Teaker

I'm so pleased with the scent! Every bpal with honey I've ever tried becomes unwearable after a few hours- salty play-doh, it's just gross. The one exception: Bengal! This is definitely heavy on the honey, and smells sweet and sticky, but it remains wearable FOREVER and I never get a hint of play-doh. Awesome! Aside from the honey, this smells spicy and cinnamony. The "pepper" doesn't seem to be black pepper, there's nothing sneezy about it. I think the pepper just adds heat, and this blend does reminds me of hot desert winds. The cinnamon isn't candy-like, it's cinnamon bark. There's almost a touch of woodiness to it, it's just exquisite. The best part of this blend, for me, is the skin musk. After several hours this dries to the most gorgeous smell- heated skin with sweetness and spice. It's just delicious and sexy! It also lasts an unbelievable long time, I put some on in the afternoon and the skin smell was clear as a bell the next morning. You would only be able to smell it on someone if you were up close and personal, though. In conclusion: warm, sweet, spiced honey, with the dryness of woody cinnamon, that lasts forever and smells like sexy skin wen it dries. WIN!

Just as described: sweet bubblegum and lollipops (although we call them "suckers" where I'm from). This is sweet and playful and SO MUCH FUN! After a few minutes I get a touch of warm cinnamon. Not too spicy, it just adds a bit of heat. It's like cinnamon gum and sticky candy. When it dries it morphs into the "womanly perfume" which seems to be a light musk. I don't really pick up anything else in it. It doesn't last long, after a couple hours my skin just smells faintly of sugar. I just love this scent and wish it would last longer! But maybe its for the best, you might get a sugar rush if you smelled like candy all day. But I have quite a sweet tooth and think I might re-apply this one all day long!

I'd go for something with citrus personally, to keep you alert and clear-headed. My rec would be for Manhattan, as it is supposed to convey power and confidence, and has some lovely citrus tones. I wore it recently for a big presentation I had to give and it was great. If you're not a fan of Manhattan or citrus, I'd just suggest you avoid anything overly sweet or foody in case you get an upset stomach before you have to perform.

I wanted to love this because of the fabulous name, but alas. It is the worst bpal- actually, make that the worst scent- I have ever had the misfortune to come across. Clearly this is a personal skin chemistry issue, since I see other reviewers were able to smell things like flowers, vanilla, and spice. If only! As soon as I opened the imp it was like getting a boot to the face of the strongest, oldest, most rancid antique perfume. I love musk, but this could only be described as "the musk of the very very elderly." If there is any spice in here, it's curry. If there are any flowers, they died in the 1940s. I was literally afraid to have it touch my skin, but I applied a drop anyway. Whoa baby! I didn't even make it 3 minutes before I scrubbed frantically to get it off my skin. I wish I could see what the notes are in this scent so I could know what caused me to have such a bad reaction to it. There seems to be a consensus that it contains gardenia, so I'll be sure to stay well away from that one in the future just to be safe. I know this isn't a bad scent (the lab doesn't make bad scents!) because it seems to be beautiful on other folks. I only wish I could borrow one of their noses...

This is one of those blends where I can't pick out the individual notes. I would never have guessed that there was patchouli or myrrh in here, for example. It's a sweet, sexy perfume that has a lot of warmth to it. The more I wear it, the more I like it! This is very similar to Smut- but sweeter and less musky. If you layered this with a single note musk you might come quite close to Smut. I do love the musk in this blend. It smells very similar to the musk in Black Temple Burlesque Troupe, but not quite as lemony. It's not overpowering, but it's one of the stronger musks I've smelled in the GC. I also get a similar vibe to Bien Loin D'Ici, both scents are kind of unusual and indefinable. But where Bien Loin gets into weird, "What the heck kind of smell is that?" territory, Sed Non Satiata remains in "Mmmmm what a lovely scent" land! (Apologies to Bien Loin, I love you but you are pretty funky). I love how this dries- its like sweet musky skin, and seems to have a velvety feel. I think this might be a fabulous blend to wear to bed! Aaaand of course there is my usual reaction to honey- turns to salty play-doh. But this one lasts for quite a long time before that happens. I won't get a bottle, due to the honey, but I'll keep an imp around.

A gorgeous tropical floral- simple and fabulous. This isn't cloying or overly sweet, the ginger keeps it grounded and adds a touch of warmth without ever smelling "gingery." This reminds me of big, luscious white flowers with golden centres. Alas for me, this is very faint on my skin and disappears quickly, no matter how much I apply. But I sure enjoy it while it lasts!

Have you ever tried Death Cap? I generally don't like earthy scents, but that one was surprisingly lovely.

I had a weird reaction to this scent- not a skin reaction, an emotional one. I have no idea why, but I find it very upsetting. I got goosebumps and had to wash it off. It's very unsettling. It does have some similarity to Vixen, and I had no issues with that one, so I'm not sure what is up. I've tested it a couple times and had the same reaction every time. I think it might be the orange blossom. It's not a favorite of mine, and here it is bitter and has a sense of movement or vibration to it. It's like a high-pitched hum, but in scent form. Like a trapped moth vibrating its wings angrily. Something angry buzzing around your head trying to sting you. So this is not the scent for me, but kudos to the lab for creating quite an experience in a bottle, and for the perfume so closely matching its name!

I looooove Manhattan. This could be unisex (which usually means a scent is too masculine for me ) but is just a touch on the more feminine side. It starts off as subtle citrus over a leather base. There's just a breath of mint there too, just enough to make it quite cool and refreshing. It's dry and crisp. As it dries I can detect a bit of tea, like a green tea with lemon. I don't care for tea scents but this is subtle enough not to bother me. The leather is like an inky black leather jacket, soft and slick. But it's so well blended with the citrus that it never overwhelms. If you like leather but find it too strong in other blends, this might be a good one to try. I can't detect the amber or the wood when wet, but once this dries I can clearly smell the amber. I don't like amber as a general rule, but this is blended nicely with the leather and I quite like the combination. It gets sweeter as it dries, that would be the orchid coming out. But it never gets into floral territory, it stays fresh and complex and unique. Because it's so refreshing and stays close to the skin I think this is a fabulous scent for the office. It's really different, with a mix of bright and dark notes, but its not too challenging, and there's nothing to offend sensitive co-workers noses. I'll be getting a bottle for a summer work scent, to keep in my desk and apply throughout the day.

Quite interesting and evocative! And nothing at all like what I was expecting. This is very masculine, although I suppose some people would consider it unisex. But to me it smells like a mans cologne. What I find most interesting about it is the wood. I've never smelled teakwood before, and it's nothing at all like sandalwood. It really does smell dark and polished, like an actual piece of wooden furniture. I'm not a huge fan of the sweetness in this- I don't know if it's black vanilla (which I've never smelled before) or some combination of the other notes, but I get a sweet medicinal smell from it. Another scent that I get the same thing from is Hypnose by Lancome. It reminds me (and I don't mean this as bad as it sounds) like a veterinarian's office. You know that sweet disinfectant smell when you walk in the door? It's like that. Or the inside of a rubber glove, but sweeter. It's not bad, just a little odd. I'm glad I got to try this, since is so wildly popular. But I can safely say it does nothing for me. It could smell quite nice on a boy though. I imagine it on a studious boy with dark, unkempt hair and glasses, and the perfect skin chemistry to get rid of that weird sweet chemical smell.

Thanks for the recs everyone! For some reason I'd totally discounted Light of Mens Lives because I thought it was just beeswax, but I read the reviews and it sounds really lovely. I'll be getting some in my next lab order for sure. Blood Kiss Bonbon sounds just fantastic, but Blood Kiss itself was play-doh on me so I'm not sure if I could pull it off. I'll see about trying a decant, though. I'm also super excited about Witch Dance, it looks amazing, and I'd never even heard of it before!

A very old fashioned rose perfume. That's it, just rose. I think it would make a nice room scent, reminds me a bit of my grandma. I know there is supposed to be some kind of evil, twisted core of this scent, but I sure can't find it.

I'm bumping this thread in the hopes that some experienced bpalers might have some more recs! I'm really loving scents with a touch of smoke. BUT I still want them to be sweet and feminine. Something like Lampades (which is cranberry and smoke on my skin) or even La Befana (has "chimney dust" but smells like smokey candy to me). I'm already planning to get my hands on Liz and Samhain, does anything else come to mind?

This is a perfect description- this is cranberry, with something earthy underneath. Not earthy like dirt or patchouli, earthy like being underground in a cave of stone, with smoky torches lighting your way and reflecting off the walls. I love it because the cranberry is bright and sweet and tart, but it's grounded by smoke and darkness. My imp is very aged, from 2011. I personally get no spices or floral, just cranberry and smoke in equal measure. But I've had people compliment me and tell me that it smells like spices, so there you go. This is an ideal christmas scent for me, but I think it would be fabulous in warmer months too. Not a ton of throw, but lasts quite a long time on the skin. People who hug me when I wear it always mention how good I smell! This was an instant top 10 for me, and I'm planning on buying a bottle. I'm nervous though, since a lot of reviews seem to mention that the 5ml smells like artificial fruit or cough medicine. Maybe this is one that just needs to age for a long time? Guess I'll find out!

2010 version. Wow, this is fabulous! I'm hesitant to try anything with booze as a note, because they rarely work out. But this doesn't smell like alcohol, really. It's a bit foody, like a dessert that I can't quite place. Maybe tiramisu? Yeah, like a cake soaked with sweet booze. But that is definitely secondary to the musk, which takes centre stage here. I see other people have mentioned grape/cherry, but I get nothing like that. Just heavy musk sweetened with... something tasty. It's very sexy and heady, there's nothing subtle about it. I think this is what you'd smell like after you'd dressed to the nines then headed to the club, danced and drank for hours, and then passed out while eating tiramisu. It's awesome and I'll definitely be on the lookout for a bottle.

Jailbait is indeed the perfect scent for this- plus it just smells great! Like cinnamon bubblegum which quickly turns to musk. Another one would be Vice: A deep chocolate scent, with black cherry and orange blossom. This didn't work on me because I got zero chocolate, it just smelled very, very sweet. Like sugar syrup with a touch of orange blossom. But both the name and the scent sound like what you are looking for. Also try Lust: red musk, patchouli, ylang ylang and myrrh. It actually smelled very girlish on me, like bubblegum, but corrupted. My notes for it described it as "very sweet with something dirty underneath. Sexy dirty, not earthy dirty."

An amorphous, radiant, incandescent scent. Ever changing, protoplasmic and primordial: white amber, green coconut meat, iris, palmarosa, Chinese peony, lime, water lily, snowdrop, muguet, lemongrass, osmanthus, wisteria, glassy musk, and hinoki. Strong, mouth-watering, edible lime. Very sweet too, like a lime candy. Or lime Kool-Aid, but made with hardly any water so it is very very concentrated. This is a STRONG scent! The coconut smells really fresh and pulpy. I don't really pick up any florals because the lime and lemongrass is so strong in this. I know that I amp lemongrass though, so that might just be me. I wanted to love this, and I do when it's wet. But when it dries there's smoething really off-putting about it. It's just TOO MUCH. I don't know what the issue is, but there's too much lime or too much sweetness... it's just overpowering and I don't like it. It should be bright and refreshing and tropical, but instead it's cloying and I can't bear to wear it for long. I won't be keeping my imp. But I think this could be a fabulous scent for the right person.

Wow, the reviews on this one seem to be all over the place! I'm no good at distinguishing notes, but here are my impressions anyway. As soon as I applied it, I thought "ROSE." It's a strong floral, with an undertone of a wood of some kind. But rose always goes soapy on me, and this didn't, so I'm not 100% on what the floral is. Maybe a lily? I swear there is Dragon's Blood in here too. I actually found this to be quite similar to Ladon, which is also a Dragon's Blood and floral scent. With a name like "Fire of Love" I was expecting spice or heat of some kind, but I get nothing like that. There might be a musk in here, but it doesn't smell like red musk so I'm not sure what it would be. I also got something a bit dusty/musty/perhaps smokey when this was wet, judging from the other reviews here maybe it was vertiver? I've never tried anything with that note in it, so I can't say for sure. The strongest association I can come up with is standing on my Grandmother's balcony in Vancouver and smelling all the flowers and greenery she had planted there. It's not overly sweet, but floral and maybe a bit herbal. It also smells a touch like a skin cream my mother used to use. It's nice, and surprisingly wearable. I don't see it inspriring passion between lovers, though, but what do I know.

Envelop yourself in the soft, sensual embrace of gentle sandalwood warmed by cocoa vanilla and a veil of deep myrrh. Can't believe I haven't reviewed this yet, it's definitely in my top 5. I didn't like it when I first got it fresh from the lab, as it was extremely dry and almost made me sneeze. But even a few weeks lets it mellow out a bit into perfection. It's predominantly sandalwood when wet, but you can pick up the sweetness from the cocoa. When it dries it's a snuggly and soft sandalwood sweetened with clouds of rich dry cocoa and perhaps a hint of vanilla. I struggle with bpal vanillas because without fail they turn to nasty play-doh on me, with the exception of Velvet. I've never had a single issue with this scent, yay! It's very warm and comforting. It doesn't scream "chocolate" or "foody", so it's appropriate for work AND play. I suppose you could technicaly call it unisex, but I'm not sure... it'd be interesting to smell it on a man. I personally think it's more feminine, due to the sweetness. It's really fabulous, a total winner!

I splurged on a full bottle of this, unsniffed, and I'm glad I did. The patchouli is very different than other patchouli blends I've smelled- it's nothing like the earthy patchouli in Goblin or the woody patchouli in Depraved. It's very velvety and soft, and not the prominent note in the blend. When combined with the sweet vanilla it's an almost-foody-but-not-quite cloud of sweet soft lovelyness. At first I didn't like the hemp- it smells like you would expect hemp to smell, kind of herbally and a bit hippyish. But I've grown to really like it, it's what makes this different than just a sweet vanilla perfume. This has fabulous throw and staying power on me, the best of any bpal I've ever tried. My only issue is that occasionally vanilla smells like play-doh on me, and this is no different. But I can usually get about 6 hours or so before it becomes a touch yucky, and certain times I wear it it doesn't happen at all and stays lovely all day! So if you have issues with vanilla, be warned this might cause a few problems.

Have you tried Wanda? On me it's leather with a sweet juicy undertone to it. Sort of a love child between Whip and the berry in Glasgow. Plus it has rose in it!

I too love Smut, Banshee Beat, and Snake Oil. Have you tried La Befana? It has a kind of caramelized sugar note that I find similar to the sugar in Smut. You might also like Black Temple Burlesque Troupe.

Maybe Shoggoth? I find it similar to Embalming Fluid, but with a sweeter/fruitier kick from the lime and coconut meat.

I laughed out loud the first time I tested this because it was just so bizarre on me: sauteed celery. I kid you not, it smells like celery that is being sauteed with spices and maybe a touch of chicken stock. Quite savory and tasty, and not an unpleasant smell at all. But NOT something I want from a perfume. Can you say "skin chemistry fail"? I've since let it age for a couple months and tested it twice more, with no change. Sorry Le Lethe, looks like it isn't meant to be.

I can't believe I haven't written a review for this yet- it's my favorite bpal! A lovely juicy-purple scent. Has spectacular throw on me, which is very unusual. This isn't a scent where I can smell all the individual notes, the only one I can pick out clearly is violet. The neroli gives maybe a hint of bitterness, just enough to keep it from being overly sweet. And I get kind of a creaminess that I associate with iris (which always smells very smooth and silky to me). I absolutely adore it, which kind of surprised me since I'm not usually wild about florals. 5/5! Edit: Aging for a year has changed this a bit. I can clearly pick out the sandalwood. I like sandalwood in certain scents but generally not with florals. I'm also sorry to say it's gone a touch soapy. I still love the violet in this, though.