porcelina

I would happily join basically any of the swaps mentioned so far. I also have an idea for a post-holiday swap (becsuse to me the period after xmas/nye is the most depressing time of the year and I would like to do something to brighten it up!) but that is a couple months off so I think I'm getting ahead of myself there.

Cuelebre is mostly tart, juicy pomegranate on me, with leather and a tiny bit of myrrh taking it out of super fruity territory. It is really well-blended and if I did not already know, it would be hard for me to name the individual notes here. It is a really delicious scent- one of those bpals that has me constantly sniffing my arm because it just smells so good!

Noctule Bat is basically ALLLL vetiver, and the strongest, smokiest, most creepily meat-like vetiver, at that. I don't really get anything else out of the bottle! I'm sad because I liked the sound of this but it is just not wearable for me.

I was so happy to be able to pick this one up at the amazing Mütter Museum! After 6 years of aging, Ü has smoothed out to a lush blend of woods and leather which is delicious but difficult to describe. It really evokes images of old libraries and museums. I agree that there is something almost vanillic about it. Totally wearable as is, but this would also be amazing layered with some sort of musk!

La Mano del Destino is mostly super strong, dirty patchouli. I smell what I think of as a black leather note in the background, with the barest touch of cinnamon (it doesn't make my skin burn, either, so I don't think there is a ton in here). I get no cocoa whatsoever, which is too bad, really. I love heavy patchouli blends so this is for sure something I could see myself wearing, although it doesn't exactly stand out among all the bottles I own.

The cacao in Little Maggie dominates like crazy! It has a very rich chocolate scent and you can see the cacao in the bottle like you can in Boomslang, etc. When I saw Cocoa Puffs referenced in Little Bird's post, I laughed because it is really accurate! The little bit of honey and mallow flower sweeten and fluff the chocolate up to a sweet, toasty scent, with patchouli in the background to ground it. This is a surprising and totally wearable gourmand that stays close to the skin.

I love bpal's champagne note in general, and Blood & Champagne might be my favorite example of it. With age, the fizziness has died down somewhat but the scent is still reminiscent of cola. The dragon's blood note here is beautifully sweet with hints of spice. It is a really wearable, delicious scent and I might me starting to regret listing my second bottle for sale.

The Gas Lamps' Flare starts out with a BIG, juicy red apple note, with some dark smoky resinous/incense notes underneath. The super juicy apple fades pretty quickly and I am left with a soft, sweet apple scent. I wish my skin didn't totally eat it because otherwise this would be really nice.

Pure Applesauce starts out as a really rich, autumnal apple scent, very sweet and decadent. Sadly, it fades INCREDIBLY fast and after about 4 minutes I can barely smell it. ☹️

I love Joy Buzzer! Champagne is one of my favorite BPAL notes and this is just about straight champagne, but with an underlying layer of honey that deepens and sweetens it. The fizziness settles down after a few minutes and it becomes soft and sweet and smells so good!

i remember buying a bottle of garden path with chickens sort of at random and being pleasantly surprised by it, because super fresh/green scents are not normally my thing and this is AGGRESSIVELY fresh and green. it has a beautiful warm spring/summer feel to it and i find it surprisingly wearable, although it is quite strong on my skin.

les anges dechus is well-blended to the extent that i cannot actually discern any of the individual notes. it smells soft, clean, golden and nice; it is "perfumey" in a way that most of my favorite bpals are not. i would say it smells like a very expensive perfume, but not one that i particularly would like to wear.

kiyohime has a really nice ocean salt note combined with soft florals. i don't get much musk or matcha. i am trying to think of what this reminds me of- maybe ulalume? either way, florals and aquatics don't typically work for me on their own, let alone together! it kind of all fades to what i would call laundry detergent on my skin.

i get major red wine in the bottle- very sweet and boozy. on my skin there is a gorgeous patchouli note sweetened by wine, but something in here takes a medicinal turn and sadly i do not think this is wearable for me.

sailor's den is initially super coconutty for me, with some nice bay rum in the background. i love bay rum and i wish it was more prominent here! as it sits it kind of starts to remind me of a more feminine calico jack. calico jane? haha. unfortunately for me, my skin apparently amps lilac like craaaaaazy and after a while that is all i get.

CRAZY AMOUNTS OF JASMINE with a very nice white tea note in the background. it seems like jasmine is a love it or hate it note for most people; i personally do not have a lot of experience with it as i tend to avoid florals. i actually don't mind this and like the pure jasmine tea vibe but it is super crazy strong. i would have to go easy on this one if i wore it out! anyway, i actually kind of like it and mind wear it some day when i am in a rare floral mood.

death of sardanapal is all strong, spiced wine on me at first. initially, i could see wearing this in the fall or winter. i noticed zankoku_zen mentioned olive in her review and i weirdly got that note for a minute but it faded. eventually it ends up as a soft spiced wine, but the scent is not really rich or bold enough for my tastes.

lantern ghost of oiwa is a subtle, clean, close-to-the-skin, delicate sort of scent. my bottle is quite old and there is almost no mint note left. it's soft and does not immediately come across as floral, but the floral notes are there, grounded by the wood and black tea. i think this is a particularly nice blend for spring.

lots and lots of amber with just a hint of rose and something very rich and fruity which must be the "smoky plum musk." i am a big fan of this smoky plum musk! as it dries, it gets smokier. very dark and complex and quite elegant. i could definitely imagine wearing this one.

the tea leaf really dominates everything else in here for me at first, and then as it settles down, things get strange. i thought this might work despite the white musk and rose because of the resins and amber, but it is just a little too fresh and floral for my tastes. weirdly, there is something in here that reminds me of the smell of raw pumpkin.

wow, i wasn't really expecting to like this one, but i do. the black musk is beautiful and works so well with the sandalwood and myrrh. i don't know what poppy is supposed to smell like but if it smells anything like this, then i definitely like it. dark, maybe a little smoky, but smooth and rich. mmm.

i loooove this scent. the black amber is amazing and transforms the fougere beautifully. i definitely get a little lavender out of it, as well. it wears close to the skin and is a really warm and cozy sort of scent and i think it would work beautifully on both men and women. i might have to buy a bottle!

i definitely get a champagne note from here, but also something very cold, and sharp florals. then there's this soft, powdery, vanilla-like note that kind of covers and mutes everything else? at first i really do not like it at all, but as it dries, i could see wearing this at least once and a while. it's elegant and very unique and i can't think of any other bpal in my collection to compare it to.

As soon as I smelled this one, I knew I had to try it on my husband, too. On me, it's a very clean, slightly soapy, traditional cologne scent with a metallic edge. On him, more of the wood comes out, making it much warmer and softer. I like it much better on him.

astrigent, unsweeted tea note, maybe with some dry fruit or something in there? i like it and could see wearing this in the summer- i think it smells very refreshing. there is also something in there that smells a little bit like a lush store, hah.