theseagrows

i smell slightly sour roses and a oud that is thankfully more medicinal than barnyard, like bpal's black oud note is on me. there's a dry and woody sandalwood in the background. it smells quite sour and sharp on me at first. after awhile it's primarily sour rose with hints of oud. i like these notes and want to like this but it' just goes sharp and sour on me unfortunately.

at first i get mostly gardenia and ti leaf with maybe a hint of osmanthus. it's all icy cold florals with a slightly citrus-y thing from the ti leaf. the osmanthus blooms after a few minutes on the skin and adds a slight fruitiness. the 'icy' musk comes out and tends to dominate later on, and now i think i can smell a hint of orchid as well. after being on the skin about 20 minutes it's primarily soft, clear musk and gardenia on me. this is a very unobtrusive scent, and would be ideal for work or similar situations.

i got as little decant of RR to see what all the fuss was about. yep it's patchouli and vanilla primarily with a hint of hemp. patchouli is hit or miss for me, depending on the blend, but i like it in this. this smells a little like earthy chocolate for some reason, and i like it. after awhile that sweetness seems to disappear somewhat and it's mostly a dry patchouli and hemp. this isn't something i would wear a lot but would like on occasion, especially in cooler weather.

in the beginning i get vanilla, coconut and white sandalwood. also, there is something in this is cool like the lab's 'marble' or 'porcelain' note that i recall from other bpal scents. i don't get any amber yet. the coconut strengthens as the sandalwood weakens and it's primarily vanilla-coconut after about half an hour. that coolness is still there, which makes an odd mix of cool and warm sweetness due to the vanilla and coconut notes.

starts off with a very strong rose and a sweetish tobacco. the notes seem to be there in equal amounts, though as the scent dries down, the tobacco seems to bloom and get a little sweeter and stronger with the rose fading a bit. after awhile they are fairly equally balanced...i love both notes, and this is a deep red rose so i am really liking this one a lot.

i'm finally trying this after all these years! it's a grassy fresh cucumber-y scent. it's got a cooling summer vibe...which is why i am testing it during a heatwave it reminds me a bit of the scent of my hair after washing it with super old school herbal essences shampoo: grassy, a bit herbal with cucumber. very cooling, refreshing and uplifting on a hot summer day. i'm glad i finally got to try this.

this starts off with something a bit nutty and some watery florals. not quite sure what i'm smelling here. maybe vanilla and mallow flower? the florals in this are soapy on me, unfortunately...it's like vanilla soapiness. after a few more minutes, i get sweeter florals and the soapiness subsides a little bit but it's still present. i also get some sandalwood at this point. after being on the skin about half an hour, it settles into a pretty vanilla-sandalwood with florals.

this is so lovely! it starts with vanilla, tea and a hint of violet and jasmine, it's so pretty. the notes are blended perfectly, but mostly it's like a slightly sweet candied jasmine with tea. it's got a nice creaminess that isn't overwhelming. so pretty and light and perfect for spring and summer.

this starts off with a soft powdery mossy rose. i am liking this even more than i thought i would! i think i smell the ink after a few more minutes. it seems almost like a soft white leather note. this has a vintage feel to me and i like it a lot. a pleasant surprise for me. it ends up as a fairly powdery rose after the drydown.

when first sprayed i mostly smell leather, yay. i get something sort of fresh, i think it's black tea with some lavender. the other notes sort of bring up the background, this is like a lovely and luxurious leather scent that's still soft and not a super strong black leather...it's a bit subtler due to the other notes. i really like this one a lot. i have a candle by boy smells called 'mssr. blanchy' and it's kind of a soft leather floral scent. this one has a simiar feel to it to me, so if you happen to like subtle leather scents, i think this one's for you. i may have to get a full bottle. ❤️

when i smell the decant it's very subtle and hard to really get an idea of the scent. then on my skin, i get mostly tobacco with some tonka backing it up. after about 15 minutes i get a tiny hint of rose, but really it's primarily tonka and tobacco as the strongest notes.

this starts with a red musk chypre and a little hint of tuberose. after a few minutes i get a little oppoponax to smooth out and warm up the scent. it's basically ends up being a subtle red musk/tuberose on me. i do like it but i have on that's very similar that has a bit more oomph to it, so i will stick with that one.

two of my favorite notes, so you know. starts with labdanum and a hint of honey. there is an effervescence here, it's kind of like cola with honey, strangely enough, when these 2 notes mingle. also the labdanum turns a bit weird with my skin chemistry so i think i will have to swap this one. so promising, but i think my skin does better with labdanum in more complex blends.

i dunno why i decided to try this one, because bpal's black oudh note gets very barnyard-y on me but i was sucked in by the labdanum and was interested how that would work with snake oil. i can't really do snake oil but love a lot of the snake oil adjacent blends. anyway yeah, that stanky oudh is about all i can smell at the outset, with maaaybe hints of vetiver. after about 20 minutes the oudh finally dissipates (yay) and it's mostly labdanum with patchouli. it's nice and does lean a bit more traditionally masculine. the oudh is still there a little bit, in and out but not nearly as strong.

this is very subtle at first, but i smell the caramelized tobacco primarily, with something mildly animalic. a little while later i get a hint of oakmoss, but it's mostly caramelized tobacco and woods, and it's starting to lean more traditionally masculine. it's got a sort of warm toastiness to it. it's nice but not really me...and i can't really wear snake oil and get no real strong connection to snake oil from this. i don't seem to get the vanilla or ambergris at all.

hmm, what? at first i get something super nutty smelling...not sure what that could be at all. anyway, whatever it is, it's mixed with honey, amber and a bit of lotus. after awhile i get cherry blossom and mallow root and it's so pretty. for the most part the nuttiness has died down but i smell it subtly in the background a bit. this is mostly a honeyed cherry blossom, so pretty and springlike.

at first i get honey and immortelle with a tiny hint of lavender way in the background. the amber incense comes forth after about 10 minutes and it's mostly honey, incense and a hint of immortelle. this reminds me a lot of some of l'occitane's discontinued honey scents, which were favorites of mine. definitely a bottle (or more) purchase for me.

i was fairly sure i would love this one and i do. a beautiful, airy, slightly creamy non foody vanilla. yesss. i also want this in bath oil and perfume too. ?

i received a frimp of this in a swap. it definitely starts out as effervescent lemon, remind some sort of cocktail with champagne. after about 5 minutes the lemon dies down some and i get blackcurrant. i don't tend to go for fruity scents but i like this better than i thought i would. it's a happy, light scent. perfect for spring and summer.

this is very sheer and soft, i have to sort of inhale strongly in order to fully smell it. i definitely get vanilla cream starting off, and seconds later i get the cognac, white musk and tobacco. it reminds me *a lot* of another bpal i've tried but i don't remember which. the coconut and tea rose are pretty subtle in this, just background notes. a very pretty, soft creamy scent, perfect for spring.

sacre coeur was one of my favorite places i went to in paris many years ago, so i knew i had to try this. at first i get steel and something a bit effervescent like champagne...not sure what, along with some iris. i get hints of frankincense, lily and rose but it maintains that sparkly character for me. it dries down to a soft lily-iris scent and is very pretty. i still get that somewhat effervescent note too. 

first off i smell leather and something mildly animalic. i think i get cognac too because there is something a bit sharp and medicinal, so i'm assuming it's that. a little bit of clove and opium comes through next with the vanilla lace in the background. after being on the skin about 45 minutes to an hour it's a really pretty vanilla with tobacco and incense, primarily. i don't get much fruits,, thankfully because they often go plasticky, especially plum. it's a beautiful, rich scent.

at first i smell stone and incense. maaaybe a hint of lavender but it's pretty subtle in the beginning. after awhile it pretty much dries down to just stone and incense. there is no beeswax to speak of, and i was really hoping for that note. i like this but it's not a love.

yeah, this oudh is stanky on me as others have said. i know bpal's black oudh doesn't work for me but i thought the red oudh did, so i assumed that's what burgundy oudh meant...guess i was wrong. this smells like butt with a hint of musk. i don't really get it, i've smelled non-bpal oudhs that aren't really like this at all, more like a leather scent, so that's what i am usually expecting. i tend to forget the bpal oudh note can be bad with my skin chemistry and in this case it definitely is. i so wanted to love this!

grape grape grape....it reminds me of grape bubblegum from my youth, almost exactly. after awhile i get some other hard to place notes. maybe a soft musk, also the grape itself softens quite a bit.