Pumpkinn

Aglaea comes as the most viscous and dark-colored fluid of any BPAL fragrance I’ve tried. I swiped the wand across my wrist and was left with a swathe of color on the skin. So, I assumed this would be a very loud, heady scent. But it isn’t! I guess Aglaea smells exactly as I should’ve imagined: deep, creamy muskiness kept from being overbearing by some brighter notes. The peachy brightness gets stronger with wear but overall remains muted and musky. I wouldn’t say this is a fresh or juicy sort of peach. Also, I will firmly agree with Celrynnya when she suggests the musk may trigger scent memories of soap and detergent without lending an actual soapy or detergent quality to the fragrance. Like Opulence, I also experienced very little throw with this one. If there’s anything Aglaea reminds me of, it would be the general category of fruity scents found in hanging car fresheners with the exception of anything “tropical”.

First applied, Lady Macbeth is reminiscent of cough syrup. As it dries, the scent goes through a Bubblicious Gum phase. In the late drydown, I just get sweet berry candy. Finally, I woke up this morning with a gentle fruity skin scent. I went into this one thinking the wine would be more prominent. Unfortunately, Lady Macbeth did not quite meet this expectation. There’s nothing unpleasant about the fragrance, but I prefer not to smell like sweets and candies. I’m not even sure I smelled much thyme, but I don’t really mind because thyme can smell moldy to me. Maybe it had the effect of tempering the sweetness to a degree?

Against Idleness and Mischief immediately has me thinking of pine sprinkled over with that pollen-dusted honey. It’s a gentle, clean, unremarkable scent. Balanced, in that I don’t sense anything noticeably sharp, sweet, or cloying. The only thing that stands out to me about AIaM is that the honey here doesn’t amp to sickly sweet on me like it does in other honey blends, which is nice, and turns more herbal instead.

I will open up by saying I generally cannot work citrus notes. Although I understand there aren’t any listed for Helena, this is as close to citrus fresh for me as it gets. It is a sophisticated, crisp, clean floral perfume. I’m almost tempted to say this reminds me of Haiku from Avon, something my mom would wear once in a while, but it’s been too long for me to know how close the comparison is. Seems like many other reviewers are getting plenty of rose. I tend not to like rose ever at all, but I don’t sense much of it here. I get more lily, if anything. I think. And the jasmine doesn’t have the effect of warm urine as I’ve unfortunately experienced in other fragrances. Helena doesn’t change much from start to finish.

I rarely get nauseous of fragrances, but the opening of Lilith grosses me out. I wonder if it’s the pungent combination of rose attar and black musk. Eventually this calms down and the wine makes a brief appearance before being almost totally dominated by rose-scented baby powder. I wouldn’t describe this as being an excessively strong and cloying fragrance, but it’s still one of the few I’ve experienced with the capacity to give me a headache. Lilith settles into a stuffy/musky rose faintly edged with wine (which I was hoping would eventually become more prominent)—and then, rosy potpourri. I guess I just can’t appreciate rose scents. EDIT: The portion of Lilith which stuck to my sweater for about a day now smells much more pleasantly like dusty wine and rose water. However, I still stand by my original statements.

At first, Thalia smells “white” and vaguely powdery, almost like a floral bathroom plug-in freshener. I was hoping for more of a boozy pear experience. Maybe the plumeria is just pretty strong. With wear, the bathroomness fades and it becomes more pleasantly floral. I wish I could say I’ve smelled plumeria blooms in real life, but I haven’t so I can’t confidently claim that Thalia turns into a more realistic floral fragrance (or maybe it doesn’t). I basically don’t get any pear or champagne after the opening. I’d describe this as fresh, light and springy. It is not by any means a heady scent, but will definitely waft around with movement. Although not quite “me”, Thalia is a very pretty and feminine fragrance. P.S. I’m so glad I’ve got Thalia on one arm to counter the unfortunate wrath of Lilith I’ve subjected myself to on the other, haha! This really is a bright scent. : ) EDIT: I wanted to add that my experience with white florals is not usually a very positive one. Often, I get the feeling that something fecal is lurking in the background. This does not happen with Thalia. At all. For me, this is an ideal example of what a white floral should be.

Verdandi smells like dried spiced apples. Like the sort of home-freshener people whip out in the fall, although it gets brighter and less stuffy as it wears. Eventually, I get the bubblegum others have mentioned. This isn’t an unpleasant fragrance, despite being one of the stronger BPAL scents I’ve tried so far. It’s a little too synthetic for me, though. But it might be worth a try for those who do enjoy those types of fall scents.

Despite being vanilla-sweet, this scent is surprisingly fresh and balanced (meaning: not a thick, syrupy mess). I can’t say I get any of the tea, unfortunately. Maybe it’s being masked by the fougere, which I’m assuming has some sort of citrus (OR LAVENDER?) in it that doesn’t like my chemistry as it’s veering ever so slightly into bug-repellant territory. Eventually it turns into a nondescript smoky blah with a little sweet vanilla in the background. There’s definitely something in this that isn’t working for me. So, I dabbed some onto a cotton ball and popped it into my bra. I get more of the tea now, much less sweetness, and the fougere adds a little lemon-cleaner sort of freshness. I’m not too crazy about this method, though, because the sillage is quite weak even for me. I think Dorian would be pretty on anybody else who doesn’t have the same troubles I do with citrus notes. In my opinion, this isn’t overtly masculine but I guess that’s up to how the fragrance reacts to you. EDIT: Silly me, I should've just forgone the cotton ball and tried this in my hair from the start. Mmmm. . .

Nosferatu is unconventionally feminine and smells just as it’s described: dirt, herbs, and wine. I do not see this one as a morpher. Instead, the notes balance differently depending on the skin chemistry. On my sister, it was very strongly dirt/herbs. For me (and it looks like I’m not alone), the dirt note registers as clean, bright, and lemony. When it settles, it brings to mind dust instead of soil. I love the way the wine works on me. It becomes the dominant note over the others, but never overwhelms. It grows more rich and sweet, but the addition of the sharply fresh dirt keeps things balanced. Overall, the effect is melancholy. And I just have to thank the lab for sending this one as a freebie with my order! EDIT: I've been wearing the imp from time to time and I have noticed this scent lasts about four hours in the crooks of my arms and on my chest. On clothing, Nosferatu lasts for days. Still, very faintly. It wafts around with movement, but otherwise this fragrance sits close to the body.

Immediately, Marquise de Merteuil is powdery, fruity sweetness, and floral. It reminds me of the opening of Elizabeth Taylor’s White Diamonds, minus the big aldehydic fanfare. But that’s the only similarity between the two. Marquise is fruitier and juicier. I wouldn’t even say the floral notes are heady in the way they are in White Diamonds. Then something green and woody appears, brightening the scent. Something else adds depth. I’m not familiar enough with a few of these notes to warrant a guess as to what this something might be. The fragrance deepens further into a warm spiciness against a faint floral backdrop. The powder has disappeared by now. But there is a mild dirtiness and I’m coming to wonder if it’s the peach note reacting with my chemistry. I experienced the same in Fae, but it was a lot stronger. Eventually, this passes and I’m left with a deep, resinous, spicy amber with a little peach. There may be some gentle florals in the back, but the contrast isn’t stark enough for me to be 100% sure. Marquise finally settles into something I can only best describe like this: a toasted marshmallow, whose sweetness is entirely removed and replaced instead with the aroma of wet bark (which has a gentle woody sweetness all its own). My paper sample, however, smells fresher, lighter, greener, featuring a strong floral presence. I can relate to what BoneBone24 said about the scent: It sounds like the sort of perfume I normally dislike, yet the Marquise doesn't bother my nose the way other sexy/heavy floral-types do. I think Marquise is interesting, definitely a morpher on my skin, but probably not something I’ll be wearing too often. I’ll probably keep studying it. : )

I don’t know exactly what dragon’s blood is, but I skimmed through the dedicated thread and, judging from my own experience, would agree with others that it’s something like cherries and roses. Ladon was kinda funny for me, though. It was either the first or second fragrance I tried after receiving my order and I thought it smelled like dirty incense. However, I tested it again so I could better understand what was going on and it is much prettier now. On skin, I’m able to pick out just about every note (except maybe resin and white musk; those are vague) upon application. I smell apples, florals (especially hyacinth), and the pleasant cherry-rose of dragon’s blood. A few minutes later, I’m thinking it’s the dragon’s blood that deepens the fragrance for me. I’m still getting apple and plenty of hyacinth, which brighten it up. But my paper test is also getting deeper. It smells like that same dirty, ashy incense that Ladon was on me when I first tried it. The paper test recovers, though, and now we both smell similar: lightly sweet, fruity, floral, but grounded, perhaps by the resin? It’s not overly sweet, flowery, or headache-inducing/offensive for me (compared to say, Juicy Couture’s Couture Couture or Elizabeth Taylor’s White Diamonds. And I don’t often get headaches, especially not from fragrances). After about 20 minutes, Ladon feels a little muskier on my skin and more apple-blossomy on the paper. I like them both. This smells pretty! My only concern is that the hyacinth brings to mind a generic idea of bathroom freshener, but I’ll probably finish the imp before making a firm decision either way.

Disclaimer: I’m not too familiar with the notes in this fragrance, but I tried to do a little research beforehand in an effort to better describe what I’m experiencing as it develops on my skin. Initially, The Black Rider smells like leather and something bitter and sharp. I think Kakiphony did a good job describing the leather at this stage: not deep and rich, but fresh and stiff. Then, a little amber? It’s got a sweetness. The sharpness also mellows into something else that feels…rubbery? And synthetic. I wonder if it’s the oppoponax, assuming the other notes aren’t reacting negatively to my chemistry. I think I do sense powder somewhere, but it comes and goes and eventually fades into a mild sweetness. I’m getting a chocolatey vanilla. Is this the tobacco? The scent settles into a faint leather, a chocolatey vanilla sweetness (tobacco?), and a warm creaminess to fill things out. On my skin, it's more smokey and less sweet than it is on my paper test. I still catch whiffs of the aforementioned synthetic rubberiness, but it may be a little stronger on me. Whatever this is, I wonder if it's hiding in the "black" component of either the leather or the amber. Or it could always just be my skin fighting something off. : ) I was initially very put off by The Black Rider and almost sure I’d hate it. But the drydown is the most important part of a fragrance for me, and I’m surprised to find that I think this one’s not that bad in the end. I’ll take the recommendation of a few other users and let this one sit for a couple months before trying again.

First applied, Les Bijoux is a sweet, fruity rose. For just a second, I also think I get pine. But this disappears quickly, and I don’t know what it could’ve been (either frankincense or myrrh?). On my paper test, I’m able to smell apple, peach, and orange blossom. It’s only barely rosy, and the musk and honey remind me almost of amber—a light backdrop for the other notes. My overall impression of this is fresh and warm, gently sweetened. On my skin, however, Les Bijoux turns to a musky rose with honeyed peach. After the fruits fade away, I’m left with a kind of dirty smell. This transitional phase is very short, and I think what I’m noticing now is just incense (frankincense and myrrh?). As it continues to warm on my skin, the honey becomes more dominant, resulting in an incense-honey musk that sits close to the body. So on paper, I think Les Bijoux is pretty and sophisticated. It never smells like an overly sweet teenage fragrance to me. With time, I might even say the scent develops a sort of incense spice (even on paper) but this effect takes about 5 or 6 hours, where on my skin it happens within 30-45 minutes. Unfortunately, I don’t care to smell like either incense or honey in the enduring drydown. But I think I might try it in my hair because I like it otherwise. : )

Fae is further confirmation that I cannot wear bergamot. On me, without fail, bergamot turns to black liquorice bug repellant, overwhelming everything else. While my skin test is unfortunately ruined like this, I do catch some sweetness and warmth. On paper, Fae is much happier. I would say bergamot is very prominent, maybe more so than the peach. I have no idea how heliotrope actually smells in a fragrance, despite reading up on a description. I’ve come across mentions of a playdoh quality associated with heliotrope, and I wonder if this combined with the bergamot is what’s causing me to recall a stale ashtray when I smell Fae. Maybe this would be prettier on somebody with a more favorable chemistry. EDIT: Retested and simplified review.

Maybe it’s the acacia, but the initial application of Good smells “green” to me—almost a little astringent. I can’t say I’ve smelled this plant before, so I may be mistaken. If it does lend a floral quality to the scent, I would describe it as a neutral floral. It’s not heady or offensive in the least. Within something like 10 or 15 minutes, what I believe to be the acacia calms down and I’m left with a pleasant, if subtle, combination of everything else. There’s honey, but it’s not cloying (as is usually the case for me). The musk seems to lend warmth while the vanilla (maybe) gives it a slightly creamy texture. With more time, I think I can sense the very light smokiness braybrigade suggests. I don’t consider this to be an extremely sweet scent, either. Reading through the previous reviews, I can relate most to claudia9613 when she says Good is slightly powdery, but doesn’t quite cross that line. Maybe it’s just me, but when I smell this fragrance, I’m reminded of toy baby dolls and their bottles/accessories. It could be a particular one from my childhood, but I think I remember at least one smelling something like this. Thank you very much to the generous people at BPAL for sending this as a freebie with my order. I do think it's pretty. : ) Edit: It's been a few more hours, and while the scent sits very close to the skin, I don't much care for the honey becoming the dominant note at this stage. But this is only my personal preference, and it reminds me too much of our Eclectus's natural odor. I know there is somebody out there who would appreciate a very lightly musky honey skin scent, though. It is slightly more sweet and creamy now than it was before.