RedPersimmon

In the bottle, I get a ton of patchouli, vetiver, oakmoss and a bit of cedar. Earthy is right! Wet, tobacco and birch tar join the party. This scent just reminded me of the Tibetan incense that I bought from a hippie store in Berkeley a long time ago. It was super strong and I couldn't handle it, so I ended up throwing it away. As it dries, it becomes a teensy bit sweeter and I can smell the vanilla and tonka and leather accord. I'm sad that the damp tobacco smell is disappearing and becoming very dry. It's still bitter and earthy, though, with a hint of spice. This would smell fantastic on a cowboy. Basically, Crystal Phoenix goes from tobacco to leather. Medium throw.

In the bottle: damp, spicy, deep smoke and vetiver. Upon application, it smells like my hair after going to a friend's outdoor BBQ party, except without the smell of meat and the sweetness of the BBQ sauce. Very, very smoky and ashy. At this point, was afraid that it was going to stay ashes, but I'm starting to smell the patchouli with bourbon vanilla around the edges. I keep waiting for the sweetness to appear, but this one keeps its integrity. Respect. I've never smelled BPAL's dead leaves note before, but I think I have a good idea of it now. I guess I was expecting more of a sharp metallic smell, but it's more of the *idea* of steel that I get here. I'd like to try this right when summer turns into autumn. Just when it starts getting colder, and walking along the beach at night. I'm also curious to layer this with a deep raspberry or black currant or other tart dark fruit. Strong throw on me. Whoo, something in this is making my heart beat really fast. Edit: Had to wash it off. I think my brain was registering this scent as cigarette smoke (I don't smoke) and was involuntarily holding my breath, and maybe that's why my heart was beating so fast.

This reminds me of a cracked, faded, well-worn leather easy chair that's been scented by the cigar smoke of its daily occupant. I believe the occupant has a beard and a dog that sits at his feet. I get a lot of oudh, leather, and smoke. It's spicy with some sweetness in the background. When wet, there's a green herbal sharpness that vibrates on top. It really gives it that eerie feeling that fits the story.

I get a soapy blast in the bottle, but within seconds on my skin, I get the aforementioned purpleness and the iris and sage. This has low throw and now, just a few minutes after I applied it to the back of my hands, I can barely smell it. Oh wait! Now I'm getting the leather. Not getting much patchouli... but a little blackcurrant around the edges. It smells very clean but also very dry. Might be the ambergris--salty and dry. Interesting. The scents come and go and there's a dynamic interchange here where you think one note has gone away, but it comes back later on. I like scents with low throw because I easily get headaches from strong scents and with this, I forget it's on and then I smell my hand and it's like I have a little secret that no one knows about.

This is very musky on me. Animalic, leathery, sweet with a little cardamom. Medium throw. I applied it in 75-degree F weather (That's winter in LA for you!) and three hours later, it's become a woodsy, vanilla musk skin scent. The sweetness (fig?) in it does remind me of something in the night sky, but the leather and musk definitely bring things down to earth. Orion actually reminds me of a large, furry, winter animal. This could easily be named Ursa Major instead of Orion. Edit: So I've had my decant for about a month, and I think I'm obsessed with it now! In the beginning, it was an odd scent that I neither loved nor hated. I don't really like it when it's wet, but after the first 15 minutes, the tobacco-leather-musk-spice thing becomes sooo intoxicating: comfy and confident and sexy but not in-your-face. Out of the 2017 Yules, Orion ties with The Air and the Ether for my favorite but it's Orion that I crave the smell of. This is going to be my first BPAL bottle!

Quick in-the-decant review: Bitter, woody, spicy oudh. Pretty strong while wet. Edit: Smells like Sprite (the carbonated drink) while wet. I also get the red musk vibe. I'm definitely liking it better the second time around. I layered it with a non-BPAL, Briar Rose by Ineke (Black raspberry, bitter almond, exotic spices, black violet, patchouli and cacao absolute) and LOVED it.

Quick in-the-decant review: Damp, woody oudh. If this scent had a color, it would be red. Actually, maybe that's the cinnamon that I'm smelling. The Magis would do well layered, as another reviewer mentioned.

Quick in-the-decant review: Very strong, spicy, rounded rose scent. Well blended. None of the notes are fighting against each other.