Upstart Crow

I love Violent Gesticulations from the 2017 Weenies, and when I saw the notes for this, I hoped for something similar but that may be a bit less high-pitched (which is perfect for Violent Gesticulations! But I didn't want a carbon copy). I got pretty much what I hoped for in this lovely scent. The pomegranate is darker and heavier, less punchy and more mellow--a bit like the kind in September Midnight. The mint and juniper berry blend in a way that accentuates the best parts of both--the crisp menthol of the mint and the woodsy, slight pungency of the juniper. Very well blended, but each note still manages to stand out even while balancing each other. Definitely a keeper! Glad I trusted my love of pomegranate enough to get a bottle.

 

 

Smoky vetivert and dead leaves with just the slightest hint of vanilla to it. I love it, but it smells almost identical to my bottle of Death of Autumn, so while I'll keep the decant, I won't need a bottle .

I wanted this to work so badly because I love plum and clove and it smelled so delicious in the sample, but the oudh made it smell like plum feces on me. I wish I was kidding.

 

Hard no from me.

[No additional description provided.]

As a lover of violets, sugared florals, and dead leaves, I just had to get a bottle of this without sampling.

It is everything I hoped it would be. A sweet floral that edges more on the sugary than the floral side with a gasp of cologny-dead leaves behind it. It's an unusual fall scent, and I think it could be worn year round, really.

 

Another violet winner! Definitely pick it up if you think even one of the notes would appeal.

These are still settling from the trip to me, but I just had to review. I'll change this if the scent changes when it settles down.

This is an incredible violet, iris, and lavender blend. Dark and spectral at the same time. The iris and lavender blend so perfectly that while I can smell both, I can't tell where one ends and the other begins. The violet (which I assume is also orris here) gives it just a hint of sweetness, but it's a darker and smokier violet than I've encountered in any BPAL violet scent other than Bruised Violet Compound. In fact, this is like a lighter but slightly menacing version of BVC.

Throw length seems to be about average on me, but my skin likes to devour oils, so ymmv. Definitely pick it up if you like any of the three notes. It showcases each of them really well.

Okay, I have a nasty cold so YMMV. But wow, this is exactly as described. Vetivert with plastic and strong chemical smoke. I love "unusual" and vetivert-heavy perfumes, but this one makes me slightly gag when I smell it up close. I'm going to hang on to it, though, to see how it ages.

I avoided getting a bottle of this one for years, even though it was on my list. I normally don't like frankincense and sandalwood is meh, but they're just gorgeous in this blend. I get an ozone, ethereal, incensey violet with just a hint of amber (which really fleshes the scent profile out) and a hint of smoke. Wow.

I got this mainly to help the ACLU and was expecting to either like it okay or to dislike it if the coffee was too strong.

 

It's now one of my top ten favorites BPALs. Wow!

 

On me, the coffee is strong for about five seconds, then settles down behind a slightly aquatic traditional cologne with leather notes that come out to play as the blend settles. I think men who prefer more traditionally "masculine" scents would really dig this (I, however, am not a man and will wear it regularly.)

 

Yay! First

I just got this out of the box, so it's probably still a bit unhappy from travel and in need of rest, so I may update later.

This is a beautiful aldehyde scent. When it goes on wet, it's got that lovely astringent floral scent that is classic aldehyde, but it's laced with a sweet note that almost reminds me of pink bubblegum. Not in a cloying or foody way, though. It blends really well, with whatever it is. It is a very green, bubbly scent that morphs quickly into something floral and a bit oily and starchy. I don't want to say french fries because it's not that smell, but it gave me an impression of it. Still not unpleasant.This fades and the sweetness returns.

Interesting. I think I'll keep it and try it on again when it settles to see what happens.

I'm getting coconut and chocolate? I should probably let it rest a bit after being mailed to me and try again.

First reviewer? Nice!

Unfortunately, my review isn't going to be glowing. I'd hoped for something chilly, snowy, aquatic, and maybe just a bit salty.

What I got in the sample container was a loud, vaguely noxious shriek of something citrusy that smelled like salted vomit when I applied it. I scrubbed it off immediately and layered the skin over with something I liked to take the pain away.

This is only one of two BPALs I've ever deeply disliked. Both had "salt" as an ingredient. I think I've found my death note .

I'm not at all sure what to make of this.

 

In the bottle: I get minty, rainy graveyard dirt.

 

On me: I get peppermint/spearmint, light aquatic, Graveyard Dirt, and...grass?

 

Yes. On me, that is definitely the grass note from Blade of Grass!

 

Awesome evocative scent, but it's kind of jarring to my nose, even though this fades into a minty/dirty smell after a while. I will probably sell or swap my bottle for a Yule that is higher priority.

Aber is iffy to me, but the mosses make this blend deep, earthy, and just a little sweet. Definitely getting a bottle!

Normally, I wouldn't have bought a scent like this. I don't like foody scents for the most part, and as much as I love raspberries, I don't want to smell like them. But the fact this scent benefits the ACLU made up my mind for me.

 

In bottle: Sharp, dark raspberry. This doesn't smell like fresh raspberries or even overripe ones, but more like what a perfumer's impression of a raspberry would be. I assume the darkness comes from the birch tar and the tea leaf. This just smells black, rather like the dark label.

 

On me, wet: Pretty much the same. Pretty sure the darkness I'm smelling is the birch tar, as I drink tea a lot and can usually detect what the leaves smell like. I also get a small hint of something metallic. I guess this is the iron fist from the description?

 

Drydown: The raspberry calms down and the dark birch tar comes out to play. I do wish it amped more on me and stayed strong longer, but this is definitely a keeper, as I don't have any raspberry scents and this one isn't all that glaringly foody.

 

Definitely pick up a bottle if you think at all that this might work for you. It's an unusual scent and the money goes to one of the best causes it can these days.

I, too, am getting sharpened pencils here, which is absolutely the frankincense. This and the cloying sweetness are the reasons frankincense is such an iffy note on me. It either enhances the blend subtly or it overrides everything else in a way that isn't unpleasant exactly, but which is just something I don't much care for because it hammers everything else down.

 

I get just a hint of the full-bodied rose here, and some sweetness from the violet, but overall not what I'd expected or hoped for. Not a bad blend at all, but just not entirely for me. If you love frankincense, though, you really ought to pick it up!

A very sweet, snowy scent, definitely a sweeter, lighter musk. I don't think I've ever tried blue musk before, and it's absolutely gorgeous. Unfortunately, the throw is pretty weak on me and it fades very fast. Maybe because I've only tested it and didn't put a lot on? I'd like to keep this one, so I hope the throw either improves or aging makes this stronger.

For real? No one has reviewed this yet?

This is just a gorgeous scent. It's one of nine (!!!) I got blind bottles of this year because the Yules were just that awesome.

In bottle: I get a faint hint of the BPAL snow note and something very sweet, a little green, and floral that has just a hint of wallpaper paste--but not in a bad way. I have absolutely no clue what this is, but it's gorgeous and not at all something I'd expect for a scent with this description, as I expected Sea of Ice to be more like Hypothermia from 2009 or Nuclear Winter.

Applied, wet: Paste isn't a problem at all, and this becomes sweet, refreshing, and vital and faintly aquatic. But just faintly. This makes me think of glaciers with the warmth of the sea nearby. Of meltwater, of--wait for it!--the ocean with ice floes in it. Incredible.

Drydown: The same, but marginally more aquatic. Has a fairly decent throw, seems that it will last moderately on my skin.

This is just spectacular. I may need a backup bottle before the Yules come down.

Dead Leaves, Chamomile, Roses, and White Tea is so good it inspired me to blend my own white tea, chamomile, and rose petals blend at adagio.com!

Visiting the Temple on the eve of Auspicious Fortune (I think that's its name...it's super long) is a good rainy scent, though it's incens-y too, which may not be yuor thing?

I passed this up in 2012 but picked it up for the 2016 charity event.

 

I only regret waiting so long. Vetiver is a favorite note of mine that I've sought out less over the years for some reason, and this gorgeous bottle reminds me why I shouldn't do that ;3. It's smoky, slightly greenish, woody, heavy, pungent, and "gritty" as a few people have said. Nice long staying power too.

 

This smells like the same vetiver used in Bluebeard too, which makes it an instant winner for me.

In bottle: Very soft leather with a slight hint of spice--which must be the cloves. I don't smell bourbon, leaves, or vanilla.

 

Wet: Very, very faint clove and light leather. Reminds me a little of The Two Old Men from this year's Fleurette's Purple Snails, but not as strong or satisfying.

 

Drydown: Clove comes out to play more and blends with the leather beautifully, and I think I'm picking up on a very dry, light vanilla. It's lovely, but its throw is super weak on me and it's just not one I see myself reaching for as much as I will some of the others in this plentiful pile of leaves. I'm curious to see how it will age, but at the same time I may swap it for another leaf bottle.

[No additional description given.]

 

First review again! Woo~

In bottle: Chamomile chamomile chamomile chamomile!!! With just a tiny hint of rose and leaves.

Wet on skin: A burst of chamomile that quickly gets wrapped up gently in red roses sweetened by the white tea. The rose is super subtle. I love red rose, but my skin tends to amp it pretty hard, but in this blend it just hangs out in the background giving this blend a rich undertone. As I keep sniffing, the white tea's sweetness comes to the forefront more and blends gorgeously with the chamomile (which is now making me crave white tea and chamomile together in beverage form!). The leaf note I get here is really more subtle and surprisingly greenish. A bit like the note used in Nothing Gold Can Stay (another favorite of mine). Though as it dries, it gets a bit darker and crisper.

Dry down: More of the same, and a hint of dandelion? It's not in the notes, though, so it must just be the way the chamomile, tea, and leaves combine. The rose gets even more subtle.

I'm definitely glad I got a bottle. Another keeper, I think!

I'm so thrilled to be the first to review this one! Apple VI was one of five (!) bottles I bought blind because this update was just too perfect--and because violet is my favorite note.

I only let it sit for about two hours out of the mailbox, so I'll update if it smells differently after a longer rest period.

In Bottle: Sharp red apple with something sweet but not quite violet.

Wet on skin: When I first tried this on right out of the mailbox, the apple was super strong and red and reminiscent of the note in Poison Apple. After a few hours of rest, though, the apple is much more mellow and doesn't overpower the violet and iris, but neither is it quite as "mushy." You know the kind, when an apple is overripe and tastes mushy and a bit bitter in your mouth. I can smell the sweetness of the violet and something dirty which I know is the iris. Iris usually turns to fresh dirt on me in a way I don't like (despite loving dirt scents), but here the effect is lovely. It blends astonishingly well with the apple and violet, giving the blend a green but floral smell. This is not an overly fruity scent at all but rather a sweet, fresh apple floral.

Drydown: As it dries, the notes blend more seamlessly together.

A definite keeper--I just knew I'd love it! I may even need to get a backup! Throw length seems about medium to me.

This has a mild to medium throw length, unfortunately, but seems

I'd also recommend Anthelion! It smells like happiness in a bottle.Might be good to use later in the day after you use Peace.

Sadly, this is straight lemon drop candy/lemon pledge on me with the barest hint o lilac I was so hoping for something low on citrus and high on lilac and musk.