Beary Strange

In the bottle: Christmas--I'm struggling to explain what I mean by that, I want to say it smells like Christmas trees, but it's not straight up fir smell, it's way more than just trees: it's the wreaths and the spices and mistletoe and the fire going in the background. Wet: said Christmas smell with men's cologne strongly coming through; there's also a slight chilled edge despite the warm Christmas smells that even feels cool on my skin (I'm guessing this is the Snow White aspect people mention) Dry: Hello! The fougere, cologne scent of Dorian is at the forefront, but it's very much warmer than Dorian usually smells on me. My skin doesn't seem to be amping any sweet elements. It's all warm cologne with that Christmas scent lingering in the background. If you enjoy smelling like men's cologne, as I very much do (it's my preferred scent profile) this is definitely a must-try...or must hoard in my case. It seems to have fairly good throw. Will update on lasting power.

In the bottle and wet, it's mostly stems, very green, almost astringent. But after it dries down, the rose comes out more but brings with it a bit of soapiness. It reminds me off those little rose-scented soaps you find in bathroom dishes at your grandmother's house. Boyfriend says it smells like rose bath pearls. That said, it's a very pleasant. Maybe not something I'd wear out, but definitely something I'd enjoy smelling around the house.

Absurd! Green mango, fig, patchouli and green tea. It smells sweet and fruity to me in the imp and wet. Dry, it smells like spicy Juicy Fruit...which is not a bad thing imo. Boyfriend compared it to the way Hot Topic smelled in the 90s--that patchouli incense waft combined with the fruity, bubblegum perfumes that were so popular back then.

In the bottle and wet, I get a strong orange and lemon oil smell. Pleasant, but also sort of akin to furniture polish. There's also a light undercurrent of something bitter. Dry, the orange and lemon scent is still there but the bitter smell really overpowers it--it reminds me of when you accidentally bite a bit of orange peel and flowers that have wilted and are starting to smell bad. I'm not getting any clove whatsoever. Based on the description, I was really hoping for a pomander scent, but the bitter, rotting flower petal smell really amps on me instead.

In the bottle, it's very sweet; and directly on, it smells woodsy and maybe a bit spicy. On the it's way to drying down, it smells very much like what happens when I mix Eat Me and Greed, only not as strong and the slightest bit plastic-y. And after it's dried down a bit it, it's all spicy vanilla with a hint of cherry-heavy fruits. It's definitely strikes me as similar to Eat Me + Greed, but more wearable in public. There's not a lot of throw, but it does seem to be lasting.

In the imp: BO and jasmine Wet: myrrh and jasmine, but there's still that edge of BO Dry: still myrrh and jasmine, but the BO smell has faded a bit; the jasmine is a bit more tangy than I'm used to in jasmine though, I can get the "cat pee" comparison other's have made; it's also gone powdery on me I love myrrh and jasmine, but this scent doesn't work for me. Even forgetting the odd BO smell it has when wet, the powdery scents strikes me as a bit old lady. Idk, I may give it another try but so far, it's a miss sadly. Quite a throw too--which in this case, not necessarily a good thing. I smell like I tried to cover the need for a shower with a ton of jasmine.

In the imp: it smells exactly like lime peels to me, heading bitter but not to a degree that's unpleasant Wet: it still smells like lime peels, but now also like lemon and orange peels as well Drying: I get citrus, along with their respective peels and there's a sweet floral coming through Dry: I smell like a lemon drop. That is not a bad thing imo. I also get the sweet floral smells, but it's very lemon drop-y. I actually tried this while not feeling well yesterday and it smelled grossly bitter on me, but I decided to give it another try fresh from trying it. This time, I get floral lemon drop. I really like it; fresh, sweet, citrusy, floral--it's a very lovely spring/summer scent. Definitely considering a bottle of this.

In the imp: wet leather and smoke, but not good smoke, more like liquid smoke Wet: leather, smoke and a bit of dragon's blood Dry: my skin amps the dragon's blood and leaves the other two notes in the dust, which as far as I'm concerned is a very good thing. It is leaning a bit soapy though, but I'm not overly bothered by the smell of soap-I think it smells clean. Not fond of it in the imp or wet, but it's nice once dried. Not sure if I feel the need to get a bottle, but the frimp will probably get used.

Unfortunately I couldn't get to full dryness on this one. In the imp, it was bitter and acrid. And on me it was even worse, so much sourness in addition to the bitter. I can't place the smells but I feel like the comparison to band-aids is heading in the right direction, but way stronger.The sour bitter smell turned my stomach so badly I had to rush to get it off (washing + alcohol wipes and I still had to resort to covering it with a lotion). I wish I was exaggerating because I hate to have such a strong bad reaction to a BPAL scent, but omg.

In the imp: like a woodsy men's cologne Wet: more woods as well as the tonka and incense Dry: incense-y wood with tonka and a scent that reads as cedarwood to me; if I really concentrate I can smell the rosiness of the rosewood and the leather I like it but while I like masculine scents generally, this one might be too masculine. So I decided to try it on the dude and it smells very different on him; his skin amps whatever cedarwood smell I'm getting, the vaguest whisper of menthol and I swear it smells like this one shaving cream. He said it was "ok" and compared it Brut. Washed off it smells like shaving cream on me as well.

There's no point in dividing this into stages because to me it smells exactly the same in the imp, wet and dry. It smells like Cool Water in soap form. I also get the comparison to dish washer detergent and Irish Spring. Or if you've ever smelled a candle that's supposed to smell of the sea. It's not a bad smell, just one of those scents I don't think of as a perfume. But, if you're having a DIY spa day at home, this would be a good scent.

In the imp: a scent I don't recognize; I get bitter with a vague fruit smell, I'm guessing it's the plum Wet:plum and the musk has made an appearance; it's reading slightly sweet on my skin and a tad powdery Dry: while drying, my skin started amping the musk and then fully dry, there's a lovely spice smell (it's a bit clovey, a bit cinnamony, a bit peppery) which is apparently the carnation At first sniff I could not fathom why people like this so much, but dry, oh my word, dry it's so amazing. I'm really glad I received this as a frimp because it's proven an excellent way to discover things about my taste in scents. I'm guessing the smell that offends me so much in the imp and wet is plum, so I'll be avoiding that; but, now I know I absolutely love carnation in all it's spicy glory.

In the imp: headache-inducingly sharp frangipani and rose Wet: same thing ^ Dry: sickly sweet rose bath beads and frangipani I don't like this, which is such a disappointment because with the notes it contains, I should have loved it. Alas, the rose and frangipani are both way too sharp and artificial for me; it's not even my skin amping something, that's literally all I get in the imp as well. In addition, my skin had a bad reaction to the oil itself, which is a first for BPAL for me; I left it on long enough to get an impression of it dry and furiously scrubbed it off to relive the itching. :c

In the imp: what I assume is the civet and red musk; it's really strong, it practically smacks you in the face when you put your nose near it Wet: red musk, resin and civet Dry: mostly resin (from other posts I'm guessing that's the opium?) and red musk; I don't get any more of the animalistic civet scent at all anymore (or my nose has deadened to the smell--this stuff is pretty strong); there's also a slightly sweet smell coming out, similar in sweetness to Blood where it's not candy sweet but more sexy sweet Overall, this is a very sexy, warm and heady perfume. After I looked up what smells to expect from civet and opium and the strong opening waft, I wasn't expecting to like this, but the combination of notes seem to work really well together. It probably helps that my skin seems to amp the red musk, which seems to really work for me.

In the imp: herbs and flowers Wet: herbs, flowers and incense, a tad bit soapy Dry: flower herbal soap with a side of incense; the description mentions "nighttime dew" and I definitely get something from this that smells of night, maybe a bit of chamomile or lavender is in this? This turned soapy on me, but I don't dislike it. To me, a flowery herbal soap smells of clean, like a relaxing bath right before bed. The result is something that is very calming and soothing to me; this would make a very good bedtime scent.