SmellsPrettyGood2Me

Lavender is one of my favorite relaxing scents, but Lurid is anything but sleepy! The ozone note is simply fantastic, and the black currant is quietly fruity. This is a perfect scent for those lazy, humid, languid days of summer when you need a little something to perk up your senses! Wears well for about 3 hours then starts to rapidly fade, which makes sense because there are not really any strong base notes here to anchor the scent. I gladly reapplied twice throughout the day as this is a freshie that had me huffing my arm at every opportunity. This is a hidden gem in the GC collection that should be on hand for those days when you want to smell good and want an easy grab to get there.

I had passed on a few Velvet frimps without trying them, on the basis of not caring much for cocoa as a note, but after trying Velvet Brick recently and liking it I wondered if I should give the OG base a try. BPAL got me again! The Swiss Miss (without marshmallows) vibe wet and on initial application really morphs into a pretty sandalwood scent with a dry Tootsie Roll-esque vanilla undertone. All of a sudden I'm 8 years old and scratching and sniffing the rear end of a My Little Pony doll at my friend Allie's house like it's 1988 again. If you like cocoa scented plastic pony butt, as I do, you will love Velvet.

What a gorgeous fruity floral! Both wet and on initial application I get predominantly photorealistic ripe pear, which makes the bold white florals I usually shy away from a lot more tame in contrast. I agree with others who describe this as creamy on the dry down, and the honeysuckle is a light enough touch to not be overwhelming. Very wearable and probably about as safe of a floral blind buy as I have come across from BPAL yet. I would wear this late March/early April to bridge between spring and summer. To make it more "mature" and cold weather friendly I'd layer with a bit of sweet patchouli.

I try not to look a frimp horse in the mouth, but if you don't love cherry (and I mean REALLY love cherry, particularly in a highly concentrated saccharine reduction format) you will not be able to even open this without being completely overwhelmed by it. The lavender is there, too, but it stands no chance against that much cherry. Can't bring myself to put this on skin, so I will immediately redirect it to my niece who will probably adore it.

Having tried the Batty Perversion variant before the OG version, I knew I already liked this base but didn't realize how much. I generally don't care for wine notes, but the chardonnay here is not sparkling or too crisp at all. I get slightly musty sweet grapes, and only faintly, more than anything alcoholic at all. The tobacco is chewy and maybe a little bit cherry? I could do with another dollop of leather here, but as it is I love it anyway. Truly a GC stunner and worth a try if you are into these notes. Moderate projection and lasted 7+ hours on my skin. My nose brain reads this more as fall coziness than BDSM bondage room.

This is indeed a dapper gentleman's scent, but I'm thinking more Roger Sterling from Mad Men than a 19th century Irish novelist. The bergamot actually sticks around quite awhile, maybe 2 hours, before the sweetness of the hay and earthiness of the vetiver are the only two strong impressions left behind. Great projection and longevity in a very clean and pleasant blend. For a masculine presentation I would wear as is; for something more feminine I may add a powdery vanilla layering note to give the hay some added depth.

Firmly in the "this smells more like rose" camp! The narcissus is pretty green and daffodil-y to my nose. It really amps the scent up from a sillage perspective. There is a powdery undertone here, too, almost like old fashioned face powder. Maybe a very small touch of violet is in there too? As with most rose scents this could be overpowering if applied with a heavy hand or in a closed room. This is a cottage core bride's wedding day (and night) perfume.

My first and favorite FS hair gloss purchase! I find it to be more patchouli forward, especially when applied to wet hair vs dry hair. Great longevity! I can still smell this at the end of the work day as well as when I wash my hair the next morning. Pairs perfectly with any and every patchouli fragrance in my collection. I have fine, thinning hair and this does not weigh it down at all.

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Fresh and herbal in the best way! The pitch is really punchy here and balances out the other deeper resins really well. It definitely evokes a "dark coldness" feeling when initially applied and then fades into a sweetly pine leather. We all know assassins can't wear fragrance for fear of being detected, but when they go out for a drink after a long day of murder-for-hire this is what they wear to the bar. I feel like this is a hidden gem for anyone who wants to smell foresty mysterious!

Morocco came to me as a frimp and quickly embedded itself into both my heart and my list of top 5 BPAL fragrances, ever. I was distraught when it went out of stock and relieved when it came back! In the bottle and on skin the sandalwood is initially the most dominant note, but I don't mean overpowering or strong - everything about this is delicate and beautiful. The carnation isn't sharp, grassy, or brassy, but it anchors the "floral" aspect of the scent quite nicely. Yes, it's musky, but a powdery musk, not a sweaty or smutty one. This was the first fragrance I ever tried with cassia in it and the effect is lovely. I would call this sillage moderate to intimate, and the longevity is really good (6-7 hours). I've gotten several "oh! you smell really nice!" comments when wearing this so I would absolutely categorize it as office safe. Having tested both aged and new examples I suggest getting a few bottles to tuck away as it only gets more amazing over time.

I bought this scent largely to support The Cause and less because I was genuinely interested in the notes. I don't generally care for cocoa in fragrances, but I've found it to soften as a scent ages and try to keep an open mind. What a morpher this one is!! In the bottle I can definitely smell the fuzzy velvet and the cocoa, but once applied the myrrh jumps out from behind the curtain. For whatever reason this smells just like the lecture hall at a local university - masculine leaning, a bit mature, and slightly alcoholic (the brown liquor kind, not the fizzy fluted glass kind). Evokes strong academic advisor vibes. I can see this being a great "rainy afternoon in a bookstore" fragrance.

Very beeswax forward, as others have said, but without the warm, melty, gooey quality in some of the Lab's other beeswax fragrances; this is solidly "unlit candle". I do get very soft vanilla in the bottle, too, but the cedar doesn't come out for me until applied to skin, where it remains in the backseat. Something about this telegraphs Bedtime Scent to me, as it's very soft and soothing. Sillage is also intimate and it does not last more than 4 hours on my skin.

Thank you for saying this, I thought there was something seriously wrong with my olfactory system! I get this same apple-pie-with-acridity experience from this scent as well as the entire Apples Crave series from another maker. I don't know if this is a recent development of my advancing female age, or if this was always the case, but I can smell it in the bottle, too. I desperately wanted to like this, but my perception of one of the notes is just off and I can't properly enjoy it.

Chewy, punchy, molasses is the first thing to hit my nose from the bottle. Why do I all of a sudden want an oatmeal cookie? There's whiff of raisin somewhere in there that I can't stop smelling. That warm sweetness translates when applied to skin and really unfurls a cloak of scent that is not shy. After about 10 minutes the tobacco finally peeks out and gets bolder, slightly tannic and a bit earthy. Is there a tiny hint of a leaf note in here? Maybe more than a hint? An hour in there is more maple than molasses, and I've found bliss. This is terrific on it's own and also really inspires combinations with maybe teak, or vanilla. Glad to see it is back in stock as it's dreamy!!