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BPAL Madness!

Gwydion

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Everything posted by Gwydion

  1. Gwydion

    Dance of Death

    I am not a fan of orris and add it to patouli.... The effect is not my thing. I am generally fond of myrrh and musk, but both are overpowered by less pleasing elements. It is not a bad fit for it's concept though. It is dry and tomblike and does evoke the incense of funereal rights. Nothing I would wear, but not that distressing.
  2. Gwydion

    Chrysanthemum Moon

    This one is delicious. It smells like chrysanthemum pollen and musk. It is floral, but it's not classic perfume flowers, but something more sultry and unusual. Seriously, I would wear this if it were mine to keep and I am not a floral person at all.
  3. Gwydion

    Carfax Abbey

    I was quite excited to see this one. It's one of the order of the dragon ones I really wanted to try. Imagine my disappointment to discover that all I could smell at first was vetiver with some herbal edge to it. The florals strengthen on contact with skin. (I had an accident and dripped some on my hand. The incence is faint, but present, doing something heady with the vetiver. If you like vetiver and flowers? It's probably okay.
  4. Gwydion

    Boomslang

    Rawr. Vanilla, chocolate, wood, rice, and the musky oils from snake oil. Sexy and sweet all at once. I'm so in love. If you like snake oil, you'll likely love this. This is a weirdly comforting scent, while still reading sexy.
  5. Gwydion

    Blue Moon 2004

    ... Mugwort and bay, for psychic sensitivity… Juniper, for divination through dreams… Orchid and galbanum, for complexity, wisdom and noscere… with a potent lunar-charged blend of poppy, calamus, orris, wood aloes, moonflower, cucumber, and pale creeping buttercup. I had no preconceived ideas as to what this would smell like, as I am not familiar enough with the ingredients. In the bottle it's quite floral with a medicine edge. At least one of those flowers smells a lot like violets, only less purple, if that makes sense. I don't think this one quite works, light, sensitive floral with weird medicinal herb scent edging it is just not that appealing, especially with so ,any other florals the lab does so well.
  6. Gwydion

    Bitter Moon

    I have no idea what this would smell like on the skin, but in the bottle it's quite nice. One can hardly smell the vetiver. It smells delightfully of dried herbs. The Lotus, sage, and lavander are strongest in the bottle. If you are tolerant of vetiver and are into smelling like a colonial kitchen, this is the way to go.
  7. Gwydion

    Monster Bait: biggerCritters

    Very foody. At first, it smells like cake, mostly. I am not sure why vanilla plus flowers plus grapefruit smells so much like cake, but it does. The vanilla is not kidding, oh no. Actually, I am thinking it is reminding me of my Mother's flower flavoured angel food cake, which kind of makes sense. If you give it enough time, the grapefruit and the flowers get much stronger though. It's not something I'd pick for myself, necessarily, but the sweet foody/floral combo is quite nice. It turns out that the vanilla blends really well with the jasmine in particular.
  8. Gwydion

    Asphodel

    ASPHODEL: Smells like very early Spring in my Mother's garden. Very green. I am thinking of crocuses and daffodils and maybe lily, but I could be wrong. I know it has to be one or several of the flowers she grew.
  9. Gwydion

    Thirteen (13)

    The scent description matches the contents pretty well. In the bottle it smells like white chocolate orange truffle, with the tea and iris coming out to mingle once it's on the skin. Not my thing, but tasty enough if you like smelling like tea, candy and flowers. It retrospect, this is a very valentine kind of fragrance. Tends to go powdery with wear.
  10. Gwydion

    Sacred Whore of Babylon

    There is no list of ingredients, alas. I am guessing jazmine is the main ingredient. It is very womanly, a deep register floral with maybe some incense floating on top. There is a hint of something spicey: cinnamon/ gardenia? carnation? It is rich and decadent smelling, certainly, and fits the concept pretty well. If I still wore florals, this is the sort of floral i would pick.
  11. Gwydion

    Magus

    Surprisingly light, alcoholic, and chalky when first applied. It settles into something faint with a chalky incense sort of scent to it. Very disappointing, as I like incense in my perfumes. Simply, this scent is too light and insubstantial.
  12. Gwydion

    Crypt Queen

    Confession time: I really mostly got this for the crypt shaped imp case, which I truly do love. The perfume is rather secondary to this. The crypt is well beyond expectations, sturdy and quite large. On to the perfume. In the bottle: fruit candy with an unpleasant patchouli edge. First on, not much better. Rose and pomegranate are the first notes to emerge from the aftershave and fruit candy soup. Slowly, other notes emerge, notable the raspberry. Wet: It matures a bit, creating something rather womanly and perfumey with that rougher patchouli/pepper edge. This is nothing I would pick for myself. I have noticed quite a few of these coming on the market, and I am guessing it didn't really appeal to a lot of people as a fragrance. I am betting it is too rough for those who like fruits and florals, but too ladies' perfumey for those who like butcher scents. Dry: Smells very much in tune with the concept. It is a very dry sweet almost mossy scent. It is reminding me of the scent of niter and decay in a 19th century family crypt they used to open once a year in the cemetery where Poe is buried, only with dried flowers. In summation, it definitely smells like an old crypt after two hours or so and lingers a long time, but this isn't really my thing. I was still catching whiff 9 hours later, so watch out.
  13. Gwydion

    Anubis

    Initial impression: Yum! Apparently storax is a sweet resin. I am guessing that's what's doing the stunning thing with the myrrh. I am not sure which balsam they are using. If it was balsam of Mecca that might also explain the stunning resiny scent. Whatever the case, this is an instant winner, reminiscent of O and Snake Oil, with a clean, yet sensuous edge to it. I am really liking this. Don't buy if resin and intense turn you off though since that is what you are getting.
  14. Gwydion

    The Phoenix

    Sea air, gunpowder, lime, salt-crusted wood, a splash of blood, and a dribble of Snake Oil. In the bottle, this is very aftershavey with lots of sea air and a hint of lime. I mean, it really screams man of the sea. On first application this is much the same, only sexier and more complex. I am really liking this in a men's aftershave kind of way. It is bracing, strong, clean, and spicy. It is a little like getting spanked by the Ioan Gruffudd Horatio Hornblower. Seriously, this cologne is telling me there is a man smelling of boat and limes right there and I should rip his clothes off right now and give him what for. Dry, the OMG, sea backs down leaving sexy seaman behind. I am liking this. I am liking this a lot.
  15. Gwydion

    Pirate Moon

    In bottle, sweet and musky, with a woody undertone and a sharp edge I suspect is the lime. On first application, it is musky and woody. Wet, it is lighter and sweeter and more complex than dragon musk, the various elements blend beautifully, making individual notes hard to differentiate. it is a fairly androgynous scent. It shifts a lot, my nostrils constantly straining to catch a whiff of the lighter notes. I will think, "Is that tobacco?" and then the little scent ghost will have blended back into the mass. Given time, the sandlewood gets stronger, blending seamlessly with the musk. It is a fairly fast fader, alas, but it leaves one with a leather/tobacco, wood scent that is pleasant, if softer than I'd hoped.
  16. Gwydion

    Vampire Tears

    VThis one is extremely weird. It is like they kicked Kumiho up several notches. It is sweet and flowery and very juvenile with a complex foody edge. It is not aweful, but I think it is way too much for me. it is like tea with flower cookies, but really intence. Insance tea with viscious flower cookies maybe. It is not making me think of regret or longing, though it is very manga somehow. Very girl's perfume, very teenaged.
  17. Gwydion

    Nephilim

    In the bottle the oakmoss, cypress, and vetiver are strongest. On skin it is initially very foresty and vaguely medicinal. Thing cough drops in some northern wood at the very first turning of summer to Fall. Give it some time and it will smell like that, only with cheap flowers and sugar candy on top. I am not getting the connection with half Fallen Angels. Did they have sex in a forest while wearing candy necklaces and sucking cough drops? Not sure, but eeeew! Give it another ten minutes and it is almost pleasant. I am now thinking flowers and insence in a wood panelled room. Fades extra fast.
  18. Gwydion

    Marquise de Merteuil

    This one is weird. The jonquils and other florals try so hard to battle the vetiver. They really do. It is vaguely powdery, vaguely Dia de les Muertos, with the nasty vetiver scent underneath, like a base of corruption. It is a little like finding a rose full of Japanese beetles. If you like florals and vetiver though? It's actually okay. In fact, it's one of the least objectionable vetiver scents i've come across.
  19. Gwydion

    The Knave of Hearts

    On first application: Very foody. It does smell rather like tart. The fruit is present, but not as strong. The rose adds a faint floral edge. Give it a few minutes and there will be CURRENTS! Luckily, it evens out in ten to fifteen minutes. If you are not big on roses, don't be intimidated. They only add a smooth sweet edge to the tart scent. It is making me sooo hungry. It lingers. Boy does it linger. I admit, i like kill devil better, but it's nice enough. Supplemental review. My roomate smelled in on me and made a sound like "blaaaargh!" I'm guessing that's a no.
  20. Gwydion

    Dunwich

    I can really see why this one didn't carry over to the General catalog Arkham line. I'm not impressed. It smells very much like "ocean scented" bath products from any number of ordinary stores. There's nothing wrong with it, per se, except that one expects something rather more exciting from BPAL. I can think of so many other aquatic themed ones that were mixed with more distinction, such as jazz Funeral or Ry'leh.
  21. Gwydion

    Allergy Questions, Allergies and other reactions to oils

    I apparently am allergic to whatever it is they use to make the fire scents, which sucks, because they smell great. I also wish they'd always marks vetiver, as I am fairly sure I',m mildly reactive to it.
  22. Gwydion

    Vicomte de Valmont

    OMG!!! This is essentially a richer, less chemical version of Drak'kar. Since my natural scent is in the right range, it creates that pheremonal scent that tells me I should be running hands and lips over the man who smells that way. A little hard to take under the weight of my enforced celibacy, but no way am I letting go the bottle.
  23. Gwydion

    Veil

    It is predictably floral. Pleasant. The violet is strongest on first application, the other notes blending under it. It is a young scent and would be sweet on a teenaged girl, being pleasant and gentle without being too knowing on one end or too Lolita on the other. Not me, obviously, but it is a freebie.
  24. Gwydion

    Tempest

    This is floral, pleasant, but floral. It is a smell cousin to embalming fluid. I do like how much edgier it is than most florals. I really like the ozone edge. I am tempted to keep it for it's peculiar charms, though I'm unlikely to buy more.
  25. Gwydion

    Suspiro

    Floral, so very floral, but nice, if you like that sort of thing. It is reminding me of Prague and Muse, both of which are pleasing for florals. It spells complex and more than a little decadent.
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