brineydeep

The Golden Hour, casting a glorious light onto all it touches: sweet amber and golden oudh with vanilla cream, white cognac, saffron, and warm golden musk. Fresh from the mailbox and onto my skin. Amber & Lace is lovely. It's creamy, Lacey, with just a bit of oomph from the saffron and cognac. It doesn't have the tobacco note that several of the other Laces have, which makes it a little different but still within the Lace family (my skin boosts tobacco, so I noticed the difference). Wet, it's rich and strong. At this stage -- though I haven't tried every Lace -- it reminds me of Beautiful Death without the berries. Dried down, it honestly reminds me of cream soda. It's smooth and sweet, with just a bit of kick. It's got moderate throw. I'm looking forward to seeing how this one settles, but it's off to a good start!

Bonfire smoke staining vanilla cream lace, a touch of cognac, sweet tobacco, St. Johns Wort, and apple wine, with the suns bright amber and copal setting the horizon aflame. Caveat: this is fresh from the mailbox. I'm digging this Lace. It's a sweet blend of BPAL's Lace note with floral from the St John's Wort and a hint of apple. I was worried it would be too autumnal but it's more harvest fresh than harvest spice. The sweetness is underlied by the copal hanging out under the surface. This is not a heavy Lace. Rather it's an apple-sweet Lace without actually being an apple blend. It's like a rich/fresh/sweet apple cider for your skin. This will be fabulous to wear from the heat of the summer through early fall. I'm glad it's part of my collection.

Tea roses, pink sandalwood, hay absolute, and vanilla orchid. Holy top notes batman! This goes on all sharp rose and orchid flower. If this rose were on my skin, it would probably go sour (as roses sometimes do on me). I know there's something under that, like a dry sandalwood/hay note, but it's hidden under the top notes. It's too much orchid for my taste. Everything is reading as a sickly sweetness because of it. If you actually like orchid, you'll enjoy Douze a lot more. Fairly good throw.

On my skin, this is a sweet tobacco Lace with a hint of smoke. I'm not getting much lavender once it goes on my skin but that may be because the lavender blends right in with all the rest (and my skin loves tobacco). To me, Lavender Lace is most similar Champagne Lace (without the Champagne note) or Beautiful Death (without the berry note). It's a stronger, darkly sweet Lace. Wear length is most of the day.

I'm a sucker for BPAL roses so I was super excited to score a bottle of this. The heart of this scent isn't the rose, rather it's a rose-kissed blend. White rose has always been a muted member of the rose family to my nose and it's that way here - letting you know it's there but in an underscored way. The main part of the scent is a gentle coconutty sweetness, which I assume is the vanilla tea, benzoin, orris, and coconut. I can't really pick out the frankincense. It's a little sweeter and less dry than an incense blend to my nose, but really powdery and lovely. Moderate throw. I'm happy to add this to my hair gloss collection.

Thorny red roses swirled with mandrake accord, bois de rose, ambrette seed, and khus. Fresh from the mailbox! This goes on very bitter. Once it dries down, it's predominantly rose with a bit of dark woodiness underneath. This is the rose of Peacock Queen, refined and regal instead of a lush or innocent rose. The whole blend reminds me of Peacock Queen but a little darker and more complex. The throw is light. It's a nice addition to my BPAL rose collection. I have already have Peacock Queen, but I think I like this better.

Mummies of Mexico City contains notes of church incense, ornate gold, old lace, and dust. A sacred, secret scent, recalling residual whispers of incense settling into the ancient, forgotten dust. This hair gloss is *glorious*. MoMC smells like incense but completely smooth. It's all soft, slightly sweet resins, exactly like the perfume version. To compare it to another BPAL perfume, it's akin to All Souls but without the offertory cakes and smoother. The hair gloss has good throw and I'm getting whiffs of it throughout the day, though it's not overwhelming. It's pretty much the perfect strength. Can I say "perfect" any more in this review? Because, for a resiny hair gloss, it pretty much is.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Shadow opened his eyes, and, groggily, sat up. He was freezing, and the sky outside the car was the deep luminescent purple that divides the dusk from the night. Tap. Tap. Someone said, "Hey, mister," and Shadow turned his head. The someone was standing beside the car, no more than a darker shape against the darkling sky. Shadow reached out a hand and cranked down the window a few inches. He made some waking-up noises, and then he said, "Hi." "You all right? You sick? You been drinking?" The voice was high-a woman's or a boy's. "I'm fine," said Shadow. "Hold on." He opened the door, and got out, stretching his aching limbs and neck as he did so. Then he rubbed his hands together, to get the blood circulating and to warm them up. "Whoa. You're pretty big." "That's what they tell me," said Shadow. "Who are you?" "I'm Sam," said the voice. "Boy Sam or girl Sam?" "Girl Sam. I used to be Sammi with an i, and I'd do a smiley face over the i, but then I got completely sick of it because like absolutely everybody was doing it, so I stopped." "Okay, girl Sam. You go over there, and look out at the road." "Why? Are you a crazed killer or something?" "No," said Shadow, "I need to take a leak and I'd like just the smallest amount of privacy." "Oh. Right. Okay. Got it. No problem. I am so with you. I can't even pee if there's someone in the next stall. Major shy bladder syndrome." "Now, please." Nag champa incense, patchouli, and freshly-soaped skin. This starts as fresh soaped skin, emphasis on soap. Then the patch comes up behind. Dry, it's a balance between clean soap and patch/incense. It's really interesting balance of clean and dirty with fairly good throw. I'm not sure this is the blend for me, but I think people who actually like patchouli might enjoy it.

I'll put a word in for the new Briar Rose from Haute Macabre. It's a dark regal rose underscored by woods and a touch of bitter vetiver.

CDXXX This blend is all soapy florals on my skin. I can kind of tell Snake Oil is there but I have to really smell for it.

#97 Hello vanilla. This baby's strong vanilla underscored by musks and resins that lend to a rich buttery sophisticated vanilla blend. This reminds me a bit of Edith Cushing but more smoothly blended.

XV This on goes on fruity, I think it's pear. Drying down, it becomes pear tea with maybe a hint of spice. The sugar note in Dorian often overwhelms the rest on my skin, but that is not happening here. I surprisingly like this one.

114 TwilightEyes gifted me a decant from her bottle (posted above). This one practically disappears on my skin. I get baby powder amber and maybe a hint of light clean musk. It's hard to tell because it is so faint.

A profound symbol of an individuals personal initiatic process, spiritual refinement and evolution, synthesis, grace found as a result of trial and suffering, and the alchemical process by which we transform the raw essence of our souls through light in extension. This is a holy oil, a representation of the triumph of spirit over matter: purest rose with sacred frankincense. I can't believe that I haven't reviewed this as it's the first BPAL I fell in love with. This is all lush rose and deep frankincense on my skin. This rose is not light or delicate but rather rich and fragrant. Every once and a while my skin chemistry turns the rose sour, but mostly close to the skin. There's a good balance between the rose and the frank and they're both prominent. The throw and longevity are both good (though I adminittedly slather this). This blend is gorgeous on my skin, both simple and complex, and will always be a favorite for me.

Dead leaves and dry wood. The dead leaves have their usually cologne-y smell. This reminds me of October but with less cold sap. Very evocative of fall.

Fresh from the mailbox! This is a resin fest on my skin. I liken it to my favorite Ecclesiastic Excesses but lighter. It's all dust and resiny incense; soft and slight sweet without screaming church (at least to me). I think I might have a new favorite resin scent. It's lovely.

This is not my usual type of scent, but I thought I would try it and I'm glad I did. This is is pretty much hello dark musk! on my skin. It honestly reminds me a bit of the musk in Smut but less complex and sweet. I think the coffee is under there making everything richer but it's not strong. Based on previous reviews, it sounds like skin chemistry is a huge factor here. I thought I would have problems with the sugar, but apparently my skin also loves musk. This blend has good throw and longevity, with the musk smoothing out over time. It's been a pleasant scent experience.

I'm starting to re-evaluate my dislike of foodie scents based off of wearing Resin Cast Meat Skull. It's foodie, but the jelly shines through (I do like a good hint of berry). I get the comparison to Strawberry Suganiyot but with less donut. I think the currant jelly is great here because it prevents Meat Skull from being too sweet by giving it a hint of tartness. The cream cheese is strong at first and then blends into a richness than balances the jelly's sweetness. Overall, I'm really glad I took a chance on this. It's just yummy.

I'm a fan of BPAL roses and I have to say that this is one of my very favorite rose blends. On my skin it is the most fresh, sweet, lovely rose. The sandalwood is there but mostly as a buttress to the beautiful rose. The two work together amazingly. I sometimes have issues with roses going sour on my skin but Mrs. Lewis is just perfect. It's the BPAL rose blend I've always wanted and finally found.

There aren't a lot of fragrant floral blends that I like, but this one is stunning. On my skin, it's predominantly honeysuckle ground by skin and a touch of cream. I think the skin really make this blend, though I admit to loving BPAL's "skin" note. I've been reaching for this often this spring and summer. It's fabulous.

A sweet, warm bonding oil, used to cultivate, attract, and nurture friendships. It can be used with friendship honey jars, ritually with orange and pink candles, and as a daily perfume for attracting new relationships. In terms of scent, Friendship is all pineapple to me. Very fresh and very sweet. I suspect that there is something else in this blend but it supports the pineapple so well that everything melds together. My bottle has some crystals in it. I'm not sure what they are, but I haven't had any problems using the oil itself (I wear it as perfume). In terms of effectiveness, Friendship is not an immediate attraction blend in that it does not drawn people to you. Instead, I've found it good for instances where I want a good environment for interacting with current and potential friends. So more fostering than immediate.

This is a lovely lilac scent with a fair amount of sweet to it. It's less fresh sweetness and more honey warm sweetness from the honey and amber. It's warmer and lilac-spicier than expected but very nice.

This is a blast of jasmine in the first hour. Then it calms down to a dry sweetness with a hint of fresh jasmine. I was expecting it to be sweeter (especially as I amp sugar and, sometimes, cream). Instead, it's dry, light, and fresh. It's very pleasant and great for spring.

I get vanillic rice powder from this gloss. There may be some iris root in there, but I have to smell for it. This one is soft, both in the fact that the throw is lower than other glosses and the scent itself. It's a nice comfortable, go-with-everything scent.

Interestingly, this smells different depending on if you spray it directly on dry hair or spray it on wet hair then blow it dry. On dry hair, it's sweeter and I get alternating whiffs of sweet tobacco and ambergris. On wet hair that's then blown dry, I smell ambergris, a hint of wood, and much less tobacco. The scent melds better this way and I vastly prefer it (which is good, because this is normally how I handle my gloss application). I think I'm glad I snagged a bottle right before the Weenies came down.