olympia301

Lavendar and jasmine are all I can smell in this blend. Very pretty but not a perfume sort of smell, a ritual-type to my nose. I wore this one last night and had high hopes for sweet dreams. I slept like a log and woke up 1 hour before I needed to and could not get back to sleep. I won't say that was Oneiroi's fault, but I can't say it helped keep me asleep. I will probably use it as a bed sweetener: I take a cotton square and put a bit of lavendar on it when I make up the bed. The bed smells nice for the first night or two, until the lavendar dissipates. So, I think I will use Oneiroi for this until my imp runs out. Very nice blend overall.

Pine. OK, there's a bit of wood in there but my original assessment still stands: pine. Maybe there is some lemon lurking under the branches, or that might be a lime (I hope it is), but for the third time: pine. I'm getting a bit of a florally type of smell hanging around in the background, like one of those "Little Trees" air fresheners, except this time it's the flower freshener hung up in the forest near the "Big Trees", and they smell like: pine. I don't smell booze, and I don't smell wine, I smell one thing, and that is pine!!!! Which is fine..........if you like pine.

Received as a gift from another swapper, I just tried Malice and thought it is a good blend. However, it is one of those complex scents which ends up having its ingredients cancel each other out for me and leaves me with a "this is pleasant but that is all" impression. If other people can find bliss and wonder in Malice, great. I hope they do. I will be putting this one in the swap pile and hope it finds a delighted home. The icon is a painting I did called "Mr. Bowen Decides". It is the portrait of a convicted murderer and was done from an FBI wanted poster. He was supposed to have killed his wife and tied up her corpse with special knots which he was famous for tying well. The unusual knot was what convicted him.

I second Hamadryad. I just got through testing it and it is one great unique blend which smells of wet wood, in the best of all possible ways. You might want to try Aglaea as well, which has a woody/herb note thanks to myrtle, and an apricot twang to it. I would reach for The Lion for a golden amber/carnation (aka light light clove)/white musk/can't get you out of my mind sort of introduction. Not too masculine, but you don't come off like a floral lady either, The Lion treads the line adroitly while trailing an air of intelligence and charm.

When wet there is the gorgeous/scary smell of almond which rings out, with a perfumy (almost carnation) undertone in the shadows. Then a part appears from the carnation section which oscillates between "plastic" and something so heavenly sweet and fugitive that as soon as your nose finds it, it flees to be replaced by the plastic smell. But that glimpse of heaven is so lovely you start to regard the plastic smell as the prelude to the beautiful one, and you interpret the plastic smell as good. At times I smell a scent I used to find at a very expensive hairdresser's place. They sold an extraordinary line of soaps and skin care called Cyclax, and once my mother bought a box of their soap. The smell was heavenly and very much reminds me of Eclipse, at least part of the blend, anyway. When I first got this scent I didn't think it was the best one I owned. As time wore on I found myself reaching for it more and more frequently. Now it has assumed a place of honor in my favorites list and I don't ever want to be without it. I just love Eclipse, it is really excellent and it grows on you.

There is a similarity between Hamadryad and The Hesperides, they are both feminine sylvan-type scents, an exceptionally rare genre. But Hamadryad is much more floral, less woody.less apple-like, more leafy, and more cinnamony as many others have noted. If Hesperides is Autumn in the forest, Hamadryad is Summer in the forest. It is a very attractive scent and I highly recommend it for its beauty as well as inventiveness. An Aside: I had an insurmountable problem with Hamadryad, I received an imp of it in a swap, and like a few others, it was mislabeled. The imp I received and fell in love with was really The Hesperides, not Hamadryad. I swapped for a 5ml because I loved the harmonious complexity of all the components--autumnal and comforting. Alas, when I got my 5ml of Hamadryad it was lacking the apples and nuts of my imp, very summery. No matter how good Hamadryad was it would never live up to the impression I got of it, which was actually The Hesperides! So, I ended up swapping the 5ml away. Very much like ordering coffee and getting tea instead, it doesn't matter how good it is, it isn't the same and I could not talk my irrational nature out of being disappointed. Such is the nature of scent.

I put this in a spoiler tag because it is insidious. Do not read the following unless you want something obvious and dreadful drilled into your head for the rest of the morning and whenever you think of The Star. Spoiler She put the lime in the coconut, and drank them both upShe put the lime in the coconut, and drank them both up She put the lime in the coconut, Called the doctor, woke him up, and said, "Doctor, ain't there nothin' I can take, I say, Doctor, to relieve this belly ache? I say, Doctor, ain't there nothin' I can take, I say, Doctor, to relieve this belly ache?" "Now let me get this straight; You put the lime in the coconut, you drank them both up You put the lime in the coconut, you drank them both up You put the lime in the coconut, called your doctor, woke him up, and said, 'Doctor, ain't there nothing I can take, I say, Doctor, to relieve this belly ache? I say, Doctor, ain't there nothin' I can take, I say, Doctor, to relieve this belly ache?' You put the lime in the coconut, and drink them both down, You put the lime in the cocount, you're such a silly woman! Put the lime in the coconut, and drink them both together, Put the lime in the coconut, and call me in the morning." Yes, mint, (lime?), almond, and coconut. I suspect a bit of lavendar and a drop of vanilla. The coconut is all that is left of the blend in about 5 minutes, and it does linger on you but not in a strong way. A very nice smell and one that conveys the idea of The Star as well as any portrait in scent that Beth has ever done. I like this blend intensely, but I do not love it. I will certainly use up my imp however, and it makes me feel instantly optimistic.

Very similar to Alice with the carnations and roses. It is a lot simpler than Alice in that there doesn't seem to be too much more in here. It's an artless scent, which is fitting for something called Maiden. I really like Maiden and if I had not smelled Alice it would have gone to the top of my list of BPAL's I love. However, I miss the licorice snap of Alice here, and its white musk, which means that Maiden doesn't last as long as Alice. Also, I don't detect tea in this mix as much as I do with Alice. A very very good scent. If you are wanting something simple and beautiful, this one is for you. The icon is a detail from the "Unicorn Tapestry" at the Cluny Museum in Paris. It shows a virgin entertaining a unicorn by showing it its reflection in a hand mirror, which is a symbol for Vanity. Could that be an ironic twist on 'the vainglory of virtue'? Interesting concept.

Embalming Fluid is a dead ringer for Shanghai. I loved the premise of both and they sounded like excellent summer scents, but Shanghai turned into mildew on my skin. I hoped that I was not so scared by Shanghai that I would reject Embalming Fluid. I wanted a beautiful tea scent which I could wear in the summer and I could not see how either one of them could cause my skin to turn them into something off-putting. I tried this scent on one of the hottest , stickiest and most unpleasant nights I have ever suffered through without air conditioning. Embalming Fluid is the coldest blend in my large arsenal of imps. Sad to say my skin does not take to Embalming Fluid. I have come to realize that Green Tea does not like me and turns into something thoroughly "off" as soon as it starts to dry. It does last like crazy, but alas it did turn on me. On the right person it would be the killer summer scent. Sad to say that I am not that person. So, if you are having a bad reaction to Green Tea in your BPAL, here is a recommendation if you are perishing for tea scent in the summer: Sudha Segara. It's billed as milky/creamy but it comes out as real pure lovely tea on me, and perhaps on thee!

I like this blend. I can believe that it is made up of carnation or cloves and cinnamon or just about anything. It is really beautiful in the wet as well as in the dry stages. I will be buying a bottle of Port-au-Prince and I do consider it in the same family as Alice, but without the tea. There is a lemon smell in the background of Port-au-Prince which gives it a bit of lift. Only two catches...I don't smell any butter or rum at all in this blend. I will have to layer it with Grog if I want the Port-au-impy-goodness treat.* Oh, and one more small caveat, I sure hope I am not smelling any small sour notes under all the great obvious notes. We shall see. I hope it's my paranoia. *I did this and you know what you get when you combine Grog and Port-au-Prince? You get Jack. No question about it, you create Jack.

I was really wanting to try this scent. I loved Macha's review of it, haven't we all walked by a little plot which was The Perfect Garden? Perhaps I elevated my expectations beyond the possible. The imp came from a kindly swapper yesterday afternoon and all I could get my skin to give me was Default Headshop. I was really sorry. Could be my chemistry, could be my expectations, could even be my taste and pre-conceived notions. Could be a combination of them all. I think I would have added an undeniable green note, surely there is chlorophyll abounding in a hanging garden, it's not only blossoms. There should be the scent of plants exhaling here, like the smells in a greenhouse (even if it is an outdoor garden). ...and a bit of dirt, too. A pleasant scent, once again. I won't throw it out screaming and cursing, but I think it should go in the swap pile. Anything which can inspire mighty prose in one BPALer, should have a chance to do the same with another. The icon is the Hanging Gardens of Trump Tower.

In this version, Hades is such a nice place. Picket fences, immaculate lawns, scrubbed white mausoleums, and fountains playing ever playing for the dead. I was expecting resin, astringency, solemnity and I got a rather happy mix of flowers and upbeat things. I am not disappointed, Lord knows I don't want to think of the Netherlife as all of us spooks flitting around one 20 watt light bulb, but this blend is more like the brochure vision of "the other side" than the Roman-style Kingdom of the Dead where there is Eternal Depression and everybody dresses in brown. Maybe this is the version where Pluto finally gets the girl. "Whoopee!" he thinks, "Clean socks from now on!" I have to put this one in the "pleasant scent" category. On me it's nice but doesn't stand out as being wonderfully unique. I like to keep the imp and actually would use it when I feel down, to pick me up. However, I don't think I will list this as a Top Ten. The icon is a cemetary where there is a lot of money spent on the surroundings to make it as cheery as possible.

Tempest is cool and refreshing and very similar to Cathode and Sea of Glass. It is an "aquatic" scent married with "ozone". Sea of Glass and Cathode have the same aquatic/ozone note, but mixed with Lily of the Valley in the former, and mint in the latter. That fact makes Tempest a more plain but pure version of aquatic/ozone. There is nothing sweet or floral about Tempest. I would call it peppy and a bit astringent. It isn't a sexy scent, it's more "sportive" and alert. It certainly isn't a "natural" blend, it smells artificial in the best way (not the HARSH commercial nastiness of expensive designer "active" fragrances). If you are looking for a BPAL alternative to the zingy perky sporty fragrance, this one is a good bet. It would go great on the tennis court, running or working out in the gym

Another blend with everything in it but the kitchen sink. It is white, it is pleasant, it is good for spring and summer. It is a bit floral, it does last, it is inoffensive. But it is undistinguished and confused as I don't get any theme from the scent. All of the elements are jostling each other for prominence and none are similar enough to start a line, if you know what I mean. I have come to find out that a scent has to have a similarity of SOME ingredients so that there is a general theme which takes us to the various beautiful sections. Sometimes the ingredients seem to be outlandish, but a genius perfumer will recognize the relationships between disparate parts and blend them together to make a harmonious whole, and the entire blend becomes something more (the whole>the sum of the parts). On the other hand, if ingredients have nothing really in common beside they are "nice" or "floral" or "white", a perfume can be mediocre. Not bad, just not a memorable scent. Sad to say that Zephyr falls into this category for me. Please note that this is one person's opinion. You may find Zephyr to be the "you" scent you have been looking for. Also, my reviews are products of my experience and skin chemistry. However, I chose to be candid and to explore what it is about fragrance that either entrances me or doesn't move me. Not a bad scent by any means, but not something which breaks new ground or raises a trend to new levels. I would say it would be perfect for a "stuffy": day at the office, evening at the PTA, or put in a bathbomb (where you are not demanding genius).

I love The Lion and Alice from the Mad Tea Party collection and had tried White Rabbit before when I first came to BPAL. I found it pretty so-so, but I have tried it again in the hopes that my nose has become educated to the blends. I can pick out something which I say is apricot, but only because I have been told that's what it is. I get an herbal/grassy undertone from it next. I just never was able to bring out tea, milk or honey. That's sad but true. No ginger at all, and black pepper? Not so much as one grain! I have a habit of comparing scents in a category if there is a unifying thread among them, in this case the two great scents from The Mad Tea Party are Alice and The Lion, and White Rabbit has to hold its own against them, give me something different and yet attractive. As a scent progression, White Rabbit starts out as "Hobby Lobby" on me and collapses into a discordant mess on my skin. OK, the word "mess" makes it sound bad, it isn't, but it is chaotic on my hide and doesn't organize itself into something faintly recognizable and greater than the sum of its parts like Alice and The Lion do. One good thing which came out of this retry of White Rabbit was the icon. I consider it among the best I have done. Why do I get the best icons out of scents I am indifferent to with rabbits as their themes? (Centzon Totochon was another).

I think Aglaea is a good choice, too.

I did so want to like High John, so many nice things have been said about it. Alas, this is another scent that does not like my skin. It never smelled anything like grapes on me. It was the smell of old dirt and dust with an unhappy bit of something like dryer sheets in the background. There was nothing good my skin did for High John. Gad, it was dreadful on me and I had to wash it off. So that just means that some other person out there will have the pleasure of getting to see if High John is right for them. I hope it is and I hope that it goes to a good home on the next go round, the best would be someone who is too timid for their own good, a bit of courage is always welcome. Thank goodness, that's not my problem.

I have never ever smelled any perfume which reminded me so strongly of a mint julep. No kidding. I realize that everyone else has been talking about apricots and peaches, ambers and musks but I smell mint juleps. The herb myrtle has tricked my nose into thinking spearmint, but when I mentally try to chase it down and say, "Spearmint?" it changes into myrtle. Maddening, but one reason why I am fascinated by this blend. For the second time in my BPAL life I get this illusion (of something which isn't listed in the blend ingredients) only when I breath out, not when breathing in, and even then it is tantalizingly indistinct but definitely there. I find this to be a pretty boozy scent, gives me the bourbon thoughts! That's the other mint julep component which is all the way there for me. The boozyness won't go away on drydown and I find it refreshing. It does cling to me pretty well. One odd thing is that if I smell it close it reminds me of elements of other commercial perfumes I have smelled in my life, not the entire ensemble of a scent, but just some sub-compounds, like 5-6 essences which you would find in "Perfume X" circa 1989. Just a teasing fragment of something else. Do I love this new and almost indefinable blend? The answer is hell yes. After a month with Aglaea it's wonderful. I truly love this scent, it's the sun the summer the best. Try it. It is grand. I unconditionally recommend this scent to anyone.

It's like learning to ride a bicycle...with your nose. Once you learn to do it, your life changes.

Is "Mi-Go" pronounced "Mee-Go" or "My-Go"? Anyone know? (FYI-I have always pronounced BPAL as BEE-pal, looks like that is the common pronounciation).

Dentists will hate this blend, a profound sugar buzz without the cavities! After I had heard such stinging praise for Grog I was curious. My two forays into the butter and foody scents were 50% successful (Gluttony was not me, but Jack was). Hoping for more Jack than Gluttony I swapped for it. I love it, by itself or for a butter boost to other blends (as Chupa Chup said above), Grog is a winner. The smell is uber butter/rum with a whiff of coconut and it is masterful. Not cloying, always fun, lasts longer than a Sugar Daddy (which really surprised me), I was smitten. This is indulgence in a bottle and has the superb balance between sweet to the max and interesting back notes. I highly recommend this one to anyone who loved Jack and wanted more of the butter and less of the cinnamon. Also to those who loved Gluttony but balked at it's stinky edge. No stinky edge here, just pure fresh toasted buttery goodness.

I have revised my "violet progression" chart, from "strong" to "sweet", based on empirical evidence: Lex Taleonis-->Saturnalia-->Ultraviolet-->Veil-->Wings of Azrael-->Marie

This is a grand perfume in the manner of Miss Balmain. Very heavy with a great throw and staying power, it starts off like everyone else says it does: smoky, vetiver, resinous and solemn. There is a very pretty component to it, the complete antithesis of The Devil (which is base and animal). I would put this in the category of a big resinous chypre. I can certainly see why Death is very popular among those who like the earthy smells, but it's beautiful and has sweet saving notes mixed in as well. It's not a purely contemplative blend, and I would wear it to a serious occasion as well as think it a good ritual oil, too. I imagine this was not an easy recipe to create, but the Lab has done a great job of it. I highly recommend this blend for its ability to conjure up the idea of Death, put you in the frame of mind to appreciate Death, but yet bring out the better ideas inherent in the concept.

If you want to smell like the devil, this is the blend for you! Actually, The Devil is pretty tame. No uber cinnamon or sulphur, no surprises. It's just a deep animalic natural blend of musky type oils and I pick up some very "puey" jasmine when I first smell it. It must be made up of a lot of components because it has that "everything but the kitchen sink of essential oils" smell, nothing jumps out because there is a lot there. Somehow it does not come off as a harmonious blend, there isn't enough which shares the same sort of "theme". So all of the elements come together in olfactory cacophony. As a "scent picture" doesn't that work perfectly? The Devil is the Master of Pandemonium, right? I'd say that this oil is fine performance art, and paints a perfect picture of what it represents. I bet it's a fine ritual blend, but like so many ritual blends smelling good isn't its strong point. I'd have to sum it up by saying it was well done but not my cup of tea.

Jailbait. It's unique and has a lot of throw. It reminds me of Angel by Thierry Mugler but it's a lot more direct without being as "loud". I think that one is the ultimate, but there are others. I'd also vote for Alice, which is sexy as hell in an ultra innocent sort of a way.