brilliantcat

In the bottle: Definitely nutmeg and a root beer kick from the sassafras. Not much of the poppy or myrrh in-bottle.

 

Immediately after application: Fairly similar to the bottle with an undercurrent of the myrrh now. I smell like cinnamony nuts and root beer!

 

Warming up: This is darkening into something wicked. The root beer-y note from the sassafras has faded into a lingering sweetness but now I'm getting opium from this. The poppy is definitely coming through. It's not the smoky opium of hookahs though, it's a sweet resiny opium.

 

Fading: Sweet, sticky opium. No smoke here. *presses Johnny Depp to her opium-infused breasts* We'll be awhile.

 

Faded: Medium fade time and it stayed that opium poppy with sweet undertones.

 

Overall: I've always liked the smell of opium incense and the sweet, pungent scent of this is right up my alley. I'm fond of the sticky sweet root beer start as well but as it warms it morphs into that fantastic sweet poppy smell that's almost intoxicating. Definitely the type of sexy, sultry scent I tend to like.

In the bottle: I figured I wouldn't like this because I'm not a fan of most florals. Wow, was I wrong. It smells AWESOME. Complex florals and a big hit of pungent frankincense.

 

Immediately after application: I get warm florals but I can't make out the individual notes, maybe the chamomile? I can pick out the frankincense at least Whatever it is, it smells GOOD. Not traditional perfume-y, which is what usually turns me off floral scents. There's a hint of sharpness.

 

Warming up: Almost purely frankincense. I amp spicy/musky/incensey scent, if I haven't mentioned this. The florals have been mostly overwhelmed although I get little bursts from time to time. I'm surprised to hear myself say this, but I want more flower!

 

Fading: Ahh there are the flowers! I definitely smell the carnation under the frankincense now and hints of the other florals. My nose isn't quite sophisticated enough to distinguish/recognize the others but it's like a bouquet with a smidge of herbs and incense laid in the room. Quite delightful.

 

Faded: Slowly fading frankincense with mild florals.

 

Overall: My skin chemistry seems to have conspired against this one to overpower the floral notes like whoa. For once, I actually wished there had been MORE of the floral scents. However, I really liked it on the drydown. I'm glad I got this as a frimp, I never would have chosen it on my own and I was pleasantly surprised.

In the bottle: FRUITY NOMS!

 

Immediately after application: It's a thick, sticky oil, appropriately enough. Heavy on the raspberry and apricot. It smells like I'm in a fruit field with juicy ripe fruit bursting around me. I can almost taste it.

 

Warming up: OMFG this smells amazing! The fruit scents are rich and full, surrounded by a creamy warmth from the white chocolate. I'm in love.

 

Fading: Softy fading creamy fruit. I smell soooo tasty. I HAZ A FLAVOR!

 

Faded: Very long-lasting and true scent to the finish.

 

Overall: Unlike Akuma, which was a drier, non-foody raspberry, this is a juicy, lush, edible smell with the addition of the apricot and chocolate. It is immediately going on my must-find list for a bigger bottle, which sucks because it's a LE scent. I will find it though. Anyone who likes foody scents, especially fruity ones, should give this a try!

In the bottle: Complex florals and a hint of musk.

 

Immediately after application: The type of florals I like, deep and heady, with undertones of musk and a hit of orange.

 

Warming up: ROSE. ROSEROSEROSE. PAINTING THE ROSES RED IN A ROSE GARDEN ROSES. The other scents are there but the rose is overpowering nearly everything else, including the musk. Color me shocked O_O

 

Fading: Not even getting there. Way too heavy on the rose. All I can smell is rose. IT IS BURNING MY NOSE WITH ROSE /poet

 

Faded: Not waiting to find out. I can tell this is going to last. And last. And last. Which would be awesome if I liked it. But I don't. Off it comes. There's a chance the rose will mellow and let the other notes come out again but I am not willing to suffer through hours of rose-scented torture to find out. *swabs wrists with alcohol* ROSES *twitch*

 

Overall: WHAT I HAVE LEARNED: I AMP ROSES LIKE WHOA. I do not particularly like rose. Unlike Katu, I don't smell old ladyish particularly, I just don't LIKE it. The rose overwhelmed every other note in this blend and there are a lot of other notes including two musks. Two. And I amp musk as well. Dunno how I amped roses over musk but there you go.

In the bottle: I can definitely smell vanilla and the star anise (black licorice-y scent, so beware if you hate that smell). Not much of the other notes.

 

Immediately after application: Strongly star anise.

 

Warming up: Surprise! The star anise disappeared, leaving a lovely blend of vanilla and soft, slightly fruity florals. I'd almost given up on this one but it smells delicious now.

 

Fading: Nom nom nom vanilla mostly, though I can catch hints of the other notes. I'm vanilla-obsessed so this is an awesome development.

 

Faded: Sadly, a pretty fast fade but I loved the fading scent. Warm vanilla with very faint hints of the florals and the star anise.

 

Overall: VERY licorice when wet. It overpowered everything else until it warmed up, then vanilla vanilla vanilla. I loved it once it warmed up. Husbeast made appreciative noises over it too and he HATES black licorice anything. So once the SUPER STAR ANISE fades and lets the other notes out to play, it's an amazing scent.

 

ETA: Another of my retests. Wet on, it's plasticky, bitter, strong licorice. As it dries, the anise settles down but this is still a near anise SN. Swap.

In the bottle: It smells like the ocean, clean ocean not fishy ocean, with definite water lily.

 

Immediately after application: Aquatic floral and seaspray.

 

Warming up: It's morphing rapidly and I'm getting hints of different notes a few moments apart and at different distances. From farther away, it smells more aquatic. Closer up, I can pick up the sweet floral of the freesia and water lily. It's got a little bite to it too.

 

Fading: Going a bit spicy and the driftwood is coming forward some. Pristine, undisturbed beach with a hint of the florals still.

 

Faded: Clean aquatic with watery florals. I love it.

 

Overall: LOVE LOVE LOVE. The other notes blend with the florals and keep them from being perfumey and it's a nice, slightly feminine but definitely not girly aquatic. Refreshing with a hint of salt and spice from the driftwood and ambergris. Perfect for summer.

In the bottle: An incredibly decadent dessert.

Immediately after application: Chocolate with a definite kick of ginger, surprisingly little rum. Some cardamom as well.

Warming up: Chocolate and spices. Or more accurately, spices and chocolate. The chocolate is definitely secondary. I'm not getting ANY rum or coconut. Much less foody than I expected honestly. Not necessarily bad, just interesting to note. I like the spice blend in this.

Fading: Chocolatey spices. No rum or coconut to be found.

Disappointing. It had great potential from the sound of the notes but it just wasn't meant to be.

In the bottle: Exactly how it sounds. Decadent but refreshing. Like a slice of dark chocolate flourless cake garnished with tart lime slices.

Immediately after application: Oh. Um, a slightly chemical smell. Weird. Acid from the lime? I only get it if I sniff my wrist directly. From further away, it smells great.

Warming up: Weird smell gone, now it's a yummy blend of chocolate and zesty lime.

Fading: The lime is softening and leaving me with bittersweet chocolate and a kick of lime. Yummy. I think it was the pungency of the lime causing the weird formaldehyde smell at first.

Faded: I was going to complain about how fast it faded but it just got faint. The chocolate and lime melded into a subtle but steady sweet/tart scent that is lasting well, despite what I thought was happening. BPAL never fails to surprise me with what it can do.

Overall: Kind of icky at first honestly. The lime smelled positively acidic and almost chemical laid on top of a dark, not-sweet chocolate. After an hour-ish, the notes blended into something delicious, more akin to what I expected. The chocolate picked up a smoky-sweetness and the lime mellowed, adding a nice tartness.

In the bottle: Herbalish floral. I can definitely smell the sandalwood and amber, with a touch of vanilla.

 

Immediately after application: It's hard to describe. A bit herbally, a bit woody. The vanilla disappeared on my skin. I can easily visualize the polished wood of a harp though. The tiare went poof.

 

Warming up: Woodsy vanilla. I rather like it but with these notes, I want to smell it on the husband. It would be just my luck that HE would amp the tiare (gardenia) or tagetes (marigold).

 

Fading: Getting a pretty good amount of vanilla mixing with sandalwood. Yum.

 

Faded: Slow fading woodsy vanilla goodness.

 

Overall: I LOVE it once warmed up, it's lovely wet as well but warmed it's woodsy vanilla, not foody at all. A perfect gender-neutral scent that I really like, at least with our chemistries. We both got the vanilla-sandalwood with amber rather than the floral.

2008 vintage

 

In the bottle: A sugary-sweet vanilla headrush.

 

Immediately after application: Definitely vanilla and sugar. I don't make out any specific fruit notes but it has a hint of that... feeling. I love it so far.

 

Warming up: Spun-sugar madness! It's tooth-achingly sweet and I can feel myself slipping into a diabetic coma just from sniffing it, and I'm loving every moment.

 

There's a hint of something else, spice or fruit or both, that cuts the sugar so it's not COMPLETELY nauseating but there is no way to describe it but pure sweetness.

 

Fading: Less of the supersweet, it's morphing into a burnt-sugar reminiscent of the crust on creme brulee. Om nom nom...

 

Faded: Medium fade with that awesome creme brulee scent.

 

Overall: I LOVED it. Supersweet with a hint of spices and fruit and lovely burnt-sugar drydown. I could see this being too much for many people and even myself in some situations or moods. But I just adored the living heck out of it today, from wet to drydown. The morph was amazing. My husband reported it as his favorite so far.

In the bottle: Hmm. Cough syrup.

 

Immediately after application: Not cough syrup. More like... cherry blossom? Not boozy like I expected.

 

Warming up: Sweet cherries. No booze. I still feel like it's more of a cherry blossom than fruity cherry scent. For a brief moment it had that plasticky fake smell, like scented Strawberry Shortcake dolls had back in the 80s (but cherry instead of strawberry) but thankfully that was fleeting. DNW to smell like a plastic scented dolly.

 

Fading: It smells better as it fades, oddly. Still get predominately cherry BLOSSOM.

 

Faded: Wow, superfast fade. The tiniest hint of cherry is left.

 

Overall: It's pleasant enough, but other than Schrödinger's Cat I haven't yet DISLIKED a BPAL scent. I don't feel strongly about it. It's meh. The husband said basically the same thing I did. "That's awfully faint..." *sniffs* "Smells pretty good though. Cherry? I like the other ones better."

In the bottle: Definite hints of the fruit and coconut, almost bubble-gum scented. I WANT TO DRINK IT.

 

Immediately after application: HOLY LLAMAS this smells good! I can make out hints of the fruits and coconut and spice and they go together so well. Did I mention this smells good? BECAUSE IT SMELLS REALLY, REALLY GOOD.

 

Warming up: The coconut and spice are more pronounced but the fruit is still very much present. Yum. Tinycat agrees, she just sniffed my wrist and licked it.

 

Fading: I am pleased to report this one is lasting very well. It's settled into a spicy, almost musky fruit scent. A tropical drink by an outdoor bonfire, if you will. It smells amazing. It's a complex scent and I keep catching hints of the different fruit notes with the spice, or the mellow coconut with sugar. YUM.

 

Faded: Slow fade and hours later I can still smell it. Less sweet fruity and more mellow with the coconut and pepper notes.

 

Overall: I would not want to wear this if a zombie apocalypse were imminent, as I would surely be consumed first due to pure DELICIOUSNESS of my scent. In any other situation, I want to smell like this, all the time. The fruit, spice, sugar, and coconut blend into an ungodly brew of awesome. It's kept from being syrupy sweetly fruity by the chili pepper. Brilliant. I LOVE IT.

In the bottle: It smells EXACTLY like the leather store in the mall. Or a brand-new leather jacket before it picks any other smells. A hint of metal and oil too.

 

Immediately after application: Very... SHARP. From farther away, I get the leathery whiffs but closer up it's all machine oil.

 

Warming up: Definitely just machine oil and rust. Where'd my leather go?

 

Fading: Aha, a little patience and the leather is back. Pure black leather motorcycle jacket with a hint of the tobacco and musk. So good.

 

Faded: Oh man, I LOVE the fade on this once the machine oil/rust have calmed down.

 

Overall: This is certainly one of the more interesting scents I've tested. I actually quite liked the in-bottle leather-jacket smell but on me it turned to machine oil and rust at first. Luckily the black leather jacket came roaring back and transported me to my high school days of dating my husband and stealing his motorcycle jacket, sneaking smokes in the woods, and furtive makeout sessions. I even wore that jacket over my prom dress. Yeah, I was kinda badass :3 It could be described as a masculine smell but I think KNOW I can pull it off. I'm still badass >]

In the bottle: Fruity with a light hint of the musk and woods. Maybe a bit of the iris.

 

Immediately after application: Another one I kind of want to eat. It smells really good. Ok skin, let's make a deal. You don't do anything weird to this one, ok?

 

Warming up: It smells pink. It really does. It's soft and girly but the musk keeps it from being too girly. I'm getting more of the wood and musky floral than fruit now but they're adding an undertone of sweetness. So far my skin is keeping the bargain.

 

Fading: Interesting, the fruit and iris have come to the forefront. It's still a pretty scent and hasn't gone weird on me, yay! I almost get a melon vibe.

 

Faded: A soft, melon-y scent. Lovely from start to finish.

 

Overall: Definitely not an everyday scent for me, it's altogether too... PRETTY. But for a change of pace I'll definitely wear it. I'm glad my weirdo chemistry didn't eff this one up :3

In the bottle: Mountain Dew

 

Immediately after application: Candied lemon and lime slices. Oh fuck this smells good.

 

Warming up: It... wait... NOOOOOOOOO!!!!! IT HAS GONE SOAPY! BAD SOAPY! Dish soap-soapy *sobs* It smelled so fucking good too.

 

Fading: Lemon dish soap :\

 

Faded: Soap with which to scrub dishes, in lemon scent.

 

Overall: WHY???? It smelled sooooo good to start. WHY SKIN WHY? Why did you do that to such a nommy smell? Do you hate citrus? Or do you just hate me? Jerkface. I h8 u.

In the bottle: Butterscotch candy! Or schnapps. Tasty!

 

Immediately after application: A delicious combination of all the scents with boozy overtones that other testers on the BPAL forums have noted. If you don't like "foody" scents, though, you might want to avoid this one.

 

Warming up: Amaretto/butterscotch. It's absolutely fantastic.

 

Fading: Spicy sweet almond with a hint of musk with underlying buttercreamy vanilla and rummy scents. My skin tends to turn scents musky/spicy so I don't smell so much like candy anymore (this is a good thing imo) and I am loving this so much.

 

Faded: Spicy/sweet almond.

 

Overall: Unlike Schrödinger's Cat, THIS Cat was everything I hoped it would be and more. Sweet, spicy, creamy, delicious. A mature, decadent scent I loved from bottle to skin. I will add that it's a bit heavy for summertime and I will probably save it for fall and winter.

In the bottle: Fruity! A lot of raspberry with some definite floral hints. That'd be the neroli. I don't smell the blood orange.

 

Immediately after application: Mostly neroli, which is a musky floral, overlaid with a touch of soft, not-sweet orange, and very yummy raspberry.

 

Warming up: The neroli has mellowed and the raspberry has emerged as the dominant note, very sweet. I feel like I'm in a raspberry field!

 

Fading: Juicy, juicy raspberry with a undercurrent of the neroli floral/musky scent.

 

Faded: Soft raspberry/neroli blend. Quite yummy.

 

Overall: I rather like this one. It's definitely a summery smell because of the sweetness of the raspberry. Very fresh. The neroli helps ground it and keeps it from being Bath and Body Works SUPERSWEET raspberry. It's a mature raspberry scent. I got a hint of the blood orange early on, then it faded quickly.

In the bottle: Mmm fruity with a hint of the oakmoss and mint.

 

Immediately after application: Where did all the fruit and minty chocolate go? All I can smell is a bit of lavender, the oakmoss... and a powdery sort of scent.

 

Warming up: Powdery... wtf? WHERE IS THAT COMING FROM? None of the fruit, mint, chocolate. My husband said I smell like incense. AUGH. I'm washing it off. I don't like how this is warming up on me AT ALL.

 

Overall: I didn't give it much of a chance, but it didn't smell at ALL like I expected. I figured there'd be some of the fruit notes and the mint/chocolate at least. I got NONE. Instead I got a funky powdery incense smell. I am so disappointed because from the description I expected to love this. From the in-bottle sniff test, I loved this. On me, I did NOT love this.

In the bottle: Aquatic notes and wood... perhaps a snap of the leather? Can't make out the rum. It smells clean and slightly masculine.

 

Immediately after application: Crisp water with a hint of salt. The woody notes are very subdued so far and no hint of rum to be found.

 

Warming up: The rum is coming out now and I get some... clove? Odd, but enjoyable. It certainly "feels" very piratey to me. I can damn near feel foaming saltwater crashing on the deck and I feel like I'm wearing a cast-off pirate's leather jacket with traces of rum and stolen spices on it.

 

Fading: A bit soapy, woody, masculine. Not overtly masculine but not what I would consider a feminine scent. I like it but I'm not crazy about it. My skin sucked up the rum/spice notes.

 

Faded: Clean salty water with a hint of wood. Faded somewhat quickly.

 

Overall: This one is pretty right on. It smelled exactly how I imagined at first and then faded into a soapier but still seaworthy scent. I like it well enough on me but I have a feeling I will like it a lot more on the husband. Time to grab a flintlock and force him to apply it >] Speaking of flintlocks, I would've like a sparky kick of gunpowder in this one. The smoky, sulphur-y matchstick smell would've added a lot methinks. I'm eager to try the other piratical scents!

In the bottle: Cinnamon and spice. It reminds me of Christmas, oddly.

Immediately after application: Cinnamon with hints of floral and spicy notes. Very little almond or vanilla that I can tell.

Warming up: Sharply, spicily cinnamon. It's not a food-type cinnamon smell either. It's bordering on a masculine smell but I like it. I may splash some on the husband see what happens.

Fading: Cinnamon with frankincense undertones and is that the bitter almond? It makes me think of hearthfires.

Faded: Mellowed to a soft cinnamon with hints of the frankincense and heliotrope... I think. It reminds me of another perfume or smell, I'm not precisely sure. It's triggering something in my scent-memory receptors in my brain though but I can't think of what. It's something good though. I like this more as it's warmed and faded.

Overall: Fairly strong cinnamon at first but mellowed nicely. I like it! I may try it in an oil diffuser to scent the room rather than as a perfume.

In the bottle: Musky with a hint of coconut and something sweet.

 

Immediately after application: Apparently orris is iris root, which rather than smelling like the flower, smells akin to violets. Thank you Wikipedia! I definitely get violets and sweetness. There's musk underlaying it and the coconut is very faint. Boo. I like coconut. I still think it smells pretty damn amazing.

 

Warming up: A soft, sweet musk. So far the coconut doesn't lend much scent, just a creamy richness. It feels warm and comfortable, and languorously sexy. "Come to me" rather than predatory.

 

Fading: The coconut is a little more pronounced! Yay :3 It still remains sweet and warm, but not cloyingly or sticky sweet. My body usually amps musk like whoa but I'm not getting the uber-musk/incensey smell with this. Blood musk must interact more softly with my chemistry. It's a lovely scent.

 

Faded: Gently fading sweet creamy musk.

 

Overall: I like! Not enough coconut for me but the sweet violet of the orris root and musk still blended into something gorgeous on me. It felt cozy and sexy at the same time. I'll definitely buy imps of this and possibly a 5mL.

In the bottle: Fresh and sweet! The cardamom and anise stand out to my nose with hints of mint and lemon.

 

Immediately after application: Vague lemony earthy flower with a touch of licorice from the anise. I hate eating black licorice, but the smell is another thing altogether. I find it very attractive. The mint has been slurped up by my skin.

 

Warming up: Cardamom, lemon, and licorice. Vaguely candy and I keep going back to sniff it.

 

Fading: Lemon and anise/licorice-y smell have faded, leaving wormwood, cardamom, and what I presume is the hyssop. If I sniff close up, I still get hints of the lemon and anise but it's mostly a pleasant herbally floral.

 

Faded: Very soft herbal-floral, individual notes almost indistinguishable after several hours.

 

Overall: I doubt this is one I would go to on a regular basis and I had hoped for more mint, but I love the herbal scent of the wormwood and cardomom with the touches of hyssop, lemon, and anise. It worked well with my skin chemistry. Tinycat also enjoyed it and kept sniffing my wrist. Considering my preference for very boozy, sultry, spicy, and/or foody mixes I might go to this for a more professional setting as it not so in-your-face. And it's a general catalogue scent so I can always buy an imp or two if I'm in the mood!

I could swear I reviewed this one. Anyway, here are my notes:

 

In the bottle: Mostly musk, I can definitely smell the hyacinth, and just a hint of the apple. I think the "dragon's blood" also has a musky scent.

 

Immediately after application: Whoo, musk! A little bit of florals and hardly any apple.

 

Warming up: Oh yum, the musk has mellowed and the hyacinth is more pronounced. I can make out the apple scent now. I keep catching whiffs of it as I move to type and it's very pleasant. Not overpowering at all, which is a big deal to me. I dislike overpowering.

 

Fading: Weirdly, my left wrist smells more musky and my right more flowery. Very little apple.

 

Faded: Very soft floral. It faded very fast (approx. 3 hours) but I applied lightly as I don't like heavy fragrances. There's still a hint of scent if I sniff my wrists directly.

 

Overall: I tend to like spicy scents rather than floral but I like this a lot. I'm not sure it would be an everyday sort of scent for me, but if I planned something outdoors, it would suit nicely. I'd have liked more apple. I've been sniffing myself repeatedly though.

Sugared screaming yuzu/grapefruit! If there's lime in here, could've fooled me because lime turns to dish soap on me and this does not AT ALL. It's amazingly refreshing and tart with some sweetness that smells like straight up sugar to me vs. syrup. I'm not noticing any spice, sadly, but I still like the super-clean freshness of this blend. It's one I'll probably share with my daughter

Oh wow do I understand the insane love for this blend now. I was pretty sure it was going to be hoardable just because of the patchouli and vanilla, two of my favorite scents, so I ordered it unsniffed from a recent GO. I opened the bottle, sniffed, and just about swooned When I recovered, I managed to slather it all over myself. I agree with the other reviewers who classed the hemp as being medicinal and green, this is NOT a marijuana smell at all to me. It fades pretty quickly into a rich, heady blend of amazing patchouli and deep, dark vanilla with the slightest green edge to it from the hemp. It stays pretty evenly patch/vanilla as it warms and it last a LONG time on me, easily overnight. I woke up smelling of gorgeous vanilla and patchouli the next day. Needless to say, I jumped on another GO while this is on sale. The only thing keeping it from perfection is the medicinal hemp smell at the beginning but I'm thinking that will mellow with age.