Fiam

There has been much said about Coffee Cream Pie in the above reviews. I am here because I can't keep it to myself...IT IS AWESOME! 

I have tried (almost) ALL of the BPAL coffee forward scents. including the many Lilith's, (Travelogue and earlier years, SN Guatemalan) so I didn't order this one immediately. "How different could it be",  I thought.  

WELL for me it's a perfect balance of bold coffee and floofy, creamy, chocolate. (I guess that's the pudding aspect).  WONDERFUL WIN for my skin. 

The sweet floffy banana rum belts out with delight. then settles quickly into soft Frankincense. I wish the marshmallow banana rum lasted longer or played in the frankincense during dry down, but I can't find any.  

I wish I had purchased this one when I could!  So beautiful! 

The plum is apparent on my skin immediatly, then the jasmine peeks in. Green tea is grouding the blend. 

Gorgeous! I want some! 

This is a LOVE!  I don't know why I snoozed on this for so long. Well, cinnamon is a death note here, so I was afraid....But now I have it and LOVE It!

I wager my bottle is aged as I did get it from a forumite. So, it ages well! 

In the bottle I was reminded of Mother Ginger. As it dries I really DO get Funnel Cake! 

This is BIG WIN for my skin chemistry! 

Ohh! This is so much fun! 

I love this all alone, but I also find Schrödinger’s Checkmark phenom to LAYER!  The dry down is a fluffy wide patchouli marshamallow that sweetness is tempered, but still lurking. 

I'm finding that is doesn't morph much, except that the marshmallow seems to settle in and hang around more than I expected  - It stands right up next to that patchoili and envelops it. 

The sweet patch scent was detectable on my skin after a few hand scrubs and a bath so...any of my gourmands from the Yule update that needed a boost in longevity (eyeing up my bottle of Banana Pancakes) now have a perfect buddy. 

I do not know how I could possibly add anything  of value to the aforementioned reviews, however I will say that Port Royale will be my signature scent for the Spring and Summer. 
The opening of Port Royale is clean and cheerful. From a blind sniff (not reading the scent  notes) I smell fresh waves breaking on a Caribbean island. It develops slightly masculine as it sails into Bay Rum cologne territory. 
The fresh wet scent is my favorite part of this. 
 

LIttle bit of lemon, LOTS of honey! Realistic yummy honey! Reminds me of a lemon version of Sweets to the Sweet. (Sub lemon for the sugar) 

I'm not getting any cake.  I think it will layer beautifully with something as I keep smelling it and looking for something else to magically appear.  I will update when I find a few scents to layer with.  Hope to be back soon! 

I am glad to start the ball rolling by reviewig this one first. From the description, Go Slow is TOTALLY my jam. I love all the BPAL fizzyies and search for years for a whiff of a BPAL lime scent. 

The sloe gin is very much like the champagne note however it's drier and seems to mellow out quicker. The lime is expressing itself like the zest from the peel, delicous but not too sweet. 

It dries down to a realistic sloe gin.  I really like this one and may go for a second bottle before they go away. 

A Watermelon BPAL is hard to find anyway, so when I read the description I ordered a back up...

I was hoping for that same realistic note from Tis the Voice..Lobster. (an OOS GE that i only sniffed in an aged imp)

...Now I wish I ordered a few back ups. 

As fool for anything with cotton candy,  I immediately ponced upon Pink Silk Peony and found it lovely and unique.  On my skin,  I found it very floral with the rich sweetness of the cognac but my skin ate the cotton candy and could not find any of its ethereal sweet vibe.  My second testing was on the cotton cuff of my sleeve and the bright sugary "cotton candy" peony was right there!  8 hours later, my cuff is still all "rose creamy"! The White Cognac lends a bit of dryness and longevity to the experience.   I like this one, not a love yet, but it is very different and I do love a Peony! 

Every once in while there is gormand release that makes me say "There is nothing else like this!" And Secret Donuts is just THAT! 

Just when I thought I had experienced all the foody, delicious BPAL scents... I drone on and on about Midway, Golettes, King Cake, Suf Everything...but now I meet you, Secret Donuts! And I LOVE YOU!  

Banana Pancakes is delightful!
Better than just a novelty, it’s what I was hoping to get from Pancake Breakfast, with of course, banana! 
I perceive it to be almost caramel-like and ever so slightly…slightly boozy. 
I have found the exact candy this year’s Yule banana scent reminds me of, and it is Banana Jelly Belly jelly beans. The golden yellow ones with tiny black spots! 
I wish I could send you all one so that you may concur.
 

Spumoni is the scent I am most excited about this Yule release. Total nostalgia for me, so I blndly ordered a back up just to stare at the bottle. 

After weeks of resting, I am finally testing.  I forgot the scent notes and didn't have the note suggestion pre-programmed in my head upon starting.

Initial wet stage: Not what I expected, it reminds me of Detestable Putrescence from the Gris Grimley release...melty ice cream. Also a mascarpone-like scent, sweet and sour, is wafting by. The chocolate is reading as a perfume less realistic than I hoped. 

Drying down: Now I can tell there some nuts and cherries. I’m trying not to be disappointed but my skin is doing worky things with this one,  I will need to re test this on a cotton cuff...

…And YES! There is the Spumoni...on the edge of my cotton sleeve cuff!  Now I smell the candied version of the above descrption. AMAZING! It’s growing on me!  Not a ❤️ yet. but it’s very interesting and enjoyable as long as it doesn’t involve my skin. 

It's Snake Oil alright,  only sweeter... sweeter in a chewy, round manner. In other words...there are no edges to this perfume, radiates perfectly blended. 

It seems to get stronger as it wears, treating me to a very grown up doughnut scent. (must be the musk...but I cannot be sure as I really don't like musk and I LOVE this)

Sexy, sophisticated and best for cold days. (When I tested it on a South Fla 80 degree spell,  it didn't express the same "magic". 

It's a BIG scent with great longevity, I think it will only stregnthen as it ages -  going to be dynamite! 

I do believe Boozy Lemon Bars minced itself right into my TOP FIVE FAVS!

For me, it's the PERFECT SCENT 😍  Lasts all day on my cotton sleeve, transports me to better days and lifts my mood to the stratosphere! 

I have a backup bottle already and see myself hoarding this. 

Don't be afriad of the Booze. 

This one is a surprise and not what I expected. If I sniffed a piece of fruitcake that smelled like this...I would eat it. 

The Fruit in this Cake is marachino cherry dominating strong out of the bottle for a delightful (and my favorite part of the) scent experience. 

The big marachino cherry gets outta the way quickly as a sophisticated Bourbon saunters in, sits down and stays awhile! 

What I am surprised by is what notes are NOT there.  I cannot pick out traditional fruitcake spices. or...they are minimal, so well blended they don't spike or dominate. But to my nose, they are just not there. No cake or cakey-like sugars or batter, either. The dry down is light, and stays close to the skin. 

Happy to have this Kentucky Boubon Fruitcake in my collection as it's unique to have a spicefree Yule Boozy scent. 

Fake Banana in a Fuzzy Sweater is a guessing game and the bottle is laughing at me as I try to guess what it is make of. 

The Fake Banana....it's not too sweet, overripe or green. Nor is it laffy taffy. 

The Fuzzy Sweater...I do get a little cashmere, warm and round with a little fresh chopped wood scent....and the banana is still there all the while. 

It leans unisex to masculine to my nose. Reminds me of 7 Word Story: Sloth but without the blackened cacoa or tobacco and I prefer this to 7WS Sloth

Will be very interested in experiening this after it ages a while. 

Big juicy Pom at the onset, making me think of Black Pomegranate SN, but that lovely moment is only around while sniffing in the bottle. 

When it's out running around, the scent is a mix between the cider note and deep red FRUIT! 

Dry Down left me smelling the spices and the peppercorn as well as the Pomegranate. 

The longevity of my application to cotton sleeve cuffs lasted several days.

I look forward to aging this lovely bottle of Pomegranate Cider as I think it will mature into something even better. 

Shortbread Diamonds reminds me of 2021’s box of cookies except dryer. Something about it reminds me of a very expensive fragrance, Xerjoff Lira, but without the citrus. 
A sophisticated cookie! 

Marranitos is a gorgeous christmas cookie scent! I really felt like I walked by a kitchen when the spice cookies were coming out of the oven.  

Not sure how this ended up in my cart as I'm usually leary of spice, (cinnamon is a death note for me) but this blend works in harmony. This is reminiscent of gingerbread but very different than labs gingerbread note. 

I solidly conclude that BPALs gourmands keep evolving and improving! 

Santa Doesn't Need Your Help is a KEEPER! 

I did buy it because of the book, the hysterical name and because of the above reviews.  I usually have to find homes for all my lavender "stab in the dark blind buys", but this bottle is going in my high prioirty drawer! Here's what I found...

Lavender and Sugar Plum are a most surprising match! Forget what you know about each of them, because they are a different joy when they meld together.

Scent memories of Plush Viscera came wooshing back, but SDNYH is not the morpher Viscera is...well, was. 

The Marshmallow is just enough to sweeten and support. It's not the main player. 

I may need a back up before they Yules float away. 

Oh yeah! This is what I was hoping for!  I LOVE the above reviews and agree 100% 

Starts with a  Peppermint blast easing into the Lab's Marshmallow Note. I am not getting the Pineapple vibe some have reported, but there is something that is expressing bright or tart, It is popping out within 5 mintues of application. 

Wearing surrounded by a marshmallow peppermint cloud for about 20 minutes or longer. The bright-ish vibe mellows as expected.

Dry Down to soft, well-behaved marshmallow that is slighly perceptable and very wearable around scent sensitive "critics"... Like I kind I live with. 

I LOVE this, like....obsessed! 

They All Came to Grief in a Beautiful Row is a frigid citrus mint with fruit sweeting the deal.  I cannot help but think that the components work better in cold weather.  Blended as Yule time scent it would be meant for colder weather. right?  Well, when it first arrived our weather was 80 degrees I could smell the different notes breaking apart, morphing.  Then the weather dipped below 55 degrees and I found the peach, mandarin and red currant riding harmoniously within the intense mint. The scent is now staying consistent from application to dry down.  

I've had it on each day since it arrived!  Very bright, it's vibrating fast and making me feel very positive!  I am keen to use this up quickly, something gives me the feeling it may be best within its first year. 

I hurried this review a bit, due to the request above, but here goes. 

Strawberry Buttercream Sufganiyot is exactly that! Tart Strawberries, Sweet Buttercream and a very gourmet deep fried dough, then a little extra powdered sugar.These notes swirl softly around, and are staying close to my skin. (No wafts of carnival deep fry oil in fact I would not descible the dough note as deep fried in this blend)

I got my beloved Strawberry Suf out, so they can meet each other, and tested both side by side.  I would NOT trade the old for the new because the new is sweeter and softer, but it's the same strawberry note and almost exactly like the original Suf.  Buy it! Buy it! 

YES! Exactly what I was hoping for! 

I adore the Cider note of the Lab and adored the Weenie releases of Autumn Cider and Apple Cider SN. When the Ciders appeared this Yule season I did not hesitate. 

In Spiced Pumpkin Cider the fizz is perfectly in balance with the fruit.  I get the apple and find the pumpkin to be a supporting player. Spices are there and blend with one another, (which is GREAT because cinnamon can be a deal breaker for me), but THIS IS GORGEOUS!