Penetralia

[doomsday_disco]

The innermost or private parts. 

 

That heavenly spot where creamy, angel-pink hibiscus petals meet the pale, juicy-green pistil.

[Tay]

I really love Hibiscus and when I saw this had to snatch it up. This is right after purchasing so the scent has not had much time to mature. 

 

In the bottle: This smells like a sweet pink sugary candy. There is also something plant-like but it is hidden under the initial punch of sweetness. Juicy-green is a great description as it compliments that initial sweetness in and almost gourmand way. 

 

Wet: I smell delicious. Ha. It is much lighter than scents I tend to go for. Which is what I was wanting for a spring/layering situation. Sweet and clean. Still kind of candy like but that has lightened on the skin. I really love Shea moisture Hibiscus products. I keep catching whiffs and being reminded of that. So looking forward to wearing both and being a hibiscus goddess. 

 

Dry: This is becoming more floral. As though the blooms are opening up. Ah, no more gourmand feels. This is a sophisticated floral almost skin scent. I think whatever the creamy note is gives it that skin like smell. (Someone with a better nose will have to tell us about that) Still bright and femme but more complex than when wet and in the bottle. 

 

What image comes to mind? Rolling around in hibiscus flowers with a sundress on. Sticking your face right in a freshly bloomed flower. Catching whiffs lingering under your nose as you take a stroll on a beautiful day. 

 

So do I buy another bottle??? I'm thinking I might have to. I'll let this one mature a bit and see how it develops with time.

 

Edited March 31 by Tay
Spelling

[Tay]

Update!

 

The sweet crystal candy smell has subsided quite a bit. This is now fresh juicy crushed hibiscus flowers. 

Still sweet as hibiscus can be and since hibiscus is edible (love hibiscus tea) almost gourmand. However, I would say overall this is a fresh floral with soft foliage mixed in. Whatever the note is that gives it that creamy juicy smell is what ties this whole thing together. Good throw without being obnoxious. Dries down nicely.

Agh it's still hard to describe because how can something be almost gourmand, floral, and skin like? Idk but I will for sure be getting more. 

Edited March 31 by Tay

[kittystryker]

Straight out of the bottle, this definitely smells pink and sweet and creamy and delightful! There's a bit of that green juiciness too - on my skin it reminds me a little of the old Bath and Body Works Cucumber part of Cucumber Melon, but this smells more grown up and floral. As it dries, the fruity sugar candy dies down some to let the floral bloom forward. This is such a wonderful spring to summer scent and I love it! 

[Assimbya]

Sweet fruit nectar, very green and pink, with just an edge of floral and plantlike sensibility under the juiciness.

 

This is very fully realized but just so incredibly not me; it makes me think about how something that's been really interesting for me in exploring BPAL has been experiencing the way different perfumes seem to evoke different types of self-presentations to me, across all different arenas. BPAL has a lot of different variations on what ideas of femininity or masculinity can be or, or what sexiness or sensuality can be, and having the intensely visceral reaction to a scent of "that's me" or "that's not me" is fascinating. Penetralia feels like a sexiness that is just so alien to my own - this is frothy pink lingerie, clean contemporary girlishness. It seems like an edges towards more of a mainstream body spray type scent, but done with a freshness and naturalness that those products never seem to achieve. I'm sure there will be a lot of people who love wearing this (and I think of some in my life to whom I could give my decant!), but I am not one of them.