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BPAL Madness!

zankoku_zen

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Everything posted by zankoku_zen

  1. zankoku_zen

    L'Inverno

    Wow. I didn't expect this one to be such a morpher - so at the beginning, this is very much snowy pines. In fact, on wet, it's almost a dead ringer for Skadi on me. It's got that heavy, wintry pine going on. As it dries, the pine recedes and instead I get a frosty plum. The plum warms up though, and its a very sweet, heavy plum scent on me. After an hour, it definitely has an extremely warm base (benzoin) and it's still plummy with a touch of florals. Not what I was expecting. At all. But pretty nonetheless. I don't think I need as much as I thought I would - which is good, since the other descriptions have me intrigued.
  2. zankoku_zen

    Gnome

    Oh man. This has got to be the dirtiest BPAL I've tried so far. It definitely has patchouli in it. On wet, it smelled like moist earth, the kind that grows things. Good, solid, wet dirt. It had this green vibe going on. Now that it's dried, the patchouli is more distinctive, and not quite as 'dirty'. It is still a very 'earthy' kind of scent. If you like dirt, patchouli and growing flowers, this is for you. It really does remind me to playing in a garden.
  3. zankoku_zen

    Yggdrasil

    There is definitely pine in this. At the beginning, it was an herby pine, slightly chilly. Now I get a very soft pine and a touch of sandalwood. On the right guy, this would be a total knockout.
  4. zankoku_zen

    Van Van

    Despite whatever beneficial effects this blend might have, the scent doesn't work for me. At the beginning, its an herbally lemon almond kind of scent. But as I wore it, I got distinctive whiffs of powder. Now its just a lemony powder. Like talc, but with lemon juice mixed into it. I think its more distracting that anything else. I really don't fancy smelling 'puffs' of talcum powder out of nowhere. And then realizing, it's me! ETA: 2015 So I managed to swap for a bottle of Van Van and am thinking of using it along more the lines of TALs as opposed to just a perfumey BPAL. It still smells almond/powdery to me, but I find it much more bearable. I think of it more along the lines of a "gunk be free!" sort of blend.
  5. zankoku_zen

    Cobra Lily

    Oh man, this was on wet, in the vial, and for the first hours, sweet tarts and lilies combined. Sweet, sugary lily candies were dancing on my skin. After an hour, the sweetness has mellowed out, and it has taken on more of a 'green aspect'. Interesting, to say the least, but I don't think this particular plant and I get along.
  6. zankoku_zen

    Marcilla

    Okay, so at the beginning, I wasn't too impressed with this scent. On wet, it was a slightly peachy but generic spring flowers. As it has dried, I get more of the ginger and lily. Unfortunately, the lily is just a teensy bit soapy. Sad, since I do enjoy the floral ginger thing its got going on.
  7. zankoku_zen

    Pinched With Four Aces

    Haha. I can totally see what the fuss is about. This scent is fabulous! At the beginning, it was almost impossibly sweet. The caramel and the tobacco are some of the more predominant notes. On wet, the tobacco really came to the fore for the first half hour. After that, it calmed down, and now its a sweet caramel with a hint of tobacco and cinnamon. Not too sweet. I'm not usually attracted to this kind of scent at all ---- but let me tell you, I'm totally on the fence about whether to keep it or not. That's the kind of allure Pinched has for me.
  8. zankoku_zen

    Storyville

    This is based off a pipette sniffie. WOW. If this smells on the skin as good as it just smells, I can understand the craze. To me it smells like the ultimate foodie/musky blend. Just enough spice and sweet to go with the musky base I smell. I can definitely smell the vanilla, and usually we're not friends, but I do want to become HER friend in this blend, if you catch my drift. Mmm. If it weren't so darn rare, I'd like to try some of it one day! ETA: Managed to swap for a teensy bit of this lovely. It's this spicy, musky vanilla. It really is the ultimate foodie/musky blend - spicy and sweet and musky and droolicious. I am not a huge convert, but I think I'll be huffing this every so often.
  9. zankoku_zen

    Deep in Earth

    On me, this was a little soap. It was a strong rose soap, womanly, like stepping fresh out of the shower. Kinda dewy, it had a hint of dirt to it, but overall very fresh.
  10. zankoku_zen

    To a Woman

    At the beginning, this was very green, like green shoots. I definitely got a mix of rose/blackberries with a lot of green sap on wet. But it's dried to a very bright woody berry. It's lighter than I would have expected when dried. Very intrigued.
  11. zankoku_zen

    Horreur Sympathique

    I really get the champagne grapes in this one - this is a deep, sweet wine. Boozy and tasty. It dries into a powdery/honey sweet something. Nuts. I really liked it wet.
  12. zankoku_zen

    Castitas Bath Oil

    This made me think of cocunut sugar cookies. I think it might have been the vanilla. It's light and innocent and makes me think of a virgin before being debauched. I only used, maybe a teaspoon. The bath was light, moisturizing, and the smell was heavenly. My skin is lightly moisturized and I feel very pretty. Definitely a luxury item. I am quite enjoying it, and now I really want to try Gula!
  13. zankoku_zen

    The Peacock Queen

    This is the 2005 version. This is a haughty rose. I like this one because it's not overpowering, although it does end up in the rose soap land at the end. I agree with the comments that call this 'classic rose absolute' because that's all I get.
  14. zankoku_zen

    Bastet

    This to me, makes me think of almond cookies. Honey and almonds, and baked goods. Bastet is not a deity I feel any particular affinity to --- but the scent is golden, luxurious and glorious.
  15. zankoku_zen

    Bitter Moon

    I didn't get any blackberry from this at all --- I got a light, delicate floral that I totally loved. Unfortunately the drydown turned into lavender baby powder. BAH.
  16. zankoku_zen

    Tisiphone

    Wow. The minute I uncorked the little imp, it smelled like the Lush store. It was a heady floral, with distinctive patchouli. It's strong, powerful and in your face. And yet, womanly. I wouldn't want to cross a woman that smelled like this. ADDED Dec. 30: Oh man, this was a dark floral that ended up in as a dirty hippie. Damn patchouli. GRR.
  17. zankoku_zen

    Port Royal

    Yes, I do get the rummy/bay, with a slight herbal tinge, but mostly there is a woodiness to this blend. Very masculine. As it dries, it gets this slight dirtiness to it. I can very well see how this is a dock of a dirty city, full of adventure and sea. Me? I'm a landlubber.
  18. zankoku_zen

    Chanukkiyah

    I didn't expect to like this. The review that mentions 'jewish jelly donut' has it. It has this honeyed cinnamon/maple syrupy loveliness. Better than Lionesse. But it's got that heavy sort of sweetness to it. Tasty, tasty.
  19. zankoku_zen

    Cleopatra Testing Poisons on Those Condemned to Death

    This is such a complex blend. At the beginning, I get a fruity almost peach note with an herbal/spicy base. As it dries, the fruity note sort of blends back into the background and remains this incensey/spicy blend with a hint of honey on it. All and all, this one was blended really well. And yes, it had a vague sense of foreboding. I had a hard time pining it down.
  20. zankoku_zen

    Eidolon

    Oh, I can't tell you how much I've coveted this blend - both for the concept, the name and the notes. Guess what? It starts out as a bright happy lemon, shoots off into lemon pledge land and then sort of stays there, except the lemon takes on almost an astringent/dryer sheets quality. WAAAH!
  21. zankoku_zen

    Grr

    This is a highly menthol/mint combination, very aggressive but it has an herbal/medicinal component to it. Pretty strong throw. I really love this scent and I can see it being very effective. I am going to have to find me some more!
  22. zankoku_zen

    Gypsy Queen

    Oh man, this is a dead sexy rose blend. It's a very non-aggressive rose, and the incensey/amber base is to die for. Unfortunately on me, after a while, the incense takes on an almost peppery blend. And there is a trace of something that doesn't seem to agree with me. I can definitely see why this blend is soooo coveted. I can almost wear this, but it's striking out mildly, but enough to make it noticeable. *sigh* I really do wish I could wear this one. I didn't expect to love this and want to make it work. On the right person, this is ultimate seduction.
  23. zankoku_zen

    Hungry Ghost Moon 2006

    This one is a sugary light citrus. It has a definite Asian vibe, in the same vein as Fire Pig. Whereas Fire Pig is this juicy gingery fruit love, HGM is more light, delicate and sugary. I didn't think I'd like this, but I do!
  24. zankoku_zen

    Enraged Orangutan Musk

    Given my previous experience with Smut, I was leary of EOM. EOM does not end up smelling like swarthy male on me though. Huzzah! Instead, it is an intense musky blend with a hint of powder (probably the amber). There's something almost peppery in the blend for me, but the first initial hit was something green (plant like). Pleased as I am with this monkey, it is still not a scent I'd wear. Ah well, monkey will find a new zoo.
  25. zankoku_zen

    Silentium Amoris

    Oh man, this would make one hell of a soap. Rose and ylang ylang? This is in your face, but it isn't overly aggressive, simply feminine and full. When I uncorked the imp, I was a little worried, since it smelled like nail polish when I opened it, but upon skin both the rose and ylang ylang bloomed. The rose appears to have more of a staying power than the ylang ylang. Definitely would make a great soap.
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