Assimbya

Full, rich, unapologetic floral. On me this is primarily jasmine and honeysuckle, in rather equal measure; lilac comes out more on the drydown, but is definitely secondary to the other florals for me. This is gently indolic, but mostly just very deeply floral; I can only detect the amber as perhaps adding a resinous depth. Sophisticated, billowing, and creamy. I very much enjoy this and am so glad to have obtained a partial bottle secondhand; it pairs especially well with Persephone's Ascent, but I love it with all my jasmine/honeysuckle/white floral perfumes.

Cool green grass with dew-touched lilacs peeking through, and just a hint of wood from the trees in the background; very very true to the description. There's something about this which feels rather sparkly to me, something in the cool wet greenness of the floral. Appropriately enough to the inspiration, this feels like an animation of an enchanted wood, the colors just a little brighter and more technicolor than the thing itself would be. I think this would be a good starter floral for someone who's scared of florals; the grass really gentles out the lilac, though they are distinctly and beautifully there. It's really delightful, but I personally don't often find myself drawn to wear it over my other BPAL lilacs (4! I am so lucky), all of which are rather more intense in their florals. I am really glad to have my decant and also to know that this is in the more permanent collection, as so many BPAL's gorgeous lilacs are LEs. For now I don't need a bottle of it, but I could see my feelings on that changing in the spring (and also if I ever run out of Blue Lilac & Lily of the Valley, to which it's probably closest of the other lilacs I've tried).

Resurrecting this thread as I continue on my floral completionist quest! I am now searching for a hyacinth-dominant perfume; the only bpal one currently available is Dawn: Mourning Victory, which I am up for trying, though there aren't many reviews for me to get a sense of how prominent the hyacinth is. (There's also the Erebos atmosphere & linen spray which I am curious about though, being a linen spray, it does not fulfill this particular wish of mine.) I'd love to hear if others have thoughts on the hyacinth note in that one, or if there are other hyacinth bpals from the past for which I should keep an eye out, as I certainly shall for those already mentioned in this thread.

You're welcome! As a dedicated lover of florals, I am happy to help in this arena. Given this context, I would definitely suggest Lorrainna and/or Nocturne for your mother, which are both pretty pure florals; Lorrainna in particular is so special. If you try Faustus for yourself, I hope you enjoy it!

From the GC, Nocturne (deepest violet touched with lilac and tuberose) is a lovely violet and lilac scent, with a delicate, ethereal sensibility. I was frimped it recently and have been really enjoying it! If you're looking for both of these notes together, I think it would be a great choice. Veil (white sandalwood, lilac, gardenia, violet, orris, lavender and ylang ylang) also looks intriguing, in a similar vein, but I haven't had the chance to try that one yet. For lilac, I cannot say enough good things about Lorrainna from the Skull Maskerade collection (an early 19th-century Italian perfume dabbed on black satin and lace – magnolia blossoms, lilac, orris root, and ambergris accord), which has become an absolute favorite of mine. It's elegant, smooth, with clear, resounding floral notes (both lilac and a gorgeous magnolia) and a depth underneath from the ambergris and orris. Lilac is one of my favorite notes and this is one of my favorite bpals with it that I've tried. The Lilac Wood (ageless trees, everblooming flowers, brilliant grass, a flicker of fireflies, and soft shadows) is also beautiful - as the name suggests, it's a greener, woodier lilac note. And the duet Black Lilac & Black Tea is still up if you want a darker lilac! I don't wear a ton of violet, but my partner frequently wears Faustus (frankincense and cinnamon, darkened by violet), and it's gorgeous on him, a darkened, mysterious, spicy violet note.

I love it! I definitely would agree with other reviewers that this is somewhat heavier on the carnation than the perfume oil version, but it's still recognizably Alice, with the other notes coming through clearly, playful and cheering and with a hint of a sharp wit. The throw and longevity are both strong. I was frimped a decant of this one, and went to buy a bottle very quickly as I knew I would quickly go through my tiny decant (and I like to save hair gloss decants to travel with) - it pairs well with so many of my perfumes, and its playfulness makes it a very appealing hair gloss choice for everyday wear. As a lover of florals and musks, my favorite hair glosses have ended up often being very elegant and sexy to me, which is a delight and I so much love having all of them, but it means that Alice really fills a gap for (I previously tried Razors in a Doll's House for this niche, but it ended up being rather too sweet for my taste). I am so happy to have a bottle of this now.

Glittering, aldehydic, pale amber; I agree with previous reviewers that it has an enrapturing salty-sweet combination to it which is both pretty and slightly mysterious. I suspect this would go sharp on my skin, so it's lovely to have it in hair gloss form, where it can shine alongside my amber-centric perfumes, which all have more sweetness or floral to soften them. This doesn't have quite so much throw or longevity as my other bpal hair glosses; it's a little subtler, but quite lovely. I ordered a squirt of this from the lab with my last bottle order, and am very pleased I did, though I am going to need to wear it some more times to decide whether I will get a bottle of it. I go through hair gloss so much more quickly than I go through perfume and so the bar for buying a bottle is much lower on these for me; I can tell this one is going to pair well with many of my perfume collection, but I'm not quite sure it feels a niche I need.

There's something about this one which just isn't working with my skin chemistry, and I don't know why - the combination of notes comes off as peculiarly artificial in a way that I find pretty off-putting, partially like candy and partially, with the woody frankincense and sweet vanilla, like a commercial room spray. Probably it's my skin's dislike of BPAL's red fruit notes, except I didn't know whether raspberry would be counted among them. Alas!

I really love this one; it's elegant and dark and gothy without being heavy, overpowering, or cloying. @VioletChaos's description of this as 'goth girl' feels right on target. I'm wearing it right now to rewatch some episodes of Penny Dreadful, and it feels like a perfect match, and not only because there's a pivotal scene involving orchids. 💜 I definitely agree with previous reviews that this one morphs quite a lot! Wet on me it's dark, juicy blackberry with just a hint of myrrh and floral, but as it dries the blackberry fades and the orchid note becomes central, with that dry, sophisticated edge that I find BPAL's orchid note always has; it mixes with a sharp, potent myrrh, thin enough to be slightly bitter as it grounds and blanches the florals. I can definitely track the tea rose (and I adore BPAL's tea rose note), and maybe a hint of tuberose if I look for it, but I would call the orchid the main floral note of this one. When I first wore this I thought I wasn't getting the vanilla at all, but now that it's rested for a while I think I can identify very dry, somewhat smoky, not at all sweet vanilla, which I imagine will get even better as this ages further. Black musk encircles all of it like a cloud, but isn't possibly to pick out quite individually. This feels in the same scent-family as some of the Carmillas from last year, but with a particular complexity all of its own; I'm glad that I blind bottled it, and will be delighted to continue wearing this one.

Wet on my skin this is very sharp, paperwhite-like narcissus; as it dries, orange starts to come through; on me it feels bitter and like the fruit or rind, not the flower; the narcissus remains very much dominant. I get a very thin vanilla undercurrent, but definitely subtle by comparison with the narcissus and orange. It's interesting that the description for this one describes it as warm, sensual, and lustful - for me the sharpness and bitterness of the notes evokes the name in a different kind of way; a grasping, envious kind of hunger. This is vivid and fascinating, in an unsettling kind of way; I appreciate the intensity of it, but it nearly turns my stomach, and I don't find it very wearable. I'm going to keep my imp around for a little while in the hopes of making sense of the strangeness of my reaction to it, but I don't think it's one for any kind of regular wear on me.

2025 version. Alas, this was all acrid dead leaves on me, with no florals or vanilla! I was so disappointed. It's beautiful balanced on my partner, with a gorgeous rose note, so clearly a skin chemistry problem for me. I'll try not to be too bitter about it.

2025 version A marigold soliflore! I was very tempted to blind bottle this, more than anything else in this year's Halloween collection, but I was reasonable and put it in my decant circle order. Having had some time with it now, of course I am predictably going to buy a bottle of it. I had a vase of fresh marigolds at home when I got my decant of this, so I got to compare - the match is not quite precise, but that's mostly because with fresh marigolds you get a distinct greenness from the leaves/stems, and more intense earthiness. It's recognizably marigold for me, golden and smooth and herbal and just a little spicy. The true essence of an autumn flower, separated from its environment and purely bright and cheerful. This doesn't have much throw, but lasts pretty well on me even without much resting time. This makes me very happy, and feels just perfect for autumn; I'm so happy to have such a lovely marigold fragrance in my collection.

This starts out as very citrusy on me, and I couldn't figure out what it was - chamomile? figs? I'm still not sure. It takes a couple of hours of wear until I can start to pick out notes, at which point I definitely get a lot of beeswax and chamomile, some hay, and an earthy sweetness which might be fig or saffron. It's pretty, definitely in an autumnal overripe sort of way, but not objectionably so; I would agree with other reviewers that it's pretty approachable within a more unsettling collection. I'd like to try pairing it with some honey-based scents, especially Against Idleness and Mischief which also has the chamomile. The aggressively citrus top notes on me make this one a little challenging for me, despite the pretty drydown, and it doesn't quite feel like me - I imagine this one on someome who wears a large hat and gardens and keeps bees. I'll keep and wear my decant, but I don't think I'll be getting a bottle.

This goes on sweet and drily spicy, the type of spiciness that cinnamon gives but also distinctly not cinnamon. It don't know if I would identify it as peppercorn without reading the notes, but knowing them I can certainly see it. As it dries, the florals come out, more the rose than the lily for me, and definitely dried petals rather than fresh ones. I do get something which feels like a costume shop to me, though I couldn't say how much is my imagination conjuring the description - the softened, indistinct sweetness of old fabric scraps and glue and glitter. There's something just a little bit plasticky here, not unpleasantly so, but enough to contribute to the sense of costume, of fabric flowers rather than real ones. This has very low throw, and pretty short longevity at least for now. This is something of a fond, comforting scent, and I've been finding I enjoy it more in the evenings; there's something that feels indoors and quieter in energy about it. I'm glad to have my decant and think I'll wear it on some autumn/winter nights, but it's not one I'll want a bottle of.

I suspect this may end up being a very popular and well-liked blend! It somehow does definitely manage to smell like plaster but...pleasantly so? Which doesn't seem like it should be possible, but somehow is. It has a very distinct textural sensibility to me - dry, powdery, chalky - but the combination of notes make this lovely and comforting, rather than unsettling. On me, it's definitely a showcase for the orris, with plenty of vanilla and some soft musk rounding it out. I was worried about the leather, which often amplifies on me, but it's subtle here, coming out only on drydown and really just giving some definition to the very pale other notes. There's something quite comforting about this, perhaps more the feeling one would want to offer to a scared little bat trapped in a bathroom than anything else. Solid wear-length, though I haven't tracked it too well yet. This is really beautiful, and I hope that it gets the appreciation it deserves! I'm not sure yet whether it's going to be a bottle purchase for me - while I really enjoy the orris here, I'm not sure it's one I'm going to wear all that often; I'll need to spend some more time with it to decide.