Voleuse

Oh, WOW. This is rich and sweet and cakey and warm. It's not super-creamy, but usually cream ends up plastic on me, so that's good. The Snake Oil lends a nice spiciness to the blend, but I can't really separate anything else out. I really like this, though--I'll definitely have to hunt a bottle down now.

Oh, weird! This is totally the banana note from Manila + Graveyard Dirt! On first application, the banana is clear and punchy sweet, but in a minute this becomes sweetness and dirt, dirt, dirt. In the end, it's a nice waft of sweetened earth. I love how evocative this is.

This is so very, very, very green grass, barreling out of my wee vial to tell me it isn't quite winter yet. I don't get leaves very much at all--there's a hint dryness, of sweet warmth, but the grass is rather overpowering.

Huh. On first sniff, this actually strikes me as boozy cake. Really boozy cake, dripping in fruity syrup. As it dries down, the cream puffiness of it starts to come through, light pastry oozing with cool, luscious cream. I'm getting honey rather than caramel, but then again, almond tends to turn things wonky on me. Over time, the almond takes over, so I get a sort of caramelized almond scent, crumbling to lumpy bits of burnt sugar.

Berries and flowers, but to my nose, in a strongly generic sort of way. Coldly bright, I think. Over time, the florals get more complicated--the poppiness of it gets clearer as it dries, and lush greenery lies underneath. I actually lose the berries completely, though I think the honey keeps it sweet instead of totally green. This ends up being...a heap of freshly sheared poppies, still damp with dew. It's not unpleasant at all, but it's definitely quite different from "floral perfume," as we might conceive it. Herbal flowers, maybe, but not.

Sweet and bready, and though I can't pin down the kind of sweet this is, it's intense. Honey and peanuts, except not, and a hint of oranges. This is really interesting! I don't get incense, but there is the tiniest breath of smoke behind this. Over time, I get the effect of incense more--a kind of resiny, smoky halo--that surrounds the orangey cake of the blend. I don't get beer at all, which is surprising. Nicely surprising, I suspect.

Huh. In an odd turn of events, this one smells like my dad. It's the musk and the lemonish verbena, I suspect--he's one for light cologne, and this is his kind of scent. (Alas, he is a bit clumsy, so he wouldn't take to BPAL's tiny bottles.) ANYWAY. As I can't disassociate the smell from my dad now, this isn't a scent for me. But! As it dries, the lemonish scent disappears, and this becomes more like a musk-and-metal scent, not heavy, but definitely metallic. I can catch the tiniest hint of carnation and powder, but otherwise, the florals don't appear for me at all.

Mmmmm, fruit. Well, fruit and pastry. To my untrained-berry-sniffing nose, this is kind of like a piping-hot berry pie. It's super-sweet, almost like fruit syrup, but a floury note keeps it from being overwhelming. Over time, the flour does start to smell more like scones, but the berries also get more syrupy. It's more easily discerned as blackberry syrup, but it gets a little too sweet for me.

Cool, sweet, and snowy. This is very much like Snow Bunny to my nose, but more flowery. Over time, the snowy parts soften into a cool/aquatic honeydew-like background for the flowers. It's sweet and semi-light (to my nose, it has a good deal of throw, but it's a light scent overall), and feminine, but not overly so. Not a lot of staying power--it's quite evident for about an hour on me, then fades to faint hints for a few more hours. I can see where some people might think laundry sheets--the aquatic aspect could well turn ozone on some--but the scent is complex enough on me that I don't find this very laundry-like. When I run out of Snow Bunny, this is what I'll be getting. (Cloister Graveyard in the Snow is similar, but I find this sweeter, and thus preferable.)

Any suggestions for a BPAL scent to wear with Sol Bacio?

Silver Violets Whipped + Violet Ray = I don't know what I'll do when run out of Whipped--maybe experiment with adding scent to Ennui Whipped.

Jai Mahal + Shub-Niggurath was amazing for me. Right now, I'm also pairing Girls Love Vanilla (the Possets Whipped) with Athens, and Smashing with Pumpkin #3. I think I'm going to try pairing Black Out with either Tell-Tale Heart or Tezcatlipoca, but I have no idea what to do with Exacerbate or Raspberry Swirl.

I'm looking at the up-and-coming scents in Whipped now. What do you think would be a good match for Paradise Misplaced (sweetly creamed coconut with touches of mango offset by crisp green tea)? Or Raspberry Swirl (Sweet red raspberry creamed with soft vanilla)? I'm thinking Hope to go with Miss Edith, and Faith to go with Silver Violets. Of course.

Scintillating and Green Tree Viper Gloop and Boomslang Proserpina and Hope Smashing and Pumpkin #3 I'm trying to figure out what I'll be able to pair with Jai Mahal. Hmmmmm.

This is a punch of peach on first application, strong and sweet and fresh. It's a very green scent as well--the leaf aspect is definitely there. This is a lush orchard scent to my nose. As it dries, the sandalwood and the other florals start to peek through the peach. They ground the scent, broadening it into an entire garden, rather than just peach trees. It's darker with these notes, though, shadowed and a little solemn. In the end, I get a more subtle blend of peach and wood and dirt. It's warm but dark, and only a little sweet.

Oh, yum! This is definitely a foody scent. The caramel note is reminiscent of Red Lantern, just as I'd hoped! The blend isn't as heavy as Red Lantern, however, and as it dries, the differences become more obvious. After a few minutes, this actually reminds me of cake--closer to Eat Me than Red Lantern. The caramel gives way to the vanilla completely, so I end up with something like vanilla cake. Oddly, I don't smell any of the other notes at all, which is weird--my chemistry tends to amp both sandalwood and patchouli, but I get neither of those notes. If I concentrate, I can catch florals, faint in the background, but that's about it. In the end, this is a light and sweet blend, and definitely one I'd recommend to foodies.

Rose, sweet and light. Very gentle. I don't smell ylang-ylang at all, but it could be supporting the sweetness of the rose. This is lovely, though less vivid than I usually like my roses. It definitely matches the tone of the poem.

This is all white florals on first sniff, though it quickly sorts into rose and gardenia. It's very clean, very sweet. There's a bit of potpourri to the tone--as if the petals are turning brittle as I watch. For the most part, however, this is bright and rich. It's a pretty floral scent on me.

Sandalwood, definitely, but overlaid with pale flowers. This is nowhere as dry as sandalwood usually is on me. It actually strikes me as a green scent, like the wood is slowly being engulfed by the garden. It is very solemn, however--I don't have any problem picturing this scent in a quiet cemetery. The older kind, with family plots and pretty weeds entwining the tombstones.

This is a very quiet, very pale bouquet of floral notes. The white rose is the strongest note, I think, though the others aren't far behind. This blend could very easily turn to floral soap, but it's a nice, faded rose on me. Fresh and solemn.

Ack! The opium is strong in this, bitter and smoky. I was hoping the narcissus would temper the opium, but instead the myrrh intensifies the smoke. This is definitely a gloomy scent, but grittier than I expected. It makes my eyes water.

This is a quiet, subtle blend. It's green, a little herbal, but a little musty. Like a bouquet of grasses and wildflowers that's been lying undisturbed for a week. I do smell floral notes, to an extent, but they're faded. Pale and small. This is a pretty scent, but solemn. Almost sepia-tinted, to my nose.

Masculine, incense and evergreen. Heavy. After a moment, it lightens, sharpens, but doesn't lose the initial notes. This is dark, a solemn forest scent. The musk is subtle, and the overall blend earthen. Meditative.

This strikes me as really, really pretty on first sniff. It's a sweet floral, all violet and mimosa on me, and very clean. There's a hint of jasmine in the background, and over time it gets stronger, but not very. This is a lovely scent, especially if you like violet (and don't mind and/or amp jasmine).

On first application, this is cream and patchouli, with a bit of pine sneaking in. Interesting. After a minute, it smoothes out to something that reminds me of cocoa butter, but there's smoke here as well. It's barely sweet, and elusive. Earthy by implication. Intriguing. I don't know what to make of it.