purestmaiden_

Normally I tend to stay away from violet scents, but I've made it my goal to test every stray imp in my house while I'm working from home for the foreseeable future and I grabbed this one at random today. In the imp: Smells a bit like violet candies On my skin: A slightly sharp, non-powdery violet. On drydown: Pretty much a single-note sharp violet. This scent didn't match up with my expectations (I was hoping for more tea rose), but I still like it! The violet is not powdery on my skin and instead has a slightly sharp, metallic scent that I can't quite put my finger on- if I had to describe it, I'd say it reminds me of the "mercury" note in Shelley, Byron, and Keats. I may have to upgrade my imp to a full bottle!

In my bottle, this smelled very verbena-heavy. However, on my skin the frankincense and rose are the main players. They blend together to create a gorgeous, woody, incense-y rose scent. It's less rose-forward than other rose/incense combos like Rose Cross or Lorraine Cross. The verbena and angelica root are present in the background to add a bright, tart note to the scent and prevent it from getting too heady. It's a gorgeous, unique scent. Though it's got rose in the description and name, I'd definitely recommend it to those who aren't normally a fan of rose scents. This scent has medium throw but crazy wear length for me. When I wear this scent, I can still smell it on my wrists when I wake up the following morning.

I ordered this from the BPTP Etsy sometime in mid-2019. I had a very different experience than most of the other reviewers. I bought this hoping it would be a lilac-forward scent. Alas, this was not to be. On my skin, the lilac is very muted- it's just a tiny sprinkle of lilac water wafting through the background. Black amber is the most prominent scent, followed by oakmoss and violet leaf. I don't get any lily of the valley from this blend at all! It truly does smell like a dark, mysterious, and "blue" scent. It really does smell very elegant and high-end, though the scent overall is much more complex and interesting than standard "fancy" perfumes. Medium throw and very good wear length.

On my skin, this scent is predominately fresh grass and vanilla lace, underlaid with musk, lilacs, and honeysuckle. The combination of grass and vanilla put me in mind of last anniversary's Smug Yale Alchemy Lab, though this scent is more floral and a bit "darker" than that.

This was an interesting scent. Based on the name, I expected it would be very rose-forward. However, on my skin it's predominately cookie crumbs, black tea, and vanilla lace with a small whiff of tea roses in the background. It smells very foodie, like a Victorian tea party. I like it quite a bit but not at all what I expected.

On my skin, this scent is mostly dried rose petals. I get a very faint whiff of sweet rice (think rice candy) in the background with hardly any sandalwood- it basically just smells like a very fancy rose perfume. There's also another salty/buttery scent in the background. I really like it, though. It reminds me of the salty "tear" scent of The Spirit Bridegroom, though the roses of that scent smelled "fresher" than the dried roses here. They are similar enough that I wouldn't recommend buying both unless you are an indiscriminate hoarder of rose scents like me.

Normally I don't go for foodie scents, but this scent definitely changed my mind. On my skin, it smells like a sweet, extremely buttery yellow cake fresh from the oven. The vanilla note is the most prominent, followed by what smells like butter (sounds weird but this is not a complaint). I can slightly smell the currants if I reeeeeally sniff but they are a truly minor player in this scent. If you are looking for a more currant-heavy scent, I would suggest All Souls'. This scent is mostly cake, though that isn't a bad thing by any stretch!

I ordered this scent on a complete whim because I was intrigued by the "toadstools" note, and I wasn't disappointed. On my skin, it's primarily a honey scent with a whiff of cream while wet. The bog cypress and myrrh creep in to give a slightly herbal scent, almost like a wildflower or sage honey. As the scent dries, the rose becomes more apparent. It never overpowers the honey but it's always easy to pick out. The moss and toadstools ground the sweetness of the scent and prevent it from veering into "cloying" territory by adding a hint of vegetal "bogginess". Definitely wasn't sure if I would like this, but it's one of my favorite scents and I'm definitely going to need to find a backup (or two!).

I'm reviewing the 2019 version of this scent. This is the perfect sweet resin blend. The "polished woods" scent predominates, although as others have noted the scent is more evocative of, say, a bannister that's been polished by hundreds of hands running over its surface than a "wood polish" scent. Frankincense and myrrh round the scent out, and the vanilla starts to peek out on drydown (though it never predominates). Although my skin typically amps honey scents to "Honey SN" status, I actually don't get any honey from this blend at all beyond the general sweetness of the vanilla.

I agree with other reviewers that this is for orris lovers! On my hair, it's primarily orris and rose, with a bit of light blue musk floating in the background. It's a very light and ethereal scent, and it has good staying power but very low throw. I've never been able to smell the blackcurrant in this blend for some reason, but I also use a vaguely fruity-scented shampoo so it might blend into that.

I bought this scent on a whim, and what a pleasant surprise! Wet, it primarily smelled like sweet, boozy rum. Once it dried down, it smelled like a combination of carnations, rum, and whiskey with a hint of wood in the background to balance everything out. I did find that I had to let this one rest for a bit, though. The first time I tried it, it smelled like pencil shavings soaked in cheap whiskey. It wasn't until the second try that it really developed into a more balanced scent.

I found this scent to be very sweet and cloying on my skin. The brown musk, tonka, and clove were nowhere to be found- it was all buttered rum and sweet, sticky honey. It had great throw and long wear length. I liked it, although I don’t think I will reach for it much.

I was hoping I’d get grapefruit and bois de rose from this scent. In my decant it smells very musky with hints of clove and glass. The clove vanished as soon as it hit my skin and all I got was the lab’s “glass” note (which I love) and red musk (which smells like baby poop on my skin). If you like red musk and it plays well with your skin chemistry I think this would be a lovely scent! But it’s not for me.

Two of my first BPAL purchases were Candy Phoenix and Two, Five, and Seven, and back in the day I used to layer them sometimes. This smells EXACTLY like the combination of the two and I’m in love. It’s a perfect lush rose scent with a heaping helping of sugared currant thrown in!

I get sandalwood and balsam with a bit of ambergris and moss in the background. I agree with Atrous that it smells extremely “perfumey,” even though the notes read as very masculine. It had great throw and wear length on me. Normally, I’m more of a floral scent gal, but I enjoyed this. It’s also the first scent in a couple months that my guy has commented on, and he loved it. I’m thinking I’ll get a bottle since it’s very different from anything else I own.