OctoberGwen

I didn't think I would like this at all, despite the fact that the description moved me to tears. Frankincense often overwhelms, bourbon vanilla hates my guts, and I dislike the masculine fougeres I'd tried so far. At the NYCC booth, I dutifully dabbed some of this on for review purposes and I am so, so glad I did. This is absolutely beautiful, people. Beautiful. No notes stand out to my nose. It is a soft, sophisticated, haunting blend. The fougere adds a gauzy, dreamy cast over the classic-smelling frankincense/myrrh/vanilla combo, giving them a character that feels entirely unique here. I really can't describe it any better than that. I bought a bottle.

This was almost all grass, lots and lots of grassy grass, with a touch of what had to be cold iron. Evocative and both haunting and comforting, oddly enough.

This is very sweet on me, with lots of honey and pear. I got a bit of coconut, but not much. It's a happy, beautiful scent and I wish honey and pear were in my wheelhouse, but they are just too much on my skin. Pear never, ever works for me, sadly. If you like sweet, happy, summery scents this one is for you.

Clove. So much clove, all the time. Clovey clovity clove. HOLY FUCKING CLOVE is what I wrote down at NYCC.

This is beautiful. The cardamom is very present, giving it a delicious zing - the "ginger" in ginger milk is probably contributing, also. The pumpkin is smooth and creamy.

YUM. This reminds me of another BPAL, but I can't think what it is. Maybe Pinched With Four Aces? I love the tobacco/black sandalwood combo, and the myrrh gives it just enough sweetness to smooth it out. This one came home with me from NYCC. It is going to age like a dream.

I get a lot of orange blossom and champaca, with perhaps a bit of smoothing out from the myrrh.

I seem to be having an experience similar to Little Bird's with this one, and it's not working for me at all. I love vetiver, too. Oddly, the combination of notes smells almost like leather to my nose, and it's definitely got a medicinal quality to it. Weird. And just...no.

I agree with the "fuzzy brown" assessment that most reviewers are giving above. Something about brown sandalwood actually reminds me of amber: it's got that dry smoothness happening, and the lovely orange blossom and warm tonka give it a bit of airy sweetness. A very nice blend, understated and grown up. I didn't order a bottle, but I will use my decant for sure.

Hmmm, this is an interesting one. I love citrus and I do not get much of a citrus vibe from this at all. There is a note here that I can't identify, but it smells very distinctive...maybe that's the cardamom. (I need to go and see if I have any in my spice cabinet so I can compare it to this blend.) Anyway, whatever that note is goes a bit weird on my skin. It's not unpleasant, necessarily, but it's not something I enjoy, either.

I love this blend. I'm not usually a 'fruity' gal, but I enjoy the bright citrus-with-a-twist quality of this very much. I adore the smell of thyme, and I am definitely getting that here along with the lovely fruits. I think the woods serve to just ground this nicely; I do not get cedar per se. I didn't end up getting a bottle, but I will use and enjoy my decant and may hunt down some more on the forum as well. There are times when I really want something bright and cheerful, and this fits that bill quite nicely.

Nope. This one does not work for me at all. Something skews as slightly plastic on my skin (normally vanilla is the culprit; vanilla orchid has never done that on me so that's a first), and it's just too sweet/franky. The cream note is wonky, too. Glad I tried it so I know what the fuss is about, but this one does not love me at all.

Mmmmmm, I love this scent. Normally bay rum skews way too masculine for me, but here it is balanced perfectly by the tropical floral notes. Tobacco leaf is always a win on me. So: a lovely blend of sweet tobacco and lush florals wih a splash of bay rum. Delicious

I adore this. I love orange, I love tobacco. Hay sometimes gives me pause, but here it does little more than ground things and keep them anchored. The tobacco and sweet orange are perfectly balanced and equally prominent, with neither overpowering the other. This is what Heaven smells like. ****** Update March 2025: this one still smells absolutely FANTASTIC on me (post menopause!) and I am so ridiculously happy about that. I’m thrilled with how well it has aged. ❤️❤️❤️

OH MY GOD...A PEACH I CAN WEAR! YAAAAAAAY! This is perfect. The peach is more the supporting player on my skin; it doesn't overwhelm me nor does it turn super juicy and sickly sweet, like every other peach blend I've tried. I was hoping the "dried" quality would make it work for me, and it totally does. I can smell it, but it blends beautifully with the musk (not your typical, distinctive black musk, btw, so if you're scared of that - don't be) and spices. And this is not super spicy, either, and no cinnamon or clove are to be found. These are expensive, subtle spices, baby. Sweetish (but not too sweet), slightly musky, with lovely exotic spices. Like I said: perfect. ETA: I forgot to give some love to my fairy...thank you so, so much for picking up my giant order for me. You are the best.

This blend is rich, rich, rich. "Musky Nutter Butters" is pretty accurate, and there's something that cuts the richness with an almost sharp undertone. It's registering as a leafiness, so it may be the peanut leaves. Mostly, though, this is all about musk and roasted peanuts. The musk isn't black and it isn't brown; there's no black musk lemony edge and there's no fuzziness or furriness. It's syrupy and gooey, but not sweet...which is fascinating. And despite its Nutter Butter impersonation, it's not like most foodie-type blends...which is good. I do not like to smell of food. Utterly unique and unlike anything else in my collection. ETA: Over a couple of hours, this became less gooey and slightly more musky; unfortunately I awoke in the night with a bellyache (from the CJs loaded nachos, not the Peanut Musk) - but all I could smell was the Peanut Musk, which suddenly seemed super foodie on my skin and sort of added to my nausea. Now I associate the scent with a hurtin' tummy, and will probably not be able to wear it again.

This is a very pretty, very classic smelling perfume. Unfortunately, my tastes no longer run to that. It's sweet, light, lovely, and well blended - just not in my wheelhouse.

A prelude to prophecy: use prior to divining to clear your mind of noisome thoughts, relax your conscious inhibitions, and increase accuracy and receptiveness. I love this blend, and it's exactly what I needed to prepare me for Tarot card use. I feel that my intuitive ability with the cards is greatly improved, and the readings tend to flow beautifully. Next I plan to use it prior to scrying. Of secondary importance, but I'll still note the scent: I get lavender, and it has a slightly 'bracing' quaity, similar to eucalyptus. I smell this in my Tarot conjure bag, also.

Oh, my. I don't recall cedar behaving like this on me before, but all I'm getting is slightly sour pencil shavings.

I had very high hopes for this, as benzoin and each of these florals is really lovely on my skin. Sadly, the aniseseed takes over and ruins all The Pretty. It seems to be even stronger than even plain old anise, which was....disappointing. If you like tuberose, carnation, and lilac and have a fondness for anise you will probably love this.

Like all the other OLLA scents, this is smooth, sophisticated, and seamlessly blended. The benzoin and sandalwood balance each other quite beautifully, and whatever is providing that hint of faintly-marjoram-scented waistcoat, its softness keeps everything from smelling too dry. Kit is cozy, and not aggressively masculine. He's very wearable.

This is an absolutely beautiful classic 'light' musky blend. My skin eats it so much that I really have to smush my nose to my wrist to catch the drydown; otherwise I'd be desperately hoarding this one.

I find Funnel of Love a deep and rich example of Beth's distinctive patchouli (if you want gritty, check out #OccupyWallStreet), lent a great deal of complexity by the other elements. The only other notes I can pick out are the red musk and maybe a faint hint of leather - it's blended pretty seamlessly. There is a slightly incensey vibe. Smooth, deep, earthy, and very sexy. I'll be holding on to this one.

I quite like this, but it IS very red musk-heavy and I also am starting to feel like I have plenty of these type of blends in my collection. It's tough for me to pass up anything with red musk and "sweet wild tobacco", though. So as I said, very red musky with lovely touches of tobacco and a general woodsiness. The clove is a mere whisper, which is just the way I like it.

June 23, 1868 is precisely, exactly what I've wanted every floral scent, ever, to smell like. It is floral perfection. Full stop. Butterflies, Flowers and Jewels Attending was close, but too sweet for me. Lilies and Languors of Virtue is too much lily. Fae is too ethereal, and the oakmoss doesn't do it for me in that blend. Hell's Belle has...terribly sad associations for me now. But this. This is PERFECT. Lovely, lovely English country garden flowers, made grown-up and sophisticated by the tonka and tobacco. If you are a floral fan: RUN, do not walk, and buy this gorgeousness now. Before I grab it all. Definitely multiple bottle worthy. My new Go To non-rose floral. Thank you, Beth.