Jenjin

The cacao opens slightly sweet, like smelling dry cocoa powder. After it dries few minutes, the sultry, earthy cacao appears along with the sweet, hypnotic Copal and sacred and a bit sweet and salted, Palo Santo. Like a sacred path to bliss, all the notes become a soothing ceremony. Deep belly breaths in, the scent of this is grounding, centering, even sensual. I could see using this during ritual for focus, heart opening and clearing.

Creamy pale purple lotus swirled mallow, and when I say mallow, this is literally creamy like snarfing on candy marshmallows. I could wallow in a pan of marshmallows flavored like this. It is yummy and creamy yet not in an overly gourmand way. During the pandemic lockdown, I got hooked on this ice cream that tastes exactly like this. We called it "unicorn poop" so I kinda want to rename this cause if you were galavanting through the forest, and came upon piles of horned horsey poo, I could imagine it smelling this way. POOF! you're a fairy, i'm a fairy, We are all magical fairies!

Gosh, I really kindof love this, it's retro and smells like very expensive incense. It's also giving me Cacharel vibes - dark girly gothy incense burn and Norma Kamali swimsuit summers spent tanning by the pool. I could totally see Nina Hagen, Siouxsie or even Robert Smith rocking this scent. It definitely has an edge to it and in the end, the jasmine might be too much for me, still testing. Perfect for date night when balmy out, taking a midnight walk, noses nuzzling on necks. Needs a fancy antique crystal bottle just to keep it in.

This reminds me alot of Lady in Speckled Pink Kimono, but the Lychee is stomping those flowers. After 30 minutes, the Peony makes itself known and it's juicy and fresh. A fruity kind of floral, like chewy, peony candy with a splash of refreshing tea. This would be lovely on the beach or even an outdoor concert. I could see a bride wearing this at a sultry, summer wedding.

Slather this and sit back, close your eyes and enjoy. Imagine you are the Princess of an ancient empire, wrapped in leathers and the finest silks. You are taking part in a sacred ceremony, whips are cracking, passions are igniting and wonderful, delightful smells are all around, spices, patchouli, and musky vanilla. The sun is just setting and you can hear the soothing chants - hypnotic, enchanting and mesmerizing. Still debating on whether to hunt down more of this, it does have a bit of a cola float vibe, but I kinda dig that part. Yummy!

I almost blind bottled this since the sandalwood and amber fit right, but I am quite content with a decant. It is all snuggly and warm as others have mentioned, but something about it makes me very nostalgic, sitting at my Nanny's makeup table sticking my face into things. It might need more sweetness for my liking but I can definitely see people enjoying this. Yesterday, when my decants came, I had spotted my arms with this and a bunch of other Lupers. At the end of the day, this one was still winning. I could still catch plenty of whiffs of it even after many hours while all the others had taken a backseat.

This perfume smells so, so beautiful a classy, delicately floral. Sweet, light and airy, it also reminds me a Venus Verticordia which I adore. I'm also thinking of alot of other florals, like Wild Honeysuckle, Queen Mabs Lace and Flowering Lines. The floral notes all swirling together, become a kind of flower cotton candy, like glittering spun sugar made of wildflower nectar. The honey is bright and light in tone. I would LOVE a flavored water like this made with blossoms and golden honey. Simply delicious.

What do you get when lotus and champaca are combined in a fragrance? A bouquet fit for the gods. This is a dreamy, otherworldly scent, captivating and heartbreakingly delicate. It has a classic tone and does allude to pearly abalone and a sun-dappled waters. The drydown transforms into a salty clean scent. Reminds me a bit of those round salty soap bars that I love so much, mixed with a kiss of sweet-spicy jasmine and rich sandalwood.

OH my this is STUNNING! A literal summer masterpiece. I'm a little confused by the notes, but perhaps my palette isn't as sophisticated as it could be. I don't have anything like this and am running to the lab because I need this in my life forever. I'm getting something like the smell of muscat grapes, plump and shiny on the vine. It must be the olive blossoms, which I don't have much experience with, but am in bespotted love. I've only got a bottle sniffy right now, and can't wait to slather.

This one is somewhat avant garde - experimental to me. It's very interesting and atmospheric like a salt white beach linen spray. An up close skin scent, i'm getting how skin and hair smells after spending the day washed in azure waves. The seawater, salts and sand blending together with ozone and heat. I don't get any carnation, except that it could be adding a tiny bit of sweetness. Definitely try this if you love Thalassa or other BPAL mermaid gems.

This is a GIANT juicy peach. I remember my very first peach. I was very young, and I wasn't sure how to deal with the peel, so I ate it. My face was so sticky and prickly with the fuzz and fruit. I can see alot of people seriously loving to smell this, with the tart scent of peach and slightly candy and sweet. It's got a softness to it as well, which balances out the sweetness and makes it delightfully creamy on the skin. This is perfect for fuzzy navel summer days at the beach or the pool.

A yummy Thai milk boba tea shop experience. I absolutely LOVE the beginning stages, the coconut is sweet, mixed with a crystalline tea. The rice milk is delectable and makes it creamy and divine. Interestingly enough, after some drydown time, it all turns to playdoh. A sweeter kind of doh, but yah, that's what it reminds me of, which I could see some people really enjoying. This would be interesting to test out to see other people's reactions. I bet they wouldn't be able to place it, yet it could give them happy, bubble tea youthful feelings.

Airy and lightly floral in a fresh way, i'm getting upper, floating layer which is very Japanese fruity-perfumey. Very much like walking through a street in Japan in early spring. The streets lined with all the flowers - the smell of sweet, dewy fresh petals filling the air. It's very unobtrusive and reminds me of a pretty, clean shampoo scent. It makes me feel bright and freshly bathed without smelling heavy. Could be worn in an upclose situation without anyone noticing it too much besides getting whiffs of sweetly clean blossoms. May have to get more of this one.

The Days of Wine and Roses I just typed a lengthy review which somehow disappeared into the internet ethermist. Needless to say, this is a mysterious black tobacco rose, she's got her fishnets on and some long tall sexy beast is smoking a swisher sweet down the street. I'm going to need a cigarette after wearing this, it is so damn smoldering sexy Whew, those dang elephants seriously know how to shake my hut. Burns down to a deep rich burgundy smoked merlot rose (ding-dong, can you keep a secret? this is pure epic classic BPAL lux.

Sweet and simple, nothing too fancy, this a treat to wear. A nice light youthful fragrance, the apple is crisp while the amber and vanilla keep it grounded. A very ladylike apple, and most definitely red. It's not dark to me at all, more bright and summery. I could see myself wearing this as a mood lifter, or casually around the house.

John Downman An incense to call the Erinyes: opoponax steeped in black wine, spindle tree sap, nightshade accord, yew needles, and a drop of blood. Black wine with a touch of sticky sap just after application. This ghost is floating in velvety purple darkness. I can detect the darkest, woozy flowers just beyond the moss covered tomb in the midst of a forest. The Ghost of Clytemnestra is elegant and honestly, makes me feel like a raven while wearing it. I can see it being quite useful for ritual or other transformative ventures. Sleek black feathers and rumbling black clouds of fury. I am beautiful and perfect in this moonless night. (Clytemnestra): "I was slaughtered by the hands of a matricide. See these blows, see them with your heart! the mind asleep is given clear light by the eyes. You licked up many enough things from me, libations without wine, plain offerings of appeasement."

The Kahun papyrus, authored in ancient Egypt, described a “fallen womb”; essentially, it was believed that a woman’s uterus – due to the frustrations of abstinence or chastity - could dislocate itself and travel throughout the body, causing distress, mental illness, disease, and infirmity: "When her womb moves towards her liver, she suddenly loses her voice and her teeth chatter and her colouring turns dark. This condition can occur suddenly, while she is in good health. The problem particularly affects old maids and widows-young women who have been widowed after having had children." The solution? "You should fumigate her under her nose, burning some wool and adding to the fire some asphalt, castoreum, sulfur and pitch. Rub her groin and the interior of her thighs with a very sweet-smelling unguent." Of course, the condition was sometimes far more dire, and required more strenuous measures: "If her womb moves towards her hips, her periods stop coming, and pain develops in her lower stomach and abdomen. If you touch her with your finger, you will see the mouth of the womb turned towards her hip. "When this condition occurs, wash the woman with warm water, make her eat as much garlic as she can, and have her drink undiluted sheep's milk after her meals. Then fumigate her and give her a laxative. After the laxative has taken effect, fumigate the womb once again, using a preparation of fennel and wormwood mixed together. Right after the fumigation, pull the mouth of the womb with your finger. Then insert a pessary made with squills; leave it in for a while, and then insert a pessary made with opium poppies. If you think the condition has been corrected, insert a pessary of bitter almond oil, and on the next day, a pessary of rose perfume. She should stop inserting pessaries on the first day of her period, and start again the day after it stops. The blood during the period provides a normal interruption. If there is no flow, she should drink four cantharid beetle with their legs, wings and heads removed, four dark peony seeds, cuttlefish eggs, and a little parsley seed in wine. If she has a pain and irregular flow, she should sit in warm water, and drink honey mixed with water. If she is not cured by the first procedure, she should drink it again, until her period comes. When it comes, she should abstain from food and have intercourse with her husband. During her period she should eat mercury plant, and boiled squid, and keep to soft foods. If she becomes pregnant she will be cured of this disease..." Plato chimes in: "Hence it is that in men the privy member is disobedient and self-willed, like a creature that will not listen to reason, and because of frenzied appetite [is] bent upon carrying all before it. In women again, for the same reason, what is called the mat or womb, a living creature within them with a desire for child-bearing, if it be left lo unfruitful beyond the due season, is vexed and aggrieved, and wandering through the body and blocking the channels of the breath, by forbidding respiration brings sufferer to extreme distress and causes all manner of disorders; until at last the Eros of the one and the Desire of the other bring the pair together, pluck as it we the fruit from the tree and sow the ploughland of the womb with living creatures still unformed and too small to be seen…" Now, we make no claims that this perfume has any medical or recuperative powers whatsoever, but if you’d like to experience the scents of a bit of Egyptian medicine, we’ve got the cure for what ails you: an incense of cassia and myrrh with opium tar accord, peony seed, honey water, a pinch of pitch, the smoke of burning wool, a handful of dried squill petals, castoreum accord, and pessaries of rose perfume and bitter almond oil. This is the QUEEN of soft goth nostalgia. Upon application, the almond and rose are upfront and center. I'm really loving how the resins are mingling with the dark rose. Mother's scent, childhood memories and just a little bit old fashioned. This is a warm, vintage fragrance that is subtle, yet still noticeable and melts with my own natural scent perfectly. It really smells cheery, but becomes something deeper, smoky and herbal after drydown. I can imagine myself in a Lolita sundress, eating strawberries in the forest, braiding each other's hair and breathing in perfumed air.

Yuuuuuuuuum, smooshy, smashed up squishy marshmallows and warm, sugary cardamom cake, this gives me the coziness I crave. Just lovely, addictive even, like being in a warm, cakey sugar shack. Wonderfully delicious subtle cardamom spice, it smells edible, covering me with its wild floofy magic. It's perfect and comforting for lounging around the house, undercovers marshmallow cakesmashing noms. More than the sum of its parts, I can't stop thinking "My Little Grotesque", mixed with "Stekkjarstaur", two of my all time faves.

I adore a cuddly smooth amber, and this is one smooth operator. Faster Kittycat is a lovely veil of scent that wears like a sheer scarf, with a transparency crafted through blending these sometimes heavy notes, with a light touch. It is graceful, and speaks in a gentle whisper and soft purr. The secret weapon here is the orris I suspect, which keeps the perfume close to the body, yet gives the overall experience a kind of elegance. The cashmere amber and white chypre give me whiffs of warm sweetness, very exotic from a far away land reminiscent to Shalimar to me also, except with a bit more "bite" from the patchouli. I urge you to give this a try before the Lilith's come down, especially if you are a fan of seductive and gracefully smooth orris fragrance. It is discreet, refined and eminently wearable. Another GORGEOUS modern classic from the lab.

I'm just a little obsessed with "In Night When Colors All to Black Are Cast". This is such a beautiful and distinctive fragrance, i'm getting whiffs of elegant resin and musks that are strangely intoxicating. Sexy, gothic and dare I say, moody. All the notes swirl together into a kind of melancholy elixir, fragile yet powerful, like a doomed romance. As the scent dries down, the distinct, sweet and smooth myrrh is serenaded by the juicy plum and a touch of earthiness from the nagarmotha. A sudden tenderness hits, like the bittersweet solitude we have all been a part of, the dark folds of words left unspoken. Is the essence something just sitting upon the skin, or has it somehow sunk underneath and become part of me?

The Queen of Hearts Commands This is so familiar to me, an elegant and mystical perfume. This is a wonderful ensemble of many elements with jammy fruit, flowers, and musk notes swirling together to make a communion wine. Womanly, rounded and oh so rich with the ability to transform the day, evoke memories. stir emotions by effecting mood, hopes and dreams. I'm getting a delicate creaminess, almost like a stream of white chocolate mixing with the luscious RED notes. The honey is low and slow in the background, never becoming "buzzy" or astringent. Something about it takes me back to my childhood, filling teacups with wild rose petals in the garden, plump bumblebees watching. Something from that time smelled very much like this. If a perfume can recall happy, sunlit memories, it is so worth it to possess, to wear and adore. Blessed Be! Long live the Queen of Hearts....Long May She Reign

I am SHOOK! This is the most divine oudh, the best kind: warm, glowing and exotic. Some oudh fragrances can be "too strong" or "too anamalic" for my taste, but this is a different story. Very much like burning actual oudh wood, sitting beside the smoky air in the flickering light. Dark and smoky, thanks to artisjok, I'm using doomsday's decant and I love it. The most heavenly oudh smoke of the rarest kind. Perfect cool weather wear.

Will try Meditation Buddy, but she can't have my bottle

Daughter is obsessed with Juliette Has a Gun Vanilla Vibes. It's not really vanilla and more 'beach musk' than anything. Any BPAL suggestions?

Gangleri said: “What was the beginning, or how began it, or what was before it?” Hárr answered: “As is told in Völuspá: Erst was the age | when nothing was: Nor sand nor sea, | nor chilling stream-waves; Earth was not found, | nor Ether-Heaven,– A Yawning Gap, | but grass was none.” The darkness beyond darkness, nothing before nothing, the time before all: an opium-dark void, lightless in nihility, silent in nonbeing. This is like a dark sorceress potion, swirling you around in a star filled sky. Seductive, slightly sweet, coca/opium at the front, it takes my breath away with its exotic smoke. It is not heavy or overbearing in any way, beautifully blended and smooth. There's mischief here, creeping into your head as if trying to intoxicate or subdue. I see this as more of a nighttime fragrance, but could definitely wear it during the day myself. Addictive and enchanting, I can't shake the memory of this one, it is velvety, mysterious and overall "noir". I can see this aging exquisitely