KissleMeNow

Very bright, and almost what I was hoping for, but as it dries, somehow the fruity part of the scent turns into bathroom spray and candy. Egh.

In the bottle, it's dark and complex – probably the first BPAL I've encountered that smelled like a person might. However... I was once sailing on a river in an urban area when my boat capsized. After getting back to shore, I stuffed my wet clothes into a plastic bag, tied it shut, brought it home, and forgot about it for a few weeks. The Marquis De Carabas on my skin smells like opening that bag – strong, mildewey cloth with undercurrents if I-don't-know-what. I am disappoint. :/

Wow, it's strong, but doesn't smell chemical/artificial to my nose! "Raw" is exactly the right word to describe this coconut, and it and the sugar are both dark enough not to become candy-sweet. The champaca helps this as well. It takes a bit for the ambergris to come out, but when it does it's warm and subtly musky. If I met someone wearing this, I would want to lick them all over.

OK, I don't know if this is properly a scent, or just an effect, but I didn't want to be obnoxious in starting a new topic. I've noticed, for a few scents, that they get extremely heavy, and sort of... settle at the back of my throat. I find myself coughing and clearing my throat to try and get it out. I'd call it cloying, but it's usually fine to my nose. It's happened on a few scents involving musk, a few involving incense, and a few involving sandalwood, but not all of them. Is there a word for this? A scent I'm missing? Or just luck-of-the-draw skin chemistry and sense of smell?

How would one say Ü's name out loud? I've tried pronouncing it the way a ü in a word would be pronounced, but I feel that sounds a bit silly on its own. (Also, I think BPAL is pronounced "bee-pal," emphasis on the first syllable).

I do still apply it to my wrists when I wear long sleeve – I do roll them up and let it dry a bit after putting it on, so it doesn't rub straight onto the cloth. The scent may linger a bit if it's strong or you wear it/the garment a lot (I have a sweater which smells faintly of Miskatonic U after they were worn together most of the winter), but I've never had them clash, or anything like that.

Gaueko ended up being one giant sandalwood incense party on me. A bit of smoke and non-lavender herb came through as it faded, but otherwise... honestly, it smells a bit like a hippie shop to me. I speak as someone who's been in many hippie shops herself – it's just not what I am interested in as a scent on me.

I picked up the tester of Victorian Garden at the Mütter Museum, and it was love at first sniff. Even though I wasn't planning to get it, I walked away with a bottle. The honey is dusty, subtly sweet, but doesn't overpower the herbs. I don't know enough to identify them, but there's definitely some lavender in there... It reminds me a bit of Laudanum, but not sharp at all. It's a lovely scent. Unfortunately, this tale has a sad twist – about three minutes after I put it on, I had an asthma attack, and the same the second time I tried it. One of those herbs is not so medicinal, at least for me. The bottle is going to have a happy life with my mother... but if I could wear it, I definitely would. *sadface*

Not what I was expecting, but still love at first sniff. Delightfully, this is the first BPAL paper scent which actually smelled as such to me! The balsams are very "green" and woody – not quite like grass, but still, growing things. With the paper note, it makes me think of lying outside, in the shade, reading. The leather comes off spicy to me (BPAL's leather often does – but that's NOT a down side at all) and that plus the vanilla gives it a nice backing... I bought this at the museum itself, and I'm SO glad I sprang for a bottle.

Kumiho is quite simple compared to many other BPAL blends, but it's a wonderful scent. It's the first scent I've tried where the ginger has a fresh-cut zing (as opposed to being darker/spicier), but the dominant scents are the white tea and citrus, which smells slightly grapefruity to my nose. If I got a cup of tea smelling like Kumiho, I'd drink it immediately. I haven't had the opportunity to sample the Lab's green tea blends much, but as a big tea drinker, this definitely smells like white tea. What people say about it fading quickly is true – by forty minutes after application it was mostly gone, but I still got the occasional whiff throughout the day, which is something I sometimes like in a scent. Also, if anybody is into using BPAL as aromatherapy, I would definitely recommend this. I took the imp with me, un-tested, on a trip, because I had sniffed it the night before and couldn't stop thinking about it. I was on a train for seven hours, feeling hot, exhausted, and cranky, and needed something to perk me up... I dabbed on Kumiho, and immediately felt way more awake/able. Since it fades quickly I wonder if it might be a good candidate for a scent locket? I haven't used those before, but I would totally consider a wake-me-up Kumiho one.

Aziraphale was a scent I kept wearing going "Maybe this time it will work!", but I have to finally admit that, no, it won't do what I want it to. The predominant smell is wood shavings – which is a scent I like if I'm in a workshop, but not on my person throughout the day. As it dries the musk backs it a bit, and there is a hint of paper, but just a hint. I will age it, and hope it ages well. But until then, no Aziraphale for me. :'(

Wet, it was detergent. Then as it dried, this was the scent of the sea. You know, the damp, salty ocean air that sometimes blows inland and makes you raise your head and inhale until your lungs are full... it was exactly what I hoped for. Until about forty minutes after application, when it was so faint I had to smush my nose into my wrist and snort to smell it at all. I'm so terribly torn. The dry scent is incredible, but it fades so quickly and so much.

I definitely went out on a limb ordering this. It's mostly notes I'm not very familiar with, and there wasn't a lot of excitement about it on the forum (most people seemed to be going "Eek, absinthe!") – but I love the poem it's connected to enough that I ended up with a bottle. I opened it up and fell in love. It's amazing. What pops out most when it's wet is the junipur, but the overall scent is very fresh and green. The absinthe (I think) makes it a bit sharp, but it's not astringent. On the drydown, the honey warms up, and it gets a tad of spice and floral while remaining green. As was said above, the transition is very smooth. Not very much throw once it dries, but it's a gorgeous scent.

In the bottle and wet it was mostly floral – I think carnation/rose, with a bit of jasmine, and tangerine. But as it dried, the musk and amber came to the fore and the flowers faded. I didn't get the bergamot, oddly. Initially I was ready to pass it on – not that it was a bad scent, just not for me – but the drydown won me over.

This smelled of wet, stony, green things in the bottle, but on my skin it turned to soap. Most frustrating because I could smell the undertones, especially of granite and moss, but they were overpowered by the smell of detergent, and it didn't change very much as it faded. Apparently The Stormhold and my skin chemistry are simply not to be.

The first sniff reminded me of Miskatonic University, in an odd way. Something – I'm guessing the resin/spice combination – comes out very nutty to me. The ginger doesn't smell of gingerbread to me, more like fresh-chopped ginger root. Shub-Niggurath is strong and sharp. However – and this is the first time this has happened to me – there's something profoundly unsettling about the scent. I sniff it, and feel viscerally uncomfortable, for some reason. Since this is from the Lovecraft collection that's absolutely perfect, in a way, but even though the smell itself is nice, I don't think I'm planning on wearing this.

A very fine blend of soft herbal-florals, but my skin eats it straight up. An hour later I couldn't smell it at all. :/

Gosh, a complex and interesting blend. I was very leery about it, but ended up ordering Crowley because I was getting Aziraphale and felt you just couldn't have one without the other. It went on smelling like a rather nice but traditional men's cologne – I kept thinking that it would be great on a suave, masculine type, though that type is not me. However, as it dried it became a wonderful smokey-musk-leather with vanilla and a tad of lemon and lavender scent. Fantastic! The oakmoss lends a tiny bit of bite but isn't the danger note I was afraid it would be. I spent the whole afternoon trying not to inhale my own wrist.

Ooh, I was so looking forward to this one. I sniffed the imp unopened, and it smelled gorgeous salty-wet with a bit of citrus. But wet and on my skin, it was dish detergent, and faded quickly. I guess Cthulhu is just not for me.

The primary notes are sassafras and the poppy, neither of which I am very familiar with, so I can't assess whether one or the other is predominant. The nutmeg is there, strong but not like a typical spice scent. The myrrh is present but not dominant. It's quite robust without being overpowering, herby and slightly woody. I find it somehow strengthening – grabbed it out of the box at random on a morning when I felt I could hardy get out of bed, and it perked me up. Laudanum is just great. (In some history dorkitude, I now want to try layering it with a honey scent, since a lot of laudanum mixtures involved honey).

Wow, I thought I had reviewed this before? Anyway, Dorian is one of my go-to scents. It's very vanilla-y on me, but the musk cuts it so that it's not too sweet or overpowering. (I speak as someone who usually doesn't like vanilla-flavored things). The tea doesn't come out very much at all, nor do I get the lemon that some people do... I'm hoping they'll come out with age, because that would make it even better. At least for me, this isn't a complex blend. It's simple and pleasant, and my "I'd like to smell nice today but don't have anything specific in mind" default.

When I started this, I wrote about what I was interested in, rather than who I am, which I think says it all. A combination of Asperger’s syndrome and manic-depression means that I have extremely strong, deep-running emotions which I find it hard to understand or communicate. Between that and being a shy agoraphobic (open spaces, not crowds) insomniac I have the makings of a good neurotic shut-in, but I find the world so damn amazing in the complexity and variation of everything that’s out there. Although I often say I’m mostly interested in the past (history) and the future (science fiction), I also have a pretty comprehensive knowledge of US politics and world news, and I’m trying to get a job with a global public health or human rights NGO and eventually go back to school to study epidemiology. Doing good by other people is very important to me, and I am forever a pessimistic optimist. Shyness aside, once I get comfortable and happy I can be loud without realizing it, and am told I have a big smile and can be deadpan-snarky. I get pensive and wrapped up in my own head easily. I write poetry and flash fiction, but read mostly “genre” fiction (sf/f, mysteries, historical) and nonfiction. I’m not extremely practical, but I do like to deal in concrete things and enjoy working out details (of a plan, a system, a fictional world). As an Aspie my special interests play a big part in my life – they are the American and French Revolutions, the Age of Sail, the treatment of tuberculosis, international human rights law, folk songs/ballads, and T. E. Lawrence. My girlfriend is also determined to make me interested in 20th century history, and may be succeeding. (I sometimes joke that you could tell I had fallen for her when she got me to watch the entirety of The World at War). In terms of aesthetic, I wear a lot of skirts with boots/sneakers and button-down shirts – what I most enjoy is mixing together stereotypically feminine and masculine things, e.g. wearing a frilly skirt with sneakers and a button-down shirt. (I’ve been experimenting with mixing over-all look with BPAL scent – like pants and a men’s shirt with Prague or a dress and tights with Metallic Scarab). Almost all my clothes are blue, green, purple, black, or brown, but I have a variety of light and dark tones in those categories. I am bespectacled and dye my hair bright red. Until recently I wore a lot of bracelets on both wrists to cover up scars from a suicide attempt, but now only wear earrings on a daily basis. I wear tinted lip-balm but don’t bother with proper makeup unless I’m really nervous. My favorite scents thus far are Calico Jack, Anesthesia, Jolly Roger, Laudanum, Cathode, Dorian, Lady Una, Miskatonic University, and Tintagel.

Please forgive if this is a noob-tacular question, but I am looking for something that doesn’t just smell like the sea, but like a ship as well. I come from a family of sailors and shipwrights, plus am vaguely obsessed with the Age of Sail, so if I could find one it would be both meaningful and fun. For the record, I am already in love with Jolly Roger, but it's missing two big ship/boat scents for me – rope and metal. I am somewhat at a loss to describe what wet (or dry) rope smells like, but maybe someone with a more sensitive nose/wider knowledge can? A 'historical' feel would also open up the possibility of lime, smoke/gunpowder, and hemp (from oakum). Any scent or layering combination suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I spent a while struggling to describe this, because the only words that were coming to mind were "mysterious" and "good." As in "I'm not quite sure what I'm smelling here, but damn it is nice!" The best description I can give that it's a bit like a more womanly Dorian. Definitely womanly rather than "girly", which is what I originally wrote. It somehow seems more "grown-up," though not in a sensual way. Apart from the honey musk/vanilla/all-around pleasantness I can get a definite whiff of green tea. I was expecting the blackberry leaf to give a more plant-y scent, but instead I think it's just being sweet – yet it's neither sugar-candy sweet (a scent I don't really go for, if it's strong) nor what I would expect if someone said "fruity." There's a hint of spice. Basically, I can't quite put my finger on this scent, but I do know I'll be wearing it a lot.

Well, slowly working my way through the RPG scents, I had to try this because one of my most beloved characters was a Dwarf Cleric. I found this... an uncomplicated scent. It's mostly wet stone/metal. I don't smell the hops at all – which is good, because I tend to avoid overly-alcoholic scents, but maybe this could have used something from the vegetable kingdom. About forty-five minutes after putting it on it got a really cloying leather and something I can't identify (someone upthread mentioned patchouli, and I think that's the closest), but that faded to an undertone. On its own it's a fine scent, though not quite me – I'm looking forward to seeing if I can get my girlfriend to try it. And to layering.