Red-Spotted Purple

[fetish911]

White thyme, yuzu fruit, hinoki wood, blue cedar, white carnation, plum rind, white mandarin, and lime-tinted white musk.

Wow this has a lot going on! Herbal. Fruity. A bit floral. Wet, I smell herbs and Yuzu/mandarin citrusy thing over everything else. Carnation I can pick out but it's not particularly strong. I can also smell wood as this dries further... It's getting stronger as it dries. Yep. Herbal wood with fruit cut up on it. Kind of a strange scent for a perfume. This would be a nice room spray actually......

[jarvenpa]

So...in the bottle, it's pure grapefruit to my nose. Like when you slice open your breakfast grapefruit and it squirts you in the face. I assume that is the yuzu fruit going on. And wet on my wrists...yep, still A Lot of Grapefruit. But that's good, because I happen to enjoy that scent...and then, on drying, a bunch of shapened pencils and a stir of grape Koolaid.

 

It's really a complicated scent and one I find confusing but genial. And very layered in physical space--I mean, it is as if the pencils are down at my wrist and the grapefruit is levitating and someone is spritzing the air with something gentler and sweeter up about at my neck level. Very swirly.

[Lycanthrope]

Right, so this is not 'the weirdest' BPAL that I have ever tried (I think that belongs to Licwiglunga (sp?)), but is certainly super strange.

 

So super fruity. But mostly yuzu rind. I do get a high pitched touch of thyme, and it has a rosemary-like top note, that veers towards... sharp, high pitched woods. Then the mandarin comes out and it's like CITRUUUUS (rind), even with the touch of bitterness when you bite into the wrong part of a grapefruit. Since I amp citrus, this runs away into the lime-orange-yuzu field.

 

I vaguely remember ordering this but am not sure why, since I know what citrus oils do on me. I think I was hoping I would get more 'red' or 'purple' but the overarching color I get from this is 'light yellow' or 'orange yellow.'

 

/doge So sunny, so fruity, much citrus.

[backwater gospel]

In the bottle and wet on the skin - candied grapefruit! I never thought I'd like something like that.

 

Drydown - sweet greens. Slight floral, but more woody then garden.

 

Glad I bought a bottle.

[Balame]

I have a severe deficit of bright, happy scents in my collection. They tend to be dark and somber or rich and seductive. Which is great, but sometimes you just want a fruity, flighty sort of scent, you know? Especially for warmer weather.

 

Most of BPAL’s fruits are either way too sweet or turn plastic-y on me. But not here! This is the exact sort of fresh fruit scent I’ve wanted. Better yet, it has *yuzu* of all things. It’s both bright and sweet and utterly yummy.

 

This is a blast of super juicy, freshly squeezed fruit. The “lime-tinted” musk makes it brighter still, but the cool bit is that I’m not overwhelmed by citrus. I can just barely make out the plum and cedar, which give this the level of grounding it needs to be energetic but mature. And the thyme lends a sweetly herbal touch that provides more complexity. I'm glad to add it to my more permanent rotation.

Edited September 18, 2014 by Balame

[Blood onmy hands]

Red-Spotted Purple is mainly yuzu and white musk. It's like a sharp, bitter, white grapefruit, but the white musk makes it dry and perfumey instead of juicy smelling. I think I smell a little of the cedar in the drydown, because there's a weird undertone that makes me think of sharpening pencils and the smell of fresh notebook paper. I was hoping that there would be more plum in this, but it's a very white, sharp scent.

[TorchedEarth]

Wet, this is super yuzu, which I love, but yuzu always disappears upon dry down on me. So sad.

On dry down this is really strong of oregano (like an oregano plant, not dry spice) with a little citrus in the background.

I'm glad I got a decant, but I won't be needing a bottle.

 

After a second look at the notes, I may have been confusing the thyme for oregano.

Edited September 29, 2014 by TorchedEarth

[OctoberGwen]

I love this blend. I'm not usually a 'fruity' gal, but I enjoy the bright citrus-with-a-twist quality of this very much. I adore the smell of thyme, and I am definitely getting that here along with the lovely fruits. I think the woods serve to just ground this nicely; I do not get cedar per se.

 

I didn't end up getting a bottle, but I will use and enjoy my decant and may hunt down some more on the forum as well. There are times when I really want something bright and cheerful, and this fits that bill quite nicely.

[Leopard403]

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.

[somacat]

This started out as very beautiful citrus and herbs carried by a grapefruit top note and some sour fresh notes. It dryed down to a humid but delightful shampoo- sorta ALBA organics-like. Then the thyme starts coming out more. This is really fresh, brisk, and lovely and is my favorite fruity BPAL by far. I'm not counting the citrus or coconut favorites here. This is perfect for hot weather and is not too sweet as many fruit/herb/florals have been. I may have to break down and get a bottle despite severely limited funds.

[zankoku_zen]

On wet, its was a beautiful citrus heavy blend. Loads of yuzu, some of that lime, mandarin, and some thyme thrown in.

 

It dried to a more herbal blend, with the thyme and cedar being some of the more predominant notes.

 

Honestly, this would make for an awesome soap/bubble bath. Clean, flowery, citrusy.

[Astarial]

This is a huge morpher on me! It starts out LIME and YUZU, both yelling and clamoring for attention. It reminds me a ton of lightning storm, which also has those two notes overwhelming most everything else on me.

 

Applied, it's more yuzu than lime, and the floral, fruit, and wood notes ground it and give it a bit of sweetness. Citrus normally disappears pretty quickly on my skin, but here it lasts a surprising amount of time and lend a continuing brightness as it burns off. It starts to get a lot sharper and woodier as this happens. There's a stage where I think of pine-sol, but mostly it's just... dry and sharp. The plum and citrus don't stick around to drag it back from that border, and ultimately the dry isn't something I like all that much. Woods really don't work super well on me, sadly.

[sariasister]

In the imp and wet on the skin I get grapefruit--which I guess is the yuzu. It really reminds me of Night Gaunt in how citrusy it is. On me it dries and fades pretty quickly, but later in the day I still get a little trace of something--I think it's the cedar.

 

If you like citrus I would say go for this. I think I was hoping the wood and thyme would be a bit stronger.

[doublehelix]

Oh! This is delicious! Wet, it's pure candied grapefruit, with some herbal notes hiding underneath. It is a bit musky as it dries down more... And the carnation becomes pretty strong. Sadly once dry, the grapefruit is more of a background note. It's still quite beautiful! It makes me want to hold onto summer.

[Magycmyste]

In the imp: Lime and yuzu? Honestly, it smells like a kiwi fruit to me.

 

Wet on skin: Ok, a little less kiwi, a little more citrus coming through now, along with the wood. Not sure about the hinoki, but I'm pretty sure I'm getting some cedar.

 

Dried down: I'm getting lemon-kiwi still, with a little bit of rubber

 

Throw: I'm not really getting much throw out of this, but I'm ok with that.

 

Verdict: ** Yeah, this one really isn't for me.

 

ETA: Revising this to *** because I let it sit a little longer, and its smelling better to me. Still don't think this is really for me, but still.

Edited October 8, 2014 by Magycmyste

[surlygurl]

This one was a surprise! First I get red-purple candies, which isn't really my thing (candies.... I like red-purple scents just fine). Then what must be the thyme comes out. I was thinking menthol, but a bracing herbal it was. It reminded me of a a plum candy I got at a Japanese store - "ume" was the only english on the package, but it had some strong herb in there, too. This is that scent.

 

As it dried, the scent became thick. Close up it was still that weird candy-herb combo, but the throw? Oh. My. God. I kept thinking "what smells so good? Someone in this movie theater smells really good!" Must be the woods pulling it all together. Very classy. Like a classy lady who's also really nice.

[Caper]

I just want to start with the fact that I love thyme in perfume.

 

It starts with a beautiful blend of citrus alternating between sweet orange and bitter grapefruit. The blue cedar is lurking underneath and the hinoki wood is nowhere to be found. I do get the thyme from time to time (sorry) and it adds an interesting element to an otherwise citrusy blend. It increases in prominence as the citrus fades. The white musk holds it together with the cedar, but isn't overpowering like it sometimes can be.

 

This is by far my favorite of the butterflies and if I didn't already have a gazillion bottles of perfume I'd grab one. As it is, I'll keep my decant and stash it in my summer collection. After one more sniff I think I'm going to put out a swap request for this one. Yum.

[theredkilt]

What a morpher!!! It started off as a herbal citrus blend then went to a bitter grapefruit/ thyme combo and ended up as light mandarin/ thyme.

[astarinel]

YUZU right up front. I definitely agree it starts with a blast of herbal citrus, which is pretty bright and refreshing, and a little bit bitter.

 

The citrus fades as it dries, as citrus tends to do. I don't think I like this as a perfume, but I really think I would like it as a soap or room spray smell. It's very clean and refreshing without being sharp or overwhelming.

 

It definitely does not smell either red-spotted or purple to me, but that's okay.

Edited October 25, 2014 by astarinel

[mymymai]

• ITI: Oh, this one is fabulous! The yuzu is bright, sweet, and delightful paired with the plum and lime. Oh my gosh, I'm starting to panic just a tad that I may have missed out on something incredibly special.

Wet: The yuzu and mandarin are just incredibly succulent on my skin while the lime and plum provide a delightful fruity balance to the bright, sparkly, light citrus (lime reads as fuller and darker to me, something that is even a bit savory at times). I''m also picking up wafts of spicy carnation and a blueish musk, although no cedar. This is a stand-out scent so far.

Dry: A winner still! Plum peel, mandarin, yuzu, carnation, a gossamer musk, and a faint white thyme. I'm rather miffed that I did not test this earlier as I would have bought a bottle.

Edited November 18, 2014 by mymymai

[milo]

I love me a good citrus, and this one certainly fits the bill. Right off, the yuzu, and a touch of musk at herb, though I probably wouldn't know the thyme or musk was there, but I peeked. It is in the right proportions not to make this one too herbal or musky. This is a lovely, bright, fresh citrus, and it's the first time that yuzu has behaved on me, (so far!). I may keep my eye out for a decant.

[tinyvulture]

Yuzu! Grapefruit's more sophisticated and vaguely floral cousin. The thyme pops in, what an interesting pair these two notes make! And just a hint of hinoki wood. Not getting any cedar or carnation. Yuzu = happy! Go, yuzu! Don't need a whole bottle, though.

[emilynicole]

Ooh this is a nice one!

It starts out as a sunshiny citrus blend that is not too astringent or pithy. It is all happy yuzu with a hint of a creamy backdrop. I'm not sure where that bit of creaminess is coming from, but I like it.

As time passes I get just a hint of carnation joining the party and the blend warms and sweetens on my skin. Perhaps there is a touch of wood backing things up here too. Mmm. The citrus is still here, but it has softened and the thyme is peeking out.

This starts out upbeat and joyful and settles into a more serene happiness. I'm impressed.

Edited December 5, 2014 by emilynicole