theseagrows

starts off with this sharpish green masculine thing i dislike. i think it may be galbanum? i think my skin amps it up and it tends to overpower everything. besides this i maybe get sandalwood and amber? i'm not sure. it mostly smells like men's shaving cream on me, sadly. i don't get any leather or vanilla or amber, which i was hoping for. i think it's just all galbanum on me. eta: after awhile I do get some sort of burnt woody note, so less galbanum but still not a success.

oof, very jasminey at first. my skin is wary of jasmine, but let's see where this goes. i get some sandalwood and amber after a minute or two but the jasmine is still strongest. i get something mildly rubbery after a little bit, and then some vanilla. the jasmine is pretty much overpowering everything on my skin, as it often does. i think it's mostly amber and jasmine, that turns to rubbery jasmine candy?! no thanks, will have to swap this one.

White coconut, thick wildflower honey, and threads of saffron. this starts off with something a bit rubbery and sweet smelling, then out comes the coconut and honey. the saffron is sweet bordering on fruity. it smells like a pina colada to me. the honey seems to be just hanging in the background adding richness. this scent is very, very sweet on me, but i tend to amp sweet/fruity notes, so maybe that's why. it takes awhile but after about maybe 45 minutes the sweetness is tempered some and it's getting a little more honeyish, which improves the scent on my skin. it smells very tropical, honestly. not really what i was expecting, but my skin chemistry does strange things sometimes.

this starts off as an incensy rose-it's warm and contemplative, and I love it. it seems to ge rose, styrax and ambrette seed primarily. after awhile the rose fades and I think it's mostly myrrh and ambrette. so pretty and the dry-down is wonderful too. I love scents like this! I definitely need more.

i'm iffy on bpal's plum note because it can be plasticky on me. i debated on getting a decant, but decided that hopefully the other notes would predominate. right off i get a "glimmery" ylang ylang. it's very rich almost banana-y. i think i am getting a hint of lily and some amber but not much else. after a few minutes on the skin, i get plum. but it's a nice plum and not plasticky at all yay. it is a bit sweet for my tastes though, especially combined with YY but i am sort of digging it because it's different for me. after awhile i get something more effervescent and aquatic- maybe the garnet/black lily, and it just gets a bit strong and harsh for me. oh well, the opening was really nice, but unfortunately it didn't last.

this starts off a smooth soft rosy musk with vanilla. i'm loving the opening, so much, and i don't want it to change! it's very "me". i get the effervesence of the champagne, but it's subdued somewhat due to the vanilla (which i prefer.) the amber then starts coming out, warming and deepening the scent, making it even MORE gorgeous then i get the rosewood which deepens it even more. ok insta-love, need a bottle now!

whoa, right off this smells like dragon's blood and anise/black licorice, with something else i can't place. then it gets much smokier and musky. it definitely smells red and spicy but also bloody and burning. the name is right on! it makes me think of vibrantly delicious 70s horror films. the clove gets more clove-y after time and the musk gets stronger (yay, i love musk.) also i am loving the saffron and red oudh. i'm sorry i can't describe them, but i know it's those notes making me really enjoy this scent. after awhile red musk and clove predominate, and the other notes merge into the background.

i find this to be green, cool and fresh. however it definitely smells fresh and green/aquatic. it kind of reminds me of irish spring a bit (if memory serves.) i dunno what notes these are honestly, maybe it's the "green amber"? all i really smell is fresh detergenty-soap on me. after being on the skin a bit, i get something that seems kind of floral mixed in, i think maybe it's tobacco flower? wherein it gets a little more typically unisex, but it's still very green and soapy to me.

right off it smells kind of...airy and linen-y? i don't know how to describe it. definitely dusty as the description mentions...maybe it's the myrrh and woods? after a few seconds i get the amber and leather and it gets much more leathery, but it's mostly dusty woods. i don't seem to get any cloves at all. i dunno, i'm not really feeling this one, personally. after awhile it's like a clean leather scent, which seems a bit at odds, at least with my skin chemistry.

right off i smell the bois de rose, which gets a little sharp on me as bpal's woods sometimes/often do. i get a vanilla-rose hint just a few seconds later mingling with the bois de rose. it brings to mind creamy rose scents like hope, etc. but the rosewood definitely adds another element that makes it less sweet than those scents. after being on my skin about 10 minutes, this becomes just gorgeous- a woody sophisticated rose with a hint of vanilla. i kind of love this one and may need a bottle.

yep, this is very soft and ghostly. i get violet right off, but it's a more green/watery violet rather than a candylike one. there's some incense backing it up and a hint of chrysanthemum adds a sweeter floral element. the incense is rather soft and dusty, as i'd expect in a scent like this. i think i'm amping up the chrysanthemum too, because after a minute or two i don't smell much violet anymore-just soft chrysanthemum incense. the violet does come back, but it's softer and mingling evenly with the other notes. it's so pretty and soft and reminds me a lot of high end japanese incense.

thank you frimp from the lab! it starts off spicy with the cassia and cinnamon most noticeable. i get this weird sort of polished wood thing underneath, which i think may be the combination of cassia + sandalwood, but i'm not sure. i don't really enjoy cassia, it's not for me, and this scent is very strongly cassia on me, unfortunately.

this is one of those somewhat cold/funereal scents which instantly reminds me of sarah from a past halloween. it's not exactly the same, and not quite as funereal, but it has a similar feeling of warmth and cold at the same time. i think right off i get the musk, benzoin, amber and tea with a hint of vanilla, then the orchid comes out later on. it gets lovelier when the amber is more noticeable, warming it up a bit more. this smells very modern to me, for lack of a better word. it's like a cool slightly powdery amber after it's been on the skin for a bit. i think it smells like a tom ford i tried...velvet orchid (?) i can't remember. however, i can handle this one because it isn't so strong and chemically as the other one was. i have mixed feelings on this one. it's interesting and i like it but i'm not sure i'd get much wear out of it

at the beginning i get ylang ylang, tea and grapefruit primarily, with a hint of gum resins. the lavender is subtle here. this is one of those light sparkling scents which is a bit champagne-y, probably due to grapefruit + tea. it does smell more on the summery side to me. it's nice, light, pretty and uplifting.

this starts off with something nutty, maybe the ambrette seed? next i get that lovely vanilla musk with some oudh and hints of sandalwood and amber. i'm not really getting much patchouli, but i am not sure i'm that familiar with white patchouli. after being on the skin about 5-10 minutes i get something a bit smoky and it's nice, like soft smoky oudh-y vanilla. after that it's just a soft cuddly vanilla-oudh. it's very subtle on me, so i think i'd have to slather this one on.

i will preface this by saying that this was a frimp and i am not a big apple or fruit fan here. it starts off like a tart green apple. it's very realistic. after a few minutes i get something boozy. it smells like apples soaked in champagne now. maybe it's the hemlock? it's kind of green and a bit herbal/leafy. after awhile i get some opium and florals which just soften and sweeten the tartness of the apple.

mmm this is pretty. it's mostly honey and patchouli and musk with just a hint of the leafy scent, which i like because the scents heavier on leaves read as a bit too aquatic for my tastes. the leaves in this smell a bit dirtier due to the patchouli though. they do get stronger after being on the skin for a bit (skin testing this first) and the musk seems to become more prominent then too. the patchouli gets a bit powdery on me, and now that the honey is faded i admit i am not enjoying this as much. it's not bad, i just liked the opening best. after about 5 minutes it's mostly a musky patchouli with hints of the other notes.

starts off verrrrry leafy and a bit sharp from the white musk. the vanilla is more of a backing scent at this point. i don't know if it's the combination of leaves and white musk, but it seems a bit reminiscent of the snow note to me? once it settles into my skin (skin testing first), it gets less sharp thankfully, and i can smell the vanilla more. this is very light and pretty with just a little bit of sweetness from the vanilla.

this starts off with the bpal leafy scent, which is instantly recognizable. then i get the oudh which i love and the honey in this is thick rich honey almost bordering on beeswaxy but not quite. thankfully, because the beeswax goes odd on me, but no this honey is staying nice and honeyish. after awhile it's mostly honey with hints of oudh and leaves. i like this one, but it's not a love. i think the leaves are just too strong on me. i like them but they go a little sharp in the beginning. will have to try again for the final verdict.

this is bringing to mind one of the wanderlust scents, i think?? i can't remember which one though, so that is no help. anyway it's all white tea at first with white musk. it's very fresh. a bit later i think i'm getting tobacco flower though it goes a bit soapy on me. the neroli isn't super strong at all and i can hardly detect it if at all. the leather is definitely blonde-almost woody and this morphs into a woody watery scent. after awhile i get a strong aquatic thing going on-it just gets more and more aquatic and harsh on me giving it that hairspray element. my skin chemistry.

starting off it's milky with a hint of nuttiness. the patchouli comes out next, with some honey. i'm relieved to know that goat's milk accord works much better with my skin chemistry than the regular bpal milk note. it does remind me of goat's milk soap i've used in the past. anyway, the honey continues to blossom, along with vanilla, sweetening this up a bit. i absolutely love the lab's bourbon vanilla note and during the drydown it becomes most prominent with the milk, honey and hints of patchouli. this is a fresh but warm and comforting scent.

right off i get a bright citrussy scent with a hint of honey. is this the clover or the berries? i'm not really sure. eta: google says it's the red clover. ok then, the red clover is strong in this. after being on the skin a few minutes, i get a hint of rose which then blossoms along with the vanilla cream and a hint of carnation. and this rose turns sour. damn, i was really hoping to love this one because i love rose, carnation, vanilla and sometimes honey. unfortunately this is one of the few scents where the rose is just not working due to the combination of the notes. i get this underlying sourness that reminds me of dying or rotting flowers. it doesn't happen very often but occasionally does with BPAL...still can't figure out why though.

i was super duper excited about this one! starting off i get the oak bark and rose, then comes a heavy dose of smoky leather. i don't get tons of powder at first, but perhaps that comes later. i really am loving the images this is conjuring up in my mind. after about 15 minutes i do get the powder. it's a rosy-powdery leather now. the leather in this seems a bit more animalic to me than in other BPALs, and i am loving it. with a deep inhale i sense the glow of amber underneath, supporting the other notes. i absolutely love this one!!

this starts off with lots of lavender and something kind of resiny maybe? about a minute in i get the other florals and it gets pretty "whoa floral" at this stage. it's definitely a nighttime floral scent and the lavender has all but disappeared. it turns into a strong tuberose/moonflower combination that dries down to a tuberose-musk. it's very pretty and lush, i do quite love tuberose scents, though i seem to be amping it up to a 11 a bit in this i like this one, but a little goes a long way for me. ETA: an hour later and it's gorgeous. need a bottle, stat. and thank you BPAL for doing more tuberoses the past few years.

ahh I bought this awhile ago and I am finally trying it tonight. I don't know what took me so long but this is just gorgeous. I love rose and creamy roses too if they aren't too foody, and thankfully this is not. it is reminiscent of hope but it's deeper, if that makes sense. I am so glad this is the type of cream that does not go sour on me. this is a wonderful bath oil, and I'm glad to have it in my collection.