Ajila

In the bottle – Wow, that really properly smells like a rose, not something that smells like a rose, but rose Wet on me – Rose, but softer and less full on than in the bottle Dry on me – Mostly it fades quite quickly, but I do get wafts of the rose Overall – To me this smells more like a ‘traditional’ perfume than many of BPAL’s blends. The full on rose isn’t really something I would wear

In the bottle – The sharpness of the floral sits on top of a sour fruit note from the plums Wet on me – A soft creamy floral Dry on me – After about 8 hours it settles into a soft, candied plum Overall – I love the dry down, but not the route to it

In the bottle – Sweet liquorice with dark, dirty leather behind it Wet on me – The thick black leather comes through with just a hint of the gaufrette Dry on me – A dry, dark leather, with just a hint of sweetness Overall – I’m hoping that aging will kick the leather back a little, but all in all this is a gorgeous blend

Spun gold, tear-soaked straw, and rose-infused amber. In the bottle – The straw, and I think the amber, although it’s a little ‘airy’ Wet on me – A sharp metallic note, followed by a soft powdery rose Dry on me – Soft, slightly candied rose Overall – I was surprised by major a role the rose played , but it was still a very pleasant very wearable scent

In the bottle – Oddly, stale bread Wet on me – I get a bit of the current, but mostly it’s a dirty myrrh scent Dry on me – Dark earthy, but slightly sweet and with a touch of something slightly metallic Overall – It dried better than it started out, but isn’t something I would wear

In the bottle – A surprisingly light sweet scent, I think it’s the vanilla bean and the cumin I can smell Wet on me – Sweetened washing detergent Dry on me – A soft faint vanilla Overall – Much lighter than I anticipated and slightly bland

In the bottle – Lush, wet rose Wet on me – A sweet heady rose and, oddly, mint Dry on me – Straight up old fashioned rose Overall – I like the scent of roses, but I don’t want to smell like one so this isn’t really for me

In the bottle – The medicinal scent of sage (I know there’s none listed, but that’s what I smell) Wet on me – An odd fruitiness, with what I assume is the amber and something earthy Dry on me – A pleasant green and brown scent with a slightly musky edge that draws you in Overall – Nice, but not something I would wear on a regular basis

In the bottle – Candied berries and something tannic in the back ground Wet on me – The candyishness remains but the bitterness of (I guess) the wine is more intrusive Dry on me – It keeps that sweet, almost parma violet scent, without ever becoming truly gourmand Overall – I like it, but it’s not at all what I was expecting from the notes and the context

In the bottle – Milky chocolate Wet on me – Again milky chocolate, with a slight biscuitiness to it Dry on me – Ashes (stale cigarette ashes to be precise) Overall – Blah! I wanted to love this, but my skin chemistry just killed

In the bottle – Sweet, bright peach with the headiness of the gardenia and the honey Wet on me – Again the sweetness of the peach and honey just about ward off the potential sharpness of the gardenia Dry on me – Sweet peach with the high note of the honey with occasional wafts of the gardenia Overall – On the whole the blend was very pleasant, but I’m not certain that it will be a favourite

In the bottle – It does actually smell golden, although cedar is the only note that I can identify Wet on me – Cedar and something citrusy Dry on me – The cedar remains the prominent note as the rest becomes dry and bitter Overall – As cedar is my least favourite of the listed notes, this is not the result I wanted to see

In the bottle – Sea water Wet on me – Soapy leather and salty water Dry on me – Clean, salty leather Overall – I need my leathers to have something else with them to make them really work on me

In the bottle – Molten sugar and a touch of almond Wet on me – Sugar & almonds and just a hint of rum Dry on me – Warm and buttery and whilst never actually becoming biscuity it is at least bakery. Oddly with the occasional hit of rubber Overall – I’m so pleased that this doesn’t turn to ashes on my skin, because I think it is destined to be a favourite

In the bottle – A hint of the lilac backed by a thick leather note Wet on me – A waft of an almost bubblegum like sweetness, with the soft, powdery lilac, sitting on the dark, dirty leather note closer to the skin Dry on me – The plum juice settles into something too dry to be fruit and too sweet to be leather Overall – A surprisingly pretty and delicate blend, nice, but it doesn’t grab me

In the bottle – Sparkling white peach with just a hint of vanilla Wet on me – The peach sits on top of smoky green osmanthus and the slightly pencil shavings scent of the sandalwood Dry on me – The peach remains the dominant note, with a dry airiness behind it Overall – A nice, if slightly anaemic in the dry down, peach blend

In the bottle – Darker than I expected, I suppose that it’s the Arabian musk, but I just get a dank animalistic scent Wet on me – Greener, with a hint of spice, but still very animalistic Dry on me – The soft creamy spiciness of the carnation finally comes through leaving a lingering embrace of scent Overall – The carnation dry down is fantastic, a bit stronger than the other carnation blends I’ve tried, but I can’t hack the animal stages in the first instance

In the bottle – Weird, a smell I associate with pulling up nettles tinged with a hint of something creamy Wet on me – Burnt grass and coffee Dry on me – Sweet soft and creamy; the dregs of a milky coffee and those pancakes Overall – Whilst I liked the dry down it was a little bland after what had come before

In the bottle – I suppose it’s probably the buttermilk, but something sweet and cramy and with an edge of coconut. I have a feeling this will turn to ashes on my skin Wet on me – Again that sweet creaminess, oddly clean smelling Dry on me – Water ashes and strongly so Overall – This just didn’t work on my skin. Normally when creamy notes turn to ashes, it is at least weak; this positively radiated them

In the bottle – Sweet and thick; the honey and the patchouli Wet on me – a first hit of the honey then it gets swamped by the florals Dry on me – The patchouli comes out, in a way, which to me is very reminiscent of the patchouli in Angel. As the patchouli disappears it settles back into the rich, sweet honey Overall – I like this blend, but it doesn’t wow me

In the bottle – A very faint, grey floral Wet on me – It’s hard to pin anything down. Dark and dank and yet oddly citrusy Dry on me – Nothing at all really Overall – This disappeared quickly and I didn’t really miss it

In the bottle – A very soft, dry lavender, with a touch of vanilla and a hint of coconut Wet on me – Lavender with something almost berryish in the background Dry on me – See, this makes me want to try Dorian again, because all I got from him was stale tea. From this I have all that rich deep vanilla of the Snake Oil, but instead of the grab you by the throat full on spices, there are soft little citrusy overtones that trip along the periphery but still invite you further in to meet the ever present vanilla. Making this, to me, a more comfortable blend Overall – I like this a lot, but whilst wearing it I’ve come out in a rash across my neck. I’m feeling a bit ropey as it is, so it may be unrelated, but I’m going to be cautious

In the bottle – The sweet soft citrus of the manderin Wet on me – Lavender and the soft, sweet vanilla cream Dry on me – Soft, powdery, milky vanillla Overall – A very delicate scent, I like it, but I think it could do with a bit of a kick. Having said that, as with The Gladdener of All Hearts, I think it would be a great sleep blend

In the bottle – Something slightly berryish, but with a bitter, earthy undercurrent Wet on me – An initial burst of flowers and then washing detergent Dry on me – Mostly washing detergent, although it does dry towards a sweeter, almost creamy scent Overall – I guess that this doesn’t work on my skin

In the bottle – A sweet green herbal (actually I think it’s the angelica I can smell) with a hint of lavender Wet on me – Slightly milky lavender Dry on me – Soft, powdery lavender with just a hint of cream Overall – A good ‘sleep’ blend I think, but not something that I would wear during the day