saint_gawain

Gummy dark sweet ginger, sandalwood, incense and vanilla, with a dash of citrus on my skin. It's absolutely gorgeous and I desperately hope Hungry Ghost Moon reappears in the future, because I think I've just found a new favorite. It sticks close to the skin and doesn't last long on me - max two hours - before fading, which is my only sorrow over this blend. I wish I had five bottles of this. Gah.

Oh, I am sad. It starts off sharp and distinctive, ozone and sage and citrus, but after two hours this smells on me the way my skin would smell after I've used a citrus-y fresh soap, rinsed well, and patted dry. There's an undertone of the....floofiness, for lack of a better word, of air freshener to it. Every now and again the ozone cuts in fierce and sharp, briefly elevating it from soap to perfume smell. I really wish this had worked.

When I first got this (more or less right after it was released) the scent was....super astringent, for some reason? Today I put some on again and the aging really mellowed it out - it's all warm smoky resins and deep labdanum and absolutely gorgeous, particularly in the later hours. I'm really happy I held onto this.

When I first got this it had a strange skin funk to it - possibly the fossilized amber resin, because I've worn all the other notes before and they've never caused that smell on me. So I let it age, and the funk has significantly decreased, letting the other notes shine through. It has incredible staying power; I sprayed this into my hair in the morning and two days later without touch-ups (no washing) I can still smell the labdanum and tobacco. I think further aging will get rid of the last of that funky smell - if it does, I'll be very happy, because this scent is otherwise beautiful.

This starts off as a sharp leather, rosin, and lavender scent on me, then deepens into a gorgeous sweet balsam and sandalwood. I think this is my new everyday scent, I adore it that much.

Ohhhh this is....I think this is the most 'me' scent I've picked up yet. Smoky and sweet, deep and dark and comforting. There's an astringency to it that I think will wear off with age, but oh lordy this smells so perfect.

I got a frimp of this with a purchase and am very pleased because I was thinking of getting a full bottle. On me it's smooth and all the scents blended thoroughly together, so it's hard to pick any of them out. It dries down into something warm and loved and well-worn, like leather's that's picked up the scent of its wearer. Over time the leather fades, followed by most of the tobacco and amber, so I'm left with a smoky sweetness close to the skin. It's really lovely. Definitely getting a full bottle in my next order.

Oh, this makes me sad. I got this for the tonka, rum and tobacco, and both in the bottle and on my skin I smell absolutely none of those things. It's all saccharine chardonnay and an awful burnt plastic leather smell; I had to scrub it off after about twenty minutes because the scent actually got more burnt plastic as I wore it. Leather's never done that on my skin before, and of all these notes only the chardonnay is new to me. Maybe it doesn't play nice with these other notes on my skin? Maybe aging will make the heavier notes come forward. We'll see.

This feels confused and muddled, on me. From close up it's a sharp resin, and from far away it's a bizarre earthy fecal scent. Amber and I usually get along quite well, so I'm guessing this is the black oudh? At least it's something I know to avoid now.

Ohhhhh, I love this. Dark and rich and warm. It starts off resin on me and deepens into a sweetness that I think is the labdanum. Really wish I'd gotten more than one bottle.

This starts off as nothing but the mandarin on me, then slowly fades to a mostly chamomile/sandalwood blend. I don't think I smell the tobacco, but the remaining scent does have the warmth I associate with BPAL's tobacco blends, if that makes sense. The citrus still hangs around at the very end; it drifts in and out through the chamomile/sandalwood. A peculiar morpher, for me, since I usually amp tobacco, so I wasn't expecting it to go chamomile/sandalwood. I don't dislike it, exactly. Overall it's alright.

I'm still new to all these newfangled perfume notes and whatnot, so I thought I'd give vetiver a careful shot via Europa. I went into this hoping that even if the vetiver wound up stinking my skin would amp the vanilla enough so that it wouldn't really matter. Little did I know... In the bottle: coffee, mostly, with that vague alcohol smell one gets with vanilla extract. After application: the coffee vanishes on the spot. Suddenly there's myrrh and the vanilla alcohol, and a very soft but strong vetiver underneath. Once dry: I think my skin amps vetiver. Really amps vetiver. All I'm getting is myrrh and vetiver, with a vague ghost of proper vanilla and coffee. The longer I wear it, the more the vanilla and coffee peek through. There's my trusty skin chemistry boosting the sweet things. I have a feeling I'll really like this once it reaches the last few hours of its wear. Europa stays super close to the skin. I have to put my nose right against it to smell it. I can see myself putting in on my wrist and taking secret whiffs of it throughout the day. It definitely isn't a "wear for other people to smell" sort of perfume.