DiesMali

Fresh out of the mailbox, so may revisit later!

 

In the bottle: Pale, sweet pinkness.

 

Wet on my skin: ...Pale, sweet, creamy pinkness. 

 

Dry: This was the biggest risk of my Liliths order, and oh man, I was a little worried about that ylang-ylang in particular. So, I've performed the Carmina Burana in full 8 times since 2004, and I NEVER get tired of it. It's my favourite thing to perform, especially since I'm a mezzo-soprano who can still reach all those fun high notes to sing soprano 1. So, when I saw this, I HAD to get it, no matter what notes were in it. This is a poofy, creamy, sweet cloud of delicate silvery-pink. It's floral, but definitely more of a floriental than a Western white floral, and sweet, but not overly so. Almost a little marshmallowy. All of the notes are there if you look for them, but mostly it's just that beautiful, gossamer cloud of poofy silvery-pink. Beautiful. ❤️ I'm so glad I got this. 

Fresh out of the mailbox, so may revisit later!

 

In the bottle: Slightly sour, dry wood with a metallic hint to it. 

 

Wet on my skin: This smells like it could be something from the Mommy Fortuna carnival section of The Last Unicorn scent line. Slightly metallic, smoky-sour, resinous teak wood.

 

Dry: Yeah, standing by that statement that it could be a Last Unicorn scent, specifically from that midnight carnival section (and actually has some notes in common with several of them). It's atmospheric and moody, not a "pretty princess" scent at all. The sourness fades as it dries, but it remains somewhat dry and acrid, but not unpleasantly so, and on the masculine side for sure. The tobacco + metal + wood actually combine to give this something of an old-fashioned smoky gunpowder feel...and this scent is something of a "feel" scent more than a smell scent, if that makes sense. As it wears, after 20-30 minutes, a piney sweetness from the pine resin starts to come out more, and I'm reeeeally liking this at that stage! This smells like a Renaissance Festival in the evening. I like. 

 

Edit: this has now been on for an hour and a half, and it's sweetened considerably with that pine resin + tobacco. Most of the smokiness and acridity burned off after the first hour, and now it's rich, piney-sweet resinous wood with an afterthought of smoky metal. 

I haven't worn this since I tested it after arrival, because I had a feeling aging would help it immensely. My instinct was correct! Reviewing with over a year of aging at play. 

 

In the bottle - This, in the bottle, smells like something that would have been at home in The Last Unicorn collection. A light but somehow also deep/dark floral, with something cool and a little aquatic about it.

 

Wet - It goes on like in the bottle. Gentle jasmine and magnolia are evenly mixed, gently wafting closely about me along with a cool, watery pine. 

 

Dry: When I first bought this, it went on a little too strong and a little too soapy. So, I stuck it in the drawer to age and promptly forgot about it, naturally. Even though it was alphabetically organized along with the rest of my bottles. Anyway, it's been aging about 1 year and 3 months, and the floral notes are MUCH more manageable than before. Florals can sometimes be hit or miss on me, and this went from miss to hit! When dry, it's a gentle, fuzzy blanket of magnolia and jasmine (jasmine slightly more forward than magnolia) over a cool stream of pine resin. It's fairly close to the skin and unobtrusive on me; a scent for when you might be brushing past people in a crowded hallway or career conference and want them thinking well of your personal hygiene. That almost makes it sound boring, but it's not! It is very pretty, and I'll definitely be moving it into rotation for when I want a good springy/summery floral!

In the bottle: Spicy-musky leather. 

 

Wet on my skin: The musk + leather in this take on an almost vanillic quality on my skin, for a few minutes. At that point, it's a gorgeous, chewy, spicy leather-musk blend. Definitely gingerbread and molasses type spices, but this isn't a gingerbread-forward scent while wet. 

 

Dry: ...Or while dry. This is a very masculine scent on me, which I am totally fine with! The leather, patchouli, and dark musk are smooth, deep, and dark, and the gingerbread is more of a supporting role. There's this incredibly sexy, chewy, and spicy molasses gingerbread underneath the smooth, dark leather/patch/musk combo, giving it a little bit of grit. The almost vanilla-like sweetness to the leather + musk combo does linger on my skin, but becomes more obviously leather as it dries. This is a very, very sexy scent. This is something a large, intimidating, but also very handsome Viking-looking Scandinavian death metal band member might wear to a winter holiday celebration with their significant other. 

In the bottle: Thick, spicy, slightly earthy coffee.

 

Wet on my skin: Thick, sweet, spicy, slightly earthy roasted coffee beans. 

 

Dry: First, I should say that oudh, vetiver, and patchouli are all notes that almost invariably work well with my skin chemistry. Patchouli is the second most common note in my bottle collection, behind vanilla, and both oudh and vetiver have very healthy representation as well. So, this scent pretty much was guaranteed to be a winner on me. AND IT IS. It's absolutely gorgeous. A rich, sweet, almost chocolatey or caramelized black coffee with spicy oudh and smoky vetiver, and a layer of earthy patchouli beneath the rest. It is definitely a sexy scent, probably best suited for dates or post-dates. IfyouknowwhatImean. The only possible negative I can find with it is that it's somewhat short-lived on my moisture-sucking skin, but I don't mind reapplying since it's just. so. gooooood. Yummy. 

In the bottle: Salty aquatic cologne. Almost like one of those really really nice aquatic candles you'd find in a high-end oceanside rental condo, actually, but in perfume form. 

 

Wet on my skin: This is very much a masculine, salty aquatic cologne as it goes on my skin. It's allll musky-salty sea water and kelp right now.

 

Dry: Okay, so I took a risk and blind-bottled this because of the reviews that stated things like "homicidal mermaids" and "Murmaider II: The Water God" (BRB gonna go play some Dethklok on my bass). Aquatics tend to be disappointing on my skin, especially the kind using grapefruit as a base. Here, however, I am not at all disappointed. After a few minutes of smelling like Jason Momoa as Aquaman, it settles down and becomes somewhat more unisex as the floral elements join the musky, kelpy salt water. Out of all the flowers in this, I'd actually say the orchid is the strongest of the three on me, then the jasmine, and just a hint of lily. None of them are particularly strong on me, however, and the floral notes are evenly matched with the salty black musk and kelp. Jasmine can amp on my skin a little (I still wear it tho) and lily tends to go soapy, but it appears that those properties have been well and truly reined in! I'm so glad for that, and that this is an aquatic that actually works well on me! It's a dark, cool, slightly dangerous sort of scent that wouldn't be out of place on a homicidal mermaid...or Jason Momoa as Aquaman, I suppose. We're equal opportunity here. 

 

This scent lasts ~5 hours on the backs of my hands/wrists and ~6-7 in the crooks of my elbows. That's actually very long-lasting for an aquatic on my skin, so another bonus there. 

In the bottle: Wet leather?

 

Wet on my skin: Black leather and Snake Oil, with the leather taking the lead. 

 

Dry: This one is going to need some aging, and probably should be worn on warm/sweaty skin to get the full benefit of the Snake Oil, at least for me. As it is, fresh from the Lab, it's an oiled, musky black leather with Snake Oil spicing things up a bit. I'm not getting much of the black amber, sandalwood incense, or ambergris as individual notes, except as contributors to the overall "feel" of spiced oils anointing the black leather and its wearer. It's darker and richer than Western Diamondback, my other SO/leather blend, but it doesn't last as long. It's actually quite nice as it is, but I think I'm going to stick it in the BPAL drawer and let it age for a little while before putting it solidly into wear rotation. 

In the bottle: Sharp moss and rose.

 

Wet on my skin: ROSE. Deep, dark, almost-purple/black red rose, with some gorgeous woody/herbal moss. Oh, it's niiiice.

 

Dry: This is instantly in my top 3 rose scents. It's so, so pretty. I had a suspicion that it might be, because my #1 favourite rose blend (Beauty the Aggrieved) also has oakmoss and non-ink "dark" notes. This is a dewy, luscious, velvety deep red rose, almost purple like other reviewers have said, with a woody, herbal richness from the moss, and another almost oudh-like note that must be the ink. This is, as far as I remember, the first BPAL ink scent I've tried, and I have no regrets. Surprisingly, I get none of the "dill pickle" weirdness that some red rose notes start off with on me (ever since I got my IUD), which is very nice. As it wears, the rose keeps its spot as the primary note with the oakmoss and ink supporting it and darkening it up nice and good. Mmmm.

 

The only trouble I have with this one is that, as happens with some rose-forward scents, my skin amps it like CRAZY. I'll definitely have to be careful with when and where I wear it, because two drops (one shared between the backs of my hands and one shared between my forearms) seem to have scented the entire room I'm sitting in, plus some of the hallway. Probably something that would be best worn at an outdoor event or as a nosegay in a metal concert full of huge, stinky dudes. 

In the bottle: Quite similar to salted caramel, interestingly. 

 

Wet on my skin: Sweet, creamy beeswax and a lightly salted nut note, along with something else I can't identify. Ti leaf, maybe? It still smells a little caramel-like. 

 

Dry: As this dries, a whiff of the sandalwood incense joins that sweet, creamy beeswax and the perfumey note that I think is the ti leaf. The slightly salty roasted nuts aren't as prominent now, becoming a background note. Now, the honey emerges from the beeswax, and that sweetens the blend. Once it reaches that stage, my brain finally stops trying to read it as salted caramel, for the most part. It's not quite gourmand, but also not quite perfumey, but it is very nice and I'm happy to have it. I don't have many beeswax blends in my collection, so this is a nice addition. 

In the bottle: Slightly herbal marshmallow and honey.

 

Wet on my skin: Sweet, honeyed marshmallows and a wisp of lotus. 

 

Dry: Wildflower honey and marshmallow, primarily, with the amber and teak providing a gentle but solid base so the lighter notes aren't overly light and fleeting, and also not excessively sweet. The lotus and cherry blossoms contribute more to the floral aspect of the honey than they do as individual notes, but I can pick them out if I take a deep, analytic sniff. There's also something a little bit...musky/salty, barely there, but I definitely get something like a salty skin musk (sweat?) underneath the sweet marshmallow and floral honey. It's not unpleasant, though--exactly the opposite, in fact. I really like this perfume. It's quite beautiful, and my ONLY complaint is that it isn't very strong on my skin. Some aging should fix that, so I'm not too worried. 

In the bottle: Lemon meringue pie!

 

Wet on my skin: This smells for all the world like lemon bars and a hint of lotus at first. Within a couple minutes, it's like eating lemon bars while drinking lotus-infused green tea (I actually have some green tea with lotus flower, and it does smell like that). 

 

Dry: As this dries, the lemon curd fades a little and it instead becomes a creamy, lemony white tea with lotus wafting about atop it. A hint of that sweet dessert lemon does remain, but stays close to the skin in a blend that already seems to be more of a skin scent than a throw scent on me. It's a fairly soft and simple scent, and will be excellent for days when I want to wear a scent but need it to be unobtrusive and fairly undetectable more than a foot or two away.  

In the bottle: Fig and tea.

 

Wet on my skin: Soft, creamy vanilla tea with a bit of figgy sweetness.

 

Dry: This is a subtle, fuzzy scent on me. It's a slightly lemony, honey-sweetened black tea with equal parts creamy vanilla and creamy fig, and a suggestion of warm, sun-dried hay making everything just a little bit golden. There is a surprising amount of throw for such a gentle, subtle scent, and I keep catching whiffs of it as I am typing and thinking "Oh man, that smells nice." The way the fig milk, honey, and vanilla combine together gives it a slightly bubble-gummy pinkness, making it a cousin scent to Poor Monkey. If you like tea and/or Poor Monkey, you'll probably like this. I like both, and mmmmyes. Glad I sprang for the full bottle!

2019 version.

 

In the bottle: Sweet, honeyed Snake Oil.

 

Wet on my skin: Heavy on the sugary vanilla cream, lighter on the Snake Oil. The latter is definitely present in it, at this stage.

 

Dry: This is a scent that is more than the sum of its parts. Because I know Snake Oil is in the blend, I can pick it out, but a less familiar nose might not be able to make the distinction. On my S.O. loving skin, the S.O. takes a backseat to the sweet, creamy honeycomb, which has a distinct thick beeswax + honey feel on me. There's actually something slightly leather-like, like the really soft brown leather from Blood and Judgment So Well Commeddled, but I think that's a trick of my skin + Snake Oil. So basically, it's a slightly spicy, soft-leathery creamy honeycomb, and it's really quite lovely. My only issue is that it doesn't last terribly long (under 2 hours) before fading into a honey-sweetened "skin musk," but that will probably improve with some aging. 

In the bottle: Buttery coconut. 

 

Wet on my skin: Buttery coconut and marshmallows! Tiny whiff of lilac starts to come out as it dries.

 

Dry: I honestly had no idea what to expect from this, because it's pretty far out of my normal "style." It sounded so good that I just HAD to try it, however, and I'm glad I did. That buttery marshmallow coconut with a hint of lilac combines to form a sum of parts that smells, on my skin, like I doused myself in Lucky Charms marshmallows and a bit of the sweetened milk from the cereal bowl. It's unlike anything else in my collection, and I adore it.  

In the bottle: Heavier on the orange blossom, amber, and carnation here.

 

Wet on my skin: This starts out with a pretty good amount of poofy, spicy-ish orange blossom, amber, and carnation, quickly joined by that blood musk and a hint of cognac. All the notes are present at this point, but definitely more on the spicy floral side while wet.

 

Dry: I got this partly because some of the notes reminded me of another Luper love I didn't get enough of, Daruma Doll, and I was hoping for a cousin scent. This is a bit more floral and less effervescent, but once it dries and has been wearing for an hour or two, it *is* the cousin scent I was hoping for. The orange blossom and amber remain key players for some time, with the carnation spicing them up, and the blood musk and cognac taking a back seat and mostly adding a soft base that prevents the florals from running away. At some point, the florals and amber retreat somewhat, bringing the blood musk and cognac to the front, gently sweetened by amber and a waft of summer flowers. This is where it becomes the cousin scent to Daruma Doll. I like it through all of the stages of its evolution, however!

 

This is a scent that, in my opinion, would not be out of place at some kind of upscale art gallery event where everyone is sipping cognac and admiring abstract Oriental-themed floral paintings. 

In the bottle: Resinous, tobacco-tinged vanilla with some spice.

 

Wet on my skin: This is already fantastic, ooof. The Snake Oil isn't super apparent at this stage, unless I inhale deeply. Rather, it's this gorgeous, smoky, rich blend of vanilla, tobacco, ambergris, and oakmoss, with the SO supporting everything with that familiar base of sensual spice. 

 

Dry: This looks like it's my favourite of the Lupers I have ordered so far this year. There is a detectable base of Snake Oil beneath a masc-leaning and absolutely fantastic haze of smoky vanilla, tobacco, black amber, ambergris, oakmoss, and oakmoss in that order. They're all detectable if you search for them, but blend so beautifully in the throw that it's a delight for the olfactory sense. It's all rounded out and pushed to the masc side by the oak, oakmoss, and ambergris, with the oak providing something more of a supporting "polish" to the other notes rather than being a main player in its own right. 

 

Now that it's been on me for a bit, I think I can say that this is a bit like if a bottle of Snake Oil and well-aged (not fresh) Hellfire had a baby, wearing a hat made out of Antikythera Mechanism. If you like at least two of those three scents, you'll probably like this one. 

In the bottle: Smells like a new black leather jacket. 

 

Wet on my skin: The leather is definitely the prominent note while this is wet and drying down. It's a new, clean, black leather jacket that hasn't quite been broken in yet, with earthy but somehow still silky wisps of musky patchouli, vetiver, and oudh. The latter notes are fairly quiet here, adding some oomph and substance to the leather.

 

Dry: I really like this, and I think it's going to be one of my go-to leather blends when I'm in that sort of mood. The red musk starts to come out a little and is joined by the cardamom to add just a touch of sweet/spicy as this wears on my skin, but it's definitely a leather, patch, vetiver, and oudh party first and foremost. The leather remains new leather jacket throughout the life of the scent, and those earthy notes remain soft and silky, yet still somehow...sexy. Sensual. It's a sexy, sexual scent, and probably not one you're going to want to wear to a fancy dinner party unless you know you're going to be sitting next to someone you wouldn't mind dragging into a dark closet for a few minutes during a lull in the other activities. 

 

In the bottle: Faintly aquatic. 

 

Wet on my skin: Soft, fuzzy, gentle snowy-aquatic. 

 

Dry: Despite the rather ominous-sounding description, this ends up being a soft, fuzzy, comfortable scent on my skin. I can't really pick out specific notes, aside from a whiff of what I believe to be slightly spicy blood musk, because this is exceedingly well-blended. There's a slightly lavendery-ozonic snow, I think, atop...fur. It's fur. Clean fur, smelling slightly of high-end pupper shampoo. Having three cats and three dogs, it's an oddly familiar scent that took a bit to place, but which definitely smells like it smells, at least to my nose. Plus that bit of spicy blood musk and snow. It's a darker side of comfortable and snuggly, like a big ol' fluffy, smiling husky who looks uncomfortably like a wolfdog as he eyes your Shih-Tzu with an expression usually reserved for a raw steak. 

In the bottle: Sweet, honeyed patchouli.

 

Wet on my skin: Patchouli sweetened with specifically rich, thick, almost sharply-sweet honey. After a minute or two, as it begins to dry, it smooths out a lot from the initial sweet-sharp bite.

 

Dry: GORGEOUS. This is probably my favourite of the Weenies I ordered this year. It reminds me a bit of the earthy honey at the base of Blood Kiss, without all the extra ingredients. It's just wonderful, and if you're someone whose skin likes patchouli like mine does, best get on this one. It's a sweetened, golden-honeyed patchouli, and while the cream isn't really there as an obvious note itself, I can tell that it's there smoothing out and softening the patch and honey. This might be one for a second bottle. 💞

In the bottle: Doughy fruit.

 

Wet on my skin: Unffff. Black currant jam with golden doughnut.

 

Dry: This makes my mouth water and is giving me a hankerin' for a jelly doughnut. The pastry note, if you're not familiar with what a sufganiyot is, is like the delicious fried and sugar-dusted golden doughnuts you can get in many Chinese restaurants. Those are so delicious, and discovering that I can PUT IT ON MY SKIN??? was just fantastic. The blackcurrant note was a bit worrisome, as some berry/fruit notes smell rather fake/plasticky on me, but I need not have worried. This is very realistic and not at all Jolly Rancher, and it blends perfectly with the dough note. So good. So. Gooooood. Now I understand why there was so much hype over the ______ Sufganiyot scents!

This is for the 2017 version. I haven't tried the 2014 release!

 

In the bottle: Omg. You know how really rich chocolate (like Ghirardelli) brownies smell after you mix the batter but before you bake it? It's that, exactly.

Wet on my skin: The same as in the bottle. With chocolate buttercream icing.

 

Dry: I'd tried unsuccessfully to get my hands on a bottle of this before, but unsurprisingly, they're pricey and last for about 5 seconds when listed for sale. I CAN SEE WHY. OH. My. Dog. It is dark, slightly-boozy chocolate cupcake with chocolate buttercream icing, except it's on my skin. I smell edible. I want to gnaw on my own arm. It literally smells like the chocolate stout cupcakes/brownies I have made in the past. Like, I don't even know HOW Beth does this, cramming a freakin' cupcake in a bottle, but okay. This is amazing. As a foodie-lover, I'm in chocolate stout heaven.

In the bottle: Hot, wet, black leather and asphalt.

 

Wet on my skin: I swear to dog, this smells like a black leather-clad '80s punk rocker smoking a cigarette in an alley during a rainstorm. Extremely evocative of that exact kind of scene.

 

Dry: Leather, vetiver, and coconut-sweetened musk with patchouli are the main players in this, at least on my skin, and while it's not at all what I was expecting, I REALLY like it. The vetiver is definitely burnt ash vetiver, the leather is black and worn, but well cared-for, and the musk and patchouli give a very 'organic' sense to the grit and ash. Rose and cinnamon aren't really obvious, but I can tell they're in there because of the cool tinge of spice they add to the dark, gritty, dirty leather and vetiver. I get no ginger at all, which is fine. YMMV, but on my skin, this is a darker, edgier cousin of Highwayman (if the gardenia in that one disappears on your skin, as it does on mine, you may get a similar feeling from Psychodynamic Discharge). It quiets down a little as it wears, allowing a hint more rose to come out and letting the sweetness of the coconut and red musk tame the gritty leather/vetiver...but only slightly.

 

This scent starts as that black leather-clad '80s punk rocker smoking a cigarette in a rainy alley, ends with The Crow teaching you how to unfasten all those buckles on his pants. /fans self

In the imp - Mmm, realistic pine.

 

Wet on my skin - Beautiful, realistic, herbal pine and cool night air.

 

Dry - I really like this, and I think I'd buy a bottle of it if I could. I love realistic foresty scents, and this is one of the nicer ones I've tried so far. The pine is smooth and cool, like sticking your face in a snowy Christmas tree under a still, cold, starlit sky. The herbs brighten the pine a little after a bit, with the chamomile most prominent (like a mug of chamomile tea after you've come indoors to warm up, maybe), and the patchouli keeps the whole blend from verging into cleaning solution or air freshener territory. So pretty. Can we have this as a bottle someday? Please?

In the imp - A big, fat, fluffy gardenia with a lavender crown.

 

Wet on my skin - Gardenia! With a wisp of lavender.

 

Dry - I knew this probably wasn't going to work on me, due to the gardenia, but I wanted to try it anyway. IF I was a white-floral person, I would probably love this, as it's actually quite pretty. It's a big poofy gardenia, but a somewhat melancholy one with silvery-grey wisps of lavender and almost smoky cedar. Alas, even though I actually kinda like it, the gardenia is doing its thing and giving me a headache, so I will be passing this on to someone who will be able to appreciate it more, sans headache.

In the bottle: Rich, creamy espresso and chocolate.

Wet on my skin: This goes on with a wave of rich, thick, warm espresso and gooey chocolate. The caramel comes out to join it after a few moments, and my mouth is actually watering because it already smells SO DELICIOUS. No cheesecake yet, but it might be part of the warm creaminess.

Dry: Foodie heaven. Seriously. This smells exactly like the description, and right now, I'm REALLY regretting being on a mostly-liquid diet for the next few weeks. It's espresso and chocolate, primarily, but more of a darker baking cocoa than milk chocolate. There's a dry, bitter edge to the coffee/cocoa if you inhale deeply, and the caramel and what I think must be the cheesecake itself give it all a sweet (but not TOO sweet), gooey, warm, creamy feel of burnt-sugary caramelized goodness. I am not getting much, if any, of the chipotle on the backs of my hands, but there's definitely a bit of a spicy kick in the crooks of my arms, so I suspect this is one that will smell better on warmer/less-dry body parts. If it smells THIS good less than two hours out of the mailbox, I can only imagine how good it will be with a few months' aging.