Shadowdawn

So, I must confess, upon first sniff years ago when I first got this blend, I initially ignored it for seeming way too foody/nutty on the surface. (Because WHAM buttered, roasted hazelnuts in your face upon first sniff of the imp). I am now finding that my personal tastes are going through a bit of an overhaul, and I gave it a second glance. Then I tried it again, and it's actually lovely. Ultimately, once it settles, it becomes a creamy, smoky, tropical floral. Sniffing the blend right out of the imp, the scent of buttery hazelnuts (yikes, for me) actually completely obfuscates anything else that might be in here, making it seem much, much foodier than it actually is. Thank the heavens, almost instantly (within a minute or two) of hitting my skin, all the hazelnut/butter vanishes, petrifying itself into hazelnut wood way in the back. There is no foodiness to behold, and I am cheering. Some of those sweet, warm floral blooms emerge, but the barest whisper of something like coconut husk, or incense, is making them seem like tropical blooms, even if they are not really tropical. Most coconut (Obatala, etc.) goes to plastic or soap (or both), on me, and this doesn't at all! It remains creamy and dry, grounded, and not too sweet either. I almost can't actually pick the coconut out once it settles, and it becomes beautiful, soft, and downy in the drydown (after the 'beach sand' phase-- because there are a few minutes where it is definitely the smell of a sunny beach through and through). Finally, almost no coconut remains, but leaves it the scent of clean incense. Woody, ethereal, fleeting. A real morpher. I would say this is an incensey, sweet base, with dry coconut husk. Creamy and not too sweet. Black Pearl is a wonderful beach and summer scent (for those of us who don't really like fruits), but at the same time it is grown up, grounded, and sophisticated. Just floral enough to not be foody, not so floral that it goes to soap or powder. It stays close to the skin with a mild throw, but fades fast sadly. I can see this being a great mermaid fragrance for those who are not fond of aquatics (like me), and it definitely has a sense of pearl-like or opalescent quality in the creamy element. It's almost a vanilla-like, or vanilla orchid like scent, without having any actual vanilla. I do not find anything about it menacing, however, and that's a good thing for me.

I was hoping that this would be a white rose (from the 'pale' descriptor), with a dewy backdrop going on, in the sense that it could be similar to Moon Rose (or at worse, Katrina Van Tassel without the creaminess). Alas, with time, I've come to realize that I think the reason I love Moon Rose so is not for the rose in it, but for the moonflower in it. I am also coming to find that regular roses aren't really my jam. That said, this is definitely one of the prettier roses; it's not dark or red in any way. It is closer to Katrina Van Tassel than Moon Rose, for sure, the rose is much creamier/sweeter (and it lacks any competing notes), maybe even a white rose (but without a 'cream' component it feels a bit stronger than some other white roses), and the aquatic mixed into it is definitely giving off a slightly soapy edge. Not a horribly plastic/dryer sheet soapiness, but a nice, pleasant, expensive soapiness. It is very fresh smelling. Sweet without being honeyed or sugary, and very nice for those who would be fond of an aquatic. I guess the trade off for the soap is avoiding the 'baby powder' that rose blends with musk or honey in them tend to do to me. Still, meh.

I was really, really looking forward to this one. However, for how powerful, and truly I cannot describe it as anything less than that, this is, it has a very sad, short lifespan on me. It's completely gone upon the first rinse with water, and fades to almost nothing on its own within an hour or two (even when I slather). On me, this blend is entirely myrrh resin and honey. I don't get any cardamom, vanilla, or cocoa, for which I am very sad (until the last, breathy stage of drydown). It smells like expensive, mature perfume, although in a way that is not too cloying--which is good. And it's absolutely not foody at all in any way (thank heavens). Bast also sticks as close to the skin as possible, with minimal throw. For some reason... I get the very, very mild hint of expensive Parisian soap (but only when it's fresh, before settling), and florals? I think it's the myrrh that's coming across as vaguely floral (or maybe it's just a very floral honey note, I'm not sure). That is a tad disappointing for me. Thankfully there is nothing here I completely dislike, but I'm not as over the moon about it as I'd hope to be. I was hoping for more spice, creaminess, and an incense like quality... and less straight up antique perfume. She's here one minute, swishing through the room in confidant silks with gold, gleaming skin, and gone the very next. Edit to Add: I can definitely see the similarities to Morocco that have been mentioned about Bast-- for me, I only pick up one or two strongly similar notes in the drydown, but Bast is definitely less creamy, and a bit less spicy, than Morocco.

Books, fireplaces, wood, chai tea, and cozy, furry cats?! This sounds like it should be heaven. I was envisioning something creamy, spicy and a little incensey, rustic, leathery, comforting, all that good stuff. Alas... no. I don't know what happened here... but this is such a heavy, intense, old cloying perfume smell. First off, it smells purely like alcohol to me (or rather, like alcohol based perfume). As soon as I open the bottle, the first thing I smell is strong, astringent alcohol with an undertone of "classic" perfume. Actually, to me it smells exactly like a forgotten 30 year old bottle of Eau de perfume, Chanel No 5. Very heady, very musky/musty, and alcoholic. Somehow I am detecting heavy white florals and musk?? I will say, it does smell very expensive, like a premium classic/noxious perfume. I smell no chai, no cats, no books, and no fireplaces... but maybe a soapy, cologne-like kind of wood. Some time after my (very cautious) application, it simmers down into a... clean, fully soap and flowers cologne smell. I don't know how. The book I received was " The Wind is Not a River" (Brian Payton) about a married couple trying to reconcile and deal with loss in a hypothetical WW2 scenario in Alaska. Hmm.... not exactly my genre, but I was glad to participate all the same. In an odd way the perfume actually really, really goes with the book lol....

I'm starting to get suspicious of peaches, I tell you. And I also can't believe I haven't reviewed this yet lol. With fall pretty much here, I started pulling my cozier scents out of their little retirement nooks, and went immediately to this one first. Which is actually the best move for this early in the season, as it turns out, because it has a strong lingering scent of summer (those peaches, man) to it. I have no idea why, but I amp the peaches like crazy. So, in the bottle, it's pure heaven. Perfectly balanced between peach, pumpkin, and just enough "sugary/foody/spicy/gourmand" element in the background to deepen it (but not to make me afraid it's going to go butter-cake-of-death, cloyingly-sugary-baked-goods), and evoke a sense of cooked pumpkin--not enough to make it a spice-heavy blend. I figured the spice (nutmeg, mostly...maybe something like allspice) would come out to develop and give it a dry, slightly smoky/incense quality. So, for some reason, it goes to "late summer" almost immediately on my skin, with fresh peach everything all over up in there, then fades to nothing within an hour (though I didn't slather this time). The pumpkin is overtaken in minutes and it becomes actually "fruity" to a degree. Somehow, the spices all evaporate (rather than stick around as 'final notes', as they usually do with me) into... cream. Cream and gauzy vanilla. It's so soft, and warm, and comforting, but not at all spicy, which is the saddest thing for me. Still completely love it though.

Oh goodness... beautiful!! Filled with silvery, warming, intoxicating light. Perfumey and youthful in a good way. It is.. Organza, full moon peaking into sunrise edition. It is a translucent masquerade bride with honey-pink cheeks. Elegance and femininity personified. I could bathe in this-- it is my favorite in a long time. I am adoring the upfront crystalline amber in this one, softened and sweetened with an herbal, grain-like vanilla (that gives it a sense of timelessness and maturity), and rounded out with a fully unfurled moonflower--just tinged with nectar soaked blush at the tips. It is fleeting, like catching a snowy nymph darting across a sugar-web-spun grotto. The scent doesn't morph much on me, but dries down to focus a bit more on the floral as the amber calms into a golden shimmer in the background. There is also barely a hint of powdery lemon-creme somewhere there? It is somehow so mysterious I feel like people would try and inconspicuously inch closer to try and get a second whiff, unsure of what they has scented in the first place, but drawn nonetheless. You know... it actually smells a little bit like a more heady, exotic, and complex version of an Escada fragrance from many years ago... Magnetism I think. And without the headache. lol

Wha..what on earth.... . So, I was expecting a damp gothic rose blossoming in my face, enshrouded in breathy parchment-like smoke tendrils, with some evocative dripping wax softly in the background... but alas, I somehow get no rose?! What I do get is dry, powdery violets, like the pressed flower! Or maybe a skin dust made with flour and ancient violets gone slightly off. And then nothing but smoke. And not a pale, incensy, ethereal smoke.. but.. like a dank cupboard cigarette ash smoke. Somehow I also detect a musty musk in this one somewhere. Final drydown: I've seen people post about a scent going "cat-pee" sour on them all the time before, and never quite understood it until this one LOL. But here we have it.. cat pee, if it was in really old musty incense form. Or maybe the old incense is soaked in the cat pee :/ Somewhere way, way deep down when I huff with all might might I get the barest hint of a warm, dry, vanillin curio cabinet that might have stored cigars at one point. And absolutely no hint of rose, purple or otherwise, or any floral really. I guess smoke is another one for the no-fly list. *sigh*

I really like this blend a lot, and I find it true to its nature and description. It is light, and sort of fades the way the smell of the "outdoors" fades from your skin after coming back into a cozy home and sitting on the couch for a while. In a quiet and dignified way. I also don't get a lot of morphing from this one, so I always know what to expect from good ol' faithful. It is a simple, yet comforting blend, both creamy and refreshing in a way, understated and subtle, in the way such an offering to the fae might drift on the wind and be carried off into the ether. I cannot be grateful enough that it has never gone either linen or soap on me. It fits so close to the skin in fact, that after wearing it for the day, it becomes hard to separate my own own skin smell, from this, as the two become one. The milk (I find it to be more of a skim milk rather than a heavy, sticky cream) and light golden honey are obviously there, but balanced, and in no way sweet/cloying. The 'grains' portion of this (somehow) keeps it from becoming foody, and really brings out a quiet beauty after the drydown. I smell oats, for sure-- and the uncooked steel cut variety at that. Beyond that, I want to say whole sheaf's of golden wheat, and tall, swaying grasses, toasted by the sun work in. Finally, there might be a peekaboo of heather and amaranth in there somewhere. It smells arid, like sunset in early fall. And brings to mind spilling thin milk and clear honey on a field of just-harvested 'grains'.

How have I never reviewed my most favorite BPAL scent?! One that I have had and loved since 2008! In fact, it is one of the most comforting things I own-- a tiny, little, beat up imp from 2008. I just realized that this imp has almost been aged an entire decade! Woah. I don't know how to describe how much I love this one. It smells of a home that I can't place, that I've been without having gone to. Of summer sunsets in markets, baking, old gods, and familiarity. It is ephemeral and almost esoteric for me. It is sexy, spicy, comforting, and sweet. It is both exotic and homey somehow. It is a smell of a place, and a time, and the sunlight filtering through warm wood shutters, of shared laughter and exotic nibbles. Like the drapes pulled back on a fortune teller's tent to reveal a smoky crystal orb. At this point it is so well blended that there is not a single individual spice or floral note I can pick up-- not even cinnamon, but it smells like hot, fragrant desert breath just coming off of an oasis with many date trees, a few lush blooms, and a procession of old priests burning incense while they carry offertory cakes. It is a *toasted* vanilla/sandalwood//incense/dry petal blanket that I want to wrap up in. And yet there is something feminine and 'human' about it too. Hard to describe honestly. Edit to add that the final drydown for me comes the next day, after a shower (with unscented soap), and that it settled into a creamy toasted vanilla/lightest caramel, sun-baked dusty blooms of deliciousness. Ultra feminine and soft, yet alluring, with very toned down 'spice' quality. 2019 Edit: I've recently got a bottle fresh from the lab (as opposed to the very aged version I had previously reviewed)... and I have to say there are some subtle differences! Still delicious, for sure, and with a similar long-term dry down. However! The fresh version is a lot more floral... and creamy, and a little less spicy. I pick up a lot of the floral aspect more prominently, along with something that smells, to me, like rice milk. Or maybe very pure rice porridge. For some reason, I get a rice like scent from the fresh "creamy" component here.

Based on the note descriptions I thought that I would absolutely love this one... but it has made me sad. Upon initial application is reminds me *a lot* of Dana O'Shee, which I adore, but a bit stronger and with better throw. So far, so good. Very creamy, but with a slightly herbal/floral (but not cloying) background to keep it grounded. And not too sticky sweet either which is a relief. I was expecting just a little less milk and a little more floral (or even honey), but it's similar enough at this point to Dana that I'd go for it. *Spoken in a lifeless droning tone* .....One hour later.... Anything that might have called itself a floral, or even an herb, has long since died and powdered to dust in the back of an old spice cabinet, in a memory, from a decade ago. The milk has gone sour in the sun. And, somehow, miraculously... I get... linen. Like, white tablecloths. Why cruel world?! And finally, in a dramatic, final, death cough, as it expires, the linen melts bitterly into burned plastic and used dryer sheets. How did this blend turn into plastic and unclean laundry over here?! ------------ 2022 Edit: Alrighty well, I've received a totally fresh imp from the Lab and having completely forgotten how this ever used to smell on me, I uncorked and rubbed some on. I also did this without reading the notes to remind myself what was in it. So, blindly sniffing I got a very light, creamy, summery, slightly floral vibe up front. Not too sweet. Tea party indeed! I thought, "aha! Thick cream, freshly steeped tea, and tuberose." Which apparently is totally wrong. Er, that's awkward. As it continues to dry down I think wow the strong tea here has turned totally spicy! Like Chai almost (but without a buttery/foody/sugar note). And I wonder where the hot cinnamon and spice blend is coming from. It's actually heckin' delicious. How?! I am not getting a hint of milk or that sourness at all. Which is a good thing. I also can't detect the honey although I recall I used to amp it.... and no linen either. Creamy cream, a total melange of spices, and uh the barest breath of mixed florals come through. I'm not detecting a whiff of rose in any form, not even a white rose! No milk, no honey, no rose. It's so odd. Spiced hot cream and black tea. I am not even getting any of the citrus/pepper that bergamot usually brings. If someone said this was heavily cinnamon-spiced white hot cocoa I would believe it. I guess surpassing 30 does things to the body because I'm guessing the Lab changed nothing which can only mean.... my body chemistry is what changed.

The first hour.... Glimmering, morning-star-kissed effervescent dew? Tears of the angels? Anointed diamond-scale mermaid skin? Summer rains over a sweet tropical pool? White mist rolling over damp white flowers? A sacred white-marble bath with sweet fresh herbs? Pale Citrus and white tea spilled on white porcelain? Pure sophistication in a crystal bottle? That liquid inside 'The Light of Eärendil'? The best aquatic I have ever smelled. Dry down.... Plastic and dryer sheets. I hate you aquatics, but this time you really did tease me. I shan't trust you again.

What the heck? Where did the tall silvery grasses and dry hay come from?! :/ So, of any BPAL I have ever tried, I think this one has the lightest and shortest throw on me. I have to slather and huff to pick anything up from it. At least it isn't foody in the least, and can only be described as "pretty" during its very short lifespan. This is a doll's smell through and through (complete with the barest effigy of downy plastic playing softly in the background somewhere)-- I get no apricot, no peony, and no rose (which is what I assumed would be dominant). I think the main note I'm sensing here is 'mallow'-- as in the creamy medicinal root, not the confectionery. Upon initial application, all the way throughout the five minutes to powdery dry-down, oddly enough I get the scent of sun-baked hay and billowing wild grasses (that have not been cut). There may be a hint of wildflowers in there somewhere, and the smallest, tiniest sprinkle of powdered sugar. There may even be one single dried lavender bud present (perhaps the barest breath of peony, rose, and lavender combined have evoked the sense of wild flowers?). I can't even detect the vanilla somehow! It's as if though there were a white chiffon pillow nestled deep in the tall summer grass out in a field somewhere, with a single well-manicured doll sitting atop it--except the tip of her nose is smeared with a dollop of buttercream icing.

Huh, interesting, I like this one! So, to start with-- this is the only "cocoa" or "chocolate" perfume blend (ever) that I have been able to wear without it going to burnt plastic on my skin! That said, I don't know that I would even call it in-you-face "chocolate". It's definitely dusty, dry, grownup, and a little sexy . In the bottle, first impression: Uh-oh... nervous at the moment; I detect that general "food" tone (kind of butteryness?) that most foody blends have that that does not play well with me. But it has a dark, spicy, almost smoky quality beneath that, so we'll keep an open mind . On the skin, after ten minutes or so: All hints of any possible "foodiness" are gone, thankfully!! That said it... feels like.. florals have shown up?! This is most unusual, I don't think there was supposed to be anything floral in this blend, and yet I'm getting some undertone of white florals. hmm. It's actually really well blended, and the cocoa doesn't even smell like anything akin to "single note chocolate", I have to try to pick it out. That said, I don't detect much cinnamon at all either, so that's too bad . I was hoping it would be a little heavier in the spices. It actually smells like a really refined, classic perfume to me (that mysterious 'floral' note, I'm sure). I think a married Victorian lady would wear this lol. But it isn't offputting. After an hour: WOAH!!!! This is one of the nicest drydowns of any BPAL blend thus far! . Anything related to that odd floral tone has completely vanished, and neither cinnamon nor cocoa beat the other out-- it's very well blended and neither obviously spices, or chocolate, upon sniffing. It has actually turned into a smoky, dry, dusty, resinous, cocoa incense. It's also quite light, oddly enough. That's the dusty quality I suppose. The SO's input: "It does smell very nice" . Which is, in fact, a high compliment for him lol.

Hmmm, this is an interesting one I suppose. Usually strawberry becomes an instant death note on me, so I was very nervous when I opened the bottle and immediately smelled a bowl of overpowering, crushed strawberries. Uh-oh, I thought. I thought the strawberry was going to be more in the backdrop of things.... First applied: A rush of strawberries, like strawberry wind, but it doesn't go to plastic, probably due to the red musk, though I can't pick that out itself. After a few minutes: The cherry blossom shoves it's way to the front! Yay! So now it doesn't actually smell like strawberries anymore.. but.. there's something weird going on with the cherry blossom. Hmm... not playing well with the musk maybe? As it dries down this is getting worse... After an hour: Hmmm, so, fresh cherry blossom? With a hint of fruitiness, though it's not overtly strawberry. It's okay I guess, but I don't know that I'm head over heels for it.

Oh my, this is interesting. The saffron must be the star note here, because it's really changing up the vanilla and cream quite a bit. The most interesting thing about this blend, I find, it that is has an almost menthol-like quality. The vanilla is of an absolutely delicious variety, to be sure, and I always love a bit of cream, but the saffron is giving it a menthol-woods undertone. This makes it a far more complex vanilla scent than I expected, but, unfortunately it also smells *exactly* like this old tube of SPF 15 Vanilla flavored lip balm I used to have, from the dollar store. As it dries the saffron seems to turn everything kind of to plastic, enhancing the menthol quality until it becomes somewhat astringent. Urgh... To swap or to let it age. hmm. I might just stash it for a decade and see what happens, because I'm very curious, but at the same time this blend and I are not playing at all well. Final verdict: Welp, it's gone to sunscreen on me . Make that SPF bug spray. And then poof, gone. I'm really losing hope that aging is going to fix this problem....

I adore cherries and dark chocolate, so this should be sexy for me right? I don't know much about orange blossom, but maybe it will keep it from being too foody?? WHUT. What a strange reaction... I now know all about orange blossom. And I almost wish I didn't. The minute this goes on my skin, all notions of chocolate (which was a backdrop note for me, even from the bottle sniff) are immediately completely gone in every sense of the word. In fact, there aren't even any cherries. This is all entirely orange blossom (which I recognize now as the smell of straight up soap). I do think that while I can't actually smell cherries, they are lending an astringent, antiseptic quality to the orange blossom, sort of like a backdrop of cherry cough syrup, but just cough syrup I guess. It does not play well with the orange blossom in the least, and as another reviewer mentioned, it becomes "generic pink bathroom soap" found in many public restrooms. Very, very, antiseptic. And medicinal somehow. I'm sad. It's a also a little plasticy now... yikes, I might have to wash this off.

What on earth?? I would have never reached for this blend in a million years, as patchouli has been, in the past, a death note for me. In fact any chance i get to sniff a pure patchouli note.. I hate it. With a passion. Like straight up vetivert. Urghh. So, then, the question is.. why do I find this blend so comforting?! In the sense that it wraps me up safely and I want to drift off to sleep. I wonder what part of my brain this is triggering, because I certainly feel like I've never smelled anything like it before... Wearing this I honestly feel like a grey cashmere blanket has been wrapped around me and I can be at peace and forget everything. It really feels like a comforting "oblivion", somehow. And the longer I wear it, the softer it gets, until it just slips away into.... oblivion. And I almost forget what it smells like immediately after I can't smell it anymore. It smells a bit ethereal and like something that you can't capture because it keeps slipping away between your fingers. I have no idea how any of those notes could come off as remotely gentle, fuzzy, or soft, but they do. It does smell like the incense of a wood that you can't pin down what kind of wood it is. But it smells dry, very dry. Maybe a tad masculine, but it's still comforting to me. Gentle giant comes to mind, because there is a hint of murky "darkness" to it (and the color is just perfect), but in a soothing calm way. It's like slipping away in a dark, calm place. A little earthy, but somehow manages to be clean. Which is another paradox lol. I wouldn't wear it all the time, but I guess if I felt in need of comforting I might. For some reason this strikes me as a funeral blend... 2019 edit for ageing update: So, it's been a few years since I reviewed this one! And it's aged beautifully! None of the scent notes make a lick of sense to me (except for the musk, I do get that quite clearly), still, but it's mellowed into a beautifully complex symphony, that, to me, smells dark and intriguing, beguiling, and.... very much like a leather/vanilla/incense smoke/musk combo. Maybe it's the laudanum? Still, I don't know where the slightly sweet/creamy dry vanilla element is coming from. Spices, maybe, it could be 'spicy', but I can't pick out any specific spice note, and for some reason I get strong leather from this. "Grey" smelling is still a good color descriptor, and dark grey at that, despite the very Cthulhu green it actually is! In the final drydown there are some similarities to Morocco, however, this is far more spicy, dark, mysterious, resinous, and less sweet. When I wear it, the kitties immediately start to purr around me, lol. I would wear this much more now than when I first reviewed it. It is a sleepy, but mystical blend, and as dark as it is soft. Oh and thankfully, I still can't pick up even a hint of the patchouli in this, which is probably why it's the only BPAL with even a trace of patchouli in it that actually works on me to some degree.

Dear lord what is this delicious beast?! The only other scent I've found as sexy, alluring, charming, and well-morphing has been perversion. This is a very complex cinnamon, and also possibly the only honeysuckle blend I can wear. For years I thought the honeysuckle was a death note on me (turned to very old lady smell), but it's fine here... In the bottle: Hmmm, smells pretty good, kind of like spicy, sweet cinnamon hearts candy. However, there's a darker, creamier.. smoky tone in there that keeps it from being straight-up foody, which is good, I don't mind sweet scents but can't go full foody. Almost smells like fresh cinnamon incense. On my skin immediately: oooh, hot fiery cinnamon! Assertive! I like it, it suits the name very well, and I definitely would wear this with leather to a dungeon of some sort . After about an hour: The cinnamon candy has settled down into a very mature cinnamon blend, and it is incredibly smoky, sweet, resinous... almost heady at this point. After several hours: This has got to be one of the most beautiful dry-down's of any BPAL fragrance. The cinnamon note is actually almost gone... it sat down and blended right into the background, holding up the whole of everything quietly. It smells like the cinnamon got roasted away in a bonfire from the night before, simply leaving an ephemeral veil of cinnamon hovering somewhere around in the ether. I would have never guessed that copal, myrrh, or honeysuckle could smell anything like this on their drydown, either. The closest thing I could describe this as is... comforting, sensual, sweet, delicious warmth. It smells almost like the most delicious dry vanilla and creamy honey, with dusty golden amber flecks, in a milk bath surrounded by ancient candles and the smell of romantic, pale incense coming from the next room over. My description cannot do it justice. And this imp was fresh! I can't imagine what this would smell like aged....

My first impression of this blend was concern, over the linen note (My nose really doesn't like the smell of laundry soap and drier sheets), but also real interest in every other note. Luckily I got frimped an imp from the lab, so I got to try it, yay! In the bottle: Ooooh, my, you smell so good! This is incredibly promising, I'm not getting any laundry detergent or drier sheets, but it smells so bright and well blended, with a barely-there spice and cream note, paired with something that smells almost a little like a Mayer lemon? Summer time under my nose. This is how a tea party should smell! I especially like how it isn't foody. Two minutes after being applied to my skin: Whyyy?!?! WHYYY is this happening?! So, it just turned to grass. And green, macerated flower stems. Straight up, I kid you not, grass clippings. Why. Okay, maybe with a hint of berries under there. How? Why am I smelling freshly picked blackberries buried in a pile of juicy lawn clippings that someone threw on a pile of freshly washed cotton clothes?! An hour later: During the time that it was coming down, it somehow reminded me of a nice, clean men's cologne or deodorant for a while. I was laying against the beau and had to keep questioning if it was him I was smelling on my arm, or White Rabbit lol. Countless hours and hours later: Ye gods the throw on this is long. It lived through a shower! But, as the hours wore on, some of that fresh grass simmered down to a more summery berry(?!) note, and then finally calmed down altogether. As I was going to bed, some final huffs of my arm revealed that White Rabbit had settled into a fairly nice base note of the white pepper, with an ultra creamy, almost dusty vanilla/honey deal, maybe with just a drop of milk and a waft of tea leaf. Well, this would be nice if I could live through the grass stage, which I can't.

Why?! WHY cruel world?! Lady Una is by far one of the most glorious and beautiful smelling blends I have ever scented, (very understated blackberry, creamy honied vanilla, and soft airy spices) especially in the bottle. And I get to enjoy that for about 30 seconds on my skin. After that point... my skin chemistry destroys it completely and it becomes an almost rancid baby powder/play-doh/hot plastic. So, it left me wondering why such a thing would happen. The honey would seem to be the obvious culprit, but, there are several honey blends that work beautifully on me. So then I realized what the issue might be.. the musk. I don't think I have many musk-heavy blends to begin with, but I realize, every single blend that was a combination of honey AND musk in some way has turned to baby powder on me. I also fear the same for vanilla mixed with musk scents. By this point I think I'm going to give up on musk altogether.

Mmmm. I have a very thoroughly aged imp of perversion, and it's absolutely mouthwatering. A favorite! SO sexy, "adult", and 'naughty' without being cloying, fumy, pungent, or astringent, in the least. This blend has one of the absolute best throws of any BPAL blend I have tried to date, with a gorgeous long-term morphing cycle. It is sweet, spicy, smoky, sensual, warm, and (I find) feminine (though there is a toasty almost wood-like note in it I think fellows who like sweeter fragrances would amp well). After a good 4 or 5 hours, what was once a bright spicy booze-soaked cherry wood (chardonnay playing with the leather?) with tendrils of incense and good cigar tobacco, has become a warm and fuzzy brown sugar with lightly spiced vanilla and tobacco flecks, in a completely non-foody way somehow. Mmm, tasty, sensual, comforting! This is everything I hoped tobacco, rum, and tonka would smell like, and I love how nothing here is foody. Very grounded and complex. Captivating!

So, I've been back and forth on Al-Azif since I can remember. It was a frimp I received back in 2008 with my very first order. I placed it in the "unloved" pile off the bat, thinking that it wasn't "my thing", but somehow magically and through several moves I've never quite managed to let it go or lose it 0_o . Something about it has always captivated me in some way. And I can't even put my finger on what. Each time I would take a small sniff, thinking "nah", there would be something that swirled under my nose that made me hold back on putting it away or frimping it forward. I still don't know what about this smells makes me go back for more periodically, but testing it again after many years, here are my thoughts on the notes: In the bottle: I have no idea what that is, but I suspect there's incense in there somewhere. It's sweet, but certainly not foody or cloying. It's got notes or resin in it too. On the skin immediately: Exactly what was in the bottle. After about 10 minutes: Omg wow, this is really starting to mellow and settle now. It's kind of like the Middle East and the Tropics had a baby. Coconut, and incense... tropical incense?! Coconut incense?! Soft, sweet, mellow, beautiful and alluring dry coconut and white smoke notes emanate from my wrists. It also seems to have a slight similarity to some notes in Morocco. Spices, but definitely not heavy in any way, and individually indistinguishable to me. After about an hour: It has become even more creamy, pale, and lovely... and now I'm getting hints of tropical flowers, like plumeria and monoi, along with driftwood. The coconut has become more of a coconut husk, rather than the meat and there might be a drop of coconut water in there. There's a sandy quality to it too. If there is any spiced smoke left, it seems to be wafting away gently. It is actually quite beautiful, and very delicate, but fades somewhat quickly. This is very elusive, and I think worthy of it's name. Although not nearly so cruel and sinister... unless it's meant to lure you in and seduce you in some way .

Fresh in the bottle: Ugh oh..... DANGER DANGER (for non-foodies)! I smell incredibly rich, buttery, heavy, cloying, sugar-frosted clotted cream, smoky chewy double-sugar caramel (sooo much sticky spiced caramel) toffee, which is just so reminiscent of decadent full on cake, like a dessert, but somehow even sweeter with some sort of smokiness. This is a pumpkin milkshake made mostly of ice cream and caramelized sugar lol. On the skin: Oh wait... there's the pumpkin spice! *relieved sigh* Heavy on the spice and still smells like it was roasted in cream sauce, but I am getting the pumpkin! After a short while: Wow. wow wow wow just PERFECT... a perfect, ideal, perfect cinnamon spices pumpkin. The spices are so gentle I can't even pick them out individually and they blend gorgeously and *somehow* I don't know how, after sitting on my skin the blend becomes... more fresh?! The sweetness is actually toned down and the dessert qualities simmer down and have a seat. It's like the true flesh of pumpkin rubbed in soft creamy spices! I can smell uncooked fresh pumpkin in here! mmhhhh sooo fall like! Perfect! Final stage: Buttercream (rich with smoky vanilla bean-- perhaps that's the Bourbon vanilla part...) frosted angelfood cake.. with something kind of grown up in there, keeping it just a tad dark... like dark coffee/spice crunchy caramel. Usually I am not a foodie at all-- but somehow this is not too sweet? 0_o It is foody, but also light and airy, and I can handle it without getting a headache or feeling nauseated.

So, I will chime in here and agree with everyone that it is a very pretty mid-late summer type scent. However, it doesn't really work on me . To be clear, this is my first hair gloss EVER and I now *love* hairglosses. They are amazing products, and actually I even used this as an oil-type "body spray/mist" to be honest LOL, which was an amazing experience, and very long lasting (despite the fact that I struggle with spray bottles, but that is my issue lol). In the bottle and immediately fresh on, I get a spritz of fresh peach, with a gentle creamy floral and an almost dried/incensy background component. It's so very sunny, warm, and pretty. Maybe not *quite* juicy enough of a peach for me, I was hoping for a bit more peach from this one, but at least I can say it's balanced and sweet without being cloying, and fresh without being a bit sharp. The drydown just decides it doesn't like me though, as the *dried* rose bullies its way to the forefront to choke the fresh and fruity notes out, and it does become a little stale/too dry/cloying (but not in a sweet way) on me. I think it takes on an aged quality, not necessarily bad, though sadly it doesn't work on me as the peach kind of becomes more like peach incense or canned peaches type soap, instead of true fresh peach. I blame the dried rose and maybe the hay absolute is in there making it more dusty.

At first upon getting a whiff-- mint and tea! Not unpleasant at all, but I am waiting for the complexity to come out, and once on the skin it does .... Unfortunately this is not the best thing, but also not the worst. It is also the first time a citrus has actually beat out the sweets and creams in a blend to linger the longest and I love it for that! At first, it smells absolutely gorgeous... like minty green tea with a splash of fresh, very sweet, mandarin orange right from the fruit. I don't find the mint too sharp, but it's definitely there right on top of it all. Unfortunately, about a minute in I detect a skunkiness in there somewhere.... maybe the white musk isn't playing nice with the mint? It definitely smells a little skunky, so I'm worried. The first stage of the dry down brings with it the exit of the skunk! And also the taming of the mint which simmers down to a back note, Whew! Unfortunately, soon thereafter I get... soap. Really high quality soap, but soap none the less... like an herbal(the bitterness/green part of the tea interacting with what is left and quickly fading from the mint)/jam soap. Then, the second stage of the drydown waves to the soap as it exits stage right and I am actually left with a very very light soft barely-sweet creaminess (like a clear crystalline musk)and delicious strong whiffs of the dried rind of King Mandarin By the end of this, I have no bitter green tea and NO mint left... just a silky, softened and well behaved, lady like Mandarin peel. Depending on how you sniff it, in some breaths the white musk says hello first, and in others it keep to the backdrop, but either way the mandarin is evident. It is just SUPER SUPER light in the dry down If the dry down could amp more, I'd really absolutely love this, but it's gone so fast like a passing breeze.