Vega

Sniffed: A fascinating and alluring blend of gently sweet vanilla, earthy patchouli, and a "ropey" fibre-like note that must be the hemp! On skin: Banshee Beat really does live up to the rave reviews -- this combination of the three notes is like nothing I've smelled before. The patchouli and hemp combine to produce a scent that is earthy and fibrous, but the vanilla adds that contrasting flash of sweetness and femininity. Overall, it's smooth and laid-back, with a very Bohemian flair. I think the popularity of Banshee Beat comes from this very successful juxtaposition of scent notes, which together become something more than the sum total. It's fascinating and alluring, definitely playful and unpredictable. Colour impression is a bit jumbled, a messy yet somehow complementary mix of dark gold-brown and dark blue-green. Verdict: Count me in the Banshee Beat fanclub! IMHO, it's one of the best specimens of BPAL artistry! I'm very glad that I have a bottle of this to enjoy.

A bunch of themed BPAL packs that I made a while back, but apparently forgot to post here! -- ARABIAN NIGHTS Baghdad Djinn The Hanging Gardens Queen of Sheba Scherezade Seraglio Uruk -- ELVENESSE Bewitched Dana O'Shee Elf Fae The Forest Reverie Mag Mell Moonshine and Mist Oberon Titania Twilight -- CARNEVALE Masquerade Spellbound Venice -- MEDIAEVAL ROMANCE AND COURTLY LOVE Ave Maria Gratia Plena Hymn Lilium Inter Spinas Maiden Paladin Rose Cross (and if LEs were allowed:) Parlement of Foules + Valentine of Rome -- SAILING THE SEVEN SEAS The Deep Ones Jolly Roger Olokun The Sea Foams Milk The Sea Foams Blood Sea of Glass Tempest Undertow Windward Passage Yemaya -- ANGELS AND DEMONS Brimstone Destroying Angel Fallen Hellfire Nephilim Sea of Glass Seraphim Wings of Azrael -- THE WORLD OF TOMORROW 51 Cathode Event Horizon Smokestack Ultraviolet Violet Ray -- PRELAPSARIAN Eve Eden Fallen Forbidden Fruit The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil

Sniffed: Yes, this is candy through and through. So sweet, it borders on artificial. On skin: No-beating-about-the-bush tooth-aching sugar rush explosion, no nuance or complexity whatsoever. The same pure-sugar-sweet of Velvet Unicorn, sans the latter's cream note. Verdict: I generally have little to say about foodie blends, because they're what they are, and make me ill too. So I have little to say about The Kingdom of Sweets, it's exactly its name and exactly the notes list, and I can't stand this sweetness. No, thank you.

Sniffed: Dry, maybe resinous, definitely sugary and fruity-sweet. On skin: A lovely blend of sweet sugar, juicy pomegranate and berries layered over gentle red musk and dry sandalwood, frankincense and tobacco. Mellow, dry, a bit dusty, and definitely "red". Red Lace would be a fabulous blend, if it wasn't so vanishingly faint!!! The notes are clearly distinguishable, but it took a lot of huffing to detect them. Red Lace is exactly its name: lacy, gossamer, so, so very light. Colour impression is crimson red bleeding into a deep pink. Verdict: Ahh, I am quite crushed. I would be in love with Red Lace (and probably have more to say about it) if it wasn't one of the faintest blends I've ever tried. And my oil-drinking skin just doesn't help at all. Alas, this won't be staying.

Sniffed: Floral sweetness corrupted by vetiver-ish smoke into something unpleasant. On skin: I can wear vetiver happily in very small amounts and in complex blends. Unfortunately, The Forest Reverie is not such a case: the smoky, slightly acrid vetiver is the same that made Hurricane, Love's Torments and Santa Muerte unwearable. At least the vetiver calms down somewhat after drydown, and makes an uneasy truce with the floral notes. This dry stage is a stark juxtaposition of thick smoke and sweet florals, of which rose is most prominent. Now The Forest Reverie is more pleasant, and reminiscent of Liz: both are smoky/sweet-floral blends based on different notes, but Liz is so much better than this. Colour impression is pale pink underneath a layer of black grit. Verdict: Truly, trees and flowers seen through a thick acrid haze. Even though The Forest Reverie ends up much better than I expected, the initial wet stage was quite unpleasant, and I already have Liz which is a far superior interpretation of smoky/sweet-floral. Don't think I'll keep this around.

Sniffed: Coconut, perhaps edged with musk and hazelnut. On skin: Fluffy, dry coconut is the primary note, embellished lightly with hazelnut. Iris is vanishingly faint but I can make out its bright, spicy scent. White musk must be lost amidst the coconut. A simple, straightforward scent, happy and light. Colour impression is fluffy cotton-white. Verdict: Uh, Black Pearl is virtually one-note coconut. Not terribly exciting, I'd rather have something a bit more complex. And it seems that my skin likes to amp coconut... sigh.

Sniffed: Red and spicy! Chinese cassia (which is a cinnamon variant) dominates on a backdrop of much fainter notes: red musk, patchouli and fruit. On skin: When wet, Red Phoenix is a melange of red musk, patchouli, mandarin orange and tobacco, all under the dominant presence of cassia. Thankfully, this cinnamon variant isn't as aggressive as the Lab's "cinnamon" note, and indeed subsides after the scent dries. Now the blend really opens up to reveal bright mandarin, glowing patchouli, mellow red musk and a whiff of gritty, smoky tobacco. Red Phoenix ends up cinnamon-spicy and glowing red, and that is my colour impression. Verdict: A straightforward "red" scent, heavy on patchouli and cassia. I'm generally not fond of cinnamon, and even though Red Phoenix rates better than others, it's still too much for me.

Sniffed: Powerful, heady spices over a deep incense base. I can make out patchouli, myrrh, pine and vetiver, overlaid with sharper spice and lime. On skin: The resins and pine form a rich, dark base, over which the spices float, including almond and clove. I can pick out most of the notes, but Voodoo is more than the sum of the individual components: a scent that is very dark, heavy, thick, a bit furry in a musky way, yet glowing and resonant at the same time. It eventually settles into a patchouli-dominant blend that is warm and enfolding, without any edges, close and intimate. Voodoo is simultaneously dark and glowing; puts me in mind of flickering firelight mingling with dancing shadows. Colour impression is deep yellow-orange upon a black backdrop, like a single candle in a huge cavern. Verdict: Voodoo is a very compelling scent that fully embodies its namesake. If I liked patchouli-dark blends more, this would be a winner -- nevertheless, it's a fantastic catalogue blend.

Sniffed: Dark and shadowed, with breath of spectral florals. On skin: Musk is the dominant note, black, thick and smothering like a covering of fur. Myrrh adds a bit of contrast, and the rose and ylang ylang form a higher layer of bright, spectral florals. Even so, Phantom is mostly heavy, pungent black musk unsettled by the brighter notes. Czernobog is a similarly dark and musky blend, although Phantom is a bit more discordant. Colour impression is dark brown-black that is unsettlingly spectral at the same time -- possibly phantom-like? Verdict: Not for me. I like musks, but Phantom is too dark and aggressive.

Okay BPALers, I'm all about chocolate/cocoa and mint right now. This seems to be the only context where I can wear mint (it usually dominates all the other notes) so I want to find every single blend out there that contains chocolate/cocoa and mint. So far I've found: - Schrodinger's Cat - How Doth the Little Crocodile - WILF - Monster Bait: Tokyo Stomp (I smell choc in here even though it's not listed!) - Dark Chocolate, Lime and Chocolate Mint Am I missing anything else?

Sniffed: Ozone-aquatic with a sugary sweetness. On skin: Dirty is an airy aquatic (if that is at all possible!), a mixture of humid ozone and what I can only call "sugar water", with a sparkle of citrus. I suspect this sugary aquatic note is a floral bouquet that I don't recognize; indeed, I doubt I've encountered it in other BPAL blends. Dirty somewhat resembles Lightning (which is my "gold standard" for pure ozone), but I think its sweetness is more akin to Sea Of Glass or Archangel Winter, which are more snowy/slushy versions. It's a pretty, happy scent: light, clear and watery, simple, and just right in sweetness. Colour impression is clear water with a bluish tinge. It doesn't occur this time, but on a previous skin test I noticed a sour-ish citrus note threatening to emerge. Hopefully that doesn't come back... Verdict: I haven't found anything that's quite like Dirty -- it's very pretty and pleasing in its simplicity! Not bottle-worthy, but I'm hanging on to my imp.

Sniffed: Light, ozone-metallic, a bit minty. Very light and clean. On skin: This is an imperceptible, vanishing scent. From what I can smell, it contains a variety of metallic, minty, ozonic and herbal notes, but I can't identify anything beyond this. Over the course of drydown it turns a bit hazy and thick, and a very light creamy sweetness emerges. The scent ends up a mix of creamy sweetness and ozone. Tin Foil Hat is an empty, hollow scent, a perfume that barely has any substance. (Most metallic-heavy blends tend to be so to me.) Nevertheless, it manages to be light and airy, and a bit hazy at the same time. Perhaps that's what a tin foil hat is meant to do -- dull the strength of this perfume's scent? Anyway, colour impression is a nondescript ivory. Verdict: I was glad to receive a sniffie of Tin Foil Hat, and while it's a pretty blend, it simply doesn't have any substance or lasting power. I prefer my perfume a bit heavier, thank you.

Sniffed: Cold, dry and intensely medicinal. On skin: This is incredibly herbal -- and medicinal herbal to boot. Just like the ointments that my mother would rub on me when I had a tummy-ache as a child. Nevertheless, The Carpathian Mountains isn't off-putting, just medicinal and sharply astringent. This sharpness calms after drydown, the blend turns into a cold, dry herbal, with hints of cold florals and evergreens peering through. Now it begins to resemble an alpine forest, lush with dry evergreens and bittersweet flowers. It could well be the high-altitude version of Moon of Small Spirits, which is a cool temperate forest to my nose. Colour impression is a fascinating blend of ice-blue and lavender, and I get a visual of an alpine forest shrouded in cold fog and shadows. Verdict: The Carpathian Mountainss, while a serviceable alpine forest, is a bit too medicinal for me. I was hoping to smell a lush green forest, so I can't help but feel a bit disappointed that all I get is herbalry and not the other floral and woody notes. Ah, well.

Sniffed: Lush evergreen, touched by a floral or berry-like sweetness. Very similar to Moon of Small Spirits. On skin: The Darkling Thrush is a sweeter version of Moon of Small Spirits. Both are fresh, forest-green scents, very much like a living temperate forest, but where the Moon is thin and cold and purer, the Thrush has a touch of sweetness. It seems a bit berry-like, but it's probably the violet and maybe orris. A graceful blend of evergreen and gentle, sweet floral: elegant in its simplicity, and almost alive. The Darkling Thrush also reminds me of Glasgow; I no longer have the latter to test alongside, but I think Glasgow would make a good dupe for this. Colour impression is rich pine-green edged with purple and maroon. Verdict: I'm so glad I got my hands on a decant of The Darkling Thrush -- it's as good as I expected it to be! It makes a good counterpart to Moon of Small Spirits, if I want something a bit sweeter but still evergreen to wear. Definitely keeping my decant.

Sniffed: Fresh and green, more grassy than evergreen. On skin: At first The Little Bird is reminiscent of Moon of Small Spirits and The Darkling Thrush, but it's actually more grassy-green, whereas the other two are foresty. This is a lush green meadow filled with blooms. The floral-herbal notes add a touch of sweetness, a sappy, grassy sweetness that remains secondary and just enhances the dominant greenery. A simple, pretty blend: fresh, clean, dewy, and sweet meadowgrass under a bright sun. Colour impression is grass-green touched with the palest of yellow. Verdict: The Little Bird is simply elegant and evocative! I prefer forest-green blends and already have my favourites of those, but this is a solid like.

Sniffed: A sweet, airy white scent: creamy florals with a touch of sugary foodiness. On skin: If I could describe Joyful Moon in one word, it would be "Gossamer". This blend is an embrace of gentle, creamy florals, fluffy sugary-vanilla, and dry, cozy white musk and ambrette. Very light and threatens to vanish, but nevertheless has a distinct bright presence and doesn't go vague like most other florals do on my skin. I haven't smelled anything quite like this -- the creamy florals remind me of Parsifal, but the airy vanilla resemble the sugar in Antique Lace and Black Lace. Joyful Moon is feminine, delicate, airy and uplifting, indeed like a full white Moon, buoyant and shimmering in the heights of a summer night. The scent is dazzling, unadulterated white, and that's the colour impression I get, plus visions of glistening spider silk, billowing, sheer gauzy curtains, and a pale maiden dancing in the moonlight. Verdict: Joyful Moon is a masterpiece. I can see how it would be very popular and appealing, it is creamy-sweet and uplifting, and utterly beautiful. I like my perfume a bit darker, and with more sillage, but this is definitely worth keeping to sniff and enjoy its beauty.

Sniffed: A glowing, intense butter note with something winey, "alcoholic" about it. It makes my nose wrinkle. On skin: Whoa, Jack is a blend in overdrive. Like many others have mentioned, the pumpkin note is so buttery it's nauseating, and the peach is so ripe that it's practically fermenting and giving off this juicy "alcoholic" vibe as a result. I can't make out any spices, just pumpkin on steroids smashed against a fermenting, liquefying peach. This is very nose-tingling, glowing like a Jack O'Lantern indeed! Colour impression is the red-yellow skin of a peach -- madly glowing. Verdict: Wholly unpleasant, it's way too buttery and fermented. Can't wear it at all, eeccch!

Sniffed: An odd, inorganic scent that I can't quite place. On skin: I have a hard time placing The Apple of Sodom. On one hand, it smells like stone, inorganic and dusty. On the other hand, it's not quite the Lab's stone note that I'm familiar with (as was in Niflheim or Visiting the Temple of Auspicious Fortune) -- it smells different, somehow. After drydown, tendrils of something sweet begin to emerge from under the dust and inorganicity, a floral or fruity sweetness that is extremely faint and sometimes morphs away completely. I would like to smell more of this sweetness, but its tenuous presence seems to fit well with the scent description. The scent ends up gently vetiver-smoky and dusty, and barely detectable on my skin. Colour impression is brown-gray dust with the faintest tinge of vague colour. Verdict: Well, this fruit of Sodom has indeed disintegrated completely on my skin. I'd be able to say more about it, if it had more lasting power, but as it stands I'm swapping this off.

Sniffed: Ozonic and stony, with a touch of gritty smoke. On skin: I know nothing about the Isles of Demons, but if this blend is anything to go by, these islands have just been born from the sea, and the demons are waiting for it to cool somewhat before settling. The scent is nothing but thick, humid ozone and dark stone, with a touch of gritty smoke that doesn't seem like vetiver. No greenery or musk here: everything is just hot, smoking, inorganic and lifeless. I'm put in mind of a newly birthed island volcano rising from the ocean, spewing smoke and ash, lava cooling in the waters. Nevertheless, I feel like I'm missing out on something here... Verdict: I don't see myself visiting The Isles of Demons on a regular basis, if at all. While this blend is evocative, and I like ozonic notes, this one has too much inorganic stone and smoke, and I'm not likely to wear it much.

Sniffed: A watery floral of a blue-green colour, light and dewy. On skin: The Zieba Tree is a gentle, airy floral-aquatic, touched with some sugar sweetness. Beautiful in its simplicity. Furthermore, it doesn't morph or lose the aquatic component, as most floral-aquatics tend to do on my skin -- which I'm very pleased about! It reminds me of Love-in-Idleness -- both are similar pure florals of a blue-green colour (to my nose). Dirty is quite similar too, touched with a little citrus; as is Moon Rose. Colour impression is colourless, transparent water... perhaps tinged with the lightest blue. Alright - I wrote this review without looking at the notes, so I'm mighty nonplussed to see the actual notes list is quite different from my scent impression! Verdict: What a beautiful blend! I would never have thought to try The Zieba Tree if the Lab hadn't frimped me! I have to hang on to this, for sure.

Honeycomb, red currant, freesia, vanilla, rose geranium, thyme, and gardenia. Sniffed: Sweet, floral, slightly fruity -- but adulterated with the hideous, sickly sweetness of honey! On skin: It's cold comfort that beeswax isn't as vile as straight-up honey can be. In other words, Mad Kate is mere unpleasant sticky sweetness instead of nauseating decay. Floating over the honey are lighter flowers that smell "yellow" to my nose (ie. neither pale white nor red). Vanilla and currant are mixing with the beeswax to create a sweet note that is not pleasant, but still tolerable. Over time the gardenia emerges as a pungent floral threatening to scream, barely kept in check by the other notes. Mad Kate ends up a chaotic mix of cloying, sticky sweetness and shrill yellow florals. Colour impression is a clash of dark red and honey-gold. Verdict: I had a chance to sniff this scent at a retail location a while back, and then it seemed quite promising. So I'm rather disappointed to find that my impression was wrong after all. I guess beeswax is still honey-based, and all honey turns bad on my skin, so I shouldn't have been surprised. Ah, well, Mad Kate goes mad on my skin indeed.

Sniffed: Warm and spicy! Cinnamon is definitely present. On skin: This is the first BPAL blend that actually seems gently warm without feeling so. Warm (but not skin-burning) cinnamon is the standout note, giving it a hot bite, cardamom provides a contrasting spiciness, black tea and amber musk contribute gentle enfolding warmth. I don't smell any tangerine, but cherry is faintly present; perhaps the fruity notes are adding some colour amidst the other notes. The blend mellows, becoming calm and dry: smooth tea and cozy musk tempering the warm spices. Bakeneko is a giant orange cat, loudly purring -- indeed, the scent seems the very embodiment of a contented purr. Colour impression is vivid, rich red-orange. Verdict: Bakeneko is essence of cat through and through! While it's a fine and very evocative blend, it's not quite my kind of scent to wear.

Sniffed: Like no BPAL I've smelled before! A light herbal-resinous scent: dry and warm, solemn and deep. On skin: An unusual scent, fascinatingly so! I can't make any olfactory associations with No. 93 Engine, so I'll try to describe it. It's a mix of brown herbs and light resins, warm, dry, a bit gritty. Something vaguely resembles "cooking spices", probably the combination of sage, saffron and lemon balm. All the notes blend together to form a straightforward scent; masculine, but not typically so; solemn and deep. Colour impression is bronze with a green verdigris. Verdict: No. 93 Engine is quintessential masculine steampunk. I can imagine it as an older gentleman-inventor-adventurer, well-bred and educated, yet rugged and individualistic. Yes, a bit too masculine for me! Even so, it's a fascinating scent like no other, and I'm glad I got to try it.

Sniffed: Airy, cool, floral-herbal -- and distinctly red. I can pick out a mix of berries, herbs, resins and dragon's blood, all contributing to a red scent colour. On skin: The blend really blooms on my skin and reveals all its beautiful nuances! I initially smell a panoply of juicy berries, rose pepper and dragon's blood; gradually the deeper notes emerge, myrrh and patchouli in particular. All these notes have different qualities of "redness", and they all contribute equivalently to the deep redness of this scent. If these were all the notes in the blend they would be rich, heady and deep, but in WSLE they are lightened significantly by the herbal and floral notes, which are pale and light and wintry. I'm reminded of the herbal-floral notes that were in the Blue Moon blends. WSLE is a very complex blend and no note dominates, all of them contribute together to create a fascinating, evocative lunar blend that is simultaneously wintry and celestial, and deeply, liquidly red. Colour impression is deep red with a shimmering ivory-white sheen... or was it the other way around? Verdict: Winter Solstice Lunar Eclipse truly evokes the cold of winter solstice and the red darkness of lunar eclipse. A very beautiful scent, but this combination of cold herbal and redness doesn't quite grab me, and I prefer the Blue Moon blends for a lunar herbal scent. Even so, this is a very beautiful Moon that holds its own, and I'm glad I got to try it.

Rose-infused opium tar and leather. Sniffed: Sweet, sugary rose and opium tar on a backdrop of discreet leather. Oh, this smells very much like Liz! On skin: A mix of sweet pink rose and sheer black leather warmed by smoky opium tar. It succeeds in being lightly, sweetly feminine, but darkened and "Goth" at the same time. Vamp.Goth is a lighter, smoother, perhaps a bit flatter version of gritty-yet-sweet Liz. It also has the same rose note as Clermont, and is much better besides. Verdict: Liz is one of my favourite blends, and Vamp.Goth is Liz when she was a girl. Even though I'm thankful that Vamp.Goth won't be ousting Liz from her position, I'm glad I have a half-decant to enjoy!