pteron

I was very excited to try such a complex scent. The Lab's description is very evocative. I love leather, but hadn't tried any of the other notes. In the imp: Ineffable, but very distinctive. On the skin: Well, this is certainly interesting. First, dusty red grapes. Then, the smell of burnt grass. Cool steel comes out next, and it's amazing how authentic this cold metal note feels. The grape smell has faded into the background, but not disappeared. Next is the hint of leather, which is beautiful but understated. It's really amazing how multifaceted this oil is and how much it morphs, even from minute to minute. The scent as a whole has me picturing a field of desolation. It's a dark, formidable scent, but isn't cold. Around five minutes, something that smells like incense (the sandalwood?) emerges. At this point, the burnt and metallic smells have mellowed, as has the wine, and it smells more like leather and incense. It's very different from the leather and incense of Antony or Dee, though; The Black Tower is much more somber and gloomy. There is a definite edge to the scent now, which I think might be the ozone. I get a bit of the copper zing others have mentioned, but it doesn't bother me. On the contrary, I find it intriguing and have never smelled anything like this! Ten minutes, and the leather has dropped out, the steel has returned, and the sandalwood and ozone are lingering. There might be some ebony, teak, ivy, and ambergris, but I don't know what those smell like enough to recognise them. Forty minutes, and it's a woody, incensy ozone. Fifty minutes, and the wine note is coming back. Overall Thoughts: This is such a fantastic and different scent. A dreary beauty. My mental image for The Black Tower is a storm approaching a desolate field covered with the ruins of a fallen castle. Certainly the darkest of any oil I've tried. I really like it, but it's too evocative and powerful to wear as an everyday scent. This scent continues to morph, although most of the changes come in the first ten minutes; I almost wish each of the stages would last longer so I could savour them more. This is the one imp from my latest order that really worked for me, so yay! It also makes it into my top 5 scents! (Admittedly, I split my order with a friend and only had four imps to sample.)

This is the second aquatic I've tried. The first - Mary Read - didn't work out, but I learned after it was probably because of the patchouli. I had high hopes for The Sea Foams Blood as one of the reasons I started buying imps was to find a good ocean scent. In the imp: Soapy. On the skin: Still soapy. As it drys, it's reminding me of fabric softener sheets, though The Sea Foams Blood has a darker feeling to it. This is definitely a cooler scent. Overall Thoughts: The Sea Foams Blood remains consistently soapy. No semblance of blood or saltiness. Perhaps my reaction to Mary Read was not being able to handle either patchouli or aquatics. I'd still like to find an aquatic that works for me some day. Will keep the imp and try aging it to see if that changes anything.

I'm sorry for bumping this thread, but this seems to be the best place to ask my question. What incense or resin scents are the most like those in Antony? I really love Antony, but the sage, basil, and leather don't come out on me at all and I almost feel like I'm wasting it just to have the beautiful incense smell. I've also tried Dee, which I like a lot, but prefer the incense in Antony. I can't wear patchouli as I amp it like crazy, and thus didn't enjoy The Caterpillar at all. I also don't care for florals or food scents. Thanks very much for any advice!

I love leather and like balsam, so was very excited to try this! In the imp, The Red Rider smells like . . . chemicals. Not unpleasantly, but 'chemicals' is the only way I can describe it. On my skin, I get the same chemical smell, then the balsam note begins to appear. Twenty minutes in and it's still 'balsam with chemicals'. (I happen to own a red leather trenchcoat that has a nice scent; The Red Rider doesn't resemble the smell much at all.) Overall thoughts: I said at the beginning that I like balsam, and I do, but not quite enough to wear it by itself! I sometimes have trouble with leather notes not appearing, so I'll keep the imp and hope it improves with age. If not, I'll probably layer it with some of my other oils; the balsam alone does make for a masculine - if somewhat bitter - base in my opinion.

I ordered this imp for a friend, who graciously allowed me to test it first. (Thank you!) The oil is a very light, pale yellow. In the imp, Dorian smells sweet, but with a kick behind it I can't properly describe. On my skin, my immediate reaction is candied vanilla! There's a bit of a murkiness to it, which I imagine are the musks, but the murk don't cover up any of the sweetness. After a few minutes, a smell comes out that I can best describe as rubbing alcohol. The vanilla is still there, but it's become much more astringent. Another few minutes and Dorian settles into vanilla-scented Lysol. Overall thoughts: The initial sugared vanilla stage, while nice, was too foody for my tastes, though someone who doesn't mind sweet or food-based scents would probably enjoy it. The second stage was too sharp and off-putting; there must be something in here that doesn't agree with my skin, though I don't know what as I've never used another oil containing any of these ingredients. This was only the second BPAL scent where I was exceedingly happy to wash it off early (the other being Langour, also from Sin & Salvation). Experimenting with Dorian has made me realise that, while I enjoy the taste of vanilla and even have some vanilla candles, I prefer not to smell like it, so cheers for that.

This was a frimp in my latest order. (Thank you, Lab!) Unfortunately, I've had bad experiences with oils containing patchouli in the past; I usually amp patchouli like crazy and do not enjoy the smell of it. Nevertheless, the name and description sounded interesting, as did the dark musk and woods. A number of users have already commented on the unusual colour of the oil, but the greenish tinge is indeed striking and the hue is darker than any of the other BPAL oils I've seen. Both in the imp and on my skin, the initial smell is of wood and spices. The wood aspect almost reminds me of sawdust without the dryness, or perhaps pencil shavings. Of the previous scents I've tried (which isn't that many, only 8), it brings to mind Dee the most, but without Dee's lovely leather and tonka. Dee's woods also strike me as richer and the incense stronger than the woods and spices in Oblivion. I'm not sure what labdanum or saffron smell like, so can't comment on them. After a few minutes on my skin, the patchouli creeps in and takes over until it's nearly all I can smell, turning Oblivion into a very perfumy, almost cloying, scent. Twenty minutes in and Oblivion smells much like how Mary Read, another oil containing patchouli, ended up on me. Both before and after the patchouli takeover, I'm surprised by the warmth of this scent. It's not at all what I was expecting based on the description! There's nothing dark about the smell to me at all and Oblivion would probably be comforting - like curling up in front of a fire - if the patchouli didn't come along to ruin everything. Still, I'll be passing this frimp off to a friend who I think will appreciate it and I've learned that my avoidance of patchouli is indeed justified, so I'm glad to have had the opportunity to try this scent even though it's not for me.

I was intrigued by The Caterpillar's description and curious to see how all the notes blended together. Wet and initial drydown, this is 100% incense. The incense is very heady and powerful, reminiscent of the stick incense sections at stores such as Spencer's. It works for the character of The Caterpillar, but it's not an incense I particularly like. (I prefer lighter, more church-inspired incenses, which should have warned me away from choosing this in the first place.) 'No need to fear,' I told myself, 'I'm sure once the other elements kick in, the incense won't be as overpowering.' Unfortunately, that never happened. I was eagerly anticipating the mosses and bergamot in here, but they never appeared. A hint of flowers came out to play briefly and patchouli permanently joined the fray, but that was all. The Caterpillar might have been tolerable had it been tempered by the much-longed-for greenery, but as incense and patchouli it's very much not for me except as a good way to give me a headache. This is the second oil I've tried with patchouli that hasn't worked for me, so I'll be avoiding that note from this point on.

Wet, I get grass with a light incense reminiscent of that used in churches lingering in the background. The incense really takes center stage once dry. I can tell that the incense is tempered slightly by woods and herbs and it has a bit of a musky feel, but can't make out any of the individual notes except the frankincense. Overall, Antony is a much warmer scent than I was expecting. The sage and basil are very muted on my skin and I only get the barest hint of leather. The incense is lovely, but I was hoping for it to blend more with the other elements. This definitely reminds me more of a church than a battlefield. I haven't tried Cathedral, so take this with a barrel of salt, but Antony on my skin definitely brings Cathedral's description to mind. I like Antony; it's just too bad the more outdoorsy parts don't come out on my skin. Edit from ten months later: Antony remains mostly incense on me, but it's nevertheless become one of my favourite scents; I always turn to it if I'm attending a special event.

This was a generous frimp from the lab. Wet, my initial impression is green aquatics. Very cool and moist. As it dries, the ferns become dominant with just a hint of lilac, but there's something else in here that reminds me of expensive bath soap in a good way. Forty minutes in, Pontarlier settles into a clean green scent that's almost all fern on me. There's still a lingering soapiness that's nevertheless not unpleasant, but I get very little of the florals. In the end, I like Pontarlier much more than I expected. It's a calming and relaxing scent that has me picturing a lily pad-covered pond surrounded by ferns. Out of curiousity, I tried Pontarlier out as a sleeping scent and I had a similar reaction to what I experienced with Somnus. This isn't a scent I'd use during the day, but one for relaxing in the evening.

This was a generous frimp from the lab. On my skin, Langour is a light, airy floral with a bit of a soapy smell. As it dries, it reminds me, in a good way, of laundry drying outside on a windy day. I can't identify any of the individual notes. Unfortunately, not being a fan of florals, this is not for me.

After experiencing little to no leather with other scents, I was a bit worried that maybe leather just didn't work well with my skin, which would have been disappointing as I quite like it. Fortunately, my worries were put to rest when the first notes I got from Dee were wood shavings and leather. It's a gorgeous leather, too, more elegant and gentlemany than dark and rough. I'm echoing what nearly everyone else has written here, but Dee really does smell like an old-fashioned library with leather armchairs and wooden floors and tables. Dry, the parchment and tonka begin to emerge. My skin thankfully isn't amping the incense in this, which it's done with other scents. Instead, all of the notes are beautifully blended together while still being distinguishable from one another. Dee doesn't morph much over time for me and remains smelling like the Lab's description almost verbatim. This is a scent that strikes me as androgynous with a slight masculine leaning. The oil is potent; just a drop or two goes a long way and the smell lasts for hours. I really love this and Dee is my current favourite BPAL scent.

Baku on my skin is very astringent and strong, reminiscent of lemon-scented cleaning products. I can't even make out any of the lavender over whatever's causing the lemon scent, assuming lemon itself isn't an ingredient. Not a very calming smell to me. I didn't have any nightmares the night I tried this, but I don't usually; mostly, I was kept awake by the smell until it started to fade. My mom, on the other hand, found Baku to be the weakest and most tolerable scent of my entire order. She's used Baku on several nights and, while she's not sure it helped her sleep better, prefers it greatly to Somnus.

I've had trouble falling asleep for about two years and, while Somnus doesn't knock me out, it helps me calm down much quicker than usual and has me skirting the edges of sleep. Even though I'm still awake, I nevertheless feel more rested just lying there, inhaling the scent and listening to my breathing slow to sleep levels. If I put Somnus on before I've gotten ready for bed, it swiftly has me yawning and feeling drowsy. The scent of Somnus on me is strongly lavender with just a hint of jasmine. It's not something I'd wear except for sleep purposes, but I don't mind the smell. I find it a nicer, calmer, and cooler scent than Baku, the other sleep oil I tried. Hard to tell how long Somnus lasts as I've only been using it at night, but there's little trace of it when I wake up in the morning. Edit: My mom, who also has sleep problems, found Somnus too strong for her tastes and reported it gave her a headache.

First time reviewer. Ocean and sleep scents were the two things that initially brought me to BPAL and, after reading the official description along with the reviews here, I was really looking forward to trying Mary Read. Unfortunately, Mary Read doesn't work with my skin at all. I don't get any of the salt air or ocean mist. Neither do I get the leather. The gunpowder note is there for the first twenty minutes before fading and leaving me with a cool soapy scent that smells nothing like the ocean. I'm not sure what sarsaparilla or rum smell like, but I think what's happening is that I'm amping those along with the patchouli. Like others have said, the rum in here isn't boozy at all. This is still a cool 'blue' scent even without any of the brine and Mary Read has good lasting power (about five hours), but it's nothing like what I was hoping for.