Verios

Oof, this one is all jasmine on me, which is not a note that plays well with my skin chemistry. I'll give this one a bit longer before I write it off completely, as so many of the notes are favorites, and I'm hoping it ages into something that works on me.

This is definitely a vanilla/mallow forward scent on me, with the florals backing it up really, really well (I'm not -usually- one who loves florals, as I amp them and they can be overwhelming). Immediately it made me think of antique lace (I've only tried the resurrected version) - it's not identical, but in that same sweet ethereal floral family (I also can understand/agree with the comparison to zorya p). Definitely going in my keep box.

this is a very intense honey, with vanilla sugar adding more sweetness to it - I don't know what tuberose smells like, but most florals and I aren't friends...however in this case, while I think the floral lends a little oomph to this, it doesn't misbehave on me, which was a pleasant surprise! I think I really like this, although it edges close enough to foodie territory that I don't think it'll be one I reach for super often? I'm glad I tried it, and will definitely use up the decant I have, though!

Finally was able to swap for a bottle of this, and man am I glad I hunted it down - I've had a few times where I wanted to try a blend that had goat's milk listed, but milk notes...well, I toss up on them, we'll say. With that said, this is gorgeous. It's sweet, and I definitely get the milky, creamy undertone to it, but I think it must be the vanilla cashmere that gives it a snuggly hint of warmth that takes it from pleasant to the kind of scent that makes me want to huff my wrist hoping to get a whiff of it. It doesn't seem to have a ton of throw, but the staying power was decent on my first wear, so I'm hopeful that doesn't change. I'm excited to try layering it with a gingerbread monster or two to see what happens, but even on its own, this was definitely a winner for me!

This is a scent I initially remember not being too impressed by, but I decided to try keeping it to age just to see how that went, and as I test it today, I'm so glad I did. I used to love leather in all its glory, but now this is more my speed - it's there, and I definitely get it, but it's a softer leather than a lot of blends, sweetened up with the coconut, and rounded out by the other two notes (which I don't know well enough to identify on their own, just that they're adding something, and I dig it). So, definitely glad I hung onto this, and decided to give it another try, as I almost shifted it to my swaps box since I hadn't found myself reaching for it!

This is a scent I originally picked up because it sounded interesting/very different from what I usually enjoy, but it to me smells like what I would fantasize that a tropical jungle would smell like. I ended up buying a backup bottle shortly after testing it out, but a friend also fell in love with it and laid claim to the backup, so I'm back to rationing out the one I have for the time being - it's one I find I reach for in the summer, though (probably because I live in a desert, so something about the green, tropical vibe of this really appeals to me for a change of pace!). Truly lovely.

Black tea has a tendency of coming across as anise-like, on me, and that's not a scent I typically enjoy, so I keep trying them, and usually am disappointed. I've only just applied this, however, and while I definitely get the lab's black tea note, and it doesn't really smell like tea to me...it stops just shy of hitting the point where it's like licorice. Right out of the bottle, the lime definitely drowned it out, but as citrus scents usually do on me, that faded really quickly. Curious to see how this morphs as it sits on my skin for a bit longer, but so far, it's interesting and quite fun!

This is everything I hoped it would be, on initial application - I get a sweet, nutty coconut that doesn't go suntan lotion, and I do believe I'm getting hints of the opalescent white musk as well. Hoping that the scent doesn't fade to quickly, or morph too much.

This is glorious. It's like the girliest mixed drink ever, strawberry candy sweetness with a hit of gin, and a bit of grenadine. The boozy notes keep this from being too cloying for me, but don't smell like someone threw liquor around either, so this will definitely be one I spray around the house!

This is everything I hoped it would be, which is a huge relief, as leather scents haven't quite been hitting the mark with me as a whole, lately. This is fresh from the lab, and hasn't had time to settle yet, but I think I am mostly getting the leather, cigar smoke and bay rum - it reminds me a lot of my Judge and Jury atmo (which, re-reading the notes in that, actually makes sense), which is one I really love, as well~

This is my first time trying one of the sufganiyots, but blackcurrant is a favorite fruit flavor of mine, so I couldn't pass it up, despite my not typically being a huge foodie fan. Also, this just arrived from the lab today, so hasn't had time to settle. That said, WOW. I love this! I get no pastry, but instead get a gorgeous, jammy dark berry/currant, with some sort of an almost-floral undertone that I really, really love. Assuming this doesn't settle into something totally different, this was a surprise hit for me, so I am thrilled I gave it a shot...and I will almost definitely need a backup! Edit: Gave it a full-day run today, and it smells the same - I had another friend smell it on me today, and she was also surprised that (at least on me) this is an amazing mixed berry/currant jam, with a floral undertone that keeps it from straying into too foody...I get no pastry note at all, which was what worried me, so I'm thrilled.

Oooh, this sounds fun! (And I am always looking for new scents to love!) My top 5 (at the moment, anyway...I love so many it's tough to narrow down), in no particular order: Dorian Antique Lace Recalcitrant Dragon De Vos' Unicorn Zorya P ....there are at least another 4-5 that barely got edged out of this list

This is stunning - I'm a little odd in that I don't really care for perfumes that taste overly foodie, but I'm finding that some of my favorite HGs are the foodier ones! This on me is mostly honey; the cake is definitely not coming to the forefront. But, the honey is the gorgeous kind that almost reminds me of baklava (it doesn't have the pastry note of baklava though, that's just the only thing I've eaten where the honey tastes like this smells) - it's got a hint of cinnamon, and a little bit of nuttiness, and it's just so. delicious. I'm so glad to have snagged a bottle of this!

I just got this today in the mail, so I'm hoping once it settles a bit that some of the other notes come out to play....because I was really, really excited about this scent, and right now, it's mostly cologne, but not a harsh or in-your-face one. I'm glad someone else mentioned cucumber, because I get that as well, and was kind of wondering if my nose was broken. There's also a faint hint of leather lingering in the background (there's a dirty joke in there, pertaining to leather and cucumbers, somewhere...) I'm not getting any coffee, and if the shuffle of paper is there, I'm not picking up on it. To sum up: on me (and in the bottle) it's a sleek, aquatic, vaguely cucumber-y cologne that's been spilled across a black leather briefcase. Not offensive or unpleasant, but unless it changes with a bit of settling and/or aging, this one will be off to my swaps!

2017 Version The original had been discontinued before I got into BPAL, so this year's run was my first chance at smelling it...and wow, I totally see what all the fuss is. This is the most gorgeous musky vanilla, with the long-faded perfumes mingling with just a hint of dry florals balancing the sweetness out (as someone who is a rare fan of florals, this is magical). Fantastic throw and longevity - enough that I catch hints of it all day...but not so much that I feel like I am overwhelming the people around me (although I'd still wear it if it did, because I enjoy it so much). I am so glad the lab did a rerelease of this, and that I was lucky enough to snag some.

I just went and stuffed my nose in the bottle (it's a cool weather smell that I haven't worn in a bit) and it's a good hit of coffee. Mixed with the tobacco though it makes it sweet and rich and divine. Coffee is really great on my skin though. That's good to know! Because the one that went really awful on me smelled that way in the bottle as well, so it wasn't just a skin chemistry thing for me . edit: annnnnd, so many other wonderful sounding recs! I'll post up some of the ones I've tried recently that have been keepers, as well!

Immediately upon applying this, my first thought is that if I ever encountered a wolfman, and he happened to smell like this...I would totally tap that. I should probably start by saying that musks are almost always much-beloved notes for me, and I love when cocoa/chocolate scents are tempered with something that prevents it from becoming too foody. I also really love lavender, as long as it's not too sharp. With all of that said, Wulric always sounded like he'd be right up my alley, and he definitely is. To my nose, I mostly get the cocoa, lavender and sage, with the vanilla and musk serving to sweeten things up and make this extremely wearable. This may actually edge out Boomslang as my all-time favorite scent that features cocoa/chocolate. I do wish this had a little more throw to it, as I want to sit in a cloud of this....it does have a pretty decent wear length at least, though!

I think I may need to track down some Dead Leaves, Blackcurrant and Tobacco Tar, and Elegba was one that I had on my list of scents to try anyway, but seeing more people mention it positively has me moving it up my priority list, I think . (I wish I'd gotten tobacco from The Bones of Capys - unfortunately, it didn't come forward for me, and my skin eats king mandarin, so I ended up swapping that out when I had it.) For the Ta-Ta...how strong is the coffee? I love the smell of coffee, but a recent bpal with it as a note ended up smelling like awful scorched coffee on me, so now I'm a little more cautious with it.

Posting/bumping this up to add to the tobacco love! I've always adored the smell of tobacco, so it was unsurprising that it would turn out to be a major BPAL note of love for me (I'm testing out Mrs. Bunce today, and wow she's gorgeous!) I also wondered if anyone else has tried layering the Bulgarian Tobacco SN with The Lion? A friend recommended I try it, after I raved about those two scents individually, and while I love both of those scents on their own as well, together they were even better than I expected. (I'm also going to go back through this thread from the beginning and take notes, to see if there's any additional tobacco blends that jump out at me )

I typically roll my bottles around in my hands before applying - something I didn't do before I picked up a few blends where cocoa, in particular, would settle to the bottom and thus wouldn't even be detectable without giving it a chance to mix throughout the bottle just before applying. I live in Phoenix, so I always figure my biggest issue with oils needing to settle is the potential heat they sit out in the truck/mailbox in before I get them into my apartment (I don't blame them, the heat out here would unsettle me if I was in it for extended periods, too!)

I do! I usually put each bottle in a tiny baggie so leakage won't be as damaging if it happens, and make sure I put it in the tray thing next to my purse when I go through security. You could also use plumber's tape as an added precaution if you want.

This is really, really gorgeous, and it makes me so glad I was able to track down a bottle (since I missed the initial release). This doesn't change throughout the day on me, but the throw is perfect (whiffs througout the day), and it lasts really nicely! This is actually really hard to pick out individual notes for, as everything seems to blend together - but thankfully, I don't get any anise, since that is a note that is almost always a no-go for me. I definitely agree with other reviews that I get something creamy and vanillic, so I'm guessing that's the crepe de chine, and everything else works together to give this some exotic spiciness, and the barest hint of the sweet orange to add another layer of depth. Seriously, so, SO good. I've been really lucky with HGs so far, but I do believe that this may be another one that I need to get a backup bottle of.

I am so glad I got a bottle of this - it's so different from what I was expecting, but it's so, so lovely. I don't get a lot of morphing from it, and while I was hoping/expecting the presence of leather, followed by the other notes listed, I was really surprised that, other than the honey from the honeyed leather being there to sweeten up what is a predominantly floral-smelling blend, I don't seem to pick it out. With that said, I am not typically a fan of florals, but this is something I can easily see myself reaching for often, as the floral note in here (I may just have to add honeysuckle to my 'florals that may actually work on my skin!' list) is beautiful. It's not sharp, or soapy, or overly 'perfumey', which is what makes a lot of florals so unpleasant for me - and the more I sniff/think on it, the honeyed leather, patch and vanilla, while not overt, may be giving the floral some backbone, so to speak. While not overwhelming, this has a nice amount of throw (and a couple hours in, I'm still able to catch the occasional whiff of it, so I'm at that point of the day where I'm hopeful that this is one of those scents that will actually last most of the day ). I may need to track down a backup bottle of this.

This is everything I hoped it would be. I haven't smelled the French Tobacco for comparison, but since I generally love tobacco smells (other than smoked cigarettes, I love it in every incarnation I've come across it in), I was hoping that this would be wonderful...and it is. This is a sweet, glorious cigar tobacco. It's rich, and I almost get a chocolatey note to it (not enough to make it outright foody, but enough to be downright delicious), and on me (at least so far), has a wonderful amount of throw. Hopefully I can swap for a backup at some point, because this is my favorite single note that I've tried to date (I'm also really going to have to try to find some of the French Tobacco SN to compare now!) Edited to add 09/17/2021: This remains my favorite SN to date, and reminds me why I love tobacco notes in general - it definitely smells more like a high-end cigar than the French Tobacco SN, with a dry, almost sweet-spiced feel to it? It doesn't cross over into being 'spicy', exactly, but definitely leans that way. I still haven't managed to snag a backup of this, so I don't indulge in wearing it too often, but I -love- it.

I love snake oil, but only after some aging to smooth it out a bit-and snake skin, on skin test, is exactly the same way. I don't really get much leather, either...sooo, I'm going to put it away for aging, and hope the leather comes forward a bit more, while the spices smooth out...if they do, this may just make it into my cherished favorites list!