theseagrows

i am mostly getting the indigo musk at the beginning, with some patchouli. it smells very indigo and black, i think the description does it justice. after awhile it's mostly musk with a slight sweetness, and a hint of oakmoss way in the background. i don't seem to get any olibanum and the patchouli has largely faded. this is an interesting scent, but i'm not sure how i feel about it yet. i may have to re-try.

oh no, right off, something in this is not agreeing with my skin chemistry-it's kind of like an unclean bathroom with an air freshener trying to mask the scent but failing. i am guessing that's the gurjum balsam because it's the only note i'm not familiar with, though i'm not sure i've ever tried the lab's "blue amber". luckily that note fades pretty quickly and then i get some ylang ylang, orris, benzoin and maybe a bit of amber. after about 2 minutes i smell myrrh and the scent is also getting a bit soapy, which i think comes from the amber, balsam and myrrh. it then loses the soapiness, and gets powdery, in the way that myrrh does. this smells classic and mature to me, and it dries down to a really pretty orris-myrrh with hints of ylang ylang. it is reminiscent of caron's tabac blond for some reason, due to something here smelling a bit like subtle cloves, i think.

i've been wanting to try this for years, and finally tracked down a decant. i've tried very few single notes, but carnation has always been a favorite note, so this one has been at the top of my list to try. in the vial it smells like a real bundle of carnations and i am instantly transported back to my grandmother's yard, full of carnations, roses and gladiolas. i put it on my skin and it smells almost just like in the vial, but there is something else, slightly creamy and airy in the background. overall, a spicy carnation with a hint of creaminess. i am in love!

i received a frimp of this in a swap it's definitely a honeysuckle with hints of other florals and greenery. it smells like fresh flowers blooming in the rain or snow...i think this is a perfect rainy spring scent, actually. i get a bit of sweet pea to sweeten the scent, but this is primarily honeysuckle and a greenish floral note. nice for spring yet not something i would wear all that much, though it is pretty.

in the vial i smell lavender and a melange of notes that i can't pick out. on the skin i smell blood orange and lavender at first, then benzoin and apricot peek out quickly. after about 5 minutes on the skin, it's a lavender-benzoin with blood orange musk. the apricot is there but just as a background note. i'd say if you like musky orange blends, to try this. it's very warm and comforting.

i am not into fruity scents, but i love leather and the idea of this just spoke to me. at first, i get a non-realistic strawberry and lots of leather. i am really liking it so far. after a couple of minutes on, the strawberry dominates. nooo leather come back! though i am glad this isn't turning plasticky, as some fruit scents do. now it smells like strawberry candy with a bit of vanilla and leather. this scent keeps making me think of the movie, cry baby, something like the scent combination of wade and allison. anyway, strawberry seems to be dominating on me, though i can still smell some leather-this is eating those candies with the strawberry shaped wrapper while wearing a leather jacket. i'm so glad i tried this-i will wear this when i need a pick-me-up.

on initial application it smells like shampoo and dirt. i am guessing i'm getting mostly chrysanthemum-it's floral and a bit sweet. shortly after that dirt-type note disappears and i am left with chrysanthemum and a hint of incense. there is a hint of spiciness from the carnation, but it's subtle. this is primarily chrysanthemum incense on me.

this is heavy on the myrrh at first. i get iris and a bit of rose, and a tiny bit of frankincense. i think it's mostly myrrh and iris. this rose is slightly sour on me. i am a rose lover, but occasionally some of bpal's roses go sour/dead smelling. this one does, but luckily it's very subtle. i like this overall, except for the sourness. luckily, after about an hour on the skin there is no sourness and this is a myrrh-iris cloud. so pretty! it smells very classic to me, and the drydown just gets more and more gorgeous as the hours go by.

i am so excited to finally be trying this! i've been waiting for awhile. this starts as a beautiful true red rose-it smells just like the real petals. i also sense the stem and a tiny hint of sap. a few minutes later when the sap balances out the rose, the scent changes subtly. it's a little bit of a perfumey rose with a fruity sweetness in the background-a dewy, slightly fruity rose.

i smell a slightly sweet tobacco and benzoin at the beginning. there's something light and glowy in this-i think it may be the incense. whatever it is, i like it a lot. after being on my skin for about 10 minutes, i get the vanilla which adds a gorgeous sweetness. i will definitely keep my decant for when i'm craving a tobacco incense scent.

this smells like resins with hints of patchouli. after a minute or two i get some vetiver, and in the far off distance, a hint of rose. i do believe myrrh is the strongest note though, and it continues to be after several minutes. i don't seem to get any of the vanilla until it's been on my skin about 10 minutes-then i get just a hint. ultimately this is mostly myrrh with rose, with myrrh being the strongest note. a like but not a love.

how did i never review this? i still have some left! it's a very pretty dark berry shade-sort of a cross between dark red, pink and purple. it goes on smooth and dries quickly. looks impeccable, and it's a unique color, i don't seem to have any colors similar to it. i always do 2 coats, and that seems to be just the right amount. it's one of my favorite nail polishes out of my collection.

in the beginning i smell orris, rice paper and a hint of jasmine. after about 5 minutes, i get hints of benzoin, which is vanilla-like. i think the red chypre comes out later. this is a subtle scent, but very pretty in an understated sort of way. an understated jasmine is nice, especially since it can be so in your face at times. i think the orris/rice paper add a nice powdery balance to the jasmine. a satisfying melange of opposites.

oh boy, the cigarette smoke note is more literal than i imagined. it's pretty smoky, at least so far. it smells like this scotch i once drank at a scottish owned bar in san francisco. (one of my favorite bars in SF-edinburgh castle. go if you visit ) anyway, yeah, it smells super smoky and kind of like rubbery burning tire tread. or maybe my chemistry just amps this to 11. i smell the incense in the background, which is a headshop type incense, but the rubbery smoke still dominates and is quite strong. yeah, i think i'll need to scrub this one off soon... ETA: i did not scrub and 1-2 hours after first applied, it smells nice-it's a lingering incense with a hint of sweet leather, and i like this stage, just not sure i can stand that beginning part with my skin chemistry.

i'm delighted to finally try this! it starts off with patchouli. loukhoum and vanilla i think. it's an earthy gourmand, though those gourmand notes are very blended and do not stand out individually. it's not overly foody, which is good because i don't like most straight up foody scents. my gourmands have to have other elements, and this hits that sweet spot for me. a few minutes after being on the skin, it gets more sugary, which must be the loukhoum. at this point the strongest notes are fig and patchouli. after about 20 minutes i think i finally get the amber oud but it's still subtle. this is one of those scents where no scents really stand out strongly-it's just a fairly linear blend, though this one is sweet and earthy. a bit comforting. i think i like it.

The subject of our latest #BPAL7wordstory contest was Envy. The winning entry was submitted by Tyler Butler: Galatea wept as Pygmalion carved new statues Marble-white sandalwood, vanilla blossom, and orris root veined with whorls of ambergris accord, rose-touched with life, slowly shattering tears of bitter carrot seed and cistus. this starts off with sandalwood, hints of ambergris and orris. it's slightly woody and i think there's a hint of carrot seed as well. after a minute or two i get a bit of something floral, but it doesn't seem like rose. maybe cistus? after about 10 minutes it's mostly orris root and carrot seed-kind of earthy and rooty, though i can still sense the sandalwood, it is subtler than it was in the beginning. there is a tiny hint of vanilla , and no rose that i can detect. i do like this, but was hoping for more rose. i also think i amp sandalwood so it's kind of taking over. a nice scent, but i probably won't be needing a bottle.

right off i get clove with some patchouli and a bit of medicinal agarwood. it's a very woody scent at first. the clove keeps getting spicier, and i get some amber after a few minutes. mostly it's a spicy patchouli-amber. i don't get any lilac at all. it's very evocative of the description.

i have recently discovered that not all of BPAL's oudhs really work for me...the white oudh is scrumptious and the black oudh is terrible. the oudh in this is somewhere in the middle. at the outset, the oudh is the strongest note, along with rose. after about 10 minutes i get more myrrh and less oudh, and then it's a lot better and/or the oudh morphs & settles into something better. i do like it at this point- a resiny rose.

right off i smell a watery oudh. bpal's white oudh is wonderful on me, but i'm not sure about black oudh, as i recently tried another scent with black oudh and had the same experience. this oudh is strange- watery and sort of like bathroom cleaner. it's a shame because i love oudh, but i think i need to steer clear of this type of oudh in the future.

right off i think i get the indian musk, clove and a hint of rose. it smells dry and spicy to me. after a minute or two i get the amber and maybe a liiiitle bit of tobacco. this is such a pretty scent, reminds me of some older BPALs from my past that were loved. in essence, this is a spicy, clovey rose. love it.

this smells like dirty date and fig- it's that earthy herbalness i guess. it's like fruit deep in earth, starting to ripen then rot. it also seems to fade really fast on me. i actually think the date note is stronger, because this isn't as figgy as some, but it has that general fruity/nutty scent to it.

i smell mostly peach, honey and neroli at first. i'm not a huge lover of peach scents, but i thought i might like it in this combination. this peach is a bit syrupy for my tastes, i was hoping for a lighter, crisper peach. after a few minutes i think i get some patchouli, and maybe a tiny hint of cocoa. this is primarily peach and honey on me, and it's just too fruity for my tastes.

it's all clear red musk to start out, then i get some pepper and some black musk, i believe, then the lavender makes an appearance and gets bolder. at this point it's mostly red musk and lavender, a combination i may have never smelled before...after a few more minutes, the scent softens and it's a musky floral at this point, and no clear notes stand out but the red musk-the rest is a melange. very pretty but i have so many red musk scents, i'm not sure i need more.

starts off all chalk and dust, with something mildly sweet-the beeswax in the background. slowly the beeswax emerges, brightening and warming the scent. after a couple more minutes, i get another note but i can't place it. it could be the chalk intensifying though. this is such an odd scent! after being on the skin awhile, it smells kind of like butter and is nauseating. my skin chemistry just isn't having it-this one is a scrubber for me :/

this is super resiny from the start. i think maybe there is myrrh in this? frankincense usually gets more like pencil shavings, and this isn't doing that. it's just very dry and church-y. after a few minutes on the skin, i get that hint of the lace note from the other lace scents. the "gold" part is very subtle and in the background, i think it may be vanilla, but it's difficult to pick out. overall it's a dry resin scent for the first 30 minutes or so. after that it gets really pretty- it's a golden incense scent with hints of vanilla, and i like it very much. definitely keeping my decant of this.