forspecial_plate

I really go back and forth on this scent. It's hard to let go of any expectations because I love the old original version so much. I believe this isn't the same but I do think it is comparable. It has a soapy or detergent aspect like some others mentioned, that is hard for me to get past. Then after some time, some of the sugared incense does come out for me, like after about a half hour. It's still not the same as the old one but it is a closer approximation than I thought at first. It's borderline for me. Sorry for editing but it seemed that just when I posted my review the incense decided to come out after all. This honestly reminds me a little bit of Cottonmouth.

Resistance, from the Activism section, currently available - "Bourbon vanilla and vintage champaca absolute with sweet patchouli, dried red fruits, leather accord, pumpkin rind, and a splash of bourbon"

This isn't what I expected but I do really like it. This is not a sweet or "lemony" ginger like you often find with Bpal ginger scents. Either they use different ginger accords or the orange blossom is playing tricks on my nose.. This is a very dry herbal scent and I was reminded of Sweet Ginger and Patchouli hair gloss. In fact this is a great scent to pair with that hg. After some time passes, it becomes softer and the clove definitely comes out. Kind of reminds me of a carnation scent to be honest (I know it's just the clove doing that). I can tell the benzoin is a light incense-y backdrop. Overall, I was expecting warm, sweet and cozy, and after I got over my expectations I find this to be dry, herbal, sophisticated, with very little floral. Not a gourmand scent at all to my nose. I'll really enjoy wearing this.

I recommend A Moonlit Winter Landscape if iris + dirt sounds good to you. There is a powdery sweet aspect but it really helps balance the deep earthy quality. I love it.

This is The Myrrh Show on me, mostly myrrh with a little something tart and overall a dark incense feel. Not bad.

Ok, I'll give it a shot. This is really unusual and it's not reminding me of any other Bpal, although I haven't tried everything. I'm not getting traditional aquatic. I have tried many aquatic Bpal scents and this doesn't really smell like those. I think I am smelling mossy stone, and I think there might be some grapefruit in the mix too. I'm not picking up on any icy water. And I don't really smell hearth smoke, but there is a kind of softness that could be some hearth smoke way in the background. It's not a scent I can pick apart easily, it's more like a blended accord that doesn't really morph much over time. I had to get over my expectations with this because it's really not what I expected, but it is definitely growing on me. I may not always be in the mood for this but I think it's a clean scent, and might be really nice on a warm spring day. Edit to add: after a couple hours I think the hearth smoke is slooooowly making itself known, but it's so subtle I didn't really notice it happening. Neat!

I really like this too. There's a really short phase right at the beginning that worried me a little, kind of flat and...dusty or something. But after about 20 or 30 minutes, it smooths out a lot and is just lovely. This part reminds me of TKO but sweeter and more gourmand. This could be such a nice bedtime scent like the reviewer mentioned before me. It's incredibly well balanced.

This is soft, sweet, rounded, refreshing, basically perfect. It's not sharp in any way. Blueberry musk is what I smell and I love it. Perfect strength level and lasts a long time.

I got mostly anise for a long time. Then, after maybe 3 hours or so, the anise was gone and I smelled this very clean and elegant tea with slightly mossy backdrop. Smelled like Chanel Pour Monsieur, the old good version before they reformulated it. Amazing. This phase lasted fully for the rest of the day. ❤️

This smells exactly like the three notes present and accounted for, in equal parts as far as I can tell. This has a cooling, peaceful vibe and I absolutely love it. A while back I was looking for the perfect "spa"-like scent. Well, I don't think it will get any closer than this. I'm seriously considering seeking out a backup bottle!

Smells like clean polished woods. More like fresh oiled new floorboards rather than dusty old splintered floorboards. I can tell there's more going on in the background but none of the other notes stand out to me, it's all just blended together. I'm finding it hard to describe what I'm smelling but something does remind me of another Bpal - but I can't place what it is. This scent is pretty light and I had to apply a lot to get an impression of it. I like it, I think it might be a good cozy scent for bleak gloomy overcast days.

I put this on and decided it smells just like the picture on the label looks. Cool and blueish. The bergamot stands out along with maybe the ti leaf. After a while I'm smelling the absinthe note and it turns just a tiny bit powdery around the edges. It doesn't smell strongly minty to me, and I don't quite pick out eucalyptus. Overall this is refreshing and clean, but not quite bracing (it's more....soft and a little fluffy maybe?). There wasn't anything surprising and if you think you would like it, go for it. Edit: ok, weird - I tried this again just now and it's more eucalyptus-mint-absinthe. More chilly and I think I smell the "frost" part now. Reminds me of a Yule scent.

I wore this on its own for a good while today. I'm getting quiet amber and woods which is expected. It has a "smoldering", sultry quality. I could be wrong but I am also detecting a really noticeable aldehyde note, the same that's in Lady Hatton. Reminds me of the aldehydes in Chanel No. 5. Overall this smells chic and elegant, but has very low throw on my skin (a good thing, for me). I think it's perfect for a crisp fall evening.

It smells like Dead Leaves on fire! 😄 Pretty simple and just what I was expecting. It's a familiar dead leaves accord, and a mellow bonfire smoke note. It's a pretty light scent (which I like). Not too strong. Honestly there is something vaguely lemony lurking in the background, if you sniff up close. It's really subtle, I wonder if anyone else will smell this or if it's my imagination. Maybe a small touch of black musk? PS: the hint of lemon has disappeared. I still think there could be a smidge of black musk in this.

2019 decant - this is so strong it's unwearable for me. I like Lambswool so I thought this might work but something is just abrasive - one of the spices maybe? I've tried it several times and today I tried dabbing the absolute tiniest amount from the wand, and I am about to go wash it off because it's STROOONG, making me sneeze and giving me a headache. Not for me at all. Edit, tried again today, I don't understand what is happening with this scent. It smells nice for a couple minutes then goes off the rails. Something in it feels almost like bleach fumes going way up in my nose, or some kind of industrial strength disinfectant, not really soapy but almost like a nuclear strength white musk? I don't get it. Never had such a reaction that I can remember, with any of these notes.

You could try Aureus - earthy, woodsy, patchouli + amber

Oh shoot, sorry, I didn't know that! Maybe it will come back.

I would recommend Othello, it's not an exact match but it's in the ballpark. It's a lot more rose-forward. Egoiste is my favorite non-bpal scent. I also tried Tristran, and Harlequin & Columbine, based on the notes I thought they might smell like Egoiste, but they don't. I haven't encountered anything else that does but I could have missed something. : )

I can smell patchouli, but really it's hard to pick apart different notes here. Ylang was a risk for me, I don't hate it but I wasn't sure if I really liked it. It really doesn't stand out at all to me. I understand what Rane means by the aftershave impression. Not sure what else to say! It's just totally blended to me. I like this and I will wear it as late summer transitions to fall.

Gosh this is beautiful. I just got it yesterday, so it's still shifting around a little from traveling. But I'm pretty sure I love it. I was a little concerned about vetiver because it can misbehave and take over sometimes. I'm happy to say vetiver is a polite voice at the party here, it speaks up at the very beginning but not too loudly. At the very start this is a nice juicy orange vetiver scent but less than 5 minutes in, the orange blossom BLOOMS, an orange tinted white-ish floral note that is just divine. There's a hint of powder around the edges but this isn't a powdery scent. I can't comment much on the drydown, so far it seems to just fade off into light citrus loveliness. Bergamot stays in the background for me, or maybe it's just backing up the orange blossom. So far every time I've worn it, I keep reapplying to get that celestial floomf of orange blossom. This is so perfect for late summer.. 🧡🧡🧡 Edit: yeah after a while this fades to a very light skin scent. Perhaps a scent locket would help to extend that gorgeous beginning phase, it lasts about a half hour on me. It's ok, I don't mind reapplying often!

I just got Resistance, and when I tried it on, I thought, "This will be a fantastic autumn scent!".

My experience with this was a lot like Follow My Nose's review above. I would add that in the first couple minutes, this really reminds me of Mad Hatter. But that changes. Like others mentioned, I get an impression of some kind of floral peeking out, maybe white floral, but not specific. And I might be the only one but I could almost swear I smell sandalwood for a while, but then that backs off. And I think someone mentioned vanilla? I get a little of that too. This is a morpher and I would suggest it needs to be tried on the skin. It's really interesting and I'm really glad I took a chance on it! Edit: I tried this again today and it's intense perfumey buttery musk, almost like those butter mint candies - but very "grownup" also. It's so weird, I'm not getting anything floral this time. This could almost be a Halloweenie scent.

I had a different experience! This translates to strong, heavy incense, nag champa variety, that takes over on my skin for hours, lasts through soap and water, into the next day. I can smell the orange blossom, honey, and maybe tuberose, but honestly I can close my eyes and be transported to the incense section of a new-age shop. It didn't agree with me and I have several other scents that fit that category, so I don't need to try this again. Please note, this was tested pretty much right out of the mailbox (shared order with a friend, she had more success with this one!).

This is a dusky, night time jasmine scent, a little bit fruity, with some light benzoin around the edges. It has a light and airy quality to me but it's deceptively strong. My partner smelled it from the next room! It's definitely a "purple" scent. I think the red mandarin is just blending with the plum for the overall fruity feeling. I mean, I almost expect the oil itself to be purple (it's not, as far as I can tell in the bottle). This is a beautiful night-time summery scent! I usually get along just fine with jasmine, and I love this one. I think the benzoin is giving it a "lift", with that light incense around the edges.

I haven't tried Paper Phoenix. However, I would suggest you try Rendezvous with Her Lover Behind the Rice Straws, from this year's Lupers. I mention it because I get a pretty strong AL vibe, even though there's no vanilla listed in the notes. And a few of the reviews do mention vanilla. Worth a shot! : )