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BPAL Madness!

quickdrawkiddo

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Everything posted by quickdrawkiddo

  1. quickdrawkiddo

    Gomorrah

    I wanted to give Gomorrah some love because I feel like I never hear anyone talk about it! I got a frimp from the Lab, and at first it weirdly reminded me of this make-your-own-perfume kit I had as a kid, so once I got that into my head I couldn't smell anything else. Then I tried it again a few months later and went "huh, this is nicer than I remembered!" To me it's a very fresh, light herbs-and-figs blend. The fig note dominates it to my nose, but my coworker walked through the office and went "oooh, someone smells like herbs!" And it's strangely not foody, for a blend that's made up primarily of edible notes. It really grew on me as I used up the imp, and now I'm considering a bottle purchase because I found it so pleasant and uplifting to wear. It ended up being a great summer scent because it has great staying power but isn't oppressive in the heat.
  2. quickdrawkiddo

    Cottonmouth

    This wasn't high on my list to try - I'm not huge on Snake Oil (though I've only ever tried it brand new), and none of the florals in this are favorites of mine. In the imp I was mostly getting florals, but I thought, "well, what the hey," and slathered it on anyway. SO glad I did! It dried down to a lovely, warm spicy-floral-vanilla blend, none of which sounds like something I'd be into AT ALL, but somehow it works! I think it's because it isn't overly sweet, despite what the description sounds like. So pleased I got to try this! It's such a pleasant surprise
  3. quickdrawkiddo

    Xiuhtecuhtli

    My decant came from a mega-aged cobalt bottle, so I'm not sure how helpful my review will be! In the imp this is crazy-sweet floral, which was kind of alarming so I only dabbed on a tiny bit. On my skin it's much more pleasant -- the orange and the incense come out and help balance the plumeria. This is very different from what I normally wear but I'm looking forward to trying it again, especially once it gets colder and I need a reminder of what summertime smells like If anyone finds it too faint, you might try aging it a bit -- I used a very light hand and it's INTENSE.
  4. quickdrawkiddo

    Tacitus' Phoenix

    Wet, this reminded me a lot of Mahogany Tree (possibly because I also just tried it for the first time, so it's fresh in my mind) = sweet woody incense. On the drydown, it's less woody and more citrusy -- I actually thought I got a whiff of lemon verbena in there (must be the orange peel). It's still not sweet or foody at all, just a warm, slightly woody, slightly fruity incense. I love that it stays nice and sharp and doesn't go all powdery on me like some resins have a tendency to do. If you like your resin-y scents on the woodsy, masculine side, this is a must-try. I will definitely be on the lookout for more!
  5. quickdrawkiddo

    The Obsidian Widow

    Couldn't agree more with Amber Tears above -- this starts out very wine-y for me and dries down to a complex, womanly floral that's dominated by rose. Rose is iffy for me -- it works if it's combined with something else to take it out of powdery old-lady territory, which I think it is here. And now that it's been several hours, all I can smell now a faint whiff of sandalwood which is OK by me It's not my favorite of the Steamworks scents by a long shot (Aelopile and Robotic Scarab are tied for first ), but as far as mature, expensive-smelling florals go, this is a very good one. It felt 100% appropriate with the black dress I wore today!
  6. quickdrawkiddo

    Goblin Sack

    Got a teeny sniffie of this from a lovely forumite and HOLY COW. I have been huffing myself all day Without reading the notes, I would've sworn this was mostly bay rum, because that's the one note that, while I love it on myself, always makes me think "this would be AMAZING on a dude." Not a bit surprised to hear there's leather, patchouli, and some foody notes in there as well -- it was oddly foody wet but less so now that I've had it on for a few hours. The hazelnuts stay in the background for me -- mostly I get sweet patchouli and leather Just divine!
  7. quickdrawkiddo

    The Black Tower

    Imp of unknown age, purchased off a lovely forumite. Very winey wet, along with something dark and crumbly that I thought at first was vetiver. LOVE. As it dries down it becomes surprisingly smooth. That would be the sandalwood, I'm guessing -- it's a hard note for me to pick out but it's usually involved when I find myself thinking "what IS that? I love it!" There's a hint of well-worn leather and incense as well. I adore this and I would love to smell it on a dude-type person as well!
  8. quickdrawkiddo

    Dolly Kei

    Just received a partial decant of this and slathered the whole thing on in one go because HHNNNNGH. This is gorgeous. It goes on vanilla and is turning into a smooth vanilla-sandalwood blend as we speak. The sandalwood is giving it a soothing quality and keeping the vanilla from being too sweet. This might have to go on ye olde wish list -- it's sexy yet incredibly warm and comforting. So glad I got to try it!
  9. quickdrawkiddo

    Golden Priapus

    YUM. This is pretty juniper-y wet and then turns into a sexy, woodsy vanilla on the drydown. Based on the description I was expecting it to be a lot more traditionally "masculine," but this is pretty unisex, to my nose. I'm not usually into vanilla but this is just fantastic, very comforting and sexy at the same time. LOVELY.
  10. quickdrawkiddo

    Miskatonic University

    Wet, this was pleasantly coffee-ish, and while I'm not really a fan of foody scents, I was willing to give it a try. But it dried down to a sweet, musty scent that on me is a dead ringer for the scent of self-tanning lotion. Once I made that connection in my mind, it was all I could smell and I couldn't wait to wash it off (since I can't deal with self-tanner specifically because of the smell). I can definitely see how this would work on folks who like foody scents, but it's a huge "no" for me.
  11. quickdrawkiddo

    Dragon's Musk

    Lab frimp! This is mostly red musk on me, which is just fine and dandy since it's one of my favorite notes. I'm starting to suspect I amp musk pretty intensely since it's *much* more resiny in my hair (I did both today, just for fun).
  12. quickdrawkiddo

    Whitechapel

    I bought this off a generous forumite so I have no idea of its age. Wet: LIME. Not so much lime juice as lime candy. Not my favorite thing but I'm curious to see how it develops. Dry: holy crap, that's white musk. SO MUCH WHITE MUSK. I really should have read the description of this one before slathering it on this morning, because white musk is very iffy on me. Over time the lime comes back into the background and I can juuuust get a whiff of the lilac, but this is still overwhelmingly white musk on me. It should appeal to fans of Dorian since it has a similar white musk + citrus + floral composition. Unfortunately this is one of the many blends (like Dorian) in which white musk totally takes over, so it's a big nope for me
  13. quickdrawkiddo

    Magus

    Very light frankincense... and not much else. My skin kind of eats this one, to be honest. I'm tempted to slather it on the next time I wear it (though I wasn't particularly sparing this time) to see if the woodsy notes come out more. I adore cedar and sandalwood but I'm not really getting them from this. It's very pleasant but rather faint, and I wish I could distinguish it better from the other incense blends I've tried.
  14. quickdrawkiddo

    Hemlock Honey

    This was one of those eh-why-not imps I bought just to round out a set of six, and boy am I glad I took a chance on it. Honey is definitely the main note but it has this undercurrent of SEXY that I would never have guessed was hemlock -- to me it's more musky than green. It actually reminds me a bit of Queen, which is my all-time favorite sexytimes scent. Both have the same "can't stop huffing my wrist and trying to figure out what makes this so delicious" effect on me I do get the herby note more on the drydown but it stays very soft and doesn't veer into cleaning-product territory. Just lovely
  15. quickdrawkiddo

    Seraglio

    In the Imp: SO MANY ALMONDS. Whoever compared it to marzipan was dead on. I actually thought it was cherries before I read the notes -- they always smell similar to my nose. Dry: still very almondy, but not quite as intense, and I start to notice the rose. I can just barely pick out the sandalwood now that I know it's there, but no spices at all. This is very feminine and exotic. It's a bit too sweet to be something I'd reach for often -- not so much foody sweet as syrupy sweet, if that makes sense. Almonds and rose both work better on me when they're tempered with something more earthy. Together they're just too intensely sweet on me.
  16. quickdrawkiddo

    Séance

    Rose is iffy on me -- it has a tendency to go all powdery old-lady floral, especially when mixed with other floral notes. The woodsiness here is very faint but just enough to keep this from being musty and old-timey. It's still a bit too rose-heavy to make it into my permanent rotation, but I do like it and will probably use up my imp.
  17. quickdrawkiddo

    Hetairae

    Very pretty! I love the lab's honey note so it's no surprise this is a hit, but it's quite different from the other honey-centric blends I've tried (No. 93 Engine and Hemlock Honey). It took me awhile to pick any notes out at all; once it started to dry down I was getting honey, something fruity like plum (turns out it was fig), and something else that was giving it a "sexytimes" undercurrent. Now that I've read the description I think it's the ylang ylang, which is always instant sexytimes on me. I'm really enjoying this one! It's sweet without being foody and floral without being girly, which I appreciate. In fact I bet it would be great on a man. The two words that keep coming to mind with this one are "playful" and "sophisticated," which might seem like a contradiction but it totally works.
  18. quickdrawkiddo

    The Future Ball

    I would never have picked this one out on my own because white musk is iffy at best on me. But a generous forumite frimped me a decant, and I'm so glad because I am *shocked* by how much I like this! The white musk is definitely there but it's balanced out by the resins and the sandalwood. Not much throw, although I didn't slather since the white musk had me spooked. There is a very slight sweetness as well but it's still quite unisex to my nose. I'm just relieved that white musk doesn't always have to be a note o' death on me! This is extremely wearable and I look forward to using up my decant.
  19. quickdrawkiddo

    Faunalia

    This has a wildness I'm really liking, and to me that's what distinguishes it from some of the other woodsy-musky blends. It's also less piney and more oaky than, say, Black Forest or Dracul. The musk is sweet -- before I read the notes I was actually getting apple. And I love the snowy, outdoorsy note. It's a great wintry scent for anyone who doesn't want to smell like a Christmas tree or apple cider (not that there's anything wrong with that!). Really happy I took a chance on a bottle
  20. quickdrawkiddo

    Defututa

    Without checking the notes first, this one smelled like cinnamon and something fruity, maybe peach, when first applied. After I read the notes I realized it was honey and vanilla that were giving it that sweetness, and champaca that was giving it that almost-syrupy quality that made me think of peaches. The cinnamon mellows out a lot on the drydown, and it becomes a really lovely, balanced honey-vanilla-floral blend. I'm usually more into dark, earthy, masculine blends so this is a huge departure for me, but I'm really enjoying it. It's sweet without being cloying and sexy without being office-inappropriate. Definitely looking forward to wearing this more!
  21. quickdrawkiddo

    Oberon

    If I'd checked the notes in this one first, I would've applied with caution since white musk is a note o' death on me. I can never pick it out, it's just always present in the blends that don't work on me. Unfortunately this is one of the worst offenders. I put it on and immediately said "ew, I smell like an old lady." I couldn't pick any individual notes out, it was just musty and perfumey and powdery. White musk must be *very* different on the majority of BPAL land because I would never call this one unisex. I got one of my friends to sniff me and she confirmed that it was a bit "church basement". Interestingly, when I woke up the next day, all the white musk had evaporated but the florals were still present and rather lovely. But 24 hours is way too long to wait for a scent to become bearable. Nope.
  22. quickdrawkiddo

    Csárdás Macabre

    Red musk tends to amp on me so it's no surprise it dominates this blend. I'm not really getting geranium at all - it's a slightly woodsy red musk on me. LOVE. It sticks fairly close to my skin but lasts for ages (again, I'm thinking that's the red musk at work since it always sticks around till the next morning). I'm really liking everything from the Miskatonic Philharmonic series but this is one of my favorites.
  23. quickdrawkiddo

    Hope and Fear Set Free

    Like everyone else, I'm getting lots of frankincense and just a whiff of vanilla. You know how in the old movies, someone will order a martini and say "just wave the vermouth near the gin"? That's what happened with the vanilla in this blend -- it's like someone wafted it toward the frankincense and then immediately capped the bottle. Fortunately for me, since vanilla is hit or miss on me. This is very simple but very calming and easy to wear -- it feels perfect for meditating or working on something creative. Totally unisex as well, at least to my nose.
  24. quickdrawkiddo

    Elaphospyris

    I had almost exactly the same experience with this one as Milo -- the white musk made me trepidatious but the other notes sounded weird and awesome, and I love vetiver so I figured that would redeem this one for me. Nope nope nope. This is lemon verbena and white musk on me. I can definitely see the comparisons to Dorian, which also sadly doesn't work on me -- this is the outdoorsy, herby version of Dorian. Wet, I can't even pick out the white musk -- it's just lurking in the background making me think "Hmm, I like this, BUT." The drydown is slightly less lemony and more woodsy, but also more white musk-y. I do like how invigorating this one is but the white musk just kills it for me.
  25. quickdrawkiddo

    The Antikythera Mechanism

    This is very vanilla-tobacco-y on me, especially on the initial application. Yum! Not a ton of throw but it does stick around for a good long time, and the woods start to come out a bit on the drydown. Not particularly masculine to my nose, but then tobacco notes tend to be more sweet on me anyway.
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