boomtownrat

Shisha and thick coffee brewed with cardamom pods, cinnamon, clove, black pepper, and nutmeg. Around the corner from my house there are a couple of Middle Eastern restaurants that double as hookah lounges. While they aren’t nearly as exotic as the actual place in the film, I find myself wanting to go to those places when I wear Café Mille et une Nuits, just for the closest I can get to that experience without booking a flight. I can almost see the residue of shisha in this scent, the ancient walls and floors, the open doorway letting in the deep Moroccan night. Café Mille et une Nuits is a lot more subtle than I expected, with only moderate throw. It’s not at all heady or overpowering, but it’s deep, warm, and otherworldly. Picking out the individual notes isn’t easy, but I’ll try. First there’s shisha, which is the dominant note on my skin for most of this scent’s long lifespan. It’s much more pleasing than ordinary tobacco smoke and is almost like incense. This coffee note is nothing like the others I’ve tried. It’s an expensive whole bean variety that you have to buy in a specialty shop, whereas the usual coffee note is more like the best stuff you can buy at Trader Joe’s: both are good, but this feels richer in every sense of the word. Cinnamon, which normally amps on my skin, sweetens the blend along with cardamom, clove, and nutmeg. Black pepper is just noticeable, giving it a little kick. The scent is extremely well blended and not foodie on me. It strongly evokes the place as seen in the film. This will be excellent all year round, mostly at night, but not so strong that it feels out of place in the daytime.

If you don’t finish your peasant, you can’t have any dessert! Scaly green musk, smoked vanilla, tobacco, and white sandalwood. Three of these notes I love, and green musk I like. I always want to love dragon scents, but dragon's blood resin is usually too loud and floral for my liking, so I was excited to try one that contains no DBR. A friend who went to Dragon*Con got this bottle for me on Saturday and I managed to get it from her the next day. Hooray for friends who can handle huge crowds, because I sure can't. In the bottle I got whiffs of greenness and a little hint of the sandalwood. Immediately I dabbed a test swatch on the back of my hand. Like Brylcreem, a little dab'll do ya. This has some good throw, but it's not a roaring dragon that will stomp all in its path or burn the place down. Last night I mostly got green musk and vanilla with a hint of sandalwood, and it reminded me a little bit of a slightly animalistic Dorian. As it matures I'm guessing the tobacco will emerge more, since he's only a baby dragon right now. Maybe he's too young to indulge in tobacco products. It's been about 15 hours since I put it on and I can still smell the musk, which is impressive. Normally anything I put on my wrists or hands will be gone in the morning, either worn off onto the bedsheets or drunk up by my thirsty skin. Today, the lingering musk is recognizable as the one in Palus Nebularum, but it's also a cousin of Li'l Menes' Feline Entertainments. I didn't get that similarity at all last night, but it's not a bad way for a scent to go out. Now that the bottle has settled overnight, I've put a little on my opposite wrist. I'm still getting a hint of Dorian, only now he's morphed into a dragon, and that dragon sure has grown up fast. He's gotten into the tobacco now. As it dries, the notes all blend fairly equally. Time will tell if I've finally found my one true dragon scent, but it's looking good. I think Recalcitrant Dragon would be great on any gender. For those who love Dorian or Jareth, I think it's a must-try.

Listening to music, blowing bubbles. A handful of honey sticks, yesterday’s patchouli, and a dusting of cinnamon sugar. I'm not sure what kind of honey this is, but in the bottle it's a little funky and combines with the patchouli in a slightly sour way. I think the "sticks" are actually a note in this, not just straight up honey. As is usually the case, the way it smells in the bottle isn't how it smells on the skin. When I apply it on the back of my wrist it reminds me of what Feed Me and Fill Me with Pleasure smelled like when it was fresh. On the inside of my wrist there's nothing I can compare it to, but the cinnamon is much more present. It's the most well-balanced combination of notes when applied on my throat, more like Feed Me. This is not the gnarly black patchouli, but more of the woody red kind. I might find it safe to wear around people who don't like patchouli. It's not loud at all, but I'm sure it's going to deepen with age.

In Silvery Accents, Whispering Low is Morocco’s cousin from a colder climate. It really makes sense that this coffee note is still in bean form. The overall effect is that the notes are bundled together, snug and harmonious against the chill. This is the kind of scent that will make people say you smell delicious. They might have to get in close to smell it, because it does whisper, as the name says—but the whispers sustain. I put it on last night and could still faintly smell it this morning.

The Gene Simmons of the Phyllostomidae family, this little buddy has a tongue built for harvesting nectar, extending up to a third of its body length and covered in hairy and horny papillae. Smoked chili peppers, caramelized saffron, and clove bud. Something about this is a little pumpkiny. Not like the Lab's usual pumpkin note that goes kind of buttery on my skin, but closer to the one in Jack. I assume it's mostly the caramelized saffron, with the help of clove bud. The smoked chili peppers are reminiscent of Raven Moon 2012, but milder, and they come out more when applied to my throat and higher up my arm. Mexican Long-Tongued Bat is comforting, subtle, and perfectly autumnal. As good as it is now, I believe it's going to get even better and could be worthy of a backup bottle.

ECONOMIC RECOVERY Make a purchase at Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab on Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, or Cyber Monday, and receive a free imp of ECONOMIC RECOVERY: a fun little blend of traditional money-generating herbs, resins, and flowers, including patchouli, ambrette seed, bergamot, Irish moss, rice flower, and thyme. This smells earthy and sweet at the same time, as the notes suggest. It's almost as if a head shop and an Asian market coexisted within the same space. Usually patchouli and bergamot are both notes that dominate everything else on my skin, but in this case it all sings more or less in unison. For now I'm not familiar enough with all of the notes to know what's what, but it positively blooms from a mossy beginning into a warm, sweet, comforting scent as it dries. Patchouli - a soft one - Irish moss, and thyme are the notes I pick out most easily. I think Economic Recovery would be a good scent to wear on New Year's Day... to bring on prosperity in the new year, of course.

Appalachian black apple with sweet tobacco and patchouli, orange blossom, vanilla champaca, lavender, and white honey. I couldn't stand to wait for this bottle to settle from shipping, so I gave it a test last night and I'm wearing it again now. The apple and tobacco are the stars of this show, and lavender and vanilla champaca are kind of peeking out from behind them, looking for some of the spotlight. Last night it was a little more stereotypically "masculine" than I expected, probably thanks to the tobacco, patchouli, and maybe the lavender, but it didn't put me off because I dig some masculine scents now and then. Now that it's settled overnight, it's smelling more mellow and unisex. I can detect more of the lavender today, but it's still mostly apple and tobacco. I don't notice any orange blossom or white honey for now. My 2011 bottle of Samhain is an apple pie wafting from the back of a flatbed truck on a hayride on the outskirts of a forest. Apple III is the walk to the truck on that brisk October afternoon to get to the hayride. This does remind me of the Appalachian mountains in early autumn, as I hoped it would do. I think it's a little more of a daytime scent that would be okay for work because it's not heady. It's almost a skin scent. People who are afraid of the patch shouldn't be concerned, I think.

I like Emily Dickinson's work, so I was drawn to Wild Nights. The night-blooming jasmine gave me pause, but I gave it a chance because I love every other note. Sometimes I can wear night-blooming jasmine, but I have to apply it lightly, nowhere close to my nose, and there has to be something like a dark musk and/or patchouli to balance it. The musks and the sweet notes remind me of Mania. This patchouli-vetiver combination really works for me, and I think it'll be wonderful if it can keep the jasmine in check. I've only had the bottle for a few days and worn it twice, so I don't feel I can judge that yet. Wild Nights has the power to make people swoon on a sultry night, for those who are bold and embrace that floral life. As for me, if I wear more than a drop on the back of one hand, this will nauseate me and could trigger a migraine, but I'd never need more than that because the wafting fragrance is strong. I won't dare to wear it near my nose. As beautiful as this is, I'll most likely never use the whole bottle. Depending on how it ages, I might be finding a new home for it.

Snake Oil and Bordello were two of the first BPALs I ever owned, and I used to layer them on occasion. Sugar Plum Snake Oil smells almost the same as I remember that combination, which is great because now I might not need to hoard my precious 10-year-old Bordello bottle quite as extremely as I've been doing. Sweet BPALs don't always work out with my skin chemistry, and sometimes they're just too cloying, but so far that hasn't been an issue with this one. It's bold, but not overpowering. SPSO lasts all day, eventually fading into something similar to a mellower sister of Urd. When it gets onto my clothes, the Urd-like scent stays behind and it's just delicious.

[No additional description provided.] This has only been off the mail truck for about two hours, because I couldn't wait any longer. In the bottle it's pure, luscious gingerbread. When it's freshly applied, I smell like my favorite kind of gingersnap: thin and a little crispy, like a pepparkakor from Sweden. There's even a little bit of a lemony note, but that subsides as it dries. It ends up as a perfect gingerbread that I want to eat.

In the bottle and on the skin, Kimi Ga Dai Wa puts me in mind of a more subtle Obsession, which is wonderful, as that's exactly the kind of thing I was hoping to find when I started collecting BPAL. A Bright Flame Between Two Jacinths is similar, but more complex and stronger than I usually like to wear. This has a good amount of throw, just enough to get noticed if you apply it in one or two spots. The first time I tested Kimi Ga Dai Wa, I applied a tiny dab on the back of one hand and pressed the backs of both hands together. Even that little amount lasted all day through more than a dozen hand-washings. When I wore it again, I applied it to my usual spots at my collarbone and the sides of my neck, as well as the backs of my hands again. It lasted all day and never gave me the woozy feeling that I get from Obsession now. These three listed notes are perfectly balanced. I love a good amber, and this is one of the best I've tried.

Had BPAL been around when I was in my twenties, the collar of my black leather motorcycle jacket would've smelled like this from three nights a week of putting on my favourite oils and donning the jacket for a night out at the club. There are similarities to Snake Skin, but it's softer and quieter. I'm not getting separate cardamom or patchouli, but I can tell they're blended well into the rest of the notes. It lasts for hours. Smut is one that I have to age for years to get the best out of it, but Snake Oil is a favourite of mine at any age. I already find that Snake Smut wears better on me than Snake Oil and especially Smut when they're fresh, so I can imagine that it will age gloriously.

I have quite a few of the Lab's cinnamon blends, several clove ones, and some that contain both, but none of them feature these notes quite as harmoniously for me as Cinnamon & Clove. Although I've been trying to cut back on how much I buy until I use up some of what I have, I think I'm gonna need another bottle of this magic elixir. It could be top 10 material. Yet again I find that it's the blends with the fewest notes that I love the most. If the idea of Plunder lured you in but you found it to be too heady, or if you'd like something in the realm of Saw-Scaled Viper or Sin without the musks or patchouli, then get yourself some Cinnamon & Clove. At least for me, this wears surprisingly close to the skin, is true to the description, and lasts for a long time.

Saffron oudh and red sandalwood. If you're like me and you can't wait to smell your BPAL as soon as you get it into your hands, don't worry about Mors Syphilitica. Yesterday she was still upset from what must have been a rough journey, but she had a good night's sleep and now she's sweet and well behaved. I know there's no orange blossom listed in this, but somehow that's what I get at first. That must be the saffron. Just one dab on one wrist wafted through the air beautifully, all sweet and feminine, but not exactly girly. By the time I got to work the woods emerged. Now it's closer to the woody skin scent that I was expecting, so I added a dab to my throat to see how it might smell on a different part of the body. The sweet, orangey overtone is still there, but it's much softer now. I suspect that it's going to morph into the woody undertone over the course of the day. Even though there's something familiar about Mors Syphilitica, it isn't like anything else I wear even though I have fragrances with all of these notes. Red sandalwood comes out in Mors Syphilitica the way it does in Wanton, but I can't wear Wanton because it's too heady. Saffron is also in Scherezade, but takes a back seat to the screaming red musk--Mors Syphilitica is closer to what I wanted Scherezade to be, I think. Most of my favourite fragrances have only a small number of notes, and this turns out to be true again. Mors Syphilitica is a red sandalwood scent that doesn't shout. It's sophisticated and wearable even for someone like me, who can't take a strong perfume.

We were made for each other. Snake Oil and bubblegum. When I open the bottle, a waft of pink bubblegum jumps up into my nose to make me smile. On my skin, the bubblegum is at the forefront until it dries, when it becomes a sugary version of Snake Oil. If you love the original Snake Oil, then I think you'll want this, too. I'm thinking of buying another bottle before they come down. I've never met the Barrials, but I can really tell there's a lot of love and happiness between mother and daughter in this scent.

Snake Oil draped over lemon bark and vetiver, dotted with lemon peel. I opened up the bottle and my eyes rolled back in my head. This was destined to be a dream scent for me! Snake Oil is my favourite GC. I love lemons, both to eat and to smell. Vetiver is in many of my favourite scents, and it gives this a solid base, smoothing out the sweet and the sour. ETA 4/16/2019: Now that it's had some time to settle, it's changed so much that I had to delete part of what I wrote above, because I don't want to mislead anyone who might only skim reviews. The lemon is barely detectable now and it's more of the tree itself, with what might be a snake hiding up there in the branches. I'm less sure that I'm going to need any backups, but I'll certainly keep wearing what I have. It's not like any of the many other Snake Oil blends I've tried. I'm going to layer it with Lemon-Scented Sticky Bat to see if I can recreate that lemon-forward scent that it had for the first several days.

I added Baby's First Chainsaw to my cart the instant I saw the chainsaw grease note. My dad's workshop in my childhood home always smelled pleasant to me, so I was hoping for something that might give me a similar feeling. It also reminded me of the motor oil note in Streets of Detroit, which turned out to be a unique wonder that I can only wear sparingly but cherish every time. I'm glad I made that decision. Even though it only arrived today, I couldn't wait to test Baby's First Chainsaw because the notes sound so interesting and after the year we've all had, a comfort scent sounds particularly welcome. Don't let the chainsaw grease scare you away. Harmonizing with the chocolate, it keeps the cookies from being too sweet and gives the oil an undertone that's almost like a dark musk. It really does smell like chocolate chip cookies, homemade ones that are a little crispy around the edges (my favourite). This is like eating cookies in my dad's workshop. It's not at all overpowering at the moment. If it ages like Streets did, that means it'll probably grow more potent with time. For now, it's a subtle fragrance that kind of fills a similar niche to Two Sheep and Two Goats Resting Together In a Field, even though they don't smell the same. It's comforting but not cloying. Maybe I should get a second bottle!

These long-dead scents are back for a limited time in a slightly tweaked form! Amber, saffron and bergamot with mandarin, nutmeg, Bulgar rose, musk and sandalwood. Since late 2011 I've been holding onto the same imp of the original Baghdad that I bought off an eBay seller as part of a lot of imps and decants. As a newbie to BPAL at the time, it seemed like the best way to go. On that first occasion, I made the mistake of applying original Baghdad on both wrists and on my throat, giving myself a terrible headache. My husband, who has a bad sense of smell, said it was strong even from across the room. After that experience, I knew I couldn't handle more than a single dab of Baghdad on one wrist. Baghdad - Resurrected was deceptively quiet when it was wet on my skin, but I'm glad I wasn't fooled into applying more. Once it dried, I got the heavy, heady perfume that I get from the original Baghdad. I caution you against putting on your regular amount until you know how Baghdad - Resurrected affects you. Yes, this has a narcotic effect if applied too heavily. I think it must be the Bulgar rose, as that's the only note in this that I haven't smelled in something else. As this ages, I imagine it will be nearly identical to the original Baghdad. Just like the original, something in it reminds me of a perfume that my mom owned but found too strong to wear--Cinnabar, if I remember correctly. This one bottle is going to be more than enough for me, since I will only be wearing it sparingly and probably on special occasions, when I want to feel sophisticated. This is perfume fit for a pair of silky black harem pants and a simple black blouse, or a little black dress. If you're looking for an elegant perfume in BPAL form, consider Baghdad - Resurrected.

Sweet oudh, Bulgarian rose, chamomile, and frankincense. Fresh from the mailbox, this is like a slightly less loud Baghdad. It's a scent for nighttime, to be worn sparingly. About five hours ago I dabbed a small amount on one wrist, rubbed my wrists together, and still have a waft of slightly heady, resinous, spicy rose that is plenty potent for me. One bottle of this will last me forever. I bought this because I like Baghdad, and because I have an ancestor named Melchior. It's not the sort of thing that I will wear most of the time, but if I want something sophisticated with a lot of presence, this should be excellent.

Some days there is lemon, other days there isn't. Today, that mysterious lemony quality has decided to hang out in the background and let the sugar and honey shine. Lemon was always prominent when the bottle was brand new, and yet I've only had it for about three months, which makes me think the lemon might mellow even more. I love lemon and I find this to be one of the most wearable honeys from the Lab, so I don't mind at all either way. The scent lasts most of the day and it's not overpowering. It's everything I hoped it would be!

A. Ducote Sweet vetiver, bourbon vanilla, and wool. This is the beautiful vanilla blend that I've been looking for all along, like a softer cousin to The Antikythera Mechanism and Tombstone. It's simple, like most of my favorites, and easy to wear. The sweet vetiver blends gorgeously with the bourbon vanilla and wool. It makes me think of a perfect autumn day somewhere in a cool climate, when the skies are a rich blue that contrasts with the orange leaves. I think it will be glorious and long-lasting in a scent locket too.

This would've made a great Luper, sort of like a non-musky Womb Furie, but I'm certainly glad to have gotten the chance to experience it as a gift. Honey is the most prominent note on me, but it's not the smutty kind. I think it's the mallow flower that tames it into a more comforting scent, or maybe it's the orris. I'm glad that the sweet notes are there to tone down the orris, in turn, because I can't always wear that note. This is extremely wearable and lasts for several hours without announcing itself too loudly. When I saw that a friend was giving her imp away, I was quick to take it because I may go through my own imp soon at this rate. For symbolic reasons, In Omnibus Caritas is the BPAL that I chose to wear on the first two days of the year.

There’s some... well, alchemy to the way cinnamon and black musk combine in Phonophobia to create a little pop like a Christmas cracker when I smell it in the bottle. After I apply it, there’s a woodsy quality. The cinnamon is dry and tones down the lemony quality that I usually detect in black musk. Don’t be afraid; it’s not loud. These are two of the best notes for me and I’m always looking for something that captures the Playful Wooden Mallets magic, so it was easy to decide on this bottle purchase. I’m happy to say that it’s a close relative of PWM without being a duplicate.

Gingerbread, Patchouli, Leather, and Dark Musk: the notes read like a list of some of my favourite notes, and I'm not disappointed. It's a warm, kind of sexy, long-lasting, but not overpowering scent. The musk is the most noticeable aspect of it, the gingerbread follows right along, and the leather is somewhere in the middle. The patchouli is a low-key one that just supports all the other notes. (I will say that there's more patchouli depending on where I apply it, and I notice it more on my wrists.) It's all blended beautifully and I think it will be hoard-worthy for fans of sexy, sophisticated, slightly-gourmand fragrances. Picture an attractive person of your choice who's arrived at your holiday party with a tray of gingerbread cookies, and they're wearing a well-loved black leather jacket that holds the traces of a black musk/patchouli fragrance from years of wear. This would be a great thing to wear when you want to be festive and you're feeling like smelling just a bit sweet, but not like "Hello, baked goods!"

Hemp, white honey, amber, black currant, beeswax, and wild honeysuckle. The hemp seems to leap out with a leafy green kick from the bottle and for the first few minutes after it's on my skin. As the oil begins to dry, I start to feel that A Mirror of Spring Pleasures on Kites could be a greener cousin to last year's Entangled, which is a favourite of mine. I don't really know where the similarity lies; maybe the honey? For the first five to ten minutes, the hemp makes me think of salad, but it's oddly not off-putting. That stage gives way to a creamier green scent as the honey, beeswax, honeysuckle, and just the faintest hint of amber emerge. Then the late arrival, black currant, slides in like a whisper after it's dry to mingle with the creamy notes. I probably need to let this rest, as it only came in the mail today. So far I do like it and can see myself wearing it when I need something subtle. ETA: I've worn it a few more times now and I really like it. Hemp is still the most prominent note on me, but it's already mellowed (I no longer think of salad while it's drying). The scent lasts all day and it's very much a springy fragrance that I think will appeal to people who like Entangled.