eatingthesea

wet, this is like a vanilla-ginger tea steeped with blueberries. there is a touch of herbalness that I assume is the coriander? but what really stands out here is the bright bite of red currant, which lingers over the scent from beginning to its dry-out phase. after awhile, it's not too bright and cheery, more laidback and comforting, however i don't get the blueberry dessert comparison that some find. to me, after the scent has been worn for some time, it's just not a foody scent at all! if it MUST be classified, i'd say "fruity-tea" with the lovely addition of a smidgen of red musk, deepening the scent overall. (why aren't more reviewers picking up on the red musk? this is such a gorgeous representation of a red musk scent, right here...it's just right.) and yeah, kinda candy-like. but yes, it's very fun, kinda silly, and a mish-mosh of elements you don't often see together. in that regard, reminds me of the mock turtle's lessons...though they're definitely not two of a kind. there's something almost marshy about crawdad dream that really settles all that sweet stuff, and i believe that's what really draws me to the scent. this one is just so hard to review! hehe. i like it a lot. not a typical type of scent for me, but it's for certain moods or occasions...my next LSD trip? j/k. i'm keeping this one (p.s.-this one is pretty darn light; it's a slatherer.)

CXV (115) this scent is an almost EXACT dupe of a scent released by heaven & earth essentials called "heather and hyacinth." and it just so happens that i ADORE that scent, so getting this bottle is a real treat! and i am quite positive that i am smelling hyacinth in the bottle, not so sure about heather (as i'm still unsure what heather smells like). there may also be lilies and some greenness (as my fair SW proposed, as she was the one who sent me this!). within the BPAL catalogue, it reminds me very much of the gibbous moon; both lovely, dreamy green floral bouquets. i will treasure this one!!!

first off, let me state that i dislike citrus perfumes. REALLY dislike, with much intensity. this may be the first orange-based scent that i actually enjoy. i wasn't terribly impressed with what i got out of the imp when i first received it, but it's been aging for a few months and i just retried it and... at first, this is a very sweet orange scent. i seem to perceive it as the orange's peel, though, as there's just a sliver of bitterness. this combined with the incense smoke gently wafting through makes the opening of xiuhtecuhtli a bit sour. though i'm surprised that i'm even enjoying a citrusy oil, i'm still thankful that the sweet orange peel phase is a short one. and this is where the scent gets interesting. i've always liked the scent of plumeria, though i realize it's notoriously difficult to get a good replication of the flower's scent. and since i never spent much time in hawaii, i don't know what true plumeria smells like. but, what i perceive to be the "real thing" has always been a much-cherished scent. it's just hard for me to wear. i love heady, warm tropical flowers but sometimes they end up smelling poopy on me. not here. i'm charging the copal with keeping the scent together in a really fascinating way. i know nothing about copal, but i'm willing to bet she's the star here. this scent ends up an incredibly gorgeous, smoky/sweet scent that is like the best of beth's incense blends plus a few drops of precious oils, gifts to the gods. it sort of reminds me of the newish CD scent, aeronwen (and now, looking at the notes, i know why: there's that sweet orange!). so, for those of you who love aeronwen and are lamenting her rapidly approaching departure, xiuhtecuhtli is a great alternative...i can't wait to get a bottle of this one. absolutely sparkling underneath the brooding, slightly malevolent smoke. ETA: co-worker verdict: men's cologne. DABNAMNIT. :*(

tamamo-no-mae makes my mouth waaaaater. i was not too terribly tickled by the notes description, and i usually find the oriental-type BPALs too light and likely to fade. but when i sniffed tamamo at will call, i just HAD to have her. i'd classify her as a creamy fruit-tea musk. there is a floral touch, but it's definitely not a "floral" scent to my nose. not too sweet, definitely not cloying, not heady. it has a bit of a "bite" to it, and that must be care of the ginger. i'm fascinated by the inclusion of black locust flower and i will keep my eye out for this note in the future, for i think it really adds a dimension here that has made tamamo-no-mae a classic BPAL...totally unique, evocative, yet a real crowd-pleaser. i will treasure my bottle

I'm pretty sure that translates to - we will keep it just how it is, now fuck off and have a nice day. lol! i like the "please have a great day" part. please...PLEASE...try to have a great day, especially after receiving this shitty response from me! wow. what an unfulfilling job it must be to be a paypal help desk person. constantly moving requests for help "upward" (what exactly does "upward" mean, anyway? to the wizard of oz?) and never getting the satisfaction of resolving - or at least trying to resolve - someone's problem.

my affection for violet scents is growing more and more each day...i used to find it too "matronly" for my tastes before, but i'm appreciating now its depth and richness...it just seems to make any scent more "velvety," if that makes sense. maybe even more dignified! i think my first really appreciative moment of violet was inhaling the LE scent the city in the sea, which is a gorgeous aquatic, light green violet scent. but it is indeed light. possets' silver violets helped me to fall further for the flower...and recently, the GC scent the raven has me craving more. right now, i'm alternating between that and le serpent qui danse for my violet fixes...and i can't wait to try faith (literally can't wait -- it'll be leaving soon)!

I second the London recommendations. I perceive it as a yellow rose scent. Sophisticated, charming, but a little aloof. Has the tea rose element. Pure rose, in my opinion.

i don't know why, but this paypal reduced-notes-section issue is really annoying to me -- and i haven't even experienced it yet! i would think that this will create a huge problem for many customer/e-tailer purchases...obviously not just BPAL-related. hopefully, if paypal continues to be dense about the very obvious problem, enough e-tailers will complain about the service that paypal will have an incentive to expand the section at LEAST a couple hundred more characters, geez!!

i don't normally care for orange in my scents at all, but i heart blood orange itself, so i had to give this a shot, considering it has ambergris and lilac, two faves, and i have no problemo with the remaining notes. sniffing the bottle was a bit of a scary experience, as i was immediately reminded of that industrial-strength orange-scented hand cleanser goop for tough-to-clean dirt! not exactly something i want to smell like. but, i do catch a whiff of my beloved ambergris in the background, so i ventured on. luckily, the orange calms a LOT, and maltese cross becomes mainly a lilac scent grounded by the frankincense and agarwood. it does have the orange tinge to it still, but it's more like a blossomy tinge, not the juice or rind or pulp tinges of citrus! it is indeed a very "rounded" scent, very complete-feeling. not spicy in the least, just a very unusual, pretty, quite deep very-light-citrus floral. i think the amber helps to balance it out and, in fact, i'm not sure i'd like it as much if it didn't have amber. it gives the scent a sparkling layer that it would otherwise lack, making it multidimensional. the one unfortunate gripe is that it's not long-lasting on my skin, which i actually found very surprising; i expected just the opposite. that's fine; just means my bottle will run out that much faster due to constant re-apps! other that that part, me likey, and the label rocks! one of my favorites of bottle art

in scanning the reviews, i have to say that forspecial plate's assessment of the illustrated woman as "rugged beauty" is pretty accurate. to me, this is what the gorgeous, mysterious and haughty woman who rides into a dusty town on a horse, naked, in the wild west days, smells like! when i first smelled/tried the woman, i felt the pine was too aggressive, but i must say -- i feel sorry for those who have the overwhelming pine scent throughout. for me, this scent is worth the pine assault just for its evolution ...unfortunately, the tobacco does dissipate after some time, so that i can't describe the scent as a vanilla-frosted pine tree that is smoldering (one of my first impressions!). after awhile, it is simply a musky, piny vanilla. not too much smokiness. it is definitely unlike anything i've smelled before, incredibly unique, but the only thing that gives me pause is 1) its lightness, and 2) its appropriateness/style. i don't know how "me" it is. i think i'd love smelling this on someone else; maybe i just don't have big enough balls to wear it, lol. i'm going to have to come back to this review at some point, because i just can't pin down exactly how i feel about this complex little lady.

i really adore violet scents so i was glad to be frimped nocturne. it is so obviously violet, lightly kissed with lilac, but i noticed after some time that it is a bit loud for a violet scent, so i had to consult the description. yeah, thar be thee culprit: tuberose! oh, how i dislike tuberose. i was formally introduced to BPAL's version of tuberose with the scent delight, and i vowed to never encounter it again, for it induces a very distinct trail of B.O. on my skin. so yeah, unfortunately, somewhere in the background, there is the hint of sourness that reminds me too much of icky sweaty dirty stinky skin. too bad, because the marriage of lilac and violet is a good one, and i'd really love to see how these two would sidle up to each other. tuberose just had to butt in to create a "bizarre love triangle." i might be able to get away with sniffing the imp now and again, for the bitch seems to be quieter when not near my skin...

this scent was a bit off-putting at first. i am not sure what it was that made me recoil a little...but obviously it was not strong enough to keep me from applying it; and i'm glad i did. i'm not too familiar with the notes in ashlultum...i.e., i have no clue what hyssop is supposed to smell like, and i'm still unsure exactly what tonka is but this scent has got me interested. i get a smidgen of the lilac but mostly, i think the coconut combined with the musk note creates that sunblock lotion likeness that i eventually get. but, blessed be, this is not offending! and i haven't tried to suntan for over 12 years! amazing! ashlultum is not a scent typical of what i'd wear and, like i said, something about it makes me nervous about applying it, but i mysteriously keep reaching for it a little more often than my other grindhouse ladies decants. i note that some other reviewers have the same ambiguous but, ultimately, pleased sentiment as i do with regard to ashlultum. i suppose it is classified as an "unusual" scent. may have to get a bottle just because of this.

i concur with tartchef ... a newer scent that i love which i'd classify as a sweet floral is marcilla of the carnaval. sugary, honey-slathered, musky lilacs and lilies with just a hint of tea. mmm.

i must admit...at first, i did find hay moon a little bug spray-esque, a little poisonous-smelling. then i start to get some lemony whiffs! but it's not a frightening lemon, the oogy-boogy type that shatters BPAL oils for me, it's a gentle, twilit lemon that reminds me of this lemon and graham cracker ("lemon fluff") dessert my mom used to make. but after it's stuck around for a bit of time, it really does turn into this dry-ish, sweet coyote-like scent, but with more of that glorious hay i was salivating over in the description. it doesn't have much throw but i'm not all too concerned about that, since i'm not too sure i'll be wearing this as a "perfume scent," but more as an "experience scent." just for certain moods. maybe i'll change my mind once it ages a bit -- because i do feel that with that amber and cardamom, it is a good candidate for a nice evolution into something very special -- but for now, i can't see myself wearing it daily. and, for me, i'm not certain it's a "snuggle scent," either. it has potential as a pick-me-up. i'm definitely looking forward to days when i'll need one very pretty and almost nostalgic in its calling to mind nature and purity...though, of course, that purity is begging to be a bit naughty. honey and amber will bring that out!

i didn't expect to like this scent too much (do NOT care for bergamot), but as of this moment, marcilla is my fave grindhouse lady! just sniffing it from its bottle feels so indulgent...a rich, sweet (very sweet) floral scent wafts up, and the scent image that comes to mind is bees buzzing around a great bundle of sweet-smelling flowers, the sun shining down on them. i also tend to really pick up on the color blue with marcilla...likely because of the "blue lilac" suggestion...but it really does have a bluish feel to me...yummy honey-slathered blue flowers. yummm. after awhile, i start to get the feel of that green tea note, but it takes awhile. but i don't mind. the initial stage is gorgeous and droolworthy enough for me to crave multiple bottles to hoard. excellent lady

this is gorgeous i set myself up for not liking it because of all that woodsy stuff, and i still do not know how tobacco fares on my skin in general. at first, this scent is a bit too cologney and masculine for my tastes but after some time, it is all smoky, deep vanilla. sometimes i get little wafts of what i perceive to be a moss note but alas, that one is not listed. and if it were in it, the love would be just as, if not more, forevermore. anyway, this is a perfect comfort scent, something i'd classify as being in the same family as hellfire. lots of yummy smokiness. good for smothering the manchild with, too. there is no sharp cologne note here after it's been sitting. worth the wait. there should be more scents like this one.

at first blush, there is definitely a medicinal quality to the mme. that is really quite confusing and off-putting. in fact, before discovering other reviewers have systematically found the scent medicinal initially, i began to suspect i got part of some weird "wrong" batch of the stuff and was really dismayed! i mean, after applying, i'd take a few deep huffs, which left my nostrils tingling, much like they do after inhaling eucalyptus fumes or somesuch. whoa. i'm not too familiar with red musk -- is this typical of it? i do not know. but what i DO know about this scent is that the medicinal introduction completely sloughs off after some time and morphs into this wonderful, deep, deep-red, juicy yet creamy scent that is quite gorgeous and, i must say, yummy. i am not terribly big on fruity scents, but this one works for me since it has the wondrous vanilla bean thrown in. it is a lingerer too...after putting this one on, i have to expect to be wearing it the day through. while i do like patchouli, i don't love it, so i'm glad it doesn't park its heavy butt all over the other notes. this scent is a really good example of a BPAL oil where all the notes do their own thing, contributing to the graceful dance that is mme. moriarty, in equal measure...a work of art. i understand the widespread joy this scent brings.

this is my first 13 blend. i'm not a foody person in the least, and thus far, the only instance i can think of where i like chocolate in my perfume is intrigue - but that's cocoa. and that one is a very woody cocoa, so there is no hint of foodiness. i thought i'd give this blend a whirl because of the frankincense and sandalwood goodness. i'm glad i did. it really does smell divine in the bottle, but i know it's not something i want to smell like -- it's something i'd want to EAT. thank the good perfume lord, though, that once applied - and dried - this is a very herbal, dry cocoa scent. i get nothing whatsoever resembling apple or apple blossom. which is good. i was a bit sad about missing out on the honeysuckle, but since i'm getting big huffin' whiffs of other favorite notes (including the beloved frankincense) i'm pretty pleased. a resiny cocoa...i do believe this is a very unique BPAL scent. i agree with the others, most appropriate for autumn. can't wait to wear it frequently then. glad i jumped for a bottle.

this one just clings to my skin, and i don't mind that all so much! i must say first of all that the art rendering of aeronwen is perfecto. it is indeed a dark, swirling scent...and a bit serious. nothing playful here at all. it's hard to pinpoint the notes individually. there is a deep heartbeat of sweetness to this scent if you focus on it...must be the sweet orange. i wouldn't call the scent "musky" at all though i think the black musk sort of "traces" aeronwen. i mostly carry the dark myrrh, a slice of amber, and a nice helping of very ripe fig (not green at all). overall, a very poignant scent that is much different from the decanted imp (where i found it too bitter) to the skin (where it sweetens up...but only a tad, which is perfect for me). but like i said - serious. and yes, mysterious, a tad regal maybe. i will have to do some reflecting to determine when and where this scent is appropriate. but i do appreciate its sophistication and artistry. tbc...

this is a beautiful scent! it blossoms wonderfully on my skin, remaining bright and red (as others have said). i can smell all three things...the acai, the poppies, the honey. i'd say the honey is pretty prominent, along with the greenish floral tint to it, making for a gorgeous summertime scent. it has pretty good staying power, too. lovely.

the ginger in this went sorta lemony...i didn't get a cream/milk note at all...but what really baffled me about this scent was its extraordinarily short life term. after, i kid you not, 5 minutes...nothing remains. NOTHING. i was worried it may be the ginger or something, because i'm pretty sure i love gingery scents and that they work on me, but now i'm seeing many reviews here that also point to the disappearing act sudha segara pulls. so i don't feel alone. it's just one of those scents *shrugs*

why, why, oh why?! i wanted to love this blend soooo badly. at first, it's a lovely marriage of piercing red rose and deep, smooth leather...yum. then, it gradually goes topsy-turvy in favor of the leather, and it downgrades into leather-scented air freshener...those little cardboard trees scented like leather or "new car." dab namit! but i'm stubborn enough to try pairing this one with rose red to see if the heroic rose in that one can contend with the essentially single-note leather in this one. i just hope that if it works, the leather will be a little more, uh...high grade than what i'm sniffin' now. here's to high hopes!

this is a very unique - i'd say a little odd, too - scent that i at first shunned because it was just "not me." any scent that sounds like pure incense is just not interesting enough for me to give the time of day. i couldn't understand why i'd noticed here and there forumites praising its goodness, as it just seemed kinda bleh to me. but i tried it again yesterday and i have to say i'm rather impressed. it is sinister but it is certainly not straight incense. at first, it almost has a cherry-almond quality that is -- though i'm not a big fan of the scent combo -- pleasant. given some time to dry, it becomes a kind of baked almond incense scent. like i said, very unique. in a way, it reminds me of hymn to proserpine. like a darkened version of sweetness they have in common. i dunno...i'm gonna wear this a few more times to figure out whether it's bottle-worthy for moi. i can def see how it's a love item for certain folks but i can't yet determine if it's eatingthesea grade ETA: boyfriend verdict: PLAY-DOH. granted, he likes the scent of play-doh, but...children's molding clay, nonetheless. not what i aspire to smell like. such a shame, as i adore its initial stages. i'll keep trying this at varying times of the month, as i'm trying to convince myself it's a chemistry fluke!

Bold, bright mandarin paired with the sweet, sensual earthiness of fig. i don't usually do fruity scents...especially citrus. but this one. whoo-wee. bold and bright, indeed. i can't see how anyone's mood wouldn't be lifted just by putting on a dab of carnal. i get the sweet tarts drydown that others have mentioned, too. and what could possibly be bad about that. unfortunately, i don't get much of the fig, it's a bit overpowered by the mandarin, but i like it nonetheless. i'm still wavering about getting a bottle but if i do end up doing so, it'll probably be a mood scent...for cloudy, unhappy days. highly recommended in this regard. (but i would say, if you're seeking out a good fig scent, carnal is not the way to go.)

i already knew i liked danube, but now i think i love it. last night i tested about 13 different imps and this morning, danube was the only one still going strong -- and i mean strong. it reminds me a lot of my beloved y'ha-nthlei in its aquatic-ness but whereas the latter is more like a non-floral, creamy, deep green aquatic, danube is a floral, very deep blue and clear aquatic. i get the freesia note someone else here mentioned, but not the also-mentioned tulip. i really have no clue what rhododendron and bellflower smell like but if this is what they are like, i must have more of 'em. it is a very cool scent as well, and therefore refreshing. it's slather-worthy for the sweltering hot weather i expect will hang over LA this summer. for me, this scent is definitely bottle-worthy. can't wait to make it be friends with fellow fave aquatic bottles, y'ha and thalassa