SophieCedar

The previous poster took the words out of my mouth on this one. Camphor edge with juniper.

 

This stays pretty much the same on me from imp to drydown. If I was grouchy and wanted to revel in it until my blood boiled, I would lean towards this. Not a favorite.

maybe I burned my nose out already? Oh wait.. everyone said it takes the drydown for the ambers to come out. It did.

 

the apple blossom and myrtle dominate in imp and wet. However it's balanced, beautiful, glowing light amber and lady-like when dry. What a keeper!

This is a relaxing scent for me. A flowery version if anathema. Not as preferred as, but still good. Slightly soapier.

Wow the throw on this one is amazing!

 

This is unique. Crystalline musk is standing out with the gardenia. Swirling and sad. Isn't really something I identify with, however I'll keep it around for it's intrigue factor.

Smells a little like fresh soap on me. Floral fruity glycerin soap.

 

It takes the drydown for the orchid and apple blossom to shake hands and put up the bedsheet partition. Then they sit and pout, like cranky siblings. These are the only 2 elements I can pick out. Not bad and very crisp. I really like this after it settles down, however!

 

ADDED Mar. 30:

 

Wow. This is just amazing with my skin chemistry. This gets sweet and buttery on me. Seriously.. I can almost feel the butter on my tongue! My sweetheart, who is really choosy about scents, felt the same way. The orchid is a wonderful addition that gives it a not very easily definable element. Moss lending a wetness that cannot be replaced. Whatever meadowsweet is, I love it.

Mmm the grown up sister to Eat Me.

 

I'm picky about sweet smells because many tried before BPAL were VERY synthetic. BPAL has totally changed my mind.

 

This is addictive. My new "come hither" scent. Fortunately I got this in time for Valentines Day..nice surprise for the sweetheart later!

 

Honey sweet, soporific, decadent. This doesn't have a suffocating sharp cake smell like Eat Me. I really do smell like honey drenched baklava. Mmmm what more could I ask for??!

very sweet and mid-level headiness.

In imp: big round flowers with the sweetness of a touch of lotus.

Wet: the flowers busted out and it smelled a little carpet cleaner-ish on me. Reminds me of the desert bloom set from origins.

Drydown: I can't say I've ever smelled this combo from bpal. It round, warm, heady. The artificialness subsided and all the flowers blended together. This is very sweet on me. Not really my style but I'll hang onto it for a bit. Might pique my interest mid-summer.

First words out of my mouth: Ooooh-lalume!

 

The woods are thick in imp and wet. You may get a medicinal dark menthol waft. Hang in there!

Wet: the oppressiveness of the cypress and woods starts to burst then soften. Reminicent of nosferatu's dirt smell?

Drydown: the lilies come out and it gets greener. Not my favorite but perfect representation of early spring in my Maine woods!

The ylang ylang was eaten up by it's mates..?

 

This is a lovely dragon's blood twist. Very spring, very translucent. The opium is not heavy or oppressive. Floats around with lovely wafts from time to time.

 

In imp: blood takes center stage and there's a lily-ish essence creeping around.

Wet: opium poppy bursts forth and the dragon's blood sweetens.

Drydown: amber patiently waited for these 2 to quite down. It's lovely and warm!

Just like ghost hunting you really have to be searching and paying close attention to get a strong impact from this one.

 

In imp: light lofty white flowers. No powder and not much green. Just crisp and soft.

Wet: the sweetness amps and reminds me of passing the tiger lily beds in early morning, at the Mt. Auburn cemetery in Cambridge, MA (classic Victorian strolling cemetery) Lilies start to swirl around with some of the iris (light crisp floral) and I guess osmanthus. (this flower is not easy to find in the NE, so I don't really have experience with it however I think I smelled it at the same cemetery)

Drydown: It has a floral ozone to it. Is that weird to say? Definitely cool and shivering like Prague but 10 levels lighter.

I can see if I turned my nose off that this would smell like perm solution.

However the on switch is working so it picks up vetivert, leather, and gardenia. Strange and unique.

Mmmmm.

This is a smoky wood and green smell. Light florals. Sweet undertone. soft and well-rounded. Actually makes me salivate! Smells like a soft modern men's cologne however I would not recommend it on a guy. The subtlety and complexity would get lost.

 

I like it!

I was looking forward to this one.. disappointed.

 

This does smell like minty bathroom cleaner. My first impression was a menthol cough syrup. The herbs come out on the drydown, but not worth the process. Still gives me a PTSD shudder because of it's wet phase. I'll have to pass on this one and stick with Nocnitsa...

Sometimes if a perfume is good and impactful enough, my first reaction is an uncontrollable "OOOOOOOH...".

 

Yup. Got that on this one!

This is my new favorite. All notes stay exactly in order. Very melodic, sensual, and just awesome. Lovely glowing golden flowers and resins. It absolutely radiates!!!

Warning: this smells soapy in the imp and wet.

Give it a chance because when it opens up, it truly is unique and lovely. The tobacco flower and gardenia are solid mainstays. This is quite intoxicating in a floaty drifty summery way. What a pleasant surprise!

 

Update: ok I think I blew my nose out on my new bpal shipment that day...now I smell the gardenia and lavender, orange blossom and oak. I'm glad I tried it again! I like it much better this time around and it's turned into a keeper. A dirty filthy lovely keeper.

In Imp: myrrh, incense, rose, dry dry dry sandalwood

Wet: the rose explodes on my skin! Where'd the sandalwood go? It's hiding..

Drydown: rose is still there mingling with some wood that I cannot easily identify as sandalwood. Slight purple fruit essence. Interesting! It actually smells slightly of burning incense!

Very complex, appealing and unsettling. Wow.

 

The wine-like smell of Chamomile bolts forward when wet and dissipates. The leather couples nicely with the pimento but takes until drydown to appear. These elements overpower any strong singular essence of musk (thankfully). Really lovely on my skin, which has a sweet undertone.

 

 

This was a huge surprise after it opened.

In the imp it smelled syrupy with an herbal sharp undertone, cherries and honey.

 

Wet: this blossoms beautifully and the juniper really works well. Never had experience with hawthorn however it's lovely. Truly lovely, deep, and pure. Dark green and burgundy color sense.

Orange runts! Hard to be grouchy when you smell like candy and nostalgia!

In imp: Sugared dark rum with a touch of all spice.

 

Wet: body warmth makes it smell sweet and slightly musky. The spiciness subsides slightly. reminds me of hot buttered rum or a liquor cookie/cake glaze.

 

Drydown: Maintains all elements. Morphing part of this phase: the oak wood starts to come out and smells aged, not fresh. I like it! This is actually quite refined!

 

Like others have said this has good throw. Would be nice for a hot date or raucous night on the town. Good for both sexes (when used modestly). I think particularly musky men should really use with caution.. it's potent and I could see it potentially knocking their object of affection out or being a total overpowering turn-off.

Like the previous poster, my skin loves opium and tends to amplify it.

 

In imp: whoa. Debauchery in a bottle! This opium reminds me of a few oil perfumeries that haven't been around for about 15 years. Yay! Very heady floral with a feeling of motor oil thickness.

 

Wet: the opium formed a hypnotic cloud and honeysuckle developed. It's very intense but enjoyable. I slightly detected the vetivert however the flowers exploded and surrounded me.

 

drydown: after the opium and honeysuckle were done creating a ruckus (not in a bad way..you'll enjoy it) the vetivert finally came out of hiding but was very soft and does not conflict. This is quite the olfactory experience!

 

5 stars for a ballsy combination!

This is my new favorite and it works wonderfully on my skin!

 

in imp: honey sweet with fig and spice. Strange the patchouli doesn't jump out at me. (Yes I have a finely tuned sniffer)

 

Wet: the patchouli develops but doesn't run rampant. This is possibly not the one for patchouli haters, who may feel it does bolt. I empathize: sometimes, at the first detection of my dreaded stinks, I'll scream it out and accuse it of overrunning me. (ex: green or white tea, melon, or tea rose I tend to tar & feather, put to trial, and then burn it at the stake!) Digression can be ugly. Sorry! Back to the review...

 

Drydown:

I don't get any of the powder issues that other members have experienced. I was relieved! This is spicy, sweet, lovely mix. I pulled a few wafts of a heady floral, gardenia-ish here and there.

 

I slathered this on in the morning, wrapped up in my scarf and headed out the door for work. Not only did this scent last all day, but when I put my scarf on to leave work, it smelled wonderful. So great that I was grinning like a fool and sunk into my scarf eyeball deep saying "mmmm".

In Imp: light white rose acidity, moonflower, and sweetpea mix.

 

Wet: this totally changes when on skin. The flowers open and permeate to become this lush deep bed that you just want to toss yourself into (if it existed in real life). Whatever dusky violet is, I'm into to!!! I usually detest violet. BPAL has changed my convictions by only trying 2 imps!(violet ray and this) Smells like sugared rose and sweet resin incense on me.

 

Drydown:

Sweet and gentle. The flowers are lovely and soft without powder. Just fresh and sweet. I wouldn't call this a green freshness. More like if you picked all the petals off of them and tossed them in a bowl with fruits. The fruit isn't syrupy or overripe smelling. It doesn't really hit you in the face by any means.. Slight incense in the background giving it a hallowed ethereal feel.

 

A wonderful contemplative perfume.

In Imp: honeysuckle for sure with a jasmine back.

 

Wet: Jasmine and honeysuckle share ground. This is pretty potent. Use wisely!

 

Drydown: Lives up to the description. Lemon and spice undertones and definitely reminds me of wandering around eating honeysuckle on a humid warm night. I love it.

 

Think it would be good for layering with a softer note like an amber.

Got this in a swap (thanks deviolet!)

In imp: candy sweet with an acidic undertone. I almost didn't dare apply it to my skin.

Wet: I try it anyways because a few other scents smelled the same but opened big time. At first, I smell like Dr. Pepper. What? Then the resins start to slowly come out. Truly strange.

Drydown: This is the best part. The resins bloom and it's lovely. The Dr. Pepper smell subsides. The lotus provides a nice bright sweet note in the middle of everything but doesn't scream for attention like some citruses can. Color impression: dusty pumpkin orange

This is wonderful but doesn't hold very long, so you have to start the process all over again a few times. It gets better with a couple layers. I wouldn't mix with others though. Afraid the cola smell may stay around if I did.