KittyHawk

I can't believe there's only one page of reviews for this! I'm such a sucker for BPAL's brown leather blends, and for a readily available GC, it doesn't get any better than Captain Cully. It's a great substitute for Brom Bones and Western Diamondback, IMO.

The tonka lends some sweetness to the leather, and the woods give it a backbone. I don't get a lot of porter per se, but I would consider this a slightly boozy blend, like the ruggedly hot rancher at the end of the bar who's had one too many Guinnesses. I wouldn't even call it a masculine blend, just aggressive and understatedly sexy.

You know that vacant storefront in the rundown strip mall in the shady part of town - the one that used to be a Borders or an electronics store or a California Pizza Kitchen - that gets turned into a Halloween store after Labor Day? THAT'S what Bensiabel smells like. Not the latex masks or the greasepaint or the flimsy polyester costumes - the entirety of the store itself. I get the plum juice - and it's definitely juice, no doubt about it; it's very sweet and thin, not dense and textured like the plum in, say, Prunella - but I also get a lot of the leather and herbs. It's vaguely masculine, I suppose, but I just cannot get over the fact that it smells like a Halloween USA. I don't understand it, and I really don't understand why I like it so much, but I do. I can't see myself ever purchasing a bottle, but damn, I need to keep this on hand for winter, spring, and summer when I'm itching for the feel of autumn.

If it weren't clear already, I'm certainly interested.

And for anyone who might want to participate but other forum swaps (Switch Witch, et. al.) are eating up your free time, Honey and I were thinking of waiting until November to get this circular swap going.

Dammit, I KNEW I should have gone for that!

They aren't being advertised as such, but maybe the blue moons will be available at this month's Will Calls? It might be worth looking for a pick-up just in case. But seriously, it is the most beautiful BPAL lavender ever. I hope you find some!

Have you tried Luna Azul, Gateau? Unlike the other blue moons, there's no musk, and the mango adds a really lovely sweetness to the lavender. I've been wearing TKO to bed exclusively too, but Luna Azul is more complex and better suited to daytime, IMO.

Ooh, great idea, getting some of the "mechanic" aspect in there. I don't have any of the Steamworks scents yet, although I have been eying No. 93 Engine. I'll have to see if I can rectify this problem before Halloween...

 

I think something with chrome or oil would be appropriate for Gosling's character in Drive. The Nameless City Drive-In Theater jumps out at me, as do Steam.Goth and No. 93 Engine. Actually, any of the Steamworks blends would probably work well.

Worst case scenario, you could order a few imps from the Lab, but I bet if you search the sales pages here, someone will have an imp or two up for sale. Good luck; it's a great costume idea!

Jessica Rabbit screams Vixen to me -- "The innocence [she's not bad...] of orange blossom tainted by the beguiling scents of ginger and patchouli. [she's just drawn that way!]"

 

One of the costume ideas I'm considering is Ryan Gosling's character (the Driver) from Drive...seems like Appalling Abattoir might be appropriate, especially given that elevator scene. Anything else I should consider?

 

Halloween costume: Jessica Rabbit. Any ideas on scents, people?

I think something with chrome or oil would be appropriate for Gosling's character in Drive. The Nameless City Drive-In Theater jumps out at me, as do Steam.Goth and No. 93 Engine. Actually, any of the Steamworks blends would probably work well.

My god, this smells like seventh grade me, circa 1996 - 1997: a crisp Oxford shirt fresh out of the dryer, pressed uniform skirt, green apple lotion, and pen ink smeared all down the side of my hand (lefties, you know what I'm talkin' 'bout!). Salma is the cleanest BPAL I've encountered to date, and it's really perfect if you want something unobtrusive that stays close to the skin. It dries a little sweeter than it applies, which I attribute to the linen note. I like it - it keeps the shampoo note from going, well... soapy! An unexpected winner!

OMG, perfection! The lavender and white mango are the most prominent notes, and the herbal coolness of the lavender mixes so beautifully with the juicy bite of the mango. It's both calming and uplifting - this is really something special. I tacked this onto my decant order at the last second just because, never thinking it would be such a surprise success. I wish I had more of this! Ted's lunar blends are nothing short of incredible and Luna Azul is no exception.

Oh, this is so good in the bottle and so bad on my skin. :sob:

In the bottle, it's beautifully complex: cold, wet, mossy rocks with a hint of floral (maybe?) off in the rafters somewhere. There's a definite aquatic vibe to it; it's androgynous too - it seems perfect for a blustery, rainy November day when your pant legs are perpetually soaked from inadvertently stepping in puddles. It's not my kind of scent at all, but it's so true-to-life that I'm enamored with it anyway.

Even wet, I get this amazing stone note, with the water and moss clinging to it. And then I see it, lurking in the shadows. I turn and run toward a busy street, but it apprehends me and punches me in the gut, sending me flying into a wall. Vetiver, my arch-nemesis.

And that's all, folks. The vetiver takes over and paints the town black.

I'll keep this for a couple weeks and try it again, as I did apply this straight out of the mail and it may need some time to settle.

Wet, this is insanely intense spicy apples, very similar to the apple note in Autumn Cider and Punkie Night. That's it - spicy apples. Lots of them.

Dry, this gets much better. The apple recedes a bit and allows the Snake Oil to come to the forefront. I get some creamy floral note, which must be the gardenia, but it doesn't really smell like the BPAL gardenia I'm accustomed to. Throughout the day, it remains a fruity cousin of Snake Oil. Very nice, if that's what you're looking for, but it's not my favorite of the snake blends.

All in all, I'm happy I have a bottle of this for the transition from summer into fall, but it's not as great as I'd hoped.

In the bottle, this is all red velvet cake and frosting. YUM.

Freshly applied, I get a hint of pine from the Doc Constantine and some spices from the Snake Oil, but the cake note is still the star of the show. This isn't even foodie, exactly, despite the strong cake note; the BPAL trifecta brings a really nice resinous quality to the party, which makes it a little sultry, a little tongue-in-cheek, and really, really confident. I'm pleasantly surprised that the frosting note stays true and doesn't turn to plastic, as it so often does on my skin.

As it dries, it stays quite sweet, with a vaguely resinous background. Sexy stuff, this. I wish it stuck around longer, but that's my skin's problem, not Cake Smash's.

In short, love me some Cake Smash, but I don't think it eclipses the Halloween: Las Vegas. Still, the red velvet cake note is to die for.

Sugary jelly! Depending on where and what time of the month I wear this, it's either a delicious red jam or a plastic disaster. I keep testing this because I so desperately want it to be a success, even if I can only wear it on rare occasions. The label art is fantastic, though, and perfect for display. I'm so glad I got to try this, even if I don't end up keeping my bottle.

I was really looking forward to this - how could a pumpkin and marshmallow blend be anything but sweet autumnal perfection?

Well, if you amp the spices in this blend to high heaven like I do, it's anything but. Spice is all I can smell, in fact. No pumpkin, no marshmallow. Just cinnamon plastic Red Hots. After 8 hours or so, a little bit of marshmallow starts to peek through, but it's not worth the wait. Drat.

I've been on a bit of a red musk bender lately, so when I saw a bottle of Red Lace up for sale on LJ, I pounced. I was a bit worried about the raspberry and pomegranate, but the rest of the notes really balance them out nicely.

Upon application, this is really resinous and spicy, but it quickly dries into a really creamy and surprisingly foodie red musk/vanilla/raspberry. I wish I got more patch and frankincense in the drydown, but the lightness I get from this is perfect for spring and summer. Very pretty and a definite keeper!

Yep, there's definitely glue in this blend. I don't doubt that this could be gloriously interesting on the right skin chemistry, but the chocolate here has a plastic edge, just like Bliss. Bummer.

Banshee Beat has officially made me a patchouli convert! It's really deep, a little gritty, and OH SO SMOOTH! Mixed with the black vanilla it's the sexiest, most decadent BPAL I've tried, yet it retains this casual, nonchalant "I naturally smell this good" quality. This is another one of those blends that everyone must try at least once, regardless of one's preconceptions. It's perfectly crafted and appropriate for any situation.

If this were more readily available, I would hoard; however, since it's not, I will cherish my bottle and use it wisely.

Hmmm.

I find The Night-Raven hard to describe. I enjoy it on some level, but it also bothers my nose.

The indigo musk is really pretty; while it is vaguely reminiscent of violets, it doesn't have the sharp, awful quality that violet notes do. It is certainly a nighttime scent and has a disturbing, old-world quality to it, which I attribute to the rose geranium. It's a bit unsettling to me, actually, but I don't really know why. It's not something I want to have on my skin, but might make for a good carpet refresher scent around Halloween time.

My very first of the apiary scents!

Hmmm, this is much closer to a single note honey than I expected; there's a very slight herbal undertone in the imp and wet, but once it's been on my skin for a few minutes, it disappears. The honey actually gets a little powdery, which is a first for me, so all in all Hemlock Honey is just pleasant, not spectacular. With a bit more complexity, I could see this being amazing (I assume Cleopatra Testing Poisons is likely similar in feel to this, only more interesting). I'll hold onto my imp to see if it morphs any with a little age.

Quince is one of my least favorite notes, but Uncle Travelling Matt is my FAVORITE of all the Fraggles, so I had to give him a whirl anyway.

In the imp: I can catch a faint whiff of deep, delicious dark chocolate for about... two seconds? Then it's overtaken by the dreaded QUINCE HI I'M QUINCE AND I SMELL LIKE COUGH SYRUP AND I HATE YOU. Rancid cough syrup.

Wet: There's the pear, but again, the quince is overpowering it. This makes me sick to my stomach, actually. No figgy vanilla (PLEASE Beth, put some figgy vanilla in another blend; it sounds so delectable! ), no chocolate. Just QUINCE.

Dry: It does get marginally better - the quince recedes a bit after about an hour, but I can't abide the interim. So bummed.

I'm so jealous of everyone who can wear quince; I can imagine how rich and decadent (and silly!) this blend would be on the right skin chemistry. Unfortunately, it's not mine. Still, I have an empty bottle to love, at least, and I will proudly display Uncle Matt in my own little section of outer space.

For anyone who is interested in Sunrise with Sea-Monsters but wary of aquatics, don't be. My bottle (purchased on the forum) arrived yesterday, and even straight out of the mail, it's a well-behaved, beautiful sea scent with just a hint of sweetness from the pear and the freesia. I CANNOT wear most aquatics, but Sunrise melds perfectly with my skin chemistry and never gets sharp. I can still catch whiffs of it this morning, too, so the longevity is fantastic. It's a surprise hit for me; in fact, I'm even mulling a backup as I can't imagine another aquatic ever working this well on me again.

Yvaine is heartbreaking for me. It's so damned beautiful, yet so terribly hard to find.

This is the lavender that dreams are made of. It's cool, soft, and not the least bit medicinal. I thought TKO was the best lavender scent in the BPAL catalog but oh was I WRONG! THIS is the stuff. And the magnolia is heady, but not soapy; creamy, but not brash. It's a work of art and so worthy of its many admirers.

If this were ever to be made available again, I would HOARD (and I rarely buy backups). Of all the super rares I've had the great fortune to try, Yvaine is easily the best. And it's so simple - just two little notes. Amazing. Lightning in a jar, this one. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous.

Let me preface this review by saying: I love me some gardenia. I am a gardenia FIEND. I have searched high and low for my holy grail gardenia blend and have come up short each and every time. Some go bubblegummy, some are sharp, others just lackluster. I was beginning to lose hope, that I would forever be destined for gardenia mediocrity...

And then I found Sweet Life.

Sweet Life is practically single note gardenia on me, though I do get a touch of ylang ylang and maaaaybe lily somewhere underneath, but if it's there, it's faint. I. LOVE. THIS. It is a bit cloying (the dreaded bubblegum) at first, but it dissipates after 30 minutes or so and blossoms into a gorgeous, creamy white bloom. And did I mention that this baby has throw? Because it does. Gardenias everywhere, all the time! I've only had it on for a couple hours so I can't really speak to its longevity, but given its throw, I imagine it will be good. You'll have to pry this bottle from my cold, dead fingers.

I'm going to go bask in this olfactory magnificence for awhile. This is a sweet life, indeed.

Right out of the bottle, this is sweet, woody, aquatic incense. What is this, and why does it remind me of the Maelstrom ride at Epcot? This is so strange, but I love it! I'm surprised that this doesn't get more love - it has a bit of something for everyone. It's not really a floral, nor a woods blend, nor an aquatic, but contains the best of each category. I can discern every note listed, but they're so well-blended that no single note overtakes the others. Words are really failing me here; it's just... creepy and intoxicating.

I was frimped this in a recent forum sale, and I just wanted to try as many Salons as I could before they disappear; I never thought this would be something I would want to keep, let alone upgrade. This is only the third GC Salon I've tried, and it's my third love of the series. Amazing, and it totally fits the painting - brooding, dark, and exotic. In a word, brilliant!

ETA: The next morning (~15 hours after application) I can still catch a bit of deep cypress. So gorgeous; I wish the cypress was stronger earlier on, but I have no complaints!

Wow, I like this one a lot more than I expected.

Yep, it does bear a similarity to The Lion, as others have noticed, but Mr. Jacquel is spicier and more complex. The patchouli is very well-blended and plays well with others here, so even if patch is a bad note for you in general, don't let that deter you. This is a very hot and dry scent, like baked earth. Cinnamon is definitely among the spices, but it stays in check and doesn't go Big Red gum on me. I'm keeping my imp for cold, rainy days. If you like resinous blends, you need to try this one.