Little Bird

The bottle I got of this is mostly coconut and beeswax at first. I like coconut sometimes, but this is like a cloying, heavy, tropical scented candle on me. As it dries down, I get a bit of soapy floral coming into the mix (sort of chemical-y and harsh, a bit like the smell of cheap hair spray). A little whiff of incense smoke creeps in after a while, but this just smells all off to me. This smells like being in a dorm room, overwhelmed by a mix of cheap suntan-lotion-coconut, novelty incense, and cheap hair products... just sickly on me.

Casanova was my first thought for those notes, but you might also check out: *Wilde (Bewitching Brews) - "A sophisticated traditional gentleman's cologne, with just the slightest taint of patchouli's passion, tonka bean's decadence, the philanthropy of bergamot, moss' cynicism, the sharp wit of lavender, and the hopeless romantic longing of jasmine and thyme." *Mad Hatter (Mad Tea Party) - "A gentlemen's lavender-citron cologne unhinged by the feral pungence of black musk and a paroxysm of pennyroyal." Maybe Cheshire Cat (Mad Tea Party) if you like a citrussy lavender: "Grapefruit, red currant, dark musk, Roman chamomile, delphinium, and lavender."

I'd recommend trying The Obsidian Widow if you haven't already. It smells red & black to me, and is really complex and interesting. The Obsidian Widow (Steamworks) - "Pinot noir, dark myrrh, red sandalwood, black patchouli, night-blooming jasmine, and attar of rose."

Some of my favorite GC scents with a classic men's cologne feel: *Baron Samedi (Excolo) - "In his honor, we have created this scent: our spin on traditional Bay Rum." *The Bow & Crown of Conquest (Sin & Salvation) - "Nobility and haughtiness befitting the Antichrist: sage, carnation and cedar with lavender, vanilla, white musk and leather." *Casanova (Ars Amatoria) - "A rakish blend of leather, anise, lavender, bergamot and amber with tonka, lemon peel and lusty patchouli." *Dee (Bewitching Brews) - "His scent is soft English leather, rosewood and tonka with a hint of incense, parchment and soft woods." *El Dorado (Wanderlust) - "Copal resin incense blowing through halls of dazzling gold." *Fenris Wolf (Diabolus) - "The raw, untamable power of chaos. Rosewood, amber, red musk and a dribble of red sandalwood." *Golden Priapus (Ars Amatoria) - "Insatiable lust, unending vigor! A truly carnal, energetic men's blend: vanilla and amber with juniper, rosewood and white pine." *The Great Sword of War (Sin & Salvation) - "Mandarin, tonka, saffron, black tea, cocoa, tobacco leaf, sanguine red musk and five classical herbs of conflict." *Hellfire (Sin & Salvation) - "A swirl of pipe tobacco, hot leather, ambergris, dark musk and the lingering incense smoke from their Black Mass." *Rogue (RPG) - "Soft, well-worn black leather, hemp, and rosin." *Vicomte de Valmont (Ars Amatoria) - "Based on an 18th century gentlemen’s cologne: ambergris, white musk, white sandalwood, Spanish Moss, orange blossom, three mints, jasmine, rose geranium and a spike of rosemary." *Wilde (Bewitching Brews) - "A sophisticated traditional gentleman's cologne, with just the slightest taint of patchouli's passion, tonka bean's decadence, the philanthropy of bergamot, moss' cynicism, the sharp wit of lavender, and the hopeless romantic longing of jasmine and thyme."

The differences that I've found often aren't over the span of 2+ years, and the differences are not subtle. I'm not talking about subtle variations, but scents that smell entirely different, in bottles that are often purchased in the same LE run. It is a huge letdown to get a sample or first bottle of something and then purchase a full bottle or backup bottle and get an entirely different scent. If I never know what to expect or what scent I'll actually get, then it makes me hesitant to purchase anything. The latest Beaver Moon is a problem for me, because some people got a version that smells like it was supposed to (like lavender and cheesecake), and some people got something else entirely. My bottle smells like burning chemicals and unfinished men's cologne. I would have rather had a refund than some other scent, or some variation of the intended scent. These are *huge* differences in bottles that were purchased days apart. And there are some examples of huge differences posted in this thread. I've had this happen with a lot of bottles lately, where I've purchased bottles a few months apart or in the same LE run, and they don't smell the same or have the same oil ratios or same oil color. I don't think that it's silly to expect the same perfume to smell at least mostly the same over a period of time. And with scents like the Beaver Moon 2011, those were bottles that certainly were purchased/made around the same time, so the huge difference there doesn't make sense at all.

This seems to be happening more and more lately, and it's starting to make me wary of purchasing bpal. I've ordered a lot of bottles over the past year and a half especially that smell nothing like what I was expecting, and different to bottles that I've compared them to of the same name. You could try messaging the lab about it, but I've messaged them about this sort of thing in the past and haven't gotten a response. A lot of times people will tell you to try aging a scent, which might help, but not in a case where the oils just flat out aren't the same...

I usually like lavender and enjoy bpal's cheesecake blends, but this is a mess on me. I feel like there's something wrong with my bottle. It smells like a harsh, soapy, chemical lavender that has been set on fire. I've never smelled anything like this from bpal's lavender notes, so I'm really confused. It smells like a harsh chemical, is the best way that I can describe it. As it starts to dry down, it's better in that it's tolerable, but it's like the sharp, musky part of a men's cologne with no other notes rounding it out. A very clean, sharp, manly smell. Where is the cheesecake and honey? I'm so disappointed with this blend... ETA: Apparently there are two versions of this blend.. one that smells as advertised (like lavender, honey and cheesecake) and one that smells like the version I unfortunately got (awful and nothing at all like lavender, honey or cheesecake). I'm really unhappy about the fact that there are two versions to begin with, and the lab hasn't gotten back to me or anyone I know addressing the problem. I feel like this isn't at all what I ordered, and I would have rather received a refund than this blend, if they ran out of the cheesecake version. I've had this happen to me a lot over the last two years, where I've received different versions of the same scent in the same LE run (Shadowy & The Sublime being my biggest disappointment), and it's really turning me off of bpal. I feel like I can never trust that I'm getting the right scent or the same scent that I think I'm ordering. I expect more consistency than this, especially for the high-ish price point and expensive shipping. It's expensive to order these little luxuries, and I feel like the lack of consistent product is insulting and disappointing... ETAA: I've picked up three bottles of this now and all three smell hugely different from each other...

The artwork for this is really cute. I don't think that the scent is a keeper for me, though. It reminds me of The Last Unicorn, which also didn't work for me, in that it was like chocolate mixed with things that didn't smell right paired with chocolate. The mix of oleander and musk, I think, is going slightly soapy on me, into a clean & musky floral smell. Then there's the light sweetness of the chocolate. As it dries down, some of the soapy clean aspect fades away and I'm getting more of a baby powdery sandalwood + light chocolate. It's almost total baby powder after about 15 minutes. Batty is surprisingly light on me, clinging very close to the skin and only lasting about an hour overall. I'm also surprised that I don't get any spice/cassia, because it's usually a strong note on me. This is mostly clean floral and baby powdery sandalwood on me

My husband and I both usually enjoy patchouli fragrances (love Banshee Beat, even), but this is a medicinal, gross sort of patchouli ("putrid" is the word my hubby used to describe it). I don't get any of the cocoa, tobacco, or bourbon vanilla. There are a couple drops of cocoa absolute hardened along the bottom of the bottle, but not enough to matter or even mix into the rest of the oil. I was hoping for more cocoa and vanilla, but this is all woody (a bit like a sour cedar note), mentholic patchouli that's not as rich/deep smelling as the patchoulis that I enjoy. There's something almost bright and plasticy about this scent for me. Hard to explain. It's thin and bitter rather than rich and earthy. I thought that I might use my bottle for layering with other scents, but it's gotten more sour smelling to me over time... not a keeper at all.

I was so sad when I didn't get a bottle of this in the mad etsy rush, but I actually don't need more of this, now that I've had a chance to sample it. I love black pepper, oakmoss, and patchouli (especially on my husband), so I thought that this would be dreamy, but I don't get any black pepper or oakmoss, and only a tiny hint of earthy, dry patchouli in the drydown. I mostly get the bitter, sweet tarts feel of the pomegranate (and, as other people have mentioned, an almost fizzy/sparkly fruitiness), a powdery, sweet lilac, and an edge of musky cologne. It goes clean, powdery, and sweetly floral rather than dark and earthy/spicy on both me and my husband. I think that it actually smells rather girly more than masculine. And it only lasts about an hour or two. Not what I was expecting, but I suppose I'm happy to not have to try to find more of this one.

These are some of the blends I thought of while reading your post: *Czernobog (Excolo) - "A combination of three musks, with splashes of dark myrrh, vetiver and mullein." I find this to be heavy on the dirty musks. You might also try Satyr for some intense, dirty muskiness. *Mage (RPG) - "All mystique and thrumming power: gurjum balsam, Sumatran dragon's blood resin, olibanum, galangal, oleo gum resin, and frankincense." *The Pool of Tears (Mad Tea Party) - "A sea of salty tears drowning out Alice's light floral perfume." Something about this always smells like a frosty, gritty aquatic to me. And, of course, there are the Ars Draconis blends for a bunch of dragon's blood + blends.

Most aquatics smell oddly dry, like laundry soap powder on my skin (Sea of Glass & Banded Sea Snake being my bpal exceptions), and this one does that same thing on me. I don't know that I could even tell most of the aquatics apart they just don't work with my skin chemistry. I get sharp soapiness and nothing else.

The tobacco absolute is too strong for me in this blend. The mix of warm, heavy red musk and clean skin musk is unusual and pretty, but the tobacco absolute quickly comes out and stomps all over everything, turning cloying on me. Its like sticky-sweet, honeyed tobacco and nothing else in the drydown. It reminds me of my dad's chewing tobacco, which I don't want to smell like...

I'm not a fan of herbal scents and have trouble wearing lemongrass, so it's no surprise that I don't really like this scent. Dark Alice's review sums this up pretty nicely for me. The lemongrass is sour and the root/basil/herbal tones are like dry herbs and dry grass. It has a bit of a bitter/medicinal quality to it at first, though it's very light and fades quickly on me, so it's not something that I had to scrub off. It's not something that I'd wear again.

Arcana makes a scent called 'Soot' that's chocolate, black pepper, patchouli, vanilla, and incensey notes. I looove that one, and was hoping that The Seekim would be similar with the list of similar notes. Unfortunately, the hay in The Seekim seems to take over and this smells a lot like Hay Moon on me (lemony wood polish, sunny wood, and dry grass). I like Hay Moon, but I don't really like that hay note mixed with a whiff of chocolate. And I adore black pepper and patchouli, but don't smell much of them here

Expressive Head is mostly dark, dank smelling vetiver and dark, powdery teakwood on me. It makes me think of rotting logs in a forest. As it dries down, the clove gives it a bit of sharp spiciness. There's also something like a whiff of soapy men's aftershave. All in all, it's too dark and flat smelling, and not really as exotic as I was hoping it would be on my skin...

I was hoping for a mix of sweet pumpkin, light spices, and orange, but Candied Pumpkin is pretty much cinnamon single note on my skin . It dries down like dusty cinnamon potpourri on my skin, which makes me sick. Reminds me of the Pumpkin Pie bath oil, but with less of a bakery feel and more cinnamon.

I was looking forward to the anise and benzoin in this one, but I don't get either of those notes, and the rose amps up on me (as usual). I get a tart pom + rose at first and then this dries down to a perfumey red rose smell with a dark and slightly spicy/incensey edge to it. But mostly perfumey rose on me. It lasts about 2 hours on my skin, fading into a perfumey-clean sort of smell.

The Two-Tailed Sogg isn't unpleasant, but it's not something I'm going to need a full bottle of. It starts off with a zingy, tart, lightly sweetened grapefruit that I enjoy, but quickly dries down to baby powder, sweet orris, and a hint of sour, green moss. Baby powder, floral-y sweetness, and dry moss. The citrus doesn't stick around long enough for me, and the whole thing disappears before it reaches the one hour mark on my skin.

I was excited for the green peppers and dirt that others have mentioned, but I don't get a strong vegetable scent from this. There's an undertone of watery greenery, but it doesn't make me think of vegetable gardens, sadly. I get watery green, black potting soil, and a bit of a sharp, perfumey floral from the iris and poppy. After an hour, it has faded a lot into a perfumey-clean smell with a hint of dirt. There are vegetable scents (Planting Moon & Hagsgate) and floral & dirt scents (The Premature Burial <3) that I much prefer over this one.

The Changeling might be my biggest letdown of the 'Weenies this year . I was hoping for sweet vanilla and pumpkin with clean linen and wood notes, but this is mostly a charred wood and perfumey musk smell on my skin, with a little bit of burnt butter edge to it. It actually smells a bit gross on me...

I was hopeful for the vanilla and marigold (I actually love the smell of real marigolds), but this is mostly clean, perfumey floral and slightly herbal smelling greenery on me. It's not sweet enough for me and I don't get a lot of complexity from it. The rose comes out in the drydown, but it's a soapy rose that I'm not loving. I was hoping for dried flowers and vanilla from this, but it's more of a clean, perfumey floral smell.

Ghosts in Love is mostly tobacco flower on me, which isn't a favorite note of mine (like a soapy, cold, gritty/smoky white floral). I get that, a little bit of sweet rose, and a touch of powdery/creamy softness from the white sandalwood. It'd be very pretty for someone who likes the lab's tobacco flower note.

This is mostly sweet violet, sharp green moss (reminds me of Bayou), and soapy aquatic on me, with smoky sage in the drydown. I have the worst time with aquatic blends, and this one doesn't fit right on me either. None of the notes seem to mesh well on my skin, and it feels very sharp.

I love resins, black currant, benzoin, and vanilla bean, and hate or have trouble with every other note in this blend. Unfortunately, the resins, currants and vanilla aren't strong enough to save the blend for me. There's a dark sweetness from the musk and opoponax, and a bit of tart fruitiness for the first fifteen minutes or so, but mostly this is a perfumey, slightly sour jasmine with hints of rose on me. Jasmine very rarely works out for me, and I'm not loving it here.