forspecial_plate

Smells like clean polished woods. More like fresh oiled new floorboards rather than dusty old splintered floorboards. I can tell there's more going on in the background but none of the other notes stand out to me, it's all just blended together. I'm finding it hard to describe what I'm smelling but something does remind me of another Bpal - but I can't place what it is. This scent is pretty light and I had to apply a lot to get an impression of it. I like it, I think it might be a good cozy scent for bleak gloomy overcast days.

I put this on and decided it smells just like the picture on the label looks. Cool and blueish. The bergamot stands out along with maybe the ti leaf. After a while I'm smelling the absinthe note and it turns just a tiny bit powdery around the edges. It doesn't smell strongly minty to me, and I don't quite pick out eucalyptus. Overall this is refreshing and clean, but not quite bracing (it's more....soft and a little fluffy maybe?). There wasn't anything surprising and if you think you would like it, go for it. Edit: ok, weird - I tried this again just now and it's more eucalyptus-mint-absinthe. More chilly and I think I smell the "frost" part now. Reminds me of a Yule scent.

I wore this on its own for a good while today. I'm getting quiet amber and woods which is expected. It has a "smoldering", sultry quality. I could be wrong but I am also detecting a really noticeable aldehyde note, the same that's in Lady Hatton. Reminds me of the aldehydes in Chanel No. 5. Overall this smells chic and elegant, but has very low throw on my skin (a good thing, for me). I think it's perfect for a crisp fall evening.

It smells like Dead Leaves on fire! ? Pretty simple and just what I was expecting. It's a familiar dead leaves accord, and a mellow bonfire smoke note. It's a pretty light scent (which I like). Not too strong. Honestly there is something vaguely lemony lurking in the background, if you sniff up close. It's really subtle, I wonder if anyone else will smell this or if it's my imagination. Maybe a small touch of black musk? PS: the hint of lemon has disappeared. I still think there could be a smidge of black musk in this.

2019 decant - this is so strong it's unwearable for me. I like Lambswool so I thought this might work but something is just abrasive - one of the spices maybe? I've tried it several times and today I tried dabbing the absolute tiniest amount from the wand, and I am about to go wash it off because it's STROOONG, making me sneeze and giving me a headache. Not for me at all. Edit, tried again today, I don't understand what is happening with this scent. It smells nice for a couple minutes then goes off the rails. Something in it feels almost like bleach fumes going way up in my nose, or some kind of industrial strength disinfectant, not really soapy but almost like a nuclear strength white musk? I don't get it. Never had such a reaction that I can remember, with any of these notes.

You could try Aureus - earthy, woodsy, patchouli + amber

Oh shoot, sorry, I didn't know that! Maybe it will come back.

I would recommend Othello, it's not an exact match but it's in the ballpark. It's a lot more rose-forward. Egoiste is my favorite non-bpal scent. I also tried Tristran, and Harlequin & Columbine, based on the notes I thought they might smell like Egoiste, but they don't. I haven't encountered anything else that does but I could have missed something. : )

I can smell patchouli, but really it's hard to pick apart different notes here. Ylang was a risk for me, I don't hate it but I wasn't sure if I really liked it. It really doesn't stand out at all to me. I understand what Rane means by the aftershave impression. Not sure what else to say! It's just totally blended to me. I like this and I will wear it as late summer transitions to fall.

Gosh this is beautiful. I just got it yesterday, so it's still shifting around a little from traveling. But I'm pretty sure I love it. I was a little concerned about vetiver because it can misbehave and take over sometimes. I'm happy to say vetiver is a polite voice at the party here, it speaks up at the very beginning but not too loudly. At the very start this is a nice juicy orange vetiver scent but less than 5 minutes in, the orange blossom BLOOMS, an orange tinted white-ish floral note that is just divine. There's a hint of powder around the edges but this isn't a powdery scent. I can't comment much on the drydown, so far it seems to just fade off into light citrus loveliness. Bergamot stays in the background for me, or maybe it's just backing up the orange blossom. So far every time I've worn it, I keep reapplying to get that celestial floomf of orange blossom. This is so perfect for late summer.. ??? Edit: yeah after a while this fades to a very light skin scent. Perhaps a scent locket would help to extend that gorgeous beginning phase, it lasts about a half hour on me. It's ok, I don't mind reapplying often!

I just got Resistance, and when I tried it on, I thought, "This will be a fantastic autumn scent!".

My experience with this was a lot like Follow My Nose's review above. I would add that in the first couple minutes, this really reminds me of Mad Hatter. But that changes. Like others mentioned, I get an impression of some kind of floral peeking out, maybe white floral, but not specific. And I might be the only one but I could almost swear I smell sandalwood for a while, but then that backs off. And I think someone mentioned vanilla? I get a little of that too. This is a morpher and I would suggest it needs to be tried on the skin. It's really interesting and I'm really glad I took a chance on it! Edit: I tried this again today and it's intense perfumey buttery musk, almost like those butter mint candies - but very "grownup" also. It's so weird, I'm not getting anything floral this time. This could almost be a Halloweenie scent.

I had a different experience! This translates to strong, heavy incense, nag champa variety, that takes over on my skin for hours, lasts through soap and water, into the next day. I can smell the orange blossom, honey, and maybe tuberose, but honestly I can close my eyes and be transported to the incense section of a new-age shop. It didn't agree with me and I have several other scents that fit that category, so I don't need to try this again. Please note, this was tested pretty much right out of the mailbox (shared order with a friend, she had more success with this one!).

This is a dusky, night time jasmine scent, a little bit fruity, with some light benzoin around the edges. It has a light and airy quality to me but it's deceptively strong. My partner smelled it from the next room! It's definitely a "purple" scent. I think the red mandarin is just blending with the plum for the overall fruity feeling. I mean, I almost expect the oil itself to be purple (it's not, as far as I can tell in the bottle). This is a beautiful night-time summery scent! I usually get along just fine with jasmine, and I love this one. I think the benzoin is giving it a "lift", with that light incense around the edges.

I haven't tried Paper Phoenix. However, I would suggest you try Rendezvous with Her Lover Behind the Rice Straws, from this year's Lupers. I mention it because I get a pretty strong AL vibe, even though there's no vanilla listed in the notes. And a few of the reviews do mention vanilla. Worth a shot! : )

You might want to try Snake Oil and also browse through the Snake Pit while you're at it (except I think Snake Oil is out of stock at the moment ?), since it is one of the Lab's most popular scents and it's talked about a lot, and you might enjoy it. I think I would recommend Boomslang in particular (part of the Snake Pit, in the Carnaval Diabolique section), if you like cocoa. It's a warm, slightly earthy, sultry cocoa + Snake Oil (and other stuff) scent moreso than gourmand in my opinion. The list of notes may not sound complex but I think Snake Oil on its own is rather complex, musk and spices, vanilla, who knows what else. : ) And the Snake Pit scents really vary on how much they resemble Snake Oil. Also I would try stuff even if you think you won't like it, you may be surprised by something. : ). I didn't think I would like any foody/gourmand scents but I ended up loving Sugar Skull, Eat Me, and lots of pumpkin scents too. : )

I just love this! It wasn't on my radar when it first appeared, for whatever reason. I think I've been wary of neroli in the past because it can be unpredictable and doesn't always work for me. And nag champa, and incense in general, can be tricky too. For some reason I got on a neroli kick recently and found a bottle here on the forum, and took a chance. I'm so glad I went for it! There is a wonderful balance between the sweetness of the incense, and the raspy herbal neroli. It starts with a juicy burst of neroli followed by a cloud of nag champa. Much later I think the neroli comes back out. I don't think the notes really blend together, I can pick them out individually (I could be wrong). I know I'm weird about this but certain Bpal scents just say "summer" to me and I can't wait to wear this in hot weather! Actually it kind of reminds me of a beautiful suntan lotion (are those things of the past now?). I'll definitely be watching the menage a trois scents now because this one just sings on me and it came along at a time when I was starting to lose some enthusiasm about wearing scents in general. I couldn't be happier with it!

Rose scents are a risk for me because rose can turn too soapy, too sharp, too sour, powdery, etc - but I love them when they work out! This was a risk that paid off. This is mainly rose on me, with nothing else jumping out, nothing sharp, no soap, nothing bad at all. I can't quite pick out the other notes but I can tell they are present. There is a slight hint of something tart, that may come from the rose, or maybe the labdanum? I'm not sure but I think the vanilla is just a pillowy soft backdrop that smooths everything out. You might call this powdery but I think the combination of notes is really balanced and I don't think it's TOO powdery. This does bring incense to mind but it's very sophisticated and doesn't go too loud or too flat or anything (incense can turn on me sometimes). It just simply smells good, which I was really hoping for when I saw these notes. I'm going to let my partner try this and if he loves it too, we might need another bottle!

This smells like a slightly animalic, dirtied up leather and musk, with maybe some cherry swirling around at the beginning. I'm getting a hint of waxy/rubbery something, and a hint of spice too, nothing specific, just slightly spicy. Also - either there is extra musk in this, or maybe a little oud, and that's where the "dirty" part comes from. The Snake Oil isn't very strong and there's not a lot of sillage for me, which is actually what I prefer over super-strong scents. This is great. Am I going to wear it? I'm not sure, but I like it more than Snake Skin and I'm glad I didn't let it pass by. It's perfect for Halloween! Like others mentioned, I didn't get it when I first tried it, right after I got it in the mail. I did set it aside for a few days, and now I understand how this fits the concept. The light bulb went on today - "Ah yes, Wax Vampire Teeth! I get it now!".

I think the lotus root/pine ratio is about 30/70. And this lotus root doesn't smell like lotus as I know it from gc lotus scents. It also doesn't smell rooty to me, it's more like an airy floral note. Every time I tried this, I thought it smelled like a Luper scent. But the pine needles are pretty strong here, so there's that. It isn't quite working for me but I'm going to set it aside and try again. Maybe on a breezy spring morning?

Frankincense is the strongest note for me, and I think the other notes combine to imitate myrrh, even though there's no myrrh listed in the description. (or maybe in my mind, I'm expecting myrrh to be there so I'm smelling an illusion of myrrh or something?). Also, something here reminds me of labdanum. It's incense-y but also deep and dark, kind of wine-like, with the bergamot adding just a hint of fruitiness. It is kind of like Thousands of Lights but this is a little lighter, and easier for me to wear. It's a really nice combination, I love all of these notes so it was a no-brainer, and I'm glad I got it.

Note the description for the new Yule scent, V'al HaNissim: "beeswax glowing softly amber". So beeswax single note? Or beeswax plus amber maybe. I'm interested in how this will smell!

This smells fantastic. It's complex, but I think I can pick out leaves, tea, and although I smell something vaguely fruity that I guess is currant (it smells sort of purple-y), I really don't smell any cake except maybe the slightest hint of it. I don't get a lot of smoke but it's very atmospheric. I'm really happy with this, so far it's my #1 winner from this year's Halloweenies. I commented elsewhere that this is like Dorian at the Halloween party with a witch costume on. I still think so but it also reminds me of a Lace scent without the Lace, or maybe with the Lace turned down low. I hope that makes sense to someone. : D

This smells fantastic. I smell leaves, earthy patchouli, and other stuff. The other notes are just hints without standing out as blackcurrant or bourbon. It all just blends together, it's like a dark, chilly autumn wind. It reminds me a lot of Hallow-e'en 1914, which makes sense looking at the notes, but the patchouli is standing out and making me love this scent even more. There's nothing really surprising here, just a lovely fall Bpal scent, kind of what I expected from the notes. Edit: just a little while later, the bourbon came out stronger. I didn't notice it as much when I tried this yesterday. It's really working in this scent. I love it!

This is fantastic. I have been in the mood for a "robe and slippers" kind of cozy scent and this might be it. I can pick out the tonka and leaves but overall it gives me a tobacco impression, even though I know there's no tobacco. It's a little earthy, but also cozy and a touch sweet. And it seems to be the perfect "volume" or whatever you call that - sillage or throw I guess? It's not too strong, but just strong enough. I wore it to a work meeting and didn't have any worries that my scent was too strong (something I worry about sometimes).