orata

This is TONS of lilac and paperwhite narcissus on my skin. I actually thought it was orange blossom until I read the notes, but I think I was wrong and it's mainly lilac and narcissus. It is an incredibly powerful, huge floral. Slightly creamy-smelling, somewhat fresh and soapy. The ylang ylang and lily (smells like lily of the valley to me, actually; with sort of that light greenness) emerge a bit as the scent dries down; I don't smell the sandalwood or cypress. To me it smells like a creamy, pure classic floral. It kind of gives me a headache, but I think I'd like it with just a TEENY tiny dab instead of a swipe from the imp wand.

Very creamy black mint tea scent with pretty good throw. There is this prominent note that, unfortunately, having read the reviews, I can only identify as rubber. Maybe the rice wine + anise (or licorice or whatever smells like it in here) + lilies? I really liked it until I came in here and started reading reviews; now I keep thinking of uninflated balloons.

I love this--wasn't sure about it at first since BPAL aquatics seldom work for me, but it's really lovely! It's a fresh, slightly (but not overpoweringly) salty fruity floral scent. The fruity part is mostly delicate fresh plum. With the listed notes, I thought it might end up having a li hing mui sort of vibe, but it's definitely fresh fruits and seawater, not concentrated dried salted plum. It does have a sort of drugstore body wash/shampoo or Bath and Body Works type of vibe to it, so it might be a little too "functional fragrance" or generic-smelling to deserve a bottle purchase; still trying to decide, because I like the scent a lot.

Very foody. Sweet, buttery, dark, rich caramel. It actually reminds me of some crumbly brown sugar pralines I got at a Cajun restaurant the other week. The vanilla note smells just like the Bourbon Vanilla bath oil from last Valentine's day, with its almost sassafras note. The carnation and iris are soft undertones and remind me of Zarita the Doll Girl (but I like this better than Zarita) and I don't really get the patchouli at all; it must be pretty well-blended. It smells quite complex and rich despite the general overwhelming caramel impression.

I love the painting, but I'm not crazy about the scent. I think the rice wine and incense notes don't agree with me. Something about it is very familiar, but I'm not sure what. Green bamboo and rice wine are the two most prominent top notes. As it dries, the lilac note becomes stronger, and finally the musk and green tea incense dominate the scent. At this point, it reminds me of On The Death of His Mistress, with its sort of smoky matcha-musk vibe. Too incensey for me, with a faint cloying, boozy sweetness from the rice wine underpinnings. The lilac and cherry blossoms are perceptible from a little farther away from the skin. It isn't a very strong perfume. It's a light, pale, green and white type of scent, and delicate like all the Japanese Salons I've tried so far.

Gorgeous scent. Smells like freshly brewed jasmine tea. The florals are gentle and sweet and the tea note is quite prominent and fresh, maybe too astringent for some--stronger than the floral notes, to my nose. It is definitely white tea, with that sharp clear freshness to it, rather than green or black tea. The overall impression is fresh and sharply floral, and more on the commercial perfume end of the spectrum than many BPALs.

New Orleans: How about Crossroads, Deep in Earth, or Zombi? Or any of the Conjure Bag scents. Canine: Wolfsbane? Arthurian: Fae? Or Oberon was sometimes said to be the son of Morgan Le Fay.

I was just reading reviews of Herbert West that say it's quite similar to Embalming Fluid ("embalming fluid" is listed in the notes). You might also like Ehecatl if you like Embalming Fluid and Shanghai, although it's pretty citrussy. Maybe try another coconut scent if you like Perversion--Elegba, Eden, Obatala, or Body, Remember? I think if you like Mouse's LAST perhaps you'd like Aeval, which also has quite a bit of sweet pea. Have you tried Morocco?

Really nice--I passed up Ile de la Tortue when a previous large batch was up on Etsy because it sounded like a crazy jumble of notes, but the reviews + Great Vampire Bat-fueled orchid obsession led me to order a bottle, and I really like it. It's quite ozoney and green when wet, with the ozone subsiding into an incredibly refreshing tropical greenery scent. The white florals are definitely there and smell slightly grapey to me (?) but the smell of wet green leaves balances them out. I don't usually like aquatic scents, but this has just a hint of aquatic without smelling salty or like cucumbers or dryer sheets. It's a fresh but complex perfume great for hot weather.

Rather soapy/perfumey floral when wet. It gets a prominent smoke and vetiver note as it dries down and settles into a lovely orchid scent, dark and sexy without being musky--a heady film noir type of perfume, like smoke floating over plumeria blossoms.

I would try Athens or Cairo for the Kyphi scent. for Orange Sapphire, maybe Geisha in Orange Kimono Admiring a Samurai or Night-Gaunt?

I'm going off the book rather than the movie. I think Howl would wear one of the dapper masculine fougeres, like Wilde, Jareth, or Dorian. Sophie loves her flowers so much, I'd imagine her in anything with lots of dreamy florals. Marie, maybe, Pele, or Lilium Inter Spinas? Or something from Rappaccini's Garden. Something bakery-ish for Martha: Eat Me or Bread-and-Butter-fly? And I'd imagine one of Rappaccini's Apiary scents for Lettie since she's studying honey-based spells--maybe Deadly Nightshade Honey (my favorite of the ones I've tried) for its greenery. I imagine Miss Angorian wearing Morocco-- warm desert winds. Calcifer: Brimstone maybe?

I find Haloes quite woody/creamy, not so much fruity-floral, which it sounds more like this is. Have you tried Tamora? Belle Vinu? What is your impression of the general feel of the scent?

I really liked this for the first few minutes--a really rich, complex, dark, smoky Nag Champa and sandalwood incense scent. The grapefruit seemed to be in the mix only as a bare breath to lighten the scent a little. However, as it dries, it gets this weird, gross, sweaty, savory note like cumin (although cumin is not listed) that reminds me of Tanuki no Amiuchi, and I really start to hate it at that point--like nervous armpit sweat basted with headshop incense.

I'm not really a fan of Uncle Traveling Matt. It smells a bit like Raisinets or those Cadbury fruit and nut chocolate bars: a little bit of dark chocolate, and a lot of something sticky, dry-fruity, almost boozy-smelling, and dark like raisins (this must be the fig and quince combo). The throw seems pretty good. The fruity, fermented note reminds me of Hermes Ambre Narguile, but it's not as thick or rich a scent without the backing amber, and the chocolate fades fast, leaving behind just that sort of sticky alcoholic rum-raisin scent.

Red is a cheerful, uncomplicated cranberry scent on my skin, like cranberry juice cocktail. I can smell the red currant as well, and maybe a tiny tickle of spice from the pink pepper. It's very light and fades fast on me, although I didn't put it on a pulse point, just on my arm, so perhaps that's contributing? I don't find it especially "sparkly" or "fizzy," but soft and brightly fruity.

Musky leather and bay rum. I don't find it particularly metallic or heavy on vetiver. It smells very much like a commercial shaving cream or cologne; I never would have pegged it as a BPAL scent. Very masculine, and I think it's sexy, but it does seem like a generic masculine functional scent rather than a unique olfactory story like many of BPAL's other fragrances.

I really like this, although Snake Oil Hair Gloss is still my favorite overall. It is a somewhat toasty/caramelized coconut with some sharpish white floral from the gardenia and a rather floral/anise-y or root beer-like vanilla note. Much more of a caramelly floral scent than I had expected at first; it doesn't really remind me of sunscreen, as I don't find it as sweet and creamy/powdery as the smell of coconut sunscreen. It seems lighter in texture than the other hair glosses I've tried--the decant I have really spritzes/mists out, while some of the others I had tried (Snake Oil, Honey, Frankincense) kind of squirted. I use probably way too much: about 4 sprays from the decant on towel-dried hair, brushed through to the ends--in contrast, though, I can only use one or two of Snake Oil before it gives me a headache. I'm not entirely sure what it does for my hair texture-wise, to be honest, because my hair is fairly heavy and straight and well-behaved in general, but I like to think it looks a bit smoother and sleeker with some of the gloss on there. I have gone through about half my decant already, and I've only had it for a month or so, so I expect I will probably buy some more once it runs out.

I'd vote for Sassafras plus Dorian, personally. It sounds like you like vanilla scents, and I think Dorian will appeal to you. I find O more of a honey scent.

Marae is another LE orchid scent with incense!

This is a pretty sparkly ginger ale and slightly bitter lime scent when wet--reminds me of Independent or Polynesian Pop. I can see the comparison to Mother Ginger in that it's a pretty fresh ginger scent more than a baked good type of ginger. I haven't tried Gnome, but it sounds very similar. Unlike other reviewers, I'm actually not getting a lot of vanilla cream (I wish I was!) The bright top notes persist for a while and then fade into an oddly bitter/acrid, slightly plasticky smell on my skin that reminds me of the drydown of Monster Bait: Tokyo Stomp on my skin as well--maybe they share a vanilla note that's problematic on me. I really like it when it's wet, but I'm on the fence about the drydown stage--must re-try later. (I was convinced this Bat would be THE perfect one for me, too!)

So far this is my favorite of the Bats' Day scents! I'm not usually an incense scent lover, but this one attracted me and has been living up to my expectations so far. Rich, smoky, green, well-blended soft florals. Smells very lush and somewhat aquatic without being overtly salty (I don't like most aquatics). When it's wet, it has a slightly sharp, nearly fizzy, ozone-y or citrussy note (reminds me of the 7-Up smell of Pale Student of Unhallowed Arts) and something that smells like cedarwood, but this mellows out to a dark, smooth, hazy tropical floral scent without sharp edges. Sexy, dark, and heady, but there is also a clean aspect to it that reminds me a bit of clean linen.

Strong, sharp, fairly chemically leather. Reminds me a bit of Rogue (but without the hemp/rosin notes to soften it) or Captain Cully. It's quite realistic. I don't smell the oakmoss or balsam, just the overpowering leather scent. I was skin testing this on one wrist, and the boy walked by. From a distance of about 3 or 4 feet, he said "What is that weird smell?" "Is it the chard and onions I was cooking?" "No, it smells musty, like an old bookstore. Or like India." "Is it this?" I gave him my wrist to smell and he kind of made a face and said yes. So: according to his reaction, powerful throw, smells "musty." These may be good things for you, but I may have to send this one on its way--there are other, softer leather scents I like better.

This doesn't beat out Black Lace and Red Lace, in my book, but it handily trumps Mourning and Pink Lace. It has a somewhat minty, licorice-y absinthe note--a little more green than anise, but it really smells mostly like strong black European licorice to me. The "lace" part of the scent--vanilla, sharp/smokey tobacco, cognac--is lurking underneath and persists after the absinthe part of the scent fades a bit. It smells kind of similar to Black Lace to me, but with the extra herbal-licoricey absinthe note on top. Smells refreshing yet mysterious, expensive, and complex.

A dark vetiver-like note that must be the cypress starts to lift as a slightly fizzy ozone and metal scent emerges. I smell a bit of red musk and resin underneath it all, and maybe leather? It is dark and woodsy and resinous, masculine, just slightly red-musky, and much nicer than the ominous description might have you believe--I think it would be a great scent for fall. It actually reminds me a little of Crowley, but smokier and without the lighter fougere/vanilla elements.