tharsei-thanate

My top two favorite bpal notes are tobacco and dead leaves. Buying a bottle of this was an absolute no-brainer! First applied it literally smells like SN French Tobacco and A World Where There Are Octobers smushed together. The leaves are mostly red, not quite crunchy to my nose, and the tobacco is much sweeter than I'm used to, which might be because it isn't aged like my SN FT bottles. I don't mind, though! On drydown the tobacco overpowers the leaves but the leaves are still there, keeping the sweetness of the tobacco in check. Dry it's much of the same: sweet, caramel tobacco goodness with fallen red leaves littering the background. Absolutely beautiful. If you're like me and obsessed with Beth's tobacco note you have to try this, it's perfect.

This is so lovely!!! Apple and tobacco are the predominant notes- the apple is juicy and sweet and the tobacco is warm caramel goodness. After a little bit the orange blossom comes out and it basically smells like Eastern Comma with apples. There is a hint of lavender at this stage, too. Then the vanilla champaca emerges and the champaca isn't letting my skin chem turn the vanilla into plastic so I'm very pleased! I think I can detect honey waaaaaaay in the distance, but I'm not getting patch at all. At full dry, the apple and orange blossom fade somewhat and the tobacco and vanilla champaca are the strongest notes. I love it, it smells so good! If you love tobacco as much as I do you'll probably love this. Finally after another ten minutes or so I can start to smell patchouli. It isn't too strong, just adds a grounding sort of element to the blend overall. I'd categorize this as unisex, and I think this would be a great blend to wear year-round. I think I might need a backup bottle, I can't stop huffing my wrist.

This is so pretty! Almond milk is the strongest note when first applied, it literally smelled like I poured creamy milk directly over my hand. Soon after the pine emerges but it doesn't read as Christmasy like other pine notes do- maybe because it's specifically bark? Then I get tobacco smoke and a touch of sarsaparilla, which isn't strong enough to scream root beer at me. After a little while I can also catch the earthiness of the High John the Conqueror root, which cuts the sweetness of the milk a little. If there's coconut hull it's either very vague or not there at all which is good because coconut in any form is a death note on my skin. I can't smell the black patch either- another good thing in my book. I really like this! I'll see how this one ages and if it stays this yummy I think I'll purchase a bottle.

I think most strawberry blends come with florals. Bon Vivant is the champagne one, that would probably be your best bet. For super fruity there's 'Tis the Voice of the Lobster (A woody, musky-weird base glooping over with blackberry preserves, a twist of mandarin, strawberry juice, pulverized watermelon, and a handful of smushed gardenia petals.) I personally can't smell strawberry in that one, though. There are also some Strawberry Moon blends on sale on etsy if you wanna check those out! https://www.etsy.com/shop/alchemylab/search?search_query=strawberry&order=date_desc&view_type=gallery&ref=shop_search

I was frimped a decant of #55 last year (it was on my wishlist, I swear!) and just noticed I never reviewed it! So, in the decant its a dark, goopy mess and it actually doesn't smell too bad. There's vinegar (definitely brought to mind dyeing Easter eggs) but there's also something sweet, like chocolate. On my skin it immediately causes a sticky stain. To an outside observer it would probably look as if I decided that it would be great fun to smear steak sauce on my wrist. There's a brief blast of vinegar stank, but it mellows out into chocolate and wine. It doesn't have a strong throw so I really gotta get my nose right up in there to smell anything. After a few minutes it doesn't smell like anything at all, maybe a vague sort of musk but that's about it. I don't know if I'm disappointed or relieved that ol' Tilt-a-Hurl here isn't as scary as I thought it would be. Still, I like the novelty of it so I will keep and cherish my decant.

I tried this out of the mail when I first got my decant but it was way to lemony for my tastes so I decided to put it away for a while. Trying it again! Like last time, starts off veeeeery lemony, which is making me frown. I can catch the lavender, too. It's like a Somnium blend which isn't a bad thing but it's not what I wanted out of this blend. Once it dries, however, I get wonderful weeds. This is more what I was hoping for except there's no blueberry! I wanted a mix of the blueberries and grass and weeds. Actually, wait, it's all weeds on my right wrist but it's a warm mix of lemon and honeysuckle on my left. Skin chem is weird. They both smell nice, though. Overall? Not really a fan of the wet stage lemon explosion but it's pretty lovely when dry! It's not what I expected but I like it. I'm definitely keeping my decant.

Perhaps The Forest Reverie?

I love this gloss. It's predominately tobacco with little hints of cardamom and cinnamon. There's also a vague sweetness way in the background that's probably the vanilla. It doesn't have as much throw as I thought it would have but I don't mind too much since these notes could possibly be too overwhelming for others. Tobacco is my favorite note in the whole world so this gloss is perfect for me. If you're a fellow tobacco junkie you definitely need to try this!

Sticky-sweet caramel apples and a gentle rain of apple blossoms clutched by gnarled oak boughs. Ok, I was trying to hold off on reviewing this so soon after getting it but I couldn't resist! Apples and Oaks was waiting for me when I got home from work yesterday and I used it as a post shower moisturizer. In the bottle it smelled... well, not very good. Burnt. I like burnt caramel but this was overkill in here. Still, I figured my skin would rectify that and I'm pleased to report I was right. I rubbed it into my arms and legs and on me the caramel disappeared and it was all sweet, crisp, red apple and fresh apple blossoms. As time passed, the oak started to come out and the apple and apple blossom melded together into a single pleasant note. I was out with friends last night and they couldn't pick out notes on me but the consensus was that I smelled nice, haha. Though one friend swore she smelled patchouli and clove on me, which made me raise an eyebrow. I decided to try it again today while getting ready for work, and it's a much different experience. In the bottle it smelled much less burnt and then on my skin I got caramel. Not burnt at all, just a gooey smear of yummy caramel across a crisp apple. The caramel apple then faded, a few oak twigs made an appearance, and apple blossom started to amp big time. And it got soapy. However, I didn't mind the soapiness; it just made me smell nice and fresh. Then the soapiness started to fade and caramel came out again. Just a light drizzle of it over the blossoms. After that I slowly started getting apples and oak again. Now as I'm sitting here at my desk at work, the scent is essentially apple musk with hints of apple blossom and wood and gooey sweetness. I'm so glad I bought this unsniffed, it was totally worth it. It's a morpher on me but every iteration of it has been lovely. I think I might have to save up for a second bottle! [Edit 3/7/14] God, this blend just gets better and better with age. I should have bought a million backup bottles.

Just realized I have reviewed this! It's a pretty simple blend overall, just lots of rich tobacco and orange with a touch of hay that emerges in the drydown. I don't have the best relationship with citrus but the orange here is sweet enough that my skin chem doesn't ruin it. The three notes really meld together perfectly once fully dry. Very glad I snagged a bottle.

I've always wanted to try this but I always assumed it wouldn't work with my skin chem. Puddin' ended up frimping this to me in a recent BPTP order so I gave it a whirl and omg this is so good. It's basically sweet, boozy marzipan smeared with honey. There's also something that smells woody in the background, which might be the hazelnut. It smells thick and luxurious but it doesn't have an overwhelming throw. Nothing is going powdery or sour or plastic like I feared. I think a bottle may be in my future.

Just noticed I haven't reviewed this yet, haha. In the bottle and immediately on my skin it's all sharp alcohol (dunno if this makes sense but it's not quite Beth's whiskey note itself, just the alcohol burn). A few seconds later the alcohol dissipates and it's predominately tobacco (think French Tobacco SN) with whiskey and musk just behind it. The musk is very brown and snuggly and the whiskey is smooth and woody, not sharp at all. Super lovely overall and perfect for a tobacco lover like me. And to think this wasn't even on my to-try list at NYCC! I tested it on a whim and it wound up being the only NYCC exclusive perfume I bought.

I'm a tobacco junkie so I'll rec you some tobacco blends. Unfortunately, none of these are GC, but I'm sure you can find them in the sales forum. The Bear in the Cellar (whiskey, tobacco, and incensed bear musk) Eastern Comma (sweet orange with tobacco absolute and hay) Tobacco Honey (tobacco and honey, of course) As for available GCs, you'll probably find some winners in the Rappaccini's Garden collection - http://www.bpal.org/forum/68-rappaccinis-garden/ Since you like Blueberry Picking, you might like other berry blends so I'm gonna recommend Redoul Honey in particular from this collection. It's basically blackberries, honey, and happiness in a bottle. :-)

This gloss is so nice! I'm not usually a fan of the snow note on my skin, but I don't mind it in my hair. The lilies are dominant, which is great because I adore lily, and the cold snow note is just behind them and dusted with sugar. So very pretty! It smells appropriate for the winter and spring but I think it'll probably be great in the summer, too, if I need to cool off. :-)

Got a frimp of this recently! Smells very much like the drink, only sweeter and with a bright tang from the lemon. Funnily enough, I'm not usually big on anise or citrus but I really like this blend. Probably because I like the drink so I can forgive the licorice stank in this instance. It's also not very strong, to be honest, so it isn't overwhelming. Not sure if this would be something I'd wear often but I can definitely use it as a pick-me-up when I don't have the actual drink on hand, haha.

This is lovely! Fresh, green, herbal, and floral with a vegetal touch from the carrot seed. It's reminds me a little like Karme with added flowers, and I love Karme so this is a win! I was worried about the fennel since I'm not a huge fan of it but it isn't going licorice on me, it's just adding a slight bite overall. This blend is very cool in temperature, so it'll definitely make a good summer scent. Also, after a while something in here starts smelling a little like sweet incense, and it's pretty nice. This is definitely gonna get a ton of use once the weather warms up!

Oh, this is so so unique and pretty! All sweetness and greenness with air and sap and spice, super evocative of lying in the grass on beautiful spring and summer days. This is pure happiness right here. I never would have thought to seek this out so a big thank you to JazzieCazzie for the decant.

Wow, this oil is very clear! In the imp it's lemony-sweet, all white and yellow, like a lemon dessert of some kind. Wet on my skin it turns into lemon hard candy (certain fruit notes turn hard candy on me so I'm not surprised), and there's also another note in there behind the lemon that might be pine? Hard to say. In the drydown the lemon moves away from hard candy and sorta begins to smell like some kind of lemon cleaning product. It doesn't go full out Lemon Pledge or anything so I can deal, haha. Once dry it veers away from cleaning product and smells cool, tart, sweet, and bright, like lemonade, and I feel like there's something warm and woody way in the background but I can't identify it. Overall, not bad for a lemon blend! I can see myself wearing this on hot summer days. :-)

Full disclosure, I've never tried the original. Now, cake blends don't work on me most of the time. My skin chem makes them smell stale or like plastic, and yet I keep trying every cake blend I can find just in case it works. I was hoping this would be a winner but alas, it's a little stale. It smelled lovely wet, like batter, and then it went through the rest of the stages of cake life, aka from batter to baking to ready to serve to the leftovers sitting on the counter for 3 weeks. Occasionally I get whiffs of sweetness which manage to break through the staleness before retreating again. I definitely get cream cheese frosting vibes from that sweetness. Luckily, the staleness becomes less apparent (but still present if I look for it) the longer I wear this, and I'm definitely getting yellow cake with a thin layer of cream cheese frosting. Overall, definitely a better cake blend experience than usual but still not quite a winner. I think I'll still keep the decant, though. It might work better in my scent locket.

I very nearly bought a blind bottle of this but decided to save money and just get a decant. Glad I did because this is pretty terrible on me! I have issues with cake notes and cream notes sometimes and they're both awful on me in this blend. Plastic cake and sour buttercream. Apple cider is a win on me and I amp spices usually so I was hoping it'd overpower the problematic notes but I can't smell it at all. Not even the tiniest hint of apples. The only thing that smells nice is the whiskey but it's not very strong. I'll let this age a little and see what happens, but I'm not particularly hopeful. [12/2/15 edit] I tried this again just now, hoping 11 months aging has helped, and in the wet stage it was delectable. The cake and buttercream were behaving! I actually smelled apple cider! Then in drydrown it reminded me of Lambs-Wool with cake which was great but now it's dry and it's, well, awful. The cake's gone plastic and the buttercream's gone sour and there's no apple cider to be found anymore. Will have to see how this works in my scent locket because the wet stage was so incredible and I really wanna capture it!

Oh wow, I really like this! It's heavier on the linen than I anticipated, but I'm not complaining. The florals aren't particularly strong and they're mixed in well with the linens, it's more like a floral detergent was used on them rather than a bouquet is sitting on top of them. The wine adds a tart, red touch that works surprisingly well. In the dry stage the bread and whisky notes emerge. The bread and the wine pair up (kind of like the wine spilled over the bread and the bread absorbed it) and together they work super well. Occasionally bakery notes and wine notes go weird on me after a while (the former plastic, the latter sour) but throw 'em together and they're well-behaved, haha. The whisky is faint, it just adds a tiny little extra bit of boozy oomph overall. This is pretty unique, I'm glad I have a decant! I think I may even need a bottle.

Oh wow, this is really nice! I was expecting it to be gritty and smoky based on the other reviews but it's actually very smooth mix of vetiver and frankincense with small touches of sweetness and cedar. It's deep and dark but I wouldn't categorize it as sad or brooding. Kinda weird, but it brings to mind lying awake in a forest cottage in the dark of night and contemplating the universe. I really love this.

This blend is really interesting! It starts off with a blast of leather, which admittedly isn't my thing so I was really nervous for a sec, but not a moment later the gingerbread and the wood shove the leather into the background. In the drydown there's a splash of rum and a sprinkle of salt, but overall it's pretty wood-dominate on me, with spice just behind the wood. It kinda smells like someone brought some gingerbread to Home Depot. Sounds weird, but I'm digging it! The longer I wear it, the smoother it gets. It feels like an aquatic note is emerging but bringing more a sense of water rather than a smell of water, if that makes sense? Actually, looking at the above reviews, I think ltrittipoe hit the nail on the head- it's more fresh air than water. Air with touches of wood and spice and rum. Though, admittedly, this is all on my right wrist. The left also has leather in the mix, which isn't really ideal but luckily it's not too strong. I really like this! Can't wait to see what aging does to it.

Starts off lovely, like gooey apple pie filling poured over graham crackers. Buuut then the apple note calms down in the drydown and the cake goes stale, which sometimes happens with cake blends. At the same time there's a slightly spiced creaminess that's making the blend still somewhat bearable despite the staleness. The spice becomes a little stronger once dry, and further on the gooey apple pokes its head out again, but that stale note is still there, booo. Wish my skin chem was kinder to cake blends, because I can sense the deliciousness in this blend. This is something I'll have to try in my scent locket, for sure!

Huh, I thought I reviewed this! This was the first bpal I ever bought a backup bottle of. Basically, it's perfect. White florals mesh beautifully with my skin chem so the strong florals are lovely on me, very vintage and soft and sweet. Behind all those pretty florals is warm tonka and just a touch of tobacco and costus, which all add gorgeous depth. I typically like my tobacco much stronger but I don't mind so much in this blend since the florals and tonka are so beautiful. I don't really catch any bourbon vanilla, but that's fine with me since it sometimes goes plastic on my skin. I've yet to have this blend veer into soap territory on me. If you have similar skin chem that takes kindly to white florals, definitely give this one a shot!