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BPAL Madness!

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Tolu balsam, angelica root, smoked tonka bean, brown sandalwood, bourbon vanilla, orris absolute, agarwood, and fig wood.

 

Murio-la-verdad-goose-moon-january-2025-

 

Francisco Goya

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I picked this up for the Angelica root.

 

This does indeed smell rooty. Dry, dusty and rooty with a nutty edge of what smells like cacao to me but is probably tonka?

 

I didn't get much bourbon upon initial sniff, but the bourbon and vanilla blooms quickly on my skin and becomes noticeable. There's eventually a slight sweetness I am assuming is from the fig wood.

 

The root note here is similar to other BPAL scents with root notes such as screaming mandragora, and The Wind and the Willows: Badger.

 

The nutty dustiness also reminds me of Haute Macabre: As Above.

 

Try this if you like the Haute Macabre, and Bloodmilk scents.

 

I like this after it settles on my skin. This smells like a drier version of Bloodmilk: Grief Moth part 1 on me.

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I purchased this in a sample size from a decanter.

 

In the vial: I get the balsam, woods, and an earthy scent that must be the angelica root. There’s a bit of an underlying alcoholic burn, presumably from the bourbon vanilla, but I don’t really get the note itself in the vial.

 

Wet on skin: Once I put it on, it’s mostly balsam, orris, and a slightly but not overly boozey vanilla. It’s more of a sweet, smooth balsam than a sharp one. The woodiness and earthiness of the other notes is still there in the background, but the balsam kind of overwhelms them at this stage.

 

Dry: During the dry down, a dark, fruity aspect comes out—probably the combination of the fig wood, agarwood, and the remnants of the balsam. The root note is also more prominent at this stage. It’s pretty dry and a little powdery. Unisex, maybe leaning a slightly masculine. This scent strikes me as being good for gray days in early spring when you need something that can hold up to cold but it’s past the point where you’re feeling something traditionally wintery.

 

Post-workout: Orris sometimes turns into baby wipes on me when I sweat, and it initially veers in that direction with this scent. It stops before going full baby wipes, though, and ends up more in teenage boy body spray territory. It could be better, but it’s not terrible. I think the balsam does a lot to balance things out and prevent a full on disaster.

 

Overall, I find this really pleasant, especially after it's dried, but I don’t know if I like it enough to full size after it reacted the way it did to sweat. I’ll enjoy using up the decant, though, and I could see it growing on me in the process.

 

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