puellacaerulea

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!

Somehow I never wrote a review for this one despite its being my first ever LE purchase! The roses and lilies predominate, but they have a very chilly edge -- the effect is like a dark reprise of a classic, feminine floral perfume. The yew/earth notes are there in the background, giving the scent a dark green undertone, with a mineral-like edge from the sand. This is my standby when I want something that's reminiscent of a classic, old-fashioned perfume, but with enough of an edge to keep it fresh. I'll have to do some serious hunting when I eventually run out.

I was surprised to see all the floral notes in the Lab's description -- even in the imp, this is all white musk, white sandalwood, and aquatic notes to me. Very pale (almost ethereal) and clean; very evocative of its name! Unfortunately, on me, it turns to baby powder fast. I love white sandalwood, but it doesn't seem to love me back, as I've noticed this straight-to-powder trend with every BPAL blend containing white sandalwood that I've tried. Looks like this is a scent locket-only candidate for me.

I actually picked this up late in its original run last winter, but put off reviewing it because it seems so season-specific I never really wanted to wear it after early January! I had picked this up mainly for the tuberose, as it's one of my favorite floral notes and the idea of a snow/tuberose blend was ridiculously appealing. However, what I get in the bottle is a whole lot of pine/mint sharpness, a scent that seems stereotypically "Christmas-y" to me. Once it's on, the pine softens a bit and the mintier/menthol-ish notes amp up a bit more, and there's some kind of sweetness emerging behind it, but it's a berry-like sweetness rather than tuberose to my nose. I was concerned initially about walking around smelling like a Christmas wreath, but the end result on me is more of a slightly sweet minty scent than anything else. While I'm disappointed that there's not the kind of tuberose I was expecting, this is certainly a pretty scent in its own right. That said, it carries so many Christmas associations for me that I have a hard time seeing myself wearing it outside of the holidays.

In this imp, this is all sharp cypress and moss. As it dries down on me, I still get primarily the cypress and moss notes, although it softens a bit -- some kind of faint powdery note comes in behind the cypress/moss notes (the oud, maybe?). I couldn't detect the frankincense or hazelnut notes at any point, though. This strikes me as a very murky take on the "green" scent; I'd recommend it to anyone who finds most green scents too bright and fresh (this also seems like it'd make a great unisex scent). I can't see myself making a full bottle purchase, but I'll haul out the imp when I'm in the mood for something different.

In the imp, Phobos is most definitely Lemon Pledge (and this is coming from someone who loves citrus scents). However, the verbena and white musk amp on me fairly quickly, offsetting the Pledge effect. It's still very bright and sharp, but with an underlying softness (from the musk, I'd guess). After a few hours, there's little morphing, just plenty of clean citrus. I like this well enough -- it kind of reminds me of a more in-your-face, floral-free Phantasm. I'd buy a 5ml of Phantasm before Phobos, but I'll happily keep the imp for when I need a more intense citrus scent.

In the bottle, Sachs is pretty much all chamomile, with a bit an odd, almost medicinal sweetness behind it (the bourbon vanilla, maybe?). Once it's on, my skin starts amping the vanilla like whoa, which balances out the heavy chamomile notes and makes that odd quasi-medicinal note go away. As the Lab's description suggests, it doesn't have a whole lot of throw. It does, however, have plenty of staying power -- a good 12 hours after putting it on, I can still smell it on my wrists. I quite like this -- it's warm, a bit sexy, but without overpowering sweetness. To me, it seems like a more understated version of O (one of my favorites, but not one I can wear on an everyday basis with all that honey).

This starts off as a really fresh, simple rose -- more freshly-cut rose than old-lady perfume. After a few minutes on, my skin starts amping the spices. I wouldn't call them harsh or medicinal, but they do add a darker, almost incense-like undertone to the rose note. It's not enough to make the scent heavy or especially dark; the overall impression is still quite light and simple. Unfortunately, the rose note fades on me after about an hour in and I mostly get faint spices. Still, this is a very pleasant scent. I'd recommend it to anyone who's on the fence about incense or spice notes, as this is a relatively subtle spice and the rose note keeps it firmly in floral territory.

In the imp, I got straight nail polish remover, which was a bit terrifying, but I went ahead and tried it out anyway. Fortunately, the chemical sharpness mellowed out pretty quickly, but I was still getting nothing but patchouli and vetiver -- a very dirty, raw, greenish scent. After about an hour, things started looking up when the blood orange started to amp; the citrus blended really well with the patchouli and vetiver and took it out of dirty/harsh territory. I never could pick out the ylang ylang at any point. This is a bit of an odd one -- it's not so bad once the blood orange comes out to play, but I'm not sure it's worth the first hour of nothing but patchouli and vetiver. I'd be curious to see how this smelled on a guy, but I'm not quite sure it's for me.

In the imp: Lilies. So many lilies. Light, sweet-ish florals, but with a cool, clean, somewhat soapy edge. Not soapy in a bad way, though -- in this case it seems to temper the floral notes, keeping them from getting obnoxiously sweet. This is one of the few BPALs I've tried that doesn't morph on me at all -- the scent fades and mellows a bit, but the basic floral-with-something-soapy notes stay the same. This is a good option if you want a light floral that isn't too cloying; florals usually aren't my thing, but I find Prague light and pleasant. I'm not sure if I'd wear it often enough to merit a 5ml, but I'll happily keep the imp around.

On Darkness 2009: In the bottle, I get mostly incense and resins; I can't really pick out any florals. Once it's on and had some time to dry down, though, the lavender and rose geranium come out and balance out what would otherwise be nothing but thick, nearly cloying incense. The balance of the floral and incense notes make for a really lovely scent; for some reason it just seems very Victorian to me. I can't imagine wearing something this thick, heavy, and dark in the warmer months, but I think I'll be coming back to this one quite a bit this winter.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from the combination of citrus and floral notes with wood, amber, and leather, but oh man I love Manhattan so hard. It's very lemony in the imp and right after applying, but it's not a sweet or overly sharp lemon. There's a slight soapiness behind it that makes me think "day spa." I don't really get any of the leather notes until it's dried down, where it adds a sort of dark undertone to the otherwise fresh and citrusy notes. Very sophisticated, and I love it. The only downside is that it fades incredibly fast on me (after about two hours all I can smell are faint leather notes), which means I'm making my way through my imp rather quickly. Not that it'll stop me from a bottle purchase the second it runs out.

I just recently unearthed and retested the frimp of this that I got with my Bards of Ireland order. Aged Leipreachan is lovely, outdoorsy, sunny goodness in a bottle. I'm not getting the metallic note a lot of reviewers have mentioned; in the imp it's all soft greens (think grass and moss) with maybe a bit of patchouli and some light floral hiding in the background. Once applied, my skin really starts amping the leather note others have noticed. It's a warm, soft leather, with just a faint hint of powder, that really complements the green notes. As it dries down, I mostly get the leather while the green notes take a back seat (although they haven't gone away entirely). I'd call it more unisex than masculine, as there's a softness to the leather note, along with the slight floral presence, that keeps it from going full-on masculine to me. I'll definitely be reaching for this imp more often now that I've rediscovered it (and would totally buy a 5ml if it ever becomes available).

I'm really disappointed Psyche is discontinued -- I've had an imp for quite some time, but never got around to buying a 5ml (time to stalk the swaps). It's a light, slightly spicy floral -- I get mostly lavender with a vaguely spicy undertone (the frankincense?) upon first applying, but the rose and musk amp up a bit as it dries down. I'm generally don't do florals, but the frankincense and musk give Psyche just enough depth to be wearable. It does go a little powdery on me after a few hours, but by then the scent has mostly faded anyway. Overall, one of my preferred BPAL florals, and I'll be on the lookout for any imps/5mls looking for a new home.

This is probably the first straight-up masculine (as opposed to unisex) imp I've gotten. It's definitely a classic men's-cologne type of scent, very clean (but not at all overpowering) with mostly the musk and lavender standing out, but it's better than any men's cologne I've ever smelled. Not something I could wear, but I keep the imp around just for random sniffing. If someone secretly replaced every bottle of Axe out there with Villain, the world would be a better place.

I picked this up during its original run after seeing the apricot note in the description; being a Katharina lover, I am all for any scent involving apricot. Copper Phoenix is definitely *not* the same sort of apricot, though. No one note really stands out except for the citrus/fruitiness, at least at first. In the bottle, it is serious, in-your-face, Sunny Delight citrus. The fruity notes mellow out fast once it's on, with a smooth, definitely metallic undertone. Metallic notes and fruit shouldn't go together, but they very much do here. Overall, it's like a grown-up fruity perfume, and it's my new go-to scent for warm weather.

This starts off as a fresh, slightly green/herbal floral, but quickly goes powdery on me -- possibly my skin amping the sandalwood? In any case, after about an hour, this is all baby powder and little florals. Could be a good candidate for a scent locket. Provided your skin doesn't also make this scent go all baby powder on you, it would make a great, light summer floral.

I got a frimp of this with my recent clocket purchase, and I'm glad, as the tobacco/leather would have kept me from trying this on my own. It's much, much sweeter than the description suggested to me (the tonka and chardonnay notes, I'm guessing) -- almost too sweet when I first put it on. The tobacco and leather amp up on me pretty fast, though, without overwhelming the sweeter notes. Very mature and sexy without being in-your-face about it -- this is definitely going to be a bottle order for me.