Brigdh

In bottle: Fir is by far the dominant scent, a pure Christmas-tree note, though without any sort of lightness or snowiness. It reminds me a bit of clothes stored in an old cedar chest. Wet: Wood. Like, fresh-chopped wood, still somewhat moist and living. (Which I guess is birch?) A slight spicy note begins to come in from behind, maybe the chrysanthemum or narcissus? Though it’s not particularly floral. It reminds me of a really nice potpourri. After a little while I begin to notice the rose, though it's still very faint behind the wood. Dry: really fantastic length; I can sometimes still smell this the day after I applied it. The dry scent is mainly fir, with just the faintest hint of florals – not enough to pick out any specific flower, just enough to sweeten and soften the wood a bit. It really reminds me of clothes stored in a cedar chest: this lovely, old-fashioned scent. A fantastic winter perfume that is very unisex.

In bottle: Red wine, that over-sweet fruity kind, and a faint metallic note, perhaps dragon’s blood or some sort of musk. Wet: Leather and fresh sugar cane.The scent of skin and juicy, sugary fruit. Dry: There’s the honey, finally! This perfume turns simply gorgeous. Rich and sweet honey, almost gritty as though you could smell the sugar crystals. There’s a complex background of musky, earthy, smoky notes – the herbs, I suppose? But not foody or floral herbs, forest-y ones. Just a fantastic scent, really complex and hard to put into words. I love wearing it. Good length, too, Wear time lasts 4-5 hours.

In bottle: Wow, a really complex blend of fruits and florals. It’s hard to pick out any notes in particular. I think I get apple and grape (or maybe a very sweet red wine), and rose. Wet: Again, so complex! I think I get pear, fig, and rose. It’s almost fruit salad, but with some sort of skin-musk that grounds and deepens it all. Dry: This does not last very long at all. After an hour and a half, it’s completely vanished. That said, the dry state is very fruity red wine, with maybe a faint white floral (gardenia?) in the background. It's all a little too cheap sangria for me, though maybe people who are more into fruit notes would like it better.

In bottle: A smoky, resiny scent, almost all myrrh, given a sugar-sweet quality with the ylang-ylang. Wet: Warm, animal musk, with just the faintest hint of a floral note to lighten it and a bit of myrrh to give it a sensuous smokiness. Gorgeous, and not too overtly sexual to wear at work. The actual oil is so thick and dark that it leaves a mark on my skin, but once I rub it in, it vanishes. Dry: Powdery ylang-ylang with sweet patchouli. A really nice subdued floral. It has some soapiness to it, but that doesn’t bother me. A medium last length, not as intense as I would have expected from the dark thick quality of the oil. At three hours on, it’s beginning to disappear.

In bottle: Almond. Heavy, sweet almond oil. Wet: Almond and a light smoke, maybe an incense, with a slight floral in the background, I think probably rose. Dry: Warm, clove and sandalwood, but the dominant note is almond. A perfume that’s evocative of the Middle East to me (seriously this smells way more like Baghdad than the one named “Baghdad” does), but would also make a good winter scent, to give you warmth and cheer on gray cold days. Great last and throw.

In bottle: Strong floral with some background musk; mostly jasmine. Wet: Jasmine and iris and other bright spring florals. Pure floral as far as I can tell. A very light, spring scent. Very pretty. Dry: A light, elusive floral (too well-mixed to pick out exactly which flowers, though I think primrose might be the dominant one) grounded by soft musk. I don’t get any spices at all. It’s a creamy, spring floral. Great last too for how light it is - 4+ hours and still going strong.

In bottle: Mainly patchouli, I believe. There’s a woody note too - cedar? Wet: Almond and a soft, well-rounded patchouli. Dry: Patchouli and almond and an almost honey-sweet musk. It’s a dry, powdery scent though, not oily, like the inside of a spice shop rather than foody notes. It’s not particularly sexy, but a gorgeous, mature combination. It makes me think of a woman who is confident in herself and not looking for anyone else’s attention. It would be one of my favorite scents, but unfortunately my skin just sucks it right up. I’m lucky if there’s anything left after 2-3 hours.

In bottle: Bamboo and ozone. A green, clean, fresh scent, just beautiful. Wet: The only word I have for this is “green”. It’s light and complex and fresh and spring-like, and just green. There’s a hint of floral (orchid, probably?) and mixed fruit in the background, but it’s mostly just green. It really has a vibe of a rural mountain scene. Dry: the same as wet, there’s not a lot of change in this scent. It lasts for hours and hours, which I wouldn’t expect from a perfume so light and delicate and fresh, but it does. This is one of my all -time favorite BPAL scents, and I’m so sad that it’s discontinued.

In bottle: A complex bouquet of flowers. The ylang ylang seems to be dominating, with a slight spiciness from the cardamom and/or frankincense, and something bitter - not sure what that note is. Wet: Yummm, there’s that jasmine! I’m a huge jasmine fan, and at first this seems to be all jasmine. Dry: Still pretty much pure jasmine. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem to linger long; I can barely pick up any scent after an hour or two.

In bottle: A medley of ripe, juicy fruits, almost fruit punch-like. There’s a very slight smokiness in the background – I think that’s maybe the chili pepper. Wet: Still mostly fruits. Apple’s coming out the strongest, but it’s a pretty complex blend. Dry: Less juicy, but still rich and varied fruits, with some grounding and depth from the chili pepper. It’s the best fruit scent I’ve ever smelled.

In bottle: Tomato and arugula leaves. Green and fresh and a little bitter, just absolute perfection. Wet: Exactly the scent of a garden. Vegetable leaves and snapped green beans and somehow a real sense of wet dirt and warm sunshine. The dominant scent is tomato leaf, which I love and am always searching for. This is just so exactly like taking a deep breath of a garden or farmer’s market, and I have no idea how it’s been captured in a bottle. Dry: Pretty much the same as wet; it’s a scent that doesn’t change much from bottle through application. It lasts for a good amount of time, several hours though not into the next day. The perfect scent for spring and summer, or when I want to remember summer.

In bottle: peaches and honey, with something just a little bit astringent - maybe like cut skin on a peach. Wet: Some smokiness from the frankincense or myrrh, but mainly a generally fruity scent, too complex to pick out the peach or apple or floral notes exactly. Dry: Smoky, musky, honeyed, peach. Not too fruity, just a bit of sweetness to the smoke and musk. It’s not overtly sexy; it’s very close to what skin smells like naturally, just a bit better. Very good.

In bottle: Astringent green, probably the ferns. Wet: A handful of wet crushed herbs, bitter and grassy and fresh. Dry: Rose, with the slightest background hint of sugared anise, over time softening into mostly lilac. It’s a dim, green floral that really gives the impression of a cool, shadowed forest dripping with mist, some place lost in the wilds of Scotland or Ireland. A really impressive sense of place. Medium wear time: 4 or 5 hours.

... Her perfume is starry and crystalline, a jewel-clad and glittering paean to night: dazzling white musks, white rose and night-blooming jasmine with the soft moss of moonlit meadows, a waft of Egyptian incense, and a gentle breath of moonflower.  In bottle: Heavy jasmine, with that almost animal-stink jasmine can have sometimes, with musk behind it. Wet: Mostly rose, still in a heavy, humid way. It’s an earthy, sensuous perfume, not “starry and crystalline”. Dry: Mostly rose, though the jasmine’s also present. A thick, heavy floral.

In bottle: Smoky resin with a slight hint of sweetness. Wet: Strong amber-y DB along with musk, with a tiny bit of spice from the cinnamon. Dry: A sweet, almost fruity, musk and amber-ish DB, with a bit of a wood base from the vetiver. It’s almost too sweet for me, though it’s hanging just on the right side by being a complex well-mixed blend. Great lasting power too; it’s easily been 5+ hours and still noticeable.

In bottle: Strong almond with a spiciness that’s probably the patchouli. Wet: clove mostly, with just a bit of depth that I think is smoky myrrh and resiny pine. Dry: Clove and vanilla. This is complete Dr Pepper on me, which I suppose is not the worst smell ever, but doesn’t make me think of voodoo. After several hours, it becomes almost pure vanilla, when I’m very much not a fan of food scents. It’s long lasting, at least?

In bottle: A green, herby scent, a bit like fresh cut flowers, but with something earthy or bitter in the background, which is probably the buttercup. Wet: Briefly it’s all smoke – I have no idea where that came from – but it quickly calms into a warm skin scent with just a hint of jasmine floating around. Dry: It’s an absolutely gorgeous mellow jasmine that is the exact perfect incarnation of spring. Unfortunately it doesn’t last long; it’s disappeared from me in a little over an hour.

In bottle: Rose, with an almost fruity, berry quality to it, and sandalwood. Wet: Almost all sandalwood, but not in an overpowering way; just a soft, dry, woody scent, backed up mixed florals. Dry: Rose and sandalwood are by far the dominant scents. But unlike Baghdad, which is dried rose stored in a sandalwood chest, this is juicy, fresh rose with just a hint of smoke and spice from the sandalwood. There’s an old-fashioned quality to it, like something your grandma might wear, but only if she was an active, hip sort of grandma. I quite like it, and think it would make a great everyday sort of scent – nothing surprising, nothing attention-attracting, just pleasant and nice.

In bottle: Sharp, white floral. Wet: A green, fresh plant scent, like a fresh bouquet, the scent of cut stems. It’s light, and does have something a bit cold and distant about it, but is quite nice. Dry: fresh, light, white florals. It’s a bit boring for me (and doesn’t have much lasting power; it’s gone in 2 or 3 hours), but I agree with others that it would make a gorgeous room or linen scent!

In bottle: Salt and strong, fresh cedar. (Even though neither of those are notes, it’s so specifically what this perfume smells like!) It really has a seaside vibe, like the smell of being on an old wooden ship. Wet: Lovely warm salt and sharp resiny wood, probably the patchouli, though it still comes off as mostly cedar. Dry: The same; it’s not a blend that changes much from stage to stage. Anne Bonny has wonderful lasting power; I can often still smell it the next day. This is one of my very favorite BPAL scents; it really has a professional vibe to me, and is usually what I choose to wear to interviews. It’s not loud or overwhelming, but does make itself present; it’s not particularly feminine but it’s also not overtly masculine. It makes me feel confident and mature and like the extremely competent boss everyone secretly wants to be. I don't get a wicked or cruel vibe from this at all, or much of a pirate feel, but "beautiful, intelligent, resourceful" – yes, exactly!

In bottle: A wet, green scent, like the stems of freshly cut flowers, along with some white floral I can’t specify, but I assume is lotus. There's maybe a slight hint of something musky/warm/incense-y in the background. Wet: Woody/spicy notes dominate, with a bit of fruitiness, maybe citrus, in the background. It's a much lighter, subtler scent than you would assume from the name. Dry: Red wine and fruit. It doesn't last very long, seeming to be almost entirely gone by two hours after application.

In bottle: Amber and something very sharp, almost off-putting. I think it’s probably the bergamot. Wet: Warm nutmeg, musk, and sandalwood, with just a bit of rose rounding it out. It really has the feel of an antique box storing pressed flowers and aged spices, just antique and richly evocative. Dry: Mostly rose, with just a hint of amber/sandalwood/musk, a generically warm, earthy background scent. Quite lovely, though it doesn’t make me think of Baghdad.

In bottle: Warm, salty leather, a sort of fresh skin scent more than old dry leather. Wet: Steel. Wow, it’s really remarkable how much like metal this smells like; I don’t know how that’s possible, but it totally smells like steel. Overall, it’s elegant - a dueler rather than a berserker. Dry: Leather and a light musk. It’s a very soft, warm scent, which to me is much preferable to most of the leather scents I’ve tried. There’s actually something gentle about it. Maybe not much of a fighter, but I like it!

In bottle: Just straight patchouli. Maybe a slight smokiness from the copal, but it's pretty much 100% patchouli. Wet: Smoke. Like leaning over a fire and breathing deep. It’s nice, though; it reminds me of campfires and summer evenings. Dry: A gorgeous smoky, woody, skin-and-almond scent, with a very slight earthy note rounding it out that I suspect is the moss. It’s an autumn night in the deep woods, dark and wild and fiery. I don’t get “golden” or “greed” vibes from this at all, but it’s a great scent nonetheless.

In bottle: The musk and patchouli combine into a leather-like scent, with a fruity note that’s probably the bergamot and/or juniper berries. Not great, it’s simultaneously sour and fruit punchy. Wet: Dominated by a gorgeous soft warm musk, a skin-like scent, with just a hint of something spicy. There’s a little bit of floral there too, rounding out the scent. Dry: It goes through a fruity-floral stage that is just *really* unappealing. It reminds me of cheap Bath and Body Works fragrances from the 90s, like Sun-Ripened Raspberry or Country Apple (remember those?). After a few hours it reverts into a very nice musk-dominated scent, but I can’t wait through that fruit-floral phase every time. Ugh.