Jarek

RANGER Untamed wilderness: buckskin accord with Terebinth pine, Russian birch, black ironwood, elder bark, hay, armoise, juniper, patchouli, galangal root, Spanish moss, and cabreuva. I've had this frimp since 2020 and the only reason I haven't worn it out yet is that I have so many Imps, because I really really like it. In the Imp and wet on my skin it's very very woodsy with some patchouli, I can't quite make out individual tree types or the buckskin, but it is very woodsy and maybe a little green and the patchouli blends quite well, like it doesn't smell at all like regular/plain patchouli (I do like patchouli though). As it dries down & evaporates some of the woods filter out a bit, like maybe the pine goes, it gets slightly less green, still has the blended patchouli, a bit of the buckskin comes through I think but not very much. Really lovely scent. Now that I'm way more into collecting scents I'm putting this one down for a bottle.

I picked this one to try and I'm not the biggest fan of it. In the imp, wet, dry, a few hours later, it stayed pretty consistent. I was hoping what I didn't like would just be an initial scent thing. I don't know if it's the florals or the woods, though I suspect the florals, but I get this slight "stinky" sweet smell from them, though not as stinky as the (presumably) florals in the Bayou I tried the other day. That one changed as it evaporated into a scent I really liked, this one did not change at all. It's kind of powdery too, like a heavily floral scented baby powder. Not really enjoying it. I tried wiping it off and putting on my Cthulhu which is a lovely mostly aquatic scent that I adore, but I didn't get all the Arkham off plus I think some stayed on my hoodie sleeves, and the combination wasn't terrible, in fact I kind of liked it. I do like the aquatic & floral combo of Bayou after it dries down for an hour or so, this is a different set of florals with some woods, but it goes quite nicely with Cthulhu. I might try it with R'Lyeh (another aquatic) too. Don't think I'll get a bottle though.

This was a frimp and I was initially skeptical because of the rose, and I only sometimes like perfumes with spices so far. In the bottle and wet on my skin, and after drydown too, it all held pretty much together, maybe losing a bit of the rose but staying musky and spiced. But yes all three are present and they're well balanced, and they go very well together. I actually really like this one. I might even get a bottle of it. :3

In the bottle and wet on me, and for roughly an hour after application, there was this kind of sweet stinky scent going on that was admittedly off-putting. Though not bad enough for me to wash it off. I'm not sure if it was the florals or the evergreens or what. About an hour afterwards and for the rest of the time the "stinky" went away and what's left behind is a lovely aquatic with some florals and maybe a bit of trees. Really, really liked it at this stage. Not so sure it's worth waiting an hour to get to it though. Sad because I picked this out to try and I really like aquatics.

This one in the bottle and wet on me starts out kind of fruity and sweet with something smoky, and I'm not entirely sure what I think about it. But it's not bad, I'm just not sure I like the sweet-fruity scent mixed with the smoky one. Dry on skin it's still got that but some of the wood/cedar is coming through, and I think I recognise the saffron from another perfume with it. I'm liking it more at this point. The cedar and saffron and smoky combo is like... herbal/spiced/woody sort of. A few hours later and the fruity tangerine is quite faded, there's a lot more cedar, the smoky scent is kind of reduced too, saffron still there. It's very nice at this point. I think I like this one, not sure about a bottle yet but I'll be wearing it again and might decide to get one. Very much enjoying a lot of these Picnic at Arkham scents. Edit: the smoky scent could be the vetiver but maybe could be part of the "black" amber? On first drydown, the tangerine fades but not massively, but it becomes part of the overall blend instead of standing out way ahead and I quite like what the perfume has turned into. Even when it's mostly gone there's still something a bit sweet about it, and it's nice, offset by the cedar and amber. I think I might get a bottle of this one.

I the Imp and wet on my skin it's Irish cream liquor in coffee, with the liquor smell being very very strong, and this sort of weird bitter-ish scent I can't quite place on top of it. I bought this Imp specifically to try and while it's not enough to make me wash it off I am definitely already reconsidering keeping this in my collection. Dry on my skin a few hours later and the coffee scent is nearly gone entirely, the creamy Irish liquor smell is mostly reduced to something less creamy and less sweet and not nearly as powerful, and I can tell that the "bitter" scent from earlier is actually the old books smell! Which I really, really like. At this stage the perfume is very enjoyable and I am sniffing my wrists a lot. If there's oak I'm not very good at detecting it, I mostly get old books. Unlike most of my other perfumes I have not reapplied this one throughout the day, as the initial experience was not very enjoyable to me. I'm still going to explore other liquor, coffee, and definitely "old books" scents, but I might set aside this Imp for gifting or swapping.

@ShadowEtienne Wow thank-you so much! Yes, Cthulhu is really fantastic, and I'm very tempted to get the beard oil as well, though I only grow out a beard sometimes. If I had hair left I'd get it as a hair gloss (if that were available) too. xD Nyarlathotep and Lightning are in my "interested in trying out" private wishlists, and I will definitely consider these two specifically for my next order from BPAL. I'm quite interested in aquatics in general, and the overall Arkham series, in fact I have three more from that series though with very different scent profiles to still try from my last order. I had not picked up on potentially liking Night-Gaunt, I'm less certain I'll like florals but Vicomte de Valmont has florals and today I just tried Veil (sandalwood & florals) and I quite enjoy that, so I appreciate the suggestion very much! (Not to mention I did not realise it's potentially in the same scent family!) And thank-you so very much for the suggestions from the discontinued and LE scents, including the further Arkham series ones, but also just all of them. I will add them to my posted wishlist and keep an eye out for them from folks selling from their collections. :3

I got this one as a frimp in my recent order, and I wasn't certain about it as I'm not certain about liking florals, but I do like sandalwood In the imp & wet on skin: oh my, the sandalwood! I can tell this is a floral too, and those notes are definitely very present and not drowned out, but I find the sandalwood very prominent. Which I like a lot. I'm less experienced with what most of the florals smell like, I do know lavender and lilac, I'm kind of meh on lavender and I like lilac, but I find the florals overall are blending together and with the sandalwood that I can't quite pick out even the notes I should know. Dry on skin: warm sandalwood, with floral accompanying. I actually really like this. It is gentle and quiet. A couple hours later: That kind of creamy sweetness I associate with sandalwood has faded to be much less prominent. But it's still very much present, just more blended with the florals. I still like this but maybe a bit less than I did an hour and a half ago. I might update this again after wearing it even longer, I think this one fades quite quickly in general and I want to see if I'm right. I am not sure I'll get a bottle of this, but yeah I like it a lot more than I thought I would. Edit: So it continues fading but not as quickly, it stays floral + woody without the very noticeable sandalwood sweet/creamy features I associate with white sandalwood oil. It might still be noticeably sandalwood just of a different type, but it's still different from how it starts out. This is okay though as it still smells quite lovely. Still very soft and gentle. I was very much not expecting to like this one at all, and it was a random frimp, and now I'm thinking of getting a bottle of it.

I am still very new to BPAL, I can put together a list of four that I want in bottles (or have in a bottle) but I will talk about other imps I have as well. Cthulhu - I just bought as my first bottle. (seaweed, oceanic plants and dark, unfathomable waters) Y’ha-nthlei - imp just tried the other day and though it's pretty close to Cthulhu I think I like it enough to get a bottle. (the deepest marine notes with bergamot, eucalyptus and foamy ambergris) Vicomte de Valmont - I have used up this imp finally and I am sad because I really really like it and now I have to wait to get a bottle. xD (ambergris, white musk, white sandalwood, Spanish Moss, orange blossom, three mints, jasmine, rose geranium and a spike of rosemary) The Apothecary - frimp that just arrived with my last order and I tried it today and I am very enamored with it. (Tea leaf with three mosses, green grass, a medley of herbal notes, and a drop of ginger and fig) Imps I like but not quite enough to get a full bottle (though I might change my mind): Ranger, Cairo, Scales of Deprivation, Famine (this is discontinued anyways), Whitechapel, The Black Rider, Dee, The Antikythera Mechanism, Iago, Fighter, R'Lyeh (I thought I'd really like this one, and it's very nice, but not as good as Cthulhu to me). Imps I have that I am less of a fan of but have still been wearing: Czernobog, Imp, Oberon, Sherlock Holmes, Mad Hatter, Scherezade, Bloodlust, Snake Oil (I really wanted to like this one, and it's kind of growing on me, but I don't know.) I have a few more imps that I bought & received to try out, and I have been going through some rec lists here for things & looking at stuff on the site that has notes I might like or want to try, and I've amassed a private wishlist of well over 100 scents in stock currently to try out . xD But I'm very interested in further suggestions, especially from LEs or discontinued or out of stock or whatever that I might look to obtain from BPAL collectors. :3

I received this as a frimp in my last order, but then I realised I had put it on one of my wishlists to try, I've been wanting to try some green perfumes. So I decided to try it today! Green and herby and a bit of a tang in there, maybe the moss or tea? Or even the ginger? That's in the bottle and wet on my skin. Very green and herby and lovely. Not quite citrus or sweet but something feels close to that. It fades a fair amount after five or six hours, I can still smell a bit of herbs and maybe moss on my skin, though I'm less familiar with moss scents so far, and it loses the near citrus/sweet notes. I agree that this is likely a better one to not overwhelm others' noses when out and about. And yeah I'm still learning the gender of scents but I thought this one seemed androgynous and it looks like many reviewers agreed with me.

It definitely smells a bit like Cthulhu but different too. I find this one closer to Cthulhu than R'lyeh (which is also compared to Cthulhu) but in a way I really enjoy and, though I am not certain yet, might lead to me purchasing a 5mL bottle of this. In the bottle: those notes I am recognising as "dark aquatic" like in Cthulhu & R'lyeh but with some elements of... I want to say plant-ish-ness, which Cthulhu also has just different kind of plants, and also this is more "warm" in a way. Wet on skin: More of the same, not really detecting a lot of ambergris but I still don't fully appreciate what ambergris smells like outside of one perfume so far. There might be some bergamot? I'm less familiar with eucalyptus. Dry on skin: the aquatic sharpness is toned down a bit and the other stuff is coming through a bit more. I think I'm getting more bergamot and some ambergris. It's a lot of what I like about Cthulhu, again, but slightly different. Six hours later: I'm definitely noticing the ambergris scent more, what I've been able to recognise as ambergris. Bergamot and "plant" are a bit more noticeable too, moreso the bergamot. The aquatic notes are still there but very much toned down. I quite like it. :3

I have no idea when my little Imp of Snake Oil was made, but I'm going to presume 2024 as it's when I bought it. In fact it arrived just a couple days ago! Snake Oil is very much unlike most other BPAL perfumes I've tried, though the dark spices reminds me of a couple that aren't entirely my favourites, but I thought I'd give it a try after reading the description. I'm still pretty new to BPAL so I didn't realise all the history surrounding this one until quite recently! It's fascinating. :3 Well, on to the review! In the imp: spiced vanilla musk with a hint of patchouli. Like really exactly what it says in the description. The spices and vanilla are most prominent but everything else is there too. I'm still learning the smells of things but I think I've tried enough to be able to pick these notes out. I like it! Wet on skin: more of the same, a touch more spices and patchouli. Not getting sugary, vanilla isn't coming through as strong or sweetly, it's a pretty dark scent overall and I'm liking it a lot. Dry on skin, 1/2 later: Vanilla is mich more subtle, like still there but it's blending so well with everything, mostly underneath everything. There's some patchouli base to the spices and musk but it's mostly spices and musk now. With hints of vanilla and patchouli. I haven't been super into spiced perfumes from BPAL yet, though I want to be, and I find I quite like this one so yay! Not sure yet if I'd get a bigger bottle but I've got time to decide and figure out how I feel about it. I'm going to enjoy wearing the Imp. Edit: so I have a slight change of opinion after wearing this all day. Still going to wear out the imp I think. Like that's the goal. But maybe I won't. We'll see. Like I really wanted to like this one, it sounded amazing and I do like vanilla. But the vanilla kind of fades away really quickly on me, and I'm not so big on the remaining blend, even though I like all those notes individually. Less so on spices but I sure do like some spices. So yeah, unfortunately I don't think Snake Oil, at least this version of it, is really for me. I'll give it another shot in a few weeks to a month, maybe it needs to settle from its journey through the mail. Edit 2: So I still smelled it a bit on myself the next morning despite showering the night before and sleeping and it being at least 12 - 16 hours since my last application, and you know I think the vanilla is still there, and has possibly been there the whole time, I just find the spices especially kind of hide most of what I think of when I think of vanilla. But it's one of the longest lasting components, I think. So yeah I will revisit it a few more times anyways and get back to either write a new review or just add to this one once I get a better grasp on it.

I'm terribly interested in how folks are dividing scents according to gender, and in how those trends have changed over time. I'm trans and nonbinary and I started out as a pretty feminine nonbinary trans guy, for years now though I have been presenting more masculinely and I've been on testosterone for years and I am read very often as a man in look and voice, but the smallest things can get me read as a woman instead, like what hat I'm wearing or if I have a colourful face mask or a bunch of colourful pins on my bag. I don't mind that as I am a man and a woman and also a few types of nonbinary, but I'd like to know what I'm doing more on purpose! Like I really think sometimes my BPAL gets me read more as a woman, or maybe as a man, and I'd like to play with that more intentionally. I also think it likely differs by culture, as in my scent might be understood as "masculine" by my western colonial culture but another different culture might read it quite differently. I like some of the things listed on BPAL as "masculine" or similar, but not exclusively, and I ordered an Imp of Snake Oil because I think it sounds amazing and I'm excited to try it out. So far I really like Cthulhu, Vicomte de Valmont, Famine, and Ranger, but also Cairo, Scales of Deprivation, Dee, and Imp. I think tomorrow I'll try Snake Oil and see if I like it, I suspect that I will. I'm not personally a fan of Oberon but I think that's personal preference more than it being too "feminine".

I don't have allergies but I have always been pretty easily overloaded by most perfumes & colognes I've encountered from stores, and I don't like to layer too many scented products on my body at once. I can get headaches or nausea or just generally be very overstimulated and need a quiet and scent free zone to come down in. So it's pretty relieving to read that many other people experience similar issues! Like, I don't know if I could ever work in perfumery, just being around so much or certain ones could totally take me out. I've never worn perfume or cologne before aside from very very simple oils when I was younger, like vanilla. And scented ailes of perfumes or cleaning products are so bad! (And yet I love aquatics!) I never thought I might be reacting to certain scents or oils though. I've never really narrowed it down. So far every BPAL perfume I've tried I've either liked a lot, liked okay, wasn't a fan of, etc. or whatever, but nothing that sets off headaches and nausea. I'm wary of layering scents, but maybe that's never been my true problem? I'm so curious now what sets me off! And I have noticed increasing tolerance as I age, and presumably my sense of smell deteriorates. But things still smell pretty powerful to me! I'll definitely look into this more, especially if I encounter something through BPAL that does set me off worse than mere preference.

My first review! Not my first BPAL perfume oil, but it is a new one from my new order that I just received yesterday! And I am a new member! I am rather unpracticed in the ways of perfumes but I have been doing a lot of reading. :3 In the imp: wet and sweet, a lot brighter than I was expecting, given my past experience with Cthulhu (which I love). I don't get "grapefruit" but I can see why others do. Wet on skin: more pronounced sweet & wet, but those aquatic notes are way more noticeable. I tend to enjoy aquatic scents and this is no exception. Dry on skin: The sweet is mostly gone and it's a bit darker now but still makes me think of other products that often use aquatics, like how they're commonly put into laundry soap. But not saying this one is soapy or makes me smell like laundry! Just, very much aquatic. Which I like! (Hi I only recently started researching perfumes & scents, I knew I often liked "rain" and "water" scented things and I really like Cthulhu, so now I know more about aquatics and it's so cool!) I reapplied and do quite enjoy this one, but I don't think I like it enough to get a 5mL bottle like I did with Cthulhu. But it may grow on me more as I continue to wear it, I do fully intend to wear out the Imp.