BPAL Reviews XXXVIII
More Black Phoenix reviews. I owe them at least half my soul by now. Yes.
Below the cut are reviews of Fortunato, Monster Bait: Ventriloquist's Dummy, and the four following Dogs Playing Poker LEs: Riding the Goat, His Station with Four Aces, Pinched with Four Aces, and A Bachelor's Dog.
Fortunato, Lab description: "The scent begins with a sense of drunken glee, of orange peel, bittersweet berry and rose hip, and moves inexorably towards the dread and terror expressed in black patchouli."
Light orange and berry are lively in the bottle, and livelier on my skin. I like this immediately; it's foodier than it is citric, if that makes sense, so it's not a screaming bathroom-cleaner kind of smell. More candylike than anything.
The patchouli in this is just really interesting. It doesn't appear until after I've moved away from the scent, then it's an afterodor in my nose, like the smell of turned earth. That's a little disturbing, to say the least.
This blend has an aura of . . . haplessness. I don't know how else to put it. I can smell the happy, cheerful orange and berry, but underneath is a lurking horror.
Very, very well-done.
Monster Bait: Ventriloquist Dummy, Lab description: "Menacing, maniacal, and slick with the one-liners … this guy does it all with a wink and a smile! Savage apricot, depraved dry woods, and psychopathic patchouli covered by a disarmingly sweet mishmosh of caramel, brown sugar, hazelnut, and butterscotch. Be warned: this oil will instigate possession in most puppets, including some marionettes and the occasional finger puppet."
Patchouli and sugary caramel reign. This is a delicious scent, delightful, just a little wicked.
On, the wood really comes out - this smells like wood shavings and sweet sugar.
And, like a certain other scent I could name, it smells a little like pine shavings you use for rodent bedding.
This is musty and sort of dry on my skin, and has none of the rich, syrupy goodness the sweet wet smell promised! Fie! Fie!
Riding the Goat, Lab description: "A rich Masonic incense coupled with mahogany wood, ebony, and pipe smoke."
Incense and wood are dominant here, with an afterodor of sweet tobacco. I am so tickled by this painting that I'm predisposed to like this, but it's genuinely quite nice. The incense has a very sharp edge, almost like lavender, so it's hardly what I was expecting.
I'm pretty sure that this is frankincense, since it has an almost lemony edge to it.
It progresses through a steady series of stately incense notes, in fact; the drydown is a smooth sandalwood/amber, and the sharpness at this point is totally nonexistent.
His Station And Four Aces, Lab description: "Lilac fougere, white musk, and leather accord."
In the bottle, this is . . . umm. It's a fougere. This is the same general kind of scent as Villain, Old Scratch, The Scales of Deprivation, and so on. It smells a lot like Villain, actually. What I took for lavender initially is supposedly lilac, but it still smells like lavender to me.
On . . . ahh, no, that's lilac. And leather. And a liquid, silvery musk. This has a lovely, alluring throw, half cologne, half perfume, all beautiful. Up close, the leather gives what would otherwise be a total miss of a scent some depth on my skin, and some sex appeal.
Pinched With Four Aces, Lab description: "Colorado Maduro tobacco wrappers, cinnamon bark, coffee bean husk, and dry wood"
This is sweet and full in the bottle, a mix of sweet coffee and faint cinnamon swirling over a scent like the inside of a cigar box: pale wood and the softest, faintest aroma of tobacco.
The tobacco smell is almost like caramel, a similarity that comes out more as I wear it. This is wonderful. A sweet, smooth scent, unisex edging toward masculine. I love this, and I'm sorry I didn't get a bottle, or even a full imp.
A Bachelor's Dog, Lab description: "Soft musk, leather, and Brazilian cigar tobacco."
This is very smooth and soft, the kind of smell you might find in your wealthy uncle's home office, the smell of expensive tobacco, leather, and a hint of a warm, brown musk. It's rich and deep, pleasant, and not at all overbearing.
On, it's softer yet, a scent that could be the essence of your oddball aunt who used to be a pilot for an international crime syndicate, but has now settled down to run her own small business: an artefact smuggling ring.
The leather blooms after about ten minutes, as the sweet musk settles down, and then this scent grows its teeth. You all know what leather does to me. This scent is no exception. It's a wonderful blend, because the softness of the musk and tobacco really give this one an air of civilized danger. It's much less aggressively sexual than most leather blends, and more subtle.
A good batch, especially the dogs scents. Too bad they were extremely LE and I only have half imps.
So, what's your favorite scent you only have a limited supply of?
Tiny scent icons are courtesy of Storme's BPAL icons.
Below the cut are reviews of Fortunato, Monster Bait: Ventriloquist's Dummy, and the four following Dogs Playing Poker LEs: Riding the Goat, His Station with Four Aces, Pinched with Four Aces, and A Bachelor's Dog.
Fortunato, Lab description: "The scent begins with a sense of drunken glee, of orange peel, bittersweet berry and rose hip, and moves inexorably towards the dread and terror expressed in black patchouli."
Light orange and berry are lively in the bottle, and livelier on my skin. I like this immediately; it's foodier than it is citric, if that makes sense, so it's not a screaming bathroom-cleaner kind of smell. More candylike than anything.
The patchouli in this is just really interesting. It doesn't appear until after I've moved away from the scent, then it's an afterodor in my nose, like the smell of turned earth. That's a little disturbing, to say the least.
This blend has an aura of . . . haplessness. I don't know how else to put it. I can smell the happy, cheerful orange and berry, but underneath is a lurking horror.
Very, very well-done.
Monster Bait: Ventriloquist Dummy, Lab description: "Menacing, maniacal, and slick with the one-liners … this guy does it all with a wink and a smile! Savage apricot, depraved dry woods, and psychopathic patchouli covered by a disarmingly sweet mishmosh of caramel, brown sugar, hazelnut, and butterscotch. Be warned: this oil will instigate possession in most puppets, including some marionettes and the occasional finger puppet."
Patchouli and sugary caramel reign. This is a delicious scent, delightful, just a little wicked.
On, the wood really comes out - this smells like wood shavings and sweet sugar.
And, like a certain other scent I could name, it smells a little like pine shavings you use for rodent bedding.
This is musty and sort of dry on my skin, and has none of the rich, syrupy goodness the sweet wet smell promised! Fie! Fie!
Riding the Goat, Lab description: "A rich Masonic incense coupled with mahogany wood, ebony, and pipe smoke."
Incense and wood are dominant here, with an afterodor of sweet tobacco. I am so tickled by this painting that I'm predisposed to like this, but it's genuinely quite nice. The incense has a very sharp edge, almost like lavender, so it's hardly what I was expecting.
I'm pretty sure that this is frankincense, since it has an almost lemony edge to it.
It progresses through a steady series of stately incense notes, in fact; the drydown is a smooth sandalwood/amber, and the sharpness at this point is totally nonexistent.
His Station And Four Aces, Lab description: "Lilac fougere, white musk, and leather accord."
In the bottle, this is . . . umm. It's a fougere. This is the same general kind of scent as Villain, Old Scratch, The Scales of Deprivation, and so on. It smells a lot like Villain, actually. What I took for lavender initially is supposedly lilac, but it still smells like lavender to me.
On . . . ahh, no, that's lilac. And leather. And a liquid, silvery musk. This has a lovely, alluring throw, half cologne, half perfume, all beautiful. Up close, the leather gives what would otherwise be a total miss of a scent some depth on my skin, and some sex appeal.
Pinched With Four Aces, Lab description: "Colorado Maduro tobacco wrappers, cinnamon bark, coffee bean husk, and dry wood"
This is sweet and full in the bottle, a mix of sweet coffee and faint cinnamon swirling over a scent like the inside of a cigar box: pale wood and the softest, faintest aroma of tobacco.
The tobacco smell is almost like caramel, a similarity that comes out more as I wear it. This is wonderful. A sweet, smooth scent, unisex edging toward masculine. I love this, and I'm sorry I didn't get a bottle, or even a full imp.
A Bachelor's Dog, Lab description: "Soft musk, leather, and Brazilian cigar tobacco."
This is very smooth and soft, the kind of smell you might find in your wealthy uncle's home office, the smell of expensive tobacco, leather, and a hint of a warm, brown musk. It's rich and deep, pleasant, and not at all overbearing.
On, it's softer yet, a scent that could be the essence of your oddball aunt who used to be a pilot for an international crime syndicate, but has now settled down to run her own small business: an artefact smuggling ring.
The leather blooms after about ten minutes, as the sweet musk settles down, and then this scent grows its teeth. You all know what leather does to me. This scent is no exception. It's a wonderful blend, because the softness of the musk and tobacco really give this one an air of civilized danger. It's much less aggressively sexual than most leather blends, and more subtle.
A good batch, especially the dogs scents. Too bad they were extremely LE and I only have half imps.
So, what's your favorite scent you only have a limited supply of?
Tiny scent icons are courtesy of Storme's BPAL icons.