ClareN

Isn't it possible that some of the "honey" or "beeswax" or "honeyed" notes are synthetics, and thus would be OK for vegans? Because BPAL isn't all-natural AFAIK - someone please correct me if I'm wrong but I believe the scents you can create are quite limited if you restrict yourself to natural components. I've read that it's nearly impossible to derive any kind of realistic-smelling essential oil from most non-citrus fruits, for example, and therefore most perfumes with fruit notes get them from synthetics. And of course aquatics are virtually always synthetic (they usually contain calone I think). I'm vegetarian, not vegan, but I'd be quite pleased if BPAL switched to a synthetic honey note. The natural one they use seems to go horribly powdery on my skin.

Here's what I wrote when I tested Obatala, before re-reading the lab's notes. It smells like a Cherry Ripe (an Australian chocolate bar) - and that's a bad thing for me, but probably great for some of you foody scent lovers. I am always tempted by foody scents, but I need to learn that I never end up liking them unless the sweetness is balanced out by something like spices or incense. Anyway, Obatala, to me, is coconut, dark chocolate, and sweet cherry with a hint of dragon's blood, and the pineapple-y note from Milk Moon 07 comes out in the drydown. Now, I know that sounds nothing like the Lab's notes, and no-one mentions it in the reviews at all, but I'd swear it has chocolate and cherries in it! And I'm at least 80% sure about the dragon's blood. There are no aquatic notes, not the way I know them. I don't like the Obatala I tested, but I might like the one some of these reviews are describing. Maybe I'd better try it another day and see if my nose changes its mind. I'll edit this review if I test it again. Good news for those of you who like it, it's quite strong and has a good throw - I could smell it all around me as I was wearing it.

In two words, "sweet incense", like the first reviewer said. A lovely, simple, sweet smoke fragrance. It reminds me of something I can't put my finger on. Unfortunately, it didn't stick around long enough for me to figure out what it was. I've tested this once and don't own it, but I'd definitely buy it if it was a bit stronger.

With aquatic notes and white flowers, I sort of expected this to smell like Issey Miyake's L'Eau d'Issey, which was the first perfume I fell in love with. It doesn't smell anything like Issey, but it is nice. I find that white flowers can either be rich and sweet, or dry and powdery. This one is on the dry, powdery side. It's elegant and reserved. It wears close to the skin but the lasting power is astonishing - I put it on at noon and could still detect it when I went to bed. The next morning, believe it or not, I could still smell a trace of white flowers after I had a shower. I hadn't even put much on! Overall, it's pleasant, but not something I need a bottle of. It's not really me.

BPAL has taught me that I really hate the scent of dragon's blood resin. I seem to associate it with the scent of a hideous fake-cherry/fake-floral smelling bathroom cleaner or air freshener that is used in public bathrooms around here. Even without that association though, I think it would be overly sweet and cloying. I think there's the potential for an interesting scent in Blood; it has a hint of spiciness, but it is drowned out behind the screeching dragon's blood. I'm learning to avoid any BPAL with "dragon" or "blood" in the title.

I mainly pick out the almond-essence note in Dana O'Shee. To my nose, it is surprisingly fresh and "clear" rather than warm and milky as other reviews seem to suggest. Alongside the almond, there's a strange fake fruit (maybe pear) note that I didn't expect. It keeps reminding me of some cheap shampoo I must have used once - I don't know the brand, but I can't stop thinking "shampoo". Negative associations with cheap bath products, cleaners, air fresheners, etc. are guaranteed to ruin a perfume with me - it's happened with several BPALs and even an expensive Serge Lutens fragrance. Dana O'Shee is pleasant enough, but the shampoo note would probably stop me from wearing it often and I knew I couldn't get over that unfortunate association, so I swapped it away for Baneberry. Lasting power is short. If you like it, you'll probably want to wear it in a scent locket.

I'd also recommend Bordello. Very fruity and popular around here. When I first started getting interested in perfume, I was terrible at identifying scents too, but learning about everything is really fun. It will definitely help if you do some "research" outside BPAL, like sniffing flowers, herbs, spices and essential oils and learning their names, so you'll be able to recognize them in BPAL. In mainstream perfume you often can't pick out many of the listed notes when you actually smell the perfume. (I've never tried it, but I bet it's hard to pick out violets in Tommy Girl.) I think a lot of those notes are just listed to make it sound pretty. But with BPAL I find that the scent usually matches the description quite well. eg. Alice is supposed to be carnation, milk and honey, and when I smell it I can smell carnation, milk and honey. That's one reason I enjoy BPAL. More help with searching: Go to Advanced Search from the menu at the top of the page. Under "Search Where", scroll down and select "Reviews". Then click on "Search Titles Only". That should save you from having to hunt through several pages of results. Hope this helped!

Surprisingly, Tushnamatay is very, very much like Lush Sympathy for the Skin. I thought it would be more spicy, but it's all creamy vanilla with a light banana scent, exactly what I get from Sympathy for the Skin. The only difference is that Tushnamatay has a very subtle floral note. On me it doesn't last at all, unfortunately.

Good point Ah Xia. I would like to add my desperate plea for *anything* similar to *any* of the Comme des Garcons Incense series. The "incensy" BPAL blends I've tried have been more like the made-in-India incense sticks you can buy at hippie supply stores, but CdG actually manages to bottle thick, rich, temple incense. It is SO good it makes me want to go to church.

I tried Chergui once but can't remember what it was like. I don't think Shub-Niggurath is very much like it - it's totally gingersnaps. (Delicious though!) That said, a lot of BPAL scents are sweet yet sharp with spices. I think the ever-popular Snake Oil and Morocco are described that way, although I haven't tried them yet, just drooled over the reviews online. Right now I'm wearing Dorian, which is a sweet lemony tea scent. The tea adds just a hint of sharpness, but there's no green note.

I'm too new to suggest any BPAL that might smell like this. But maybe you could get an Australian forum member to do a custom purchase. Apart from me, there are lots of nice Australians at http://www.lushnz.com/forum . What Australian retailer has it? ETA: It's available at carliescosmeticworld.com.au, which I've never heard of but they seem okay.

I think Lily of the Valley is the main note. Sea of Glass reminds me of Diorissimo. There are no notes in the Lab description of Sea of Glass, but both are heavy on the white flowers to me. I don't think anyone mentioned that 51 is a dupe of Thierry Mugler's Alien (the name refers to Area 51=a supposed alien crash site, and the scent is SO close that I have to assume they did it on purpose). Death Adder reminds me of Burberry Brit for Men, especially in the drydown. I have a huge bottle of that, so I don't need to stock up on Death Adder!

Sorry for bumping this old thread if there's a more recent one...but, wouldn't it be cool if there were a poll option on the review threads so when you review, you could say how long the oil lasted on you? It seems to be a really subjective thing, but it would be so interesting to get some averages.

I got to test Milk Moon 2007 from another forum member's bottle. I tried it on and I had the option to buy it, but I decided against it. I didn't get any sour milk, thankfully - nothing but a tart pineapple/passionfruit smoothie. (Not fake pineapple flavoring - smells good, like the real thing.) After an hour or so there was a little spice coming out, but it was still mostly pineapple. I don't usually want to smell like fruit, but this is really very pretty. If only I could detect pomegranate I think I would have bought it. If you love pineapple, you need this.

The song "Honey, Watch Your Ass" by Magnolia Electric Co has this lovely scent-image: It sounds like a scent description BPAL would use. Does it match anything in the catalogue? If not, Beth needs to make it...

I tried L'Artisan Parfumeur's Tea For Two once and fell in love with it. Is there any BPAL remotely like it? It's a gorgeous tea based fragrance...dark, smoky tea with a hint of burning leaves and vanilla. I have an imp of Dorian on the way which I'm excited about, but I'd also love to hear about any other tea-inspired BPAL. (I'm still getting used to the way this forum is organized, so please feel free to point me in the direction of any already existing threads on this topic.) Thanks in advance!