puellacaerulea

This is the first 13 I've gotten, and it seems like it was a good choice. In the bottle, I mostly get the chocolate, coconut, and almond notes. Once it's on, my skin really amps the coconut and almond, but it eventually settles down to a pleasant, slightly nutty dry cocoa scent. Sweet and foody, but definitely wearable.

I loved the pink pepper note in Fake News (along with everything else about Fake News), so I was eager to give this version of the dead leaves a try. It's sweeter in the bottle than the other dead leaf scents, but that weirdly green, aquatic, cologne-like element of the dead leaf note is still there. I'm not sure if the dead leaf note is morphing a lot on me or if my skin really amps the pink pepper, but this really warms up on me after applying. There's the same spicy-sweet pink pepper from Fake News, with a drier, much less cologne-y version of the dead leaves hanging around in the background. While I wish it lasted a bit longer (it mostly fades on me halfway through the day), I really love this and am glad I sprung for a blind bottle.

In the bottle, I get intense apple pie spice -- almost a bit too seasonal-candle for my liking. Fortunately, once it's on, fresher apple notes plus the grass note come out and balance out the spice really nicely -- like previous reviews said, it's sort of like a fresh/clean apple pie scent. My skin chemistry seems to do something weird with the grass note such that it becomes borderline plasticky after it's been on for a while, but it's not intense enough to be a dealbreaker. Definitely a good fall scent if apple is at all your thing.

2017 version In the bottle, it's much more aquatic than I expected. The dead leaf note is there, but it's more like wet, just-fallen leaves on a rainy day. I can't pick up the smoke or sap yet. After applying, it goes weirdly soapy on me for a bit, but it warms up and de-soaps considerably as it dries down, with what I'm guessing must be the smoke note. By the time it dries down, it reminds me a lot of Hallowe-en, 1914, with less sickly sweetness in the background. If you're not into the dead leaf note, I'd avoid this, but if you like unisex green scents, it's worth trying.

Mutable fire: the essence of optimism. This is a perfume of energetic positivity, freedom, exploration, tolerant idealism, and spontaneity. This is the scent of the wandering philosopher, the fearless adventurer, and the outspoken activist. Rugged cedar and white pine, wise rowan and California white sage, soft mosses, well-worn leather, peppery tomato leaf, and fiery saffron. As a Sag rising and someone who loves BPAL's leather note, I decided this was worth going for. It smells *amazing* in the bottle -- fresh pine and woods with something bright and spicy hanging around (the saffron, maybe?). Once it's on, the pine unfortunately fades on me fast, but the leather note amps up more -- the sort of softer leather note in scents like Dead Leaves, Raw Leather, etc. The tomato leaf also gets more prominent, bringing something green and peppery to the scent. The end result is a slightly spicy green scent with the leather note grounding it. Throw is fairly good, and it does last long. While I like the end result on well enough, I do miss the pine note once it goes away. It is a little bit on the masculine side, but I still think anyone could wear it.

Got this as a frimp with my last order. It's like a less foody/boozy version of Miskatonic University -- the wood notes stay front and center on me even after drydown, with the vanilla very subtly sweetening it. The tobacco note is a little more prominent, but has the same function of adding a little sweetness to the wood notes. I really love this -- it's sophisticated, androgynous, and not overwhelming in terms of throw. It's close enough to Miskatonic University that I don't know yet if I need a bottle, but I'll definitely be thinking it over as I go through the imp.

This scent was part of a friend's Weenie haul, so I got to test it for myself. I've never had a scent morph so intensely on me before. In the bottle, the cardamom note is very strong, but I don't get the usual Lab dead leaf note. Instead, it smells like a mixture of soap and pine to me. Once it's on, it got extremely soapy, but rapidly got sweeter as it dried down. The end result was actually quite nice, and almost a complete 180 from where the scent started in the bottle. While I still didn't get any detectable leaf note in the final version on me, I did get a sweet, foody, subtly spicy cardamom scent. Unfortunately, that end phase didn't last very long; this one faded on me after about two hours. Going to pass on this one.

I got to sample a friend's bottle of this today to figure out if I want my own. I wasn't sure about this one at first -- in the bottle, it's very much an ocean-air sort of aquatic scent, but with some sour, funky undertone that wasn't working for me (not sure if it's the ambergris or the salt). Once on, said funky note amped up, but after a few more minutes it dies down and blends in as the light musk notes amp up. The end result is a really lovely aquatic -- more reminiscent of salt air than a typically perfume-y aquatic. It also has good staying power and throw; five hours and one workout later, I can still get whiffs of it. I'm either going to have to steal my friend's bottle or get my own.

I snagged a bottle of this last fall and apparently forgot to review it, so, here's my take on a year-old bottle! I don't know if the oil itself changed with age or my nose did -- when I first got this, the apple note (which is pretty much all you get in the bottle) was cloyingly sweet and almost medicinal-smelling to me. After not wearing it for most of a year (it's very much a fall scent), I picked it back up and found the apple note is still really strong in the bottle, but it doesn't seem as aggressively sweet or artificial. Now it's more like sticking my nose into a bag of fresh red apples. My skin really amps up the other notes once it's on, especially the oats and vanilla -- the goat's milk is there, but it's not the strong, slightly sour smell I get with other goat's milk blends. Same for the hay and honey notes -- I'm sure they're there, but they're hard to pick out individually. The apple stays strong for the first few hours, but this gradually fades on me to a pleasant creamy vanilla scent with a vague hint of apple. Overall, if you like the idea of a warm, foody apple scent, snag a bottle of this if you find one floating around. I've found myself reaching for it often this fall.

In the bottle, I mostly get strawberry and vanilla, with the other notes hanging out in the background -- it's like a grown-up, sophisticated strawberries and cream scent. Once it's on, the strawberry fades fast on me and my skin amps up the rose (which, unfortunately, goes powdery on me) and woods. The other notes are there, but very well-blended -- I'd have a hard time picking them out without the list of notes. After a while, the strawberry continues to hang out in the background, and the powdery rose dies down. The overall effect is resins, woods, and musk with a subtle sweetness. I'm a bit bummed about the rose note going powdery (rose might be my death note), but overall, this is subtle and sophisticated. This Libra/Scorpio cusp approves.

In the imp: Lots of strong florals and incense -- not normally my thing, but it's kind of appealing. A poster above said it's like a grande dame's perfume, and that seems accurate to me. Sophisticated and maybe a little old-fashioned, but not necessarily a bad thing! After applying: Still florals and incense, but it's going powdery on me. After a couple hours: The baby powder dies down some, while my skin amps the incense. The end result is incense with relatively faint florals and a touch of powder. Not normally my style, so no bottle for me, but I'll hang onto the imp.

In the imp: PINE! So much pine. Wet: All of the pine. Drydown: The orange starts to really amp up, adding some sweetness to the pine/eucalyptus combo (though I think I'd rather a sharper, less sweet citrus note -- on me, the orange is kind of cloyingly sweet). The end result: pine with a weirdly sweet undertone that lasts about four hours. I don't need a bottle of this, but I can see myself reaching for the imp this summer.

In the bottle: Coffee with something syrupy sweet. Yikes. After applying: Vanilla's nowhere in sight; otherwise, coffee and baby powder. Yikes. After drydown: The vanilla comes out to play and the coffee notes move into the background. The vetiver and resin notes get less powdery and blend really nicely with the vanilla. The overall effect is a warm, dry vanilla with the vetiver/resin notes keeping the whole thing from being overly sweet. Much better.

In the imp: Strong citrus notes and something woody/incense-y, like a weirdly pleasant version of Lemon Pledge and polished wood furniture. Once it's on: The citrus is still there, but my skin really starts amping the wood and incense notes, along with a trace of something powdery (the oud, maybe?). A few hours later: Mostly just soft wood notes and that powdery note. I wish the citrus hadn't gone away so quickly, but this is still really pleasant. This has a lot of staying power; I could still get a whiff on my wrists 6-7 hours later. Overall, it's a really warm scent that would probably work well on both men and women. Will keep the imp and might consider a bottle once it runs out.

At first sniff, I was worried that the cinnamon would end up being too much for me, as it seemed to completely overwhelm the floral and slightly smoky vanilla/honey notes. On dry-down, the cinnamon took a back seat, and the honey and vanilla notes really amped up, with some nice, subtle floral notes in the background. It's very warm and languid (definitely the closest thing I would imagine to a "post-coital" sort of perfume). Maybe I just really amp the honey and vanilla notes, but this really reminds me of O (one of my favorites), with some spice and floral notes floating around in the background to give it some more complexity.

This is one BPAL scent I consistently get compliments on! While it goes slightly powdery on me (oddly, I don't seem to have any issues with soapiness or laundryesque notes), it fortunately doesn't morph all that much on me. This is a really wonderful warm weather scent, with a perfect balance of fruity, green, and slightly rosy floral notes. I'm very likely to get a 5ml after the imp runs out.

In the imp and upon application, The Lion is pawing me in the nose *hard* with cinnamon. For the first couple of hours I don't get any discernible amber, just Red Hots-esque cinnamon. After a couple of hours, though, softer and resinous notes start coming out and balance the cinnamon very nicely. The end result is a scent that to me is evocative of warm, dry days -- spicy and lightly resinous without being overpowering. I could see myself wearing this more often provided I think far ahead enough to apply it with enough time to let the hardcore cinnamon die down before I go anywhere.

When it's wet, this literally smells like bottled Irish Spring! The scent gets a bit less soapy and more of the honeysuckle notes come out to play after it starts to dry down. I admit I was hoping for a bit more in the way of aquatic or ocean-ish notes, as the "salty spray" is what really sold me on this scent. Still, as a green scent with a bit of floral notes, this is really pleasant and perfect for warm weather.

In the imp, Lightning is all aquatic notes without any obvious ozone -- fresh, clean, and very promising. On me, the ozone started amping up fairly quickly, which sharpened the aquatic notes quite a bit. The end result is like a somewhat airy take on a standard "marine" scent. It's also got fantastic staying power -- I put some on around 9am and it's barely faded as of 5:45pm (though it does seem to stick fairly close to the skin). I really, really love this. It's fresh, simple, and one of the few scents I imagine coming across as truly unisex. I imagine I'll be reaching for my imp often this summer (and springing for a bottle when it runs out).

In the imp, Velvet is cocoa-y deliciousness. I'm having a hard time picking out the sandalwood and myrrh behind all the cocoa. Not that I have a problem with this, because it smells kind of delectable. Almost immediately after I put it on, however, the cocoa starts to disappear and I start amping spicy, resinous sandalwood and myrrh. So far, not having the straight-to-powder problem I sometimes have with sandalwood blends. After a couple hours, the cocoa is almost entirely gone, leaving me with resinous myrrh with a bit of sandalwood in the background. This isn't necessarily a problem, as I've grown to really like incense/resin notes, but I miss the cocoa note. It's worth noting that Velvet has some serious staying power. It's been about 14 hours since I first put it on, and I can still smell it on my wrists. Overall, while I'm disappointed that my skin apparently devours the cocoa note, the myrrh/sandalwood blend I end up getting is still quite pleasant -- spicy/resin notes that aren't overpowering. I may have to try this one in a locket and see how it works there before I decide whether or not this merits a 5ml purchase.

In the imp: Something bright, sharp, and aquatic (and vaguely citrusy) kicks me in the nose. Hard. I haven't learned to recognize BPAL's ozone note, but I'm guessing this is it. It's nearly drowning out any incense notes. Drying down: Now the heavier incense/resin notes are coming out to play. It's considerably less sweet than some of the other incense-heavy scents I've tried; this reminds me a bit of the incense you'd smell in Catholic churches. Combined with the ozone, it's very dark, sinister, and definitely Lovecraftian. After about an hour: The incense has turned to baby powder on me. Wait, what? So much for sinister. Overall, the first hour or so is kind of intriguing, but it looks like Nyarlathotep doesn't think much of my skin chemistry. Oh well.

In the bottle, Kyoto is all anise. Sharp, intense, almost medicinal anise. Cue dread on my part. Once it's on, though, the cherry blossom really amps up, resulting in a soft floral with just a little semi-sweet, almost herbal depth from the anise and sandalwood. White sandalwood in BPAL blends tend to turn to baby powder fast on me, but I surprisingly don't really catch any powdery notes, even after several hours on. This scent also has fairly good throw and good staying power (about 8 hours later, I can still catch whiffs of it on my wrists). Overall, it's a very well-blended floral that seems to get along exceptionally well with my skin.

In the imp, Rapunzel is all light florals with a watery green note from the wild lettuce. The floral note, while on the lighter side, is still quite bright and just short of overpowering (to my sometimes florally-averse nose, anyway); the lettuce helps to keep things in check. Once it's on, my skin really amps the wild lettuce note, giving a very bright, spring-like, watery green scent with a bit of semi-soapy floral underneath it. I'm glad my skin amps the lettuce note, as I'm not sure I'd be very into Rapunzel otherwise. Highly recommended for anyone who likes lighter scents in general and green scents in particular.

Yeah, so it's like BPAL figured out what all of my favorite notes are and put them into one glorious scent. Milky, super-sweetened black tea with a generous helping of vanilla musk. I don't seem to notice the fougere notes; on the other hand, this imp's been aged for a bit, so maybe the vanilla/musk notes are heavier than they might have been with a fresh imp. Either way, it's wonderful and incorporates everything I love about "foody" notes, yet I wouldn't call the overall scent impression foody/gourmand. This is definitely going on my 5ml wishlist.

Bright, wet, sweet, and most definitely golden! In the imp, it's all bright pineapple and citrus -- the tobacco seems to be lurking somewhere in the background, but I don't pick up any florals or amber. The amber amps a bit on me after it's been on for a few minutes, giving just a little bit of depth and sexiness to all the fruitiness that's otherwise ensuing. This scent fades relatively quickly, however; it's gone after 4ish hours on me. I quite like this -- it's very evocative of hot, humid, lazy summer afternoons. It's not something I'd reach for often enough to justify a bottle purchase, but I'll keep the imp around for those times when I need some kind of olfactory reprieve from the midwest winter!