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Entry tags:
Druid, Baobahn Sith, Arcana, Phobos, Black Cat, Squirting Cucumber, Kyoto, Bess, Ameles Potamos
I have a backlog of BPAL reviews that I've been saving in the hopes that the BPAL forums will come online again. The complete-ist in me wants to read all the reviews of a fragrance before I post my own for a few reasons: sometimes they're really funny, sometimes they help me clarify what it is I smell, and always they activate my "OMG, how are people getting all these different smells from the exact same fragrance?" sensibilities. I've been using Google Cache and the WayBack Machine to read reviews, but that has proven to be more tedious than I expected, and a surprising number of review pages just aren't accessible using those methods (which seems to me to bode ill for the forums eventually returning in their entirety).
So, I'm just going to bite the bullet and give y'all what I've got whether or not I managed to read all the reviews of a fragrance. (This is almost physically painful, but I soldier on. I may have to go file some things or make a list and scratch off items in order to recover LOL) I've got a backlog of reviews of nine more BPAL fragrances after this post.
Druid
The Catalog Description
A woolen robe infused with the scent of a vast, primordial forest: ancient trees, fertile soil, wild herbs, spring grasses, and burgundy pitch incense.
The Forum Reviews
Many reviews describe this as earthy and woodsy and containing dark resin. ZenKou_Zen says: "This is one awesome smelling Druid. The kind that you wouldn't mind having sex with during some pagan holiday, outside by a fire, in the middle of a forest, against an oak tree. Because you know he's magic."
Our Reactions
My mom just straight up noped out on this one (as she has on pretty much everything she tested with us LOL). Emma thinks it smells sweet and like citrus, pine, woods, and musk. I smell much the same thing minus the citrus. I also smell mint and floral elements. I like this one. I don't think it wows me enough to qualify for a big bottle purchase but it certainly smells nice.
Baobahn Sith
The Catalog Description
Grapefruit, white tea, apple blossom and ginger.
Our Reactions
Josh and I both like this quite a bit. It smells like lemon and orange and grapefruit, the sharp bite of the essential oils in the rind and not the sweetness of the flesh. It smells almost exactly like Fleur de Royale, a grapefruit and bergamot based perfume available from Bourbon French Perfumes--a New Orleans perfume house that's been around since 1843. Josh and I both grew up fairly close to New Orleans, and so we've visited the city many times. One of those times shortly after we got married, Josh treated me to shower gel and other bath products from Bourbon French Perfumes, and smelling Baobahn Sith is like stepping back 13 years into that wonderful memory.
Arcana
The Catalog Description
The essence of magickal enigmas and long-forgotten esoteric mysteries. Frankincense, rosemary, lavender, neroli, and verbena.
Our Reactions
Emma despises frankincense, so this was a no go for her. I wanted to like this so so badly. It started off smelling strongly of orange and incense and then went powdery on me. Very disappointing. :(
Phobos
The Catalog Description
Chilling white musk, lemon verbena, white grapefruit and lemongrass.
Our Reactions
When I first smelled this, I thought it smelled pretty much exactly like Nanshe. But when I smelled them back to back, I realized they are really quite different. Phobos is sweeter and more mellow, and the lavender in Nanshe is much stronger than I had remembered it being. Phobos dries down to something a little powdery (in a good way) and sweet on me that I adore. I will probably buy a big bottle of this fragrance.
Black Cat
Our Reactions
This is one of those with no useful description in the catalog, so I'm just relying on our impressions. It starts off smelling like chocolate and mint, kinda like an Andes Mint. I can smell a woodsy note and also some rose underneath. Emma loves this one, so I gave it to her. She's worn it several times since, and it smells really nice and age appropriate on her.
Squirting Cucumber
The Catalog Description
Yikes! A spurt of wet, grassy greenness.
Our Reactions
Emma thinks it smells like taking a bite of cucumber rind. For me, this starts off almost too acridly, smelling exactly like the bitter peel of a cucumber. But then it fades to something fresh and sweet--cucumber all on its own with no added sugar. This is one of the truest cucumber smells I've ever smelled--beautiful and fresh and clean and nakedly cucumber.
Kyoto
The Catalog Description
A gentle, soothing blend of cherry blossom, white sandalwood and star anise.
Our Reactions
Emma likes this; she thinks it smells like Japanese cherry blossoms with a slight undertone of incense. I like it alright; it smells pretty strongly of licorice on me. Josh thinks it smells sweeter and in his words "gross" on Emma while it smells spicier and prettier on me, but he still doesn't like it. This is going off to swaps.
Bess
The Catalog Description
Inspired by the tragic, ill-fated love of Queen Elizabeth I and the Earl of Leicester. This is our modernization of a 17th-century perfume blend favored by British aristocracy: rosemary, orange flower, grape spirit, five rose variants, lemon peel, and mint.
Our Reactions
This is the first BPAL with prominent rose that really works on me. It starts off very grapey, almost grape chewing gum, and that somehow off-sets the strong rose note and keeps it from being cloying. There are some flowers I can't really identify and some herbal notes, but mostly this smells like grapey rose to me. I don't like it well enough to buy a big bottle, but I like it and Josh finds it unoffensive.
Ameles Potamos
The Catalog Description
The River of Unmindfulness: bittersweet black water swollen with forgotten tears.
The Forum Reviews
Weirdly, there's only one page of reviews for this one. BeKindRewind says, "but it's not just sweet and [aquatic], there's some salt, and more importantly some light resinous-incense goodness." Other reviewers are reminded of crying, musk, and ambergris. Reviewers liken this fragrance to Lightning, Sea of Glass, Annabel Lee, Windward Passage, and Reyleh.
Our Reactions
I love this. Love it, love it. I want a big bottle pronto. It's sweet and aquatic and smells more like a commercial perfume than most of the other BPAL offerings. There is an underlying bitterness and saltiness to the fragrance that's intriguing. Emma and Josh like it as well.
Giveaways:
Kyoto to musyc
Croquet
Thy Godfather's Present
Has No Hanna
Tresor
Guerlain Mitsouko to musyc
Guerlain L'Heure Bleue to musyc
So, I'm just going to bite the bullet and give y'all what I've got whether or not I managed to read all the reviews of a fragrance. (This is almost physically painful, but I soldier on. I may have to go file some things or make a list and scratch off items in order to recover LOL) I've got a backlog of reviews of nine more BPAL fragrances after this post.
The Catalog Description
A woolen robe infused with the scent of a vast, primordial forest: ancient trees, fertile soil, wild herbs, spring grasses, and burgundy pitch incense.
The Forum Reviews
Many reviews describe this as earthy and woodsy and containing dark resin. ZenKou_Zen says: "This is one awesome smelling Druid. The kind that you wouldn't mind having sex with during some pagan holiday, outside by a fire, in the middle of a forest, against an oak tree. Because you know he's magic."
Our Reactions
My mom just straight up noped out on this one (as she has on pretty much everything she tested with us LOL). Emma thinks it smells sweet and like citrus, pine, woods, and musk. I smell much the same thing minus the citrus. I also smell mint and floral elements. I like this one. I don't think it wows me enough to qualify for a big bottle purchase but it certainly smells nice.
The Catalog Description
Grapefruit, white tea, apple blossom and ginger.
Our Reactions
Josh and I both like this quite a bit. It smells like lemon and orange and grapefruit, the sharp bite of the essential oils in the rind and not the sweetness of the flesh. It smells almost exactly like Fleur de Royale, a grapefruit and bergamot based perfume available from Bourbon French Perfumes--a New Orleans perfume house that's been around since 1843. Josh and I both grew up fairly close to New Orleans, and so we've visited the city many times. One of those times shortly after we got married, Josh treated me to shower gel and other bath products from Bourbon French Perfumes, and smelling Baobahn Sith is like stepping back 13 years into that wonderful memory.
The Catalog Description
The essence of magickal enigmas and long-forgotten esoteric mysteries. Frankincense, rosemary, lavender, neroli, and verbena.
Our Reactions
Emma despises frankincense, so this was a no go for her. I wanted to like this so so badly. It started off smelling strongly of orange and incense and then went powdery on me. Very disappointing. :(
The Catalog Description
Chilling white musk, lemon verbena, white grapefruit and lemongrass.
Our Reactions
When I first smelled this, I thought it smelled pretty much exactly like Nanshe. But when I smelled them back to back, I realized they are really quite different. Phobos is sweeter and more mellow, and the lavender in Nanshe is much stronger than I had remembered it being. Phobos dries down to something a little powdery (in a good way) and sweet on me that I adore. I will probably buy a big bottle of this fragrance.
Our Reactions
This is one of those with no useful description in the catalog, so I'm just relying on our impressions. It starts off smelling like chocolate and mint, kinda like an Andes Mint. I can smell a woodsy note and also some rose underneath. Emma loves this one, so I gave it to her. She's worn it several times since, and it smells really nice and age appropriate on her.
The Catalog Description
Yikes! A spurt of wet, grassy greenness.
Our Reactions
Emma thinks it smells like taking a bite of cucumber rind. For me, this starts off almost too acridly, smelling exactly like the bitter peel of a cucumber. But then it fades to something fresh and sweet--cucumber all on its own with no added sugar. This is one of the truest cucumber smells I've ever smelled--beautiful and fresh and clean and nakedly cucumber.
The Catalog Description
A gentle, soothing blend of cherry blossom, white sandalwood and star anise.
Our Reactions
Emma likes this; she thinks it smells like Japanese cherry blossoms with a slight undertone of incense. I like it alright; it smells pretty strongly of licorice on me. Josh thinks it smells sweeter and in his words "gross" on Emma while it smells spicier and prettier on me, but he still doesn't like it. This is going off to swaps.
The Catalog Description
Inspired by the tragic, ill-fated love of Queen Elizabeth I and the Earl of Leicester. This is our modernization of a 17th-century perfume blend favored by British aristocracy: rosemary, orange flower, grape spirit, five rose variants, lemon peel, and mint.
Our Reactions
This is the first BPAL with prominent rose that really works on me. It starts off very grapey, almost grape chewing gum, and that somehow off-sets the strong rose note and keeps it from being cloying. There are some flowers I can't really identify and some herbal notes, but mostly this smells like grapey rose to me. I don't like it well enough to buy a big bottle, but I like it and Josh finds it unoffensive.
The Catalog Description
The River of Unmindfulness: bittersweet black water swollen with forgotten tears.
The Forum Reviews
Weirdly, there's only one page of reviews for this one. BeKindRewind says, "but it's not just sweet and [aquatic], there's some salt, and more importantly some light resinous-incense goodness." Other reviewers are reminded of crying, musk, and ambergris. Reviewers liken this fragrance to Lightning, Sea of Glass, Annabel Lee, Windward Passage, and Reyleh.
Our Reactions
I love this. Love it, love it. I want a big bottle pronto. It's sweet and aquatic and smells more like a commercial perfume than most of the other BPAL offerings. There is an underlying bitterness and saltiness to the fragrance that's intriguing. Emma and Josh like it as well.
Giveaways:
Kyoto to musyc
Croquet
Thy Godfather's Present
Has No Hanna
Tresor
Guerlain Mitsouko to musyc
Guerlain L'Heure Bleue to musyc