Reedsong

So, I get the rose, blackcurrant, and butter-crust thing.

But at work, we cleanse patients' skin with wet wipes of 2% chlorhexidine gluconate. And after the rose/currant/crust dies down, what's left on my own skin is CHG-wipe smell.

No indeed. Hard pass from me!

This is a graceful, delicate whisper of jasmine that stays close to the skin. I'm impressed that these three notes harmonize so prettily together, and especially pleased to find a jasmine fragrance that doesn't scream of cloying soap after I apply it. I'm not sure whether to spring for a bottle of this one, but definitely feel fortunate to have my imp and might try to swap for a little more.

I have been a BPALer for many years. I adore Snake Oil and get excited by every new version - and this is one of the best variants I have ever tried. WOW.

I agree with marared that it's a less aggressive Boomslang. It's soft and seductive, having all the mouth-watering richness of a fine dessert without actually being foody per se. Better yet, it grew spicy as it dried down on me, and I could have sworn I detected a hint of cinnamon although that note is nowhere to be found in the description.

It lasts nicely without being overpowering, and I bet it's going to age brilliantly, too. This one is a bottle purchase for sure.

I agree with DiesMali that this is an intimate, sensual scent. It's beautifully blended, rich, and no one note predominates when I first smell it. Unfortunately, my skin chemistry changed a few years back, such that I could no longer wear red musk scents, and this one's no exception - it stayed assertive and sexy on my skin for about five minutes and then faded to a perfumey talcum powder.   If you can wear red musk better than I can, then get some of this! It's luscious, and I have the impression that it'll age wickedly well, too.

Having just finished a final exam in which the heart's function featured prominently, I was delighted to see this series and had to get the fragrance for my favourite heart-part. I didn't expect much of it - most lemon and champagne scents fade to Lemonheads on me, and I really just wanted to try this one for the name - but I was very pleasantly surprised! This fragrance could be an elegant springtime cocktail, and it's light and effervescent, bubbling over with a sweetly celebratory feeling - like standing in warm sunshine while hearing good news. I've been super-stressed lately and feel like this perfume will help me cheer up a bit. If you get Lysol or candy from these notes in other scents, then you might want to give Sinoatrial Node a try!

This is a lovely, blooming scent that unfolds little by little on my skin. It's neither a naive, sunny sort of floral, nor a restrained soapy bouquet; rather, it seems to capture a kind of quiet delight, a natural and easy pleasure. It's very well-blended, too, with no one flower seeming to dominate its discourse. A very apt scent for its inspiration, and while it isn't quite right when I wear it, I can imagine other flower-lovers adoring this one!

Entertaining the Heian Court Maiden has a very elegant perfumey quality on me.

There's root beer, there's birch beer...if someone made a forest beer, it would smell like Theoi Nomioi. I agree with every reviewer who's praised how stunningly lovely this fragrance is! It's warm and inviting, wonderfully balanced, and I'd suggest it for anyone who loves tree scents but has found other BPAL blends to be either too sweet or too sharp.

More men should wear cake, I feel...

And I definitely agree with the recommendation of Fenris Wolf. (That scent is lovely on men and women both, I guess because the Ragnarök‎ is for everyone. )

non_boingy, from your post, it sounds like we have a great deal in common! As I was reading your self-description, two ideas came to mind - not sparked by any one trait in particular, but as general impressions.

The first is Abhisarika from the 2007 Faces of the Heroine (Lupercalia) update. The description of "radiant with youthful innocence" is what brought it to mind, I think, as there is a sense of joy from your post that seems to match this scent, which is unique and delicately feminine (without conveying any stereotype like 'weak' or helpless').

The second is Hanerot Halalu from the 2008 Yule update. There is an archetypal feeling to this one, a sense of sanctity that transcends religion or culture, like the essence burning at the heart of the flame. Perhaps this would appeal to you because of your discovery of truth in many languages, traditions, and places.

Also, spiralmissy, yours was the first post I saw on this page, so I assumed it was the most recent one and read through it before seeing that you'd already been answered. The impression I had immediately from you was Khandita from the same Faces of the Heroine update. The scent conveyed - to me, when I wore it - a sense of passionate strength and smoldering, righteous opposition. I see now, looking at the notes, that it's also heavy on the saffron...

All of these recommendations are LEs, but the two Heroines are currently available on the Lab's Etsy site, and Hanerot is usually not too hard to find.

I totally agree with Dorian as a Draco scent conceptually - unfortunately it's a complete disaster on me, but yesterday I did try Theodosius again (after several years of not wearing him :x) & when I was looking at the reviews they all said how much like Dorian it is, but it's a) a much better scent on me and something adult Draco would also wear, I think. Similarly refined, but also subtly nasty

That's an excellent choice, given that Dorian doesn't work on you; for me, it's just the opposite, with those scents! Jareth might also be a nice option, having a similar "feel" to the other two.

I have an entire BPAL list for the characters of Robin of Sherwood...

Oh my god I would so love to know what is on your list if you felt like sharing, that show is the most amazing thing *_*

My apologies that it took me a few days to reply; I keep a blog about the show and decided to just make a few posts about it, because what's more fun than combining TWO fandoms into one?!

The first list has scents for the good guys, and is here: http://candledance.wordpress.com/2013/07/03/ros-and-bpal-part-1/

And the second list is for the villains, offered here: http://candledance.wordpress.com/2013/07/03/rosbpal-scents-the-villains/

(Edited to add the second post.)

Hahahaha...I love this thread! I am so glad I'm not the only one who does this; I have an entire BPAL list for the characters of Robin of Sherwood.

And I couldn't agree more with the recommendation of Dorian for adult Draco. It was actually the first scent that came to my thoughts, before I even read the response naming it.

Stellamaris, THANK YOU! I came back to the thread to say that, and to include an update as I thought it'd be kind of neat.

I needed more incentive to buy the Ambergris SN - shipping to Canada, ach! - so I added a bottle of Heroine onto the order, and just got the package today.

At first the rhubarb is quite strong on my skin, and sour-green in that rather unique and unmistakeable way of garden-fresh rhubarb stalks. But then it mellows out beautifully to something softly glowing, a scent that seems to rest somewhere between Smut and The Living Flame. It's very close to my skin, comforting in that 'hugs and pie' sort of way that I associate with TAL Anthelion.

In short, it's the scent version of a person who seems bristly and bitter at first, but gradually reveals nobility, warmth, and compassion over time. Like an embrace covered in bristles, lol!

I consider it a high compliment to have had something so lovely recommended for me, and thank you again for suggesting a scent I would otherwise never have tried - especially as its proceeds go to a good cause besides.

Stellamaris, thank you - it's not easy to find an imp of that one, but given the cause, the notes, and now the recommendation, it may be worth springing for a bottle of this one at my next payday.

For you - Nemesis or Verdandi came to mind.

Reedsong, how about Heroine?

 

Myself, I am a rotten, opinionated, loudmouth. I am strong, smart, obnoxious and mean. Also totally soft hearted, sympathetic, and giving. Reformed pointy head.

 

I'm a Libra, I want justice, fairness and I get so angry at the lack thereof.

Ellie, my first thought for you was Black Opal - night and glittering colour, and the opal's numerous associations with misfortune would speak to your darker side, I think. It's an unusual and unique fragrance and not one that many cite as a favourite, but hard to forget once you've tried it. It seems apt. You sound like someone I'd like to know.

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I'd like to play too; this is an interesting thread, so hopefully I don't make it too dull by contributing. So here's my "personality" and a request for recommendations:

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Well, my first inclination is to write that I don't have a personality, but I suppose that would elicit a recommendation to splash myself from a bottle of water and have done with it. So, here goes:

Publicly, I'm snarky, brainy, and drier than wind, though careful to avoid cruelty in my snark. I've been told that I'm intimidating, "terrifyingly persuasive," and that I should maybe "dumb it down a bit" if I want to make more friends. I'm known for going on ridiculous rants of escalating hilarity about things that annoy me (which prompts others to deliberately discuss subjects that get on my nerves, just to watch and giggle at the flail). I enjoy subtle elegance, deep private time with friends instead of large gatherings, and shocking remarks inserted at random into conversations. I work as a medical transcriptionist, because it allows me to labour in solitude with neither supervision nor responsibility.

Privately, I'm convinced that I'm awkward, ridiculous, and utterly unlikeable. I'm actually of a rather religious bent. I love to read and write, thrill to poetry, would learn every language ever spoken if it were possible, and at a party - like anyone invites me to parties, ha! - you'll find me hiding among the potted plants and the household pets, and/or listening to someone else's problems over canapés. I don't speak much of my affections, just quietly see to it that the people I love are well-stocked with groceries, cooking, and amusement, and that they always have an ear and maybe an unexpected gift when times are hard. Even my cats know who the sucker is, and they use me as a bed, transport service, and tuna-provider at every opportunity. (And if anyone notices these things, I admonish them to stay quiet about it - lest my reputation be ruined, and I be forced to be an unbearable @$$hole to everyone for months on end in order to recover.)

People/characters that I've been compared to include Sylvia Plath, Daria, and the Sheriff of Nottingham from Robin of Sherwood. And I was flattered by all three.

Unnecessary TMI introduction: I just wrote a story that quoted this verse at the beginning, so BPAL had my money the moment this scent went live. It's about a half-and-half mixture of "yum" and "blech" in terms of notes, so let's see how this goes.

In the bottle: Is it possible to pickle resin? This smells like what I would get if I burned incense in the kitchen while eating a plate full of pickles, which sounds awful but is oddly charming. I like pickles! I like incense! Time to try it on!

On my skin: Oh, hey, it's that much-missed brown leather note! It's the same raw leather from Loviatar, the one that smells like chewed-up cowboy boots. Alas, there are no pickles. But there is leather....and spice...and resin...

Five minutes later, nose glued to hand: The leather is combining with the spices and the resin, and now there's a delicious dry clove. Wow, this is smooth...

Ten minutes later, nose still glued to hand: Dammit, fragrance! I have to work! I need to get things done! I cannot keep huffing my hand! But this is rich, opulent yet subtle, and there's...yes, there it is, some debauchery in there. Everything that everyone else wrote, about dangerous appeal and darkness, is absolutely true.

Fifteen minutes later: Attention, world: I will marry the person who smells like this, and we will never leave the bedroom.

Half-hour later: It's fading fast! Nooooo! It's BPAL doom: the perfect LE fragrance without staying power! Why did I not buy eighty thousand bottles of this whyyyyyy?!?!?!

tl;dr review: A dry, smoky clove with hints of sweet resin, comfortable leather, and musky sexy win. It's an intimate skin scent with almost no throw, and I think it would work for a wearer of any gender or sexual identity, provided one is prepared to wear it with a certain smoldering refinement. In fact, it's so magnificent that I was tempted to write a scathing review of it, so that I could buy it all up after convincing everyone else it sucked. In His Hands All Thy Cruelties Thrive is perfect for the verse, my favourite of the Lady of Pain update, and probably the best new BPAL I've tried in years.

The Sleeper is hands-down the best oakmoss ever.

When I first tried Tum years ago, it was a wild panoply of spice, resin, and fruit scents, which mirrored well the painterly setting sun in the western sky. Unfortunately, this one alone of the Stations has not aged well. All of the kaleidoscopic nuances that made Tum so intriguing have faded, and what's left is only a concord grape syrup with a few dribbles of spice, maybe cinnamon and nutmeg, with a tiny touch of the carnation that seems to be a unifying note in these scents. It doesn't work for me at all anymore, which is really disappointing.

(Fans of Tum who are lamenting its loss might do well to try Horreur Sympathique, which has similar notes of spice and grape.)

To me, Ahathoor is the quintessential example of why some BPALs don't have official descriptions. From this one, I get benzoin, amber, sassafras, possibly nutmeg, fresh ginger juice, a little of Ra's carnation, and lime. If I'd read a list of notes like that, I'd have promptly passed on the fragrance.

And that would have been a shame, because Ahathoor is a bright, brilliant, energetic scent very well suited to the mid-day Sun. It goes a touch sweet on my skin and also fades more quickly than I'd prefer, but while it's not my favourite of the Stations, it's still a lovely offering.

ACK IT'S ON ME GET IT OOOOOOFF is my initial reaction to applying this oil. It actually chill-burns my skin a bit, and the first whiff of it is just awful, like a high shrill scream for my sinuses. The eucalyptus is a high, lemony-sour note that makes my nose wrinkle, and it's insanely strong. I get a small amount of mint and maybe pine in the background.

As the EEK EUCALYPTUS dries down, a milder, innocuous herbal-floral note starts to emerge with that same almost-citrusy character. What is that? Lemon balm? Rose geranium? It's something lighly sweet and innocuous that reminds me of my mother - which is funny, as my mom hates lightning storms - and while I don't actually like any permutation of this scent, I keep sniffing my wrist to see what it's doing now.

I would have believed that this was a TAL blend to overcome astraphobia, actually. Wet, the oil seems to imitate cold fear; as it dries, the sharp top notes vanish and leave only a kindly warmth behind. It seems to have a medicinal, not-for-smelling-but-for-using kind of energy that fits TAL better than BPAL.

I can't imagine anyone actually wearing Astraphobia as perfume, but it's interesting - olfactory art, certainly, and worth trying for the experience alone.

If you can get it, the LE Chintamani-Dhupa is a beautiful, strong incense-y fragrance. From the GC, there's nothing like Paramatman - orange blossom, champaca, and honey blend to produce a gorgeous floral scent that reminds me of ladies' hair garlands.

I skipped this one because I read the notes for it at the time, thought, "Huh, black musk death, champaca death," etc. Then I started noticing that people were salivating for it and that bottles would disappear in a heartbeat.

So I got a decant just to see what you people were fussing about.

Reviewers above have summarized this scent very well: I definitely get an Eastern incense, head-shop kind of vibe from it, and it's slinky, sexy, and very..well...panthery. I've never been near a panther or even seen one except in pictures, but this seems to match exactly what I expected scent-wise, and it's so well blended that one or two death notes don't ruin the overall effect.

I also love the way the oil looks: deep golden-brown, thick, like a precious attar.

Eta: I'm also really glad I picked up the imp to admire it again for this review, because the imp was leaking! So, writing this saved me from losing the entire thing, and there's my instant karma for the day.

Two decants to review today!

198: In the imp...vanilla butter-rum? Really?! This smells like the CT I want to get and never do...

On my skin, wow, I don't know what to make of this. An almost plastic-y buttercream, with a little taste of...what is that? Honeysuckle? Awwww! I think it is! I think I am actually holding a vanilla-honeysuckle-cream!

I think I'm going to get an unscented body butter and use this quarter-imp to fragrance it. This fragrance stays close to the skin and is rather warm and intimate. On final dry-down, it has a sophisticated, intriguing quality to it that's really alluring.

102: A vial of fruity goodness! I get a strong strawberry-vanilla, like someone took a handful of strawberry Now-n-Laters and combined them with a bowl of vanilla ice cream.

Once applied, it's nothing like that. Something really bright and sharp comes out, and I don't think it's strawberry, but what is it? Mango? Pineapple? It's something tropical and fun.

Fruit never lasts long on my skin, and as the fruity quality fades, a stronger, sappy-green-leaves-with-rose note emerges. This scent seems like Rose Red with a base of boozy vanilla.

I would never have thought that a mango-rose-vanilla would smell like anything worthwhile, but I actually like this. Only its strength - it's quite strong and radiating - may send it to swaps.

Reviewing two decants I received today:

127: In the vial, very resinous and a little bit boozy. On my skin, it's bright, woody, resinous - cedar, maybe? and perhaps some myrrh judging from the almost syrupy-sour sweetness. It's pretty well-blended and sexy-smoky in the imp; there's someone out there, I'm sure, who would love this. I wish it worked better for me.

14: Incense and flowers? Oh, this is pretty in the imp...

On my skin, let's see, what's coming out here...a bunch of different things. I get hints of cherry, rose, lily, a bit of resin, and the other notes are fading away in favour of lily. At this point, it smells like the freshly-washed skin you get after using a strong French-milled floral soap, and that's not a bad thing at all. It's sweet and perfumey...

And then it fades a little more, and...Malibu Musk from the '80s? Holy toledo. The floral perfumey quality has crossed a line and is starting to give me a headache. Very interesting scent, though, and as with 127, I don't think it's one of the "unusable" CTs - like the poor vinegar reviewer's above! - just one that doesn't work on me.

I opened my imp of Quicksilver Phoenix today and was instantly reminded of Yvaine! I'm not sure what notes exactly are similar - I don't have the notes for either in front of me - but wanted to pass that along as a possible balm.