Marla Moreau

Testing as I write... In the bottle: This smells delicious! Like orange and the smell of wet grass/plants (no dirt), slightly sharp. I'd describe it as green and orange (literally). Wet on skin: Instantly get a big hit of sandalwood along with a touch of fresh orange/orange blossom. After a few minutes, some woods come out and begin to blend with orange and orange blossom in a way I would describe as creamy. Notes are definitely blending when at first they were somewhat dissonant. Now we wait. Orange blends to almost imperceptible but still affects, maybe giving a bit of sweetness to the wood. Still creamy woods with a hint of faint orange after 10 minutes. Orange comes back out. Favorite so far. More of a rind of orange and incensey spicy sandalwood. Not a strong incense smell, but definitely there, which I love even if subdued. At 15 minutes. Less orange more distinct woods and sandalwood at 20. Stays soft woods and sandalwood at 30. Has faded a lot in an hour, skin scent... mostly just smell soft woods, sandalwood has been absorbed mostly, just an undertone remains. I like it, just wish the orange impression lasted longer. Will just have to reapply more often. Keeper. 3.5/5.

I had to double check the label to make certain I was reviewing the correct oil! In bottle: sandalwood, cherry, and some spicy florals Wet on skin: sandalwood, spicy florals amping (I don't like florals), slight plastic beachball scent as the first review described Drydown: heady perfume... nothing androgynous about this, very "womanly" (not into that either)... will wait another 15 minutes. Drydown part Deux: now it smells like a very very male cologne. Sigh. Not for me. I keep wanting leather to smell like leather and grasses to smell like grasses... I guess not with this blend. Too bad, reviews sounded promising - I didn't get any "green". I guess the bpal leather note just does not work with my chem at all. Will be reselling my bottle.

I can't tell what's in it, but I like it... though on me it fades *really* fast.

Got a frimp. On me it smells like almond butter cookies and gets more spicy over time - but definitely buttery cookies. I like it! I'll definitely keep the frimp.

Yuck! Old perfume... not at all like the description. At least this one fades fast on me, but is still kind of headache inducing... no incense, just floral and soapy.

Rose is my ampy death note, I usually hate it. Maybe it's the mixture with leather making it less perfumey and girly, but I don't mind this (never thought I would say that about anything with rose in it). It's a non offensive non old lady rose, and the leather seems to balance it out and get stronger over time. I don't think I'll be running out to get a bottle, but I can see myself using the imp from time to time.

Received a frimp of this. Usually I don't go for florals/they give me a headache, but I like this better than most. Wet - whoa, fresh orchid... just pure fresh orchid Drydown - something sour starts to come out and the orchid fades a little, sour like the orchid is dying or something, or has been ground to a pulp Dry - sour sharp orchid, I can't tell if I like it or not... it's better than the orchid amping. Won't be getting a bottle, though.

Omg - smoky candles! Smoky candles! Smoky candles! I LOVE this. Something about the combo makes it smell like candles that have just been put out. It's spicy from the black pepper and warm from the dragon's blood... it does actually smell very sandy in the bottle. Not getting any tobacco or ginger, but that's okay... Fire! Smoky Candles! Love! Writing down all the notes since they all seem to work incredibly well on me.

This is certainly interesting and complex. In the bottle: herbal, astringent (prolly the moonflower), I can smell the lavender and tart pomegranate Wet on skin: a little warmer, the tart fruit comes out more, at first it smells like fig which I love, then some of the other notes come out... fighting for dominance Dry: Tobacco finally comes out and becomes the dominant note, fruits, musk, and moonflower in the background blending nicely. It's very unisex, but very pretty. I don't get purple from this, more of a smoky red. It's unusual, but I like it. Not something I would wear everyday and not much throw when it dries, but the bottle is a keeper.

I got this because reviews of Hermes Trimegestrus v.2 said it was similar... it is, but it's entirely unique. In the bottle: beeswax, resins/incense, and vanilla... tiny bit of citrus Wet on skin: church, like someone said... this mimics church incense and beeswax candles more than any other scent, creamy. My skin eats citrus so none of that. Drydown/dry: same as above but more spicy/peppery (copper?), beeswax note is strong which is what I was going for, can't stop sniffing my arm, smoky resins This definitely joins my top 3 along with Hermes Trimegestrus v.2 and Djinn. <3

“The Pretty Era”, France’s Golden Time: an age of beauty, innovation and peace in France that lasted from the 19th Century through the first World War and gave birth to the cabaret, the cancan, and the cinema as well as the Impressionist and Art Nouveau movements. Sweet opium, Lily of the Valley, vanilla, mandarin and red sandalwood. In the imp - tolerable, I can already tell it's gonna blow up on me, as all florals do, especially smelling rose in the background. Wet - Not horrible, surprisingly not amping instantly, still don't like it... it's too perfumey/girly Drydown/dry - ultra feminine soap within 15 minutes. like flower scented mini soaps at your grandma's. Pass.

Oh man, I can't believe I haven't replied to this! This is my absolute favorite scent from BPAL. It's similar to Midnight Mass but more complex and has more of an edge. This one lasts on me, I think it's the beeswax or something pine like cutting through, I adore it. I was lucky to find a bottle via Ebay, but it's half gone and I'm getting worried I won't be able to find another by the time mine runs out!

This was a frimp. In the imp: lemon/orangey and creamy, warm soft scent, liking it wet on skin: same as in the bottle dry down: for a good 15 minutes it stayed that lovely warm lemony/orangey cream scent and had a really appealing throw, I was loving it so much I was going to put it on my list of bottles to get, then the jasmine amp happened. I can still smell the cake underneath, but no, can't handle that jasmine throw, gotta wash it off. Sad.

I got a frimp of this with an ebay order. Florals are usually something I hate - things like rose, lily, orchid, gardenia, etc. amp on me and give me headaches or just smell like womanly or old lady perfume, but these I was not familiar with. Sniffing the bottle put a smile on my face, as I did indeed get the visual of witches meeting in the middle of the night. When on it morphs a little and ends up smelling like my best friend's favorite cologne. I can't pick out the notes, not familiar enough, but I'll definitely give other previously ignored scents with similar notes a try, I really like this. Very unisex on me and the florals here are almost aquatic, definitely reminds me of night. I like it more in the imp, but would consider getting a bottle.

In the bottle: Wet garbage Wet on skin: Wet garbage Dry down: Better and better! Whatever was making it smell like garbage goes away really fast and I can really smell the old worn leather and paper - though during this phase I would describe it smelling like an "old man", then it smells strongly of polished wood (I think some would read this as the cucumber but it doesn't smell like cucumber to me), then the fig note amps (I <3 you, fig) and become dominant - but not sweet, very fresh like a fig you just sliced in half, along with the smell of wood, with a whiff of paper and faded leather in the background, fig becomes more sweet and paper/wood comes forward more. But there's still something a little off, maybe it does smell a little moldy. It's an interesting scent, not something I'd wear everyday, but don't regret getting a bottle (part of a lot) - very complex and morphs a lot on me. Ends musky, which is quite pleasant. Doesn't last very long though, very little throw, more of a skin scent.