edenssixthday

Katharina is one of my favorite fruity-florals. The apricot, orange blossom, and musk blend together to create a gorgeous, pale and fresh combination. The scent lasts for hours on my skin, but has a pretty low level of throw. This would also make a gorgeous room scent. This is most definitely on the list of bottles to buy.

Cordelia – The first time I tried Cordelia, it was a very bitter floral and the white cedar encased the bitter floral with a very strong aroma. The next time I tried Cordelia, the bitterness wasn’t there, but the cedar was most definitely the strongest note followed by a soft hint of lemon and a touch of tea. The scent sticks close to my skin and is very light. It would be a really pretty spring or summer scent for anyone who doesn’t mind cedar. On me, it just doesn’t work. The scent fades on me fairly quickly, within the first hour or so.

Ophelia is one of the first 10 or so BPAL scents I ever tried, and immediately won her way into my heart. She is a lovely scent, full of feminine florals and something else that makes it simultaneously herbal and creamy. She is a gorgeous scent that I am looking forward to wearing again in the summertime.

Iago - Now this is a "dirty hippie" scent if I've ever smelled one. The scent description says it consists of "black musk, leather, and vetiver" but if I didn't know better, I would swear this is the scent of leather and dark patchouli. I don't smell the musk in it at all, and I'm very surprised that I don't smell the vetiver since it usually turns extremely foul on my skin. The leather isn't the sinister leather of De Sade or the sexy leather of Spanked or the cowboy leather of Dead Man's Hand or the fetish-leather of Whip. It's a unique leather scent -- fairly subtle and non-intimidating. It's almost the scent of driving gloves leather. The scent is too masculine for me, but I could see a certain type of woman wearing this well, and I think a lot of men would smell incredibly manly in this scent. I'm surprised at how close it sticks to my skin, as leather scents usually have greater throw on me. The staying power is moderate for a BPAL blend on me -- about 3 hours. This definitely isn't for me, but I imagine it would smell really fabulous on the right person.

Queen Gertrude is soft, powdery violets with a couple other florals that I don’t recognize, and which sadly turn soapy on my skin at the point of dry-down. It’s got a moderate level of throw, and seems to last a good, long time. If it weren’t for the soapy factor, I really think I’d like this scent.

Regan - The Lab gifted me with an imp of Regan with my latest order. I must have a bottle of this! It is the most incredibly gorgeous vanilla floral. Vanilla is definitely the dominant note, but the orchid weaves its way in and out of the vanilla, creating the most gorgeous blend of orchid and vanilla. The stephanotis is present, but it's almost as if it is not part of the blend itself, but surrounds the scent, encasing it and holding the orchid and vanilla together. The throw is just perfect for me, and after one hour, it's still as strong as it was when I first applied it. It doesn't even remotely begin to lighten up until about the 2.5 hour point. Yes, I'll be getting a bottle of this. And probably giving bottles of this as gifts to my friends in the upcoming year. That's how incredibly stunning it is. Fabulous, Beth! Kudos to you for Regan!

Lady MacBeth was my first true BPAL disappointment. I instantly fell in love with the scent – sweet, fresh, fruity berries and currant with a hint of herbal goodness. Oh it was so lovely I couldn’t stop sniffing my wrists and breathing it in as deeply as I could. I don’t think that at the time, I had ever smelled anything so lovely. And then, 15 minutes later it was gone. So I re-applied it. And again, 15 minutes later it was gone. By the end of the day, I’d gone through the entire imp, and really hadn’t had more than a few minutes here and there of the pleasant scent. I gave up on it. Finally, after I purchased a scent locket, I picked up another imp and gave it a shot I the locket, and that gorgeous, sweet, herbal, juicy goodness hangs with me all day long now. It’s a fabulous scent when it’s not busy getting eaten up by my dry skin.

Rosalind is, for me, an almost-pretty scent. Unfortunately, I'm allergic to grass, and this is one scent where my natural inclination to shy away from grass is fairly evident. The floral scent blended with the grass is soft and pretty -- very springtimey. The berries are very muted in this blend, and compliment the florals really well. Unfortunately, the grasses are killing it for me. Moderate throw and for me, typical staying power (about 90-120 minutes).

Goneril initially smells dank and rank – like wood that has been rotting in water. As the oil dries, the “rotting” smell goes away, but it simply smells of a very strong wood scent, and dirt. Not clean, damp soil, but dirty dirt – like dirt along the side of a busy freeway. It’s not pleasant in the least. At about the 20-30 minute point, it gains a soapy scent and the dirty wood scent fades while the soapiness moves into the forefront. Apparently, Goneril and I don’t have very good chemistry together, because I can’t imagine this is what the oil is intended to smell like on anyone. Into the swap pile she goes, and I hope she finds a home where she’s more loved than she would be with me.

The Apothecary - My first reaction was "green tea and herbs!" It's an incredibly light, "barely there" scent. Upon dry-down, the tea scent faded and the herbal notes were the only ones I could detect, along with the tiniest bit of ginger. The scent lasted only 30 minutes at most on my skin. This is a blend that I simply can't pull off because it's so incredibly light and has very little presence, and it fades to quickly. It's nice and I'd love to walk into a boutique that smells like this, but it's not going to be a fragrance I wear again.

Juliet - I was really hoping I'd like this scent. Unfortunately, the only real scent I can identify is the slightest bit of sweet pea. The rest is soft and soapy, and smells somewhat like the handsoap everyone's great aunt puts on display when she has the family over for dinner, but which are the exact same soaps she put out last year and the year before that and the year before that. It's not a bad scent, just kind of old, stale, and fairly common and not what I would expect from a Capulet!

Oberon is initially just a bad, bad scent for me. Put musk, juniper, or patchouli on me, and there’s a 95% chance I’ll be unhappy with the scent. Put them all on me at once, and see how fast I can run to the bathroom to wash it off. Since it’s not as bad as the worst BPALs I’ve tried, I force myself to keep it on and to not rush to wash off. I’m hopeful that it will morph into something pleasant with time. While it doesn’t morph into something pleasant, upon dry-down, it becomes… well, for lack of a better word: “fascinating.” It’s a strange combination, and odd mixture of notes. I’m actually growing slightly fond of the juniper in the scent as it fades and becomes little more than a mere decoration that serves to simply emphasize the other scents. The orchid becomes more vibrant and the sweet juiciness of the bergamot peeks through, and sure enough, this turns into a scent that I find very fascinating. I don’t know exactly what I think of it. I think I might like it, oddly enough. I’ll be hanging on to it and giving it another trial run very soon.

Tamora is a classic blend with a twist. While it has a lovely sandalwood scent that I actually enjoy (surprising since I'm rarely a fan of sandalwood) and which makes her reminiscent of any number of sandalwood oils sold by any number of stores, BPAL's Tamora has splash of peach blossom added and a swirling undercurrant of vanilla, making this prettier than any other sandalwood scent I've smelled. Tamora is confident, yet unobtrusive. She's like the fragrance equivalent of sliding on a pair of expensive silk stockings -- she helps you look and feel sexier and more refined, yet she's not the first thing you notice when you look at (or in this case, smell) the woman wearing her. On that note, I don't recall if this is a gender neutral scent or not, but I think it could be worn very well by a man as well as a woman. Unfortunately, if I wear Tamora on my wrists along with a watch or a bracelet, those accessories seem to interfere with her scent and it disappears within five minutes of application. If I wear Tamora on my wrists sans jewelry, she lasts a good two hours or more. I like Tamora. I particularly like aged Tamora, as that's when the sandalwood really comes out. New Tamora isn't as sandalwoody, and the peach scent is much stronger than it is in aged Tamora. I bought a full bottle of Tamora in April and have set it aside to wear after it's aged enough that I can smell the sandalwood from the get-go.

Antony - What a gorgeous scent! I was expecting something highly masculine, but Antony is lovely and smells really delicious on me. It’s an highly herbal scent, and when I sniff my skin up close, I smell the distinct scent of frankincense. Overall, the scent is sweet, sweet, green, and clean as it wafts around me. It’s like the masculine version of Fae, only not as powerful. Simply gorgeous and I’ll definitely wear it myself. The level of throw is fairly light and the lasting power is moderate.

Titania - Once upon a time, Titania was one of my favorite BPALs and probably my #1 favorite fruit-floral BPAL scent. I was quite surprised when I discovered that Titania’s fruits are powerful and abundant and ripe and juicy and fill the entire room with juiciness. The soft florals were what kept the juiciness from being overwhelming. When I would wear it on my skin, the scented lasted for several hours, but when I wear it in a scent locket, the scent lasted for several days and is so strong that while I normally will put 2-3 drops of an oil in a scent locket, with Titania, I just put the tiniest dab that probably doesn’t even equal a full drop. It’s one of my favorites, and I bought a bottle. And then it changed on me. I'm not sure what happened, but this past spring I started noticing that when I'd wear it, it would start off with all of the loveliness I described above, but then as it dried, it would get incredibly subtle and turn into a strange aquatic scent. Others who sniffed my wrists agreed that the final result was aquatic. I have since swapped my bottle away since it doesn't work for me anymore.

Viola is another gorgeous BPAL rose and lily blend. I love the way BPAL’s roses and lilies swirl around one another in perfect synchronicity! There’s also something just the tiniest bit juicy in the background, like a pinch of fruit juice. As the scent dries down and warms up on my skin, it gains an incredible amount of depth for such an initially soft floral. It’s a beautiful blend and one that I wear fairly regularly.

The Red Queen - When first applying this oil, it's all cherries -- bright and fruity and juicy, juicy, juicy. I can almost see red juice dripping out of the vial. Upon dry-down, a strong wood note appears, and from here on out, it's all wood and cherries. It's a very strange and utterly unique combination. It's not something I can see myself wearing again, but at the same time, it's so unique that I don't quite want to get rid of it, either. I'm going to sit on this one for a while, try it again down the road, and think about what to do with it at that point. (

Queen of Hearts is a gorgeous, floral and feminine scent. The cherry note is very strong on me, especially when wet, but as it dries, the lily notes dominate, and the cherry is merely a backdrop for the lilies. It has what I generally call a "round" scent -- meaning, it's incredibly smooth and symmetrical, and there are no sharp or offensive bits about it. Unfortunately, it sticks very, very close to my skin, and while my skin smells pretty when sniffed up close, I don't even know I'm wearing the fragrance unless I literally stick my wrist in my face. And even then, it disappears on me within the first hour. It disappears even more quickly when applied to my hair. Today, I am wearing Queen of Hearts in a scent locket and am having much better luck with the throw and staying power, although it's still a fairly subtle scent. But it's pretty, and for the past 7 hours I've been catching lovely wafts of cherry-drop lilies around me. If it had a touch more throw and better staying power on my skin, I would say this is a five out of five. As it is, I don't know yet if I will or won't buy a full bottle of it since it fades so quickly, but I'll definitely be procuring another imp of this at some point in the near future.

King of Hearts - This is one of the most underwhelming BPAL blends I have ever encountered. Sniffed in the vial, all I smell is sharp, bright cherry. When I apply it to my skin, the cherry note is still the first note I detect, but it almost immediately fades and is replaced by a dull rosewood scent. Beneath the rosewood is a touch of musk, and there's absolutely no personality or charm to this scent in the least. It's really "blah". It's not bad-smelling, it just has no spark. Once the cherry fades, the oil sticks very close to my skin and is extremely subtle. It fades quickly. I tested it several times and the first time, it only lasted about 20 minutes. The longest it lasted was 40 minutes. This will be going to a new home. It's definitely not for me.

Mad Hatter - The top note in this blend is the exact same mint that I smell in Pain and Tulzscha. This scent is actually very similar to Pain, but not an exact duplicate, of course. It’s described as a gentleman’s cologne, but I really could see some women enjoying this particular scent if they like the scent of pennyroyal. I personally think it would smell fabulous on a man without the mint. In my opinion, mint is often the undoing of otherwise remarkable fragrances. This one definitely isn’t for me not only because I don’t like the scent, but the scent doesn’t last on my skin for even an hour before it’s completely undetectable.

The Mock Turtle’s Lessons - Whoa, I don’t smell any of the notes in this that I’d expect to smell like mint and iris (both a couple of my arch-enemies) or lime. Rather, I distinctly get a tea scent. In fact, I’m really shocked to read the reviews and see that others didn’t note a tea scent at all. On me, it very much smells like Celestial Seasonings Apple Tea. I must just have really strange chemistry, but at least the “tea” fits the “Tea Party” theme! The staying power is fairly poor as is the throw, but that’s typical for me and tea scents.

The Pool of Tears - This reminds me a lot of Tears. It’s salty and slightly sweet and fragrant, almost like a very light floral underneath the salt. I’m surprised at how much I like this considering I don’t normally like tear/salt blends. This one works on me surprisingly well, however. It’s very light, but I will occasionally catch a waft of the fragrance, and find it delightful. The staying power is about average, and I’m very surprised that unlike other tear/salt blends, this does not turn into dryer sheets or hair spray on me. I’m going to be wearing this again.

The Lion is a pretty scent, but very subtle on me...more like a lamb than a lion. My skin usually amps amber up so that it wafts around me all day, but for some reason, The Lion is very subtle on my skin and doesn't last very long. But while I can still note its presence, it's incredibly warm, golden, slightly resinous, and has a hint of spice. It's pretty, but it has virtually no throw and really doesn’t impress me all that much. I will be adding this to the swap pile.

Alice - If you're familiar with LUSH's Ruby Red Slippers bubble bath bar, then you will know exactly what Alice smells like -- it's Ruby Red Slippers in a vial. For me, that's a dream come true! I don't get any of the "milk and honey" notes in Alice. All I get is the rose, carnation, and bergamot. I think the bergamot mimics the tangerine note that LUSH uses with rose and carnation for its Ruby Red Slippers scent. This is delicious. Floral and spicy, and I feel like I should be able to lie down on a bed of roses and carnations spritzed with citrus juice and just roll around in it and soak up the experience. Instead, I can just take a Ruby Red Slippers bath (since I've got at least a dozen bars stocked up in my bathroom!) and then follow it with Alice, and I'll be a happy camper. Unfortunately, while Alice lasts a good long while, it doesn't have much throw when on my skin. I will see if it does better in a scent locket, as some of my favorite BPALs do.

The Dormouse - I will admit it: I just don't like wearing tea scents. This is incredibly subtle, but when sniffed up close, when I'm paying attention, I catch the slightest trace of floral blended with the tea. As with most tea blends, I find it kind of boring. Tea just doesn't do much for me (as a fragrance that is, I drink actual tea several times a day!) I'll be passing this imp along to someone who likes tea better than I.