BPAL Reviews

[arianhwyvar]

Silk Road (A panoply of cultural treasures, spanning the herbs, flowers, oils and balms of the Romans, the Byzantines, the Mediterranean, the Levant, Northern China, Eastern Europe, Iran, the Bulgar-Kypchak, Mesopotamia, the Crimean Peninsula, Anatolia, Antioch, and North Africa) : In the vial, this smelled like perfume and nice spices. On me, it had spices and a sort of grainy mustiness I didn't like. There was cinnamon there, but not overpowering (for once -- maybe it was 'cassia' instead of 'cinnamon'). Some wood, too, and and other spices, clove and nutmeg I think. It faded without changing much. If not for the musty/grainy note, this would have been a really nice spice smell. (2.5)

Mr. Ibis (Papyrus, vanilla flower, Egyptian musk, African musk, aloe ferox, white sandalwood) : As other people have said in forum reviews, this is a very light scent. Wet, it was a light, clean scent a bit like embalming fluid. A very light touch of flowers. Later, a bit of lovely skin-scent musk, a bit of cleaning fluid. It stayed a bit of musk/a bit of cleaning fluid for a while, and eventually turned into a light pleasant musk with some woodiness, and then to mostly light wood. I think I want to like this for the description/association (I've always been fond of Thoth), but it's really not anything special on me. hilariarex, you might want to try it if you prefer the lighter scents. (2.5)

Miskatonic University (The scent of Irish coffee, dusty tomes and polished oakwood halls) : Another one that I really wanted to work on me, and didn't quite. In the vial: butterscotch! On me, it was briefly butterscotch and then the coffee came in, which was nice. However, fairly quickly an unpleasant note came in, something like soap or going-sour milk. The throw was still coffee-ish. I wonder if this unpleasant smell was the 'dust' note, amping up on me. This ended up as dust/polish with an edge of coffee. I think I'll have to try this one on a piece of cloth and see if it stays tasty coffeeish rather than nasty dust. (2.5)

Tushnamatay (Pure internal harmony and spiritual bliss: the perfected meditation blend) : This started woody, maybe sandalwood? and fairly pleasant. Something lighter/sweeter came in, incensy, like incense or a just-blown-out candle. A dry, almost fire smell, but with a little sweetness to it. I liked it. It stayed as the incense smell as it faded. This probably would be a good meditation scent. (3.5)

Odin (dry elm bark, amaranth, warrior’s musk, and Odin’s Nine Herbs of Power) : Wet, this smelled almost like red musk, but the yucky red musk smell didn't stick around and spoil everything. It moved into a smell of wood and warm musk, like skin musk with an edge of red musk. There was a touch of ucky red musk/diaper smell occasionally, but mostly I liked this. I didn't smell any herbs at all. (2.5)

Ouija (rosewood, oak and teak notes with wispy blue lilac, tea rose, dried white rose and ethereal osmanthus) : Started as a pleasant floral, and then light, pleasant woods came in. This was a nice blend of floral and wood. Pleasant, refreshing/calming, a bit like the smell I liked in Delight. This wasn't super-crazy-awesome, but it's a scent I could wear. (3.5)

Vinland (Crisp northern wind blowing over loganberry, wild roses, prairie crocus, iris versicolor Linné, mountain avens, yellow birch bark, mayflower and maple leaf) : Wet, this was floral, with a smell sort of reminiscent of wind/dry leaves. Sort of an outdoor smell. It stayed fairly rose-y, but with some additional smell I liked. (3.5)

Othello (Arabian musk with two roses and a bevy of Middle Eastern and Indian spices) : Wet, this was a light pleasant rose, plus something else I liked. It changed into a fairly nice musk/spice with an edge of rose. Overall, this was a much lighter smell than I expected from the description, but it stayed nice though unobtrusive rather than vanishing right away. wirednavi also liked this one as a possible scent for A2 -- it's froofy without being overly feminine. (3.5)

Nyarlathotep (the blackest of ritual incenses charged with flashes of ozone) : This one was interesting. Wet, it was a weird but neat smell. Ozone, citrus. wirednavi thought it smelled like watermelon in the after-smell, and I could see what he meant. There was an aquatic sort of note. Overall, this stayed a thick citrus (I don't know why I smell some incense as citrus -- Cairo was the same way) with ozone. Citrus attacking from outer space! Interesting and not bad, but I wouldn't wear it. (2)