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juushikaHalloweenies! I ordered my decants ordered through the forum; has interest in BPAL waned? does most of the online activity around it occur off-forum/on Facebook, I guess? it feels like such a different social atmosphere these days and circles are harder to come by—but my experience with this one was fantastic as far as anticipation/socialization/ease of use went, and I'm grateful for that. As for as the scents themselves: rather less hit than miss. I did end up making a follow-up Lab order, but just of Dead Leaves and Warm Sugar Cookies, Samhain (my old decant leaked, which is a pity, as it could have lasted me until the heat death of the universe—I love Samhain but it's so powerful), and Masquerade, which is a GC, but I'm out & I miss it. Almost ordered Dead Leaves and Red Carnations (review upcoming), but I have three other great carnation blends so it felt a little redundant. The Scarlet Horror was far and away my biggest disappointment/most controversial test, not because it's not pretty, but because I still want a weird/unsettling blood scent and this could have been it.
DEAD LEAVES AND WARM SUGAR COOKIES (LE, Halloweenie 2018: Pile of Leaves)
In vial: Dead leaves with a gentle sugary vanilla.
On me: Goes on as lovely sugar cookies, a pale, sweet vanilla with a warm bakery scent, not at all sicky or sticky. The dead leaves come out more in drydown, a gently outdoorsy, brown scent, not as vegetal as in some of the other Dead Leaves blends, but pleasantly non-foodie and tempering the sugar cookie. It's a beautiful and stable blend, very much "Dana O'Shee (milk, honey and sweet grains, but it's always smelled like almond snowball cookies to me) goes outside in autumn."
Verdict: Pretty, comforting, lingers on clothes as an earthy sweetness, palatable but unique—I'm seriously considering a bottle buy, and this is one of the better Dead Leaves I've tried. It's gently seasonal, but I can see myself wearing it throughout the year.
DEAD LEAVES AND PUMPKIN SEEDS (LE, Halloweenie 2018: Pile of Leaves)
In vial: Dryly vegetal.
On me: Goes on with pumpkin in the throw and leaves closer to the skin; the dead leaf note is obvious and gives a slight powdery, spicy edge to a nutty, slightly sweet pumpkin—very promising. But as this dries down, pumpkin predominates. It's not too waxy or powdery, which I tend to get from BPAL pumpkin, but it's pretty sweet and one-dimensional. Almost no throw.
Verdict: That initial nutty, toasted, vegetal pumpkin/leaves combo well fulfills the intent of this blend, but my skin chemistry renders this pleasant but unremarkable. Too bad!
DEAD LEAVES AND MAPLE SAP (LE, Halloween 2018: Pile of Leaves)
In vial: Dead Leaves and maple syrup, actually.
On me: Sweet maple syrup on top, darker leaves underneath, with a woodsy note and some of the tobacco-esque bitterness I've gotten from some of the dead leaf blends. As it dries down, those vegetal elements predominate—an almost bitter, rotting scent which isn't hugely strong or offensive but isn't particularly nice either.
On cloth: Distinctly maple syrup, strong and sweet, almost cloying. Great longevity.
Verdict: I can't get this to balance for me, and more's the pity, because it works so well in theory. I wonder if aging will help?
THE SCARLET HORROR (LE, Halloweenie 2018: Masque of the Red Death)
Blasphemous mockery: blood musk and vetiver.
In vial: Smokey, ashy.
On me: Goes on as a cool smoke/embers/ashes, a thin vetiver, slightly stronger than the vial scent. But on the skin, this warms into the most lovely musk I've ever encountered, red and sweet and fuzzy-smooth, like peach skin; intimate and warm, just slightly discomforting for its blood note. If the vetiver is present, it's just to tone things down—this retains a hint of coolness. But throw is minimal and wear-length is only around three hours, even when slathered.
On cloth: That same beautiful musk, but more animalic, more shallow, and less robust; a touch of vetiver. After a few hours, becomes a dupe for Satyr's musk.
Verdict: I find myself conflicted. I love musk, and this is a remarkable musk, a skin/golden/red combo which I wouldn't quite call blood but do sincerely enjoy. But it's awfully one-note, and fleeting. I'm curious about layering it with a vetiver-heavy scent to bring back that missing note.
DEAD LEAVES AND WARM SUGAR COOKIES (LE, Halloweenie 2018: Pile of Leaves)
In vial: Dead leaves with a gentle sugary vanilla.
On me: Goes on as lovely sugar cookies, a pale, sweet vanilla with a warm bakery scent, not at all sicky or sticky. The dead leaves come out more in drydown, a gently outdoorsy, brown scent, not as vegetal as in some of the other Dead Leaves blends, but pleasantly non-foodie and tempering the sugar cookie. It's a beautiful and stable blend, very much "Dana O'Shee (milk, honey and sweet grains, but it's always smelled like almond snowball cookies to me) goes outside in autumn."
Verdict: Pretty, comforting, lingers on clothes as an earthy sweetness, palatable but unique—I'm seriously considering a bottle buy, and this is one of the better Dead Leaves I've tried. It's gently seasonal, but I can see myself wearing it throughout the year.
DEAD LEAVES AND PUMPKIN SEEDS (LE, Halloweenie 2018: Pile of Leaves)
In vial: Dryly vegetal.
On me: Goes on with pumpkin in the throw and leaves closer to the skin; the dead leaf note is obvious and gives a slight powdery, spicy edge to a nutty, slightly sweet pumpkin—very promising. But as this dries down, pumpkin predominates. It's not too waxy or powdery, which I tend to get from BPAL pumpkin, but it's pretty sweet and one-dimensional. Almost no throw.
Verdict: That initial nutty, toasted, vegetal pumpkin/leaves combo well fulfills the intent of this blend, but my skin chemistry renders this pleasant but unremarkable. Too bad!
DEAD LEAVES AND MAPLE SAP (LE, Halloween 2018: Pile of Leaves)
In vial: Dead Leaves and maple syrup, actually.
On me: Sweet maple syrup on top, darker leaves underneath, with a woodsy note and some of the tobacco-esque bitterness I've gotten from some of the dead leaf blends. As it dries down, those vegetal elements predominate—an almost bitter, rotting scent which isn't hugely strong or offensive but isn't particularly nice either.
On cloth: Distinctly maple syrup, strong and sweet, almost cloying. Great longevity.
Verdict: I can't get this to balance for me, and more's the pity, because it works so well in theory. I wonder if aging will help?
THE SCARLET HORROR (LE, Halloweenie 2018: Masque of the Red Death)
Blasphemous mockery: blood musk and vetiver.
In vial: Smokey, ashy.
On me: Goes on as a cool smoke/embers/ashes, a thin vetiver, slightly stronger than the vial scent. But on the skin, this warms into the most lovely musk I've ever encountered, red and sweet and fuzzy-smooth, like peach skin; intimate and warm, just slightly discomforting for its blood note. If the vetiver is present, it's just to tone things down—this retains a hint of coolness. But throw is minimal and wear-length is only around three hours, even when slathered.
On cloth: That same beautiful musk, but more animalic, more shallow, and less robust; a touch of vetiver. After a few hours, becomes a dupe for Satyr's musk.
Verdict: I find myself conflicted. I love musk, and this is a remarkable musk, a skin/golden/red combo which I wouldn't quite call blood but do sincerely enjoy. But it's awfully one-note, and fleeting. I'm curious about layering it with a vetiver-heavy scent to bring back that missing note.
no subject
Date: 2018-11-19 01:59 pm (UTC)As for blood scents, have you tried "Blood" from the lab? I have it and enjoy it, although on my skin it doesn't register as irony blood. Maybe it would on you?
no subject
Date: 2018-11-19 11:37 pm (UTC)I've steered away from Blood because I'm not big on red fruits like cherry. I do like dragon's blood resin, despite its fruity-floral nature, but it definitely reads more "blood-colored/fun fake blood" for me most of the time (which is fun in its own way ngl). But sometimes I'm pleasantly surprised, like my experience with Blood Kiss, which shares a lot of notes, so Blood is in my "maybe one day, if I stumble on an imp" list.
no subject
Date: 2018-11-20 01:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-11-19 11:14 pm (UTC)Activity on the forum is WAY down, and there was only one Halloweenie decant circle I saw there this year (which got enormous, because there was only one). I think people are doing a lot more reviewing and discussing and even selling via Facebook, which bums me out because I hate Facebook and can't figure out how to use it. I remember when the LJ sales and swaps comms used to be really active too. It doesn't help that they redesigned the forum and now it's ugly and the search function doesn't work.
no subject
Date: 2018-11-19 11:30 pm (UTC)I'd like a scent locket one day! but this technique is more accessible and flexible, and being right next to the skin helps with throw.
That was pretty much my impression re: the forums and Facebook (I don't use it either), and it saddens me. I share memories of LJ as the social hub back when I actively collected; I probably won't be doing a ton of circles/swaps right now, but I wish that resource were still there.
no subject
Date: 2018-11-20 01:47 am (UTC)That was pretty much my impression re: the forums and Facebook (I don't use it either), and it saddens me. I share memories of LJ as the social hub back when I actively collected; I probably won't be doing a ton of circles/swaps right now, but I wish that resource were still there.
Yeah, I miss the community more than anything else. Friends used to do regular scent roundups and reviews, and I remember when someone new got into the BPAL scene a bunch of us would send them extra imps and it was just really fun. Facebook doesn't feel the same way to me at all (probably because I still can't navigate it, LOL).