theseagrows

Chocolate peppermint, mint-soaked vanilla, pistachio, oakmoss, and green cedar. i knew this would be too foody for me, but i absolutely love pistachio (to eat) and just had to try it in a scent. this starts off with nuttiness and mustiness, which is probably pistachio and cedar. cedar often does weird things with my skin chemistry, unfortunately. a minute or two later i get some chocolate and it's mostly chocolate and cedar with the nuttiness quickly disappearing. i think the peppermint comes out more later on. this is basically chocolate mint and sawdust on me. interesting.

i like this scent a lot! it starts off with a strong lemon, bordering on pledge-y, but not quite. overall, this is a bright, sugary lemon scent-just icy lemon and sugar, like lemonade and lemon frosting. it's such a happy and uplifting scent, and would be perfect for summer. i am so glad i finally got to try this!

i think i am getting primarily black tea, oudh and benzoin from this. i do see the slight anise-thing going on, but it's not that strong. the tobacco smells like dried tobacco, like an unlit cigarette, different than i recall some other tobacco in bpal blends. there is a touch of neroil that adds a slight sweetness and i feel it uplifts the scent a bit. after awhile the tea sweetens up quite a bit, and it's at this point that i can sort of see the comparison to shining dimple of love, which is one of my absolute favorite (if not favorite) bath oil, however, that one is definitely a little more gourmand due to the vanilla orchid. it's the same black tea though, and it is the closest scent i've smelled to that BO. i think this may be bottle worthy...

ooh this is lovely. it starts off smelling of neroli, orange flower and beeswax. just gorgeous. after a couple minutes i think i am getting some ambergris-there is definitely a feeling of saltiness here. i'm not sure if it's the cedar, but i am getting something a bit odd in the background (cedar doesn't always work for me) but i can't quite place it. after awhile that disappears and i am left with a beautiful neroli-beeswax combination. i am really loving beeswax lately, in the past it hasn't always worked, but it works great in this scent. i may need a bottle of this one...

whoa honeysuckle and amber! definitely the strongest notes at the beginning. i get a bit of gardenia and a hint of patchouli after a few minutes. this reminds me of a bold 80s perfume in a way. there is definitely a glittering feel to this, thanks to the crushed diamond accord. i'm not sure what it is though, note-wise. after awhile this is a blend of gardenia, amber and honeysuckle. it is nice scent for spring or summer. i really love this scent the most after it's in the drydown, after being on the skin for about an hour. at this point it's mostly amber and gardenia, but the florals are less loud. so pretty.

this starts off as a slightly sweet white floral, yet it definitely has that "night blooming" feel to me. i think i mostly get lily and moonflower, and probably some of these other florals which aren't all that familiar to me. i think waaaay in the background i smell a hint of tobacco, but it's mostly florals on me. i don't seem to get any vanilla or tonka here, it seems very subtle. interesting, and i love the imagery, but i was hoping for a lot more of the "muted" notes than those florals. that being said, i love trying the OLLA scents!

this starts out with the labdanum and some frankincense in the background. luckily this frankincense actually works pretty well and doesn't turn too leadlike on me, yay. then the sandalwood and liquidambar make later appearances and it melds on the drydown into a beautiful ambery resin scent. it's so pretty and cozy. i would love to wear this on a cold winter evening.

ahh, this is beautiful!! . the most lovely rich gardenia and honey. this is love at first sniff. i get the sweetness from the rice paper a bit later on, but still this remains a pretty gardenia scent. i absolutely love the beginning, and the drydown is nice too, but i wish that beginning lasted forever.

i've been wanting to try this for years! unfortunately, at first it smells like lemon peel, wine, and something a bit musty. hmm . i think petitgrain can be a bit weird on me and wine is hit or miss. this is like a winey/citrussy/haylike scent. very odd. it doesn't seem to change much, after about 5-10 minutes, except that the wine isn't so strong. it's like musty lemon with wine in the background now. eventually, after about an hour on the skin, it's much subtler and it's just a nice soft, incense skin musk scent. i can hardly smell it though and i'm not sure it's worth the wait either...

this starts off with smoky green cognac, and maybe a hint of white sandalwood...i always have trouble placing white sandalwood for some reason after a few minutes on my skin, the smoke is subtler and it's more like i'm getting green cognac and vanilla. it smells wet, yet smoky- an interesting combination. i don't seem to get much clove, so it must be hanging out, deep in the background. this scent is quite moody, green and smoky. i like it.

got a frimp of this in a swap it starts with bergamot and opium. it's citrussy, but not too strong. i get more neroli after a few minutes and the star anise, which i think adds an almost spicy quality (?) it does smell very yellow, yet smoky. citrus and smoke, an interesting combination, that i was unsure about, but i like it! i think i am amping the bergamot though, as it seems to sort of take over the scent on my skin. the scent seems to be doing tug of war between neroli and bergamot, and the star anise is always hanging on as the mediator. an interesting scent, but not one i need more of.

got a frimp in a swap, otherwise i may have never tried this. it starts with a hazelnutty chocolate and maybe a bit of pepper and sandalwood. it's very nutty. once the nuttiness dries down, the scent completely changes- it becomes a softly sweet scent, which i guess is from the plum and sandalwood. i sense the cacao still hanging in the background, but it is much less strong than before. the black pepper adds a nice touch, not making this too sweet or fruity. i actually like this more than i thought i would! ETA: after being on the skin for about 30 mins, i really like this a lot. it's a peppery plum, and one of the few plum scents that seems to work on me, too...

A haze of skin, silk, and taffeta. this is one of those thick and rich honeyed rose scents. it starts off with something kind of nutty. the nuttiness dissipates quickly and then it's deep red rose and as it settles the honey, musk and sandalwood come out. it's one of the more potent atmosphere sprays and a little goes a long way. it gives me a bid of a headache if i spray too much. i really like this one, but am not a fan of that nutty scent in it (not sure what it could be) but luckily it's pretty subtle and does fade. this scent is very warm and romantic, and i think the rose and honey are the dominant notes that tend to last.

i am amping the pine and frankincense in this to high heaven. i was hoping the amber and oakmoss would be more dominant. this smells like an herbal//resiny/piney medicinal serum on me. it's very natural and organic smelling. it reminds me of the woods and certain things i've smelled in health food stores, i think...i think pine/frankincense lovers will like this a lot, but unfortunately for me, it's not my cup of tea.

this starts off with apple, plum and florals- a fruity floral. i am wary of the apple and plum, but let's see how this goes. after 30 seconds or so i get something slightly nutty? not sure what that could be, but it soon passes. the fruity sweetness calms a bit, and i get more of the florals and moss next, it's a bit strong and green or leafy. maybe it's the moss and violet leaf? then that period disappears and it's a fruity plum with vanilla and cassis. it's nice but i think i amp the violet leaf, and i already have scents like this that i like better, so off to swaps with my decant.

i think i sprayed too much, honey. i do really like this though. at first i didn't realize i was getting the frost, but now i totally sense it, it's definitely not just pure honey and there is a touch of frost. so nice. i can't stop smelling my hair!

i love gardenia. i don't wear it often, but when i feel the urge to wear it and i do, it's perfect. first off i get the gardenia and sheer musk. there's something in this that seems almost kind of watery, yet not aquatic...hmm, maybe that's the "sheer" in the musk. it's not really reading as that musky to me. it's almost citrussy. this musk is drowning out the gardenia, which is surprising, since gardenia tends to be quite strong and linear usually, but here it's more in the background. this seems almost a bit soapy to me, and i think i sense the vanilla orchid more now. i don't know but i am not seeing this as a primarily gardenia scent, it's actually kind of drowned out by all the other notes.

i am iffy on jasmine and peach and have a love/hate with muguet, but all the others are floral favorites, so i figured, WTH. starting off this is muguet and peach on me with some jasmine. it's sweet and kind of juicy, and actually the notes are working quite nicely here, though this scent is a bit too sweet for me. i was hoping for more iris an carnation but i am really just not getting it much in this scent. the combination of peach and muguet alllmost reads tuberose-y to me, but it's a bit more sweet and peachy. interesting! (i love tuberose.) after being on the skin about 10 minutes i get the slight spiciness of carnation in the background and a hint of iris root, but really they are just supporting notes that don't dominate too much. i think anyone who likes peachy florals would love this.

not huge on the cedar love here, but i love rose and musk and this scent sounded interesting nonetheless. at first it's definitely CEDAR! and white musk, then i get a hint of the hay and bergamot followed by the rose and patchouli. this smells almost a bit cedar-soapy on me, probably from the combination of cedar and rose. this is actually one of the few scents where cedar didn't get too leadlike on me! however, it's not really my cup of tea so i will probably swap this one.

this is very subtle on me and has that sort of watery feel, from the sake. i get a hint of sweetness from this, probably from the ambrette seed. it almost reminds me of a very soft and subtle, clean shampoo scent. it's very clean without being aquatic, though it definitely has a watery feel from the sake. it'd be nice when you want something soft yet refreshing in summer. it's very tranquil.

this starts off with labdanum (yum), patchouli and honeyed saffron. seconds later i start getting a hint of woods and maaaybe leather. this seems promising, but could go either way! after a few minutes, the leather gets much stronger and dominates the scent along with the woods. the honeyed saffron is gorgeous with these other notes and sweetens them up a bit, thankfully. i really like this scent, it's just got a bit too much...oomph for me, i think it may be the woods. it's nice but i will have to use it sparingly, just because it has a lot of throw.

this starts off with a slightly grassy green tea-it's light and fresh, as you'd imagine. i think i get the tiniest hint of plum after a few minutes but it's not very strong at all. the plum and honey seem to keep blooming through the tea. the vanilla flower isn't too strong, i perceive mostly green tea and honey in this...i was hoping for more of that vanilla flower, but this certainly isn't bad. i am glad this honey is working for me because sometimes it doesn't. i think i'm amping the plum though, which i tend to do, and after awhile i predict that it has a chance of turning plasticky...

i am not usually a fruity-scent wearer but i've had some success with apricot and nectarine, hence my purchase of a decant of this scent. starting off it's all beautiful juicy apricot with a hint of cardamom in the background. its so light and pretty and i find this scent to be very uplifting and perfect for spring. a few minutes later i get the bourbon vanilla coming through, and i think this is my favorite vanilla that bpal uses. it is creamy and gorgeous and not too foody. this is probably my favorite apricot BPAL i've tried. i may even have to get a bottle of this one. so beautiful.

at first, this amber has a bit of a zing to it, taking on an almost citrussy quality. it's a bit sharp, bordering on soapy. maybe that's the cistus? i definitely get a strong benzoin component as well. after the perfume settles on my skin a but more the tobacco and vanilla become more apparent and tone down the sharpness of this scent, thankfully. i like this one, but i think i am amping the benzoin too much so it's a like more than a love. ETA: i tried this again, 2 days later and now i absolutely love it. this time it's just a beautiful amber-vanilla with that lovely carmelized tobacco and just a hint of nutmeg. it's so sexy/comforting and would be perfect during the cold winter months, and now i am considering a bottle. file under experiments in skin chemistry, i guess.

this one is quite a morpher on me. it starts out like a creamy cherry soda with a hint of rosewater and a dash of booziness from the bourbon. at first i really love it, but then the orris root is very...rooty for lack of a better word, and it brings in this weird sourness, or that could be rosewater, because while i like rose, i've noticed some rosewater scents turning sour on me. now the cherry is completely gone and it's all musty, sour florals. after a few more minutes i get slight hints of the lovely cherry and the bourbon adds this odd quality on top of the sour florals. skin chemistry be damned.