JennyGardener

I didn't really get to know this scent until I slept with it. The first day I tried it, all I could think of was violets. But in the dark... I found myself thinking of Poe's poem, inspiration for this perfume. And suddenly, I was there, in the Library. The bust of Pallas sat on the bookshelf. The Raven perched atop. I could smell the heavy scent of violets and other flowers in the cast-off bouquet that lay on the reading table. I was surrounded by the delicious odors of old books (you can get that sometimes, in the stacks of a good library), evocative and sensual. I could also taste/feel the sad wistfulness of the man remembering his lost love. Ah, altogether a wondrous experience! I reveled in this scent for a long time before falling asleep.

I didn't expect Black Pearl. I didn't order it, and I had no idea that sometimes BPAL surprises people with free imps. I just considered myself very lucky and like I'd gotten away with something... The entire package smelled like Black Pearl (I didn't know it was Black Pearl at the time, but I think it was fate). So I put all my imps out to air off and try separately. Black Pearl. Something drew me to it. I opened the bottle and began to drool and get happy. This was the BPAL experience I'd been hoping for! Delicious. Then, I put it on. And it was me! I didn't smell perfume, I smelled myself - only more so! Perhaps it is the scent of my soul. I couldn't help feeling happy all the rest of the day. I kept sniffing at my wrists and leaning back with a languid smile on my face. I was hoping perhaps BPAL could help me find a signature scent, but I wasn't expecting it out of the first bottle! The only drawback to Black Pearl was finding the other (still wonderful) scents a letdown! After slipping into something that smelled like, well, me, nothing else could quite compare. Now, how did BPAL know????!!! ADDED June 22: (a Faerygirl review) Smells too nutty on me. I don't like it.

Very manly, except on my friend who loves the ocean. On her, it's just right. Unless it's Calico Jack blended with Black Pearl. That combo made me want to lick her! (And I'm straight) ADDED July 12: This is the absolute Sexy Pirate smell. It even made my brother-in-law smell attractive, which squicked me out a little! If you have pirate fantasies, make sure you set sail with Calico Jack.

At first, when I opened the bottle, I thought it smelled like some sort of pink lozenge. I hated it, and was sad because I loved the woodsy description of the perfume on the site. I did like the smell beyond the sharp lozenge scent, but on me that painful scent reigns. It gave me a headache. But. My daughter, Faerygirl, 8, tried it on. She's become my BPAL buddy. And it smelled - wonderful! On her, it is the scent of woodland fae. She herself is a nature girl, very fierce in defense of the environment and passionate about all Mother Earth's children. On her, Hamadryad fit without too much sharpness. She put it on at bedtime and I snuggled her, enjoying the scent of it in her hair all night. My little woodsy faery girl, who is just too close to growing up! Thanks, BPAL, for the perfect scent that captures the spirit of my daughter at 8 year old going on 9! ADDED June 22: (This is Faerygirl's review) Smells like a forest after the rain. The Hamadryad and rain fairies are out playing. I Hamadryad!