HamletsKeeper

I was apprehensive about the lotus root in this one, knowing that lotus flower is incredibly sweet. It seems I had cause to be so, lotus root is also very sweet. But not so much that it ruins the blend. This one is fresh out of the post box so it may settle into something better yet. Fingers crossed. At the moment there is nothing offensive about it, it's just so light that i can't smell it on my skin. I get a vague hint of something sweet but that's pretty much it. Will revisit in a few days. After letting it settle for a few hours I smell something familiar.....magnolia. Strong magnolia! That unmistaken heady, velvety spicey scent that reminds me of whipped cream. The linden and other flowers imparts of slight cottony twist to it, but this BPAL on me is mostly straight up magnolia which honestly I couldn't be happier about. Magnolia is a love note for me. Magnolia isn't blooming on my skin today the way it normally does but I'm confident that on my uber-sweet skin days this one will positively glow on me just like Yvaine. Ok, this was obviously a good swap for me....happiness. The label art is gorgeous too, a phoenix made from snow flakes on it. Revisted This one has hit my all time favourite BPALs list. On me this is heady, spicy exotic magnolia that wafts and wafts without knocking anyone else out. My coworker loves it and asked me what it is. I have to remember that scents smell significantly different on my arms than they do on my torso. I now exclusively wear scents sprayed onto my torso only now because they last better and smell beautiful there. After I fell in love with Yvaine I was looking for another scent that was all magnolia, my search is over. This one is never sweet on me just lush and creamy and spicey.

This isn't one of the more exciting lunacies. It's a lily, sandalwood blend. Calla lily is a strong flower note and typically becomes dominant in any blend it's in. It's astringent, green and waxy on application drying down to something very perfumey. Medium strength and throw, very white in feel and a nice blend. It won't offend anyone in a major way nor will it knock your socks off. Typical of the bulb flowers this one will turn to soap on the wrong skin but on my skin it remains pretty white flowers in an innocent blend. Personally I think this blend would be more interesting if it had frost or ice in it as well. I'll definately use this one up and enjoy it while it lasts, but I won't seek it out by any means.

Well it looks like BPALs tea rose might be a rose I can wear. I'm just not sure I like it. It smells quite perfumey and powdery to me and I can only smell it when it's wafting off my skin not close up. But I'm a bit tempted to try London now. Typically the calla lily here is quite strong as it tends to amp on my skin but it's not overtaking the blend as it has in other blends. Oh wait a minute I might be the rosewood, not the tea rose that I'm smelling here. Either way it's quite nice although I'm not in love. The woods, amber and myrhh here aren't strong they just provide a good foundation for the scent. It's dominantly floral and how your skin handles the rose, lily and lilac will really determine whether this scent is good on you or not. For the most part I find it to be a strong and sophisticated floral perfume, although a little old fashioned in style. This one could go to pure powder though on the wrong skin. Overall it's a very pretty blend and style-wise reminds me of Estee Lauder's Pretty although it smells considerably better than that perfume. Just big blooms floral style. I think if you are new to BPAL and are looking for a classic floral then Viola would hit the mark for you and be a good intro. I'm not inspired to buy a bottle though.

White mint, purple musk, violet, lilac, ylang ylang, lavender moss, and sandalwood. This is a dominantly violet, lilac blend with a hint of wood and musk. It's an extremely soft and quite sweet blend. I got no mint at all and likewise lavender seemed absent. Unfortunately it also didn't last longer than 20 seconds on my skin. But what did show up while it was there was an ethereal, pretty, sweet and innocent floral. Along similar lines to titania, fae and unicorn. If you like ethereal florals then this one should be on your list. Don't let the mint and lavender scare you off as they are very minor players in the blend. Glad I got to try it as I would have been tempted to buy this blend unsniffed and then discover that it would have been a waste on my skin.

Airy notes and slashing rain equals aluminium foil on my skin. That same kind of sharp metallic ickiness that makes your teeth go funny. I wish I could like this one but I don't. It's like a plastic version of CK One, that same androgynous cologney smell and indistinct other odours. Yep at least I now know I can skip anything described as air, and rain.

I was expecting a velvety magnolia here with a hint of chestnut and tang of citrus. I got chestnuts burnt in a saucepan with treacle and pepper. hmm....Judith is only victorious here if she wanted to kill me with bad cooking. So lets break it down so at least I can find my notes of doom. Treacle burnt onto a saucepan - I'm guessing this is the golden musk. Which frankly surprises me because it's the first musk I've tried which isn't wonderful on me. And I've tried a lot of musks. It smells very burnt sugar and molasses-y. Chestnuts - well it's chestnut blossom so I expected a soft, powdery, petally and vague chestnut here. But no this is the dark roasted nut kind. Hell this is a full-on BBQ with chestnuts. I get no mandarin which doesn't surprise me because it has a life of about 3 seconds on my skin. And the strong pepper must be a combination of the magnolia and the other floral. Judith will not be one I'll take home tonight or any other night. She reminds me of those days I have where nothing goes right and I even manage to mess up boiling an egg.

I get a cross between floor cleaner and septic tank....checks note description. Oh, that must be the jasmine and lemon. Well despite this blend containing win notes of orris, wisteria and red currant that damn lemon and jasmine is just stomping all over it creating something unpleasant. Venice is like an industrial floor cleaner in application in a public toilet. I'm sure it's not supposed to smell like that, but it's what my skin does with jasmine and lemon. I guess you can deduce that it's a jasmine, lemon, red sandalwood blend with hints of the rest in it. Personally I like my sandalwood softer than red sandalwood especially with the other floral notes. But maybe if I was actually throwing rose at all it may have a different character. Oh, spoke too soon because here comes the rose which always smells to me like $2 soap. And not even rose soap, just soapy soap. So this is a rose, jasmine, lemon blend on a heavy sandalwood. Probably good if rose and jasmine like you.

In the bottle this smells like most BPALs really herbally generic. But I get it, a bottle sniff tells me nothing about a scent. I acquired this one while on a citrus jag. Since yuzu is like an apendage I lost at birth and brilliant on me I decided to try the range of citrus to see what works. Looks like mandarin and orange are two citrus fruits I cannot wear. They amp on my skin for about 5 secs then head for the hills never to be seen again. It took only about 20 secs for this scent to disappear entirely on me. I get no sandalwood or musk or citrus. In the fleeting seconds of it's life this scent smelt like a glass of Tang. You know that orange powder drink so popular in the 70's? Sweet and like vitamin C tablets. Then it disappeared. And probably just as well because I didn't like it much anyway.

Might also try Priviledge, which has tuberose in it although I have no idea how prominent it is in that blend.

A very soft floral that goes on with surprisingly little power, yet it lasts and lasts on my skin. It's the kind of scent that creeps up on you rather than shouting at the top of it's lungs once it hits your skin. For me this is a perfect skin scent, the kind of thing I like to wear when I'm not really into wafting perfume everywhere but want to smell of something. I'm glad I've got it because now I know how soft both cherry and plum blossom can be and also that wisteria plays nice on my skin. It is perfumey in that it lacks any green or water element that would make you think of fresh cut flowers. It's all petals. Not as beautiful and graceful as Spirit Of The Komachi Cherry Tree, it's a simpler blend and very casual. Convinces me that yet again Asian blends are made for me. It's all pink and lavender in colour with the softness of a cashmere bunny. Perfectly pretty just like those Japanese sakura paintings. Revisited Although this does indeed smell a little soapy in the bottle on my skin it morphs into a very dry and elegant floral scent and smells nothing like it does in the bottle. Evidently Japanese blossoms love my skin because they throw beautifully and always smell expensive and exotic. It's not a fresh flower smell, it's a perfume floral note smell which suits me fine because I don't always want to smell like I've rolled in a garden bed. This is still my cool-casual scent that says jeans, designer top & impractical shoes. I love it!

Confirmed this is snow white with a dash of rose on top. Rose disappears on my skin, so this is pure snow white and since I've already got a bottle of that I don't need another.

This is probably the most traditional rose scent I've encountered in BPAL. It's sweet, very rosey and contains nothing funky in the bottle. No dew, no greens just straight up rose oil. I got a little excited and thought that perhaps I had found a BPAL rose I could wear. Well maybe maybe not. It does it's usual thing of smelling wonderful in the vial and disappearing on my skin. Leaving behind a vaguely rose plastic residue. Sigh....my favourite flower scent and I just can't wear it.

In the bottle I get soft powdery mint on top of flowers. Very light and you can't guess at all what this scent may end up smelling like. On my skin it's quite strong mint on top of tart, astringent chrysanthemums. I can't say I love this one. Nothing about it is particularly special to me. If this is snow I'm not getting snow at all. Just minty, mint. This scent disappears faster than you can say BPAL and leaves behind mum's that have been sprinkled with Snow White. No throw, no lasting power either. Couple that with the decidely underwhelming drydown and I think I have a new one for my swaps pile. The label art is weird. Olive green with a devil on it. Not sure I get the connection...

I will just say this scent is not at all what I was expecting. It smells like some sort of fizzy drink in the bottle. The berries are very sweet and mixed with the hint of pine it all smells very sugary and soda pop like. On my skin it doesn't morph at all. I get soda pop straight up. No snow, no frost or ice. Nothing except this weird candy smell. Not for me. On extreme drydown it becomes berry shampoo. Yeah, so not what I was thinking of. I think it's the Ylang Ylang giving me the shampoo vibe here.

This is not a vanishing scent on me at all it's actually very strong and beautiful. The bottle sniff was pure love for me. It's not typically floral but rather has a cool character that leaves you guessing what it is. The white sandalwood here combined with the pear gives a wonderful illusion of tea. I don't get honey in this at all nor is the cherry blossom prominent. It's just this soft and cool exotic scent that doesn't seem to have seperate components. This scent smells exactly like the colour of the painting background. A slightly sweet and cool lilac-lavender. A beautiful blend that was instant love for me the minute I sniffed the bottle. I can see I will have to buy multiples of this one and the other salon japanese blends as well. It is perfumey, but not in an obnoxious way, in the way that you recognise it as perfume rather than as food or fruit or fresh flowers. Very sophisticated and understated which is exactly my style of scent. I love this and am so glad I bought it unsniffed. It loves me too because I put a tiny dab of it on an arm with 2 other scents on it and all I can now smell is Spirit Of The Komachi Cherry Tree. Revisited A full wearing reveals this to be even better on me than I first thought. Thankfully I don't get honey at all. I get strong cherry blossom on a bed of dry white woods. The Asian pear lends an aquatic quality to this and keeps it fresh rather than powdery. I think in pear I have found a fruit I can wear without smelling like juice or fruit salad. It likes my skin and dries down strong and lasts. Yes I will be purchasing multiples bottles of this and it joins Yvaine as one of only two scents I will buy more of. Encouraged by this success I will now purchase the other Japanese salons I am interested in with confidence.

In the bottle this is strong dragon's blood and you really don't get much sandalwood. On contact though it peaks with a really strong sandalwood note that's almost unpleasant and had my heart sinking at a rapid rate. But that faded in about 5 seconds to be tempered by the wonderful florally dragons blood and quickly dries down into woody scent. It's a little plain and I really can't see myself wearing it a lot. I think dragons blood is at it's best in a more aquatic or floral blend. This is just too much strong wood and too much strong dragons blood. There's not a lot of difference between Dragon's Claw & Dragon's Musk to be honest. They are both heavy on the DB with a little something to give them more character. If you have one you probably don't need both. Dragon's Musk dries down sweeter while this one is drier. This much sandalwood does have a tendency though to waft a strange sort of pancake batter smell at me every now and again then it settles down again. If I can find something to layer this with I might keep it, but on it's own I don't find it to be a complete scent. I'm a dragons blood lover but there are really only a few scents in the Ars Draconis line which say perfume to me. Dragon's Claw isn't one of them. Revisted - I've had this one for 3 months and used it in various ways including as a perfume. I have to admit I like it whole lot better now than I did in the beginning. Far from being lethally sharp etc...I find this to be a very soft cozy scent. It smells like a strong woody floral on me that's got a warm character. It's one of my comfort scents and not really one I wear out and about much. But when I need to feel comforted this is the one I turn to. My relatives have described it as "pretty" but very me. Meaning it doesn't smell mainstream in the least to them. Dragons Blood really is a love or hate note. It's kinda weird smelling and on some would smell like a new age shop. On me it smells like floral perfume.

In the bottle this is the peach iced tea I was praying for. The peach is very clear and thin scent in this one. Nothing like the peach in the GC blends I've tried (les bijoux, tamora). It smells absolutely beautiful. The wood is very light and the tea just perfect. I was swooning by the smell in the bottle. On my skin however it is completely ruined by the jasmine. The peach comes and goes on my skin strangled by the jasmine oil which always smells a little litter boxy on me. If the jasmine just were not in this one I would love it. But sadly jasmine is a scent I cannot wear and this moon may as well be called Jasmine Moon. Beware, if you cannot wear Jasmine then this scent will not work for you. Doubly sad because I now have two bottles of the stuff I have to find a new home for. I will let it rest for a week and try again as it has just come in the mail this morning. Hoping and praying it will work out. It has got good throw though and although it goes on very light it gets stronger on drydown. Revisited After 24hrs rest I tried this one again since a bottle sniff this morning revealed no noticeable jasmine. I have to admit it smells a lot better on me, no litter box today, but I still think jasmine doesn't like me because it smells quite soapy and I've not had that experience with BPAL before. This is the 2nd BPAL I've tried with jasmine in it, the other was somnus and I wasn't paying much attention to how it dried down since I am usually asleep before that happens with Somnus. The peach is extremely thin and there's not a lot of body to this scent. I don't think I like it much still. Who knows maybe some ageing will assist the elements to play nicer and be smoother for me. Still put my bottles up for sale and if they don't both go I'll give it another shot in some months with a more hopeful mind. The tea is definately more prominent here today. Still don't get anything akin to dewy blossoms or moonlit musk though.

In the bottle this smells so pretty. It's slightly citrusy lime punch. Fresh and clear and bright. When it first hits I get strong lemongrass and a hint of lime. As it dries down the florals come out more and so does the coconut giving me an exotic creamy lime coconut scent that wafts off my skin beautifully. I really love this during the brief coconut\floral stage. If I could get some more florals and lasting power out of this it would be a winner. Maybe it will make a nice room scent. But darn it I'd love it to be a perfume instead. It does morph a lot on my skin and fades in and out. It has now become a sweet creamy almost fruity scent again now which I quite like but it has no throw. The elements are like the asian blends but it's not an asian styled scent. I just wish it was more defined and more powerfully either floral or fruit. It kind of wafts inbetween the two and never really settles into either. I love for this to have a more definate character. Revised I am wearing this full on today as my only scent. It doesn't have nearly enough throw for me but it is beginning to show some character afterall. On me the citrus isn't really prominent and it smells oddly sweet and creamy, which must be the coconut coming through. It smells a lot like the sugared blossom in Poisson D'Avril but not nearly as strong. The florals really come out for me with just a hint of lemongrass and lime. Reminiscent of some kind of yummy dessert I really like this blend if only it were stronger. I literally bathed in about 1.5mls of spray just to get the pleasant wafting I now have. I'll use up the bottle but don't think I will replace it just because its delicate and there are other scents which have more presence on me. Although I will say that it does last, it's not a fader, just not strong on my skin.

Unfortunately, I don't like ozone either. *sigh* If it will help, my top 10 (in no particular order:) 1. Smiling Spider 2. Sin 3. Dorian 4. Inez 5. Vechernyaya 6. Samhain 7. Arrival @ the Sabbath 8. Troll 9. Snake Oil 10. Strangler Fig Thanks to all in advance. Well for what it's worth Death On A Pale Horse smells like something icey to me. But I get no mint from it. It's listed notes are... empty white musk and mint seeped with solemn lavender, doleful patchouli and vetiver, scythe-sharp yuzu and lime, with geranium bourbon, white sandalwood and calla lily. I believe it's the combination of lavender, white musk, mint and citrus which does this. I'm not saying this is the scent for you but perhaps look for scents that have a similar combination of notes in them to get that icey feeling without the minty smell. And white mint never smells like actual mint to me, it just smells cold.

Grand and courtly this is not. It smells like orange juice on me drowning a heap of pungent petals. OJ is not exactly a scent that makes me feel regal. As it dries it smells more and more like vitamin C tablets. I guess I just missed the whole gilded, red and whatevers that were in this imp. Vaguely kitty-litter like florals swimming in fruit punch, sweet and not really special. Miss for me.

I recommend that you try Jezebel. I don't know what Gio smells like, but it sounds like you're looking for a soft fruity-floral with a slightly gourmand base. Jezebel has some very similar notes: honey, roses, orange blossom, sandalwood. in addition to Jezebel, maybe: Les Bijoux: Skin musk and honey, blood-red rose, orange blossom, white peach, red apple, frankincense and myrrh. Belle Epoque: Sweet opium, Lily of the Valley, vanilla, mandarin and red sandalwood. Fae: white musk, bergamot, heliotrope, peach and oakmoss. Maybe more sweet and fruity than you're looking for, but the musk and moss give it a nice base. I have Les Bijoux and it's very peachy sweet with a powdery character. It's not sophisitcated and lacks the wood which Gio has which would make it feel more adult. For a sophisticated fruit scent try Marquis De Merteuil, it has that classic perfumey tang to it and a bouquet of white flowers amoung the fruit. I think Gio is more tangy, aquatic & bright than many of the soft florals above, so I would also recommend 51. The notes aren't the same but that doesn't mean much in the land of BPAL. What you'll find is that mandarin here for example will have a different character to synthetic mandarin in commercial perfumes. So finding a match based on listed notes alone doesn't always work. Better to describe to the forum what Gio smells like on you, then we can point you in the direction of fragrances that might have that same character. We mostly come here in the beginning looking for something similar to... but at the end of the day you will probably find BPALs that you love for their own sake and soon forget the old perfumes you left behind. I came here looking for something like Lancome's Miracle and have since found many scents which make Miracle smell like dishwater. There's nothing in commercial perfumes now I would want to pay money for, BPAL has trapped me for all time. Whatever you end up doing and testing, have fun with it.

I've only tried two and weren't that impressed with either, mostly because SO just smells like custard on my skin. Not what I want to smell like anyway, Green Tree Viper - Plain old mint that dries down into vanilla custard. Coral Snake - Apple custard

I second Tamora, that one is a peachy vanilla. Not my style but I could very much see that one working for someone in their teens. It's quite sweet and vanilla once it dries. And my out of the way, suggestion would be Dragon's Milk - honey, vanilla and dragon's blood resin (which actually smells like berries and flowers) would be a very nice non-sultry choice. But thinking about it, I still think the best rec here is actually Snow White, although the description doesn't scream vanilla it's a very sweet, cakey kind of scent that I think a 14yr old would fall in love with. It also doesn't hurt that it's got a bit of fairytale cool about it too. That scent contains everything lovely about vanilla (sweet, lush, warm and comforting) in a gentle and really unique scent. It's very similar to Lush's Snow Cake if you want to get an idea.

You might also want to try Victoria from the Gaiman scents. On some people it's rose dominant, on others more vanilla. It's described as a soft tea rose, so it isn't a thick heady rose nor a green one. It's rose, stargazer lily (one of the lightest lily notes) and vanilla musk. All the reviews agree it's a very soft fragrance. It's unimpable but you might be able to pick up decant off the forums. An I think I saw Katrina Van Tassel up for grabs on the sales forum yesterday.