mspixieears

Beautiful, breezy floral! It’s very classic and perfumey but I love it. Very light and girlie. It’s clean like a lot of other reviewers have mentioned. Not long after, I get the fresh, lemony scent that others have mentioned.

At first this is a warm, slightly sweet amber but then it turns slightly – into something a bit unpleasant – not entirely sure what it is, probably the black musk? To be honest it now smells like a particular male emission and I definitely do not want to smell like that! It’s very earthy – a great shame as I loved this at the beginning but the fragrance morphed into something that doesn’t at all suit my body chemistry. Alas, this one’s not a keeper.

I definitely get the musks in this and the addition of honey makes it smell like confectionery when initially applied then a gentle spiciness comes through but I don’t think this is a favourite for me. I can smell the ylang ylang but it’s a tiny bit medicinal – or is that the labdanum? Five minutes later, something lovely begins to emerge! It’s a keeper after all.

Slightly fruity beginning but this is pretty much pure peony, all the way! Dries down to a creamy, powdery version – I’d like sharper and fruitier like at the beginning when it’s wet. I wish it didn’t fade so much as it’s really quite beautiful – it might cling onto dirtier skin better, I suspect – I had applied it immediately after showering. I did reapply several hours later to see how it fared on less clean skin but there was no real change to report.

Exquisitely melancholy. The background scent to an ancient exequies. Heavy, dark and floral: a blend of roses, with a touch of amber and musk. I thought this would be bad-whiffy and an overpowering type rose but it isn’t at all! It starts off as a fresh, watery or aquatic rose before getting into the deeper, more potpourri-type rose. I can smell something smoky mingled with this which makes it sexier, in my opinion! Not at all overwhelming like some badly done rose scents (not that BPAL makes any of those, at least not any that I’ve tried!). Overall, very nice. Glad to have an imp of it but wouldn’t get a bottle. Something about it is very gothic and dark – I get a certain richness as if it were dark red roses that makes up the scent in this. Something in it also faintly reminds of Indian rose incense – but only faintly so, and in a pleasant way.

When first applied, I get the lemongrass note but it smells like straight lemon to me – not unpleasant though as it mingles with the sandalwood. This reminds me a bit of Forbidden Fruit, and something else I’ve tried from BPAL that I can’t quite recall. I’m hoping the lemon note will die down. It also reminds me of what #20 Love Oil is like on me at the beginning (it changes into something completely, wonderfully different). Much later the jasmine and rose comes out and it is nice but more like a room fragrance – reminds me of Spellbound that way. At first I thought this wasn’t really my type of fragrance but I think it deserves another chance.

This smells exactly like Philosophy’s Message In A Bottle shower gel! At least, it does upon initial application, when wet. It dries down to a fresh, aquatic unisex scent that could be seen as quite masculine too but it is very refreshing and uplifting. I’m not sure what notes I can pick out from this except perhaps the lime and mandarin but even those only softly. Maybe the unisex notes I’m detecting are the ginger and vetiver? Five minutes later I get the warmth of the nutmeg. I’m not really sure this is a fragrance I’d wear myself though I’m glad to have tested it. It’s something I’d love on my man – Spider is very sexy and suave!

It’s not listed but there seems to be some very fruity notes – it reminds me of a more floral version of The Snow Maiden. I definitely get the spiciness of the ginger coming through and the general watery-floral feel of this fragrance but am captivated by the fruitiness. Definitely a chilly scent. Half an hour or so later I get the muguet/gardenia. It reminds me ever so faintly of Pele, and upon drydown this only increases.

This is warm, fiery, red and very sophisticated! I immediately get something like amber and detect the Chinese cassia straight after. It’s also a very gourmand fragrance despite the musk base. I love tonka and benzoin and I think that’s why I’m loving this so much. It suits my body chemistry a treat. The only note I can’t really discern is the tobacco though perhaps I fancy I can smell the wild plum. A fantastic blend for autumn evenings and I found it to be a great follow-up to Fire Pig. Oh my, a bit later I get the tobacco gently emerging, and beginning to mingle with the cassia – though can only smell it when not madly sniffing my wrists! Even later, I went out to a bar and it was smoky with hand-rolled cigarettes – it was then that I got the tobacco note in Red Phoenix! This fragrance was so tantalising and lasted several hours on me – I think I may have to work on getting a 5mL of this.

I instantly get violet from this, very strongly. Something very minty in this though of course it’s not actually mint – just reminds me of that. It actually smells very masculine, this particular mint-like note. It definitely is very wintry and a great follow-up to The Snow Maiden, which I was wearing earlier in the day. The mint note seems to have developed and now it seems like genuine mint after all! I even get a hint of true lemon. This is a bit too strong for me I think.

This is delightful! I don’t really associate this so much with winter but seeing as it has daffodils (which smell divine!), it could also be associated with the beginning of spring? Mind you, daffodils are put into the ground in late winter… Anyway, I can’t really get the ylang ylang in this but instantly do get the spring berries which are tart yet juicy. That fades after drydown, and the daffodils and osmanthus linger around more. There is the gentlest hint of spice in this – it must be with the berries? Expected this to be a chilly fragrance but it’s actually quite warm and I think it would suit a lot of people. I absolutely adore it.

Oh my gosh! Why did it take me so damn long to sample this?! It’s simply divine! I instantly get the tonka, benzoin and amber and adore these notes together. This smells like a ‘herbier’ version of O. Sadly, it fades in a couple of hours which is a great shame as it has such promise. I was lucky enough to have the chance to compare imps of different ages and would say that this is beautiful as it ages – you definitely have to wait in order for the tonka and benzoin to become more prominent. The younger sample seems spicier to my nose.

Instantly, can smell the orange blossom in this, but it’s actually very reminiscent of orange rind. I can also detect something else desperately attempting to poke through (which makes me hope the orange softens) – could that be the opoponax? I think so as it is very amberish, or resiny. I’ve retested and it isn’t at all to my liking.

A very subtle floral fragrance – it’s a very fresh ‘blue’ type of floral. I get a lot of violet from this and not much else. It’s a very Western European-type bouquet. I like that it is subtle in a similar way to Pele, but is more uplifting. It does have a slight medicinal feel to the scent, becoming evident upon drydown. Now that it’s dried down and settled, it’s turned into a beautiful powdery violet fragrance.

I can instantly get the honey, myrrh, fig leaf, almond, and warm musk from this. A spicy fragrance with hints of an innocent sweetness as well as a spiciness that suggests something oriental. This reminds me of Alice with more kick. Before drydown I thought I must have a bottle of this but it’s a lot like other BPAL fragrances I’ve sampled. If ambrette is anything like amber then I’m picking up a lot of this. Sadly, a lot of the fruitiness is lost at the beginning and I’m left with an amber-dominant fragrance. I don’t mind this but I’d prefer something more distinctive, especially as there are many things like it.

... This perfume embodies her gentler, benign aspect as the capricious Goddess of Dance: muguet and Hawaiian white ginger enveloped by warm, damp tropical blooms. Oh my gosh, totally not what I was expecting judging from the description! This is Philosophy’s Amazing Grace! I thought this would be fantastic to test on a really hot, humid day and it truly is, its lasting power is unusually long and it works a treat with my body chemistry! I ordered a 5mL of this practically instantly – that is how much this scent has captivated me. I can definitely smell the Hawaiian white ginger and muguet. A wonderfully relaxing scent and highly recommended for those who are fans of the aforementioned Philosophy (which I adore!).

Initially, smells like evening primrose oil, and possibly neroli. It reminds me of the fresh pollen on flowers in a garden on a warm day, possibly in the morning. It’s a very relaxing fragrance, very subtle and unfortunately dies down too much upon drydown. A gentle, feminine, floral fragrance. Perhaps a little too subtle and floral for me (and nothing is often ever too floral for me!). It does become a lovely powdery floral after an hour and I think I warmed more to it. Might actually take this out of my swap pile for a retest.

This really does smell of clean, freshly washed laundry! I swear I smell a hint of peach (which I’m totally digging in my BPAL scents). I wore it over Wylde Ivy’s Black Tea Jasmine which I love as a clean smell and they go so well together – they really ‘continue’ the fresh, clean scent. This melds very well with my body chemistry as it begins to drydown but it’s a tad too fresh – may need to test it without anything underneath to do it proper justice.

Fruity! I get the tangerine, mandarin and orange – the citrus in this blend is very zesty rather than antiseptic. After a while I think the gorgeous kumquat even makes an appearance to my nose…wonderful! This reminds me of a Fyrinnae fragrance (Selkie, perhaps?) I’ve tried but one that Beth got done so much better. There is so much more depth and warmth. When it dries down and the citrus has faded a little, it begins to get a little more innocently floral, yet still flirty in a way because it hasn’t poked up enough to be super-prominent. This is utter delight for springtime and reminds me of a softer, more floral Bathsheba but with more breathtaking notes. You bet I got a bottle!

I wasn’t liking this so much after applying a rather liberal amount of it to test (silly me!) – it made me smell like the spices of an Indian food stop (which you understand, I’m all about the eating, rather than the wearing!). Turmeric or something but there was something underneath all of it that smelled most pleasing indeed. The musty spices faded pretty soon (I’ve tested so many BPAL scents and still am having trouble with that thing called patience! BPAL does wonderful morph things, after all!) and then I get something like orange blossom and sandalwood. My imp is near gone which kills me so I bought another as soon as the opportunity arose. This went from being very ack! to oh-so surprising in a wonderful way. That’ll teach me…I'm a convert to this, for sure! Edited to add: I've tried it and can vouch for its reputation of easing heartbreak. I feel more 'solid' and strong when I wear this and it seems to do a world of good in terms of my mood (excellent news for someone who is afflicted with severe depression). I think I may need to invest in a bottle.

Naturally, as a sleep blend, this has a lot of lavender! I love the massive spike of jasmine in it. There is another herb-like presence in this but I’m not sure exactly what it is. Despite being lavender-heavy, I find this a lot more pleasant that I expected as a fragrance, however, for its therapeutic properties, I must commend it highly – each occasion I’ve used this when riddled with insomnia, it’s totally knocked me out and induced a highly peaceful, uninterrupted sleep. I would buy a bottle of this based on its aromatherapeutic properties – though it making me smell wonderful in bed is totally a fab bonus!

How can something be so sweet and manly at the same time?! The tonka kills me with its sexiness. Maybe it’s the rum but I swear I get dark berries or something similar from this. Nevertheless, it’s stunning and I can see why it’s so popular. I love it!

At the beginning, a slightly medicinal smell – that could be the labdanum? I get a hint of the gladiola and the other florals which seem so similar to my nose – I can pick most of them out and as they begin to dry down they gradually amplify in strength. I would prefer for the tonka to be more prominent, and for the composition overall to be more sweeter. That initial woodsy medicinal smell has calmed down but still not as much as I’d prefer. Something pleasant came out after a while, not sure exactly what it is but it could be amber-ish…it happened after I got all hot and sweaty! Alas, otherwise this is a tad too masculine for my taste and off it goes in the swap pile.

What a delicious nectar-like scent! I instantly pick up the honey, apricot and tonka and it makes me want to sniff my wrists uncontrollably! As it starts to dry down I can get some of the blood orange and gardenia. This is one of those gourmand-floral amalgams that I so adore! Based on a quick sampling I would buy a 5mL of this immediately if I had the money. As it begins to fade I can smell the ylang ylang which delightfully sings with the apricot. Blissful!

When wet, this is freshly cut flowers and their pollen…then later green apple of the Golden Delicious variety emerges, mingled with evening primrose, or something that reminds me of this. This is a very green-yellow scent on me and I can’t say I really like it, sadly. I also get a hint of saffron and later on, detect the thyme. I thought it might morph into something nicer but alas no, it only seemed to clash further with my body chemistry so it’s definitely not a keeper.