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Hi all! I'm relatively new to indie perfumes and have found I'm incredibly fond of birch tar and woodsmoke notes. I am in search of the smokiest, least sweet scents BPAL (and possibly other brands) have. Current smoky favorites are Morari's Am I the Baddie?, Heretic Poltergeist (I know it isn't indie but it has the BEST non sweet birch tar I've found yet), and For Strange Women Fireside Story. I have heard Krampus' Shadow is good but discontinued.
- Today
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Very smoky at the start, then some deep leather, as well as a brief hint of an aquatic note. Some sort of spices, incense & pepper, then a bit of moss & everything anchored by smoky amber. Though I'm not getting any dragon's blood, this evokes a very dangerous fiery beast before it dries down to a pleasant warm cologne.
- Yesterday
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Flower Moon: Fossilized Amber and Wildflower Nectar
Invidiana replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
Golden and nectarous, this takes the nectar of Jurassic flowers blooming in humidity and immortalizes their perfume in amber that has survived millions of years. There is a honeyed aspect of something that is temptingly sweet but not quite honey. This is honey in its most naive form, the pale gold that lures insects as petals unfurl under a morning sun. It merges with the depth of amber that remembers scenes from an unspoiled Earth. Prehistoric insects that had just fed on nectar and landed on tree trunks must have spent their last moments luxuriating in the afterglow of sweetness and precious sap that would fossilize and preserve them for eternity. -
Oh man, this is really pretty. The rose is bright and purely floral. It reminds me of a rose bath oil I had years ago. It's not Rose Red or Peacock Queen but more... Pink? Without being the lab's pink rose note. The patch is soft and fuzzy in a dusty earth way. The oak moss is the dry earthy-mossy variety, not cologney or soapy to me at all. Overall to me, this smells like dried floral arranging supplies and rose oil. I was fairly certain I would love this, and I do! I'm really enjoying this At The Root collection!
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It's always funny to be testing scents from very long ago because so much history has accumulated since then! For instance, when I first opened this bottle of King of Clubs, the earth, fig and greenery notes have combined to remind me of Laura (American G-ds line), which of course came way later. After application, it doesn't take long for this King to shift and change and bloom in all kinds of interesting ways. The earth note stays present, which I really really appreciate. The dark musk, oakmoss and amber form a stellar trio that are distinct enough that I can pick them out of a lineup, but really work together to form a cohesive whole. I can detect leather in the mix but luckily the note is doing deep background and not amping, which it likes to do on me with annoying frequency. It may well be due to the years upon years of aging, but whatever the cause, I'm definitely not mad about it. This is essentially where the scent settles itself. Even after all these years I am sometimes surprised (and pleased!) with what aging can do for a scent. Given the notes, there's an excellent chance I would not have gone for this scent when it was first released like twenty years ago. But those decades of aging have made this scent a real treasure. I'm so glad I finally get to add him to my OG Tarot collection. Long live the King!
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I got Tiki King! when It was first released but for some reason I cannot fathom, the Queen didn't come up on my radar until this year. I am delighted to have the opportunity to snag a bottle of this now, after so long! Of course I've no idea what this scent was like fresh but certainly, I can echo much of what others in this thread have mentioned: this scent is a gorgeous, heady, indolic floral/tropical mix. It's all sweet, beautiful warm-weather florals for me and I am absolutely delighted with it! I'm quite picky about florals, they frequently don't play nice with my chemistry but Tiki Queen is an absolute dream for me, lush, fragrant and surprisingly close to the skin given the notes involved. This scent is sensual and just SO beautiful. I am absolutely smitten!
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You receive an invitation to attend a grand celebration at the home of Gelt and Obatala, a lovely couple known for their lavish parties and exquisite cocktails. You RSVP with a “Hell yeah” because you recently bought a fancy new pair of trousers that you’ve been dying to wear, and this seems like the perfect occasion. The big night arrives! As you walk through the front door you’re greeted by Gelt, who gives you a big warm chocolatey hug, and Obatala who leaves a hint of coconut in the air as she leans in close and whispers “Hello, I like your trousers”. Feeling quite pleased with yourself and your sartorial choices at this present moment, you saunter over to the bar and order your drink, casually munching from a bowl of roasted hazelnuts while you wait and feeling very smug about your trousers which obviously – judging by the admiring glances coming your way – are making your ass look great. Spotting some friends standing with Gelt and Obatala over by a rather impressive fruit bowl, you stroll over to mingle. As you stand there, cocktail in hand and a few crumbs from the aforementioned hazelnuts adorning your hair (which clearly you don’t know are there, because how embarrassing), every now and then you catch a hint of lemon in the air and wonder where it’s coming from. Ah it’s the fruit bowl! you think to yourself, quite pleased that you were able to solve that little mystery as it would otherwise have bothered you all night. Licking a bit of sugar from the rim of your glass, you smile to yourself and think how fortunate you are to own such a great pair of trousers.
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I've waited ages for this and it was worth the long process to secure my own! In in the bottle and for about an hour after application, I most get that nice rich loamy soil note that I am so desperately in love with, in scents like Penny Dreadful amongst others. Even in the bottle, though, the earth note is not alone, and throughout this first period I get the dips and dives of myrrh and currant and incense. Nothing stays steady here except the earth note. Later on, there's some shifts, with the soil retreating to the background (not gone, but definitely well-faded. Myrrh and amber vie for top spot with the fruit notes coming in behind. I can see the parallels some have made to Crypt Queen- both scents share a vibe of ancient-tomb-wisdom. As with all the OG Tarot scents, there's an overall feel of this being more about the sum than the individual parts. Since I collect the Tarots, this one would be permanent in my collection no matter what. That said, I do rather like the crone-complexity of this scent and am delighted to finally welcome Her home.
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Milk Moon: Pumpkin Spice & Condensed Milk
VioletChaos replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
I also sometimes have issues with milk notes going wonky, but figured since it was condensed milk there wouldn't be cause for concern and my gamble paid off! In the bottle and after initial application, the condensed milk is of the "sweetened" variety, which was as I hoped. It's more forward of the two notes during these stages, with that lovely Lab pumpkin spice note coming up from the rear. Once it's achieved full drydown, the note prominence reverses, with pumpkin spice out front and the milk note settling more into the background. In all, I found this to be a lovely "Summerween" version of the classic pumpkin spice scent- it's softer, more mellow, and stays closer to the skin. I anticipate wearing this over the next three or four hot months primarily to layer a little extra spice into my favorite warm-weather blends and probably starting in August to help me ramp up to all the autumnal delights that will soon be following. 🧡 -
I was intrigued by the idea of this blend, if wary of how strong the incense might be, so in the end this was one of my second round Luper decants. I’m so glad I gave it a chance because it’s lovely! Identifiably cherry with nary a whiff of thick cough syrup or fake air freshener; nope, this is very much “face in a bag of chewy dried cherries” at first. This never moves into smoky lit incense stick territory, either, but there is definitely something slightly resinous that grounds the cherry scent and hangs around for a while. I might need more of this.
- Last week
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Love that this starts off as rose and raspberry, both floral and juicy like you were eating rose jam. It’s well grounded by the other notes, too. Sadly, after about 20 minutes it is mostly white cake on my skin; still nice, but I miss those pink notes.
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Initial impressions: I get only dark, waxy lilies, almost indistinguishable from Black Lily Second impression: something golden and bright along with the lily, a powdery hint of iris, a bit of nectar, and a watery, calla-like note Third impression, first full day of wearing: it seems more indolic than before, but with time, it’s warming into goldenness
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I've had varying success with the Lab's gingerbread scents but mostly success, if I remember correctly. Sin has always been pretty comfortable on me (ha ha). So, this didn't have any surprises. Not much to add as far as descriptions, the gingerbread is the big star here and Sin is more of a backdrop, but that works fine for me. But - they're also blended together to where I can't really pick apart the ginger and cinnamon notes. Just warm and spicy and I'm very happy to have a bottle. I think I'm about to layer with some Midwarkust and I'll report back with any surprises. It just seems like they would work well together.
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I must preface this review with a disclaimer regarding my love for the OG Antique Lace. For me – it’s simply perfect with the melancholy nostalgia and beauty of its softly haunting dry musky vanilla. So I have hesitated to buy Batty Lace, because I figured it would be somehow just… wrong. Like a KPop band covering a Led Zeppelin song level of wrong. But it turns out it’s me who was wrong. Because this is everything I love about Antique Lace, but warmer and deeper – less “pretty” but in a good way. To reference my beloved 1970s music… Antique Lace is Stevie Nicks – flowing blonde locks, gypsy dress with suede boots, lacey shawls and scarves swirling all around as she twirls on stage singing about a white witch who rings like a bell in the night – sultry and knowing, yet somehow sweet and innocent. Batty Lace is Janis Joplin – shaggy unkempt hair, fringed leather vest and denim jeans, dark shades and long strings of hippie beads with a cigarette burning in her raised hand while she stomps her bare feet on the stage and screams at you to take another little piece of her heart now baby – rugged and raw, yet somehow wistful and tender. Batty Lace is simply a beautiful take on a much loved favourite. It’s like getting a warm hug from a big grizzly bear wearing an old leather jacket, who recently rolled around in a pile of caramel dust then slathered on some Antique Lace. I just love it.
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This doesn't smell like the Lab's typical white chocolate accord, at least, not to my nose -- it smells kind of like frosting to me, to be honest (this is not a complaint). It's sweet like a white chocolate bar without any cocoa edge like in most of the white chocolate scents I've tried from the Lab. The cream is probably what's making this seem frosting-like to me as there's no buttery dairy note comprising the cream in this. I enjoy this, but I haven't decided if I need more in my life yet. It will probably depend on how many Lupers I need to grab before they disappear. (My list is pretty long so far.) I think this is versatile enough that it would pair well with many other scents, but since I currently don't have any bottles of chocolate-y lotion, Milk Chocolate Froth is calling to me more.
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Paris Being Admitted to the Bedchamber of Helen
leptonpyr replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Limited Editions
This is very lovely on me, I enjoyed it more than I expected to. At first I thought it might skew too feminine for me to want to wear even if it was very pretty, but something made that okay for me. It was not at all sugary and didn't feel particularly "young" or "girlish", which are not vibes I want to project with my perfume. It's very well balanced creamy tuberose and slightly fruity sweet pea on me (somewhere between peach and lychee), with that almost grape-skin-like tang from the white florals. The silk is more of a smooth, diaphanous sort of texture than an accord I can pick out, and the honey adds a touch of sweetness without ever coming across as heavy. Very refined and lovely, simple but not straightforward. It really does somehow remind me of cool, smooth pink silk. I didn't think I'd want a bottle, but I keep finding myself reaching for my decant again, so I'll give it some more thought before this Lunacy comes down! -
Ecto-coolest joined the community
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I'd agree somewhat to the Cottage Garden direction Cali mentioned. This is more tropical, sexy chocolate florals with a bit of spice without CG's incense turn. I love both. The chocolate is somewhat foody here, but not like any other chocolate note I have come across in the Lab's repertoire. It's a hazy buttery floral. Something you'd wear to Charleston and dance under the Milky Way to.
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Sumptuous, crimson, and forbidden. Rose petals red as the blood pulsing through the veins of entangled lovers are wrapped in plush velvet. Ancient tendrils of amber and frankincense incense rise through the dust of shadows, between walls permeated with the smoke of a thousand censers. It is a poem, long forgotten, about a passion that endures.
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😍Ohhhh this is good. I got it as a frimp from the Lab and didn’t expect much from the almond extract I smelled form the vial, but on the skin it just radiated out into a beautiful soft and sweet warmth that is just so comforting and just a tad seductive. I’ll be needing a full bottle and reaching for it often. This is right up my alley!
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Somehow this was very cinnamon-like when I first applied, maybe the clove is playing tricks on me. It smelled like cinnamon gum for a while but then later it was a lot of clove and black musk. Blood Moon has been hit and miss over the years but it's one I'm always hopeful for and always look forward to. This one is just a little too strong for me and something is turning a little bit sour. Clove sometimes takes over everything on my skin, maybe it's teaming up with patchouli in a not so great way on my skin (I love patchouli but it can go wrong too, sometimes). Come to think of it, tabac may be a problem note here too. I'm not sure if this has potential for aging or not. It smells the same now as when I first got it. I am undecided but not favoring it at the moment. I'm disappointed but that's the way it goes sometimes!
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so interesting to me how different people's skin chemistry reacts to certain elements so differently! like @OxfordComma, this went very soapy on me. i am learning that citrus notes really do not work on me; even though here the orange peel is listed quite far down, and some of the other notes are ones i not only usually love but also tend to do well with - jasmine, myrrh, my beloved rose!! - here everything simply goes soapy and quite sharp. i do not want to smell like soap!! - a couple of other scents i've tried have felt clean and fresh (by candlelight, which i've also been wearing recently and enjoyed testing) without being explicitly soapy in this way, so that world is possible...but only evidently as long as orange and lemon are not involved. otherwise they really do take over. i don't think i get much violet or cypress, but i am less familiar with these so i probably find them harder to pick out. in all, i've found the luper scents i've tried so far very well-blended, so perhaps they do still contribute to the overall picture even if i don't get them. the throw is also quite low on me; i couldn't really smell it well until i put my arm right up to my nose.
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I have a gift card and anxiety over what to get
ShadowEtienne replied to fallwcyc's topic in Recommendations
If you're interested in trying an aquatic, but have had some bad luck with aquatics, an you give a little more detail on which aquatics you've tried and the results? I adore aquatics, and would to help you find one that might be worth trying, but I don't want to recommend ones you already know don't work. -
Paris Being Admitted to the Bedchamber of Helen
doomsday_disco replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Limited Editions
I was hoping for lots of sweet pea from this one, but of course it's tuberose that takes the lead right out of the gate and holds that position throughout wear. It's backed by the pink silk note, which smells somewhat cotton-y to my nose. These two notes were strong enough on me that I wasn't able to pick out the sweet pea or the honeyed skin musk, curiously enough! Definitely one for tuberose fans that enjoy fabric notes. -
I have a gift card and anxiety over what to get
LavenderCoffee replied to fallwcyc's topic in Recommendations
what's one you know you like and one you know you don't like? that might help folks recommend more options. and you might check out the sales and swaps section of the forum if you haven't yet. of course you can't spend your gift card there, but lots of folks end up with things that don't work for them, so you can still turn your "no thanks" bottle into some cash or a different scent that becomes a favorite. -
Milk Moon: Golden Grains & Orange Blossom Honey Lotion
doomsday_disco replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Lotion
I'm not a fan of orange blossom notes, as they tend to be bitter and can be headache-inducing on me, but I decided to try this when someone posted a comment on another platform wondering if this might smell like Golden Grahams cereal. In my experience, it does not smell like cereal. This is mostly about the orange blossom honey, but fortunately, while the orange blossom is stronger than the honey, it isn't as strong as straight-up orange blossom. I can tell there is something else going on in the background, which is taming the orange blossom honey and keeping it from being too strong/heady, so it must be the grains -- but the golden grain note isn't distinct to my nose like the cocoa corn puff note in Milk Moon 2026. This is not a lotion that I feel the need to grab more of, but if you're a fan of orange blossom and you can do honey, this will probably be up your alley.
