Poenari

This is soooo good! It reminds me of my beloved Autumn Leaves and Haitian Patchouli, but with the palo santo replacing the leaves. Trying to talk myself out of a backup bottle. If you love patchouli, you must buy this!

I have a love/hate relationship with the snow notes. If it is the same as Snow White, then it's a nope for me, as no matter how much I want to love Snow White, she just doesn't work on my skin. So I was cautious and only bought a decant of Snow Cross to see. Well this was unexpected! Not only is the most definitely NOT the snow note from Snow White, it's not really minty or wintry at all! The rose is very prominent here, but instead of what I expected, I get a scent that takes me right back to my childhood! This smells like the little grey anise candies that my dad used to love! It's very surprising, and this is not what I would call licorice either. I have several of the other BPALS that have contained a licorice note over the years, and it's not that. But somehow whatever Beth used as her snow here has blended with Rose Cross in a very unexpected but delightful way, at least for me. Long lasting on my skin, and decent throw too! I need a bottle of this because not only is it lovely and wearable, but I need it as a nostalgic memory.

Very lavender forward, but there is a poopiness right there lurking. Fortunately that part fades quickly upon drydown. It remains a woodsy lavender on me. I wish the patchouli was stronger. This one is not really my cup of tea.

Very simply, a smoldering woodsy scent. The final embers are almost gone and there is a hint of pine sap. Wears closer to the skin than I expected. This reminds me of Rumpelstilzchen, but is his softer, sweeter younger brother. In the same family but not as "in your face."

I really love my 2013 Gingerbread Snake and even though the description is different this time, I knew I needed at least one bottle of this! So as a comparison, trying to think of this without the aging factor of my 2013, this version is heavier on the Snake Oil. I get a lot of gorgeous Snake Oil, with a bit of gingerbread showing up on the drydown. The OG is much more gingery, and if I recall correctly, was also heavier on the initial blast of ginger. This is gorgeous and I'm certain it will age well too. If you love Snake Oil and gingerbread, you will love this. Even though I still have some backup bottles of the 2013, I will definitely order at least one more bottle of this before Yules come down.

Very autumnal sweet maple leaves with pumpkin, very little smoke or rum. It's a very clever blend of notes that work very nicely on my skin. Not a pumpkin spice, very much a carved pumpkin, but the other notes keep it from going to foodie or vegetal stages. Nice!

Tea and autumn leaves with the hinoki wood are my initial impressions. There is a brightness to this scent, different from my usual preferences, but very pretty. I can understand the spa-like references from others. Nice!

Sweet and Smoky indeed! There's nothing acrid about this. It's a very smooth, spicy-sweet woody scent. I cannot pick out individual notes- they swirl and meld together in a very autumnal scent. It really does smell like a very high-end fragrance. I've been using my decant in the car. It is long-lasting... A couple of spritzes in the car and I can still smell it when I get back in a couple of hours later. I'm not only upgrading my decant to a full bottle, but getting a backup as well. This is one that I will want to keep on hand for a very long time and will regret when mine is gone and it's no longer available. I've learned my lesson the hard way on this.

This is so good! I always amp clove, which is fine because it's a note I love. This clove doesn't stomp out all the other notes, although it is the most prominent note on my skin. The champaca and plum notes meld into the clove in a way that makes this a perfect scent on me. Also, no hairspray detected, which is fine. Dark, incensy, sweetened from the plum, but not as strong as Thorns Clove Cigarettes. It lasts a very long time, and several times I wondered what that lovely scent was that I was catching whiffs of. Then I remembered: It's me!!

This reminds me of the sandalwood in my 2021 Every Day Is Halloween! It's very pretty, kind of sweetened with a bit of oak on the drydown. Very lovely.

I haven't tried this in my hair yet, but am giving it a good test on my arm, since I sometimes use my hair glosses as a body spray. Unless something changes a lot after dry down, I won't be using my decant as a body spray. The fougere is very dominant, with the leaves secondary. I was worried about the leather note, because I rarely enjoy it in my perfumes. But fortunately leather is at most a supporting player, only barely showing up after dry down. Unfortunately, instead campfire smell, which I love, I get stale cigarette smoke, which I hate. In fact, this smell of cigarette smoke amps after about 20 minutes and is all I can smell. I still plan to give this a true test in my hair, and will update my review after I do that. I truly hope that it doesn't make my hair smell like cigarettes. My hair used to quickly pick up that smell from places where smoking is allowed and I hated it. Since there are no places I go any more where smoking is permitted, I always hoped that would remain a distant scent memory. Stay tuned!

Bizarrely, I never reviewed this gorgeous scent, even though I've already gone through two bottles and have a few more backups stashed. I had just started my BPAL journey in March 2006, and Poe scents were an insta-buy do to my love of all things Edgar Allan Poe. In the bottle, the dirt note is the most prominent, as it also is when I first apply. Then the patchouli rises up and the orchid sweetens the whole thing. The cypress was more prominent in fresh bottles than in aged bottles, but it and the teakwood make this a woody, earthy floral. It ages very well, as my bottles are all over 17 years old! They can almost vote! And I vote YES for Premature Burial.

Initially I get frankincense! That's often how ash/smoke notes can smell on me, and I always amp frankincense when it's a listed note. I'm guessing that it makes up part of the ash note. Then blood musk, yay! This is actually a softer scent than I would have expected from the notes, but that makes it more wearable in a wider variety of situations. This is a lovely smoky musk blend. Happy I was gifted my bottle from a friend!

I've had this bottle since it was released in 2007, and have rarely ever seen it, much less reviewed it! Today I was in the mood for something different, something I don't wear often, and something that would counteract the terrible air quality we are having here. Time to pull out this well-aged beauty! I applied it heavily without rereading the notes first. This is a lovely honeyed rose on me. I went back and read the reviews, and 30 minutes after application the initial dry down is still all honeyed rose. Not a single one of the other notes stands out. This is simply a beautiful honeyed rose scent on my skin. I need to start wearing it more often!

Let's bump this thread! I love BPAL clove! Thorns' Clove Cigarette if you can find it; Old Demons of the First Class is a great clove -forward GC currently out of stock (Siberian musk, black clove, opoponax, tonka, black pepper, and neroli) so get on the wait-list; Clemence from Carnival Diabolique is out of stock right now but get on the wait-list for the perfect patchouli clove blend; GC Blood for dragons blood and clove; GC Dracul (Black musk, tobacco, fir, balsam of peru, cumin, bitter clove, crushed mint, and orange blossom); Low Key Lyesmith (Black clove and cassia flung onto glowing cinders and mingled with slow-dripping poisons); A Torch Steeped in Blood (Pine pitch and clove-tinged dragon’s blood resin); and then Frankincense and Clove hair gloss and Black Clove, Tobacco Flower and Grave Soil for the most perfect clove hair gloss!!

Received this in 2022. This goes on very clean, and smells like a fresh bar of white Dial soap to me. Not a bad smell, it's very fresh and doesn't make me sneeze or turn up my nose. After drydown, a warm white or skin musk comes through the soapiness. White musk usually goes straight to my sinuses, but not this, so maybe skin musk instead. Totally inoffensive, and could easily be worn in places that don't allow scent because it's so neutral and smells like clean skin fresh from a shower.

Dab a bit behind each ear, and you'll be instantly inspired to alter street signs, shake fruit from your neighbor's trees, and hide your roommate's car keys. Black coconut, gnarly patchouli, and sweet benzoin. From the minute Beth commented here that she had this blend coming soon, I couldn't wait. I just knew that Goblin was made for me. I can't believe I'm the first one to review this new scent! Here goes... Upon opening the bottle, the first thing that hit me was the patchouli, but that was to be expected. I love patchouli, and by its nature, I expect it to come on strongly at first. I coudn't wait, and applied to each wrist. While the patch is foremost, there is a slight sharpness but sweetness mingled in which must be the benzoin and coconut. For those who fear patchouli, this is no dirty hippie scent. The notes are all mingling and swirling into a sweet, spicy, impish goblin. However, patchouli lovers- you must. try. this. I cannot stop sniffing myself. Ohhhh, I am in love! edited to add: Beth, thank you so much for making this a GC scent!

I'm not typically a fan of strawberry notes, so this is a very surprise! I get the frostbitten note here - very much a frozen strawberry scent! Not too sweet and not plasticky. Very nice and a fun scent to wear that is completely outside of my usuals!

I've been wearing my bottle of this frequently since it arrived last month. It's so beautiful... I have an enduring love of Snake Oil and several of the variants. This is another Snake Oil variant that I believe will become highly treasured. Don't sit on this one! The Snake Oil isn't as prominent as in recent other variants, so I think many people will find this delightful. To me, the rose is a lovely pink dewy rose, not sharp and not soapy, just fresh and springlike. The rose is actually more noticeable than the Snake Oil, which is a supporting player here. I also get some red musk from this. The scent is very wearable in any setting and quite long lasting. I need at least one backup bottle because I've already been going through my first so quickly!

I tested this without rereading the notes first. Wow! Popcorn! Unmistakable popcorn! After reviewing the notes, ok, I can get an undertone of some caramel from this too, but it's mainly salty popcorn to me. After drydown, a slight sweetness of cotton candy, but not nearly enough. I never get the cola or a fizzy pop from this. I'm not a fan of popcorn scents, so this decant is more than enough for me.

Finally testing my long-rested decant this morning. This is an ethereal lavender tea scent. Light and airy, and slightly aquatic from the ambergris. It's too high pitched for me to wear as a bedtime scent, as I prefer deeper darker scents to guide my sleep. The overall scent is lovely, and upon drydown, it deepens somewhat. However, overall this is not one that I would reach for.

Finally testing my well-rested decant. Oh wow! This is strawberry! And then the patchouli.... What a lovely strawberry incense scent! I typically avoid strawberry, but this is not a fake or plastic strawberry, it's a realistic juicy berry. Seriously good, and unexpected. I will enjoy wearing this decant. Seems to have decent throw and longevity, too.

Finally testing my very well-rested decant. Ohhh this is a lovely burst of rose! But what else is that familiar note... it's a soft note just underneath the surface... I know! There was a candy from my childhood ('50s/'60s) called Ben Hurs, long discontinued and lost to the ages. My dad and I loved them. They had a texture like butter mints, but were gray and anise-flavored. That's a memory dragged out of the distant recesses of my mind! Anyway it's not an obvious anise or licorice note, which isn't listed anyway, but somehow whatever is blending with the rose gave me an instant flashback to my childhood and that candy. After drydown, this has stayed consistent to the end, mainly a very slightly powdery, lovely rose scent. My budget is super restricted now or I would definitely buy a bottle of this.

Finally getting around to testing my decant, and this is a surprise! I get an aquatic fir tree, as if there is a stand of old firs right at the edge of crashing waves with a sea spray in the air. It dries down to a resinous blend, still with the fir note. The honey dust gives it a hint of sweetness, but doesn't stand out as a separate note. I love patchouli but it doesn't come through here. This is very nice and not at all what I expected.

I finally blind bought a bottle from the Lab in late November/early December, and other than a quick bottle sniff it's been sitting in the dark waiting for some early spring weather for me to break it out. Well it was 70 here yesterday, but I wanted to wear Serpent In The Roses. It's only 45 today, but I am finally giving this a full wear test. I adore lilacs so this was a must-have sent for my collection. One of the few happy memories I have of Catholic grade school is from the month of May. In particular my second grade classroom. It was located in the attic floor of a very old building. We loved being isolated from everyone else in the school, especially when it came to fire drills. We had to climb out a window onto a rickety old iron fire escape and slowly make our way down to the ground level. Everyone else exited from the main front stairs of the building. It was dangerous and scary and thrilling and would never be allowed nowadays. But we loved the thrill! My other favorite memory is of our May altar that was set up in our classroom. It had a big statue of the Virgin Mary, and we brought in tons of spring flowers to cover it: tulips, hyacinths, daffodils,, but most of all lilacs. We had two big lilac bushes in our yard so I always clipped big bunches of lilacs to bring to school. The scent of those beautiful fresh cut lilacs, with my nose buried in them during the bus ride to school, and placing them overflowing onto the altar, still makes me smile. And on whichever date was my turn to be May Queen, I wear a crown of lilacs and passed out flowers and treats to the entire classroom. This bottle takes me back instantly. All lilacs, all the time, beautiful sweet lilacs. It also has a lot of throw and long wear time on me. I love this so much.