theseagrows

this scent is so soft i have to huff my wrist to smell it! it's all toasty vanilla sandalwood and pink pepper starting off, with some saffron in the background. a little while later i smell the labdanum but don't seem to get the oudh. it's a very soft scent, i guess i thought it might be more resiny but it's mostly vanilla and pink pepper. i am not a huge fan of pink pepper, and i was hoping for more oudh, so i think this will be sent to the swap pile. not bad by any means, but i have similar scents that smell better on me. it gets a bit rubbery on me, for lack of a better word. i think it may be the pink pepper.

strong, dark rose with myrrh that comes in and dampens the rosiness. this is not a sweet soft or dried rose, it's definitely blackened rose and i think i tend to amp rose, so it's sort of happening here. black rose with resins backing it up, but it goes a bit sour on me. i absolutely LOVE rose, and some of bpal's rose blends are my favorite, but that's the thing, it has to be the right rose and usually has to be blended with more notes or it tends to go weird or sour on me. whip does the same thing, it's like my skin hates the more simplistic rose scents but loves the ones with more notes (gypsy queen). oh well, i love the imagery of it and had to try it, but i thought there was a 50% chance it wouldn't really work with my skin chemistry and i was right. off to the swaps with this one, sadly. i love a resiny rose when it works!

oh nooo, this sounded amazing but it starts off as a weird cough syrup scent on me not sure what it is, but it has to be the honey myrtle or maybe the red benzoin...not sure what else it could be. frankincense often doesn't work on me, but i can't even smell it in this. a minute later i get some coconut i think. it's sickeningly cough syrupy on me. a hint of florals come through, and i generally like osmanthus, and have been seeking it out lately, but here it just smells off. my skin chemistry is not liking this scent at ALL unfortunately and it makes me a little queasy.

this starts off all dewy florals. i guess this is lotus, though in the past, bpal's lotus has been much more bubblegum-scented on me, but maybe they've changed it since i last tried anything with lotus(?) it smells very wet and lush, definitely brings lotus to mind, and the serene waters surrounding it. i think i am getting some orris root after awhile, and maaaybe a hint of white sandalwood, but not much else. awhile later i get a slight hint of egyptian musk and it basically dries down to orris root and musk. after quite some time the vanilla finally comes through and the lotus settles down. i like it a lot more now, but it's just too much lotus for me overall.

got a sniffie of this in a swap! there's not much in here so i sprayed a bit on my arm it's a mixed bright floral with plum and blue musk. kind of sweet-floral and "perfumey". i am personally not a fan of blue musk on my skin, but it's not bad for an atmo spray, i admit. i think i get mostly musk, wisteria and plum from this. it smells very springlike to me, but in a perfumey sort of way. nice, though it's not really my personal style, i am glad i got to try it.

got a frimp of this in a swap at first, it has that mushroomy note that i get from death cap. (i am trying this on my skin.) in fact this smells almost identical to death cap to me, except it's a bit more sweet due to the orris/balsam. i am guessing the calamus is the mushroomy/earth note. at times it almost smells like something subtly minty in the background, but not exactly. hard to describe. the amber/orris becomes more prominent, getting a bit powdery but in a good way, with just a hint of frankincense. it's as if death cap got ambery and a bit resiny.

i got this as a frimp in a swap! it's all vetiver at first. i like vetiver sometimes if it is blended with the right notes (for me) but it isn't doing much for me here. i do get the lemongrass shortly after applied to the skin as well. then the lemongrass comes forth with the vetiver backing. i think i get some neroli too? ahh i don't really know. the vetiver and lemongrass kind of dominate over the other notes, which just make a mish mash in the background.

this is mostly sweet mint on me, guess the sweetness is almond, from reading other reviews. the almond smells more noticeable in the decant, rather than on my skin though. then i get a blast of anise and eucalyptus. it's getting that vicks vapor-y coolness. then some greenery comes through, but not sure what it is. this sure smells medicinal on me.

this smells like milk chocolate and strawberry, with the chocolate as the prominent note and the strawberry adding a supporting sweetness. i am often not a foody scent girl, but i am liking some of these chocolate scents in the weirdest way. i do not want to smell like baked goods, but chocolate seems like it could be ok from time to time. admittedly, i'd be more willing to wear this in a bath/body oil scent but i actually like this. it's very true to form, and it's the perfect balance of strawberry and chocolate on me. strawberry can sometimes go plasticky on me, but it doesn't here luckily. surprise like!

i got this as a frimp from the lab! something about this is SO familiar. it's very green and sap-like, indeed. woody and fresh. it smells just like something else, but i can't place it right now. there is something slightly funky underneath, that smells animalic on my skin? not sure what that could be, but it's there, and tends to make this lean a bit towards a bathroom-cleaner scent . damn skin chemistry! yeah, this really doesn't work for me, unfortunately, but glad i got to try it.

at first i smell the autumn leaves, it's reminiscent of the leaves in sonnet d'automne, if i remember correctly. then there is a bit of sharpness, from the currant i am guessing (the only note i was worried about because it can turn plasticky on me, but it's behaving in that respect.) then the ambergris comes through, warming it up a lot and i like it a lot more. the leaves and currant are very prominent on my skin and the ambergris is backing it up. i kind of wish the ambergris was more prominent, but i still like this. i think i am amping the leaves a bit much, and i'd like to turn them down just a bit, because it gives me a bit of a headache if i smell it up close, but wafting around me it's very lovely.

hmm, i can hardly smell this in the beginning. it's very soft. even in the bottle, it just seems kind of...watered down. i get a very very soft watery tea scent with linen, tobacco, musk and cognac, but i have to put a lot on in order to really smell much. it's mostly tea and linen on me starting off. after awhile though, the musk and incense come out and have a lot more throw than the tea. i also get the sugar spun lace mentioned-there's something slightly vanilla/sugary in the background. after this stage i think i get a bit of the autumn leaves. this is a morpher and it is not nearly as heavy as it sounds like it could be. it's pretty light at first and it is musky, but the musk is not super in your face musk. i like this, but i don't think i love it. the musk gives me a slight headache. ETA: about a half an hour later, and this is so pretty! i will definitely have to re-try this before i decide if i want to keep it or not.

got a frimp of this in a swap it starts off !zingy green! and aquatic, kind of like irish spring soap. then a little sandalwood comes through. this is like a very fresh, masculine shower gel or soap. alright, but not really my preference. if you want something crisp, cooling and clean, this is it. would probably be nice in summer.

this starts out all lavender, then the nicotiana comes through a lot more. i think i am also getting a hint of amber and osmanthus and later the tea. it takes awhile but i get something almost foody from this? not sure what that is, it's just kind of..."toasty" i'd say. whatever it is, it's not really working with my skin chemistry. i don't get any leather in here either. what an interesting scent.

starts off a bit dirty and slightly herbal/medicinal smelling, probably the sage, earth and bitter almond. it seems very woody-earthy to me. i am not like the musk in this, it's just too bitter for me. the bitterness stays around and then i guess tobacco and leaf and vetiver come through? there is an odd powderiness in here, i guess it's amber but i usually like amber...but maybe it's due to the combination of notes. glad i finally got to try this one, but it's just not for me.

what a beautiful scent! it starts off as a soft lavender vanilla, but it's (obviously) more complex than TKO. i think tiare, fig and benzoin may be most prominent? the woods and patchouli are very subtle. this reminds me of TKO crossed with the emathides, 2 of my favorite scents, though i think those 2 scents work better with my skin chemistry, i like this one a lot.

at first i thought, "icy grapefruit!" but i realize it's the white tea and white musk. it's very icy, seems like it would be nice and cooling on a hot summer day. the eucalyptus comes out later and luckily, it isn't too medicinal. i was really excited for the osmanthus in this and i think it's adding a very subtle sweet floral which i enjoy, but mostly this is not a super floral or anything. this tickles my nose just a bit, so icy and refreshing.

ooh, pretty! this starts out with just lavender. i love bpal's lavender note- so true. then shortly after i get the rosewood peeking through a bit, adding some depth. then the lavender gets stronger, almost kind of citrussy here, not sure why that's happening, but it is. i really think this is mostly lavender and rosewood, i really don't seem to get many other notes. maaaybe a hint of amber? but really, i do not get tonka or patchouli as far as i can tell. this scent smells very "clean" to me, in a classic sort of way.

this scent is very sweet and blood-red/purple. i don't distinctly get lotus, but it smells sweet and a bit musty and dusty on me. kind of fruity but maybe a bit like wine, so it's sweet in a way but not candy-sweet or anything. interesting scent, glad i got to try it.

this is all clove with the dirt and a hint of tobacco. the clove is strongest at first and the dirt seems to linger the most. the tobacco is a supporting character, but after an hour or so it's mostly tobacco and clove. lovely!

this smells like chrysanthemum with something honey-ish and woody. a little goes a long along way! it reminds me of polished wood awhile after it's been sprayed, for some reason, but still with the chrysanthemum. i think the woodiness calms after awhile and it's more heavy on the tea.

all i could smell was toasty nuttiness. i just couldn't smell anything else, but i am not a foody lover, so this isn't really my cup of tea.

got this as a frimp. it's bright and bubbly and fizzy with fruitiness. aka, the exact opposite of my kind of scent. and the pomegranate turns weird and plasticky on me as usual. it smells like someone soaked a strawberry shortcake doll in gin and club soda

i am totally re-editing my review after retesting. this is a beautiful golden copal incense, it smells clean yet smoky and also very unisex. such a very pretty and warm scent but i tend to love copal. i don't really find this to be masculine as others have said but perfectly unisex, ancient and gold.

this starts off with florals and an overpowering nuttiness. wth could that be coming from? perhaps the honey myrtle or mallow flower? that doesn't really make sense, but i have no idea what note could be doing this. just my skin chemistry i guess, sigh. at first it's a mish-mash of wet flowers, the kind that smell like they're wilting/dying unfortunately. after about 5-10 minutes the nuttiness finally dies off and so does some of the sourness of the flowers (i think that sometimes violet leaf and white rose do this with my skin chemistry.) thankfully this gets a bit better on me it's more like red roses and gardenias now with violet leaf, but there is still a hint of that sourness still lingering. the florals are pretty strong so it's a bit headache inducing. this might end up nice and soft later on, but right now i want to wash it off, it's just so strong and sour on me and i'm not sure i can handle this stage every time :/