Minh Scent

Generally, I am not an atmo fan, but I had a tester like this and like it so much that I just had to get a full bottle on ETSY. Funnily enough, I don't love this for the chocolate, as others have mentioned, but rather because it smells like what I imagine a sparrow to smell like. The orris and sandalwood are stunning.

Starts right off with pretty realistic osmanthus (olive flowers) and then the ambergris steps up beautifully. I get what people mean when they say this has a spa vibe, but to me it is more meditative. (Similar vibe as Meditation Buddies, but not same notes). There is a bit of sweetness from the fig, but it is very light to my nose. I love a powdery orris and this is not that, but the whole composition is so pretty, I can't complain. Final dry down is frank accented lightly with the other notes. This is a lovely, peaceful scent.

The notes in here are all ones I adore, especially the orris. The pach is very mild and is grounding for the chypre and amber. It is a classic fragrance which means 10 out 10 in my book. 2017 Closet Raid had the same kind of vibe, although definitely different notes. This is not as sharp and much more sophisticated, but has the same "perfume counter at Macy's" aura as CR. (May 2021) Wearing this again, I am just floored at how beautiful it is. The dry down is reading almost a soft sandalwood to me (not in notes) but I guess that is the combination of the smooth patch, amber and orris. It is a classic oriental perfume. LOVE this!

I like mitti attar up straight, so was pleased this is the dominant note for a good while until it fades to sandal (my most favorite note). The tulsi was stronger than expected, but it is fresh and harmonizes with the mitti. These are three "Indian" notes to me and their combination works well. As Ellocentipede and Casablanca mentioned, it indeed is meditative and calming.

This is an understated, beautiful perfume. I get overwhelmed with the offerings, resulting in once-tested decants. Returning to this a few years later, I find a hidden treasure. As mentioned above, this is a thoughtful fragrance. Only three notes listed, but masterfully blended. On my skin, the frank and the rose take center stage with the lily note lilting in and out. It hovers on "delicate" but with enough depth to know there is a spirit of power awakening.

I am "one of those" people who adores beeswax and this might be the queen of all I have sniffed of BPAL's. It is much stronger and more pure goldeny beeswax than Lights of Men's Lives. Don't miss it if this note is your jam.

So what's not to love..Snow White and TKO...together! Beautiful!

I went after this for the oleander, because it is not a note I see often. Most oleander does not have a smell except for the baby pink ones that are multi-petaled. These have a lovely powdery scent. I get mostly orange blossom and very light, barely there frank. It is a pretty, whispery floral with a hint of that powdery quality.

I LOVE Antikytera Mechanism, so knew I was being risky with a flanker. Why mess with perfection? However, I thought spice would go well with the classic vanilla, tobacco and wood. It does and happily I get no pumpkin (ack! a vegtable in my perfume?!) others mentioned. The spice is not overpowering. This definitely needs to age, as it is not as smooth as the original.

I have tested this four days running, including two full days at work. It is a heavy morpher and judging from the comments above, very fickle to skin chemistry. Testing advised before commitment! For me Utter Sophistication starts out with unexpected popcorn and butter notes (giving me the same smile as the surprise nut note in Spider Witch), chased with light lavender and sexy Snake Oil. Dorian then appears and I am enjoying that, with a slightly salty, lavender twinge. So pretty! I think we are done...but to my surprise way late in the dry down, I get woody vanilla doused beeswax! Usually BPAL's waxes enter early and don't stay around as long as I would like. This is the opposite. I haven't been so head over heels about a Lilith since (Not) So Pentitent (Mini) Mag (still #1 in my books). Utter Sophistication gets the Minh Scent 2019 favorite perfume of the year (across companies) award!

Creamy, soft, not too sweet. The lavender is delicate, as is the tea. This is a cozy perfume and would be non-offensive for those low-scent tolerance situations.

As someone who prefers aged Snake Oil, this is not catching my attention. I love the wet phase, when I get the lavender, but then it goes sharp on me and rose water is too light too seduce me as it usually does. Very little sweetness. However, this is going in the cellar and will deserve retesting, judging from previous SO flanker experience.

Black Phoenix Trading Post presents you with a happy accident: our line of Crimson Peak Home & Linen sprays are available for a limited time in 5ml perfume blends! We have a limited quantity of labels remaining for these bottles, so don't miss out! Heady jasmine drifting through the air, eclipsing the scent of a rapidly-drying bloodstain and the smoke of a snuffed beeswax candle. Heady jasmine indeed! I honesty cannot pick out the "bloodstain" or smoke, but do get the snuffed wax. As it dries, it becomes very close to a jasmine soliflore. As a jasmine fan, I appreciate that!

Hmm..there is a note in here that reminds me of a cross between Snow White and bpal's champagne note. That must be the musk. The mint is quite strong, so strong that my eyes tingle a bit. It takes a while for the florals, mainly lilac, to develop. It is a strange combination. I like it, but not as much as The Last Unicorn, which also has unusual note interplay. ETA I get chocolate in the final drydown, which is interesting, as it is usually a top note.

Lovely, slightly sweet patch and vetiver.

Very foody chocolate cake and jam. I smell something liquor as well.

On me, this is Pomegranate Tobacco, not Tobacco Pomegranate. Starts out very fruity and the pomegranate is evident through drydown.The tobacco does pick up after time, but it is not tobacco forward on me. It more reminds me of the use of tobacco in some of the Laces, rather than the heavy play in Antikytera Mechanism or Dead Leaves and Tobacco. The oud is woody- no poo to my nose- and gives the perfume a good background base. This looks like it might be an unreleased ETSY scent.

Black leather accord, lavender, myrrh, and vetiver with white cognac. With the note list, I was expecting a strong leather-myrrh-vetiver kick, but initial application, it smells of lavender, much lighter than anticipated. The leather does come out. Six hours after spraying, I sill had an attractive smell in my hair, including an intriguing note I could not identify. Low throw.

This is cuddly lavender snake on me. The oude gives it a dark, lush depth. I get a bit of oakmoss slinking in, but not the geranium or violet leaf. As a big fan of SO, I have quite a few of its variations. This is one of my favorites.

This is such an unusual beauty. I don't get zombies or swamps at all, but a cooling, seductive freshness from the chypre and lots of one of my favorite BPAL notes- dandelion! Can't remove my nose from my braid!!

Hmmm. I keep trying this one, because it sounded like a win-win, but like Milo, not sure what the fuss is about. I would say it is "pretty" and the chypre plays nicely with the vanilla. Probably my lack of enthusiasm is because I already have a vanilla HG I am ultra-gaga about- Antique Lace - and everything pales in comparison. That being said, if you need a lovely, versitile vanilla, go for it! It is like Antique Lace Lite. Nothing to kick out of bed!

How did I not review this? With the wax and the neroli/tuberose, it was love at first sniff in 2015 and a year later, I had to search for a second bottle replacement and then a third partial! BPAL wax note is one of my favorite and it this perfume, it is the centerfold amongst seductive white florals with hints of honey and orange.

I got this based on the majority of reviews that this is soft grasses and a nonfoody vanilla. That is exactly what I am getting and love it!

Starts out very creamy with a salty note. (I tried it three times, and yep, there is a salty note in the beginning which quickly disappears.) The flowers soon come out. They are neither lotus not cherry to me, but something nondescript, yet still very pretty. (I know what real lotus smell like and that is not this; also, I have been around many flowering cherry trees and I do not get a scent from the. Maybe the American variety? But I accept-happily- any note interpretation.) Dry down is a creamy and gently floral, with a gorgeous honey note. I am not picking up the teak. Late dry down, I get almost a waxy quality, which pushes the scent up a few notches for me. It is indeed rightly named, as it is an elegant scent. Beautiful!

This starts off as a beautiful wave of honey, very similar to the one in GC Honey Hair Gloss. (I am on my second bottle of that, so a fan!) I cannot pick out the hay absolute, but suspect it might be what is keeping the honey from being too sweet. There is a soft grassy shadow, but definitely not hay to my nose. Drydown is a gorgeous honeyed amber with very light nuances of green. I am delighted!