SophieCedar

Wet: The only note that gets lost on me is the nutmeg. Definitely reminiscent of middle eastern markets I've visited, so nice memories flooding right now. Saffron and amber together are so dreamy. The rose reminds me of the rose essence and waters that I could find at said markets. Mixed with the spices this is wonderfully mysterious. Drydown: more warmth develops, which is nice. The rose backs off a bit (thanks!) I had prepared myself for the possibility that it could turn into acrid spice hell but that didn't happen! yay! Just a warm spicy, non-overpowering rose combination.

Wet: damp light sweet rose, a la Hope. The sandalwood is the strongest which is surprising because when they show sandalwood as the 1st note, I never believe them. It always gets lost behind the other ingredients. Not here! It's sweet fragrant sandalwood with a real presence. The patchouli is slight so not to disturb the gentle balance of the 3. The throw and general aura is similar to tushnamatay...that's a great thing. I feel foolish for passing this one over so many times now. Drydown: Still there in the same balance. Lovely sweet woody creamy fragrance. Perfectly blended and great for every day. My new go-to scent for indecisive days.

Wet: the almond milk is creamy, nutty and fragrant, followed by slightly sharp pine bark. The sarsaparilla adds a spice that amps the pine bark and patchouli. Drydown: patchouli and pine bark take over. the almond milk and sarsaparilla are now staying in the background. This has turned sharp on me because I'm amping the patchouli and pine. Pine variations get lost on me sometimes and just turn into "strong pine".

Wet: smoky oiled leather and vetivert. The black musk amps it nicely. Drydown: same!

Wet: the only way I can explain it is "disruptive floral honey". I like the smell however this is so strong that it warrants caution on application. The daphne smells like a mix of white rose, laurel,and a touch of magnolia. Very interesting. The honey is just an amplifier for this. I would expect this smell to precede the entrance of an incredibly cruel but attractive woman. It's rank with ill intention. Drydown: the same. Pure evil of the humanly feminine kind. *shudder* Hmm. when to use this is the question..

Wet: this is a very straight-forward scent.. the only element getting lost on me is heliotrope. The frankincense, carnation, and angelica form this wonderful scent wall... There's walls of sound for hit bands, then there's walls of smell. This is one. There's a tinkling piano in the background... chamomile. Drydown: still there, just less amplified. Frankincense, I'm realizing, I like more than I thought. It gets lost in the complexity of some scents.. not here. It's definitely just being complimented by the other ingredients. The chamomile is barely notable here. The 3 elements I mentioned previously are still going strong!

This was my wedding day, so this is a very special perfume to me. My brand new hubby walked into the room when I 1st tested it and started sniffing like a hound dog all over the room, trying to locate the source of this wonderful smell he liked so much. I was of course very happy to tell him it's our wedding day BPAL 13 perfume. Wet: The chocolate is silky and dark, spices are notable in a sweet & hot aspect. The pimento berry, paprika, tobacco, and honey are perfect. Especially strange because this is what my now hubby would have picked as an ideal perfume. He's a huge fan of hot spicy chocolate, mole sauces, and latin american foods in general. He also loves the smell of champaca flower Drydown: The champaca flower is more prominent and the mix stays spicy and gets sweeter. I can smell a bit of the balsam and bergamont here. The chocolate continues to resonate.. that's the only way that I can describe what it does! Its' great and I couldn't be happier, especially considering new hubby's satisfaction with it.

Whoa. Wet: the red rose leaps out, but quickly followed by the black leather. The black leather seems to take over for a minute but it's unfortunately just burning off. Drydown: non-powdery red rose. Awesome. and a little black leather. This is really strong and will be great when I'm really in the mood for it. Easily identifiable and sexy.

Wet: wet sweet pumpkin with loads of honey and sugar top of almond that makes you think it's not really almond. The pumpkin and honey take over. Very sweet. I just woke up. I need a huge cinnamon bun and some marzipan dutch pastries right now. Drydown: I can smell musk but can't really identify it as brown,because it's still melding with the pumpkin. Slight noticeable almond smell now. Mmm. Great after it burns down. I wish it had a little more brown musk but it's still great.

Wet: amping juniper as usual. That's not a bad thing. I also smell a decent amount of vanilla and amber. Pine is there for the 1st few minutes then slips behind the vanilla and amber (surprising!) Drydown: herbal evergreen vanilla and amber. I always forget how nice rosewood is. This is a wonderful masculine to gender-neutral vanilla. My hubby will like this one... he's a dedicated tombstone fan.

Wet: I can smell the balsam (sweet mellow and deep), gaiac wood, champaca, and musk, plus myrrh, frankincense and the siamese benzoin. This blends so well that nothing stands out too much. You'd have to have the list in front of you to identify more than myrrh, musk, and benzoin. Drydown: I got a bit of green cumin the last time but not now? Hmm.. Just musk, benzoin, and myrrh. The dryness of a sand note is present but I can't say I smell it. Much softer and sweeter than last try.

Wet: chocolate peppermint hot cocoa. Hmm.. where's everyone else? Drydown: ooh it's similar to wulric! I'm amping the oakmoss, which makes me very happy. That's one of my favorite smells. The vanilla soaked mint and pistachio are there too. Chocolate is still around however the peppermint isn't so pungent (thankfully) and the green cedar is smooth. Love it more than I thought I would. I avoided this one for a while thinking I'd hate chocolate peppermint.. Guess that's why I keep buying bpals..because there's so many unexpected hits.

Wet: *GASP* A lotus scent that doesn't make my skin crawl! I love the greenery in this. It's a perfect balance. It smells like it belongs in the Apiary section. Wet sweet green honey with touches of lotus and something that smells like a white floral? Maybe that's my skin.. uhm. Drydown: it becomes faint and sweet with white florals. Similar to oleander honey on my skin.

Wet: cherry and peppery anise. A hint of red musk. This comes across as clotted sour cherries to me. Drydown: a little nicer as the red musk gets creamier and the star anise stops slapping me in the face. The cherry gets sweeter too. I can see why people are fond of it. It's not 100% me, however I can see using this in late spring/early summer.

I'm with the previous reviewer.. I triple-taked the imp because I though maybe they filled it with antikythera mechanism by accident.. This is rich warm woods, a sweet dark smoke, and a liquor note. No vetivert singularly notable. I actually had to get out my bottle of AM to compare and be sure. it's not AM but definitely a drier version of it! Completely unexpected. I really like it.

Wet: I'm amping the galbanum and myrrh along with neroli. I know there's a ton more in here, but the notes are very uniformly dark and smoky. Drydown: narcissus and lavender are more prominent and the resins are sweet. There's something dark red and dry.. currant-like. This is much richer in the drydown. I can tell this will be a hit for me at a different time, just not now.

1st thought: "death horses are pretty" Wet: lily of the valley. Pure. White. Clean. Ethereal. Drydown: takes a while but the oppoponax comes out. Debating a bottle. It's simple, clean, and eerie-but-you-don't-know-why goodness. The combination translates in my mind to a spectre wearing a jovial mask with tiny bits of rotting flesh peeking out from underneath... that you can only see if you strain your eyes. *shudder* Awesome! Lily of the valley does well with my skin, fortunately. I was afraid, reading the other reviews, but this is perfect.

Wet: exactly as described. I can smell pacific salt air, fresh rain, and damp leaves. Very fresh. Reminds me of damp Tuesday mornings (don't ask..my brain just makes correlations that I can only somewhat control) Drydown: things dry out. The leaves win over the rain and salt air.

Wet: green tea and white tea. I was hoping for more black and red tea, as green and white are not my friends. Drydown: green herbal tea. Didn't even get a touch of peony. Oh well.

Wet: snake oil and buttercream caramel and extra vanilla? Yum. is there a touch of hazelnut? Maybe. Wait. yes. Drydown: I don't get the sandalwood like everyone else. Maybe arabian muskiness, but not sandalwood. there's still a strong caramel and hazelnut to it. Lovely.

Hmm.. you may be able to mix a couple to get the same effect. Bliss is pure milk chocolate. Miskatonic U is very strong and gives me a similarly overpowering effect as gluttony. Bliss + Misk U..hmm that could work. Or bliss + hellcat might work too! Best of luck!

Wet: the strawberry LEAPS at my nose and fills it completely. Smells fresh at 1st but quickly something turns it dirty and just plain wrong (in a sinful way). The orange blossom and hibiscus are making this ultimately cloying and the poppy is turning it towards little girl plastic toys. yikes!! Drydown: whew. the poppy wins over the rest and this turns to a sweet narcotic floral. The wet phase is disturbing but this is much better.

Wet: Time suspended. I want to lay back in a pile of pillows in the dark. This is oddly relaxing yet chock full of guilt. The vetivert isn't too sharp, as it's balanced by the lovely myrrh. Drydown: the vetivert continues to mellow and twine with the myrrh. This turns into the best incense ever. Makes me want to wear my He-Goat today.

Biting tea rose maybe mixed with jasmine. green edge probably just from the tea rose. This one is filled with venom. Proceed with caution through public crowds.

Wet: wow. an aquatic that doesn't turn to stale pee or commercial men's cologne! This is great. dark water and slight ozone and stone. maybe some seaweed but not sure. Color impression dark opaque blue, almost black. I thought I smelled some type of mourning flower too. Drydown: still unoffensive to the senses. dark water and some mourning flower that isn't a white lily.. bugging me! Reminds me of some new age astrological blends from Sun's Eye but can't figure out why! Overall a great aquatic.