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BPAL Madness!
nineveh

Thirteen (13): December 2013

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Bringing the light of good fortune to the dark of the year! Coconut-infused white chocolate swirled with a mélange of New Year's blessings: smashed pomegranates, a slice of vasilopita, black-eyed peas, rice wine, a bunch of leafy greens, twelve sweet grapes, buckwheat, almond cookies, and glazed doughnuts.


That note combination was too unusual to pass up even though sticky dessert scents typically end up a disaster on me.

13 is sweet but not sugary, thankfully. The pastry notes are prominent but kept from going overboard by the tartness of the pomegranate and the vegetal aspects. The end result is mild and easy for even me to wear. I can pick out most of the notes but everything is balanced harmoniously.

It's too light to use in colder weather (gotta wear my heavy resins while I can) but it'll be great for spring.

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I think this is my favorite 13 to date. It is sweet rather than resiny, and has a note that my nose is reading as high sweet and red, oh pomegranite, duh...

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Pre-testing feelings: I have yet to find a 13 I like, but I sincerely hope this one works on me. It sounds divine and smells lovely in the bottle. The main reason I got it, though, is because it fell on my boyfriend and I's anniversary and the label was perfectly appropriate, don't you think? :) :wub2:

 

Sweetly foody in the bottle with a slight leafy green essence.

 

On my skin: this is gorgeous. Yummy, sweet whitechocolate/almonddoughnut goodness. I agree with stella that there is a slight fruit note which adds a hint of depth. But it remains almond doughnut goodness overall. Love it. Very happy with this 13.

 

*edit*

 

The longer it sits on my wrist, the more I smell sweet, fluffy coconut with a hint of juicy pomegranate barely peeking through, yum!

Edited by MiasmaResonance

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I love pomegranate, but I had all but given up on BPAL's pomegranate -- for some reason many blends including it took on this weird dry/dusty note after a while.

 

This, however, is my pomegranate BPAL at last! It starts off very sweet and I get mostly the white chocolate, but after it settles a bit it's tart pomegranate balanced perfectly by the white chocolate and coconut. I don't get much of the other notes -- just a sort of tart fruitiness dipped in white chocolate.

 

This is most unlike any of the other 13 blends that I own, and it gives me hope for pomegranate scents again!

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In bottle: The Internet tells me vasilopita is a king cake, but recipes vary pretty wildly, so I’m going to lump it with the other baked goods under “cake.” This fragrance is fascinating. The strongest notes are cake and white chocolate, with almond and coconut in support. The peas and greens are understated and ground the sweeter elements. The rice wine gives a touch of bite. The grapes and pomegranate fill out the baked goods with a juicer feel. Wet: The grapes, pomegranate, and wine are a bit more noticeable and the cake is now supporting a dominant whit chocolate note, with the almond and coconut more prominent, yet still in support. This is delicate, but interesting. Dry: Mostly white chocolate with some pomegranate and coconut tinged cake.

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This is the first 13 I have ever bought. I cannot say no to anything with a coconut or a white chocolate note so this one was a must-have for me as soon as it went up.

 

On me it is like a doughnut that has a white chocolate glaze and is rolled in toasted coconut and almonds. It is creamy and foody and totally comforting and delish. I get some dark, juicy fruits as well but mainly it is the nutty, chocolately baked goods on me and that is just fine! The 'leafy greens' I was worried about are completely absent. This is soft and sweet and decadent and I would have liked more than just this bottle. Wonderful blend.

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In the bottle - A surprisingly cool green scent with a hint of cereal and an after thought of coconut

 

Wet on me - A somewhat watery almond cookie scent

 

Dry on me - A warm baked coconut scent

 

Overall - I really do like the dry down, the wet stages less so

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This scent is a big morpher throughout, so I'll try and see if I can pin it down properly.

 

In the bottle, it is light and almost a little floral, and I can smell the pomegranates quite clearly.

 

Wet on the skin I am starting to get a lot of almond, but it doesn't actually last long. After a while I am getting doughnuts and coconut, and still the pomegranate is there. After a bit more time I am starting to smell the white chocolate as well.

 

This is a very interesting scent full of surprises! I was expecting it to be heavy on the foody qualities, but it's actually quite light and fresh (this must be the pomegranates). The many different notes blend together very well and nothing overpowers the blend.

It definitely is a morpher, so if you don't like it initially, I would wait and give it a chance to dry down and show you its many stages. :smile:

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Oh Thirteen, you break my head.

 

So I get the white chocolate and coconut, and almond cookies with a whiff of donuts. You are like a baked goods orgy.

 

But there is a slight overlay of leafy greens, beans and a light touch of rice wine.

 

In other words, someone mixed dinner and dessert together in the plate. At the same time.

 

While the leafy green/beans business keeps this from being a foodie/baked goods orgy extravaganza with too much sweetness and baked goods, it comes out smelling a bit of a mish-mash on me.

 

Apparently, I like my foods NOT TO TOUCH EACH OTHER. STRICTLY NO TOUCHING. And apparently, I have a zero tolerance policy on this. At least in this blend.

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How have I not reviewed this?!?!?

 

This is my FAVORITE EVER 13!! And I think I've tried almost all of them if not all of them.

 

This is sweet soft doughnuts, glazed with sticky sweet sugar, mixed with a lovely splash of pomegranate juice to give the glaze a pink color, and a tiny bit of sharp fruitiness to cut the sweet. It is cakey, wonderful and good from bottle to dry down.

 

Honestly, if I didn't read the notes I'd swear it was a really sophisticated doughnut. I'm ok with smelling like amazing doughnuts.

 

<3 Beth

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Ergghh, white chocolate. I strongly dislike the lab's white chocolate note, and the coconut is not helping matters for a change. Smells fake and unpleasant. Not for me.

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I received this 13 in a blind swap and I'm testing it now for the first time so... first impressions!

 

First note is white chocolate: it's sugary and buttery, but very mild so as not to be overwhelmingly foodie.

I can't pick up the coconut (sadly) but then again, I never seem to do... my skin must eat it up all the time... I do get a bit of woodiness that keeps the sweetness in check: I would say sandalwood but it must be the buckwheat, looking at the notes.

 

I don't get any tang from the pomegranate... actually, I don't get the pomegranate at all. But this sugary glazed sweetness is dusty and wearable, and it's the only 13, together with the June 2008, that doesn't have the "angry herb" vibe :D

 

If you like this, try: Yule Cookies

 

*edit* I'm going to add on the drydown it gets a little bit waxy, like a creamy candle... but I still like it!

Edited by SereRev

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In the imp - Coconut. I fear this. But I must press on, because vasilopita is one of my favorites and I will honor my ancestors with this blend!

 

Wet - Guess I panicked for nothing.The coconut went away quickly. Actually, I don’t think it went away; I think it fell back into the mix of scents to the point where I couldn’t pick it out anymore. This is kind of tropical-sweet with all the fruits.

 

Drydown - Really hoped I’d see some baked goods by this point. Or even just the buckwheat. Instead, coconut is rearing its ugly head again.

 

Verdict - No almond cookies, no glazed donuts, and (perhaps most disappointing) no vasilopita. Just a coconut-white chocolate party.

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I get nothing like donuts, cake or cookies from this blend :( it's mostly grape and pomegranate on me. Fruity, tart, and artificially sweet smelling. I smell a little bit of powdery white chocolate and watery greenery (keeps making me think of lettuce), but mostly it's sweet, tart, candy fruits. Kind of reminds me of The Last Unicorn, but with a ton of grape and pom thrown over it.

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