tinyvulture

thanks to bpal, i’ve learned that i love florals combined with cream or sugar. here, the soft rose and orchid are nicely enhanced and smoothed out by plenty of sweet cream, and the gentle musk is just the icing on the cake that brings it all together and makes it ever so warm and fuzzy. it does seem youthful and innocent – it’s very feminine and pretty, but it’s understated, not trying to be sexy. i think it’s charming.

on first sniff, this reminds me a lot of glowing vulva at ryogoku bridge – it’s the strong lotus note that they share. the bold fruitiness of lotus matches perfectly with the copious, heady red musk. this particular grindhouse resident is definitely not a shy lady! i’m surprised, after seeing mimosa and bergamot on the description, that i don’t get any citrus out of this. really, the lotus and red musk pairing seems to overshadow all of the other notes. it’s a vibrant, sexy scent. but, i actually love red musk so much that i’m up to my ears in red musk blends and need some variety in my collection. it’s nothing personal, marianne.

a vibrant bouquet of roses and other cheery florals. i suck at describing floral blends, but i'd say there's something resinous about this, and also waxy. think of a candle that smells like rose incense! there's also a light dusting of cocoa, but i can't really pick out any of the other notes at all. it's really pretty, and has a moderately strong scent without being overpowering.

this reminds me of one of my GC faves, kill-devil. it’s got that same treacly molasses/caramelized brown sugar scent, only with the addition of a subtle fruitiness in the background. not like fresh fruit, more like fruit-flavored hard candy. if you don’t like extremely foody scents, you may find this too syrupy and sugary, but i think it’s happy and comforting.

This is such a dark, ominous blend. The full-bodied fruitiness of the wine comes out first, but is immediately muted by the spiciness and slight metallic tang of the blood, and the acrid smokiness of brimstone. And then there’s the familiar charred, earthy note of vetiver. If you enjoy burnt, smoky blends, then you should love this. I think this is such a perfect combination of notes to produce such a creepy, yet intoxicating, overall effect.

A desolate scent, dusty, bleak, and withered: old wood, burnt brown sandalwood, and twisted vines. there is something about this that reminds me of Darkness. it’s the scent of a candle flame being extinguished. waxy, smoky, and also slightly soapy. i think there’s a bit of ozone, which i’m really picky about, but it’s lovely here. and then there’s the natural, green scent of the vines. a quiet forest path where vines are growing over the wood, a mist hangs in the air, the smoke from a campfire in the distance. i love that all of this year’s Halloweenies are so evocative of a certain time and place for so many of us. i know my decant of this won’t be enough.

Mellow fruitiness and hazel shells, as the poem says –- an understated apple note combined with rich hazelnut. Hazelnut, so lovely in Wezwanie/Hold, is fast becoming one of my favorite notes. Yet the woodsy tree bark, raspy dry leaves, and mist keep this scent from being totally foody. You’re on a hike in the woods on one of those chilly autumn days where it hasn’t rained yet, but a cold moisture seems to hang in the air. you stop to enjoy an indulgent snack of crisp apples and nut butter. I may need a bottle of this.

what i mostly get from this is the sweet fruity citrus scent of white grapefruit. then there’s just a hint of ginger, and more citrus in the form of neroli. i can’t smell the tea or any of the floral notes because the grapefruit is so strong. i like how piercingly sweet it is, like a slice of grapefruit covered in sugar crystals, or a piece of grapefruit-flavored bubble gum. but, as with most citrus blends, it’s way too strong for me.

i like the sweet grains and the sort of metallic, sort of resinous blood note (the same blood note as in the cracked bell, maybe?) but the whiskey and beer are too much. i enjoy the authenticity of these notes, but smelling them on my skin reminds me of bad college hangovers, and makes me feel slightly ill. there’s also an odd lemony note that isn’t helping. off to swaps you go, mr. barleycorn!

a perfect, idealized green grass scent. so bright and bold. a lawn full of healthy green little blades soaking up all that early-autumn sunlight. there is a slight sharpness or bitterness in the background that i guess might be the autumn leaves. it certainly doesn’t seem like the same sweet autumn leaves note from samhain. to me, this is a more unisex version of last year's october, which was too masculine and cologne-like for my taste. a lovely tribute to nature and Indian summer.

Smushed candy corn, rock candy dust, marshmallow gunk, strawberry goo, spun blue sugar, globs of salt water taffy, and lint. On me, this smells like watered down strawberry and watermelon Jolly Ranchers, combined with powdery confectioner’s sugar. It’s tooth-achingly sweet. Sugary, fruity, and playful. But I am surprised by how light and faint it is. I would say Hollywood Babylon is a similar scent, but with more kick.

this is a very unique and different cologne. at first, i smell dark, mossy woods. i’m guessing it’s heavy on the oakmoss. but there’s also something that makes me think of the smell of hot asphalt – a smell i happen to find appealing. in fact i can’t seem to stop sniffing my skin. it sweetens up slightly after awhile, as the musk develops. at this point it smells slightly less unusual, but it’s still got that pleasantly chemical asphalt scent lingering in the background. i like it best at this point. however, after about 10 minutes, the pimento berries make their presence felt, and i don’t care for the odd berry/asphalt contrast. it’s like two very different notes are playing tug-of-war in my nose. this phase lasts until the scent fades entirely. i’m glad i only got a small amount of this one. it started off so interesting, but in the end, it just wasn’t right for me.

when i first apply this, it smells licoricey and lemony, like some sort of herbal elixir you would drink when you have a cold. after a glance at the description, it seems that it’s actually fennel and anise i’m smelling, rather than licorice. they, and the lemon verbena, are the strongest notes. after awhile, the pomegranate comes out and adds some fruit juiciness. but i’m still not caring too much for the strong citrusy, medicinal qualities of this scent.

warm, sweet woods. so sweet, almost syrupy. i’m not sure if it’s the copaiba balsam, tolu balsam or hiba wood – or perhaps all three – that is the source of this incredible sweetness, but i love it. then there’s the wonderful indian spiciness of cardamom. cardamom is a note that often disappears on my skin, but not in this case! this is a rich, deep scent with good throw -- a new favorite!

Lascivious, flirtatious, and vampy as hell. A true heartbreaker’s perfume. The innocence of orange blossom tainted by the beguiling scents of ginger and patchouli. i like orange blossom because you get the sweetness of orange without the acidic citric tang. instead you get a lovely warm powderiness. it tempers the astringent ginger nicely. the ginger is the most dominant note here, spicy and exotic. the patchouli is quite gentle and adds a nice earthiness. Vixen IS similar to Snake Oil, as others have noted. in fact, if you’re a fan of the “ginger + Snake Oil” goodness of Saw-Scaled Viper, i would strongly recommend this as a GC equivalent. there’s also a boozy note that reminds me quite a lot of Smut. very nice.

a strong, sharp floral perfume with bold rose and lily notes. there’s also an unusually sweet amber note. that’s the only thing i can pick out besides the flowers. this is not a floral for the faint of heart… or for those who dislike lily, like myself. this one goes into the swap pile.

to me, this smells like a soapy washcloth -- a nice creamy, rose-scented soap on a soft clean rag. i’d like my clothes to smell like this when they come out of the wash; it would make a nice scent for a dryer sheet. i have no idea what worsted wool smells like, but this is pretty.

my shortened descripton of this scent would be “sexy grapefruit.” the grapefruit is citrusy and cheerful, but the orchid and teak add sophistication, while hints of leather and warm amber add sex appeal. also, there’s a nice subtle sweetness to it, like a fine dusting of powdered sugar. refined, yet light and refreshing.

at first i smell the nutmeg – wow, it’s strong! then the black pepper, which i admit i was worried about, but it’s not overpowering. the beeswax, leather and sandalwood are also apparent. this may be the only beeswax scent where the note doesn’t completely fade into oblivion on my skin. i can really smell it here. this is a dry, charred scent –- extremely spicy, not at all sweet -- very unique and hard to describe. as suileach said, it’s sulfuric, like a lit match. one of the lab's creepier blends. i'm glad i got to try it but i would not want to wear it in the future.

this is the awesome copal scent i’ve been hoping for. it totally reminds me of the copal incense i’ve smelled at the dia de los muertos parade that my city holds each year. in addition to the copal, i smell tobacco and floral notes. note to rose haters -- i couldn’t tell that the floral was rose. it’s extremely light. the agave nectar adds a pleasant sweetness. again, it’s very light. nothing about this scent is too heavy. it reminds me of incense wafting gently through a crowd. it’s sort of addictive – because it’s not that strong, i find that i keep re-applying it throughout the day so i can smell it again and again. i also think it bears a resemblance to last year’s Dia de Los Muertos, minus the cocoa.

i smell a strong tobacco note, sweetened up by bourbon vanilla. and there’s the familiar spice of bay rum, but it’s faint. it doesn’t pack its usual punch (like in Baron Samedi). here it’s covered up by something earthy, damp, and herbaceous -- like moss-covered ground. i have no idea what i’m smelling – maybe it’s the life everlasting or High John the Conquerer? i’m unfamiliar with those notes. i would really describe this scent as “murky.” it’s deep and dark and heavy. something about it reminds me of humid, oppressive summer evenings. it really weighs on you. and yet, it’s not very strong. it doesn’t have a lot of throw and really needs to be slathered on. hmm, i just don’t know about you, Hellhound. i love the concept, love the Robert Johnson tribute, but it just doesn’t seem like it’s working on my skin

although i don’t see it in the description, i smell a strong “scorched grass” element, like in The Death of Autumn or Scarecrow. it’s sharply green/herbal, almost bitter, and makes me think of the last, hottest days of summer and the beginning of fall. the black cherry is also prominent. i’ve always loved black cherry candles. the spices – clove, sage, fennel – are really nice, too. after it dries, the cherry and spices are what i mostly smell. it’s not as spicy as the drydown of Fearful Pleasure (and of course this is cherry rather than apple). it’s a lovely scent for the changing season.

a heavy, dark and masculine scent. church incense (think Cathedral) drifts among the pine and cedar. then there’s the strong ozone note, which really makes this scent unique. it truly does smell of the chilly outdoors, the forest air at night. i typically don’t care for ozone because it turns really sweet on my skin, but that’s not happening here. it’s actually the tiniest bit lemony, but that’s okay.

i wasn’t sure i liked this when i tried it yesterday because it had a sour, apple cider vinegar note that took awhile to fade. but i’m giving it another chance today and that note is not present. maybe it was a weird skin chemistry issue, or perhaps the bottle needed to sit for awhile after being shaken up in the mail. anyway, today what i smell is cinnamon apples, or heavily spiced apple cider, with oaky, woodsy notes and something smoldering and smoky in the background. it’s a homey, cozy sort of scent. from childhood, i associate autumn with going to the cider mill to stock up on jugs of the stuff, so i’m really glad BPAL has done a cider scent this year!

recently, i was baking oatmeal cookies and i thought, “i wish there was an oatmeal cookie bpal.” there’s just something about that combination of oats, butter and brown sugar. Gunpowder isn’t really an oatmeal cookie scent, but it's close. i am loving the combination of maple oats and molasses! the carrot note stands out, too. this actually smells like the carrot halwa dessert that you get at indian restaurants. i can’t think of another BPAL blend with carrot, but it reminds me of some burt’s bees carrot lotion that i’ve used in the past. the hay and chaff are noticeable in the background. they smell like cereal. i don’t smell the apples at all but that’s fine since i have other halloweenie blends with plenty of apple! this isn’t a strong, “notice me!” kind of blend, but it is sweet and comforting -- so glad i got a bottle!