forspecial_plate

Warm vanilla hay, a little sugary, and a little toasty from the nutmeg I think.  The hay note really elevates this into a chic place.  It really works well on my skin, I'll be on the lookout for hay to show up in other scents.

I don't remember if I got any lemon from this when it was newer, but I'm not getting that now.

I was opening my bottle and dropped it on a hard floor.  I'm very lucky it didn't break and not much spilled out.  I didn't want to waste it so I rubbed it all over my arms, lol.  It's not too strong, though, even with way more than I usually would put on. 

For me, this starts as lemony sugar, a bright cousin of Sugar Skull (well, not the 2021 version, that's its own separate thing).  As time passes this becomes a little darker and deeper, and I think what I'm smelling is molasses-tinged sugar (so, brown sugar I guess?), and the cocoa is coming through a little bit.  I never did smell any rose.  This is complex sugar and I love it.  It continues to remind me of the older Sugar Skull, but different.  

I confirmed with this that I don't like narcissus.  On my skin it smells clean, but just... Not good.  I like clean scents but this is like a clean diaper-changing area.  I'm pretty sure it's the narcissus because I get the same thing from Black Satin Sheet Ghost.  Here, I smell just a smidge of pepper in the background. 

I couldn't not try this, because of the art that inspired it - but it was not meant to be!  

Edit: I'm reevaluating this a few months later and I don't actually hate it.  It is for sure the most amount of narcissus that I am willing to tolerate.  But it has kind of a breezy oceanic clean vibe that, today anyway, I actually like.  

I got this last August, tried it once and put it away to swap.  It was overwhelming, suffocating jasmine with a slightly smokey background.  

I happened to try it again today and it's really nice!  The jasmine is certainly strong but now it has calmed down enough to at least let a whisper of the other notes come out too.  Jasmine is still the star but now some of the other notes are humming in the background.  I want to wear this when I'm feeling hippie vibes.  If I could go back in time to Woodstock, I might pick this scent to wear.  It will be great as the weather starts to warm up.  So glad I tried it again! 

I get equal parts sugar plum + lavender, with a light fluffy marshmallow backdrop.  It's really nice, and seems to fade a lot after a short time (this is after just testing my bottle one time, and I just got it last Friday)..  I will enjoy wearing this but I think I like the plum & marshmallow duo a little better.  I am glad to have both!  

I do think the marshmallow softens the whole thing a bit, and the lavender seems kind of spicy in this combination. 

I keep coming back to this, I like it more every time I wear it.  I agree the champagne note is stronger.  On me the marshmallow is giving a cream soda vibe.  If I sniff up close the champagne seems a little metallic.  But the throw is bubbly and festive.  Very nice.  

PS.. I haven't tried Unarmed and Laughing, I wonder how similar they are?

Not as complex as I expected, I mainly smell sandalwood incense.  Reminds me a little of Cathedral except not as woody.  I like it. 

I've enjoyed this and didn't realize I never made a review!  

Warm gingerbread and red fruits, that's what I get.  It was very strong on me at first but has calmed down a lot since I got it.  The overall effect when I put it on is like toasted bubblegum, which is great.  I don't think I've liked any other gingerbread scent as much as this one.

CDXIII - purchased from the Lab's Etsy in 2019, this is orange creme Dorian, and doesn't change much throughout the time it's on my skin.  Very sweet, smooth, a little creamy.  Sooo yummy.

Smells strongly of brown sugar with a faint resinous background.

Mostly lavender on me with a hint of ambergris.  But if I sniff up close there is something funky that's not agreeing with me, like..musty or something.  I already know ambergris can be a problem note, but this smells like something different that's turning on me.  I never had problems with amber, really, so... Not sure!  

It doesn't smell terrible to me but I have other lavender scents I'd pick over this any time.  : ( 

My bottle is from 2021.  We had a little discussion of this scent in the Yule thread and I wanted to wear it today! 

Some of my favorite Bpal scents are cake plus something non-foody, like Haloa and All Souls (I think the older All Souls was more cakey, out of the ones I've tried).  Mari Lwyd takes its place for me in that loose category, another good one!  

I can't really say that any one note stands out a lot here, but I can pick out lavender if I try.  It's more about just letting the scent come to me as I go about my day rather than trying to pick it apart.  It's warm and kind of sweet + savory, so I think I am getting some of the ale, as more of a balancing note with the cake.  

Anyway - it's just cozy and warm, and doesn't morph much for me over time.  It does smell great as a bedtime scent too.  

This smells festive, yummy and sweet, and I think I'm getting mostly fig and dates.  It makes me think of those sweet fruity erasers when I was in grade school, and I have a clear memory of sitting on the couch just smelling those because they smelled so good to me.  😊 

I smell very little dead leaves and might not be smelling them at all.  Not much booze either.  After a couple hours there is some more earthiness that might be coming from the fig.  I think this is an excellent transition from fall scents to winter.  

I'm loving this, it's mostly rose on my male skin with just enough backing notes to let me know there's something else there.  I don't smell lavender or white musk as I usually think of them (and I never can pick out saffron, I'm not even sure what it smells like).  Oddly, on me this is borderline 'cologne' scent like a commercial men's scent, but I can tell from the other reviews that that would be an exception and not the norm.  

I do agree this has kind of a bath product feel but that is just fine with me.  Rose doesn't always work for me but this is one of the good ones. 

I got to try this thanks to a lovely forum friend, you know who you are, thank you!  

I do get the comparisons to TKO and that makes me happy!  

I love Lavender & White Chocolate Madeleines and it's hard not to compare the two, but Two Frames doesn't have that magical middle and late phase that LWCM has.  I think I would almost always reach for that over this, that scent spoiled me.  Two Frames fades a lot after the opening, maybe that makes it a better sleepy time scent since I'll be asleep by the time it fades..  Hadn't thought of it that way but I think that's the way to go with this one.  To the bedside table it goes! 

This was a risk for me that didn't quite work out.  I was hoping for more champaca.  I smell lavender, violet and the white sandalwood which on my skin is on the harsh/woody side.  This might be one of the lavender notes that kind of turns harsh and chemical on me, reminds me a little of perm solution or something.  

This isn't terrible on me, despite what I said above.  But now I have Despondency and that is working out really well for me.  I think I would almost always pick that over VF. 

PS, I layered a little Charcoal, Champaca Resin and Tobacco Absolute over VF, it didn't really help me like it more. 

This basically smells just like what the name says, starting out heavier on the gingerbread, with very realistic rose incense coming out stronger after a few minutes.  After an hour or two the gingerbread had faded away almost totally.  I had a neighbor a while back in an apartment building who burned incense that smelled almost exactly like this.  Too bad for me this rose or incense or both turns just a little soapy and sour on my skin, but I knew this scent was a risk.  

What's really funny is after quite a long time, like 8 hours, I really like what's left of this, still incense but the slightly sour rose has mellowed out almost completely.  Maybe it's floral-ish resins I'm smelling now?  Kind of like nag Champa, I guess.  I don't know if I want to wait that long for the good part, but it's kind of interesting that it happens that way.  Very long-lasting scent. 

So whatever note is in Apple Butter Rum that clashes with my nose is in this too but not as strong as in that scent.  Maybe it's a buttery note?  At least this helps me (possibly) identify it.  Had to wash this off but it sticks around like glue.  I had to put on something else over it but I can still smell it.  It reminds me of the way bleach fumes get up in your nose and won't go away.  : ( 

I did detect some cranberry in the mix but this one is not a win for me, overall.  I guess I'll have to be really careful with anything buttery or butter adjacent..

XC - just got this in an ebay sale, and I'm really happy to have this little piece of bpal history!  My first 5ml bottle was a Chaos Theory III, and I still love it.  

It's clear this has faded some with age.  But what I can smell is kind of sweet and bread-like.  Pumpkinville has something that smells bread-like to me and that's just what this smells like.  I'm guessing this one had some red musk and a light jasmine, but it somehow comes across as bread-like.  Maybe there's some benzoin?  Maybe pumpkin?  Who knows.  All I know is it reminds me of Pumpkinville and that's a good thing!

It fades pretty fast and I'm just going to wear it and not worry about trying to make it last.  I've always loved the various Chaos Theory releases and I'm so happy I got some from this first run.

I have a partial bottle from 2008.  Not much to add to the other reviews.  Seems like it depends a lot on the individual's skin chemistry, what you smell from this.  

I definitely get rose, with a softly glowing incensey backdrop.  Rose doesn't always work for me, it can turn sour, or sometimes white rose comes off as 'papery' on me, not in a good way.  This rose is lovely and I think the other notes are really supporting it in a way that works for me.  Other than rose and beeswax, everything is just blended together and nothing stands out.  I've always liked this scent. 

This goes on smelling like patchouli & earth, really nice.  

Later as it continues to dry and warm up on my skin, I'm getting aftershave city, the aftershave your uncle wears at Christmas, he hasn't changed his hair style since the 80's.  There are a few notes in Bpal that do this on my skin, I suspect patchouli does it sometimes, especially in combination with other notes (I'm looking at you, gray sandalwood).  I knew gray anything was a risk for me.  But you know what?  I like this.  Whether it has calmed down since I first tried it, or I just decided I was going to like it and that's that, I am not sure. 

Aside from the aftershave I do smell a nice gritty, gray scent that reminds me of Krampus a little bit.  [Edit: it also reminds me a little of Count Dracula]  I do think some other people are going to love this, and I want to love it just based on the art that inspired it.  Right now it's "like", not "love" for me, but like I said I'm not giving up.    

Edit: after several hours the aftershave feeling fades away and I'm left with a really nice myrrh incense scent, it gives me hope that this will just improve with age

This is another one that needed some rest for me to really appreciate it!  I tried it right away (when I first got it) and smelled champagne for some reason.  

My problem is I'm not sure how to describe what I'm smelling.  It's very blended and there's not one note standing out strongly against the others.  I do smell the cocoa in the very beginning, and kind of ambery woods and orris maybe?  Eventually it's like a sweet perfumey/foody mix, some foody aspects but also ambrette, wood and orris.  Perfumey sweet grains?  Sweet ambery woods?  It smells really good and I am afraid I can't do it justice in this review.  I'm really not smelling oakmoss or frankincense. 

This makes me think of a few other bpal scents like Whoop!, Rickety Staircase, and Woman Dragging Her Aroused Lover a Bridge.  This may be the sleeper hit of my Halloweenies (the first batch, anyway..).   It's just really comfortable and easy for me to wear. 

I first tried this really soon after I got it and it was scorch city.  I thought I had made a mistake.  Well, it just needed to rest.  

In the bottle, and first on my skin, this is a little funky and weird.  But I was brave today and put some on to test again.  It calms down really quickly and smells like clean, piney woods, with a little bit of smoke.  It makes me think of serene white incense smoke.  

Moss can turn on me sometimes but I don't smell much moss here, if any. 

I love Djinn, and that's why I took a chance on this, but this doesn't really smell like Djinn at all.  It's closer to Dead Leaves On Fire but not really like that either (I compared them).  Turns out I really like this and it's different from anything else I have.  I can imagine wearing this when there's a chill in the air outside and I'm in more of a serious mood.  It's moody. 

I'm so glad I paid attention to these reviews, this is a new favorite scent.. I already love Halite Phoenix but this might be even better.  I really enjoy a lot of clean scents.  There's a lot of salt but there's just enough of 'something else' underneath that makes me love this.  I can't even tell you what I'm smelling (besides the salt), maybe a sweet buttery bread note like others said, maybe cotton/linen, I don't even know. 

I'm doing the October Halloweenie challenge but I confess, after my sotd fades, usually after lunch, I've been putting this on as a kind of layering note, but it also does this 'nose reset' thing and just smells good to me.  I might add another bottle to my next order..  : )

Got this last week - here we go! 

It goes on with a puff of warm baked-goods spice, mostly ginger, that reminded me of Shub but without any "fresh cut" ginger sharpness.  I have lots of d.l. scents and I'm not picking up a strong d.l. note in this.  

If I sniff up close, I can smell something pine-like that reminds me of cardamom, so maybe there's some cardamom in this? 

A couple hours later the ghost of Samhain comes out, on my skin.  It's not exactly Samhain but I do think they share something, perhaps "Ginger Spice" means ginger + some other spices, but that's just a guess.  I think it's safe to say I DON'T smell cinnamon, or clove.  Maybe there is allspice, in addition to the cardamom I smelled earlier?   

Anyway, I felt like this was my no-brainer from the d.l. section and it's pretty much a win for me, I wasn't sure exactly what to expect but it's very cozy and warm, but with a little bit of a spicy bite under the cuddly exterior.  And then it turns into Samhain's cousin which is fine with me.  This could be a hit for those people who want to love Samhain but can't wear it for whatever reason.