kakiphony

And if you're lucky enough to live near one of the stores that stocks bpal or a location that does a monthly Will Call, you CAN try things for free! There just aren't as many boutiques stocking bpal as their are malls or department stores stocking the major brands. (Also, I wore Guerlain too before finding bpal. The Aqua Allegoria Lavande Velours was my daily perfume. My taste has changed dramatically since then, and the alcohol now makes me sneeze.)

I do think the lab buys component oils from various sources, but I strongly suspect (I can't say I know because I don't work for them) that they do NOT buy from the mass production synthetic oil companies that sell fragrances to Yankee or wholesale their products to every bath and body producer mixing things up on the web. For one thing, I think Beth has too strong a background in traditional perfumery (there's a thread somewhere that talks about where she studied, I'm sure someone less lazy than I will find it for you), and for another, bpal simply doesn't smell like those oils once applied to the skin. Take as an example patchouli. I LOATHED patchouli before I discovered bpal. I had a good friend in college who loved it and was always buying new patchouli containing blends from every bath and body place in the mall and in the small boutiques in our college town. I hated all of them. They smelled like rotting hippie laundry and dog. I suspect most of them were using the "middle ground, of pre-blended synthetic oils that are found in Yankee Candles" that you want to avoid. Then I tried a bpal patchouli blend. Rather than rotting hippie I got deep wood and molasses. It was a revelation. I hated BAD patchouli. Good patchouli was something very different. (And I don't just love bpal patchouli now. I also really love the DSH patchouli blends I've tried.) This is an experience that is not unique to me and which I think speaks rather plainly about the quality of the component oils that bpal uses to make its blends. Certain blends that bpal produces are much more likely to smell like a Yankee Candle shop than others. I don't think any perfumer out there can produce the scent of candy corn or funnel cakes or the like without using a lot of synthetics. Some people love those scents and they can be fun and they sell, so the lab continues to produce them. Some people (like me) tend to dislike them and that’s fine too. Part of loving perfume is loving the way in which it creates a mood or a signature scent. If we all smelled the same it would be no fun at all! For me, perfume is very much tied up with identity. It’s why I tend to acquire less scents than lots of my compatriots here. I have a specific scent profile that is “me” and I stick to it. If your scent profile range is less about synthetics or cinnamon or other typical “Yankee candle” type smells, then by all means stay away from those scents. But do try things for yourself rather than let any reviewer, whether here or on other perfume sites, make up your mind for you. If I hadn’t been willing to have an open mind I’d still be wearing lavender body lotion every day, vaguely dissatisfied with the way I smelled, never knowing the love that is a good patchouli! (Ps. The inside of my imp box does smell like the miasma from a candle store. Luckily, once the oils are applied they smell great. I think any time lots of strong scents mingle you get that dreaded Yankee Candle fog. That’s why having a box that closes is so important!) Edited to add: What six imps did you try? Inquiring minds want to know!

I tried this yesterday and my result was bizarre. In the imp this was dry patchouli and the deep bitterness of myrrh. When I applied it to my skin it smelled of tart fake berries. It stayed that way all day. Pimento berry must amp like the devil on me.

In the decanted imp: Caramel - deep and dark. Wet on skin (upon application): The caramel is there, but this is MUCH more complex than it smelled in the imp and it's not the CARAMEL that some other folks have found in their skin. I'm also getting big gusts of champaca and a dry, almost powdery tobacco/patchouli base. Early dry down (15 minutes after application): This is very complex on me. At the top I smell champaca, ylang ylang and caramel. The top notes are high, sweet, a bit floral -- not exactly foody, but definitely luscious. The base is a deep resinous patchouli with a bit of spice. Late dry down (45-60 minutes after application): As this has developed on my skin the various scent notes have merged to create something much greater than the sum of its parts. It's like a caramel and slightly floral pipe tobacco or a caramel and slightly floral, deep black tea. Which is not to say that it smells like either tobacco or tea exactly, it's more impression of something that has been blended and flavored to be a complex brew. This reminds me of Red Lantern and of the Pumpkin II from 2007 (tobacco, champa flower, carnation, and tonka) -- both of which were lovely, complex, gourmand yet also very classic and not quite foody blends. It also reminds me of Hetairae, but with added depth. Hetairae is classicly feminine (the pearl necklace and little black dress) whereas this is classically femme fatale (plunging necklines and a side slit skirt). Verdict: I love this and am kicking myself for not trying my Yule decants sooner. I have no extra cash right now and really wish I'd gotten a bottle of this.

In the decanted imp: Wood and red musk -- quite dry. There is a very faint undercurrent of a dark and slightly astringent fruit which I am betting is the currant. Wet on skin/at application: Much spicier and fruitier than in the bottle. I would almost call this bright. The fruit isn't quite peach or quite currant, but is some combination of the two that my nose only registers as "fruit." It's less like an actual piece of fruit than it like some sort of dried fruit or fruit potpourri. With the clove/spice and the faint dry note I'm getting from the wood it really reminds me of the potpurri aisle at Michael's It's not awful, but at this stage I don't love it either. Early dry down (app. 15 minutes on skin): This is surprisingly fresh and bright on my skin, especially compared to a few of the reviews before mine that mention lots of woods, tonka and tobacco. That's what I was hoping for with this one, but unfortunately my skin seems to screaming FRUIT. My right wrist is mainly peach -- dried and slightly dusty peach -- with an faint undertone of something vaguely tobacco-like. My left wrist is straight-up pot-pourri, possibly with currants and clove. Late dry down (app. 45 minutes on the skin): Peach pout-pourri, straight-up. Final verdict: I smell like the inside of an old lady's house. Not for me.

In the imp: Cedar. Polished and smooth. Like my jewelry box. Wet on wrists: The citrus jumps out. It's like a layer of expensive polish on the cedar box. Early dry down (10 minutes): This is actually kind of strange. The cedar is dominant, but now it smells slightly smoked -- and it's not anything like the lab's usual smoke notes. It almost smells like...sausage?! It's a crisp, slightly charred, deep, slightly greasy and almost peppery smoke. Yet, it's not terribly foody. More like crispy grease than actual sausage. It's very much a workshop scent rather than a kitchen one, yet I can't quite shake the sausage comparison. Maybe I just have that on the brain because I have left-over kielbasa for lunch? Late dry down (1 hour): As this dried the smoke that showed up faded. It settled into a polished cedar scent with occasional glimpses of citrus in the top note range. It's not quite as straight-forward as that, of course. It's actually extremely well blended - round and smooth. It still strikes me as workshop scent, but a darn sexy one. It actually reminds me very much of Krampus, minus the spice notes. Overall: Love. A bottle of this is going on my wishlist. I want to try it on J too.

In the imp: Sweet lime. Like limeade in the summer time or sweet lime candies. The lime is a bit artificial. Wet on skin: Same sweet line as in the imp. It has a certain carbonated tickle in the nose: Early dry down (10ish minutes): This tartens up as it dries on my skin and the lime note becomes less artificial. Now I'm smelling sliced slimes for drink garnishes mixed with a bit of sugar syrup. It's much fresher and less tooth aching than it was upon initial application. There's also something sour/sharp green-herbal in the background. Late dry down (45ish minutes): Much tarter than I had expected from the description and previous reviews. It fades quickly, leaving a tart skin scent reminiscent of yuzu.

When I was a little girl my father was the foreman of the Tool Room in a metal stamping plant. This was in the late 70s and early 80s during the first round of the auto industry crisis and he worked a lot of extra hours in order to keep his job. Because he was in charge, he often had to be in the shop fixing things even when the lines weren't running. In fact, he liked being in the factory when the lines weren't running because it was quieter, cooler and he could get things done without constant interruptions. Often, this meant he went into work on Saturday or Sunday to make the repairs he needed to have done for the line on Mondays. Fairly often he would bring me with him. He'd throw my big wheel in the back of his truck and let me ride all around the shop on the concrete floor while he worked. When I got bored I'd beg him for quarters and buy candy from the break-room vending machines. There was no one in the whole plant but me and him, and it was deadly quiet except for his radio (usually a ball game) and my big wheel tires. I pretended that the huge presses that I was riding around were trees in a forest or giants turned to stone or killer robots that had run down and needed to be wound back up. When I applied the Hell Gate, I was transported back to those days. First, there was the black musk which was my father's cologne from the 70s. Then, there was the metallic tang of copper feathers, which was almost exactly the scent of the huge presses. The lingering smell of burnt oil was always in the air, and it was in this oil. This is not an oil I'll wear often. It doesn't smell good or "me," but it is super evocative. If the Hell Gate is meant to transport one into an empty auto factory circa 1980, this succeeds in a huge way.

In the imp: The red musk is dominant, but I get a sweet, purple undertone which is probably coming from the orchid and the herbs. Oddly, it reminds me of Tintagel. Wet on skin: Red musk is dominant on my skin, but it always is in a wet application. After a few moments the sweetness starts to rise and I get a a whiff of sweet, high, slightly bitter herbs on the back of my palate. It smells poisonous, but in a way that might trick someone into drinking the poison and think it's just an odd mulling spice. It's deceptive. Spicy, sweet and bitter all at once. Early dry down (10 minutes): The red musk is still mainly dominant in this, but the spices are quickly rising to the surface to join it. The clove is what reminds me of Tintagel I think. It's definitely got a mulled spices sort of vibe mingling with the red musk. It's very sensual and becoming just a bit dry and powdery as it dries. The bitter herbal note is giving way to a crushed/powdered herb note like a medicinal tea (in it's dry form) that has been sweetened with a bit of vanilla. This scent seduces, but also seems like something soporific. Late dry down (45 minutes to an hour): This is definitely a red musk/spice blend on me with just touches of vanilla and a little deepening from tonka. The orchid, which scared me, seems to be pretty non-present or perhaps the have blended so subtly with the herbs that it is more bitter than floral on me. The blend reminds me of Tintagel (the spices), Madame Moriarity (the red musk with vanilla) and Red Lantern (I can't quite pinpoint why, but as it dries this comparison comes more and more to mind -- I suspect it may be the tonka, orchid and the sensual nature of the scent). I rather like this and think I need more of it. Maybe not a whole bottle but a half bottle or some additional decants would probably get worn.

In the imp: Pumpkin is dominant and it's a deep, buttery almost toasted smelling pumpkin. It doesn't seem bright orange to me, but darker and almost rusty or burnt orange in tone with swirls or caramel-toned yellow. Wet on skin: This lightens and brightens immediately upon application my wrists. The pumpkin turns sweeter and brighter and the buttery is (thankfully) lost. It also begins to develop complexity immediately. My first whiff reveals spices and depth, with a hint of very sweet, very fresh tea rose at the very top of my palate. Early dry down (5-10 minutes in): This has more throw than I expected from a pumpkin blend, which usually sit fairly close to my skin. It must be from the floral components, because they are certainly what is most apparent without directly huffing my wrist. However, that's not a bad thing. They're not making me sneeze at all which is my usual complaint with florals. Instead, they are adding a very bright and sophisticated note to the pumpkin. The rose is definitely the top note being amped by my skin chemistry. It's a delicate, sweet, bright, juicy rose. Late dry down (45 min to an hour in): Rose, rose, rose. The waft from this is definitely all rose. I have to huff my wrists to sense the other notes. At wrist level this is lovely. There is a slightly dry, powdery, spicy glow from the sandalwood, the barest hint of warm pumpkin and a sweetness from the rose. Unfortunately, what is amping out from the wrist is ONLY the rose top note. I'll see how this wear throughout the day and report back in, but my initial impression is that is not discreet enough for work wear.

Hetairae is the bpal I refer to as my little black dress and pearls scent.

Finally testing this most awesome SW gift off my wishlist. I've been a 'fraidy cat about new things lately. In the imp: Hrm. This is unexpectedly aquatic to my nose. Sedge is a swamp grass, so I suppose some aquatic should have been expected if I'd thought about it, but everyone else has said this is so dry and dusty. Color me confused. Wet on skin: On initial application this still has a decidedly aquatic feel over the top of the sandalwood on me. It makes the oil quite perfumey with some real throw and gives it an astringent quality that reminds me of witchhazel. It's sharp, almost bitter, wet and cologne-like. Again, not what I expected at all. (I note that some folks have said they get florals and/or verbena. I think it's the same cologne-note I'm sniffing, but which my nose clearly thinks is aquatic.) Early dry down (5ish minutes): As this dries down the sandalwood starts to show up in the background as something a bit dry and powdery. However, the aquatic is still there lending this a distinctly cologne-like feel. I think the aquatic is what some others have identified as a "soap" smell. It definitely has that shower-fresh feel over the dry, brown ingredients. At this stage, I would not call this a dry scent at all -- I picture a sparrow in a bird bath! Late dry down (45+ minutes): This does dry out quite a bit as it wears. By about 45 minutes in has MUCH less throw (amost none) and sits very close to the wrist. It's powdery, with only the faintest hint of that aquatic cologne as a top note. I get no sweet grasses from this, it's all sandalwood and that top note of sedge/aquatic. Pretty, and I think this is masculine in an androgynous-man way. Not for me, but glad I got to try it!

In the imp: This is all dry patchouli and oud in the imp. It's much less flowery than I expected and smells quite masculine. I'm intrigued. I smell no hoeny or rose. Wet on skin: It's immediately much less dry when it hits my skin. The patchouli is syrupy, and made more so by the sweet top note of the rose. I'm not sneezing and I actually really like this sweet rose. It's lush and deep at the same time. It's less like a floral in a garden than it is like a bride's bouquet which has been drying for several years. Early dry down (10 minutes): I sat at the bus stop and huffed my wrists this smells so good. It started to develop a smoky, powdery incense aroma over the top of the patchouli, and the rose was just a very small player. It reminds me of cone incense I used to burn in college called Rose Cross at this stage. Very nice. Late dry down (about an hour): This has gotten more and more powdery as it has dried down, and also sweeter. The base is more amber than patchouli on me, lending it that dry powder feel. The incense is definitely still the predominate top note, but it's a sweet incense with just the slightest hint of floral and a drizzle of honey. I can't detect rose as a separate note, just as something sweet and slightly herbal/floral in the background. Verdict: My Switch Witch is evil. This is lovely, and I will probably never be able to get my hands on more. :sigh: But now I know that I can do rose as a supporting note, and that I even like it. The Masque has opened my eyes to a whole new set of scents. Thanks to my evil Switch Witch!

Sounds like Harlot and Whip should maybe be my first two. I'll start hunting for partial imps for cheap when I'm shopping for my witchee this weekend. Thanks for the input ladies!

This is a strange and very out of character request for help from an avowedly non-floral lover, but this week I've been toying with the idea of trying some rose scents. I've been using a small bottle of rosewater with glycerin as my toner and I actually like the smell and (so far) it's not making me sneeze. This makes me wonder if I shouldn't give bpal roses a try. I've avoided them thus far because most florals make me sneeze, and rose struck me as a bit of an old lady scent. But I'm re-evaluating that opinion. I'm especially intrigued by rose blends without other florals and that look like they might be grounded in nice woods/resins or spices: the new Snooty Rose, Autumn (the retail only slaon blend), Harlot (rose w/ cinnamon), Jezebel, Seraglio, Whip, Rakshasa, Baghdad, London (?)... My initial thought is that I should stick to somewhat simple scents (none of those complex 13 note blends with mutliple flowers, etc). The scents I tend to wear the most right now are Vixen, a cinnamon heavy snake oil Chaos theory, and Devilish by Arcana. I like woods, most patchouli, spices, vanilla, leather, and some smoke notes. To date, orange blossom has been the only floral I've really loved. Any suggestions for roses for a girl who tends to dislike most floral blends?

I'm having a new reaction. The insides of my wrists are covered in a lovely, itchy contact dermatitis rash. It appeared after using Tiki King (which I love and have used many times) last week. I need to clean my watch with alcohol because every time I get it started to clear up, I wear the watch and it comes back. So now I have eliminated the wrists and the pulse points on the neck as places I can wear scent. Luckily, the cleavage and backs of knees have avoided reactions thus far. I hate the fact that I seem to be getting more sensitive as I get older. Grr.

I would try O. It's not really nutty or honey, but it is the closest thing to a "skin" scent I've found.

LII This originally belonged to lunaliquid and made its public debut at the Colorado Meet n' Sniff yesterday (Sunday, May 3, 2009). The general consesus was "Whoa, Nelly! Holy cinnamon!" and "Gah! That's strong!" I tend to like spice, so the almost over-powering red-hot didn't put me off the same way it did other folks. I dabbled just a drop on my wrist and let it sit a while. It turned, soft, mellow, deep, spicy and gorgeous. I was huffing my wrists like a crack-head with a tin-foil pipe. Today, I tried it again and I still love it. Here is the full review: In the bottle: Cinnamon, which we all know can't be in a Chaos Theory so it must be a cinnamon-smell-alike. I would guess cassia (which I've discovered I've been pronouncing wrong for years), but I also thought that was eliminated from the CTs. Whatever it is, it's hot, spicy, and a lot like really strong cinnamon rock-candy. (I'm going to call it cinnamon since that's what it smells like, even though I know it's not.) It reminds me of Lip Venom. I get no Snake Oil at this stage at all. Wet on skin: Cinnamon is the dominant note, but I also get a bit of something sweet and powdery and possibly a touch of clove. This is aggressively spicy on contact, but already less fierce than it was in the bottle. Early dry down (20 minutes): Cinnamon and spice continue to dominate, but the cinnamon has tempered with other spices peeking out. I sense cloves, and possibly a bit of pepper. The sugared vanilla is a sweet, dry presence at the very base, and the sugar almost has a gingery note to it. It's somehow deep and dark, yet bright from the spice at the same time -- a little black dress with a bright red belt and shoes. Late dry down (1 hour 30 minutes): The Snake Oil has finally begun to penetrate the spices enough to be noticeable. It's all SO's base notes and is deep, resinous, with just a bit of a dry and powdery feel. It's sweet, but not cloying. It's spicy, but not particularly foody. It smells the way cinnamon makes your skin tingle (if that makes any sense at all!) It feels like a tradition Oriental perfume, but spicier, closer to the skin, and darker. How it's different than Snake Oil: Clearly, this is spicier than the original. I also think the base has a bit more of something resinous (like patchouli) whereas the orginal has a muskier base. I can't wear the original because the musk overpowers the other notes and leaves me smelling a bit like an old man wearing too much after-shave. This mellows, sweetens and deepens on my skin the way that a lot of patchouli bases do. What it's a bit like: Morocco, Salamander, Spanked, and a tad like Shalimar (but better!) What it's not like: Bengal and Al-Shairan (which both turn into potpourri on me) This is not Snake Oil, it's Snake Venom. Ever since I tried this yesterday I've had the following stuck in my head: My gal is red hot (Your gal ain't doodly-squat) Yeah, my gal is red hot (Your gal ain't doodly-squat) Well, she ain't got no money But man, she's a-really got a lot

Deleted because, on second thought, I was just being a nosy nelly and a jerk where my jerkiness was unnecessary. Carry on.

No scent, ever, when gardening. I try not to even wash my hair before I work in the dirt, or work in the dirt at the end of the day when the shampoo and conditioner smells are faded. Scents attract bugs. Bugs are the only bad bit about gardening.

This is the strangest scent I have tried in ages -- not because the scent itself is strange, but because it smells nothing like I excpected it to smell. In the imp it smelled surprisingly sweet to me, but not in the usual thick, syrupy way that I associate with honey blends. Rather, it was high, light and reminded me of something. After I racked my brain for an age, I decided that the smell I was smelling was Smarties candies (the American pressed powdered sugar kind that comes in small rolls wrapped in clear plastic.) When I applied it to my skin it was still very sweet, but there was something medicinal lurking underneath the sweet that smelled a bit like the alcohol tang of old fashioned cough syrup (the kind that worked!) As it dried down, it bloomed into a very sweet almost floral tea scent. I swear I am smelling lotus blossom! It’s not the bubble gum lotus, but a lotus tea scent. I realize I am the only person to have mentioned this and so am probably crazy, but it really is what I smell.

In the imp: Wow. Umm, just wow. This is the same orange blossom from my beloved Vixen, but gentler and without bite. I already know I'm going to love this one. Damn LEs for breaking my heart! Wet on skin: Indeed, this is the orange blossom I love in Vixen, but sweeter and with a slight powdery hint. It's a little more floral than in Vixen, and a lot more feminine. Soft I might say. The orange blossom is very much the top note with the amber and vanilla lending it a rounded, powdered base. But we're not talking baby powder, we're talking the kind of powder a woman in the 1920s might might have dabbed on her breasts before she went out for a night in Harlem. Early dry down (15 minutes): This just becomes fuller, rounder, and softer as it sink into my skin. If my husband were home this weekend, we'd be in trouble as I know this is the kind of scent that drives him to distraction and nothing gets done around the house but a lot of neck sniffing. Late dry down (45 minutes): The orange blossom tames a bit as the base develops, and the sweet powder aspect beathes out from the skin. I am envisioning dressing rooms filled with flowers where a singer or dancer spritzes herself with scent and then powders her neck and chest before allowing her sugar daddy to come in and give her this week's gifts. The final impression is, as the first impression: WOW.

In the imp: Dry and sharp, but to my nose leather is the dominant note. The sharpness hits at the front of the palate while the leather is what lingers against the back of the palate on the first sniff. The overall effect is almost desicated dryness, bone and desert winds. It smells like the desert to me -- the real desert, not the usual hot cinnamon bpal desert. Wet on skin: As soon as this is applied the scent gets rounder, fuller and a bit sweeter. The leather and patchouli are combining to form a spicy scent a bit like incense sticks that have been in a drawer for so long that they've dried out a bit. On my left wrist I also get a burnt note that smells like something left on the burner of an electric stove -- I'm betting this is the tea and sandalwood and am axious for it to develop. The right wrist is much preferable at this stage and is all leather/patchouli. Early dry down (10 minutes): This is still a very dry scent. It smells just like something, but I can't put my finger on what and it's driving me crazy. As usual, my two wrists have developed in different ways. The left wrist (bearer of the metalic watch) has more of the smoke note, and the tea. It smells, as others have noted, a bit like a very strong lapsang souchong although there is definitely a hint of leather at the back of the palate. The right wrist is much more a blend of patchouli and leather, with something almost cinnamon-like (but a dark, resiny cinnamon rather than cinnamon candy or cinnamon powder) at the very way back of the base (I'm betting that's how this patchouli is developing on me since I often get thick, spicy resins from patchouli). My overall impression at this stage is that is a very hot scent -- like wearing leather pants in front of a fire hot. Late dry down (1 hour): This has dried down very nicely on me, and although I find it quite pleasant, it doesn't seem like all that unique a blend to me. It strongly reminds me of both Krampus and Spanked, leading me to believe that the combination of patchouli and leather develops in such a specific way on my skin that the other notes along for the ride really don't matter all that much. That's fine with me since I actually really what it does. This is very much a hot and spicy patchouli and leather blend. The overall effect is warm, dry, just a tad powdery, and quite spicy. I picture a lioness sunbathing on a rock heated by the sun.

In the imp: Nature's Gate original herbal condition, the brown one. Seriously. I've been looking for an herbal myrrh scent that mimics that stuff forever, but I never expected this to be the one. Wet on skin: Harrumph. Now it smells like generic deodorant soap. Early dry down (15 minutes): Spicy and complex. More like a classic men's cologne than anything else. I can't pick out individual notes, and I'm not getting any fruity grape at all. It's musky, spicy and bitter. It kind of reminds me of the Halston perfume my mom wore when I was little. Late dry down (1 hour): Sadly, I get zero sweetness from this to tone down the musky ambergris and the lovely Nature's Gate herbal myrrh is also gone. As has happened several time with ambergris in the past, it's all I smell. Verdict: I can't quite say yuck, but it's very not me. My least favorite of the Yules I've tried this year.

In the imp: This is very fruity, and the pomegranate is the dominant note. It's not at all what I was expecting. Wet on skin: This smells very much like Swank upon first application to my skin. The fruit is very dominant. On second and third sniffs I can just abrely begin to smell the tonka as a deep, yet sweet base note. Early dry down (15 minutes): This isn't so much a morpher as it is a scent that blossoms with time. The fruit is mellowing and kind of melting into the base notes of tonka and leather to create a scent that is both very feminine and fruity, yet grounded. It reminds me of Nanny Ashtoreth at this stage, and is quite lovely. Late dry down (1 hour): This has remained quite light and fruity on me. IT is, however, not overly sweet. It's kind a combination of Kosher concord grape wine, pomegranate seeds and just the faintest hint of leather at the base. Verdict: Surprisingly feminine and quite fruity. I expected something darker in tone, but kind of like it. I think I prefer the naughty Nanny for my fruit, wood and leather though.