PurringPulsar

Rumpelstilzchen In the imp: firewood and ashy vetiver! Whoa this smells burnt! Wet on skin: I can smell hints of patch and spices and myrrh now, in the smoke. Dry: strangely, I rather like this. It reminds me of Djinn. I know the smoke note is powerful and the vetiver is of the clingy kind, but I really like this. It actually smells like burning myrrh incense-really nice myrrh incense. It actually smells like when I burn loose incense on charcoal. Most of my loose incenses are Egyptian themed scents which have lots of myrrh and spices in them, and this reminds me of when I burn those incenses. I can smell the myrrh smouldering and charring and the spices burning nicely. It also smells just like bonfires…it reminds me of the smell that lingers in the air on autumn and winter nights, of bonfires and smouldering logs. The spices add something even more special to this smoke…it smells almost like a ritual fire. After a while: still charcoal and burning incense and spice. This incense is quite different to the golden, soothing ‘church’ scents though. This one feels a little more pagan. A little bit earthier and primal. It feels as though it’s incense one could use to invoke ancient magic, or to call upon otherworldly spirits. Indeed, this is even more of a ‘witches dancing round the fire’ scent than Hexxenacht was on me! I can’t even smell the vetiver, actually. Verdict: this is bonfires with incense, but it’s not calm church incense. This is wild and fiery, rambunctious and fevered, yet also ritualistic. I do indeed get visuals of mischievous impish beings dancing around such a fire. I don’t get barbecue or meat here at all…just wonderful incense with a darker, smokier thing going on. It feels as though it crackles with magic, and I feel that this is almost like Djinn’s sibling scent, both have a very similar feel and scent to them. This is a scent that is really growing on me-I thought the vetiver would make this too heavy but the smoke and spice scent is so realistic and reminiscent of loose incense (especially the spicier blends I have) and autumn smoke, and I love that. It makes a change from the frankincense and myrrh incense blends, this one has a ‘naughty’ feel to it which I actually really like. Incense for mischief and magic. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? I think so! Definitely the imp for now. If you like this, try: Djinn, Bonfire Night, Priala, Music of Erich Zahn, Chant D’Automne

Midnight Mass 08 In the imp: frankincense, greenish myrrh and something woodsy. Like the last MM. Wet on skin: frankincense, and lots of it. Dry on skin: oh yes, this is MM, very similar to previous versions and every bit as beautiful. I’d say this is more like 06, as 05 was a little sharper, 06 had a woodsy background. This seems to have elements of both-the piercing frankincense and greenish-honeyed myrrh of 05, the mellow woods and softer dark resin aspects of 06. I think there’s cedar and/or mahogany in here, like polished pews. The scent is both resinous and smoky. This is less sweet and heavier than the Magi. After a while: oooh, I really like what it does as it develops. It lightens, sweetens, develops a nice ‘ashy’ scent and smells just like incense smoke wafting in the air. It also gains a scent, golden and almost fruity, which reminds me of Tzadikim Nistarim. Maybe there’s some olive and spikenard in here as well as the frankincense? This is something I didn’t smell in previous MMs, but I love it. Eventually this becomes beautifully sweet, and smells like a wonderful sweet resin and smoke scent, sweetened frankincense and dark glossy myrrh with a soft woodsy base. Over time it gains that same gorgeous frankincense smoke scent I got in Magi. Not as sweet as Magi thanks to the lack of vanilla, but similar. Verdict: I think this is my favourite MM version. This to me has a bit of the soft ashy woodsy scent of 06, with little hints of opoponax and wooden pews in there, with the greenish-gold sharper resins of 05 dominated by fresh myrrh and frankincense and olibanum. But it gets even better as it dries down, and gains a truly beautiful smoky scent which smells just like frankincense burning, and touch of candle smoke. I also get something sweet and almost fruity to it, but the soft balmy smoke then fills the scent with that incredibly realistic ‘incense lingering’ scent I love so much. This is the darker version of the Magi, to me. A nocturnal incense, for sure, but not at all gloomy. It evokes candlelight in the darkness, thick clouds of incense, and the wonderful sound of carols sung by choirs. It’s a really beautiful, calm and refined incense scent and it goes to show that I can never get bored of Beth’s resin scents. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? of course-I love resins and incense. If you like this, try: The Magi, Cathedral, Penitence, Pit and the Pendulum, Scattered Gloom

Lick It Like You Mean It In the imp: very similar to other Lick It scents, peppermint with sugary undertones. Wet on skin: fresh, cool, head-clearing mint. Dry on skin: very similar to the other Lick Its. This reminds me less of candy canes and more of Polo Mints, it’s got that powdery-chalky undertone to it (which is pleasant here) and that intense white mint scent. Though I think I smell a little more vanilla here than in Lick It and Lick It Again. After a while: ah, this is lovely. It’s a soft gentle vanilla. Not as white-musky as Lick It Again, I’d say this version is very close to original Lick It! The vanilla actually reminds me of Midway, and I love that. So this, to me, is minty Midway without the donut notes. I love that! Verdict: this is very similar to my favourite in the Lick It series-the original from 05. it smells of the pure, sweet, hard peppermint sweetness I loved in Lick It, and dries down to a similar soft vanilla. Though this one has less of the cool vanilla musk, and has a much sweeter, slightly more gourmand (but not too much-this is subtler than Snowblind) vanilla, and it’s the perfect foody vanilla because it smells just like birthday cake. I love that cake smell. The only other place I’ve encountered this particular vanilla note is in the resurrected Midway. So this is the vanilla drydown of Midway with mint added. Definitely a winner. I was disappointed in last year’s Lick It One More Time, but this more than makes up for it. The only disappointment is that the mint isn’t as strongly tingly as previous versions, it doesn’t cool the skin as much. Though that may depend on weather, and whether I’ve just showered, I suppose… Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? yes! If you like this, try: other Lick It scents, Snowblind, Tokyo Stomp, Incubus, Midway (especially Resurrected)

The Magi In the bottle: I see what people mean about cola, but to me it’s gold (metal) and spicy resin sweetness. Wet on skin: ooh, here comes frankincense! Dry on skin: this is gorgeous. I’m in resin heaven. Now it settles into a beautiful frankincense and myrrh scent. There is a slight hint of spicy fizz, reminiscent of Leo 07. This also has a smoky incense resin scent from the frank ‘n myrrh. And I can smell coriander! One of the most complex and wonderful smelling spices-I don’t smell it much in perfume but I smell it here, adding it’s accent to the resins. Ditto with the wine, which reminds me of Haloa. The vanilla adds a gorgeous sweetness and the metallic gold note is faint now, but it seems to be subtle, reminds me of the metal note in the steampunk scents like Aelopile and Robotic Scarab. After a while: sweet vanilla amber with the smoke of frankincense and myrrh swirling all around, and a faint hint of gold and wine and coriander. But above all, this is sweetened frankincense and myrrh. This seems to get even more beautiful with wear as the resins really shine forth. Every now and then I smell little wafts of incense, almost like wisps of smoke, coming off my arm. At times I swear I smell a bit of benzoin…I know it’s probably vanilla though. The second time I wore this the drydown was more myrrh-y and had a candle smoke aspect. The third time I wore it I smelt more of the metallic gold and ‘fizz’. I think the fizz is the white wine. It reminds me not of cola, but of champagne at this point! Champagne and incense! Mmm! Verdict: this is frankincense and myrrh perfection! I can smell resins burning, and their ashes. I love how the resins smell like they are smouldering gently, wafting in the air…at times I really do get an impression of soft incense smoke lingering. I can’t stop smelling it. at first it is indeed effervescent and crisp thanks to the white wine, with the resins surrounded by gold and spices. And what turned this from ‘mmm, resin love!’ to ‘OMG must hoard!!’ was that drydown. This is when the scent is smooth frank and myrrh smoke wafting all around, but what makes it perfect is that wonderful golden sweetness of vanilla and amber that underpins the resins. The gold note-a edgy but pleasant metallic-adds an intriguing and contemporary twist to the classic incense, almost updating the ancient resin blend and making it modern. I love the way this has a cool glittering scent to it, like gold treasure or like stars in the sky, but with the warmth of sacred resins. One of my favourites of the Yule collection, this is one to hoard. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? oh yes. resins are love and I bet this will age beautifully. If you like this, try: No 93 Engine, Midnight Mass, Haloa, King Cobra, Leo 07, Heavenly Love and Earthly Love, Valentine of Rome

Bah Humbug For a scent inspired by Scrooge, this smells so Christmassy! It smells like evergreen branches and winter smoke! There’s something to it evocative of cool winter air, but overall the scent is quite warm. I smell a fir or pine note, even though nothing like that is listed (unless it’s the twigs?). I suppose the smoke is the coal dust note. I smell cedar which in here smells almost like spiced sandalwood. I do smell something warmly spicy and even musky, reminiscent of Devil’s Night. Maybe it’s the booze note? I also smell sweet vanilla-benzoin, and subtle leather and earthy patchouli. But I’m sure there’s something musky, almost incense-like to it too. It’s really nice. A lot nicer than expected-I was expecting heavy leather, smoky coal and strong woods, but the sweet notes and that unexpected pine note prevail, and overall this is a cosy and approachable scent. A perfect winter scent!

Wood Phoenix In the imp: polished wood, and a bitter walnut husk scent. Also something a little spicy. Wet on skin: spicy and peppery? This smells like dry spices, as well as woods. Dry on skin: I don’t know why but this reminds me of something, or somewhere. I’ve smelt something like this but where? Anyway, the scent itself is surprisingly appealing. It smells of woods and walnuts. But it also smells spicy, the thing that comes to mind is spice markets or bazaars, it’s that hot, dry and dusty spice scent that seems exotic and enticing. Is that ‘pink clove’? The hyssop adds a herbal slant. And then it hits me-why this smells familiar. It reminds me of the smell of the spice stalls of Granada! It is reminiscent of the stalls there selling exotic spices, tea blends, and local herbs, and the smell wafted into the alleyways and it smelt wonderful. But in here I smell nutty, fragrant, polished wood too. The walnut is an interesting scent, it’s bitter but in a pleasant way. After a while: ok, now this smells even more familiar. The spice market smell is gone, the scent morphs into something different, but it reminds me yet again of another…it’s reminiscent of something which is spicy, resinous and floral, with sweetness underneath. Can’t remember what, but I’m sure it’ll come back to me. The spices and walnut have calmed, I now smell a really pretty magnolia note and some clove as well as more woods…ah yes. I know exactly what this smells like now. It smells like a candle I have, called Cairo, by Archipelago. I have no idea why I smell a similarity, because both scents have nothing in common, no common notes. But this has a smoky and waxy scent as well as a spicy floral golden scent reminiscent of my candle. I love that scent and now I’ve found a scent that I can wear that reminds me of it! Verdict: my Chinese birth element is wood, so I’m glad that this smells so good on me! I wasn’t expecting it to-I feared the bamboo would turn to soap, the walnut would go bitter, the woods would be too dry, but I love this one. It starts off as a dry spicy-herbal blend with a walnut and wood base. It's a blend of pleasantly pungent hot spices and dry herbs which I find intriguing and can't stop sniffing. Then the scent changes into something woodsy, and then something a bit floral and even something vaguely resinous/incense-y comes out and blends with the spices, herbs and woods…and it winds up smelling like one of my favourite scented candle scents, a totally unexpected, unexplained, yet fabulous reaction! This is a surprise hit of the Phoenix flock this year. It also smells completely different to anything else I’ve smelt in BPAL so far, an incredibly unique and fascinating fragrance. I need more! Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? yes! This is growing on me and I need one, maybe two bottles! If you like this, try: Leo 07, Fire Phoenix, Habu

The Gladdener of All Hearts In the bottle: milky and spicy…it smells a bit like a milky spicy lavender with lotus? Wet on skin: lavender, spices, powder and sweet milk. Dry on skin: whoa, that’s powerful lavender! I also smell orris, powder, maybe some carnation (that’s probably why I’m getting a clove vibe here) and sage, a bit of milk too but this is not like Milk Moon, this is more like a warm sweet milk scent, not sour at all. At first it reminded me of the Wanderlust scent Paris, with it’s lavender and spices and lotus-ish sweetness, but now it’s a bit more complicated. This does indeed have a hint of clean baby to it, there’s definitely a baby powder note to this as well as well as something like camomile. This smells like a really good quality natural baby bath product, it’s a very soothing and cosy scent. After a while: there’s a moment when the baby powder note really amps like crazy, overwhelming the scent for some time. But then it settles into a much nicer stage, a soft floral milky scent almost like a younger version of Alice, with added delicate herbal notes like sage and lavender, and a bit of orris for that pale soft skin scent. there’s powder, but it’s much more muted. This is the perfect baby skin scent now. Very tranquil…an olfactory lullaby. Verdict: at first, this starts as a lovely blend of lavender and milky carnation-rose, with a dusting of powder. This scent is really motherly, it captures the moment perfectly. It brings to mind the image of a new mother cradling her newborn baby so lovingly, this scent is gentle and reassuring and tender. There’s a very endearing quality to it which I really like. I’m tempted to keep the scent just because it commemorates such a precious moment even though it’s not as lovely as Lilith Victoria on me. There are times when this smells weird on me-it’s milky and rich but not sour but the milk note does smell a little odd (in that cloying sweet way) and there are times when the powder notes amp up to high levels. But even so, it’s a very pleasant scent with a beautiful concept behind it. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? I think so. Sometimes it smells strange on me but I love the sentiment behind it. If you like this, try: Milk Moon (any), Alice, Katrina Van Tassel, Paris

Fire Phoenix In the imp: oh, this reminds me of Red Phoenix, but spicier, and with a hyacinth note. Wet on skin: pink pepper! Lots of it, and it goes well with galangal and red musk. Dry on skin: this is nice! Really nice. It’s a hot, dry, pungent spice scent composed of fiery and unconventional spices over a delightful red musk and tobacco base. The hyacinth/cactus flower is a really interesting addition, it adds an uplifting greenish floral aspect to the spicy musk, but doesn’t smell at all soapy. This also has something a little citrus-like, highly reminiscent of bergamot or verbena. Sometimes galangal can smell a little curry-ish but in here it works so well with the pink pepper and musky tobacco. After a while: not as wonderful as that initial spicy blast, but still quite nice. The scent is not as fiery and now is more like embers, glowing and smoky. I smell a lot more tobacco now and also a lot more floral, the crisp greenish-lilac scent of hyacinth more apparent now. The musk has also turned a little more animalistic (in a good way) and I smell less of the pink pepper. It does smell a tiny bit burnt now. The musk does come out a bit more at the end and it smells sweeter, and more pleasant. Very sexy as well, I must say! Verdict: I’m a fire sign (Western zodiac) so it’s no surprise that this elemental phoenix works very well on me. it’s got my beloved red musk in it and it smells a bit like Red Phoenix, but I think this is nicer than RP. The spices are unusual and lean towards the savoury, but don’t smell like something I’d eat for dinner. Pink pepper is wonderfully dominant for a while. The tobacco adds a dry smoky scent and it’s one of those tobacco notes that I like. But the floral notes add an intriguing and unique aspect to this otherwise red, spicy, hot and musky scent, they add a fresh and spring-like scent which contrasts all the other notes but miraculously, doesn’t clash and doesn’t smell soapy or loud. I had a feeling I’d like this but it’s even better than I expected. Must get a bottle. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? yes! I will get a bottle. If you like this, try: Red Phoenix, Great Sword of War, War, Hermia, Trick 2 (if you can find it)

Pumpkin II 08 In the imp: sweet pumpkin, with something almost like vanilla, probably the tonka. Wet on skin: sweet and almost amber-y golden pumpkin. Maybe some black musk and tonka. Dry on skin: a slight hint of leather, but it’s not the strongest note. This is really gorgeous. Its mainly pumpkin, but a sophisticated resinous pumpkin like that of Pumpkin Queen. I’d be tempted to call this one Pumpkin Prince, as it smells quite sexy and leaning towards the masculine, but not too much. There’s leather and black musk here but they are not dominant. I don’t even smell that much wood here I think it is tonka which is the second most obvious note here. There’s a smidge of opoponax, that’s probably what gives this pumpkin scent a lovely resinous aspect. After a while: gradually, the leather comes out, and what a sexy leather note it is. This now makes me think of Hand of Glory, but with the smoky beeswax replaced with pumpkin! This gets more and more leathery as the scent progresses but the leather never overwhelms. The pumpkin is dominant, but it’s not cloying or sickly, not too buttery. The woods ground these notes nicely, the tonka and musk add a deep sweetness. Verdict: I’ve now tried two versions of this, both quite different. The detailed one here is for my decant, and I love it. Subtle leather, good strong tonka and musk, gorgeous opoponax undertones with a little bit of gourmand richness from the pumpkin. It smells like a sexy pumpkin, almost masculine but very wearable for me as well. I love it. I then got a bottle and what I smelt there was quite different-the leather was much, much stronger (like De Sade leather), the tonka and musky resin not as apparent, and over it all was a pungent and savoury spice reminiscent of curry. I was not keen on that. It smelt a lot more like the Shattered Pumpkin, in fact. I suppose I’ll keep the decant and make the most of the wonderful sexy ‘Pumpkin Prince’ scent I get there! Emoticon rating: (the decant) (the bottle) Is it a keeper? the decant. If you like this, try: The Shattered Pumpkin, Pumpkin IV, Perversion, Hand of Glory, Pumpkin V 07

Katrina Van Tassel In the imp: a delicate creamy rose. Like Hope, but even gentler. Wet on skin: gentle milk and a fresh cut rose. Dry on skin: rose, rose and more rose! This is very similar to Rose Red’s rose, but not as red, this does have a resemblance to the white rose notes as well, but has that fresh, dewy quality that RR has. I’m inclined to call this the warmer version of RR, actually. There’s a very innocent, pure quality to this rose. The cream note is really lovely, not sour at all, it softens the scent of the rose beautifully. This actually reminds me of Arcana’s Rapunzel. After a while: this gets even prettier! The cream note seems almost like custard, sweet and almost vanilla-like…and at this point, the milky honeyed notes with rose resembles Alice. Not identical, it lacks the carnation, but very much a sibling to Alice, and also Hope. This reminds me of Hope or Victoria’s sugared rose, but not as musky, this has a definite smooth creamy backdrop. Verdict: this is such a pretty scent! I love rose scents, and honey, and some cream notes provided they don’t go sour. This is all of that. The most delightful white rose note, soft and innocent yet full bodied, is sweetened by a soft honey and very pleasant sweet cream base. It’s reminiscent of the sweetened rose scents (Hope, Victoria etc) but instead of a musk or sugar or strong vanilla, this is definitely honey and gentle cream which sets it apart. Almost like Alice, but a little more straightforward and with more rounded honey and rose notes. Utterly beautiful and youthfully feminine, this and Fearful Pleasure are my favourites of the Sleepy Hollow collection. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? oh yes. If you like this, try: Alice, Rose Red, Hope, Victoria, Moon Rose, Magdalene

Ichabod Crane In the imp: a really weird smell-somewhere between soapy and buttery. Wet on skin: that unusual soapy-juicy-buttery smell, now with a sourness to it. Dry on skin: this is really bizarre on me. the dominant note is sour cream, that’s the first thing that hits my nose, a rancid and curdled cream smell. Maybe it’s the cream note mixing with the wool? I can also smell a soapy note, not like the wool in Kelly Pool but definitely along the lines of clean laundry. This clean note clashes with the sour cream. I also get black pepper, which in here smells quite savoury. I get hardly any tea or beeswax, for now at least. After a while: the scent becomes a little bit more coherent by now, but I’m still not crazy about it. the wool note has gone all soapy-detergent on me, the cream note still smells sour and curdled, and I think the muguet may also be soaping out on me. where’s the tea and beeswax? This smell is really not good on me. The scent only becomes more tolerable after a few hours, when the clean wool calms down, the sour milk fades a little, and I smell the tea! There’s the tea, at last! And it’s a really nice black tea with a hint of smoke and beeswax. Verdict: this was just wrong on me. it started off smelling strongly of rancid milk, and there are few milk notes that turn so sour on me but this one does. I smell something very soapy and dusty, I’m guessing the wool mixed with the lily of the valley. And a pungent black pepper. The notes do not gel well, and I’m not at all keen on the smell of rancid cream or soapy wool anyway. It’s only a few hours into wear when I smell the more pleasant notes of tea and beeswax. But I don’t like waiting through stages of notes that smell so bad on me to get to a nice tea-beeswax finale. So I sold this one off. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? no. If you like this, try: White Rabbit, Kelly Pool, Milk Moon

Wensleydale In the imp: fresh and clean soap. Wet on skin: floral soap and fluffy laundered towels. Dry on skin: now this smells like bubble bath! Soft mounds of bubbles and the floral soapy scent of the bath foam, mixed with lily of the valley soap and rose perfumes, this really is the scent of a bathroom full of luxurious soaps and fluffy towels of fine Egyptian cotton. It’s the scent of soap and laundry, but it is different to Dirty in that this smells warmer and more evocative of soapy bath water than dry linens. There’s something in this scent that reminds me of the hand soaps they have in country hotels and pubs, it’s clean and soapy and approachable, but very traditional in scent as well. the warm clean powdery scent that I get is similar to Delousing Powder. After a while: this now smells more and more like an ozone scent. less wet soap, less floral bubble bath, and now I smell more of the clean cotton, which, at this point, smells tumble-dried (in that there’s a hint of static to it). it’s a little bit more detergent-like now too. Verdict: this scent really isn’t my thing. It is soapy, but a little too soapy. Though I rather like how it starts off. it smells like taking a bath with kid’s bubble bath, a slightly neutral floral-based scent, with a wet steamy warmth to it that makes me think of a warm bath and soft towels. I quite like it for a while, I even smell hints of clean musk to it. but then the scent goes way too ozone-y for my likings, and the ozone reacts badly with my skin, turning to the washing powder/tumble dried scent I’m not so keen on. So not really my thing at all. But it is very realistic as a soap scent! Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? not really. If you like this, try: Dirty, Delousing Powder, Pool of Tears

Saloon #10 Whoa, this is an intense scent! it smells of heavy, heavy leather-think Quincy Morris or Auguste Dupin. This is saddle leather or rawhide. The tobacco is also very strong here and it’s a tobacco I don’t like-a sticky, treacly pipe tobacco, which smells cloying and thick. When I spray this I also smell something boozy at first, like whisky or some other strong liquor. Once that fades, the leather comes out and I smell worn wooden floorboards and that thick tobacco. At times the tobacco goes smoky and I even wondered if someone was smoking outside and the smoke had wafted through the window, but it was this spray. Not only that, but this is incredibly strong stuff. One squirt is enough to make the whole place smell of a rugged cowboy saloon. Needless to say, I don’t really like this scent-the leather is too strong and the tobacco isn’t my thing. (it may be nice as a shoe spray though, as the leather does smell like a cobbler’s, that leather shoe scent) and even stranger, my mum likes it. She said she liked the smell of ‘peppery leather’ in the house. I was expecting her to complain about it! but I’m not keen on it, it’s a little too rugged and rough for me.

Goblin of Yuletide Yet to Come :love!: This is probably my favourite room spray of the series (haven’t tried Past yet though) and it may possibly be my favourite of all the BPTP sprays I’ve tried! It smells just like incense, real resinous frankincense and myrrh, like I’ve been burning the stuff inside my house. No, it smells even better than that because there's nothing charred to it at all. It smells just like the way frank and myrrh incense does when it’s burnt properly, and the smoke lingering in the air. I don’t smell much love, and I’m not familiar with styrax but I think it’s like benzoin? If so that explains why it’s slightly sweet. There’s something outdoorsy to it, it’s a cool incense, I think that’s the gentle powdery-green oak moss that conveys this feeling. When I smell this, I get a visual of incense drifting out of an ancient church on a winter’s day. The air is crisp and chilly with frost, and all is silent. The incense scent is inviting and calming and hints at promises of warmth, luring me indoors, to come out of the cold. This scent is beautiful, meditative, and soothing. It’s also perfect for use in my campus flat because incense is forbidden there (fire regulations!) and I can now make my room smell like incense without burning anything! I really hope there are more incense/resin scents in the works for future (GC) room sprays because this is such a wonderful scent and I am using it so much, I know I’ll run out of it fast!

Either Midnight Kiss or my old NYE standby, New Year's Eve in Dogville.

The Fainting Couch I got a squirt of this in my Inquisition order. I love getting prototypes/unreleased scents. Anyway, in a nutshell, this smells of roses. Though this is different to the rose scent of Queen’s Croquet Garden. Whilst that one is a fresh, outdoorsy rose, this is more like dry rose petals, and a much more vintage rose scent. Very Victorian, there’s something aged and a little old fashioned (in a good way) about it. I think there’s also a little bit of violet, and maybe some orris, in there as well, something that adds a powdery and traditional scent to the rose. It reminds me of Madame Tracy, if I were to compare it with a scent in the GC. It reminds me of Lucy’s Kiss, or maybe London, but this is a more complex scent, there’s more than just rose in here even though that’s the dominant note. This is really gorgeous as a room scent. The distinguished and classy rose scent makes my room smell rather posh, even if it certainly doesn’t look it! I have to say I am pleased with the squirtiness of the Goblin Squirts. They may be small but they spread the scent very well. The spray comes out as a fine mist as opposed to a concentrated stream of scent, which is perfect for a room spray which needs to diffuse well.

Gelt In the imp: oh! Delicious powdered milk chocolate. Reminds me of Velvet and the 13s. Wet on skin: now I smell the amber! And whoa, what an amber note! Dry on skin: chocolate glazed with rich glowing amber. This is stunning. The chocolate has lost the initial ‘drinking chocolate mix’ smell and now goes into a Belgian milk chocolate scent, creamy and luxurious. But it’s the amber that’s really grabbing me. This golden amber isn’t the usual golden amber I’m familiar with but a much more complex and exotic creature. It reminds me of Tunisian Amber from Attar Bazaar, it’s rich and heady and golden and oriental with spices and all sorts of intriguing facets. It’s the kind of amber scent you’d expect to smell on a perfume stall in a Middle Eastern souk. But this time, it’s mixed with chocolate. And this combination is downright incredible. After a while: the amber and chocolate are very well balanced here. I smell them both in equal measure. The amber is still as beautiful as it was when it started, full of richness and luminous gilded tones. The chocolate has become a little sweeter, a little creamier. It’s still a dry chocolate though, reminds me of the El Dia de Reyes chocolate note. I smell hints of vanilla now. It doesn’t change too much-it just stays as a constant and delicious scent of chocolate and amber. Verdict: imagine chocolate stored in a treasure chest full of exotic spices and perfumes from the East, carried by desert caravan on camel back, across golden sand dunes in the sunset. That's what this brings to mind. It’s delicious milk chocolate but with one of the most beautiful amber notes I’ve smelt in BPAL, ranking up there with the Nepalese and Egyptian ambers. This amber smells complex and thick and resinous, and it’s golden scent conceals spices and incense, a very ‘oriental’ amber scent. I’d say this is a sister to Boomslang-not as dark and deep as Boomslang but the exotic chocolate theme is there. There’s something to it like aged labdanum, something like myrrh, and a non-foody sweetness too. The chocolate goes so well with it, and this scent is a lovely balance of the two notes. This is probably one of my favourite chocolate scents and I know I need more! Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Yes! If you like this, try: Velvet, 13 (any), Bliss, Boomslang, El Dia de Reyes

The Piper at the Gates of Dawn In the imp: pine and orange and ohhh. That’s what I exclaimed when I smelt this-ohhh. I can’t describe it otherwise. Wet on skin: pine! Gorgeous sappy pine, and delicious blood orange, and honey! Dry on skin: blood orange (whoa, lots of that!) and pine sap. This smells beautiful. I adore the pine sap in here. It smells rich and resinous and warm, nothing Christmas tree about this pine. In fact it reminds me of cypress sap in here for some reason. The blood orange is a bold, gutsy citrus which is almost like grapefruit in here, bittersweet and tangy. I can smell honey too, and a floral sweetness from heliotrope, and patchouli. This is a really intriguing blend of notes and I like the way they are mingling…it smells like rich dark greens and oranges and golds and browns. I agree with the painting analogy. This reminds me of the Illustrated Woman fused with Angeronalia. After a while: the orange sure is persistent! And that’s not a bad thing. It is a lot more bitter/peely than expected though, but in a good way. now I think I can smell more of the linden (interesting light floral) and heliotrope, and something that may be musk. The honey goes all beeswax-y now, and the scent seems to have lost it’s sweetness. But this is still really nice. At this point it reminds me of Pepper, but less floral, much more pine-y. There are times when I am unsure about this-something in here wants to turn rubbery. I have no idea why but I seem to smell something like rubber or plastic in here-it’s fleeting, but it pops up now and then. It’s a real shame because I love the pine and orange in here, but it seems to be going flat in the way that Illustrated Woman did. Maybe it’s the patchouli? Normally I like patch but maybe this variety/combination is a bit strange on me. it could also be the linden-I’m not familiar with this floral. Where’s the amber gone? The scent changes again at drydown-turning to a sort of beeswax-pine scent with a patchouli-musk base. It reminds me of Hexennacht now, a similar mix of evergreen and a hint of incense and musk. Verdict: I loved this at the beginning, a wonderful scent of thick pine resin with bittersweet blood orange backed up with honey and flowers and patchouli. I can’t say why, but this scent seems almost jubilant, a celebration of nature, it’s earthy but a bit flamboyant too, bright colours and vivid scents. This explosion of notes does tone down a little as the scent progresses, and sadly it seems to go a little rubbery on me, which is strange. Almost like a waxy-soapy-plastic at times. I think it’s possibly a floral thing. But it could be a certain blend of honey, patch and pine that may not work, as I think this was the kind of scent that put me off the Illustrated Woman. Though this rubbery scent doesn’t always pop up, it does improve after a few hours. I’ll keep the bottle of this scent, try it again, and I’m sure it’ll improve with age. I just love that just-dry stage too much to pass my bottle on. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? I think so. If you like this, try: Illustrated Woman, Angeronalia, Pepper, Hexxenacht, Stranger in Camp

Mictecacihuatl In the imp: mahogany and tobacco. This is a deep brown scent. Wet on skin: a honeyed note which I’m guessing is agave nectar, with tobacco and brown woods. Dry on skin: here comes the copal! Now this smells like a wonderful mix of copal and tobacco backed by rich woods (I’m sure mahogany is in here) and rose and honeyed nectar, with a spicy mixture which, to my nose, contains pimento or pink pepper, maybe even chilli? The copal is a gorgeous resin note which is a little bit gentler than frankincense, and also a bit more ‘crumbly’ in feel (I can’t describe it better, sorry), and the tobacco is strong but not obnoxious. After a while: the agave is interesting, it is sweet but not too much, almost like honey but not quite. Over time I smell similarities with this note and the sweetness in Sturgeon Moon. Sadly, SM went soapy on me and it seems that this too is going the same way. I never thought that agave could be a soapy note but that’s what seems to be happening here. It does smell a bit more honeyed now, but I also smell less of the copal and tobacco, and more of the spicy woods. I love the dark, spicy resinous notes here but I’m not so sure of the soapy smell. Verdict: this starts out as very promising, a strong tobacco scent with glossy brown woods and spices and a lovely copal note, with a hint of honey which I assumed was agave nectar. But then it did something I really didn’t expect in a scent so heavy with resins, deep woods, spices and smoke-it turned soapy! I really love the rich exotic Aztec spices and resins and the tobacco is lovely, but the soap? Not so much. I have a feeling it may be the agave doing this. I got a reaction like this in Sturgeon moon, though in SM, the aquatic notes made it soapier. I will retry this scent again, just in case aging gets rid of that pesky soapy note. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? I’ll keep the decant for retesting. If you like this, try: Tezcatlipoca, Ogun, Greed, Santa Muerte, Sturgeon Moon

Pumpkin IV 2008 In the imp: mint? I smell mint here, or caramel and buttermints. Wet on skin: I still smell mint but it seems to be morphing into pine, now I also smell pumpkin. Dry on skin: this is what happens when the Illustrated Woman meets Pumpkin V from last year. This has the same mix of pine and tobacco and honey as IW, but with the rich golden pumpkin and creamy vanilla as Pumpkin V 07. The cherry tobacco, a note that usually goes crazy on my skin, is subdued here-it’s like the tobacco in A Bold Bluff. The honey is actually sweeter than IW, a fluffy and milky honey almost like that of Dana O’Shee, and I love that kind of honey. I get very little cedar or sage. After a while: this gets really nice. There’s something about this reminiscent of the pumpkin-beeswax scent of Pumpkin Smash, meets the vanilla of Pumpkin V 07, with added tobacco. The tobacco in here is lovely, it smells more like a dry cigar tobacco than a cherry one. It gives the scent a lovely smoky aspect. I also love the ‘milk and honey’ scent this has. At times the tobacco and vanilla come out more and this reminds me of pumpkin-y Pinched, and at other times the honey goes all beeswax-like and it reminds me very slightly of Hand of Glory. Verdict: this is my favourite pumpkin in this year’s patch. I love most of the notes here but was wary of the pipe tobacco, which has been known to turn incredibly cloying on me. but not in here! Here I smell more of the honey and vanilla, and they are gorgeous. Sweet but not overwhelming, they dominate the scent but make everything gently creamy. Intriguing woodsy/sappy notes come in, from the pine and cedar, but they don’t take over. The tobacco is so subtle, more like a gentle leafy tobacco, smoky and dry. Even the pumpkin stays quiet. I wasn’t expecting to love this but I do, and I’m glad I got a bottle. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Yup, I have a bottle. If you like this, try: Illustrated Woman, Pumpkin V 2007, Dana O’Shee, Piper at the Gates of Dawn

Gluhwein In the imp: smells like honeyed mulled wine, or a stronger Fairy Wine. Wet on skin: glorious sweet honey over a delicious sweet wine note. Dry on skin: the honey note sharpens a tad, but now this reminds me of Mead Moon, but with a darker red wine note to it instead of golden mead. This is really wonderful. It smells a little different to the gluhwein I’m used to because of the honey-I’ve not had mulled wine with honey in it. but it works so well here, and the wine note underneath the honey does smell like real mulled wine, the spices in it are perfect-I can smell the cardamom, the citrus peel, the vanilla. And it does remind me of Fairy Wine, but much more wintry. After a while: oh my goodness, this has just become incredibly wonderful! It’s not the smell of mulled wine, but I love it all the same. What I smell is a glowing golden honey with a sweet fruity-floral undertone. It’s familiar but I can’t say what it smells like…some kind of fruit juice, or lotus? After a few sniffs, I finally figure it out…it reminds me of Tum, but this is so much nicer. It’s not as sharp and herbal, a bit heavier on the honey than the grape, and the grape note is darker and boozier. But I think it’s the combination of honey, wine, bay and clove that makes it similar. And this has crazy, crazy throw. It wafts all around me and I get whiffs of honey and spice every now and then. Verdict: I’ve been hoping and wishing for a BPAL mulled wine scent, and finally they made one…and it’s wonderful! Admittedly, it doesn’t smell like the mulled wines I’m used to, but it’s such a gorgeous scent in it’s own right so that doesn’t matter. The scent is mainly honey and wine with hints of spices and citrus peels and sweet vanilla. It smells like a stronger version of Fairy Wine, warmer and richer, but with more intense notes of honey and wine, and with the flowers replaced with subtle spices and citrus. This is also almost like a winter Mead Moon. The drydown of this scent, honeyed sweet grapes with vanilla, is irresistible. This scent is perfect for wearing at any time of the year, not just around the festive period. And it makes me want to make a mulled wine with honey in it. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Yup! If you like this, try: Fairy Wine, Mead Moon, Madrid, Athens, Death of Sardapanal, Tum

Scattered Gloom In the imp: a dry, dark, ancient resin scent. Like really, really old myrrh. Wet on skin: holy shit, resins! Ohh, the olibanum in here is wonderful! Dry on skin: beautiful resinous incense! This scent reminds me, initially, of a darkened Midnight Mass. (A midnight black mass?) the resins are dominant, with the beautiful olibanum, frankincense with a spicier, smokier edge, taking the lead. The sombre bittersweet opoponax is underneath, and I can smell hints of opium smoke, the combination of opoponax and opium reminding me of one of my favourite scents, Event Horizon. I’m not familiar with mandrake and can’t really smell the currant, but I love this deep, hypnotic blend of resins and opium. This is what I was hoping to get in Laudanum and Hades. After a while: the olibanum gradually gives way to opoponax and opium. Oh, this is so good. I can still smell the frankincense but now the myrrh-like scent of opoponax is in charge. It smells deep and brooding, a moody resin scent. There’s a wonderful ‘ancient’ scent to this resin, like it’s been aged for millennia. I also smell the opium, one of those hit or miss notes-and in here, it’s definitely a hit. It adds smokiness but doesn’t go bad on me. It’s a lovely dry smoke scent. Verdict: I adore BPAL resins so much, and here’s another stunning resin-incense scent. This is like a darker version of the frankincense and myrrh scents, shadowy and foreboding yet also hauntingly beautiful. I can smell frankincense and myrrh’s dark twins, olibanum and opoponax, ruling this scent, which I love. The resins are rich and smell almost antique, aged, very rich. I can’t really smell the currant or the mandrake but the opium adds it’s dark smoky intoxicating scent to the resins in the best way possible, without taking over. It’s just very well balanced in here. The only disadvantage is that this seems to fade a little faster than my other resin scents, but I think this will not be a problem when this scent ages-and I bet it will age wonderfully! Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Of course. If I had the opportunity to get another bottle, I might well try and get one. If you like this, try: Midnight Mass, Blasphemare Reliquary, Ligur, Minotaur, Hades, Laudanum, Event Horizon

In the imp: wonderful warm herbs, but with a hint of wet floral. Wet on skin: I can smell thyme, and rosemary too…a bit of cypress. And lots of bitter grassy flowers. Dry on skin: once dry I smell a lot more of the thyme and cypress, which is a good thing because I love Mediterranean herbal scents. The initial grassy wet floral notes worried me because they almost always turn to soap, and there’s still the potential that they could rear their soapy heads in here too, but for now, the warm, balmy scents of cypress, thyme, myrtle and something like sage or rosemary are dominant. Probably thanks to the cypress (which in here smells less like wood, and more like that wonderful cypress sap scent) this isn’t a kitchen herbal, but a more natural ‘summer evening in the Med’ scent. After a while: the oleander (a note that seriously disagreed with me in Tisiphone) seems to be gearing up to wreak havoc on this scent, as I smell whiffs of something vaguely like hairspray under that lovely deep green scent of herbs and cypress. Now it brings back memories of my Sicilian holiday in 07, reminds me of the smell of herbs there, and I love that. I just hope the flowers in here don’t ruin this! The floral notes still want to pop out and soap out but the cypress is restraining them, as is the thyme, which smells so wonderfully true, it’s almost like I’ve rubbed a bit of the herb on me. I’m surprised as to how long the herbal notes stick around here. The scent always verges on turning to soap but thankfully it doesn’t. Verdict: this one, considering the hints of soapy floral and grass that I smelt here, worked a lot better than expected. For one thing, I adore the smell of the cypress and thyme here. It smells very similar to how the air smelt when I was in Sicily-at night; the air would reek beautifully of the nearby cypress trees and the herbs growing on the hills. I can almost feel the sultry heat and hear the crickets and the sound of the sea…I love those Mediterranean style herb scents because they always bring back happy memories of summer holidays…this one is no exception. The only thing that stops this scent from being herbal-cypress perfection is the oleander and possibly the crocus, and those mysterious unnamed floral notes. They threaten to turn this scent into something truly bad, but the cypress and thyme step up to them, barring their way. I do like the scent because there aren’t enough dry herbal scents in BPAL, so I wouldn’t mind getting more. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? I’ve just found a half-bottle, which is enough for me to get my summer herbs scent fix. If you like this, try: Lear, Parentalia, Nero, Tisiphone, Danse Macabre

Hay Moon In the imp: pollen, hay, mimosa? It’s a bit powdery and dry, but definitely hay-scented and golden. Wet on skin: oh, this reminds me of something from Nocturne Alchemy! It’s reminiscent of their sand note, and I love that! Dry on skin: gorgeous! This smells of golden hay mingled with desert sands, or at least, it evokes that image. Dry, golden, warm, sunkissed. I also smell hints of pollen here, like mimosa pollen or maybe grass pollen (good thing I’m not allergic!) and the amber here is shining underneath it all. I don’t smell much honey or cardamom, but I do smell grains, like wheat. And the scent still reminds me of NA, with that sandy and golden feel to it and a hint of papyrus and Egyptian musk, but this one is a lot more powdery, the dustiness here is reminiscent of the Ifrit. This scent is very, very different to Bezoar, whilst that had an amber-balsam note and a lot more hay, this is cleaner in scent, powdery and yellow and evocative of dry climates. After a while: the scent doesn’t change too much, it does become a bit more powdery and dusty with time. I also smell a more defined hay note, but I’m surprised as to how powdery and sandy this smells, hot and arid, this is summer, but it’s more like a dust bowl than a ripening hay scent. I like it though, how heated and dry this smells, really desert-like, and even a tad smoky, almost bringing to mind fires in the tinder-dry vegetation…yup, it’s the scent of an August heatwave! The drydown is a bit like Scarecrow, but sweeter, less like oily straw and more like dusty grain. Verdict: this was totally different to what I expected. I was expecting something along the lines of Scarecrow, but softer, mixed with Bezoar. What I got was an unexpected but interesting scent of dry golden dust and pollen with hints of grain and hay. It’s arid, almost desert-like, but there’s also something almost floral to it. it’s very powdery, a little too much at times, but when it becomes a subtle sandy dusty scent with hints of amber, I really like it. I think because it reminds me of another perfume from another company, which I love, that’s why I’m quite fond of this, even though it doesn’t smell at all like I was expecting it to smell. I just wish I got more cardamom and honey from it… Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Yes. If you like this, try: Scarecrow, Bezoar, Ozymandias, Ifrit, Viparlabda, Sunflower, Dog Days

Trampled gingerbread cookies, scattered rum balls, and indestructible, rock-hard fruitcake and a gargantuan squirt of musk. Invasion of the Flesh Eating Reindeer from Uranus In the imp: gingerbread, but also some musk! Mmm! Wet on skin: now it sweetens as the fruitcake and rum notes come out. Dry on skin: this is gorgeous. Now I can really smell the fruity boozy smell of Christmas cake soaked in rum, mixed with proper home made gingerbread made with fresh ginger, and over it all is that wonderful musk. The musk soothes and tames the spices and intensely sugary notes. It’s the same musk as Reindeer Poop and possibly the same musk as Ivanushka and Buck Moon, the fuzzy deer musk which smells like warm fur, cosy and sexy at the same time. But unlike Reindeer Poop, this doesn’t turn all sharp on me. Naturally, this scent also reminds me of Shub, because of that sexy ginger with a hint of spicy musk/incense aspect, but this is a lot softer than Shub. After a while: the scent seems to change from spicy musk with smokiness (reminiscent of Devil’s Night) to a dry gingerbread, then to a fruitcake scent, and back again to musk. It’s really delightful. the gingerbread does seem to go a tiny bit burnt-smelling like in GP05, but in here I like it-it’s a smoky gingerbread. The musk seems to keep the foody notes under control. I don’t smell caramel amping up or overwhelming treacle. The scent then stabilises into a balanced blend of gingerbread and musk with creamy vanilla. Verdict: a delightful fusion of Shub and Gingerbread Poppet, with added hints of Fruitcake and Reindeer Poop. And then some. This is probably my favourite ginger scent! It’s got lots of gourmand elements in it but I think the musk and even the ginger help to stop the foody notes from overwhelming. This smells initially like very spicy gingerbread with a sexy musk undertone, but then moves into fruitcake and spiced vanilla, but still keeps that ginger and musk background. At times it is indulgent, at times sexy, at times a little mischievous, but always smells cosy and warm and inviting, never cloying or sickeningly sweet. This is the perfect Yuletide fragrance…and it’s got one of the best perfume names ever, so how could I not fall for this scent? Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Oh yes. maybe even backup-worthy. If you like this, try: Shub Niggurath, Gingerbread Poppet, Saw Scaled Viper, Ivanushka, Devil’s Night, Reindeer Poop (if you can get it!), Fruitcake (ditto!)