mspixieears

At first, this is pure jasmine, then later with musk and clove. A minute later it begins to settle and the vanilla starts to shine through. The clove in this is a tad too strong for me – something about the scent sort of threatens to give me a headache (which is exceedingly rare in BPAL scents, indeed one of the things I’ve so come to love about this company – even when the scents don’t work!). I’ll retest it because I do so adore the jasmine but I might not be able to use up my imp which would be a great shame.

Manila, floral-wise, and Yemaya fruit-wise. They are very tropical in fragrance!

If you like Pele, then you will love Philosophy's Amazing Grace. The resemblance to my nose is astounding, and wonderful!

I heart muchly Euphrosyne - I read recs here touting it to be the truest gardenia in the BPAL catalogue and it truly is! I do like Thaleia too. Sadly, I did not get the gardenia vibe from Le Serpent Qui Danse and Sacred Whore of Babylon. You might like Pele but that is more creamy muguet, I think (to my nose it is - it smells exactly like Philosophy's Amazing Grace which does have a fair bit of gardenia and smaller bit of jasmine in it).

The first thing I think of when I apply this and catch a whiff is just how radiant it is – it’s a very ‘sunny’ fragrance. The drydown is a bit on the powdery side though I can also smell the slight hint of citrus. Overall, very uplifting. Beautiful and I can just pick up a hint of saffron!

Woah, I think this is sensory overload for me – it’s a tad too perfumey and floral for my tastes. Odd given that I adore florals. I might need this to dry down a bit at first though there was a beautiful fruity scent when it was first applied that sadly disappeared upon drydown. In about 2 hours, it’s down to a gentle floral scent. Sadly, pretty unremarkable to me though it is a nice fragrance perhaps for everyday and I might end up finishing it, not sure.

Very fruity – fresh and nectary, and reminds me exactly of the Asian melon sweets you can buy at Asian grocers. There does appear to be hints of peach and even fresh yellow-green apple. It’s a lot more pleasant and mouthwatering than I initially invisaged. Sadly, it’s gone in 2.5 hours – I do wish it had more lasting power as I love it.

This has the orange blossom/neroli scent I’ve been dreaming of wet! It dries down into something more floral and perfumey, and the vanilla isn’t really all that evident. I think the floral might be the stephanotis – it’s heady in an orchid-type way (which I love). I also get a hint of that perfumey powdery drydown – it’s a warming scent rather than pure powder. Beautiful.

Darkly fruity and very gentle on drydown. My nose seems to pick out a floral note in this before it settles down into being properly fruity. It’s probably more what I wanted Philosophy’s Falling in Love fragrance to be like on me except that this works with my body chemistry (sadly that fragrance did not). I can detect a fresher blackberry in this, perhaps the smallest hint of lemon and a light, floral musk. I’m extremely disappointed by the fact that this has hardly any staying power – why??? It’s so lovely.

Amber, a touch of vanilla or even chocolate! I thought I got something like orange blossoms and even honey. It smells similar to a lot of things I’ve tested and is not quite as remarkable as some of the other BPAL fragrances tried. I get the familiar powdery, resiny drydown. I can also smell something like sandalwood in the drydown.

I can smell the jasmine in this instantly from the bottle and wet on my skin but it seems to disappear as it dries, despite spilling a big drop of it on my pants! A bit disappointing…perhaps it doesn’t age well? I can’t detect much of this other than the jasmine but it does seem to be one of the more typical perfumey-type BPAL scents I’ve tried. This is nicest I found in hotter weather as it needs a lot of body heat to work with, and it did develop so that the jasmine became more prominent and true to its scent when the flower is in full bloom.

This is stunning in the same way that Endymion and Fae are to me – subtle, gentle, wonderfully inobtrusive everyday scents, or something I might like to wear to bed, at the end of a hard day. I can smell the rose, carnation and bergamot. I think the carnation made it go all violet-like on me and powdery. The staying power was quite short – on me, about two hours.

Beautiful yet gentle, subtle ripe pear – juicy but still incredibly sophisticated. Soft white florals underpin this making it a smooth soothing scent. The ripeness of the pear disappears as it dries down. What an elegant fragrance! Sadly, it is all but gone in three hours though there is the faintest hint of pear if you sniff very carefully. It’s worth noting this layered wonderfully with Wylde Ivy’s Black Tea Jasmine.

Definite black cherry, perhaps even a hint of musk. Possibly a hint of the antiseptic lemon verbena. A faint bit of chocolate, not sure? Not really feeling the love for this one. Ah. I detect something like liquorice! I let it sit a while but I didn’t really like it at all. A masculine scent eventually came up, making it even less attractive for me. Sadly, not for me.

A bit strong and overwhelming at first, it feels like this one has a lot of calming down to do whilst aging. The staying power wasn’t very long the first time I tried this but it seems to have more throw when worn in hotter weather. This is one of the more classical, typical perfumey-type fragrances I’ve ever tried from BPAL – not necessary a bad thing but I do think I was expecting something better. I think this may improve with age.

This is beautiful! I can smell the plum in this instantly upon application and it’s intoxicating! One of the few fragrances that smells like it is alcohol-based.It also reminds me a tiny bit of a fruitier version of YSL’s Yvresse and BPAL’s Bon Vivant. There is a slight spicy note and the carnation isn’t too floral as the plum is more dominant, which I prefer.

No one mentioned Fire Pig yet? That is one of the most enticing citrus fragrances I've ever had the pleasure to try and I don't actually like citrus that much! I'm so happy I'm getting a bottle. I also recommend Forbidden Fruit and Satan and Death With Sin Intervening. The latter is a very dark orange blossom but I got a lot of zesty rind from it too. Could just be me, of course!

*furiously scribbling recs* Thank you so much! Darn, too bad I actually gave away my Persephone as it didn't like me very much, but the only one I have out of that list to tempt/enable her is Blood Rose so I'll try that on her, hahaha!

Voluptuous and indulgent! A deep chocolate scent, with black cherry and orange blossom. Gorgeous deep chocolate scent with cherry (specifically, black cherry though I can't admit to being able to fully identify that!) and oddly enough, orange blossom which is very easy to pick out. It sounds like a mismatched combination but it is anything but and this is actually a wonderful gourmand scent. Sadly, as it dries down it loses a lot of its gourmand appeal and strength – a great shame. I'd ideally love for this to have longer staying power.

Darn! I wish it had've been like that on me, alas. 'Twas not so.

What other scents would you recommend? I'm trying to enable a friend to BPAL and she loved Spellbound so thought I might be able to entice her into ordering some other things as she wants a bottle of that. Thanks in advance!

Not as sweet as I was hoping instantly but fairly floral. Wasn’t overly captivated the first time I tested this but it feels like a very complex fragrance that wants some time to develop. I can’t name the fruity, sweet note off the top of my head in this but it is beautiful. I was sort of hoping that more of the vanilla would come through but I think I’m finally picking up the fabled skin musk that everyone is so enamoured with – and for good reason. A sweet, sensual fragrance.

Reminds me of a heady, coriander-like scent that I first encountered on the bouquet/garland of flowers I received in Fiji when visiting a school – this must be the vetiver. Beautiful and dark – very masculine though it could be a good unisex scent.

I can smell the roses in this but it’s not sweet and I’m glad – probably the myrrh and ylang ylang ground this composition. Truthfully, this is nothing special to me and the lasting power is not at all very long. It dries down to a faint powdery note that is almost soapy.

Feted as the truest gardenia in the BPAL catalogue which I only got upon initial application. When the drydown begins, I get a note reminiscent of lemon verbena which makes it a sweeter gardenia composition than I’d like. There is a sweet, cloying, lingering note that I can’t identify it and it slightly detracts from the pleasant experience for me. Thankfully, three hours later the true gardenia note returns – it smells exactly like a plucked gardenia that is dying from heat – sad, but beautiful.