Gateau

I ordered this in my first imp pack many years ago, back when I really didn't know what I liked, and it didn't work for me, so eventually I tossed it out and forgot about BPAL. Having made my way back, I was curious to try it again. Nope, still not a good one for me. In the imp it's got a dry wine cooler kind of smell, but wet on my skin I get that sweet chemical soapy scent others have mentioned. As it dries, that astringency goes away, but it gets unrelentingly sweet in a fruity, winey way, sort of like leftover sangria the day after. I can pick out the plum, currant, wine, and amaretto notes, so if that's your bag, you will probably like this. It's rich.

This one is a morpher! Starts out in the imp and wet as a blast of honey almond, very much like the other honey almond blends others have mentioned. Eclipse is forefront in my mind, as is Dana O'Shee. The spices come out quickly, especially a dusty saffron, which I happen to like. Then, once fully dry, it suddenly takes a fast fade down to much less scent, and gets sweetly floral before it's completely gone. Not a keeper.

I really like this in the imp and wet, with the rich cocoa softening the sandalwood along with the myrrh. But once dry, the sandalwood amps and sharpens and loses that velvety chocolatey softness and I'm left with perfumey sandalwood, not a favorite.

Purple Spotted Swallowtail on me too, at least in the early phases. I tested Whitechapel last night and got huge long blasts of lime. That is until the white musk did what it does on me and turned the whole thing into powder.

Another here not really getting strawberry from this. I seem to have terrible luck with strawberry notes, they're either too candy-artificial or just not there. But I do get the carbonated fizziness of the champagne notes. It actually smells more like an aquatic ginger ale than champagne to me. It's really quite remarkable how Beth nails that bubbliness.

I didn't even think I liked clove until I got my hands on Mourning Lace. I think it's the vanilla in the blend that smooths it out so nicely.

If you like Jezebel and are looking for something in a similar vein that's a touch darker and less honeyed, this is a good choice. Well blended, and the rose doesn't get too assertive.

The florals in this do tend towards the soapy, but in a natural, rich-smelling way, like peony. The result is something that puts me in mind of expensive hotels and high-end department stores. It's very Plaza Hotel, the Carlyle, and Bendel's to me. This would be a great gateway BPAL for someone who likes fancy perfumes and Chanel No. 19. After it dries I get less soapiness and more tobacco flower. It's a very pretty floral. Will definitely use my decant and may seek a bottle.

This one morphs on me. Wet, it's wafting a candied fruity sweetness that seems to be the white tea. Below that is a sweet rose. Dry, the mossy undertone of the damask rose comes out, and it mingles with that dry spiciness of the carnation. The sweetness and fruitiness is gone, and the mossy, spicy floral combination is what I don't like in florals. If it had stayed the way it smelled to me in the wet phase I would love it.

Musky floral fruit. If that is something that appeals to you, get this, because it's a very well-blended example of that type of scent. Unfortunately for me, it's just too musky and a little cloying.

In the imp I Get the gin and juniper, but wet on skin it's strongly melon with a hint of honey and tobacco. The gin comes back in with a hint of something almost aquatic. I can't really smell the chili but I think I feel it, a warmth (not really a burn). The melon play scout and just leaves a fruitiness behind as the tobacco takes over. Overall it's a masculine sort of sweetness, sort of like those sugared, flavored cigars. A little cheap. Unusual, but not for me.

I get a cross between Cockaigne and Morocco, a warm soft milk and honey scent with carnations. Not making out much rose. It's soft and pretty and young without being sugary. I get a waft of Creamsicle on the dry down from the bergamot. A touch lotiony on me. I like that it's girlish while also complex. Not sure it's really for me but will keep the imp.

My spring scents include Lady in Speckled Pink Kimono, Poisson d'Avril, and Amsterdam. Amsterdam is so incredibly evocative of spring, with the grass, tulips, and water. It's just perfect. I've also busted out Blue Morpho, though it's tropical enough to put me more in mind of summer. I haven't get gotten into anything grapefruity like Croquet or Hungry Ghost Moon, but I can see those coming with the warmer weather.

In the wet and early drydown phases of this I get a sharpish and sort of powdery honey cologne scent, which I'm attributing to the copal and skin musk. After it's good and dry I start getting the smooth lovely sweet and warm vanilla scent people are so wild about. However, having started out this year with Blossoms in Springtime, I think I have a means of getting to that kind of scent more quickly. This one makes me go through a phase I'm not crazy about.

I got strong lilac with a touch of woods. I don't think the woods did anything good for the lilac, because it took on a sort of off note. I didn't get from the tonka and vanilla what I was hoping for, and overall this was a primarily lilac scent with an off note. Frownie.

This is a new bottle of Tattered Lace, and I'm hoping that a few weeks of age (as suggested above) will enhance it because right now I can barely smell anything at all! What I do get is a very light, fresh, slightly citrussy tea. It smells a lot like The Dormouse with a drop of Dorian in it. Eventually it develops in a vanilla direction and I can just sniff out a teeny hint of something a little smokier, but whether that's coconut, incense, moss, or opium I have no idea. I hope it develops a deeper scent because I think I would like it if I could smell it! ETA -- it did indeed develop with age. The coconut bark adds a woody depth, and the frankincense and opium step up. The tea also deepened. It's not not a heavy scent, but it has greater throw, staying power, and depth now.

When this is wet I get a strong plum note. As I don't care for plum, this bums me out, but as soon as it dries I get a really lovely tart fruity perfume, mostly blackcurrant, grapefruit, and passionfruit and a bit of lemon balm, all fruits with complex perfume of their own. I really don't get any of the other notes, but I think they add a little depth. Very nice way to wear fruit, without being too heavy, sweet, cloying, or artificial. It's tropical in overall impression This would be great in the summer. Considering a bottle. It's worth that brief wet phase.

This was all about the hazelnuts and honey on me, with occasional hints of the bright fruits. A warm and welcoming scent, but ere is something about sweet nutty and/or grain scents that are too cloying for me to enjoy (see also Brood XIX). I was afraid of the pine and musk, but never got the slightest hint of pine and the musk/fur behaved. It really does smell like milk and cookies time for bear cubs, it's just not for me.

I got the sharpish note, too. Unfortunately, on my skin, instead of getting the rich, not too sweet vanilla, I got a plasticy perfumey note. Boo.

At first this was strong, sharp patchouli, tar, and rich honey, and it was terrific, strong and dark, but honeyed. Suddenly it faded, so I applied more. From that point on it was all cumin. I smelled like I'd been cooking all day. Also, the place on my wrist where I'd applied it felt itchy and burning, which doesn't even happen to me with cinnamon. Will pass this on.

All I got from this was ozone-aquatic, and a brief touch of mint. Snow notes are just not for me.

Well this is a morpher! It starts out strongly tangerine, with a lot of zest. It's slightly harsh, almost like an orange cleanser. But deeper into it, the spicy, woody sandalwood comes out and blends nicely with that slight tangerine oil bitterness. Then the tuberose joins inm and the three notes together play amazingly well. I never realized before how tangerine, sandalwood, and tuberose have that rich, slightly bitter, slightly musky character in common. I love tuberose, so this may be a keeper and bottle worthy. It's a better tuberose for me than Before the Snowy Window.

Very pretty strawberry scent. I didn't care for the strawberry note in Kitty, which smelled like artificially flavored candy to me. This is more like the fresh strawberry in Lilith's Tea Party, which smells seedy. Here it mixes with the sugar and vanilla, but strawberry dominates. I don't pick up the orange blossom at all, but maybe it's adding sweetness. It's super pretty and my little boy loves it on me, but I don't think it's "me" enough to need more than a decant. might be a nice one for my niece.

I greeted this one with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. Excitement for the apricot (I luuurve the Lab's apricot), the quince, the honey, the tonka, skin musk and the orris. Also because Pussy is one of my favorites, and it shares the orange blossom honey and tonka notes. Trepidation because 95% of jasmines don't work on me, and patchouli can wreck a blend for me. I need not have worried! This is one of those beautiful jasmines that stays sweet and true, never going harsh or pee-like. I will have to keep my eye out for grandiflorum. It melds with the apricot and orange blossom honey to give a fresh, sweet, spring-like scent. I really didn't pick up much of the other notes that would make it a little more complex -- this stayed light and fruity-floral. For that reason, I'm not sure it's a bottle purchase.

This is boozy-incense-leather on me, and though I can pick up the floral and vanilla, they're not sweet and stay subtle. There is a sort of sour note that reminds me a little of old-fashioned library paste. When I first put it on I could barely smell it and had to slather a bit more on. Then once it dried it suddenly ramped up and threw off a lot of incense and sharp leather. I also got a minty note that, with the leather, made me think of Leather Phoenix. I find this masculine, but not to the point where I couldn't wear it. It just doesn't really please my nose, so off it goes.