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- Today
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I need to preface this with a full disclosure: I am a big fan of coconut – in particular; the dark, meaty and gnarly black coconut (think Red Lantern, Snake Charmer, Death Adder or Body, Remember). So when a dear friend sent me a decant of this precious old treasure, I was very excited! I definitely agree this is more of a coconut oil smell than actual fresh coconut meat. It’s not really sweet, and it definitely has more depth than some suntan lotion or Malibu cocktail type coconut, but for me it’s just a wee bit too foodie. It also sways a little into the dreaded plastic-smelling zone initially on my skin, although that does go away after about 30 minutes and it dries down to a nice warm coconut but still retains that same coconut oil feel.
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Oooh boy, this is some wild coffee! It’s not the coffee you sip demurely on your porch in the morning and enjoy the feeling of it slowly warming your veins as it whispers softly, gently waking you up… oh no. This is the coffee you drink when you get home at 6am after a debaucherous night of unmentionable naughtiness and realise you have to be at work in two hours. It smacks you in the face and says WAKE UP MOTHERFUCKER! And the funnel cakes thing? Yeah, that is equally wild. These are not the sweet funnel cakes from the church’s bake sale at the local county fair – nope, these are the funnel cakes from the devil’s bakery. Feisty, ferocious cinnamon filled cakes of spicy red hot fire – like Satan himself just ate six of them then burped in your face. It’s delicious, deep, and intoxicating. It’s the dark and evil twin sister to Midway’s cotton candy carnival prettiness. Had this been available at the time, all those people on Elm St could have avoided being killed by Freddy Krueger, because there ain’t no way they would have fallen asleep.
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i got a frimp of this-it smells sweeter to me than the notes would suggest. it smells green but a bit sugary, kind of cakey. it could be mango + some sort of sweetness as the other reviews said. if this is a floral note it's not reading that way. i dunno, it's alright, but a little too sweet for my tastes.
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at first i get primarily red musk, then after a few minutes i get some myrrh and amber, maybe a hint of honey. later on the saffron comes through. overall it's a red musk with a fuzzy warmth and a bit of cool iris root to balance it out. very pretty and though the red musk is the strongest note, i think the other notes make it a bit more subtle than it can be.
- Yesterday
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The Persephone's Ascent perfume oil is an absolute favorite of mine, so I was so pleased to see a hair gloss version, and, as I hoped for, it is as beautiful as the perfume! I've already reviewed the perfume, so I don't have a ton to add; on me at least the hair gloss is slightly lighter on the cream and vanilla notes, and the honeysuckle nectar is slightly more prominent; it's somewhat sheerer, more green floral and less gourmand. A perfect springtime hair gloss scent, with medium throw and longevity as far as bpal hair glosses; it doesn't give me a floral cloud like, for example, the White Lilac & Moss lunacy HG from last year, but I catch hints of it throughout the day. Delighted to have this!
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This starts out on me as a very wet, green calla lily; it has this substantial, almost fleshy quality which sets the range of lily notes apart from other white florals, and which I think particularly shows up in the lab's calla lily specifically. There's a hint of honey at this stage, but not much; it's basically a calla lily single note, very fresh and alive. More honey starts to show up on dry down, and then, maybe an hour into wear, something comes together and I get the honey and amber clearly and elegantly, almost like a golden veil has fallen over the lily. They are delicate, perfumey versions of the amber and honey notes, not too sticky or overpoweringly resinous. Something really gorgeous happens there in the combination of the three notes, and it feels like the lily itself gets more complex, like maybe there's the more classically floral stargazer lily note as well as the greener calla lily. I just couldn't stop smelling it at this stage, found it totally beautiful and preoccupying. The throw is pretty low but it's distinct, and that beautiful drydown stage lasts for hours. I had high hopes for this one, and it has most definitely fulfilled them. I'm holding off on buying a full bottle until I've had a chance to try the lily-centric Flower Moon scents and compare, but I fully expect to be getting a bottle soon enough. Definitely recommended to lily fans and a wonderful addition to the lab's family of floral + amber blends.
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Fresh KICK of clean, wet, rainwashed greenery and white musk. There's tea early on but it's quiet in comparison to the blast of rain-vibrant cut greenery and white musk. I'm reading this as having a very clean "laundry day" kind of vibe, which I'm filing under "white musk." If I'm wrong, sue me 🤷♀️(for legal purposes Do Not, I have no money to pay u) After maybe 30 minutes, the edges on this scent soften and round. It is still very fresh and clean, very rainwashed, but less sharp. I'm no longer being slapped in the face with a bouquet of juicy wet grass. The tea peeks out more confidently around this time, too. As drydown continues, I get the whiter/sharper aspects of moonflower, a dusting of silvered moonlit powder at their centers as they bloom through continued wear, and big splashes of clean-cool water. Wet is morning laundry day after a spring rain: brisk, green, sharp, shiny, and bright. Fluffy white clouds, blue sky, wet green grass, early spring sunlight. Drydown is a cool, clean, wet spring *night* after a spring rain: white-silvers and greens, rainwashed new growth and glinting moonlight, spots of cool white powder-touched blooms dotting the landscape. That opening is a little rough for me (hissss, sun! hissss, chores!) but wow does it pay off in that drydown. If you like the vibes of both sides of this perfume, you're gonna have a GREAT time.
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a burst of juicy grapefruit up front transitions into a perky velvety pink ...no, I'm serious! it's nose tickling, soft, and a bit tangy.
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Blueberry Chai Truffle features a ton of jammy blueberry that is the star of the show. I only get hints of the spices, chocolate, and milk in the background, with the chocolate and milk being most noticeable after the scent has been on the skin for several hours, but it is pretty light by that point. The milk note did not end up going wonky on my skin, fortunately. This is the blueberry that I was hoping for from Fritsu, and although I'm not getting a lot of cardamom from this, I'm not disappointed. I will be hanging onto my decant, and I'll give this a full-day wear to determine whether or not I need more of this (at the moment, it is a bottle contender).
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I decided to get a decant of this one just because some of the Lab's black tea notes have had a bit of an anise-like quality to them, so I wanted to confirm for myself if that was the case with this one. Fortunately, this is mostly a tannic black tea scent, with only the barest hint of anise when freshly applied that lasts for like a split second. The tea note has a ton of throw, too, so if you're looking for a scent that's strong on the black tea, you may want to check this out. Unfortunately, I really don't like the cacao in this. It doesn't smell chocolate-y at all to me, sadly. It's more like a cocoa butter or something like that to my nose because I was thinking it was more lotion-like than a gourmand cacao. So this one is not a keeper for me.
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This starts off like a cherry tootsie pop, but then it quickly changes more into the cherry brookie scent, and the brookie part makes me think of baked chocolate chips (even though this says batter). It just has that quality of a chocolate chip in a cookie that melted onto a cookie sheet with a slight burnt edge (but it doesn't smell burnt -- I don't know if I am describing this adequately... it's like if you rolled up a ball of cookie dough, but there was a chocolate chip or chunk of chocolate exposed at the bottom of the cookie that ends up oozing out of the cookie during baking). After that phase, it does end up smelling like brookie batter that's more brownie-like, accompanied by the cherry. The grass isn't distinct to my nose, so I wouldn't let the grass note scare you away from trying this. I like this and will definitely be keeping my decant. But I need to give it a full-day slather to see if I need more of this because I have so many brownie scents already. 😅
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This is lovely. When I smelled it in the decant, I wasn't sure how it would go on my skin because something in it made me think it might clash -- maybe it was the herbal quality of the chamomile? But I needn't have worried. I get some lots of lightly spiced cherry accompanied by a cup of chamomile tea. I don't really get a bread pudding scent from this, but that's fine with me. There is a bit of a syrupy quality to the scent after it has been on the skin for a while that I think is supposed to be evocative of a baked good, though. I really love the cherry in this and was pleasantly surprised by how well the chamomile complements it. I've tested it a few times already and am pretty sure I'm going to need a bottle. Of the two cherry scents in the Puppy Love collection, this one is my favorite.
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2026 version. I blind bottled this because I'm running low on my decant of the 2017 vintage. The only reason I didn't get a bottle back then was because I was studying in Germany at the time, so I hoarded by decant I was gifted in a swap and was thrilled at its return this year. Since I didn't ever smell this when it was fresh, it's really not fair of me to compare the two. My decant was already aged when I first tried it. At the moment, my fresh bottle does not smell like the decant, but I think that's really due to age and that it will eventually smell more like it. The lavender, apple, and vanilla are all main players on my skin when I wear the decant, but the fresh bottle is more about the lavender, apple, and patchouli, with less vanilla. I was caught off guard by how much patchouli was in the throw! At one point, I got a lot of the cream part of the vanilla cream in the crook of my elbows that smelled a little funky like cream notes sometimes do, but fortunately, it was overtaken by the apple note, which smells more green to me than red like in my original review. I'll be hanging onto my bottle and am looking forward to seeing how this ages. I'm hoping that the vanilla will gain some strength with age, as it does in most scents.
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I had a similar experience, it's cool cream and cardamon on me. I'm getting the sense that the blueberry might be a lot more in the throw, which is hard to confirm myself at home.
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This one smells like a sweet, sharp pinch. Like this love bite definitely came from teeth! A great balance of sweet from the boozy fruit and spicy/resinous. The light layer of juicy rose and vanillic tonka round it out nicely. I found this lasted well on me.
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For some reason both fresh and now months later, this smells like nag champa incense and clove to me. I have no idea where the spicy note is coming from but it reminds me very much of the clove cigarette smoke in Black Lipstick. So, yea. Spicy nag champa. 🤷♀️ No idea why lol
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I just found my Weenie 'maybe' pile to retest before they come down! So here we go. I... also get lime? I remember this reminding me of *something* when I tested it originally so maybe it was Mr Nancy? I don't really recall getting lime before but maybe??? Otherwise, I get a lot of dirt so I'm assuming I didn't get a Lime Green mixup. Maybe some weird combo of the moss and Dorian is resulting in a pithy lime vibe? 🤔 Regardless, I actually like this a lot now. It's dirt but like...✨suave dirt.✨ A little snake oil vanilla sweetness peaking through, a little airy Dorian clawing out of the grave. The dirt note is milder now than I recall, less petrichory. I think I shall toss a bottle in my order. It's got a kind of 'nice bog witch' energy that I strive for.
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Dark Chocolate, Coffee Bean, and Cheese Danish Hair Gloss
Numanoid replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Hair
I WISH this was an actual thing to eat! This is soooo yummy! I get the bittersweet chocolate and coffee sniffing in the bottle. On, the flaky cheese Danish comes out. I got a decant but going to get be a big bottle. Love love love this! -
Black Honey, Black Cherry, and Kyphi Smoke Hair Gloss
Numanoid replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Hair
This is gorgeous! As I was hoping, it smells like a cousin to Red Apple,. Blackened Honey & Opoponax HG. But with cherry and incense! I am not a honey fan, but this is so good. Sniffing in the decant I got, I get an incensed honey with a dash of the cherry. I don't know what kyphi is, but I tried this on dry hair and I did get a slight smoky scent along with the other notes. It is actually a softer scent than I thought it would be, but this is still dead sexy! -
This is decadent! Sniffing in the decant, the raspberry and dark chocolate is soooo rich! Like a GOOD European raspberry liquor filled chocolate! On the skin, the chocolate fades a bit and I get more raspberry liquor. This is very good and rich. Medium throw on me. Might have to get a bottle of this!
- Last week
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my first blind test of this I wrote "plum peony grapefruit?" but of course it's a happy little salted yuzu sitting on top! and the wine note blends in very nicely with this palette. it's almost like a posh sangria with flowers in it, and I don't get a whole lot from the cedarwood/patchouli end of things. brilliant blend.
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this is absolutely stunning. it's pretty darn close to Glowing Vulva but it has gorgeous dollop of LILAC! the spiced honey is only very delicately spiced, and the tolu balsam sort of snugs up to the teak, and do not fear the polished amber! it doesn't smell fume-y or lacquer-y to me at all. I could do with a bit more lilac cream, but it does bloom out nicely on the skin. the scent overall is rather subtle: not quite as soft as a "your skin but better," but like a pair of fancy knickers, you might be the only one to enjoy it unless you plan to get up close and personal.
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Record of Women’s Treasures of the Way of Elegance Day and Night
doomsday_disco replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Lupercalia
I decided to grab a decant of this because it shares some notes with Destructive Vagina of the Fox Spirit (vanilla orchid, black amber, coffee bean, labdanum, champaca, and oudh), of which there's probably less than a milliliter left in my bottle. I think that scent being discovered in my early BPAL days really helped cement it as one of my most beloved Shungas, but what I really appreciate about it is that a lot of the notes in it are not really in my wheelhouse at all, but they somehow all come together to create this really pretty scent that I imagine is like... the best indie coffee shop/bookstore. So I deathmatched the two. Record of Women’s Treasures of the Way of Elegance Day and Night does indeed share some similarities with Destructive Vagina, but oddly enough, Destructive Vagina is less destructive. While that scent has a bit of an airy quality to it thanks to the vanilla orchid, Record of Women's Treasures doesn't contain any notes that lift the scent. This is mostly resins, incense, patchouli, and spices on me, with the black pepper being one of the most prominent spices (it made me sneeze at one point). The patchouli, champaca, and spices are very noticeable, especially during the first few hours of wear, and the coffee bean and resins lurk in the background during this time. Once those notes calm down, it settles into a soft resin scent that does smell like a cousin to Destructive Vagina of the Fox Spirit -- I'm guessing because of the labdanum (which is not cola-like in either blend). But Destructive Vagina ends up being the stronger scent by the end of the day. I still prefer Destructive Vagina between the two, but I do enjoy this, and I plan on giving it a full-day slather to see if I need more of it. It's definitely a possibility, since it does share some similarities with that scent (and I doubt I'd be able to find more of that one). -
I thought I was going overboard ordering two scents with raspberry and honey, but this could not be more completely different than the Honey Pot trio with raspberry. it's got an overall coolness and elegance, an evening sort of come hither vibe, whereas the honey trio is a fun/sunshine/jump for joy sort of scent. if you enjoyed the honeyed cream from Slug (Yule 2023) this is the roseberry version of that. probably a good way to get yourself a little Malinka if you know what I mean.
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Honey, Raspberry Jam, and Buttercream
LavenderCoffee replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Lupercalia
this is golden and gorgeous and perfect. a bright, warm honey with bold ruby facets of raspberry and a whisk of sugary buttercream. honestly the buttercream is not super prominent for me but it adds a lovely bakeshop vibe. I already love honey so I didn't really need to be sold on this, and I'm also glad it's not crushingly sweet. a gourmand I can endorse! and slather copiously!
