JLH

I ordered this in my first order of imps because I was interested in trying something with a leather note, and because I am generally a fan of vetiver. The idea of combining those notes with florals and cinnamon intrigued me. When I opened the imp I was actually worried, because "Danger Will Robinson!" That's a lot of vetiver! Once on my skin, the vetiver quickly became less overpowering, but still quite strong. The leather is also present. As it dries, the vetiver is starting to play nice with the other notes, but I'm still only getting the florals and cinnamon closer to my skin. The vetiver and leather give this a somewhat strong throw. As much as I love androgynous and even masculine scents, this is definitely a man's blend. Or should I say, a MAN'S man's blend! Even though it does have florals, this should be worn by a man who likes his scotch neat, who gets his suits custom tailored, who knows how to shoot a gun, win a game of chess, and who speaks five different languages. Basically, James Bond probably smells like this. Swoon!

I ordered an imp of this recently with my very first order. In the vial, the carnation and plum are the strongest, very spicy and juicy. Wet on the skin, however, the plum is less obvious then the warmth of the musk, but the carnation is definitely the star. As it dries, all three ingredients balance out beautifully. This is such a lovely balance between the three simple elements that there's not much else to say. This is one of those perfumes that makes you smell your wrist over and over. It may be my favorite out of the scents I've tried so far, because it is so simple but has so much depth. It's very sophisticated, flirtatious, and unusual. This is going on the bottle list!

Wow. I just received an imp of this in my first order. I think BPAL might turn me into a floral lover. From the imp this is a green floral with an undertone of sweetness (maybe that's the apple blossom?). While wet, the lily of the valley really takes over. I can see why other posters found this blend soapy, because the lily does have that clean smell to it. I personally like some soapy freshness in my scents, so YMMV. I'm not clear on what hibiscus smells like, but I know what it tastes like, and so I'm guessing that the bit of tartness and powdery bitterness on the edges is from the hibiscus as well as the fig. Perhaps that's also the sandalwood? Really, the lily takes the spotlight, and everything else is singing harmonious backup. This does have some throw, but because the notes are clean it's not overwhelming. As it dries the fig and apple blossom are being revealed. This is such a fresh, delicate and clear floral. Elegant, without being cloying. Very classic, without verging on heavy, old-lady-perfume territory. Truly beautiful. This could easily be an every day scent for me.

I ordered an imp of this in my first order, which I received recently. I really wanted to like this scent. In the imp, it is the most luscious, creamy vanilla with the currants in the background. It smells practically edible! Wet, it is very similar. The vanilla is very creamy and sugary; the comparisons to icing and angelfood cake are apt. The currants only appear after about 20-30 minutes of drying. These currant notes are more powdery than juicy, but still smell very foody. Eventually they fade into the background and leave the same sweet vanilla, which hangs on for several hours Unfortunately for me, I found that the very, VERY sweet vanilla cake scent was perhaps too sweet (to the point of being almost nauseating) for my taste. I so wanted to like this one. Perhaps I'll try it again in a while and see if I have better luck.

I ordered an imp of this in my very first order. I will fully admit that while I liked the idea of an unusual blend of fruits and other elements, I ordered it because I thought the name was freaking cool. In the vial, it smells quite green (is that the spikenard? what IS spikenard?) with a background of fruity apple. Interesting. My roommate remarked that this smells like jellybeans (?) but I'm going to chalk that up to his allergies! Wet: Wow, this smells TEMPTING. Very juicy, drippingly ripe fruit! The apple and grape are lush and full. The fruitiness is tempered by the dry cinnamon bark and tart tamarind, as well as some tartness from what I think is a hint of the pomegranate. I don't really get any fig from this, which is a shame, because I love fig, but this is so delicious I don't care. As it dries, it gets a bit less juicy, but remains dominated by the fruit. After an hour or two the fruits have mostly died down, and now it's mostly the cinnamon bark and some gentle almond, with some of the apple still hanging around. This is a lovely and unusual scent. It probably wouldn't be an everyday scent for me, but it is very sensual without being heavy.

Does anyone know of a BPAL oil that is similar to Fendi Theorema EDP? I used to borrow this from my mom, and it has the most wonderful warm, spicy, deliciously-sweet-without-being-too-foody scent. The official notes are: Top- tangerine, orange, eglantine rose Heart- jasmine petals, red pepper, cinnamon, osmanthus Base- cream, sandalwood, musk, amber, ground spice I never got much of the rose, but the sweet citrus fruits, jasmine, and cinnamon were prominent, as well as the base notes. It manages to be close to a vanilla scent without actually having any vanilla in it. I absolutely loved this scent, but sadly it's been discontinued, so I can't just go buy a bottle of it. Does anyone know of anything similar?

I tried this for the first time today, and I was so excited to try the most popular BPAL scent. Unfortunately, I don't think this is for me. First impression, on smelling the bottle: a nice, sweet, somewhat powdery vanilla. Wet, on my skin: whoa, spices! Not so much food-y spices (like cinnamon) but more like a spicy incense blend. Unfortunately, my skin turns the combination of vanilla and incense in this oil into something very much like patchouli or (dare I say?) nag champa. Not one of my favorite scents. After it's dry, the vanilla comes back. On me it's not so much a sugary vanilla as a powdery vanilla, although that might be a hint of the lingering incense scent. My boyfriend said that this smelled like powdered sugar covered doughnuts! In conclusion, while this is an interesting oil, I don't think it's for me. I know that this blend is supposed to change and improve as it ages, so I might order an imp at some point so I can test it a while down the road.

I just tested this at my local Urban Outfitters (if anyone in/near NYC wants a bottle of this, they have plenty at the UO at 72nd & Broadway). In the bottle, I got mostly the sharp, herbal smell of the hemp. There's also quite a bit of patchouli that comes out as well. Not really much vanilla to speak of. When it was wet, the hemp was also very prominent, green, and herbal. On my skin the vanilla also came out, while the patchouli took a back seat. I never thought hemp and vanilla would work well together, but the sharp greeness of the hemp and the soft sweetness of the vanilla provide nice contrast. After a few minutes, the hemp lightened up a bit and the patchouli came back into the picture. As it dries down, I found that the patchouli and vanilla become more prominent as the hemp dissipates. In conclusion, the description of this scent is very accurate. I thought this would smell very "hippy/headshop-y" on, but I think that on me the hemp actually brightens it up and keeps that from being the case. I like it! ETA: I washed this off after a couple of hours, because I was wearing "samples" of three different scents and they were all competing with each other. Or, I thought I had washed it off. The next day, more than 24 hours later, I splashed on a light commercial perfume. When I smelled my wrist, I realized I wasn't smelling that perfume, I was smelling Banshee Beat! Not only does this stuff have major staying power, but it had mellowed out to a lovely warm vanilla. Now I really might have to buy some of this!