Experiments in BPAL

[truepenny]

I ordered from BPAL 5 ml of Sin (Thoroughly corrupted: amber, sandalwood, black patchouli and cinnamon.) which was not an experiment--I already knew how good it smelled on me--and six imp's ears, plus the four they sent as lagniappe, listed here in that order:

FALLEN

Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heav'n. This is our song to Lucifer, Lucis Ferre, Heosphoros, the Morning Star, the Brilliant One and the Son of the Morning. He is equated with Samhazai, the Heaven-Seizer, and Azazel, one of the 200 Fallen Angels of Enoch. The essence of overweening pride and unearthly angelic beauty. A regal scent, glowing darkly, elegant and patrician, but unfathomably desolate. Cherubic white sandalwood and golden musk with a dark halo of amber, a breath of imperial florals, unbending woods, and the shadow cast by vetiver and violet.

KATHMANDU

The scent of sacred incense swirling up the steep slopes to Swayambhunath Stupa. Saffron, blessed sandalwood, Himalayan cedar and the miraculous lotus of the Buddha with chiuri bark and Nepalese spices.

MAG MELL

The Plane of Joy, eternal reward for a lifetime of valor and glory. A place of eternal youth and beauty, strength and honor, music and revelry. The warmth of amber, the puissance of white ginger and the clarity of verbena, with fresh green grass, lush sage and cleansing droplets of summer rain.

WHITECHAPEL

A gentlemen's blend, possessed of dignity, charm and refinement, but in truth masking a corrupted, hideous, soulless core. White musk, lime, lilac and citron.

HELLCAT

A soft, sensual, luxuriant blend with a wicked bite: hazelnut, buttercream, honey mead, rum and sweet almond.

KUMIHO

Nine-tailed fox demon of Korean lore who transforms into the visage of an irresistible beauty in order to seduce men and lead them to their doom. A sharp, biting blend of crisp white tea and ginger.

CALIBAN

The scent of the salty seas, bittersweet wine, palm and tropical ferns.

THE DEEP ONES

Black algae, drooping seaweed, salty brine, and crushed coral.

PRAGUE

For Jenny, with love. Crocus with snowdrop and three lilies.

OBLIVION

Salvation found in darkness beyond darkness, the blessed sleep of nothingness. Dark musk, wood spice, labdanum, patchouli, dark African woods, and saffron.

Thus far, I have tried Fallen, The Deep Ones, and Hellcat. Fallen is just a little sweeter than I like on me, although still a lovely scent. I don't object to it; it's just not quite how I want to smell. The Deep Ones is sharp and sweet and a little sickly (at least on me) and I will not be wearing it again, thank you.

Hellcat, on the other hand, which I am wearing right now ... I keep sniffing myself with delight. It doesn't seem to be quite as robust as Sin or Fallen, but damn I smell good.

Further bulletins as events warrant.

Comments

[wl551.livejournal.com]

I followed the link to BPAL in a previous post and am very intrigued, (I bookmarked it, in fact). There are soooo many scents, though, I wouldn't begin to know where to begin, so your post is very helpful. :)

[helen-keeble.livejournal.com]

Bwahahaha! Another innocent falls!

There's a fan-run community board (www.bpal.org) which is well worth checking out - there are (pages and pages) of reviews of all the scents, plus a lot of discussion of the "if I like X, what should I get?" kind. You need to register to see anything other than the reviews, though. It's a very friendly community, probably one of the best-run and politest forms I've ever encountered.

The Trades/Sales section of the forum is a great place to pick up cheap second-hand samples, too - often people do bulk "introductory pack" offers (the BPAL people themselves are fully aware of and support this secondary market).

[wl551.livejournal.com]

LOL!!

Thank you for the info! I'll definitely check it out. The second hand intro packs sound like a good way to get started. ^__^ I'm such a sucker for smelly stuff. hehe

[liminalia.livejournal.com]

Here on LJ, there's also bpalanonymous for reviews and general squeeing--they're very helpful to n00bs looking for advice on where to start, sinandsalvation for sales and swaps, bpal_swaps for trading only, the_icon_lab for BPAL icons...welcome to the crack. :) Oh, and the creatrix of all this lovely smelliness is also on LJ--kebechet. She's a sweetheart.

[wl551.livejournal.com]

Ahh! Thank you for the links! I joined bpalanonymous. :)

[tasyfa.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the head's up!

[elizawrites.livejournal.com]

I really liked Mag Mell on me but Prague not so much. I haven't tried any of the others you've listed.

[sagejupiter.livejournal.com]

bpal will eat your soul...

Oblivion sounds intriguing.

and in other news that icon blew a transistor in my brain.

But what do I know

[(Anonymous)]

I thought you smelled just fine when last we met--a blend of esters and phenols. As long as you're happy.

My deep condolences on the Campbell.

MKeaton

Re: But what do I know

[truepenny.livejournal.com]

Thank you. But honestly, I was expecting Naomi to win, so it's not like it's a big disappointment or anything.

[eiluned.livejournal.com]

If you're a fan of amber in perfumes, you might give Bastet a try (Luxuriant amber, warm Egyptian musk, fierce saffron and soft myrrh, almond, cardamom and golden lotus.). It's a nice, golden amber scent. It's sweeter than Sin, but it has me sniffing my wrists all day long.

[ashnistrike.livejournal.com]

However, for some of us it turns into spiced macaroons. Which is sad, because it smells lovely in the bottle. (s'funny, amber usually beats out everything on my skin, but I never smelled in in Bastet.) I'm glad to hear it stays nifty on other people.

-Nameseeker

[desperance.livejournal.com]

*sniffs truepenny*

*is bitten by cat*

(this has to be coincidence, surely?)

[tasyfa.livejournal.com]

Oh, wow. I clicked your cut because I had no idea what BPAL meant and I'm awfully glad I did. Oil-based scents are my favourite; I hate anything sprayed and I'm allergic to most flowers so am also therefore allergic to some 90%+ of traditional perfumes. This is a treasure trove! :D

[liminalia.livejournal.com]

See my comment above to wl551 for useful info.

[arlan-bishop.livejournal.com]

I too am a fan of the BPAL. Of your list I have tried the Kumiho and the Whitechapel. The first I like very much--it's crisp, cool. But, it fades very quickly on my skin. The second is not too bad, but its shade reminds me a bit too much of industrial bathroom cleanser.

BPAL

[selkith.livejournal.com]

You are the second person I know of on LJ who is doing critiques of BPAL scents, it is such an odd coincidence. Though the fact that two are doing this, and they are both people I read, and furthermore, one of them is a personal friend, I think perhaps it is more like serendipity. . . I was supposed to discover BPAL.... Now I am just plain curious, may have to try some...