hlinspjalda

In the bottle: Mostly a well-blended herbal with a little bit of bergamot, tobacco, and angelica peeking out. Wet: Vital and pungent now; the bergamot is almost lemony now, I get some ginger, and occasionally a whiff of olive. Underneath there's some galangal, or maybe it's the fig -- a sweet earthiness. Half an hour: Now it has more of that olive-resin scent I'm familiar with, like Tzadikim Nistarim. There's more of a rooty sharpness about this one, though, a touch of the licorice-like angelica. It's making me a little dizzy. One hour: Earthy, grounded, resiny-rooty sweet but with some serious pungent overtones -- angelica definitely, something else herbal and sharp. It's heavy, serious, not at all frivolous or light-hearted. Two and a half hours: The resin has taken over, smoothing this into something I like much better now. It's still rather earthy and rooty, but not so pungently angelica any more too. Still that curious note of olive blossom, giving it an ancient history kind of a feel. Four hours: Much less pungent now, still rooty-resinous with olive. Not bad on me, but not me.

In the vial: This smells a lot like Skuld to me, so I'm guessing honey and ylang ylang. Maybe grape also, definitely sweet and tangy. Wet: The sharp tanginess subsides, replaced by something waxy. It reminds me of that chewable wax candy I used to get as a child -- something spicy and resinous, but very much edible. Almost like JuicyFruit gum, too. The floral is amping slowly; it's a fleshy white like jasmine, honeysuckle, gardenia, something, I'm not sure what. Half an hour: There's a flatness in there, I'm not sure what that is. Still floral and honey, maybe some kind of a resin too, or maybe tonka? And still that waxy scent, like maybe a spice oil. Wish I could remember what that old wax flavor was, but all I can get is that it reminded me of spice drops, like maybe anise or fennel. One hour: Much the same as before, but a powderiness now. That might be a honey note, because some of them turn powdery on me. I'm definitely losing the sense that this one is going to work on me, though. Two and a half hours: Powdery honey and floral. I've tried a lot of honey florals, and this one is turning out not to work very well on me. I bet it's the honey note; there's at least one that doesn't really work on me. Later it went to something a bit like Hetairae on me, only not as spicy but still with the honey and ylang ylang. I can live with this, but it's not as squarely in my zone as either Skuld or Hetairae.

In the bottle: Some resin, some patchouli. Eye-rolling good. Wet: Resinous, dark, musk, and a little something sharp like leather. Half an hour: Myrrh, amber, musk, and something else. This is dark and fabulous, and I love it! One hour: Yum. But that sharp note is still there. It's almost like leather, salty, tannic. Wonder what it is? Two hours: That sharp note has gone away. Now it's mostly resins and some musk. But somehow this one smells better than any of the other resin-based ones I've tried. Four hours: Yum, yum, yum. Top five. Seven hours: Still solid, although a little sweeter and less complex. My bottle is from the original release; I got it in trade while on vacation and came home to discover it had been revisited! O frabjous day! I bought two more.

In the vial: Vetiver, very sour and sharp. Wet: Vetiver first, then the patchouli shows up. This is still very sour, sharp, and dark, like wet black leather. Twenty minutes: Nasty vetiver with an undertone of smoky patchouli. Still wet black leather. One hour: Wet black leather and a bit of smoke. I think the sour is coming from the sandalwood, which sometimes sours on me. Two and a half hours: Patchouli-musk, some vetiver. Much more tolerable now. Four hours: Now this I like. It's mostly patchouli and a little sandalwood, with a memory of vetiver. It's kind of warm, and almost sweet now. I guess red patchouli is one of the ones that works particularly well on me.

In the vial: Herby, citrusy, pungent. Wet: Herbs and spices, mostly. There's something very sweet at the very bottom of it, though, and a bite that's resinous. As it develops, the musk ramps up, crowding out the herbs. Twenty minutes: Soap. This smells like an herbal soap to me, but the more I sniff at it the more I notice other subtleties like the spices. I can make out the amber and myrrh too. It smells okay, but on another chemistry I bet this one would be fabu. One hour: Sweeter now; I think the resins have pushed the herbs out of bed, leaving only the spices to play with. I think I'm beginning to figure out what "daemonorops" smells like, because this reminds me of a note in "Anactoria." Two hours: Still pleasant., but less sweet than before. Now it's amber-cinnamon-musk with that note of daemonorops in the background. Four and a half hours: Still interesting. I might have to keep this.

In the vial: Unfamiliar resin. Wet: Clove and sandalwood right away, with that same resinous scent beneath. No rose or patchouli, no orris detectable. Twenty minutes: The resin (I don't know if it's opoponax or benzoin) has taken over this one. After that I notice clove and, I think, maybe sandalwood. Still no rose or patchouli; fascinating! One hour: This has gentled some and blended. It smells like the more intense elements have fallen back to the level at which the rose and patchouli are noticeable. I can even make out a bit of that violet-y bite of orris. This doesn't really work for me, but I think it smells nice now that it's balanced itself out. Two hours: Now I get the orris. It's soured tremendously and smells woody. Sandalwood does that on me sometimes, souring quickly. Once again, done in by red sandalwood. *sigh*

In the vial: Vetiver, patchouli, evergreens. Wet: Smoky patchouli, something sweet, something nose-twitchy. There's some amber in there somewhere, too. Twenty minutes: Patchouli-amber now, with that lingering smoke impression. Fortunately, the vetiver has receded. I like this! One hour: Wow, this is great; the vetiver has gone away entirely. I love this! Two hours: Still very nice, but some of the subtlety has diminished, particularly that lovely smoky note. I do like it a lot, though. Four and a half hours: Almost gone. I traded for an imp of this, and I think I'll probably need a bottle of it eventually.

In the bottle: Sweet! Honey first, followed by citrus. Then an herby scent as it hits the air. Wow, this smells great to me. Wet: The citrus smell ramps and turns into identifiable lemon. There's something else that goes hand in hand with it, something it partners well with. The herbs and cinnamon mix well, and it smells like a bouquet. The honey is underneath tying everything together, but it's not nearly as sweet and powerful as it was at first. This smells joyous to me, like the scent itself is sentient and rejoicing. Twenty minutes: The herbs have tempered the honey and citrus. Although it smells spicy, I can't identify any of the listed spices. It smells almost musky now. One hour: Honey and herbs, with a disturbing powdery note somewhere in the middle. But the closer I get to my wrist, the better it smells. Two and a half hours: The herbs are still running the show. The honey has lost its sweetness and died back into floral, which intensifies the powdery note. The muskiness is still underneath everything else, though. Several hours later: This one definitely smelled like mead with herbs, but I was disappointed that the spices were so low-key. I traded this for a bottle of original "Schwarzer Mond" and never looked back. My trading partner was just as thrilled to get this, so it's all good.

In the vial: Sweet, rich, with an unfamiliar fleshy flower scent about it. Wet: Honeysuckle cut with something sharp, maybe the amber, over a deeper but diffuse floral base. Heady but not sweet. Twenty minutes: Rose and honeysuckle, but with a bite that might be the chrysanthemum. It's a little bit soapy, but in a soft and voluptuous sort of "I'm clean! Touch me!" way. One hour: The bite and the soapy impression have vanished. Now it's mostly rose and honeysuckle. It's very beautifully soft-focus, and I love it. Three hours: At two hours I loved this. At three hours I loved this. Now it's lost most of its subtlety; what's left is very gentle honeysuckle, like the way Lonicera japonica smells when the blooms have gone all yellow and saggy. This is a scent I have been looking for for 30 years, ever since "White Shoulders" broke my heart by failing on me. Now I can finally wear honeysuckle! ADDED Jan. 9: In the vial: Sweet, rich, with an unfamiliar fleshy flower scent about it. Wet: Honeysuckle cut with something sharp, maybe the amber, over a deeper but diffuse floral base. Heady but not sweet. Twenty minutes: Rose and honeysuckle, but with a bite that might be the chrysanthemum. It's a little bit soapy, but in a soft and voluptuous sort of "I'm clean! Touch me!" way. One hour: The bite and the soapy impression have vanished. Now it's mostly rose and honeysuckle. I can see now why I remembered it so vividly from my first Meet 'n Sniff; it's very beautifully soft-focus, and I love it. Three hours: At two hours I loved this. At three hours I loved this. Now it's lost most of its subtlety; what's left is very gentle honeysuckle, like the way Lonicera japonica smells when the blooms have gone all yellow and saggy. This was one of my first BPAL bottles and still a favorite. It's one of the scents I wear when I'm trying to pass in polite society.

In the vial: Sweet floral with a spicy undertone. This smells wonderful to me. Wet: The fruity element of the floral subsides immediately, but the sense of sweetness lingers as some floral with more of a pungent bite ramps up. I don't notice the rose, amber, or sandalwood at all, which is weird because usually those are the three notes that would dominate on me in a blend containing them. Twenty minutes: This has settled down into something very close to "Black Lotus." I guess it's the lotus, amber, and sandalwood they have in common that's making me think that. Still can't make out the rose, which really surprises me. There is, however, another set of notes in there that I don't recognize, which make it much more ethereal and floral than "Black Lotus." One hour: Still very delicious. The lotus and sandalwood dominate, with some other floral notes in the background. Can't make out much amber, and never did smell the rose. This is quite pleasant but doesn't work on me as well as "Black Lotus" does. Two hours: The floral subtleties have died back now, and the amber has become noticeable. Where is the rose? Now it is lotus-amber with some sandalwood, very pleasant, but not a home run on me. Four hours: Mostly amber now, with a little sourness I think is the remainder of the floral.

In the bottle: Interesting, complex. I can make out a few notes: olive, spikenard. Not very strong, though. Wet: Patchouli and myrrh right away, and something pungent above it. This has potential. Twenty minutes: Herby now, I think that's the olive leaf. There's also a woody note, a lot of musk, and something else that bites. It's not brutal, but it's overbearing. One hour: Herby resin with a wood note. It's calmed down a lot but is still powerful and intense. I think the myrrh is dominant, but it is supported by a lot of other notes. Three and a half hours: Yum, I like this much better now it's not so intense. Pleasant herby floral overlaid onto very nice resin, with just a sliver of woodiness. Six hours: Resins and patchouli, still going strong. A hint of that olive fragrance, too.

In the vial: Roses, roses, roses! Wet: Lots of sweet roses, similar in note to "Peacock Queen." (I hope it doesn't go sour the way that one did!) Also something herbal, not sure what. Half an hour: Still rose, not sour, but not sweet any more either: cut with some herby and tannin notes, and I think I can make out the patchouli. Two hours: Rose and patchouli now, with a bit of honey. Wow, this changed a lot. I like all the phases, but this one particularly. Definitely a keeper. Three hours: More patchouli and honey than rose now, but still nice. Four and a half hours: More subtle now, mostly roses and honey. Six hours: Still hanging in faintly.

In the vial: Resin, lavender, and some other delicious herby scent. Wet: Resin and lavender, with peppermint and something that smells floral. Invigorating; I like it. Twenty minutes: Sweet floral, strong resin, and herb. It's unusual, and I still like it. One hour: This one is weird. It's not sweet, but on me it reads very sweet, although complex with herbs and resins. I could definitely wear this from time to time; it makes me feel good, somehow, optimistic, encouraged, something like that. Two hours: Still yum. I didn't expect to like this one at all, but I really do. I'm glad I have a whole, clean imp of it. Three and a half hours: Still win. Seven hours: And still win. I picked this up in a circle swap. What a lovely surprise!

I bought this despite the fact that I was pretty sure it wouldn't work on me. But the name drew me, and the gardenia and sandalwood enticed me, so I gave it a shot. In the vial: Cold, watery, woodsy. Not nearly as floral as I expected from the description; this smells like gliding past the flowery white banks of a shady river. Wet: Sharp, woody florals, still cold and watery. I can't place this at all beyond something that might be the muguet. It smells blue-white to me, almost icy. Hour and a half: Got distracted by making breakfast and couldn't track this closely. For the first hour it was unpleasant, all high piercing notes like the worst elements of magnolia, gardenia, and muguet. I've always had trouble with that class of flowers; they usually don't smell good on me at all. But slowly as the shrieking died off the sandalwood began to glow. It's very subtle now, a sandalwood base with some ethereal florals over top of it. Still very blue-white, not a warm white at all. I can tolerate this, but going through that first hour of harsh headachy notes makes it unlikely that I'll want to do so regularly. Three hours: Mostly a gentle sandalwood now, but with a tinge of gardenia on top. This one performed just about as I expected, sadly; but it was worth the shot. I'll keep the bottle (which is lovely) and wear it from time to time perhaps, but I'll definitely decant as many imps of it as possible to trade or sell. Four hours: Now it smells wonderful, although very light.

In the vial: Agreeably complex: vanilla, lily, rose, citrus. The vanilla-citrus combination smells as usual: like a baked good. Wet: The floral comes up first, lily-jasmine-rose. But it's not dominating, and there's some more masculine smell beneath. The base is maybe a leather-resiny combination; it reminds me of the English Leather soap-on-a-rope my stepfather once had. It's heavy, though, and kind of makes my head ache One hour: This has turned into a girl scent on me. (Too bad, I kind of enjoyed the English Leather moment.) Warm well-blended spicy floral, fairly pleasant but with a faintly disquieting sweetish odor of rotting haybales. I was afraid the jasmine was going to dominate this, but it doesn't. If I didn't have all the experience with haybales I might not have even noticed, let alone been put off by, the hay element, but I'm sensitive that way. (A rotting haybale once caused me allergic problems so severe we had to get rid of the car it was in.) And there's something else, a trace of something sweet I can't put my finger on. Two and a half hours: Much more subdued now, it's fallen back into a faint floral over sandalwood, a hint of vanilla, and what smells like amber. Maybe "amber tobacco" doesn't mean what I thought it meant? Four hours: This one's not nearly as strong on me as some of the others. Must be the lack of amber! This one is mostly sandalwood now, with a bit of vanilla. I don't actively dislike this one, and the headache might be due to the weather pattern rather than the jasmine, but I have to get rid of it because of the hay absolute note.

In the vial: Jasmine and a little vanilla. Are there really roses in here? Wet: Whew! Really really jasmine! I bet this will be totally different in ten minutes, though. Ten minutes: Nope, still really really jasmine. There's a tiny bit of something else really strong and sweet which is probably damask rose. This one is giving me a headache. If it's not better in half an hour, I may have to wash it off. Forty-five minutes: Much softer and somewhat less sweet now, but it's still pretty much all jasmine. Normally I don't do at all well with jasmine, so maybe that's obscuring the finer subtleties of this one for me. But it's weird that the roses are so noticeable by their absence. Two and a half hours: This one is teasing me. My wrists smell like straight soft jasmine, but from time to time I catch a whiff of the stuff under my jawline, which smells different. It's juicy, fruity, kind of grape-like. Why would it smell different on different pulse points? Six hours: Now that the jasmine is gone, I can smell the rose very faintly, along with something else that might be the vanilla.

In the vial: Lemon, bergamot, and something that smells like lavender. Wet: Bergamot and citrus at first, then the musk charges in. Floral and sandalwood tie for third place. Twenty minutes: Much more tangy now. The citrus and bergamot still have a good solid base of musk, but it's not very subtle; the florals and vanilla (!) are not noticeable. Hour and a half: Musk, sandalwood, and a hint of vanilla. No florals, the citrus seems to have vanished. This is pleasant, but sharp and a bit sour. Two and a half hours: Sour sandalwood with musky vanilla base. Uh-oh. Three and a half hours: Sour vegetable-tanned leather. *sigh* I so wanted to love this one! But it doesn't love me. I have bad luck with many sandalwoods.

In the bottle: Booze, herbal, vanilla, and a floral. Wet: Sharp smoke, booze, an almost citrusy herb, with an almost overwhelmed warm sweetness at the bottom. Half an hour: Oooh. Gee, I actually like this! It's bay rum and some other herbs, still with that astringent sharpness I associated with smoke, and the warm sweetness at the bottom has blended in well. There's a dusty sweetish woodiness that's probably the galangal. One hour: Subtle, warm, sweet grassy herbal. Can no longer pick out any individual notes save a hint of vanilla. Two hours: Very subtle now, and a bit more masculine than before. I think maybe the bay rum has faded less than most of the herbs. But still warmish, and sweetish, and not at all like brimstone. Three hours: Not much change. It really is quite subtle, and pleasant. There's almost a nattiness about it, a clean, genteel, tidy sort of fragrance to it. Must be the bay rum, more bay than rum on me, I guess. Four and a half hours: Still natty. It kind of reminds me of old Southern barbershops from when I was a little girl.

Truck stop sleaze. Weedy dandelion and hops with a whiff of tobacco and hemp and a swirl of booziness. In the vial: It does smell sort of green and weedy, with a cutting booze overtone (cheap vodka?). Wet: Sweeter immediately, still on that green weedy base. I rather like it. Half an hour: Sweet floral grassy scent with something naughty in the background, I'm not sure what. Don't get any hemp or hops, though. One hour: Something smokyish, but still mostly grassy and a touch of floral. There's something a little sharp in there, too, though. Two hours: This seems like it's got a lot of the same notes as "Hellhound," but it's stronger, smokier, and boozier. Grassy floral, still. Three hours: This smells kind of disreputable, but I'm not sure why. It's starting to smell like the downside of a big party now, kind of sharp and stale. Four hours: Now it smells like sweet grass and the dregs of light beer. This doesn't actually work on me, but it's been a fascinating scent to observe, and I enjoyed the experience quite a lot.

In the vial: Mostly ethereal violet. Wet: Violet much stronger now, but it begins warming up almost immediately. Sharp tart florals. Half an hour: Intensely true violet scent now, with a strong supporting blend of musk and something else (maybe sandalwood?). I like this, but it's completely different from what I expected. No vetiver, no other florals either. One hour: Hardcore violet and sandalwood with musk. Something about this makes me slightly dizzy. Two hours: Boy, that's the strongest violet note I've ever encountered in a BPAL fragrance. But a bit of musk and amber is finally beginning to poke through it, just a bit. I like this, even though I'm a little weird about violets. Three hours: Wow! Still quite violet. But the musk and sandalwood are recognizable, and the amber is creeping up on the violet. Usually my skin amps amber incredibly, but the violet is really giving the amber a big fight for dominance. Four hours: The violet is just now getting into what I consider to be a good balance with the amber. I think this is too strong for me to wear, but it certainly is interesting, so purely violet as it is.

In the vial: Strongly myrrh and wood. Wet: Still myrrh and wood. It smells dusty, though, like sassafras roots rather than green twigs or leaves. This may be the most purely myrrh-like of all the myrrh notes I've smelled in BPAL blends. Twenty minutes: Killer myrrh, the smell of the pure resin smoking on a charcoal briquet. I expected this to be soporific, but instead it's more like a wrap-shot to the back of the skull. Two hours: This was scary-strong myrrh for a long time, wafting off my arm wherever I went. Now it's mutated, maybe from the poppy? I sort of smell either smoke or tannin-y wood, something dark and gnarled. Interesting, but I don't think I want to wear it again. Four hours: Now it smells like spicy sweet wood smoke. I rather like this phase. Still, trade pile.

In the vial: Sharp herby yet with a sweet, slightly tangy top note. Wet: Hmm, it really does sort of smell like green olives to me, with some other herby notes too. But there's also a floral note, unfamiliar, that must be the spikenard. Half an hour: Sweet herb or wildflower. That interesting olive-scent is still there, and there's a pleasant warm resin-y base. One hour: This one is so frustrating! The spikenard is delightful, but there's that odd little tang of olive. It smells Biblical, in a way that I particularly enjoy, but it's so non-traditional a perfume that I'm not sure when and where I'd wear it. Perhaps to a kabbalah study session.... Two hours: The olive has fallen way back, leaving mostly the frankincense and that floral. There's a warm woodiness too, probably the galangal because it reads like a root. Three hours: Frankincense and light floral. This one haa a different quality from most, though; I think it's the spikenard. I like it, although it's kind of understated. Five hours: Mostly gone now. An interesting one, I'll probably keep it.

In the vial: Mostly sweet rose, but with some tartness. Wet: Yep, rose and narcissus. The narcissus is slowly ramping, but so far it's avoided hitting the headache-inducing note. Half an hour: Serious rose, and the narcissus is less noticeable than before. The rose has quite a throw; I could smell it all over the place while I was washing dishes just now. Two hours: Ah, now it's better blended. The rose has calmed down some, and the narcissus doesn't hurt like I feared it would. Three and a half hours: Unremarkable floral. Better than I expected it would be, though. Narcissus is something I never thought of wearing as a perfume!

In the vial: Woody, a resin, something that might be patchouli. Wet: Patchouli first, then overtaken by musk. A breath of resin. The rest is woody-spicy but unspecific. Twenty minutes: The patchouli is no longer running the show, although it's still there. Now a strong mixture of woods and resin dominates. There's a smoothness at the bottom that is musk, and a top note that is sharp and pungent. One hour: For the first time I think I'm catching a whiff of the saffron. It's some highly aromatic note. The rest is quite a pleasant woodsy-spicy blend, sweeter than before. I rather like this. Two hours: Mmmm, still complex. This is a nice change from my usual; I'l keep it. Three hours: Resin, then wood, then patchouli, still nicely blended. And there's one note in it that's totally off-kilter, I don't know what. This one is really captivating, in an understated sort of way. It's almost smoky, insinuating, the sort of thing that sneaks up on you by degrees. Definitely a keeper. Four hours: Still yummy, still hard to pin down. I think it's the labdanum, because it smells very resinous right now. Five hours: Still yummy. I think this goes into the category of things I'm willing to trade if I get something I really want in return, but otherwise keep.

In the vial: Amber, with developing patchouli and a tang underneath. Wet: Patchouli first, then amber, but the sandalwood is closing in fast. Twenty minutes: This smells very much like leather to me, like tannin or something else a little sour and bitter. I think it's the sandalwood and patchouli interacting. Although I can notice the amber, it's not behaving like amber usually does on me. One hour: The overwhelming impression of leather has died back, but I can still notice it. The amber has become more prominent, and it's warmer, not so sour. I like this one, but it's a no-nonsense kind of scent, something I'd wear when I don't care what anybody else thinks. Two hours: This has turned into something not outside the mainstream. I like the amber-dominated blend of it very much and wish it had been like this from the beginning. Not sure I love it enough to keep, though. It will need another test. Four hours: Yep, amber still dominating a nice but unspectacular blend. Several hours later: The amber is still noticeable. My skin just adores and ramps amber. But in the fold of my elbow, I can also still smell the sandalwood. Surprising.