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BPAL Madness!

Tamarinda

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Everything posted by Tamarinda

  1. Tamarinda

    The Shrine Where Sin is a Prayer 2024

    In the bottle: Wine. Lightly spiced. Wet: Ooooh, this is lovely already. I'm smelling a nice wine note and some clove-y spicyness. Dry: A gorgeous, smokey, clove-forward sweet wine scent. This is so wonderful already. It faded a bit aftter an hour, but this hasn't had much time out of the mail. I will test again later and hope that it stays amazing.
  2. Tamarinda

    Fierce Midnights and Famishing Morrows

    FYI, my order landed on Monday, March 4th and while I'm providing a review to help others make their decisions, I will be waiting until the two-week mark to make my first real judgements. In the bottle: Spring bouquet, just slightly sweet. Wet: Lilies and a green smell like... pulling weeds? Dry: Celery. The smell/taste of celery. Very loudly green and a bit bitter. Not scraggly-bunch-of-celery levels of bitter, but still. Bitter celery. Ok, this is why I dislike reviewing perfume that hasn't had sufficient time to recover from travel shock. I tested this earlier today and when I stuck my nose to my arm, I got celery. But as I wandered around my house, cleaning, I kept getting whiffs of lilies. I'd smell my arm and the scent was very faded after half an hour, but still distinctly celery. And yet, wanderwanderwander, vague lily smell. Weird! I'll probably give this perfume a month before retesting just to help me forget our first less-than-stellar encounter.
  3. Tamarinda

    Batty Hunger

    In the Bottle: Slightly floral orange creamsicle. Wet: NARCISSUS. A dash of orange blossom. Dry: Ok, it's back to orange creamsicle but orange blossom instead of orange fruit. The narcissus has calmed down and is coasting on top of the creamsicle note. There's something under there that I can only guess is the red leather since it has a fabric type feel. It's more apparent on my left arm than my right. I'm not really catching the red musk, which is fine since I tend to amp red musk to high heaven. This is damned beautiful and I expect it to age gloriously. I got this bottle in a swap and it landed two days ago so for me, this is just a "trying it on" review rather than one for my notes. I will update in about two weeks, which is when I do my "srs bizness" testing. I'll compare it to Hunger at that point.
  4. Tamarinda

    Cat at the Table

    In the decant: Uh... I smell stuff, but I do not know what that stuff is. Something woody? Wet: Yes. Woodiness and stuff. Something familiar, maybe the grey amber? I don't know what I'm smelling but it smells nice so far. Reminds me of teen boys. Dry: OK! I get the teen boys reference that my brain made. It's the sandalwood note from Coty's Gravity. It's also in Strawberry Sandawood, which is amazing but gives me depression because it's too much like Gravity. But here, it is really compelling. It has other friends that keep it from being overpowering or monotonous. I keep sniffing my test arm and it is not making me sad. I'm really loving this. I'm not getting any oudh specifically but I feel like it's what's helping keep the sandalwood in check and making it stay on my arm even though the weather is bone dry in Southern California, which makes my skin eat up perfume lately.
  5. Tamarinda

    Millennial Pink

    Oh my god? Oh my god. This. This is the perfume version of Valrhona's Strawberry Inspiration couveture feves. It's so fancy. It has the fruity cacao butter thing going on with a beautiful, cherry-ish, perfumey haze underneath. I love it. This kinda makes up for my perpetual skin chemistry changes making all my faves smell terrible on me. This might have displaced Chocolate Stout Cupcake as my favorite chocolate BPAL. Absolutely gorgeous. -- Quick update: This is 10+ hour perfume on me. I need moar.
  6. Tamarinda

    The Disciples

    Clearly, I hallucinate writing reviews cuz there's nothing here and I swear I typed something up. Well. My personal notes say "Fierce rose smell. I love this." And I did love it. Then for a while there my skin started to amp the blazes out of rose and I could not wear it because it went from "fierce" to "hostile." Then it became wearable again. And now? My skin ate it up in about 15 minutes. If you say so skin chemistry!
  7. Tamarinda

    Do You Like Clowns?

    Ok, I thought I reviewed this but I guess not? This was mostly raspberry on me with a dash of the cherry lipgloss. I loved it. It was good times. Oddly enough, my new, annoyingly thirsty skin chemistry does not eat this the way it does every other fruit-forward perfume, but it's amping the lipgloss note to annoying proportions. As a supportive player, the lipgloss note made this perfume interesting and kept it from being boring generic body spray raspberry. But the cherry part is gone and the lipgloss note is giving Dollar Tree candle x3. Not headache inducing, but distinctly unpleasant. It makes me sad.
  8. Tamarinda

    Snow Goblin

    In the decant: Extra coconutty Snow White with a dash of patchouli. Wet: Coconut oil-fried Snow White. Dry: Snow White and toasted coconut. I don't get any patchouli or benzoin from this. My skin chemistry is changing yet again and is now turning most coconut smells into fragrant coconut oil, which sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. It works here mostly. It'd work better if the patchouli showed up. Not sure that will happen on me since it never did with Sugar Plum Goblin.
  9. Tamarinda

    Young Witches at Play in the Night Sky

    This is one of those perfumes that is, to me, indescribable from a notes perspective. This does feel like the night sky. It smells like being outside, somewhere verdant, not necessarily woodsy because I'm not getting distinct tree smells, but overall greenery in the humidity of nighttime. The airy water notes read "aquatic" to me, but without morphing into that awful axe smell that aquatic notes become on my skin. I suspect that orris, as my recently discovered magic ingredient, is keeping things in order even if I don't smell it outright. This is very beautiful and evocative and I remain forever impressed that perfume can smell like a picture.
  10. Tamarinda

    Auyogarinokoe

    In the bottle: Maraschino cherries, heavy on the syrup. Wet: Still getting those syrupy cherries, and the cherry musk aspect is coming out. An extra sweetness is there from the honey. Dry: There's the orris root! So now this is a fucking unbelievable cherry musk supported by the orris and honey. I can only suppose that the white sandalwood and ylang ylang are also playing support roles, but I cannot single them out. I'm fine with this, as white sandalwood has been a death note in the past and I've never been crazy about ylang ylang. So far, wear time is around six hours or so and the throw is medium. UPDATE 1/24/2024: Oh skin, why are you like this?? My skin eats this blend now. It's a wonderful blast of syrupy cherries with a dash of orris for about 20 minutes before it disappears to just the vaguest hint of flowers. =(
  11. Tamarinda

    Highest Quality Vagina

    In the bottle: Light incense and burning beeswax candles. Wet: Sweetness from the honey and that light incense/melting beeswax combo. Dry: Vanilla-flavored something or other, light incense/beeswax, a warm amber, and I swear I get something red musk-adjascent that's dialed down to the palest blush. This is a stupidly amazing perfume that creates a warm scent bubble of sexiness on me. I don't get any almond, and whatever is carrying the vanilla does not smell like milk but that doesn't matter since it's already so good. If those two scents develop later, it'll be a nice bonus. UPDATE: Oh skin chemistry, why are you like this??? HQV went from a sexy incense blend to smelling straight up like a toxic petrochemical-based candle. You know that smell. The absolute cheapest, buy-in-bulk candles that smell like melting traffic cones when you light them up. I am sadness = (
  12. Tamarinda

    Silk Tiger Lily

    In the decant: True to title, ginger and lilies. Wet: An almost savory ginger, like when you sautee ginger in soybean oil. But with the lily smell so it's confusing. It takes a few minutes more than I'm used to for this "wet" phase to settle down. Dry: The savory aspect is gone and now this is a glorious fresh ginger and lily perfume that I'm torn between wanting to FS and wanting to never smell again. My Mom kept a fairly epic, wild garden when I was a kid and loved lilies. She kept tiger lilies in pots on the front porch and this smells like those lilies specifically, so I'm torn between the beautiful, fragrant tiger lily and the... sorrow that the last time I smelled them was when she was being shoved into her crypt. Maybe I'll make my sister smell this and see how she reacts. This would be a firm win if it didn't come with scent memory baggage.
  13. Tamarinda

    White Silk Chrysanthemum

    In the bottle: Fizziness and vanilla. Wet: Something floral along with a touch of vanilla and a light version of the lab's champagne note. Dry: It's a slightly vanillic, fizzy champagne with a non-aggressive white floral that I do not recognize and does not smell like the taste of chrysanthamum tea. This goes on light and only lasts for three or so hours, but it's so lovely and worth reapplying. I suspect another month or two will give it a longer wear time. This makes me think of a mimosa if mimosas were made with floral La Croix soda instead of orange juice. The fizziness is so sparkly here, with that dreamy floral. Definitely a blind bottle win. I get comparisons to Unarmed and Laughing, since it has the champagne/vanilla combo as well. But they are not remotely the same vibe on my skin. White Silk Chyrsanthamum is airy and romantic whereas Unarmed and Laughing is laughing in your face with a dense, sugared vanilla. Second cousins, not siblings.
  14. Tamarinda

    U Strip

    In the decant: Coconut oil heating in a pot on the stove, like when I'm about to make popcorn. Wet: Freshly toasted coconut flakes. Dry: Ok, now this smells like the fancy thin, waffle-style coconut wafer cookies I used to buy from Cost Plus World Market. It's a warm, brown, oily coconut. Not greasy, but just the natural oil that comes out when you bake, brown, or toast fatty foods. The sugar is light and the vetiver is juuuuust barely noticeable. It's a wonderfully gourmand smell that is somehow just shy of being truly foodie. Lasts about seven to eight hours with a medium low throw.
  15. Tamarinda

    Kon Kurabe Tama No Ase

    UPDATE 6/6/2023: Stupid skin chemistry changes. *SIGH* So this is now CLOVE ALL CAPS for a solid two hours before it fades into a vague, kinda nutty vanilla for an hour and then disappears. What a drag. Original Review In the Bottle: Smooth, creamy custard, lightly sweet and spiced. Wet: Yep. That's custard. The kinda custard where the vanilla is taken for granted but much would be lost without it. The spices are blooming into an obvious clove and a hint of cinnamon. Dry: Clove. A lightly sweet and pleasant clove, but almost exclusively clove. A teeeeeeensy bit of cinnamon. The other notes are on vacation. I don't have a clove-forward perfume, so even though this isn't what I was expecting, it fills a hole in my collection. And since it took months before Almond Blossom went from a ghost's breath of almondyness to the long-lived realistic marzipan powerhouse that it is now, I will hold out hope for a future of clove-spiced marzipan. Mayhaps even the pistachio will show up!
  16. Tamarinda

    Gentle Hands

    In the decant: Bright, happy mango! Wet: Still a nice, bright mango with some amber peeking out. Dry: The mango is more subdued and I'm getting more of the amber cream. This is a soft scent, just one click shy of a skin scent. I was worried since I hate crappy mangos, and one of the reviews said that it smelled like bargain bin walmart mangos. Thankfully that doesn't happen with Gentle Hands (here's looking at you, Mango Lychee Champagne). I'm going to sit on this decant for a few weeks and revisit to see if the notes get stronger. I think my skin does things with amber because, while mango is the common denominator with Rice Milk & Mango, they're... stylistically different. Like the difference between a circle skirt and a pencil skirt. If that makes sense.
  17. Tamarinda

    Vanilla Bean, Pistachio, and Cacao

    In the decant: A creamy, nutty vanilla. Wet: Oh, that's an interesting non-food vanilla, pistachio is coming out a bit, and wh-- what's that? Pickles. Pickles??? Skin chemistry, why... Dry 1: Nooooooooooooo... This is so awful on me but I'm a masochist so I'll see where this goes. My skin chemistry is changing again so in the interest of science/self-flaggelation, I'll stick it out. This is both savory and sweet. It is totally bizarre, irrational even, but not remotely appealing. After a few more minutes, it's a sweetish vanilla béchamel nuttiness with that outta-left-field pickle smell. I'm nearly at the scrubbing point. I will see this through. Dry 2: An hour or so later, the pickle smell is almost gone. It's like the faint smell of electricity in the air near overactive power lines, but pickles. The savory/sweet vanilla has faded in volume, at least. I'm confident once I finish this review, I'll be able to wash it off. What a mercy the cacao never showed up.
  18. Tamarinda

    Yuletide Bacchanal

    In the decant: Nerds candy. Wet: Vaguely fruit punch. My skin's gonna eat this up, isn't it? Dry: Fruit punch perfume. Quiet, but not bordering on invisible. No nutmeg, no booze. No specific fruits. At least the brown sugar doesn't come out swining like it normally does on me. In the "my skin chemistry" vs "fruity perfume" match-up, my skin is undefeated this season. *sigh*
  19. Tamarinda

    Soup

    In the decant: Tomato plants with the merest hint of patchouli earth. Wet: Tomato plants. Dry: Tomato plants plus! I don't necessarily get any obvious patchouli, but there is an earth element to this that I'm going to assume is the patchouli. I don't get pepper, but that's a plus since pepper usually smells like pencils on me. I actually really like this. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it's the smell of summer, when the tomatoes are starting to fruit and the growing heat makes the plants fragrant. I almost want a bottle of this just to see how time brings out the patchouli. At the very least, I will leave my decant alone and see how it changes.
  20. Tamarinda

    The Necromancer

    In the decant: Something bitter, something citrusy, and a cologne smell. Wet: Fruity, smokey, cologney. Dry: I hate that I don't really have words to describe this because I kinda love it. There's a hint of citrus from the galangal riding over some smokey cologne. It's just a touch sweet, from the fig I suppose. Everything is so well-blended in this perfume that it's hard to identify individual notes. I really like it when this happens. All my favorites have a touch of "what am I smelling?" to them. Really glad I can't smell any lilac.
  21. In the decant: Slight booziness and a generally fruity, sweet smell. Wet: No booziness, just a bowl of cut orchard fruits with a dash of lemon water to keep things from oxidizing. Dry: A nice, perfumey fruitiness for all of half an hour and then my skin eats it. Bloody hell, these fruity cold-season scents don't stand a chance against my ravenous skin. It eats them all...
  22. Tamarinda

    Spumoni

    In the decant: Creamy something, cherries, and a swirl of chocolate. Wet: Cream starting to go sour, chocolate, and just a little bit of that maraschino cherry/almond smell. Dry: Sour cream, the impression of chocolate, some unidentifiable nuttiness, and only the vaguest whiff of cherry. This is a sad miss on my skin. I love pistachio scents and am disappointed at how not good this smells. It fades around hour three to a very close skin scent and more of the pistachio comes out, but that sour cream scent continues to dominate. Will age improve this? We'll see.
  23. Tamarinda

    Chanukkiyah 2022

    In the decant: Olive oil and a syrupy sweetness. Is that the fig? Wet: Oooo, a bit of fig, the sweet sufganiyot, and amber. Dry, Stage 1: Low throw, subtly sweet sufganiyot, some amber, but the fig is gone. No pomegranate, no beeswax, invisible olive products. Still, this is nice. Dry, Stage 2: Channukiya dropkicks "low throw" to the curb after 30 minutes, at which point it becomes a medium throw SUGAR scent that threatens to become cloying. Thankfully after another hour, it stays where it is and the amber comes out a bit more. Kinda funny that my skin chemistry takes the "sweet" from "sweet sufganiyot" and runs with it. I'm glad the amber showed up, but I'm bummed to lose out on the other notes. Not sure if time will make this better seeing as how no matter how many times my skin chemistry shifts, I continue to amp sugar. We'll see!
  24. Tamarinda

    Strawberry Sandalwood

    In the bottle: Starwberry incense. This smells like Hot Topic in the 1990s and I am cuh-caw-ing in laughter. Wet: Something strange is happening. Strawberries and... whut? The incense-ness is gone and I am smelling--- Am I smelling Gravity by Coty for men? Dry: Strawberry-laced Gravity. I must be hallucinating because the scent notes for Gravity are as follows: "Top notes are Sage, Lime, White Pepper, and Mandarin Orange; middle notes are Cloves and Freesia; base notes are Leather, Vanilla, and Woodsy Notes." Maybe the "woodsy notes" in Gravity are from sandalwood? None of my other perfumes with sandalwood smell like this, nor does my bottle of sandalwood essential oil. This is cuh-raaay-zeee. It's strong stuff and it lasts forever, at least ten hours. Jesus Jiminey Cricket Christ, BPAL. This isn't perfume, this is an olfactory time machine. I am having *all* the feelings.
  25. Tamarinda

    A Portrait

    In the bottle: Strawberries and dirty patchouli. Wet: Now I'm getting the juice in "strawberry juice" supported by a slightly less dirt-smelling patchouli. Dry: Syrupy strawberry juice, patchouli, and a bit of spicy carnation. I have other strawberry BPALs but this is the only one that smells like the farmer's-market-fresh macerated strawberries my Tia makes as the base for her strawberry lemonade. This is ridiculous, I love it! Bane would approve.
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