SophieCedar

Mmmmm. This is a smoky wood and green smell. Light florals. Sweet undertone. soft and well-rounded. Actually makes me salivate! Smells like a soft modern men's cologne however I would not recommend it on a guy. The subtlety and complexity would get lost. I like it!

I was looking forward to this one.. disappointed. This does smell like minty bathroom cleaner. My first impression was a menthol cough syrup. The herbs come out on the drydown, but not worth the process. Still gives me a PTSD shudder because of it's wet phase. I'll have to pass on this one and stick with Nocnitsa...

Sometimes if a perfume is good and impactful enough, my first reaction is an uncontrollable "OOOOOOOH...". Yup. Got that on this one! This is my new favorite. All notes stay exactly in order. Very melodic, sensual, and just awesome. Lovely glowing golden flowers and resins. It absolutely radiates!!!

Warning: this smells soapy in the imp and wet. Give it a chance because when it opens up, it truly is unique and lovely. The tobacco flower and gardenia are solid mainstays. This is quite intoxicating in a floaty drifty summery way. What a pleasant surprise! Update: ok I think I blew my nose out on my new bpal shipment that day...now I smell the gardenia and lavender, orange blossom and oak. I'm glad I tried it again! I like it much better this time around and it's turned into a keeper. A dirty filthy lovely keeper.

In Imp: myrrh, incense, rose, dry dry dry sandalwood Wet: the rose explodes on my skin! Where'd the sandalwood go? It's hiding.. Drydown: rose is still there mingling with some wood that I cannot easily identify as sandalwood. Slight purple fruit essence. Interesting! It actually smells slightly of burning incense!

Very complex, appealing and unsettling. Wow. The wine-like smell of Chamomile bolts forward when wet and dissipates. The leather couples nicely with the pimento but takes until drydown to appear. These elements overpower any strong singular essence of musk (thankfully). Really lovely on my skin, which has a sweet undertone.

This was a huge surprise after it opened. In the imp it smelled syrupy with an herbal sharp undertone, cherries and honey. Wet: this blossoms beautifully and the juniper really works well. Never had experience with hawthorn however it's lovely. Truly lovely, deep, and pure. Dark green and burgundy color sense.

Bottled happiness. Helps reverse misfortune, brings light and laughter to even the most troubled and discordant place, and aids in alleviating the stress and discontent that accompanies so many of life's daily trials. Orange runts! Hard to be grouchy when you smell like candy and nostalgia!

In imp: Sugared dark rum with a touch of all spice. Wet: body warmth makes it smell sweet and slightly musky. The spiciness subsides slightly. reminds me of hot buttered rum or a liquor cookie/cake glaze. Drydown: Maintains all elements. Morphing part of this phase: the oak wood starts to come out and smells aged, not fresh. I like it! This is actually quite refined! Like others have said this has good throw. Would be nice for a hot date or raucous night on the town. Good for both sexes (when used modestly). I think particularly musky men should really use with caution.. it's potent and I could see it potentially knocking their object of affection out or being a total overpowering turn-off.

Like the previous poster, my skin loves opium and tends to amplify it. In imp: whoa. Debauchery in a bottle! This opium reminds me of a few oil perfumeries that haven't been around for about 15 years. Yay! Very heady floral with a feeling of motor oil thickness. Wet: the opium formed a hypnotic cloud and honeysuckle developed. It's very intense but enjoyable. I slightly detected the vetivert however the flowers exploded and surrounded me. drydown: after the opium and honeysuckle were done creating a ruckus (not in a bad way..you'll enjoy it) the vetivert finally came out of hiding but was very soft and does not conflict. This is quite the olfactory experience! 5 stars for a ballsy combination!

This is my new favorite and it works wonderfully on my skin! in imp: honey sweet with fig and spice. Strange the patchouli doesn't jump out at me. (Yes I have a finely tuned sniffer) Wet: the patchouli develops but doesn't run rampant. This is possibly not the one for patchouli haters, who may feel it does bolt. I empathize: sometimes, at the first detection of my dreaded stinks, I'll scream it out and accuse it of overrunning me. (ex: green or white tea, melon, or tea rose I tend to tar & feather, put to trial, and then burn it at the stake!) Digression can be ugly. Sorry! Back to the review... Drydown: I don't get any of the powder issues that other members have experienced. I was relieved! This is spicy, sweet, lovely mix. I pulled a few wafts of a heady floral, gardenia-ish here and there. I slathered this on in the morning, wrapped up in my scarf and headed out the door for work. Not only did this scent last all day, but when I put my scarf on to leave work, it smelled wonderful. So great that I was grinning like a fool and sunk into my scarf eyeball deep saying "mmmm".

In Imp: light white rose acidity, moonflower, and sweetpea mix. Wet: this totally changes when on skin. The flowers open and permeate to become this lush deep bed that you just want to toss yourself into (if it existed in real life). Whatever dusky violet is, I'm into to!!! I usually detest violet. BPAL has changed my convictions by only trying 2 imps!(violet ray and this) Smells like sugared rose and sweet resin incense on me. Drydown: Sweet and gentle. The flowers are lovely and soft without powder. Just fresh and sweet. I wouldn't call this a green freshness. More like if you picked all the petals off of them and tossed them in a bowl with fruits. The fruit isn't syrupy or overripe smelling. It doesn't really hit you in the face by any means.. Slight incense in the background giving it a hallowed ethereal feel. A wonderful contemplative perfume.

In Imp: honeysuckle for sure with a jasmine back. Wet: Jasmine and honeysuckle share ground. This is pretty potent. Use wisely! Drydown: Lives up to the description. Lemon and spice undertones and definitely reminds me of wandering around eating honeysuckle on a humid warm night. I love it. Think it would be good for layering with a softer note like an amber.

Born in the shadows of a Temple to Set, this corrupted Egyptian scent evokes images of black pyramids, river demons, and bleak, deadly desert sands. Black lotus flower, amber, myrrh and sandalwood. Got this in a swap (thanks deviolet!) In imp: candy sweet with an acidic undertone. I almost didn't dare apply it to my skin. Wet: I try it anyways because a few other scents smelled the same but opened big time. At first, I smell like Dr. Pepper. What? Then the resins start to slowly come out. Truly strange. Drydown: This is the best part. The resins bloom and it's lovely. The Dr. Pepper smell subsides. The lotus provides a nice bright sweet note in the middle of everything but doesn't scream for attention like some citruses can. Color impression: dusty pumpkin orange This is wonderful but doesn't hold very long, so you have to start the process all over again a few times. It gets better with a couple layers. I wouldn't mix with others though. Afraid the cola smell may stay around if I did.

I third Nocnitsa. It's very pure pine, moss, and dirt. Crisp dark green. It's really lovely. To lighten the mood and give it an ethereal glow, I layered with Ladon. It was divine.

This is wonderful. Thanks to the BPAL forum members for helping me at the beginning to find scents that I'd truly enjoy! I love this one and will be buying a bottle. This is perfect. First waft when wet is lemon balm, sage, benzoin, and gilead. It just gets better and better. The beeswax takes until drydown to come out but it's worth the wait. Totally smells like floral mead drank in the warm late spring evening air. Some of my favorites are the ones that can spark nostalgia. This is one of them and a total keeper.

This is a deep and true lily. I don't get that ethereal glowing-lady-of-light lily from this one. This is a true dark somber green lily in all senses. There is a dark black musky spice undertone that keeps this anchored. Now I really see why it's labeled "black" lily. Stays the same from imp to wet. Then a slight black musk comes out in the drydown to deepen it. I appreciate it however this doesn't really work well on me.

The dodo is spicy for sure. Cassia smells nice with the sugar cane and lemon peel. This is reminiscent of a hot toddy with only a touch of booze. It smells surprisingly floral on me too..? Makes my mouth water a bit. there's a hint of mango but not enough to make me recoil. As it dried down the wood came out nicely. Not bad! I'll wear this again.

In imp: ooohh intriguing. Honey and flowers. Wet: skin so soft? What gives? Why has it turned on me? Oh wait.. it's opening up now. Drydown: this is a complicated one on me. It turned out nicely. Honey and flower pollen for sure. I'm good friends with chamomile however not really picking it up. maybe that's the wine like smell in the background. This is like a powdery floral mead. Not bad but not me.

You know, I didn't have hopes for this one but got an imp anyways. This is lovely and thankfully I don't regret my decision! The hyacinth is lovely. I really didn't expect it to marry so well with the apple blossom (one of my old mischievous summer favorites from my teenage years). This is a lovely fresh, fruity, floral trifecta. I could definitely see using this when I attend a spring or summer party wearing a lovely vintage dress. What a bubbly and rich scent. Deep yet effervescent. This is definitely a "me" scent.. The dragon's blood takes a bit to become prominent. Give it a bit! Debating a bottle in January but I'm sure I'll be fiending for one by spring...

In imp: sweet milky with slight floral. I can smell the bergamont. Wet: very sweet, very milky and the carnation popped right out. The bergamont is still there. Drydown: ok so my chemistry didn't like the whole innocence idea so it morphed it into a floral. I totally lost the sweetness and it's just creamy carnation with a citrus waft at this point. Kinda soapy. Cute, but my skin had other ideas and rejected it.

This is an unusual one. I can't say I've smelled anything similar besides for Alice of course. In imp: sweet and carnation for sure. Wet: the posies and amber open up and this is sweet, spicy and I get a definite wine impression. Drydown: treacle and cider. The carnation faded into the background? This smells slightly different depending on the distance your nose is from the location of scent. Slightly stimulating scent for me because it keeps the mind active with the constantly changing top notes. There's definitely that little girl tea party trapped in a big girl world smell.

Hmm.. What do I smell... heady floral bouquet. I'm not that familiar with oleander in real life so comparatives are what I'm stuck with. Think gardenia and peony had a baby and fed it sweet milk. I like it however I envy the person that this really blossoms and thrives upon.. I'll have to age it for a bit and get back to this.

Dragon's Blood and I are great friends, so anything including it will work magic on my skin. This is no exception. This is the sweet enticing version. The vanilla is perfectly balanced and the dragon's blood is so nice, I'm sure it's producing quite a lovely aura on me right now. Smells intoxicating! I'm definitely getting a bottle!

This definitely goes in the complex category, I think. It does have that cologne smell that comes out in the drydown, but not offensive. This is a lovely aquatic blend. Quite intoxicating!