BPAL GENERAL CATALOG DISCONTINUATION AND REVIEWS

Hi guys! I guess you already know that BPAL has decided to do some spring cleaning to their general catalog scents. When I read about this on the forum I panicked but Beth was kind enough to let us know almost 2 months ahead which ones are going to be discontinued.

The real lose for me is Black Hellebore Honey but I have already bought a bottle with some Yules last month.

I haven’t tried the majority of these scents but I will give you my impressions of the ones that I have tried.

Here is the list and with the red color are the ones I have imps of.

Black Hellebore Honey

Bluebeard

Death Horse

Delphi

Devil's Claw

Dian's Bud

Dove's Heart

Dragon's Eye

Ehecatl

Ekhidna

Epitaph

Forbidden Fruit

Grandmother of Ghosts

Hairy Toad Lily

Horse Chestnut Honey

House of Night

Hurricane

Iambe

Jezirat

Kuang Shi

Laurel Honey

L'ecole Des Filles

L'Examen

Love-Lies-Bleeding

Love's Torment

Mandrake

Manila

Meliai

Peitho

Pool of Tears

Saturnalia

Serpent's Kiss

Slobbering Pine

Sluggard

Temptation

To A Woman

Tobacco Honey

Ulalume

Umbra

Versailles

Whoso List to Hunt

Wolfsbane

Ya-te-vo

Yellow Jessamine Honey

Yew-Trees

Black Hellebore Honey

Hellebore resembles the wild rose, but does not belong to their family. The scent is a pale green herbal, darkly rooty, with a faint rose and peony-like overtone

I loved  this from the first sniff. It’s strong powdery honey, slightly medicinal  with a touch of greenery. It has a good lasting power too.

Slobbering Pine

Dewy, wet, whiplike and sticky.

From the imp I get fresh pine. It’s not harsh at all. If you have other Bpal pine scents and you found them too harsh or detergent like maybe you will need this one in your collection.

It has a nice citrus top note as well, grapefruit I guess.

After the initial pine and citrus notes it does get a little bit soapy and it reminded me a lot of some snow scents.

Dragon's Eye

A piercing, radiant perfume: dragon's blood resin, lily of the valley, lilac and galbanum

I wore this yesterday without knowing that this was in the list and I loved it.

It’s a great floral scent. The lilac it’s very pronounced and fresh. I also get a gardenia vibe. Very beautiful. If you like dragon’s blood and lilac go get this.

Temptation

An expression of love, adoration, and desire, of beauty that transcends mortal desire and piques the interest of hell itself: attar of rose, calla lily, palmarosa, peach blossom, wisteria, rice flower, and black musk.

From the imp this is peach blossom all the way. Very feminine!

On the skin the rose blooms and small orange blossoms come to mind.

A blend perfect for spring and in my opinion it would be amazing on a young girl too. It has something very innocent that it reminds me of my childhood. Average staying .

Ulalume

 Starry white lilies lend an eerie brightness to the deep black wooded scents of cypress and oak, layered with a touch of crushed dried leaves and the faintest aquatic note.

I was wearing this when me and Theodore had visited a spa a couple of months ago. I remember smelling this while I was in swimming in the warm pool and I really enjoyed that sensation.

My sample is almost empty now.. Anyway from what is left I’ll try to do my best!

The strongest note is the dirt. On skin however it almost smells like ice wine. Soft and clean lilies  and a soft camphor like note. On me it’s not woody at all.

It smells like sleeping near a lake in the spring.

While I was swimming in the pool I couldn’t smell the dirt note on me. It was mainly fresh lilies.

Whoso List to Hunt

Sensual brown musk, rich amber, English rose, oak bark, and moss.

From the imp this is all musk and amber.

Trying this on it’s still a lovely amber with a tiny bit of rose.

Wow now I get something like a lemony note, maybe it’s from the rose.

The moss comes to play eventually but it isn’t overpowering note at all.

All in all this is an amber-rose perfume with a lemony edge.

Is it anything that it caught your eye from that list?

I really want to buy a Dragon’s Eye bottle and maybe Yellow Jessamine Honey.

BPAL- WINTER HEAVENS

We are in the heart of winter and finally we have cold days here in Greece.

I haven't reviewed any Yule blend this year and today I have just realized that Friday it's the last day that I can buy Yule blends from the Bpal. I can afford only 4 and my list is: Go to Sleep, Darlings, La befana, Le Pere fouettard and for the last one I am between Butter Rum Cookie and Braving the Ice. Which one you think that it will be best?

Anyway I have some sniffies from 2011 and I chose one at random

PERFUME: WINTER HEAVENS

COMPANY: BPAL

AVAILABILITY: 2011 YULE

OFFICIAL DESCRIPTION:Black midnight winter skies glittering with points of light: chill air, champaca flower, white musk, fir needle, papyrus reeds, and grey amber

FROM THE DECANT/BOTTLE: Lab's snow note and fir. It is a little bit like fabric softener maybe it's the musk in combination with the snow note that gives that impression.

WET ON SKIN: Musky fir, this would be amazing on a guy!

As the time goes by, it gets sweeter and I can smell a floral note. I am guessing it's the champaca but I think I smell plumeria as well.

DRY DOWN: The fir is subtle now but noticeable. It remains musky and cold.

The dry down is like clean skin so if you don't like soap in your perfume you won't like that.

FINAL THOUGHTS: I am not sorry that I didn't get a bottle of this. I don't hate it but a lot of snow perfumes smell similar on me and I have already one or two in my collection.

It would be suitable for everyday use for someone who has to wear subtle perfumes to work.

HALLOWEEN PERFUMES! Nocturne Alchemy- Sarcophagus

PERFUME: Sarcophagus

COMPANY: NocturneAlchemy

AVAILABILITY: Halloween Limited Edition

OFFICIAL DESCRIPTION:Sweet Cinnamon, Clove, Allspice, Blueberry, Apples, Amber, Pumpkin

I don't know which year is this. I bought it for 5 dollars from live journal! Nocturne Alchemy isn't a company I usually buy my perfumes mainly because of the shipping cost. The most of the times, I am interested in just one or two bottles and they don't ship first class. I really like what I have tested from them though.

FROM THE DECANT/BOTTLE: Tart blueberries and apples. Light spices. Fruity and fresh!

WET ON SKIN: Sweet cinnamon over baked apples and pumpkin, served in a bowl with fresh blueberries. It's an early autumn fruity scent. The spices aren't overpowering and they let the fruits shine.

DRY DOWN:It doesn't morph much. It stays fruity all the way with a touch of spice!

FINAL THOUGHTS: It's a morning scent for me. I really like it and this made me realize that I don't have enough fruity scents in my collection!

The Field of Reeds-Possets

PERFUME: The field of Reeds

COMPANY: Possets

AVAILABILITY: Permanent

OFFICIAL DESCRIPTION: Relief and relaxation, paradise Egyptian style. Sweet sandalwood and two ambers, a touch of wood for reeds, and a kiss of golden musk, black pepper married with a drop of labdanum and this conjures the eternal happy golden light in which the elect must have bathed every day. A smooth and resinous sweet blend but with enough of the spice kick of a modern perfume to escape being downright primative.

BEFORE I SMELL: The scent of Aaru the Heaven for the Ancient Egyptians. Filled with Reeds which are something like papyrus if I am not mistaken.

This poppet was sent to me as a freeby. Black pepper doesn't always work for me but I am wondering how reeds smell and how Heavenly this is.

FROM THE DECANT/BOTTLE: Black pepper, lots of resins and something slightly medicinal.

WET ON SKIN: The black pepper is very well blended and it doesn't overpower the blend so fear not! The labdanum and the sandalwood are the stars of the show. It's not a green scent, at least on me. It's very woody, unisex and resinous.

DRY DOWN: The musks and the woods are so beautiful when the black pepper eventually goes away. It's almost like this one has a drop of vanilla in it.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Full bottle without a question!

IF YOU LIKE THIS YOU WILL LIKE: Manor- Solstice Scents

A SONG TO LISTEN WHILE WEARING IT:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7exvD2nJG8

ARCANA- Chicanery and Chimeras

PERFUME:  Chicanery and Chimeras

COMPANY: ARCANA

AVAILABILITY: Silken Lines and Silver Hooks: The Fortunetelling Duo (Limited Edition)

OFFICIAL DESCRIPTION: The other side of the Knight of Cups. Delusions, hallucinations, phantasms, and nightmares. Empty blessings and beautiful curses.

Rich benzoin over a base of Madagascar vanilla, golden amber, salt water, clove, sweet musk, pumpkin, patchouli, and sugarcane.

BEFORE I SMELL: I admit it, I bought this because someone was selling it really cheap on Livejournal! I can’t resist a bargain especially if it’s a good smelling one!

FROM THE DECANT/BOTTLE: When I smell this from the bottle I get a cologne and masculine vibe. A little bit boozy and very brown!

WET ON SKIN: It’s getting spicier; I am getting clove, all spice and nutmeg. It’s very well blended and the notes are not aggressive at all. I do get a salty note as well which is really interesting.

DRY DOWN: The cologne, masculine vibe mainly from the combination of benzoin and the clove it’s getting milder. I have to notice that in this perfume the different stages last very long and I was able to smell the base notes after half an hour or maybe more.

The wait it’s definitely worth it! Vanilla, amber and patchouli in combination with baked pumpkin! It’s not a foodie scent; it’s sophisticated and very attractive!

FINAL THOUGHTS: It took me more than a year to start liking this one but now I really like it and I am glad I bought a bottle!

IF YOU LIKE THIS YOU WILL LIKE:   Solstice Scents-Monster Mash

SERAPHIM-POSSETS

SERAPHIM-POSSETS

AVAILABILITY: Available all year round!

OFFICIAL DESCRIPTION: Five vanillas (most of them fat and buttery vanillas cut with lean and sharp vanillas) and are blended with six different ambers which give the hypnotic part to the whole.

I bought this unsniffed when it first came out in 2010.  If I remember correctly, Possets had an offer that time when with every two bottles you could get one free  So, I chose this one because how you could go wrong with vanilla and amber?

FROM THE DECANT/BOTTLE: Sweet and buttery vanilla, an alcoholic note and lots of Amber!

WET ON SKIN: This is full of comforting base notes.  I love the buttery French vanilla here which is not sickening sweet but it’s definitely a little bit sugary. The amber gives a perfumy element and makes the perfume deep. It’s like you smell a cat’s neck if she was wearing a perfume lol!

DRY DOWN: I could smell the amber notes all day long and I asked myself Why I don’t wear this more often? Possets amber it’s different from the Bpal’s one but I really like both of them.

FINAL THOUGHTS: If you have one million Vanilla-Amber scents you may want to pass this, but if you don’t and you enjoy that notes try at least a sample. I love that combination  and I layered with an Amber body oil that I had from Crater Lake company. This was more perfumy and it had a floral note as well. The combination worked very well!

IF YOU LIKE THIS YOU WILL LIKE:   Philtre #5 Embrace from Arcana. Not the same scent but the combination of buttery vanilla and amber exist in both of them.

Nocturne Alchemy-Eternal Egypt

PERFUME: Eternal Egypt

COMPANY: Nocturne Alchemy

AVAILABILITY: Available as a general catalogscent.

OFFICIAL DESCRIPTION: White Amber, Red Egyptian Musk, Egyptian Amber, Sands of Egypt

BEFORE I SMELL:  The lovely Rachel from the Brighter Star of All blog sent me this while ago. Actually, she done a great job picking scents for me because I loved every single one of them!

I am new to Nocturne Alchemy. I do have two bottles which I bought on Live Journal very cheap. I think 5usd per bottle! I really like what I have tried from them and I would love to try more but I seem to always buy from the same companies over and over again. I don’t know why I do that. Sometimes I am thinking that my perfume habits are like I pay a subscription!

FROM THE DECANT/BOTTLE: Amber and Egyptian musk. It has also an element that reminds me the aroma that comes from the pot when I am cooking basmati rice but here it’s sweeter.

WET ON SKIN: The amber is getting stronger. I detect a floral note as well but it’s on the background

.

DRY DOWN: Amber and musk. It stays close to the skin. In my opinion this perfume is perfect for when you want something subtle or when you are around to people who are sensitive to perfumes.

FINAL THOUGHTS: I like it and If I ever purchase from them I may grab a bottle!

IF YOU LIKE THIS YOU WILL LIKE:   Solstice Scents-Pharaoh but I like the one from NA better.