Mermaid-on-Land

Oooh this smells GOOD. It's creamy sweet (very sweet but not sugary) and reminds me a little of Sacred Whore of Babylon. There's an underlying smoky bite at first, but that fades a little later on. It has a slight bit of resiny sweetness to it, and an almost humid heaviness to it (the description does say 'steamy'). The throw is great. And it's strong, I was just around the house so I put on less than i usually wear just to test it and could still catch the scent moving around. I think the mandarin is blended enough that it doesn't smell ORANGE, just a hint in the background, sort of like a dessert with a bit of orange, rather than a fresh cut fruit (not that it's foody). It's very smooth and blends together well overall, without one thing in particular standing out jarringly. I like this, it's confident and warm. The people who said its a southern belle perfume are right, it's probably just the florals putting me in the mindset but this is humid and languid while also being very feminine. I'm surprised there are no gardenias here, they smell a little like what I get with gardenia. Color association is opaque cream and translucent orange.

Yay Excited to try this. I love violets! But I'm also trying this with a bit of trepidation, because eucalyptus has amped out of control on two scents already on me (and they were burning, fiery scents, wtf??). On opening the vial, I smell SNOW! It's a crisp, clear, biting wind on a snowy day! It even has that cold-burning effect of smelling it but not in an unpleasant way. Eucalyptus isn't doing the gross thing it did in Djinn thankfully. I really like the way it combines with mint here! There's just enough to kick up the 'cold' effect of the mint. This smells like frosted purple flower petals on cold metal as promised and that's so awesome! I'm loving this. The violet is the same violet note i liked in Saturnalia, but a little lighter here just because of what it's combined with. The throw is sadly not much and it doesn't last long I want to just pour it on to get more effect lol. The color to me is electric neon purple and frosted stainless steel grey. Cold and electric. So unique! Sharp, brittle, and frozen.

This is very, very floral. It reminds me of some notes in The Night-Raven (without the fruit and musk) and Ouija (without the rosewood), especially Ouija. I mostly wanted to try this one because I was looking at different recommendations threads for ideas of what to try, and saw this thread: http://www.bpal.org/topic/29756-the-absolute-darkest-scents-dark-ghostly-haunting-scary/?hl=darkest which said it was kind of dark and spooky but I didn't really get that feeling (I tend to like the dark ghosty haunting scents). It was perhaps a bit too purely floral for my taste :/ Gardenia for once didn't take over entirely on me. That was really the only note I was able to pick out, I'm slowly getting better at detecting florals by trying different bpals but honestly I never could differentiate floral scents before this, and they often still blend together in my mind until I try something that basically has the floral by itself standing out. Didn't notice sandalwood at all which surprised me. This was soft but not entirely without throw. Someone in a previous review said it smells like what accidentally getting soap in your mouth tastes like, and that's a good comparison for the underlying sharp soapy/dusty note. Color association is very very pale lilac-y purple. I liked it but am not desperate to get a big bottle. Was kinda meh ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I think I'm just not a pure floral person. It smelled nice but wasn't *me*

This is perfect for my mood today. I've been marathon watching the TV show Reign and wanted something regal and badass, reminiscent of the show's feeling. And I've found it. Wicked is haughty and proud. I love jasmine, I know it's an unpopular floral but it doesn't do weird things on me and it has a beautiful dark scent. Mixed with roses it's lovely. The myrrh gives it depth. The throw was strong and it lasted a long time. For some reason the image this brings to mind is a mantel in a dark throne room draped in jasmine and white roses. In some ways this is similar to Obsidian Widow minus the pinot noir note which comes out pretty strongly on me. It shares the jasmine, rose, and myrrh so there are a lot of common notes. I really liked this, though, it had a totally different attitude to it than Obsidian Widow so I don't think they're too similar. Obsidian Widow is an assassin in a pretty disguise. Wicked is a queen ready to go to war to protect her crown. (that sounds really melodramatic haha...) But anyway I really did like this one! Very true to concept

When first on my wrists I get a clean cinnamon scent (which is not a listed note but that's what I got lol). That disappears within like 2 minutes, and for about 15 minutes it had no scent at all. That really confused me, I practically had my nose glued to my wrist and couldn't smell anything. Then I kinda got distracted and when I came back to it a couple minutes later, it had reappeared as a warm ambergris with a slight leather note. This is the first I've smelled ambergris where I could make it out by itself and I really liked it, so that was cool! It was warm and ambery but somehow had a salty ocean feel at the same time. The musk lingers in the background pretty smoothly with the leather, and the tobacco and incense don't come out for me too much. It began fairly strong but lost throw a couple hours in. Overall this was unexpected for me. I expected a fiery burning cinnamony scent for some reason (I think I confused this for the description of Inferno *checks* Thats the second time I've done that, wtf me?) but anyway, this was a more gentle scent than what I expected. It was smooth and kind of mellow, and like some previous reviewers it sorta reminded me of a guy drinking expensive brandy in a leather chair by the fireside in a library. I liked it but not quite crazy for it just yet, I'm gonna wear it a couple more times and see how I feel.

Sharp, biting sassafras! Herbal and sweet. I love this note! This scent is fizzy and very much 'root beer'. The butter and vanilla notes make it creamy, like a root beer float, but it's still zingy and energized without going sugary sweet. I can see where "stimulating" comes in, it's a bright energetic scent. I get a touch of oak moss, similar to Black Annis, but only a little. I'm not sure on the onycha, I don't seem to overly notice it aside from perhaps a resinous depth to the sweetness of the drydown. Soon the biting herbal quality fades a bit and I'm left with sweet, root beer-y sassafras. The throw isn't terribly strong, but it lasts fairly well as a skin scent. The color feeling is translucent ambery brown with off-white (like a root beer float lol) and it has a summery feeling to it overall. Overall I enjoyed it, but I prefer Laudanum as my sassafras scent. It's darker and more mysterious, and to my nose a bit more complex. Stimulating Sassafras Strengthener is like Laudanum's bright preppy sister lol

Ok so I loved this. What can I say, I love anise as a note This does contain a note that has a men's cologne feel, I'm not sure what it was but it reminded me of an aftershave or something. I think it was the oak moss. I didn't mind so much though, because the anise was just so nice, and the cologney smell was right near the application points. The throw was pretty much dark anise. I liked the earthiness of the cave lichen in the background. The strength of the throw was fantastic, I could easily detect it all day, and it lasted at full strength for a long time. It was like all that I loved about Absinthe (strong anise scent, unique) with none of the drawbacks (no throw and fades super fast on me)! The anise in this is not quite as aggressive as in Absinthe, it's more like it's from a slightly older spice jar, almost powdery/dusty feeling. Something about 10 minutes in gives it a warming quality to the scent, I think maybe the civet? The idea of the civet made me nervous (it tends to not be popular) but I didn't have any problems with it here, it goes almost warmly minty for a second, then back to the earthy anise. Anyway, I loved this scent, I think it's up there in my favorites! The color feeling is dark blue-purple black. Oh, and this lasts insanely long on me. I woke up surrounded by anise scent the next morning

I've never smelled anything containing dragon's blood before, so I was really excited to try this! On first application it smells sweetly floral with a tiny hint of cherry. The floral part smells like honeysuckle or star jasmine (yay, I love the smell of star jasmine!) or maybe even gardenia? The salty aquatic notes are quite subtle on me and I think it's mostly a dragon's blood fragrance with an aquatic twist. It somehow smells exactly like swimming in a pool near a flowering plant on a hot day wearing sunscreen. That's the vibe I get. I really like this and I think it'll be beautiful for summer. It's light but strong, with good throw and lasts well. I'm definitely gonna need to try some more dragon's blood scents! Oh and my mom loves this one, she asked to borrow it and it's now her favorite out of the few she's tried.

Bastet is all cherry-vanilla sweetness right on application. Then musk takes over for like 15 minutes and I really understand what people mean when they say it smells like a pet sitting in the sun. The musk soon mellows when the amber makes an appearance to sweeten it a bit. It has pretty good throw. I'm reminded of Blood Kiss plus musk, mostly. May test further. Hmm, I don't know if I'm like, a crazy musk fan. I think I'm kinda indifferent to it. Trying again, this is sooo much better this time. Not sure if it was the time of month I tried it or what, but I'm getting all the complexity now! The saffron, almond, cardamom, and especially the amber. It's cherry-sweet and yet dry and warm with the musk. I really like the cardamom and saffron, they're unusual notes that I haven't tried before. This is beautiful and I'm surprised my first impression was so blah. It has a good bit distinguishing it from Blood Kiss. The color feeling is golden and sun-drenched, a black cat lying in a sunspot.

... Her scent is striking and bold with a delicate yet dark undertone: five roses with soft jasmine, warmed by vanilla, fig, tonka bean and mahogany, spiced with a drop of coffee bean. I first notice the fig and a bit of coffee right on application. After about 5 minutes a spice comes out that I assumed was some type of cinnamon until I looked at the description. Now I'm not sure what it is, maybe the tonka or coffee? This is a very heavy and rich scent. The jasmine in this reminds me quite a bit of Obsidian Widow (I love jasmine, even though it's a pretty hated note lol), it has that same definitive "dark oriental floral" feel. The rose is a dark, almost wine-like note forming a soft undercurrent. Didn't realize it was roses until I read the description then it's like, duh, but it blended really well with the jasmine and I couldn't quite pick it out until I knew to look. The vanilla and what I'm assuming is tonka gives it a warm sweetness, along with the fig, which blends in well. Something is also reminding me of Darkness but I'm not sure what; maybe just the overall heavy, almost-smoky quality of the scent? The throw is fairly good, and so is the staying power. Overall I think it's like a sister scent to Obsidian Widow. They are both a spin on jasmine and rose, with Mata Hari being more coffee/chocolate-spiced and Obsidian Widow being more sweet winey/incensey/woodsy. I may have to death match them to pick a fave if it ever came to a bottle choice lol Color association is a dark, cool-toned burnt sepia, probably because of the coffee.

This oil is a viscous ambery-yellow when first applied but soon fades into the skin. When I sniff it, It smells like... someone... bottled the Psychic Eye book shop?? Of course I've always loved how that place smelled, I've been in a couple of times. I think it's all the incense and stuff that is sold there mingling together. But I'm having a hard time picking out notes here cuz my brains like "there are no notes, it's the psychic store" lol. I find myself not having much to say about this perfume because it's so well-blended I can't find the notes individually. It's piney, but not in a fresh tree branch way, like in a tree-resin kind of way. It's actually very resinous and incensey. There are lots of notes I've never smelled before (benzoin, Indian musk, massoia bark, ambrette seed, galbanum) and I can't definitively pick out the ones I can usually recognize like bergamot. I get a hint of the myrrh and the fir, and perhaps a bit of the musk rounding out the background. I quite like this, it's perfectly resinous and incensey. The throw is great, and wear length is pretty good. This is definitely on the list of awesome resin/incense blends!

This was bitterly citrusy when first applied, with a very slight tinge of soapiness that quickly disappeared. I quite like that version of bitter fruitiness, rather than the overly sweet artificial smell I (for whatever reason) expect from a fruit-themed perfume. (Maybe I'm subconciously associating them with the scent of gummy bears or something? Or cough syrup? This doesn't smell like either, thankfully) The bitter citrus rind quality reminds me of the top notes of Aizen-Myoo, but stuck around longer on me than they did in that one, which is great! Beginning to dry, it smells just like sweet tarts at one point but that impression doesn't last long. I mostly get the tartness of both the raspberry and blood orange. It smells good, juicy and tart. The color association is of clear reds and oranges. Sadly the throw is very low on me despite slathering. I like it ok but it's not quite 'me'. I like it better than I expected to though! I think I need to give fruit scents more of a chance. I'll enjoy using the imp!

First impression is that this is a brightly red floral. A stemmy, polleny, stameny floral, not just the petals, it has that greenery in it too. In the background is the bright sweet tartness of the acai berry. The honey sweetens it just a bit without being overtly noticeable. This is springy, fresh, and lovely. It's a bright happy scent, it reminds me of a cool breeze on a fresh day through a field of flowers. Spring as it just barely begins to round the corner to summer. It's the spirit of April, bottled, (an April I've never experienced first-hand living in a desert but it's the idea of April). The poppies are a top/middle note. When they begin to fade it becomes slightly tart honey-sweetened acai. The throw is great and it lasts pretty much average for me, about 7ish hours or so. The color association is bright poppy red with slight orange undertone and the bright green of the stems. This was a surprise hit for me. I didn't expect to like this one nearly as much as I do!

So excited to try this one! Mostly because I've been fascinated by the idea since a character in a book series I used to love drank some on a dare. So, I love the smell of anise because of a family recipe for christmas cookies, but that's a sugary sweet anise. This kind of anise is more the type to punch you in the nose, not bake you cookies. I hadn't realized how strong/sharp this spice is when not mixed into cookie dough. But I still really enjoyed it! I didn't find this to be foody at all. It was quite herbal and strong and sharp. The mint softened it a little and the anise stood out quite a bit at first. The lemon was sharp and tangy at the edges in the beginning, but I have a problem with citrus, it either fades to soap on me or disappears entirely. So it did go a bit soapy but it was very clean smelling and I didn't really mind. The color association is (as advertised) very green, almost luminous and sparkling clear chartreuse. This to me is a VERY unique scent, unlike anything I've smelled in perfume before. Sadly it disappeared on me in like a couple hours. And had almost no throw within a second of application. However, based just on the smell, I'm almost tempted to want to get a big bottle just to reapply all day anyway! I really loved this one but damn if it's just too subtle on me

Ooooooh I'm loving this so far! Right out of the vial it's very medicinal, in a nose-tingling type of way. This quickly settled down but still has that edge to it. It actually smells vaguely antiseptic somehow, but not in a current way. A previous review said that it smells 'OLD, like being transported to another time', and that explains it perfectly. It makes me feel like I've visited a Victorian doctor's office haha but, like, in a good (wearable) way? The sassafras gives it a definite root beer feel, but like old fashioned root beer that you would've bought at the general store for a penny, before it was made exclusively by Pepsi/Coke. (random fact I found out: these types of medications used to be given to kids using sassafras flavoring to disguise the bitter taste, I wonder if that was the inspiration here!) It's not sweet to me, at least not totally, and not at all foody despite the root beer comparison. I think sassafras is on my list of favorite notes now. I get a hint of nutmeg. The throw is good, I can smell it fairly well standing/moving by my desk. Also a coworker told me she liked my perfume and said I smell "sweet and sassy" lol, so the throw is noticeable. It mellows and sweetens as it dries, and the myrrh comes out a bit. It lasted a good 12 hours or so, losing it's throw around the 6 hour mark. This tends to get categorized as a masculine scent, but I would classify it as more unisex in my opinion, and it doesn't smell cologne-y at all. It's extremely unique and evocative. This is actually my overall favorite perfume out of all the ones I've tried so far!

I was very excited to try this one! It's been my favorite poem since high school, and I even once did a pastel copy of the Waterhouse painting as a school project, so this went immediately on my wishlist when I saw it lol. Ooh it smells a bit clear-spicy right out of the imp, I think that's the ginger. It's not candied ginger (for some reason that's what I was expecting) just nicely spicy. It gives it that "mirror-bright" feel. And it's a definite aquatic floral. This is really pretty and crystalline. The gardenia here is reminding me of the floral note in Sacred Whore of Babylon. The overall perfume is fresh but not overly light. I definitely smell the concept of a pool of water before a storm, you can kinda smell that ozoney scent far off, just a tiny hint. The color vibe is turquoise and off-white. Ok now the gardenia’s gone sort of sweet and powdered sugar-y, the same as in Sacred Whore. The ginger and aquatics stop it from being sweetness overload but it doesn't have the fresh vibe as much now. Oh dang, there it goes. Gardenia won and now I smell like floral powdered-sugar icing. Apparently gardenias are a Kanye West note on me: "Hey ginger, ima let u finish, but gardenias are the sweetest floral of all time" A couple hours after the gardenia takeover the throw loses power and it starts to fade. This wasn't as long lasting as some other ones on me. I really like this for the first couple hours! It perfectly evokes the poem. Kinda wish the gardenias didn't take over but I'll keep the imp and enjoy using it for the awesome concept!

I'm really liking this so far! It smells dusty and velvety early on, I'm getting more of the wood than flowers but what florals I do smell are mostly rose. A coworker loved my perfume today, she even commented that the throw is very different from how it smells close to the wrist. It's more of the wood notes close to the wrist, of which I think rosewood is most dominant, and flowers far away. It has a haunting quality to it that I really enjoy, I think it might be the dusty rosewood? The flowers seem dried rather than really fresh. I mostly get the rose and lilac, I'm not sure what osmanthus smells like so I'm not noticing that. The rose here reminded me of the attar of rose note from Obsidian Widow actually. The throw is fantastic, and this seems to last pretty well, about 7 hours. The color association for me is very desaturated light lilac blues and purples. In someone's review they said it reminded them of standing in the secret garden. I actually think it reminds me more of investigating old rooms in Misselthwaite Manor. It somehow does have a definite Victorian vibe. The spirits have spoken, Ouija is a yes

Right on application, this smells like overwhelming flowers and musk. After it calms down a bit the musk takes over for the next hour or two. It's a similar musk to The Night-Raven on me, it smells sharp-dusty-thin. At this stage it reminds me quite strongly of Design perfume. The tangerine eventually emerges to sweeten it a bit but it's still very musk dominant at this point. I think my mom, who's a huge fan of musk scents, would love this one, I might have her try it! Eventually the rose makes an appearance as well. And the bergamot hangs out subtly in the background. It's a bright, clear scent, but also very classy and regal. The color association for me is jewel-toned blues and oranges with gilded edges. For some reason it strikes me as, like, of course this is how the city of Moscow would smell as perfume, even if I had no idea, before trying it, how I would expect the city to smell in perfume form. Stuff like that is the reason I love BPAL perfumes! They're so evocative of their concepts. Eventually the musk fades and it's mostly bergamot with soft florals (lilies and jasmine? I'm not great at picking out florals yet)

Ok so right on application I mostly get vanilla. A lot of reviews I read found this to have a chilly, wintery snow feeling, but for me it's actually warm and snuggly, like sitting inside wrapped up in a cream-toned fleece blanket on drizzly day. I don't get much of the complexities of the scent described in other reviews though. My chemistry really seems to amp vanilla, particularly if it's paired with really light notes, so this basically ends up just purely sweet, innocent vanilla on me. Ok well the flowers eventually appear. Softly. Just a little on the background. I think there's a slight light musk as well. No pineapple, almond, cake, or snow. This scent is baby-soft, but not powdery. It's almost like the texture of fluffy snow without the chill. The throw is subtle but there. It's not very strong. As far as light, sweet scents go, I think Alice is by far still my favorite. Although I'm happy I got to try this since everyone raves about it, I don't think it's quite my style. It's very pretty. Just a little soft for my taste.

The color of the oil is perfect for the name, it's a clear ashy brown. On application my first thought is, 'oh dear it smells like Djinn' I'm getting the same cigarette note. A few minutes later, that cigarette note is fading and turning into more of a sweetly smoky smell. Ok that I'm cool with. There's a kinda cola-ish note that's almost but not quite sassafrasy. Hey this might be a wearable smoky perfu- wait... is that... Damn it eucalyptus YOU DON'T EVEN GO HERE! Luckily about 10 minutes later it listens to me and disappears (unlike in Djinn, where it was all I could smell. I would actually say this is very similar to Djinn but more wearable to me). I start to get some of the scorched cumin from Dracul that I liked, but without the sweetness that made that so wearable on me. I'm also maybe getting some of the toasted spices other reviews mentioned. It all kinda has an incensey vibe without being really incense smelling. I don't get burned plastic or chemical smells, and I'm not 100% sure what creosote smells like but I do get a definite burning smoky note. This is far more masculine and cologne-smelling on me than any of the other blends I've tried that have been reviewed that way, I think it's way too "dude" for me to pull off actually. I might try it once more with a whole lot less swiped on, I tend to apply really enthusiastically and I think this one was too strong for that.

Hmm. I recognize notes from Absinthe and Laudanum, both of which I loved. Mostly the sweet sassafras/nutmeg of laudanum minus the tingly-nosed medicinal effect I liked so much, and the anise of absinthe which appeared and disappeared pretty fast here, much like in the original. Then I end up getting the soft oriental perfume, just a touch. Eventually it all dries to sweet but indistinct before fading on me. The throw started off good but dropped over the course of a couple hours. I like Laudanum and Absinthe better by themselves than the hints of each I get here. I was mostly hopeful about combining them with the ozone notes. But sadly, I actually got no ozone. I didn't dislike it but I guess I liked its components better by themselves than the combination.

Wow whoever said peanut butter cookies was dead on, that's exactly what I smell on immediate application! The dirt develops into the dominant scent quickly after application and stays there pretty strong for about a half hour. The dirt reminds me of the red dirt note in Crimson Peak a tiny bit. About 45 minutes in, the 'perfume' note amps aggressively for a couple minutes. (I was standing on an escalator and thought to myself, 'Whoa the guy in front of me is wearing something strong!' Then I realized it was me 😂) About an hour in, it settles into a really nice scent, a pretty even blend of the perfume and dirt. The ginger note everyone mentioned in previous reviews showed up a bit a couple hours in but not strongly on me, and it didn't stick around long. This stays fairly strong on throw for a while, I was able to smell it easily while moving around. Lasts an average amount of time. I want to try it again just to get a better idea of what all is in the 'noir heroine's perfume' note, I really couldn't tell.

Did I get the same oil everyone else reviewed? *does double take, label is same* I mean, it was discontinued a couple years ago, maybe it's mellowed a lot with age? I actually hesitated to try this so I tested a couple other scents first, just because the reviews were either love it or hate it (with a lot falling onto the second category) but it really didn't smell at all like what I expected given all that. It was a nice, strong violet, fairly similar to the one in Bruised Violet Compound. Sweet and powdery. The vetiver gave it some depth without being overpowering. I think I really like vetiver actually. It seems to work well with my chemistry so far. This perfume wasn't heavy or dark though, it was actually pretty fresh smelling. The vetiver gives a freshness and planty depth to the powder of the violet. It brought up a scent memory of a morning on vacation to Disneyland with my family. Waiting for the tram in front of the hotel in the cool, misty morning, before the day gets really hot. I've always loved that exact time of day in that exact place, and the fact that this reminds me of it, I kinda want to track down every bottle left and just swim in the stuff! (Why did I have to go and fall in love with a discontinued scent, damn it?) The color feeling is soft blue-toned purple and cool mint green.

This starts off with the scent from the description, hot winds and barren fields. In like seconds, it sweetens to what my city-girl nose would picture hay to smell like (never actually smelled it in person lol). It's grassy and sweet but dry at the same time. It fades fairly quickly to a men's cologne-type smell then disappears altogether. Not much throw. I don't think this one worked particularly well with my chemistry. It wasn't bad, it just didn't really get the full effect on me. *Shrugs* oh well, can't win them all. I mostly just wanted to try it for the scent of 'hot winds in desolate sun-scorched fields' like that's so cool, how do they DO that? It really did smell like that for a couple seconds!

Straight onto skin: Eeeek! Cherry cough syrup! Wow, if I hadn't already slathered it all over both wrists by the time I smelled the cough syrup I might have put this one off for a couple of tests. But I've committed now... so, here we go. The very strong, sweet cherry smell quickly begins to be tempered by what I initially thought was cinnamon (after checking the notes, it's apparently cardamom, nose fail) and eventually gets a bit darker when the patchouli and cassis kick in. I had to look up cassis, so I found out it's black currant. There is definitely another darker, berry-like smell mingling with the cherry. The verbena shows up last and give the whole thing the 'glowing, otherworldly' vibe from the description. I was really impressed with that, every time I think something in the description is just there for effect, it turns out it's actually somehow captured in the scent. I thought with the cherry it might be similar enough to Blood Kiss but I think I may like it better The throw started out very strong at first, and began declining slowly after around 3 hours of wear. I kept catching sniffs of the scent moving around. 7 hours later and it's mostly a skin scent. Also, sometime about this perfume seems very familiar to me, some random memory it's bringing to mind that I can't figure out, it drove me nuts all day trying to think of it. Oh and in a review someone also said it smells like a craft store and I get that too. Like Michaels at Christmas, in a good way. Love it!