filigree_shadow

I would not wear this as perfume, personally. On my skin it smells like a bug candle plus powder. It pretty much stays that way, except the powder part of it gets stronger as it dries. Apparently my skin hates this ferociously, and since I don't intend to use the oil in any ritual, I probably don't need to hang on to the imp.

This scent is extremely sweet on me at first. Not teeth-achingly sweet, but almost. Seems like a fruity sweetness for sure rather than a floral sweetness, and I know a lot of people have said it smells like grape, but that's not quite what I'm getting. It's not obvious grape, to me. Smells more like a red berry. Years and years ago I remember there were these little red round kind of squishy candies that had very smooth outsides and the insides were intensely sugary. I don't know what they were called, and I haven't thought of them in years, but when I sniffed this scent I thought of them. There's kind of a smooth prettiness underneath the sweetness, but I have no idea what it is. It seems floral -- not a heady flower but a smooth one. Something like, I don't know... daffodils? Buttercups? Plumeria? It's hard to tell because of the other notes. It's floral but not OMG FLORAL. The fruity/candy sweetness wears off after about 20 minutes and what's left is that soft yellow-smelling floral. I like the dry part better.

I think this scent is one of the ones that gets better with age. (My imp is one of the ones with the old phoenix style of art on it, and I'm pretty sure it's at least 18 months old at this point.) The first time I sniffed this scent was quite a while ago, and I thought it was foul. I've been putting off writing a review of it because I didn't want to smell it again. I decided to finally buckle down and write the review, and... shocker! It is, in fact, not foul. It seems like a sweetened lavender fougere mostly, but it's also a bit earthy. (Not like dirt, earthy like ... uh, well, you know. Earthiness.) That's probably from the vetiver, although I'm pretty good at picking out vetiver and wouldn't have guessed it was in this. I'm extremely surprised to find that I like this. It does seem quite masculine to me, so I'll see whether my husband likes this. I hope he does. I'd be pleased if he would wear this.

The last time I tried Bayou I wrote down that I liked it fairly well but it was a little too swampy-smelling for me. I'm trying it again now to write this review, and it doesn't exactly smell swampy, it almost smells like... pepper? It has kind of a peppery kick. I'm not sure what that's from. But the rest of it is an intriguing mix of sweet scents from the flowers, dry woodiness, and a very, very dark aquatic scent. Just when I decide it's mostly aquatic, I sniff it again and think it's mostly woody. Then I try it again and think it smells kind of like jasmine. Maybe it changes a lot or maybe my nose is confused. This is more my husband's kind of scent than mine. I'll see what he thinks of it. He might not like it due to the floral notes, but we'll see.

I've had this imp in my imp box forever, and I'm not sure why I put off trying it. Probably the sage and basil, which don't usually agree with me. Maybe I expected herby or grassy. It does smell a bit herby, but not in a bad way at all. It does seem very masculine to me, which is what it's supposed to smell like! At first it was too soft to be described as rugged, but it had an outdoorsy quality to it that I liked a lot. But then the frankincense amped up on me and took over the scent. I don't think frankincense behaves that way on my husband, so I'll hand the imp over to him and see if he likes it. I put quite a lot on for a test, and it's not all that strong, so I think it's one of those scents you have to get up close to smell. Which is fine.

For a long time it seems I've been reading posts and reviews in which people say that Rose Red is basically the quintessential rose scent. I remember trying the 05 version at least a year and a half ago and disliking it a great deal. But when it came back in 07 I decided to try it again because for one I no longer avoid rose scents, and for two sometimes there are subtle changes in blends from one year to the next. So, I gave Rose Red a second chance. I still don't like it. I does smell like roses to me, but it also smells almost equally like soil when it's wet. There's gotta be at least a little bit of soil in this, because my skin amps dirt/earth/soil like CRAZY and I can always smell even just the barest hint. That may be what I didn't like about it last time, and I'm sure it's what I don't like about it this time. When it's dry I can'smell much soil, just a pretty rose. Soft and pure. I know I won't be able to wear this because of the wet stage, though. Luckily Peacock Queen is the type of rose scent I like, so I'm not too disappointed that Rose Red didn't work for me.

I think my only experience with hellebore is the BPAL scent Black Hellebore, which I like a lot. So I thought I'd probably like this one. I do, but I like Black Hellebore better. This one's a bit more "green" than the type of scent I usually wear, and it has more of a traditional perfumey scent than I generally like. But it kind of reminds me of a scent my mother used to wear (and this is not a bad thing -- my mom always wore pretty perfumes) so it has the nostalgia angle going for it. The green part of it isn't in-your-face, it's rather gentle, and that's also a plus for me. Strangely, it seems to have something resembling an incense background. It's slightly hazy for some reason. Something about it reminds me of the incense they used at a Catholic church I went to a long time ago. I have no idea why, but I get a mental image of that church as clear as a bell when I sniff this scent. I can say that I like it, but it's not the sort of scent that usually suits me.

I didn't think I'd like this scent. I'm not a citrus-lover, and usually lavender is too strong on my skin. But when I first put it on I was surprised by how cute it smells. It kind of smelled like pink lemonade. Not at all like cleaning products, which is what I usually don't like about citrus. I could barely detect any lavender, and what was there was quite soft. A wee bit of oakmoss -- it was gentle. However, after the citrus notes mostly went away, what was left smelled like a tart but soft lavender. A little strange. I can't say I don't like it, but I'm not sure I like it either. I mean, it's a perfectly fine scent, just not the sort of thing I wear. I have to say, if I smelled this on someone else I would enjoy it, and I would certainly like to use it as a room scent. It has a lovely fresh, clean, and relaxing quality. But for me as perfume, it's not quite right. Love the concept, though.

Wow, only 18 reviews of this so far? That surprises me. I thought tons of people would want to try it as soon as it came out, based on the description. Mostly I'm not all that thrilled with tropical/exotic island scents because it seems like there are about four varieties: too much gardenia, coconut, pineapple, or aquatic notes. (For my tastes, anyway.) So when I saw the description for Hi'Iaka, I really wanted to try it because it sounded like a different tropical scent. It is! It definitely has a tropical floral feel to it, but the white ginger gives it a nice kick, and it's a brighter floral than your standard gardenia blend. Right at first I thought it smelled like bananas, oddly, but as it dries I don't smell any of that anymore. It's very pretty and quite different from other tropical scents. I like this one a lot.

"Kubla Khan" is one of my favorite poems, and BPAL is one of my favorite perfume companies. I would have been terribly disappointed if I hadn't liked this perfume. But, I do! There's a haze of opium smoke over the scent, which is very fitting. And it kinda makes me smile. I think of it as a nod to Coleridge himself rather than the actual imagery in the poem, and I like that a lot. As for the rest of the scent, it is impossible to describe with names of notes. I can't pick out any. I could not say, "Sandalwood lovers should try this," or "Anyone who doesn't like leather should avoid this." No single note is jumping out at me at all. The scent is complex and well-blended. It smells refined and graceful. Smoky, comfortable, interesting, intriguing... I'm beginning to adore this scent.

Hmmm. I don't know about this one. I usually like lily scents, but this one smells kind of murky to me for some reason. I don't think it smells as sweet on me as it smelled on other reviewers. It sort of smells like lilies growing next to a swamp. I'm willing to bet my skin chemistry problems are messing this one up because it doesn't smell fresh or sweet to me. More like... um... fuzzy? Not fuzzy like mold, or fuzzy like velvet, but fuzzy like... hmmm. I'm not sure. Fuzzy like dandelions when they're white. Maybe. Wow, I'm really having a hard time describing this. But yeah, there's definitely something about this that reminds me of a weed-like scent, and so far I have never cared for those. So I'm afraid this one is not a winner for me.

I'm not sure what honey myrtle is, but I don't usually like honey or myrtle. The rest of the notes seem like they would have been all right on me, except moonflower (which so far I have always loved). This combination smells masculine to me, for some reason. Perhaps because it reminds me a bit of Wilde, which is a scent my husband wears sometimes (and I love). It's a brighter scent than Wilde but it has a similar feel, in my opinion. It's a little mossy, a wee bit of some sort of citrus scent, and a barely detectable powdery scent. I believe I'll hand this one off to my husband and see what he thinks. ETA: He likes it! Smells good on him, too.

There is something about this blend that I love. I'm not sure what it is. I think it's the "ghostly mist" part. It has a floaty misty quality that really appeals to me, with some soft florals behind it. The florals don't seem to be overly prominent, just gentle and pretty. It has something of a clean aspect to it, too -- not clean like soap, but clean like pure. This one is a surprise hit for me. Very nice.

Yowie zowie. Hello, vetiver! It makes an interesting combination with blood orange. I kinda like it. I'm not sure if I can smell much patchouli in there, though. The vetiver gets slightly less strong as it... ...OH NO! The Muppets "Time in a Bottle" sketch is on right now! I can't associate that with this scent. This scent is too EEEEEvil. Quick, I need to wrap this up. Mostly this is a very dark scent, and I can't smell much of the orange after it's dry, mostly just vetiver and patchouli. It's a lovely combination for people who like vetiver (I usually do).

Wow, that's just what I was thinking when I put this on. It's incredibly relaxing. My insomnia problems mostly are because I can't stop my mind from thinking (about stuff I want to do, or stuff I didn't do, or things I should have said... you get the picture). When I sniff this, my mind relaxes a lot. My head almost feels cloudy. I'm sure it's lavender and some sort of soft sugar, like most people are saying, and I like the scent better than the other blends I've tried for sleeping. I want a bottle of this for sure.

I think I feel like that sometimes. It's not at all that I don't love my husband, but, well, we've been together over seven years and things aren't exactly fresh and new between us. I miss that feeling of new love. Or meeting someone and feeling an instant connection. I'm sure I felt like that with my husband at one point, but I kind of don't remember it anymore. Is that sort of like what you're describing?

Was I really gone for that long? My sales post went to the dead area. Whoops. I didn't think I was away for that long. Stupid school sucking up all my time.

Sometimes I worry about my nose. My sense of smell, I mean. Particularly about perfume. The problem is that over the past year and a half or so I've tried so much BPAL that I can discern notes. I guess that's a good thing, but it's also kind of a bad thing. Like, grapefruit. I used to dislike it, but I've grown to like it. I remember when I first started trying BPAL oils, when I smelled grapefruit I'd think, "Ugh. Who wants to smell like breakfast. Bleah. Next!" And now I've tried so many grapefruit ones that I appreciate that sparkle it can give to a scent. There's really nothing like it. Manhattan is one of my favorite scents. But, when I wear it, do people who aren't used to grapefruit scents think, "Ugh! Why does she want to smell like breakfast? Bleah." There have been many times that I get an imp and look up my old notes where it says that I thought it smelled like bathroom cleaner or lemon pledge or something else undesirable. And then I smell it again a year later with my trained nose and think something like, "Say, that's quite a nice tea and lemon scent, I wonder why I thought it smelled like lemon pledge before?" And then I start wearing it. Maybe it really still smells like lemon pledge to most people but I just can't tell anymore? I don't want to walk around feeling like I smell like a playful berry with a hint of some herb but in actuality I just smell like bathroom air freshener. I can smell nuances, but can other people? I honestly don't know. When I started collecting BPAL I couldn't tell. It smelled good, bad, strong, cheerful, spicy, odd, musty, citrusy, etc. There was no "gosh, I really love the grapefruit peeking out from under the violet, and the white sandalwood underneath it is a subtle but warm touch." It would have been "This smells funky. Pass." I hope I'm not walking around smelling weird but thinking I smell fantastic.

I didn't think of that. That's true. I used to hate cauliflower and now I love the stuff. Also I used to like pizza a lot but I never want it anymore. Good point!

When I first put the oil on, I thought it smelled just like pumpkin. Nothing else at all. More on the sweet side than the buttery side, though. Then as it started to dry it morphed quite a lot. It turned less pumpkiny and slightly gritty but mostly... creamy. I'm not sure why, exactly. Not buttery, like pumpkin does sometimes, but very definitely creamy. I guess that must be the beeswax candles. It's interesting, too -- the beer doesn't smell boozy, it's more like... well, you know how a good wheat beer is so thick you could practically eat it with a spoon? It smells thick like that. When it's completely dry I can't smell anything like asphalt or smoke. Just a creamy sweet pumpkin scent with that beer thickness. Pumpkin scents are almost always winners for me, and this one definitely is. It's much more mellow and smooth than most pumpkin blends are. Very nice.

When I first put this on I thought it smelled overly perfumey and a touch herby. Then it still smelled kind of herby to me but not so perfumey. It smelled like grasses and wood. Then it made a fabulous turn for the better and became muskier and ... rawer, somehow. I think that's the leather. It smells surprisingly fresh but musky at the same time. Also like being in the middle of tall grass next to the ocean. It's really a different scent after it warms up. I don't know exactly how to describe it, but it does smell very piratey.

Mostly I get a little bit of sweet wine, the patchouli, and some red musk. Maybe a smidge of cocoa. As it happens, this sort of scent is exactly the kind of scent I like. Warm, rich, and sweet. Lovely! Glad I bought a bottle!

The Lab says it's "A lurching, hateful, bitter scent." But it's not that bad. Vetiver and pine pitch is a great combination, imho. I don't usually like pine pitch all that much, but I like it in this. The spices add to the scent very nicely, and they save it from being a dank musty scent. The pine scent is actually stronger than the vetiver, which is weird for me because usually vetiver is pretty damn strong. I'm not sure I could get away with wearing this as perfume, but I do like it. It would be great as a room scent. I might test it out on the hubby, too.

This smells lovely! I love the black orchid with the black opium, which seems to be most of what I'm smelling. Benzoin and opoponax are always favorite notes of mine, and they're great in this. The benzoin softens up the edges and the opoponax gives it a lovely richness. It's kind of sweet, but it's a dark floral. Wonderful. I really like this a lot.

A little bit of caramel, but mostly seems like an herby scent. I think I can smell the white musk and maybe a wee bit of mint. Not bad as herby scents go (sage really isn't my favorite note). I like the softness that caramel gives it, and the mint gets stronger as it dries.