SmellsPrettyGood2Me
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Despite the label imagery evoking a cavalry of sorts, this really isn't an overwhelmingly masculine scent. In the bottle, the tea is what presents most strongly, followed distantly by the coffee, then the cocoa. On skin, the tea note unfurls even further, with sight ferment and maybe even with a touch of cinnamon there in the background. The hay gets it's moment to shine as it dries down, sweet and airy, alongside a very toasted chestnut note and a dry tobacco. It takes a good hour for me to be able to pick the vetiver out of the lineup, but I never fully experience the cocoa absolute or the coffee as individual notes, once applied, even after dry down. Two hours in, there is a powdery, slightly furry musk that sits at the base and lingers on for another 4 hours more. Olfactorily, this is both pleasant and complex. I'm not sure exactly how to describe it, but there is almost a HAPPINESS to it. I found it very comforting, and even thought about wearing it again the next day after testing because I liked it so much. Very glad I let my love of BPAL's hay and tobacco notes lead me here.
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Opening the bottle and taking a whiff, it really does smell like winter sunshine warming a scene. There is nothing minty, but I do catch one of the traditional BPAL "cold" notes. There is a sense of your breathing being slightly arrested by the temperature of the air. I catch the tiniest, most fleeting sense of the beeswax, alongside the sweet, almost-but-not-quite-piney frankincense note that is generating much of the brightness. On skin, it's somehow both warm and cold at the same time. The beeswax really starts to liquefy, and I get a slightly astringent woodiness from the birch bark. The Peru balsam also comes into it's own about 25 minutes in. Much like in nature, this gets less "frozen" as time goes on, settling into a golden sweetness. Moderately strong projection, with the most scent force in the first 3 hours, followed by 4 more of light sweetness. I would call this a playful cold weather atmospheric, which, despite it's sweet bottom notes, never ends up feeling heavy or overbearing. I like it very much; a dribble of sandalwood would make it perfect, so I anticipate layering it with a sandalwood single note when I want to deepen it a bit.
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Very robust, dark coffee dominates the scent while wet in the bottle, with the usual BPAL pumpkin spice note, and a hint of creaminess from the nog. On skin, the spice and coffee notes switch places, and the brown sugar syrup appears in the background. There is definitely a thick, non-lactonic dairy element present that reflects custard as well. By about minute 30 that oily, silky coffee note has pretty much disappeared completely. The nutmeg and cinnamon are perfectly balanced, and the brown sugar syrup gets even nicer post dry down. Projection is quite bold, so apply carefully. I could still catch whiffs of it over 10 hours later! If you're wary of coffee fragrances, this one didn't smell like coffee for very long on me at all. All of the notes were extremely photorealistic, which was refreshing because I recently had a not-so-great encounter with a butterscotch note that sent me reeling. What really made this fantastic was the eggnog note; it smoothed everything out and tied the whole scent together. I can see wearing this nonstop between October and March, it's that good!
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It Was But the Wild Blast As It Sung Thro’ the Trees
SmellsPrettyGood2Me replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Yules
They promised comfort, and it brought comfort, like a trip to Grandma's prairie cottage in the first 3 weeks of November where fall and winter sometimes overlap. In the bottle, all of the scent notes are individually detectable but also blend together like a dream. On skin, the hay and oats dominate in the open, yielding to the hazelnuts and the clove as it dries down. The clove continues to amp up for an hour, and a slightly musky wool comes alongside and gives cozy sweater vibes. I do wish the hay note hung around a bit longer, but not much is going to outlast a spice or nut note when they're present! The honeyed oats were there from start to finish and reminded me of Amber Incense & Honey Cakes, which I also love. Bold in the open, but does not stay there long. Most of it was gone within 6 hours of application. I went back and forth on this as I was reviewing my cart, and I think I even took it out entirely at one point. Very glad it made it in the final cut as this will get a lot of wear when I need a warm scent hug. Would not mind it in lotion format as well! -
Wolf Moon: Amber & Grey Musk
SmellsPrettyGood2Me replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
So pretty!! Wet in the bottle and on skin there is a sunny, buttery, chardonnay-like tone, giving it a light sweetness that counterbalances any woodiness that may come from the grey musk. Not powdery or sugary, and the musk is non-animalic. It stays completely lovely for just under 5 hours before I can no longer smell it on myself; Mr Smells says he can still catch it every now and then just over 8 hours later, so it's one of those that you lose track of, but that other people can still detect. What a great your-skin-but-better scent - I love it. Very work and small space safe, and while fantastic on it's own, it probably also layers beautifully to add depth to scents that need a little "something". Getting a backup bottle is a no-brainer. -
When I placed my order, I admit I was not at all expecting to get Back To The Future 3 in a bottle. Great Scott! This the silk accent on Clara's hat when she finds the model of the DeLorean (surrounded by the hay in Doc Brown's barn), the saddle Doc Brown puts on their horses, the shot he takes in the saloon (ok, creative license here: maybe Doc was a rum guy and not a whiskey guy after all?) while surrounded by the tobacco smoke wafting around the room, and the poncho Marty wears in his shootout with Mad Dog Tannen. Leather, rum and tobacco forward, it is the ruggedly masculine-leaning scent of a gentleman scholar with a barn workshop who has the good fortune of falling in love with a teacher in possession of a telescope, and a passion for what science can mean for humanity's dreams. Fans of BPAL's tanned hide and bay rum notes will not be disappointed here; the initial burst of saddle soap quickly dissipates, and I have to work hard to pick out the black silk note even an hour after drydown. I do get the slightly animalic wool about an hour in, but it's unrefined textile, not dirty sheep. There is definitely some shared DNA with Carved Wooden Livery Stable present (perhaps the saddle leather and dusty straw?). Bold sillage, going very strong for 6 hours and moderately strong for another 3 hours before it fades into obscurity. I like this, but do not love this, purely on the basis of the bay rum note. I actually think I would prefer a whiskey instead, like Doc Brown.
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Lightly lemony tea, a puff of cold air, and the tiniest twinkle of something aldehydic in the bottle. On skin, the marine tones of the ambergris meet a musky, slightly wintergreen current. Slowly, as it dries down, the scent softens; there is less tea and more ephemeral sweetness. Is this what the Coca-Cola polar bears smell like? Super cozy! Lasts 8 full hours with low to moderate projection. Verdict: Gorgeous. This is so wearable that I can see it being an all-season alternative to something more intense or gourmand when you're seeking a refreshing, non-minty sweetness and brightness.
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BPAL: (in the singsong call of Marco Polo) "Leath-errrrrrrr" Me: "Com-ingggggg" (in the singsong answer of same) Freshly tanned leather, not too dark, mixed with what smells like a slightly yeasty cinnamon bun with a light drizzle of apple tinged flood icing. Somehow, even on skin, the cinnamon doesn't really ride in hard at all. Not spicy, not dank, not cloying. Just hide and baked fluffy dough. Dare I call it a Leathermond? Sits close-ish to skin, doesn't evolve much (but doesn't need to), still tossing random wafts of scent my way close to 7 hours later. The word "genderless" comes to mind, which I mean more of in the sense that this will smell really good on you (I hope!) no matter how you identify. I haven't been so quickly enamored of a leathermond scent since Three Pairs of Shoes. I bet it will age like a dream!!
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Seasonal perfection - what an exceptionally well blended, joyful, memory conjuring scent. Wet in the bottle are fir needles and forest-worn frocks that are a bit musky from Father's effort of dragging the tree inside on a slightly damp December day. On skin, these notes combine with the fabric of Mother's dress and her dried wedding bouquet hanging faithfully above the hearth, a symbol of other celebratory times. Her honey scented face powder has put in a hard day's work decorating the house, but still leaves a lingering waft of sweetness as she tenderly bends over to kiss the children goodnight on their foreheads. These scents meld together to make a bouquet unique to their family, the season, and this moment. This is another stunner that is so textural and multifacted that my meager imagination springs to life to manifest a vision to accompany what I am smelling. I'm mentally transported to a middle class Victorian home, seated next to a Noble fir tree. As always, the fabric notes here are perfectly tuned. Moderate projection and just under 5 hours of wear before it fades away. Perfect for that day you decide to do the family Christmas cards, decorate the tree, or sing the songs of days gone by.
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The Devil volunteered to make something for his neighborhood bake sale, and this is what his house smelled like for a full day afterwards. Crisp cinnamon spiced cookies and sinuous tentacles of swarthy patchouli tickle their way from the bottle to your nose. Applied to skin, the molasses arrives, getting really deep and broody. I swear I'm catching a whiff of the parchment paper that the cookies were baked on? Sin's amber and sandalwood don't have a chance to play until about 35 minutes in, when the cinnamon finally relents a bit. Now I'm getting the impression of some granulated turbinado sugar sprinkled on top of the cookie. Is there a little bit of leather dribbled in here? I'm getting spank-me-very-much vibes. Delectable. Moderately strong projection, with 6 hours of good wear and another 1-2 of the remaining whispers of patchouli. Buy a bottle for this year and two to stash away for safe keeping!
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When David Bowie and Bing Crosby sang The Little Drummer Boy in The Year of Our Lord 1977 AD, it brought together two classic voices in a brief, but glorious, intersection. So, you can imagine that when I saw two beloved BPAL classics combining forces in a single scent for a limited time only, a mental parallel was drawn. I had to know, would it be just as magical? Opening the bottle, the photorealistic Rose Red rose we all love is there, strong, vibrant. The green stems are there, too, but there is something a bit...off. I kept sniffing, and those frost bright petals and winter air smell a little rancid. I closed the cap, put the bottle down for a few hours, then picked it up and brought it into another room with less "smell pollution". No difference. Gah! I eyed the label suspiciously, looking for a hint of what may have gone wrong. Of course, there was no visual clue. I drank some water, took a deep breath, and put it on skin. Today was not our day for redemption. That same decay I smelled in the bottle came along for the ride, and despite rose riding hard in the front of the pack, there was a fetidity that was too legit to quit. As the rose faded and the Snow White elements took over it got a bit better, but it never smelled GOOD. I scrubbed it off after two hours with no regrets. All things being subjective, this pairing was confusingly disappointing to me. I love the individual scents deeply as solo artists, but neither my nose nor my skin could reconcile them as a duet.
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Unequivocally my favorite scent from The Prophet series so far. BPAL's hay notes are like catnip to my nose-brain; as soon as I opened the bottle and took my first deep inhale, I knew we had a winner. A touch of frankincense and a dab of cedar are there too, but this is all sweet hay (sweeter than, but similar to, the hay absolute in Judgmental Longhorn) in the initial whiff. Once on skin, the amber arrives, along with a background track of light beeswax such as you would find as remnants in a candle stick, as opposed to an actively melting, pooling liquid. The hearthsmoke is restrained, giving a slightly dry tone, and the frankincense is simply beautiful. Low projection, but 7 full hours of detectable wear. A work safe, blind buy safe, gorgeous skin scent type fragrance that could easily become a daily wear for me if I didn't have a bit of a testing backlog to get through first. I loved every minute I had it on and will be recommending this to everyone!
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Melted Jolly Rancher in the wet open on skin, sticky and saccharine. The currant is just tart enough to not make the sweetness completely overwhelming as it dries down. It's over an hour before the patchouli becomes detectable, helping to ground and balance the scent as a whole. As the fruity intensity abates, there is a really nice jammy quality that starts to emerge. The patchouli is mostly what remains at 3 hours in. Moderate sillage and around 6 hours of wear all in. Fans of the BPAL pomegranate note will probably really enjoy this one, as it feels like the fruits here are all cousins. Something about it reads more fall to me, but really it's appropriate in any cooler weather day; summer heat and humidity would likely amp it into overdrive. This is another one of several Yule 2025 scents that I expect will age like fine wine.
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In the bottle, an astringent tea, a murky lavender, and a bit of that watery rain note stand out. On skin, the top notes burn off in about 10 minutes, leaving the iris and lilac standing there awkwardly looking at each other. Like Donkey's Tail, the musk moves in quickly, sitting here next to the muted, aquatic rainy moss. Very soft sillage, and only about 4-5 hours of noticeable wear. I'm usually pretty well aligned with the BPAL Hive Mind on popular scents, but like Donkey's Tail this doesn't do it for me at all. I very much get sad, musty old lady vibes here, despite generally liking iris, lilac and lavender as notes in other Lab offerings. My search for an offering in The Hundred-Acre Wood collection that hits continues!
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YES. I feel so fortunate that this scent returned for the 2025 Yules collection, because I had never tried it before, and she's an absolute stunner. I have to think anyone who was lucky enough to get this in the initial release carefully guards their precious stash and never lets it go! The sweet, oaty incense in the bottle is intoxicating, and it only gets better on skin. Although I know it's a pseudogourmand, it doesn't give "edible"; instead, I'm in a Portland, ME bar on a cold snowy day, sitting with a gaggle of girlfriends having a catch up over a late brunch next to a fireplace. The one sitting next to me smells like a combo of incense and a bowl of lightly honeyed oatmeal, comforting and a bit seductive at the same time. She's a little older, much better traveled, and has an impeccable sense of chic Euro-bohemian fashion. I secretly wonder if she is the illegitimate offspring of a Roma traveller and a Bavarian duke, because she moves so easily in any company she keeps. On top of being supremely cool, she never gatekeeps the amazing things she has come across in life, and when I mention how nice she smells she reaches into her vintage velvet patchwork satchel and hands me a bottle, telling me to keep it. Every time I open it and put some on I feel like a little bit of the magic she has collected in her adventures briefly casts a spell on me. My only very minor complaint is that this fades faster on me than I would prefer, peaking around 45 minutes in and quickly falling off a sillage cliff from there. By the fourth hour post dry down, it's largely gone. I'm infatuated with this, and need at least 2 more backup bottles (and, pretty please, a lotion, hair gloss, and atmosphere spray as well 🙏🏼🤞🏼💛).