Scylla

I don't normally like rose scents, but I liked this one very much! It was included with my most recent order and I didn't look at the description before trying it yesterday.

In the vial, it is a very strong floral. But it didn't strike me as being entirely rosey. Couldn't pick out the other floral notes, though.

Wet, it was still very floral, but "rose" wasn't the first thing to come to mind.

On drydown, the roses became more prominent. I'm not usually a rose fan, but I like the rose in this.

This was a very long lasting scent on me--I put it on at 8:00 in the morning and could still smell it wafting after 5:00 pm.

It is a beautiful, complex floral scent. It strikes me as something that a very proper English lady would wear to a polo match. It's just not me--I'm not English (or proper, for that matter!)

I am familiar with all of those scents, and at one time wore Pleasures and Body Shop White Musk. As such, I think your mom would love Zephyr. It is white flowers with a touch of lemon verbena and white musk.

In the vial, it smelled like a sharp, sweet floral.

Wet, it smelled like a floral with some spice in the background. I'm not getting the lavender at all, which is a good thing.

On drydown--I kinda like it, but it reminds me of the way Estee Lauder lipstick smells!

It is every bit as good as I'd hoped it would be! The cinnamon is the most prominent note, then the clove, with the white pepper hiding in the background.

My 6 year old daughter came into the room a few minutes ago and said, "Mom, what's that good smell?' I let her smell my wrist and she said, "That smells awesome! Put some on me!" (Yeah, she's a BPAL customer in training)

I am buying a 5 ml and wearing this from October through Thanksgiving!

Mint is the first note that "pops" on my skin. For the first 10 minutes or so it smells VERY minty--bracingly so. But I like mint, so that's OK.

This is definitely one of the shape-shifters of the BPAL perfume oil catalogue. Seems so appropriate for it to be called Gemini!

It transformed from a cool, minty scent with flowers in the background to a green, fresh floral. The sweet pea comes to the forefront on me, with lavender and lemongrass next, then the mint. I don't really detect lemon OR orange, but that's my body chemistry, I guess.

Definitely going on my "to order" list.

First impression in the vial: Smells like a freshly dug grave!

Wet: Damp, fresh earth and decaying roses. Anyone ever see the movie "Frailty?" This is what I imagine the rose garden next to the Meiks' house smelled like.

On drydown: dry rose potpourri

Not my thing, but interesting. Will be heading for the swap pile.

In the vial: Lime and coconut. Kinda reminded me of that Bath & Body Works Lime Coconut Verbena, I think it's called.

Wet: Pina coladas with a lime twist. And something lurking in the background. Oddly enough, I want to say cilantro/coriander!

On drydown: I really like this, but will probably wait to purchase until the Spring. Dries down to a coconut baked goods smell with a little tang. The coconut is nice because it's not a fake "suntan oil" coconut smell.

Definitely bright, comforting and warm.

One of my Top 10 BPAL scents, already!

Update: Well, it's definitely not Hollywood Babylon. The Lab sent me a freebie imp of that with my order today and this is definitely not it. The bottle I received is much more strawberry than that, and perhaps grape-y.

So now I think it's Bon Vivant. Has anyone tried both Hollywood Babylon AND Bon Vivant? I wish my computer had smell-o-vision so you all could smell this and help me determine what it is!

I was trying SOOOO hard to avoid getting obsessive about making a database....

But now you guys drove me to it!

Thanks, Morrighana. I used your field suggestions. And in MSWorks also.

Got a Click and Ship last night for my 6/29 order!

The sweetest ones I have encountered have to be Tamora and Gluttony.

Bliss and Vice are chocolatey and all, but they don't scream "sickening sweet" on me. Gluttony and Tamora, on the other hand are VERY sweet.

I received an order a few days ago that was to replace some leaky bottles I received in April. It was a total surprise--I had forgotten about it, actually. The wonderful, wonderful lab threw in an extra 5 ml, and it was labeled VICE.

BUT...I have Vice and this ain't it!!!

Whatever this is, wet, the predominant note I get is sorta bubble-gummy, fruity and sweet, with something leafy in the background.

Edited to say: As it is wearing on, it is getting berry-ish and sweet--kind of like a cross between Maenad and Tamora, but neither one of those. After more than an hour of drydown it is a berry vanilla scent.

Any clue as to what this might be? After searching notes on the lab site and looking at the reviews, I am thinking it is Hollywood Babylon.

Thanks in advance!

CAUTION: Use VERY SPARINGLY!!! I put just a tiny dab of this on and it was overpoweringly, headache-inducingly strong. So far it has lasted 5 hours and is still wafting about. This definitely wins the "staying power" award of BPAL oils I have tried so far.

At first, this smelled very violet-y to me with some aquatic notes, then after a few hours it got soapy. Veil did the same thing to me, but I like Veil much better than WoND.

Edited to say: I could still smell this on my wrist the next day. Wow, that's staying power!

Thank you all for your help! The only thing between me and a bpal order, is my slight fear for paypal, but I think I can overcome that!!!

You don't have to order via PayPal--that is just one of the methods. You can order via CCNow with a credit card. Just use the "Back to the Lab" link at the top of this page and start adding stuff to your cart!

Autumn is my favorite season as well. I love Scarecrow, and I have some Three Witches on the way.

I am REALLY looking forward to ordering Harvest Moon at the end of August. And to think, there isn't even a scent description yet!

Gluttony, Maenad and Muse have been the ones I've tried with the longest staying power. I put Muse on this morning and can still smell it.

Edited to say: Never mind. Just tried Water of Notre Dame and it definitely wins the "staying power" award. But use very sparingly! It's STRONG!

I haven't smelled that many of the "men's" fragrances, but I have to enter my vote for Scarecrow. I love it on me, and I love, love, LOVE it even more on my husband.

I'm with Andrabell on this one. It smells very fresh and clean in a bathroom cleaner/air freshener kinda way. I swapped mine away.

This is not going to be a popular opinion, but one thing that has been beaten into my head over and over again is to NEVER wear fragrance to a job interview.  What smells delightful to you might be horrific to your interviewer (or they could have a fragrance sensitivity, or be allergic to one of the oils, or prone to migraines, or...) and it could prejudice them against you.  It would be terrible not to get a job because of the fragrance that you chose to wear.

 

That said, if you feel naked without a fragrance (which I do), wear something as light and inoffensive as possible.  Old Shanghai and Kumiho would be good picks.  Embalming Fluid, which I haven't smelled, would probably also be appropriate.  I would stick to something that smells light and clean - nothing overly floral, nothing spicy, nothing very sweet or fruity.

 

Boring, but safe.

I looked at the oils on your list and concur with Electra that Embalming Fluid would be a good choice. Best of luck on your interview!

Sigh. I had high hopes for this one because of the glowing reviews. But, my body chemistry made this smell exactly like the medicinal hand soap they had in the bathrooms at school when I was a kid.

Wow. I admire your efficiency and compulsiveness--I mean organization! All of you!

OK, experts, I need your help. I love pretty much ALL of the BPAL scents I have tried so far, but my husband remains unconvinced. I am looking for something that he will really like on me and convert HIM to BPAL. His favorite scent for me is Christian Dior's Poison. (I know, I know--very 80's.) Any suggestions?

I agree about Lightning and Embalming Fluid. Both excellent "clean" smelling choices. Juliet also smelled "clean" on me, but in a laundry detergent kind of way.

Pele smells "beachy" to me, in a suntan lotion and light creamy floral kinda way.

This one sure is lemony in a lemon Pledge sort of way. However, on drydown it started smelling more like a citronella candle. I like the smell of citronella candles, but I don't want to personally smell like one!

I didn't get any mosquito bites yesterday while wearing it, so maybe that's a good thing!