alterosen

Florida went on for longer than Shadow had imagined, and it was late by the time he pulled up outside a small, one-story wooden house, its windows tightly shuttered, on the outskirts of Fort Pierce. Nancy, who had directed him through the last five miles, invited him to stay the night. “I can get a room in a motel,” said Shadow. “It’s not a problem.” “You could do that, and I’d be hurt. Obviously I wouldn’t say anythin’. But I’d be real hurt, real bad,” said Mr. Nancy. “So you better stay here, and I’ll make you a bed up on the couch.” Mr. Nancy unlocked the hurricane shutters, and pulled open the windows. The house smelled musty and damp, and little sweet, as if it were haunted by the ghosts of long-dead cookies. The ghosts of long-dead cookies, whirring palmetto bugs, cigarillo smoke, and crawling things that scuttle and click. This is delightful! Spiced cookies with a bit of citrus zest (I'm guessing lime from Mr. Nancy's cologne), & some tobacco behind giving it depth, maybe a smidge of ozone as it dries. No mustiness & not really noticing anything evoking bugs but I'm not missing them. I wish I still had my decant of Mr. Nancy (Sugar cookies with bay rum, tobacco, and lime) to compare it to but I seem to recall that cookie note was less spicy & more buttery.

My experience is similar to rawgirl75. I'm not much of a fan of coffee-scented things so I passed on Zorya Utrennyaya when it first came out. I wish I hadn't because the musky base of this is incredible! It works so well on me that I've been wearing as my default goes-with-anything scent when I don't know what to wear. I've never been particularly drawn to ambrette before so I suspect it's more the unnamed musk. Well worth trying.

I love this scent! There's something about it that's quintessentially BPAL to me - probably because at one time I tested everything with patchouli cause my DH is such a fan. Having said that, I didn't even realize the wood in here is patchouli - I thought it was sweet cedar, just like the Fig & White Sandalwood Hair Gloss reads as cedar to me. Something about the tanginess of the fig, I guess. The clove is only apparent if I search for it, same with the amber, but both are probably contributing to the warm feeling of this. Powerful but cozy - a great perfume to wear in cold weather. Good throw & longevity on me.

This starts out with a nice almond note with a hint of snow/ice but my skin then turns it into playdoh with a soapy finish. Regular Black Phoenix ended up being a very strong baby powder on me so this is a strange turn & not the way I was hoping the frost note would influence the base scent. That first bit of almond was so nice...

I've been wearing this quite often despite not usually being drawn to smoky scents. It opens with some mellow cedarwood & bonfire smoke grounded by a woody musk with a little booze lurking in the back. I don't really get any leather, unless that's what I'm reading as the wood/booze. The dry down is warm musk & slightly spiced woods. This smells great on my husband, too, and layers really well with Dorian!

Seconding Loved to Death!

This is quite spicy at first, offset with a sharp bite of lemon rind, but then a golden pumpkin emerges to anchor it all. Not noticing any white musk or chypre. Quite cozy but spicier than I expected from the description. I'll stick to my Pumpkin Spice Everything which, ironically, has less spice than this one.

Nice, fruity red musk with a bit of added spice. Not as incensey on me as regular Scherezade.

The blackcurrant & lime combine to remind me of a bright, fresh plum note. Pretty but too bright for me. I like my fruit notes a bit deeper.

I love this! I'm enjoying the syrupy spiciness & will probably upgrade to a bottle. The fruit note in Sugar Skull, which always reads as pear to me, is holding its own against the spice/pumpkin & I find this version as comforting as the original.

#49 - Samhain with lots of honey. Unlike Mandragora above, I'm not noticing any rose #71 - Samhain with sweet red fruit (cherry?) & maybe some honey. This one might have a bit of rose, as well, because there's a plastic-y incense phase that happens with some rose notes on me though it goes away after a while

Samhain #14 decant Classic Samhain with extra apple and a glug of booze. But what kind? Not rum, nor wine, nor champagne, nor whiskey. I'm guessing cognac or brandy. The apples are sweet and red, and are enhanced by the booze. This is an excellent version!

Bottle #138 This has a somewhat savory aspect to it, bit of lime, maybe some coriander and possibly some mugwort.

A couple more: Number very faint: appears to be CDXCXV which is nonsense as Roman numerals but works to identify it. Resins, some cedar, then frankincense galore. Dorian has been completely overwhelmed There's maybe a tiny bit of musky vanilla lurking way in the background if I really huff my wrist but it's mostly a resin-fest. (edited to add: tested again & once it's dry I get spiced vanilla) Number mostly rubbed off but there's a V under "self" in the Recursive Self-Similarity V printed on the label. Citrusy tea with tropical flowers. Not a sharp white floral but something creamy & glamorous. Don't think it's gardenia or tuberose because I tend not to like those. Doesn't seem like jasmine either but it could be one of the well-behaved varieties. Gets a bit fruitier as the vanilla warms up but I can't pin it down to a specific fruit. I quite like this blend even though I don't know what's going on Languid warm weather vacation in a bottle!

Dorian CD (400) Not too sure what I'm smelling here but I'll try: starts out with a something evergreen-ish (not pine, cyprus maybe?) could also also have some tobacco, then some nice sweet tea with a bit of a masculine edge. The fougere seems to come out at the end rather than at the beginning like with regular Dorian & is slightly sharp. It's sweet but the vanilla is mostly hidden. Reminds me a bit of Theodosius on the drydown so perhaps there's some bergamot, too. Dorian CDLXXIV (474) Citrusy fougere & fruity vanilla at first, little bit tropical (I want say pineapple, could be a citrus mix), quite sweet, lightly musky, vanilla finish, very pleasant for warm weather eta: Tried it again today & there's also a bit of faint carnation midway through. Hard to believe I didn't notice it previously but it doesn't last long before the musky sugared vanilla covers it up.

I notice the gunpowder quite a bit in this & I thought there was also some vetiver. It seems gritty & industrial at first, but then it smoothes out as the tobacco develops. My dh really likes this beard oil & it has helped with dry skin on his chin.

My decant is rather heavy on the beeswax with a little rosewater so it leans sweet, creamy & musky. Very little woods or leather - I can pick out a tiny bit but they're mostly masked by the beeswax. I'm picturing a plush, golden-cushioned boudoir rather than anything masculine.

Love this! I'm a late convert to the Serpentine - I'm a huge Dorian fan but lavender is hit or miss (can't stand TKO). I tried the Serpentine HG recently, adored it & was delighted to manage to track down some of this spray. After the first blast of lavender & fougere, the most fabulous musky vanilla comes out & lingers nicely. I suspect my kids & dh are getting a little tired of how much I use this but too bad!

My decant is heavy on the dead leaves with the patch second & the bay rum only a background note. It reads a bit dungeon-y to me for some reason. My husband quite likes it but I was hoping for more of the bay note.

I should love this more than I do - I adore Schwartzwald & other evergreen based atmospheres but somehow this just doesn't thrill me. It's nice & piney as advertised, with that hint of lemon mentioned upthread, but would need a bit of stone or wood for it to sing for me. There's a little creaminess or light musk in the background once it dries. It also doesn't linger as much as I would like. I like it fine but don't reach for it that often.

I have Vanilla #167 . Previously reviewed here Agreeing about the caramel & apples and want to add some chamomile to the drydown which goes quite well with the other notes.

#12 decant Sweet cinnamon (not red hots), honey, bit of pastry & a hint of lemon. Reminds me of baklava though there's no nut note. Mmm!

Do you find the tea rose note too bitter or sharp or is there something else about it that you dislike? What have you tried? I find BPAL roses are very dependent on skin chemistry, so you're probably going to have to do a lot of testing! I often suggest London as a nice realistic rose but since it is tea rose that's probably not going to work for you. The Rose is quite fresh & true to life but since you like pink, yellow & peach roses IRL, I would look for those in the notes rather than red rose. Also you might like the roses that have a fruity aspect since I find many modern roses do have a bit of citrus or berry in their scents. Also blends that are reviewed as being sweet might counteract any bitterness or sourness coming from the rose. Hedylogos, Snooty Rose, The Fool's Rose, Sept, Onze, The Best Lies, Hope would all be worth trying. I'm sure people will chime in with others!