Allumina

This is really lovely! I agree with Caith on the sense of "freshness with pumpkin". I'm having trouble parsing the notes, but it's definitely clean, fresh and elegant. I can get the pumpkin clearly and maybe a bit of the yew berry, but the other notes are hard to pin down, though I can smell them. This is also pretty strong- 6 hours after putting 2 drops on the end of one braid (I'm testing multiple decants!) I can still smell it clearly. So a good choice for those looking for a long lasting gloss.

Well, I get why the goblins were fighting over it! I'm not much of a foody person, but even I have to admit this smells delightful. On me it's mostly a deep, rich, moist spice cake. After a little while I get a touch of cream/frosting, but it's subtle and just adds depth to the scent. Delightful.

October the oil was horrible, thick cheap cologne on me. So I was pleasantly surprised at how nice this is- this is mainly dead leaves with maybe a tinge of the other notes swirling in the background. Like I usually get with the "dead leaves" note in general, at first it does smell a bit perfumey, but then it settles down quickly into a realistic leaves scent, that sort of fades into the background and smells like cool fall air. It's not a complicated scent, but it is very pretty if you like the leaves note. I might get a bottle of this. <3

This is fun and very autumnal. The main note I'm getting is sweet apple, with a tinge of herbs/spices in the background. Samarablackcat is dead on- this smells very much like wandering through a Ren Faire on a fall day.

This is delightful. On first application I get a ton of lime, but then it quickly blends with the mandarin to become juicy orange backed with lime. There's a hint of coconut in the background, and I don't detect any mint. Bright, juicy and refreshing! I may have to get a bottle.

This is gorgeous, and STRONG- I was testing another atmo decant in another room but this ended up taking over! I definitely get the 'Gourd of Deprivation' pumpkin comparison- it definitely reminds me of a less spicy, more foody version of it. This basically smells like delicious, buttery, almost-pie. If I think about it, I can get a bit of a smoky beeswax note, but it's dominated by the pumpkin and the sort of "pie crust" that everyone else is getting. The lack of spice keeps it from going 100% pie, but it's still warm and delightful. If you like pumpkin and foody scents, you should get this.

This is perfect and just what I wanted. Like everyone else said, it's a pretty even mix of black leather and licorice, two of my favorite notes. It leads with the leather, but once it settles the licorice comes out and they meld together. The licorice seems slightly more dominant at this stage, but the leather is lurking there in the background so it may just be my nose being fooled by how well they go together. The licorice is only slightly sweet, which keeps this from going into mega-foody territory. Did I mention this is perfect? I still have a bunch of other decants to test, but I'm getting at least 2 bottles of this. <3

This was my surprise hit from my CD decants! On me it's primarily herbal/woody scent, with an edge of dry coconut and some sweetness from the almond milk rounding it out. It's unique, kinda elegant and fairly unisex, and has good staying power. (I have no idea what High John the Conqueror root smells like, but I'm guessing it's part of the whole woody/herbal thing.) At times it gets a touch too powdery/dusty/perfumed, but I suspect that might age out. I will probably get a bottle of this before it's down.

Sigh. Foodies are usually mostly a miss on me, but this one is particularly weird- straight up cherry cough syrup, from wet to drydown. No cookies, no incense. Usually almond works on me, so it must be something particular about this almond. Off to swaps!

Well, this is a delight! Foodies don't usually do well on me, but this sounded whimsical and fun, and it is. It's not a complex scent, particularly, and settles down quick and doesn't change, but it is well blended, and surprisingly pretty, and adult- it could have easily been a sickeningly sweet teen scent. The "cotton candy" is more of just a sweet, delicate cloud, and it melds with the orange and vanilla to smell almost tropical. I can't say I smell the pepper, but I think it's what's keeping things from getting overly sweet. It's low throw, but has surprising staying power- I'm about 12 hours in and it's still pretty clear when huffing my wrists. It's not really my style, regardless, so I will not be getting a bottle, but I'm glad I picked up an imp and will enjoy it! It will be lovely in the summer, or when I wish it were the summer...

I actually love lemon, so I was really hoping for the overpowering, drowned in lemon lemon some reviewers were getting. Sadly, that was not the case. There's a bit of floral lemon rush at the beginning, but that fades quickly to merge into a pretty, warm tropical floral, with the apricot flower dominant on me, and just a faint wisp of opium. It's a nice floral-for-those-who-don't-like-florals, but some note in it (the black musk, probably) is not playing nice with my chemistry and giving a very faint rancid-y note. Low-medium throw, low-medium staying power. I might try one more time before putting it in the swaps box....

This may be a bit overly specific, but does anyone have recommendations for non-lavender sleep/relaxation blends that work well off the skin? Because of my sleep habits, I find I am much more likely to be able to have a scent register in bed if I dab my pillowcase or shirt. I have some TKO and Baku, but I've learned lavender does nothing for me in the way of relaxation/sleepiness, and although TKO has very good longevity I find it a bit overly sweet and cloying. Are there other good acknowledged sleepy notes? I've seen opium and jasmine mentioned in some threads...

In my quest to sample as many of bpal's leather notes as possible a kind forumite (nathanielhebert) shared a tester of this with me, which was exciting because I've heard a lot about it! This is gorgeous. The leather note is beautiful, and straddles that bpal line of smelling exactly like real leather and my thinking "I see what you were trying to go for, but it's not quite working". It's kind of elegant and almost slightly floral, in a good way. There's a hint of sweetness (the vanilla, I'm assuming) but it never gets overpowering like vanilla usually gets on me. Sometimes I get hints of true to life pear, other times I get more of sharp lemony note, I have no idea where from (the cedar, maybe) Good staying power and medium throw. I really like this one, I'm glad I got to try it!

A fellow forumite was kind enough to share a tester of this in my quest to try all the leathers, and I'm super glad I got to try this, because it's pretty great. On me this is a warm, dry, spicy, true leather with an undertone of smooth musk. It's masculine in a good way, but also turns a bit sweet on me- the first time I tried it, it was more of a vanilla/ambery sweet, the second time more amber-musk sweetness. In any case, it's one of bpal's great leather scents and it's quite lovely. It's also got great staying power- over 12 hours later I'm still getting hints of it off my wrist.

This was such an overwhelming fail on me. I love veviter, hay, bergamot and masculine scents, so I thought for sure this would be a huge winner. I get no bergamot or hay, and somehow the veviter and opoponax combine into some sort of super strong, sharp, headache-y cologne stench, that stays the same wet through drydown. Not sure if it's my nose or my chemistry, but I'm super disappointed. Boo.

This is super interesting and I like it a lot! Wet, this is primarily smoky, burning, almost leathery veviter and wood, and quite lovely if you're into that sort of thing. (Spoiler alert: I am) After about half an hour or so, the gunpowder note comes out and lingers nicely. The rusty nails are only hints now and then. This is a very strange scent, but a good one! I'm trying to decide if I need a bottle or if it's too similar to some of my other scents.

I am super torn about Fighter. The first time I tried it was all beautiful, brown leather, overlaid by a pretty musk that wasn't too overpowering. The musk/leather combo is a winner, and I like the leather note a lot. The second time I tried it, I still got lovely leather and musk, but the blood note came out very, very strongly, and the combination of blood and musk is err, let's just say weirdly realistic and evocative and not unfamiliar but not something I necessarily want to smell like all the time. I guess I need to try again? I thought this was going to win my leather bottle buy, but it might go to Cully instead!

Any possibility it's Devil's Claw instead?

So I really love the lab's black leather note (Adam is my one true love) so I was hesitantly excited about this. This is the first blind bottle I've gotten in ages that has turned out well! Wet, this is primarily that lovely black leather note with a backing of veviter mixed with musk. On the drydown the tobacco comes out and it gets pretty masculine cologne-y, but in a warm fuzzy way. Something vaguely spicy also emerged on drydown, but I have no idea what it is. This will probably get more play from me in winter because it's pretty heavy, but I like it a lot! It also layers nicely with Crowley.

This is a long shot but maybe Doom of Beauty? Nice and crisp, has rosemary. Not as floral as you would think for a luper. Its green, Old World, and refreshing but not sharp or heavy on ozone. And, I have never smelt it, but Phantom Time Hypothesis could fit the bill... Ooh, these both sound interesting! Thanks for the suggestion!

Well I haven't smelled the gentlemen, but how about Spider, the convocation or vicomte de valmont? Another scent that should be hoarded but alas appears frequently on the sales pages is aubin grandpied bunmanchi. It's amazing in hot summer weather and nice when it gets colder, too. Thank you, I haven't tried any of those, and they all sound interesting! This perked my ears up! Vicomte de Valmont is my favorite so I am watching everything suggested to you with a lot of interest, haha- a bunch of things being suggested are sounding interesting to me- though your description of Jareth is scaring me- I've been wanting to try that one really badly. I was hoping it wouldn't be as sweet as Dorian. I am really excited for Vicomte de Valmont now because it sounds gorgeous from the recs (and has rosemary like The Gentlemen, which is a pretty rare bpal note)! Yeah, unfortunately for me, Jareth is a near dupe for Dorian on me, both in the bottle and on (lots of sugar and some musk). I get none of the leather or lilac. That being said, chemistry is a fickle thing, so you should definitely get a imp and check it out! I hope you like Dracul, it's one that I like a lot. I don't really have any good recs for Count Dracula (which sounds lovely) but you may want to try, if Dracul is up your alley and if you get a chance, Troll or Iago for that sort of dark, swirly, musky scent.

Thanks! I don't know how Bram Stoker slipped by notice, but I love veviter, hay and bergamot, so I am definitely getting an imp of this in my next order! Incantation is sadly one of those scents that sounds awesome but is completely blah on me...

Perhaps Lysander? Ha, Lysander is actually on my to try list. Looking at it again, it sounds very good, I'm going to push it to the top of the list. thanks!

Well I haven't smelled the gentlemen, but how about Spider, the convocation or vicomte de valmont? Another scent that should be hoarded but alas appears frequently on the sales pages is aubin grandpied bunmanchi. It's amazing in hot summer weather and nice when it gets colder, too. Thank you, I haven't tried any of those, and they all sound interesting!

Anyone have anything similar for "The Gentleman" from Yule 2012? (A dapper cologne, distant and refined: white musk, lime rind, and rosemary water with tobacco leaf and lilac.) After a weird, unpleasant drydown, it turns into a delightful cologne, slightly sweet and herbal and almost candy citrusy. I'd like to recreate it or something similar without hunting it down. I already have (and love) Whitechapel, but on me it's primarily powdery white musk. And Dorian and Jareth just turn into a sugary mess on me. No luck with Mr. Nancy either. Maybe Villain?