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- Today
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Dead Leaves, Scorched Clove, and Red Cedar
puellacaerulea replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Halloweenie
This one starts out very clove-forward, with hints of cedar and the dead leaves in the background. It takes time for the leaves to come out on this one -- as it dries down, it's mostly a deep, warm clove and clean, slightly sharp cedar. After drydown, crunchy dry leaves come out more, backed by faint cedar and clove. A more warm and woody take on the dead leaves, but I think I like the early clove-forward stages more than the drydown stage. Will keep my decant either way. -
this opens with voluptuous white flowers...i think it's a spicier tuberose, but could be gardenia. luckily, i love those notes so i like this. i get something a bit papery/vinyl like from the ink and paper notes i guess. i think there may be some other subtler white florals here too-like moonflower or phlox. after awhile i get a slight spiciness, but i can't quite place it-maybe pink pepper? there is also something a bit sweet here...above reviewers mentioned red musk, but if it is it's quite subtle on me, because i didn;t read it as that. i'm not sure, anyway this is a pretty floral and i will keep my decant.
- Yesterday
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Black Butterfly Moon: Vanilla-Infused Frankincense and Raspberry
Assimbya replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
There's something about this one which just isn't working with my skin chemistry, and I don't know why - the combination of notes comes off as peculiarly artificial in a way that I find pretty off-putting, partially like candy and partially, with the woody frankincense and sweet vanilla, like a commercial room spray. Probably it's my skin's dislike of BPAL's red fruit notes, except I didn't know whether raspberry would be counted among them. Alas! -
I really love this one; it's elegant and dark and gothy without being heavy, overpowering, or cloying. @VioletChaos's description of this as 'goth girl' feels right on target. I'm wearing it right now to rewatch some episodes of Penny Dreadful, and it feels like a perfect match, and not only because there's a pivotal scene involving orchids. 💜 I definitely agree with previous reviews that this one morphs quite a lot! Wet on me it's dark, juicy blackberry with just a hint of myrrh and floral, but as it dries the blackberry fades and the orchid note becomes central, with that dry, sophisticated edge that I find BPAL's orchid note always has; it mixes with a sharp, potent myrrh, thin enough to be slightly bitter as it grounds and blanches the florals. I can definitely track the tea rose (and I adore BPAL's tea rose note), and maybe a hint of tuberose if I look for it, but I would call the orchid the main floral note of this one. When I first wore this I thought I wasn't getting the vanilla at all, but now that it's rested for a while I think I can identify very dry, somewhat smoky, not at all sweet vanilla, which I imagine will get even better as this ages further. Black musk encircles all of it like a cloud, but isn't possibly to pick out quite individually. This feels in the same scent-family as some of the Carmillas from last year, but with a particular complexity all of its own; I'm glad that I blind bottled it, and will be delighted to continue wearing this one.
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Have owned the imp for a long time. Such an interesting scent. On my skin it smells like herbs and patchouli. I fell asleep with the scent on and had one of the best sleeps I've had in a while. There is something comforting about it. When I woke up in the morning, it smelled soft, which could be the moss that was in there... No wait... I think it could be cinnamon. Yeah, it must be cinnamon and herbs. I'm liking it so far. It's not something to wear for a sexy night out with a loved one. I would wear this one for just chilling at home while studying or something
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Blood Moon: Clove and Sweet Incense
SmellsPrettyGood2Me replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
I had a huge flashback when I opened this bottle; it was 2000 and I was in NYC's Chinatown with my then-boyfriend Patrick, his mom, stepdad and stepsister. As we stepped into one of the markets looking for some of the jasmine tea that his mom loved so much, our nostrils were assaulted by a combination of spices and incense. It is one of those very specific life experiences where nothing else before or since has combined to so precisely remind me of that moment. I had to put the bottle aside, have a cry, and come back to it another day. Young Smells did not know how much her life (and the world around her) would change less than 12 months after that experience. Both in bottle and on-skin there is something Chinese 5 Spice-y about this, where I could swear I also get anise and maybe even some nutmeg underneath the clove. My skin is prone to taking a dab of clove and turning it into an olfactory tornado, and that's precisely what happened here. Not for the faint of heart, this duet precedes you as you enter a room ("did you make a cup of tea?") and does not let you forget it. I'm not a licorice fan, and that undertone didn't really please me. Huge sillage and loooooong longevity at 8+ hours, which goes to show how much skin chemistry can be different for all of us in this game. (What ever happened to Patrick, you ask? We broke up after he cheated on me with a fellow exchange student during a semester abroad in Paris after 9/11, he then became an accountant and eventually he married someone else and moved to Minnesota. His mom died during COVID, and she's the one I cried for. She was a classy lady and I liked her a lot.) Destash for me, probably lovely for someone who loves licorice and has less emotional baggage tied to these scent notes. -
An immediately positive impression as soon as I caught the first whiff! Lightly sweet (maybe slightly honeyed) liquid wax and a surprisingly jammy fig in the bottle with no smoke but a hint of some powdery resins deep underneath. First dab brings that beeswax out front and center and it warms up quite nicely on the skin. This must be the "Good" part of the equation? Honestly, it's quite cozy! About 10 minutes in the vetiver starts to creep out more and more, taking the scent the slightest touch deeper and darker. Still no smoke, but maybe there is a bit of cypress brightness intermingled in there? The myrrh and fig (which almost seems a bit stewed) are a terrific combination that are anchoring this in pleasant territory. Jammy, with a creamy resinousness that is beautiful to wear. At around the two hour mark, things take a turn. The beeswax has lost a lot of it's liquidity, cooling and hardening. Something gnarled, woody, and earthy emerges and starts fighting with the fig for supremacy. The powdery myrrh has completely vanished. What happened here?? Has the "Evil" come out to play? I'm desperately and deeply huffing, looking for that lovely sweetness that seems to be fading by the moment. By hour 3, all I can smell is something resembling an ash pile, and then it's gone. I'm not sure if this transition was intentional, or if my skin chemistry just ruined the scent the longer it had hold of it. I would wear the bliss of the first two hours often if somehow I could hang onto it! This is a perfect candidate for a scent locket trial as it is truly stunning to start off. I hope others are able to enjoy the journey more fully on themselves.
- Last week
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Testing an imp of unknown age and provenance. I find it very bright, not dark. I can only think of soap. I want to say Irish Springs? (I usually get "soap" from BPAL fragrances that have an ozone note). I imagine that the lemony part of what I am smelling is frankincense. This is not for me.
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idk what took me so long to get around to Voodoo but I love it. I am testing from an imp of unspecified age but it's got me wanting to upgrade to a bottle. I'm definitely not getting cola or fizz, it's pretty straightforwardly what it says on the tin in terms of notes. big dark booming base of myrrh/patch/vetiver and then the way the lime and pine punch it up is so so good. I suppose I may have hesitated due to almond, but ultimately I'm glad to have that drop of sweetness in there with the vanilla to smooth it all over. great weartime on this, too, it just keeps going.
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I'm testing an imp that is likely 2 years old (and stored well). Compared to other dirt scents I have tried across several brands, this is mellow. Earthy, with a sweet medicinal quality that brings to mind thyme or marjoram. I get just whiff of that familiar BPAL (red) wine note, which always brings to mind the ring of sticky, dried wine left at the bottom of a glass left sitting for a couple hours. Oddly grounding. Doesn't last very long (but I did test only on my wrist). I cannot imagine when I would wear this, but it is fun to test.
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This is incredible. It's got strong throw and smells like a Pumpkin Butterscotch candle. I don't get a lot of ale but I do notice the slightest hint of "wooliness" which is probably the blanket. I do get a tiny bit of steeped tea, too, even though that's not in the notes. Real glad I blind-bottled this; got compliments all day while wearing.
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I have cherished the 2019 version of Mictecacihuatl and I am surprised I never reviewed it! (Copal, precious woods, warm spices, agave nectar, cigar tobacco, and roses.) in the bottle it's quite an intoxicating potion, sweet and dark, and this stays true for the initial application of the oil on my skin. as it warms up the tobacco and copal really pop and the scent develops a rich golden quality. I feel like it used to have a bit more rose to it, but apparently I've had this six whole years now?! I do get a scattering of mature petals once the oil dries. it's as if you could take a whole altar, top to table legs, and process it into a rich paste to paint on your skin for a ceremony. I love it so much.
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2008 and 2025 versions. I adore the 2008 version. It’s light wet rose with a hint of sweetness and something warm and delicately spicy. Quite similar to Day of the Skulls which I also love. The 2025 version is heavily sweet and spicy, almost exactly like Sugar Skull. I’m getting booze soaked dried fruit, sticky toffee and burnt sugar. In fact it’s so similar I’m wondering if there was a mix up at the Lab.
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if you enjoy the lab's headier jasmine notes, this one is gorgeous! and as you get deeper into the weartime, jasmine graciously allows a tattered vanillic element to emerge. it's not unlike a scenario in which the Black Butterfly Moon: Vanilla and Tobacco Flower duet got papered over with jasmine, they smell like siblings to me. I really like it.
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2025 version This is a subtle stunner, I am instantly in love. I am a fan of dead leaves, first of all, but while sweater/cashmere/wool can be hit or miss, the wool note here is perfection in concert with the ambergris. It's impossibly warm and comforting. Magic!
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Lightning Moon: Black Lilac and Black Tea
SmellsPrettyGood2Me replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
She's shifty! Grassy tannins with a waft of floral lilac in the bottle become completely transformed into something darker on skin. There is a blooming bergamot brightness in the wet open that I really like! Not at all sugared and much more of a booming floral than tea for the first hour. I do feel like maybe this combo would be a bit more smooth with a third note to draw down the sharpness of the lilac a bit, maybe some amber or sandalwood. As such I agree with other reviewers who have suggested layering it, because as a standalone scent, while I like it, it's missing a bottom note to anchor it and bring some gravitas. Medium sillage on my skin and a long lasting performance of 8+ detectable hours. I have a Black Amber SN from another house that I think will help make it a great trio of notes for winter wear. -
Dead leaves has marigold in a chokehold and it looked like the fight was over but WHAT'S THAT?? BY GOD IT'S ROSE WITH A STEEL CHAIR!!! Unfortunately rose teams up with dead leaves and marigold is tag teamed into oblivion. I like this quite a bit as an interesting autumn rose. A bottle will be contemplated.
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This is such a lovely bookish scent where the leather isn't super stompy... the leather here is soft, well-worn, and behaves quite well with the other notes. Great snuggly scent for a dreary day, that's for sure! I got a decant out of curiosity and so glad that I did! Everything is well blended imo. Not gonna lie, I wanted more beeswax but then this wouldn't be the book scent as advertised lol.
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Blood Moon: Black Sandalwood and Leather
SmellsPrettyGood2Me replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
This is the good stuff. Dusty, dry, sweet sandalwood and burnished, deeply tanned dark brown leather in equal and complimentary parts. There may even be more than one leather note in here as it seems to shift into something sweeter a few hours in. Sillage is low moderate and longevity was pretty good - although I could still detect it with a close sniff the next morning it was largely gone after about 7 hours. I think the Lab does really enjoyable, photorealistic "fabric" accords across the spectrum, but their various takes on leather are ones that I particularly enjoy. The black sandalwood does a great job of working with it to evoke a very nice smelling ranch hand, although it's not a deliberately masculine leaning scent; I would go so far as to call it pretty gender-neutral-while-still-giving-leather-chaps-vibes-in-the-open. I'll probably have to get a couple more bottles of this as it's enjoyable to wear and the two notes are perfectly paired. -
**Note, this is a kind of tandem review as I received this and the Samhain lotion at the same time, and tested both on the same day.** This is (along with Samhain) my first foray into the exciting new world of Black Phoenix's body lotions! I chose Snake Oil because it's one of my long-time go-to fragrances (GC *OR* LE), so I figured whatever the outcome, I will find a way to use it! The lotion is a lovely texture- fluffy, thick and verrrry moisturizing. As this is an initial test, I went sparingly, not knowing about the absorption rate and also wanting to see how heavily fragranced it would be. In both aspects, I'm glad I was reserved in application: a little goes a long way! Comparing the two (Snake Oil and Samhain), Samhain had the higher fragrance-to-product ratio, but Snake was no slouch, so definitely go extra sparing with application until you see how both absorptions go for you. The skin on my hands is fairly dry, especially a few minutes after washing them, which is when I conducted this test, and the soothing and absorption I experienced was perfect: it did the trick, absorbed completely and evenly, and left no greasy or sticky residue- very impressive! The scent left behind is heavy enough that you might want to be mindful about coordination if you're applying a perfume in addition to. I'm not entirely sure about other types of scented products such as hair gloss or bath oil (especially if you're one of the folks that uses the Lab's bath oil as a post-shower body oil) so I'd say do your due diligence, especially if scent clashing is something that bothers you In all: another spectacular product from the Lab! I don't know how long shelf life will be yet, and I definitely have questions about that, especially since I'm one of those people that like some scents -Samhain and Snake Oil among them- to be as aged as possible. I don't anticipate that these lotions can hang around for years, but who knows what exciting changes might happen in the next month or two? Then again, the more stabilized the base, the more static the fragrance might be as well 🧐 Regardless, the Lab, as usual, has created a superior product, and I'm delighted to have a new way to wear some of my favorite scents from them!
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This is (along with the recently released Snake Oil) my first foray into the exciting new world of Black Phoenix's body lotions! I chose Samhain because it's one of my all-time favorite autumnal fragrances, so I figured whatever the outcome, I will find a way to use it! The lotion is a lovely texture- fluffy, thick and verrrry moisturizing. As this is an initial test, I went sparingly, not knowing about the absorption rate and also wanting to see how heavily fragranced it would be. In both aspects, I'm glad I was reserved in application: a little goes a long way! Compared with the Snake Oil lotion, I'd say Samhain has a higher fragrance-to-product ratio, so definitely go extra sparing with application until you see how both absorptions go for you. The skin on my hands is fairly dry, especially a few minutes after washing them, which is when I conducted this test, and the soothing and absorption I experienced was perfect: it did the trick, absorbed completely and evenly, and left no greasy or sticky residue- very impressive! The scent left behind is heavy enough that you'll want to be mindful about coordination if you're applying a perfume in addition to. I'm not entirely sure about other types of scented products such as hair gloss or bath oil (especially if you're one of the folks that uses the Lab's bath oil as a post-shower body oil) so I'd say do your due diligence, especially if scent clashing is something that bothers you In all: another spectacular product from the Lab! I don't know how long shelf life will be yet, and I definitely have questions about that, especially since I'm one of those people that like some scents -Samhain and Snake Oil among them- to be as aged as possible. I don't anticipate that these lotions can hang around for years, but who knows what exciting changes might happen in the next month or two? Then again, the more stabilized the base, the more static the fragrance might be as well 🧐 Regardless, the Lab, as usual, has created a superior product, and I'm delighted to have a new way to wear some of my favorite scents from them!
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Dead Leaves, Molten Lava Cake, and Raw Cacao
LavenderCoffee replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Halloweenie
help I love this!! it just makes me go HNNNGGG and I WANT TO GO TO THERE, among other less useful notes for a perfume review. So instead: A cascade of dry dead leaves, a dusting of dry cacao, and then an ooozingly realistic molten cake center that mellows into a lovely chocolate cake scent in the leaf pile. I vaguely regretted not grabbing a FS of DL/Chocolate/Hazelnut from years past but at the end of the day, I just don't love hazelnut. This one may be my one true chocolate leaf! -
in the vial, Plastic Rats does indeed smell a bit like plastic rats, which is to say, daunting. On my skin I can pick out the amber and pepper clearly alongside the black licorice. It's really kindof a nice scent once it settles in. Like it could have been marketed as Lord Licorice's cologne in a licensed Candyland line or something. not that it skews especially masc or evil, imo - it's delightfully mysterious and subtle, and ever so slightly murky.
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Lovers of the Lab's ozone note (*raises hand*) rejoice! It dances merrily here in the bottle beside the star jasmine and violet incense and bruised plum, and makes the leap onto skin nicely. Much like a strike of lightning, this scent opens big and then quickly fades away within about 45 minutes, leaving mostly powdery resins behind. Not too floral, not too fruity, not too atmospheric, it comes in for a well balanced initial impression and sticks around pleasantly for about 5 more hours at a low, lightly sweet sillage. If your spirit guide is The Wizard from Stardew Valley, you've found his signature scent here.
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Yippeemaxxer joined the community
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Bought this shortly after my SO lotion arrived! As with that one, I just love the bottle and lotion formula -- very silky, not at all greasy. This is pretty true to the perfume oil scent -- very summery, warm, creamy incense goodness. One exception: there's initially a marked soapy note (reminds me of the SSS sunscreen from Avon) that isn't in the perfume oil, but it goes away quickly. Really like this a lot! There is some projection to it, too; I'm catching it waft off my hands as I type.
