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- Today
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Orange Blossom Honey and Silver Musk
kinneret_rising replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Lupercalia
Just a touch sweet, this duet showcases BPAL's bright orange blossom note. I'm a fan of that note, but I'm not sure orange blossom combines well with this musk. I've had moments of thinking the two complement each other interestingly, and others where they seem to be competing and the musk just undermines the orange blossom's brightness. Still testing this one to see if I change my mind, or if the scent settles as it ages. -
This blends honey with the layered, woody scent of oud. I've had a few shocking encounters with oud notes -- on one occasion, I wondered if a bottle of oil had gone rancid, only to have the scent turn gorgeous on drydown. Smoke, earthy, woody oud isn't for everybody, but paired with honey, it goes down much more easily. This balanced combination would make a great introductory oud scent for someone trying it for the first time.
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This duet is easy to like. Wet, the cacao is forward and aromatic. As it dries down, the humid black tea note comes out to balance the cacao. The scent has a lot more throw in its wet stage than in the dry one, but it has good wear length once it's settled. A good pick for lovers of bittersweet chocolate.
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I'm a honey lover, and I'd been impatient to get my own bottle of Womb Furie after experiencing my partner's 2016 version. They're not identical, but I'd be hard pressed to say which I prefer. I think 2026 is a little brighter. Both are rich, thick honey scents given texture by snake oil -- languid and sensuous. For me, this is a BPAL standard, one I want to always have in my collection.
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An attempt to represent the alchemical marriage of opposing principles in scent! It's interesting to experience BPAL's forceful, earthy red musk somehow also smelling ethereal (maybe from the resins). The honey comes through clearly as well. This one lasted several hours on my skin and has relatively low throw once dry. I think if I didn't have to go nose to wrist to enjoy it, I might upgrade to a bottle. It's complex and lovely, but quiet.
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Although the notes are not the same, this solar and celestial scent makes me think of Aasimar. It's warm, golden, and airy, and it lasted several hours on my skin without any special preparation (I didn't moisturize first). Lovely and easy to wear.
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This scent is well-blended and I'm hard-pressed to pick out notes aside from honey. That being said, it's just a touch sweet and wonderfully textured from the wool/wood/leaves/leather combo -- definitely a unisex scent. It makes me think of being outdoors. Inspired by the intense friendship of David and Jonathan, I think this one could be shared between lovers or best friends.
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This is a juicy, fruity variation on snake oil -- still complex, but lighter. It will make a lovely spring and summer scent. I can't pick out individual fruit notes, but the combination smells fresh and alive, and the snake oil provides its complex spicy musk as a foundation. For me it's a nicely balanced scent. I have no idea what "iridescent serpent scale accord" would be -- I'll be curious to try it in a different scent, if it appears again, to see if I can pick it out. I'm enjoying this scent a lot.
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Well, I blind bottled this. I love a scent that tells a story, and I couldn't resist one that attempts to capture the story of Isis and Osiris. For me this scent is the perfume equivalent of classical music. I have to give it my full attention -- it's not an easy pleasure; it takes work, but it's worth it. I catch nearly all of the notes at one point or another, wet or dry. The blue lotus is most noticeable wet, and with drydown, the scent integrates into something beautiful and strange: cassia, moist green earth, linen. I imagine myself smelling the Nile basin. It's really amazing, and also not a beginner's scent. I think I may wear it for meditation.
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I thought this one was a no-brainer for me! I love all of the notes. I tried it out on a testing strip first and was surprised when I got a delicate lemon scent, like lemon sherbet. I handed it to my partner -- same reaction, lemon. We both noticed if we concentrated, we could start to pick out the intended notes, but a casual sniff just brought us back to the citrusy sherbet smell. I let it dry on the testing strip overnight, and that did the trick -- finally, beeswax, copal, honey, vanilla! So I tried it on my skin and got... lemon Pledge, for about twenty minutes. After that, again, the lovely scent I was expecting emerged... but only for about twenty minutes, after which it disappeared. I think this will be beautiful on someone else. I'm sad it doesn't work on me, because the dried-down state is really nice.
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This scent is very green and leans a teeny bit masculine--I mostly get the green amber and white musk, which brings to mind a cool rainy spring day. Didn't get any oolong tea, grass, mandarin, or flowers, though, and I do wish it might have lasted longer (it's pretty much gone on me after about half a day), but it was nice while it lasted.
- Yesterday
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I'll admit, I purchased this from the Lab's Etsy because of the artwork. And though moss is usually a turn-off for me, lilac is one of my favorite florals. I've had enough experience with BPAL's blood note to know I'm picky, but this one is "dried" so... what the hell, let's try it out! What an interesting blend of opposites. It is clean like rainfall and damp soil, and dirty in the sense that the best soil is worm poop. You step into a forgotten mausoleum, now filled with antiques. Things so old and ancient that they do not possess harmful bacteria anymore, since organic matter is but a memory. But instead of being dusty and dry, the air itself is filled with life and mystery. The differences in a bottle sniff, wet on your skin, and the dry down are all subtle. I keep on going back for more. I thought at first that I would pass this along, but I think I'll hold on to it for awhile and see if I'm drawn to it more. If you've ever wanted to smell like a cave river, this is your blend.
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It's November 2019. A year before Biden is elected and you hear Harry Styles singling "watermelon sugar hiiiiiiiigh". It will become the song of the summer. You smell like watermelon sugar and it seems like things might just be ok. They aren't. Yet, one day, 6 years later, you get a whiff of watermelon sugar and are hit with a wave of sad longing for the endless days of the watermelon summers of the pandemic. Somehow the dread was less and more then.
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Malinka is quite soft on me, and even after a good slather she stays close to the skin. It is very much a creamy rose scent on me and I love that, but I will need to sort through my other scents and do some death matching to see how/whether it is different enough to warrant a bottle upgrade.
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I finally got my samples, and I was most looking forward to this scent. Unfortunately, it immediately went soapy on me, and it stayed there. No musk, no floral, no salt, no pepper. Just soap. As it dried, it went to powdery soap. I wish I knew why! Pretty gutted, normally musks of all sorts from the lab work well on me. But I don't want to smell like a bubble bath and baby powder, so sadly, this isn't it for me.
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This is really lovely, no doubt about it. Dreamy is definitely the vibe. Velvet carnation petals floating in creamy vanilla and orris. The peony adds an extra oomph of fresh florals, a muted pastel bouquet of pinks and cream. A very gentle soft leather and dry cedar at the base. Honestly, ghoulnextdoor's description of smelling perfume on your scarf is perfect, it has that quality of smelling something on a jacket you haven't worn in a while and trying to figure out what it was. Maybe two things that ended up layering beautifully. On my skin the florals stand out, but on my sleeves the base notes are prominent and the two halves make a really lovely whole. Middling throw, I can smell it on myself just fine but not sure if others could. Soft but not too quiet. If you like Solstice's Winter Dove but didn't love the heavier gourmandish cream and nutmeg aspects, I think this would be a winner for you.
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I got this as a frottle directly from the Lab. As a dirt-note enthusiast, I am delighted to have this chance to try this scent that somehow escaped my attention when it was originally released! In the bottle, I get the earth note front and center. But there's a sweetness bringing up the rear that reminds me of some element of Laura (without the chemical-weird aspect). Wet on my skin, the scent starts to unfurl and hints of that grass enter the arena. This is not straight up cut grass like Unexpected Golf Hazard, this is grass in August, uncut, wafting gently on the breeze. Dry down- The weeds are now present, and I think I can detect a bit of the beloved dandelion note from Strawberry Moon 2009 in here, adding a little sweetness to the mix, and I really love it. In all-A low throw earthy fragrance. It's interesting that it was originally released as part of Yule because the scent smells like spring and summer to me. I'm glad the goblins sent this to me now because I'm going to keep this in my summer rotation for sure! ❤️
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I am IN LOVE with this. It is wonderfully uncomplicated. You get honey, you get champaca. You get Honey Champaca. It’s my favorite lab honey note, too; sometimes honey notes can start off almost sour and quite pungent to the point of a good nose wrinkle, or they can lean overly sweet so that a whiff makes my mouth water a little to protect my teeth from incoming sugar. But this is the perfect balance. Then that champaca is just chewy and ambiguous perfection: Is it floral? Is it spicy? Is it woody incense? Nope, it is nothing and everything, a class unto itself. In short: Y’all, this is damn good. (I’m also making a full disclosure that this review is based on using the HG on my body, alongside an unscented body lotion. This way, I have more control over how much of the scent I use—more lotion vs more HG per palm-full as I apply—and if I really want to slather it on I don’t have to worry about what my short, fine hair is going to do with too much product.)
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I agree, this one is definitely marshmallow-forward! Dare I say, it went on* a little like Boo though while Boo feels somehow like “poofy marshmallow” this scent is grounded by the honey. It’s interesting, though, that it isn’t really identifiable as honey per se. It’s a really nice scent that can be worn alone or with various other blends without clashing or interfering. No complaints here. (*Since cutting my hair short again, I’ve started using HGs on my body most of the time. I typically squirt a simple, unscented lotion in my palm, then add a spritz of the HG and slather. It’s divine.)
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This is a sour, funky honey blend. I think it has a bit of a russet patchouli happening. It went too far into funky town for me.
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I took a chance on this one, knowing the oud might kill it. If not for the oud, I would need multiple bottles. It's creamy nutty praline goodness up front, but unfortunately the dry down brings out the oud so it's a no from me, but probably a yes for lots of people
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Agreed with @wilhelmscream. The longer I have this bottle, the more the blueberry comes out. It's a beautiful, unique cardamom scent so if that is your thing, rejoice!
- Last week
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Matcha & Pumpkin Rind.
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Spiced Rum & Dark Chocolate.
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Folk horror, but make it breakfast cereal: dehydrated pumpkin marshmallows and blackened cocoa corn puffs in sugared milk.
