Betula

In the bottle: Very high pitched, woody patchouli. Huh. Well, it's supposed to be 'filthy', but somehow I thought that would mean it would be the more 'protester cliche', hippie patchouli. This is a kind I've never smelled before. I detect some cocoa as well. Wet: The cocoa is gone. I... think what I'm smelling is all patchouli and tobacco, but it's so mixed I can't tell them apart. This is a very strange, medicinal smell. I'm reminded, for some inexplicable reason, of Iago- but this is less complex. I don't THINK they share notes... unless there's some vetiver in here.... Anyway, at this phase, it's a more grating version of Iago on me. Dry: Christ on a bike, this patchouli will knock you down and drag you out. Where is that bourbon vanilla? Maybe the 'bourbon' part is a piece of what's contributing to the medicinal smell. The throw on this is considerable. Later: This mellows out to a warm, medicinal patchouli that might be appealing on the right person- probably a man. I'm a bit miffed about this, because normally I LOVE cologne-ish blends. My skin works well with them, and I like a touch of androgyny from my perfume. But this stuff is too MANLY!! and sharp for me. There is a hint of burnt tires underneath it all, and the patchouli never gets to that earthy sweetness I normally associate with the note. Towards the end of the drydown it becomes sweeter and more bearable, but not really enjoyable. When it comes to smoky, medicinal androgyny I think I'll be reaching for Iago instead. What can I say? I like bad boys. Edited for spelling

In bottle: Syrupy sweet! Reminds me of Miskatonic U., and not in a good way. Wet: So, so sweet. Sickly sweet, actually. I would be hard-pressed to describe it as a 'marshmallow' smell- it's almost like butterscotch. There's also a heavy, medicinal, smoky note. Cinnamon is there, too, lurking in the background. Dry: The medicinal smoke is there, clashing with the cinnamon. Fortunately, this isn't a bad cinnamon on me. It isn't doing its Red Hots thing, but I'm still not happy that it's there. I am picky about cinnamon. Later: The notes blend together and the medicinal smell tones down, making this smell more tolerable. It's kind of nice. But underneath there's that sickly sweetness and a hint of acridness that keep me from enjoying it. It's.... I know, it's Jelly Belly jelly beans 'toasted marshmallow' flavor. Gorobble smells like that tastes. However, I'm sad to say that Jelly Belly makes a more convincing roasted marshmallow. I'm starting to think that I can't do the Lab's sweet notes. Every one I've tried has gone sickly. *sigh* I really wanted this to work.

Bathsheba is utterly gorgeous. Wet, it's all carnation on me, but since I love carnation, that's not a problem. The plum comes in as the oil dries to sweeten things up, and it's just lovely. The musk keeps everything grounded. This scent keeps flipping back and forth between cool and warm. It's musky but somehow clean at the same time. This is the perfect scent to put on after you've just had a soothing shower- it's evocative of warm, soft, clean skin, with a hint of spice. Unfortunately, it reminds me a lot of a perfume my mother uses, and I just cannot use this perfume and its sexiness around my boyfriend when it reminds me of my mother. At all. So, off to swaps with this. Seriously, though, carnation lovers everywhere should give this a try. If not for the scent association problem, I'd probably be getting a bottle of this.

I really wanted to like White Rabbit. Many of its notes are favorites of mine, and have worked well in other blends. However, there's this grating citrus-and-dryer-sheet smell that gives me a headache and ruins the rest of the scent (is there some bergamot in here, I wonder? Is that where I'm getting citrus from?). I'm guessing that the linen note is chiefly to blame. I've had trouble with it in other blends. Once the oil has dried, the headache-y smell tones down a little, but not enough for me to wear White Rabbit comfortably. And it's a real shame, because I can tell that all the other components of the oil smell gorgeous underneath. *sigh*

This was the first bottle of BPAL that I bought for myself. I had enough money to spring for either Tiki Princess or Yvaine. I chose Tiki Princess because, I reasoned, Yvaine wasn't going anywhere. Right? It is this sort of hubris which brings Murphy's Law into action- Yvaine was taken down within a month of my order, and Tiki Princess didn't work for me at all. Bummer. In the bottle: High-pitched, sour, plastic-y sort of scent. I know pineapple's not listed as a note, but to me it smells for all the world like fake pineapple and fake coconut (maybe part of it's the pine-y smell others have been getting?). I was hoping it would mellow out on the skin. Wet: The plastic smell becomes a saw against my nasal passages. It's all fake coconut and pineapple. Dry: As the scent dries, I get a hint of coolness if I sniff hard. It's difficult to get past the plastic, though. Later: The later stage of the drydown is less obnoxious, but still kind of disappointing. The sourness recedes, and a sort of... flat, dusty milkiness takes its place. There may be some flowers showing, too. It's... okay. But it's not nearly the sweet creamy scent I was hoping for. I just hope all the lab's coconut notes don't do this on me. Off to swaps with this one.

I don't know why I haven't reviewed this scent yet. Pepper was what got me into BPAL. My friend got me a bottle for Christmas a couple of years ago. She knew I liked Good Omens, and she thought the notes in the scent "sounded right" for me. Little did she know she would be starting a wrist-huffing, fairly expensive habit. Bless 'er. In the bottle: Cookies! Big, buttery snickerdoodles piled on top of gingersnaps. I'm guessing the pepper, vanilla, ginger, and honey help create this impression. Makes me hungry. Wet: Still cookies, but very well-blended pine resin and blood orange zing past, giving it a bright streak. Dry: The honey amps and the florals arrive. Thankfully the flowers are balanced nicely, with no particular floral peeking above the rest. Normally I'm not a floral sort of person, but the zesty notes and gourmand notes keep the flowers in check. When the bottle was new, things got soapy at this stage, but thankfully it's aged past that. Later: The scent finishes with a soft honey/vanilla/floral that clings to the skin. Very pretty. Verdict: Pepper was my first BPAL, so I will always have a soft spot for the scent. If I'm trying to be objective, I can see that it has a few flaws. When it's brand new, it's a little soapy on me. When it's aged, the top and middle notes are gone in a couple of hours. My skin devours it. Despite these issues, Pepper still ranks among my top scents. There's just something about it- it's feisty and comforting at the same time. I'll probably have to buy another bottle soon. If you're normally iffy about heavy florals, give this a try. The flowers stay relatively tame.

I got this imp as a wish list fill from the wonderful Roogna (Thanks, Roogna!). In the bottle: Whoah! Something sort of sharp and... stinky? I THINK it's lime, but it's a little... off. Wet: The stinky lime plays about for a bit (it's not an ENTIRELY unpleasant stinky lime), and then vanishes to be replaced solidly by grapefruit and what I think is the nectarine. Okay... Oh, shit. Rose. Dry: The rose amps like mad and combines with the fruit and becomes what can only be described as Tide dryer sheets. I'm still new to BPAL, so when I read about people's scents turning to dryer sheets I never quite believed them. I believe now. I even shoved my wrist under one of my friends' noses and asked, "What does this smell like?" to which she replied, "Laundry detergent?" After a while, the sage comes 'round and is pungent at me. I can't really pick up the musk, but if it's there it only strengthens the dryer sheets smell. I am a little disappointed in this one. It has some of my favorite notes (musk, patchouli, grapefruit, and I even enjoy rose if it behaves well). The combination was a miss, unfortunately. I don't want to smell like dryer sheets (admittedly, I wouldn't mind having dryer sheets that smell like this- they'd make the best laundry in the world!) Despite my disappointment, I am very glad I got to try this.

Iago I ordered this one with high hopes (Iago is one of my favorite Shakespearean characters, right up there with Benedick). Thank the Gods of Literature, I was not disappointed. In the bottle- Booze! And- Other things! It’s very powerful, but it’s so strong I really can’t pick up many individual notes. On the skin- Booze again. Like whiskey. And something medicinal- is that the vetiver, maybe? Also a lovely smoky note. I’m digging the smoky note. A few minutes later- The booze scent has mellowed out, thank goodness. The medicinal note has blended with it and also settled down. And I notice a little leather! It’s playing nicely with the smokiness. This is good- it brings some sweetness to balance out the harshness of the other notes. I wish I could detect some black musk, but so far it hasn’t made an appearance. Much later- Iago chills out after it’s been on my skin for a decent length of time. It grows sweet and the musk shows up to make things almost creamy. Just beautiful. The perfume finishes on a pleasant powdery note. I am reminded of Prada’s ‘Infusion d’Iris’. This is definitely an oil to be dabbed, not slathered. It lasts and lasts, and the throw is really something else. It’s not something I’m in the mood for all the time, but when I AM, when I’m feeling androgynous enough and ambitious enough, this is PERFECT. I love Iago. It’s sweetly, viciously masculine and sexy, in a way that I can enjoy. Top ten for me, certainly.

Satyr In the bottle- Spicy sweetness On the skin- Whoa, lots of cinnamon. Cinnamon that PUNCHES YOU IN THE FACE. Maybe some cloves. And…. Grapes? Something animal-like in the background….. A few minutes later- This is waaaaaay sweeter than I’d imagined. It’s so spicy and animalistic and… I think the only word for it is ‘pungent.’ It’s a bit much, honestly. I mean, I LIKE spicy and animalistic. But that sweet cinnamon and animal note are just stomping all over my nose- crashing through the underbrush, as it were. Much later- A softer musk scent hanging close to the skin. This is going to sound crazy, but fading Satyr smells autumnal. It smells like being hit on by a very virile guy at a harvest fair, near the petting zoo. Maybe with some late grapes fruiting nearby. This is my favorite stage of the scent. It's nice, but I'm not sure it's worth the nose-lashing that comes before. I never thought I’d meet a perfume that was just too wild for me. But it seems that I have, and that perfume is Satyr. It is, as my mother would say, “all up in your business.” When I wore it around the dorm, my friend told me that I smelled like sex. “In a good way,” she hastened to add. I can’t bring myself to all-out dislike this perfume and its outrageousness. There’s something charming about it. But MAN is it wild. If I ever decide to take part in an orgy, Satyr is what I’ll be slathered in. Apart from that, I don’t know when I’ll have occasion to wear it. Maybe it will behave better once it’s aged a bit.