quantquill

I've tried this twice (once a small patch test, and a few weeks later, on the front and back of both wrists). It's a pleasant scent on me, but everything blends into a "sweet sunny flower" without being able to smell distinct components. I'm not a fan of florals, I prefer more amber, more spicy, so I think this one should go to a more discerning home.

Yum, as expected. It's a tart peach with some greenness and a hint of candy sweetness from the pom. I purchased a partial through the forum, wasn't sure about the combo of geranium and musk with the fruits because florals can tend to take over everything, but this is lush. I have so many bottles I try not to get duplicates but could see myself slathering this one everywhere and going through it fast so I'll be on the lookout. It's not really a "perfume" scent. If I really slathered this on, I could see someone in the breakroom at work sniffing the air and asking, "did someone bring in peaches today?" As it dries down, the "fresh green peach" scent begins to meld with pom and spicy geranium (I don't really know what spicy geranium smells like, but I know pom, so...) and it's still amazing. I'd love body lotion and body/hair oil in this scent. Something about how fresh and green it is makes me feel happy.

I got a 2009 bottle of Faiza in June 2024, gave it a wear test on Aug 8, 2024. Objectively, Faiza is a lovely scent. My skin amps jasmine and gardenia, which I thought wouldn't be a problem with so many other notes. Unfortunately, it's a duo-note blend on me. Faiza has excellent longevity. Usually my dry skin gobbles up everything fast, but after an hour of heavy florals, I slathered on Sugar Me Sweet's Marshmallow Musk to tone it down. The delicate sugary musk tamed the florals, but I had hoped to experience the blackberry, vanilla, citrus, musk, honey, amber, bergamot, ti leaf, in addition to the Jasmine-Gardenia Show.

Received an imp as part of a destash and it's blackberry, currant and vanilla from start to finish. Love it! I would also have loved some incense, but I only put a dab on one spot to test it. When I do my normal all-over slather it may have more of a chance to develop. If it stays this lovely on the full wear test, I see a full-size in my future (thank goodness it's GC!).

If I loved floral, this would go in my top 10. On my skin, chamomile and violet are distinct and complementary. Bergamot adds a bit of sweetness. I can't pick out primrose, rosewood or sandalwood, but the musk is adding a hint of "clean skin" without being at all soapy. It's a beautiful scent. Since I prefer gourmands, sweet fruits, and spicy-spicy and can't see myself reaching for this, I'll pass along the imp to someone who appreciates florals.

This was a BPAL full-size purchase in March 2024. I love Dorian (have it in hair gloss, imps, a 5ml); I've tried two sufs and my skin chem pulled out a "cheesecake" type of note on one, I'm aging that one a while longer, but I have utmost faith in Dorian (and am new enough to BPAL that I've never smelled the OG version, and love the new one without reservations or comparisons). Okay, rationale and backstory out of the way, what does it smell like? <eyes roll back in head> Incredible. Delicious. Sexy. Not really gourmand, though I do get a whiff of "fresh doughnut" like a Krispy Kreme with the Hot. Fresh. sign flashing. A bare hint. More strongly, there's something peach-like, both the firm, ripe, sweet flesh, and a hint of greenness, like the stem and a single leaf were still attached. Glorious vanilla and musk surround and cushion the sweet and fried notes. Fantastic.

Reviewing this as a scent and my mental image of its confidence-boosting properties, since I didn't wear it in public. Received a 5ml as part of a swap, and ended up waiting about 3 months before trying it. I'm reviewing it based on my experiences without looking at the notes, and then concluding with some comments on the notes. 8-) In the bottle: Golden, floral fruit (peach or mandarin leaning). Delicious. Can't wait to skin test! Wet: (Tried on my left arm only; small amount on back of wrist, front of wrist, back of hand). "Gold" but also a bit sour, heavier florals than expected, and cedar chips. Hm. That's really not what I expected from the bottle sniff. After 5 minutes: Cedar is gone. Getting incensy floral (a bit like geranium). Still a bit of sour lingering, the way sandalwood can occasionally go sour on me. Does this have sandalwood in it? I'm wary of sandalwood after a few hurtful experiences, but I bought this back when I was exploring scent notes. Where's that fruit? I love that citrussy yum from the bottle. 😥 Walked around the house to get away from the "scent cloud" where I applied it and clear out the ol' nose. Got distracted making coffee and petting kittehz. After 30 minutes: Most of the heavy floral is gone, leaving a headiness that reminds me still of geranium mixed with sunflower. A hint of sharpness, like orange peel without sweetness. But I can also pick out frankincense (love frank! it's in half my collection) and maybe some myrrh? Or other similar type of churchy incense. Wow this blended down. Okay, what's in it? Thoughts about scent vs listed notes: Wow, I definitely identify frank and orange peel (and orange in the bottle), but the rest are a mystery, since I don't know them individually and this is blended into a nearly seamless whole. Where's the geranium coming from? Is that the combo of rosemary with safflower and rue? I'm so ignorant of what flowers smell like since I don't tend to like florals. There seem to be a lot, but looking at the notes reminds me why I chose to try this one -- hoping for dominance from clove, frank, orange, rosemary, vanilla and benzoin. And there were no reviews, so I took a chance. So this review may hopefully help anyone else considering this purely for the fragrance. About the intent (exalted confidence): I can *definitely* see how this would inspire big-ovary energy. It makes a statement. I picture a 40 year old woman in a navy skirt and white blouse, no jewelry, a hint of cleavage showing, hair up in a bun, discrete makeup with lips more red than pink, wire-rimmed glasses where the wire picks up a rainbow sheen in the harsh light, at the Atlanta headquarters for an interview. She's riding the elevator to the 10th floor to meet with the heads of marketing, HR, and operations about her application to run the Chicago office. The elevator cab has half a dozen men and one other woman. They're all silent, the only sounds rustling of cloth as the men keep glancing at her, taking in the briefcase and cleavage, trying not to look like they're looking. She wears a small, confident smile, chin up, looking at the doors but aware of the attention. As the other woman exits on the 9th floor, she leans close and whispers, "good luck!" (This isn't really a "me" perfume, because as an extrovert, I don't ride elevators in silence... I'm saying "hi" to everyone, smiling, commenting on someone's beautiful scarf or great tie, asking if anyone else is getting off at the 10th floor. Also, I'm nearly old enough to be this interviewee's mother, but if I did have a daughter or niece her age, going for a big promotion of an interview, I'd have bought this for her.)

I have three imps of Bastet: newish from BPAL (with the new sticker that doesn't go all the way around), and 2 frimped through the forum (thank you to doomsday_disco and fiam). The oil color varies considerably -- the newest is a pale gold color, and the other two are 1) light orange, and 2) deep, red orange. (Here's a side-by-side comparison pic of the new one from BPAL and the darkest red-orange.) I skin tested (on my index and middle fingers) the dark red orange with the light gold to check for differences. 1) Light gold: amber, coconut, milk, and cardamom. Neither coconut nor milk are listed notes so that's pretty interesting. Milk doesn't smell good on me, heads toward baby formula, but the coconut, amber and cardamom are doing their best to stop it. Can still smell it faintly half an hour later. Considering the tiny amount of oil used on a tiny spot and my skin's tendency to swallow all scent, that's impressive. This would smell fantastic on someone whose skin doesn't curdle milk! 2) Red-orange: amber, almond/cherry, and... hello, is that you, jasmine? Almond/cherry is the dominant note when it first goes on, then the floral comes out to play and they have a little party. Faded after 15 minutes (again, used a tiny amount on a tiny spot). Reminds me of the cherry almond lotion my guy uses, which he uses because his mother has used it for years and he finds the scent comforting. I do not. If you don't have that scent association, you'll probably find Bastet amazing. I'm really glad I got to try them in imps before full-sizing. Because my Bastet hair gloss experience has been completely different, and I almost full-sized based on that. Bastet HG is divine. No coconut or milk or jasmine. Instead, I get amber, almond blossom, a teensy hint of sweet cherry, and a peaceful spice (maybe cardamom? I dunno, but it makes me sigh with contentment).

It is fascinating to read all the reviews and see how differently people experience Brisingament. BPAL frimped me on an order last year and I've tried it twice. This should work on me -- amber loves me. Apple blossom, myrtle, all good. But unfortunately, it doesn't suit me. Smells like a very traditional, expensive perfume, heady florals with an undertone of high-end powder, the amber slowly peeks out on drydown -- I agree with the "golden" description. Asked my guy to sniff my wrist. He leaned in for a big snootful and leaned back, coughed, and said, "That's some insane old lady perfume." So, yeah. Doesn't work with my skin chemistry, even though allll the notes should work on me. I appreciate being able to try it in a sample!

Reading all the descriptions in these reviews is fascinating! Many different interpretations. On me, it's a mild rose + a hint of spearmint + hefty dash of soapy mugwort. It definitely reminds me of an expensive bar of soap on the sink in an expensive hotel bathroom. Not for me, though I'm glad I got to try this out and see how it fared on my skin!

Very interesting. Wow. Not sure what lacquered bamboo should smell like, but I think maybe there's an astringency from the lacquer? Or possibly it's the earthiness from the mushroom. This is as far as possible from sweet. The tonka and smoked vanilla probably keep the oak, bamboo and mushroom in check. The more it dries down, the more I get some amber and smokiness. I don't get almond blossom, the whole is really well blended together. It's not a "me" perfume, but I appreciate it as a well-blended, earthy, slightly floral, woody blend (overall agree with zankoku_zen).

I picked this up in a destash, I'm not a floral lover overall, but I do love lily of the valley and tobacco flower, and figured sandalwood, oudh and labdanum might ground and mellow the rest. This is all floral, all the time. It's a lovely, delicate floral with lily of the valley forming a sweet base. It doesn't go soapy or powdery on me, it's just sweet, light floral. I'm more leaning toward gourmand and spice these days, but am really glad I got to try this one.

Starts off Jasmine jasmine jasmine. Dries down to jasmine, gardenia and a lovely bit of grape-heavy incense. If I loved florals, I would absolutely love this. It's rich and heady, no powder, no soap. Since I'm a gourmand girly and a spice fiend, I'll let someone else have a shot at it.

My very first BPAL order in August 2023 included a full-size bottle of Aeronwen because I was absolutely sure I would love it (also, there wasn't an imp, and I'd never heard of Ajevie, or IMAM, or the BPAL forum. Ahhh, I weep for my naivete). The first time I tried it, I wrote, "heady, dark, rose, sweet spice." Rose doesn't smell good on me, so I put it away to age. By then I'd found the forum and saw the advice about letting bottles rest a while. Just pulled out the bottle again. It smells sooooo good in the bottle. Dark and mysterious, musky and sweet figgy resin, with just a tiny hint of floral. On my skin, it goes straight to a cloying department store cologne base and dries down 20 minutes later to powder and cologne with a hint of something "purple" (probably the fig). Perhaps it's the redwood or the tarragon causing trouble? All the other notes work on me in other BPAL perfumes, but I don't think I've tried either of those notes. I sought out a second opinion because my partner smells things differently than I do. Put Autumn Song on the back of my hand, had Aeronwen on the back of my wrist. He stuck his nose against my hand and did that Gomez and Morticia thing from the Addams Family, inhaling deeply and moving his nose slowly along my skin, making happy noises. Until he got to the Aeronwen test patch when he reared back and said, "I don't like that one." Sadness.

I added an imp of The Raven to my BPAL order in November 2023, when I'd first started learning what smells good on me and what doesn't. Fast forward to now, and I would never buy something that has sandalwood, iris and neroli, because unfortunately, as much as violet and musk are yummy on me, the other three turn to generic department store cologne. Which is all I get from The Raven. Color me sad... but also it's kind cool to realize how much more I understand about how my skin chemistry interacts with certain scents!