queenshaboo

This fume is a revelation. Got it as a freebie lab imp and blind tested it and I gotta say this perfume is more than the sum of it's parts. I pride myself on having a reasonably ok nose but could not for the life of me distinguish the separate notes until I read the copy. Blind it was a morphing melange of facets that I've never encountered together before: facets of benzoin, sugarcane, exotic spice like to nag champa but without the woody notes, coumarin (hay) and even limestone in the beginning stages. Having read the copy I could distinguish the orange blossom, ginger and patchouli (patchphobes don't be afraid, I usually avoid but this is patch at it's best, melding all the other notes together in an exotic incense like haze but lacking that bitter green facet that I'm not overly fond of). The overall effect is that of a true skin musk, this smells of pure sex on my skin and it's amazing.

OMG This. Is. My. Holy. Grail. BPAL (and Book!) scent! I've been on the hunt for the Perfect book fume for so long! Rosewood, paper, tonka and leather are my fav notes and of all the bpal fumes I've tried (honestly only about 10% work out on my skin) one of the ones I liked best was Perversion. Dee has the same sweet tonka base of Perversion but overlaid with rosewood and leather that's softened considerably by the vanillic parchment accord, this isn't your bpal strong saddle leather note but a v soft book leather. I want to bathe in this. Wish it came in EDP because the stronger I smell of Dee the better imo!

Funny, I expected a resin bomb but what I got is woody wood wood wood. I get where the cedar comparisons come from but I think it's more likely that BPAL's sandalwood accord contains a bit of cedar in it because it's missing that cloying almost floral facet that tends to overpower the woodiness of pure cedar in my nose at least. For me this is quintessentially BPAL's sandalwood accord, so strong it's almost a single note but with a base of frankincense and myrrh just peeking out. Stays that way the entire time. Nice, but not as resiny as I was hoping/ expecting and I get no benzoin (my favourite resin!) nor any stone. I was hoping for an evocative scent reminiscent of a cathedral but on me it's just a v nice straightforward wooden chest of drawers scent.

Fruits and my skin chemistry are foes to the death! This had the same restroom freshener tang that a reviewer experienced. Instant scrubber, bah!

OMG I love this! Normally I prefer smelling like a cathedral than a garden but this is divine. Wet it's heady jasmine but not just the flower, it smells like the entire vine and it is glorious. Then it settles down to a deep ambery jasmine that seems to float over a grounding base of the rose; the frangipani lends an eastern vibe though I'm only familiar with it used as a tropical facet. Hubbo said "Amber and Potpourri!" lol but I think that it stays true and heady and only a little powdery, it reminds me of Jean Patou's Joy which I loved as a child, and which now I realise must have been an intentional reference given the name of this frag Definitely on my wishlist, will layer really well with my amber, oud and sandalwood single notes if the dry down becomes too powdery.

Wet I get a blast of jasmine and a soapy musk-like dragon's blood which mixes with light leather and tiny bit of smoke to make an absolutely lovely blend which I wish would stay forever, unfortunately it gives way quite quickly to dragon's blood jasmine soap, gone is the leather and smoke. Too bad this doesn't work on me, on the right person it would be beautiful.

It always puzzles me when people describe Dragon's Blood as "sweet" or "jammy" because I use Dragon's Blood resin in herbal spell work and it's a v astringent camphorous resin to my nose. Yes it does have floral and sweet facets but on the whole it's quite acrid and sharp with a nose clearing quality to it which I experience for the first 30 mins before it mellows a little to a more powdery resin though the sharp quality persists for quite a while. In the vial it's a light red/ padparascha colour so maybe I got a stronger DB blend or I amp it I guess as the sandalwood isn't as prominent as I was hoping but it does round out the DB nicely. It's a linear scent but I love unadulterated resin/ wood notes so this is DB and sandalwood heaven. Low to moderate projection and longevity.

Really like BPAL's leather note, but on me it's SUPER STRONG and drowns out everything so I can't even detect the sandalwood after 10 mins and lord does that leather note grow stronger and stronger. On it's own it's a bit much but I love White Rider layered to create different fragrances eg layered it with sandalwood SN, vanilla + white pepper oil, and Poesie White House garden (fig, musk, lemon) and it's glorious. The other notes tame the leather while the latter lends strength and longevity to the whole; can't wait to play with other combinations! As a standalone fragrance though I prefer the more balanced leather dominant frags in the Pleasures of the Imagination series.

First dirt perfume I've ever tried and In the vial: WOW it really is the smell of freshly turned loam (on a grave), I love it! All of a sudden I catch a whiff of cacao but it only lasts a second, more's the pity. Wet: it morphs quite quickly from that gorgeous red clay to a v powdery old school vintage perfume, something like Shalimar; peeking through I get hints of a lovely spice note, perhaps cassia? or Star Anise? it reminds me v much of the "soft ladies perfume" in Solstice Scents High Noon. The perfume is my least favourite part of this, something about the powder bothers me, would much prefer rose instead so will have to try to find a decant of Zombi, fingers crossed! I finally understand why some people love dirt notes, think I'm going to have to go down the dirt road myself for awhile 😏

What a surprise, it's nothing like I was expecting from the listed notes. I was expecting sweet resiny incense, I got generic laundry liquid/ baby shampoo. Wet there's a fruity note from the bourbon vanilla and soap from the musk. Can't distinguish the frankincense from the blend nor the "shiny armor" unless it's the frequent washing with baby shampoo that makes it so shiny lol. As it dried down the leather emerged which made it better but it was still baby shampoo + imperial leather soap so had to scrub it off as I HATE smelling like supermarket toiletries, I had to use these products growing up and my childhood was sufficiently miserable for me not to need to be reminded of it. Overall I find this one deeply disappointing.

Wow definitely the most evocative BPAL I've tried and it's very well done. I only wish it was more wood furniture and less wood furniture polish on me but the lilac is lovely, esp with the addition of osmanthus and rose which blend seamlessly together.

OMG this smells like HOT MAN, like nuzzling into the stubbly nape of the neck of a sweet broad shouldered lumberjack in his flannel shirt redolent of pipe tobacco next to a camp fire in a forest in the Pacific Northwest while drinking a rum Old Fashioned; not the soda water formaldehyde cherry horror they call an old fashioned in a shitty bar, but one made with 15 year aged rum, muddled tonka infused demerara sugar and chardonnay bitters. I want to eat myself.

Mostly it's a v balanced mix of orris, coconut and musk so much so it's hard to pick out the individual components but unfortunately Elizabeth's orris is death on my skin which amps that carroty earthy aspect so that it overpowers everything. To others that aspect is interpreted as "woody" but to my nose it smells like sour sick, I'm not sure why. Well at least I know I can't wear any BPALs with orris in it. Orris from other brands seems not to turn on my skin this way.

V lovely, spicy resinous florals with a backbone of soft velvety musk, after an hour or so it settles down to Nag Champa, no shit this is STRAIGHT UP NAG CHAMPA on me. If you're looking for a Nag champa dupe this is for you! Unfortunately I don't enjoy nag champa anymore, reminds me too much of my miss spent youth 😜

It's amazing how different perfume can be on different people, I'm guessing opium is what's causing the more negative reviews here but on me it tends to be strong and true, I think my skin tends to amp it, which is fine by me because I LOVE opium. I get the comparisons to YSL's Opium, it's definitely in the same family and, like the former, works great on my skin. Unlike others I don't find the narcissus here to be 'sweet', I interpret 'sweet' as gourmand or syrupy florals like osmanthus and rose, the narcissus here is more lily-like; on me Darkness is the v definition of a floriental. It's quite a simple scent, the strongest note is strong, heady, intoxicating narcissus with the opium giving it force and richness while the myrrh is undetectable till the last stages, when it lends a powdery sweetness in the manner of benzoin, the lemony quality that's usually present in myrrh combines so well with the narcissus that it's almost imperceptible; the myrrh here just lurks in the background like the skeleton underneath your skin. Florals tend to devolve to soap or powder on me and I'm not usually a fan of them in general, I prefer to smell like a cathedral or burning log cabin, but this is incredibly beautiful, and appropriate if I'm in the presence of more conservative company like at work or a family gathering. I'm going to have to get an FB of this one, I'M IN LOVE!

Wet this is remiscent of the Indian sandalwood soap I used to bathe with as a child. As it dries down I get why some people find this to be less 'creamy' than Mysore sandalwood, it has a fresh green heartwood quality that sticks around to the end but I love woods so I don't interpret this as "pencil shavings". It's more like the green almost floral quality of cedar softened and rounded out by creamy sandalwood. This perfume stays true on me to the end as well. I love this so much, so glad I got an FB off the lovely GoldenRubee who's selling her collection to feed over 20 foster kitties (and some pups) made homeless because their owners can't afford to feed them due to covid! Do yourself a favour and get something from her sales, the world needs more people like her!!

Started out with the most beautifully heady exotic fruity florals, I swear I can smell jasmine, rose and lotus but the orris ruins everything; that rooty carrot note combines with the sandalwood and spices in a way that makes it turn sour and gross on me. It's annoying because I can still smell the gorgeous exotic florals coming through intermittently (Nefertiti has a twinkling effect!) but then that sourness comes back and blech! I'm glad I got to try it though because now I know to avoid orris when it's combined with fruity florals. I can wear it in a single note like Serge Lutens Iris Mist though, go figure.

From the description I expected a floral blend with catnip in it, a bit more herbal or feral perhaps but this was straight up rose soap. No one will prob get this comparison but UK peeps might, this is uncannily similar to Crabtree and Evelyn's rose soap on my wrists; on my armpits this was straight up Ponds cold cream, which I used to love smelling on my mother's dresser but which people unfamiliar with would recognize as the original dove soap smell, like cold cream mixed with those little tea rose soap bars you get in (ahem lower priced) hotels. It's the epitome of what people like calling (but which I think is an offensively ageist phrase) "old lady" scent, in that only people of a certain age probably still use products with this type of scent. There's no powder though just the generic scent of cold cream which is a white floral mix similar to baby powder but without the actual powderiness, I know that makes no sense grammatically but what I mean is the kind of powdery aspect to notes like violet or musk. It's not the quality and inventiveness I've come to expect from BPAL tbh, much as I like the smell of cold cream this is a definite miss, unless you love smelling like rose soap I guess then you'll adore this. As far as energetically, I'm unable to convince myself of any magical properties from something that smells like hotel soap so I felt nothing. You'd be better off making your own anointing oil using herbal/hedge magic princlples instead imo.

Put it on my inner wrists, elbows and underarms after a shower and the pennyroyal mint is only detectable from my pits (in which I had previously applied a magnesium, charcoal and probiotic unscented natural deo). Weird. On my arms all I can detect is lemon, a a tiny bit of lavender and the same musk base as in the reformulated Dorian. This is v much like Dorian having a 4 o'clock cup of lemon tea in the garden. Nice but not amazing then again I'm an inveterate resin and wood girl who's not a particular fan of synthetic musk (to give Elizabeth credit this dark musk accord at least breaks through my musk anosmia)! If you like Dorian, musk or Elizabeth's lavender cologne accord you'll definitely enjoy this one a lot. Low to medium throw but more long lasting than I expected.

Heard of Dorian's fame for many years and was pleasantly surprised to see they had a good selection of BPAL GCs at Loved to Death in SF at the start last year, incl said Dorian. I've stopped getting BPAL fumes as I love them but bpal's strike rate on my skin is way higher than other brands; which together with long lead times and always missing out because it takes too long to get a sniff through decant circles, makes getting deeper into bpal not feasible for me. So being able to try before buying was irresistible, esp since I'd forgotten to bring my perfume with me while traveling so I had the perfect excuse ;-p. Of the 20+ fumes I tried this was one of a couple that worked on me. I like it but tbh I think it's a little overrated, at least on me. as I don't get much of the tea (which is one of my fav notes!) or leather or fougere. Rather it's a synthetic musk bomb with some indeterminate vanilla citrus (not quite lemon, more like lemon candy) sweetness on my skin. It's nice but cloying, I love Mother Ghost so much more, the notes in that are much clearer, esp the lemon and tea whereas the musk in Dorian gives it this Turkish delight or cotton candy character, ie generic sweet candy redolent of imaginary fruit. I enjoy wearing it when I'm in the mood but I don't think it's amazing, it's definitely a feel good scent though. Agree with others re: good longevity that stays close to the skin after about 45 mins. If you like sweet foody leaning scents and musk you'll love this one.

I'm a HUGE amber fan, in fact 90% of all the perfumes I buy now are resin (and wood) based, I'm totally off florals and never really got into fresh/ aquatic/ ozone/ citrus notes; however I'm not a huge fan of this amber. I'm smelling just too much synthetic musk (which gives it that dry sweetness) and very definitely CASSIA, which is much more 'dusty' and less biting than real cinnamon. For some reason The Lion has an odd note that reminds me so much of red Thai curry paste (lemongrass?? galangal?) and which I find offputting. That and the syn musk prevent this from being the amber one for me. The synthetic musk just takes over on my skin and dries down to a weird dusty nothingness, very much like Wicked. I prefer a higher percentage of benzoin in my amber, or for it to be darker and more mysterious like Alkemia'natural amber 'single note' or Solstice Scents resin blends like Conjure Dark. I'll probably layer it with some of the Lutens middle eastern inspired scents like Fumerie Turque/ Chergui and Arabie, none of which I like as much as Solstice scents/Alkemia but which would probably layer really nicely with this.

On me it's a mixture of leather, lavender, soap, men's cologne and musk. Wish I got the 'vanilla sweetness' that others are getting but all I get is a lot of synthetic musk. BPAL's lavender note seems to be consistently soapy to my nose, more's the pity because I love lavender. The leather is nice though. Basically if you ever wondered what a Victorian dandy; (or a Georgian roue), would smell like, this is probably it.

Haven't had much luck so far with the Lupers but this and Danse de la Mort are the standouts. On me all the notes blend seamlessly, except the cinnamon is very subtle, only lending a slight spiciness to the sweet honey (I love the honey note in this! sweet with wafts of powderiness that lend depth). The tobacco and leather classy things up quite a bit, making it smell like expensive French perfume of the very best kind. The leather is that rich buttery suede scent you find in buttery soft kidskin jackets the colour of caramel. This is very definitely a perfectly unisex fragrance but on the sweet, sophisticated side. I'd love to see what it smelled like on a guy!

Woah this is the strangest blend! There's a sharp camphor-y, rubbing alcohol note at the start, all the notes are jangled up and don't play nicely with each other at all but as it dries the candy sweetness is toned down and the leather, tobacco and whiskey get stronger, I like this phase more but not sure if I like it enough to wear. If you do like it though this one has amazing throw.

Out of the bottle: jasmine and tea, bergamot/ citrus note Wet: strong white soapy jasmine, the leather is very very faint, can't detect the musk at all Dry: soap soap and more soap This smells like if a bar of Imperial Leather soap and cheap 99c store jasmine soap had a baby.