Upstart Crow

THE LIGHTS OF MEN’S LIVES When Death saw that for a second time he was defrauded of his own property, he walked up to the physician with long strides, and said, "All is over with thee, and now the lot falls on thee," and seized him so firmly with his ice-cold hand, that he could not resist, and led him into a cave below the earth. There he saw how thousands and thousands of candles were burning in countless rows, some large, others half-sized, others small. Every instant some were extinguished, and others again burnt up, so that the flames seemed to leap hither and thither in perpetual change. "See," said Death, "these are the lights of men's lives. The large ones belong to children, the half-sized ones to married people in their prime, the little ones belong to old people; but children and young folks likewise have often only a tiny candle." "Show me the light of my life," said the physician, and he thought that it would be still very tall. Death pointed to a little end which was just threatening to go out, and said, "Behold, it is there." The wax and smoke of millions upon millions of candles illuminating the walls of Death’s shadowy cave: some tall, straight, and strong, blazing with the fire of life, others dim and guttering. As I said in my review of Godfather Death, the story upon which these scents are based is my favorite fairy tale. Thus, I ordered bottles of all three unsniffed knowing--or hoping--that they would all somehow work for me. Yes, I'm that obsessed with this story. For those who have read it, the part of the tale that inspired this scent is the most arresting moment in the story. Given that I have had bad experiences with the beeswax the lab uses (ugh, Hanerot Halalu!) I must say I ordered this one more for completeness' sake than because the notes sounded great to me. I'm glad I did that. Folks, Beth nailed this one. NAILED it. Knocked it out of the damn park. This smells exactly like living candles. In the bottle: Something sugary sweet, and what smells to me like a hint of vanilla--the raw baker's kind, not the sweet kind. No wax. On me, wet: A rush of that vanilla bean sweetness and the sweetness of bpal's beeswax note. Oh, oh, delicious! This is defnitely the smell of living candles--waxy and warm skin. I am sure there is some skin musk in this--another note I don't like so much, but which just works beautifully here. Drying down: More of that sweet waxiness, and the skin musk comes out even stronger. verdict: An absolutely beautiful blend, specifically for those who were disappointed in Hanerot Halalu last year. This is definitely a good late fall/winter scent, just as Godfather Death is a winter's tale.

[No additional description provided.] As a lover of violets, sugared florals, and dead leaves, I just had to get a bottle of this without sampling. It is everything I hoped it would be. A sweet floral that edges more on the sugary than the floral side with a gasp of cologny-dead leaves behind it. It's an unusual fall scent, and I think it could be worn year round, really. Another violet winner! Definitely pick it up if you think even one of the notes would appeal.

Every leaf tells a story. Invention, it must be humbly admitted, does not consist in creating out of void, but out of chaos. ― Mary Shelley, 1831 I have bottles #25 and #20. They just arrived, but I am an impatient person, so I opened them up. #20 Is just incredible. The dead leaves note is the strongest, and it's bolstered by what smells like lemon and orchids with a little autumn frost. A keeper! #25 is a bit less polite. It smells fruity--cherries, perhaps? Something red and juicy. It's really the first perfume I've ever had that turned to stale urine on me! Sickly sweet and acrid. I'll let it calm down before trying again, but I have a feeling this will be swapped for another blend or sold.

GODFATHER DEATH He went onwards, and then came Death striding up to him with withered legs, and said, "Take me as godfather." The man asked, "Who art thou?" "I am Death, and I make all equal." Then said the man, "Thou art the right one, thou takest the rich as well as the poor, without distinction; thou shalt be godfather." Death answered, "I will make thy child rich and famous, for he who has me for a friend can lack nothing." The man said, "Next Sunday is the christening; be there at the right time." Death appeared as he had promised, and stood godfather quite in the usual way. Olibanum, elemi, Bulgarian rose, yew, and opoponax. I literally screamed with joy when I learned that BPAL had released three scents inspired by Godfather Death. it is my favorite all-time fairy tale, and one that has inspired not only a long poem, but an in-progress novel. I ordered a bottle of each scent untried and am overjoyed that I'm the first to review each. Let's start with the Godfather himself. Whenever I think of Godfather Death, I think of earth, woods, stone and perhaps the lightest hint of a dry, hearty flower such as moss rose. I was therefore surprised and intrigued to see that Beth had chosen Olibanum, elemi, Bulgarian rose and oppoponax for her interpretation. Given yew's meaning in Celtic tree lore, I was surprised to see this ingredient for entirely different reasons, but let that be . In bottle: Godfather Death smells dark as the tomb. I definitely smell the oppoponax and rose and possibly the yew. Applied wet: The rose and oppoponax sharpen into something that smells a bit like pickles at an Indian restaurant. Given that I love pickles, this is not entirely unpleasant -- just unexpected. When I think of Godfather Death I think of the sharpness, perhaps, but certainly not food! Drying: The rose comes out and battles with the pickle smell. It's no briney exactly but it's certainly sharp. Dry: Still astringent, but softening a little. I can detect the rose. Overall: I like this, though it isn't what I thought it would be. I'll try him again later and see what he's like.

[No additional description provided.] Mercy! I'm the first to review a Dorian scent?! This just arrived this morning, so I haven't given it time to settle yet. But I couldn't wait to try it and review it, because I love Dorian and I love pomegranates. Unrested, this is very much the tea-and-vanilla Dorian we love with a very red, very sweet pomegranate blanketing it. As it dries down, I get more of the vanilla and tea. Wonderful take on the blend, and while I think Frostbitten Dorian will always be my favorite Dorian of all, this is a close second. I'll update when it's had time to settle.

White apple with violet and iris. I'm so thrilled to be the first to review this one! Apple VI was one of five (!) bottles I bought blind because this update was just too perfect--and because violet is my favorite note. I only let it sit for about two hours out of the mailbox, so I'll update if it smells differently after a longer rest period. In Bottle: Sharp red apple with something sweet but not quite violet. Wet on skin: When I first tried this on right out of the mailbox, the apple was super strong and red and reminiscent of the note in Poison Apple. After a few hours of rest, though, the apple is much more mellow and doesn't overpower the violet and iris, but neither is it quite as "mushy." You know the kind, when an apple is overripe and tastes mushy and a bit bitter in your mouth. I can smell the sweetness of the violet and something dirty which I know is the iris. Iris usually turns to fresh dirt on me in a way I don't like (despite loving dirt scents), but here the effect is lovely. It blends astonishingly well with the apple and violet, giving the blend a green but floral smell. This is not an overly fruity scent at all but rather a sweet, fresh apple floral. Drydown: As it dries, the notes blend more seamlessly together. A definite keeper--I just knew I'd love it! I may even need to get a backup! Throw length seems about medium to me. This has a mild to medium throw length, unfortunately, but seems

[No additional description given.] First review again! Woo~ In bottle: Chamomile chamomile chamomile chamomile!!! With just a tiny hint of rose and leaves. Wet on skin: A burst of chamomile that quickly gets wrapped up gently in red roses sweetened by the white tea. The rose is super subtle. I love red rose, but my skin tends to amp it pretty hard, but in this blend it just hangs out in the background giving this blend a rich undertone. As I keep sniffing, the white tea's sweetness comes to the forefront more and blends gorgeously with the chamomile (which is now making me crave white tea and chamomile together in beverage form!). The leaf note I get here is really more subtle and surprisingly greenish. A bit like the note used in Nothing Gold Can Stay (another favorite of mine). Though as it dries, it gets a bit darker and crisper. Dry down: More of the same, and a hint of dandelion? It's not in the notes, though, so it must just be the way the chamomile, tea, and leaves combine. The rose gets even more subtle. I'm definitely glad I got a bottle. Another keeper, I think!

“You’ve been troubled?” “Yes. Good word. Troubled. Yes. Like a home for troubled teens. Funny. Yes.” “And what exactly is troubling you?” “Well, we fight, we win.” “And that is a source of trouble? I find it a matter of triumph and delight, myself.” “But. They’ll die out anyway. They are passenger pigeons and thylacines. Yes? Who cares? This way, it’s going to be a bloodbath.” “Ah.” Mr. World nodded. He was following. That was good. The fat kid said, “Look, I’m not the only one who feels this way. I’ve checked with the crew at Radio Modern, and they’re all for settling this peacefully; and the intangibles are pretty much in favor of letting market forces take care of it. I’m being. You know. The voice of reason here.” “You are indeed. Unfortunately, there is information you do not have.” The smile that followed was twisted and scarred. Gods of the Stock Market, of securities and trades, of trade and upheaval, debt, fortune, and risk: chaotic synthetic notes, bubbling aldehydes, and the electric green of market euphoria. Yay! First I just got this out of the box, so it's probably still a bit unhappy from travel and in need of rest, so I may update later. This is a beautiful aldehyde scent. When it goes on wet, it's got that lovely astringent floral scent that is classic aldehyde, but it's laced with a sweet note that almost reminds me of pink bubblegum. Not in a cloying or foody way, though. It blends really well, with whatever it is. It is a very green, bubbly scent that morphs quickly into something floral and a bit oily and starchy. I don't want to say french fries because it's not that smell, but it gave me an impression of it. Still not unpleasant.This fades and the sweetness returns. Interesting. I think I'll keep it and try it on again when it settles to see what happens.

I don't get rose from this at all, just the resins and what I think is mallow. It smells a bit nutty to me (as in nut-like). Not something I dislike, but not something I'd reach for to wear if this were a perfume. But it does make me feel comforted and mellow when I put it in my oil burner, which is what I hoped it'd do.

I got a decant of this as a surprise. I used to be very wary of salt (due to terrible experience with a perfume where salt was one of the notes), but it's one of my favorite notes now! This is just incredible. Sea salt with a hint of rosy amber. 🤤

Gangleri asked: How were things wrought, ere the races were and the tribes of men increased? Then said Hárr: The streams called Ice-waves, those which were so long come from the fountain-heads that the yeasty venom upon them had hardened like the slag that runs out of the fire,these then became ice; and when the ice halted and ceased to run, then it froze over above. But the drizzling rain that rose from the venom congealed to rime, and the rime increased, frost over frost, each over the other, even into Ginnungagap, the Yawning Void. Then spake Jafnhárr: Ginnungagap, which faced toward the northern quarter, became filled with heaviness, and masses of ice and rime, and from within, drizzling rain and gusts; but the southern part of the Yawning Void was lighted by those sparks and glowing masses which flew out of Múspellheim. Ice and rime and congealing venom, frost over frost, forever into the void: salt-strange rain and floes of hoarfrost, antediluvian poisons, and radiant sparks from Múspellheims furnaces. First reviewer? Nice! Unfortunately, my review isn't going to be glowing. I'd hoped for something chilly, snowy, aquatic, and maybe just a bit salty. What I got in the sample container was a loud, vaguely noxious shriek of something citrusy that smelled like salted vomit when I applied it. I scrubbed it off immediately and layered the skin over with something I liked to take the pain away. This is only one of two BPALs I've ever deeply disliked. Both had "salt" as an ingredient. I think I've found my death note .

Going to try to see how this works with a man I'm interested in but who I'm talking to online...will update you. I like how it smells! ETA: 6/6/20 Hm. I'm not sure if this is working, but it's doing something interesting. It's making me feel not just more confident in my interactions with him, but, interestingly, less gender dysphoric?? I didn't expect to have it start to make me comfortable with my "feminine side" (for lack of a better term), but there it is.

Just got this out of the package and it's smelling like pure chocolate tootsie pop on me. I'm hoping that will change as it settles down, because I'm so not a foodie person (aside from coffee beans).

Oh, Crowley, my Crowley. You're gorgeous, both you and your scent, but why do you just turn to some sort of sweet muddle of confusion on my wrist? It's a very wonderful muddle of sweet confusion, but I just can't pick out many notes aside from the musk and the vanilla--but musks of all kinds tend to turn into single-musk notes on me, so that's probably why. Still, though. I really wanted you to do what you do for so many other people. But you are very, very nice in my oil burner (especially with Aziraphale).

This is TKO with a slightly diabolical undertone--something just a little bit "off," a bit smoky and a tiny bit too sweet (but not in a cloying way that makes this unbearable). It comes across as an olfactory portrait of someone trying to sleep but not really understanding how sleep works. Perfect for what Crowley ultimately does in the book. Great bedtime scent if you want something a bit more unconventional than TKO. 10/10 from me!

This is the only way I can describe it: Having a sexy lurk through a churchyard at night. I'm sorry, I really tried to describe the notes here, but I just can't. This is just an incredibly sexy blend. One of the sexiest BPAL has done.

Caspar David Friedrich A gravestone of polar ice. For real? No one has reviewed this yet? This is just a gorgeous scent. It's one of nine (!!!) I got blind bottles of this year because the Yules were just that awesome. In bottle: I get a faint hint of the BPAL snow note and something very sweet, a little green, and floral that has just a hint of wallpaper paste--but not in a bad way. I have absolutely no clue what this is, but it's gorgeous and not at all something I'd expect for a scent with this description, as I expected Sea of Ice to be more like Hypothermia from 2009 or Nuclear Winter. Applied, wet: Paste isn't a problem at all, and this becomes sweet, refreshing, and vital and faintly aquatic. But just faintly. This makes me think of glaciers with the warmth of the sea nearby. Of meltwater, of--wait for it!--the ocean with ice floes in it. Incredible. Drydown: The same, but marginally more aquatic. Has a fairly decent throw, seems that it will last moderately on my skin. This is just spectacular. I may need a backup bottle before the Yules come down.

My favorite so far of the Dead Leaves room sprays for this year! Sweet hothouse floral with the slight astringency of moss. Definitely worth a full bottle if you like florals!

Delicious, sweet chocolate blended with cinnamon with just a hint of cologn-y dry leaves. I'm not much for foody scents, so I think I'll be happy just using my 2ml decant, but this is quite nice.

I can never say no to pomegranate--even if I was so burned by the oudh in one of 2017's dead leaves blends that I've all but sworn it off. But there's no poo-poo smell in this gorgeous scent! I'm just getting pomegranate, lavender, and a little sweet, ripe fig--but mostly pom and lavender. If I shove my nose against my wrist, I think I get a hint of the oakmoss. Just lovely. I'll need another bottle.

I only got this because orris/violet is my favorite scent ever. Blackberry is meh to me (Dead Leaves and Blackberry smelled like overdried blackberries on my skin ) and salt is a constant no. It turns into puke on me. So I figured this would be a horrible trainwreck but wanted to try anyway. I'm really glad I did! The orris is dominant on me, and the blackberry just enhances it and sweetens it in a way that makes it amp, rather than being too fruity. I don't get salt at all, only a little aquatic coolness. A beautiful, bottle-worthy blend!

THY GODFATHER’S PRESENT When the boy had grown up, his godfather one day appeared and bade him go with him. He led him forth into a forest, and showed him a herb which grew there, and said, "Now shalt thou receive thy godfather's present. I make thee a celebrated physician. When thou art called to a patient, I will always appear to thee. If I stand by the head of the sick man, thou mayst say with confidence that thou wilt make him well again, and if thou givest him of this herb he will recover; but if I stand by the patient's feet, he is mine, and thou must say that all remedies are in vain, and that no physician in the world could save him. But beware of using the herb against my will, or it might fare ill with thee." A bruised purple bundle of herbs with hyssop and life-everlasting. To recap: Godfather Death is my favorite fairy tale, and I love it to the point of obsession. I own bottles of all three scents (yes, unsniffed) and am ecstatic that I have the opportunity to review them first. The Godfather's bestowing of his gift is another breathtaking moment in the story; it shows not only a profound (and unusual, given Death's role in our affairs), trusting relationship between godfather and godson, but gives us the unforgettable image of a life-giving herb--an herb which has haunted my imagination and filled my notebooks for years. I had a lot of hopes for this one (despite having been put off a few of BPAL's more herbal blends in the past, such as Larentalia). They were not dashed at all. This is my favorite scent of the three. In bottle: a beautiful, mysterious and strong floral sweetness. Like the herb itself, there's just no way I can describe this to do it justice. The closest I can come is to say it is like Desdemona, only with a little more depth. Desdemona grown up. On me, wet: That same, floral sweetness and strength. There seems to be a hint of water, too--another symbol of life. Drying down: I think that's the hyssop coming out? I don't know what life-everlasting smells like, so it could be that, too.I also begin smelling some herbs, similar to those in Larentalia, I think. But they don't overpower like they do in this blend. Verdict: One of BPAL's most gorgeous florals ever! (Floral haters: you should probably refrain) Though it has herbs as an ingredient, don't be fooled: this is not an herbal perfume in the same way The Witch's Garden is.