lizabelle

Oh, boy. This was so good and then went bad so fast. As I write this it's a powdery amber beast that's eaten all the other notes. The vetiver in this is the almost-burnt version that's in so many other BPALs, and it mixes with the tonka to be something deep and sexy. I would love to see this pair in other scents, as it's kind of rare but it works well. The scent gets sweeter and powderier over time, finally settling into something that I couldn't (or at least wouldn't) possibly wear. As always, take it with a grain of salt--when amber goes wrong on me it goes bad like nothing else--but this is a big no from me.

I was so scared this would go amber-bomb on me, but it isn't! Yay! It starts with a rich lemony/herbal opening that almost smells like lemon drop candies. It deepens over time to light verbena and resins over a cedar/oud base. The mix of woods is not one I would have thought of myself, but it turns out cedar and oud are great together--the oud provides some nice depth and keeps the cedar from taking over too much. If I sniff this from a distance the whole thing blends together into a tangy scent something like hot brass, which feels very appropriate. I may have to get a bottle of it.

This is what I've been wondering! After thinking about it I made a little spreadsheet for this, and I found some interesting things. First, of 9 amber scents that I like or love, 6 are favorites. Of particular note is that the only two that actually smell like amber on me are Mouse's Long and Sad Tale and Palmyra--the others smell like it's not there at all. Of the 9 amber scents that went foul on me, seven have other "powdery" notes (orris, saffron, musk). In fact all the worst offenders have "soft" or its synonyms in their descriptions! I think I've found the culprit.

So, here's a bit of a puzzle--my skin chemistry and amber. For the most part I've just started avoiding it because when it's bad it's really overpowering and makes me feel ill. I think I must amp it but not in a good way. However, several of my favorites/almost favorites have a prominent amber note. There doesn't seem to be much pattern to it, either; excluding grey amber(/ambergris, which isn't real amber) there's not a color of amber that I can consistently wear. Four Seasons: Winter and Mouse's Long and Sad Tale are both delightful, and O isn't bad, but Road to Versailles at Louveciennes, Black Rider, and Coyote are all awful on me (Anubis is also on this list, but amber isn't listed as a note so I'm not sure). Does anyone have advice/suggestions for what I should try or avoid, or is it going to continue to be hit and miss?

This is pretty, but I'm kind of glad I didn't blind bottle it despite the urge. It's heavy on cedar (and to me this is more like the green cedar in How Doth the Little Crocodile, Rocking-Horse-Fly, etc.) and very herbal, which I'm guessing is the davana. I get no floral at all except a powdery, almost overly sweet something at the end of the sniff. It doesn't seem like the two things want to blend together on my skin so I'm left with a strange two-layer effect. Not a favorite for me.

This is the honey scent for me. It's definitely dark and rich thanks to the patch and incense, but it's also almost fruity. I think the patch/ambergris combo is making it richer than honey would normally be on its own. This is not a sweet honey scent, and could easily be unisex. It's well-blended and none of the notes really stick out unless you know what you're sniffing for--it just comes across as deep and smoky/herbal, almost resinous, and gorgeous. I was lucky enough to get an empty of this when ordering a decant, so I'll be dumping whatever I can get into that until I can secure extra bottles. I'm definitely hoarding this one, because it's just that good.

This is so, so pretty. I had foolishly convinced myself (mostly because I found BPAL just after the Unicorns ended and they were mostly sold out) that I didn't need any of the Unicorn scents. Then I was offered this in a swap and jumped on it because lilac is a hard-to-find favorite for me. I'm very glad I did--this is like BPAL's other soft, sweet moonlit florals that I love so much but with a lilac center. While this is pretty linear on me, it's also lovely so I have no complaints. The heart is a lilac/jasmine blend, which I didn't know I needed in my life. It smells like a late spring night and it's beautiful. At the back of the sniff there's a powdery, marshmallowy finish, which does indeed give this a soft, ethereal vibe. It smells like lilac marshmallows from a distance, which again was not something I knew I wanted! I can totally picture this as a unicorn suddenly appearing out of the mist in the woods and then disappearing again as quickly as it came.

Looking at the notes list I am very confused, because this smells nothing like the description on me. I get lots of dry, baked ginger (like in a ginger snap), with maybe some citrus rind and vanilla. This is actually very close to Solstice Scents' Lemon Ginger Creams, which I bought around Christmas. It's shockingly similar. Mandarin likes to turn into lemon on me, so I guess that's why; however I also get no chocolate, tobacco, tea, or whatever those herbs are supposed to be. I can see the fuzzy bakery feeling being the red musk, and the vanilla tone being tonka. This may end up in my collection once I've used up its twin!

I was going to say "amber bomb," but this...has no amber? It smells exactly like amber gone rogue does on me, although slightly more pleasant. It's like amber bomb sugar cookies. Totally not for me, but I'd love to smell it on someone it agrees with.

Earthy, figgy goodness. The patch in this is a gnarlier one than in many BPALs, giving it a real turned-earth quality. The moss and mushrooms add to that too, but they're soft and gentle and don't overpower the fig. This smells exactly like the description/notes, but if I'm not paying attention and get a whiff of it I keep thinking I'm smelling Fig Newtons. So if you've ever wanted to smell like Fig Newtons, get this. It also has a lot of throw--just sitting here with my arms by my sides I can smell it clearly (it's on my elbow). I do like it a lot, but I'm not sure I need a bottle.

I didn't expect a scent named Tavern of Hell to be so delicate or elegant, but that's the magic of BPAL! It starts out with mostly booze and wood on me, turning into a clear boozy floral with a touch of ambergris. The absinthe comes across less as booze and more like an interesting herbal top note, which is lovely. Gardenia, orange blossom, and ylang ylang can all be temperamental on me but somehow they're all behaving, melding into a soft, gentle yellow floral with a whiskey/wood base. I agree that this is a classic sort of perfume, at least in structure; I've never smelled anything quite like it.

In the imp: freshly sealed wood, possibly still drying On skin: I seriously would not have guessed this is a wood scent. Unlike many of BPAL's other wood scents (Yggdrasil, Anne Bonny, Port Royal, etc.), this is not a dry wood. It is very cologney, enough that it made my nose wrinkle at first sniff. As it dries, though, I don't hate it! In fact I'm warming to it fast. It's much sweeter and softer than it sounds, almost fruity like a soft apricot or something on me. Apparently a privet is a flowering bush that later grows berries, so maybe I'm smelling the berries? I may end up with some of this, because it's very nice.

Looking at the notes and description, this sounds made for me (I love BPAL's apple, rose, and "fizzy/bubbly" scents), and yep--I love it. Starts with a crisp apple/lemon combo that's fizzy but not in a cider way; this is what champagne would be like if it were made out of apples. Gradually the rose makes itself known, and it's a super fresh, fruity red rose. This is not an overly girly or powdery rose, so it could be unisex for those inclined. I can see myself wearing this all the time in the summer!

Oh, this is beautiful. I can't believe I once thought pine wasn't for me--BPAL has firmly shown me otherwise.This is definitely cedar, but a softer, sweeter cedar than is in most blends. It reminds me of the one in How Doth the Little Crocodile. There's probably other conifers in here but I amp cedar heavily, although I do smell some other wood that almost reminds me of birch. I agree that there's something vanillic in here, although that may just be one of the saps/resins that are forming the base, which are rich but soft. I do smell something a little desert-herb-y too, so I second the sage. Overall this is quite dry but warm and a bit sweet, and I find it very unisex. In fact for those who lean very feminine and are turned off by pine scents; this is the pine scent for you.

Oh, man. I was scared of this because of the amber, but I'm glad I took the forum's advice and went for it anyway. This is Oudh, with a capital O. It's not really like any other oudh I've smelled before--it's dark and spicy and if you tried to convince me there was cinnamon and/or molasses in here I'd believe you. I get no funkiness or fecal smell, but of course everyone's skin/noses are different! The fig blends in perfectly with the oudh and once again becomes the perfect base note. I love fig as a base note, it just works so well. The rose isn't as assertive but it's definitely there, as a fruity, velvety red rose in full bloom. I get no amber at all out of this, which is good because amber has ruined several scents I had high hopes for. This could easily become a favorite for me. As a side note, the oil really is red. Very red. It stained my (very pale) arm a bit, although the color did fade after about twenty minutes.

This sounds so odd that I couldn't quite know to expect, but now that it's on I really like it. It starts with a clean herbal mint/citrus mix and slowly gets sweeter. It never gets to a candy level but it is sweeter than I would normally expect grapefruit to be. The lavender and chocolate both blend in with the oakmoss to make a soft, velvety base, and it's all much more cohesive than I expected. Because of all the citrus I find it improving my mood as I smell it. I think a bottle is in my future!

This was a last-minute blind buy for me, and after being frimped a decant by a forumite I'm very glad I went for it. It has the same candy/ash combo that I loved in Fireplace Cinders from 2015, plus some beautiful assertive violet (on me it usually gets drowned out by other notes) and powdery lilies. There is a cool greenness at the back of the sniff that I could buy as being cypress, too. It's very well-blended and overall gives the impression of violet hard candies, possibly being eaten by a fire that's gone out. Gorgeous!

This is one that I couldn't guess what the notes are at all just from smelling--it's reminiscent of a few of my favorite scents, like Lolita Lempicka EDP, which may be the tonka. I do like tonka. It's definitely warm and resinous, but in a borderline-fruity way. If someone told me there was a date or raisin note in here I'd probably believe it! It's also very powdery but not in a way I mind, which is surprising. I think I'll keep my decant.

When I got this imp through a forum sale I didn't realize there was dragon's blood in it, which almost always hates me. There's also opoponax, which almost always loves me. Which will win? This is BPAL wrestling! (No? Okay.) This starts out oppressively resinous, kind of bitter and overpowering. I can see sensitive people getting headaches or sneezing because of it. Once it settles down there's that dragon's blood note that always shows up as cherry cough syrup on me with what I think I recognize as galangal by now (halfway between wood and a bitter, planty resin) and musk. This is heavy and dark and sticky resin--if I had to assign it a color I'd call it dark, dark red. There's opoponax trying to come out somewhere in there, but the dragon's blood overpowers it and makes it oddly sour. Not for me.

This is exactly what I hoped Bastet would be on me--spicy, sexy, dark, and yet still playful. The florals are very traditional and powdery under all that nutmeg, and the spices are assertive, so it ends up coming across as both masculine and feminine at once. There's a sweetness to it but there's also a lemoniness and burnt quality to the spices. I love how complex it is and may have to get a bottle.

BPAL/BPAL: Jolabokaflod + Miskatonic University - gooey chocolate candles with a woody book scent underneath Port Royal + Anne Bonny - sexy, spicy wood, with a splash of the sea This Wan White Humming Hive + The Lights of Men's Lives - soft vanilla candles with dark spice and ill intent in the background BPAL/BPTP: A Chattering Raven + Red Apple, Blackened Honey, and Opoponax HG - velvety, sweet, fruity opoponax Port Royal + Anne Bonny HG/BO - sexy, spicy wood, with a splash of the sea BPAL or BPTP/Other Oils: none yet BPAL or BPTP/Mainstream: none yet

A blanker whiteness of benighted snow: white sandalwood, dry vanilla, white tea leaf, and orris. This was frimped to me by a generous forumite, and I have to say I'm breathing a sigh of relief as I sniff this. Why? Seeing as Yules come down today, I really don't need another bottle to fall in love with. This starts out entirely green/white tea on me, like the tea in Dormouse. It's fresh and surprisingly big for a note I tend to think of as a background player. Over time the orris makes itself known by turning things powderier. There's definitely some wood under all that tea, but it's very subtle and dry. If the sandalwood had a bit more oomph this could be a real knockout for me; I know I amp tea, and I love tea, but it's smothering everything else. Oh, well.

Cozy! This is sort of fig/milk/cinnamon (...or, uh, sandalwood?) on me, with a soft undertone of ylang/vanilla thrown in too. I get no fir at all, and while there's a hint of something kind of bubblegum-sweet, it's not overpowering or sickening like lotus flowers are on me. Good to know. The fig has a jammy quality to it, and there's some definite cream going on--I would almost believe almond milk is in this. The aspects of this that I was worried would take over aren't, and I quite like it. Since Yules come down today and I already have a fig/ylang blend in my cart (Hetairae), I'm promising myself that I'll get a bottle if it comes back again or if someone swaps it to me. Otherwise I'll enjoy my imp.

This was pretty much number one on my to-try list for ages because I love the smell of absinthe. I'm not even sure why, but I could bathe in BPAL's version and after trying several other company's versions it just seems to be one of my things. In fact I was so excited about the absinthe note in here that I forgot it was a fougere, which almost always hates me--but somehow this one doesn't. It's much softer than the notes would suggest, both in feeling and in throw. Softly minty with a touch of anise and sugar, as expected, with a green herbal quality (ferns, but quite a bit softer than I'm used to) throughout that pretty much takes over. The lavender and lilac aren't too obvious on my skin but they keep it from being too masculine or green. They're slightly soapy but not overwhelmingly so. The anise and sugar amp on me over time, as they usually do, and I'm left with a sweet green scent that's unlike anything I've smelled before. I actually really like this, considering how far outside of my usual it is. It's a very perfumey blend, and a well-blended one. I have to really think to parse out the notes. There's definitely the feeling of an old village somewhere beautiful out in the countryside to this. I bet it would be lovely on a hot day.

This is truly unlike anything else I've ever smelled. It's exactly like porridge with milk, nuts, and honey. There's definitely a chai-esque aspect, too. It's very comforting and homey, and while I never expected to want to smell like porridge I might just end up with a bottle. Absolutely perfect for a halfling/hobbit!