obsidienne

I was frimped this by the Lab and can't believe I never would have tried this otherwise. It's just the most huffable leather ever. I don't get much -- if any -- pine. The hemp seems familiar from Banshee Beat. But this leather, it comes off as sweet, warm and vanillic. *huff huff huff* I don't even know what else to say. Just... YES.

Fig is one of my all time favourite notes. There are some gorgeous BPAL fig blends, but I think the ones that let the fig itself shine are Intrigue or Strangler Fig, with Intrigue being more sweet fiiggy, and Strangler Fig is bit more quiet and green (I just retested my bottles to compare). Both are gorgeous.There are some LEs that feature fig, such as Nonae Caprotina (one of my all time faves), but it's harder to find. I've tried many of the other BPAL fig blends, but found that the fig got lost in some of the others... totally depends on your nose, though!

Errrmm... I don't know why I ordered this. I don't even like predominantly fruity blends. We start with a blast of banana booze in the imp. Immediately applied, it's boozy banana pineapple. As it settles in, the orange blossom honey is noticeable (and it's delicious). Further in, the boozy effect burns off. It's now starting to smell like orange blossom honey, with a touch of banana and musk and mint. If the pineapple is there, it's too subtle for me to smell. On me, Wembley dries into something warm, sweet, and round, like sitting in the backyard on a hot summer day with a sweet fruity cocktail in your hand and the garden flowers wafting their heat-beleaguered scents at you. The white musk and mint occasionally give off a spark, but otherwise this is a blend that comes off a little bit flat-line, or less multi-layered than other BPALs. It has minimal throw.

A soapy and high-pitched floral lilac beginning. As it warms into the skin, some of the violet sugar brings it down a notch and the sweet warmth of osmanthus chimes in to temper that initial stage. Normally orris smells a bit off to me, but I'm barely registering it; I think it's tempering the lilac and bringing a roundness to this scent. A little longer in and I can smell the stephanotis, light and non-soapy. The lilac remains, but not so crazy out there as in the wet stage. Violet is one of those notes that almost always smells like floral glue on me, but not here. Once Mokey dries, all levels of the scent are noticeable: a wafty layer of sparkling lilac, a sweeter, warmer middle composed of violet sugar and osmanthus, and the orris and stephanotis round out the bottom. On me it's subtle and faint so I would need to slather it to really notice that I'm wearing it, but my chemistry tends to eat just about everything in sight. This scent is a lovely, understated floral, and like another reviewer mentioned, a little childlike. And it's growing on me! P.S. verrrry spring-appropriate.

I was so excited for this blend because BPAL's fig note is one of my all-time favourites -- combined with chocolate and vanilla? YES PLEASE! Alas, the quince and pear combined with the other notes made Wine Gums Light ™, i.e., a very faint scent of wine gums. I had such high hopes for this, but I also kinda knew deep down that the quince and pear would keep this from being a win. Too much fruit never works on me. UTM is incredibly faint on me, too. Pretty, but just not what I wanted out of this scent. I'd like to come back to my decant in six months and see if anything changes. ... stupid quince....

Mmmm... so gentle, Strangler Fig initially has hints of cocoa, sweet fig, and a green-ish brown-ish earthy tinge to it that I can't quite describe. Like the faint scent of dry dirt and roots, but idealized for perfume - very beautiful. It's so soft and close to the skin. It sweetens a little bit as it dries, and seems to contain the faintest hint of honey. I wish I could better review this, but the softness of it leaves my nose a little confused for details. Further into drydown, I get a faintly sweet fig incense, very creamy, sensual, and shadowy. Mysterious, womanly. Everything one wants in a sly, come hither perfume. No sharp edges to speak of. I have convinced myself -- this is bottle worthy, especially since it will need to be slathered.

As others have mentioned, Seance and Ouija -- so very beautiful!

This is gorgeous, but takes some wear time to come into its own. It reminds me a lot of a sweeter Judith and Holofernes, although I haven't worn that scent in a while and might be making that up. I have a feeling that this will age spectacularly. The scent starts off pretty dry and feral. The tiny bit of cinnamon in here made my skin burn for about 30 seconds, but that has worn off and now I'm getting a very dry, warm, musky sweet scent -- beeswax, honey, vanilla -- with a slightly furred spicy patchouli. The longer this sits on my skin, the more sensual it becomes. It also has pretty damn good throw -- I am wear it on the backs of my wrists and I can smell it very clearly. It does get a little bit powdery after a while, but I am not sure I mind that. Overall? I'm considering a bottle.

Liz smells a lot like Hanae Mori Butterfly* on me! Very weird considering that notes list, but it really does -- first time I ever smelled Liz I was like, "Oh hai, Butterfly!" If I recall correctly, Ellebelle (on the forums) said the same thing to me just as before I tested it at her place, so I'm not totally nuts. I think. *the eau de parfum, not the eau de toilette

It sounds like it doesn't quite work on you; that sucks! I think that is the first time I smelled a commercial perfume and instantly thought of BPAL. I tried it on my wrist and it smelled pretty good, but not as much like The Girl on me as on my friend. But still nice, which surprised me!

I just got back from my friends' house, and while I was there, I kept thinking I was smelling The Girl. I knew I wasn't wearing it, so maybe it was on my clothing from a previous wearing? Nope, not that, I haven't worn The Girl in a long time. So I asked her if she had a new perfume, and she did. She let me smell it on her and told me it was Vera Wang's Princess. I'm not going to say they smell exactly alike, but Princess smells a lot like how The Girl dries down on my skin! Maybe it's just my chemistry. But it's close enough that I want to buy a bottle to use as a room spray and maybe to even to wear if I ever run out of The Girl. Has any one else tried Princess? Am I nuts, or is there really a similarity?

Does anyone have recommendations for those scents with a "hidden" vanilla note -- like Black Opal, for example -- where vanilla isn't listed as a scent, but you definitely know there's a jolt of vanilla in there (or at least your nose thinks there's some vanilla -- I'm looking at you, The Girl! )

I thought maybe Seraphim had some similarity, but I haven't sniffed it in a long while so... um... nobody quote me on this!

When I opened the vial a very smelly & weirdly chemical ylang ylang leapt out and frightened me. I solidered on and swiped it on my arm. In short order, the sexiest, sweetest skin musk you ever did smell blossomed and the ylang ylang either disappeared, or gracefully folded into this skin musk and went to sleep. This is a very different skin musk than I'm used to from BPAL, which often smells like dirty skin to me, and is instead just lush, warm and golden. Wearing this is like wearing skin that smells better than real skin. Subtle, with light throw, but infinitely sexy.... edit: If O doesn't work for you this might be the best alternative.I can't wait to explore the layering opportunities!

This is sweet and warm, a rather sophisticated foody blend. It's not all pastry, but rather a delicate blend of the listed notes. Warm pastry, tart pomegranate, hints of earthy fig, and warm olive oil with lots of bright amber and honeyed beeswax. However, there is something that's turning out surprisingly tart with my chemistry, probably the pomegranate. The last time I tested this (via a testable sniffie), I didn't get so much of a tart note. I know my chemistry has been changing a lot lately, but geez. I expected this to be a far foodier smelling blend on me, and although this is those things, it is also coming across as slightly perfumey, due to the tartness of the fruit and (perhaps?) the strength of the amber. As it dries down, the beeswax and olive oil bloom into a warm golden feel. The fruits are... um, fruity. This seems to be a different pomegranate than the one I'm used to. The fig is the lightest note in Channukiyah, peeping in but registering faintly with me. When this dries down, the tartness fades and a sexy amber honey/beeswax scent emerges that is quite yummy. Of course, I have to get through the fruit stage to get there, and that's not a favourite. Channukiyah is an elegant gourmand, but I really dislike tartness in anything, scents or food. Bother!

Oh my god, this is such a sexy leather! I've let this dry down too far to pay attention to the wet stages, but dry it's a soft and sweet leather with warm tonka and anise (very faint, not turning into medicine) giving it a cozy edge. The patchouli reads as a deeper type of patchouli, and isn't dry in the least. The herbal notes are faint, but still there, spicing it up. The anise and tonka are kind of reading as vanilla in my nose. Wow. Yum. This is a lighter blend, however, and there isn't a lot of throw or lasting power. I gave the imp to my boyfriend because it rang as slightly more masculine than feminine... but I'm probably going to steal swipes of it from him because this is fantastic. Casanova deserves more love!

Ooooooh. I had high hopes for this, but this is even better than I expected. The Shadowy and the Sublime is an utterly gorgeous smooth golden amber, sugared with lush, slightly tropical-feeling sweet florals. The ambergris sooo not its usual funky/salty problem here, just adding a touch of bright counterpart. The myrrh is delicate and sweet. I wish I could describe this better... it's just very very beautiful, elegant, and wonderful. High class, but not boring department store perfume either!

A soft, luminous aquatic floral. Cool, with a hint of sweetness. When I sniff this, I picture a silver & violet twilit lake with weeping willows trailing their branches in the water. White swans, glowing softly in the fading sunlight, drift calmly in the waters. Lightly sweet, the muguet is restrained enough to not become soap (although yes, the hints of soap are there). The orris, too, is subtle and not as overpowering as I often find it. Soft and feathery, just like the notes describe. The leaf notes provide a contrasting warmth to the rest of the blend's cool feel. Lovely. Very romantic.

The moment I sniffed this I thought, "this is like Boo, but Boo got all tarted up with sweet pink berry fruits, sugar, and pink frosting!" It's creamy, sweet, foody and fruity. All in the yummiest way possible. Drooly drool drool drool.

Pumpkin (not as buttery as some of the Lab's pumpkin notes, this seems drier and more close to real pumpkin), spices, sugar/taffy, & fruity blackberry. Kinda pretty, but it's literally that simple on me. The sugary taffy note develops more the longer this is on, which is very yummy.

Espresso, pumpkin syrup, smoky vanilla bean, milk, raw sugar, and a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg. I don't think I can do this as a perfume. It's too realistic! Don't get me wrong, it smells fantastic. Very strong espresso with a spicy and pumpkiny splash of syrup. Dries down to a cinnamony/nutmeggy coffee. I don't know why but I can never really smell Beth's "smoky vanilla" note, it just registers as a blank. I want to go to Starbacks RIGHT NOW. I think this would make a lovely room scent for fall. I am not sure why I keep ordering pumpkin and/or coffee scents since they're not something I will ever wear as perfume! (I let my Starbucks crazed coworker smell this and she wanted a bottle the MOMENT she smelled it! She now has my decant to tide her over until the bottle arrives, haha. I'm very glad this scent brought her so much instant joy!)

Ripe red apples, a bit of bark and orchard air, tart cranberries, a little bit of fizzy boozy cider. Perhaps the tiniest sprinkle of cinnamon. Far dry down is warm red apple with a hint of cranberry tang. The ultimate autumnal scent. What else is there to say?

I wanted this to work on me, but the infamous dusty BPAL coconut makes its appearance and just doesn't work on my skin. I thought this would be fuller and sweeter, but it's just dusty. Damn.

This perfume does not, I must admit, start off very well. A rather soapy bouquet is my first introduction to this scent. It smells like roses, lilies, carnations, perhaps chrysanthemum and one of those sad, watery flowers -- maybe wisteria? Not sure. Anyway, that is quite strong for the first bit. Eventually it calms, and the sandalwood develops. It is a touch dusty, but overall very soft and pretty. Then the ragged cloth note develops. I can almost swear that there is a touch of vanilla in here as well. I definitely like the drydown stage the best. The floral overload is completely gone, it's now a subtle sandalwood linen scent with that tiny hint of vanilla and light florals. What a morpher.

Wow, I expected this to be all dark and heavy, but it's rather light and herbal. It starts off with a lot of lavender, then as it dries down on my skin the whole thing sort of fades into a rather light scent. Now I smell more of the myrrh and the amber incense coming up. But all of this is very very soft. The rose and blackcurrant notes are developing, just as a hint of fruit and a hint of rose. The further it dries down the more the resins come out and the herbal aspect is now gone. I usually find geranium off-putting, but I'm not getting it at all here, thank goodness! This scent is incredibly subtle -- fitting consider its name. Not a lot of throw. Pretty, but I wish it was much stronger.