kwsix

I agree with Forspecial Plate. Dee is love at first sniff!

 

It smells completely true to the description, yet the whole is so much greater than the components. From the description alone, I never would have imagined I would love this scent so much.

 

I am a fan of BPAL leather scents, although many people are not. If you aren't a fan, don't let it stop you from trying Dee. In Dee , the leather note is on its best behavior. It's subtle and soft, and it doesn't hit you upside the head with a raw animal hide like leather scents often can.

 

The notes are extremely well-balanced. Everything is represented in the blend, and they're all playing fair. It isn't overtly masculine to me at all. Overall I would describe it as: woods, incense, leather, soft, gender-neutral, quietly sexy, warm, creamy, comforting, and complex. It's intellectually sexy, like a drop-dead gorgeous geek in skintight leather pants and glasses reading a thick and dusty tome in the rosewood-paneled library.

On me, Antique Lace is a sweet and creamy vanilla with the barest hint of powdery florals. It's very feminine and a little old fashioned, in a good way. My mother likes this scent, and my grandmother probably would have too. My husband is neutral on it, although he did mention that it's a nice vanilla. He prefers me to wear scents that don't smell so innocent.

 

It reminds me a little of Donna Karan's Cashmere Mist, and it also seems like an idealized (meaning 1000x better) version of those inexpensive commercial vanilla perfumes that I can't stand. I imagine that it would be wonderful for layering. Overall I describe it as: classic, feminine, soft, innocent, sweet, creamy, comforting, and generally non-offensive.

If you like sandalwood, and to a lesser degree chocolate, do not hesitate to try Velvet. This is an amazing scent!

 

Through all of the stages, Velvet is a warm and fuzzy embrace of sandalwood and dry cocoa. It's cocoa that's fairly close to being unsweetened, so don't expect it to smell like Bliss. The cocoa definitely takes a backseat to the sandalwood on me, and it isn't sugary, so it could be a great foody-ish scent for the non-foody people. I agree that it's a little nutty. I also can see how it goes to pencil shavings on some people, but thankfully it doesn't on me. It's warm, rich, and creamy from beginning to end, without the sugary sweetness of most chocolate/cocoa blends. I think it's a great comfort scent, and I can't wait to get more.

In the bottle: Soft herbs

 

Wet on my skin: Soft herbs, lavender, and a hint of citrus

 

Drydown: Same as above, but a little woodsy now because the frankincense is coming out to play

 

Overall: I really like this scent! It's soft and comforting on me. The citrus never goes sharp like it seems to for some people. It's a nice alternative to my usual fruity/sweet/girly blends. It stays well blended on my skin, and all of the notes play nice with each other. I was afraid it would be too masculine, but it's definitely gender neutral on me. It's one of my stepson's top 3 scents. He says it smells like trees.

Through all the stages, this is sweet and fizzy, just as described. The fizziness helps keep the sugary fruit in check, so it ends up being sweet-tart on me rather than too sticky sweet. I get a candy strawberries instead of fresh fruit, which is fine with me. I like candy.

 

Bon Vivant is appropriately a playful, lighthearted blend that would be great for warm weather.

Ok, Cockaigne and I clearly have a twisted relationship. Because of that relationship, this is not going to be a very organized review.

 

When Cockaigne first came out, I bought 2 imps. One for my switch witch at the time, and one for me. I loved it. It was spicy sweet honey cakes on me from start to finish. I ended up frimping my imp to someone I swapped with because she desperately wanted to try it. I was sad to part with it, but I loved it so much that I wanted everyone to have a chance to try it. I loved it so much that I put it in my top 10 (temporarily - I'm a fickle soul) and added it to my 5ml wishlist.

 

I just tried it again today, and it smells completely different on me now. It smells exactly like Gingerbread Poppet with the spice turned down to low. Which, on me, is not a Good Thing. There is something in Gingerbread Poppet that immediately turns to stale urine on my skin. I'm not insulting the scents themselves - they are wonderful in the imp and I'm sure they are heavenly on most people. I put all of the blame on my skin chemistry. But that's what scent lockets are for, yes?

 

In the imp and in a scent locket: 4 out of 5 stars

On my skin: 0 stars and 1 dirty hobo

I just started filling in the BPAL spreadsheet linked above, and I'm astonished to find that I have tried 331 scents. I had no idea.

MB: biggerCritters smells wonderful in the bottle. I know it's grapefruit, not orange, but it smells just like a creamsicle to me. Sadly, when I put it on, the jasmine takes over and completely obliterates the other notes. It's too sharp, too harsh, too jasmine-y. I love Euphrosyne, so I had high hopes for this one. The jasmine in Euphrosyne plays nice all the way through, so maybe it's the Moroccan jasmine that's being so ornery on me. It's a lovely blend, though, and I'm envious of those who can wear it. I'm definitely going to try this one in my scent locket.

Also unfortunate , but just my opinion, there's just nothing like the first two versions of 13

I agree, but I'm here begging and pleading for someone to suggest an equivalent or a similar blend to the original 13. I love it so much. I have 3 bottles, but I've been wearing it almost daily for a couple of weeks, and I'm a slatherer. It's getting harder and harder to find, plus I'm worried about the citrus oils fading with age. The chocolate fades on me quickly, so I'm mainly looking to replicate the iris/floral/mandarin/tangerine/white tea aspects of the scent. I would love to have BPAL suggestions, but I'll also take suggestions for other possibilities through pm.

I second the rec for Cockaigne.

How do you feel about chocolate/cocoa? The Candy Butcher has a strong heavy cream note, on me anyway.

In the imp: Gingerbread

 

Wet on my skin: Sweet creamy lemon that reminds me of those lemon dessert bars with powdered sugar on top, with gingerbread in the background

 

Drydown: As it dries, the lemon fades into oblivion and I get deep, rich, gingerbread. Actually, it's more like my molasses ginger cookies instead of gingerbread. It's spicy, dark, and delicious. It's very spicy on me, which is a nice surprise because my skin tends to make spice disappear.

 

Overall: I am one of those people who stayed away from Shub when it was rare, because I was afraid I would like it. I'm glad I did, because I like it so much that I would have been tempted to pay an exorbitant price for a bottle. I agree with Holly - there's something in Shub that is very reminiscent of Snake Oil, although it never actually turns into Snake Oil on me. I can see why so many people love Shub. I'm putting it on heavy rotation.

Gingerbread Poppet for bakery

Cockaigne is bakery on me, don't know how it is on others though

 

Just an observation - Haloa isn't foody on me at all. In the bottle, yes, but as soon as it hits my skin all the foodiness goes away.

in the imp: wood smoke and spice

 

wet on my skin: When Priala hits my skin, it's predominantly smoky. It's a gorgeous wood smoke smell, with dry non-foody spices lingering in the background.

 

drydown: This blend never sits still on me! As soon as it starts drying on my skin, the smoke fades and the cinnamon combusts. The cinnamon reaches a fever pitch, then settles at a throbbing warmth. The myrrh steps up to the forefront, and a lovely wisp of smoke returns to swirl around in the spices.

 

overall: So far, Priala is my favorite of all the Carnaval Diabolique scents! It's warm, sexy, and amazingly complex. The transformation of this blend is otherworldly, but what else can you expect from a phoenix?

In the imp: Spicy cinnamon!

 

Wet on my skin: This is the spiciest BPAL I've tried so far. It reminds me of Big Red gum. It's a delicioius, sweet, flammable cinnamon. There's the barest hint of smoke behind the cinammon, as if it really is spicy enough to combust.

 

Drydown: More of the same - it's still a hot, candy-ish cinammon with a hint of smoke.

 

Overall: I am in love! My skin tends to eat cinammon, so most of the blends that others call spicy are not spicy at all on me. I am so happy to have found a cinnamon blend that stays true on my skin. I can't wait to start exploring the layering possibilities.

In the imp and wet on my skin, this smells exactly like delicious gingerbread fresh from the oven. Unfortunately, something goes horribly wrong as it dries. Underneath all the sweet and spicy gingerbread there's a hint of stale urine. I'm going to try it again in a few weeks in hopes that it's just a hormonal problem. Only I could turn fresh gingerbread into enraged incontinence musk.

I would be surprised if the Lab set something like this up, but there is always TheThingsIWant.com.

I used Kaboodle for my Christmas wishlist. TheThingsIWant looks similar. However, I don't think either of them solve Asenath's problem of wanting people to be able to send gifts without getting her address.

Euphrosyne might be good for you, even though you're wary of florals. It's very soft and the florals are tempered nicely by the vanilla. It reminds me very much of a princess.

 

And maybe Eat Me? You've gotten some very good recommendations.

In the imp: I smell sweet coconut and something that smells like burning plastic. I almost didn't try this one on my skin at all. I've had it for several months now and finally have the guts to try it. I don't like the smell of burning plastic.

Wet on my skin: Yay! There's no trace of burning plastic, or non-burning plastic, even. I'm getting mostly cassia, and it's lovely. Very spicy in a baked-goods way, with sweet coconut and dry cocoa powder in the background.

Drydown: This is a very foody but not chocolatey scent. It reminds me of spicy coconut cookies I had at a coffee shop long ago and far away. They were delicious, and so is this fragrance. I'm very glad that the cassia is taking over, because otherwise I think this scent would be way too sweet for me. As it is, everything is staying nicely balanced. Thanks, cassia!

Overall: I like this much more than I expected. There's not a whole lot of throw here, but that's ok with me. I have to put my nose about 4 inches away from my skin to get a scent. It is very foody, so it won't be an everyday scent for me, but I do think I'll wear it again in the future. It's a comforting bakery scent that stays interesting because of the spice. It also made me realize how much I like cassia.

In the imp: Spicy dragon's blood

 

Wet on my skin: I've been robbed! I came for the spice, and sadly there's no spice to be found. I'm getting sweet dragon's blood, which has disguised itself as fruity flowers. Dragon's blood doesn't usually do that to me. Huh.

 

Drydown: There's no change. I wanted spicy cinnamon goodness, and all I got was a pleasant fruity floral.

 

Overall: Well, Wrath is pleasant enough on me, but pleasant isn't quite what I was looking for. I envy those of you who get welt-inducing spice from this one. All I got was a pale shadow of my beloved Blood. I do like Wrath, but it just doesn't fit a niche for me.

From the wet stage all the way through the drydown, I get almost pure leather from Loviatar. Loviatar is a little sweeter and deeper than De Sade, but otherwise they're both the same clean, fresh leather scent on me. The other notes come out to play a little toward the end, but they stay nicely in the background.

 

Overall Loviatar is a sexy, saucy, leather scent that stays clean and crisp. It's not oiled leather or tanned hides, but the sweet leather of a supple jacket or corset mixed with the warm spiciness of the person in the leather. Rawr!

in the imp: sweet, heady florals

 

wet on my skin: Holy moly, sweet flower overload! This is jasmine and honeysuckle to the nth power. It's so sweet and cloying that it could induce a migraine. But oddly enough I don't dislike it.

 

drydown: As it dries, the florals are tempered by something that smells like damp and rotting vegetation. I mean that in the nicest way. The damp and rotting things are actually making this smell much better. They're holding back the jasmine, and I'm for anything that has the power to do that.

 

overall: New Orleans isn't a "me" fragrance, but I enjoyed the ride. Floral afficianados should love it, and everyone else should at least try it once.

in the imp: tonka and flowers

 

wet on my skin: This one is absolutely true to the description on me. It's a creamy, incensey violet with a hint of cloves. I hope the violet doesn't turn into Palmolive.

 

drydown: Yay, no dishsoap! No change from the wet stage. The violet is soft and sweet, the tonka is rich and creamy, the clove is spicing it up just a little, and the incense is staying soft and rounding everything out.

 

overall: This is the first BPAL violet blend that has not turned into dishsoap on my skin. It does fade quickly, but the clove seems to stick around longer than the other notes, so it still smells wonderful. This is another floral blend (violets, even!) that this former floral-hating girl actually likes.

In the imp: lavender and citrus

 

Wet on my skin: It smells like lemon drop candy! There's a faint hint of lavender and jasmine in the background, but otherwise it's all lemon.

 

Drydown: The lemon fades a little, and the other notes become more prominent. It's a fairly balanced blend of lavender, citrus, soft florals, and slightly minty herbs. Jasmine tends to go out of control on me, but it's minding its manners here.

 

Overall: On me this is a soft pleasant fragrance that does tend to be slightly "medicinal" from the combination of lavender, herbs, and lemon. It could be the scent of a botanical sinus-clearing salve of some sort, so I can imagine reaching for it when I'm feeling under the weather.

In the imp: smoky woods

 

Wet on my skin: Sri Lanka blossoms into warm woods, resins, and spice. I can pick out the sandalwood, cedar, patchouli, and myrrh. There's a hint of something citrus-y on my skin, which I'm guessing is the olibanum. I really like this one.

 

Drydown: It stays pretty much the same as the wet stage, except the patchouli comes on a little stronger as it dries. Fortunately I like patchouli.

 

Overall: Sri Lanka is warm, spicy, and mysterious. It's a very well-balanced blend, with no one note shouting for attention. I would classify it as more masculine than feminine, but still wearable for men and women. I like it on myself, but it would be very sexy on a man too. Something about it reminds me a little of Blood - probably the myrrh. I would definitely wear Sri Lanka again, and I plan on ordering a bottle whenever I can swing it.