abejita

Holy screaming VANILLIAC VANILLUMS. Jesus. I'm a vanilla-fiend. If you were to put my most beloved scents side by side, almost all of them share a heavy vanilla presence (or at least benzoin or tonka). I love vanilla in all its varieties: floral, smoky, foodie, light, heavy. All of it. This one is almost too much. Almost. The moment you open the bottle, it slaps you in the face. It's definitely gourmand, and yes, the rum is present. I'm not getting dark or the slight smokiness mentioned in the description at all, however, I would be willing to bet that will emerge with some time and aging. I like the scent, but I don't find it wearable now except in the tiniest pin-pricks of droplets (as I mentioned in my King Mandarin review, it's actually very lovely paired with that particular SN, in a scent locket). But I know vanilla. And I know how it ages. I'm looking forward to this one a year or so from now.

This scent, right now, is a subtle whisper. It lingers, but is extremely close-wearing (very little throw). It does have a butterscotch-y feel, and a breath of something that reminds me of Butter Rum Lifesavers. Right now, it seems unsettled and a little on the thinner side. However, I've grown familiar with Beth's tonka over the years, and it is one of my favorites when aged long-term. I'm tucking this one away.

I got this bottle as an unexpected freebie, to make up for an order error (I should post in BPAL Chatter about the customer service, classy and helpful as always!). What a lovely surprise. I hadn't ordered it because citrus just fades so quickly, and I worry about the longevity of a 5ml. I have so much perfume that it seldom go through an entire bottle of anything but my most beloveds. I thought this SN would be lovely, but seldom-used. It may be more often used than I thought. The scent is dead on, specifically mandarin above other types of orange/citrus. And it's the whole fruit, juice, pith, peel. It's almost hard to review, because it's difficult to say anything but "Why, yes, yes this IS single note King Mandarin." It's lovely, and I look forward to layering it. It does last longer in a scent locket than on skin. Pairing it with Madagascan Vanilla Rum is delicious, by the way.

Since I got this blend, I've been wearing it just about every day to try and get a handle on it. It's just that complex. I've been a BPAL fiend since 2006, and I've tried, well, a lot of scents. At this point, I can generally predict what I'll enjoy enough so that I can (mostly) buy a bottle, un-sniffed, with confidence. Leather Phoenix is not a blend that I normally would purchase. Green tea? Ick. Narcissus? Ugh. Petitgrain? Eh. I don't do fresh, green, or clean, generally. Leather is so hit or miss, since it varies a lot within BPAL scents. Same with rose. Champaca is great when it works, but more often it's too-ripe fruit in character. Cedar? Often too raw. I don't mind oudh, but it's usually paired with things I don't like so much. ... and then I saw the bit about the 11-year-old patchouli. And the star anise. And the incredible age of the oudh. That's what sold me on this blend, coupled with what Beth had to say about it. Damn, this is good. After several days of wear, I regret not having a backup bottle. My very first impression was, "I smell expensive." Every note is in exquisite balance. I can pick out some individual notes, but a few years ago, I wouldn't have been able to, except for the leather. I would characterize this scent as the kind of sexy that comes with a well-earned sense of confidence. It makes me think of someone with a direct gaze and a triumphant smile. I love this blend so much. Bravo, Beth.

It's so funny how differently things react to people's skin. On me, Osun is too-sweet floral powder, almost unrecognizable as honey. Hony Mone was also very floral on me. The Rappacini's Apiary scents varied a lot, though none were much like Mead Moon on my skin. Horse Chestnut Honey was very foody, though, and would probably be the closest for me from that series.

Another huge Mead Moon fan, here. I have tried almost all of the honey-heavy scents and the closest to Mead Moon, on me, is No. 93 Engine. Now, they are definitely different scents. No. 93 Engine is more resinous. But they, to me, share a similar character in the honey/beeswax area.

This will be joining my scant handful of multiple bottle scents. I want to say that Tattered Lace has a resemblance to Black Lace (and the other lace scents), but only in the way that a series resembles each other. It's more like it shares a feel, a theme, an era of time. Tattered Lace has a creaminess to it that isn't... cream. It's creamy like a very high end piece of parchment would be. Hello, synesthesia, right? It's got that lovely gourmand vanilla that isn't foody. This scent has texture. The opium is the tarry, rich note I love so much (rather than the thinner, floral poppy note). The tea is light and gives just a hint of Dorian-like character as it melds with the vanilla. The coconut is smooth and subtle. Cognac is a note I love in general, here it adds another dimension of sweetness that, to my nose, harmonizes well with the vanilla. The moss is almost undetectable, I think it grounds everything. The frankincense is a little raw, but that should age out. It's definitely wearable and lovely now, without aging, so I'm really excited to see what this will be like in six months to a year. I love it so much. It's shot up to my top ten. Thank you, Beth!

I almost didn't bother with this one, since I dislike black pepper. I was afraid it would end up like War (delicious for a little bit, then all pungent bitey black pepperness). As I was opening the decants from the Lupercalia circle to sniff, Burning Vulva just didn't stand out to me particularly. I put all the decants to the side for later. And then I kept smelling something vanilla-amber-tonka-waxy rich delicious. I figured out that I had smeared a little Burning Vulva on my finger from the cap of the decant vial. It does have a fiery aspect. The ginger is assertive and the black pepper is present, though it's just restrained enough that it doesn't bother me. But something about the leather, wax, vanilla, etc is so perfect a balance. The floral is the merest hint on me, just enough to give a little fresh sweetness. It has a long wear time and pretty good throw. This will be my surprise bottle purchase of the Lupercalia series this year, as it has turned out to be my favorite of them all. Edit: I totally forgot to mention, this has some similarity to No. 93 Engine, just much warmer.

This reminds me of Love's Philosophy, but with a stronger character. The ginger note is very fresh, with a good bite to it. The cream is the other dominant note, it's very rich. The clove gives a slight velvety texture and the honey sweetens it (though I don't get a strong honey note here, it seems to play a more supporting role). The wear length is not very long, sadly, but I like the scent enough to overlook that.

Oh, this is really nice. I mean, niiiice. I sat down next to one of my students in English class a few days ago and she inhaled and said, "Someone smells SOOOOO good!" It's definitely a gourmand scent, but I wouldn't call it foodie. The balsam and benzoin are very present, which I think keeps it from going in the direction of candy-like. The cherry note really is Rainier cherry-- it has that distinctness and is nothing like the cherry in other blends I have sampled. The high notes of sugar and lemon burn off quickly on me. The almond, vanilla, and honey notes are well-balanced and the rosewater is not distinctly rose, for those of you who aren't rose fans, it just adds a bit of freshness and supports the general blush-y feeling the cherry note gives me. In fact, I think that "blush-y" is a good word to describe the character of the scent overall. The description of "She Who Furnishes Pregnancy" fits this well, the scent has that blushing glow to it.

As my collection is huge (four years is a long time to hoard), I rarely do multiple bottle purchases anymore. My last one was Womb Furie, and before that it was as far back as Mead Moon. I broke that rule for Fledgling Raptor Moon, and I'm glad I did. My first impression, opening the bottle right out of the mail box, was dry heat. I wrinkled my nose and waited a day. Today in the bottle it's very clove and wood heavy, sharp, but on the skin that impression quickly diminishes and alters into softness. If this scent were a tactile impression, I would say it is like brushing soft down feathers againts your cheek. The feathers are bronze with traces of gold. The sandalwood is definitely toasted, which softens the sometimes sharp woody character it can have. It blends very well with the patchouli, which has the aged character indicated in the scent description. The two notes bring out the best in each other. The vanilla is not currently prominent, but I suspect it will emerge with aging. It seems the type of vanilla that does. The clove and carnation seem to be balancing each other well, too. The massoia bark adds a roundness that I never recognzed until I started trying as many blends with that note as I could. It always sort of makes everything richer. I love this one and it will only get better with time.

Ha! That is so apt! This is a very joyful, bright and playful scent. I typically don't find myself drawn to the candy or fruity scents, but I really like this one. I get mostly lemon blossom (which I love in Carnaval Diabolique) and candyfloss. The vanilla gives it a good base, while the rose sugar and fruits add a piping chorus that I'd imagine is singing Ode to Joy.

On me, this scent is unremarkable. It's like a simpler version of a bunch of other bpal scents, but has nothing to give it character or make it stand out. I think I would have liked thus more when I first discovered bpal, but now I'm spoiled by other richer, more complex blends. It smells pretty much like its description. Straight up vanilla musk with a touch of spice.

I'm not at all into green herbal scents, and this is much more green than it is golden honey. Not for me!

I almost didn't bother with this one because of the orris. Orris isn't a dealbreaker necessarily, but it does tend to lower my interested in a blend. Something about the coconut takes the orris from powdery-perfumey hell to rich and smooth. The rose is definitely red and velvety, the musks are *just* short of too high-pitched. I could see wearing this just as a day to day blend, or to a formal event. It's not over the top or inaccessible to the average nose, I think. This has become my go-to rose blend. I've wanted one for years, and none of them have really done it for me. I've traded away Peacock Queen, Rose Red, Two, Five, and Seven, Rose Moon, and almost everything else I'd hoped would be my perfect rose scent. Now I've found it. I'll be buying a full bottle next lunacy!

Um, yeah. Roses, Pearls, and Diamonds. I'm about to go review it. I have found my perfect rose blend.

I was really hoping that this one would have the notes listed from greatest strength to least. Meaning, it would be a primarily beeswax and frankincense scent. Unfortunately, I tend to amp grape/wine notes. This might as well be grape candy single note on me. Dammit. I don't even get a wine-like note. It's super sugary grape.

Oh, wow. If I love this so much already, what's it going to be like with some aging, especially with notes that are so prone to deepening with age? I don't find this to be green at all. I find it to be golden sunbeams from high windows with dustmotes floating in the air. The vanilla has a strong raw characteristic, as described in the notes. This is only raw vanilla-- not bean, not orchid, not foodie. It has its own distinct character. The balsams are sweet and have a nice texture to them, as does the leather. It's an odd mix of nappy suede and smooth, worn leathers. I love it. I really, really love it. I ordered this for a librarian friend in my life and I'm so glad I got one for me as well. I hope she adores it like I do!

This is very much Snake Oil and O, and in a very good way. The Snake Oil is not a component in the background, and it does seem to have that rawness that fresh SO has. The longer I have it on, the more I can smell the nuance of the honey(s), and it starts to take on a character unique to itself, rather than just smelling like I layered SO + O (would that be SO2, with the 2 as subscript? chemistry!). I love it fresh and I am absolutely certain that I will love it even more aged. I rarely break my "no multiple bottle hoarding" rule, but I will get at least two more of this one. This is a long-term keeper and will be a BPAL classic. Note: The longer I wear this, the more throw it has, too. Nice waft to it. Edit: In less than two weeks of having this blend, it's already started deepening in that Snake Oil way. Oh my. So good.

I don't like this in the bottle on first sniff, it's very bitter. Wet, this starts out as all leather on me, and it's a little too raw. As it dries down, it quickly smoothes and softens, letting the blonde (and it's definitely blonde) tobacco emerge, followed by the wood. Finally, the cognac comes forth to round it out. There is no real booziness or liquor-y smell. This is a masculine scent, but of the sort I still very much enjoy on myself. I like this, but for now it feels unfinished or unsettled to me. There is an aspect to it that I associate with transport shock or whatever. I'll revisit it in a couple of weeks, but I'm pretty sure it will be a keeper.

Huh. This is interesting. My first bottle of Black Lace was good, but not spectacular. It should have been awesome on me, but just not quite. I aged it and it's nicer now, but still not what I was hoping for. However, the new batch is exactly what I was hoping for. It's not an aging thing, I don't think, it must be a slight batch variation. This is more like the dark Antique Lace I'd been wanting. The vanilla cream is sweeter, the tobacco and incense contrast perfectly. Now I finally get Black Lace.

I agree with hackess. Hazelnut. It's very warm, sweet, and comforting. I wonder if there is some kind of fruit note in here. I detect a hint of something red (cherry?) at the beginning, but it's not present on dry down. Hazelnuts and warmed brown sugar.

On me, this is so close to Boomslang that it's not worth having a bottle of both. The chocolate note is identical on my skin. Boomslang has the added benefit of a Snake Oil background, so it wins. Nice scent, but not for me.

"Traces of caramel?" Really? I don't have a huge problem with amping certain scents. Now and then I find something, but caramel hasn't generally been an issue. Until now. Yikes. I get nothing but burnt caramel. I really wanted to perceive the other notes, but caramel is upstaging them all.

This scent should be awesome on me. However, something in it is amping sweet like nothing ever amps on me. Holy moly. I usually have cooperative skin chemistry and smoky vanilla is one of my favorite things. But I'm getting nothing but a sickly sweet note. Pimento berry? I have no idea.