hypatia

Elder wood, leather, blonde tobacco, and cognac. In bottle and just applied: Leather and a whisper of tobacco. This smells like the exact same leather note as in Dee, the one my nose perceives as "cool and sweet," almost like night air, rather than the straight-up leather-goods-shop leather of de Sade. Or maybe that's the tobacco and/or cognac making itself known. After a few minutes: The wood note comes out, and it's gorgeous: just a solid warm streak of exotic woodsiness. I don't think I've ever tried a BPAL with elder wood in it before; it's rather like sandalwood, to my nose. A while later: The wood settles into the background and the tobacco and cognac come out to play. When the tobacco first pops out, it triggers a scent-memory of a tobacconist's shop I used to go to -- a lovely little place that sold fountain pen ink and fancy soaps and hairbrushes along with smoking accoutrements, and always smelled deliciously of pipe tobacco. The cognac is there in the background as a counterpoint to the tobacco, but (fortunately for me, because I really don't like boozy scents) it never smells like alcohol. Just warm and a little sweet. Enkhespalos reminds me a little bit of Hellfire, which has a similar tobacco-and-booze-and-leather quality, but it's less sweet, and I think I like it even more for that reason. It's kind of butch in a very gentlemanly, old-world kind of way (which is pretty much exactly the kind of scent that I like best). It would be perfect to wear with a three-piece suit with a pocket watch -- or even just a nice tailored vest and a pair of polished oxfords. Verdict: Sexay! This one doesn't last as long as some (it's mostly gone by the end of the work day if I apply it first thing in the morning), but it's lovely in all of its stages. I can already tell it's going to be in the regular all-year-round rotation. [Edited to add top-of-page description.]

In the bottle and just applied, Nonae Caprotina is almost all fig, to my nose. A warm, sweet fig that smells specifically like dried figs and made me think "Fig Newtons!" on my first sniff. After a few seconds I can detect the milk note, which mostly reminds me of other BPAL milk blends I've tried. It's maybe a bit saltier and more concentratedly milky, but not excessively so (I was expecting something more pungently goaty, but it's just as well that it isn't). The drydown is soft, lightly sweet milk, rather like the drydown of White Rabbit only without the tea and honey, and with a bit of resin hanging out in the background. It doesn't have tons of throw, but it does last for a good long while. I really like this one. Milky scents seem to work well on me, and this is no exception. It's now a regular part of my fall/winter scent rotation.

The very first scent I ever wore on a daily basis (when I was 19 or 20) was Crabtree & Evelyn's lavender water, a nice light single-note lavender. It was very pleasant and herbal and comforting. Pontia reminds me of that, in a good way, but it's deeper and more sophisticated and closer to a true lavender. The bergamot note is there throughout, but in the background -- like standing in a field of lavender while someone brews some Earl Grey tea a little way away. There's nothing harsh or medicinal about Pontia on me, which is good, because sometimes lavender goes sweaty-smelling on me. Not this one, though. I'm so glad I ordered a bottle. The only drawback is that it fades quickly. My skin eats most of it, and the drydown is pretty faint. This could practically be an all-purpose scent: on the skin, in the bathtub, in an oil-warmer to scent a room, in linen water, etc. etc. etc. But mostly I'm going to be wearing it on me, because it's so lovely.

This is a wonderful scent if you like the moss/sandalwood/patchouli combination. Since those are some of my favorite notes, I ordered a bottle and wasn't disappointed at all. Mole is less complex than some of the scents in the woodsy/patchouli category (it doesn't morph as much as, say, my beloved Luperci), but it's got a wonderful mellowness to it. On me it's earthy without smelling like dirt -- I can barely tell that the patchouli is there. Weirdly enough, when I try to think of ways to describe it, I keep thinking in terms of texture: smooth, warm, sanded sandalwood, with a layer of something slightly fuzzy and rough over it. I'm not quite sure why it conjures up so many tactile images, but it's entirely appropriate for the Mole and his underground house, and I'm very glad I got a bottle!

Straight from the imp, this is 100% RUGGED MANLY MAN, a big, tough guy clad in leather. Brom Bones smells like it could easily take down De Sade in a fistfight. It's quite possibly the single butchest BPAL I've ever sniffed -- so much so that I wasn't sure I could pull it off; I thought it would smell completely incongruous on me, and that the throw would be overwhelming. But I was wrong! As soon as it's on, the musk starts coming out and warming it up. It's as if Brom Bones walks inside, hangs his leather jacket on the back of a chair (he never puts it all the way away; it's still there at the end, just adding some depth and complexity and a nice impression of fine leather goods), puts his feet up, and gets mellow and conversational. I can't really tell the difference between the Lab's various musks, but a lot of them develop this warm, almost sweet, almost cocoa-butter undertone on me, and this one is no exception. And it wears surprisingly close to the skin. Verdict: The big bruiser guy is a gentleman after all. I'm quite tickled that I can actually pull this one off!

In the bottle: honey, slight fruit overtones, and florals. Just on: All the lavender appears with a WHOOSH! And then vanishes in a few minutes, leaving that "baby aspirin" note someone else noticed. Drydown: Milk and honey with a bit of fruity-floral mixed in, but mostly milk and honey. Very comforting. I don't usually wear BPAL to bed, but this would be a nice scent to wear if I did. Maybe I'll experiment with making some linen spray.

Oh Ichabod, you're rather odd. But peculiarly charming all the same. I love White Rabbit, so any scent with similar tea/pepper/honey/cream basenotes is one that I have to try. The first time I tried Ichabod, I went a little overboard, and the cream note was kind of overwhelming: heavy and more dairy-ish than I like on my skin. But today I dabbed it on more sparingly, and the results were very nice. I was a little worried that the muguet would be too floral, but it's very pleasant and well-behaved. There's not a whole lot of beeswax (a pity, because I lurrrrrve beeswax), but it's very faintly there in the background, and the main notes are the tea and the cream with whiffs of muguet. I'm not sure where the wool is, but I do smell something a little dusty if I concentrate. The general effect is very much like White Rabbit, except this is a cool scent where White Rabbit is a warm one. Instead of smelling like a piping hot, slightly spicy cup of tea, Ichabod is more like a cup of tea that's cooled off a bit while the distracted tea-drinker pauses to read a (slightly dusty) book and occasionally rearrange the lilies of the valley in his buttonhole. There's a similar domestic quality to both of them. It's a strange combination when you think of it, but it works, I don't know how. I think I'll be alternating Ichabod and White Rabbit on days when I want something comforting and homey.

I had to try this one because I'm fascinated by the Antikythera Mechanism. And most of the notes (wood, tobacco, vanilla) are the kind that usually smell good on me. And for the first few minutes, they do: it's heady and warm and sweet but not excessively so. The tobacco reminds me of Hellfire or Carceri d'Invenzione. But then the vanilla takes over and stays front and center for most of the drydown, with whiffs of teak peeking out. I'm not sure why, but the notes don't seem to meld on me; it's like they're out of phase with each other, each doing its own thing, vanilla drowning the others out. It must be my chemistry, because it sounds like the notes are more harmonious on a lot of other people. In the end, though, Antikythera Mechanism is almost my ideal warm/woodsy scent, but, alas, not quite. I think it would smell really good on someone else, though.

I've finally found a vetiver blend that really works on me! Hurrah! I like vetiver, but it sometimes goes too strongly earthy and scorched-smelling on me. I thought Love's Torments might work out, though, and I was right -- the sandalwood makes the vetiver more wood-like than earthy, and the neroli makes it lighter, greener, and airier. Instead of overwhelming earth, it's like cool breezes blowing through a forest, with the ground a little damp. It makes me think of evening, for some reason. Love's Torments doesn't morph very much; it's pretty much constant green-wood-earthiness all the way along. Very nice. I might put this one in the wear-to-work rotation.

For some reason, this reminds me of Wilde (though it's been a good long while since I tried Wilde, so my memory of it may be a bit off). It's got that same cologne-y and yet herbal and earthy quality about it. It's quite green on me at first, then a sharp clean almost aquatic note comes to the fore. The tobacco flower, or possibly the musk, warm it up a bit. On me, the metallic notes are just barely, barely there, if I stick my nose right up against my wrist and concentrate. Nice, though not my favorite of the Steamworks so far. Also, I dabbed this one on 11 hours ago, and it's still going! It's definitely an all-day kind of scent.

Burnished gold and oiled bronze notes with Abramelin incense and sage. Just on, this is all incense and sweetness. It's fairly strong, a bit cologne-y, and not really to my taste -- I like my incense a bit more restrained. But after about half an hour, the sweetness dies down, and the warm metallic notes come out and blend with the incense. Now it's morphing back and forth between metal and incense, and it's gotten softer and lighter. Verdict: I like! Not enough for a full bottle, but definitely enough to keep the imp on hand for when I want a "thinky" kind of scent. [edited to add description]

I like green, but I don't seem to get any from Leanan Sidhe. It all seems to turn to sweet florals, citrus, and baby powder on me. Not bad, but not what I was expecting -- no mists or nighttime dew anywhere. Ah well -- there are green BPALs that work out much better on me, so I'm not too crushed that my body chemistry has apparently nixed this one!

So. Lovely. The Passionate Shepherd is mostly green on me, which is exactly what I was hoping for: a warm grassy clover-y green. It goes through a very short almost-bitter stage (maybe the ivy, but I don't know) as it starts to dry down, and the flowers peek out a little at the beginning, but once it's dry it lightens up and turns into this beautiful "fresh growing plants" scent, with just a hint of floral sweetness underneath. The comparison with Selkie is dead on, only this one isn't as aquatic as Selkie. It fits the poem it's named for beautifully: it's an idealized version of the countryside, without any bad weather or dirt. It's my new "spring is here! Yay spring!" scent. It makes a nice, somewhat floral room scent, and I suspect it would be both relaxing and energizing mixed into a bath. And it's subtle and pleasant enough for me to wear to work, which is an added plus. I'm so glad I ordered a whole bottle of this!

How...odd. When I tried this one on, the first note I got was lemon. Strong, sourish lemon. And there's no citrus anywhere in it. I don't usually get weird body chemistry effects, but Sophia may be one of the exceptions. The drydown is lemonade with something that reminds me of those Valentine's candy hearts with the messages on them. Maybe it's the star anise saying "candy" to my nose; I don't know. But this is possibly the strangest reaction I've ever had to a BPAL scent.

How is it I never got around to reviewing Fenris? I do love this one. It's all lovely sandalwood and red musk on me, warm and woodsy and slightly sweet. But never aggressively sweet (which sometimes happens with red musk blends when I wear them). It's in the same family with several other favorites, including Carceri d'Invenzione and Anne Bonny. I nearly always love the wolfy scents, and this one is no exception.

In the bottle: Wet slushy snow, like The Darkling Thrush only without the violets. Just on: Mint and evergreen, with mint predominating. Wow, this smells like cold. You know how the inside of your mouth feels when you breathe in the air on a cold day? That's what this is like. I think the menthol in the mint must be behind that effect, but still, it's neat. After a few minutes it seems to warm up, almost literally. The chilly icy top notes wear off and the sweeter warmer note (sort of floral, sort of fruity; reminds me of something, but I don't know what) comes through. But it still stays minty and piney enough to say "Evergreen forest!" I tried this as a room scent and got almost exactly the same set of notes, so I think this must be one of the ones that don't react much with my chemistry. Plus it made my living room smell indefinably cool and fresh. Maybe I'll repeat the experiment this summer.

In the imp: Almost aquatic, like water with plants in it. I get the "compost" effect too. Not very appealing. Just on: Violets. No, vetiver -- strong dark smoky-smelling vetiver. No, violets again. No, wait...vetiver! It's like a violet/vetiver cage match on my arm! And it goes on like that for quite a while. I think I read somewhere that the scent of violets does something odd to your scent receptors so you can only perceive it intermittently; maybe that's why the two notes in Saturnalia seem to keep alternating. Drydown: Violets win the cage match, but the vetiver is still making itself felt as a kind of dark shadow behind them. Verdict: This is a bit odd for my taste. I'm still looking for a vetiver that really works on me; so far only Countenance Forboding Evil has come close.

Just on: Hello musk! And there's the bergamot around the edges. Later: A nice balance of musk, wood, and orange-ness. Reminds me somewhat of Dracul, only without Dracul's cold pine forest top notes. After a few hours: Mellow bergamot-and-neroli duet with enough musk in the background to make it kind of creamy. I like it, but I'm not getting the potent incense notes other people seem to get, which is kind of a pity.

I get the exact same effect from Bess: just grapes, no alcohol. Though, weirdly, I don't get "grape" from High John the Conqueror.

I don't get "green" from this at all. I can smell a little bit of oakmoss if I concentrate, but for the most part Robin Goodfellow is all wood, all the time. No sage to be found anywhere, just woodiness and a bit of musk emphasizing the wood notes and sweetening it up a bit. It's nice, but not really my thing. I was hoping for something a bit greener. Oh well.

Alice has a few notes in common with Jezebel (honey and rose), and it reminded me quite a bit of Jezebel when I first put it on. But it's lighter and more delicate -- it's kind of Jezebel's innocent little sister. The milk and honey don't smell foody on me at all, for some reason; they just temper the rose and keep it from overwhelming the blend. (Which is often what happens to rose notes on me, so it's nice to find a blend where the rose doesn't jump to center stage and scream SMELL ME! I AM A ROSE!) This actually reminds me of a random peony-based eau de toilette I once sniffed, even though there's no peony in it. It's a close-to-the-skin scent, but it lasts all day. Nice. A little young for me, but good for a pick-me-up.

I hate to sound like a broken record after everyone else has chimed in, but... De Sade is 100% pure leather. Like wearing a black leather jacket. It seems to be a close-to-the-skin scent, which is good -- a little subtlety is in order if one wants to smell like leather, I'd say. I don't get "new car smell" out of it at all (thank goodness -- like someone upthread, I have childhood carsickness memories associated with new car smell). It starts off like a leather jacket, and it stays that way. The drydown is a tiny bit sweeter, but this one really doesn't morph. As I said when I first sniffed the imp: if I ever get invited to a bondage ball, I'm definitely wearing this!

This is one of a few blends that I've definitely noticed smell different on me depending on what time of the month it is. I've tried it three times now, with several days between each application. The first time, it smelled like a close relative of Carceri d'Invenzione -- a light warm wood scent. The second time, I amped the leather like crazy, and it smelled a lot like Dee (as various other people noticed). Today, I got, first: hot, almost furry red musk and patchouli; then, hello, there's the vanilla front and center with the leather peeking out from behind it; then, a subtle warm patchouli/wood/vanilla drydown. The lilac cologne and lemon notes are nowhere to be found on my skin, but I am picking them up on the sleeves of my shirt. Weirdness! I'm going to have to keep trying this one on different days and see when it works best. Wow, Crowley is a shape-shifter -- a demonic shape-shifter.

I haven't tried any of this year's Yules yet, but it sounds like Archangel Winter might be to your liking: "Crystalline, glassy ice whipped by a snowstorm. Piercing ozone, winter darkness." I'm looking forward to trying The Snow Storm too.

Amsterdam was exactly what I expected from the description, except I can't really distinguish tulips. But all the other notes are there: grass, water, and peony. All the individual scents are quite gentle and harmonious, and the whole thing is like spring in a bottle. I'm not a huge fan of florals, but this is really, really nice. It reminds me of The Dormouse and Pool of Tears -- The Dormouse for the peony note and Pool of Tears for the floral + aquatic combination (I think the water note is the same in both). The only thing is, it's also very faint on me. It lasts, but it doesn't seem to have much throw at all. I suspect the imp is going to get used up a lot faster than most of my other imps.