crimescenecleanup

I tested an imp of Hollywood Babylon today.

 

Within two minutes, the skin on my wrist was raised, bright red, and my arm was covered in hives, and I was sneezing and wheezing.

 

I've never had such a severe or immediate reaction to any essential oil, fragrance oil, or perfume oil blend.

 

I'm quite shocked, looking at the list of notes (Egyptian amber, red musk, heliotrope, cherry, strawberry, vanilla) as I have not had any trouble with BPAL blends that have similar notes.

As a general rule, I don't have much trouble with any BPAL blends.

This reminds me a lot of BPTP's Sakura atmosphere spray.

 

It also has a cold, clean note similar to that in BPAL's Snow-Flakes.

 

On drydown it is very heavy on the cherry blossom, which is nice because I love that subtle note and find that it often gets hidden in complex blends. Here it is a star player.

 

The lily is very faint, but helps to round out the other notes.

This is very accurate. It starts with a light metallic scent - like aluminum cans - and the scent of those little pine-tree air fresheners.

 

In the early stages, I can swear there are some other light notes, but they are gentle and pretty and I am having trouble identifying them...they are like like fruit without the sweetness, and it is a good representation of colored lights.

 

Drydown is pine tree air freshener all the way.

In the bottle, this has many visible cocoa blobs.

 

It smells strongly of chocolate.

 

Tested, on skin or test paper, it is rich melted chocolate bar over the most lovely combination of woods. There may be a hint of cedar.

 

The result is very smooth and comforting.

 

Vanilla comes out on the drydown in a big way, almost overpowering the other notes, almost going plasticy, but not quite. The wood tempers it a lot.

I get ozone and aquatic notes...but softened. There is nothing particularly cold about this scent, it just smells like fresh air and water, but still and clean, not sharp or bracing.

I get a subtle paper note, ink, and then something very similar to the paint note from The Day Burned White.

 

That's actually one of my favorite scents, but Crumpled Wrapping Paper feels less balanced and less wearable.

 

It has pretty good throw.

 

hmmm...on further reflection, if this smells like anything, it smells like homemade wrapping paper made with kraft paper, tempera-paint and homemade stamps, like you make in kindergarten.

 

I was hoping for more paper, less paint and ink, but as a single note, this is definitely accurate.

Oh man. I don't even have words...

 

I was actually looking forward to trying this one, because I like the starchy, earthy, odd scent of potatoes. I figured it would similar to another starchy root vegetable note, Lotus Root.

 

But this doesn't smell at all like potatoes.

 

It is super heavy, thick, rich, in-your-face cream and butter notes, with an overwhelming punch of chives and stinky garlic salt.

 

It is incredibly strong.

 

There is no way - NO WAY - that I am skin testing this.

 

This is the worst reaction I have ever had to a perfume, and I have nobody to blame but myself.

 

I am laughing so hard.

 

This is so gross. It is brilliant, but gross. If you want to troll some friends and relatives, wear this perfume to a formal event. It is like, weaponized perfume.

 

You could freak out so many people with this stuff, if you can handle wearing it.

Sorry, not one of the requests above but couldn't help taking a little photo-shoot of my two newest scents:

 

(respectfully snipped)

 

 

I love your photo!

I just used up my bottle of Monsterbait: Biggercritters. It was my favorite BPAL scent of all time.

 

The vanilla and florals really did give it a happy, fluffy, "snuggly" comforting feel, and it had such a beautiful grapefruit kick. I am a sucker for citrus-heavy blends,

 

Can anybody suggest something with a similar feel?

This didn't work on me at all.

 

Oh, it matches the description...perfectly. I just wasn't at all prepared for the perfume experience that was Outlaw.

 

This is a shiny - and very expensive - black leather jacket, with that new leather jacket smell. And then a big ol' half-melted rootbeer float gets spilled all over it, along with a bottle of vanilla extract. There is sticky sugar everywhere.

 

I'm not sure what I was expecting, or why I thought this would work. I tend to amp leather, and vanilla, and sugar. But I do love and adore sarsparilla, so I hoped that somehow, all of these elements would balance each other out.

 

Instead, on skin, on drydown, this screams HI I'M LEATHER! VANILLA NOW, HI! SOOOOOOOOOOOODA OVER HERE! HI LEATHER SODA VANILLA SUGAR BOMB HI HI HI!

 

It is just...cloying, overwhelming. I'm getting knocked over by this Outlaw. I smell like a Baskin Robbins collided with a Harley Davidson store. (Oh, the humanity!)

 

If you like sugary gourmand scents, and you like leather, this is your new favorite perfume. It won't be mine, though.

 

Hmmm. This is pretty much exactly what the description says...only softer.

The yew berries are similar to the Rappacini's Garden Yew Trees blend, the graveyard moss is green and fresh, the black musk is very recognizable from other blends, and the agarwood is definitely present.

However, what I expected to come together in a very woodsy, earthy and masculine blend instead comes out very muted. Each note in this is a very gentle version of itself.

These are awfully polite smiting dead. This is the scent of a very peaceful and well-tended burial ground.

It is like walking through one of those Victorian Era park-like cemeteries early in the morning. You feel something brush against your shoulder. Was it a ghostly hand, or simply a falling leaf?

On drydown it all melds together into something mossy, cool and clean, powdery with a hint of musk. It is like Graveyard Dirt's ultrafemme little sister.

 

There is a slight hint of something sharp, and for lack of a better word - poisonous - lingering in this scent. Maybe it is part of the yew berry accord, or maybe it is just a part of the unpredictable funkiness that is agarwood.

 

However, it is just a tiny hint, and not enough to change the overall impression. This is a soothing scent, one with a light touch.

I am curious to see how this ages, and if it will develop more depth over time.

Oof. I tested this, and got very new, very strong leather.

 

It is a rare leather blend that works on me, and this isn't it.

 

The rest is bitter medicinal herbage...it strongly evokes old-fashioned horehound cough syrup or drops. There is no horehound in this, so it must be the mint and juniper combining with bitter resins that gives that impression.

 

On drydown, the black musk is there, a constant backdrop, and as Eleven11 said, it is grimy. Almost like motor oil.

 

On further drydown, the leather, mint, and juniper become even sharper and clearer. The cough drop effect is fading.

 

Although I don't detect any camphor in this, I'm starting to get that camphor crystal effect that I get from TAL's Jinx Removing oil, where you get a chill just from smelling it.

 

The effect is pretty amazing, as it really gives the impression of both heat - both fire and body heat (the smoky and animalic tones in the resins, musk, and leather) - and of shocking, freezing cold.

 

This is a mean, scary, icy scent. Leather and resin lovers, take note of this one. It is not my cup of tea at all, but it is definitely a work of art.

Do you like piña coladas? And getting caught in the rain?

 

Then you will probably like this perfume.

 

OK, sorry, I couldn't resist.

 

Actually, I mostly get honeydew melon from this, which is totally OK. I love the melon notes BPAL uses...Ogun is a favorite GC scent of mine.

 

The background of this scent is fresh, clean, and a little spicy. You can definitely smell the rum and the air before a rainstorm, and there is a drop or two of creaminess from the coconut and just a hint of pineapple.

 

But it is mostly melons.

 

This is a really unique scent, fun and refreshing.

 

If I have one complaint, it is that 'moonbathing' doesn't last long on the skin or in a locket.

YES! Just the thread I need!

 

I'm looking for a dupe for Whisper by The Makeup Store.

 

I don't know the exact notes, as they aren't listed anywhere, but it's best described as a mix between Dior Addict (Night Queen Flower, Bulgarian rose and orange flower, the base is created with Bourbon vanilla, sandal wood and Tonka bean) and L'Occitane's Patchouli (amber, cinnamon, vanilla, myrrh, neroli and patchouli.)

 

Anyone have any ideas?

 

Sorry about the lateness of this reply, LexieBlom.

 

The first blends I thought of for L'Occitane's Patchouli were Umbra (East African black patchouli, cedarwood, vetiver and a dribble of cinnamon) and Defututa, for the smoky vanilla-cinnamon that might layer nicely with patchouli.

 

I will have to do some more testing and searching to find something that might be in the same family as Whisper.

 

I myself am a sucker for Ralph Lauren's Romance.

 

(rose blend, citrus, water lily, lily, white violet, carnation, ginger, patchouli, oakmoss and white musk)

 

Does anyone know of a similar BPAL?

 

I also love Burberry Brit for its citrus kick and Lagerfeld's freesia-heavy Sun Moon Stars, if anybody has recommendations for those.

Our pantheon is missing the starry night goddesses

 

That is incredibly sad.

Yep, this smells like stale candy corn.

 

It is warm, browned butter, melted marshmallow and vanilla and wax.

 

Luckily, it does not evoke the taste of candy corn, the acrid tinge of corn syrup and the intense sugar shock.

 

I got a decant of this, mostly so I giggle over a sample of perfume that duplicates one of my favorite autumnal scents.

 

I was NOT expecting it to be so wearable. After testing it, I had an immediate urge to layer it with every other scent I own. And lo and behold, testing it as a layering scent proved that I needed a bottle.

 

It just made everything better.

 

I feel like I've been had somehow. I've been the victim of a hoax, a flim-flam, an elaborate practical joke.

 

I'm not supposed to be wearing this at all.

 

This was supposed to be a one-off gag, right?

 

Why am I wearing something named "Last Year's Stale Candy Corn" layered with my classy lady scents and my fancypants business attire?

 

Why are people giving me compliments on it?

 

This really can't be happening.

 

I guess I should start looking for a backup bottle.

If you like Aromatics Elixir, try BPAL's Caterpillar, from the Mad Tea Party Collection.

Death cap is warm and earthy. It is chockful mineral notes, with a background of something that smells like vanilla and tonka, and maybe some benzoin.

 

It is definitely a cousin to the DCed Black Opal. Death Cap is much earthier.

 

Over time most of the mineral notes wear off and it dries down to a slightly dusty vanilla/tonka scent, with a dry cedar note.

 

The final drydown is very close to Tombstone, without the sassafras.

 

Very soft and comforting.

I am surprised there is not more love for this one!

 

A four year + aged bottle is mostly peppered tobacco and honey.

 

The pepper note is a bit like cracking open a bottle a of smoked peppercorns.

 

The tobacco note is very dry and smooth, and the honey is not overwhelming.

 

It stays very true on the drydown, and over the next few hours, all of the unusual wood notes start to emerge. The bodark (osage orange) stands out the most.

 

I love this one on Autumn days.

BPAL's Manhattan has always struck me as a clean, cool, airy, sophisticated, intellectual and well-read.

 

It is a GC that doesn't get nearly enough love.

(For reference, I tested this as a linen spray)

This is mostly mint. Definitely the famous BPAL "white mint" note, with a strong background of very sweet amber.

There is just a hint of something earthy, almost a mineral note that I think is from the resins. It reminds me a bit of the long DC'ed Black Opal.

On the drydown, the woods give this a slightly masculine edge, and it smells a bit like a very expensive aftershave or cologne. Classy! I wouldn't mind my house smelling like this.

No sign of the tallow.

The throw is somewhat weak, but it find that common in mint blends. It is however, very long lasting.

If you enjoy other sweet BPAL mint blends like Tokyo Stomp, Snowblind, and Lick It, but long for something a little more sophisticated and less candy-like, this will be right up your alley. It is also great for people who miss Lantern Ghost of Oiwa.

When I first tried this fresh out of the mail box, it smelled just like loam soil and ash, maybe with some cool mossy notes.

 

Now that it has had some time to rest, I tested it again, and got all harsh smoky vetiver. It reminds me of Devil's Claw, but isn't quiet the same.

 

As much as I like vetiver, I am mourning the loss of that beautiful cold soil note.

 

hmm...I think this blend requires further testing, locket, skin, etc to see if anything brings those first impressions back.

I'll second Titania, and add Belle Vinu, which is very similar.

 

Spirit of the Komachi Cherry Tree is hard to find, but deserves to be on this list.

So, out of all of the hundreds of perfume samples I have tried, this is the first that contained a "fabric" note that worked on me. Usually, anything with a cotton, linen, or silk note ends up being harsh somewhat acrid.

 

But here, the fabric component of the "lace" accord smells exactly like clean cotton thread. But that is only half of it - the rest is a delicate vanilla.

 

This is the soft, faded memory of a vanilla perfume spilled on your best handkerchief.

 

There is a slight anise/licorice/citrus kick to it from the absinthe, but it is very faint.

 

After drydown, the tobacco emerges, very dry and light.

 

 

Overall, this is soft, almost dreamlike. It is never overpowering, but haunting. When you take a well-loved quilt out of a hope chest and it still carries the scent of herb or flower petal sachets in its fabric, that is the sort of impression I get from this perfume.

 

The tobacco and herbs really do make this seem like an herbal sachet or a natural perfume blend you could find at a hippy headshop, there is nothing artificial about it.

 

It is the sort of perfume that could be worn anywhere, and would offend no one. It is the sort of thing that everybody likes, but can't quite put their finger why or define the ingredients.

 

It also makes me sleepy. TKO has nothin' on Absinthe & Lace. So soft and cuddly! Just testing it makes me want to go curl up under a quilt and nap.

 

To be honest - I'm not crazy about it. But I wasn't crazy about Antique Lace, either. I don't get excited about wearing Absinthe & Lace. However, I feel like it is the sort of perfume that everyone should have in their scent wardrobe.

 

It is like an outfit you save for weddings, or funerals, or job interviews, or when you take your conservative grandmother out to dinner for her birthday. It may not be a strong statement of your personal style, but it is what you wear when you need to be beautiful for the sake of other people, and not for yourself.

 

Absinthe & Lace is like that outfit - comfortable, always appropriate, it puts others at ease, and it is timeless in its simplicity.

 

My only real complaint is that it fades quickly, and needs to be reapplied every couple of hours. Keep a bottle and applicator with you if you wear it out to an event, for touch ups.

I just get rich dark chocolate - the most delicious, decadent chocolate bar ever. WIN!