lizabelle

Sugar-sprinkled sufganiyot filled with sweet raspberry jelly. How? How does the lab do this? I have transformed into the most delicious doughnut, right down to the fluffy exterior and the powdered sugar on top. The star of this is of course the raspberry jam, which is so realistic and rich I keep thinking I'm smelling real food. This one will be getting a lot of wear from me in the colder months. It's such a comfort scent.

This is one of those scents that really makes me marvel at the lab. Looking at the list of notes I didn't get how they could represent "cruelty," but at least on my skin they're sharp and borderline-metallic. Nothing in here "smells like" blood dripping off a knife, but the scent is definitely reminiscent of that for me. I could almost swear there's an iron note in here, but I think it's just the geranium/bergamot combo. My first impression was "maybe I'll swap it," but actually the more I smell it the more I like it. Since it's so green on me I think it would work well in hot weather, and if nothing else it could function well as a "leave me alone" scent! I think this could also work well on someone with more masculine tastes.

I blind-bottled this, but luckily it smells as lovely as the description sounded. It has a similar character to the Cancer zodiac scents and Fae to me--if you mixed Cancer 2007 and Fae you might get something like this. It's a borderline-sparkly, ethereal scent with the soft honey note I love so much from Les Bijoux and a ripe blackberry note, all over a soft green tea/herb base. It sits relatively close to the skin but also leaves a trail, which just adds to the fairy vibe for me. This is going to be a perfect spring/summer scent!

This is the perfect autumn floral! It starts off as the dead leaf note, which is earthy and dry and absolutely perfect. Over time the florals and tea start to come in, blending perfectly over the leafy base. It still retains that dry quality, almost like a wreath or potpourri, but the rose and chamomile are a rich combination and the tea note feels very clean. The overall effect is perfectly balanced and not overly floral. This is not a rose that punches you in the face, so rose haters shouldn't be afraid to try it! I'm glad I got a bottle--it'll probably become an everyday scent for me.

This wins the prize for weirdest and most specific scent memory a perfume has ever brought up for me. A few years ago I went to England with my family, and because we were out most of the day doing things I carried around a bottle of hand sanitizer. Because everything I surround myself with must be scented at all times, it was--eucalyptus and mint. This smells exactly like that did, and now I'm having some kind of Pavlovian hunger response, wondering where dinner is. Slightly sweet, strong eucalyptus and mint, but almost everything else in here gets swallowed up. Definitely feels cold even though I'm plenty warm. Has great throw.

This is lovely and well blended, although I'm not quite sure I like it for myself. I might actually see if my mom likes it as she seems to enjoy cherry blossom scents. It starts surprisingly sharp with a note that I guess must be the lab's snow note. I see now why people complain about it, because it's strong. Once that dies down the cherry blossom comes in and actually doesn't amp ridiculously on me for once. The cypress note is a bit too strong at first but then mellows and provides a nice, crisp base. Weirdly I get no ylang other than maybe a slight background sweetness, and the initial blast of mint settles down into a back-of-the-nose tickle. Actually, looking at the notes now this is made up almost entirely of things that are iffy on me, but it's actually very nice! ETA: I did end up giving this to my mom today and got the chance to smell it on her; it is much more her style and much prettier on her than me. She has warmer chemistry than me generally and on her this has much more wood and much less snow, with just a slight drift of cool cherry blossom and cypress needles floating through.

I'm shocked this doesn't have more reviews, because it is a masterpiece. I'm having a bit of an experience here--I seriously think this is going to unseat Devil's Night as my favorite BPAL ever. It starts out earthy and spicy from the tobacco and clove. I don't know what opoponax smells like on its own but it's in most of my favorite "dark" perfumes, so I guess it must be that slightly sweet velvety note in the base. Having ordered this bottle three weeks ago now I forgot what the notes were and I could have sworn it's geranium in here instead of rose--it's a bright, fruity, almost peppery/lemony rose that seriously is a dupe for geranium. (My secret: despite the approximately 300 perfumes I love including rose, I actually prefer geranium.) Over time the rose slowly starts to fade, and it's almost like smelling it die. That sounds terrible but the end result is an almost chocolatey, velvety dried-rose-petal smell that is utterly exquisite. I'm getting so many backup bottles. I'm in love.

As others have mentioned, this smells seriously expensive. It's like that stuff at the perfume counter in a fancy department store you sniff again and again but you never get a bottle because you can't justify the cost (you know there's always that one). The patch in this is absolutely incredible. Bright, spicy, borderline fruity, and it blends perfectly with the pink pepper. The tobacco is just a faint whisper in the background, adding some dry smokiness. In my experience "gold" usually means amber, but I get no weird powder-bombing so I honestly don't know if it's in there or not. If so, it must be one I don't have trouble with. I'm getting a backup bottle, and possibly more than one. This is a gem.

Wow. Based on the reviews I thought this would be the best bottle choice for me, but not so. It starts of with a truly blackened cacao, plus a bitterness that must be the tobacco and/or vetiver. It seriously smells borderline-burnt on my skin, and it's very bitter. Gradually the banana comes in and it's almost overripe, sweet and creamy and much better than any real-life banana, but I just can't get past that opening. Hopefully I can swap it off to a better home!

Wow, this is definitely a yellow scent! I'd almost venture to call it a yellow floral, but those almost always have ylang ylang in them. For once the amber is not doing bad things on my skin, and neither is the neroli. It's a little powdery but not soapy or overpowering. The mandarin in this is lbright and pretty, and I can also smell the saffron throughout. It's very smooth and well-blended. Even though I like it, for whatever reason I keep thinking it's not really for me when I smell it--this is one I'd prefer to smell it on someone else. Still, a lovely blend.

I took a chance on a bottle of this when it appeared on the lab's Etsy, because Cancers are wild for stuff targeted at their sign (no? just me? okay). I'm so glad I did now that I have it on. Like the 2016 version it's sweet and gives the feeling of a moonlit night to me--the sweetness is soft and cool, and it all blends together perfectly. Sweet pea is one of my favorite flowers ever, so I'm in heaven sniffing this here. There's also a definite sweet softness from the mallow note, and I think I even smell the pear and lettuce. There's a greenness to this that really resonates with me; it's not just a sweet floral. Like others have said, it seems sweet and soft but underneath there's a complexity to it, which feels perfect. I'll treasure my bottle.

Oh, man. I wanted to like this even more than usual because it was a freebie from the lab, but I just can't. On me it turns into sharp Ivory soap from a distance, and when I get in close it smells like horseradish and a tiny bit of honey. It doesn't actually smell like wasabi paste to me, but the actual horseradish root. There's not enough of the honey to balance it, at least on my skin.

Ooh, this is going to be perfect for summer! In the bottle it's peppery, and on skin it develops into a sharp green/woody scent that gradually dries to a bright green/lemony fragrance. Definitely unisex. The lemony note is almost sweet, like some kind of light summer dessert. I get the feeling I'm going to have a small collection from this line, because I have a slight morbid obsession with poisonous plants and they apparently smell really good on me!

This is gorgeous, and now that I'm looking at the notes I can't believe there's ylang in here. I like the note fine but it and my skin don't really get along--it usually amps heavily and drowns out anything else. In this blend the honey dominates, and it's the soft, floral honey of Les Bijoux. There's definitely clove, fig, and a flower (which must be ylang, color me surprised!) in here, but they're all soft and mild, tempered by the beautiful light honey note. The patch is also pleasantly honeyed, providing a great deep earthiness under everything. This is definitely getting a bottle purchase from me.

2009 version This reminds me of the "grape spirit" note in Bess--it's a bit cold and sticky smelling, and borderline-sparkly but not quite. There is a booziness to it but it's not overwhelming. Surprisingly this has almost no throw on me, and I actually wish it were stronger. Unless I really get in there I can't smell it at all, and it's actually stronger in the imp! Oh, well. Maybe a future incarnation will work better on me.

Wow, I had no idea this was discontinued! And for such a long time, too. It just makes me extra glad I got to try it. There's definitely orange blossom in here--it's the same soft soapiness from Les Infortunes de la Vertu and Catherine. I'm finding that BPAL's orange blossom behaves on my skin in a way that it doesn't in alcohol-based stuff, which makes me very happy. I don't have to be nearly as cautious with white florals! The rose comes in gradually and is also pretty soapy. There's some spice here but since the sample is so old now it's mellow and soft. I like this blend but I prefer the other two orange blossoms I mentioned.

I wasn't expecting to like this, mostly because of the name. Who would want to smell like an old fireplace? Well, me, it turns out. This has the same playful feeling as Devil's Night, which remains my number one favorite from BPAL. On me it's actually sweet and fruity, almost like mince pie, with some soft smoke/ash notes in the background. As it dries down the fruit/sweet dies down and the smoke becomes more prominent. It feels like the aftermath of a successful party or family gathering. I really love it!

The opening of this one is a lot. I almost washed it off, but now that it's settled I'm glad I didn't. BPAL's fire scents seem to be my newest surprise favorite thing. It starts with a huge blast of bitter smoke and blackened wood, which I was unprepared for even though I read the notes and reviews in advance. It's very strong. Over time it warms and gets much less bitter--I can't pick out the notes here but the best way I can describe it is that it goes from smelling like death to smelling like life. I would honestly not know the difference if they renamed this one "Phoenix," because that's what it reminds me of. In the final drydown there's still a curl of dark smoke, plus some of the warmth from the middle (fruit? resin? wood? I'm not sure). I don't know how much I would wear this because of that opening, but this is an amazing scent for how it develops.

I think something in here didn't like me, because in less than an hour it's gone. It had a promising start, with citrusy notes and a light smoky undertone, but it was a bit too sweet. There is a very soft drydown left, with a smoky vanillia-esque something, but I'm not wowed by the start or the finish.

I thought the orange blossom would kill this for me, but I actually...like it? It starts off sharp and herbal, with some powderiness from the orange blossom. It smells a bit soapy, but really expensive soap. I could almost swear there's some orange fruit in here, too, or at least a peel. The rose shows up later, a soft, powdery floral that's really pretty and unexpected after the opening. I love the concept of this scent, and the execution matches up (and works on me!). I'll be getting a bottle.

This one is not for me, on many levels. It starts off with dragon's blood and almost-burnt patch/vetiver. Develops over time to smell like spicy fireplace ashes mixed with dirt...mixed with dragon's blood. I'd love to smell this on someone else, preferably someone who can actually wear dragon's blood notes!

When I picked out this imp a while back I didn't realize it has two of the worst notes for me in it, but trying it now it's painfully obvious. Bubblegum and dragon's blood, combining to form a weird syrupy scent. Oh lotus, I don't think you and I can ever be friends.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this one, but I'm actually really enjoying it. It's different from what I normally wear--soft, powdery, somber, and decidedly unisex. The narcissus in here is lovely and soft. I don't actually know what it smells like outside of perfume (they're a daffodil relative, as I recall?), but it really does smell dark purple or black. It's velvety. The resins/incenses blend together beautifully and there's a gravity to the whole, but it's not a heavy scent. It's a little mysterious but still comforting. The more I smell it the more I love it, so it's going on my list for sure.

Fresh out of the imp this is exactly the same butterscotch smell I get from Dwarven Ale. They must have the same base. Unlike Dwarven Ale it doesn't really dissipate over time. The buttery overtone is strong and the only real change over time is that the base smells a bit spicier. This is unlike my experiences with rum, although granted I don't drink it much! Personally I prefer Dwarven Ale as a butterscotchy booze scent.

I smell oak and honey in this more than molasses, but there's definitely a hint of it in the background. It's thick and syrupy, somehow without being overly sweet. The wood is very present on my skin, lending it a sharpness that I enjoy but not on myself. I don't think I would wear it much--it's the first gourmand I've ever tried that leans masculine. If you don't like overly-sweet foodie scents, this is the gourmand for you!