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BPAL Madness!

zankoku_zen

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Everything posted by zankoku_zen

  1. zankoku_zen

    A Very Wicked Hobgoblin

    Red musk, grapes, and something that smells like whiskey. For me this is really a grape flavored red musk. With quite a bit of smokiness actually. Think of it like drinking merlot with a succubus from hell. That's what this would smell like. Merry malice and malevolent pleasure indeed! Average throw, average wear length. Evil, hell booze, and red musk.
  2. zankoku_zen

    Chocolate Stout Cupcake

    Rich, thick chocolate, touch of stout, and buttercream. On the drydown, the chocolate gets a little powdery and I get more of a cocoa powder. I mean, I get it. This is toothsome, tasty, chocolate. And I'm utterly unmoved by it. I'm not a foodie girl. Or a fan of chocolate scents. So this is just not doing it for me. I agree with LiberAmoris - you have to roll this puppy around. The chocolate just precipitates and/or sits at the bottom of the decant like sludge. Toothsome, chocolate, stout.
  3. zankoku_zen

    Hard Cider Cake

    On wet, you can really smell the distinct elements: the buttercream frosting, the white cake note, the apple cider. It dries down and melds to an apple heavy spice cake with a touch of butteriness on the edges. I really would actually love to eat this. I do not fancy smelling like this, but I would definitely eat any baked good that smelled this tasty. Low throw, average wear length. Apple, cake, spices.
  4. zankoku_zen

    Neither Peace Nor Rest

    Peppermint, slushy snow, hints of pine and hints of white musk. This is definitely a cold blend. And I agree with lycanthrope that it evokes so many previous BPAL blends, and sort of blends the very multiple 'cold' aspects of Nuclear Winter, Snow Bunny, Ice Queen, Skadi, and Ice Queen. Low throw and low wearlength. I just think that my skin likes to eat BPAL's peppermint note because it never seems to stick around for me. Chilly, cold, minty.
  5. zankoku_zen

    Glaucous Snow

    Fluffy snow, dreamy lilacs, hints of chamomile and cade. Oh god, I think I may in fact love this a bit. I think it would make an amazing room scent, a great candle scent, and great bath oil. I would love to scent my sheets with this. Low throw, average wearlength. I'm sort of glad that this sticks close to the skin because I can see this type of scent being very overpowering, soapy or old grandma. It's crispy, cool florals. Agreed with LiberAmoris with the light blue cloud. It's a reminder that life (esp. flowers) are just sleeping under their current blanket of snow, and that once the moment is right, Spring is just around the corner!
  6. zankoku_zen

    Gingerbread Cathedral

    Gingerbread Cathedral was a bit odd to me. I got whiffs of gingerbread, and a slight rosiness, but I seem to be amping the cassia with a touch of myrrh. It wasn't that incensey to me. It was mainly, well, a cassia-centric gingerbread cookie with some weird rosiness to it. Cassia, gingerbread, vaguely Catholic.
  7. zankoku_zen

    Gingerbread Sin

    Gingerbread, patchouli, cinnamon on a bed of amber. Yes, this is the gingerbread version of Sin. If you ever wanted Sin to be spicier, and foodier, you got your wish. This is just a better version of Gingerbread, as a perfume. For me, Gingerbread Poppet was always too foodie to wear as a perfume. This straddles that foodie/perfume line. Assuming of course, that you like patchouli. Or Sin. Gingerbread, patchouli, amber.
  8. zankoku_zen

    Lacus Mortis

    Lacus Mortis is a DARK sandalwood, with patchouli, labdanum, and a bed of oakmoss. It's darkly somnolent, and how I would imagine a dark mystical river smells at midnight under the dark of the moon. I would say that it is faintly masculine on me. Good throw and good wear length. I don't care for super dark sandalwood-patchouli blends, so this isn't for me. But if that sounds like you, give this a whirl. Dark, sandalwood, somnolent.
  9. zankoku_zen

    Hans Trapp

    Worrn black leather, with the impression that the leather is very soft and very worn in. A fair amount of woods and birch. On the drydown, it gets very dusty. I majorly amp up the leather note. So MONDO throw, and very good wear length. That said, mr. zee_zee sat down next to me last night, wrinkled his nose and told me I smelled like crystal phenol. Given that it was the leather note that I was amping, he really doesn't like what the BPAL leather note does to my skin. Or what my skin does to it. So this poor imp is going to have to life with someone else.
  10. zankoku_zen

    Frosty Silkybat Hair Gloss

    I can offer both a comparison to the original Silkybat, which I definitely liked alot but ultimately ended destashing because it was such a heavy, dark scent (perfect for autumn and winter, but less wearable in lighter months to me). Frosty Silkybat has that icy, snow note that softens the original Silkybat formulation. The patchouli isn't as dominant. So you get this lighter version of Silkybat. Still that sexy patch, but lighter, and for me, it gives a sort of "Snow Bunny" sort of vibe. The original Silkybat was full on vamp, with its dark sexy patchouli. Frostybat is much more playful, and less full frontal assault I find Frosty Silkybat much more wearable and versatile, because sometimes you don't want to be full on vamp - particularly if you're working in an office and/or commuting with strangers. I also admit to a weakness to snow notes, so this to me grants an additional dimension to Silkybat that it didn't have before.
  11. zankoku_zen

    Sleeping at the Feet of the Snow Queen Hair Gloss

    I have to admit that Sleeping at the Feet of the Snow Queen is very well blended. It reminds me to Snow Moon 2005. I get icy snow, hints of citrus, and in general smells like the you've just gotten your hair done at the most expensive salon in town. It smells bright, chilly, and rich. I think the best way to describe it to me is that it smells like how I imagine a diamond would smell like, if diamonds had a smell (beyond mineral-like). I would have loved to see what this would be like as a perfume.
  12. zankoku_zen

    Ghoul-Haunted Woodland of Weir Atmosphere Spray

    Dark misty forest, whiffs of greenery and little mountain flowers, and a peek of sunshine. This just smells like a deep, ancient forest. Which thrums with life and magic. Very atmospheric, very interesting.
  13. zankoku_zen

    Krampus' Chains

    Licorice, orange tobacco, and rusty metal. Krampus Chains, you are so confusing on me. I get a ton of licorice, and as it dries both the orange, and tobacco come out. After about 40 minutes, I get rusty metal in the background. This one smell vaguely masculine to me, but in general just really weird. Low throw, average wear length. Licorice, orange, and metal.
  14. zankoku_zen

    Krampus' Shadow

    Birch, patchouli, a ton black musk and just a hint of red musk. This smells black musk with hints of something that has been burned to a crisp and little leftover wooden twigs. I suppose I would consider this slightly manly on me. I think mainly because of the black musk. Average throw, average wear length. Dark, woodsy, black musk.
  15. zankoku_zen

    Gingerbread Lust

    Musky gingerbread with a touch of myrrh. I think there's a teensy bit of patchouli. Actually the musk, myrrh and patch emphasize the vanilla aspect of the gingerbread. After about an hour, I get a touch of the ylang ylang. This one is a fairly sexy Gingerbread. It's like realizing that the girl wearing that goofy Santa Claus outfit at a party is seriously smoking hot. Or two Gingerbread cookies getting it on. You get the picture. Good throw, and good wearlength. Musky, sexy, gingerbread.
  16. zankoku_zen

    Gingerbread Dodo

    Gingerbread, mango, sugar cane and cassia. This one is a fruity, Gingerbread. Take Gingerbread and take it on a tropical paradise cruise. This is what it would smell like. Like it's spent the entire time drinking tropical fruity drinks. Good throw, good wear length. Fruity, sugary, gingerbread.
  17. zankoku_zen

    Mari Lwyd

    On wet, this smells like lavender beer, which is actually a much more pleasant smell that I would have thought possible. You have lavender, hops, and a hint of beery fizz. Unfortunately, it dries to a dry cake with a slight beer note and some raisins. Which would probably be incredibly pleasant to chew on, but I find myself longing for the wet stage and the oddly comforting lavender beer. Average throw, average wear length. While I would consider this foodie, I think the lavender aspects keep it from being all foodie all the time. Cake, lavender, beer.
  18. zankoku_zen

    Strawberry Sufganiyot

    Oozing strawberry jelly donut. Can I saw chunky, oozing, sugary strawberry jelly with a base of donut with powdered sugar. This smells exactly like a powdered sugar donut filled with strawberry jelly. This is probably the first intensely strawberry scent that doesn't smell fake or plastic on my skin, which is nothing sort of a miracle. Super realistic. Super foodie. Super rich dessert strawberry jelly filled donuts. Crap, now I'm hungry.
  19. zankoku_zen

    Montes Harbinger

    White musk, rosewater, citrus and hint of vanilla. This to me started off as a breezy citrus heavy white floral and has really become a rose-white musk sort of white floral. It's pretty, breezy, and just a tad soapy on me. Of course, it has great throw and great wear length, because my skin chemistry is contrary to my preferences like that. Super duper feminine, and I would suggest that this actually be appropriate for a young teen girl, although it can also veer into grandma territory if your skin chemistry blows up the white floral aspect. Rosy, musky, white florals.
  20. zankoku_zen

    Boleskine

    Cinnamon, Myrrh, Galangel, Olive, Calamus, Galbanum, Juniper and Rose Geranium. Boleskine is intense. I get myrrh, galbanum, hints of jupiter, cinnamon and olive. This smells dark, haunting, and just a little mad. It puts you into mind of dark earth, ancient trees, and magic running rampant through the ferns and forest undergrowth. It's how I imagine the wardrobe to Narnia smells like, if it led to well, HP Lovecraft's world instead of C.S. Lewis'. This skewers toward the masculine end for me. The oil is very thick, and I have to say it has aged beautifully. I imagine that the name is derived from Boleskine House, which is a manor where Aleister Crowley lived (coincidentally, so did Led Zep guitarist Jimmy Page). The manor is located next to a graveyard! I'm superglad I got to try this one!
  21. zankoku_zen

    Road Opener

    Brings you new opportunities, shows you alternate paths, and breaks down barriers. Ah Road Opener. I apparently neglected to review you. Road Opener is definitely in the cool metallic mint category - this is not a perfume mint. It smells like mint, herbs and something else. For me, Road Opener is a great mental block clearer, helping me to focus on other ways to look at problems. I am going to bust out my partial tomorrow and edit this for a more comprehensive review. ETA: I put it on today - and its definitely a cool metallic mint, that dries down to a more herbal mint. I still occasionally get whiffs of it underneath the Belle Epoque. I had an early morning conversation that has really helped shift my thinking and I really wanted to be able to absorb all of it and be able to continue to shift my mindset. I chose Road Opener hoping that throughout the day, even if I'm not actively thinking about it, subconsciously I'm turning it in my head and really helping that change things moving forward.
  22. zankoku_zen

    Crown of Success

    So this is a two-fold review. Years ago, I got Crown of Success because I was in a very negative work environment and really used it for the silencing of gossip/slander. This time I used it for the "overcoming of obstacles". It smells very vetiver heavy (think 13 Horizons), with myrrh and some other resins. It's a thick scent, and a little goes along way. The feel of it on the other hand is very dual natured - on one hand you feel free to do what you need to do, and on the other you feel very safe and protected. It's very enabling to feel secure enough to do what you need to do, know that you kickass, know that you deserve that compliment, and take it from there. I had a very productive meeting this morning, and we have identified what we think we need to do. It feels very good.
  23. zankoku_zen

    Tarot 2014: The High Priestess

    For interest's sake, I've attached my review of the discontinued, original Tarot: High Priestess The 2014 version, courtesy of a generous BPALer, smells more immediately of sweet mint and eucalyptus on wet, with a very strong scent of additional greenery. The mint dissipates after about 45 minutes, and I'm left with a more green, slightly minty, whiff of something soapy. The original version was heavy on the anise, which my nose is not detecting at the moment. I have to say that there's been some discussion on whether the Tarot 2014 would be a reboot of the original series or a re-release. If this is any indication, and its just one, I'd say it skewers closer to a reboot than a re-release.
  24. zankoku_zen

    Chaos Theory VI: Recursive Self-Similarity v7

    #216 Darkly syrupy with almost caramel overtones. I can see the maple syrup comparison. That backs off on the drydown and I get buttery vanilla with a sandalwood base. Very foodie. Buttery, syrupy, foodie vanilla. Previously reviewed by cindirella76, venneh, and citizenbree
  25. zankoku_zen

    Horus

    Spicy vanilla, hint of sandalwood, amber and incense. This smells like a desert god. It's warm, golden, and very apropos. I was originally thinking this might be the Eye of Horus. Nope, it's the TAL version of Horus.
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