Alethia

Thoughts before testing: I first tried a frimp of Aeval in 2013 (you can find my original review of Aeval here) To date, I've drained that bottle and two imps and when it was discontinued I was so sad. My excitement when it was re-released this summer was enough to get me to order 3 bottles immediately. I don't have the original to compare against so I'll try to review this on it's own merit. Wet: YES. This is it! It smells exactly like I remember the original Aeval smelling. It's really pretty, clean, and sweetly floral. Dry down: The sage is crisp and clean and slightly green; the sweet pea is vintage and sweet. Dry: The musk finally comes out to play and blends beautifully with the sage and sweet pea. Final thoughts: This winds up being a really lovely softly sweet floral musk with a generous helping of beautiful clean sage. The throw is pretty much nonexistent and it doesn't last for very long at all (3 hours on well moisturized skin in humid Ohio) but neither did the original. Aeval was my go-to perfume for work due to it's close throw and inoffensive prettiness and I'm so very happy this was brought back. Verdict: Hoarding, with a potential fourth bottle on the horizon.

Thoughts before testing: I can't get enough of blends with skin musk, and vanilla + sandalwood is always a win in my book, so my hopes were high for Like a Girl to smell pretty dang good. Wet: Ugh so pretty. This is heavy on the skin musk wet and it smells clean and warm and just slightly sweet. Dry down: The sandalwood and vanilla come to the forefront and it definitely starts to smell like a sheered out Morocco. Still clean and warm but more sweet from the vanilla. Dry: The vanilla and skin musk intensify just slightly and this winds up being a vanilla'd skin musk with just a breath of resin to ground it. It's warm and clean and just barely sweet and I love it. This has moderate throw and good wear time (7 hours before I really had to try and notice it). Final thoughts: It's been a minute since I tried a perfume that made me think "Man, I smell PRETTY." Very feminine, very pretty, and basically what I want my own natural skin to smell like. Morocco has long been my favorite perfume, but the lighter and more natural feel of Like a Girl might be enough to claim the top spot. Verdict: Backup bottle needed stat.

Thoughts before testing: Despite my recent BPAL hiatus I had to come out of hiding for this one. I've been searching for a gardenia/tuberose perfume to round out my collection a little more and I'm hopeful that this one will be it! Wet: Big, white, waxy, tropical gardenia and tuberose. Very big and loud but not screechy at all. Definitely not for the faint of heart. Dry down: The ambergris and vanilla become more prominent and start wrapping up the florals in a sexy, salty gauze that turns everything from Classic Lady Perfume to a really interesting and beautiful scent. Dry: Hello lover This is a creamy, slightly salty, vanilla'd white floral with just a hint of powdery amber on the very back end. Final thoughts: Love, love, love. This is such a pretty and interesting take on the classic gardenia/tuberose combination. Really lovely, really classy, really womanly. I can see the comparison dementia_divine makes to Butterflies, Flowers, and Jewels Attending and Ava and I agree that this is in the same family but different enough to warrant owning all three. I might be biased here though as BFJA and Ava are in my top ten already; at this rate, The Eternal Queen is rapidly approaching that list as well. Editing to add that the throw on this is moderate and it lasted for right around 6 hours on my (well-moisturized) skin here in humid Ohio. Verdict: Hoarding

Thoughts before testing: I haven't made a BPAL order since last year's Anniversary scents as I've found my small stable of perfumes that work perfectly on me every time. But when I saw the notes for this, I had to try it. Carnation, honey, milk, and cardamom are all part of my top ten love muffin notes list and so I had to give it a whirl. Wet: Yowza, the honey and cardamom are mixing to create this almost raisin-y, chewy sweet scent. I'm not sure I'm feeling this wet stage at all. Dry down: Thankfully after 30-ish minutes the chewiness dies down and the whole thing morphs into a sweetened spicy carnation. Dry: The carnation is sweet and spicy and lovely. This is really pretty, really feminine, really me. Verdict: Keeping! Edited to add: the throw on this is mild but lasted for roughly 7 hours before I had to really try to smell it. My husband says he likes it but prefers Stekk or Paper Phoenix to this.

Thoughts before testing: I've got a pretty serious love affair with marshmallow going on and Snake Oil/Snow White are dependable and wonderful on my skin, so I figured I was pretty safe with Cotton Phoenix. Wet: Sweet, fresh Snake Oil with a really beautiful hit of creamy/sweet/floral Snow White. I would never have thought to mix these two, but they're really beautiful together. Dry down: The marshmallow comes out and makes everything a little sweeter and more fun. Dry: After several hours, the marshmallow is gone and I'm left with a almond-y Snake Oil. It lasted forever on my skin. Final thoughts: I'm not sure I'm super wowed by this. I wanted to really big heart eyes love it, but I just didn't. And since I'm paring down my collection in a major way, I don't think this is staying. Verdict: Lovely, but a pass from me.

I can't even do a proper review for this because on my skin this is a dead ringer for Clinique Happy. Like seriously, I sprayed one on each arm and (once the alcohol burned away) they smell identical. I'm not even mad about this because Happy has been one of my favorite scents forever and I'm thrilled to have a BPAL dupe of it!

Thoughts before testing: Literally everything here is a win. Dorian is one of my all time favorites, Antique Lace is one of the best vanillas I've ever smelled, and pink pepper is true love. I don't see how this can go wrong! Wet: Hellloooooo Dorian! This is a huge hit of bright, sweetly musky, citrusy Dorian smacked in the face with the delicious fruity sharpness of the pink pepper. A little sharp, but not unpleasantly so. Dry down: Everything starts to mellow and I can start to smell a hint of the linens and vanilla of Antique Lace. Dry: By several hours in, Dorian and Antique Lace have melded to become this really outstanding scent. I don't even know if I can properly describe it except to say that it's creamy and sweet and slightly citrus/herbal and just really lovely. This one lasted forever on my skin. I put it on around 8 am and could still smell it 10 hours later. The husband loved it (no surprise as Dorian and Antique Lace are his favorites on me) and has already ordered me a backup bottle. Final thoughts: When I originally got into BPAL, I was thrilled at the idea of having dozens of perfumes to choose from each day and loved trying out new things and new personas with each scent. But now eight years later (where did the time go?!), I want a small stable of 3-5 perfumes, scents that I love and that make me feel the most authentically me. Paper Phoenix definitely fits that bill. Verdict: Hoarding.

Saffron-infused bourbon vanilla, blackened honey, Kashmir wood, Atlas cedar, ambrette seed, hay, and Egyptian jasmine absolute. Thoughts before testing: I purchased this bottle back in 2015 and immediately put it away to age after the first sniff. It was nothing but loud, indolic jasmine and sharp screechy woods and I knew that it desperately needed aging before it would even have a chance of working on me. So here we are, almost exactly 2 years to the day later and I'm ready to take this baby for a test drive. Looking back at the note list, I'm not exactly sure why I bought this. It's practically a list of notes guaranteed to not work on my skin. But having said that I have noticed some pretty significant skin chemistry changes since I miscarried last winter, so maybe it'll turn out ok! Wet: Heady jasmine that's still pretty indolic. I get a little honey and a little bourbon vanilla, making it a really lovely sweetened floral with a hint of earthiness. Dry down: The woods start to come out more and the jasmine starts to recede. It's pretty hypnotic actually and feels like super slinky, super sexy, Serious Perfume. The honey and vanilla sweeten everything, This is shockingly lovely. Dry: Much heavier on the woods and honey now, but this one lasted forever on my skin (6 hours and still going strong). Final thoughts: This is so far out of my normal perfume range, but I'm shocked at how much I like it. Keeping! Edited for spelling.

Thoughts before testing: I loooooove fougeres and I'm hoping that this is unisex enough to work on both Bear and myself. Wet: Sharply herbal amber. Nose-tingling, but not unpleasant. Dry down: The herbal tinge dissipates entirely and I'm left with a sweet, dark amber that's masculine enough that I smell like I've wrapped myself in one of Bear's big sweaters on a cold day. Hubba hubba Dry: This is just slaying me. It's sexy as all get out. That dark amber is masculine and sexy and dark and comforting and just incredible. Brava Beth, this is magic. Final thoughts: I absolutely cannot wait to slather it on Bear. It's also not too masculine for me to feel uncomfortable wearing it. I'm going to need to scour the sales page for another bottle so we can each have one. Verdict: Hoarding.

Thoughts before testing: When I saw the note list for this, I gasped. Everything here is like reading through my list of favorite notes. Wet: Buttery, foody, sweet vanilla with just a hint of musk. Really lovely! Dry down: The musk is more prominent now, but it's a sweet and slightly powdery musk that's got that beautiful vanilla as a backbone. I'm not getting any patch or amber, and that's ok by me because it's so beautiful. Dry: It's not too sweet, it's more of a floral vanilla than a foody one now. The musk is a little more prominent and so is the sandalwood. This is really really pretty and I love it. Final thoughts: Very pretty and very sophisticated. Edith is definitely more than the sum of her parts. This makes me feel beautiful and feminine and sophisticated. Love, love, love. Verdict: Hoarding.

Thoughts before testing: This is a note list of all my favorite things I had to try it and have very high hopes for this one. Wet: Fizzy roses!! It tickles my nose and is just so pretty. Dry down: The rose is soft and sweet and the small hint of amber is beautiful. It's reminding me a lot of a lighter, fizzier Love Lay Upon Her Eyes. Dry: The rose takes over. Rose, long time one of my most favorite notes, has been giving me problems lately. I'm not sure if it's a hormonal/aging issue or what, but it's all I can smell. Final thoughts: This is really lovely, but I'm not sure how much wear it'll get from me. I was hoping for more than just a single note rose (which I totally blame my skin for), so this one might have to go to the swaps. Verdict: I'll keep this one around for a little while in the hopes that the rose or my skin chemistry will smooth out and let this blend shine.

Thoughts before purchasing: I've been looking for a cotton candy or marshmallow scent for ages now. When I saw the note list on this bad boy, I had to pounce! This review is coming after a month or so of near-constant wear. Wet: Sticky sweet, creamy, and pure unadulterated bliss. It's excellent at this stage, if just a little too sweet for me. Dry down: Pure marshmallow fluff, like a homemade version of the marshmallow fluff you can buy at the store. Perfection. Dry: And here's Antique Lace wrapped up in a marshmallow stole. Well hellllllllllooooo. This is truly incredible, and this longest-lasting dry stage elevates it from "Yes, finally a marshmallow scent for my collection!" into an instant top-ten and back up bottle scent. Final thoughts: This is pure love. For the last month, the only perfume I've been wearing is this and Edith Cushing. Bear has started requesting this one by name It also lasts an insanely long time on me, well into the next day. Verdict: Hoarding. Edited to add: I've ordered two bottles for backup, I love this that much.

Oof this is so stinking pretty. Full disclosure: I'm a huge carnation lover. I love Alice the perfume but she's not quite heavy enough on the carnation for me. So this hair gloss is perfect! It's a huge blast of spicy floral carnation that eventually dries down into a creamy, honey tinged carnation. The throw on this is moderate (not as huge as Boo, which scents my entire office for the entire day) and sticks around for a good 6 hours before I have to really try and notice it. Sheer perfection, well done Puddin!

Thoughts before testing: This is a total gamble for me as white musk rarely works on my skin. But I've had nothing but wins out of the OLLA line so I had to try it! Wet: grape-y incense, sweet, lovely Drydown: Gorgeous, creamy white musk with a heavy backbone of incense Dry: The most perfect creamy white musk with a lovely incensey/floral undertone. Final thoughts: Ugh, this is just perfection. Seriously the only words I can think of for this are beautiful and classy.

I can't believe I'm so late to this one! When products don't have an actual note list I pass them by because I don't have enough expendable cash to drop on something that's too vague. But when this popped up on Etsy and had such glowing reviews I had to try it! And oh boy am I glad I did. I use the atmo sprays to scent my bed, pillows, towels, and clothes. Gourd of Deprivation is AMAZING. I don't even know how to describe this except that it smells EXACTLY like being outside on a cool fall night. It's foody and slightly smoky and delicious and sweet with just a touch of hay. Seriously this is so amazing and I wish I had tried it when it was live so that I could have a dozen backups.