brwnpaperhag
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Everything posted by brwnpaperhag
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Wet, the almond comes out to play first. It’s a sweet almond, like body oil, bright and cozy. I agree it’s almost like amaretto, and I don’t hate that. As it warms up, I get the gardenia and cherry - the cherry is tart, and the gardenia is bright. The cherry gets spicier (maybe the carnation starting to work its magic?) and it becomes this very sophisticated, perfumed experience. I am not a fan of tonka bean (that was a risk to this decant buy), and I’m grateful not to get anything like it in my experience so far. I agree that this is a mysterious, “going out” type of scent, but as it dries, the tea comes out and makes it lighter - I don’t know if you would want to wear this in warmer weather, but the florals from the gardenia and that white tea lift make it almost like a springtime scent, so maybe it’ll work in the coming months. I am having a nice time wearing it but it doesn’t feel like me.
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Gentle creamy blueberry, not super strong, but the juiciness stands out against the cardamom, which is heavier for cardamom than I remember cardamom being. The cream is heavy, so maybe that’s what’s working with it. I don’t get any kind of a chilled factor here, just warm and sleepy vibes. This sits really close to the skin. I wish the blueberry were stronger.
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I agree with Galahad, the wet initial stage is very minty cool, which was a surprise. It shifts into carnation for me (a favorite), and I get a sense of the crystallized ginger, but it melds beautifully with the carnation so it’s hard to ID without knowing the scent notes. there’s a floral, shunga quality that has got to be the peony (I get a lot of Bpal peonies this time of year), and that keeps it light and gives it that springtime quality I love from the shungas. as it wears on my skin, the red amber and and scarlet silk come out, but I can’t say to what extent it is red and scarlet. I have purchased several red ambers over the years from Bpal, and I can ID that note, but the silk here is very gentle. disappointingly, I get no ube or persimmon right now, and also surprisingly, no lavender. This is still very fresh from the mail, so we’ll see how it ages. I’m glad I have a decant of this one!
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There’s a stereoplasm scent called taro milk tea. This bpal shares a very similar dna with its ube note - sweet, coconutty, a little deep and earthy. The red bean paste keeps it from getting too dessert-like, though it absolutely is still a gourmand scent. when comparing it to the stereoplasm scent, I can’t say I am getting any candyfloss; this is all starchy sweet on me. I like it a lot, but I wish there was more dimension somewhere in the dry down. wait, actually, the more I huff it, the more I get the same - sugar? I don’t know - in my old beloved, Velvet Unicorn. That had a combo of spun sugar, merengue, and cherry fluff, a relative to candyfloss, and with that link, I can kind of grasp it lying underneath the earthy ube and red bean. this scent fades faster than many sugared bpals I own, which is a shame.
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Oh my god, I’m in love. My favorite, cherry, comes in hot at the forefront (juicy and candied, reminding me in the best way of gummies but also not) with a creamy coconutty base, and strawberry brightening it up for more fun. The mango comes out as it dries, and it reminds me of the mango scent in the bag of dried mango pieces, the good kind. I wish I got more halo halo but I’m not mad at this at all. As it lays on my skin it reminds me more of an ice cream scent, which doesn’t scream halo halo but I don’t hate it. It also still feels very familiar, and I’m definitely okay with that. I’m so glad I picked up all these Filipino scents, they are so comforting!
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I told myself to wait until this settled, because snake oil. But I couldn’t help it. the ruby chocolate note shows up right in the wet stage, overtaking that new snake oil scent. I’m pleasantly surprised. I haven’t had the lab’s ruby chocolate note, and it’s like a fruity version of their white chocolate one, which is great news for me, because the white chocolate note gets weird on me. the creamy fruit aspect of it plays wonderfully with the spice of the snake oil, and it reminds me of a younger sister version of Asp Viper (Snake Oil with King mandarin, myrrh, and almond). I would love to get a FS to see how this ages.
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What a journey! It opens reminding me of banana, I’m guessing that’s the Suman, and silly me, I wasn’t expecting it to be in the opening, since it was listed last in the description (i can be very literal like that). Then the coconut comes barreling through right after, and for a minute, it also gives me the impression of peanuts. after that, it becomes super smoky - like, “whoa did we get transported to a fire pit?” Smoky. I sort of get the fruitiness of the pandan, somewhere in between the coconut and smoky stage, but am still waiting for the sampaguita (jasmine) to show up. The oud is a lurker, mingling now with the pandan to give it a really interesting base. As I sit here huffing my arm, it feels very familiar to me as well. It reminds me of standing downwind of the sweets section at the Filipino bakery, the part where all the sweet rice cakes are.
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I was so excited for this one, but as I huffed my elbow crook, I am disappointed by some note causing it to go sharply floral. I just took a look at the notes once I got here and I see now - it’s the apple. I forget that I have a love-hate relationship with the Bpal apple note: it’s always too floral on me. That said, the sweetness in here is really putting in overtime with my skin chemistry, and the longer I wear it, the more it settles into a really comforting apple base, with some creamy playful overtones. I will see how this ages but I’m conflicted about getting more, since I can’t tell how I feel about it.
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I’m so confused by this one. wet and into the first stage of drying, all I get is the familiar lab cacao (like from the 13s), which I don’t hate at all, but I was disappointed for it to start in such familiar territory. That said, the dry stage is very interesting - this has got to be the black tea steam, and it’s reading very…floral? I don’t know how to describe it, but I think it may be that lotion quality that doomsday is describing above - it feels less gourmand and more like a perfume, and especially like the dry down of a hotel lotion scent. I don’t hate it, but I’m not sure what I was expecting in the first place getting this scent, haha. I guess maybe I wanted the idea of a cup of strong black tea with the depth of an earthy cocoa powder? This definitely isn’t that, but this sample is fresh from the mail, so I’ll see how it ages.
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Okay so fresh and wet on me, the skin musk reads extremely intimate and sexual haha once it dries, the fruitiness of the pink pepper peeks through, and then it settles into a lovely floral aquatic quality, with some warmth - I agree that this is a clean your skin but better scent. I recently got a few of the Sea witch scents from Astrid, and this scent is very much a sibling to them (it feels related to sea bones and offerings, and knotted and bound, especially). I like this a lot but can’t really justify having three of the same scent family, but if you love the idea of a salty, warm, aquatic, definitely grab this.
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This is lovely and perfumed, very upscale for being an oil. I agree it is rose forward, sweetened by being a cordial and backed by the cream. I’m not getting much berry, but perhaps it’s lending some depth I’m not sophisticated enough to pick up on. I am very surprised by how much I love this one, and I may FS.
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I bought this bottle blind because I had a version of Snow White where the flowers hit the perfect balance between powder and bright floral. It was gorgeous, and in general I am never one to stay away from a leather note, so how could this not work on me? Snow White rider leans more powdery on me, but it’s comforting with that leather base. I can’t say this screams sandalwood to me, but my skin tends to amp sweetness and that may be why my nose is thrown off. Throughout the day I get little puffs of powdery vanilla with some depth, and it’s just such a soft, pleasant experience. I would say the coconut-y vibe is accurate, it truly feels like there’s a creamy note that I can’t place, but that’s the beauty of the Snow White floral, I think.
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The sum of its parts is so gross and manages to convey the hate and disgust from its inspired paragraph. I love this story so much (good memories from school!) but knew none of these scents were “me”; I got this imp for the love of the project and a hope that this would be the least terrible to my nose. it’s been on me for maybe 20 minutes and has settled into an indolic jasmine with rotting citrus and dry plaster. It is breathtaking how dirty and musty it is. I can’t stop smelling it and feeling grossed out, it is such a weird scent to have been made. the marigold is slowly starting to peek out, making it sweet, and maybe the vanilla is there too, but that jasmine really makes that first part such a bad experience for me. i love it for what it represents, but I don’t think I could ever wear it, haha
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This opens to all sugary apple and it makes me so happy. It’s not at all medicinal or herbal, as some apples tend to get on me. the mint gives it a cool iciness that tickles my nose and as the scent settles onto my skin, the milky notes keep it grounded. I absolutely love this one, it’s cuddly and bright.
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Fresh from Ajevie! I am such a fan of bpal’s caramelized milk scents, and after reading up on BPAL’s “regular” peach milk from 2022 Dragon Con, I decided to go for it. In the bottle, I get a really sweet, fresh, juicy peach that reminds of those Asian gummies that look like large Sunkist fruit gems. There’s a slight note of milk as well, and it makes me think a little of the milk in snake milk, but the juiciness covers it up. On my skin, the milk note opens up and it’s very toasty, very caramel. It’s gotta be the same milk note from snake milk. The sweet peach is here too, and balances it out nicely. As it dries, like with snake milk, the milk note gets stronger and it feels like if Nestle made a peach flavored milk and you made it into a custard for a pie. yeah, that scorched milk note is prominent. I love this because I love snake milk and what it does on my skin, but if there was anyone here hoping for a second chance at this when the 2022 peach milk didn’t work, I wouldn’t get your hopes up. I really love what the sugar is doing here, it makes that peach really bright, but comparing my experience with everyone’s 2022 peach milk reviews, I wonder if it differs at all from that scent.
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I love milk scents. I blind bottled this when it was released because I too was going through a love affair with lactonic perfumes (at the time, it was Kissing by Killian) Anyway, the scorched aspect of this intrigued me. My skin chemistry amps sweetness, and aged snake oil becomes multifaced on my skin. The risk was only going to get better with age. now, two years in, this perfume is just glorious. It reminds me of cooking the milk too hot when making abuelita hot chocolate. It is carmelized just enough that just before I think I get sick of the milkiness, it turns golden and warm and gooey. Even though I amp sweetness, the milk carries through the day and doesn’t read as condensed, which I love. The snake oil in here adds body and a depth that screams comforting, and gives character what could be a super linear experience. i love love love my bottle and I’m so glad this milk note works on me.
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Okay, this one was the blind FS I chose for my order. I have high hopes. The opening is wonderfully refreshing and light. The green tea is perfect, and keeps the jasminey florals citrusy and not too heavy. As it drys, the green tea drifts off and settles into the jasmine, which I honestly don’t hate. the lotus root is here, but lends support to the jasmine, keeping it rounded. I’m not getting much from the mint cream or sugared violet on my skin, which is maddening because those where the notes I wanted to see the most, but I have hope they‘ll shine through as my bottle settles. As I sniff, I want to say the mint cream is helping with the refreshing aspect to this, but I would love if it showed itself more, rather than just subtly adding to the complexity. for being so jasmine-forward, I really am enjoying this. It feels like a perfumey jasmine green tea, and I could definitely wear it as a calming day scent.
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Oh, this is great on first sniff. Carnation, my favorite! I see you. It’s melding very well with the other florals and the lotus, which is so green and gentle. It’s giving off the impression of very warm but green wood. It’s almost watery on me, in the best way, because typically aquatics are too floral on my skin, so I am loving the vision it’s evoking.i’m not getting any strawberry creaminess now, but I have faith it’ll come through as it ages and settles. This is a classic shunga scent: if you have ever loved a shunga bpal, you may know what I mean - it’s a clean, creamy, springtime scent experience that gives a playful, bright floral hint, while still being so sensual in its composition as an oil. I really like this one, and may need to full size.
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Onnagata Making Love at a Tea House as Mane’emon Watches While Holding a Kite
brwnpaperhag replied to Jenjin's topic in Lupercalia
The opening of this is so interesting! I get the bright, clean, citrusy notes, but it is layered with a deep, almost smoky undercurrent - I’m thinking this is the tobacco flower. It’s a very dry, deep tone, and feels almost dissonant to the citrus, but I love the chaos it is giving my nose. as it drys, it takes on a warmer, close-to-the-skin feel, and this scent feels familiar to me too, thought I can’t say what’s given me this experience before. A couple minutes in, I have to say, the orange blossom + tobacco flower is becoming almost too much, the clash is really hard for me to feel good about. The wafts I get from my wrist are: a second of a green tea-like freshness, followed by a second of…dust? Like it starts clean and floral, but then finishes mature and heavy. I just looked up tobacco flower and I’m getting info that it’s a powdery floral, which I definitely feel here. The inhale and then settling into the scent is just morphs so much. I’m also getting honeysuckle vibes from this now, which isn’t my favorite. I will need to see how this ages. I keep huffing, because I think I like the fact that the scent isn’t the same through the whole inhale, but is it love? I don’t know. Right now, I get no patchouli, and no sugary help either. I am confident it will peek out in a bit, and while I would be interested in maybe 2 mls, I don’t know if I would get a whole bottle right now. -
My imps have arrived! first sniff on skin: I have smelled this before. The pain au chocolat is extremely familiar, I think it’s the yeasty note that they’ve used in their bread and bakery scents. It’s coming to me now: this oil is actually reminding me of the opening whiff of bptp’s googly eye Christmas tree. I actually hate the bpal bread note on my skin, and when I got this, I was hoping it wouldn’t be so strong. What is saving this particular scent is the cherry fizz, I think - it lightens up that “baked goods” note considerably, and mixes well with the black tea. I don’t get an obvious creaminess from this, nor can I say I detect peach strongly, but as it warms up on me, I get notes reminiscent of the peach in some of the past Georgia con scents - that peach one with earl grey, that scent and this share the same fruitiness. As it drys, it takes on a smoothness that is probably from the cream and silk, and overall, the dry down feels surprisingly perfumey, not just a singular gourmand scent. When I pass my wrist across my face, it’s like a really fancy, dimensional cherry soda - bright and then comforting. I’ll need to wear this a few more times, but I think this may be a FS winner, and much more successful than googly eye Christmas tree.
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CHEWING LITTLE BITS OF STRING The Chief Defect of Henry King Was chewing little bits of String. At last he swallowed some which tied Itself in ugly Knots inside. Physicians of the Utmost Fame Were called at once; but when they came They answered, as they took their Fees, "There is no Cure for this Disease. "Henry will very soon be dead." His Parents stood about his Bed Lamenting his Untimely Death, When Henry, with his Latest Breath, Cried, "Oh, my Friends, be warned by me, That Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch, and Tea Are all the Human Frame requires . . ." With that, the Wretched Child expires. Marshmallows, a bit of limp lettuce, and wads of soggy cotton soaking in a stew of tea (with lemon and honey!). When I first sniffed this at the last trunk show, I was worried, since I could distinctly smell the limp lettuce note. Thankfully, my bottle is well blended, well balanced, and all around wonderful. The marshmallow lingers in the background, warming up the tea/lemon note, which, if I may add, impressed me. This is the tea/lemon I noticed from the BRAII proto--it's distinct and reminds me of a cold glass of iced tea, unsweetened. The lettuce shows itself on the start of the drydown, giving it a clean, cool blast. It's green, and mixes this scent up a little, but it doesn't last long. In the end, I get the scent of unsweetened iced tea with a hint of warm, faintly sugared goodness. I knew I would like this, but I didn't know I would love this. Oh, and I should add--I don't get any cotton, but then it may be too faint for my nose to pick up.
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A long time ago, I fell in love with a proto I bought at BPAL’s brick and mortar, XCDL13. I decided to try finding a sister scent to it, and went back to the reviews on that. Lo and behold, there were some comparisons of it to the OG Antique Lace. Cut to me buying a bottle of Batty Lace, and I figured if anything, I may just get a nice warm carmelly scent. While the leather and caramel do warm it up considerably, this is very much a sibling to XCDL13. It has that same scent that I identify as a heady vanilla, but where Batty is unmistakably a relaxed, cozy, brown scent, XCDL13 is much more awake - sweeter, louder. Taking Batty as its own scent, I amp a dry leather note that isn’t as sharp as bpal’s black leather, but it keeps the sugar in Batty from being too much. That doesn’t stop Batty from having a soft throw of golden, burnt sugar. Having never owned the OG AL, but two scents reminiscent of it, I can see what other reviewers identify in each to be the beloved AL. Highly recommend this one for anyone who like cozy and/or complex gourmands.
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Honey notes are usually pretty shrill on me, for lack of a better description. However, the oats here are toasty and buttery very similar to the bread scent bpal uses, but the oats don't get plasticky like the bread note does. The honey plays with it nicely, brightening it up and keeping the oats and cream from getting too artificial. The bourbon vanilla gives the whole scent a smoothness and depth, and the cardamom and cream add a sweetness that makes it feel cozy and kind. I really love this scent and it will be wonderful to use whenever i need an olfactory hug, which is extremely apt for the cause and purpose of this fundraiser scent.
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The Judge of Hell is Jealous of the Sexual Exploits of his Petitioners
brwnpaperhag replied to Seajewel's topic in Lupercalia
Oh wow, this is a really nice myrrh scent on me, which is great because that is one of the things that made me blind buy it. I agree that this is creamy and has a sweetness to it; it's extremely sensual but not overwhelming. That said, it is incense-y, you can't ignore the myrrh, but it is woody and sexy and deep. As of now I am not getting much ginger or currant, but i know it is balancing out the amber and myrrh, I have just a hint of sweetness now that it is dry. I am seriously huffing my wrist - this is so calming yet interesting. I can't wait to see how this smooths out over time. I can see how this is masculine for the people who amp the deep scents, but if you can also get the amber and cream on you, this will be a very sexy spring scent. Added 2/5/24: nearly a year of aging has really changed the scent composition for me! This is now extremely black currant forward, with the myrrh and amber smoothing it out and adding some complexity to the fruity top note. I suspect the red ginger cream is at the heart of it, keeping it lively and holding everything together, but nothing is exactly creamy or ginger on me. This screams exotic springtime and I absolutely adore it. It is a very deep but feminine scent. -
I just got this yesterday, but I was too excited to wait and longer than a night to test it for the day. A very nice floral...I think I'm getting a lot of plum blossom, and the orange/tangerine/king mandarin comes out at the very start, keeping it bright and juicy. As it dries, it settles into something more aquatic, but I have no idea where that is coming from, and I don't have any other lunar blands to compare. A couple hours in, the pine resin and cypress have come to play, rounding out the floral vibe and keeping it interesting with their depth. It feels very springlike and feminine, but I can see anyone liking it for its clean feel. I hope as it ages I'll be able to get more of the rice cake. In general I'm happy I have a bottle of this, and the label is so pretty! Happy Year of the Tiger!