Mamacat

It has aged really wonderfully. Dark musks often go very powdery on me and take over a blend but for some reason this blend agrees with my skin chemistry. I can feel the chili in my nose when I sniff it but I can't actually smell the chili. The patchouli, benzoin and vanilla just blend together to make one round, full, sweet, slightly cola like note.

Bpal isn't for everyone and to some...it may be like grilled cheese compared to filet mignon, say.

 

For me though? I've found more perfume oils that Beth has made that work on me and that smell better on me than any supposed fancy house, commerical perfumes. They are the grilled cheese of the perfume world to me. I spit on them. Phoowee.

 

Besides, I can not stand how they are mass marketed with little to no real inspiration. You want unique? You want inspiration? Go through *just* the general catalog for Bpal. I dare you not to be inspired by at least one blend. Double dog dare.

 

Anyway, I hope you like your samples. Everyone should know the magic that is Bpal at least once in their lives.

what an awesome post! ITA.

My dear friend Yvaine sent me a decant of this one. Sacrifice is the sexiest bpal oil I've ever smelled. It has the really gorgeous leather note, a bit of spice, some wood and a hint of smoke. I put some on my husband and it might have been even better than on me. I love it. My favorite oil in a long time. And of course it's hard to find!

I can totally see where that comes from, bluelena. Velvet Bandito smells extremely carnation-y to me - I had no idea that tumbleweeds could be so spicy and gorgeous! And Potion is almost all carnation on me, barely any rose. They will probably layer wonderfully.

 

I think it goes beautifully with Potion but it smells more like Skinny Dip to me. Skinny Dip is one of my holy grail Lush scents and when Bandito is wet it smells so much like it. Puts a perma grin on my face.

 

I think Velvet Bandito smells exactly like Pied De Pepper lotion. I need to try Potion and Skinny Dip now!

After wearing Bandito a few more times I think you're right! It is more like Pied De Pepper!! At least when it's wet.

Le Pere Fouettard is a really nice one. My very favorite from last year's Yules. I'm looking for some more black licorice scents, too.

I found this in my imp box today and realized I'd never tested it!

It smells like lemony rain! What a fantastic scent for a summer evening.

This is my total dream strawberry scent! When it's wet it smells just exactly like perfectly ripe strawberries with the stems still on. Once it hits my skin some green notes come out and it smells like strawberries in a garden that are covered in early morning dew. It's not too sugary sweet. It's not too foody. It's just perfect.

Would anyone know if there is anythng that smells similar too lush Fever at all please?

Ah! Hollywood is this similar?

With my chemistry I think that Baghdad (Amber, saffron and bergamot with mandarin, nutmeg, Bulgar rose, musk and sandalwood) smells an awful lot like Fever to me.

I can totally see where that comes from, bluelena. Velvet Bandito smells extremely carnation-y to me - I had no idea that tumbleweeds could be so spicy and gorgeous! And Potion is almost all carnation on me, barely any rose. They will probably layer wonderfully.

I think it goes beautifully with Potion but it smells more like Skinny Dip to me. Skinny Dip is one of my holy grail Lush scents and when Bandito is wet it smells so much like it. Puts a perma grin on my face.

I really like Gaueko. I'm in love with Velvet Bandito. I'm a big tobacco fan but somehow I can't think of the others that I like!

A very clean scent. Clean without ozone. It almost has the smell of a shampoo but not one of those apple ones. Like an early 80s shampoo. Nice but not awesome on my skin. I think I imagined it differently and that's interfering with my judgment.

I get cotton candy, cherry, strawberry, something tart. Very nice, light. Sugary. Mmmmmmmm

I was the most excited to try Velvet Bandito and I was not disappointed! WOW!

On first sniff it really reminds me of Lush's Skinny Dip. OMG!!! Then, after it's been on my skin for a while it smooths out. I start to smell a little bit of cinnamon, some tobacco (drool). Wow again. Then, maybe 20 minutes later, the cedar comes out. But this cedar is not the hamster cage kind. It's the "I'm a close relative of sandalwood" kind. Warm, smooth. Amazing.

This scent is so amazing that it makes me want to sell off all of my current bottles just to buy more of it.

It is wonderful at every stage.

I agree about Agape, too. Delicious spring scent!

I also love

Hanami (cherry blossoms)

Black Opal (vanilla rocks after the rain)

Tweedledee (fruit loops) and Tweedledum (mango!)

I nominate humbug as the smoothest, sweetest vanilla. Wow!

That one and Snowblind are at the top of my vanilla list!! So amazing!

I really need to try the Ifrit, apparently. I just recently ordered And There Was a Great Cry in Egypt. Freaking awesome sandalwood scent. Slightly spicy, some myrrh, too. Very good for sandalwood lovers, I think. It actually smells the way I expected Morocco to smell (Morocco goes very sassafras on me and not so sandalwood sexy).

Creamy egg nog and coffee. Maybe a small splash of rum. There is just a hint of something in there that makes me think of Butter Rum Cookie.

This really is as good as it sounds.

I don't know how to describe this scent except to say that it smells like a bit of an orange-ish, ozone cologne.

It isn't too bad but I don't think I would reach for it very often.

In the vial - it's ozone, that's for sure. But it's not all up in my nose beating my sinuses. I'll give it a try.

On my skin - smells pretty much the same as in the vial. I wonder if the sandalwood, amber or other notes are going to come out...

15 minutes later: It's a really pretty ozone. I am getting a touch of the amber with it. Maybe the amber and sandalwood are just softening it up a bit and making it wearable. It doesn't smell like detergent the way other ozone scents can on my skin.

Nice! Still deciding if I need a bottle of this in addition to all the ones I'm in love with from the Yule update.

In the vial: honey! oooooooh! Can't wait to put this on.

On wet: lovely honey... but not with the richness of O

After 15 minutes: hmmm... I do get a bit of a waxy feel and almost a slight bit of powder underneath the honey and wax. Ah, I think it's the smoke. Way in the background.

This is really, really lovely.

When I wear Follow Me Boy I get mostly a soft jasmine, some rose with a hint of vanilla and dragon's blood. I like it which surprises me! It's not something I would choose as a fragrance but I could always use financial gain and increased profits!

I found this one to have a heavy almond scent. Almost a cherry almond. It has something underneath that is kind of herbal. I don't mind the scent. I've worn it a few times and I find if I wear it when I work on items for my shop then I do sell more items. I also used the teeniest drop of this oil on the paperwork I dropped off at the post office when I applied for the temporary job that I seem to have gotten. So, I have found some success when using this oil for prosperity. I usually use it in conjunction with my own prayers.

The scent to me is kind of a sweet almond scent when it's wet. After it starts to develop on my skin I get a bit of a soapy scent under the almond. It smells like a lily type floral. There is also a hint of spice. It isn't unpleasant as a fragrance. I don't know how to judge it's effectiveness, otherwise since my husband is pretty affectionate no matter what perfume I'm wearing. I'll have to try it out when I'm in a group and see what happens.

Thanatopsis is the one you're after, paperrose. I bet you'd love it.

It's funny that someone mentioned that Marianne was "raunchy," because I find her to be extremely ladylike.

 

It does have a Smut-like vibe to it (the red musk in both smells the same to me), but Smut is a 10-dollar streetwalker while Marianne is a royal courtesan. Sure they're both whores, but the latter knows which fork to use during the fish course.

hahahaha! I love Marianne and it does remind me of Smut (but better with my chemistry) and Scherezade. I do think I NEED to try And There Was A Great Cry in Egypt. It has so many of my favorite notes in it, I can't believe I haven't tried it yet!