brineydeep

This is a scent for a cold day by a warm fire. It's definitely in the Lace family but on the richer-fuller end. I don't have the nose to tell the individual notes apart but I'm getting mostly tobacco, the Lace element, and a touch of sugar. (I should mention that my skin amps tobacco and sugar and eats the dry leaf note.) This blend works great on my skin but it's definitely a cold weather scent; it's too heavy for summer and spring. Thankfully, I live in a cold weather region and will have lots of opportunities to wear this (and I will definitely be taking advantage of that fact!).

I should preface this review by noting that I don't really care for champagne (the perfume component). That said, the champagne note here is right on the edge of what I can handle. It's present but not overwhelming and cuts beautifully through the sweet Lace portion of this blend. It also lasts for only a few hours before the Lace takes over. The Lace here is sweet and glorious in all of its Lace-ness. I really love the Lace family of perfumes. Overall, I really like this blend once it's gets over the initial "hello champagne!" moment. I can see myself wearing it surprisingly often.

I should preface this review by saying that my all-time favorite BPAL is Rose Cross. So I obviously had to try Tabula Smaragdina. This is definitely like Rose Cross's fraternal twin in that it's a blend of rose and incense. The incense is more dominant in this blend but at the same time it's mellower than the frankincense in Rose Cross. The rose component is also different and I'm afraid this one doesn't play as nicely on my skin and goes a bit sour. Overall, this one is nice but won't make me stop hoarding Rose Cross.

This is not as sugary sweet/cloying as I was expecting but instead has a lovely lightness to it. The strawberry note is incredibly fresh when first applied. Once the gloss dries, the orris and musk appear to ground things out. Overall, it's a gloss that's both fresh and sweet and very appealing - perfect for warmer months.

Wet, this is overwhelmingly sandalwood. As in, "calm down there sandalwood" mixed with a little "what have I done?" Drying down, it starts to be more of a rose-sandalwood balance. Dry is where the magic happens. It's still primarily rose and sandalwood but there is just a touch of sweetness in the background that's taking this blend from "that's nice" to "I might want to bathe in it". I don't know if it's the violet or rose geranium, but whatever it is is making this blend for me. This is another BPAL rose winner for me.

I was looking for a pleasant, work-appropriate hair gloss and I think this definitely works for that. Scent-wise, it's mainly sandalwood anchored with amber and cut through with white tiare. It is not too strong and wears well - I still get sandalwood and amber after several hours. It's comforting and a bit sweet from the amber and bright from the tiare. Overall, this is a really nice gloss that I think will go well with many of my BPAL perfumes. It's a good addition to my hair gloss collection and one that I suspect will get lots of wear.

Wearing as a moisturizer. Oh, this one is nice. I'm getting mainly sandalwood cut through with the fresh tea rose. The vanilla cream rounds out the blend and is not sweet. I get all three notes and really like the balance. Very pleasant, not very strong, and a nice balance of the fresh rose with dry, comforting notes. I declare this one a winner for this rose lover.

Wearing this as a moisturizer. I'm getting mostly cocoa butter and marshmallow - it is a bit sweeter than I expected. There's almost a honey/caramel/butter quality to this which fades after initial application. It's really pleasant and comforting but may be a bit too sweet for my personal taste (I don't really do foody/sweet scents).

This is TKO's less sweet, more herbal sister. I get a good amount of sharp herbs from this blend overtop of the lavender but without any of TKO's marshmallow/vanilla sweetness. We have a new oil diffuser in the bedroom and while I prefer TKO at night, the husband definitely likes this one better. It's such a nice blend that I have no problems reaching for this instead.

Vanilla marshmallow goodness. It stays close to the skin and is not overly sweet, so it's perfect for someone like me who's not into foody scents. This is definitely worthy of a bottle.

I tried several snow scents from this year's Yules and this one is my favorite. Wet, it really blasts me with a minty snow note that's also slightly herby. Once it's dry, I'm getting a lovely complex snow note. It's an aquatic mint that has a bit of interest to it from the underlying hint of herbs. The throw definitely backs off with dry down and it stays somewhat close to the skin with decent but not super longevity. Overall, I'm glad to have a decant of this on hand because it's really nice, but this is not a scent I'll reach for routinely.

2015 version On my skin, this is the most beautiful incense blend with a hint of cake. The cake here is bready with a hint of sweet and not the cloyingly sweet cake note found in other BPAL blends. I don't like foody scents and All Souls has just the right touch of sweet to make it appealing but not at all foody. This one is a surprising winner for me. The incense is just divine and the scent wears well throughout the day without being overwhelming.

This rose blend is different than many of the other BPAL rose blends I've tried in that it's a sweet creamy note overtopped with hints of fresh rose. The rose element to this perfume is light, crisp, and fresh. It's definitely a white rose note but not heavy or strong, The bigger part of the blend on my skin is the amber-snow note. This is definitely a creamy snow note with a hint of vanilla sweetness (to be honest, it kind of reminds me of shampoo - maybe Pantene? - upon first application). I think the comparison to the snow note in Snow White is fairly accurate here. If you like sweet snow and fresh roses, you will love this blend. For me personally, I'm happy to put this into rotation with my other amazing BPAL rose perfumes but it hasn't knocked my favorites (Rose Cross & Parlement of Foules) off their top spot.

In dramatic contrast to the soft innocence of Snow White and the dew-kissed freshness of her sister, Rose Red, this is a blood red, voluptuous rose, velvet-petaled, at the height of bloom. Haughty and imperious, vain, yet incomparably lovely to the eye, but thick with thorns of jealousy, pride and hatred. 2015 version. I am a sucker for all of BPAL's rose perfumes and was super excited to add Peacock Queen to my collection. This scent is 100% rose, deep and lush and not at all forward and dewy like the other Yule rose, Rose Red. Instead, Peacock Queen is very fragrant, rich and smooth. If any rose could be described as "velvet", it's this one. I also find Peacock Queen to be a bit standoffish on my skin, in that it doesn't have a lot of throw or staying power (it's almost gone after 4 hours) and because the scent itself is more sophisticated and smooth than bright and flashy. My overall impression is that Peacock Queen is a gorgeous rose scent but I wish it carried a little better on my skin. Still, I'm glad to have her as part of my BPAL rose collection.

I find this funny because I get plenty of leather from this gloss and wish it had more rose (then again, my dream hairgloss is 100% rose). In reality, I think the balance is pretty good between leather and rose and the two compliment each other well. The rose scent is strong and fresh and doesn't tend toward sweet or sharp or any other the other ways that rose can go. It's exactly what it says on the label: leather and fresh deep rose. In terms of strength, this one is in the middle-to-strong end for throw and has pretty good staying power. I swear I could still catch hints of leather in my damp hair this morning after washing out yesterday's gloss. Overall, I'm glad to have this one in the hair gloss rotation. I think it will get good wear all year round.

This one is a blast of cold crisp autumn air in a halo around my head. I get only dead leaves and musk. It's very strong upon initial application and is best described as "chilly". The vanilla might eventually be coming out on my hair but only after the gloss is passed the strong throw stage so it's hard to tell. As it is, I love the crispness of the initial leaf-and-musk smell. It's definitely great for fall but I think the crispness helps it carry into winter as well. Since I discovered that the dead leaf note doesn't work on my skin, I'm glad I picked up a bottle of this gloss.

Ooh this one is lovely. I get a lot of the fougere when I first put this on - it has an almost herbal quality overtop the amber in the wet phase. Once dry, Thomas is really the most lovely amber blend. There is just a hint of the fougere now but it's blended so smoothly that it all melds together. Thomas Sharpe is a gorgeous blend and infinity wearable. I wish it had a bit more throw but he's definitely living up to the hype otherwise.

I think I'm having the same issues as lady_pandora. Upon application, all I'm getting is a sharp (Sharpe?) sweet note dominating all else. This is likely the lily and/or the ylang ylang. The sharp note overwhelms everything else for about 4 hours until it settles down into the smooth sophisticated perfume that everyone else seems to be describing. So this is basically a total skin chemistry fail on me. Sad.

I couldn't resist a CP rose scent! During dry down this one is all roses with a sharp dose of wood. Once it's dry, it becomes a soft vanilla and mellow wood scent with a hint of fresh rose overtop. It's very comforting and light and warm with the tiniest smidge of vanilla sweet. At this point, I'm not getting a ton of rose. Overall, it's a very light scent with little throw. I wish it had more rose to it, but I find it pleasant and comforting nonetheless.

Fresh from the mailbox, hurray! In the bottle: Light lemony polish. Not much depth. Wet: Hello snow note! This snow note reminds me of A Lady Tall and White - it's very bright and lemony. Dry down: The snow note is still dominant but I'm starting to get some smoke as well. Dry: Rich smokiness overtopped by snow. The center of this fragrance is definitely the tobacco but it's not forceful and it's always hanging under the high snow note, which has backed off more in dry down. It's almost cologne-like but not really masculine. I was expecting a more tobacco-forward blend. The tobacco is adding key depth/richness but it's more refined than bold. Low to medium throw. Verdict: I like the scent and think it's perfect for autumn. It's like A Lady Tall and White's mellow sibling. Edited to add: Now that the bottle has had time to rest, I must update this review to say that Mat Night has settled into the most beautiful tobacco blend ever. It's rich, caramelly (but not heavy) tobacco capped with a hint of snow. Simply gorgeous.

I'm getting mostly frost and sandalwood from this perfume. The frost note is definitely dominant and more on the citrusy end, slightly high-pitched and fresh. The sandalwood comes in underneath to round out the blend. There is very little morphing from bottle to wet-on-skin to dry-on-skin. On the skin it has pretty good throw and staying power. Overall, I like this one but it's not a I-want-to-reach-for-this-everyday perfume.

Finally getting around to reviewing this one now that I've seen how effective it is! I've used my decant of Road Opener once when I was caught in a weird political situation at work. Due to factors outside my and my boss's control, I was faced with either trying for a promotion (w/ better job security) much earlier than I expected or getting my contract converted into a less ideal fixed-term contract. Needless to say, I tried for the promotion and anointed my documents with Road Opener before submitting everything. The good news is that I eventually got the promotion even after being blocked by the regular promotion channels. Road Opener was true to its name in that it made an alternate pathway open up for me to reach my goal. I still can't believe I was able to get the promotion because I never saw the successful pathway coming. Road opener, indeed. Needless to say, I'm very happy with how effective this oil is.

Oh goodness me, this one is marvelous. Wet on the skin, it's daffodils and dandelions (can't tell which) surrounded in a bright field of green and grounded by a lovely dry dustiness. After dry down, it a green dustiness with just a hint of weedy flowers. I really like that this one is not too green. There's a nice balance between the greens and the dust that makes this completely wearable to me. It hints at spring in a very muted way. Just lovely.

I bought this because I absolute adore Rose Cross (rose and frankincense). While this blend has some of the same notes, it's very different but still pleasant. Dawn: Mother is a really sharp, slightly sour rose with an almost wine-like quality to it. Very rich and pungent, not lush. The frankincense, honey, and saffron lend a richness to this blend but are more support players. I can tell there is a resin in this blend, but it's not strong enough to detect that spiciness I always associate with frankincense. Overall, this is a great rose blend though it's slightly more tart/sharper that what I was expecting.

This starts out as refreshing green tea. Then it dries down into a fresh vanilla honey that's sweet and warm while still being light. It has mid-to-low throw and a good wear length for me. Serving Tea After Coitus is a real winner with my skin chemistry. Glad I bought a bottle.