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BPAL Madness!

zankoku_zen

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Everything posted by zankoku_zen

  1. zankoku_zen

    Black Widow

    Black Widow doesn't work for me because of the jasmine. On wet, I get a splash of red wine but it is quicky overpowered by cat pee jasmine. Holy crap, does this sucker have throw! When it dries down, after about three hours, it is a soft sandalwood, again with the red wine and a hint of rose. I can't handle the three hours it takes to get there, but if your skin chemistry can handle jasmine, this could be a killer femme fatale scent.
  2. zankoku_zen

    Beth's Experimental Blends

    Decant labeled “Experimental Blend (minty)" - dark brownish-red in the vial. Faint trace of mint, especially on wet and it dries to a mix of Snake Oil, a giant hit of vanilla and dragon's blood. There is a weird stage where it smells slighty plasticky, but that could either be the SO or the vanilla on me. Previously reviewed by Shollin Decant labeled "Experimental Blend (unknown)" - again, dark brown in the vial. For me, again Snake Oil, vanilla and some orange blossom/neroli --- definitely citrus--- that was very prominent wet. Dried to a rich, vanilla musk. Unfortunately my skin totally ate it.
  3. zankoku_zen

    Neptune

    Orange blossom, white musk. Very aquatic. I wouldn't be surprised it this also had neroli in it. Salty, it does remind me of the ocean, salt and mermaids. Slightly sweet, slightly soapy.
  4. zankoku_zen

    Saturn

    Saturn smells very much like Capricorn 2004. Dirt, woods, cedar and vetiver. Masculine, smoky, dirty.
  5. zankoku_zen

    Misericordia

    Dark lavender and black currant jam. Its slightly spicy, slightly resinous. Dark, somber, sober.
  6. zankoku_zen

    Luna

    Ylang ylang, cherry and something else. The ylang ylang smells like moon lit jasmine, but it's not. It's very floral, very silvery and otherworldly in feeling.
  7. zankoku_zen

    Fig

    Maybe it's my skin chemistry and BPAL's fruit SN, but I found Fig SN to be more about a fig perfume than a straight up fig. Again, on wet it smelled more like fig skin, slightly fragrant figgy but much fruitier in comparison to the D'Anjou Pear. After it dries, it smells slightly sweeter - but it ultimately dries to a powdery, darker figgy floral. Uhhh. Huzzah for not wanting more SNs?
  8. zankoku_zen

    D'Anjou Pear

    Again, time does a disservice to the fruit SNs. I found it on wet to be more like the skin of a pear, slightly fragrant, pear-ish. As it dried, it smelled more like pear blossom on my skin. After about an hour, it's more like a canned pear, it has an almost syrupy note, almost musky. Definitely more like pear perfume than straight up fresh pear.
  9. zankoku_zen

    Silenti

    Rotting wisteria. In fact, rotting waterlogged wisteria. I think there's a brush of lilac on this. Epic.Fail.
  10. zankoku_zen

    VILF

    Spicy, synthetic leather. The leather note has to be a kissing cousin to the BPAL black leather note found in DeSade. In this blend it is less chemically, and all the other components serve to soften and spice up the blend. I don't find the smell of leather particularly sexy nor is it a note that my skin chemistry to handle, so this scent is a no-go for me.
  11. zankoku_zen

    Philologus

    Sweet cologne, beeswax (probably helping with the sweetness) and a touch of paper. It's much lighter and masculine than I expected. As it dries, the combination of beeswax and paper make it smell like some odd sort of band-aid on me. Poo on you, skin chemistry.
  12. zankoku_zen

    Vanilla Bean

    Rich, deep vanilla extract. It's warm, slightly spicy, slightly cookie dough on me. Vanilla is always a problematic note for me, but I do agree that this is the same vanilla found in Snake Oil, which is not a scent I can wear. So take this review with a grain of salt.
  13. zankoku_zen

    Pineapple

    I think fruit SN tend not to age well. It smelled like pineapple fruit/candy, slightly plasticky, slightly metally. It was more pineapple fruit in syrup than fresh pineapple.There was also a slight floral component to it on me. After about an hour, it was gone.
  14. zankoku_zen

    Interfector

    FRANKINCENSE. This is warm, golden frankincense with a touch of smoke. Not my type, but if you can handle, great!
  15. zankoku_zen

    Tony

    Clean, slightly manly cologne. But yeah---- super CLEAN! Huge throw.
  16. zankoku_zen

    Sky City (After)

    Gritty vetiver, smells almost sandy and I'd swear there is either cinnamon and/or allspice in this. As it dries, I get a hint of blood. Dark, gritty, debris. This is a city in shambles.
  17. zankoku_zen

    Sky City (Before)

    Sky City Before starts out with a blast of green grass and dandelions. But as it dries, it becomes more soapy. The final drydown are the hints of metal and marble. It ends up as a fresh, green slightly masculine cologne on me. Whee! An ultra-rare I don't love.
  18. zankoku_zen

    Mysterious Warning

    I can't typically do leather, so this scent totally surprised me. I get lavender, and then something that smells almost exactly like Victoria's Secret Vanilla Sandalwood blend. I think it might be the lavender amber + nicotiana. In other words, it smells deliciously sexy. I love it. I think I need a bottle.
  19. zankoku_zen

    SDPU1

    Apparently, I forgot to review this one. From my notes I get lavender and resins. It gets much more incensey on the drydown.
  20. zankoku_zen

    Transeo

    Sharp cologne, with hints of orange blossom and bergamot. As it dries, I get more of the hint of blood and wine. Not my cup of tea. ETA: On a second try, I do smell the cumin and the blood is much more prominent. Ugh.
  21. zankoku_zen

    Tuberose

    Very recognizable. It's a fragrant, white/pinkish floral, kinda shrill that I remember from Titania. It doesn't go to hairspray on me, but does end up smelling like some sort of high class shampoo.
  22. zankoku_zen

    Cicuta

    Dry roses, frankincense and a hint of saffron. Overall, my skin EATS this blend. Mr. zee_zee thought it was pretty, but unfortunately this has almost no wearlength on me. Subtle, floral, resinous.
  23. zankoku_zen

    Fledgling Raptor Moon

    On wet, I get a huge blast of bay and then something that I can only describe as 'feathery'. As it dries, I get more of the woods and they are spicy (I am thinking that its the massioa bark + clove here), and there's a certain amount of powderiness that I think is probably coming from the aged sandalwood. It's a little 'hippie stinky' (why hello patchouli), and for me lacks a certain sweetness to balance out all the wood elements. It's probably my skin chemistry not cooperating. Masculine, powdery, spicy.
  24. zankoku_zen

    Sekhmet v5

    Incensey, dry, musky. On wet, it is 'sandy' and resinous - amber and a touch of vetiver, and then it dries to something slightly musky, powdery and soapy. I think the orange may come from orange blossom, and this definitely has some ginger in it. Overall, it ends up smelling like some really nice masculine soap.
  25. zankoku_zen

    PPH21

    Salty, herbal lavender, blast of mint on wet. Dries to a nice herbal green sort of blend... actually, it reminds me alot to a Maylee's garden detergent (lavender + bergamot). Yup, it does get slightly soapy on drydown.
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