leptonpyr

A warm, bright, buttery balsamic. Forgive the indulgence, but the best way I can think to describe this scent is: if this scent were a color, it would be the soft orange glow of cheerful windows seen from a distance at night, or of that particular warm orange glow of a specifically winter sunset. On Friendship is terpenic and resinous, with a round, sweet, almost waxy nuttiness and butter from the bread accord, and it's lightened by just the smallest breath of bergamot, barely detectable but adds a lovely, gentle citrus lift. It really does feel like a warm meal shared with friends! It's undeniably woody but smells more of smoked or roasted chestnut to me, slightly vanillic, than pure woodsmoke, which is really just lovely. I'm finding it another delightfully cozy scent to curl up in for colder weather.

2025 version. This blend goes on with what I'm now familiar with as dead leaves' big flare-up / immediate die-down, then I get a whiff of warm, dry, smoky spice, which gives the impression of a burning pile of leaves. It's a sweet hay-like tobacco/smoke mingling with spice that reminds me very much of the spice accords in Circe Transforming and A Dance to the Music of Time. There's something in this, I think probably the amber, that's lending a sort of round smoothness to the blend, softening what might otherwise be sharp edges of spice, smoke, and dead leaves. Around two hours in, The Death of Autumn coheres into a pretty harmonious blend, where I have difficulty picking out individual notes, more like the experience @gentle-twig described. I wasn't able to detect any florals, but given how well-blended this one is, I wouldn't be surprised if they were in there adding some subtlety I can't name. About average throw and longevity, and nothing goes sharper on me towards the end of the day as is often the case with other blends. The Death of Autumn fades away quite gently, like the last plume of smoke from a friendly autumn campfire.

This opens with the macadamia accord, enveloped in rich, roasty, woody fireside hearth-smoke. It actually reminded me quite a bit on On Friendship (which would make sense, as On Friendship lists chestnut in lieu of macadamia), only a sweeter, nuttier, fattier, vanillic version. Extremely cozy, VERY much get the impression of chestnuts roasting on an open fire. I think some of the fattiness is coming from the beeswax. The leather does not stand out as a note in its own right, it's more that Dark Macademia is leathery in that kind of smoky way, lending an additional undercurrent to the atmosphere. It's very much just the hint of faded, older leather you might get from walking past a shelf of "time-worn tomes", not the total saturation of freshly tanned leather. About 4 hours in, much of the sweetness fades away and it becomes more prominently roasty and smoky. I know this is a Halloween release, but I was actually quite glad I didn't get to try it until December; it feels absolutely perfect for winter, really cozy and warm in a dark, rich way. It's definitely a gourmand, but it's not *overly* gourmand; the smoke and wood balance out the sweeter notes to keep it in more of a savory territory. I don't know if it's quite special enough for me to buy a whole bottle, but I'm happy to have this decant to get me through this winter.

2025 version This went on SO heady it was totally overwhelming, almost nauseating. I believe the first thought I jotted down in my personal spreadsheet of perfume notes was "oh my god what the fuck." It definitely smells like a thick, syrupy-sweet tropical kind of dessert, largely banana. Not raw banana, definitely the dessert, cooked banana of turon. Maybe a touch of yam, too, although I had a difficult time picking out individual notes in this one; there is just so much going on I felt like I was swimming in it! I noticed the gourmand notes first, but it wasn't long before an extravagant efflorescence started to bloom. I definitely got jasmine and silky, tropical, fatty ylang ylang. Santan I'm not familiar with, but the descriptions I found online (supposedly santan flowers have some kind of tropical fragrance, close to gardenia, probably indolic, with a hint of citrus blossoms) seem to check out. I'm not 100% sure "everlasting flower" is the same as immortelle, but I kind of assume so, and I wonder if it's partially responsible for the honeyed, syrupy, dried-fruit quality of this blend. There's definitely a rice note in here somewhere, although it's hard to pick out with everything else that's going on, and I'm not sure I would've been able to recognize it if I hadn't happened to smell literal rice cooking in my kitchen. Araw Ng Mga Patay got much prettier as the day went on, and actually wound up reminding me a little of Interminable Grotesques without the almond. It definitely shares the big bouquet of strong, distinct florals and the honey, but Araw Ng Mga Patay is (obviously) much more prominently gourmand and tropical. I had a lot of fun with this one and will definitely wear it again, but/and if you saw all those notes and went "wow, that's a LOT", you are absolutely right; this one is A LOT! "A cheerful, raucous celebration of life and death" is a wonderfully apt description.

Like others have already noted, this is mainly about the green tea on me. As I'm finding is usually the case with most dead leaves blends I've tried, this one goes on EXTREMELY green, big flare-up and subsequent die-down of dead leaves, and then the tea scent blooms and really takes center stage. I think BPAL's green tea note is softer than their black or white tea. I was looking *hard* for ginger, for spice or something citric, I *may* have picked up on something a little citric, but that also may have just been the tea. I'm really not sure I ever got ginger. This wears very close to the skin and has pretty short longevity, it was mostly gone after about 4-5hrs in. If I pressed my nose right up against my skin, I swear what's left of the scent is an unlisted white musk note. This is a light, pretty, calming blend, but ultimately I'm not sure if I need a slightly greener version of Embalming Fluid. I like green scents and I like Embalming Fluid, but I can't see myself reaching for this one when I have so many much more interesting blends to wear.

2025 version I had to go for this one, being both a huge Dickinson fan and a dedicated fall girlie, but I found it a little disappointingly indistinct. Going on, I got the dead leaves and something that reminded me a bit of neroli, a little sharp/spice, a little fruity. I think the wool might be a slightly earthy spice, because I recognize it from Old Woman with Cat, and I believe the lace is a soft, powdery vanilla. It was almost more of a gourmand vanilla than I'd anticipated, very sweet-leaning, almost marshmallow. It really did feel like being enveloped in a soft, cozy sweater! (I'm also not the most familiar with BPAL's fabric accords, so, you know, naturally I decided to go for the one with three different fabric accords listed.) I can't be sure, but I think there might be a bit of amber in here too, just a light one. Warm, slightly fruity, a touch powdery. I was never able to pick out the red currant (although I'm sure it's contributing to the fruitiness and sweetness), which I was hoping would add a bit of tart bite, or the ambergris, at all. Although seeing @LavenderCoffee's review now, I am wondering if perhaps the ambergris was blending with the other notes in a way that was doing something I couldn't recognize. I'll have to give this one another try at some point and see what I can pick up on. (I also feel like this one is extremely similar to October 32nd, it had the same dead-leaves opening, followed by a touch of amber and some powdery vanilla, but I'd have to test that one again to be sure.) eta: I'm almost hesitant to mention this, because I don't know that I've ever knowingly encountered this note on its own, but I'm wondering if the neroli-like thing that's going on with the dead leaves is petitgrain? Apparently petitgrain is extracted from the leaves and green twigs of the bitter orange tree, rather than the flowers, and it's described as having a "greenish woody orange smell", which feels dead-on (excuse the pun) for dead leaves.

I'm pretty sure the musk in this is ambergris, which caught me off-guard as it briefly flared as a top note for me, because I hadn't been expecting an aquatic touch in a blend inspired by a bat. It caught me off-guard, but it was not unwelcome! It's doing something really wonderful with the leather and the vanilla so that this actually smells *fuzzy*, it's somehow very softly and pleasantly animalic (I'm guessing that's the ambergris + leather, and I want to stress that this is like the softest possible touch of leather, like I didn't even know leather could go this soft...shall we say it's more like a brief flutter of leathery wings?) and feels, well, cuddly, with just a touch of sweetness from the vanilla. I don't know what bat fur feels like, but it very much gives me the feeling of nuzzling into soft, warm, dry fur, in a delightfully cozy way. Every time I try to pick out the orris on its own it eludes me, but I'm certain it's here, providing a powdery-lush backing that ties the whole blend together. I can see why @Mountaingrrl00 was reminded of something from their grandmother's generation; I wouldn't call it old-fashioned, but it's very orris-heavy in a way that was much more common in older generations of perfume. I know this was a Halloween, but I'm finding it a really lovely, cozy scent for winter too, and feel that I might even be appreciating it more now in cold weather than I did when I tried in the fall. If you've always wanted to pet a cute little bat and you'd like to experience that sensation in perfume form, this is the one for you.

Realized I never got around to leaving a review for this gorgeous scent, and it's due to come down some time this month! I was surprised that it was described with only "the faintest touch of crushed blackberry skin", as it's primarily a gorgeous blackberry scent on me, just the right balance between dark fruit/berries and floral, backed by myrrh. Myrrh sometimes goes a bit too sharp on me, but here the "dusty" myrrh just gives this lovely softened undercurrent. Strangely it seems to *not* morph on me very much, it pretty much stays constant throughout the day as it gets slowly fainter, and I do get some impressive longevity from this one. This is my first experience with both tuberose and orchid, so I don't think I am quite able to pick out and describe those notes, but I've seen both florals described as sometimes vanillic or a bit lactonic, and I am absolutely getting those aspects from this blend. I've also seen tuberose described as sometimes a bit tropical, which makes me wonder if it's adding some lushness to the fruitiness from the blackberry. As usual, anything with "scorched" or "smoky" in the description never shows up as smoky on me. I have no explanation for this, but this blend is no exception. It gets a little less creamy as the day goes on, more focused on juicy, tangy blackberry and myrrh. I will for sure be buying a bottle before this Lunacy comes down, and if you're a fan of blackberry I highly recommend you grab one too if you can! If it's useful data for anyone, I'd also like to note for the record that a friend of mine who has never tried BPAL sniffed this one, and her eyes went a little wide and she said "...oh my GOD that is SUCH a good blackberry!"

INTENSELY fruity going on, and aldehydic, like a shot of sweet champagne. Then the juiciest strawberry, guava, and sugared grapefruit. The strawberry-champagne combo reminds me a little of Bon Vivant, but Bon Vivant has always smelled more like soda than champagne or strawberries to me, whereas Hot Pink Hearse is Very Berry and definitively champagne. Not sure if I ever picked out the bergamot, but I think there's a jammy blackberry in this too. The berry/champagne combo actually reminds me of the berries and wine in Lady Macbeth, but this is a lighter, bouncier version, the hot pink to her blood red. Hot Pink Hearse: a lighter, bouncier version of Lady Macbeth...what a sentence. Overall a super fun, fruity scent that I predict I'll be reaching for more in the summer than in the winter. It had a fairly strong throw at first (my partner noted that the apartment smelled of Hot Pink Hearse right after I applied), but receded closer to the skin within the first hour or so. About average throw and longevity after that, which for me is like 4-6 hours. Stayed very faintly detectable for maybe 8-10 hours, but was pretty much completely gone without a trace after that. If you're looking for a happy scent to add to your collection, Hot Pink Hearse gets my recommendation!

Wearing this was an absolutely wild experience. I was sort of fascinated by the tug-of-war between revulsion and fascination--it smells gross, but it is fascinating! On my first sniff there was a moment before I noticed the mildew lurking right underneath the smell of oranges, but as soon as I did I kind of wanted to jerk away from it, then I immediately wanted to go back and smell it again. I adore the way this invites us (the reader? the viewer? the sniffer???) to engage with the revolting, the creepy, the unclean: Committing Every Artistic Sin is a faithful olfactory translation of the horror genre. It smells primarily of overripe fruit just beginning to mold, like sniffing a bowl of oranges and noticing their bright, inviting citrus smell at first, only to get a whiff of rot a moment later. It smells like I just grabbed a fistful of food-waste trash and now I need a shower. It's bitter and acrid and reminds me ineffably of something I swear I've smelled in my childhood, but I honestly could not tell you what. (Possibly just trash, but it really did evoke some scent-memory for me that I still can't place.) About an hour in, I started to notice a note I would describe as fresh, more orangey/citrusy, or possibly marigold? It began to remind me more of the smell of an old bouquet of flowers thrown in the trash, that fresh vegetal, still-pleasant but far-too-strong-because-on-edge-of-rot smell. (...Sorry, gardeners, I just revealed how hopeless I am at keeping even cut flowers alive.) I couldn't tell you what linseed oil smells like, but after some googling apparently it can smell a bit like cod liver oil. This was definitely not fishy (I think if it had smelled like fish that would have tipped the line from fascination to pure revulsion for me), but there was something a little fatty to it. Turmeric is supposed to be a little earthy, bitter, peppery, a little lemony or orangey, and it was fascinating to see those aspects used to bring out acridity and bitterness instead of a pleasant spice or warmth. This has a mercifully low throw, I really needed to stick my nose close to my skin to get a whiff, which I think is pretty perfect for what this is. If Committing Every Artistic Sin had been all-enveloping, that too would've tipped the line over into pure revulsion for me. It gets much fainter but lasts all day, like lingering damp in the walls. I was sort of obsessed with the experience of wearing it, but I would maybe skip wearing this one to work or to a party, unless it's a party you are trying to leave quickly.

My first experience with BPAL's ink accord, and it was such a strange one! It went on smelling like sweet, buttery caramel corn that someone had dipped in a great big tub of ink. Very weird feeling to smell a sugary sweet gourmand paired with such an acrid ink note. After maybe an hour or so, more of the other notes started coming out a bit, I got just a hint of berry and something that smelled a little candied, maybe also the cranberry juice, maybe the caramelized pumpkin. It went on a bit stronger at first but then stayed very close to the skin, as oils tend to do on me. After more hours of wear, I noticed that on first sniff (English really needs better language and idioms for talking about smell...) it smelled remarkably like real ink from a ballpoint pen: sharpish, a little chemical-medicinal, a little earthy (although I suppose that could've been the patchouli)--I've never tried describing the smell of ink before! But if I kept inhaling more deeply, underneath the ink I got something that smelled remarkably like spiced cider very clearly. Such a strange olfactory experience! I can't say it's going to become an everyday fragrance for me, but I'm really glad I got to try BPAL's ink accord and I will definitely be coming back to try this one again.

2025 version. I'm really sad to say this one smells almost exactly like Vicks cough medicine, like menthol and a medicinal camphor that is WAY too intense to be pleasant (and this is coming from a camphor-enjoyer). I even went to sniff the Vicks in our medicine cabinet just to be sure, and yup, almost identical. (Vicks is a little stronger and more bitter, but still.) After hours of wear, Samhain eventually settled into something that smelled more recognizably and pleasantly like pine than cough medicine, but that was it. I never got any of the other notes before the fragrance faded. Not sure what happened here--it sounds like @superstarpanini had a very different experience with this year's Samhain, so I'm wondering if I got part of a strange batch? I would blame skin chemistry, but it smelled exactly the same on me as it does in my decant. I'll give this one some time in hopes it'll mellow out a little, but for now, I'm pretty bummed. Eternal fall girlie that I am, I was excited for this one.

This is a really lovely bright, ambery balsamic--with a surprising amount of lilac! More than a sprig, I'd say, more like a bouquet. (Not complaining, I adore lilac.) First out of the bottle I got a whiff of super earthy patchouli, but as soon as it touched my skin the patchouli disappeared and it became mainly lilac and a strong, heady vanilla. Not like sugary vanilla frosting or cake, more like sniffing vanilla extract directly out of the bottle. Turns out this particular vanilla + lilac is a *beautiful* combination. The other notes in this blend were unfamiliar to me, but apparently peru balsam is also generally a sweet, creamy balsamic, with a lot of vanilla and a hint of spice, so I'm wondering if peru balsam is contributing to some of the gorgeous complexity of this blend. I wasn't able to identify spikenard or oakmoss, although I'm wondering if the oakmoss is doing something musk-like here? It's much more musk and amber than the damp earthiness I generally associate with oakmoss and patchouli---in fact I don't think I'm detecting any earthiness at all, maybe the slightest hint of woodiness by way of amber, but nothing I'd call earthy. Overall, I was surprised and delighted by this blend, and I'm considering a bottle. I still feel like the new kid on the block around here, but I'm wondering if I've amassed any BPAL-forumite cred by noting that I have a feeling this is going to age beautifully, and I'm excited to see what new aspects age will bring out! eta lol spoke just a bit too soon! Shortly after posting this review, towards the end of the day, I started to notice the slightest current of earthiness. (That's why I generally like to wait till at least the next day to post reviews, but I got excited about this one :P)

To me this is a very strange and beautiful scent. When I first opened the bottle I was a little put off because it smells *so* strong and sharp and camphorous it's almost medicinal. I want to throw out a comparison to eucalyptus oil here, but please take that with a grain of salt because I am still a fragrance newbie and quite frankly still cannot name most of the things I smell precisely. But something magical happened when I tried it on: the sharpness dissipates a bit and it is just so intensely *green*, evoking the scent of thick wet vegetation so strongly for me, like forest undergrowth and leaf litter mixed with fresh leaves and crushed, sweet grass just after rain. The blackberry starts coming out very distinctly too, and the combination is gorgeous, hard for me to describe, but sort of thick and syrupy and a little bit sharp, almost a resinous effect? There is a tiny, tiny whiff of something faintly floral that feels to me like it's acting as an undercurrent to the blackberry specifically, it's like the suggestion of flowers, the ghost of honeysuckle (so I suppose this is the scent of honeysuckle "grasp[ing] at[...] shadows" then!). Later in the day, I noticed I was losing some of the complexity and it was becoming a much more blackberry-forward scent with just a touch of green, and I thought perhaps that was just the fragrance fading, but later still I noticed more of the vegetal/green aspects returning. I can't wait to see how this one ages as it settles, and I am strongly considering a bottle. It's dark, gorgeous, and I would recommend it if you want to feel like you are creeping through a dark, lush, rainy, possibly bewitched forest at night.

2025 version! On me it goes on very, very green/fresh and a touch camphorous. I associate what I'm smelling with pine needles more than I do with autumn leaves but then again, I'm not yet familiar with BPAL's pine note, so YMMV. It's got just a touch of sweetness from the sap, and the overall effect is very warm and dark; it feels like a very cozy scent to me, like an autumnal scented candle. I'm not sure if I'm getting any smokiness, but I'll report back once my decant has had some more time to settle. The pine-camphor and greenness brought to mind The Woman at the Edge of the Woods, but this is a *much* gentler, softer scent, and the green here feels a lot brighter and fresher. There is a LOT going on in The Woman at the Edge, and I'd describe that one as quite intense, whereas October is much simpler and more straightforward. Kind of like a cottagecore version of The Woman: The Woman at the Edge of the Woods is unabashedly intense and unapologetically complicated, and totally unconcerned with whether she comes off as intimidating (which feels entirely appropriate for what the scent was inspired by!). In October '25, that wildness has been tamed into something much more approachable. If it's not already clear, I absolutely adore The Woman, but I'm enjoying my decant of this as well. Not sure I'll need a bottle, but it's a really nice, cozy-feeling scent to curl up in, feels like a warm, relaxing afternoon spent with friends. October goes on fairly strong, but recedes fairly quickly, as most things do on my dry-ass skin. A few hours in, the green champhor sort of wears off and the blend gets sweeter and more "perfumey", losing most of its sharpness. About average longevity for me, 4-6 hours.