freyasfae

2015 Yule, bottle

In the bottle, it smells a lot like Midwinter's Eve, but less sweet. On, it has the winter, powderyness of Midwinter's Eve, but less sugary fruit and more floral. I like it, and while it is faint on my wrists, I can smell it around me. But not quite "the" winter scent for me.

Revision: 12/31/15

I wore it again yesterday, and slathered on a bit more, but man, it's just too sweet for me. This is going to have to go to my future swaps box.

2007 version from Etsy. Definitely smells like hard candies, but once the dry down hits, the winter florals come out a bit more and balance the candyness more. At first, the candyness was putting me off, but it definitely grew on me. However, it's not my favorite for winter.

I adore this in the bottle - it's the perfect scent as a winter citrus, however it fades soooo quickly even after slathering it on, twice, it was barely discernible. Usually, I don't mind reapplying, but this was to the point of less than an hour, I needed to reapply. What a bummer. It really is beautiful in the imp. I do wish the lilac came out more on the drydown.

Like many other posters have said, this is a lovely, light spring scent, emphasis on the light, but I don't mind reapplying for such an unequivocally spring scent, I love wearing scents according to the season and this is a perfect representation of post-rain spring days when the sun is coming back out.

Thanks to Andyl, I finally got to try a decant of this because even though I usually like milky and honey scents as bath scents, I do not necessarily like them as a perfume, but omg I want to take a bite out of myself with this on, and I usually don't like foodie scents. The rice flower probably keeps it from going too foodie, but for me this is a foodie scent because I think of a simple and comforting honey bundt cake made on my grandma's farm. I want a bottle. I think the sweet could get a little cloying, but there's something comforting here that prevents it from going too sweet for me. It's the kind of scent I want to wear when I am feeling cuddly in the coldest of days, and I need a lift.

Sharp in the imp, but I am learning that my skin seems to really like sharp scents and softens them so usually sharp in the imp is a positive indicator for me. Everyone keeps mentioning the lemon which is barely distinct on me, it's mostly a lovely, dusty floral with a barely discernible citrus twist. This is right on the cusp of might not need a bottle/need a freaking bottle, and it keeps pushing to the latter.

2006 from BPAL's Etsy.

I am really bummed with this one, especially since I bought a bottle, it doesn't seem wintery at all to me. There's no chilliness and it is so, so, so faint on me. It was mostly gone within a few hours of application. With most of the BPAL scents that I have tried, I usually need an afternoon reapply, but I needed a mid-morning reapply of this. Good thing other people like it, because I will probably swap this one out.

Got this as a frimp with my first BPAL order.

In the bottle: I REALLY did not like it in the bottle - syrup sweet, off-putting.

Wet: Better once on the skin..

Drydown: Like it a lot more during the drydown, more of the amber comes out and a slight floralness.

It fades surprisingly fast. It will probably be a swap for me.

 

 

I know I have found my people when they use spreadsheets to figure out their favorite scents. I just started my BPAL journey, received my first order of imps in November, and just ordered some ole Yules from Etsy BECAUSE I CANNOT WAIT AND I MUST SMELL THE YULES! Now, I am going to have start a spreadsheet...

 

 

Ooooh welcome!! BPAL Spreadsheets are an art form. It's good to start right away! I had to retroactively create my spreadsheet 4 months after I started BPAL (typing that out made it look like I started taking a drug ) and it wasn't easy to remember everything.

 

Well, the screw the rest of my workday. *Opens up Google Sheets.*

 

I've been trying to figure out why I've been getting some pretty "meh" imps lately. They're not bad, just not for me. I typically go for scents that sound just lovely in the description, but then I noticed that imps in my favorites pile didn't sound exciting on paper but I adore them just the same. So I put it to the test.

 

I took all the descriptors from my top 40 scents and tallied the notes.

 

What I came up with was totally surprising! I would have sworn up and down that I had more ozone. And all that vanilla??

Note # Of Appearances on Favorites List (>2)

Vanilla 11

Red Musk 5

Tea (Green, Black etc.) 5

Amber 4

Black Currant 4

Orange, Mandarin etc. 4

Milk and Cream Descriptors 4

Honey 4

Balsam, Rosewood, Oakwood etc. 4

Honeysuckle 3

Leather 3

Lemon 3

Lily 3

Marine 3

Neroli 3

Ozone 3

Plum 3

White Musk 3

Of course, this is just how often the word is mentioned. For instance, a lot of scents had only a hint of vanilla. I can't think of many that I have that are dominant vanilla (bahaha, dominant vanilla! )

(Also noted, because I'm a nerd and I can't stop myself, favorites are still a selected group from descriptions that sounded good originally. It's possible that there are notes out there that I never ever would have considered that are fantastic for me. The word "note" doesn't even look like a word at this point.)

Based on this, does anyone have recommendations? It would be greatly appreciated

I know a lot of you like to use the excel spreadsheets too Anyone else try this out?

 

I know I have found my people when they use spreadsheets to figure out their favorite scents. I just started my BPAL journey, received my first order of imps in November, and just ordered some ole Yules from Etsy BECAUSE I CANNOT WAIT AND I MUST SMELL THE YULES! Now, I am going to have start a spreadsheet...

Jasmine, jasmine, jasmine. Funny that despite being a rose lover, I think of jasmine as "grandma," and this scent is just that. I don't really associate jasmine with delicate as far as florals go, but since I have increasingly grown fonder of florals as I got older, I thought I would give this a try. Nope. Just too jasmine. I don't detect the lavender, at all, though I can detect a touch of honeysuckle. This is a definite no for me. Fortunately, I only have an imp. (I have also learned my skin amps jasmine.)

I don't get a strong, clear rose from this scent - it mingles with the other flowers into a heady, floral scent. I think Hystrixia described it best:

like a humid evening in late spring.

I will keep the imp and wear this, but probably won't be ordering more.

Edit 12/2: Interestingly, this is has turned out to be my partner's fave scent on me. I think I will peruse the forums for some similar recommendations cuz I am not quite crazy about it, but I like that likes it.

Snow White has strangely the same vibe to me, it's like a winter Leanan Sidhe, which is one of my favorite summer perfumes.

If you are looking for more "outdoors" you might try Skadi, or any of the "snowy" moons. The Garden in Winter also has that "outdoors " thing going on.

A really good readily available one is Neil Gaman's The Snowglobe.

I went to look these up and already had signed up for the waitlist for many of them, ha! The Garden in Winter sounds particularly lovely, and the quote is L.M. Montgomery, one of my favorite authors.

One of the imps from my first BPAL order, this scent is pretty and feminine like Leanan Sidhe once it dries down, but the fruity peach and pomegranate are a little strong for me at first - I tend to veer away from fruit notes. I like the balance of fruit to floral on the dry down. I would want something a bit heavier or woodsier for later autumn, but it's perfect for September and late August.

 

I am a newbie here, and I just received my first order of BPAL imps. One of my favorites was the Leanan Sidhe, but it is very spring. Does anyone have any recommendations for a sort of winter version of this scent? Ulalume and Death on a Pale Horse sounded like potential equivalents. Any other suggestions?

 

Just a heads up in case you hadn't realized, Ulalume is discontinued. Announcement here. You may still be able to pick it up on the forum sales.

 

 

I'm not very familiar with Leanan Sidhe, but just looking at the notes, I wonder if Ogygia might not be a good winter scent (with all the woody/violet notes) in the same vein? Sea air, kelp, and climbing vines, flame-singed cedarwood and juniper branches, cypress boughs, alder wood, violets, selino, parsley, glistritha, and white sage.

 

Sorry I can't really be more help! Can you identify the notes in Leanan Sidhe that you like best?? That might help others makes Winter recommendations.

 

Thank you for the recommendation and heads up ! I am still in awe of the scents and notes that Beth combines to create what she does! As for specific notes, I like the white flowers of Leanan Sidhe, and the herbiness. In fact, I like the herbiness so much that I want to try herbier scents! The Ogygia sounds wintery, but woodsy and herbsy with a touch of floral. Added!

 

I am a newbie here, and I just received my first order of BPAL imps. One of my favorites was the Leanan Sidhe, but it is very spring. Does anyone have any recommendations for a sort of winter version of this scent? Ulalume and Death on a Pale Horse sounded like potential equivalents. Any other suggestions?

 

I wonder if http://www.bpal.org/topic/25528-kumari-kandam/would work for you. a little bit snowy, a little bit floral, a little bit earthy. it was one of my first ever full bottle bpals.

 

Thanks! I am surprised by how much I enjoy the touch of decay in scents. It's beautifully somber in a sense. Added to the list, as well!

I am a newbie here, and I just received my first order of BPAL imps. One of my favorites was the Leanan Sidhe, but it is very spring. Does anyone have any recommendations for a sort of winter version of this scent? Ulalume and Death on a Pale Horse sounded like potential equivalents. Any other suggestions?

My first review! I ordered this along with five other imps for my first BPAL purchase. This one is definitely my favorite, and one I would consider buying in the full size. I like florals, but I wasn't sure how I would feel about herby, but the description was so evocative that I got it, and I am glad I did! I now want to try herbier scents. As for this one, in the bottle, I wasn't too keen on it, but after I applied it and even more so after it dried, I just adored it. Romantic and soft like it says with notes, ever so often, of just a hint of malice (like the Leanan Sidhe!).