scarletgenesis

Volcanic ash and Easter Island palm. I went to Costa Rica a few years ago, and one of the highlights was taking a hike through the rainforest by the lodge where we were staying to view the new and old lava flows. We stayed right near the Arenal Volcano, which is continuously active, and we could see the eruptions nightly from our room. The air around us always smelled like volcanic rock, sulfer, smoke, and tropical plants and flowers. When I saw the description for Moai, I was hoping it would evoke memories of my time in Costa Rica. It does not disappoint. In the bottle, Moai is wet volcanic rocks, with some saltiness overlaying it. Flowing through all of this is a smoky sulferous mist. Once applied, everything pretty much stays as it was in the bottle, except now I am getting something distinctly 'green' with everything else. I'm guessing that's the palm, because I don't know what else it could be. The palm softens this just a bit, but not too much. It actually gets to be like a sweet green note that adds a lovely dimension to this already wonderful scent. What I love is that the smoke smells so perfectly that it almost burns in my throat with the memories it brings back! This scent delivers ladies and gentlemen. Wonderful and completely different from anything else I've tried.

In the bottle at first, this smelled like conversation hearts...you know the ones with the powdery finish? Just like those. But on.....oh my, on it's all orange and clove and a small bit of anise. Later, the orange fades a bit and the anise, clove and even cumin (but only slightly) come out to play their sinister, yet hauntingly sensual games. This is a wonderful blend and combines some of my very favorite notes. This might require a second bottle while it's still available. Gorgeous. My only complaint is that it doesn't have as much staying power as the other clove blends I've worn from bpal, but I'm willing to deal with it. I might try it in a locket to see how it fares, but either way I'll be loving this every time I wear it!

WOW. So when first on, this is very heavy on the leather, with a slightly smoky scent. The vanilla is there, but in the background. It's beautiful and like an old archive, but one that's well kept, and not particularly dusty. I do get the wood notes mentioned previously, but on me they're less OMG TREES and more just a nice smell of the kind of fresh cut wood you smell at a hardware store or in new wood furniture. As this wears, the leather and vanilla even out more to a lovely, relaxing, and yet sensuous (yes I think books are sensuous) blend. It's gorgeous really and just what I'd hoped for on me. Even better, I could still smell this on myself a full 24 hours after first applying. By this point, it was smelling like amazingly gorgeous smoky vanilla. This is beautiful at all stages and has probably the best staying power of any bpal oil I've ever tried. I hope to buy another bottle sometime soon, because I think that this blend just shot into my top 5 list.

This was the one Inquisition scent I got during this round. At first, it seems like everything is just blended together in a nice, but unremarkable oil. Boy, was I wrong! Once on my skin, this blossomed into something stunning and sophisticated. I can pick out individual notes on my skin. The star anise is the 'star' in this blend, but I also can pick out a spicy rum (but it's not overly boozy which is great), vanilla, peppermint (just a hint), and smoky lubricant. Really, I can actually get the smoky oil scent that kind of permeates this and elevates it from really lovely, to simply gorgeous. I'd love to have another bottle of this eventually. It's really wonderful! I can't stop sniffing my skin!

In the bottle, this is bourbon vanilla with an almost woodsy incense smell.... Once on, the vanilla becomes both softer and more complex, and the chamomile/herbaly nature comes out. This is really soft and sexy. Just beautiful.

To my nose, the vanilla notes in TKO are like AL. In fact, I think TKO smells like AL with lavender added. So if you like lavender, you might want to also try TKO (which reminds me that I need a new bottle soon)

I see where people are getting the rose. On me, it's like a sweet caramel rose, with a bit of cherry/almond. I'm not a fan of rose and it isn't what I expected or hoped for but it's kind of nice. Even though rose is not listed in the notes, this may be the first "rose" scent I can wear b/c it is so toned town by the caramel and almond. Also happy that the caramel is not overwhelmingly cloying on this. All in all, not what I expected, but rather nice and I'll enjoy my decant!

At first sniff, this is straight apple pulp and lots of it, but it becomes quickly apparent that there is something more complex at work here. On my skin the apple pulp is very juicy and fresh, like apples picked on a crisp fall day. I think I'm getting some of the other notes here too, albeit subtley. One thing I am pretty sure of is that I smell the same blackberry note that is in Blackberry Jam & Scones. As this dries down more I also get some of the tartness found in pomegranate. All in all a scent that is more complex than initially thought, with the glorious red apple notes shining through as the stars of this beautiful blend. Sigh. I love BPAL's apple blends and they love me back!

This is interesting. What a morpher. When in the bottle, it's very sweet and cakey smelling. On my skin, when first applied, I get mostly buttercream and some cupcake. But after about 30 minutes, while the buttercream is still faintly there, it morphs to....musk? This is the 2nd time I've worn it and the first time I figured it was a fluke. But it did the exact same thing this time. Musk. A lovely, creamy musk, to be sure, but not at all what I was expecting. I was hoping to keep that cupcakey scent all day. Ah well, can't win em all.

WOW. At first, this is all blackberry jam....it has some sweetness, but also some of that tartness that I adore about blackberries. I can almost smell the stickiness, if that makes sense...sorry to mix sensory descriptions. So after it dries, the scones start to make an appearance. The scone scent is perfect...crumbly, a bit doughy, and mild...not much sweetness at all. Just like real scones. This is a lovely scent and I shall cherish my bottles! Oh, and lots of staying power!

On me, I am happy to say that Agape is like Love's Philosophy with fruit! It is soft and creamy and lovely with a hint of tangyness. Not much more to say about this one because it's rather simple in its loveliness! Glad I got to sniff a friend's bottle before this went down. I almost didn't bother because of the guava, but I'm glad to report that the guava is nowhere to be seen on me!

Wow. This is the least 'foody' of the Thirteen blends I've tried and my favorite. Even though the base is dark chocolate, I barely get any....just a hint of that and the brown sugar. On me (at least right now) this is mostly gingers and nutmeg. It's spicy and dark without being sinister. Interestingly, the chocolate and sugar are more noticable in the scent locket than on my skin. Perfect to wear today, Friday the 13th!

Beautiful and calming, which is really what I need right now. Gorgeous lavender stands out but the bergemot is there...and I might even detect something very crisp like mint. This is herbal and beautiful and will require at least another bottle. I don't think I've smelled another BPAL like it (except TKO, which is softer and which I only wear at bedtime). I have some scents that are my confidence and power scents. Others are my sexy scents. Pontia just became my calming scent. Wonderful job, bpal!

In the bottle this is a conglomeration of dark, resinous notes. I definitely can pick out the tobacco and oakmoss and possibly the teak and frankincense. On my skin I get a tiny bit of the uber smoky caramel from Red Lantern and the anise and clove come out as well. I'd love the clove to be more prominent but the scent definitely softens as I wear it so perhaps it will emerge more later. The black musk is an undercurrent of sinister smirk permeating the whole blend. Very nicely executed! Is it me...or is this like a darker version of Winter of our Discontent?

rawwwrrrrr! In the bottle, this is VERY caramel, smaller amounts of dark chocolate and a tiny bit of pepper. But I was happy to see that on my skin everything reversed. The pepper is promanent with the dark chocolate secondary. The caramel is really in the background, which is great, b/c it stops it from getting too sweet. Lovely, sexy and warm...Like dark brown satin sheets under a velvet comforter.

I had a feeling this would be my favorite of the inquisitions and I was right. The wine is a cross between syrupy cherry and spiced apples. The orange adds a bit of tang and the spices make me just say "Guh". Funny, the first day I wore this to work, a friend came in and was telling me about spending New Years in Vienna. She talked about how cold it was and that all these vendors were selling this great drink called Gluhwein. It was fairly amusing, as I'd not told her about my perfume at all. I wonder if she could smell it and it reminded her of the drink. Anyway, it's lovely and wonderful and sparkly!

This is amazingly gorgeous and soft. But the anise keeps it from being overly sweet. The licorice is pretty strong at first and lovely. Then over a few hours it fades a bit and the vanilla comes out more. These two notes blend together really wonderfully into a soft but not weak scent. I wish I'd have ordered two of these!

I was worried that this would be a bit too dark and strong for me, but I really like it. It's a dry, resinous, incense blend that brings to mind unspeakable acts in dark corners with a smirk and a whisper of scratchy silk on skin. Really dark and lovely.

I'd been hoping for a really lemony scent, and Snow Angel fits the bill beautifully. The lemon is both sweet and tart with some of the same notes (I think) that exist in Antique Lace and Alice (to my nose). I don't get much peach, which is ok. I actually get a bit of iced over pine, but surprisingly the lemon doesn't make it smell like lemon pine-sol. Instead, it smells like a cold winter's day playing in the snow...there's a forest at the edge of the field, and the sun is shining down like a smile. Wonderful, cheerful scent that still feels wintery to me.

Vibrant with the joy and sweetness of life in death! A blend of five sugars, lightly dusted with candied fruits. I had the same reaction to this...smells like some sort of sweet from childhood. Then it hit me....Grape Bubble Yum! It is sugary sweet grape bubble gum (But specifically the Bubble Yum brand). I can remember that it was so sweet I could almost taste the individual granules of sugar! This certainly evokes a major memory, and that's one of the reasons I love bpal so much! I think that this would be a good scent to wear when I'm feeling really kid-like and playful.

I was saying that Samhain seems the obvious choice today, plus it's my favorite scent. But there are so many other amazing scents to add as well. I wonder what Bonfire Night or Devil's Night layered under Samhain would be like. I may have to try it.

In the bottle, this is distinctly carrots and grain, with a tiny bit of musk. Once on and as it dries, Gunpowder becomes OATS and musk. But the musk is very clean musk, with a hint of crispness, perhaps the apple? The carrot is still there in the background and I might get a tiny bit of molasses every now and then but it's faint. I can't imagine how Beth got this to smell exactly like oats, but she did a wonderful job at it! This is a good fall scent for wearing outside. It's not my favorite, but it is very nice and I am impressed with the artistry that went into creating it.

In the bottle, its all orange dreamsicle. Yum. Once I put it on my skin, the cream thickens to a gorgeous, very slightly spicy vanilla custard. If I sniff really hard, I start to get some tiny bit of anise. Now, the overall scent is gorgeous, buttery cake with orange zest all within it. The custard/licorice above is there but serves to thicken the notes and add a creamier more complex tone to the very playful scent. This is similar to Eat Me, but with orange instead of berry. Gorgeous. I'm hungry now.

CT CXLV (145) Mmmm. My Chaos Theory has alot of similarities to Midway. In fact, if you took the caramel apples out of Midway (which I never smelled anyway), what you have left forms the base of CXLV to my nose. Then, it smells like they added Red Hots! I know that the lab said no cinnamon in these blends, but it seriously smells like cinnamon to me. Perhaps it's clove, or some other similar spice, but it is gorgeous. The first few times I wore it, the above description encompassed the blend. But today, after reapplying, I am also getting a hint of something (other than clove) that I smell in Dracul. In looking at the notes list, it might be Balsam of Peru, which smells somewhat like cinnamon and vanilla and might explain why I thought there was cinnamon in this blend. The more I sniff it, the more I think that this might be the mystery spice I'm smelling. Anyway, this blend gets better every time I smell it, and is really perfect for these incredibly hot August days we're having. These Chaos Theories are so much fun!

In the bottle (and a beautiful cobalt bottle at that!), Snow, Glass Apples is an incredibly tart, fresh, COLD green apple. It stays completely true to this scent in my scent locket. On my skin, it remains a cold, tart, apple for a while. Then something very faintly floral starts to peek out, but it is almost a sweet floral. I will be the first to say that I don't normally like many florals, but whatever this is works so well and as such a minor note here that I actually like it. Later in the day, the apple is much faded (it's still there, just not as prominent), and I am getting the vanilla that someone mentions upthread. This with the floral makes me think of vanilla orchids. That with the apple softens everything down to a very nice finish. This has decent throw, at least for 4-5 hours on me, because I kept getting whiffs of it as I turned my head. I wish the apple stayed stronger all day, but all in all, SGA is a beautiful addition to my collection of BPAL apple blends. Bravo!