etienne

I got a decant as a frimp in a swap, otherwise I probably wouldn't have thought about trying this. It is very masculine to me but despite that, a very lovely scent indeed. Very bright, clean and fresh with a hint of citrus that adds that bit of extra sharpness. A very well blended scent. When it's dry I get a very slight hint of petrol in this if I sniff very closely - that would certainly fit the name! My skin seems to eat this very quickly and it doesn't have much throw. Not something I would wear but I would love smelling this on someone else, especially a man.

I notice the rose first because it's one of my favourite notes. This is definitely a very pink rose with just a hint of grapefruit. Out of the Lupercalia 08 scents I've tested so far, this is one of the most pleasant smelling on me although that said, it's not something I can really imagine wearing. To me this is a very sophisticated, beautiful pink floral. Something to wear with a pastel coloured cardigan and pearls. At one stage it oddly reminds me of Diorissimo by Dior which my mum used to wear for years - so perhaps I should try to enable my mum with The Presence of Love.

Tobacco, slightly burnt coconut and very strong caramel... I was expecting this to not really work on me and I was right. I wish the amber came out to play more but for me it's overpowered by the tobacco. Still, this is a very interesting scent, just not 'me'.

I really wanted this to be the delicious creamy scent it sounds like it could be but sadly it wasn't to be... Wet on skin I get something smokey, quite medicinal. I can see why some people are getting wintergreen from this. This stage lasts a long time and after it has gone, I'm left with a plastic-y vanilla. I know that vanilla is a note that either works great on me (think aged Snake Oil sexy vanilla or Perilous Parlor foody vanilla) or turns really plastic-y. I'm going to hold onto my decant in the hope that it will get better with age but I won't be ordering any more.

I can't make my mind up about this. At first I loved it but the next day I tried it there was something about it that made me feel a bit sick. I like the sweetness so that's not the problem, I can't quite figure out what is. Maybe it's because it really reminds me of blood as someone says in a review above.

(I'm still confused about the name and why it's spelt wrong on the Lab labels?) I got this as a frimp from a forumite. And it's love. Yummy amber goodness - to me this is a very sensual scent, I keep wanting to sniff my arm. It doesn't smell very fruity to me but perhaps that's because it's so well blended that I can't pick out the invidual notes. My skin usually eats perfume in a few hours but this seems to be lasting quite well! This is the kind of scent that makes me think "ah, this is how I want to smell like!" and I think I will need a full bottle of this.

The note description sounds nice but unfortunately, for some reason my skin does bad things with this. I get a really strong smoky, burning woods type note in this - I don't understand where that comes from but it's definitely there. It's off to the swap box...

Can anyone think of a GC that is similar to Angeronalia? I have a back up bottle on the way from a forumite but I'm still worrying I'll run out of my most favourite scent so would love to find something similar. It's the warmth, sweetness and brightness that I love so much in Angeronalia.

I got a decant of this as a frimp in a swap and I'm glad I did because based on the notes, I might not have chosen this for myself. This is one of those oils that reminds me why I love BPAL so much - there is such complexity in this scent, something I never experience with 'big name' perfumes. I'm usually not a big fan of herbal scents so I wasn't sure about this when I first tried it. The herbs are really strong when wet and on drydown. However, after a while on my skin the florals and light sweetness come out more and the herbs are not as strong and bitter anymore. It has a late summer/early autumn night feel to it. I tend to think of several of the lunacies as night time scents and similarly with this one I think it will become something to wear to bed every now and then. I will definitely keep my decant. ETA: A month or so later I came across a bottle for sale and had to have it. This is so different from my usual favourites but I love this!

I ordered this as an imp planning to wear it to bed because of the lovely description. And a lovely bedtime scent this is, too! Nuit is very light, soft floral. I think the jasmine is the strongest note in this and maybe moonflower although I admit I'm not sure what that smells like, I certainly can't smell the musk or the incense. This isn't something I would wear during the day, and it's not one of my favourites but it is certainly a pleasant scent and I will enjoy the imp wearing it as a bedtime scent when I want something brighter and non-lavender based than my other bedtime favourites Oneiroi and Yvaine.

I got a Lab fresh imp of this at first and when I tried it I thought it was alright - not unpleasant but not amazing, either. There was something sharp in the way it smelled. But as I had read about aged Snake Oil, I got a bottle from eBay. I've just tried that about an hour ago and NOW I get what all the fuss is about! It is patchouli (which I always love) softened with vanilla, mixed with something slightly spicy, and I think I detect something smoky, too. Not smoky as in bonfires, though. I can see why everyone thinks this is a very sexy oil. Even aged I don't think this will be my favourite but I can see this becoming something I wear every week when I want to wear something sensual that others will notice, too.

Amsterdam is a very light, soft, happy floral. It's the perfume of sunny days of the early summer, walking on green grass in pretty red shoes. It doesn't go soapy on me as it has on some of the previous reviewers. It doesn't have much throw, though. This is a very pleasant scent. I like it but it lacks the kick I usually want in my perfumes. It's off to another forumite in a swap.

The rich scent of wild blackberry breezing over gentle rosy heather. This review comes with a disclaimer: I got this as an extra in a swap with just a tiny drop of oil in the vial. Reading these reviews I'm thinking it must have been old/contaminated because what I smelled was nothing like others are describing. For me this was actually the first BPAL I've tried so far that I really disliked. The smell reminded me of something chemical - the closest I could think of was one of the chemicals used for perms. Glasgow to me smelt really overpowering to the point of making me feel ill.

Thanks so much for this hackess! I've just spent a long time adding my notes into it and I know it will be so useful as my collection grows and I try more blends!

I'm going to answer my own question in case anyone else happens to wonder about the same... And just because I'm super excited about it, too! I was frimped Dragon's Milk in my last order and I've just tried it earlier today and suddenly thought "hey something smells familiar..." and yes, it is so much like Fyrinnae Pharaoh's Mistress - or at least has the note I loved the most about PM. My life is perfect again.

2007 version In the bottle: I had forgotten the description by the time my bottle arrived. My first impression upon sniffing was that it was very fruity but I couldn't pin down which fruit I was smelling. Having read the description again it makes perfect sense it's plums! On my skin: Very sweet, round, the plums are the strongest note I pick up but I can also smell a light floral in the background. This is very wintery, this is what I imagine Christmas could smell like. Usually I associate fruity scents with joy and happiness but the description for this is spot on - there is a sense of nostalgia in this. It's very purple as some others have said in their reviews before me. This is a very interesting scent. I like it a lot although I don't see it becoming one of my favourites to wear but I'm glad I have a bottle and know there will be some perfect occasions to wear this. ETA: I wore this the day after - I put on quite a lot at about 8am and my skin had eaten it by lunch time.

I had high expectations of Angeronalia because of the description and how it felt so right for my life just now. And it certainly didn't disappoint! In the bottle: Fresh, fruity smell. I smell the citrus notes, it's a very light scent - light as in lightness, happiness, brightness. On my skin: Love, love, love! I put some on my wrists and knew immediately that this was amazing on me. Initially a very warm, inviting scent - I wanted to wrap myself up into it's gorgeousness. I didn't think I liked fruity scents but I absolutely adore this - the combination of fruit and floral is perfect on me. I think it's the softness of the patchouli in the background that does it. It has a fair bit of throw - I kept smelling it on myself on my way to work even though I was wearing a jumper and a coat and had only put this on my wrists. I could smell something slightly masculine in this - or perhaps not masculine as such, but maybe a note that is often used in men's colognes? In any case it only makes this a more interesting scent. I put it on at 8am in the morning and could still smell it at 8pm in the evening although not as strong so staying power is excellent too. This is my new favourite and I must hunt down another bottle!

Wet on skin the citrus scent is very strong, as is a general spicyness. On drydown, I smell TEA - yes, very strong tea! Tea, citrus and possibly the clove. After about an hour it has turned into a very Christmassy scent that reminds me of potpourri. I find it slightly old lady style scent, definitely very overpowering. (It probably doesn't help that I slathered...) I wanted to love this but unfortunately don't think it's working very well on me. I imagine this could be quite a nice room scent when used in an oil burner, though.

Initially very sweet and soft. I like it from the first whiff from the bottle and it's just as delicious on application. After several hours on the rose has become the main note. It's still sweet and feminine, and will definitely become one of my everyday scents. I'm glad I got a 5ml.

I got an imp in a swap and I don't know how old it is but I have a feeling it's aged - comparing to some of the other reviews on here, I don't really smell any of the floral notes. Very, very heavy in the imp and when wet. It is a sweet, smoky heavy-ness. Gets a bit more pleasant when dry but still very heavy, and I can't really distinguish any of the notes. There is something sharp and slightly spicy in it, and it definitely fits the lab description very well. Not for me but certainly an interesting blend.

That's really useful as I've been wondering about the same thing, thanks Jenesis! They get delivered by Royal Mail when they reach the UK, don't they? So no ParcelForce or anything? Just wondering what to expect...

I don't usually like pure florals but Queen Gertrude is love at the first sniff! I'm wearing this for the first time on a dark December evening and it gives me a sense of something really soft and comforting. It must be the violets, this has a very purple feel to it. A bit dark but soft, soft, soft. Mmm, I need more of this!

This is a long shot but did anyone use Pharaoh's Mistress perfume oil from Fyrinnae? They discontinued all their oils so sadly I didn't get to order more. Their website never listed what notes it had and it's really difficult to figure out... but would love to find something similar if anyone can help!