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BPAL Madness!

surlygurl

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Everything posted by surlygurl

  1. surlygurl

    Lovers with Rutting Cats

    Vanilla, red ginger, oakmoss, palm date, and oud. So I applied from my decant the other day and WHOAH was it different from the fresh version! Way back when, it was a soft vanilla with a sharp multipronged poke of oud. After aging, it's still vanilla, but there a slight bitterness & depth from the once terrible oud. The ginger & date give this scent an undefinable middle. After trying it a second time to determine if I needed a bottle, I figured out why I like it so much. The drydown reminds me of Voodoo, which is one of my favorite scents. A slightly softer, not as complex voodoo. Like it's little brother who wants to emulate his big brother/hero. No bottle needed (maybe a partial? )
  2. surlygurl

    Why do scents turn to baby powder on me?!

    It's so funny you posted this today! I'm wearing / comparing Anathema on one arm & Sybaris on the other. Both dry down to a lovely powdery scent - Anathema a powdery honeysuckle opium and Sybaris a powdery violet vanilla. I love them both
  3. surlygurl

    Raven Moon

    This is an interesting one. It's so Not Me, but I really like it! It starts off a slightly bitter myrrh (musk?) & chili. It's a touch... metallic? It is shimmery, but in a mournful, heavy way. As it starts to dry the vanilla comes in and, well, sweetens is the wrong word. Lightens? it up. What this reminds me of is a thick fog rolling through the marshes as the morning sun struggles to come up. Eventually the fog starts to lift and you can see a bit of sunlight reflected on the water in an otherwise gray & somber landscape. I catch whiffs of this from time to time, but it smells best in cool weather. When it does sneak into my nose/brain, I feel grounded & calm. Definitely a keeper.
  4. surlygurl

    Which Orisha blend should I buy

    If it's any help, port-au-prince smells - on me - like a rich bay rum, but sweeter. After an initial blast of almond that eventually fades.
  5. surlygurl

    Season of the Emergence

    I got a decant of this because, well, radishes? Gotta try it. Novelty scent at it's best. Fresh on my skin, it's: Holy crap! This is delightful! I feel like a 4 year old running around chasing butterflies in the garden. I get sweetness. Waves of sweetness, probably from frankincense, cucumber, chamomile, and spikenard (I recognize this from other scents). There's a tiny bit of juniper dancing around, which gives the impression of clear & strong. This stage is crazy good. As it dries, the sweet backs off a little and a soapiness comes in. Not a bad store bought soap, but what soap root might smell like - something natural. Sniffing up close I still get the crazy sweet smell, but the (very limited) throw is less sweet & a bit soapy/earthy. Still, I like it. Unfortunately, the scent is a fast fader. The soap does go away/ blend in eventually, but the throw is less and less until I barely catch faint whiffs when moving my arms. It's an absolutely lovely scent; I just wish it lasted longer. Do I need a bottle of a scent that fades this fast? But it's so pretty!!!
  6. surlygurl

    Gold Phoenix

    This was a bottle purchase from the get-go because I Love Gold Scents. Truly I do. When I think of gold scents, I think of Mr. Jaquel & Faustus - scents that are resin heavy & deep. So I applied from my Gold Phoenix bottle: When I first read the description, I thought "hey! This sounds like Sol Invictus!" and it kinda is. If you take sol invictus, remove the saffron & any other 'exotic' bits, and then add in lemonade, you get this scent. As it dries it softens. Less overt lemon, more lemon-tinged amber. It's very light and clean. A 'fresh out of the shower after using lemon scented soap' clean. But it's not gold. It's a powdery yellow. I like it & will definitely use this in the warmer months.
  7. surlygurl

    Whirling Wind Moon

    On my skin, this starts off with a high pitched floral and something fruity. The 2 merge and other florals come out to play. The blend of scents do combine into something light & airy, with a little moss holding it all close to the earth. This is still a high pitched floral, but it's playful like small gusts of wind that blow your hair in every direction on an otherwise calm day.
  8. surlygurl

    Tin Phoenix

    This starts out as Proshitapathika light - *super* herbal lemon. As it dries the herbal lemon lighten up & make way for a clear metal & ozone notes. There's something keeping it grounded. This will be lovely in the summertime.
  9. surlygurl

    Quicksilver Phoenix

    Now, ya see, I've never smelled TKO, so I can't compare, but I'll assume there's lots of lavender. I do like the soft bpal lavender smell, which this has. This scent would be a winner if it weren't for the cologne aspect, which is really all I get after it starts to dry down. While I do like masculine scents, this reminds me of the job I had at a bookstore where teenaged boys would slap on cheap cologne & stroll into the porn mag isle (because all grown up men smell like cheap cologne. Such a clever ruse.)
  10. surlygurl

    Iron Phoenix

    This was the scent I thought would be the big loser, the OMG-get-it-off-me! scent. Boy was I wrong! On my skin the dragon's blood shows up, but a cowed & humbled dragon's blood in the company of Big Ginger. Myrrh sweetens this right up. Sweet clove cozies up to the ginger, pushing the dragon's blood even further in the background. (I have a hate/hate relationship with DB, so I'm obsessing). On drydown the basil pokes through, lending some dark green into the swirls of red & brown. I love this. eta: on extreme drydown it gets quite sweet from the dragon's blood. I prefer the earlier stages, but I still love it.
  11. surlygurl

    Lead Phoenix

    Fresh on the skin I get astringent cypress and herbs. Then little bits of plum come out and are joined by tobacco. The other notes are just names to me so I can't identify them. But through all the variations of the dancing herbs, I get that sharp cypress smell that's threatening to give me a headache .
  12. surlygurl

    Silver Phoenix

    This is a really pretty luminescent blend. But silver? Try 'frosty violet', because that's what I get. Choward's Violet candies and some sort of powder. The florals keep it from being straight violet (does orris=violet?). This scent glimmers & shimmers in a demure sort of way. It's really quite pretty; it's just not a 'me' scent.
  13. surlygurl

    Copper Phoenix

    Looking at the scent list, I thought this would be a lovely blend. When I put it on, I got fruit. Lots & LOTS of fruit. And incense? Yeah. All the little nuances that others describe were just not there. Instead, what I got was fruity incense, like the kind you buy at 7-11. It didn't change much as it dried. I'm glad it works on some people.
  14. surlygurl

    Faunalia

    This was a last minute "oh, I may as well get a decant". Glad I did. Fresh on, it's POW! FIZZzzz... and baby powder. Mostly the labs fizzy cola note. I'm constantly sniffing my wrists trying to pick up the notes other reviewers have mentioned. There's a teeny tiny bit of forest, but no Ivanushka musk that I can tell. So I let it dry & sniff again. Hmmm... The baby powder is now slightly musky. Overall, it's really pretty but I don't need a bottle. I'll try it again, tho, just to be sure!
  15. surlygurl

    In Winter in My Room

    In the bottle, it smells pretty and light, like something a young girl would wear. On my skin, I get pikake, citrus, a light mixed floral blend, aaannd...... soap. Is there moss in here? No? Don't know what could be doing it, then. This smells like very pretty soap. And there it stays. Oh well.
  16. surlygurl

    Valentine of Rome

    Last summer I was toying with the idea of swapping/selling this one away. I remembered it being heavy incense /resin that didn't work on me that well. Now that it's winter, this is the most glorious scent!! Dark green cypress, yellow-green olive, frank & myrrh - a dream come true. Luckily, the blood accord must be just a rumor because I don't smell it. As it dries, the 'roman flora' comes out and I smell spices (?) but I can't identify the florals. They may just be there to color the resins. Gorgeous, gorgeous scent! If you like the Penitence-type scents, you owe it to yourself to hunt down a decant of this.
  17. surlygurl

    Sugar Moon 2008

    Sugar cane, blue musk, mahogany, black orchid, black currant, violet, blackberry leaf, teak, strawberry, and dusky rose. In the vial, it's burnt sugar & plastic. On me, it's fresh white sugar and a touch of plastic. Oops! There goes the plastic! And here comes something tart.... probably red currant. There is a leafy green in here, maybe strawberry leaf. Musk shows up a bit later to ground the scent. I really like it. It's sweet/tart and pretty, like Tiki Queens prepubescent niece. eta scent description.
  18. surlygurl

    Spare Change

    This is very high pitched. Floral? White floral? Maybe lily of the valley? A teensy bit of violet? Light leather, like a purse. This scent reminds me of my mother. She used to wear (it's no longer made) this old-lady hand cream that ended up on *everything* - door knobs, remote controls, etc.. And her purse. OMG I smell like my mom!!!! I may put this in a roller ball with a carrier oil & give it to her for christmas.....
  19. surlygurl

    Diable en BoƮte

    Oh wow! This is sooo pretty! Fresh on, it's "OMG Peach!!" A wonderful bright peach with smooth dark clove. Some sort of resin in the background keeps the scent from floating away. As it warms up, I can identify my nemesis, Red Musk. Damn. So, of course, the lovely peach burn off and red musk takes over the show. I can occasionally smell *other things*, but nothing identifiable. Just the big red musk. Pphhhhttttt. Time to buy a scent locket, 'cause this is lovely (just not on my skin).
  20. surlygurl

    Pink Snowballs

    Rose & I don't usually get along, but the name sounded so cute that I had to get a decant. On my skin, it's 98.7% snow white - the remainder being the faintest pink rose. Maybe the rose in place of a different floral in snow white. Whatever role it plays, it's barely there. On me, it's not that big a deal. Oh well.
  21. surlygurl

    Hypothermia

    Ok. Now that I've read other reviews and am pretty sure there wasn't a decant mixup..... On me this is snow white, but better. I get snow white plus some mint and just a tiny bit of eucalyptus. Cold, most definitely. Sweet florals from the snow white part are kept in check by the seriousness of eucalyptus. And it lasts & lasts.
  22. surlygurl

    The Smilin' Servitors' Hyperdimensional Holiday Hits

    This scent isn't as scary as I'd imagined. The eucalyptus & jasmine are nowhere to be found, and it smells clean & clear. In fact, ya know what it reminds me of? Knucklebones. Same transparent light brown not quite fizzy scent, but not as masculine. Like knucklebones' streetwise little sister. I like it.
  23. surlygurl

    When the Winter Chrysanthemums Go

    Hmmm.... something like Nuclear Winter, with a touch of floral. Cold but very bright, even a bit sharp. It's pretty for a while, then just disappears. Not really me.
  24. surlygurl

    Evening Cicadas and Red Peppers

    Frost-limned, ice-bejeweled branches, scattered blood-red maple leaves, a few camellia petals, red peppers, and nacreous, multi-colored musks that shimmer like gently-beating cicada wings. The first thing about this scent I noticed was the peppers. It smelled the way bell pepper seeds taste, that slightly bitter oil. Everything else here is an undefinable blur. This is closer to what I expected Raven Moon to be - shimmery & sleek. This does become something very unlike other bpals, something like department store perfume. But high end department store perfume. It's a bpal for people who say they don't like perfume oils. I do like this - clean, unisex, not very sweet. Not (full) bottle worthy, but I'm definitely keeping the decant.
  25. surlygurl

    Yule Cat

    Doing a little testing today...... Fresh on: EEEEK! It's Black Annis without the delicious anise parts! Moments later I get a sort of yummy musk thing coating the outside of the feral core. When I move my arms waaay away from my face, it's wafts of yummy musk. Up close, it's *scary feral thing*. I can't help compare it to eating a rancid peanut m&m. The coating on the outside is tasty, but that big ole rancid thing is the middle is just..... no. Once it's dry, the feral bit goes away and it wafts a sweet soft brown musk. Then it disappears. Interesting scent, but something I'll save for, um, special occasions.
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