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BPAL Madness!

Teamama

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Everything posted by Teamama

  1. Teamama

    Gloom Meeting

    Vetiver & Oakmoss, sitting in a Sandalwood tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g! Sweet plants, smelling good together. This is a greener blend than my usual preferences, but dry enough to work for me. The fragrance is strong when first applied, & dries down to a medium throw. I tend to reach for my bottle when it's sunny.
  2. Teamama

    The Morning Star Among the Living

    Fig in disguise! For the first couple of hours, this was a mash-up of Baghdad Resurrected + Romans 13:8 on me! Minus Romans' almonds. So much complexity! Dried down, trickster fig has (mostly) become itself, but also not. It isn't fresh fig. It isn't dried fig. Maybe it's archetypal fig? Oh yeah: there's some saffron. Anyway I'm enjoying it, & might need a bottle.
  3. Teamama

    Pearl Necklace

    I am a sucker for raw honey & vanilla, so I was super excited for Pearl Necklace. In the decant & when freshly applied, the pear was definitely in the forefront, with some musk & vanilla. The pear seems fresh & juicy--I didn't notice a cream aspect to it. Even huffing, I couldn't identify the orris or the honey in the blend. On my skin, it's dried down to a pleasant, sweet vanilla. The pear has super longevity in my scent locket, still the most noticeable note 8 hours later. I like it, but it isn't calling out for me to buy a full bottle.
  4. Teamama

    Tie Me

    I ❤️🍍. In the decant & wet on my skin, it's fresh pineapple plus Jolly Rancher pineapple candy. No hemp detected. This is a hoot! Dries down to a soft, amber/cream-ish pineapple skin scent. I like it. Will test again to see if I need a bottle.
  5. Lots of good notes. I was hoping for peach blossom'd labdanum, & will hang on to my decant in the hope that age will get me there. I'll also try it in a locket. Testing the decant today, my skin grabbed on to something bitter in this blend, & wouldn't let it go. The white plum flowers & white amber are notes I don't have a track record with, so they could be the culprits.
  6. Teamama

    The Hour of the Body

    I learned something new: I apparently amp rooibus the same way I amp red musk. I could smell most of the notes at first when freshly applied. However, in what seemed like less than 5 minutes, all I could smell was the rooibus. Big surprise! I re-read the scent description & re-sniffed the decant, to make sure I wasn't reviewing the wrong blend. I like rooibus, but won't need a bottle of this.
  7. Teamama

    Little Yellow Ducklings

    My skin chemistry wrecked this blend . I want what @Lin Swanson got! In the decant, this smells fantastic: bright, fruity & complex. After 5 minutes on my skin, it became Smarties (cue sad trombone.) Dries down to a very light, soapy roll of Smarties. Boo hoo!
  8. Teamama

    Titan Toadstools and Leprous Fire Nail Polish

    I got this as a forum purchase. It's a one-coat-wonder. Shiny & fun! The green is on the blue-er end of the scale, & it goes with a surprisingly large number of things in my wardrobe. 100% win, glad I own it!
  9. Teamama

    Erotic Drops of Flower Petals Hair Gloss

    This was an insta-purchase. My thought was, no matter which combination of the notes (Sweet honeyed patchouli, ambrette seed, King mandarin, and mango cream,) is predominant, there's no way I won't love it! I applied it after washing my hair, & I'm a very happy camper. The mandarin & mango are bright & charmingly sweet. They're fresh, so the effect is more enlivening than tutti-frutti. The patch, ambrette, & cream are background notes. The patch is very smooth, more woody than gnarly. A winner!
  10. Teamama

    A Medley of Vulvas

    When I sniffed the bottle right out of the mailbox & chilled, the honey was very indolic (like, toddler underpants level indolic.) I knew it needed at least a short rest. The next morning: wet in the bottle, it's a vanilla & honey blend, with incense. Wet on my skin: the honey & pink pepper are forward, with a touch of smoke & vanilla. No labdanum, alas. On dry-down: it's got very little throw. Vanilla, honey, & incense. No labdanum & no pepper. I'll try to come back with further impressions, because I suspect this blend could change a lot with age. I like it, but it isn't rocking my world.
  11. Teamama

    Teapot Full of Angst

    Skin chemistry mismatch . Teapot Full of Angst is a Big Indolic Oud Mood. My skin took Teapot on a trip to the country village of Barnsmell, & only came back to let me enjoy the other notes after a couple of hours. Not for me, alas.
  12. Teamama

    In Silvery Accents, Whispering Low

    The fir & cardamom are dominant in the decant, & wet on my skin. After drying, it's a snuggly, slightly smokey cardamom coffee next to a fir tree. Edited to add: by bedtime, this was a dead ringer for Wulric the Wolfman at around the same wear length--surprise! I'm glad I got to try it, but don't need a bottle.
  13. Teamama

    Back in the Recording Studio

    Mmm, tonka! On me, this is primarily tonka being its sweet, brown, mellow self, all vanilla-like. Lavender bud brings some freshness & complexity. The honey & beeswax sweetens it up just right. The driftwood adds a pinch of salt, but thankfully isn't aquatic enough for my skin to grab hold of & do its nasty trick of turning into dryer sheets. The patchouli is mellow & rooty, & the amber anchors the blend. It's got medium throw, great longevity, & doesn't morph on me. I anticipate it will linger deliciously on sweaters & sweatshirts, like Wulric. The decant blew my mind. I love it, so I bought a bottle + a partial. It's my favorite Lilith for this year
  14. Teamama

    Hearts Are Not Had as a Gift But Hearts Are Earned

    Decant. Rosy patchouli on me, with a little tangy dried apricot? Somehow, my skin has misplaced the bourbon vanilla, labdanum & pepperberry. I can detect the vanilla in my locket. GC Rakshasa meets my needs for rosy patchouli, so I won't need a bottle.
  15. Teamama

    Nes Gadol Haya Sham

    2019 version, partial bottle from a forum purchase. The meditation called for in the description is powerful, like so many of the Activism blends. Reaching for Nes Gadol Haya Sham feels like reaching for prayer beads, with a commitment to be mindful of stories of loss and remembrance; abundance, fortitude, and determination; clarity and piety; strength, generosity, kindness, and benediction. I'm a resin-lover, so I've always wanted to try it. Beth's multi-note blends can be a challenge for me to review, because my skin chemistry takes it in a lot of different directions over time. I can say right off that I have an affinity for opoponax, patchouli, almond, frankincense, and myrrh. Myrtle, lemon verbena & pomegranate can be difficult for me to wear. Heliotrope, hyssop, carnation, red poppy & hibiscus haven't made an big impression on me one way or another. Wet on my skin & in a locket, the dominant notes are lemon verbena & green, green myrtle, with a background of fruit & floral sweetness, & grounding resins. The patchouli & almond, which can both go big on my skin, are reserved & barely detectable. It's more green & bitter than my usual scent range, in a bracing, powerful way. As it dries down, my skin lets most of the myrtle go, & the lemon verbena melts back into the complex, floral/fruity/resin base. It's still got an edge to it, reminding me of holly for some reason. This feels like a wintry blend, probably because of the myrtle & resins. I don't wear very often, but I like it, & I'm glad I bought the partial.
  16. Teamama

    V'al Hanissim

    Shucks! I forgot to review V'al Hanissim? Review of the 2020 release. Light, sweet, close to the skin. The interplay between the dry amber & the sweet beeswax is lovely. The beeswax accord is similar to the one in The Lights of Men's Lives, but this one smells less processed, so there's a bit more of the lovely, warm, furry smell of bees. Both I and my daughter loved this enough to get a bottles in 2020.
  17. Teamama

    Allergy Questions, Allergies and other reactions to oils

    Necrobump: Thanks @Lucchesa for referring me to this thread. I'm wearing my beloved Bengal again today, at last! Abstaining from spice scents for nearly two months may have done the trick. If today continues without mishaps of the red & itchy variety, I'll try another spicy favorite next Friday.
  18. Teamama

    Liebeszauber

    This was part of my very first BPAL decant order! At that time, it was very clove/carnation forward, similar to doomsday_disco's description. This was how I learned that my skin will amp BPAL's clove note to the moon and back . I fished out the decant for the 2022 Wear Your Weenies Challenge. I was tickled to find that aging has totally changed the balance of the notes. I'm currently getting honey, lemony cubeb, & spicy floral. It's like a mashup of Crib Girls & Alice, and I like it a lot.
  19. Teamama

    Animals at the Bottom of the Sea

    This was a surprise win... for Teadaughter. Fruity musks are my kind of jam, so I was really excited for this blend. In the decant, I smell bubbling (labdanum in there, maybe?) musk, cranberries & mandarin rind. As soon as it hit my skin, it was obviously not for me. An aquatic note showed up, which my skin predictably amped to throw the whole thing out of balance. Smells great in a locket, but mediocre on me. Teadaughter likes mandarin, so I asked her to give it a sniff (she wasn't originally interested due to the current, coconut & pineapple notes.) She's claimed the decant, & is evaluating it as a possible bottle for my next order. It smells fantastic on her. Less fruity & sweet than I imagined. Neither Teadaughter nor I can pick out currant, pineapple, coconut, or carrot. Musky, pleasantly bittersweet, more vegetal than fruity.
  20. Teamama

    Moroccan Pumpkin

    This was a roller-coaster journey! I love Morocco (the perfect spiced musk & sandalwood blend,) & I love Moroccan Pumpkin Patch. I held off on reviewing MP last year, My skin amped the musk note when it was fresh from the Lab, turning it into pumpkin spice dryer sheets (cue sad trombone noise.) I was discouraged, but held to my belief that with age, it would be awesome. I tried again in December, but without success. It's the end of September now, so almost a full year has passed since purchase. Moroccan Pumpkin is now PERFECT! Morocco's smooth, musky, spicy wonderfulness, with more spices, & a little hint of pumpkin sweetness.
  21. Teamama

    The Clod and the Pebble

    Forum acquisition. Rosy woods & faint spice. It's better in my locket than on my skin. My skin flattens out the individual notes, but they remain vibrant on the wool felt in my locket. I'll wear it in scent lockets to best enjoy this lovely aged blend.
  22. Teamama

    Still Life with Melon and Peaches Hair Gloss

    When I first got this bottle (I think from Etsy?) the floral notes were too bold for it to go into regular rotation. The bottle got pushed to the back of the HG shelf, and I forgot to review it. Fast forward to 2022. Teadaughter rooted through the collection this week, looking for a decant suitable for oral surgery. "Oh, look," says I, "Still Life with Melon and Peaches! I wonder how that's aged?" Aging has mellowed the flowers, so this is now a fruit/vanilla/musk blend, with low-key notes of flowers & tea. I'll be wearing it a LOT more frequently .
  23. Teamama

    Nightlife Hair Gloss

    Citrus musk with tea! Tangerine + blood orange balance each other beautifully. Not too sweet, not too dry. Thankfully the orange blossom doesn't take over. I love it.
  24. Teamama

    Prospering In Golden Hope

    Golden, for sure! I agree with @Leopard403 that this is well-blended. It's one of the Lab's complex beauties. The amber is a warm background, like in Kubla Khan or Scarecrow Turned Philosopher. The white peach, tobacco flower, & orchid are prominent when I sniff the decant, but once they hit my skin they quickly morphed into a citrusy note (in my locket, the peach note remained distinct longer.) Bergamot & frankincense are both so far in the background that I can't pick them out. I really like Prospering In Golden Hope, & may need a bottle.
  25. Teamama

    Nova Nail Polish

    A soft linear holographic top coat filled with holo microflake and iridescent shifting flake in two different color ways. It can be worn as a topper for any of the other Shards, or alone in 3-4 coats. What, no reviews yet? Nova is excellent. The holo glitter & flake are gorgeous, producing an opal effect that is stunning. Teadaughter got full coverage with 3 coats. I just applied 1 coat over a pink creme, & it totally changed the look from a lavender-tinted pink go a silvery pink opal. This is a stunner, everybody, buy Nova now!
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