SparkKisses

In the imp: Spicy, woody, sweet. Definitely a lot of cedar more than anything else. Wet: Pencil shavings. Dirt and pencil shavings. Not even an aromatic cedar, because my skin hates the things I like. Dry: The overwhelming pencil shavings calmed down into a more agreeable faint cedar. Unfortunately everything else about it is faint too. Can barely get a whiff about 20 minutes in. Overall, I really wanted to like this fragrance but I think anything with cedar is going to be a no-go for me from now on. Which is a shame, since I like wood-y scents. I was hoping I'd get even the faintest sandalwood out of Magus... but alas, nothing. This is going on the swap pile for sure.

I wanted to do a more thorough breakdown of this scent like I normally do - but I can't. I just can't. This smells awful on me. No problem, I thought as I scrubbed it off. My wife likes wearing soft florals like roses, so she'll like it, and our chemistry is so different that fragrances that smell terrible on me smell like heaven on her. Perfect! No. Not perfect. This smelled like straight-up old lady. Funeral flowers in a retirement home. Fussy, powdery, overpowering. I hoped and prayed and cried that the wood notes would appear and save this scent - but it wasn't meant to be. There wasn't even a hint of sandalwood. No grounding note to soothe the nose. Just powder and floral and unwanted memories of grandma's dusty potpourri. Straight to the swap pile with you, Maria.

In the imp: Definitely getting the rosin and leather notes! Somewhat acidic, very powerful scent. Does not smell weak or understated at all. Wet: The rosin is still really prominent on me, but the leather comes through nicely. Smells a little... herbacious, maybe? I'm not sure, there's something in there that reminds me of crushed medicinal herbs. Either way it's VERY strong on me, still very acidic. 5 minutes in and I'm no longer being punched in the face by this scent every time I take a whiff, and it's mellowed out really really nice. The leather is shining through, the rosin took a back seat finally, and I think I might actually be getting some of the hemp. This is a warm leather smell. A subtle masculine cologne on a leather jacket. Really loving this. Dry: Sweet, soft leather suede. Really gorgeous, I can't stop sniffing! It's pretty light on me, but most scents are. However, even 2 hours later I can still catch a faint whiff of it up close on my arm. Overall I LOVE this scent! Like its name, it's powerful and abrasive at first but once it warms up to you, it's sweet and soft and warm. Definitely leans toward a masculine scent, but this works well for all genders. This might be one of the few I get as a 5ml eventually.

In the imp: SWEET! Sweet and sharp, reminds me of a Bath & Body Works holiday fragrance. Almost a sophisticated berry and spice blend. It's probably the chardonnay confusing my nose. I can smell the leather underneath if I concentrate, but the other notes are absent. Wet: Spiced rum in a cranberry cocktail. I don't get any smoke, no tonka, no tobacco. Maybe a hint of leather? Dry: My wife summed it up perfectly: "It smells like a dried out christmas wreath." I had to wash it off after 30 minutes because it was giving me a headache. It smells better on my wife (different body chemistry and all) but she's honestly not a scent hound like I am so it's pretty much wasted. I really can't figure this one out. Did I get a mistake? Were the labels switched up? Is chardonnay THAT powerful? Where's the coconut everyone else caught? This one's going on my swap list. I really can't make myself like this.

I've had this in the soap forever so I finally decided to see how the straight-up oil performs on my skin and added an imp to my latest order. It's lovely! In the bottle: VERY sweet! The irish cream is overpowering everything else. Almost smells a little almondy, or cherry. Very sweet liquor. Wet: Cherry licorice. Oh gods why is it cherry licorice? There's a faint whiff of oak that's getting stronger as it dries down, but woah that initial sniff threw me off! Dry: 10 minutes in, it's dried down to a nice papery smell. A little sweet, a little woody, and definitely reminds me of old paperback books. You know, the kinds you find in old bookshops and you flip the pages and waft that lovely smell in your face? That kind of scent, with the irish cream hanging out in the background. No more hints of the cherry licorice, thank you! 30 minutes in and my skin has sucked up all but the faintest whiff of this loveliness. The throw isn't strong at all, but that's alright. This is more of a comforting scent to me, so I'm fine just having it on my wrist to take a quick hit every once in a while. Kind of like a library: quiet, private, and comfortable. Not sure I'll get a full size of this since I have so many other scents I adore, but I love Miskatonic University for that old book scent. BPAL nailed it with this one!

I got this scent a long, long time ago as part of my very first BPAL order. It's since become my favorite. In the vial: Fresh vegetation, kinda grassy. Amber and musk are definitely forefront. Warm and ticklish and a little sharp. Perfume-y is the only word I can use. It put me off at first sniff, to be honest. Wet: Warm and resinous and soft. Something a little sweet, buried way deep down. The amber agrees with me greatly and the vegetation smell disappears entirely which is kind of a shame but it smells so lovely I can't mind. Dry: The amber and musk still stick out, but they're soft and subtle on my skin. I get the barest whiff of the dry grass and warm doeskin. There is something sharp here still, I think it might be the "woods" note trying to assert itself. Overall I love love love Coyote! It never fails to smell lovely on me, and it's my go-to for sophisticated nights out on the town - and whenever I need a little go-get-em boost. My only complaint is that it only lasts an hour or two on me, and even then it's very faint. BUT that's twice as long as most other fragrances last on me - my skin devours all.

In the bottle: LOTS of cedar with a hint of cardamom. First sniff was nothing but pencil shavings, but second sniff a couple weeks later and I smell a little of the cardamom and maaaybe a tiny hint of vanilla sweetness. Wet: Cedar cedar cedar. First attempt was just overwhelmingly cedar, second attempt is... less overpowering but still nothing but the cedar. Dry: Cedar and something I think might be the bourbon-vanilla that honestly mostly smells like bourbon. I smell like a drunk carpenter. The Small Brown Cat sounded so lovely but I'm not sure it's going to work for me. Cedar scents seem to overpower everything else on me. This one mellowed out some and I'm just starting to get hints of the other notes, but it's still WAY too much pencil shavings mixed with vanilla extract. I'll give it a couple more months since someone mentioned that the cedar ages, but this might be on the swap pile for me.