Verios

This is glorious. It's like the girliest mixed drink ever, strawberry candy sweetness with a hit of gin, and a bit of grenadine. The boozy notes keep this from being too cloying for me, but don't smell like someone threw liquor around either, so this will definitely be one I spray around the house!

This is everything I hoped it would be, which is a huge relief, as leather scents haven't quite been hitting the mark with me as a whole, lately. This is fresh from the lab, and hasn't had time to settle yet, but I think I am mostly getting the leather, cigar smoke and bay rum - it reminds me a lot of my Judge and Jury atmo (which, re-reading the notes in that, actually makes sense), which is one I really love, as well~

This is my first time trying one of the sufganiyots, but blackcurrant is a favorite fruit flavor of mine, so I couldn't pass it up, despite my not typically being a huge foodie fan. Also, this just arrived from the lab today, so hasn't had time to settle. That said, WOW. I love this! I get no pastry, but instead get a gorgeous, jammy dark berry/currant, with some sort of an almost-floral undertone that I really, really love. Assuming this doesn't settle into something totally different, this was a surprise hit for me, so I am thrilled I gave it a shot...and I will almost definitely need a backup! Edit: Gave it a full-day run today, and it smells the same - I had another friend smell it on me today, and she was also surprised that (at least on me) this is an amazing mixed berry/currant jam, with a floral undertone that keeps it from straying into too foody...I get no pastry note at all, which was what worried me, so I'm thrilled.

Oooh, this sounds fun! (And I am always looking for new scents to love!) My top 5 (at the moment, anyway...I love so many it's tough to narrow down), in no particular order: Dorian Antique Lace Recalcitrant Dragon De Vos' Unicorn Zorya P ....there are at least another 4-5 that barely got edged out of this list

This is stunning - I'm a little odd in that I don't really care for perfumes that taste overly foodie, but I'm finding that some of my favorite HGs are the foodier ones! This on me is mostly honey; the cake is definitely not coming to the forefront. But, the honey is the gorgeous kind that almost reminds me of baklava (it doesn't have the pastry note of baklava though, that's just the only thing I've eaten where the honey tastes like this smells) - it's got a hint of cinnamon, and a little bit of nuttiness, and it's just so. delicious. I'm so glad to have snagged a bottle of this!

I just got this today in the mail, so I'm hoping once it settles a bit that some of the other notes come out to play....because I was really, really excited about this scent, and right now, it's mostly cologne, but not a harsh or in-your-face one. I'm glad someone else mentioned cucumber, because I get that as well, and was kind of wondering if my nose was broken. There's also a faint hint of leather lingering in the background (there's a dirty joke in there, pertaining to leather and cucumbers, somewhere...) I'm not getting any coffee, and if the shuffle of paper is there, I'm not picking up on it. To sum up: on me (and in the bottle) it's a sleek, aquatic, vaguely cucumber-y cologne that's been spilled across a black leather briefcase. Not offensive or unpleasant, but unless it changes with a bit of settling and/or aging, this one will be off to my swaps!

2017 Version The original had been discontinued before I got into BPAL, so this year's run was my first chance at smelling it...and wow, I totally see what all the fuss is. This is the most gorgeous musky vanilla, with the long-faded perfumes mingling with just a hint of dry florals balancing the sweetness out (as someone who is a rare fan of florals, this is magical). Fantastic throw and longevity - enough that I catch hints of it all day...but not so much that I feel like I am overwhelming the people around me (although I'd still wear it if it did, because I enjoy it so much). I am so glad the lab did a rerelease of this, and that I was lucky enough to snag some.

I just went and stuffed my nose in the bottle (it's a cool weather smell that I haven't worn in a bit) and it's a good hit of coffee. Mixed with the tobacco though it makes it sweet and rich and divine. Coffee is really great on my skin though. That's good to know! Because the one that went really awful on me smelled that way in the bottle as well, so it wasn't just a skin chemistry thing for me . edit: annnnnd, so many other wonderful sounding recs! I'll post up some of the ones I've tried recently that have been keepers, as well!

Immediately upon applying this, my first thought is that if I ever encountered a wolfman, and he happened to smell like this...I would totally tap that. I should probably start by saying that musks are almost always much-beloved notes for me, and I love when cocoa/chocolate scents are tempered with something that prevents it from becoming too foody. I also really love lavender, as long as it's not too sharp. With all of that said, Wulric always sounded like he'd be right up my alley, and he definitely is. To my nose, I mostly get the cocoa, lavender and sage, with the vanilla and musk serving to sweeten things up and make this extremely wearable. This may actually edge out Boomslang as my all-time favorite scent that features cocoa/chocolate. I do wish this had a little more throw to it, as I want to sit in a cloud of this....it does have a pretty decent wear length at least, though!

I think I may need to track down some Dead Leaves, Blackcurrant and Tobacco Tar, and Elegba was one that I had on my list of scents to try anyway, but seeing more people mention it positively has me moving it up my priority list, I think . (I wish I'd gotten tobacco from The Bones of Capys - unfortunately, it didn't come forward for me, and my skin eats king mandarin, so I ended up swapping that out when I had it.) For the Ta-Ta...how strong is the coffee? I love the smell of coffee, but a recent bpal with it as a note ended up smelling like awful scorched coffee on me, so now I'm a little more cautious with it.

Posting/bumping this up to add to the tobacco love! I've always adored the smell of tobacco, so it was unsurprising that it would turn out to be a major BPAL note of love for me (I'm testing out Mrs. Bunce today, and wow she's gorgeous!) I also wondered if anyone else has tried layering the Bulgarian Tobacco SN with The Lion? A friend recommended I try it, after I raved about those two scents individually, and while I love both of those scents on their own as well, together they were even better than I expected. (I'm also going to go back through this thread from the beginning and take notes, to see if there's any additional tobacco blends that jump out at me )

I typically roll my bottles around in my hands before applying - something I didn't do before I picked up a few blends where cocoa, in particular, would settle to the bottom and thus wouldn't even be detectable without giving it a chance to mix throughout the bottle just before applying. I live in Phoenix, so I always figure my biggest issue with oils needing to settle is the potential heat they sit out in the truck/mailbox in before I get them into my apartment (I don't blame them, the heat out here would unsettle me if I was in it for extended periods, too!)

I do! I usually put each bottle in a tiny baggie so leakage won't be as damaging if it happens, and make sure I put it in the tray thing next to my purse when I go through security. You could also use plumber's tape as an added precaution if you want.

This is really, really gorgeous, and it makes me so glad I was able to track down a bottle (since I missed the initial release). This doesn't change throughout the day on me, but the throw is perfect (whiffs througout the day), and it lasts really nicely! This is actually really hard to pick out individual notes for, as everything seems to blend together - but thankfully, I don't get any anise, since that is a note that is almost always a no-go for me. I definitely agree with other reviews that I get something creamy and vanillic, so I'm guessing that's the crepe de chine, and everything else works together to give this some exotic spiciness, and the barest hint of the sweet orange to add another layer of depth. Seriously, so, SO good. I've been really lucky with HGs so far, but I do believe that this may be another one that I need to get a backup bottle of.

I am so glad I got a bottle of this - it's so different from what I was expecting, but it's so, so lovely. I don't get a lot of morphing from it, and while I was hoping/expecting the presence of leather, followed by the other notes listed, I was really surprised that, other than the honey from the honeyed leather being there to sweeten up what is a predominantly floral-smelling blend, I don't seem to pick it out. With that said, I am not typically a fan of florals, but this is something I can easily see myself reaching for often, as the floral note in here (I may just have to add honeysuckle to my 'florals that may actually work on my skin!' list) is beautiful. It's not sharp, or soapy, or overly 'perfumey', which is what makes a lot of florals so unpleasant for me - and the more I sniff/think on it, the honeyed leather, patch and vanilla, while not overt, may be giving the floral some backbone, so to speak. While not overwhelming, this has a nice amount of throw (and a couple hours in, I'm still able to catch the occasional whiff of it, so I'm at that point of the day where I'm hopeful that this is one of those scents that will actually last most of the day ). I may need to track down a backup bottle of this.

This is everything I hoped it would be. I haven't smelled the French Tobacco for comparison, but since I generally love tobacco smells (other than smoked cigarettes, I love it in every incarnation I've come across it in), I was hoping that this would be wonderful...and it is. This is a sweet, glorious cigar tobacco. It's rich, and I almost get a chocolatey note to it (not enough to make it outright foody, but enough to be downright delicious), and on me (at least so far), has a wonderful amount of throw. Hopefully I can swap for a backup at some point, because this is my favorite single note that I've tried to date (I'm also really going to have to try to find some of the French Tobacco SN to compare now!)

I love snake oil, but only after some aging to smooth it out a bit-and snake skin, on skin test, is exactly the same way. I don't really get much leather, either...sooo, I'm going to put it away for aging, and hope the leather comes forward a bit more, while the spices smooth out...if they do, this may just make it into my cherished favorites list!

I really enjoy this, for all that I was worried that cardamom would overwhelm everything! This is mostly leather, but with a melange of herbs/spices that I couldn't begin to pick out individually. It definitely tends toward the masculine, but that's okay for me, because there are days that I want something like this. I think this may just have made its way into the keeper box!

I can remember when my bottle of this first arrived (courtesy of a very kind friend of a friend who picked it up for me), I thought it was intimidatingly sharp and green in the bottle (which seemed appropriate for a dragon scent, but not necessarily wearable). On initial application, it remained a sharp greeny sort of smell (maybe the sandalwood and green musk? I don't know for sure what it is/was)...but then, after a short period of time, it morphed into everything I hoped it would be: that sharp greenness was still there, but it smooths out, and the musk marries up with the smoky vanilla and tobacco, so it ends up as this gorgeously musky, smoked vanilla (it's not heavily smoked, but I think some of that does come through) & tobacco, with that hint of biting green scales, as if to remind you that this IS a dragon. This dragon also has a generous throw to him - I don't find it overpowering, but I do catch frequent whiffs. With aging (since I just tested it again today), the initial sharpness has lessened, and the time before it hits the stage where I start sniffing appreciatively, with a contented sigh is lessened. Absolutely love this, and I may end up trying to hunt down a second bottle.

On me, all I get from this is the most delicious strawberry - it smells a lot like when you slice up strawberries, add sugar, and put them in the fridge overnight to get that syrupy, sugary strawberry goodness to put on something like strawberry shortcake. I also get the most wonderful whiffs of it throughout the day (gorgeous amount of throw!), and it lasts pretty much all day. When it comes to perfume oils, I usually don't find overly foody scents as wearable, but because this is a hair gloss, and so not quite as present, it's wonderful, and I can easily see myself reaching for this fairly often. The only downside, that I can think of...is that now I'm really craving strawberry shortcake.

I picked up a bottle of this off of BTBP's etsy when it went up, because in spite of my usual dislike of overt florals, every other note listed is one that I usually adore. In spite of promising myself I'd give it a few days to settle after receiving it, I ended up wearing it today (I got it yesterday), so I may update this review when I re-test in a few more days. Straight out of the bottle, this is all night-blooming florals (I definitely get jasmine, but it's not as sharp as that can sometimes be on me), but as it settles in later in the day, some of the musk smooths out the florals more, and it's become a floral I would actually wear - the beginning stage is not something I'm in love with (and I'm still sad that I can't get any of the blackcurrant or clove that I can distinguish), but this is a lovely, lush, feminine floral that i can see myself reaching for when I want to have a nice evening out, preferably semi-formal. Not sure this will be a keeper, but it's definitely one I'm glad I gave a try! Edit: I did end up not keeping this, because the initial jasmine overload was too much for me - however, when I gave the bottle to a friend, we both noticed/commented on the fact that the jasmime was not nearly as overwhelming on her, so I clearly amp the heck out of it (which explained a lot as to why that note tends to be a death note for me, LOL)

I just bought a bottle of this off of etsy, and wow am I glad I did! (I actually sprayed it, sniffed for awhile, and immediately went on to order the last one posted as a backup). One of the most evocative scents imaginable-I feel like I'm in a library at an upscale brothel, as I get a slightly comfortable dusty scent (we all know those books aren't being read very often!), a the lingering smell of rich cigar tobacco, and the supple leather of comfortable chairs. So in love with this!

This one was amazing in the bottle - I get a strong whiff of buttery cookies with an underpinning of something sweet and creamy (it's lovely, and foodie!). Once on my skin, the cookie fades, and some of the tea starts to come forward (and surprisingly, it doesn't have that anise/licorice undertone to it that I usually get with tea scents, so it's a gorgeous creamy sweet cookie soaked in earl grey tea). Unfortunately, this doesn't last long, and it sort of fades to a smell that reminds me of play-doh. Not particularly unpleasant, but not something I'll be keeping. Off to my swaps.

This was a bottle I picked up as much for the artwork as for the actual scent - while soft, delicate, feminine scents are something I usually think smell lovely, they're not something I typically like smelling on myself, and florals (barring some rose scents, especially when it's a green/more real smelling rose) aren't usually my cup of tea either. With that said, WOW. I get marshmallow-y vanilla with candied rose and maybe a hint of the lavender buds. I think the musk is in there as well, which may be what saves this from leaning into the 'this smells nice but is totally not me' territory. I'm not sure what peony smells like, so that may be in the delicate, sweet floral mix as well (I don't get any apricot, but it's still gorgeous). It's delicate and girly, and all of the things that I usually don't like on myself, but it somehow manages to be an absolute keeper in spite of that. Also, usually these light, delicate scents stick close to the skin, but this has gorgeous throw - it doesn't feel overwhelming, but I do catch whiffs of it as I sit at my desk at work, and it makes me so glad I opted to purchase a bottle.

I purchased a bottle of this off a fellow forumite, because the notes sound exquisite (I don't think I've ever had passionfruit in a bpal scent before, but I LOVE the scent of the real deal, and I had a bottle of the single note King Mandarin at one time and it was gorgeous), but I also was a little bit concerned that this would be a scent that would fade from me super fast, as the reason I didn't keep my bottle of king mandarin single note was that my skin positively ate it up (it would disappear in under a half hour...) With that said, I tested this a bit last night, and then ended up wearing it today, and so far, maybe because it's got other notes to back it up, I'm still smelling it going strong hours later! On initial application, I got very little of the passionfruit, but I had that lovely king mandarin coming to the forefront, backed up surprisingly nicely by the rose, and something else (maybe the musk and/or labdanum? I'm not overly certain what it is, but something that prevents the initial scent from being straight mandarin + rose). Within a few hours, the mandarin does fade, but it lingered a lot longer than the single note ever did, before settling into a really nice moroccan rose scent. This is one of those that morphs a fair bit on me as the wear goes on, but I like all stages of it (even if I had expected/hoped for some of that passionfruit to come through!), so I'll definitely be keeping this bottle.