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BPAL Madness!

Lucchesa

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Everything posted by Lucchesa

  1. Lucchesa

    Ehecatl

    Citrusy tropical flowers. I get the comparisons to Shanghai and Embalming Fluid, but whereas the latter went cleaning fluid on me (which is what I predicted for Ehecatl when I smelled it in the imp) and the formed lasted about 38 seconds, Ehecatl has some staying power, and the lime and matcha keep it out of Lemon Pledge territory. The musk is a little sharp, in keeping with this bright summery scent.
  2. Lucchesa

    Erato

    Testing blind, I got rose, definitely rose, a lot of rose, and maybe some violet, which I think now may have been the orris, and Other Florals. I couldn't tell what the Other Florals were -- I would not have identified ylang ylang, which is often a bad actor on my skin, nor sweet pea, which is usually good. I was pretty sure there was something else in there, but it didn't scream myrrh to me. Erato definitely becomes its own thing, in which it's not easy to pick out the individual components. It has decent wear length, too. Rose is not my best note, so I'll be passing on this imp, but I'm delighted I got to try it.
  3. Lucchesa

    Dragon's Bone(r)

    Creamy, sweet, fruity-floral dragon's blood resin. If you are not a lover of dragon's blood, Dragon's Bone® is not the scent that is going to make you change your mind. It seems more floral than Dragon's Milk, which to my tastes is not an improvement, so despite the wonderful name, I'll be passing this along to someone who may enjoy it more.
  4. Lucchesa

    Dragon's Bone

    I really love Dragon's Milk, but I'm beginning to come to the conclusion that I don't really love dragon's blood resin on me. It has a cloying edge to it, fruity and floral both at once, and tends to take over on my skin. In Dragon's Bone, it takes about an hour for any woods to come through. I don't get the orris at all. The blondewood seems particularly nice, almost lemony, and I always love sandalwood, and it's lovely when those notes are in balance with the dragon's blood. But then the DBR reasserts itself and begins to dominate again. There are so many BPAL notes I unequivocally adore; dragon's blood I'm ambivalent about, and so I should pass its blends on to those who will love them more.
  5. Lucchesa

    Aremata-Popoa

    I love blackberries. Blackberry pie may just be my favorite food. I keep looking for the perfect BPAL blackberry. Maybe I have to reconcile myself to the fact that blackberry is never going to work on me. Aremata-Popoa sounds like a freaking delicious cocktail, but it's a disaster when it hits my skin. Artificial berry booze. Like Frankenberry cereal doused with rum. And no ouzo -- I really like anise, too! Drydown is more pleasant, but I can't get past the wet phase.
  6. Lucchesa

    Black Dahlia

    Voluptuous magnolias strewn over orchid, star jasmine, black amber and smoky rose. I got Black Dahlia early in my BPAL journey and have since realized I rarely enjoy wearing pure florals. And the amber here is definitely in the background. I do love the Lab's magnolia note, and star jasmine is far, far better on me than regular jasmine, and the idea of smoky rose appeals to me a lot. They blend pretty seamlessly; if the star jasmine in Vasilissa works on you, you'll probably have good luck with this one, too. It's not jasmine with all caps. Black Dahlia is a really lovely, heady floral blend; it's just not me.
  7. Lucchesa

    Black Forest

    Wow, I have the privilege of following two new forumites who are already writing stunning reviews. Welcome to the community, DryFrogPills and conflagrantThief! Black Forest was one of the earlier imps I purchased, and I realized today that A. I felt like wearing it and B. I'd never reviewed it, so here goes. Wet, it is sharp, realistic evergreens, broken boughs, trailing sap. I'm not going to pretend I can prise apart pine, juniper and cypress; it is just dark forest to me, and it stays this way for an hour or so. Gradually, the evergreens soften and the ambergris sweetens so that the drydown resembles a favorite GC of mine, Golden Priapus, but with black musk instead of vanilla, making Black Forest darker and dreamier. This is absolutely unisex: outdoorsy and vital at first, soft and cozy with longer wear. Lovely.
  8. Lucchesa

    Ave Maria Gratia Plena

    Hail Mary, full of jasmine. It's practically the last listed note, and it's night-blooming, which tends to be better behaved on me, but in Ave Maria Gratia Plena the jasmine squelches all the notes I was hoping to hear from: the rosewood and sandalwood, the lemon and sage. It dries down into a somewhat musky, powdery floral with good wear length. Not for me. A rosewood, lemon peel, sage and sandalwood blend would be lovely, though, if anybody's listening...
  9. Lucchesa

    Beauty, the Aggrieved

    I continue to be impressed by how well the Pretty Deadly blends have worked for me. I was worried about the rose in Beauty taking over or going sour, but it did neither. Instead, it was a lovely backdrop for the tobacco and resins. Despite the presence of the vanilla, there is not a lot of sweetness in this blend. It's like the toughest possible rose, with outdoorsy woody notes (both frankincense and sandalwood in their drier incarnations often read as cedar to me) and tobacco. A capable, six-shooting woman, whose modern incarnation might be wearing a business suit or prospering in a male-dominated profession.
  10. Lucchesa

    TKO

    TKO is quite strong on me, with good throw (which I rarely get) for the first couple of hours. And it's beautiful -- a creamy sugared herbal lavender. The late drydown is a lovely vanilla, as with many of the sweet creamy floral blends. I don't need it for sleep, and I just don't wear lavender blends, so this is out of my wheelhouse, but I'm finding it oddly addicting. I may need to get a bottle of this one...
  11. Lucchesa

    Tyrannophobia

    Somebody frimped me Tyrannophobia a while back and while I liked it enough to keep the imp, it didn't get into my notes at all. I decided to retest it when I saw a sales listing for it at a bargain price. It's a strong raspberry note and really a nice one -- it doesn't go fake, it doesn't go candy, it's tangy and realistic -- overlaying the tea and tar and metal notes, which are faint. Tea never lasts long on my skin. Fruity scents are not my jam, but this is such an enjoyable raspberry that I would think about buying that bottle if the tar and metal were stronger and this were a grittier, darker blend. It's just too upbeat for me, particularly given what this particular tyrant has done to our country. I'm really glad I got to try it, though. Thank you, frimper, whoever you are!
  12. Lucchesa

    Highwayman

    Highwayman on me is all about the vetiver. It's gorgeous if you like vetiver, with great throw. I was worried about the jasmine, but the night blooming kind seems better behaved on my skin, and it's not at all able to stand its ground against the vetiver. After half an hour or so, the vetiver softens and the leather and florals begin to emerge. (I get no cinnamon from this, nor do I miss it.) I get mainly gardenia, just hints of rose and jasmine, but they mysteriously twine in and out of the vetiver and leather. A dashing, dangerous outlaw with a gardenia in his buttonhole. I love this one!
  13. Lucchesa

    Lurid

    The only shocking thing about Lurid is how much nicer it is than I was expecting. There are some problem notes here for me: white musk and ozone. And black currant can go overly fruity and sweet on me. But Lurid works surprisingly well as a light summery scent, fruity but not cloying. I'm not really getting much white musk; it's almost a sweet-tart candy, like what a black currant Jolly Rancher might taste like, with lavender and a little kick of ozone. This isn't a me kind of scent, but I'm surprised by how exceptionally pleasant it is.
  14. Lucchesa

    A Game Called Yes & No

    I was so excited to try another marzipan scent that I didn't bother to think that mulled wine was unlikely to be a success on my skin. Wine tends to turn into sickly sweet grape on me, and on initial application, A Game Called Yes and No was all candy-sweet grapey fruit, no marzipan in sight. But it didn't last! Within minutes, the grapes had resolved into warmly spiced wine over a grounding of marzipan, and it has stayed true for a couple of hours now. The drydown brings it into the same scent family for me as my beloved Ooky. Festive, fun, and not ridiculously foodie, and it will pair magnificently with my Gluhwein hair gloss. Delightful!
  15. Lucchesa

    Giallo

    Something in Giallo goes soapy on my skin. Reading the list of ingredients, I'm not able to identify the culprit, which is kind of frustrating. I was wary of the jasmine, though it is night-blooming, and the violet leaf; both are notes I tend to avoid, so they may be at fault. I love the inspiration for this, and black plum and opoponax ought to be a killer combination, but it's just not working with my skin chemistry. Sigh.
  16. Lucchesa

    Hunter

    For the first two hours, Hunter is a clove scent on me. The beautiful clary sage, warm leather and amber are very much in the background while the clove has free rein on my wrist. After a couple of hours, the clove starts to fade away but so does everything else. I wish my skin allowed me a better balance of notes, because the notes are lovely. At any rate, Hunter has not replaced Coyote or the Lion in my affections.
  17. Lucchesa

    Slay!

    Slay may be a bit too much for me. In the bottle I can smell the cacao -- all the notes, really, and it's so beautiful in the bottle -- but when it hits my skin it is all oudh and red musk. There are two notes that amp in such a way as to make me self-conscious about wearing perfume: yep, oudh and red musk. Blood musk is usually good on me, though, and I was hoping blood-red vegetal musk might behave itself. No such luck. But the oudh is a bigger problem for me here. It's that skanky oudh. And it blocks out everything but the red musk for the first half hour or so. By an hour or so in, I was able to appreciate the other notes, the patch and tobacco, a hint of amber and bittersweet cacao. But the oudh was still note 1, and the red musk note 2. When I compare Slay worn to Slay in the bottle, I just don't think my skin chemistry is doing this blend any favors. If I were to wear this, I would have to apply it at least 30 minutes before leaving the house. And I'm still not sure I have the chutzpah to carry it off. I'm going to let it cellar for a while and try again, because I suspect aging is going to improve this one a lot.
  18. Lucchesa

    Hoîru

    Hoiru is really lovely, but it's rather faint on me from the get-go, as if the cashmere has laid a woolly blanket over all the notes and is muting them. I get no tea and no patchouli, just mellow leather, coconut and bourbon vanilla. It actually lasts a long time -- I put some on last night before bed and a trace was still hanging on in the morning -- but with volume tuned way down. I wish my skin let this one shine a little more.
  19. Lucchesa

    A Source of Sexual Knowledge to Individuals and Couples

    I tested Grappling Octopus a couple of days ago, and Source of Sexual Knowledge is a very similar scent (I'll have to death match them one of these days). Both feature green tea and honey, and in both cases, the green tea sticks around a lot longer than it usually does on me. Here, it's the wasabi that seems to complement the green tea perfectly and pin it to my skin. I think it's a great hot-weather scent, bright and refreshing.
  20. Lucchesa

    Odin

    Odin is strangely foody on me -- the amaranth? I was hoping for woods and herbs, trending masculine, and instead I got something closer to bran muffins. I have no idea what my skin is doing to this one, but I don't think it's honoring Beth's original intentions. Sadly, not for me.
  21. Lucchesa

    Silas Ruthyn

    Silas Ruthyn is lovely, dark and deep, with smoky vetiver and smoky opium blending seamlessly. I only get the darker notes, not the citrus or tonka, though they may be contributing a rich sweetness. But unfortunately, my skin drinks it up in 45 minutes. After that it is a faint, lovely ghost of what might have been. If this is your note family, though, you should definitely try this -- it's beautiful, and you might get Mymymai's 16 hours instead of my one.
  22. Lucchesa

    Nanny Ashtoreth

    When I first applied Nanny Ashtoreth, I could barely smell it. Another of the Good Omens scent did this to me -- Buggre All This Bible barely bothered to show up on my skin -- so I was worried. But in a moment or two Nanny started to bloom, and I got leather and classy, woody men's cologne. No berries or florals (which is fine with me on both counts), no recognizable amber or honey; they all combined with the woods to create the impression of cologne. This trends to the masculine side of unisex, which is also fine. It stayed close to the skin and had average wear length. It's nice, but I have other leather-cologne blends that are stronger on me, so I won't need more than my decant.
  23. Lucchesa

    Banshee Beat

    I was generously sent a tester of Banshee Beat by a swap partner who adores this scent and was still kind enough to share it. I put on just a dab tonight after dinner, before watching a movie with my family. And I immediately understood what the fuss is all about. It went on gorgeous and has stayed that way for several hours now. Just the sweetest, chewiest, sexiest patchouli and the smoothest vanilla and a little bittersweet, earthy hemp and together they are flipping magical. I couldn't stop sniffing my wrist all through the movie. Maybe this one could be resurrected, too? Please???
  24. Lucchesa

    Black Heart

    If I had known vitis was a grape, I probably wouldn't have bothered with this one. Grape is almost always tragic on me. But Aveya's review was so compelling! Wet, Black Heart was a mess on my skin, sickly sweet dimetapp grape, backed by sickly sweet pom. But after about 15 minutes, it gets much more interesting. I begin to get plum instead of grape and pom, the sweetness backed off, and I could smell the carnation and a darker vanilla. I do enjoy a dark plum scent, and that's the territory this ended up in -- I can't say I ever made out any sweet pea at all. I just wish the grape didn't ruin the opening for me.
  25. Lucchesa

    Grappling Octopus

    Green tea scents always seem to fade really quickly on me, but I tend to get great wear length from honey blends. Grappling Octopus lies somewhere in the middle. Wet, I get bright citrus and green tea, a fun, lightweight summer scent with just a hint of evergreen. The honey and hay emerge in drydown, and the citrus and tea fade a bit. On me, after about an hour it becomes primarily a honey blend -- warm honey and hay with hints of citrus and tea. I pretty much lose the cypress altogether. I'm not always in the mood for such a sunny, sweet, optimistic scent as this (and I live in gray Seattle), but it is a lovely summer number.
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