yeahbutnobut

Cardinal earth: the essence of control. Solomon's Seal, pine, amaranth, ambrette, cypress, wild tobacco, and hemp. Capricorn 07 In the bottle: deep green pine with a bit of sweetness. Wet on skin: mmm, pine needles and resin! Smells just like crushed needles in a summer forest. Dry on skin: I like this! This is the kind of pine I hoped to get in TPd Trees. This is similar to Stranger in Camp, ie, a pine scent that is wonderfully sappy and doesn’t smell of disinfectant. It does have a hint of Christmas tree to it but it’s also got hints of warm summer pine, needles and resin. I can smell a bit of cypress too, I think the ambrette may be what’s making this smell sweet? Or is it the amaranth? I can’t smell the tobacco or hemp yet. After a while: now the tobacco comes out, and it’s the lovely tobacco that I love from such scents as Hastur, Mr Nancy and Red Lantern. Not a sticky tobacco, or a heavily masculine one, or a burnt one, or one that smells of cigarettes, but one that smells of dry soft ashes which smell less like ashtrays and more like incense, and dry cigar tobacco. The tobacco note that I love most of all in BPAL, combined with that lovely pine note. Something about this almost reminds me of the smoky-musky forest scent of Hunter Moon, though with added evergreen notes. There’s a hint of soft, almost fuzzy sweetness to it as well. Softly smoky and earthy but not dirty. Verdict: after Stranger in Camp, this is my second favourite pine scent from the Lab. This is a stunning pine scent, warm needles crushed underfoot and sticky sap oozing and exuding a resinous scent, and the cypress sap scent enhances that feel of evergreens on a summer evening, a scent that reminds me of many summer holiday memories. It’s one of those scents that transports me to a calmer place whenever I smell it. And it gets better, as the musky-sweet ambrette and the soft tobacco come out and mingles with the pine, at this point it reminds me of the smoky forest-musk scents, with a stronger emphasis on the forest scents than the musk, but with that same warmth and comforting base and a hint of almost incense-like smoke to it. I don’t have much in Capricorn but there is a Capricorn woman who plays such a big part in my life, this scent makes me think of the grounded, controlled and earthy aspects of the sign-I’m not sure she’d like this scent but at least I love it and will keep the bottle. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Yes! This one surprised me so much, it’s lovelier than expected. If you like this, try: Stranger in Camp, Mistletoe, Yule, Nocnitsa, Hunter Moon 07, Ivanushka

Holiday Stress Relief Elixir In the imp: omg…GERANIUM! Beautiful gorgeous strong geranium! Whoever said this smells like Aura Suavis is dead on. Wet on skin: geranium and mint! Yes this is Aura Suavis, BPAL style! Dry on skin: geranium and mint, and maybe some violet too? This is fantastic. I love geranium but in BPAL, in general, that note isn’t strong enough or doesn’t show up through the other notes. But this is the most geranium-y BPAL of all. I wonder if this is Bourbon geranium, my favourite geranium note of all? My mum has a huge bottle of the essential oil and it smells like this. The mint adds a freshness, I also smell something herbal which might be sage, or clary sage perhaps? I think this will work wonders on monthly problems… After a while: the mint has faded, and the warm herbal-floral scent of geranium remains, with hints of sage and some other notes I can’t name, but which add to the calm herbal feel this scent has. It smells a little bit balmy at the end, almost like there’s a smidge of resin at the base of this scent, but it’s not frankincense, myrrh or any of the usual resins. It’s more like a plant sap. Verdict: I’ve been looking all over BPAL for the holy grail of geranium scents, and this is it! The purest and richest Bourbon geranium scent accented beautifully by other soothing herbal notes, I’m guessing mint, sage, coriander and others I can’t quite place. It reminds me strongly of Aura Suavis, and every time I smell it I am in geranium scented bliss. I could see this working wonders on stress, and I’ve also heard that geranium is good at soothing the more womanly kinds of stress and hormonal ups and downs. I am so glad that I managed to get 1 ½ bottles of this because I know I will be using it a lot. And I would love to see more geranium scents like this! Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Yes! and I managed to swap successfully for bottles of this.

Lucifer In the imp: whoa, lots of deep dark vetiver and patchouli here! Wet on skin: vetiver and woods, but mainly the heavy patchouli that’s also in Goblin. Dry on skin: patchouli and woods, brushed with vetiver, amber and fig. I don’t get sun lotion here, just a scent of rich earthy notes with dry woods and a gilding of amber. Not evil, but definitely dark, but there’s a glimmer of light to it from the sweet, gorgeous amber. But it’s the patch and woods that rule supreme here. It reminds me of Goblin mainly, with a bit of Ventriloquist’s Dummy, and maybe Death of Autumn too. It’s quite sophisticated too. After a while: this gets a lot lighter, drier, and more golden. There’s sandalwood here, for sure, maybe some cedar as well but I’m sure the dominant wood is oude. There’s a spicy exotic-ness to the wood that reminds me of the oude scents. The patchouli has also become much stronger and now I get a hint of something almost like coconut…but that may be because the patch here smells almost identical to the one in Goblin. This is a more grown up Goblin. The fig is gorgeous and sweet and dark, and the amber adds that lovely glowing halo over what would otherwise be a shadowy scent. But underneath it, the vetiver growls (yes, to me, vetiver has a ‘sound’, and it is a growling note!) and then seems to go down the same tarry route as the vet in the Great He Goat. Verdict: this is a more sophisticated-and more sinister-version of Goblin with fig and amber on me. It’s got a very similar patchouli note but there’s also something that’s almost like coconut, maybe one of the woods? Initially it is really nice, with a great fig note and a sublime amber glow to it all. The woods are rich and exotic, with something almost like oude to them. The vetiver is strong, though not fir the first hour or two when the gorgeous figgy amber and woods are dominant-but when the vetiver takes over, it does so with a vengeance! And then it smells like asphalt on me. A shame really because I love what this smells like before the vetiver turns rather evil on me. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Not really but all in all, it’s not a bad scent! If you like this, try: Goblin, Great He Goat, Strangler Fig, Lunar Eclipse, Death of Autumn, Ventriloquist’s Dummy

Tanuki A scent of hedonistic, uninhibited joy: bamboo reed, plum blossom, persimmon, magnolia, black pine, sweet osmanthus, flowering cherry, mandarin orange, wisteria, and yuzu. In the imp: fruity and fun! I smell the mandarin and also a spicy pine undertone. Wet on skin: some gentle floral blossom notes come out now, along with bamboo. Dry on skin: now I see where people get melon from this-I definitely smell something like melon, as well as lots of floral notes (mainly plum blossom-for now this is behaving) and mandarin. The yuzu is a lot gentler here than it usually is, and I don’t smell as much pine now, just a faint hint. The wisteria isn’t turning bad on me either. The plum blossom may go soapy though but for now, this reminds me of Fire Pig but not as citrus-y. After a while: damn you plum blossom, why must you turn to overripe fruit and dead flowers on me? I smell something fun and fruity which is succulent and delicious, a note I think may be persimmon, but the plum blossom is turning weird on me as it usually does. The same thing happened in Budding Moon, Fire Pig and Kiyohime. Then it turns into pretty much all plum blossom, which smells all wilted, cloying and a little soapy in here, it’s also a little bit flat now. Verdict: this sounded like such a lively fruity-floral scent, and how could a scent inspired by giant golden balls go wrong? Sadly it did go wrong. Thanks to one of my doom-flowers, plum blossom. I really liked this at first when it was the fruity-floral fun that I expected from this scent, a carefree and joyous scent with a similar vibe to Fire Pig, citrus and blossoms all playing nicely together. But then comes big bully plum blossom, which totally ruins the scent by doing the ‘sickly-sweet wilted flowers with a hint of bananas’ thing. My skin does bad things to this note, even though I love the plum fruit note. So I had to pass on my decant of this. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Sadly this ballsy little scent doesn’t agree with me. If you like this, try: the Spell of Amorous Love, Fire Pig, Budding Moon, Habu, Peony Moon, Aizen Myoo

Peacocks In the imp: sweet floral pear. Very sweet and bright. Wet on skin: something gets a little bit sharp, but not in a bad way. Smells bright and fruity and floral. Dry on skin: lemon? Why on earth am I smelling verbena? That, along with the jasmine and fruitiness, reminds me of Vampire Tears. This is a little softer and less biting (ha!) than VT. I smell bamboo, lots of bamboo, and sweet sugar cane, and also a gentle plum note and some mossy white musk. It’s a very pretty floral, the jasmine is of the nice variety, it is a cool white-purple scent to my nose, with an almost Asian feel thanks to the bamboo. It’s not over-sweet though. After a while: when the odd verbena note goes away, the scent becomes so beautiful! I thought it was going to become a nice but a bit meh fruity-floral scent, but this is exquisite. It’s mainly white musk, moss and bamboo with a little violet, but the jasmine, freesia, pear and sugar cane just enhance this soft downy whiteness with a wonderfully well balanced mix of fruits, flowers and gentle skin-scent. It’s sweet but not cloying at all, a little powdery in the nicest way, and subtly flowery but not heady. Everything is just so well blended here. I swear there’s a hidden vanilla note in here because I keep catching wafts of vanilla, and I have no idea why but when I smell my wrist, this mystery vanilla seems to be coming from the Peacocks. The beautiful sweet musk stage doesn’t last long and then the scent seems to disappear, leaving a trace of moss and bamboo and musk behind as it leaves…but I miss the sweet warm sugar stage! Verdict: this is a surprise hit! I knew it would be either gorgeous or so-so on me, but this was even more beautiful than expected. An oddly lemony beginning then turns into a fruity floral with fresh bamboo. It’s lovely but it’s not screaming ‘I want more’. But then the scent turns into the loveliest fragrance of soft white musk and moss with touched by a well blended scent of flowers, plum, pear, and white sugar. It’s even got something warm and vanilla-like to it. It’s a delightful and delicate scent and lasts for a good long time, though that endearing sweetness does leave after a few hours, with the mossy musk remaining. This is a very well-mixed collection of notes, a perfect floral-fruity musk. I may get a bottle once my decant is done. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Yes-this is gorgeously pretty. Maybe I’ll get a bottle some day. If you like this, try: Vampire Tears, Habu, White Phoenix, Belle au Bois Dormant, Thalia

The Flower Song In the decant: oh, this is gorgeous. Sweet pomegranate and lotus! Wet on skin: now I smell barley water, and is that papyrus I smell here as well? Dry: mmm, this is so beautiful! It’s hard to describe really, but I do smell pomegranate, barley and lotus with a definite undertone of golden papyrus-and as I love the smell of those papyrus paintings imported from Egypt, this is a good thing. The pomegranate is sweet and juicy and light but with a tart undertone, almost effervescent or candied but not cloying. I think it’s the lotus sweetening it up nicely. The barley, I must say, actually reminds me of sweet barley water, but without the fruit flavourings. Or maybe if Robinsons made pomegranate flavoured barley water, it would smell like this. It’s a grainy and soft sweetness, almost like oat milk. After a while: for a scent that seems quiet at first, this now has a lot of throw! Now I smell more pomegranate, which now reminds me of Fruit of Paradise, but sweeter and without the spice. If Fruit of Paradise was red, this is pink! The barley’s grainy and golden scent is also stronger, and the scent is a little more wine-like at this point. Kind of like white wine with pomegranate. I still smell the reeds and lotus. It’s a lot drier in scent now and I see where the rice wine comparison comes from, that’s probably the barley giving that impression? The scent then turns into a scent very much like the juicy pomegranate from Aquarius, but this is a scent of pomegranates scattered on sand…a mix of juicy sweet wetness and golden dryness. The pom note lasts for a surprisingly long time, and it smells, at the end, like dry pomegranate seeds and a hint of reeds and grain. Verdict: I love New Kingdom love poetry, the beautiful odes scribbled on shards of old pottery at Deir El Medina that are on a par with the great English poets that would come thousands of years later. So as an ardent Egyptophile I had to get this. And it is fantastic! It’s got that totally addictive pomegranate note that Beth’s been using a lot lately, similar to Aquarius and Fruit of Paradise. This makes me think of ancient Egyptian festivals, where pomegranate wine is served with a narcotic/aphrodisiac spike of lotus to make the party a little more exciting, if you get my drift. And there’d be lots of beer too, which the barley evokes, but thankfully the barley here doesn’t smell like beer at all! All in all, a wonderful pomegranate scent framed with sweet lotus and with dry golden notes of grainy barley and a hint of papyrus paper, possibly where an ancient romantic song would be written. Beautiful scent with a beautiful inspiration, this is my new favourite pomegranate scent and I need lots of bottles of this! Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Of course! If you like this, try: Fruit of Paradise, Aquarius 07, Madonna, Persephone, Mr Ibis, Meshkenet, Nefertiti

Prospero In the imp: smells like grape flavoured sweets (not grape juice), more so than Blood Phoenix. Wet on skin: now it goes really sharp…a bit sour, actually. Not sure if this’ll go the nice wine way or turn nasty on me. Dry on skin: ok, this isn’t too bad now, but I’m not sure what to make of it. It’s a very dry red wine scent, so dry that it’s almost sour, and I can also smell something woody, like the barrels the wine is kept in. There’s also a sour and slightly wilted flower note to this, and I have no idea what that is, because champaca hardly ever turns sour on me (usually it becomes too sweet). I don’t smell amber or musk here, but there’s a little hint of plum, but oddly this doesn’t smell like fresh juicy plums like BPAL plum usually does, in here it smells like prunes! Oh yes, now I see why this smells so sharp and a bit unpleasant-it smells like prune juice! After a while: now it smells less like prune juice (which I quite like to drink, but it’s what the juice does to me that makes me feel uncomfortable about smelling like it) and a bit more sophisticated now. It smells like plum pudding, cooked plums soaked in wine, with a hint of champaca…but it also has the super-sweet ‘fruity pie filling with too much sugar’ scent I got in Bloody Mary and Blood Phoenix. I get that here too. No amber or white musk, just a cloying fruit pie filling with a hint of caramel which makes me a little nauseous. It could be that the champaca is making this a tad too sweet for me. Verdict: this one was really bad on me, I’m afraid. I used to think all wine/wine grape scents would work on me but recently Blood Phoenix turned too sweet on me, and this does pretty much the same thing. Only in here the plum also goes bad (which is odd for plum) and the whole thing smells like sour prune juice. The champaca adds a cloying aspect, and as for the amber and musk, which I love? They don’t even make an appearance. So all in all, not my kind of scent at all. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? No.

The Oval Portrait In the imp: honeyed honeysuckle. This may turn soapy. Wet on skin: strong honeysuckle and white lily. Very pretty for now but it seems to be veering in the soapy direction. Dry on skin: honeysuckle and lily. This is a light and delicate floral scent with the barest whisper of vanilla musk and a hint of honey. There is a slight soapy scent to it all that I’m not sure about though. It reminds me of rose-less Victoria, and also actually reminds me of Et Lux Fuit, for some reason. I think the vanilla musk in this and ELF and Victoria are similar. Victoria isn’t soapy though, probably thanks to the rose. But for now it’s a soapy honeyed floral with a hint of musk. After a while: I was hoping the other flowers, especially the carnation (and I’m curious as to what bluebonnet smells like) but they don’t…all I can smell is honeysuckle and lily and a faint hint of watery musk. It’s ok, but it is very soapy. Usually stargazer isn’t too soapy on me, I love it in Victoria, but in here it is a little too soapy and so is the honeysuckle (which I prefer when it is weighed down with sweet or resinous notes and spices-like in Chimera, Hony Mone and Hermia) which is going waxy now. The vanilla musk is too weak in the face of these floral notes. Verdict: this seemed the most promising of the new Poe scents, and I took a gamble with this, hoping the carnation and vanilla musk would make the potentially soapy flowers into something beautiful, but sadly, the soapy flowers won out. Despite the pleasantness of the vanilla musk, a surprisingly fresh musk with a white and breezy aspect, the honeysuckle turned into full blown soap on me. So did the lily, I suspect. It is pretty, clean and light and ghostly, but I am not keen on what the floral notes do to my skin in here. So this one is not for me, ultimately. I prefer Victoria when it comes to floral vanilla musk and lily. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Not really.

TP’d Trees In the imp: sweet fresh pine…which smells a bit like toilet cleaner (not paper though!) Wet on skin: pine, pine, pine…and a hint of clean soapy floral. Dry on skin: green pine, a hint of woody cypress and oak, and that sweet, slightly soapy and clean floral note (cotton blossom?) underneath it all. I smell something dusty, white and fluffy which hints at Andrex, but I must say that this does smell like a toilet. Not in a bad way, like Pruno which smelt like a public toilet at it’s cleanest, this smells like a clean bathroom with pine cleaner in a pristine loo, and hints of bath cleaner (something reminiscent of lemon Jif or Mr Muscle) and bubble bath. It reminds me of the creamy lemon cleanser note I got in Delousing Powder, actually…but with pine. It smells too much like bathroom cleaning products to me, but at least it smells clean! After a while: still reminds me of bathroom cleaner, but it’s actually more pleasant now. It’s a little bit more floral and it reminds me of clean fluffy towels. It also reminds me of air freshener, which isn’t as nice. I don’t get the Buck Moon similarity…maybe a slight hint of the musk from that, but it’s not as lovely as the Buck, and far too soapy and with floral notes that are too loud and a bit fake-smelling. Verdict: I was hoping this would smell like Buck Moon, like some people said it did. But it didn’t, and I’m not too surprised that this one ended up smelling like a toilet on me. A very clean toilet, thankfully! And a much nicer toilet smell than Pruno. Cleaned with lots of pine disinfectant and lemony limescale remover, with copious amounts of floral air freshener and a hint of flowery scented toilet paper (or wet wipes). It’s very soapy at times, the pine note smells too much like cleaning products (unusual since BPAL pine is usually so lovely) and the floral aspect of this smell is too artificial and cloying for me. I’ve not had a BPAL that smells of Glade yet but this is the closest it gets. So yes, it is very evocative of TP and clean loos, but not my kind of scent at all. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? No.

Pumpkin Smash In the imp: sweet buttery pumpkin with a golden aspect, like Pumpkin Queen. Wet on skin: pumpkin and something sweet and malty which isn’t too beery yet. Dry on skin: mmm, I like this! The pumpkin here is lovely-a sweet, almost amber-tinged pumpkin with hints of spice, very much like my beloved Pumpkin Queen. I also smell the beer, which is lovely. I never thought I’d say that but the beer here doesn’t have that blatant hops note that makes me smell too much like a pub crawling student. This is a light, sweet brew. I also smell the beeswax, which is lovely and honeyed and golden, less like candles and more like honeycomb. The pumpkin pulp is a bit more cooked and buttered in scent than I expected, but it’s one of the nicest pumpkin notes. I smell a hint of smoke, but no asphalt. After a while: this smells like Pumpkin Queen’s pumpkin with beeswax instead of amber, but it has the same mushy, almost jammy sweetness I got in the Queen, and that same golden incense-resinous aspect. This is an incense-y pumpkin, and I love that…I think the smoke only enhances that incense like scent, as does the candle note. The beer is so pleasant in here-it’s not at all like the beer in Roadhouse, but sweet and grainy without smelling of lager! It does get a little smokier and grittier at drydown, I smell a hint of tar (or vetiver) coming out now, but it’s very subtle. Verdict: from the notes listed, I thought that this would smell pretty bad. But then I smelt Bonfire Night, which also has beer and tar, and that was lovely, which raised my hopes for Pumpkin Smash. But this scent is even prettier than expected…in fact, this reminds me of the amber-sweet pumpkin scents (Pumpkin Queen and Pumpkin V) but darker and smokier. It’s an almost resinous-incense pumpkin, and the beeswax candle note in here is gorgeous. The beer adds a hint of sweetness and the asphalt note I get is more like vetiver than actual tarmac, and enhances the smoky drydown. This is a really pleasant scent and it’s a lovely dark pumpkin scent. It’s not my outright favourite but it’s one of the pumpkin scents I like better than most. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Just the imp, maybe.

My question. Are the lab still having problems with Yahoo Mail emails? I have an order that is missing and I emailed them about it through Googlemail just in case the Yahoo problems haven't cleared...I hope that Googlemail isn't one of those problematic web servers either.

Lunar Eclipse In the bottle: musky and dark and smoky. I smell the tea and tobacco, and something herbal-maybe lavender. Wet on skin: whoa, here comes the vetiver! Holy crap that’s a strong, nutty-incensey vetiver. Dry: ok, now the vetiver calms down a little and…wow, this now smells like beautiful dark incense with a touch of fruit tea, exotic spices, lavender and a throb of red musk. I also smell something earthy and shadowy (that makes sense!!) to it, thanks to the vetiver, myrrh and moss. The lavender then leaps forward for a while, but doesn’t overtake. The frankincense and myrrh here are gorgeous, and the tobacco and Moroccan spices actually give a hint of ‘hookah bar’ to this scent, which I love! After a while: mmm, I adore red musk, incense and fruit combinations, and now that’s what I smell! The fruit gums, which smell like blackcurrant and plum and pomegranate (but not Wine Gum/Fruit Pastille sweets) and has a hint of Mme Moriarty to it. I also smell more of the musk (mmm) and the gorgeous smoky frankincense and myrrh and spices. I don’t smell much moss but there’s a hint of tea. This is such a gorgeous scent and I just love the mysterious incense scent it has. The lavender pops in and out every now and then, and the scent then goes back to fruity musk and then the myrrh comes in. this morphs gorgeously! Then this turns to incense and tobacco, and then to tea, then to herbs and musk…wow! I can’t stop sniffing this! This reminds me of Great Cry in Egypt at times, with the honey replaced with tobacco and vetiver. The vetiver, myrrh and musk are the notes left behind at drydown. Verdict: this is one of the most stunning dark scents from the Lab, and now my favourite vetiver scent. A perfect perfumed interpretation of a lunar eclipse, this is shadowy and evokes shades of blood, maroon and crimson with an umbra of smoke. This has a fantastic feel of incense to it, as well a s a sensual musk, a black tea note that smells just like black tea should, a hint of fruitiness just to add a hint of sweetness, and the most exotic spices. Something in here imitates the depth of patchouli, even though this note isn’t listed. The tobacco is dry and smoky but not heavy. The resins are wonderful and there’s even a herbal hint of lavender at times. And the vetiver is there, but it’s a lighter, incensey vetiver, like khus. Beautifully complex and changeable, this perfume is breathtaking, and I am glad I have two bottles because this will age wonderfully, I’m sure! And yes, I am wearing this to watch the eclipse by (weather permitting…) Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Yes! Can’t wait to see what this is like by the next lunar eclipse (in 2010!) If you like this, try: Mme Moriarty, And There Was a Great Cry in Egypt, Dark Delicacies, Death of Autumn, Scherezade, Cracked Bell

Hony Mone In the imp: chocolate (where’s that coming from?) and almonds with an undertone of honeyed jasmine. Wet on skin: honeyed jasmine (reminds me of Honey Moon!) with almonds, tonka, chocolate and apricot. Dry on skin: oooh, this is pretty! The jasmine is strong, and I fear it will turn, but for now it is nice, it reminds me of the jasmine in Bigger Critters. I also smell lots of honey, and yes, it does remind me of Honey Moon. I also smell the almond (nutty as opposed to cherry-like) and maybe some honeysuckle, and I think it’s the tonka that’s making this a little bit sweet and almost chocolaty. I also smell some honeysuckle which may or may not turn to soap, a little bit of carnation and a creamy fig note reminiscent of Sagittarius. For now it is a lovely scent but there’s something there…can’t quite put my finger on it, but it’s not quite right, it smells a bit funky, a bit sharp, a little soapy. Maybe this scent will stabilise a bit more. After a while: ah, that’s more like it. Whatever that weird funky note was before, it’s now gone and all the components of the scent have now merged nicely. The dominant scent I get is honey-gilded jasmine and honeysuckle, and now I get no horrid bitterness from the jasmine at all, and the soapy impression I got from the honeysuckle has faded. Now this reminds me of the original Honey Moon, and the honeys in here are very similar. This though is a bit heavier, a bit more decadent, a little sweeter thanks to the fruit and tonka. The drydown reminds me more and more of Honey Moon, which is fantastic because I love Honey Moon and I haven’t found another honey scent like it. This one is a little bit stickier and richer, and also has a more ‘voluptuous’ feel to it than the summery herbal honey of Honey Moon. It’s also a creamy scent, creamy flowers and honey…the drydown reminds me of Euphrosyne. There’s nothing sharp about the honey in here, it’s just sweet and soothing. Verdict: yes, as I expected and hoped, this is like Honey Moon, but it’s also very different. At first I’m not sure about it-there are loads of wonderful notes, but there’s also something that smells funky that I’m not keen on. This does disappear, and despite threats from jasmine and honeysuckle wanting to turn soapy, this doesn’t turn to soap like I fear, and it turns into one of the most gorgeous honeyed jasmine scents ever! Think BiggerCritters with added honey! The honey is very similar to Honey Moon (and I love that honey note), only less summery and outdoorsy and much richer and more luxurious, thanks to the fruit and tonka, which also keep the honeysuckle in check. Overall, I still prefer the lighter and sunnier scent of Honey Moon but this is a fabulous fragrance, both in scent and inspiration, and I definitely want to keep a bottle. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Yes-one bottle will do for now but I’m not sure if I need a second yet… If you like this, try: Honey Moon 05, Eos, Mad Kate, Peitho, MB: Bigger Critters, Euphrosyne, Diwali, Bilquis

Sea of Tranquillity In the imp: ohhh, this smells like a gentler Lotus Moon! Wet on skin: soft sweet lotus surrounded by a pale amber and a hint of opium. Dry on skin: this is gorgeous! This is beautiful lotus and gentle amber. I can’t smell the rose but I can smell the sandalwood and a bit of poppy, giving a hint of gentle incense to the scent. I think there’s just the barest scent of passion flower, but this is mainly a beautiful sweet lotus enrobed with a soft amber. Something about this reminds me of Fairy Market for some reason, but it also reminds me of one of my Egyptian themed scents…maybe Blood or Black Lotus? That’s definitely the lotus and maybe the white amber giving this impression…the white amber in here is fantastic. After a while: now this smells very similar to Lotus Moon, that same mix of amber, lotus and opium, except this is paler, more ethereal, probably because this is a white amber, not a golden one. There’s a gently glowing feel to this scent, a soft warmth, it’s also slightly powdery, and surprisingly sophisticated. It’s sweet but definitely not bubblegum sweet, and there’s a hint of smoke that gently weaves through it all. It also reminds me of Bastet, another favourite of mine. Over time this reminds me of Black Lotus, but not as dark…silvery is a fitting description. The drydown actually reminds me of Neptune, that mysterious, wispy scent of sweet, otherworldly lotus in a haze of narcotic smoke. This resemblance to Neptune is the closest this comes to smelling aquatic to me. I also smell more of the white amber at this point and it is such a delightful amber. I love white amber in NA scents, and this is the first BPAL where this lovely note really stands out and is well defined. Just before the scent goes, there’s a slight resemblance to Hermia, thanks to the passion flower. Verdict: this is the most beautiful combination of amber and lotus I’ve smelt so far. This is a haunting and enchanting scent of silvery moonlit flowers warmed by amber light, touched by sweetness and wrapped with a hint of smoke. The opium here is perfect-a light incense that is truly dreamy. The white amber is so gorgeous and the lotus is sweet and ethereal but not bubblegummy at all. I don’t smell much of the rose but the sandalwood grounds all the notes, passion flower adds a hint of something fruity. This becomes a truly stunning amber-lotus scent at the end, and then becomes dominated by amber, and as I’m an amber-holic, that’s a very good thing. To me, this is Bastet’s silvery cousin. Definitely one I want a backup or two of. One of the loveliest lunar scents and one of the few ‘sea’ scents I can wear! Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Yes-this is stunningly beautiful. If you like this, try: Lotus Moon, Bastet, Neptune, Black Lotus, Blood Lotus, Hermia, Fairy Market

Midway Resurrected In the imp: mmmm, like the original, but sweeter, more cotton-candied! Wet on skin: candy floss, fried doughnuts, marshmallows…all the sweets of the fair. Dry on skin: oh yes. This is just like original Midway…but stronger. And I love that. I loved the first Midway, but I found it much too faint. This one has a lot more presence, a lot more waft, and doesn’t vapourise when it hits the skin. I smell all the gorgeous sweet goodness of fried doughnuts and candy floss here, maybe a hint of toffee apple and coconut ice too? I think this one is heavier on the spun sugar. But it’s a very gentle, non-cloying sweetness. After a while: still going strong, usually by now the original scent would have been eaten by my skin. But this one gives off an aura of delicious soft sugar. Almost like a glow of sweetness radiating off my skin, this one seems to have a lot more vanilla to it as well. I also smell a hint of funnel cake but thankfully this doesn’t smell greasy, just sweet and yummy. I want to gnaw on my wrist. I’m also amazed at how long lasting this is-I still get a sweet waft of vanilla doughnuts covered in sugar after a few hours. At times, the vanilla in here smells like birthday cake! And I love the smell of birthday cake! No buttercream but definitely with icing on it. Verdict: this is like Midway, but better! It’s everything I loved about the original (the sweetness, the candy floss, the fried doughnuts and other fair treats) minus what I didn’t like about the original (the faint plastic/cardboard undertone), with a bit more vanilla. And the best thing is that it is a lot stronger and has much more throw. Now that’s the fairground scent of my dreams! It brings back all kinds of happy memories, takes me to a happy place when I smell it. There’s a truly divine vanilla to this which I’m sure was in the original, but it’s much stronger in here, and smells like cake. Mmm, this is delicious. I’m so glad I’ve got a backup of this scent, an improvement on something I loved and didn’t think could be bettered. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Yes and I need at least one bottle! If you like this, try: Midnight on the Midway, Xanthe, Egg Nog, Snow White, Beaver Moon 07

Wezwanie/Hold In the imp: mmm, nutty honey. And yes there is something vaguely Storyville-ish to this. Wet on skin: gorgeous! Now I smell sandalwood and nutty honey and vanilla! Dry: this is wonderful! The sandalwood is dominant now, and it’s nice and strong, a warm solid wood with a comforting undertone. It’s fused beautifully with the vanilla, and there’s something almost like Storyville to this combination of wood and vanilla. I also smell the hazelnut, which doesn’t smell like syrup or caramelised nuts to me, just like a lovely sweet nutty accent to the sandalwood and vanilla. And there’s a layer of honey on top. I think I can just about make out the amber. This is decadent and delightful. After a while: mmm, now the honey has gone up a notch and this now reminds me of the ‘honeyed Heroine’ with the name I can’t spell…that’s probably due to the combination of the amber, sandalwood and honey here. I love that honeyed Heroine, so this makes me very happy…and instead of the tart currant note, I get sweet sugary nutty vanilla, a scent almost reminiscent of hazelnut meringues, sprinkled on this gorgeous honeyed sandalwood. This then goes back into that lovely nutty vanilla and sandalwood, not as honeyed now…but now I can smell amber! Gorgeous glowing golden amber joining in with the sweet woodsy loveliness. The scent moves between the soft woodsy vanilla to amber and honey and back again. It’s such a lovely scent! Verdict: this is one of the best honey blends out there, as honeyed-vanilla-amber scents, this is much, much better than O on me! This smells golden-brown, decadent and luxurious. The honey is runny and sweet, the hazelnut adds a perfectly nutty richness, the vanilla is sublime, the sandalwood and myrrh add a nice grounding touch and the amber, especially after some time, really makes this scent glow. It’s gourmand, but thankfully the amber and sandalwood prevent this from being fully foody, and this scent doesn’t cloy at all. I can’t wait to see how this ages…I bet the amber will really pop out and the notes will be richer and even more delicious. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Oh yes, now I want a bottle! If you like this, try: Séance, Svadihnopatika (I know I’ve spelt it wrong), Mouse’s Long Sad Tale, O, Sed Non Satiata

Noche Buena In the imp: floral sage. Like the sage in Corazon, but with flowers instead of mango. Wet on skin: sweet, sweet floral nectar with green sage. Lots of plumeria and tuberose here. Dry: this is very pretty! It’s very floral, and the flowers here are very sweet and have the potential to turn cloying, but for now this is a lovely scent. the sage adds a green, herbal edge to the scent, but isn’t as dry and desert-like as I expected, this sage note gives a scent more like the leaves and stems of the flowers with a hint of herbs. I don’t smell much of the incense, but I can smell the plumeria, tuberose and a hint of chrysanthemum. After a while: this gets drier and greener and the sage note smells less like the balmy, herbal, warm sage I expected and more like the bitter scent of dried flower stems, with a hint of something lovely and balsamic behind it which may be the incense. I’m not sure what I think of the bitter greenness though. The floral notes have also toned down-it’s now less dominated by the heady plumeria and tuberose, and now I smell more of the chrysanthemum, which enhances the dried plant scent this has. I think I also smell lily at this point, the kind of lily with a strong stem scent. It reminds me of Allison Gross now, but a lot more pleasant than that scent-it’s not as soapy. Eventually this settles into a gorgeous, but slightly faint, herbal incense scent. It reminds me of something else, probably a mix of elements from Coyote, Tzidakim Nistatim and Ahathoor. It’s a round, soft, balmy and very slightly resinous incense edged with sage. I get little to no flowers now. It reminds me of the slight hint of chrysanthemum I got in Death of Autumn mixed with dry warm notes. Now I get more of a desert sage feel from this. Verdict: even though this feels more like a spring scent than a winter one, I like this one a lot. It starts off as being very green, almost grassy, with fresh flowers that smell just like a florist’s, except these flowers are much richer and headier. Though this certainly isn’t as headily floral as Dia de los Muertos. It’s a gorgeous bouquet of a scent, and thankfully, the flowers don’t turn too bad, the greenery doesn’t turn too bitter, and the drydown is really lovely, even nicer than the just-dry stage. That’s when the incense comes out, a soft, subtle but warm and gently resinous scent mixed with a drier sage note. I love that stage but I wish it were stronger, with more oomph to it. I still prefer Midnight Mass as my festive incense scent, but I’m keeping the decant of this to age and hopefully the incense will come out more. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Just the decant. If you like this, try: Dia De Los Muertos, Swan Maiden, Hi’iaka, Allison Gross, Thalia, Coyote

Green Phoenix In the bottle: crushed stems and bitter grass. Has the potential to go soapy…here’s to hoping it doesn’t. Wet on skin: dandelions, sweet grass and lilies? I smell just a hint of lime and mint. Dry on skin: hmm, this is interesting. For now, it is very pretty and agreeable. It smells like Envy, but it’s a lot nicer and less bitter than Envy, this is soft and springy. The sage is a green, fresh variety, not a dry one. I also can detect a hint of fruity-sweet papaya. I don’t get much mint or cucumber yet…maybe just a hint of cucumber. There’s some lime there, and a little bit of tea. But the crushed grass is the dominant note…it’s like fresh stems, or dandelions, in here. This is lovely right now and I hope it stays like this. After a while: now this has become a little bit soapy. There’s a floral note in here, even though it’s not listed, and it’s one of those white lily-like florals that turns to soap on me. Dammit. Despite the fact I can still smell papaya, cucumber, maybe a little bit of amber too, it’s a white, waxy, soapy floral with hints of bitter greenery that I smell most of all. It’s not bad, but I was hoping for no soapiness at all. However at times it does remind me of Squirting Cucumber, with it’s cucumber and grass with a hint of white floral underneath…it’s a light, breezy summer scent. Eventually the scent becomes all cucumber and floral grass, no amber, papaya or musk now. It’s a little flat now, which is a shame. However the musk does finally appear after a few hours. Verdict: I’m funny with grass scents and green scents. whilst I adore the smell of cut grass, some BPAL grass/green scents turn bitter and soapy on me, and sadly this is one of them. But it’s not a bad scent, especially at the start. It smells fresh and spring-like, like grasses and herbs and crushed leaves dappled with dew, cucumber and sweet fruits and even dandelion. I was hoping it would remain lovely and cool and dewy and that the amber, musk and papaya would come out, but sadly that wasn’t the case. The grass note suddenly took over and turned bitter, and something really soapy came out, like a hidden floral note. The scent also lost the other interesting elements of herbs and tea and fruit and went a little bit blandly green on me. I do prefer it to Envy though, which was too bitter for me, this is a softer take on that theme. But sadly this isn’t my thing-and I was hoping for a lovely green scent for spring that would work on me! Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? No…not so keen on the thin soapy drydown. If you like this, try: Envy, One to Tie Two to Win, Squirting Cucumber, Aeval, Allison Gross

Ice Prince The scent: in the bottle, it’s a strong, cold pine scent, with a definite twist of Beth’s snow note. It is definitely reminiscent of Skadi, Talvikuu etc. On the skin/in the bath, the scent becomes very menthol-y, a chilly pine note with an even colder aspect of wintergreen or camphor or even eucalyptus. It’s such a powerful scent, filling the whole house as soon as I pour it in the bath. I keep thinking that I should have waited to bathe in this when i get a bit sniffly-this will work wonders on colds, with it’s fresh and clearing scent, like a winter wind, and combined with the steam from the bath, I’m sure this stuff would be more effective than Vick’s, and with a nicer smell. It also has a skin cooling effect, which is very apparent once I get out of the bath. Maybe there’s mint in here too. The scent, once the initial hit of menthol passes, is very much like Talvikuu or Old Moon or Snow Moon, I can smell the snowy evergreen and something fruity and a hint of floral, but it’s the frozen forest notes that dominate. The oil that remains on the skin after bathing then reveals more of the plum note, and the scent then starts to remind me of the Shivering Boy. The oil: like Winter Maiden, it seems to dissolve and disperse nicely in the bath. No foam, no colour…just scented bathwater. The texture: the water feels silky and moisturising but not slippery or oil slick-y. It absorbs into the skin but not as much as the massage oils-this one feels like there’s a bit more extra moisturisation going on. My skin felt very soft after leaving the bath. In fact, I love the smooth sensation of this oil that I used this, post-bath, as a moisturiser. The verdict: I prefer Winter Maiden to the Prince, as sometimes this scent is a little too mentholated for me, but as a whole, this is another wonderful bath experience-I also love the cool tingle that this stuff gives my skin after bathing. It also will layer very well with other BPAL snow scents.

I saw some pics of the Love Poem labels, they are very minimalist, with just the poem against white as a background and the name of the scent.

Krampus 07 In the imp: very similar to 06-red musk (this time a little more Crowley-esque) and leather, with a slightly soapy pine wood note. Wet on skin: whoa, this red musk is a lot darker than last year’s! Here it is Smutty! Dry: holy crap, this is the Christmas Crowley. This one is heavier on the musk than last year’s, not as heavy on the wood and that slightly soapy rag note, this red musk even takes over the leather. this is the same musk as that of Smut and Crowley, a sexy, feral musk with just a hint of kinky rubber to it. there is a hint of something like pine or clean linen to it though, and this also has none of the sweetness that I got in Crowley and Smut. Just the raw musk with leather and woods. After a while: the musk becomes deeper and darker and a little more animalistic, still with that hint of rubber, but there’s a strange soapy-clean or fresh note, a fresh green scent like evergreen scented powder, which clashes with the dark, moody musk. I got this in the last version of Krampus, only this time there’s more musk. Then this soapy scent then morphs into a masculine perfume scent, one of those traditional men’s scents of greenish woods and moss, but with leather and heavy musk, and something that reminds me strongly of patchouli. It’s actually a smooth patchouli-musk after a while. Verdict: this smells very similar to the old Krampus, only this one has a lot more musk…and it’s musk of the Smutty kind which also reminds me of a certain Queen-loving demon. Musk and leather with a background of manly woods and something almost like evergreens…but oddly, there’s a soapy note to this that I don’t really like. And the musk, like the one in Smut, turns to rubber on me. At least Crowley has the vanilla and incense-like notes to calm the musky leather down a bit. A little too intense and manly for me and I’m not keen on the powdery (dusty rags?) drydown. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? No…I prefer Crowley. If you like this, try: Crowley, Smut, Loviatar, De Sade, C Auguste Dupin

The Shivering Boy In the imp: soft winter pines with a sweetness and resinous warmth. Wet on skin: like the Snow Storm, but warmer and sweeter and with more fruit and resins. Dry: mmm, this is lovely! It actually reminds me of Skadi, but this one is warmer-it’s not as cold and shivering as I expected. There is a hint of coolness but it is more like sleet than full on snow. I also smell hints of clean ozone, slightly citrus-y, as well as notes of vine leaves and pine, but no grapes. But those resins are fantastic-they add depth and warmth to the scent. After a while: now I get more in the way of fruit. This isn’t a deep red wine or a sweet sugary grape juice scent though. I smell lots of green vine leaf here. This now smells mushy, it’s hard to describe but it’s like crushed, slightly fermented white grapes in slushy wet snow which is melting. I also smell the frankincense note underneath, a soft golden scent, and the sweeter benzoin. This scent is still surprisingly warm, a comforting winter scent edged with a hint of pine or fir. I like this but I wish it was a bit colder in feel and that the fruit note was more defined. At least it’s not smelling overripe and oversweet, even if it smells like it’s fermenting. Sadly, this scent melts away and fades fast from my skin! I get traces of gorgeous pine resin and vines left behind after a few hours, but it’s so faint now…no more sweetness or fruit either. Verdict: after seeing gushing reviews and swooning fans of this scent on Lush NA (you know who you are!) I had very high hopes. And I like this a lot…but it’s not outright love. I like the notes here…the ‘vineyards’ smell less like grapes and more like vine leaves and squashed fresh white grape fruit, some of which is fermented, it’s a green-fruity mix. The snow notes are lovely but I was hoping they’d be much colder and more obvious. It definitely is more sleety than snowy though. the resins do add a little depth, sweetness and contrasting warmth to the scent, but I was hoping those resins would pop out a lot more. They are too faint for this resin lover’s tastes in here. I smell evergreens here too. the biggest disappointment is that this scent faded too fast, melted away, lost it’s coldness…disappeared and left a ghost of scent behind on the skin. I am keeping my decant, just in case age brings those resins out a bit more, and hopefully I can give this Boy some love. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Not sure yet…I’ll keep the decant for sure. If you like this, try: Death of the Gravedigger, Snow Storm, Haloa, November, Old Moon

Parsifal In the imp: mainstream cologne! This is very perfumey indeed… Wet on skin: this still smells like generic perfume, but now with a citrus zing. Dry: whoa this so sharp, it’s almost like there’s a hint of alcohol to it! The ozone is dominant, it’s a brash, harsh, sharp and perfumey ozone, thankfully not electric, but a bit soapy. I also smell a citrus note, I’m guessing that’s the petitgrain. I also smell hints of narcissus underneath this overpowering ozone, but no rosemary. I have no idea what cyclamen smells like. But this reminds me of a mainstream perfume I smelt once…this is a lot more like designer perfume than BPAL tends to be-even more so than the other ‘perfumey’ BPALs! After a while: that sharp, piercing scent does die down and the scent actually becomes a lot more pleasant. Something about it reminds me of Amsterdam, that same grassy-watery scent, but with narcissus instead of tulip. This floral note is deep and rich and a little bit like opium, actually, on me at least. It still smells like fresh ozonic perfume, but it’s not as unpleasant as before. Verdict: I’m not keen on this at all, especially the first hour of wear. I don’t mind the ‘perfumey’ BPALs, in fact, I love quite a lot of them (51 and Archangel Winter come to mind) but this one is much too brash, too piercing, reminiscent of those perfume smells that makes me wince whenever I step into a department store. It feels like it’s drilling through my nose, and I fear that it will give me a headache. Yup, the ozone here is of the bad variety, and the petitgrain makes this smell even more like cologne. It does calm a bit at the end, when it smells more like a cool narcissus scent with a touch of something fresh and crisp. But I really can’t stand the sharp, perfumey scent I get from this overall…I feel like the only one here who doesn’t like this one, sadly… Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? No. If you like this, try: Lightning, Dirty, Archangel Winter, Tempest, Privilege, Amsterdam

El Amor Y La Muerte In the imp: spicy clove and patchouli with a perfumey undertone which is sophisticated, mature, and almost masculine. Wet on skin: dark dusty patchouli and sandalwood incense with clove. Dry: mmm, this isn’t bad, but I’m quite surprised at how much it reminds me slightly of Mama Ji! There’s a dry sandalwood-rose-spice incense to it which reminds me of Indian incense, there’s something almost hippy like about it but it’s more sophisticated. This one smells quite classy as well as smelling mysterious and exotic. It’s also a very dry scent, dusty and woodsy, but I like that. I can also smell hints of those gorgeous resins. After a while: oh, this gets better. it gets richer, loses that slightly masculine-perfume scent it had before, the incense becomes less dry. The patchouli and clove are now rich, dark and sweet, the combination reminding me of the Smiling Spider. I can also smell the resins more now, which I love. There’s still a hint of dusty wood, but now this smells rich and deep and gorgeous. It’s beautiful but oddly for a scent full of patchouli and resin, it’s a little bit faint after a couple of hours, closer to the skin than expected. I think aging will improve it’s staying power. Now I smell something a little musky, or maybe like labdanum or ambergris, in here. Verdict: this is a gorgeous and rich scent of oriental sandalwood incense, deep patchouli and velvety rose bound together with resinous notes and warmed with clove. It’s almost like Wanton, but more complex. There’s a feel of something classic yet mysterious and also grown up about it. It feels old, like it’s been aged, and I bet that aging this scent will make it even lovelier. The scent is more incense-like at the beginning, but the resins and clove (and what lovely clove!) come out more at the end. The only complaint is that I wish it lasted a bit longer on the skin. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? I may get a bottle one day. If you like this, try: Wanton, Mama Ji, Goblin, Baghdad, Coiled Serpent, Smiling Spider, Malice

Christmas Rose In the imp: fizzy flower water! A tiny bit soapy, but promising. Wet on skin: sweet soft flowers floating in soda. Dry: this is very pretty! This is not rosy at all, of course, but smells like a delicate frosted fairy flower, glittering in the moonlight. It’s a sweet flower with a watery feel which is almost dewy but also frozen. There’s also a powdered sugar sweetness dusted over this flower. The scent is clean, a little soapy but in a good way, and definitely has an effervescence and a sparkling candied feel to it. this smells magical, whimsical, the scent of winter fairies. It also reminds me of Archangel Winter’s clean frosted floral scent, but whilst that had a blue feel, this scent is very pink to me, a pink tinted sugared flower. After a while: eventually I get a hint of the hellebore scent from Black Hellebore and Crow Moon, though this is more like the latter. It’s not as ‘perfumey’ as Black Hellebore, though it does have a tinge of the earthy, dirty undertone I got from BH, as well as the bright, cool dewy scent from CM. this one is a lot sweeter and sugary than those scents, it’s gentler and more approachable, and the snowy touch is very pretty. The scent becomes sharper, a little bit more earthy, and more perfumey over time as the soft sugared snow melts and I smell the darker notes of the flower. Now this smells more like Black Hellebore, right down to the almost vetiver-ish undertones that scent had. Verdict: at first, this smells like an enchanted fairy drink brewed from enchanted blossoms, with a touch of pixie dust. One of the prettiest and most enchanting florals ever! it’s wonderfully effervescent and bright and it glitters with a dusting of sugar or snow. it is a little bit soapy but not in a bad way. The scent gets darker and dirtier though, losing the lovely ‘fairy flower’ scent and turning into an earthy scent, a lighter version of Black Hellebore but definitely with that tobacco/vetiver like undertone and a similar perfumey feel to BH…only this scent is a lot cooler. It’s nice, but I prefer Archangel Winter as my icy floral scent...and I wanted more in the way of a sugared flower scent. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Not sure. If you like this, try: Black Hellebore, Crow Moon, Archangel Winter, Snow White