crimescenecleanup

When I first cracked the bottle, I was stunned by how pretty this was. It smelled poisonous, sharp, delectable and expensive. Testing it on skin, luscious red amber is at the forefront, and oh, it is good. The bitter almond steps up smelling like proper bitter almond, which can never be mistaken for cherry or cough syrup. It has a clean alcoholic note from the rum, which reads mostly as alcohol, with no sugar or spice notes - just a distilled white rum. The lemon peel is very bitter, strong and sharp in this. It is bracing and grabs your attention. Altogether, this is a boozy, exotic amber, with a bright flash of citrus to get your attention. It has my attention. I have a huge crush on 7WS: Wrath. This is all well and good until the patchouli shows up. This is a dry patchouli, it smells stale and papery and almost tobacco-like. For a few minutes this dessicated patch seems to suck all the life out of this blend, and mixed with the lemon peel it is almost too bitter and harsh to stand. Oh no! 7WS: Wrath is breaking my heart and trampling my dreams. On full drydown, though, the sweetness of the amber really blooms, and offsets the brasher and more bitter notes. Now it smells like the worlds' most expensive and fanciest almond soap, and I am OK with that. At this stage, we've worked out our differences, and I am in love with 7WS: Wrath. bonus review: My husband (who rarely wears scented products at all) tested this and said that it "smells like Christmas trees" and is "very pleasant" This is a radical departure from his usual review vocabulary used when I ask him his opinion on perfumes, which consists of the following: "that smells like strawberries" "that smells like candy" "that smells like incense and cookies...like cookies baked in a headshop" "I don't know what it is but I don't like it" and "Oh, that's BPAL's Snow White"

There's a new coke on the market, Coke Cypress! And that could be the soft drink or the street drug, as my arm is numb where I applied this. Yeah, that's what I get. Beautiful chilly cypress and coca-cola, then hint of cold, cold mint. The myrrh resin and evergreen pitch combination must be what is triggering that coca-cola scent memory. I get that from BPAL's Voodoo as well. Not that I am complaining. It is still more perfume than soda, more resin than gourmand. I have never tried another perfume quite like this. It is in a category of its own. It is my favorite treatment of the cypress note so far, and BPAL has done some very cool things with cypress this year. This will have a treasured place in my collection and will be getting a lot of wear in the coming summer months.

Skin test: Oh, it's that exact carnation note from Maiden that I love so much! Eeeew...but then vanilla and sugar step in to do this weird burnt sugar thing. Vanilla, you are a cruel temptress. Combined with the freesia it smells a little strange and medicinal like...bandaid adhesive? Go figure. The prettiest girliest floral scent of all the Yule releases would turn into burnt sugar and bandaids on me. Paper test: On a paper test strip, it stays carnations, with a bit of earthy raw sugar and a very perfumey vanilla. The freesia seems both tart and green and creamy at the same time, and I think it is what people are calling "plastic". The effect altogether is a little disorienting and strange. These notes don't seem to go together at all. Full drydown mellows it out a bit, as the individual notes stop warring for supremacy and meld into a more balanced blend. In the end it becomes very bright, playful floral perfume, and very modern. It is innocent and pretty, without being the sort of thing your grandmother would approve of or find ladylike. It still seems weird, but in a cutting edge fashion way. It took awhile for me to warm up to this, but after an hour I've decided I really like it - as long as I wear it in a scent locket.

This is a thin, light, gentle floral. Appropriate for a species of jasmine that does not possess a strong fragrance, and only blooms in the cold. It has a hint of greenery and honeysuckle to it. It is not at all heavy or indolic, but it has good throw. There are no cold notes in this, no snow or ice that I can tell - just a light, pretty innocent floral.

This does smell _exactly_ like a raspberry donut. It has fluffy, yeasty, oily cake and the sugar glaze and it is bursting with tart raspberry jelly. Most foody scents seem a little "off" to me, or do odd things with my skin chemistry. Plastic vanilla and amped sugar being two of the usual results. This, however, is true jelly donut on me from first appliciation to drydown. It is remarkable and eerie that a jelly donut can be reproduced so accurately in perfume form If I have one complaint, it is that Raspberry Sufganiyot is very heavy on the raspberry filling, and light on the donut. I would have preferred more donut. Maybe it will become stronger with aging. This scent also has staying power, lasting and staying true well over twelve hours, until I washed it off.

This is very herbal, fresh and green. It reminds me of freshly-crushed aloe vera and fresh chamomile plant....and yes, just a hint of plastic and ozone. The other BPAL scent that comes closest to it is Aeaea. Drydown seems to have a light white musk. This is a really lovely, energizing, wake-you-up kind of scent. It definitely captures a feeling of excitement - if you could bottle a child's hyper wrapping-paper tearing whirlwind on Christmas morning. It is also very clean, and, well...new and untouched smelling. It's like an herb garden in the morning, still wet with dew, but that pristine feeling of newness can also evoke a shiny toy in mint condition, still in the box. This is another standout Yule single note, and I am very glad I got it. It will perfect for those mornings when I catch myself yawning and dragging my feet on the way to work.

"It's a samsquantch!" Yeah, I tested this and all I can think of is a terrified Bubbles from Trailer Park Boys. This smells exactly like I would expect a sasquatch to smell, though. OK, not a physical sasquatch, which would probably be musky and earthy. No, maybe a...spirit sasquatch? A ghost sasquatch? Some kind of airy, ethereal creature of the wilderness. Ranger is Forest: The Perfume. However, it never touches the decay of the forest floor. It is the breath of the trees themselves, cold and crisp and green, touched by layers and layers of ancient, dark wood. It is pure and wild and with a big, brash dose of lemony, gingery freshness from the galangal. Maybe the ghost sasquatch is making Tom Yum soup. Wow this review is making no sense at all.

Nonae Caprotina has a strong goat's milk note, and also celebrates the festival of a fertility goddess to whom goats were sacred. It doesn't smell like goats, but Piper At The Gates of Dawn came to mind, because it was inspired by the great god Pan, who is of course half goat. I found it to be a beautiful, outdoorsy, bright, clean, and fresh scent. Anyway, that's all I've got for suggestions. Huzzah for the crazy goat lady! Alas, I have no goats of my own, but back in my 4H days I assisted the leader of the local goat club. Very important job, obviously ("here kid, stand here and hold this goat while I lecture about goats") It was pretty great, though. Goats are very amusing. I love watching them climb on things. They always want to be up in a tree or something and they make cats look like amateurs.

I tested an imp of Hollywood Babylon today. Within two minutes, the skin on my wrist was raised, bright red, and my arm was covered in hives, and I was sneezing and wheezing. I've never had such a severe or immediate reaction to any essential oil, fragrance oil, or perfume oil blend. I'm quite shocked, looking at the list of notes (Egyptian amber, red musk, heliotrope, cherry, strawberry, vanilla) as I have not had any trouble with BPAL blends that have similar notes. As a general rule, I don't have much trouble with any BPAL blends.

This reminds me a lot of BPTP's Sakura atmosphere spray. It also has a cold, clean note similar to that in BPAL's Snow-Flakes. On drydown it is very heavy on the cherry blossom, which is nice because I love that subtle note and find that it often gets hidden in complex blends. Here it is a star player. The lily is very faint, but helps to round out the other notes.

This is very accurate. It starts with a light metallic scent - like aluminum cans - and the scent of those little pine-tree air fresheners. In the early stages, I can swear there are some other light notes, but they are gentle and pretty and I am having trouble identifying them...they are like like fruit without the sweetness, and it is a good representation of colored lights. Drydown is pine tree air freshener all the way.

In the bottle, this has many visible cocoa blobs. It smells strongly of chocolate. Tested, on skin or test paper, it is rich melted chocolate bar over the most lovely combination of woods. There may be a hint of cedar. The result is very smooth and comforting. Vanilla comes out on the drydown in a big way, almost overpowering the other notes, almost going plasticy, but not quite. The wood tempers it a lot.

I get ozone and aquatic notes...but softened. There is nothing particularly cold about this scent, it just smells like fresh air and water, but still and clean, not sharp or bracing.

I get a subtle paper note, ink, and then something very similar to the paint note from The Day Burned White. That's actually one of my favorite scents, but Crumpled Wrapping Paper feels less balanced and less wearable. It has pretty good throw. hmmm...on further reflection, if this smells like anything, it smells like homemade wrapping paper made with kraft paper, tempera-paint and homemade stamps, like you make in kindergarten. I was hoping for more paper, less paint and ink, but as a single note, this is definitely accurate.

Oh man. I don't even have words... I was actually looking forward to trying this one, because I like the starchy, earthy, odd scent of potatoes. I figured it would similar to another starchy root vegetable note, Lotus Root. But this doesn't smell at all like potatoes. It is super heavy, thick, rich, in-your-face cream and butter notes, with an overwhelming punch of chives and stinky garlic salt. It is incredibly strong. There is no way - NO WAY - that I am skin testing this. This is the worst reaction I have ever had to a perfume, and I have nobody to blame but myself. I am laughing so hard. This is so gross. It is brilliant, but gross. If you want to troll some friends and relatives, wear this perfume to a formal event. It is like, weaponized perfume. You could freak out so many people with this stuff, if you can handle wearing it.

I love your photo!

Fear not that sound like wind in the trees: It is only their call that comes on the breeze; Fear not the shudder that seems to pass: It is only the tread of their feet on the grass; Fear not the drip of the bough as you stoop: It is only the touch of their hands that grope - For the year's on the turn, and it's All Souls' night, When the dead can yearn and the dead can smite. Agarwood, black musk, grave moss, and yew berries. Hmmm. This is pretty much exactly what the description says...only softer. The yew berries are similar to the Rappacini's Garden Yew Trees blend, the graveyard moss is green and fresh, the black musk is very recognizable from other blends, and the agarwood is definitely present. However, what I expected to come together in a very woodsy, earthy and masculine blend instead comes out very muted. Each note in this is a very gentle version of itself. These are awfully polite smiting dead. This is the scent of a very peaceful and well-tended burial ground. It is like walking through one of those Victorian Era park-like cemeteries early in the morning. You feel something brush against your shoulder. Was it a ghostly hand, or simply a falling leaf? On drydown it all melds together into something mossy, cool and clean, powdery with a hint of musk. It is like Graveyard Dirt's ultrafemme little sister. There is a slight hint of something sharp, and for lack of a better word - poisonous - lingering in this scent. Maybe it is part of the yew berry accord, or maybe it is just a part of the unpredictable funkiness that is agarwood. However, it is just a tiny hint, and not enough to change the overall impression. This is a soothing scent, one with a light touch. I am curious to see how this ages, and if it will develop more depth over time.

I just used up my bottle of Monsterbait: Biggercritters. It was my favorite BPAL scent of all time. The vanilla and florals really did give it a happy, fluffy, "snuggly" comforting feel, and it had such a beautiful grapefruit kick. I am a sucker for citrus-heavy blends, Can anybody suggest something with a similar feel?

This didn't work on me at all. Oh, it matches the description...perfectly. I just wasn't at all prepared for the perfume experience that was Outlaw. This is a shiny - and very expensive - black leather jacket, with that new leather jacket smell. And then a big ol' half-melted rootbeer float gets spilled all over it, along with a bottle of vanilla extract. There is sticky sugar everywhere. I'm not sure what I was expecting, or why I thought this would work. I tend to amp leather, and vanilla, and sugar. But I do love and adore sarsparilla, so I hoped that somehow, all of these elements would balance each other out. Instead, on skin, on drydown, this screams HI I'M LEATHER! VANILLA NOW, HI! SOOOOOOOOOOOODA OVER HERE! HI LEATHER SODA VANILLA SUGAR BOMB HI HI HI! It is just...cloying, overwhelming. I'm getting knocked over by this Outlaw. I smell like a Baskin Robbins collided with a Harley Davidson store. (Oh, the humanity!) If you like sugary gourmand scents, and you like leather, this is your new favorite perfume. It won't be mine, though.

Oof. I tested this, and got very new, very strong leather. It is a rare leather blend that works on me, and this isn't it. The rest is bitter medicinal herbage...it strongly evokes old-fashioned horehound cough syrup or drops. There is no horehound in this, so it must be the mint and juniper combining with bitter resins that gives that impression. On drydown, the black musk is there, a constant backdrop, and as Eleven11 said, it is grimy. Almost like motor oil. On further drydown, the leather, mint, and juniper become even sharper and clearer. The cough drop effect is fading. Although I don't detect any camphor in this, I'm starting to get that camphor crystal effect that I get from TAL's Jinx Removing oil, where you get a chill just from smelling it. The effect is pretty amazing, as it really gives the impression of both heat - both fire and body heat (the smoky and animalic tones in the resins, musk, and leather) - and of shocking, freezing cold. This is a mean, scary, icy scent. Leather and resin lovers, take note of this one. It is not my cup of tea at all, but it is definitely a work of art.

Do you like piña coladas? And getting caught in the rain? Then you will probably like this perfume. OK, sorry, I couldn't resist. Actually, I mostly get honeydew melon from this, which is totally OK. I love the melon notes BPAL uses...Ogun is a favorite GC scent of mine. The background of this scent is fresh, clean, and a little spicy. You can definitely smell the rum and the air before a rainstorm, and there is a drop or two of creaminess from the coconut and just a hint of pineapple. But it is mostly melons. This is a really unique scent, fun and refreshing. If I have one complaint, it is that 'moonbathing' doesn't last long on the skin or in a locket.

Sorry about the lateness of this reply, LexieBlom. The first blends I thought of for L'Occitane's Patchouli were Umbra (East African black patchouli, cedarwood, vetiver and a dribble of cinnamon) and Defututa, for the smoky vanilla-cinnamon that might layer nicely with patchouli. I will have to do some more testing and searching to find something that might be in the same family as Whisper. I myself am a sucker for Ralph Lauren's Romance. (rose blend, citrus, water lily, lily, white violet, carnation, ginger, patchouli, oakmoss and white musk) Does anyone know of a similar BPAL? I also love Burberry Brit for its citrus kick and Lagerfeld's freesia-heavy Sun Moon Stars, if anybody has recommendations for those.

Ghastly secrets and terror-numb revelations: white mint, black amber, tallow, antediluvian woods, and sickly resins. (For reference, I tested this as a linen spray) This is mostly mint. Definitely the famous BPAL "white mint" note, with a strong background of very sweet amber. There is just a hint of something earthy, almost a mineral note that I think is from the resins. It reminds me a bit of the long DC'ed Black Opal. On the drydown, the woods give this a slightly masculine edge, and it smells a bit like a very expensive aftershave or cologne. Classy! I wouldn't mind my house smelling like this. No sign of the tallow. The throw is somewhat weak, but it find that common in mint blends. It is however, very long lasting. If you enjoy other sweet BPAL mint blends like Tokyo Stomp, Snowblind, and Lick It, but long for something a little more sophisticated and less candy-like, this will be right up your alley. It is also great for people who miss Lantern Ghost of Oiwa.

That is incredibly sad.

Yep, this smells like stale candy corn. It is warm, browned butter, melted marshmallow and vanilla and wax. Luckily, it does not evoke the taste of candy corn, the acrid tinge of corn syrup and the intense sugar shock. I got a decant of this, mostly so I giggle over a sample of perfume that duplicates one of my favorite autumnal scents. I was NOT expecting it to be so wearable. After testing it, I had an immediate urge to layer it with every other scent I own. And lo and behold, testing it as a layering scent proved that I needed a bottle. It just made everything better. I feel like I've been had somehow. I've been the victim of a hoax, a flim-flam, an elaborate practical joke. I'm not supposed to be wearing this at all. This was supposed to be a one-off gag, right? Why am I wearing something named "Last Year's Stale Candy Corn" layered with my classy lady scents and my fancypants business attire? Why are people giving me compliments on it? This really can't be happening. I guess I should start looking for a backup bottle.