bristlecone

I liked Tulzscha from the start, but didn't fall in love with it right away because wearing it made me think of cucumber salad. Lately, however, I've really come to appreciate this scent. It's simple, refreshing, and uplifting, and good for those days where I need to perk up.

I love orange blossom, so I had to try an imp of this. Wet, I can smell the orange blossom, the lavender, and the herbs. I cannot detect the jasmine. The thing is, though, I'm apparently not one of the many people who find jasmine overwhelming in the first place. It usually behaves itself and supports the other notes in a given blend, instead of drowning them out. In fact, I'm sitting here typing this and I can't even "visualize" what jasmine smells like, so I guess it's one of those notes that flies under my radar most of the time. Either that, or I've been mistaking it for something else all along. Anyway... I digress. After a few minutes, it turns very soapy... but it's a nice, expensive soap. Later still, the soapiness subsides and I smell oranges. It's very faint at this point. Very, very faint. Someone mentioned that this reminds them of something sold at L'Occitane. I agree- it's somewhat similar to L'Occitane's Orange Leaves cologne, which I used to own and which I loved enough to use up an entire bottle (the first and only fragrance for which I can make this claim). I kind of hate to say this, because in general I think BPAL's perfumes beat commercial perfumes hands down, but I think I like Orange Leaves better. Still, Santa Eularia is a fun scent to own. Anything that accurately bottles the smell of orange trees in bloom is okay in my book.

This reminds me a lot of lemon-lime soda at first. Not that it's particularly citrusy... there's just an effervescence about it that's very appealing. I don't get an "aquatic" feel from this; as someone else mentioned, it reminds me more of the damp, clean air after a rainstorm than the actual water itself. I also smell something green and something floral in there. Unfortunately, throw and lasting power are not good. The first time I tested this, it was mostly gone within the hour. I tested it again today, making sure to apply it with a heavier hand, and I can still kind of smell it four hours later, but it's very light. Oh well... it's a good scent for those days where I'm not really in a perfume mood, but I still want to wear something. *edit* I've been wearing this one a lot lately because I've been under a lot of stress (end of school semester plus starting a new job plus holiday stuff) and it helps calm me down. My mom used to give us kids lemon-lime soda or ginger ale when we had a queasy stomach, so I guess that makes sense. I've noticed the throw and lasting power are better lately too, but I think I'm slathering it more than I used to.

This is one of those scents that I love so much that I can't wear it often, for fear that I'd get sick of it. There's all kinds of good stuff in here... dirt, flowers, spice (ginger and possibly cinnamon too?), and chocolate, which I'm not sure I can smell but I'll take everyone else's word for it. The dirt is my favorite part; unfortunately it's also the first note to disappear, so I have to resist the temptation to keep reapplying this all day. This is a real winner for me and sooner or later I'll need to get a full-sized bottle.

I'm surprised this fades so quickly on a lot of people, because it lasts forever on me. Straight out of the vial, it's very herbal, bright, and citrusy- I think I might be smelling lemongrass, but I'm not really sure. The citrus calms down after a bit and the resin, neroli, and musk come out and linger for hours (like many here, I'm not really smelling any patchouli). It's a very "golden" scent, good for fall but even better for spring/summer (or maybe I'm just associating it with that time of the year since that's when I got the imp). It's also very similar to Buck Moon to my nose. Not my favorite scent in my collection, but I enjoy it greatly.

I ordered an imp of this simply because the name and description intrigued me- I had no idea at the time what the notes were. I'm not usually a vanilla person, and unfortunately, this scent did not make a convert out of me. The vanilla part is actually pretty nice- cool and non-foody. But there's something else in there that smells just like a plastic toy to me, and it refuses to go away. I'll hang onto the imp anyway, because I think there's an endless array of layering opportunities here, but I'm just not loving it by itself.

I love this one. It's definitely candy-like at first; I'm reminded of spiced gum drops or those gummi chili peppers that I don't think I've seen outside of Arizona (where I grew up). The amber comes out later, but the spice sticks around. This is a warm scent- there's a heat lurking underneath the surface at all times. If I use up my imp, I'll definitely consider getting a bottle.

I don't really get any citrus from this- I just smell ozone and amber. It's very linear compared to most BPAL scents, and doesn't morph as time passes. Someone above compared it to the smell of a rainstorm, and I agree with this assessment. A lovely scent with considerable throw and staying power. House of Mirrors is what I was hoping Storm Moon would be. I almost didn't order it, but I'm glad I listened to the little voice that said I needed it. *edit* If I hold the bottle up to my nose and sniff hard, I do get a bit of citrus after all... something tangy, like grapefruit or tangerine. On my skin, however, it's just ozone and amber.

In the bottle: I think these are the same herbs that I smell in Mantis. Wet: It disappears on my skin for a few minutes, leading me to wonder if I should have applied more. Then it slowly comes back, and it's a very pretty scent. I get the light musk/fresh air notes out of it, but for the most part, it's hard to describe. Someone above mentioned coconut... I think I get a little of that too. Drydown: Is that amber? I did not expect that, but that's what I'm smelling. I like amber, but I have lots of other amber scents, and I wasn't really imagining that this scent would go in that direction. Maybe it's just my skin that's doing that, because no one else has mentioned it yet. Since Mantis also has amber, I am once again reminded of it. Overall: Very pretty. Not what I was expecting, and I admit that disappoints me a bit, but I'm not sorry I bought it. I thought I loved Mantis, but as long as I'm comparing the two, I can say that I think I like this better.

This is my very first review. Vinland is the scent that made me decide to place my first BPAL order back in October. I had been waffling for some time, but when Vinland was introduced, it just sounded so good that I absolutely had to try it. I'm really surprised at the range of responses to it- it seems that no two people get quite the same scent from it (I'm particularly surprised so many people are smelling citrus!) When I first put it on, I mostly smell the berries. I expected a tart berry, since I've tried the loganberry drink at IKEA and it always struck me as similar to cranberries, if not quite as tart. The loganberry in Vinland is very sweet and a bit grape-y. I can smell a bit of green or woods in the background, but it's very subtle. After it's been on my skin a bit, it turns even sweeter... a bit like cotton candy, surprisingly. After that, I pretty much just get the roses. Vinland is the scent I reach for when I'm feeling tired or when I know I have a long, stressful day ahead of me, because it cheers me up. To my nose, it's completely seasonless and works as well in the warmer seasons as in the cold, and the staying power is better than average. I'm a bit disappointed that the woods didn't make more of an appearance, but I guess you can't have everything. I suppose I'll need to get a big bottle once my imp is gone.

I've been browsing the scents to add more to my wish list , and I came across Phantasm, which is green tea, lemon verbena, jasmine, and neroli. Sounds really nice! (And my wish list continues to grow...)

Can't really help you much, but I just wanted to say that I loved Bath and Body Works' Grapefruit Jasmine, which was a limited edition scent for 2003. If you've tried this and liked it, and if you have access to BBW, check them out because their semi-annual sale starts in a few days and this scent may pop up there (I know it did at the January sale). The two scents Red_Hot_Mama listed are both on my wish list, and I'll probably get imps of at least one of them with my next order.