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BPAL Madness!

malabar

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Everything posted by malabar

  1. malabar

    The Bloody Sword

    Wow - to me, this really does just what it says: smells like blood. Not Dragon's Blood, real blood. Coppery. I'll have to save it for next Halloween, as I don't think I can wear it casually.
  2. malabar

    Pumpkin Queen

    This reminds me of Pumpkin Patch 5, the one with sandalwood and orris. I know the spices are totally different, and there is that citrus note. I like it, but not enough to spring for a whole bottle. Thanks to crescentwench on LJ, I'm not stuck with an unloved 5 mL.
  3. malabar

    The Carpathian Mountains

    Another vote for Ben-Gay, sadly - it's been on me for about an hour, and all I can think of is sports rub. Nothing else is coming through for me at all. I'm really disappointed - I so wanted to like this!
  4. malabar

    Venus

    On me, this smelled like the ghost of Has No Hanna: all floral, all the time. At least it didn't have the sour drydown of Sol and Mercury.
  5. malabar

    Mercury

    Initial cinnamon/lavender was great, but the drydown was disappointingly like Sol's: sour, cheap cologne smell. It reminded me of Zephyr, which was so much so that I had to scrub it off. I wish I knew what notes those were so I could reliably avoid them.
  6. malabar

    Sol

    Spicy, incensy and warm in the imp and when wet; on me the drydown was disappointing, a bit sour and cheap cologne-ish.
  7. malabar

    Salamander

    Cinnamony with a warm center. Nice, but nothing special. I find it hard to tell Red Phoenix from Blood Moon from Salamander - on me, they all end up bring very similar.
  8. malabar

    Undine

    Historically I've been drawn to water, but I haven't found many aquatic scents that love me. Undine isn't one of them, alas. It smells quite watery in the bottle but five minutes on my skin and it is gone. No staying power, and it has a bit of dead-fishiness on me that isn't very appealing.
  9. malabar

    The Perfumed Garden

    Jasmine, jasmine, and more jasmine. Like getting hit in the nose with jasmine. Not, alas, a friend of mine.
  10. malabar

    Parlement of Foules

    All I can smell of this one is rose, but that's OK because it smells fantastic on my husband.
  11. malabar

    Khajuraho

    My experience was pretty much identical to yours - scary in the imp, better on me, but not really my friend.
  12. malabar

    Red Lantern

    First whiff reminds me of Gluttony: sweet, buttery, completely unsuitable for me. I sadly put it in the swap pile.
  13. malabar

    Smut

    Smut reminds me of the drydown from All Night Long, without the sweet cinnamon top note. I love All Night Long, so I like Smut, but I prefer it with the cinnamon.
  14. malabar

    Thirteen (13)

    In the imp: strong artificial fruity scent, reminds me of the old Fruity Pebbles cereal On me, wet: Fruity Pebbles plus the cocoa scent of Centzon Totochtin or Velvet; not working well Dry: Barely perceptible sweetness Verdict: Not for me. Pity.
  15. malabar

    Annabel Lee

    I had a good feeling about this one, as cucumber is one of my favourite (and least available) notes. I wasn't disappointed. It does go a bit fruity on me but the sage and moss provide enough spice to ground it. Yummy!
  16. malabar

    Alone

    The only BPAL I've smelled where I could pick out the cinnamon and cardamon while sniffing the bottle. This is a Good Thing, as I adore both. The patchouli and sandalwood come on a bit later for me. It reminds me of a less-sweet Red Phoenix. It meshes with my skin beautifully; I guess I'm just a spicy kind of girl.
  17. malabar

    Al-Araaf

    I got mostly honey from this one, but it was not cloyingly sweet as I'd feared. Pleasant but not compelling.
  18. malabar

    Zephyr

    In the imp this smelled kind of sweet, so I had my doubts about it. I put just a tiny bit on my wrists and BOOM! I am smacked in the face with something that reminds me of bad men's aftershave. I think the musk is disagreeing with my skin in a big and serious way. And it's INTENSE. There is nothing gentle about this scent on me. It seems like something Steve Martin would have worn when he was being a "wild and crazy guy" on Saturday Night Live, almost sleazy. Well, everyone's different, and I'm glad it works for some people, but this is going in the swap pile as soon as I try to scrub it off.
  19. malabar

    Red Phoenix

    There are some scents that just feel like being wrapped up in a blanket. For me, this is one of them. It barely even registers as a scent as such; it just makes me feel like all's right with the world. I may need another bottle!
  20. malabar

    Nuclear Winter

    Annihilation. The ice, desolation and barrenness of nuclear devastation shot through by a beam of radioactive mints. Interesting, I find it sort of a backwards Nine Mysteries (which I also love to death and beyond): whereas I get a big initial mint hit with NM and am left with the florals, with this one I smell mostly florals (with a great very slight hint of decay) initially, with a smidgen of mint. The drydown is lovely as well, but not very minty. I love it, but it's nothing like the mintiness of Cathode or Ultraviolet to me. Isn't variable body chemistry great?
  21. malabar

    Saturnalia

    This really didn't work on me at all. I love vetiver - Aureus and Umbra are some of my favourites - but this... no way. It smelled like something had died on me. I had to go and wash it off. I've only had to do that with one or two other scents before. I'll try it again at a different time of the month, but I don't hold out great hope for it.
  22. malabar

    Pumpkin Patch III (2005, 2006)

    In the imp: artificial buttery pumpkin, with a hint of pomegranate underneath. (hopes for the best as it is applied to the wrist) There's something about that top note on all the Pumpkin Patches that just hits me wrong. Glad it evaporates quickly. On me: I love pomegranate, and it loves me, so when the top note evaporates, it's absolutely gorgeous. I can't stop smelling myself. I'm getting a bottle of this.
  23. malabar

    Devil's Night

    In the bottle: Sugary, smoky, boozy, spicy. Could be good. On me: No staying power. Very light. The others were too concentrated; this one feel a bit weak. Not sure about this one, will have to try it again, maybe in a bath.
  24. malabar

    Hurricane

    In the imp: oh, nice - green tea, nice and sharp. Promising. On me: Alas, that clean top note is short-lived, and the stuff just gets sweeter and sweeter on me. It's quite odd, I like the scent but I can tell it doesn't work with my chemistry. Damn.
  25. malabar

    Pumpkin Patch IV (2005, 2006)

    In the imp: butttery, slightly artificial pumpkin - not sure about this one. Reminds me a bit too much of Jack (rancid popcorn balls...ick). On me: Fortunately, that sickly top note evaporates quickly, leaving quite a subtle mix of sandalwood and undefined creaminess that escapes the evil movie theater fake butter smell I had feared. This seems to work well with my skin. A keeper.
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