Leopard403

A soft, ethereal scent suffused with gentle comfort. A remembrance of tea roses, lilacs, and soothing hugs. Norman's Grandma reminds me of another BPAL blend...but due to the revamping of the search function on the main site I cannot figure out which one! London maybe, because of the tea rose. But whereas London has a "wicked" vibe, this is all comfort and hugs just as described. It really does smell like a kindly ol' grandmother who smells of cold cream and sachets and soft wrinkled skin, and while a lot of people say things like that as a borderline-slur ("poo, it smells like my grandma!") I mean this as the greatest compliment. I mean, the lab does it again in capturing exactly what the scent is supposed to be. It is evocative of simple love. On me, it is mostly soft rose with the tiniest peek of lilac underneath. It does not turn powdery, and it is a fresh and clean skin scent without being indentifiably soaplike. Very unassuming, though: More like the scented lotion I would wear under another, "louder" perfume blend. It doesn't wear long, either, which I guess is to be expected with something this gentle.

Fizzy at first but that burns off quickly. This is weird, though: At a distance this smells glorious, but up close it is waaaay too perfumey. Really, if I sniff my wrist at 12 inches it smells like fresh-cut honeysuckle with a hint of plum and something sweet. At 2 inches, it is harsh, loud old lady perfume. Hmmmm...

I certainly understand the comparison to Strawberry Moon, as at first sniff SM and Self-Portrait with Puffy Stickers are identical. But after a few minutes, the differences are notable... though unfortunately I don't know that I have words to describe them in my vocabulary! On me, SM has some notes that are green and some that are slightly dry, very reminiscent of a strawberry patch but also very simple, as in nothing more than a strawberry patch. In contrast, SPwPS is slightly creamier and a tad sweeter, and it is clear that there are other things in there besides strawberries. I tend to amp rose and there is nothing there that says HI THERE'S ROSE HERE, but it is clear that there's something grounding the fruit and grass notes. All in all, a delightful scent, and I think it has enough nuance to put a bottle on the same shelf as my SM. EDIT ON A NEW DAY: Okay, wow. I'm sitting at my desk at work and just applied SPwPS ... and right now it is all French-milled soap with rose undertones and screaming white florals. I swear there should be lily and stephanotis in there.

Yeah, this is like SGA without the sex or the vampire. Nice and simple, but the throw is poor and it fades fast.

This is a sweeeeet lemon and a very mild lavender, and wet this is so lovely. Unfortunately, after a minute or two upon drydown it starts to smell, uh, familiar... and once my brain identified it as Lysol Antibacterial Wipes I just couldn't get away from there.

Loooove this. I'm testing these without peeking back at the descriptions first, and my first reaction to Self-Portrait was "soft and lunar." So the orris must be in the forefront. Luckily, the orris and the gardenia are gentled by the other notes and the honey isn't HELLO RAW like other lab honey blends on me. So the upshot is that this almost smells like clean baby skin. Slight powder, slight sweet, slight floral but not overwhelmingly one or the other. So, so good, this is definitely a bottle purchase for me!

I'm an amper of cherry, and it looks like Cykranosh will fall victim. I get mostly sweet cherry, though, so in fairness the other notes must be tempering the usual cough-syrup undertones. This is nice and it seems to last, but I don't know if I need more than a decant.

The first time I sniffed Love, my eyes rolled back in my head a bit. Wow, this is good. Wet, it is all sweet rose, which is so lovely, and on the skin it is SO pretty. Like a delicate dessert with soft cream and fresh strawberries and edible rose petals dusted with sugar. It is youthful and sophisticated at the same time, not quite foody and not quite floral, so I would agree with "complicated" as a good descriptor. I really love Love and I might need a bottle, or two. edit to add: This is very similar to Sweet Vanilla Rose, one of my favorite D/Cd etailer scents. Mmmmm.

Uncle Brian could've been a Tiki blend, fruity and bright. I can't identify any notes on their own, but there is definitely something rainbow sherbet-esque about this. Stays close to the skin, which is the only reason I might not order a bottle.

For the first few moments this is horribly salty on my skin, that hot boiled peanut smell I sometimes get from cheap cream notes. *shudder* But then it becomes identifiable as salted popcorn and peanuts. Pretty uncanny, really, and quite evocative. I don't get any pink notes. Not my favorite blend but it is an interesting one!

Yes, this is a clean scent. Not in a bracing, cleanser-like way, but in a natural green way. There's a hint of juicy red, too, which must be the berries. I quite like it, but I don't know yet if I will need more than a decant.

Finally, a wearable tuberose! I amp amp amp it like crazy and cannot smell anything foody, but the floral is obviously tempered by those notes. Lovely and feminine.

This is a simple review for me, and a weirder sentence I'll never write: Miss Forcible smells like my dad.

I think I'm the odd man out in this one, because at first, The Raptures and Roses of Vice is SPICY. I find it quite similar to Clemence in the initialy stages. On the drydown, there's a sophisticated symphony of notes though at the same time each one is identifiable if you know to look for it. I tend to amp rose, and I love that I do, but here there is nothing that overpowers the rest. The verdict? This is amaaaazing. Sillage is pretty damn good (three hours after application, someone sitting next to me in a meeting told me I smelled "lovely") and this lasts: I could still smell wafts from the back of my neck as I got ready for bed!

Any BPAL similar to Lush's R&B? (I think their Trichomania is the same scent.)

The tuberose smells soapy and kinda drowns out the other notes. Typical. This smells quite lovely all the same, but I think I'm good with just a decant.

I slathered this on one night when I had a terrible chest cold, and it was a lovely burst to my sinuses. When I could actually smell it, I got mostly mint with a breath here and there of fresh blueberry. I was hoping for more of the latter, but this isn't bad.

I get mostly sweet lemon (the icing?) and soft mint (snow?) with a dusting of sugar underneath. Not really identifiable to my brain as an edible sweet so there is something discordant about it, but if I don't think too hard it smells nice. Not bottle-worthy, but I'll keep the decant.

I too get just a whisper of raspberry under sugar cookies, but the scent is soft and sublime. The raspberry note definitely blooms on the skin after it soaks in.

I've been waffling on Eldrich Dark, but that label! I think my decision is made!

This is VERY perfumey to me, both in the bath and on my skin afterward. I can't smell any specific note but it was very strong. About 15 minutes after drying off I had to "cut" the scent with a little baby lotion because it had started to give me a headache. I am hoping it will settle a little with time--I do so love the bath oils and I don't want this to go to waste--and I'll come back and edit this post if it does.

I admit I've only sniffed Gula and haven't used it in the bath yet, but I'm not sure I'm a fan. There's something a little salty about it. Sometimes cream notes do that on my skin so here it might be the caramel. Strange. I get cocoa almost as an afterthought.

This is getting so much better with age! Not very stout-y but that note somehow creates a golden warmth--almost a cream--that overlies the pumpkin, which does have spice but does not turn all cinnamon. Lovely in the bath and lingers beautifully on the skin.

Similar to Kingdom of Sweets to me. Tooth-achingly sugary and colorful but quite delightful.

Ooooohh. I could smell this when I opened my decant package, like a whole hearty spiced pumpkin pie had been shoved in there. Truly mouthwatering. I can't wait to wallow in my Saturday bath. I'll report back!