naeelah

Like many other people, I thought this would be a light, minty fruit -- maybe like a more substantial version of The East -- so I'm surprised by how strong and almost smoky it is. Wet, it reminds me a lot of Lampades -- green herbs and tart, juicy berry -- but dry, it's surprisingly similar to Dr. John Seward or Blood Countess. They don't actually have much in common, but on my skin, the effect from a distance is similar. Something in the combination of notes here is similar to the lab's champaca note. The berry and mint are strongest while wet, but once dry, the red sandalwood and amber are very prominent. (I amp sandalwood, FWIW.) The amber really rounds out the dry, prickliness of the sandalwood, and I like this combination a lot better than most red sandalwood blends. The orange blossom seems next strongest, and it lends a light, airily sweet quality. The mint only provides coolness without calling attention to itself. (The effect is similar to some sage notes.) The blackberry isn't gone, but I'd never know blackberry was in this if I hadn't smelled it when wet. It adds a sweet aspect without being immediately fruity. In the end, this is a glowing, lightly herbal sandalwood blend with sweet florals and a hint of berries. Like many of the Shungas, it's well balanced and has more of a classic quality than one of a single scent family.

The essence of holy Kyphi, beloved incense of the Egyptian Gods. Based on the way this smelled on my arm, I was not expecting to pull up my spreadsheet and see that this is an incense. Once dry, though, I see what's going on. Wet, it strikes me as a spicy lemon musk. As it dries, the lemon quality slowly fades away in and a smooth, sweet floral component emerges, along with the subtleties of the resins. It's very sweet starting out, but the sweetness also recedes the longer it dries. I wouldn't know what's in it, but I get the impression of: lemon (or lemongrass), cassia, spices, honey and/or white grape, frankincense, golden resins, rose, and jasmine, among other things. The rose gets stronger and stronger, for me, as it wears. There are a few other incense blends that are similar to this -- ones that contain honey and not just resins and woods -- but nothing is just like it. It has a very rich, diverse bouquet, and the notes are fairly distinct, although once dry, the effect is more homogenous. I find this less cloying than the other incense blends of this variety (Philosopher in Meditation, I'm looking at you). It's brighter and less smoky than many incense blends, although it has a distinctly fuzzy haze over it. The lemon[grass?] is what really sets this one apart. Lovely and well worth a try, just give it time to dry and develop. Try if it you like: Cleopatra Testing Poisons, Tabula Smaragdina, Philosopher in Meditation, Diwali.

I finally realized what this smells like: the Fresh Market! It's EXACTLY like walking past the flavored coffee barrels. (But that's when wet. Once dry, it's like walking past the regular coffee aisle, and just catching an occasional whiff of the flavored ones.) As another point of comparison, this is kind of the delicious love child of Miskatonic U and El Dia de Reyes. The dark bitter coffee of El Dia and the sweet, boozy cream of Miskatonic, and just a hint of chocolate. The bitter, dark coffee is first and foremost in the blend. Wet, it's very boozy and sweet, and a little bit creamy, but as it dries, it seems to become a bit darker and drier. Instead of Irish Creme, it turns to straight whiskey. Some of the initial creaminess may also be coming from the chocolate note, which is similar to El Dia. Once dry, the chocolate doesn't call attention to itself. I don't think I could pick it out if I didn't know it was here, because it blends with the coffee quality so well. As the note description says, it just softens the edge of the coffee. Once totally dry, this is as close to a pure, black coffee scent as I've experienced in BPAL. It's very strong, too. I got a tiny drop on my finger and it's wafting with gusto.

Wet, it's almost all pungent dirt. It's about half sour graveyard dirt (the same note as in Zombi), half fresh, loamy potting soil. Buried deep are flowers. As it dries, the sourness of the graveyard dirt gradually blends in. The tang never goes away, but on my skin, the loam becomes more prominent. Little by little, the flowers take over the loam (on my skin). I still can't identify all of them, but they're rich, thick florals. I'm sure there's magnolia but I couldn't say what else. It really does smell like gardening time in the summer. The moist soil and lush flowers give the scent a heavy, damp character, like summer humidity. (It lightens up a little as it wears, becoming a bit cooler.) The sour, metallic tang of the dirt reminds me not so much of graves but of red clay, which as anyone who's been to the south knows, is like 99% of the ground here (I might be exaggerating, but not by much). Anyone who has gardened here has probably spent time churning up clay and blending loam into it, trying to create an environment where anything will grow. And every house I've lived in has had a magnolia tree, jasmine on the porch [1], and wild honeysuckle growing on the fence, so this scent is just like tilling soil in the back yard. It doesn't last incredibly long, on my skin. The dirt fades in about an hour, and the flowers become much more muted after 2-3, but linger for most of the day. [1] Well, we got rid of the jasmine vine after it got so huge that a possum family moved in. Drove the dogs nuts. Now we have some enormous trumpet lilies in its place. They bloom at night and the scent is so strong that it carries across the yard. The floral bouquet in this reminds me of them.

This is LE to LE, but one is very limited and the other is currently plentiful, so: Makhanitis smells almost identical to Prospero. The plum and red wine notes are the same, and they both contain about the same amount of champaca, and those are the real defining notes of the scents. (FYI, Prospero is still in stock at DD, last time I checked, but I'm sure they only have a few left.) The difference is pretty small. Makhanitis is a little bit rougher around the edges, from the sandalwood, and Prospero has more of a smooth, polished edge, from the amber and white musk.

Haha, this is what stood out to me in that guy's post, because that's exactly what most of us don't like about conventional perfume. Simply because, to get that level of stability and staying power, it require synthetic fixatives and such, most of the time (I know CBHIP doesn't use alcohol or garbage), and it's that kind of garbage that makes me sick. I haven't read over this thread in a while, so glad these discussion have been resurrected. I had been wondering lately if the 'all natural' claim wasn't in need of updating, because I knew the FAQ was written years ago. I don't know much about bouquets, and it just seems like it would be almost impossible to make some notes without synthesizing it from the molecule up. So I'll link back to crimscenecleanup's excellent post about her experience with watching perfumers mix bouquets: http://www.bpal.org/index.php?s=&showt...t&p=1211273 Read this if you're having doubts. I trust what the lab says, but no matter what, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Even in an alternate universe where the lab is run by people who load their products with synthetics and have been lying through their teeth, the products are still high quality. I can't wear about 95% of department store perfumes, because they make me sick, or sneeze, or give me a headache. Whereas with BPAL, I CAN wear the vast, VAST majority of them. It's rare that I encounter allergies or sensitivities in BPAL products. And when I do, it's not the product, it's the plant. So no matter what the products are made of, or what kind of bases Beth uses, nothing changes the fact that I like BPAL, it works for me, and the scents are well designed. We know that Beth mixes her own vanilla flower bouquet, but supposing she bought a pre-mixed bouquet from someone else. So what? If it works, use it. It's just one tool of many. She also buys absolutes and makes her own components from the plants themselves. At one point in the thread, someone brought up that the lab clarifies that musks and ambergris are plant-based bouquets, but doesn't say anything about, say, strawberries. I think the reason for this is, if the lab says all ingredients are naturally derived, then many customers might assume that the musk is real, animal-derived musk. So I don't think they're trying to hide any secrets about other bouquets, just allaying fears of animal cruelty.

This reminds me a little of Glowing Vulva. It's drier and less glowing, but still a similar kind of scent. Wet, this is pretty sweet and creamy. Not like an orange creamsicle, though. As it dries, the amber becomes more dry and less smooth and round. It's not a powdery variety, on my skin. The orange blossom and vanilla amber are pretty evenly balanced. The vanilla is soft and subtle, not so foody. The orange blossom provides only a very, very slight hint of orange, and it adds to the creaminess. This doesn't morph, per se, but on me, as it wears, the amber gradually fades. After an hour or two it loses a lot of the dry, scratchy edge. After several hours, the amber is almost all gone, but the orange blossom is going strong. This is a simple, straight-forward blend. Sweet, creamy, golden. (The oil is golden orange, too.) Elegant in its simplicity. It seems to have excellent staying power, but I spilled it all over my hand, so maybe that's why it's persisting.

413 US 15, in a word: HUMMINA. Wet, it's aaallll ripe berries. They're tart, they're red and purple, and they're strong. I don't like every berry blend, but I LOVE the berries in this. I'm not sure what they all are, but it does remind me of the berry note in April Fool. As it dries, more notes emerge, but the distinction between them all is so subtle to my nose, at this point, that it's hard to say what. The cognac is definitely there. The paper bag is there. The longer it dries, the more I can smell a little cream. It isn't sweet or vanilla-y, just milky. So far, the fig and leather aren't so noticeable. Once totally dry, about 15-20 minutes later, it's mostly cognac and paper bag with cream, a little tart berry, a little leather, and I STILL can't pick out the fig. I guess it's blending with the paper bag note (which really does smell just like brown paper, without the stinky paper mill undertone). The berry and cream are strong enough to prevent it from being too dry or sharp, but the other notes are strong enough that it isn't foody. It's nicely balanced. It smells dry from a distance, but the cream and berries come on the finish. After a few hours, the cognac and bag are a little bit less aggressive, but it's a small change. eta 3/18: After only a month, this is already so much smoother and well-balanced. The paper bag and cognac notes are much less aggressive and the cream is much more pronounced, so there is a good, smooth, even blend of berries, cream, and dry notes from application to evaporation hours later. Yay!

Other reviewers remarked that this is a strong blend. I spilled a little on my skirt today, so I can vouch, YES, IT IS STRONG. I turned my skirt around so the smelly spot would be behind me, but it still smells like a head shop anywhere within a 10 foot radius of me. Luckily, I like plum. This is almost the same as Prospero, which is good news for anyone who missed out on the DD Poe collection. It's a dark, rich plum and red wine. The wine isn't at all cloying or grapey. It's bone dry. The plum isn't quite as candy-like as it is in some GC blends but it is very juicy. The sandalwood adds to the dryness. The champaca flower is noticeable but it is not as prominent as the plum and wine. Compared to Prospero, this is a little earthier, from the sandalwood. Which is not to say that this is an earthy blend, only that it has a rougher edge than Prospero. Prospero was a little more smooth and polished, but it's a fairly subtle difference. The plum, wine, and champaca are the key notes in either case. In a blurb: Dark, juicy plum and sweet florals anchored by dry wine and sandalwood.

The notes in this blend very well. I tried to sniff it blind, without knowing what the notes were, and I could guess about half the notes, but I kept thinking, "but this is really weird." Wet, I smell the grapes, pear, and vanilla. I think the pear is probably strongest, and it keeps the grape from becoming as cloyingly sweet as it has been for me in past white grape blends. As it dries, the rose emerges. It's very similar to the rose in Parlement of Foules, rich and smooth but light and a little sweet. After that, the sandalwood comes out. It's almost a little smoky and spicy. Red sandalwood is much more prickly and aggressive than regular sandalwood, and very dry. The heliotrope adds a distinct, sharp brightness. The lily goes through a strong phase but once everything settles down, the rose is stronger than the lily. (Then again, I tend to amp rose.) I tend to amp sandalwood, so on me, this is primarily a red sandalwood and floral blend, colored by white fruits and vanilla. Once dry, the vanilla is very faint. It lends a very light creaminess that binds the other notes, but I don't sniff and immediately think "Vanilla!" When the scent wafts, it smells much fruitier and better balanced than when I sniff it directly, so I guess that's how the other, sandalwood-wearing half lives. On the whole, it's light, sweet, smooth, and just a little creamy. Very spring-y. Throw is good, but softens considerably after an hour or so. About 2-3 hours later, the sandalwood has surprisingly faded away completely, along with most of the flowers. It's all vanilla now, with a little fruit and only a trace amount of rose

Wet, I smell a lot of white musk and coconut. It's a light, watery coconut, and to my nose it's kind of blending with the white amber. I can't identify the flower, but I'm not sure what to look for, either. The florals, musk, and oakmoss seem to be merging into a singular bright, airy, soapy quality. Yes, it's a bit like a coconut dryer sheet. Someone compared it to Snow White, and I think it's definitely a similar kind of scent. Light, chilly, airy, with a hint of grounding sweetness. And they both turn to soap on my skin. Once dry, the musk is a little less aggressive, and it's just cold and light, still rooted with a bit of coconut amber. The throw is good -- not too loud, not too soft -- and I'm not sure about wear life. A lovely realization of the photo, if not for me.

This smells a lot like Bliss with the addition of butter. Once dry, it reveals a little more complexity than Bliss, but it's still quite similar. Compared to Bliss, wet, it's the same light, milky chocolate but richer (from the butter). Dry, it has more of a dark, cocoa edge, like a chocolate robe around the buttercream, and it loses some of the sickening richness (but it is still distinctly buttery). Actually, perhaps a better point of comparison is El Dia de Reyes. If you could strip away the coffee, I think you'd find a chocolate scent nearly identical to this. If you wanted El Dia for the chocolate only, or if Bliss didn't quite do it for you, definitely give this a try. Although similar to Bliss, I think it's better. (side note: I wouldn't call this a substitute for Candy Butcher. On me, CB was like a dark chocolate ganache. No butter, just deep, milky chocolate. This is a bit lighter and richer.)

Wet, it's cool leather (sort of like De Sade) with warm oils and metallics. As it dries, the metallics get a little bit sharper and more aquatic. The metals are similar to Phoenix Steaworks, but with a brighter edge. Once dry, the star anise emerges, adding light, sharp spice. It doesn't scream licorice, just suggests it. The frankincense also comes out, and adds a nice, light smokiness. It's not very dark, just fuzzy. In the end, it's a warm, fuzzy, slightly oily scent contrasted by leather and sharp metals. After about 10-15 minutes, the metals are just a coloring note, not the main note. I don't normally like metallics, but this is very nice. It starts out masculine but ends up pretty unisex. It's a little like a cross between Phoenix Steamworks and No. 93 Engine, but darker. No. 93 is bright and clean, Robotic Scarab is more of a dark orange glow.

Wet, this is a juicy, fruity floral that's very strong on candied melon. (Wait, there's no melon in this blend. It must be the lychee, but it smells like melon.) As it dries, the melon note gradually recedes. Once dry, the melon note fortunately blends into the bouquet. The flowers are the most immediate notes, backed by mild lychee, juicy citrus, tart kumquat, and plum. The plum seems to get stronger little by little, as the other notes dry, and after about 10 minutes, it's the strongest note, but it doesn't overpower the other fruit. At this point it's quite nice. I can't pick out the moss or tobacco yet, nor do I really get much sense of resin (pine or dragon's blood). It's just a nice, juicy, plummy floral. From here, it morphs again, and the tobacco and moss begin to emerge. At first, it's just a richer, darker version of the same thing. It's a nice pipe tobacco, it doesn't go ashtray (on me). I like this phase a lot, but there are two problems: the throw seems to have dropped off drastically, and I amp oakmoss like nobody's business, so this nice stage is usually taken over by MOSS OF DOOM. If a rich, plummy, tobacco fruity floral appeals to you, try this. There are so many notes that it's probably fairly different from skin to skin, I would imagine.

Ooh, I see. I like the update. I got a few other GCs (some of them new catalog additions) in my order and they all had the regular old label. When did they switch?

Eros has a schmancy label that I haven't seen before. But it's been a while since I saw the whole catalog laid out in front of me, so maybe all the Excolos have this label and I've forgotten:

Unfortunately, the moss and cherry blossom seem to have a very soapy effect on my skin. In the bottle, it smells like cherry blossom and lightly musky vanilla. The mosses don't stand out a lot, and in the bottle they do smell soft and fuzzy. In the bottle, the scent quite nice. On my skin, it turns into cherry blossom soap. I think there is some oakmoss present, because once on my skin, a pronounced cool moss takes over. Once totally dry, I can smell the vanilla again, and the musk becomes much stronger. The vanilla musk here is similar to the one in Black Lace. On my skin, this is a surprisingly masculine scent. I get a lot of moss and musk, with some soapy florals and a hint of vanilla. It will be nice on the right person, but it's not a keeper for me.

This is VERY peppery in the bottle, and strongly peppery on the skin. I smell pink pepper first, followed by lush red berries, rose, and a hint of caramel. When wet, the berries are stronger than the rose, but as it dries, the rose becomes much more prominent. However, even though I typically amp rose, I don't feel like this is an overwhelmingly floral scent. It's a deep, rich rose and it blends well. The caramel made me hesitant to order a bottle unsniffed, but if you haven't cared for caramel in the past, like me, have no fear. It adds a light, creamy sweetness, and that's all. It's not at all heavy or cloying. Once dry, I hardly notice it. I would not call this a gourmand blend. (Though who knows what a little age will do to it.) I'd forgotten it had cognac and I didn't get a boozy sense from it, but there is a sharp quality that I think can be attributed to the cognac. I suppose it could also be young benzoin (which smells pretty medicinal to me when fresh). I can't immediately pick out the balsam. In short, I LOVE this. It's dark and sophisticated. It reminds me of Pepper all grown up. She's bolder and less sweet.

Like the other chocolate scents, this is pretty self explanatory. It smells nearly identical to Faith -- bright, shimmery violets with a crust of white sugar -- with a warm, almost toasty creamy quality. Faith was total soap on me, but this is very nice. The white chocolate balances the dryness of the violets well. I often find violets a bit shrill, but the cream makes them more subdued here. Although a sweet scent, I think this is the least foody of the White Chocolate blends. If you wanted to like Hope or Faith but they didn't work for you, try this. I think it's better.

This is another winner. If you like strawberry scents, you cannot pass this up. It smells exactly like fresh strawberry preserves, with a sweet, creamy note. Unlike White Chocolate and Coconut, this has no cocoa quality. It's straight sugary, milky cocoa butter. Once dry, there seems to be a tarter, drier edge to the strawberry that makes it a little better balanced and a little more like a perfume. It's lovely and very wearable, kind of in the same family as Fruit of Paradise. I don't find it nearly as sweet and foody as, say, Beaver Moon.

This is just as fabulous as I'd hoped it would be. Initially, the skin musk is strongest, supported by sugar, honey, and beeswax. The vanilla flower is equally strong, and it's light and sweet, with only a faint vanilla quality. This is very different from other beeswax and honey scents, which is good news for fellow wax addicts, because it's something new to add to the collection. It's hard for me to describe. When I first smelled Lady Una, I thought it had a kind of magical quality, unlike anything I'd smelled before. This is like that. The honey is light and sweet, like the honey in Stardust scents. It's not at all heavy or cloying, and it's definitely distinct from the beeswax. The wax note is weaker than the honey note, just anchoring the blend. This is definitely a skin musk and vanilla flower scent, colored by honey and sugar. What I think is the copal is providing a distinct base to the scent. It's powdery but solid, a bit similar to some ambers. If you're a fan of honey scents or want one that isn't too heavy, definitely try this. It's the sort of scent that blends into the skin and smells almost natural, rather than like you're wearing a perfume. The closest point of comparison is O, but they definitely don't smell just alike. I found O to be thick, heavy, sickeningly cloying baby powder. Giant Vulva is lighter and more elegant.

The white chocolate does have a cocoa quality, which took me by surprise, but it gets a bit lighter as it dries. It smells exactly like you'd expect: lightly toasted coconut, marshmallows (it really smells like marshmallows!), and a light creamy, very faintly chocolaty quality. It reminds me a lot of Intrigue, only a foodier version with no wood. Definitely try this if you like coconut. It doesn't seem to last long but it's yummy while it does. It stays kind of close to the skin. I find I can't tolerate a lot of foody scents as perfume (although I love them), because the sweetness becomes nauseating, but this isn't too sugary at all. So far, all of the chocolate box scents have been very wearable.

This is a complex scent and I'm having a hard time describing it. Wet, it has loads of juicy mandarin. Dry, it's mostly tuberose and ambergris, on my skin, and it has a dry, soapy vibe. The tea and neroli are almost equally strong, and they have a light, cool quality. In the background, there's just a hint of mandarin and lime, and this helps balance some of the bitterness. After about 20 minutes, the tonka emerges and really helps to balance the dry, soapy notes. Nothing else seems to morph much, to my nose. The addition of the tonka makes it a much nicer scent, to my nose. it adds only a hint of sweetness and helps to anchor the scent and smooth it out. (Not sure how it wears hours later, as I tried about 29348 things on at the same time and my nose broke.) This seems to be a light, smooth unisex kind of scent. I'm not sure how I'd categorize it. It's not fruity, it's not overtly floral, and it's not resinous, either. Just an even mix of all these things, and the result has a classic perfume quality, to me.

Of the ones I've tried, I'd recommend Coral Snake. Fresh it's very fruit salad-y, and aged it turned into something that smelled exactly like apple butter on my skin. You could also try Jack. It has pumpkin rather than apple, so it's a little bit heavy and buttery, but you might like it. It definitely fits the spicy butter bill.

Have I mentioned lately how much I love the lab's atmosphere sprays? Unlike perfumes, there's little to no room for them to go wrong, so you can just enjoy the scent. I don't think I'm quite as enamored with this as I am the perfume that came with it (which is a reversal), but I still love it. At first spray, I smell snow. It's not overly minty or mentholy, it's just light and crisp. It's quickly followed by pronounced juniper. Lastly, lightly spiced sugar cookies emerge. The sugar cookies and juniper are the most enduring aspects of the scent, but they're light and cool. Definitely more of a memory of scent than the smell of cookies in the oven. As another reviewer said, this scent is just like dragging a tree in from the cold after someone has taken cookies from the oven. It's a great encapsulation of Christmas time, and something different from the usual holiday type blend.