bellumed

In the imp: Cherry cola, Dr. Pepper, blech. On me: Cherry (which I don’t like) and almond (which bores me). Someone compared this to Hell’s Belle and I definitely get that: the same heady florals are there, but not as noticeable. And now I can smell the nasty rose from Pride coming out. Oh man, this is so completely, hilariously not for me. I don’t feel like kissing mirrors, but I do feel a little bit like kicking myself for buying this without checking on the notes. When will I learn? Cherry doesn’t work for me, even if I want to like the blend for other reasons.

I admit that I’m not really familiar with “ash manna” as a scent, but to me Meliai smells like a cross between honey candy and a Lifesaver gummy. I can see what other people are describing as “springy” and “green” but it’s just coming off as more fruity/candyish to my nose. Not bad but not quite for me. Swaps it is!

In imp: Holy cocoa powder, Batman! The description wasn’t lying! Immediately, my stomach (which had been behaving just fine) jolted with hunger and started growling. Wouldn’t today be a great day to make brownies? This smells like cocoa powder and water, rather than a creamy hot chocolate scent. On me: Gets even more chocolate powdery, and yes, I can very much smell the resemblence to Nutella. Poor throw but good wear length—if this were richer and had better throw, it would be a perfect 10. Maybe aging will help. Either way, this is an instant favorite.

Wet: Strong floral perfume—some people want to smell that way, but I don’t. Dry: I was scared of this one because I had a nasty experience with the narcissus in Pride, but it’s not nearly as bad here. It has that same smokey campfire scent along with a different kind of smoke from the opium. I get very slight florals as well, but I couldn’t identify which ones I’m smelling. After a few hours the lily and tuberose come out more clearly and the smokiness fades. This smells okay, especially the lily and tuberose at the end, but I don’t think I need to keep it.

The almond that I found boring in Dana O’Shee, now bordering on the sickly sweet and threatening to induce a headache. Pity, because I very much enjoy the sweet-and-spiciness of it. I almost like this enough to keep it. Almost, but not quite, I’m afraid.

Musk and tea and a frosted lemon cake-- but all very subtle and well-behaved. This doesn’t read as masculine at all, maybe unisex at most. Dorian is going into heavy rotation. Fabulous!

It’s official: I amp rose. That would explain why the supposedly gentle Maiden exploded with rose as soon as it touched my skin. Luckily, the rose settles back as the oil dries and lets out the scent of noticeably watery tea and carnation. This scent reminds me quite of bit of Alice (for obvious reasons), but I strongly prefer it over Alice. I’ll have to keep this around.

Well, I now see that some of the stinkiness I attributed to narcissus in Pride was actually coming from the rose, because I get it here too. Persephone is dominated by a powerful, wet, smelly rose and supported by a juicy round pomegranate. It seems like something I could only wear when I’m in a hyper-confident, don’t-give-a-damn-what-you-think mood, which doesn’t come around too often. Bold and very long-lasting, not a perfume for the faint of heart (or nose).

Up close, this smells clearly like a pumpkin candle with notes of nutmeg—something some people might consider a negative, but I actually like the “candle” scent quite a bit. According to my mother, from a couple feet away the spices dominated and then occasionally a whiff of pumpkin would hit her. Either way it’s yummy, and I will use this lots come October!

My brain keeps going: Lemon lemon lemon! Happy happy lemon! Yum yum lemon! I do get what other people are describing as a medicinal or soapy smell (the aloe, maybe…?), but I like it very much. The musk and tea come out a bit more over time. This scent is very sharp and clean. I really, really enjoy this, and will consider a bottle soon.

Viewing that PDF at 400% works for me.

Well I’m surprised how much this doesn’t smell like cat piss! Okay, that’s probably the least complimentary way I’ve ever described BPAL, but it’s true. The first time I cracked this open, I got pure urine (apprently somewhat common with narcissus), so I was pretty bummed out about this one. After waiting a couple weeks, though, I decided to try it again, and it has definitely changed. In imp: Very strong (STRONG) florals. On me: Florals and something that smells almost… burnt? Not in a bad way, a bit like a campfire, but I’m a little bewildered as to what my brain is interpreting as smokey. And just a tinge of cat pee, for good measure. Very long lasting, of course—isn’t that always the way? Glad it wasn’t as bad as I thought, but I feel no need to wear it again.

I'm getting a "you are not authorized" message on that one.

In imp: cherry candy. Wet: Uh-oh… cherry cough syrup Cherry cough syrup softened by lily, but still. Dry: Cherry scented hand lotion. Well, this was a bust! Not repulsive at any point, but not anything I particularly want to smell like. Time for you to go away, little imp.

You know, I like this. Uncomplicated, incensey and sensual. The myrrh really stands head and shoulders above the rest. It’s not soft or sinuous, just sexy in a straight-forward, honest way, if that makes the slightest bit of sense. La Petite Mort is easy to wear and lasts a long time on anything that doesn’t get washed—I could smell it on the cuff of my coatsleeve for two days afterwards, which was impressive. I just… like it, a lot! Feb 2013 EDIT: I, um, am apparently not such a fan of aged La Petite. It's just sort of powdery and... perfumey? And kind of stale, almost. Urf. Swapbox it is.

Okay, this scent is… well, pretty boring, to be honest. I guess what I’m smelling is the milk and the sweet grain. But it’s very unchanging, simple, too quiet. It doesn’t smell BAD by any stretch; I certainly wasn’t embarrassed to walk around with Dana O’Shee on my skin. I just wasn't that intrigued by it. To be fair, though, it makes a decent skin scent for when I want to wear a non-perfume perfume.

Oh, wow! This is just so very pretty. A creamy, pale pink musk, all feminine and lovely. Vasilissa actually reminds me a bit of a commercial perfume, but with a BPALish kick, somehow. It's certainly no delicate flower: this blend has some weight and throw to it! To me, this is the scent of a woman who is not just beautiful, but for whom beauty is a lifestyle. A woman who has enough makeup, perfumes, polishes, and lotions to prettify a small country—but makes it seem effortless. A young scent, certainly, but late teens/early twenties rather than "little girl." EDIT: Sadly, I don't seem to be as fond of aged Vasilissa. Grrr. I'm not good enough with notes to say for sure, but I think the jasmine (or maybe sandalwood...?) may be coming out more than I like. I'll have to swap this now, how sad.

Wet, Alice is carnationcarnationcarnationcarnation. But she gets more complex during the drydown. Now it’s tea and florals, with a drop of honey creeping out. Maybe a little baby powder as well. Too spicy to be described as “clean.” The entire impression is very discreet: “girl on her best behavior at afternoon tea” rather than “girl lecturing her stuffed animals at a tea party.” I’d be surprised if anyone commented on this perfume; it’s only a teeny bit noticeable to me when my nose isn’t right against my wrist. Interestingly, after three hours the rose really starts to come out (smelling much cleaner now) and creates a very sinus-clearing “taste it on your tongue” scent. Not really sure if this one is for me, I have mixed feelings. I might just wear this when I want to wear perfume without smelling like I’m wearing perfume.

At first, it’s warm, spicy musk, just the slightest touch of mandarin. The florals become stronger as it dries. Reminds me of being outside on a thick, humid summer night and putting your face right up in the flowers so you get a headrush from that heavy scent. For me, wearing Hell’s Belle is putting on a costume and pretending to be someone else, because I feel like this is someone’s signature scent. Not at all an everyday perfume (or even one I’d want to keep re-applying all day), more for when I’m trying to create an effect. Hell’s Belle isn’t sexy in any traditional manner, rather by way of mature, unwavering confidence. It says “I am a fully developed woman… in every sense of the word.”

Sweet brandy, dark rum, heavy cream, sugar, and a dash of nutmeg. Egg Nog 2011 is the first BPAL that I've ever tested, frimped to me by the very kind BuxomM! I could definitely smell the cream and the spice, and maybe a tiny bit of the alcohol. I did get Play-Doh every now and then, but it's not consistently there (and for some reason it only showed up on one wrist). Egg Nog smells sweet and yummy but very subtle. I think it'd be pretty hard to notice unless your nose was right up near my skin. For the moment I would say it's just a "nice" scent. I'll put it away until December and see if it gets any richer by the time it's in season again.