Teamama

Cardamom and nutmeg and flowers...SO good. The flowers are hard to identify, there may be carnation. If there is rose in here, it's probably pink. From the bottle to application to hours later, Mama-ji is sweet, spicy and warm. It's perfectly balanced between spice and flowers. I am a huge cardamom lover, so this is definitely my jam.

Hi fellow rose lover! I have a TON of rose in my collection, and I have tried most of the GC's that are rose dominant. Here are some thoughts: Peacock Queen - this is a blood red, voluptuous rose, velvet-petaled, at the height of bloom To me this has been the most perfect pure red rose I have tried Two, Five & Seven - A huge bouquet of squished rose petals: Bulgarian rose, Somalian rose, Turkish rose, Damascus rose, red and white rose, tea rose, wine rose, shrub roses, rose, rose, rose……and just an itty bitty bit of green grass. I think this might be a good GC option for you - it has less stem/sap notes than The Rose. Those are my favourite pure roses, these are my fave rose dominant blends: Delirium - apple, rose, and lemon Whip - black leather and damp red rose. Cicuta - Dry, dusty rose petals, candle smoke, frankincense, and saffron. The Waltz - champagne musk, ambergris accord, white rose, rosewood, and vanilla amber. Autumn - Dry leaves, osmanthus, sandalwood, and rose absolute. Katrina van Tassel - White rose and honeyed cream.(This is LE and may be hard to track down) All Saints - monastic frankincense and myrrh, Damascus rose, Russian gardenia, cassia, and lily of the valley wafting on a chill Autumn wind. (Also LE, but easy to find) Harvest Moon 2013 - Red roses and wild red leaves (again this is LE, but I don't think it's particularly hard to find) Also Fresh and Blooming as a Rose - good pick on that one, it's gorgeous! Good luck finding your own favourite rose scents! A few more GC's you could try: Persephone - Pomegranate and rose. Black Rose - Heavy, dark and floral: a blend of roses, with a touch of amber and musk. London - Venerable Victorian Tea Rose… twisted, blackened and emboldened with wickedness. Roses, Pearls and Diamonds - Red roses, dazzling crystalline musks, and pearlescent coconut-tinged orris. Harlot - Somalian rose, Moroccan rose and Bulgar rose with a sultry dribble of cinnamon The nice thing about BPAL is that there are so many fine Rose scents that you will be able to find something for you--just a matter of trial. I keep thinking I'm going to identify a forumite who's a skin twin (with favorites that are really similar to mine,) but it hasn't happened yet. There are two other Rose threads that you can skim over for forum recommendations & thoughts: http://www.bpal.org/topic/14677-rose-is-a-rose/and http://www.bpal.org/topic/85392-rose-apologist-thread-aka-everybody-hates-rose-but-not-me/. So, for what it's worth, here are the Rose scents I bought and wear: Chuparosa (no notes listed, but it's got some rose in it.) Harlot Hedylogos Peacock Queen 2015 (Yowza!) Rakshasa Two, Five & Seven I'm on the fence about whether I need bottles of: Wicked I've tried, but not fallen in love with: Black Rose Dawn: Mother Highwayman Knave of Hearts London Persephone Rose Cross Rose Red Seraglio Whip I have not found the Lab's tea rose notes to be as successful for me as others. I seem to do really well with their Damascus Rose, and Bulgarian Rose. The VERY BEST Rose I've encountered so far was a BPTP atmo spray from last year's Lupers: The Place Wherein Love Grew (Bulgarian rose, dark musk, orange blossoms, white fig, and honey.)

I have discovered my (unwanted) X-Men super-power. I can turn Satan into Old Spice. I smell like my grandfather. Three different trials, and always the same result .

Aperotos Eros. Frimp with a forum purchase. Oh my! Oh, wow! I need to buy 2 bottles, stat! This is musky wood paradise!!! I imagine this will age bee-yootifuly! Ok, reining in the exclamation marks. I'm getting the fir and bark, and the musk. Some note is tricking me into smelling nutmeg, but I don't know which. The fir is realistic, and melds beautifully with the musk. This is now my favorite musk scent. It's really rich, a little goes a long way. It lasts a long time, and stays consistant, from application to dry down. It's warm, and woody, and I love it. Another GC win! Edited to add: This has aged beautifully. The musk in AE is the most reactive of all my BPAL blends. On a couple of occasions I've had to wash it off, because something about my skin chemistry that day has reacted to make the musk skew "sweaty/funky." Fortunately, I can usually catch that response by dabbing a tiny amount on my inner elbow. I AE, & accept that I can't just throw it on. It's worth the extra step.

My first Good Omens scent (thanks, ltrittipoe!) In the bottle, wet on me, and initial dry-down: Super green. Almost evenly divided between green herbs and fresh summer flowers. Lots and lots of flowers. I keep catching wisteria out of the corner of my nose, but only fleetingly. I'm imagining a sound board, except for smells, and Beth has them equalized? I get almost no jasmine, so if that's not your jam, don't worry. Very much later: the green herbs have faded a lot; the soft flowers are left. I like it, and I'm glad I got the bottle. I see this in heavy rotation for summer.

I had high hopes for TGP, but it does not like me. In the imp, it smelt warm and subtle--I couldn't pick out individual notes, but it was a good smell. Once applied, it instantly became a bad smell :-(. (Edited after other blends have been problematical,) I suspect either the mushrooms or the fig note may have been turned by my skin chemistry. Re-edited to add: Fig is not the problem.

Peacock Queen. Smells like arousal. Can't go into details without TMI, or sounding like a cheap paperback (Pupils dilated, she shook out her touseled mane, let out a low, throaty laugh, and pushed him onto his back. "These pants," she purred, "have entirely too many buttons.")

Yule 2015 version, from the Lab. This is outrageously sexy. This rose has its petals SPREAD, if you know what I mean. PQ is basically foreplay in a bottle. The scent is red rose, without the citrus notes that are in some red roses. I'm not sure what the thorn ingredients are, because I'm not catching any green or wood in this. Maybe the totally sexed-up vibe that I'm getting from PQ is due to a skin musk in there? All I can really identify is the rose, and it's sweet, but not food sweet. The scent stays true from application to drydown, although it did get a little sweeter. Then intensity of the fragrance dies down, but it's still all sex at 4 hours after application. Mmmm-mmmm. Backup bottles.

In the imp, straight up buttery piecrust. I wasn't sure I dared put it on, but bravely took the plunge. Wet, the pastry slowly started to allow the blackcurrant through. It reminds me of blackberry, and I can smell some vine-y green in there. Dry, the pastry has finally died off, which is a good thing for me. The rose is very faint, but the berries are nice. Second trial, same results except less Rose. Nice, but I don't see a need for a bottle at this time; a bit food-y for me. ETA my hair stylist complimented me on K of H, and said it smelled floral. I still smell blackcurrant.

I got a partial bottle via a swap; don't know the age of the bottle. The saffron is unexpectedly dominant, in all stages. I like the sweetness from the honey, and the rose is very good. I don't get much resin from it at all. On me, the saffron was a little odd. I don't know if it will grow on me over time. This may be one I layer with something spicy, to harmonize with the saffron.

In the bottle: stem and dirt, with a little bit of simple red rose. Wet: red rose, with an apple-y edge, and green stem, and dirt (reminiscent of Yorick.) Dry: 4 1\2 hours after application, this is faint Rose. The throw seemed medium-strong for the first 15 minutes. After that, it's stayed fairly discreet. This is a nice addition to my BPAL Rose garden. I like its stem notes. I'm going to have to death-match Rose Red against Two Five & Seven, because they have a lot in common. Edited to add: 2015 Yule purchase from the lab.

Drat. I was really worried that I'd need lots of this, but it's not for me . In the imp, it's rosy and woody. Right out of the decant on my skin, the scent is super sharp, and varnish-like. I think rosewood must be the note in BYHAM that isn't working on me, because Rose & Vanilla are usually bombproof. I can tell that a lovely Rose and some vanilla are nearby, but the varnish is covering them up. A long while later, I'm left with a faint, sour, varnished vanilla Rose. Heartbreak!

Yum. Spicy sweet floral. Cinnamon, lilac, and Rose are the notes that stand out in Chuparosa, but there's a lot more going on. It's REALLY pink. Pink like pink lemonade candy :-) . Wet, the spice and flowers are pretty darn strong, almost overpowering, in a "Oh no, did I put on too much?" way. That sweet attack calms down after about five minutes, and Chuparosa stays close to the skin after that. This scent makes me smile. It's cheering, and sweet, and sunny. It's kind of like a shot of the innocent confidence of childhood. This is the BPAL Pippi Longstocking would wear.

In the imp, this is powerful and it's hard for me to differentiate the notes. Wet on me, I get violet, and a little vanilla, but no gardenia. The violet is powdery and wistful, and seems like orris root. Dry, almost exactly the same as wet, just softer and more powdery. This is not a joyful scent on me. Sad little Snakey, dancing alone, trying to do the steps but she ain't got feet.

In the bottle, 2015 Boo HG smells like butterscotch. Spritzed on damp hair, the butterscotch unravels into sugar, and cream/cream soda. The dairy-ish scent goes away pretty quickly on me, leaving cream soda vanilla. It's pretty, and I got complimented on how I smelled. I applied 7 sprays to my below-shoulder-length hair today, and it wasn't super-strong. I'm glad I got Boo. I hope it comes back again next year.

Finally, a chocolate/cocoa/cacao scent that works for me! Imp, from the lab. Dark brown ITI, gold on my skin, with the occasional darker dot. Wet, it's chocolate honey resins. I smell cotton and masa. The overall smell is dry and sweet and earthy, but not foody. Dry, the resins lose their initial sharpness. It's still earthy and sweet, but not as dry. I'm probably going to buy a bottle before my imp's all gone 😊. 2018 Edited to add: Fresh bottle. The asphalt note takes a lot longer to die down. 2022 update: With age, the asphalt doesn't dominate during the drydown. The overall blend is bittersweet, in a very good way. I'll wear this more now that it's aged.

I'm in rainy, rainy Seattle WA, and so far, Snake Oil, Wolf's Heart and Harlot are my favorites when there's rain (not drizzle, mist, or a passing shower.) For me, serious precipitation makes me want warm notes, but not hot or scratchy ones.

I tested my decant straight out of the mailbox, and again today after letting it rest. In the imp: sweet apple, clove, a hint of vanilla, and another fruity, red note that must be the blackcurrant bud. Wet: Mmmmm, sweet! All the above notes are there, but it's got a dry, condensed sweetness. It reminds me of the tobacco sweetness in Antikythera Mechanism. Dry: Within the space of five minutes, my skin has devoured everything except the clove and the condensed, sweet note. I smell like a pack of Djarum clove cigarettes. Boo hoo hoo, where did my apples go? Verdict: I really like Apple IV, but will not be able to wear it unless I get a scent locket.

Beekeeper's daughter here, and yes, honey can totally smell like spit. I have spilled a lot of honey on myself, and depending on the bees, the season, and what the bees got their nectar from, spit (scent) happens ;-). Wearing O, I smell like the most fabulous honey cake ever, plus Amber. The honey is strong, and smells it's been heated (which I should have expected, because how could you extract fragrance from raw honey?) My fantasies about smelling like all the flowery secrets present in raw honey did not come to pass, but I'm happy I bought a bottle. ETA Can't stop wearing it. My daughter's review: "Like eating honey cookies in a room with incense."

Yum. I love it. Red apples, juiced for cider, with lots of the notes that apples can offer. Some floral hints, a spice note, a little wine, fresh apple skin... Yum. After aging for a year, the cinnamon note is more prominent. I wore it in my scent locket, and by mid-day the cinnamon was all that was left.

I amp Red Musk. Spellbound was the BPAL blend that first made me notice that my skin chemistry could change a fragrance radically, like acid changing the color of litmus paper. On my skin, Spellbound, which has my BFF's Amber & Rose, is single-note red musk. End of story.

Had to build up to reviewing the legendary Snake Oil. I got my imp in my very first lab order, and duly waited 4 months to try it. It's warm and wonderful, with lots of subtle resins backing up an excellent sugared Vanilla. I have a bottle on the way, 'cause it's superb. HOWEVER, I am one of the minority on whom SO does not smell at all sexy. Teapapa and my kids all say I smell like a cookie when I wear it. This is not a "sexy cookie," with fishnets and pasties that look like glittery sugar cookies, and a naughty spatula, This is straight up vanilla sugar cookie, like us Scandi types have with coffee. So, all you SO sex bombs out there, good for you! And for any other SO cookies out there, don't worry, there's lots of other BPAL to be sexy with . 2022 update: Aged SO is more my jam than fresh, but I don't wear it often. It's mostly spicy vanilla on my skin. I wear SO variants (Western Diamondback especially,) more often than straight SO.

So far all of the Conjure Bag blends I've tested have been awesome, and I've ended up purchasing 5ml bottles. I'm testing a frimp from a forum purchase. Yellow-blonde color in the imp. In the imp: This smells fantastic! Jasmine, vanilla, citrus, & a little baby lotion? Surprising blend. Wasn't expecting the baby lotion. Wet: I should have known better than to put this on my neck--the citrus irritated the skin on my neck, but not my arms. There's a hint of spice in there, but mostly jasmine, vanilla and baby lotion. I know baby powder & lotion are "supposed" to be based on roses, but I really can't call this a rose note. There's also sweetness, more sugar to me than honey. Dry: The sugar and vanilla develop a lot as Follow Me Boy dries. The vanilla and jasmine are almost equally in front, and then comes the baby lotion note, and then way in back, the citrus. I really like this, but I'm not sure whether I need a bottle. I own other oils to satisfy my jasmine & vanilla urges, and the boy I want already followed me home . If he goes wild for it, it might be worth another bottle... Adding: Follow Me Boy lasts and lasts. Adding again: I think I'm going to need a bottle. The compliments keep coming . 2022 update: My aged bottle of Follow Me Boy has super strong throw when freshly applied, and mellows out after an hour or so. The floral/baby lotion notes are dominant overall. I haven't been reaching for this blend very often, but I think I'll put it into rotation in the warmer months this year.

In the imp: grape juice & leather & myrtle. Wet: where is it? Almost undetectable? Dry: faint, sweet grape, the ghost of leather, and a memory of myrtle. This is the first blend that my skin vanished. I'd try slathering, but I think my daughter's a better candidate for this blend.

This started out very promising for me, and I can totally understand all the praise for Dance of Death. In the imp and wet,there's wonderful interplay between the dark of the musk, myrrh and patchouli and the sweet dryness of the orris. I was preparing to add this to my bottle list for the first ten minutes. Unfortunately, orris seems to be a note that my chemistry flattens out as it dries. By 20 minutes, all the magic was over. The orris was the dominant note, and it was flat and medicinal. It reminded me of a smell that's in Ben-Gay, Obviously, I need a scent locket!