Caltha

Wildfire I got this in a swap with elenmenal. When I first put this on it was very sweet, I almost thought I got strawberry (perhaps I interpret rose as strawberry since I got it in Dublin too), but it quickly turned sharply soapy and perfumey. Dry it's softer, sweeter and more powdery but still soapy and perfumey. A very "grown up" scent, the kind of sharp perfume that smells like, well, perfume, end of story, without any detectable notes (I have always wondered why anybody would want to smell like that but they do... Chanel no 5 still sells...). The soapiness reminds me of Vinland and since Wildfire is supposed to be woody I'm scared it's the woods that do this to me. Please let it be something else that turns all sharp and soapy since I really want to love woody perfumes! As it fades it turns less sharp and soapy and more generic rosey/floral. Not for me, I'll retry it once to make sure but it's off to swaps.

Spooky I got this in a swap with elenmenal. While I enjoy mint in candy I was convinced I'd hate mint in a perfume, that it would only remind me of things like toothpaste, chewing gum and Vicks, so I was hoping not to get any mint out of Spooky. Well, I was wrong. All I get is mint and I actually like it! When wet it smells EXACTLY like those red and white striped peppermint sticks! Very nice for special occasions like christmas. As it dries it's sort of a weaker, drier, fresher and less sweet mint, like old and dry peppermint sticks from last year. It also has a coconutty throw while it's all mint on the skin. When I put it on I got chocolate (which I had hoped for) + mint, but after a few minutes it's all mint, mint, mint.

Mi-Go Brain Canister I got this in a swap with elenmenal. I already knew fruits hate me and turn into generic fruity candy on my skin, but I still wanted to try Mi-Go because of the interesting pepper note and the mango. Well, it is sort of peppery initially but then it's the tutti frutti i expected, like a generic fresh, fruity, girlie perfume or even schampoo. It's fresher and more pleasant than Akuma, Aizen-Myoo or Cerberus on my skin but not very interesting. However, as I was expecting this I'm not too dissappointed. Off to swaps.

Dunwich Got this in a swap with elenmenal. In the imp I thought this smelled like Bayou (logical association I guess) and I was scared it would be like a "masculine" version of my beloved Bayou, without the floral sweetness, and that I would love it and have to hunt down more of it. I'm kind of relieved it wasn't. On, it's surprisingly light and fresh. Not really swampy at all, but cool and refreshing like water. Only it smells very artificial to me, like schampoo rather than water. Yeah, a lot like a whiff of someone's newly washed hair. As it dries I might get some really faint woods/herbs/spices and I thought I caught a whiff of citrus in the throw, but that might be the Severin I put on earlier today. It's a very cool scent, and while I like them in theory I like the warm and creamy kind a lot better on my skin. Also the cool/fresh/light kind tents to smell a lot more generic on/to me. I might keep the imp for days when I want something cool and refreshing, I haven't decided yet. Edited: I retried it and put some more on and this time I got some more lily sweetness, especially in the throw while the skin scent was still more schampoo-fresh. It does remind me of a lighter, fresher Bayou, a "young" version rather than a "masculine" version. I will definitely keep the imp.

Velvet I got this in a swap with sacred_poetry. When I first put Velvet on I was thrilled because I could actually feel the cocoa powder clearly. Sadly, it vanished within five minutes and left a sharp, dry, bitter scent. When wet it was kind of woody, the dry, spicy smell of a wooden box, but it dried to an unidentifiable bitter and unpleasant scent, much like Queen of Sheba did (but while QoS was almond/marzipan-bitter Velvet was woody-bitter). What is it with those supposedly sweet and creamy scents that makes them all bitter and repulsive on my skin? I must investigate common notes... I will wear Velvet once more just to make sure but it will most likely be swapped. Edited a couple of hours later: I just went for a long run in the lovely early autumn evening filled with the sound of praying mantises, and before I went into the shower I sniffed my wrists to see if there was any Velvet left. NOW I get the creamy sweetness, the vanilla/chocolate has finally appeared and replaced the dry, bitter woods (but still grounded by some nice behaving wood) but it's also very faint and just not worth it. There was this sickly note in Jezebel too, perhaps sandalwood hates me and I hate it back? Or it could be the honey in CoS and Jezebel that hates me, but then it must be something else in Velvet. Myrrh, perhaps? But how could honey possibly turn bitter? I guess it's the sandalwood in Velvet and Jezebel and the almonds in QoS... Edited again: I retried it and when I put it on my chest rather than my wrists it went less woody and sharp but still bitter and dry, like cocoa powder without sugar or cream. I like the IDEA of smelling like cocoa powder, but I just don't like the dry and bitter scent and I'm afraid I'm imagining the cocoa since I know it's there.... Off to swaps!

Fresh and inoffensive + boy deodorant - that would be Severin I think. But Severin is more like a very discreet and expensive gentleman's cologne or shaving cream than a yucky musky marine/icy men's deodorant. Severin is supposed to be earl grey, black tea and leather but I don't think you'll have to fear the leather, it's not strong and I couldn't identify it as such, I just know it was a very dry and strict and fresh and light gentleman's scent with earl grey tea as the dominant note.

Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, the Father of Masochism and sexual surrender, had planned on writing six volumes of erotic literature entitled The Heritage of Cain. Only the first two volumes were completed, the more famous of the two being the notorious Venus in Furs. This novel tells the tale of a man, Severin, that enters into a relationship of slavery and increasingly debauched degradation with his mistress, Wanda. Dry black teas, Earl Gray, and leather. Severin I got an imp of Severin in a swap with sacred_poetry. When wet, it really does smell like Earl Grey! I guess it's the bergamot rather than the tea, so far I haven't been able to pick out any detectable tea scent but it must be there all the same since I associate tea-scents with one another. The throw is more sweet and fruity, but the overall impression is still very fresh and light and there's a scent I associate with paper - not old books or inky newspaper but clean, white paper. I guess that's actually a very light version of leather, since I don't pick up any leather. As it dries the bergamot dissappears and I get mostly the faint, fresh scent of paper. A very strict and dry scent, true to the name because it's severe, not because it's in any way perverted or sensual. I expected this to be a much darker and stronger scent, black tea and black leather and masculine in a harsh way, but this is a gentleman in a grey suit, very discreet and polite and to be honest not handsome or charismatic either, just a middle-aged, thin gentleman who sips his pale Earl Grey and reads his newspaper in his favourite armchair in the mansion. It might be in his not-so-fancy but very tidy urban apartment as well and he might not even be rich, just well educated, well dressed and well behaved. Actually, this could be Giles' scent, if Giles didn't have hot dates. I quite like it because it's fresh and light and yet nothing like the ordinary fresh and light scents. I will try it again and apply more liberally next time, and I will most likely keep the imp. Who knows, perhaps I'll slowly fall in love with it and end up buying a bottle?

Cerberus Got this imp in a swap with sacred_poetry. I really enjoyed the scent of Cerberus when wet, a spicy, woody citrus. Very much citrus, lemon I'd say. However, the throw was different than sniffing my skin, sweeter and less interesting and appealing. Unfortionately, the drydown was much like the throw, a sweeter, less complicated scent that reminded me of the scented erasor-drydown of Akuma, only floral rather than fruity. I can't make out any notes any more, the citrus has eloped with the woods. It's also very faint after the citrus has faded. I'll try it again just to make sure, but I will probably swap it.

Perhaps Kumiho? It's supposed to be ginger but I read it as lime. It's still lovely though, and citrusy and fresh and inoffensive. Like a better version of Shanghai to me. I think Sudha Segara, Shanghai and Kumiho are similar light, fresh, citrusy tea scents (although SS isn't supposed to be if you read the description) and I prefer Kumiho, then Shanghai.

I haven't tried too many scents yet, but my favourites which are also quite "gender-neutral" are Dorian and Dublin. Dorian is such a lovely warm, sweet secound-skin scent yet not a cloying, clearly "feminine" vanilla. It has the slightest touch of citrus and tea to freshen it up and the musk and vanilla make it sexy and yummy. Dublin has butch pine but is otherwise very sweet and warm on me an hence not too "manly". It's sexy in an outdoorsy kind of way, for rowing your woman across a lake wearing a woolen sweater or for bringing that kind of impression with you to the clubs and bars... Today I'm wearing Bayou and I have constantly a honey-yet-not-quite-honey sweetness in my nose which I find very attractive and warm and sexy. I guess it's on the femme side though since it's a floral. Also, Scarecrow worked on my girlfriend. I guess ripe fields are quite unisex, neither floral nor woody.

Thanks a lot for your suggestions! As for Vinland however, I already have an imp and I don't get any woods out of it, it's just soapy/sweet. I think the aquatics (if there are any) or florals make it soapy and the florals or berries sweet. So for a forest scent I don't think I could wear anything with ANY floral or berry in it since it seems they turn very sweet and dominating on me... In Dublin only the pine note can combat the warm sweetness it turns into on my skin...

Yes, either I just interpret it differently or my skin actually turn it into a different smell. But that's just why I wanted to share my experience with Dublin - to see if there was perhaps someone with a similar reaction to Dublin (and/or The Hesperides) who had still managed to find another forest smell that's wetter and darker and cooler. Thanks anyway!

Are there any forest smells without the pine among BPALs stock? Or without coniferous trees in general? Dublin was supposed to be a misty forest but on me it went all sunny, hot, dry and sweet pine forest, an amber-coloured smell rather than a green one. I like it a lot but now I'm looking for a different forest smell, night rather than day, cool rather than heat, moist rather than dry, leaves rather than needles... Any suggestions? I'm a little scared of ANY flowers or fruits since the rose in Dublin turned to sweet berries and the apple in The Hesperides to pumpkin pie without any hint of forest on me, so it might as well be an entirely green smell. An autumnal forest in decay with rotting leaves would be nice as well. Based on reviews I'm thinking of buying Burial, Hamadryad, Dance Macabre, Black Annis, Omen, Shroud and Tintagel.

Kyoto Kyoto is a very interesting and original blend. It smells sort of oriental, but not as in generic "oriental" spice, rather as in an urban asian furniture market next to the food market or something like that. It's strong and acrid and musty at the same time without being unpleasant. I get wood polish until I realize that the "polish" is actually anise (and I guess the "wood" is the sandalwood) and then it smells quite distinctly of anise for a while until it morphs into something vaguer and impossible to make out. Really interesting, I have to try it again.

Shanghai I don't smell green tea, I smell black tea with lemon (fresh lemon, not lemon tea) and sugar, something like Dorian or White Rabbit without the milk. The lemon also smells a bit like some citrusy cleaning product in the beginning, but then it fades to a vague, fresh, mild and a little sweeter smell of tea with lemon. Very inoffensive and nice, yet not too boring because of the tea note.

Akuma At first, Akuma smells bitter, a "herbal" sort of bitterness rather than a chemical one. It reminds me of an old-fashioned spicy, citrusy ladies perfume that's far too old. Then the bitterness fades completely and it smells just like an ice-cream-shaped perfumed erasor I had when I was a kid, perhaps just a tad fresher but not much. Not something I'd like to smell like, except perhaps if I was going to a kid's birthday party in a really cute animal costume...

Kumiho White tea and ginger? No, but the most delicious green tea with lime. Not that I know what white tea smells like anyway... I do however know and love ginger, so it's a bit of a pity it seems to turn all citrusy on me, but I love lime as well so it's quite alright. I also detect something vaguely spicy I think of as "clove", that might actually be the ginger. As it dries it becomes slightly sweeter and fainter, but still a very yummy, juicy, fresh scent of green tea with lime. It's absolutely inoffensive since it's so light and fresh, and to me it's also absolutely irresistible.

Venom This starts out as a very interesting and original blend I really can't make out at all. It's sweet and sour, I smell some bitter citrus, although I wouldn't say lime, and acrid herbs. It's also slightly spicy and soapy. As it dries it becomes soapier and less original, with a honey sweetness in it. I feel I have to try this again, but I doubt I will ever make out the notes or decide what I really think of it...

Chimera Chimera is one of my BPAL favourites so far. I love cinnamon and I love edible smells, and Chimera is definitely an edible, spicysweet, yummy smell. The cinnamon turns a little bitter on me and reminds me of bitter almond, which gives it a sort of marzipan touch. Speaking of food, it smells like gingerbread dough, apple pie and spicy, juicy cake. Makes my mouth water...

Aizen-Myoo Aizen-Myoo smells just like grapefruit bubble bath when first applied. Later, the grapefruit bitterness vanishes and it smells like fruity, citrusy bubble bath. An ordinary, artificial, sweet and "fresh" smell that's not really fresh.

The Queen of Hearts At first I smell bitter almonds, which I guess is the cherries. There's also a sharp, soapy smell and with time it fades to a flowery soap, perhaps lily of the valley soap is the closest it gets to the description, with no hint of cherries at all. Too bad, cherries and lily of the valley would have been yummylicious.[/color]

White Rabbit The sweetness of White Rabbit reminds me of musk melon, and I'm NOT a fan of musk melon. It's not as bad as the musk melon I get in Hesperides or Iambe though, not unpleasant but not very pleasant either. I expected White Rabbit to smell like black tea with milk, honey and lemon and spicysweet cookies to go with the tea, but I get that impression from Dorian, Sudha Segara, Kumiho or Shanghai rather than from White Rabbit. All of the different notes in White Rabbit just adds upp to something vaguely sweet and juicy/milky that's not foody-yummy but rather an unfresh, artificial, simple honey-sweet melony/peachy fruitiness.

Sudha Segara I don't get the milkiness in Sudha Segara at all. On me, it's a light, fresh smell of tea with lemon and sugar but without milk. I think the citrusy freshness dominates, it's not very sweet but perhaps slightly spicey and it's also very light and inoffensive, something to freshen you up a little. Nothing extraordinary.

Queen of Sheba On me, Queen of Sheba is bitter like crushed herbs, a poisonous green/yellow smell. The bitterness could be bitter almonds, and combined with a more sweet/milky note it turns almost to marzipan. Smelling like marzipan would be quite alright, but the harsh, poisonous bitterness never really fades.

Scherezade At first, Scherezade is quite bitter and sharp on me, like incensey, musky oriental soap. Then it turns sweeter and reminds me of a quite ordinary musky, sweet and spicy ladies perfume, still with a hint of oriental soap. Edited to add that Scherezade has really grown on me. I guess it's still kind of generic incensey and it has a bittnerness that might be offputting, especially in the beginning, but I wore it today and really enjoyed having the scent constantly in my nose. And I was also impressed that I did feel it without having to sniff my wrist as I'm used to zero throw. There might be similar oriental/spicy scents I'd enjoy just as much, but since I haven't found them yet I'm considering a bottle of Scherezade... I didn't think I liked musk but since both Dorian (white) and Scherezade (red) are irresistible secound skin-scents to me I might have to change my mind about that...