Soupy Twist

Almond and cherry in the bottle and on first application. Oh, be still my foolish heart; you know BPAL's almond notes never ever stay on you. And true to form, within a minute the almond has leapt away, morphing this time into powder, sweetening into a sickly candy, and careening into rose before I said STOP and washed it off.

Bitter snow in the bottle. It goes on as a cold, sour citrus from which it never fully recovers. The kumquat tries to soften the edge a little, but it dries as kuzu rind. No flowers at all. Scrubber.

A homemade tropical smoothie, using whatever fruit you have to hand: leftover bananas, some apples, pineapple from the kids' lunch, some bits of dried coconut from a baking project. Juicy and fruity, but nothing special, and it's gone in 20 minutes. No chili pepper. I will say this is an excellent banana, not artificial or stomach-turning at all. Quite possibly the most accurate and pleasant banana oil I've ever smelled. The Lab does fresh fruit notes really well.

Good gravy, this is more like the Timid Toothpick of Not Wanting to Cause a Fuss. Musk in the bottle, which goes on as such a faint tonka I had to apply it twice to make sure I was getting anything. There's a brief herbal note, but the whole thing barely lasts five minutes. The color is a gorgeous orange-red worthy of the god Mars, but I've used hand soap which is more aggressive than this.

Cedar and spruce in the bottle. Goes on as a piney kind of wood. It's very soft and gentle. Kind of clears your head. I like this a lot!

In the bottle: ew, WTF is THAT? smells like spoiled flower stamen — like the inside of one of those plastic-looking lilies which should smell good but doesn't. The honeysuckle is trying hard to come out, but it fails. The "decay" pretty much overwhelms everything.

I'm impressed: the Lab has managed to capture the scent of Scalia. Most BPAL makes me think of particular ingredients (vanilla, flowers, coffee, incense, etc.), but this is one of the few which really evokes a thing, a place or a person. Bergamot in the bottle, which goes on with a bit of musk. This turns woodsy, almost to a pitch pine. The lavender softens it a little, and then morphs into the rosemary. Finishes as a kind of Aqua Velva aftershave. It smells like an Italian man who grew up back in the small family village in the 1950s but is forced to live in 21st-century America. It's masculine, and trying to evoke memories of the Old World and the Good Old Days and The Way Things Were And Still Ought To Be.

You might try Dana O'Shee from Bewitching Brews: Offerings of milk, honey and sweet grains were made to placate these creatures, and it is that the basis of the scent created in their name. "Sweet grain" is definitely accurate. Kali from Excolo has several of the notes you like: This perfume is a blend of the sacred blooms of cassia, hibiscus, musk rose, Himalayan wild tulip, lotus and osmanthus swirled with offertory dark chocolate, red wine, tobacco, balsam and honey. The Antikythera Mechanism from Steamworks is a forum favorite, and deservedly so: Teakwood, oak, black vanilla, and tobacco. Verdandi from Excolo is a possibility if you like apples: Deep herbs and apple with black amber. On a general note: if you're just starting out, don't buy a bottle unsniffed! Get a bunch of imps, and look in the swap/sale section of the forum, to try things out before you drop $10 to $30 plus shipping on a bottle of something which sounds awesome on paper but totally fails on your wrist.

Almond/cherry in the bottle. Goes on a bit medicinal, like a cherry cough drop, although not unpleasantly so. Quickly becomes straightforward incense. Sigh. I'll admit I didn't have high hopes for this, but I did have some.

The juice of a Granny Smith apple, which slowly starts to bake as it dries. Lots of depth, although not much complexity. A little bit of the tea starts to come out later. I like BPAL's apple note, but I already have several apple (and apple/tea) oils, so I think the imp will be sufficient for now.

The 2013 verison. Pine in the bottle which goes on with a sweet note. There are lovely berry overtones, and this dries to a soft sweet snowy pine. Delightful. Like a sweeter version of Arcana's Winter Wolves. Now I have to find a bottle of this or pray it comes back for this year.

A weird woody scent in the bottle. Goes on as wood with a little coffee, but that quickly turns into a very unattractive menthol which permeates the wood scent. It struggles to warm up again, but finally collapses into a gross, unpleasant vetiver. Off to the swap pile to find someone who will love it more.

An accurate sweet nutmeg/clove spice combination, but not very interesting, and it doesn't really go anywhere. Not getting any pumpkin notes.

okay, 18 months later, but holy CATS, thank you for this link. I seriously have to order a set. Otherwise I have to make all sorts of hard choices about what does and doesn't deserve a wandcap. Also, how do you pry the reducer out of a bottle? I have one bottle which has one and I thoroughly loathe it (the reducer, not the oil).

Almond in the bottle. Goes on as almond but within a minute it morphs into a hilariously perfect rendition of cinnamon red-hots. Finishes as Big Red gum. Only a little burn on the wrists — Lick It was much worse — but this will still be a scent locket oil. This will be my December scent.

Pitch pine in the bottle, which goes on as Pine-Sol. This develops a "green" edge, I guess the blackberry leaf, then the cedar comes in. It's quite interesting. It continues into the berry note of cranberry, and finishes as a cranberry cedar. I have to say this is one of the most perfect executions of a great concept I've smelled. It absolutely envisions everything that might represent that area and captures them beautifully.

All I'm getting is a faint, plasticky, powdery, artificial orange blossom note, very hard to smell unless I'm right up against my wrist. I had to put it on twice just to make sure there was anything there. Five minutes and it's gone.

Exactly what it says on the delicious tin. A candy cane dusted with powdered sugar. Although after about 15 minutes it actually starts to feel icy-hot on my wrists. Hmm. ouch?

What a weird ride. Toffee in the bottle, but it goes on as a tonka/butter. The custard goes by briefly (Life is short; eat dessert first!), which morphs into... turkey? with gravy? Something "heavy" and salty. Someone passes the butter again, and I guess the cook wasn't paying attention because everything turns slightly burnt. It's just an overall vague burnt-food note. The dry-down is a like a failed crème brûlée: buttery sugar scorched beyond edibility. Must echo rhubarb3point14: This is the damned strangest thing I have ever put on my wrists. I admire the Lab's ability to make something which changes so much.

Apple. Apple apple apple apple apple. Perfect. Not getting other notes and don't care. I love Arcana's apple note and this is just a touch more "raw red apple" and slightly less sweet. Perfect fall fragrance. I need to go apple-picking now.

Leather and a little sweet resin in the bottle. Goes on as a smoky leather which quickly fades to that horrible burnt cigar smell from Dragon's Hide. Wow, when the Lab combines leather and incense, it does not work on me. Good to know.

In the bottle: almond. Wet on the wrist: marzipan. mmmmm Two minutes: still a lovely cherry almond. oh, hope. Five minutes: Oh joy, oh rapture! Is this finally the delicious rounded almond I've been searching for? Ten minutes: Oh NO, frankincense! No, don't cloud up the lovely almond with your terrible musty bitterness! Wait, marzipan, come back! Twenty minutes: Well, it was nice knowing you, Eclipse, but my skin has apparently disposed of you entirely. There's not even any frankincense left.

Lemon and mint in the bottle. Goes on as hyssop and anise, with a little menthol. This becomes a sweet, rounded woody note — I guess it's the wormwood? — which dries as a weird sweetish anise. It's an interesting scent, but I don't think I'd wear it again. I like my licorice a little more on the bitter side, closer to fennel. At least the cardamom didn't eat everything like it normally does on me.

Currants with vanilla in the bottle. Goes on as a "deep" cake note, not a high sweet bright one like Arcana's. The vanilla comes in but it quickly morphs into tonka, which takes on that "too much butter on the popcorn" smell. That doesn't last long, but neither does anything else. Finishes as a faint vanilla.

Goes on as a lovely aquatic and almost immediately becomes a fantastic hyacinth. This is even better than Grief and Egle. I might have to get a bottle. No citrus, but I have plenty of those. I can't stop huffing my wrist!