Aeaea

A dark ocean breeze, electric with adrenaline, magic, and fear, clashing with the thick scent of poisoned berries and spiny aloe, against a backdrop of snowdrop, cedar, and cypress

In the imp, it's very aquatic, which makes me a bit nervous. Once it starts drying down, though, it really softens and I can smell the sweetness of the berries. It is a soft, clean scent. It's pleasant, but I don't need more than a decant. What happened to the darkness and the woods?

3/5

Dorian

A Victorian fougere with three pale musks and dark, sugared vanilla tea

I don't get any tea scent out of this. Just sugary vanilla musk. Actually, whenever I wear this, I imagine a vanilla-musk daiquiri with a sugared rim. I like it, but it's a little sweet to be one of my absolute favorites.

4/5

Sin

amber, sandalwood, black patchouli and cinnamon

All I can get out of this is a bit of amber and tons of sandalwood. Sandalwood, it turns out, is not my favorite note. It's just too overpowering here. I was hoping for a lot more patchouli and cinnamon. As it is, this just smells like slightly sweetened sandalwood to me. My mom, on the other hand, loves it. The more sandalwood, the better, for her. At least it gets a good home.

1.5/5

Magdalene

A bouquet of white roses, labdanum, and wild orchid

I got this as a frimp from the lab. Thanks!

I was surprised that this worked at all on me, for any amount of time. I don't like roses at all. When it's wet, I had to hold my arms as far away from my nose as possible and not move them so I wouldn't get any throw. Evil killer roses!

After it dries down, it much more tolerable. It eventually becomes a soft, powdery floral, which is a relief. I think the orchid and labdanum must really tone it down. It's not a scent I'll ever reach for, but for people who like roses and/or soft florals, this is very lovely.

2/5

Faustus

frankincense and cinnamon, darkened by violet

This one threatened to give me a headache. I know cinnamon's not the problem. I'm not sure whether frankincense or violet is to blame, since I end up avoiding those notes now. Really, I suspect neither one is to my tastes. The cinnamon, alas, gets swallowed up by the frankincense. After that happens, I think the violets come out and sweeten it up. Overall, it's a rather sweet and very dense scent. It doesn't smell bad, just a bit odd to me. I can see it as a room scent, maybe, if it wasn't headache inducing.

1.5/5

Dirty

A fresh, crisp white linen scent: perfectly clean, perfectly breezy

This one just isn't my type of scent. Too much of a white floral- plumeria, according to more knowledgeable reviewers. I got this in my first order, before I knew which kinds of scents I preferred. This is a light and clean scent- I just like darker, muskier scents.

2/5

De Sade

the raw scent of leather

Well, it's pretty much as advertised. It's really strong and sharp at first, to the point that it smells like there's freshly shaved cedar in it. After about half an hour, I start to think that maybe it's soft enough to layer with something. After an hour, I almost think I could wear it by itself, but not quite.

I really like BPAL's leather note, too. My top five scents all have some leather in them. I could always keep it and use it for layering- what isn't better with a bit leather?

2/5

Tintagel

Spicy mulled wine flowing through the musky heat, warm leather and bright clash of armor, the damp branches of Cornish hawthorn, blackthorn, juniper, English elm and bayberry, and the magical tingle of dragon's blood resin

This is another one I just love. I wish it stuck around longer, though, and didn't dry down quite so quickly.

Wet, it's just delicious. The spicy fruit combines with the dragon's blood and is just incredible. It loses the fruitiness after a couple of hours, however. It becomes a woodier scent and the leather is just a bit stronger. Since I like woods and leather, there's nothing wrong with this- I just don't love it quite as much as the initial stages.

Still, it's a lot of fun and I wear it quite often.

5/5

Morocco

Arabian spices wind through a blend of warm musk, carnation, red sandalwood and cassia.

Well, this is popular for a very good reason- it's almost perfect. The only problem is its staying power, which seems to be a couple hours, four tops.

The Arabian spices definitely include vanilla, and also saffron, I think. I'm not a huge sandalwood fan, but it smells wonderful in this. I pick up a bit of spice from the carnations and cassia, but it's really subdued. It's such a pretty, soft scent that I wish my skin just naturally smelled this way. My next best option would be to become rich enough to bathe in it.

5/5

Uruk

Thick bitter almond and heady night-blooming jasmine with saffron, cinnamon leaf, red patchouli, river lilies, bergamot, fig leaf and the sacred incense of Inanna.

I wasn't at all sure about some of the notes in this one, particularly the florals and almond. Wet, I pick out the jasmine easily, but the background seems muddled.

Once it dries down, it becomes a light, incensy and slightly fruity floral. I can pick out the jasmine and the incense, but the rest is really blended in. The almond never does come out, which is alright by me. It's very pretty, but a little light in throw and staying power. Different from what I usually like, but I think I'll hang on to the imp.

3.5/5

Madrid

Bold red wine, mimosa, and a trickle of clove

Wet, this is very boozy. It actually smells to me like wine-breath, which isn't exactly pleasant. Once it hits my skin, it's strangely gritty and a little powdery. It reminds me of a chewable vitamin.

After awhile, it comes out of that stage and becomes very sweet, possibly the mimosa. I don't exactly know what mimosa smells like.

Some more time, and it becomes a light wine scent, like maybe I used a wine rinse this morning. I rather like this final stage, but it takes awhile to get there. I might keep the imp.

2.5/5