Kubla Khan

Through sunlit caves of ice, roses unfurl amidst dancing waves of serpentine opium smoke and amber tobacco, golden sandalwood, champaca, tea leaf, sugared lily, ginger, rich hay absolute, leather, dark vanilla, mandarin, peru balsam, and Moroccan jasmine.

Starting out, it seems astringent and sharp, but as soon as it hits my skin, it starts changing. It seems minty as it dries. Then there's a jasmine-vanilla combo on my wrists; the inside of my elbows are all about the leather. If the thoroughly dried down stage, my arms smell of jasmine-leather and my wrists smell of vanilla-sandalwood-incense. The jasmine leather is a little odd, but not unpleasant. The smell on my wrists, though, is heavenly. It reminds me of Morocco.

4/5

Black Forest

Thick, viscous pine with ambergris, black musk, juniper and cypress.

I like this one better than I expected, since I'm not that wild about the idea of pine. I do love black musk and juniper. When it's wet, I enjoy the throw and it has a bit of freshness. As it dries down, the juniper fades and the pine seems to get sweeter and sweeter, until I'm sick of it. I think it's the pine that goes sticky-sweet on my skin. It's just not something I'd enjoy all day.

2.5/5

The Spell of Amorous Love

Red currant, plum flowers, sake, green tea, and cherry blossom.

Wet, it smells sharp enough that I'm convinced I won't like it. I think maybe that's the combination of the sake and the plum flowers. Once it dries down a bit though, the sake dies back and the currant and the cherry blossom come out. It had almost no throw, but it clings to my skin all day. I feel like my skin has the scent equivalent of a fresh pink glow. After a year into BPAL, this is the first bottle I've purchased. I love it and it goes so well with the upcoming seasons. It's going to be perfect for spring and summer, so I think I'll make it my signature scent for a few months.

5/5

Harikata

Osmanthus, honey, golden musk, vanilla flower, and ginger.



Wet, it seems fruity, almost melon -like. If that's the osmanthus, I love it. As it dries down, it gets sweeter and sweeter and the honey gets a bit powdery. I still like it, but it was too sweet in the end for me to get a bottle. I'm going to have to look for more osmanthus scents, though.


3/5

The Clod and the Pebble

Rose otto, clove, patchouli, Indian sandalwood, nutmeg, and cedar.

This is harsher than I expected. I like cedar in several other scents, but it really takes over here. The sandalwood makes it even woodier and the nutmeg makes it slightly medicinal. The rose seems to sit along side it. Just too much for me.

1.5/5

Valentine of Rome

cypress, olive blossom, frankincense, myrrh, and blood accord.

This one just about gives me a headache. I like frankincense, but if it's combined with the wrong notes, it gets to be too overwhelming for me. In this case, I think the olive blossom and the frank get a little out of control. Once it all calms down, I like it, but it takes a couple of hours to get there. I'll probably pass this along.

2.5/5

Parlement of Foules 2008

White rose and soft resins.

I like this one quite a bit. It's just what it says- roses and sweet resins. I'm not a huge floral person, but the roses don't seem too sour or powdery. It is a soft scent, though, and it fades off my skin after a couple of hours. I already have Hymn and that lasts on my skin, but I'll use my decant of this one.

4/5

Luperci 2008

raw, down and dirty patchouli, Gurjam balsam, and essence of Sampson Root sweetened with the heightened sexuality of beeswax, virile juniper, oakmoss, ambrette seed over honey and East African musk

I like this scent okay- I expected it to be a greater love. I love patchouli, juniper and musk. And I quite like honey. It's the oakmoss that turns it into a meh scent for me. I don't know if I amp it or if my nose is just sensitive to it for some reason, but it's becoming almost a big a no as vetiver is.


For the scent, I mostly smell honeyed moss with a bit of patchouli.


2.5/5