DiesMali

In the bottle: Plummy red rose. Wet on my skin: This is very smooth and well-blended, even when wet. It's very perfumey, but not at all in an unpleasant way - it's actually quite gorgeous. Dry: Sweet, dark, and just a little bit menacing in a deadly-but-sexy sort of manner. This is a perfume the Black Widow might wear with a slinky little black dress right before she assassinates the person she's been tailing through a high-class ballroom party. The notes here all combine very well, and while I can pick them apart if I try, the overall feel of the scent is a smooth, deep, sweet, slightly-green musky-floral. Mostly purple, though. Deep purple-green. If I had to list the notes in order of their strength on my skin, it would be: Black lily, black amber, plum musk, rose, and two things I can't really figure out. Must be the ylang ylang and garnet, whatever that smells like. It's a gorgeous and sophisticated scent, and I'm SO glad I have a bottle, because it's like nothing else I own (though perhaps a relative of Black Lily and Voodoo Lily, if those two had a baby lily and then packed it full of murderous, seductive intent).

In the bottle: Powerfully sweet frankincense. Wet on my skin: A gorgeous, shimmery, spicy blend of frankincense and clove. Dry: LOVE. Three of my favourite notes in this, so there was literally no way this could go wrong on me. It's primarily sweet frankincense and warm, spicy clove, with an undercurrent of the Lab's tobacco note, which is one of my favourite things in the entire catalogue. It's a fairly simple scent that doesn't morph very much, but it's an absolutely gorgeous shimmery, sparkly deep (very deep) reddish-brown from start to finish. The only way this could be better is if the tobacco was a little bit stronger, but I suspect it will naturally do that as it ages. Definitely one of my favourite Weenies so far, and prooobably my favourite clove-dominant scent so far.

WELP. Far and away, vanilla and patchouli are at the top of my list. Not surprising. A few of my actual favourite notes aren't in the top statistical favourites yet, though, due to limited use in blends I have thus far purchased (vetiver, indigo musk, night-blooming cereus, fig). Here are the top 10 11 in order of how many I have with those notes: Vanilla - 33 Patchouli - 32 Amber - 21 Rose - 17 Leather - 15 Frankincense - 14 Tobacco - 12 Sandalwood - 12 Red Musk - 11 Myrrh - 11 Clove - 10

In the bottle: Vanilla-frosted rose. Wet on my skin: Oooooh pretty. It's somehow chilly, despite having so many traditionally warm notes in it! Mostly vanilla-touched white rose at this point, with a bit of the orchid and amber. Dry: This is an ethereal, slightly 'cold' scent from wet to dry. Delicate and pale, the body of this scent is orchid, rose, amber, and creamy vanilla-like benzoin and vanilla flower. On me, at least, the amber and labdanum are supporting players, giving it a faintly incensed feel, and I can't smell much, if any, of the tea leaf. This is a beautiful and melancholy scent. Not quite white, but like...pale grey, like the sky when snow clouds are covering it but the sun is also out behind the clouds and lighting them from above.

In the bottle: VETIVERRRRRRRRR. Wet on my skin: ...Holy smokes it's gorgeous. Ughhhhhh yes. Yessss. Rich, smoky vetiver and patchouli on the skin, but the throw has this gorgeous spicy rose-tonka sweetness. Dry: SO GOOD I WANT TO BATHE IN IT. Seriously. I was looking forward to this from the moment I heard the name, and not only does it live up to expectations, but it exceeds them. This is definitely a scent for those who love smoky vetiver and patchouli! As when wet, it's smoky vetiver and patchouli closer to the skin, with just a hint of dark and sweet plum. The throw, however, is a mix of the smoky vetiver and incensey rose-tonka. Absolutely breathtaking. It's dark, dark, dark - soft, slightly shimmery black velvet with hints of deep burgundy, to my synaesthesia. May need second bottle before it sells out (and it WILL sell out, smelling like this).

In the imp: Thick, musky honey. Wet on my skin: Thick, musky honey and sweet rum. Dry: This remains the same pretty much through the drydown, and then for...going on 12 hours now. Wow! This probably has the best staying power of any BPAL scent I have tried thus far. Thick, rich, musky, honeyed rum. I don't get any wood or metallic notes, which is probably good since honey + metal turns to coppery-fresh blood on me. This definitely isn't a bad blend, though I think I'll have to layer it with something since it's a bit too sweet and uncomplicated by itself.

In the imp: Oops, I forgot to sniff. Wet on my skin: Warm, soft leather and spicy, almost cologne-like sandalwood. Dry: This doesn't change a whole lot as it dries. The leather in this is similar to BPAL's soft brown leather note, but with a white musk sort of edge to it that gives it something of a shiny quality. Combined with the sandalwood, this is a warm, masculine, and spicy-cologne like scent on me. Very pleasant. Not quite mind-blowingly good, but I think I might actually like it a little better on me than Black Rider, of which I have a full bottle.

In the bottle: Deep, juicy, earthy apple. Wet on my skin: This actually starts out patchouli-tobacco dominant on me, with a bit of apple peel (specifically the peel) and vanilla. Dry: I took a chance on this, because apple often just doesn't quite work on my skin. I am SO GLAD I took that chance. To quote myself, "patchapplebacco with PURE SEXY ON TOP." This is dark, almost-smoky apple tobacco, like there's apple peel mixed in with fresh tobacco leaves. The patchouli gives it a gorgeous earthy texture, and then the lavender, vanilla champaca, orange blossom, and honey are supporting players (in that order) to give it a faintly creamy, slightly-sweet floral throw. On my skin, which LOVES patchouli and tobacco, this is much darker than it is sweet, and if an apple blend could be called masculine, this is it. Absolutely gorgeous. This may end up being one of my favourite BPAL scents, if it's already this good on the first day out of the mailbox. /drowns self in Apple III

Ah-hah, thank you! It has to be the July 2007 after reading those notes. /makes note on cap label

Hi all! I have a bottle of 13, but I'm not sure what year it's from. It's got a pink label with the 13 in solid lime green. I think it's 2007, but I forgot to write down the date from the forum seller's thread and can't remember who I bought it from to ask them.

In the bottle: Sharp and almost unpleasant flowers. Wet on my skin: Unnnnnnngh so pretty. The moment this touches my skin, it just blooms beautifully. Wet, it's indigo musk and jasmine, then olibanum and other white flowers. Dry: I am SO glad I got ahold of this bottle, because it's absolutely gorgeous. It's a bit reminiscent of one of my other favourite scents, The Night-Raven, as it shares a couple of prominent notes with that one. That's why I bought it, actually. This is primarily indigo musk, white night-blooming flowers (they're all discernible if I concentrate on picking them out, even though they are also well-blended), then olibanum, and the hint of spicy cinnamon. The patchouli grounds everything, and the vanilla orchid gives it a very slightly creamy sort of texture. This is a bit less sweet and a bit more spicy/incensed on me than the Night-Raven, but definitely in the same scent family. Thankfully, jasmine usually behaves fairly well on my skin, and it's really a team player here rather than a top note once everything is dry. It's a deep blue scent with fuzzy blue-white wisps of clouds.

In the imp: Almost blueberry-like. Wet: Rich, fruity pastry and oats. Dry: Ehhhh. I'm not a fan of this one. It smells like raisin oatmeal cookies, which are my least favourite cookie due to unpleasant scent-memory associations from a childhood daycare that treated me absolutely abhorrently. It's not an unpleasant scent based on the notes, just not a good one for me.

2015 version. In the bottle: Almost boozy pomegranate-musk. Wet on my skin: Musk, musk, musk. Bit o' patchouli. Dry: This is definitely red musk dominant on my skin. At this stage, I'm a little disappointed in it, but I'm hoping it will improve with age. Beneath the musk, I can smell some patchouli and amber, and just a tiny hint of pomegranate and fuzzy violet, which is thankfully not enough to turn the whole thing into shampoo. I'm not getting any rose, vetiver, honey, myrrh, or vanilla, which is why I am disappointed. HOWEVER, I'm willing to keep it around a while to see if those notes come out with some age, because I don't give up that easily. And it is rather nice, still, if I'm looking for a good red musk dominant blend. I'd normally prefer The Ifrit for that, but this is softer and more feminine, which could be good for some occasions where I can't wear something as spicy-sexy.

In the imp: Dirt! Wet on my skin: Rich, black soil and a bit of sweet apricot. Dry: Normally, I adore patchouli in a scent blend. However, the apricot alone just doesn't make this shine, at least to my nose. It's not bad by any means, but there are many other patchouli scents I have that are much more interesting, and I usually prefer slightly more complex scents. HOWEVER, I think this one could be an excellent layering scent, so I will keep it around to experiment with for when I need to ground something that is a bit too sharply sweet for my tastes.

In the imp: Non lemon/lime citrus! Oh noooooo! Wet on my skin: *bracing self for blast of Costco orange cleaning wipes* ...Huh. It smells...good? Saffron-citrus with a bit of sweet, powdery amber. Dry: I kept waiting for this to do the dreaded shift to cleaning solution, but I do believe the combination of amber, saffron, and vetiver saves this on my skin. Citrus + aquatic goes horribly, horribly wrong on me, but I'm starting to think that maybe citrus + amber/spice might have the occasional chance, based on this and one other recent surprise. I am so tickled by this, because I've been wishing more of the Arkham scents worked on me, and this is the last one I would've expected to work? It's a triad of tangerine-amber-saffron, spicy, warm, and sweet, with just a tinge of the cedar and vetiver. Once it's been on a good ~6 hours, everything but the amber and cedar have faded, and it's now a lovely skin scent. It's actually fairly light and pleasant on me through its whole life, so maybe my skin is the Borg (bringing order to chaos).

In the bottle: Cherry-almond-vanilla. Wet on my skin: Sweet, lovely, snuggly vanilla and cherry-almond with brown leather. Dry: This dries into a warm, fuzzy, soft brown leather with vanilla and a bit of amber. The cherry-almond almost completely evaporates on me, leaving the toasted almond to back up the warm snugglies of the other notes. It's so, so pretty, and exactly what I was hoping for. I was just thinking about ordering a bottle of Captain Cully, but I think this will do quite nicely to fill the brown leather-vanilla/tonka slot.

In the bottle: All carnation. PINK carnation. Wet on my skin: Sweet, sweet honeyed cotton candy and carnation, with Snake Oil. Oh no, it's just too sweet at this stage! D: Dry: This threatened to be overpoweringly sweet on me, which almost broke my heart, but it's settled down enough that I think I like it. It's very sweet and feminine, and girlish in the manner of Alice. On top, it's blue cotton candy, sweet white honey, carnation, and Snake Oil, with a hint of sugary tea (Dorian), in that order. There's just enough of the moss and roots to balance the sugary sweetness. I swear I smell garden soil when I put my nose to my skin, but the throw of this is almost all carnation-candy-honey. It's unlike anything else in my collection, as I'm not much for sweetly girly scents, but I am definitely keeping this. So pretty and sweet, and it'll be good for those times when I am in a dress and/or wanting to wear something cute and inoffensive. This will join Alice as "that" scent, I think.

In the bottle: Musky cocoa and clove. Wet on my skin: ...Cola? Fizzy root-beery cola? I don't know, don't ask me. I can smell the hint of Reese's peanut butter cups too, but mostly cola. Dry: After a while, the fizziness subsides for the most part, and this turns into a light but GORGEOUS mix of primarily clove, dark cocoa, amber, and red musk. The patchouli is barely detectable, but grounds the scent along with a faint breath of leather and sweet tobacco. I'm not getting any currant or vanilla, but I think they're contributing to the sweet airiness that makes this a fairly light, feminine scent rather than a rich and heady one. I was hoping for rich and heady, but this is so beautiful that I am actually not disappointed in the slightest.

In the bottle: Very woody, like the lumber section of a hardware store. Wet on my skin: As this goes on, it's mostly strong, rich wood and patchouli, with just a hint of the vanilla. Dry: Oh my goooooodness. I had really wanted a bottle of this as soon as I discovered the Metamorphosis scents, and this exceeds my expectations. It's a gorgeous woody-smoky-vanilla with patchouli, fuzzy light brown with a hint of green in my mind. This actually reminds me a little of yucca/cactus flowers, but then I realise it's actually also a cousin of Ask the Nearest Hippie, sans hemp and cannabis. There is just enough balsam and oudh to sharpen the woody undertones, but on me, the stars of this show are the smoky vanilla, champaca, and patchouli. Gorgeous. I'll need to track down another bottle of this someday.

So far, the only thing that has irritated my skin is Vial of Holy Water, which burns mildly for about 5 minutes after I put it on. Go figure. I'm not sure what is actually in it, so no idea how to trace it.

This is the 2015 version. I was holding off on reviewing this because it wasn't great on me when I first got it early this year. Then I forgot to review it...and now it's been aging almost 10 months. HOLY MOLY what a difference! Let me review the 10-month aged stuff. In the bottle: Sharp, almost menthol-like red musk and woods. Wet on my skin: UNNNNF. This immediately blooms into a gorgeous, heady blend of all of the listed notes. They all combine into this gorgeous, red, spicy goodness. Dry: This doesn't change much as it dries. The red musk and patchouli are to die for, the woods combine to bring it from earthy to rich and resinous, and then that geranium and benzoin give it SPICY KICK. The amber sweetens and mellows it just enough that it's not overwhelming. On me, the geranium isn't really floral at all, just spicy. This scent is red, but not like crimson. It's a slightly-rusty orange-red, with some dusty earthiness making the edges just a little fuzzy. This has actually nudged out all the competition except For Each Ecstatic Instant, making it my #2 favourite from the 2015 Lupercalia run.

I've been putting off reviewing this in case it got better somehow, but nope. This is for Woods bottle #85. In the bottle: Sharp and herbal. Wet on my skin: OHMYGODNOGETITOFF Dry: Still OHMYGODNOGETITOFF. A certain percentage of the population has a gene mutation that makes cilantro smell and taste like vomit and/or soap. I'm 99% sure this has cilantro (AKA green coriander) in it, because all I can smell is terrible, bitter, soapy vomit. I'm sure this might be nice for someone who doesn't have that mutation, but I can't smell anything else but that. This will be my first full bottle to put up on sale. :/

I find that tipping the bottle and using the amount coating little nub that's already in there works great. I tip it over and back, open it, and plop the cap nub onto my skin where I want perfume. Usually get 2-4 drops on it that way, which is about the perfect amount for each place on my skin.

In the imp: Warm, slightly spicy amber. Wet on my skin: MMmmmmm. Warm, dusty amber. It's slightly sweet. Dry: As this dries, it warms further, and it's ohsoniiiice. The amber and musk are reminiscent of Haunted on me, but are joined by a hint of soft brown leather and a rustle of sweet, dry prairie grasses. It's a warm, fuzzy, dusty, brown scent, and so far it's the best out of the frimps that came with my recent order. May order a bottle sometime!

In the imp: Strong burning rubber. Wet on my skin: Grey, gritty, burning volcanic ash. Dry: Much the same as when it's wet. It smells very much like hot volcanic ash, and I'm definitely impressed that this scent got packed in a little vial like this. Not something I'll wear often, buuut Ren Fest and RPG nights might benefit from it!