SurrealReality

In the Bottle: Salty chocolate and butterscotch Wet on Skin: Within seconds, the saltiness fades away completely. Now it's just milk chocolate and butterscotch Dry: Milk chocolate, butterscotch, and a slight hint of booze. After 15 minutes or so, this scent becomes richer and sweeter, with the butterscotch becoming more of a butterscotch cream and the milk chocolate becoming more of a fudge. After about one hour, the butterscotch cream fades some and the scent becomes mostly fudge This is yummy , but I'm not yet sure whether it's amazing enough to keep ETA: A big huge and a giant thank you to my amazingly wonderful pick up angel!!!!

In the Bottle: Buttery sweetness (in comparison to the released version, this isn't as rich or as sweet) and a note that gives a light airy feeling Wet on Skin: Buttery sweetness, fizz, and that same light airy note (would guess it's the 'fluttering white cotton' note mentioned in the released version) Dry: Cotton (not warm fresh out of the dryer cotton... this is more like line dried in the wind), fizz, buttery sweetness, and a light vanilla I think this is lovely It's definitely different enough from the released version to justify keeping, but it doesn't last very long on me, so I haven't decided yet ETA: A big huge and a giant thank you to my amazingly wonderful pick up angel!!!!

Basic idea: Lightly sweet, fruity, pink, resinous, earthy. Notes I can pick out: Lollipop (sort of), bubblegum, and snake oil. I figured this scent would be a sugar bomb, but I was wrong. The lollipop component here is really lovely. I don't usually go for lollipop notes because they're generally super sugary and tend to hog the spotlight, but this one is very different. It actually smells way more like a fruity drink to me rather than a lollipop. It's slightly tart and less sweet than any other lollipop note I've smelled and there's something light and almost aquatic about it. It smells like several flavors combined. If I had to guess, I'd say sour cherry-watermelon-kiwi, but I can't really tell. I'm very impressed with this note. I also smell something like bubblegum, only not as sweet (maybe it's meant to be a blowpop?). The Snake Oil isn't as strong as the lollipop/bubblegum, but it's still very noticeable. I really only wanted to try this because I'm on a mission to try all of the Dangernoodles, but I was pleasantly surprised. I don't really think it's my thing, but it's very pretty.

Basic idea: very sweet, gourmand, creamy, rich. Notes I can pick out: vanilla frosting, white cake, cotton candy, a little cardamom, and a hint of something pleasantly sour. Wow this is sweet. The vanilla frosted white cake is by far the strongest note and it's very rich. This is the kind of cake you take a few delicious bites of and then push the plate away because it's just too much. The cotton candy is also a fairly prominent note and of course only adds to the sweetness. The cardamom is far weaker and softer than I imagined it would be. I wouldn't even call this scent spicy. There is also a hint of something sour in here... to me, it smells like cream cheese, but that doesn't make much sense because confetti cake generally doesn't have cream cheese frosting. Maybe I'm actually smelling the sprinkles in the cake? Whatever it is, I'm grateful for it. It's the only thing in here that tempers the sweetness even slightly. So anyway, yeah. Far too sweet for me. To be fair though, I expected it to be too sweet based on the notes. I only tried it because everyone seemed to love it so much.

Basic idea: sweet, gourmand, resinous, earthy. Notes I can pick out: milk chocolate and snake oil. This chocolate note is amazing. It's the perfect creamy milk chocolate. I don't get the Boomslang reference though because the cocoa in that doesn't smell anything like the chocolate in this. I was hoping for an even balance between the chocolate and the snake oil, but I really should have taken a hint from the name. It does say mega-sized chocolate bar after all. This is about 3/4 chocolate and 1/4 snake oil. It took me a while to decide, but I think this is just too much chocolate for me.

In my mind, I always thought I should love apple notes. I love pear notes. I love to eat apples. So why didn't I want to smell like apples? Regardless of the reason why, I had finally come to accept the fact that apple notes just do not work for me. So, when I received a tester of Caramel Apple SO as a frimp, I didn't even bother to try it. Just tossed in my "to frimp" box. Then one day, I guess I was bored and decided to give it a go. It took me completely by surprise. I love this so much that I wound up with backups. Basic idea: sweet, fruity, resinous, earthy, gourmand. Notes I can pick out: caramel, snake oil, and fresh apple. The caramel and the snake oil are evenly balanced. I know caramel + snake oil sounds heavy, but it doesn't come off that way here. The caramel note itself is somehow lighter/softer than other caramel notes I've smelled from the lab. The apple is the weakest note, but not by much. Green and very tart - definitely a granny smith. I don't know that I'll ever find another apple scent that works for me again, but I'm happy to have found at least one. For the record, I have tried Coral Snake and didn't like it at all (totally different apple note in that one).

Waaay back in... probably 2011 or so, my taste in perfume changed pretty drastically. My collection was nothing but gourmands and one by one, they all started to smell too sweet to me. Cloying even. I was confused and didn't know what notes to look for anymore, so I withdrew from this hobby for a while. When I came back, Love was one of the first scents I tried. It was the one scent that helped me to understand what I was looking for. It's sweet, but not all-out gourmand sweet. Basic idea: sweet, gourmand, creamy, fruity, floral, pink. Notes I can pick out: marshmallow, vanilla, strawberry cream, amber?, and sugared pink rose. The marshmallow is definitely the strongest note. It's not a melty marshmallow or marshmallow fluff. This is like opening up a bag of fresh marshmallows - sweet, sugary, creamy, and just a touch powdery. There also seems to be some sort of amber in here, but then again it could just be more of that marshmallow powder. Who knows. Whatever it is, it's helping to keep this scent from becoming too rich. The strawberry is prominent - considerably more than a hint. I don't recall the lab using this particular strawberry note before and I really like it. It's much too realistic to be described as a lollipop, not nearly sweet enough to be called a jam or a syrup, and too creamy/not tart enough to be thought of as fresh. So I'm just gonna call it strawberry cream. The rose is also fairly prominent, but never takes over the scent. It smells like a softer, sweeter version of the pink roses I have growing in my backyard. I don't know crap about roses though, so I couldn't say what kind they actually are. I just know they aren't tea roses because I don't like the smell of those at all (reminds me of a certain shitty perfume my mom wore throughout the 90s). So anyway yeah, Love became an immediate favorite. After finding this scent, I knew I was looking for gourmands with a little something extra to cut the sweetness a bit. 💘

Basic idea: very sweet, gourmand, creamy, spicy, fruity. Notes I can pick out: sugared cardamom, blueberry syrup, and gourmand vanilla (later becoming cream). The cardamom in this is very distinctive. Immediately recognizable as cardamom, not clove and definitely not cinnamon. It seems sweeter than a lot of cardamom notes though, so I'm calling it sugared. Unfortunately, the blueberry is just too sweet for me. It's definitely not fresh blueberry or blueberry lollipop. It's like blueberry syrup - just about as sugary as a blueberry note could get. The vanilla is also pretty sweet/rich. After about two hours, the vanilla eventually turns into the lab's wonderful cream note (same one from Reflected Vulva, Glowing Vulva, etc), adding a much needed sour edge. At that point, this is gorgeous. Two hours is too long to wait though.

When I read the description, at first I thought "ewwww", but then I realized that the lab probably would not grace us with the scent of an actual infected eyeball. I say probably because they have created scents that smell like mutilated flesh (Gore-Shock) and Christmas dinner leftovers (Day-Old Ham), so you never can tell. Though I wasn't brave enough to purchase a bottle, I did get a decant and I'm hoping for the creamy sweet floral scent that may be implied by the words milky, lilac, and iris. In the decant: Milk! Sour milk! I love milk notes, even when they're a little sour, but this is too sour for me . There's a hint of lilac, but the milk is squelching it. Wet on skin: Total 180! Mostly lilac with just the barest hint of milk. The lilac is similar to the "blue lilac" note in Cave of Treasures and Spirit of The Komachi Cherry Tree. Though faint, the milk note is creamy, a little sweet, but also still a little bit sour (not nearly so sour as it was in the bottle though). Not really getting iris. Although the lilac note is pretty, this scent is nothing special to me at this stage (too floral, not nearly creamy or sweet enough for me). 15 minutes in: So after applying, I was sitting there playing video games with my SO (why yes, I did have a very productive day) when I began to smell something amazing. It took me a second to realize it was this scent wafting up from my wrists. OMG it's gorgeous! The milk note is so creamy, so lovely, sweet (but not candy or pastry sweet), and all of its initial sourness has vanished. It reminds me a lot of the milkiness in Chaste Moon (speaking solely of the 2005 version). The lilac note is still very present - I'd say it's about evenly matched with the milk note - but it's a sweeter floral note than it was in the bottle or when it was wet. Still no iris, but that's okay with me. Oh I hope it doesn't morph too much! 1 hour in: So far, so good! The lilac note has begun to fade, but it's still awesome! 2+ hours in: The lilac continues to fade throughout the day, so this slowly evolves into a milk heavy scent. Around 4 hours in, it's basically milk single note... but with a milk note like this, I'm okay with that. Decent throw and lasted 5 hours or so before totally fading away. Verdict: All of the bottles shall belong to me!!!! Okay, no not really. But only because I can't afford it and because I must leave enough for every other creamy scent lover to try it too! Will definitely be purchasing a bottle and possibly a backup though (and I really don't do backups). Try if you like creamy florals or milky scents in general.

I was hoping the applies and apricots would be fresh enough, and the sugar cane woody enough to temper the foody sweetness of the marshmallow (a note which I love, but at the moment I'm trying to avoid foody scents). In the bottle: Not at all what I imagined. It's definitely NOT fresh apple or apricot. This smells more like warm apple and apricot cobbler with a little bit of marshmallow. There is a slightly sweet, woody... almost spicy note waaayy in the background (presumably the sugar cane), but other than that this is entirely foody. It's sweet, but pastry sweet - not tooth-achingly candy sweet. Wet on skin: Though the apple/apricot cobbler is still at the forefront, the sweet woody note has come forward and is almost as strong as the cobbler. The marshmallow note is in the background. At this stage, it's less foody than it was in the bottle and it smells amazing. If it stays like this, it'll be a keeper for me for sure. 10 minutes in: Hmmm... the woody note is beginning to fade. 1/2 hour in: Mainly warm apple and apricot cobbler and sweet, fluffy marshmallow. The woody note is now in the background. It adds interest and still tempers the foody aspect slightly, but... not enough for me. 1 hour in: The marshmallow is stronger now and toe to toe with the cobbler, while the woody note remains in the background. As the day continued, the marshmallow note became increasingly strong, eventually overtaking the cobbler. Six or seven hours later, it was basically marshmallow single note. This scent lasted impressively long on me - at least 6 or 7 hours. Decent throw. Verdict: Probably a no go for me since I'm trying to stay away from scents that are extremely foody. I would suggest trying if enjoy foody scents. Especially if you enjoy cobbler/pie scents and/or marshmallow.

I was really hoping for rice milk and bourbon vanilla with a prominent, sweet, and almost fruity cherry blossom note (like the note in Spirit of The Komachi Cherry Tree for instance) against a backdrop of subdued white sandalwood. In the bottle: This was not at all what I was expecting. Very sharp, green, and almost sour. To be honest, I'm not even sure what note or combination of notes could be giving me this impression. There's a little bit of creaminess underneath it, but not much. Wet on skin: Still very sharp/sour, but a bit more creaminess is slowly working its way in and the cherry blossoms are making themselves known. About a half hour in: It took quite a while, but the sharp/sour green note has faded away thank goodness. It is now cherry blossoms (but it's a much less sweet/fruity note than what I was hoping for), rice milk, sandalwood, and a hint of vanilla. It's very floral, a little creamy, a little sweet, and a little powdery. I'm enjoying it at this stage, although it's not what I was hoping for. About an hour in: Nooooo..... ALL of the creaminess and sweetness disappeared so quickly! It is now cherry blossoms (again, not the sweet note I was hoping for) against a clean, aquatic background. Verdict: Aside from a fleeting period between the wet stage and the dry down, this is not my thing. I would suggest trying if you enjoy aquatic fragrances.

I've searched, but didn't find a topic for heliotrope. After trying What We Do in Paris is Secret by A Lab on Fire, I realized how much I love heliotrope and would like to find more scents that feature it. Can anyone recommend a heliotrope blend? I'd be especially interested in any that are sweet, creamy, or fruity. Heliotrope smells like sweet vanilla powder with a tiny drop of maraschino cherry juice (to me, at least). If you don't know of any good heliotrope blends, then perhaps you know of scents that have notes like that?

Hi! I have been out of the bpal loop and away from the forum for a long time. I used to collect and wear foody scents, but I was asked to stop. I sold most of my collection (keeping only what I couldn't bear to part with) and, since I didn't know what other types of scents to try, I stopped buying BPAL. However, I really miss wearing perfume, so now I'm looking for scents that I still enjoy wearing, but that aren't foody. After reviewing the (very short) list of non-foody scents I like, I've realized that they could all be described as creamy. Chaste Moon '05 (white floral over sweet cream - nothing like the 2010 version) Cabaret.Goth (a soft, creamy white floral/amber with something a little bright and almost fizzy on top) Lamia v3 (a deep, somewhat masculine clove scent... but again, there's something creamy and a little sweet there too). Joyful Moon (vanilla, soft florals, and something that smells like fresh, juicy berries) Morocco Antique Lace Dana O'Shee Also, two scents that I LOVE in the bottle that turn rotten on me O Inez GC and LE recs are both fine, but nothing incredibly rare please (I used to collect rare foodies, but I don't want to begin again because I never enjoyed wearing scents that I knew I'd probably never find more of).

I LOVE rice notes - rice wine, rice milk, rice flower - but even if I didn't I would have to try that scent for the name alone! Quite a mouthful

I will definitely have to try Vasilissa and Zorya. (Not so) Penitent (Mini) Magdalene sounds intriguing as well. I will have to try The Lights of Men's lives just because I love the story. Thank you for the suggestions!

They all sound great, but Eostre of the Dawn sounds especially . I will be on the lookout for a decant. Thank you for the excellent list!

Hey, thank you! That definitely sounds like something that might work for me and I don't think I've ever tried it before (I probably assumed it would be too floral for my formerly foody tastes).

I forgot about the Oval Portrait!!! I tried it years ago and really liked it, but it wasn't foody enough for me at the time. I will definitely have to give it a try again now. Thank you for reminding me of its existence!

At one time, quite a while back, I had a bottle of this. At the time, I was strictly interested in very foody scents, so I passed it on to someone else. From what I recall, it might be exactly what I'm looking for now. Thank you for the suggestion!

Comparison of Spanish Red Carnation and the original Carnation SN of '04 Spanish Red Carnation In The Bottle: Heady, sweet, creamy, and just a bit spicy On Skin: Even less spicy than in the bottle.... sweet, creamy, and VERY heady. After a few moments though, a fairly prominent green note appears (leaves, stems, etc). The longer I have this scent on, the stronger the green note gets.... that is until about 1 hour in. At that point the green note begins to disappear along with the last traces of spiciness, leaving only that very heady floral scent in their stead. Carnation In The Vial: Dark, very spicy, almost resinous. Wow! I'm actually surprised the two are so different. On Skin: Still dark and spicy, but a hint of sweet heady floral develops in the background (not at all the same heady floral that Spanish Red Carnation has though.... this is much deeper and of course refrains from taking over the scent as it does in SRC). From beginning to end, I never smell even a hint of green. Two surprisingly different scents, but which is better? I don't love either one to be honest.... if Spanish Red Carnation smelled the same on my skin as it does in the bottle, I would say that one was my favorite. But.... I detest the green note it develops and it's way too boring after the spiciness fades away. And as a foody, the original Carnation isn't sweet enough for me.....

Comparison of Annurca Apple Blossom to the original Apple Blossom SN of '04 Annurca Apple Blossom In the Bottle: I hate to say this, but.... it smells like a canned scent you'd find at B&B. It's sour (like a granny smith apple that's had every hint of sweetness sucked right out of it) and aquatic with just a hint of floral. I love apple blossom, but this smells nothing like any apple blossom I've ever come in contact with before (perhaps Annurca is a very different smelling species) On My Skin: Very aquatic, a bit sharp, still sour, and even less apply than in the bottle. I have an intense dislike for this scent. To zz: I thoroughly enjoy my heathen ways I can certainly see why you like it though. I think anyone who likes Snow Glass Apples would be pleased with this scent as well. Apple Blossom In the Vial: Sweet, apply, not nearly as floral as you'd think..... very pretty. On My Skin: Still sweet and apply, but unfortunately this scent has a habit of turning a bit green on my skin.... leaves, green branches, etc. I keep a bit 'cause I love to sniff it, but never wear it for that reason. Two very different scents. If you like aquatic scents, Annurca is the one for you. If you were hoping for something sweet and fruity.... the original would be a much better fit for you if you can find it.

I don't know why I haven't reviewed this yet.... I love the smell of Coffee. Real coffee that is. The various coffee notes found in most perfumes.... not so much. Most have a plastic edge to them. Many smell stale. Some are so dark and unsweet that they almost smell burnt. I've tried so many eternally hoping for the real thing, but I am always disappointed. Jonathan's Coffee House is the one and (so far) only exception. It's rich, smooth, creamy, and sweet (but not too sweet). There's definitely a mocha note, as well as cream and sugar. It's strong and long-lasting... a few sprays i all I need The closest perfume I've found is IXHV4 (another prototype). I do like it, but it doesn't compare to the glory of J's Coffee House (too dark, not sweet enough, more... simple) Even though it's taboo to do so, I occasionally spray some in my hair. Probably not the brightest idea, but I've never had a reaction of any kind and it smells sooooo good. This prototype was sold only at the very first cobwebs, which happened over three years ago. The more time passes, the more I doubt the lab has any intention of releasing this (I've heard no discussion on it or any collection that it would fit with). But thanks to a swap with a friend, I do have enough to last me a very long time (probably more than I will end up using to be honest) :wub2:

After noticing that several of the above reviews mentioned 'masculine' and 'cologne-like' I realized that Batty was probably doomed to fail on me. I am never lucky enough to amp chocolate or vanilla/tonka, but masculine notes seam to love my skin However, this appears to be the one exception! Smells like cocoa powder and oleander in the bottle…. pretty, but perhaps too sharp for me. On my skin it becomes a gorgeous fusion of cocoa, sandalwood, tonka, and just a hint of a very soft, furry musk. Sexy, dark, and sweet (but not quite sweet enough to be considered foody). Nothing sharp or cologne-like about it and definitely not masculine LOVE!!!

#82 (no previous reviews here, but the the original owner described it as vanilla and cake) In the Bottle: Cream and amber. This is like Glowing Vulva WITHOUT the lotus blossom or teak. Even though GV isn't my thing at all, I think this is pretty in the bottle (probably because of the lack of teak... one of my most hated notes). Still though.... I'm not too optimistic about it since the amber in Vulva turned to weirdness once on my skin... On my Skin: The cream is still lovely, but as feared, the amber has begun to smell a little like play-do (as amber always does on my skin). However, after just a few minutes the amber disappears almost completely. And then, a very creamy vanilla note appears along with the cake the previous owner mentioned. The cake has no frosting though, so despite the notes this isn't an extremely sweet buttercream icing type scent.... it's more of a soft sweet scent. Like a more foody Glowing Vulva that doesn't turn nearly as funky on my skin.

To be honest, I really really wanted to try this (I mean, 10 yr old patchouli.... I gotta know what that smells like), but I didn't expect to like it since I am mostly a foody girl In the Bottle: Pomegranate juice, oakmoss, coriander, patchouli, and lilac cologne.... masculine and a little astringent. Pretty much what I had expected On my Skin: Pomegranate juice and a soft, sweet lilac cologne with black ginger, black pepper, and a hint of patchouli. It's definitely less astringent/masculine than it was in the bottle. In about 5 minutes, this scent becomes pretty spicy. It's not a hot spice at all.... it's a softer, darker spice: black pepper, black ginger (most ginger notes turn to lemon on me, but there isn't even a hint of lemon in this... only spice), pomegranate juice, and a hint of patchouli. The lilac cologne is totally gone and the patchouli is, surprisingly, very soft. At this stage on my skin, I would call Crypt King a unisex scent I don't care for it in the bottle (too masculine), but I do like it after a few moments on my skin. I wouldn't say I love it enough to keep it (I only keep bottles I absolutely love and as I mentioned above.... I'm a foody), but this was a surprisingly pleasant scent