Penance

This is such a pretty scent, but the labdanum kills it for me.  It's definitely one of those notes that either blends in and disappears and I don't even notice or it goes SUPER MEGA ULTRA COLA and I hate it.  I hate it so much.  And it went the cola route here, at least when Osculum was wet.

Once it dried, it turned to a sweet, lovely, well-blended resin scent.  Not a headshop incense or even really "incense incense," but something more subtle.  The honey in this smells like agave nectar to my nose, rather than the syrupy, intense scent I'm used to.  It's still very pretty, but not quite the same.  I'm assuming it's the vegan vs. non-vegan honey component making the difference.  I'm very happy to see Beth making this one open to everyone, vegan or not, though.

I didn't know what to expect here, with this mishmash of ingredients and, having tried it, I'm still not sure how I feel about it.  It goes through surprisingly great smelling stages and then some that are "meh" to me.  Nothing bad, just "meh."

When wet, the smoke, fur and chains dominate, with some chocolate in the background and maybe a tiny bit of mint?  Then it turns into a sort of gourmand-adjacent scent that's made up of gourmand notes.  I never get the schnapps, but I do get the bonbons (no malted milk, just chocolate) and the mint.  The mint strengthens as it dries and all traces of the fur, smoke and chains is gone, which is disappointing.

I'm on the fence with this one.  It's reminding me so strongly of something else once it dries down; a GC, I think (maybe a discontinued one), but I can't put my finger on which one it is.  I almost think.  Or maybe a mish-mash...a little bit Death on a Pale Horse, a little bit Envy, a little bit Cloister Graveyard in the Snow, but not quite like any of those.

This starts out strongly whiskey-forward - sweet and smooth, not too harsh - with a backing of weed that I wouldn't necessarily nail as weed if I wasn't already told (in spite of being a medical user who's familiar with the scent).  The whiskey reminds me a bit of Sweeney Todd.  I guess Sweeney likes the greeny? 🙃

Once it dries down on my skin, though?  Through some sort of metamorphosis it's changed.  Rich, deep, expensive tobacco with a hint of vanilla.  Unexpected, but awesome.

Love.

I bought this one one of those wild whims I'm prone to when ordering LE's and it had more likelihood to go wrong than right, but I do love me some white chocolate and the idea of white chocolate madelines sounded lovely.  Lavender is just so herbal and strong on my skin.

I can't tell if this scent is light or if it's my decreased sense of smell, but this stays close to the skin and doesn't last terribly long.  At first, the lavender is the dominant note, though there's a nice creaminess from the white chocolate (which smells like white cholate, not milk chocolate as BPAL scents sometimes do).  As it dries, the lavender fades into the background and it's mostly white chocolate madelines.  I get just a little cakiness from the madelines and the lavender is a surprisingly nice addition.

Surprise winner!

I generally love musk, but who knows what hag musk smells like? 

Apparently it smells like a brown musk in the bottle, with a faint hint of something faintly spicy?  It goes on a bit herbal or astringent with a strong backing of what still seems to be brown musk.  On the dry-down, the astringency is long gone and it's been replaced by a soft, close-to-the-skin, sort of spicy (where is that coming from?) musk with the faintest hint of powder if I smell really hard.

I mainly collect the weirdly named (and inspired) single notes because I love the weird factor, not because they're really wearable (necessarily), but this one is one of the wearable ones.  It'd make a nice layering note.

Again, this is a weaker scent than expected, but that's probably my post-COVID nose.  The first thing I smelled was gingerbread, then a touch of soft leather.  

The clove and tobacco come out later on the drydown and are subtle.  A little smoky spicy and a touch of smooth tobacco in the far back.

I like this a lot, but I don't know if it needs aged to let the notes really come out and get stronger or if it's just my nose.  Either way, it's still a keeper.

A tiny bit "generic gingerbread" like one or two others in this line, but I like it.

At first, it's all gingerbread, then the chocolate and coffee start to appear.  I don't smell anise as its own note (thank goodness, I hate anise, but will try scents with it and am often surprised if it's well hidden).  I end up with a chocolate-gingerbread with a hint of coffee sprinkled in.

Not terribly unique, but nice!

I bought this because I'm loving the Lab's motor oil/grease note, unsure what to expect.

I definitely didn't expect this to nag champa incense over this layer of smooth darkness in the background.

Somehow this smells boho, elegant and a little dirty (in a "not dirt" sort of way) all at the same time.

I almost missed this one before it was discontinued and I'm so glad I got a chance to get some. 

Camazotz is a great scent if you love leather.  Heavy leather (a worn in, saddle kind of leather to my nose) and a tiny bit of spice (soft clove and that slightly black pepper-ish note I always get from mezcal). 

This is going to age beautifully, I think.

I wasn't sure about this one (only because the non-gingerbread notes, while lovely sounding, seemed like they'd be drowned out by the gingerbread), but the Lab's gingerbread scents are almost all winners for me.  

This one reminds me a bit of Ghost Milk, sans goat's milk.  If Ghost Milk had a baby with gingerbread and added a touch of very faint, almost sweet sandalwood and extra vanilla, this is what it would smell like.  It's beautiful but quite light, just like the others I've tried.  I'm hoping these deepen with age, because, right now, they're beautiful but weak.

This is gingerbread + soft, smooth, creamy sweetness.  Not like frosting.  Just like a layer of ethereal vanilla/marshmallow over gingerbread with the faintest sandalwood on the late dry down (which really adds something here).

EDIT: It looks like maybe my sense of smell is still suffering from post COVID effects since other people are saying the gingerbread note is strong.  I'll bow to them and assume that my nose just can't detect that strength of scent yet.

This is another of those scents that shouldn't work for me (I despise nuts) but for some reason I think I've got have it.  Probably 95% of the time that that happens, I end up liking or loving it, so I went against my better judgment and bought it anyway.  Chestnuts and hazelnuts?  This should never work and yet it does!

It has a soft, nutty smell (more like chestnut than hazelnut to me) that overlays the gentle spiciness of the gingerbread (all the gingerbread notes in these have been pretty soft so far to my nose; I'm hoping they strengthen with age).  Sprinkled over all that is this soft, sweet combo of the honey, molasses and powdered sugar. 

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I asked my husband what he thought (without telling him what I was wearing or anything about it) and his responses were initially that it smelled like a Cinnabon (I can actually sort of see that) and then that it smelled "warm and spicy, like something you'd wear in the winter" and "it's heavy, especially for this time of year." 

He's literally never give me anything other than "I like it" or "meh" or "no," before and he was right on all fronts.  But I'm still wearing this all year 'round because I don't hold with seasonal perfume.

EDIT: It looks like maybe my sense of smell is still suffering from post COVID effects since other people are saying the gingerbread note is strong in the Gingerbread Monsters line.  I'll bow to them and assume that my nose just can't detect that strength of scent yet.

Whoa, holy morpher!  This one goes through a few stages with a quickness.  It starts out very tangy, almost sour goat's milk, then turns into marshmallow-white chocolate milk, if that were a thing.  Then it turns again into a soft, snuggy, fuzzy musk.  It stays very close to the skin and has very little throw and a light scent.  It's a very soft, ethereal scent, but it's beautiful.  I just wish it were stronger.

I haven't tried layering it yet, but I may end up experimenting for the first time.

I'm a sucker for a perfume with weird notes.  Chainsaw grease and chocolate chip cookies?  Sign me up!  I don't even normally like the smell of chocolate chip cookies and I'm excited about this.

In the bottle, it's shockingly gourmand.  I guess I was expecting a noticeable amount of thick, black grease, not just freshly opened cookie jar, but it is what it is.  And when I put it on, it remains shockingly gourmand.  There's basically nothing there but chocolate chip cookies (I can even smell that they're crisp, not chewy...how is that possible?). 

Slowly, though, an unidentifiable note comes out.  It's impossible for me to describe at first, other than it adds a strange, but appealing darkness to the chocolate chip cookies.  Not spooky darkness, just darkness of scent.  As it dries, it turns from an almost complete gourmand scent into a sort of "break room at the auto repair shop", with grease-covered hands eating cookies.

It's shockingly wearable and even more shockingly appealing.  It really does smell better than it sounds and I'm considering getting a backup.

I had to have this one when I saw it.  It screams "me."  The only thing missing here is patchouli.

This is a gorgeous scent.  Dark and purple-black feeling with layers of soft muskiness, resins and warm, darkly fruity honey.  It's so perfectly blended that it's nearly impossible to pick out the notes.  This kind of scent is what drew me to BPAL in the first place.

This reminds me of Panther Moon, a bit, though they don't smell the same.  There's a similar feel to them that I'm loving.

I debated on this one a lot before buying.  I don't do well with the Lab's pumpkin note(s).  They usually smell too buttery to me and make me a little queasy, but the rest sounded good and it was Halloween, so may as well give it a try.

I'm glad I did!  The pumpkin part is a little bit buttery, but it gives it a warm, cozy sort of note.  The pumpkin spice is nice and not overwhelming, the bourbon is definitely there but not "I smell like a bar" level and the orange zest and cinnamon clove just warm it up that much more.  

This is less boozy than I expected, but also much better than expected!  I'm glad I took a chance.

I had the barest chance to try this before I had to scrub it off because of an allergic reaction (uncontrollable sneezing - had to be to the candy apple component since I've tried Smut in many forms and never had a reaction).  My impression in that short period of time: green apple Jolly Ranchers.  I couldn't wash it off entirely, but what was left was essentially Smut with a little bit of sour green apple.

I'm not sure I'm getting the same apple as everyone else?  Disclaimer, though: I'm recovering my sense of smell Post-COVID and I did only have a short time to smell it.

Woman as Dragon starts out intense; not seductive, more like suffocating, with a huge waft of red musk based with fiery spices. The ginger isn't lemony, it's got that burn of real ginger root. The peppercorn adds a subtle, unexpected spiciness. I can't smell the dirt or any of the “blood-caked tar.”

Smut + Bit-o-Honey candies, heavy on the Bit-o-Honeys.

It's delicious.

That is all.

This sounds perfect except for the cardamom.  I'm starting to suspect it's the mystery note ruining my enjoyment of several otherwise great scents.  But I had to get it, because obviously I did.

It had to set until now because I came down with COVID and completely lost my sense of smell before I could even test it, so it's well settled now.  Which leads me to...

DISCLAIMER: My sense of smell is in no way normal at this point, but it's not distorting notes or adding things that aren't there, it just misses things a lot of the time.  Luckily, with BPAL, if I hold it right up against my nose, I can smell it enough to get the gist of it.

Now on top the review...

When I first sniff this, I get a soft, cooked down, sugary blackcurrant pie filling with a hint of crust, which is very nice.  Wet on my skin, it immediately amps up this buttery crust that reminds me of March Hare's pastry note and then after a short while, gives way back into a more balanced, but leaning towards berries, delicious pie scent.

I hope I'm not missing the cardamom note of doom thanks to my nasal technical difficulties, because I don't smell it here.

Let me preface this by saying that I lose my sense of smell several weeks ago due to COVID and it's just coming back, so I may be missing things here.  I'm doing my best, though!

I was nervous about the holy water and olive wood.  It turns out I had a good reason to fear them...for maybe 15 minutes, tops, since they give way to the rest of the scent and don't really seem to come back.

First on, this is nothing but holy water and olive wood.  Not good.  But, given a little time, it blossoms into a spicy (its clove, but..different; more dry and ethereal somehow?), softly musky scent with a little touch of incense.

My one real complaint (I can get past the "yuck notes" stage) is that this one has such a faint throw and scent.  But that could just be my nose.  I have a weak sense of smell, so for all I know, it's got throw like a major league pitcher and I just can't tell. 

I couldn't imagine this one going wrong since there's nothing I don't like here.  And yet, I'm the bottle, it's nice but unremarkable.  Wet on me, though?  Bitter, acrid, burnt leaves/rubber mixed.  

This one is a wild ride on me, though.  I went from this smells good to "Of, God, get this off me and away from my house!" and then right back to yum! 

It ends up a dark, slightly deep cocoa-scented dark wood with a want of incense.  Sounds weird, but it's dark and lovely.

To be honest, I've got several scents that are more or less in the same vein and I'm not sure I need it, but I do like it in the end!

I only have a sniffie of this, so I can't do a skin test, but this is nice!  I like to eat mangoes, but didn't think I wanted to smell like one.  I may have been wrong.

This is sweet - much sweeter than I expected - and smooth and not overly "ripe" smelling.  This would make a nice summer perfume on its own or blend well with lots of things.

I've had (and loved) Hellion since it was released, but La Fée Verte never quite appealed to me, although the artwork is lovely.

I honestly have absolutely no idea what most of the things in here smell like.  Herbs?  Flowers?  The rest of it I know, obviously - vanilla, musk, honey and spices.  All the herbs or flowers are throwing me, but since I unexpectedly came across this, I'm eager to give it a go!

In the bottle and wet, this is lemony.  Very lemony.  I don't know what's responsible for that since there's no lemon listed, but it's almost like lemongrass rather than the fruit.  Lemon and some muddled, slightly herbal, slightly sweet background?  Odd.

The "lemon" disappears as it dries down and it goes through a stage of being all soft herbs and what smells like tiny sprigs of delicate little flowers.  The final dry down is unexpected and lovely!  For some inexplicable reason, it smells a bit like Antique Lace on me.  Sort of a chamomile-like faint herbal backing with faded flowers and soft, musky vanilla.  

This one was a morpher and unexpected.  I'm glad I got to try this after all and I think I'll be keeping mine.

Whiskey, tobacco, and incensed bear musk.

I'm looking forward to this one.  I like Mad Sweeney, with its super heavy whiskey note, and I love tobacco and most musks.

Wet and in the bottle, this is a whoosh of whiskey and basically nothing else.  I'd be okay with that if I didn't have Mad Sweeney to do the same thing.

Dried, though, this is different.  Very different.  The whiskey mostly burns off and a musk that's wonderfully soft and cozy comes out.  No tobacco (sad face), but it's otherwise wonderful.

But then The Powder shows up.  I know it's the musk because this has happened more than once with musks like these.  Enraged Bunny Musk did the same thing, for example.

I'm not sure if this one will stay with me or go at this point.

I unexpectedly laid my hands on a bottle of this and couldn't wait to try it.  I thought for sure I would like it.  I was wrong.  I love it!

The patchouli is deep, dark and dirty (like in Owl Moon), the teak is a gorgeous, dark wood, the coffee adds just the slightest hint of depth and then the green cognac and white musk?  Can't find them, but I don't care.  The other notes were actually what attracted me to this one.

The end result is a dark, earthy, deeply woody (not like polished wood; like the smell of a freshly sawn piece of hardwood) with just a bit of coffee depth. 

Beautiful.  I wish I could track down a duplicate.