BPAL

[breakinglight11]

I'm looking to pick six BPAL scents to get as a package of imps for my birthday next month. If anyone would like to render an opinion on what I'm looking at, feel free to chime in. I like rose, musk, honey, bergamot, cinnamon, vanilla, black tea, apple, herbs, and spices. I'm not familiar with things like amber and myrrh, but they sound nice. I prefer soft, rich, warm smells to sharp, cool ones.

Some I'm considering:

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.

That one reminds me of my mother, who loves white tea and ginger.

PHANTOM
All look and likeness caught from earth,
All accident of kin and birth,
Had pass'd away. There was no trace
Of aught on that illuminated face,
Upraised beneath the rifted stone
But of one spirit all her own;--
She, she herself, and only she,
Shone through her body visibly.

Myrrh, dark musk, attar of rose and ylang ylang.

I love rose and musk, and I had a shampoo I liked with ylang ylang in it.

WICKED
A paean to all the Wicked Queens, Evil Stepmothers, and other misunderstood villainesses throughout history and lore. Lends an aura of majesty, refinement, strength, and a deep, brooding malice. A sophisticated, womanly scent: rich myrrh and jasmine draped in the subtlest rose.

Rose again, and I like the light sweetness of jasmine, and the myrrh I'm curious about.

INFERNO
The Dark Side of Fire: cinnamon, bitter almond, and neroli. Heavily spiced, torrid, and possibly conflagrant.

I'm looking for a spicy cinnamon scent.

BRISINGAMEN
The amber necklace of Freyja, Norse Goddess of Love, Sex, Attraction and Fruitfulness. Her magnificent necklace was bough from four Dwarves [Alfrik, Berling, Dvalin and Grer] at the price of four nights of her passion. When Brisingamen graces your throat, no man can resist your charms. A glittering mantle of rich golden notes: five ambers, soft myrtle and apple blossom, myrtle, and carnation.

Amber sounds nice, and I'd love to have apple and carnation.

DESIRE
The overwhelming agony of passion crystallized into a singularly dark and magnetic blend: bittersweet neroli, black patchouli and black musk, gilded by apple, bergamot, blood red rose, teak, and vanilla.

Bergamot, rose, apple, musk, and vanilla. 

MATA HARI
A renowned exotic dancer and courtesan, possessed of aristocratic elegance, matchless charm, an iron will and a streak of fearlessness. The actual events of her life have met with much speculation, and to this day it is unclear whether or not she was truly a German spy. Despite shaky evidence of her guilt, she was tried for espionage by a closed court-martial and was executed by a French firing squad in 1917. Her scent is striking and bold with a delicate yet dark undertone: five roses with soft jasmine, warmed by vanilla, fig, tonka bean and mahogany, spiced with a drop of coffee bean. 

I'd like a strongly vanilla scent.

HARLOT
Based on a Romany incense blend reputed to induce sexual dreams: Somalian rose, Moroccan rose and Bulgar rose with a sultry dribble of cinnamon.

Mmm, cinnamon and rose. 

I'd like to walk away with a "cinnamon," an "apple," a "vanilla," and a "musk" at least.

Comments

[lisefrac.livejournal.com]

Mata Hari is coffee and rose on me--a little tonka if you really squint. I would not depend on it for vanilla (though keep in mind tonka is very similar to vanilla; a little woodier). If you'd like to try it, I have two imps I'm not using. The rosiest smell I've tried is Two, Five, and Seven from the Mad Tea Party collection. If you like sandalwood, Rakshasa blends rose and sandalwood very well. It's one of the few roses I can wear.

I have a hard time with cinnamon, because it tends to give me contact dermatitis. Saw-Scaled Viper from Carnival Diabolique is like pure cinnamon, cassia, ginger, and all kinds of burn-y stuff, if your skin can handle it. My favorite cinnamon, which I can't wear, alas, is Eclipse. Phantom Calliope (another CD scent) also has a cinnamon or cassia note.

Athens has a nice strong honey note, but it also has a fruity raisin/grape note, too. I'm mourning the fact that as my sample ages, the fruitiness is more prevalent. Hellcat has honeyed mead, which becomes much more pure honey as it ages. I have a bottle of Hellcat and a spare imp or two (it's one of my signature scents), so I'm happy to let you try it. I understand that O is the classic honey scent from BPAL, though I've never tried it.

Snake Oil is supposed to be the classic vanilla BPAL scent, though supposedly it's one of those scents that is better aged.

I've yet to find a good apple smell, perhaps because my skin devours fruit scents. The first one that comes to mind is Poisoned Apple, however.

One of my favorite musks is Brown Jenkins from Picnic in Arkham. I'm happy to let you try that, though I'd like to keep the imp.

The only one I've tried that supposedly has carnation is St. Germain, but I wasn't convinced. I think I traded that one away to v_cat. I haven't really found a scent that I think captures that sour herbal smell of carnations.

[breakinglight11.livejournal.com]

Wow, Lise, thank you, both for the advise and the offers. Are you coming to BSCF this Thursday by any chance? Could you possibly bring them with you then? Thanks!

[lisefrac.livejournal.com]

I will be there, and I'm happy to bring them along.