BPAL - Nyx, La Petit Mort, Dragon's Heart, Satyr, Strangler's Fig
Nyx
"Named in honor of the primeval Greek Goddess of Night. A scent reflecting inky black skies and eternal desolation. Night-blooming jasmine, warmed by myrrh, lifted by the promise of rose."
Jasmine is one of those scents that I knew I would feel strongly about, in my like or dislike. Nyx, as it turned out, is pure jasmine on me. (I still don't know what myrrh smells like, believe it or not, and I couldn't smell any rose.)
As I discovered, I very much like jasmine in my tea, but not on my skin. It just feels... wrong, not meant to be. So now I know to stay away from it.
Color: cream
Images evoked: jasmine petals, a pot of chinese jasmine tea
Veredict: Nice perfume, but for someone else. Swap box!
La Petit Mort
Seduction, sensuality, the Act, and the aftermath all in one. The scent of warm, damp skin flushed with the glow of passion, touched by the luxuriant potency of ylang ylang and myrrh.
Oooooh, this was love at first sniff!!! Sooo good!!! To be honest my expectations were low, as I was disappointed with every other "lusty" BPAL scent I've tried: O, All Night Long, Hunger. But this one is different. This is what a woman would smell if she were lucky to naturally smell great - if that makes any sense. It smells very natural to me, as warm skin. I found that I love the absense of any fruits, florals, or spices in this - I assumed that all (at least most) perfumes had at least some of that, and knowing that no, they can be more "natural", was a pleasant discovery.
Ylang ylang and myrrh, uhmmm... now I have to find out which smells like what, and how exactly they contribute to this perfect scent. (I wonder if that's it, or there is something else here? Must read reviews and find out...)
Color: soft amber cream, with sparkles
Images evoked: myself sniffing a woman's inner shoulder and comparing the scent to this
Veredict: We have a winner!!! Probably will buy a bottle when my imp runs out.
Dragon's Heart
A scent pulsing with vitality, warmth and insurmountable strength: dragon's blood resin, red and black musks, a throb of fig and a sliver of black currant.
For sure, I thought that I would hate dragon's blood. It sounded like something deeply red, overwhelmingly strong, spicy, thick and nasty. I've also read about it "pulsing, throbing", being used for spells, and the idea kind if scared me.
As it turned out, I found that I love it.
When I first dabbed a bit to my wrist (just a tad), I felt the "pulsing", and thought I was having an alergic reaction (even though I'm not alergic to anything, as far as I know). I thought of running and washing it off immediately, before it got worse, but happily I left it there. It was no allergy, it was just this vital feel that others had described.
When I sniffed it, oh, sweet heavens!!! So red, so deep, so sweet, all in a good way. Not a hint of spice, just yummy, juicy goodness. And so sexy. I couldn't stop smeling my wrist! And all day, I couldn't wait to get home and slather it on myself.
Now I want to try the entire Art Draconis line from BPAL - MUST compare this to anything else with dragon's blood. (Yum, vampires love it!)
Color: Blood red
Images evoked: Blood flowing in veins, but not metalic-tasting blood: instead, sweet tasting blood.
Veredict: Love it!!! Must get a bottle!
Satyr
Unleash the bawdy, unrestrained passion of the satyr! A ferociously masculine scent: sexual, vigorous, and truly wild.
This looks a bit scary inside the imp tube, brick red, staining the inside cap, looking like it wants to slither out of the glass and escape.
I don't know what's in here, but to me this smells like a much milder version of Serpent's Kiss - red and cinamonny, poison-like. Thankfully this isn't nasty or offensive - I'll give it that - but it's really not a pleasant scent for me. I don't like this kind of spices.
Color: Brick red
Images Evoked: Serpent's Kiss being diluted several times and losing its bite
Veredict: Will pass.
Strangler's Fig
The title sounds pretty cool, but the perfume itself is pretty nondescript to me. Not particularly pleasant or unpleasant. Very soft, light floral. There is not much else to say.
When I get home I'll go find the description, just for the sake of trying to analyze the notes a bit, but I'll pass on this one.
------------------
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.
Ah. No wonder this was boring.
"Named in honor of the primeval Greek Goddess of Night. A scent reflecting inky black skies and eternal desolation. Night-blooming jasmine, warmed by myrrh, lifted by the promise of rose."
Jasmine is one of those scents that I knew I would feel strongly about, in my like or dislike. Nyx, as it turned out, is pure jasmine on me. (I still don't know what myrrh smells like, believe it or not, and I couldn't smell any rose.)
As I discovered, I very much like jasmine in my tea, but not on my skin. It just feels... wrong, not meant to be. So now I know to stay away from it.
Color: cream
Images evoked: jasmine petals, a pot of chinese jasmine tea
Veredict: Nice perfume, but for someone else. Swap box!
La Petit Mort
Seduction, sensuality, the Act, and the aftermath all in one. The scent of warm, damp skin flushed with the glow of passion, touched by the luxuriant potency of ylang ylang and myrrh.
Oooooh, this was love at first sniff!!! Sooo good!!! To be honest my expectations were low, as I was disappointed with every other "lusty" BPAL scent I've tried: O, All Night Long, Hunger. But this one is different. This is what a woman would smell if she were lucky to naturally smell great - if that makes any sense. It smells very natural to me, as warm skin. I found that I love the absense of any fruits, florals, or spices in this - I assumed that all (at least most) perfumes had at least some of that, and knowing that no, they can be more "natural", was a pleasant discovery.
Ylang ylang and myrrh, uhmmm... now I have to find out which smells like what, and how exactly they contribute to this perfect scent. (I wonder if that's it, or there is something else here? Must read reviews and find out...)
Color: soft amber cream, with sparkles
Images evoked: myself sniffing a woman's inner shoulder and comparing the scent to this
Veredict: We have a winner!!! Probably will buy a bottle when my imp runs out.
Dragon's Heart
A scent pulsing with vitality, warmth and insurmountable strength: dragon's blood resin, red and black musks, a throb of fig and a sliver of black currant.
For sure, I thought that I would hate dragon's blood. It sounded like something deeply red, overwhelmingly strong, spicy, thick and nasty. I've also read about it "pulsing, throbing", being used for spells, and the idea kind if scared me.
As it turned out, I found that I love it.
When I first dabbed a bit to my wrist (just a tad), I felt the "pulsing", and thought I was having an alergic reaction (even though I'm not alergic to anything, as far as I know). I thought of running and washing it off immediately, before it got worse, but happily I left it there. It was no allergy, it was just this vital feel that others had described.
When I sniffed it, oh, sweet heavens!!! So red, so deep, so sweet, all in a good way. Not a hint of spice, just yummy, juicy goodness. And so sexy. I couldn't stop smeling my wrist! And all day, I couldn't wait to get home and slather it on myself.
Now I want to try the entire Art Draconis line from BPAL - MUST compare this to anything else with dragon's blood. (Yum, vampires love it!)
Color: Blood red
Images evoked: Blood flowing in veins, but not metalic-tasting blood: instead, sweet tasting blood.
Veredict: Love it!!! Must get a bottle!
Satyr
Unleash the bawdy, unrestrained passion of the satyr! A ferociously masculine scent: sexual, vigorous, and truly wild.
This looks a bit scary inside the imp tube, brick red, staining the inside cap, looking like it wants to slither out of the glass and escape.
I don't know what's in here, but to me this smells like a much milder version of Serpent's Kiss - red and cinamonny, poison-like. Thankfully this isn't nasty or offensive - I'll give it that - but it's really not a pleasant scent for me. I don't like this kind of spices.
Color: Brick red
Images Evoked: Serpent's Kiss being diluted several times and losing its bite
Veredict: Will pass.
Strangler's Fig
The title sounds pretty cool, but the perfume itself is pretty nondescript to me. Not particularly pleasant or unpleasant. Very soft, light floral. There is not much else to say.
When I get home I'll go find the description, just for the sake of trying to analyze the notes a bit, but I'll pass on this one.
------------------
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.
Ah. No wonder this was boring.