kerikeri

What else is there to say? The most unbelievably realistic brownie scent ever. I don't know how a fresh-baked pan of brownies fit into that little vial I tested, but it certainly smells like the real thing.

Honestly? On my skin, Sapphics smells disturbingly similar to fresh cat litter. It just turns into that generic, slightly chemical "clean" scent that any deodorizing product has. I have no idea what component is the problem-- I was really hoping the tonka and amber would make this a much warmer scent, but instead I just get... deodorant.

This smells lovely in the vial, all sweet honeyed hazelnut cream. Unfortunately, on my skin it goes bone-dry and dusty immediately, like ground-up nuts scattered over a bale of hay. Apparently it makes me smell like I've been working in a barn, which, while perhaps evocative of the scent's namesake, is... not really ever the vibe I'm going for. This might make a nice room scent, but I can't wear it.

This is primarily red musk with undertones of dusty spice and incense on me. Red musk has a very sweet, syrupy, candy-like scent on my skin, which can be nice in some contexts but is often just too sugary for me, and that is unfortunately the case with this blend. I was hoping for something a little more like Red Lantern, especially since so many people mentioned getting strong caramel (which is a note I actually like) from this, but I get no caramel at all and the spices are overwhelmed by the musk. Alas, this is not my kind of scent at all, and will be passed along to someone who gets along with musk better than I do.

Ugh... lemony death. In the vial it smelled like floor cleaner, and I started to get worried-- for good reason. The comparisons to Froot Loops and honey-lemon cough drops are spot-on, and lemon is one of those scents that makes me ill if it's overwhelming. Which this unfortunately is. After it dries, the honey comes out a little more to balance the extreme sharpness of the citrus, but it's not enough to overthrow lemon's tyrannical reign. And ugh, I remember why I never liked Froot Loops as a kid. This is a fail, unfortunately. I will have to keep hunting for a good honey scent, because obviously this isn't it.

I get primarily apricot from this. Straight-up sweet, sticky apricot jam-- it's practically a single note, although occasionally hints of cherry and pastry sneak through. But I love apricot, so it's not a problem.

On me this is a warm, complex blend of spices, citrus and smoky wood, sweetened with honey and a hint of creamy pudding. It's not a straight-up sweet foody blend, thanks to the edge provided by the citrus and smoke-- it smells fairly unisex to my nose, and definitely reminiscent of enjoying tasty treats by a roaring fire. This might become a favorite from this year's Yules! Edit: Oh yeah. I wore this all day, and it's leapt straight to the top of my list of all-time loves. Over time it becomes even warmer and creamier-- I can really smell the rice pudding and a hint of cooked plum, layered beautifully over sweet hearth smoke and warm spiced citrus mead. It is the definition of a cozy, comforting scent, with just enough bite to be intriguing, and completely unique-- I've never smelled anything like it before, but now I want to smell like this all the time. I NEED a bottle. Maybe two, and I never stock up.

This is a light, clean vanilla with a hint of spice on me. It's sweet and a bit eggy, but doesn't have the creamy heaviness I associate with eggnog. Coffee is usually a death note for me with BPAL, but this is not at all musty or stale-- unfortunately I don't smell any coffee either, though. I could love this, but it's very faint, and on my skin it goes a bit... generic, I guess. It gets sweeter over time, but still has that faint, slightly powdery vanilla feel, which isn't complex or different enough to stand out from the many other vanilla scents I have.

In the vial: Sweet, sharp, almost cloying spice. Wet: This goes dry and dusty immediately-- no sweetness, nothing like cookies or pastry, just a cloud of baking spices and pepper. It's overwhelming and almost sickeningly strong, definitely not wearable. Dry: Eventually the sharp dry pepper note calms down, a little sweetness comes out, and it does smell more like cookies, albeit still dry and spicy ones. But now there's an odd, plasticky undertone to the scent, a note I've smelled before that reminds me of baby wipes-- I always thought it was something floral, but it may be a particular spice, because I'm definitely getting it here. I think this particular treat of Mother Shub's just doesn't get along with my chemistry, alas.

In the vial, this smells like a sharp, astringent cologne. On my skin, it warms up and becomes less medicinal; when I inhale deeply I get clove and wood and tobacco, a spicy, smoky scent that I really like, but the first note I can smell each time I sniff is still something that reads "masculine" to me. Once it fully dries, though, whatever cologney note i was getting fades, and I can smell the peach and currant sweetening the scent. It's not an incredibly dark scent-- in fact, it smells sort of clean to me at this point, like skin freshly scrubbed with something spice-scented. I think I would love this on a guy, but I'm not sure it's something I can wear myself.

I was so excited to try this, because it sounded like an even more awesome Bordello, and Bordello was my first true BPAL love. I don't have it with me to compare them directly right now, but Countess Willie definitely has the same creamy, "purple" feel to it, with the lush juicy plum and boozy amaretto notes. There's a sharp bite to this that Bordello lacks, though-- the ginger provides a little nip of spice, and the musk adds a perfumey edge. Unfortunately I can't pick out any chocolate. This is a lovely scent, sweet and fruity but also a very sexy, adult blend-- it'd make a great date scent.

I received a bit of this as a lovely xmas gift, and I can see why it is such a popular scent among my fellow foodies! I actually forgot what the notes were when I tested it, and I definitely got that it was cake, but I wouldn't have guessed cocoa, cassia and coconut. It just smells rich and somewhat "red"-- I can't remember what red velvet cake actually tastes like, but that's what I imagine when I sniff this. I can smell the coconut now that I know it's there, but it's not a very spicy scent on me and I can't pick out a chocolate note. It's just a dry, warm, sort of powdery coconut cake with something additional to make it complex (and admittedly addictive-- I can't stop sniffing my arm to try to place the notes). It's really delicious and I will (carefully) enjoy the small amount I have.

I love the combination of vanilla and mint, but I don't know how I feel about this one. It's a very sugary, buttery, candy-like mint, and as others have mentioned, there is a plasticky edge to it on my skin. I prefer a sharper mint note to contrast with the sweet vanilla-- this is a very soft-edged mint, like buttermint candies, which I don't really like. It also fades really quickly on me, to the point that within 10 minutes I can barely tell where I put it on. I'm really glad that a generous BPALer gifted me with a half-decant so I could try this, but I don't think I'll be hunting down any more-- the Lick Its might be more to my taste.

This went through a strange and not very pleasant morphing process on me. At first it was a sweet, powdery, lightly spiced scent, reminiscent of Morocco or Bastet-- I thought it had musk in it, because it had that slightly artificial edge that musk usually has on me, and I also thought I smelled almond. Then it went straight to Cinnamon Soap Land, like Eclipse does. About half an hour later, it was baby powder. About an hour later, it was burnt baby powder. I actually like the smoky note it took on in the last stage (probably the copal), but there are much better smoky scents that don't smell like someone set a bottle of Johnson's on fire. Either the cinnamon or honeysuckle or both is really not friends with my chemistry here.

On me Morocco is warm, sweet and lightly spiced, but not at all foody. The spices are very muted, just a wafting hint of spice on the breeze, and the musk adds a powdery undertone to the scent. I can see where everyone is getting the idea of vanilla, but I think that's just because it has that creamy sweetness to it that usually suggests vanilla. It smells far more like a traditional perfume to me than most BPALs, probably because of the musk. I'm not usually a big fan of musk, but it's more or less behaving here-- there's still the vaguest hint of that chemical-y hairspray/baby powder thing musk usually likes to do on me, but the spices and woods keep it mostly in check. This isn't something I'd wear every day, but it's nice to have around as a womanly, sophisticated blend that's more traditional without being flowery or overwhelming.

This starts off as an earthy, not-at-all-sweet floral-- I don't know my florals at all, but this has a bitterness to it that reminds me of geranium. Not one of my favorite smells ever. As it dries, the floral bitterness fades and the blackberry and a touch of honey come to the forefront. The berry note is very sharp and strong and I'm not getting much lavender, if any. Most berry notes seem to turn into tart-yet-cloying artificial candy or Kool-Aid on me, and this unfortunately is no exception.

BPAL's pumpkin note is usually too heavy and buttery for me, but this is awesome! It starts off as that thick cloying pumpkin note that usually makes me a bit ill, with a little beery edge. As it dries, the smoke and beeswax darken and ground the scent, making it a very wearable and unique smudged, burnt, waxy pumpkin blend-- I know I'm probably not making it sound very appetizing, but it's great if you like smoky autumn scents like I do!

This doesn't smell much like the description on me-- the fruit notes go sugary and TART, so much so that I'd almost suspect there was lemon or some other citrus fruit note here. It still has a very "pink" feel to it, though, like pink lemonade. I don't get much honey, although there is a little added richness in the background that suggests its presence, and I'm not sure what pink pepper smells like but this isn't very spicy at all on my skin. It's odd-- when I sniff this scent I like it when it first hits my nose, but a few seconds later that tart candy-like note comes in and it's just too overwhelming for me. Straight-up sweet fruit scents are too girly for me and sometimes make me ill, and unfortunately I think this is one of them.

I was really excited to try this-- Chinese egg custard tarts are my obsession and the only place that sold them in my area closed a while ago, so when I read in some of the reviews that this smelled eggy and custardy I was hoping it'd be a good scent replacement for my favorite dessert. Unfortunately, I'm one of the people who gets nothing but plastic vanilla and baby powder from this. No spice or cream or anything good. So sad.

I'm very surprised not to see licorice/anise listed as a note for The Girl, because that's the predominant scent I get on drydown. This feels a little similar to Glowing Vulva to me, with that vanilla/amber/wood combo, but sharpened by anise or whatever is reading as anise to my nose (maybe davana?). I don't know if I love it, but it is an evocative scent, really nailing the whole seductive-but-sinister vibe.

This is gorgeous and I am heartbroken that it's probably a bit out of my league as far as actually acquiring it for my own. As befits the name, it's a luminescent and warmly feminine scent-- the sweet golden glow of amber and lotus slathered in vanilla cream and grounded by deep rich wood. Simple but complex-smelling and ridiculously good. Out of everything I tried at the lovely meetup I attended tonight, this was the one I kept going back to and sniffing over and over. I doubt I'll be able to get it anytime soon, but a girl can dream...

In the vial, it's a sharp medicinal cherry, alcoholic in a cough-syrupy way. On, it's fruity and very tart. This definitely smells like one of those mixed drinks that's so sweet and sugary that it barely tastes like it has any booze in it at all, but that boozy edge is lurking in the background reminding you that it may taste like Kool-Aid but after a drink or 5 you'll feel it. I'm not sure how much I'd actually wear this, but it's certainly bringing back interesting scent-memories of college parties and fraternity conferences! Very accurate and a fun sniffing experience.

Yep, basically a jelly doughnut, with gooey red filling and powdered sugar. I guess I can see the comparisons to Sugar Skull, but this doesn't have that indefinable perfumey quality that has gotten me addicted to Sugar Skull-- the red jelly note makes it a bit too generic-fruit-scented. But I'll probably keep the decant just for the awesome zombie label.

(I have to preface this with the embarrassing revelation that I don't think I knew what "roll-ups" meant until I came and read this thread. I don't know what I thought it was, but for a few minutes I was thinking "why is everyone talking about tobacco?" I never claimed to be too bright ) This is pretty much straight-up men's cologne on me. I don't actually get any of the listed notes (which sucks, because a sweet tea and tobacco scent sounds great), just... something that reminds me of a scent an older man would wear. Which I guess isn't that far off from the character it's supposed to represent, but it's definitely not going to work on me and I'm not sure I'm even impressed enough with it as a masculine scent to try to enable any of the men I know with it. Maybe my grandpa.

In the vial: Light, sweet, refreshing pineapple. On, wet: Mmm, this blossoms into a delicious pina colada, very authentic and not fake or plastic at all, with a touch of spice to make it unique. Dry: Oh, hell. This was perfect wet, but dry it pulled the same trick as Te Po and turned into plain cinnamon. In fact, it smells almost exactly like Te Po did on me, just a little creamier with hints of vanilla and coconut-- I can't smell the pineapple at all anymore. Pretty much just a cinnamon fest, starring cinnamon with special guest cinnamon. I guess I amp cinnamon, then. I wish I could get this to stay as lovely and tasty as it is wet.