blacksambuca

I have to admit, I wasn't particularly excited about this one - the notes aren't bad for me but they're not my faves. Then I happened to buy a decant secondhand on a whim and oh boy! I'm glad I did! This is really nice. It's sweet and heady, starts out all fruity candy deepened by the tang of blood. As it settles, a spicy note emerges - carnation? It's really lovely. This reminds me very slightly of Blood Popsicle, which is an exciting realization cuz I love that blend and I've never had a hair gloss that really goes with it. I tried them together and Mischief is MUCH sweeter, but I feel like it really compliments the more cologne-like feeling of Blood Popsicle. I'm unexpectedly in love with this combo!

This is a very pretty yellow-gold polish with a strong, gorgeous holo in the bottle. Very sparkly, holo both linear and scattered. The formula however, at least in my bottle, is very sticky and thick. I was still able to get a smooth application, but it already feels so gloopy. I'm worried that after a few manicures this will be TOO gloopy. Also, the color is not quite as pretty on my nails as it is in the bottle. Overall I don't regret trying this out but I don't see myself buying it again.

This is super bright and lemony from the cubeb. To my nose it's a citrusy white tea scent with a peachy background. Very bright and refreshing for summer!

This might be my favorite of all the hair glosses I have. I wish it wasn't so rare! I don't wear it nearly as often as I'd because I can't bear the thought of running out. It's spicy cloves and that rich black graveyard dirt note, with a whiff of tobacco flower tying it together. I can't stop sniffing my hair when I wear this one. I hope Puddin' brings it back someday!!

I received this a few days ago and so far I've been a bit surprised that, to my nose, the dominant note so far is the oudh. I get a strong whiff of that particularly sweetish and indolic sort of oudh note. I like oudh so it's not a problem but if you're wary of that note here... you should be Under the oudh I'm getting the red musk, opium, champaca, and pomegranate notes. Not getting a ton of frankincense, tobacco, OR patchouli, which is a tad unfortunate cuz I love all of those. I suspect that this may develop as it ages though, and I wouldn't be surprised if those notes emerge later. But right now it's an oudh-heavy, sweetly fruity-floral red musk scent.

CT LIX (79) To me this smells like super sweet, sugary tea. It honestly smells like sweet (iced) tea, except without any icy or cold element. It smells like room temperature sweet tea LOL. But I mean that in a good way! I actually really like it. The person who sold me the partial bottle described it as smelling "golden" and I don't disagree with that assessment either. This one is nice!

#LXV (65) I have a decant of this one which I bought along with two others here on the forum. This one is pure frankincense to my nose. I really can't pick out any other notes, it's just a lovely frankincense. Frank is a favorite note of mine so I'm in love! I have a lot of perfumes I'll be able to pair this with. I only wish I had the full bottle! EDIT: after spending more time with this decant I want to clarify that it is a very clean, almost-a-touch-soapy kind of frankincense. There might be something else there that's adding to the effect. It's not a dark or chewy or smoky type of scent, it's a light and gleaming frankincense.

2017 VERSION So admittedly my bottle just arrived this morning, and I haven't let it rest at all cuz I was just too excited. A bottle of Antique Lace was in my very first BPAL order waaaaay back when (early 2005 I think?) and I still have a few drops of the original in that bottle, which I hoard basically just to sniff every once in a while. So I'm really excited to have a full bottle of the stuff in my possession now! In the bottle, it smells like familiar Antique Lace, but with extra vanilla. I mean VERY vanilla, there's a distinct note that smells exactly like vanilla extract (the kind you bake with) to my nose. Not bad at all, but a bit different than my old bottle when I compare them. However, on skin it immediately mellows out and starts to more closely resemble Antique Lace as I remember it. Delicious, airy, gently floral vanilla musk... light, breezy, sophisticated! The throw is excellent, same as before. I tested a teensy drop and I can smell it very strongly when I bring my wrist to my nose. I'm sure with my usual slather it will be a "cloud of scent" type blend, which I LOVE. (Can't wait to get my hair gloss!!!) Since I only have a few drops of the original left I'm not going to do a side by side test right now, but I still feel confident in saying that if you loved the old Antique Lace, you'll almost certainly love this one (unless you really hatehatehate vanilla, I suppose?). But even folks who never got to smell the original are in for a real treat. This stuff is DIVINE. I only wish I had sprung for two bottles.

This is one of the discontinued scents that I really treasure. I actually bought an imp of it just after the discontinuation announcement, right before it went off the site. I've been wishing I bought a bottle ever since! This is delicious, sexy, sweet brown tobacco and brown leather. But somehow it is more than the sum of its parts. It has a subtle tropical quality which I'd probably attribute to the date palm, or maybe the snakeroot? In any case, it is gorgeous and warm and I can't get enough of it

I have to agree with Numanoid, this really reminds me of Revenant Rhythm in the bottle, plus leather. When sprayed the leather really comes out, as does a bit of the almond. I also have never smelled the perfume but this makes me want to seek it out, the scent is gorgeous. Leathery patchouli with rich vanilla... I've been on the hunt for a beautiful leather hair gloss and I think I've found it!

I eagerly bought this because I've been wanting a wine-based hair gloss that I could wear with The Witch's Repast (notes: kvass, honey-drizzled bread, roasted meat, and wine) which is one of my all-time faves. It works very nicely! In the bottle it's all sweet red wine, once sprayed the spices come out and I can detect the vanilla, cinnamon, etc. This is warm, sweet, and very wine-y! If you love wine notes you really can't go wrong with this one.

I absolutely love this polish. It's the only BPTP claw polish I've tried but it makes me want to buy a zillion more. The formula is gorgeously smooth and opaque, and the color is so beautiful. I have to admit, I ended up with this color mostly because I thought the name was sexy, but I'm so glad I took the chance. Every time I've done my nails with Boot Girl I can't stop looking at them. The pink is deep and shiny and the fine silver shimmer adds complexity. I'll probably need to find another bottle of this when my nears the end.

This is such a sexy scent. To me it's strong, rich vetiver throughout, from the bottle to the wet and dry stages. As it dries the softer elements emerge more, with the vanilla and sandalwood supporting the vetiver and leather. If you're a vetiver fan, you NEED this in your collection.

This is a beautiful scent. It really is golden. This is the gently radiant warmth of a late summer sunset. The combo of beeswax, hay, pumpkin and tobacco is so rich and comforting, not at all foody. For me a little goes a long way and there's plenty of throw. I'm generally a slatherer but I tested 2 little dots of this on my arm and I can smell it as I type. I'm glad I sprang for a bottle of this one!

At first sniff I'm getting mocha kahlua. Kahlua brownies. It's darker and less buttery than I expected. I'm definitely getting coffee, and almost a chocolate liquor kind of smell. Not getting much of anything I would call marshmallow or even pie crust. In my hair I start to get more of the baked good scent. But I'm still getting something sort of boozy. Boozy brownies. Certain alcoholic notes can be a problem for me (headaches) so I'm not sure I'm loving this. Hmmmmm.

In the imp and wet on my skin this smells very much like O + soft greenery and rose. I definitely get that heavy, animalic honey note. I'm only half into it in the wet stage. But dry? Ohmigosh. I could swear that this is... I wouldn't say this lightly... OLLA Eve. It's not quite as complex as Eve, but I'm still getting a *very* familiar impression of a soft, sweet rosy incense. Needless to say, I'm in love. I definitely need a bottle, maybe two!

This is the dirty dark chocolate hair gloss of my dreams. I get mostly dead leaves and gorgeous rich bitter cacao, with hints of fig and Copal. It's distinctly chocolatey without being foody. I love that because I feel like it will allow me to wear some of the more chocolatey perfumes in my collection without smelling like a walking baked good (not that there's anything wrong with that!). I think I'm gonna need more of this stuff.

This has become one of my favorite scents. I fell in love with a frimped decant and ended up buying a bottle. To me it smells like heavy vetiver with a salty aquatic, which softens and sweetens as it wears, ending up as a dirty, sexy cologne. It's definitely on the weird and unusual side but I don't care, I wear it often and huff my wrist happily all the livelong day.

I really wanted (and expected) to love this, but there's something acrid here that just punches me between the eyes when I first apply it. I'm not sure what it is, I generally love tobacco but I think it's something about the interplay of tobacco and cardamom here. Whatever it is it's not pleasant to my nose. It fades away relatively quickly however, and I'm left with a faint whiff of vanilla and not much else. So it goes from headache-y to barely there. Unfortunately this is definitely not for me.

This stuff is goooooooorgeous. It's warm, soft, subtly sweet... I agree with what others have said, it definitely has that quality of smelling "expensive". Also, it lasts and lasts, at least for me. I use a fair amount of it (5-6 sprays) because I have thick hair and I'm a slatherer anyway, and I'm surrounded by a wonderful cloud of loveliness all day! Often I can still smell it the next day. I love when I tie my hair up to eat lunch because I forget how good I smell, then when I take my hair down again I just get enveloped in a beautiful whooooosh of scent. I wear different BPALs/BPTPs every day but I definitely get the most compliments by far when I'm wearing this hair gloss.