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BPAL Madness!

zankoku_zen

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Everything posted by zankoku_zen

  1. zankoku_zen

    Abhisarika

    This one is a sweet, fruity blend and I have to say that despite it containing rose, I really get the orchid in this one. It's sweeter, fruitier and flirtier than say, Shadow Witch Orchid. More playful. Orchid fans, take note.
  2. zankoku_zen

    Glukuprikos

    Much more floral than I expected. I get a white floral, with touches of fruitiness but I can smell the cedar at the base. It does have a 'clean, white musk' feel to it. ... I'm not sure what to make of it.
  3. zankoku_zen

    Dia

    At the beginning this did have certain similarities with Ebisu with the clean musk and oakmoss feel, but then the coconut comes out... but not as much as I would have thought. It's got a certain tropical vibe to it, but it kinda reminds me again, of Ebisu, substituting the peach for coconut. I like this, but then again, I love Ebisu. Not enough to buy a bottle, but I am, indeed, pleasantly surprised.
  4. zankoku_zen

    Flowering Chrysanthemums

    It makes me sad to think that I can't wear mums (it was my maternal grandparents favorite flower!), but I can't. It's always so bitter on me. And in this case, the vanilla turns to plastic, so it's a bitter vanilla plastic. Sad, but true.
  5. zankoku_zen

    Marie

    Rose and violet soap. ... Yeah, why do I bother?
  6. zankoku_zen

    Mutant Hot-Rodders from Hell High

    Leather and BPAL's metallic note (the same in Bed of Nails, Torture Queen and others)... but combined together, it's too butch and manly for me. And not the kind of blend that my husband likes. He likes a little musk with his leather to soften it.
  7. zankoku_zen

    Rose Moon

    Straight up rose soap. ... I can't say I am surprised. At all.
  8. zankoku_zen

    Harvest Moon 2006

    Oh man, Harvest Moon 2006 is super yummy. And it kinda reminds me to Mabon. I think it's the sweet berry/apple spice thing it has going on, with a woodsy background. Definitely spicier on the drydown though. It's got other stuff in it, so it makes it, in my mind, a variation of Mabon. But yes, I can see the comparisons to Samhain also being made.
  9. zankoku_zen

    Incubus

    This one did an odd thing... it also kinda smelled like celery when I first applied it (lilac, are you there?!). However, it's dried to a caramel + smoky wood thing. Caramel can be so overwhelming, and it's nicely held in check here. But yeah caramel that isn't too sweet, with some resin/wood in the background. Pretty, and not all that masculine. Much more foodie than anticipated.
  10. zankoku_zen

    Juju

    I was gifted a tiny sniffie thanks to a wonderful forumite. THANKS! (You know who you are!) Juju definitely has gardenia, jasmine and I want to say dragon's blood/myrrh perhaps since it has a very resinous drydown. Maybe some patchouli and/or balsam in there. On me, it's very woody on the drydown. It started off as a jasmine/DB spicy blend. The spice is there, but jasmine and DB are faded and I get more of the resins/wood, with something that is a touch powdery.
  11. zankoku_zen

    Berry Scents - Blackberry, Red Berries

    I just discovered this one and I love it. My husband doesn't... but that won't stop me!
  12. zankoku_zen

    Dragon's Hide

    Sweet leather. Really, if people are into leather scents, I'd recommend this one. It doesn't smell raw. It smells like nice, well worn, polished leather.
  13. zankoku_zen

    The Sea Foams Blood

    This one was a nice aquatic with a hint of metallic blood when on wet. As it dried, it smells like dryer sheets and soap. PASS.
  14. zankoku_zen

    Talaria Foot Scrub

    Oddly enough, Talaria is basically lemony on me. In any case, out of all of them, I feel like this one was the most moisturizing. It might have been a batch variation, but it was less scrubby than the others and definitely most moisturizing. It was like putting cream on! On the other hand, my feet totally needed it. I think my favorite is Ro De Sko, but it was great to try them all!
  15. zankoku_zen

    Eros

    And again, oh lilac, you do strange things to my skin. This time, you end up smelling like celery. For me, this is a very fresh, very green... very celery blend with a touch of honey. ... Ah well.
  16. zankoku_zen

    Prurience

    Oh man, I get a very very strong vetiver at the beginning. Mmmm.... smoky bacon. After about forty minutes to an hour, the vetiver doesn't smell like bacon anymore, still smoky but now I can smell the charred carnations and maybe a hint of amber. Still very smoky. I'm not one who can wear vetiver, but if you can, perhaps you should try this out!
  17. zankoku_zen

    Bruja

    Oh lilac, you do strange things to my skin. At first it was a myrrh/amber blend, and then it dried and the lilac came to the fore and then WHAM. I smell melons. I swear, it's a weird lilac/melon scent on me. And a little soapy. Full.of.lose. Damn my skin chemistry. On the other hand, at least I'm not coveting this!
  18. zankoku_zen

    Decadence

    At the beginning, I was quite enjoying this. I smelled maraschino cherries and almond. As it dried, I get a certain amount of creaminess and yes, it does put me in mind of Dana O'Shee - milk/cream and almonds. And maybe, a hint of cinnamon? It must have cinnamon or some other blend because it's a red color, the kind I associated with dragon's blood resin. However, I get an almost play-doh overlay to it with the maraschino cherry hint, and it's not all that pleasant. Interesting... but I wasn't a fan of Dana O'Shea and the almond here is trying to beat me into submission.
  19. zankoku_zen

    Oborot

    Funny... I got a really fresh grassy blend from this. I got a touch of pine at the beginning, but little dirt, moss and florals. And yeah, I swear it was grassy. It had a green, fresh floral vibe to it.
  20. zankoku_zen

    White Chocolate and Sugared Violets

    White chocolate and sugared violets. This one was a sugary chocolate with just the faintest hint of violet. As it dried, the violet was a little more powdery so it smelled like chocolate powder, with a faint violet hint. *shrug*
  21. zankoku_zen

    White Chocolate, Marshmallow, and Coconut

    This was chocolate and coconut (where are you marshmallow?)... and then my skin ate the chocolate and I'm left with the coconut. It kinda smells like those Almond Joys... without the almond. If you love coconut, you HAVE TO TRY this blend.
  22. zankoku_zen

    Milk Chocolate Buttercream

    This smelled like the most decadent chocolate buttercream frosting ever. On wet, it was this insanely yummy frosting.... and when it dried, the cream went t plastic. Damn you skin chemistry. I'm tempted to just keep the imp and huff it. Seriously. It's that good.
  23. Ice Queen cravings? Or want to know what it smells like? I'd try the Macabray. Same slushy snow note with hints of white floral. It is missing the berry component. Much closer match in my mind than Cloister in the Snow.
  24. zankoku_zen

    The Living Flame

    Definitely a warm, musky scent with a 'brown' connotation. I get musk, something sweet like benzoin, and something slightly incensey. It's got spices in it, and the musk is definitely a 'skin' scent. I'm not for this kind of blend, but I'm sure on the right gal it would be dynamo.
  25. zankoku_zen

    The Macabray

    My favorite BPAL blend is Ice Queen. I've tried all the winter blends... but IQ is still my absolute favorite. This one has the same slushy snow note, but with more mint/menthol. I get the same fragrant snow, except the white florals are amped up underneath. If you've wondered what Ice Queen smells like, try this. It's missing the sweet berry component, which you get hints of, but this is a nice substitute. And yes, once I run out of Ice Queen, I know what blend I'll be turning to. Sorry, Cloister.
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