fiddlehead

I like this blend a lot when I first put it on. The apples, wood, grapevine and hemp all combine nicely. I can't smell the beeswax or vanilla. It mostly disappears after about ten minutes, sadly. I've only had it for a week, though, so maybe it needs more time to become more than a close skin scent.

 

 

You might try an imp of Satyr

On me, this is a super perfume-y blend and very strong. I put a tiny dab on and it punched me right in the nose. This will have to be set aside to age in hopes that it calms down a bit. I can't pick out any separate notes at all. I was expecting a softer, warmer blend for sure!

I wasn't very impressed with this when I first got it a year or so ago. It just seemed like light rose and cedar on me and disappeared quickly. Fast forward to today...and it's beautiful. The rose otto is definitely present now and the cedar lightens it and makes it airy. I dabbed some on my wrists to re-test this morning and just went back to slather. Might need another bottle of this to age.

Banshee Beat is a gorgeous balancing act between vanilla, dark patchouli and hemp. The vanilla seems like a French vanilla to me and maybe that's the same as Bourban vanilla. I don't know. At different times and in different places I get more patchouli and a really lovely hemp note which almost makes me think of a light tobacco note. The whole blend is definitely more than the sum of its parts though. No wonder people went nuts for it! I'll be ordering the GC version when it appears in hopes it will be as awesome as this.

How about Malediction?

My fears about Smut were completely unfounded. It's not at all like Devil's Night and though it has red musk in it there's so much more going on. I can't identify all the notes in it. Depending on where I put it I get different facets. The extreme drydown of the dab in my cleavage is definitely dirty musk. On my wrist its sort of dry and a little bit fruity. Up along my neck I get a waft of something that reminds me of Practical Occultism, just a bit. Damn. I'm really happy to have a bottle of this! I can see why some people hoard bottles of it.

 

Edited to add I get no booze notes that I can identify. Nor sugar, exactly.

I figured this would a good choice because I love The Antikythera Mechanism. The vanilla and tobacco combo is perfect and is the most obvious at first. As the other notes come out it changes into something even better than AM on me. Smoky, warm, complicated vanilla. It's very gender neutral on me and I can't wait to try it on my husband. We may need another bottle of this. It's bound to get even more gorgeous over time.

After a loud flurry of pine and cypress notes this settles into a patchouli single note. I can sort of catch a bit of tobacco but mostly it's the patchouli. Perhaps it will become more complex with age.

I love dragon's blood and red musk so I figured I would be happy with this. It is indeed mostly those two notes. If I really inhale I think I get a little leather, but it's barely there. Honey and cream (is there another sort of cream that isn't white, I wonder?) are barely there as well. It may age into something more complex but even if it doesn't I'll wear it, along with Blood Amber & Blood Kiss. It's definitely got the same vibe. Lovely incensy dragon's blood and red musk.

This is definitely a creamy coconut scent. I've had it on for about 30 minutes and it's stayed the same. The other notes don't stand out to me but I think they're what's making this a warm coconut as opposed to just coconut.

If you like coconut you will like this. It reminds me of the coconut in Goblin without the patchouli.

This has been passing me by for years so I finally decided to go for it. I wasn't sure about it at first but the longer it sat on my skin the better it got. I wore it out to dinner and kept getting wafts of this really good chocolate scent with an almost wood or amber-like undertone. It faded after a couple of hours but I don't mind re-applying. It's well blended and comes across as just a really rich chocolate after the initial notes of coffee and cinnamon disappear. I'm not sure if I'm able to identify brown sugar but maybe it will appear next time. I think I'm going to get a lot of wear out of this in the winter.

 

 

 

Edited to add that this morning I dabbed some on my neck and got the cinnamon reaction even though I don't get a ton of cinnamon from the scent. I'll have to apply this on tougher parts of my skin like I do Gingerbread Snake!

Super peppermint! It cleared out my sinuses for sure. Not getting sugar so far, just the mint. It's going to be fun to try this in layering experiments!

I was afraid that this would be another patchouli heavy blend. I love patch, but I have enough of it already. I put this on and almost immediately recognize it as something very familiar. Something I really like from BPAL. So as not to ruin it for anyone...

 

 

 

 

I'd been meaning to get an imp of this forever and just kept putting it off. Luckily, I just got it as a frimp in my last order from the Trading Post!

 

Yay Vetiver! This is my favorite kind of Vetiver, grassy and fresh. It always reminds me of the smell of rain on cement. I'm not getting any leather or musk on this first try. I think this may be a bottle purchase in the future. It's certainly going on my wish list!

When I first put this on my skin it was really strong leather. The Gingerbread started coming through as it dried and I got a big whiff of cinnamon ( I think, but I got no skin reaction so maybe not). There was also a smokey kind of note, almost like a wood fire or something. The last note to appear were the fruitcake crumbs. I couldn't identify any tobacco, unless that was the wood fire smell, somehow. I think this scent is weirdly cozy, maybe because it evoked memories of being in my grandparents' kitchen with the wood stove going while my mom and grandmother made Christmas cookies and such. The leather note added a note I associate with saddle leather and leather work gloves (Grandfather bringing the wood in from the woodpile).

 

It disappeared pretty fast on me and I'm hoping letting it age will help with that. Yule Buddies is a strange sort of scent but seems perfect for Christmas time!

 

Edit: I should add that it doesn't smell like cookies and the gingerbread doesn't seem as strong to me as Gingerbread Snake or Shub. This isn't a foodie scent, to my nose. It's more atmospheric, sort of like Le Pere Fouettard, if that makes sense.

Pumpkin V is the same on me as most of the other Pumpkin scents I've tried from the lab. Strong and spicy and puts me in mind of a craft store potpourri mix. I wish I could pick out the other notes but so far they're missing or just stomped on by the pumpkin. This might be good in an oil burner but I don't think I'll be wearing it. It kind of hurts my sinuses. If something amazing happens the next time I wear it I'll definitely update this review.

Sugar Skull '14 dries down into a very close cousin of A Variety of Pleasing Amusements on my skin. It's got an added note that my husband says is chocolate and I think might be burnt sugar or brown sugar. My husband will probably get this as he likes AVoPA and wears it often.

I remember my bottle of Devil's Night '05 or 06 being very thick smelling, very musky with some sweetness.

 

Devil's Night '14 is all super-fruity candy on me. I've tried it several times now and it just stays that way. I'm hoping it will mellow with time and maybe some other notes might show up. I sure hope so.

Ulalume is very boggy and swampy to me. It does have a strong lily note as well, though. Might be worth an imp if you haven't tried it.

This opens with a very woody note, very strong. It morphs into a softer scent quickly, though. The other notes appear and the whole thing just comes together in a really good amber perfume. I'm a little sorry I didn't get two bottles. I did grab a bottle of Hesiod's Phoenix to compare it with. I think the oudh is a little more prominent in Hesiod's. I like this a little better, but wearing both of them at once is magical.

I love this. At first, it's all amber all the time but the longer it's on the more the vanilla comes out. The oude adds a note I can never describe but love. Sort of cool and airy. Awesome. If you like amber perfumes this is a no-brainer.

 

For what it's worth, this isn't a bit like Tricksy on me.

I really like this one! It starts out with a burst of salty citrus, reminding me of Nyarlathotep. That note backs off after a few minutes but is still present. I don't get the coconut at all but there's a bit of wormwood (thankfully, not too much). The green mosses get more intense as time goes on but I can still smell the citron. Really nice!

 

After I wore this for awhile it definitely seemed like it would be very appropriate for a guy. Sure enough, my husband likes it a lot and he hasn't really liked a BPAL oil since Geek. I may have to order a second bottle for him, depending on how fast he goes through this one.

I like this quite a lot. I can actually pick out all the notes at one time or another. The Licorice and leather are probably the strongest. A bit of sweetness from the gaufrette and a sort of stone/dust note from the coal. But the licorice and leather are definitely the most present. It's subtle on me, which is perfect. I think it's a really unique scent and definitely unisex. If I were a slatherer I might buy a second bottle of Le Pere Fouettard.

I took a chance on this one even though I figured that the frankincense would dominate and not allow me to smell any of the other notes. It's a bit more complex at first but quickly dries down into all frank all the time. And then it's gone. Reminds me of Arcana, as most of the frankincense blends do.