surlygurl

Another snow/slush blend, but this has something warm and delicate about it. What kind of petals are these? Something meant to evoke early spring, I'm sure. Cool snowy scent with the promise of spring. Pretty, but not unique enough for a bottle.

When I read the description, I had to have it. A new kind of musk? Yes, please!! Now that it's here, I really wish I could smell the unfamiliar musk, but I get opium poppy with a touch of clove. There's *a* musk in here somewhere, but opium poppy/clove is the main player. The orris isn't a scent so much as something to keep the blend from smelling thick. This is a skin scent on me, mainly because it's so dark & heavy. "Midnight Labours" is right.

Another of BPALs snow/slush blends. It's softer than some due to the musk and elemi, with no obvious florals. It's really a gentle musk blend with mint & slush. Pretty.

At first, it's incense and rose, very full and vibrant. Once it warms on my skin, it mellows a bit and the frankincense goes a little sweet (or is that the hyssop?). It's pleasant, much like other rose incense bpals. But then disaster strikes: something goes funky. It may be the oude. It's not so much a sour smell as it is body odor. So this lovely blend ends up smelling like what it would've smelled like on someone in the days before indoor plumbing. I'd like to try it aged, because I think the funkyness will age out. eta: A few days of rest makes a big difference. It's beautiful. The opening frank/rose calms down after a few minutes & blends with hyssop, while the oude gently mingles, like satin bedsheets wrapped around lovers legs. I just wish it lasted longer......

I purchased a decant of this because I really like both chai tea and licorice. When I smelled this I got a rush of spices with a dark, sinister licorice background. Not what I expected. I get the almond - the powdery foody quality. The mish mash of spices is just that - no one thing stands out, not even the licorice. All in all, this scent is just weird. Not for me.

When I first tested this, it was "Oh, yeah, another BPAL snow/slush blend. Ok." But now I'm getting the addition of orange blossom (love!), something foresty, and what I *think* is the ambrette seed. There's also an occasional "is someone smoking outside?" tobacco. It's really pretty, and like nothing else I have. I really like it!

On me, this is all tropical floral. For some strange reason, this smells exactly like a perfume oil I got in Hawaii years ago. Must be the tuberose. While I expected florals, I didn't expect a Hawaiian paradise. I'll keep the decant for summer use, but probably won't search out more.

On my skin, this is intense. It also reminds me of Persian sweets - lots of rosewater and almond. I don't get any patchouli or jasmine at first. As it dries it becomes less candy-like, but still too much for me.

Fresh on, this is all incense, a little smoke, and a drip of candle wax. It pretty much stays that way on me. It also reminds me of something else, some other bpal.... Oh Yeah! The School from last yule. *dabs some on other wrist*. Yup. Loi Krathong is more incense & wax while the school is a bit darker, but the throw on me is the same. I was hoping for betel nut, but that didn't make an appearance.

Yummmmm! I get the massoia bark and the crystal musk upfront. There are juicy fruits and soft florals floating around, keeping the scent from being too etherial. So pretty!

It starts off as warm bananas with a drizzle of caramel. Then someone opens the doors and takes the caramel bananas outside into the lush surroundings. Eventually the bananas/caramel cool down while the foliage heats up and the flowers bloom. Sharp heady tropical blooms are now the main scent, but there is a light foody smell. The muffins, yam, bananas- all are dense carbohydrates, and that comes across as kind of a grounding note (with a touch of flan). It's odd and confusing, but pretty.

Wet, this is a very strong floral with grounding autumn leaves. I'm really amazed that the wild rose works on me. I keep waiting for it to turn to soap, but it never does. As it dries, the loudness fades and the chamomile, chrysanthemums & marigold come forward. The autumn leaves are always in the background, lending a soft earthiness. Unlike most folks here, I prefer this scent on the drydown, soft & shy. It's not a "me" scent, but I will keep my decant for those rare occasions.....

This decant must be one of the "musk" variations that people are talking about. I get no lavender and no cheesecake. What I do get is a near clone of Apatrophia from the 2011 Lupers, but without the soap and a touch sweeter. It's quite nice for a clean musk blend.

2010 version When this bottle first came to me from the lab, it was all toothpaste all the time. Mint blends are okay, but this has spearmint and/or wintergreen, which makes me think "toothpaste". Off to the swap pile it went. BUT.... Recently I pulled this out & gave it another try. The toothpaste vibe has gone into remission, and a soft sugar overlays the whole thing. Sort of like a snowy sugar (powdered sugar?) dusting on top of a very gentle spearmint. Or spearmint infused powdered sugar. The throw is gorgeous. I think I prefer this to all the "Lick It"'s.

Yum! This is not my usual type of bpal, but it's very nice! It starts with jasmine and fruits. What kind of fruits? Purple juicy things. The jasmine is kept in check by the other florals and (presumably) the resins. When it's wet, the currant comes on strong and gives it a heady, lush feel. I wish it would stay this way. But it morphs into a fruity floral that's not *quite* generic, but not as complex as I would like. It's a musky currant floral, powdery and dark. I wonder how it'll age....

A scent redolent of the crusty exterior of burnt marshmallows. In the decant, it smells sweet and a tiny bit foody, so I tried it out. On my hand, I got vanilla, caramel, and light cinnamon. The caramel faded quickly (thank goodness!) and I was left with a gentle vanilla and a hint of something resembling Pickled Imp. Sniffed up close it was quite foody, but the throw was lovely, warm, and non-foody. Toasted marshmellows, yup. But better. It's really an amazing smell. As it dries, the cinnamon fades and a sort of sour candy smell comes into play. I like this much more than I thought I would and wouldn't mind a full imp. I'm not enamored enough to get a bottle, though.

The notes looked lovely, so I got a decant. Little did I know that the mix of heady florals would turn into something resembling jasmine on me. That bad jasmine that smells like all those GC imps in my swap box I really wish I could smell single notes of the florals and figure out who the culprit is. I love the notes individually, but the combo is not working on me.

This is one I was I was really looking forward to.... When I visualized the scent, I pictured something dark, a bit sharp, a bit earthy. On my skin, the apple comes out. It's lying on a bed of sweet powdery resins. Now, I really enjoy dark scents, but this is not dark. It is sweet. Up close, it's a combination of craft store candle and head shop. Or a very cheap but nice incense that you'd find at the local 7-11. I want to love it, but I want to find fault with it at the same time. I can do neither. The throw is very pretty, more than girly but not quite womanly. I'm conflicted. Can you tell?

This is more like it! Definitely glittering, it reminds me of seeing the edge of the Milky Way from an uninhabited mountain top. Cool but not cold. Soft, clean, a tad sweet. It has a whitish-silver vibe. I smell the white musk & the (non-foody) vanilla. Apple is an equal partner, not a star player. Lovely. Do I need a bottle? I'll think about it.

The notes looked so good.... Fresh on: OH LOOK! SOAPY ROSE!! On the drydown: softened soapy rose I sense a pattern...... When will I learn?

This one is odd, in a likeable way. Fresh on, the vetiver has me running for cover. Almost immediately *other things* come out and soften it up. I've only had it on for an hour now, but it is warming up into something interesting. It's a little spicy, a little dirty (as in DIRT, but I don't like soil/loam scents, and there's none in the description). No champaca, which I love, but I expect it will show up later. I'll keep updating through out the day, because I have a feeling that this will keep changing...

This is very pretty. Soft juicy apple (golden, for sure). Everything else is blended so well that I can't pick out individual notes. I was hoping for obvious carnation, but nothing stands out except the apple. As it dries, it fades away. So sad. Fresh, it's really juicy! You know what this sort of reminds me of? Ushi. But while Ushi was in-your-face fruit and resins, this scent is a gentle shy distant cousin. But there's still a family resemblance.

Fresh on my skin, its a bright pumpkin with sweet florals. Very pre-teen girly with a toothachingly sweet throw. As it dries, it becomes less sweet and more grounded - I think the white chocolate anchors it. After the drydown, it becomes mostly vanilla with grounded florals. It's a soft & girly scent, very pretty, with not much complexity.

This is not at all what I had imagined. In my mind, it was vanilla heavy with pumpkin & light woods. In reality, this is heavy duty blond woods with something smokey and menacing attached. It's a strong masculine scent. Even after it dries and something caramelly comes into the mix, it's still too strong for my tastes. Oh, and pumpkin? Where?

The imp of Whitechapel that I have is pretty old, so YMMV....... Fresh on my skin, it is bright clear lemon. Huh. Not very exciting. But..... there's something deep in the background, like a sweet white fog. Detectable, but not solid. As it dries, the lemon takes a backseat and the background scent comes forward. "What is that!!??" It's sweetish, kinda vanilla feeling. Whatever it is, it & lemon get along wonderfully. My mind wanders & hits on 'sweetgrass'. Okaaaayyyyy..... a basket of sweetgrass with some fresh picked lemons nestled in it. This scent lasts & lasts. The occasional waft reaches me and it's lovely. I woke up in the middle of the night and got that sweet-tart soft smell. I can't believe how much I like this!