AnnetheCatDetective

On First Being Opened: Well, it's... Floral. There's a hint of something not quite right? Wet on Skin: I think I'm getting tuberose more than anything but that note that I didn't like at all disappears once it's on me, which is a big yay. Drydown: Loses some of it's heaviness. Becomes a very comforting, calming sort of floral indeed. Right now it hasn't been dry on my skin long, but it's faded to something I quite like, not overpowering. Not SUPER TUBEROSE anymore. I actually just dabbed it on at midnight when I realized I'd never typed up a review... and I could definitely go to sleep with a little hint of it lingering on me. It's a great bedtime scent for me once it dries a bit.

Stephanotis, cyclamen, heliotrope, white rose and gardenia. This one went a bit too 'perfume' on me, but then faded down to something a little more pleasant. Not a lot of throw on me, and most of the scent didn't last long, but the note it left me with is pleasant, even if it isn't quite what I wanted to get out of it. I'll have to give it other tries at different times of the month, try it again when I don't have this cold, see how it does on me then.

In Imp: Didn't get a super-strong smell as I was getting the cap off, but what I got made me eager for more-- just floral and lovely. (of course, being me, what's the first thing I do when I get my hands on imps? That's right, spill some on myself! Luckily it was just a couple drops this time, so I merely re-capped and rubbed my wrist over my hand to catch it, wasn't more than I would ordinarily have dabbed on) Wet on Skin: SO delicious. I'm really getting the wisteria, but the lavender is there-- I just seem to be amping wisteria like crazy. I didn't ask the rest of the room, but to ME it seems like I'm getting a lot of throw-- I don't need to hold my wrist up anywhere near my nose to REALLY get a good smell. Drying Down: More lavender coming out around the edges, I think... as well as that musk. It smells like a luxury soap at this point-- definitely not soapy in a bad way, it gives me an 'Ahhh!' sort of feeling, like this is what I'd be smelling if I was soaking in my dream bathtub. My nose whisks me away on a little mental vacation to someplace very relaxing and soft purple. At this point, one of the cats wakes up from a ways away and begins sniffing the air with keen interest. Now: It's dry, definitely, and it's putting out less of that super-amped super-strong throw than it was when it was only beginning to dry, though it's not yet been TOO long so it has time to continue mellowing. Now when I bring my wrist up to my nose I do pick out more notes. If I try, I THINK I can find the sandalwood, but it's definitely not overpowering on me (which I like-- light sandalwood is all good, but I prefer it to be a supporting player). Even though it's floral rather than foodie, the first word I can think of for it is 'delicious'. It's dried down into something sweetly melancholy, definitely-- something I wouldn't call 'sad', but something I would want to wear on a rainy day, to enjoy the greyness and the quiet muffled sort of way the world goes. I'm getting more musk, and I really like it-- not overpowering the floral, and I do believe wisteria remains the strongest note, but I love the way the rest of the notes shift over time, and I do love the reflectiveness. I am listening to a very 'melancholy' playlist as I test this, by the way (purely by coincidence-- started up my music where I left it and grabbed one of the imps that just came in the mail), and as I'm typing, Elvis Costello's 'The Birds Will Still Be Singing' came on, and it really feels RIGHT to listen to Elvis Costello sounding mournful while I wear this perfume. I had been wanting to try this and got it from a lovely forumite, and every time I catch a whiff, it just seems to rise higher and higher up my favourites list! Definitely high marks from me on this one. EDIT: I applied this late in the evening, and when I woke up, I smelled FANTASTIC! It was very faint, but it was there. This one lasts a very long time on me, and I could get little whiffs of it up until I showered the following evening. I REALLY like the way it changes on me-- every scent it morphs to is just beautiful.

One of my favourites! In the vial: Flowers! It's a very calm and not too 'perfumey' floral to me, though... On me: Nice. Lilac first and foremost, I believe. Calm and pleasant and makes me feel oh-so-Victorian, but more feminine than my other old-fashioned favourite. So faint, though! Dry: Suddenly, the scent gets a second wind on me. Lilac is still the top note to my nose, but I like lilac. It's got much more throw after a while than it did when I first put it on. Couple hours later: Fading. I have to put my nose to my wrist to get anything, but I am getting all the flowers, even though the scent is barely there. Really nice.

I've avoided any kind of perfumes for so long, because I'm very sensitive to different scents, and because so many perfumes use chemicals that make me sick. One of the things that really interested me in BPAL was the naturalness. I know most of the scent notes that I absolutely won't be able to handle, so my strategy was to just by imps of scents I wasn't sure about. So, I'm really new to this... but optimistic. I'm hoping it works out for me. I've had sensitivity/sensory integration issues my whole life, and I'm liking the thought of being able to have some scents that I like around. My sister occasionally talks up aromatherapy and I've often had atypical reactions, but there are a few scents I know that I like, and a few BPAL blends that use those. I love the general aesthetic and the poetic naming and descriptions so much... I'm hoping that some of these that look really appealing to me are good for me aroma-wise.