AmyAngel

I honestly can't figure out what the heck I'm smelling. It's GOOD, but none of the notes are really making themselves known, it's just an almost-minty sort of blended scent going on. I'm crossing my fingers the leather stays in the background, because so far this is quite good! And... there's the leather. Just a teeny touch of it, though. There's still something almost-mint in there with it. If dragons were real, I wouldn't be surprised if they smelled like this. This is not really a sweet scent, but is a little exotic, definitely different than most perfumes. Well blended, to the point I'm not really able to pick out any of the individual components, other than the leather if I really sniff hard for it. The decant is a definite keeper, but I'm still debating about bottles. It's a "maybe". EDIT: Wearing it all day today... not as good, unfortunately. The consensus from both me and others who have smelled it is "it's OK". I am picking out the Dragon's Blood now... I agree it's not like BPAL's usual "is that lilac?" dragon's blood, and more like the bath salts from the Renaissance Faire, but there's something else in there going powdery and just not quite right on me today. Good for my wallet, but disappointing, it's fun to say you're wearing Creeper Dragon!

Lots of apple! WIth just a hint of spice. I'm not really getting anything else, yet. After a few minutes, the apple is calming down, but there's something not-quite-right going on here. I wonder if it's blackcurrant. I don't much like dried blackcurrants, and this does have a bit of the sourness they have. It seems to be fading back into the spicy fruit, however, which is an improvement. Not getting much honey, just maybe a tiny hint of it. It's staying a sort of lightly spiced fresh apple, for the most part. Usually apple and spice turns into cider or pie, but this is more like a cold crisp apple with a touch of spice. This is really pretty. I'm not sure yet if it's bottle-worthy, but I really like it. EDIT: I wore this all day yesterday, and it stayed around ALL DAY. It was very nice, started as strong apple but pretty quickly turned into a slightly sourer, less purple version of Mari Lwyd. I have no idea how that worked! I love Mari Lwyd more than this one, so I'm thinking this is not a bottle purchase for me.

Pretty! Light peachy tea, with sweet champaca being floral behind it. I think the sandalwood is underneath just deepening things a little. The more it dries, it's sweeter but not too sweet, the tea scent is still there. There's even a hint of spiciness to it now. Very pretty.

Starts out all plummy, with a vetiver undertone that is behaving for the moment. I'm not sure if I'm smelling sandalwood or if it's just adding some woodiness to the vetiver. I'm not sure I could pick out indigo or tuberose, but there's a definite floral quality to the plum. Plum blossom, definitely. Smells very much like spring! After a few minutes, I think I'm getting more sandalwood. The vetiver is fading back (miracle! it usually amps to high heaven on me!) and I'm mostly getting a kind of fruity floral plummy sandalwood thing. Very pretty. And staying very pretty. I think this one needs an all-day wear to decide if the decant is enough or if I should spring for a bottle.

Starts out a bit buttery, but sweet. I think the amber is making it a bit more like a perfume and a bit less like a buttered popcorn jellybean, but I'm not certain I'm actually getting any of the listed notes in a recognizeable way, except for cream. I feel like if I didn't know there was coconut in this I'd never guess it was in there, but since I do know I can sort of pick out a tiny bit of it. I love coconut, but it disappears quickly on me usually, so I'm not expecting too much. As it's drying it's staying quite sweet, and a little buttery. It's making me think just a little of Midway, actually, which has that sort of marshmallowy sweetness over funnel cakes. And as it's drying down further, it's even more like Midway! Sweet, a tiny hint buttery, warm. I think it has a bit more staying power and throw than Midway does, but I may have to compare them directly to be sure I'm not imagining the comparison. Very nice, but I'm not sure I need a bottle since I have plenty of Midway Resurrected already.

Wet, there's definitely some dirt-esque patchouli in there. I wondered for a second if it was vetiver, which is good - vetiver is awful on me but the patchouli that tries to masquerade as it works well when there are other things to sweeten it up. There's definite lemon going on, I think it's partly the lemongrass (which is not screaming) mixing with the frankincense. I think I'm getting maybe a slight hint of carnation and amber, but no coconut to speak of. And now a few minutes later I'm getting a sort of dirty dishwater scent. It comes and goes, but is there - I think it may be the lemongrass doing that, I've smelled it in something else before. When it's gone, this is a nice slightly-spicy lemon perfume, with the patchouli way back almost undetectable in the background. And now a few minutes later, I'm still getting the dishwater faintly but it's also making me think of the beach. It's not coconut sun lotion, and I can't even describe why it makes me think of the beach, but it does. Sun, sand, beach. I think the patchouli is starting to come out just a little, and it's helping things, though there is a hint of soapiness. I'm going to have to try this again in a few days, and maybe give it a full-day wear, because it is ALMOST fantastic. It's just a teeny bit too soapy, but otherwise fresh and warm, a hint spicy, just a touch of lemon. Unfortunately no coconut to speak of, but my skin seems to eat coconut up within a few minutes. EDIT: Wore it for a full day - much better! It's still a little, well, ODD for a bit at the beginning, but it lasts all day and the coconut sticks around more than I'd expected. I'm still undecided on a bottle, however, largely because there are just so many I want bottles of from this update. If money was no object I would be buying a bottle of this, however.

Green tea. Definitely green tea - I have white tea testing also and this is very different. The plum is in there too, adding a bit of fruit, and just a touch of honey. It smells fresh, and like something you'd drink. After several minutes, it smells more like a perfume than a drink, despite the honey coming through a bit more. I'm having a hard time describing it, but it's really beautiful. It seems to stay a lovely floral honey scent, that lingers close to the skin for a few hours. It's on the "maybe" list for a bottle, pending a full day's wear. EDIT: Wearing it all day today - not so sure about a bottle now. Today is a very different day hormonally, and I'm getting lots of honey and some plum, less tea. It's gone dusty smelling on my wrists, also. Still nice, but not fantastic today. May test again next week.

I don't think I've reviewed this yet! You know how sometimes the ones you like best are the ones hardest to describe or review? That's what's happening with me and Red Lantern. I bought a bottle of the 2008 version unsniffed when it came out, and really liked it. However, just after that I discovered that caramel often turns into a really awful sort of celery-salt smell on me, and this seemed like it was starting to head this way. I stuck it in the swap box, where it stayed until just a month or two ago when I came back from a bit of a BPAL hiatus. I'm trying to create a current spreadsheet with reviews, so I remember why I didn't like things instead of just wondering "hey, those notes sound great, why did I get rid of that?" every time something is re-released, so I'm re-testing everything before swapping anything away. I'm very glad I re-tested this, because I've been slathering myself in it since, and am seriously considering buying a 2015 bottle to put away for aging. When I put this on, it starts as lots of caramel, warm and sweet. It does NOT go all salty and strange, but the caramel sticks around for the whole time I wear this. It pulls back after a few minutes to let the other scents come through, but doesn't fade away. Amber sometimes goes baby-powder on me, but it doesn't here. I can't actually pick out individual scents very much, except the caramel and sometimes a whiff of coconut - which usually fades away quickly on me but seems to be just faintly in the background here for most of the day. It ends up a warm, glowing dark golden scent. A hint of spice, but it's not spicy. It's sweet but not sticky, it's actually got a hint of dryness to it, and it's never too sweet. Everything just melds together and is gorgeous, it seems exotic and unusual. It sticks around for most of the workday, if I sniff for it 10 hours after application it's still there, though much fainter. It seems appropriate for pretty much any occasion, though it's more of a fall/winter scent to me... it might be a little much on super-hot days. I really just adore this. I'm so glad I rescued it from the swap box!

In the decant and wet, this is nose-clearing sharp strong mint - not strictly peppermint, I'm thinking there's some spearmint in there. There's a hint of sweet, but it's not reading as vanilla, to my nose. It feels cold in my nose to sniff it. On my skin, it keeps making me think of some sort of cleaner. The mint is there, but somehow it feels more like "freshly cleaned bathroom" than "candy cane". It's not terrible, just not what I'd expected, and not something I'd want to smell like. I left it a while, mostly forgetting about it, and now it's died down to a really pretty cold sweetness. Vanilla, with a cold feel that isn't screaming "mint". It's staying very close to the skin, however. Not a bottle purchase, but I will try the decant again in warmer weather. I doubt it will be a frequent wear, but something I'm glad to have.

2014 version: In the decant, it smells like cool clean fresh air. It's definitely "cold" smelling, and makes me think "spa". On, it's warming up a bit, but still there's a hint of cold. Mint, I think. It makes me think of snow on trees, though I'm not recognizing any specific sort of evergreen scent really. It just smells like outdoors. I need to test this against The Snow Storm - this is much less evergreen, more mint and much sweeter, but they feel similar to me. Similar concepts, I suppose... this is the day after the storm when everything's settled out and the sun is making the snow sparkle. This is gorgeous, but as I rarely wear The Snow Storm (which I think I like slightly better) and I have more BPAL than I could ever wear, I don't think I need more than the decant. Also, I feel like when I sniff too deeply it's trying to do the stabby-headache thing, but not succeeding. I am going to try a full-day wear on this before the Yules come down, but on a day I'm at home so I can jump in the shower if it gets headachey. I think this might actually be better as a room scent than a personal scent, for me. However I could see this being wonderful for hot summer days, it's definitely cooling!

I can't remember if I've tried Dodo by itself or not, and red musk is iffy on me until it's aged, so I'm a little wary. In the imp and wet, this is really... strange. A touch fruity, gingerbread in there, some sweetness. Strange in a good way, as I'd kind of expect of Dodo. The red musk is playing nice so far, and not turning into a rubbery disaster, and it's almost like a gingerbread cookie dipped in some sort of fruity drink. I'm getting the cassia in the back adding some heat to the gingerbread, which I really like. Every so often I get a whiff of green mango, I think - sweet and very tart. It's almost like a tropical Christmas gingerbread spice mashup. But really good! I could imagine if I was spending Christmas somewhere warm, this would be appropriate to wear - the bit of gingerbread Christmassy scent, but not too heavy or hot smelling for warm weather. I like this more than I'd expected. I think Gingerbread Dodo is basically Christmas at a tiki bar. I may need a bottle of this.

In the decant, cidery apple with some sweetness. On, the tartness of apple comes out with maybe a touch of booziness. It's very sweet but not too sweet. I'm not really getting much if any of the spice I tend to associate with cider. As it's drying, it's making me think of Lambs-Wool, but much sweeter. Like if it had been spilled on a sweet white cake. It definitely smells like WHITE cake, not yellow cake, and the tart apple is cooking down into something more mellow. It's really pretty much as described - a chunk of white cake soaked in hard apple cider. And as it dries even more, the buttercream frosting is coming out, and the cider is not quite so evident. I very much like this, but it may be edging toward "too sweet" territory for me, but it's hard to tell for sure with just a wrist-only test. It is very much like Lambs-Wool, plus a lot of sweet cake, and stronger throw. I like Lambs-Wool as it is... I'm not sure if I need a bottle of a cake-and-frosting soaked version of it! I'll try a full-day wearing before deciding for sure. I'm contemplating layering them to get more cider and apple while keeping some cakey sweetness.

In the imp, I'm getting the cinnamon and patchouli with a bit of the gingerbread in there too. I'm a bit wary of this one, as I'm beginning to realize sandalwood doesn't work well on me. On, while wet, still about the same - some of the amber is making itself known I think, but not in a powdery way. Oooh, as this is drying it is very good! Definitely smells like a perfume (not like a food), with the gingerbread scent seamlessly blending into it, and none of the notes really standing out alone. Even the patchouli is just blending in, not being dirty or smelling like pencil shavings or anything, just adding to the combined warm spicy scent. The sandalwood is even behaving, thankfully. It doesn't really smell like Tanin'Iver or Mme. Moriarty, but it's like it belongs in that family, somehow. It's not fruity at all, but has a warm heaviness to it, though it's lightening in feel (and sweetening) as it develops. It's like gingerbread with extra sexiness. I like this one a lot!

In the botte, patchouli and vanilla - strong like vanilla extract, not sweet. On me, it's the more dirty patchouli than the woody pencil shavings kind, with an almost-smoky feel to it. I think the cinnamon is coming out a bit as it's drying, and there's definitely a sweetness there keeping it from being to much. As it dries more I'm getting the honey and vanilla, just a tiny touch of cinnamon, and the patchouli all together smelling really rich and gorgeous. This is what I'd hoped Tricksy would be! As it's continuing, the patchouli is still the strongest bit, but the other elements are hanging in there. I liked it better a few minutes ago when they were more equal, but that may be me amping the patchouli. Patch is something that sticks to my skin and lingers for days. Lucky I like it! I'm thinking this is going to become a cool weather staple, and should age beautifully. I think it will layer well, too - I'm testing Pumpkin Spice Everything also right now, and the combined throw is pretty amazing. I could see this working great with Snake Oil, too. This just keeps getting better the longer I wear it. I can't wait to wear this a full day and see how it develops over a longer time, because it's really gorgeous! EDIT: I have now tested Feed Me and Fill Me - which turned into all perfumey amber, all the time, and has much stronger patch. This is definitely softer and sweeter. I have also now slathered this on two days in a row. It's absolutely gorgeous, and I want to bathe in it. It's got less throw than I'd like, and is the softest patchouli I've ever tried, but it's still amazing. Edit again: I've come to realize there is a type of patchouli that tries to be vetiver, on me - that almost burned smoky smell (vetiver is straight up BBQ smoke on me). This is that patchouli, but the sweetness softens it up quickly and makes it really pretty. I've now tested it against Tricksy, and the extreme dry down is near identical... however Tricksy goes through a few hours of being too woodsy/smoky/dirty before getting to the balanced dry down that this gets to in less than half an hour.

In the bottle, light tea with just a slight hint of anise. Almost floral, and far lighter than I'd expected it to be. On me, much the same. Tea, touch of licorice, starting to smell warmer as it's settling in. So far, so good! As it's drying down more, I'm still getting tea, just a slight hint of smoke, and the anise there keeping it feeling ethereal. It's beautiful. I'm getting no patchouli at all. If I sniff deeply I get a touch of the nastiness that I've discovered sandalwood turns into on me, but the nice parts are drowning that out. After a few more minutes, still much the same, but I think the patchouli is starting to give just a hint of groundedness to the scent. The throw is kind of cooling, though up close it's got a warmer feel. I think this would work for just about any season. I feel like I've smelled other BPAL's with a similar feel, but I'm really loving this one and am glad I went for a bottle unsniffed! Definitely a keeper. Edit: Having slathered this a couple times, I'm still very glad I got a bottle. Even in late dry down it's mostly a light slightly licorice sweet tea with vanilla, and a roundedness underneath from the patchouli, that doesn't actually read as patchouli. Low throw, but it lingers quietly close to the skin for several hours. Very pretty, and I've gotten three compliments on it today!