zankoku_zen

Blue musk, iris and a touch of juicy fruit gum. It's sweet, musky, and like a more celestial, ethereal version of Jailbait actually. So if you loved Jailbait but wished it was less sun-drenched, summer sultry and more sophisticated and perhaps adult, try the Countess. It's like the grown up version of Jailbait. Good throw and wear length.

If Jailbait is bright pink, this is more of a silvery blue color.

Tonka, rose geranium, sandalwood and RED PATCHOULI. For me, this is a red sandalwood blend - with tinges of tonka and rose geranium. It actually smells vaguely Shunga-esque to me. Spicy floral with the red patchouli (which smells like that single note released a few years ago).

If you're looking for a new patchouli blend to cuddle, try this one out. It's got that spicy Oriental floral bloom on it, but dries down to a rich, smooth patchouli/sandalwood mix.

Lime, vetiver and wooly beeswax. This is actually a clean masculine smell. Decent throw and wearlength.

A saltier, softer version of La Pere Fourettard. Salt, licorice, and leather. There's a very clean edge to it from the salt. Decent throw and wearlength.

Smoky, rich copal, sage, touch of dusty sand and poppy. This one is a smoky, Southwest themed floral based on copal. It's gritty, pretty and rough and tumble. Good throw and wearlength.

This smells like the love child of Vivement and Antique Lace. Fizzy champagne over top of a bed of sweet, cloying vanilla Lace. Good throw and wearlength.

Fizzy, vanilla, sweet.

Tobacco, sweet sandalwood, touch of leather. This is a very masculine blend. Actually, there's a popular men's cologne that sort of smells like this, I think. But it has that vibe. Good throw and wear length.

I'm actually kinda pleased to see this, as this is what I'd consider gifting to a male significant other in that it smells like a commercial perfume, but better. In other words, this is gateway BPAL here folks. If you're looking to enable men-folk, and they prefer the heavier/muskier sort of blends, give this one a try.

Dragon's blood, blood, patchouli and a touch of clove. Dark, resinous, and masculine. Decent throw and wear length.

Actually, this smells like it could belong in the Crimson Peak line - dark, ominous, blood scented.

To me, Titan Toadstools is a cross between silvery minty green or silvery sea foam green. The silvery shimmery on this is OFF THE HOOK. It's almost blinding.

The formula is awesome. And the color is gorgeous. I would actually consider it a Spring-like color.

LOVE IT.

Coconut cream and goat milk. Honestly, this smells like it would be an amazingly moisturizing lotion. You know the type, it literally drenches your winter skin and you feel smooth and silky. Great throw and wear length. There's something warm and comforting about this.

Alas, I am neither a coconut or goat milk fan.

Well, heck. This honestly smells to me like a carnation version of TKO. I get a ton of carnation, lavender, and a touch of mint on a bed of soft patchouli. So perhaps a slightly Xmassy version of TKO?

Either way, its gorgeous and comforting. But with carnations. Good throw and wear length.

Coconut, musk, leather, and sweat. Maybe a touch of pear. Overall, this smells like coconut BO on me. This does not work at all. Of course this has excellent throw and wear length.

UGH.

Think of it as a goth that wears leather pants while playing beach volleyball, covered in suntan lotion. Yeah, not good for me.

Citrusy woods. I get a touch of basil, oregano, what seems to be lemon balm and a light white wood (think balsam). Overally, its very light and does not have a lot of longevity on my skin.

Pleasant, kitcheny, woods.

Cinnamon and cocoa that just about disappear from my skin. Low throw and wearlength.

Strawberry and beeswax. Beeswax honestly smells alot to honey on me. So sugary strawberry and honey. Decent throw and wearlength.

Dates, cardamom, and a touch of carrots. It's like a date heavy carrot cake. Very Christmassy.

Toothsome, foodie, dates.

Baked bread, butter and a touch of Mandarin. It's like a slightly citrus coffee cake. Foodie, bready, toothsome.

Sweet blueberry filling, sweet cream and flaky buttery crust. It dries down to a sweet cream/blueberry mix. The pie crust is the strongest note when it first hits the water though.

Rich, foodie, blueberry pie.

Key Lime Pie has a bit of zippy zesty lime, a lot of sweetened condensed milk and a fair bit of crust. It's pie crust, and pie filling, but I feel like I need more citrus in this for me.

Foodie, sweet, key lime pie.

Spanked atmo is almost all cardamom, patchouli, a touch of bourbon. The leather, oddly to our noses, is MIA.

It smells like spices, and slightly foodie incense.

Underwhelmed.

It's like expecting a spanking, and someone just pats you on the bottom.

Chestnuts, heady incense and a touch of brown sugar. It's oddly foodie and oddly ominous. Like you walk in and you smells chestnuts, and brown sugar, and good things, but then you smell the incense and the reptilian part of your brain goes DO NOT EAT THOSE CHESTNUTS FOR THE LOVE OF WHATEVER YOU HOLD DEAR. YES, THEY SMELL TASTY BUT I'M PRETTY SURE THAT'S NOT ACTUALLY A CHESTNUT.

I mean, sure, if you ever wanted to ingest a chestnut and have Cthulu whispering in your ear singing whatever passes for a Christmas Carol equivalent in your ear, go for it.

OMG SKADI IS THAT YOU?

Sleet in my mind smells very much like Skadi's little sister. It's got that wintery snow, hint of pine, berries. I think Skadi was more wintery snow + pine, so Sleet is a little softer with the berry addition. It's super Christmasy and wintery, but if you've missing Skadi, I'd give this a whirl.

And by Skadi, I mean, the Skadi from like 2004. I think there was a re-release post 2010 (meaning more recent), but it wasn't the same.

So I got this as a frimp from another long-time BPALer, who is very sure that this is the BPAL single note. Given both the age and smell of this, and how I've tried other 2004 single notes I'm inclined to agree.

Mandarin Orange suffers from the same ageing problem that the Lime SN suffered from. Upon immediate application and on the wand, it smelled like mandarin oranges, it went through a mandarin orange zest stage, a powdery slightly orange stage, and has settled into a weird slightly fruity Pez smell. It's really this weird PEZ smell, which happened with the other citrus single notes that makes me inclined to believe that this is in fact the BPAL mandarin orange SN.

This one is slightly minty, champagne bubbles. It smells festive, and happy, and kinda like a New Year's Eve party. It's got an effervescent vibe that is very uplifting.

This reminds me alot to TKO actually. Sans, the lavender. Just marshmallows. Good throw, good wearlength.

Sugary, cuddly, marshmallows.