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BPAL Madness!

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I created this scent as a symbol of solidarity. It is an autumn scent, swirled with fall leaves, huddled against the cold winds of November.

We’re together in this fight. You’re not alone.

Bourbon vanilla and vintage champaca absolute with sweet patchouli, dried red fruits, leather accord, pumpkin rind, and a splash of bourbon.

We have been wrestling with how to disburse funds for this scent for over a week, and decided that the best impact we can make is by helping the ACLU fight voter suppression.

Just got the bottle yesterday, and it is surprisingly . . . foody. (Or perhaps not.)

In the bottle: strong vanilla and pumpkin notes, and sweeter than I'd thought it would be.
Wet on the skin: the patchouli rises a bit, and there's no mistaking the bourbon notes. The throw decreases some.
More updates as it dries.

Drydown: sweet fruity bourbon with the pumpkin and the leather JUST peeking out at you (barely).

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This is much warmer and sweeter than I expected. I would put it in the realm of comforting.

 

None of the individual notes is screaming out at me, though I do smell the warm pumpkin, the bit of resin from the champaca, and the vanilla pulling it together. Its on the edge of foody but not there. A hint of leather comes out over time. The throw is small.

 

Its autumnal but in the way you want to stay cozy at home when it gets crisp outside. Not what I expected but very comforting.

Edited by brineydeep

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In The Bottle: Quite sweet and warm and foodie, almost custard-y.

Wet On Skin: The leather starts to come out a bit as the scent warms up, but it's relatively mild compared to what leather usually does on my skin. Hopefully it stays put! Also getting a chewy, tobacco-like note, even though that's not listed in the mix. Maybe it's the champaca?

Dry Down: Oh, this is goooooood. As it dries, it loses lots of the food aspect that was present in the bottle at first sniff. The rich notes are mingling with each other to create something heady and sweet without being overpowering. It's GORGEOUS. I can't wait to see how it ages! Beautiful scent for an amazing cause. <3

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In the bottle: I can smell all of the notes. The bourbon vanilla is present. The champaca absolute makes me think of Orgy With Nine Women or Golden Champa Attar. The patchouli is a sweet, mild variety. The dried red fruit makes me think of tart red currants, just not as juicy. The leather and bourbon darken the scent, with the bourbon being a little sharp and boozy. The pumpkin in this is creamy.

 

Wet: I get the soft bourbon vanilla and sweet patchouli, and then the champaca and dried red fruit (I am still thinking red currant!) join in. I agree that it does seem to have a tobacco vibe to it even though that note isn’t listed. The pumpkin is warm and creamy, and I do get some spice. The leather in this isn’t sharp or chemical-like on me, and while I do get a fair amount of bourbon, it’s not as sharp or boozy as it was in the bottle.

 

Dry: Perhaps I spoke too soon. During this phase, it is somewhat sharp on me, as my skin seems to be running away with the dried red currant, champaca, and bourbon. Especially the bourbon, which is much sharper now that it is stronger. I am missing the creamy warmth of the pumpkin!

 

After a few hours, the vanilla shows up to help tame these notes, and I can smell some of the sweet patchouli and creamy pumpkin again. I prefer this phase of the scent!

 

Verdict: I was unsure of this one for a while once it dried, but fortunately, the vanilla stepped in to save the day! I am glad to have purchased a bottle to support the cause, but I am not sure I’d reach for it enough to warrant keeping the whole bottle, so I may frimp or PIF a few decants of this away. :)

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In the bottle: My first impression is one of caramel (I know it's not listed). Then I do get vanilla, and patchouli, and boozy, and fruity (could well be red fruits).

 

On my skin:

 

Wet, bourbon flies to the surface, followed by pumpkin. Vanilla is the next to make an appearance.

 

In the next phase, there is some patchouli going on and also some leather. It still has some bourbon vanilla hanging around the edges, and the sweetness is a positive factor for me.

 

And next, patchouli dominates, which is common for my skin chemistry. It's not great but not terrible. At this phase, Resistance reminds me most of Nasty Woman, though it's a bit sweeter.

 

Oh, yay? Something sweeter and nicer on me is coming forward again. Vanilla, yes, but also some of the pumpkin rind?

 

Minutes later, more fruit is returning, which is happier for me. The patchouli is still more dominant than I'd like but it's far from a patchouli-leather blend now.

 

Edit 11/1: Wore this blend to work all day. After a few hours, it settles to a boozy vanilla patchouli. After several hours, the vanilla note is actually the most lasting, though by this point it is very faint.

Edited by Tori

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This is so well blended! Although I can detect most of the notes, they meld into one another in a swirl of gourmand deliciousness. The scent is softer and sweeter than I expected. The leather and patchouli keep it from going totally foody, but the vanilla and pumpkin and fruit take it right to the edge. I was going to wear Nasty Woman to vote today, but I'm really glad I chose to wear this instead. If the lines are long, this isn't offensive and yet I am making a statement.

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Vanilla, pumpkin, bourbon, and a whiff of leather. This is much much foodier than I was anticipating. Deliciously autumn fall foodie. Medium throw and wear length.

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According to my mom this makes me smell "like an alcoholic Yankee candle" and I think that is an apt description.

 

A booze-heavy foodie scent, coated in stereotypical-autumn-candle-smell

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Wet: Pumpkin, booze,  and leather. A little on the foodie side.

 

Dry: Incense, leather, and vanilla. No longer foodie at all, but I do think I like this stage better than the wet; this stage is a little bit "cozier".

 

It's not bad, by any means, but it's nothing that knocks my socks off either.

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Bottle: (without reading the notes) Green, brown sugar, wood
Wet: brown sugar, slightly floral non foody vanilla, marshmallow-like
On: The leather accord shows itself early on. I can't smell anything else specifically but it smells lovely, slightly floral and sweet but not overpowering by any means. 
At one point I thought I smelt the bourbon vanilla but it's mixed in with the other notes. Maybe it's even the pumpkin... I do agree it has a tobacco quality to it here. 
Dry down: The foody notes are mostly gone on me. I think there's patchouli here, dried fruits, and maybe even the leather at the end. It reminds me a lot of another BPAL but I can't remember what right now. 
Update: omgosh. Love and Sleep! The Fig Milk note with florals and vanilla. It's so familiar but not quite. 
It's unfortunately really low throw on me. 
Verdict: I didn't get anything boozy from this. It starts off slightly foody and leathery but ends in a lovely slightly figgy/vanilla/light floral way. 
Resistance is actually quite lovely. I hope it ages well and the wear and throw increases as it does, because the dry down is so familiar to Love and Sleep for me. 

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Wet: Wet whiskey pumpkin. 
Dry: I like it better now! I get this really lovely pumpkin-foodie note when this is dry. It's homey and very autumnal. It smells so much like a dish my family makes for holidays: sweet potatoes, marshmallows, and apricot nectar (I bet that's the champaca talking!).

It's a pretty quiet, close-to-the-skin scent.

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Started off just a waxy bourbon vanilla, but now I'm getting the patchouli, leather, and a little bit of pumpkin. Not terribly boozy on me and no red fruits. I definitely agree that this reads like a warm fall scent. I don't think it's very foodie since the patchouli and leather are so much stronger on me than the pumpkin and the remnants of bourbon vanilla. 

 

Not something I'd reach for often, but I like it. I'm glad that while the leather is pretty strong, it blends in well with the other notes. I can be picky with leather blends and I'm glad this one turned out well, might be from aging!

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Sweetly, smokey gourmand, I think it all comes together as carmalized, or as some others have described tobacco-like. Well-blended, so it gives me more of a feel than specific scents. Like others have said cozy autumnal, but I wish it was a little less sweet.

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