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- Today
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I passed on the original incarnation of this scent as I've never been a big floral person. However, after all the long years of BPALing, when I saw the note list for it this time around, I decided to take a chance- and I'm SO glad I did! This sexy, aromatic beast features a jammy rose with spice for days. I can see why folks that tried it years ago were so excited to get their hands on some more. I don't know that the perfume would have been a good fit for me, but as a hair gloss, I anticipate using this a bunch, and it will pair nicely with the many resins, woods and spice-heavy scents that exist in my collection. ❤️
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This is mostly brown sugar and a spicy hint of rum for me. The bottle arrived several days ago, so I thought there was adequate time to rest it, but maybe not. I'd been hoping for a whole lot of banana, but it's only present when I unscrew the top and sniff it in the bottle. I don't mind the coziness of the rum and sugar, but I was really wanting that banana. Hopefully with some additional rest / aging, it'll come more to the fore for my thirsty locks!
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In the bottle, a heady mix of gardenia and cacao- not the powder but something straight from the plant, pre-processing. Decadent, but not at all foodie. Wet on skin, a fresh, green note interjects itself, but it's not jarring, it's like smelling jasmine or honeysuckle on the vine, and then realizing the vine itself it adding to the aroma. Dry Down, the perfume fully blooms. And I mean BLOOMS - this scent has a high throw, so definitely apply sparingly until you know how it'll behave with your particular skin chemistry. The fragrance is hard to place- a rich and fleshy tropical bloom as others mentioned, but also defying exact description. It's some intersection of gardenia and honeysuckle and night blooming jasmine, greenery included, plus the specificity of flower nectar and yes, that chocolatey note- the way rich vanilla bean reads as almost chocolate- and it all comes together to give a vibe like being in an enclosed space- a greenhouse, perhaps, absolutely abundant in blooms, and being completely enveloped in the scent. It's ridiculously beautiful and beguiling, even for someone like me who is typically not such a fan of florals. In all: do NOT pass this Bellflower up, she is worth the hype. ❤️❤️❤️
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Given my handle, it will come as a shock to no one that violet scents are my jam. I'm quite picky about florals overall, but Violet, my dear Violet, she will always have a place in my collection, and this scent is no exception. Unlike many of the other Gorey scents, this one is a bit stronger. In the bottle, it's deceptively mild, a bit of Lace here, a bit of Aldehyde there, the violet a powdery whisper. Once on the skin, though, the real show begins, as the violet starts to show up as soon as she's warmed, and that continues all the way through dry down. This scent, because of the floral and aldehyde mix, might come across as more "perfume-y" than some other scents in the catalogue, even for a floral-forward scent. That said, it still does so with a special flare that only the Lab can pull off, and the poetic prose of the previous poster is apt for the vibes this scent provides, the notes painting a scene that is out of time but also of a very specific one- somewhere between the Victoriana feel of, say, Lady Lilith and the winking macabre of Arsenic and Old Lace. I am delighted to add this to my violet collection. The only question remaining is how many backups to obtain! 💜
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In the bottle, I get a sweet, confectionary cinnamon and a creamy almond (I assume it's 'creamy' because of the vanilla bean paste). As with the other Gorey fragrances, even in the bottle this scent is low-key and more "quiet" than many other fragrances at this stage of the sniffing process. Once applied, the cinnamon blooms some, becoming a bit stronger, and the vanilla becomes less creamy and more like the paste I would expect. The almond shifts as a result , becomes more of a supporting player, but also, now there's something that reads like the almond is roasted? There's nothing in the notes that would indicate it, though if I had to take a guess I'd say maybe it's the influence of the allspice and casting sugar. 🤷♀️ The scent doesn't shift much between warming and full drydown, but this is also something I've noticed seems to happen with the Gorey scents typically. In all, a nice little cinnamon-forward scent. Much lighter than typical cinnamon scents, so if you've been looking for something that isn't overly spiced, this might be a good one for you. I'll definitely wear it around the holidays, and I can see utilizing it as a layering fragrance if I want to add some spice to another scent without overpowering it.
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Very robust, dark coffee dominates the scent while wet in the bottle, with the usual BPAL pumpkin spice note, and a hint of creaminess from the nog. On skin, the spice and coffee notes switch places, and the brown sugar syrup appears in the background. There is definitely a thick, non-lactonic dairy element present that reflects custard as well. By about minute 30 that oily, silky coffee note has pretty much disappeared completely. The nutmeg and cinnamon are perfectly balanced, and the brown sugar syrup gets even nicer post dry down. Projection is quite bold, so apply carefully. I could still catch whiffs of it over 10 hours later! If you're wary of coffee fragrances, this one didn't smell like coffee for very long on me at all. All of the notes were extremely photorealistic, which was refreshing because I recently had a not-so-great encounter with a butterscotch note that sent me reeling. What really made this fantastic was the eggnog note; it smoothed everything out and tied the whole scent together. I can see wearing this nonstop between October and March, it's that good!
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A fragment of a discarded summer scent concept from a few years back.
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Olive green jelly with a warm orange glow and pink and green reflective sparks.
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May your deeds be shown to your servants, your splendor to their children. May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us — yes, establish the work of our hands. Also known as salep root and Helping Hand, this orchid root has been used as a tool of success, wealth, and good fortune, bringing blessed luck to everything your five fingers can touch. It’s a gambling root that blesses risk-takers, but is also a tool for craftsmen, laborers, artists, and all who work with their hands. A deep earthy perfume entwined with orchid petals.
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Frosted cedar, moonlit amber, black plum, vetiver, smoked oakwood, violet shadows, and feathery incense. Ohara Koson
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Smoked beeswax and blackened amber, incense ash and antique myrrh, and tears running rivers down ochre stone. Odilon Redon
- Yesterday
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White Sandalwood and Cacao.
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Steamed Milk and Marzipan.
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Terrible Moon: Pistachio and Vanilla Buttercream
doomsday_disco posted a topic in Duets & Menage A Trois
Pistachio and Vanilla Buttercream. -
Honey Dust and Toasted Oats.
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Coffee Bean and Cinnamon Stick.
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Cardamom and Black Amber.
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You may shoot me with your words, You may cut me with your eyes, You may kill me with your hatefulness, But still, like air, I’ll rise. – Maya Angelou Under a terrible moon, tides still answer the pull. Roots still find water. Breath still moves from body to body, unseen and unstoppable. To keep breathing together is to refuse erasure and deny despair. Authoritarianism thrives on isolation and fascism feeds on hopelessness. We are living through a terrible moon, indeed, but we are not alone. You are not alone. Every breath you take is an act of defiance. Every hand you reach for refutes the lie that you stand by yourself. We will get through this together. A protective, communal scent to call one another closer and stand united against the darkness. A scent to remind us that even now, especially now, we rise. Smoldering beeswax illuminated by honeyed amber, an embrace of skin musk, body-warmed wool, cacao-dusted sandalwood, and cardamom milk.
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A green and spicy slip up while reblending Funnel of Love.
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A new year’s blessing! Peony, China’s national flower, with bamboo for flexibility, plum blossom for perseverance, courage, and hope, tangerine for wealth, orange for happiness, lychee for household peace, pine resin for constancy, golden kumquat, pussy willow, and quince for prosperity, narcissus and King mandarin for good fortune, and peach blossom for longevity, with a splash of blazing red of dragon’s blood… to help you scare away the rampaging Nian.
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A bedtime anointing oil for the prevention of nightmares. Contains: lavender, frankincense, chamomile, willow leaf, rue, hops, star anise, bourbon vanilla, and lemon verbena.
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I haven’t had much sleep lately, so this is the best I could do for a name. This scent is part of an unreleased comedy/horror animation project, based on an illustrated character concept of a dapper skeleton. White sandalwood, white pepper, orris root, angelica, and chalk.
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I tend to be wary of oud and this didn't sound like my style, but I was determined to try the whole Erl King collection and I'm very glad I did give this one a chance! On me it's dark, regal, imposing, and very cold, like deep black ice. There's strong incense and a complex woodiness given a sense of sophistication and remove from the ambergris and icy notes; the eucalyptus increases the chill, clean feeling, but does not pull it too herbal. This feels very effectively atmospheric to me - I can picture some kind of dimly lit, icy throne room for a dark woodland king, redolent with incense - but at the same time the muskiness of the ambergris keeps it feeling like a perfume, like something belongs on skin. I am fascinated with this one, which seems to be a reaction I've had to a number of scents in the Erl King collection. I want to spend more time with it, and this review feels a little premature for that reason, but since there are so few reviews of this one it felt worth sharing initial impressions. I don't think it's one I will find much occasion to wear often, so I doubt I will need more than a decant, but I feel very struck by it and glad to have the chance to try it.
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I think I like this more than Dead Leaves and Apple Pie. The baked apple seems slightly tarter, the coffee really brings out the apple. Light throw. I suspect it won’t stick around too long, but so good otherwise.
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Dead Leaves, Scorched Clove, and Red Cedar
Lucchesa replied to doomsday_disco's topic in Halloweenie
Wet the scorched note is prominent, and it smelled alternately like scorched clove, scorched cedar, and Dead Leaves on Fire from 2020. This settles down fairly quickly into a skin scent on my late middle aged skin. It’s a pleasant if subtle balance of clove, cedar wood, and DL. I like it, but there are so many weenies I love…
