HamletsKeeper

My skin can handle heavy flower bouquets which is just as well because this is a whole florists shop full of white flowers stuffed into a bottle. It's nice but not interesting enough for me to buy a bottle of it. If you like your florals light and breezy this isn't the blend for you. Jazz funeral is lighter and more complex but has the same floral bouquet. This is a very heavy floral that could easily turn sharp and sour if your skin doesn't like lillies. It's very green and white and quite cloying without being sweet. I'm coming to realise that the Ars Moriendi scents are just too morbid for me to enjoy. The category is filled with very heavy and somber blends, which is not surprising. I've never smelt grieving flowers before but that's exactly what the Reaper and the Flowers is. It's flowers turned sad and depressing. Not for me. If you want a white floral that's upbeat and beautiful then Her Voice is a much better choice. It's lillies with a happy personality and a couple of wild roses dancing on the top note.

This one is straight up dirt both in the imp and on my skin. Rose geranium never makes an appearance because it's buried in all that dirt. On extreme drydown you can catch hints of it here and there. Sadly I wanted this one to be rose geranium with moist earth. It's mostly a big soil-laden heap in which a twig of rose geranium may have been thrown in underneath. I'm just not into smelling like a well mulched compost heap.

So I thought I might start listing which rose notes work for me and which don't for the purposes of helping others find roses that work if they have similar skin chemistry. My skin amps sweet and greens. It turns musks into spiced vanilla and brings out any sugar\honey\vanilla note. Also works with watery florals. Of the rose scents here's what I tried... Rose Scents That Show Up On Me Seraphim - strong rose note but I hated the incense backdrop which smelled like a New Age shop. Poisson D'Avril - I love the aquatic flavour of this rose scent given by the numerous bulb flowers in it. My skin loves all versions of bulb flowers. The rose in this is like pink roses with sugar frosted petals in the morning mist. Beautiful and still my favourite rose scent so far. Very light and wearable but long lasting. A rose version of Amsterdam. I just did a search and found out that Lenten Rose listed in this scent is actually a helebore and not a rose at all. That's why it works for me. Viola - I occassionally get wafts of rose out of this but it's very powdery. I don't know if it's the tea rose listed or the rosewood which is giving this smell. I will have to try another tea rose scent to see what happens there. Rose Scents That Don't Show Up On Me Whip - no rose in this at all on my skin. Just green stems and leather. I suspect it has a watery rose note which my skin just eats up. Rapture - devoid of all rose and ended up smelling of narcissus. Similar rose note to Whip I suspect. Black Rose - doesn't retain the rose note and the musk and amber are cloying. Peacock Queen - a very traditional rose scent that completely disappears on my skin within 30 secs and becomes plastic. Pink Snowballs - I smell rose only very fainty in the bottle and it goes on my skin as pure snow white. No rose at all Les Bijoux - I detect no rose in this at all. Queen Mab - also no detectable rose in this one.

2005 version. I can see why people say "coconut, almonds, marzipan" with this blend. There's something in it evocative of those things but I don't think it is those things. What hits me straight up about this scent is it's very floral nature and the flower I smell the most is osmanthus. Osmanthus, my one true love, how I adore thee. Snow, winter wind etc....I don't get any of that or what I expected that to be. I get Osmanthus and other white florals on a creamy background. In the beginning it's very innocent but as it dries on me I can definately see how this could be plastic or vinyl on others. It doesn't go there on me but there is a sharp wood poking through that I'm assuming would give that plastic note. I love the initial stages of this scent, not so big on how it's evolving though. Oh yeah, here comes the wintergreen. Verdict is out until I wear it at least for a few hours. Ok so here's what I think. It's a scent I can wear and I do like it. It's just not a wow scent for me. I'm glad I've bought it because it's an essential Yule but I don't see myself wearing this very often. I think one bottle will last me several years which is saying a lot because I usually rip through a 5ml in 6 weeks of regular wear. Revisited - I'm still not sure about this one. It constantly switches on my skin between a perfumey wintergreen and cake...Yeah that's what I thought too. It may just be one of those perfumes while not turning into something vile just isn't all that happy on my skin either. I"m consoled by the fact that so many people like it, that if I end up wanting to swap it, the feat should be rather easy.

Ok Stellans just broke my heart by sending me an imp of this delicious perfume which I cannot buy.... On me this is all lily of the valley and osmanthus, two of the best smells ever, ever to grow out of the earth. Thankfully the cream accord doesn't do strange things on me and I think I need a bottle of this. No I know I need a bottle of this. It's perfect florals for me, peach is non-existant which is a good thing and it the scent just wafts off my skin like heaven mist. The good news is that at least now I've smelt peach without it being evil I have high hopes for the bottles of Peach Moon I perhaps foolishly purchased. Note to self - white peach is doable.

Oh dear God No! This is the worst bubblegum smell ever that quickly becomes peach wine, then morphs into a peach danish complete with custard (enter the vanilla). Probably fabulous for a tween girl but I think I can safely avoid all heliotrope scents from this point on.

This starts off as Baci chocolates and quickly becomes wood. Now if that doesn't turn you off one of the worlds nicest chocolately treats I don't know what will. I will forever now be frightened that my beloved Baci's will break my teeth and become a chunk of wood, ramming splinters into my gums. The wood is fairly camphorous and reminds me a lot Huon Pine. Lets just say I don't think cocoa and sandalwood are really at home together here.

Ok, well if you ever wanted to smell like a box of Turkish Delights swimming in pounds of soft powdery icing sugar then this is your scent. It's ridiculously sweet on my skin, candy sweet. Not something I'm fond of in perfume. It certainly doesn't smell sweet in the bottle, it smells dark and incensey like dried rose petals and church incense. Revisited - I mixed a small amount of this into a handcreme to see how I liked the scent. The rose note in this one is not a fresh or realistic rose. It's more like a velvet red rose that has been picked, wilted and then left in the sun to stew. There's an over-ripe quality to it. I don't mind that so much but combined with black musk it becomes syrupy and not in a good way, add to it again amber and you've got syrup and icing sugar. A cloying powdery kind of scent. I don't like this one much at all. You'd have to crazy about incensey and sweet blends to really like it and even then I think you'll need to amp rose to have it smell the way it was intended. For me there's far too little rose and far too much sweet powdery mess with it. I've never once thought "old lady" before but I do here. And not nice old lady, prim and proper dressed for church. We're talking old hag who doesn't wash nearly as much as she should and uses a perfume long since past it's useby date to cover up the body smell. This scent smells really unclean to me and just isn't my style at all.

So rose is not a note that amps on me, if anything my skin eats it. And leather has to date been far too astringent and boot polishy. But nonetheless I had to try one of the staples of BPAL. Far from being something reminiscent of a dominatrix this is a very soft scent. I was all set for some grown-up kinky goodness but got cuticle care. When first applied it had all the charm of a generic handcreme. That vaguely greeny floraly smell cosmetics company's are fond of. On drydown I wish it was different. Sadly all I get is handcreme. Revisited - I've worn this scent for a week now in a body lotion to really try and understand it. The first thing to note is that the rose in this is extremely watery to me. Like rose water. I get occassional whiffs of rose but not the thick, full bodied in my face rose scent I expected. I think this must be what everyone is calling a "realistic rose", meaning it's more tart than sweet, very dewy and has a lot of greenery about it. I'm disappointed because in this scent I really expected a powerful rose perfume note sitting on an dark undercurrent of astringent leather. Likewise the leather is just the tiniest touch and not really noticable to any great degree. If you love leather you be will disappointed with this scent. I personally find this scent to be too light and more like a cosmetic cream scent than a perfume. My coworker ( a straight man) however said he thought it smelled divine and he could smell it all day when I offered him some of my whip scented hand cream. If you prefer your scents very light, enjoy BPALs realitstic rose note and rose really blooms on you, then you might like it. But it's not a favourite of mine mainly because it doesn't have enough presence. I am a fresh floral person but this is not one for me.

Um is this just me? Because BPALs main website search engine is not giving me AND results. If I put in two notes I want in one scent like rose lily, I get every sent with either rose OR lily which is frustrating to me because there are a lot of lily scents which do not contain rose and its time consuming to wade through over 100 results. I'm using a mac if that makes a difference although it shouldn't. Or am I just misunderstanding how the search engine works? I thought it was an AND result, not an AND\OR result. I didn't want to post about this but after 6 weeks I thought maybe I should. For example I have just done a search for....."rose lily bergamot" which should narrow down the search a lot but I get 154 matches and strangely the very first match has only "bergamot" in either the scent or note description. It gives me Eros. I searched in the prose for the words rose and lily and it doesn't appear there either. Strong as death, and cruel as the grave, Clothed with cloud and tempest's blackening breath, Known of death's dread self, whom none outbrave, Strong as death, Love, brow-bound with anguish for a wreath, Fierce with pain, a tyrant-hearted slave, Burns above a world that groans beneath. Hath not pity power on thee to save, Love? hath power no pity? Nought he saith, Answering: blind he walks as wind or wave, Strong as death. Unloving love: benzoin, Indian musk, massoia bark, myrrh, ambrette seed, galbanum, bergamot, and fir. Confused so if anyone can help me out that would be great.

hhmmm.... xmas, Pink Snowballs I think. New Years..? Maybe Shoggoth since it supposedly smells like a summertime cocktail.

In the beginning this smelt like lemon-scented geranium then as it was drying down it took a much more rooty, herbal note which I recognised as lemongrass tea. A drink my mother always had dried leaves of in the house. Maybe it is lemon verbena but it smells more like lemongrass to me, especially when you a pull a husk straight off the plant. There's lavender behind it but it's really far behind it. Quite weird for a sleep formula as I find citrus to be very stimulating. I especially can't sleep with bergamot because it keeps my mind so active. There is some other floral there too but it's too obscured by the scent to be recognisable for me. As with the other Somnium scent I've tried somnus it has a smell I'm not really fond of, you can tell this is not intended as perfume as the notes really aren't that harmonius. It just keeps reminding me of the herbal teas my mother used to keep in stock in the house valerian being the other one and although this doesn't smell of valerian, I wouldn't be surprised if it was in there being a sedative herb. The smell is pungently herbal and very ointment smelling. Sadly though I just don't get along with this one. As predicted its very mentally stimulating so I laid in bed for hours dead tired and unable to settle into sleep. I eventually washed it off then applied Somnus to knock me out and even then it took over 45mins to get to sleep. I don't think I'll use this oil again.

The only one I can think of is Ultraviolet which is mint and eucalyptus. I haven't come across a BPAL that obviously contains tea tree, but then I haven't sampled a huge number of them either.

A lovely forumite frimped me Jazz Funeral and some other dirt scents too.... Unfortunately all I got from Jazz was tonnes of dirt and nothing else. To make matters worse BPALs dirt note doesn't smell anything like dirt to me, it smells like something related to celery which is a smell I can't stand. Smells really sour and sharp and nauseating to me....

I never apply the oil undiluted to my skin. I use a pipette to decant a ml to mix into my spray solution then spray from a small perfume atomiser. I find it's a very convenient way to use the pefumes, very efficient and also keeps the bottles contaminant free in case I wish to swap or sell a bottle. I wouldn't really want to use a bottle of oil that someone had been tipping onto their skin. But that's just me.

Well an extremely generous forumite shared with me a small amount of her precious Chrysanthemum Moon. Now I know what all the fuss is about so I have to report this. On me, Dragons Musk layered over The Reaper & The Flowers is a very, very similar scent. The only note that's missing is the red ginger. But otherwise I get a slightly greener Chrysanthemum Moon. I do have to say that Dragons Blood goes fresh floral on me, and Dragon's Musk is a very creamy spice scent on my skin. So maybe another red musk blend would behave similarly on others. But the Reaper & The Flowers certainly has a similar floral bouquet to Chrysanthemum Moon. I have to have a light touch with the Reaper because it's much stronger on me than Dragon's Musk but when the balance is right they have a satisfying similarity.

This was my first encounter with BPALs dirt note. Immediately upon sniffing the vial I went "I know that smell!" and dirt wasn't it. It's a particularly astringent note that gets in my nose and files away at my sinus with a metal rasp. It's related to Carrot Seed or Queen Annes Lace, and has that same screaming celery tone to it. My guess is the dirt note is some kind of moss mixed with Daucas Carota. Sadly that's all I can smell of Jazz Funeral. It doesn't remind me of dirt at all, it's very sour and unfortunately brings to mind the one horrifying incident of my life. After it dries down completely there is a sickly sweetness that also smells of spice which also has unpleasant memories attached to it. But I must say totally apt for the name of this scent. Glad I tried it. Dirt to me is much more mellow, wet and somehow wholesome. BPALs dirt is a note I must avoid like the plague.

My bottle is aged three years and it smells glorious. Bottle Sniff Primarily bamboo and dragon's blood. It's an odd smell that you are not really sure how it will go. But then what does a bottle sniff really tell you about anything anyway? Wet On Skin - This smells a lot like crushed lemongrass. Don't ask me why I get that note when it's not in it. Must be the bamboo which has a similar fibrous green smell to it and the cherry blossom peeking through. But it definately smells very herbal citrus. And just as it dries down, there it is a tiny note of cherry blossom adding to the deliciousness of the scent. I think I love cherry blossom. Final drydown - Dragon's Blood is not dominant in this blend, it's primarily a green tea scent. The DB just adds a bit of depth to the basenotes without being recognisable. It really reminds me of iced Jasmine tea even though it doesn't smell like jasmine at all. Must be the green tea and cherry blossom which gives it that character. Overall this is a beautiful tea scent with an exotic flavour. Very fresh, green and slightly citrusy becoming a great summer scent which I'm sure I will wear very often. One of those gorgeous refreshing smells. Two things I realised from this , yes I love cherry blossom, which smells on me like a slightly citrusy floral, yes I love tea scents. Asian scents are definately going to be BPALs I'll be looking out for in the future. Revisited This one is definately very lemongrassy on me which I love. I put this scent on again today after my usual floral fare went too sweet on me. It's the perfect antidote to sweetness overload. Very crisp, green without being astringent and zesty. I love this blend and hate it that it's an LE long since gone....it's what I imagined Shanghai to smell like. I hope I can find a GC with a similar vibe to it. I think I will try Phantasm, Shanghai and Shoggoth now.

Personally Oberon I find to be very alpine forest and is a cold and crisp scent although it technically doesn't have a snow or frost note in it. It doesn't have a wood note either but I get full-on Juniper forest out of it with a very crisp feel. Absolutely no floral notes emerge for me on this one and although I love the scent find it too masculine for me to wear. Death On A Pale Horse is almost identical to Oberon but less woody with a sharper edge. It definately feels and smells like an icey stream in an alpine forrest. Iced water smacking you in the face is the impression this scent gives me. Absolutely manly enough for a guy to wear. I don't smell any lavender it more just adds to the cold feeling of it. Apart from that I haven't tried any real snow or frost scents but I'm sure others have.

Bottle Sniff - Roses lily and a faint whiff of incense, the cheaper powdery stick kind. Not the expensive resin kind. Although all the notes in this blend point to a straight up floral I get a weird new age shoppy smell...ewww. Wet On Skin - Calla lily amps and yes that's what smelling like a new age bookstore to me. Rose typically dies a quiet and quick death under the heavy, amping and now nailpolish-like calla lily. I can wear most florals but it seems calla lily is a feral one that I shouldn't touch. Drydown - this becomes all calla lily, green astringent and overpowering with a hint of resin making it smell like a $2 shop joss stick and just when I thought it might drydown into something wearable rose comes back and gives me turkish delight. Mental note to self, Damascus rose = turkish delight. Verdict - rose & incense is not for me evidently and calla lily just shouldn't be in a bottle of anything I apply to my skin. Smells exactly like a new age shop where traces of various cheap incenses have spoiled all the books. I had a sneaking suspicion that frankincense was that smell I didn't like in late drydown in my other scents and this one has confirmed it. I like resins, just not this one. Give me myrrh anyday. But if you love new age shops then this scent should be right up your alley. Far more incensey than fresh floral.

It depends on the day as to what I get out of this one, first sniff and drydown was heavy lily of the valley, today I've got lavender in quantity. Bottle Sniff - Heavy herbal lavender, with a very mentholy edge. Wet On Skin - lavender vicks, and something dry and herby like Thyme. There's also a heady type of flower behind it which comes out in late drydown but never enough to take the menthol edge off the scent. I think that flower is gardenia, even though everyone here says jasmine.... This is not a perfume it's a very potent aromatherapy blend. I had trouble sleeping last night and so applied this to my forearms and chest. I was asleep faster than I was horizontal. I slept like the dead. I will probably buy this oil for it's sheer ability to knock me unconscious at the drop of a hat. It should come with a warning about the operation of heavy machinery. The more I use this the more I dislike the smell of it, but it's ability to put me to sleep fast has meant I've purchased a 5ml. As a shift worker you can't beat the ability to catch sleep on cue. ETA - whatever that flower is (jasmine\gardenia) it's kinda litter-boxy and I really hope it's not jasmine as I've got some scents coming with jasmine in it...

Oh goody! My first scent trial with a wine note. Lets just hope leather doesn't bludgeon it to death on the way out. Bottle Sniff - Rich, woody, astringent and slightly green. Wet on Skin - And here comes the leather, astringent, acrid and whiffing of boot polish. The white sandalwood is heavy in the blend but I smell nothing of the other notes. Drydown - I think I need to resign myself to the idea that leather notes just don't like me. They become chemically acrid and intolerable for at least 20mins ruining every blend they appear in for me. They do settle down after a while but still dominate and it's just not a note that I can carry off. The amber and ambergris make an appearance after a while giving this a more solid basenote but it's just not a scent I'm keen on. As others have said it's extremely masculine and you'd need the kind of skin that loves leather for it to smell good on you. This scent just swallows me whole and makes me feel like a victim of a perfumery experiment. Non-evergreen chypre lovers though may adore it. I think I can categorically scrub forest scents off my list of things to try.

I don't know why I hold out any hope that MTP scents will work on me. Number 6 and yes thats right it doesn't work. But rather than just say its a bad scent for me I'll tell you why. Bottle Sniff - I don't know why I keep smelling lily of the valley, not straight up it diluted with something but I just don't know what. Wet On Skin - honey, honey and yet more honey. I get nothing else. This is the same honey that's in Flower Moon and at this point this scent is smelling like a dilution of FM. Drydown - occassionally little hints of pepper and some other spice raise their head in a valiant effort to make it through the wall of honey. But they are quickly overcome and I smell diluted honey. That's it. Nothing more than a weak dilution of honey. It's an extremely light scent that I'm hardpressed to smell at all unless I'm inhaling my wrist. I get none of the notes in this except honey. I suppose I should be happy about that because all other MTP scents have morphed into something vile on me. I have no idea what the common factor in all the MTP scents are, but whatever it is, it hates me & my skin chemistry and is making itself clear that it would rather die (or kill me) than play nice.

Have you tried Jazz Funeral? Not yet, but it's fast climbing it's way to the top of my list as dirt is also a note I'm hanging to try out and think I will actually like a lot, also a big fan of white florals. Was going to buy zombi unsniffed, but Jazz might be substituted. My only worry is the booze as I've only tried gin and it amps and goes like acetone on me.

Amsterdam is Poisson D'Avril with peony instead of rose. The aquatic base and tulip mix are identical otherwise.