BPAL results
Sep. 6th, 2011 09:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kindkitI got my BPAL order of six imps (samples) a week ago (I was initially given an incorrect ship date and expected it much sooner; BPAL explained the situation after I sent them a plaintive e-mail). Since then I've been trying scents, reading the forums to compare my reactions to other people's, reading the Single Note Exploration forum at Basenotes to learn about the individual notes, etc.
I can see how this becomes addictive. I'm currently drawing up an enormous wishlist of other BPAL scents I want to try.
Below are my reactions to what I've tried.
Vicomte de Valmont
This was the first one I tested, so I tried it again today to compare reactions (also because, in my enthusiasm on the first day, I tried VdV on one wrist and No. 93 Engine on the other, and confused myself).
Much more floral than I was expecting. The jasmine and geranium seem to overpower the orange blossom and mint, which I only get hints of. After an hour and a half or so much of the floral wears off and I'm left with a fairly sweet musk with a bit of woodsiness.
I don't hate it but I don't love it either. Too floral and too, well, ladylike for me. BPAL says this is based on an 18th century men's cologne; maybe tastes have changed since then.
No. 93 Engine
In the bottle, incense and bronze. On first application, the incense really leaps out, but there's also a kind of dustiness, like metal shavings and concrete, but with sweetness underneath and the beeswax melding everything. After about an hour, the metallic notes are fading a bit, with the underlying benzoin (deep smoky vanilla) and beeswax sweetness more prominent. Much later there's a patchouli-like remnant that I do not like at all. Won't be buying this one because of that, although I'll keep the imp.
Jolly Roger
Or, as I prefer to call it, "Hello, Sailor." It's definitely the most masculine (whatever that means in this context, or indeed any other) of the scents in this batch. In the bottle it's got lovely salty freshness and an undertone of rum, and it's pretty much the same on me for the first hour or so. Then the salty sea-air topnotes fade a bit and the rum and especially the leather notes become more predominant. It stays quite dry, though, which I like. It's not as interesting as No. 93 Engine, but it's a scent I would gladly wear every day. BPAL sent me a second imp of this as a freebie, yay!
Plunder
In the bottle, it smells like someone brewing a cup of Stash Holiday Chai while filling a pipe. (This is not a bad thing.) Rum isn't supposed to be one of the scent notes in this but I can definitely smell it, and the tobacco note is the good smell of high-quality unlit tobacco, without the acridness of burning.
On first application, there's a piercing spicy top note (clove, I think) that's much more noticeable than in the bottle. A lot of sweetness but it's nicely toned down by the dark tobacco. After fifteen minutes or so the spices mellow--they're still very present but it's a mix of spices with no single one predominating. This is a really heady, intriguing scent. I kept sniffing myself while wearing it. It lasts well too.
Envy
In the bottle, it's sharper than I was expecting--not so much mint as forest herbs crushed underfoot, with a a muskiness that's also unexpected. The scent isn't as clean-and-green as the description implied, although the name might've been a hint. On first application there's a balsamy tang, like a herbal shampoo, with at last a hint of mint underlying it. But after about 15 minutes it's like the scent disintegrated. Nothing but a faint mint, like the inside of an empty Altoids tin. At this point I went to work and didn't sniff again for about four hours--it was completely gone, not even a trace. It's a shame because I liked it a lot for the first fifteen minutes.
Golden Priapus
I'm so conflicted about this scent.
In the bottle, it's very sweet and vanilla-y, with just a slight musk. Wet on my wrist, the pine really leaps out, along with juniper and then the vanilla underneath. The musky and golden notes start to come out after about fifteen minutes. The topnotes fade after a couple of hours, but at that point the sweetness has mellowed, with more amber and not pure vanilla.
Very golden, sweeter than I expected, not remotely as sexy/primal as the name implies, but: damn it's a gorgeous scent on me. I'll probably end up buying more even though a gender-policing part of my brain keeps screaming that it's too feminine.
Leanan Sidhe
This was another free imp, not something I ordered. Luckily, as I hate it.
In the bottle: mostly a strong lilac-ish floral. Wet: more floral (roses?). Some green but mostly strong floral notes. STRONG as hell. After a couple of minutes I got the soapy note some have mentioned on the forums--like a cheap perfumed soap or deoderant soap. At that point I washed it off, and I should mention that repeated washings over 20 minutes, including one with lemongrass-and-rosemary scented soap, still have not taken it all off.
Someone who likes florals might enjoy this, I dunno. I do not like florals.
In summary: I love Golden Priapus and Jolly Roger, like Plunder enormously, like No. 93 Engine with reservations, don't care for Victome de Valmont and Envy, and hate Leanan Sidhe.
I'm going to give away my imps of the last three if anyone wants them. If you're outside the US I'll have to ask you to reimburse me for postage, though. If you'd like one (or two, or all three) send me a PM or e-mail me (kindkit64 AT yahoo etc.) with your address.
ETA: Envy has been spoken for.
ETA2: Vicomte de Valmont and Leanan Sidhe are now taken too.
I can see how this becomes addictive. I'm currently drawing up an enormous wishlist of other BPAL scents I want to try.
Below are my reactions to what I've tried.
Vicomte de Valmont
This was the first one I tested, so I tried it again today to compare reactions (also because, in my enthusiasm on the first day, I tried VdV on one wrist and No. 93 Engine on the other, and confused myself).
Much more floral than I was expecting. The jasmine and geranium seem to overpower the orange blossom and mint, which I only get hints of. After an hour and a half or so much of the floral wears off and I'm left with a fairly sweet musk with a bit of woodsiness.
I don't hate it but I don't love it either. Too floral and too, well, ladylike for me. BPAL says this is based on an 18th century men's cologne; maybe tastes have changed since then.
No. 93 Engine
In the bottle, incense and bronze. On first application, the incense really leaps out, but there's also a kind of dustiness, like metal shavings and concrete, but with sweetness underneath and the beeswax melding everything. After about an hour, the metallic notes are fading a bit, with the underlying benzoin (deep smoky vanilla) and beeswax sweetness more prominent. Much later there's a patchouli-like remnant that I do not like at all. Won't be buying this one because of that, although I'll keep the imp.
Jolly Roger
Or, as I prefer to call it, "Hello, Sailor." It's definitely the most masculine (whatever that means in this context, or indeed any other) of the scents in this batch. In the bottle it's got lovely salty freshness and an undertone of rum, and it's pretty much the same on me for the first hour or so. Then the salty sea-air topnotes fade a bit and the rum and especially the leather notes become more predominant. It stays quite dry, though, which I like. It's not as interesting as No. 93 Engine, but it's a scent I would gladly wear every day. BPAL sent me a second imp of this as a freebie, yay!
Plunder
In the bottle, it smells like someone brewing a cup of Stash Holiday Chai while filling a pipe. (This is not a bad thing.) Rum isn't supposed to be one of the scent notes in this but I can definitely smell it, and the tobacco note is the good smell of high-quality unlit tobacco, without the acridness of burning.
On first application, there's a piercing spicy top note (clove, I think) that's much more noticeable than in the bottle. A lot of sweetness but it's nicely toned down by the dark tobacco. After fifteen minutes or so the spices mellow--they're still very present but it's a mix of spices with no single one predominating. This is a really heady, intriguing scent. I kept sniffing myself while wearing it. It lasts well too.
Envy
In the bottle, it's sharper than I was expecting--not so much mint as forest herbs crushed underfoot, with a a muskiness that's also unexpected. The scent isn't as clean-and-green as the description implied, although the name might've been a hint. On first application there's a balsamy tang, like a herbal shampoo, with at last a hint of mint underlying it. But after about 15 minutes it's like the scent disintegrated. Nothing but a faint mint, like the inside of an empty Altoids tin. At this point I went to work and didn't sniff again for about four hours--it was completely gone, not even a trace. It's a shame because I liked it a lot for the first fifteen minutes.
Golden Priapus
I'm so conflicted about this scent.
In the bottle, it's very sweet and vanilla-y, with just a slight musk. Wet on my wrist, the pine really leaps out, along with juniper and then the vanilla underneath. The musky and golden notes start to come out after about fifteen minutes. The topnotes fade after a couple of hours, but at that point the sweetness has mellowed, with more amber and not pure vanilla.
Very golden, sweeter than I expected, not remotely as sexy/primal as the name implies, but: damn it's a gorgeous scent on me. I'll probably end up buying more even though a gender-policing part of my brain keeps screaming that it's too feminine.
Leanan Sidhe
This was another free imp, not something I ordered. Luckily, as I hate it.
In the bottle: mostly a strong lilac-ish floral. Wet: more floral (roses?). Some green but mostly strong floral notes. STRONG as hell. After a couple of minutes I got the soapy note some have mentioned on the forums--like a cheap perfumed soap or deoderant soap. At that point I washed it off, and I should mention that repeated washings over 20 minutes, including one with lemongrass-and-rosemary scented soap, still have not taken it all off.
Someone who likes florals might enjoy this, I dunno. I do not like florals.
In summary: I love Golden Priapus and Jolly Roger, like Plunder enormously, like No. 93 Engine with reservations, don't care for Victome de Valmont and Envy, and hate Leanan Sidhe.
ETA: Envy has been spoken for.
ETA2: Vicomte de Valmont and Leanan Sidhe are now taken too.
