My very first BPAL order came today! I brought in the mail just a few minutes ago. I was excited, but made myself linger over the box, because I love to do so when opening any kind of present.
I had ordered six imps: Absinthe, Aeval, Aglaea, Agnes Nutter, Aizen-Myoo, and Akuma. (Yes, I meant to do that.) Agnes is not available as an imp, as I found out soon after I had placed the order, but whoever had packed my box had kindly substituted Al-Azif for it instead. Hee! Thanks for understanding my wacky system, whoever you are!
I received 3 frimps as well: Fruitcake (I have heard much talk of this scent), Tushnamatay, and Wrath. I love how Wrath is so cutely furious inside its vial, bright cherry red compared to the others.
Mmm, and the very sweet, faint scent that caressed the packing materials, as if to reassure me that these were not going to be like any perfume I had yet smelled. Lovely...
Thank you, oh BPAL dieties. I can't wait to embark on my explorations...what a wonderful way to celebrate the Solstice...
Category: Excolo
I definitely get lots of grapefruit from this one; the plum gives it a sweet, rounded edge after the initial bite of the citrus. To be quite honest, it reminds me of Cheshire Cat, only without that creamy, ultra-sugary note to it; while Cheshire Cat hunkers down and grins at you, Meg is higher up, sulking jealously. If you thought that CC was too sweet or thick somehow, you may want to try this, instead. Also, I feel it's a perfect sort of perfume for the height of the summer months.
Category -- Bewitching Brews
There's a strong whiff of pine, and then it quickly becomes tempered by the smell of cranberries, which helps make it sweet and tart as well as robust. Not me, but it was a fun experience nonetheless.
Category: Mad Tea Party
On first application, it's Honey Liek Whoa. Thankfully, it doesn't take long for the tonka and perhaps the chamomile to calm it down and make it into more of a smooth, creamy scent. Once it dries, it tends to hug close to the skin, and seemed to wear off pretty quickly.
Category: Illyria
In the imp, it smells very strongly of tea and ginger, with some sugar thrown in.
As it goes on, a more herbal sort of tone comes through. As it dries, though, I smell the tea/ginger again.
It's a lovely smell -- I really like the smell of tea. Unfortunately, this scent is so light and fleeting that it will not work for long on me.
I think I actually like this better than Aizen-Myoo. The grapefruit in the other scent isn't necessarily unpleasant, but I rather like the gentleness of the ginger in this one better. Just wish my skin didn't suck up tea so well!
Category: Excolo
I pretty much smell lots of lilac and myrrh mixed together. I don't know if there is an actual wine note in the 'honey wine', but Eros manages to go sour on me pretty quickly, much like Athens did. It's not as obnoxious as Athens was, but still not for me.
It's not floral, and only a bit fruity -- it's mostly a smell that could be termed 'foilage'...various leaves and branches and twigs, gently stirred by a night breeze. The fruit note does smell like apple, so I agree with the 'apple orchard at night' images that others have noted. It's actually pretty impressive, because it comes off as cool and airy without being an aquatic scent, and on the dry side without being dusty. Even though it doesn't suit me, personally, I'm impressed with it, as these qualities really stand out as being unique to me.
Oh...gods, this is beautiful. So pretty, that even this brief sniff that I'm indulging in to reacquaint myself with the scent is bringing tears to my eyes.
The lavender, geranium, and (I believe) the benzoin mingle to create a heady, floral scent that is clarifying, instead of being cloying; it is *almost* medicinal, but without any sort of nasty astringency to it. It's more like a scent you'd expect to find in an old-fashioned sachet. Beneath these, the poppy creates a soft, caressing sweetness; and even though I don't get oodles of the black amber and black incense, there is *something* there that creates a very dark sort of tone; so that even though there are those head-clearing notes atop, there is also a sense that this perfume is bottomless, that you could get drawn into it forever and ever. It is deliciously moody and dark and beautiful.
Definitely worthy of a bottle.
Category: Bewitching Brews
Oddly enough, the main scent I got from this was...licorice. Weird! I'm trying to think what would make that strange combination to my nose...perhaps the bergamot mixed with the heliotrope, or the oakmoss.
All things considered, however, I did enjoy it; it was soft and delicate on me and had a beguiling femininity to it. It evokes an impish fae quite well in that regard.
It helped that I like bergamot, I think.
Category: Bewitching Brews
This is a sweet, creamy scent that does smell a bit like almond -- I suspect that's the part that's inspired by 'sweet grains'. It's very nice, but doesn't last very long or throw very much on me.
Limited Edition -- Halloween 2009
Pretty much just black cherry candy, here. And that's while it lasts, which isn't terribly long...then it just dissipates to nothing.
Category -- Wanderlust
I don't get any darkness from this at all -- nope, this is a bright, sunny, lush jungle scent. It's extremely evocative of someone sitting by a waterfall, sipping a rum-based drink, and inhaling the rain-kissed scent of jungle blooms. And, later on, I really do get the scent of stone -- as if our intrepid hero sauntered into the limestone cave behind the waterfall to check on his chest of treasure and sleep the afternoon away.
Alas, it dissipates pretty quickly on me, but it's a very fun little mind-trip while it's there!
It's a really great scent for summertime!
Category: Limited Editions
Sort of funny...I got an imp of this in a swap from one person, and then a bottle in another swap, and for a while I thought I might have been lucky enough to have both versions of Libra, since they smelled so different!
In the bottle, it's a very sweet scent...fruit scents dominate, with florals sitting very humbly in the background. For a while I thought it was very sweet apple I might be smelling, but research revealed that the bottle is the 2007 version. So, I get to smell the sweet cherry and currant and plum, and it's suuuuuper nice there.
On my skin (and in the imp), however, things switch places. The fruit quickly retreats, and rose shoulders its way forward, with carnation acting as its adoring sidekick.
Thankfully, this version of rose isn't the kind that turns into MUA HA HA DIE on me, but it's still Rose Liek Whoa. It comes juuuust short of getting crazy a lot of the time...which, come to think of it, describes me rather well, too.
While not the sweet light fruity blend that I think I would have adored, this is still a pretty scent...not one for every day wear, but definitely one worth hanging onto and breaking out when I feel like basking in the wonderfulness that is Libra. (And we are quite wonderful, yes. *preen*)
Category: Excolo
Oh...oh yum. Sweet luscious fruity YUM.
Could be apple in there...could be pear...could also be some melon...definitely very moist, juicy scents, incredibly wet and tempting, with just a hint of florals -- is it sakura blossom that continues to make it so sweet? In any case, hot damn.
I don't get any spiciness from it at all...just lots of seductive sugary sweetness. I know now how hummingbirds feel.
Category: Sin and Salvation
Auuuugh OMG!!!
Either I have only experienced very well-behaved, domesticated notes of rose before, or I just haven't had rose on my skin before. But this blend HATES me. And I hate it. From the second I opened the imp it was ROOOOOOOOSE, attacking my nostrils and pounding against my temples trying to give me a headache. And, wouldn't you know it, I not only amped it, but it lasted...all...day...long. Oh good Lord.
Near the end, it *did* morph into the sandalwood note, but it was far too little tempering, far too late. Aside from the very interesting morphing process, this blend holds no allure for me.
I will still have to experiment with rose a bit more to see if I just hate all roses, or if it's just certain blends. But I'm scared to.
Category: Limited Edition -- Halloween 2008
This scent did not work on me at all. Aside from smelling burnt, it smells sharp and shrill and peppery, like the little black dots of mold that you find on the underside of leaves, and the spent brown papery galls that once harbored wasps. Maybe it was the vetiver, or the particular combination of vetiver and tobacco...but it all just adds up to a big cloud of Yuck.
Category: Limited Editions -- Halloween 2008 -- Sleepy Hollow
The prevailing note here is beeswax...it's a very warm, homey scent. It is complemented nicely by the tea, cream, and, yes, wool. Over time, it fades into a golden, perfumey amalgam that is classy and very, very pleasant. I really like this, and need to remember to get me a bottle.
Limited Editions -- Halloween 2009
Primarily, this one is like a spiced bread or cake to me. The beer gives it a sweet sort of nutty aroma when I inhale *super* deeply. Alas, I really wanted to like this one, and it's not a *bad* scent, but it just can't hold a candle to my favorites from last year, Huesos De Santos and John Barleycorn.
Limited Edition -- Anniversary Scents
To me, this is a smokey scent -- like smokey musk. There is a bit of herbalness...the sweet basil lurking just beneath -- but for the most part I seem to get black pepper, smoke, and dust, and if the dragon's blood is there it's acting like incense for once, instead of being ultra-sweet as it usually manifests for me. This is a manly scent, but one that I don't mind wearing...I think I can decently rock it. Smoke, stone, and iron -- very fitting for this phoenix!
Category: Excolo
For the most part, I don't get any sweetness from this, certainly not in a juicy cherry way like others have mentioned -- it's just spicy and warm. Granted, it's a pungeance that does have a bit of moistness to it, like rosemary oil, or when you crush sage leaves between your fingers...hmm, and I guess I can smell the plum, lurking around in the background there. So I guess there *is* a bit of sweetness there, but overall, to me, it's all herbs and drying fruit and a hint of incense.
Category -- Ars Draconis
For the first few minutes of wearing it, I'm treated to a smokey, resinous scent that is my holy grail of incense-like smells. And yet, like any good holy grail, it is quickly carried away by mysterious figures wearing samite, leaving me with the sweet and slightly fruity scent that I have now come to associate with BPAL's dragon's blood.
Every now and then, there is a pleasant, smoky sort of whuff to it...like a dragon breathing fragrant smoke out of its huge, powerful lungs as it slumbers, its heart beating but once per hour.
Definitely an interesting blend.
Category: Wanderlust -- The Phantom Isles
Hmm, this is interesting. It smells like hot, smooth, black stones, with a hint of smokey charcoal (like that found in Brimstone)...and yet there's also an aquatic side to it as well, as if those stones make up the beach on a lonely island, or perhaps they're part of some natural jungle hot-springs spa. Some nice imagery there, if not as vivid as many others enjoy through this scent. This scent sticks close to the skin, and wears off after a few hours.
It smells slightly like generic perfume or cologne, but there is enough amber present to keep it interesting. Unfortunately, it turns very powdery fairly quickly...and while that's not necessarily bad, it's not really what I was looking for from this scent. Not for me.
I was really leery of this one, but like all the Phoenixes, it was really nice. Believe it or not, but I really can 'smell' the 'gleaming white metal' in the description; it's like what the mirror-sheen on a stainless-steel table would smell like, if it had an odor. I think the honeysuckle is what makes it so palatable for me.
It's super-light, and seemed to fade really fast. This one won't be so hard to let go of.
Category: Diabolus
I really wanted to like this one, both for the name and ingredients! All I get is pine trees and eucalyptus, though, and it's not even that awesome. It could have been the heat and sweat, but even with trying to slather it, the scent just disappears. So sad.
