Little Bird

The tobacco smells like spicy, dry, crunchy dead leaves, but the clove never shows up on me (and clove is one of my favorite scents) and the cinnamon is too much for me. My skin got red and welted where I applied this and the cinnamon is a very bright, sharp, dry, cinnamon potpourri and kind of like an overly spiced cider where the fruit and citrus notes aren't showing up.

I wore this the other day without looking up the notes and thought it smelled like fresh pear dipped in cool cream, breezy white blossoms, and a warm, nutty, grainy, golden quality. It's what I wished Almond Blossoms had smelled like. Very pretty and evocative of spring. The "almond cream" is very beautiful and not cherry-like at all.

Something about this smells like waxy lipstick on me, the sandalwood goes very powdery, and the saffron is sickly warm and dryly spicy (I thought there was cinnamon in this initially). The sweet amber smells like a very woody and dry type of amber. Dry, powdery woods, dry spices, warm and dusty.

First on, Spotted Cat reminded me of the original Thirteen blend, but this is more bright, fresh, clean and citrusy. The chocolate reads as creamy, mellow, not super sweet white chocolate on my skin, mixed with fresh white tea and lots of sharp bergamot and orange, with the mint adding a frosty chill. I only get ginger for the first couple minutes and then it's mostly citrus, freshness, and an undertone of creamy chocolate. It threatens to go soapy and the drydown reminds me of a citrus & mint scented bathroom cleaner that I once had, so it unfortunately starts to bother me and give me a headache after 15 minutes-ish. I catch whiffs of a dry, grassy vetiver every once in a while, but mostly the cleaner scent.

This goes on exactly like a shampoo that I've had before (Biolage?). Soapy, tart green apple, a perfumey and slightly powdery sweetness. I was hoping for a natural clover smell, but this is all apple and shampoo on me. Nice if you wanted a clean type of scent, but the drydown reminds me of laundry detergent (original Gain) and I don't think I'll be wearing this much at all.

My bottle is from the restock, if that matters. Goes on with a chocolate that reminds me of chocolate scented markers, an amber that's turning baby powdery on my skin, and a really thick, cloying caramel. After about 20 minutes, the rough edges of this seem to have smoothed and it smells like opening a packet of salted caramel hot chocolate and smelling the dry mix. Still very sweet and distinctly dry, but not quite so artificial or overwhelming to me. I don't get any of the smoke, coffee or cardamom. Muffinhead starts off strong, but is gone by the three hour mark on my skin.

Lavender Buttercream smells so much like TKO on my skin. Same deep purple, slightly herbal, loud, aromatherapy lavender coated in sweet, kinda powdery vanilla notes. I feel like it dries down to more of a sugared vanilla faster than TKO does, and this goes slightly more powdery on me, but they're still very similar on my skin.

First on, this is a bright, fresh, dewy, sweet tea rose made even sweeter by the spun sugar, vanilla, and orris, which make this smell like fresh roses dipped in powdered sugar. As it dries down, the amber comes in smelling dry, dark gold and resinous, giving the whole thing a more sophisticated, perfumelike edge. The rose mostly fades away and just gives the amber and cotton candy a little bit of a pink, happy, fresh note. Settles into pink cotton candy infused with resinous, dark gold amber and a hint of rose and stays that way for hours. This is one of my favorite cotton candy fragrances and one of my favorite sugared amber scents. Definitely hoard worthy.

I was able to get a bottle of this beauty on the lab's etsy and it's absolutely amazing. My first thought when I put this on was that it's goth kid Dorian inside of an early 2000s Hot Topic (that hazy smoke and sweet incense scent that the store always had back then - I loved that smell - clinging to all of the black clothing), and it also reminds me strongly of Romanti.Goth perfume and the Raven Black hair gloss. The tea fougere and vanilla are giving me the Dorian vibes, but this is darker with the black tea, earthy patchouli, and dark incense. It's all black clothing, almost leather-like, with a subtle sweetness from the vanilla and the sweeter side of the incense notes (sandalwood incense, a hint of nag champa, and myrrh?), and that hazy Hot Topic smell that was almost smoky, almost foggy, very specific... I love this so much.

I can kinda see the comparison to Lush's Alkmaar and Rockstar (mostly Rockstar) in the bottle, but it loses the comparison once it's on my skin and the jasmine turns more sharp and perfumey/musky smelling and the strawberry candy comes in loud and strong. I can't smell any cream, coconut, currant or oud, just sharp jasmine perfume and tangy, sugary strawberry candy. It does smell creamier in the bottle than it is on my skin, so it might just be a skin chemistry thing or need some aging.

Dark Eyed reminds me of Nasty Woman (warm patchouli and sticky gourmand) and the original Candy Butcher (silky chocolate with an almost floral cream to it), but with extra goodness added in and an overall warmer profile, so I prefer it to both of those blends. I was surprised to read the notes list for this and realize that there's no hazelnut or cinnamon, but I think that it's the brown sugar and spicy cardamom that are giving me those impressions. I usually don't care for brown sugar, but it enhances the other notes really well here and just adds to the overall toasty sweetness of the scent. I don't find this to be too dirty or patchouli-heavy, but my skin seems to be amping up the sweet and spicy notes, and I love patchouli anyhow. I get a really pretty, almost resinous smelling, warm patchouli here, along with lots of creamy milk chocolate, toasty brown sugar, a resinous and sophisticated benzoin and vanilla (Prada Candy vibes, but better and not powdery), and cinnamon-y smelling cardamom. I really love this gourmand fragrance and I know that it'll get a lot of wear from me, especially over the winter months.

Lots of thick, sugary honey mixture poured over freshly baked bread with whiffs of warm, spicy smoke and a dry undertone that makes me think of flour, scratchy wool and dry hay. It has a very cozy, old timey feel to it, like walking into a house warmed by a fireplace and smelling freshly baked breads while people sit in scratchy dresses and do their knitting. I don't enjoy the realistic scent of honey, but this is like a thicker, sweeter version of honey that I'm really enjoying, and I like the spiciness here, which doesn't exactly smell like fennel/anise to me, but has a savory sweetness that makes me hungry... It's a cozy fall scent that's both familiar and unusual to me at the same time.

I was a little worried about the corn note because I don't think that corn actually smells good in a way where I want to smell like it, lol. I only get the corn impression for the first minute or two on my skin, though, and then it smells like freshly baked cornbread and not just.. corn. Then Ceres goes through a stage where I definitely smell the floral and cream, like flower petals floating in milk, with a perfumey/musky edge to the floral component and a little sourness in the cream, but not like spoiled milk. I still don't love it for this first half hour or so, but then it shifts into something beautiful. The spun sugar and warm amber join in after a while and it goes through a stage where I smell like a floral cotton candy with a musky, amber-y perfume underneath the sweetness. It's wonderful. Then, after about an hour, it settles into my favorite stage where it's a soft vanilla cream and puffed cereal scent. It smells golden, gentle, creamy and lightly sweet. I've been wearing this to bed since I got it because it's quietly comforting.

Moon When The Cherries Turn Black has my favorite bpal label artwork ever. It's adorable and I love crows & ravens. My love for the label prompted me to get two bottles of this and I'm so glad that I did. Cherry is an iffy note for me because I don't like an almond extract / maraschino cherry scent and I find that cherry often overpowers the other notes in a blend and is just way too sweet for me, but the cherry here is absolutely decadent and plays so well with the other notes. For the first couple minutes on my skin, this is all bright, sweet, red cherry and I was worried, but it quickly melts into the most beautiful, gothic cherry scent with the darker notes coming in so velvety and smooth. It's a sticky-sweet mashup of cherry and black currant (tangy and juicy mixed with the sweetness) on a base of sultry, dark, resinous amber and plush, dark musk. It reminds me a little of Solstice Scents' Cherry Vanilla Amberosia, but this blend is darker and has more complexity and nuance to it. The smoked amber here is so beautiful and everything is well blended with nothing standing out as overwhelming or too much. A deep, dark amber that's not powdery or smoky on me, but smells like huffing a chunk of real amber resin. A little drop of this is strong and long lasting, about 5 or 6 hours before it even begins to fade at all. I'm in love.

I love writing and pen ink and I have this fantasy of one day writing novels from the comfort of my beachfront home with the windows and doors thrown open and the sound of waves and the scent of salty air all around me. I'm currently trying to find a new home in Florida for this very purpose. One of my life's greatest pleasures is being on the ocean during a moody, cloudy day. It has such a specific and awe inspiring energy. Today is a little too moody, but hopefully everyone makes it through this hurricane unscathed 💝. The Blue Door starts off all about the "vase of cut flowers." It makes me think of a vase full of puffy pink peonies and a couple lilies, giving off a sweet and creamy, realistic floral scent with crisp, clean (but not soapy), green stem, like the scent of walking into a florist's fridge. The floral part is soft like true flowers, not musky/perfumey or sour. I can kind of smell notebook paper, but if I didn't know that this was supposed to be a writer's scent, then I would have just attributed that crisp, clean edge to being a part of the floral. Around 45 minutes, the salty, refreshing ocean breeze starts to come in and gain strength and I can't get over how well BPAL captured these scents in this fragrance. Around the one hour mark, I can smell tiny hints of a mineral ink and masculine, black leather, but they're underneath the creamy floral and salty air. This perfume is so evocative of sitting down to write with the windows open, your space filling with the scent of the ocean on a stormy day, hints of pen ink and leather, and a big vase of flowers next to you on your desk, a gift from someone who loves you and supports your writing endeavors. It's so moody in the best ways and I will probably get at least one backup bottle of this beauty. I've been so thrilled with my last few bpal orders. I usually have a couple misses in my orders, but the latest updates have just been full of hits for me. The Blue Door really speaks to part of my soul and makes me very happy.

This trio is absolutely beautiful. I wanted this perfume and then the reviews made me take it off of my wishlist, but I added it into my cart on a whim during my last order and I'm so glad that I did. Jasmine tea is one of my favorite things in life and bpal's wild plum is one of my favorite notes in perfume. I was worried about it being too much plum or the green tea having its usual lemony tone that stomps all over everything or the jasmine being a sharp and soapy variety. Nope. This is a perfect jasmine tea on my skin and to my nose. It smells just like opening a bag of jasmine tea and smelling the sunshine filled sweetness of dried jasmine petals, the exotic and slightly herbal twang of dried tea leaves, and a teeny tiny hint of sugarplum, like a pinch of fruit scented sugar to sweeten the tea. Dry, sophisticated, lightly sweet jasmine tea. Exotic and richly floral. No soap or musk or lemon to ruin anything for me. My bottle is very jasmine and tea leaf dominant and I love it.

First on, all of the notes meld together into a scent that reminds me of a freshly mown lawn on a hot summer's day, including the warm, woody dustiness of the earth and the honeyed floral scent that green grass has when it's cut. After about ten minutes, the green and fresh aspects disappear and I'm left with dried, honeyed grass, a sweet and warm incense (myrrh and powdery, sweet incense cones), and the warmth and clay-like character of the sunbaked stone. It smells so cuddly, earthy, and warm, but with a rich sweetness. It does cling close to the skin, but I'm really enjoying it. The drydown reminds me of scents like Cathedral and Midnight Mass, like it could be in the same family, but Columns is warmer and more full of sunshine.

"Supposed to be a pretzel but smells more like popcorn, so..." I love bread-y and popcorn-y gourmands, so I love this. I get a vanilla musk and sea salt type of scent that's sort of like an airy 'sea island cotton' vibe, but with hints of popcorn and bread. Clean laundry by the salty ocean, sweet vanilla, and freshly popped popcorn with a creamy hint of butter. In the drydown, it's the same, but with the addition of a fluffy white bread note. I really like this because it reminds me of being by the ocean and is clean without being heavily soapy. It's a very white scent to me that conjures up images of white sand, white linens, white popcorn, white bread, wearing a clean, white sundress... I can't wait to read other reviews of this one!

I full bottled this immediately because these are three of my favorite notes, but then I wasn't really wowed by it, so I've let it rest for a few months. I'm still not in love with it, though. I think I wanted the red musk and vanilla to be stronger, richer and sweeter than they are, and for the labdanum to not be as powdery and dry as it is. I get mostly a powdery amber labdanum with hints of sour evergreen and a red musk that's lightly sweet and also slightly metallic on my skin. I don't smell anything smoky or scorched and if there's vanilla here, it's just a touch of subtle creaminess and not anything that really stands out from the blend. The powdery, woody amber tones and hint of sour funkiness remind me of being in old barns full of dusty hay and the memory of animals.

The amber and frankincense aren't really coming through on my skin and the apple part reminds me of apple juice + apple scented air freshener. I always want to love apple, but my brain associates it too much with air freshener after years of smelling in Febreze and candles.

I bought this for the "burnt sugar and cream" part, but all I get is the strawberry. It smells like a sugary strawberry jam to me, more candied than fresh.

I received a free sample of this in my latest Haute Macabre order and it's definitely not for me. I agree with the previous review in that this is classic baby powder smell and I can't stand it 🤢. I don't get any of the listed notes at all. Baby powder single note. And it's SO strong.

This has an edge of traditional men's cologne, which I really love in a fragrance. It's warm, dark, worn in leather with a clean, crisp, sweet cologne quality and spiced, slightly smoky, musky-incensey thing going on, and the metallic gleam of a similary worn in axe. I feel like there's a sweet swirl of red musk and incensey dragon's blood in here that gets stronger on me in the drydown. The warmth of the fur works really well with the dark leather, all amber-y and cuddly. I like when a perfume oil stays complex like this one does over hours of wear. I've really been enjoying this scent today and it reminds me of playing a warrior in FFXIV and crashing around the forests of Gridania with my axe. 😅

Such a beautiful fragrance. It's realistic, freshly peeled, juicy, zesty orange, but minus the sour, acidic tones (so it's perfection) on a bed of creamy orange blossom petals. When I wore it again this morning, it had a fizzy orange flavored Sprite feel for a while before drying down to realistic orange and creamy petals. I'm glad that I got a bottle of this one.

I've already started to heavily decorate the inside of my house and hoard offerings in the leading up to Samhain and my soul is completely dedicated to autumn in July, so I added Prairie Witch into my latest order and I love her. I'm pleasantly surprised by how creamy this scent is and how strong the tonka and non-spiced pumpkin are. Tonka always smells like a soft vanilla to me with hints of floral and honey, and I'm getting lots of creamy tonka and creamy pumpkin, like it's baked and mashed for pie, but hasn't been spiced or flavored yet. I expected this to be a pumpkin spice thing, but the spice is subtle and I mostly get the hint of sweet clove and a hint of spiced apple cider underneath all the creaminess and hay. The wild grass and vetiver smell exactly like wandering through a corn maze filled with hay bales. The scent of a soft, vanilla-y perfume on a flowy dress and wandering through hay bales and pumpkins while holding a little cup of hot, mulled apple cider. So beautiful.