Cicely

Aside from the two that don't count due to spillage (Hope AND Faith! what rotten luck!), I would say about 3 months? I'm not really a slatherer, but they do go a lot more quickly when I mix them into jojoba oil (for my hair) and body lotions. I think it took me about that long to go through La Belle Au Bois Dormant thanks to liberal slathering and mixing. I've kept all of my empty bottles, of which there are 6, including one 10ml of Antique Lace. I'm pretty liberal about my BPAL use, especially since the kinds of scents I tend to prefer aren't the rich resiny vanillas that get better with age.

Hope is gorgeous creamy sugared roses, like a bouquet of red and pink roses + the sugared vanilla of Antique Lace. So lovely, feminine, and unique! Great lasting power and throw, to boot!

I've always wondered what BPAL Ginny Weasley would smell like--since Harry lurves the "flowery scent" that always seems to surround her. My hair is reddish (not bright, sadly) so I'm going to scent it with one of my pretty florals for tomorrow night! I'm thinking something like Ophelia or Desdemona. Eeeee we're at T-minus 24 hours!!!

Violets, violets, violets - how I love them! Marie is my all-time favorite BPAL, and it's turned into my signature scent. Fancy and feminine, but not without some sex appeal. It takes my two most beloved notes - rose and violet - and combines them perfectly.

When I tried Blood Rose on for the first time and asked my brother for his opinion, he said "it smells like an antique shop." That's cute, and I guess in the vial it does smell a tiny bit like potpourri (which is what I'm assuming he associated with antique shops) - but once on my skin, it's rich, silky, dark, and slightly boozy and fruity - like a heady red wine. It makes me think of a blood red rose with lush, velvety petals. Beth's name and description for this blend are flawless. This is the perfect scent to wear with my silky, lacy blouses and camisoles when my hair is wavy and long, my eyes are smoky and my lips are dark red. It makes me want to put on something decadent and sexy. It's Goth and Romantic in the best kind of way. However, because Blood Rose is so strong and seductive, it's not something I can wear often or during the daytime. But when I'm in the right mood, it's beautiful.

Vice smells exactly like a Jaffa Cake, one of my favorite types of cookies that my grandmother always sends me from Europe. As that cute little Wikipedia article says, they're spongy with orange jam and a layer of chocolate. Many BPALs have vividly reminded me of places and things, but man, this is dead on. I assume the orange blossom is what smells like the jam, but maybe the black cherry is part of the overall fruity jam-ness. Either way, I can't pick it out specifically. The chocolate is dark and delicious. I want to eat my wrist! This is lovely to have on hand (thank you, lab, for the frimp!!) when I get a orangey chocolatey craving and have no Jaffa Cakes to tide me over, but it's not something I'd personally want to smell like to others. It's beautiful for what it is - I'm just more of a floral kind of girl.

To me, Kurukulla is Ophelia without the greenness of the lily and ivy: a gorgeous bouquet of sweet, lush roses. I love how Beth's descriptions are so accurate; it makes choosing scents to go along with different moods and ideas so easy. Kurukulla is absolutely "harmonious, sweet, and enchanting." Kurukulla doesn't morph on me very much, but as with most blends, gains more throw and becomes deeper and more lush once she warms on my skin. She's almost too sweet and intense sometimes, so I like to save her for cooler days when I need something cheerful and sunny.

Two, Five and Seven is an unbeliably beautiful blend, and perfect for me since I adore roses and sweet scents in general. Unfortunately, whether it smells slightly sharp and green or candied and rosy depends on my day-to-day skin chemistry. I obviously much prefer the latter, and when my skin decides to cooperate there's nothing (BPAL or otherwise) I'd rather smell like.

Desdemona is a slightly sweet (sweet pea), slightly spicy (carnation), slightly clean (water lily) floral that I love to wear on rainy spring days when I somehow feel both melancholy and hopeful at the same time. The softness in the description is so accurate. Wearing Desdemona reminds me of walking through my aunt's enormous garden right after it has rained, while drops are still clinging to the petals and the air smells soft and fresh. Desdemona is the smell when the sunshine begins to filter through the clouds as I sit by the pond where the water lilies float, my skirt billowing around me. It's so beautiful and evocative- while writing this review I'm sitting on my bed on a cold, bleak morning, but as Desdemona surrounds me (she has the best throw and lasting power of all my floral BPALs) I'm instantly transported to that garden.

What initially charmed me about BPAL was that I found a perfume called Ophelia; that I could wear a scent created specifically for the character with notes and ideas intended to encapsulate her. But I would have fallen in love with Ophelia regardless of the name. On me, she goes on a sweet, almost candy-like floral. I adore rose, so I'm very happy to detect it right away. The lotus must be what is making it so sweet. Lily always smells somewhat green to me, which must be enhanced by the ivy. I absolutely agree with other reviers who say it evokes the various Pre-Raphaelite interpretations of Ophelia, especially the one by John Everett Millais where she is floating on her back surrounded by flowers and greens. It's definitely "wistful and vulnerable" and is one of my favorite blends to wear when I'm feeling particularly dreamy. So feminine and lovely.