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- Today
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This has kind of a weird opening on me, but it dries down into something much nicer. Going on wet, the disparate elements don't quite coalesce: I get a really clean scent that reminds me weirdly of apple-scented baby shampoo, then this odd, almost medicinal, sharper bite that I can't quite place. I wish I could be more specific, but it honestly reminds me the most specifically of the smell of multivitamins in a health food store (??), while some light incense is being burned somewhere in the background. The fig is very waxy, green, and sharp, like it's very far from ripening. An hour or two in, the skin musk moves from weird-clean-shampoo to a beautiful skin musk, the fig gets sappier, and it starts to bloom into something quite creamy, with a whiff of pomegranate and a touch of light spice. This stage is very, very nice. Lasts about 4-6 hours overall and stays pretty close to the skin. I'm interested in trying this again in a month or two to see if the opening gets any less weird on me.
- Yesterday
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at first it's all calla lily with a hint of honey, it smells green but a bit golden and something almost smells like apple/pear to me but it's pretty subtle. this one stays pretty linear for me. i mostly get calla lilies and honey, i don't notice much amber. there is a sort of pollen-y feel to this after it's been on the skin awhile as well. i love lily/white floral scents in general, but wasn't sure/couldn't remember what the calla lily note was like. anyway, it's hard to describe but i do like it, but i think i prefer a basic lily note. overall this smells like a golden floral to me. i don't need a full bottle, but it is pretty.
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this opens with lilac, lotus and amber cream. it's lilac on a bed of creaminess. i get a hint of something mildly foody from the purple yam but it doesn't stick out too much. however, i don't really know what that note smells like. the sandalwood and orris come out a bit later just sort of rounding out the scent and adding some lightness....it's a bit less creamy than at the beginning. then it goes back to being creamier. a really lovely lilac. i love creamy florals and i don't think i have a lilac one at this point. much later on it smells almost like a very subtle coconut. i may need a bottle of this!
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I got a sample of this in my last order. I've never tried it which is a shame. This is just floaty vanilla goodness. I have no idea where the slightly powdery clean smelling vanilla ends and the sweet pea begins. Does the sweet pea give the vanilla that slightly laundry detergent smell? But it's barely, like a good blanket that you breathe in after taking out of the dryer. I don't get much sandalwood, but it's a very white linens type scent to me so it is definitely white sandalwood. This is a comforting lovely scent that is perfect for spring. So sweet and cute.
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Dildo, Boxes with Lubricants, and a Plum Blossom Twig Hair Gloss
Assimbya replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Hair
The grapefruit definitely dominates this one on me - it's a realistic pink grapefruit, with both the slight bitterness of the rind and the sweet brightness of the juice present for me. I get a little apricot in the background, and some soft florals; maybe more plum blossom than honeysuckle, but it's hard to quite distinguish under the loudness of the grapefruit. It feels very clean and cheerful, and goes in my head into the category of bpal scents which could almost be commercial perfumes, but with underlying complexity and realism which set them apart; I do think it would be very likable and palatable to many people, a good bpal gateway scent. The throw and longevity are lower than most of my other hair glosses, which might be just the inevitability of it being a citrus scent, or may improve with age. I like the scent of grapefruit a lot, and find this nostalgic (my first perfume as a child was that Crabtree & Evelyn grapefruit eau fraiche from the '90's - does anyone remember those?), but I do wish the other notes came out a little more; I don't tend to want to smell so purely of citrus these days. I'm going to keep my decant around to see both if a little more aging brings out the other notes and also how I feel wearing it in especially hot weather, when I imagine it could be quite refreshing, before I decide whether I want a bottle. -
In the bottle I get a low, golden incense. Lots of frankincense and soft cedar. Just a hazy halo of light floral. Wet the heliotrope takes center stage, I think it is what has a sweet, vanilla-ish quality? Sort of creamy, somewhat like a really light honey. I wondered if there was a touch of beeswax on wet. As it dries I get more of the neroli, adding a slight bitterness for contrast, and a bit of heady rose. The citrus element hangs around in the background, just a bit of brightness. I would agree the frankincense stays a main player, and it definitely leans more incense than a floral scent overall. Golden, meditative.
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Regrettably, I don't find this to be an accurate tomato leaf note.
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This is more immediately the softer, less dead leaf-y dry down of the fragrance oil I have from a few years ago. The scent itself seems stronger. Samhainophobia is a yearly comfort scent to me, so I practically screamed when I saw this available! If you are a fan of this hair gloss, also check out Red Rose Frankincense Tears from the Yules.
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This is *almost* identical to my Boo 2010, but I like it a bit more, as it’s softer and more subtle. Boo can sometimes get a bit cloying on the dry down. The frankincense here seems to make it a bit more wearable. So glad I tried this!
- Last week
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Me, passing over this scent when perusing the update: this is going to have that cucumber-y paper note that is used in scents like Crumpled Wrapping Paper Single Note, and I don't know how that would play with the other notes. Me, getting a tester with my decant order and sniffing the vial: this has that cucumber-y paper note that is used in scents like Crumpled Wrapping Paper Single Note. Me, testing it on my skin: this has that cucumber-y paper note that is used in scents like Crumpled Wrapping Paper Single Note... but it works with the other notes: So yeah, it has that cucumber-y paper note at first, which I think was also in Carved Wooden Post Office and The Last Syllable, but somehow, it's not jarring when paired with the other notes. At first, it's mostly the paper and the peony, but over time, the paper note calms down, and the black amber increases in strength, so that it's mostly peony and black amber. I'm generally not someone who wears resins paired with floral notes, but I think that these two smell lovely together. And the black amber in this is the good stuff and nothing like the black amber in Terrible Moon: Cardamom and Black Amber duet. I feel fortunate to have been gifted a tester of this by my decanter! I am shocked that I managed to adequately envision the paper note, but not how these notes would meld together. I could not stop sniffing my wrist. I think I might end up needing more of this.
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This one is mostly about the strawberry note on me, with a little black cherry cream lurking behind it. I didn't really get the halo halo ingredients on my skin, as the strawberry was in full-force, but maybe slathering this down my arms would help bring out more complexity in this scent. I'll do that before it goes away, as I really like the black cherry cream in this and wish I were getting more of it.
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This starts off with a blast of the cherry liqueur accompanied by some spice (which fortunately isn't heavy here), but the strawberry is quick to join the party and quickly becomes the dominant note, so that this mostly smells like a spice-swirled strawberry scent with a bit of cherry and amber lurking in the background. I'm going to give this a slather test to see if that helps the cherry last longer on my skin. I do think this is nice, but I would definitely have preferred it without the strawberry, just because I seek out cherry scents, and I don't think we've seen the Lab use a black cherry liqueur note since Gothabilly?
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I decided to try this mostly because of the German name, since plum isn't usually a note that is in my wheelhouse, and I thought maybe plum jam might work better for me than the Lab's other plum notes? During the wet phase of the scent, and during the early dry phase, I was really enamored with this because the scent for some reason reminded me of Glühwein more than any actual Glühwein or spiced wine scent. It was seriously taking me back to the Christmas markets in Germany. But then, it ended up taking a turn for the worse, by no fault of the plum, for one of the spices reared its ugly head and stomped all over the Christmas market goodness I was enjoying. And that spice, fellow readers, was cumin. What did I do to deserve this fate?
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This features a bitter orange peel note that smells just like neroli to my nose. At first, it's super loud and the ruby chocolate hides behind it, but then the ruby chocolate note asserts itself and beats that bitter orange peel note into the background. The creaminess of it really smooths over the edges of the orange peel note. The wet phase of the scent was a little too much for me with the neroli or neroli-like note, so this isn't something I will be seeking out more of, but I am glad that I got a chance to try it! Curiously enough, I ended up getting more ruby chocolate from this one than the other two ruby chocolate scents I tried from this Box of Chocolates collection.
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This one is all about the strawberry mochi on me, and the smell of the mochi texture is on point! I could smell a hint of the pink cherry sugar in the decant and when the scent was freshly applied, but it was quick to fade. Curiously enough, I am not getting much ruby chocolate from this one -- it's just a mochi party on me!
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This is mostly about the Snake Oil on me (especially its musk) with some creamy ruby chocolate in the background. It has good throw and staying power, although I'm surprised the ruby chocolate isn't stronger on my skin! I'm going to set this one aside and test it after it has had a few months to settle. At the moment, I like it, but was hoping for more of that ruby chocolate note from Millennial Pink with the Snake Oil.
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Do you like marshmallow? If you said yes, then this HG is for you! It’s very marshmallow forward. I was worried the honey might take over, but for me, it’s a lightly honeyed marshmallow. This would be fantastic for layering. Love it!
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All of the above. Absolute Creamsicle perfection. Lasts beautifully. Obsessed.
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On me this is *incredibly* strong, just from a small test spot. I'm not able to pick out what the fruit is, and the wax/plastic note comes across to me as coconut, which I don't care for. I had to scrub this off right away.
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A sexy, resin-y rose. Most of the rose is in the initial application, quickly smoked up. This was my night-time fave all the past winter, which a pure or more dewy rose would not have suited. It's not too heavy to not work during the spring, but heavy enough to work for fall.
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As a recent hair gloss user, this is by far one of my favorites. A comforting incense, fine for daytime or bed.
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I agree with Geminirubyshoes, the cacao isn't as noticeable as the oud, which is a bit sharp but smells great. It really does take the lead on this one, as the amber peeks out from behind. I think this is a great scent that may be a bit strong for my skin chemistry. Still, it's really growing on me as it dries a bit.
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Gorgeous. Instant multiple bottle order. A blast of bright scent that reminds me of the sharpness I love in Phyllocrania Paradoxa v1, which quickly calms down into a gentle wisp of passionfruit cuddled into a creamy, sugary embrace. Winner winner BPAL dinner!
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This is one the best things I've ever smelled from bpal The absolute essence of a Mediterranean, sun soaked day with luscious dry heat and lap of the ocean. The absolute pinnacle of a "your skin but better" scent. The pink pepper goes almost fruity on me, but on dry down melds with the brilliant salt note to become much much more than the sum of its parts. This is a spectacular scent
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i had kind of wanted to try this but didn't really like antique lace, so didn't bother. then i received a frimp of the 2025 version from a lovely person on the forum. i definitely get the antique lace feeling, though less sweet than i recall. at first, the leather and caramel balance each other out nicely so as to not be too strong one way or the other. then the leather gets a bit stronger and it's kind of smoky, before fading back a bit more. i really like how the caramel just balances out the leather and isn't too sweet. very pretty.
