Monster

Arghh! I cannot afford to keep up with all of these amazing scents I missed out on while I was getting a divorce! Upon dirst application, Diable en Boîte smells like late summer after a rain storm. This starts out as a strong peach blossom and tobacco. As it dries, the peach subsides a bit allowing the redwood and clove to come through. It's mildy sweet and spicy with a warm base of wood notes. The red musk in this is extremly light, however, on the dry down I can detect it when I inhale deeply. In the final stange, the peach and clove are the stars of the show. There's almost a tea-like quality to this. In fact, I think I have a spiced peach tea that smells a bit like this. The sillage is strong but not intrusive and it has a 2 hour wear time before you need to reapply (my skin eats up peach scents though). Overall, another win and a future bottle purchase if I can track one down. Gorgeous!

This is mostly wood with a hint of vanilla on my skin, it almost smells like leather to my nose. Strange! I'm not getting any pumpkin from this. Maybe my nose is weird tonight or the imp aged strangely. Either way, it smells lovely, just not what I was expecting!

Out of every scent from this release, Youth's Disengagement was the one I was most excited about. The note listing is entirely unique and marshmallow root isn't something I've ever experienced. When I first apply this to my skin I get two contrasting notes of something root/dusty (almost like orris root) blending with cherry. The marshmallow root does not smell like confectionery marshmallows to my nose. Instead, it's a distinct, earthy, root aroma. I think if it were to smell sweet and food, the perfume would lose the disconnected feeling it's (I think) supposed to evoke. As it dries, I get an incredibly light base of white sandalwood and vanilla cream. The initial top note of cherry has completed faded and given way to a more grown-up currant. Overall, it's a dusty, earthy scent with a background of sweet notes. It's disjointed and confused at first but in the end it comes together into one of the most unique BPAL scents I have ever tried. This isn't the gourmand I was expecting but I'm pleasantly surprised. You guys really need to try this one!

When I first apply Fractured Singularity I immediately get a beautiful, dry white tobacco flower (similar to the one in Dia). The vetiver grass doesn't jump out at me, I'm guessing it's contributing to the dryness of the floral note. As this dries, it becomes softer, blurred, almost fuzzy and slightly powdery. No worries, this isn't a baby powder note but more of a synesthesia feeling of soft, white light being viewed through opaque glass. The final dry down is a soft floral gently warmed by resin with the tobacco flower in the forefront. There's also a clean quality about this. it's incredibly beautiful! If you like feminine scents that are less sweet and girly I urge you to give FS a try For some reason I imagine Galadriel from Lord of the Rings would wear this.

One of my absolute favorite oils. Feed Me and Fill Me With Pleasure is the sister of Banshee Beat and Goblin. The patchouli is more similar to Goblin and Occupy Wallstreet (woody with a cedar feel to it). It's similar to Banshee Beat since it has that patchouli + vanilla/sweet note thing going on. The amber adds an extra layer of complexity creating a gorgeous incense-like aroma on my skin. It reminds me a lot of Fred Soll's Honey Amber incense. Instantaneous win.

Boo! is one of my favorites for sure and I love love Halloween:Las Vegas and Cake Smash. I think I had a decant of Golletes but I can't remember what it smells like. I have Beaver Moon 2010, but Haven't tried the other ones (with the exception of 2006 which, at the time was too sweet for me. I'm thinking I'd like it now.) Thank you for the recommendations! <3

Uhhh! For some reason I avoided foody scents for 2 years and now I'm playing catch up with all of the lovely yummy BPAL foody scents from 2011 and 2012. When this one came out I nearly purchased it but it was trumped buy the darker, earthier scents. Maison is a light version of Gingerbread Poppet with a bit more ginger, sweet icing and a kiss of fruit. It's a quiet scent that hugs your skin. When sniffed up close and deeply, I can detect every detail in the description...from the stained glass windows, snow icing to the sweet gingerbread walls. This IS the embodiment of a gingerbread house. It's magic! I probably wouldn't wear this as a perfume, it's really light on my skin and fades after about 30 minutes. I'm guessing this would work really well in a scent locket. A delicious winner!

This is a warm, milk note (like that of Milk Moon), a hint of spice and just a whisper of cherry. The final dry down is a spiced, creamy milk (sans fruit). This is gorgeous and totally delicious but I think I prefer Dread Puddings and Milk Moon

Yes! My thoughts exactly! It reminds me of my mothers night cream when she came to give me a hug before bedtime. Haunted Houses is incredibly warm, nostalgic and comforting to me. It's starts out with soft patchouli and white musk and dries to a clean smelling, cozy musk scent on my skin. Beautiful!

I love trying these single notes so much, BPALs SNs are so incredibly different than any single note I have tried from other companies. They're a lot more complex and really help me to better understand certain aspects of some of the more complex scents. It's a real learning experience! If you haven't tried any of the single notes, I urge you to do so! Out of the bottle, I immediately recognize this as being the tobacco from Autumn Lace. Re-reading my review, I thought this had an almost opium-like quality. Now that I'm smelling the tobacco single note, I now know that it was tobacco that I was smelling. This is unlike any tobacco I have smelled and I'm realizing the tobacco I thought I was picking out of certain BPAL blends wasn't tobacco at all. I'm having a light bulb moment over here! On my skin, this is a rich, green, almost perfume-like tobacco leaf. It's lush, a bit astringent and incredibly elegant. As it dries, the carmel quality comes out a lot more and as the perfume dries, the tobacco leaves seem to dry as well going from green to a rich brown in color. The astringency vanishes leaving a gently smoky, and almost edible tobacco. I expected this to be more of a masculine smell but French Tobacco is more unisex leaning towards feminine. This is an evening scent that's probably meant to wear with a form-fitting black dress with a plunging back. Out of all the SNs I've tried, French Tobacco is one of the few you could wear alone and not need to layer with another scent. This is amazingly rich and complex. I am (obviously) in LOVE with this one. I really hope this gets resurrected at some point. This really is Heaven in a bottle.

I have been really excited to try this one. I let it slip by me during the initial release but thankfully, I tracked down a bottle on the forums. Black coconut is one of my favorite notes, in general, I love all things coconut (foody coconut, sun tan coconut, boozy coconut, you name it, I love it) so I'm expecting to like this one a lot. Out of the bottle there is a strong, animalistic, indolic note that leaps out at me followed by coconut. Oh dear. When I put it on my skin, it isn't much different. It's the indole I get from white flowers like jasmine. I'm guessing that's the champaca flower. I haven't smelled a lot of blends with ambergris but, from what I hear, it may be responsible for the animalistic quality I'm getting. Behind all of these soiled diaper notes is a beautiful black coconut. It's foody, caramel-like, sweet and reminds me a lot of Tiki King. As it dries, the stinky indole/diaper note settles down. It's not completely gone, just faintly stinky and lightly floral. My skin amps the sugar and coconut notes, which are the real stars of the show here. I'm trying as hard as I can to ignore the white flower/animal note so I can enjoy the coconut, but I'm having a hard time. Overall, I WANT to like this but I can't get past the indole. My favorite BPAL scent, Urd contains champaca flower. I find that it has that poopy diaper scent when it's fresh but, as it ages, the champaca turns to more of an incense rather than a floral. I'm hoping that's what's going to happen with Body, Remember. I'm going to keep this, let it age for a couple years and see how it turns out. I haven't given up yet! I really think with some time this one will be perfect. Looking past the unfortunate notes, the coconut in this one is drop dead gorgeous. It sort of reminds me of a more feminine Tiki King. If you're a fan of white flowers and coconut, this one is sure to be a winner! If you're looking for a more resinous coconut (like I was), try this but don't give up…let it age.

I need some help! I have always liked foody scents but latley I'm finding myself in love with and craving foody scents. I'm looking for foody recommendations, preferably LE scents from the past 3 years. Some scents I love include Sweet Lavinias Dread Puddings, Cake Smash, Sprinklecake, Egg Nog, Elegba, and Madagascan Vanilla Rum. Recs?

In the bottle, Senelion is pure red musk. The oil color is a dark brown/red color which means this is definitely heavy on the red musk and I'm totally OK with that since it's one of my favorite notes. When first applied, this is almost a red musk single note on my skin…but only briefly. After a few moments, the black musk, amber and chamomile make an appearance. There's a bright, glowing quality to this. It makes me think of music festivals and sun-warmed skin covered in resin-based perfume oils. It's a head shop in the sun. Something about this is reminding me of Schwarzer Mond, Senelion could be it's brighter, warmer and less sweet sister. S. Mond is deep, dark and lightly sweet while Senelion is glowing red, warm and dry. There are some similar elements though such as the zdravetz, amber and the dark musk. I'll have to compare them side by side but, while they smell different, they are definitely related or could even be sold as a set. The final stage of this is a beautiful, glowing resin. It has an amazing throw and great longevity. I slept with this on one night and could still smell it on my skin the next morning. Senelion is by far one of the most beautiful BPAL oils I have ever smelled, is full of so many win notes and is going to be another one of my signature scents. I am SO happy to have a bottle of this. Back-ups are needed. If you love red musk, resin, incense or head shop scents, this one is worth tracking down!

Have you tried 51 at all? It has a similar note listing and is a gorgeous, commercial-smelling fruity floral perfume. I would definitely get your hands on some of that!

Right away I recognize this rum from Egg Nog, Butter Rum Cookie and Perversion. This isn't as syrupy sweet as I thought it was going to be which is really good. Sometimes really rich, sugar scents turn my stomach but this one is sweet without being cloying. This is a boozy, sugared vanilla and fortunately for me, it doesn't turn to plastic at all. I've been fortunate with the Lab's vanilla scents though, I hear a lot of people mentioning the sometimes plastic nature of their vanilla but the only scents that really did that for me were Love's Philosophy and Detestable Putrescence. Madagascan Vanilla Rum is a zero plastic, sweet, but not cloying vanilla rum that hugs the skin and is deliciously gorgeous. I thought this would be a novelty scent but it's something I can wear alone or layer with other scents. Another winner! ETA: After about 30 minutes, there's a coconut quality to this which makes it even BETTER (I love coconut). Yowza. <3

If this were the last perfume on Earth, I'd be OK with that. I mean, I'd miss my beloved Urd but this stuff is SO dreamy After seeing the note listing, I knew it was going to be love at first sniff. Out of the bottle, Eldritch Dark is mostly leather and musk. When first applied to my skin, the leather is still dominant with a perfect backdrop of red and black musk and a gentle breath of sugared rose. Usually, red musk takes over, but this one balances beautifully with the black musk. As it dries further, the musks soften the leather creating harmony with the three notes. The leather in this isn't a hard, aggressive leather, it's soft, well-worn and makes me believe the Eldritch Dark shop owners keeps their naughty leather toys in the back of the store. The sugared rose comes out more as this dries (I amp rose and sugar notes). The rose is most present in the final dry down phase. It's definitely a black rose, deep, dark, gently sweet and plays off of the musk and leather notes in the most perfect way. I love the way Beth is able to paint a picture using scent, she never ceases to amaze me. This one makes me think of a dimly lit store (possibly with candle light) draped with burgundy and black velvet, decorated with dried black roses and a back wall full of beautiful leather flogs, cuffs and other toys. This ends up as a well-balanced, musk/leather/black rose combo on my skin. Eldritch Dark is exactly as described, smells better than I imagined it would and totally lives up to all of the hype. Love love love!

I can't believe I haven't reviewed this one yet! The Bow and Crown is one of the very best leather scents. It's also a lot like Tombstone with the addition of leather. This is a sweet vanilla spilled over worn leather and a dry brush of cedar in the background. I never get lavender or carnation in this, just sweet vanilla, leather and cedar. I have always loved this one, it's a perfect unisex scent for for a cowboy or his lady.

In the vial, this is rose incense..almost nag champa incense to my nose! Rose and incense are two of my favorite notes so I have high hopes for this. When first applied, Othello is freshly burning nag champa incense with a high-pitched, light pink rose. I'm really bouncing back and forth between thinking the rose is too soapy and loving the incense quality this has. I can't make up my mind! As this dries, it only changes very slightly. The incense/musk remain the same while the roses soften to a powder. It's that old lady rose I sometimes have a hard time with (especially since I amp rose like crazy). The champa/musk/spices in this are incredibly beautiful but unfortunately my skin just doesn't agree with the rose note in here. I'm bummed because I really thought this was going to be a win for me. Oh well, off to swaps.

Mmmm when first applied this is plummy herbs! There's something in this that reminds me of The Fairy Market. As it dries, the herbs soften and the plum becomes sweeter. The final dry down is a lightly clean and herbal scent. It feels unfinished in some way. I really love simple scents but this one missed the mark for me. I bet this would work as a layering scent.

I am such a fan of Whitley Streiber and all things extraterrestrial and conspiracy related. Black Helicopters was one of my favorite series the Lab has ever done. I have yet to get my hands on a bottle of Reptoid Dominion, but I have cherished my decant for a few years. I wore this when I read Streibers 2012, a War for Souls (the book is about Reptilian aliens taking over Earth). Whenever I smell this, I think of the story (which is horrifying) and feel totally creeped out. When first applied, Reptoid Dominion is a slithering green musk. I don't know how Beth does this, but it's amazing how, as the dries, the musk flashes from brown, to green, to black, giving the impression of shimmering reptilian skin. This is masculine and aggressive, much like Reptilians are. It's not something to wear as an every day perfume but one that I reach for when I'm looking for the experience it gives me. Wonderful! 5 stars!

Out of the vial I get a BIG indolic jasmine note. I'm afraid to put this on my skin, but I will…just a very small amount. When first applied the jasmine is still very apparent. I'm not a fan of jasmine at all and the indole in this one is giving me that poopy diaper/old sock smell that I associate with white flowers. As it dries, the jasmine is still all I smell with maybe a bit of musk underneath. I really can't get past the jasmine in this one. It's just too distracting. Off to swaps.

Like 51, Manhattan is another complex yet well-balanced scent that would make a great introduction to BPAL for the person who is used to traditional perfume. This one starts out with sugared citrus notes which slowly give way to orchid and leather. Nothing stands out too much, although leather is immediately identifiable in the second stage. As this dries further, the orchid and amber completely take over leaving me with an upscale smelling floral oriental. Very pretty, just not my style.

51 bridges the gap between the world of commercial, department store perfume and BPAL. This has a mainstream quality to it without the suffocating aldehydes and chemical dupes of natural notes. This starts out as a fruity burst of mandarin, honeydew and guava. The tops notes quickly fade into the light and feminine white musk and freesia. It's a bright and feminine fruity floral blend with a gorgeous base of dry wood holding everything together. This is masterfully made, every note well-balanced and playing off each other in perfect harmony. The three stages make me think of the setting sun, it's bright in the morning, warm in the afternoon and the later memory of the sun-warmed day as the light fades from the sky. In the final stage, the fruit notes have completely faded leaving sweet florals and warm wood on my skin. This is beautiful! The throw is medium to average and the wear is incredibly long, I can still smell this after wearing it for hours.

Out of the vial, Persephone is medicinal, cough syrup-like scent. When first applied this is a juicy burst of pomegranate and a soft breath of red roses. As it dries, the pomegranate steps back and allows the rose to dominate. I amp rose like crazy! After about 15 minutes, this settles in and turns into a sweet rose reminiscent of those japanese beetle bags my mother keeps near her blueberry bushes. The rose is almost syrupy, sickly and once again, medicinal. This scent is not for me at ALL. It's not often I have to wash off a BPAL perfume but this one is getting scrubbed. I think the scent memory/association of the japanese beetle bags is grossing me out. Asa kid, it was my responsibility to empty them and replace with a new bag and it was the most revolting/creepiest thing I have ever seen. A bag full of hundreds of beetles, pulsating, writhing and moving. *shudder* No thank you.

I can tell by the oil color that this is going to be light on the red musk, it's golden/orange colored oil in the vial. When I first apply Witchblade, I get red musk and something that smells fresh and clean, almost like a dryer sheet. I'm guessing that's the metallic note. As it dries, it really does give me the impression of metal. The red musk has stepped back a bit making room for the frankincense and amber. All of the resins temper the fresh smelling metal note and keep this from smelling like fabric softener on my skin. Unfortunately, in the final dry down I amp the metal note. It ends up smelling like sharp, headache inducing resins and soap on my skin. I really loved the first two stages but the last and longest stage just didn't work out for me, and that's the important one :/ Witchblade would be great for someone who loves aquatic or fresh smelling perfume. It's beautiful and does a brilliant job of evoking the image of metal and magic...it's just not for me.