spaghettysburg

The ink note is strong in the beginning, and smells berry-tinged to me despite there being no berry or fruit notes listed. It's back by a nutty sandalwood that, as it dries down, becomes the only thing I can smell. Sandalwood is not a favorite note of mine and while I liked it while the ink aspect is present, once it fades the sandalwood is too much for me. I'm really glad I got to try this one though, the ink accord is super unique and I think I might hang on to my sample just for that opening.

Oh man, this one would've been *perfect* on me without the leaves note. The apple note is juicy and gorgeous and smells a lot like apple cider which is my favorite presentation of apple, but underneath it is the dreaded bell pepper leaves note, which only gets stronger with wear and makes this one a scrubber for me,

On my skin I'm getting grape flavored Big League Chew, down to the white powder that coats that kinda old-school bubblegum. Surprisingly tasty but not what I was hoping for when I saw blackberry.

This is not my usual wheelhouse, but I've liked BPAL's coconut milk note in other blends so I decided to give it a shot. The creamy coconut milk is at the forefront, with a nutty depth from the hazelnut and a bit of a powdery sandalwood underneath. I'm not able to pick out any lavender and I think the vanilla is just in the background adding a bit of creamy sweetness to the blend. The combination of notes is really reminiscent of cocoa butter or like a coconutt-y lotion on me. It's creamy, gentle, and softly pretty scent and I can see this one being a favorite for a lot of people but it's not my thing. Glad I got to give it a try though!

Water lilies drenched in sticky, floral honey. This one is a bit cloyingly sweet upon application and I thought it would be too much, but it settles down and becomes a bit more green and watery as it dries. The water lilies are giving it a dryer sheet kinda vibe but the honey pulls it back into a more manageable territory. Not getting a ton of honeysuckle which is a bummer because it's a favorite note of mine, but it's very pretty nonetheless. Fantastic for lovers of aquatic florals and flourmands!

This one starts off as a crisp, juicy, slightly clean red apple with an extra hit of sweetness that reminds me a bit of bubblegum. It wears very short though, and after about 10 minutes all I'm left with is a super faint, barely sweet herbal incense. Wish this one lasted longer on my skin as the opening was really pretty.

This started off as hospital soap on me and I was going to scrub it off but decided to let it sit for a little bit to see if it morphed. Sure enough, after a few minutes, it became soft, slushy mint. It retains a bit of the soapy feel, but it feels more like picking mint with freshly washed hands rather than lathering the mint with soap. I'm not picking up an incense or clay. As it dries more, the mint burns off and I'm left with citrus candy. This one took me on a wild ride from awful to pretty to mildly pleasant. It's nice in it's dry stage, but not special enough for me to hang onto.

Fizzy lime soda. I can't pick out the melon specifically but I think it's adding a sweet, round edge to this one. It's pretty, but borders on soapy in a way that I don't love.

Mostly baby powder with a tiny bit of powdered candy sweetness and a wispy, incense-y base. This is my first blend with black opium so I'm not sure if that's what's reading as powder to me or if it's the floral. Either way, it's light and pleasant but not really my style.

The amber is amping on my skin and this one just ends up smelling the sickly sweetness I associate with white amber. It has a tiny bit of an herbal aquatic edge as well, likely due to the oakmoss. I am sadly not getting any yam or cinnamon or anything that would read as foody. Just aquatic amber. So weird 😕

Candied berry with a bit of creamy sweetness. Reminds me of those gummy candies that have the puffy white layer underneath (like the little gummy sharks and frogs).

Someone tell me why this is reading as cucumber-in-a-mechanic-shop to me? It must be whatever other people are noting as the aquatic element of it going weird on my skin. It's just fresh, crunchy cukes and a little bit of of greased up metal. Super weird.

Fizzy (bordering on soapy) green apple with an herbal edge from the gin. Candied but not cloying sweet. Unfortunately the fizzy/soap note dominates on me and gives me kind of a cleaning product vibe.

This one is heavy on a soapy / baby wipe type of floral that drowns out the the other notes for me, unfortunately. I get a bare hint of rose on the top but it's fleeting. Par for the course for me, as BPAL florals tend to not work on my skin chem.

At first it's cinnamon-y cooked apples with a light sugar glaze, but as it dries the cinnamon amps and it goes full craft store candle. Never got much sweet potato.