Old, Miscellaneous BPAL Sample Reviews
Nov. 27th, 2024 10:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
š¼ļø Dorian (A Victorian fougere with three pale musks and dark, sugared vanilla tea)
Preliminary notes: I requested this as a free sample in my order in lieu of any other samples in my first order, since it's more expensive than other GC samples, and BPAL usually sends several (spoiler: they sent 4 more in addition to Dorian in the order I requested it in). I got the green light from the BPAL customer service team, and I'm very excited to try this! Dorian is one of the most reviewed BPAL scents I've seen.
It's worth noting that I've had Theodosius, the Legerdemain for years and love it, and it's the scent I see Dorian compared to the most. Theodosius is apparently less sweet and more citrus-heavy, so I'll probably add some comparison notes in here.
In vial: This is indeed very similar to Theodosius, but Dorian is definitely sweeter.
On skin: This reminds me of a mainstream perfume I used to have, but I can't remember the name of it*. As it warms on the skin, the similarities to Theodosius kind of melt away. There's a distinct green-ness to this scent, and there's an almost white pepper note in there as well. The bergamot in here is absolutely stellar, and the whole scent overall smells like a cup of Earl Grey tea with a heavy dollop of vanilla and sugar, but there are strange, shadowy tendrils spilling over the top of the cup.
I quite like this, actually,and I may have to upsize it in the future (a fellow BPAL forumite was selling their bottle of this a week after I wrote this review, and I did indeed upsize it. Thanks, carnival!). It's different enough from Theodosius to warrant having both. I can see why this is a fan favorite. Fans of Alkemia's Madam Pearl would probably enjoy this as well.
(*I think the vanilla reminds me a bit of Warm Vanilla Sugar from Bath and Body Works, which is one of my favorite commercial vanilla scents. I'm not at all bothered by that and am glad I was finally able to figure out what this reminded me of. It's not a dead ringer for Warm Vanilla Sugar at all, but the vanilla notes in both are similar to my nose)
Verdict: 5 corrupted Victorian tea parlors out of 5.
š Les Bijoux (Skin musk, honey, blood-red rose, orange blossom, white peach, red apple, frankincense, myrrh)
Preliminary notes: None, other than "This sounds lovely."
In vial: The orange blossom, peach, and apple are the strongest notes. There's a veeery slight medicinal tinge in there.
On skin: This has quite the throw on it, wow. It's very much a honeyed, fruity-floral, which normally isn't my favorite kind of scent, but I do like this. It kind of reminds me of a fresher, lighter version of BPAL's Agrat-Bat-Mahlaht, which I need to get a bottle of at some point. This is a lovely springtime scent. I don't know if I'd upsize it or not, but I'll definitely use my sample when the weather warms up.
Verdict: 4 blooming orchards out of 5.
š°ļø The Antikythera Mechanism (Teakwood, oak, black vanilla, tobacco)
Preliminary notes: I've wanted to try this for yeeears but never have, for some reason.
In vial: Definitely heavy on the tobacco (which is glorious and rich), and the teak.
On skin: Ohhh, god. Bury me now, because I have died. This is a perfect balance of all of the notes, and that tobacco note is exquisite. It smells like an old Victorian cigar shoppe, and it's absolutely incredible. It's so evocative and warm. The oak comes out a bit more as it dries, but it's largely just a warm, woody tobacco scent with a touch of vanilla (akin to vanilla extract, maybe. Not a sweet or gourmand vanilla). I am in love. Upsized.
Verdict: 5 Victorian cigar shoppes out of 5.
š The Black Rider (Black leather, opoponax, tobacco, black amber)
Preliminary notes: None.
In vial: Definitely leather, but there's also a high-pitched, almost citrusy note in there, and I'm not gonna lie, it kind of smells like leathery baby wipes. Huh.
On skin: The weird citrus/baby wipes thing goes away once it hits the skin, fortunately. It's still a bit bitter and slightly powdery, but everything melds warmly together, and it smells cozy yet foreboding and austere. The opoponax in here is fantastic. The leather reminds me of my beloved Rogue as well. The more it wears, the more I like it. It's a bit intoxicating.
Verdict: 4 austere leather jackets out of 5.
š® Morgause (A bouquet of five night-blooming flowers deepened by dusky violet, purple fruits, the barest breath of medieval incenses)
Preliminary notes: I've wanted to try this for so long, but it had been out of stock until this year.
In vial: Bouquet indeed. It's all funereal white florals in the vial.
On skin: Definitely violet-heavy, which I somehow missed in the description. I don't get any fruit and very little incense from this. It's a very pretty violet scent, with some spooky and almost misty florals behind it.
Verdict: 4 misty violets out of 5.
Preliminary notes: I requested this as a free sample in my order in lieu of any other samples in my first order, since it's more expensive than other GC samples, and BPAL usually sends several (spoiler: they sent 4 more in addition to Dorian in the order I requested it in). I got the green light from the BPAL customer service team, and I'm very excited to try this! Dorian is one of the most reviewed BPAL scents I've seen.
It's worth noting that I've had Theodosius, the Legerdemain for years and love it, and it's the scent I see Dorian compared to the most. Theodosius is apparently less sweet and more citrus-heavy, so I'll probably add some comparison notes in here.
In vial: This is indeed very similar to Theodosius, but Dorian is definitely sweeter.
On skin: This reminds me of a mainstream perfume I used to have, but I can't remember the name of it*. As it warms on the skin, the similarities to Theodosius kind of melt away. There's a distinct green-ness to this scent, and there's an almost white pepper note in there as well. The bergamot in here is absolutely stellar, and the whole scent overall smells like a cup of Earl Grey tea with a heavy dollop of vanilla and sugar, but there are strange, shadowy tendrils spilling over the top of the cup.
I quite like this, actually,
(*I think the vanilla reminds me a bit of Warm Vanilla Sugar from Bath and Body Works, which is one of my favorite commercial vanilla scents. I'm not at all bothered by that and am glad I was finally able to figure out what this reminded me of. It's not a dead ringer for Warm Vanilla Sugar at all, but the vanilla notes in both are similar to my nose)
Verdict: 5 corrupted Victorian tea parlors out of 5.
š Les Bijoux (Skin musk, honey, blood-red rose, orange blossom, white peach, red apple, frankincense, myrrh)
Preliminary notes: None, other than "This sounds lovely."
In vial: The orange blossom, peach, and apple are the strongest notes. There's a veeery slight medicinal tinge in there.
On skin: This has quite the throw on it, wow. It's very much a honeyed, fruity-floral, which normally isn't my favorite kind of scent, but I do like this. It kind of reminds me of a fresher, lighter version of BPAL's Agrat-Bat-Mahlaht, which I need to get a bottle of at some point. This is a lovely springtime scent. I don't know if I'd upsize it or not, but I'll definitely use my sample when the weather warms up.
Verdict: 4 blooming orchards out of 5.
š°ļø The Antikythera Mechanism (Teakwood, oak, black vanilla, tobacco)
Preliminary notes: I've wanted to try this for yeeears but never have, for some reason.
In vial: Definitely heavy on the tobacco (which is glorious and rich), and the teak.
On skin: Ohhh, god. Bury me now, because I have died. This is a perfect balance of all of the notes, and that tobacco note is exquisite. It smells like an old Victorian cigar shoppe, and it's absolutely incredible. It's so evocative and warm. The oak comes out a bit more as it dries, but it's largely just a warm, woody tobacco scent with a touch of vanilla (akin to vanilla extract, maybe. Not a sweet or gourmand vanilla). I am in love. Upsized.
Verdict: 5 Victorian cigar shoppes out of 5.
š The Black Rider (Black leather, opoponax, tobacco, black amber)
Preliminary notes: None.
In vial: Definitely leather, but there's also a high-pitched, almost citrusy note in there, and I'm not gonna lie, it kind of smells like leathery baby wipes. Huh.
On skin: The weird citrus/baby wipes thing goes away once it hits the skin, fortunately. It's still a bit bitter and slightly powdery, but everything melds warmly together, and it smells cozy yet foreboding and austere. The opoponax in here is fantastic. The leather reminds me of my beloved Rogue as well. The more it wears, the more I like it. It's a bit intoxicating.
Verdict: 4 austere leather jackets out of 5.
š® Morgause (A bouquet of five night-blooming flowers deepened by dusky violet, purple fruits, the barest breath of medieval incenses)
Preliminary notes: I've wanted to try this for so long, but it had been out of stock until this year.
In vial: Bouquet indeed. It's all funereal white florals in the vial.
On skin: Definitely violet-heavy, which I somehow missed in the description. I don't get any fruit and very little incense from this. It's a very pretty violet scent, with some spooky and almost misty florals behind it.
Verdict: 4 misty violets out of 5.