Marla Moreau

Testing as I write... In the bottle: This smells delicious! Like orange and the smell of wet grass/plants (no dirt), slightly sharp. I'd describe it as green and orange (literally). Wet on skin: Instantly get a big hit of sandalwood along with a touch of fresh orange/orange blossom. After a few minutes, some woods come out and begin to blend with orange and orange blossom in a way I would describe as creamy. Notes are definitely blending when at first they were somewhat dissonant. Now we wait. Orange blends to almost imperceptible but still affects, maybe giving a bit of sweetness to the wood. Still creamy woods with a hint of faint orange after 10 minutes. Orange comes back out. Favorite so far. More of a rind of orange and incensey spicy sandalwood. Not a strong incense smell, but definitely there, which I love even if subdued. At 15 minutes. Less orange more distinct woods and sandalwood at 20. Stays soft woods and sandalwood at 30. Has faded a lot in an hour, skin scent... mostly just smell soft woods, sandalwood has been absorbed mostly, just an undertone remains. I like it, just wish the orange impression lasted longer. Will just have to reapply more often. Keeper. 3.5/5.

I had to double check the label to make certain I was reviewing the correct oil! In bottle: sandalwood, cherry, and some spicy florals Wet on skin: sandalwood, spicy florals amping (I don't like florals), slight plastic beachball scent as the first review described Drydown: heady perfume... nothing androgynous about this, very "womanly" (not into that either)... will wait another 15 minutes. Drydown part Deux: now it smells like a very very male cologne. Sigh. Not for me. I keep wanting leather to smell like leather and grasses to smell like grasses... I guess not with this blend. Too bad, reviews sounded promising - I didn't get any "green". I guess the bpal leather note just does not work with my chem at all. Will be reselling my bottle.

I can't tell what's in it, but I like it... though on me it fades *really* fast.

Got a frimp. On me it smells like almond butter cookies and gets more spicy over time - but definitely buttery cookies. I like it! I'll definitely keep the frimp.

Yuck! Old perfume... not at all like the description. At least this one fades fast on me, but is still kind of headache inducing... no incense, just floral and soapy.

Rose is my ampy death note, I usually hate it. Maybe it's the mixture with leather making it less perfumey and girly, but I don't mind this (never thought I would say that about anything with rose in it). It's a non offensive non old lady rose, and the leather seems to balance it out and get stronger over time. I don't think I'll be running out to get a bottle, but I can see myself using the imp from time to time.

Received a frimp of this. Usually I don't go for florals/they give me a headache, but I like this better than most. Wet - whoa, fresh orchid... just pure fresh orchid Drydown - something sour starts to come out and the orchid fades a little, sour like the orchid is dying or something, or has been ground to a pulp Dry - sour sharp orchid, I can't tell if I like it or not... it's better than the orchid amping. Won't be getting a bottle, though.

Omg - smoky candles! Smoky candles! Smoky candles! I LOVE this. Something about the combo makes it smell like candles that have just been put out. It's spicy from the black pepper and warm from the dragon's blood... it does actually smell very sandy in the bottle. Not getting any tobacco or ginger, but that's okay... Fire! Smoky Candles! Love! Writing down all the notes since they all seem to work incredibly well on me.

This is certainly interesting and complex. In the bottle: herbal, astringent (prolly the moonflower), I can smell the lavender and tart pomegranate Wet on skin: a little warmer, the tart fruit comes out more, at first it smells like fig which I love, then some of the other notes come out... fighting for dominance Dry: Tobacco finally comes out and becomes the dominant note, fruits, musk, and moonflower in the background blending nicely. It's very unisex, but very pretty. I don't get purple from this, more of a smoky red. It's unusual, but I like it. Not something I would wear everyday and not much throw when it dries, but the bottle is a keeper.

I got this because reviews of Hermes Trimegestrus v.2 said it was similar... it is, but it's entirely unique. In the bottle: beeswax, resins/incense, and vanilla... tiny bit of citrus Wet on skin: church, like someone said... this mimics church incense and beeswax candles more than any other scent, creamy. My skin eats citrus so none of that. Drydown/dry: same as above but more spicy/peppery (copper?), beeswax note is strong which is what I was going for, can't stop sniffing my arm, smoky resins This definitely joins my top 3 along with Hermes Trimegestrus v.2 and Djinn. <3

“The Pretty Era”, France’s Golden Time: an age of beauty, innovation and peace in France that lasted from the 19th Century through the first World War and gave birth to the cabaret, the cancan, and the cinema as well as the Impressionist and Art Nouveau movements. Sweet opium, Lily of the Valley, vanilla, mandarin and red sandalwood. In the imp - tolerable, I can already tell it's gonna blow up on me, as all florals do, especially smelling rose in the background. Wet - Not horrible, surprisingly not amping instantly, still don't like it... it's too perfumey/girly Drydown/dry - ultra feminine soap within 15 minutes. like flower scented mini soaps at your grandma's. Pass.

Oh man, I can't believe I haven't replied to this! This is my absolute favorite scent from BPAL. It's similar to Midnight Mass but more complex and has more of an edge. This one lasts on me, I think it's the beeswax or something pine like cutting through, I adore it. I was lucky to find a bottle via Ebay, but it's half gone and I'm getting worried I won't be able to find another by the time mine runs out!

This was a frimp. In the imp: lemon/orangey and creamy, warm soft scent, liking it wet on skin: same as in the bottle dry down: for a good 15 minutes it stayed that lovely warm lemony/orangey cream scent and had a really appealing throw, I was loving it so much I was going to put it on my list of bottles to get, then the jasmine amp happened. I can still smell the cake underneath, but no, can't handle that jasmine throw, gotta wash it off. Sad.

I got a frimp of this with an ebay order. Florals are usually something I hate - things like rose, lily, orchid, gardenia, etc. amp on me and give me headaches or just smell like womanly or old lady perfume, but these I was not familiar with. Sniffing the bottle put a smile on my face, as I did indeed get the visual of witches meeting in the middle of the night. When on it morphs a little and ends up smelling like my best friend's favorite cologne. I can't pick out the notes, not familiar enough, but I'll definitely give other previously ignored scents with similar notes a try, I really like this. Very unisex on me and the florals here are almost aquatic, definitely reminds me of night. I like it more in the imp, but would consider getting a bottle.

In the bottle: Wet garbage Wet on skin: Wet garbage Dry down: Better and better! Whatever was making it smell like garbage goes away really fast and I can really smell the old worn leather and paper - though during this phase I would describe it smelling like an "old man", then it smells strongly of polished wood (I think some would read this as the cucumber but it doesn't smell like cucumber to me), then the fig note amps (I <3 you, fig) and become dominant - but not sweet, very fresh like a fig you just sliced in half, along with the smell of wood, with a whiff of paper and faded leather in the background, fig becomes more sweet and paper/wood comes forward more. But there's still something a little off, maybe it does smell a little moldy. It's an interesting scent, not something I'd wear everyday, but don't regret getting a bottle (part of a lot) - very complex and morphs a lot on me. Ends musky, which is quite pleasant. Doesn't last very long though, very little throw, more of a skin scent.

In the imp: fir trees, very thick and sticky consistency Wet on skin: fir trees Dry down: patchouli is coming out, it's a very dirty sappy scent. I quite like it! It doesn't smell christmasy, and patchouli is giving it an incensey background. Patchouli eventually dominates and it smells more like dirt in a forest and sticky dark sap/resin, freshly cut down trees. I need to get a bottle of this! The bacon/smoked meat descriptions scared me, but I'm not getting any of that. It's quite beautiful. Unisex and woody. Dirt and dark green. Something in my skin chemistry is sweetening it up. Love. It only gets more incense and dry as it dries, love it more.

In the imp: I don't get dandelion or green or booze of any kind... I smell nothing but sweet apples. Wet on skin: Freshly sliced apples. Dry down: Apples and daisies or tulips, something floral is amping... not smelling anything like dandelion though, wish I was. No booze. Eventually no apple, just a mixed bouquet of department store florals. Pass. Too flowery and sweet. Not my thing.

In the imp: slightly boozey, sweet, a bit citrus, not too floral, might work. Wet on skin: instant gardenia amp I smell nothing but gardenia, very perfumey. Dry down: gardenia and powdery gardenia, something musky in the background but mostly flowers. Strong women's perfume. As it dries an incense kind of note comes out eventually and makes it a bit darker, then it goes back to sweet flowers, some orange... not as offensive as the beginning, but definitely not something I'd wear. Verdict: This is a big nope nope nope. Not for me.

In the imp: This does not smell like kyphi to me, although I do like it. Nahemoth smelled more like kyphi than this blend, and is entirely different. Incense, wine, pine, citrus. Wet on skin: very very syrupy/sickeningly sweet fruit and wine, some incense, bit of pine Dry down: it warms up I start smelling spices, but also, oh f*ck... there's rose in this. Amp amp amp. Old lady perfume and headache. So sad. Nothing but rose. Why did you put rose in this? Whhhy... :/ To the "to frimp" pile. I'm so glad I decided to get an imp first, I didn't realize there was rose in this blend and since kyphi is my all time favorite scent I was just going to buy a whole bottle without testing. Freaking rose...

In the imp: wine and jasmine... uh oh, jasmine - this is gonna amp. Wet on skin: almost instantly jasmine and rose amp... I can't smell anything but jasmine and rose. I smell like old lady perfume, which I guess is somewhat fitting for the name. I can see an older widow wearing this and sitting on a rocking chair gazing out of a window at night and thinking about her dead spouse. No wine at all, just flowers. Dry down: I'm already getting a headache from the jasmine and rose... gross. The jasmine dominates the rose so it's just overwhelming jasmine - which smells nice in a garden, but not crazy amping on my skin. Nothing but jasmine. Then nothing but rose. Rose is my ampy death note, nothing with rose ends up smelling like anything but rose. Adding to my growing "to frimp" imp pile. I think I'm gonna stop ordering anything with rose listed as a note, even when reviews say it doesn't dominate and etc. Lesson learned after 5 of these incidents.

In the imp: plastic/nothing... I don't get it... it's like I'm sniffing canola oil or a plastic toy (or a plastic toy IN canola oil), nothing woody or rooty or earthy or dark or complex. Bleh. I love dirt/soil etc. scents... this is nothing like that. Wet on skin: Man, this is viscous... and still smells like single note plastic, or maybe a bit of pencil shavings (but not at all strong)? Dry down: I don't understand how anyone would like this, but to each their own... I get more of the above. It's less of a scent and more of an idea. I feel like I rubbed some melted plastic on my skin. No throw, very sticky. Not changing at all. Wow... this is going to be the first BPAL scent I'm giving 0/5 stars. Ick.

In the imp: freshly cut vines, thick dark green grasses, vetiver Wet on skin: Freshly cut vines, some salt, complex dark green, earthy and dark Dry down: polished wood, dark green vines, wood comes out more as it dries, very unusual. Wooden furniture. Unisex. As it develops more wood comes out, and finally finishes with soft dragon's blood coming out (yay, there it is!) Verdict: Uncertain. I think I like it? I'll keep the imp and see how it goes, not an everyday scent. It's a very mature scent, I would wear this (sparingly) to a business meeting or a formal dinner with the bosses. Something about it screams professionalism to me.

In the imp: something sweet and light... nothing like the description... I can't pick out any of those notes, but I like it. It's unusual. Not even a hint of cumin, yay... I despise the smell of cumin, bleh. Wet on skin: Something sweet in the background (basil?), sharp, light evergreen in the background but not overwhelming. Foresty and complex, but light. The musks are not overbearing, neither is the vetiver. Wishing the clove was more prominent, not really getting it. Dry down: Spicy forest, pine pitch amps a little. Getting an odd "wet dog" smell faintly. Clove comes out in a big way after a while. Sweetness dies. Pine pitch and cloves. I like it. But then uh oh... I finally smell the cumin, which is giving a slight B.O. effect... hate cumin - but fades really fast. Still mostly clove and pine pitch, which I enjoy. Sweetness comes back, must be the basil. Verdict: I enjoy this scent, will seek out a bottle eventually, but there are many others on the bottle list ahead of this in priority. 3.5/5

I ordered an imp of this, I was worried about the rose death note, but the rest sounded too appealing to pass up. In the bottle: I don't smell too much rose, good. An interesting spicy blend, I like it. Wet on skin: Rose begins to amp almost immediately, sigh. But it's not really perfumey rose, more like dried rose petals? Dry down: Rose, rose, rose... everything else disappears/gets overpowered by rose. Somewhat soapy rose, making me sneeze. Sigh. Definitely not getting a bottle of this, off to wash it off!

I would rate this as just okay, happy with the imp and will use but am not going to seek out a bottle. In the imp: a very light mellow cedar and citrus (not sweet) in the background, nice enough, just very light. Not that interesting. Wet on skin: basically the same as above, less citrus, skin is doing it's normal thing eating anything remotely citrus Dry down: a nice mellow cedar and sweet wood, light scent, unisex, vague incense as it goes along.... I like it more dry - any hit of citrus is gone, not surprisingly. I like the light cedar scent, but not enough to buy a bottle. Low throw, no amp of anything. Still waiting to try a citrus dominant scent that doesn't instantly disappear on me. EDIT: whoa whoa wait, the verbana is finally coming out and the scent evolved, more verbana and incense now. Smells like a citronella candle, which is something I really like. Then a cross between lemon candy and citronella. Lemon candy close to the skin (exactly like lemondrops), throw is more citronella and woodsy. Stronger now. Probably won't seek out a bottle, but I like it more. Definitely a morpher.