lizabelle

Oh, I wanted to love this. And I do--but it lasts all of half an hour on me. The lime in this is punchy enough even to hide the grapefruit on me, unless it's a different grapefruit than I'm used to. The ambergris gives it even more of an edge, and as the blend settles down it almost smells like a sweet margarita. I don't get opoponax out of this so much as something sugar-sweet, like margarita-flavored cotton candy. Which is something I would be all over if it existed. Sadly I think I'll be passing this one along since my skin eats it.

Another vetiver-heavy woody scent. Sadly a good portion of these tend to smell the same on me, and while this does have a softer, sort of fluffy note somewhere in the middle (no idea what it is--maybe moss?) that makes it much more feminine than most of this type of scent, it still seems like something I've encountered about a hundred times before. If it were a little lighter on the vetiver it might be a favorite for me, and I would love to see that mysterious powdery fluffiness in something else.

How's this for a scent memory: this smells like the strawberry bubble gum I used to take on planes when I was little and had problems with my ears. (Or at least from a distance it does--up close it's obviously wine and blackberries). Grape leaves are a rare note, but they're actually a favorite of mine. This version has a little extra bite thanks to the patchouli, which keeps the fruit from being overwhelming. There's a sourness to this that I find really interesting, too. I'm not sure I need a bottle, but I'll keep the imp!

This patchouli packs a serious punch--if you're not a fan, stay far away! The oudh is earthy and a bit stinky (I say this lovingly, of course), and the vetiver is smoother than I'm used to but still adds a sharp, herbal bite that I think of as being rather masculine. It's a great woody scent but very strong and heavy, without anything to balance the dark notes. I think I'll pass on a bottle.

Again, not so sure BPAL's coconut likes me. This has very little throw on me, although I do like it. It's mostly goat's milk and carnation with honey and some powdery rice/coconut milk in the base. It's a very sweet, feminine fragrance, very much a "your skin but better" kind of scent. For me I wish there was a bit of a bite somewhere to balance all the creaminess. ETA: Wow, I was so wrong about this! It just needed some time to warm up (I am notoriously cold and this can be a problem with some perfumes and how they develop). Carnation never turns into the spicy confection everyone describes on me, but this has. I kept getting a whiff of something incredible and finally realized it was this scent! The honey shows up more prominently along with the carnation, which amps to a modest but acceptable amount of throw on me. Definitely bottle-worthy.

Honeyed, powdery resins. I don't even smell jasmine, which normally amps a lot on me. It kind of smells like what I imagine my grandmother's (or even great-grandmother's) vanity table might have smelled like, between the perfumes and powders. Very feminine, soft throw, reminiscent of several "classic" perfumes I've tried that I didn't really love for myself. If you like Chanel No. 5, etc. you'll probably enjoy this one.

This reminds me of Pure Applesauce, although it's a bit earthier, maybe because of the fig. The apple is the strongest note here, with the musk (a soft and airy one) in second place. I can't pick out patch or honey in particular, but there is a softly sweet earthiness in the background. The fig may be blending in there, too, because I can't detect it. This doesn't have a lot of throw.

Nooo! I love this, but it has almost no throw on me. It's even softer than what I would consider a skin scent. The pink pepper keeps all the woods from getting too dry, although they're rather creamy on their own. The iris isn't overly powdery or overly aquatic, which is a rarity on my skin. Sadly I don't think i can justify a bottle due to how soft it is on me, but I may try keeping and aging the imp. It's the kind of scent I would definitely wear.

This is lovely. The tobacco is perfumey and the cinnamon and benzoin blend with it into a softly spicy incense kind of scent. The leather is soft and supports everything beautifully, and the honey is dark and drizzles over the top of everything. Somehow the honey almost masquerades as chocolate, but that goes well with the other notes, too. I didn't expect to like this nearly this much, but I'll have to get a bottle.

This is a rose unlike any I've smelled before. Considering how many rose scents I have in my collection, let alone how many I've tested, that's saying something! The gin/whisky/tobacco mixture isn't nearly as masculine as it sounds and is heavier on the gin than anything. Somehow the three blend into something almost like green cardamom when I get close. The vanilla is so boozy that my nose actually detects it as being part of the whisky, which I don't mind at all. The rose petals are surprisingly non-floral and blend with the greenness of the gin into something clean, spicy, and unisex. There is a hint of floral at the tail end of the scent, but it's still not powdery or sweet like a typical feminine rose. I will very likely end up with a bottle of this.

Oh my goodness, I want to eat my arm right now. This is perfect, fresh-out-of-the-wrapper white chocolate (I know some people hate the stuff; I am not one of them). The honey and marshmallow almost hint at a white chocolate s'more, and the goat milk lends an intense creaminess to everything, as well as just a hint of something animalic, specifically...goaty. For anyone who has had goat milk the difference will definitely be obvious, but it's not strong or offensive in the least. All the notes blend beautifully and it's hard to pick out individual ones. I may be multi-bottling this! It's unique and delicious.

Another swing and a miss for me with this one, and I'm thinking that BPAL's coconut notes just don't like me. Despite all my testing I've only found one I would consider wearing, and even then it was just okay (Black Pearl). The coconut is extremely prominent in this, but it's a weird, fake, sunscreen coconut. The leather and champaca blend with it into a syrupy kind of scent, with the sandalwood disappearing into the background. It is sort of incensey, but not in a way I like. I'll be passing it on.

This is somehow both darker and powderier than I expected. The musk and orris are very prominent on me, to the point of masking the pink pepper (a favorite note of mine) and the fruit. The leather is dark and well-worn, which is lovely, but it ends up just smelling like someone took some well-loved gloves or maybe a jacket and...powdered it. It's sugary and not at all spicy. Glad I got a decant instead of a bottle.

This is the first BPAL blend where I've actually been able to smell the tuberose. I love tuberose, and up to now I've been devastated that other florals in BPAL blends have covered it up; not with this scent! It's a creamy, pure tuberose that takes center stage. The peach blends so well with the tuberose that it almost seems like it's another facet of the flower. The orange blossom, which almost always goes powdery and soft on me in BPALs, instead lends a heady, indolic, animalic undertone to everything. The caramelized vanilla melds into the tuberose much like the peach, and the lemon covers it all with a bit of citrus bite. Basically, this is a heady white floral with some rich fruit on the side and a caramelized crust. It's divine.

This is wonderful. Surprisingly it feels like a sibling or cousin to Under the Maple Boughs, to me; there's that same woody base with a sweetness on top that's just a touch foodie, full, and rich. The chestnut is definitely the star in this one, with something like a sugared crust on top, all sitting on a dark wood table. It all blends perfectly into a single warm scent that's truly unisex, in my opinion. As a bonus, this is the only BPAL coconut I've tried that doesn't go super dry on me, so the whole thing stays kind of roasty and smooth.

On me this is heavy on the wood and light on the saffron, which is a shame. It's a rarity for me to say this, but all the heavy woody notes here could use something to balance them out. The oudh is earthy and dark and the sandalwood almost fakes me out as a different, darker, and smoother wood--maybe even a lacquered one. Maybe my skin is eating the saffron here, but sadly that means it's not a favorite for me.

This is much lighter and sweeter than I expected! I'd almost believe there's apple in here, but since it isn't that it may be the mandrake or fig. It's crisp and spicy green, reminiscent of green apples and the lab's hemlock note. There's definitely spice here, but it's cleaner and softer than I expected. I would never be able to pick cinnamon out of this if I wasn't told it was there, but I believe hay/straw, fig, and tonka. The leather in this is just a slight hint right at the base, adding a little darkness. I may have to get a bottle of this one, because I think it'll be amazing as it ages.

This is basically exactly what I expected from the description and reviews, but I'm glad I got a decant first since musks are one of the morphier note families. There's definitely red musk in here, something like whisky or cognac, and spun sugar. It ends up smelling like red musk cotton candy with something a little darker lurking underneath. While I like it, for whatever reason I really can't see myself wearing it. Maybe I just don't like musk-dominant scents on myself? It would be good for layering, though!

Oof, this one really doesn't like me. For about the first five seconds I thought I liked this better than Snake Oil (which on me is okay, but not the stunner most people report), but then the leather amped severely and turned into the weird, acrid raw leather that went bad on me in Wanda. There's also a touch of scented diaper (not used, but still), and it's awful. I had heard such good reviews that I almost blind bottled, but now I'm very glad I didn't. Why, skin chemistry, why?

This smells like really expensive, well-brewed white tea, with all the hay and honey notes coming out. The osmanthus is contributing to the hay quality, I think, and the honey is soft and floral. There may be fig in here, but I think it's hiding in the honey. They're all blended so well it's easy to imagine them all in one cup. I'll probably end up with a bottle of this! It's another subtle, pretty skin scent that's a total home run for me.

Wow! This almost, but not quite, reads as a jasmine single note. There's something like burnt sugar in here that reads as an indolic tone (or, for those who hate jasmine, a poo/garbage note). I actually like indole unless it's overpowering so that's fine with me. The other notes lend the whole thing an extra creamy quality, and the anise is just barely there--enough for a touch of spice. I'm not sure I need a full bottle, but I'm definitely keeping this imp.

I'm surprised there's no citrus in this from the first whiffs, but looking at the notes I'm guessing it's the geranium giving it that fresh quality. As it settles the benzoin is the star, with the other notes darkening and spicing it up a bit. Not my favorite resinous scent, but a very nice one!

Surprisingly I get no cherry blossom from this until the final dry-down stage; before that it's all anise. I like anise but this is just overpowering. I'm not sure if I'm amping it or what, but it's definitely not a favorite. Once all the anise finally calms down there's some powdery sandalwood and something soft and very feminine that I'm guessing is cherry blossom (although a much subtler version than I've ever tried). On me this is completely unbalanced and I think something just doesn't like my chemistry. I'll be passing it along.

This is glorious! On me it's honey-heavy, which is not a problem at all. I smell all the other notes too; tonka and cardamom are strongest, with a touch of perfumey tobacco and the vanilla cream weaving between everything else. Perhaps this is a chemistry thing, but on me it actually blends together perfectly, so much that it almost smells like a single note at times. Because of the other notes it reads sort of like a honey truffle, or maybe honeyed flowers. This will basically go with everything I own, plus it has great throw and staying power.

At first I was super disappointed with this, because all I could smell was cedar and maybe a touch of ambergris. I'm thinking it just hadn't settled enough at that point, because it's changed into something lighter and brighter. I totally agree with it as a sophisticated man's cologne but at the same time I've never smelled a cologne like this. The cedar is definitely still prominent, with bay blending with it closely enough that they're hard to tell apart. The oudh is subtle in the background but there's a definite earthiness going on underneath the cedar. The citrus reminds me of the inside part of the peel (you know, the white part? I'm sure it has a name, but I don't know it), and the ambergris plays the same role as in Black Forest, lightening everything up and blending it all together. Interestingly the ambergris/orange/lemon combo is reminiscent of the amber/citrus combo in Aelopile and other similar scents, but it's definitely still ambergris. I can't really pick out anise, which is sad more because I love anise than because the scent is lacking anything. Somehow this is completely different from other scents I have with similar notes, and I can see myself wearing it a lot!