Delirium1009

In bottle/imp: Baby powder with a hint of warm spice. Immediately on skin: This smells clean and powdery, with a hint of sandalwood and sweet spice in the background. Sandalwood scented baby powder, perhaps. After a little while: This gets even more powdery as I wear it. It’s all baby powder now with just a hint of sandalwood. Very disappointing! Overall Impressions: This is just too powdery on me, and too dry. I don’t get any creaminess from the tonka and there’s only a hint of the nutmeg at the beginning. Ah, well.

In bottle/imp: Vetiver and sweet florals with a fruitiness, almost like cherry. Immediately on skin: This smells of floral cherry, though very green as well with a slight twinge of vetiver lurking. The cherry-like note could be something else… it’s fruity but red with a distinct tartness. Overall this scent seems very high with not a lot of deep notes. After a little while: The vetiver comes back out after this dries a little and really takes over the blend from then on. To me it smells like a lot of dry black musk and vetiver with some light florals and a hint of that tart fruit in the background. Overall Impressions: This starts out very fruity and floral, but after it dries it definitely becomes a very dark and sinister blend. The vetiver and musk are very dry, with just enough of the floral and fruit notes peeking through to give it a slight feminine tone.

In bottle/imp: Cake! Almond! Chocolate! Fruit! In that order. Immediately on skin: This scent is hard to pin down. It’s cakey, but not heavy at all. It’s got a whispy, sugary feel to it overall with a cakey overtone and hints of chocolate and fruit. It almost has a powdery feel over the whole thing, but it smells juicy and wet, not dry. I think that may be the chocolate. After a little while: This smells a lot like cotton candy now with a little bit of cake poking through and perhaps a little white chocolate. Oh, and there’s a very juicy candied fruit overtone to the entire blend. Overall Impressions: Imagine a glass cake display. There’s spun cotton candy, vanilla cake, chocolate fudge, candied fruit, and white chocolate dipped bonbons under the glass, all dusted with powdered suger. Then you realize that the whole glass covering is actually crystal clear, lightly fruity hard candy. That’s what this blend smells like.

To the best of my knowledge, the full list of prototypes in circulation that may contain aldehydes are Toxin, Nihil, and Zero. They were involved in the forum fundraiser raffle last year. Nothing currently on offer from BPAL contains synthetics, or the Lab would be very clear about saying so. I thought that this answered the question about all natural or not pretty well.

You are the reason this whole conversation came up again. You brought it up. You started an entire thread because you were nervous about your purchase, and asked for more info. Other people wondered, I'm sure, but you definitely did "care." Beth already gave you a much more in-depth, targeted response than I would expect most people would, as so much of the info was already out there if one were to just look for it. But that's not enough? You need to keep poking her? There is no way you're not being intentionally dense about this. Really.

I don't mind that Guerlain uses synthetics, but they are synthetics crafted by perfumers. I personally believe there is artistry to it. But alternatively, I can appreciate a small-scale perfumer who blends natural essential oils. I value that side of things too and definitely see the appeal. But it's that middle ground, of pre-blended synthetic oils that are found in Yankee Candles, that I want to avoid. By the way, alcohol has never bothered my skin and I don't notice it after the first minute or two, although I know that isn't true for everybody. I can assure you that there is no possible way in hell that bpal uses the same fragrance oils that you would find in something like Yankee Candle. And with that I'm done. This trolling is not worth my time.

If you don't believe what the lab has said thus far about the sources of their components, then I doubt what any customer could say would sway you. This post reminds me of the paraben complaints always popping up on Lush. Someone with no posts comes on, posts a bunch of info about how they bought the product and OMG it's not 100% natural, and how they're so disappointed. The truth is, bpal is fabulous to a lot of people, and not worth the money to others. I find it totally unique and a labor of love on the part of Beth and all the labbies. They're truly wonderful people with a fabulous product that I'm PROUD to spend money on. But if you'd rather believe a few dissenters before you even sniff the stuff, go for it. It's your decision. I still think your post is super rude though. ETA: I guess I've just been immersed in the world of traditional perfumery for awhile. People take a lot of pride in craftsmanship, on assembling their perfumes molecule by molecule or using the finest essential oils. Maybe I am being a bit prejudiced... If you don't think this is the case with Beth and the labbies, then you know nothing about this company. They've stated time and time again that their oils are natural. Some are made from accords, but that's how all the big companies do scents that you can't get pure oils of (like do you think that CB uses REAL meat to make their Roast Beef accord?). Not saying this is how the lab does it, but here is what CBIHP's site (who you say you're a fan of) says about synthetic accords, which they themselves use: "“Synthetic” is a misleading term. By no means does it mean “bad”. All scent is in fact “synthesized”. These specially designed accords capture things that are not found easily in nature or in some cases not found there at all! Synthetic accords can actually be made from organic materials – we can use “nature identical materials” to create flowers – like Honeysuckle or Wild Violet. Or these accords can be like completely inorganic like Doll Head and Soccer Ball. All the accords I create however must perfectly capture the scent of whatever it’s supposed to be whether it’s Cheesecake or Cellophane Tape!" It looks to me like you might just have it out for bpal.

Perversion, perhaps? Tonka is a creamy note that can sometimes smell like vanilla.

Yes, that definitely looks like the original Black Lace label. It's ALMOST a match. The original was more of a teal, where this one is a slate grey/blue.

In bottle/imp: Sweet tarts mixed with grainy caramel. Immediately on skin: This smells… not so good on me. I get the caramel blending with the coconut, which smells like grainy, syrupy sweetness soaked into an old cardboard box. Over that bit is the fruit, especially the blood orange and plum. It’s clashing quite a bit on my skin. After a little while: This seems to have gotten a little better, but there’s still that annoying dirty-smelling note under everything, blending into the fruit. Mostly I now smell the pimento, plum, and a little of the orange. I also get just a little sweet florals. Overall Impressions: Unfortunately there’s something to this scent that just doesn’t smell right to me. There’s an undertone to it that smells sort of rotten or dirty. I think it’s the caramel and coconut with all the bright fruits. The fruity notes in this are actually quite nice, though. Mostly I smell plum and pimento, but the orange comes through nicely at first, and I get hints of sweet floral notes.

In bottle/imp: Candied cherries. Immediately on skin: This smells like pastry filled with candied cherries. Not really maraschino cherries, but I guess they’re called glace cherries like in the description. After just a moment though the apricot comes in and drowns out a lot of that cherry scent. There’s also more of a buttered pastry note after a minute or two. After a little while: This smells like apricot lotion with a little almond now. The cherry and pastry notes disappeared completely, and left me with a creamy but slightly plastic-y apricot scent. Overall Impressions: I think I need to try this scent in a scent locket because I love the glace cherry scent I get from it in the decant with just a little buttered pastry. As it sits on my skin, however, it totally morphs into an apricot lotion scent with just a touch of almond. So sad…

In bottle/imp: Black pepper cookies with a hint of lemon? Immediately on skin: This smells like a base of sugar cookies with a good dose of black pepper added. It’s slightly sweet underneath, but the top of the scent is all peppery and spicy. After a little while: This turns into something rather, well, “meh” on me. It smells like pepper and salted nuts. Slightly toasty and peppery, but not really overly sweet. Overall Impressions: In the decant this smelled like peppered sugar cookies, but it turned into pepper and toasted nuts. It’s interesting, but not really fabulous on me. It has a neat toasted scent to it, however.

In bottle/imp: Snow and ozone, with a hint of mint and warm, dusty chrysanthemums. Immediately on skin: This blend smells like cold air with a tinge of ozone and mint with a golden warmth wafting above. The golden bit is dry and spicy, and almost even dusty. It’s a nice contrast to icy part of the blend. After a little while: The mint in this has settled down a little, but the iciness is still the most assertive part of the blend. The golden warmth is still lying gently over it, bringing to mind yellow sunlight streaming through an ice frosted window. The chrysanthemum note is slightly spicy and blended with a soft, warm amber. Overall Impressions: The snow note in this is so lovely. There’s a bit of ozone and mint in this at first, but it died down pretty quickly after I applied it on my skin. This scent is a perfect blending of icy cold air, golden amber, and a hint of spicy chrysanthemums. It’s perfectly balanced between lightly warm and sweet, and cold and chilly.

In bottle/imp: This smells like oats and carrot sweetened up with something thick and rich (but not honey because bpal honey doesn’t usually smell good to me, and this smells quite nice). Immediately on skin: This smells like super hearty, healthy oat-packed cookies. There’s a lot of hay and hazelnuts, which smell almost like oatmeal when combined, and some pulpy carrot with a bit of sweet honey drizzled on top. After a little while: This scent has gotten a bit fruitier, like soft dried berries with oats and a bit of carrot. It’s soft and warm with a slight nuttiness. Overall Impressions: This smells foodie, but not in a bakery way at all. It almost smells like oat and carrot muffins with a few berries added in. Honey is a death note on me, and I don’t get it from this blend at all. Overall, this is slightly sweet and warm, nutty and slightly fruity.

In bottle/imp: Rose, creamy almond, and baby powder. Immediately on skin: This is so light on me, but what I can smell is bpal’s snow note, plus some herbal rose and a bit of almond. This scent is a bit powdery on my skin. After a little while: This smells like vanilla, almond, and fake roses with a hint of snow. This isn’t as bad on me now as it was at first, but it smells like one of those rose scented dolls they had in the 80s. It’s slightly plastic-smelling and rubbery. Overall Impressions: I had such high hopes for this scent, but unfortunately the vanilla in this blend is the kind that turns to plastic on my skin. I’m left with rose-almond plastic with a little snow in the background.

In bottle/imp: Quickly, I get the scent of something creamy and pink. Then as I smell more I get an initial blast of grapefruit, then florals, and then the tonka rounding it out. Immediately on skin: This is a very complex scent. First, I smell the grapefruit and something that smells rather green. Below that comes the loveliest pink, slightly creamy floral scent with a touch of rich frankincense. After a little while: This blend comes together nicely after just a little while. The grapefruit and yuzu die down a lot, and the sweet pink florals come out, along with a bit more of the resin and tonka. The tuberose adds a little bit of a darker floral tone, while the peony and pikaki are very sweet. It’s almost like a bright, sugared floral blend with a touch of resin and creaminess. Very pretty. Overall Impressions: This blend is just lovely, from start to finish. It has a lot of grapefruit at first, then the florals, then resins underneath. After it dries down though it’s this pink sugared fruity floral blend with a bit of depth from the frankincense and tonka. I think this one may be bottle worthy.

In bottle/imp: This smells like mint, cold air, and eucalyptus. Immediately on skin: I used to have a bottle of Snow-Flakes from 2006 and this reminds me a lot of that scent only colder. Whereas that scent was the green, cold part of Snow White, Hypothermia is that scent plus a lot of mint and herbal eucalyptus, and maybe some ozone and pine as well. After a little while: This still smells like cold air, eucalyptus and ozone with pine and perhaps a llittle less mint. It’s very chilly, slightly herbal, and a bit on the unisex side. Overall Impressions: To me, this smells like a colder, more masculine version version of Snow-Flakes. It’s all cold air, ozone, pine, eucalyptus and, at first, a bit of mint. It’s almost salty in it’s crispness, and would be great on a hot day.

In bottle/imp: I get a bit of wood mixed with warm florals, then a little dry musk and a hint of grapefruit right at the end. Immediately on skin: This smells spicy, herbal and green, with dry musks and a hint of grapefruit. The musk is so dry it’s almost powdery smelling. After a little while: This smells of lightly warm, spiced musks with some smooth, dry flower petals. It’s a very smooth scent and is just short of creamy. There is also a bit of a cold note overlying it, almost like ozone but much smoother. Overall Impressions: This scent is so hard to pinpoint and explain since it’s so complex, well blended, and unique. It manages to be dry and musky, lightly spiced, and cool all at the same time. It almost has the scent of something you’d find out in nature, a plant with dry, flaky bark, crackling flowers, bright leaves, and touches of frost. I don’t know if I like this or not, which is interesting. ETA: I did a full wear of this scent and decided I absolutely love it

In bottle/imp: Herbs and moss, with an almost creamy cologne scent over the top of it. Immediately on skin: This scent is very herbal and slightly woody with a bit of snow wafting behind and crystalline amber. It’s a lot of herbs, but there’s also this almost shattered, snowy sweetness to it. The teak is quite cologne-like through this scent as well. After a little while: The herbal quality to this settles down quite a bit, and this becomes a very amber-heavy blend with cologne-like teak and a little moss and snow. Overall Impressions: This scent is very herbal at first, but it settles down nicely into a glowing dry amber blend with little bits of teak and snow. It’s a bit unisex, and a touch sweet, but nice. Unfortunately I don’t think it’s for me however

In bottle/imp: Lots of apple blossom, with juicy fruit blending into it. Immediately on skin: This smells like apple blossom, but super fruity. Fortunately the other fruits are drowning out the apple part of the note, so it’s a bit more floral, plus those other fruits. There’s a topnote to this scent that’s very perfume-y. The calla lily maybe? The musk is lingering softly at the base of this scent, filling out the fruity notes. After a little while: This settles down to a very fruity, bright scent with a hint of sweet apple blossom and orchid. Overall Impressions: I was hoping that this scent would be a little more complex, but it dried down to a pretty but simple fruit and floral scent. It’s nice, but orchid tends to get a little cloying on me, so I wouldn’t enjoy smelling it for long periods of time. For some reason, this blend reminds me a lot of War.

I also recommend Sybaris, and Ashlultum, as well.

My favorite vanilla bpal scents are Dorian (like lightly lemony vanilla musky cookies) and Black Opal (smells like vanilla rocks, but in a good way! Totally unique). IMO, just plain vanilla can get a bit overpowering and boring, so other notes really bring it out. The ones I listed have other things in them, but they're not really super sexy scents. They're also impable since they're GC.

In bottle/imp: Citrusy floral plum. Immediately on skin: This smells of slightly spiced citrus, plum and rose. The plum is the strongest note with the rose making it smoother and the bergamot adding a high citrus note. There’s something slightly cloying to this that I’m not loving at the end however. After a little while: This smooths down into a softer plum, rose and dry sandalwood scent. It’s a very close-to-the-skin type of scent for sure, and manages to be a sexy little floral plum scent. Overall Impressions: This is a nice scent, but it didn’t take my breath away. Mostly plum, citrus, and rose at first, but it dries down to a quite pretty blend of plum, rose and sandalwood. Feminine with a fruity kick.

In bottle/imp: Chocolate mint. Rather powdery, but still creamy. Immediately on skin: This smells of those soft, pillowy mints with a little cocoa powder sprinkled over. Behind those notes is a little dry bit of cedar and the cologne-like cedar. After a little while: The chocolate in this becomes that musky B.O. chocolate I can’t stand after a while, mixed with powdery, creamy vanilla-mint and a finish of light fresh moss. Overall Impressions: This blend is interesting, but it doesn’t come together on my skin. The chocolate is rather dry, and with the vanilla-mint it becomes a little powdery. The oakmoss and touch of cedar at the end are interesting, but I just don’t know how to make sense of this.

In bottle/imp: Resinous musk with just a hint of fir. Immediately on skin: This scent is deep, resinous and slightly medicinal musk. There’s a woodiness to this blend, and it feels very dry to me. It has some nice complexity to it, but overall it’s a very dark blend. After a little while: Dry, woody, resinous, musky, and slightly nutty: that’s what this scent is. It’s very deep and smells kinda brown, but still very rich. There’s just a touch of powder to it too though unfortunately. Overall Impressions: This scent is quite deep and rich, and a little bit much of both of those for me. It’s musky and resinous with a dry, woody, nutty feel to it. More of a unisex blend, but edging towards the feminine side of that I think.