fenharel

Green tea, plum blossom, white musk, jasmine blossom honey, and lemon peel. This was probably the Shunga I was most excited about. It has all the notes I was craving for from Shungas - teas, fruit, and florals. Something light, fresh, crisp, and springy. I was a TEENY worried about the lemon peel because I tend to amp lemon even in scents it's not listed as a note in and turn everything to lemon Pledge. That's DEFINITELY not the case with this one, thank god! I was in love at first sniff. It's giving me a bit of Embalming Fluid mixed with RPG Good. You know, know that I look, this contains all the notes of Embalming Fluid minus aloe. The musk is the same sugary sweet musk from RPG Good, which I love. It's definitely more floral than Embalming Fluid - the plum blossom and jasmine aren't distinctly detectable to my nose, but they give the scent an overall richness and fullness that isn't present in EF. I really like this fragrance, unfortunately the throw and wear length aren't the best. Maybe I'll turn it into a perfume spray.

This February, darkness will reign as we experience a month without a full moon: the velvet darkness of sweet myrrh and vetiver-laced patchouli, Madagascar vanilla, smoked ambrette seed, and blackened rose petals. I put this one on and almost fell out of my chair, it's so gorgeous. In the bottle and wet on the skin the myrrh dominates. It's sweet and powdery on it's own, and the vanilla lends even more sweetness. It's soft and fluffy and dark and rich, like a cloud in a black night sky. The rose lends it a soft sophistication - I can sense her standing off in the wings, quiet and self-assured, content to just be there without taking center stage. The rose is not a standout or easily identifiable note on my skin. Does anyone else think ambrette seed smells a little bit like oudh? Because that's the vibe I'm getting from it. As it dries down it transitions into pure, sweet, baby powder puff myrrh with a spine of rich patchouli. A beautiful scent.

opens with dry and dusty cocoa, the body of it is largely incense - a classic, BPAL, champa incense. the tea aspect is subtle, i'd say it gives the scent a nice body on the drydown. i really like this scent however it is majority incense, with cocoa and tea as backup dancers

this is lovely! one of my personal favorite lupers. light, fresh, fruity green apple but with a musky floral backbone that keeps it from straight up smelling like fruity shampoo (not that it would be bad) unfortunately the throw and wear time isn't great but it's gorgeous while it lasts

2020 version I was a bit worried about the caramel as I’m not usually one for those sort of gourmand scents. In this, it works, and I freaking LOVE IT!!!!!!!! Red Lantern is GORGEOUS. In the bottle it’s ooey gooey caramel with a backbone of tobacco and spice. Fresh on the skin it’s mostly caramel and then after a while it settles into this absolutely stunning rich, sweet, spicy, sexy cloud. It’s so well blended it’s almost hard to pick out the individual notes, at this stage. I’d say tobacco is at the forefront, then those Asian spices, the amber gives it a perfumeyness that I think saves it from being a sickly sweet gourmand caramel on me, and if I close my eyes and sniff real hard I get a little coconut. Throw and wear is perfect, present but not overpowering and if I put it on before bed I can still smell it in the morning. Red Lantern is BPAL at its best, and I may need a backup

ok so, i had a bit of a journey with this one, and now i finally feel like i can give it a fair review. beeswax and honey are two of my favorite notes, and combined with lavender it just sounded lovely. i was really disappointed when i got it and, fresh from the mail, it was.... candied yams. dead ringer, candied yams. i felt like i was at thanksgiving dinner. regardless of whether or not candied yams smell good or would make a good perfume, it just wasn't at all what i was expecting or wanted from this. after a week or so of letting it settle closed on my shelf, the lavender came out, sharp and herbal. but it was still candied yams, just with sharp and herbal lavender now. i could tell the scent had potential but at this point it was not something i could ever see myself wearing and enjoying. i'd heard of people sort of force-aging bottles by leaving them open, and i figured i had nothing to lose. so i left it open for a few days, with the rest of my bottles in a shaded area at room-temp. i would check in on it periodically and when that sickly sweet but weirdly savory brown sugar candied yam smell was gone, i put the lid back on. now, NOW, it's gorgeous. it's herbal honey, sweet and fresh and rich and of the earth. the honey note is similar to Honey HG, and they pair wonderfully together. the beeswax gives it a backbone that keeps it from being sickly sweet (like O turns on me, for some reason.) NOW i'm getting the scent i expected when i ordered it. this is the first BPAL i've ever force-aged like this, and it worked in this case when i was chalking the bottle up as a loss anyway.

idk how else to describe this except headshop musk. it's definitely an oriental musk. it's not heavy or incensey but it is rich, deep, and complex. it conjures up so many memories for me and makes me feel fantastic. musk lovers need this - i got a decant and then a bottle

I AM LITERALLY FREAKING OUT OVER THIS ONE!!!!!!!!! it smells like really good expensive salon shampoo. kinda like Paul Mitchell Awapuhi Ginger, only with lavender. it's definitely a sharp herbal lavender and the mugwort just gives it this..... depth. this greenness. complexity. GOD it's gorgeous. i'm not sure i would even say this is a sleep scent, it's oddly energizing for a lavender. it makes me feel clean and fresh down to my very soul. we're gonna need multiples of this one

mmMmMMmM this is delicious. i get mango and tuberose in equal parts, a combination that is warm and sensual and fun and playful. it has a sort of honeyed aspect to it as well. sexy and glamorous and understated. i will get a bottle and tuck it away for warmer weather

sweet and tart and a little spicy. not quite ripe strawberries rolled in Fun Dip atop dollops of fluffy buttercream frosting with a cup of lavender tea nearby. glad i got a decant but won't be getting a bottle. it's very sweet and very busy

it smells like how McDonald's Sprite tastes. this is a good thing

A gentle symphony of wildflowers, sweet and fresh. Cool, damp grass. Sweet and rich vanilla/tobacco/cognac lace gives the scent a backbone and emerges more when dry. Neither the jasmine nor the tobacco are overwhelming, as those notes can sometimes tend to be. This scent is very well blended and balanced. The throw is WILD, though. My skin eats oils so I usually apply by tipping the open bottle over with my finger blocking the top. For this I just dabbed the little bit of oil that gathers on the inside of the cap, and it was more than enough.

YUM!!!!!!!!! if you like Jiaolong (one of my top 5s of all time,) you'll love this!!!!!!!! Melted vanilla bean ice cream swirled into thick black coffee. Yes, the coffee has a subtle but noticeable spicy note to it that the the coffee in Jiaolong does not. It's also less heavy and masculine than Jiaolong. Perfect throw and good wear time - I put this on before a long day of running errands and it lasted for about 6 hours. I might need a backup bottle of this

2019 version: soft, warm, comforting. the vanilla and cream combine to give it a distinct custardy feeling. There's no coconut in it but something about it reminds of me suntan lotion or sunscreen, in a good way. The saffron gives it a rich, sturdy base that keeps it from being one of those' clouds of pure sugar fluff' scents. I don't get any medicinal, plasticy, astringent or wintergreen smell as mentioned in previous year's versions. I also don't get any sort of 'curdled' note which I sometimes get from cream heavy scents and was worried about - for instance, Snake's Kiss, which I was very excited about, smelled like cottage cheese on my skin. Perfect throw - I can smell it even when my wrist isn't shoved into my nose, but it's not overwhelming. Think I need a bottle of this

Antique Lace's marshmallow fluff folded in with cake batter, Zorya P's cool musk and pale flowers, a haughty backbone of cognac and elemi. I do not detect coconut or tobacco leaf (thankfully, for me) but can tell they're adding to the fragrance as a whole. When I first tested it, it had MORE of a high end perfume feel to me than either Antique Lace or Zorya P. However, after letting it rest for a day, for the first few hours it is pure sugary vanilla fluff, to a greater degree than even Antique Lace. The drydown retains the high end perfume feel. This is a beautiful scent. A future classic, and I'm so glad I snagged a bottle.

it's so interesting to see everyone's different interpretations of a scent. wet for me this is a thick, heady blast of juicy berries tempered by a mild, pleasant white floral (that must be the jasmine - lighter than i've ever smelled it before) with a zippy green twist (and there's the lime.) it definitely has the air of a high-end, commercial perfume. what's really interesting for me is what happens as i wear this throughout the day. first of all, it has fantastic throw and staying power. it's not overpowering but i can smell it for several hours after application as though i'd just put it on. but over time this turns into something really stunning on my skin with a distinct like... sparkling honeyed note? there's this moscato they sell at Trader Joe's called Sara Bee that to me is essentially like a light sparkling mead. that's exactly what this smells like on me. moreso than ANY other champagne, effervescent scent i've tried from BPAL. i think it's a strange effect of all the notes combined. i love it. i'll probably be snagging multiple bottles of this.

aahhhhhhh. i wanted to love this one because i loooooove red musk, but.... i couldn't. i had to wash it off with the quickness. something about it smells just like kitty litter to me :cry2:

GOD!!!! okay, I literally JUST put this on and rushed to write a review (so this won't account for wear time. I'll edit it later.) I'm buying a backup. Maybe two. This is GORGEOUS. STUNNING. Instantly jumped to my top 5. I will try my hardest to write an actual review and not just gush. In the bottle and fresh on the skin it's musk-forward. Truly a white/crystalline musk. It's a musk that has a fresh quality to it. The red benzoin and vanilla husk combine to back the freshness with something sweet and powdery (but not baby powder powdery. powdered sugar powdery,) and prevent it from becoming aquatic. it's sweet but not cloying or foody - less sugary/more musky than RPG Good. It's a simple blend, but very powerful. It's comforting. It's sexy. It's innocent. It reminds me of being a teenager, but it isn't kiddy. it's soapy but not - it doesn't smell like soap itself, but rather clean warm skin fresh from the shower, wrapped in fluffy white towels (but it's not a 'clean' scent like Dirty.) if you like Zorya P, you need this. if you like Antique Lace, you need this. if you have a nose, you need this. Everybody needs this. it's been a minute since i've had such a strong, overwhelmingly good reaction to a perfume. ETA: wear time is excellent. put it on before bed and can still smell it, a faint puff of vanilla musk, in the morning

this is pretty close to a pure jasmine - before I got into BPAL I mostly just wore jasmine absolute, it's one of my all time favorite notes. This starts off as a sweet, tea-like jasmine and becomes a little more sharp and soapy over time. The spices are very subtle - I get delicate wafts of something sweet and spicy around the 3 hour mark. This has the same quality that I get from Pele of actually being humid. Like, when I wear it I can taste humidity at the top of my mouth. It's really weird and idk if anyone else ever has the same experience BUT this will be a fantastic warm-weather scent. It really blooms on warm skin. If jasmine is headache-inducing for you I would stay far away from this because like I said it's pretty close to a pure jasmine. I loooove it.

bubblegum??? pure, straight bubblegum. a little bit of generic floral on the back end. i actually like it but it's not at all what i was expecting and it looks like im the only one who gets bubblegum from it.

the Rose Jam comparison is apt, though Rose Jam has a lemon twist that this doesn't. It's pretty straightforward - velvety rose, vanilla, cotton candy puff. it goes through phases where one note will float to the surface, then another. there's also a very brief phase where i get whiffs of burnt hair/hairspray - that's mild and it doesn't last, so it's not a dealbreaker. throw and wear time is excellent. got several compliments on this one - it's great for wearing in public places where you don't want to wear 'risky'/difficult BPAL scents. it would be great for converting someone who usually uses commercial fragrances, too.

Oh, Jiaolong. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.... The first time I wore Jiaolong, he was instantly a favorite. The musk is sweet, deep, dark, and boozy - yes, just like the musk in Smut. The coffee has a distinctly 'ground' quality - it truly is a coffee BEAN, not a brewed coffee. Initially I tried Jiaolong because I was searching for the perfect 'just brewed a pot of coffee' scent. Jiaolong is not that, but I love him very much anyway. The coffee note is a 'floaty' note - I can almost smell it better when I'm not trying, or when I don't have my nose shoved into my wrist. He's sweet and masculine without being TOO masculine. It's like someone melted vanilla ice cream (the really good kind that has little vanilla beans actually in it) and poured it over spent coffee grounds, and then topped it with a shot of Kahlua. I can wear him any day, any occasion, and feel powerful, competent, and happy. Throw is perfect and wear time is excellent (lasts even overnight)

bear in mind that i amp tobacco like MAD! this oil has three distinct phases on me wet: GREEEEEEEN!!!!! sparkling, effervescent, sweet, sun-warmed green. like having a picnic in the grass and you spilled some champagne on the ground and the breeze is blowing through the trees. i get the Irish Spring bit but on my skin, the sweetness of the Lace tempers it. i get the grass, sap, green cognac, and fig. but it's a green fig, not a ripe jammy fig. dry-2 hours: tobacco. just tobacco. it's sweet green tobacco. but it's tobacco. 2 hours-fade: the sweet Lace base. vanilla powder puff. a hint of tobacco. i bought this pretty much instantly without considering the notes too carefully. i've been trying to avoid tobacco because i literally amp it soooooooo much. but i really like this oil. it's great for spring, it's very unique. throw and wear length are decent, as well.

sooooooooo much citrus for me. the first time i tried it i thought it smelled like mashed potatoes. the cream note did something weird and savory. now it's sweet sugared citrus, mostly. if i shove my nose right in my wrist i can get the honey and Snake Oil. i've been wearing it in the evenings mostly because i'm not entirely sure if i love it or not, and yet i'm not willing to put it up for sale or swap quite yet. it burns my skin quite a bit, just like Snake Oil and any other SO-based scent do.

This month, an extraordinarily rare Blue Supermoon will rise and pass through the Earth’s shadow. During the full lunar eclipse, Luna will take on a blood red veil. This is the first time in 150 years that this triumvirate of Lunar phenomena will be visible in the Americas, and those in North America’s northern West Coast will have the best seats in the house for this show. Crystalline blue musk, juniper berry, white tea leaf, and mugwort veiled by wild plum, shadow-dark vegetal musk, black sage, tobacco absolute, and a shroud of blood musk. okay so this one is REALLY complicated - obviously, just look at that notes list! And the Lunar oils are always complex. In the bottle and wet on the skin it's sweet, juicy plum with a shroud of something minty (guessing that's a combination of the first four notes) and a little hearty musk in the background. Kinda gives me a fruity shampoo vibe, but with a dark twist (most perfumes containing plum or pomegranate just go fruity shampoo on me.) It's really weird, but it actually smells different on different areas of my skin? Like, whenever I test perfumes I do a little on the inside of my wrist and a little on the back of my hand. With this, back of my hand is pure sweet plum and inside of my wrist is sharp, cool, mint. As it dries, the blood musk blooms, sweet and warm and red. The plum stays and the sharp cold notes soften. A scent of extreme duality between red and blue, cool and warm. Surprisingly wearable.