brineydeep

This is more bourbon heavy than I was expecting. Not to the level where everyone thinks I've actually been drinking but the most prominent notes come from the bourbon with a mellow vanilla grounding the scent. It's a little spicy, a little boozy, and the vanilla is more warm than gourmet or sweet. In terms of throw, it's not too strong or too weak; I'm getting whiffs as I turn my head but it's not overwhelming me. I don't think that this will be my favorite gloss but I think it will compliment vanilla-based perfumes (I'm wearing the hair gloss with NAVA Eternal Ankh today and it's a great combo).

I really enjoy this hair gloss. It's a sweet and juicy dark berry but NOT sweet and juicy like eating a peach with juice dripping down your chin. It's more of a hint of juice, a tease of sweetness with something more nefarious hiding in the shadows. I don't smell the black tea note distinctly but it's definitely there grounding the entire scent. This hair gloss is slightly sweet, slightly dark, without being overpowering or cloying. The belladonna berries are the most prominent note but they are well blended with the sugared black tea to keep them in check. These berries are an alluring siren call, providing you with a ghost of their sweetness and tempting you to drink that mysterious cup of tea.

Thorny red roses swirled with mandrake accord, bois de rose, ambrette seed, and khus. Fresh from the mailbox! This goes on very bitter. Once it dries down, it's predominantly rose with a bit of dark woodiness underneath. This is the rose of Peacock Queen, refined and regal instead of a lush or innocent rose. The whole blend reminds me of Peacock Queen but a little darker and more complex. The throw is light. It's a nice addition to my BPAL rose collection. I have already have Peacock Queen, but I think I like this better.

CRÈME Stark, unabashed red. This is my very first claw polish and I'm happy with it. The description says red but I'm finding the color to have some purple in it as well. In sunlight, it's deep red with a hint of pink/purple. Under indoor lighting, it looks more burgundy. Either way, it's a deep rich color that is fairly dark. The polish itself wears pretty well (or at least comparably or slightly better than some of my other polishes). I'm on day 5 of wearing it and it's finally starting to look a bit rough around the edges on most of my nails. Overall, I'm really glad I picked up this claw polish!

A sweet, warm bonding oil, used to cultivate, attract, and nurture friendships. It can be used with friendship honey jars, ritually with orange and pink candles, and as a daily perfume for attracting new relationships. In terms of scent, Friendship is all pineapple to me. Very fresh and very sweet. I suspect that there is something else in this blend but it supports the pineapple so well that everything melds together. My bottle has some crystals in it. I'm not sure what they are, but I haven't had any problems using the oil itself (I wear it as perfume). In terms of effectiveness, Friendship is not an immediate attraction blend in that it does not drawn people to you. Instead, I've found it good for instances where I want a good environment for interacting with current and potential friends. So more fostering than immediate.

The Golden Hour, casting a glorious light onto all it touches: sweet amber and golden oudh with vanilla cream, white cognac, saffron, and warm golden musk. Fresh from the mailbox and onto my skin. Amber & Lace is lovely. It's creamy, Lacey, with just a bit of oomph from the saffron and cognac. It doesn't have the tobacco note that several of the other Laces have, which makes it a little different but still within the Lace family (my skin boosts tobacco, so I noticed the difference). Wet, it's rich and strong. At this stage -- though I haven't tried every Lace -- it reminds me of Beautiful Death without the berries. Dried down, it honestly reminds me of cream soda. It's smooth and sweet, with just a bit of kick. It's got moderate throw. I'm looking forward to seeing how this one settles, but it's off to a good start!

Mummies of Mexico City contains notes of church incense, ornate gold, old lace, and dust. A sacred, secret scent, recalling residual whispers of incense settling into the ancient, forgotten dust. This hair gloss is *glorious*. MoMC smells like incense but completely smooth. It's all soft, slightly sweet resins, exactly like the perfume version. To compare it to another BPAL perfume, it's akin to All Souls but without the offertory cakes and smoother. The hair gloss has good throw and I'm getting whiffs of it throughout the day, though it's not overwhelming. It's pretty much the perfect strength. Can I say "perfect" any more in this review? Because, for a resiny hair gloss, it pretty much is.

I agree with all of the others that this is lovely. Complex vanilla with a slight lift of a clean top note. It smells like a much mellower Edith Cushing to me; same balance of vanilla with refined top notes but Flickering Lights is softer, smoother, and more well balanced. Decent wear and low throw — it’s not a lasts-all-day blend on me.

[No additional description provided.] This sprays out a blast of dead leaves, very much as a top note. Underneath the leaves is a more subtle fried baked good scent; not donuts specifically but something yummy and definitely not healthy. The two notes don’t meld together but they definitely complement each other. It’s surprisingly good.

I need to use this blend more because it's great. Smell: I get ylang ylang, a hint of sharp elemi and a floral, and a base of chamomile when it's fresh. This scent morphs a bit throughout the day. I like it best when it's fresh but I can't change my skin chemistry. Purpose: I'm dealing with anxiety-induced doom scrolling (election results -- eek) and put Isychia on. From the first moment that I smelled it, I started feeling more relaxed. It pulled me back from the edge of Twitter and recentered me so I can focus on what I actually need to get done.

I think I won the skin chemistry lottery here because Please Scream Inside Your Snake Oil is playing very nice on me. In the bottle, this is mostly fried dough but on my skin it's Snake Oil mellowed by funnel cake. I was worried that there would be too much of the "fried" note, but it's really more sweet bread dough with a hint of "this isn't good for my arteries." It's a subtle balance, with the Snake Oil being supported by the funnel cake, and a strangely comforting combination. This has the usual Snake Oil throw but a small dab is really bringing a smile to my face this afternoon.

The core of this perfume is white tea, as it's a little lighter and less earthy than green tea. It's light on the skin but present enough to actually get whiffs of. I definitely get the citrus/floral note that the other reviewers mention. It's a top note that lifts the scent. I'm also wondering if there is a pinch of biscuit here? It's nothing definite, but there's a hint of something grounding the scent once it's dry that's keeping it from being 100% fresh and bright. I'm honestly suspecting it's there because the other Spink and Forcible perfumes have biscuit crumbs in them. It could also be skin chemistry. Overall, it's a nice addition to the collection of this tea drinker.

If I had to describe this gloss in one word it would be: dry. I’m getting a bit of a powdery vibe when it first goes on; it almost reminds me of rice powder or orris but not quite. Scent-wise, the gloss is mostly dry sandalwood rounded out with vanilla. The rose petals eventually come out but do not dominate. Overall, powdery dry resins meet subtle roses. A bit old lady but elegant about it.

Yep, this is nice. Initially, it's a blast of ylang ylang, then rounds out to be balanced with vanilla and sandalwood. Very nicely blended. I just wish this perfume had more throw and lasting power. After a couple hours I really have to get my nose into my wrist to smell it, which is disappointing because it's just that darn good. Edit to add: this is fabulous in a scent locket and has better throw and lasting power. I get a little more ylang ylang than on my skin but it’s still nicely blended. Scent locket for the win!

This perfume is a winner. It's my first 13 and a real keeper. Sugar tends to dominate on my skin when it's blended into a perfume but on its own, it's stellar. I agree with the other posters that there's an initial citrusy note when wet, but when dry this blooms into something comforting and with some depth. Almost vanilla-y but not. I don't have words to describe it accurately, but I keep getting whiffs of it throughout the day and it just smells so damn good. I know people are talking about layering, but I'm going to wear this puppy solo, it's that good. Nice throw and longevity.

I'm always hesitant to blind buy rose perfume; I love roses but they don't always love my skin. This one thankfully works! Wet, this is Rose! with lots of throw. I think it's a pink or yellow rose: fresh, a bit sharp, and sweet. It's not a lush red rose or a demure tea rose or a soft white rose. Of those three, it's closest in type to a tea rose but Treasure's rose is more assertive. As it dries, the other notes bloom and round the scent out but never dominate. I think I'm getting the aldehydes that the other reviewers mention in a bit of sharpness from either the rose or labdanum. Overall, this is a nice addition to my BPAL rose collection.

So TKO is great but Frostbitten TKO is even better. The snow note here is the light and sweet one, in the vein of Snow White and Fresh and Blooming as a Rose from a few Yules ago. It marries so well with the base TKO. A real winner.

This is the surprising winner of my Yule bottles. This is a light incense blend base capped with an evergreen snow note. The evergreen is lifting with a hint of sweetness. The Mountain Temple is light and comforting and perfect for winter in a very subtle way. The perfume has low throw. I keep burying my nose into the skin where I applied it and smiling.

Hello beeswax! The beeswax is the top note and really blooms as it settles on the skin. The amber is playing a support role and helps round things out; it’s soft at first but develops over the course of the day. My bottle is very fresh so I’m looking forward to seeing how the amber ages. Moderate throw. (Added 5 months later: Wow. Aging has really calmed this bottle down. The overwhelming wet note of beeswax has settled and this perfume now goes on a lovely honey amber envelopes in wax. Just lovely. I highly recommend sitting on this bottle and giving it time to develop.)

This scent is very wooly and comforting. I’m definitely getting a snuggly wool blanket underlied with smooth milk. The blanket has a hint of clean to it. There’s not much coffee at the moment, but this is fresh from the mailbox so I expect this to develop as it settles. Overall, a very cozy scent.

This blend is awesome. It’s very... comforting. It reminds me a little of something from the bakery — not really foody or sweet but like a warm scone from the oven. Over top this is a thin thread of mint. Comfort is special like White Light is special. But where WL lifts, Comfort soothes. It’s pretty great.

I'm not an apple person but holy wow is this good. I tried it on a whim at the Lab's Lunacy event and liked it so much that I took a bottle home. The apples are forward in the wet stage. I'm not an apple connoisseur but these are lovely -- slightly sweet, fresh, and with a little lift. They are identical to the apples in one of my favorite NAVA blends (Vanilla & Apple Spice). These apples are amazing. The sugar starts to come out with dry down and makes this scent warm and comforting. Sometimes sugar runs rampant on my skin but it's held in check here. This blend is perfect for the fall and the holiday season, without being holiday at all. The scent has medium throw and wear length.

Bonfire smoke staining vanilla cream lace, a touch of cognac, sweet tobacco, St. Johns Wort, and apple wine, with the suns bright amber and copal setting the horizon aflame. Caveat: this is fresh from the mailbox. I'm digging this Lace. It's a sweet blend of BPAL's Lace note with floral from the St John's Wort and a hint of apple. I was worried it would be too autumnal but it's more harvest fresh than harvest spice. The sweetness is underlied by the copal hanging out under the surface. This is not a heavy Lace. Rather it's an apple-sweet Lace without actually being an apple blend. It's like a rich/fresh/sweet apple cider for your skin. This will be fabulous to wear from the heat of the summer through early fall. I'm glad it's part of my collection.

This is fresh from a hot mailbox so take this review with a grain of salt (or pepper, as it were). This starts off as a blast of fresh pepper but then calms down to a more balanced blend with the sandalwood serving as the base. The two notes work surprisingly well together. It’s cozy but with a bit of peppery edge to it; maybe a bit more mohair than angora? This is comforting, interesting, and something I would wear what I want something cozy with a hint of spunk to it.

Roses mixed with resins represent some of my favorite BPALs and I’m very happy to add this blend to the list. I would describe this blend as a rosy frankincense/opoponax. The resins are definitely the grounding note here with an overall tinting of rose. The rose is soft and sweet but more rounded and full than a light white or pink rose. The taffeta and lace notes add complexity that is hard to describe but they really elevate this blend and make it shine. I really like this blend and expect to reach for it when I want some resins with just a hint of rose.