Teaker

Just wanted to poke my head in to affirm Lookingglass' rec for Goblin. If you like patchouli and vanilla this will be perfect for you! It's actually coconut and benzoin, not vanilla, but when it dries it's just a lovely creamy sweetness over earthy patchouli. My favorite of bpal's patchouli scents, and sounds like it will be right up your alley!

Leather, touch of floral, and sweet red juiciness. I was a bit uncertain about the wine note, since none of the bpals with booze have worked for me. But this doesn't smell like alcohol at all to me. I was leery of the rose as well, since it always turns to soap on me, but I had no issues in this blend. This is mostly sweet cool leather, the undertones of floral and "red" fade as it dries. I like it a lot!

I'm kind of torn on this one. I oscillate between loving it and being underwhelmed. I'm not very experienced with patchouli, and I was hoping this would have the same patchouli as Goblin- very earthy and smooth. Unfortunately this patchouli smells very woody to me. I guess black patchouli is more woody than whatever is in Goblin (red patchouli?). The apricot is lovely, sweet and fresh. And it does pair very nicely with patchouli. The is very feminine, not at all hippy-ish. The apricot disappears entirely in the middle stage, leaving woody patchouli on its own, which I don't like. But when it dries apricot shows up again and it's very lovely. I just don't know if it's worth putting up with the middle stage to get to the dry. If apricot was paired with another patchouli I think I'd go gaga over this! It's really an inspired pairing. I'm just not a huge fan of the woodiness here.

I just remembered one: Tweedledee! Smells very pink to me. Has Kumquat, white pepper, white tea and orange blossom. But for some reason it strikes me as a hot-pink/magenta kind of smell.

This may sound like an odd one, but Arkham is absolutely a pink scent to me. It reminds me of pink minty gum. It's very light and girly, refreshing and sweet. I often "smell in colour" and Arkham is the pinkest bpal I've come across.

One of my favorites! Creamy coconut and lovely white musk. The hazelnut adds a roundness to the scent, without ever approaching "foody" territory. There is a sweetness that smells almost like violets, which must be the iris. No suntan lotion here, but it definitely has a summery vibe to it, like most of the coconut perfumes I've tried. But on me it's such a warm scent that I think it's better suited to cool fall days than hot summer ones. It's a simple, sweet, comforting, and lovely scent. Definitely my favorite coconut bpal, I much prefer it to Obatala. While I like Obatala, I find that it is a very one-note coconut, whereas Black Pearl has more depth to it, with the iris and hazelnut. It's definitely heavy on the white musk, so if you are a fan of that note (which I most definitely am) then this is a must-try.

When I first tested this, fresh from the lab, it smelled like a mocha that had gone cold. It was ok, but kind of a let down. After a few weeks to sit, it has turned AMAZING. It really does smell like brownies. I don't get any coffee in this, but rich foody chocolate with the warmth of cinnamon and the bite of brown sugar. It's incredibly delicious, I see why the lab posts warnings on certain scents not to ingest them! The brown sugar becomes more and more prominent as it dries. This is just delightful, and very true to the description (except for the coffee, which seems to be hiding). But if you love warm spicy chocolate and brown sugar, then this is a must have. Perfect for slathering on during cold winter days! Edit: Sad to report that after 2 years of aging, this scent is unwearable for me. It now turns to play-dough when I wear it. Dang

Flowers and candy, what's not to love? I ordered this because I love violet, but unfortunately I can't detect any in here. Thankfully there is a big bouquet of heady lilies to make up for it! Under the floral I can smell a hard candy made of caramelized sugar. There is a fuzziness to the scent that I would have described as smoke, but when I look at the notes I wonder if it isn't dust? Although I guess "chimney dust" would be smokey. It's not overpowering, it just makes the scent a bit more interesting than straight lilies and candy. This is a sweet blend, but not sickly or cloying. It's toasty and comforting, the burnt sugar smell is exquisite in colder weather. It's the way you would smell if you lived in an old fashioned candy store, that has a crackling fire in the hearth and winter lilies on the counter. I was really pleased with this, it is my favorite of the Yules and one of my top 10 scents ever! If anyone is curious, when you accidentally dump half a bottle of La Bafana on yourself it smells like toasted marachino cherries. Edit: Sad news. While I adore this scent fresh, when aged it becomes unwearable for me. The only way to describe it is "clean diapers." I have to get rid of my bottle... I'm very sad.

What can I say about Snake Oil that hasn't been said? Spiced vanilla amazingness, with something red/warm/incensey/bewitching about it. Didn't like it when I first tried it, it smelled medicinal and vaguely cherry-ish, and was just too bizarre and overpowering for me. But the more I tried it, the more I loved it. It's unique and completely one of a kind. Edit: Once this has dried for a few hours, it settles into a warm/spicy vanilla, not too foody. Very nice, I just love it! If you find it a bit "too much" when you first apply, give it a couple hours.

If you're not big on aquatics you might want to skip Sea of Glass. It's pretty much a straight up aquatic with nothing else going on (your mileage may vary, of course). Nearly all of my favorites tend to be "pretty" scents, and out of them I'd recommend Katharina (white musk and apricot with a touch of orange blossom).

I'll second that. I think Bien Loin D'Ici is the sexiest scent I've tried. Weirdly, I don't even always find that it smells that good. It's just strangely compelling. I can't imagine anyone sniffing you while you were wearing this and saying "My, what a lovely perfume!" But you might have a pack of wild-eyed men following you around, even though they are not sure why they are doing it

In the bottle: alcohol? With a hint of cleaning product. On Skin: Ozone. Thought I got a touch of sweetness, but then it was gone. Dry: I've seen people who can't wear the snow note describe it as "dryer sheets" and that's exactly what this is on me. No-name brand dryer sheets, its a very chemical smell. What a disappointment! Skadi was probably what I was most excited about in my order. I guess that serves me right for buying a snow blend when I've never tried one before. Edit: I let this sit for 2 weeks and then re-tested. My first sniff was not dryer sheets, but a blast of chilly air laden with pine! It oscillates on my skin between a mint smell and a chilly forest smell. There is sweetness underneath, but it doesn't smell like berries. Maybe a vanilla? This seems to improve every time I wear it. It still leans a bit towards an artificial cleanser smell, but since aging just a bit has improved it so much I'm very hopeful for the future.

I tested this directly out of the mailbox, before it even had time to get to room temperature, which is less than ideal. Therefore take this with a grain of salt. I will be re-testing at a later date Wet: There is a local coffee shop in my hometown that makes the best chai latte I've ever had. It's EXTREMELY sweet and spicy and I've never had another like it, no matter how many coffee shops I go to all over the country. This smells EXACTLY like that in the bottle. Even if I don't wear this as a perfume, I'll treasure the bottle for that reminder of my hometown. On Skin: Holy ginger, Batman! This is a gingerbread man with some teeth to bite you back. I'd almost say this is a single note ginger on me, but there is that faint hint of baked goods in the background. Lots of throw on this, too. I never actually smell snake oil in this, but it does seem to get lovely and musky as it dries. I have a feeling that as it ages the snake oil will become more prominent. Right now it is very aggressive and sharp, almost a bit too much for me. I need a bit of that vanilla sweetness from snake oil! I'm going to stash this away for a few weeks, and something tells me it will be just lovely. Edit: After just a few weeks aging, this is getting GOOD. The ginger is still present, but it's not so biting, and the spices are clearly Snake Oil spices. As it dries it becomes a little sweeter and muskier, while still smelling like delicious, edible gingerbread. I wish I could fast-forward to see what this will smell like in a year or two, I bet it will be unbelievable!

I have never worn patchouli in my life, it always smelled like dirt to me. And the first time I tried Goblin, that's exactly what I thought: coconut and dirt. Gross, right? Practically made me sick. So I crammed it in the very back of my "things that I hate" bag and forgot about it. Then one day I thought, meh, might as well give it a second chance. So I did, and it was... kind of ok. I didn't really like it, but it was weirdly compelling and I kept sniffing my arm. Fast forward a few weeks and my imp is nearly empty because I wear it almost every night. It just grew on me so much, and totally changed my mind about patchouli! When this dries the coconut becomes a sweet scent more akin to vanilla than actual coconut. It is blended perfectly with the warm, rich patchouli. It is just so comforting and snuggly. I don't know if I'm brave enough to wear this out and about, since it is a very strong and sharp patchouli. But it's a perfect bedtime scent for me, and I will be buying a bottle of this soon. Long story short, Goblin cured my fear of patchouli!

Lush's Snow Globe soap (grapefruit, lemon myrtle, and ylang ylang) smells exactly like Shoggoth. It's a little odd because none of the listed notes are the same, but they are both juicy-sweet citrus scents and I get the exact same "vibe" from them.

Katharina was one of the first BPALs I ever tried, in my very first imp order. I don't know if it was blind luck or some kind of psychic perfume magic, but Katharina is the perfect "me" scent. If I were a perfume, I would be Katharina. It isn't my very favorite, and it isn't the one I wear most often, but it's just the perfect scent for me. The apricot smells fresh and real, the white musk is clean but not sharp, and when it dries there is the barest hint of orange blossom. It smells cool and sweet, without any hint of cloying candy-ness. It's got an almost fizzy quality once it's dry. It's not the most long lasting on me, but it has good throw for about 4 hours before I feel the need to re-apply. I'd describe it as more musky than foody. There is absolutely nothing dark or complicated about this scent, and sometimes that is exactly what I want. I've seen it compared to Tamora, which I also got in my first order. I personally find zero similarities between the two, Tamora is so sweet and candy-like it makes me ill. It's completely unwearable for me, whereas Katharina is completely perfect. I can't thank the lab enough for making this scent! Edit: Sad news, readers. After aging about 6 months, Katharina has done a complete 180. It now goes on as strong orange blossom with a touch of apricot. The apricot disappears almost instantly, leaving an almost soapy orange blossom single note. I'm devastated.

I've worn this a few times now and I like it a lot, but it's kind of a weird scent to describe. It's not foody, and not nearly as chocolatey as something like Velvet. I guess that's the difference between "cacao" and "cocoa." It's very musky, almost aggressively so, but it's not a heavy or oppressive scent. The musk is quite biting. I don't get the lemon association that some people have described, but it's a very clean smell to me. Kind of a sharp skin smell, like someone who just scrubbed themselves really well. On one hand this is a fuzzy, velvety, slightly sweet and hazy scent, and on the other its sharp and musky. Like if Velvet had a naughty sister that smoked and occasionally slapped people in the face. I like it!

Are we talking about a proper elegant ladies boudoir, or the boudoir of a sultry man-eating seductress? There could be two very different scents for this!

Have you tried The Dodo? It's notes are: Red musk, lemon peel, sugar cane, cassia, white sandalwood, mango, and agarwood. Woods are listed, but they are non-existent to my nose. It's a warm, spicy cinnamon-like scent. It reminds me a bit of christmas tea with a hint of lemon. Very comforting, and not a hint of floral in sight! Bengal is also a lovely spicy blend, and a bit more foodie to my nose, almost like cinnamon rolls: skin musk with honey, peppers, clove, cinnamon bark and ginger.

I was NOT expecting spooky Arkham forest to be so sweet and girly! This smells like pink minty gum. It's cool and refreshing, I think it would make a fabulous summer work scent. It's very well blended and I can't pick out any single notes, except perhaps the violets. I think the pine must be what my nose reads as mint. I wouldn't describe this as a floral scent, it's more like a dewy meadow filled with mint and flowers. Very lovely, my only complaint is that it has very little throw on me and doesn't last long.

I'm totally obsessed with this scent. "Scarlet woman" indeed- this is drop-dead sexy. I don't know if I'd want to wear this outside of the house. If I did, I'd have to be in the right mood, because Bien Loin D'Ici is a scent for a confident, sensual, in charge woman. Probably one wearing thigh-high leather boots! I think this would be the perfect perfume for a dominatrix. Oddly, it doesn't smell like any of the listed notes, except for the red musk. To me it smells like musk over leather and a touch of floral- maybe lily. I get no honey out of this, but as it dries the caramel does start to come out. I don't get any spice or incense as some other people have mentioned, but there does seem to be some underlying heat to the scent. It's musky and earthy and sexy, and utterly unlike anything else that I like. But I just can't stop sniffing my wrists whenever I wear it! Positively bewitching.

This is my favorite of all of the Mad Tea Party scents I've tried. I find most of them a bit too weird for everyday wear- fun to sniff, but not to go out in public with. But the Dodo is really quite nice! When I first put it on it's heavy on the red musk and spice- it's actually very reminiscent of Snake Oil, but much gentler. When it dries it reminds me of apple cinnamon tea- a light, fruity sweetness with a touch of warm spice. The red musk gives it a bit of "oomph" but it's just a warm, sweet skin smell. It had decent throw for a couple hours before I could only smell it by pressing my nose to skin. But this is a really nice fall scent that I wouldn't mind re-applying throughout the day.

This scent is just as advertised: honey, vanilla, and amber. Wet it is almost all honey on me, the vanilla just gives it a hint of sweetness. The amber is barely detectable, which was great as I've had a few bad experiences with it before. But not in O, thankfully! This dries to vanilla that has been drizzled with honey. It's great for vanilla-lovers (which I am), but I don't find it THAT sexy. Unless the object of your affections is into sweet foody scents, in which case they'll be on you like a white on rice in a glass of milk on a paper plate in a snowstorm! Update: Let this be a lesson to me about testing things twice. I slathered myself in O and skipped off to school, delighting all who met me with the scent of honey and vanilla... for a few hours. Then I began to reek of play-doh. By the time I got home it was nauseating. Darn it.

I don't usually wear anything too floral, but I was ordering a gazillion imps off the forum so I figured I'd give this one a try and I'm so glad I did! In the imp it was a very fresh violet, not too exciting. On my skin it became WHITE MUSK. I kid you not, the exact same white musk I get from Black Pearl and Katharina totally dominates this scent. I have no idea why or how this smells like white musk, but I am loving it! Under the musk there is a lovely fresh floral with a hint of pepperiness. This is fresh and sweet and musky, so delightful. I'm going to re-test this in a few days, just in case there is some kind of weird hormonal thing going on with my skin. But this is looking like it could be my first big bottle purchase!

In the imp: sweet butter? Alright... 0_o On my skin: this reminds me so much of baking with my mother. One of her cookie recipes called for butter to be mashed into tons of white sugar, with a few drops of vanilla extract. That is EXACTLY what this smells like. When it dries I do get a touch of coconut, but still mostly sweet, sweet sugary buttery goodness. This is a lovely, edible scent, and I really want to lick my arm. But when would you wear this? I can't think of an occasion that calls for smelling like a buttered coconut that's been rolled in white sugar. But I might keep the imp because it is so much fun to sniff!