urraca

London is the rosiest rose scent I know.

I really like Samhain. To me it is pure autumn. It's got a lot of notes that usually don't work on me too. If you can get them, Chrysanthemum Moon and the new Scorpio are also very autumnal.

I'm one of those Scorpios who would have bought this if its sole note had been attar of Labbie belly button lint, but to be honest, when I read the actual notes it contains, I was quite nervous. Dark musk and dragon's blood are both iffy to say the least on me and the wormwood and basil made me nervous too. I like it much more than I would have thought, especially after it dries down. At first I get strong herbal notes backed by distinctive BPAL dark musk. "Oh dear," I think. But the musk backs down and the herbs mellow into an almost licouricey scent. It is very autumnal, with an almost Samhain feel, a dark spooky Samhain (as if Samhain weren't dark and spooky already). The herbs back down in the ry down, and the resins really show through. This is the phase I like the most. It is going to be a great scent to wear in the autumn, and when I'm feeling my most Scorpio-y.

I just tried my bottle of 2006 and I have to say I can't tell any difference from it and 2004. Very different from 2005. I loved 2004, so I am a happy person now.

I got this imp about a year ago and I keep trying it every few months, hoping to get what everyone else gets out of it. Vanilla? Sugar? Spice? I say it is stinky patchouli, and I say to heck with it.

I have tried this half a dozen times or so since I received it and I'm having a hard time getting a handle on it. I do know that I'd like it. It goes on smelling a little like cocoa (the kashmir wood?) and then the three most distinctive notes are the violet, vanilla musk, and the mandarin. I love the way the mandarin is used here. It is very subtle, just enough to add some brightness to the scent. The violet is also lovely and I'd recommend this to all the violet lovers out there. It may be my favourite violet blend --- most leave me wishing they were single note violet scents, but not this. It does fade quite quickly though.

This scent would never appeal to me from reading its notes. Patchouli? Spices? Apple? Pumpkin? Ugh. But I tried a friend's 2004 and 2005 and knew I had to have it. On, I get a quick waft of butter and then a hit of pine and then something indescribable that lasts and lasts. It is sort of thick and tarry and mildly sweet. No apple, no pumpkin, in fact the only note I can detect is patchouli and I hate patchouli, don't I? But I love this.

Oh, this is such a pretty floral blend. It reminds me very much of Dreamland too, one of my favourite scents, with orchid playing here the role that tuberose does there. The crisper notes of pear and cucumber are probably what help the orchid avoid being cloyingly sweet, but mostly this scent is so smooth and well blended that no one note bullies the others for attention and all you get is a luscious bouquet of flowers.

First of I get honeyed lily and osmanthus. At this point it reminds me a little of Tiger Lily, and I am so happy this lily isn't going soapy on me. I also get the skin musk from Dreamland. As it dries down, the plum blossom and sandalwood comes through and it reminds me of Budding Moon and --- wait for it --- Underpants, which on me was very sandalwoody, although this scent is sweetened by honey rather than vanilla cream.

On me it smells like cherry-tart, custard, pine-apple, roast turkey, toffee, and hot buttered toast. Okay, the roast turkey not so much. But all the rest, yeah.

Jasmine and then SOAP. Takes "wash that man right out of my hair" a mite too literally, I think. Not a hint of rose or lavender.

Okay, I'll bite: 1) Snake Oil. I don't like it. I've tried it aged; I still don't like it. I'm still aging my imp and trying it from time to time. But I think there will be a big part of BPAL you just won't get if you don't try this. 2) Snake Charmer. A variation on the snake oil theme, it is a great introduction to the way Beth can be so creative with a basic template by adding and changing a few notes. And it works on me, which is a lesson about not letting preconceptions blind you. 3) Gaueko. Nag champa and lavender, two notes I would never expect to go together but this scent shows both to perfection. 4) Monster bait: Underpants: I don't love this scent, but it is here because its scent evokes its name better than any other: creamy and, um, woody. 5) Queen Mab: A wonderful example of what Beth can do with orchid. 6) Evening Star. I'm not crazy about the "night air" fragrances, but they are such a special part of BPAL, I think you need to try one. 7) Rose Red. Your BPAL education is not complete without at least one rose scent. This ne is one of the few that does not work on me, but it is the most unusual rose scent I have ever smelled because it truly evokes the florist's fridge. 8) The Ghost. White flowers, you would think this would be a floral like everyone else's, but I've never smelled anything like it. 9) Chrysanthemum Moon. You need to try at least one spicy scent. None of them work on me, too grandma's cupboard-like, except this one, which balances the spice with tarter musk and opium. It is also a beautiful example of the red musk note Beth uses so well. 10) Obatala. This is a perfect example of Beth's use of milky notes. Does anyone else do this? I've never seen it before. 11) Tzadikim Nistarim. Because it is magic. Try it. 12) Jacob's Ladder. For the benzoin. This is an amazing scent. If I don't stop here, I'll be describing the whole catalogue. This is nothing like a "top ten" list for me though. Great thread idea, Oly!

This reminds me of a cross between Utrennyaya and Ace of Hearts. There is rose in here for sure, but there is so much more than just rose going on in this scent. The mint I smell reminds me of the white mint in Utrennyaya, and there are other herbal scents that I can't quite identify. I smell violet also, and the scent has the juicyness of Ace of Hearts. It feels more efficacious than mere perfume. I like it, though it fades quite quickly.

It is a classic aquatic scent, ozoney and maybe a little sweeter than usual. I like the white florals in it. But I think it is what is giving me a headache. Too bad.

Cocoa, tea, and mandarin to begin with. Tobacco leaf comes in later and so does the red musk. The five herbs of conflict must be what the drydown is --- this is my favourite part. The rest is a kind of incongruous blend of notes that are pleasant on their own but odd together.

This so does not work on me. Somehow even with lovely plum and orchid, my skin turns this into cheap scented soap. I think the culprits are the jasmine and the calla lily.

All I really get out of this is lemon balm sweetened with some honeysuckle. I like lemon balm but it is such a bully note on me that it makes every scent with it smell the same.

All these wicked sounding glamourous notes and on me this just smells like raw cake batter. I think it is the cinnamon/spice notes that do this to me --- Morocco was the same. I don't get any patchouli at all, which is good because the two of us are not friends. There was a hint of amber and sandalwood at the beginning.

A hint of coconut at the outset dominated by caramelly sweetness and backed by tobacco, I can find almost no difference on me between this and Red Lantern. It's also reminiscent of Sugar Skull. Both were too intense for me, and so is this.

I love the idea of this and the plum note and orchid are beautiful but the daffodil and jasmine make it a little funky. Not a strong white musk note. This might work as a GC version of Peony and Budding Moon for some people.

I waited until the peonies were in bloom in my backyard to review this, though I have been wearing it since it arrived. I wanted to see if it really smelled like peony. And you know, I was skeptical, but it does. It opens with the sweeter plum blossom, but then the fresher, floral peony comes in as the sweetness fades a little bit. The drydown is primarily water reeds and Asian woods, and these give it a feel kind of like a warmer, sweeter Snow White (I would swear these two scents share some notes). Now it smells like peonies after a rain.

The same sharp tea note as in Spirits of the Dead, only maybe a little sharper. It dries down to a soft rose. I don't get much carnation here, but that note is sometimes elusive on me, except in Masque and Gypsy Queen. I like it just fine and will probably finish my imp. It seems like a good summer scent because of its sharpness.

A lovely fresh floral with an edge of pleasant sharpness to it at the outset. It has the feel of an elegant traditional perfume. Nothing soapy about these lilies --- it actually doesn't read to me as a familiar lily scent at all, which is a good thing. A lucky lab frimp.

Add me to the fan club. This is another immediate classic. I loved the scent of Milk Moon, but as a perfume I find it a little too foody and intense. Obatala is the perfect solution. It has all the sweet creaminess of Milk Moon together with the freshest, most natural cocoanut scent ever, mixed I think with something fresh and aquaic like the bamboo pulp that has been turning up in the Asian moons. The scent also reflects the Orisha it was named for. It is a happy, hopeful scent that I will wear when I'm feeling down.

A reformulation and modernization of a true Classical Greek perfume, myrrhine: voluptuous myrrh, golden honey, red wine, and sweet flowers. This goes on smelling like thick, dark, rich buckwheat honey. As it dries down it continues to smell like honey and all the beautiful flowers the honey was made from. The myrrh grounds the scent but isn't enough to give me a headache. I don't get any red wine, which is probably a good thing. It doesn't last that long, surprisingly for such a thick and heady scent, but it is lovely. It smells ancient --- I can imagine bees on an Athenian hillside 3000 years ago. This was a frimp that turned out very well!