tart

The first time I tried on India Bouquet, it smelled like strong florals with some incensey spice over top. This time, it smells exclusively like Indian cooking. At first I thought the spice might have been BPAL's take on saffron, but I'll trust what others say about the fennel. I think my nose is just blocking out the floral smell, but the spice truly smells like walking into a Middle Eastern market. So interesting! I don't think I'd wear this as a perfume because it's foody to me in a way that I'd actually eat. I do find it unfortunate that this scent was discontinued, though, because it's one of those that shows off BPAL's creativity.

Oof! Juju epitomizes my idea of headshoppy. Something herbal and resiny with what I think is civet. Spicy. It smells old. This reminds me of one of my parents' eclectic/eccentric friends and his lady friend. They would decorate their apartments in "worldly" furnishings and cook worldly food... I imagine Juju to smell like a wooden brown color, much like it looks in the vial.

On first sniff, Has No Hanna is floral. Something about it reminds me of church, maybe of holy water. Yes, it smells kind of watery but not strongly aquatic. I wouldn't wear it as a perfume but I like the idea of it as a voodoo blend. It kind of reminds me of something my mom used to wear when I was younger...

 

I think this has lotus in it because it's starting to take on a slight burnt smell I got in Black Lotus and Blood Lotus.

VelvetSky already said it -- Penthus is like roses growing by the sea. Unfortunately, scents that are strong on rose tend to smell like soap on me. The description is amazing, but on my skin Penthus is just...soap.

 

I don't know how to describe it, but this smells...tall! It's not thick, it's not heavy, and not really deep, but tall! It reminds me of getting a package with soap in it, opening the package and getting a face full of soapy goodness.

I got a wonderful compliment on Snow White from a customer of mine. She thought my perfume was light and gorgeous, soft like baby's talc, but with maturity.

 

When I first put Snow White on, I could smell something creamy like Dana O'shee. After it started drying, I got the funny Band-Aid smell that others were talking about. But a few minutes later, after it completely dried, it was gone.

 

Snow White smells fresh -- I don't have any fresh scents! There is something tropical in it that reminds me of what I wanted The Star to smell like. It creates an interesting image of snow in the tropics. It lasts nicely throughout the day.

 

I think of all of the bottles I own, Snow White smells the most grown-up.

I'll second Vicomte de Valmont. I think it's a good scent for a male new to BPAL. He might also like Wilde.

Here, this thread might help you out:

http://www.bpal.org/index.php?showtopic=6453

Maybe Coyote?

The Native American Creator / Trickster God of Chaos and Change. The warmth of doeskin, dry plains grasses and soft, dusty woods warmed by amber and a downy, gentle coat of deep musk.  (Gender neutral)

Did I already say that Perversion smells like whatever is hot and spicy in Snake Oil? (And then Dragon's Milk is the leftover sweetness from Snake Oil once it fades.)

Kali.

Try Dana O'shee. It's sweet and comforting.

Sugar Cookie smells buttery and lemony on me. I'm not sure if I like it on. It smells wonderful in the bottle, though. I'll give it another go in hopes that the scent changes on me a bit. In all honesty, I don't like the way real sugar cookies taste at all -- I like Lofthouse cookies and snickerdoodles, but not sugar cookies. On top of the buttery lemon is a nice cinnamon scent, but it isn't out of place. I hope to eventually love this one.

 

ETA: This isn't the first "sugar cookie" scent to smell bad on me. It's sour, as I expected it might smell with my skin. Oh well, can't win them all.

At first, Gingerbread Poppet was much like Three Witches on me -- all strong spice. This kind of worried me because dry, spicy scents make me nauseous. GP was more like all of the bakery spices you could pull out of your cabinet, all mixed together. I am ecstatic to report that Gingerbread Poppet is becoming sweeter and sweeter as it wears on -- I love it! If I become impatient waiting for the sweet stage, I'm sure this will be amazing with Dana O'shee.

 

Now please excuse me while I lick my wrists off.

This smells like Biolage shampoo/conditioner. I don't even know how to describe this scent now. It's minty but not sharp. I like that it's cooling -- most of my BPAL scents are sugary or spicy. I don't know if I'll ever wear this one. It is certainly nice to sniff, at least.

Firstly, I'd like to say that I was so excited to see Manila added to Wanderlust. My mom is from the Philippines, and I love that BPAL is celebrating the place that she grew up in. I ordered Manila looking for a sexy, tropical scent, and as a tribute to my mother's birth country.

Manila is bright and happy. It reminds me of fruit punch! The color is a beautiful pale peach. I'll update this later with a full review of scents, longevity, all that good stuff.

ETA: After Manila dried, the narra quickly came out. It turned from a floral fruit punch into a very strong incense. Nice, but it smelled too much like wood. The scent was still sexy, but in a more serious than playful way.

And now for something completely different: my review through the BPAL chatroom.

 

<tart> i'm going to try The Star right now

<tart> my first reaction is...not...favorable lol

* tart coughs

<tart> i think it's the lime

<darklorelei> at least it isn't hamsters

<tart> HAH

<diabolique> hahahaha.

<tart> i smell like an alcoholic drink

<diabolique> i LOVE lime. i ate one earlier. with salt.

<tart> uhh i think i'm going to wash this off

<darklorelei> that good, eh?

<tart> lol

<tart> i thought i'd love this, wow

<diabolique> hahahaha

<tart> omg, lime kills this for me

 

The Star is a very interesting scent that I think would be great as a candle or room spray -- I just don't like lime on me. I wish the coconut were stronger. I can't get over how I smell like a margarita right now. Nice, but not nice on me.

I still attribute some of "the smell" to getting used to using such high quality perfume oils. I swapped away all of the imps I got in my very first order because they all smelled to similar to me but now I wish I could re-try some of them. It's okay because I don't think any of them would be favorites to me now, but I wish I still had them because I think I'd appreciate them more now.

I thought all of my BPAL smelled the same at first, but I think it's part of getting used to using perfume oils instead of commercial perfumes. Now, all commercial perfume has the same smell to me...do you know what I mean?

Holy crap, Bordello is good! As I just told Sarah in the chat, this is rocking my world right now. It's sexy, fruity, but girly enough for me to like. I think what makes me like this so much is that it has almost a sugary smell to it. Goodness, I'm in love!!!

Alice might work well for you as a sugared rose...I'm a vanilla fan, and Alice works well in any season for me.

Wow, this is good! Alice is my favorite scent, so I was a bit puzzled when I sniffed a bouquet of carnations and could only smell "plant." This single note is spicy, like light cloves, with that same green "plant" smell underneath. I think I'll keep this one.

The Dormouse is pleasant. It was basically a light, floral tea, very different from what I normally would wear. The scent does change a bit over time, with the tea becoming a little stronger (it smelled more "masculine" to me). I think this is something my mom would like. I'd recommend this scent for someone looking to give imps as gifts because it's light and inoffensive -- I think everyone can at least like it, if not love it.

This smells like an older man. I've actually encountered men who smell like this -- it's like cologne charged with sexual energy. I was very uncomfortable from smelling this, even a little emotionally disturbed. This is just me, but Fire of Love gave me the same bad feeling I got from reading one page of Lolita. This really creeped me out.

Yay, a proper place to give all of our birthday wishes.

Mmm, this is good! I was afraid Three Witches would be burnt and dry, but it's good! This smells like Pumpkin & Spice from Dark Candles. There is something buttery and pleasing about this. It doesn't seem to be burning my skin, which I am very thankful for. I'm going to layer this with Bliss. I think I'm going to need more!