whataboutprom

Love this! I don't have a great track record of buying bottles unsniffed, but somehow I knew this would work for me, despite the fact that I rarely wear any of these notes. Something about the combination of them all spoke to me. This is first and foremost a rose perfume on me, but the other notes make it more complex and sophisticated. Champaca is the only single note I can identify, but it seems everything is working together beautifully to compliment the rose. This is rose with a bit of incense, and while it is strong, it's not overpowering.

 

I'm really glad this scent is able to take me out of my perfume comfort zone of woods and resins!

Lovely!

 

This smells exactly like rich, dark chocolate brownie batter. I don't think chocolate will ever be a note that is as strong as I want it to be though, and it disappeared in my bath, leaving not a trace behind, (unlike my other BPTP bath oils that scent the whole house.)* The smell is so heavenly, I think I will reserve this for use as an after bath moisturizer. And I am strongly considering buying another bottle, or maybe a dozen.

 

 

* I don't have the world's strongest sense of smell though, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

Fresh from the lab, Konditorei was good, but it got SO MUCH BETTER after a couple of weeks. When I first sprayed this, I mostly got bitter coffee and candy fruit. Now, I get strong apple strudel, and while I can sense all of the notes, they have blended together beautifully. It smells sweeter and richer than it did initially, and it smells like there was golden honey drizzled over the apple strudel. This spray makes my mouth water, the sweets are so realistic. Definitely NOT a bathroom spray, but lovely in my hallway and bedroom!

 

I ordered two from the Box of Chocolates set, plus the Bittersweet Chocolate Bath Oil, and I can't wait to try them.

 

It's funny; I always thought I hated chocolate scents, even after smelling several chocolate BPAL oils. I think I had smelled so many fake chocolate products that my brain could not process good quality chocolate scents without thinking they were fake smelling too. After a while though, I realized that I really LOVE BPAL chocolate notes, most especially in Velvet, which I cannot stop slathering on myself.

I initially tried a well aged imp of Velvet, in which the oil was golden and syrupy. The smell was intriguing at first, but quickly became overwhelming and cloying, and I had to wash it off.

 

When I received a fresh imp from the lab, I set it aside for a couple of months, not wanting to give it another try. On a whim, I did try it though, and surprisingly Velvet has shot up into my top ten, maybe top five. Every time I try to put on another oil, I can't help but apply Velvet instead. The chocolate is made absolutely non-foodie by the gorgeous, dry sandalwood and myrrh. This is a sensual fragrance, but not so over the top sexy that I can't wear it to work. I've been applying it to my wrists every night, so I can inhale Velvet while falling asleep. Just ordered a big bottle.

At first I didn't like Fae Forest, because along with pine I get a very clean soap scent. However, it goes well in the bathroom, and I am warming up to the scent. After a while the forest smell mellows out, and it's a subtle, fresh fragrance.

This smells quite different when used straight on my skin and when used in the bath. I get the same bright fruitiness in the bath, and I can also picture those red valentine lollipops, (which I used to love!) Underneath the fruit is a slightly smokey, sweet grain scent that doesn't really smell boozy to me. It's more the scent of the ingredients that go into oatmeal stout. That scent is the one that stays on my skin, the fruit gets left behind in the bath. I actually like the bath smell a lot more than the scent of this straight on my skin, which marches right into Halloween candle territory. Luckily, I don't get any cinnamon, and this doesn't irritate my skin at all. This oil is quite concentrated! Just a couple of small squirts is plenty.

I have to agree as well. The vanilla is gorgeous in the jar, but almost disappears in the water. It does make the water very silky soft and creates a thin layer of bubbles. I used maybe a fifth of the jar. I'm not sorry I purchased it, because it does make the bath feel very nice, and the label art is beautiful, but I probably wouldn't buy a second unless the scent were made stronger. I ended up adding a few squirts of TKO massage oil to my bath, which added a stronger vanilla scent and mixed perfectly with Tears of the Seraphim.

5 minutes in, this is beautiful. While wet it was all sharp orchid and red musk, but in less than a minute the blend mellowed and the other notes came into play. I usually amp red musk, but in this it lends a subtle incense note. The skin musk is gorgeous and I do sense a bit of saltiness as well. So far the amber is golden and not powdery in the least. This is golden and mysterious and slightly floral but not sweet at all on me. If this behaves, I will definitely need a bottle.

Wow.

 

I bought just a goblin squirt of this out of curiosity. I don't dislike rose, but it doesn't usually appeal to me as a perfume, and some rose scents can be to soapy for me. This however, is the scent of a fresh red rose. At first sniff, the velvety texture of a rose popped into my head immediately; the scent is so fresh and real it's kind of unbelievable. If you love roses and hate rose perfume, definitely give this one a shot. As it dries the greenery of a bouquet comes out.

 

Absolutely amazing!

Sadly, this does nothing to help me sleep. I've used every flavor of aromatherapy and herbs for sleep with no success though, so I wasn't expecting a miracle. However, this is the most AMAZING scent! The sweet vanilla and lavender are soft and comforting, and although the scent is not very strong, it lasts a very long time. I could smell it on my wrists throughout the night and when I woke up in the morning. I guess the positive side of this not making me sleepy is that I can wear it as a perfume during the day. Definitely slather worthy.

In the bottle I get strong apple, not exactly like dried apple but not bright or candy-like either, plus myrrh and black musk.

 

Wet on my skin, the apple isn't as strong, and myrrh is the strongest note with black musk the second. I wasn't expecting to like this from the smell in the bottle, because the apple was so strong it strangely verged on cough syrup territory, but on my skin the apple blends quite well and is not foodie at all.

 

I tend to amp myrrh and sometimes it can be too overpowering, but the apple and musk are keeping it in check so far. I can't pick out the other notes individually. The overall effect is a warm, golden resiny incense scent.

Wet: Tart plum and red musk.

 

As it dries, the plum softens, and smoky incense with a tiny bit of vanilla comes into play. Sometimes red musk can be overpowering on me, but so far this one is staying in check.

 

This is dark and mysterious without being so heavy that I couldn't wear it during the day. It basically smells like plum incense on me, which is a nice change of pace.

Wow, this one really did not do well with my sniffer or skin chemistry. To me it smells like very strong cumin and laundry detergent. I wore it as long as I could, hoping it would morph, but I finally had to scrub it off. It has a very strong throw on me.

I have the 2011 version.

 

Wet: fresh, sugared pumpkin, lightly spiced with nutmeg. The vanilla is adding to the sweetness, and I get the barest hint of espresso. Luckily I'm not really getting cinnamon, which doesn't play nice with my skin chemistry.

 

As it dries, the nutmeg is the strongest note, with vanilla and sugar second. The pumpkin is light, and I can't really smell the espresso. There is one note that is going a little wonky, but only if I put my nose right up to my wrist.

 

This does actually smell quite a bit like the pumpkin lattes I get by my work. Like those, the espresso is drowned out by the pumpkin spices. This is nice, but that one strange note is stubbornly hanging on; it's hard to describe, but it's very sharp. I'll have to give this one another try in a few weeks and see if that note still bothers me.

I have a hard time wrapping my brain around this one. At first it smells like green leaves, and I get the minty note as well. It's not exactly floral but is fairly sharp. As it dries it seems to disappear into my skin. I have to put my wrist right up to my nose to get any scent at all. What I do get is somewhat like dry leaves, but I can't smell the other notes. Hmmm. I'll update this if the fragrance reappears.

 

ETA: My bf never comments on my perfume but said this one smells nice without me pointing it out. Strangely it's almost like some of the notes are in an olfactory blind spot for me though. I can barely smell anything.

Oddly, I'm not getting marshmallow at all. This smells more like cream cheese frosting on me, but so far this is behaving better with my skin chemistry than frosting scents normally do. I'm also getting a little spiciness in the background, almost like a spiced cake. I hope this doesn't turn to dust on my like so many foodie blends, because so far it is lovely.

Wet: Sweet, buttery, slightly floral pumpkin. This isn't a spiced pumpkin at all, which is fantastic for me, as spiced fall scents usually smell like candles on me. It's definitely a bright scent. I can't pick out most of the notes in this one, but so far the blend is very pretty. The amber warms things up and keeps the florals from being too sharp.

 

If this doesn't morph into anything crazy, I may have just found the first pumpkin scent that works for me!

While wet this is very brown and earthy, and a tiny bit sharp. I can definitely smell the patchouli, but it's not taking over the blend so far. I'm not a huge fan of ylang ylang, but this too is not overpowering. It adds a bit of freshness to this dark fragrance. This smells a little like a plant nursery where I shopped years ago, some greenery and flower petals coming through the brown dirt. Definitely an intriguing blend!

 

ETA: I've tested this a few times now, and each time it ends up going very powdery on me. I wish I could still smell the individual notes, but it's just strong baby powder.

In the bottle this smells like a Red Delicious apple with spicy carnation and frankincense. The other notes are there adding to the complexity, but harder to pick out on their own.

 

Wet on my skin the apple intensifies. I can make out a little amber in the background. The notes blend into a somewhat sharp, spicy/fruity floral. I'm hoping this will mellow out after a while. I'll update this review if anything changes.

 

ETA: After a while this turns into a very clean, floral soap scent on my skin. I'm not really getting anything "golden". It's almost a little like the scent of clean laundry, which unfortunately is a smell I do not enjoy. I could swear there is white musk in here.

 

Later this ended up turning into pure laundry detergent on my fussy skin.

 

 

 

In the bottle, this is sweet, powdery grapefruit with a very clean musk in the background. It stays the same while wet on my skin.

 

The Two-Tailed Sogg is a light pink/white scent. I can't pick out the honey note, but maybe it's what is adding the powdery fragrance. This reminds me a teeny bit of a grapefruit version of Jezebel, although with less throw; the grapefruit keeps it from being over the top sweet. This is a happy blend and makes me think of perfume for a young girl. I'm not really getting the swamp moss, orris root or cypress. I'll update this review if they come out later. I would love for this to turn a bit more bitter or earthy.

 

ETA: After a while, the powdery scent does get a little greener, and I think the swamp moss and orris root are starting to come through. It's not as girly as it was when first applied. I think this is one that will grow on me.

In the bottle: sweet, rich cake and icing. It smells divine, and I hope my skin chemistry behaves.

 

Wet: Play-doh is making an appearance. It's not overwhelming though, so this could still work. I'm having trouble picking out individual notes. I still get the cake and icing, with maybe a little incense. It's actually fading fast on me, but I know that scents can sometimes reappear on my skin after a while.

 

The fragrance became so subtle so quickly, that I reapplied to my other wrist. After second application, I get the slightly boozy berry notes. Boozy fruit often turns sickening on me, but this isn't overpowering in any way. Like those above have said, Halloween: Vegas stays close to the skin. I might try making a small amount of this into a perfume spray, to see if it increases the throw, because the blend is quite lovely. After it dries, it becomes a soft, incense/spice/fruit/cake smell that somehow doesn't smell all that foodie. (The Play-doh smell didn't stick around for long at all.) I wonder what aging will do to this...

 

Thank you Beth, for this wonderful perfume commemorating your special day!

 

ETA: So, I've had some time with this oil now, and I did make it into a perfume spray. While that didn't really increase the throw or longevity on my skin, I have found myself using this as a linen spray EVERY night. It's such a wonderful scent, and I love catching whiffs of it when I wake up during the night. I definitely need another bottle of this.

I received this as a frimp from the lab. In the imp, all I smell is cherry, which is not a note I would ever pick out for myself but is a note that I think works okay on my skin.

Wet: I can definitely smell the red musk, making this a very assertive, sexy blend. The amber is holding everything together, and the cherry is quite strong.

As it dries, the amber comes out more and is just a teeny bit powdery, but not in a bad way. The overwhelming cherry fades really fast on me.

I've only recently realized that I like red musk, and I have been meaning to try more perfumes with it, so it seems the lab was psychic again in its choice of frimp. Hollywood Babylon is not something I would ever wear to work; the musk makes it extremely sexy, and this has a lot of throw on me. This is an intensely red fragrance all around; however I never can pick out the strawberry, and the cherry doesn't stick around long as a distinguishable note. I think both of the fruits add to the juiciness and sweetness of Hollywood Babylon without making it foodie at all.

I'm definitely going to use up my imp. It's possible this will grow on me enough to be bottle worthy.

My bottle is from Vintage 2006 and was purchased through the lab via Etsy.

 

Wet: Citrus and powdery amber, plus what I can only describe as a very feminine "perfume" scent. I can already tell I'm going to love this after it dries, because it reminds me a lot of Jezebel, but with dry citrus notes instead of Jezebel's sweetness. Jezebel is the perfume that got me over my disdain of powdery amber.

 

As it dries, the scent is becoming more clean, and I'm hoping it doesn't turn soapy. I wish this was more golden on me, but my skin rarely lets the golden side of amber shine through.

 

On me Sol Invictus is a light, bright and very powdery blend, but a refined amber powder, not baby powder. I think this will be a great scent for sunny days or when I need a pick me up.

In the bottle this is a very clean, white and pink fragrance that is also just a touch sweet. Sadly, the sweetness turns to a strong dust note on my skin.

 

I keep trying sugary blends, hoping that one will not turn to dust. So far I have had more failures than successes, but I will keep trying!