undream

i was recently gifted with a sniffy imp of this & was fortunately able to pull enough out to try on. ! wet in the imp, i get none of the creaminess that many of you seem to be getting, no buttery note at all, which is great; foody does not do well for me! instead, this one is all fresh, light & pleasant florals. very nice, very subtle. on the skin, it warms up and becomes florals and musk, extremely nice. i almost want to say that, to me, it smells like a nondescript commercial perfume? but then it spices up! hello, carnation! oh, how i love thee. i have only been wearing this for about twenty minutes, but i am really loving it so far. to be honest, i am hoping it takes a turn for the worse as i do only have a sniffy & i am not sure how easily i could get my hands on more of this! lol

i have been wanting to try smut foreverrrr, and thanks to one lovely girl (whom i enabled!) i was finally recently able to. after some hours of wearing this one, i have to say (with much regret) that smut is definitely more appealing to me while still in the bottle. everyone is comparing it to snake oil, and from what i remember of snake oil i agree, but where snake oil didn't agree with me, smut is warm and boozy, subtly foody. uh oh. "foody" worries me. sure enough, once it hits my skin it just becomes too overwhelmingly foody, &even the boozy notes (which i love in theory - i haven't tried enough oils with booze notes yet to really determine if they work for me) just become too much for me. all in all, smut really does make me woozy! just not in the way i had hoped. off to a better home for this one. ETA; eep, i'm so sorry for the multiple posts! the forums were acting up while i was attempting to submit, but i guess that my attempts actually went through each time, unbeknownst to me. apologies!

51 for me is nearly indescribable. true to my recent habits of trying out different bpal oils i have on hand without reading a reminder description, i slathered this one on blind. my first impression was that it was a very heavy scent, yet fresh, clean, almost like a heady white floral perfume. i wasn't certain what to make of it at first, but as the night wore on i fell more and more in love with this gorgeous scent. it just. silkily and calmly wraps you up in its thick, heady gorgeousness. i get no fruity notes, for me it seems to be all musk and florals; clean, sweet, musky, innocent, sexy. it reminds me of my high school days when i religiously wore jovan white musk, only better. i love it. love love love it.

this was the one oil i finally grabbed to try (from my small pile of "to try" imps that have collected in my bpal box) after weeks after putting bpal on the back burner. i know, i know: i put it on without looking it up, without having any idea of what notes were in it or what to expect whatsoever other than what the name might conjure. i find that i am better able to review honestly and without power of suggestion in this way. my first impression was of an aquatic nature; very wet, but warm, and very comforting. once on the skin, it bloomed into a sweet, almost powdery scent, with a peculiar - and extremely subtle - sour note underneath (i am suspecting this is the citrus that comes out later). after about twenty minutes - the typical time it takes bpal scents to really morph on me - the lemon came out, turning it into a kind of lemon meringue with an aquatic bite. another ten minutes, and i am thinking, "soap!!!" very nice, and the throw is absolutely lovely, but ultimately not me. off to the "to be placed in a better home" pile!

wow, this is gorgeous. i can smell the pear right out of the imp; it's a very light, fruity scent. once on, it warms up and becomes spicier. the first thing my boyfriend said when i had him sniff me was mmmmm. you smell like christmas! and he is absolutely right!! it is that very trademark spicy christmas scent, spot on, and it is so so beautiful. i am happy i waited until the holidays to try this.

pre-application, this is sharp-green and herbal, but without a bite; it is more the sweet herbal scent of freshly mown grass. i am also getting a faint aquatic note, and oh my, this is altogether lovely . . . as soon as it hits my skin, it blooms. it is the scent of wandering past the blooming florals tucked alongside that freshly mown lawn in a light spring rain. perfumed and fresh and clean, sweetened lilies and lush, cool rain. it is absolutely gorgeous. after some time, i'm noticing that up close on the skin it has turned into the scent of maturely bloomed flowers set into an old haunted house; all lilies and a mouthful of choking dust, very floral and very very dry. the throw has remained that typical clean, almost soapy lily scent that i just adore, but it remains yet to be seen whether or not i can take this up-close antiquated dustiness along with it. time will tell! in the meantime =

wet, snow white is unbelievably pretty, faint florals and cold snow. beautiful! once on, it melts into a cool vanilla & subtle mint. an absolutely lovely scent, but too "mainstream fake vanilla perfume" (which always bothers my sinuses) for me. still, i am over the moon that i was able to try this one. on to the next!

ok. i do not know if it is my nose that is going wonky or just that i have been trying a lot of aquatics lately and they tend to smell house cleanerish on me, but again with this one! definitely an "i've been cleaning my house" scent! (i've seen some others here comparing it to certain soaps like irish spring and lever 2000, and i can see that as well.) after it is on my skin for a bit, it warms up and a somewhat sweet, powderish note peeks out in the throw, but it stays fairly "toilet cleaner" smelling on me, especially close up to the skin. a very nice toilet cleaner, but nonetheless; not for me! off to swaps with this one . . .

wow. i received the '08 edition in a recent swap (thank you, LadyLuckless!!), and this is unlike any bpal scent i have tried before; completely unique and really quite lovely! sniffing it right out of the imp, it really is autumn in a bottle, all chilled air and damp leaves. fantastic. once on, it slooowly warms into a scent i was at first unable to describe no matter how much i thought about it, but then it came to me; warm apple cider! good lord, how does beth do it? all in all, an absolutely gorgeous & unique fall scent. i do not think it is really me and will likely swap it out - i would keep it for the autumnal beginning stages, but foody scents, although beautiful, don't wear very well on me - but i definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys the foodier bpal oils (and of course to anyone who adores the autumn months!). <3!

Wow, this one is not at all what I was expecting! It was sweeter somehow, and far less loamy/dirt-smelling than I thought it would be. I definitely picked up some sort of florals right away, but it also reminded me a bit of some sort of household cleaner. Which isn't to say that that's bad(!), just that there was a cleaning citrusy note in there. Once on, it turns into a very dusty, dry citrus & floral, and after about twenty minutes it slowly starts to sour on me. Too bad, as it was nice, but alas. Off to swaps with this one.

loving this time of year the way that i do (the way that i'm sure many of us do!), i jumped on the chance to receive this in a recent swap, and i am so glad that i did! wet, this smells at first whiff like crushing some kind of greenery between your fingers; very sharp, very green and fresh. after a few moments, it warms into a pleasant men's cologne. and all this before even hitting the skin! once on, it actually stays pretty true to my first impressions. i have to agree with the very first review of harmonyfb's in that the throw is very much wet, autumn leaves while up-close it remains a men's cologne. definitely a masculine scent, but one that has easily endeared itself to me via the name and idea alone. it's pleasant, cool and comforting, and i love the occasional whiff of damp leaves that i'm getting. i am absolutely keeping this one for the boy, but i may just sneak a few swipes now and again myself. ETA: &mygod, the longer this one is on, the more deeply in love i fall. ungh!!

A truly fae nectar! Dragon’s blood resin and honeyed vanilla. sweet, powdery, too sweet for me to stomach, i'm afraid, and after reading the description it makes sense. i don't do well with foody. fortunately, this imp was just a sniffy which i was gifted with by a recent swapper, and i will be passing it on to a better home soon! i am still glad i got the chance to try it.

wet from the imp; ohhh myyy heaven. this smells exactly like the soap grundy from villainess. (i did not much care for grundy when i first tried it, but i have since fallen madly madly in love with it, and so this oil? is promising! seriously, you can't get any more spot on than this.) it is just a very loamy, earthy/mossy scent, bringing to mind - just as grundy does! - wandering around in the middle of a crisp, rain-darkened forest and burrowing deep down into the moist, cool, almost black soil there. ungh, i love it. wet on application; stays pretty true so far, but something is . . . slightly sweetening? a peekaboo floral or citrus note . . . ? whatever it is, it doesn't hurt! drydown; definitely picking up something citrusy now. the moist earth smell hasn't changed (yay & yum!), but now it is as though i am catching whiffs of a citrus fruit tree nearby as well, or as though someone has dropped their half-eaten fruit into the soil nearby to where i have burrowed myself. it is very subtle but definitely there, not changing the oil at all really but somehow adding a lovely, separate aspect to it, if that makes sense. at times the citrus thing disappears altogether, but either way, it is simply beautiful. given a bit more time, the mysterious citrus note wanders off completely and this scent returns to it's initial earthy goodness, both up close and in the medium throw. grundy in perfume form, and once again i am madly madly in love.

ohmyheavenly melon goodness. i so much want to add my two cents, but what can i possibly say that hasn't already been said?! yemaya is a gorgeous, sweet and juicy honeydew-cantaloupe platter. very innocent and bright. i cannot wait to try this one during the summer months. BEAUTIFUL!

wet: very sweet, very candy-like; it smells exactly like a sweet powder candy product from my childhood, but i can't for the life of me remember which one. sweet-tarts, maybe? drydown: a little more berry is coming out now, but it is still very sweet, very candy-like. it is almost too much for me, too sweet and powdery candy for my tummy. ahhh, i'm detecting a subtle plastic note now. not so pleasant, i'm afraid! although MWE is a very pretty scent, and definitely wintery, i'd have to pass on keeping this one even without the odd plastic thing it's doing on me. i'm very happy that i got the chance to try it, but i think it is just too sweet for this girl. alas!

mild and watery in the imp, it's very nice, like a light autumn rain. a pleasant floral once on the skin, beautiful throw, but it has a dry, prickly scent up close. uh-oh. this turns into all hairspray on me before long. and not the nice kind of hairspray, either, this is all aqua net! blech! what IS it with gorgeous oils turning to hairspray on me? i wanted to love this one for the name alone, but alas. EDIT (April 2010); having just tried this again (&having forgotten i ever tried it in the first place!), i am getting similar results, but not quite as intense on the hairspray. it is, at first, a beautiful, &very aquatic, floral; watery & sweet, innocent, a gorgeous summer evening next to a calm & blooming pond. on drydown, i do get a bit of "hair product" misbehavior, and i am wondering if it isn't from the gardenia? i get the same result from BPAL's jasmine note and have noticed it in at least one other Bpal perfume oil containing gardenia. that said, i could wail over it! my two favourite flowers!! still, this one is lovely enough to want to keep besides! perhaps as a scent locket? or as a perfume in the hair . . .

i received a sniffie/few-drops-left imp of this as a gracious extra from odalisque. mmmm, i could not IMAGINE what this one would smell like as i don't recall this round of LEs (i often won't pay attention to them on the site for fear of falling in love with something that will eventually be hard to find!), but wow. in the imp this is a lovely, warm vanilla. i heart vanilla! so far so good! once on, it becomes vanilla custard through and through. very rich and sweet and foody. quite yummy!! it's a lovely, luscious scent, but unfortunately my tummy does not do foody perfumes/oils very well. so alas! but i'm thrilled i got the chance to try it! (thank you, odalisque!)

in the vial, this smells to me very near the way the air would smell when it rained where i used to live in pennsylvania. late summer, cool rain; almost metalic with a thin and subtle, barely-there flower/garden/green-things scent. i LOOOVE the rain, the smells it brings, everything about it, and so i think this is wonderful!! at first . . . once on my skin there's a dry, prickly green/herbal thing happening - like the stems of sunflowers, maybe? - that i'm afraid i am just not liking at all. it's off to swaps with this one!

oh, this is so beautiful. the notes i get most are bamboo, cool, crisp air, cherry blossom, and a clear, citrusy scent. the throw is somewhat different, a little warmer, a little more floral & citrus. both are equally as gorgeous. i love love love this, and i am devastated that it is a discontinued scent!

such a lovely, sweet, humid garden! it turns mostly all sweet jasmine on me, and the throw, as usual with jasmine, is absolutely diviiiine. but alas, as is also usually the case with jasmine on me; up close to my skin? ... hairspray. but all is not a loss! at least i got to try it. :small:

I can easily see at first how this one brings Autumnal/Christmasy candles to mind for everyone; it is that same sweet, spicy holiday-seasonal scent, but the rum in this also makes it sexy. After a while, though, this becomes mostly clove on me, but it's nice, and I do like it. I think it might be a little too clovey for me - although I think I might like to try it on The Boy, and I have to admit it would be a great scent for Fall - but I AM so glad I got to try it. for rum!!

wet: cordial cherries! application and drydown: pencil eraser. and i had such high hopes for the queen.

a sweet vanilla! honest to god, i would describe it as tiny vanilla cakes. there's something in this keeping it from smelling like the pure, warm vanillas that i love and prefer so i will likely be swapping it out, but it is still very beautiful, and i absolutely recommend it to any foody/vanilla admirers!

my poor nose has no idea what it's smelling - i am unable to discern any of the individual notes in this oil - but it does definitely love sybaris so far. it's such a mild, pleasant scent in the vial, it smells so soft, like a pale violet, and i can't even really say it's changed all that much on my skin yet. a soft, mild floral and something clean? not soapy, just a wet, clean smell. it's really nice. over time there is a definite spiciness coming out - the clove? - adding a beautiful exotic element. i am really loving this one and am finding myself loving it more and more the longer it is on me. big bottle? HMMMMM. ETA: two hours after application, this turns into hairspray. alas. and i was loving you so much, sybaris!

wet: sweet and slightly musky - and something fruity? one of the first reviewers mentioned a juicy fruit note of doom, and i thought, a-ha! there IS something a little juicy fruity about it! like a warmer, more musky juicy fruit. and i always liked juicy fruit. based on what other reviewers are saying, though, i am thinking that is the wine i am picking up. application & drydown: sweet and spicy, musky, powdery. i agree that this doesn't smell very dark, but it IS beautiful and definitely very sweet!! it has only been on for a short amount of time, but it is gorgeous thus far. it seems to be getting spicier as it goes along, which is reallllly nice as it is taming that potent sweetness that i sometimes have to be careful of - sensitive tummy these days. that sweetness is still there in the throw, but . . . ohmy, up close this is quite a sexy, heated scent. yum. based on the notes in this oil i really can't imagine lilith doing anything terrible on me on the long drydown, but i will have to be careful that i wear it only when i think my stomach can take such a heady, sweet scent. it is absolutely lovely, though, and i think that i will definitely be keeping my imp.