Little Bird

In the bottle, this smells like musky, tart cherries and reminds me of Monster Bait: Bloody Mary. I also keep smelling something buttery-spicy that reminds me of pumpkin blends like Jack. On my skin at first, this is all cherry, but it smells better than it did in the bottle. It's a softer, sweeter cherry note. As it dries down, the scent briefly gets darker and more complex. I get a bit of smooth, dark chocolate and an unusual woods note. It makes me think of dark chocolate syrup - glossy, smooth, and slithering down the side of something. It's an interesting chocolate note, but I don't love/like it as much as I love Boomslang and most of the Chocolate Box blends from this year's Lupercalia. Unfortunately, after fifteen minutes on my skin, this morphs into something even less wearable for me. The cherry seems to have creeped back in, and is oddly cloying. It smells like sticky, dried cherries. The chocolate slowly dies off and I'm left with cloying dried cherry smell & stale chocolate. This one is not a winner for me, but I have trouble pulling off cherry fragrances.

I have a hard time wearing floral blends (they often give me headaches), so I wasn't sure about this. In the bottle, I can definitely pick out the honey. It's a fuzzy, golden honey, with an almost metallic sharpness to it. BPAL honey notes often aren't as sweet on me as honey notes from most other companies. The floral aspect is a little sharp & perfumey, which is exactly the sort of floral that I don't like. On my skin, this is sharp, clean floral perfume. It makes me think of pale, perfumey white flowers. I get light hints of the not-so-sweet, golden honey draped over the musky flowers. Whenever I smell it, I think that it's a very clean floral smell, but it's not going soapy on me at all. This isn't awful, but it is too much perfumey, fakey floral for me to pull off. The label art is a favorite, though <3

In the bottle, this smells kinda weird. I think it's that vanilla that I didn't care for in Love's Philosophy, plus a fresh, sharp ginger and a hint of earthy oakmoss. It smells a bit sour as well, like soured milk. I was hoping for a bakery, foodie sort of smell with an edge, and this is not. This does seem to have the same vanilla that was in Love's Philosophy, which smells more like chalk & spearmint on me than vanilla. It's dry and powdery in a way that makes me think of chalk dust & beating the chalk out of erasers after school. Bleh. There's a bit of something weird underneath that (burnt rubber? but not quite?), but I would never be able to pick out any of the listed notes from this. It smells nothing like the listed notes on me. Chalk dust

Eanach Dhuin sounded great to me, up until the "cold waters" bit. I really don't have good luck with aquatics. And, as I feared, this does go soapy on me, especially in its drydown. I also can pick out a dry wood note and the bitter clove. It has an overall feel of soap and men's cologne. A soapy man slathering on some spiced-woods scented aftershave. Not for me, and my boy didn't care for this one either.

I thought that I liked all of the notes in this, but it's really not working for me. Mostly I get a sharp, musky perfume smell, like a cheap musk and white floral drugstore perfume. As it dries down, it lightens up quite a bit, but it also starts going soapy & lemony on my skin. I don't care for it at all, but it does lighten up and fade fast on my skin, thankfully. I don't often wear clean type fragrances, and I'm not really fond of lemon, so The Zieba Tree isn't a keeper for me.

I was afraid of falling in love with Jingo-Kogo, because it seems to be so popular. This is really just an okay scent on me, though. It starts off with a soft, floral orange smell, perfumey musk, and a creamy, powdery vanilla smell. It goes more powdery in the drydown and makes me think of sandalwood's powdery smoothness. Baby powder, not-so-sweet, creamy vanilla, and a bit of musky orange. This is a very light scent on me. It strikes me as being innocent and pretty rather than sexy. I don't see myself trying to search out more of this, but I might try it again if it were ever reformulated & released as a GC.

Dorian is my all-time favorite perfume, so I was a bit worried about the 'Chaos' ruining it, lol. In the bottle, this smells like sweet, vanilla-y, awesome Dorian <3 and cool, black potting soil. It also smells sweeter than Dorian usually does to me. Perhaps some extra vanilla or honey in this one? On my skin, this is mostly Dorian with hints of black, earthy, perfumey potting soil. Every once in a while, I think that I smell something like black pepper. Mostly I think that this is Dorian + dirt & honey. It also has a perfumey/musky sort of quality in the drydown that starts giving me a headache after a while. I think that I'll stick with non-chaotic Dorian, lol.

I had a friend send me decants from her Chaos bottles, but she said that she couldn't make out what numbers they were. In the vial, this really smells nothing like O. It's been a long time since I've tried O, but I know that it didn't smell like a mix of dry grass & green grass, lol. There's something like sharp, bitter, dry herbs in here as well. On my skin, this reminds me of some of the MVJBA blends. Dry, grassy qualities with a hint of sweetness. It smells grainy, and perhaps there's a hint of apple in here somewhere. As it dries down, this is soft, slightly honeyed grains & drying meadow grasses. I might be smelling a hint of a clean, springy floral in here as well. It's really pretty, and gets more of a clean feel to it (but not soapy) over time. Surprisingly, this has been one of my favorites of the Chaos decants I've tried so far, though I don't think that it smells anything like O.

I had a friend send me decants from her Chaos bottles, but she said that she couldn't make out what numbers they were. Sooo... I think that I was most hopeful for a Penitence Chaos to work on me. I like resins & incense, but Penitence itself was too bright & simple for me, if that makes sense. I was hoping that some other notes would make it deeper & more wearable, but that it would still be mostly a resinous blend. In the vial, I think that this smells like myrrh with hints of cedar & perhaps honey or beeswax. On my skin, it smells like pure beeswax at first. A honeyed, waxy sweetness. As it dries down, it starts to smell like smoky incense, sandalwood and cocoa. It makes me think of Halloween. It has a cloying quality to it that I'm not loving, and it smells nothing like Penitence once it's on my skin.

I had a friend send me decants from her Chaos bottles, but she said that she couldn't make out what numbers they were. Anyhow. In the vial, this smells like Snake Oil's dark, incensey, smoky vanilla with yellow cake & buttercream frosting. Snake Oil smells a little bit like gummi bears to my nose, and I get a hint of that candied fruitiness in the vial as well. On my skin, it's Snake Oil's dark, slightly smoky vanilla with yellow cake and coconut buttercream frosting. I definitely smell a creamy coconut. Over time, I think that I smell a bit of clean, creamy white musk in here as well. Sooo... Snake Oil vanilla, yellow cake, creamed coconut, buttercream frosting, and white musk? It's nice, but I don't love it for some reason.

In the bottle, this smells like smoky wood (mesquite bbq) and a salty, clean, ozone smell. On me, this is definitely soapy at first. It makes me think of dryer sheets. It's also sort of salty and metallic smelling on my skin. As it dries down, the woodsmoke smell creeps back into the mix, anddoesn't smell like bbq anymore. The soapiness also calms down a bit. Woodsmoke and salty, slightly soapy, cool ozone. It makes me think of a cold spring day, with a dying woodfire near a rocky shoreline and a blanket of fog rolling in. Windy Moon isn't really my sort of fragrance. It's too clean/soapy. I love the label and do think that this is a very evocative scent, though.

In the bag, this smells like a sweet, smooth, dry, golden sort of vanilla. It makes me think of vanilla, amber, and dry, golden flowers. Beautiful. It conjures up thoughts of fields full of dry grain as well. On my skin, this is incredibly light, but very pretty. It strikes me as being mostly vanilla. At first, it's a bit like the buttery sort of vanilla that I get from Snowblind, but that's not exactly it. And when it dries down, it's nothing like the Snowblind vanilla. This is actually unlike any other vanilla scent that I've tried from bpal before. I can smell something that's almost a bit earthy underneath the vanilla. It smells a little like a very muted black patchouli on me at first, but I know there's nothing like black patchouli in this. That earthiness disappears in the drydown for me anyhow. As it dries down, this is gorgeous, dry, sensual vanilla with hints of perfumey ylang ylang & something like grain or dry, incensey flowers. I don't normally like ylang ylang, but it's nice here, smothered by the unique vanilla. It reminds me a bit of the way that LUSH's Shimmy Shimmy massage bar smells. I really wish that I had a bottle of this to slather, because it doesn't have much throw & it's very subtle on me (and my skin is normally good for amping up small amounts of perfume oil). Plus, it's just a gorgeous fragrance. It's rare that I wish that I could get more of an unreleased blend, but I want more of this one (and Cagliostro). Sigh.

I'm not sure what the number for this blend is, but it appears to end in XIV (a leaky decant, so the number is half run off). I do know that it smells just like fresh, zingy limes and honey. It also smells a bit sparkling & bubbly. I've kept my decant because my boy really likes the lime, but it's a little too simple for me (and citrus + honey always makes me think of cough drops).

I recently got a full decant of this and really don't care for the scent. I like orange well enough when it's juicy and sweet (Tweedledee being my favorite orange type scent), but this goes on smelling like orange scented floor cleanser on me. I don't get a strong fizzy/soda feel from it, but there's a sharpness here that translates to cleaning fluid to my nose. After about an hour, the scent is more dry and powdery orange, but still sharp and tart. Maybe an orange pixie stix scent. It's very strong and tart, and gives me a headache if I apply too much. I hate this scent... it does have insane throw and staying power, though, if you like this sort of fakey fruit fragrance.

I think that Invidia is a bit too much for me, scent-wise. In the bottle and rubbed directly on my skin, it's a very sharp lime and something that smells like laundry soap powder & dryer sheets (maybe the tea or grapefruit). Angry limes and sharp, dry soap. I had to scrub this off after I tested it, because it was giving me a headache. I'm afraid to use it in the bath, because it's just too sharp for me. I have trouble wearing a lot of citrus and clean type scents, but if you like that sort of thing, you'd probably love Invidia.

In the bottle, this reminds me of Bezoar, which I guess is the wood + cardamom combo. Woodsy, masculine, and a bit sour, but I like it. Rubbed directly on my skin, it still reminds me of Bezoar at first. It's a dry, smooth woods smell with a bit of warm, amber-y sweetness from the benzoin. I also smell a tiny hint of something cool and slightly menthol-y, which might be the cardamom. As it dries down, it gets a little too sour for my tastes. I wouldn't rub this one directly on to my skin again, but I tested it in bath water and it was all sweet sandalwood and left a mellow, woodsy scent on my skin afterwards. Patientia is nice, and probably the most masculine of the bath oils I've tried. I don't think that it's a keeper for me, though. I tend to favor sweeter scents & vanilla scents for my baths (and the occasional chilly mint scent).

I have a cotton swab soaked in a bit of this. I like the scent of the oil more in its little bag than I do on my skin. In its bag, this has such a rich, dry smell with a nice sweetness to it, like sweet incense. Dry, spicy leaves, sweet incense, something like oakmoss, and an overall feel of sexy, comforting men's cologne. On my skin, this is a bit sharper and dirtier smelling. It's like sharp, animalistic musk (makes me think of blends like Satyr & Czernobog), dry oakmoss, & a mix of feces, soil, and dry leaves. As it dries down, it begins to smell a bit dusty on me, and I start to think that there might be ozone in this as well. Wild Hunt makes me think of a hunt on a cool, dry fall day, with frightened animals & a lightning storm creeping in (that odd, still calm before a storm). It's very dry, animalistic, sharp, and a bit creepy. Wild Hunt isn't a scent that I would wear or need more of, but it's very interesting.

I really love this Thirteen. I've purchased three bottles of it on the forum while waiting for my lab package to arrive. Customs basically murdered my first package, so I'm waiting on the generous replacement bottle from the lab. But I loved the smell of the oil-stained bubblewrap so much that I went crazy & bought several bottles on the forum before the replacement has even arrived, lol. I’m very picky about spices. I easily find them to be overwhelming or too sharp. I love the spices in this, though. They’re dark, sexy spices, sweetened with brown sugar, with a background of dry, earthy herbs. I can definitely pick out a very dark ginger note that's just gorgeous. The herbal/earthy qualities of this remind me very much of Hellhound on my Trail. Where Hellhound is white, vanilla sweetness and dry, earthy herbs, this is darker, brown sugar sweetness and dry, earthy herbs, plus sexy spices. They’re similar for the dry herbs paired with exotic sweetness, but I actually like this Thirteen even more than I like Hellhound. This is a darker, deeper, sexier scent. My boy really likes this scent as well. He told me, "Wow. That smells really good. It’s a little masculine, so even I could wear it." I guess that’s a hint that he’s going to be stealing one of my bottles, lol. All in all, I love this blend. It may not top my all-time favorite 13 version (October 06 orange label <3), but it’s a close second.

In the bottle, this smells faint, and odd. I get caramel and something that smells like tobacco. On my skin, this is weird and unpleasant. Pothon Meter smells very dry, and makes me think of potpourri. Dried flowers and gross potpourri spice? It smells like a cheap craft store. In the drydown, it smells slightly smoky and gross, and also gets very perfumey. I picture a woman wearing a cheap, suffocating perfume and smoking a cigarette in the potpourri aisle of a craft store. I had to wash this one off.

The Dormouse is the blend that smells most like spring to me (very green, a bit floral, and a bit of spring rain freshness), but I find myself wearing Tweedledee & Dorian a lot during springtime as well.

Glacies smells a lot like Frenum to me. It has the same sharp, perfumey, bright green smell, probably since they share the lettuce and cucumber notes. I like Glacies more than Frenum, though, because I really like the mint note in this one. It's a soft, sweet, pale sort of mint. I rub these oils directly into my skin while in the bath, and they leave my skin really soft to the touch. Glacies was very fragrant and had a lot of throw. The bath oils aren't really moisturizing in winter (winter where I am in Canada is awful for the skin), but they leave me feeling softer after I pile on more lotion. They're better for me in the summer. I don't know if I'd purchase more of Glacies (or use it again), though. I love the mint in this, but it's overpowered by the green notes that I don't like for some reason. Frenum gave me a headache and after my bath with Glacies, my whole house smelled like Frenum. It made me smell like mint candy and a hint of green, but the house was overwhelming, perfumey, sharp greens. The mint in this is really gorgeous, though. I wish that it were more mint & lavender and less green...

When I smelled this in the bottle, it definitely reminds me of LUSH's Flying Fox scent. It's crazy-strong, smoky jasmine. I can also pick up the vetiver, and it's a very dark, earthy, charred smelling vetiver. Poured into bath water, this is mostly a dark, earthy, cold smell with the heady, sweet, perfumey jasmine in the background. On my skin after the bath, it's loads of jasmine and a hint of rose. I don't normally like jasmine, and I don't love it here, but it's not unbearable. I was hoping for more vanilla, cocoa, sweet orange, and nutmeg, but all I can smell is the vetiver, patchouli, jasmine, and rose. It's an earthy-jasmine that dries down to a classic, perfumey jasmine & rose combo.

Major Andre’s Tree is clean, bright floral, something green, and a sour moss smell to my nose. It smells like a clean, spring fragrance to me, oddly enough. The boy and I aren't really in love with this spray. I still prefer Down the Rabbit Hole & The Queen’s Croquet Ground for floral/clean type scents. Andre's Tree doesn't have enough of a sweetness or earthiness to it for my tastes.

In the bottle, this reminds me of Jazz Funeral. Definitely black dirt and perfumey southern flowers with hints of sour moss. On my skin, the scent is much the same, but gets a bit brighter, warmer, and more moss-y smelling, sort of like Bayou with more of a black dirt note. It also reminds me of The Premature Burial a bit. It's a humid southern floral with black dirt and sour moss thrown in. The drydown is prettier and less earthy (but still heavy on the moss), a little sweet and more rose-like on my skin (like a sweet yellow rose). The overall blend might be a little too bright and sour for me to wear a lot, but I can still see myself reaching for this from time to time.

I've been getting much better at wearing wine & grape notes. I guess that my skin chemistry and personal preferences are changing. I've been able to wear Moriarty, Snake Charmer, Obsidian Widow, & Blood Garden lately, and I've actually enjoyed them. That said, Makhanitis reminds me of why I had an aversion to wine/grape notes in the first place, lol. This goes into a fit of cloying grape candy and plummy cough syrup on my skin. The notes mellow out in the drydown, beat into submission by powdery, soft sandalwood and a hint of smoky champaca, but I still kept catching the smell of this when I wore it, and it kept making me think of grape cough syrup. After about an hour, this is baby powder and tart, not-so-good plum on me. There are a lot of dark fruit/wine scents that I like a lot more than Makhanitis. I won't be keeping my decant of this one.