theseagrows

right off i smell the lily and orchid. i get some oakmoss after a few more minutes, rounding out the scent a bit. still, it's primarily white florals. i think i smell a tiny hint of osmanthus. it's one of my favorite notes, and honestly one of the main reasons i wanted to try this. i don't seem to get any ambergris, and the osmanthus gets more powerful as time goes on. it dries down to a subtle osmanthus and oakmoss.

this smells like foody...woods sort of. something is a bit rubbery and strange smelling in this. i think that may be the leather? not a typical leather for sure, but i'm not sure what else it could be. this is one of those scents that smells good wafting up from my arm, but doesn't smell as good when i smell up close. i don't get the rubbery thing when it wafts...just a pretty caramelly scent that's not overly foody with some pepper. after about 10 minutes, that rubbery thing calms down and it's mainly just a caramelized woods scent. it's kind of growing on me, and actually i'd love an atmo spray or candle in this scent.

whoops, i didn't pay enough attention and sprayed this on my skin, thinking it was a hair gloss at first. oh well. first off i get a waxy white floral, like lily with vanilla orchid. i get some woods in the background, not too intensely cedar-y, thankfully. this is a nice creamy white floral scent. the woods get stronger after awhile and the florals are still there but more balanced with the woods. this is a very late winter/early spring scent to me. i think it'd be great to re-try at that time of year.

i wasn't sure what to expect, but this reminds me of a sort of less-sweet beeswax scent mixed with woods. it's creamy, almost buttery and unfortunately it turns my stomach...it's SO buttery. a scrubber for me.

Bulgarian rose, dark musk, orange blossoms, white fig, and honey. first i smell leafy greenery and then roses. though maybe that greenery is really orange blossom? I think it is. after it settles down the fig, musk and honey come out more, softening the rose and orange blossom and adding some sweetness, wherein it becomes a figgy rose with a touch of honey. i am really into the honeyed-roses and this one works better for me than honeyed golden musk, rosewater and red sandalwood did, though i feel it could kind of be a cousin scent to that one. it's lighter and less nutty, which i like because i tend to not like nuttiness in a scent unless it's almond. definitely keeping my decant, though a big bottle is not necessary, as i've been going crazy with all the rose atmo. sprays!

at the beginning i believe i get the fur and ti leaf. it's warm from the fur and cool from the ti leaf. awhile later something deepens the scent. it doesn't seem like amber in the typical way-like warm and powdery (which i love!) but it's still gorgeous. i guess it's because it's 'gleaming' amber, there is a hint of something cool and shining. ahh i really love bpal's furry scents sometimes, and this may be a favorite...perhaps bottle worthy.

this one was a gamble, because i wasn't sure how the milk note would work with my skin chemistry, because usually it doesn't. but maaaybe in a small amount (?) right off i get a bread and butter scent...it's very buttery. with maybe a hint of fruitiness. it's VERY foody. i cannot handle this butter-it's like butter with something going a bit rancid. this is a scrubber for me. 😫

this starts off a spicy rose, after which some incense is added to the mix. it's a dry rose, reminds me of dead roses in a box that once held spices. there is an earthy scent from the vetiver, but it's not overwhelming. it remains a spicy red rose on me into the drydown. it's a pretty scent, and i love spicy roses, i just wonder if i already have enough of them or if i need to keep this one. i may need to re-test to be sure.

the steel initially put me off this, but i like the idea of iris and oudh so i figured i'd give it a try. the steel is overwhelming at first, and this starts as a very strong metallic note with hints of oudh. some of bpal's oudhs work better than others for me. this is one of the odd ones. hard to explain, but it just smells a bit strange, and not what i think of as oudh-like. after about 10-15 minutes, i get some iris and frankincense, warming up and deepening the scent. after the drydown it's primarily a metallic floral with hints of oudh. kind of nice, actually, but just far too metallic for my liking...

ah yes, right off i get something green and woody, the kudzu. after about 20 minutes, the greenness calms down and i get hints of the honey and ginger cream, along with some woods. it started off strong but is now pretty subtle. i like the scent a lot more now that the kudzu has calmed down, but my skin eats most of it up and i can hardly smell it at this point. what i can smell is a nice woody ginger cream.

this starts off with tea and tobacco leaf, with some white musk in the background. no lilac to speak of in the beginning. after about 5-10 minutes i get the lilac, but it's not super strong, it just adds a nice floral element to the tea. the frankincense adds some depth, and luckily this one doesn't turn to pencil shavings on me. a very pretty scent.

omg this is so pretty! i loves me a sugared carnation, and they are so rare. this is a soft scent. it's a sugary carnation with hints of sweeter florals and vanilla. i'm not sure i'm normally a fressia fan, but the way it's blended in this is just gorgeous. i may need a bottle of this.

this starts off with a ton of cedar (which my skin tends not to like), some rose, some musk and hints of carnation. the rose & cedar combination turns very sour on me. it's just all cedar and soggy red rose. after the drydown, it's a warm musky carnation, which is closer to what i was wanting. it's in the same vein as gypsy queen, but that one smells better on me anyhow. it's nice to know there is a scent in the same vein as GQ though.

ahh this starts out beautifully! i get rose, musk and a hint of white leather. i am loving this, and hoping it doesn't change too much. a little bit more amber comes out and the scent gets even better. i definitely need a bottle of this one.

right off i get the florals and some pepper, with some white sandalwood in the background. it's a slighty spicy white floral. i think i am getting more wisteria than lilac, which is nice, as i have few, if any wisteria scents. ultimately it's mostly sandalwood and wisteria on me. the other notes seem to blend into the background or are non-existent. it's pretty, and a good springtime scent.

These late eclipses in the sun and moon portend no good to us. Though the wisdom of nature can reason it thus and thus, yet nature finds itself scourged by the sequent effects. Love cools, friendship falls off, brothers divide, in cities mutinies, in countries discord, in palaces treason, and the bond cracked twixt son and father. This villain of mine comes under the predictiontheres son against father. The king falls from bias of naturetheres father against child. We have seen the best of our time. Machinations, hollowness, treachery, and all ruinous disorders follow us disquietly to our graves. Find out this villain, Edmund. It shall lose thee nothing. Do it carefully.And the noble and true-hearted Kent banished, his offense honesty! Tis strange, strange. William Shakespeare, King Lear Amber, bergamot, and honeyed saffron blackened by smoked oudh, patchouli, ti leaf, scorched thistle, leather, and yew. freshly applied, i'm getting something leafy and green...perhaps the ti leaf? it seems to be combined with honey, and maybe some bergamot, with something smoky. after a few minutes, the scent warms up with some amber and a little patchouli. the honeyed saffron is gorgeous in this. i don't seem to get any leather in this. it ends up mostly amber and honeyed saffron with hints of greenery during the drydown.

starts off mostly red musk single note with a hint of bergamot. after awhile i get pink pepper and that's it! i was hoping for wayyyy more leather in this, but on me, it's very subtle. oh well. it's not a bad scent, but i have many other red musk blends that work better for me.

this starts off with rosewood and vanilla. it's a bit powdery, yet something in this does definitely smell 'wet' like the wet oak beams. amazing how beth does that! i get more woods as time goes on and more smokiness as well. the rosewood begins to go a bit sour on me, which it can do sometimes...it ends up being sour rosewood and baby powder. too bad, because in the beginning, this one seemed promising.

this starts off with lavender and reminds me of something SO familiar that i cannot place. i think it's the combination of lavender and white amber which is just delicious. i get some white musk and a hint of iris as well. this is such a pretty lavender cloud, very calming and soothing. may have to try as a a sleep/meditation scent.

i was super excited to try this, since i love iris scents. first off i smell the orris butter and vanilla, it is waxy as someone said above. like iris/orris with cream. it's pretty powdery, and gets even more powdery when the orris root peeks out of the scent. it's very spring-y, with the iris. i don't seem to get a lot of lily. the scent gets more creamy as time goes on, as the vanilla gets more pronounced. i really like this one!

i tend to avoid peach scents, but peach-tinted made this seem more workable for me. when first applied i get the vanilla cream and peach with a hint of the skin musk, which smells quite animalic on me. it dries down to a peachy-vanilla with an amber/skin musk background. pretty!

i swear i smell almond when this is first applied, and quickly the brown musk comes to the forefront as well. i think i am getting hay and sweet leather now, and the orris is in the background. it becomes mostly musk and leather, and i find it reminiscent of western diamondback.

this starts off with amber and vanilla cream, the cognac and saffron peeking out moments later. i do get something that smells like tobacco next, as previous reviewers have mentioned. i'm wondering if it's the "golden" oudh. i've tried bpal's black, red and white oudhs, but i don't recall trying a scent with golden oudh, so maybe that's it. overall it's a beautiful, warm golden scent, and i think it will really shine in the fall/winter seasons.

i got a frimp of this in a swap. it's a heavy musk with hints of herbal/greenery. nice in a way, but a bit too potent for this cat.

first off i get sweet patchouli, almond and a hint of pine. after a few minutes i get the fig and the vanilla, sweetening the scent up. something in this gets slightly rubbery, probably the fig. it's not too bad though. after about 15-20 minutes it gets so pretty. i'm not sure what notes are standing out now, but it seems like patchouli, almond and pine and i am liking it. i think this will be especially great in winter.