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 - 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 - 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 - 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 - 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 - 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?!)

BPAL - Brisingamen

Time for a random BPAL. Today it is Brisingamen.

It is part of the Ars Amatoria collection and BPAL descibes it as:

The amber necklace of Freyja, Norse Goddess of Love, Sex, Attraction and Fruitfulness. Her magnificent necklace was bough from four Dwarves [Alfrik, Berling, Dvalin and Grer] at the price of four nights of her passion. When Brisingamen graces your throat, no man can resist your charms. A glittering mantle of rich golden notes: five ambers, soft myrtle and apple blossom, myrtle, and carnation.

This is a very warm and sweet scent. Well, almost all BPALs turn pretty sweet on my. My skin turns everything sweet. Still this is nice but I'm not sure I'd wear this a lot. I can't find the carnation, nor the apple blossom but there is something woody in it.

There is a slight similarity to Blood Amber - but it's just the other way round: While Blood Amber has this "wet and floating, juicy" feeling to it, this one is totally dry and a powdery. In addition to that it's soapy. In the beginning not really much it grows ... the soapyness in addition to the powdery touch prevent it from becoming a favorite. It's really funny because it is so close to a potential "total love" scent - I have to sniff it again and again, still hoping that it changes a bit.

Anyway, I think this is a very comforting scent, I can imagine it as "good night" scent if you can look past the soapy part.

Addition after a few hours: By now the soap has gone and there is sweet powder left - no resemblance to Blood Amber anymore! But somehow nice. But I hate to wait that long till a scent is nice ...