lahdeedah

Cake, cake cake cake cake! On first spray I get a lovely cold mint, and then the vanilla which smells like buttercream at first. So for a little while it's buttermints. But shortly thereafter it is all yellow cake all the time, and I'm just fine with that really. Because my bedroom smells like cake. Yum.

Caveat: rose freak here.

Sniffed this one at WC and immediately dabbed it on. It became an insta-bottle purchase.

In the bottle: dark, spicy cinnamon tea and roses

On the skin: lots of black tea, like sticking your nose in a tea chest with all manner of exotic teas. the spices are soft and inviting (not burny!), and someone's tossed some roses in that are starting to decay. this has a LOT of throw on me. a LOT. i actually can't smell it when i put my nose next to my skin, but it is wafting around me like a cloud.

Dry: less throw, it's pulled back in on itself and now stays closer to my skin. color is dark purply red, and it feels jammy, not dry at all. really does it for me in that it encapsulates that victorian vibe but it's not exactly proper, it is dark and slightly sinister.

Bit later: slight soapiness, but still a winner for me.

thanks y'all!

 

spanked is out because i hate leathery scents. the truffle one is out because i am generally anti-booze when it comes to fragrance. i am not anti-booze with regards to beverages at all...

can anyone tell me more about mama-ji? all of the reviews seem to contradict each other.

 

gypsy moth might be just the thing...

I get more nutmeg than cardamom out of Mama-Ji, but YMMV. Mama-Ji is sweetly smoky floral incense + nutmeg on me.

OK, so I tested this out of a cold mailbox which means that my impressions are likely to change!

First on: blast of citrus-y tea

Moments Later: Whoa vanilla! That is some rich bourbon vanilla there.

Much later: Stays put at a dry, dusty linen and vanilla scent. Fascinating. I have Autumn Lace on the other arm and I can tell the vanilla is of the same variety, but it feels much richer and foodier in this one.

Verdict: A very pretty, Victorian-y, girlish Lace.

Yep. That's Black Lace with dry leaves. I think I'll like this one once it settles (I did try it right out of the cold mailbox). The leaves are going a bit celery like on me right now (maybe it's the combo of linen and leaves?). It is more subdued than BL, a bit dustier and contemplative. Like BL's bookish little sister. Can't compare it to Samhain or Falling Leaves Moon as I haven't tried either of those, but it is a very pretty and evocative fall scent. Looking forward to seeing how this one does given a bit of time to rest, but I do have a lot of Black Lace already, so I may not need this after all.

I haven't reviewed anything formally in a long time, but Third Charm is pulling me out of retirement as my new BFF deserves more praise.

I've worn it several times now. Usually it smells like a love child of Smut (minus the booze) and Womb Furie. If you love either or both of those, you're probably going to love Third Charm. If you don't.... perhaps not. It is sweet, incensey and deep. The red musk is not playing around and takes the stage first with power and intensity, while honey slowly dances her way forward. Lasts for quite a while and dries down to a lovely sweet powdery honey incense.

I did experience one time wearing it where it surprised me by highlighting all the woods and resins, which was a fun twist. But usually I cannot really smell the elemi or cedar. At any rate, I love it to pieces. It is definitely my favorite BPAL in the last year or so by a mile.

Schwarzer Mond is pretty wonderfully myrrh. If you like honey, try Sed Non Satiata for a honey/myrrh fix. If you like fig, track down Apatouros, dark chewy fig and myrrh.

Can anyone recommend something similar to kenzo amour?

It smells VERY similar to Morocco to me!

I'll second that! Very similar indeed.

Thanks for the link Elka! Also, I really need to track down an imp of Black Rider. Sounds right up my alley.

To me and my husband (long-suffering sniffer that I have forced him to be), "Cthulhu" smells like Irish Spring.

THIS. I'm glad you said so, because I thought I must be crazy when I got Irish Spring from Cthulhu. Which I find amusing in a twisted way.

Butterfly is one of my favorite commercial perfumes, or at least it used to be. I haven't tried L'Estate in a while, but my notes on it say that it is the closest BPAL Butterfly dupe I've found. Good luck!

My two cents on The Spirit of the Komachi Cherry Tree- I've had my bottle for a about four years. When it was new it smelled exactly like Japanese Cherry Blossom eaux de toilette from The Body Shop, which I found underwhelming. The honey, pear, and sandalwood tended to take over and become sharp. If you can get to The Body Shop to sniff Japanese Cherry Blossom you'll get an idea of what to expect, although of course the BPAL scent lacks that delightful edge of rubbing alcohol, and is more complex. Over time The Spirit of the Komachi Cherry Tree has settled into a sweet cherry blossom scent, with the sandalwood forming a base that smells almost like a clean skin musk. It is light, but it has good staying power. I didn't expect a light fruity floral perfume to age well, but to me it smells better than ever.

Thank you for this review! I'm finishing up my final list of Salons to order-- managed to grab Cleopatra Testing Poisons and Love and Pain off sales. SotKC is now definitely on my final list. I believe Lucretia and Cloister Graveyard will be accompanying. Still waffling on And There Was a Great Cry in Egypt. And wish I had enough to grab Smiling Spider too. Alas, I think I need to keep it whittled down to just three more.

I really like this one. Granted, I'm an absinthe fan, so it was unlikely that I wouldn't, but I wasn't sure how absinthe would meld with the other notes in the Lace base. Luckily, they work beautifully. It's a fascinating and dark scent, that lovely anise note on top, then a warmth and greenness from the cognac and more depth and darkness from the tobacco. All kissed with a bit of sugar and vanilla. My only complaint is it faded very very quickly on my skin-- I don't think I got more than a half an hour or so before it was pretty faint. I may have to slather, which is problematic considering the extremely limited number that were released. Ah well. Glad I have at least the one.

This is lovely, but I almost never dislike anything with honey and red musk in it. On me, the honey and myrrh are really the strongest notes. It's a nice, round honey, deepened by the myrrh. Red musk definitely comes into play, but I get very little carnation, just a twinge of spice that lets me know it's hanging around in the background. Wish it were a bit stronger on the carnation, because I LOVE carnations. Really I love all these notes to pieces, which is why I sprung for a bottle unsniffed. Worked out pretty good!

For me personally, badass spicy floral = Clemence.

But now I'm desperate to check out Bathsheba because I love all things carnation and I'm pretty fond of plum too. Thanks for the reco!

Between the amber and the iris, Florence (GC) is really powdery on me. Might be one to check out.

I'm so glad they re-released this one, I just got my bottle of 2011. I"m a big fan of dark, spicy scents and this one is that in a BIG way. For me it's reminiscent of Clemence on mega steroids. Deeper, darker, etc. I really like it. I'm a great friend of myrrh, opoponax, and amber, and those lovelies combined with the terebinth and night musk give me the sort of dark forest under a black or new moon sort of feel. It does give a strong cola-like impression on first sniff and while wet, but that recedes quickly once dry. There's a powdery sweetness that I'd guess is the opoponax (sweet myrrh) and amber keeping it from being too dry of a spice and as a poster mentioned upthread, it's not scary or foreboding. It's just dark and velvety and secretive as the shadows.

Made of WIN! Dark luscious berries in a dark ambery musk wrapper. Can't stop smelling my wrist. Under there I detect a hint of floral, but the kewda attar appears to giving off a honey vibe and it's very subtle to my nose.

I haven't smelled GV perfume, but now that I have GVBO, I REEEAALLLY want to.

In the bottle: I smell butter, which puts me off. But I know better than to go by bottle scent.

On the skin: It just blooms. Instantly. Into a sweet, ambery-vanilla buttercream scent that is slightly foody. I get a sense of the lotus, but it's very calm, and if there's teak, it's pretty chillax too. I agree with the poster above, it's kind of a comforting, baby fresh scent. It really does feel GLOWING and warm.

And it's strong and lasts forever! I shower at night and use this primarily as an after-shower moisturizer, and the scent envelops me in a lovely blanket of scent which is still apparent in whiffs the next morning.

When I can't find the right category (or just feel too lazy to go searching) I find Google searching "BPAL scentnamehere" does the trick. No weird restrictions on letters, etc. either.

I too am very fond of carnation and amber! My immediate reaction for "dark carnation" is Clemence from Carnival Diabolique. Patchouli, Kashmiri tea, cardamom, black pepper, carnation, and clove.

It's very dark, very spicy. No amber though, and you probably need to love clove too.

This is a difficult question because if you're really sensitive to patchouli, you will react to it in a way that those of us who aren't won't. In general, I don't find BPAL patchouli all that strong, with the exception of SOBO and Banshee Beat, both of which I happen to LOVE. None of it ever screams "hippie attack, get it off!" to me. I once had a traumatic patch experience with a Fresh perfume that I cavalierly sprayed on. Good God I stunk and it would not go away! But I digress.

 

My notes on Masquerade don't mention the patchouli specifically, but the combination of that, carnation and orange blossom created a very dark, exotic scent that I would label as "eccentric." I'm pretty strange, so I'm rather drawn to it.

 

Thanks so much for the input.

 

I don't really know what my sensitivity level to patchouli is yet - that last experience was literally my first, and there may have been other factors at play that had an effect on my reaction. Overapplication may have been what made it so horrible, or the oil it was blended with (love lavender, but UGH!), or the type of patchouli...who knows?

 

So, yeah. Am torn. My knee-jerk reaction is usually very with it, but I'm curious about Masquerade and wondering if maybe I shouldn't let it be a dealbreaker. This time.

I say if you like orange blossom and carnation, don't consider the patchouli a dealbreaker. I pulled the imp out of my stash to test again, and I would say the patchouli is definitely there, but it's soft and sweet. The orange blossom is the most prominent note on my skin, followed by the spicy carnation. Woody floral incense. Think I might end up with a bottle of it myself!

Ok, guys - my only experience thus far with patchouli has been...traumatic, to put it mildly. It was a lavender/patchouli blend that was literally slathered on me before I could say "Just a little dab, please!" It seriously made me sick.

 

BUT.

 

BPAL has done amazing things with other ingredients I don't like, and I'm REEEEALLY really curious about Masquerade.

 

Is it a decent blend for patch-o-phobes like me, or should I steer clear?

This is a difficult question because if you're really sensitive to patchouli, you will react to it in a way that those of us who aren't won't. In general, I don't find BPAL patchouli all that strong, with the exception of SOBO and Banshee Beat, both of which I happen to LOVE. None of it ever screams "hippie attack, get it off!" to me. I once had a traumatic patch experience with a Fresh perfume that I cavalierly sprayed on. Good God I stunk and it would not go away! But I digress.

My notes on Masquerade don't mention the patchouli specifically, but the combination of that, carnation and orange blossom created a very dark, exotic scent that I would label as "eccentric." I'm pretty strange, so I'm rather drawn to it.

I got this as a frimp in a recent package, and I think I dropped it. It broke and is now EVERYWHERE. Fortunately it's a nice scent, otherwise I'd be in a world of hurt right now.

I don't do all that well with a lot of booze, but interestingly this smells exactly the same whether on my skin, or in the imp. A lot of bay, which isn't my favorite, and a wine that seems very golden, and really sweet. I've never tried mead, but perhaps that, or an ice wine. There is something else in here that's giving it a powdery, soapy smell up close. Blargh.

All in all: not really my cup of tea.

Out of last year's "Black" trio, I only ended up with a bottle of Black Heart. I hated Black Death, and found Black Lace utterly uninteresting. There's something about the combination of linen and tobacco on my skin that creates a "craft store" sort of scent that I don't dig. Fast forward a year later, I pulled out my decant of Black Lace to give it one last go before putting in the Bin From Which None Return. To my surprise, it's aged into something I really like, and of course can't easily get. The tobacco tamed down, and the vanilla came forward significantly. Grrrr.

So I pulled the trigger on Red Lace, which arrived today!

In the bottle: Lovely! Fruity, musky, a bit of vanilla. One of the prettiest BPALs I've sniffed in the bottle.

On My Skin: Smells to me exactly like Black Heart and Black Lace had a little lovechild. Lots of red fruits, a smidge of red musk, and a thick vanillic sweetness. Mmmmm. I do still get a bit of the at "craft store" tobacco/linen combo that I mentioned above, but now I know it's likely to age out, and probably quicker than a year since it's not as prominent already. I get a fair amount of throw, we'll see how long it lasts. BH disappears on me REALLY fast, which was the only reason I didn't get another bottle of it. Oh look, it's doing a disappearing act already as I'm typing this and it's only been 30 minutes. Nooooo!

A Few Minutes Later: Wait, it's come back again, the red fruits are diminishing and it's getting sweeter... what a tease! Wow this scent is really pretty!

Final Analysis: Definitely a keeper, now I've learned my lesson about aging. I think this is going to be stupendously lovely in a year. And since BH is one of the few BPALs my husband has ever really liked, I'm guessing he'll like this one too, which is a plus.