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BPAL Madness!

LadyMedb

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Everything posted by LadyMedb

  1. LadyMedb

    The Madam

    GAAAAHHHHHH sometimes a scent comes along that I just burn through half a bottle of in months, out of nowhere. That should really be my whole review of this thing. I thought I had all the rose-patchouli blends from the Lab but somehow this one is just luminous. It is just the right balance between sweet and spicy and woody, and could probably even go masculine if you asked it to. This Madam knows every trick in the book, runs the show, and is VERY expensive.
  2. LadyMedb

    Palo Santo and Frankincense

    YOU. GUYS. This is so wonderful. It's like, there are two types of woody scents, warm ones and sort of dry ones, and this scent does both. There is a high, almost minty sweetness at the top of it, and a warm, sexy cedar-like base. It doesn't seem to change too much from the bottle to my skin, and has nice lasting power. This is not just a "sacred" scent, but a perfect combination of "heaven" and "earth" in precious wood and incense.
  3. LadyMedb

    Come Slowly—Eden!

    This is so pleasantly floral - fruity-floral, even. Though it is more traditionally perfumey than usual Lab offerings, it is also really delicate and evocative, with the jessamine providing sweetness without being cloying, and the apple just hanging out in the background to provide a bit of sensuality. In general, I think that the Lab believes that apple should go with amber, and for the most part I agree. I love this scent!
  4. LadyMedb

    Snake's Shadow

    Oudh is more of a yes than a no with me, but there are moments when it's just too much to deal with. Oddly, considering the reviews above, this is not one of them - the oudh in this blend plays very nicely, and the overall impression is all labdanum with a hint of Snake Oil (maybe the reason this works on me has to do with patchouli typically "cleaning up" and smelling more like cedar on me...perhaps that note neutralizes the oudh). The cola references in the reviews above are right - there is also seemingly a ghost coconut note along with the vanilla. Most Snake Oil derivatives turn to play-doh on me after a while, but whatever is going on with this one keeps that from happening, putting it into a magical category with Snake Charmer as a blend I'm happy to wear. I cannot stop smelling my wrists. I smell like delicious incense candy.
  5. LadyMedb

    Cock Cage

    In the bottle, I smell apples. On the skin, it starts out with the same oudh that is in Nevertheless, She Persisted, which is a little bit of a challenging "off" note. However, unlike Nevertheless..., with which you have to wait a long while before the iris takes over and makes the scent tolerable, Cock Cage settles down on me almost immediately to a soft, sweet skin musk, gentle and balanced, with a teeny bit of apple floating above the vanilla and leathery scents. I think this is rather pleasant, and it's unlike very much else that I own.
  6. LadyMedb

    Étude de Déshabillé

    I agree that there is a phantom flower in this! It is, however, mostly sexy patchouli and warm soft ambery cashmere. It is sweet, but well-behaved, and dark, but not heavy. An elegant, beautiful skin scent.
  7. LadyMedb

    The Eternal Queen

    I bought this unsniffed just based on the above reviews - I have a lot of issues with white florals, but if they lend towards "humidity" and "creaminess", it is ON. This one is no exception to that rule - it is so sweet and gentle, and not at all sneezy or dry. The amber and vanilla lend this scent a bit of richness and depth, and the white musk does not turn to dryer sheets. Overall, it kind of reminds me of the department store scent Gaultier 2 from ten years ago (a big amber-vanilla-musk deal), but more feminine and balanced and far better conceptualized. This is a deliriously feminine creamy white floral that brings out all of the best of gardenia and tuberose, while remaining grounded and a little mysterious. Highly recommended to anyone who is willing to even think about a white floral for a second.
  8. LadyMedb

    Nevertheless, She Persisted

    I get some pretty sharp incenses (though maybe the sharpness is the "metal" note) and a citrusy feel when I first apply this, but once it settles down, it becomes warm and inviting and sophisticated. I've been on a bit of an iris kick lately, so this fits right in with other perfumes I've been wearing a whole lot. Iris. Incense. Easy. I'll probably reach for this a lot over the next few months.
  9. LadyMedb

    Hoîru

    This is a delicious, light blend. My skin eats it rather severely, so I'm glad I bought the full bottle, because slathering is the only way to make it really show up on me. I wish it were a little stronger so I could appreciate its complexity a bit more; however, as it is, I get delicious coconut and tonka, with a hint of amber, soft and close to the skin. It's as well that there isn't a lot of bourbon vanilla in it for me, as that note can go to go play-doh on me. Overall, I really like this scent - it's the kind of thing that I catch at the edge of my perception all day and appreciate over and over again.
  10. LadyMedb

    Venus Genetrix

    This is a ninja in my bottle collection - soft and delicate, but actually secretly sensual. The amber and vanilla are so close to the skin, and the jasmine tea is a soft whisper, though an insistent one. This is calming and sexy at the same time - I love it, especially since I usually prefer very bold and strong accords, and this really provides a lovely contrast. It fades a little quickly, but if I apply a little more than I usually would for a BPAL at the beginning of the day, it serves me well enough. I am a huge fan of this one.
  11. LadyMedb

    Gwyneth

    So, as mentioned above, I wouldn't have tried this because of the lily scent. Since calla lilies on their own don't have much of a scent if any (and they're not really lilies anyway), I was pretty sure any interpretation of their scent worth mentioning would be *extra* lily. Well, I happened upon a spare bottle of this at Healthy Living last year, and found that I was totally, 100%, wrong. The white floral-ness of Gwyneth is the rare kind I *like* - moist like dewdrops on jasmine in the summer, and not at all astringent or soapy. The rose (NB - I am a rose lover, but my rose-hating friends like this one because the rose is soft and sits well in the composition) and the coconut blend together beautifully to produce a humid tropical dream. It's not at all fruity or cloying, though. It's like relaxing on a quiet exotic beach on an island that is always in bloom. I keep thinking I'm not going to be in the mood for Gwyneth, but then I open the bottle and all of this happiness comes out.
  12. LadyMedb

    Single Note: Pile Of Fallen Leaves

    I bought this hoping for the note that was in The Death of Autumn, and it's definitely there, but, when amplified, it goes kind of ozony and men's cologne-y, at least on my skin. That's sad. I liked the earthiness of DoA and some Beth's other autumn leaf blends, and it just isn't as prominent when the leaf note is taken on its own. It's still an amazingly evocative autumnal scent, so I decanted an imp out of my bottle for myself and swapped the rest. Oh well.
  13. LadyMedb

    Visions of Autumn I

    Visions of Autumn I is a cool, dry, spicy cedar scent with a hint of peppery spice. The oudh adds a bit of fruitiness to it, but it still remains, as mentioned above, standoffish and sober. Yes, there is a hint of amber, but it smells like it's coming from far away and you can't quite reach it. I think this is a lovely thing. It is straight-down-the-middle unisex and very wearable, yet also intensely evocative of cool autumnal breezes. I am definitely holding on to my imp of this, and am debating a full bottle.
  14. LadyMedb

    Visions of Autumn II

    Oh dear, another lovely rosy incense from the Lab, just when I was starting to become picky. This is all rose geranium (which smells like red roses and dry wood) at first, but then that rosy scent settles down to blend effortlessly with the patchouli, and, especially, the warm brown leather. Opopanax gives it an extra sweet-resinous drydown. There is only a slight hint of the violet leaf, which is fine by me. I usually find geranium to be quite bitter, and I actively enjoy rose when it's done properly, so this is kind of a dream blend for me. It is like a drier, rosier and - as one would expect - more autumnal Leather Phoenix (which is my all-time favorite, by the way). It is rich and earthy and majestic at the same time. If you do not like rose, you probably will not like this blend, but if you do at all, it's a nice anchored, incensy rose, and well worth trying. I went for a full bottle and cannot wait for it to arrive. This is easily my favorite out of this year's new Hallowe'en blends.
  15. LadyMedb

    Dawn: Priestess

    I finally bought a bottle of this after hanging onto a precious decant of it for almost 4 years. I absolutely love this scent. This is a deep, velvety incense rose, not at all soapy on me, but instead lush and rich. I don't really get more than a hint of the patchouli, but the myrrh is soft and sweet, the sage adds just the right amount of edge and variety, and the overall composition is just so seamlessly blended. Yes, it's a bit like a few of Beth's other incense roses, but I collect that sort of scent from BPAL, and I am fairly sure I like Priestess better than Rose Cross or even my beloved Blasphemare Reliquary. This is not to be missed if you like rose in any way. Actually, even if you don't like rose, Priestess might be worth a try - my rose-wary boyfriend quite liked it on me! Hoping this sticks around, because if it doesn't, I'm going to need at least one backup bottle.
  16. LadyMedb

    Lust Bonbon

    So I got a brief glimpse of chocolate and spice when I first put it on, but it settled down to pure Tootsie Rolls on my skin. Even my boyfriend thought so!
  17. LadyMedb

    Picture Books in Winter

    This just smelled buttery and sugary to me, like frosting or sugar cookies. I barely got a whiff of flowers, and I couldn't detect any leather at all. I thought it was really pleasant and sweet, but I'd never wear it.
  18. LadyMedb

    Hesiod's Phoenix

    Easily my favorite of the Phoenixes, which is odd, because I love resins so much. This is a lovely light vanilla-amber that isn't too foody, and has a lovely close-to-the skin sophistication lent to it by the oudh. I'd probably have jumped on a full bottle if I hadn't just bought La Lugubre Gondola, which is also lovely and ambery, but darker and more to my usual taste. As things are, I'm hanging on to the imp and seeing if it turns out I can't live without it.
  19. LadyMedb

    Herodotus' Phoenix

    Very, very incense-headshoppy. I especially like the warm franken-myrrh. However, this is nothing that the lab has not done before (I miss my bottle of Cathedral, and this is reminding me to buy more!), so I'm not as captivated as I want to be.
  20. LadyMedb

    Sin

    UM SO IT'S THE BEST ONE I feel so weird reviewing this now, because I've been through a sample or two of it over the years and I've always loved it. It's been on my wishlist forever, but I finally bought a full bottle at Healthy Living when passing through Burlington this past weekend. I am kind of sorry I waited so long on this purchase. Other than Scheherezade, which I ultimately sold because the bottle I had was not as nice as the imp that introduced me to it, Sin is actually the only true "BPAL classic" of which I have ever bought a full bottle, and it is easily the "BPAL classic" that smells the best on my skin. Sin is everything I love about Scheherezade and Snake Oil, but it's not soapy and astringent like the former is on my skin, and it doesn't go to play-doh like the latter one unfortunately does with my chemistry. Plus, CINNAMON, especially on first application. And not red-hots cinnamon, but lovely cinnamon stick. The drydown has just enough red sandalwood to make it sexy and earthy (but not enough to make it soapy) and it blends seamlessly with the delicious, dark, subdued patchouli and the cinnamon, which decreases a bit as the scent dries. It's delicious incense going to ash, mysterious inside-of-an-old-aromatic-wooden-box, a mug of something potent and hot and spicy...you get the idea. Sin is comforting and dangerous at the same time, and I get loads of compliments on it. So this is one of my new-old favorites now. Love.
  21. LadyMedb

    Sampaguita

    Beautiful rich and warm jasmine, complex and juicy in the bottle. However, I could tell immediately that this is the sort of jasmine that goes plasticky on my skin, so I had to pass. Someone else will really love this though!
  22. LadyMedb

    Achluophobia

    I love this scent!! It starts out pretty overpoweringly patchouli/tobacco (apply sparingly!) and dries down to the deepest darkest wood/resin combo in BPAL existence (I love opoponax). Yep, it's pretty one-dimensional in its darkness, but it's sweet and enveloping and comforting. Behind every fear is a wish, and so this is a wish for darkness. So beautiful. And I'm really pretty obviously starting to love tobacco accord, too. Who knew?
  23. LadyMedb

    Trauervorspiel und Trauermarsch

    Dark, yes, but kind of sour and powdery, and really not a fan of my skin, which is weird, because usually vetiver is so nice on me. In this case, it's just all sourness and muddle. Argh. Oh well.
  24. LadyMedb

    Marche Funèbre en Memoire de Maxamilieni

    Super-sharp leather in this one - I'm assuming the styrax comes into play there - and at some point it goes unrepentantly sour. I'm sure this will work wonderfully on skin that is not mine.
  25. LadyMedb

    La Lugubre Gondola

    Sharp and scary in the bottle and for the first two seconds on your skin, and then it becomes sweet amber resinous harmony, all depth and sugar and beauty. Really well-blended - though amber is the main note, this is darker than plain old amber, and just hypnotic. I bought a bottle, and am wondering whether it should have been two instead.
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