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BPAL Madness!

Poenari

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Everything posted by Poenari

  1. Poenari

    Snakes in the Berry Sonker

    This is a darker, fruitier berried Snake Oil than Serpent In The Berries. I tried them side by side and while I love them both, I think I will be turning to this one more often! A lovely dark fruity Snake Oil. What's not to love?!
  2. Poenari

    Copperhead Snake on Dead Leaves

    I love my Snake Oil, and I love my dead leaves blends. This is another perfect medley for autumn. But at first, oh this snake bites! At first, the dead leaves covered over the snake, which had to wriggle out from under the pile to make itself known. After a bit of drydown, the snake fights its way forward. This is a tussle for supremacy. They are very equally matched! After an hour or so, they remain blended into a beautiful Snake Oil variant. This definitely has similarities to Haunt 2021, but I feel like this one has more throw and longevity on me. Will try a death match between them in a few days and report back, but of course I would never get rid of either one! They are so perfectly in my wheelhouse! Next Day Update! I acquired a bottle of Haunt 2021 last year and put it away. I tried it today, after wearing Copperhead Snake on Dead Leaves all day yesterday. I wanted to do a comparison. Now in Haunt, I can really detect the lavender after this has aged for so long! Maybe a hint of the Dorian, too. Anyway, this is gorgeous and I'm so glad I have a full bottle. But if you missed out on Haunt, get yourself Copperhead Snake on Dead Leaves while it is available! They are different enough to have both, but if one is all you can get, then I wouldn't really have a preference because both are wonderful Snake Oil w/Dead Leaves scents!
  3. Poenari

    Witch's Tit

    Ok my package arrived today so this first sniff is fresh from the mailbox. I'll update later if anything changes. First off, sniffed from the bottle this is surprisingly lighter than I would expect! Pleasant, musky. On wrist, I get black musk, the same musk I get in The Cat. There is a creaminess to this that fortunately isn't the scent of actual milk, which I detest, but I feel like it's what keeps the blend soft and very smooth. Sadly I don't get a blood note... I really love all of the Lab's blood notes and wish it were stronger here. Early take is that this is very wearable and should be popular if you love musk!
  4. Poenari

    Dead Leaves, Pumpkin Pie, and Hearthsmoke Atmosphere Spray

    This is such a perfect autumn scent! I’ve said that before about my Samhain atmosphere spray, but this is even better if that’s possible! It’s the perfect blend of pumpkin spices with crisp red and gold dead leaves, and just a touch of campfire smoke. I am keeping a small bottle in my car so it can smell like this whenever I need a touch of Autumn in my day. Backup bottles for sure! Do not sit on this one if you want autumn year round!
  5. Poenari

    Coconut Tree Single Note

    Oh this is so lovely! It really is true to all the parts of the coconut. Takes me right back to my trip to Hawaii many years ago, where I enjoyed many coconuts fresh off the tree. I need to try layering this with Snake Oil as a preview of my pending order of Snakes In The Coconut Cake, although I expect that to be a much sweeter version of coconut.
  6. Poenari

    Insulation Board Tombstone

    Very evocative and chemical smelling. I can really smell the sealant, as I've been married for 48 years to a man who refinishes furniture and uses many sealants. This smell exactly like it's described. Stays true on the drydown too. More of something I enjoy as an example of Beth's expertise at creating atmospherics and odd scents than something I will actually wear.
  7. Poenari

    Datura Blossom

    Testing my decant and my first take: oh this smells like poison! There's a vague undertone of almost a lye note here, but sweet and sticky. The floral note isn't the kind of white floral that screeches into my sinuses! It's seductive and pulls you in for a closer sniff. I literally sniffed so close that I accidentally touched my nose to my wrist! After drydown, the scent dries down to a purplish floral all right, only a hint of powder here. This is deceptively lovely!
  8. Poenari

    Thirteen (13): September 2024

    I bought a bottle of this to gift to my hair stylist, who got married on this particular Friday the 13th! She has said she's a foodie, so I am hoping that she will love this not just for the commemoration of her wedding date but also for the scent itself. I haven't skin tested it therefore, but I opened to sniff and wow- this is so lovely! I have a few of the Thirteens that correspond to my own personally important Friday the 13ths, but I might need to buy a bottle of this one for myself too! It's like a lightly spiced creamy chocolate coconut pudding! I'm NOT a foodie and I want to wear this one myself!
  9. Poenari

    The Serpent in the Berries

    I tend not to care for strawberry notes on my skin, but had to blind bottle this because I do adore Snake Oil and so many of its variants. I'm glad I did! On my skin this scent is unmistakenly Snake Oil with a sweeter drydown; a syrupy fruitiness at the end that ensures it is not exactly Snake Oil alone. It doesn't go plasticky as strawberry usually does. It is a lovely rendition of a berried Snake Oil, just as it says. This works so much better on me than Kinda Sorta Snake Oil Cream Soda. It's sweet but not milky creamy, as that one is. I didn't want to get a backup bottle of this but I might need to before it's gone!
  10. Poenari

    Black Lipstick

    Oh this is so good! I have definitely bought more than my share of black lipsticks over the years, and I really get the wax opening. The clove is present but not overwhelming. I amp clove, so this is amazing! This is a delightful nostalgic blend. Might upgrade my decant to a bottle before they come down, if I have sufficient funds.
  11. Poenari

    The Queen of Hearts

    All these years and I've never reviewed this one! Remedied. I didn't look up the notes first, and assumed that this would be a heavily rose scent. WRONG! Upon application, woah! Lots of cherry, or perhaps almond, as those notes are quite interchangeable on my skin. Unfortunately so, as they typically don't work on me and become a scrubber. Let's look it up before proceeding further. Yep, cherry. Yikes. Urinal cakes to me. 😭. I will wait it out for a bit before washing it off. Ok, that blast subsided quicker than I expected! Ahh, there's the lilies. I get more Calla lily than the lily of the valley note as a secondary note. I'm not sure what stephanotis smells like. Upon drydown, this has become a very lovely floral, and that rare white floral that doesn't interfere with my sinuses. I'm glad that I waited this out! It's very pretty and quite sweet on my skin, not a scrubber at all. I find this Queen to be quite girly and she has definitely not cut off my head! Very wearable when seeking a fresh sweet floral.
  12. Poenari

    Got the Morbs Hair Gloss

    Oh this is good! It's spicy from the clove, which I love, but also musky and the myrrh keeps the opium tar from any bitterness. This is going to get a lot of wear in cooler weather! I'm just not ready for clove in this heat, as it always reads "fall" to me. Will upgrade my decant to a bottle as soon as I have the funds!
  13. Poenari

    Strawberry Moon 2024: Wild Strawberries and Amber Hair Gloss

    I only got a decant and tested this on my arm first, as strawberry (and cherry) tends to work poorly with my skin chemistry. I hoped the amber would temper that trend. This is so pretty at first, but quickly turned on my skin. It becomes urinal cake in my nose, and I just can't. I didn't scrub it off, as I hoped that was just a phase. Sadly, it was not. I guess they can't all be winners on me.
  14. Poenari

    Fleurs D’Oranger Hair Gloss

    I'm wearing Fleurs D’Oranger HG as a body spray today. I've already tested it in freshly washed hair, but I wanted to give it a full test and am really loving it! I'm rarely attracted to any scents with citrus, and I realize this is orange blossom, so not technically citrus. I can see why I love this- it's a deeper kind of floral, with a hint of muskiness to it. I read that orange blossom pairs well with "oriental" notes, so that makes a lot of sense with my preferences. Many florals, especially white florals, go screeching into my sinuses, but this doesn't. It's the kind of floral I like to wear in the heat of summer. Lovely and I think it's a great addition to the general catalog! Thanks Puddin'!
  15. Poenari

    Othello

    Something made me dig through my imp stash to try this one today! My one and only imp appears to be very aged, by the looks of my label. It went on and stayed as a sweet musky rose. I don't really get spices, but it's a lovely scent. I might have to order a bottle just to have, because it really is lovely!
  16. Poenari

    Byronic Antihero Beard Oil

    Ohhhh! First of all, I forgot that this was a Halloween perfume first. It's not in my collection, so now that I ordered the beard oil for my husband, I am wishing I had the perfume too! https://www.bpal.org/topic/69983-the-byronic-antihero/ I tested this on my skin first before turning it over to him for his beard. I was pleasantly surprised that the carnation is the first note I smell. I love that spicy almost-clove scent that real carnations used to give off. Store-bought varieties don't have that. I get a bit of yew and a slightly green khus (vetiver) next. The patchouli never comes out to play. This is a very nice scent for a beard oil - masculine, but not overly, and of course the beard oils aren't meant to have a lot of throw. I would wear this as a body moisturizer if my husband doesn't.
  17. Poenari

    Single-Barrel Bourbon, Tobacco, and Clove Beard Oil

    Oh wow this is gorgeous! I tested it on my skin first before I turn it over to my husband. There is a distinct clovey bourbon note, but the patchouli root and tobacco keep it grounded and away from smelling like alcohol. It's very genteel.
  18. Poenari

    Masala Chai Beard Oil

    This is exactly as described- a lovely chai scent. I actually get a lot of tea first, then the spices kick in. I tested it on my skin before having my husband try it on his beard. I would definitely wear this myself as a body oil if he won't use it!
  19. Poenari

    Lich, Please Beard Oil

    I can't put my finger on it, but this really reminds me of some scent in my memory... I can't even recall if it's another BPAL scent! I'm testing this on my skin before I turn it over to my husband for his beard. It's very nice and is mainly a woodsy scent. The moss and wood are blended and not specifically identified, and it's not very smoky either. If I can figure out my scent memory I'll come back and edit this. In the meantime, I like this and hope my husband does too! If not, I will wear it as a moisturizer.
  20. Poenari

    Glowing Vulva at Ryogoku Bridge 2024

    I never had the original perfume, but I had the original bath oil (8 oz. bottles y'all!) and wore the hell out of it as an after shower moisturizer. So I couldn't wait to order this perfume when it returned! Granted, it's been several years since I last had any of the bath oil, but this perfume immediately brought those memories back. On my skin and as I remembered, the teak and amber are the notes that bloom on my skin. There is a vanilla kind of note to their mixture, which may be the cream note but fortunately, because I really dislike milk and cream and dairy notes, it stays as it is and keeps the teak and amber smooth. I don't really smell the lotus but overall this is neither a foodie nor a floral on me. The sum is so much greater than the parts. If my BPAL collection wasn't already so large, I would order a backup bottle. But at my age I am seriously trying to use what I have without getting more backups of those I love. So one bottle of this beauty will have to suffice. It's gorgeous.
  21. Poenari

    Black Julbocken Alchemy Lab

    Clove is that you?! Not listed, but initially I get a blast of black clove. It immediately fades and then I realized its the blend of a dark black musk with the terebinth that is reminding me of clove on my skin. Not as wooly as I had expected. This one reminds me of Hell-Gate of Ireland, although they share none of the same notes. No, it's more of the same vibe I get from Hell-Gate. If you love dark musky foresty scents as much as I do, you should get this while the Yules are still available!!
  22. Poenari

    Witch in the Woods

    This is a surprise win for me! I wasn't sure what to expect so I only got a decant. I love this. I agree with others that it's very like a sweet blackberry herbal tea. I typically don't do well with mandrake root or cypress but they are very tempered here by the blackberry. It wears nicely on my skin, medium throw. Stays true to the initial blackberry from beginning through drydown.
  23. Poenari

    Handknitted Witch Gloves

    Oh this is a lovely surprise! I get wooly oakmoss first, a fuzzy and slightly smoky oakmoss. The cranberry is there but doesn't dominate as it usually will for me. It gives a gently sweet fruitiness to the overall scent. This is very well-blended and stays close to my skin. Doesn't morph and stays true. A cozy scent at that.
  24. Poenari

    Pumpkin Incense

    A little sweeter than the Pumpkin Incense atmo, but very very close. Not a sweet pumpkin spice blend, but a darker drying pumpkin with the incense blending into it perfectly. These make such a great set to really be atmospheric. Oops! I posted this about the Harvest Haunt perfume in the wrong thread! Keeping it here though, and adding what I meant to say about this atmo spray. Dark pumpkin and incense. This is not the sweet candied spice scent. If you love this, get The Harvest Haunt perfume too, as they are almost the same! I love it. Atmospheric and autumnal, this one's going in my car.
  25. Poenari

    Dead Leaves, Prune & Patchouli

    I LOVE THIS. The dead leaves and patchouli are very reminiscent of my beloved Autumn Leaves & Haitian Patchouli hair gloss, and the prune adds a touch of dark sweetness to them, without being fruity or sweet, if that makes sense. Prunes are dried plums, as raisins are dried grapes, and this prune has that dark chewy but dried note. It's not your grandpa's morning prune juice. I might need a backup bottle of this!
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