melandie

This is just lovely...I find the notes blend so well together they are a bit difficult to pick out individually. Creamy chocolate, a bit of pepper heat and whiskey booziness, with vanilla sweetening it up in the background. I just had to have this one because I love all notes as individual ingredients, so I devised a cake based on this. TO. DIE. FOR.

2020 version (and I haven't tried any previous years' editions): In the bottle: straight up honey, with leather peeking out underneath On me: Wet, the leather and honey are both present, I love BPAL honey blends, so this is awesome. Dry: I'm getting a lot less leather than I expected...it's more of a very soft well worn note keeping this from being pure honey. This reminds me of both Wome Furie and SnakeSkin...as if those 2 got together and had a baby. And that is totally ok with me, as I love both of those, and SS wasn't available this year, and I have enough WF to not purchase a new bottle. This one is a winner for me, and like all BPAL scents, I'm looking forward to seeing where the aging process takes it.

I'm so glad I waited a couple months to review this (as I am with pretty much any scent from the lab ) In the bottle, I would swear this was a Dead Leaves blend. Looooots of leaves (this is a good thing). When I first received this, I wasn't getting the smoke that I so wanted. Now, it's there. A nice smoky undertone to dried leaves, and currant scented black tea. I'm not really getting a "canote, but the currant is there for sure. This is lovely, not foodie , and complex. A reviewer above used the word "atmospheric", and I totally agree. This is the smell of hiding away in a cottage, away from the chill autum winds. love it.

I love this so much. Sweet, creamy, strawberry-y. When I had my husband smell it blind he said "smells like an ice cream flavour", and sniffing the bottle, it's true. Pure strawberry ice cream. It's lovely, sweet, light and innocent. It's a scent to wear when you want to feel happy and carefree.

Ok.....so I chanced this because I adore black cherry, and have yet to find something really cherry forward to enjoy. This one is...interesting. I know the "poopy" tendency that oud can take, and literally when I opened the bottle, I said "Holy crap!" The initial whiff out of the bottle (fresh from delivery) was beautiful cherry, then a blast of indole. The face my husband made when sniffing the bottle was priceless. I waited a day to try it out, and the poop won easily. Scrubbed off. I've now had it 5 days, and I notice that when I smell out of the bottle, the cherry wins. Yay! I get a lovely black cherry scent, with a smooth oud in the background. Then I put it on. Within minutes the cherry has poofed away, and all that is left is aaaalllll the oud. Scrubbed off. I feel this is one that I need to put aside for quite a while. Knowing me, I'll still keep testing out of morbid curiousity though. But I have hope that over time these 2 notes can somehow comingle into something really nice.

I was disappointed in this one at first - when I first received my shipment. All I could smell was cloying maple. Now, I love maple, but don't really want to smell like a syrup bottle. But just leaving it alone for a month or so, it's settled, and getting more complex. Maple is there for sure, but there's a subtle spice (cinnamon-ish) note, and I get the honey in there as well. I don't reeeeally get the pumpkin, but it's playing in the background. It's a dark, sweet blend that I'll enjoy wearing over the cold months.

This is one of the standouts from my 2019 Weenies collection. In the bottle, I get the pumpkin, bourbon, and leather. I don't really get pomegranate, but there is an underlying sweetness which may be attributed to it. I guess there is a vague incense-y feel. The patchouli note here is a very soft one. When I put it on, the pumpkin and bourbon are most prominent, and the leather takes some time to emerge. When it does, it adds a bit of a cooler tone to the warmer notes. Lovely combination. Really, it's just beautifully blended, and I can't wait to see how it ages. It does remind me quite a bit of Resistance. Which I also love, so that's not a terrible thing at all.

For something with a description that starts out with "a barrel of beer", this is so much more light than I was expecting. 2019 is the first I've tried this blend, so I have no comparison to previous years (or know how it will age - looking forward to that!) Much more sweet than I was expecting - the cake note is definitely the most forward for me. The beer is more in the background, rounding it out, and I'm having a hard time picking up incense. Maybe that will develop over time. Overall, this is a very pretty scent - glad I have a bottle.

I'm going to agree with others above that the cherry note is a bit elusive. I definitely get it in the bottle, but once on, I have to really search for it. I love cherry, so that's a bit of a disappointment, but I'm hoping it will emerge more with age. I do, however, keep reaching for this so I'm definitely enjoying it. The dark patchouli note is really nice, and like a reviewer above, it's somewhat reminiscent of Depraved, which I also love.

This was a frimp in my latest order (so very new), and I detest rose, but had cautious hopes because I love the other notes. Alas, it just screams "Grandma's Rose Soap", and I had to scrub it off. It seems any scent with a rose note does this on me. I'll shelve it and let it age...maybe the other notes will come out to play after a while.

I've had my bottle for a couple of years now (purchased 2017), and it has aged so well. This is dark, sharp, and leathery. As it wears, the sharpness softens a bit but still remains, but in a good way. I think the vanilla keeps it in check. I was also wearing this in 2017 when I was let go from a toxic job, and this year, when I resigned from another toxic job, I made sure to wear it on my last day. Scent associations are so funny...I now connect this one with happily handing over work phones and computers, and moving on with my life.

I ordered this blind because I love coffee and am missing coffee in my growing scent collection. The blend is so perfect. I drink my coffee black but this is like a lightly sweetened coffee drink, with a dark aspect from the musk. It lasts a really long time too, and whiffs of the scent are a comfort through the day. This will be one to repeat order.

I have 2 frimps of this (I need to start putting dates on my frimps because I'm starting to lose track of when I received what). This is so lovely on me. Tobacco and vanilla blended ever so well together. It's sophisticated and I get none of the sour or mint notes some others get (yay!). This really does evoke a classic study, with leather bound books, cigar smoke and whatnot. A very work safe scent that skews a bit "masculine" and I may need a bottle.

I've been frimped this twice now so I guess I should review it! I'd forgotten about the first imp I received about a year ago. Might be worth an aging comparison. On initial application (of the fresh imp), wow is this ever bright, fizzy orange candy. So far I'm not getting any fig at all. One hour later: This has softened quite a bit to a vague orange scent, no fig, and it's a bit soapy. I think this doesn't quite work on my skin chemistry, but I'm glad so many people like it! It might be a good room scent.

This year is the first year I really got into the Lupercalia scents, and I'm so glad I chose this one. It's creamy, balanced with a strong tea note, with a hint of vanilla and fig and the hay hides there somewhere in the background. On me, it generally doesn't morph much, just becomes a bit softer overall, and I don't need to reapply often. It has a very sophisticated appeal - I recently kept wearing it for a round of job interviews, and was complimented on it, so I'll take that as a win. Will definitely enjoy using this one up.

Frimp from my latest order. Based on the description, I was not expecting floral but like so many others here I get LILAC. As soon as I put it on I was transported to my grandmother's backyard in the springs of my childhood. As it's wearing I'm getting tiny hints of cherry and a touch of spice. I normally don't like floral at all, but this one is lovely. I don't think I would order a bottle, but if I want to remember my grandma and my summers at her home, this will do it.

I got my bottle 2 days ago so it needs to settle still, but this one is incredible and I feel it will need to be a staple for me. Like several others, Snake Oil itself isn't a winner for me - it's ok, but tends to go powdery and is just unremarkable on me - but this one... I get the leather note straight away and it beautifully tempers SO's sweetness as well as the powdery aspect. It doesn't feel in your face sexy, but definitely very quietly sexy, like it doesn't need to prove itself. This is my first day wearing it and it seems to not last very long but that could change as it ages.

Got this as a sample for my husband to try - too sweet on him. On me: sweet vanilla and sassafras. I get NO cedar at all. It's quite lovely but fades so fast and doesn't seem to morph. An hour later it is barely present. Sad, because I do like the scent when it's there.

Work at home day is also "sample imps I've forgotten about day!" I've had this imp (frimp)...at least a year I guess. Immediately out of the imp and on my wrist, straight up almond extract. Within minutes the almond to the background and I get boozy sweet spice. It's warm and as a reviewer above said, reminds me of chai tea but with rum added to it. I'm enjoying this, but it seems to fade fast, and I'm not sure I need a bottle. Less than half hour later edit: my husband just said I smell like Ivory soap ??‍♀️

I got an imp of this when I first got into BPAL (2015) and got a lot of rave reviews. But I guess it never really "grabbed me" and my scent journeys took me elsewhere in the BPAL landscape. I got a frimp of Snake Oil a while back and dragged it out today. So, reviewing a frimp aged at least 2 but likely 3 years...I do like this, it's nice, but I don't know that it's something that I'll need a bottle of. When I initially put it on, I got a sort of plasticky vibe (the Play-Doh that people refer to?) and after about an hour it was a nice subtle vanilla. I'll enjoy the imp for those times that i want something low key, but I do have my other favourites.

Reviewing an imp that is probably 2.5 years old. I ordered it because i adore O so was curious about the comparison. It's....nothing related to O on me. Where O doesn't go powdery, this goes all powder, and slightly floral. It's very sweet, goes faint quite quickly, and to me, doesn't suggest the description at all. I don't hate it at all, it's actually quite pleasant, but once the imp is gone I won't be needing more. Back to O...

I love maple (because I'm Canadian?) and I love this. It's not super sweet on me; the maple and the slightly bitter leaves note are both distinct and temper each other perfectly, especially after I've let it sit for a month or so. As others have noted, it lasts a good long while on me...normally I like to reapply at lunch on work and realized mid afternoon I didn't need to. It does feel very autumnal, and I find it a very lovely, comforting scent.

Wow I like this! I got this as an imp as a potential scent for my husband...and he couldn't get past the medicinal odour from the imp. Today on a whim I decided to try on me...at first, holy ROOT BEER! Which I love but don't think I need to smell like all day. But it doesn't take long for the vanilla and butter notes to come into play and it turns into a sweet scent with a vaguely root beer undertone. I'm not sure that I would buy a bottle, but I am certainly enjoying this, and enjoy having taken over this imp.

I loooooooooove this! At first (when I first unwrapped it) the sweetness of the caramel was completely overpowering. But now that it has settled I get the hints of spice in the background. I really love it on me, it's lovely sweet caramel with a bit of chili mixed in, and if I wear it while having a stressful day at work, I find it quite calming.

Oh I was afraid of this one which I received as a frimp and I was right. I DO NOT get along with rose at all, but was hoping the other notes would take over. No such luck. After a good time to wear on me, all I get is powdery rose. On me, this reminds me exactly of a cheap scent my dear departed grandmother wore. I would rather associate my memories of her with her baking..... Off it goes...