I Become a Smelly Sheep
Nov. 30th, 2008 08:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sadlikeknivesIn early October, I placed my first order with BPAL, shortly after ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
teleute12 and butterflykiki. And then I went, "This is fun!" and ordered more without putting up reviews, as is the done thing, of my first seven sample imps. And then butterflykiki sent me six rejects from her order. And then my second order had ten imps in it (four of them were free...).
I have not yet finished testing my second order, but I offer for your consideration probably-not-very-helpful reviews of sixteen scents: Twilight, Baobhan Sith, Pain, Szepasszony, Sophia, Persephone, Glasgow, Shattered, Black Annis, Hurricane, Drink Me, Phantasm, Veil, New Orleans, Carnal, and Wrath.
Twilight
BPAL sez: An enigmatic, otherworldly scent, brimming with power and mystery. Lavender and jasmine, with a touch of glowing honeysuckle.
I say: No, I didn't buy it because of the name, although that was kind of a funny side effect. I bought it because I like lavender and honeysuckle. In the bottle, I could taste it; I think it was the honeysuckle. Honeysuckle tends to have that effect on me. On my skin, it wasn't overpowering, though the honeysuckle still was quite strong, though I did get a whiff of lavender every now and then. I think I want a second opinion on how it smells on me, because like I said, I smell honeysuckle very strongly and it may smell different to someone else. I kept this one.
Baobhan Sith
BPAL sez: The ghostly White Women of the Scottish highlands. They seduce unwary travelers by night with their unearthly beauty and mesmerizing dancing. They engage their victims in a wild, hypnotic dance, and once they reach exhaustion, exsanguinate their partners with their vampiric kiss. Grapefruit, white tea, apple blossom and ginger.
I say: When I was a freshman in college, living in the dorms, my roommate gave me a ginger and white tea bath set from Bath and Body Works for Christmas and I LOVED THE HELL OUT OF IT. I was crushed when I ran out of the shower gel and went to get more, only to find out they'd discontinued it (Apparently they bring it back every now and then? IDK.). So yay, white tea and ginger! Plus hints of the grapefruit and apple blossom. This one was quite soft on me, but I love it to pieces. Definitely kept this one, and I'll probably be buying a bottle of it in the future.
Pain
BPAL sez: Wicked and vicious! A sharp, cruel blend of lavender and pennyroyal.
I say: Super-sharp and cold, and definitely masculine. Minty! That's the pennyroyal. If I had a boyfriend I might make him wear it. I sent this on to Parker.
Szepasszony
BPAL sez: A chilly, tempestuous whirlwind of clear, airy notes, slashing rain, and a thin undercurrent of white flowers.
I say: This one was my free imp for this order. It just...smelled like generic perfume to me. Nothing special. I sent this one to Parker.
Sophia
BPAL sez: The Gnostic goddess of Wisdom. A solemn, deeply profound draught of lavender, soft musks, star jasmine, black rose, delphinium, and gentle spice.
I say: At first this one was warm and dry and spicy, with the lavender hitting me at the back of the nose. And then it turned into MUSK MUSK MUSK MUSK. So I sent it to Parker.
Persephone
BPAL sez: Beautiful, radiant daughter of Demeter... her loveliness was so exquisite that even Hell itself could not resist her. Pomegranate and rose.
I say: It smells like roses. Sweet, juicy roses. I expected it to be sharper and less sweet, because that's how I think of pomegranate, but I really like it. Keeper.
Glasgow
BPAL sez: The rich scent of wild blackberry breezing over gentle rosy heather.
I say: Very dry, I guess the heather? I expected more of a 'juicy' scent because of the blackberry. I didn't get much time to analyze it because it faded into nothing in about three seconds flat on me. For a few minutes after that if I stuck my nose right up against my wrist I could smell sweet berries. I wish it was way more lasting. I sent it to Telly.
Drink Me
BPAL sez: However, this bottle was not marked 'poison,' so Alice ventured to taste it, and finding it very nice, (it had, in fact, a sort of mixed flavour of cherry-tart, custard, pine-apple, roast turkey, toffee, and hot buttered toast,) she very soon finished it off.
I say: OH MY GOD WHAT HELL IS THIS. THIS IS THE VILEST THING I HAVE EVER HAD ON MY SKIN. I wish I could replicate the sound I made when I first got a noseful of it, it was probably kind of hilarious. It made me gag in the bottle, and no I didn’t apply it after that, I got it on my fingers by accident. And then I kept getting whiffs of it, ugh ugh ugh. Smells like hot buttered ass, nasty toffee, and something else vile and sweet that reached back and grabbed my gag reflex like an evil hand. Curdled custard, maybe. Gustard gone wrong. UGH. Thought about throwing this one out, but I'll probably send it on to someone else and continue the cycle of evil. Telly, maybe, since I got it from Parker.
Black Annis
BPAL sez (excerpted): Black Annis' perfume is a mixture of damp cave lichen and oak leaf with a hint of vetiver, civet and anise.
I say: Weirdly appealing, especially considering I don’t like licorice and could definitely smell that when I applied it, but I think it may have been that I had just gotten a noseful of Drink Me and everything else seemed ten times better in comparison. Still thinking about it.
Shattered
BPAL sez: A scent as sharp as glass shards, and as brittle as a broken heart. The formula came to me - quite literally - in a dream, and is named after, and created in memory of, the last poem that I ever wrote… almost ten years ago to the day. A blend of white champagne notes, grapefruit, lotus, slivered mint and crystalline aquatic blooms.
I say: Cold and sharp and refreshing, with the mint and grapefruit. I can see using this when I needed to wake up my brain.
Veil
BPAL sez: A quiet scent, soft, calm and enigmatic. A perfume of mystery, of whispers, and of secrets behind secrets. White sandalwood, lilac, gardenia, violet, orris, lavender and ylang ylang.
I say: Why is it that everything that has the things I like (violet, lavender, lilac) fades in about three point seven seconds? It was soft on me, and lasted longer than, say, Glasgow, but still, fadey. I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt, though, because I think I applied it too close to where I got Drink Me on my hand. I'll retest it later.
Hurricane
BPAL sez: The Dark Side of Air: a high pitched, tangy, clear scent -- light China rain deepened by murky vetivert.
I say: At first I thought this was the nastiest thing I'd ever smelled, and my notes reflect this, but then later in my testings I realized actually what I'd uncapped was the imp of Drink Me. Oops. In reality, I still don't like Hurricane. Not sure why. I just don't care for it. Will trade this one.
Phantasm
BPAL sez: This delicate, spectral perfume gives rise to an eerie distortion of of the senses. It bestows an ephemeral, ghostly, and truly haunting quality to your presence. Green tea, lemon verbena, jasmine and neroli. Will trade this one.
I say: Hello, gorgeous. I love this one. My notes just say 'y y y!' so, yeah. I remember it being light and refreshing and the lemon verbena coming through strongly without smelling like lemon dish soap. Lovely. Will probably eventually buy a bottle.
New Orleans
BPAL sez: Reminiscent of hothouse blooms on a humid night, ripe, but touched with decay. Sweet honeysuckle and jasmine with a hint of lemon and spice.
I say: For once, the honeysuckle didn't club my nose, it was part of a more harmonious whole. I could smell the flowers and the spice and a hint of lemon that smelled like real lemon, not, you know, lemon dish soap. I really like this one and am keeping it.
Carnal
BPAL sez: Bold, bright mandarin paired with the sensual earthiness of fig.
I say: Mmmm fruity, sweet, and soft, but stable, it lasted for a good couple of hours, which most 'softer' scents haven't on me so far. I approve!
Wrath
BPAL sez: A scent aflame with rage, swirling in the red haze of hatred. Dragon's blood spiked with black pepper, clove, and cinnamon.
I say: Very warm. With this one, I experienced for the first time something I've read about in a lot of BPAL reviews, the fading in and out of certain notes. In this case, the cinnamon. I couldn't smell it at all until after I applied it, and then it would come and go. The base smell, what I smelled in the bottle, was kind of WTF-y, and after the other stuff faded on my skin that was what I was left with. The base note lasted until the following morning and through several washings, damn. I didn't care for it, and it's up for trade.
teleute12 and butterflykiki. And then I went, "This is fun!" and ordered more without putting up reviews, as is the done thing, of my first seven sample imps. And then butterflykiki sent me six rejects from her order. And then my second order had ten imps in it (four of them were free...).I have not yet finished testing my second order, but I offer for your consideration probably-not-very-helpful reviews of sixteen scents: Twilight, Baobhan Sith, Pain, Szepasszony, Sophia, Persephone, Glasgow, Shattered, Black Annis, Hurricane, Drink Me, Phantasm, Veil, New Orleans, Carnal, and Wrath.
Twilight
BPAL sez: An enigmatic, otherworldly scent, brimming with power and mystery. Lavender and jasmine, with a touch of glowing honeysuckle.
I say: No, I didn't buy it because of the name, although that was kind of a funny side effect. I bought it because I like lavender and honeysuckle. In the bottle, I could taste it; I think it was the honeysuckle. Honeysuckle tends to have that effect on me. On my skin, it wasn't overpowering, though the honeysuckle still was quite strong, though I did get a whiff of lavender every now and then. I think I want a second opinion on how it smells on me, because like I said, I smell honeysuckle very strongly and it may smell different to someone else. I kept this one.
Baobhan Sith
BPAL sez: The ghostly White Women of the Scottish highlands. They seduce unwary travelers by night with their unearthly beauty and mesmerizing dancing. They engage their victims in a wild, hypnotic dance, and once they reach exhaustion, exsanguinate their partners with their vampiric kiss. Grapefruit, white tea, apple blossom and ginger.
I say: When I was a freshman in college, living in the dorms, my roommate gave me a ginger and white tea bath set from Bath and Body Works for Christmas and I LOVED THE HELL OUT OF IT. I was crushed when I ran out of the shower gel and went to get more, only to find out they'd discontinued it (Apparently they bring it back every now and then? IDK.). So yay, white tea and ginger! Plus hints of the grapefruit and apple blossom. This one was quite soft on me, but I love it to pieces. Definitely kept this one, and I'll probably be buying a bottle of it in the future.
Pain
BPAL sez: Wicked and vicious! A sharp, cruel blend of lavender and pennyroyal.
I say: Super-sharp and cold, and definitely masculine. Minty! That's the pennyroyal. If I had a boyfriend I might make him wear it. I sent this on to Parker.
Szepasszony
BPAL sez: A chilly, tempestuous whirlwind of clear, airy notes, slashing rain, and a thin undercurrent of white flowers.
I say: This one was my free imp for this order. It just...smelled like generic perfume to me. Nothing special. I sent this one to Parker.
Sophia
BPAL sez: The Gnostic goddess of Wisdom. A solemn, deeply profound draught of lavender, soft musks, star jasmine, black rose, delphinium, and gentle spice.
I say: At first this one was warm and dry and spicy, with the lavender hitting me at the back of the nose. And then it turned into MUSK MUSK MUSK MUSK. So I sent it to Parker.
Persephone
BPAL sez: Beautiful, radiant daughter of Demeter... her loveliness was so exquisite that even Hell itself could not resist her. Pomegranate and rose.
I say: It smells like roses. Sweet, juicy roses. I expected it to be sharper and less sweet, because that's how I think of pomegranate, but I really like it. Keeper.
Glasgow
BPAL sez: The rich scent of wild blackberry breezing over gentle rosy heather.
I say: Very dry, I guess the heather? I expected more of a 'juicy' scent because of the blackberry. I didn't get much time to analyze it because it faded into nothing in about three seconds flat on me. For a few minutes after that if I stuck my nose right up against my wrist I could smell sweet berries. I wish it was way more lasting. I sent it to Telly.
Drink Me
BPAL sez: However, this bottle was not marked 'poison,' so Alice ventured to taste it, and finding it very nice, (it had, in fact, a sort of mixed flavour of cherry-tart, custard, pine-apple, roast turkey, toffee, and hot buttered toast,) she very soon finished it off.
I say: OH MY GOD WHAT HELL IS THIS. THIS IS THE VILEST THING I HAVE EVER HAD ON MY SKIN. I wish I could replicate the sound I made when I first got a noseful of it, it was probably kind of hilarious. It made me gag in the bottle, and no I didn’t apply it after that, I got it on my fingers by accident. And then I kept getting whiffs of it, ugh ugh ugh. Smells like hot buttered ass, nasty toffee, and something else vile and sweet that reached back and grabbed my gag reflex like an evil hand. Curdled custard, maybe. Gustard gone wrong. UGH. Thought about throwing this one out, but I'll probably send it on to someone else and continue the cycle of evil. Telly, maybe, since I got it from Parker.
Black Annis
BPAL sez (excerpted): Black Annis' perfume is a mixture of damp cave lichen and oak leaf with a hint of vetiver, civet and anise.
I say: Weirdly appealing, especially considering I don’t like licorice and could definitely smell that when I applied it, but I think it may have been that I had just gotten a noseful of Drink Me and everything else seemed ten times better in comparison. Still thinking about it.
Shattered
BPAL sez: A scent as sharp as glass shards, and as brittle as a broken heart. The formula came to me - quite literally - in a dream, and is named after, and created in memory of, the last poem that I ever wrote… almost ten years ago to the day. A blend of white champagne notes, grapefruit, lotus, slivered mint and crystalline aquatic blooms.
I say: Cold and sharp and refreshing, with the mint and grapefruit. I can see using this when I needed to wake up my brain.
Veil
BPAL sez: A quiet scent, soft, calm and enigmatic. A perfume of mystery, of whispers, and of secrets behind secrets. White sandalwood, lilac, gardenia, violet, orris, lavender and ylang ylang.
I say: Why is it that everything that has the things I like (violet, lavender, lilac) fades in about three point seven seconds? It was soft on me, and lasted longer than, say, Glasgow, but still, fadey. I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt, though, because I think I applied it too close to where I got Drink Me on my hand. I'll retest it later.
Hurricane
BPAL sez: The Dark Side of Air: a high pitched, tangy, clear scent -- light China rain deepened by murky vetivert.
I say: At first I thought this was the nastiest thing I'd ever smelled, and my notes reflect this, but then later in my testings I realized actually what I'd uncapped was the imp of Drink Me. Oops. In reality, I still don't like Hurricane. Not sure why. I just don't care for it. Will trade this one.
Phantasm
BPAL sez: This delicate, spectral perfume gives rise to an eerie distortion of of the senses. It bestows an ephemeral, ghostly, and truly haunting quality to your presence. Green tea, lemon verbena, jasmine and neroli. Will trade this one.
I say: Hello, gorgeous. I love this one. My notes just say 'y y y!' so, yeah. I remember it being light and refreshing and the lemon verbena coming through strongly without smelling like lemon dish soap. Lovely. Will probably eventually buy a bottle.
New Orleans
BPAL sez: Reminiscent of hothouse blooms on a humid night, ripe, but touched with decay. Sweet honeysuckle and jasmine with a hint of lemon and spice.
I say: For once, the honeysuckle didn't club my nose, it was part of a more harmonious whole. I could smell the flowers and the spice and a hint of lemon that smelled like real lemon, not, you know, lemon dish soap. I really like this one and am keeping it.
Carnal
BPAL sez: Bold, bright mandarin paired with the sensual earthiness of fig.
I say: Mmmm fruity, sweet, and soft, but stable, it lasted for a good couple of hours, which most 'softer' scents haven't on me so far. I approve!
Wrath
BPAL sez: A scent aflame with rage, swirling in the red haze of hatred. Dragon's blood spiked with black pepper, clove, and cinnamon.
I say: Very warm. With this one, I experienced for the first time something I've read about in a lot of BPAL reviews, the fading in and out of certain notes. In this case, the cinnamon. I couldn't smell it at all until after I applied it, and then it would come and go. The base smell, what I smelled in the bottle, was kind of WTF-y, and after the other stuff faded on my skin that was what I was left with. The base note lasted until the following morning and through several washings, damn. I didn't care for it, and it's up for trade.
