inurbanus

Hmm... I agree with the reviews describing this as "funereal." I really love lilies, but there's a green note in The Queen of Hearts smells like nail-polish remover to me, and I can't get past that. That being said, there's something about these lilies that's a little creepy -- these aren't "happy memories" lilies, if that makes any sense. The cherry takes its time showing up, and even when it does, it only lends a faint fruitiness to the blend. Shame on you, skin chemistry -- if you'd cooperated, this could have been good.

2/5

This starts out as a chilly pine smell, but after about an hour of wear, the pine disappears and the plums come out. Unfortunately, this isn't the sugary plum note that I love so much in Midwinter's Eve -- to my nose, these plums are syrupy and smell a bit more mature than I care for. I can't smell the lily or the musk. I'm thinking I'm having a skin chemistry issue with this, since it seems much in demand and its reviews are glowing. I must say, I don't really care for pine scents, and L'Inverno isn't going to convert me. But, I would imagine that this is a must try for anyone who likes the more "wintery" scents.

3/5

I was thinking about purchasing a second Inquisition and getting L'Autunno, and I have to say, I'm glad I didn't, because this one didn't turn out so well. All I got from this was spice -- no fig, apples, smoke, or musk. And they weren't particularly yummy spices, either. Just in your face cinnamon. For what it's worth, I was instantly reminded of Arcana's Poison Candy without the plasticky undertone, so if you liked that one you might want to check out L'Autunno.

2.5/5

Oh man, this is gorgeous. Serously, this is like the perfect floral. This *is* Spring, or at least it embodies everything I love about the season, with its gentle heat and blooming flowers. While this is definitely floral, it's not in your face -- this is quietly beautiful, which I realy appreciate. There's something creamy in this that reminds me of Cockaigne and Haloes which is really intriguing me. It's like a sweet beeswax note that immediately tells me I'm going to love something. I really need to find a bottle of this.

4.5/5

Labdanum, heavy and sweet, underscored by a light aquatic. I thought the notes in this were a little intimidating, but I was pleasantly surprised by the way they combined. This is a little too masculine for my taste, but I would encourage those who are on the fence about this one to try it, especially if you like Sheol or some of the other heavy Ars Moriendi blends.

3/5

A quiet, mellow scent. This is definitely "blue", and it has an almost aquatic quality that I find really interesting. The notes flow in and out -- the most prominent would be the plum blossom and the green tea, but I can detect some sweetness from the peach and the lotus root. This is really soothing and laid-back -- it represents the painting very well. Try this if you like: Dionysia (for the plum blossom), Sea of Tranquility (for the white sandalwood and similar "vibe"), and Crawdad Dream (the green tea acts similarly in both blends). If this were a little bit stronger, it would be bottle worthy.

4/5

Jack had three stages on me: the peach & spices stage, the warm buttery pumpkin stage, and then the generic candle stage. Overall, it was very delicious and definitely autumnal. While my chemistry seems to struggle with foody things, I've been gradually finding scents that have gourmand elements without being too "in-your-face", and Jack falls into that category. It's kind of whimsical -- like if Halloween Town from The Nightmare Before Christmas had an official scent, this would be it. I can't wait to wear this in the fall!

4/5

Powder mixed with cleaning fluid. This isn't working on me.

1/5

Cockaigne is sweet and slightly nutty. In the imp, I smelled maple syrup, but the scent that ended up developing on me was a lot closer to Honey Nut Cheerios. Strangely, there is something in this that reminds me of Haloes -- both scents have that warm, glowing feeling. I like this a lot more than I thought I would. I work in retail, so I try to wear non-threatening scents to work so that I don't scare customers away with my perfume. I think this would fit the bill nicely -- it's interesting enough that I won't be bored wearing it, but it's also soothing and accessible. This is definitely bottle worthy; I usually don't want to eat my perfume, but Cockaigne is tempting. It smells like the perfect breakfast.

4/5

Soapy tea and cherry blossom. I can smell a little bit of jasmine, and it's playing nice in this, so that's good. This is nice, but for some reason it reminds me of Bat-Woman, which I liked a lot more, so it suffers in comparison. I would encourage all tea-lovers to check this out, especially if you liked The Torture Queen -- the white tea note in both of these is very prominent.

3/5

Whoa -- plasticky grapes and CASSIA straight out of the imp. For the first fifteen minutes of wearing this, I smelled like a stick of Big Red gum. Luckily, the spices eventually faded and left behind a mixture of honey and resin. It was very faint, and I couldn't really figure out if I liked the smell or not. Weirdly, Sardanapal reminds me of lots of different BPAL blends, The Dodo and Athens being chief among them. I like both of those better than this, so I guess Sardanapal is a no-go.

2.5/5

Hmm... This is a bit too powdery for my taste, but I can see why others like it. It's got the same kind of soft sweetness that Alice does, which would account for its shy, innocent vibe. I guess I was hoping for more "oriental" -- there's a little bit of smokiness in the background that I wish could come to the forefront of this. As it is, Three Brides is nice, but not really "me."

3/5

I must have a terrible nose, because this smelled just like Cloister Graveyard did on me. I guess I must amp the snow note? I didn't really get any soil out of this. Shame.

2.5/5

Cloister is such a great painting -- I'm sorry that its scent didn't work very well on me. The first whiff I got of this was intriguing; I thought that Cloister might turn out to be a winter version of Ulalume, but sadly this was not the case. The frankincense disappeared after 15 minutes, leaving only the very ozoney smelling snow note and some mint. Unfortunately, mint is one of those notes I don't care for, so it's no surprise that Cloister isn't one of my favorites. I will say, though, that if you're into the cold, snowy blends, this would be a great one to try.

2.5/5

CXIX (119):

CLOVE! Rich, spicy clove, and after about half an hour, I get something that smells like anise, which was most welcome. This ended up being something that strongly resembles Gingerbread Poppet crossed with Clemence. Very exciting!

4/5

This was so much fun to wear! Lately it seems that I've gotten into the habit of wearing things that are heavy and complex, so I was definitely up for a little wackiness. The notes in Crawdad Dream arrive in stages: at first, I got a cheerful fruity smell that reminded me of Fruit Rollups (that must have been the currant), then a gingery red musk phase (not my favorite, to be honest), and at last sweet green tea. While this didn't last very long, it smells so good that I don't care. If you like sweet and fruity scents, you must try this.

4.5/5

Penumbra is one of those really perfume-y blends that is suited more for night than day. It doesn't exactly scream PURPLE, like I was expecting, but I can't think of a color that would describe this better. There's a fruity element here, but it's tart and not especially juicy. The lavender is pretty prominent, and while I'm not a huge fan of lavender, it works really well here. What's really interesting about Penumbra is how it straddles the line between masculine and feminine. One minute I think it's really girly, and then the next it reminds me of men's cologne. For some reason this reminds me of Dionysia (could it be the pomegranate?), but I like this much better. It's a welcome addition to my collection.

4/5

Mmm...this is a surprisingly sweet resin blend. It's more polished than I was expecting, and actually is what I was hoping The Antikythera Mechanism would smell like. The vibe I'm getting from this is "sexy librarian" -- while this is sophisticated, it's also sensual.

The sandalwood note in this is really gorgeous -- I like sandalwood, but it usually has a rough, dry quality. Not so in this one -- it's smooth and rich. The tobacco is non-existent and the pepper is very faint. This is a very lovely scent. It's a hard one to review because it's very unique. It's almost too rich to wear as an everyday blend, but I can't stop sniffing myself.

4.5/5

I was apathetic about trying Bat-Woman, to be honest. For some reason, I thought it would be like White Moon and Night Thoughts, which I found to be overpowering and a bit too mature for my taste. Bat-Woman was a welcome surprise -- but after re-examining the notes, there was some serious potential lurking in The Salon for awhile that I had never picked up on. I'm a bit confused about the note "ratkirani" -- Wikipedia is telling me that it's night blooming jasmine (which is separately listed in the note list), but I've found some references stating that it's tuberose. That would make a lot more sense, since I think I can pick up on some tuberose in this. It would explain why I like this so much...

I really agree with someone above who mentioned that Bat-Woman has a very open feel. I haven't found very many "night-blooming" scents that truly have that lush, airy, "blanketed by the stars feeling", but this does. I'm starting to really enjoy The Salon scents because of the way each one represents a story, or an idea. This smells to me like the beginning of a night full of potential -- the kind of night you'll look back years later and be able to remember every little detail of. There's something almost prim about this that I find strangely appealing. Even though I love them, white florals in general tend to smell a bit funereal and eerie to me, but this one is devoid of that, and sweetly innocent. It's the good two-shoes sister of Midnight on the Midway.

4.5/5

I've been wanting to try this since the first time I visited the BPAL website, so I'm very excited that the time has finally come to review And There Was A Great Cry In Egypt. I love resins and can never get enough of them. This sounded like the ultimate resin blend, and I'm happy to say that I was not disappointed.

This starts out very heavy and deep -- it has the same solemn smokiness as Cathedral, sweetened by a drop of honey. It's kind of a forboding scent, but it reminded me of the various cathedrals I've had the opportunity to tour, and so I was really taken with it. I don't know how often I would wear this on me, but I would love to have it just to smell and remember. After about an hour, it lightens up and goes powdery, which means that the myrrh must be making an appearance. I have to say, I really don't care for the powder stage -- if I could prolong the beginning of Great Cry, I would buy a bottle in a heartbeat. As it is, I'll have to do some thinking before I add this one to my collection. However, I'm so glad I have an imp of this -- it truly is a must try for resin lovers.

4/5

Faiza is very snake-like -- exotic, refined, and a little bit dangerous. While I normally try to avoid really complicated scents (those with oodles of notes don't seem to do well on me), I love the way this turns out. The notes play very well together and combine to form something unusual and interesting. It definitely has a "greenish -black" feel, as others have mentioned. There's something slick and glossy about this that I really like.

I would classify this a dark fruity-floral blend. It reminds me a little bit of Tavern of Hell, with its gardenia note, but Faiza is fruitier. This is one of those blends that immediately makes me think Perfume (with a capital P) -- it has a definite make-up counter vibe to it, but I tend to like things that smell a bit commercial, so that certainly doesn't bother me. The fact that I really like this kind of depresses me, since CD is going to be gone so soon. It's making me wonder what fabulous scents I'm missing out on... As it is, I'll definitely have to get a bottle of this.

4.5/5

This is very pretty! I defitely understand the Haloes comparison, but Haloes smelled creamier to me, while this is golden and amber-y. It's a pretty, radiant smell, like being touched by the rays of the sun. It's a little more delicate than I was expecting -- I find a lot of BPAL amber blends to be ostentatious (which is a good thing, IMHO), but this demure, almost shy. I've been so excited to try this one, and I'm thrilled at how well it captures the feeling of Summer.

4.5/5

I wasn't sure what to make of Aeronwen's notes, so I decided to get a decant of this before committing to a bottle. I'm really glad I got to try this. It's a lovely scent, and I really mean that. The only note I can pick out (because this is one of those really well-blended scents) is the fig, which is sweet, but also stately. This one is a lot more sophisticated than I was expecting. It has the feel of a classic designer perfume -- timeless and elegant. My issue with Aeronwen is that it just doesn't grab me like some of the other Grindhouse blends did. There's something in there that's a teensy bit "off" (for lack of a better word) that is preventing me from fully appreciating it.

4/5

Wow. This is delicious, pitch-perfect mixture of tea and spices. I think I'll even say that it's the best spice oil I've ever smelled. My only issue with this one is that it fades very quickly on me. I guess that means I should buy a bottle for constant applying.

I decided to try this one based on the tea note, and I'm happy to say that I can smell it, but it's not the focus of the blend -- the pepper and the clove are what keep this interesting. I was expecting this to be heavy because of the patchouli, but this smells playfully sassy to me. I know that there isn't any ginger listed in the notes, but this really smells like a ginger snap to me -- more so than Shub-Niggurath and Gingerbread Poppet. I just wanna roll around in this one. It's a must try if you like spicy blends.

4.5/5

Straight out of the bottle, this smells like Smut. It's deep, murky, and a little fruity. After about a half an hour, it morphs into something a lot like Frederic, the fear of which prevented me from getting a bottle of this in the first place. To be precise, it's not as ashy as Frederic was, but there's that same dry, woodsy scent that made Frederic so unpalatable to me. I was disappointed, I wanted something a bit more lush and exhuberant. Overall, I don't really dislike this, it's just that a lot of red musk blends smell very similar to me, and so there are a couple that I prefer over Marianne (Kabuki, Hollywood Babylon). I will say that the mood of this matches the painting very well -- this is definitely a crimson blend.

3.5/5