Monster

I have finally tracked down a bottle of this stuff. Thank you to a lovely BPAL friend for the hook-up I couldn't help myself and tested it immediately. Beaver Moon I is the lemon custard inside a lemon meringue pie. As it dries, it morphs into a candied pear. I'd compare it to a less exotic Albedo v5 (instead of coconut, BM has creamy custard). It's pretty straightforward and ridiculously delicious.

OMG you guys, this smells SO GOOD Out of the bottle this smells of boozy cupcakes. When first applied to my skin I get a drizzle of butterscotch which quickly melts into a rummy cupcake. For me this is mostly the Lab's signature cake note, I never get any vanilla ice cream and there's nothing in here that smells like Detestable Putrescence (which is good since DP turned to plastic on my skin). The final dry down smells like I rolled in butterscotch-slathered cupcakes like a ferret while cackling to myself. Eeeehehehehee! Back-ups are needed!

I absolutely ADORE this song and love that it was used in the opening sequence of the movie. It sent the tone perfectlyI obviously had to have this. There are also so many win notes in here for me, vetiver, leather, pepper, spice? I was skeptical about the jasmine but I've learned not to let one note scare me away from a perfume purchase. Out of the bottle, Funnel of Love is a perfumey, high-pitched jasmine, but just for a second! It jumps out right away but is quickly reeled in by the other notes. On my skin, this is gorgeous! I'm still getting the jasmine along with champaca flower as top notes (no indole or diaper scent at all). Both white florals make this feel like an expensive, floral oriental perfume. It's the type of perfume you'd find in a boutique, test, fall in love with and then cry when you see the price tag. As it dries, the dirty patchouli note makes an appearance but is tamed by the florals preventing it from going into hippie territory. Afterward, the pepper and spice peek out ever so slowly. I never get any leather from this or vetiver (I was hoping for a little more vetiver). It's incredibly well-blended, perhaps with some aging the other notes will come forward. Either way, this is magnificent! Funnel of Love is probably my favorite out of the OLLA scents. When it first arrived, I couldn't stop huffing my wrists. It's sophisticated, sexy and surprisingly the jasmine really works for me.

Out of the bottle this is all soft, brown leather (just like the one in Edgar Miche). When I apply it to my skin, the leather fades, ages and becomes dusty. I feel like time is passing by right before my…nose. In the background I'm getting beeswax candles, a soft dance of incense and something vaguely metallic. As this dries, it's beginning to remind me a bit of a milder Tombuer (which is strange seeing as how they don't share the same notes). The final dry down is all beeswax, incense and leather on my skin. This is exactly the type of blend I like to wear and is one of my favorites from the OLLA series.

Coffee is sometimes a hard note for me to wear, especially when it's the dominant note. But I absolutely love this first scene where Eve speaks with Hal in the Cafe and we start getting to know her character. I HAD to take a chance on a bottle of this and I'm really glad I did! Out of the bottle is a thick, black coffee note. It's a strong espresso without any milk or sugar. Applied to my skin, I'm getting the same black coffee note along with rich tobacco, spices and incense. As I smell this with my eyes closed I can almost see the Cafe around me. As it dries, the coffee fades to the background giving me the impression of sitting in a Cafe but not actually drinking coffee. It's around me, but it's not right in front of me. This is how I like my coffee note! The tobacco and the spices take center stage at this point and there's even something incense-like about this. It reminds me a little bit of Destructive Vagina of the Fox Spirit, it has the same coffee/incense thing going on, it's just a little bit more masculine and with 100% more tobacco! I'm really happy I took a chance on this one, it's exotic, mysterious and whenever I wear it I'm transported magically to the streets of Morocco.

Out of all the OLLA scents, this one the one I HAD to have. Before I was able to see the movie, I watched the trailer about a zillion times and every time they got to the blood popsicle scene, I smiled. It's such a playful take on blood drinking. In the bottle, Blood Popcicle is very unusual and I'm having a hard time trying to distinguish individual notes. It's fruity, woody, maybe a little spicy all at the same time. When I first apply this to my skin I get a icy red fruit note along with something metallic. The coolness of BP reminds me of the fog that comes out of a freezer door in the summer time when you first pull it open. Chilly wisps of white. As it dries the red fruit becomes a little bit more distinguishable, could it be pomegranate? Underneath, I'm getting some wood or musk notes as well. Is it supposed to represent the stick? I'm gonna say yes, it's the stick. My nose is also doing this confusing thing where it thinks it smells something metallic but then it'll register as a spice. It's so unusual! The final dry down is almost incense-like on my skin, with the barest kiss of pomegranate. I wasn't expecting this to be a wearable scent for me, just more of a novelty but Blood Popcicle smells SO good on meand it lasts forever. I'm going to cherish my bottle.

The Diamonds Gong is all nag champa incense and white musk. It's not crystalline and sparkling, instead it's soft, smoky and powdery. I wasn't expecting this to be as simple as it is, it stays pretty consistent in all stages, incense and musk. I never get any of the champagne grape notes everyone else is getting. This is simply incense on my skin.

Out of the bottle, Imaginer is a peppery honey with a kiss of resin in the background. On my skin, this is mostly a beeswax honey sprinkled with a healthy does of fresh peppercorns. As it dries, the resin and wood notes come to play giving the dominant honey/beeswax a smoldering incense quality. In the final dry down phase, the honey takes a backseat to the peppery resins leaving the perfect amount of sweetness. Imaginer doesn't have a lot of throw, instead it's a sexy close to the skin scent and works really well in my Monas locket. I'm so happy I took a chance and purchased a bottle of this…and I think I may need a back up.

Hey Kitsch! I'm originally from the Plymouth, MA area and I know the exact scent you're describing! If you can find it, The Final Darkness smells just like a cold, dark ocean to my nose. Smoky Moon 2009 has a foggy has feel with hints of pine. I think paired together you'd get the exact effect you're looking for. The Final Darkness -The sun turns black, earth sinks in the sea: black amber and shimmering moonflower blackened by opoponax, khus attar, smoked oudh, and myrrh and all swallowed by the fathomless depths of a lightless ocean. Smoky Moon 2009 - Soft sandalwood, nicotiana, and velvety orris drifting over lustrous pale musks, stephanotis, elemi, and cyclamen.

OctoberGwens review is basically my experience. I'm a huge fan of red musk blends myself and can't ever pass one up. This opens with strong notes of red musk, cypress and pine. The conifers quickly quiet down allowing for the red musk to take center stage. There's a hint of tobacco and a lot of clove for me (I tend to amp clove). The final dry down is mostly red musk and clove. It's sort of like someone smoking a Djarum Black in the presence of gorgeous incense. LOVE!

Star Promenade starts out with a fizzy gin that reminds me of the Atomic Tiki bar scents from a few years ago. As it dries, I pick up metallic and wood notes. Peach blossoms never appear for me but in the final dry down stage I get a hint of apple pie in the distance. Over all this is mostly gin with the memory of baked apples.

This is a boozy, caramel musk sprinkled with brown sugar. The rum note is the same one from the single note, Madagascan Vanilla Rum. I don't get much tobacco, but as it dries, the sandalwood comes out as a warm, woody base holding everything together. Brown Thrasher is a foody musk, but not overly cloying or sweet. This is your favorite, snuggly sweater scented with the Snickerdoodles you've just baked.

Cinnamon dusted oatmeal with milk. It's a bit nutty and also has a dry, hay-like quality. Smelling this just makes me happy It's warm, comforting, slightly foody and totally wonderful

Wow! I haven't smelled red musk in this way before. On my skin wet, this is red musk, a beautiful, dry chypre and bergamot. Red musk is usually sweet, juicy and femenine on my skin, however, paired with the bergamot and chypre, it becomes a little more masculine and refined. This could almost be part of the Wind in the Willows scents. As it dries, the red musk steps to the background letting the patchouli and vanilla come forward a bit more, softening the sharpness from the chypre. Could this be the masculine counterpart to Scherezade? Maybe! I think Anteros is a little more refined though. While she was raised by hippies and is draped in silks, Anteros wears a well-tailored suit and is devastatingly handsome. I really love this one.

When I first apply this, it's all cotton blossom on my skin (very reminiscent of BBWs cotton blossom…which is actually really gorgeous and one of the only BBW scents I actually like). As it dries, the copal comes out giving the cotton blossom a gorgeous, resinous feel. I think I'm detecting some cocoa as well, it's not a sweet chocolate scent but rather an unsweetened, dry and dusty cocoa powder. The final dry down is a smoky, ashen, cocoa with resin from the copal. zankouku_zens description of it being a "many Bliss" is spot on. However, I while this perfume leans more towards the masculine end of things I think it works well as a unisex scent. Tlazolteotl is unlike any BPAL scent I have ever tried and next to Sjofn, this is my favorite out of the new Excolo scents. I will be purchasing a bottle of this!

In the imp this is all honey/black musk. When I first apply it to my skin this very briefly smells like the nag champa/honey incense I burn in my house. Soon after, the honey completley takes over. It's a sticky, beeswax honey over a base of rich black musk and the faintest kiss of vetiver. The final dry down is still honey dominant, it's like scorched and blackened beeswax with incense dancing in the background. Really beautiful! Black Musk and honey fans, come hither!

Blackberry jam and… scones. I wanted a bottle of this when it was first released but it sold out and I wasn't ever able to get my hands on one..until now! Blackberry Jam and Scones starts out with big, realistic smelling berries which melts into a buttery, cake-like pastry note. As it dries, it becomes more sugared smelling. I literally smell like a bakery right now. This stuff is so good.

This reminds me SO much of Arkham Revisited, not the new Arkham (which smells very different to my nose) but the one that came out with the original Picnic in Arkham series in 2005. It's slightly fruitier but still very similar. This is a fruity floral blend with the huckleberry and white rose being dominant. The tangerine doesn't scream ORANGE but adds to the fruity melange. The lemon balm also adds to the fruitiness while also contributing to the slight herbal tones of the parsley. Beautifully balanced and so reminiscent of one of my favorite nostalgic BPAL scents, I think I may need to track down a bottle.

In my experience, it depends. Citrus dominant scents tend to not age well for me. I had a bottle of Kunstkammer I bought fresh from the lab. When I first purchased it, the blood orange note was incredibly strong and then after only a few years it turned into something unrecognizable. I ended up giving it to a friend who liked the way it had aged. I've had similar experiences with scents that include grapefruit. Some really foody scents tend to not age well to my nose as well. My bottle of Sugar Cookie from 2005 became really mild over time. Resins tend to age the best for me. I have bottles of Urd from 2004-2013 and the longer I let them age, the better they get.

For some reason I never signed up for a decant of this in the circle I joined. After reading the reviews I ended up purchasing a bottle, blind and I'm REALLY glad I did. The Final Darkness opens with strong ambergris and moonflowers notes. There's an indolic quality that quickly fades as it settles into my skin revealing deep, dark and salty smelling resins. It's oceanic without being overly aquatic and evokes the image of a sinking ship. It's a frigate falling into the depths of a first green, then deep turquoise and finally dark blue/black ocean. The final dry down is a sinister smelling, salted incense on my skin. Gorgeous! If you like Pirate Moon or the Phoenix you need to try this one!

When I first apply Ninon, she's nearly all lavender to my nose. As it dries, the lavender slowly and gently fades allowing the other notes to develop. The first note to appear is the honey musk and hay. This is sweet, herbal and dry all at the same time. The amber and orris give this a dusty quality. The longer it's on my skin, the more the lavender disappears, which is good since lavender and I have a history of not always getting along. Ninon dries into an herbal-kissed honey musk on my skin and is absolutely lovely. After reading the reviews, I decided I needed to track down a bottle…and I'm really glad I did! It's unlike any BPAL I have in my collection and despite lavender being a major player, it works incredibly well with the other notes and never doesn't overpower. Love!

This is very simply, a spiced apple dessert in a bottle. It's like a creamy apple pie with a sprinkle of graham cracker crust. Uh! I just LOVE this one. A million years ago I used to wear this lotion called Apple Torta and this smells incredibly similar. My skin usually eats up foody scents, however, this one sticks around forever and has a pretty good throw. Love love love love love!

People keep saying this smells like a coffee house filled with nag camp incense, that description is exactly my experience. Upon first application, I immediately detect coffee. It's nearly all coffee on my skin until it starts to dry. After a few minutes, the coffee fades to the background while my nose fills with the gorgeous scent of nag champa and amber. The coffee keeps fading into the background until it's in the distance far enough to keep this from making me smell like I spilled an Americano all over chest. Coffee is a note that has only worked one other time (Miskatonic University), and fortunately, works again for me in Destructive Vagina of the Fox Spirit. This one totally lives up to the hype! I will cherish my bottle.

This is definitely a dry and dusty scent with a powdery feel to it. I'm detecting sandalwood, possibly amber and some other dry woods? Zankou_zens description of "a more desert version of Morocco" is spot on. I bet this would smell amazing with the Morocco candle burning in the background. Resin and wood fans, you'll adore this one.

I am SO thrilled to finally have a bottle of this stuff. 10-year aged frankincense? Yes please! In the bottle, this smells really similar to Monsterbait: Underpants to my nose. When I first apply it to my skin I am immediately hit with the most perfect, round, soft and smoky frankincense. It smells sticky, sappy, and omg gorgeous. Next to it, is a beautifully warm vanilla note that is definitely similar to the one in MB:UP. As it dries, the vanilla carefully steps back allowing the frankincense to seal the show. I no longer smell the vanilla, instead it gently sweetens the frankincense. After about an hour, I'm left with a perfect, smoldering resin scent on my skin. The throw is about average and the wear time is incredibly long. Hours later, I can still smell this. Uh! I just LOVE this. Like Banshee Beat, it's beautiful in it's simplicity. Hope and Fear Set Free is a masterpiece on it's own but would also probably work as a lovely layering scent. I am going to cherish my bottle and may have to track down back ups.