rainbow

In the bottle- chocolate mint! I've got no idea where the chocolate element comes from. There's no cocoa mentioned in the ingredients, so I've no idea if something else is mimicking the the chocolate scent or what, but there's a definite chocolate scent there. Wet on skin- the chocolate fades somewhat, although is still present. The mint amplifies, and this becomes a fresh, zingy mint scent, that positively tingles. It's extremely clean and crisp. Wearing- The chocolate disappears completely, and I'm left with a creamy floral and mint scent- it's very nice. It's difficult to pick out individual notes, though I suspect the dominant one is the sweet pea (given that lavender and lemongrass are very distinctive, and this doesn't smell like either of those). Overall- this is a nice, sophisticated, and very feminine perfume. I will enjoy using my imp.

In the bottle and wet on skin- sweet orange with a hint of bubblegum. Innocent and very girlish. Wearing- this scent grows darker as it dries. It gains a smoky undertone that waxes and wanes throughout the life of the scent, and fades in and out of the bubblegum scent. As it develops the florals and fruits separate, and I can smell both elements distinctly. Like so many BPAL oils, this is a very well-blended oil, and while I know there are various fruits and florals at work, I'm having a hard time picking out individual notes. This scent is smooth, pleasant, summery, and uplifting. I like it very much.

In the bottle and wet on skin- Whoa! Bright and fruity! Strawberries, red currants, you name it, all with a sweet bit of orange. And like others, I'm getting a definite bubblegum vibe. As I'm wearing the overwhelmingly sweet bubbleum element dies down, leaving a more rounded and exquisitely-blended fruit scent. The only fruit that I can really pick out of the blend is plum, but it's a lovely mix of reddish-purplish fruits. Yum. I really like this- I like happy scents and I like fruity scents, so this is perfect. It's got a similar plum-fruitiness to my beloved Megaera. This is a definite winner. I will be ordering a big bottle for sure.

Megaera and Jester have a very similar juicy, fruity plum thing going- they're nearly dead ringers on my skin for much of the wearing phase.

In the bottle and wet on the skin- cherries! Very fruity indeed. As I get it on it's more almond and cinnamon, and a bit less cherry. The cherry is still there, but tempered by the almonds and cinnamon. Wearing- hmmmm...this reminds me a bit of Seraglio. It smells like a powdery rose with cinnamon and almonds, and it smells a bit like almond cookies. Black Phoenix and Seraglio share that same warm, comforting, almond-cinnamon goodness. Ultimately this turned into a very comforting powdery almond floral on me. I really, really like it. All of the components are scents that work well on me. For me it's the perfect comfort scent. Definitely a winner.

In the bottle- all amber and musk. I can't smell one bit of peach. On my skin- an occasional bit of peach, but still mostly amber and musk. One of the most interesting things I've learned from BPAL is that my skin kicks up and amplifies amber and resin like nobody's business. And that's certainly the case here. Wearing- now I'm getting patchouli in addition to the amber and musk. I'm finally getting some peach as well, but it's still faint and quivers behind the much stronger amber and patchouli. After about two hours the peach finally amplified a bit, and I got a fairly good peach/amber mix. Unfortunately the peach was just a bit too sweet for me. Unfortunately this scent just never quite worked for me in a "Wow, that's amazing" sort of way. It's a pleasant enough scent, but I think if my skin didn't do what it does to amber it would have been nicer for me.

In the bottle and wet on skin- lots of lavender, ever so slightly tempered with violet. Others have mentioned that it's a purple scent, and I agree, but I see it as a dusty bluish-purple. There's something in the background that mellows everything just a bit, but I can't for the life of me tell what it is. It could be the musk, but it doesn't actually smell like musk. Wearing- this mellows nicely and the lavender isn't nearly so sharp. It's a rather green scent at this point- fresh and refreshing. An hour or two into the wearing phase this develops into such a nice scent. The violet really temperes the lavender, which loses its sharp herbal twang. It has an almost fruity undertone to it- love it, love it, love it. On the drydown this has a beautiful dusty, violet scent and feel. I'm sad this scent was discontinued, otherwise I'd be all over a big bottle.

In the bottle and wet on the skin- this is very much like Skadi sans the pine. There's something vaguely fruity about it, much as there is in Skadi. When I first put this on, it is nearly a dead ringer for Skadi on me. I'm definitely getting the grapefruit. But all that changes, and Cold Moon comes into its own as I'm wearing it. It calms down rather quickly into a lovely scents that's reminiscent of being outdoors alone on the coldest of winter nights, with snow on the ground and dazzling moonlight. I can nearly see my breath. It's so peaceful. Finally this morphs into the ferns and ice scent- like coming upon a frozen lake in the middle of winter. I can't possibly describe the notes in Cold Moon, as I have absolutely no idea what they are. This scent evokes strong images for me, and I can really only describe it in pictures. Cold Moon is simpy a stunning oil. I shall treasure it.

Wow, this is fabulous. In the bottle and wet on my skin- lots of carnation and a dusty rose. This is such a pale pink scent- delicate and beautiful. Wearing- I'm smelling something similar to what I get on the drydown of Seraglio- perhaps they share a common rose note. I've no idea what it is, but it sort of reminds me of almond cookies. In any case, the rose deepens and blooms, and then...wow...I'm surrounded by carnations. This is lovely. Oooh, I just want to keep smelling myself. The sweet, peppery scent of carnation. Fabulous. Can't say that enough. This scent is just perfection for me. Maiden has shot way up to the top of my big bottle want list. I had to slather this to get lots of scent- all the more reason to get the biiiiiig bottle.

Wow. So this was totally different on me than it appears to have been on others. In the vial and wet on skin- clean linens, sunshine, and a floral, which I think is plumeria. Wearing- Yep, the floral is definitely plumeria. In fact, the more I'm wearing, the more this smells of dead-on plumeria to me. It's a pretty, crisp plumeria. For some reason, I think I was expecting lemon, ozone, that sort of thing. So I'm very surprised by Dirty, but it's nice. I like crisp florals and this is definitely that. This will be a nice spring scent. I really appreciate that this is such a fresh tropical scent. I find that tropical flowers are often to heavy and heady, and this is neither, just fresh and clean.

In the bottle and wet on the skin- herbs and sandalwood. I think I've finally figured out what sandalwood smells like. I've smelled this mystery note in other blends, and I've finally narrowed down that it's sandalwood. Yay! The scent is muddy- a bit like fresh earth. Wearing- I sort of get the sense of natural death in a forest where other things are alive. It's like life and death together- a decaying log next to a live tree. It develops into a powdery scent. This has a similar feel to the other funeral oil I tried- black rose. I'm not sure exactly what it is, I think it comes from the powdery feel. Final analysis- Now that I've isolated sandalwood, I fear that it might not be a very good scent on me. I'm more the fruity or straight up floral type. Off to swaps.

In the bottle and wet on my skin- smells very fresh and slightly fruity, almost like cotton blossom. It also smells more like traditional perfume than any other BPAL I've tried. It's a nice scent, but a hard one to describe. As I'm wearing the floral fades and it transitions to a lemon and herbs sort of scent. The lemon is basically peeking through what is essentially an herbal scent. It finally works its way into a fresh lemon and tea scent, which is what it's like for most of the duration. The scents blend well and the lemon isn't too sharp or strong. Nice. Like others have said, this is a summer scent. I can almost feel a fresh breeze when I sniff it. I'm trying to decide on a bottle to order for a summer scent, and this is definitely a contender (as are Baobhan Sith and a few others).

I mentioned it in passing, but I'll say explicitly, Dragon's Tears is very salty. Perhaps good for that ocean feel.

In the bottle and wet on my skin- grapefruit and a hint of musk. As it dries the apple blossom comes through. This is very much a white scent for me, and I'm imagining white grapefruit, not red or pink. As I'm wearing, the musk dies down, and it becomes a lovely tea and grapefruit scent. I'm definitely getting the pulpy part of the grapefruit- the white stuff between the peel and the flesh. This scent blends together just beautifully. It's delicate and fresh and perfect for spring. A definite keeper for me.

Whoa! Emphasis in the tart part of "twisted teatime tart." I'm getting a definite baked goods smell. Yes, it's apricot and clove. The apricot is particualrly sweet and juicy, but the clove is definitely muted. The clove doesn't really temper the sweetness of the apricot or the bakery smell, it just sort of hangs around in its slightly-spicy way in the background. It's a lurking clove, if you will. This is a strong scent- I'm getting wafts of dried apricots and butter as I'm wearing it. This scent had the rather odd reaction on me of smelling different on my left and right wrist during much of the wearing phase- on the left it was all baked goods, on the right it was more clove and spice. I preferred the right. Final analysis- I love the apricot and clove combo, but at the end of the day, I don't like things that smell like food, and this oil had a definite butter/bakery element to it. Too bad- I'll be passing it on to someone else who'll appreciate it more.

In the bottle and wet on my skin- sweet jasmine and honeysuckle. This is sunny, sweet, and very yellow. It really does radiate sunshine. As I'm wearing the honeysuckle is stroner than the jasmine. It's definitely a strong scent, and one which can almost be overwhelming if you sniff too much of it too strongly. But in moderation it's lovely. It softens nicely about an hour into wearing- it's still the sweet honeysucke with jasmine, but a softer version. I was pleased with this- it's definitely a summery scent, as it radiates warm sunshine. I have what can be called a "sunny" personality, and this suits me very well. Plus, I've had very good luck with BPAL jasmine scents. I never would have known jasmine and I could get on so well.

The most throw I've ever gotten was from Spellbound. Second place goes to Hunger.

I'd definitely second Glasgow, Machu Picchu, and Empyreal Mist, and add suggestions of: Athens- a honey and wine scent- it sounds a bit odd, but it's beautifully blended, and there's a creaminess to it. Kumiho- a sharper tea and ginger scent- since Baobhan Sith didn't last so long for you, you might want to give this a go. The scents are very similar in feel. Lampades- Cranberry, and some spices. The Hesperides- green apples and honey.

I was kind of worried about this one as vanilla and I do not necessarily play nicely together. I'm definitely getting the Snake Oil scent as I open the bottle. Wet on my skin I'm getting amber or resin (I've got a hard time distinguishing between those two), and orange. There's something faintly chocolatey about it as well. The resins definitely predominate. I'm not getting much vanilla, but the orange blossoms and narcissus keep this very fresh. I think my skin amplifies resin/amber like nobody's business because I get this overwhelming resin/amber out of every scent that contain it. That's okay, I like the scent. There's a short period in the wearing stage where I get a bit of the described creamy orangeness, but honestly, for most of it's life, Hunger smells just like Snake Oil on me. I swear, the two could be twins for me. On the drydown I get a good deal of vanilla- this is the only stage that is heavily vanilla for me.

Perhaps also Undertow and Dragon's Tears? I'm not sure either one is perfect for what you're looking for, but maybe as part of a combination...

Lots of people seem to get super-mint and/or lavender from this, but not me. In the bottle and wet on my skin- I get a bit of mint, but mostly grass. Wearing- again, more grass. This is a very green perfume, and I'm so freaking thrilled that it smells of grass- I love grass perfume. For years I wore The Gap's Grass and Demeter Grass, and now I have a grassy BPAL oil Bascially, this is a lovely, grassy floral on me. It's so springy, perfect for those first warm days of spring. On the drydown- ooooh, it goes fruity! I can't really pin down the particular fruits, but it's really, really lovely.

I absolutely agree on Envy- I wore it today and decided that it was definitely a spring scent. The now-discontinued Banshee also screams springtime to me, as does Empyreal Mist.

In the bottle and wet on my skin- cedarwood and orange. It's very green and herbal smelling. This is something of a surprising scent- it smells kitcheny, sort of in the same way that Calliope does. It's almost sweet- is that basil I'm smelling? Wearing- it's woodsy- I can smell the raspberry leaf and it's also still herbal. Mmmmmmm...this scent is both fresh and comforting. This is never something I'd have picked out for myself, but I'm really loving it. The olive leaf becomes more prominent as I'm wearing it. About 2 hours later- Alecto and I were well on our way to big-bottle-land, when the oil went all sweet on me, and not in a good way. It's hard to describe, but sweet olives and cedar and I just don't get on, apparantly. Shame, because it was lovely up until that point. I loved the early stages (totally original and gorgeous), but just can't cope with the later ones. Off to the swaps, methinks.

In the bottle and wet on the skin- lemony goodness! This smells like lemon candy- someone else mentioned lemon heads and that's exactly it! It's a somewhat sweet lemon, with the slightest undercurrent of musk. Nice! As I'm wearing this begins to smell more and more like lemon muffins. I don't know if it's just me, but this oil is giving off a definite foody vibe. Hmmmm...I preferred the lemon candy. It's still lemon, but it's lemon bread, cookies, and muffins, freshly-baked and steaming. The only part of this oil I'm really disappointed in is the drydown, when the baed goods scent well and truly takes over the lemon scent. I'm not a baked goods person (well I am, but for eating, not for smelling). Probably just as well that I didn't fall in love, as this is discontinued, and I shall continue to look for the perfect lemon BPAL.

This scent is definitely salty and acquatic, with a slight floral undertone. The oil is bright orange, and you'd expect something that looks like this to smell fiery, not salty, but it's definitely salty. As I'm wearing this it turns into a very floral scent. In fact, I'd go so far as to say the salty and acquatic bits disappear entirely and the scent is purely floral for most of its duration. I'm not great at picking out individual notes, but there seems to defnitely be some strong honeysuckle in there, along with some other things I just can't pick out. This is definitely a summer scent for me, I'll probably put it away until then.