ClareN

This may be just my weird nose. But when I smell BPAL violet, I get this odd note that reminds me of hay or wheat, even though it doesn't really smell like hay or wheat. The smell is savory and dry, like rice noodles. Maybe this is what other people describe as "powdery" or "soapy", though I wouldn't call it that. Sybaris in the vial and for the first hour or so on my skin was mainly that weird violet note. I didn't hate it, but when I think of a violet scent I want something more like Lush's Gratuitous Violets soap, or violet candy. So at first I thought I'd have to swap this away. But I kept sniffing my wrist anyway to try and figure out what else was in there. I didn't pick up the clove or spices. After a while the "real" violet scent came out more and more, until after 2 or 3 hours I got a lovely violet-marshmallow stage that was just what I wanted. I guess the "marshmallow" note is the tonka bean. I definitely want more of that drydown, so I'll finish up the imp and see whether I want a bottle. This is a long-lasting scent on me. edit (30 August 2012): I'm surprised my original review isn't more enthusiastic. This is undoubtedly one of my favorite BPAL GC scents. I love violet and clove, and Sybaris is as violet and clove as it gets. I bought a bottle from the lab around 2008 and I still wear it fairly often.

I'll get drawn in by a Spanish name every time, so I bought a partial bottle of this unsniffed even though fruit notes aren't me. Luckily, I really like it. The "wine" note sometimes registers more like wine to me, sometimes more like grape candy. The first time I tried it I got all artificial grape/wine and no cloves; on the next try the clovey goodness came out a lot more. I can't really add anything to the other reviews. Yes, Madrid smells like grape candy with cloves. If that sounds good to you at all, you'll probably enjoy this. I like wearing it when I dress in purple.

From the description, I should have loved this - red musk is one of my favorite notes, and I like the sound of the cassia, sugar cane and sandalwood. I still want a scent that's red musk, cassia, sugar cane and sandalwood! Sadly, to my nose, this is packed with dragon's blood, which I despise. I'm surprised that no one else mentioned dragon's blood in the reviews - if there's no dragon's blood in here then everything I know is wrong. When dragon's blood is in a blend I can smell very little else; when I concentrate, I can detect a hint of cassia - it's like cinnamon - and lemon peel; but no red musk, just the fake-cherry sweetness of dragon's blood. I wonder if what I'm picking up as dragon's blood is actually an unfamiliar type of red musk, different from the one that I love in Mme Moriarty and Scherezade. One other thing: besides the dragon's blood, this literally reminds me of the way a bird smells, which is quite an impressive achievement. I actually recoiled in surprise when I first sniffed it. I found that slightly nauseating. Although I love birds, I would never want to smell like this. This is unwearable for me, but one to try if you like dragon's blood. Do you think I said "dragon's blood" enough in that review?

Thanks to Funkmoppet who sent me a decant of Schwarzer Mond! Just as I suspected I would, I love it far too much. There have been recommendations on this thread for aged Sin and Scherezade as matches. I don't find Scherezade to be very similar, but I'll try and track down Sin. Any other Schwarzer Mond suggestions?

Schwarzer Mond reminds me of something I just can't place. I think it might be a Frederic Malle scent - either Musc Ravageur or Noir Epices, but I only tried those once a long time ago (in Dallas) and I have zero access to them here in Australia. Is there anyone here who's tried those scents? Or if anyone happens to be going near a store that carries Frederic Malle (there are only five outlets or something in the United States), could you test these perfumes and find out whether they are at all similar to Schwarzer Mond? Maybe I'm just going crazy...

I didn't read many reviews before trying Djinn, so lemon detergent was the last thing I was expecting. But the reviews are right - it's definitely detergent. Maybe men's cologne too? But mainly detergent. It's smokier when it first goes on and gets more sweet, soapy and lemony in the drydown. I wanted a woodsy, dark, smoky scent - this is way too refreshing for me. I may keep the imp to see how it layers with a few other scents. Edited to add: There's definitely vetiver in here. To my nose, it registers as primarily a lemony vetiver scent in the late drydown. I quite like this stage, and it lasts a long time.

Caveat: I'm not sure if I know what BPAL's amber smells like, even though it's in a few of my favorite blends and a few of my least-favorite. So I'm not picking up anything that I could identify as amber, even though it's mentioned in every review. To me, Brisingamen is a very sweet floral, slightly powdery, and reminds me of a shade of dark pink. I'm not getting any carnation, which I love, and other than carnation I'm really not much of a floral person. This smells a lot like floral potpourri. I guess that's the Lab's apple blossom or myrtle note. I wanted to try this because I was curious about myrtle (which I haven't smelled before) and I love carnation, but it's not right for me at all.

In the vial: Medicinal eucalyptus and mint. On skin: A black and evil mint smell with a mildewy note in the background, over a creamy smooth undertone of something, vanilla perhaps? About the "evil" and "mildew", I actually mean this in a good way. This is a very complex and interesting scent. I don't need a bottle, but I will probably use up the imp. I'm fascinated by how wicked it smells.

Foresty-grassy-woodsy in the vial. On my skin, floral. I don't like florals, but I still thought it was a particularly nice floral until I read a mention of hairspray in Miseraya's review above. It really does smell like some hairspray I've smelled before; unlike hairspray, Arkham isn't making me suffocate and die, but that association ruins the scent for me. I just can't do this type of scent. I love the scent in the vial, what a shame it had to turn out this way on my skin! If you like fresh, warm, outdoorsy and not-too-sweet floral scents, this is a good one.

Thank you! Love your photos, especially the Fairy Market one!

I love the scent of jasmine, but the jasmine BPAL uses is quite different from the scent of real jasmine flowers. It isn't so awful I recoil from it, it's just unappealing. To my nose, it smells dry and stale and...papery? I get a similar effect from BPAL's gardenia, magnolia and many other BPAL florals, so I usually avoid all those. This one must have been a frimp. In the wet stage I'm thinking this might be the jasmine scent I actually like, because it smells like Lush's Flying Fox with lemongrass (and I love Flying Fox). If it stayed like this, I'd want more. Unfortunately, as it wears on, the good kind of jasmine (and gardenia) morphs into the bad kind and it no longer has any appeal for me. I never detected rose or vanilla at all. If you like the initial smell of Euphrosyne but not the dry stage, try Namaste. It's got that same lemongrass note but the jasmine is very toned down.

Excuse me for being dense...What's the gallery?

What the hell? This has to be a mislabeled imp. I pray it's a mislabeled imp. (ETA: It wasn't. ) Because all I smell is a faint, creamy vanilla with a slight hint of floral. I am DEVASTATED if this is what Morocco smells like on me - I wanted the smoky incense and spices and carnation. This is rather nice, but I expected dark and exotic. Surely this is Antique Lace or something? Sniffing the vial again, I can kind of smell what might be incense or spices, much fainter than I expected though. And the spiciness completely disappears on my skin. In fact, even the vanilla is nearly gone, ten minutes later. The carnation never made an appearance at all. If this isn't a mislabeled imp, I am beginning to suspect there is an incense note the lab uses (red sandalwood?) that I am actually incapable of smelling (I also found Tushnamatay and All Souls to be extremely faint). That would be a tragedy, because I love incense. I may have to try this in a scent locket, but I'm not too optimistic. If it doesn't work in a locket, I'm afraid I don't need another vanilla scent, especially one I can barely smell. (And to think I nearly bought 5mls of Morocco and White Rabbit unsniffed! I'm so glad I didn't - both turned out to be big disappointments, and if I'd gone for the 5mls it might have put me off BPAL forever. Thanks to Sarada for the frimp - it was at the top of my wishlist!) Edited to add: I got a second imp of Morocco as a frimp, and it seems more strongly scented than the first, although it is still not what you'd call a strong scent. It was good to confirm that the first one I got was not mislabeled, but I still don't love the scent as much as I thought I would - not enough carnation and spices, too much vanilla.

I think aldehydes are the note that I can sort of feel inside my nose in perfumes like Chanel No. 5, YSL Rive Gauche, and Agent Provocateur. It feels sort of tingly and like the perfume is piercing right inside my nose. It's hard to describe what it actually smells like, except "fancy perfume". I'm not a fan. From what I've read, it's true that BPAL uses no synthetics (thus far). But I read here a while ago that Beth was experimenting with some synthetic aldehydes in a couple of blends that haven't been released yet. That was supposedly the first time she'd ever created perfumes with synthetics. If they are ever released you'll want to steer clear. Other than that I think you're safe. If you do find a note that you can't stand in BPAL, it's usually not difficult to find out what it is by reading the Lab notes and the reviews. Then you can avoid it in other blends pretty easily.

Haven't tried it, but I wonder if this might be Pulcinella & Teresina? The description is "labdanum, cedar, teak and red rose". I was just reading reviews and it seems to be more about the woods and resins than the rose...

*cracks list writing knuckles* The big one for me is the ultimate castle scent. One without pine, and without dragon's blood, and without food notes. I want stone and wood and tapestries. Problem is myrrh is such a good note for that, but my stupid skin won't play very nicely with myrrh. Then there's: Ultimate animalistic musk scent. (Some kind of Buck Moon, Coyote, Smut hybrid) Ultimate librarian scent. (Aziraphale's the closest, and I adore it - but I'd just love one LIKE that, but with extra musk, and a touch of pipe smoke. Just a touch.) Ultimate woodlands scent. (one without pine, with more dirt, mushrooms, mulch and light wild-flowers) Ultimate beach scent (without sunscreen. Sand, salt and wild grasses) Ultimate rose scent (a big ask with rose's amping tendencies on me - but I'd love a rose with wood, leather and musk that doesn't just turn into rose on me.) Ultimate worsted wool scent. (with heather. Heavy wool laundered with a breath of heather or lavender.) Ultimate warrior scent. (with no dragon's blood. I want salt, leather, steel and sweaty musk.) And I'm with you on the ultimate vanilla and berry scent. Tart wild berries. I don't ask for much. These all sound good. Let me know if you find the librarian one! I was hoping Miskatonic University would be the ultimate librarian scent but it's a bit too foody. Myself, I'm looking for the ultimate cowboy/Wild West scent. My boyfriend introduced me to the love of spaghetti westerns and currently we're speeding through Season 1 of Deadwood (best thing ever, no spoilers plz). I love Roadhouse and Bordello, Tombstone is at the top of my wishlist and I'm open to trying everything with dry grass, whisky, wood and leather. I'd love more suggestions for Wild West BPALs. (I know about Dead Man's Hand but I don't think I really need to try it if it's pure leather, and hard to find.) We need a Calamity Jane scent. I'm also on the lookout for the perfect deep, churchy incense blend. It needs to be all serious, without a hint of hippie incense. I think it might be Midnight Mass, hope it comes back this Christmas.

I'm reviewing this because I bought it from another forumite as part of an imp pack, and I'm sworn to test every BPAL that comes my way. I'm not a fan of dragon's blood at all - to me it smells like sickly-sweet artificial cherry air freshener. So Dragon's Tears does not do anything for me. There's the sickly-sweet dragon's blood with a hint of something dry and almost floral in the background. I don't like aquatics but I wouldn't describe this as particularly aquatic. Of the other Ars Draconis blends I've tried, Dragon's Musk is much more interesting and Dragon's Milk is more piercingly sweet. Make sure you know what BPAL's dragon's blood note smells like before you order any full bottles of the Ars Draconis blends. Some people like it, and some people can't stand it.

I'm not a fan of dragon's blood at all - to me it smells like sickly-sweet artificial cherry air freshener. That said, I *almost* like this, probably because I'm a huge fan of BPAL's musks. The musk is lovely, but the dragon's blood pops out to ruin it every few minutes. The dragon's blood note here is not as overwhelming as in Dragon's Milk, and, well, I almost like it and I'm really surprised. But it's still a touch too artificial-sweet for me, and I can go to Scherezade for my red musk fix.

When I tested Bakeneko yesterday and fell head-over-heels in love with it, I thought it reminded me of Givenchy Pi a little. I hoped it was similar to Pi, because a) Bakeneko doesn't last long on me, and b ) I expect it will be hard to obtain a lifetime's supply. So I went to the mall to test Pi today. It is somewhat similar. It has the same warmth and the hint of cinnamon, but while Bakeneko seems sharp and lively to me, Pi is more rounded and comforting, with vanilla; it has a definite "cologne" feel to it (Pi is marketed as a men's scent, but I think a woman could pull it off as well). Pi is like half of Bakeneko, missing the half that makes Bakeneko really magic. (I wonder if there's a scent out there that could be layered with Pi...) Unfortunately, it is no Bakeneko substitute for me, but if you like one you should try the other.

I'm really going to need a GC equivalent to Bakeneko. Please help. (Even if you know something similar that's non-BPAL - PM me? Desperate here.)

This seems to be one of the Lab's most popular scents - and for good reason. In the imp, it smells of berry- and watermelon-flavored candy. I love watermelon candy, I think it's so underrated. On my skin, it's more complex than I expected, with a gorgeous creamy vanilla undertone softening the candy scent. Kind of like a fancy berry cream soda, or vanilla ice cream with a berry ripple? I want to eat a dessert that tastes like this. I'm not a fan of fruit scents in general - I'm all about dark incense and spices with BPAL, and fruit notes are almost guaranteed to smell like cheap candles or air freshener to me. Bordello smells totally artificial, yet it DOESN'T remind me of candles or air freshener, and I love it! I'm going to need a bottle, if only for the layering possibilities. Oh, just think of the layering possibilities! ETA: This did get kind of scented-candle-ish after a few hours, but that didn't ruin the scent for me. I may not need a bottle but will definitely use up the imp. I'll probably wear it layered with something dark and spicy rather than on its own.

Starry white lilies lend an eerie brightness to the deep black wooded scents of cypress and oak, layered with a touch of crushed dried leaves and the faintest aquatic note. Interesting. I generally don't re-read the lab description or reviews before I try a new scent, to keep preconceived notions to a minimum. Here's what I wrote down about Ulalume before looking at the description: This is a floral-aquatic, and aquatics are not for me at all. Someone who likes this scent might describe it as fresh and pure, but to me it's too fresh, too much like air freshener. There's a fresh herbal note that's also in Ides of March, but I like Ides of March much better. Now I'm looking at the description and reviews - cypress, oak, dried leaves, earth, wintergreen? Faintest aquatic note? I didn't pick up wintergreen, certainly no woods or dried leaves, and the aquatic note is the strongest by far. I can only very rarely tolerate aquatics. Frankly, this should have a big warning sign on it that says "AQUATIC SCENT LOVERS ONLY." It's mostly faded on my skin now (3 hours later), but sniffing it in the vial again I do pick up the cypress and a pleasant herbal smell - but it's still much too aquatic for me. Since all the reviewers on this thread have such different impressions, maybe Ulalume is one that varies wildly with the batch? Perhaps you'll get lucky with the one that smells like earth, wood and dried leaves, the one I wish I'd gotten. How puzzling. Edit: Added Lab description.

I wish I could wear this scent. I'm a big fan of spices, and this is a gorgeous blend of cinnamon-clove-ginger-spice-cabinet goodness. It happens to smell exactly like Celestial Seasonings Bengal Spice tea (which I haven't had for months, but from memory it does). The tragedy, though, is that I just can't take the way the cinnamon irritates my skin. It burns and itches, leaving raised red welts (this was on the back and inside of my wrists). However wonderful it smells, I can't justify doing harm to my skin for a perfume, so I can't wear this again until I get a scent locket (and if that ever happens, I will come back and edit this review). If it works in a scent locket, this might be a bottle purchase because it's just the perfect spice scent. I think it would be incredible for layering, too.

I didn't get much anise in this. For the first twenty minutes, it reminded me very much of lemon-eucalyptus-honey flavor cough drops, with a little mint. (I think what my nose interpreted as "eucalyptus" may be the wormwood.) It's a pleasant, comforting and refreshing scent even though these notes aren't normally my thing. After 20 minutes: just as I'm thinking "Hmm, this isn't very much like absinthe at all," the anise begins to emerge, along with a bitter note in the background. I like this take on absinthe but I don't think I'll need a bottle. My imp is going up for swaps, hopefully to someone who can give it a better home.

Thanks for your reply. Very interesting. I've never tried to create perfume myself but I've read about it a bit, and based on what I've read I thought it was a fairly safe assumption that BPAL uses synthetics. So yeah, I personally would've fallen into the "no such thing as cotton candy essential oil" camp. I know these are trade secrets and everything, but I wish I knew more about how BPAL makes their perfumes. But I'll stop hijacking this thread now.