theseagrows

yes this definitely starts off with a strong red wine note! after about a minute i get hints of ash lingering in the background. a few minutes later i get something fruity-plasticky, like a plastic scented doll. perhaps it's something that makes up the red wine, because this sometimes happens to me with some of BPAL's fruit notes, especially plum. after about 10 more minutes, the plastic note dissipates, thankfully. i think i am left with amber, wine, ash and benzoin. i don't seem to get much vanilla from this. this seems like a fall/winter scent to me, and i think i need to try this again in the fall, when it will really shine.

from the start, i get mostly blood musk with hints of amber and jasmine tea, but it's primarily musk. after about 10 minutes the jasmine tea becomes stronger. this is a sweeter jasmine, not a strong and indolic one. if memory serves, it reminds me a bit of the jasmine in venus genetrix. (just checked and the note is listed as jasmine tea in that scent, so it's likely the same.) after about 15-20 minutes it's more smoothed out by the amber but the blood musk is still prominent. i like this one a lot-it's mysterious and makes me think of dark, warm summer nights.

got a frimp of this! it smells pine-y at first, then after a minute or so i get a hint of something sweet, kind of like a spicy muffin. then i get a masculine sort of woodiness and some other notes i can't place but it's primarily pine then woods.

oh this is very pretty and soft. a soft ambergris-tobacco, it's slightly salty and slightly creamy. the woods come out later during the drydown, and the tobacco becomes a bit more pronounced. still this is a pretty and understated scent.

got a frimp of this from someone at first i smell mint and vanilla with some buttery rum and a hint of coconut. i don't seem to get the cocoa. it's very airy somehow, and after a couple minutes i smell primarily coconut and mint and it's kind of beachy. i think i start to get a hint of cocoa/chocolate after about 5-10 minutes. it smells like ice cream to me! the mint settles a bit but the coconut stays fairly strong. this is definitely not my kind of scent but i'm glad i got to try it. foody scent lovers rejoice

received a frimp from the lab! it does smell like a soft woodsy cologne with some citrus and basil. there's definitely a bit of a herbaceous quality. i also swear i smell something slightly like leather? not sure what combination that could be. it smells like citrussy herbal soap with a hint of leather. kind of nice in a way, and not what i expected. still, probably not a keeper for me, though it is a nice scent.

right off i think i get sweet milk and honeysuckle. it stays pretty much like this, though i can sense a bit more jasmine as time goes on. there's a cleanness that i suppose is the essence of the female skin. it's very pretty, kind of soapy but a fancy european soap, so it's all good. it's delicate and perfect for spring and summer.

this scent is very pale and ethereal, and it makes me think of the cover of the cocteau twins' treasure album. it starts off with white tobacco and ambergris on me. i don't seem to get the vanilla right off like other people do. there is maybe a hint of moonflower. it's a sort of dry and pale scent. i get a tiny hint of vanilla but this is primarily tobacco on me, maybe my skin is really amping that note up. after about 20 minutes on the skin it's primarily a tobacco-vanilla with hints of moonflower. so pretty!

frimp from the BPTP! i smell honey with some grassiness at first. it's quite pretty and i like it more than i expected i would. after about 10 minutes it's mostly a pure honey note with a hint of grassiness. this was a surprise like. glad to have gotten this frimp, it smells pretty gorgeous on me.

i tried this on my hair first, not on skin. i definitely smell the amber and oudh as the strongest elements with hints of ginger. this is such a pretty HG. i love it even more than i thought i would. bpal seems to have different oudhs, from my limited experience. this one is fairly soft and reminiscent of the one in the first love fades too atmo spray. the overall effect is a cloud of amber with some oudh. so pretty.

when i first tried it on my skin, sprayed straight on, it was mostly tea and ginger blossom with hints of honey. next i sprayed some on my hands and put it in my hair and i am getting more carnation and honey now but can definitely still smell the ginger blossom. this is a very pretty floral, perfect for spring.

i smell cardamom and honey at first and it's very rich and golden. the tobacco comes in later adding depth to the scent. tonka and vanilla are in the background. a lovely scent! i really love the tobacco in this especially. <3

yep, leather. prominent leather. and sandalwood mostly at the outset. after being on the skin a few minutes I smell a hint of tobacco which sweetens and warms up this scent. this is almost a single note leather scent for me, as my skin really seems to amp the leather. The combination of leather and tobacco almost smells like a leather floral scent-it's intriguing.

beautiful beautiful beautiful soft vanilla musk. an instant favorite and i need about 10 bottles!

jasmine is hit or miss. fingers crossed that this one is a hit, because i love sugary/vanilla florals! right off it's a strong jasmine and the vanilla is right there. so far i'm loving it. after a few minutes the jasmine becomes more subtle and it's this gorgeous creamy vanilla jasmine. i have been waiting for a scent like this for spring and i'm so glad i found it!

this smells very very pink. roses & rosewater and sugared carnation are there. the cognac seems more subtle. there is something sour which is likely the roses or the rosewater...kind of like the scent of dying roses. thankfully, after about 10 minutes, the sourness is gone. it becomes primarily a sugared rose with cognac. it is a bit reminiscent of hope but it's bolder and more rosy than hope is (from memory.)

as described, it's honey with oud, yum i am a lover of both notes, so this one is working great for me at the outset. the oud blooms beautifully after a few minutes, balancing more with the honey. i get a little vanilla later, but not a lot. overall, i like this, but it's not a love. it stays fairly linear and the sillage is very low.

let me preface this by saying that i don't like snake oil on me, but i love many snake pits scents, so of course i had to try this. right off, it reminds me a bit of western diamondback without the tonka. so lovely. i used to have a western diamondback bottle, it was one of my favorites. i still love it, but i had swapped it because i just didn't wear it enough. it definitely reminds me of a lot of as above as well, it seems to be the same leather and i think there are some other similar notes. definitely a keeper and i am intrigued to see how it ages...

right off it's amber and patchouli and after a minute or two i think i sense the cashmeran and the patchouli beckons, getting stronger. i get some tobacco but mostly i'm getting patchouli and cashmeran which seems like an odd mix but kind of works. it's like a fancy, sophisticated patchouli. i am hit or miss with patch, but i am liking this one.

starts off with that lovely beeswax note i've come to adore. a couple minutes in i get the tobacco and florals, though this doesn't smell like a typical rose to me at all-it's almost sugary, but definitely purple and a bit powdery. there is something slightly sour underlying it all, like roses in the first throes of death. it's a bit funereal. the smoke adds an interesting depth and rounds out the scent. i don't know what this floral is, but it is certainly not any typical rose. retried: all i get is milky/creamy/soapy florals this time. no beeswax or tobacco to be found at all...interesting.

starts off with creamy lilac..so pretty! i smell the honey shortly after, and the lilac keeps blooming in the most intoxicating way. it's a really beautiful scent on me for the first 30 minutes or so, then the lilac just amps up so high i get a pure lilac single note.

i get coconut, tonka and a hint of patchouli at the outset. it gets kind of dusty and powdery after a couple minutes. later on i get the tea which really balances out all that powder for me. the suede is there in the background, as well as the cashmere. i like this one but it's not a love. i think it's fairly unisex too. i think it's just way too powdery on me.

i received a frimp of this! frankincense does not always work with my skin chemistry, but we'll see. i get woods at first with a hint of rose, then the frankincense comes in, fairly sharp. it's mostly frankincense with rose on me. at first sniff, i think "this isn't for me" but if i inhale deeply it has a calming and visionary effect. i'm liking it for that aspect. this frankincense is actually working on me, some turn to pencil shavings and i am thankful that this one isn't. the myrrh comes in later and somewhat softens all of the sharpness from the rose and frankincense, which is nice. this would be a pretty room scent.

The Moroccan Goddess of Carnal Desire. Dwelling in fresh-water springs and rivers, she is doom: her embrace drives men mad with mindless lust. Sacrifices are made to the Lady of Lust on the Summer Solstice in the hopes of placating her passions and driving her red-tinged gaze away. Black musk, blackened saffron, lemon peel, and vetiver draped over thick honey. starts off like honeyed lemon, sweet and pleasing, then a bit of murk appears from the vetiver, and then something odd that smells burnt and kind of...musty, for lack of a better word. maybe it's the saffron + vetiver doing it, i'm not sure. it smells like burnt lemon candy on my skin unfortunately.

i get the musk and leather at the outset, then some cashmere and maybe a hint of oudh. after about 10-15 minutes, i smell a little cardamom and the leather has calmed down some. after the drydown, i'd say the musk is the strongest, followed by leather and cardamom. i like this but don't love it. it is kind of cozy though, i think maybe i'm just amping the musk too much.