puck_nc

Origin: Frimp from the Lab

 

Initial Thoughts: I love the scent of violet. However, I discovered early on that the BPAL violet has this nasty tendency to go ugly on my skin, so I never looked twice at this. I expect this will not work on me, but we've all learned to never look a gift frimp in the notes...

 

In the vial: Chilly and sharp mint with sweet violet. Bracing enough to warrant the "brusque".

 

Wet: Airy and a bit ozone-y, but gentled by a soft floral undertone. It's rather nice and early-spring.

 

Drydown: Hmph. And the pretty goes away. It's not quite the icky acrid skank that violet tends to produce on me. It's more like tomato leaf and grass and all a bit muddy. I suppose this could be the violet leaf? Eventually some of the florals showed up again, but they're not really sitting pretty next to this green mucky note.

 

Verdict: Well, now I know. In the past I've automatically nixed anything with violet leaf because I assumed it would go acrid like violet. Perhaps if the other notes are robust enough, I can deal. But it won't be with this blend - it needs someone whose skin works with violet.

Origin: Straight from the Lab

 

Initial Thoughts: So, when this was introduced as part of the Mad Tea Party, I dismissed it because I didn't want to smell like food. This was some time ago in my BPAL development. I did try Drink Me when I got a frimp of it at some point and decided I liked it, but I think the currants, which had been problematic in a couple other blends, kept me from trying Eat Me.

 

And then there was the BPTP hair gloss battle in which Eat Me was a lonely foody scent hemmed in by a bunch of stuff with deal-breaking notes like patchouli and amber and vetiver and dark musk. And I voted Eat Me as a sort of protest because what I really, really want are some BPTP Lunacy polls that are 100% floral and guarantee something I'd love.

 

Eat Me won. And having voted for it, I felt I ought to purchase it. And I discovered I loved having my hair smell like vanilla cake with a dash of currants. So I promised myself that I'd throw an imp of Eat Me into a future BPAL order.

 

In the Imp: The same luscious vanilla cake with a thread of currants running through it.

 

Wet: Fruity-sweet vanilla. The cake is in hiding right now.

 

Drydown: The cake emerges again, blending beautifully with the rest. As a whole it makes its presence known, but doesn't overpower.

 

Verdict: Thank you, hair gloss, for showing me the way to a great GC scent!

Origin: Straight from the Lab

 

Initial Thoughts: Love coconut. Wildflowers are a yes although honey is a maybe. Saffron is a bit of a wild card.

 

In the Bottle: Extremely mild coconut. I'm having to really sniff with the bottle right at my nose to get it.

 

Wet: Still very light, with me having to hold my nose right at my wrist. I think I'm getting honey more than anyhing else at the moment, but something is keeping it from being too cloying.

 

Drydown: The coconut does come out to play, giving this a slightly stronger throw. Compared to the sweet creamy coconut of Ivory Vulva, this is definitely a more natural coconut. It's still on the sweet side, but not candy-like.

 

Verdict: Uncertain. I think, maybe, that if I had to choose between the coconuts I'd go with Ivory Vulva myself. But if you prefer your coconut less cavity-inducing, try this one.

Origin: Straight from the Lab

 

Initial Thoughts: I ended up enjoying the Lab's Wild Dandelion SN from the recent run. I'm always open to florals that aren't rose or violet. I do pretty well with sugary florals, but honey is a bit hit-or-miss.

 

In the Bottle: Joyous greeny dandelions with a dash of honey. I hope they're not so green that they do the rose-to--cooked-collards on me. But it's a noseful of spring-into-summer fields and very uplifting. I'm almost tempted to pull out my Dandelion SN for a comparison sniff.

 

Wet: Green and grassy, but no initial signs of the dreaded collards stench.

 

Drydown: Ooh, pretty! I think the other flowers are coming out to play, and they intensify the dandelion as they do, The honey is staying in the background, holding everything together nicely without shouting its presence.

 

Verdict: I do believe we have a winner! I may need a second bottle of this before it goes away. If you love sunny spring or summery florals, check this out.

Origin: Straight from the Lab

 

Initial Thoughts: Mimosa - I'm on board. Vanilla cream - totally. Almond blossom - has worked in the past. Let's see what they do together.

 

In the bottle: Lovely, rich, perfume-y mimosa. A gentle, subtle and creamy-sweet floral.

 

Wet: Creamy and a less sweet floral. I'm thinking the almond blossom is taking center stage first.

 

Drydown: Slowly but surely the mimosa creeps back out, but something is giving it the slightest stale edge. Something that was shining in the bottle is being held back by my skin.

 

Verdict: Unsure. I really, really want to love this one as it's so gorgeous in the bottle. I may try a bit in my scent locket tomorrow to see if I'll use up the bottle that way. it's so close to being what I want it to be on my skin...

Origin: Straight from the Lab

 

Initial Thoughts: I haven't always gone for the Vulvas among the Shungas, but last year's Reflected Vulva turned out to work very well on me. Looking at the notes for Ivory Vulva, the coconut and cream sounded perfect, but I was a bit worried about the drop of golden amber. Even a drop may be enough to amp and steamroll the rest of the notes.

 

In the Bottle: Lots of sweet coconut, and definitely a buttery presence from somewhere. A veneer of childlike innocence with rather mature and sexy undertones.

 

Wet: A rush of macadamia and coconut, but then the amber comes roaring up very quickly. This bodes ill...

 

Drydown: The amber backs down enough for the other notes to play along, but I'm not sure about it. It stays VERY close to the skin on me and there's a lot of macadamia in it. I get a bit of the cream or maybe the marshmallow root, but the coconut is hidden under it all.

 

Verdict: Undecided. I'll probably try it again in a few days to be sure, but I get the feeling this will be best on someone else's wrist.

 

ETA: It took a while, but after finishing testing all the other Lupers, I found that this had turned to sweet creamy coconut candy at some point. So it does take a while but ends up rather nice on me after all.

Belle Époque?

Origin: Straight from the Lab

 

Initial Thoughts: My favorite of the series is the original Lick It, but I regularly try others when they arrive. Most are a good combo of mint and sweet, though I've had a couple go plasticky on me. With proceeds going to a very good cause, I jumped at this one.

 

In the Bottle: This version seems to be a bit heavier on the vanilla and the mint - it doesn't have quite the bracing nose-clearing strength of some of the previous mints. But it is, as always, a lovely candy cane in a bottle.

 

Wet: Now the mint is more of the nostril blast variety: cold and crisp and sweet.

 

Drydown: I get that lovely tingle on the skin that tends to come with strong BPAL mint. I also get a bit more of the sweet candy vanilla.

 

Verdict: A great addition to the series. I'll probably pick up another bottle or two before the Yules come down.

Origin: Straight from the Lab

 

Initial Thoughts: I'm a florals fan. Sometimes white tea works for me. I am intrigued by the idea of candlewax, but it hasn't always worked in other blends I've tried.

 

In the Bottle: A candle with a gentle lemon scent and a very strong dash of tea.

 

Wet: The lemony impression becomes more floral and steadily shifts to what I expect from lilac. The tea is very faint but the candle impression is still there.

 

Drydown: The lilac goes lemon again and unfortunately the combination with the candlewax is turning it into the impression of furniture polish. I can't find the tea anywhere now.

 

Verdict: My skin definitely does not bring out the best in this scent. This bottle needs a home where it can be appreciated.

Origin: Straight from the Lab

 

Initial Thoughts: At first I wasn't considering this one. The atmo sprays seem to be the final frontier with me in trying to keep my house from filling with BPTP bottles and I had only bought three big bottles before and kept two. And then the reviews and chatter started. When I rethought buying all the candles at once, this jumped into the cart.

 

In the Bottle: Tooth-achingly sweet pink candy! I cant decide whether it's strawberry or cherry or a combination, but it's lighter and much more cute than what I would expect from plum. This smells like the bedroom of the frilliest and most girly-girl of four-year-olds. Any vanilla is buried under the piles of flounces.

 

In the Air: That's a bit more like it. The vanilla is more detectable, allowing the sweetness to mature a bit, and the fruit is now more like what I consider plum and not quite so strong and sugar-drenched.

 

Verdict: I'm not 100% sold on it, partly because I expect my husband will not like it very much and that will limit my opportunities for using it. But I think I'll also be trying the VioletChaos method of litter-box odor control and see whether that works for me as well.

Origin: Straight from the Post

 

Initial Thoughts: Capturing that wonderful scent of a Christmas tree is always a plus for me. I have several perfumes from BPAL that help, but an atmosphere spray seems like the perfect answer for enjoying one of my favorite aromas.

 

In the Bottle: Evergreen. Lots and lots of evergreen. There's a suggestion of chill and snow, but I'm not sure how much of it is notes in the bottle or the fact that spruce and pine are so firmly fixed in my mind with Christmas and therefore winter.

 

In the Air: Without the concentration in the bottle there's a little more of the snow note with some layers to it. Still very much Christmas in a bottle, but with a gentler feel than your typical mass-market atmosphere spray.

 

Verdict: I believe I'll be hanging on to this one.

Origin: Straight from the Post

 

Initial Thoughts: I have found a subcategory in my love of florals, thanks to last year's Nice Glop, that will always grab my attention. Floral and sugary-sweet. From Nice Glop's honeysuckle to Nectar to Peach Nectar and Vanilla Orchid, I am all about the cavity-inducing sweet florals. So of course Winter Lily and Sugarcane caught my eye.

 

In the Bottle: Very crisp and cold lily. It's fresh and the cold/snow note brings a snap to it that I find refreshing.

 

In My Hair: My most common application method is either spraying directly on damp hair or on my hands and working it into wet hair. As I applied the sweet note made itself known, but stayed in a nice balance with the lily. Where something like Nectar goes really, REALLY sweet (and that's not a bad thing) this finds a lovely three-way balance between white floral, cold, and sweet.

 

Verdict: I love it and am almost certainly going to be snagging another bottle or two after my next paycheck. This is a HG I can see pairing with several of my very floral BPAL scents.

Origin: Straight from the Post

 

Initial Thoughts: After trying the perfume oil, I knew I had to try other formats of this lovely spicy scent.

 

Application: I usually do a sniff-from-the-bottle test, but the last few days have been crazy busy and I just reached for it this morning. After 8 or so spritzes on wet hair, massaging it through, and blow-drying I was in a lovely cloud of foody spices with a light foundation of pumpkin.

 

Duration: This one is giving CVBT a run for staying power. I could smell my hair just walking around all day and at least one person commented on my room smelling like something baking.

 

Verdict: Total keeper, but perhaps I'll spray a little less than my usual.

 

ETA: Um, yeah...totally the most staying power I've ever experienced. I got in the shower this morning and the minute the hot water hit my hair, I was in a cloud of cinnamon and ginger and nutmeg bliss.

Origin: Straight from the Post

Initial Thoughts: After trying the perfume version of this, I knew I'd want it as a candle. If it's like any of the other BPTP candles I've experiences, it'll be true to the scent and lovely for burning and scenting up a room.

Unlit:The gorgeous blend of spices is right there, perhaps a touch mellower on the cinnamon or a touch stronger on the pumpkin, but the epitome of foody fall.

Lit: Gentle pumpkin spices, again with a slightly stronger presence of the pumpkin. It has the same lovely throw as my other BPTP candles,

Verdict: Very glad I got this one!

Origin: Bottle LXXXI, straight from the Lab

 

Initial Thoughts: I tend to avoid the Chaos Theory experiments because I have so many deal-breaker notes. But as I was filling my cart, it was still there. And Puddin's voice whispered, "It's on your hair, not your skin..." And then a bottle jumped into the cart.

 

In the Bottle: I pulled off the cap and the first impression was some kind of musk, leaning toward the masculine side. Unscrewing the top for a better sniff produces a smoky note, maybe some evergreen, and a splash of something fruity. It feels very autumn-y.

 

Spritzed on Dry Hair: Um...wow. Burning charcoal briquettes. Did I get Single Note: Bonfire? Or tobacco? Strongly ashy smoke and maybe just the faintest trace of that fruity-orangey note.

 

Verdict: I will of course try again in the morning with my usual application on wet hair and blow-drying. If it stays the way it is now, it's most definitely an evocative scent, but not one I would reach for. I'd look to swap for someone else's CTHG that runs more to my tastes.

 

ETA: And now, a couple of hours after applying, it's gone a bit more toward the woodfire than tobacco or charcoal, and there's now also an underlying sweetness to it that makes me think of one of my favorite Halloween blends (Halloween from Possets). Might have to ponder this one some more.

 

ETA2: Traditional application of spritzing on wet hair & massaging through produces the same morphing of a stage of charcoal smoke setting into a much more pleasant woodsmoke. However, the tantalizing underlying sweetness of yesterday is not there. I think it must have been leftover Peach & Vanilla Orchid HG contributing.

 

So if anyone got a pretty floral HG and would rather have a woodsy smoke HG, meet me in the Swaps forum? ETA: Sold!

Origin: Straight from NYCC thanks to a fabulous fairy.

 

Initial Thoughts: I have become a major hair gloss fan since my first venture into its realm with CVBT gloss. Of course the tiare would catch my eye on this list. Bergamot is not a favorite note, but I appreciate the way it can balance a scent, as it does in Nectar. I like vanilla orchid very much. I have no qualms with green apple.

 

In the Bottle: Extremely sharp green apple on the first sniff, and maybe a hint of the florals on the second sniff. The bergamot is probably hand-in-hand with the apple, egging it on.

 

On Dry Hair: While it's possible the morning's CVBT is also in play, the first spritz and rub and brush into dry hair produces a heavenly balance of sweet floral and bright apple. The apple is no longer sharp as it is in the bottle, but freshly picked. Again, I'm not detecting any citrusy zing of bergamot, just the crisp apple and flowers. I want to keep huffing this lock of hair for more.

 

I will come back to edit for any differences brought on by my usual application of gloss onto wet hair and rubbed in before blow-drying. But if it stays true I am already in love. This will be a great alternative or replacement for when my minty-citrusy Lightning Storm from the Hallowenches runs out. Might have to keep an eye out for more on the forums.

Origin: Direct from NYCC through a darling fairy.

 

Initial Thoughts: I have been happily exploring the newly-discovered "white" side of things like patchouli and frankincense, things that I long avoided because the usual ones amp so badly on me. I love gardenia, I'm good with jasmine. The biggest worry is the rose, as rose often turns rancid on my skin.

 

In the Bottle: Rose and gardenia. A very airy, "proper" floral.

 

Wet: Welcome, frankincense, Will you behave and not amp as your darker cousins do? Will you let that lovely vanilla and jasmine come up beside you? You will? Thank you!

 

Drydown: The florals resurface, mainly led by the gardenia. But thank goodness, the rose is behaving! It's all smoothing out into a mature but gentle floral with a hint of musky spice from the frankincense.

 

Verdict: I like this one. A nice Victorianesque floral.

Origin: Straight from NYCC thanks to a lovely fairy!

 

Initial Thoughts: I am quite fond of pear, like apple at times, and like a dab of star anise or clove. The ambrette seed is the only worrisome note. I connect it firmly - rightly or wrongly - with amber, which is a problem note for me.

 

In the Bottle: Pear and sweet apple. Very light and spring-like and fruity and delicate, with maybe a touch of clove peeking out.

 

Wet: There's some pear, and I think the anise, but the ambrette seed or possibly the honey is rising to the top quickly and isn't settling down. It seems to be clashing with the pear rather than blending with it.

 

Drydown: The whatever-it-is, the honey or ambrette, is continuing to dominate, although it has settled enough that I can pick out the fruity notes again. The clove and anise are at best accents or totally blended in.

 

Verdict: I'm going to have to ponder this one. I don't love it straight away, but I feel like I want to. And yet there's that something that just doesn't seem to be sitting quite right on my skin. It is a lighter scent, a good potential work choice, and I agree with the gender-neutral potential mentioned above. I'm just mot sure it's me.

Origin: Bought at NYCC by a wonderful fairy!

 

Initial Thoughts: I have had some success with champagne notes. I will always stop and pay attention when carnation is involved. I haven't been doing much with room sprays, but I suddenly have two bottles and a small handful of goblin squirts hanging around my computer desk and now this one...

 

In the Bottle: First sniff is ALL the champagne ALL the time. The second sniff shows a hint of spicy carnation lurking about.

 

In the Air: Spicy-sweet carnations and sparkling fizz.I was afraid that there wouldn't be enough carnation from the previous reviewers, but it is most definitely there.

 

Verdict: This is a lovely, refreshing scent. Glad I got it. But now I'm afraid I may have a worse BPTP problem than I had before...

Origin: Straight from the Lab

 

Initial Thoughts: I have had great success with a variety of pumpkin BPALs over the years. I like a foody pumpkin. I like spice. There was no way I was going to resist trying this one.

 

In the Bottle: ALL THE SPICE! It's a big huff of cinnamon and nutmeg and allspice and ginger and whatever else gets tossed into a pumpkin pie. There's a soft foundation of something - I'm going to assume it's the pumpkin, but I'd also believe it if you told me it was butternut squash. But this is mainly the Thanksgiving end of the spice rack.

 

Wet: Now it's a noseful of ginger more than cinnamon. There's a tantalizing edge of something familiar, something that makes me think Christmas spice, almost like eggnog...perhaps nutmeg or allspice, both of which I add to my nog. There's also a less-than tantalizing itch starting where I applied it.

 

Drydown: The power of the spices calms down, but if there's any pumpkin, it's not coming out to play at this point. The itchiness hasn't gotten unbearable, but it persists.

 

Husband's verdict: "Clove perfume?" Son's verdict: "Pumpkin perfume?" I think the husband is right about the clove, but that the son is associating the scents that get called "pumpkin" this time of year.

 

Verdict: More than anything else, it's the itchy feeling that makes my decision. I'll probably go for a BPTP candle or hair gloss or atmo spray with this scent, but probably not keep the perfume.

 

ETA: Just for grins, I tried layering PSA with Jack, which is a strongly pumpkin scent on me. I put the Jack on first, then the PSA before rubbing my wrists together. That seemed to take care of the itching problem and also turned it into a gorgeous foody fall scent, a pumpkin-all-the-things aroma. Guess I'm keeping the bottle after all!

Origin: massive Dragon*Con decant circle

 

Initial Thoughts: If this had been a perfume I would have said no because hay is not a favorite note and rose more often than not hates my skin. But this is hair gloss. Perhaps rose will behave on my hair. But perhaps not. So I went for the decant.

 

In the Bottle: Oh, wow. Vanilla peach as a nectar-drenched flower rather than a food and gorgeous. My second huff detects the hay, but it's an accent rather than a feature. Not really detecting the rose at this point. If it stays true I'm going to need to hunt for a bottle...

 

In the hair: Oh, man. My first try is on dry hair - I usually apply it to damp hair and then blow--dry - and it's nothing like it is in the bottle. I'm getting dry, dusty hay and what seems to be the orchid and rose, also dusty. After a while I think the peach starts to come out a bit, but it's hard to tell. On the plus side, the dreaded skanky stink that usually happens when I meet rose isn't present. On the minus side, I don't think I've ever had a hair gloss morph like this.

 

Verdict: I'll try again in the morning with my usual routine of applying to wet hair to see what happens. At worst, I may experiment and see what a hair gloss does with a scent locket.

 

ETA: I noticed when I went to bed that my test tress of hair had mellowed a bit and had a bit more sweet peach to it. This morning the wet application produced a more balanced scent between all the notes: not nearly as dusty-dry on the hair last night but not as sweetly floral as in the bottle. There must be something about the decant bottle that funnels the sweet notes, because I did put some in a scent locket and got that same four-note balance as I did in my hair.

 

So my final verdict is that it's very pretty but I'm not so in love to be desperate to find more.

Origin: a massive Dragon*Con decant circle

 

Initial Thoughts: I ordinarily don't look at the atmo sprays, because I already have too many bath oils and hair glosses, but this sounded almost exactly like last year's Sugared Peach bath oil that I love to bits.

 

In the Bottle: Peaches drowning in sweet with just a hint of spices in the background. It made me think of the first time I experimented with making individual whole-peach pies with a cinnamon whipped honey, except without the pastry element.

 

In the Air: Sweet, sweet peaches and that barest touch of something - cinnamon or cardamon or ginger, something with the tiniest fairy bite to keep this from being straight-up canned peach.

 

Verdict: I do quite like it. I do expect it to last a while given how little I remember to spray the one atmo bottle and goblin squirts I have, but that's all to the good,

Origin: bottle bought through a massive D*Con decant circle

 

Initial Thoughts: The first few times I tried a BPAL scent that was predominantly peach, it would be too in-your-face fruity for me. My first success was Peach Moon, which was peach blossom rather than fruit, and Peach V from last year's Dragon*Con ended up working very well as a superbly balanced peach tea scent. This one alone of the 2014 Peach Pit spoke to me because I often enjoy jasmine, I love vanilla orchid, I love peach blossom. And I have lately discovered that my white musk=good/dark musk=amp rule seems to apply to patchouli. So it's time to try white frankincense as well.

 

In the Bottle: A rich and gloopy dessert of flowers. Jasmine and peach blossom drenched in vanilla and cream. This is gorgeous and I could just huff the bottle. There'll be some scent locket action with this one.

 

Wet: Hello, incense! Aren't you just so light and pretty when you aren't amping to 11? And aren't you nice to let the other notes keep playing?

 

Drydown: Both the jasmine and vanilla orchid have stepped up, simultaneously making the scent a bit sweeter and a bit airier/white floral. It has lost the luscious decadence of the bottle on my skin, but it's still a lovely, rather sophisticated floral.

 

Verdict: Total keeper. And nice to know my journey through the white side of the musk/patchouli/incense family continues on a positive note. Time to watch out for white amber next...

What I have learned on my BPAL journey through the years is that patchouli amps on me. Any perfume that had patchouli in it would see the note stomp all over the others and leave me with a scent akin to "stale head shop". But so many of the blends are divine in the bottle.

 

And then I discovered that when it came to musk, if the musk was "white" or "crystal" or "blue" it would play more nicely with the other notes and not amp all over the place. I adjusted my ordering habits accordingly.

 

Fast forward to last year, and a sweet Lilith's Birthday blend called "Butterflies, Flowers, and Jewels Attending" (white patchouli with Provence rose, delicate freesia, pink tuberose, jasmine sambac, orange blossom, butterfly musk, vanilla orchid, and delicate spices). The white patchouli caught my eye, as it was the first time I could remember ever seeing white next to patchouli. I bit. And it was breathtaking.

 

And now I pay attention to blends with white patchouli in them.

 

Here is a link for the handful of BPAL blends that use it. Looks like it's mostly a limited-edition ingredient, but there are two current LEs with it: Yucca Giant-Skipper and Visions of Autumn VI.

Origin: bought from a fellow forumite

 

Initial Thoughts: While I have grown to love some foodie scents, my eyes still tend to slide over scents with lots of foody notes when looking through an update. This was an impulse toss-in-the-cart when buying several items from another forumite, then it sat in my shower for months until I finally tried it today.

 

In the Bottle: Sweet and gooey goodness of the autumn variety.

 

On the Skin: As I started applying it I got a plastic impression for a moment - possibly the sugar of the marshmallow. But it faded pretty quickly, leaving a very sweet fall spice blend. I agree that this definitely has some cinnamon to it - it burned slightly on my freshly shaved legs and also on my nose when I unthinkingly swiped at it when leaving the shower. But the scent is lovely and not as heavy as I feared it might be.

 

Verdict: A very nice addition to my collection and if it were to resurface I would buy more.