silver_dollar

This was in my swap pile, as I didn't like it when I first got it. Reading over the notes, I wondered why, because it sounded like it should be lovely. So I decided to give it another try. I'm glad I did; I like it lots now. First on, there's a powerful buttery blast which thankfully goes away immediately. I'm not sure what sufganiyot is, but the sweet pastry top note must be it. It's a bit like waffles & honey. Very nice and unique. It doesn't really strike me as a wintery type scent; it's more summery than anything. It's very sunshiney; like sunshine filtering through glass, if that makes any sense. What it's mostly reminding me of at the moment is the beach; make of that what you will. This one is out of the swap pile.

I haven't written a review in a while, so bear with me here. I really like this. In the imp it just smells like straight pine, but on it bursts into this bright winter fir top note that is not quite pine with pleasantly sharp moss and a tiny hint of dirt grounding it at the bottom. This is only, I think, the second time I've been exposed to this particular note, and I'm pleased to note it's not overwhelming buttery as in Penny Dreadful. In fact, it's not buttery at all. Sadly, the fir fades on me quickly, but I like what I'm left with almost as much: a sweet, dark, musky green scent. It's hard to decsribe it other than that, but this is really good and is definitely going on my bottle list.

Well, what can I say? It's a candy cane. It's a little menthol-ish and pretty sinus-clearing, practically eye-watering at first. It's got a nice strong throw. In the drydown, there's sugar, and maybe the barest hint of vanilla. I got this back in winter but turns out it's pretty good for hot summer days too. A definite keeper.

Why waste time chanting her name in the mirror 13 times? Bedevil your next slumber party the easy way! Chunky, glistening red fruits with sweet cream accord, black clotted cherry, and powdered sugar! Got this one because I had to order something named after Bloody Mary. Have I mentioned that's my favorite ghost story? In the bottle it's very strong, intimidating, and almost medicinal. On, it's like some kind of old-fashioned cherry candy dipped in some booze - rum? - with strawberry or maybe apple in the background. There really is something that's almost like powdered sugar. It's actually a little off-putting at first, kind of plasticky, or, like someone else said, overripe to the point of starting to rot, but that dies down some as it dries. It's a little malevolent-smelling in a good way, which is appropriate enough. I know what the fruit is now too, it's red currant and some strawberry. It's reminding me of something too, of somewhere I've been. It's reminding me of old houses, really. I guess I'm weird or something. I like it pretty good, so it's a keeper.

The description didn't really cry out to me, but everybody seems to love it so this time around, I decided to see what all the fuss was about. Boy, am I glad I did! It was just okay when I first put it on. There was a kind of dark bourbon note to it that wasn't bad, but wasn't great either. After the drydown, though... whoo boy It smells like sex. (Not literally, thank god.) It's kind of like Snake Oil, so if you like that, try this. There's almost a vanilla tinge to it... It's amazing. If you haven't checked this out already, you should at least give it a try. Great bottle, too. ETA: Oh, I forgot to mention that my mom and sister hate this scent. I got terms like "old lady" and "funeral home". WTF? Their sinuses must be screwed up or something. Oh, well. They'll just have to deal with it.

I wore this when we went to Biltmore. Mom kept saying I smelt like a funeral home all day. I don't know if that's the point, but I have to agree. It does smell like a funeral home. It's not entirely unpleasant, but I think I'll be swapping it anyway.

I haven't tried many of the scents already rec'd, so I guess mine are a little different - I found Bordello pretty unsettling. Though that could be because I got a good scare the day I was testing it I thought of Blood of first, but on second thought I think Kabuki, while similar, is a lot darker in feel. I'd also give Samhain a try for the opening 'dark forest' stage.

This is very different from any other BPAL I've tried. I think it's more of a 'classic' perfume than what I usually wear, but I love it anyway. In the bottle it does a kind of offputting astringent thing, but on it settles down almost immediately into a myrrh-floral-grape type of scent. I get mostly florals - I was thinking wisteria earlier today, but I think it might be violet - I've smelled them both before, but can't really remember what they smell like. Then there's grapes, almost like a grape lollipop, under that. The notes combine to be more than the sum of their parts, though. It's kind of an indescribable, mature (but not too old) soft purple scent. Y'know, before discovering BPAL, I thought I didn't like florals, but it seems like all that's changing...

As soon as I open the bottle: Oh, God. Nasty butter. So I come to this thread, and, reassured by the reviews, finally dab some on. Immediately the butter goes away and is replaced by baked pumpkin and ginger and sweet amber with maybe a little citrus. It's amazing, and there's something in there that reminds me of Red Lantern before it went gross on me (Red Lantern, that is). It's still a little buttery, but not as much as, say, Penny Dreadful - it's not overpowering at all. It morphs a lot for the first half hour or so, giving each note a chance to be up front for a moment. Now that it's settled down, it's mostly pumpkin and ginger. And let me say, I like this ginger a lot more than I have in other blends. It's great, and I'm glad I decided to try it.

This is a hard one to pin down. It's sweet, but also there's a lot of incense; yet it's not smoky like Devil's Night. I was expecting more chocolate for some reason, and it's there, but it's not in the front - it's more like... what's the word I'm looking for? - an aftersmell? I hope that makes sense. There's florals, too, but not overpowering, and I'd say the blend's more of an incense blend than anything else, though it's a lot more complicated than that. It's probably one of the most well-blended BPALs I've tried. To me, it's more summery than autumny - I guess that's appropriate for a Day of the Dead scent, though. ETA: This is the '06 version I'm talking about.

Frimp from the Lab. Not much to say - if fits the description very well. It smells like carnations dipped in honey. I get the milk too, but not the rose or bergamot, yay! It's not like tea or anything. It's even better than I'd imagined.

I'm reviewing the '06 version. I was a little afraid of it in the bottle because it was very strong and much smokier than Devil's Night when I sniffed my bottle of that. But you can never tell about BPAL from the bottle, so I bravely slathered some on. Maybe I shouldn't have put so much on because it's very strong even on my skin. At first it's all dark woods and a little of some kind of fir. It's a bit medicinal at this stage, and reminds me of nothing so much as Christmas. I went outside and kept smelling apples, and so did my Mom who was about three feet away from me. Sure enough, it was my perfume. That makes me happy 'cause BPAL rarely has much throw on me. Mom said, when she sniffed my arm, "That smells like that Apple Cinnamon spray we have for the kitchen," so make of that what you will. It's gone from woods and apple to apple cider to apple with - I swear - rose. I like it a lot, but I still think it's more Christmassy than Halloweenie

This does a pretty neat trick on me - at first blast it's nothing but astringent lemon, and it stays that way for all of a minute. Then fig peeks through and gradually gets stronger, mixing with the lemon. Then black coconut. Then lavender, vetiver, plum, and finally the musk. I was thinking about the description and it really is like a skeleton gaining gaining muscles and skin. Good job, Lab! It settles down and stops being so strong after about an hour, like the carny talker has kicked off his shoes and sat down with some tea and a newspaper somewhere. The longer it stays on, the more it smells like grape bubblegum. Pretty cool.

This smells just like minty Orange Pekoe tea to me. It's so nice, and the mint doesn't overpower everything else. This is perfect for fall. My only problem is it fades very quick. Despite that, it's one of my favorites so far.

... This scent reflects the futurism, self-indulgence and excess of the Glitter 70’s: champagne, hyacinth, tuberose, ylang ylang and flashing white musk with jonquil, tobacco flower, white sandalwood and a pale poppy. Oh, nice. It's a very, very "white", sparkly sort of scent. I didn't notice the hairspray smell til after I read the comments here, but there's also a fruity champagne and tobacco flower. It's perfumey in a chemical sort of way, but I'm not complaining. It smells really high-end. When it's dry, there's a slightly powdery white floral that doesn't overpower the other notes. It lasts forever, too, which is a small miracle as my skin usually eats up BPAL. So yeah, I love it. ETA Lab description.

It's really extremely fruity. I get mostly guava with white pepper, which always tends to go a little smoky on me for some reason. It's like what I expected Macchu Picchu to be like. It's gets sweeter and softer on drydown, and seems to last quite a while.

Not bad. Very commercial-cologny in the imp, but not so on my skin. At first there's a fir note and a sort of "bluegreen" type of scent. After that fades, I get leather for a couple seconds - like the leather in De Sade - but that goes away quick. And then it's sort of vaguely sweet fir. I could've sworn there was cypress in here, but I guess not. I like it a lot, though.

I just get jasmine, and plenty of it. Fortunately, I'm in the minority that likes the Lab's jasmine note, but I was hoping for more complexity, especially because the other notes sounded so good. The drydown is sweeter and candylike, like in New Orleans. I guess jasmine turns into jasmine candy on me after a while. Not entirely what I expected, but it's okay.

I thought this would be the Carnaval scent I'd like the least, but it's actually very good (uh, at least on my skin, anyway). It's mostly sharp, spicy wood. I don't smell like my cedar trunk so I guess that's teak. I don't get much rose, but that's fine with me 'cause rose is not my favorite. It's almost a traditional type of perfume, and it fits the puppet show theme very well, IMO. It also reminds me of a haunted house, kind of. It's pretty bitter so I can see how that wouldn't turn out great on a lot of people. The drydown is this sickly-sweet, cloying rose that I'm not fond of, but I really like the initial stage and it lasts a long time, so overall I like it.

Uh... it's only been a few days since I tried this, but I really can't remember much about it. The main thing I recall is the smokiness topped with a mysterious orange candy-type smell. This is due for some further testing, I think.

Ooooh. Love this. It's like a sexy candy apple without the apple. It's like a redder, sweeter Snake Oil. On me the main notes are red musk and plum with a bit of vanilla. No hint of patchouli or anything like that, but it's so complex maybe it's there but I'm missing it. Beth, you smell good :searching desperately for a drool smilie:

It's just what it says - creamy chocolate. It's not dark chocolate, though, but milk chocolate. Like chocolate hard candy. Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. I don't get a plasticky note, either, like a lot of other people, thank God. Just... well, chocolate!

First on, it smells like clove and... peanut butter? That's the only way to describe it, really. Then the peanut butter smell goes away and I'm left with soft cherry and clove. But mostly clove. Well, there's no clove in the description, so actually, I have no idea what it is, just that I'm not crazy about it. Damn, and this blend sounded like it had so much potential... I guess you can't win 'em all.

I don't get any incense out of this, in fact it's really mostly sugar. Maybe a hint of flowers for the first few minutes. It's a lot like Dorian without the vanilla. Dorian's one of my favorites, though, so I'm not complaining.

Most of the time lemon fades immediately on me, but not here - this is all soft lemon and coconut on me for a long time. I can actually smell the coconut in this, which is a surprise as that note usually never shows up on me. They blend well together and last for an extremely long time. It's almost like lemon cotton candy. Later on, just when I think it's all faded and gone, a sudden smoky note comes out. I could have sworn it was tobacco flower, but I guess maybe it was the opium smoke. It's very strong and lasts all night. I like this blend a lot.