theseagrows

in the vial i smell lavender and a melange of notes that i can't pick out. on the skin i smell blood orange and lavender at first, then benzoin and apricot peek out quickly. after about 5 minutes on the skin, it's a lavender-benzoin with blood orange musk. the apricot is there but just as a background note. i'd say if you like musky orange blends, to try this. it's very warm and comforting.

i am not into fruity scents, but i love leather and the idea of this just spoke to me. at first, i get a non-realistic strawberry and lots of leather. i am really liking it so far. after a couple of minutes on, the strawberry dominates. nooo leather come back! though i am glad this isn't turning plasticky, as some fruit scents do. now it smells like strawberry candy with a bit of vanilla and leather. this scent keeps making me think of the movie, cry baby, something like the scent combination of wade and allison. anyway, strawberry seems to be dominating on me, though i can still smell some leather-this is eating those candies with the strawberry shaped wrapper while wearing a leather jacket. i'm so glad i tried this-i will wear this when i need a pick-me-up.

on initial application it smells like shampoo and dirt. i am guessing i'm getting mostly chrysanthemum-it's floral and a bit sweet. shortly after that dirt-type note disappears and i am left with chrysanthemum and a hint of incense. there is a hint of spiciness from the carnation, but it's subtle. this is primarily chrysanthemum incense on me.

this is heavy on the myrrh at first. i get iris and a bit of rose, and a tiny bit of frankincense. i think it's mostly myrrh and iris. this rose is slightly sour on me. i am a rose lover, but occasionally some of bpal's roses go sour/dead smelling. this one does, but luckily it's very subtle. i like this overall, except for the sourness. luckily, after about an hour on the skin there is no sourness and this is a myrrh-iris cloud. so pretty! it smells very classic to me, and the drydown just gets more and more gorgeous as the hours go by.

i am so excited to finally be trying this! i've been waiting for awhile. this starts as a beautiful true red rose-it smells just like the real petals. i also sense the stem and a tiny hint of sap. a few minutes later when the sap balances out the rose, the scent changes subtly. it's a little bit of a perfumey rose with a fruity sweetness in the background-a dewy, slightly fruity rose.

i smell a slightly sweet tobacco and benzoin at the beginning. there's something light and glowy in this-i think it may be the incense. whatever it is, i like it a lot. after being on my skin for about 10 minutes, i get the vanilla which adds a gorgeous sweetness. i will definitely keep my decant for when i'm craving a tobacco incense scent.

this smells like resins with hints of patchouli. after a minute or two i get some vetiver, and in the far off distance, a hint of rose. i do believe myrrh is the strongest note though, and it continues to be after several minutes. i don't seem to get any of the vanilla until it's been on my skin about 10 minutes-then i get just a hint. ultimately this is mostly myrrh with rose, with myrrh being the strongest note. a like but not a love.

how did i never review this? i still have some left! it's a very pretty dark berry shade-sort of a cross between dark red, pink and purple. it goes on smooth and dries quickly. looks impeccable, and it's a unique color, i don't seem to have any colors similar to it. i always do 2 coats, and that seems to be just the right amount. it's one of my favorite nail polishes out of my collection.

in the beginning i smell orris, rice paper and a hint of jasmine. after about 5 minutes, i get hints of benzoin, which is vanilla-like. i think the red chypre comes out later. this is a subtle scent, but very pretty in an understated sort of way. an understated jasmine is nice, especially since it can be so in your face at times. i think the orris/rice paper add a nice powdery balance to the jasmine. a satisfying melange of opposites.

oh boy, the cigarette smoke note is more literal than i imagined. it's pretty smoky, at least so far. it smells like this scotch i once drank at a scottish owned bar in san francisco. (one of my favorite bars in SF-edinburgh castle. go if you visit ) anyway, yeah, it smells super smoky and kind of like rubbery burning tire tread. or maybe my chemistry just amps this to 11. i smell the incense in the background, which is a headshop type incense, but the rubbery smoke still dominates and is quite strong. yeah, i think i'll need to scrub this one off soon... ETA: i did not scrub and 1-2 hours after first applied, it smells nice-it's a lingering incense with a hint of sweet leather, and i like this stage, just not sure i can stand that beginning part with my skin chemistry.

i'm delighted to finally try this! it starts off with patchouli. loukhoum and vanilla i think. it's an earthy gourmand, though those gourmand notes are very blended and do not stand out individually. it's not overly foody, which is good because i don't like most straight up foody scents. my gourmands have to have other elements, and this hits that sweet spot for me. a few minutes after being on the skin, it gets more sugary, which must be the loukhoum. at this point the strongest notes are fig and patchouli. after about 20 minutes i think i finally get the amber oud but it's still subtle. this is one of those scents where no scents really stand out strongly-it's just a fairly linear blend, though this one is sweet and earthy. a bit comforting. i think i like it.

right off i get clove with some patchouli and a bit of medicinal agarwood. it's a very woody scent at first. the clove keeps getting spicier, and i get some amber after a few minutes. mostly it's a spicy patchouli-amber. i don't get any lilac at all. it's very evocative of the description.

i have recently discovered that not all of BPAL's oudhs really work for me...the white oudh is scrumptious and the black oudh is terrible. the oudh in this is somewhere in the middle. at the outset, the oudh is the strongest note, along with rose. after about 10 minutes i get more myrrh and less oudh, and then it's a lot better and/or the oudh morphs & settles into something better. i do like it at this point- a resiny rose.

right off i smell a watery oudh. bpal's white oudh is wonderful on me, but i'm not sure about black oudh, as i recently tried another scent with black oudh and had the same experience. this oudh is strange- watery and sort of like bathroom cleaner. it's a shame because i love oudh, but i think i need to steer clear of this type of oudh in the future.

right off i think i get the indian musk, clove and a hint of rose. it smells dry and spicy to me. after a minute or two i get the amber and maybe a liiiitle bit of tobacco. this is such a pretty scent, reminds me of some older BPALs from my past that were loved. in essence, this is a spicy, clovey rose. love it.

this smells like dirty date and fig- it's that earthy herbalness i guess. it's like fruit deep in earth, starting to ripen then rot. it also seems to fade really fast on me. i actually think the date note is stronger, because this isn't as figgy as some, but it has that general fruity/nutty scent to it.

i smell mostly peach, honey and neroli at first. i'm not a huge lover of peach scents, but i thought i might like it in this combination. this peach is a bit syrupy for my tastes, i was hoping for a lighter, crisper peach. after a few minutes i think i get some patchouli, and maybe a tiny hint of cocoa. this is primarily peach and honey on me, and it's just too fruity for my tastes.

it's all clear red musk to start out, then i get some pepper and some black musk, i believe, then the lavender makes an appearance and gets bolder. at this point it's mostly red musk and lavender, a combination i may have never smelled before...after a few more minutes, the scent softens and it's a musky floral at this point, and no clear notes stand out but the red musk-the rest is a melange. very pretty but i have so many red musk scents, i'm not sure i need more.

starts off all chalk and dust, with something mildly sweet-the beeswax in the background. slowly the beeswax emerges, brightening and warming the scent. after a couple more minutes, i get another note but i can't place it. it could be the chalk intensifying though. this is such an odd scent! after being on the skin awhile, it smells kind of like butter and is nauseating. my skin chemistry just isn't having it-this one is a scrubber for me :/

this is super resiny from the start. i think maybe there is myrrh in this? frankincense usually gets more like pencil shavings, and this isn't doing that. it's just very dry and church-y. after a few minutes on the skin, i get that hint of the lace note from the other lace scents. the "gold" part is very subtle and in the background, i think it may be vanilla, but it's difficult to pick out. overall it's a dry resin scent for the first 30 minutes or so. after that it gets really pretty- it's a golden incense scent with hints of vanilla, and i like it very much. definitely keeping my decant of this.

this was one of the yules i was most excited about. it starts with oudh and saffron, i don't get much florals in the beginning. after a few minutes i get a hint of the translucent petals, but not much rose. there is a hint of orris root if i breathe deeply. this is not quite what i expected at all. after being on the skin at least 30 minutes, i get the rose and now it's mostly rose and saffron. this is pretty at this point, a bit weird in the beginning, so the jury is out till another test.

at first all i smell is a clear, beautiful tea-just dreamy! after about 10 minutes i get some of the woods and maybe a tiny hint of vanilla, but overall this is mostly a slightly sweet tea on me. after maybe 20 minutes, i get more vanilla and this is just so gorgeous. after it's been on the skin about an hour, there is something a bit odd about it, almost dusty. not sure i like this stage and it's mostly dissipated at this point. the beginning stages are gorgeous though.

starts with a rosy musk, and a few seconds later the sandalwood starts to come through. after about 5 minutes i get hints of benzoin, and as others have said, this is primarily a resinous, musky rose.

ah yes, i definitely smell something light and shining but cannot place it, but it could be ambergris. along with the fur, this is so pretty. it is very reminiscent of fur, though not literally. it definitely smells fuzzy and musky. i am reminded, in terms of feel, not scent, of bakeneko, which reminds me of cat fur in an non-literal way. this is like the dog version. i really like this one, likely not bottle worthy but i will probably keep my decant.

i am a fan of dorian, but antique lace is just ok on me. this is pretty gorgeous from the get-go though. it starts off with strong lavender, tea and vanilla...it's like dorian and TKO, and it's beautiful! it's basically dorian with extra pumped lavender on me, which makes me think i should try this as a bedtime scent. after about 15-20 minutes on the skin, i can sense more of the antique lace component, and the lavender has calmed down a bit. the lavender seems to get softer and stronger, with the white tea remaining fairly constant. i don't get the pink pepper till maybe a half an hour in, and it adds a pretty element to the whole scent, but now it smells more like antique lace and i am not really a fan of antique lace, so i guess i'd say the beginning stage is good and the drydown is just ok.