Bite Me, The Girl, & Julia Stone
Bite Me
BPAL description: Croquembouche with almond silk and a drizzle of caramel.
Sniffed: Golden oil. A little bit of cake, a distinct burnt sugar, dark caramel note that is unlike other caramel notes in BPAL - much less sweet, much more aromatic, and really delicious. Then the almond is the strongest note, and it's almost perfumey, like an amber or something, but I like that part. There's also a strong benzaldehyde-fake cherry aspect to the almond that I don't like.
Wet: On my skin, much the same, although maybe the cherry-almond extract note is amper? It's a little less sweet. I really wish I got more cake or any sort of a creamy type of note, but I don't at all - this is not a creamy scent in the least.
Dry: The perfuminess of this strongly reminds me of another BPAL scent - I THINK Cleopatra Testing Poisons. I get a strong feeling of sweet resiny & syrupy warmth. It reminds of a non-aquatic Thalassa & the Queen of Sheba too. If it weren't for the softly lingering deep caramel note, I wouldn't even call this foody.
Later: Okay, now there is a definitely rose note. WTF. It's like almond extract and rose with a hint of dark caramel, but not foody anymore with the emergence of the rose. It is however, a really nice fresh, fruity rose note like in The Rose - in fact, I'm almost positive they share some of the same notes, maybe even some freesia too.
Summary: What a morpher! Rose-scented almond extract-flavoured dark caramel.Quite 'perfumey' and I don't think a man could pull this off. Strange and not actually foody in the final drydown.. Good throw & longevity.
The Girl
BPAL description: A seductive, serpentine white scent, elusive, crystalline, and spellbinding: white amber, silver birch, immortelle, davana, pale musk, star jasmine, and ylang ylang.
Sniffed: Pale yellow oil. Perfumey, musky, sweet, feminine. Stronger/more intense than anticipated. I definitely get the heavier floral notes, white amber, and sweet-soda quality of the birch. But it's not overwhelming.
Wet: More davana (rather 'pink' and almost like lotus, almost fruity here) and more birch; sweeter. Less of the perfumey heavy florals. I also get a lot of white amber which freshens this, gives it a more 'cologney' feel as well as more depth and certain richness/heaviness. The birch is slightly mentholic in a gorgeous, almost wintry way - it's almost bubbly, and really shines here. There's an almost candy (almost, but not quite) feel, but soft. The immortelle adds a bit of sharpness, a pleasant almost-herbal edge that cuts the sweeter and heavier elements.
Dry: This is reminding me strongly of something, and I can't place it. I am, unfortunately, a little more aware now of the ylang ylang and jasmine notes, which though bearable, do make this slightly heady and IMO, make this an 'older' feeling scent.
Later: The birch is holding strongly - after Talvikuu, this has the strongest birch note I've noticed - but unfortunately those heady florals have amped further, to the point that they are almost bothering me, especially with the amping of the musk too which makes this a more heavy scent overall.
Summary: Musk, musk, delicious musk dominates by miles after a few hours, with birch and white amber just below. Pretty much everything else has faded to the point that I cannot pick the notes out individually, happily in the case of those nemesis florals. It's a sweet, slightly rich, skin/musk blend but still somewhat 'bubbly' feeling, very feminine, and I can see why it's so popular. Very strong throw and longevity.
Julia Stone
BPAL description: Rotting once-white fabric, spotted with mold.
Sniffed: Deep golden oil. Clean and light, almost grassy in its freshness, almost but not quite cologney. I don't really get a linen note, but there is a definite greenness, a slight sappiness like crushed new green leaves, as well as an underlying 'whiteness' that strikes me as pure and innocent.
Wet: A little more sharply green, with a slightly spicy/bright floral note that I'm almost positive is daisy. It feels brighter, whiter, maybe a little more 'yellow' as well as white and green. I'm still not getting any sort of distinct linen note or other 'fabric'-evoking aspect, but this does smells clean and fresh and like laundry drying in the sun - without being soapy or generic in the least.
Dry: Wow, it's almost completely gone. I was busy for 30 minutes and now it's fully dry and faded tremendously. However, all the sharpness has worn off and the notes have melded - it's a very soft, light, clean scent. It does remind me of linen and laundry now but not in a way that's like any other BPAL or other brands' attempt at a clean/linen/laundry scent. It's delicate, feminine, and very subtle and I adore it, and am so thrilled that something with my first name is so very lovely.
Later: Now in the final later drydown I get a crushed stone note; literally, like someone took granite and smashed it. It's a beautiful mineral element, to me very reminiscent of the finest stone/mineral notes in crisp white wines, so it evokes both that association and a feeling of being in an old granite quarry.
Summary: Clean, outdoorsy, a sense of purity (for me, always associated with nature) but also a sense of age, of the ancient. This scent expresses perfectly the paradox of ancient, immortal youth. I also get a sweet muskiness now, extremely light, perhaps a faint vanilla musk? It evokes that white girliness, and the feel at this point is one of grey-white pearlescence, or maybe moonstone, or age-polished, worn grey granite or marble. Very low throw and it fades tremendously at first, but after the initial fade it has good longevity on my skin, and thus slathering should be ideal.
BPAL description: Croquembouche with almond silk and a drizzle of caramel.
Sniffed: Golden oil. A little bit of cake, a distinct burnt sugar, dark caramel note that is unlike other caramel notes in BPAL - much less sweet, much more aromatic, and really delicious. Then the almond is the strongest note, and it's almost perfumey, like an amber or something, but I like that part. There's also a strong benzaldehyde-fake cherry aspect to the almond that I don't like.
Wet: On my skin, much the same, although maybe the cherry-almond extract note is amper? It's a little less sweet. I really wish I got more cake or any sort of a creamy type of note, but I don't at all - this is not a creamy scent in the least.
Dry: The perfuminess of this strongly reminds me of another BPAL scent - I THINK Cleopatra Testing Poisons. I get a strong feeling of sweet resiny & syrupy warmth. It reminds of a non-aquatic Thalassa & the Queen of Sheba too. If it weren't for the softly lingering deep caramel note, I wouldn't even call this foody.
Later: Okay, now there is a definitely rose note. WTF. It's like almond extract and rose with a hint of dark caramel, but not foody anymore with the emergence of the rose. It is however, a really nice fresh, fruity rose note like in The Rose - in fact, I'm almost positive they share some of the same notes, maybe even some freesia too.
Summary: What a morpher! Rose-scented almond extract-flavoured dark caramel.Quite 'perfumey' and I don't think a man could pull this off. Strange and not actually foody in the final drydown.. Good throw & longevity.
The Girl
BPAL description: A seductive, serpentine white scent, elusive, crystalline, and spellbinding: white amber, silver birch, immortelle, davana, pale musk, star jasmine, and ylang ylang.
Sniffed: Pale yellow oil. Perfumey, musky, sweet, feminine. Stronger/more intense than anticipated. I definitely get the heavier floral notes, white amber, and sweet-soda quality of the birch. But it's not overwhelming.
Wet: More davana (rather 'pink' and almost like lotus, almost fruity here) and more birch; sweeter. Less of the perfumey heavy florals. I also get a lot of white amber which freshens this, gives it a more 'cologney' feel as well as more depth and certain richness/heaviness. The birch is slightly mentholic in a gorgeous, almost wintry way - it's almost bubbly, and really shines here. There's an almost candy (almost, but not quite) feel, but soft. The immortelle adds a bit of sharpness, a pleasant almost-herbal edge that cuts the sweeter and heavier elements.
Dry: This is reminding me strongly of something, and I can't place it. I am, unfortunately, a little more aware now of the ylang ylang and jasmine notes, which though bearable, do make this slightly heady and IMO, make this an 'older' feeling scent.
Later: The birch is holding strongly - after Talvikuu, this has the strongest birch note I've noticed - but unfortunately those heady florals have amped further, to the point that they are almost bothering me, especially with the amping of the musk too which makes this a more heavy scent overall.
Summary: Musk, musk, delicious musk dominates by miles after a few hours, with birch and white amber just below. Pretty much everything else has faded to the point that I cannot pick the notes out individually, happily in the case of those nemesis florals. It's a sweet, slightly rich, skin/musk blend but still somewhat 'bubbly' feeling, very feminine, and I can see why it's so popular. Very strong throw and longevity.
Julia Stone
BPAL description: Rotting once-white fabric, spotted with mold.
Sniffed: Deep golden oil. Clean and light, almost grassy in its freshness, almost but not quite cologney. I don't really get a linen note, but there is a definite greenness, a slight sappiness like crushed new green leaves, as well as an underlying 'whiteness' that strikes me as pure and innocent.
Wet: A little more sharply green, with a slightly spicy/bright floral note that I'm almost positive is daisy. It feels brighter, whiter, maybe a little more 'yellow' as well as white and green. I'm still not getting any sort of distinct linen note or other 'fabric'-evoking aspect, but this does smells clean and fresh and like laundry drying in the sun - without being soapy or generic in the least.
Dry: Wow, it's almost completely gone. I was busy for 30 minutes and now it's fully dry and faded tremendously. However, all the sharpness has worn off and the notes have melded - it's a very soft, light, clean scent. It does remind me of linen and laundry now but not in a way that's like any other BPAL or other brands' attempt at a clean/linen/laundry scent. It's delicate, feminine, and very subtle and I adore it, and am so thrilled that something with my first name is so very lovely.
Later: Now in the final later drydown I get a crushed stone note; literally, like someone took granite and smashed it. It's a beautiful mineral element, to me very reminiscent of the finest stone/mineral notes in crisp white wines, so it evokes both that association and a feeling of being in an old granite quarry.
Summary: Clean, outdoorsy, a sense of purity (for me, always associated with nature) but also a sense of age, of the ancient. This scent expresses perfectly the paradox of ancient, immortal youth. I also get a sweet muskiness now, extremely light, perhaps a faint vanilla musk? It evokes that white girliness, and the feel at this point is one of grey-white pearlescence, or maybe moonstone, or age-polished, worn grey granite or marble. Very low throw and it fades tremendously at first, but after the initial fade it has good longevity on my skin, and thus slathering should be ideal.