BPAL: Miscellaneous

[gwydion]

The Frimps:
FLORENCE (Wanderlust): (Company says: The pearl of the Italian Renaissance. Elegant iris, bright berries, gilded amber and velvety spices.)

In bottle: Amber dominant, but the amber is very blended with the iris. The berries are soft and mostly in support of the iris. The spices give an extra end to the amber. It’s well designed for it’s concept, but rather conventional. Wet: More interesting on the skin as the spices come out a little more. It’s still amber dominant, but now the spices are second with the Iris and berries fading to third, though the effect they create is quite pretty, though a little odd with my skin chemistry. This blend isn’t for me, but would be Renaissance sexy on the right woman. Dry: Mostly Amber with a touch of spice.

GROG (Bewitching Brews): (Company says: Arrr! Avast ye, matey! This be the scent of pirate rum!)

In bottle: Mmmm… Rum, sweet and boozey. Wet: A bit less sweet on the skin, but basically BPAL’s delicious rum note. There may be a hint of coconut here. My skin loves the dark liquors and I’m surprised I haven’t tried this before. Dry: I’d swear this is coconut rum. It wears well, fading slowly to a soft background. Slightly more coconuty proportionally as it wears.

L'ESSENCE DE L'ARDEUR 2012 (LE, Lupercalia, Eros Inquisition): (Company says:
Centifolia rose absolute, tea rose, bourbon vanilla, bittersweet chocolate, champaca resinoid, myrrh, nutmeg, pomegranate, and benzoin.)

In bottle: Really unusual. The resins are marginally dominant, with chocolate a close second and rose a close third. The vanilla and champaca are softer and about even with each other. The pomegranate is next. Nutmeg is softest, but just discernible. This is well blended, and everything seems to go well with the resin mix. Wet: The individual components pop more on the skin, while still playing well together It morphs a lot. I think the benzoin, chocolate, nutmeg, and roses are strongest. It manages to slide back and forth between resin, foody, and floral, restlessly refusing to settle firmly into one category. Dry: It ends up a sexy benzoin, myrrh, rose blend. Not even vaguely me, but lovely.

MALICE (Bewitching Brews): (Company says: A profound, complex scent that encapsulates the joy one finds in another's pain. Ylang ylang, clove, Indonesian red patchouli, and dark myrrh.)

In bottle: Sexy and spicy. The patchouli and myrrh provide a darkly sexual canvas on which the more delicate clove plays. The ylang ylang is present, but well blended with the other elements providing a bridge between the incense and spice. Wet: The patchouli is strongest. It’s a rich earthy version, beautifully modified by the myrrh and gentled and sweetened by the ylang ylang. The cove is more separate on the skin, and quite lovely in its incense setting. Dry: Not good on the dry down. Ylang ylang dominant with a strong myrrh second, and touches of patchouli. Ylang ylang and my skin chemistry are not friends and the ylang ylang and myrrh just seem awkward together without the other notes.

THE NIGHT-RAVEN (Marchen): (Company says: Indigo musk, wild plum, rose geranium, benzoin, night-blooming jasmine, and patchouli.)

In bottle: Musk and patchouli are strongest. The musk blends well with the plum and benzoin. The florals are very understated, complimenting the plum and benzoin. It’s lovely and interesting, well suited to it’s concept. I’m not skin testing because of the rose geranium.

PARAMATMAN (Sin and salvation): (Company says: Orange blossom, East Indian sandalwood, and champaca.)

In bottle: The champaca is strongest, though it blends beautifully with the sandalwood to the point the edges blur, with a hint of orange blossom. They blend well together and the result is androgynous. Wet: The orange blossom is a lot stronger on my skin, as I am citrus. It’s still champaca dominant with sandalwood in support, but now the orange blossom is a strong second. It now vaguely feminine, but it likely won’t be if you don’t amp orange. It’s pretty, but not really me. Dry: Mostly orange blossom and sandalwood.

SHATTERED (Bewitching Brews): (Company says: A blend of white champagne notes, grapefruit, lotus, slivered mint and crystalline aquatic blooms. )

In bottle: Grapefruit dominant. Champagne adds a hint of fizz. The florals are pleasant, unusual, and understated. The mint is soft and adds a touch of chill. I’m not good with some mints, but this one is one of the ones I can tolerate. I think I’d like it better with less mint, but it’s not a deal breaker. Wet: More mint on the skin. Mint dominant with strong grapefruit and lotus. The rest is faint background. It’s really nice as mints go, but not my thing. Dry: Mostly lotus, with some soft floral support.


Ordered:
BUTTERSCOTCH BALLS AND BLACKBEETLES 2012 (LE, Coraline): (Company says: Butterscotch candies flecked with dirt, encased in a shiny black shell of myrrh, patchouli, and anise seed.).

In bottle: Rich strong butterscotch mostly with a touch of anise and patchouli dominant incense and the barest suggestion of dirt. Lovely! Wet: Still butterscotch dominent, but much more patchouli and dirt. They go eerily well together. The resonance is akin to hard candy, bone, and beetle shells without being icky. Dry: Mostly dirt and myrrh. It’s as if the beetles ate most of the butterscotch, which lingers like the ghost of sweetness, barely scented. I love this, but I rather miss the butterscotch.

MOUSE CIRCUS 2012 (Coraline): (Company says: A toodle oodle of pink cotton candy noses, vanilla spun sugar fur, scattered kernels of popcorn, and a touch of polished golden wood.)

In bottle: Genuinely peculiar. I’d say popcorn is strongest, blending beautifully with the wood. The candy floats delicately above the darker notes. The effect is festive and tawdry and menacing and definitely very Mouse Circus in a way I can’t begin to put into words. Wet: The popcorn an candy dance, with the wood and mousiness fading into the background a bit. Dry: I love the way the sugar and vanilla dances with the wood. Exquisite.

PANDY (Pandora): (Company says: Fresh white musk, honeycomb, sweet apricot, elemi, orange blossom, and mischievous pink pepper.)

In bottle: Somehow rich and wistful at the same time. It’s apricot dominant for sure. The orange blossom softens and compliments the apricot. The musk and honey give it a sensual edge. The hint of something sharp and vaguely evergreen is likely the elemi and mingles with the pretty pepper to give the blend a little edge. This is lovely, but not as bright and sharp as I’d hoped. Wet: More orange blossom and honeycomb with less apricot, though certainly the apricot is still noticeable. The musk deepens it. The elemi and pepper are still present, but less noticeable. Dry: Fast fading to mostly honeycomb kissed with orange and apricot.

SINGING MOON 2012 (LE, Lunacy): (Company says: The song of a host of dread spirits wailing their grief to the moonlit heavens: grey, silken ambergris and cold davana cascading over a landscape of bog rosemary, marsh cinquefoil, sea holly, grey willow, bog asphodel, sundew, lowland meadow grass, and frost-limned peat.)

In bottle: This is completely different from my beloved 2007. This blend is more traditionally sexy perfume, with dominant ambergris is a setting of soft, unusual florals and a peat counterpoint with a setting of grass and other greens.. It’s quite pretty and more complex and outdoorsey than one would expect at first sniff. I don’t know these floral notes as individual scents, but they stand out individually with proper sniffing. (I just have no idea which name goes with which note so can’t tell you which is the strongest of them). This could be a floral for folks who don’t like traditional florals. (fingers crossed). I have a similar problem with some of the savory green notes. I think the peat is strongest with willow in strong support and the grass and rosemary are quite soft, but I can’t go beyond that. Sorry. Wet: Richer and greener and wetter on the skin. It does have a real wetlands feel, and isn’t even vaguely like a tradition perfume now. The savory greens are now dominant, with the unconventional florals sweetening it slightly. The ambergris becomes an understated hint of seductiveness to what is otherwise a beautiful and subtle scent poem about water plants under moonlight. It really is beautiful and unlike anything else in the catalog. The more it warms the more floral it gets, and now I’m a little worried it’s too floral for me to wear, which would be a shame as it’s lovely with a surpassing amount of through. Dry: Mostly ambergris with Peat second and a mix of other greens very soft. It’s interesting, but I think it’s not for me in aggregate.



Winners: Mouse circus, Pandy
Runners Up: Butterscotch balls and black beetles