Floria

This is oddly foody. The main "body" of the scent is a rather fruity, dark-pink floral with a spicy undertone, and underneath there's an oddly biscuity note that reminds me of Shub-Niggurath without the spices and incense. I think that might be the amber. It sort of reminds me of a fruit sorbet paired with some toasty, not particularly sweet pastries. Very pleasant, but unfortunately, it doesn't last very long on my skin.

This doesn't smell like any other floral perfume I've tried from any company, but it's quite accessible.

BPAL has lots of interesting-looking perfumes that use honey as a note, but I'm not certain that BPAL's honey likes me. Or maybe it likes me too much, in all the wrong ways.

My luck with honey notes in perfume has been mixed - the honey + wine combination in Athens and Delphi turns to flavored honey sticks or molten fruit hard candy on me and eats the rest of the components, the honey + cherry in Blood Kiss is a bit similar but the other ingredients manage to hold their own, I remember liking O the single time I had a chance to try it, and I've had good luck with a couple of honey blends from another company. Beeswax seems to be fine, at least with assertive ingredients (as in No. 93 Engine).

I'm looking for blends in which the honey is detectable but doesn't take over and make me smell like I bathe in mead. I prefer slightly "toasted", caramelish honeys over syrupy honeys.

As mentioned above, I don't have the best track record with honey + wine combos, and I've had bad luck with lily. Otherwise, I'm not picky.

I got this because I liked the idea of a sweet evergreen and Tombstone is more rootbeer than cedar on me. It did not disappoint.

The initial impression is of a blast of cologne-like but wearable evergreen, with something softer and a bit powdery underneath - the amber? I'd say it's fairly masculine, but not too testosterone-soaked for a girly-girl like me if she's in the mood for a scent with a bit of an edge.

After the initial blast of evergreen wears off, what sticks around is a subtle sweet vanilla that stays close to the skin.

I couldn't pick out any rosewood in this, which is a bit of a shame because I like Belle Vinu and Ouija, but I mostly bought this for the pine + vanilla combination, so I'm not too disappointed.

My choice for a deliberately un-flirtatious scent would be Cthulhu, at least on a woman. To me, it smells like men's grooming products with a touch of brine - not bad, but decidedly unalluring unless you're around someone with a thing for mermaid drag kings.

I was expecting more of a dusty-woodiness, but this is surprisingly fresh and sharp in high concentrations - I wouldn't be surprised if it contained eucalyptus or mint, and I'm pretty sure a few of the unnamed woods are evergreens. It has an autumnal feel because of the evergreen, but I can also see it working as a masculine-leaning summer scent if you want a change from the usual mint, aquatics, and citrus.

This would make a really good incense blend, I think. It was spicier than I expected, and not as dusty, with an edge of something almost fruity that I think might have been the osmanthus combined with the fresh tea rose. It definitely smells old-fashioned and exotic, and makes me picture a particularly genteel occult and curio shop - think ladies in Gibson Girl hats who are interested in Theosophy, rather than hippies.

The musk and berries stand out the most, combined into a sort of "berry candy" note. I don't get much sage or tea, which is a pity, as I think a bit of slightly bitter-aromatic greenness would help balance the sweetness. Still, it's reasonably pleasant. I may try layering it with something a bit brisker.

There are several blends that are tobacco + vanilla + other things, but I don't think there's anything in the GC or current limited additions that's just tobacco and vanilla. BPAL's house style leans toward more complex blends, although there are exceptions - but Perversion from the Ars Amatoria section was mostly nice sweet pipe tobacco on me, and there's a vanilla element from the tonka.

Depending on what kind of color/scent associations you make, Blood Lotus and Blood Rose might work for you.

I got this as a frimp. I was apprehensive about trying it, because I have a history of bad luck with BPAL's lily note.

Perhaps fortunately, I don't get much lily in this. What I get is CRANBERRY, underpinned with something spicier and earthier. Makes me think of craft stores, candles, and potpourri, but rather appropriate for a cold late-autumn-edging-into-winter day like today. The lasting power seems decent.

Is Glittering Apple of the Stars much like Ladon? They seem to be similarly structured, from the descriptions (apples + floral + light musks + a sweet base note), but I haven't seen any explicit comparisons.

The only thing I've encountered from the catalog that really says "old lady" to my nose is Paladin layered with Goblin, which smells eerily like old-fashioned scented face powder.

Prunella was spicier than I expected. I think the "wildflowers" must include some wallflower or dianthus.

I mostly got this for the mythic and historical associations.

The early stage of this is most interesting to me, when the bay and laurel are strongest and add an interesting aromatic herbiness to the melange. The dry-down is a lot like Athens - intensely sweet honey with a sort of fruity tartness. I never did get much incense. It's not a bad smell, but it's rather strong and clingy, and I'm not sure I want to smell like flavored honey and fruit hard candy. I think I'll avoid honey + wine combos in the future, since in both Athens and Delphi they've taken over, and I don't like mead that much.

I'm going to test this again to see if temporary fluctuations in body chemistry make a difference, but right now, I'm afraid I'm not impressed. It seems that the lab's lily note doesn't get along well with my skin chemistry, since both this and Sheol started off bitter and faded quickly. Let's hope I get along better with lily of the valley.

ETA: further experiments have suggested that this might be one of those blends that's location-sensitive - i.e., my skin in general might not hate it, it might just be my wrists.

I think that the citrus + woods + spices might be giving it more of a cologne vibe, especially if the musk isn't a particularly sweet one.

I blended Paladin with Goblin to make something for a friend of mine who has a goblin cavalier character, and it smelled eerily like old-fashioned scented face powder.

In the vial, this smells rather like the gingerbread blends I've tried from other companies, although not quite as buttery. On my skin, the incense really comes out, along with a bit of woodiness. Gingersnaps in a head shop! There might be a bit of cinnamon or cassia in it as well, given how my skin reacted.

Ohhh...this sounds like fun! I'd like to get some ideas for myself, and then once I'm more familiar with everything, give out recommendations as well.

 

Let's see..... I'm in my late 30s but regularly get guessed much, much younger. I'm bi-racial, olive toned skin, long black curly hair. I'm a pisces, love to read (usually 60 books or more a year), make soaps, pretty much any craft. Looove hiking and being in the mountains and used to kayak regularly.

Right now my passion is gardening, especially herbs.

Child free by choice. I work in emergency services...hmmmmm....what else?

 

I am incredibly blunt, sometimes to the point of rudeness, though I usually don't mean to be. I curse. A lot. I am usually pretty introverted, by choice, because I am not shy. I have a very dark sense of humor. I am also very sensitive, though few people will ever see that side of me. I don't have a lot of friends, but the ones I do are friends for life and closer to me than family.

 

Is that enough information to go on? What do you guys think would suit me?

Maybe something from Rappacini's Garden would suit you.

I got this as a frimp from the lab. I'd considered buying an imp to fill the missing "mint" slot in my perfume collection, but declined because I was worried about the wormwood being too bitter.

It turns out, Absinthe is neither bitter nor notably minty on me. I smell anise and undefinable herbs, my mother thought it smelled like tansy (the aromatic kind, not tansy ragwort) on me. Possibly that's the wormwood mellowed by the other ingredients.

I have no experience with absinthe, the beverage, but this does plausibly smell like a complex herb and anise liqueur, without the alcohol.

Hi everyone, I'm new here. So excited to have discovered BPAL, but a little overwhelmed, as it all sounds so wonderful. Trying to find a "signature scent" and any recomendations would be most appreciated. Okay, a bit about me... I have a bachelors degree in film and comparative literature and am now getting my masters in acupuncture and chinese medicine. Love history and all things related to the past. Obsessed with Hitchcock, Luis Bunuel, Maya Deren, Chinese cinema, classic hollywood cinema, old hollywood in general. Obsessed with all things spiritual and metaphysical, especially fairies. Love all literature, some favorites include: Goethe, Arthur Conan Doyle, Jane Austen, Oscar Wilde, William Faulkner. Fascinated by voodoo and the blues. Love all things southern and southern gothic. Obsessed with all things Victorian (Alice in Wonderland, et al). Love bluegrass music (Gillian Welch, etc). Oh, and I also love belly dance and travel. Bleh.

 

Sorry for the self indulgent randomness...

 

Smells I particularly like: Almond, Honey, Vanilla, Rose, Opium, Milk/Soymilk, cardamon, Sandlewood. However, I am open to anything and everything. I love woody orientals in particular.

 

Help!

 

Thanks!

 

Angelica

You should give Belle Epoque a try. I haven't sniffed it yet, but it has vanilla, sandalwood, and opium, and some reviews have said it has a bit of a vintage feel.

Renna - I think the Wanderlust line would thematically fit your interests, and there's such a variety of scents there, you could probably find something you think would smell good.

Schrodinger's Cat didn't have any notable chocolaty qualities on me - in combination with the other ingredients and my body chemistry, it was more of a fresh, citrusy-sweet sort of scent, like a really refreshing summer fruity cocktail without the booziness. (But not overpoweringly minty, either, if that's what you're primarily worried about.) How Doth The Little Crocodile has more of an obvious chocolate-mint effect, with some dusty woodiness from the oakmoss and cedar.

Spellbound might be worth checking out if you like roses, because of the musk and amber. I've only tried it once, but I did notice a powdery aspect, although I've also heard it described as incense-like.

Velvet is, as the name suggests, a very "soft" scent, although there's no musk or amber. Maybe it's the myrrh being softened by the vanilla and sandalwood? Anyway, it might be worth checking out if you like incense and sweets.

How about other Marvel characters?

Gambit - Jazz Funeral

Storm - Oya

Deadpool - Chaotic layered with Fighter and Mania

and so forth.