I got this as a frimp in my (TOTALLY AWESOME) six-pack of Disc/LE imps from Etsy, thank you generous Lab! I wouldn't have ordinarily gotten it myself because while I love a lot of BPAL foodie scents, I don't wear them. I do really enjoy smelling them, though, especially the caramel and cider notes.
In the imp: Very caramelly and rich and heavy, maybe with a hint of the wine.
Wet: BAM, there's the honey. And cake. And butter. Oh my. I don't get wine, or caramel, or nuts, or even milk, just BUTTER. HONEY. CAKE. Wow. This is intense. I put just a dab on one wrist to test it for fun and now I can't smell anything else! This would be a great room scent for a winter party, or maybe to dab a little on your neck or pillow as you're going to sleep at night. I don't get sexytimes out of this at all -- it's more a curl-up-in-front-of-the-fire winter or late autumn comfort smell.
Drydown: The butter backs off some, and I get more caramel, but still no wine. Lots of butter. This is a very rich heavy sweet scent -- but thank God, not too sickly-sweet (I can't stand very sweet foodie scents). Like caramelized sugar with butter and honey drizzled on top, or something. Yum. It makes me think of Bessie's offer to Jane Eyre of "a little cake" in my favourite book. :-) It would make a wonderful tea-cake.
Dry: I don't think I got any wine ever, which is odd, since my skin usually amps it, but my skin also really amps honey, so the honey note won the cagematch or something. This didn't morph a lot on me -- it did get a little fainter and more spicy, but it stayed very dark and rich. If you're really into foodie scents, you might love this, because it's luscious without being too sweet or bready. On me it had INTENSE throw and staying power -- my husband could smell the scent in a room I'd been in! I don't know how Beth manages to get these amazing apple and cider and butter and cake smells into imps. It's magic.
Verdict: I wouldn't buy a bottle for myself but a friend who loved BPAL foodie scents might love an imp or even a bottle -- I might even put it in a starter pack of foodie scents, or as a demonstration of what a wonderful olfactory experience BPAL scents can be, and wow I'm gushing but this is just. that. good. And you have to bear in mind, I don't even like a lot of foodie scents, especially sweet ones.
Source: Cockaigne
I usually hate the very light/white/green/soapy/floral aquatics and they hate me right back, but wow, this is so different, and it's a little frustrating I don't know why because I can't suss out the notes. I get a lovely pale glassy green from this, maybe a green-blue, lilies, watery tones, but nothing soapy or sharp about it. Usually I can't wear these scents at all, and my skin amps green notes like it's my job, but this is gorgeous, pale, pretty, and very soothing. It reminds me of Lyonesse, Glasgow, Venice, Sea of Glass, and a few other light florals I really like (maybe Muse and Danube?), but there's something special about this one. I can't order a bottle now but it is definitely going high on my "must buy a bottle when not completely broke" list. Maybe there's a faint cucumber note in it? but it's not bitter.....It really is amazing.
Source: Water of Notre Dame
Got this as a frimp from the lab -- which I highly appreciate! but man, I am reminded all over again why these sorts of light/high/white florals don't work on me. From the first brush of the applicator to the drydown hours later, this just smelled like soap -- soapy sandalwood, and not even like perfumed soap, but that just-got-out-of-the-shower soap or commercial shampoo smell. Which is a nice enough smell for about fifteen minutes after you shower, but not at all what I was expecting from the description of musks, lemon, peach, &c. It even has that sort of bitter tang that happens when you get soap in your mouth by accident. :-/ "Floral laundry detergent" or "scented dryer sheets" about sums it up for me too, sadly.
Source: The Zieba Tree
In the imp: Ginger, verbena, citrus, faint grass. Very pretty.
Wet: A faintly fruity? smell, then -- ginger and lemon, ginger and lemon, and then LEMON LEMON LEMON. Slightly mixed with ginger.
Drydown: Amber came out slightly, in a vanilla way. Still LEMON. I now smell exactly like one of those awful Starbuck's fake lemon pound cakes with the gross white icing.
Hours later: Ginger came up a bit more, so did the grass, but it was still ONE LEMON TO RULE THEM ALL AND IN THE CITRUS BIND THEM (just finished traditional Yule LOTR rewatch). This also disappeared on me really fast -- in less than an hour.
Pretty disappointed in this one, since I love the description and waited ages to try it, but between the Godzillemon and the vanishing act, it's awful. I might wait and try this again later, but I'm not optimistic.
Source: Mag Mell
In the imp: Mildly flowery citrus. I don't smell any rose or amber.
Wet: WHAM! Citrus. A very strong orange/lemon/grapefruit bright smell on me. I kinda love it, as I love citrus smells, but not something I'd want to put on right before stepping into a crowded elevator.
Drydown: The citrus backs off a couple miles and a pretty, warm sort of creamy floral comes out. Still rather tart, but I like it (then again I used to suck on lemons as a kid. I can't get enough of tart citrus). It stays juicy, not getting either too soapy or powdery. I think I'm getting more jasmine-and-amber, not the rose or orris (whatever orris is). The citrus comes back out every once in a while, like the sun peeking through heavy velvet perfumed drapes (or something).
Verdict: I really like it. It's a very bright cheerful scent, and reminds me of a bowl of oranges in the sunshine scenting my kitchen. Unfortunately the pretty subtle drydown stage -- it does smell a lot like orange blossoms -- fades out on my skin. However, this is a very strong, long-lasting perfume with decent throw. It'd be great for summertime. I have to say that while Venice smells the way I think of Venice -- bright, aquatic, a bit sharp -- this doesn't smell anything like powdered decadant aristocrats. Unless they're sitting in L'Orangerie de Jussieu.
Source: Versailles
I used to wear this all the time, and I just don't know what happened since my return to the sweet, sweet crack BPAL. I love the description and it smells pretty in the vial, but the INSTANT Rose Cross hits my skin, it turns into sharp, bitter, soapy ugh. Stays that way all through the drydown and hours and hours later. A second opinion was sought, and soon secured.
HUSBAND: It smells like insect repellent -- it smells like a TRUCK of insect repellent. It smells like the WHO going after Dengue fever.
MOI: Not -- not a sacred blend of rose essence and frankincense? Like rose incense?
HUSBAND: NO.
sigh.
Source: Rose Cross
One of my long-time favourites.
In the imp: Cherry, definitely, but not the fruit -- more dusky cherry blossoms. Not Jurgen's.
Wet: Almond almond almond! But not almond-cookie sweet.
Drydown: Morphs into a GORGEOUS sweet musk-amber-gold scent. Lots of throw, lots of staying power. Sultry, spicy, golden, sweet -- yes, yes, yes, yes. Definitely for those who love Morocco, Queen of Sheba, maybe O, &c &c. Seductive and slinky but not CFM-sexy. Don't be scared off by the smell in the imp or if you get ALMOND at first, this really shines after an hour or two.
Source: Bastet
In the imp: Very very sweet, and slightly chemical. A little more "perfumy" than most BPALs, to me.
Wet: Immediately less sweet and less strong -- there was a slight soapy edge at first, which had me worried, but this fades into a quiet, simple, quite pretty scent. It might be good for someone who's not sure if they like rose scents, or a delicate office scent for a woman. I don't get any dust, blackness, wickedness, or boldness at all, sadly. There does seem to be a note which is suppressing the rose a little bit and keeping it from going either powdery or soapy, which is nice, but I can't tell what it is.
Drydown: This doesn't change on me much, except it continues getting ever fainter. Someone said "translucent" earlier and that sounds right -- it's more essence of rose, or preserved rose, rather than a strong fresh flowery smell.
Dry: My skin ate this pretty fast, so almost no throw, but it had good staying power for such a delicate femme scent. I'll keep the imp, and maybe get another one, but I'm not that interested in a bottle, mainly because on me it is pretty much just one note and it fades very quickly.
The verdict: I agree this is maybe more English countryside than London, unless it's a shady little corner of Queen Mary's Rose Garden. Sweet, quiet, maybe easily overlooked -- this is more of an Anne than an Emily or Charlotte perfume, Cassandra rather than Jane. -- Actually now that I think on it this is really kind of a Jane Bennet scent. Sweet, steady, classy, delicate. It's sort of a young pretty perfume, rather "girly" -- which isn't bad, just really, really not my thing. I tend to prefer the more complex "storytelling" BPALs too, and this is definitely not one of those. It's maybe the closest I've seen BPAL come to a more simple "regular" perfume. Which isn't to say it's bad at all, it's very sweet and pretty. I wouldn't include it in a BPAL starter imp pack, but I might suggest it to someone who's put off by the stronger scents and more elaborate descriptions. I also might put it in a BPAL rose imp pack as a contrast with the more complex and strong rose blends, some of which do turn to powder or soap.
Source: London
In the imp: YO, cherry cough syrup. But exactly. I am a little terrified.
Wet: Not cherry cough syrup, thank God. Almost immediately musky, on my skin. A little vanilla, not a lot of honey. Husband says it smells "sexy" and "like cherry incense" (WTF). I'm guessing the vanilla + honey is making him think of a darkly sweet cherry, and the amber is the resinous incense-like note. A sweet but definitely not flowery smell, pretty musky and dark on me.
Drydown: I spilled TWO THIRDS of a NEW bottle all over so for a while it was impossible for me to smell the perfume itself! Still musky, a bit sweeter, but more vanilla, less honey. Usually honey works well on me (I love Athens) so not sure what is happening here, unless I'm amping the hell out of the amber. This blended really well, and was a very pretty scent. It didn't seem to morph and I couldn't pick out the individual notes much. Not at all a foody scent, which works for me because I really don't like those much.
Hours later: More musky, maybe a faint powdery scent from the amber, no honey. I don't think the honey ever really came out on me, unless it was very very subtle. Not much throw from the start, but a fair amount of staying power.
The verdict: Definitely a sexy scent. I wouldn't want to wear it on a job interview -- maybe a serious date, or on a sexy afternoon. It's nice, but it doesn't really wow me like Athens or Bathsheba (two all-time favourites). Then again....given the way my husband reacted, maybe I'll replace my spilled bottle! Or, since this is related to Snake Oil, I might try that again (it's been quite a while) to see if I can get that heavier sweeter scent I thought O would be.
Source: O
Just got this as an extremely generous sniffie (enough for at least a couple of trials in here!) from a forumite, and WOW. I love BPAL's apple note, and this is gorgeous. It really does smell exactly like wonderful apple cider. If I had a full bottle I might be tempted to do like Alice and drink it! (joke, joke) I'm not sure I'd wear it a lot, since I'm not that into food/drink smells, but I think it'd be a perfect room scent for a fall/winter holiday party.
ETA because board code ≠ HTML code, sigh. Also, I think maybe this scent benefits a lot from aging. My 2011 bottle has a beautiful ripeness to it.
Source: Autumn Cider
Persephone is my girl -- she's sitting on a shelf between her husband Hades and BFF Hecate. ;-) (Yes, I am a mythology geek.)
In the imp: YIKES, that's a very sharp strong chemical scent -- it doesn't even smell like perfume! A little scared here. I don't remember it smelling this way when I first wore it, years ago.
Wet: Thank goodness, as soon as I put it on the rose started coming up and softening the tang. Still kind of sharp and unpleasant.
Drydown: Still tart and wet -- I guess that's what people are calling "juicy" -- but the rose is amping more. It's also fading a bit. This is a little more harsh and faint than I remember -- I'm not getting that really fruity richness. The rose comes out more and more as time goes on, like Persephone returning to Demeter in the springtime. Recently I've been trying some "concept" scents that seem designed to go through various stages -- Wilhelmina Murray, Poisoned Apple -- and I'm really impressed. It's as if this little story gets told on your skin. For me Persephone goes from sharp pomegranate softened by rose, to faint rose with pomegranate tang. Definitely sweet but there's almost something a little melancholy to it.
Hours later: A sweet but tangy juicy delicious smell. It does fade more quickly than I'd like, but that's a good excuse to keep slathering it on. Persephone and I are reunited again!
Source: Persephone
I already really wanted to try this, given the name and the concept, and then got a frimp from the Lab with my latest order. Yay!
In the bottle: BAM the apple knocks you on the head, like Newton. No kidding, I couldn't smell anything but apple for a couple of minutes! This really does smell exactly like a crisp ripe juicy sweet apple. Wow. Seemed more red than green to me, but tart. It's absolutely Essence of Apple. That's impressive.
Wet: On my skin this changes almost instantly into something else -- darker, more floral. It also gets a LOT fainter, even though I slathered it on. The apple note stays on top, but the other notes are getting stronger.
Drydown: There was a sort of alternation from sweet apple to the darker, muskier scent. The apple note still smelled great, but I didn't like the "poison" notes, and on me the two didn't really blend -- separate halves of the apple indeed! Then the apple went away completely and I was left with this faint, complex, dark musky scent that weirdly had an undertone of powder. After an hour all I had was the faint powder, and even that faded away -- almost no staying power on me.
Verdict: Loved smelling the APPLE! in the imp, and I liked the switching from apple to poison and back again, but I didn't like the musk or the powder (think that was the opium and oleander). Great idea, great execution, but the final scent is too faint and flowery and goes pouf.
I saw a lot of people comparing this to Hesperides, which is one of my all-time faves -- to me that scent was a lot heavier and sweeter. I'll try this again and see if it lasts longer (and maybe skip sniffing the imp), but it burns out so fast on me I doubt I'll buy it. I might try putting it in a scent locket to see if I can get that great apple note to last (a girl needs an excuse for an $80 scent locket, right?).
Source: Poisoned Apple
This has always been one of my top favourite scents, and I got a bottle unsniffed after being away from the sweet, sweet crack BPAL for the past several years -- and it didn't disappoint. In the bottle, yes, this smells very sharp and wine-y, but on my skin, the wine keeps the honey from being too sweet, the honey tones down the sharpness and booziness of the wine, and the myrrh adds a great spice note. (Husband: "It smells kind of like spices....Christmas spices....and flowers?" Heh.) I don't get much floral, but that's okay. I don't so much smell individual notes as a great musky, almost dark but sweet, v complex scent. It's rich without being foodie. For me, this is a very comforting, relaxing perfume; not a go-out-and-party scent, or a go-out-to-work scent, but a stay-home-and-dream scent. I really slather it on, and it has good throw and lasts a long time -- and my skin EATS perfume. It's almost something more private that I wear mostly at home, just for me; it's intimate. Rocza's "end-of-a-cozy-candlelit-dinner-party-with-wine impression" (previous page) is just about perfect.
Source: Athens
I grew up in Santa Fe and our neighbour had a huge gorgeous lilac bush -- more like a wall of greenery and flowers -- and there were lilacs all over the city, so they really mean spring and happiness to me. Seattle has lots of lilacs too -- it might be my favourite flower to smell.
IN THE BOTTLE: Ohghod it was v green and sharp. I thought this was maybe another Two, Five, and Seven disaster where I just got blaring green and no florals at all! But, it was a bit more flowery than that (thank God). Even then, this scent had a certain something to it that drew me in.
WET: Still pretty sharp and green, but it settled down right away to a floral. As other people said, this really smells like actual fresh flowers -- not "perfumy" or soapy. There's some delicious note in there -- wood? musk? -- that seemed to be calming the green down. Usually I don't like the sort of high white sharp smells, especially with lots of grass, but this is converting me.
DRYDOWN: The lilac comes out more -- I was impatient for it! This has more staying power than I'd expect from such a light floral, and thankfully after a few hours the greens die way down and the musk comes out more. It's still pretty bright, but not in an unpleasant way. Nowhere near as sweet as actual lilacs, but that might be the green on my skin: for some reason it drowns out EVERYTHING else.
VERDICT: This kind of pretty gentle feminine floral is usually so not my thing, but it's delicate without fading, gentle yet strong, and is really sort of enchanting. It's definitely a wet, green, fresh flowery scent, like taking a walk in the Unicorn's wood after a spring rain. I find it energizing and clean -- it'd be a good morning perfume. Doubt I'll buy a bottle, but my skin usually amps grass LIKE WHOAH, and the sharp-but-delicate floral scents tend to give me headaches, so I'm delighted to find a grassy floral I can actually wear.
I agree that an aged bottle of this might be really beautiful -- one might be worth buying for that alone, to see what it turns into in a year or two. If it was just a bit more flowery/sweet I might get a bottle.
Source: The Lilac Wood
Oh dear, I really don't know what happened. I love roses, but couldn't smell them at all in the bottle - just that very sharp wet green vinegary smell a few other unlucky people got. (Which didn't smell at all like grass to me - but a very strong chemical kind of scent, like fake pine.) Wet, still all I got was the sharp grass. Then that started fading out, and I got....soap. A very nice kind of fancy soap, but not really roses. Finally in drydown all I had was soap, but that disappeared very quickly! Especially considering the amount I'd put on. Really no sweetness at all, just sharp green and then sharp soap. I'm baffled. After several hours I did get a little more of a rose scent, but it was quite faint, and sort of light and astringent. It was still more like very nice soap, or very nice bath-powder, rather than flowers. I doubt I'll be buying this again, since those sort of very light sharp astringent scents tend to give me headaches.
Source: Two, Five & Seven
