BPAL - The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil

This was a frimp from the lab :o)

Wet: warm fruit with a hint of spice and a background of grass and hay

Dry: still fruity but without any tartness to it. Perhaps sweet pear + something floral. Good that the spicy feeling didn't stay, in the first moment it felt like one of whose "spice" scents that make me nauseous and my skin amps them like crazy - instead it turned into a kind of honey underneath the fruit.

Later. Whoa ... this is just getting sweeter and sweeter, the honey seems to grow on me. Time to have a look if there even is honey in this blend from Rappaccini's Garden:

Whiffs of cinnamon bark, almond, and spikenard surround a perfect fruit, whose scent is akin to a tamarind, with the grace of a fine grape, as warm and rich as a fresh fig, glistening red like pomegranate seeds, and as crisp as an apple.

No honey. But okay, something like tamarind! Yes, that explains the sweetness. I really can't get any apple nor pomegranate - there could be a hint of grape - but it's a really overripe grape.

No no no, this just is not the right scent for me, far too sweet! I'm not the fruity scent person anyway but if I wear a fruitscent I want it to be fresh.

Easy verdict: Absolutly no bottle ;o)

BPAL - Haunted

Wet: Sweet citrus

Dry: Still citrus - this is funny because I pretested this scent a few weeks ago and back then it was a amber-foody beauty I adored - but now it's ... just so different! I'm not a citrus-fan, so this one is really not my alley.

Lets have a look at the lab's description under Ars Moriendi:

A mournful, poignant scent, thick with foreboding. Soft golden amber darkened with a touch of murky black musk.

Well - obviously my skin is confused. Back at the first test I knew that this scent should not be foody. Now it's not foody but fruity and that's wrong too. I just don't get it.

Both scents don't fit the description at all - todays citrus is everything but not mournful - it is sunny and happy. And the warm amber scent is very comfortable and nice - perhaps hauted by a nice blanket to wrap myself in ;o)

A bit later: Now it's baby-powder ... dead on.

A lot later: Aah, now it's like the first time I used it - amber and a bit foody, really nice. I'll have to think about this one. My favorite amber scent is still Blood Amber - and I'm not sure if I want to wait more than one hour for this scent to become nice. Without Blood Amber I guess I'd go for this one. I'll have an eye on it while the imp ages a bit, perhaps it becomes better, otherwise this won't pop up my bottle wishlist.

BPAL - Wanda

This was one of the lab's frimps in my last order. So without reading anything - here are my impressions:

Wet: booze!

Dry: First there is some cherry coming trough and the booze is not overpowering any more. This is nice and fresh and feminin on me! And there is a faint floral undertone coming to the surface.

After one hour or so there is mainly rose with a fruity-boozy background to it. No "old lady's rose", I'd say.

Well ... this is nice and I think I'm going to wear it again but it's not something I'll really crave for. Overall conclusion is: Feminin, subtle, an everyday scent for someone liking floral scents with this extra fruity stuff - but not in a foody way.

And what is in the lab's description from this Ars Amatoria blend?

Along with Loviatar, she has become something of a Patron Goddess of all Dominatrixes, Wanda is the breathtakingly beautiful sable-wrapped marble queen of Sacher-Masoch's fantasies. Her scent is a deep red merlot with a faint hint of leather, sexual musk and body heat over crushed roses, violets and myrtle.

Oh okay, so it really was booze in the wet phase! But I really don't get any leather nor musk - but yes, merlot and roses - perhaps with a hint of the myrtle!

But for a Patron Goddess of all Dominatrixes this is somehow demure ... ;o)

BPAL - Khephra

A random BPAL, this time a discontinued one (it was from The Stations of the Sun: The Midnight Sun):

Hail unto thee who art Khephra in Thy hiding, even unto Thee who art Khephra in Thy silence, who travellest over the heavens in Thy bark at the Midnight Hour of the Sun.
Tahuti standeth in His splendour at the prow, and Ra-Hoor abideth at the helm.
Hail unto Thee from the Abodes of Evening.

Wet: I can't pick out any specific note but some cardamom ... this is just something golden and warm to me (I usually write my own thoughts before I go to the lab and read their description - somehow I wouldn't have thought the Midnight Sun to be such a warm and golden scent!).

Dry: The cardamom fades a bit, some soap appears ... and something herbal comes out to play. Herbal-floral. Perhaps camomille?! Nice but light. Suits this rainy day. Despite the soapy undertone in this one it's a very nice and warm scent which gives me a comfortable feeling.

Verdict: It's okay, even nice - but nothing I need more of. Other BPALs suit me much better and give me a warmer feeling overall.

BPAL - Bon Vivant

Random BPAL from Bewitching Brews. The lab writes:

An effervescent blend of crystalline champagne notes and sweet strawberry.

Wet: Artifical boozy scent, sparkling and fresh. No strawberries yet.

Dry: Gets sweeter and looses the sparkling scent and becomes nicer - reminds me of a bodyscrub I once had. I still don't get strawberries which is too bad because I love strawberries ...

Becomes a fresh and fruity, light scent. Pleasant but just not the right thing for me.

BPAL - Jailbait

The next random BPAL comes from Sin & Salvation:

Innocence defiled. Sticky pink bubblegum and the thick, sweet scent of orange and cherry lollipops smeared over a breath of heady womanly perfume.

Wet: Bubblegum!

For german readers: Do you remember the pink "Fix und Foxy Kaugummi" that was sold in the 80s? This smells dead on like those bubblegums!

Dry: Something sweet, soft and fruity, candylike. Artifical - but not bad. I think this is a typical little girl scent - I know I'd have loved it when I was a little girl. But for now it's too ... well simple - I miss the "heady womanly perfume". Perhaps I should give this one to my niece (to be) - she is 6 and I think she would appreciate this one.

BPAL - Kill-Devil

Lets grab a new random BPAL! Again from Bewitching Brews:

"Rum punch is not improperly called Kill-Devil; for thousands lose their lives by its means. When newcomers use it to the least excess, they expose themselves to imminent peril, for it heats the blood and brings on fevers, which in a very few hours send them to their graves."

Sugar cane, molasses, oak wood, and honey.

Wet: Very sirupy.

Dry: Sweet, a bit mossy with a hint of wood. Not unpleasant but also not really my thing. And somehow this one is a very flat scent - I more fond of the complex BPALs. But this one could be nice for layering!

Still this one would be a good choice for a cold and sunny day, perhaps for a walk on a fair or something like that.

And while this is sweet, I'd still consider it to be unisex because it's sweet + masculine undertone.

BPAL - Black Forrest

Another random BPAL from Bewitching Brews.

This is the captured scent of a cold, moonless night, lost deep within the darkest wood. Haunting and desolate, this scent evokes images of fairy tale tragedy and half-remembered nightmares. Thick, viscous pine with ambergris, black musk, juniper and cypress.

Wet: Shower gel "Aqua". Cheap, soapy, blue with something sweet underneath (well, no wonder, I ruen everything sweet, right?!)

Dry: Still soapy, a bit piney - only the sweet note is a bit more prominent.

I don't really get the picture of a forrest from this one since there is a sweetness to it, I can't see any dark night or cold or desolate feeling in it.

After 1h: soap + shower gel seem to vanish and leave a nice sweet piney scent with something sour behind ...

My skin might spoil it - I think I'll try it once on my dragon, otherwise it gets a "no" from me.

BPAL - Cathedral

The next random BPAL from Sin & Salvation:

Venerable and solemn: the scent of incense smoke wafting through an ancient church. A true ecclesiatical blend of pure resins.

Wet: Somehow soapy with a nice spicy background and a touch of eucalyptus.

5min: This reminds me of Aureus, I think ... it's somehow pleasant but the soapy note is distracting.

Dry: The soap is gone, the spice (guess it's the incense) is still there and is now accompanied by a very dry, wooden scent. Nice!

After 1h - either the scent almost gone or nose is stuck! There is only a light scent left, a bit spicy and somewhat nice but I really have to put my nose on my skin to smell it.

Verdict: A nice scent but somehow unsigificant on my skin and too faint. But I'll revisit it on another day to rule our that my nose is the culprit!

BPAL - Gluttony

I know when I ordered this one I was sooooo thrilled. Gluttony from Sin & Salvation:

Thick, sugared and bloated with sweetness. Dark chocolate, vanilla, buttercream, and hops with pralines, hazelnut, toffee and caramel.

Sounds great, right? Foody, yummy ... but on me it is really ugly! No chocolate, no cream, nothing of the nice things that should be there! On me it is very powerfulf, very spicy a bit smokey and it makes me nauseous! I guess by now that it's my skin + BPALs caramel - they just don't go together.

I let the dragon sniff at this and he even claimed that the scent reminds him of a oddly sweet broth.

Definitively a scent I won't need ...

BPAL - Eclipse

Again a random BPAL: Eclipse from Bewitching Brews. The lab tells us

All the glory, warmth and majesty of the sun -- darkened. A delicious blend of bitter almond, vanilla, frankincense and heliotrope, with a drop of cinnamon.

Well, wet this is wonderful. It's cherry/almond, wonderful, not too sweet, just perfection.

Wet on my skin I almost went nuts: Perfect!! Still like in the imp!

Dry: Huh?! Where did all the cherries go ... ahm, almonds?! After 10 minutes I barely can pick up any scent at all! My skin ate Eclipse!!! And my skin is tingling a bit where I applied the oil. Strange. Everything left is a slight sugary note - absolutely nice, but nothing more or less, far too subtle for a perfume! I have to attach my nose to my skin to guess that there is something to smell!

2nd try: A bit of oil in my hair - perhaps the scent stays there! But again ... after some minutes there's only a faint sweet scent, not as sugary as on my skin - but no almonds, no vanilla.

This is sad - wet it's such a great scent!! Perhaps I should use it as roomscent in an oillamp - that could work.

Well, perhaps good for me: I escaped another "have to buy a bottle!"-trap.

Supplement: After one hour the scent came back. Well, not THE scent, more a scent. I'd say its a bit cinnamon and some vanilla ... it's nice but still not very intense. This is really a funny kind of morphing! From great to nice to nothing back to nice.

2nd supplement: And one hour later there is even some cherry in scent! (this time really cherry, no almond) - I'm not so sure anymore that I won't need a bottle of this ... damn! Make this a half favorite ;o)

3rd supplement: Okay, make this a favorite! I ordered a bottle! On most days it's a bit like Antique Lace + some almond - just beautiful!

BPAL - Miskatonic University

The next random BPAL is from A Picnic in Arkham and the lab discribes it as

A venerable New England university, whose vast library holds many rare, diabolical and obscure arcane works, including one of the few surviving legitimate copies of the Necronomicon. Home to innumerable scholars of the esoteric and the occult, and the notorious Dr. Herbert West.

The scent of Irish coffee, dusty tomes and polished oakwood halls.

In the first moment this ist pure coffee - and I'm not too fond of coffee, but this is sweet and kind of soft, not the harsh scent I know from our coffeemachine. No dust or wood to my nose.

After drydown: This pretty much stays soft, warm, sweet and creamy coffee - I can wear it, I even like it, but it is so not me. I'd consider this scent comforting and cozy - it smells like a rainy day on the couch with a great book - and well, coffee I guess ;o)

After a few hours: Now this is spicier and a bit woody - not so sweet anymore.

BPAL - Obatala

Again time for a random BPAL. Obatala from the Excolo Collection. The lab says:

The King of the White Cloth, King of the Orishas, the First Among Equals. He is the King of Power, and his weapon is wisdom. He is the essence of honored maturity, wisdom through age and experience, purity of intention, virtue, humility, tolerance, judicious use of power, the knowledge of what is truly right and wrong, the moral code, and the obligation to do what is right. Obatala is the Creator God, who first fashioned mankind from clay; thus, he is also the first sculptor and potter. The human head itself is Obatala’s creation, and it is through it that he grants us the ability to discern genuine morality as opposed to oppressive, mistaken and arrogant self-righteousness. His is not the falsehood of societal boundaries, His Truth is the understanding of one’s own character and the obligations that we all have to our world, our Gods, and one another. He is the Benevolent Judge, calm and lucid, and he governs rational deliberation. His color is white, as His spirit is free from any soil or stain, and His energy radiates sanctified purity, great wisdom, happiness and internal peace. He is associated with cloth, as that was one of His gifts to mankind. The aspects of Obatala are symbolized by the chameleon, boa constrictor, elephant, gorilla, and snail. Obatala is the Lord of Laughter, for it is through wisdom that one may see the joy in life, and through laughter we are able to see the follies of mankind not with cynicism and derision, but with humor, compassion and understanding. Obatala’s Laughter helps soothe the pain of life’s rigors, and takes the sting out of the harshest of life’s lessons. Obatala’s ofrenda is soft, white and pure: milk, coconut meat, shea butter and cool, refreshing water.

Whoa, this is sweet! I don't remember it beeing so sweet when I first tried it! But my imp is aged by now, so perhaps I got sweeter over the time.

Wet: very sweet and coconutty with somethig underneath I'm not too fond of. Almost like the milk in it turned sour ;o)

Later: It starts to behave ... it's not cavity giving sweet anymore - now it's just sweet and there is something similar to Lush Silky Underwear to it.

My verdict: Nice but too sweet on me - and I think my skin doesn't work well with the milk, so this won't become a favorite.

1. Co-workers verdict: Pure coconut! She's in love ;o)
2. Co-workers verdict: Something smells like coconut! - It's me - Never wear that again, it reminds my of those candys I like and I get hungry!

BPAL - Spellbound

A random BPAL - this time from Ars Amatoria:

Perfectly enchanting! An irresistibly sexual, utterly rapturous blend of three roses, radiant amber, and sensual red musk.

First I thought: Huh, how could I forget this scent?! It slept for a long time in my "try again" stash - and it is so nice! It's roses with a hint of Blood Amber and something earthy.

After a while the Blood Amber hint vanishes, the scent becomes more earthy and somehow masculine - not at all a romantic rose, but really a great scent.

Afer a few hours becomes sweeter - somehow with a hint of vanilla - and still some earthiness. The vanilla is not candylike, just perfect.

Overall an interesting scent with a lot of morphing. I think I should wear it more often!

BPAL - Strangler Fig

This time from Rappaccini's Garden

A glorious parasite! Once the seeds of the Strangler Fig find root in the bark of a tree, snakelike roots erupt and reach graspingly at the sky. The Strangler Fig then sprouts numerous epiphytic vines that strangles and surrounds its unwilling host, and finally snuffs the life from it. Rooty, woody, with deep green tones.

wet: sweet grass and wood
later: Still a bit woody but I'm surprised: They said nothing about vanilla! Why is this vanilla on me? Really nice vanilla! Grown up vanilla! I think I'll need a bottle of this for those days a crave the security vanilla gives me. This might become a BPAL favorite of mine!

BPAL - The Hesperides

Another random BPAL! Today The Hesperides from the Bewitching Brews Collection. The Hesperides ...

are the Nymphs of the Evening who dwell in a verdant garden located in the Arcadian Mountains, guarded by the terrible three-headed dragon, Ladon. Within their garden lives the tree that bears Hera’s sacred Golden Apples. Their perfume is that of sturdy oak bark, dew-kissed leaves, twilight mist and crisp apple.

Morphing:
first - sweet apple and something woody
after 30 minutes: sweet, a bit like cotton candy, apple almost gone.
Later: subtle cotton candy with a hint of rose - nice! (don't ask where the rose came from!)

I really think that I should wear this one more often. It's such a nice candy-scent without being too sweet or childish! It's a possible new BPAL favorite for me! Something totally different from all my other favorites, I think.

BPAL - Ultraviolet

Hello fellow BPAL-friends!

Today I grabbed another random BPAL out of the hat. It's Ultraviolet from the Bewitching Brews Collection.

Electrifying, mechanized and chilly - the scent of crushed blooms strewn on cold metal. Lush violet and neroli spiked hard with eucalyptus and a sliver of mint.

So what do I get?

This one I have to split, it morphes extremly:

1-10 minutes:
This is really terrible and I think that I have to wash it off immediately. It is sharp eucalyptus with sweet chewing gum mint and a hint of floral. It makes me nauseous and it has something from a very digusting cough drop. The one you'd refuse to suck even if it would really help you. I had to fight to manage those first minutes.

10-30 minutes:
Violet with edgy eucalyptus. Luckily not with the cough drop eucalyptus any more. Very interesting, surely something unique. Nothing you'd expect a perfume to be. And not my style. But I can imaging that I'd like this scent on a man - so I'd label it as "unisex".

After 30 minutes:
The longer I wear it, the more it becomes a plain but nice violet scent. Of course a bit sweet. I'm note sure if this is still unisex ... well I still think that I'd like it on a man - even if it's not the conventional masculine scent.

Verdict: If you endure the first minutes this one becomes a really nice violet scent - violet, not ultraviolet.

BPAL - Squirting Cucumber

Okay, another random BPAL! I wanted this one so badly becaus the lab writes:

Yikes! A spurt of wet, grassy greenness.

This one is from the Rappaccini's Garden collection. But well ... what can I say. Wet? Grassy? Green? No, my skin turns this into very sweet cucumber. Not really something I want to smell like! Fresh cucumber?! Why not. But sweet? No thanks.

Anyway I should not come to close to my guinea pigs with this one ... couldn't blame them for wanting to take a bite ...

BPAL - London

This one is going to be a short post ...

London belongs to the Wanderlust category.

The lab explains:

Venerable Victorian Tea Rose… twisted, blackened and emboldened with wickedness.

This is sweet but very fresh rose. Gras green. Really nice. After some hours it's only sweet rose but that's around the time I would reapply anyway. So: Two thumbs up for this one!

BPAL - Suspiro

Time for another random BPAL. Today it's Suspiro from Ars Amatoria.

The lab tells us:

A Latin word that means to sigh or draw a deep breath, that also suggests longing, desire, yearning, and a passionate wish. Ylang ylang with white plum, white orchid, jasmine, calla lily and lily of the valley.

First minutes: Guess what! This is a real floral! Of course my skin turns it sweet, but still - this is a fresh, nice floral. I can't get any Ylang ylang. The lily of the valley is faint, the jasmine behaves - the rest: Yep, definitly there!

Later on: Well ... okay. After I put this one on I thought "how could I have forgotten this scent?!" Now I think "Yeah right ... my skin". Of course this one turns so sweet that there is nothing fresh left!

And I'm always astonished about the difference in the scent on my left and right hand! My right hand is often colder than my left - that's the reason for the difference but it also means that the right hand keeps the original scent after application for a bit longer than the left one. The left one gets sweeter and sweeter, the jasmine comes out more and more and the scent is a pastel pink-lilac one while the right hand is still fresh and fruity and nice.

Final verdict: This gets too sweet and too faint on me. If it would stay in the phase like it is on my right hand, I would love it. Fresh, like spring on a sunny day in the garden. But well, the left hand shows how it really behaves and ... no. Not for me. Not totally bad, don't get me wrong but - lets say it with the words of the gorgeous Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice: "She is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me" (does this mean we end up together after all?!)