starcr

In the imp, it's pure almond, and when I first put it on it stays that way. The almond quickly fades into a generic perfuminess, which alarms me, but then that in turn gives way to the myrrh. There's still just a hint of sweetness and almond still lurking behind it. I can smell the musk just occasionally, too. The longer I wear it, the more balanced the scent becomes. Verdict: I had to give it about an hour to settle out, but once settled, I like it very much. The more I wear it, the more I like it; I can't stop sniffing my wrist. This may just go on the "get a bottle sometime" list.

In the imp, very fruity. When I put it on, it goes through a series of changes very quickly: straight-up mint to fresh green grass to a sort of apple-y scent to a generic sweetness. Sometime in the next hour, there is a more gradual transition to a darker (even a bit stinky) note that must be the skin musk. That seems to be where it’s settled. Verdict: In some ways, this is maybe the most interesting BPAL I’ve ever tried. It’s more than just a scent; it almost tells a story, the way it progresses from clean and fresh through appley temptation to the almost sexual scent of the musk. Unfortunately, I’m looking for a scent and not a story — and I don’t particularly care for the musky note anyway. I don’t think this is a keeper for me.

In the imp, this smells a lot like Belle Epoque, which is what I was hoping for. Orange with an undercurrent of sandalwood. Unfortunately, on me it quickly turns into… baby powder. It’s not quite Love’s Baby Soft (is my age showing?)–there’s a sweet note lurking beneath it–but think in that general direction and you’ll get the idea. After an hour or so, though, I start smelling honey and just a hint of rose. It’s not evident if I sniff right at skin level, but I can smell it in the air around me. Verdict: I’m on the fence about this one. I’m not that fond of the Baby Soft bit, but I love me some honey scent. Then again, if that’s all I want out of it, I have a bazillion other scents already that will give me that; do I need another? This might find its way onto the “for someone else” pile too, not because I dislike it but because I know I’ll always reach for something else first.

In the bottle — Hel-LO Irish coffee! (Did I test this one on St. Paddy’s Day? Yes, yes I did.) On me, the coffee part of that dies down, and unfortunately the “Irish” note mixed with the other things the coffee had been masking smells a little like cheap Irish cream rather than the good Irish whiskey that I prefer in my Irish coffee. There’s sometimes a bit of a bitter note in the mix too, though sometimes it gives way to sweetness. Verdict: It’s by far not the biggest disappointment I’ve had, but I don’t like it nearly as well as I had hoped either. I think this one’s going on the “maybe it’ll work better with someone else’s body chemistry” pile.

In the imp, this one smells strongly — too strongly — of buttercream. On me, that softens, fortunately. Almost immediately the almond starts coming out. After a little bit, I’m getting something that makes me think “vanilla”, though it isn’t vanilla exactly (maybe the rum), and a bit of a powdery note in addition to the almond. The buttercream has faded into the background. …And then it just kind of fades into generic sweetness. Verdict: Pretty nice. Not something I’m probably going to wear horribly often, but not bad either.

In the imp, this one’s very sharp. It’s not a scent I associate with incense; it almost hits me as a floral, although a really heavy one. On me, it turns into… exactly what the description says. When I burn incense at home, it’s a custom loose blend of frankincense, bay leaf and cinnamon stick burned on a charcoal disc; this scent is very reminiscent of that. A little spicy, fairly heavy, a touch of smoke. Oddly, Hubby said it smelled sweet and fruity to him, though. Verdict: It doesn’t top my old favorites, but I certainly do like it very well.

In the imp, the scent is actually a lot more subtle than I had expected. There’s rose, yeah, but it’s pretty light. And a hint of… is that rye? Er? On me, the rose comes out right away, but is not overwhelming. As it dries, that dribble of cinnamon shows up. Unfortunately, the scent also seems to fade really quickly. Verdict: I really like the scent… But I wish it would stick around a little longer.

This is pine. Ye gods is it ever pine, especially right at first. As it dries, the scent softens into a more general woodsy scent that, while still dominated by the pine, isn't overwhelmed by it. Not my favorite, but not bad either.

A heavy scent, fairly masculine. (Maybe Hubby should try it.) Almost musky, but I think that's just the way the tobacco and the honey mix. A smoky scent, but without actually smelling of smoke, if that makes sense. The longer it stays on, the more prominent the honey becomes, which I like since that's one of my favorite BPAL notes.

Blood Pearl reminds me a little of Manila--not the specific notes, but the general feel. Tropical, with a touch of woodiness underneath it. Quite coconutty. It's not my new favorite scent, but I certainly like it well enough to keep it around. Unfortunately, though, it didn't seem to have much staying power on me.

I don't think that my skin chemistry mixes well with this one. I found it very harsh even in the bottle, but it got worse when I put it on. It took me a while to identify what it reminded me of... And then I realized it: wet paint. Occasionally I got a sort of powdery floral, but mostly it was wet paint. It sure did last a long time, though!

When I first applied it, this one was a deep floral. It reminded me somewhat of New Orleans, lush but with a hint of something else I couldn't define underneath. As it dried down, though, the myrrh started to come out. In the end it was reminiscent of Rose Cross and Hymn, incense mixed with flowers. But with some green beneath it. It's not bumping Rose Cross out of its top-three slot in my own personal ranking, but it's pretty nice.

New Orleans: In the bottle, all I smell is jasmine. Maybe a hint of honeysuckle, but it's definitely all light florals. On me, at first the jasmine is again overpowering. As it dries, though, the scent changes. Hubby says it smells like soap to him; I think it smells almost like freshly cooked rice. Thereafter, the florals start to come out too, but that ricey scent is always there too. I'm not sure the components blended quite the way they're meant to with my skin chemistry. If I really try, and if I'm keeping in mind what I'm looking for, I can pick out each of the notes listed in the description. They just don't quite come together right on me, is all. I don't think I'll probably be wearing much of this one.

In the bottle, Belle Epoque first smells a little bitter and a little sour; the mandarin, I would guess. I get a definite earthy note as well, perhaps the sandalwood. On me, it’s mostly… sandalwood! Yes! I’ve had some trouble with BPAL’s sandalwood scents, and am happy to have finally found one that does smell like sandalwood on me. There’s also the orange again, and just a hint of floral scent hiding behind it all. It kind of floats back and forth between orangey and sandalwood. All in all, it’s not going to beat out my very favorite scents for me, but it’s a very good scent and I’m definitely glad I gave it a try.

In the imp, Eve smells like… apples. Mostly, it just smells like apples. I can smell something behind it, maybe the rose or the ylang ylang, but the apple is definitely the dominant scent. It’s a sweet-smelling apple, and I can’t decide whether that’s the natural sweetness of the scent or whether the honey note is playing into it. On me, I can smell the honey almost immediately when putting it on. After a minute or two, though, that melts back into the apple, but having picked it out once I can do it again. The rose also starts to come through more, though everything is still secondary to the apple scent. I like it well enough, but it’s probably not the first thing I’ll reach for all the time. (Of course, I said the same thing about Rose Cross and here I am ordering a full bottle of it. The more I smell this one as it dries, the more I like it...)