VetchVesper

The sweet mint and herbal green of the thyme share an equal partnership with the champaca at first. The mint starts to drift away early in dry down, and the champaca becomes more prominent, neck and neck with thyme. The thyme wins out on my skin, but just barely. The sandalwood whispers at me in the late dry down. The champaca in this is very nice, and if you like thyme, definitely check this one out. The notes work together to make a unique melange, but I'm not sure if that melange strikes my fancy enough for me to buy a bottle, since I have quite a few beautiful champaca blends already. It is an interesting twist on my beloved champaca though, and I will enjoy having something so different in my imp collection.

Oh, that's very pretty. It has a similar feel to Enthusiastic Afternoon Liaison. The lotus blossom is right up front, backed by a little hint of the cherry blossom. Then everything is made husky and softly incensed by that amber and teak. The mallow and honey add a thread of light sweetness, but the florals are the main players on my skin.

This really does smell like good, spiced black tea. It's along the lines of a chai b/c of the clove. The vetiver is very mellow. This is not fruity or sweet, and smells very gender neutral. Lovely!

Beautiful basmati and mellow champaca. I've heard basmati rice's aroma compared to pop corn, and true to form, there's some similarity here. Very unique and foody in an unexpected and lovely way. I definately get the rice pudding comparisons. This is very comforting and whimsical, and I might need a bottle.

I'd still say Robotic Scarab, Jolly Roger, and possibly Embalming Fluid, but Wilde also has a nice cologne aspect that seems like it would work well in heat. Death on a Pale Horse has some nice, bright citrus, but still has moss and wood to ground it with a touch of warmth. White Chapel might work, but that was all flowers on me. Oh - actually Holy Water is really an interesting one - stone and lavender I think? Very cool feel. Gender neutral.

This smells a bit... unwashed to me. I'm thinking it might be the red sandalwood. I get a husky, rose incense. Sort of a rose version of Anne Bonny, which I am also not a fan of either, although I love patchouli. I love the old B&BW Sandalwood and Rose scent, but alas, this ain't it.

A fruity, tart rose, with a pleasant soapy quality. This smells very prim, and yes - Victorian. This smells like those little hand soaps your mom lays out when guest are coming that you are never allowed to use. Unfortunately, the rose in this goes sour on my skin. Not for me, but probably very appropriate to the time period.

The rose is indeed subtle in this. The jasmine is not. Very jasmine heavy floral. Sumptuous smelling. Wicked reminds me of a simpler Obsidian Widow, which I prefer when I do have the occasional urge to wear a heavier floral. This isn't really my type of fragrance, but if you like jasmine, check it out.

So my experience with Ice seems to be different from most. I smell everything but the ginger. The eucalyptus blossom definitely has a gentler quality than plain ol' eucalyptus and the mint is light and sweet. This whole fragrance is quite sweet on me in fact, and the musk mellows it and gives it a wispy quality. I get the coconut note others are mentioning, though I'm not sure it's ACTUALLY coconut. It strikes me as a quality of the musk. Ice smells less sharply cold than I expected and very aldehydic. I get no soap, although aquatics often do that on me. I get why people say cologne, but it's too sweet on me to read as masculine. I get more of an androgynous leaning feminine vibe. Tilda Swinton could wear this in a white suit. I actually quite like it, but I don't if I'd have cause to wear it often. It has a polished, modern, professional feel. Not sharp, but slick and synthetic. It reminds me a bit of The First Time I Saw a Ghost and Snow White. Maybe sticking the two together and taking out the floral notes? Glad I got to try it and I'll enjoy having the imp.

STRONGLY floral and sweet. I get lots of orange and orange blossom and heady jasmine at first. The jasmine is intense, but it's nice. Sometimes the note goes chemical on me. I'm not getting a distinct rose smell, but I think its obscured by the other notes, mainly the orange which is still very potent. I'm getting the smell of the peel. The rose does become detectable once the orange calms down, but jasmine is the floral that reigns. The myrrh and musk serve more to bind the other notes, and don't smell prominent to me. I'd have to be in a very specific mood to wear this one. It's so unapologetically heady - like Jezebel on steroids. That orange is very nice up front though, and if you if you really like jasmine ....

So - 2018 version. This one is really odd and hard for me to describe. What's most prominent to me is a green grass note, followed by a powdery note that could be cake flour or powdery ash. I get no yellow cake. I get no Dorian. I might be getting some herbs. I find this a truly odd and offputting malange of notes that don't seem to work together. However... 3 or 4 hours later, I smelled something pleasant, and realized it was this. I could swear I was getting a wispy, slightly soapy champaca. I got no clue, man..... ?

Dwarf smells mellow and herbal to me at first. There's a vaguely floral smell, but it's like clover or wild flowers rather than full on FLOWERS. It doesn't make me think of beer, but that's probably a good thing, since I'm not a fan of what I think of as "beer" smell. Thinking about it further though, I could see a mellow IPA smelling like this, so..... there be your hops. It's an interesting and pleasant blend, though not one I'd wear much. The thing that really kills it for me though, is something turns into wet dog on my skin after about ten minutes. After about an hour, this becomes a really unusual leather blend that I like, but it's just not worth the wait time for me.

Ok guys. Did anyone else get something very similar to a plum sufganiyot... caaaause.... that's what I got, and I am pretty much in love. There's definitely a hint of spice in here, with a light, sweet plum, but NOT a candy plum. Just sugared. Nut notes seem to work well for me, but I don't really get a strong, nutty vibe from this. I'm guessing it's just lending the fragrance some warmth. My mom took one sniff of my decant and ordered a bottle. I'm considering following suit. Lovely, and not super foody... but just foody enough to be delicous.

Satyr is one of my fave's and is super sexy, resinous. Dee is fantastic. Lear if you are a big fan of cedar. Jolly Roger is a good choice for aquatic. Old Scratch is great if you like genteel and old fashioned. The Robotic Scarab has a cool, mint cologne feel. El Dorado, Coyote, and White Rider are all beautiful. Aelopile and Azathoth are nice citrus and wood combos. Ranger is my husband's favorite. It's dark and foresty, as is Troll. Embalming Fluid is a clean, lemony fragrance that is a BPAL classic and is unisex. Pro tip - Order 12. The lab is lovely and frimps every six decants, plus - they give you a discount when your order in groups of six.

Aaaaaarrrrrrr.....gh..... Soapity soap soap. Pirates must have been very clean individuals. I don't know why ocean aquatics never work on me. Don't these perfumes know I'm a water sign?? Anywho, Mary Read smells boozy and sweet in the bottle. The sarsaparilla is detectable and makes me smile. The fragrance isn' woody like Jolly Roger, and I don't even get a hint of soap till I put it on my skin. Then it's like all the other notes walk the plank and I'm left with a big ol' brick of Dial. Siigh.

Caramel-sticky tobacco right up front. The tobacco is fruity and light golden brown in smell, not a thick, dark tobacco. As it dries down, I start to get coconut. I'm not really getting any more complexity, but my nose is a bit stuffy, so I may visit this one later. Given the notes and how popular this one is, I was expecting it to be a hit, but it's kinda tame for my tastes. It reminds me of a watered down Perversion, which I love, and shall stick with.

This reminds me a bit of Masquerade at first, with the lovely orange peel and something warm and sweet underneath it, right up front. There's some sort of cologne vibe going on here though, and it is very prominent and discordant on me. The note takes over and this goes soapy. Not at all what I was expecting, but probably a chemistry thing.

Ooooh. That's lovely. I get beeswax and lavender right off. Those are both notes that I find pleasant enough, but don't go crazy for, but here, they're really doing something nice together. I didn't immediately recognize them, but after a few good sniffs, I identified them without looking at the notes. The perfume has a cool vibe, though there's no "snow" or anything, and I think the smoke and incense add just a touch of nose tickling harshness that is really interesting. It does sort of have a solemn, somber airiness to it that is strangely evocative. I think more of a giant library, myself. But it could be a cathedral. I'm really enjoying the Travelogue scents so far. ETA: After the fire at the cathedral, I couldn't help but buy a bottle of this. Such an awful event. ? Even though it will be rebuilt, so much will not be the same. It seems serendipitous that Beth, in some way, preserved the fragrance of the old building, and it's lovely that Lilith got a chance to visit it.

This smells lovely, but not at all like what I was expecting. I don't smell anything that I would thing of as "stone." It smells almost floral to me, sweet, and I get hints of a light vanilla. Someone else mentioned plum, and I do indeed recognize that note now. I was expecting "russet" musk to be some form of red musk, but it's not. I don't get any teakwood or oudh unless it's a faint warmth in the background. Overall, there is a coolness to the blend, and, in some ways, it reminds me of a girlier "Night's Bridge," so maybe BPAL's stone note just smells sweet and floral to me. Either way, this is very pretty and different, and I could see buying a bottle. It's perfumey, but in a very pleasant way. I just need to death match all the Lilliths and Lupers I like and decide which one's I can't live without.

Malkuth smells like amber, cinnamon, and honey on my skin. I thought I detected labdanum at first, but that might have just been the smoky honey. Ther's also something on the tip of my brain, but I justcan't figure the note out. This smells like baklava to me! Which is pretty awesome.

Smoke and Lace!

What?! Only one page of reviews for this one? That surprises me since it's been around a while through several iterations. Well this is a review of the 2017 version, so it's had a year to settle. Very green, but not in the typical conifer forest way. There's a lovely astringency along the lines of rosemary or lavender, though it's different. I definately get thyme, which I adore. Don't let the florals scare you off. Nothing in here says "flowers" to me. This smells like rolling around in an herb garden. Something here also smells faintly lived in - like.... smelling your pet after rolling around in your herb garden. Why is everyone rolling around in my herb garden?! Anywho, not a scent I would wear often, but one it's nice to have an imp of. If you enjoy rosemary, mugwort, thyme.... any of those very green smells - I'd check this one out.

This is one of the first BPAL scents I was introduced too, and at the time, I thought it smelled like a syrupy, strawberry milkshake. Entirely too sweet, trendy, and juvenile for my tastes. Now, years later, it smells... well, pretty much the same. BUT, I can discern more of what's going on. Lot's of red musk mixes with the strawberry and powdery-vanilla heliotrope to make a creamy, tooth achingly sweet red musk, with a touch of cherry on top. This is maraschino cherry. Not quite cherry candy, but nowhere near the fresh picked fruit. It's all tamed by the gentle powderiness of the amber and heliotrope so that there's more creaminess than sugar syrup. In the dry down, I begin to see why people are comparing it to Snake Oil. It's not incensey or resinous, and I'm not getting the depth or darkness of SO, but I think the vanilla and amber are similar. I start to get a bit of the play-doh vibe SO almost does on me, then it settles down and I get a heliotrope and a soft, feminine amber. This smells very teen coquette to me, and would fit in well with Jailbait and Lolita, but it ends up smelling a little more grown up in the dry down. Still not my thing, but I can appreciate. Check this one out if you enjoy smelling like a sexy, strawberry milkshake, enjoy "pink" scents, like your red musk sweeeeeet, or want a lighter, more feminine Snake Oil.

Thought this was a fun read and quite apropos for this thread. https://www.popsci.com/old-book-smell

Hey, was reading reviews of Luminous Phantasmis from the Yules, and there were several comparisons to 51, which I can kind of see. They just took the Yules down, but it's a returning scent, and there's probably decants floating around in swaps. I myself, have a partial bottle up on my sales page. Also, I'm doing a Givaway for Guys in the Acts of Kindness section. Check it out if you're interested. Oh, and you might look into Ogun -heavy and dark cigar tobacco, gin and juniper, melon, chili pepper and a touch of honey.