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BPAL Madness!

zankoku_zen

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Everything posted by zankoku_zen

  1. zankoku_zen

    La Primavera Atmospheric Spray

    La Primavera smells like spring - soft florals, rays of sunshine, and actually quite peaceful. It doesn't have a lot of throw compared to other BPTP sprays - but some of that may be due to age. However, I do occasionally get a whiff of it and it smells sunny and happy.
  2. zankoku_zen

    Gingerbread Jolly Roger

    I have to agree with bneandsidhe's assessment of this blend. This is a great foody blend for non-foody lovers. I get warm gingerbread, hint of aquatic, hint of leather that isn't overwhelming. In general, it straddles the line between foody/nonfoody the same way that Star Promenade straddled that line as well as the cold/warm line. For me, its cozy, slightly masculine and I am vaguely surprised on how well this works. It's lovely. I get an average wear length, but the throw sticks pretty close to the skin. Not in love, but certainly very glad to try this! ETA: So in the bottle this is even more masculine than the tester I got. I swiped it on mr. zee_zee and he is really amping up the leather note. He gets a spicy leather, and its not his thing. I think its nice, but he doesn't care for it.
  3. zankoku_zen

    A Lady Tall and White

    I really get the pine and snow on wet. The middle drydown transitions into a snowy sandalwood and dries down to a sandalwood with a hint of vanilla. It takes several hours though. Medium throw and medium wear length. Its not an instant love but I would be interested to see how this ages.
  4. zankoku_zen

    Bewildered in a Dream

    Dark lavender, green tea and inky resins. Its a dark sleep blend, the kind that makes you realize that nightmares are also dreams, making the saying "I hope all your dreams come true" become terrifying.
  5. zankoku_zen

    Incipient Madness

    Musky resin, with hints of tobacco and black currant. Its a dark, slinky sort of scent and yet I don't love it. I think because I wanted something more tobacco heavy and got a musky resin blend instead. Low throw and good wear length. Dark, musk, resinous.
  6. zankoku_zen

    Implacable Beautiful Tyrant Hair Gloss

    Touch of ginger, warm resins, and a oudh. In general, I find it a heavier scent than say Dorian, without being in your face sexy like Black Clove Tobacco, which I also adore. I would put this down as sophisticated salon hair. Warm, sexy, fun.
  7. zankoku_zen

    Dorian Hair Gloss

    Dorian. As a hairgloss. It's just magnificent. And to think that this a GC hairgloss. Meaning all awesomeness available, all the time. So today in a mad rush to get ready, I blowdried my hair at a higher heat setting, and I got a ton of flyaways. I used the Dorian HG, two squirts, and my hair looked better and NO flyaways. I find that hairgloss works must better late fall to early spring, when the humidity is low here in DC. Over the summer, it has a tendency to make my hair a bit too heavy. But in the winter? Super fab hair!
  8. zankoku_zen

    The Ferris Wheel

    Metal, grease, and wood. There was a touch of ozone on wet, but it dries to a summer breeze, summer flowers with an overlay of metal, grease and touch of woods. This would be very at home with the Phoenix Steamworks line. Steampunky. ETA: I got a full decant to test and definitely more aquatics and ozone in it. I'd say a fair bit of oakmoss. On the drydown, it's still pretty aquatic but you get the metal, grease, and a touch of woods.
  9. zankoku_zen

    The Flower Girl

    Dark florals. This smells like wildflowers, a touch of either marigold and/or mum, and a touch of a dark, velvety orchid. Feminine, dark, sophisticated florals.
  10. zankoku_zen

    Samhain

    2010 version. So far, I've tried 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2014. This one smells like blackberries, something that smells almost mentholic, pine and musty dirt. I also have some Samhain 2005 again and will try that and re-edit my review then.
  11. zankoku_zen

    Feeding The Dead

    2014 version I really get the caramel cake bit, with incense, and just a whiff of beer. It's incensey-foodie on me. Low throw, but decent wear length. If you fancy the cake/incense combo, go with this.
  12. zankoku_zen

    Samhain

    2014 version Oh Samhain, its been 10 years already! I think there's been a Samhain almost every year Weenie update. This one is cider, heavy autumn spices, and a touch of woods. In general it is more spicy than I expected, and veers more into the pumpkin pie. You know how mulled cider smells? This one is mulled cider surrounded by woods. Fall, spicy, woodsy.
  13. zankoku_zen

    Visions of Autumn IV

    Orange blossom, verbena and myrrh. So this one is citrusy florals, hint of lemon and a resinous background. It smells fresh and clean, and reminds me to Jean Nate. Decent throw and wear length. Bright, citrusy, perfumey.
  14. zankoku_zen

    Sonnet D'Automne

    2014 version Leaves, white musk, cocoa incense. On wet, I get more of the dry leaves bit, but as it dries, the white musk and cocoa and incense come out. I think it ends up less foodie than the previous incarnation of Sonnet which I tried, and more into the dusty cocoa/incense arena. Dark, dusty, incense.
  15. zankoku_zen

    Suck It (2014)

    2014 version This toggles between black cherry candy and cherry cough syrup. Definitely get cherries. On wet, it's more black cherries but as it dries I get more of the cough syrup bits. Sweet, candy, black cherry. Eh, pass.
  16. zankoku_zen

    Visions of Autumn VI

    Sweet, dark, lavender. This is lavender, with a touch of sage and rockrose. The base almost smells masculine to me in the drydown. In fact, after 30 minutes, I would qualify this as a masculine, slightly lavender sophisticated cologne. Low throw, decent wearlength. Off to try this on mr. zee_zee.
  17. zankoku_zen

    Pumpkin III (2014)

    Pumpkin, fig, and cedar. I get the figgy newtons reference, I really do but I also get a sharp cedar note that undercuts all of the foodieness of the blend, in a way that breaks up the sugar and sweetness. Decent throw, decent wearlength. I get why this is so popular, as it really does smell delicious when you ignore the cedar. Which I almost can. Almost. Figgy, foodie, cedar.
  18. zankoku_zen

    Pumpkin V (2014)

    I really get the sage, grass, ivy and rose-wood. No pumpkin. This is probably the most floral/green smelling pumpkin blend I've ever tried. I definitely amp up the rosewood and grass note on the drydown. It sort of smells like some high end soap. Good throw, decent wear length. Green, rosy, soap.
  19. zankoku_zen

    Pumpkin I (2014)

    This smells like pumpkin chai tea. I get a ton of cardamom, ginger, and a creaminess to the pumpkin from the ginger milk. It's rich, spicy, and foodie in a definitive 'drink' as opposed to 'baked goods/solids'. Good throw, decent wearlength. Tasty, toothsome, chai tea.
  20. zankoku_zen

    Visions of Autumn VII

    Dark tobacco and myrrh. This is dark, smoky and autumnal. Slightly masculine. Decent throw and decent wear length. Off to find mr. zee_zee for this.
  21. zankoku_zen

    Visions of Autumn II

    Rose geranium, opoponax and patchouli. This smells like a rosy patchouli. Dark, deep, rose.
  22. zankoku_zen

    Pumpkin IV (2014)

    If there is pumpkin in this, in general, I don't get it. I get a mainly sweet frankincense and resin blend, with perhaps a whiff of buttery pumpkin. On drydown, I can really pick up the honey notes. Making this a honeyed resinous blend. Low throw, and decent wear length. This makes me think of pumpkins even if the scent isn't a strong pumpkin note.
  23. zankoku_zen

    Autumn Cider

    2014 version This is is definitely more spices - I got the apple cider + spices (cinnamon, clove, nutmeg) on wet. And then it dries, the apple cider sort of evaporates, I get a hint of butterscotch and brown sugar. It certainly smells like apple cider and autumn spices. It veers a little into the potpourri side for me.
  24. zankoku_zen

    Hallow-e’en, 1914

    Ivy, maple leaves and dirt. This one is has a greener leaf note than Magnificent Autumn. The dirt is particularly present during the drydown. This smells like the outside garden of an abandoned house in the fall. The smell of damp foliage, dirt, and leaves. Good throw, good wear length. I would even say this has an almost ozoney element to it. Green leaves, dirt, air.
  25. zankoku_zen

    Magnificent Autumn

    Green, sweet leaves. This one starts out as leaves and sharp green leaf note that turns a little sweeter as it dries. I also get some airy qualities and something that smells like hay on the drydown. After 45 minutes I think I get the sweetgums. It makes me think of leaves in autumn, in all of its glorious stages. Decent throw, decent wear length. Somewhat gender neutral. Soft, autumn leaves.
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