Leopard403

... the label featured an original portait of Elizabeth Bathory and considering I've had an obsession with her since I was about 11 I am more than pleased with just that!

Seriously, though, Virgin's Blood is heavenly. I fear cream, in general, but there is no plastic or salt here. Just a creamy but identifiably red rose scent. The only way this could be better: If it turned your bath water red. Can someone PLEASE make that a thing??

This is the 2014 version:

Strong autumn leaves, and I agree that with the assessment of "peppery" that is mentioned above. Identifiably fall-like, but way too masculine on my skin. It makes me smell like my dad.

Those for the faint of heart should be protected from my honest (but pretty gross) review:

Just ordered a bottle of Goofballs because I love its simplicity and its loved, happy feeling. This is clean fresh springtime grass on me, no more, no less, and yet still so much. Damn it's good!

My reaction on first whiff: Oh holy lord that's good yes I need a bottle! This instantly made me happy and I started to think about buying MULTIPLE bottles, which would be a first for me in all my years of BPAL. For a while I couldn't recall what it reminded me of, then it came to me: There was an e-tailer I was really into a few years ago who had a signature scent called "Sweet Vanilla Rose," and this is the fancy BPAL version of that. So, yeah, it's a bit sweet, a bit floral, and all gorgeous and sophisticated. Oh, man. Love love love.

Pile of Fallen Leaves is blowing my mind. It's one of those "HOW DOES BETH DO IT?" blends because I'll be damned if it doesn't smell like a pile of mixed leaves, some still greening but some red and orange and gold. It's quite refreshing.

This is goooood. I tend to amp honey notes and this is still true for Pumpkin IV, but it's glorious. The pumpkin on the label was created by Mellifluous, and I know champaca is one of his things; IIRC he's described it as "chewy" and I think that's a great description of this scent. I want to tuck it up in my cheek and gnaw on it a bit. The pumpkin here manages to be milky, spicy, honey-sweet, and "chewy" all at once. Love.

Wet, this is all pumpkin. But once it dries, for the first 30 minutes or so, I don't really smell any pumpkin at all, just ginger and spice. Then the next thing you know, whoa pumpkin. It's weird. In each phase it smells quite good, but with its inability to make up its mind I think I'm satisfied with just an imp.

Oh, la. This is lovely. Apparently my brain reads this banana note as similar to the Lab's buttery pumpkin, because that was my impression on first sniff. That slowly went away, replaced by what could be banana tea incense (if that were a thing). I never get that OMGBANANA that others have noted. I love that this is hard to pin down, because I think that captures Puddin's goal of making this about a theme, a memory, rather than a scent. Glad I got a bottle!

I got a decant of this last year and am really regretting not getting a bottle. And that's crazy talk, because I almost didn't buy a decant in the first place: Patchouli doesn't work on me. And red musk? Oooooh no, not ever. But in the case of Bloodbath, I was a sucker for the other two notes and evidently I went a little crazy and got some of this. Why why WHY does it work when exactly half of the notes usually don't?

Anyway. Bloodbath is glorious, and I think it's only gotten better with age. I've been using small dabs as an after-shower moisturizer at night and my whole bedroom smells ahhhhmaaaaaazing. Truly: I used this on Monday night, and when I was getting ready for bed Tuesday evening I could smell it lingering in the air. It is dead sexy.

This is weeeeeird. But good! I was hesitant because licorice in any iteration usually overpowers everything, but this is so well blended. If I think about it I notice licorice, but it settles down into something just glorious. Not too clean, not too floral This scent reminds me of something, but WHAT? It's a good association, whatever it is. I need a bottle.

I get lots of fruit here, too, but it's not really citrus. It's more chewy fruit cup-ish. A bit of a morpher, too: It went from hey smoothie to expensive shampoo to something a wee bit medicinal (is that Band Aids?!). I find this is better slathered than dabbed because it stays truer that way. Very summery.

When the forum was down this summer, I was incredibly bereft without it to keep me company. I don't really do any other social media but I was so worried I would miss some wonderful Lab or TP treat that I began stalking other sites. Lo and behold, I stumbled across Son of biggerCritter just after it had been posted (and even then I didn't expect any to be left for me). But I got a bottle, and I am so very glad I did.

To me, the coconut in this scent is very similar to that of Tiki Princess: Sort of a "cold" smell that is not at all reminiscent of warm suntan lotion but rather smells of true pulp. There's a slight "fizz" from the lemon balm and lime, rather than a noticable citrus note. The whole thing is grounded by vanilla cream (which, thank gods, does NOT turn to salty boiled peanuts as that can often do). The scent is lush and lovely and blends so that each note is relatively unidentifiable; one doens't think "that smells like X or Y," just "Man that smells good."

This is gorgeous...but it smells EXACTLY like another BPAL blend I already own. (Too bad I can't remember which one right now...)

Wet on the skin, this is gorgeous. The florals are soft and not too sweet (I don't get candy like other reviewers) and the cream is not too foody. Just gentle and girly. Sadly, the cream turns a little salty with time, and after about 30 minutes all I can smell is Boo. Yep, it's the same cream note.

This is lovely. You can sense every note. However, in combination this is way too masculine on me.

Gorgeous on application, but three minutes in, BOOM: POWDER. My fingers are crossed that it'll soften up a bit over time.

I'm dying: This is so similar to long lost Monsterbait: Bloody Mary that I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop.

*bites nails*

ETA: Also reminiscent of Beaver Moon '07!

Quick question, do the snakepits have different labels? I was going through past BPAL etsy sales and Cottonmouth looks a lot different than what the bottles I've been seeing on ebay. The bottles I usually see are hot pink with the snake on the right hand side. This is the BPAL etsy cottonmouth bottle I saw: http://www.etsy.com/transaction/132158804?

 

I have a similar question about Australian Copperhead. I have two partial bottles that have very different labels (the snakes are on different sides of the bottles, and the snakes themselves are also different). Did the label change? Is one older than the other? Thanks!

Yup, there are different labels. There was some discussion about this a few pages back. (Page 108 of this thread. For some reason I can't copy a direct link to those posts...)

eta: I don't know which is the newer version, but I'm sure someone else can tell ya!

I've realized that my nose and brain equate the Lab's champagne note with their gin note, so in that way the initial bite of Stardust reminds me of that first whiff of Velvet Pink Kitty or Blue Fire. That loud sharp note really hides all of the others unless I really look for them. So essentially, Stardust is lovely when I concentrate, but otherwise it's a one-note wonder.

I find The Garden in Winter to be rather confusing: it smells of tuberose to me. Quite lovely, but not at all what I expected!

I adore the smell of Peacock Queen perfume but it makes me sneeze something terrible. Luckily, this is not the case with the BO version! This is essentially the same scent, though there is an oude-like note that is a little more prominent in this version. Still SO lovely, and finally a version I can wear!

I did a quick skin test of Unhappily Ever After as an after-shower moisturizer, and whoa, all I got was champagne grape. It was bright and almost fizzy, very similar to the gin/juniper note that makes some of the Lab oils so crisply boozy. It was a lovely scent, though I admit it was a bit overwhelming. I kept rolling over in the night and catching a whiff and it took me a little off guard every time. I am hoping that the other notes blossom a little better when used in the bath, and I'll report back after trying!

Not quite sure how I feel about Chocolate Espresso Gingerbread. In fairness, I've only used it as an after-shower moisturizer at this point, so I base my review on that. When sniffed from the bottle and during application this scent is A-MAZ-ING. Every part of the oil's name is identifiable and it literally made my mouth water a little. After a moment on the skin, however, the gingerbread really takes over the other notes; but even more disappointing is the fact that after about five minutes this smells, well, off. The only thing that comes to my mind is "spicy cardboard." I'm hoping this will change a little upon use in the bath, or upon aging a bit. If I could just keep it from morphing away from that first delicious blast!

Still not sure about Gingerbread Snake. I bought it mostly because I am kicking myself for not buying a bottle or two of Snakes in the Pumpkin Patch, and I thought this might be a reasonable substitute. So far, though, this is ALL gingerbread with NO Snake Oil. Given the nature of SO I'm sure that will change with time, but as gingerbread ages it runs a greater risk of reacting with my puny white skin.

The good news is that because this is strong, the throw is incredible and just a dollop to test remained on my skin through a hot shower. As a result, it is probably amazeballs in a tart burner.