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BPAL Madness!

harmonyfb

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Everything posted by harmonyfb

  1. harmonyfb

    Val Sans Retour

    This was a generous freebie from Babykitty! In the imp: A sweet, faint pine smell that reminds me my hometown. Wet: A burst of citrus smell, sharp and pleasant. Dry: The pine fades and softens, and there's a gingery citrusy, spicy smell that I adore. And woe! It hasn't been released! Verdict: Hurry up, BPAL, and release this so I can buy a bottle! ETA: I discovered that when I first tried it, there was still a bit of White Rabbit clinging to my skin - without the layering, I don't like it nearly as much. Go figure.
  2. harmonyfb

    Delphi

    In the bottle: Ugh! Astringent! I really didn't want to put this on my skin. Wet: A burst of sweet incense that I can't identify, but it instantly brought back memories from when I was six years old, and used to go to mass with my mother. Dry: The bay really overwhelmed the blend, and it had a good throw, but the incense in it made it cloying. After a few minutes, it made me a little ill to keep smelling it, so I ran to wash it off. Verdict: So very not for me.
  3. harmonyfb

    Prague

    I've wanted to try this for months. I just had a feeling. I mean, I hate florals. I've tried to like them, but florals and I really have a hate-hate relationship. But something about this one grabbed my attention, and I just had to try it. Wow. In the bottle, it smelled sweet and candyish, and so strong that when my daughter opened it in the car, we could smell it for a while after she closed it up again. Mmm. Wet, more candyish smell, but sharp, not cloying. Dry, it is the most divine floral smell - clean, bright, and yes, like the first flowers of spring. I'll be buying a bottle of this one, I'm thinking - and I'm once more reminded that BPAL isn't like other perfumeries.
  4. harmonyfb

    Vinland

    In the bottle: Cleaning fluid. Ew. Wet: CLEANING FLUID. Seriously, this smelled horrid on me. Dry: Cleaning fluid mixed with old-lady floral smell...wait, is that jasmine? There isn't jasmine in this! Is there? Man, it sure smells like it. And just like every other time, it overwhelms everything else. Bleah. I was really looking forward to trying this scent, because it just sounded fantastic...I'm so bummed.
  5. harmonyfb

    Lick It

    In the bottle: Peppermint! Sweet, sugary peppermint oil. Mmm. Wet: Again, I smell all pepperminty. Love it! Drydown: Ugh. What the hell is THAT? ::sniff:: I get the 'suede' note that someone else mentioned up-thread. Dry: I smell like...vanilla. Except not the good vanilla smell (like Dorian or Snake Oil), but a waxy, cheap vanilla candle scent. The throw is still all peppermint - occasionally I'll wave my arm and catch a whiff, and it's nice - but up close I smell like a vanilla candle. Ew. So glad I tested this before I bought a whole bottle - and so very disappointed, because I adore peppermint.
  6. harmonyfb

    Thanatopsis

    In the bottle: Sharp and resiny, but actually quite pleasant-smelling. Wet: Wow. I smell...cedar. Like one of those little hinged storage boxes I had when I was a kid. Dry: It's a pleasant woody smell, cedar and juniper. Very nice. Dry, 20 minutes later: Rats. It smells like...sandalwood and baby powder. Dry, 1 hr later: Powder. Verdict: Nice, but no staying power.
  7. harmonyfb

    Embalming Fluid

    In the bottle: A very green scent - it brings to mind fresh, wet greenery. Wet: Lemony! Dry: The lemon becomes very astringent, and I can smell the aloe. Frankly, it smells more medicinal than anything. Verdict: Not for me.
  8. harmonyfb

    Allergy Questions, Allergies and other reactions to oils

    I've had this happen a handful of times, and it's really unpleasant. I'm glad it's not just me. It's made me wary of trying some scents, though (I passed on Ultraviolet & Nuclear Winter for fear I'd react the same.)
  9. harmonyfb

    something NOT sexy

    I'd have gone with something like "White Rabbit" or "Dirty" - a nice, clean scent that's pleasant but not slinky or sexy. Or maybe something like "Kingsport", which smells of the ocean (in a good way).
  10. harmonyfb

    Dorian

    In the bottle, Dorian smelled of vanilla. Yum, I love vanilla! Wet, it was strong black tea with vanilla syrup. Oh, wow! I swanned around the house insisting that all and sundry smell me, for I smelled delicious. "This one is a keeper!" I happily exclaimed. "I thought this was supposed to be a men's fragrance, but it smells great on me." Dry, it was little less sweet, but that was ok. Dry, 20 minutes later? I didn't know there was musk in this. Whoa. Big musk, with a hint of vanilla. The tea disappeared completely. It was...um...nice, but I wanted the first stage back. This smelled like I was wearing the husband's cologne. Wah!
  11. harmonyfb

    Kingsport

    In the bottle: Ozone/aquatic. Wet: Hmm. My daughter says it smells like a kind of Japanese candy (Ramune?). I don't care for the wet stage, myself. Dry: Yeah, it does kind of smell like salt spray. Huh. I bet the husband will like this. Dry, 20 minutes later: Huh. There's a hint of floral there, under the sea breeze. Weird.
  12. harmonyfb

    Three Witches

    In bottle: Cinnamon! Wet: Cinnamon with a twist of clove. Happily, it's a real scent, not the horrid artificial cinnamon smell I get from Gluttony. Dry: Cinnamon/clove! Spicy, but not headache-inducing. Great for a room scent, but not as perfume, as it burned my skin a bit. Thanks to Sevensins for letting me try it.
  13. harmonyfb

    Spirits of the Dead

    This is brilliant. Wet, it smells just like a hot toddy (a bit too lemony for me!), but dries to a beautiful, soft fragrance of tea and some mild blossom (the linden?). I adore it. Now, how do I come up with the cash for a 5ml between now and the end of next month?
  14. harmonyfb

    BPAL around the kids

    I wear White Rabbit a lot, and the baby doesn't seem to mind that she winds up smelling of it, as well.
  15. harmonyfb

    Baneberry

    Yup, herbally sort of berry scent, not offensive, not overwhelmingly exciting. However...when layered with Mistletoe, it makes a passable substitute for Skadi! I'm quite pleased about that, let me tell you.
  16. harmonyfb

    Kitsune-Tsuki

    In the bottle: A blast of "commercial perfume" smell. It was very off-putting. However, knowing that in the imp doesn't equal how it will smell on me, I dabbed some on my wrist. Wet: The initial imp-smell dissipated quickly, and for a moment, there was no smell. Dry: Wow. I figured the jasmine would overpower it just like it's overpowered every other jasmine-bearing perfume I've tried. But here, I mostly smell the musk and some delicate floral scent (the orchid, I assume), with a faintly sweet undertone that must be the plum. It's very clean-smelling. Nice. Dry, 15 minutes later: Uh-oh. The jasmine has shown up. So far, it's not bad, but jasmine never plays nicely on my skin. :/ Maybe there's another bpal fruit-and-musk scent that doesn't have the dreaded jasmine.
  17. My husband doesn't really like perfumes on me (and won't wear any himself.) The only bpal he's remarked on was "House of Night", when he said, "Hey, that smells nice." High praise from him.
  18. harmonyfb

    Hollywood Babylon

    In the bottle: Fruity! A really sweet strawberry scent. Wet: Veryvery strawberry, with a tad of effervescence. Dry: The amber warms up and comes out to marry with the berry, and it's very nice. For a little while. Dry, 20 minutes later: Let's just say that of some things, a little goes a long way. Sadly, my skin amps the hell out of this blend, and Won't. Let. Go. It got stronger and stronger and stronger, until it's starting to make me sick to my stomach, and I've washed it off three times (and scoured w/rubbing alcohol once), and it not only won't come off, it keeps getting stronger!!! Ugh! This is nearly a repeat of what happened with "Cathode" (minus the metallic taste in my mouth), which means I'll be smelling this and getting nauseous for hours and hours and hours. ::sigh::
  19. harmonyfb

    Bluebeard

    In the bottle, it has a sharp, unpleasant smell. But masculine - very masculine. Wet: Lavender. Dry: Hey, this is kind of nice. The vetiver gives it a little spiciness. Kind of a soft, businesslike scent. Still very, very masculine - obviously, it won't do for me. Might smell nice on the hubby, though.
  20. As I discovered today, layering "Mistletoe" over "Baneberry" is a passable substitute for "Skadi". Color me very happy indeed.
  21. harmonyfb

    Cordelia

    Wet, it smelled strongly of lilac, which was nice, if not my usual thing. But once it dried, it became a powdery old lady scent. ::sigh::
  22. harmonyfb

    Maiden

    In the bottle: Sweet carnation, with a bit of rose. Wet: The rose pops out for a minute, and then disappears. Dry: Ugh. This smells like an overly-spicy 'kiddy perfume' that you get at the dollar store. Scrubbing my wrist three times takes it down to a faint carnation smell that's pleasant. Definitely not for me.
  23. harmonyfb

    Severin

    In the bottle: Lemony! Wet: Exactly like Lemon Pledge. Drydown: Like somebody set a cup of hot tea down on a table that I just dusted with Lemon Pledge. Dry, an hour later: Wow. No Lemon Pledge-ness at all; this is a warm leather and swirly hot tea scent. This, I like. I don't know if I can stand to go through the Lemon Pledge phase to get to it, though, especially when I like "White Rabbit" better from the get-go.
  24. harmonyfb

    Nuit

    After an initial blast of loud "perfumey" smell, this dried down to a generic, flat jasmine. I don't smell any musk or rose or incense...just jasmine. Bor-ing! Jasmine just overwhelms any other notes on my skin. ::sigh::
  25. harmonyfb

    Eternal

    This was a freebie from the lab. In the bottle: Generic white floral. Wet: Oh, dear god...I smell like my grandmother. Dry: I still smell appreciably like Granny, though it's a bit more complex now. I'm thinking "Eternal" isn' the perfume for me.
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