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juushikaAnother stack of BPAL reviews—I still have many more to go (nine new ones at least), but it makes me feel productive to post them and so I shall with what I have. (Furthermore, any distraction from this excruciating headache is a good distraction, and that certainly includes prematurely editing and publishing BPAL reviews, oh yes.)
Invaluable resource for my reviews: Wikipedia's color list, oddly enough. Yes, that means I'm indulging a tentative self-diagnosis for minor synesthesia, but no matter. Whether or not that's accurate is secondary to whether or not indulging it is useful, and it is that. Writing up my thoughts on Bengal, I was fighting back and forth for the right color name for the red that I got from it.
It's a shade of carmine. Who knew? The word is slightly more evocative and specific than "that dark but not deep brickish red color" and so highly preferable. It's not the first time I've used that Wiki list to track down descriptors for the colors in these smells, so if it works then I suppose it works.
Anyhow, I promised reviews.
MAGDALENE (GC, Sin and Salvation)
A bouquet of white roses, labdanum, and wild orchid.
This was a frimp from the Lab. I wouldn't have ordered it for myself: I've had unanimously bad luck with roses in the past, and predominant florals aren't to my taste. However, I did the tiniest test on the back of my hand and the roses didn't amp horribly, so I'm willing to give it a fair try.
In vial: Mixed florals, slightly sweet and slightly bitter—I expect the latter is a rose. It's not that pleasant in the vial, but I'll try it on my skin anyhow.
On me: Although the oil goes on almost indistinct, it quickly warms up, first growing sweet with a warm resinous base. The sweetness soon becomes floral, and the scent finally develops into fullness. The floral is mixed, and almost hard for me to pick out. In part, I think this is because the rose is not the bitter, screaming pink and red rose that I'm used to—instead it is pale and sweet, absolutely lovely. But it's not just rose: the orchid, I assume, complicates the floral with a darker, duskier note that gives the white roses a bit more depth. The labdanum is the basenote, not too rich, not too sweet, but providing a solid, somewhat warm base for the florals. Over time, however, the florals fade and the labdanum becomes the heart of the perfume. It's more of a "me" scent this way, richer, warmer, almost a little dusty.
Verdict: I'm surprised to find that I rather like this. White roses are a huge departure from the red roses that I'm used to, and unlike red they don't go sharp and bitter with my skin chemistry: instead, they are gentle and a bit sweet, much like real rose blossoms. The orchid is duskier, but it doesn't turn this into a heady mixed floral, but rather shadows in the scent. The resin is a lovely grounding note, and even though the blend suits me better after the floral topnotes have died down, it's pleasant and wearable from start to finish. The scent is mature, a bit subdued, a bit darkened, but overall almost desaturated, ghostly. I don't feel tempted to bathe in it to make it stronger—it's just naturally gentle. This isn't as distinct or as unusual as some BPAL perfume, and doesn't stand out of the crowd for me, but it is a floral I like and can wear, and it's turned me towards white roses. I'll be keeping it around.
NYX (GC, Excolo)
Night-blooming jasmine, warmed by myrrh, lifted by the promise of rose.
This was a frimp from the lab, and a blend that I've considered putting on my wishlist before. I have little experience with jasmine, but the overall concept and color of this scent seemed lovely. However, I have a bad history with rose, which tends to amp and go very bitter on me.
In vial: An airy floral that to me seems mixed, but that might just be because I'm not very familiar with jasmine and can't pick it out. Oh, and there it is, that promise of rose that scares me, the note peeking up from the background.
On me: There is no "promise of rose" here—the rose is strong and wavering between companion note and front-and-center. I really do amp this note. It's the same rose as in Chuparosa, which turns bitter and sharp on me, a combination of bright pink blossom and vivid greenery. Against it, the jasmine is indistinct and rendered into a generic, floating floral which makes up the background. The myrrh is jostling with the rose for first place, and is sweet and smoky. Over time, the rose tones down a bit, but it never dips into the background, never lets the other notes come to the forefront and blossom. I washed the oil off after an hour, so if the rose dies down further, I wouldn't know.
Verdict: I amp rose so much that I can barely give a review of this blend—my experience is clouded by my own body chemistry. If the rose were softer, the jasmine might be able to come forward and meld with the myrrh, and this blend might be pleasant. Instead, the rose is predominant, very bitter against the background sweetness of myrrh and florals, and far too sharp. The result is a chunky, overbalanced blend with an unpleasant primary note, so I'll be swapping this out to someone who, hopefully, has better chemistry for and better luck with this blend.
MAD HATTER (GC, Mad Tea Party)
A gentlemen's lavender-citron cologne unhinged by the feral pungence of black musk and a paroxysm of pennyroyal.
This was a frimp from the lab, and nothing that I would have picked out for myself. However, after looking up the notes I was intrigued. I like musk, and I like unhinged, unusual blends. But I'm fairly feminine, so masculine blends are both intriguing and a bit worrying. The citrus note above all scares me, but I'm also not a fan of mint. Needless to say, I went in to testing this with mixed expectations.
In vial: Citron, so strong and so sharp that I'm afraid to try the oil on my skin—but I never let a BPAL pass me untried. Behind all that lemon is just a touch of lavender, dry, herbal, a bit astringent (as of the blend needs any more astringency.) I'm getting no pennyroyal/mint in the least.
On me: Initially, this is unpleasant to the extreme—men's cologne, lavender certainly but mostly heavy on the citron, huge, intrusive, and eye-wateringly unpleasant. I only just dabbed it on, but now I want to get my hand as far away from me as possible to somehow hide the smell. However, over time (fifteen minutes) the citron recedes. First, the overpowering strength and throw back off to something more reasonable, but I still smell like Boy. Then, the citron nearly dies away, and the other notes have a chance to come out, in particular the musk and lavender. The musk is grounding, warm, and really quite lovely; the lavender is both softly herbal and floral, slightly sweet but not the least bit cloying or foody. If the pennyroyal is supposed to be minty in this blend, then I get none of it. In many ways, the evolution of this blend is like Casanova taken to an extreme: it goes on overwhelming and blinding, biting and far too strong, but finally dries down to something that I'd consider wearable.
Verdict: After the horror of the initial application, I was actually surprised by how lovely this blend turned out to be. When the citron dies away, it transforms: masculine in the darkness of the musk, but not overtly so; complex, herbal, a touch sweet, mature, a little bit unusual. This isn't so strictly a men's blend that I would feel uncomfortable (as a feminine woman) wearing it myself, at least in the final drydown stage. I'm also surprised at how different my impression is from the other reviews I've read: I get no mint, except perhaps in the hint of sweetness, and the citron is instead predominant. No matter—even with the lovely drydown, there's no way that I'm ever going through the biting, overwhelming, cologne-heavy cloud of smell that comes with the initial application, not again. Without the citron, I'd consider this blend for myself. As it is, I'll be passing it on.
MASQUERADE (GC, Bewitching Brews)
Patchouli, ambergris, carnation and orange blossom.
I love carnation, I recently discovered I like orange blossom, and on whole the notes and the reviews seem very promising. I'm looking for a good orange blossom BPAL, so I picked this one up.
In vial: The orange blossom is the only note I can pick out, a gentle, sweet, but distinct citrus. Everything else is just background "perfumey."
On me: The oil goes on smoky—probably the patchouli. It almost tickles the back of my throat. The carnation kicks up quickly, a spicy floral. These two notes tangle together, and there is no orange blossom. It's disappeared, and so there is no top note. The patchouli and carnation are low, smoky, spicy, and close to the skin. The ambergris is just barely there, a gray resin as a base note with little character of its own. Over time the scent dies down even more, leaving just a hint of incense and spice over the subtlety of ambergris. It's fine—the scent is a shadowed gray, the carnation is not a floral, just a hint of warm spice—but it hovers at skin level and is very faint.
Verdict: The notes were so promising, but the scent is a bit disappointing. I wish that the orange blossom stuck around—I imagine it could give this scent the throw and character that it needs, because as it is I only get a skin scent, like a combination of base notes that should be background to something, not trying to be a perfume on their own. It's pleasant, but faint and almost indistinct. I'll have to try this again and see if I amp it differently under other conditions or like it enough as just a skin scent, but despite how promising the notes are, I may have to pass this along. That's too bad—I had high hopes!
ETA: Over six months later, and my opinion has changed somewhat. The orange blossom still disappears on my skin, but with a touch of aging the ambergris and patchouli have come into themselves. They are slightly salty, earthy, a touch smoky; their scent together is subtle, like a thicker, darker, more alluring second skin, but the throw has increased. I still wish that the florals were stronger, and this scent is not quite what I expected from the notes. However, I have grown to love the combination of ambergris and patchouli enough that I don't mind—I wear it anyway, content with that soft cloud of very bodily, unexpectedly enticing scent.
BENGAL (GC, Wanderlust)
Skin musk with honey, peppers, clove, cinnamon bark and ginger.
Having discovered a love of pepper, I've been in search of a good spicy blend—one I can wear on its own, or layer under other scents.
In vial: It's hard for me to pin down, and not entirely pleasant. Ginger, I think, with a nondescript cloying perfumey smell in the background. Why do I always dislike the smell in the vial?
On me: At first, the only note that I can pick out is the pepper, which is very similar to the pepper in White Rabbit. But it's not particularly spicy—the background notes make it warm and sweet, almost soft and skin-close. To my nose, it doesn't change much during drydown and wear. The boyfriend says he can smell ginger, pepper, and honey; I only get pepper with that background skin-level warmth and sweetness—and maybe just the slightest touch of golden ginger. Within an hour or two, the perfume has faded almost to nothing, but it retains, just barely, at the skin level and in brief whiffs of an aura of scent: it's skin musk sweetened by the lightest honey, and warmed by spices but never sharp or hot: honey-golden and carmine red. It's pleasant, but almost secretive: the boy reported that he couldn't smell it anymore, and ten minutes rolled towards me and said that I smelled wonderful. It's only there right on the skin, but you catch whiffs when you wouldn't suspect it.
Verdict: This is far from the dominant spices that I was hoping for. I never get the cinnamon or clove, the pepper is warm and almost sweet, the ginger is smooth and golden. The base is the heart of this blend, a skin musk that ties the scent to skin level and the smoothest skin-warmed honey, not sticky or cloying in the least. The perfume is faint, low throw and low wear length. But for all of that, the blend is still nice—it's not exceptional, and it's not what I wanted or expected, but I like it and so does the boy. It may make a good scent for cuddling in before bed, when wear length doesn't matter and the skin-level scent would be most appreciated. I'm still on the hunt for a good spicy blend, but I'll probably keep this one around.
Invaluable resource for my reviews: Wikipedia's color list, oddly enough. Yes, that means I'm indulging a tentative self-diagnosis for minor synesthesia, but no matter. Whether or not that's accurate is secondary to whether or not indulging it is useful, and it is that. Writing up my thoughts on Bengal, I was fighting back and forth for the right color name for the red that I got from it.
It's a shade of carmine. Who knew? The word is slightly more evocative and specific than "that dark but not deep brickish red color" and so highly preferable. It's not the first time I've used that Wiki list to track down descriptors for the colors in these smells, so if it works then I suppose it works.
Anyhow, I promised reviews.
MAGDALENE (GC, Sin and Salvation)
A bouquet of white roses, labdanum, and wild orchid.
This was a frimp from the Lab. I wouldn't have ordered it for myself: I've had unanimously bad luck with roses in the past, and predominant florals aren't to my taste. However, I did the tiniest test on the back of my hand and the roses didn't amp horribly, so I'm willing to give it a fair try.
In vial: Mixed florals, slightly sweet and slightly bitter—I expect the latter is a rose. It's not that pleasant in the vial, but I'll try it on my skin anyhow.
On me: Although the oil goes on almost indistinct, it quickly warms up, first growing sweet with a warm resinous base. The sweetness soon becomes floral, and the scent finally develops into fullness. The floral is mixed, and almost hard for me to pick out. In part, I think this is because the rose is not the bitter, screaming pink and red rose that I'm used to—instead it is pale and sweet, absolutely lovely. But it's not just rose: the orchid, I assume, complicates the floral with a darker, duskier note that gives the white roses a bit more depth. The labdanum is the basenote, not too rich, not too sweet, but providing a solid, somewhat warm base for the florals. Over time, however, the florals fade and the labdanum becomes the heart of the perfume. It's more of a "me" scent this way, richer, warmer, almost a little dusty.
Verdict: I'm surprised to find that I rather like this. White roses are a huge departure from the red roses that I'm used to, and unlike red they don't go sharp and bitter with my skin chemistry: instead, they are gentle and a bit sweet, much like real rose blossoms. The orchid is duskier, but it doesn't turn this into a heady mixed floral, but rather shadows in the scent. The resin is a lovely grounding note, and even though the blend suits me better after the floral topnotes have died down, it's pleasant and wearable from start to finish. The scent is mature, a bit subdued, a bit darkened, but overall almost desaturated, ghostly. I don't feel tempted to bathe in it to make it stronger—it's just naturally gentle. This isn't as distinct or as unusual as some BPAL perfume, and doesn't stand out of the crowd for me, but it is a floral I like and can wear, and it's turned me towards white roses. I'll be keeping it around.
NYX (GC, Excolo)
Night-blooming jasmine, warmed by myrrh, lifted by the promise of rose.
This was a frimp from the lab, and a blend that I've considered putting on my wishlist before. I have little experience with jasmine, but the overall concept and color of this scent seemed lovely. However, I have a bad history with rose, which tends to amp and go very bitter on me.
In vial: An airy floral that to me seems mixed, but that might just be because I'm not very familiar with jasmine and can't pick it out. Oh, and there it is, that promise of rose that scares me, the note peeking up from the background.
On me: There is no "promise of rose" here—the rose is strong and wavering between companion note and front-and-center. I really do amp this note. It's the same rose as in Chuparosa, which turns bitter and sharp on me, a combination of bright pink blossom and vivid greenery. Against it, the jasmine is indistinct and rendered into a generic, floating floral which makes up the background. The myrrh is jostling with the rose for first place, and is sweet and smoky. Over time, the rose tones down a bit, but it never dips into the background, never lets the other notes come to the forefront and blossom. I washed the oil off after an hour, so if the rose dies down further, I wouldn't know.
Verdict: I amp rose so much that I can barely give a review of this blend—my experience is clouded by my own body chemistry. If the rose were softer, the jasmine might be able to come forward and meld with the myrrh, and this blend might be pleasant. Instead, the rose is predominant, very bitter against the background sweetness of myrrh and florals, and far too sharp. The result is a chunky, overbalanced blend with an unpleasant primary note, so I'll be swapping this out to someone who, hopefully, has better chemistry for and better luck with this blend.
MAD HATTER (GC, Mad Tea Party)
A gentlemen's lavender-citron cologne unhinged by the feral pungence of black musk and a paroxysm of pennyroyal.
This was a frimp from the lab, and nothing that I would have picked out for myself. However, after looking up the notes I was intrigued. I like musk, and I like unhinged, unusual blends. But I'm fairly feminine, so masculine blends are both intriguing and a bit worrying. The citrus note above all scares me, but I'm also not a fan of mint. Needless to say, I went in to testing this with mixed expectations.
In vial: Citron, so strong and so sharp that I'm afraid to try the oil on my skin—but I never let a BPAL pass me untried. Behind all that lemon is just a touch of lavender, dry, herbal, a bit astringent (as of the blend needs any more astringency.) I'm getting no pennyroyal/mint in the least.
On me: Initially, this is unpleasant to the extreme—men's cologne, lavender certainly but mostly heavy on the citron, huge, intrusive, and eye-wateringly unpleasant. I only just dabbed it on, but now I want to get my hand as far away from me as possible to somehow hide the smell. However, over time (fifteen minutes) the citron recedes. First, the overpowering strength and throw back off to something more reasonable, but I still smell like Boy. Then, the citron nearly dies away, and the other notes have a chance to come out, in particular the musk and lavender. The musk is grounding, warm, and really quite lovely; the lavender is both softly herbal and floral, slightly sweet but not the least bit cloying or foody. If the pennyroyal is supposed to be minty in this blend, then I get none of it. In many ways, the evolution of this blend is like Casanova taken to an extreme: it goes on overwhelming and blinding, biting and far too strong, but finally dries down to something that I'd consider wearable.
Verdict: After the horror of the initial application, I was actually surprised by how lovely this blend turned out to be. When the citron dies away, it transforms: masculine in the darkness of the musk, but not overtly so; complex, herbal, a touch sweet, mature, a little bit unusual. This isn't so strictly a men's blend that I would feel uncomfortable (as a feminine woman) wearing it myself, at least in the final drydown stage. I'm also surprised at how different my impression is from the other reviews I've read: I get no mint, except perhaps in the hint of sweetness, and the citron is instead predominant. No matter—even with the lovely drydown, there's no way that I'm ever going through the biting, overwhelming, cologne-heavy cloud of smell that comes with the initial application, not again. Without the citron, I'd consider this blend for myself. As it is, I'll be passing it on.
MASQUERADE (GC, Bewitching Brews)
Patchouli, ambergris, carnation and orange blossom.
I love carnation, I recently discovered I like orange blossom, and on whole the notes and the reviews seem very promising. I'm looking for a good orange blossom BPAL, so I picked this one up.
In vial: The orange blossom is the only note I can pick out, a gentle, sweet, but distinct citrus. Everything else is just background "perfumey."
On me: The oil goes on smoky—probably the patchouli. It almost tickles the back of my throat. The carnation kicks up quickly, a spicy floral. These two notes tangle together, and there is no orange blossom. It's disappeared, and so there is no top note. The patchouli and carnation are low, smoky, spicy, and close to the skin. The ambergris is just barely there, a gray resin as a base note with little character of its own. Over time the scent dies down even more, leaving just a hint of incense and spice over the subtlety of ambergris. It's fine—the scent is a shadowed gray, the carnation is not a floral, just a hint of warm spice—but it hovers at skin level and is very faint.
Verdict: The notes were so promising, but the scent is a bit disappointing. I wish that the orange blossom stuck around—I imagine it could give this scent the throw and character that it needs, because as it is I only get a skin scent, like a combination of base notes that should be background to something, not trying to be a perfume on their own. It's pleasant, but faint and almost indistinct. I'll have to try this again and see if I amp it differently under other conditions or like it enough as just a skin scent, but despite how promising the notes are, I may have to pass this along. That's too bad—I had high hopes!
ETA: Over six months later, and my opinion has changed somewhat. The orange blossom still disappears on my skin, but with a touch of aging the ambergris and patchouli have come into themselves. They are slightly salty, earthy, a touch smoky; their scent together is subtle, like a thicker, darker, more alluring second skin, but the throw has increased. I still wish that the florals were stronger, and this scent is not quite what I expected from the notes. However, I have grown to love the combination of ambergris and patchouli enough that I don't mind—I wear it anyway, content with that soft cloud of very bodily, unexpectedly enticing scent.
BENGAL (GC, Wanderlust)
Skin musk with honey, peppers, clove, cinnamon bark and ginger.
Having discovered a love of pepper, I've been in search of a good spicy blend—one I can wear on its own, or layer under other scents.
In vial: It's hard for me to pin down, and not entirely pleasant. Ginger, I think, with a nondescript cloying perfumey smell in the background. Why do I always dislike the smell in the vial?
On me: At first, the only note that I can pick out is the pepper, which is very similar to the pepper in White Rabbit. But it's not particularly spicy—the background notes make it warm and sweet, almost soft and skin-close. To my nose, it doesn't change much during drydown and wear. The boyfriend says he can smell ginger, pepper, and honey; I only get pepper with that background skin-level warmth and sweetness—and maybe just the slightest touch of golden ginger. Within an hour or two, the perfume has faded almost to nothing, but it retains, just barely, at the skin level and in brief whiffs of an aura of scent: it's skin musk sweetened by the lightest honey, and warmed by spices but never sharp or hot: honey-golden and carmine red. It's pleasant, but almost secretive: the boy reported that he couldn't smell it anymore, and ten minutes rolled towards me and said that I smelled wonderful. It's only there right on the skin, but you catch whiffs when you wouldn't suspect it.
Verdict: This is far from the dominant spices that I was hoping for. I never get the cinnamon or clove, the pepper is warm and almost sweet, the ginger is smooth and golden. The base is the heart of this blend, a skin musk that ties the scent to skin level and the smoothest skin-warmed honey, not sticky or cloying in the least. The perfume is faint, low throw and low wear length. But for all of that, the blend is still nice—it's not exceptional, and it's not what I wanted or expected, but I like it and so does the boy. It may make a good scent for cuddling in before bed, when wear length doesn't matter and the skin-level scent would be most appreciated. I'm still on the hunt for a good spicy blend, but I'll probably keep this one around.
