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BPAL Madness!

surlygurl

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Everything posted by surlygurl

  1. surlygurl

    Greed

    This very aged imp smells on my skin like moss & patchouli. The copal, like an old penny, has lost it's shine. I can't place the heliotrope (if it hasn't aged away). Light moss and patch and a pile of dirty crumpled dollar bills. Haha - dirty money!
  2. surlygurl

    Egle

    Ocean water, hyacinth petals, star jasmine, and fir. Okay. Um. Either my nose is broken or my my imp box does magical things to the imps, because, on me, Egle smells like Light Rain and a hint of caramel. For real. If I try real hard I can imagine jasmine growing at the edge of the forest (the 'caramel tree forest', which is what pinched w/4 aces turned into after a bit of aging). No pine. No fir. This scent is Rain, a touch of jasmine, and a breeze blowing in from the caramel forest. Definitely on the sweeter side, but quite pretty.
  3. surlygurl

    The Sea Foams Blood

    This is a miracle scent. Aquatics are iffy on me, and dragons blood very rarely works. This combo works. Fresh on, the dragons blood is there, same as in dragon's milk (I don't know if the lab has multiple types of db). Then there's a biy of ocean. Fresh, clean, slightly salty. Definitely aquatic. The db adds a warm sweetness to the ocean scent. It's resiny (duh) and sweet - I can see the colors red & light blue swirling together. I finally figured out what I'm smelling. A favorite incense of mine - Devi's Passion. That's more floral, not aquatic, but the spreading sweet red resin is the same. Love it!
  4. surlygurl

    Ephemera

    Wow. Ok. I'm trying not to read the replies above, but it's hard not to. I don't know what they were smelling..... My decant is probably 4-5 years old, and I don't think it has changed much*. On me I get incensy fruit. The fruit is festive but there is something somber and heavy to it. Not sour, which is what heavy sometimes turns into. It must be the florals everyone is talking about. Whatever it is, it's very pretty on my skin. I don't do fruity scents, but I could see wearing this. Too bad my lone imp is all I have. * I say "I don't think it has changed much" because the little cap label I put on when it was new-ish looks festive & colorful. Yeah. I'm weird.
  5. surlygurl

    Ae. Albopictus

    Of the handful of decants I got from this series, this is the one I love. In the bottle it is sharp and funky and kind of heavy. There are too many notes to say what is what. On my skin, it's heavy and sharp. I can sense the tomato leaf and the pimento. The heavy bit - cajeput? - just sits there. But as it dries I get some sweet and some spicy breaking through the somber savoryness of it all. Ultimately it all blends into a spicy sweet herb garden. This is one of those scents that wafts up from my desk and I just want to drift away with it. I'm hoping that it smells as good on me and that my chemistry doesn't muck it up. eta: Now that it's aged a bit, it is glorious. Spiced honey, not quite edible. It glows pink and copper shot through with green, perfect on a warm summers day.
  6. surlygurl

    Strings in the Earth and Air

    This is my favorite of the Bards this year. On first sniff, I thought it would be lemon candy. I applied anyway and WOW! Loud herbal lemon and something creamy and sweet. At first they're side by side, but eventually the herbal lemon loses itself inside the creamy sweetness. It's sweet without being foody, clean, uplifting. Bottle buy, for sure. (I couldn't figure out why it's so familiar until I read the notes & reviews. It reminds me of Scales of Deprivation, but soft & sweet! Must be the white sage/lemon combo.)
  7. surlygurl

    The Fairies

    This is the first one I tried out of the package. Soft barely pink apple, a touch of earthy moss, and spring breezes. Dandelion lends a clean sappy smell. It's very pretty and a little girly, but understated, too bad it fades to next to nothing.
  8. surlygurl

    Narrow Opening

    Oh yeah! This is an interesting blend. I almost didn't get a decant because only certain leathers work on me, and rum can be cloying. Well..... Fresh on my skin, this is rummy frankincense, golden and, yes, cloying. And LOUD. Right away I get the champaca - more golden notes. The leather is there bringing the golden sweetness into (almost) submission. *%#*% unruly kids!! After maybe 10 minutes the scent calms down and the smells that waft around me are beautiful. It's still on the sweet side (is this a theme for Lupers this year or what?) but pleasantly so. Reminds me of Port-au-Prince without the spices (and sweeter. Yeah). I have to retest this a few times, but it may be a bottle purchase. If it is, it'll last a looong time. eta: this oil fades quickly on me. Soon after the intensity dies down, the whole thing fades out. Too bad.
  9. surlygurl

    Following Instructions

    This is nice! I am a big fan of nutty scents and the "white grains" must be some type of nut. I get very little sandalwood with a bit of something warm & comforting (amber and hops?). It does remind me of Grossvater Tanz, but it reminds me even more of Copulating Mice minus the lemony parts. Since I already have the latter, I'll keep this decant for when I want to add a nuttiness to other blends.
  10. surlygurl

    Body, Remember

    This is the one I was really looking forward to. I adore coconut in all it's forms, and the black coconut in Death Adder is especially beautiful. So I had high hopes. In the vial, it's sweet black coconut and something almost caramel-like. On my skin the almost-caramel turns to crazy sugar and the scent is SWEEEET! Tooth achingly sweet. I don't know if I can stand this.... Okay. As it dries it becomes less sweet. I don't sense any ambergris/oceany bits but I *may* get the champaca. It's not really champaca - it's just a warping of the sugared black coconut. And it doesn't morph much at all. Anyway, it's too sweet for me.
  11. surlygurl

    My Sweetest Lesbia

    This is a very fresh herbal scent. It smells yellow-green, and I get something lemony on top of the herbs. There's no lemon in here, but it's what I get. Since I don't know what osmanthus smells like on it's own, all I can pinpoint are the hay & musk. It's pretty without being girly and it'll be a good spring scent.
  12. surlygurl

    Liaison

    This is a pleasant scent. Everything blends together and creates a dark warm musky scent with a slight clove bite. Fresh on my skin, it *glows*. But as it dries, the frankincense (I think) backs off and lets a softness take over. The jonquil - which is lovely on me in this - dies down with the frank. I much prefer this scent fresh.
  13. surlygurl

    Blossoms in Springtime

    Okay... I've tested this a couple times now, and I don't understand all the love for this. On my skin, it's Snake Oil minus the hot sex part. I mean.... it's pretty and well blended, but it's not stunning. Kinda on the sweet side of things. I'm glad I tried it and I will wear my decant.
  14. surlygurl

    Snowy Mountains and Kingfisher

    Like others have said, this is a snow blend. On my skin, there's snow and ozone. And ozone. And more ozone. I sniff around for the pear & honeysuckle. For anything else, really. But I do not find them. This ends up being a very clean ozone boy cologne. I'll retest in a few days, but as it stands? Not for me.
  15. surlygurl

    On the Death of His Mistress

    If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results, then Beth & Co. have made me crazy. When I read the scent description, I should've known what to expect. Plum (or any fruit)+ patchouli= sour funk on my skin. I guess I though Plum Musk would be different. And it was.... for the first 10 minutes. *Sigh* Oh well, it was fun while *that* lasted.
  16. surlygurl

    Calligraphy Practise

    Okay. THIS is why I get decants, especially ones that are iffy. In the vial, it's kinda scary & unpleasant. On my skin, it's the loveliest dry, woody, warm scent! It's sweet from the beeswax, fresh from the clary sage, bright and dry ('sere' came to mind - great crossword puzzle word) from the woods & opoponax. The violet leaf gives it the barest thought of a floral. Pretty!! As it dries, the oud comes out and gives it a sour note when smelled up close. The throw, otoh, is balanced between clean/sour, sweet/woody. It's not a traditionally 'pretty' scent. It's more understated and mysterious. And it may be bottle worthy.
  17. surlygurl

    Lady in Speckled Pink Kimono

    First applied, this is all peony blossom. Very bright & pink - but clean. Too much for me. But as it dries the vanilla comes out and the whole thing softens up. It goes from loud to tolerable to "Oh! This is nice!" to "where'd it go?". I really like the drydown while it lasts.
  18. surlygurl

    Who are the authorized resellers?

    I don't think there are resellers outside of the US. This link is the lab's FAQ page and gives you the international order information. Probably your best bet would be to find other BPAL/perfume fans in your area and split the cost of a large order. This is the link to information on group orders. Good luck!
  19. surlygurl

    Aries 2007

    I could almost swear that there's red musk in here. Mainly because it goes so wrong on me. I get something red (dragon's blood), and honeysuckle, and black pepper. I suppose the ginger is adding to the spice, but in a supporting role. There's really nothing to ground this scent on me - it's like a watery fire. Too confusing for my poor nose.
  20. surlygurl

    Ashlultum

    I though this would be a big ol' love fest. Vanilla, tobacco, coconut, well....everything! When I tried it on, it was sweet with all those lovely things, then the lilac jumped on the stage and stole the show. really. It went from "pretty floral vanilla" to sour lilac that my grandmother would have worn. Phooey.
  21. surlygurl

    Wolf's Heart

    So... I keep getting frimped this. I've been avoiding it because I have a bad association with the TAL Wolf's Heart. But since the universe wants me to try the bpal version, here goes: Dragon's blood and dark spice. Dark, sweet, floral (db), spicy. I like it. Dragon's blood usually goes super sweet on me, but this is tempered. It softens as it dries, and everything blends together. It's a warm unisex blend, a tad sweet, a tad spicy, with something else. It doesn't smell foresty, but I get the feeling of dark cool forests and animal body heat. Smelling it on me makes me feel self-assured. Now I just have to round up all my imps of this!
  22. surlygurl

    A Wonderful Light

    First on, this is very pretty. Vanilla, honey, and something bright. I don't get orange anything or obvious amber but the linden blossom comes out and gives it a freshness. So far, so good. As it dries, the linden goes into hiding, orange peeks out, and the honey says "HI!! I'M HERE!!". And, yes, it's the honey from O, which which does not work on my skin. The other elements of the scent sort of dance around the honey as thought it were a bonfire. Let's hope the honey fades away, because it has potential.
  23. surlygurl

    Thousands of Lights

    This is one I almost bought a bottle of unsniffed. The notes just looked perfect. When I got the decant and tried it on, it was an unremarkable sweet incensy blend. I get vanilla, a bit of bergamot, and what must be oak. If I sniff hard enough the champaca comes out. On my skin, it stays the same all the way through. I like it, but it's much cozier and more vanilla heavy than what I wanted.
  24. surlygurl

    Pale Student of Unhallowed Arts

    I really like this scent. It reminds me of other fizzy (soda pop) bpals, but this is the bare bones version. Very clear, very clean. In fact, I own a frankincense chaos theory that smells like a sugared version of this. I would like a bottle of this for adding to unscented hair conditioner, but is it that different from my CT?
  25. surlygurl

    Dust of Snow

    This starts out with the labs snow/slush note. It's a little sweeter than other snow/slush blends, and it's gentle & pretty. As it warms up, it stays slushy but the florals come out more and it gets really sweet (as far as minty slush scents go). It doesn't last too long, but it's very pretty while it's there.
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