zankoku_zen

Creamy Coconut, RED benzoin, a touch of honey and the frankincense gives a resinous touch on the drydown. To me this smells almost like a coconut and red musk blend, and brings to mind the Red Lantern, minus the caramel. It's very much in that vein though. Stays fairly close to the skin, average wear length. Coconut, musk, incense.

Myrrh and frankincense. The ashes add a smoky component to the blend. It smells like incense and ashes. Smoky, myrrh and resin.

Deep pomegranate, and a swirl of poppies. It smells almost red wine-ish to me. This is a very red blend in vibe. Average throw, average wear length. Fruity, winey, pom.

I get bitter orange and tangerine on wet, but this dries to a musky amber and patchouli. It's woodsy, feminine, and red-orange in vibe to me. Sort of sassy. I have no idea what BPAL amber note Beth has used in the anniversaries but it really blooms on my skin. Citrus, musk, amber.

Plum, amber and a brush of black currant. This one has a low throw, but great wear length. On the drydown, the plum goes a little Febreeze-y on me, but in general this is a plum and amber blend. Despite it all, while pretty, this is not something that I'm utterly in love with. Plum, amber, fresh.

To me, this smells almost like L'Autunno, meaning I get mostly fall leaves, and a whiff of incense. Dark, broody, leaves.

Chypre, amber, hints of cedar and cardamom. This is a primarily perfumey amber to me. It's sweet, rounded, and with enough whiffs of other things to make sure it isn't one dimensional. Decent throw, decent wear length. Cozy, perfumey, amber.

Strong rose, touches of geranium and vanilla over some red musk. This is a pale red rose with washes of red musk. If you love either roses or red musk, try this. It's deeply feminine. Good throw, average wear length. Rose, musk, feminine.

Aquatic perfumey rose and a whiff of lilies. You definitely get the watery element overlay over the rose. Its delicate, feminine, and fresh. Unfortunately on the dry down, it goes all soapy on me. Good throw, decent wearlength. Water, rose, delicate.

Green lotus, sharp sour orris, blue Egyptian musk. Unfortunately for me, orris plays the spoiler part on this. This smells like sour musk to me. I think this could be gorgeous, just not on me. Green, sour, musk

Light and Swift starts off as Lavender SN, but then the lemon verbena comes into play about 15 minutes later. I get mainly a light lavender and lemon verbena blend. This one is bright, simple, and comforting because the lavender is gorgeous. This one isn't salty at all, but rather that fresh lavender smell that we all love. Decent throw, good wearlength. Bright, citrus, lavender.

Honeysuckle, fig, and myrrh. I get honeyed fruit, with a touch of cognac and a whiff of myrrh. This one is really pretty, golden, and a sort of perfumey version of honey. It's delicate, but strong. Good throw and good wearlength. Golden, honey, fruit.

Spicy red wine sangria. This smells cozy and comforting, red wine, cinnamon and cloves. I'm surprised at how much I really enjoy this. Very wearable. Good throw, medium wearlength.

Licorice and black tea. This one starts off as fairly licorice smell, and on the drydown I get hints of black tea and patchouli. It's got a low throw and after an hour I get almost nothing. Dark licorice and soft patchouli.

Carrot seed, oudh and frankincense. It smells carroty and resinous. It's very strongly smells of carrots to me actually. Carrots, sour frankincense and oudh. PASS.

Ivy, cypress and notes of nightshade and foxglove. This smells green, and dark, and poisonous. So congratulations. If you EVER EVER wanted to smell like a poisoner's garden or always wanted Rappacinni's Garden line together in one DARK GREEN blend, Verdant Decay is for you. This smells like a dark enchanted forest that would like nothing better than to EAT YOU ALIVE. ETA: I had to add this. I think Verdant Decay would probably smell well in some sort of witchy ritual where you are hexing/poisoning someone. It would be, actually, very apropos. Carry on now.

Based on the scent alone. LaFlamme to me was essentially red musk and a hint of oranges. It was definitely a very 'enticing' smelling and I can see why it was a sexy blend. It's very womanly, and the oil is an intense, deep red. I don't think LaFlamme and me resonated all that well, just from a vibe perspective which is why it has gone off to someone that will use it and enjoy it more.

Opium smoke with strong whiffs of bergamot and neroli. I can see how it is "sharply yellow", since both the bergamot and neroli just sort of stab your nose with I AM CITRUS, I AM HERE. This recedes as little as it dries, and I get more of the anise on the drydown. It remains a discordant, yellow, sort of fog. I can definitely see how this is the foggy state of drug madness. It sort of evokes that perfectly. I'd categorize this more as a scent experience as opposed to a perfume you can actually wear.

Tuberose, jasmine, and lily are the most prominent players. I get a tiny hint of opium tar but in general both the tuberose and jasmine tag team it into oblivion. Great throw, and great wearlength (just my luck!) If you're a fan of either tuberose and jasmine, try this! I have to say that the BPAL jasmine note as of late has been of a nicer variety than previous years, but still dredges up the cat pee incarnation for me.

I get plum, a metric ton of white lily, and hints of musk. As it dries, I get more of the red musk and a touch of patchouli. In general though, I went "Moonlit Plum is that you?" But it lacks the dreamy quality of MP. It's more of a perfume/musky sort of blend. There's something slightly agitated about this. Lilies, plum, and musk.

Sweet vanilla sandalwood (what I was hoping for in A Lady Tall and White) with touches of pink pepper, labdanum and saffron, bringing some spice into this and preventing this from just being a boozy vanilla/sandalwood. Average wear length, low throw on my skin. I find it strangely compelling and am almost tempted to hunt down a bigger bottle.

Fresh apples, tinge of poppy seeds, tinge of dry herbs and a hint of hay? This smells like a fresh, crisp Autumn morning. There's something almost too breezy about the atmo that I'm not totally in love with. It's fresh, pleasant, and very much like apple.

Light plum, subtle florals and a dreamy crystalline quality to it. Its soft, cozy and dreamy.

I neglected to review this oil before! Fortitude doesn't smell like a perfume - I get notes of earth and maybe some cedar, definitely woodsy. But it smells rooted, and something that you can depend on. I've used this oil twice - once I applied it after an extremely stressful day that wasn't over yet, even if I was done... and once after using another TAL bath oil for grief (not sure if I used Release BO or Grief Water BO). Either way, in both instances Fortitude helped me stay standing - figuratively, metaphorically, and maybe even literally. Fortitude is there when you think you can't dig any deeper. It bolsters you in those times when you are about to give out so that you don't. This stuff is amazing.

I'm only reviewing the scent of this since I just received it, but because the decanted bottle was leaky, I had to transfer it from containers. I get a nice, goopy honey and the bath oil seems thicker than the regular BPTP oils. It's nice, floral and not too foody or sweet. Mr. zee_zee wandered into the bathroom as I was transfering the bath oil and said that it smelled nice. ETA: I've used this bath oil to help foster empathy and communication, and it works really well for that. I think the notion of "sweetness" definitely applies.