talula_fairie

I really didn't like this one, which is a shame, because Lavender is one of my favorite scents. Unfortunately though, I *hate* lemon verbana. So that's what ruins it for me, with this one. Too bad. It's very well blended I can tell, but that verbana note just says "lemon pledge" to me. Also this one smells quite masculine on my skin.

Eh. A little too much cinnamon for my taste. It's not a horrible smell, but it's just not me.

Swap pile!

Morocco is a very pretty, sophisticated Vanilla.

Monsterbait: Underpants is a foody vanilla

Snake Charmer has a touch of vanilla, but personally I wouldn't describe it as a vanilla scent. In fact, all the other BPAL scents said to be vanilla ish do not smell vanilla like to my nose (that includes Snake Oil, O, Dorian, Dragon's Milk and Dana O'Shee) -though they are lovely in their own right. I think it's because BPAL often uses vanilla bean instead of vanilla absolute? Not sure. In any case, the first two I thought smelled the most like a "true" vanilla.

This is a major morph-er. So if you don't like it at first FORCE yourself to wait a few minutes.

When it was first wet, frankly I was worried. It smelled like a porta-potty deoderizer, the same way Akuma smelled on me. But the drydown is very lovely! It reminds me a little bit of Gypsy Queen (but without the incense notes) -I think it's the carnation I am smelling. A very lovely floral that doesn't go soapy but goes spicy-creamy-floral. Pretty! A winner in my book. Will probably get some regular use.

Oh, this is a lovely scent! Foody, warm, sweet, and very pretty! I'm not sure if I want to eat myself or just sniff myself endlessly. Very yummilicious

I suspect I'd like this scent if it were not for the blackberry note, which I did not care for. Otherwise, it's a very nice warm, food-y, creamy scent.

I don't know what notes I'm smelling (hating) but this scent is awful. It smelled icky in the vial (I think it's the chocloate note I am not liking? Or cassia?) and even worse on my skin. I can't even describe the scent....sour and acrid mixed with cloying sweetness. Smelled like sour chocolate and whipped cream.

Off to the swaps with you!

This reminds me of the love child of Embalming Fluid and Muse.

At first all I smelled was lemon verbana and Jasmine. Hmmm, I thought.

On my skin, wet it smelled like lemon Pledge but had some flowers peeking from the background.

Dry, the lemon pledge smell is gone (yay!) and it smells like a crisp, clean floral. Not cloying or super sweet. It doesn't have much of a throw once dry and is not a long laster, but it's alright. Don't think it will be something I'll wear often, though, I'm more of a earthy/warm scent girl.

Mmmm this is yummy.

It does smell a bit like Dior Addict, but not as strong.

This is a sexy, comforting, soft, warm, glowing perfume. It's truly wonderful.

This doesn't smell like leather to me at all, nor does it smell like what I'd imagine a dominatrix would wear. It just smells like Zest soap to me (but I may have issues with BPAL myrrh, which has always reminded me of soap -or my skin causes to smell like soap anyway).

Off to the swaps with you!

There is some sweet note in this perfume that reminds me of Mantis. I don't like it. I can't describe what it is...it reminds me of vanilla sugar gone bad. It's just cloying and sickening.

Not a fan.

In the bottle this smelled strong, sharp, and dry.

But on skin it is totally different. It reminds me a bit of Indigo Wild's Frankincense and Myrrh lotion. It's soft and sweet with a touch of resin-y dryness. My skin eats most of the scent by the time it's dry, and it doesn't have a lot of throw, but it's not bad. A very lovely, complex scent I will be wearing again for sure.

I have no clue wth is in this. Musk of some kind?

This is dark, thick, heavy, devious and a little bit sexy. Just the way I like my scents! It's a keeper.

The Devil - The very first note I detect is a soapy floral that reminds me of magnolia, but which almost instantly fades and is replaced by the strong scent of light musk and ... something. I can't quite put my finger on it what it might be. As the scent dries down, I'm astonished that I detect the very distinct scent of vanilla bean -- the exact same vanilla bean note that's used in Snake Oil. I'm really surprised that no other reviewers mention this note because it's so distinctive in this blend. About an hour after application, the very distinctive scent of civet is discernible as the dominant note, yet it doesn't have that "bad breath" quality that civet can have -- the vanilla bean and whatever floral is in this manage to temper the civet and keep it under control. About three hours after application, the only scent I detect anymore is a very light vanilla, and it's really pretty. I'm surprised that The Devil is such a pretty scent, as I would have expected something much more fiery and spicy -- but I like it, and it works.

OMG THAT IS IT. I couldn't figure out where I'd smelled that odd vanillaish note, and now I realize it was in snake oil. I totally agree. I wonder what this would smell like layered with Snake Oil....

ETA: I wore it again today and while there is that dark musky base, the top notes have a light almost floral feel. I agree with the person who said possibly narcissus? I think that's one of the few flowers I can wear. Compared to the scents I love, this one is almost light. Like I noted before, it has a sweet, almost vanilla-like drydown.

This was a little more perfumey than I expected, and not as comforting as everyone said it was. It's a sweet, nice scent with a vanilla base and some light musks. It's OK, but I don't love it. I really don't care for the tea scents, I'm coming to realize.

I agree with most of the previous reviews, this is a gender neutral scent that is slightly floral/herbal. I'm positive it has dragon's blood in it and also pretty sure there is no rose -I can smell roses from a mile away and my skin amp's them up- if rose IS in here, it's not traditional rose, anyway. I'm going to take a guess that the flower in here is probably heliotrope. This has either a light musk or white sandalwood base (not sure), but something is definitely grounding the scent. I do not smell any cedar, I'm pretty sure there isn't any in the blend. It's a clean, sweet scent bordering on soapy but not *quite* there. Definitely something I will be wearing again.

The longer I sniff it the more I like it. I don't think this will be one of my regular perfumes, but I may just have to have a bottle. It's so lovely and fresh. There is something about it that just keeps me sniffing my wrists. Major throw, too (which I like).

I expected to violently hate this. It was a frimp, and not one I'd ever have chosen. Not a big Jasmine fan, DEFINITELY not a rose fan either. Florals, in general, are NOT my thing. I fully expected it to turn to Rose Soap on me. I was so sure I'd hate it, in fact, that I had thrown it in my swap pile without even a sniff. But something made me pick it up again, sniff it, and read some reviews. I decided it was, at the very least, worth a shot.

I'm really glad I tested it because I do like it. In fact, it's a similar to Gypsy Queen (which is quickly becoming my very favorite BPAL). Not quite as soft, and definitely more floral/strong, but it has that same musky/creamy flowers scent. Very very nice. A little bit strong for me as a usual perfume, gives me a touch of a headache, but it's certainly tolerable. It does get a bit rose-soapy on drydown (damn my chemisty!) but not too bad. I will probably keep the imp but will not likely be investing in a bottle. I perfer my gypsy queen

This scent reminds me a lot of Snake Charmer, or maybe Gypsy Queen without the rose. It's in that sort of category, anyhow.

Dark, mysterious, and thick. Sweet but yet musky too. Like a faded memory, tinged with grief.

Lovely! Will become one of my regular scents, for sure.

Eta: hmm. When it hits the very bottom notes it turns to something that does smell a lot like baby powder. I still kinda like it though...

Sniffing the imp, this made me nervous. It smelled like hair dye. Or the way your hair smells just after dying it and putting conditioner on.

On my skin, at first, strong musk with a tiny bit of dragon's blood.

The drydown smelled almost exactly like Smut.

I really like this scent, and suspect it will be put into regular rotation.

*note: I don't think it smells anything like powder -and I like the smell of powder (usually when reading reviews I see people complain about their scents turning to powder and I'm like "this is a bad thing?"). However, my husband and friend both told me -unsolicted- that this smells like baby powder on me. Eh. Whatever. I still like it.

In the headshop vein, I’d really like to find a way to smell like newly purchased hippy clothes. When the linen still smells of the wood crate it was shipped in and the sandalwood sculptures and incense it shared space with. At least that’s what clothing purchased at my local headshop smells like for a couple of weeks. Is there anything in BPAL catalogue that could replicate that smell in a more permanent way?

I really don't know quite what you mean.

But I can reccomend a few scents that are very hippie-ish and remind me of a head shop, and might have the same sort of scent.

*Sin

*Scherezade

*Dragon's Musk

*Dragon's Bone

*Snake Charmer

haven't tried this, but it may work: Rakshasa

Sandalwood Citrus (lotion, roll on perfume) from Indigo Wild (not bpal, but it may be the sort of scent you're looking for -also try their Frankincense and Myrrh or Patchouli).

This is a really lovely blend. It reminds me of a cross between Smut and Sin (probably the musk I am smelling). It gets softer and sweeter at the drydown and lasts for ages. Very sensual, just lovely all around.

Hmm. This wasn't quite what I expected. It's WAY more floral than I thought it would be. I do love Dragon's Blood but I'm not sure how much I love it plain like this. I could almost swear there is flowers in this. I do like it, but it won't be a favorite.

ETA: I could swear there is lilac in this. The drydown is VERY lilac-y. Not a fan. Nope. This will be swapped.

ETA 2: My skin chemistry has clearly changed in the last few years, because now this blend is AMAZING on me. Light but not too light, floral but not too floral, with something musky/woodsy beneath. I'm totally in love

This scent reminds me A LOT of Bewitched. It's just a little more herbal and a little less berry, but overall, pretty much the same sort of scent. A little floral, a little berry, a little herby, and a little resin-y. Like others have said, light, pretty balanced. Definitely a keeper and on my Big Bottle list.

Gypsy Queen has rose in it and it's probably the only rose scent I like. Mata Hari wasn't too bad, but once my nose cleared a little (I had a cold that day) it smelled *awful* to me

I thought Blood smelled a bit like Nag Champa. Darkness also reminded me of it, though they don't really smell that much alike. Gypsy Queen is in the same sweet incense-y style as well.

I would like to preface this by saying that I am not a floral girl. ESPECIALLY any scent involving rose. So, you can imagine my surprise when I discovered this scent WORKS on me. I really thought it was going to turn to Grandma's soap (the way even Alice did on my skin). But it didn't!

This smells like creamy, musky, incense-y flowers. These aren't your Grandma's flowers, these are dark, mysterious flowers blooming at night amist mist and candle smoke. Decent throw and a lovely scent all around. This is like no floral I've ever smelled. Two big thumbs up!

ETA: I just have to add that this is one of my favorite BPAL scents, EVER. It's everything all at once: complex, sexy, comforting, floral, musk, incense. The notes dance together so well, it just smells good. The more I wear it, the more I it!