mspixieears

Ooh this is yummy – the strawberry reminds me of Hollywood Babylon and Lampades. Oddly enough my skin is not amping the florals which I can barely detect. I thought this was instant love but it grows into something a little too sweet for me.

What a refined incense blend! It’s definitely very dusty in an old world sort of way. It’s also very smoky and seductive. I don’t really smell the tobacco smoke so much. A wonderfully warm fragrance – it must be the opium smoke. Lovely! Think I shall get a bottle.

Wet, it's nothing but pure violet and then the sugar hits though it's not as sweet as I hoped. So far this is probably the most violet scent I've tried. A few minutes later it gets sweeter and has very strong throw and lasting power. I don't think it's sweet enough for me to keep.

Instantly I’m hit with the sandalwood and myrrh though I can detect the jasmine. I’m fairly certain this blend is not to my taste as the herbs come through and I’m not overly fond of the herb blends. I overall find it quite a masculine blend, and quite spicy too.

Oh my god, this is just divine! Instantly I can smell the white cake and vanilla but not so much the currants which I was hoping for most in this blend. I don’t usually like foody blends but this is irresistible. As it starts to dry I get the currants but it mingles mainly with the vanilla and cake foodiness. I sadly only had a tiny amount in the imp I got – think I definitely need at least another imp, possibly a bottle. Absolutely heavenly. Reminds me a little of The Candy Butcher and also All Souls.

I can smell the bluebell and wet grass. Overall it’s a floral composition and I can’t really tell what the florals are. As it dries the sugared candies become evident and they are very pleasing. This smells very similar to another BPAL fragrance but I can’t place which one. I’m not sure whether to keep the imp so into the retest pile it goes.

Delightful! This is much more suited to my body chemistry than blends like Bliss. No wonder this is so popular. I swear I can detect something floral in this blend – I think this is why it’s so good on my skin as I tend to amp up florals.

Immediately one is greeted by the smell of lavender. As the oil begins to dry the magnolia comes out to play – it’s very fresh and uplifting. Not sure that it is to my liking as the magnolia isn’t strong enough for me. Generally, too muted a fragrance to what I’ve come to expect from BPAL but it is nice and very inoffensive.

It’s very bubblegummy like people say, with the addition of florals and the slightest herb-like scent. This is what it’s like while wet. I think this will warm up well on my skin and with my chemistry. About ten minutes later it becomes more floral and the initial sugary sweetness seems to have faded. I think this is a nice scent but not sure if I’ll use up the imp. The incense is okay but I find myself wishing this actually stayed sweeter. A few hours later it becomes really soapy. It’s fairly pleasant but not a keeper for me.

What a heavenly floral! Wet I get the musk then gradually the violet and jasmine, and hints of the mimosa and maybe even the vanilla bean – not sure though on that last note. I do think the vanilla bean softens the composition overall. Beautiful for spring and summer I think. I’m so glad I have a bottle of this. As it dries the musk permeates a little more, making it a warm woodsy floral whereas at the beginning it’s a much fresher floral.

Dust on your trousers, mud on your boots, and stars in your eyes: redwood, tonka bean, white sandalwood, lemon peel, patchouli, rosewood, coriander, and crushed mint. A soft, gentlemanly cologne-type scent with the smallest hint of something sweet. I think it suits the innocence of Tristran remarkably well. I smell most clearly what I imagine to be redwood, and the white sandalwood which seems less intense than the sandalwood I'm used to. I think like others I'm getting that hint of the mint, as it dries down. Overall the fragrance also seems to be getting warmer. Nice to try but more suited as a room fragrance for me. An hour or so later I get the candlewax note. Quite nice but still too room fragrance-ish for me. Mind you a few hours later it smells floral-woodsy. I think I'll keep my imp of this.

I mainly get tea rose from this which makes it a delightfully old-fashioned fragrance. That is when it’s wet. It’s a very gentle sort of scent and wonderfully done as it could easily become a horrid, cloying ‘old lady’ scent (no offence meant to old ladies!). A very refined old world floral with quite a bit of staying power. Half an hour later the vanilla musk emerged beautifully!

A very spicy, foody scent that smells like it’s combined with red musk hardcore! The red musk is very strong wet and on the drydown. Could be a very gender neutral scent. Reminds me slightly of Snake Oil minus its sweet vanilla scent. Quite nice and could use up the imp. A very pleasing musk.

This is very earthy with floral undertones. I don’t exactly know what a jazz funeral is supposed to smell like but something about it reminds me of the tropics or rainforest area. It’s a nice fragrance but not quite to my taste. There’s one perfumey note that is slightly too strong for me. I do think this could be good on a man, it has a very gentlemanly cologne feel to it.

I mainly get tea rose from this which makes it a delightfully old-fashioned fragrance. That is when it’s wet. It’s a very gentle sort of scent and wonderfully done as it could easily become a horrid, cloying ‘old lady’ scent (no offence meant to old ladies!). A very refined old world floral with quite a bit of staying power. Half an hour later the vanilla musk emerged beautifully!

I smell something mentholated in this blend, aside from the obvious cherry blossom. As soon as it dries down it becomes much more floral, yet with a hint of spice – maybe something like ginger? Not sure if this one agrees with me so much. Like White Rabbit, this is nice from afar but up close it doesn’t smell quite right on me. About 15 minutes later it’s settled on my skin and become a fresh floral slightly reminiscent of magnolia. Will need to wait some more to see how this develops. Warrants a retest, methinks!

I generally don’t like rose blends but this one is so lovely! A very fresh, not-too-cloying type of rose. There’s something else in it that I can’t identify but overall am very pleased with this blend. Duh me, it’s the leather! I can now fully detect it, what a gorgeous addition.

I smell the cypress and almond immediately though the cypress makes the almond less foody. Though it gets foodier with the fig coming through, also with something else that is gently spicy. I thought my body chemistry would like this more but so far it’s not as lovely as I expected. Will wait a while to see if this changes. Nearly an hour later and it’s gone powdery like amber blends generally do, but with a touch of almond. Doesn’t have much lasting power and finishes up smelling like peonies to my nose for some odd reason.

I immediately get black tea from this when applied wet and it dries down to a scent I can’t really place but there is a herb smell that reminds me slightly of coriander (I think Americans call this cilantro?). I think this could be a really gender neutral scent. There is something very green which I can’t fully identify – I think it’s the white pepper and clean linen, oddly enough! I also get the ginger a bit later. Half an hour later, this is evidently not for my body chemistry. It smells nice enough from afar but not up close.

Smells slightly boozy – too boozy to be strictly milk chocolate but not as strong as Centzon Totochtin. It doesn’t seem to want to linger very long on my skin and I smell something a tad floral in this blend. Not sure if this will work on my skin – it’s giving a very burnt smell. Damn body chemistry. I left it a while to see how it would morph but sadly it’s not at all for me.

Very clean, zesty and fresh, like pine. Wet I get a hint of something wonderfully fruity. There may even be a hint of something minty? I generally tend to dislike minty blends so this might not be for me. I love the wet fruitiness – I just wish it would come back and stick around for longer. A few minutes later when dry on skin I get my wish! Reminds me a lot of The Snow Maiden – they have similar berries. It actually reminds me a lot of the Yule 2006 blends I’ve tried. Sadly, still too minty for my taste though it’s still morphing on me – getting more berryish. I’d hunt down a bottle if I didn’t already have The Snow Maiden. Lovely! Two or so hours later it dries down to a soapy nothingness. Still, was lovely to try!

Powdery, soapy flora when wet on skin. It reminds me a lot of Dove’s Heart which I recently tested. I can’t pick out the individual florals in this – it just smells of various florals I know I like. Drying down it deepens a little but still cannot pick out any of the named florals. A nice, comforting scent and probably something to be worn for bedtime, especially as it doesn’t have so much throw as some other blends. I probably expected this to be headier because it had tuberose. About 15-20 minutes later, it warms on skin and grows headier as desired! But still manages to retain its dreamy, powdery quality.

Delicious, juicy berries mixed with a hint of something. It reminds me a little of The Snow Maiden except is much heavier on the berries which I love. Its lasting power isn’t as strong as I’d like – fades almost as soon as it’s applied. My skin also naturally amps up the floral which I quite like. Will definitely use up the imp and might just get a bottle.

This actually made my mouth water it’s so damn tantalising. Mandarin which is somehow fruitier and less tart than orange as a citrus – I therefore prefer it. It smells precisely of candied fig with mandarin. It’s extremely alluring and smells wonderfully edible. I’ve mentioned before that generally citruses don’t do well with my body chemistry but this is fantastic and absolutely the exception. It gets even sweeter on drydown too.

Out of the vial and wet on skin I immediately get a soft, powdery jasmine. Straight after rubbing it on my skin I get a lot of lavender which should make it a very calming blend. I am wearing it for its specific purpose today and I do hope it won’t send me to sleep as BPAL lavender-based scents are often wont to do (a very good thing, mind you!)! When I sniff my arm up close I get the lavender but from afar that soft, comforting jasmine. Will report later to see if the blend does have desired effect – I had good experiences with Wolf’s Heart so have good expectations for this. I think I might detect some rose in this too? It didn’t quite have the effects I was after (I ended up crying) – except that my cat did take to guarding me overnight. Usually he sleeps at my foot but he slept by my chest and my parents told me it looked like he was actually keeping watch over me.