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BPAL Madness!

zankoku_zen

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Everything posted by zankoku_zen

  1. zankoku_zen

    Egg Nog Bath Oil

    Egg Nog smells like a vanilla pudding, custardy, with a hint of rum. Unfortunately, BPAL's cream note tends to go plasticky on me, and its no exception. So it ends up smelling a little like vanilla play doh on me.
  2. zankoku_zen

    Ysabel Bath Oil

    Frankincense, benzoin, and a touch of carnation. This is deep, resinous with just a touch of spice of carnation to give it a deep feminine tinge.
  3. zankoku_zen

    Olibanum

    This is definitely a *thick* oil. It smells like mentholic, slightly lemony frankincense. It smells resinous and a bit piney on wet. And occasionally, I get a musky undertone to it. Golden, resinous, woody.
  4. zankoku_zen

    The Other Miss Spink

    Sticky, sweet tuberose and gardenia. Meaning, sticky sweet wet wool and hairspray on me. Why you hate me tuberose? WAAAAI? Why you hate me gardenia? WAAAAI?
  5. zankoku_zen

    East African Black Patchouli

    Deep, earthy, gritty patchouli.
  6. zankoku_zen

    The Snow Globe

    Mint, mint, mint. This is the minty mint of a toothpaste (hallo eucalyptus) and there's a hint of glass and soap as well. Oddly enough, it would make a wonderful blend for Christmas and scenting a room. (The bathroom seems like a logical fit.)
  7. zankoku_zen

    The Silver Stream

    White floral aquatic. Very clean. There's something very clear, very strong, and very melancholic about this. But in a good way. This like a visit to the grave site of a beloved one, after enough time has passed that there isn't overwhelming grief, but a dull throb of pain, as you squint your eyes at the bright sunshine and your head is full of happy memories. It's pensive without being depressive. There are components in this that remind me to Sea of Glass.
  8. zankoku_zen

    Black Taffeta

    Black Taffeta is very different to me on wet and dry. On wet, it's a much harsher and inkier blend, and I definitely get the 'black taffeta' but its opium tar + patchouli and black musk. As it dries, I get a whiff of the geranium and white musk, and it becomes slightly more wearable. On the drydown, it oddly reminds me to Chinese incense, and it's got a very heavy incense vibe to me. Not something that I adore, but it's very pretty nonetheless. Very different.
  9. zankoku_zen

    Deyanira, the Fakir

    Deyania, you are such a morpher you. So on wet at first you smell like a green fresh floral, with tinges of fruitiness. I think you have some pomegranate. But underneath it all, there is a woody, dark resin spiciness. As you dry, I get more of that pomegranate/wood, with a tinge of blackened metal. I got this frimped in a swap, and thank you to the generous forumite for the tester!
  10. zankoku_zen

    Summer Lace

    Caramel tobacco and vanilla. It's nice, but it hasn't given me a visceral reaction, so it's obviously NOT what I'm looking for. Pity, since it has both vanilla and tobacco, so I thought this could have been a winner.
  11. zankoku_zen

    Goblin Sack

    Hazelnuts, cream, and vanilla..... AND HOLY SHIT, THIS SMELLS VERY SIMILAR TO SHEELA NA GIG! I don't think Sheela had leather, but it did have creamy vanilla and hazelnuts. It's not as pearlescent as Sheela, but it shares alot of similarities. This may end up too foodie for me, but it's lovely and tasty.
  12. zankoku_zen

    Slipping Into Madness

    Vetiver, rooty earthy patchouli and a smidge of black musk and tobacco. This smells deep, dark, and manly.
  13. zankoku_zen

    The Other Miss Forcible

    Sweet, sticky black musk and cinnamon. It's darker, more sinister, more complex than the regular Miss Forcible. Oddly enough, the image that popped in my head was "spider woman".
  14. zankoku_zen

    The Ghost Children

    Crushed greens, white roses, and lilies and a touch of sweetness. This blend reminds me to some of the Ars Moriendi blends, in the sense that it is chilly white florals with melancholy and nostalgia hanging around them in giant swirls.
  15. zankoku_zen

    The Other Mother's Right Hand

    Bitter, brimstone and musky flowers. On wet, this smells more like the vetiver and then it dries to a dirty, bitter old lady white floral. Only that kindly old lady that is knitting, you notice that her teeth are razor sharp and her knitting bones are made from human femurs. Yeah, that's not your grandma sitting right there. Unless you're a denizen from hell, at which point, IT IS YOUR GRANDMA. (And my advice to you is, RUN BITCHES, RUN.)
  16. zankoku_zen

    The Other Hot Chocolate

    So, take a Swiss Miss Milk Chocolate with Marshmallows packet, rip it open and you get this cloud of the mix, right? That's what this smells like. Creamy, sweet milk chocolate with a touch of marshmallow. If this is what evil smells like, where do I sign up? On me, this doesn't have a huge throw and it sticks pretty close to the skin. I found Bliss too watery for me, and most other chocolate blends end up being either too foodie, or have an element that doesn't work for me. This, on the other hand, would be THE bpal chocolate blend for me.
  17. zankoku_zen

    Calocyclas

    Spicy pepper, leather and something that smells like licorice. What? Honestly, its like a pepper/leather blend on me, and these are two BPAL notes that rarely work for me, if at all. PASS.
  18. zankoku_zen

    Tympanidium

    Licorice, patchouli and sandalwood. On wet, I get hints of fruity lemon, which seems to clash with the licorice and sandalwood on my skin. PASS.
  19. zankoku_zen

    Determination

    Okay, I finally busted out my partial of Determination for a work project. And it is HELLA effective. Given where I am in my organization, I am constantly dealing with interruptions. A pretty big narrative report sort of crept up on everyone and I had to spearhead its completion. Knowing that we were running short on time and that the only way to get this puppy done was to be able to POWER THROUGH it, I busted out some Determination two days in a row. 60 pages with graphs, charts, etc. DONE. As for the smell, its dark and musky. Smells like vetiver and patchouli. And dries to something that almost has some amber in it with swirls of patchouli. Honestly, this could smell like motor oil and I'd still put it on. I was actually complimented on "smelling good", while I was wearing it, so I'm not too concerned. I wasn't paying attention to how it smelled honestly, because my focus was elsewhere.
  20. zankoku_zen

    Exhibit Hall Fatigue Bath Oil

    So, I finally busted some of this out the other day.... and Very minty, very refreshing. The mint tingled EVERYWHERE. Literally. So if you're a bit sensitive, this may not be the thing you enjoy while soaking into it. I found it, personally, very invigorating, but the tingly cool sensation may not be fore everyone.
  21. zankoku_zen

    Octopus

    Moss, kelp and salt. This reminds me to a softer version of Ebisu, from the Shungas. It's got an Asian aquatic vibe to me. Fun.
  22. zankoku_zen

    Stentor

    Minty, lime, and hints of gin and green tea. This one isn't bad. It smells green, fresh and summery. And my skin eats this like NO tomorrow.
  23. zankoku_zen

    Sweet Pea

    I have to admit being pleasantly surprised by this. Typically BPAL sweet pea is an uberaggressive floral on me. Meaning that it BLOOMS on my skin, and by bloom, I mean it bombastically explodes all over. And that's all I can smell. This one is slightly sweet, with a touch of green, very soft, and very feminine. It's very fresh... and oddly enough I think I like it just the way it is. Floral, fresh, feminine. The color that comes to mind actually is the pink tone that some white roses get. Blush? I think it's called. Hrm. May have to track down a partial of this.
  24. zankoku_zen

    Epibulia

    Mango, coconut and jasmine. On wet, its very fruity but as it dries, I get bigger hits of jasmine. Admittedly, this is probably the BEST smelling jasmine blend I've had, since it has a tendency to turn into cat pee on me.
  25. zankoku_zen

    Desmonema

    Patchouli, vetiver, and coconut. This reminds me to a softer, more floral version of the GC Goblin.
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