hepkitten

On me, this is almost all sandalwood, with only the tiniest hint of ginger and no lime at all. I like gender neutral and masculine scents, but this reads like aftershave to me.

I love these scents separately, but on my skin, this blend goes very sour and sweaty.

There’s a lot of high end floral here, both in pitch and “expensive” feel. Gardenia (slightly indolic), coconut, and a kiss of the lavender and almond are my initial experience. The other elements come out in the drydown, and this does get a little rounder; still, this is a capital F Floral that is suitable for any setting.

Oh, this is dreamy. This is a fluffy cat basking in a sunbeam next to the Streets of Detroit. It’s sweet and dark, but still inviting and warm. This catwitch is friendlier than she appears, at least to the right person, and a backup may be needed.

My experience is similar to doomsday_disco’s, I think. This is all about the toasted sandalwood on me, too, and it stays too dry—almost bitter—throughout. The sandalwood almost reads as burnt, and I get a sharp, wintergreenish note as well.

I don't get brooding here as much as I get wistful and contemplative. I mean, it's certainly more broody than bouncy, but I get calm thoughtfulness. The lilac is a very strong presence, and I don't think you'll like this one if you don't like that scent, but WN:FotB is a lot more than a lilac single note. It definitely avoids the "springtime" associations that often go with that flower. The plum note also stands out, but again, not in a springlike way. I do get sweetness, especially at first, but this fragrance definitely has a grounded low end to it. This puts me in mind of sitting in a dark room and watching the snow fall at twilight, shading into evening. What light you see is purple, blue, and dreamlike. There's a glass of plum wine in your hand, and you feel just a touch of a chill through the window, but you're comfortable and quiet.

Fruit scents are not normally my thing...but, WOW, do I love this. It starts off as chaotically fruity, then focuses in to become a coherent fruit scent with some bite at the core. (For fellow Sandman fans, this shift reminds me of the moment in Brief Lives where Delirium focuses in order to tell Destiny off and help Dream pull it together. There's chaos on top, but there's more sense and sharpness at the center of this multicolored cloud than you expected.) I would say that the one fruit you have to like for this to work is mango. If you feel iffy about the others, you might be okay, but mango's a star player throughout.

Sinuously exotic and rich, but kept from being too dense and heavy by bright, sweet violet. This was one of the first BPAL scents I really loved, and it's still a standout. Granted, you MUST love violet for it to work...but if you do, it is a stunner. Violet lovers, give yourself over and luxuriate in its sybaritic delights!

I was so sad to see this on the list for Tournament of Underdogs...but maybe its inclusion will get it some more well-deserved love? I never thought that coffee, rose, and jasmine belonged together until I smelled this; I'm so grateful that Beth saw the connection, because this scent is gorgeous. It's something a bit different from your more mass-market scents, but it's not so radically out there that you couldn't safely lure in a floral-loving BPAL newbie with it.

Eventually, this dries down to a dark, soft scent that feels like the thickest purple velvet. Before that, though, it is the poopiest oud I have ever smelled in my life. 😭 It doesn’t hit me quite as strongly in the bottle...but when I put it on, it was bad enough that I had to keep my arm covered and out of range. Even then, I almost scrubbed several times. The drydown is so gorgeous, but I just don’t think I can push through the nausea. I hope this scent plays nicer with others!

If you're a more commercial perfumista as well, brace yourself: on me, this smells more than a bit like Iris Gris, one of the all-time great classic fragrances. Granted, there's an unpleasantly sharp top note that has to burn off first; it almost made it a scrubber, but it (thankfully) vanished completely before too long. Also, this is less animalic than the vintage Iris Gris I've been lucky enough to smell (and the fabulous Dawn Spencer Hurwitz recreation of the scent, Scent of Hope, which is dynamite but much pricier). But otherwise, the drydown of this is a rich, rounded thing that is succulently grand and gorgeous. It doesn't make sense to me based on the notes, and maybe something has to do with my skin or some other factor, but my imp was the best modern riff on Fath's masterpiece that you could EVER find in this price range.

I got a squirt with a recent order, and I want more!!! I noticed the food and wood, but I also got the scent of a fireplace. Really gorgeous!

This goes through some weird stages on me, but it dries down to a warm rose with a touch of powder. (It reminds me just a bit of Lady Luck Blues, but I don't have LLB in front of me to compare.) I might consider getting a bottle of this, as the vanilla makes it very wearable. The jasmine is a no-show, thankfully.

This is definitely Bordello's more sophisticated sister. I love the rich fruits going on here, but I'm not sure that I can take the chocolate. For anyone who has more tolerance for chocolate scents, though, this is a sex bomb.

There's really gorgeous clovey goodness at the base of this...but it's blocked by a hairspray-laden jasmine bomb on top. Hilma hates me.