Teamama

2009 version, from a forum purchase. Overall, it's a spicy musk with benzoin. Mama-Ji is the closest blend I can think of. Like Lucchesa, I'm impressed by the longevity. On my skin, the nutmeg & chili pepper notes don't really smell like themselves. Spices can be hit or miss with my skin chemistry. Cinnamon & cassia are usually hits. Clove is a miss, because my skin amps it so much, it throws off the balance of any blend containing it. Cardamom & nutmeg sometimes work, so I always want to try them. I wonder if the same thing that causes my skin to amp cloves is somehow distorting the nutmeg & chili pepper? Raven Moon 2009 smells better in the bottle than on my skin, & better on my skin than in a silver scent locket. I'm glad I got to try it, but I hardly ever reach for it. Edited to add: The 2009 label art is super awesome.

On me, the Burgundy oudh does the same thing that the oudh in Bestla did. It blooms into bovine barnsmell. Only by washing my arm can I get a hint of the delightful balance of oudh, musk & lavender in this blend. I will have to try it in my locket, because my skin wrecks it. Fans of Bestla should love this.

From a testable empty frimped by a generous forumite. Color me surprised! The listed notes did not prepare me for the bergamot's surprise attack of floral goodness in this blend. It's like the bergamot comes upon the unsuspecting patchouli, salt, white sandalwood & honey, ties them up, & bursts into flower. This is really nice, & now I kind of want some more.

I am smitten with my decant. The black rose reminds me of Peacock Queen, in that rose is definitely center stage. Like Mandragora369, I'm finding the rest of the notes to be pretty subtle on me, although the leather is noticeable. I hope somebody who loves Whip gets in & reviews this blend, because Fourth Lash is what I was hoping Whip would be (I blame my skin.) More testing is needed, but it's a strong bottle contender. The last 12 months of BPAL roses have been SO FINE 🌹.

Wonderful! It's the sex honey from Entertaining the Heian Court Maiden, with sweet, grassy vetiver. The patchouli is subtle, the labdanum adds sweetness. At dry-down, this is ridiculously good. I can't quit huffing my arm. I want at least a partial bottle. ETA: For beeswax fans, adding that my daughter says this is "strong beeswax" on me. She's a beeswax candle huffer from birth. One year later, the patchouli is a little stronger, & the labdanum is more pronounced.

I think Edie Sedgwick would wear Hollywood Babylon, Dance of Death, or Amsterdam. All of those seem like they might have appealed to her, & be appropriate for a 60's era heiress in torment.

Beeswax & resins. Both dry & sweet. Beautiful. This is so complex, I can't even pick out my beloved frankincense. I know there is sage & balsam in here, because it smells like my childhood. There's a desert plant in eastern WA whose dried seed heads look like tiny brown velvet buttons on an dill weed flower (I think it's yarrow, but I'm a lousy botanist.) It smells like the resins in No. 93 Engine. I am all about this fragrance, & have been buying up imps waiting for it to come back in stock.

Strong at first, like a bundle of cut sage &evergreen branches in your face. The dry-down a gentle but persistent green/resin. I'm glad I got a decant, but I probably won't wear this often.

In the decant & freshly applied, the cedar came at me with a 2x4. That faded quickly, letting the patchouli, vanilla & mint strut their stuff. After a few chaotic minutes, the patchouli emerged as the dominant note. It's my favorite, the sweet & cuddly patchouli from Goblin. The vanilla & mint pair beautifully with the patch. Good wear length, medium throw. I like this a lot, & will wear up all of this decant. It's close enough to my beloved Goblin that I don't think I need a bottle, but definitely A++. Edited to add: Bottle needed. This is now Patchouli & Cedar Lick It. Om nom nom!

On wet: Apple, sweet amber, & patch predominate. I can barely smell the tobacco leaf. Very nice, well-balanced. Dry: The apple in this blend has a vegetal, apple-skin note to it. My skin tends to amp that note, making the overall balance shift in a green direction as it dries down. Verdict: I'm happy I got to try this, but my skin throws the balance out of whack as it dries. Not for me, need to find a loving home for this bottle.

On me, this is the softest, sweetest vetiver ever, wrapped in vanilla wool. If it was yarn, it would be a fat undyed merino single that had been stored in a box with 100 vanilla pods & a few vetiver leaves (stalks?) Edited to add: This is gorgeous, & SUPER long-lasting on my skin. The vetiver is smoky, as well as soft. The wool aspect is the most truly woolly of all the BPAL wool-themed blends I have tried. I'm really glad I bought a bottle. 2022 update: I wish I had bought multiple bottles. This is one of the very best vanilla blends I've experienced by any perfumer, ever. If it was resurrected, I'd buy multiple bottles. All hail Two Sheep & Two Goats!

The blackberry from Bewitched plus fig & sugar. Strong! BPAL's blackberry note can go a little bit soap-adjacent on me. That combined with the strength of the scent means I will need to apply less gloss than I usually do.

I agree with Lucchesa (respectfully snipped,) Both Romans 13:8 and Job 31:32 are sweet & complex, with more going on than the notes list would immediately suggest. Job opens up with Nuts, and lots of 'em. The hazelnut is intensely good. It's the scent of hazelnuts right from the shell, with all the sweet, wood, & plant notes that make them so excellent. I don't identify them as especially "roasted," which always seems to be a harsh thing to do to a hazelnut. Almond is predictably strong at first, and then backs off. The hazelnut lasts, long into dry down. It is supported by the fig, and the sweetness of the Rahat lokum. I didn't detect rosewater, but I don't miss it. This one is all about the nuts for me. Used up my decant, & bought a bottle.

2018 version. Overall, a sweet musky rum scent that I want to put on my men. It reminds me of Grog, but with more oomph. The bay leaves & bourbon vetiver contribute modest bitterness. Mostly, the musk, rum & blackcurrant are letting it all hang out, & it's getting all sweet up in here. Though I am a big fan of the Lab's black musk, this is not my thing. It's heading in a slightly bay rum direction. This means The Hag will probably be fantastic on Teapapa & our son.

2018 version. This is more sophisticated & less foodie than I had imagined. It's unlike other apple or spice blends in my BPAL collection. I need a bottle: I expect to burn through my decant quickly. The apple in this blend is delicate & almost floral. The "roasted" description seems just right; sweetness without the bite of fresh apples or the sharpness of apple skin. The milk, ale & sugar are blended in to the apple, I really have to work to notice them. Both wet & dry, the spices are subordinate to the apple. The ginger is most prominent. Miracle of miracles, in this blend, my skin doesn't amp the clove to high heaven. I would put this in the same family as Sugar Skull: sweet, with fruit notes, but more sophisticated than expected. Medium-low throw, not long-lasting. I will reapply with gusto because this is gorgeous. A standout for me. Edited to add: I was wrong about length of wear. On moisturized skin, it is still noticeable over 10 hours after application. Lasts even longer in a locket. Bottle ordered.

This is smoooooth patchouli. The honey from the honey sticks is very light, mostly contributing sweetness. The dusting of cinnamon sugar is bold at first, but gradually becomes a faint spiciness supporting the patch. Dreamy. I was initially dubious about whether or not I need a bottle. My skin's relationship with patchouli is kind of in flux right now. After burning through 1 1/2 decants, it's obvious I do need a bottle.

Whoa baby! This is fantastic. It's like the best possible distillation of positive masculine smells for me. It's like Beth got cotton t-shirts worn by my father, husband & son, dipped them in a bucket of St. Clare, and bottled it. I am totally hooked. This has grabbed me by the heart. Bottle required.

Irresistible for me: Beth's vanilla + rose blends make me sit up & beg. This is primarily candied rose with vanilla sugar on me. The cotton candy is suggested, & I do get a "fluffiness." Big fluffy throw at first, but it calms down to a very wearable medium-low throw. A real treat.

Love! When first applied, I want to call it Butterfly Lace, because the combination of delicate florals, patch & tobacco reminds me of my impressions of Lavender Lace, Solstice Lace, & Shadow Lace (not exactly the same, but generally.) As it dries, the coconut moves forward a little more, & it's wonderful. Balanced, warm, & pretty darn subtle for a patchouli blend. This patchouli works for me, which makes me happy as I have been amping it recently. I'm glad I got a decant, & I have a bottle in my cart.

100% love. This is the BPAL oudh that works on my skin. St. Clare calls it "golden," so now I am on the prowl for "honey" & "golden" oudh. On me, this is primarily woody, glowing oudh, deliciously complicated by a background of honey & bourbon vanilla. Medium-low throw, great staying power. 2023 update: One of my all-time BPAL favorites. I don't think it's morphed much with age. The oudh is just magical.

Wanton comes out swinging, with a big bold floral-type throw. I suspect palmarosa & attar of rose are making most of the hubbub. After drydown, the red sandalwood comes into play as a warm background for attar of rose, the now-domesticated palmarosa, & the gentle patchouli. I think the citrus note I get must be from the palmarosa. I also get a hint of fig. Wanton is a sweet blend that has some complexity. It starts out with huge throw, & resolves to a fairly subtle scent. I like it a lot, & hope it isn't discontinued.

My top GC's (aside from Osun, which has been discontinued,) vary with the seasons. Plus I am a floral lover, which is not everybody's cup of tea. My top floral GC's at this moment: Has No Hanna & Snooty Rose. Two non-floral blends that are winners on me in every season: Brown Jenkin & Goblin. Have fun! Edited to add: the Forum's Sales page is a great resource for picking up imps at bargain prices. I used it to be able to afford to explore a lot of GC's to guide my purchasing.

The Patchouli Imp Pack was one my first Lab purchases, & I have loved The Coiled Serpent ever since. I agree that it evokes incense. It's dry, bittersweet, woody, & earthy as all get out. The patch in this blend is not armpitty; it smells of wood, not people. It dominates the other wood(s.) I'm pretty confident there is sandalwood in the mix. I can't pick out other woods. I like this blend a lot. It starts out pretty strong, but dries down into a subtle patchouli incense.

Yeah, pennyroyal on my socks has done the trick in the past. Straight-up lemongrass essential oil is pungent & long-lasting on socks, & left a decorative orange ring around my ankles, but didn't protect me 100%. I got a big ol' bite behind my knee :-(.

Necrobump. It's a terrible year for cat fleas in King County, WA. I don't even have a furry pet, & the little bloodsucking bastards are getting into my home to bite me. I'm wearing socks treated with straight-up lemongrass essential oil, & remembering how disappointed I was when I tried Namaste. The lemongrass overpowered all the other notes, & never died down. Now since I am reeking of lemongrass anyway, I think I'm going to hunt up a few discounted imps of Namaste & Mad Hatter. Maybe Pain too, although it's discontinued.