wolfie13

Wow - I can't believe that I get NOTHING of the lovely notes that everyone else seems to. In the bottle it smells like a generic aquatic and some creosote. On me, all I get is that perfumey "ocean" scent that is found in many candles, air fresheners, etc. And it lasted FOREVER (why do the ones that don't agree with me seem to linger?) I grew up by the ocean and was hoping this one would smell "real" to me. But I have yet to smell a realistic scent of this genre, bpal or otherwise.

My first CN try! Sniffing: Cocoa, lemon, figs and honey musk Wearing: The same. The honey musk aspect blends in quite quickly and I'm left with mostly sweet fig first, dark dry cocoa second and some lemon/bergamot. Final thoughts: I like this but don't love it enough to add to my collection - the drydown on my skin is mostly the same fig that I get from the drydown of Gomorrah, but I like the background notes of that fig scent better - it becomes more of a skin/me scent.

In the bottle and for about 15 minutes I really like this - I get mostly lavender and orange blossom - bright, summery. Then the jasmine and herbs kick in and the whole thing flip-flops. If these two had remained supporting players I would love this. But when they step to the forefront on me, I lose my taste for it. That said, this is an eminently more wearble jasmine scent for me than any I have tried so far. It's an almost - but -not -quite.

Initial application: Mostly dirt - but overall lighter in scent and feel than, say, Graveyard Dirt. More similar to the dirt note in Burial, maybe. Upon wearing: I get a hint of floral and an overall sweetness (but a sugar sweetness as opposed to a vanilla type sweetness) added to the underlying earth scent. Not really spicy to me per se, but has something in the background giving a bit of depth and a vintage feel. This is nice and quite unique, but for me, I have many other Bpal scents with dirt elements that are more appealing.

On first application: I get a surge of the almond milk and coconut and i love it! But within 15 minutes, I get the green leafy aspect full force and my lovely coconut mostly disappears. It's okay but goes through a dangerously close to "soapy" phase for awhile there. After an hour or so, a touch of milky sweetness creeps back in and takes the edge off the green aspect. (but it never goes back to smelling specifically of coconut or anything again.) Drydown after 2 or more hours - the green edge disappears and it's mostly just the dark, woody, slightly sweet figs that I get from other Bpal fig blends. Overall, I do like the scent, but here's what's kept me personally from keeping the bottle.... The first couple hours are nearly identical to another fig-based perfume (they share similar notes) I already have a bottle of and wear regularly. And the late drydown phase of this is nearly identical on me to the drydown of Gomorrah, which I also have a bottle of and wear regularly. Trying to get out of my ruts, so have passed this on to someone else to enjoy.

Wow. This hates me too. Jasmine and Ylang-ylang - that's it - both of which are always loud and heavy on me. They don't give a single other note in this blend a chance.

I ordered this, hoping that the clove, musk, bourbon vanilla and sandalwood would be the main components of this scent, with just a dusting of florals on top. Wrong. Like most other folks, I got mostly jasmine here. (And the lab's jasmine is very nice and "true" on me compared to most, but i just don't like jasmine generally.) After a few hours, I still got no clove or sandalwood, but there was a touch of musk and sweetness (though not really distinguishable as "bourbon vanilla") mellowing things out a bit. But not nearly enough. (Or quickly enough.)

I have to agree completely with this portion of Dark Mouse's analysis! This was surprisingly light and floral on me - so much so that I was convinced I must have gotten a mislabeled imp! Add a touch of light incense, smoothly blend (no single notes really stood out on me) and there you have it. Nice, but not really for me - it was too light and non-descript (and where is that floral coming from??)

There definitely seems to be dragon's blood in this......and though dragon's blood tends to have a floral aspect on me at most times, there seems to be an additional floral component here, though I can't say which. It's definitely sweet, too - but more of a sugar sweet than vanilla sweet to me. I really can't do sweet florals. And the boy doesn't like it either, so the voodoo properties appear to be circumvented in this case.

In the bottle and initial application: Smells like Butter Rum lifesavers. I really don't like that "butter" note. After about 20 minutes: I get the coconut (which I love and doesn't go weird on me - yay) and sugared rum. Unfortunately, I also get too much of the smokiness which doesn't really work for me. Sad - I have yet to find the right coconut scent for me.

In the bottle sniff: I'm getting mostly soft lemon and white florals Wearing: I really like the initial stage - it's lemony vanilla with a touch of sandalwood and light musk. It's got a soft and creamy quality. After an hour or so: Unfortunately, the lemon has faded quite a bit and the light musk and white floral aspect has taken over on me as I feared it might. Verdict: A beautifully done light summery musky vanilla floral with a teeny hint of lemon. I like this the best of all that I've tried of this genre - many of you will love it!. But it's just not me.

I love fig too! I've tried them all (with the exception of Eden - which is hopefully arriving VERY soon) and so far Gomorrah has been the figgiest on me.

Dragon's Milk

In the bottle: Okay, this is weird. It smells like dirt and fruit. Fruit of a cherry-ish nature. Wearing: Immediately i get a much stronger earth note - smells like Graveyard Dirt (as I mentioned with the KOC as well) - but even more so than the king. And yes - though i was skeptical when others said this - there is a fleeting almost "chocolate" note that appears, likely due to the vanilla and patchouli/vetiver combo (two notes I think are strong elements in Graveyard Dirt). The fruit note becomes more recognizable to me as pomegranate (though at times it can seem almost apricot-like?!! No more cherry-ness.) I don't get much, if any, Rose at this point or at any other. After an hour or two: Like the KOC, I like this even more the longer I wear it. And also like the KOC, this is the point that the amber becomes more noticeable on me. I also begin to get a touch of spicy incense, a teeny bit of a dry vanilla, and the dirt note mellows and blends. The fruit note is still pretty obvious - I wish it was a little less so, for my personal taste - but it's not overbearing. (ETA: Though some days the fruit note blends down more than others - today is one of them - mmmm earthy, amber, vanilla!) Verdict: Complex, unique. Good throw and lasting power on me. Warmer, wetter and sweeter than the King yet somehow it's still clear that they belong together. I am so totally keeping both of these!

In the bottle: One sniff and I'm in love! I get a "dirt" smell - which smells a lot like Graveyard Dirt - (makes sense b/c I get a lot of Vetiver out of GD and it's one of the notes here), and a touch of leather and warm spice (must be the amber) and the tiniest bit of sweetness (must be from the almond and fig - but NOT sweet or cherry-ish almond and just the tiniest bit). But nothing really takes over - it's all melding so well and these are the only notes of the list that I can really differentiate at all from the others. Wearing: Wow - this changes quite a bit. Kinda wishing it stayed an exact replica of it's bottle scent. Upon wearing it flattens out quite a bit and becomes mostly like a combo of Graveyard Dirt, amber and musk on me - and yes - it's a fairly dry and masculine scent. (It's lost that touch of warmth and sweetness it had for me in the bottle.) Hour or Two later: Surprisingly - it's mostly the same but a spicy amber is the note that predominates at this point and the leather has come back! (This is the one and only Bpal that I've discovered thus far that the amber sticks around on me - which makes me very happy as i love amber.) This one actually keeps getting better as the hours go on for me. And at this later stage I just wish I could find a guy to submit to my bpal pressure - earthy, spicy leather??? What's not to love???? Overall: Very complex and unique. Has good throw and lasting power and smells so wonderful with the QOC. I think I may actually like the combined waft of these scents even better than the individual ones. (Haven't tried layering them yet).

Oh yeah - Coulrophobe just reminded me - of the Somnium blends, Nanshe had a lot of lemon - it was pretty much just lemon and some lavender on me.

Shadow has a strong, linger-y lemon on me. I got a strong lemon/citrus aspect from Ahathoor also. (and I'm testing Zephyr right now - the lemon does fade a bit on this one after an hour or so, but it's still there and it's really a lovely one)

In the bottle: I get mostly the piney-herbalness of rosemary and the lemony-herbalness of bergamot. Not bad. Upon application: It becomes much more of a blend, and is rather nice for a few moments when the amber really becomes noticeable and warms up and smoothes things out. Though it IS reading a bit "men's cologne" on me. After 10-15 minutes: The iris and narcissus kick in and sends this too far into floral territory for me. It's saved somewhat by the fact that it still has the herbal/green quality going on in conjuction with the flowers, but it's still not for me. This scent is like the male version of Beltane to me.

Big, big, big sigh. Everyone has posted such great descriptions already, that I'll be pretty brief here: In the bottle: Butter, cream and a tiny little nose-tingling note - a touch of mint. Wearing: The tingly minty note disappeared and this was all butter and heavy cream on me. And that's pretty much it. REALLY strong - I only tested the tiniest bit - and really long-lasting. Drydown: Pretty much the same. After 2-3 hours, it was a little better if you sniffed my skin directly and very closely (a bit sweeter - and kind of a vanilla cake batter smell), but the throw was still all butter and heavy cream. No honey, really. Verdict: Not for me. Way too much butter and cream (two things I don't even like to eat much less wear). Though on the plus side I got no sour milk or yogurt smell. Just something that's a little too rich for my blood. (see below) Lame admission: I was so hoping this would smell similar to Suave Milk and Honey conditioner. (Yes - that cheap drugstore stuff is my favorite milk and honey scent of many incarnations I have tried. Maybe my tastes in this particular scent category aren't refined enough to appreciate the Bpal.) (ETA: But luckily, it's worked so well for many folks that it's already been swapped to a more loving home.)

I had the allergic reaction to Whippoorwill as well - big time! I didn't have any reaction to Shub-Niggurath, however. (Yagathai - for that one, maybe there is cinnamon in it? Have you tried other blends with cinnamon?) As far as Whippoorwill - my first thought as well was maybe the cardamom? But from the blends that Macha mentioned, I actually have tried Nephilim, Bastet and Lex Talionis and not had a reaction. Maybe there's just a lot more in Whippoorwill? I contemplated black pepper as well - the only blend that I know of with it that I've tried are Wrath and again, Lex Talionis, but again no reaction to either. Hmmmm - it's a mystery to me so far.

Here is the main thing about this scent for me: Exactly like Yagathai - I got an extreme allergic reaction to this scent! The worst one I've ever had. I put one swipe in the crook of my elbow and developed a 3 inch in diameter burning welt! It took awhile to go away even after using soap and water. I have no idea what is in this that prompted such a reaction. Of the well over 100 bpal's I've tried I only got red welts from one other one - All Night Long - and that was only when I applied it right after getting out of the shower. If anyone has any ideas on what it could be - PLEASE let me know! In the amount of time I was wearing it - which wasn't much - I got a green/soapy sort of scent. I could smell the cardamom quite a bit at first, but it seemed to dissipate fairly quickly leaving a scent that was reminiscent of Silk Road, but with the green or grassy elements of that scent amplified. (I'm feeling like maybe they both have bamboo?) It was okay on me, but nothing to write home about. (Luckily, since I couldn't wear it even if I wanted to.)

Initial whiff: Pennyroyal (which always smells to me like bright strong mint with an herbal undertone that makes me a tad edgy.) Wearing: Still pennyroyal, with a bit of the lavender seeping in around the sides. The problem for me is that the herbal edge mentioned above takes on a swampy quality on my skin. So I smell like breath mints that somebody fished out of a lagoon. Verdict: I should have known better, as pennyroyal usually does this on me - but I've been on a quest to try every mint-esque scent bpal has to offer. Tulzscha is still in the lead.

In the bottle: Lemon verbena and not much else. (I love the smell of it though, so I'm not put off) Upon application: Whoa - the verbena aspect is showing itself as sharp, strident lemon and is still overpowering everything. Not too excited about it at this point - it's lost the herbal/green edge it had in the bottle. (I can totally see why many folks are mentioning Pledge.) Initial panic subsides: About 20 minutes in, the lemon verbena turns back into it's imp smell and mellows out and the cedar and sandalwood come forward. There's not much patchouli to this on me - it's definitely just there in the background, lending a slightly warmer, richer quality to the other very dry, sharp notes. Verdict: I like it. After about 1/2 an hour it ends up very well-balanced and blended on me. It's a great summer one - light and bright but still woody/earthy. Final thought: (I bet a touch of vanilla added to this would be amazing - for all you layering/SN folks out there)

Let me preface by saying - i love this! In the bottle: First quick sniff - the combination of notes actually gives off a sort of evergreen-tree-and-the-rich-earth it's standing in type of thing. Wearing: The dominant note on me is initially the cedar, but the patchouli and vetiver are definitely there, filling in the gaps with their earthy splendor. (heh, heh - i love these notes, though i know many folks don't). The touch of cinnamon is there warming and spicing things up a touch. Drydown: Much the same. Definite overall lasting power. I think Hologhost's comparison of this to Aureus was a good one. They have a similar quality on me - both wood/incense/resin types of scents - with Aureus as Day (warm, bright, even a bit sweet) and Umbra as Night (cool, spicy, mysterious). I've tried nearly every Bpal of this genre and if I had to choose, this may well be my favorite. I strongly recommend to anyone that likes this scent category. (And maybe even if you don't think you do!)

In the bottle: Cedar Upon application: Cedar Drydown: Cedar, but a well-rounded cedar. The bay and sage give it a bit more depth and warmth, though I don't smell these notes that much as individuals. If you love cedar, you will love this, and I love cedar! It's a really good one too - not perfumey or fake smelling like many cedar oils or blends that I've tried from other sources (and no - NOT the dreaded hamster cage on me either!). It smells like cedar trees, with some lovely sagebrush growing around the base. I agree that this would probably be fantastic on a guy as well, but I am quite enjoying this for myself!