Persephone76

This stuff is made of WIN, WIN, WIN!!! This is honestly the first BPAL coffee scent ever that I can actually wear (most of em go dusty or rancid, this one just gets deeper and and richer). It's a very sexy, deep coffee with just enough sweetness on a deep, rich base that is difficult to describe (amber? it's subtle). Despite the prominence of the coffee, it's more gourmand than foody to my nose (though it's a bit of both). It reminds me a bit of Pinched and I think it could be worn by a man or woman (it's not masculine, but a guy could pull it off). 5 stars.

I really agree with Midnight Aeval on this one. This was artificial candy strawberry plus drugstore musk all the way. After a while, it went sharp and plastic on my skin. Ahh, well.

Let me start by saying that Hod and Morocco are two of my most fave BPALs ever. Heck, they're two of my fave perfumes ever. Having said that, I felt Hod v2 was nothing special (well, except for the fact that it smelled pretty much exactly like Hod). It was Hod with a lil less carnation and a lil more perfumey musk. I didn't find it creamy at all, which I would have loved.

So what I am saying is, if you love Hod and you already have some, you don't need to go insane to find this. They are very similar and the released version is much, much better IMO.

ETA: The Morocco proto, on the other hand, is truly special.

This smelled like a pumpkin patch scent to me. BPAL pumpkin + a lil sugar. I wanted to like it because of the name, but it really was just an average PP scent to my nose. Not that complex and not that interesting, in my opinion.

I know this is sacrilege but I don't think I will ever understand the lust for this one. On me it smells like hazelnut and spice and disappears in about 5 minutes. Meh. More for everyone else.

Meh. Sharp citrus + baby powder on me. Very sweet, but in a way that's making me sick, unfortunately.

On me this smells sweet and vaguely foody (white cake?). It has a dusty quality that reminds me very much of Antique Lace, but it's sweeter. It's a more distant cousin of Underpants (sans boozy undertones).

Very vanilla/sugar/dust/powder/cream on me. It's very good and I definitely understand why it was the first to sell out at the trunk show.

I have been comparing this side-by-side with Dorian all day. I am just going to start off by saying that Dorian v2 is seriously OMGlove in a bottle.

This is a fairly complex scent with an interesting drydown. It starts with an initial quasi-masculine blast of dry herbs, lavender and tea (lavender-haters, fear not, the lavender disappears rather quickly), which reminds me more of Lilith Victoria than Dorian. It quickly morphs into a very feminine creamy black tea/coconut/dry grassy scent that is pure heaven. The dry grasses are in no way green, but more of a sweet hay/chamomile temperament. I quite prefer this to either Dorian or Lilith Victoria.

In summary, it's Dorian minus lemon candy plus creamy coconut/hay and it is made of win.

ETA: I also find Dorian v2 to be quite sensual, which I don't get from the released version. Forgot to mention that!

I am gonna have to go with GypsyRoseRed on this one--key lime pie. Lime with a creamy undercurrent and just a tad sweet. Perfect refreshing summer scent and unlike any other BPAL I have tried.

This is a lovely blueberry scent. Kind of sweet and candy-ish for my taste, but I'm not much of a fruity scent fan. But if you like blueberries, this is the best BPAL blueberry to date and you will love it!

I'm not one to normally say this, but it's way too much floral for me. tea rose, lily and plumeria are florals that don't joke around.

 

Edit: 18min after I posted this, it's turned into french milled rose soap.

What she said.

My fave sexy scents at the moment are Sin, Mme. Moriarty, Voodoo Queen, Snake Charmer and Jingo Kogo. With an honorable mention to Morocco just cause it's Morocco.

I had such high hopes for this one, as most of the chocolate scents are just too foody for me. It smells *fabulous* when first applied--just as I had hoped, a smoky, complex chocolate.

Unfortunately it dries down to a quite boozy caramel and maple syrup smell that makes me a lil queasy. Sigh. Too bad.

First of all, I LOVE the bottle art, and I would keep it for that reason alone. Agape starts off very apple-y, and I agree with above reviewers who note that the apple is much like that in Snow Glass Apples. It quickly, calms down into a creamy, fruity bland that is sweet but not overwhelmingly so. I was very scared of the tropical fruits, as they have a tendency to go rancid on me, but I am happy to report that is not the case here. It's fresh and not too foody. I really don't smell the carnations, which is a bummer, but I still like it a lot. This is a very lovely late spring/early summer scent.

Words can seriously not express how good this is. Holy sh*t. I get creamy vanilla sandalwood that starts with a hint of orange and dries down to a sexy vanilla/sandalwood/riceflower which smells like the lovechild of Underpants and Castitas. I have little doubt this was a Shunga prototype, not only because of the name but because of the feel of it.

Instant classic. 5/5.

ETA: I agree with later reviews--there is something about this that is very similar to Glowing Vulva as well. I actually like it much better than GV, though.

St. Lucia is a spicy, hot scent with a divine creamy base. I'm definitely getting cinnamon over a gourmand base, though I wouldn't classify it specifically as foody. Perhaps vanilla/sandalwood in the base. This smells like the love child of Three Witches and Underpants, and it's very VERY good. It's sexy and also reminds me a bit of Red Phoenix or (gasp!) Storyville without the hazelnut and plus spices.

Since it's as good as Three Witches and Red Phoenix, but doesn't reach the monumental heights of Underpants or Storyville, I would give it a 3.5/5.

If you amp cinnamon, you may want to skip it, though, as there's quite a lot of that.

ETA: After about 3 hours this becomes very foody on my skin, and smells like cinnamon-drenched cake. Not really my thing, but if you're a foody you will probably love it!

Oh how I adore Hod! It's pretty much a carnation soliflore and smells much like Carnation SN. Which is fine by me because I LOVE the bpal carnation note!!

The warmest glowiest most golden amber ever, and one of the best ambers I've ever smelled. Perfection.

This one shot straight to my top ten list. If you like amber you need this NOW.

Hmm...I get no vanilla sandalwood, no nutmeg and no rice, which makes me very sad! In fact, I get no plum blossom, either--just plum (plum blossom and plum are NOT the same thing, folks!). This is very sweet, candy-ish and fruity and reminds me of Pink Phoenix. Which I am not very happy about at all

Belle Epoque was my seduction scent. That is, the scent that, given me by a friend, introduced me to Black Phoenix. She said the scent reminded her of me, though she personally didn't much like it. I liked it a great deal (though of course I wondered what about it brought me to her mind)

 

But I'm not sure I'd call it a pure lily of the valley scent at all. And La Belle Dame Sans Merci, which I also like a lot, smells to me more like small wild white roses.

 

Tiger Lily is very pretty, but warmer than lily of the valley (which always seem to me a bit crisp).

 

If you find a true lily of the valley please let us all know!

ITA with all of this. Belle Epoque is not at all a pure lility of the valley. And Tiger Lily smells much more like a Calla Lily to me after testing it. Lily of the valley is a bit greener...and the closest scent I've come to a pure liliy of the valley is Spectre, though it goes a bit soapy (and good luck finding that!).

Just a note to others looking for Lily of the Valley. Came across a couple others in my search.

 

Apparently NOIR, has lily of the valley listed first in its scent description. SPECTRE also has it in its description too. And just my luck, these are SO easily available!

Noir is a sensual, ambery lily/jasmine/sandalwood. Spectre is more ethereal and almost soapy and more floral. They are both lovely, but take my advice and never try them because it's better not to want what you can't have.

On the not impossible to find front, Belle Epoque is a favorite of mine. It's beautiful!

And it looks like I need to pick through my imp box of doom to see if I have any Tiger Lily to sample!

Hmm...I must be the only one not thrilled by this blend. I was hoping for beeswax, and I get very little. It's all olive oil and orange, which makes me smell vaguely of a gourmet salad and at the same time makes me vaguely nauseous. Sigh. I'm still tempted to order a bottle and see how it ages because of the hype.

I'm definitely smelling cumin here as well. This IS very unique, but not in a good way (to me, anyway). It smells like someone trying to cover BO with some light fruity room spray. And then they smoked a joint and ate some curry.

Parliament of Monsters is heavenly. Get it while Carnaval Diobolique is still in town, you won't be disappointed. I bought a bottle for my boyfriend and now he flaunts his neck at me all day, it's fantastic!

 

It works on women, too, but the initial throw is a little masculine. Once it fades, though...

 

PoM is opium by death - heavenly!

PoM is officially on my wishlist! Thanks for the rec!

Wow, I can't believe how good this is (I also can't believe I've never sampled it until now, but that is another matter entirely). This review is for the 2008 version.

In the bottle and when wet, this smells medicinal and sharp. I was put off by this and didn't test it out right away. My mistake. After five minutes on my skin, all sharpness is gone and this morphs into a sexy, smoky haze of clove and myrrh (but in a soft way). Something about this reminds me of Noir--and that is a good thing, indeed! In fact, they smell quite similar from afar (sans the jasmine of Noir, plus clove) and have a similar feel. I'm off to order a back up bottle or three! This one is fabulous.

5 out of 5.