Estamets

Light, lemony musk. The cream is mild, and stays light and sweet. On me, the amber isn't a definable note, though it seems to be keeping everything warm and grounded. The wet & fresh stage is so lovey, and the drydown is a barely-there lemon musk. I've got about an hour before I'd need to reapply. This might just be pretty enough to snag a bottle so I can douse myself every hour on the hour.

This is very much an incense blend on me. The milk comes out in the late drydown: incense milk. The other notes are barely in the background, keeping everything sweet.

Creamy, figgy patchouli. Without referring to the scent notes, this is the overall effect on both me and my mom, who typically amp very different notes. My husband grew up in music stores and says I smell like a dirty hippy. Apparently marshmallow + clove = sweet patchouli 🤷🏼‍♀️

I’ve worn this a couple times, and enjoy the light refreshing green sensation. That’s what I was hoping for this morning, on the second/heaviest day of my period, and WHAM: white florals. A grab bag of white flowers on top of a tray of sliced cucumbers. Maybe this is what the squirting cucumber plant smells like? A hint of pepper comes through on the dry down. Cucumber flowers with grass and pepper. It’s fun to know that this a scent that can change a lot with my body, and it’s always lovely. Medium throw. Lasts about an hour. Bottleworthy just to be able to reapply frequently.

This is French Vanilla by Dana (1994), the first perfume that made me feel like myself, and very grown up (at 13...🙄). Out of BPAL loyalty I want to say “the good version of…” but it’s not. It’s an exact dupe on my skin. I am simultaneously in love and repelled. ETA: On a more generous application, a hint of lemon-esque brightness comes through in the drying stage, then disappears in the drydown. This scent stays skin-close on me, even after a very generous slather. The throw is a very light, dry vanilla. While my mileage with the current version isn't worth a bottle, I'm tempted to snag a bottle and hide it inside a sock in my drawer to rediscover in ten years, just to see what the vanilla becomes...

Reviewing an aged imp. This is a light, cooling scent. The vegetal earthiness of snake oil isn’t present. In the early stages, the throw is occasional breezes of barely-minted vanilla with the coolness of green tea. 6 hours later I’m still getting cool, green-tinged vanilla wafts. My only issue with this is that I would like to be drowned in this lovely scent, not just teased by its gorgeousness. On the flip side, I’m impressed by the longevity, and these poofs are like tiny gifts throughout the day.

Wet: bright lemon peel, cheerful, a hint of fresh crushed greenery. drying: white blossoms + lemon peel dry: the throw is very similar to Love Me: a cola-like honeysuckle. Up close, there’s an earthy darkness that tries to go funky but doesn’t. This blend has so many notes that can go wrong, but never do. A rare floral win for me! The overall effect is bright and playful. Honeysuckle is the main player for me.

Sadly, my skin turns dragons blood into day old gloopy congealed blood, and this blend is no exception. However, in the middle of the night I sniffed my wrist: the blood had worn off and I was left with a lovely honeyed Snake Oil with a hint of spicy resin. On my mom, who turns every scent into a Pine Trees and ____ duet, this turns into a gorgeous bright resin with deep slinky undertones grounded by earthy vanilla. It’s really beautiful, and I finally understand what all fuss about dragon’s blood is about!

Dry, yet creamy. This is a smooth, non-foody, coconut… milk or husk, not really meaty. No hint of sunscreen or tiki drinks. The orris root is dreamy: fibrous and carby. Low-medium throw. This is lovely on its own, and I can see myself layering it to ground some of my flightier scents.

Dry, creamy vanilla patch.

This was one of my first BPALs, and I find it so comforting. I get mostly vanilla cream, sweetened by pale figs, grounded by clove. The smoke and toast notes are barely there. It’s gourmand-adjacent but something stops it from going there… the light patch? The rice flower? For me, this hits a perfect middle in the cozy-gourmand-perfumish venn diagram.

Right up close, this is sweet apri-peach. I don’t get any of the other notes. It’s a really nice scent - refreshing - that would benefit from the balcony notes of amber and rice milk. Sadly, I get no throw. Like none. Like my nose has to be touching my skin to get any juiciness. I’ll be passing my bottle along to someone who can get more mileage.

This is a beautifully gentle snake oil. The honeycomb is strongest for me, then sugar, then cream. The Snake Oil is barely there. Unfortunately, my skin eats the heck out of this, and I get no throw or longevity. I have taken my bottle with me out on the town, and find that I need to re-slather every 20-30 minutes to get even the faintest whiffs. I made the very sad decision to pass this on, hoping it finds a home with someone who gets more sniff for their buck.

As we say in California: Okay, no, YEAH. This may be the most perfect gingerbread scent ever. This is the all cozy of gingerbread (sweet ginger, a hint of cinnamon, and some other spices in small quantities), and the Snake Oil grounds everything so it's not overly foody. Throw is good - I get gentle wafts from my cleavage as I move about my life, but it's not so constant that I risk nausea (as happens with very foody, boozy, and ozone scents 🤷🏻‍♀️). Longevity is also good - I'm 4 hours into my morning application, and it's only a little fainter than fresh. This is a completely linear progression with no morphing. The overall effect is rich without being heavy. Delightful!

A fruity, fruity scent softened by an overlay of fluffy vanilla. The orris root doesn't come on strong on my skin, but contributes to an overall powdery softness. I was surprised by how fruity this is - I also forgot about the pear note! For me, the fruit note smells more pink than peary.

I amp the heck out of this amber. On me, an application of Sleeping Cat in my cleavage turns into a spicy cologne with a long throw that lasts more than a day. This is a cat with its claws out to play.

Fluffy, soft, cozy. The mallow shines through, and the amber is a light one. Very wearable, especially on days when a person needs a soft kitty on their lap.

I love love love Miskatonic U, but my husband and mom both think I smell like Pirate's Booty with it, which is.... not ideal. I have ordered another imp in case it was an issue with that batch, since I haven't seen anyone else mention this. In the meantime, what are your favorite coffee/polished wood/book scents? (I'm a serious foody - my skin turns everything into candy, so I'm just leaning into that - and I will run fast and far away from anything with flowers, after setting the person who gave them to me on fire.)

Well. This just shot itself straight onto my favorites shortlist. Cream, vanilla, sugar. A slight, faint tang that could be butter or goats milk, or could simply be what cream does on my skin. It’s really nice. More please!

This is so rich and nutty. Like a hazelnut hug. The coconut milk, vanilla bean, and hazelnut are the star players. I don't get lavender at all, though the sandalwood adds a hint of atmosphere to what is otherwise primarily a yummy hazelnut steamed coconut milk. A comforting gourmand.

Wet, This is very cranberry on me: juicy, sweet cranberry candy. It's tart and delightful! Dry, there is more complexity as the other notes peep out, but no single note takes the stage. Overall, a light and cheerful scent.

Simple, soft, sweet. Does what it says on the tin. The sandalwood is a soft woodsy base note here, not screechy the way sandalwood can be on me sometimes. The amber is gentle and baby-powder-adjacent but stays on the grown up side of things. This smells like resting. Low throw. Lovely.

This one has so much texture! Pink peppercorn is the star here for me. It's sweetened just a bit by the earthy honey, and the carnation adds a bit of spice. (In the bottle, this smells like red fruit jelly candy, which I suspect is the black cherry. The carnation is also stronger in the bottle than on my skin.) It's easy to pick out each component note, and the overall effect makes me feel like a badass grunge rocker girl - no idea where that sense memory is coming from, but here it is! Medium throw; currently testing on my wrist, and I think my usual décolletage slather would gift me frequent whiffs of peppery punk energy throughout the day. I like this one, and I think it will get better with age! *tucks it away in the aging drawer for later*

On me, this ends up as strawberry, strawberry, strawberry. It’s light and fun, but too close to the 99 cent strawberry shampoo I used growing for me to love it.

From a fresh bottle, this is bright red cherries and sawdust. The wood is closer to cedar than mahogany. My spouse said “mmm lumber store!” Now that my bottle is aged a bit (8ish months), this has deepened and softened a lot. I get more currant than cherry; it’s an even darker, saturated red fruit with no tartness. And the wood is very much a dark polished wood with a vanillic base note. It’s that vanilla note that surprised me: it wasn’t there AT ALL when the bottle was new but it’s a strong unifying component now. It’s a completely different scent after aging. If Red Queen is screechy for you, set it aside and come back in a few months. ETA: bottle is two years old now, and she keeps getting smoother and more elegant. The vanilla note is deeper, the mahogany is darker, and the cherries are ripe black cherries straight off the tree. ADORE.