puellacaerulea
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Everything posted by puellacaerulea
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In my frimp and during the wet stage, I get primarily lavender with something sharp, dark, and almost medicinal -- possibly the labdanum note, as it's not the sandalwood or tobacco note I'd expect. After a while on, the nag champa amps up and balances out the sharpness I noticed during the wet stage. It does have a bit of a head-shop vibe, so maybe skip this one if that's not your thing, but otherwise it's a dark, rich take on lavender. It's a little heavier than what I'd normally wear, but I agree with other reviewers that this makes a good night/sleep scent, so I'll definitely be holding onto my frimp.
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Pretty much exactly what it says on the tin -- fresh grass notes and a sweet vanilla that doesn't morph too much on me. It's actually sweeter than what I imagined, but not overpoweringly so. If you enjoy green/grassy scents, definitely give this one a try.
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[No additional description given.] In the bottle: Mainly the leather accord and bourbon vanilla; the dead leaf note and clove are barely noticeable. Right after applying: CLOOOOOOOOOOVES. All of the cloves. They're overwhelming everything else. On drydown: The clove note stays really strong, but the scent balances out more, with the leather and dead leaf notes becoming more prominent. The bourbon vanilla note ends up really subtle compared to how the oil smells in the bottle. Overall: It's like a sexy, spicy pile of leaves. (It reminds me of Leather Phoenix, except clovier. Seeing as I dread the day that I run out of Leather Phoenix, I welcome anything similar.) For me, this is definitely a keeper, but you should probably bypass this one if you're at all on the fence about clove.
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2018 version: This one morphs a lot! In the decant, I get leaves -- not quite as sharp as the dead leaf note I've gotten used to, but green and vegetal. Once it's on, I start getting a slightly sweet, creamy, and vaguely minty note that plays better with the green notes than I would have expected. The effect really is that of fall and winter scents in one place. After a few hours, I mostly get that sweet and creamy note and have a hard time detecting the leaves. I like it, but the end stage on me is similar enough to other BPAL snow-type scents that I'm not sure if I need a full bottle.
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Dead Leaves, Green Cognac, Iris Root, and White Leather
puellacaerulea replied to zankoku_zen's topic in Halloweenie
I picked up a decant of this because BPAL's leather note tends to work well on me, but this one was unusual -- intense iris at first, with the leather coming out to balance it, but then a sour note emerging after drydown. I picked my decant up again after letting it sit for a couple of weeks, and settling may have been a good thing -- on more recent tests, I'm no longer getting the sour note, but more a blend of cognac, soft leather, and leaves with the iris adding a slight floral sweetness. -
In the decant, I get sweet-ish pumpkin along with the musk and oudh -- unusual, but really nice and well-balanced. After I apply it, I get something that smells like cinnamon to me, which I'm less jazzed about, but it does fade after about an hour. After drydown, the pumpkin fades into the background, and I mostly get dark musk and oudh with a subtle sweetness to it. I may try this one in a scent locket, as I like the more pumpkin-forward scent from the decant. I probably don't need a full bottle of this, but will definitely hold onto my decant.
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This is a very soft, clean, and subtle floral. The lavender and honeysuckle stand out most to me in the decant, with a bit of white musk. Once it dries down on me, it smells like that ambient scent you get in a Lush shop (and I don't mean that in a bad way!). Wear time isn't bad, but it stays really close to the skin on me. If you want a low-key, work-appropriate floral, give this one a try.
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In the decant, I get mostly dandelion and honeysuckle. Once it's on, the dandelion and honeysuckle stay most prominent, with something sweeter and warm (but not foody) in the background, which I'm guessing is either the fur or the carrot note. Overall, it's a light, sweet, and green floral with good wear length and medium-to-low throw. I can see wearing this in warm weather as well as the fall, and might get a bottle to replace my soon-to-run-out bottle of Flor de Muerto, which has been my go-to when I want a fresh, non-overwhelming floral.
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In the decant, it's the strong, green, bitter version of the dead leaf note. After applying, the leaves calm down as the incense note amps up. The end result is surprisingly subtle and balanced compared to the impression you'd get from the bottle -- mostly dusty, dry, non-overwhelming vanilla and incense notes with a hint of dead leaves in the background. Throw and wear length are fairly low on me. I can see this one being a crowd-pleaser. Right now I'm not sure if I'm wowed enough to need a full bottle, but will probably keep reaching for my decant through the fall.
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Dead Leaves, Bourbon Vetiver, Nagarmotha, and Vanilla Absolute
puellacaerulea replied to ladymeag's topic in Halloweenie
I get mostly vetiver with this one, but it blends with the vanilla and dead leaves in a way that makes it woody with just a hint of sweetness. I was also picking up something a little off-puttingly ozone-like at first, but it seems to go away on drydown. This is a little more classically perfumey than some of the other dead leaf blends, but I think in a good way. -
The maple note is definitely dominant in this one, both in my decant and on my skin. It plays really well with the dead leaf note, though -- the notes balance out to something warm, dry, and sweet without being cloying (as opposed to the bitter, green scent people sometimes get with the dead leaves). If maple sounds even a little bit appealing to you, this is one to try.
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In the decant, I get all the tobacco. Lots of warm, rich, slightly spicy pipe tobacco. Can't really make out the black tea or dead leaves as yet. Right after applying, the tobacco stays front and center, and the slightly spicy note dies down some. After drydown, the dead leaf note comes out a little more, giving the tobacco a slightly green bite. I have a hard time differentiating the black tea note from the leaves and tobacco, but there is something to the combination of those notes that reminds me of freshly brewed black tea. If you like tobacco but tend to find the dead leaf note too strong in other Pile of Leaves blends, this might be one to try -- the dead leaf note is detectable on drydown, but tobacco is definitely the dominant note here. Overall: very warm and rich; fall-friendly; definitely unisex; medium-ish throw and good wear length. Definitely getting a full bottle of this.
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In the frimp: Mostly heady, sticky-sweet honey, plus red wine. Not picking up any other notes yet. Once it's on: The myrrh amps up right away and takes the scent out of cloying territory. The honey is still a dominant note, but the myrrh and wine balance it out nicely, adding a spicy/resinous depth. Good wear length, without significant morphing after the myrrh initially amps up. I like this a lot more than I thought I would on first sniff. Not totally sure I'd wear this often enough to warrant a bottle, but we'll see how fast I go through the frimp.
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In the imp: sweet coconut and rum, immediately followed up with strong, smoky, sharp tobacco. It's like a less obviously gourmand version of the October 2017 version of 13. This doesn't morph significantly on me, though the tobacco mellows out a bit and gets similar to pipe smoke (that sharp edge never quite goes away, though). This is primarily a sweet scent, but reads very unisex (almost leaning more conventionally masculine) to me -- the tobacco keeps this from going into full "girly" sweetness. I'm still undecided on whether the tobacco is too much for me -- going to hang onto my frimp and test a few more times.
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This is an intense, soapy floral -- I don't think there's rose in here since it's not going powdery on me, but apart from that, the main impression is of an intensely white floral with something soapy underneath. It does settle down on me after about an hour into a somewhat lighter floral that could be good for warm weather, but I can't quite get past the soapiness. After about 4-5 hours, this mostly fades on me. If you like florals, you'll probably enjoy this one, but it's not quite my style.
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This is a really different one! In the imp as well as on (this one doesn't morph much on me), I get a mix of dark green and resinous notes with something weirdly plasticky or rubbery. Also something minty -- I'm with the reviewer above who mentioned getting the impression of old, sticky chewing gum. Overall impression is strong, dark, and green, with that plastic-like note that makes me think of wires and cables. Definitely fits the name.
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In the imp: very bright and fruity apple and bergamot. Once it's on, it goes through a brief sour phase before drying down to something surprisingly light and powdery, with a little bit of the apple still hanging out in the background. The baby powder aspect is probably the rose, which does that on me. I can't pick out the patchouli, musk, and teak specifically, but there are definitely some deeper notes keeping this from going full grandma on me. I can see this working for someone who wants a fruity scent with some heavier notes grounding it. I don't think I need a full bottle of this, but I'll hang onto the frimp.
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2018 reissue: In the bottle, Ava's mostly tuberose and mandarin to me, with something bitter floating in the background (the almond?). Once I put it on, the vanilla and almond amp up and sweeten right away -- I can no longer specifically pick out the tuberose and mandarin, but they're definitely there in that the vanilla/almond combo is definitely not foody. It morphs very little after that -- I'm still getting a really gorgeous vanilla/almond/sophisticated floral, without the bitter undertone I got in the bottle. As of now, I've had it on for about 3 hours and it's barely faded. This leans a little more traditional/mainstream than most BPAL I've tried, but it's really amazing. I've never gotten a backup bottle of something before, but I'm seriously considering one in this case.
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In the bottle: super green, grassy, and fresh! I expected all grass, all the time, but the lettuce note is also really noticeable. I agree with the reviewer above that it's reminiscent of the Gap's Grass perfume, but with more depth to it. It goes through a brief Irish Spring phase right after I apply it, but then the oakmoss and pepper come out to add some earthiness. After drydown, I mostly get oakmoss and grass, more earthy than fresh. I miss the initial fresh phase, but this is still a great warm-weather scent; highly recommended if green scents are your thing.
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This one's very citrusy, but the incense keeps it from going full Lemon Pledge/bug spray. The incense note is lighter than I generally expect, which helps make it warm weather friendly along with balancing out the lemon peel. We've been having summer-like weather where I am, and I've found myself reaching for this scent quite a lot lately. As a bonus, it has great wear length on me -- I've been applying it in the early AM and can still smell it on my wrists 12+ hours later. Overall, this is a really nice, light, fresh citrus with some depth from the incense, perfect for spring/summer.
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The black tea and vanilla notes led me to expect something along the lines of Dorian, but this is surprisingly very different! I mostly pick up the honey and vanilla notes in the imp and upon application, but a very clean, fresh, almost sharp note (the linen?) amps up fast. After it dries down, the honey, vanilla, and milk notes come back out, but they're balanced out by the linen/white pepper notes in a way that keeps it from getting overly sweet/foody. It's a unexpectedly clean/fresh take on foody scents, and I really like it! Likely to grab a bottle once my imp runs out.
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In the imp and right after applying: super sweet plum! The floral notes take over as it dries down -- I mostly get jasmine and a more sharp and stereotypically "perfumey" floral (the daffodil?). I can't pick out the white musk at any stage. This could be a great spring/summer scent, especially if sweeter florals are your thing, but it's a little too much for me.
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In the imp and right after applying, this is intense honey and vanilla plus something spicy and almost resinous to me (definitely the clove, and maybe also the vetiver?). After drydown, it calms down a lot -- I end up with soft honey, vanilla, and cherry, with some clove still faintly hanging out in the background. It's like O, but with a subtle added spicy sweetness (although I think the honey note is more intense in O). If you find the vanilla/honey combo in O too in-your-face but otherwise like foody scents, this is worth trying. (I'm on the fence about whether I need a bottle of this, but I'll definitely keep trying the imp.)
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This scent's really interesting in that manages to be dark/woodsy and fresh simultaneously. In the imp, I get slightly smoky woods and lots of citrus -- it's almost like a stripped-down, darker version of Manhattan. When it dries down, the lemon tones itself down quite a bit, and the wood notes get a bit softer and more pronounced. It stays surprisingly close to the skin on me. It's still basically woods and citrus, but much less in-your-face and borderline Lemon Pledge/Irish Spring as it is in the imp. I'm really glad I was frimped this, because I don't know if I would have tried it otherwise. Seriously considering a bottle once the imp runs out.
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Rose generally doesn't work well on me, but I liked the other notes (and the concept), so I decided to take a chance on this. In the bottle and immediately after putting it on, it's definitely myrrh-dominant, to the extent that I'm not able to distinguish the other notes. I also noticed a weird, sharp, almost astringent stage as it started to dry down (maybe the vetiver?), but fortunately, it calms down after a little while. This might be one case where rose's tendency to go powdery on me works in my favor -- once that happens and the vanilla comes out a little more after drydown, I get a soft, slightly powdery, but still myrrh-forward scent. I really like this once it reaches its post-drydown stage. If you like myrrh, you'll probably like this.