Victory

In the bottle, Kitty's a punch of strawberry flavored fruit snacks. I was worried, since that reminded me of Strawberry Moon, which disappeared on my skin literally within minutes of application. But I am very pleased to report that Kitty doesn't disappear! When wet, Kitty really is just the strawberry note, but as she dries, there is some sort of edible note that shows up. It's familiar, but I can't put my finger on it. I'm not sure that it's cake, like other reviewers have said, but I could go with it since I don't know what I DO smell. I just know I want to bite into it! Then the strawberry comes back alongside that edible note, dances away, comes back, dances away. Kitty definitely is a fun, flirty scent, and very pink.

I love honey and honey musk, and liked the rest of the notes well enough, so Ninon was kind of a no-brainer for me. And this is a really nice blend, but it's nothing like what I expected. In the bottle, there was a spicy note, almost like cinnamon, although clearly not. Maybe it was the smoke. There was also a really, really familiar note that I finally recognized- the hay! I absolutely love Hay Moon, so I was really happy to smell the hay note again. On my skin, the hay is predominant with the lavender slowing asserting itself. After the perfume's dried, it's like the hay and the lavender are one note. I smell my wrist once and smell the hay, then again and smell the lavender, then again and smell both. The lavender is a very herbal sort; it makes me think of the lavender in Saint-Germain. Yes, there is a lavender cologne feel. I don't smell any honey musk (very disappointed) or any of the other notes, although the amber may very well be supporting the lavender and hay. I'm very much hoping that as Ninon ages, the other notes show up more. It's good now, but if the honey and the other notes came to the party, it could be great.

Oh wow, yum. Celeste is delicious and totally living up to the hype. When I opened the bottle, I thought, yes, I can see how some people would draw a similarity to Antique Lace. The scent wasn't the same, but had a similar feel. I could almost smell linen in with the vanilla, although it was a cooler vanilla. On the skin, that similarity goes away and Celeste starts reminding me of something else. Boo, maybe? I'm not sure. I don't smell any saffron, and I'm not familiar enough with orris to pick it out, so I can't tell if it's there. This is a really wonderful vanilla, though. Sometimes it's more floral, occasionally almost a vanilla extract, then a sweet, dry vanilla. Celeste doesn't have the thicker, heavier, not quite cloying feel of Love's Philosophy (LP's saffron is also much stronger), and the orchid is much much much more subtle here than in Regan. Celeste is a perfume that is reminiscent of many vanilla perfumes that I own, but definitely deserves its own place in my BPAL box. Very happy with it. Edited to mention that I agree with Excetra- sometimes it does have a boozy feel to it.

Hmm, the opening fanfare of Brusque Violet really is brusque! It's kind of a harsh "step back" sort of slap of I'm not sure what. I don't really wear perfumes with ANY of the listed notes, so I'm not sure what's creating that scent/impression. I do recall from trials of The Raven and Ultraviolet that when the perfume dries down that this IS violet I'm smelling, but the note isn't particularly distinctive on me. It sort of makes me think of some skin musks I've worn rather than a floral. There is a minty impression sometimes, but this is all violet, all the time.

A yellow-bright and smoky brown-black scent, horned, pronged and strange. Yikes! I swiped the imp wand over my wrist a few times and almost immediately recoiled and pulled my shirt back, hoping I hadn't gotten any of Devil's Claw onto the fabric. That's a strong punch of vetiver! Vetiver is probably my most disliked note, because to me it smells like death- like bodies turning green and decomposing, sickly and somehow sweet. To be fair to Devil's Claw, the vetiver here isn't the same. It is absolutely an earthy, somewhat smoky and charred scent, but no death anywhere. It's like how people who seem to like it describe vetiver. Still not my cup of tea, but not something I'm clawing off of my skin. I think there may well be patchouli in here, adding to the earthiness. I think it fits the description well, and while I'm not planning to wear it again, I'm tickled to find a vetiver that isn't a total fail. Edited for the description.

My imp is also labeled "Loralei" and I got mine around the time furiana posted, so the lab must have found a batch of old imps. I agree with previous assessments- this is a light, clean floral. Ylang ylang can go really wrong on me, but it hasn't here. Sandalwood can take over blends, but it doesn't here. It's a good balance. There is absolutely an aquatic sense to the blend, maybe like flowers under the surface of clear water that you dive into to retrieve (and then meet your doom, perhaps). This perfume isn't really my style, but I like it anyways. It would be a good choice for those screaming hot summer days when almost everything seems to heavy.

Ugh, this really, really doesn't do it for me. Lilium Inter Spinas isn't offensive so much as it's insipid, which I guess is its own crime. It's like going to an art museum to see the masters and instead getting stark white walls everywhere. I guess there's a little floral that's really generic- not apple blossom which I've discovered I don't care for, not lily of the valley. There is something that made me thing vanilla for a short while, but not. It's really faint, too. This is just really, really not me.

I don't think this smells like what it's supposed to smell like. It's really sweet, with moments of strong bubble gum. Lotus, maybe? Unfortunately, not a keeper.

Yep, that lemongrass really pops when the oil's wet and in the first drying phases. It's really zingy. After it dies down, the scent dulls somewhat- sometimes I feel like it's the base of another oil. What I mean is, it is similar to other oils without the pop that makes the oils special. But then, as it continues to dry, Namaste reminds me more and more of Khajuraho, which is an oil that I love. I do smell the rose/jasmine, which is pretty, non-amping, and non-headache-inducing. The sandalwood is nice, and the cedarwood doesn't move into a headachey zone. I think I've wound up liking Namaste- not so much as Khajuraho, but as an alternative should Khajuraho never become available again.

This is a rose scent, no doubt, but it's a sweet rose. The sour edge that rose has isn't just covered, it's not there. I'm not sure what note is making it sweet, since none of the ones listed are sweet to my nose, and I had been trying to guess without luck. I don't think it's sugar. Anyway. It's sweet rose with the musk behind it and a really lush floral note. I'd thought gardenia, but I see jasmine listed, so that must be it. I like this. I don't often wear unabashed floral perfumes, but this is a nice one.

When I first got an imp of Saint-Germain maybe five years ago, I remember reading someone's review that it was the scent a refined man would wear, and that impression has stuck with me. It is a very refined, very male scent to me, although not so male that I don't I feel comfortable wearing it. It makes me think of an ex boyfriend of mine, actually. The amber really does gild the lavender here- so often, lavender has a sharp, somewhat medicinal, edged scent to it, but here it doesn't at all. It's not a sweet lavender, it's just lavender without the edge. I keep thinking it is ambergris, not amber, in the blend. I know it's there, but I don't really smell it specifically. The mosses are nice here and the carnation doesn't show up at all. This is definitely a gentleman's cologne, but really I think it is what most men's colognes want to be. I like it.

Wow, on me or at least to my nose, there's no candy here at all. Aunt Caroline's Joy Mojo smells delicious to me and like something I'd like to put in my mouth, in the way that past boyfriends' skin's smelled so good rather than like food itself. In the late dry down there is a real powdery note, but it smells most to me like a relation of O or Khrysee. Maybe some vanilla or honey or amber with a slight touch of orange or orange blossom. Delicious.

For some reason, I think jasmine + honeysuckle = moonflower replica on me, and moonflower amps like crazy on my skin. I put this on without checking the notes and thought, I thought this is a daytime goddess, not an evening one so why is there moonflower in here? It smells just like a single-note moonflower oil. I had this same reaction to Twilight (I even went back and checked the notes and my reaction). Sometimes I can get an impression of the skin musk, but mostly it's moonflower smell-a-like. I like Eos, but since every moonflower scent becomes almost single note, I really don't need another. I wish the other notes came out a little more, since I like the feel of the perfume.

Yep, that's gardenia, but to my pleasure, it's a gardenia that doesn't make me want to scream. There are other indecipherable floral notes underneath the gardenia, but it's a gardenia perfume. As it dries, the woods come out and strike some sort of balance with the gardenia. The result is a dark, woody gardenia perfume that I like more than I ought to, given the gardenia. It's not a love, but I'd recommend this to others who have had troubles with gardenia.

Erato is very definitely floral, with rose being the strongest note. It actually reminds me of another BPAL scent, although I can't remember which, and also of the smell of my BPAL box. There's a lot going on in there, and the notes are somewhat discordant to me. The myrrh and flowers are not playing well together. But I will give the caveat that I don't much care for floral perfumes, so floral lovers might not find this at all jumbled and non-harmonious. I'm glad to have tried it, though.

In the imp, I smelled a distinct bubblegummy/kool aid note, which worried me. Immediately upon application, I smell the musky leather, which was really good. Leather can either be fantastic or abysmal, so I am happy to have found another good leather. Unfortunately, as the oil dries, the musky leather is consumed by the bubblegum/kool aid note (which I think is the wine + dragons blood) and it becomes something I don't have much interest in sniffing. I really wanted to like this since so many people do, and I do really like the leather but the wine and dragon's blood don't work well together on my skin.

I am really happy to get to try this scent out because I did my Masters work on blueberries and I thought about buying it when Crawdad originally came out but I was worried about a number of the notes. So thank you to the forumite who gave me a partial imp! In the imp and immediately upon my skin it is all blueberries. The blueberry note makes me think of the super fake-y blueberry Bonne Bell lip smackers I had years ago more than the candied blueberry note in the Blue Phoenix proto I sniffed way back. But hey- blueberry in BPAL. I'm happy. The blueberry note does quickly fade and the green tea steps up. Perhaps there is suggestion of the currant, but it's really only that. After a bit, there's a note that I don't much care for showing up. It almost makes me think of onion, which I loathe. At first I thought it was maybe the squash blossom, but then I read Michi's review and though oh! Yes, it is the ginger! It is a different ginger than I'm used to. Maybe with the coriander in there, it's throwing me off. After this, I can smell the benzoin/vanilla in the throw but not up against my skin, which still smells of the green tea. The vanilla/benzoin is really, really good. I think this does fit the idea of irrelevant (blueberry), disturbing (ginger) and surreal (the green tea and vanilla/benzoin). I'm delighted the red musk doesn't show up and ruin things for me. Very happy to have smelled this.

I ordered an imp of Skuld because years ago when I managed to work out a visit to East Coast Will Call, I took a sniff of a bottle of Skuld and loved the honey. And people on the forum had talked positively about the honey. And honey is my most beloved note, which I tend to amp. So I was really disappointed when at first I didn't smell any honey at all. It was all ylang ylang, all the time. The musks slowly crept in for some support, but I was still disappointed. And eventually, there was some honey, mostly overshadowed by the ylang ylang, but it was there. And I like that stage. It's a brief stage, but I like it. After about 5 minutes, Skuld's honey goes away again and I'm left with the musks and ylang ylang, but that was a good stage. It's too bad it doesn't last longer.

There are many scents I don't care for, but I don't often get an immediate GET IT OFF OF ME response to an oil. Ouija gives me one, though. There is something horribly medicinal about it that provokes a frantic get off off, get it off, get it off mindset in me. I also smell the root beer-y, minty scents others have mentioned (I don't care for either of those scents either) and behind it, a floral. I think I smell a faint lilac and rose back there when I smash my nose up against my wrist, and it's too bad they aren't the main stars, but it's been 15 minutes and I can't take it anymore. It has got to come off.

There is something really familiar about The Zieba Tree. I can't remember which other BPAL it is reminding me of, which makes me a little crazy. Initially, there's a quick punch of citrus, then the hazy aspects of the perfume set in. There is a hint of aquatic, maybe, and a silvery, solid scent. There are some florals, but they don't set my teeth quite on edge. As the oil continues to dry down, there is a woodiness that appears. I'm not a big fan of this wood note, sadly. With it comes an almost pepperminty, bubblegummy scent. Ugh, the bubblegum is not working for me at all and now that I've smelled it, I can't un-smell it. I liked the first hour's wear, but The Zieba Tree lost me in the dry down.

This is an old imp, so keep that in mind when reading this review. In the imp, I can smell the mint, but it disappears once it's on my skin. I've never come across bourbon as a perfume note, and I don't drink it, so I'm not sure what it smells like to compare it to the scent on my skin, but I think I'm smelling the bourbon and sugar. There is some similarity to Smut in terms of sugar + booze. I do smell a little bit of an alcoholic tang when I put my nose to my wrist. I tend to do well with alcohol notes, and this is no exception. I like Juke Joint. It's maybe a little simple, but I like it.

A perfume sacred to the highest of the angelic hosts: calla lily, wisteria, white sandalwood, Damascus rose and frankincense. Yikes! Floral blends can go two ways to my nose: wow, this is a floral? I love it! or Oh God, get it off of me. Unfortunately, Seraphim falls into the second category. What I mean is, someone else might love it on me- my skin isn't warping it. I just really don't like these types of florals anywhere near me. It makes me think of Hell's Belle not because of the specific florals but just the overwhelming screaming of the flowers on me. I will say that the blend does seem to be a soft, almost pinkish smell to me, and yes, I can see how people would sense light from it. When I smell it, the rose is nice. Just very not for me.

I got a decant of Mole in a swap; I had skipped over it when it first came out because patchouli and sandalwood are both iffy on me. Mole smells to me both like a gentleman's cologne and like a rooty, earthy scent. Like the cologne that a mole would wear! The cologne-aspect reminds me of Saint-Germaine, and I am happiest when it is in balance with the earthiness, which sometimes really overwhelms it. I'd love to smell this on a man because it is a little masculine for me, although I am happy enough wearing it.

The first thing I thought of when I sniffed Swank was that it smelled a little like Lampades- the pomegranate smells an awful lot like the cranberry in Lampades. At first, it's an artificial, potpourri-like scent. The alcohol is backing it up, and I can't decide if I like it or not. It reminds me a little of the sparkly champagne note in Bon Vivant, but at the same time, it certainly isn't making the pomegranate more realistic. As the oil dries, the potpourri vibe fades, but it always seems sort of artificial, like a berry flavored fruit snack. It makes me think of a little girl's perfume until I remember that it's a pomegranate martini. Too bad.

I got an imp of this in a swap years ago and finally got around to giving it a try. When the oil is wet, it makes me think of Tempest/Szepassony/other scents in the clean, sweet water family. As it dries, a eucalyptus scent emerges and then a mint, and it is very much like Snow-Flakes. As the eucalyptus fades, there's a creamy scent that backs up the mint that strengthens the Snow-Flakes resemblance, although in Snow-Flakes, the creaminess is a bigger part of the scent. The creaminess, which is always a rather faint part, dies away and leaves the mintiness.