts out with a biting blaze of mentholic/mint with a slight herbal/medicinal background. It is very much the same sort of smell as in Pain, minus the lavender. My skin literally eats this up though.
  3. zankoku_zen

    Tilt A' Whirl

    Cotton candy plastic. Lotus in its pure bubblegum form, sugar and something that ends up smelling synthetic on me. Whew. Dodged a bullet with this one. ETA: 2016 from the bottle. I get a lot more green grass on wet, and then pink cotton candy with a whiff of orange blossom. It degenerates from there, smelling plasticky, which to me means that there's some form of BPAL cream in there. But yes, there's definitely some lotus or lotus root in here.
  4. zankoku_zen

    Lily of the Valley

    Okay, so this at the beginning smelled like floral varnish. And then after five minutes, it was almost a juicy, fruity sort of lily. And then, it has dried to a delicate, white lily scent. Definitely lily of the valley, as of now three hours in the drydown it smells like my husband's maternal grandparents garden where they have a bajillion lilies of the valley, almost like a ground cover. Lovely.
  5. zankoku_zen

    Blood Moon 2010

    Blood Moon 2010 is slightly musk, dry leaves, and spicy incense. I like it better than the previous Blood Moon incarnations, because all I could get from those was the dragon's blood/dragon's blood resin. This one is much more 'leafy' and the musk is soft and comforting.
  6. zankoku_zen

    The Fan Dancer

    Dark cherry blossom, powdery violet, hint of ozone and white grapefruit. This isn't really at all like Neo-Tokyo to me. More like a darker powdery cherry perfume. Slightly sweet, tart and musky. ETA: So the Fan Dancer has aged to a dark cherry blossom, violet, and some white musk. Whatever ozone and grapefruit in it has dissipated. So it ends as dark floral with powdery musky overtones. Darkly seductive I'd say. There's something deeply sophisticated and mature about it, actually.
  7. zankoku_zen

    Villa Diodati

    Villa Diodati is very interesting. It's resiny, incensey with a touch of citrus and ozone. But it's dark, masculine. There's a hint of dirt to it as well. This is the smell of a dark, tenebrous place, full of mystery.
  8. zankoku_zen

    Crucible of Courage

    I have to say that Crucible of Courage is very wearable. Not that its distinctive, but its rather a scent that envelopes in its warmness. I get something floral, warm, creamy, slightly powdery. I think it possibly has roses, vanilla, and something else. On wet, you can definitely tell that its' not just a perfume as its more herbal than perfume tends to be. The drydown is gorgeous though. Given that I am just testing it for scent purposes, I'll review it again after I perhaps need a "courage" boost.
  9. zankoku_zen

    Samhain

    Truly the scent of autumn itself -- damp woods, fir needle, and black patchouli with the gentlest touches of warm pumpkin, clove, nutmeg, allspice, sweet red apple and mullein. Samhain 2003 This one on wet was... well, very off putting. It smelled like medicinal varnish. It dried down to a soft apple and leaves, with a hint of dirty patchouli. Samhain 2004 On wet, this one smelled... well, more purposeful and made me think of Mabon. And magic. It smelled herbal, and it definitely had an 'intent' vibe. However, it dried down to a very powdery dirty patchouli, dirt and woods scent. Sadly, no apple. On the other hand, its very apropos for the year that birthed the original Mabon and Lugh. It has the same vibe as those two, less of a perfume and more of an evocation. From a vintage perspective, 2003 plays better on my skin than 2004. Phoeey.
  10. zankoku_zen

    The Old Goblin

    Ice + fir. Definitely masculine. It ends up going slightly soapy on me.
  11. zankoku_zen

    A Howl In The Darkness

    Green, musky, hint of pine. It's more fresh and cologne than I expected, with a great deal of citrus.
  12. zankoku_zen

    Thirteen (13): August 2010

    Sadly, no dark chocolate or tobacco for me. I get the bergamot on wet, blast of pink pepper and it dries to a pink pepper chocolate, or rather a pinkish, floral slightly spicy chocolate.
  13. zankoku_zen

    Dia De Los Natitas

    Roses and hydrangea. Dia de las Natitas ends up as mexican rose soap.
  14. zankoku_zen

    Red Mysor Sandalwood

    I find that I enjoy red sandalwood better than the white kind. The white was kinda citrusy, and this one is definitely spicy. It's deep, warm, woody, reminiscent of cedar. Damnit, I knew I'd love this. Sad that I can't find more.
  15. zankoku_zen

    The Creeping Mist

    I do love yuzu. I get a nice big hit of it throughout this blend. Yuzu, ginger and a hint of linden flower. It is more citrusy on wet than on the drydown. It's a very "juicy" floral, bordering on the soapy. It has the same vibe as the Unsteady Governess. Given the predominance of the yuzu + ginger, it has a slightly Asian feel to it. Fresh, clean, juicy,
  16. zankoku_zen

    Lilith

    This review is for the Lilith v5 prototype from the Cobwebby events. This one I get a huge hit of red wine, and roses. Red voluptuousness of roses. Sweet red wine + roses. I think the released version went a little powdery on me because of the musk.
  17. zankoku_zen

    Wildfire

    Wildfire 2010 is clean, soapy dragon's blood. I get no smoke, no scorching, no gin. Just straight up DB. It's clean, floral and slightly spicy. EPIC. FAIL.
  18. zankoku_zen

    Numb v2

    Numb v2 has way more violet in it that the original released. OMG - the violet just attacks me and smells like dusting powder. HUGE violet throw.
  19. zankoku_zen

    Nothing Gold Can Stay

    Banana peel. Honestly, this smells to me like a green, unripe banana. It's got that green planty smell, slight hit of creamy fruitiness, a bit of sweet florals. I get no amber or ginseng. Odd.
  20. zankoku_zen

    March Hare

    This review is for the March Hare prototype available in the cobweb event. Wow. This is supremely different from the released version. This is a lemony blossom floral. Nothing fruity/foodie. If anything I'd say this is lemon + tea. The tea note is green, as it is almost astringent.
  21. zankoku_zen

    Bogle

    Bogle to me smells like fun. There is sweet, fruity and just a hint of smoke. It smells like the perfect night to go trick or treating, with a touch of smoke in the air, the epic sugar rush from the hard candy you're crunching on and enough of a whiff of fruit (from that juice pack you've been sucking on). It's young, sweet, but not so sweet that you can't wear it. Definitely the standout BPTP inquisition scent in my mind.
  22. zankoku_zen

    Licorice Bats

    Soft delicious licorice, hint of cocoa and blackberries (is that you anise?). The anise gets stronger as it dries but it just adds to the licorice aspect of it. Anise and licorice can be so harsh, but this one is very soft and very wearable. I am pleasantly surprised. This is very delicious.
  23. zankoku_zen

    Grace Elliot Bath Oil

    Grace Elliot to me was a rich, rose bath oil. It was big, voluptous but it was more of a pink rose as opposed to a red rose in my mind. There was also perhaps a touch of sandalwood? Roses aren't my favorite scent, but it made me think of the Fainting Couch atmo spray in the same sort of vibe.
  24. zankoku_zen

    Marshmallow Pumpkin

    Loads of dry cinnamon and allspice, hint of pumpkin and a whiff of marshmallow goo plastic. Spicier than expected.
  25. zankoku_zen

    Wad Of Chewed Up Strawberry Bubblegum

    Sugary bubblegum. It sort of smells like strawberry bubbleyum but it dries to a weird strawberry jam/plastic on me. BPAL's strawberry note is often problematic on me. On the other hand, it doesn't smell like LOTUS allover.
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