juushika

(Finally remembering to post these about the time that I start reviewing my Lupers, oops. I imagine the Lupers will be my last order for a while? Until at least autumn next year, but I'm unsure if I'll do another cycle—I may have new purchases out of my system for a while & will be spending money on apartment things? Honestly didn't even plan to do Lupers, but I added a few blind bottles to my Yule order. Anyway!)

GINGERBREAD OUDH (LE, Yule 2018: Gingerbread Cotillion)
In vial: Lemony, not-quite-foodie gingerbread, not very sweet.
On me: Warm, slightly sweetened, lightly spiced, citrusy gingerbread, definitely the most lemony of the 2018 gingerbreads I tried. The oudh is distinct but difficult to pin down, a grounding resinous wood which develops as the scent wears: a sweet resin with a touch of wood and a breath of pine. It works well alongside the warm, smooth golden-brown of the gingerbread. It feels like a variant on the traditional Christmas spices + pine: spices which are more golden and less foodie; a pine which is more resinous and unique. But I concur that other reviews that the combo can go savory—I got more of it fresh out of the mail (so maybe aging will further tame it), but sometimes there's an impression of Indian restaurant-esque savory spices. Throw is low.
Verdict: Interesting! As noted, I imagine aging will benefit this; I like the non-traditional traditional combo. But it didn't really grab me.

GINGERBREAD, CACAO, AND CHAMPACA (LE, Yule 2018: Gingerbread Cotillion)
In vial: Dark, spicy, powdery gingerbread.
On me: Powdery, dry, sweet, spicy gingerbread + cocoa; it has a distinct "baking mix" vibe that reminds me a lot of the cocoa powder vibe I get from El Dia de los Reyes (hot cocoa with cinnamon, coffee, and brown sugar), plus the cocoa is a close dupe for that blend. Champaca come out in drydown but still takes second stage, a sweeter/more bodied/almost-woody base that grounds the powderiness a little.
Verdict: Like, not love. This goes too sweet (while still skirting foodie—it's pre-food, gingerbread dry ingredients) and too powdery.

GINGERBREAD, COFFEE BEAN AND SMOKED VANILLA (LE, Yule 2018: Gingerbread Cotillion)
In vial: Sweet, creamy, spiced coffee that I could almost read as cocoa.
On me: Warm, lightly spiced baked gingerbread against a creamy, smooth, sweet coffee. Maybe it's the vanilla which contributes that creaminess? I get nothing smoked, and the coffee definitely leans towards smooth milky Miskatonic University coffee rather than the drier roasted beans I get from blends like The Ta-Ta. I also don't get any citrus from the gingerbread, although I did fresh out of the mail—so it's probably doing subtle work in the background. 
Verdict: Lightly sweet, gently spiced, cozy, surprisingly smooth (and smoother than the other Gingerbread Cotillion blends I've tried this year, which have a powdery, spicy vibe); foodie but not cloying. I like it but don't love it.

Part one of three for Yule/Anniversary decants. I've been so slow to test, maybe because I had so many mild misses. Spoilers, but my probably-definitely (but-there-are-just-two) bottle orders will be First Lash and Eighth Lash. First Lash gets a free pass because I was also on the hunt for something frankincense-heavy, so it can effectively pull double duty, but I still wish it didn't morph! Eighth Last is so redundant in my collection, but I'd kick myself for letting "furry, feat. more fur" pass me by.

Redundancy in the Hearthflame and Incense & First Lash reviews just because these are ripped directly from BPAL.org.


HEARTHFLAME AND INCENSE (LE, Yule 2018)
Crackling almond wood and the deep sweet smoke of burgundy pitch, Austrian amber resin, black copal, and frankincense.
In vial: Dry wood, a hint of pine; a clean, outdoorsy scent.
On me: This starts out so beautiful—like the vial, but darker, smokier, more resinous. It reminds me of the woods in Samhain (damp woods, fir needle, and black patchouli with the gentlest touches of warm pumpkin, clove, nutmeg, allspice, sweet red apple and mullein) and, like Samhain, has a hint of pitchy/sappy sweetness. A sweet, woody campfire set deep in pine woods, outdoorsy, autumnal/wintery, rich and smokey and gorgeous. It's the bolder, darker cousin of the woodsmoke of First Last (Austrian black amber, woodsmoke, frankincense, and terebinth). But consistently at the 4 or 5 hour mark this goes sickly-sweet, that resinous sweetness amping to something single-note and cloying; it reminds me of a less fruity, more resinous take on the sweetness of The Gorobble (a scent redolent of the crusty exterior of burnt marshmallows).
On clothes: Lighter, less resinous, and sweeter than the skin scent, but doesn't do that 4-hour sweet morph—this amalgamates the total experience of the scent worn on skin. It's more stable, but weaker and less distinctive.
Verdict: If not for that sweet morph...! This is gorgeous; not at all Heartflame, very much Campfire; a cousin to Samhain in setting and vibe. But that strong sweet morph kills things for me.

FIRST LASH (LE, Yule 2018: Twelve Lashes from Krampus)
Austrian black amber, woodsmoke, frankincense, and terebinth.
In vial: Smokey, outdoorsy, a gentle touch of pine.
On me: The piney scent of the terebinth is outdoorsy, woody, resinous—not at all sharp, which is what normally scares me away from pine. It sits alongside a smooth woodsmoke which is very slightly sweet. It has a true bonfire vibe, a little more "burning wood while in the woods" than straight campfire/chimney smoke, but not complicated by a complete sketch of the surrounding forest. Compare to Hearthflame and Incense (crackling almond wood and the deep sweet smoke of burgundy pitch, Austrian amber resin, black copal, and frankincense), which is similar but stronger and darker, and which has a lingering note of resinous sweetness reminiscent of marshmallow char of The Gorobble (a scent redolent of the crusty exterior of burnt marshmallows); this is more true to life, less strong, a beautiful balance of woods to smoke. The longer it wears, the more I get the frankincense, almost but not quite a single note, with a touch of woodsmoke in the background. Throw is good; wearlength is 10+ hours.
Verdict: My favorite scent in the whole world is chimney smoke, smelled while walking in winter in the Pacific Northwest. This isn't exactly that—the fire is a little closer than my neighbor's chimney—but it's as close as I've gotten in a BPAL blend. The frankincense finisher is pretty, and I've also been looking for a frankincense-heavy blend, but I wish this kept its beautiful woodsmoke indefinitely. I'll still probably get a bottle.

EIGHTH LASH (LE, Yule 2018: Twelve Lashes from Krampus)
Matted fur, oakmoss, and clove
In vial: Woolly musk, a little musty; outdoorsy by way of oakmoss.
On me: I buy this as a fur scent—it's warm, slightly but not unpleasantly musty, earthy and animalic; definitely musk, but doesn't go sweet on me as musk often does. I usually read clove as prickly, but this is a subtle clove, normally only a background darkness, sometimes emerging to add a touch of spice. The oakmoss is herbal and outdoorsy, and has a scent-texture that blends beautifully with the fur. A stable, well-blended scent; decent throw and wear length. It left a sweet cola-like/resinous hint of scent on my clothes.
Verdict: This reminds me a lot of Ivanushka (soft, velvety fur and warm musk, brushed by forest woods and dusted by dry leaves), but where Ivanushka is a soft, downy, golden skin fur Eighth Lash is a thick, dirty fur—unwashed but not unpleasantly so; warm, embracing, like cuddling a huge beast outdoors. I'm not happy with the scent it left on my clothes, so I'll have to retest, but I'm leaning towards a bottle.

TWELFTH LASH (LE, Yule 2018: Twelve Lashes from Krampus)
Blackened patchouli, sweet vetiver, labdanum, and honey.
In vial: That sweet, caramelized feel from Zoe and the Goat (caramelized patchouli, cream, and thick golden honey), but the vetiver changes the base considerably.
On me: Zoe and the Goat comparisons are apt, mostly for the caramelization—the bases differ but the caramelization takes center stage. Bizarrely, but I get something almost cola-like from the caramel + labdanum—it's a sort of sweet/dark/resinous vibe which distinguishes this blend from ZatG. Not too strong, not too sweet, a little more nuanced than ZatG.
Verdict: Not for me. ZatG didn't work on me either, my skin amps the caramel and that caramel isn't to my taste. But it's the weird cola that kills this for me—I don't want to smell like that!

SCHIACHPERCHTEN (LE, Yule 2018: Perchtenläufe)
The Brutal Ones: dark chocolate, black pepper, and green cardamom.
In vial: Sweet, powdery, herbal/minty chocolate.
On me: Powdery, mildly sweet cocoa, peppered and herbal, with a grassy, minty topnote, without anything mentholated or sharp. I'd believe you if you told me this was a Thirteen—it has that same "complicated, herbal chocolate," if not as complex. (I'm probably comparing it most to 7.05 and  4.07 Thirteens.) The pepper brings a pleasant warmth. In one test, this went headachey on me; either way, it's potent stuff.
Verdict: Next time, google "green cardamon" in particular (spoiler: it's grassy and herbal! not the cardamon I was expecting.) This is pleasant but powdery, but I'm not big on mint. I would be interested to see it age; I wonder if the chocolate will go darker or the pepper stronger, if it'll become more "brutal."

SOCERAPHOBIA (LE: Yule 2016)
A scent of judgement and scorn: blackened vetiver, smug vanilla, and a dismissive, sneering dribble of black coffee.
In vial: Coffee.
On me: An entirely different beast wet and dry. Wet, this is a smokey coffee blooming into a sort of tobacco dirtiness; masculine, but not too cologne-y. Dry, this reminds me distinctly of over-applied Lurid Library (the incense-tinged scent of forbidden tomes and the musk-laden remnants of infernal servants), which goes almost floral and distinctly sweet while retaining that library/parchment scent; Soceraphobia is darker in shade and more intense, a sort of vanilla'd, masculine, bookish almost-floral. Throw is low and wearlength is minimal—not much more than an hour.
On cloth: For a few hours this is a whisper of smooth, rich vetiver with a vanilla sweetness, a little cologne-y and almost floral; no coffee to speak of. The lingering, long-term scent is much more potent, that overapplied-Lurid Library's darker, sweeter, more masculine cousin, a vanillic/incense almost-floral.
Verdict: A strange scent. It has so much potential, but that floral late-stage doesn't fulfill it, and it vanishes on the skin. That said, Lurid Library (when not overapplied) is one of my top ten scents, so the overlap in my impressions(/the notes?) intrigues me. All of these notes also age well. I'd be interested to come back to this in another few years and see if it's settled into itself.

THE PHOENIX, HAVING BURST HER SHELL (LE: Anniversary 2014)
A perfume of freedom, regeneration, and renewal: bitter orange and tangerine with warm patchouli, tobacco absolute, glittering amber, and white musk.
In vial: Bright orange, almost an orange peel, with something darker hiding behind.
On me: Wet, this sings—a bright, almost sharp citrus, a deeper and warmer patchouli, and an amber base—pungent, glowing, beautiful. Dry, the citrus loses some of that freshness. It's a patchouli base, an almost-traditional patch/amber/musk combo which is solid and bodied but not overpowering. This review is spot-on in calling it "a structural patchouli, a scaffold for the amber and oranges." Citrus is still the star, not juicy or sweet but dry, golden, warm, bright. Tobacco is a hint of darkness that flatters the citrus beautifully.
Verdict: One of the better citrus blends I've tried, particularly citrus/amber blends—I think because amber isn't the predominate base note; patchouli is, and it's a better base, less samey in texture and tone, holding up to the citrus and balancing it with something darker and richer. This is beautiful, a Klimt-esque dark/bright combo which has depth but also a glowing vivid heart. Part of me wishes the tobacco were a little stronger, or for a contrasting spice like pepper, to flatter the bright citrus even more.

CANDIED PUMPKIN (LE, Trading Post Halloweenie 2011)
Sweet pumpkin cooked with piloncillo, orange juice, brown sugar, cinnamon, fresh ginger, maple syrup, honey, and clove.
In vial: Sugar, spice, and a earthy pumpkin.
On me: An earthy, vegetal pumpkin—not waxy or sickly sweet, as BPAL pumpkins sometimes go, but sugared and backed by a mixed spice. It reminds me almost of mulled pumpkin—that sort of mixed, indeterminate, gentled spice, but over a pumpkin base. I sometimes get something weird out of it, a sharpness or a vegetal rot. Amazing wear-length.
Verdict: Given my description, I'd expect to love this, and it is pleasant; it's also the truest pumpkin I've tried. But the mulled-ness, that indistinct mixed spice, doesn't have the brightness or, well, spice that I want.

HORREUR SYMPATHIQUE (GC: Diabolus)
The perfume of a hellbound soul, gleefully lost to iniquity: blood musk, golden honey, thick black wine, champagne grapes, tobacco flower, plum blossom, tonka bean, oakmoss, carnation, benzoin, opoponax, and sugar cane.
A frimp from the Lab.
In vial: Bitter, sharp fruitiness.
On me: Wet this is a bitter, herbal resin over a dark, well-bodied fruitiness; ominous but surprisingly wearable. Dry, the wine comes out, slightly boozy, rich purple-red—but it's well balanced by benzoin/opoponax/oakmoss/tobacco flower, with a touch of beautiful blood musk. I get only a slight sweetness. This is a warm, deep wine against a multi-note resinous, almost-herbal, almost-bitter base that adds a productive complexity and darkness.
Verdict: I tested this right before I meant to shower because I expected it to be horrible or at least horrible on me; it's not! It fits the inspiration well, a dark, rich, ~evil~ wine; I appreciate that it's not a tart or sweet fruitness. This isn't remotely my style, so I don't expect to wear it again, but I'm pleasantly surprised.

DEAD LEAVES AND RED CARNATIONS (LE, Halloweenie 2018: Pile of Leaves)
In vial: What it says on the tin: dead leaves and carnations, spicy and vegetal and lovely.
On me: Carnation as it goes on, so distinctive, spicy and gently sweet and very red, with an undercurrent of dead leaves. Some of the carnation dies back during drydown, and this becomes a smoothly balanced blend: spicy red carnation, gently sweet and almost hot, against a drier, wider, more bitter, more vegetal and earthy base of dead leaves. It's simultaneously deceptively complicated and seamlessly united; a lovely blend. But throw and wear length are both pretty limited.
Verdict: I love this. The only reasons I didn't get a bottle are because of the limited throw & longevity, and because I have a lot of very good carnation scents already. Of them, this is closest to the Spanish Red Carnation single note, but replaces that carnation's freshness and greenery with the richer, earthier scent of dead leaves.

ZOE AND THE GOAT (LE, Halloweenie 2018: Pickman Gallery: Portraits of Genus Capra)
Caramelized patchouli, cream, and thick golden honey.
In vial: Smoky sweet patchouli.
On me: Liquid caramel, in the same vein as liquid smoke—a one-note but profoundly rich, burnt-sugar caramel scent; you wouldn't eat this—you'd put in a drop to flavor something else. Reminds me very much of a less floral Agrat-Bat-Mahlaht (amber, cream accord, white honey, apple blossom, skin musk, caramel, and teak), which either means that I amp caramel or that I'm getting the cream/honey from Zoe and the Goat and just can't pinpoint it. A stable, non-morphing scent; decent throw and wear length.
Verdict: Not at all my thing; it's simultaneously too strong and too simple. But I layered it with Fearful Pleasure (dried orange peels floating in simmering cider, roasted apples, smoldering firewood, chimney smoke, sassafras beer, warm hawthorn wood, and oakmoss) with great results, so I imagine I can use my imp precisely to add a drop of liquid caramel to other scents.

TWO OLD MEN (LE, Lupercalia 2016: Fleurette’s Purple Snails)
Sweet brown leather, cacao absolute, coffee bean absolute, and teakwood.
In bottle: Masculine, cologne-y.
On me: The same, a masculine, cologne-like scent, a little sweet, a little spicy, herbal, airy, aquatic—but mostly just "cologne."
On cloth: Still the same!
Verdict: Is this leather? is it Old Men? I've gotten this scent from BPAL before, not strictly from leather scents but often from their masculine blends. Whatever it is, it amps on me and/or I'm bad it's reading its nuance; regardless, I don't like it.

HORN OF PLENTY (GC, Conjure Bag)
Forces a change of fortune, helps overcome poverty and want, and helps attract prosperity, prestige and earthly bounty.
In vial: Sweet, gently fruity, with a hidden herbal note.
On me: A warm red scent, almost but not quite fruity-floral, certainly dragon's blood resin or DBR-adjacent, with a smooth, sweet cream or honey backdrop. It has a gentle spice, which helps complicate the scent. Distinctly similar to Dragon's Milk(dragon's blood resin and honeyed vanilla), but I find Dragon's Milk to be more intense, more sweet-but-spicy—a little harder to wear, but more interesting. Great longevity, but after a few hours this goes a little stale/sour/grape-like, echoing the cough syrup others have reported.
Verdict: Pretty and wearable enough that I wouldn't be adverse to wearing this for its intended practical use. As a perfume, it's a lesser Dragon's Milk.

MEAD MOON (LE, A Little Lunacy 2008)
Golden mead, fermented with gruit, nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, ginger root, sweet-briar, rosemary, and lemon.
In vial: A pale lemony amber with herbs hiding in the background.
On me: Goes on richer, warmer, sweeter. But the herbal elements predominate in drydown: astringent lemon and herbal top notes, a touch of spice and almost-fruity booziness, and a broad backdrop of golden mead.
Verdict: This has the wrong balance for me, reading in almost perfect reverse order of the notes, when what I really wanted was an ornamented, enriched honey.  Not for me, and tbh I ended up washing it off.


I'm gently regretting not getting a bottle of DL & Red Carnations, which I retested to finish off my review, and which I know will fade in another hour, but is right now so lovely. But, FWIW, and to soothe my own troubled soul:

Very Good Carnation Blends (Which I Already Have)
The Ta-Ta (boiled leather, carnation blossom, coffee absolute, and tobacco) dirty dark deep carnation
Morocco (Arabian spices wind through a blend of warm musk, carnation, red sandalwood and cassia) gentle sweet skin-scent-but-better carnation
Masquerade (patchouli, ambergris, carnation and orange blossom) romantic, mysterious, deep, shot through with the spice of carnation
Spanish Red Carnation SN—fresh-cut bright spicy carnation
Hod—if carnation were a sugar cookie, gentle and powdery and soft
Inez (golden amber, vanilla musk, myrrh, cedar, carnation, and red sandalwood) Morocco's sensual elder sister, rich and bodied and spiced

Runner Up
The Caterpillar (heavy incense notes waft lazily through a mix of carnation, jasmine, bergamot, and neroli over a lush bed of dark mosses, iris blossom, deep patchouli and indolent vetiver) sleepy carnation incense, mercurial and deep

I want a sweater and warm socks, but August is sitting on my lap so I guess I'll crosspost reviews and be cold for a little while longer :(

I haven't posted BPAL reviews in about a million years. Testing again has been an exciting and unpredictable adventure. It's not like being a newbie—my nose has improved—but I've grown rusty at conceptualizing notes; my tastes haven't changed, but I feel like BPAL quality maybe has. I don't know, maybe it's just that I've had a specific collection of hardcore favorites for so long, but very few new scents have really amazed me, and a lot of the LEs (I'm still working through my Halloweenies) have felt weaker in quality and literally weak in sillage/throw. But there's still some keepers and it's been giving me daily mini-projects, and I'm more than content with that.

Many of these were sent to me by radiantfracture!


HORSE CHESTNUT HONEY (GC, Rappaccini’s Apiary, Discontinued)
In vial: Woodsy, almost nutty, a light brown scent.
On me: Immediately sweeter, fuller, and very potent; a touch floral, very woody. It's not a cloying sweetness, but very rich. This develops into a round, deep, incredibly strong scent, almost opaque, dark solid yellow-brown. I applied this pretty lightly, but it's hugely strong. I washed off most of it, and beneath was a greener, more herbal, almost medicinal, woodsy smell.
Verdict: Does this feel like "honey of a poisonous plant"? yes. But do I like it? It's distinct to the nose, unique, but never particularly enjoyable; the honey/wood combination is overpowering and weirdly unpleasant—weirdly, in that it seems fine as a concept, but in practice I'll pass.

BLOOD KISS (GC, Bewitching Brews)
Lush, creamy vanilla and the honey of the sweetest kiss smeared with the vital throb of husky clove, swollen red cherries, but darkened with the vampiric sensuality of vetiver, soporific poppy and blood red wine, and a skin-light pulse of feral musk.
In imp: Deep dark red fruit.
On me: This has an immediate and welcome hit of vetiver as it goes on. As this settles in, the red fruit is hinted at in the throw, moderately bright, slightly sweet; the skin scent is more distinct and well-tamed by vetiver, a deep rich red, warm and smokey and spiced. I don't get either the fruity/floral/perfumey quality (like dragon's blood resin) or red sharp tartness (of berries) that I get from most of BPAL's red fruits and berries. The cloves and vetiver, with a hint of poppy, balance things beautifully.
Verdict: A solid 8/10. I liked this more on my first test just because it exceeded expectations; after spending a while with it, I'm not as blown away but I am pleasantly surprised. This is a cherry for people who don't like fruits, beautifully blended and complex without having a heady perfuminess, rich and warm and deep, cut through by a hint of brightness.

THE WITCH'S REPAST (GC, Märchen, Discontinued)
Kvass, honey-drizzled bread, roasted meat, and wine.
In bottle: Sweet, deep, dark, almost resinous.
On me: That sure is berries! Sweet tart red berries, which my skin amps, so they take over the whole scent. Underneath is a promising dark smokey sweetness that help keeps the berries in check such that they're not too tart or overpowering, but this is still one-note.
On clothes, since skin isn't a fair test with my chemistry: This starts out significantly more balanced, a boozy, resinous, yeasty sweetness with a hint of berry. It reminds me of Gunpowder (Halloweenie 2008 Carrot peelings, hay, chaff, molasses, maple oats, red apples, stable wood, and musk.), another not-quite foodie scent, mostly because the yeast/bread doesn't feel as strictly gourmand as does something like chocolate or vanilla. But The Witch's Repast is much sweeter than Gunpowder. As this wears, the wine predominates, boozy and red, warm, still fairly sweet.
Verdict: Not for me, in either application. I would prefer this if it were less sweet or, weirdly enough, if I got the roasted meat—it needs something darker to tone down the wine and honeyed bread, to make it more witchy.

SIN (GC, Sin & Salvation)
Thoroughly corrupted: amber, sandalwood, black patchouli and cinnamon.
In vial: You know how a BPAL box can gain that de facto amalgamated BPAL scent? This smells like that.
On me: Cinnamon comes out on the skin to give this a distinctive spicy red warmth. But amber/sandalwood/patch is still the heart of this scent, and it's very much generic BPAL. It's pleasant but powdery, warm, dry, well-rounded, but entirely missing a top note; the cinnamon feels very samey rather than cutting through it. This clings close to the skin.
Verdict: A fairly unambitious, unremarkable scent, but the truth is that sometimes I root through my collection, unsure what to wear, wishing I could just wear that amalgamated box scent. And now I can!

PUMPKIN MUSK AND BLACK OUDH (LE, Halloweenie 2018)
A strangely romantic, disturbingly erotic perfume.
In vial: Light and slightly sweet pumpkin with brown undertones.
On me: This is beautiful when it goes on, a mild and gently sweet pumpkin that avoids being either waxy or powerdery. It gives way to the oudh, which I don't know that I've smelled before but do like: a resinous, complex scent, rounded and deep, a little piney, not too perfumey. The pumpkin adds a slight sweetness and not much else, and as this wears the oudh grows increasingly piney and less complex. Limited throw.
Verdict: I want to like this more than I actually do. There's a golden moment during drydown when the elements balance each other and are unusual and beautiful, but I don't love this on either fabric/hair or skin, and it doesn't have a lot of oomph. But I'll keep my decant, and I imagine it'll improve with age.

UMBRA (GC, Bewitching Brews)
East African black patchouli, cedarwood, vetiver and a dribble of cinnamon.
( Review. )
Verdict: I'd half expect a blend like this to have some sort of booziness or sweetness to give it counterpoint or punch, but Umbra's beauty is that it lacks that; instead, it's a pure smooth worn-wood darkness—the cinnamon gives it color and interest, but the scent on the whole could almost make you think it was understated, a background note, which belies its well-blended depth. It doesn't stand out, and I doubt I'll remember to reach for it frequently, but it's an accomplished not-quite-a-background scent that I'll be happy to have around. I'll keep my imp.


SNAKE CHARMER RESURRECTED (LE, Carnival Noire)
Sensual, sibilant, sexual and hypnotic: Arabian musk and exotic spices slinking through Egyptian amber, enticing vanilla, and a serpentine blend of black plum, labdanum, ambrette, benzoin and black coconut.
( Review. )
Verdict: Considering my tumultuous relationship with Snake Oil, I'm pleasantly surprised how much I like Snake Charmer (Resurrected); it's not love, but this is what I'd always hoped Snake Oil would be, in spirit if not in every letter, and so I appreciate and will keep my decant.


THE RED QUEEN (GC, The Mad Tea Party)
Deep mahogany and rich, velvety woods lacquered with sweet, black-red cherries and currant.
( Review. )
Verdict: Like but not love, enough to keep the imp but not half enough for a bottle. I imagine aging will do good things to this scent, maintaining an even better balance of wood to fruit, but honestly I'm surprised to like this so much as it is: I find that red fruits are often only a theoretical desire, but these are unique and well-balanced, and quite lovely.


BESS (GC, Bewitching Brews)
This is our modernization of a 17th-century perfume blend favored by British aristocracy: rosemary, orange flower, grape spirit, five rose variants, lemon peel, and mint.
( Review. )
Verdict: Nicer than I anticipated, but not at all my style. A sweet, cool fruity floral, Bess is unusual and I suppose palatable, but I washed it off and will trade away my imp.

THE GOROBBLE (LE, Pickman Gallery: Seeking the Seekim I)
A scent redolent of the crusty exterior of burnt marshmallows.
( Review. )
Verdict: The Gorobble has more smoke than I expected, but I can rearrange my expectations to accommodate it—but even when I do, it doesn't quite work for me. The marshmallow beneath isn't quite convincing, and the contrast between fluffy sweetness and burnt exterior isn't as dynamic as I want. It's not bad, but I keep retesting and waiting for the scent to win my heart, and it's just not happening. One for the swaps.


AL-SHARIAN (GC, Excolo)
His scent is fiery, bright and thick with sweet sinfulness: clove, peach and orange with cinnamon, patchouli and dark incense notes.
A frimp from the lab.
( Review. )
Verdict: I want the cloves, patchouli, and incense to stick around. They're what makes the scent a success—the contrast they give to the bright fruits is tried and true but no less brilliant for that, and the incense gives a unique and exotic edge. But those notes die off, and what they leave behind is just cinnamon over fruit; it's vivid but lacks depth, and is too bright and fruity for my tastes. All in all this isn't a keeper, however promising its initial stages.


BROWN JENKINS (GC, A Picnic in Arkham)
A small, furry, sharp-toothed scent that will nuzzle you curiously in the black hours before dawn: dusty white sandalwood and orris root, dry coconut husk, creeping musk, and the residue of ceremonial incense.
A frimp from the Lab, but one that's been on my wishlist.
( Review. )
Verdict: I get almost nothing in the way of musk or incense, but I want them there—I think they'd provide welcome balance and darkness to the scent, and lean it back towards animalic instead of vegetative. What I get from Brown Jenkin instead is only okay—I like it, but not nearly as much as I want to. I'll hang onto my imp for now and hope that aging brings out those other notes and improves the scent.


BAGHDAD (GC, Wanderlust)
Amber, saffron and bergamot with mandarin, nutmeg, Bulgar rose, musk and sandalwood.
( Review. )
Verdict: Blame my skin, which almost always amps rose to terrifying levels. What Baghdad is until that happens is only okay, but I honestly can't judge the true nature of this scent. This is one for the swaps.


THIRTEEN (WHITE LABEL) (LE)
In our paean to all the mysteries surrounding this enigmatic number, there are thirteen lucky and unlucky components, including white chocolate, tangerine, currant, mandarin, white tea and iris.
An old, dried-out empty; I don't know how representative it is of the true oil.
( Review. )
Verdict: Nothing to write home about, but then I'm not a fan of white chocolate or predominant fruits. This is a light, bright, colorful sort of scent; the initial sweetness is a bit oppressive, but without it the scent is just straightforward, if pleasant, bright fruits. It's not to my taste, and not something I need to seek out in any quantity.

AUTUMN CIDER (LE, Halloweenie 2011)
Fermented apple juice, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, clove, lemon zest, butterscotch liquor, and orange slices.
( Review. )
Verdict: Autumn Cider is just what it says on the tin, but it's a little too light and simple for me—I wish I got the spices. It and Fearful Pleasure are different scents, but there's a family resemblance and I prefer Fearful Pleasure's darkness, so I'll stick with that.


SONNET D'AUTOMNE (LE, Halloweenie 2011)
Tenebrous Love: a shivering white musk with vanilla-infused white cocoa, amber incense, and dead, dry leaves.
( Review. )
Verdict: This is one to retest, to see if the cloying end note shows up each time. I'll be disappointed if it does, because Sonnet d'Autome is otherwise beautiful. It's the sort of unique scent I look for from BPAL: miles from a traditional perfume, evocative, unusual, but wearable.


DEVIL'S NIGHT (LE, Halloweenie 2011)
This is the scent of autumn night, fires in the distance, with a touch of boozy swoon, playful sugar and thuggish musk.
( Review. )
Verdict: I think I would like Devil's Night more if I hadn't expected something a little darker, smokier, and threatening; as it is it's almost too nice, warm and round and treading the line between sexy and playful. But if I look beyond my preconceptions, Devil's Night is pretty nice. The liquid boozy/fruity vibe isn't quite my style, but it's wearable and enticing. I'll hold onto my imp—and hope that with aging I may like it even more.


THE TA-TA (LE, Pickman Gallery: Seeking the Seekim I)
Boiled leather, carnation blossom, coffee absolute, and tobacco.
( Review. )
Verdict: Without overselling The Ta-Ta, this is the carnation that I've always wanted, spicy and dark as dried red petals, shadowed and deep, well complimented by other notes without being forced to share the spotlight, and beautiful. It's my holy grail for one of my favorite notes, so I'm glad I tried it despite being dubious about both tobacco and leather, and I see a bottle in my future—yes indeed I do.


SEA OF GLASS (GC, Sin & Salvation)
Upon the Sea of Glass, glowing with the perfection of spiritual union and the radiance of true wisdom, rests the throne of God. A scent of inimitable purity, crystalline grace, and limitless light.
( Review. )
Verdict: Sea of Glass is an accomplishment, but hasn't won my heart. It well suits the description, but its fleshy floral fullness—despite evening out and opening up the scent—isn't to my personal taste; I'd prefer a saltier, sharper water. Objectively speaking, however, this is beautifully done.

OBATALA (GC, Excolo)
Obatala's ofrenda is soft, white and pure: milk, coconut meat, shea butter and cool, refreshing water.
( Read more... )
Verdict: There's something here that I just can't tolerate—Obatala seems to do all the right things, but it overpowers and intimidates me with an unexpected smothering blanket of opaque, sweet, buttery milk. I've tested this twice now, and each time been surprised at the intensity and strangeness, and been forced to wash it off. This is definitely one for the swaps.


BATTY (LE, Dark Delicacies: Halloween 2011)
Dark and fuzzy, yet also dapper and debonair! If Fred Astaire was a werebat, he'd totally smell like this: dark chocolate, black oudh, tonka absolute, cassia, white oleander, sandalwood, and free-tailed bat musk.
( Review. )
Verdict: Disappointed would be putting it mildly. There's a lot of promise in the vial, where I can smell almost all of the notes, but on the skin this is cologne all the way. It's a better cologne than I usually get from BPAL, but still nothing desirable or special. I may try this on fabric, to see if the vial complexity will sustain. But so far, Batty is headed to swaps.

2018 update: 2018 update: 7 years have done this some good. The chocolate has gained a stronger voice, and reminds me of The Seekim (cacao absolute, hay, black pepper, patchouli, and incense ash), a non-foodie, complicated cocoa which is spiced and dry. But Batty's cologne remains forefront, more overtly perfumey and masculine than The Seekim.  "If Fred Astaire was a werebat" is a spot-on fit now.


HALLOWEEN: MONTREAL (LE, Pretty Indulgent: Halloween 2011)
Chimney smoke and woodstove fires, and all the classic scents of Halloween – loads of candy, leaves, cold earth, smashed pumpkins left over from Mat Night’s debauchery – are sharp and clear in the frosty air.
( Review. )
Verdict: As noted, I prefer the complexity of the scent's earlier stages. But the similarity to Samhain is telling—like Samhain, Montreal evokes human celebration on the edges of late autumn wilds. It's not as well refined a scent, but it still encapsulates a certain autumn experience. I'll be interested to see if it balances a bit better as it ages—the sappy sweetness can be a little heavy for me—but on the whole I quietly adore it.


THE SEEKIM (LE, Pickman Gallery: Seeking the Seekim I)
Cacao absolute, hay, black pepper, patchouli, and incense ash.
( Review. )
Verdict: I'm in love. Bless that I get nothing of the lemon others report, because The Seekim is a dream come true on my skin. The notes meld together into a rich dark warmth, more distinctly cocoa than I was expecting but far from foody. I may have to spring for a full bottle, because I think this will age like a dream—and I want to find out.


THE CHANGELING (LE, Pickman Gallery: Torment & Reverie)
Blonde wood, linen swaddling, pumpkin rind, and bourbon vanilla.
( Review. )
Verdict: I quite like The Changling for an hour of two, when the pumpkin emerges—the lean towards rind makes it dark, spicy, earthy, unique and quite lovely. But the occasional off note in the background keeps me from falling in love, and bourbon vanilla does its best to run away with the scent. For a few hours it's fine, casting a dark sweet dirty shadow over the scent, but the almost-cloying perfume that it becomes at the tail end of wear is frankly offputting—so much so that I washed it off. Aging may help the notes settle, and I'll hang on to my decant, but this is is more than a miss than a hit for me so far.

MACHU PICCHU (GC, Wanderlust)
Sweet tropical fruits burst through deep, wet rainforest boughs, enormous steamy blossoms, over thin mountaintop breezes, mingled with the soft, rich golden scent of Peruvian amber.
( Review. )
Verdict: To my great surprise, I rather like this. Tropicals aren't my style, but this one is—well, not exactly toned down, but smooth, round, shaded. It's a very full scent without being overpowering, its sweetness makes it palatable, and its dark tropics have great individuality. I still don't think it's a scent I would wear, in the end, because however lovely it's still not my style. But it's an interesting one to try. (On the other hand, I also tried this many years ago, as a frimp to my first BPAL order, but didn't review it at the time. If I remember correctly, it was brighter and more generic tropical fruity floral to my untrained nose, and I had no particular love for it.)


GRANDMOTHER OF GHOSTS (GC, Excolo)
Mania, Roman Goddess of the Dead, Matron of Madness, Governess of the Ancestral Spirits, Bestower of Divine Frenzy. Her scent swirls with a high-pitched tumult of laurel, stargazer lily, splintered woods, peony, mandarin and white musk, and is spiked with pale pepper.
( Review. )
Verdict: Grandmother of Ghosts is much better than I expected—I'm not a fan of most florals, but the other notes keep the lily dry rather than oppressive, and the scent's pale whiteness is elusive but gently intriguing. Nonetheless, this is far from my style and I find the scent's overall inaccessability (a more more than subtle, a little too ghostly) somewhat offputting. I'll trade this away.


BLOCK BUSTER (GC, Bewitching Brews: Conjure Bag)
Used to open up options in your life, overcome obstacles, and create opportunities. This blend increases your potential for success, inspires creativity and quick thinking, and helps you to be more flexible, adaptable and open to change.
( Review. )
Verdict: I didn't have particularly high hopes, but the dry spices in the middle of Block Buster were almost perfect, rich and dry and hot and potent, at its best absolutely divine. I'd be won over, but for the fact that the fruit eventually reemerges—and while cinnamon apple is pleasant, it's too much a change from the pure spices and a little too seasonal; it might work better as a room scent, and I don't particularly want it on my skin. As a result, Block Buster was ultimately a personal disappointment (although it makes me eager for a pure spice blend). But for whatever it's worth, I got a lot of work done the day I tested the scent—more along the lines of overcoming internal procrastination than working around external obstacles, but still a powerful blend for a productive day.


SCARECROW (GC, Bewitching Brews)
An agricultural gargoyle. Though he is the Guardian of the Crops and Keeper of the Fields, his visage is stll the stuff of nightmares. The scent of a hot wind blowing through desolate, scorched, barren fields.
A gift from sisterite.
( Review )
Verdict: I don't get the harshness that others get, and thank goodness for that. I'm not overly fond of the scent's various similarities to commercial perfume, but I do like it's late, toned-down stage. This is one to test again (and in large quantities) to finalize my impression. So far I'm intrigued but not quite satisfied, in part because of the similarities to commercial perfume, in part because I wish the scent had the punch of its description—instead it's faint, if more palatable.


THE CATERPILLAR (GC, Mad Tea Party)
Heavy incense notes waft lazily through a mix of carnation, jasmine, bergamot, and neroli over a lush bed of dark mosses, iris blossom, deep patchouli and indolent vetiver.
A gift from sisterite.
( Review. )
Verdict: It's hard to say. Each of the facets works well on my skin, with the occasional exception of the jasmine (as florals aren't my style, and this one goes a little grandma's soap on me). Some, like the carnation, are quite good—carnation likes to get swallowed by other notes on my skin, but here its a rich spicy-sweetness and absolutely fantastic. I'm fond of the heart notes, and they combine well —they're less headshoppy on me than they seem to be on others, and also remarkably smooth and calm despite their tendency towards potency. But I like to know what I'm getting out of a scent, and The Caterpillar never does decide. Its rotation of notes is unusual and surprisingly successful, but I don't know if I'd be able to wear it with any regularity. I'll hang onto my imp and test again.