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BPAL Madness!

grashopper8

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Everything posted by grashopper8

  1. grashopper8

    L'Inverno

    Wow!!!! This is a beautiful, delicate Winter scent! The hint of pine wood is just that - a subtle hint, nothing dominant at all. The plum and musk add a lovely bit of sweetness (although this is Not a sweet perfume), and the stargazer lily is a gorgeous, soft, cool floral. For a little while in the drydown, I also get a faint suggestion of apple cider in there. This is just wonderful, and I don't always gravitate towards the wintery scents. Finely tuned! 4.7 out of 5
  2. grashopper8

    Thirteen (13): October 2006

    This smells so strongly of yummy dark chocolate caramel from the decant, it was a joy to pop open and smear on my skin. Once it settles with my chemistry, I can still smell the cocoa, along with a hazelnutty-caramel yumminess, some candied orange zest, a little sandalwood, and some contrasting florals - hard to describe. This is so cool! I should try the other formulations!! 4.5 out of 5
  3. grashopper8

    Pinched With Four Aces

    I got a testable sniffie from a kind forumite (thank you Theresa!), and the enabling is as cruel as it is generously thoughtful : -D Because, of course, it's an awesome scent. I get the tobacco wrapper scent, and it's a heavy vanilla-laced aroma. After the initial spicy drydown, I'm not getting too much in the way of cinnamon and coffee, but I can definitely pick out tonka bean. It's a comforting perfume, smooth and sweet, creamy and lazy and warm. I would wear this all winter long if I had the means to afford the ridiculous hysterical astronomical ebay bids. *sigh* Maybe Someday!! 5 out of 5
  4. grashopper8

    La Primavera

    A clean smelling floral, but with something more going on - there's lovely fruit sweetening up the floral bouquet, and the soft citrus is refreshing but not zingy or zesty. I am totally in love with this scent, as I am with all Four Seasons! Gorgeous label, too! Seriously I LOVE this!!!!!!!!!! :D 4.8 out of 5
  5. grashopper8

    L'Autunno Atmospheric Spray

    When I opened the bottle to smell my first impression, honestly I was put off because the smoky note was all vetiver to me. I am so glad that I sprayed a few sprays in our bedroom, because it smells like everything previously mentioned, which is to say FREAKIN AWESOME! I am reminded slightly of Singing Moon. I was feeling so guilty about buying all 4 Inquisitions, but everything I've tried so far has been something I'm not willing to part with. Yum yum! I have to go back to bed so I can inhale the Autumn Big Bang Nucleosynthesis Origin Of All That Is Good.
  6. grashopper8

    Irrelevant and Disturbing Surreal Crawdad Dream

    This scent is not irrelevant or disturbing, but holy HELL it's Surreal!!!!!!!! It starts out with juicy just-picked blueberries, with a crisp, fresh undertone from the tea and ginger, and a hint of creaminess from the vanilla. The red currant swirls in and eventually dominates the berry note, and the tea also becomes more front-and-center at this point. This reminds me of the red currant in Eat Me, just without the cake note (which I found to be a tad cloying on me). I'm also reminded of Gennivre, with the tea sweetened with berry rather than sweetened with honey. I love how the ginger keeps Crawdad from being sickly sweet, it's really a wonderfully balanced fragrance! porcelina, I know exactly what raspberry hard candies you are talking about, and I totally get that impression as well! They're called La Vie Les Framboises Raspberry Hard Candy, I used to love them when I was little! Just a beautiful perfume, and unfortunately for my swaps and wallet, it's another shining star in the kick-ass Sturgeon Moon update! And I'm keepin' it : -) 4.7 out of 5
  7. grashopper8

    Penumbra

    There's such a unique combination of notes in this blend that I really had no idea what the overall effect could possibly be. It ends up smelling lightly resinous, with a sweetly herbal/musk undertone. I think this could only get even better with age! I would consider this an evening scent, I will wear it when I want the boy to attack
  8. grashopper8

    Sturgeon Moon

    This makes me think of seaweed and the ocean rather than a lake, but the only lakes I've lingered at have been puddles compared to the Great Lakes : -) The cucumber note is fresh rather than sweet to me. A lot of people have said that Sturgeon Moon is super-sweet, and I don't feel that way. It's just a lovely balance of crisp green notes with grassy notes, along with the aquatics (non-citrus) and lunar herbs. It's clean, fresh, invigorating....it makes me feel cooler on this humid summer day. It only gets better as it dries down, morphing into a green, sun-warmed sheets-on-the-line idealized moment. I really love this scent! I think it would work equally well on a cool rainy day to accent the weather, as it would on a hot sticky day to combat the heat. I will thoroughly enjoy Sturgeon Moon today and on many days to come. Wonderful! I'm glad I went for it. 4.6 out of 5
  9. grashopper8

    L'Estate

    Nepalese amber, vanilla infused amber, golden musk, sandalwood, golden lily, sunflower, and honey myrtle. This is one of the most awesomely gorgeous BPAL fragrances that I've received in quite a long time, I am completely enamored!!!!!!!!! On me, I do not get any powder at all, and amber often goes powdery on me when it's fresh. It's an artfully blended floral, fresh yet creamy, like sweet tree blossoms. It reminds me quite a bit of Tamamo-no-Mae, just without the citrus/tea business. I don't know what to say, I wish I could describe it better than this, but I'm just at a loss for words. A masterpiece!! 5 out of 5
  10. grashopper8

    Chaos Theory IV: Edge of Chaos

    CCI (201) Nyoooooom nyom nyom nyom nyom nyom nyom Tobacco, myrrh, a hint of woods, crack, sex, and debauchery. A well-blended, resinous, indescribable scent. I feel very lucky to have the only bottle of 201. It's so dark and smooth, I will wear it on evenings where I'm looking to be a little bad.... I feel like it was created just for me! Fate has gifted me with a Chaos Theory that I will treasure! I wish I was better at picking out notes so I could know what's in it, because although I'm making guesses at the notes, I really have no frickin' clue This kicks ass, whoever was responsible for my precious CCI is a wonderful human being, smoochies!
  11. grashopper8

    What do bottles and labels look like?

    I took a picture of the bottles from the Sturgeon Moon update, plus a shot of my beloved Full Monty Inquisition : -)
  12. grashopper8

    Sundew

    This smells like Elizabeth Arden Sunflowers with a swirl of BPAL. (?) It just has a muted softness to it that keeps it from going full-on into headache territory. Still, it's too bright and aquatic for my tastes. It does have a soapy note, as well. I will say that it improves continuously as it dries down. Pretty, just not me. 3.2 out of 5
  13. grashopper8

    Belle Époque

    Hmmmm... The opium is light and airy, the sandalwood is gentle, and the florals are high-pitched and powdery. I feel like I can smell spicy carnation, although this might just be my untrained nose. It does have an overall old-ladyish, headachey feel. I can't pick out mandarin or vanilla. Opium is a hit-or-miss note on me, and I tend to like the black opium resin as opposed to the opium floral notes. This scent isn't hitting me in the love spot. Not for me! 2.2 out of 5
  14. grashopper8

    Wezwanie / Hold

    A frimped partial imp, whoo! Thank yous! This scent is sweetly nauseating hazelnut at the beginning, but after a few minutes on the skin, the fake-coffee-hazelnut note calms down and the blend becomes more complex and darkly sophisticated. Overall, it's still a sweet blend, but the amber, myrrh, and hint of sandalwood give a sexy dark vibe, an undercurrent of something "more" under the safe vanilla. I can't pick out honey as a note, myself. I like it! 4.3 out of 5
  15. grashopper8

    Eshe, A Vision of Life-In-Death (2006)

    I smell mostly jasmine, the same note that's in the Sleeper and Melisande, the Puppet Mistress. It takes a while for the jasmine to calm down and let any of the other notes come out, but when it does, the resins are soft-hearted and gentle. It's very pretty. It doesn't quite suit me, it's a little 'perfumey' somehow (if that makes any sense) - but I think it's nice. 3.9 out of 5
  16. grashopper8

    Angeronalia

    This smells a lot like the old Bath and Body Works Gingham cologne. That, and Elizabeth Arden Sunflowers. I'm 26, but this is way too young for me - maybe because it brings me back to childhood 'fumes, but I feel like I've been there, done that. If I was looking for a BPAL version of either of these perfumes, though, I'd be all about it, because obviously Beth's creation smells nicer than any commercial perfume could ever try to. Fresh, sunny, bright, and waaaay too happy and "yellow" scented for me! I don't hate it though. 3.7 out of 5
  17. grashopper8

    Mouse's Long and Sad Tale

    Although this has an air of pleasantness about it, it just smells PINK to me. Like cotton candy pink. It could be cute on the right girl, but I don't wear pink cashmere cardigans, baby! I mean, it's not bad....I'm just not resonating with the overall feel. 3.8 out of 5
  18. grashopper8

    Imp

    You know what, I didn't read the notes before sampling this, and I thought it smelled like candy cherry and vanilla. Now I just feel like I have a looooong way to go when it comes to perfume The musk and patchouli combination reminds me of Mme. Moriarty, and the peach isn't high-pitched annoying peach - it's a mellow fruit note. Close-up, the patchouli smells a little woody, which I don't like, but it's only if I stick my face in my wrist. The amber is in the background, and smoothes out the fruit. Imp is a friendly, applealing scent that has a mysterious, resinous darkness underlying the happy peach. It's pretty sexy, actually! I like this, but I don't love it enough to keep it around. I have the luxury of being picky with my ever-expanding BPAL collection, I have so much gold to choose from already!! 4.1 out of 5
  19. grashopper8

    Sweet, sweet florals

    Tamano-no-Mae is a gentle, creamy, sweet floral that just smells plain AWESOME. Marae is a slightly fruity gardenia blend that is gorgeously sweet and just lovely.
  20. grashopper8

    The Great Sword of War

    This smells like citrus and dirty red musk. I can't really pick up on much else. It's actually pretty good, although I don't see myself reaching for it. It's aight. 3 out of 5
  21. grashopper8

    Shango

    Fruity and fun, but with stormclouds on the horizon - this one has an undercurrent of mysterious darkness. Deep red scent, but not quite as juicy as it seems at the onset. It's good, but I prefer Mme. Moriarty. 3.6 out of 5
  22. grashopper8

    Phobos

    Before I wrote a review, I had to search this thread for Froot Loops to see if anyone else went there. 2 other people have mentioned it, so I guess I'm not crazy! This smells exactly like Froot Loops to me. It makes me want to smoke weed and eat a whole box of sugar cereal straight up, while watching Terminator 2. I think I said too much.... 3 out of 5 (It's fun, but I won't wear it.)
  23. grashopper8

    Magus

    An ancient blend, swollen with arcane power: galangal, high john essence, frankincense, cedar, and sandalwood. All I can smell is the cedar, and it turned to pencil-shavings on me. Oh, well. 1.5 out of 5
  24. grashopper8

    Burial

    I can't put this on. It's the opposite of what I want to smell like, it makes me feel sick. More power to those that can pull it off, but - ugh - I'm not even going to attempt it. 1 out of 5
  25. grashopper8

    Tenochtitlan

    Herbal, fruity, green, juicy, and dry. I'm kind of stumped. It's okay, but rather ordinary. This blend doesn't really appeal to me. 2.5 out of 5
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