BPAL Reviews

[brigdh]

Blood Moon 2008 (I think? I forgot to write down the year.)
Website Description: A 'Little Lunacy' scent. In October, the crop harvest has past, and all hands turn to the Hunt: the third and final harvest before winter. Blood Moon shines over huntsmen as they ride over reaped grain in pursuit of their prey. In Christian mythology, Blood Moon may have a darker significance: "And I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind." -- Revelation 6:12-13
The feral scent of the heat of the chase, deep woods, undulating musks, brushed by forest flora, swirled in the incense of the anointed cherub that covereth, and touched by blood-dimmed lunar oils.
In Vial: Thick and warm. A strong woody scent, with lots of pine. There's some spice to it too, maybe cinnamon.
Wet: The cinnamon comes on pretty strong; it's a sort of spicy cinnamon, like Red-Hots, which makes me nervous. Most scents with that I haven't liked. Fortunately, it mellows quite quickly, though. Some scent that makes me think of warm forests comes up instead; I think it's a musk. Very nice.
Dry: It goes through an unappealing "Christmas potpourri" stage before it develops into a fairly faint musky scent with a spice note. Very pleasant.



Cottonmouth
Website Description: A 'Snake Pit' scent. Snake Oil with linden blossom, calla lily, passion flower, and narcissus.
In Vial: Floral. A strong, musky floral. There's a very faint hint of wood or incense.
Wet: A light, fruity sort of floral, though I can't be more specific than that. None of the flowers in this are ones I know well enough to identify by individual. This perfume changes from the darkness of its in-vial scent to something bright and white incredibly quickly. It's like you can smell it as it lifts up. It quickly settles into a very faint floral, with a spicy/woody background note. It's very clean, very spring (or summer, when you want to feel like spring because everything is just too hot and sticky and gross). The spices are nice; I think I catch a hint of cardamom.
Dry: This lasts a good long time, although the floral mostly disappears, just leaving the snake oil part (I think that's what it is. A woody/spicy note). It's a dry, dusty brown perfume, and I definitely get 'snake' from it, though more like an old empty snake skin than a living snake. It's a good scent, subtle but nice. The only thing I can pick out in particular is still that cardamom.



Nyx
Website Description: An 'Excolo' scent. Named in honor of the primeval Greek Goddess of Night. A scent reflecting inky black skies and eternal desolation. Night-blooming jasmine, warmed by myrrh, lifted by the promise of rose.
In Vial: Rose. A sweet, slightly spicy rose, sort of like rose potpourri in a scented wooden box.
Wet: Jasmine. A very nice jasmine, if not quite real-flowers-fresh, but I always love me some jasmine.
Dry: The myrrh comes out and dominates, with a very faint rose underlying it. It a sort of sweet/wood/incense smell. It's a warm, sweet scent, which lasts a good while on me. It's not my favorite jasmine scent (I LOVE jasmine), but it's nice and subtle. A good scent for when you want to feel sexy but not too SEXY.

Comments

[stardragonca.livejournal.com]

Snake oil? This is a real thing?
I thought 'snake oil' was a fake ingredient in old timey quack medicine show remedies.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

Ha, no, not a real thing. The perfume is named after the quack medicine because it's part of a line where all the names are from old traveling-carnival type things. (http://www.blackphoenixalchemylab.com/carnaval.html)

[lynndyre.livejournal.com]

The snakey one sounds nice!

[stardragonca.livejournal.com]

LOL! I like the way they think.
*Bookmarks "A Picnic in Arkham"*

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

BPAL's perfumes are sooooooo good.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

It is really good!

BPAL

[stardragonca.livejournal.com]

Based on their care with PR, they obviously put a lot of care into their work.
Of course the art of perfumery is so much more advanced than the art of colognery*(because men don't really care how they smell!)

*not even a real word. Just like there's a term for being too fond of your wife, none for being too fond of your husband.

Re: BPAL

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

Heh, yeah. BPAL does make some masculine scents, and also some 'gender neutral' ones. Obviously everyone's opinion of what is a masculine or feminine scent (or neutral one!) is going to be different, but you might find something you like.

Re: BPAL

[stardragonca.livejournal.com]

I am completely fascinated. It's a very interesting company on many levels.