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- Today
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If you want to walk around your usual places but be mentally in a beautiful, powerful old-growth forest then this is for you. This blend brings to mind a movie scene where a knight is walking through giant trees past a circle of large stones covered in moss in unnatural patterns with their sword vibrating their side. At least, it does for me. I know that's not exactly a helpful description, but there you go. This was a huge win for me as I am not at all familiar with any of these notes on their own as I typically do not buy them--that is going to change now for sure! A new favorite.
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This strongly reminds me of Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris (Lilith meets the Gargoyles of Paris: stone and ancient incense, beeswax and lavender smoke). I believe this hair gloss features the same incense and stone notes, although I'm not really getting any beeswax from the scent in my hair. The hair gloss has great longevity. Most hair glosses disappear not long after I apply it to wet hair, but I was still able to smell this one when I held my hair up to my nose by the end of the day. In dry hair, it was more noticeable and had even better longevity, but this isn't one of those hair glosses that hits you with a cloud of scent when you go to wash your hair, and it's not one that will linger after a wash. I'll definitely be hanging on to my decant of this, but I don't think I'd reach for it enough to warrant a full bottle -- mainly because I don't have a ton of church-y or resinous scents in my collection to pair it with. But if you enjoyed Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris, you should enjoy this, too.
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I'm so sad, I just got caramelized dark honey. Why??
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What @LavenderCoffee said! It's really pretty and does that fizzy thing that BPAL is so good at creating
- Yesterday
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If you told me this was a single note frankincense, I'd believe you. It's balsamic, but it the way frankincense can be balsamic. It's a little bit in the direction of anise, in the same way frankincense can go in an anise-y direction. But I'm not trying to disparage the scent here. This is a really nice frankincense, standing perfectly well on its own. Beth never disappoints with incense. Because it's overwhelmingly just frankincense to my nose at all stages, I'd say this is totally unisex. I'll echo the comment that the longevity is unfortunately on the shorter side. It would be great for, say, a ceremony or religious service where you want to send subtle, formal vibes and don't need it to last all day.
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If you're familiar with the Bath and Body Works Eucalyptus Spearmint stress relief line, I perceive this scent as being very close, including, yes, a bit of soapiness. The frankincense is very subtle and mostly disappears into the clean musk. Linnear, very clean, unisex leaning masculine. I'll be picking up a bottle in my next order, because it genuinely is a great stress relief scent for me and I'm not at all opposed to soap in a scent that's meant to be clean. Some may find it too simple on its own. The RPG scents were, after all, designed to be layered. I unfortunately don't have any others on hand to try it with.
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ALT From The Oncoming Storm deck. View the full post.
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This mostly smells like a cherry lollipop. It verges on cherry tootsiepop, but the cherry is not that dark -- it is lighter and brighter. The pink pepper in this is pretty subtle, and most like the pink pepper found in Red from the Fraggle Rock Line. It doesn't have a kick to it like it does in some blends, nor does it have a bubblegum-y quality to it like in High-Strung Daisies. I couldn't pick out anything ginger-y, and upon looking it up, I saw that white ginger is a flower -- but I'm not smelling anything floral here, either. I've tested this a few times and slathered it on as a scent of the day, and it always stayed close to my skin. I like this and will be hanging on to my decant, but I don't think I need a bottle. I just wish it had some more oomph!
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I get a lot of candied pomegranate with Snake Oil's patchouli and spiciness. The pomegranate is exactly the same as in An Intriguing Observation (Shungas 2025), rich and juicy. Like said above, this reminds me of Sugar Plum Snake Oil but SPSO is dustier on my skin and SOaCP is more fruity and juicy. I'm happy I have full bottle because I am in love.
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The Woman Clothed with the Sun and the War in Heaven
Myrrha replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Limited Editions
On me this opens with pomegranate wreathed in light incense. The singed frankincense and saffron are gorgeous together, at first smelling almost fizzy but settling into a beautiful emotional incense. The cherry is in the background adding richness and a little rounded sweetness. No one catching this scent on me would think “oh that’s cherry” but it is a beautiful part of the blend. I did not like this when it first arrived about six months ago, but now it is amazing and I’m so glad to have it. -
This frankincense is very dry and woody on my skin. The balsam adds a dark green freshness. As it dries I get more polished amber peeking out, and just a hint of cardamom. I agree this is a solemn and serious scent.
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Smudgy, clean, and a bit sweet. Lavender and a pink sugary sort of note (peony?). Beth I would do anything for a bottle!
- Last week
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On my latest “Looking Back on Genre History” segment on the StarShipSofa podcast (Episode 774), I discuss four recent works about science fiction that are perfect for your 2026 “To Be Read” list. Listen here! View the full post.
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This was a little intimidating from the bottle because there's a tang to it that makes me nervous (a tang that usually meant this could go sour on me), BUT thankfully the tang went away fast when applied! This is as advertised, candy strawberries and beeswax! Though the strawberries do lean a little wine-like at first (probably that opening tang). This ultimately dries down as a warm slightly sweetened beeswax and I'm very happy.
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Lambent changed their profile photo
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Bombastic Subtropical Turquoise Cream Pie
doomsday_disco replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Gifts with Donation or Purchase
I haven't actually had this soda, or its namesake pie, so I can't compare it to the actual thing, but this smells like a fizzy, tropical (maybe pineapple-y?) soda with something clean beneath it (not sure if it is an aldehyde or a musk), as well as some graham cracker crust and some whipped cream. I really wish that clean aspect weren't present in this, because it's the most pie-like of the 2025 pie frimps since it actually has a discernable crust note (which smells delicious!). I'm still going to hang on to my frimp, though. -
Strawberry Lemonade Pie
doomsday_disco replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Gifts with Donation or Purchase
This is definitely stronger on the lemonade than the strawberry, and it's a very tart lemonade. I'd say that there's more sweetness to be found from the lemonade in Grumblotch’s Salts, even though that scent has a mineralic quality to it and some salt. I'm also not getting any pie crust from this. It gets sweeter and improves after it has been on the skin for several hours, but the scent is pretty faint by that point. Of the 2025 pie frimps, this was the one I enjoyed the least. -
London Fog Cream Pie
doomsday_disco replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Gifts with Donation or Purchase
London Fog Cream Pie smells like Earl Grey, with its bergamot and tannic black tea leaves, swirled with frothy steamed milk and a dash of vanilla syrup -- which is to say, it smells like a London Fog! It gets a little buttery after several hours of wear on me, but not overly so -- although I suspect that's the cream part of the cream pie at play. I don't get anything overtly pie from this, though. This is my favorite of the 2025 pie frimps -- I only wish it lasted longer and were stronger! -
Matcha Latte Cream Pie
doomsday_disco replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Gifts with Donation or Purchase
This is very strong on the matcha, which isn't the same as the Lab's regular, lemony green tea note, and it isn't too bitter or vegetal. The matcha smells very similar to the matcha notes used by Astrid Perfume and Nocturne Alchemy (for those who aren't as familiar with BPAL but have tried some other perfume houses). I don't really get any pie crust from this, and it takes several hours before a light vanilla emerges, which I suspect is the cream part of the cream pie. I really enjoy matcha scents and will be hanging onto my frimp, but I do wish I got more actual pie from this! -
Hi everyone, sharing this post from our social media: In solidarity with workers and people in Minnesota and all across the country who are participating in the strike, we’ll be closing our site down for maintenance on Friday, January 23rd, 9am-5pm Eastern time. Via https://www.iceoutnowmn.com: “Friday, January 23rd will be a statewide day of non-violent moral action, reflection: no work, no school, no shopping — only community, conscience, and collective action.“ There are so many ways for onlookers to participate, support, or otherwise stand in solidarity with those existing under federal occupation in MN. Please contact your reps and demand that they vote to defund ICE by opposing any DHS appropriations bill that maintains funding for this agency. 5calls has a terrific script: https://5calls.org/issue/dhs-budget-ice-defund/
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Wow, no one has reviewed this yet? Not one person? I'm NEVER first. I got this one because I love amber and beeswax, and Peru balsam is in my ride-or-die, No. 93 Engine. I like the warm, earthy, vanilla-y scent it adds to blends. In the bottle, it's very sweet in a weirdly fruity way. It almost reminds me of pear? On the drydown, there's something almost aquatic about it, and I can't for the life of me think of what it might be. Is it reminding me of Lyonesse? That could be it. Lyonesse has vanilla and amber, and vanilla is similar to balsam of Peru. After a while, the warmth of the scent comes out even more as that aquatic note quiets down. If you look at the painting that inspired this scent, I think that they did a good job replicating the feel of it. The scent description made me think more of golden notes, but the picture is mostly greys highlighted by gold, and that's what this smells like to me.
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Spiced hay and cacao first on, a little on the sharp side. As it dries it softens, getting more herbal from the hops and chamomile. The sandalwood feels snuggly.
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Beautiful smudgy grey-lavender scent. Fresh on I get lavender and a soft aquatic note, with a hazy musk. As it dries so does the rain, and it gets slightly fuzzier and a bit creamy (but not milky). The lilac pokes out as well as the tea adding a faint freshness. So so pretty!
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I've been treasuring this as a winter scent for some years now, and have only just realized that I never properly reviewed it. It starts off wet & juicy, strong with the cherry and almost sweet. It quickly dries to something more earthy and almost metallic, like blood. The slight spice I'm picking up must be the currant, because I honestly don't associate fig with much of a scent at all. Unfortunately, my partner does not like this blend on me, so I don't pick it up as often. My only complaint is that the beautiful cherry opening doesn't last longer! Sounds like I need to keep an eye out for a good cherry scent, maybe.
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2025 version. Well, for someone who doesn't really like gourmands, I sure did order myself a pile of gourmand decants! In my defense, I wanted to try this one because every note *except* sufganiyot sounded wonderful to me, but you'll never guess which note was all I could smell. A sweet cakey sufyanigot, and something that went weirdly fruity-but-plasticky (?? I don't even know what this could be. Is this what the olive notes did on me? I will be very sad if that turns out to be true). Later on in the day I got the butterly BPAL baked-goods note that reminds me of popcorn, which I really don't care for, and maybe a bit of soft, slightly powdery beeswax, or maybe amber, I honestly couldn't quite tell. I never got anything that smelled like fig or pomegranate at all. I will let it rest for a month or so to see if the sufganiyot calms down and makes room for literally anything else, but if it doesn't, this one will not be a keeper for me.
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2025 version. Well, I'm pretty bummed to say I seem to be someone for whom Snow White goes "Play-Doh." It was *very* faint, hardly any throw at all, and mainly smelled weirdly plasticky, with a bit of sweet vanilla and the faintest suggestion of indoles. Sadly it never improved. Whatever indoles there were faded very quickly, and the vanilla eventually went powdery (not in a nice way, more scented baby powder). The plastic note got...slightly less offensive, but I still sort of smelled like a vanilla-scented plastic doll. I did see a review of an older version of this mention that allowing it to rest brought out something a bit greener and made it wearable for them, so I'll keep this around and retest it in a month or two. If it doesn't improve, I'll move it straight to the sales/swap pile, where hopefully it can find a more appreciative home.
