Alethia

Thoughts before testing: Thank goodness for my mother (who is more addicted to BPAL than I am) and her nearly opposite scent tastes to mine. I never would have picked out this to try, but she waved it in front of my face and insisted I try it. I adore Snake Oil, but was hesitant to try this.

 

Wet: Hay and salt and just a hint of Snake Oil. This smells surprisingly awesome. I got a fleeting hint of the tortilla chips mentioned above, but it went fast.

 

Dry down: This morphed into something sweet and salty and incredible. It smells exactly like the sea and boats and the sunshine and it's so evocative for me that it's almost painful to smell. Beautiful. I can't even pick out what I'm smelling, just that it's great.

 

Dry: After several hours, it's not as sweet, but still amazing. I'm maybe getting more of the cedar and Snake Oil and it's lovely. I didn't expect to like this one, but I do.

 

Final thoughts: This is a weird one, but I love it. It lasted an insanely long time and through several hand washings. When I smell it, I couldn't identify the notes listed if you paid me, but it's just fabulous.

 

Verdict: Definite bottle purchase.

This is for the 2013 version.

 

Thoughts before testing: I'm 0 for 10 as far as Lunacies are concerned. I've yet to find one that worked on me, but I just had to try Honey Moon because it's one of my forever-win notes. Not even the dreaded jasmine was enough to deter me!

 

Wet: I swooned when I sniffed my arm. It's a sweet luscious honey with hints of ginger and gardenia. Lovely!

 

Dry down: Everything smooths out and I can't pick out any note beyond a well-blended floral honey. It's thick and sticky and beautiful.

 

Dry: As it dries the florals back off just slightly and the honey really shines. This is fabulous

 

Final thoughts: My first Lunacy! I am in love with Honey Moon. It's a beautiful honey and the florals aren't overwhelming. It also lasted quite a long time: it was around the 6 hour mark that I thought about reapplying. I'm so happy to have a Lunacy that works!

 

Verdict:

Thoughts before testing: I wanted to love the honey musk in Lady Una, but it went sour on me. I'm afraid of the musk here doing the same thing, but it just sounded too good not to try!

 

Wet: A beautiful soft floral honey. I get no rice milk at this point, but it's beautiful and feminine.

 

Dry down: I can smell the gardenia more distinctly now, and it's tempering the honey from being too sweet. Slightly milky/creamy, but it's very understated. Just lovely.

 

Dry: Slightly creamy/musky floral honey is what it settles down as. Feminine and lovely.

 

Final thoughts: This is just lovely. It sticks close to my skin and has surprising longevity (it started to fade around hour 6). This makes me feel feminine and beautiful and I love it.

 

Verdict:

Thoughts before testing: This was an immediate bottle purchase for me. I love lemon, sugar, and lavender; I wanted to love Lemon Scented Sticky Bat, but it was too simplistic for me to completely enjoy. I'm hoping that Happy Baby will have the same lemon sugar as LSSB but with an extra kick from the lavender buds.

 

Wet: Delicious lemony sugar with just the barest hint of lavender. Divine!

 

Dry down: The lavender gets just a little more prominent, and the combination of the sweet lemon and soft lavender is just to die for.

 

Dry: Sweet lemon and soft lavender all the way through.

 

Final thoughts: It fades fairly fast (by hour three, I needed to reapply) but that beautiful sweet lemon and lavender is too fabulous for me to mind reapplying. This was exactly what I was hoping for, and Happy Baby is definitely a keeper!

 

Verdict: Keeping!

Thoughts before testing: I have such high hopes for this one! All the notes listed are in my favorites list, so I'm expecting good things

 

Wet: Whoo. This is some STRONG classic-smelling perfume. It kinda smells like the amalgamation of perfumes at Nordstrom's when you walk through their perfume counter. It's not bad, but not what I was expecting.

 

Dry down: As it dries, the champaca and sandalwood elbow the other notes out of the race. It's much heavier and the throw is much stronger than I had expected. It's nice, but not very me at this point.

 

Dry: Once it dries all the way, it smells a lot like my favorite aunt's perfume, actually. It's strong and in your face with a throw that's too much for me. I think this might need some aging, but at this point I'm not very hopeful that I'll like it on the next test.

 

Verdict: To be determined at next testing!

Thoughts before testing: I really like Antikythera Mechanism, but I amp the tobacco note almost unbearably. Arana's note list reminded me a lot of AM without the tobacco, so it was a must-try immediately.

 

Wet: Very similar to AM but without the tobacco. And just like that blend, it's nearly all sharp biting woods and slightly unpleasant for me at this point.

 

Dry down: Well heeeeellllllo there vanilla! The woods are grounding it and this might be one of the best vanillas I've smelled recently. It's smooth and creamy without being foody or sweet and is just lovely.

 

Dry: Mmm, loving this vanilla. The woods are still just hanging out in the background to support that lovely vanilla and it's beautiful.

 

Final thoughts: I'm so glad to have this! Araña works much better than AM on my skin, and it lasts for hours (as I type this, it's been going strong for nearly 6 hours).

 

Verdict: Keeping the bottle!

This was a last minute addition to my recent Trading Post order due in no small part to some serious enabling in the BPTP forum! Boy am I glad I caved, because this is a fabulous product. First off, the formula for the gloss is perfection. It tames my frizzies, gives my hair loads of shine, and is just all around a fantastic hair product. But the smell is easily the best part of this. I get equal parts frankincense, ginger, and amber, and it makes for one sexy-smelling head of hair. It's not overpowering, but it is definitely noticeable: I had three different people (two of them men!) follow me to ask what perfume I was wearing. If you're hesitating on grabbing this, put it in your cart right now because it's just that good.

I'm definitely going to agree with whoever said upthread that this smells expensive. I mostly smell beautifully lush vanilla with a fabulous champaca. I've been spritzing this stuff like mad, and will have to get another bottle before they go down.

This is fabulous! I like my living room and hallways to smell fresh and clean, and Okiya fits the bill perfectly! It's all crisp and slightly sweet cherry blossoms with just-slightly bitter sake and tea. Love!

Oof. I love this so much. I recently scored a bottle off of the Post's Etsy page, and I should have bought up every bottle that was up This smells like a creamier Lights of Men's Lives, which is one of my favorite BPALs. It's all creamy sexy beeswax and honey and is most definitely a boudoir scent. So much love

Thoughts before testing: Aeval has been on my wish list forever, so I was thrilled to see it as a frimp in a recent Post order! I love sweet pea and am hoping that this works!

 

Wet: Sweet, beautiful, soft sweet pea and just a hint of a beautiful musk. This is lovely.

 

Dry down: This is definitely the prettiest smelling sweet pea I've ever come across. The musk stays nicely in the background, centering it and making it more sophisticated and preventing it from smelling too sweet. I can't really detect any tonka or sage, but I'm definitely not complaining.

 

Dry: Four hours later, the sweet pea has faded just slightly and the musk is more prominent. This is so pretty!

 

Final thoughts: This is a beautiful perfume. It feels sweetly old-fashioned without being an "old lady" perfume (I hate that term by the way. Most of the elderly women I know smell fabulous). It's a lovely soft floral musk that lasts an insanely long time (six hours and counting now) and I'm in love with this.

 

Verdict: Upgrading to a big bottle

Thoughts before testing: I wasn't sure what to expect with this since most reviews say it's strong and dark and heady, but then more recent reviews say it's floral. It doesn't really matter though, since I'm testing everything that comes my way to broaden my BPAL horizons.

 

Wet: Mother of god, it's ALL FLOWERS. Sharp and floral with just a hint of green. I don't think I've ever smelled a perfume so unapologetically floral before.

 

Dry down: It turns very sharp as it dries, but never turns soapy. I think there's jasmine in here but surprisingly it doesn't turn to dirty diaper on my skin. It actually smells quite lovely if I ignore the sharpness. Maybe tuberose also?

 

Dry: After about two hours, the sharpness is gone and it's a lovely strong floral.

 

Final thoughts: This is definitely not for the faint of heart. I'm lover of floral perfumes, but there was a point where I considered washing this off because it's STRONG and was pretty uncomfortably sharp. But there are situations that call for a big, bold floral perfume, and this is a lovely one. I also love that it never goes turns into floral soap. It's just so feminine and what I would imagine Scarlett O'Hara smelling like. This wound up being a surprise hit for me.

 

Verdict: Keeping the imp, probably a bottle upgrade.

Thoughts before testing: I read the description of this when the update went live and immediately put one in my cart. This sounds like it was made for me!

 

Wet: This is fabulous. It's heady and creamy and expensive and feminine and sexy. I'm having a hard time picking out individual notes, and I can't even get over how great this smells.

 

Dry down: This is mostly creamy, fleshy, rich magnolia and rose, but they're being supported by this fabulously decadent and amazing musky goodness. So. GOOD.

 

Dry: High class, gorgeous, complex musky floral that lasts well over 10 hours after application.

 

Final thoughts: This was so much better than I was even hoping! This is definitely one of the best BPALs I've smelled in the last year, and has rocketed into my favorites box. Seriously, if you're wavering about this one, go for it. It's truly amazing.

 

Verdict: Hoarding

Thoughts before testing: Everything here looks beautiful, except for the plum. I've yet to find a blend with plum that didn't turn to immediate vomit on my skin, so my hopes are not high for this one.

 

Wet: Smoky floral, no hint of plum, just a touch of opium. I'm thrilled at the lack of plum here, and the opium mixing with the florals is absolutely stunning.

 

Dry down: A lot of opium, but the plum is surprisingly being held in check. The gorgeous smoky floral is gone, and this is pretty much a single note opium at this point.

 

Dry: After three hours, this is still just an uncomplicated (but lovely!) opium. At about 6 hours, the orchid starts to peek out just a tad and hints at beautiful things.

 

Final thoughts: I'm thrilled that the plum remains silent, but I wish that it was more than just all opium, all the time. I have a hunch that a few months of aging will do marvelous things for this one.

 

Verdict: Keeping for now, and will update this review in 6 months.

 

Skin test on September 19, 2013

Wet: Smoky opium and fabulous orchid. This smells like beautiful old-style classic perfume. Very expensive and fancy smelling.

 

Dry down: Hello orchid! Holy bananas this is great. When this was fresh, there was just a hint of this beautiful floral. It's a smoked out orchid, like sitting in a jungle filled with orchids and smoking a really nice cigarette. The opium is still hanging around and is beautiful. This definitely feels like Serious Perfume, but it's classy and beautiful.

 

Dry: Smoked out beautiful orchid with just a hint of tobacco. The opium is slightly more prominent here and lends a really languid sexy vibe to the whole perfume. Seriously this is amazing.

 

Final thoughts: I am so freaking glad I held onto this bottle. I was really disappointed after the first test in March when all I got was the opium but now it's phenomenal. The plum is still silent thank goodness and the orchid is just to die for. This also lasted for hours on my skin. Overall, this is a classy, sexy perfume that is to die for.

 

Verdict: Hoarding

Thoughts before testing: Patchouli has been hit or miss on me lately, and I'm afraid that the blood musk will have too much red musk in it and ruin OLOP for me. But after the glowing reviews here and around the forum, I had to take a chance on this!

 

Wet: Smooth patchouli and strong floral (but not sharp) lavender. This is awesome wet, as the patch is the kind that agrees with my skin chemistry and I detect no musk at this point.

 

Dry down: After about 15 minutes, the lavender is strong and beautiful and the patchouli is taking a backseat. I can smell the orchid just around the edges and it's beautiful.

 

Dry: OLOP dries down to a beautiful musky orchid with just a hint of patchouli and stays this way for hours.

 

Final thoughts: This is such a sophisticated blend and it is gorgeous. Everything in this blend is just beautiful, it lasts for hours, and I am absolutely in love with Our Lady of Pain.

 

Verdict: Backup bottle worthy!

 

ETA wear time!

Thoughts before testing: Snake Oil is one of my favorite perfumes ever, so this was a no brainer for me. I'm excited to see what this does on my skin!

 

Wet: Mint (not sweet) and lemony bergamot. Very fresh and refreshing! I can smell the vanilla and spices of SO just lurking in the background, grounding the whole thing.

 

Dry down: The vanilla and spices are more present after about half an hour and sweeten the mint. It's really lovely and refreshing.

 

Dry: Several hours later, I'm left with a bergamot-tinged Snake Oil with a hint of mint. Lovely!

 

Final thoughts: I wish the green tea was a little more evident, but on the whole this is a smashing success.

 

Verdict: Keeping the bottle.

Thoughts before testing: I love Snake Oil, leather, tonka, and sandalwood, so I'm hoping that the sage (which I'm neutral about) doesn't wreck this.

 

Wet: Sage and beautifully worn leather. This reminds me of summertime in western Colorado and actually makes me incredibly homesick. If I sniff the back of my hand with my eyes closed, I'm transported to the desert in the heat of August and it's so dead on I could cry.

 

Dry down: The sweet vanilla of the Snake Oil comes to the front now and sweetens the leather into this beautiful pairing that's definitely greater than the sum of it's parts (and I adore leather/Snake Oil separately).

 

Dry: This smells like pouring smooth aged SO over a well worn leather jacket. The sandalwood, tonka bean, and sage aren't very apparent, and that's ok by me.

 

Final thoughts: I don't find this to be particularly masculine, but that might be because on my skin it's mostly Snake Oil (which pulls sweet on me) and leather. This is so fabulous, and I'm desperately hoping that when the Carnaval comes back so does Western Diamondback.

 

Verdict: Slathering

Thoughts before testing: I saw glowing reviews of this in the "Aging BPAL" thread and just had to get it. I'm not expecting to love it fresh, but I figured I'd write a review now and then revisit this post in a year or so and compare.

 

Wet: Vanilla beeswax and I swoon. So pretty! I was not expecting this to smell this fabulous fresh.

 

Dry down: After about half an hour, there's a slightly sharp perfumey edge to it, but it's still mostly this lovely vanilla beeswax.

 

Dry: The sharp edge is more prominent after about 3 hours, but I'm definitely not complaining. I know I keep repeating "vanilla beeswax" but that's what it is, and it's beautiful.

 

Final thoughts: I'm so excited to see if a little aging takes the edge off of this blend, but it's going into daily rotation now anyway. It's beautiful and feminine without being girly and sophisticated and I love it.

 

Verdict:

Thoughts before testing: When the Lab announced that certain Carnaval blends would be going up on Etsy, I was immediately on high alert for Pickled Imp. I didn't discover my love of cinnamon and clove until after CD went dark, and I'm so glad that I had the opportunity to snatch up a bottle! I'm slightly worried about the pine sap in this, but everything else is a forever love note so hopefully the pine behaves itself!

 

Wet: The perfect mixture of cinnamon and clove. My spice-loving self is going bananas over this. Just a hint of vanilla at the end, no pine sap yet.

 

Dry down: Cinnamon and clove and vanilla, but not foodie/sweet and not craft-store spice either. The throw is strong enough that I can smell it wafting up from my arm.

 

Dry: After about an hour, it changes from spices with vanilla to vanilla with spices. This is so fabulous I can't even.

 

Final thoughts: The pine sap never made an appearance and I couldn't be happier. This is my perfect spice blend

 

Verdict: Hoarding

Thirding the rec for Crib Girls! It's definitely my favorite honey blend. Josie from that line (The District) is also a lovely honey, but on me it sometimes gets overpowered by the peach. Dragon's Milk is another good one, and Osun is also beautiful.

Thoughts before testing: This was an instant unsniffed bottle purchase. I absolutely adore each of the three notes listed, but I am slightly concerned that the "touch" of cayenne won't be enough to cut the super sweetness of honey and apricot.

Wet: Oh my god. This is fabulous. It's very much like March Hare, minus the sweet clove and plus the spiciness of cayenne. March Hare is one of my all-time top 10 blends, but at first sniff, I like this better. The cayenne pepper is more interesting than the sweet clove, and I think the addition of the honey is making this more unique. The honey and apricot aren't cloyingly sweet, and they're balanced nicely by the spice of the pepper.

Dry down: The sweetness has backed off considerably and now it's a nice spicy/sweet scent. It's harder to pick out each individual note, but this is really beautiful.

Dry: The beautiful spicy and sweet melding has stayed consistent from the dry down to several hours into the wear time.

Final thoughts: So. Much. LOVE. Seriously. This wore for about 5 hours before I needed to really try and smell it. The throw is decent, but definitely not overpowering. I just don't even have enough words for how much I love this blend. I love that it's not a typical "fruity" perfume; it smells much more sophisticated and interesting to my nose, and I can't recommend it highly enough!

Verdict: Hoarding

Thoughts before testing: This was an impulse add-on to my decant purchase because most "spice" perfumes turn to generic craft store on my skin. But black tea and rosewater sounded too tempting to pass up!

 

Wet: Strong black tea and rose. This is fabulous!

 

Dry down: The tea backs down and the spices start to come to the forefront (but they're not craft store spice thank goodness!) and mingle with the rose in a beautiful way. I love rose, and this is a beautiful spicy one!

 

Dry: After about an hour and a half, it smells exactly like the Middle Eastern market across the street from my apartment: just a mishmash of spices. It's pretty, but not necessarily something I want to smell like.

 

Final thoughts: Pretty, but I can't shake the association of the market and that makes it not for me.

 

Verdict: Off to the sales!

Thoughts before testing: I've recently discovered that I sadly amp tobacco, so I'm slightly nervous about BTBT turning into a tobacco SN.

 

Wet: Skyelyric was right. This is inappropriate Tootsie Rolls when wet

 

Dry down: It mellows out into something much less foody and more sexy. The tobacco is behaving itself and the musk has just a slight citrus tinge to it.

 

Dry: This turns chocolate-powdery after about an hour and a half, but it's still quite nice.

 

Final thoughts: I bet with a little age this is awesome, but I don't think I'll need a bottle.

 

Verdict: Keeping the imp!

Thoughts before testing: I absolutely love both peony and cream, and I'm hoping for a big win with Little Flora!

 

Wet: Very, very green and nutty. It smells like I rubbed fresh cut grass and hazelnuts on my arm

 

Dry down: Thankfully within 15 minutes the weird green/nut smell is gone and a sweet, creamy, soft peony is left.

 

Dry: The peony here isn't as sweet as in Lady in Speckled Pink Kimono and more soapy, but it's quite pretty. It's a very pink and feminine smell. I wish that there was more cream, but the peony is so pretty here that I can't really complain.

 

Final thoughts: Wear time was decent (around 4 hours) and I think this will fill a nice niche in my collection.

 

Verdict: Keeping the decant, possible bottle.

 

Edited for spelling

Thoughts before testing: Honey, pepper, and skin musk are all big time win notes on my skin, but I don't think I've ever smelled balsam of Peru.

 

Wet: Very pine-y (the balsam?) and heavy pepper! This is really nice wet.

 

Dry down: It starts to turn cologney, but the pepper and balsam are still very prominent. This might be too masculine for me.

 

Dry: The balsam overpowers all the other notes, which is a pity. I would have liked a little more skin musk and honey.

 

Final thoughts: This wasn't for me, but it smells FABULOUS on my little brother. The decant is living with him now!

 

Verdict: Not for me, but lovely on the mens