cupide430

This one is definitely the most buttery and foody of the bunch. I can smell the chocolate when I sniff it in the bottle, but that note doesn't come out as much on my skin. This just ends up soft, sweet, and a touch spicy on me. It is probably the most pumpkin-y on me as well.

Al Araaf This smells how I wanted Bearded Lady to smell. On me it is a lovely medium strength lily scent at first which dries down into a sweet honey-vanilla with lily. A bit like the lily in Asphodel, but not as strong, and mixed with a very gentle soothing vanilla scent. It isn't too foody or cloying which is often a problem I have with vanilla and foody scents.

This one is much warmer in tone than the others I've tried so far. There's something deep and a bit incensy going on here with a woodsy note sliding around in the background. So far I like this one best, though I don't think it is something I'd wear often as I'm not generally a woodsy gal. After a bit this gets more sandalwood-y and less woodsy overall. It also is starting to get a bit powdery.

On me this is all pomegranate, all the time. I might've gotten the barest hint of pumpkin at first but that immediately faded off and a very loud pomegranate note took center stage. There's a bit of a musky tone behind the pomegranate, but that just might be how pomegranate smells on my skin.

This started out very sharp and astringent with an acidic fruity ozone note. There was just the barest hint of pumpkin. As it dried, it changed into a sort of spicy apple scent that is very much reminiscent of potpourri or room spray. It doesn't quite smell like I thought it would and it still retains a bit of an astringent note somehow.

Safari I've found a lot of BPAL's lavendery blends don't really work very well on me, but Safari seems to be a bit different. It starts off with a different version of lavender than I'm used to and smells like it has a very generous helping of BO in it. But within about 30 min or so, the BO note was completely gone (thank goodness!) and left in its place was a lovely herbal note. A very soft gentle herbal note. I'll probably keep mine around for functional purposes, though I probably wouldn't if it were just meant to be perfume.

Voodoo This scent is pretty far from the kinds of scents I usually love, but there's just something delicious about this. Warm, spicy, lightly sweet. I got a light warm cherry-ish note at first, which is definitely the almond coming out and the cherry fades off to a nice sweet warm spicy vanilla. This is definitely a warm, snuggly fall/winter scent.

Black Forest Deep dark pine. There's something heavy behind the pine which mellows the sweetness of pine and makes it darker and more bitter. There is something a touch astringent behind the deep dark notes and the pine. A bit too heavy for me, but very evocative.

Belladonna Deep and astringent. There's a camphor overtone to this with a bit of a musty and plasticky background. I love the brilliant green color of this oil, but I don't think the scent works on me. As it dries, a pine-y evergreen note slowly emerges which improves the blend though the musty plastic note remains. The pine is trying to overtake the musty plastic, but I'm not sure it will win. Woohoo! The pine wins! Sweet sweet pine has beaten the musty plastic into submission. It has faded down quite a bit but it is a gentle, light pine.

Bayou Heavy, wet grapefruit. This definitely has a hot and humid feel. It smells most strongly of grapefruit rind with a touch of floral. This seems quite potent. As it dries the floral gets stronger and the bitter grapefruit begins to fade out. There's still a bit of an off note to the floral that reminds me of some of the rose blends that don't work on me. Now the strange rose note is gone and it is all ozone-y lily. This seems to be Danube's deeper darker sister. I don't think I could wear this regularly, but it was nice to try.

Absinthe Wet and boozy with a hint of minty bubble gum. As this dries a deeper spice note comes out making this richer and more bitter. The minty bubble gum note is fading off leaving a sort of dark spicy note. Having never tried Absinthe the drink, I can't say how this corresponds to the real thing, but it isn't bad as far as a scent. After it dries a bit it turns completely to anise. A total abrupt change though it is more in line with what I think of when I think of Absinthe.

Alecto Light, fresh green scent. Almost like fresh, uncooked greenbeans. As it dries a light musky fruit scent comes out and I get a hint of an underlying cedar note. This is surprisingly fresh and lovely. There's a sort of herbal foodiness to this. Not sure if I'm going to order more of this, but I do like it more than I thought I would.

I saw a mention of Chuparosa, I don't get lilac from it, but I do adore it. It is one of my fave blends. That and Eos are both lovely spring florals. If you like other springy florals, you might want to give 'em a try.

Lilac is pretty much my fave scent. I've got some Blue Lilac SN and I think Dragon's Eye is probably the closest. Dragon's Eye is super strong, super long lasting lilac. There's only the merest hint of anything else there, at least for me. Here's my rundown of the other current scents with lilac and how they worked (or didn't work) on me... Ouija- all I got was wood and rose. Mostly wood though. Veil- the gardenia and violets dominate and make this very soapy on me. Blood Countess- this is all dark red berries on me. Villain- I think my dislike of citrus held me back on this one. I should try it. Himerus- I haven't tried it on yet but when I sniffied it in the vial it wasn't very lilac-y. Les Fleurs Du Mal- I had high hopes for this one but it went straight to old lady powder. Nocturne- Haven't tried yet because violet isn't a good note for me. Cordelia- This was iffy on me and I couldn't pick up any lilac. Viola- Mandarin and rose both react strangely with my skin chemistry. No lilac here. Whitechapel- LIME! Then powdery with a hint of lilac

Titus Andronicus Soft and slightly spicy. As it dries it is mostly powdery sandalwood with a deeper edge to it that I think is the bergamot coming out. This isn't changing much and really just staying as mainly sandalwood on me.

Ravenous Getting a slight poo note from the imp itself, but I'm takin' one for the team and putting it on anyway. Ok, now that it is on the poo note seems to be gone. I'm getting citrus and something else that I can't quite place. Based on the description, that "something else" is most likely red patchouli. I'm still mostly getting a light orangey scent from this. It is better than I thought, but still not exactly a scent for me. This is somehow both ozoney and powdery plus a light citrussy floral.

Baghdad Incensy and warm. This is a fairly light, warm blend. Quite powdery and definitely incensy. As this dries, a deeper note is coming out and to the forefront. And now, a burning hair note is coming out. What the? Where'd that come from? Now there's a sort of harsh note coming out, though the burning hair note is gone. The harsh note, which I think was the mandarin, is gone. The burning hair is gone. What is left is a warm, sweet incensy blend which smells like it is mostly sandalwood.

Masquerade Strong patchouli with a hint of orangey citrus. As this dries the orange is coming out a bit more but this is a fairly strong patchouli blend. It is getting slightly incensy as it dries as well.

Sybaris Very soapy at first with a bit of a perfumey floral edge. That's definitely the violet I smell. It is almost the only thing I smell. A warm sweet note is starting to slowly come out, as is that weird "beauty parlor" note that I associate with Lush violet. I'd definitely recommend this to folks who like Lush's Bathos. I think I'm getting a teensy bit of the clove here, but that might just be wishful thinking. It is getting sweeter as it dries, I think that is the tonka coming out more and the violet is still there.

Carnal Smells like sweet pickle relish at first. Weeird. This is very quickly turning into a warm spicy fruity scent. Almost like spicy fruit leather. As this dries, it is getting more and more like fruit roll-ups. I think it is intensifying and getting stronger as it dries.

The Hesperides Fresh, crisp apple. Like biting into a tart, ripe apple. It is delicious at first and then this warm, almost buttery sweetness joins the apple and it turns into spiced apple potpourri. There's a glimmer of a fall leaves scent. This would make a wonderful room scent, especially in autumn, but as a perfume it is too foody for me. The crisp apple is fighting the spiced foody scent but it isn't winning. The crisp apple is completely gone and this is fading quite quickly.

Brimstone Strong strong smoke with a hint of something... I think it might be patchouli. As it dries an almost eucalyptus-y scent comes out. It smells like a deep smoky cough drop. I think it might be clearing my sinuses. There is a resiny touch to this too, it smells a bit like sap. I think there's a hint of a pine note here in the background. It seems as though cedar is coming out to hang out with the pine here. Smoky forest with a definite hint of eucalyptus.

Forbidden Fruit Watery with a fruity note behind it. Smells like fresh running water with just the lightest hint of fruit punch. That must be the lotus. As it dries, a warmer note is coming out. It is now mostly fruit and amber with just a hint of a watery note. After it dries for a while, it is all fruit. Light, sweet fruit punch. This is how I expected Lush's Angel's Delight to smell.

Succubus Warm and herbal. The clove is fairly strong here, but I don't smell much else. It seems a tad musty to me, but I don't get any of the other notes. I can see this as similar to Lush's Skinny Dip. And I think a violet note is coming out as it dries. This isn't the normal bpal violet coming out, but Lush violet, much like Bathos.

Sin Deep wet dirty patchouli. I'm getting a slight undertone of cinnamon and the sandalwood and amber are slowly coming out but it is mostly the black patchouli I can smell. I'm not sure there is an oil that is less me. Wow, the cinnamon and sandalwood are really at the forefront now and they've reduced the black patchouli to a whisper. Definitely better than I could've imagined it would be.