forspecial_plate

I think I have a love it or hate it relationship with wood notes.... What I'm getting here from the beginning is a spearmint or winter-green type smell, pretty strong. It's an unpleasant association for me...from childhood I've always associated those smells with chewing tobacco (from growing up in Kentucky, I guess...). This fades a lot in the first few minutes, but doesn't go away completely. I guess the dried leaves are what I'm smelling. Then I can also smell the wood notes, and they are just not working for me. The aquatic notes are in there, struggling to come out, and I think with time they might become more apparent. I do wish that I got the beauty from Ulalume that others got from it! This actually isn't terrible after a while...but I just can't see waiting through the first stages of it. I can see this being a good 'winter' blend for some.

Morocco threw me for a loop at first...it smelled nothing like I was expecting! It reminded me a lot of Oblivion (the sandalwood, maybe?) and a little bit of Black Opal, somehow. After a while, as it dried and warmed and I started to get past my expectations, I very much enjoyed this scent. Smells dry to me, woodsy, and spicy. I am also picking up the sweetness/vanilla (?) that others mentioned in their reviews. At first I thought of it as feminine. Then I realized it could actually work really well for me, in the right setting, like a formal occasion or wedding or something like that. I kept thinking of hot desert winds, although not so dry and harsh as Scarecrow.

Wow...this is a sharp one! Sophisticated and classy come to mind, also herbal and dry. I'm getting a lot of moss, and maybe some of the geranium and rosemary. The mints come out just a little bit after a while. I don't think I can smell any jasmine at all...but it's so well blended it's hard to tell. Actually, when I read the notes, I was surprised that there were so many. And for a scent with so many notes, this does very little morphing on me. VdV does smell very clean and somewhat soapy on me, but that's not a problem. I could see being in the mood for this. For some reason it keeps reminding me of Scarecrow.

I'll add Nyarlathotep, if you haven't already tried it. Lemon-y citrus with dark incense. My skin turns it into baby powder after 1 hour, but maybe you'd have better luck. : )

Djinn, Count Dracula, R. M. Renfield. Also Bitter Moon will be available for a short time this weekend (maybe tonight!) but nobody knows yet what that one will smell like. : )

I love the smell of anise, fennel, and black licorice...even as a perfume smell. So far, this is the closest I've come to finding one (among bpal scents) that does what I want it to. It is heavy on the anise, which is good. I can tell there's a little something more behind it but it's hard to pick out other notes. I think I can smell the civet which I was worried about, but it seems to be behaving here and not getting out of hand. So far I haven't really picked up on the moss or lichen, or oak leaf. I smell a little bit of herbal sweetness behind the anise but that's about it. Not a bad scent at all for me, actually wearable. But it doesn't live up to my dream anise scent, which would have more sugary sweetness and maybe a touch of citrus. So probably no bottle on this one, but I will keep the imp to wear from time to time. : )

This is a pretty scent, softly floral and sweet at first, very subtle, with a light throw. No one note stands out a lot for me.....it seems like a quiet scent, but kind of bright and sweet. If I sniff up close, I can smell the lavender. After an hour or so, the musks come forward (or maybe the other notes back off). This will go in a special pile of imps I'm saving for my mom and sisters. I like the way it smells but it's a bit soft and pretty for my tastes.

DCCCXXXVI (836)... Bright, soapy, maybe floral? I think Nightbird was right, there may be a little pine (or juniper?) in this. I was thinking maybe ozone too, because it goes really soapy/cleanser on me. Reminds me a little of violets, but doesn't turn powdery like violets usually do on me. Just not the kind of scent I really enjoy! MXXXII (1032?)... This was just a sniffie from Deana. It smells really good. I got a big blast of sea spray at first, I think...it has that bracing salty feel that I remember from the ocean blends, and also smells a little bit soapy on me. After just a couple minutes I can smell sandalwood. Interesting. It's reminding me of a brighter Kingsport, but instead of "incandescent mist" it has smokey sandalwood incense wafting in and out of the mix. There might be more here, it does smell complex, but I can't put my finger on what else is in it. It lasted a long time...eventually the ocean scent faded and the sandalwood remained. It's really nice, and I'm glad I got to try it! I have enough to wear it a couple more times, at least.

Bought a bottle for my mom, and very happy to get a chance to try it on myelf! In the bottle, reminds me a lot of CTIII: Strange Attractors CDLXII, except slightly more spicy. Okay, since not many have tried that scent....Pumpkin Queen in the bottle is very buttery, with a sweet spiciness behind it. I put it on and the buttery-ness blooms for a few minutes, then the sweet citrus and spice come forward as the butter takes a bow and retreats. The ginger and spice are indeed something akin to Shub-Niggurath, except there is more going on here, probably because of the amber and orange peel. It's kind of a faint scent on me, but doesn't have to throw a lot to get its impact across. Kind of like a queen issueing a command in a calm speaking voice...there's power behind the beauty. As far as the pumpkin, I'm not sure I'm good at picking out that particular note. It doesn't remind me of carving a pumpkin...it's more like the spices from a pumpkin pie that spring to mind. The amber and ginger (I think) combine to make this something other than purely foody. It's good stuff, that's for sure. I decided that rather than buy myself a bottle, I'll just be content in the knowledge that my mom has a bottle and I'll enjoy smelling it when she wears it. I'm really glad I got to try it.

Whip starts out all rose on me. Eventually it settles down into something I can live with. It doesn't really smell like leather though....I guess the combination of notes sort of blend to become their own single identity. The rose is still there but the leather blends with it to create something unfamiliar but nice. I don't know....I'll keep it around, maybe I'll find a use for it....or I may end up swapping it.

At first Seraphim is just soap on me, which I guess is the lily or maybe the combination of florals. After a long while, the sharp soapiness fades and it has a more woody smell. Not worth the wait, though. : ( The very soapy stage reminds me of violet, which is not a good thing for me. I'm not big on floral scents. Edit Nearly two years later, I got another frimp of this somewhere, and tried it again. Now it strikes me as a 'glittery' floral scent, with a strange, faint undertone of.....bread? Something kind of doughy about it, which I'm guessing is just one of the floral notes going weird on me.

Unfortunately this isn't working for me. All I get is powdery sweet, fruity-grape-candy smell which has a lot of throw and lasts and lasts without turning into anything that I like. No bay or incense that I can detect. I guess what I'm getting is honey wine, in a big way. Association time: Delphi reminds me strongly of some 'grape' flavored liquid asthma medicine I had to take as a kid. It was so bad, it was the first time in my life that I wanted to take pills, and hence that is when I 'learned' how to take pills. This smell a lot like that tasted and thus has a bad association for me.

I like Dr. John Seward...although my review may imply that I don't. At first it's a big rush of high, sweet floral which is either the champaca itself, or maybe in combination with the poppy smoke, although I'm not getting anything smokey here. It is heady and delirious, although not in the darker way that I was hoping for. What it does smell like is artificial banana flavor. It's such a strong association that I'm surprised nobody else got it so far. Just my skin, I guess... After it dries a bit the 'banana' floral backs off and lets some of the other notes come forward just a bit. If they are there at all, it's all supporting the main floral feel of this. I don't get any sandalwood that I can tell, and not really any smokiness at all. Ginger and white pepper....if I think about it, they might be coming out just a little bit. So far the times I've worn this I fell asleep before it faded completely...then when I woke up a couple hours later it was gone. *poof* Not much throw, and not a lot of staying power. But my skin is dry a lot of the time so that might contribute. I do like this, it smells kind of classy or sophisticated, and quite unusual and unique. I'm definitely holding on to it in hopes that aging it will bring out more of the smokiness and spiciness that I really wanted.

Glad I finally got to try this, it has been on my wish list for a while. At first, I'm reminded of Blood Kiss quite a bit, I guess because of the musk. It's a spicy, earthy scent that seems to me to be in the same family as Blood Kiss, Kabuki, and Scherezade, all of which smell kind of related to me. But then as it dries it becomes its own animal. I start to smell what I kept thinking was a little bit of civet, along with the sandalwood. It comes together into something that is a sum of its parts rather than individual notes. It is indeed wild, making me think of animals in their natural habitat, the same way Satyr did. Kind of repellant to my nose and something I'll most likely swap. Edit: This is yet another scent that I'm glad I gave another chance. Someone gave me a new imp of it and I really like it right now....maybe I have to be in just the right mood. I think it's the red musk that was rubbing me the wrong way before. I love it today!

Renfield is a weird one, that's for sure! He's spicy and very dry...spicy and mossy, and I would say leans toward masculine or maybe gender neutral...I do think some of the girls would like this. I have worn it 3 times and got 3 different impressions/associations from it. It's kind of a twitchy or active scent, if that makes any sense at all. I did get a little of the neroli, which added just a little bit of sweetness. Not at all like Count Dracula which is kind of poised and brooding. Nope, Renfield is true to his character...unpredictable and...cagey, maybe? Could I be more vague? The second time I put on too much and got a harsh, almost chemical smell that reminded me of Scarecrow. That time I could definitely smell the cumin, which I like but can also be kind of too much for a body scent. Well, tonight I put on just a teensy bit..like 3 little dabs from the cap...and this time, the throw is kind of metallic. It keeps reminding me of blood....like real human blood, believe it or not. It's still spicy and mossy, but I think now I'm getting the overall scent in more of a blended-together way than I did before. Very unique and somehow works really well on me. I actually wore it to work. I'm really glad I took a chance on this scent. Challenging and rewarding!

First of all, I'm a big fan of The Pit and the Pendulum. It's one of my favorite of the many bpal 'incense' blends. Well, Al Azif on the surface smells very similar to PnP. They have one or more of the exact same notes going on. However....it crosses the line into TOO sweet. I've only had it on for about an hour and I already feel like I can't handle it. It lacks the wood element of PnP, as far as I can tell. There is a very subtle underlying element of....I'm not sure, something dry and crumbly. It has a core of corruption and some high, sweet element reminding me of rot and decay. Very strong throw and a little goes a long way. Now that it's starting to dry, I am sensing something more pleasant trying to emerge. I just can't leave it on, though. I may hold onto the imp, since earlier reviews say that it ages well...but I might just swap it. I can't see myself wanting to wear it again any time soon. Funny how it's so much like one of my favorite scents, yet it's starting to turn my stomach a little.

Today I tried a regular coffee stirrer and it brought way too much oil out of the bottle. I do like the McDonalds coffee stirrers because the end is shaped like a little paddle and it's good for getting as much out as you want. What I really want are caps with glass wands.

From my experience...Creepy has a very caramel-y smell, kind of smooth and melty. Sugar Skull is more like maple syrup and brown sugar...more of a crystallized sugar smell...but no apple or cinnamon. That's my nose's opinion, anyway...maybe both would be worth looking into. I've only tried last year's Sugar Skull but I like it better than Creepy. : )

With Wrath I had my typical dragon's blood experience, which is, it smelled very brightly floral for a little while, with a little spicy cinnamon mixed in. Then the dragon's blood resin dries and it settles into sweet and spicy. Pleasant but somehow anything with dragon's blood just kind of sits on my skin, not doing much exciting for me. It's not bad, just kind of....unexciting for me.

Lenore smells vaguely green and herbal to me. I would never be able to pick out individual notes in this blend. It's well blended but on my skin turns kind of stale. Really all I can pick out is maybe the thyme...but I never would have guessed that it has vetiver. It keeps reminding me of some other GC blend....I want to say Black Tower although I don't think they have notes in common. Maybe it's just in the sense that they are both complex but blended to the point that they become kind of indistinct on me, and both turn just a little stale on my skin. Lenore is weird on me. I think I'll give someone else a shot at it.

The Count has been wafting around me for 4 hours now (with one touch-up), and I think I can safely say he has become another favorite. In the words of the evil doctor in Hellraiser II: "And to think....I hesitated......" Count Dracula starts out spicy, sweet and musky, almost like Devil's Night but more mature and not as sweet. Very subtle and delicious. I'm also reminded of the dark herbal/faint spicyness of Schwarzer Mond (which is what I traded for the Count)....much more subtle than that scent, yet spicier. After a while, maybe an hour or two, I swear I can smell a little bit of juniper in Count Dracula. Maybe that is what his coffin is made of. Usually I don't like Bpal's juniper, but here it's behaving quite nicely. It brings a hushed dignity to the scent that reminds me of Oblivion but again, more subtle. Then, after another hour or two, the sweetness comes back and with it, the ginger comes out. I love every stage of the Count, especially since through all this morphing and shifting, the overall mood of menacing quiet, dark and silky seduction, remains consistent. And the absolute best part is the subtlety....I actually wore this to a staff meeting, something I don't usually feel comfortable doing. Just a couple little dabs were perfect. It will be great for those times that I don't want to broadcast a scent all around me.

I'm on the fence about Oblivion...I read the description the first time I ever saw the bpal site, and I've been wanting to try it ever since. I finally got to try it thanks to the lovely projectx. My first impression is that it's close to a 'traditional' cologne or perfume, more so that most other bpal oils. No one note sticks out at first, then after a few minutes I start to smell......juniper. Uh oh, this might not be good. Yes, I swear I can smell a little bit of juniper which I have hated in Golden Priapus and didn't like in Burial....but surprisingly, it's not terrible here. It's more balanced by the labdanum I think (that's a resin, right?)...or maybe the musk, I'm not sure. There is some kind of sweetness that balances the woodiness of it. After a couple hours the sweetness has come out more strongly, making it more of an enjoyable scent. Overall I'm just not sure....this doesn't grab me right away as being a favorite, but I don't hate it either. I may have to try it again just to make up my mind. My basic impression is that Oblivion smells elegant, posh, something kind of glamorous and also desolate. There's very little warmth here. It has a pretty strong throw and staying power. Edit: First of all, sweet notes often amp out of control on my skin. That said, Oblivion does the oddest thing after drying down for about 30-45 minutes. Gradually, this soft, marshmallow-y note comes out, gets stronger and stronger, until it smells almost like Midway. Could it be the labdanum?? Am I crazy? It's almost like cotton candy. So weird!

Mme Moriarty starts out sweet and spicy vanilla, very similar to Snake Oil. Within minutes, I start getting a very distinct incense vibe...like little wisps of incense smoke...it could be the patchouli combined with the fruits. Am I the only one that smells nag champa in this? It builds stronger and stronger until after an hour or so, I'm getting mostly sweet incense smoke, backed by the vanilla and spices, and it's just amazing. This was really love at first sniff for me. It was kind of like Meg Ryan in the restaurant faking an orgasm, in that movie with Billy Crystal....except I wasn't faking it. At around the 1.5 to 2 hour mark, it does veer a little towards too-sweet, almost cloying, but thankfully it's now back to the sexy incense smell that I absolutely fell in love with, and the sweetness has backed off a little, letting the earthiness of the patchouli come out more. The vanilla remains throughout, supporting the other notes. It has been 3 hours since I first put it on, so I think it's safe to say that Mme Moriarty has taken a place in my top 5 favorites! : D Thanks, Beth, for making my day! Edit: I just want to add that Mme. Moriarty is incredibley potent on my skin. I really only wear teeny little swipes of it, and my decant is still mostly full (over eight months later!). I still want to get a bottle but I have been putting it off, because I use so little of it! I know that one bottle is going to last me for a loooong time....but I also know it's going to age really well so I'm not worried about trying to use it up fast or anything.

Bengal starts out a sweet cinnamon/clove mixture. The ginger and pepper support. Reminds me of a sweeter Port au Prince, with echoes of Silk Road. After a couple hours the honey really comes out on my skin, making it very sweet with a spicy depth. Actually works really well on me. I have so many loved imps to compete with, I don't know if I'll wear it much, but I'll most likely keep the imp.

When I wore this all I could think of was 'The Sweater Song' by Meryn Cadell: "The sweater has that faintly goat-like smell which all teenage boys possess, and that smell will lovingly transfer to all your other clothes If you get to keep it for a few days you can sleep with it but don't let your mom see, 'cause she'll say, "what is that filthy thing, and who does it belong to besides the trash man?" So you have to keep it under the covers with you You can kind of lie it beside you, or wrap it around your waist, or touch it on your legs, or whatever That's your business..." I detect patchouli, or vetiver, or both, maybe some clove or other spiciness...a little like Voodoo. Underneath it all is a faint, disconcerting note that I guess must be civet, because it's the same 'goat' thing that lots of other people mentioned. Basically Satyr is a little too wild for me, not tame at all...which I guess is fitting to the name and concept.