HamletsKeeper

09 Version aged 6 months I really only get three notes from this one, vanilla, coconut and almond. On a good day I smell like coconut ice, on a bad one like some kind of fuel (almond does that on me). Not at all anything reminiscent of Snow White unfortunately. To be honest this smells like a lotion scent or something you'd find in a bar of soap. Doesn't come into the category of perfume for me. Glad I've only got a 5ml because I can use it all up pretty quickly and be done with it. I can seriously see how this can turn to play-doh on some people. If almond isn't your friend then Snow White won't be either.

I'm a big lover of all types of lillies and bulb flowers but this blend is just pure powder on me. Impossibly sweet and candy-like in the imp it dries down to vintage talc, the kind your aunt bessy used to keep by the pound in her house. Yep pure powder. I can't imagine how this went wrong actually since these types of flowers are usually very fresh and aquatic on me. I can only imagine it's got amber hidden in it to turn it into the evil concoction it is.

I think The Rose will actually be the closest to Whip that you will find. Peacock Queen was much sweeter and less sharp. More like straight rose oil, it was lacking the fresh element of Whip. Victoria is tea rose so I don't think it will smell anything like Whip plus the vanilla musk will make it too innocent.

I haven't smelled the perfume you're asking about, but the notes list makes me think of Belle Vinu, Les Bijoux, The Temptation, Loralei, Rozpustnica... Or if it's more green, maybe Sunflower, The Unicorn, or Orpheus might have a similar feel. Joy is heavy on the orris, sandalwood & greens. I can attest that Les Bijoux smells nothing like it, nor does it have a similar character. The closest I've found to it is Black Butterfly Moon. Joy is quite a heavy perfume of the old fashioned variety and Black Butterfly Moon has that same character. It's got an almost bitter edge to it which BBM also shares. From the GC the only other one I can think of is The Raven. Which I will come right out and say doesn't smell like Joy. But the heavy violet is a bit like the heavy orris in Joy and that's where the similarity ends.

A coworker was wearing Burberry's The Beat yesterday and it smelt exactly like Hanami. I have no idea why since they share no notes in common at all. The Beat is described as a sparkling floral woody fragrance; the notes feature bergamot, mandarin, Ceylon tea, cardamom, pink pepper, bluebell, iris, white musk, vetiver and cedarwood All I can suggest is that bluebell & iris which are the dominant notes in The Beat smell similar to wisteria, ume Blossom & sakura.

Highly reminiscent of Jersey Devil initially which was unexpected. To me it smells a lot like hazelnuts which must be the honey (always smells nutty on me) and blackberry leaf. It's very sweet, turns powdery and starts to smell strongly of fake berries on drydown. Entirely too foody and weird for me to enjoy. In the end it smells like grape candy.

This is the most woody of all the Japanese Salon's I have tried so far. It's very perfumey especially on wet application with something in it which is making my nose itch. And I never have reactions to any smells ordinarily. Suggest if you have allergies this one may set it off. I had hoped for lashings of bamboo in this one but I don't get any of it's clean, green fibrous scent here. I get something I dislike immensely which I suspect is the green tea incense. I had hoped the incense part would be really minimalist and clean being "green tea" but it's not. It's powdery and musty to my nose with a metallic edge. Yep this whole scent is being swallowed by the incense part and I think this is one for the swaps.

This is a surprise hit for me. Beware though, if your skin has a tendency to turn florals into soap then this one is probably not for you. I get a very, very slightly soapy edge which usually spells doom for people with the "soap" chemistry. This is the closest BPAL I've found so far for my beloved Miracle. It doesn't smell exactly the same but is in the same scent family with the freesia being the common note. White pear is also quite similar to lychee. It's a light scent with a powerful throw and very commercial appeal. If you like air and water style commercial perfumes you'll most likely love this one. I may purchase a full bottle of this. If you like this you may also like Spirit Of The Komachi Cherry Tree.

This goes on as a weird mix of cologne and candy, but in a way I oddly like. Tea is a note I particularly dislike as it turns metallic on me but happily the tea is not prominent in this blend. I don't get much salt or kelp either individually. What I do get is a strong dark perfume base which must be all the dark elements mixing together. It smells very perfumey which is something I also like. This is mostly sea moss, a dollop of tea with lychee floating on the top. I have no idea what plum is supposed to smell like so I can't comment on that element of it. It's a fruity aquatic with a deep strange base note. I like it but maybe not enough to purchase a bottle of it.

Or you can hold on another week and see what the Lupercalia update brings you this year. I'll guarantee there'll be another scent in that lot you'll like just as much. Or at least it'll distract you from your loss for a while... I also found Itaso kansei, from the GC Salons to be strong on both the sugar cane and honey with just a hint of the other things. I don't think it will smell the same as Giant Vulva but it may be in the same scent family enough that you like it just as much.

The vanilla in this one is rich and syrupy, combined with the palm date and it almost smells like butterscotch in the bottle. Ginger never comes off as spicy on me, mostly it smells like cardboard if it shows up at all. I'm getting a bland kind of but not quite woody backdrop which may be the ginger. The oud is indeed strong on skin contact but quickly fades to become a white wood that just adds depth the way oakmoss does. Overall this is a nice scent. I can't say I'm head over heels about it, but it's nice. It's one of the first vanilla scents which has worked on me. Ordinarily vanilla is more boring than the boringest bore on me. But it has a chance to shine here owing to the depth lent by the palm date. I'll use up my bottle but won't mind when it's all gone.

Snow Flakes - the mint burns off in less than 5 mins leaving behind a very crystalline scent that is ice, beautiful ice touched with white florals. You might also want to check out Szepassony, although I think it smells like a CK One clone... But that could just be my skin.

Thanks to Fisharescary I got to try this one for xmas. It's a little vial of surprise is what it is. Logically this perfume should not work on me at all. I mean vanilla (bland, flat, nothing) and ginger (antiseptic) logically do not a great perfume make. But who knows in the land of BPAL anything can happen and it did here. I get a strong musky scent underpinned with oakmoss, or rather ginger doing an impersonation of oakmoss. Now I may never know what this is scent is supposed to smell like on "proper" skin. But the musk\oakmoss thing is working for me anyway... I like it although it is strong and quite masculine on me. Very pheromone-y which I suppose would probably make some man want to jump me. I'll have to find a man first and let you know. Overall very different to what the notes would lead you to believe. Not at all sweet, grounded and earthy and yet in a perfumey way. If you love skin\sex scents then you should try this.

This is definately from the same scent family as Hungry Ghost Moon and Tamamo No Mae. Well isn't that a no-brainer? But what I mean is that it smells incredibly close to both of those scents which I found to be quite similar to each other as well. I would call this a slightly sharper Tamamo. If you love those scents you're in luck with this GC sibling. Unfortunately though the association means that this one also doesn't work for me. What is it about popular blends which all hate me? On me it just dries down to powdery ick...Tamamo is that you?....followed shortly after by the faint waft of peanut butter...yes honey you do that sometimes. If only I actually got osmanthus and hibiscus... Revisted - thought I might try this one again since you know I'm hopeful. But alas it's the honey that stomps all over it with steel capped boots. For reasons I don't get at all honey goes to vile powder on me and then does the peanut butter thing. The florals and Ti never had a chance in this one. Just like flower moon I smell like I've been talc'd to death and rubbed over with potpourri.

To me this is identical to the Snow Maiden. BPALs snow note smells like berry sherbet and toilet cleaner on me. Yeah not what I had in mind either. There is some perfumey floral valiantly trying to fly the flag for good smells in this but it's just not enough to overpower the "snow" weirdness. So far the only snow scent which has worked on me has been Snow Flakes which does indeed remind me of snow. I can't even write out the image this one gives me. I wonder if this was the scent which also gave me a cracker of a headache last night....

Well this is the surprise hit for me out of all the Yules. I have tested 17 of the 29 Yules and so far this is the only one I can say I truly like. Odd because it’s also the one I had the least interest in from the notes. On initial application it’s all white mint, but dries down to a beautifully sharp, crisp frozen aquatic with a perfumey edge. I get no pine or mint on drydown just something wonderful. This is nothing like Snow White which I found to be cakey, it’s crystalline, pure and icey. I like it, maybe even enough to buy a bottle. This is actually what I imagined First Soft Snow to smell like. Once dry I get beautiful ethereal florals and frozen aquatic. All white, crystalline and pretty wonderfulness.

So glad I have a decant of this. I wanted to know what all the fuss about civet was. I’m happy to report that civet plays nice with me and smells pretty true to the imp on me as well. It smells like cardamon, tumeric and pine needles. And while this scent smells exactly on me like it does in the imp I really wonder who wants to smell like an Indian spice store in a pine forest. No matter, it’s not a great scent for me just good to know that all kinds of musk are ok with me even the evil civet.

I’m not a big fan of forest scents but something about this one appeals immensely. It’s got none of the dry woodyness which I find too strong and instead those maple leaves and camelia have a lily-like effect. Very similar to calla lily but much softer. There is a freshness about it that’s nice. It smells more autumnal than wintery to me and I can only describe is as being a muted green scent. The musks in this are all very light and just freshen up the blend rather than darken it. I’m definately keeping my imp but I can’t see myself wearing this enough to warrant a bottle.

This is damp mossy woods, an almost dirt scent but you can tell it’s not grounded enough to be dirt. I get the minty edge which is supposed to be ice and that lightens the scent and freshens it up. But overall it’s mossy wood and mint which isn’t my thing nor particularly impressive.

Bubblebath anyone? A blend of various cosmetic companies generic smells to give me Eau De Last Minute Xmas Gift. Maybe I’ll mix it up into a spray and give it as my Kris Kringle this year. Seems rather fitting. Oh wait! It’s turning into sicky powder, yes frankincense I know your name.

This is a bizarre scent. I can tell its citrus but something about the blend keeps giving off a caraway smell. Lets just say it’s not really interesting to me and kind of reminds me of bathroom cleaner.

To be honest. If you really love DKNYs perfume then spend your time and money hunting that perfume down. Although you may find BPALs in the same style of this or that you'll never completely replicate a scent by layering. Enjoy BPALs on their own merits.. If you like florientals maybe try... The Grindhouse If you like perfumes which smell like frozen drinks then perhaps try... The Hamptons

Well this one is interesting and I'm so glad it's got noticable caramel in it because I've been toying with the idea of trying out some foody scents since my skin loves sugar. On initial application it smells like burnt sugar which thankfully subsides on drydown. Once dry I get brown sugar, red musk and something I'm not very fond of which I suspect is the petitgrain and ylang ylang doing some kind of evil mojo on my skin. The spices in this are bitter and dusty not really foody at all. And my overall impression is a pot of caramel with black pepper in it. It reminds me of snake oil a bit, but where snake oil becomes sweet vanilla custard on me this stays dark and somewhat dry and bitter. Can't say I love this scent but at least now I know that caramel behaves on my skin and I can safely try other scents containing it. I love that brown sugar smell and I've got an idea that this layered with dragons claw may just turn wonderful.

Tamamo-no-mae and Haloes are indistinguishable on my skin once dry.

It seems three years of aging doesn't help this scent much. I get nothing of the grapefruit nor any sugar for that matter. It's now a fairly flat sandalwood musk scent with a hit of ginger on top. Occasionally I get whiffs of something more but it's occassional. Nice and pretty and probably stunning three years ago but nothing I would invest time and effort in finding a bottle of now. There are nicer more current scents to hunt down than this one.