theseagrows

this starts off with smoky green cognac, and maybe a hint of white sandalwood...i always have trouble placing white sandalwood for some reason after a few minutes on my skin, the smoke is subtler and it's more like i'm getting green cognac and vanilla. it smells wet, yet smoky- an interesting combination. i don't seem to get much clove, so it must be hanging out, deep in the background. this scent is quite moody, green and smoky. i like it.

got a frimp of this in a swap it starts with bergamot and opium. it's citrussy, but not too strong. i get more neroli after a few minutes and the star anise, which i think adds an almost spicy quality (?) it does smell very yellow, yet smoky. citrus and smoke, an interesting combination, that i was unsure about, but i like it! i think i am amping the bergamot though, as it seems to sort of take over the scent on my skin. the scent seems to be doing tug of war between neroli and bergamot, and the star anise is always hanging on as the mediator. an interesting scent, but not one i need more of.

got a frimp in a swap, otherwise i may have never tried this. it starts with a hazelnutty chocolate and maybe a bit of pepper and sandalwood. it's very nutty. once the nuttiness dries down, the scent completely changes- it becomes a softly sweet scent, which i guess is from the plum and sandalwood. i sense the cacao still hanging in the background, but it is much less strong than before. the black pepper adds a nice touch, not making this too sweet or fruity. i actually like this more than i thought i would! ETA: after being on the skin for about 30 mins, i really like this a lot. it's a peppery plum, and one of the few plum scents that seems to work on me, too...

A haze of skin, silk, and taffeta. this is one of those thick and rich honeyed rose scents. it starts off with something kind of nutty. the nuttiness dissipates quickly and then it's deep red rose and as it settles the honey, musk and sandalwood come out. it's one of the more potent atmosphere sprays and a little goes a long way. it gives me a bid of a headache if i spray too much. i really like this one, but am not a fan of that nutty scent in it (not sure what it could be) but luckily it's pretty subtle and does fade. this scent is very warm and romantic, and i think the rose and honey are the dominant notes that tend to last.

i am amping the pine and frankincense in this to high heaven. i was hoping the amber and oakmoss would be more dominant. this smells like an herbal//resiny/piney medicinal serum on me. it's very natural and organic smelling. it reminds me of the woods and certain things i've smelled in health food stores, i think...i think pine/frankincense lovers will like this a lot, but unfortunately for me, it's not my cup of tea.

this starts off with apple, plum and florals- a fruity floral. i am wary of the apple and plum, but let's see how this goes. after 30 seconds or so i get something slightly nutty? not sure what that could be, but it soon passes. the fruity sweetness calms a bit, and i get more of the florals and moss next, it's a bit strong and green or leafy. maybe it's the moss and violet leaf? then that period disappears and it's a fruity plum with vanilla and cassis. it's nice but i think i amp the violet leaf, and i already have scents like this that i like better, so off to swaps with my decant.

i think i sprayed too much, honey. i do really like this though. at first i didn't realize i was getting the frost, but now i totally sense it, it's definitely not just pure honey and there is a touch of frost. so nice. i can't stop smelling my hair!

i love gardenia. i don't wear it often, but when i feel the urge to wear it and i do, it's perfect. first off i get the gardenia and sheer musk. there's something in this that seems almost kind of watery, yet not aquatic...hmm, maybe that's the "sheer" in the musk. it's not really reading as that musky to me. it's almost citrussy. this musk is drowning out the gardenia, which is surprising, since gardenia tends to be quite strong and linear usually, but here it's more in the background. this seems almost a bit soapy to me, and i think i sense the vanilla orchid more now. i don't know but i am not seeing this as a primarily gardenia scent, it's actually kind of drowned out by all the other notes.

i am iffy on jasmine and peach and have a love/hate with muguet, but all the others are floral favorites, so i figured, WTH. starting off this is muguet and peach on me with some jasmine. it's sweet and kind of juicy, and actually the notes are working quite nicely here, though this scent is a bit too sweet for me. i was hoping for more iris an carnation but i am really just not getting it much in this scent. the combination of peach and muguet alllmost reads tuberose-y to me, but it's a bit more sweet and peachy. interesting! (i love tuberose.) after being on the skin about 10 minutes i get the slight spiciness of carnation in the background and a hint of iris root, but really they are just supporting notes that don't dominate too much. i think anyone who likes peachy florals would love this.

not huge on the cedar love here, but i love rose and musk and this scent sounded interesting nonetheless. at first it's definitely CEDAR! and white musk, then i get a hint of the hay and bergamot followed by the rose and patchouli. this smells almost a bit cedar-soapy on me, probably from the combination of cedar and rose. this is actually one of the few scents where cedar didn't get too leadlike on me! however, it's not really my cup of tea so i will probably swap this one.

this is very subtle on me and has that sort of watery feel, from the sake. i get a hint of sweetness from this, probably from the ambrette seed. it almost reminds me of a very soft and subtle, clean shampoo scent. it's very clean without being aquatic, though it definitely has a watery feel from the sake. it'd be nice when you want something soft yet refreshing in summer. it's very tranquil.

this starts off with labdanum (yum), patchouli and honeyed saffron. seconds later i start getting a hint of woods and maaaybe leather. this seems promising, but could go either way! after a few minutes, the leather gets much stronger and dominates the scent along with the woods. the honeyed saffron is gorgeous with these other notes and sweetens them up a bit, thankfully. i really like this scent, it's just got a bit too much...oomph for me, i think it may be the woods. it's nice but i will have to use it sparingly, just because it has a lot of throw.

this starts off with a slightly grassy green tea-it's light and fresh, as you'd imagine. i think i get the tiniest hint of plum after a few minutes but it's not very strong at all. the plum and honey seem to keep blooming through the tea. the vanilla flower isn't too strong, i perceive mostly green tea and honey in this...i was hoping for more of that vanilla flower, but this certainly isn't bad. i am glad this honey is working for me because sometimes it doesn't. i think i'm amping the plum though, which i tend to do, and after awhile i predict that it has a chance of turning plasticky...

i am not usually a fruity-scent wearer but i've had some success with apricot and nectarine, hence my purchase of a decant of this scent. starting off it's all beautiful juicy apricot with a hint of cardamom in the background. its so light and pretty and i find this scent to be very uplifting and perfect for spring. a few minutes later i get the bourbon vanilla coming through, and i think this is my favorite vanilla that bpal uses. it is creamy and gorgeous and not too foody. this is probably my favorite apricot BPAL i've tried. i may even have to get a bottle of this one. so beautiful.

at first, this amber has a bit of a zing to it, taking on an almost citrussy quality. it's a bit sharp, bordering on soapy. maybe that's the cistus? i definitely get a strong benzoin component as well. after the perfume settles on my skin a but more the tobacco and vanilla become more apparent and tone down the sharpness of this scent, thankfully. i like this one, but i think i am amping the benzoin too much so it's a like more than a love. ETA: i tried this again, 2 days later and now i absolutely love it. this time it's just a beautiful amber-vanilla with that lovely carmelized tobacco and just a hint of nutmeg. it's so warm and comforting and would be perfect during the cold winter months, and now i am considering a bottle. file under experiments in skin chemistry, i guess.

this one is quite a morpher on me. it starts out like a creamy cherry soda with a hint of rosewater and a dash of booziness from the bourbon. at first i really love it, but then the orris root is very...rooty for lack of a better word, and it brings in this weird sourness, or that could be rosewater, because while i like rose, i've noticed some rosewater scents turning sour on me. now the cherry is completely gone and it's all musty, sour florals. after a few more minutes i get slight hints of the lovely cherry and the bourbon adds this odd quality on top of the sour florals. skin chemistry be damned.

ok the only thing i was really iffy about is if the patchouli or jasmine is too strong in this. right off the bat i get strong night blooming jasmine (which i tend to amp) the roses then come out more, and i hope that the jasmine settles down a bit. it's not a very stinky jasmine on me, thankfully, it's just very strong. this is very very floral at first but i sense the amber, patchouli and oudh in there. after awhile the labdanum and oudh become more present and i love that element of the scent, almost woody and leathery, however, the jasmine is still so strong it gives me a headache. after awhile on the skin it becomes mostly a jasmine-patchouli with oudh. there is no rose and no vanilla here, unfortunately the jasmine is amping to 11.

right off the bat i get a sort of...dusty coconut for lack of a better word. maybe it's a hint of patchouli? then the lemongrass comes through supporting it. after a few minutes, i am definitely getting some amber and the patchouli is becoming more prominent. after about 10 minutes on the skin i seem to amp the lemongrass and unfortunately it turns sort of sour. i am not sensing any carnation at all, and if there is vanilla, it's very subtle. this scent is alright on me, but the lemongrass just isn't my cup of tea.

i took a chance on this because sometimes jasmine really amps up and gets stinky on me, but fortunately in this it does not! similarly to hal, which was a bit too strong on the jasmine note for me, but it's a jasmine note that i actually like. it is not as strong as hal in this so it works even better. the tea seems to really help the jasmine on my skin too. the very beginning is a bit sharp and weird, but that fades within seconds. it's mostly just jasmine tea on me at first with hints of amber in the background, but this amber is not powdery at all. the jasmine tea almost seems to have a sliiight bit of mint in it or something similar, rather it has that cool feeling of mint but isn't screaming "hi, i'm mint!" thus far i cannot smell any vanilla in this, i am assuming it becomes more apparent on the drydown. this scent is very soft and tranquil. i think it's perfect for spring or summer. i am so thrilled to finally have a BPAL jasmine that works for me! ETA: about 40 minutes later i get the vanilla and it's this lovely jasmine-vanilla. so nice.

let me preface this by saying that i often fall asleep just fine, i just can't always stay asleep. i tend to wake up in the middle of the night and then have trouble getting back to sleep. i finally had a chance to try this one the other night. i did the anointing as directed and i slept soundly and deeply, though, it took me a bit longer to get to sleep than it does with TKO, which as the name implies, tends to knock me out quickly. nocturne seems like mostly rose and lavender to me, with maybe something softly herbal underneath. despite using it a second time on my wrists/temples when i woke up around 4am, i did toss and tur a bit, but overall slept fairly well. i had crazy, vivid dreams as well, though i cannot recall the details now. i definitely want to try this again sometime soon and try to do a dream journal to see if it had any affect on my dreams as well.

this is nice but not what I expected. I thought it would be heavier on the vanilla to be honest. this is mostly spicy cardamom and cinnamon at first. I swear I smell sarsaparilla in this for a bit. the vanilla comes out more later, but it's primarily cardamom with vanilla backing it up. I don't smell any oudh in this. this is nice, but my decant is enough for me. i think maybe i'd enjoy it even more in the winter.

i definitely smell that polished mahogany, along with a bit of smoke, tonka and vanilla. i think the cardamom adds that little bit of sweetness. it seems to get a bit smokier as it settles, and then the vanilla gets stronger. i really like this! i feel like there is a hint of that candle note in this too, but just a hint. it adds a nice creaminess to this. i am glad i got a decant of this one and i might need some more.

BPTP frimped me this! i get the ozoney metal part with pumpkin. neither notes i like and a super-odd combination. a minute later i get more hay and vines adding to the curious mix of green/metal and hay/foody, which are like opposites calling for attention. metallic foodiness. after about 10-15 minutes on the pumpkin has pretty much disappeared and it's an ozoney-green combination. not as bad as with the pumpkin, but not really my cup of tea so i will be swapping this.

got this as a frimp. it does start off very bittersweet. i smell salt, pine and greenery from the palm and ferns. this is so fresh and green! it'd be like laying on a pile of leaves over grass or something. i think it's the fern, which seems to be strongest on me. i think i'd appreciate this more in an atmo. spray more than a perfume, just because it's very evocative and would bring one to the outdoors. a fascinating scent and i'm glad i got to try it.

i can't believe i've never tried this one. i got a frimp of it in a swap. it's starts off with lavender, ylang ylang and lilac, then the sandalwood and orris become more apparent as they ground the florals some. i smell maybe a tiny hint of gardenia but no violet. i love florals, and most of the florals in this, but i tend to like them mixed with something more musky/heavy/spicy and this is very very pure floral and more ethereal like the name implies. i am liking this though because the lilac isn't really bothering me. it can be hit or miss for me but here it's behaving. ah, there is the violet, after a minute or two on the skin, i sense it mixed in. i am liking it more with the violet and gardenia coming through, and now that the lavender is calming a bit. i would probably not wear this much, but occasionally, it makes me think of a rainy spring day, and i think that'd be the perfect day to wear it.