forspecial_plate

It's unusual for me to like or even be interested in any chocolate scent but the reviews drew me in for this one, if I remember correctly it was a last minute Yule purchase before they went down that year. I really like it. It is a rich scent but there is a savory thing going on, I guess from the stout, and not much sweetness, just rich and dark chocolate. I don't wear it a lot but there are times when it's the perfect cozy scent on a cold day (like today).

Something here is not working for me, and I blame the smoked balsam. It overwhelms the other notes and ends up smelling like....I don't know, plasticky wet dog or something? I thought it might smooth out and right itself with age ...nope. My skin just isn't having this one.

From the list of notes this could have gone either way - I love the idea of these notes but it's just a little bit too mossy on me. That's my one complaint. Otherwise it is zesty with a nice amount of citrus. On my skin, mossy scents often come off as......your uncle who still has his hair style from the 70's, and not in a good way. Sorry I don't know how else to put it. There are times I am in the mood for this kind of thing, and my decant is just the right amount for me. Edit: wearing this today. It's not like a mossy dated aftershave any more. Now I'm smelling something like citrus, herbal, white musk. Also it reminds me of Apostrophe of Time. Still not great on me but at least the 70's aftershave feeling is gone. Gives me hope for some other scents I set aside for the same reason.

I haven't tried Storyville either but this. Is. Beautiful. I am getting the same impression as the reviewer before me. Basically I smell light and airy, slightly cakey/bready, hint of floral (ghost of jasmine is exactly what I thought too - slightly indolic), incensey musk. Sooo smooth and light, and not the spicy/earthy (in my opinion) red musk I was expecting. Is there more than one red musk accord? This fades and after a while I think more of the spices are coming out, but again very light, and elegant. I'm not sure I need any other pumpkin scents after this, it's that good. I already ordered a backup bottle and I very rarely do that! I can't stop sniffing my wrist and I find myself reapplying often so I can relive the experience. : ) Edit: I want to add, I do smell the pumpkin at the beginning then it fades somewhat, which is in line with my usual experience with the lab's pumpkin note Edit again: I read starbrow's review, she mentioned oud - is that where the indoles are coming from?? Oud is another one of those notes I don't always recognize. Somehow I'm getting jasmine with my chemistry, but just a slight hint, so don't worry too much if jasmine isn't your thing! It might just be an olfactory illusion.

Yep, if you want sandalwood, here it is! I have a 15 ml bottle of sandalwood essential oil, half full now, that I bought in the 90's, back when it was cheap and not over-harvested (or so I have read in perfume books and blogs). That's what Pyramid of Skulls reminds me of, smooth, deep, and somehow a little sparkling. Also it's pretty strong. Might make a good sandalwood layering note if you're into that kind of thing. I detect some earthy tobacco around the edges. I usually can't pick tobacco out in a blend and also can't really tell the different tobacco accords apart. But I will say this one seems to be similar to the tobacco in the Patchouli & Tobacco duo. Edit: almost a year later, the tobacco has come out more, it's definitely present now.

This is so, so yummy and has always been one of my favorite pumpkin scents. I don't think I ever reviewed it (I looked, sorry if I missed it). I don't get a whole lot of citrus. It does smell like the same pumpkin note as Pumpkin Queen and Pumpkin Cheesecake, with a little sweetness and a little spice. I usually just wear this at home as a comfort scent and it fades really fast on me, and I don't really care, I just reapply it. Simply fall joy in a bottle. : )

This scent didn't work out for me. It's very loud and high-pitched on my skin. Reminds me of a cleaner or air freshener. It doesn't smell bad, but it's way too strong and I'm picking up on the floral impression that others got. It smells more like a plum blossom note than plum. I don't get lavender at all, maybe the lavender is contributing to the floral/detergent feeling I'm getting. Sandalwood? Can't really detect it. I might like this more if it was about half the strength it is. Later as it dries, the plum comes out more, but it's not sitting well on me. It's more of that air freshener feeling. Maybe I should disclose that I'm learning more and more that I often like softer, quieter scents, not the very strong ones. I find many to be just too strong and this particular scent has a very "perfumey" quality. (I do realize, they are perfumes, they're supposed to be perfumey! ? I was hoping for more of the tranquil incense part).

#56 Smells like fresh turned soil, and a hint of dead leaves. It's photo-realistic mulch on the forest floor. #82 This is a pale aqua seafoam kind of scent. It's very light, even lighter than my #40 reviewed above. There's a very light hint of dead leaves. All I can think when I smell this is that pale sea-green color, I don't usually have that synesthesia thing going on but with this scent I do. Edit 3/2/22: I smell juniper now, not sure how I didn't notice before. Light perfumey juniper.

The number is partially rubbed off the bottle, but I think it came that way. It looks like CXX_ _ or something. Lab etsy purchase I forgot I had. This starts out with a blast of pumpkin I think, it totally reminds me of a pumpkin patch scent. The pumpkin retreats pretty fast though and what comes out is soooo familiar but I can't quite identify it. Is it tobacco? Soft spices? Light wood? Patchouli? I just can't tell, but it's very much a Halloweenie type of scent and I'm crazy about it. There is not much Snake Oil coming out (it definitely has "Snake Oil Series" on the label). The closest comparison I can think of is Hellhound On My Trail but that's not quite it. I must not have liked this when I first got it, I think I put it away for aging and forgot about it. Edit: I wore this today and my other Snake Oil Chaos Theory on the other side, and I realized this one has woodsmoke in it, a light touch but it stands out in comparison with the other one. Snake Oil, pumpkin, and a little woodsmoke.

Thanks to a lovely, generous member here I obtained a bottle of this - thank you, you know who you are! ❤️ I love this! It's warm, sweet and cozy, and a little on the lighter side (just right for me). I mostly smell a vague vanilla and it's a little nutty (I know there are no nut notes), and I think the patchouli comes through too. For a while, the honey comes close to causing a problem but it's only there if I sniff up close. But in the air around me, it's no problem at all, and eventually fades back almost totally. I think the sugared patchouli really likes me and is blending with the vanilla cream, because that's mostly what I'm getting here. Maybe the amber oud is coming through, I am reminded somewhat of Brood X. Based on the description this wasn't on my radar at all (just based on the notes, I mean), so this is a really happy surprise. : )

I did find a couple of topics! Under Recommendations

Oh I bet there's a topic under Recommendations about the Snake Pit - but I'm no good at searching (I was great at it on the old forum) and I couldn't find it! I think there should be one, if there isn't already. But - my favorite is Temple Viper, followed closely by King Cobra, Cottonmouth, and with Death Adder and Western Diamondback in a tie for 4th place. I also really like Boomslang but currently don't have any, so I haven't worn it in a long time. : )

This smells good. It smells just like you would think given the notes. The blueberry is strong for the first few minutes, then the dl and chypre come out. I think chypre is kind of cologne-like. My partner doesn't like bpal's dl notes so I can't wear this around him. It's a little on the strong side for a hair gloss (compared to the other ones I wear). I think I'll wear this in the fall when the cooler weather starts. Cozy.

I should have known better - this has the exact note or combination of notes that went south in Voluminous Red Blanket. It starts out somewhat nice, reddish lit incense (in that general category IMO) and I understand why people like it. After about a half hour something here sinks its hooks in my skin, turns bitter and a little sour, and hangs around indefinitely, drowning out anything nice that I might have smelled at first. I'm guessing red labdanum and/or rose petals (maybe the combination of both). It actually seems to get stronger instead of fading so I guess I'm amping something. I really thought I liked labdanum, maybe red labdanum isn't for me. Anyway - washing with soap and water didn't help and applying a different scent didn't really drown it out, I guess I'm in for the day with this one.

On me this goes on candy orange raspberry, like sweet tarts candy. However right away the musk starts to come out. After a short while this has deepened a lot and I'm reminded of a chic suntan-oil scent, the kind I used to wear in the eighties without any spf (do they even make that any more?). I used to love how that smelled and I love this for bringing that scent memory up. I'll have lots of fun wearing this.

I really go back and forth on this scent. It's hard to let go of any expectations because I love the old original version so much. I believe this isn't the same but I do think it is comparable. It has a soapy or detergent aspect like some others mentioned, that is hard for me to get past. Then after some time, some of the sugared incense does come out for me, like after about a half hour. It's still not the same as the old one but it is a closer approximation than I thought at first. It's borderline for me. Sorry for editing but it seemed that just when I posted my review the incense decided to come out after all. This honestly reminds me a little bit of Cottonmouth.

Resistance, from the Activism section, currently available - "Bourbon vanilla and vintage champaca absolute with sweet patchouli, dried red fruits, leather accord, pumpkin rind, and a splash of bourbon"

This isn't what I expected but I do really like it. This is not a sweet or "lemony" ginger like you often find with Bpal ginger scents. Either they use different ginger accords or the orange blossom is playing tricks on my nose.. This is a very dry herbal scent and I was reminded of Sweet Ginger and Patchouli hair gloss. In fact this is a great scent to pair with that hg. After some time passes, it becomes softer and the clove definitely comes out. Kind of reminds me of a carnation scent to be honest (I know it's just the clove doing that). I can tell the benzoin is a light incense-y backdrop. Overall, I was expecting warm, sweet and cozy, and after I got over my expectations I find this to be dry, herbal, sophisticated, with very little floral. Not a gourmand scent at all to my nose. I'll really enjoy wearing this.

I recommend A Moonlit Winter Landscape if iris + dirt sounds good to you. There is a powdery sweet aspect but it really helps balance the deep earthy quality. I love it.

This is The Myrrh Show on me, mostly myrrh with a little something tart and overall a dark incense feel. Not bad.

Ok, I'll give it a shot. This is really unusual and it's not reminding me of any other Bpal, although I haven't tried everything. I'm not getting traditional aquatic. I have tried many aquatic Bpal scents and this doesn't really smell like those. I think I am smelling mossy stone, and I think there might be some grapefruit in the mix too. I'm not picking up on any icy water. And I don't really smell hearth smoke, but there is a kind of softness that could be some hearth smoke way in the background. It's not a scent I can pick apart easily, it's more like a blended accord that doesn't really morph much over time. I had to get over my expectations with this because it's really not what I expected, but it is definitely growing on me. I may not always be in the mood for this but I think it's a clean scent, and might be really nice on a warm spring day. Edit to add: after a couple hours I think the hearth smoke is slooooowly making itself known, but it's so subtle I didn't really notice it happening. Neat!

I really like this too. There's a really short phase right at the beginning that worried me a little, kind of flat and...dusty or something. But after about 20 or 30 minutes, it smooths out a lot and is just lovely. This part reminds me of TKO but sweeter and more gourmand. This could be such a nice bedtime scent like the reviewer mentioned before me. It's incredibly well balanced.

This is soft, sweet, rounded, refreshing, basically perfect. It's not sharp in any way. Blueberry musk is what I smell and I love it. Perfect strength level and lasts a long time.

I got mostly anise for a long time. Then, after maybe 3 hours or so, the anise was gone and I smelled this very clean and elegant tea with slightly mossy backdrop. Smelled like Chanel Pour Monsieur, the old good version before they reformulated it. Amazing. This phase lasted fully for the rest of the day. ❤️

This smells exactly like the three notes present and accounted for, in equal parts as far as I can tell. This has a cooling, peaceful vibe and I absolutely love it. A while back I was looking for the perfect "spa"-like scent. Well, I don't think it will get any closer than this. I'm seriously considering seeking out a backup bottle!