hivesofbees

The top notes on this scared me. The sweet blast of mead, pumpkin, hay, and maple signaled "October craft store" to my brain --not exactly the vibe I was hoping for. However, on the skin, the sweetness subsides to a gentle background, the corn and woods start to come to the fore (and do I detect an unlisted orange blossom?). The vetiver brings a hint of dank earthiness that keeps things grounded. The overall effect is meadowy and sun-kissed, and I suspect this will work better as the days get shorter and the nights colder. For the moment, it's not quite a love but I do think I'll be reaching for it from time to time. My experience with BPAL is that often the top notes settle a bit as they age, so I am hoping this can be a real hit for me by next autumn (and I will update this review if so).

This one is a classics midcentury stonefruit chypre cast through a glass darkly. Think mitsouko viewed through Amber. Spicy plum tinged by salty abalone that dries down to a mossy, frankincense-y vase. Someone commented that this smelled like nag champa but personally I don’t really get that so much as mitsouko and dior poison frolicking in the sea spray. Very nice and I look forward to wearing it on summer and autumn nights!

What I mainly get from this is a strong lipstick accord that slowly becomes dirtier and muskier and mossier. Sort of a fabulous fantasy of hooking up with a boy who wears makeup. I bought this thinking it would be a nice gauzy spring fragrance but I think it will actually better suited for autumn nights as it’s definitely strongly waxy-powdery-musky. Fantastic but probably not for everyone! What I mainly get from this is a strong lipstick accord that slowly becomes dirtier and muskier and mossier. Sort of a fabulous fantasy of hooking up with a boy who wears makeup. I bought this thinking it would be a nice gauzy spring fragrance but I think it will actually better suited for autumn nights as it’s definitely strongly waxy-powdery-musky. Fantastic but probably not for everyone!