Hooray for yummy-smelling things!

[badseed1980]

I just placed a BPAL order. It's my third order from them, and the first in a year and a half. I am not as obsessed as some folks are (ahem, J), but I do love some of their stuff.

I bought two full bottles and a six-pack of imps. One of the bottles is No. 93 Engine. ("Balm of Gilead, benzoin, frankincense, balsam of peru, beeswax, saffron, galbanum, calamus, hyssop, mastic, lemon balm, and white sage.") I had an imp of it, and the smell made me so happy that I had to have a full bottle. It's one of very few scents that I don't think of as sexy, but still like as something for me to wear (as opposed to just smelling it as a room scent or something). It's sort of bright golden-resin-metal in scent. Ethereal, somehow, but warm and cheerful. Light, not mist.

The other bottle is Snake Oil. ("A blend of exotic Indonesian oils sugared with vanilla.") Snake Oil is one I got as an imp, and which I liked reasonably well, though it doesn't resonate with me as an OMG THAT'S ME scent. Nice, but not all that exciting. But it's the only scent that pierceheart has ever said he liked without my asking him his opinion, so I got the full bottle. Gotta keep the man happy, right? :) Of course, if he only likes it because it reminds him of someone ELSE, that someone else might be getting a present instead of me keeping it!

The imps I ordered are:

Satyr (This is the smell of SEXY MAN. If the boy doesn't want it, I've got other uses for it. I know gods who will like this one. At least two of them. Come to think of it, I may need to get a bottle of it if the gods start clamoring loudly enough.)

Phoenix Steamworks ("Burnished gold and oiled bronze notes with Abramelin incense and sage." Sounds like it will have some of the stuff I like about No. 93 Engine, but maybe more metallic.)

Scherezade ("Saffron and Middle Eastern spices swirled through sensual red musk"--sounds nice for a belly dancer!)

Defututa (Basically means "all fucked out" in Latin. Nice! Olive blossom, honey, smoky vanilla, cinnamon, jasmine, sandalwood, and champaca flower., I'm really curious about how this one will be. What an interesting blend.)

Haunted ("Soft golden amber darkened with a touch of murky black musk." Have I said how much I adore amber and musk? Amber is definitely a ME-note.)

Lyonesse ("Golden vanilla and gilded musk, stargazer lily, white sandalwood, grey amber, elemi, orris root, ambergris and sea moss." Yes, more musk and amber. And then some. I do "golden" scents well.)

Comments

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

I like the smell of snake oil, plain and simple.

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

OK, works for me. I know that some people associate scent very strongly with the first person they know who wears it, but not everyone. It's why even though I like BPAL's Villain, I would never want you to wear it because it would make you smell like J.

I like it too, though I still prefer others. It's a nice "Oy, I don't know what to wear today!" scent.

[miss-lisa-ma.livejournal.com]

Mmmmmmmm, BPAL! Is there anything bad from BPAL? (Silly rhetorical question.)

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Actually, no, it's neither silly nor rhetorical! There's stuff that when I smelled it, I went, "UGH!" Most of the really "wet" scents make my nose wrinkle, especially if they have a heavy, sickly fruit in them. Anything with melon in it from them makes me want to barf. But I freely admit to being amazingly super-picky about perfume.

*blinks*

Hey, I now own Perfume: the Story of a Murderer. I must watch that tonight!

[miss-lisa-ma.livejournal.com]

I've had a few "UGH!" reactions to some BPAL imps I've tried, too (overly fruity scents do that to me, as well, as do overly floral scents without something spicy or musky to anchor them). But there's still something about those scents that makes me glad I tried them, unlike most of the commercial scents out there. Even the bombs strike me as elegant, ambitious or somehow worthy bombs :-)

[disownedheidi.livejournal.com]

What is BPAl and what's an imp? A little bottle shaped like a demon?

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

LOL!

BPAL is Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, a perfume company. Imps are Imps' Ears, what they call their little sample-size vials (though they aren't demon-shaped).

[elissa-carey.livejournal.com]

I am both attracted to and wary of the idea of Defututa; it sounds really lovely in theory, but in thinking about the scents within it, it may get very cloyingly sweet.

I am really hoping someday to be able to get my hands on some Phantom Queen, whether an imp or full bottle. It sounds really really good, and then there's also the obvious.

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

I tend to wear sweet scents well, so long as they aren't fruity or foody. Amber and musk can give a sweet blend some good body to keep it from being cloying.

[evaelisabeth.livejournal.com]

Do post reviews of what you got, some of them sound downright yummy.

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

When I get them, I will!

[autumnquest.livejournal.com]

You seem to be drawn to similar scents as I am. I always like the spicy, exotic and musky scents.

But occasionally I need a light, flowery scent, too.

Enjoy the new lushessness

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

My favorite non-BPAL scent is Habanita de Molinard, a perfume from the '20s that has lots of lovely florals in addition to the musk, amber, and leather. :) It's gorgeous.