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BPAL Madness!

splendidissima

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Everything posted by splendidissima

  1. splendidissima

    Hard Cider Cake

    2024 version! Ooh, I love this! It's a fluffy white cake with buttercream frosting, plus a warm spiced (not spicy like chili, but like pie spice) apple note - I want to just eat my arm! I agree that it's not very boozy and I don't really get the whiskey, but that's fine with me. Goodness, this is tasty - like you baked a big cake with layers upon layers of buttercream and spiced apple pie filling inside. If you like those things, you will want this one!
  2. splendidissima

    Hot Buttered Apple Cider

    Oh, gosh, first! Let's see... I do really like this one! But I like the Lab's cider note and also buttery notes - and this has both, at least on me! It's the same cider that's in the other NYCC oils: bright apples, soft spices, a whisper of sweetness. (I've always loved the Lab's cider note, back in the Fearful Pleasure days, and such...) Here, it's also joined by the same butter / cream note that's in scents like White Larry - warm, rich, something I can only describe as "melted butter-y"! It actually goes very nicely with the cider - adding a slightly savory, buttery, richness to the bright cider. If you like those things, you will probably like this, and if you don't, then you likely won't! (For an odd fleeting moment about half an hour after putting it on, I got something...vaguely reminiscent of BPAL's Jack? I'm not sure what prompted that scent association, but I definitely thought, "oh, this kind of reminds me of Jack! ...but, wait, why? but it made me have that scent memory!" That seems to've faded now.) Oddly, this one fades the fastest on me out of all the NYCC cider scents - maybe something about the butter note and skin chemistry?
  3. splendidissima

    Caramel Apple Ginger Ale Float

    Fizzy, yes! Mostly ginger ale - which I'm not mad at; I like it! - and a swirl of caramel to add sweetness and cut the sharpness of the ginger. I don't get much apple - maybe it's in there as it dries? or maybe I just want it to be in there, so I think it's there? Either way, it's still a fun scent, especially if you like effervescent ginger.
  4. splendidissima

    Applejack Cider

    Mostly lovely apple cider, bright apple + spices! A little extra booze - the brandy note is noticeable but not dominant. Not as sweet as, say, the Apple Cider Donut, but still mostly apple cider, which I like!
  5. splendidissima

    Apple Cider Donuts

    Delicious! Pure apple cider, apples + spices + that BPAL cider note, over a murmur of warm pastry. I'd say it is more cider than donut, but the donut is there, in the background, like you bought it to eat with your cider and the scent of it is wafting up. I love this one!
  6. splendidissima

    Iron Phoenix

    Frottle from the Lab, 2024 (so probably aged quite a bit) ...metal, men's cologne, spices (clove, ginger, pepper), in that order. Not really a me scent, but I have a friend who likes those things, so I'll pass along the bottle! Glad I got to try it, as an anniversary scent. 🙂
  7. splendidissima

    NGNUT6

    Frottle! And, yep, sharp citrus. I like citrus, but I generally like it on the sweeter side; this has a bite. I wonder if it would layer okay with some sweeter notes - something with marshmallow or vanilla, maybe...
  8. splendidissima

    Bodegón Con Cesto de Frutas, Melocotones, Granadas Y Bernegal

    More earthy than I was expecting! Clay, earth, dry cacao, spice. I don't get a ton of fruit - I admit I was hoping for more of a balance! It's not sweet at all; it does have an impression of...warm dry redness or ocher colors, perhaps? Like chili spices in the sun next to a sun-baked historic adobe building, perhaps. Which isn't bad - in fact it's interesting! - but I might try it in a diffuser or oil warmer, as a house scent, versus on me.
  9. splendidissima

    Apple Cider Marshmallows Hair Gloss

    Mostly a delicious apple cider, not much marshmallow, but I'm not mad at it - I like apple cider! I've been wearing this one a lot. 🙂 I will add, the last time I wore this to campus, I was chatting with a colleague in the hall, and she said, "do you smell something like...incense? or, like...cinnamon sticks?" and I said, "oh, I think that's my hair gloss!" So...there's that, if that helps anyone!
  10. splendidissima

    Fairy Wine

    Sweet honeyed dandelion wine - like summer in a bottle! I actually really like this; I dug out my old partial bottle to test, and liked it more than I remembered!
  11. splendidissima

    Elimanzer

    Cozy and warm! Hearty oatmeal, with cream and brown sugar. I'm not sure I get a fruit note, but I do get a sweetness - I think that + some smokiness is reading as brown sugar or dark caramel, that kind of toasty dark sugar. I really like this!
  12. splendidissima

    Vintage Dracula Blow Mold

    Oddly soapy! This is my least favorite of the Blow Molds - I normally like cherry and amber, but there's something, maybe that ozone note, that just isn't playing nicely on me and is doing so very loudly. It's not dreadful - I don't hate it; it's just cherry soap, inoffensive and pink - but I might try layering it or adding a lotion, to try to tone down the soap.
  13. splendidissima

    Vintage Frankenstein Blow Mold

    I've liked all the Blow Molds, and I like this one too! It's mint-forward on me - a creamy sort of mint, like the inside of a peppermint patty, not like icy slush - and then there's a slightly dry semi-dark cocoa, like maybe you've bought some dark chocolate cocoa powder (which really isn't all THAT dark - not milk, but not too far past that, either) for baking. I'm not sure I get the amber as much as just an overall warmth, so it's not a cold scent - actually very cozy! Sort of like you've just got out and opened up the ingredients for baking chocolate-mint cookies, but you haven't baked them yet, while you've also got a fire or a candle glowing in the background.
  14. splendidissima

    Vintage Witch Blow Mold

    I've really liked all the Blow Molds, honestly! This one's so intriguing - creamy white chocolate, bright green tea, warm cozy amber. I would absolutely eat this!
  15. splendidissima

    Vintage Ghost Blow Mold

    Oh, I never reviewed this! I love this one. It's a gorgeous sweet creamy amber - like a vanilla creme dessert + a hint of lemony amber. Beautiful!
  16. splendidissima

    Flower Moon: Belladonna Berries and Sugared Black Tea Hair Gloss

    I like this one - though we seem to be continuing a sequence of...every hair gloss I try isn't quite, in some odd way, what I expect it to be! Never in a bad way, just...for instance, Pumpkin Buttercream, which I thought would be lighter and sweeter, went all dark toasted smoky sugar, and the Peach Honey Cake is just straight heavy peaches in syrup (no cake), and this one... ...this one's full of dark tart berries, purple and shadowy, and then, under that, there's this...sharp/bitter note, like tannins from the tea? I don't really get any sugar at all, unless it's keeping the tea from being even more dark! I think this tea has steeped for quite a while and is very black - which is not a bad thing, because I like black tea, and the contrast with the berries is intriguing! This feels very witchy, potion-y, good for fall. I keep reaching for it because it's so interesting!
  17. splendidissima

    Wobanakik V2

    Frottle from the Lab, 2024! Hmm - my first thought was, honestly, Irish Spring! And then it gets ever more dark green and wet, like a jungle in a downpour. I don't dislike it, but I might like it better as a bathroom or spa scent, or maybe in a lotion, versus straight perfume on me - it's that clean green soap association!
  18. splendidissima

    Frugiferas Auruis Aestas

    Warm and autumnal! Lots of spiced ale, plus the Lab's hay note, dry and golden. It does feel like a late-summer-edging-into-autumn moment: sun-heated air, lots of golds and browns, a dark brown ale to sip as the sun goes down. No real sweetness except for the little whisper in the hay, the way grasses can be a little earthy-sweet. There's not a distinct booze note as much as just the scent of malty brown beer and some autumn spices, something like nutmeg or allspice. Good throw, too!
  19. splendidissima

    Peach Sticky Rice

    Primarily, especially at first, a big strong sweet peach, drizzled with sugar syrup! That's the loudest note for quite a while, and then, after drying, it's sweet peach + a swirl of coconut, plus something else creamy and a little starchy that I'm guessing is the rice. Fun and summery!
  20. splendidissima

    Beatific Dragon

    Oh, gosh, I don't know if I want to be first, because my experience is...perplexing? *laughs* It goes on very grapefruit, which is fine - I like grapefruit, though it's not my absolute favorite! But at first that's all I'm getting, with maybe a little whisper of something...else? amber? dragon's blood? After about thirty minutes, I entirely forgot I was testing it, and I was watching a travel video on YouTube, and I suddenly thought...ooh, something smells good! Oh, wait, that's me! I think the vanilla and amber musk and angelica seed decided to pop in and temper the grapefruit into something really lovely and complex. There's some sweetness, some amber, something lightly summer-herbal (like the way the old BBW Lemongrass Sage smelled like the end of summer, if you remember that? It's not either of those notes but it has that....faded shimmery sunshine feel?) About twenty minutes after that, it is soap. I have no idea what's happened. It's a very pretty soap, fancy and luxury and probably herb-infused, but it's still soap. Something has kicked in and stampeded over everything else. This is dreadful, because I love that previous stage! I do have a scent locket, so perhaps I'll try it in that.
  21. splendidissima

    Last Day of Summer Froyo

    I have such a weird love for this - how have I not reviewed it?? It's got that yogurt note, which I love - tangy cream - but chilled somehow, which actually tones down the tang, and sweetened - I think that's the cake batter aspect. Layered atop that is...well...it's exactly the scent when you open a bag of gummy bears: fruit medley, slightly artificial, full of nostalgia. I don't know how Beth does it, but it's exactly that! The two layers go together in this delicious creamy yogurt fruit (slightly kid-artificial fruit-snacks but so fun!) scent - perfect for summer! (I can see how it might not be for everyone, but it's just such a delight; it makes me smile.)
  22. splendidissima

    The Large Cat

    A big warm spiced scent! This feels very classic BPAL to me - actually it does remind me a lot of Bastet, and not just for the cat association! It's that warm spices + almond swirl that's surging up at the forefront. But this Large Cat doesn't have Bastet's lotus or cardamom notes - that's been replaced with toasted dark gooey marshmallow and dates and a deep rich vanilla, so there's extra sweetness, but not candy sweetness; the "toasted marshmallow" really is a good descriptor! This is going to be lovely for wearing when the weather finally cools off!
  23. splendidissima

    Old Woman With Cat

    Mmm, warm rich spice, very autumnal! I primarily get warm baking spices and a baked note that made me think of not-overly-sweet pie crust but I think is in fact the bread + roasted pumpkin. (Or something like scones? You know the sort of dough that's got, like, a hint of sweetness, it'll go well with jam on top, but not like a dessert level of sweetness? It's like that.) Not much cocoa (I actually forgot that was in here!), and not much wool or oak (which I'm fine with, because woods aren't always my favorite). Absolutely cozy and cuddly and friendly, like you've been baking in an autumn kitchen with a cat sitting on a bar-stool next to you, purring.
  24. splendidissima

    Cat Sleeping on an Armchair

    Oh, this is lovely! Fluffy sugared coconut, warm and sweet. It's not at all suntan lotion; it's more a delicious gourmet dessert, like what Little Bird said above about a coconut sweet cream. It's exactly what it promises - and I love the art! I keep sniffing my arm. ❤️
  25. splendidissima

    Pistachio Ambrosia

    Delicious! Pineapple, pistachio (which is a little cherry-ish and also nutty), coconut, orange, + mini marshmallow fluff! This is basically exactly what my grandma used to make, and exactly what it sounds like - so if that sounds good to you, you'll probably like it!
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